The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire by Raymond Weil (ereader ebook .txt) 📕

Admiral Voxx is using his reserve fleet to attack the periphery worlds of the Human Empire, reported Addonis. He hopes to lure the Human fleets away from their core worlds and the Hagen Star Cluster.

What if he is unsuccessful? asked Delann. So far there has been no sign of any of those fleets moving.

Then we do it the hard way, and Fleet Admirals Colane and Torrant will destroy the Human fleets and conquer both the core worlds and the Hagen Star Cluster. Admiral Torrant has orders to destroy Golan Four, and that should bring an end to all resistance by the Humans.

What about the Hagen Star Cluster? asked Hiram, not completely convinced they could take both. If it survives, it could rebuild the Empire.

Admiral Norlan has instructions to destroy Tantula Five and the inhabited moon of Gideon, explained Addonis. Once those are gone, no hope remains of ever reforming the Human Empire, even if the rest of the Human worlds in the cluster survive.

Morag Councilor Damora stood, his massive size hovering above the table. I propose we drastically reduce the populations of all the Human worlds, so they will be more manageable in the future.

The other councilors looked at one another. This had been done in the past to prevent worlds from becoming too big of a danger. They all nodded in agreement.

Very well, sent Addonis. Once we have conquered the Human Empire, we will have the Druins reduce the Human population, since they seem to enjoy such widespread destruction.

What about the Lormallians and the Zang? asked Morag Councilor Damora. What will we do about them? I have confirmed reports they are expanding and updating their fleets, as well as building defensive grids around large numbers of their worlds. That was not the intent of our original agreement. They are also becoming much more difficult to control in the Great Council. Both the Lormallian councilor and the Zang councilor are wearing telepathic nullifiers at all times.

Addonis looked at Councilor Damora and replied. In the next meeting of the Great Council, you are to demand they explain why they are violating our agreement. You will also tell them to stop immediately or face the consequences.

Councilor Damora nodded. I will do so.

Addonis dismissed the council. Some important decisions were to be made shortly, but first they had to know the results of the attacks on the Human Empire. Once those were successful, and the Human Empire was back under control of the Confederation, then it would be time to address the situation with the Lormallians and the Zang and eventually Earth.

-

Admiral Cleemorl met with the two governors, Dyson and Bloom, in the underground Command Center on Gideon. The center was a beehive of activity, as it monitored the space traffic across the system.

“We’re ready,” said General Flynn. “Thanks to you, we have crews for all the attack interceptors, and they fly combat drills nearly every day.”

“Most of our major cities sit in a ring of missile interceptors and energy beam turrets,” added Governor Bloom. “Nearly half of our population will go into underground bunkers, and the rest will head for the mountains.”

“We have soldiers ready to ensure an orderly evacuation of the cities,” said General Flynn, “though we expect some people will refuse to leave their homes. We estimate we’re looking at around 10 percent of the population.”

Dylan examined the viewscreens, seeing the busy cities. Aircars and surface transportation were prevalent. All of the cities were extremely modern and very clean. Other screens showed the landscape. No signs of pollution. Forests were pristine, and the taller mountains were covered in deep snow. The oceans were an azure blue and full of life. Dylan hoped this world pulled through the coming attack. He already felt guilty for putting it in so much danger, but, in order to preserve the Human Empire, he felt he had no other choice.

“Do you think they will attack both Tantula Five and Gideon at the same time?” asked Governor Dyson, concern in his voice.

Dylan nodded. “I would expect so. They’ll want to pin down our forces on both worlds, so one world cannot aid the other. How are we set up for rescue efforts, once the battle ends, assuming we win?”

“We have considerable rescue equipment and personnel on standby in safe locations away from the cities,” answered Governor Bloom. “As soon as the battle is over, we’ll send them in to the worst hit areas.”

“Same for us,” added Governor Dyson. “We’re prepared for a huge rescue effort, in case some of our cities are hit.”

Dylan looked over at General Flynn. “What about the civilian space traffic?”

“They’ll be sent to other worlds, as soon as the enemy is detected. We should clear the entire system in less than twenty minutes.”

“How soon do we expect the attack?” asked Governor Bloom.

“Within the next fifty hours,” replied Dylan. “We have scout craft in many of the outer systems of the star cluster, searching for any signs of the enemy. With a little luck we’ll get a few minutes’ warning at least.”

On one of the viewscreens, Dylan saw two squadrons of attack interceptors taking off and heading toward space. He knew at all times at least three to four squadrons were on patrol around Gideon. The same for Tantula Five.

-

Later they took a quick ground tour of parts of the base. They stopped in front of a massive dual cannon, pointed toward the sky.

“This is one of our new fusion energy cannons,” boasted General Flynn. “Because of its size it can reach nearly 35 percent farther than the normal cannons built on the ground.”

Dylan stepped out of the ground car to inspect the twin cannons. They were truly impressive. “How many times a minute can they fire?” He stepped up and climbed on a platform, where several