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

It should, agreed Norlan. Keep in mind we still have nearly 1,800 Druin warships and over 1,900 Zynth warships.

Nearly 10,000 Confederation warships, said First Officer Kenold. No single Human star system can resist a force like that.

This time we will go in behind the Druins and the Zynth. We will take a lesson from our fleet admiral who attacked Earth. If necessary, I will order damaged Zynth and Druin ships to ram Human vessels and Human targets.

First Officer Kenold frowned. Our Druin and Zynth allies won’t be pleased with that tactic. Kenold knew this tactic had been used before.

They are weak allies at the best, replied Norlan dismissively. Better to sacrifice several hundred of their vessels than to lose a single Morag warship.

You are correct. When the time comes, I will assist you in implanting the necessary orders in the minds of the command crews. This victory will be ours, and the entire Hagen Star Cluster will fall to our forces. The same in the core worlds, when Fleet Admirals Torrant and Colane attack.

-

Admiral Cleemorl was on board the Themis. He had just returned from Tantula Five, after getting Krista and Cheryl settled in. Governor Dyson had been greatly honored by having one of the Royal Princesses come to the planet, as it was considered one of the safest places in the Human Empire. Krista had been greeted by an honor guard of over one thousand military personnel and had been taken on a quick tour of the city, before shown to her special suite of rooms, which were to be all hers. Also she had several large military vehicles on call at all times that could whisk her and her entourage to the underground Command Center at a moment’s notice.

Dylan had spent some time with Cheryl, telling her how happy he was she had come back to Tantula Five. He wished she had never left in the first place.

“I should have stayed,” confessed Cheryl, as she leaned forward and kissed Dylan on the lips.

“You’re here now, and that’s what’s important. You and Krista should be quite safe in the underground Command Center. From there both of you can keep track of the battle.”

“You just be careful,” replied Cheryl, her gaze meeting Dylan’s. “If something were to happen to you, I might have to go to the Confederation and conquer all their worlds myself.”

Dylan laughed. “I can just see you doing that.”

They spoke a little bit longer, and then Dylan had to return to his fleet. The expected attack by the Confederation fleets neared, and it could be anytime.

-

Dylan was back on board the Themis and had just sat down in his command chair when an alarm went off on the sensor console. “Report!”

“Zynth battlecruiser just dropped from hyperspace on the fringe of the system,” reported Lieutenant Casella. “I believe it’s scanning the system.”

To Dylan this was a good indication of an impending attack. “Take the entire star cluster to Condition Two. Condition One will most likely be issued in the next few hours.”

“Communications, I want to know if any Confederation warships are scanning any other star system within the cluster, and I want to know that information immediately.”

On the tactical display, the singe red threat icon sat immobile. “Send out two battlecruisers to chase that ship away,” ordered Dylan. He leaned back in his command chair, as two Imperial battlecruisers made the transition into hyperspace.

A few moments later the two battlecruisers appeared less than two thousand kilometers from the Zynth vessel and immediately opened fire. The Zynth commander must have been expecting this, as he immediately made the transition into hyperspace and fled the system.

-

Morag Admiral Norlan had his fleet just outside the Hagen Star Cluster. He waited for the Zynth battlecruiser he had sent to scan the Tantula System to return.

A green icon suddenly appeared on the tactical display.

Zynth battlecruiser is back, reported the sensor officer.

Results of scans are being transmitted now, added the communications officer.

-

For the next hour Admiral Norlan studied the scans, making notes of any changes since the last battle. He did note that the Earth and Imperil fleets were combined into one large fleet hovering over Tantula Five.

Nodding in satisfaction, he made an announcement to the combined fleets. We will enter hyperspace in two hours. Our target will be the inhabited moon of Gideon in the Tantula System.

Admiral Norlan was convinced that, if he could hit the moon before the Human fleet could react, he could cause some major damage. His plan was to keep the Human fleet away from the moon’s defensive grid, making the fleet more vulnerable. He would then destroy it, and, once the Human fleet was eliminated, destroying Gideon and Tantula Five would be a much easier task.

-

Krista and Cheryl had been whisked to the underground Command Center, as soon as Condition Two had been implemented. They were both now in the Command Center, where several comfortable chairs had been set up, so they could observe what was happening. A Marine major had been assigned to them to answer any questions they might have. Four Imperial Guards with their purple capes stood behind them. In addition, Brenda had been allowed in to attend to any needs that Krista might have. In front of them was a small table with sandwiches and drinks.

The large hatch opened again, and Mathew came in. He smiled at Krista and came over and gave her a big hug. “I’m glad to see you, but I’ve got a job to do.”

A look of concern crossed Krista’s face. “You’re not going back up to the Orion, are you?”

Mathew smiled. “No, I had a console set up here in the Command Center, so I can speak and direct the various interceptor squadrons. They’re still under my command.”

Krista felt relieved. “Then go do