Ashes of the Realm: Book 04 - The Return of the Realm (32 page)

Jink reported in and said, “It looks like our new warriors aren’t so green anymore.”

Colby smiled and said, “No, I don’t think they are. Let’s hope their next training session is not so intense.”

Jink laughed and said, “Speak for yourself; this was fun.”

Colby shook his head and thought, “I guess she’s right. This was fun.”

The music in the stars grew louder.

T
rey sent a thought to Danielle, “How is the evacuation progressing?”

“We’ve set tomorrow as the final date to leave. The Algean Planets have received our civilian populations and are sharing their homes until the crisis has passed. They have been very gracious.”

“So they’re moving the galaxy the day after?”

“Yes, they are. We won’t know where they’re going so that information can’t be taken from our ships.”

Trey paused and said, “Are you ready for this?”

“Trey, no one is ever ready to get in a warship and take on enemy ships. It’s a frightening situation, but I wouldn’t miss it. I know what I owe to the citizens and I’m compelled to give them all I’ve got in their defense.”

“Are there any lessons from the first fight with the Demons?”

Danielle shook her head, “Except for the Kosiev intervening against orders, we would have lost. Most of the ships holding the line were destroyed and we were close to being overwhelmed.” Danielle paused and continued, “I know these five ships are the most powerful ever built, but they are not a hundred times more powerful that the fleet the Reg provided. Tag has looked at the danger level and he says that normally he would not take action with it so high. However, he knows that we will.”

“Cassie is pregnant.”

“Oh Trey! I’m so sorry.”

“I know. We’re also compelled to participate in the fight.”

“I wish there was another way but I don’t see it.”

“We know and we accept our destiny. Now is the time to fight for it.”

Danielle felt sorrow for the Robbins but also knew that she may also lose her life and the man she had loved so deeply for so long.

• • •

The four continued to argue about what to do. The First said, “I agree with the message we received. We cannot allow that Galaxy to continue to exist.”

The Third said, “But another blue wave has happened. We could also be destroyed.”

The Fourth said, “I suspect they were destroyed because they didn’t act fast enough and the beings that produced that wave had time to build their defenses. Remember, it took them a lot of time to find that missing universe. We know where it is now.”

The Second said, “Our scans show five ships that are blue wave powered.”

The First countered, “If we wait there will be hundreds. We must eliminate the threat now.”

The argument continued for days until the Controller said, “We really have no choice but to attack.”

The four grew instantly silent and the First said, “You think you know more than us?”

“No I don’t First Councilor but I know they can find us. They’ve demonstrated that they can see our fleets wherever they go and I must assume they can see us here as well. Are we going to wait for them to grow in power until they come to attack here? Even if we attempt to escape, will they be able to follow and destroy us? I’d much rather face five ships instead of thousands…or millions.”

The First remained silent and the Fourth said, “The Controller is right. I do think if we attack we not should divide our ships. I agree with the position that the Family probably did that and were destroyed piecemeal. Our usual tactics is to attack along multiple points. I believe those five ships should be our only targets and the fleets will destroy the galaxy.”

The four participants waited and the First finally said, “Prepare the fleets and wake the others. We will use all of our ships is this fight. Does anyone have something else to offer?”

The Controller said, “If things don’t go our way, our ships are stocked and we can escape if necessary. I really see no reason to put this off.”

The First snarled into his screen, “No one will leave before I give the word. Is that clear?”

Everyone nodded but knew he would be the first to run. His title was also a sarcastic joke among the Demons.

• • •

“Trey, there is a huge power surge in the Demon Dimension.”

Trey looked and sent the message, “The Demons are coming. Everyone take their stations and prepare for invasion.”

Jingo and Grang joined the Empire’s Fleets and the Algeans teleported to their assigned ships. The Algean Galaxy shimmered and disappeared. Those civilians that had delayed in leaving were no longer given a choice. They would live or die with the outcome of the battle. Most of them had coordinates of planets that were uninhabited and gave no signs of technology. Most would teleport to those planets with a supply of food and await the outcome of the battle.

• • •

Kline and Gina were holding each other and Gina said, “I guess this is what we’ve worked so hard to do.”

“Yes, the Regiment has been assigned their most advanced ships. You be as careful as you can and I’ll see you after the storm.”

Gina hugged him tightly, “I love you so much.”

“Let’s go repay a debt, my Love.”

Gina stepped back, activated her armor, and teleported away. Kline took a deep breath and teleported to his ship. Every warrior in the regiment had their own ship now that the teleporting hornets had been developed. The ten thousand Life Warriors were now a deadly force to reckon with. He looked at his pilot and smiled, “Ready to make history.”

“More that you know, Sir. I’m linked to the other pilots and waiting for the first scan to arrive.”

“Notify the fleet which ships we are assigned as soon as the Demon Fleet arrives.

The Pilot sent the message and the hundred Algeans linked at Fleet Control decided to assign ships that were inside the outer layer of ships to the warriors. They could work their way out as the battle progressed.

Kline checked his control system and saw that the Regiment was linked in. He watched his display and waited for what he knew was coming.

• • •

The First called the Council together and said, “How do we want to organize our forces?” He was greeted with silence. “None of you have any ideas?”

The Second said, “We normally divide up our forces to attack in multiple locations; attacking an enemy in one mass is something I’m unfamiliar with.”

The Controller waited for someone else to speak and said, “Perhaps we should attempt to split the enemy’s forces.”

“Go on.”

“We send our fleets to the outer edge of that galaxy in five groups that are spread out. Perhaps those five ships will move to support their fleets and we’ll jump in and attack one of them reducing their number by twenty percent. Once we jump in, we’ll send our fleets into the galaxy to destroy their planets. We’ll remain together outside the galaxy to take on the other four ships.”

The First looked at the other three and said, “Do you agree with this strategy?”

The Fourth said, “It does sound reasonable.”

The Second asked, “Do we mix our fleets with different ship types or keep them together?”

The Third said, “If we intermix the fleets, they will be using different technologies and may interfere with each other. If we’re going to do it this way I would recommend keeping the fleets in their current structure with their commanders who know their capabilities.”

The First thought a moment and sat back, “I agree. We’ll leave their organizations as they are. Controller, assign the coordinates to each fleet and get them ready for launch. Our ships should be ready quickly.”

“How do you want me to organize our ships?”

“The Council will be in the rear third with the most junior members in front. You will also be with us to direct our fleets.”

The Controller lowered his head and turned to his board. The attack would launch in another rotation.

• • •

Trey watched the Demon Dimension and saw huge numbers of ships leaving to organize into five groups. He notified fleet and sent a thought, “We will be jumping out to the edge of our galaxy momentarily. No matter what happens around us, we will not separate our five ships. Our Fleets will have to handle the Demon’s Fleets. We only have one target and it is the Demon’s personal ships. Make sure your crews are ready and top off the power grids now. If the Black Ships are moving into formation, the Demons will not be far behind.”

The five couples made contact and watched their power meters go up. Jake looked at Valerie, “I’m worried about this, Val.”

“I know; however, we have had a wonderful life and I have no regrets no matter what happens.”

“I just want to build that house on Gambia.”

“We will do exactly that after this is over.”

“Promise!”

“I do, my Love.”

• • •

Tag said, “This won’t be like the last fight. We have no room to maneuver and will be forced to hold our position. We won’t be able to use the psychic shadows to avoid their weapons.”

“That comes with only having five ships instead of five hundred, Tag. No matter what happens, you know I’ll always love you.”

“I do know that. However, when this battle gets underway, you and I will not be directing the ship.”

“No, why not?”

“The issue is going to be determined by who runs out of power first. We need to stay in constant contact and allow our bodies to do what is necessary. Our crew is trained and they can handle themselves. Since there will be no moving around, we can best help our chances of survival by feeding the ship power.”

Danielle thought about it and after a long pause, nodded, “What does your sense of danger tell you?”

“It’s slightly lower following that path.”

“How high will it be if we do that?”

“The highest I’ve ever seen.”

Danielle sighed and watched her display for the orange ships.

• • •

Kline hit his general communication frequency, “Alright Warriors, listen up. The Demons are helping us out. They have kept all of their newest ships in one fleet. I suspect they will fight us initially but if we start to get the better of them, they will jump away to attack our member planets. You must take out as many as possible, as quickly as possible, before they run. Don’t waste time on one ship. We’re jumping out to the edge of the Milky Way. We will not wait for our fleet to attack but will jump in the instant that fleet appears. Follow your links and Semper fi.”

Kline nodded and the pilot led ten thousand, small, heavily shielded ships out to the galactic edge.

• • •

Jingo commed Grang, “You have the first generation Black Ships. “I’m going after the next one that was developed. The Searchers and Algeans are taking on the other three fleets. Use your Algeans to link and be safe, my brother.”

“I will.”

“You don’t have anything else to say?”

“I don’t need to; you already know.”

Jingo smiled and said to himself, “Yes, I do.” He looked out of the view port at the stars glowing brilliantly against the blackness of open space and said, “This is for you, Scotty.” The two fleets jumped out to join the five Psychic Ships waiting for the enemy to arrive at the galactic edge.

The Empire’s Searchers and Algeans that were flying the advanced ships stayed at the Milky Way’s central regions in orbit around thousands of planets. The linked fleets waited for the Black Ships to arrive before jumping out to the edge. They didn’t want the Demons to know just how many ships the Empire had to use against them.

The Demons were sending twenty million ships to destroy the galaxy of their enemy. What they didn’t know was that the enemy had twenty three million ships waiting for them and all of them were coated in reflective hulls and were linked by the combined intelligence of the Algeans. The Demon Fleets only saw a million ships waiting for them. The handle was being turned on the Jack-in-the-Box and the clown was about to spring out. The Algeans would have every Black Ship targeted and assigned to a warship or a Life Warrior in less than ten seconds. The coming battle was one that was made to be told over the ages. If any survived to tell it.

• • •

The Controller saw the million white ships waiting at the Galaxy’s edge and scanned into the large spiral galaxy. There were large numbers of ships at the planets but he couldn’t determine if they were warships or not. If they were warships, they should be supporting the five large ships and they weren’t. It didn’t really matter; the fleets were just a distraction to get the five ships separated. The real power was their orange ships. Nothing could stand up to the dimensional energy weapons. He looked at his board and saw all the rest of the orange ships had arrived. He pushed a key and the largest space battle ever witnessed began. Twenty million ships jumped out of the Demon Dimension and out to the edge of the troublesome galaxy.

• • •

The Algean Elder thought, “Alert, alert, jump to your targets upon receipt of its coordinates.”

The twenty million plus ships started disappearing in huge numbers within two seconds. The Demon fleets that were moving in on the million ships in front of them were staggered by the wave front of ships blowing into their front ranks.

Jingo said, “Take us to the early model Black Ships.” Jingo and Grang’s fleets arrived at the two older Demon fleets and blew into them like a tornado into a cornfield. Blasted Black Ships were blown apart and scattered in the wake of the attacking white ships. Jingo watched as the Madeline Robbins moved between two giant Black Ships and blew thousand yard holes through them with its main beams. It looped around and took out two more that were attempting to escape another Empire Ship. None of the white ships stayed in one place long enough to be targeted by multiple Black Ships.

• • •

Kline appeared on the bridge of an advanced Black Ship. He swung both his arms out firing a high intensity laser around the room and watched as every orange being on board was cut in half. The teleport hornet left his chest and accelerated across the room as the teleport field expanded at a three hundred yards a second. As soon as it flew across the room, Kline teleported out and was taken to another ship by his pilot.