Exodus: Empires at War: Book 3: The Rising Storm Read online

  Exodus: Empires At War: Book 3

  The Rising Storm

  A Book of Interstellar War

  By

  Doug Dandridge

  “Take that,” yelled the Tactical Officer, getting lock on the now straight path missile. A laser shot out, full power, full one second duration, striking the missile dead on and exploding it in space. Antimatter broke containment, flooding space with radiation.

  “Electromag field is handling the radiation,” called out a tech on one of the ship defense boards. “Can’t say how long that will last, ma’am. The strain of handling the normal radiation of this place was bad enough.”

  “And that radiation will only last for about thirty seconds before it all falls back into normal space,” said the Sensor Officer.

  “Which really won’t do us any good,” said Mei in a whisper. “We’ll be through the cloud in a few seconds, but the damage will be done.”

  “Targeting second missile,” called out the Tactical Officer. Laser A started cycling through its firing sequence, trying to hit the moving target. The fully functional ship would have taken a single missile out in a moment, and only a saturation attack would have made it through. Now it had trouble with just the one.

  The second missile actually got closer to the ship before being taken out, and the radiation storm was much worse. The electromag screens took up most of the charged particles, but allowed the neutrons through, causing more damage to the ship’s systems and to the organics within.

  “Sensory skin degraded thirty-four percent,” called out the Sensor Officer.

  “Electromag field is at critical,” yelled the tech who was monitoring that system. “Working at twenty-three percent of optimal.”

  The next missiles came in as a pair, making it even harder to target them, especially with degraded sensor systems. The A ring brought one missile under fire, while the much reduced B ring fired at the other.

  “Fire plasma torpedo,” yelled the Captain, standing up from her seat. “Now.”

  The ship bucked slightly as it released ten tons of superheated plasma. It moved out at point nine light, a tenth of light speed faster than the launching ship. Its following capsule converted to energy as soon as it left Jean de Arc’s hyper field, it started to expand as soon as it left the launch tube, and a ton of it dropped out of hyperspace each second, turning it into a growing but evaporating ball. Still, it lasted long enough to hit one of the incoming missiles, which could not figure out how to avoid an object already twenty kilometers wide at that point. The closing speed of over point nine light shattered the missile as soon as it contacted the cloud. Antimatter hit matter plasma and released more energy, sending a flood of elementary particle into the near space.

  The Captain felt the sickness come on and knew that the ship was being filled with killing radiation. A quick check of her implant showed that she had already taken a lethal dose, but that could be corrected, if they made it out of this mess.

  The second of the pair took a direct hit from ring A and exploded far enough away to do no additional damage. Which left the last two that were coming in. A ring tracked on one missile, missing multiple times before getting a hit. Not enough of one to destroy, just enough to cause the missile to lose lock for a moment. The missile reacquired, then was hit full on by another shot, blasting it out of space.

  The second missile avoided the weakened B ring. The pair of hits were too cursory and weak to do much to the missile, and it bore in to strike the ship on the upper hyperdrive projector. The weapon was not a capital ship killer, detonating with a mere two hundred megatons of force. The missile and three quarters of the projector went up in vapor, and the explosion ripped two hundred meters into the hull of the ship, stopped only by the underlying central capsule.

  The Captain was flung to the limits of the straps holding her in her chair, her armor absorbing much of the force. The telltale feel of a concussion rattled her mind, and she was confused for a moment, wondering what the loud warbling noise in the background meant. She cleared her head, still nauseated from the radiation sickness, and looked around the bridge at the confused crew.

  “Report,” she croaked, hoping she would get a reply.

  “We’ve been hit, hard,” said the Tactical Officer. “That last missile really knocked the shit out of us.”

  “I could tell that,” said the Captain, grimacing. “Medical. Emergency distribution of nanites. Now.” She could tell that some of her nanites, probably most of them, had been knocked out by the radiation storm. Medical would have shielded supplies, enough for the entire crew. And they needed them now.

  “Damage control,” she called out next, noting that her implant was not bringing schematic information into her mind. “What’s the condition?”

  “We have damage to all systems, across the board,” came the hazy voice of the officer in Damage Control. “Electromag still working, but the system is straining to handle the normal radiation load. Three quarters of our functional grabbers are down, and I’m not sure how many we can make operational. Hangars 1 and 3 have been obliterated, as have outer decks one through fifteen in the central dorsal region. Central Capsule B has a ruptured skin. And Laser B is totally inoperative.”

  My God, thought the Captain, putting her face in her hands. What will the butcher’s bill be? She looked back at the tactical plot, seeing another pair of missiles following them, and a minute back another pair. “Get on those repairs.”

  One of the missiles disappeared from the plot, and the Tactical Officer smiled. “Those following weapons are much easier to deal with,” he said.

  “Captain,” called out a strained voice over the com.

  “What is it, Engineer?”

  Lt. Commander Jose Hernandez hesitated for a moment. “The upper hyperprojector is completely destroyed.”

  “Can it be rebuilt?” asked the Captain, afraid of the answer.

  “There’s almost nothing left of the unit, Captain,” said Hernnadez. “Rebuild is impossible.”

  “It seems the other unit is keeping us in hyper,” said Mei, looking at her side viewer that showed they were still in the presence of hyperspace.

  “The one unit can keep us in hyper, Captain. That isn’t the problem.”

  “So what is the problem, Engineer?” said Mei, knowing that she was missing something, and with a foggy brain not able to figure out what it was.

  “It takes much more power to go in and out of hyper, ma’am,” said the Engineer, taking a deep breath before continuing. “We have enough projector power to maintain ourselves in hyper. But we cannot leave, except by catastrophic translation.”

  “Oh,” said the Captain, the predicament finally getting through to her. “And how long can we maintain our presence in hyper IV. I’m assuming it isn’t indefinite.”

  “No, ma’am,” said the Engineer. “We have enough antimatter to maintain ourselves in hyper for two weeks and two days. After that there’s nothing we can do to prevent our dropping back into normal space.”

  And we won’t survive another trip like that, thought the Captain. That first was a once in a lifetime chance, and we don’t get a second.

  Dedication

  This novel is dedicated to writer Jerry Pournelle. Your vision of future warfare captured my imagination, both in the manner in which it pointed out what would be change, but also in what would stay the same. The warriors would be much as they always were, despite the changes in technology, and even the changes in their own genetics. They would remain human, with all the strengths and weaknesses that entailed. Thank you for your vision.

  Contact me at [email protected]


  Follow my Blog at http://dougdandridge.com

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  Copyright © 2013 Doug Dandridge

  All rights reserved.

  Please respect the hard work of this author. If you found this book for free on a pirate site, please visit Amazon and buy a copy of your own. I feel that I charge a reasonable price for this work.

  For more information on the Exodus Universe, visit http://dougdandridge.net for maps, sketches and other details of this work.

  Acknowledgements: I would like to thank all of my fans, especially those who sent emails or commented on blogs about how much they enjoyed the first two books of this series. Your kind words gave me the impetus to continue through the not so kind words left in some reviews. And special thanks to John Engelman, who helped with the proofing of this book. The lack of many errors was due to his diligence, and any mistakes that remain are my fault entirely.

  Books by Doug Dandridge

  Doug Dandridge’s Author Page at Amazon

  Science Fiction

  The Exodus Series

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 1

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 3: The Rising Storm.

  The Deep Dark Well Series

  The Deep Dark Well

  To Well and Back

  Deeper and Darker (coming Summer/Fall 2013)

  Others

  The Shadows of the Multiverse

  Diamonds in the Sand

  The Scorpion

  Afterlife

  We Are Death, Come for You

  Fantasy

  The Refuge Series

  Refuge: The Arrival: Book 1

  Refuge: The Arrival: Book 2

  Doppelganger: A Novel of Refuge

  Others

  The Hunger

  Daemon

  Aura

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  Cast of Characters

  The Capital

  Grand High Admiral Gabriel Len Lenkowski: the Chief of Naval Operations

  Field Marshal Betty Parker: Commandant of the Imperial Marine Corps

  Grand Marshal Mishori Yamakuri: Army Chief of Staff.

  Jakobe McGregor: Director Imperial Investigation Bureau.

  Countess Judy Decker. Sergeant of Arms of the Lords

  Count Hector Romanov Sutter. Third Cousin to the Emperor

  Commander Zhen Yin. former naval commando and adjutant to Admiral Lenkowski.

  Interim Prime Minister Theo Streeter: Duke of Coventry.

  HIMS Joan de Arc (HBC 2984)

  Captain Dame Mei Lei: Commander of HIMS Joan de Arc (HBC 2984). Member Fourth Fleet Scout Force. Born Year 936 (64 years old).

  Commander Xavier Jackson: XO.

  Lt. Commander Jose Hernandez: Assistant Chief Engineer and acting Chief Engineer.

  Prince Sean Ogden Lee Romanov: Born Year 971 (29 years old). Fifth child and the third son of the Emperor Augustine Romanov, Heir to the Throne of Empire.

  Lieutenant Lance Tucker: Former sergeant and Officer in Charge of the Heir’s Security Detail.

  Gunnery Sergeant Gertrude Johanson: Former private and Senior Sergeant of the Heir’s Security Detail.

  HIMS Johann Peterson (DD 26575)/

  Dot McArthur, DDF 63587

  Lt Commander Maurice von Rittersdorf: Commander HIMS Johann Peterson (DD 26575). Born Year 962 (38 years old). then Commander H VII Destroyer Dot MacArthur.

  Ensign Lasardo: tactical officer

  HIMS Seastag (Stealth/Attack 421)

  Commander Bryce Suttler: Commander HIMS Seastag (Stealth Attack 421). One of new generation of wormhole sink stealth attacks. Born Year 955 (45 years old).

  Lieutenant SG Walter Ngovic. Tactical

  Vice Admiral Sheila Mtwambe: the head of the Silent Service, as they were called, at least for Sector IV.

  The Donut

  Doctor Lucille Yu, PhD: Assistant Chief Scientist and Engineer of the Donut Project. Born Year 928 (72 years old).

  Jimmy Chung: IIA Agent in Charge, Donut.

  Captain Matthew Callahan: Fleet Intelligence Officer on the Donut.

  Sestius IV, F2 Star

  Cornelius Walborski: New settler and farmer to frontier world Sestius IV, and member of the local militia. Born Year 973 (27 years old)., from New Detroit, now Neu Romney

  Katlyn Walborski: Cornelius’ wife.

  Doctor Jennifer Conway: Physician and fiancé’ of Captain Glen McKinnon.

  Captain Glen McKinnon: Captain Imperial Marine Corps.

  Senior Sergeant Hogan: Imperial Marine Corps NCO.

  Lt. Colonel Samantha Thomas: commander of the independent medium infantry battalion

  Colonel Samuel Baggett: Executive Officer, First of the 789th Infantry (Light), 988th Infantry Division. Born Year 941 (59 years old). (Colonel at Sestius, Frederick defense).

  Sergeant Major Terry Zacharias: Senior NCO in Baggett’s battalion, and on Sestius.

  Colonel Walther Jodel, The Preacher: Former Special Ops Officer, retired to Sestius.

  Conundrum III: Sector Four HQ.

  Grand Fleet Admiral Duke Taelis Mgonda: Admiral in command of 4th Naval District. Born Year 863 (137 years old).

  Commodore Blake Griffith: battleship squadron commander. HIMS Smaug.

  Commodore Jacqueline Murphy: the commander of the superbattleship squadron.

  Commodore Blanca Gomez: Sector Four Fleet Intelligence Officer.

  Rear Admiral Joshua Peritelli: Commander Hyper VI Scout Force, Sector Four.

  Hyper VII Scout Force, Sector Four.

  Rear Admiral Mara Montgomery. Commander, Hyper VII Scout Force, Sector Four.

  Captain Josia Greenefield. Flag Captain of Scout Force.

  Captain Broderick Stafford. Captain of Scout Force Flagship Sir Galahad.

  Commodore Conridus Basingee. Task Group Commander, Scout Force Four.

  Lt. Commander Samantha Ogden Lee. Flag Com Officer, Scout Force Four, and cousin to Sean.

  Ca’cadasans

  Great Admiral Miierrowanasa M’tinisasitow: Ca’cadasan conquest fleet commander. Born 2843 AD (1,418 years old).

  Group leader Thiaxoquillana: Ca'cadasan cruiser group leader

  Admiral Hresstilokahaz: leader of Ca'cadasan relief force to Sestius.

  Brigade Leader of Ground Forces Groptalangolar: Commander of Ca’cadasan Ground Forces on Sestius.

  Officer of Scouts Hrenderixilix: Scout Platoon Leader, Sestius.

  Elysium

  Archduke Horatio Alexanderopolis: His Imperial Majesty’s Ambassador to the Court of the Elysium Empire. Born Year 821 (179 years old).

  High Lord Grarakakak, Brakakak: High Lord of Elysium Empire.

  Brigadier General Connie Contovy: Military Attaché to the Embassy.

  Gertrude Bauman: IIA Station Chief.

  Others

  Ahmadhi-ghasta Mallakan: Grand High Bishop of Lasharan Jakarja Lashana (Church of the Gods Vengeful). Born Year 915 (85 years old).

  Chief Petty Officer First Jana Gorbachev: Chief of Laser Ring B, BB Sergiov, now prisoner of Ca’cadasans.

  Timeline

  2151 AD: Hiro Yamamoto discovers subspace portal generator. Opens subspace dimension to transport of human colonists.

  2160 AD: Alpha Centauri B4 colony established.

  2173 AD: Tau Ceti III colony established.

  2208 AD: Humanity has spread to eight inhabitable systems within 20 light years of Sol.

  2250 AD: 12 million humans living outside of the solar system.

  2254 AD: First contact with Ca’cadasans on Epsilon Iridani V. Human colony destroyed without warning or trace. Incoming ship discovers colony destroyed and runs back to human space with news.

  2256 AD: Human colony at Altair V attacked and destroyed.

  2257 AD: United Solar System Fleet established to fight alien threat.

  2260 AD: Battle of Tau Ceti, humans meet Ca’cada
sans with a five to one advantage in mass and are handily defeated.

  2261 AD: Construction started on the six Exodus ships to allow some of humanity to make it to safety outside of human space.

  2264 AD: Ca’cadasans, having destroyed all of humanity’s colonies, attack the solar system in force. Five completed Exodus ships attempt to leave the system under heavy escort. Two are destroyed before they can make it into subspace. Two enter subspace with pursuit, while Exodus III makes a clean breakaway into subspace.

  2264 - 3260 AD: The Long Voyage. With several fueling stops and explorations, Exodus III travels along the galactic rim and toward the core, traversing 9,760 light years from Sol.

  3261 AD: Supersystem discovered, along with remains of ancient civilization that had once owned it. First human colony founded on Jewel. Year 1 of New Human Empire.

  3268 AD (Year 8): Humans make contact with traveling merchant ship from Elysium Empire. Discover thriving civilizations that sprung from the ancient civilization that used to inhabit the Supersystem.

  3361 AD (Year 100): Population 2,000,000+. Establishment of the Fleet.

  3460 AD (Year 199): Beginning of Terraforming projects around super system.

  3573 to 3579 AD (Year 312 to 318): First Gardasian War, human victory.

  3589 to 3592 AD (Year 328 to 331): Second Gardasian War, human victory, Gardasian race absorbed into human empire.

  3619 to 3621 AD (Year 358 to 361): First Markanan War, human victory.

  3669 to 3676 AD (Year 408 to 415): Second Markanan War, human victory, Markanans absorbed into human empire.

  3696 to 3698 AD (Year 435 to 437): Kiniman War, Kiniman race absorbed into the human empire.