Exodus: Empires at War: Book 14: Rebellion. Read online

  Exodus:

  Empires at War:

  Book 14:

  Rebellion.

  by

  Doug Dandridge

  Dedication

  This novel is dedicated to all of the amazing fans who have approached me at cons, who with their kind words make all of the work worth while. You are all awesome, and because of you I am living the dream.

  Contact me at [email protected]

  Follow my Blog at http://dougdandridge.com

  Follow me at @BrotherofCats

  Copyright © 2018 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. I would like to thank Ruth de Jauregui for the wonderful job she has done lettering my books. And finally, I would like to thank Larry Southard, probably my biggest, and definitely most vocal, fan..

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

  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.

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 4: the Long Fall.

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 5: Ranger

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 6: The Day of Battle

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 7: Counter Strike:

  Exodus: Empires at War Book 8: Soldiers

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 9: Second Front.

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 10: Search & Destroy.

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 11: Day of Infamy.

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 12: Time Strike.

  Exodus: Empires at War: Book 13: Retaliation.

  Exodus: Tales of the Empire: Exploration Command:

  Exodus: Tales of the Empire: Beast of the Frontier.

  Exodus: Machine Wars: Book 1: Supernova.

  Exodus: Machine Wars: Book 2: Bolthole.

  Exodus: Machine War: Book 3: Death From Above.

  Exodus: Machine War: Book 4: Retribution

  The Deep Dark Well Series

  The Deep Dark Well

  To Well and Back

  Deeper and Darker

  Theocracy

  Theocracy: Book 2

  Others

  The Shadows of the Multiverse

  Diamonds in the Sand

  The Scorpion

  Afterlife

  We Are Death, Come for You

  Five By Five 3: Target Zone:

  A Fistfull of Credits Anthology.

  Lockdown: Zombie Anthology.

  The Prometheus Saga: A Science Fiction Anthology

  Apocalypse: A Fiction River Anthology.

  Fantasy

  The Refuge Series

  Refuge: The Arrival: Book 1

  Refuge: The Arrival: Book 2

  Refuge: Book 3: The Legions

  Refuge: Book 4: Kurt’s Quest:

  Refuge: Book 5: Angels & Demons

  Doppelganger: A Novel of Refuge

  Others

  The Hunger

  Daemon

  Aura

  Marathon

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  Cast of Characters

  The Capital

  Emperor Sean Ogden Lee Romanov: Emperor of New Terran Empire.

  Empress Jennifer Conway Romanov: Sean’s Wife and Physician.

  Grand High Admiral Sondra McCullom: Chief of Naval Operations.

  Admiral Ekaterina Sergiov: Chief of Imperial Combined Intelligence Service.

  Grand Marshal Mishori Yamakuri: Army Chief of Staff.

  Prime Minister Countess Haruko Kawasaki.

  Baron Emile von Hauser: Leader of the Lords in Parliament

  The Fleet

  Grand Fleet Admiral Duke Taelis Mgonda: Commander Battle Fleet Two.

  Grand Fleet Admiral Gabriel Len Lenkowski: Commander: Battle Fleet One.

  Vice Admiral Duchess Mei Lei: Commander Battle Fleet One Scout Force.

  Vice Admiral Chuntoa Chan: Head Fleet Research and Development.

  Rear Admiral Stanford Bennington: Commander, Battle Fleet One Battle Squadron Alpha.

  Rear Admiral Bryce Suttler: Commander, Stealth/Attack Force, Battle Fleet One.

  Admiral Conrad Alvera: Commander Battle Force Omega, Battle Fleet One.

  Commodore Theodocia Rodriguez: Commander Fleet Carrier Zukaku Task Force.

  Captain Wilma Snyder: Warp fighter wing commander.

  Captain Sergei Yankovick: Captain of the BC Jean de Arc.

  Imperial Army

  Cornelius Walborski: The Hunter. Ranger General and three time holder of the Imperial Medal of Heroism.

  The Republic

  President Julia Graham: Elected head of the New Terran Republic.

  Ca’cadasans

  Jresstratta V: Supreme Emperor of the Ca’cadasan Empire.

  Over-prelate Norrasta: Prince of the Chuch of Ca’cadasa. Just below the Primate in rank.

  Supreme Admiral Kelgarasse: Supreme Admiral of the Ca’cadasan Fleet.

  General Fresstas: Chief of Staff of the Imperial Ca’cadasan Army.

  Pellishar: Chief of the Ca’cadasan Secret Police and overall head of security.

  Great Admiral Mrarrara: CIC of Ca’cadasan Home Fleet.

  Low Admiral Grassafa: Commander of Bait Fleet.

  Maurids

  Mrrarraras: Stripped Wolf, Intelligence Operative and leader of Maurid Resistance.

  Prologue

  JANUARY 30TH, 1004. NEW TERRAN EMPIRE HOME SYSTEM.

  “How goes the fleet?” asked the supreme commander of the Imperial military, the Emperor Sean Ogden Lee Romanov, the first of his name.

  “As well as can be expected, your Majesty,” answered Grand Fleet Admiral Gabriel Len Lenkowski, the commander of one of the two battlefleets that had been forging into Ca’cadasan space.

  One of the three, thought the Emperor, looking into the eyes of the holographic projection of the older man. The New Terran Republic, their other still extant human ally in this theater of the war, was back in the fight. They had sat out the last offensive, reorganizing their own house, repairing the damage left by the Cacas. Now they were ready to go on the offensive, piggybacking a large force of the reptilian Crakista with them to form a battle fleet the equal of the two from the Empire.

  Len’s fleet had been designated Battle Fleet One, and consisted of thousands of ships in a half dozen smaller units also designated fleets. These were further divided into Task Groups, which spawn several Task Forces, made up of squadrons. It was an unwieldy structure, but one that worked, and one that made it possible to form and disband groups on the fly. Taelis Mgonda ran Battle Fleet Two, while the Republic fleet was Three, according to the Imperial tables of organization.

  “We could use some more time,” continued the admiral, shaking his head. “Not so much to prepare the ships. I know we’re not going to get the time to make up all of our losses. But the veteran crews are frankly, um, tired, and ships are damaged. And I don’t feel an overload of trust in the newbies.”

  Sean nodded. He had seen the battle damage reports. They had lost a lot of ships. Even more had suffered extreme damage, and would be in the hands of the yard dogs for some months. New ships had come up, as well as those repaired from damage suffered in earlier
battles. But there were many green spacers among their crews. Those people could use a longer shakedown and training period, getting their skills up to snuff. But they weren’t going to get it.

  “The people will just have to grow up in action, Admiral. I don’t like it, but there it is.”

  “I have to second Len’s sentiments,” said one of the other people attending the conference through wormhole com. “My staff is very concerned about the ability of the new squadrons to integrate into our command structure and function as a whole.”

  This one was as dark skinned as Lenkowski was fair. Duke Taelis Mgonda was an old friend of the other admiral, and matched him in strategic and tactical ability. His fleet had forged into Caca space from the territory of the old Fenri Empire. That empire no longer existed, and Sean’s Empire was busy reorganizing it as an independent republic. It would be good practice for what they might have to do with the Ca’cadasan Empire, assuming they won this thing. Of course, with all the old hatreds within the Fenri Empire, it might actually have been better to organize it as a score or more of nations. Something that still might happen.

  “But you can fight?” he asked, looking over at the duke. “You know that the Klavarta are counting on us. The longer we are sitting around doing nothing the more forces the Cacas can transfer to that front.”

  The Emperor looked over at the holo map hanging in the air at one side of the table. The entire enormous Ca’cadasan Empire was represented on that map. They had very good knowledge of its environs on both fronts, where the forces of the allies faced the enemy. Most of the rest of that vast space was Terra Incognita. They thought they had a good idea of the resources that space represented, but in reality they just didn’t know. What they didn’t know could hurt them.

  The Klavarta, the genetically engineered descendants of the second Exodus ship to make it away from the doomed Earth two thousand years before, were also in the war. They were launching their own offensive, and were counting on the other forces of the alliance to keep the Cacas from building up their forces on their border. Much as Sean was counting on the Klavarta for the same thing.

  Now that the Cacas had wormhole tech, despite the disparity in the number they could deploy versus the two human powers, they could still gate ships from one front to the other in days. Versus the months it took them through hyperspace. They could move forces back and forth as fire brigades. In the long run it would wear those forces out. In the short run it would allow them to inflict greater casualties on the fleets of both human powers.

  “We really could use those ships and wormholes,” said the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Sondra McCullom. She held up a hand before the Emperor could speak. “I know. They need them as well. But those wormholes aren’t benefiting anyone for the months they’re in transit.”

  “That’s true,” said Sean, looking back at the map. The Republic of New Earth, as the Klavarta were now calling themselves, didn’t have a Donut, the enormous station that the Empire used to create dozens of wormholes a day. They needed what the empire could give them, which now amounted to many hundreds of the devices. The Empire had tens of thousands of them, and had a use for every one they had. Since they couldn’t transport wormholes through wormholes, they had to send them the old-fashioned way, by hyper capable ships. Some of those ships were lost in transit, and every wormhole sent took five months to get to the other front. “Unfortunately, they need them as well. And there’s only one way to get them to them. They don’t have enough to use them en mass as weapons systems, after all.”

  At least the Klavarta were building their own missile preacceleration tubes, and enormous particle beam accelerators. But they didn’t have enough, and were still tapping into those of the Donut for battle. And they needed most of the wormholes they had for force transport and communications.

  “So, what do you think about the next set of targets?” he asked, anxious to change the subject since he couldn’t do anything about ship or wormhole availability.

  “I think we need to bypass most of them and go for something a little further into their empire,” said Len, raising an eyebrow.

  “And leave their forces in our rear?” asked an incredulous McCullom.

  “We can hit their fleet forces with ours, cripple them, while the main fleet forges on,” said Len, pointing a finger and calling up a holo overlay on the map. “You’re the expert on ancient history, your Majesty. What do you remember of the Pacific strategy of the Americans in the Second Global War. McArthur in the south, Nimitz in the center?”

  “They bypassed the Japanese, letting them wither on the vine,” said Sean, his eyes widening before a smile crossed his face. “They bypassed most of the Japanese Army, while establishing air and naval bases for the next jump forward.”

  “And that’s what I think we should do. Those Caca land troops sitting in single systems are really no threat to our fleet. We establish forward bases, and gate in everything we need to service the fleet and defend the system.”

  “And what do you plan to do about their shipyards in those systems you bypass?” asked McCullom, clearly not liking the idea.

  “We take out what ships they already have there,” said Mgonda, his own smile growing. “And we put a squadron of faster than light fighters in each system. That’s something we can afford, right? And they sweep in and take out any ships before they’re ready for action. I think that would work.”

  “I, think it will, Taelis, Len,” said Sean, smiling as he looked back and forth at the images of his two admirals. “Go ahead and work on the operational plans to put that strategy in motion.”

  “And I’m wondering if we might want to stop building inertialess fighters,” said Mgonda, glancing over at McCullom, who was shaking her head. “The Alcubierre fighters are so much more efficient. So much more powerful in offense and defense.”

  “And if we didn’t have the inertial rebound weapons, that would be true,” said McCullom, looking at Sean and ignoring her subordinate admirals. “Only the inertialess fighters can launch those weapons. For now.”

  “For now?” asked Sean, wondering what project they might have in the works that he hadn’t been read into. Not from any desire to get something past him, he understood, but R & D often worked projects for no return, just to see if they were feasible.

  “Chan is working on inertialess drive missiles,” said McCullom, a guilty look coming over her face at holding back information from her monarch. “We didn’t think you needed any more on your plate, your Majesty. And we’re still not sure if they’re going to be something we can use.”

  “But are they something we can build?”

  “Most probably. They only use existing technologies, after all. Though we are having some problems with coming up with a guidance system. We can’t put Klassekians on board as suicide pilots, after all.”

  “Not even volunteers?” asked Mgonda with a smile, recoiling at the looks of the others. “I was joking.”

  Sean stared at the man for a moment. Mgonda probably was joking, but he was a fleet commander, used to issuing orders which got a lot of people killed. He probably wouldn’t be averse to letting members of his command volunteer for suicide missions, if it saved more lives in the long run.

  “We’ll keep producing the inertialess fighters, then,” he finally commanded. “Though I have to agree with Taelis that we can use more of the warp fighters. Especially if we’re going to implement this new strategy.”

  He sat there for a minute, thinking. Like all such meetings, this one would have implications. People would live or die depending on what they decided. No matter what they decided, people would live or die. What mattered was how many, and what their deaths bought in the grand scheme of things in this war. And the final decision always came back to him. Even though he was probably the brightest person in this conference, he was also the least experienced in naval matters. He could let his staff make the decisions, but that would be the coward’s way out.

  “How lo
ng until we can kick the next phase of the offensive off?” he asked, looking around the table. He wanted it to go off tomorrow, if possible. He wanted this thing over, but it didn’t always work that way.

  “A month?” asked Mgonda, looking at Len.

  “I would prefer six weeks,” said Lenkowski, shaking his head.

  “Six weeks it is,” said Sean, nodding to the CNO. “But I want aggressive patrolling and scouting during the preparation period. I don’t want the bastards pulling something on us while we leave them alone.”

  “We’ll do what we can, your Majesty,” said Len.

  At a nod from Sean everyone not actually there left the conference, their holos fading. He was left with his CNO, who started to get up from her seat.

  “Stay for a moment, Sondra.”

  “Your Majesty?”

  “I just wanted to let you know how satisfied I am with your attention to duty. It may not have seemed that way in the past, but I think I’ve grown to appreciate how much you are respected in the Fleet. There is no one I would rather have in charge.”

  McCullom looked shocked for a moment. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

  “That will be all, Admiral,” he said, letting her off the hook, since she didn’t seem able to respond to the praise.

  McCullom nodded and walked out the door.

  Sean sat in his seat for some more minutes, staring at the holo of the battlefront. Hoping something else would come to him, some master stroke that would end the slaughter. But no matter how long he thought, it was still looking like the only way they were going to win this thing was a long, drawn out death match.

  * * *

  FEBRUARY 1ST, 1004. CA’CADASAN EMPIRE HOME SYSTEM.

  “What do you have for me?” asked the Emperor Jresstratta V, Supreme Ruler of the Ca'cadasan Empire.

  He sat on the throne in the makeshift audience room, what he had while the palace was under repair. The one-hundred-meter-long by sixty wide room, with its plain walls and a mere smattering out artwork along the walls, was not what the Emperor of his people was used to. But it was what they had, until the palace could be repaired. And the rest of the city with it.