The Alliance fleet disappeared from the Glod system.
Sten said, How many ships did you say they had?
At their last inventory they had about 4,400 but we have on record 800 of their ships being destroyed by the Humans. That leaves 3,600. I suspect that they have those other 600 scattered among their colony worlds. Either way, the majority of their fleet is in the Glod system.
Then we continue as planned. If their ships were in the Human system, we would attack Glod first to try our new draining device. Theres no good reason to fight 3,000 ships when the humans only have a hundred. How long until the fleet is ready? he asked Dgzh.
Counting the last 400 to jump in, we only have 300 ships left to arrive to complete our roster.
Forget the last 300, they can merge later. Get the fleet organized now; how long, Headman?
At least one rotation to organize and one more to assign jump coordinates then we will be ready to jump.
Notify the draining dreadnaughts that they need to be prepared to leave at that time.
Yes State leader, it will be done.
Tag jumped in to Earth and went directly to Kosievs Bridge, What happened?
The 5,000 ships jumped into the Glod system, took a ship count, and left. Now the fleet is shaking itself down in preparation to jump. Those big dreadnaughts with the machinery on board are also moving away from the planet out to the star drive limit; looks like its going to be show time shortly.
Tag pressed his com and said, Director Nicole.
After a moment he heard, Yes Tag, what can I do for you?
Tag then explained to her that they were going to manipulate the screen surrounding the planet to try and draw the Alliance fleet in close to the planet. To prevent a general panic in Earths population, she needed to give a warning of what to expect.
Kosiev sat there and thought, Why didnt I think of that? Then he knew he saw only his piece of the puzzle. This young man seemed to see all the pieces at once.
Youre right, Director Nicole said, Ill get it out immediately.
You might also let everyone know that we may let a few beams thru into things like the ocean or desert. Dont be afraid if that happens. The Director disappeared from his com.
Well, Admiral. Would you like some popcorn? We have a few hours to waste until they come calling.
Kosiev said, Absolutely, and Ill have butter on mine. Ill be jumping out to Ross with the other Ultra Ships shortly but theres always time for popcorn. I have no idea why I dont weigh as much as a Glod with all the popcorn I consume. What are you going to do?
Im going to hide the Ultra Ship Atlanta on the Earths surface and keep tabs on what the Alliance is going to do. I also intend to help Colonel Taz play with the screen.
Kosiev stopped his hand halfway to his mouth and said, Ive heard what youre like when youre trying to fool someone. I almost feel sorry for those Alliance ships. Please notice I said almost.
They laughed and continued to eat their pop corn.
State Leader Sten and Headman Dgzh watched as their fleet sorted itself out. Sten said, That is the largest fleet weve ever put together in our long history.
It is huge and looks invincible.
Sten looked at him and said, So why am I so nervous about this venture?
Dgzh continued to look at the fleet and without moving his head said, The Humans have been one step ahead of us every step of the way. I dont care what the Vgrig Warleader says; I wouldnt be surprised if the Humans turned up with a thousand ships or none. They will prove to be unpredictable whatever happens.
What happens to us if we lose this battle?
Dgzh looked at him and said, We dont need to worry about us. If we lose 17,000 ships we probably wont have an Alliance to worry about. This is a critical moment in our history.
Sten watched the fleet and continued to worry.
The Vgrig Warleader looked at all his assembled ships and thought of the majesty of the moment. Now was the time for a great victory. Not only would his people grow in esteem but he can claim whatever prize he wanted. He would also have an entire planet to torture and punish for his earlier defeat. He looked forward to starting this operation. He turned in his chair and asked his communication officer Is the fleet ready?
Yes it is, Warleader.
Open a Communication channel to all ships, he said and waited for the light on his console to light up. After a moment it turned on and he pressed the com channel, I want to make sure that everyone understands out plan. We will enter the Human system at the orbit of their outermost planet and begin moving in. I want every square inch of their system gone over thoroughly with our sensors to ensure there arent any surprises waiting for us. We will move in toward the planet and tighten our fleet formations as we advance. No one gets closer than 50,000 miles from the planet. The dreadnaughts will begin draining their screen as soon as we make sure that the system is clear of ships. We will divide our fleet in half once we arrive at the planet. Half will stay at the planet to make sure no one escapes and the other half will proceed to the jump limit to prevent anyone coming in to rescue these humans. Prepare to jump in 10 dregs. The Warleader then leaned back in his chair and thought that he was being cautious having half the fleet at the jump limit. After his last experience, he wasnt taking any chances. He was going to be with those at the jump limit just to make sure he would have an escape just in case things got ugly. He had seen firsthand how quickly things could go wrong. It wasnt that he wasnt brave; he just wasnt stupid.
One dreg to jump, his ship leader informed him.
He leaned forward and thought, What are they planning this time? then his ship jumped.
Chapter 13
T ag watched his feed from the passive sensor in the Central Alliance System and saw all the ships getting into formation. He was sitting in the main control room of the Asteroid Defense Center watching the screen with Colonel Taz. They should be jumping in shortly, Colonel Taz said. Where are the ships you want to bring inside the screen?
Theyre at Mars orbit. Were going to hold them there until the Alliance fleet arrives and can see them on sensors. Were not sure how the Alliance will approach their invasion and well have to wait to plan our response. What are your plans on deceiving them about our screen?
Ive set screen depth at 72 feet. Thats slightly bigger than it was after the last attack but it should make them think its all weve got.
How much depth do you really have?
Colonel Taz touched a switch on his console and looked at the result then said, About 124 feet.
Tag whistled and then said, I know our engineers dont put much stock in their ability to drain our energy but they really dont know how effective those dreadnaughts will be. Once they start their operation Ill need an estimate of how effective they are. If they are making a big dent in our reserves, we may have to attack them without the support of your fortresses.
Colonel Taz glanced at another screen and said, We have taken these asteroids almost to the suns outer corona to fully charge them and it took a week to reach full charge. I just dont see 800 ships draining our screen; I dont care how large they are.
Science is funny, Colonel, you just never know until it starts operating. Here we go; some of the Alliance ships just disappeared from the feed. Theyre on their way; notify Kosiev and send him a feed on whats taking place.
Yes sir, right away.
Seventeen thousand Alliance ships jumped into Earths solar system. They arrived in a globular formation even with Neptunes orbit with the Earth at the center. They then began moving in system running back and forth between their ships making sure that all space was checked for unpowered ships lying in wait. They didnt rush but took their time scanning the outer reaches of the solar system and moved slowly and inexorably in toward the planet Earth. When the Alliance ships reached the Star drive limit the 800 Draining Dreadnaughts jumped in and joined the fleet. By that time they were inside the orbit of Jupiter and could clearly see the 97 Earth ships at the orbit of mars. The Alliance Fleet ignored the Earth ships and continued scanning for other hidden ships. The distance between the ships in the huge fleet diminished as the globe became smaller as it moved closer and closer to the inner planets. Suddenly the Earth Ships gathered at Mars orbit turned and ran back to Earth and landed on the Planet.