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  “Wolves at the Gate”

  Star Wolf Squadron – Book 3

  by

  Shane Van Aulen

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, places, characters and plot are works of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual places, events or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright Pending by Shane M. Van Aulen

  Cover Art used by license agreement from canstockphoto16531912

  All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  To my children, who have filled the hole that was in my heart with laughter and kisses.

  And

  To my Beloved Rose,

  My Amazing Grace

  I gather my dreams together and put them into words, yet they are inadequate to the burden of my heart.

  You are always on my mind.

  You are always in my heart.

  Your Elder Knight,

  Your Gray Wolf

  Novels by Shane Van Aulen

  “Wolves at the Gate” is Mr. Van Aulen’s seventh novel and is his third book in the Star Wolf Squadron series.

  “Wolf’s Run –The Chase of War” is the author’s sixth novel and is the long-awaited sequel to “The Log of the Gray Wolf.” Once more you are taken along with the crew of the attack cruiser ISS Star Wolf, fighting behind enemy lines while seeking a lost warship and crew who could help end the war.

  His fifth novel is called “Knight’s Dawn” and is a medieval styled, sword and magic fantasy that starts the Knight of Stars Saga. Join the Lost Prince of Caspia as his adventure begins.

  “The Dead Country: A Long Journey Home,” is his fourth book and is an apocalypse story of death and survival after a terrorist sponsored zombie pandemic strikes America. This is a zombie book that even people who don’t like zombie books will like and that from page one hundred on is non-stop battle for survival.

  “The Log of the Gray Wolf,” is the author’s third novel and is a science fiction military adventure about a starship fighting to get home from behind enemy lines.

  His second book, “The Blood of Others,” is also a science fiction story but about murder and crime set on the mean streets of a distant alien world after an interstellar war. This book is set in the same universe as the “Log of the Gray Wolf.” “The Blood of Others,” is a unique book that is a mind-blowing blend of a police mystery; sci-fi, high-speed action thriller with a touch of horror that doesn’t even have a genre or category to be labeled by.

  His first novel, and still his favorite, is another medieval fantasy (and part of the Knight of Stars Saga) set after the second alignment of stars with an older Prince Galen called, “The Tale of the Elder Knight.”

  The author doesn’t have an editor or formal publisher and apologizes for any errors he may have missed while editing his books.

  I work very hard to proof my novels. Unfortunately, I’m not a professional editor and I do make mistakes.

  You can contact the author at his Goodreads Author’s page or by emailing him at [email protected]

  Military Ship Listings

  Karduan:

  KRS Repair ship (brig size - human classification Spider class)

  KVG Vanguard (sloop/scout ship)

  KDE Destroyer Escort (frigate)

  KED Escort Destroyer (light cruiser/heavy frigate) (older replaced by KCD)

  KCD Companion Destroyer (light cruiser – supports larger ship actions)

  KSDS System Defense Ship (fire power of a heavy cruiser, no bender drives)

  KD Destroyer (heavy cruiser/no spinal mount)

  KBD Battle Destroyer (heavy cruiser/like newer armored cruiser w/spinal mount)

  KSD Star Destroyer (battle cruiser w/spinal mount)

  Confederation:

  Brig (used for policing/customs)

  Sloop (Gunfighter class - older class)

  Corvette – (Constellation class) meant to replace sloops and Battle Class frigates

  Frigate (Battle Class - older class)

  Frigate Improved – New fusion and bender drives, in some cases heavier weapons.

  Planetary Assault Ship – (General Class) troop transport and drop ship.

  Heavy Frigate (modern)

  Light Cruiser – (City Class/ State Class depending on age)

  Shadow Cruiser – (Raven class) stealth light cruiser, spinal mount w/2 stealth fighters

  Carrier classes - Escort Carrier (very old) 28 fighters, Auxiliary Carrier (old) 48 fighters, Modern Fleet Carrier 86 fighters and Battle Carriers 100+ fighters.

  Attack Cruiser (Corvette class) stealth, spinal mount w/6 star fighters

  Heavy Cruiser (Hero class) an older class that was replaced by armored cruisers with spinal mounts)

  Heavy Cruiser Improved – Upgraded old heavy cruisers, better engines and in some cases, may have a spinal mount added.

  Armored Cruiser/spinal mount (Legend Class) (called Crusader class by Templars)

  Battle Cruiser/spinal mount w/12 star fighters (Leader Class)

  Battle Carriers (Titan class 100 star fighters and Deity class 120 star fighters with a spinal mount)

  Other ships – defense boats, system cutters, minesweepers, hospital ships, transports, fuel tankers, freighters, Recovery ships – (Behemoth Class).

  Open Communications Signal

  Prologue

  Two days after the Battle for Sargasso Station found Lt. Mike Collins waiting in the hallway outside Captain Hope’s office on the ISS Star Wolf. He wasn’t alone as Commanders Hutton and Richards as well as Lieutenants Dover, Cappillo and Daily were all present. Oddly, no Templar officers were included in this special meeting.

  Inside, Captain Hope was discussing their next move with Commander Edmund Hunter and Commander Jake Bannon. They were the captains of the other two stealth ships - the attack cruiser ISS Star Tiger and the stealth cruiser ISS Raven. Mike guessed that they were probably talking about the location of the Black Star and what they would have to do to recover that ancient Kazad made warship. If it could be found and brought into this fight than this might become the turning point of the war.

  After a few more minutes of waiting and pondering the captain’s steward opened the door and invited them inside.

  Sir Randolph Hope and the two commanders were seated by his desk and looked towards them as they entered. Mike couldn’t help but notice that the Black Prince was now showered and clean shaven with a military haircut. He was wearing a duty uniform and looked every inch of a naval officer. Not everyone knew his secret and he wanted to remain just a navy commander to the general population.

  “Gentlemen, please be seated,” Hope said waving his hand to the nearby chairs.

  Mr. Lucas quickly passed out drinks but no food was served at this point.

  “We find ourselves in a bit or a dilemma,” the ancient Captain said taking a sip from his coffee mug. It had a Harpers Military Academy logo on its side which made several of the officers smiled with pride.

  “How so, sir?” Lt. Dover inquired holding his drink without taking a sip.

  “We have taken this system and the station but not without a cost, most of our ships have some kind of damage from either the mines, fighters or the system’s defense ships. The Star Wolf’s beta bender drive took severe damage and will take weeks to repair.”

  “The Raven’s maneuver drive is shot to hell and we are dead in the water until we manage to replace it,” Cmdr. Bannon interjected looking glum over the subject.

  “We also have a dozen captured ships that need repairs or need to have a level four diagnostic along with full shake downs to insure they are in working order,” Commander Richards remarked having been busy crewing thos
e ships from the freed prisoners as well as wanting to use these ships to fill out the 12th forces.

  “The gathering of pertinent information from the prisoner interrogations, computer infiltrations retrieval and assessing all of this intelligence is going to take time,” Hutton added, sitting back in his grav chair.

  The growing of his new legs was coming along nicely though the station mistress had boxes of arm and leg mechanical replacements. These were taken from hundreds of Confederation servicemen though some had survived and would need them back. She also had a regeneration tank sitting around and unused. Dr. Duarte had already called dibs on the tanks and was looking forwarded to having a certain admiral be her first patient.

  “So, what’s our next move, sir?” Lt. Cappillo asked.

  “Repair and regroup,” Hope stated and continued, “We will sit right here as this station still has functioning repair facilities. I’ve ordered the Templar ships to fall back to Blue Rock and then escort our transports, freighters and the Spider back here. This station still has six Spider class repair ships as well as a space junkyard full of parts and damaged ships.”

  “Mistress Bie-Tor even has some replacement panels to repair the Wolf’s and the Raven damaged stealth plating. If they don’t have enough we can always make more though it will take time,” Commander Hunter commented.

  “How long do you think we will be here?” Commander Hutton asked.

  “At least six weeks,” Bannon informed and added, “It can’t be helped but the 12th will gain at least eleven or twelve more ships to help fill out her ranks.”

  He was spinning a silver lining but everyone was thinking about the enemy fleet that was searching for them.

  “What about the Karduans and our mission? Mike inquired having kept quiet.

  “The enemy doesn’t know we've taken this station or that the Templars have gone to war. The Templars are going to bring back some mines that they had in storage so we can replenish the minefield at the bender point. Both Blue Rock and Sargasso Station will position captured Karduan ships to report that nothing is wrong and that they haven’t seen us,” Captain Hope explained having given it much thought.

  “If any ships show up for repairs we will let them in and capture them or destroy them with overwhelming firepower,” Bannon remarked.

  “If it is an enemy fleet we could let them cross the minefield and then activate it once they reach the middle to weaken them before going to battle,” Commander Richards suggested.

  “We still have the element of surprise and that will give us the advantage if it comes to a battle,” Hope pointed out.

  “What about the mission to draw the enemy away from the Wolf’s Den and recovery of the Black Star?” Mike pressed not liking the idea of being trapped in this system with only one stable gravity well.

  “Captain Kirkland and the Wolf’s Den have had the time they’ve needed and should be ready to deploy. As for the Black Star, it is located even further into Karduan space. To stand any chance of recovering her we will need more help,” Captain Hope replied.

  “How are we going to get help way out here?” Martin posed.

  Hope nodded knowingly before he answered.

  “Commander Hunter will run diagnostics on the Star Tiger for two more days and then he will head to the starbase at Nova Orbis in the Ryu-Six System. He has the fastest ship now that the Star Wolf and the Raven are both under repair. I’m hoping the 34th Attack fleet is there. When the Star Wolf is fully operational we will rendezvous at Austro Prime. This will give us four task forces comprised of the Wolf Squadron, the Templar Squadron as well as the 12th Defense Fleet and the 34th Attack Fleet.”

  “What if the 34th doesn’t want to help? After all, we are kind of an independent operation,” Mike asked playing devil’s advocate.

  “Good question, that is why Commander Hunter is going back. He is an active duty command officer as well as for other reasons. He will have Admiral Sir Egbert Norton-Underhill’s orders as well as my full reports and the cry-crystal recording of our actions. Commander Bannon is compiling all the intelligence we have gathered since we started this wolf’s run and will be sending it along,” Hope explained and then paused and smiled before continuing. “Gentlemen, we’ve punched a huge hole in the enemy’s lines. If we can exploit it than we could wreak havoc behind their defenses destroying key production and agricultural facilities. The Karduans will have to pull their forces from other areas to reestablish their front, hence weakening those areas for other Confederation forces to go on the attack.”

  Many of the officers sitting there nodded seeing the opportunity to put a real hurting on the enemy.

  “It could still be a hard sell,” Lt. Daily commented wondering why the 34th hadn’t been seen and if they would now support this effort.

  Again, Captain Hope nodded and gave them a rare grin.

  “Agreed, that’s why I’m sending Lt. Collins along with the Star Tiger,” he announced.

  The officers sitting about the room all shifted a little in their seats at the news.

  Mike looked to his former headmaster.

  “Sir?” he said questioningly.

  “You’ll be going as the admiral’s and my personal representative,” Sir Randolph stated.

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’re going to have to convince those in charge and be able to answer their questions about our forces that Commander Hunter can’t,” he explained knowing that the young officer would rather stay here with his comrades in arms and prepare for the next fight.

  “Yes, sir,” Mike responded, though not happy about the assignment but understanding the reasoning and his orders.

  “I’ve said it before this war is far from being over,” the ancient captain remarked his eyes glinting like those of his namesake.

  “Well, we better get to it,” Lt. Collins said resigned to his new mission to go to this distant starbase in search of the missing 34th Attack Fleet.

  Chapter One

  The ISS Star Tiger made good time after she had left the Sargasso Station’s system. Partially backtracking the original course of the Star Wolf, the restored attack cruiser reached the moon of Blue Rock in just a few days. They were still shaking down the cruiser having already taken days to do a ship-wide level four diagnostic before they left.

  The Star Tiger had been repaired by the Karduans with human slave labor doing most of the actual work. During her repairs, many attempts at sabotage had been made yet the Blues were very diligent in their supervision. They not only kept their slaves under close watch but would inspect and re-inspect their work to make sure it was done correctly. Any repairs that were poorly done or were purposely tampered with would result in serious consequences for those involved.

  The Karduans didn’t mess around and depending on the offense, the accused would find themselves shocked into unconsciousness by their slave collar or sliced apart in a bloody spectacle by a razor sharp Patar. Such examples needed to be made. What was worse was that even if they did get away with any sabotage it would be discovered as the Karduan telepaths, called Prendere which meant “Thought Seizers,” would regularly scan them. They made sure that their human slaves didn’t tamper with the ships that they needed to win this war against humanity.

  Normally, this left the human prisoners morally as well as physically beaten. This time it was different as the surviving crew members of the Star Tiger were thankful to have their ship back and in working condition. During the last week, they had found only two malfunctions and they were both unintentional repair errors.

  When they reached the system just before making their bend to Blue Rock, they found the captured Karduan standard destroyer and destroyer escort still sitting on picket duty by the gravity well. Both ships had been captured at prior battles and had since been repaired and crewed. The destroyer was now named the IPS Terror and the DE was the IPS Erebus. Strange as their names seemed what was stranger was they were named after. A pair of British warships had b
een sent to explore the northern ice flows back in 1848. Their mission was to try and find a northwest passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Unfortunately, they were both trapped in the ice and lost. Now their namesakes guarded the bend to the icy worlds of the Blue Rock system. Some thought these names were extremely odd while others that knew their history thought they were strangely fitting.

  Commander Richards used both ships to replace the original Karduan ships that they had destroyed. These captured sentry vessels were now Confederation ships with human and free Blue crews. Their job was to trick any Karduan ships that came to check on the Templar base or who were looking for the human task force. Such deceptions were their bread and butter for their squadron. Captain Hope would say that it was all a Ruse de Guerre or simply a trick of war.

  Bending into the Blue Rock System they stayed just long enough to refuel and update the Templar outpost on the situation. What surprised them was that the Templars had deployed half of their corvette force along with their battle cruiser. These lighter ships were normally hidden in their underground bays of their frozen moon. It made sense though with their two armored cruisers attached to the Task Force, they would need to have more ships in position to act as a screening force for their sole remaining capital ship.

  These Constellation class corvettes were faster than a sloop of war and had as much firepower as a frigate. The only drawback was that they also had less armor than a frigate. They did have a more advanced ECM system which had been included in their design to make up for the lack of heavier armor.

  As the ISS Star Tiger moved into the system they detected that the other five corvettes were in orbit around Blue Rock. Along with them were the remaining ships of the 12th Defense Fleet. Most of the 12th’s ships had taken part in the attack on Sargasso Station. The ones that remained behind were mostly freighters, captured Karduan vessels and warships with battle damage that were still waiting for repairs or to be salvaged for parts.