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atmosphere,” the damage
control officer reported.
    “Energy shield
is down to 30 percent,” added Samarth with deep concern in his eyes. “We must
withdraw!”
    Aktill slammed
his hand down on the command console in front of him ignoring the pain.
“Withdraw,” he grated out in anger and frustration. “Order all ships to enter
hyperspace and rendezvous at the fallback coordinates. This battle with the
Humans and their allies isn’t over. Once we have sufficient ships, we’ll resume
the attack and overwhelm them. We will achieve victory!”
    -
    In space, the Shari fleet began to break off contact and turn away. In just a matter of a few moments,
spatial vortexes began to open as the Shari ships began jumping away from the
battle.
    -
    “Shari fleet is withdrawing,” reported Captain Davis with obvious relief in his voice.
    “All
dreadnoughts are reporting minimal battle damage,” added Colonel Cowel. “We got
off lucky.”
    Race allowed
himself to relax. He knew the Shari had managed to heavily damage the relief
and supply fleet. From the reports he had received, he knew Admiral Stoddard
had lost three battlecruisers, one battlecarrier, four strikecruisers, and six
supply ships. Race knew that if he hadn’t arrived when he did, the losses would
have been much heavier.
    “We lost
eighty-seven of the defense globes, sixteen Talon fighters, and twenty-three
Anlon bombers,” Colonel Cowel reported. “That includes the ones from Admiral
Stoddard’s battlecarriers as well.”
    “Communications,
have Admiral Stoddard’s battlecarriers return to pick up their small craft.
We’ll stay here and provide cover while landing operations are being
conducted.” Race was confident the Shari fleet wouldn’t return, not after the
losses it had suffered.
    The battle had
gone better than expected. It was still obvious the Shari hadn’t come up with a
battle plan to deal with the dreadnoughts. That was fine with Race. Right now,
they were the biggest ace he had. Once they were back at the Dyson Sphere, he
wanted to find out what was going on with the mission to the surface and if
Reesa and Kelnor had been successful gaining entry. He was also looking forward
to the arrival of Alton Fleet Admiral Baasil and his fleet. With the additional
Alton warships, he knew he had a more than decent chance of being able to
defeat any attempt by the Shari to drive his forces away from the Dyson Sphere.
    -
    An hour later,
the fleet was back in orbit around the megastructure. The supply ships of the relief
fleet had originally contained sixty Type Two battlestations. Unfortunately,
two of the large supply ships had been destroyed, leaving only forty battlestations
which could be deployed. However, even forty would make a significant increase
in their defensive and offensive capability.
    “The exploration
cutter has returned,” reported Colonel Cowel, turning to face the admiral.
    Race shifted
his gaze over to Cowel. “So did Reesa and Kelnor find a way in?” Race was intensely
curious to find out if they had finally managed to enter the Dyson Sphere.
    “Yes, they
did,” answered Cowel, with a strange look on his face.
    “Why do I feel
there’s a but in what you’re getting ready to say?” Race was concerned, as he
knew at times Reesa could be a little reckless. She was unusually high-spirited
for an Alton.
    Colonel Cowel
took a deep breath and then continued speaking. “Reesa managed to use the key
to get a door to open in the structure. Sergeant Wilde then had the other Marines
in the cutter come out with a large amount of supplies and they all entered the
structure together. Everything was being observed on the cutter and records
were made. After entering the structure, Reesa was seen to reappear at the entrance,
remove the key, and then vanish back inside. Almost as soon as the key was
removed, the entrance closed and there has been no contact with the research
team or Sergeant Wilde since then.”
    Race took a
deep breath and