Chapter Four
So it was Hades was evacuated. Most of its
treasures were saved, but some too heavy and too big had to be left
behind. What was saved was scattered through the colonies to give heart
to a saddened people.
2 The deception worked. The Goddens pulled away from Peepi. When the
attack came, all four-hundred of their advanced ships drove for Hades.
The General Of The Fleet was very careful. He only sent in ships as he
would have had had they been taken by complete surprise.
3 The defenders fought bravely but quickly gave way to the superior
strength and numbers of their enemy. The Goddens found their passage
swift. They gained system after system just as their battle plan had
predicted they would.
4 Finally they entered The Hashon System. Here, resistance was fiercer
than ever, and they met one of the things they feared most ….death
ships. But this system, too, fell before them, the defenders fleeing,
the main body of their Fleet surrounded Hades and millions landed at
strategic points.
5 It was then The General Of The Fleet came to The Turner Against. "The
trap is set," he announced, "it is time to trip the switch."
6 "Order the Assault Force to Haven." The General Of The Fleet nodded,
saluted, and withdrew.
7 Within minutes a vast Fleet was entering The Haven system. It had
already leaped into position earlier. At the same time vast numbers of
ships appeared in the captured systems. Each Fleet flew in a tight
spearhead formation and surrounding it were hundreds of smaller ships,
being pushed by tractor beams from the larger ships.
8 Each of these smaller ships was crewless, operated by remote control.
The energy that was normally used for their life support systems was
used for extra shield elements. They formed two layers of shielding
about the