Artifact: Rise Of Mankind Book 6

by John Walker

  Then she saw his agricultural background. A ha. That makes more sense. But could he have been working with the Orion’s Light? I can’t rule it out. He may be a traitor.

  She made some notes for the report and moved on to the video recording. Watching it disturbed her far more than she anticipated but when the Orion’s Light man entered the shelter, she switched off her concern for the dead and focused on his face. If he happened to be listed in the database, she’d find him quickly enough.

  Copying the face image to another program, recognition started scanning millions of pictures. The entire process took less than five minutes before it came back with a hit. Her heart raced in her chest as she tapped the link and brought up the record, a military file for someone discharged quite some time ago.

  Name: Krilan Ar’Vax

  Rank: Anthar (former)

  Current Status: Fugitive from Justice

  Sentence: Life in Prison

  The document went on to explain Krilan’s crimes.

  Krilan Ar’Vax was responsible for a number of atrocities while putting down a rebellion in one of the outer systems. On his orders, kielan soldiers murdered the families of the highest ranking members of the uprising. They displayed their bodies over a broadcast and continued to execute people until the rebellion surrendered.

  When those who started the uprising were captured, he slaughtered them all and left a military force behind to contain the remaining population. Upon his return to high command, he was immediately arrested but maintained that he did what was necessary for the mission. Council determined he would be discharged of command and put in prison for life.

  One week into his incarceration, a prison riot broke out and thirty people escaped. Krilan disappeared and was not seen again. Many believed he went into hiding with a group of sympathizers far out in uncharted space. Sightings have been unsubstantiated though he does remain in the top ten most wanted criminals hiding from kielan justice.

  Clea turned to his academic record and felt her shoulders slump. Krilan operated at the top of his class, one of the finest students most of his teachers ever taught. He maintained a solid record through the ranks until he became an Anthar. Once in a position of authority, he proved to be a harsh disciplinarian and his men lodged many complaints.

  Those who served him loyally seemed to do well but those who could not handle his method of command sought transfers, even if the move impacted their careers. Clea suddenly felt lucky she never served under him. He sounded like a real piece of work. High command wrote glowing reviews until the uprising.

  Why did you decide to come out as a psycho on that particular mission? Clea shook her head. Such a move seemed strange, almost as if he genuinely lost his mind. Sure, he was harsh before but murder? Executions? Atrocities like displaying the families of his enemies for them to see? None of that made sense.

  If he’s the commander of Orion’s Light, we have a serious problem. Is he in charge or just one of the officers? Something told Clea he wouldn’t suffer another command structure where he wasn’t on top. He probably had enough of taking orders for a lifetime. Whatever plans he harbored couldn’t be good for anyone outside his organization.

  Clea hit the com and connected with Gray. “Captain, I have a briefing and some news but I’m not sure anyone’s going to like what I found.”

  “Not really a shock,” Gray replied. “Let me guess, we know more about the Orion’s Light?”

  “Possibly their leader…but if I’m right, we’ve got a real adversary on our hands. This guy’s good…even if he’s gone crazy. Which I’m sure he has.”

  “Fantastic. Insane and in charge. Horrible combination. Let’s get together for a briefing. Maybe we can puzzle some things together and get on the right path. I’m starting to get the sense that we don’t have much time to figure this out before something big happens. Since we’re in a reactive state, let’s see what we can do about catching up.”

  Chapter 4

  Su-Anthar Hal Rin’Tevis gazed at the view screen aboard the Wild Dream. His destroyer had been tasked with protecting an out of the way colony, one which hadn’t seen any action since before the settlers arrived. The briefing stated a mercenary group called Orion’s Light might attack the planet and so vessels were sent to deter any aggression.

  This is a total milk run. No one’s coming out this far to cause trouble.

  Hal barely believed the briefings in regards to how dangerous this fringe group was supposed to be. Where would they supply? How would they manage it? What government supported them? Without these things, an army would be useless. A functional force required backup from a stable, civil body.

  “Sir, long range sensors are picking up a jump signature,” Tech Officer Pruit Vur’Molen said. “On screen.”

  Hal squinted at the viewer, unable to believe his eyes. Had the Orion’s Light truly decided to attack them after all? Why would they? What could possibly be on the planet’s surface to warrant such an event? He couldn’t wrap his mind around it, even as the ship appeared and began a rapid advance.

  “Raise shields!” Hal shouted. “Hail that ship immediately and warn it off!”

  “They’ve already hailed us,” Tivin, his com officer cried out. He put it on the speaker.

  “Hello there. This is the Carrion Drop and we demand your immediate surrender. Please don’t make us annihilate your vessel and kill everyone on board. It would be unfortunate and probably unnecessary. After all, we’re going to take what we want regardless of how hard you fight against it.”

  “Those bastards!” Hal slammed his fist into the arm of his chair. “Reply to them back and ask if they are part of Orion’s Light.”

  Tivin complied and the response was a chuckle. “No, we have no ties to those maniacs. We’re just pirates. Sorry to disappoint. Is that why you’re out here? Trying to fend them off? If so, you should be lucky we came along. Those guys are not at all reasonable. For example, they wouldn’t have given you this lovely opportunity to give up.”

  “Open fire!” Hal shouted. “Give them a dose of our turrets and let’s see if they’re so haughty.”

  The ship hummed as weapons lit up, blasting away and turning the area around the Wild Dream bright blue for a brief moment. The pirate proved quite maneuverable and evaded the first attack. They leveled off and fired their own volley, a staggering number of turrets hammering against the destroyer’s shields.

  “Defenses down to forty percent!” Pruit sounded on the verge of losing his mind. “They’re on recharge!”

  “Return fire! Fire at will! Hit them with everything we’ve got!” Hal’s heart raced in his chest and he felt like he might be sick. This pirate vessel proved far more dangerous and crafty than he anticipated.

  The destroyer opened fire again, this time holding nothing back. Missiles departed the vessel and more beam weapons laced the dark sky. A couple smacked into the side of the pirate, causing their shields to flare. Pruit performed a quick tally and shook his head. “Clean misses with the missiles but two turrets scored direct hits. Their shields appear to be at seventy percent.”

  “Communications, reach out to alliance high command,” Hal shouted, unable to contain his excitement. “Tell them what’s going on! Get some reinforcements out here!”

  “They’re jamming us, sir! I can’t connect to the relays!”

  “Damn!” Hal stood up. “Keep firing! Upload all log files to a com pod, delay its signal for five hours and eject it. They’ll destroy it if the thing starts right away.”

  The pirate moved in for the kill. Hal knew what was about to happen. As another wave of destruction hammered against them, their com pod was thrown from the vessel. His bridge crew looked at him, desperate for an answer or command that would save them. He didn’t have any tricks, no tactics to fight such a superior fighting vessel.

  Another volley of death rained down upon the Wild Dream, ripping through the shields and cutting the hull as if it were wheat beneath a scythe. Damage reports came
in and Hal sat in his chair as the reactor went critical. He didn’t even have time to shout for an evacuation before the his ship went up in a massive orange ball, leaving the colony undefended.

  ***

  Krilan leaned forward, sitting on the bridge as he gazed at the view screen. His ship arrived at the next colony only to find a pirate vessel struggling to take down the planetary defenses. Apparently, the criminals believed an incoming ship would be easier prey than the planet so they turned on them instead, sending a message demanding they surrender.

  This may work to my advantage. Krilan sat back, smirking. “Raise our shields. Target their engines but hold fire for my mark.”

  His people went about their tasks and the ship briefly hummed from the sudden power output. Krilan wondered if he should communicate with the raiders but elected instead to simply engage them. No words he might offer would be as impactful as a full powered relay cannon. He just wanted to buy a little more time to ensure they had range.

  “My Lord,” Maakin, his pilot spoke up. “The pirates are moving into an attack position. They are flying straight for us.”

  “Good.” Krilan shook his head. “Scans, what sort of weapons do they have?”

  “Conventional beam weapons,” Brilin replied. The tech officer had been with Krilan since his military days and always proven to be one of the best at his job. “They have damage potential from the sheer number of hard points littered throughout their ship. I’d say a full blast might take our shields to sixty percent but they’re on the old system which means recharge.”

  “Are they in range of our relay cannon?”

  Brilin hesitated to reply, watching a scanner. He finally nodded. “Yes, sir. They are now at maximum range.”

  “Maakin, give them a count of three then open fire. Tear through the shields with the relay then open up with our other turrets. I want their engines down in the first pass if at all possible.”

  “Very possible,” Brilin said. “They favor weapons over defenses.”

  “Initiate my commands.”

  Maakin tapped at his terminal then tapped something a little more aggressively. A green energy beam burst from below the ship, striking the pirate on the side. Enemy shields flared then burst in a bright light as the relay cannon began tearing into their hull. Sparks popped into space and an orange globe indicated a fire.

  The pirate fired back then tried to pull away. Energy beams splashed against Krilan’s ship but Brilin shook his head. “No appreciable damage to the shields.” In trying to flee, the criminals made their engines even easier targets. Maakin let the rest of their turrets fly and the pirate ship exploded a moment later, casting debris off in every direction.

  Krilan shook his head. “Simple enough. Target all communications arrays surrounding the planet but don’t fire yet. I’d like to hail the colony and have a quick chat. Jam the sector from outgoing transmissions. Make it seem like the pirate’s destruction is causing it. Hm. I’m surprised we didn’t find an alliance security force here defending the planet after our recent activities.”

  “I’m reading debris from another ship,” Brilin said. “Maybe they were here and lost to the pirates.”

  “Very possible. Interesting. My, these colonists are having a terrible day.” Krilan stood up. “Get them on the line right away.”

  A face appeared a moment later, another woman with a worried expression. She visibly trembled as she came on. Krilan admired her light colored hair and jade eyes. While his beliefs didn’t afford women a place in the military or in any sort of command structure, he did find them attractive enough and this one caught his eye.

  “Unidentified starship,” she began. “My name is Director Silar In’Fa Please state the nature of your arrival.”

  “We just eliminated the pirates attacking your planet,” Krilan replied. “And it seems none too soon as they took out your defenses. I hope we can work together on something of vital importance.”

  “Who do you represent?”

  “I don’t believe it matters. However, what does is a star chart I’m looking for. A relic your people may possess. Do you know what I’m talking about and if so, can you tell me who has it? We’d be happy to simply make a copy.”

  “No, I’m afraid I don’t know but we have over three hundred people in the various settlements. We can put out the call if you’d like.”

  “Thank you, Silar. That would be very generous.”

  “I’d like to send an all clear to the alliance,” Silar replied. “However, it seems our communications are being jammed. Do you know what’s going on?”

  “My tech officer tells me that the destruction of the pirate ship has caused a low level disturbance to your long range communication array. We’re working to clear it up however, there’s a lot of debris up here. You might require some actual repairs. We’re not qualified to conduct them however, when we’re done here, we’ll be happy to send whatever message you’d like.”

  “Thank you, very much.” Silar paused. “I didn’t catch your name.”

  “I’m Krilan and this is my ship the Final Star.” Krilan offered a smile. “Which settlement are you in? We’ll come down to meet face to face so we can conduct an investigation for the star chart.”

  “I’m in the primary site called Stonewater. There’s a large cliff nearby with a waterfall feeding the river system. I look forward to speaking with you.”

  The line went dead and Krilan stared at the empty screen. “As do I.” He shook it off and turned to Brilin. “Get them to bring Wyan to the shuttle but gag him. He may be useful when we get down there.”

  “May I have a word in private, My Lord?”

  Brilin was one of the only men on board who spoke to him like the old days but he had the sense to do so when they were alone. Krilan nodded, taking him to his office. They closed the door before his younger officer spoke up.

  “This is against our standard procedures. I thought we’d just come here and destroy them as we had the others.”

  “That tactic has proven ineffective,” Krilan replied. “I thought I’d try something different. They may not have it but if they do, I might be able to get it with this director’s help.”

  “Are you sure that’s why we’re doing this? I saw the way you looked at her.”

  Krilan chuckled. “You really do take liberties, don’t you?”

  “You told me to,” Brilin replied. “If you recall, you asked that I keep you honest even with yourself.”

  “Yes, true.” Krilan patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Wyan’s going to be there to witness the slaughter if these people defy us. And if they don’t, we’ll get what we want, destroy the com arrays and leave them to rot.”

  “Shouldn’t we leave no witnesses? The men will be shaken if we do.”

  Krilan sighed, nodding. “You’re right but three hundred will take a lot of time…and I’m not sure we have it anymore. You saw. The alliance was here defending this world and when a military ship doesn’t check in…”

  “I remember. They send reinforcements fast.”

  “Exactly. But we’ll play it out as it must be. Get back in there and assemble the men in the hangar. We’ve got a lot to do and little time to do it in. I’ll be sure to keep us safe.”

  “Yes, sir.” Brilin snapped to his old salute and left the room. Krilan couldn’t do this without him. He needed some tie to the past. This was the best one he could manage. The young man had been a staunch supporter no matter the task. He stood by Krilan even during the uprising when he purged all those civilians.

  No one understood the necessity of that act and no one ever will.

  High command didn’t even look at the evidence he presented before sentencing him. They accepted the situation at face value and condemned him swiftly. The hypocrisy infuriated him. Those miserable elitists sent him to deal with the problem. One of them even used the term put this uprising down through any means necessary.

  Turned out they had a limit on the term any means.
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  Down in the hangar, he met with Wyan was led in with his hands bound behind his back. He looked exhausted having been through quite the torture sessions. He met Krilan’s eyes but there was no defiance there. Just resignation. He’d come to terms with his predicament and seemed ready to perish if necessary.

  “Hello,” Krilan said. “I trust you’re tired of being hurt?”

  “I never asked for it to begin with.”

  “We rarely do.”

  “Are you taking me down to watch you murder more civilians?”

  “If required, yes.” Krilan shrugged. “I’m trying diplomacy this time but believe me, I won’t be able to leave these people alive. The rest of the fleet will arrive shortly to take on the conscripts. We’re still in need of more soldiers. We’ll take on as many young men as we can and hopefully, with any luck, we’ll have the star chart.”

  “So you believe me that I don’t know anything about it now?”

  Krilan shrugged. “Yes and no. I believe you could’ve looked into this for us if you truly wanted to. With your former position, you might’ve gotten into the alliance database or called in a favor to help us find what we’re after.”

  “How do you even know this thing exists? Why would we hide it in some defenseless colony?”

  “While I was in prison, I learned a great.” Krilan gestured and the guards led Wyan onto the shuttle. He followed and continued. “We were in the midst of the war with those bastards from beyond our known regions long before I fell from grace. Do you know why we’re at war with them?”

  Wyan shook his head. “I do not.”

  “Rumor suggests the conflict began when we happened upon their region of space and met with them. Their ways so directly contrasted with our own that negotiations immediately broke down. It’s believed we took something from them, an item of great importance to their race. Something of religious significance.”