The Juttari Empire had severely scarred humanity. Five hundred long years under alien occupation. Countless atrocities. Orbital bombardment. Mass murder. Forced labor. Stolen children. And then the wars of liberation, and their cost.
Earth finally had an opportunity to rebuild. Humanity had a chance to recover, even if it was too late for him.
Still the ruins were everywhere. On the walls of one destroyed building were the words “Sol Shall Rise”. The rallying cry of the revolution. Too few believed those words now. Why fight for something when you are being spoon fed?
At the bottom of the hill things got busier. It was still night, but the streets filled with people. Hong Kong never slept.
An open-air market stretched ahead for countless city blocks. Crowds of people haggled and shouted. The smell of fish and seafood filled the air, making his stomach growl. When had he eaten last?
Shaky columns of cages filled with live chickens stood next to fruits and vegetables. Colorful textiles butted up against weapon stands, hocking the latest in energy weapons. Anything could be purchased here, so long as you knew what to ask for and how to ask for it.
Jon made his way down the street. He had no interest in shopping, but didn't mind mixing in the crowds. He wondered what Yang would do once he realized that Azzan and Roch were dead. If he came after Jon again it wouldn’t be with amateurs.
Jon wasn’t particularly worried, but he still needed to think things through. It was time to get to his ship. R&R was over.
A man made eye contact with Jon. It was only for a moment, but that was all he needed. Physically larger than most, he towered over those around him. A battle-hardened face and the menacing eyes of a killer ensured that people got out of Jon’s way.
The fact the man made eye contact was the first clue. That Jon also knew a killer’s eyes when he saw them was the second.
Had the Triad found him?
Scanning the crowd Jon analyzed his options. There was likely more than one opponent. Probably four or five.
While he used the crowd for cover, he realized his adversaries were doing the same. Except they were getting into position, likely putting Jon into a box formation, flanking him on all sides. They would likely avoid attacking in the middle of the market. That reluctance gave him a small edge.
He had kept Roch’s gun but needed something more powerful. He turned and walked up to a weapon stand, still scanning the crowd. He spotted two more attackers. They had moved into position on his left flank. They were already dead. They just didn’t know it yet.
The weapon stand’s merchant looked at Jon and gave him a knowing smile. This man had obviously spent some time around soldiers. Jon eyed an X51. A powerful energy weapon. It was perfect.
Skipping the formalities, he looked the merchant straight in the eyes and spoke in a low, calm voice. “I’ll pay you double if you put a fully charged cartridge into that X51.”
The smile slowly disappeared. The merchant became visibly nervous, understanding what was about to happen. He seemed to analyze his options, sizing up Jon and making some quick calculations.
It didn’t take him long. No fool, he understood that Jon was not someone to toy with. Reaching under the counter he casually pulled out an energy cartridge, armed the X51 and placed it back down on the table. Jon smiled at the merchant and nodded his thanks.
“Get down.”
Before the merchant could hit the ground, Jon seized the weapon and wheeled around firing twice as he turned. Each shot found its target. The power of the X51 hurled both men back several feet.
A half-second later and Jon was sprinting, opening fire on the third attacker. Blue light pierced the man’s torso creating a smoldering crater where his chest had been.
Based on the formation his attackers used, Jon knew the other two men’s locations and the trajectory their fire would take. He found cover just as a barrage of energy bursts landed.
Blue fire rained down all around Jon. The shooters weren’t worried about the crowd anymore, the market becoming a horrid scene of panic and dead bodies.
Their lines of fire allowed Jon to determine their precise locations. The shooters fired relentlessly. Powerful blasts scorched the market, burning through wood and melting glass like butter. Jon crouched into a ball, motionless, and waited for an opportunity.
After several more seconds their fire slowed and adopted a pattern of predictable bursts. The shooters must have thought Jon was dead but didn’t want to take any chances.
He timed their fire. Timed their pauses. Established the pattern. Leaped and fired.
A single energy blast crashed into the shooter’s face almost decapitating him. The other shooter let loose another barrage. Blue bolts chased Jon, biting at his heels.
The shooter’s speed and accuracy surprised him. The creature made Jon faster and stronger than normal humans, so the shooter should not have adjusted to his speed as well as he did.
Jon dove behind the walls of a fruit stand, blue fire missing him by mere centimeters. He crouched down, making himself as small as possible. Produce exploded and wood splinters flew around him like angry hornets.
This was not the Triad. This was something worse. Something Jon hadn’t seen since the wars.
The blue fire changed direction. The shooter was moving. Circling. He would have a clear shot in seconds.
Jon coiled and dove again. Anticipating the shooter’s movement Jon shot in the direction he was running. To Jon’s surprise the man changed direction and the shot missed. Anybody else would’ve been dead.
Another storm of blue lightning rained down on Jon’s position, forcing him to bolt again. The shots were closer now. The shooter tried to bridge the gap between them. Upping the ante. That suited Jon just fine.
He zigzagged across the road, returning fire as he went. Again the shots barely missed and adjusted expertly to his movements.
He had to change tactics. The shooter wanted to close in so Jon gave him what he wanted.
Changing direction he raced toward the attacker. This caught the man off guard and he tried to compensate, but Jon already knew which way he would turn and had let loose a stream of blue fire in that direction.
The shooter tried to stop, but his momentum was too strong. Blue energy bursts plowed into his torso, spinning him round like a top till he dropped to the ground.
Jon found cover and waited, scanning the market, ensuring no other surprises were waiting for him. Once certain the threat had passed, he rose and ran to the last shooter’s position.
The man lay face down in a heap. Jon turned him over. Scorch marks riddled his torso, the putrid smell of burnt flesh rising from his body.
Turning his head Jon looked behind the man’s ear. It was just as he suspected. A tiny mark, almost invisible, hid there. The mark of the Chaanisar.
Elite human soldiers, the Chaanisar were taken from their parents as children and raised to be the most loyal soldiers in the Juttari Empire. Augmented with alien technology, they possessed superhuman strength and speed. Jon had fought them many times during the wars.
But why were they here? The wars were over. There should not be any Chaanisar left on Earth. And why were they trying to kill him?
The Triad story must have been a deception. It would be easy enough to feed Roch and Azzan disinformation. They wanted Jon in the dark, so they could ambush him. But they hadn’t anticipated his actions in the market.
Jon figured he’d hang onto the X51 for a while longer. He had his fill of surprises for one night.
Happy to be paid, the merchant didn’t ask any questions. The market was now a scene of destruction and carnage. Jon didn’t want to deal with the local authorities and quickly left.
After walking for several kilometers, he reached the Kowloon Spaceport. Above him the morning sky was littered with all sorts of ships, large and small, coming and going. Ahead was an array of terminal and service buildings, hangars, and parking stalls connected by a mix of runways, roadways, and lan
ding pads.
Jon walked past the main terminal and approached a large unmarked secondary building. He approached the main doors and a holo-emitter flashed a stop sign in his path.
“Please stand still for DNA scan,” a synthetic voice ordered.
Jon heard the low humming sound of the scanners as they analyzed his DNA signature. After a few moments the holographic stop sign disappeared, and the doors slid open.
“Thank you, Captain Pike. You may enter.”
Jon walked into a massive open area. The Hill. Every spaceport had one. Military and civilian personnel zipped around like ants. Crates moved to and fro. Soldiers readied for flight. All around was a buzz of activity.
Jon proceeded through the building until he came to a set of large metal doors. Another DNA scan and he was through and into a long, well-lit corridor. Military activity dominated now, and the familiar blue and white Space Force insignia was everywhere.
Along the right-hand side of the corridor were access tubes leading to various docking bays. When he reached tube G17 he turned and entered. He followed a string of lights to the end of the tube and stopped at a large hatch.
More DNA scanners went to work. He ignored the concealed energy weapons he knew were trained on him. Programmed to glass anyone accessing his ship without authorization, they wouldn't fire on Jon. The DNA scanner cleared him and the hatch opened.
Lights turned on and a hatch in the forward bulkhead of the compact ship opened, revealing the cockpit. Jon stepped through the hatch and sat down in the pilot's chair. An ordered chaos of controls and displays surrounded him. Jon pushed a button and a screen lit up.
“Captain Jon Pike reporting.”
A middle-aged woman's face appeared on the screen.
“Good morning Captain,” she smiled. “How has your R&R been? I hope you are well rested.”
“I'm as rested as I'm going to get.”
“Glad to hear it. Captain, you have orders to report to Admiral Walsh at Orbital Station Alpha.”
“Understood. Will set course for Orbital Station Alpha immediately.”
“Thank you, Captain. I will let Admiral Walsh know you are on your way.”
“Captain Pike out.”
The display flickered off and Jon leaned back in his chair. So much for R&R. Time to get back to work. Sitting up again he pushed some more buttons on his console. The exterior hatch swung closed with a whine and a hiss.
Outside the ship's engines came on and the ship began to vibrate. The engines became louder as Jon maneuvered away from the docking tube. Once clear Jon fired the ship's thrusters and quickly climbed up and away from the spaceport.
His ship rocketed higher to the upper reaches of the strata. He took one last look at Hong Kong, wondered about the Chaanisar, and what other surprises might be in store for him.
The city disappeared underneath a bed of clouds and Jon pushed the threat out of his mind. Speeding up, the little ship raced to the edges of the atmosphere and into the dark void of space.
CHAPTER 4
Jon arrived early for his meeting. Walking into Admiral Walsh’s office, he was dismayed to find a Diakan there. Standing at attention he saluted the Admiral. Walsh responded with a lazy salute barely looking up from his desk and gestured for Jon to sit down.
Jon glanced sideways at the Diakan. The thing repulsive to look at. It was a biped like humans, but that’s where the similarities ended.
It had green skin like a lizard and gills on its neck. Big fish eyes were fixed on a flat face. The thing had eyelids, but hardly ever blinked. It was like it wouldn’t stop staring at him, making Jon want to beat it into the ground.
“Captain Pike, this is Ambassador Varyos.” The Admiral locked eyes with Jon. His icy stare warned Jon to keep his feelings about the Diakans to himself.
“Greetings, Ambassador.” Jon almost choked on his words but gave the Ambassador his best politician smile.
“Greetings, Captain.” The Diakan spoke with a hiss. Jon wanted to put a hand in front of his face, afraid the thing was going to spit on him.
Walsh got straight to business. “Captain, what do you know about the lost colonies?”
“Just the same legends everyone else knows, Sir. Humans used the jump gates to colonize planets thousands of light years away. When the Juttari Empire invaded the Sol system, the colonists shut down the jump gate to protect themselves.”
“It isn’t legend, Captain. It’s fact. We haven’t heard from the colonies in over five hundred years. But they’re out there. And we want to find them again.”
“Yes, Sir. But how is that possible? With their jump gates closed, it would take a lifetime to find them. Maybe two lifetimes.”
“That’s why I called you here Captain. We have been working on an experimental propulsion system in co-operation with the Diakans. It works much like the jump gates do. With it, a ship can jump as much as fifty light years at a time.”
“Without jump gates?” Jon said.
“Correct,” Walsh replied.
Jon leaned back in his chair and thought about what he just heard. If true, this would be the biggest advancement since the discovery of the gates themselves. “That sounds impressive Sir. I take it you want to use this jump drive technology to find the lost colonies?”
“That’s correct Captain.”
“You said the technology was experimental. How long untill we can power a ship with one of these propulsion systems?”
“We’re already there, Captain. We’ve built a ship and fitted it with the jump system, and we want you to command it.”
Jon thought the Admiral must have fallen on his head. “With all due respect Sir, I’m Black Ops. I kill people. I don’t command starships.”
“Commandeering a starship is part of your training. You know as much as you need to know to command one. Regardless, your experience operating behind enemy lines makes you the perfect candidate. We don’t know what we’re going to find out there and I need someone who can adapt to any situation. That someone is you. You’re also the only human with a Diakan symbiont, which is why the Diakans prefer you commanding the ship.”
And there it was. The Diakans were behind it all. They told the Admiral to choose Jon because of the symbiont.
Jon’s eyes narrowed and he thought of all the different ways he could kill both Walsh and Varyos. It would be over in seconds. The idea comforted him.
Jon then thought about the market attack. Was this why the Chaanisar tried to ambush him? The Juttari Empire had spies everywhere. Did they know about the jump system? Was there a mole?
Jon decided it best to keep his suspicions to himself for the time being.
He didn’t want to command this starship. He didn’t want the Diakans pulling his strings. And he sure as hell didn’t want to keep their symbiont inside him anymore.
“About the symbiont, Sir. I want the thing out of me.”
“I’m afraid that is not possible Captain,” Ambassador Varyos said. Jon forced himself to look at the Ambassador. “Your physiology is unfortunately not as resilient as a Diakan’s. While we can remove our symbionts without harm, I’m afraid that it does not work the same way for you. If we remove your symbiont, you will die.”
Anger spiked through Jon. “That wasn’t part of the deal. This was supposed to be temporary.”
“Your symbiont was created specifically for you, Captain. It is military grade. Designed to enhance your senses, speed and strength, as well as your strategic and tactical capabilities. This has been successful.”
“But?”
“We did not anticipate how it would react to your physiology. Captain, the symbiont has… it has entrenched itself. Fortified its position.”
“So, you designed a military grade symbiont and now you’re surprised that it’s acted in a military way, right?”
“Yes, Captain. That is correct.”
Jon leaned towards the Diakan, ready to pounce.
“None of this was intended Captain. You kn
ew the risks going in,” Walsh said.
Jon barely held it together. These Diakans were no better than the Juttari. Aliens. Jon hated all of them.
He killed plenty of aliens during the wars. They were all Juttari, but Jon didn’t think he’d mind killing a few Diakans too much.
And here was Walsh, kissing their scaly asses. Jon imagined his fingers wrapped around Walsh’s windpipe and wondered how much effort he would need to rip it out of his throat.
“The truth is that thing inside you, combined with your training and experience, make you the perfect person for this mission,” Walsh continued.
“Yes, Sir.” Jon settled back into his chair. The Admiral had made up his mind. There was no point arguing with him. Jon was a soldier first, and this was a mission like any other. Time to get on with it. He would deal with the symbiont issue later.
Walsh noticed Jon’s change in posture and nodded. “I am uploading your orders, along with ship configuration, and crew profiles.”
“Understood. When can I see the ship?”
“It’s named Hermes. I’ve arranged for your quarters to be relocated to the ship. You’ll have a few weeks to get familiar with it and the crew. The engineering team is already on board, as are your security personnel and your XO. A couple of Marines are waiting outside and will take you to the ship as soon as we’re done.”
“Thank you, Sir. If that is all, I’d like to get on with it.” Jon wanted to get out of Walsh’s office before he was court martialed for killing a superior officer.
“That is all, Captain. Dismissed.”
Jon rose, stood at attention and saluted. The Admiral responded with the same lazy salute.
“Good luck Captain,” said Ambassador Varyos.
Jon didn’t look at the Ambassador. Didn’t acknowledge him in any way. Instead he turned and walked out the door.
Outside the office two Marines were waiting. One of the Marines stepped forward. “Captain Pike?”
“Yes, Corporal.”
“We have orders to escort you to the Hermes, Sir.”
The Pike Chronicles - Books 1 - 10 Page 2