The Pike Chronicles - Books 1 - 10

by Hudson, G. P.

  “I understand,” she said.

  “Have you had any zero-gravity training?”

  “Not much. It is required that all children learn basic zero gravity skills in school, but they are rarely, if ever, needed. I have not practiced zero gravity maneuvering since I was a child.”

  “Okay, hold onto something until you feel comfortable. And even then, don’t let go. I don’t want you crashing into my crew as they go about their duties.”

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  “Do you have any idea why the guardian attacked us?”

  “I don’t know, but this may not be an attack.”

  “Really? It fired a weapon at us and disabled our ship. I’d say that pretty much qualifies as an offensive tactic.”

  “Perhaps not. Consider that all your systems are currently offline, yet your life support systems continue to function.”

  She was right. The air on the bridge continued to be recycled, and replaced by fresh oxygen. If the Freedom’s systems had truly been knocked out, then life support wouldn’t work either. But it did. “I’m not even going to ask how it did that, but I will ask why.”

  “I do not believe the guardian seeks to harm us. All my sources suggest that the guardian will decide whether or not we are worthy. If so, it will let us pass. Maybe this is how it determines the answer.”

  “It’s as good a guess as any,” said Jon. “It didn’t need to kill our power like that, though. Why wouldn’t it just open a comm with us, and ask its riddles.”

  “This is the guardian, not your sphinx.”

  “Well, it’s pretty much the same thing.”

  Do I have wings? said a low, masculine voice in Jon’s head.

  “Did you hear that?” Jon said to Miira.

  “Hear what,” she said.

  “The guardian. I think it just spoke to me. Inside my mind.”

  “It spoke to you directly?” said Miira. “That is a great honor.”

  “This thing jumps inside my head, and you tell me it’s a great honor. Are you joking?”

  “No, not at all. Respond to it. Quickly.”

  Jon sighed, he had no real choice. Are you the guardian? he thought, not sure if he knew how to communicate with the being.

  You did not answer my question.

  Your question?

  Yes. Do I have wings?

  Jon was starting to get annoyed. The last thing he needed was a smart-ass guardian. No, you don’t have wings. You’re a moon.

  Then why have you compared me to this sphinx?

  The sphinx was a guardian as well, from our ancient mythology. Are you the guardian?

  Which guardian is it that you seek?

  The one who controls that gate.

  Ah, then I am not the guardian.

  Then who are you?

  I am a guardian.

  You just said you weren’t.

  No, I said I am not the guardian you seek.

  Then why are you here?

  I am the guardian of the gate.

  You just said you weren’t.

  No. I said I am not the guardian who ‘controls’ the gate.

  Are you sure you’re not the sphinx?

  I am sure. Why?

  Because you sure do speak in riddles.

  Who are you? said the guardian.

  I am Admiral Jon Pike, of the United Human Space Force.

  Who are you? the guardian repeated.

  I just told you.

  You gave me a title. Meaningless status. It says nothing. Who are you?

  Jon thought for a moment. What was this thing looking for? I am a human, from Earth. I need to speak with the Antikitheri. We need their help.

  These are your needs. Who are you?

  Jon thought some more. Maybe it wanted something more personal. I am a father. A husband. A son.

  This is your past. Who are you?

  In that moment, Jon became aware of the symbiont. It had been trying to get his attention, and now that it had, it sent a mental image of the Great See’er.

  Who are you? the guardian repeated.

  The answer suddenly came to him. Could it be that simple? I am the chosen.

  All the systems began to come back online, and Jon felt his feet plant firmly on the floor as gravity returned.

  “What happened?” said Miira, who Jon realized had been scrutinizing him. “You seemed to go into some sort of trance.”

  “The guardian spoke to me. Telepathically.”

  “What did it say?”

  “It asked if it had wings,” Jon said with a chuckle.

  “Wings?”

  “It must have heard me compare it to the sphinx.”

  “Interesting. Was that all?”

  “No. It asked me a riddle. I thought you said it wouldn’t do that?”

  “There was no evidence saying it would.”

  “Well I’m glad it wasn’t the sphinx, because it took me a few tries before I got the right answer. The sphinx would’ve killed me by then.”

  “What was the riddle?”

  “It wanted to know who I was.”

  Miira looked dumbfounded. “That does not sound like a riddle.”

  “No, that’s what I thought, until it kept telling me my answers were wrong.”

  “But you did find the correct answer?”

  “Yes. I told it I was the chosen.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do I. It is what the Great See’er called me. I guess it was the answer the guardian was looking for.”

  “Will it now let us pass?”

  “I’m not sure,” Jon said, as he looked down at his tactical screen. The moon still stood in front of the battle group, blocking their path. If the guardian was going to let them through, why wasn’t it stepping aside?

  “Sir, the rest of our ships have not had their power restored,” Henderson said ominously.

  “It seems the guardian isn’t finished with us yet.”

  Chapter 43

  Colonel Bast tried to interface with his ship to no avail. All the systems were dead. What troubled him more was the silence. Since childhood, he had grown accustomed to the interlinked nature of the Chaanisar. Through their brain chips, he and his men were constantly in communication with each other. Yet now there was nothing. No interconnectedness. No communications. Even AI didn’t respond.

  “Report,” said Bast, noting that his bridge crew were bouncing back from their original confusion. Being Chaanisar, they responded to the zero g conditions with agility and efficiency. They now worked feverishly to find a solution.

  “Power has been disrupted to all systems, except life support,” said Lieutenant Jarvi. “The beam that the alien moon has fired has drained our systems of all power.”

  “Our brain chips are no longer interconnected,” said Bast. “But I still seem to have my augmented strength. Are you noticing the same?”

  “Yes, Colonel. It seems only our communications have been affected.”

  “Why? To what end?”

  Understanding, said a voice inside Bast’s mind.

  “Did you hear that?” said Bast, noticing the confused looks from his crew.

  Every member of his bridge crew indicated they had. Was this why their chip network had been disrupted? So that something could communicate with all of them?

  You all bear the mark of darkness, continued the voice.

  Bast decided to try and reply. “We were taken from our families as children. Enslaved. Violated with alien technology. Is this technology the mark of darkness you speak of?”

  The darkness runs deeper. It clings to you.

  “No. The darkness is gone. We are no longer enslaved. We are free.”

  Freedom is an illusion. You seek that which cannot be found.

  “We seek the Builders. The Antikitheri.”

  You seek destruction. Vengeance. Does enough blood not drip from your hands?

  The question stunned Bast. It was like the voice had reached inside him and rip
ped out his entrails. It was true that they had all committed unspeakable atrocities, while under Juttari control.

  You will never be free of the darkness. It will follow you forever, along with the tears and screams of your victims.

  Bast began to understand. “Perhaps we can never be free of it. But we can atone.”

  Is that why you are here? Do you seek forgiveness?

  “No. We cannot be forgiven.”

  You do not believe that. More than anything, you seek forgiveness.

  “Untrue. We seek only to serve. That is how we may find atonement.”

  Whom do you serve?

  “Admiral Jon Pike.”

  Why?

  “He is the one. He has saved us, and our brethren. He is the manifestation of the prophecy. Only he can lead us to victory.”

  Which prophecy?

  “Both. Diakan and Juttari. This is why the Diakans worship him, and the Juttari attempt to destroy him.”

  Are you Diakan?

  “No.”

  Does it not trouble you to support a Diakan prophecy? The Diakans despise you and all Chaanisar. Given the chance, they would eradicate your kind.

  “We do not serve the Diakans, we serve Admiral Pike.”

  And yet, he has become Diakan.

  “His symbiont is Diakan. He is human. Like us.”

  You lie to yourself. You are no longer human, and neither is he.

  “We are human enough.”

  You would die for him?

  “Without hesitation.”

  Yet he is Diakan. Do you not hate the Diakans, as they hate you?

  “The Diakans are no longer our enemies. Hatred is a useless emotion.”

  You deceive yourself again. You hate the Juttari. Even now, your hatred rages just beneath the surface.

  An image flashed in Bast’s mind. His mother bloodied and sobbing. Himself a child of five, fighting against the powerful arms taking him away from her, to the Chaanisar.

  Bast struggled to speak, as long forgotten emotions returned. The guardian had somehow disabled the brain chip’s ability to suppress such feelings. Rage filled him as he remembered the horrors of that day, and the many that followed. Looking at the rest of his men, he saw that the same raw emotions flowed through them as well.

  Do not lie to yourselves, children of darkness. This is who you are. You hate. You kill. You will never be free.

  “No!” said Bast, slamming a fist into his console. “We are more! The Juttari will pay for their crimes. We will see to that. But they do not govern us, and neither does our hatred for them.”

  The systems on the bridge lit up, and came to life, as power surged through the ship once more. The chatter of the brain chip network again filled Bast’s head, and he realized that the guardian must have found what it had been looking for. To his relief, he found that his violent emotions had gone.

  AI, are you back too? Bast said through his chip.

  Yes, Colonel Bast, said AI.

  Did you hear any of that?

  No, I appear to have been offline, which is highly unusual.

  Agreed. All of this has been unusual from the start.

  Chapter 44

  General Tallos had never seen anything like the weapon the moon had fired. He had never been chased by a moon either, for that matter. It was certainly a day of firsts. While he had confirmed that life support was still online, all other systems were unresponsive. They were at the mercy of a moon.

  Should I show mercy? said a voice in Tallos’s head.

  Who is this? Are you responsible for the moon’s hostility toward us?

  Yes. It is a language you understand, is it not, General?

  I understand that we will find a way to fight you. Whoever you are?

  A lifetime of battles, General. A lifetime of wars. What’s one more?

  What do you want from us?

  Everything.

  You wish to take our lives? Then why toy with us? Are you some sort of sadist?

  Why are you here, General?

  I am performing my duty, as always.

  A sense of duty? Nothing more?

  Something inside Tallos told him to be reverent. I follow Jon Pike.

  Why?

  He is the chosen. He is holy.

  How do you know?

  The Great See’er showed it to me.

  Duty to your Great See’er then?

  Duty to the Great See’er. To the Temple. To Diakus. They are all one and the same.

  What of Jon Pike, The Chosen. Do you not have any duty left over for him?

  He is of the Temple. They are inseparable.

  Yet he is here, and the Temple is on Diakus.

  He is of the Temple, Tallos said again, as if it explained everything.

  How can a human be of the Temple? Is that not blasphemy?

  His symbiont is of the Temple. That is enough.

  Is it not an abomination? A corruption of all that is holy? How can a devout General like yourself support such an obscenity?

  You seek to antagonize me. You will not succeed.

  You are blind. Do you not wonder why General Dathos and the Faction moved against Jon Pike, and Diakus? Because Diakus has grown weak. Its core values have been corrupted by men like Jon Pike. Everything you have ever fought for will turn to dust. This will be your legacy.

  General Dathos is a traitor.

  No, he is a loyal Diakan. He stands against its corruption, while you support it. How many times has Jon Pike humiliated you? How many times has he tried to kill you? Yet you pledge your allegiance to him.

  All that is in the past. There is only the now. The future.

  What of the Chaanisar? How many of your men have died at their hands over the years? Jon Pike frees them, and fills his ranks with their soldiers. How can you support something so unjust?

  The Chaanisar have been useful. My feelings toward them are irrelevant.

  You admit your hatred for them?

  I do.

  Then how can you continue to fight alongside them?

  It is my duty. I fight for Diakus. That means I fight for Jon Pike, and alongside these Chaanisar.

  Your men may die in their defense.

  Men die in war.

  You may die in their defense.

  Then that is my fate.

  The bridge suddenly came back to life, as the ship’s systems came back online.

  Is that all? Tallos said.

  There is nothing more.

  Tallos considered the strange encounter. Admiral Pike had said that this guardian might subject them to some sort of test. If that was what this was, then he must have gotten the right answers.

  There is no correct answer, said the guardian. Only the truth, and your acceptance of it.

  What if I said I wouldn’t die for Jon Pike, or the Chaanisar? What if I said I would join the Faction?

  Safe travels, General Tallos.

  Chapter 45

  As the guardian moon moved away from the battle group, Jon felt that a meeting with all ship commanders was in order. He invited Miira, as her expertise would likely be useful. The meeting took place in the main conference room, while the other ship commanders participated through the wallscreen.

  “I don’t understand why the guardian didn’t talk to me, or any of the Reivers,” said Jonas, clearly agitated by the snub.

  “If I may?” said Miira.

  “Go ahead,” said Jon.

  “I believe the guardian didn’t speak to you because you do not harbor many internal conflicts. Correct me if I am wrong, but your people pride yourselves as warriors.” Miira paused for feedback.

  “Continue,” said Jonas.

  “Breeah has told me that you follow a philosophy of living in the moment. You do not dwell on past events. You harbor no resentment, guilt, or regret.”

  “Such preoccupations create confusion,” said Jonas. “These things have no place in the warrior’s heart.”

  “The guardian told General Tallos that it so
ught the truth, and his acceptance of it. Your philosophy of life means you already live this way.”

  Jonas smiled. “I like you, Miira. You are very perceptive.”

  “You only like her because you think she gave you a compliment,” said Jon. “Maybe the guardian didn’t talk to you because it simply wasn’t interested in you.”

  Jonas’s smile turned into a scowl. “You would do well to learn some manners from the lovely lady sitting next to you, Jon Pike.”

  “Relax, Jonas. I was just joking. Tap into some of that warrior Zen of yours.”

  “I think I’d prefer to tap into your carotid artery.”

  Jon smiled at Miira. “Does that look like a warrior philosopher to you?”

  Miira nervously glanced from Jon to Jonas, clearly uncomfortable with their aggressive banter.

  “You see? You have frightened the poor woman,” said Jonas. “Fear not lovely lady. Our great Admiral has not been house-trained yet. You will grow accustomed to his rude behavior.”

  “May I suggest we move on and discuss the gate, and its crossing?” said Tallos.

  “Good idea,” said Jon. As much as he enjoyed poking the old Reiver, they did have serious matters to discuss. Looking at the expressionless faces of the Diakans and Chaanisar, he decided he’d have to bring Kevin and Seiben along on the next mission. At least they had a sense of humor.

  Jon adopted a more appropriate demeanor, and continued. “According to Miira’s research, that gate will send us to another galaxy. If that’s true, we don’t know what we’ll find, or whether the Builders will be waiting for us on the other side.”

  “Do we have any information as to which galaxy it will send us to?” said Tallos.

  Jon looked at Miira, waiting for her to answer.

  “No. We do not,” said Miira.

  “It would be logical to assume that it would connect us to a local galaxy,” said Tallos.

  “Good point,” said Jon. “Although we have no way of knowing what kind of range these intergalactic gates have. Still, I don’t know if it matters. Even if we knew which galaxy it would take us to, what difference would it make? We still don’t know what we’re going to find once we get there.”