Vanquish (The Pike Chronicles Book 6)

by G. P. Hudson

  Chapter 6

  “This is your first time on Earth, isn’t it,” said Jon seated across from Governor Sallas.

  “Yes, it is,” said Sallas despondently. “Too bad it wasn’t under better circumstances.”

  “I feel awful about what happened to New Byzantium.”

  “I shouldn’t have left the planet,” said Sallas, his face darkening with anger. “I shouldn’t have listened to Captain Marcus.”

  “Don’t be too hard on Captain Marcus. He was just doing his duty. You can’t blame him.” Jon could see the Governor was grief stricken. He knew that no matter what he said, Sallas would continue to second guess his actions. “Look, it was a surprise attack. Nobody knew the Kemmar had jump technology. No one expected this.”

  Sallas looked down at the floor, saying nothing.

  “Did you manage to find out anything about the Seibens?” Jon intended to shift the conversation, but was also genuinely concerned for his friend.

  “I did. They survived the attack, but their home has been destroyed. They’re currently on the space station with the rest of the survivors.”

  “I see. They’re alive, that’s the important thing. Can you send them a message from me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Let them know that I would like them to come to Earth. I’ll make the arrangements. Tell them they can stay as long as they like, and if they want to settle here permanently they are welcome.”

  “I will. You’ll likely be getting many more settlers from the colonies now.”

  “It’s been a steady stream. The radiation has mostly been cleaned up. Native vegetation and wildlife have been steadily reintroduced. But Earth needs to be repopulated.” Jon noticed the pained expression on Sallas’s face. “Don’t worry. We’ll make sure the radiation is cleaned up on New Byzantium too.”

  “Thank you, Admiral.”

  “We also need to improve our defenses so that this doesn’t happen again.”

  “Is that possible? What’s to stop the Kemmar from striking one of the other planets?”

  “We are adjusting our strategy to focus on low orbit protection. The difficulty with the Kemmar is they’re willing to sacrifice ships to achieve their goals. The ships that hit New Byzantium were completely destroyed, but not before they managed to nuke the capitol. We need to have sufficient assets in place to eliminate the threat before they can hit the surface.”

  “I still don’t understand why they did it.”

  “It’s our belief that they were hoping to kill you in the process.”

  “Me?”

  “You are the leader of the colonies. That makes you a high value target.”

  “So New Byzantium was hit because of me. I should’ve never left.”

  “There’s no point in blaming yourself, Governor. The Kemmar are ruthless. You couldn’t have changed anything by remaining on the surface. Your death would’ve only given them the victory they were looking for.”

  The door to Jon’s office swung open and a young officer walked in. Sallas turned in his chair to see who it was, and a feeling of dread filled Jon. Only urgent news would provoke this breach of protocol.

  The man approached Jon, stood at attention and saluted.

  “At ease Lieutenant. What’s happened?”

  “I apologize for interrupting, Sir, but there’s been a development. You’re needed in the Operations Room.”

  “I see,” said Jon, icicles forming along his spine. “I’m sorry Governor Sallas, but I’m going to have to cut our meeting short. Can we resume our conversation later?”

  “Of course. Clearly you have more important matters to attend to.”

  “Thank you for understanding. One of my men will show you to your quarters.”

  Jon nodded to the Lieutenant and they both walked out of the room. In the hallway two waiting Marines joined them as they made their way to the Operations Room.

  The interior of the mountain complex had not changed much since Jon had first been here a little over a year ago. The real difference was that President Lewis was no longer in power, and Space Force had been transformed into the UHSF. It had been a difficult transition for many here, but most had seen the benefit of the change.

  In reality, the Juttari had decimated Space Force, so there really weren’t many options left. Nonetheless, Jon knew that many quietly resented the new organization, and he was sure their hate for the Chaanisar lay at the root of that resentment.

  Arriving at the Operations Room, Jon entered while the Lieutenant and the two Marines remained outside. Inside, Kevin, General Dathos, First Colonel Brock, and Colonel Bast were already present.

  “Tell me,” said Jon, striding up to the other men.

  “We’ve lost Telepylos, Sir,” said Kevin.

  “What? How is that possible?”

  “The Kemmar and the Juttari launched a surprise attack, overwhelming our defenses.”

  “The Kemmar and the Juttari? They’re allies now?”

  “Yes, Admiral. So it would seem,” said General Dathos.

  “I thought the Juttari never allied with anyone?” said Jon, looking at Brock.

  “They never have, Sir,” said Brock. “This is a first, as far as I know.”

  “Now we know how the Kemmar got their hands on the jump system,” said Jon. “What about our forces there? Were there any survivors?”

  “Yes, Sir. They tried to fight off the attack, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. A Kemmar and a Juttari force jumped in and surrounded them. The fleet jumped to the gate and made a stand there with the help of the defense systems. But another wave of Kemmar ships poured through the gate, overwhelming the fleet.”

  “So not only do the Kemmar have the jump system, they now control a system just two-hundred-and-fifty light years away from Sol.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “That is unacceptable. I want a strike force put together immediately to retake Telepylos.”

  “Admiral, perhaps we should weigh our actions carefully here,” said Dathos.

  “What are you talking about? The Kemmar have the jump system. That system puts them within striking distance of Earth. You saw what they did to New Byzantium.”

  “Yes, Admiral, but the Kemmar are now allied with the Juttari, and the jump gate in that system connects to the Kemmar Empire. Even if we retake Telepylos, we would need a great amount of resources to hold it, whereas the Kemmar can use the gate to send supplies and reinforcements through.”

  “We can take back the system, General. We have the ships.”

  “Yes, but we have other systems to defend as well. If we stretch our forces out too thin we may end up losing a more important system as a result.”

  “You know what I think, General? We’ve been playing defense for over a year now, and we’ve become complacent. The Juttari and the Kemmar? Not so much. They’ve been busy, and they caught us with our pants down. It’s time to go on the offensive, and we’re going to start right here, in Telepylos.”

  Jon pointed to the holomap which displayed the barren system. “And I’ll tell you something else. We’re going through that jump gate, and we’re going to invade the Kemmar Empire.”

  “But Admiral, the Kemmar have the jump system, and they’re allied with the Juttari,” Dathos pleaded.

  “Yes they are. And I’m sure they feel pretty good about themselves right now. Well I’m about to burst their bubble. You know all those shiny new ships the colonies have been building? I’m going to put them to use. We are going after the Kemmar.”

  Chapter 7

  Seiben stood in line on the New Byzantium space station, waiting for his family’s daily food rations. He had lined up early to get a good spot, but still had to wait for hours. He could tell that the influx of refugees had overwhelmed the station. It was tough for everyone. But things seemed particularly unorganized today, and it started to grate on his nerves.

  “How hard can it be to disperse food rations?” said Seiben to the man standing in front of h
im.

  “I don’t know, but if they don’t hurry up I’m going to take my business elsewhere,” replied the man.

  Seiben laughed, and slapped him on the back. “Isn’t it bad enough we have to eat the damn things? I mean, it’s nothing more than slop. Even a dog would turn up its nose at it.”

  “Hey, I’ll take yours if you don’t like it,” said a man from behind.

  “Oh I’ll eat the slop, don’t you worry about that,” said Seiben.

  “Then shut the fuck up, and stop your whining.”

  Seiben turned around to confront the rude person behind him. The man was much taller than Seiben, and looked very fit and muscular. He was clearly much younger, however, and Seiben decided to use his age as leverage.

  “Just who do you think you’re talking to, boy?” said Seiben, jutting out his chin.

  “Boy? I’ll break you in two, old man.”

  “The only thing you need to break is your cherry, son.”

  Laughter broke out in the line at the comment. The man reached out and grabbed Seiben’s shirt with the power of a vice. “You think you’re funny? Wait till I knock out your teeth, then you’ll really be funny.”

  “Hey! What’s going on over here?” said a passing soldier. A menacing energy weapon hung from his shoulder, lending quiet authority to his uniform.

  “This man is accosting me,” said Seiben. “All I want to do is feed my family.”

  The soldier stepped up to the man, who withdrew his arm from Seiben’s shirt. “A troublemaker, huh?” said the soldier, now standing nose to nose with the young man. “Do you want to spend some time in the brig?”

  The man sheepishly took a step back, losing much of his earlier bravado. “No, Sir, I don’t”

  “Leave this man be. You understand?” snapped the soldier.

  “I understand.”

  “Thank you, Sir,” said Seiben to the soldier, who nodded and slowly walked away.

  “You’re going to pay for that,” the man whispered.

  “Son, you’re too angry. Go get laid for a change. It’ll do you wonders.”

  The man’s face turned red, but he said nothing. Seiben understood the man’s hostility, but he didn’t agree with it. Everyone here had suffered. They’d all lost their homes. Some had lost loved ones. They were all miserable. Why not make the best of things? Laughter was good medicine, after all.

  Seiben turned back to the man in front of him. “As I was saying, if they can figure out how to put all those nutrients in the damn things, you would think they could figure out how to make them taste good.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir.”

  “What I’d give for some fresh New Byzantium seafood right now,” said Seiben, thinking of his barbecue and his home. All gone. Nothing but radioactive dust in their place.

  “Amen to that.”

  It felt like hours before the military began handing out the day’s rations. When Seiben finally received his allotment he headed back to his section on the space station, where Darla and his girls were waiting for him.

  Four refugee sections had been hastily created to deal with the influx after the attack. The station was large enough to accommodate the extra people, but compared to a place like DLC Station, it was a mere dwarf.

  Walking down the long corridors Seiben thought about all the years they had lived on DLC, and how Darla had pushed him to move to New Byzantium.

  “I never thought I’d end up living on a space station again,” Seiben said to himself.

  “You talk to yourself, too? Your crazier than you look, old man.”

  The voice stopped Seiben in his tracks. He recognized it instantly, and became painfully aware of the fact that there was nobody else in this particular corridor. He turned around to face the angry young man from the lineup.

  “You following me now? You must really have a crush on me. Sorry, son, I prefer women.”

  “You think you’re real funny, don’t you?” said the man, his face turning bright red.

  “Look, just relax. There’s no reason to get so upset. You’re going to get yourself sick.”

  “You want me to relax? Ok, give me your rations and I’ll relax.”

  Now Seiben’s own blood began to boil. “That’s not going to happen. These rations are for my family.”

  “Give me the rations, and you can walk away.”

  “You talk too much. If you want these rations, you’re going to have to take them from me.”

  The man smiled for the first time. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  Seiben looked around, still no one. How can there be so many people on this station, and nobody in this corridor? He saw the man’s knees bend slightly, and braced himself for the inevitable attack.

  A blur of movement followed.

  The man was quick. Too quick. Seiben didn’t even see the blow. Just felt it. Hard and heavy.

  The lights went out before he hit the floor.

  Chapter 8

  When Seiben woke up he was lying on a cot in sick bay. His head felt like it weighed fifty pounds, and he couldn’t open his left eye. A hand lay on his. His wife’s hand. He looked up to see Darla sitting beside him.

  “What happened?” he said, raising a hand to his head. He touched it gingerly and noticed that there was a fair amount of swelling.

  “You were mugged,” said Darla, her eyes starting to water. “A soldier discovered a man stealing your rations as you lay unconscious on the floor.”

  Seiben remembered the encounter with the angry young man. “He was pretty damn fast. I’ll give him that. Hit hard too. Wait, the rations. Did you get them back?”

  Darla smiled. “Yes, we did. No need to worry. The girls and I have eaten.”

  Seiben exhaled with relief. He could take a beating, but he didn’t think he could bear his wife and daughters going hungry. “What happened to the man?”

  “The one who attacked you? He was arrested. They have him behind bars.”

  “The dumb shit. Serves him right.” Seiben looked around. “Where are the girls?”

  “They’re fine. The station has setup a little playground for the kids. It’s supervised, so I left the girls there. No need for them to see you like this.”

  “You’re right. Good idea, dear,” he said, patting his wife’s hand affectionately.

  “Roderick, there’s something else we need to talk about,” she said earnestly.

  “Oh? What’s that?” Seiben felt a pang of fear, wondering what else had gone wrong.

  Darla smiled, as if noticing his unease. “A message arrived today from Admiral Pike. He wants us to come to Earth.”

  “Earth?”

  “Yes. He has made all the arrangements. Transportation. A place to stay. He says we can stay as long as we like. We can even settle there if we choose.”

  Seiben struggled to process what he had heard. “Do you want to settle on Earth?”

  “I don’t know, but anything is better than this station.”

  “And I know how much you hate space stations,” said Seiben with a chuckle.

  Darla’s smile broadened, and she squeezed Seiben’s hand. “Can you imagine? Actually stepping foot on mythical Earth?”

  “I’m more interested in the seafood.” His stomach growled and he realized that he’d not eaten yet.

  “It’ll be good to see Jon again, too.”

  “Like I said, I’m more interested in the seafood.”

  “Stop that,” said Darla, punching him in the arm.

  “Ouch! Careful. Can’t you see I’m injured?”

  “So what do you think? Are we going to go to Earth?”

  “I guess we might as well. When do we leave?”

  Darla practically jumped out of her seat with excitement. “We can leave right away. There’s a military ship leaving for Earth later today. We can leave with them. Jon has given us permission to travel on any military vessel heading to Earth.”

  “Today? But I’m injured.”

  “Don�
��t be such a big baby. The doctor gave you a round of biobots. You’ve already begun to heal.”

  “But don’t I need to stay in bed or something?”

  “The doctor said you can travel. She just wants you to take it easy for the next couple of days. Besides, we’re going on a jump ship. The trip won’t take long at all. We’ve lost everything, so we don’t need to pack.”

  “It looks like you’ve got it all figured out.”

  “I knew you’d agree. I’ll get the girls and then we can go.”

  “Ok, dear. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just wait here.”

  Chapter 9

  “Daddy, what’s Earth like?” said Alina, Seiben’s youngest daughter, looking up at him with big inquisitive brown eyes.

  “I don’t know, sweetie. I’ve never been there,” said Seiben, trying to block out the stabbing pain in his head. While the doctor had given him something for the pain, he knew what he felt was the microscopic biobots healing his head injuries. The little buggers worked fast, but they didn’t care how much pain they caused in the process.

  They turned a corner and approached a check point. A soldier stepped up to them with a palm out telling them to stop. “You’re all going to have to turn around and head back the way you came. This is a restricted area.”

  “It’s alright. We’re supposed to board the ship back there,” said Seiben, pointing behind the soldier toward the dock.

  “Someone gave you some bad information, Sir. That’s a military ship back there, not a passenger liner. It doesn’t take civilians.”

  With his head throbbing, Seiben was not in the mood for a power trip. “What’s your name?”

  The soldier squared his soldiers and drew in a deep breath. “Corporal Cameron. Now turn around.”

  “Good to know who I should blame for missing this flight when I talk to the Admiral.”

  Doubt replaced confidence as the man started to lose some of his bluster. “Which Admiral?”

  “Admiral Pike. Who else?” said Seiben, raising his voice, and taking full advantage of the soldier’s ignorance.