The Pike Chronicles: Books 5-8 (Pike Chronicles Space Opera Book 2)

by G. P. Hudson

  Kevin’s eyes grew wide for a second time. “Thank you, Sir. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just don’t take any shit from any of those colonial generals.”

  “Yes, Sir. Uh, I mean no, Sir.”

  Jon laughed, thrusting out his hand. “Congratulations, Rear Admiral St. Clair.”

  Kevin took Jon’s hand. “Thank you, Sir. I won’t let you down.”

  Chapter 6

  Chief Engineer Singh was working with on the jump upgrades, when Jon approached. “How does it feel to be back on board The Freedom, Chief?”

  “It feels good, Sir. Are you sure you don’t want me to come along with you on this mission?” said Singh.

  “I’m sure. I have every confidence in Chief Engineer Simmons,” said Jon, glancing at the Freedom’s Chief Engineer, who stood beside him, quietly watching Singh. “I need you back in the lab, Singh. If these Builders refuse to help us, we’ll need to find a way to hurt the Dark Ones, and you’re just the man to crack that puzzle.”

  Singh silently stared back at Jon for several awkward moments. “Yes, Sir,” he said finally, turning back to his work.

  Jon rolled his eyes at Singh’s usual quirkiness. “Will your upgrade fix the problem?”

  “I believe so. As I had said, it was an issue with how the jump system interacted with the jumpspace recognition engine. The problem was intermittent, making it more difficult to find. But this should resolve the issue.”

  “Should?”

  “Yes, well, ideally I’d like to run more tests, but we don’t have the time for that.”

  “That’s right, Chief. We don’t.”

  “As I said, the issue should be resolved.”

  “Thank you, Chief. Your confidence is reassuring,” Jon said sarcastically.

  “You’re welcome, Sir.”

  “I’ll leave you to it then. Let me know when you’re finished.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Chief Simmons, a word,” said Jon.

  “Yes, Sir,” said Simmons, following Jon out of Engineering.

  “Are you comfortable with this upgrade, Chief?” said Jon, once they were far enough away from Singh.

  “I don’t think it will do any harm, if that’s what you mean,” said Simmons.

  “But will it fix the scattering issue?”

  “The Freedom has never scattered, so it may not be affected. If it does have the bug, I don’t think this upgrade will fix it.”

  Jon liked Chief Simmons. She had a no bullshit attitude that you couldn’t help but respect. “Why not?”

  Simmons took a breath. “The problem began after the jumpspace recognition engine was installed. Before, there were zero instances of scattering. This clearly points to the jumpspace recognition engine, as the culprit. Chief Singh’s upgrade modifies the interaction between the two systems in the belief that this interaction is corrupting the execution of jump commands.”

  “And you don’t think that is what’s happening?”

  “It may be, although I haven’t seen any evidence. I’m not discounting that there is some data corruption. There might very well be. But I don’t think corruption is the underlying cause.”

  “So, you don’t think the upgrade will work?”

  “I think it’s a band aid, not a cure.”

  “I see. That doesn’t make me feel better.”

  “Sorry, Sir.”

  “Alright, you better get back in there.”

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll keep you posted.”

  As Jon headed toward the bridge, he couldn’t push aside his concern. This scattering issue was one of many that weighed on him. The Diakan attack on his person had left a lingering unease. Sleeper agents would remain a probability on this mission, especially with Tallos and his four Diakan battleship escorts. Tallos had assured him that the crews were handpicked, and their loyalties were above reproach. He could only take the Diakan’s word for it.

  Of course, he could leave Tallos and the other Diakans behind, using only UHSF ships. But since his meetings with the Great See’er, he felt the need to bring Tallos along. The See’er had shown him that, despite their past, he could now trust Tallos with his life.

  He’d never imagined he could trust Tallos, or any other Diakan. And he wondered if he wasn’t being manipulated by the See’er. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been the object of Diakan manipulations. But his gut told him this was different. The Diakans weren’t the enemy, The Faction was. He tried to remember that, and wanted to start fresh with the Diakans. What better way to do so than by bringing Tallos along on this mission?

  “Commander, what is the status of our escorts?” said Jon as he stepped onto the bridge.

  “All ships reporting jump ready, Sir,” said Commander Henderson, Jon’s XO. “They’re just waiting for us.”

  Once at his command station, Jon studied the mission escorts on his tactical screen. There were General Tallos’s four Diakan battleships. He had two Chaanisar warships, Colonel Bast’s battlecruiser, the Ronin, and Colonel Steeg’s battleship. Finally the Reiver destroyer with Jonas in command. The eight ships made up an intimidating battle group by any standards. They were a healthy representation of the Alliance. Diakans, and humans, including Chaanisar, Reivers, and colonists.

  “I want to be ready to go as soon as Singh’s team is finished with the upgrades.”

  “Yes, Sir. We’ll be ready.”

  Jon pulled up a display of their projected route on his console to study again. They were about to head deep into unexplored space. What would they find out there? He thought for a minute about the Hermes, and its similar voyage into the unknown. He would have never anticipated all that had happened since. He could only hope that the parallels ended here.

  Chapter 7

  “New contacts identified,” said the AI on board the Diakan science station Universal Quest.

  “New contacts?” said Commander Skithos, wondering if it was a surprise inspection from Diakus. Why else would someone come through the gate to visit this remote outpost? He opened a holographic display of the jump gate, but there was no activity. Just the quiet darkness of empty space.

  “Locate new contacts,” he said, and a new display appeared before him, revealing an imposing array of Diakan warships. “What are they doing out here?” Skithos said to himself. “I wasn’t informed about any military exercises.”

  A contingent of Diakan warships had already been stationed in this system, primarily to protect the jump gate, but not necessarily his science station. The system was unpopulated, and had no real value in terms of resources. Skithos often wondered why the ancient races would build a jump gate here to begin with. There had to be some hidden value. In all the time he had spent here, however, he had never found an answer to that question.

  “AI open a channel with the new contacts.”

  “Channel open.”

  “This is Commander Skithos, of the Diakan science station Universal Quest. Please advise as to the nature of your visit. Military maneuvers may interfere with some of the experiments we are conducting.”

  Skithos waited, but there was no response. Strange, he thought, but it wasn’t the first time he had encountered military arrogance. Warship commanders often disregarded him. In truth, he couldn’t blame them. Any scientist stationed on an outpost this remote couldn’t be very important.

  He counted fifteen of the unannounced Diakan warships. Why? Was the system in need of reinforcements? Were they expecting the Juttari? If so, it could be the onset of a major Juttari invasion. This system may be meaningless, but that gate provided access to systems that were not.

  “Is it the Juttari? Are we under threat of attack?” he said through his comm. Again, no answer.

  Skithos watched as the unexpected began to unfold on his viewscreen. The Diakan warships stationed in this system were racing toward the new arrivals. Now they were firing weapons. “What in the name of the Great See’er is happening?”

  He watched in awe as the two gro
ups squared off against each other, trading blows. The new warships blinked off the screen, only to appear just above the defenders. When under fire, the defending ships vanished, reappearing in a more advantageous position.

  “AI, who is commanding these new ships?” he said, trying to make sense of it all.

  “These ships were last under the command of General Dathos,” said AI.

  “Dathos? Why is that name familiar?”

  “General Dathos is the former commander of the Diakan fourth and fifth fleets. He is currently a fugitive, implicated in a plot by the Faction to overthrow the Diakan government.”

  Skithos froze. The Faction. Now he understood what he was witnessing. Even out here, he’d heard news of the Faction, and how they’d tried to intercept the prophecy. They had gone so far as to violate the sanctity of the Great See’er’s Temple. Heretics. Despite appearances, these were not Diakans.

  “AI, dispatch a comm drone through the gate. Advise Diakan forces stationed there that we are under attack, and require immediate assistance.”

  “Drone dispatched,” said AI.

  When those warships come through the gate, these traitors will be dealt with once and for all, Skithos thought.

  “Drone destroyed,” said AI.

  The Faction had swiftly shot it down. That was not good. “AI dispatch another comm drone. Same message.”

  “Drone dispatched.”

  Skithos was not much of a military tactician, but even he could see that the Faction was gaining the upper hand. Two of the defending ships had stopped jumping, which could only mean damaged jump systems. They were at a severe disadvantage, and the Faction ships were quick to seize the opportunity, focusing their fire on the crippled ships.

  “Drone destroyed,” said AI.

  Skithos was growing more concerned. Diakan forces needed to know what was taking place. “AI, keep launching comm drones until one crosses through the gate.”

  “Launching drones.”

  The science station spat out multiple tiny comm drones, but each one was promptly shot out of the sky. Skithos felt helpless. His station had no weapons and the only strategy Skithos had, kept failing before his eyes.

  “Weapon lock detected,” said the AI.

  “Explain. Has the science station been targeted?”

  “Yes. A warship has launched missiles at the station. Detecting nuclear warhead.”

  Skithos slumped in his chair, speechless. He would die on this station. There was no question. How much time had he spent here? What had he accomplished? In his final seconds, he felt a profound emptiness. Fitting, he thought, that he would be interred in the void of space.

  Chapter 8

  General Tallos swiped at one of the many holographic displays in front of him, monitoring the disposition of the battle group. They approached the Sol jump gate in a loose formation. Admiral Pike’s carrier, the Freedom, sat in the center, while his four battleships, along with the Chaanisar and Reiver ships, covered all flanks.

  He considered the mission before them, and the See’er’s unfolding prophecy. He had always been a devout Diakan, but if he ever had any doubts, this had put them all to rest. Everything the See’er had foretold, had come together, and all of it swirled around Jon Pike.

  He had wanted Jon Pike dead, but that changed. Pike was of the Temple. Holy. He might not have believed it, had the See’er not shown it to him herself.

  I met the Great See’er, he thought in astonishment. The greatest of honors bestowed upon any Diakan, and Jon Pike had given it to him. After all that had passed between them. The Hermes, the attempt on Breeah and her child. After all that, Pike had granted him this great honor. Was this not a man of the Temple?

  Tallos had no doubt now. He would stand by Admiral Pike until the end of his life. He would do this, even if it meant continuing to fight alongside the Chaanisar. He would swallow his hatred, and support the decision, despite his revulsion.

  Admiral Pike had given these Chaanisar their freedom, and believed in their loyalty. Tallos, however, had fought against the Chaanisar far too long. Free or not, he could never forgive these butchers. But then, he was not of the Temple, like Admiral Pike. He was a simple Diakan soldier, who had seen too much blood spilled over his many years.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the Chaanisar’s plight. He knew the facts. As human children, they were abducted by the Juttari. They were violated with alien technology, enslaved, and forced to carry out the brutal orders of their alien masters.

  It had all been done against their will. Tallos knew that. His mind understood it. But it changed nothing. Their hands were soaked in Diakan blood all the same. How could he forgive that?

  He couldn’t. But he was a soldier, and he knew how to do his duty. The free Chaanisar had helped the Alliance push back the Juttari. He could see their usefulness.

  The same was true of the Reivers. Though not despised like the Chaanisar, he could find little respect for them. They were nothing more than bandits, and ultimately the cause of the war with the Kemmar. What business did Jon Pike have defending this derelict group of rock rats? He owed them nothing.

  Tallos hadn’t agreed with Pike’s intervention then, and time had not changed that opinion. Pike had argued that they were human, and that he had an obligation to defend all humans against alien aggression. Tallos didn’t agree. They might have been human, but they were nothing more than pirates. Had they raided Diakan space like they had the Kemmar, they would have been put to death long ago. Diakus would not tolerate piracy. Why should the Kemmar?

  Again, despite all feelings to the contrary, he would continue to tolerate the Reivers. This was his pledge to Admiral Pike. He would follow him, even when he disagreed with his decisions. Admiral Pike was of the Temple. Holy. The embodiment of prophecy. None of this needed to make sense to Tallos.

  As their ships crossed through the jump gate, he began to feel very small. If the mission went well, he would meet the fabled Builders. The mythical beings who had built the jump gates. Who was he in the face of such greatness? What worth was there in his opinions? His prejudices?

  Chapter 9

  Chaanisar fighter pilot, Lieutenant Jakobs, flew through the Meybaris system in his Juttari made strike fighter. A former Juttari slave, he now patrolled a former Juttari system in one of their own ships. His brain chip, the main instrument of his former slavery, was now a tool under his control, and through it he interfaced directly with the fighter’s systems, operating through thought alone.

  The brain chips were hated by the free Chaanisar, yet Jakobs saw things differently. While the chips had enslaved, when no longer under Juttari control the chips could provide freedom.

  Through his implant, he could transcend the limits of his body. In connecting with the fighter, he became the fighter. He felt the force of its engines as if they were part of him. His vision, and hearing, were further augmented by the ship’s myriad of sensors, scanners, and targeting capabilities. His strength was multiplied by the ship’s armor, and its powerful weapons, all merely a thought away from firing. Electrical currents traveled through its circuits, and he felt as though they flowed through his veins.

  Even the ship’s small jump system was under his mind’s control, and through it he experienced the ability to teleport himself many light years away, at a whim.

  If not for the Juttari, Jacobs believed that a brain chip should be equipped in everyone. That went for all his implants, too. Was he not free of disease? Could he not live five, or even ten times longer than an unaugmented human? Speed, strength, cognition, every aspect of his body was superior. Even his emotions were under control. He could not overreact, nor could emotion affect his decision making under stressful situations.

  The Chaanisar hoped to return to their humanity. He understood the sentiment. But if it meant giving up his augmentation, he wasn’t interested. He was no longer human. He was something more. Superior in every way. Why return to weakness?

  Streaking across th
e sky, he knew a greater threat loomed. The Juttari gods had returned, as he was told. Despite his feelings of superiority, he knew that they were all helpless against the ancient beings. His enhancements, all his capabilities, were trivial compared to their power. Even the mighty Juttari Empire trembled before them. And now they would come for him.

  They had already taken the Widow’s Triangle, and the many Chaanisar stationed there. Meybaris would surely be next. When Jacobs sensed the alarm, it was almost expected. Even before the words were spoken by the computer, he knew the Juttari gods were here. He felt their presence through the ship’s sensors, saw their great black ships appear all around him.

  Despite his augmentation, the sight triggered sheer terror. As their terrible silver beams lashed out, he felt the power of their minds. Even as he began to activate his jump system, a chorus of compelling voices filled his brain.

  Stop!

  Their commands pressed against him. Clawing. Gnawing. Restraining.

  He hesitated, and they rushed forward, pouring into him like a bursting river. Invading his mind.

  Submit!

  Jacobs screamed.

  It was enough.

  His outburst, the raw emotion, bought him a split second, and in that moment his fighter jumped. Away from Meybaris. Away from the Erinyie.

  He landed in an empty region of space, five light years away. As far as his fighter’s small jump system would reach.

  Panic stricken, Jacobs scanned the surrounding space for any sign of the Juttari gods.

  Nothing.

  Floating alone in the dark wilderness of empty space, the reality of his bare escape overwhelmed him. And despite his implants. Despite his superiority. Lieutenant Jacobs broke down and sobbed, like a lost human child.

  Chapter 10

  Colonel Bast, Chaanisar commander of the battlecruiser Ronin, understood the unease felt by his crew. Through his brain chip, he could hear their many thoughts. Mostly those thoughts were focused on their duties. But recently, it was mingled with an ever-present worry, one shared by Bast himself.