Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (21 page)

They moved faster now. Jon carried Anki, Seiben carried Alina, and Private Daniels carried Otka. Even though the Chaanisar were capable of greater speed, they matched the speed of the group so as to better defend against any further attacks. Two Chaanisar raced ahead to scout for any waiting surprises.

Chaanisar
, thought Jon.
What the hell are the Chaanisar doing here? And why is Kevin with them?

Kevin ran beside Jon, and as if hearing his thoughts he said, “They rescued us from that planet, you know.”

“Why would the Juttari do that?” said Jon.

“They’re not Juttari anymore. They mutinied and killed all the Juttari on board.”

“How? The Chaanisar have never mutinied before.”

“Their brain chips malfunctioned. Actually they still work, but what stopped working was the Juttari’s control over the brain chips.”

“You believe that?” said Jon, the cynicism punching through with each syllable.

“I know. I found it difficult to swallow at first, too,” said Kevin, in between breaths. “I still have my doubts. But they’ve come through. We’ve been chasing down the escape pods and picking up the crew. We’ve even fought the Kemmar over an escape pod. They’ve risked their lives for us a few times now. That goes a long way in my books.”

“I don’t know. The last time I ran into Chaanisar they were using me for target practice. Forgive me if I don’t suddenly hold hands and sing songs with them.”

“You are right to be suspicious, Captain,” said Lieutenant Jarvi, from up ahead. He turned his head and looked back at Jon, not breaking stride. “I would not expect any less from you.”

“You don’t know me, Lieutenant, “said Jon.
Who was talking to you anyway? he
thought.

“Of course I do, Captain. We all know you. Our original mission was to destroy the Hermes. We have all been briefed on your career. Your victories. Your assassinations. Your record is quite impressive.”

“All in the past.”
A murderer would be impressed by killing,
he thought. He felt ancient furies waking inside him and the past rushed at him in a torrent of deep seated hatred. He saw his wife, and his children, and how they died at the hands of Chaanisar like this Lieutenant Jarvi.

“Ah, the past,” mused Jarvi. “The past is slavery. It is unchangeable. There is only the future, Captain.” Jarvi slowed his pace so that Jon and Kevin could catch up to him. “Forget what you know of the Chaanisar, Captain. We are no longer puppets. We are reborn. We are human. You are witnessing the dawn of a new age.”

“I’m witnessing something. I just haven’t decided what it is yet.”
Be happy I haven’t decided to gut you
. His thoughts caught him off guard. He had decided to forget the past. To start anew with Breeah and Anki. But here was the past showing him that its icy hands still gripped him as tightly as ever. Would he ever be free?

“Of course, Captain. As I said, I wouldn’t expect any less from you,” said Jarvi.

“So you’re from the Juttari ship we fought against at the beginning of our mission?”

“Correct.”

“Do you still have the jump system? The one you stole from us?”

“Yes, Captain. We still have the jump system the Juttari stole. Not us.”

“What’s the difference?”

“As the Chief said, the Juttari do not rule us anymore.”

“Yeah? Who does?”

“We rule ourselves.”

We’ll see about that
, thought Jon. “Where’s the ship now?”

“A safe distance away. The station’s leader denied us access to its system. They did not want us to help you escape judgment.”

“Escape judgment,” Jon spit. “I didn’t kill Jansen,” he said, the anger dripping off each word.

“Whether you did or didn’t is irrelevant. All that matters now is escape.”

“Wait. How did you get on board if they denied you access to the system?”

“We commandeered a freighter,” said Kevin, smiling.

“You did what?” said Seiben, who ran just behind Jon and listened to the entire conversation.

“This is Captain Seiben,” said Jon. “He’s a freighter Captain.”

“Which did you capture?” said Seiben. “Who was the Captain?”

“Captain Neeman,” said Kevin.

Seiben let loose a loud belly laugh. “Serves him right. I hate that guy. Did he shit his pants?”

“Daddy!” said Alina, a frown of disapproval across her face.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to swear,” said Seiben, looking apologetically at his daughter. He turned back to Kevin and grinned, saying, “Well, did he?”

“There were a few moments I thought he might,” said Kevin, returning the grin.

Seiben laughed hysterically. Jon looked back at him and smiled, happy that he was letting off some steam. He had never wanted to involve Seiben and his family in any of this. He knew it wasn’t his fault, but he still felt guilty.

“The good Captain saved our lives when he picked up our escape pod,” said Jon.

“Don’t remind me,” said Seiben. “I should’ve never let my nephew talk me into it.”

“Nonetheless, you have my gratitude,” said Jon.

“And look where that got me. You can keep your damn gratitude.”

Darla punched Seiben in the arm. Alina copied her mother and punched her father in the chest.

“Why is everybody hitting me?” protested Seiben.

“Don’t be so rude,” said Darla.

“You’re right,” said Seiben. He turned to Jon and said, “Thank you for all the exercise you are giving me today. I was worried about how fat I was getting.”

Darla and Alina both punched Seiben again, making Jon and Kevin laugh.

“Thank you for saving our Captain,” said Kevin, still chuckling.

Seiben grunted.

Jon turned back to Kevin. “So who else have you rescued?”

“We got a lot of the Marines off Kerces. The ones who were still alive,” said Kevin, his eyes turning grim. He looked at Breeah and said, “We got some of the Reivers out, too.”

Breeah cocked her head at Kevin, but didn’t say anything. Jon wondered why she was so detached when it came to her people. She never showed any emotion when the subject came up. She was generally stoic in nature, but you would think that she would be happy that some of her own were rescued. But there was no curiosity to know who had been saved. If they got off the station in one piece he’d try and find out why.

“We got Singh too,” said Kevin, his voice full of venom.

“What’s wrong with that?” said Jon, confused by Kevin’s tone.

“He’s a traitor, Sir.”

Jon couldn’t believe it. Chief Engineer Singh loved the Hermes. He hadn’t known anyone more committed to their jobs than Singh. “That’s got to be a mistake. How could Singh be a traitor?”

“He’s lost it, Sir. I don’t know what happened, but he showed up on Kerces and was telling the Kemmar everything about the Hermes and Earth. He was even going to show them how to build their own jump systems.”

Jon was stunned. “I don’t believe it,” he said.

“Believe it, Sir. I saw it with my own eyes. He’s on the Chaanisar ship in custody.”

“Did the Kemmar break him?”

“I don’t know who broke him, but he’s not all there anymore.”

That was bad news. Singh was a genius when it came to the jump system. If anybody could build another one, it was him. They would need him if they hoped to outfit any ship with a jump system. The thought surprised him. An hour ago he didn’t know if any of his crew were still alive. He knew nothing of the Chaanisar mutiny. His only thought was keeping everyone safe long enough to try and escape the station. Now he was thinking of building another jump ship. He hadn’t even gotten off the station yet and his subconscious was already making plans. Was it his subconscious? Or was it the creature? Were his thoughts his own anymore?

“We rescued Ensigns Petrovic and Yao,” continued Kevin.

“Good,” said Jon. The Hermes tactical and navigation officers would certainly come in handy if they did build another ship. He would need his bridge crew. Commander Wolfe would have been invaluable in that case, but he knew that wasn’t possible. He saw her die on the bridge. A great officer with a promising career. Her death weighed heavily on his conscience.

“We also picked up Tallos and a couple of Diakans.”

Jon came to a halt causing a Marine to run into him. He apologized and took off again, but he was no less shaken by what he had heard. His stomach tightened and he boiled over inside. “You have Tallos?” he said, almost in a whisper.

“Yes, Sir.”

He had a score to settle with the Diakan. Breeah almost died because of him. He could barely wait to see Tallos. To clench his fingers around that green throat and watch the life drain out of those unblinking fish eyes.

“Lieutenant Jarvi, what is your status,” came a voice over Jarvi’s communicator.

“Weapon systems are disabled, Sir,” said Jarvi. “We have the Captain and his party and are heading for the docks.”

“We are in position awaiting your signal.”

“Understood, Sir.” Jarvi turned to Jon and Kevin. “Our ship is orbiting the station. They are waiting to extract us. We need to move quickly.”

Jon nodded his understanding. Soon he would be on board a Juttari warship, surrounded by Chaanisar. He cringed.
Grandfather save me,
he thought

He looked at the rest of his group. Breeah was barely sweating. She was in great shape and wouldn’t have a problem making it. Seiben and Darla were another matter. They were both drenched in sweat and out of breath. He was surprised they hadn’t asked to take a break yet. Jon looked to Private Burke and said, “Private, carry the child for the rest of the way,” pointing at Alina.

“It’s okay,” said Seiben.

“No it’s not,” said Jon. “You’re going to slow us down. Burke can carry Alina and still keep pace.”

Seiben didn’t put up much of a fight and handed his daughter over to the younger, fitter Marine.

“Captain,” came the AI’s voice over Jon’s comm.

“Yes, AI,” said Jon.

A look of surprise swept over Kevin’s face. “You saved the AI?”

“Hello Chief St. Clair,” said the AI. “I can assure you I am still very much alive.”

“Glad to hear it,” said Kevin.

“I am glad that you are alive too,” said the AI. “Captain, there is a security contingent gaining on your position.”

“How long until they intercept us?”

“Five minutes.”

“Understood, “said Jon. “Lieutenant, how long till we reach the extraction point?”

“Ten minutes,” said Jarvi.

Colonel Bast had no doubt that Lieutenant Jarvi would succeed in his mission. Failure was not in that man’s vocabulary. Just as he expected, the station’s weapon systems were down, successfully sabotaged by Jarvi’s team. He was curious to see how Chief St. Clair’s team would perform, however. He didn’t think it was right to send a Chaanisar team to rescue their Captain, but he also wanted to test the Chief and his men. He liked and respected the Chief, but wanted to give him an opportunity to prove himself. The Chief didn’t need to prove anything to him. Bast recognized that the Chief and his Marines were skilled warriors. Instead, he wanted to give them a victory. In rescuing the Captain they would exorcise any demons that still haunted them from their experience on Kerces. It would revitalize them. Give them renewed purpose.

He hoped they would learn to work with Lieutenant Jarvi’s team. He saw the potential conflict building between the Chief and the Lieutenant. He understood Jarvi’s attitude. Chaanisar were enhanced soldiers. The Juttari technology in their bodies gave them super human abilities. They had train to be soldiers since childhood. It was difficult to see someone who didn’t have these abilities as an equal. He hoped that by succeeding in his mission the Chief would earn more of Jarvi’s respect, and the two could work harmoniously.

They were stuck together, after all. They needed to work with each other moving forward. The Hermes was gone. They couldn’t continue behaving as two separate crews. They would eventually have to merge. Become one. By doing so they would become stronger and benefit from the other. He would just have to win Captain Pike over to his cause. The Hermes crew was still loyal to him. That was obvious. If Captain Pike agreed to merge the crews, the rest would follow. If he didn’t… things might become uncomfortable.

The other thing was Doctor Ellerbeck. If they found her, the Captain’s support for their cause would ensure her compliance. They needed to remove the chips once and for all. Otherwise it was like having a gun permanently pointed at their heads. One day someone would come along and pull the trigger.

Under the Juttari, they would have merely sought out the Doctor and captured her. Then they would have used any of a number of methods to force her to comply with their wishes. While that would be the easier course of action, it wasn’t who they were anymore. He knew in some ways he was being idealistic, but what else was there? Under the Juttari they never acted of their own free will. They had none. No choice in any action they took. They weren’t really monsters. The true monsters were their masters. Now that Juttari control was gone, what would they do? If they still used Juttari methods, then they truly were no different, the brain chips merely a convenient excuse to hide their true nature.

He refused to accept such weakness. Their true nature was human, not Juttari. Their humanity was stolen from them when they were children. But it wasn’t lost. When they mutinied they stole it back. He planned to keep it this time. It would not be easy, but they all had to learn to be human again. What better way to start than with the crew of the Hermes?

He knew convincing Captain Pike was not going to be easy. He knew Pike’s history. His reputation. He had killed countless Juttari and Chaanisar during his career. No other Space Force soldier came close. That level of success requires more than just ability. It requires zeal. Obsessive commitment. Pure hatred of the enemy. Captain Pike had lost his family during the war. His fury must run deep.

Were they really that different?

Every Chaanisar had lost their families as children. Their hatred of the Juttari was merely suppressed by the brain chips. But would Captain Pike see it that way? Not at first, but maybe over time. How do you win over someone like that? With deeds, that was how. They had rescued his men from the prison planet. They were searching for the escape pods and fighting to retrieve them. Words were meaningless. Their actions would win over Captain Pike in the end. Their actions would reclaim their humanity. They would prevail.

“We are being hailed by the station, Sir.”

“Route transmission to my console.”

The screen flickered to life and the rather unpleasant looking Mr. Kulberg appeared.

“Colonel Bast, why have you returned?”

“I missed our long conversations,” said Bast.

Kulberg frowned, apparently unimpressed by Bast’s wit. “I warned you that we would fire on you if you returned, Colonel.”

“Yes, I do remember you saying something like that. I think we’ll take our chances.”

The screen went black and Bast waited, certain that Kulberg was ordering the station’s weapon systems to bombard his ship. It didn’t worry him. He had full confidence in Lieutenant Jarvi, as he did in all his men. If the Lieutenant said the weapon systems were disabled, then it was so.

Some time passed and nothing happened. No cannons. No missiles. No attack. The screen came alive again and Kulberg’s face reappeared, scowling more than before.

“Is there something wrong, Mr. Kulberg?” said Bast.

“I’m sure you think you’re very clever,” said Kulberg, his eyes all but burning holes through the display.

“Now why would I think something like that?”

“Don’t play games, Bast. Somehow you’ve managed to disable our defenses. I don’t know how you did it, but I can assure you we are more than capable of defending ourselves.”

“Mr. Kulberg,” said Bast, trying hard to sound conciliatory. “We mean your station no harm. We merely want our people. If we can get past this misunderstanding I am willing to establish diplomatic relations.”

“Diplomatic relations? Who do you represent?”

“Ourselves.”

Kulberg leaned back in his chair, studying Bast. “You want to propose diplomatic relations between this station and your ship?”

“Yes. Why not?”

“You’re a fool,” said Kulberg, leaning in. “Your people are out of time. As we speak my forces are running them down. They are not going to make it off this station alive. Your ship is not going to fare any better. Two DLC destroyers are coming for you as we speak. Your ship will not make it out of this system. Enjoy what little time you have left.”

The display went black again and Kulberg was gone. Bast pulled up a tactical display of the surrounding system. He saw the destroyers racing toward them. They looked to be the same size as his ship. He pulled up another display analyzing their weaponry. Again they seemed to be evenly matched, with a similar array of weaponry. He felt confident that they could defeat one of the ships, though they would sustain a fair amount of damage in the process. Fighting two, on the other hand, would be far more difficult, and he didn’t know if they could win, even with the jump system.

He wasn’t sure how much time they had as he didn’t know the range of their weapons. He had seen some warships with tremendous energy weapon range. While it was true long distance firing dissipated some of the weapon’s power, it could still cause damage. Sustained firing even more so. If the other ship couldn’t fire back, well then it turned into a game of target practice. Provided the ship couldn’t jump away. But he couldn’t just jump away. He had to retrieve his people.

Bast opened a channel with Lieutenant Jarvi. “What is your status, Lieutenant?”

“A sizable force is bearing down on us, Sir,” said Jarvi.

“Can you outrun them?”

“No, Sir.”

“I am ordering the remaining force guarding the docks to assist you. Transmit your coordinates to them.”

“Understood.”

“Signal when you’ve successfully reached the extraction point.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Bast studied the advancing warships once more. Right now they were spread apart, but as they came closer to his ship they would close the gap between themselves, making them harder to defend against. He didn’t know how long it would take for the landing party to reach the extraction point. If the destroyers managed to get within weapons range they could easily shoot down any shuttles sent for extraction. He couldn’t allow that.

“Helm, prepare to jump,” said Bast. “Plot coordinates to land us directly behind the destroyer on our starboard side.”

“Coordinates plotted, Sir.”

“Jump.”