Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (24 page)

The shuttle ride to the ship was uneventful. Jon had watched with concern as his men spoke with the Chaanisar. They had started to form a bond with each other, the way men who have fought together often do. They were beginning to trust each other. How would that affect things if this arrangement didn’t work out?

Lieutenant Jarvi didn’t join in. He kept quiet and stared mostly at Jon. Was that anger in his eyes? Hatred? Jon played along and stared right back. The Lieutenant was well disciplined. Whatever he felt, he kept it contained. But Jon did feel the silent challenge, and was more than happy to accept.

Anytime
, he thought.

The shuttle itself had no windows, but there was a display showing their progress. He cringed as the Juttari Heavy Cruiser came into view, the same one he battled months ago. It sat silent and motionless, waiting. Five centuries of terror embodied in that one dreadful ship. It reminded him of childhood anxiety and nightmares. As a child he spent years living with the fear that he would be taken to the Chaanisar, and now he went willingly. Somewhere deep inside him a little boy screamed.

Breeah’s hand took hold of his, breaking the spell. She didn’t say anything, but he could see that she understood. More importantly, she reminded him that he was no longer alone. He had been given a second chance. He had a family once again. The only reason humanity had persevered during those long, horrific years of occupation was family. Nothing more. What Earth had been before the occupation was largely forgotten amidst generations. There were no idealistic thoughts of resurrecting the old Earth. As much as the desire for vengeance burned inside of every human’s belly, it provided little sustenance. The only reason people kept going, and the only reason for the resistance, was family. That ship, with its crew of Chaanisar, was the antithesis of humanity.

The Juttari hangar bay grew larger on the screen as they approached. When the shuttle entered its opening the display went black and the lights inside dimmed. Jon felt himself drowning, like a defeated Ahab. His muscles flexed involuntarily. He fought back a desire to attack the pilot and commandeer the shuttle. There was a thud beneath his feat and he knew they had stopped. The lights inside the shuttle lit up again and the hatch slid open. The Marines and Chaanisar got up and began to exit the shuttle. Jon stood, picked up Anki, then headed for the exit in turn, with Breeah and Seiben’s family following close behind.

When they got off the shuttle Jon was somewhat surprised at how different the Chaanisar ship was from the Hermes. They had stolen the Hermes plans from Space Force, but the ship itself didn’t look like the Hermes. It was harder. In many ways it looked unfinished. The ship’s crew were Chaanisar, after all. He didn’t think the Juttari cared much about appeasing the Chaanisar. From what he knew of the Juttari, there would have been a small contingent of them on board. The Masters. They would have overseen the mission, but would have left the running of the vessel to their Chaanisar puppets. It was how the Juttari operated. They ruled, and others did their bidding. He knew that there would be a part of this ship specifically designed as Juttari living quarters. Other than the Chaanisar leader, no other would be permitted to enter that section of the ship. He wondered how it happened when they revolted. Did they storm the Juttari section? How did the Juttari react when they realized they had lost control? Did the green bastards screech like that one did during the war, just before Jon put it down? He thought of the sound, all of them huddled together shrieking as their bastard children passed judgment. If only he had been there.

Lieutenant Jarvi escorted the group out of the hangar bay and through the ship. Kevin followed, but the rest of the Marines had gone off in a different direction. They had been on this ship for a while now and didn’t need the guided tour. He looked around as they walked. They were obsessed with their symbols. Every inch of the ship was covered with either the Juttari insignia, or some other scribbles.

“What are all these markings?” said Seiben.

“Symbols, from the Juttari scriptures,” said Jon, nauseated by the sight.

“They must be a very religious species,” said Darla.

“They’re fanatics,” said Jon. “They believe it is their divine right to rule.”

“To rule who?”

“Everybody. They believe their creator made them superior to all others in the galaxy. Not only is it their divine right to rule, but their divine duty to conquer any species they encounter.”

Lieutenant Jarvi joined the conversation, as he liked to. “The Juttari believe their creator gave them power for a reason - to transform the galaxy. Since they believe it is their obligation to serve his will, they wage war and conquer with fervent zeal. They make others fight and die on their behalf. The Juttari rule and the rest bleed. A convenient arrangement if you are Juttari. Not ideal if you are human.”

“All these horrors. All because of religion?” said Seiben.

“Yes,” said Jarvi. “The Juttari consider themselves the only true believers. All others are inferior and unworthy of their creator’s light. That makes them unworthy of their own lives. The Juttari are here to serve their creator, and the rest of us are here to serve the Juttari.”

“Doesn’t it bother you?” said Jon.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” said Jarvi.

“The Juttari took you from your family. Violated you. Turned you on your own people. Yet you show no emotion when you speak of them. Have you completely lost your humanity?”

“Emotions? Is that what you seek, Captain? Will that make us more human in your eyes?”

“It would be a start,” said Jon.

“We were not allowed emotions, Captain. Imagine a child of four or five years, taken from his family, and thrown into an alien hell. Imagine the fear. The paralyzing horror. How could such a child serve his Juttari masters?”

“I don’t know,” said Jon.

“He cannot. By controlling the child’s emotions, you can reprogram the child. The brain chips are essential to this. They control the fear. That is why a child is augmented as soon as possible.”

“I’m guessing the chips work the same way in combat?”

“That is correct. In battle the brain chips suppress feelings of fear, making for a more efficient soldier.”

“So you have no emotions at all?” said Darla.

“We do have emotions,” said Jarvi. “I can feel everything that you can feel. The brain chips gave the Juttari the ability to control our emotionns.”

“What about now?“ said Darla.

“I don’t understand.”

“The Juttari are gone. They don’t control you anymore.”

“After years of having our emotions suppressed for us, we have become surprisingly capable of doing the same thing ourselves. In the end, we have been trained as soldiers since childhood. For a soldier, emotions can sometimes be a liability.” Jarvi stepped up to a door and said, “We have arrived.”

It slid open and he gestured for the group to enter. Inside was a long dark table, also covered with markings. Standing up from the table was a tall man with a more ornate uniform than the Lieutenant’s. Jon recognized the man’s rank from his uniform. A Colonel. He looked fit and tough, and had an air of quiet authority about him. The man walked around to greet the groups.

“I am Colonel Bast, commander of this ship,” the man said. “I trust you are all in good health. Uninjured?”

“We’re all fine, Colonel,” said Jon.

Bast scrutinized Jon. “You must be the notorious Captain Pike,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“We’ll see,” said Jon.

Bast looked surprised. “I’m sorry, is there something wrong?”

“Other than the fact that I’m on a Juttari heavy cruiser surrounded by Chaanisar? No. Everything’s great. Couldn’t be better.”

Bast nodded. “I understand how you feel, Captain. This all must be quite a shock for you.”

“Not the last, I’m sure.” He wondered how shocking it would be for Bast if he knew how many Chaanisar he had killed.

Bast looked at Kevin, “Chief St. Clair, congratulations on a successful mission.”

“Thank you, Colonel. It was good to be out in the field again.”

“Excuse me,” said Seiben, drawing a menacing look from Darla. “I don’t mean to interrupt the happy reunion, but what’s going to happen to us?”

“This is Captain Seiben and his family. They were with Captain Pike,” said Jarvi.

“I see,” said Bast. “Am I correct to assume that you cannot return to the station?”

“Yeah, it looks like things might be complicated there for a while.”

“You are welcome to stay on board for as long as you like.”

“If it’s all the same to you, we’d like to be dropped off at one of the other planets,” said Seiben.

“Which planets are you referring to?” said Bast.

“The other human planets. We were thinking New Byzantium would work. I can give you the coordinates.”

“Certainly. We will be continuing our search, but I’m sure we can find time to drop you off.”

“What search?” said Jon.

“For your crew, Captain,” said Bast.

“Why are you searching for my crew? Why do you care?” said Jon, his tone accusatory.

“We are actually searching for our humanity, Captain. Rescuing your crew is helping us find it.”

“Yeah okay, now do you want to tell me the real reason?”

“We honestly do want to help your crew, Captain. But beyond that, we are also hoping to find your Doctor Ellerbeck.”

“Why do you want to find the Doctor?”

“We are hoping she will remove these confounding brain chips,” said Bast, pointing to his head. “We do not want to be Juttari slaves anymore.”

“I thought you killed all the Juttari on board?”

“We did. But if we ever come across any Juttari the chips will enslave us again. I would prefer to eliminate that possibility.”

Jon wondered what would happen to the Hermes crew once those brain chips were gone? What reason would Bast have to keep them around? All the more reason to find another ship for his crew.

“You must all be exhausted after your ordeal,” said Bast. “My men can show you to your quarters. I can answer any questions after you have rested.”

“They can go rest. I’ve got some questions I’d like answered now,” said Jon.

“As you wish, Captain.”

Jon turned to Breeah and said, “Go ahead and get some rest. I’ll see you a little later.” He bent down and kissed her on the lips. She returned his kiss, causing some tension to dissipate.

Jarvi led the group out of the room and Bast walked back to the table, gesturing for Jon to join him. Jon pulled out the chair opposite Bast and sat down.

“What would you like to discuss, Captain,” said Bast. He sat perfectly straight, maintaining strict military professionalism.

“It looks like we’re stuck together for a while. I’m not thrilled with that. I mean, I am grateful that you rescued my crew and that you got us off the station, but I just don’t trust you.”

“We risked our lives to save your crew, Captain. We did the same to save you,” said Bast, defensively.

“And I thank you, but I’ve fought against your kind my whole life.”

“I appreciate your honesty, but we are not the same as those you fought against.”

“Yes, I know. You mutinied. You killed Juttari. That’s what you say. Whether it’s true or not is irrelevant. You are the same to me.”

“I see. Then what is there to talk about?” said Bast, a slight tone of dejection in his voice.

“Like I said, we’re stuck with each other, so I want to establish some ground rules.”

“I’m listening.”

“My crew. I don’t know what’s been going on since they came aboard, but they are my crew. Not yours.”

“I have no desire to steal your crew, Captain.”

“I don’t care what your desires are. They’re my crew. They don’t take orders from you, or any of your officers.”

“This can be accommodated, Captain, but we will need to work together toward achieving common goals.”

Bast was right, they would need to work together, but the thought made Jon shudder. “You and I can decide what that will look like, and I will issue the necessary orders to my men.”

“That is agreeable, Captain. Was there anything else?”

“I understand you have Tallos, and Chief Engineer Singh in custody?”

“Yes, Captain. That is correct.”

“They are my prisoners. Not yours.”

“I can agree that Chief Engineer Singh is your prisoner. He was part of your crew after all.”

“So was Tallos,” said Jon, his tone adversarial.

“Not exactly, Captain. While he may have been assigned to the Hermes, I would hesitate to call a Diakan General a member of your crew.”

“General?”

“That is correct, Captain. That makes him a high value intelligence source.”

Everything about Tallos made more sense now. Why hadn’t he seen it before? “Tallos was already in my custody for crimes he committed on the Hermes,” said Jon.

“Perhaps, but he escaped the Hermes. Look, I don’t want this to cause a rift between us, but I believe Tallos has some important information that we require. I propose we share this prisoner.”