Vanguard

by G. P. Hudson

  The two Taymati battleships appeared, each on opposite flanks of the Diakan battleship. But what made her blood run cold was the twenty Diakan battleships surrounding them.

  “Please, everyone stop,” Miira said. “There is no need for any of this. Contact General Tallos and verify my claims. Otherwise, be prepared to face the consequences when he and Admiral Pike find out what you have done.”

  “Advise your escort to stand down, and I will contact General Tallos. If they do not comply, this will be treated as an enemy incursion, and you will all be destroyed. You have five Diakus minutes to comply. Any further aggression from your ships will not be tolerated.”

  With that, Captain Nattos vanished from the comm display leaving only the scowling face of Captain Teev. “That Diakan is a fool. He will die here today.”

  “No one will die here!” Miira said. “Do you understand me, Captain? I am here on the Emperor’s authority to negotiate peace, not to start another galactic incident.”

  “We will not-”

  “Yes, you will. By the authority of the Emperor, I am ordering your ships to stand down immediately.”

  “You do not have the authority to give that command.”

  “Oh, I do. Believe me. If you refuse to follow my lawful order, you will be committing treason. Or, you can comply, and I will praise your actions here today to the Emperor. I imagine there will be a medal and a promotion waiting for you, not to mention a corresponding increase in pay. Your choice. What is your answer?”

  Teev glared back at her but did not say anything.

  “Your answer!?” Miira growled.

  Miira thought she noticed Teev’s eyes widen slightly but wasn’t sure. “I will comply,” he said finally. “We are standing down.”

  “Thank you, Captain.” Miira opened a comm with the Diakan captain. “My escort has complied. Now it is up to you to keep your word, Captain Nattos. Will you live up to your species’ reputation?”

  “Diakans are honorable,” Nattos said. “We are contacting General Tallos and will have an answer shortly.” With that, her comm display went blank.

  Miira relaxed, and her thoughts again turned to her father. What would he think of her abilities now?

  Chapter 14

  The Diakans escorted Miira into the Sol System. Once Captain Teev was satisfied that the Diakans would not imprison her, he turned his ships around and headed back to Dvorkan space.

  When she came through the Sol gate, Miira reoriented her display and zoomed in on the planet Earth. She felt great joy at the sight of the human homeworld. She held strong feelings for the humans. Especially Jon Pike.

  He believed in her when most Dvorkans, her own people, dismissed her career as foolishness. Because of him, she found the mythical Antikitheri, vindicating herself and her research. During the eight years she spent on Earth, he had always made her feel welcome. In many ways, he was more of a father figure to her than her real father back home. He always encouraged her and showed her the power of taking risks.

  To her delight, a comm request from Admiral Pike came in and she accepted. The Admiral’s rugged features appeared on her comm display. He smiled and said, “Miira. You don’t know how happy I am to see you.”

  “Me as well, Admiral,” Miira said.

  “I take it you made it to the Empire without incident?”

  “I wouldn’t say that Sir, but yes, I did make it to the Empire and met with Emperor Kriss.”

  “Excellent. I’m looking forward to speaking with you in person. I’m going to advise your Diakan escort to jump into orbit around Earth and will meet with you as soon as you make it to the surface. See you soon.” Jon ended the connection and vanished from her display.

  Soon after she received word from the Diakans that they were going to make a short jump to Earth. She acknowledged the message and confirmed her jump system was still synced with theirs. A few minutes later, Miira found herself in orbit around the blue planet and began her descent to the surface.

  Entering the atmosphere, she set a course for the UHSF mountain complex and set her ship on autopilot. While it streaked across the sky, she soaked in as much of the planet’s beauty as she could. From the endless oceans to the lush forests, she found breathtaking vistas at every turn.

  This world that had undergone so much trauma, yet it seemed like an unspoiled wilderness, so unlike the overdeveloped planets of the Empire. Of course, Miira knew that this beauty had come at a terrible cost. Earth had once been an overdeveloped world itself. The Juttari invasion put an end to that, however. Most of the great cities of this planet crumbled, their populations subjected to massacres and cruel poverty.

  As the centuries passed, the planet returned to a simpler way of life. They grew and hunted for their own food and bartered for anything they needed. Many opted to live in isolation, fearing the visit of collaborators coming for their sons.

  When the Diakans came and liberated the planet, most had no knowledge of the great cities of Earth’s past. But, with Diakan help they rebuilt their world, and ferociously clawed their way into the interstellar age.

  But the Juttari returned, and this time they scorched the planet, killing billions and reducing its cities to ash. Jon Pike and his army of free Chaanisar drove the Juttari out, and the Diakans saved Earth a second time. They cleaned up the radiation and used vast genetic libraries to return life to the planet, restoring it to its natural state.

  The jump gate connecting Sol with its colonies was reopened, and millions of people returned to their ancestral homeworld, taking advantage of the promise of free land. Massive, accelerated development followed, but not so much that the planet lost its natural beauty.

  Miira had no doubt it would one day, however. The population would continue to grow and would develop more and more land until the planet became no different than any other advanced world in the galaxy. It was the way of things. But, for now at least, one could enjoy all the natural wonders this planet had to offer.

  Her mind turned to the Antikitheri and their mysterious portals, or jump gates as the humans called them. The Empire now possessed the knowledge, but the ancient portals were built by the Antikitheri themselves. She found it fascinating that almost every gate linked to a star system containing at least one habitable planet. Why did the Antikitheri link them together through the gate network? What purpose did it serve?

  Were those ancient Antikitheri the same ones they encountered in the Andromeda galaxy? All her studies indicated that the ancient Builders were benevolent and worked for the good of the galaxy. Yet, these modern ones were tyrannical. Miira knew that primary sources were often embellished to paint a rosier picture than the reality. Everything written about the ancient Builders had fallen into the realm of mythology. Nonetheless, she had to wonder whether immortality had changed these beings. She might never know.

  One place that survived the Juttari bombardment of Earth was the mountain complex where she was to meet Jon Pike. Built in secret, it had been hardened against nuclear attack and spared the devastation much of the planet endured. Miira’s ship came in for a landing at the mountain’s base where she was greeted by a UHSF officer. The officer led her into the cavernous complex and to a meeting room where Jon Pike waited. Several of his high-ranking officers were in attendance on a wall screen, including the Diakan General Tallos.

  Jon greeted Miira warmly and gestured for her to sit at the table. As before, an oversized chair had been brought in to accommodate Miira’s giant frame. The meeting then got underway and Miira recounted the details of her adventurous return home. Jon listened patiently to everything Miira had to say, asking the odd question every now and then.

  “It sounds like Emperor Kriss has his hands full,” Jon said when Miira finished.

  “The civil war explains why the Dvorkans were in such a hurry to leave Diakan space,” General Tallos added from the wallscreen.

  “Those forces were acting against the Emperor’s wishes when they attacked you,” Miira said. “Th
ey are aligned against the Emperor in this civil war.”

  “Are you saying that Emperor Kriss did not send those ships into Diakan territory?” Tallos said.

  “No. He sent them to drive out the Juttari occupying that territory,” Miira said. “But they acted against his wishes when they attacked the UHSF.”

  “Irrelevant,” Tallos said. “If there were no civil war, they would have remained in Diakan space, forcing us to drive them out.”

  “Okay, let’s keep in mind that Miira is not responsible for the Empire’s actions,” Jon said. “No point shooting the messenger.”

  “I have no intention of shooting her,” Tallos said.

  “Never mind,” Jon shook his head and turned back to Miira. “So, the Emperor wants to focus on his civil war, and he can’t do that if he has to worry about us invading.”

  “Yes, Admiral, that is part of it, but I sincerely believe he never wanted war with humans or Diakans,” Miira said. “The fault for this conflict lies with the conspirators and the AI copy. The Empire was naturally at war with the Juttari, due to their worship of the Erinyie.”

  “Then why didn’t they continue attacking the Juttari? Why did they attack UHSF space? It doesn’t make any military sense to open a second front. It would have been more logical if they continued pursuing the Juttari and then dealt with the UHSF when they were done.”

  “I cannot answer that question, Admiral,” Miira said. “I do not speak for the conspirators.”

  “Why should we believe your Emperor?” Tallos said. “How do we know that he won’t try and invade our space again once his enemies are defeated?”

  “He gave you his word,” Miira said.

  “Yes, forgive me if I don’t take his word as sacrosanct,” Tallos said. “Your species does not have a very good track record. We shared our advanced technologies with you, and you turned around and used that same tech against us. No, I don’t believe your Emperor. He will invade again when he feels confident he can win.”

  “You don’t want to make peace with the Dvorkans?” Jon said.

  “I’m just wondering if Kriss would make peace with us if he were not embroiled in a civil war,” Tallos said. “What would have happened if they defeated us in battle? I find it very hard to believe that they would have stopped there. They certainly would not have returned Diakan territory to us. No, I believe we need to view the Empire as a hostile entity.”

  “I think I have an idea that can resolve this problem,” Jon said. “We shared numerous advanced technologies with Emperor Kriss. It’s now his turn to return the favor. I will agree to peace on the condition that he shares the jump gate secrets with us.”

  “What if he does not agree?” Miira said, increasingly concerned with where the discussion was headed.

  “Then we will remain in a state of war, which means we might decide to take that new jump gate he built for ourselves.”

  Chapter 15

  The Chaanisar battlecruiser Ronin appeared near Kem, the Kemmar homeworld. UHSF warships and automated weapon systems deployed around the planet enforced a tight blockade. Ever since the release of the nanoweapon, no ships could visit or leave the planet.

  The ships compromised by the nanoweapon had no survivors and were heavily irradiated to destroy all traces of the weapon. Before that, AI found a method of securely quarantining the weapon for further study and to hopefully discover a defense against it.

  Jamie stood silently on one of the Ronin’s decks, watching their approach on a display when Anki showed up.

  “Are you okay?” Anki said.

  “Yes, why do you ask?” Jamie said.

  “You’re grinding your teeth.”

  “I am? I hadn’t noticed.” He realized that his jaw was clenched and tried to relax.

  “It must be disturbing to be back on a Juttari warship.”

  “Haunting would be a more accurate description. These ships have seen countless horrors.”

  “I couldn’t begin to imagine.”

  “It is better that way,” Jamie said. “It is strange to see you on a Chaanisar ship. You asked for this posting?”

  “Yes. When Jon let me fight in the battle against the Dvorkans, he put me on Lieutenant Jarvi’s team as a way of ensuring my safety. After proving myself in combat, I asked to stay on the Ronin. I’m comfortable here.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I’ve known most of these Chaanisar since I was a child. I’m more at home here than I would be on some UHSF ship filled with colonial recruits.”

  “I bet I’m more out of place here than you.” Jamie grinned. “I am a bit of a black sheep among the Chaanisar.”

  “Nonsense. They see you as a brother.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure. I think Lieutenant Jarvi’s opinion of me has changed since Colonel Harris sent his men after you.”

  “You don’t give him enough credit.”

  “We’ll see. Did you know that he volunteered to go down to the surface?”

  “Yes. We will soon know how the nanoweapon affects the Chaanisar. I hope he survives the trip.”

  “Even if it doesn’t kill him, he may not be allowed back on board. They’ll need to ensure he is not a carrier. We wouldn’t want to expose you to it.”

  “If it were just for my safety, I wouldn’t have come. If he is a carrier and comes on board, he would turn all the other Chaanisar into carriers. Can you imagine? They would never be able to step foot on a human world or ship again.”

  “True. The levels of radiation needed to kill that thing are too high,” Jamie said. “What about these Kemmar? What can you tell me about them?”

  “A lot, actually. We Reivers have a long history with this species. We used a gate to cross into Kemmar space, raid commercial vessels, and return home before their military arrived. When they discovered the gate, they took our entire colony and slaughtered more than half our numbers. They are a vicious species that revels in eating the flesh of their enemies.”

  “It must have been difficult to defeat them. I regret not having an opportunity to fight against such a race.”

  “They are exceptional warriors,” Anki said. “Jon fought many battles against them, even before they invaded the colonies. He had tried to save our colony from them when he first discovered us. Jon was a captain then. He lost his ship and many crewmembers in the process. My mother and I barely survived the ordeal. Jon took us with him in an escape pod, and the rest is history.”

  “It appears that Jon Pike got his revenge in the end.”

  “Yes, he did. Although this nanoweapon might change all that.”

  “No, it is a foolish tactic by these Kemmar.”

  “How so?”

  “Without a defense, the nanoweapon is an existential threat. The risk of it reaching a human planet is too great. Therefore, the only answer is total irradiation of the planet.”

  “That is genocide.”

  “Indeed. I did not say it was a good option. However, it is impossible to live with the threat of this weapon annihilating the human race. In developing it, the Kemmar have brought on their own destruction.”

  “Then you are in favor of a preemptive strike?”

  “I believe we still have options, but once those are exhausted, I fear that Admiral Pike will have no other choice.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t get there.”

  ***

  Lieutenant Jarvi emerged from the jump portal amid dead human bodies. He chose to land at the main UHSF camp on the planet Kem. He fired his weapons the second he came through his jump portal and dropped four Kemmar before the rest ran away, leaving behind the loot they had just picked from the dead bodies.

  He scanned the camp and fired again. The camp had been overrun by Kemmar despite the defensive drones protecting the military equipment. Those drones were more concerned with protecting the heavy weapons than they were about the fallen soldiers the Kemmar were robbing.

  Jarvi kept firing, and many Kemmar returned fire with stolen UHSF weapon
s. His combat suit withstood the small arms fire, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He broke into a run making it almost impossible for the unaugmented Kemmar to target him.

  “Ronin, do you see this?” he said through his comm.

  “Yes, Lieutenant,” Colonel Bast said from the Ronin in orbit above the camp. “Do you require an orbital strike?”

  “Negative.” Jarvi streaked through the camp, methodically picking off every Kemmar stupid enough to try and fight him. He didn’t understand why they didn’t just run. None wore armor. Why try and shoot it out with him? If they had any sense, they would have taken their loot and gotten out of there.

  “Combat suit has been compromised,” AI said.

  “The nanoweapon?” Jarvi said.

  “Yes, Lieutenant,” AI said.

  “We are monitoring the nanoweapon’s progress as well,” Colonel Bast said from the Ronin.

  “Good,” Jarvi said. “It is time to find out how well the Juttari built us.”

  Jarvi had no interest in sitting around and waiting for the nanoweapon to kill him, so he continued clearing the camp of any Kemmar looters. He noted that the drones were busy defending against a more organized Kemmar force that tried to gain access to the heavier weapons. Assessing that as the greater threat, Jarvi refocused his attention on protecting the camp’s arsenal.

  Charging into the fight, he flanked the Kemmar from the rear and launched grenades at them before taking cover. The grenades detonated sending body parts flying in all directions. Jarvi opened up on their positions with sustained bursts from his heavier energy weapon.

  The Kemmar scrambled to defend against Lieutenant Jarvi, returning fire while simultaneously trying to flank him. Jarvi stayed three steps ahead of them, peeking out from behind his cover to pick off the enemy runners closing on him. The Kemmar were fast, but they were still no match for his augmented abilities.

  “Nanoweapon has entered host cell successfully,” AI said.

  “Then I am not immune?” Jarvi said.