None of that mattered today, however. And she wasn’t a fortune teller. The truth was nobody knew what would happen over the next week, never mind the next year, so there was no point worrying about it. The less the crew knew the better. The best thing for them was to focus on their duties, not to ponder ‘what ifs’.
The most important part of her duties right now was to make sure the Hermes was ready for the next encounter with the Kemmar, so her first stop was Engineering.
The visit wasn’t entirely work related, though. She hadn’t seen Raj since Sol and missed him. With all that had happened, she needed to see his face.
When she arrived at Engineering, she found Raj standing by one of the giant reactors reading a report. As usual, he was so immersed in what he was doing that he didn’t even notice her approach.
“Good morning, Raj,” she said.
Her voice startled him, making him jerk his head up from the report. He looked at her with wide eyes, which then settled once his mind registered who had spoken.
“Good morning, Lynda,” he said.
She smiled at him, already feeling better about everything. He didn’t return her smile. Instead a look of concern spread across his face.
“Is everything ok?” she said.
“No, I don’t think everything is even close to being ok. Lynda, what is going on? Why did the Marines shoot and kill the Diakan Engineering Adviser?”
Wolfe frowned. She needed to bring Raj up to speed. “Can we discuss this in your office?”
“Yes, follow me.” Raj led her to the back of Engineering. A door opened and they entered a cluttered room. There were a couple of chairs and a desk. The door closed behind them and Raj turned to face her, not bothering to sit down. “So, what is going on?”
“The Diakans tried to take over the ship.”
“What? Why?”
“They didn’t like that the Captain picked a fight with the Kemmar.”
“But they are only advisers. It is not their place to question command decisions.”
“Apparently they were more than advisers. They produced a Space Force command chip which gave them mission oversight. It also gave them authority to take command of the Hermes if the mission was threatened.”
“Their actions were legal?”
“No. They overreached their authority, and they took hostages to coerce the Captain into surrendering.”
“I see. So, the hostages weren’t enough to convince the Captain?”
“Oh, they were. They weren’t enough to convince me.”
“Oh no. What did you do, Lynda?”
“My job. I’m responsible for the Captain’s safety. The Captain had surrendered, but I refused to let them take him or the ship.”
“But if he had surrendered?”
“The only way the Captain would surrender control of the ship would be under duress. Their actions were illegal, so I stopped them.”
“And may I ask who they had taken hostage?”
“The Reiver woman and her daughter. They had Chief St. Clair as well.”
“They took a mother and her child hostage?”
“Yes.”
“You did the right thing. That was unacceptable, even for a Diakan. But why did they kill Boufos?”
“The Marines were going to arrest him, but he ran. We hadn’t found the hostages yet and needed to prevent any contact with whoever had them. The Marines were authorized to use deadly force.”
“I see. Did you recover the hostages?”
“Yes. They are safe.”
“Good.” Raj studied her with those analytical eyes. “You look tired, Lynda.”
“I didn’t sleep well.”
“The nightmares again?”
“Yes.”
Raj gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head. “What happens now?”
“The Diakans are in the brig, where they’ll stay, and we’ll continue on with our mission.”
“And Space Force? How will they see all this?”
“The Diakans acted illegally.”
“Yes, but will Space Force agree?”
Lynda paused, unsure how much she should say. Raj looked at her and nodded.
“Space Force will side with the Diakans, won’t they?”
Lynda looked into his eyes, trying to see how he felt about what he said, but found no clues. “Yes, Raj. We believe that Space Force will side with the Diakans.”
Raj nodded. “Then we will not return to Sol.”
The way he said it stunned her. It wasn’t a question. There was no emotion at all. Rather, it was like he had just solved a math problem.
He didn’t wait for her to answer. “This must be devastating for you. Space Force has been your life for as long as I’ve known you.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
But she knew he saw right through her. He knew she was far from fine. And when he took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her, she couldn’t hold back any longer. All the emotions she had struggled to keep bottled up inside came pouring out.
CHAPTER 49
Jon was eager to get back into action. The repairs had taken longer than they should have and his worry for the Reivers intensified.
His main concern was that the Hermes was ready for battle, so he made repairs to the armor plating a priority. Still, reinforcing a damaged hull took time, even with the AI coordinating the repair bots. There was nothing they could do but sit and wait. Now that the repairs were done, however, he wanted to get back to work.
“Sound general quarters,” he said.
The general quarters announcement sounded throughout the ship telling everyone to man their stations and prepare for combat. The bridge and the rest of the ship illuminated with a distinct red hue, reinforcing the announcement.
Helm, initiate jump countdown.”
“Initiating jump countdown,” said Richards.
The computer started its countdown and everybody prepared for what was to come. Jon noticed that there was a marked difference in the crew’s attitude. There was a bit of nervousness, as would be expected, but it was now accompanied by a steady resolve. They knew what to expect, and they knew the dangers. They showed no signs of panic, or exuberance. They were just determined to get the job done. He approved.
The crew had all been briefed on the plan. They were going to jump in some distance from the jump gate, take some quick scans, and jump out. This way they would know what they were dealing with before engaging the Kemmar. Then, depending on whether they were dealing with one large battleship, or several smaller ships, they would take the appropriate action.
“Jump complete.”
The Hermes landed between one of the system’s planets and its moon. This hopefully would allow them to take some scans unnoticed. They would only be there for a few moments, and if the battleship wasn’t looking or scanning in their direction, they might not be detected.
They took their scans and were soon back where they had started.
“Report.”
“Scans are showing no contacts,” the sensor operator said.
“Are you sure, Ensign?” Jon said.
“Yes, Sir,” the Ensign said, still studying her console. “No contacts. Scans show no other ships in the system.”
Jon looked over at Wolfe. “What do you think, Commander?”
“They might have gone back across the gate. Maybe they needed to go back for repairs?”
“Or maybe they’re setting a trap for us. I guess we’ll soon find out. Set coordinates to jump back in just outside the asteroid field, close to the coordinates of the Reiver colony.”
Breeah had given Jon the coordinates to the colony. Jon had made it clear he wasn’t leaving the colonists, so there was no point in keeping the location a secret any longer. She had also given them the frequency that would deactivate the asteroid plasma cannons as well as the camouflage grid surrounding the colony and hiding it from view.
The Hermes landed back in the binar
y star system just outside its asteroid field. They scanned again, but still there was no sign of the Kemmar battleship. After recent events he fully expected to be in a full-scale battle by now, but the system was quiet. Too quiet. Even the Kemmar drones were gone.
He shrugged. “Helm, take us into the asteroid field to the Reiver colony coordinates.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The Hermes slowly entered the familiar asteroid field. It sent out a broadcast to the asteroid defenses preventing their fire. While the broadcast would tell the colony that they were friendly, Jon knew that they might not actually believe it and fire on the Hermes. He hoped it would not come to that.
He knew that the colony had the ability to monitor recent events. They would have witnessed the battle with the Kemmar, but they also would have seen Jon destroy the two Reiver ships. As far as they knew, the Hermes was a hostile vessel and the battle with the Kemmar didn’t necessarily change that.
Jon had Breeah add a message to the broadcast letting the colony know that the Hermes was not their enemy. Still, they might think that she was forced to do so.
So far, the plan seemed to be working. The plasma cannons didn’t fire and there was no need for any stunt flying like before. Richards maneuvered around the large rocks easily, and the familiar sound of the small rocks rapping against the hull resonated throughout the ship.
Before long they had reached the Reiver colony coordinates. From what Breeah had told him, the colony used several large asteroids.
There was one central asteroid which was where most of the population lived. The other neighboring asteroids were used for different functions. One of the large rocks, for example, served as a spaceport, and housed their ships. Another was used for repairs and fabrication. Shuttles were used to ferry people and supplies between each rock.
A special camouflage grid was deployed to keep the whole operation hidden from scans. It consisted of multiple satellites surrounding the colony disguised as asteroids. The satellites projected the camouflage grid around the Reivers’ homes. Once the grid was in place, anybody looking or scanning in this direction would see nothing more than rocks.
The technology had limits, however. If a ship approached the location and took a closer look, they might uncover the hidden colony. To avoid this the Reivers had installed the plasma cannon defenses throughout the field. They ensured there would be enough firepower to destroy, or at least discourage anyone from getting too close to discover them.
“Arriving at coordinates, Sir,” Richards said.
“Full stop,” Jon said.
“Reading full stop.”
Jon and the rest of the bridge crew stared in horror at the viewscreen. Where there was supposed to be a grid of satellites protecting the colony, there was only debris. The Kemmar had found them.
“Helm, take us in for a closer look,” Jon said, breaking the silence.
The Hermes moved past the satellite debris. Once inside, they crept up to the main asteroid where the colonists were supposed to live.
The asteroid itself was large, roughly the size of a small moon. Domed structures connected by a complex web of transport tubes covered the surface. Jon knew from discussions with Breeah that some of those domes housed colonists, while others were responsible for power generation, food and water supplies, fabrication, education, and pretty much anything else required that the Reivers could produce.
It was supposed to all be humming with activity as people went about their daily routines. Instead, much of it was now in ruins and more debris floated around them like a celestial graveyard. There could be no doubt now, the Kemmar had attacked the colony.
Looking at the wreckage Jon noticed that several domes were not damaged. If the Kemmar wanted to destroy the colony, they would have reduced everything to dust. Why were some structures still standing?
Jon opened a comm with Breeah. She should have a view of the wreckage from her window. “Breeah, are you seeing this?”
“Yes, Captain.”
The calm in her voice surprised Jon. “I’m seeing several structures still intact. The colony’s computer systems might still be operational. I’d like to find out what happened here. Is there any way we can access them?”
“Yes, there is. I can provide you with access instructions, but I do not have full clearance.”
“Our AI can deal with that once we establish a connection. The important thing is to find out if there are any systems we can access first. Hopefully, they weren’t all destroyed.”
“Yes, let’s hope so. I will send you all the information needed to establish a connection.”
“Thank you, Breeah. I will keep you updated.”
Jon closed the comm and looked at Commander Wolfe. “Commander, when Breeah sends those codes have the AI take over the colony’s network and access its security systems so we can find out what happened here.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Wolfe fed the data into the AI which then initiated its electronic assault.
“Pinging planetary computer system,” the AI said. “Receiving response from system. Sending login information. Login accepted. Account privileges are restricted. Initiating takeover of planetary system.”
The AI began a massive brute force attack of the colony’s computer systems, which were woefully unprepared for its electronic warfare capabilities. In no time the AI was burrowing a path through the network, moving up the access hierarchy until it finally gained access to the security systems.
“Takeover complete,” the AI said.
“Display information relating to Kemmar attack of the colony.”
“There is video footage of this event. Would you prefer viewing the video, or the security logs?”
“Display video.”
The viewscreen switched from its view of the colony wreckage, to the security video. The bridge watched as the video showed the Kemmar warships destroying the camouflage grid and approaching the colony. The Reivers resisted but were no match for Kemmar firepower which laid waste to any Reiver defenses.
When the ships stopped firing, instead of completely destroying the colony, they launched dozens of shuttles, which landed on the asteroid. Kemmar soldiers then spilled out of the shuttles in full battle armor and poured into the colony’s transport tubes.
The Reivers tried to fight off the invaders but were unarmored and no match for the armored Kemmar soldiers.
But the Kemmar didn’t kill the defenders. They stunned them instead.
The Kemmar quickly swept through the complex. Though not one Reiver surrendered and all fought with any weapon they had access to, in the end they had no chance.
Jon’s stomach turned as he watched the Kemmar load the unconscious humans onto the shuttles. When the operation ended, the shuttles returned to their ships and the Kemmar left the asteroid field.
The video showed the Kemmar ships come together again and form a larger ship, although not as large as the one they first encountered. The battleship then headed for the jump gate and disappeared back into Kemmar space.
Jon leaned back into his chair and rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. He stared at the viewscreen in silence.
The Kemmar had taken them prisoner. From what Breeah had told him that meant slavery. He couldn’t allow that to happen. He had to do something.
“Commander Wolfe, Chief St. Clair, meet me in my ready room.”
CHAPTER 50
“AI, based on information gained from the captured Kemmar warship, can you speculate on where the Kemmar took the human prisoners?” Jon said.
Commander Wolfe and Chief St. Clair both sat across from him and Jon didn’t need his heightened senses to tell that all the recent events had them both on edge.
“Non-Kemmar prisoners are taken to a planet known as Kerces,” AI said. “They are taken to an installation on the planet where they are reprogrammed to make them useful to the Kemmar Empire.”
“You mean they are brainwashed and turned into Kemmar slaves,” K
evin said.
“Yes, that is a reasonable interpretation of the data,” the AI said. “The Kemmar Empire controls a vast galactic slave trade. There are also multiple affiliate cultures that while friendly, are not members of the Empire. The slave trade is active throughout the Empire as well as within these affiliated systems. Conquest expands territory and supplies inventory for this slave trade. If a slave is not controllable it cannot be sold. Kerces fulfills this need by reprogramming prisoners. Those who cannot be reprogrammed are considered useless and terminated.”
A cold chill slowly crawled up Jon’s back and he shuddered. The Kemmar were slavers. No better than the Juttari. Perhaps even worse. The Juttari used captured populations for their own needs, whereas the Kemmar sold them as products.
“Is Kerces the only planet used for this function?”
“No. There are many planets throughout the Empire serving this function. Kerces is the closest and therefore the logical destination.”
“AI, display Kerces’s location on viewscreen.”
Wolfe and Kevin both swiveled their chairs around to see the viewscreen on the wall behind them. It flickered on and an image of a grayish blue planet appeared.
Kerces looked to be an icy, desolate place, inhospitable for the development of any type of civilization. A great place to take prisoners. Even if they could escape from wherever they were held, where would they go?
“AI, display the flight path the Kemmar battleship would need to take from the jump gate to the planet Kerces,” Jon said.
The viewscreen zoomed out from the planet to display a wide swath of Kemmar space overlaid with a dotted yellow line indicating the logical flight path.
Jon looked back to Kevin and Wolfe. “We could cross the gate and jump ahead of the battleship and lay an ambush for it.”
Kevin and Wolfe swiveled back to face Jon. “Some well-placed gravity mines would help even the odds. We could mine their space lane and once the mines detonated we could jump in and finish the job,” Kevin said.
“But then we would still have to board the battleship and rescue the Reivers,” Wolfe said.
The Pike Chronicles - Books 1 - 10 Page 19
