Jarvi thought he was in command, telling Kevin how things were going to happen. Kevin didn’t like it much, but he had to remember he was on a Chaanisar ship and he needed their help. Better to play ball than get into a pissing match.
“No problem,” said Kevin, wondering how things looked to his Marines. He knew they would only take orders from him. If Jarvi tried to tell them what to do it would not go over well. He needed to make sure they understood that the first priority was the retrieval of the Captain, not Marine/Chaanisar politics.
Colonel Bast’s voice came over their comms. “We have jumped and intercepted the freighter. Begin boarding operations.”
The Chaanisar and Marines stepped into the waiting shuttle and locked their combat suits into place. The vessel’s engines came to life. With a roar, it exited the Chaanisar flight deck and thrust itself forward toward the helpless freighter. A display on board the shuttle gave the men a view of their target. It was a behemoth of a ship with no noticeable armaments. Even if it did have weapons they would be insane to engage the Chaanisar Heavy Cruiser blocking their path.
As the shuttle closed the distance the freighter’s hangar bay came into view. It was open and waiting. Bast had likely told them under no uncertain terms to allow the shuttle access to their hangar bay or be fired upon. They would have to be complete idiots not to comply.
As the ship approached the hangar bay, Kevin looked over the men. Including himself there were eight Marines, and eight Chaanisar, all wearing combat suits. That should be more than enough to subdue the crew of the freighter. He didn’t anticipate any resistance from a merchant crew, but you could never be sure.
His men were quiet. This was their first mission since Kerces. They seemed positive enough, but he wondered how they really felt about working together with the Chaanisar. They probably didn’t fully trust their new allies. Kevin didn’t expect them to. Hell, he didn’t trust them completely himself. In a way he felt guilty about it. He knew he should be thankful for their help, but it was difficult to overcome years of conditioning. He wondered if he could ever trust them? And if not, what hope did the Chaanisar have of ever returning to Earth? If he couldn’t let go of the past, after all they had done for him, why would anyone on Earth? The Chaanisar were trying to reclaim their humanity. But what if humanity rejected them? What would the Chaanisar do?
The shuttle entered the hangar bay and touched down with a thud. Its engines powered down, the combat suits were released from the locking system, and the hatch opened. The Chaanisar moved first, jumping out of the shuttle and establishing a security perimeter. Kevin and his Marines followed. The hangar bay was deserted. The crew was probably hiding. He didn’t blame them. All they knew was that some hostile force was boarding their ship. They didn’t know if they would be slaughtered, or just robbed.
One of the Chaanisar accessed the ship’s computer systems and soon the ship’s schematics appeared on everyone’s visors.
Jarvi’s voice came in loud and commanding over the comm, “Everyone move out. Go, go, go.”
Kevin opened a comm with his team. “I’ve highlighted the direction we need to take to get to Engineering. It should be on your visors now. Let’s move fast and wrap this up quick.”
“Oorah,” came the replies over his comm.
The Chaanisar had already left the hangar bay. The Marines raced out seconds later. They covered the distance to Engineering with extraordinary speed. Their combat suits allowed them to cover several meters with each stride. They must have sounded like a herd of bionic buffaloes to the freighter crew. The metallic pounding would certainly add to the intimidation. Kevin didn’t want to hurt any of the crew. They were human after all and were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any heroics. They freighter crew should be intimidated enough not get any brave ideas.
Arriving at Engineering they found one man waiting. When he saw the Marines burst in his face blanched and he quickly raised his hands in the air. Private Chen reached him first, grabbed his arms and secured them behind the man’s back. He grabbed him by the elbow and walked him over to Kevin.
“What’s your name?” said Kevin.
“Marcus,” said the man.
“Are you the Engineer, Marcus?”
“I am.”
“Where is the rest of the Engineering team?”
“There’s just me,” said Marcus.
“Just you for this whole ship? That’s a little hard to believe, Marcus.”
“The rest of the crew knows how to complete repairs. We all pitch in where needed.”
The Marines searched every corner of Engineering but found no one else.
Kevin opened a comm with Jarvi and said, “Engineering secured.”
“Well done, Chief. We’ve successfully secured the bridge. I have signaled for the rest of the teams to come over. In the meantime we need to send out a team to search the rest of the ship and pull everyone out of hiding.”
“Understood. I’ll assign a few of my men.”
Kevin closed the comm with Jarvi and spoke to his men. “Burke, Johns, Daniels, you’ve got search duty. Coordinate with the Chaanisar and make sure there are no hidden surprises on board.”
“Yes, Sir,” said the Marines, and left Engineering.
“The rest of you stay here until further notice. I’ll be on the bridge.”
The Marines established a perimeter around Engineering so that nobody could come or go without their knowing, and Kevin headed for the bridge.
When he arrived at the bridge he was surprised to see a number of injuries. One man lay on the ground unconscious with a bloody nose and mouth, and another had what looked like a broken arm. Jarvi spoke to another man who was obviously terrified and looked like he had tasted a metal glove too.
“What’s going on here?” said Kevin, as he stepped up to Jarvi.
Jarvi looked at Kevin. “They tried to resist. That one there even fired an energy weapon at my men.” Jarvi pointed to the unconscious man lying prone on the floor. “He should be thankful we showed restraint and didn’t kill him.”
“We thought you were raiders,” said the man.
“We keep hearing about these raiders,” said Kevin.
The man cocked his head at Kevin, the fear now mixing with surprise. “You don’t know what raiders are?”
“We’ve had an encounter with them, but we’re not from around here,” said Kevin.
The man looked like he didn’t believe Kevin, but played along anyway. “Raiders are outlaws. They prey on commercial vessels and do not hesitate to kill. We thought you were going to slaughter us.”
“We still might,” said Jarvi, eliciting another horrified look from the man. “We have deduced that this is the Captain of this vessel.”
“What’s your name?” said Kevin.
“Captain Neeman.”
Kevin retracted his helmet in an effort to show Neeman that he was sincere. “We are not raiders, Captain. But we do need the use of your ship.”
“What for?”
“We need access to that space station.”
“Why don’t you just go there? It’s a busy place. Ships come and go all the time.”
“We’ve been denied access.”
“Why?”
“That is none of your concern,” Jarvi barked, making the man jump.
Kevin raised his hand trying to signal to Jarvi to let him handle this.
“Unfortunately, Captain, our mission is secret. But I can assure you that neither you nor your crew will be harmed.”
“And if we don’t cooperate?”
Kevin frowned. “Let’s not discuss such things. You seem like a reasonable man, Captain. We will gain access to the station. The only thing you should be concerned about is how much we have to persuade you to help us.”
Neeman looked over at Jarvi again who looked ready to take another swing at Neeman if he said the wrong thing. Turning back to Kevin he said, “I will help you.”
“Good man,” said Kevin. He patted him on the shoulder with a heavy metal hand, making Neeman flinch. Kevin knew it must be terrifying for the man, to be surrounded by these metal Goliaths. He actually held up remarkably well, all things considered.
Chapter 56
The station became larger on the viewscreen as the freighter drew closer. They had turned the hulking vessel around after the rest of the men had boarded. They came around from behind the star and were back in the system.
During the trip Kevin and Jarvi debriefed Neeman and accessed the ship’s computer. They gathered as much intelligence as they could on the station, including maps and schematics. The station’s main city was the logical place to look for the Captain. Unfortunately it wouldn’t be easy. The Captain could be anywhere, and he didn’t want to be found. There was likely a manhunt for him. They had to somehow gain access to that search and find the Captain first.
His team had taken off the combat suits and had donned clothing acquired from the freighter’s crew, consisting of jumpsuits and coveralls. With the amount of commercial traffic on the station, freighter personnel should fit right in. The clothing was made with carrying tools in mind, making it ideal for hiding their weapons. Nobody would think twice about a group of big, muscular men in work clothes.
The additional men who boarded the freighter would be left behind with the combat suits, to guard the freighter and make sure the crew didn’t tip anybody off. They would also serve as backup in case they ran into any real trouble and needed help. This was a covert mission, but if they ended up needing to fight their way out, the armored soldiers on the freighter could tip the scales in their favor. Kevin hoped it wouldn’t come to that. This was not how he expected to see the lost colonies for the first time.
“We are being hailed, Sir,” said the helmsman.
Neeman looked at Kevin who said, “Remember what we talked about. Audio only.” He hoped Neeman wouldn’t try anything stupid. Jarvi was scowling at him, reminding him of the very real danger present in the room with him.
Neeman nodded his head in quick movements. “Acknowledge the hail,” he said to the helmsman. “Audio only.”
“Captain Neeman,” said the voice coming over the audio. “Why have you returned to DLC station? And why are you restricting communications to audio?”
“We’ve been plagued with system malfunctions since we left. It’s affected everything from our viewscreen to our core. We need to perform a full diagnostic and have the ship serviced.”
“Why wouldn’t you just run your diagnostics at your destination? Why come back here?”
“DLC station was closer,” said Neeman. “I was afraid if things got worse we might end up stranded in between systems. Vulnerable to any raider crew that might appear.”
“This isn’t like you, Neeman. You’re not the type to panic about things like this. Is everything alright over there?”
Neeman gave Kevin a worried look. “Everything is fine. I’m just getting paranoid in my old age. This ship is not a young girl anymore either.”
The voice laughed. “It sounds like you need a full diagnostic yourself, old man. Kill your engines and I’ll have you towed in.”
“Thanks a lot. Neeman out.”
Neeman killed the connection and looked over at Kevin.
“That didn’t sound too bad,” Kevin said. “You did good.”
“There will be an inspection,” said Neeman. “It’s standard procedure.”
“How many inspectors?” said Jarvi.
“Usually two.”
“Their inspection is going to be delayed a bit.”
“How long does one of these inspections last?” said Kevin.
“Usually several hours. Sometimes longer. They go through the cargo to make sure we’re not smuggling anything.”
“Good. They shouldn’t be missed for at least that long. That’ll give us a good head start,” said Kevin.
“They will be missed eventually,” said Jarvi. “More will come to investigate. If we have not found your Captain by then things will become… complicated.”
Chapter 57
Kevin waited with his men and the Chaanisar as the freighter docked. The two teams were dressed like freighter crewmen. The rest of the Chaanisar and Marines who were to stay behind wore full combat suits. Two of those armored men stood by the hatch, flanking it on each side. The floor vibrated as the massive vessel slowly positioned itself. The clanging sound of connecting metal followed while the ship fastened itself to the station. Above the hatch a light had been flashing red. Now that they had successfully docked the light switched to a solid green, indicating that it was safe to open the hatch. With a bang and a hiss the hatch was unlocked. It slid open with a moan and revealed two waiting inspectors. They had the same annoyed, self-important look on their faces that most bureaucrats have. The look said, I have power over you, so you better suck up to me if you know what’s good for you. There was something corrupt about them. They were equipped with hand held devices used no doubt for checking the cargo. Kevin wondered how much it cost for these men to ignore certain things. Some things don’t change, even a thousand light years from home, thought Kevin.
The two men stepped through and boarded the freighter. As they passed through the entrance a metal glove seized each man by the elbow. At first they acted outraged and threatened retribution. That act must have been a reflex because their protests quickly stifled when they had a real good look at the armored soldiers taking them into custody. Not only did they tower over the men, but the barrels of their oversized weapons were very persuasive. Their attitude changed so quickly from outrage to panic that Kevin was surprised neither of them pissed themselves. The armored soldiers took the inspectors away and the two teams prepared to board the station.
One of the Chaanisar walked out first, clearing the corridor. His weapons were concealed in his freighter work clothes and acted natural, like he belonged. Inside the freighter the rest of the men had their weapons drawn and ready, just in case. The Chaanisar scout whistled, signaling that the gangway was clear. The rest of the men put their weapons away, hiding them in the tool pockets of their work clothes, and stepped through the hatch out onto the gangway. Ahead was a long corridor which the two teams followed until they were outside. Or, more accurately, in a part of the station made to mimic the outdoors. Directly ahead was a parked vehicle, likely used by the inspectors.
“Chief, you take the vehicle and travel to the city,” said Jarvi.
“What about you?”
“Our augmented speed will enable my team to reach our target quickly. The vehicle may draw attention to our approach. A craft like that heading into the city will not be suspicious.”
“Understood. Good luck, Lieutenant.”
Jarvi looked confused. Apparently the Chaanisar did not know what luck was. Probably for the best. Jarvi chose not to respond. He merely turned to his men and ordered them to move out.
“Chen,” said Kevin.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Figure out how that damn thing works.”
Private Chen stepped up to the craft and produced a handheld scanner. He checked out the vehicle, walking around it and manipulating the display.
“Got it, Chief,” he said, and opened a small panel on the craft’s driver side. Behind the panel was a service display, providing access to the craft’s systems. Chen used the scanner to bypass the system’s security protocols, and within seconds the vehicle lit up and came online with a faint hum.
The Marines, eight in all, jumped on board. Chen sat in the driver’s seat and Kevin set his large frame beside him. Sergeant Henderson and the rest of the Marines filled the back. Forced air jets powered on and lifted the team of Marines off the ground. A display came up on the dashboard indicating how many meters were remaining until they reached optimal altitude. It counted down as the vessel climbed until the display signaled success. Chen touched the controls and the vehicle turned and sailed away toward the city.
> Everyone looked out the windows with wonder at the lush vegetation. The trees, grass and flowers were just like those on Earth. Even though Kevin knew they were not really outside, the effect of the landscape still touched a nerve. It reminded him of his island home, the tropical plants, the blue skies, the ocean. He hadn’t realized how much he missed Mother Earth. He was sure the rest of the Marines felt the same. He also knew the question wasn’t when they would be back, but if they would ever be back. He thought he had accepted that fact, but now he wondered if he ever could.
The people who lived here had probably forgotten Earth. It was probably something they were taught about in school. A subject that bored children, during which they daydreamed about what games they would play when the school day was done. They might retain some knowledge of Earth, something telling them that their ancestors came from Earth centuries ago. Beyond that it would likely be a subject for historians, irrelevant to the struggles and conquests of daily life. Yet when Kevin looked out the window he saw vegetation that had obviously been imported at some point from Earth. Sure, most of it was likely cloned, but where else would maple trees and oaks come from? Where did they find the rose bushes? The junipers? Or the cedars? Even out here, over a thousand light years from Earth, people still clung to home without even knowing. Whenever humans settled in alien environments they always tried to bring something of Earth with them. Kevin saw it on other planets, on space stations, and on starships. It was like people needed an anchor preventing them from drifting too far into the unknown.
He knew he needed it, and he suspected his men did too. But what about the Chaanisar? Where was their anchor? Certainly the Juttari didn’t provide any. When it came to the Chaanisar, the Juttari’s main goal was to extinguish any and all attachments to their humanity. The brain chips would have suppressed any negative reactions, like homesickness. But what would happen if the chips were removed? Kevin suspected that the chips regulated the Chaanisar’s physiology, even without Juttari control. Every one of them seemed too composed. Too in control. It wasn’t normal. But if the chips were removed? Then what? Would the weight of their experiences come crashing down on top of them, driving them insane? The Juttari had made them commit atrocities against their own kind. What would that knowledge do to them without the chips? And what of their childhood traumas? Would all those suppressed emotions, hiding deep in the dusty corners of their minds, come back like vengeful beasts to tear apart any hopes of normality? What do you do with an insane Chaanisar super soldier?
The Pike Chronicles - Books 1 - 10 Page 41
