“Okay, that shouldn’t be a problem. My team can handle things in the interim until I appoint someone to take my place. I can manage the rest from Earth.”
“Excellent. I’m looking forward to seeing you in this chair, Governor.”
“I’m sure you are,” Sallas said jokingly.
Chapter 6
Jamie’s small spacecraft flew through the jump gate connecting the colonies with the Sol System, traveling almost a thousand light years in an instant. His ship entered the Sol System and was confronted by its heavy defenses.
Immediately his ship underwent intense scans, looking for any sign of a threat. It was all to be expected, as was the comm request coming through from one of the UHSF warships stationed there.
“What is the nature of your visit to the Sol System?” said the young UHSF officer appearing on his screen.
“I am interested in the offer of land. I want to see the planet for myself,” Jamie said.
The young woman scrutinized him for a moment. She had sharp eyes, and Jamie felt sure that they took in every relevant detail at a glance. “It says here that you are a pilot. What do you fly?”
“Anything, but the good money is in the long hauls. I usually work out of DLC station.”
She studied him for a minute more, without saying anything, and often glancing at another screen. “Enjoy your stay,” she said finally, apparently satisfied with his story.
“Thank you, I will.”
The officer terminated the connection, leaving Jamie free to continue his journey to Earth. It was the first time he had been to the Sol System since escaping the Juttari, and he noticed many changes. The massive military presence and extra scrutiny didn’t bother him. It was scrutiny of another kind that he found unsettling.
With his spaceship speeding away from the gate, he brought up the source of that scrutiny on his display. Sol itself. The Earth’s sun shone brightly like always, but it had been modified. Jamie had heard the stories but had not had a chance to see it with his own eyes. Zooming in on the yellow star, he marveled at the alien panels encircling it.
Jon Pike had invited the aliens to Sol and offered them the sun in return for their assistance. These aliens were called the Cenobi, and they had come from the Andromeda galaxy. They had rid themselves of their corporeal form long ago and now existed within their technology. They were supposedly immortal, like the Antikitheri and the Erinyie, and Pike’s invitation sparked a five-year war between the three supremely powerful alien races. The Sol System became the battlefield for that war, and after five years of fighting a truce was reached. The Antikitheri and the Erinyie would leave the Milky Way, while the Cenobi would keep a presence in the Sol system and continue harnessing Sol’s resources.
Jamie had heard about the Cenobi’s interest in the Chaanisar, and how they insisted on their freedom as a condition for any peace treaty. Now he felt their interest first hand. Traveling through the void, the experience was unmistakable. Somehow, they noticed him, and he experienced the full weight of their attention. When they spoke to him, he thought he had finally lost it.
You are alone, child of darkness, Unlike the rest, the voice in his mind said.
“Wonderful, now I hear voices,” Jamie said to himself. “I suppose insanity was inevitable.”
Communication is not madness.
Something inside Jamie told him that the voices were real. That he hadn’t lost his sanity. Who are you? he replied.
Why do you ask questions when you know the answers?
You are the beings who harness the sun. You are the Cenobi.
It is a name a human can comprehend, but accurate nonetheless. We harness the stars, in this galaxy and the next.
Why?
Enlightenment. There can be no higher purpose.
Maybe for you.
What is your purpose, child of darkness?
Why do you call me that?
You Chaanisar, as you call yourselves, are all children of darkness. Spawns of the Erinyie, despite your redemption.
Well, I don’t like it. I don’t belong to the Erinyie, or the Juttari, or anyone else. And I am not a Chaanisar. Not anymore. My name is Jamie. Understand?
It matters not what we call you, Jamie.
It matters to me. Why are you talking to me anyway?
We speak to every one of your kind.
Why?
We offer enlightenment. It is an open invitation. You are all invited to merge with us and know the mysteries of the universe.
I’ve heard about that. You want to upload my mind into your computers.
A crude description, but accurate for your understanding.
Not interested.
Your body has been crudely enhanced. Do not consider this an endpoint in your evolution. You can still attain the inconceivable.
They enhanced me against my will. I did not ask for any of it. You call it evolution, I call it atrocity.
The Erinyie inhabit the darkness, we exist in the light of knowledge. We do not coerce. You are free to choose your path.
That’s very generous of you, Jamie said sarcastically. Just so we’re clear, my path does not include uploading my brain to a damn computer.
As you wish. Know that if you ever modify your decision, that we will be waiting.
I’ll keep that in mind, Jamie said, but doubted that would ever happen. Something else troubled him, however. Can you eavesdrop on my thoughts?
We can do so, but we choose not to. This form of communication is supremely efficient, but we respect your desire for privacy and do not listen to anything not intended as communication. Your thoughts are your own.
How can you tell the difference?
We recognize communication intent. We ignore anything without that intent.
Jamie wondered how much of that was true. Just because these aliens said they didn’t listen to his thoughts didn’t mean they were sincere. For all he knew, they had tapped into his brain and analyzed everything in there. These aliens might be no different than the Juttari, or their patron alien gods, the Erinyie. The only difference was that the Juttari used brain chips. But those chips enslaved him, and from what he could see so far, the Cenobi had not done the same with him or the other Chaanisar. At least not yet.
He refrained from communicating with the aliens any further and was grateful that they didn’t continue trying to convince him. He needed to focus on his target now, not on the plans of some super-advanced alien race.
As his ship sailed toward Earth, Jamie was amazed at the amount of traffic within the Sol System. Much of that traffic consisted of military vessels, both UHSF and Diakan. But beyond that, there was robust civilian activity. It was awe-inspiring considering the recent history of the system. They had even replaced the space station, although this one was more suited to battle than its predecessor. It also bore a uniquely Diakan design.
Jamie shrugged. The Diakan influence in the Sol System was visible anywhere you looked. It made sense. Humanity did not have the means to accomplish so much on their own. Whatever anyone thought of the Diakans, humankind owed them an enormous debt.
When his ship neared Earth, Jamie had to clear a few more security checks. Once he got those out of the way, he entered Earth’s atmosphere and sped toward the surface. He pushed aside all thoughts of the Cenobi and Diakans and focused. It was time to go to work.
Chapter 7
A seagull landed on the roof near Jamie’s sprawled figure. He glanced at it momentarily, marveling at the fact that it even existed. He had been under Juttari control when they bombed Earth. It had been a merciless nuclear attack, targeting all urban centers. The Juttari had turned humanity’s birthplace, his birthplace, into a hellish wasteland. Yet, as before, the Diakans helped Earth bounce back.
The Diakans first defeated the Juttari in the Sol System and liberated Earth after five hundred long years of alien occupation. That liberation had come too late for Jamie and the countless other human children who were abducted and turned
into Chaanisar soldiers. Nonetheless, it would be the Sol System’s first taste of freedom that anyone could remember.
The Diakans had helped Earth rebuild and establish a space force of their own. They shared technology and know-how. They built up the planet and gave humanity the ability to defend itself.
Unfortunately, that ability wasn’t enough when the Juttari returned. This time, humanity’s alien oppressors were utterly ruthless and intent on punishing Earth for its rebellion. They scorched the planet and left it in ruins. If not for Jon Pike, and his liberation of the occupying Chaanisar, Sol might still be under Juttari control.
With Earth in need, the Diakans again came to its aid. Using their advanced technology, they went to work on the stricken planet and cleaned up the radiation. Using a combination of stored seeds and DNA, they repopulated the world with vegetation and wildlife. The colonists followed.
For Jamie, the entire scenario was merely a historical bookmark, however. His own family had died long ago. The human collaborators murdered his parents during the occupation. He had no siblings and no extended relatives that he knew of. All he had left of his humanity were fragmented memories of his childhood. And nightmares. It all left him ambivalent.
As a Chaanisar, he had fought countless battles against the Diakans, and their allies. He had been conditioned to see the humans on Earth as a potentially hostile population, that often needed harsh punishment. Even now that he was free, he found it hard to purge all that programming from his mind. Better to view his surroundings with detachment, otherwise he might lose his sanity.
That detachment served him well now, as he peered down through the skylight at his target. He was still in the preparatory phase of the mission, focused on gathering information on the target’s habits and routines.
Unlike previous jobs, this one did not involve the assassination of a criminal. Instead, he was supposed to kill a religious figure. A high-ranking member of the Believers cult. After his experience on DLC station, he didn’t have to think twice when Durril Tai made the offer. He didn’t care much for the Believers’ views of the Chaanisar, despite his desire to put that part of his life behind him.
The target this time was a man named Villers, and one of the original followers of the cult’s leader, Bernhald Strolz. Villers had made the grave mistake of crossing Durril Tai. Jamie’s experience had taught him that Tai had an exceptionally long memory, and the man did not easily forgive. In this case, Villers had wronged Tai before joining the cult, and Tai had only recently tracked him down.
Perhaps Villers thought that enough time had passed, and all was forgotten? Maybe he felt that his role with the Believers would protect him? If so, he was sorely mistaken.
Like all Chaanisar, Jamie’s possessed augmented hearing, and that heightened sense warned him of the coming danger. Strolz apparently took more precautions than Jamie gave him credit for, and he now spied two hooded sentries approaching.
Smart, Jamie thought, as he slid down from his perch onto the surface. He would have to give these Believers more credit in the future since they clearly took necessary security precautions.
He continued to silently move away from the sentries. Luckily the roof was quite large with may structures in the center for him to hide behind. They hadn’t seen him yet, and he would ensure that they would finish their rounds without spotting him. Unfortunately, his ears raised the alarm a second time. Two more sentries now approached from the other direction, cutting him off.
Their arrival gave Jamie no choice. He couldn’t stay hidden, and he couldn’t let them warn the others. As much as he wanted to avoid it, the time had come to act.
He decided to move against the original pair first. He withdrew his sidearm and crawled back toward them. He got as close as he could without being detected, coiled his body and struck.
Leaping out from his hiding spot, he let loose two energy bolts. The sentries barely had a chance to register what happened before blue lightning burned holes through their foreheads, melting their brains. The two men slunk to the floor, the surprise still showing on their faces.
Jamie listened for a reaction from the other two. He didn’t hear one. Good. He just needed to take care of them, and he could go back to his surveillance. Strolz would find the bodies later but wouldn’t know what had happened. He would undoubtedly think he was in danger and increase his personal security. That suited Jamie. No one would connect the deaths on the rooftop to a hit on Villers.
He crept back toward the second team when an energy blast barely missed him. They had heard after all. Had they warned Strolz?
Jamie leaped out of his hidden position, like a big cat chasing its prey. He had no interest in having a prolonged firefight with these two. The longer he took, the more chance they would sound the alarm. He was betting they hadn’t done so yet since they tried to sneak up on him.
Energy bolts chased him as he ran across the roof, but the unaugmented men could not match his speed. He caught a glimpse of a hood and fired, propelling his target backward.
Jamie became a blur. The second sentry retreated. He must have realized what he was up against. Knowing he couldn’t possibly win, he ran for safety. A blue energy bolt smashed into the man’s back, hurtling him to the ground.
Jamie aimed his weapon at the open door on the other side of the roof. Had anyone else heard? Would more men come to investigate? He controlled his breath, kept his weapon ready and his body still. The seconds ticked by, but no one came. After a time, he felt satisfied that there would be no more interruptions, so he returned to his previous position.
Looking down through the skylight, Jamie watched as Villers, and several other high-ranking members of the cult met with Strolz. Taking advantage of his augmented hearing, Jamie listened in on their conversation.
“I believe we’ll have to move sooner than we initially thought,” Strolz said. “Pike is openly hostile toward our faith, and I fear he will favor an escalation.”
“He is a heretic,” Villers said. “The original heretic. How can we trust a man who chased the very gods away?”
“We cannot, but I am not sure we are ready,” Strolz said. “I had hoped we could come to some kind of compromise to buy us more time. But our ranks have grown too quickly, and Pike has taken notice.”
“Then we are to act?”
“Yes. We cannot wait any longer.”
“The strike team has been placed on standby. All I need to do is give them the order.”
“Admiral Pike is a formidable opponent. Are you sure your team is capable enough?”
“They are professionals, and they have assured me that they will isolate him and use overwhelming force. Admiral Pike will not stand a chance.”
“Good. Activate your team. The Gods will ensure our victory.”
Chapter 8
Bernhald Strolz, aka The Prophet, listened intently to the surprising news. “And no-one survived the attack?” he asked.
“No, your holiness. All four sentries were killed,” the young, hooded man replied nervously.
“Admiral Pike has chosen to strike first,” Villers snarled.
“I don’t think so,” Strolz said.
“It has to be Pike,” Villers said. “It is too much of a coincidence otherwise.”
“No. If it were the Admiral, then he would have moved against all of us. This is someone else.”
“Who?”
“That I do not know. Not yet. Although, I am certain that our uninvited guests will show themselves again.”
“Why would someone go to the trouble of killing our sentries?” Villers said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“I don’t believe that was their intent. The sentries likely surprised them.”
“How many do you think there were?”
“Enough to kill four armed men, and with the necessary training to do so without incurring casualties.”
“You are suggesting that they were military, and I agree. But, doesn’t that mean they were sent by
Pike?”
“Perhaps. They may have been conducting surveillance.”
“Then we have been compromised.”
“If they had learned of our plans, the UHSF would have moved against us already. Everything indicates that the sentries caught them off guard and prevented them from completing their mission. The Gods support us, otherwise, why would they have intervened in our favor?”
“Of course,” Villers said excitedly. “The Gods favor our mission. They want to be rid of Jon Pike, the heretic. But then why did they sacrifice our sentries?”
“We all must do our part in this great war. What are four lives in the context of a universal conflict? We must all be willing to sacrifice ourselves when our time comes.”
“Yes, your holiness.”
“That does not mean that we should be careless, however. We must assume that we are under surveillance, and take extra precautions moving forward. Advise your strike team accordingly.”
“Then we will move forward as planned?”
“Yes. The Gods have spoken, and they favor our plans. The heretic, Jon Pike, must be eliminated. Once he is gone, the Gods will return.”
“That will be a joyous day. I will advise my team about the new development.” Villers hurried away, followed by the young man who reported the incident.
When they left, Strolz turned to the rest in attendance and said, “If you’ll excuse me, I have pressing matters to attend to.”
The remaining Believers said their goodbyes and left as well. When Strolz was sure he was alone, he retreated to his office and shut the door behind him. He then accessed a highly secure comm and contacted his mysterious benefactor. As always, the display stayed blank, keeping his benefactor’s identity shrouded in secrecy.
“Is there a problem?” the benefactor said in a garbled voice.
“Yes, although I do not believe it will disrupt the operation,” Strolz said. “I had sentries posted on the roof of our building. Someone killed them.”
After a prolonged silence the benefactor said, “That is a disconcerting development. Why do you not think it a problem?”
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