The Pike Chronicles - Books 1 - 10

by Hudson, G. P.

  But Breeah and Jonas intervened on Anki’s behalf. They argued again that she was a Reiver and old enough for combat. She was skilled enough, and wanted to prove herself, so why stand in her way? In the end, he relented and agreed to assign her to a jump team.

  Jonas was right, he did think of her as his own daughter and tried to protect her, but that wasn’t fair to Anki. She was a Reiver and wanted to prove herself in battle. Still, did she have to do it in the most dangerous way possible?

  “The Chaanisar will keep an eye on her,” Jon said. He may not have been able to protect her, but he could choose whose team she was on. He could think of none better than Lieutenant Jarvi and his Chaanisar. Jarvi had been with them from the start and knew Anki since she was a child. No other team surpassed his in combat.

  “I know,” Breeah said, a solitary tear running down her cheek.

  Jon put an arm around her shoulders. “She’ll be fine. I’m sure of it,” he lied.

  Chapter 35

  Jamie felt as though he had gained the trust of the mercenaries, since taking out the target on their last job. Colonel Harris was challenging to read at the best of times, but even he seemed to have become more trusting of Jamie. That said, he hadn’t developed enough trust to tell Jamie who their next target was, and as their ship entered Earth’s atmosphere, he wondered who that target might be.

  On the positive side, he knew that Admiral Pike had left for the Piirgos System and had taken an invasion fleet with him. At least they weren’t going to try and assassinate the Admiral again. With any luck, the next target would be another greedy scumbag. But what if it wasn’t?

  He wasn’t comfortable with Colonel Harris’s policy of killing for the highest bidder and wondered what he would do if he really had to kill an innocent person. How far was he prepared to go to learn the identity of the mystery client? He supposed he would have to make that decision when the time came.

  Are you ready for the next job? Colonel Harris said through his implant.

  I’m always ready, Colonel. You know that Jamie replied.

  Good, because this one is tricky.

  Why is that?

  The target is a Chaanisar.

  The words stunned Jamie. He had worried about who he would have to kill but hadn’t considered that the target might be one of their own.

  Is that going to be a problem for you, Jamie? Harris said.

  No, Sir, Jamie said, regaining his composure. I’m just surprised. That’s all. But why are we killing a Chaanisar anyway?

  Why do we kill anyone? Someone wants him dead bad enough that they’re willing to pay us to do it.

  I see.

  Trust me, Jamie. Most of the times it’s better not to know the reasons. Better not to form an opinion one way or another on the matter. You should know that.

  Yes, Sir, I do. But no one has ever hired me to kill a Chaanisar before.

  Well, there’s a first time for everything. Now I’m going to help you get over your reluctance by making you the lead on this mission.

  You can count on me, Colonel.

  That’s the spirit, Harris said. I’m transferring the details and logistics to your implant now.

  The Colonel sent the data to Jamie through their connection, and Jamie immediately went to work, analyzing the information. The target was a Colonel Traeger who was also a UHSF officer. Revulsion set in as Jamie poured over the files. Traeger wasn’t just a UHSF officer, he was a decorated war hero. He had fought in every major engagement against the Juttari since his freedom and had been decorated for his heroism on several occasions.

  How can I kill such a man? Jamie thought to himself, careful not to let Harris or the others notice how he felt.

  Jamie read on, hoping to find something that could justify what he was being tasked with. He saw nothing. There wasn’t even a blemish on the man’s service record. Instead, like many Chaanisar, here was a man desperate to make up for his past. Jamie understood his motivation. The man fought not just for revenge, or freedom, but for redemption.

  Traeger had managed to claim his family’s property and currently lived there when not on active duty. It was in a rural setting, far from a major city and had been spared much of the devastation of the nuclear holocaust. He was currently living there, and that was where the hit would take place.

  Jamie would visit Traeger with two other mercs. Traeger would be expecting them, thinking that they were interested in UHSF membership. Harris had arranged for a referral to him by another Chaanisar officer so the visit would not seem suspicious. The two other mercs were just there for backup. It was Jamie’s job to carry out the killing, and as much as he tried, he couldn’t find a way out of it.

  The two mercs accompanying him were part of the problem. Even if Jamie blocked Harris from viewing the operation, the Colonel could still do so through the other two mercs. Jamie thought about killing the two mercs, but again, Harris would know. There was no way around it. Jamie had to kill Colonel Traeger. But could he do it?

  After a time, the merc ship landed several miles from Traeger’s property. Jamie and the two other mercs then took a flitter and traveled the rest of the way alone. Traeger owned several acres of land and noticed them the second they crossed the boundaries of his property.

  A challenge was sent to the flitter, and the mercs replied, identifying themselves and their reasons for being there. Traeger confirmed and gave them instructions on where to land their flitter. He also told them to leave their implants open for further communication.

  When they landed Traeger greeted them through their implants. Welcome to my home, brothers. Please come to the main house.

  The mercs exited the flitter and proceeded toward Traeger’s residence. Jamie took note of several security measures, including cameras that monitored their approach and concealed energy weapons that could fire on them if Traeger desired. Jamie approved.

  They reached the front porch, and the door to the house opened. Come inside, brothers, Traeger instructed.

  The mercs walked through the door and were instantly met by several Chaanisar in UHSF uniforms.

  He’s not alone, Jamie said through his implant to Colonel Harris but received no reply.

  Jamie scanned the room and noted more armed Chaanisar occupying tactical positions throughout the house.

  Please give my men your weapons, Traeger said through the merc implants. There’s no need for any of this to get out of control.

  Unfortunately, the two mercs with Jamie didn’t seem to understand Traeger’s instructions and aggressively drew their weapons. The mercs must have gotten too used to dealing with normal humans. If these weren’t Chaanisar, the mercs could have cut down every man in this room before any could return fire.

  But these men were Chaanisar, and they were just as fast as the mercs. After a brief exchange, the two mercs lay dead on the floor, and multiple weapons pointed at Jamie’s head.

  The only thing keeping Jamie alive was the fact that he stood still. He hadn’t gone for his weapon at any time during the exchange and now merely stared calmly back at the guns trained on him.

  “I’m confused about you, Jamie,” came Traeger’s voice from the adjacent room. That surprised Jamie, as they had gone to Traeger using pseudonyms. “You are good at blocking others from accessing your implant. Still, I bet you are wondering how I know your name. Are you curious about what else I know?”

  Jamie stayed silent.

  “I know you are working for that pathetic excuse for a Chaanisar, Colonel Harris. I also know that you saved Admiral Pike’s life against none other than Colonel Harris’s men. Hence my confusion. Would you care to enlighten me?”

  Jamie sighed. “I’m finding it hard to think with all these weapons pointed at me.”

  Traeger chuckled. “That is perfectly understandable. Allow my men to disarm you, and we can have a more civilized conversation. I’m sure I don’t need to warn you against doing anything stupid.”

  “Go ahead,” Jamie said. One of
the Chaanisar stepped up to him and patted him down, taking each of Jamie’s weapons in the process.

  “He’s disarmed,” the Chaanisar said when finished.

  “Very well, bring him inside,” Traeger said.

  Jamie stepped into the adjacent room with Chaanisar flanking him on all sides. They still brandished their weapons but didn’t point them at Jamie. Colonel Traeger sat on a leather club chair with an energy weapon in his hand. Jamie noted that the weapon’s barrel aimed at his head.

  It was often hard to guess a Chaanisar’s age, even for another Chaanisar. The augmentation allowed them to reach manhood but drastically slowed the aging process after that. So, each Chaanisar seemed like they were in their twenties, or early thirties, while the truth might be that they were over a hundred years old or more. Considering Traeger’s rank, he had to be at least one hundred years old.

  “Here is how our conversation is going to go,” Traeger continued. “You are going to tell me the truth, and I am going to decide whether or not to let you live. Don’t worry about Colonel Harris. His connection to your implant has been severed. Once you walked into this house, all communication was jammed. That includes implant communication. So speak freely. Your life depends on it.”

  Jamie figured he had nothing to lose, so he told Traeger everything. He told him about General Tallos and how they suspected that the traitor Dathos was behind the hit on Admiral Pike, and how Jamie was trying to win the Colonel’s confidence. He also told him how Harris had been his commander under the Chaanisar and how he tried to hunt him down after his escape.

  “That’s an interesting story, Jamie,” Traeger said. “Unfortunately, General Tallos is currently in the Piirgos system with Admiral Pike, so I can’t confirm its truth.”

  “I’m not lying to you,” Jamie said.

  “Perhaps,” Traeger said as one of his men signaled to him. “I see its time for the show. You’ll enjoy this, Jamie.”

  The Chaanisar turned Jamie around to face a wallscreen. On it, Jamie saw the merc ship that they came to Earth in. It had taken off and was currently racing toward the upper reaches of the atmosphere.

  “I’ve been tracking you since you entered orbit around Earth,” Traeger said. “None of you ever had a chance.”

  The view of the ship panned out to show a couple of missiles racing toward the fleeing mercenary vessel. Jamie knew that they couldn’t outrun the missiles. The ship deployed countermeasures, but the rockets ignored them and closed with their quarry. Before the merc ship could escape, both missiles reached their target and detonated their warheads. The mercenary ship blew apart in a brilliant flash of light, smoke, and debris. Jamie felt nothing.

  “I never understood why someone like Colonel Harris chose the path he did,” Traeger said. “How about you, Jamie? Why are you an assassin?”

  “I don’t play well with others,” Jamie said.

  “Come now, Jamie. We’re having an honest conversation. Tell me the truth.”

  “How were you freed?” Jamie said.

  “Jon Pike and his AI freed me, as well as my men.”

  “No one freed me. Not Jon Pike, not his AI, not the Cenobi. I am in nobody’s debt.”

  “Is that why you think we fight for the UHSF? Because we are paying off a debt?”

  “No. You are either seeking revenge, or you are trying to make up for any harm you caused while under the Juttari. I’m not sure which one yet.”

  “What of your conscience?”

  “What of it? I am not guilty of anything the Juttari made me do. I had no free will. I could not resist their commands. Does your weapon bear any blame for the way you use it? How are the Chaanisar any different.”

  “We are different because we remember our actions. Do not tell me that your memories don’t haunt you.”

  “Of course they do. Our wounds run deep. But I do not believe that fighting for the UHSF has exorcised your demons, Colonel.”

  Traeger grew contemplative and then put away his weapon. “If Admiral Pike did not free you, why did you save him?”

  “I respect him. Humanity needs him. When I found out that they were going to kill him, I could not stand by and let it happen.”

  Traeger nodded. “What of General Tallos. Why work for him?”

  “Tallos hired me. That said, the idea of infiltrating this traitorous mercenary group appealed to me. As did the idea of catching a Diakan traitor.”

  “I think you fight for the cause in your own way, Jamie. Still, I am forced to wonder what you would have done if my men weren’t here. Would you have killed me?”

  “I did not want to, but I hadn’t figured out how to avoid it. I considered killing the two men with me, but Harris would have known that I betrayed him. It was a fluid situation, and I was looking for options.”

  “Well then, it is lucky for both of us that you didn’t have to decide.”

  “We can agree on that point, Colonel.”

  Traeger stood up and walked toward the door. “I’m afraid I can’t let you go just yet, Jamie. I am bringing you with me.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To my battleship, of course. Where else?”

  ***

  Colonel Harris watched Traeger’s house through a long-range lens. Somehow Traeger had learned of the assassination and was ready for his team. Traeger did not know who had betrayed them, but he would find out.

  He observed a transport come down and land beside his house. The Colonel was likely heading back up to his ship, which meant they would have to wait before they would get another chance at killing him. Luckily, Traeger now thought that they were dead, which would help eliminate any surprises the next time.

  Harris had realized something was wrong when he lost contact with his three men. He ordered the rest of his team to evacuate the ship and then sent it up to orbit on autopilot. His ship’s destruction confirmed his fears. All that was left now was to regroup and clean house.

  If there was one thing that had served him well his entire life, it was his meticulous attention to detail. With assets in place on Earth and in the colonies, bouncing back would not be a problem.

  When the door to the house opened, Harris watched as a cohort of armed UHSF Chaanisar appeared. His men had walked into a trap. Then Jamie came out. Harris studied him. He had been disarmed but not restrained. Why? There could only be one reason. Jamie had betrayed them.

  Colonel Harris vowed to hunt Jamie down and make him pay for his betrayal. This time Jamie would not escape.

  Chapter 36

  Anki took slow, calming breaths while waiting for the order to board. She was on a cloaked Chaanisar battle cruiser in the Dvorkan occupied Satek System. Many other cloaked UHSF vessels had also made the trip. The ships stealthily moved into position, within boarding range of the Dvorkan warships defending the jump gate.

  She wore a powered combat suit, retrofitted with a personal jump system. Thirty Chaanisar soldiers similarly clad in combat suits stood nearby.

  The team had trained extensively on the trip to Satek which proved challenging for Anki. The Chaanisar did not seem to ever get tired. For an unaugmented human like herself, that was more than frustrating. In fact, she wondered why Jon placed her on this team in the first place.

  Initially, she figured he was trying to keep her safe. Unaugmented humans were not typically placed in Chaanisar teams, after all. That was only common sense. How were you supposed to keep up with a bunch of Chaanisar? It would’ve made more sense to put her on a Reiver team.

  But after training with the Chaanisar, she now thought that he was trying to make her quit. Maybe that was how he planned to keep her safe, by pushing her to exhaustion thereby forcing her to give up.

  Jon Pike, of all people, should have known better than that. Anki had never quit at anything in her life. This was no exception. She pushed herself to keep up, fighting fatigue and doubt every step of the way. By the end of it, she hoped that the Chaanisar accepted her as one of their team. Unfortunately, w
ithout one of their brain implants, she would probably never know.

  That was really the most challenging part of the assignment. The Chaanisar were used to communicating with each other through their brain chips, especially during combat. It made sense as it sped up reaction times. Yet another reason why the unaugmented didn’t fight on Chaanisar teams.

  Lieutenant Jarvi did his best to change that, instructing his men to use voice communication as much as possible. It was evident that the men respected Jarvi and they did their best to accommodate her. Most of them had known her since she was a child and had developed a protective instinct toward her. She had no doubt that they would’ve looked out for her even if they weren’t ordered to.

  But Anki was not here to be coddled. She was here to fight and prove herself. She understood why Jon wanted her to go to the Academy, but she found it a waste of time. None of the students could match her skill. She even questioned whether her instructors could. Like most Reivers, she believed in learning by doing. The training helped, but it wasn’t combat.

  “Activate cloaks and prepare to commence boarding operations,” Jarvi said over her combat suit’s speakers. At the same time, coordinates were fed to her personal jump system. Around her, the Chaanisar activated their cloaks and took on a ghostly appearance. Anki saw them in this way because she shared the same cloaking network they did, but to anyone not on that network they were invisible.

  Anki looked down at her armored body and confirmed that her cloak worked. Her heart beat faster, and she tightened her fingers around her heavy energy weapon. She paid attention to her breathing, keeping it under control. That helped regulate her heart rate which the biometric data on her visor confirmed.

  “Activate personal jump systems and board enemy vessel,” Jarvi ordered.

  This is it, Anki thought. She engaged her jump system, and a shimmering field appeared directly in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she walked through and onto a Dvorkan warship.

  The field closed behind her, and she frantically looked around, trying to determine her location. She was in a corridor, that much was clear, but where were the Chaanisar? In training, they had always boarded in groups of four, but here she had landed alone.