Pursuit: Rise Of Mankind Book 5

by John Walker

“How’re the alliance ships doing?” Gray asked. “Are they still with us?”

  “Yes, sir,” Olly replied. “They’ve taken down one of the larger enemy…it seems the pirate tried to ram them.”

  Adam shook his head. “What’s the deal with ramming? That shouldn’t even be a tactic.”

  “Effective if you have a death wish,” Gray muttered. “Redding, fire.”

  She let loose another torrent just as the enemy fired their beam weapon. “Direct hit to us!” Olly shouted. “Shields already at sixty percent!”

  “Jump,” Gray ordered. “Now!”

  Redding hit the button and the ship winked out. Olly hoped to God the engineers truly fixed the jump module the way they said. As they reappeared, without incident or negative sensation, he decided they needed a fruit basket. Or at least a drink. I’m totally buying them a drink.

  “We’ve repositioned,” Redding reported. She sounded shaken though. Clearly she expected worse from the jump. “Redirecting our fire to eliminate our target.”

  As they fired again, the enemy vessel cracked and listed before turning into an orange ball. One more down. Olly checked the scanner. There were nine more large vessels combat ready. He analyzed each and found that they were in various stages of damage. Apparently, they were taking quite the beating as well.

  Agatha spoke up, “sir, Panther two has contacted hangar control for permission to land for hot maintenance. He’s asking we don’t microjump for the next few minutes.”

  “Tell him not to worry, we’ve got other problems,” Gray said. “Agatha, can you reach Clea’s party?”

  “Attempting to now, sir.”

  “Do you think they’re okay?” Adam asked.

  “I guess it depends on what the conditions are like down there,” Gray said. “It could be pretty bad. If it’s completely lawless then no one’s trying to maintain order while the military attacks their base. Get us into position for another strike on one of those ships, Redding. I want this wrapped up.”

  ***

  “Miss An’Tufal?” Rudy called from the cockpit. “Can you come here please?”

  Clea hurried over to him and leaned close. “What is it?”

  “I’m getting a message from the Behemoth on a coded channel. We’ve got the coordinates from that Crandy guy and are ready to jump. What do you want to do?”

  Clea took a headset and put it on, sitting in the passenger seat behind Meagan. “Patch me through to Gray, please.”

  Gray’s voice crackled in her ear. “What’s going on? Did you make it?”

  “We’re safe,” Clea said. “But we’re pursuing this further. A junk dealer knew who might’ve bought the data storage devices and we’re going to get them.”

  “Wait, you’re jumping out?” Gray hummed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Clea. Come back to the ship and we’ll go together.”

  “If we do that, we risk losing the cooperation of our passenger.”

  “You took the junk dealer with you?” Gray sighed. “Clea, this isn’t part of the plan. You don’t know what you could be jumping into.”

  “We’re sending you the coordinates so you can meet us there,” Clea replied. “We’ll scope it out and see what’s going on, buy you some time to arrive. If it’s nothing, then we can just board the Behemoth and go home but if it’s something…”

  “Be careful, Clea. With everyone on board, be careful.”

  “Of course, sir. Clea out.” She put the headset away. “Let’s get far enough away to jump out of here without attracting attention.”

  “Plenty of people who evacuated are doing the same thing,” Meagan said.

  Clea looked out the window and witnessed several ships jumping out all around them. That’s what the fight is out there. A chance for all these folks to get away. We got to nestle ourselves amongst those who needed to flee. Fantastic news for us, I suppose. Though I’m guessing the guys who wanted to take the ship would’ve used it to fight.

  The pirates had a strange loyalty if they were willing to risk their lives to let their dealers and services escape. She wondered how many of them would try to flee the alliance once the majority of the planet escaped. How many would get away? Considering the firepower being brought against them, she doubted much. Even with their dirty tactics, they weren’t a match for three capital ships and all the fighters they had at their disposal.

  “Hey,” Meagan spoke quietly. “Panther wing’s out there somewhere. I just saw a ping from Mick. He took some damage.”

  “I’m sure he’s okay,” Rudy replied. Clea heard the tension in his voice. She knew he’d lost a man in their last mission and was still trying to cope with it. “He’s a tough guy.”

  “I know,” Meagan said. “I wish I was out there with them.”

  “This is important,” Clea replied. She put her hand on the pilot’s shoulder. “Believe me, if this works out, we’re going to change things for the better. Not just an engagement either but the whole war. You’ll see.”

  “I hope so,” Meagan said. “I’d hate for us to be fighting pirates for nothing.”

  “Any unnecessary combat is regrettable,” Clea said. “Don’t worry. I’ll explain more when we get there. If we’re ready for the jump, let’s get strapped in to make it happen. Thank you both for your help. Let’s see this through now.”

  ***

  Gray rubbed his eyes after the conversation with Clea. This has gotten out of hand. They shouldn’t be on a wild goose chase throughout the sector. He hadn’t anticipated this investigation taking an onion turn. Layers annoyed him. He figured they would either find the device or nothing on the pirate world, not another location.

  And what happens if she finds another trail to follow? The obsession with this data became clear to him though kielans handled such things differently than humans. The signs were far less overt. She needed to follow this to the end but it might not entirely be the best thing for the military or the people with her.

  “We’ve taken another one down.” Redding’s voice interrupted Gray’s thinking and he looked up. “They were about to fire that weapon of theirs again.”

  Gray nodded. “How many are left, Olly?”

  “Seven.” Olly hummed. “Sir, I think they’re preparing to retreat.”

  Adam sighed. “They bought the time they needed.”

  “Agatha, let the kielan ships know.” Gray rubbed his chin. “I have a bad feeling we’re going to be on clean up here.”

  “Was that Clea on your personal com?” Adam asked.

  Gray nodded.

  “I’m guessing her message wasn’t something you wanted to hear.”

  “Not particularly.” Gray looked at his personal message queue. A set of coordinates sat at the top. He sent them over to the navigation console. “Leonard, I sent you something I need researched. Get all the information you can on the sector quietly. I don’t want our friends to find out about that too.”

  “Yes, sir.” Leonard looked back at him. “I’ll compile a report as soon as possible.”

  “Thank you.” Gray turned to Adam. “Let’s help our allies wrap this up. I’m afraid they didn’t do a very good job of keeping this place locked down.”

  “I’m not entirely surprised. The pirates were fighting dirty and they didn’t have any regard for their own lives. We’ve seen what a lack of self preservation does in a battle.”

  “Two ships escaped,” Olly said. “Three others have been destroyed and two have been disabled. The kielans are moving in for a capture. The smaller vessels have also been wrangled up. Looks like this fight’s over. Kielan troop carriers are descending to the planet.”

  “Whoever they find down there’s going to be frantic,” Gray said. “And probably not very cooperative. Let’s offer up some support for that. Agatha, ask if they’d like any of our marines to accompany them to the surface. We need to expedite this situation as quickly as possible so we can get back to our business.”

  Before it’s too late, Gray thought. I hope
our people are ready for whatever they’re about to encounter.

  ***

  Mick landed and didn’t even make a motion to get out of his fighter. Three people rushed forward, ran the fastest diagnostic he’d ever seen and opened the maintenance panel. His computer showed their progress and when they reattached the cable, all lights turned green. One of the techs moved over to see him through the cockpit, offering a thumb’s up as he spoke.

  “You’re good to go! Shields are nominal and all systems are up! Good luck!”

  The techs hustled away and Mick launched again, plunging back into space and toward his wing. He sent a ping to let them know he was back in the fight and gunned it, full throttle back into the action. As he flew closer, he saw one of the larger ships trying to gain a firing solution on Panther Four, Shelly.

  Mick set the targeting computer to task but couldn’t wait for it to get a lock. He manually aimed, firing his pulse cannons. A near miss but it caused the enemy to pull to the side, buying Shelly a little space. “Glad to see you, Mick! Thanks for the assist.”

  “No problem,” Mick replied. “This might help a little more.”

  He fired his missiles the moment he got tone. Two of them dropped from his craft and raced forward, chasing his target. The pirate pulled away, disengaging from Shelly but it didn’t help. The missiles continued to pursue him, striking the engines dead center. The shields flared then, the craft began to flip far too fast.

  Mick imagined the inertial dampeners couldn’t keep up with such a maneuver and as the ship just kept on going, he figured the people inside must be dead. They didn’t even try to recover but their shields began to recharge even as they drifted off, away from the battle.

  “Form up on me,” Mick ordered. “Let’s see who’s left.”

  “All wings,” Revente’s voice filled the channel. “We are receiving surrender notifications from various pirates in the area. Stand down and hold your distance. I do not put a trick past these people and I won’t risk any pilots on deceit. Let the capital ships take care of this part and good work.”

  “Wow,” Shelly said. “You flew all the way back out here and still managed to take one out before the fight ended.”

  “Lucky I guess,” Mick grumbled. “I’m surprised. These guys seemed ready to fight to the death. What happened?”

  “Looks like a bunch of ships escaped from the surface,” Kelly, Panther Eight, replied. “I’ve got a feed from the Behemoth. A ton of vessels fled the sector during the engagement. They’re sending marines down to see who’s left.”

  “There you go.” Mick shook his head. They’d been distracted. His estimation of the pirates changed dramatically. If they were capable of sacrificing themselves for others, maybe they weren’t the mercenary scum he’d thought them to be. He figured they were the every man for themselves type but the valor displayed said otherwise.

  Some of them even surrendered. Incredible.

  “We’re on security detail,” Mick said. “Let’s keep our formation tight and wait for orders, folks. I guess this fight’s all over.”

  Chapter 10

  Clea strapped herself in, anticipating their jump. Meagan clicked her tongue. “Kielan capital ships sent out a message warning all ships to remain in the sector. Apparently, they’re locking everyone down and no one’s to leave. Imagine that? Authorities wanting to arrest criminals. What a galaxy we live in.”

  “Hush,” Rudy muttered. “I’m about to do the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

  “Admit you can’t fly?” Meagan asked.

  “You’re incredibly funny. Definitely worthy of taking stage.”

  Clea recognized the banter as a defense mechanism. They were afraid of jumping in a small craft. She’d done it before so the prospect didn’t bother her nearly as much. But listening to the tension in their voices, it gave her pause to think about it. Maybe she shouldn’t have been as comfortable. Then again, the technology was tried and true. She had no reason to worry…

  “Her we go.” Rudy hit the button and the ship vibrated. A moment later, they were in another place, far from the pirate planet. “Whoa! That was…that was…”

  “Really smooth,” Meagan said. “Easy even.”

  “Incredible. I wonder if they could install one on the bombers.” Rudy shook his head. “Talk about a tactical advantage.”

  “Full stop,” Clea ordered. She took her safety belts off. “I want to talk to our passenger before we go any further. We have no idea what we’re about to walk into.”

  Moving back to the cargo area, she found Crandy admiring the scrap they had aboard. “You guys weren’t kidding. You’ve got quite the haul.”

  “Yes, it’s a lot.” Clea folded her arms over her chest. “Tell me where we’ve gone. Who are we meeting?”

  “He’s a collector,” Crandy said. “A crazy old bastard from the early days of the war. He used to work for the government designing weapons. At some point, he got tired of it and just left. He’s been buying up tech from battles all over the galaxy since then. If your storage device is still intact and not wiped, he’s got it.”

  Clea nodded. “His name?”

  “Durant Vi’Puren.”

  Clea instantly knew the man. He was a legend in the scientific and technology community. His designs helped bolster their shield technology, enhanced their weapons and provided better protection for ground troops. Small arms and scanning devices also benefited from his genius.

  She thought he’d passed away several years ago. When he disappeared, most thought he just wanted to retire but there was always a cloud around his departure. No one could find any information on it and Durant stopped publishing articles or theories. He’d effectively disappeared.

  So he went off to conduct his own research. Interesting. But why? What would’ve led him to leave us in the middle of the war?

  Clea turned to her data pad and brought up the man’s public record. Her eyes widened when she saw how old he should be: seventy-three. He’d seen a lot of conflict, four decades of fighting. And more importantly, he knew what it was like before the enemy declared war on them. That made quite the difference.

  No wonder he wanted to get away from it all.

  “Have you ever seen this man?” Clea asked Crandy.

  “Yes, a couple of times. Fancy bastard stuck out on our little retreats but he always brought plenty for all. That beam weapon the pirates use? He made that.”

  Well, that’s a treasonous act. Really, Durant? Why arm criminals with something so potent? That’s reckless to say the least.

  “I see.” Clea shook her head. “Then we need to be cautious going toward his home. I have a feeling it will be well defended.”

  “That’s a guarantee,” Crandy said. “Well…at least, I’d think so.”

  Clea returned to the cockpit, passing by Jessy on her way. He was complaining to the marines about how dangerous the situation was and how he shouldn’t have come. Jenks told him to shut up before she got out of earshot. The man was right. Their trip went from mildly dangerous to extremely.

  “I need to perform some scans.” Clea sat at one of the terminals behind them and began working on the computer. “This should only take a moment to find the system we want then I need to hail the person living there to ensure we’re not destroyed the moment we hit atmosphere.”

  “I’d like to avoid that,” Rudy said. “Just…you know, if we’re voting.”

  Clea smirked. “I’ll let you know when this becomes a democracy, Mister Hale.” She went about checking the solar system, running their long range scanners for any habitable space bodies. There were six planets orbiting a relatively old star. Of them, one was capable of easily supporting life without alteration and another might’ve been viable with proper terraforming.

  Various moons might hold bases which could easily sustain life but the expense of doing so should’ve been beyond a single person. Clea wasn’t sure how of the resources Durant might command though so she needed to find any techno
logy in the area and map it out. From there, she figured she’d pinpoint a primary location where inhabitants might dwell.

  The first thing that popped up made her groan. A satellite on the edge of the sector, just on the border before departing. It had scanned them and she didn’t know until she took an energy reading from it. Okay, Durant knows we’re out here. Now, where is he? She started a long term scan and got on the ship wide com.

  “Crandy, please report to the bridge.”

  Crandy arrived a moment later, leaning in to look at her. “What?”

  “How did you know this man was out here?”

  “He’s had things delivered to him before,” Crandy replied. “Guys bringing him some of the bigger stuff he bought. Always been that way.”

  “And it didn’t seem to matter to you that there’s an early warning system in place?”

  Crandy shrugged. “I thought we were coming to talk.”

  Clea sighed and hit the com channel, opening it wide. “Mister Vi’Puren, this is Clea An’Tufal. We’re not here in a hostile capacity. We just need to talk. Please respond.”

  They were met with silence. Clea glared at Crandy and tried again. “We may have information that you want concerning the enemy and, quite honestly, I think you might have something we need as well. Please respond.”

  This time, the speakers crackled as if someone did acknowledge their message but no reply came. Clea considered what exactly she might say to pique the man’s curiosity. What did he need or want that might bring him to the line? Honestly, she’d be bluffing with most anything she had to offer unless he hadn’t seen the data on the drive they were after.

  Maybe that’ll be the ticket.

  “Sir, we’re looking for something of great value on a storage drive you may have procured,” Clea tried. “If you’ll simply let us talk, I’m certain we can’t work something out. Please, we’re rather desperate.”

  This time, a response came immediately. “I’ve been listening to you, Miss An’Tufal. I knew your father.”