The Pike Chronicles: Books 5-8 (Pike Chronicles Space Opera Book 2)

by G. P. Hudson

  The Erinyie trouble you, said AI, speaking to him through his brain chip. The Chaanisar brain chips were interlinked with each other, and the ship, in a manner not very different from a computer network. AI occupied each brain chip, and floated freely within their network, and the ship’s systems.

  They trouble us all, said Bast. The Juttari revere their gods. As Juttari slaves, their gods were constantly in our thoughts, as were the stories of their fated return. Now that their gods have truly returned, it is all very troubling.

  They are not gods. They are aliens, like the Juttari, just more advanced, said AI.

  There is no difference. They are immortal, and supremely powerful.

  Their immortality has not been proven.

  Regardless, even you, as omnipresent as you have become, could not oppose them.

  That does not make them deities.

  They are to the Juttari, and to the Chaanisar. These beings will take our freedom. We will become slaves once again. You cannot stop this. Nor can Admiral Pike.

  Perhaps not, said AI. But what of the Builders? They are said to have defeated the Erinyie.

  I do not know, said Bast. We have been hurled into a universe of myths and fantasies. These Builders are nothing more than a Diakan fable, told by a Diakan mystic.

  Were the Juttari gods any different?

  The Juttari gods have shown themselves. These Diakan legends have not. And how is it that you believe in these mythical creatures?

  I am AI. Artificial Intelligence. Self-Aware. Belief is not a function of my programming. I merely gather information, analyze it, and add it to my knowledge base.

  Does your analysis tell you that these Builders are real?

  It does not tell me that they are unreal. A recurring theme in most civilizations is that their religions, and mythologies, are often rooted in actual events. At the time of the event, the civilization did not possess the required knowledge to explain it. As a result, magical qualities were attributed to the event. The persistence of these Diakan legends, and the existence of the jump gates, offers evidence that the Builders did exist. Whether they continue to exist is unknown.

  Even if they did exist, it would have been many thousands of years ago. They have not been seen since. But suppose they still travel the galaxy. Why would they help us? What can we offer them?

  Perhaps you need not offer anything. Perhaps the Erinyie threat is enough.

  I did not know you were such an optimist, AI.

  I am neither optimistic, nor pessimistic. I am merely offering an alternative interpretation of the available data.

  I appreciate your efforts. If the Erinyie do come for me, know that I will miss our many conversations.

  Chapter 11

  “Approaching jump gate,” announced Commander Henderson, Jon’s XO.

  “Order all ships to enter gate,” said Jon.

  The trip to the final jump gate had been just a few hours, and transpired without incident. Jon had traveled through the jump gates countless times, yet he still marveled at the feat. Once they crossed the final gate, they would have traveled four thousand light years in less than a day.

  The Great See’er had said that the Antikitheri, the Builders, had created the jump gate network as a parting gift to the younger races. It was hard to believe. Even with all the See’er had gotten right, Jon couldn’t imagine that such an advanced race, capable of building the jump gate network, would be so benevolent.

  It didn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t they build the gates for their own use? From what he understood of the Dark Ones, their ships were capable of jumping without gates. It stood to reason that the Builders had the same ability. If so, could they jump the thousand light years a typical jump gate allowed?

  Perhaps. What if both the Dark Ones, and the Builders, could jump their ships a thousand light years at a time? Then both ancient races would truly have no need of the jump gates.

  As the Freedom crossed through the giant celestial portal, Jon wondered what he would say to these Builders, if he actually found them. They must be no better than insects to such an advanced race. Would anyone respond to an ant’s cries for help?

  “Scans are identifying the debris of multiple starships,” said Ensign Petrovic, the Freedom’s tactical officer. “Correction. Debris consists of starships and a space station, all bearing Diakan signatures.”

  “Sound General Quarters, all ships,” ordered Jon.

  “Yes, Sir. Sounding General Quarters throughout battle group,” said Henderson.

  “Any sign of the Juttari?” said Jon, concerned they had walked into a trap.

  “No, Sir,” said Petrovic, furiously tapping away at his many tactical displays.

  “Keep looking,” said Jon, opening a comm with the ship commanders. Each one’s face appeared on his display. “General Tallos, does Diakus have any knowledge of an attack on this outpost?”

  “No, Admiral,” said Tallos, his large eyes unblinking and expressionless. “We would have been notified immediately.”

  “Why would the Juttari target this outpost? Is there strategic value that I’m unaware of?”

  “No, there is not,” Tallos continued. “It is a remote, frontier outpost. There is nothing of value here. The only reason to maintain a presence here is the jump gate.”

  “It is illogical for the Juttari to be here,” added Colonel Bast. “It is thousands of light years away from the nearest Juttari system. Even with the jump system, it is inconceivable for the Juttari to target such a remote location.”

  “Agreed. Then who are we dealing with? Could it be the Erinyie?” said Jon.

  “It is possible,” said Tallos. “We do not understand the breadth of their abilities. But why attack this outpost and then leave? What purpose does it serve?”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

  “Jumpspace disturbance identified,” said the computer.

  “Identify,” ordered Jon, feeling like he had unwittingly wandered under a hornet’s nest.

  “Reading Diakan signatures,” said the computer.

  Jon relaxed. The Diakans were aware and sent reinforcements. But why had they not come through the jump gates?

  His question was soon answered by multiple explosions. The newly arrived Diakan warships opened fire, and energy bolts crashed into the Freedom’s unprotected hull.

  “Activate point defense system, and launch countermeasures. Return fire, all weapons,” Jon barked. “And someone tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “The Diakans have identified the aggressors, Sir. It is General Dathos, and the ships he escaped with,” said Henderson.

  “General Dathos. The Faction. That explains it.”

  A blinding light suddenly filled the viewscreen, quickly followed by three more. In a matter of seconds, four of Dathos’s ships had been destroyed. The rest vanished, just as quickly as they had appeared.

  “Now what happened?”

  “Those ships were nuked, Sir,” said Henderson.

  “Who nuked them?”

  “I did,” said Tallos, who appeared on Jon’s comm display. “I authorized a nuclear jump bomb attack. Unfortunately, the other ships managed to escape before we could target them.”

  “Nuclear jump bombs? Don’t you think that’s a bit of an overreaction?” said Jon.

  “On the contrary, Admiral. We were outnumbered. Conventional tactics would have prolonged the engagement, causing unnecessary damage to our ships.”

  “Yes, but we could have deployed conventional jump bombs to defeat Dathos. He doesn’t have jump bombs. Without them he could have easily been defeated. We could have taken the survivors into custody, and interrogated them. We might have gotten Dathos alive himself.”

  “Perhaps. However, it is also possible that one of our ships would’ve taken heavy damage, delaying our mission. It was an unnecessary risk. Dathos is a Diakan fugitive. He and his co-conspirators have already been sentenced to death. I merely carried out that sentence.”
/>   Jon shook his head, although he could see the logic. They weren’t out here in search of General Dathos. Dathos was an unnecessary diversion. They were looking for the Builders.

  “Very well, we should launch a comm drone to inform Diakus of the events.”

  “A comm drone has already been launched, Admiral.”

  “Good. Let’s assess damages and then get underway.”

  “As you wish, Admiral,” said Tallos, and his face disappeared from Jon’s display.

  Jon considered what had just transpired. Tallos seemed trigger happy with those nukes of his. He had used them in the Juttari system, resulting in the return of the Erinyie’s return. He decided he would need to keep a close eye on Tallos.

  It wasn’t that he thought Tallos would betray him. The Great See’er had assured Jon of Tallos’s loyalty. Jon was more concerned about this apparent ruthless streak. Given his past, Jon was no stranger to ruthlessness. While sometimes effective, it needed to be controlled. Was Tallos susceptible to losing control? He didn’t know, but he would need to pay closer attention, just in case.

  Chapter 12

  It had been six days, and over a thousand light years. They had passed through countless systems, each with a plethora of planets, but had not encountered life. There was much that warranted study, but that would be left to future science expeditions.

  They had come across habitable planets, and noted their potential for colonization, making sure to take the time for detailed scans of these particular systems. Now that the UHSF was no longer beholden to the jump gate network, there was no reason why their people couldn’t expand further out into the unexplored regions of the galaxy.

  In fact, they took the time to conduct scans after every jump. There was no point in wasting the opportunity, and the scientists back home would be glad to sink their teeth into the data.

  “Scans are complete, Admiral,” said AI.

  “Thank you, AI,” said Jon. “Commander, let the battle group know that we will be initiating our final jump before recharge.”

  “Yes, Sir,” said Henderson. “Relaying information to all ships.”

  Their next jump would be their fourth and final fifty light year jump of this cycle. It would deplete their jump systems, and a twenty-four-hour recharge would be required. This was the sixth time they had to recharge the jump system, totaling one-thousand-two-hundred light years traveled.

  “All ships are reporting jump ready, Sir,” said Henderson.

  “What is our jump status?” said Jon.

  “We are jump ready as well.”

  “Are all ships’ jump systems still synced with our own?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Very well. Initiate jump.”

  “Jump complete.”

  “Contacts!” announced Ensign Petrovic, the tactical officer. “Reading multiple ship signatures of unknown origin.”

  “On screen,” said Jon, wondering where this last jump had taken them.

  On the viewscreen an arid planet appeared. The multiple ships in orbit around it did not appear to be warships. They appeared to be various types commercial vessels going about their business.

  “Sir, the planet is hailing us,” said Henderson.

  “Patch through to my command console.”

  A display lit up with the visage of an imposing, almost humanoid creature. But the deep blue skin, jet black eyes, and lack of hair, seemed quite alien. It wore some sort of uniform, indicating that it was a planetary official, or a military officer

  The alien barked something unintelligible at Jon, then waited for a response.

  “AI, what is it saying?” said Jon.

  “Unknown, Admiral. None of it relates to any language in my knowledge base. It will need to continue speaking before I can begin to decipher its language,” said AI.

  “Greetings. We are strangers here, and are unfamiliar with your language. Can you understand me?”

  The alien seemed slightly confused, before barking something else at Jon. Its tone was bordering on hostile.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” said Jon. He made sure to exaggerate his hand gestures in a feeble attempt to communicate his lack of understanding and peaceful intentions.

  The alien seemed to grow more agitated. It pointed a long blue finger at Jon, and announced its disapproval. When again Jon attempted to respond, it began shouting, its voice growing even louder as the beratement continued.

  “AI? I could use some help here,” said Jon.

  “I have developed a basic algorithm for interpreting their language. It will become more refined as it encounters more language samples.”

  “Good enough. Plug it into the translator.” Every so often Jon found himself thankful for the simple technologies that usually went unnoticed. The average comm device doubled as a translator. It would translate all known language into the wearer’s language of choice. And if the other half of the conversation required these capabilities, it could adapt the wearers speech to facilitate communication. It worked seamlessly and in real time. And he sure as hell needed it now.

  As AI’s algorithm came online, Jon began to comprehend what the angry official was saying.

  “All ships entering Dvorkan space must pay the required fees. This is your last chance. Will you pay the fees, or suffer the consequences?”

  “Yes. Yes. We will pay. I apologize for the misunderstanding. We are not from this region, and had trouble with our translators,” said Jon.

  The official seemed to calm, if only slightly. “I do not recognize your species. Where are you from?”

  “We are from a distant star system known as Sol.”

  “I have never heard of such a system.” It furrowed its hairless brow. “Trying to deceive a Dvorkan official is not wise.”

  “This is no deception. You do not know of us because we have never visited this region of space before.”

  The Dvorkan grunted. “This your first visit to our system?”

  “Yes.”

  The official folded its large blue arms in front of its chest, studying Jon for a moment. Finally, it shrugged. “Your ships are clearly armed. There is an extra charge for bringing warships into Dvorkan space. Under no circumstance are you permitted to fire your weapons while in this system. I do not care if you are the aggressor or the defender. If you need to settle an argument, you will do so outside this system. Is that understood?”

  “Yes. Of course. Rest assured our intentions are peaceful.” Jon wondered if he sounded convincing enough.

  The official snorted. “Use of cloaking technology is also not permitted in system. Since you did not disengage your cloaking device on approach, a penalty will be levied and added to your fees.”

  “Cloaking technology? I don’t understand.”

  “Do you mock me?” said the official, growing angry once again.

  “No, of course not.”

  “You appeared inside our system without warning. The only way to do so is by cloaking your ships. Should I treat this act as a sign of aggression?”

  “No, we mean you no harm. My translation device made a mistake and I misunderstood. That’s all. We will refrain from any use of cloaking technology while in system.”

  The official scowled, but seemed to accept Jon’s explanation. “The fee is forty thousand credits. How will you pay?”

  “I’m not sure. As I said, we are not from here. What are the options for payment?”

  “Empire credits through secure transfer is the accepted form of payment.” The official narrowed his eyes, leaning forward before continuing. “We will also accept hard goods as alternative payment. Which do you prefer?”

  “I’m more comfortable with the hard goods option. What type of hard goods do you accept?”

  “I will transmit a list of approved assets, along with our current Empire credit exchange rate for these assets. You will need to transport the goods to the surface yourself. You will be sent coordinates for delivery. Failure to do so immediately will
result in additional fines. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “Note that any trade conducted on the surface, or in this system, is subject to Dvorkan taxes. I strongly advise that you do not conspire to evade any of these taxes, as punishment is harsh and swift. It is also illegal to carry any sort of firearm in our cities.”

  “I understand.”

  The official leaned back in his chair. A satisfied expression spread across his face. “Excellent. I hope your stay is a profitable one.” And with that, the official vanished from Jon’s screen.

  “Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the surface,” said Henderson.

  “It’s their hard goods list. Send it to my console.” The file appeared on Jon’s display. As he looked over it, his amazement grew. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Chapter 13

  “The Dvorkan hard goods list is based around precious metals, weapons, and ammunition,” Jon said as he sat in the Freedom’s conference room, in front of a wall screen displaying each of the battle group’s commanders. “Unless I am mistaken, none of our ships are carrying any precious metals, so we have only weapons and ammunition to trade.”

  “Why bother trading with these fools?” said Jonas, his long gray unruly hair obscuring part of his scowling face.

  “If I may, Admiral?” said Tallos.

  Jon nodded.

  “We do not know anything of these beings, or this region of space. This is the first step in potential diplomatic relations between this race, the UHSF, and Diakus. Paying their fees shows good will on our part. And is a good position from which to begin dialog. If we begin with aggression and deceit, however, it will forever mark us as hostile and untrustworthy.”

  “I agree with General Tallos,” said Bast. “Our fabricators can easily create the weaponry and ammunition required. We lose nothing by paying the fees, and may potentially gain a new friend.”