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

by G. P. Hudson

  “Then you will have to schedule another meeting.” Kriss terminated the connection, and General Dak’s holographic face disappeared. Kriss mumbled a few choice words under his breath. If anyone was trying to manipulate him, it was Dak and the generals at Central Command. The Taymati had more than proven their loyalty at the penal station.

  Kriss swiveled around in his chair and found one of his Taymati guards pointing a weapon at them. The Emperor froze. Was Dak right after all? Were the Taymati the real assassins? Time seemed to slow down, and Kriss soaked in everything about the encounter. The Taymati’s cold eyes. His finger squeezing the trigger. The blaze of light from the weapon’s discharge.

  This was it. As young as he was, as little time as he had spent on the throne, this was the end. Murdered by his guard. Were the Taymati also in league with the aliens? Or did they merely want the throne for themselves? He had so many questions, but there would be no answers. He wondered if his father felt the same way when he died. Would he see him again? Would he see anything at all?

  Time sped up, and the energy bolt sailed harmlessly over his head. Kriss dove for cover, knowing that the Taymati wouldn’t miss twice. He drew his sidearm and took cover behind his desk. But the Taymati shouldn’t have missed at all. Not from that range. Something was wrong. He heard more boots running in. Were they all in on it? Moving in for the kill?

  “Clear!” someone announced. “It is safe now, your worship. You can get up.”

  The Emperor’s confusion quickly turned into anger. Tightening his grip on his weapon, he remained hidden behind his desk. “What are you talking about!? Why did you try to shoot me?”

  “Nobody tried to shoot you, your worship,” said a voice Kriss recognized as belonging to the head of his personal guard, Captain Vass.

  Kriss had made good on his promise to promote the former lieutenant for his efforts at the penal station. Had that show of gratitude been in vain?

  “This man saved your life,” said Vass.

  Still confused, Kriss holstered his sidearm and rose to his feet. If the Taymati were indeed trying to kill him, he would be dead already. Standing, he noted that the room was now full of Taymati, all on high alert.

  Captain Vass stepped up to Kriss. “We need to move you to a more secure location, your worship.”

  “Tell me what happened,” Kriss snapped.

  Vass nodded to one of the Taymati. “Show the Emperor.”

  Kriss recognized the man as the one who had shot at him. Stepping up his guard extended his hand to show Kriss some charred metal.

  “What am I looking at?” said Kriss.

  “The remains of a tiny assassination drone,” said Vass. “This man didn’t shoot at you, your worship. He shot at the drone that was about to kill you. Thankfully, Taymati do not miss.”

  Kriss stared at the destroyed drone. “No, I suppose they don’t.” He looked up at the guard. “Thank you.”

  The Taymati guard bowed his head. “I only performed my duty, your worship.”

  “With respect, your worship, we must move,” said Vass.

  “Yes, of course. Lead the way, Captain.”

  Kriss was ushered out of his office, and led out the rear of the building. There, several heavily armored Taymati shuttles were waiting. Once boarded, the shuttles lifted off and headed for Imperial One which remained in orbit. As the shuttles rose, Taymati atmospheric fighters streaked by. Kriss looked up at the shuttle’s display which tracked the planes and took note of the small red blips racing ahead of them. “Did they just fire their missiles?”

  “Yes, your worship,” said Vass, who was receiving updates over his helmet’s comm. Our no-fly zone has been violated. The intruders have not turned back as instructed.

  Kriss wondered who would try and test the Taymati’s resolve in this way. Taymati were not known for giving second chances. He continued watching the engagement, which now also showed the intruders. “Do we know who they are?”

  “No, your worship, but we are dispatching more fighters to deal with the threat.”

  “More fighters?” Kriss wondered why the ones intercepting the bogeys were not sufficient. When the Taymati fighters started disappearing from the display, he had his answer.

  Chapter 24

  The Taymati shuttle banked hard and raced back toward the surface.

  “Why are we going back down?” said Kriss. Things seemed to be changing by the minute, and it had him on edge.

  “It’s too dangerous to try and reach Imperial One,” said Captain Vass. “Our fighters are having difficulty containing the enemy.”

  “Who is the enemy?”

  “We don’t know, your worship.”

  “Is it the aliens?”

  “No, the ships are Dvorkan in design, but they are unmarked. My guess is they are mercenaries.”

  “How is it that they can defeat Taymati atmospheric fighters?”

  “I do not know, your worship. Reports indicate that they are using some shielding technology that we’ve never seen before.”

  “Shielding?”

  “Yes, your worship. Our fighters are doing what they can, but it is a losing battle, which is why we’ll be safer on the ground. As per protocol, all shuttles are heading to different locations to confuse the enemy.” The use of decoys was standard Taymati practice. No one other than the Emperor’s personal guard knew which shuttle he was traveling in. “If you wouldn’t mind, your worship, wearing Taymati armor will also help to conceal your identity.”

  “Of course,” said Kriss, trying hard to hold back a smile. Captain Vass wanted him to wear the armor to keep him hidden. Kriss was happy to have another opportunity to join the Taymati in combat.

  As the shuttle sped downward, Kriss hurriedly stepped into the suit of armor. Securing it around his body, he donned the helmet and fastened it to the suit. A heads-up display instantly came to life, and he was patched into the unit’s network. A massive energy weapon was handed to him, and he tightened his now armored hands around it. The shuttle touched down, the hatch opened, and they rushed forward onto the busy street.

  While it was not unusual to see Taymati in the Imperial capital, the sight of armored Taymati bursting out of a shuttle and running down the street was indeed abnormal. Everywhere Dvorkans stopped what they were doing to gawk at the strange goings-on. Some were smart enough to leave, recognizing the fact that danger lurked nearby.

  “We are too exposed on the street,” said Vass over the helmet’s comm. “We should go underground.”

  “You’re in charge, Captain,” said Kriss.

  Vass led them down a set of stairs to the vast network of tunnels used for high-speed transportation under the city. With the city’s burgeoning population, travel on the surface long ago became too congested, so it was diverted underground instead. Kriss remembered using the tunnels as a child but had not been underground in years.

  “The Taymati operate their own secure tunnel network,” said Vass. “If we can reach it, we can take a transport to one of our bases.”

  They ran across a platform, as frightened Dvorkans jumped out of their way. Nearing the staircase on the other end, an energy bolt crashed into a pedestrian hurtling her backward.

  “Keep running, and enable cloaks,” shouted Vass. “We can’t afford a firefight here with all these civilians. I’m sending a secure message to the other teams, advising them of our situation.”

  The Taymati descended the stairwell as more energy bolts sailed after them. Moving deeper underground, they cleared ten steps at a time with the enhanced ability of their powered armor. Kriss didn’t see the mercenaries but assumed that they were armored too, which meant they could keep up with them.

  The staircase was the perfect route in this situation. Not only could they avoid civilian casualties, but they also denied the enemy a clear shot owing to the winding staircase design. They could’ve taken a high-speed lift underground, but that would run the risk of the mercenaries trapping them. This way they would only have to st
ay ahead of their pursuers or make a stand and fight.

  Kriss craved the latter option. He wasn’t sure why, but he desperately wanted to prove himself in battle. He didn’t know if it was his age or the years he spent learning Taymati skills. Perhaps it was his own quest for glory. He wasn’t sure, but he felt a burning desire to prove that he could hold his own. At the penal station, he had shown that he wouldn’t freeze in combat, which was no small feat. But he hadn’t necessarily proved that he had any skill. As the Emperor, he didn’t need to prove anything, but as a man, he wanted to show that he was worthy of the armor he wore.

  “The other teams are converging on our location,” said Vass. “More teams are being dispatched through our tunnel system. We’ll have the mercs trapped once we reach the platform.”

  “Grenade!” someone yelled from the rear, and Kriss felt the intense heat at his back. The blast lifted him off his feet and hurled him forward, along with the Taymati running alongside him. Crashing into the backs of the Taymati below, and tumbling down some stairs, Kriss scrambled to regain control of his body. On his visor, he saw that his armor had sustained some damage, but he had avoided the brunt of the blast. Two Taymati grabbed him by his arms and hoisted him up, just as another shouldered a grenade launcher, and sent the mercs a taste of their own medicine.

  “Keep moving!” said Vass, and the Taymati were off and running again. “Deploy gravity mines.”

  The order made Kriss gasp. “What about the civilians?”

  “We have no choice, your worship,” said Vass. ”I will personally ensure that this staircase is closed off to the public until all the mines have been removed. I’m also sending a warning to our teams.”

  Gravity mines could be deployed at a moment’s notice and were ideal for situations like the one they were in. They were compact and floated at around chest level. What made them particularly lethal was the fact that they were cloaked. To avoid detection, they cycled through cloaking frequencies, making it particularly challenging to locate them.

  Kriss understood Vass’s reason for deploying the mines but dreaded the thought of civilians unwittingly stumbling into their trap. When he heard the mines detonate, he wondered if all the mercs were eliminated. A fresh barrage of energy bolts sailing past answered his question. Vass gave the order to continue deploying mines, but they didn’t seem to slow the mercs down.

  What kind of armor are they wearing? thought Kriss, as he cleared another flight of stairs. The mines continued to detonate behind him, but the mercs kept coming. That should not be happening.

  “This way,” said Vass, and the Taymati burst through a door and onto another platform. This one didn’t seem to be in use, and thankfully had no civilians present. “Head for the tunnel.”

  The team raced ahead as the door flew open behind them. Kriss glanced back to see gravity mines detonate around the armored mercs, but cause no noticeable damage. Instead, their armor glowed red with each detonation. Was this the same shielding their atmospheric fighters used?

  The Taymati jumped off the platform and entered the dark tunnel as energy bolts followed. A Taymati grenadier turned and rapidly squeezed off several rounds, hoping to hold off the mercs. Kriss couldn’t help but look back, curious to see what effect, if any, the grenades would have. When the shells detonated, he saw something unusual.

  The merc armor glowed red as before, but one of the suits seemed to flicker and dissipate. Another blast confirmed that his shielding had failed, and the merc was knocked flat on his back. When he tried to get back up, Kriss couldn’t resist and squeezed off several rounds of his own. He hit the man perfectly in the visor, putting him down for good.

  “Your worship, we must keep moving,” said Vass.

  Kriss ran off with the Taymati, deeper into the dark tunnel. “We can beat their shields,” he said.

  “Yes, I saw,” said Vass. “The Emperor is a skilled marksman.”

  Kriss was surprised by the comment. A Taymati did not compliment you unless you earned it. “Thank you, Captain.”

  They ran deeper into the tunnel, as the mercs launched grenades after them. Kriss felt the heat of the blasts, and saw his armor’s integrity drop, but managed to stay on his feet. Vass ordered more mines deployed, which eventually started to wear down their pursuers. The mercs slowed their pursuit, and the Taymati managed to put more distance between themselves, and the Emperor’s would-be assassins.

  They moved deeper into the pitch-black tunnel until there was no more sign of the mercenaries. No energy bolts. No grenades. No more detonating mines. Had they lost the mercenaries? Or was this merely an intermission?

  Chapter 25

  “Jump complete. We are now in Dvorkan Empire space,” said Commander Henderson.

  “AI, are you still in communication with your fleet?” said Jon.

  “Yes, Admiral. The fleet awaits your orders,” said AI.

  “Sir, we are being hailed,” said Henderson.

  “Patch them through to my console,” said Jon, fully expecting to see Consul Kang’s face again. They had jumped back into her system, and he hoped they wouldn’t be forced to fight another battle.

  Kang’s face did not appear on Jon’s display, however. Instead, a stern-looking male Dvorkan showed up wearing a military uniform. “Unidentified vessels, you are surrounded by cloaked Imperial battleships. Power down your weapons and prepare to be boarded, or we will open fire.”

  Jon frowned at the hostile greeting. “This is Admiral Pike of the UHSF. We are on a diplomatic mission, and seek an audience with your Emperor.”

  “A diplomatic mission, huh? Is that why you destroyed the cities on this planet? The only Imperial official you will have an audience with is an executioner.”

  The comment surprised Jon. “There’s clearly been a misunderstanding. We did not attack this planet. We seek only peaceful relations.”

  “This is your last warning. Power down your weapons or you will be destroyed.”

  “Very well,” said Jon, annoyed by the Dvorkan, but curious as to what happened while they were gone. “AI, bring in the cavalry.”

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  Moments later more than two thousand battleships appeared in the system, all around Jon’s battle group. Jon watched the surprise on the Dvorkan officer’s face and let the reality of the situation sink in. “Now, as I was saying, we are here on a diplomatic mission. We did not attack your planet, and we seek only peaceful relations. But, if you choose to fire upon us, we will be forced to defend ourselves, and that will not end well for you. So, don’t do anything stupid. Do you understand?”

  The Dvorkan officer stared back at Jon with mouth agape. “Uh, clearly there has been a misunderstanding.”

  “Clearly.”

  “We, uh, thought your ships were the same ones that attacked this system. I see now that your ships are a different configuration.”

  “Didn’t I say that we weren’t involved in any attack?”

  “Yes, you did. Apologies.”

  “Why don’t you just let me speak to Consul Kang, and we’ll get this all straightened out.”

  “Consul Kang? I’m afraid that is not possible.”

  “Really? And why is that?”

  “Consul Kang is under arrest.”

  “As much as that doesn’t surprise me, why don’t you tell me why she was arrested.”

  “I’m afraid I cannot divulge that information as it is classified.”

  “I see. Alright, that is your business, not mine. Why don’t you tell me who it was that attacked you.”

  “That is classified as well.”

  “Of course it is. No matter. Who do I need to speak to arrange a meeting with your Emperor?”

  “That request needs to go through one of the generals at Central Command.”

  “Admiral, if I may?” said the Dvorkan scholar, Miira Kev, who stood nearby.

  “Please,” said Jon, moving over so that Miira could speak to the man.

  The Dvorkan officer’s m
outh dropped a second time when she came into view.

  “Greetings, Captain. My name is Miira Kev. I am acting as an ambassador for the humans.”

  “Humans?” said the Dvorkan captain.

  “Yes, this race is known as human. As Admiral Pike has told you, they seek to establish diplomatic relations with the Empire. Negotiations of this type need to be conducted directly with the Emperor. Be advised that now that you have received notification of this request, you are bound by Imperial law to ensure its transmission to the Emperor. Failure to do so will leave you exposed to prosecution. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, that is clear. Please stand by while I speak with my superiors.”

  “I will be here.”

  The Dvorkan captain vanished from the comm display, terminating the connection.

  “Miira, I had no idea,” said Jon.

  Miira smiled mischievously. “Being a scholar has its advantages.”

  Chapter 26

  When Miira left the Empire to find the Antikitheri, she never expected to return. Nor had she wanted to. She had asked to join Admiral Pike’s crew, and travel with them to Earth. Happily, the Admiral had agreed. Instead, not only had they come back to the Empire, but the Admiral had turned her into their ambassador. For someone who had spent her whole life immersed in her studies, it was a radical twist that left her feeling unbalanced.

  Miira had never felt at home in the Empire. Even in her own family, she felt like an alien. She was socially awkward and did not crave the status and glory that most Dvorkans sought. That made her a target for ridicule from her earliest years. Deciding to focus her studies on the Antikitheri merely served to intensify that contempt. It bothered her, but not enough to change her field of study. The stories about the Antikitheri and the Erinyie had fascinated her since she was a small child. Somehow, they rang true for her. They weren’t just stories or myths. They were historical works. Truth.

  Having seen the fabled Antikitheri with her own eyes left her feeling vindicated. She had been right all along, and her knowledge helped Admiral Pike in his quest to find these beings. The Admiral chose to believe in her, which was more than anyone in the Empire had done. She had not let him down in his quest, and she would not let him down now, despite how uncomfortable her new role made her.