by G. P. Hudson
“Let’s hurry up and get out of here before one of those things shows up again. You don’t have combat suits to protect you.”
They retraced their steps back to the shuttle, making faster progress with the path already cleared. When they reached the clearing and saw the Juttari shuttle Petrovic and Yao froze.
“Chief, what the fuck is going on?” said Yao.
“Madness,” said Kevin. “Let’s go, I’ll fill you in on the ride up to the ship.”
“That wouldn’t be a Juttari ship up there, would it?” said Petrovic.
“It would,” said Kevin.
Petrovic shook his head. “Okay, it’s not like we’ve got anything to lose.”
Chapter 32
“So the Chaanisar are our allies now?” said Petrovic, his face twisted in disbelief.
“These Chaanisar,” said Kevin.
The four Chaanisar on the shuttle had retracted their helmets and were looking at Petrovic and Yao, nodding in agreement.
“I can’t believe it,” said Yao.
“It is true,” said Lieutenant Jarvi. “We are no longer Juttari slaves.”
The other Chaanisar grunted their approval.
“One day the Juttari will pay for their crimes. Sadly, that day is not today,” said Jarvi.
Petrovic and Yao looked at Jarvi with their mouths open. Kevin knew it was a tough idea to swallow. But they would have to accept it. Just as he and his Marines had.
“Tell me about the Hermes. What happened?” said Kevin.
“It was crazy, Chief,” said Petrovic. “There was some kind of interference. I don’t know if it was something the planet gave off, or if the Kemmar had some way of jamming our sensors, but we were blind up there.”
“I remember the Hermes couldn’t target the prison’s defenses, or take over the prison’s network,” said Kevin.
“The interference created problems with several systems. The shuttles tried to compensate, but they were attacked by Kemmar fighters.”
“Fighters?”
“They came out of nowhere, Chief. They started taking out our shuttles. They were too fast. The shuttles didn’t stand a chance. So the Captain ordered the Hermes to enter the atmosphere.”
“Sounds like something Captain Pike would do.”
“It was a bold decision, and it should have worked.”
“What went wrong?”
“One of the fighters got through our defenses and rammed us. That created an opening for the rest of the fighters, and they did the same.”
“A suicide attack,” said Jarvi. “These Kemmar do not fear death. That makes them formidable warriors.”
“There was a massive hull breach and propulsion was knocked out. The Hermes went down,” said Petrovic.
“Why didn’t the Captain jump away?” said Kevin.
“It would’ve been a blind jump,” said Yao. “There was no way of knowing where we would end up, and your team would’ve been stranded.”
“That’s Captain Pike for you,” said Kevin. “No man left behind.”
“Then Kemmar troops stormed the Hermes,” said Petrovic. “Hundreds of them. There must’ve been an entire battalion down there.”
“It appears the Kemmar had anticipated your rescue attempt,” said Jarvi. “Your Captain should have planned better.”
“The Captain did the best he could under the circumstances,” said Kevin. “He had no way of knowing those troops were down there.”
“Excuses are a sign of weakness,” said Jarvi.
Kevin glared at Jarvi. The Lieutenant was treading dangerously close to his last nerve. He barely managed to keep his temper under control.
“With most of the Marines gone,” said Petrovic, trying to diffuse the tension. “We didn’t have a chance of defending the ship.”
“And that was when the Captain ordered the jump,” said Kevin.
“A blind jump,” said Yao. “Unfortunately we ended up in a Kemmar system.”
“We still had the Kemmar boarders to deal with,” said Petrovic. “On top of that a Kemmar warship now raced to intercept us.”
“So the Captain destroyed the Hermes,” said Kevin.
“Yes, Sir.”
“One big cluster fuck.”
Petrovic and Yao nodded.
“What happened to your team, Chief?” said Petrovic.
“Some died in firefights. They had EMP weapons. Knocked out our combat suits and captured the rest of us.”
A look of shock spread across Petrovic and Yao’s faces. Kevin saw that they understood. For Kevin and his men being captured was a fate worse than death.
Kevin nodded and thought about Private Denney. “They’re sick, ruthless bastards. We were able to escape. We fought our way out of our cells and then the Chaanisar showed up.”
“Your Hermes had softened the Kemmar defenses,” said Jarvi. “We battled the remaining Kemmar and Chief St. Clair’s Marines successfully attacked them from the rear, ensuring their defeat.”
Did Jarvi just give him credit for something? Kevin figured he should return the favor. “We’re lucky the Chaanisar showed up when they did,” said Kevin. “Or we would probably still be on that damn planet.”
“What happens now?” said Yao.
“We find the rest of the crew,” said Kevin.
Chapter 33
Colonel Bast monitored the landing party’s progress on his display. They had found two members of the Hermes crew, but neither of them were Doctor Ellerbeck. He couldn’t help but feel some disappointment. He knew it would take time to find the Doctor, but he also hoped for some luck. Each additional second he had to live with the Juttari chip in his brain was a second he lived in fear.
What if the chip started working again? They had slain the Juttari officers and destroyed the broadcasting device, but what if they missed something? The thought haunted him. He and his men were free for the first time since childhood. Human once again.
But what did that mean? Could he ever be fully human again? He didn’t know. That scared him almost as much as the thought of the Juttari controlling him. If they found the Doctor, and she was somehow able to remove the brain chips, then what? Return to Sol? To Earth?
Nobody would trust him there. He would still be Chaanisar. An abomination. They would blame him and his men for the atrocities committed while under Juttari control. Some would even suggest that they didn’t do enough to resist. Of course they could not know the power of the Juttari brain chip, but would anyone care? Would they try to understand? Or would they be consumed with hate and a thirst for vengeance? They would be called war criminals. They might even be forced to stand trial for their crimes.
What about his family? Surely he had some relations left. Would they want to meet him? Would they consider him family? Or would they hide in horror, afraid of what he might do to them in a moment of relapse?
Deep down inside he knew there would be no place for him back on Earth. He had committed horrific crimes. Even if another controlled him, the blood still stained his own hands. He could not return to Earth. After a lifetime away he could not even consider it home anymore. He had no home.
A comm request brought him back to reality. It was his science officer, Lieutenant Schade. He had tasked Schade with investigating the ship’s systems to determine if there was any hidden way to control the brain chips. Bast brought up Schade’s face on his display.
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
“Colonel, I have found something interesting.”
Dread crept up the back of Bast’s neck. “Do the Juttari have a fail-safe device?”
“No, Sir. I have not found evidence of any backup mechanism to re-initiate the broadcast.”
Relief washed over Bast. “What did you find?”
“I believe I’ve found the source of the broadcast’s malfunction,” said Schade. “It appears that the broadcast failure was not an accident.”
Bast leaned forward in his seat, closer to the display, as if Schade was about to whisper
his next sentence.
“I almost missed it, Sir,” said Schaude excitedly. “It was incredibly well hidden. A brilliant piece of work.”
“Go on.”
“It attacked in slow, quiet waves. A change here, a modification there, and nobody noticed a thing. Extremely sophisticated. The question is how they inserted it.”
“How did who insert what?”
“Space Force, Sir. They managed to insert a virus into our systems. One that specifically attacked the Juttari broadcast device.”
Bast leaned back into his chair, stunned. “How can that be possible? Space Force did not know about our mission.”
“Someone did. The virus is clearly a Space Force design.”
Bast knew the Juttari had spies in Space Force. There was no reason why Space Force, or the Diakans, did not have assets in place as well. But for someone to pull this off? They would have to be very high up to know about the mission and to even have access to the ship’s systems. Unless Space Force knew there was a Juttari spy in place. The spy could have turned. Or, Space Force could have planted the virus in the Hermes systems. If they had uncovered the spy they would’ve known the Juttari ship would get infected. But why give up the jump system technology? No, they probably didn’t know who the spy was, but had suspicions that there was a spy. The virus was a Space Force fail-safe in case the jump system was compromised.
“Could the virus have been inserted in the stolen Hermes technology?”
“Yes, that is possible. They could have inserted it into the jump system code. It could have been programmed to lay dormant in stealth mode. That way it wouldn’t have been detected. Since the Juttari copied the Hermes jump system design, the virus was able to make it into our systems.”
“But why didn’t it affect the jump system?”
“That is the beauty of its design. It was programmed to be activated after a certain number of jumps. That would ensure the ship was far enough away from any backup Juttari broadcasts. Once activated, it traveled through our network, sought out and attacked the ship’s broadcast system.”
“Wouldn’t it have done the same on the Hermes?”
“Yes, but it could easily have been programmed to not do any damage if there was no broadcast system.”
“Fascinating. They assumed that the Chaanisar would mutiny once the Juttari lost control of their brain chips.”
“Yes, Sir.”
An ingenious tactic. Could Space Force have plans to liberate the rest of the Chaanisar? If the Juttari lost control, the Chaanisar would surely revolt. How many ships could be seized? It could potentially cripple the Empire.
If they had their brain chips removed, they could return with the virus and cripple the Empire themselves. Then Juttari blood would flow. Then the Juttari would know the meaning of Chaanisar justice.
“Do you possess the complete virus?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Safeguard it. It may still prove useful.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Bast switched back to view the landing team’s progress. Their shuttle was almost aboard. He opened a comm with the bridge. “As soon as the landing team is on board, jump to the next search vector.”
There would be no rest until the Doctor was found.
Chapter 34
Singh stared at the Chaanisar guard watching him on the other side of the bars. There was cold malice in the guard’s eyes. Why? He hadn’t done anything to the Chaanisar. He shuddered. He wasn’t built for this. He figured out puzzles, like starship reactors and jump systems. He was an engineer, not a soldier.
“Forget him,” said Lynda. “He doesn’t exist.”
He looked away from the guard, and focused on Lynda. She was more beautiful than ever. Radiant. “Of course he exists. He’s right there. Armed. Looking right at us.
She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, “There is only us. Only our love is real. Forget the guard. Forget this ship. Focus on me.”
“The guard is real. So is this ship. Those are Chaanisar. They’re going to kill us.”
“No they will not.”
“Why not?”
“They need you. They have a jump system don’t they?”
“Yes.”
“And your jump system expertise is second to none.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“So use it. Offer your services.”
“They’ll never trust me.”
“Maybe not right away, but the time will come.”
“How do you know?”
“They are in hostile space. Sooner or later they will find themselves in a battle. Jump systems often become damaged in warfare.”
“Surely their own engineer can fix it.”
“Do you think so? This is revolutionary technology. The Juttari wouldn’t trust it to a Chaanisar.”
“The Chaanisar killed all the Juttari. They have no engineer capable of repairing their jump system.”
Lynda smiled, her blue eyes sparkling like precious gems. “Sooner or later, they will need you.”
Chapter 35
Jon thought about Jansen’s mission. How was it that he was thousands of light years away from home and back to doing black ops? Only now he was taking Breeah and Anki along for the ride. He had really lost his mind. There was no other explanation. Not only would he be putting Breeah and Anki in danger, but they would also hamper his effectiveness.
His success at these missions was always directly related to his mindset. He truly believed he could succeed. He also resolutely accepted death. Even if he performed perfectly there was always the possibility of being killed. If he feared death he wouldn’t function properly. Instead he embraced death. He laughed at the reaper. Defied him to come.
He looked over at Breeah and Anki. How could he be effective with the two of them coming along? He would constantly fear for their safety. That fear would make him second guess his actions. Make him hesitate. That could lead to mistakes. It was a bizarre irony that his fear for their safety could get them all killed in the end.
He couldn’t allow that. He would have to leave them behind. Captain Seiben was a good man. He would leave them on the freighter with Seiben and he would complete his mission alone. Breeah would be angry with him, but she would understand.
A sound caught his attention. A feint sound that any other human wouldn’t hear, but Jon’s enhanced hearing picked it up. It was a common sound in the station. The faint whisper of forced air jets. What was out of place, however, was its location. The sound was directly outside their building. Above them now, but descending quickly. From what he had seen the station vehicles primarily used the rooftops, and didn’t often descend down to the street.
His instincts warned him of the threat before his mind could register it. He knew from experience to obey his instincts. Breeah and Anki were getting their things ready and hadn’t realized anything was wrong. The craft had almost reached their floor. Seconds away.
“Get down!” said Jon.
Breeah gave him a confused glance, but thankfully she trusted him enough to grab Anki and drop to the floor. Jon dropped as well, just as the vehicle came into view outside their window. It was similar to the craft that had brought them into the city, except for one difference. This one was armed.
Two Gatling guns jutted out from its sides. The craft stopped its descent in front of their apartment’s windows and opened fire. Orange flashes spewed bullets at the windows. Anki screamed as the glass shattered and bullets ripped through the walls and furniture, shredding everything in their path. Breeah lay on top of Anki, using her body to protect her. The craft turned from left to right, flooding the room in a metal torrent. The pilot hadn’t seen them on the floor and fired high, targeting someone who would be standing or sitting on a chair. Soon he would find their heat signatures and spray the floor.
Jon regretted leaving his railgun behind on the freighter. Now he was completely unarmed. They had to move.
“Breeah, I’m going to draw its fire.
When I do you and Anki run in the opposite direction and get out of the apartment.”
Breeah looked at him, concern on her face, and nodded.
Jon sprang to his feet and ran toward the bedroom, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Just as he anticipated, the guns followed. His speed gave him an edge and the guns missed him, but not by much. The guns changed direction as the pilot realized Breeah and Anki were escaping, and fired to block their escape. Breeah turned just in time and took Anki back to the floor, the little girl crying in fear.
Jon jumped up and ran straight toward the attack craft, giving it something more threatening to worry about. That caught its attention and it shifted toward Jon again. Breeah seized the opportunity, jumped up and rushed Anki out the door.
Jon moved to evade the gunfire. He dove, the fire retargeted, he leaped, the craft moved with him, he rolled, bullets followed. Jon bounced around the room like a rubber ball, changing directions with inhuman speed. His assailants expected an easy kill, but his abilities caught them off guard. How long could he keep this up? He couldn’t run for the door without getting hit. Sooner or later the gunfire would catch him. He needed to change tactics.
He spotted a round sculpture that had decorated the apartment. An odd looking thing. He had noticed it when they first arrived. More importantly, he knew it had some weight to it. He dove near it, evading another strafing attack, and snatched it as he rolled by.
Coming out of his roll he jumped up and threw the heavy object at the hovercraft. His strength and accuracy sent the orb smashing though the hovercraft’s window and hammering the pilot in the chest. The craft’s front end tilted up and its guns fired harmlessly away from the apartment. It lurched backward at the same time, moving further away.
