Galactic Empire (The Pike Chronicles Book 7)

by G. P. Hudson

  AI, are you back too? Bast said through his chip.

  Yes, Colonel Bast, said AI.

  Did you hear any of that?

  No, I appear to have been offline, which is highly unusual.

  Agreed. All of this has been unusual from the start.

  Chapter 4 4 3

  General Tallos had never seen anything like the weapon the moon had fired. He had never been chased by a moon either, for that matter. It was certainly a day of firsts. While he had confirmed that life support was still online, all other systems were unresponsive. They were at the mercy of a moon.

  Should I show mercy? said a voice in Tallos’s head.

  Who is this? Are you responsible for the moon’s hostility toward us?

  Yes. It is a language you understand, is it not, General?

  I understand that we will find a way to fight you. Whoever you are?

  A lifetime of battles, General. A lifetime of wars. What’s one more?

  What do you want from us?

  Everything.

  You wish to take our lives? Then why toy with us? Are you some sort of sadist?

  Why are you here, General?

  I am performing my duty, as always.

  A sense of duty? Nothing more?

  Something inside Tallos told him to be reverent. I follow Jon Pike.

  Why?

  He is the chosen. He is holy.

  How do you know?

  The Great See’er showed it to me.

  Duty to your Great See’er then?

  Duty to the Great See’er. To the Temple. To Diakus. They are all one and the same.

  What of Jon Pike, The Chosen. Do you not have any duty left over for him?

  He is of the Temple. They are inseparable.

  Yet he is here, and the Temple is on Diakus.

  He is of the Temple, Tallos said again, as if it explained everything.

  How can a human be of the Temple? Is that not blasphemy?

  His symbiont is of the Temple. That is enough.

  Is it not an abomination? A corruption of all that is holy? How can a devout General like yourself support such an obscenity?

  You seek to antagonize me. You will not succeed.

  You are blind. Do you not wonder why General Dathos and the Faction moved against Jon Pike, and Diakus? Because Diakus has grown weak. Its core values have been corrupted by men like Jon Pike. Everything you have ever fought for will turn to dust. This will be your legacy.

  General Dathos is a traitor.

  No, he is a loyal Diakan. He stands against its corruption, while you support it. How many times has Jon Pike humiliated you? How many times has he tried to kill you? Yet you pledge your allegiance to him.

  All that is in the past. There is only the now. The future.

  What of the Chaanisar? How many of your men have died at their hands over the years? Jon Pike frees them, and fills his ranks with their soldiers. How can you support something so unjust?

  The Chaanisar have been useful. My feelings toward them are irrelevant.

  You admit your hatred for them?

  I do.

  Then how can you continue to fight alongside them?

  It is my duty. I fight for Diakus. That means I fight for Jon Pike, and alongside these Chaanisar.

  Your men may die in their defense.

  Men die in war.

  You may die in their defense.

  Then that is my fate.

  The bridge suddenly came back to life, as the ship’s systems came back online.

  Is that all? Tallos said.

  There is nothing more.

  Tallos considered the strange encounter. Admiral Pike had said that this guardian might subject them to some sort of test. If that was what this was, then he must have gotten the right answers.

  There is no correct answer, said the guardian. Only the truth, and your acceptance of it.

  What if I said I wouldn’t die for Jon Pike, or the Chaanisar? What if I said I would join the Faction?

  Safe travels, General Tallos.

  Chapter 4 5 4

  As the guardian moon moved away from the battle group, Jon felt that a meeting with all ship commanders was in order. He invited Miira, as her expertise would likely be useful. The meeting took place in the main conference room, while the other ship commanders participated through the wallscreen.

  “I don’t understand why the guardian didn’t talk to me, or any of the Reivers,” said Jonas, clearly agitated by the snub.

  “If I may?” said Miira.

  “Go ahead,” said Jon.

  “I believe the guardian didn’t speak to you because you do not harbor many internal conflicts. Correct me if I am wrong, but your people pride yourselves as warriors.” Miira paused for feedback.

  “Continue,” said Jonas.

  “Breeah has told me that you follow a philosophy of living in the moment. You do not dwell on past events. You harbor no resentment, guilt, or regret.”

  “Such preoccupations create confusion,” said Jonas. “These things have no place in the warrior’s heart.”

  “The guardian told General Tallos that it sought the truth, and his acceptance of it. Your philosophy of life means you already live this way.”

  Jonas smiled. “I like you, Miira. You are very perceptive.”

  “You only like her because you think she gave you a compliment,” said Jon. “Maybe the guardian didn’t talk to you because it simply wasn’t interested in you.”

  Jonas’s smile turned into a scowl. “You would do well to learn some manners from the lovely lady sitting next to you, Jon Pike.”

  “Relax, Jonas. I was just joking. Tap into some of that warrior Zen of yours.”

  “I think I’d prefer to tap into your carotid artery.”

  Jon smiled at Miira. “Does that look like a warrior philosopher to you?”

  Miira nervously glanced from Jon to Jonas, clearly uncomfortable with their aggressive banter.

  “You see? You have frightened the poor woman,” said Jonas. “Fear not lovely lady. Our great Admiral has not been house-trained yet. You will grow accustomed to his rude behavior.”

  “May I suggest we move on and discuss the gate, and its crossing?” said Tallos.

  “Good idea,” said Jon. As much as he enjoyed poking the old Reiver, they did have serious matters to discuss. Looking at the expressionless faces of the Diakans and Chaanisar, he decided he’d have to bring Kevin and Seiben along on the next mission. At least they had a sense of humor.

  Jon adopted a more appropriate demeanor, and continued. “According to Miira’s research, that gate will send us to another galaxy. If that’s true, we don’t know what we’ll find, or whether the Builders will be waiting for us on the other side.”

  “Do we have any information as to which galaxy it will send us to?” said Tallos.

  Jon looked at Miira, waiting for her to answer.

  “No. We do not,” said Miira.

  “It would be logical to assume that it would connect us to a local galaxy,” said Tallos.

  “Good point,” said Jon. “Although we have no way of knowing what kind of range these intergalactic gates have. Still, I don’t know if it matters. Even if we knew which galaxy it would take us to, what difference would it make? We still don’t know what we’re going to find once we get there.”

  “Also logical,” said Tallos.

  “Our jump systems should all be at fifty percent, so I don’t think we need to recharge just yet. We’ll send a probe through to see what is on the other side. If there is nothing of note, we go ahead and cross. Once we do, we’ll stay close to the gate and run our scans. If we run into any trouble we can’t handle, we cross back. I get the feeling the guardian does not look kindly on aggressive behavior in this system.”

  “Yes, that is a reasonable assumption.”

  “Miira, if we find the Builders on the other side, do you have any idea how we will communicate with them?” said Jon.

  “I do not believe
it is us who will initiate communication,” said Miira.

  “What do you mean?”

  “To the Builders, we would seem like primitive creatures. There is a strong possibility that they will not respond to our requests.”

  “Well then, we’ll just have to be exceptionally persuasive.”

  Chapter 4 6 5

  The battle group had moved closer to the jump gate, in preparation to cross through. If the guardian had any objections, it didn’t show them. The moon had traveled back to its previous position, settling into a high orbit around the planet. Jon had to admit, it was a great cover. Nobody would ever suspect an incredibly advanced warship disguised as a moon.

  The encounter with the guardian now safely behind them, they were ready to take a peek at whatever waited on the other side of the gate.

  “Launch surveillance drone,” ordered Jon.

  “Drone away,” said Commander Henderson.

  Underneath the Freedom, a small hatch opened and a tiny drone shot forward, racing toward the jump gate dead ahead. The drone entered the shimmering field, then disappeared behind it.

  “I’m finding it difficult to believe that our drone just crossed into another galaxy,” said Henderson.

  “You and me both,” said Jon.

  “What do you think is out there, Sir?”

  “I don’t know. Hopefully the Builders.”

  It wasn’t long before the surveillance drone crossed back through the gate into the space before them.

  “Drone has returned,” said Henderson. “Receiving feed.”

  “Route to my console,” said Jon.

  One of Jon’s displays came to life. “Is this the feed?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Jon looked back down at his display to see nothing more than the distant stars of another region of space. “There’s nothing there,” he said. “Not even a star system.”

  “Scans didn’t read anything either,” added Henderson.

  “Alright, let’s cross through and see what we can find. Set a course for the gate. One twentieth light.”

  The battle group lurched forward, entering the intergalactic gate’s field. Then emerged on the other side, as if walking through a doorway.

  “Report,” said Jon. “Where are we?”

  “Sensors indicate we are in the Andromeda Galaxy,” said Henderson. “Two point five million light years from Earth.”

  Jon stared at the main viewscreen in disbelief. “That’s impossible,” he said mostly to himself.

  “Sensors are functioning properly,” said AI. “We are in fact in the Andromeda Galaxy.”

  “I’m sure they are. I just don’t believe it.”

  “There is nothing to disbelieve, Admiral. The facts are what they are. It is also logical that if the jump gates possess the ability to connect two points one thousand light years apart, then under the right circumstances, a jump gate could be built to connect two points a million light years apart, or more.”

  “Thank you, AI.”

  “Your most welcome, Admiral.”

  “Sir, long range scans are picking up strong signals emanating from a star system seventy-five light years away,” said the sensor operator.

  “That sounds like our first clue. Commander, what is our jump status?”

  “Jump system is at fifty-eight percent, Sir.”

  “Advise the battle group that we will be jumping to the source of that signal.”

  “All ships have acknowledged message. Coordinates are loaded. Jump systems are synced with ours. We are jump ready.”

  “Very well, initiate first jump.”

  The stars on the main viewscreen shifted, landing in a star system ridden with asteroids and debris.

  “Jump complete. We have landed fifty light years from our previous location. Jump system is at thirty-three percent,” said Henderson.

  “What happened here?” said Jon.

  “It appears to be the aftermath of one hell of a battle, Sir. Debris is consistent with the large-scale destruction of starships and space stations.”

  “What about the planets?” said Jon

  “Picking up elevated radiation levels on the fourth planet,” said Henderson.

  “Magnify.”

  The main viewscreen zoomed in on the fourth planet, revealing a desolate landscape more akin to that of an asteroid, than one of a world in a star system’s habitable zone.

  “Data is consistent with the use of annihilation class weapons,” Henderson continued.

  “When did this happen?”

  “There is not enough data to know exactly, but what we do have indicates the annihilation event took place some time ago. Could be decades, even centuries.”

  “Was it the Erinyie?” said Jon.

  “Unknown, Sir.”

  “Sound General Quarters. Let’s proceed with caution. Jump us to within one light year of the target coordinates. We’ll send a jump drone in to investigate.”

  “Yes, Sir. Coordinates loaded. We are jump ready.”

  “Initiate jump.”

  The battle group landed in a region of space completely void of stars or planets. After the destruction they had stumbled onto, this emptiness helped to calm Jon’s nerves.

  “Launch drone,” ordered Jon.

  “Drone away.”

  A tiny craft shot out of the Freedom’s prow. It sped away and then vanished, jumping to the target coordinates.

  Jon felt uneasy as he waited for the drone’s return. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were in well over their heads. This wasn’t simply uncharted space, it was another galaxy. They had no idea what waited for them here. For all they knew, it could very well be the Erinyie.

  The drone was programmed to jump in, take some quick scans, and return. Only it didn’t. Jon became increasingly concerned that the drone had been spotted, and destroyed. He was convinced that they couldn’t jump into the target system without more data.

  As more time passed, Jon accepted that the drone was lost. He chose to try a different approach.

  “Commander, prepare twenty jump drones for launch. Spread their coordinates out with twenty million kilometers between each,” said Jon. “Program for rapid scans and immediate return.”

  Whatever was out there could have gotten lucky with the first drone. Or the drone may have simply malfunctioned. Either way, they should get some of them back this time.

  “Drones ready, Sir.”

  “Launch drones.”

  The tiny devices shot out of the Freedom’s prow in rapid fire fashion, and quickly jumped to their destination. If all went well, they would each return within seconds.

  When those seconds turned to minutes, with no sign of even a single drone, Jon knew something was terribly wrong.

  “AI, what are the chances the drones are running into some sort of interference, or radiation, that is preventing their jump back?”

  “It is unlikely that each drone encountered the same phenomenon considering the distance between them,” said AI.

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.”

  “My apologies, Admiral.”

  “Unidentified jumpspace disturbance detected,” said the computer. “Launching jump bombs.”

  “Wait!” said Jon, but it was too late. The jump bombs had already been deployed, and they had no idea if the target was friend or foe. “Change jumpspace defense settings to manual.”

  “Settings have been modified.”

  Jon watched with foreboding as ships began to appear all around them. Enormous ships, easily dwarfing their largest battleship. Each was a spherical polyhedron, with what seemed like an innumerable number of flat planes. As the jump bombs began to detonate, it was clear that they had no effect on the giant ships. Instead, they exploded harmlessly outside the massive hulls.

  At first, the ships did not respond aggressively. They merely floated quietly in space, as if not noticing Jon’s ships.

  “We are being scanned, Sir,” said Petrovic, the tactical
officer.

  “Everybody just relax,” said Jon. “Let them check us out.”

  “Network security compromised,” said AI. “Intrusion detected.”

  “They’re trying to hack you?” said Jon.

  “Yes, Admiral. That is correct.”

  “Can you stop them?”

  “I am attempting to block the intruder from gaining greater access to our systems. I have initiated cyber warfare defensive protocols,” said AI. “Defensive measures are having no effect. Intruder is too powerful.”

  Jon tried to open a comm with the strange ships. “This is Admiral Pike, of the UHSF Freedom. We are here in peace. We do not pose any threat to you.”

  A booming male voice responded, only rather than it coming in through the comm, it filled the room seeming to come from everywhere all at once. “You have violated our space without permission. You will surrender your vessels and allow them to be boarded.”

  “We didn’t know this was your space. We are from another galaxy.” It occurred to Jon that these might in fact be the Builders. So he asked. “Are you the Antikitheri?”

  “Antikitheri?!” the voice roared, causing the entire bridge to shake. “You trespass in our space, and dare to insult us. Prepare to be boarded!”

  Jon muted the comm and turned to his XO. “Initiate jump. Get us the hell out of here.”

  “With pleasure, Sir.”

  His ships remained in position. Not again, he thought.

  “Jump system is not responding, Sir,” said Henderson.

  “Why am I not surprised?” Jon unmuted the comm. “We meant no disrespect. We seek the Antikitheri, but do not know what they look like.”

  “Sir, something’s happening. Pieces of the alien ship are breaking off and heading straight for us,” said Petrovic.

  Jon looked at the screen to see what looked like chunks of the ships coming right off the hull. They looked like hunks of metal, but they moved like starships.

  “Lock onto the approaching contacts and open fire.”

  “Weapons are not responding.”