Atlantis Rising (27 page)

Jon looked up at the large screen
and almost gasped as he watched the
Atlantis
turn towards them as the
Marudas
appeared behind them.

“No,” Jon muttered. “Fold… fold…”

“Looks like we might actually get
the Princess, too,” Jodeas smiled. “Helm, belay the hyperspace order and bring
us about. Tactical engage the
Atlantis
, try to limit damage to
engineering and weapons. I want her disabled not destroyed.”

“Sir,” Com said. “The
Marudas
is hailing us.”

“Put them through,” Jodeas said.
He had returned to his command chair and sat down. Jon was now off to the side
with only a couple of the guards covering him.

The main screen switched to
display a large Invaru. He had his upper arms crossed in front of him and his
lower arms crossed behind his back as he paced the bridge.

“Captain, I have the
Hammer
,”
a voice said.

The Invaru turned and faced the
screen. “Captain Jodeas,” he said flatly.

“M’Lord Prasuh,” Jodeas said. He
knelt, as did everyone on the bridge. Only Jon was left standing, though
weapons were still trained on him.

Prasuh’s eyes snapped to Jon as a
frown crossed his face.

Jodeas noticed it immediately and
spoke as he indicated Jon, “This is Captain Hunter.” Jodeas stood and stepped
up to Jon as he spoke quietly, “Captain please kneel.”

Jon looked into Jodeas’ eyes as
he shook his head, “Never, I only kneel to the Porcelain God of Ralf and only
on very rare cases. I’ll not kneel to my enemy.”

A grin broke Prasuh’s face as he
spoke, “All in good time.”

Jon raised his middle finger and
scratched an eyebrow as he spoke, “Never in a million years. However, you can
kneel to me if you like.”

Jodeas’ eyes widened as he
glanced back at Prasuh as he spoke quickly. “Please, Captain, I beg you not to
provoke him.”

Something in Jodeas’ voice caught
his attention, and Jon stared at the Buranis.

Prasuh laughed at Jon’s comment.
“Is there anything else I can do while I kneel to you?”

“Well, since you’re offering I
accept,” Jon said not taking his eyes off Jodeas.

“Accept what?” Prasuh said. A
questioning look formed on his face.

“Why, your unconditional
surrender,” Jon said. Jodeas flinched as Jon finished speaking.

“And why would I surrender? I
have you and your ship right where I want,” Prasuh chuckled.

Jon shrugged as he turned his
attention back to Prasuh, “I have no idea. But, hey I was taught not to look a
gift horse in the mouth.”

“A gift horse?” Prasuh said.

“It’s an old saying from my world
about not looking to close when you get something that was unexpected and helps
you,” Jon said. “Or something like that.”

“Oh, I see,” Prasuh said, devoid
of emotion. “I’m sorry Captain Hunter; there will be no surrender from me.
However, if you wish to…”

“I’d rather piss glass,” Jon
said.

Prasuh grinned, “As you wish,
Captain. I can see we’re not getting anywhere.” Prasuh’s eyes shifted to
Jodeas. “Captain, you’re ordered to return to Omvaled and turn the prisoner
over. We’ll take care of the
Atlantis
, take the
Scythe
with you.”

Jodeas bowed, “As you wish,
M’Lord.”

“Bring us about and prepare to
engage the
Atlantis
. I want her intact if at all possible,” Prasuh said
as the screen faded.

“Sheep,” Jon muttered.

“Excuse me,” Jodeas said.

“You’re a lap dog. You and your
people are nothing but puppets to them,” Jon said.

“From where I’m sitting my
position is a lot better than yours Captain Hunter,” Jodeas said.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Jon said. He
watched the Marudas turn to engage the
Atlantis
. “We have an old saying
on Earth, Captain.”

“Yes and what is that?” Jodeas
asked.

“Never count your chickens before
they’re hatched,” Jon said. He winced as a beam lanced out and struck the
Atlantis
, tearing a gap in her hull. Escaping atmosphere drifted in space
briefly before it dissipated.

“Interesting, I’ll keep that in
mind if we ever meet again,” Jodeas said.

“Oh, we will, I’m sure,” Jon
said.

“Sir,
Scythe
is reporting
ready for hyperspace,” Com said.

“Com, give them the signal to
jump. Helm, jump us to Omvaled,” Jodeas said.

Both ships entered hyperspace at
the same time leaving the Marudas and
Atlantis
behind.

“So, what now?” Jon asked. He
turned to look at Jodeas who was watching him carefully.

“Depends,” Jodeas said.

“On?” Jon said.

“Are you going to cooperate?”
Jodeas said.

Jon looked around the bridge and
the marines spread out. They were all watching him, waiting for him to make a
stupid move. “Doesn’t look like I have much of a choice,” Jon said. “Not like
there are a lot of places I could go.”

“Good,” Jodeas said. “Then you’re
my guest until I have to turn you over. However, I hope you don’t mind if I
keep the guards around.”

“Understandable, I would do the
same thing,” Jon said. He took a seat that Jodeas offered to him.

“So, Captain Hunter, how did you
become in possession of the
Atlantis
and Ghost Station?” Jodeas said.

“By accident,” Jon said in a
guarded tone.

“Come now, Captain,” Jodeas said.
“Certainly it isn’t a huge secret and matters little now.”

Jodeas was right, Jon realized.
It didn’t matter how he got control of them and nothing could change that now.
Jon sighed, “We had a boating accident on my home world, and
Atlantis
’
AI brought us aboard and patched us up. From there she promoted me to Commander
of the base, and we began to repair her. We collected crew from people we knew,
some of the brightest minds on our planet.”

“That’s when the attack happened,
and she launched herself. We had no idea she was a Starship and she took us
completely by surprise. She folded to avoid destruction. However, in her
damaged state, it stressed some of her systems beyond their abilities and she
made her way to Ghost Station for repairs. While traveling to Ghost Station, I
received the command codes for the station and then came to be in command of it
as well.

“After repairs were completed on
Atlantis
we made an attempt to rescue some of our people on our home world.
In the battle, we got lucky and were able to do enough damage to a Titan class
vessel that when it drifted too close to one the gas giants the planet’s
gravity pulled in the Titan and destroyed it. The rest you know.”

“Modest,” Jodeas said.

“What?” Jon said.

“You’re being modest,” Jodeas
said.

Jon noticed everyone was listening
to him as he explained the events. It was as though all activity had stopped on
the bridge.

“No,” Jon said. “We were just
doing what we thought was right.”

“You also destroyed two cruiser
class vessels in the system where Ghost Station is located. How you did that,
we are still discussing. However, the thing that has the Empire buzzing is the
destruction of the Il’las. That is something that has never happened in my
lifetime, or for that matter, the lifetime of anyone alive,” Jodeas said.

Several of the Buranis nodded as
Jodeas spoke. “That feat speaks volumes about why you were chosen to Captain
the
Atlantis
.”

“It was bound to happen
sometime,” Jon said. “Everything can be destroyed or defeated.”

Jodeas eyed Jon for a second
before he spoke, “You have no idea what you did, do you?”

“I destroyed a ship and rescued
some of my people. That is all I did,” Jon said.

“No,” Jodeas said. “You destroyed
a vessel that has never been destroyed and with a ship that shouldn’t have been
able to do anything but scratch it.”

“I caught it unaware,” Jon said.

“That right there takes a
brilliant tactical mind. To take advantage of a situation as it presents itself
and to make choices on the fly,” Jodeas said. “I have seen the vids from the
battle. You went back while it was in orbit, got below her guns, and finished
her off. You then allowed the planet to finish the work you had started. How
did you know she was that weak or how did you know how to attack her?” Jodeas
said.

“I don’t know,” Jon said. “It was
a feeling. I had never seen a ship like that before. I just got a feeling about
what her state was after the initial battle. If you ask me, it was because I
had never seen a ship like that in action that allowed me to make the call. I
wasn’t scared of her like the Eutharans.”

“You’re an interest to the
Emperor,” Jodeas said. “That is the only reason you’re alive now, and not dead.
He wants to meet you and speak to you. You’re also a natural tactician, and
that makes you a very dangerous man.”

“Not that great from where I’m sitting,”
Jon said.

Jodeas smiled, “You almost got
away. I just had a surprise you didn’t expect.”

“A big surprise I would say,” Jon
said.

Jodeas smiled, “You called us lap
dogs. Do you know why we serve the Invaru?”

“I have read the Eutharan version
of history,” Jon said.

“And they told you what?” Jodeas
said.

Jon related what he knew about
the events of the past.

“Most of that is true,” Jodeas
said. “Some of it is conjecture. The Buranis used to support the Eutharans. We
shared some of our technology with them and they shared theirs with us. They
were superior to us in every way. What they lacked was the will to fight. They
saw themselves as the peacekeepers of the galaxy. When the Invaru blockaded our
home world and attacked our outer colonies, we engaged them. The Eutharans held
back to protect their worlds. They knew they were next on the list.

“We had no support, and fought
our battles on our own. In the last engagement we had, the Invaru threw
everything they had at us. The Eutharans showed for the battle, but it was too
late. The battle raged on, even after destroying our home world.

“The Invaru then forced a treaty
and subjugated us under their rule during the battle. The Invaru forced us to
turn on our allies. Some of the Buranis refused and our government quickly
replaced them by those who would follow Invaru rule. Some of the Buranis saw it
as what the Eutharans deserved for abandoning us and coming to our aid too
late. I’m of the latter mind. Had they acted sooner, we might have been able to
save our home world and push the Invaru back.”

“Maybe,” Jon said.

“We’re hunting out the last
Eutharan world and the Princess is the key to that information. If we capture
her we can have peace in this galaxy,” Jodeas said.

“If there is one thing I know,”
Jon said, “it’s that peace will never happen as long as the Invaru are around.
They’re too militaristic to want peace. They will move on to the next conquest
after they chalk this one up as won. I’m sure there are other civilizations to
conquer and they won’t stop until they conquer them all.”

“Perhaps,” Jodeas said. “Some of
the Buranis are tired of the fighting and want peace, so we can rebuild our
home world. Others will continue to fight if that is what is asked of them.”

“Which are you?” Jon said.

“The latter, of course,” Jodeas
said. “I love a good fight, and plan on sitting in this chair for a while
longer.”

The Com officer interrupted them.

“Captain, the
Scythe
is
hailing us.”

“Put them through,” Jodeas said.
He stood up and knelt in front of his chair.

Jon gave him a surprised look but
then understood quickly as an Invaru was displayed on the screen.

“M’Lord, how can I be of
assistance?” Jodeas said.

“We just now got communications
back on line. When we drop out of hyperspace we will be maneuvering closer to
your vessel as we’re still experiencing power fluctuations and may need some
assistance. Have your Engineering teams stand by in case we need them. That is
all,” the Invaru said. The screen blinked off before Jodeas could reply.

“Weird,” Jodeas said.

“What?” Jon said.

“Usually, he waits for my reply,”
Jodeas said.

“Maybe their communications
failed, again,” Jon said.

“Maybe,” Jodeas said. “Com, have
all Engineering teams stand by. Tactical, arm all batteries and prepare to
target the
Scythe
on my command.”

Jon arched an eyebrow as Jodeas
sat back down.

“I’m very careful,” Jodeas said.
“Something isn’t right. I don’t know what, but I plan on finding out. The
Invaru sent the
Scythe’s
commanding officer to take over from Captain
Vaes. He was found to be working with the underground resistance.”