Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (10 page)

His Eminence, Daag Tsogt, Grand Sovereign of the Kemmar Empire wanted to kill something. He looked from the battle on his display to his intelligence adviser, thinking the taste of his blood might be relaxing. It would certainly help calm the rage building up inside him. Unfortunately, he still needed the little man.

“Who are these creatures who dare attack a Kemmar planet?” said Tsogt.

“Based on information obtained from one of the captives, they are called humans,” said the adviser.

“Humans. Where do these humans come from?”

“They come from a system known as Sol. We do not know its exact location, but it exists beyond the recently discovered gate.”

“Yes, the gate. A remarkable piece of technology. A technology these humans appear to have mastered. Their ships use this knowledge to travel great distances in the blink of an eye. Why have our ships not been upgraded to do the same?”

“The gate technology is beyond our understanding, Eminence. We had captured a human engineer who was to reveal the technology, but lost him during the second attack on Kerces.”

“Why was such a valuable asset left on Kerces?”

“The planetary commander overstepped his authority, Eminence.”

“I want him executed.”

“He was killed during the attack.”

Tsogt grunted his approval. “What else do we know about these humans?”

“We know nothing more about their civilization beyond the gate.”

“What are you holding back? Do not test my patience adviser.”

“We have intelligence indicating that there is a species beyond Otan space that is identical to the humans, but we don’t believe they are connected.”

“Of course they are connected.”

“With respect, Eminence, we feel that the distances between the two are too great.”

“How do you imagine these humans ended up there?”

“We do not have sufficient intelligence to answer that question.”

“That is because you simply do not have intelligence. There is another gate, you fool.”

The adviser looked at his feet, but did not answer.

“If there is one gate, there must be more. That is the only explanation.”

“Yes, Eminence.”

“These gates are a great discovery, but they reveal a great threat at the same time,” said Tsogt. “The humans have used this technology against us. They have taken position on opposite sides of the Empire. That gives them the ability to attack the Empire on two fronts. With the advanced technology of their gate ships it’s a wonder they haven’t attacked us already.”

“They are wise to fear the might of the Kemmar Empire.”

Tsogt growled, showing the adviser his teeth. “Idiot. The only answer is that the technology is experimental.”

“Eminence?”

“It is obvious. Otherwise the humans would’ve sent a fleet to attack Kerces, not one solitary ship. And when they attacked a second time it was again with only one ship. After losing their first ship they would have to come back in force. That they risked coming back with a similar ship means they have no more.”

“Perhaps their other ships were engaged elsewhere?”

“Do you think they would risk the Kemmar Empire gaining access to this technology? We had their engineer. They knew this. They knew we would soon have their secrets. They would have no choice but to attack with overwhelming force. They had no choice. That they didn’t can only mean that there is only one gate ship.”

“His Eminence is indeed wise.”

“We need to capture that ship.”

“All posts are on alert. The next time they appear we will be ready.”

“We also need to prepare for war.”

Tsogt looked back to his display and made a quick gesture with his right hand. The battle vanished from the display and a Kemmar face appeared in its place.

“How may I serve you, Eminence?”

“High Lord Toth, mobilize our forces along the Otan border.”

“Yes, Eminence. May I ask our purpose?”

“Yes, High Lord. You are to annex Otan space.”

Kevin felt strange standing on a Juttari bridge. After spending most of his military career fighting against the Juttari, he never thought he’d find himself here. He knew he took a chance trusting the Chaanisar, but what else could he do? Colonel Bast proved to be true to his word so far. The Chaanisar had in fact risen up against their Juttari masters and Bast had even showed Kevin their bodies to prove it. Now they were on an impossible quest to find Doctor Ellerbeck. The odds were against them. She could be anywhere. She might not have survived. But finding her was the only option for the Chaanisar. If they went back home, the Chaanisar would return to being Juttari slaves. Not a friendly thought.

What about Captain Pike? Did he survive? If so, where was he? If they searched for Ellerbeck they might find the Captain. Either way, he figured they owed it to Colonel Bast to help as much as they could. Without his help they may never have gotten off Kerces alive. The reality was Bast didn’t need Kevin’s help. Kevin had no idea where the doctor would be, so how could he help find her? The Chaanisar had also searched the prison and rescued what was left of the Reivers. Why?

It baffled him. These people had spent a lifetime fighting against their own kind, cruelly suppressing any human attempt at freedom. Could they really change just like that? Even if they were forced to commit all those atrocities, wouldn’t the action itself change them? He didn’t know the answer but he wanted to believe that they were in fact trying to make things right.

“Jump complete, Sir,” said the Chaanisar at the helm.

The Chaanisar bridge was more of a pit, compared to the Hermes. There were multiple levels, with platforms that jutted out from the walls, but the center was open. Most of the action took place on the bottom level where an impressive array of technology and officers controlled the ship, but a considerable amount of activity took place on the upper level terraces. And then there were those symbols. Everywhere he looked the walls were covered in strange Juttari symbols. It was the same throughout the ship. Strange symbols covering every inch like wallpaper. It unnerved him. He didn’t know if it was the fact that he didn’t understand any of it, or just how weird it all looked, but it kept him from relaxing leaving him permanently on edge.

The viewscreen showed a massive debris field floating in space, seizing Kevin’s attention.

“That is what’s left of your ship, Chief St. Clair,” said Colonel Bast, coming up beside him.

Kevin was speechless. His stomach hollowed out and a cold fist clenched around his heart. Bast had told him that the Hermes had been destroyed, but he didn’t want to believe it. Now, seeing the debris in front of him, he knew in his heart it was true.

“Your escape pods dispersed from this location. We will search for your crew, and hopefully find your Doctor Ellerbeck. Of course any members of your crew we find will be welcome on board.”

The escape pods. Bast had said the most of the crew escaped. They could still be alive. There was still hope. Still, the sight of the wreckage broke his heart. “I can’t believe the Hermes is gone,” said Kevin.

“She was a fine ship. With an even finer crew,” said Bast.

“The best I’ve ever served with,” said Kevin.

“Fear not, Chief. We will find them,” said Bast.

“Sir, reading multiple Kemmar vessels on an intercept course,” announced one of the Chaanisar officers.

“Initiate jump to search vector Alpha,” said Bast.

“Initiating,” said the helmsman.

“We have plotted the escape pod trajectories. We know which directions they took. We will have to search them one by one, however,” said Bast.

“That won’t be easy,” said Kevin. With the amount of time that had passed, they could be anywhere. They had to try, though. They had to have hope.

“Unfortunately it will give the Kemmar time to do the same,” said Bast. “The jump system gives us an advantage, but there are many escape pods. We’ll need some luck too.”

The Chaanisar ship landed near a yellow star system.

Bast turned to Kevin and said, “The escape pods engaged their FTL drives and would have traveled a significant distance before their FTL bubbles had to disengage. We have jumped ahead to where we believe that happened.”

“You think they ended up in that star system?”

“It is possible.”

The warship steadily advanced on the star system. Kevin had no idea where they were. They were way beyond unexplored space now. Were they still in Kemmar space? Were there other aliens to worry about? The Chaanisar probably didn’t know either.

“Picking up Space Force beacon, Sir.”

“Location?” said Bast.

“Far side of the third planet.”

“Jump to third planet.”

Kevin liked that. Bast didn’t waste time. Why wait the countless hours it would take to reach the coordinates when you could just jump there? In an instant they were in orbit around the system’s third planet.

“Are there any signs of civilization?”

“Negative.”

“Prepare a rescue team,” said Bast.

“I should go down too,” said Kevin. “They may not trust your men, but they will recognize me.”

“Agreed,” said Bast.

“You can wear this one,” said Lieutenant Jarvi, the Chaanisar soldier leading the rescue mission. He pointed to a Chaanisar combat suit. “I have disabled some of the suit’s features to make it more compatible.”

“What kind of features?” said Kevin.

“Our combat suits take advantage of the Juttari augmentation. I have modified yours to adapt to your reduced strength.”

Kevin wondered if that was intended as an insult, or merely a statement of fact.

“Your suit will display your vital signs on your visor. For us the suits display vital signs and information on the health of our implants. Our brain chips allow us to further manipulate the suit’s features through thought. I have modified your suit to function through verbal commands only.”

“Those brain chips sound like they can be pretty handy.”

“These brain chips have enslaved us, Chief,” said Jarvi, the irritation clear in his voice.

“I apologize. I meant no offense.”

“They do have numerous advantages,” Jarvi said, his tone softening. “Although I would gladly give them up to prevent the Juttari from controlling me again.”

“I can’t imagine what that was like.”

“Your imagination couldn’t begin to comprehend the reality of our existence. Consider yourself lucky for that.”

Kevin wanted to change the subject. “What else can this suit do?”

“Other than those features it is very similar to your own. It will protect you from most hostile environments, including space. You have access to an energy weapon, a rail gun, plasma grenades, and an ion blade. Do not access the weapons unless absolutely necessary. I do not want any of my men accidentally injured.”

“Lieutenant Jarvi, I assure you I am more than capable of handling these weapons,” said Kevin. It was his turn to be irritated now.

“These are Chaanisar weapons. They are not the same as your Space Force toys.”

“Do we have a problem, Lieutenant?”

Jarvi ignored the challenge. “We can all communicate with each other over our own network. The network will provide you with information on the team’s vital signs as well. Now if there are no more questions, we need to get started.”

“Fine by me,” said Kevin, still bristling from Jarvi’s remarks.

The combat suit stood upright with its front section completely retracted. Kevin stepped into the boots and leaned back stretching out his arms. The suit powered on and encircled Kevin’s frame with several whines, hisses and bangs as it locked into place. Finally the helmet closed in around his face and his visor came to life. He could see everything around him combined with an overlay of information. He saw his own vital signs and information on his suit’s health. When he looked at the other Chaanisar the visor showed him their names as well as all their vital signs.

“Chief, can you hear me?” Lieutenant Jarvi’s voice came through Kevin’s helmet.

Kevin looked at the combat suit with Jarvi’s name on it and said, “Loud and clear, Lieutenant.”

“The rest of the team is ready. We will board the shuttle now.”

“Understood.”

Kevin followed Jarvi and the other Chaanisar out onto the adjoining hangar bay and the waiting shuttle. They entered the shuttle, five in total, and Jarvi pointed to a seat for Kevin to sit down. Loud bangs reverberated as his suit was locked into place. More bangs accompanied the other Chaanisar as they took their seats.

When all were seated the hatch closed and the shuttle’s engines came on. The shuttle taxied across the hangar bay, bypassing other shuttles, fighters, and maintenance crews until it came to its launch point. Ahead of the shuttle was open space. The engines roared. The shuttle cleared the Chaanisar warship, and headed toward the planet below. It blazed through the atmosphere and descended toward their destination.

The planet looked like a massive rainforest. Trees reached several hundred feet into the sky. Their canopy seemed impenetrable. The shuttle used its thrusters to burn an opening through the leafy barrier, then continued its descent down into the jungle below.

When the shuttle landed, its locking system released the combat suits. Jarvi stood up and shouldered his energy weapon. The rest of the Chaanisar did the same and Kevin followed their lead, not caring how Jarvi felt about it. The Lieutenant exited the shuttle first, the other three Chaanisar followed with Kevin bringing up the rear.

Outside they entered one of the thickest jungles Kevin had ever seen. The shuttle’s thrusters had burned a clearing for them, but beyond was dense foliage. It felt good to wear a combat suit again, even if it was a Juttari model. The powered armor made him feel almost invincible. He knew he could still get killed, but he always got the same feeling whenever he put one on. From his first days as a recruit donning a suit made him feel like he could take on any enemy. And why not? The suit gave him super human powers. He could move at incredible speeds, lift objects many times his own weight, and take an insane amount of punishment. He could also deploy a frightening amount of firepower. The increased strength of the suit allowed him to carry massive heavy weapons. How could you not feel invincible? The only problem was that the enemy often had combat suits too.

Jarvi’s voice came over the suit, “Ion blades.”

The Chaanisar kept their energy weapons in one hand and used their blades with the other. Kevin did the same, thinking they should call it an ion sword instead. They used the long powered blade to hack away the thick vegetation. It made for slow progress, as the jungle was deceptively resilient. All around him Kevin heard sounds of life. The forest itself seemed alive. Movement was everywhere. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched. No, stalked, by some unseen enemy. Kevin looked around but didn’t see anything. His visor picked up the heat signatures of local wildlife, but they weren’t stalking them. The men in front of him started to look around more actively, showing that they felt the same thing.

When it happened, Kevin almost didn’t register it. The speed and stealth of the attack surprised the entire team. A creature pounced from a nearby tree onto the second Chaanisar in the line, knocking the man face down to the ground. It was enormous and looked like some monstrous version of a tiger. Its body shimmered and it was covered in long nasty looking things that looked like knives.

The rest of the team immediately opened fire with their energy weapons and the creature roared in protest. The shimmer in its coat seemed to act like a reflector, making the energy bursts disperse on contact. It turned toward one Chaanisar, lowered its head and arched its back. The blades stood up and shot at the man like porcupine quills. A cluster of them hit, knocking the man backward, but his combat suit held. Still, Kevin noted the report on his visor showing that the quills had caused some damage to the suit’s armor.

The animal circled, still holding the man underneath its front legs, firing daggers at the rest of the men. Several hit Kevin. The force of their impact stunned him, backing him up a few steps. One hit his helmet, jerking his head backward and narrowly missing his visor. With that kind of force it could easily penetrate the visor.

“Rail guns!” Jarvi ordered.

Kevin switched weapons, stepped forward and resumed firing at the beast. The others did the same.

The focused rail gun fire seemed to do the trick. The creature jumped away back up into the trees. It climbed up at incredible speed and was soon gone from view.

The fallen man got up, his helmet sporting several deep claw marks. Short of some damage to his suit’s armor, he hadn’t been hurt. It occurred to Kevin that the creature’s heat signature had somehow not shown up on his visor. All around him he could see wildlife, even though many were hidden, because the visor picked them up. But that creature didn’t even register. He assumed the strange shimmer had something to do with it. Either way, it was one hell of a trick and some pretty effective camouflage.

The team continued on their path, with all men now looking up in addition to everywhere else. They steadily moved forward toward their target. Kevin wondered if there were more of those creatures. It looked like they were solitary hunters, but if they hunted in packs they could have their hands full quick. He didn’t feel quite so invincible anymore. There was a rustling sound above him and he swung his weapon up, but didn’t see anything. That damn thing could be hiding right over his head, waiting to strike. He kept walking, but he watched the trees, not the path before him.

They cut through some more undergrowth and saw the escape pod. It had created a small clearing where it landed. They cautiously approached the vessel turning as they stepped, making sure nothing crept up on them. The escape pod looked like it had been in a battle. Only when they got closer did Kevin realize that it was covered in claw marks. Those creatures were trying to get in, trying to break the craft open like a squirrel going after a nut.

“Okay Chief, get them to open the hatch. They’ll probably recognize your voice,” said Jarvi.

The Chaanisar fanned out around the escape pod, and watched the jungle warily. Kevin approached the hatch and knocked on it with a metal glove. He turned on his suit’s speaker and said, “This is Security Chief Kevin St. Clair of the Hermes. We’re here to rescue you. Please open your hatch.”

The hatch unlocked and swung open in response. Kevin immediately recognized Ensign Petrovic and Ensign Yao. Unfortunately they didn’t recognize him. All they saw was a Juttari combat suit. Petrovic moved first. He seized a rail gun and pointed it at Kevin.

“Don’t shoot,” said Kevin, putting his hands up in the air. “I’m telling you the truth.”

“Retract your helmet,” said Petrovic.

“Ok, just relax.” Kevin retracted his helmet to show his face, shaking his feelings of vulnerability.

“Chief,” said Petrovic, relaxing for a moment. Then he pointed the gun at Kevin’s head. “Why are you wearing a Juttari combat suit? And who are the rest of these men?”

“I can explain. It’s a long story, but you have to trust me.”

Petrovic looked from Kevin to the other Chaanisar who were now looking back at him. Kevin hoped none of them would do anything rash.

Jarvi approached and Petrovic pointed the weapon at him. “I am Lieutenant Jarvi of the Chaanisar. If we wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be breathing. Put down your weapon.”

“The Chaanisar? Chief?”

“I’ll explain everything. It’s not what it looks like. But right now we need to get the hell out of here, before one of these animals kills us.”

Kevin’s comment registered and Petrovic dropped his weapon. Nodding he and Yao got up and walked out of the escape pod.

Yao grabbed a rail gun as she left. She looked up at Kevin and said, “Insurance.”

Kevin smiled and said, “Let’s go.” He then retracted his helmet, feeling a little less exposed. He worried about Petrovic and Yao, though. If one of those things attacked them they’d be dead instantly without a combat suit.

Lieutenant Jarvi led the way back to the shuttle. Kevin walked behind Petrovic and Yao and two Chaanisar moved beside them to offer better protection. They all kept wary eyes on the trees.

“Those giant tiger things have been attacking us nonstop since we got here,” said Petrovic. “Ensign McDougal was with us in the escape pod. He went out to look around when we got here and they got him. One second he was there and the next he was gone. The creature just grabbed him and raced up the tree. Then they came after us. We haven’t opened the hatch since.”

“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.”