Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (25 page)

“Unacceptable,” said Jon.

“Captain, I believe I am being more than fair. We captured Tallos and he is in our custody. I could simply keep him to myself. Instead, I am offering to share. Can we agree to a compromise?”

Jon didn’t want to agree, but Bast was right, he had no reason to compromise. He had to be more diplomatic. Might as well start now. “Agreed,” said Jon.

“Excellent,” said Bast. “There is just one small condition, however.”

“What’s that?”

“You agree not to kill the Diakan.”

“You ask a lot,” said Jon, still craving Tallos’s death.

“Believe me, Captain, I know, but I must insist.”

“Okay, I won’t kill him.”

Bast smiled. “See, Captain, we are already working together.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Jon, sarcastically. “There is one more thing. I was told you rescued some Reivers from the prison planet.”

“We did.”

“After Breeah is rested, I’ll need to take her to see them.”

“I will provide you with an escort, Captain, but don’t expect too many escorts in the future.”

“What do you mean?” said Jon, the temperature inside him beginning to rise.

Bast smiled. “What I mean, Captain, is that your crew will have free access to our ship. You will no longer need escorts once you know your way around.”

Jon thought he was hearing things. “Why would you do that?” he said.

“Because, Captain, I want this to work.”

Breeah held Anki’s hand as they walked through the strange ship. It was odd to see all these humans living and working on this alien vessel. Jon had told her about the Chaanisar, but she never expected to actually meet one, let alone be on board one of their warships. It was difficult to get used to. Everything was so dark and depressing. Then there were those bizarre symbols that covered the walls, ceilings, and floors. They were all over their quarters, and had unsettled her so much that she didn’t get any rest at all. At least Anki managed to get some sleep.

Now they were being taken to see her people, who had also been rescued from the prison planet by the Chaanisar. She thought she would never see any of them again, and part of her didn’t want to. She was happy with Jon. For the first time in her life she felt free. She knew her people wouldn’t understand. They were ruled by their traditions. While they learned to be adaptable in combat, they remained inflexible in societal structure. It was stifling. It wasn’t that she wished her people ill. She was genuinely happy they had been rescued. But she had a new life now, and didn’t want that to change.

“You okay?” said Jon, looking at her with concern.

“Yes. I didn’t get much rest.”

He didn’t seem to believe her, but he let it go and said nothing else. He made so few demands of her. Nor did he treat her like his property. He loved her. She knew that. What was more surprising was that she loved him. After her marriage, she didn’t think that love would be part of her life. Her marriage had been practical, like everything the Reivers did. It had been arranged since she was a child. A union of families, rather than a union of lovers. She didn’t hate her husband. She actually liked him and considered him a good friend. But she didn’t love him. At least not in the way a woman should love her husband. They had known each other since they were children, and they knew then that they would be wed one day. But romantic love had never blossomed between them.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, either. Both families worked hard to create a bond between the two. They were encouraged to spend time with one another. She was constantly told that it was her responsibility to make her marriage work. That it was up to her to make it a happy union. And she did try. Her feelings, however, wouldn’t budge. She thought that Anki’s birth might change things. In some ways it did make her care more for him. He was the father of her child after all. The spark, however, never came. The emptiness inside her was filled with the joy of motherhood instead. That joy sustained her, and she continued doing her duty as a wife, and as a daughter. Nobody could point a finger and accuse her of bringing shame to her family. That life was all she knew, and then it was gone.

The Hermes came along and blew up her husband’s ship, and just like that it was over. Once the shock wore off she realized she was free. She could sail away on the Hermes, with all its wondrous technology, and start a new life. More importantly, she could ensure a new life for Anki. One where she was free to be whoever she wanted. She clung to that hope, but the Kemmar came and Jon wouldn’t let the colony go. At first she thought him a fool, another man incapable of backing down from a fight.

Her opinion quickly changed, as she got to know him better. He turned out to be an honorable man. A man with ideals and the courage to stand by them. He cared for her and Anki when he didn’t have to. He saved their lives at great risk to his own. But there was more. There was a spark. An attraction. The more she saw him, the more she wanted to see him. Despite his scars, he was a ruggedly handsome man. He was also a kind man, and she had fallen for him.

They had lost everything when the Hermes was destroyed. She had almost died herself. But he saved her, yet again. In that tiny escape pod, adrift in the endless emptiness of space, she was happy. They were together and that was all that mattered. She knew they would survive, somehow. The loss of the Hermes didn’t matter. Whatever hardships came next didn’t matter. It was a new beginning for her, and for Jon.

The past, however, is an unforgiving enemy. It pursues with relentless ferocity, and superior endurance. It was naive of her to think they could be freed so easily. Here they were, on a ship from Jon’s past. A ship that tormented him by nature of its very existence. On their way to see people whom she never expected to see again. She wondered who had survived the ordeal on Kerces. Did she have any relatives left?

The Chaanisar had explained that the Reivers had been given quarters near each other, and that there was a common area on their level for them to congregate. That was where her reunion was to take place.

Their escort pointed to a door, indicating that they had arrived. She looked up at Jon and he gave her a reassuring smile, but couldn’t hide the concern in his eyes. She hadn’t told him much about how she felt, but he saw it nonetheless. She smiled in return and for a moment thought herself ridiculous. She was a grown woman. A warrior. A Reiver. Yet here she was behaving like a nervous little girl. Chastising herself for her weakness she gave Anki’s hand a motherly squeeze and strode up to the door.

It slid open and they walked into the large room. She was immediately surprised at how many people were there. Did they all know she was coming? And if this was all of them, how many had died? The horror of the thought seized her. This was all that was left of her people, in this one room. The Kemmar had murdered, or enslaved the rest. An overwhelming feeling of guilt smothered her and she struggled to breathe. She had run while they died. What kind of person was she? Powerful feelings of duty returned and she struggled to contain her grief.

She recognized the faces of the first Reivers she saw, but didn’t know them very well. They bowed their heads to her in customary greeting, and she did the same. It was a simple gesture, yet it caused tears to fill her eyes and run down her cheeks. A few more noticed her and bowed. Then Anki let go of her hand and ran into the crowd shouting the last word she expected to hear. Grandfather.

She wheeled around and craned her head to see. Could it be true? Could he still be alive? She saw Anki run up to a tall, gray haired man, but she couldn’t see his face. He picked her up and turned towards Breeah. Anki had wrapped her arms around his neck, partially obscuring her view of his face, but it was enough. There could be no mistake. Her father lived.

He turned the rest of the way and his eyes locked with hers. Those hard, unmistakable eyes. She felt her knees go weak in the same way they did when she had gotten in trouble as a little girl. He held Anki with one hand and stretched out the other to Breeah, beckoning her. She rushed to him, sobbing, the gravity of her emotions surprising her. He pulled her in with his free hand and she cried into his chest.

“Come now, child. I would think you would be happy to see me,” he said.

Breeah laughed and wiped the tears away with her hand. “I am happy to see you, father,” she said.

“Tears of joy then. Come, let me look at you.” He gently pulled her back a step and gazed down at her. “You look strong, as does your daughter. I am pleased.” He then looked past her and said, “I see you’ve brought a friend. You must introduce us.”

Breeah realized he was talking about Jon. She had been so overcome with the emotions of the reunion that she forgot he still stood there. “Of course, father,” she said. She stepped back and waved Jon over. Jon smiled as he approached. “Father, this is Captain Jon Pike. Jon, this is Jonas Viken, my father.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Sir,” said Jon, extending his hand.

Jonas looked at the hand with some measure of confusion, unfamiliar with the custom. He set Anki down and extended his own hand, which Jon gripped into a handshake.

Jonas withdrew his hand, “You are the Captain of the ship that fought the Kemmar?”

“Yes,” said Jon.

“The one that destroyed Breeah’s ship?”

“I’m afraid so,” said Jon, a hint of regret in his voice.

“We watched the encounter, Captain. You defended yourself. There is no shame in that.”

“Thank you, Sir,” said Jon.

Jonas looked at Breeah, “Am I correct in assuming your husband died in the battle?”

“Yes, father.”

“I’m sorry, child,” said Jonas. “Fear not. You are with your people again. Many strong men survived our encounter with the Kemmar. I will find you a suitable husband.”

Worry spread across Jon’s face and Breeah gave him a reassuring shake of her head. The gesture was not lost on Jonas, who said, “Is there something you want to tell me, child?”

“I do not want you to find me a husband, father,” said Breeah, timidly.

She saw the anger flash in her father’s eyes. She could count on one hand how many times in her life she had refused to follow her father’s wishes. He looked at her sternly and said, “Explain yourself.”

“I am together with Jon now.”

“He is not a Reiver. What does he know of our ways?” said Jonas, pointing a finger at Jon.

“It does not matter. He makes me happy and I love him,” said Breeah, more defiantly now, regaining her courage.

“He is not our kind. You must marry a Reiver,” said Jonas, raising his voice.

“Our kind?” said Breeah. “How many of our kind are left?”

“We must stay united now, most of all. Otherwise our way of life will be lost.”

“Our way of life is lost, father. The Kemmar saw to that. But there is hope for a new life here. There are humans. Billions of them. There is no need to isolate ourselves.”

“Enough! I will not have my own daughter argue with me.” Jonas looked at Jon and said, “You are responsible for this. You turned my daughter against me.”

“With all due respect, Sir, your daughter is a grown woman, not a child.”

Jonas’s face turned red and Breeah saw him subtly shift his weight into a fighting posture. Jon saw it too and took a step back, raising his open hands, palms out, showing he did not want trouble. Breeah stepped in between them and said, “Father, please.”

“Step away,” said Jonas.

She noticed that the mood of the room had changed and several of the men were stepping closer. She knew they would fight for her father. She also knew if that happened people would die, and as skilled as the Reiver men were, she didn’t think Jon would end up among the dead. She had to do something. She could not allow anymore of her people to die.

“Father!” she yelled, surprising herself. “I warn you, father. If you do anything to harm him you will never see me or your granddaughter again.”

Jonas looked like an asteroid hit him. In her whole life, she had never raised her voice to him. She felt just as stunned as he looked.

“You dare raise your voice to me? You dare to take my granddaughter away from me? My own flesh and blood?”

“I mean it father. You will not harm him,” said Breeah, feeling strangely liberated.

“Jon is my friend,” said Anki, to everyone’s surprise. “He is a nice man, and he saved my life.”

“What did you say?” said Jonas, surprised by Anki’s outspokenness.

“He saved my life. He fought against five Kemmar and killed them all to save me.”

Jonas stared at the little girl, speechless. He then looked up at Jon and said, “Is this true?”

“It is,” said Jon.

Jonas relaxed his posture. “You saved my granddaughter’s life. I am in your debt.” He bowed his head to Jon showing his gratitude and respect.

With that gesture the men who were advancing on Jon stepped back and the room went back to a more relaxed state. Breeah had forgotten how quickly a perceived slight could turn bloody among her people. She looked at her father and spoke with a more respectful tone, “He is a good man, father. He saved both our lives, more than once.”

Jonas’s eyes hadn’t left Jon’s, but thankfully his posture remained relaxed. “It appears I am doubly in your debt, Captain,” said Jonas, begrudgingly.

“Forget it,” said Jon.

Breeah looked down at Anki and put her arm around her.

Anki looked up, smiled and said, “I think Jon and Grandfather are going to like each other.”