Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (5 page)

The DLC station hung in space like a gigantic spinning top. It was conical in shape and looked like it consisted of hundreds, if not thousands of rings stacked on top of each other. Each ring’s diameter increased steadily all the way up to its widest point at the top. The station shimmered in the darkness, light from the nearby yellow star reflected off it in every direction as it turned.

Jon watched their approach from inside the lifeboat on the freighter’s hangar bay. Breeah and Anki stood behind him.

“I can’t believe how big that thing is,” said Breeah.

“Seiben says that a million people live there,” said Jon.

“That’s a lot,” said Anki.

Jon smiled. His affection for the little girl had continued to grow and he now regarded her with the same love he would show if she was his own daughter. Breeah and Anki had become his family. They were more than that. They were his redemption. For the first time since he lost his family he wanted to live.

“A million people living in a space structure. Incredible,” said Breeah.

“It’s also not orbiting a planet,” said Jon. “Most stations I’ve seen orbit a planet, or at least a moon. This one doesn’t. It’s acting more like a planet itself, orbiting the star. I haven’t seen anything like that before.”

“It seems like it is too big, even for a million people,” said Breeah.

“They need to feed all those people. I’m sure a lot of that extra space is for food. Agriculture. Livestock. Water. Then there’s power generation. They need to keep the lights on somehow.”

“Amazing. Maybe we can live here.”

Jon turned and looked at Breeah. Her eyes sparkled back at him, a sly smile spreading across her beautiful lips. It made him feel good. Settling down somewhere with her and Anki seemed like a priceless treasure. Could he do it? Could he live a quiet life? Anki’s eyes bounced excitedly between them.

“Are those ships? Those little specks out there,” said Breeah, her eyes squinting at the screen.

“Yes.”

“There’s so many of them,” said Anki.

“It’s a busy place.”

The hulking freighter crawled steadily closer to the station. On the screen the structure grew steadily larger as time passed. When they came within range a pair of smaller ships arrived to escort it to its designated dock. The station now filled the display, blocking everything else from view.

“Who built this?” said Anki.

“We’re not sure,” said Jon. “Probably the ancestors of the people living there today.”

“They’re good at building,” said Anki.

Jon wondered about what they would encounter once they docked. “AI, can you transfer your core to my comm?”

“Yes, Captain,” said the AI. “I am capable of even greater compression if needed.”

“Transfer to my comm and make sure no data is left behind on the lifeboat’s systems. If anybody comes snooping around I don’t want them to find anything.”

“Understood. Initiating transfer.”

“You think these people are a threat?” said Breeah, her face now hard.

“I don’t know, but I’m not going to take any chances. We don’t need anybody telling the Kemmar where they can find us.”

“Yes, that would be uncomfortable,” teased Breeah.

Jon smiled.

“Transfer complete. All records of Space Force and the Hermes have been deleted from the lifeboat’s systems.”

“Good. Let’s find Captain Seiben and see who is waiting for us on the station.”

The hatch opened with a bang and a hiss. Captain Seiben and Milo stepped out onto the gangway, followed by Jon, Breeah and Anki. A tall thin man in a gray suit waited for them. Two armed men clad in black stood on either side of him. Jon took note. They carried energy weapons and had sidearms strapped to their thighs. Their posture wasn’t threatening, and they didn’t seem to be expecting any trouble. Bodyguards.

The tall man approached Jon and with a rehearsed smile stretched out his hand.

“My name is Mr. Kulberg,” said the man, in the same language Seiben used. His speech was translated instantly.

Jon shook Kulberg’s hand. It was like gripping a limp piece of lettuce. He immediately developed a dislike for Mr. Kulberg. “I’m Jon Pike,” Jon replied. “This is Breeah and Anki.”

Kulberg nodded at Breeah and Anki, still smiling, and said, “I am pleased to meet you.” Kulberg paused, looking at the railguns Jon and Breeah were carrying. “I’m sorry Mr. Pike, but you can’t bring the weapons with you.”

Kulberg tried to keep his smile, but the demand obviously made him nervous. The bodyguards shifted their posture ever so slightly. Their hands rested on their weapons. It was all mildly amusing. If Jon had hostile intent none of them would have a chance. But he didn’t have a reason to be hostile. Not yet anyway. He looked at Breeah, who stood relaxed yet ready, waiting to follow Jon’s lead. She had noticed the guards’ change in posture too and watched them warily. Jon nodded, telling her it was okay, and handed his weapon to Milo. Breeah did the same.

“Milo, please take those back to our vessel.”

“Sure,” said Milo

Kulberg looked relieved and the smile grew again. “Mr. Jansen is eager to speak with you. If you will all please accompany me.”

Kulberg turned and walked down the gangway with his two guards. Jon, Seiben, Breeah and Anki followed. Milo watched for a moment and then went back into the ship.

At the end of a long corridor a craft waited, idling quietly off the ground. It was shaped like a passenger vehicle and used jets of forced air to make it float. The two guards sat in the front seats. Kulberg gestured with an “after you” wave of his hand for the group to enter the vehicle. In the back were two cushioned bench seats facing each other with ample room for all to sit comfortably. They entered and the doors slid closed. The vehicle set off, barely making a whisper as it went.

They glided through a maze of corridors until a door slid open and they were outside.

“If I did not know we were still in the station I would think we were outdoors,” said Breeah.

Kulbeg gave her that same meaningless smile. “It is important for the wellbeing of all who live here that they experience the outdoors. A human being cannot stay indoors their whole life without suffering a myriad of psychological disorders. The station tricks the brain into believing it is in the open air. The blue skies. The daylight. All engineered to perfectly mimic the real thing.”

The craft turned upwards and glided into the impossible azure sky. Jon, Breeah and Anki all looked out their windows at the scenery below.

“Look at all the trees,” said Anki. “Is that a park?”

“Yes,” said Kulberg. “The station has several parks and every street has vegetation of all sorts. Trees, shrubs, flowers, they all assist in putting our people at ease, completing the illusion of being outdoors. Our filtration system keeps the air fresh, but the trees and vegetation do their part as well.”

Jon pointed to a skyline of buildings in the distance. “Is that a city?”

“Yes. That is where the bulk of our population lives. As you can imagine, the station doesn’t have an infinite amount of space. Clustering the population has proven to be most efficient.”

“Like an ant hill,” said Jon.

Kulberg gave Jon a questioning look, like he didn’t understand, but said nothing.

As the buildings drew nearer Jon realized that the structures were taller than he first thought. They all seemed to be roughly the same height, although the shapes varied to provide some semblance of diversity. The craft closed in on one of the buildings and circled it, waiting for its turn to land. A few moments later it had its opportunity. It positioned itself above the roof, its air jets maneuvering to allow a gentle drop onto the roof.

“You have a lot of air traffic,” said Jon.

“It is more convenient to travel by air in the station. At a certain altitude the gravity drops off substantially, to almost zero g, requiring very little energy for propulsion. All our vehicles use air jets for lift and acceleration. We do not allow any other systems to be used on the station. As you can imagine, we take air pollution very seriously. ”

The vehicle moved to its allotted parking space and came to a stop. Its doors slid open and Kulberg got out first. Jon followed, jumping out on the platform and quickly scanning the perimeter. No visible threats. The guards were already out of the vehicle, both watching Jon. Studying him. He had already assessed that they weren’t anything to worry about, armed or not. He wondered if they felt the same about him.

The rooftop platform was quite large, littered with several other vehicles. They were surrounded by other buildings, with their own rooftop traffic. At the far corner of the platform was a glass structure enclosing what looked like a lift.

Kulberg walked toward it and the group followed. Reaching the structure they all entered the lift and immediately a female voice said, “Hello Mr. Kulberg.”

“Mr. Jansen’s office,” said Kulberg.

The lift began dropping. It gave them a view of the surrounding structures. Several had giant displays providing a mixture of news reports and advertisements.

“How do you construct these buildings?” asked Breeah. “It must be difficult to build inside the station.”

“Everything is made to be light and versatile,” said Kulberg. “We use a lot of polymers in construction. Everything is modular, and prefabricated floor by floor. When demands for space increase, we build another module and stack it on top of the existing structure.”

“Like my building toys,” said Anki.

“Arriving at Mr. Jansen’s office,” said the lift’s female voice.

The door slid open exposing a busy office surrounded by windows. Rows of desks spread out across the floor with men and women seated, busily working. A young woman approached with the same fake smile. She was blond, thin, almost as tall as Kulberg, and wore a gray suit similar to his. Jon wondered if the suits designated status.

Kulberg spoke first. “Mr. Jansen is waiting to see our guests.”

“Of course,” she said, still smiling. “Right this way.” She moved effortlessly across the floor, her long legs covering the distance with ease and elegance. The guards had now fallen behind the group, keeping sight of all their guests. Jon could feel their eyes on him the whole time.

They approached a door, set in a wall of mirrored glass. No doubt Mr. Jansen was watching from the other side.

The door slid open and the woman entered. “Your guests have arrived Mr. Jansen.”

At the far end of the room a middle aged man sat behind a large desk. He nodded at the woman as they approached. Unlike the woman and Kulberg, Mr. Jansen’s suit was black. His white collarless shirt buttoned tightly up his neck. His perfectly coiffed dark hair accented by quick, piercing eyes.

The woman turned to the group and said, “Please come in.” She walked up to Jansen’s desk and motioned to a row of four chairs. When they were all seated she turned and left the room with the same long graceful strides.

Kulberg and the two guards remained, but stood back in front of the door. Jon glanced at them and acknowledged that they were doing their job. The guards stood a good distance apart from each other, with Kulberg in the middle. They could easily put the group in a crossfire if needed. Jon wondered if Kulberg was armed. He didn’t carry himself like the guards, like a soldier, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a threat.

“Welcome aboard DLC Station,” said Jansen. There was no fake Kulberg smile. Jansen was obviously comfortable with his power and didn’t need to put on an act. “I understand I am in your debt, Mr. Pike.”

Jansen met Jon’s gaze. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t seem intimidated by Jon like most people. Instead his eyes seemed to probe Jon’s, trying to discover what hid beneath the surface. They were patient and deadly, like a cobra’s. This man had killed. Of that Jon was certain.

“I merely reacted to the threat,” said Jon. “I did what I had to do.”

“Singlehandedly disposing of a raider boarding party is no small task, Mr. Pike. Even my best men couldn’t do what you did.”

“I don’t know your men.”

“Are you a soldier?”

“Yes.”

“But you are far from home.”

“Yes, we’re new to this region of space.”

“Where exactly is home, Mr. Pike?”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not say.”

“Yet you speak the old tongue.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can tell, even with your translator, that you speak the old tongue. Very few know how to speak it anymore.”

Jon stayed silent. He didn’t like the direction the conversation was headed.

“I understand Captain Seiben picked you up in a life pod. Were you in a battle?”

“I’m sorry, I’m not at liberty to discuss that either.” Jansen’s questions were direct and unsettling. The comment about the ‘old tongue’ had unnerved him. He didn’t know how much these people knew about Earth, but he couldn’t risk revealing himself until he better understood what he was getting into.

Jansen sat back in his chair, lacing his fingers together in front of his chin. His eyes were still locked on Jon’s, still probing for answers. “You are quite a mystery Mr. Pike.”

“Is that a problem?”

“No. You saved me a great deal of money, wherever you’re from,” said Jansen. “Captain Seiben, you were quite fortunate to pick up this man when you did. There’s no telling what the raiders would have done to you and your crew.”

“Yes, we were very lucky,” said Seiben, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“What do you think of our station, Mr. Pike?”

“It’s very impressive.”

“Mr. Pike, I am a direct man. I don’t like wasting time or playing games. I need someone like you. How would you like to stay here for a while?”

“You just met me. How would you know if you needed me for anything?”

“I did say I didn’t like playing games, didn’t I? Your abilities speak for themselves. No ordinary man could do what you did. You are obviously extremely well trained. So I’ll repeat my question, would you like to stay here for a while?”

“That all depends on what your needs are.”

“The raiders you encountered have been plaguing our shipping lanes for some time.”

“I’m sure someone with your resources can deal with a few raiders,” said Jon.

“There are more than a few of them, Mr. Pike. Killing a few raiders doesn’t remove the scourge. What we really need to do is locate their base.”

“I still don’t understand why you need me.”

“You said you were a soldier. What rank?”

“Captain.”

Seiben turned and looked at Jon, surprised. Jansen simply nodded like he already knew the answer.

“But you’re a special type of soldier, aren’t you. The type that goes on difficult missions. No ordinary soldier could’ve done what you did on that freighter.”

“Your point?” said Jon, increasingly irritated by the cat and mouse game they were playing.

“You could succeed where we have failed. You could find the enemy base for us. Then we could eliminate the raider scourge once and for all.”

“That sounds like a suicide mission.”

“I’m sure you can handle it, Captain Pike. You would be well rewarded for your efforts.”

“You already said you were in my debt.”

“I did. And I am.” Jansen leaned forward. “But I can give you so much more. You can remain here and want for nothing. Or, if you wanted to leave I can provide you with a starship and anything else you needed. Just name your price.”

The offer was tempting. It could allow him to start a new life. What was one more mission? Still, he needed time to think. “I’m tired. Do you mind if I think it over?”

“Of course. I’ve had some housing allocated for you. Mr. Kulberg will escort you to your apartment. We’ll talk again, and in the meantime please make yourself at home on our station.”