Interstellar War (The Pike Chronicles Book 5) (3 page)

They walked side by side down a narrow corridor. The Marines had removed both their combat suits, and restrained their hands behind their backs. Half the Marines walked in front, and the other half followed behind.
They’re sure not taking any chances
, thought Jon. Along the right wall they passed a heavy security door every several feet. Clearly these were jail cells, and Jon fully expected to be thrown into one of them shortly.

“Colonel,” said Jon. “Is Commander St. Clair being held in one of these cells?”

“I think you’ve got more to worry about than what we’ve done with your friend,” said the Marine Colonel, without turning to look at Jon.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” said Jon.

They stopped. The security door on the right slid open to reveal a stark jail cell containing just a cot, a tiny sink, and a toilet. “You’re in here, Pike,” said the Colonel. The Marines in front had all turned to face their prisoners, weapons pointing at their heads. “Don’t try anything stupid.”

“You’re the only one doing anything stupid from what I can see, Colonel,” said Jon.

“Listen to me, you fucking traitor,” said the Colonel, taking a step toward Jon. “Either you get in that goddamn cell, or we can end this right here and now. Your choice.”

If Jon had learned anything in his career, it was not to ever question a Marine’s resolve. He knew the Colonel meant what he said, and he didn’t blame him. For some reason, they thought Jon was responsible for what happened to Earth. If they believed that, then each and every one of these Marines would gladly shoot him.

“Don’t worry, Colonel. I’m going in,” said Jon, as he walked through the door into the cell.

“Close door six,” said the Colonel, and the door shut behind Jon.

Jon sat down on the cot and stared at the metal wall.
They could’ve at least removed the security restraints
, he thought, his hands still bound uncomfortably behind his back.
I can’t believe they think I’m responsible for this atrocity. That I would do this to my own kind
.

They are no longer your kind
, said the symbiont.

Who asked you
, Jon replied.

As he stared at the wall, contemplating his predicament, he was surprised to see it flicker and come to life. A section of the wall transformed into a display, showing a table where President Lewis sat, flanked by Space Force Admirals. Jon broke into a fit of laughter at the absurdity of it all.

“Is there something funny, Captain?” said President Lewis.

“Yeah, there’s plenty funny, but I doubt you’d get the joke,” said Jon. “Why have you had me and my men arrested?”

“Treason is still a crime on Earth, at least what’s left of it,” said Lewis.

“What the hell are you talking about, Lewis?”

“What I’m talking about is the nuclear bombardment of Earth,” Lewis said angrily.

“I had nothing to do with that. In fact, my people are doing everything they can to help the survivors.”

“Captain Pike,” said one of the Admirals. Jon recognized him as Admiral Krasnik, Space Force Supreme Commander. “You left Sol commanding the Hermes. After being gone for some time, you return with a Juttari escort. Then, for some reason, the Juttari ships occupying the Sol System, the same ones that bombed Earth back to the stone age, do not fire on you. Why is that?”

“My escort was Chaanisar, not Juttari,” said Jon

“I don’t see a difference,” said Krasnik.

“They’ve been liberated,” said Jon. “That’s the difference. The Juttari do not control those men anymore.”

“You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, Admiral. I can’t imagine anything sounding more ridiculous than your accusations.”

“What happened to you, Captain? Why did you betray your own people?” said President Lewis.

Jon laughed bitterly. “Listen to the Diakan lapdog talking about betraying his own.”

“You’re out of line, Captain,” said Lewis.

“I’m an Admiral now, or has nobody told you?”

“Space Force doesn’t recognize Juttari ranks,” said Admiral Krasnik, contempt in his voice.

“Let me tell you something, Admiral,” said Jon, rising to his feet. “I’ve spent my whole life fighting the Juttari. I grew up in the resistance, like my father, and his father before him. Nobody hates the Juttari more than I do. My rank is not a Juttari rank. It is a colonial rank. I succeeded in my mission, Admiral. I found the lost colonies.”

“Did you?” said Krasnik. “Is that where you picked up your Chaanisar friends?”

“Some,” said Jon, sitting back down on the cot. “It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got plenty of time, Captain. That is, unless your friends start bombing us again.”

“That isn’t going to happen, Admiral.”

The Admiral waved his hand, dismissively. “Let’s start at the beginning. What happened to the Hermes?”

“It was destroyed,” said Jon, with a sigh.

“Destroyed? How?”

“I ordered it to self destruct.”

“There are no limits to your treachery,” said Lewis, his face red with anger. “Did you slaughter your crew too?”

“Admiral, do we need to have civilians present?” said Jon.

“How dare you?” said Lewis. “I’m the head of Earth’s government.”

“You’re a Diakan puppet, and a pompous ass.”

The President rose from his chair pointing a finger at Jon. “I’ll see to it that you hang for your crimes.”

“Please sit down, Mr. President,” said Admiral Krasnik. “This is a military investigation, not a witch hunt.”

“I won’t let this traitor speak to me that way,” said Lewis, his face nearly purple now.

“Mr. President, you are here as a courtesy, but this
is
a military matter.”

“What are you saying, Admiral?”

“I am saying that you are free to observe the proceedings, and ask questions, but I will not tolerate anymore outbursts.”

President Lewis looked flabbergasted, but didn’t seem willing to challenge the Admiral. Krasnik turned his attention back to Jon. “You were saying, Captain.”

Jon could see why Admiral Krasnik ran Space Force. Out of respect for the Admiral, he decided to cooperate. “Why don’t I start at the beginning. When we left Sol, we were ambushed by a Juttari heavy cruiser after our first jump. The Juttari ship had jump technology, and also knew our jump path, leaving no doubt that Space Force had been compromised.”

“Or further implicating you, Captain,” said Lewis.

The Admiral glared briefly at Lewis. “Continue, Captain.”

“I planned an ambush of my own, and waited for the Juttari in a system two-hundred-and-fifty light years from Sol. While there, we discovered a previously unknown human colony, and jump gate.”

“But our data shows that the colonies are supposed to be well over a thousand light years away, not two-fifty.”

“That is correct, Admiral. These weren’t the colonies we were looking for. We don’t know how these people ended up in that system, and neither do they. We assume they probably came through the jump gate at some point, maybe originally from the main colonies themselves. Either way, these people identified themselves as Reivers.”

“Reivers?”

“Yes. They used their jump gate to cross into alien space where they would reive, which is another way of saying they raided alien space.”

“So you’re saying these people are criminals?”

“No, Sir. Not exactly. It is their way of life. They raided the territory of the Kemmar Empire. The Kemmar are an aggressive alien species previously unknown to us.”

“I see. And how far away from Sol is this Kemmar Empire?”

“Based on our calculations, they are roughly eleven-hundred-and-fifty light years away from Sol.”

The Admiral nodded. “What happened next?”

“A Kemmar battleship crossed through the jump gate looking for the human colony.”

“That isn’t surprising, is it?” said Lewis. “These people admitted to raiding Kemmar space. What did they think would happen?”

“The Reivers had lived this way for centuries. They didn’t know any different. The Kemmar had no knowledge of the jump gate up until that moment.”

“Did you make first contact with these Kemmar?” said Admiral Krasnik.

“Yes. They told us they were annexing the system, and that they would fire on us if we didn’t leave. So we left.”

“You left?”

“Yes, in order to take them by surprise. We then jumped back into the system and attacked the battleship.”

“Are you saying you initiated an unprovoked attack on an alien race? In a first contact situation?”

“Yes, Sir. But it wasn’t unprovoked. The Kemmar are slavers. They were going to enslave the human colony. I couldn’t allow that.”

“But they’re criminals,” said Lewis.

“They’re human,” said Jon. “I didn’t join Space Force to stand by and watch aliens enslave humans.”

“You’re out of control, Pike,” said Lewis.

“What happened after you fired on the Kemmar,” said Krasnik, ignoring Lewis’s remark.

“The Kemmar battleship dwarfed the Hermes, and we lost the engagement. After taking heavy damage we were forced to retreat. We jumped away and conducted emergency repairs. When we returned to the system, the Kemmar and the humans were gone. After some investigation, we confirmed that the Kemmar had taken the humans prisoner and had crossed through the gate back into Kemmar space. So we went after them.”

“You crossed into Kemmar space?”

“Yes, Sir. During the battle we gained access to a Kemmar database, leading us to believe that the humans were being taken to a prison planet, where they would be turned into slaves, and later sold on the Kemmar slave market.”

“Let me get this straight. After losing to the Kemmar battleship, you decided to engage it a second time?”

“No, Sir. We felt that attempting to rescue the humans from the battleship would be too risky.”

Admiral Krasnik looked relieved to hear Jon’s answer.

“Instead we chose to attack the prison planet.”

“You did what?!”

“We waited for the battleship to deliver the humans to the planet and leave. Then we launched a planetary assault to rescue the humans.”

Admiral Krasnik shook his head. “You attacked an alien planet?”

“Yes, Sir,” said Jon, remembering the failed operation. “I did.”

“Did you at least succeed in rescuing the humans?”

“No, Sir. Unfortunately, we encountered heavier resistance than originally anticipated. The Hermes sustained heavy damage after entering the planet’s atmosphere.”

“Why didn’t you just stay in orbit?”

“There was interference that disrupted our communications, and targeting systems. Entering the atmosphere was the only way to provide support for our Marines on the ground. Once in the atmosphere we were attacked by planetary aircraft. After sustaining heavy damage, we crash landed on the surface. Kemmar soldiers charged the Hermes, threatening to capture it, which I couldn’t allow. So I performed an emergency blind jump. That landed us in the middle of a populated Kemmar system. Several Kemmar warships moved to intercept. The Hermes was in no condition to fight, so I ordered the crew to abandon ship, and initiated the self destruct sequence.”

“Captain, I don’t know whether you should be on trial for treason, or incompetence. What happened to your crew?”

“Security Chief St. Clair and his Marines were captured by the Kemmar on the prison planet. The rest of the crew abandoned the Hermes. Their life boats scattered to avoid capture.”

“Is this the same St. Clair that we have in custody?”

“That’s right. He escaped from the prison planet with his Marines, which is where the real story begins.”

“The real story?”

“Yes. The one that ends with me sitting here answering your questions.”

“We’re all ears, Captain.”

Jon nodded. “Chief St. Clair and his Marines managed to escape from their cells, but couldn’t get off the planet, until the Chaanisar helped them.”

“What Chaanisar?”

“The one you just arrested. Colonel Bast. He commanded the Juttari heavy cruiser that attacked the Hermes after its first jump.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Captain?” said Krasnik, visibly frustrated.

“As we all know, the Juttari control the Chaanisar through their brain chips. Well, something happened on that cruiser that disrupted the Juttari’s mind control of the Chaanisar. When Colonel Bast and his men realized they were free of Juttari control, they slaughtered their Juttari masters. That heavy cruiser had been monitoring the Hermes, and witnessed everything from the engagement with the battleship, to the failed attack on the prison planet. After the Chaanisar slew the Juttari on board, they launched their own rescue mission, and attacked the prison planet. The Hermes had failed in its attack, but it had softened the planet’s defenses enough for the Chaanisar to succeed. So Colonel Bast, the man you now hold prisoner, rescued my Marines, and the Reivers held captive on that planet.”