Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) (17 page)

Former Hermes Chief Engineer Rajneesh Singh examined the room in which he found himself. He spotted some of the hidden cameras in the walls, and realized he had been taken to an interrogation room.

“They’re going to torture me,” he said.

“Stay calm, Raj,” said Lynda. “Let’s see what they want before we jump to any conclusions. Remember, they need you.”

Singh tried to stay calm, but his anxiety levels were too high to get under control. The memories of the Kemmar interrogator and his needles were still fresh in his mind. He was lucky to have escaped that experience, but here things would be different. If they chose to torture him here there would be no last minute rescue.

“They won’t torture you,” said Lynda, as if reading his thoughts.

“I wish I could believe that,” said Singh.

A door opened and a Chaanisar officer walked in. A colonel. Singh remembered him from the planet. He was the Chaanisar leader. The Colonel sat in the chair directly opposite Singh. There was no table between them, just the two of them facing each other.

“I am Colonel Bast, commander of this vessel.”

“See, he is being polite,” said Lynda.

“Hello,” said Singh, clasping his hands together to keep them from trembling.

“I’m sure you are wondering why you were brought here. I wanted to talk to you and thought this would be more comfortable than your cell.”

Singh stayed silent, waiting for the inevitable question, threat, punishment progression.

“I understand you are a jump system expert.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Lynda bent over and whispered into his ear, “He needs you.”

Singh turned to her and said, “You already told me that.”

Bast had a puzzled look on his face. “Who is it you are talking to?”

“Commander Lynda Wolfe.”

Bast looked in Lynda’s direction and said, “I see.” He turned back to Singh. “I need to ask you a couple of questions about the jump system, Mr. Singh.”

“This is how you prove your worth to him,” said Lynda.

“When the Hermes fought the Kemmar the Hermes had jumped away taking one of the Kemmar ships with it. Do you remember?”

“Yes, of course.”

“How was that accomplished?”

Singh took a breath and relaxed. Perhaps Lynda was right. They weren’t going to torture him. “The jump system creates a field around the ship. This is similar to an FTL bubble in theory. The difference being that the jump system is in effect folding space, and anything within its field travels with the ship to the other side of the folded space. The Kemmar ship had attached itself to the Hermes. As far as the jump system was concerned the two ships were one. It enveloped both ships with the field, transporting them to the other end of folded space.”

“Do the two ships have to be connected for this to take place?”

“No, not necessarily. The field actually radiates out from the ship’s hull, so anything within its radius would be affected.”

“Are there limits to how much larger the other ship can be?”

“Yes, of course. The jump system emitters do not have limitless capabilities. I would say the other ship couldn’t be much larger than jump ship.”

“What would happen if the ship was too large?”

“Hmmm, that would be an ugly scenario. The field would expand to its limit. Anything larger than that would not make the jump. So in the case of a larger ship, part of it would travel across folded space, and the rest would remain.”

“It would be destroyed.”

“Yes, without a doubt.”

“Well done,” said Lynda. “Look at him. You have given him the answers he seeks. You’ve proven your value to him.”

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Singh. I’ll have someone take you back to your cell.”

Colonel Bast rose from his chair and walked out the door.

Singh sat back into his chair and relaxed. Lynda was right. They did need him after all.”

***

Bast walked out of the interrogation room. Up ahead a door opened and Chief St. Clair emerged. Bast approached him and said, “What do you think, Chief?”

“I think Singh’s crazier than I thought.”

“Who is this Lynda Wolfe he sees?”

“She was the XO on the Hermes. The two of them were in a relationship, but from what Petrovic and Yao tell me, she died on the bridge.”

“Interesting. Mr. Singh cannot accept her death.”

“I think there’s more to it than that. I think he blames Space Force for her death. That would explain him turning into a traitor.”

A message came in over Bast’s communicator. “Colonel, the Captain of the freighter is requesting to speak to you. He says it is urgent.”

“Patch him through.”

“Colonel?” said Captain Santos.

“Yes, Captain. I was just going to contact you.”

“Colonel, we have a serious problem. Our reactor is overheating. We cannot get it under control.”

“Understood. What can we do to help?”

“I’m afraid we’ll need to abandon ship. Can you ferry us to-“

The ship suddenly shuddered as if it was hit by weapon fire.

“Captain? Captain?” Bast tapped his communicator trying to get Santos back without any luck. He contacted the bridge instead. “What just happened?”

“It was the freighter, Sir. She exploded. It looks like it was caused by a reactor breach,” said the tactician.

“Were there any survivors?”

“No, Sir.”

“Understood.”

Chief St. Clair had a solemn look on his face. “That’s terrible.”

“Horrible,” Bast agreed. He wished he had done more to help the freighter, but if he had sent some of his technicians to the freighter they would likely be dead now along with the freighter crew. The raiders had caused the destruction of the freighter, not him.

“What do we do now?” said Kevin.

“We go to the station,” said Bast.

“Picking up Space Force beacon, Sir. It’s coming from the station.”

“Are there any Kemmar ship signatures?” said Bast.

“No, Sir. There are no signs of the Kemmar in this system.”

“Very well. Approach the station. Steady as she goes. We do not want to appear aggressive.”

Bast studied the station on the viewscreen. From this distance it looked like a child’s toy, but he could tell that it was a massive structure. He wondered what surprises awaited them here.

Chief St. Clair appeared on the bridge, stepped up beside him and said, “You’ve found another beacon?”

Yes, Chief. It looks like the escape pod we’re looking for made it to the station somehow,” said Bast.

“That’s a big station.”

“My thoughts as well, Chief. Captain Santos was right. It is a busy place.”

“Looks like it does a lot of business.”

“Yes,” said Bast. “Perhaps we can pick up some supplies.”

“If we’re lucky they might have some good food.”

“Is the food on board not to your tastes, Chief?”

“It’s okay. Let’s just say I like a touch of spice with my food.”

“I see. Then we shall try and obtain some spice for you, Chief.”

The Chief smiled like he had made a joke. Bast couldn’t help thinking that he missed many nuances when he spoke with Chief St. Clair. He tried to pick up as much as he could, but still felt inadequate when it came to the non-verbal cues. If he ever returned to Earth he didn’t want to come across as alien.

“Colonel, can I ask you something?” said Kevin.

“Is it about the Diakan?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course. What would you like to know?”

“What’s he told you?”

“Not as much as he knows,” said Bast. He turned and studied the Chief. “Tell me, Chief. How much do you know about this Diakan?”

“He came on board the Hermes with a team of Diakans. They were to act as advisers.”

“Do you not think it odd for a Diakan General to be assigned as an adviser to a human Captain?”

The Chief looked confused. “Who, Tallos? He’s a General?”

“You didn’t know?”

“It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“He says his purpose was to negotiate with the colonies on behalf of Diakus, to add them to the Galactic Accord.”

“You don’t believe him?”

“I believe that was his assignment. I’m just not sure that was his only assignment.”

The Chief’s brow furrowed as he pondered the implications. “Any idea what that other assignment is?”

Bast wondered again whether Tallos had anything to do with the virus. “Unfortunately I don’t.”

The Chief pressed for more information. “Did he say anything else?”

“He offered to repatriate my men if we returned to Sol. To make us heroes.”

St. Clair’s eyes widened. “You do realize that if you return to Sol Tallos will have us executed.”

Bast knew the Chief was in a precarious position. They had made Tallos their enemy. If the Chaanisar were to ally with Tallos then all hope for them would be lost. Tallos did make a desirable offer. In many ways the best option would be to take it. His crew were an invaluable intelligence source for the Diakans. But Bast had no desire to trade one alien master for another.

“Fear not, Chief,” said Bast. “I will not do that to you and your crew.”

The Chief appeared to relax, although Bast was sure he still had some doubts. Doubts about Tallos and doubts about the Chaanisar. He couldn’t blame him for it. So long as Tallos was on board the Chief would feel threatened. For the Chief, the optimal solution to the problem would be to execute the Diakan. Bast was not going to allow that to happen. Tallos might still be of some use. Either way, neither of them could return home. At least for the time being.

Bast wondered how much the Chaanisar still threatened the Chief. He had rescued the Chief and his Marines. They were rescuing the escape pods. He had shown him nothing but good will. While the Chief did seem grateful, Bast knew there must still be some part of him that didn’t trust the Chaanisar. It would be a challenging relationship, but Bast hoped he would win over the Chief and his crew in the end.

“We are being hailed, Sir.”

“Acknowledge the hail.”

To Bast’s surprise, a human male appeared on his display. There could be no doubt that they had found the lost colonies now. “Identify yourself and state the nature of your business,” said the man.

“I am Colonel Bast, of the Chaanisar ship 7249. We are responding to a signal from our escape pod on board your station. We are here to retrieve it and our personnel.”

The man studied Bast for a moment, and then said, “Stand by.” The screen then went blank.

“I guess we did find the colonies,” said Chief St. Clair. Wonder in his voice.

“We found something,” said Bast. “And so did one of your pods.”

Bast’s display flickered on again and a different man appeared. This one was dressed in a black suit and had dark, calculating eyes.

“My name is Mr. Kulberg. I am the manager of DLC station. What is your business here?”

Bast was sure the man had been briefed already, but he played along nonetheless. “I am Colonel Bast, of the Chaanisar ship 7249. Our escape pod and personnel are on board your station. We are here to retrieve them.”

“I see,” said Kulberg. “That will not be possible. Cease your approach immediately. You will not be granted access to the station.”

Kulberg’s words surprised Bast. He managed to retain his composure, however, and said, “I don’t understand. We mean you no harm. Why do you deny us access to our people?”

“Because your Captain Pike is a fugitive. I will not allow you to come on board and facilitate his escape.”

Chief St. Clair jumped at the display. “What have you done with Captain Pike?” he said.

Kulberg looked annoyed. “Who am I speaking to here?” he said.

Bast waved a hand at St. Clair, telling him to stand down. “You are speaking to me,” said Bast. “May I ask what Captain Pike is charged with?”

Kulberg’s eyes narrowed. “He is charged with murder, and he will answer for his crime. You are hereby ordered to leave this system. If you continue to approach, your actions will be considered hostile and you will be fired upon. I assure you this station has more than enough firepower to destroy your vessel. This is your only warning.”

With that the screen went blank.

“Tactician, analyze the station’s armaments.”

“The station is heavily armed, Sir. We cannot hope to succeed in battle against it.”

“Understood. Helmsman, turn us around. Set a course to leave this system.”

The Chief looked like he was going to explode. “We’re leaving?” he said, several veins bulging from his temple. “Didn’t you hear? Captain Pike is on board. We can’t abandon him.”

“We are not abandoning your Captain, Chief,” said Bast. “But we will need a different approach.”