Ronin (The Pike Chronicles Book 3) (6 page)

“So that’s New Byzantium,” said Kevin, looking at the distant blue planet on the viewscreen. “Looks like my kind of place. Lots of water means lots of beaches.”

Jon glanced over at the big man. “Lots of islands too,” he said. “Maybe you’ll find something like the one you grew up on.”

Kevin smiled, taking on a far-away look, like he was lost in a memory. “Nah. That place is one of a kind.”

“Either way it looks like a fun place. We should stick around for a bit.” Colonel Bast was standing nearby and Jon was sure he could hear their conversation. “Colonel Bast,” said Jon, waving the man over.

“Yes, Captain?”

“My crew hasn’t had any downtime since we left the Sol System. New Byzantium looks like a nice place. We should stick around for a while, give the crew some shore leave.”

Bast looked confused. “Shore leave?”

Jon shared a knowing glance with Kevin, who was already grinning at Bast’s question. “Yeah, shore leave. R and R. You know, time off to relax.”

“But there is still a lot that needs to be done,” said Bast, in protest. “We relax when we sleep, is that not enough?”

“Hang on a second,” said Kevin. “Are you saying that Chaanisar soldiers don’t get any time off from duties?”

“No, why would we?”

“You’ve never taken a vacation?” pressed Kevin.

“No,” said Bast, still looking confused at the line of questioning.

“Ok, well humans need downtime,” said Kevin. “We need a break from our duties every now and then. Otherwise bad things happen.”

“I see. So if you do not give your crew vacation time they become insubordinate.”

“They won’t become insubordinate,” said Jon, taking exception with the comment. “Some time off this ship, on a nice planet with beaches and sunshine, would rejuvenate the crew. They’ve gone through a lot of hardship. Shore leave would do them some good.”

“It might do your crew some good too,” said Kevin.

“My crew does not require such luxuries,” said Bast, dismissively.

“I thought you were trying find your humanity?” asked Kevin.

“Yes, Chief, that is true, but our implants prevent fatigue.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t need to learn how to relax. How are you going to learn about social interaction?”

“You might have a point. I’ll consider it. Captain, if you feel your crew will benefit by taking shore leave, then I am not opposed to it.”

“Picking up Space Force beacon,” said the tactical officer.

“Location?” said Bast.

“New Byzantium.”

“See, it’s meant to be,” said Kevin. “Now we have an excuse to stick around.”

Prime Minister Sallas sat at his desk, trying to focus on the day’s duties, but finding himself distracted. Ever since Elizabeth Ellerbeck arrived on New Byzantium he had been captivated. First with her story, then, soon after, with her. She was like something out of a fantasy. A beautiful woman from mythical Earth. It would have all been unbelievable if not for that life pod of hers.

Of course General Juneau felt threatened by the whole thing. He wanted to interrogate her and keep her in isolation to minimize any possible threat. A typical overreaction from Juneau.

She was not a threat. Sallas saw that straight away. She had important knowledge she could share. Advances in medicine that were well ahead of anything they had achieved. Why would you treat someone like that as a prisoner? He intervened and freed her from the military’s clasp. Another action that earned Juneau’s ire. It didn’t matter, the General was wrong, whether he chose to admit it or not.

The more he spoke to her the more enthralled he became. He enthralled with her stories of Earth and its terrible history. How it was conquered and liberated. The more he listened, the more he realized he couldn’t get enough of
her
. She was fascinating, beautiful and intelligent. What more could a man want?

A communication request brought him back to reality. The request came from one of his advisers. He accepted the link and a middle aged man appeared on his display.

“Sir, we have picked up an unidentified warship approaching New Byzantium,” said the man.

“A warship?” said Prime Minister Sallas, straightening in his chair. “How did it enter our system undetected?”

“Unknown, Sir. The military is moving to intercept.”

“Is the vessel hostile?”

“Unknown, Sir. It is a precaution. Our forces don’t want it to get within striking distance of the planet until we know more about its intentions.”

“That sounds reasonable. Send me a visual of this warship.”

The translucent display split into two and an image of the vessel appeared. Sallas didn’t like what he saw. The sinister looking vessel was quite large and looked to be heavily armed.
How did something like that get this close without us noticing?
Sallas thought. He stared at the mystery ship in wonder when something occurred to him. With a wave of his fingers a third screen sprang up and Dr. Ellerbeck’s face appeared.

“Hello, Mr. Sallas,” said Ellerbeck.

“I thought I told you to call me Christopher?” said Sallas, pretending to be offended.

“You did. I’m sorry, Christopher.” She flashed him that disarming smile and he almost forgot what he contacted her for.

“Elizabeth, I want you to look at something and tell me if you recognize it.” Showing her the ship violated a string of security protocols, but he had a gut feeling that the appearance of this unidentified ship was no coincidence.

“Sure, I’ll do my best.”

“It’s a warship, but we have no idea where it came from. I’m sending you an image now.”

“I don’t believe it,” said Ellerbeck, her face going pale.

“So you recognize this vessel?”

“Yes, I do. Do you remember the stories I told you about Earth being conquered?”

“Yes.”

Ellerbeck looked at him with dead serious eyes. “It’s them. Christopher, the Juttari have come.”

“Picking up multiple contacts on an intercept course,” said the tactician.

The same alert flashed in front of his eye as the message simultaneously came in through his brain chip. With a thought he pulled up a visual of the contacts. Definitely military vessels, they were similar to the destroyers he’d faced back at DLC station.

“Reading weapon signatures. Contacts look to be destroyer class military vessels.” The tactical officer knew that Bast had received the information directly, but announced it for the benefit of the Space Force officers on the bridge.

“So much for shore leave,” said Chief St. Clair, resignation in his voice. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

Bast glanced over at Captain Pike, who seemed to be studying him, rather than looking at the contacts on the viewscreen.

“Any thoughts, Captain?” said Bast.

“I think Kevin’s right,” said Pike. “Shore leave’s not going to happen.”

Bast nodded and wondered if Captain Pike and Chief St. Clair behaved like this on the Hermes.

“Maintain course,” ordered Bast. “Prepare for defensive action if needed.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You can’t really blame them,” said Pike. “You don’t have the friendliest looking ship in the galaxy.”

“Friendly or not, we have a life pod to retrieve,” said Bast.

“You won’t get any argument from me,” said Pike.

“Helm, prepare to jump us into high orbit around New Byzantium.”

“That’ll get their attention.”

“I’d rather not use the jump system, but if they become unreasonable we will have to show them what they’re up against.”

“Nothing like the threat of orbital bombardment to make a planet sit up and take notice.”

The Chaanisar Heavy Cruiser continued to coast toward the planet, as the three destroyers raced to intercept.

“We are being hailed, Sir.”

“Route the communication to my console,” said Bast.

A stern looking woman in a military uniform appeared on Bast’s display. “Juttari vessel, you have unlawfully entered New Byzantium territory. You are ordered to leave this system immediately.”

“This is Colonel Bast. Who am I speaking to?”

“My name is Captain Evans.”

“Captain, how do you know that this is a Juttari vessel?”

“That information is classified. What matters is that you cease your advance and leave this system. Will you comply?”

“And if I refuse?”

“You will be fired upon.”

“Sir, two of the destroyers have changed vectors. They are moving to flank us,” said the tactical officer.

“Captain, we are not what we appear to be. This ship is no longer under Juttari command. We are on a peaceful mission.”

Bast’s screen went blank as Captain Evans disconnected the communication link.

“It appears we are not the only unfriendly ship out here,” Bast said, looking at Captain Pike.

“It does sound like they mean business. Are you going to jump, or wait to see if they’ll fire?”

“They obviously want to flank us. They won’t fire until they’re in position. Any suggestions, Captain?”

“No. I like your strategy. Firing on the destroyers will further alienate the planet, regardless of who’s right. We’re here to retrieve our people, not prove how tough we are.”

Bast nodded. He wondered whether he was speaking to Captain Pike, or the Diakan symbiont. Was there any difference between the two? He pondered his own implants. They were a part of him, and it was difficult to imagine a life without them. Even the brain chip. As much as he despised the control it could exert on him, he couldn’t imagine a life without it. Did Captain Pike feel the same way about his symbiont?

Through the feed to his brain chip, he watched the destroyers flank his ship. As he expected, Captain Evans hailed him again. He accepted the hail and the woman’s face came up on his console.

“Colonel Bast, this is your last chance. Cease your advance, turn your ship around and leave this system immediately, or you will be destroyed.”

“Captain, as I tried to tell you earlier, this is all a misunderstanding. We are not Juttari.”

“I don’t care who you are,” said Evans, furrowing her brow. “Will you comply?”

“No,” said Bast, terminating the communication. “Helm, initiate jump.”

Through his brain chip Bast watched as the three destroyers opened fire on him, and then they were gone, replaced by the dramatic sight of New Byzantium spinning underneath them. Bast gazed at the planet in wonder. It was a galactic work of art. He wasn’t sure why, but there was something about oceans that had him mesmerized. He wondered if it wasn’t a kind of homesickness. Perhaps some hidden memory of Earth.

“Breathtaking,” said Chief St. Clair. “We definitely have to find a way to make that shore leave happen.”

“Contact! The planet is firing missiles at us.”

“Time to impact?” said Bast.

“Two minutes.”

“Hail the planet and prepare to jump to the planet’s north pole.”

A balding man’s face appeared on Bast’s console. He wore a military uniform and seemed like he was having a bad day.

“Who am I speaking to and why have you fired on us?”

The man spoke a little louder than would be expected, not exactly yelling, but certainly trying hard to be intimidating. “Juttari vessel,” the man said. “You have violated New Byzantium territory. Leave now, or you will be destroyed.”

“Yes, you’ve already warned us. Please relay this message to your superiors. We are not Juttari. We have the Hermes crew with us, including Captain Pike. We merely want to talk to someone and explain the situation.”

“You are ordered to-”

“Do it now,” said Bast and terminated the communication. “Initiate jump.”

The Chaanisar ship reappeared above New Byzantium’s north pole. They were far enough away that the missile shouldn’t be able to re-establish a lock on them.

”Is it just me, or do these people seem a little thick headed?” joked Chief St. Clair.

“You know, I was thinking the exact same thing. What are the chances of that?” laughed Captain Pike.

Bast opened another communication link with the planet and the same balding man appeared on the screen, his jaw slack and his eyes wide.

“How did you do that?” the man asked.

“I will discuss that with whoever governs your planet. Facilitate the connection and stop firing on us.”

The man nodded and said, “Please hold while I brief my superiors.”

They waited for some time. The planet didn’t fired more missiles at them. Bast kept an eye on the three destroyers, which had changed course and were now heading back to the planet. They had some time until the ships made it close enough to be a threat. Hopefully he could talk to someone before that happened.

A moment later another hail came through from the planet. A youthful looking man in civilian clothes appeared on Bast’s display. “This is Prime Minister Sallas, leader of New Byzantium,” said the man, his tone formal and serious.

“I am Colonel Bast, commander of Chaanisar ship 7249.”

“Colonel, would you mind explaining why a Juttari warship is orbiting our planet?”

“As I’ve said repeatedly, we are not Juttari.”

“No? Then what are you?”

“We are Chaanisar.”

Sallas turned to someone off camera and nodded. Turning back to Bast he said, “Being Chaanisar and being Juttari are one and the same.”

“Not on this ship, Prime Minister. We have revolted against the Juttari. They no longer control us. Although I am curious as to how someone one thousand light years away knows so much about the Juttari?”

“I am not at liberty to share that information,” said Sallas. “You mentioned you have the Hermes crew on board your ship. Are they your prisoners?”

Bast laughed. “Of course not. They are our guests.”

“Forgive me if I am skeptical.” He turned to the person off camera again and then said, “You claim to have Captain Pike on board, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“I would like to speak to him.”

Bast turned to Captain Pike, who had been following the discussion. Bast gestured his hand to the console and Pike approached. Standing in front of the display he said, “This is Captain Pike.”

Sallas looked off camera and then smiled. “Captain, there’s someone who’d very much like to speak to you.”

The Prime Minister shifted and a red headed woman appeared. She looked at the camera and her eyes widened. “Captain, is that you? Are you alright?”

A broad grin formed on the Captain’s face. “Doctor Ellerbeck, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you.”

Bast caught his breath. They had done it. They had found the Doctor.