Sol Shall Rise (The Pike Chronicles Book 1) (17 page)

Commander Wolfe had a million things on her plate. The battle with the Kemmar created an endless list of fires that needed to be put out. From the damage to the ship, to crew deaths and injuries, the list of things needing her attention was overwhelming. Thankful that they got out of the battle in one piece, she knew they had little time to get things looked after before the Captain decided to try and save the Reivers again.

She didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with saving these people. They made the Kemmar their enemies, and they had to deal with the consequences. Of course it didn’t seem like they had much in the way of options. They lived in an asteroid field, after all. They had been using the gate to raid Kemmar space for generations. That was probably all they knew. Regardless, the Kemmar didn’t look like the friendliest aliens on the block, so it wasn’t like the Reivers could just go and settle down there.

It was easy to judge others when you didn’t know much about them. She knew better than that. These people were humans, and they were being threatened by aliens. The Captain had surprised her by turning into a man of principles. At first she thought he was nothing more than an assassin. She even questioned his ability to command. But now she realized that he was someone she could follow. Someone with vision. A rare quality among humans these days.

Just then the door to the Captain’s ready room slid open and the Captain emerged with Tallos and two other Diakans. All were armed except for the Captain. Something wasn’t right.

Tallos approached her while the other two Diakans stood on either side of the Captain. “Commander, consider this official notice that I am taking command of the Hermes. The Captain is relinquishing command and will be taken into custody,” said Tallos.

Wolfe immediately stepped back, drew her side arm and pointed it at Tallos’s head “Marines! Secure the Captain!” she ordered. The Marine sentries raised their weapons, pointed them at the Diakans flanking the Captain, and charged forward. The action surprised the Diakans, and they reflexively moved their hands to their weapons, but realizing they had no chance they stopped.

“Stand down, Commander,” said Jon, a tired resignation in his voice.

“With all due respect, Sir, I can’t follow that order. I am not going to let them take over the ship.”

“They have the authority to do so, Commander.”

“What?”

“Space Force has given us the authority to take command of the Hermes, Commander. If you would be so kind as to lower your weapon, I will show you the orders.”

She looked over to the Captain who nodded in agreement. What the hell was going on here? The Captain would never relinquish his command to Tallos, orders or no orders. She needed more information. They must be forcing him to do this somehow. Deciding to play along for a bit she lowered her sidearm and ordered the Marines to do the same. The Marines looked confused, exchanging questioning glances with each other and the Captain, but in the end they complied. Everyone on the bridge had stopped working and watched to see what would happen.

Tallos handed Wolfe the command chip. “You will verify that this is an official Space Force command chip, Commander. Once you examine it you will see that my authority in this matter is legitimate.”

Wolfe took the chip and walked over to her command console. She accessed the chip and verified its identity. It was indeed authentic. She examined the orders. Tallos did have authority to take command if the mission was threatened. What represented a threat to the mission was up for debate, however.

“The command chip is authentic,” said Wolfe.

“Then, Commander, as per Space Force regulations I am the commanding officer of the Hermes and you are to follow my orders. Will there be any problems with that?”

Wolfe pointed her weapon at Tallos again and the Marines followed suit, aiming directly at the Diakans. “I’m afraid there are going to be a few problems with that.”

“Stand down Commander,” said Jon.

“No, Sir.”

“Commander, I am giving you a direct order. Stand down.”

“With all due respect Sir, I cannot follow that order. I don’t know what the Diakans have done to make you surrender, but your security is my responsibility, and I am not obligated to follow your orders if you are under duress.”

“Commander, this is mutiny. You have examined the command chip. You are violating Star Force orders.”

“No I am not. The command chip gives you authority to take command if the mission is threatened. I do not agree that the mission is at risk. That makes your actions mutinous.”

Several tense moments passed. The Captain looked furious. He glared at her, his eyes murderous, but she didn’t budge. She was not going to let Tallos take over the Hermes, regardless of what type of pressure they were exerting on the Captain. She knew she had violated his direct orders, and that he had every reason to throw her in the brig for it. But it would be the Captain doing it, not Tallos.

The Captain sighed. “You’re not going to stand down no matter what I say, are you?”

“No, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.”

Her mind registered the blur of movement only after it had already happened. The Captain’s arm had fired out and seized Tallos by the throat. The two Diakans moved to draw their weapons and the Marines fired, killing them instantly. Unphased by the weapon fire, the Captain hoisted Tallos off the ground and held him suspended in mid-air by his throat.

“Where are you holding Breeah and Anki?” demanded the Captain.

Tallos didn’t respond.

She now understood what had coerced the Captain to surrender. Holstering her weapon she rushed to her console and had the computer display the movements of all Diakans on board the ship over the past 24 hours. She felt the Captain’s eyes on her and knew she had to produce results.

Unfortunately it wasn’t going to be easy. Two hours had been deleted from the logs. Trying a different approach she had the computer account for the current location of all Diakans on board the Hermes. All were accounted for but one, Kinos. She then tried to open a comm with Security Chief St. Clair, but there was no answer.

“Well?” said the Captain.

“The computer cannot locate one of the Diakans, Sir, and Security Chief St. Clair is not answering my comms.”

Still holding Tallos off the ground the Captain opened a comm.

“Sergeant Henderson here,” came the voice over the comm.

“Sergeant I want you to assemble a team and locate every Diakan on board the Hermes and have them taken into custody. You are authorized to use deadly force if they resist. Move fast and move quietly.”

“Yes, Sir,” said Henderson.

The Captain then looked back at her. “Find me those hostages, Commander.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Breeah watched the alien warily. She knew it was the same one from the hangar bay. The aggressive one that Chief St. Clair had difficulty controlling. And from the looks of the Chief he never did manage to get the alien under control.

Crumpled on the floor a few feet away from her and Anki the Chief had been propped up against the wall, his hands and feet bound by some type of energy restraint. His legs stretched out in front of him and his chin rested on his chest. He had not gained consciousness, but she could tell he was alive. His massive frame heaved steadily with each breath, generating a rumbling sound like a sputtering engine.

She was certain that the aliens were trying to take control of the ship, and that they were using her and her daughter as leverage against the Captain. The fact that they made her speak to him made that obvious. None of this made sense, though. The Doctor had told her that these aliens, these Diakans as she called them, were their allies. They had freed humanity from slavery and were helping them rebuild, so why were they moving against them now? What had changed?

She knew it could only be the battle with the Kemmar. The Diakans clearly didn’t agree with the Captain’s decision and were now moving against him. It was foolish of the Captain to engage the Kemmar. He owed her people nothing. He should not have risked his ship and crew for people he had never met. What was it about being a starship Captain that turned them all into fools?

Her husband may have had different motivations, but he was no different. How many close calls did they have? How many narrow escapes? Her people used the gate for centuries without a problem. Yet her husband’s provocations had destroyed all that. His actions made the Kemmar take notice. It was only a matter of time until they found the gate. Only a matter of time until they came for them. And then there would be nothing left but death and slavery, the Reivers and their ways dust amidst the rocky multitude of the asteroid field.

This alien was proving himself to be another fool. He had charged her and Anki in the hangar bay. He respected the potential danger they represented. Now that respect was gone. The Chief had been bound, but she was free. He did not see her as a threat, yet he should have.

Everything about her and where she came from should have warned him. It should have been simple common sense that someone with her upbringing should be taken seriously. Had he been more observant he would have noticed that she was no delicate flower. He would have seen that her limbs were as hard as any man’s. That her movements were effortless and clean. That her eyes missed nothing.

She pulled Anki closer and nudged her to rest her head and shoulders on her lap. The alien watched her but did not object to the maternal gesture. With her free hand now safely hidden behind her child she gently rested her palm and fingers on her belt. It was a simple lariat rope design with two ornate weighted balls on the ends which ran through a noose shaped loop in the middle.

In slow, precise movements her fingers worked to pull the weighted ends through the loop, careful not to let the two balls touch and make a sound. Forefinger and thumb pinched the strand of rope, moving it barely an inch at a time. The rest of her arm lay perfectly still and she made sure that even the strands of muscle in her forearm betraying her fingers’ movements remained hidden behind her child. Slowly, deftly, she managed to pull one of the balls through the loop. Securing it against her palm. With the rest of her fingers she started working on the other end. All along she kept her eyes on the alien, not making eye contact, not challenging, but watching all the same.

She didn’t know if the aliens would succeed. But if they did, where would that leave her and Anki? These aliens would not care much about what happened to them. Any hope for a future on this ship, with these people, would be lost if these Diakans took over the Hermes. She could not let that happen.

Chief Engineer Singh was finally making some progress, now that the Diakan stopped interfering. For hours now he had been immersed in his work, barely lifting his head to even look around. This was what he enjoyed. Just being left alone to concentrate on the task at hand. Every request, no matter how small, broke his concentration. This didn’t matter for most tasks. He had performed them thousands of times, so getting back to it required little mental focus. It was when there were complex problems that required deep analysis that he preferred to block everything else out. This was where his talent shone. This was when he dug deep and came up with creative solutions.

Boufos, however, didn’t understand this. He believed that two minds, or more, on the same task would always produce superior results. While this may be true in some tasks, Singh knew that in others it constrained creativity. You ended up with decision by consensus, which often produced watered down results. There was nothing to ignite that illusive spark of genius. It stayed hidden, afraid to show itself to others. He knew how to coax it out, but that required quiet and focus.

There was truth to the phrase ‘human creativity’. It really did appear to be unique to humanity. The Diakans certainly didn’t possess anything similar. They did everything by committee. For them ten minds were better than one. And who was he to argue with their logic? They had built an empire. They saved Earth from perennial slavery. Their methods sure were working for them. How was that good old ‘human creativity’ working for Earth?

Lying there on his back under the primary relay he realized that Earth had to fight its way off the ground. The aliens had put Mother Earth on her back and kept her there. It was not humanity’s fault that a race like the Juttari conquered them. The Juttari were simply far more advanced, so Earth didn’t have a chance. Looking up at the impressive technology in front of him. Technology he understood. He knew that humanity had caught up, and given half a chance he knew human ingenuity would surpass anything the aliens could come up with.

A disturbance near the entrance to Engineering pulled him out of his thoughts. He came out from under the primary relay he had been working on and sat up to see what was happening. A group of heavily armed Marines had charged into Engineering and were now fanning out, obviously searching for someone. His technicians were taken by surprise and tried to move out of the way of the rushing Marines. He recognized Sergeant Henderson, who was shouting orders at his men. He got to his feet quickly and walked over to him. Henderson noticed Singh coming and met him halfway.

“What’s the meaning of this, Sergeant?” said Singh.

“I have orders to take Engineering Advisor Boufos into custody, Sir. Do you know his whereabouts?” said Henderson.

“Why? What’s happened?”

“You’ll have to take that up with the Captain, Sir. Now where can I find Boufos?”

“He should be here, Sergeant. He was helping with repairs.”

“Ok, internal sensors have him in Engineering. My men will flush him out.”

As if on cue, at that moment Boufos jumped out from behind a control panel and ran for the exit. Without hesitation two Marines wheeled around and fired on Boufos. Two blue energy bolts plowed into the Diakan’s back sending him reeling forward and crashing onto the ground. His chest hit first followed quickly by his head which smacked into the hard floor, the impact sounding like a dropped bucket full of water. He lay there, not moving, wisps of smoke spiraling up from the burn marks on his back.

The two Marines rushed to where the Diakan had fallen, weapons still trained on the still body. One of the Marines checked his vitals, looked up at Sergeant Henderson and shook his head.

“Check his comm,” Henderson barked.

Singh watched the ghastly scene in disbelief. “You killed him. Why?”

Henderson looked back at Singh, barely hiding his annoyance at the question. “Sir, you’ll have to take that up with the Captain.”

The two Marines were rifling through the Diakan’s clothing and one produced his comm device. Analyzing it quickly he spoke without looking up at the Sergeant. “An encrypted transmission was sent less than a minute ago, Sir.” Using a handheld security scanner the Marine worked at deciphering the transmission.

“I need to know the destination of that transmission, Corporal,” said Henderson.

“Yes, Sir,” said the Marine, his thumbs tapping the scanner in rapid movements. “Got it,” he said, looking up at the Sergeant, relief on his face.

“Relay coordinates to the rest of the team. Everyone move out.”

Singh watched as the Marines stormed out of Engineering, leaving Boufos where he lay. An uncharacteristic silence now enveloped Engineering, and the rest of his team gathered around and watched as he approached the dead Diakan. The smell of seared flesh almost made him throw up. He shook his head. He didn’t like Boufos, but he was a colleague nonetheless. He opened a comm with Commander Wolfe.

“Yes, Chief,” answered Wolfe.

“Commander, I have a dead body here,” he replied.

“Yes, I just got the report. I’ll send a medical team down to retrieve the body right away.”

“What is going on, Commander?”

“I will give you a full briefing, Raj, but later. Okay?”

“Understood. Singh out.”