Sol Shall Rise (The Pike Chronicles Book 1) (21 page)

Jon was eager to get back into action. The repairs had taken longer than they should have and his worry for the Reivers intensified. His main concern was that the Hermes would be ready for battle, so he made repairs to the armor plating a priority. Still, reinforcing a damaged hull took time, even with the AI coordinating the repair bots. There was nothing they could do but sit and wait for the job to be finished. Now that the repairs were done, however, he wanted to get back to work.

“Sound general quarters,” he said.

The general quarters announcement sounded throughout the ship telling everyone to man their stations and prepare for combat. The bridge and the rest of the ship illuminated with a distinct red hue, reinforcing the announcement.

Helm, initiate jump countdown.”

“Initiating jump countdown,” said Richards.

The computer started its countdown and everybody prepared for what was to come. Jon noticed that there was a marked difference in the crew’s attitude. There was a bit of nervousness, as would be expected, but it was now accompanied by a steady resolve. They knew what to expect, and they knew the dangers. They showed no signs of panic, or exuberance. They were just determined to get the job done. He approved.

The crew had all been briefed on the plan. They were going to jump in some distance from the jump gate, take some quick scans, and jump out. This way they would know what they were dealing with before engaging the Kemmar. Then, depending on whether they were dealing with one large battleship, or several smaller ships, they would take the appropriate action.

“Jump complete.”

The Hermes landed between one of the system’s planets and its moon. This hopefully would allow them to take some scans without being noticed. They would only be there for a few moments, and if the battleship wasn’t looking or scanning in their direction, they might not be detected. The sensor operator immediately began scanning and at the same time the jump countdown commenced. Within seconds they were back where they had started.

“Report.”

“Scans are showing no contacts,” said the sensor operator.

“Are you sure, Ensign?” said Jon.

“Yes, Sir,” said the Ensign, still studying her console. “No contacts. Scans show no other ships in the system.”

Jon looked over at Wolfe. “What do you think, Commander?”

“They might have gone back across the gate. Maybe they needed to go back for repairs?”

“Or maybe they’re setting a trap for us. I guess we’ll soon find out. Set coordinates to jump back in just outside the asteroid field, close to the coordinates of the Reiver colony.”

Breeah had relented and given Jon the coordinates to the colony. Jon had made it clear he wasn’t leaving the colonists, so there was no point in keeping the location a secret any longer. She had also given them the frequency that would deactivate the asteroid plasma cannons as well as the camouflage grid surrounding the colony and hiding it from view.

The Hermes landed back in the binary star system just outside its asteroid field. They scanned again, but still there was no sign of the Kemmar battleship. After recent events he fully expected to be in a full scale battle by now, but the system was quiet. Too quiet. Even the Kemmar drones were gone.

He shrugged. “Helm, take us into the asteroid field to the coordinates of the Reiver colony.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Hermes slowly entered the familiar asteroid field. At the same time it was broadcasting on the necessary frequency which would tell the asteroid defenses that they were a friendly ship. While the broadcast would tell the colony that they were friendly, Jon knew that they might not actually believe it and take action against the Hermes. He hoped it would not come to that.

He knew that the colony had the ability to monitor recent events. They would have witnessed the battle with the Kemmar, but they also would have seen Jon destroy the two Reiver ships. As far as they knew the Hermes was a hostile vessel, and the battle with the Kemmar didn’t necessarily change that. For this reason, Jon had Breeah add a message to the broadcast letting the colony know that the Hermes was not their enemy. Still, they might think that she was forced to do so.

So far, the plan seemed to be working. The plasma cannons didn’t fire and there was no need for any stunt flying like before. Richards maneuvered around the large rocks easily, and the familiar sound of the small rocks rapping against the hull resonated throughout the ship.

Before long they had reached the coordinates for the Reiver colony. From what Breeah had told him, the colony actually used several large asteroids. There was one central asteroid which was where most of the population lived. The other neighboring asteroids were used for different functions. One of the large rocks, for example, served as a spaceport, and housed their ships. Another, was used for repairs and fabrication. Shuttles were used to ferry people and supplies between each rock.

A special camouflage grid was used to keep the whole operation hidden from scans. It consisted of multiple satellites surrounding the colony and disguised as asteroids themselves which then projected the camouflage grid around the Reivers’ homes. Once the grid was in place, anybody looking or scanning in this direction would see nothing more than asteroids.

The technology had limits, however. If a ship approached the location and took a closer look they might be able to uncover the hidden colony. To avoid this the Reivers had installed the plasma cannon defenses throughout the field. They ensured there would be enough firepower to destroy, or at least discourage anyone from getting too close to discover them.

“Arriving at coordinates, Sir,” said Richards.

“Full stop,” said Jon.

“Reading full stop.”

Jon and the rest of the bridge crew stared in horror at the viewscreen. Where there was supposed to be a grid of satellites protecting the colony, there was only debris. The Kemmar had found them.

“Helm, take us in for a closer look,” said Jon, breaking the silence.

The Hermes moved past the satellite debris. Once inside, they crept up to the main asteroid where the colonists were supposed to live. The asteroid itself was large, roughly the size of a small moon. Domed structures connected by a complex web of transport tubes covered the surface. Jon knew from discussions with Breeah that some of those domes housed colonists, while others were responsible for power generation, food and water supplies, fabrication, education, and pretty much anything else required that the Reivers could produce.

It was supposed to all be humming with activity as people went about their daily routines. Instead, much of it was now in ruins and more debris floated around them like a celestial graveyard. There could be no doubt now, the Kemmar had attacked the colony. Looking at the wreckage Jon noticed that several domes were not damaged. If the Kemmar wanted to destroy the colony everything would have been turned to dust. Why were some structures still standing?

Jon opened a comm with Breeah. She should have a view of the wreckage from her window. “Breeah, are you seeing this?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Jon was struck at how calm her voice was. She never stopped surprising him. “I’m seeing several structures still intact. The colony’s computer systems might still be operational. I’d like to find out what happened here. Is there any way we can access them?”

“Yes there is. I can provide you with access instructions, but I do not have full clearance.”

“Our AI can deal with that once we establish a connection. The important thing is to find out if there are any systems we can access first. Hopefully they weren’t all destroyed.”

“Yes, let’s hope so. I will send you all the information needed to establish a connection.”

“Thank you, Breeah. I will keep you updated.”

Jon closed the comm and looked at Commander Wolfe. “Commander, when Breeah sends those codes have the AI take over the colony’s network and access its security systems so we can find out what happened here.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Wolfe fed the data into the AI which then initiated its electronic assault.

“Pinging planetary computer system,” said the AI. “Receiving response from system. Sending login information. Login accepted. Account privileges are restricted. Initiating takeover of planetary system.”

The AI began a massive brute force attack of the colony’s computer systems, which were woefully unprepared for its electronic warfare capabilities. In no time the AI was burrowing a path through the network, moving up the access hierarchy until it finally gained access to the security systems.

“Takeover complete,” said the AI.

“Display information relating to Kemmar attack of the colony.”

“There is video footage of this event. Would you prefer viewing the video, or the security logs?”

“Display video.”

The viewscreen switched from its view of the colony wreckage, to the security video. The bridge watched as the video showed the Kemmar warships destroying the camouflage grid and approaching the colony. The Reivers resisted but were no match for Kemmar firepower which proceeded to lay waste to any Reiver defenses.

When the ships stopped firing, instead of completely destroying the colony, they launched dozens of shuttles, which proceeded to land on the asteroid. Kemmar soldiers then spilled out of the shuttles in full battle armor and poured into the colony’s transport tubes. The Reivers tried to fight off the invaders but were no match for the armored Kemmar soldiers and were soon overcome.

But the Kemmar weren’t killing the defenders. It appeared as though they were simply stunning them. The Kemmar quickly swept through the complex. Though not one Reiver surrendered and all fought with any weapon they had access to, in the end they had no chance.

Jon’s stomach turned as he watched the Kemmar load the unconscious humans onto the shuttles. When the operation was concluded the shuttles returned to their ships and the Kemmar left the asteroid field. The video showed the Kemmar ships come together again and form a larger ship, although not as large as the one they first encountered. The battleship then headed for the jump gate and disappeared back into Kemmar space.

Jon leaned back into his chair and rubbed his chin with his thumb and finger. He stared at the viewscreen in silence. The Kemmar had taken them prisoner. From what Breeah had told him that meant slavery. He couldn’t allow that to happen. He had to do something.

“Commander Wolfe, Chief St. Clair, meet me in my ready room.”

“AI, based on information gained from the captured Kemmar warship, can you speculate where the Kemmar would take the human prisoners?” said Jon.

Commander Wolfe and Chief St. Clair both sat across from him and Jon didn’t need his heightened senses to tell that all the recent events had them both on edge.

“Non-Kemmar prisoners are taken to a planet known as Kerces. They are taken to an installation on the planet where they are reprogrammed so as to make them useful to the Kemmar Empire.”

“You mean they are brainwashed and turned into Kemmar slaves,” said Kevin.

“Yes, that is a reasonable interpretation of the data,” said the AI. “The Kemmar Empire controls a vast galactic slave trade. The Empire itself is diverse and consists of thousands of different species. There are also multiple affiliate cultures that while friendly, are not members of the Empire. The slave trade is active throughout the Empire as well as within these affiliated systems. Conquest is used to expand territory and to supply inventory for this slave trade. If a slave is not controllable it cannot be sold. Kerces fulfills this need by reprogramming prisoners. Those who cannot be reprogrammed are considered useless and terminated.”

A cold chill slowly crawled up Jon’s back making him shudder. The Kemmar were slavers. No better than the Juttari. Perhaps even worse. The Juttari used captured populations for their own needs, whereas the Kemmar used them as products to be sold.

“Is Kerces the only planet used for this function?”

“No. There are many planets throughout the Empire serving this function. Kerces is the closest and therefore the logical destination.”

“AI, display Kerces’s location on viewscreen.”

Wolfe and Kevin both swiveled their chairs around to see the viewscreen that appeared on the wall behind them. It flickered on and an image of a grayish blue planet appeared. Kerces looked to be an icy, desolate place, inhospitable for the development of any type of civilization. A great place to take prisoners. Even if they could escape from wherever they were held, where would they go?

“AI, display the flight path the Kemmar battleship would need to take from the jump gate to the planet Kerces.”

The viewscreen zoomed out from the planet to display a wide swath of Kemmar space overlaid with a dotted yellow line indicating the logical flight path the battleship would likely travel to the planet.”

Jon looked back to Kevin and Wolfe. “We could cross the gate and jump ahead of the battleship and lay an ambush for it.”

Kevin and Wolfe swiveled back to face Jon. “Some well-placed gravity mines would help even the odds. We could mine their space lane and once the mines detonated we could jump in and finish the job,” said Kevin.

“But then we would still have to board the battleship and rescue the Reivers,” said Wolfe.

“True. We’d take heavy casualties boarding that ship,” said Kevin.

“They could kill off the Reivers before we got close to them,” said Jon. “Ok, so boarding the battleship is not a good option. How about the planet?”

“Depending on the planet’s defenses a planetary assault might be a better option. The Hermes could provide orbital support for the strike teams making the job easier,” said Kevin.

“AI, analyze the Kerces planetary defenses,” said Jon.

The viewscreen showed an image of the icy planet once more and zoomed in closer revealing numerous orbiting satellites. “Kerces is defended by an orbital defense grid located at medium orbit. There is a restricted security perimeter around the planet. Unauthorized vessels entering this perimeter are fired on by the defense grid.”

“Do we have enough information on Kerces to plot its precise coordinates into the jump system?”

“The seized Kemmar database has provided the coordinates for all planets within the Kemmar Empire.”

“Do we have enough information to jump into low orbit around Kerces just inside the defense grid?”

“Yes, the coordinates are available for this task.”

“Will the defense grid fire on us if we do?”

“The grid’s purpose is to defend against attacking ships. It is assumed that those ships would be approaching the planet from outside the grid. As a precaution against the grid being used to attack the planet itself, the satellites were made to only point outward. Therefore, if the Hermes were to jump into low orbit within the defense grid, it would not be fired upon.”

“What about the planet’s gravitational pull? Is the jump system capable of landing the Hermes in low orbit without inadvertently causing us to enter the planet’s atmosphere?”

“The Kemmar database provides enough data to calculate a precise landing into low orbit without causing any undue stress on the Hermes or its systems.”

“Good. Do you have any information on the location where the prisoners will be taken?”

The viewscreen zoomed in further to reveal the planet’s icy surface and magnified the planet’s southern hemisphere. It sailed over frozen mountains, their glistening peaks like frigid claws gashing the sky, and then dropped into a wide valley and eventually zeroed in on a complex of buildings.

“Analyze installation’s defenses.”

“The defenses are limited. The installation was designed to keep prisoners in, rather than keeping invaders out. It was likely assumed that the orbital defense grid was protection enough. There are automated defense systems setup on the complex’s perimeter.” The viewscreen zoomed in again to show and array of weapon towers encircling the buildings. “They are intended to be used against escaping prisoners, but can also be used against an attacking force. Defense systems are primarily energy weapon based.”

“Thank you, AI.”

“You are welcome, Captain.”

Wolfe and Kevin turned their chairs back to face Jon. Kevin spoke first. “I see where you’re going with this, Sir. We jump into low orbit, take out the installation’s defenses, and send down assault teams to liberate the prisoners.”

“That sounds about right,” said Jon

“What if that battleship is still there?” said Wolfe.

“AI, how long will it take for the Kemmar battleship to reach Kerces?”

“Traveling at its average speed, the battleship will arrive at Kerces in thirty-four days.”

“I’m assuming the battleship won’t stay much longer than what is required to drop off their prisoners. They’ll need repairs among other things. Here is what I am thinking. We cross the gate and then jump to a remote location of Kemmar space to hold position there for as long as it would take for the battleship to arrive, unload the prisoners and get underway. We jump close enough to Kerces so we can have a look, but remain out of range of their defense grid. If everything is clear we jump into low orbit inside the defense grid and begin the rescue operations. Thoughts?”

“It’s risky, but it can work,” said Kevin. “I will personally lead the assault teams. We’ll get the job done.”

“I’m sure you will. I almost feel sorry for the Kemmar.”

Kevin responded with a big toothy smile.

“Commander, what about you?”

“I don’t know. We are working with a lot of ‘ifs’, and we don’t know how accurate that data is.”

“I agree, but it’s the only intelligence we have.”

“I suppose we’ll have to make it work.”

“Good. We can use the wait time to get everything to 100%. I want to be underway within the hour. No point sitting around here waiting for another Kemmar battleship to cross through the gate.”