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

The two small weighted metal balls whistled as they whipped through the air, nothing more than a blur to the naked eye. Anki tightened her grip on the thin rope as she rushed forward. She imagined Kemmar soldiers coming for her and could see the shock in their eyes as she charged them. With a snap of her tiny wrist the balls changed direction, flying downward. She imagined them connecting with the Kemmar, dropping the monsters one by one with each strike. The balls made a sharp clanging sound as they hit the metal floor. She felt the recoil and compensated, snapping her wrist again, the balls continuing in their circular trajectory. She broke into a run. More Kemmar approached and she fearlessly ran into them, swinging the rope in a figure eight pattern, each time hitting the floor in hard, rapid strikes. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. The echo bounced throughout the room. She imagined the sound their weapons made as she skillfully disarmed every one of them. She snapped her wrist again and the rope swung underneath her as she dove over it. Another flick and it whipped above her while she tumbled along the floor. She sprang to her feet, the heavy spheres continuously spinning around her, establishing a protective radius. The Kemmar retreated. She took in a deep breath and readied herself for another charge.

“Stop,” yelled Jonas, Anki’s grandfather.

She eased the muscles in her forearm, and the balls slowed in response. A few revolutions more and she had the pair of small spheres in her little hand. She brought an arm to her forehead and wiped the perspiration away as she turned to face her grandfather. He stood at the other end of the room, his body perfectly straight, his face hard, his eyes fierce. She held her breath, waiting for his response. Her heart jumped for joy when she noticed the corner of his mouth turning up ever so slightly. It was there only for an instant, but she knew she saw it. High praise from her grandfather.

“You need to make your circles smaller,” he said.

“Smaller?” said Anki, confused by her grandfather’s observation.

“Yes, smaller.”

“I don’t understand.”

Her grandfather walked across the room toward her. “Give me your lariat,” he said, extending out his hand. Anki placed the weighted rope belt into his palm and he backed away.

“You rely on your forearm too much,” he said, as he walked into the middle of the room. He shot out the lariat and had it immediately spinning at phenomenal speed. His hand moved and the rope changed directions. “Do you see how my forearm moves?”

His forearm did move, albeit not much. “Yes,” said Anki.

He moved again and the weights changed direction. “Can you anticipate my strike through the movement of my arm?”

“Yes,” she said. “I think so.”

He nodded. “Can you see my forearm move now?”

The rope changed directions but she didn’t notice any movement in his arm. The trajectory changed again, still nothing. He whipped the weighted balls around, yet each time he changed tactics she could see nothing. If she had been fighting him she wouldn’t be able to guess which shape the next attack would take. If the enemy didn’t know which way the next attack would come, they couldn’t get out of the way. Her grandfather slowed the rope until it stopped. He walked back to Anki and handed her back the lariat.

“Make the circles smaller, until they are almost non-existent. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Good,” he said, turning and walking back across the room. “Now try again.”

Anki took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them the room was once again full of Kemmar soldiers. She scowled, lunged forward and shot out the weights at the closest one. She broke into a run, her weapon striking out at each of her enemies, careful not to telegraph her strikes with her arm. They came at her from all angles. She leaped and ducked and sidestepped out of the way of the attacks, all along countering with a precise strike of her own. They were overrun. The onslaught relentless. But she was a cyclone. A spinning, dancing fury. Some charged carelessly, deceived by her age and size. They required almost no effort. Others saw her prowess. They were more challenging, striking at her multiple times before she overcame them.

The door opened and distracted her from her mission. She looked to see what new danger approached, when she saw her mother enter instead. They exchanged smiles. Anki’s attention turned back to her battle, finishing off the remaining enemy. Returning the double weights to her hand, she ran to her mother, who now stood next to her grandfather.

“You’ve improved, child. Well done,” said Breeah.

Anki felt a surge of pride rise up inside her. She had never seen anyone more skilled with the lariat. Even her grandfather, who had trained her mother, said she had surpassed his ability.

“Now you just need to make your circles smaller,” said Breeah.

Anki frowned. “But I fixed that problem.”

“It will take more practice than that,” said Jonas. “Fear not, it will come. Now why don’t you go and get yourself a drink of water.”

Anki sighed and walked over to the fountain. She took a long drink, wondering how long it would take to be as skilled as her mother. When she walked back, her mother and grandfather were talking to each other.

“Do you know who we were in battle against today?” said Jonas.

“The Kemmar,” said Breeah. “They were fighting over an escape pod.”

“From Jon’s old ship?”

“Yes.”

“And where was Jon during the encounter?”

“He led a team down to the surface, to rescue any survivors. He should be back on board soon.”

“So his mission was successful?”

“Yes, although I’m told they fought a Kemmar force on the surface.”

Jonas nodded slowly. “This Jon is a warrior. Of that there is no doubt.”

“Thank you, Father,” said Breeah. Her expression hopeful.

“But he is no Reiver.”

Breeah’s eyes narrowed. “Must we go through this again, Father?”

“We must. Until you come to your senses.”

“For the first time in my life I have come to my senses, and I am not leaving Jon. Not for you, not for the Reivers, not for anybody.” Anki saw the anger on her mother’s face. She understood why her mother was mad. Jon was a good person, and he looked after them. Why couldn’t her grandfather understand?

Her mother turned to her, “Anki, we are leaving. Practice is over.” Her mother marched toward the door.

Anki looked up at her grandfather, “Good bye Grandfather. Thank you for the lesson.”

Her grandfather reached down and gently stroked her hair with his hard, powerful hand. “Good bye, little one.”

Jon could feel the creature’s tension and hostility inside him. It didn’t like being on board the Chaanisar ship. Jon couldn’t blame it. He wondered what would happen now that it had awoken. The medication that Doctor Ellerbeck had given him obviously had its limits. It had quieted the creature for a time, but the effects now seemed to have worn off. Doctor Ellerbeck had told him that the medication eased the transition, so that he and the symbiont could eventually live in harmony. He wasn’t sure what that meant, but so long as the creature couldn’t inflict pain to control him, it could be tolerable. In the long run there was no escape from the symbiont. It would keep Jon alive until death took them both. The doctor had said that he may end up living for a thousand years.
A thousand years
. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept. He would watch both Breeah and Anki grow old and eventually die. He would watch Anki’s grandchildren grow old and die. How could any human endure something like that?

Walking down the long, dimly lit Chaanisar corridor, he studied the Juttari religious markings surrounding him. Their scriptures stated that they were destined to rule the universe. So they conquered. The Diakans were calculating and efficient. So they expanded. The Kemmar were aggressive and vicious. So they attacked. Where did that leave humanity? Where did that leave him? He was taught to be a survivor. So he survived. Now the creature would demand survival, ensuring he outlived everything he loved. It seemed like a cruel joke.

He felt the creature’s reaction as a Chaanisar walked past. He felt its hostility towards the soldier. It saw the soldier as a threat. It urged Jon to kill the man. But it couldn’t compel him to do it. It could no longer force Jon to act on its behalf. It could no longer make him kill. Not anymore. Maybe the good doctor was right. Maybe the symbiont had lost its power over him. Maybe the medication worked. He didn’t think he could live harmoniously with the creature, like the doctor had said, but if it lacked power over him they might come to some form of truce.

Another Chaanisar soldier approached and the creature urged another attack.
Enough of that
, he thought, trying to communicate with the symbiont.
I don’t like the Chaanisar either, but they’re not a threat right now
.

The creature calmed down. It cooperated. Interesting. He always knew it could hear his thoughts, but it never complied before. If he refused to do what the symbiont wanted, it forced him anyway. Now it seemed to understand the situation. Would they be able to work together after all?

Don’t get your hopes up you little bastard
. Jon waited. No retaliation. No pain. Jon chuckled.
Payback’s been a long time coming, you little shit. I’m calling the shots now, so you better get used to the new order.

Jon continued down the corridor until he came to one of the conference rooms. He entered and found Colonel Bast, Lieutenant Jarvi, and Kevin already there, waiting for him. The creature reacted, perceiving Bast and Jarvi as threats, but the reaction was slightly more subdued this time. It seemed to be learning and adapting to the situation. Jon said his hellos, pulled up a chair and sat down.

“I understand you encountered some resistance on the planet, Captain,” said Colonel Bast.

“We did. The Kemmar had greater numbers, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle,” said Jon.

“If a team of Chaanisar had gone down to the surface with you the Kemmar attack could have been intercepted,” said Jarvi.

“Didn’t I just say we that we handled it?” said Jon, feeling anger beginning to take hold. He felt the creature fuel the emotion. It wanted him to get angry. Was the emotion its doing?

“Of course, Captain,” said Bast. “Lieutenant Jarvi didn’t say otherwise. It is only that we would prefer a return to joint Space Force - Chaanisar missions. We are stronger united.”

Jon breathed, taking control of his emotions. “As I said before, we are rescuing members of the Hermes crew, which makes the job ours alone.”

“As you wish, Captain. We are only trying to help,” said Bast. “I understand you retrieved a member of Doctor Ellerbeck’s team.”

“Yes, Ensign Zakarian,” said Jon, happy to change the topic.

“Is Ensign Zakarian a doctor as well?”

“No. She would be more of an assistant,” said Jon. He saw what Bast was thinking. If Zakarian was a doctor then Ellerbeck might have taught her enough to perform the procedure. The thought was amusing at best. They were talking about brain surgery, and alien technology. Even the great Doctor Ellerbeck might have difficulty successfully performing the procedure. Ensign Zakarian wouldn’t have a chance.

“I’m sure her presence will be invaluable when we find the doctor.”

“I heard you had your hands full against the Kemmar warship,” said Jon.

Bast frowned in a rare display of emotion. “The Kemmar are adapting to the jump system,” said Bast. “They used mines to limit our maneuverability.”

“Smart,” said Kevin, leaning his huge frame back into the chair.

“Yes. It was a clever tactic,” said Bast.

“Not clever enough,” said Kevin, sporting a broad grin.

“Then they used a drone swarm to try and overwhelm us.”

“How did you defeat them?” said Jon.

Bast smiled. More emotion. Was he practicing? “We used one of your tactics, Captain,” said Bast.

“My tactics?”

“Yes. We jumped and took the swarm with us, just as you did with the Kemmar ship that tried to board the Hermes.”

“But that ship was connected to the Hermes,” said Jon, curious about the tactic.

“Before we found you we encountered a besieged freighter. It had been attacked by pirates and had lost use of its engines. I remembered your tactic and consulted your engineer about it.”

“Singh?”

“Yes. A brilliant man, albeit very unstable. He explained that the jump system created a field around the ship. Anything within that field would jump along with the ship. Unfortunately the freighter was too large for the tactic to work.”

“Interesting. So the swarm were within the jump field.”

“Yes. The mines had limited our maneuverability, so we couldn’t get any distance between us and the swarm. By jumping away we obtained more freedom of movement and were able to break free. We jumped back to engage the warship, and left the drones behind.”

“Impressive,” said Jon, the compliment sincere. Colonel Bast continued to surprise him.

“Thank you, Captain. I am honored.”

“So what’s next?” said Jon. “Seiben keeps asking me when we’re going to go to New Byzantium. It’s been several weeks now. I don’t blame him for being impatient.”

“Yes, I have been thinking about this issue,” said Bast, his face turning stoic again. “After analyzing the star charts from DLC station, it seems that New Byzantium’s location intersects with one of the trajectories we’ve plotted for the escape pods.”

“So we can drop off the Seiben family while searching for one of the pods?” said Jon.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Good. So I take it we’ll be heading there next?”

“If you are in agreement,” said Bast.

“It works for me,” said Jon. He wondered why Bast kept looking for his approval on decisions like this. It was his ship. Jon and his crew were guests at best. He didn’t need Jon’s approval for anything. It would seem to weaken him as a leader in front of the Chaanisar crew. How would someone like Lieutenant Jarvi see the gesture? Could he really just be extending an olive branch?

Jon felt the creature’s objections. It had a different view of things. The creature seemed to feel Bast was trying to get Jon to drop his guard. He needed Jon to get to Doctor Ellerbeck. Once the brain chips were removed Bast would turn on Jon and his crew. Of that the creature was convinced.

Jon considered the creature’s analysis, and didn’t disagree. They would only search for the Hermes crew until they found the doctor. It was the only reason the Chaanisar even tolerated them being on board. The brain chips were an incredible threat to their new found freedom. Any encounter with the Juttari would see them enslaved again. Removing the brain chips was of paramount concern.

All this talk about uniting the crews was nothing more than a smokescreen. If Bast could get Jon on his side, he could convince the doctor to help. With the brain chips gone the Hermes crew would be seen as a liability and a threat. Bast would show his true colors. The purge would come.

The symbiont was right. He would not allow Bast and the Chaanisar to lull him into a false sense of security. He needed to prepare. If the Chaanisar were going to attack, he would be ready.