Cursed Stars: A Space Opera Adventure (The Pike Chronicles Book 11) Read online

  CURSED STARS

  Book 11 of The Pike Chronicles

  G.P. Hudson

  © 2019

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  The Pike Chronicles:

  Sol Shall Rise – Book 1 of The Pike Chronicles

  Prevail – Book 2 of The Pike Chronicles

  Ronin – Book 3 of The Pike Chronicles

  Ghost Fleet – Book 4 of The Pike Chronicles

  Interstellar War – Book 5 of The Pike Chronicles

  Vanquish – Book 6 of The Pike Chronicles

  Galactic Empire – Book 7 of The Pike Chronicles

  Armada – Book 8 of The Pike Chronicles

  Galactic War – Book 9 of The Pike Chronicles

  Galactic Vanguard – Book 10 of The Pike Chronicles

  Cursed Stars – Book 11 of The Pike Chronicles

  Fall of the Terran Empire:

  War Without End – Fall of the Terran Empire Book 1

  The Tortuous Path – Fall of the Terran Empire Book 2

  This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in the book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form, other than for review purposes, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

  Cover art by Tom Edwards

  Chapter 1

  The UHSF battleship Vigilant jumped into a planetary system dominated by a giant red star. Captain Pietersma stood stoically on the battleship’s bustling bridge. Admiral Jon Pike had personally given Pietersma this odd assignment and the seasoned veteran was determined to see it through, despite its unusual nature.

  Upon confirming the coordinates, Pietersma looked over at the unique Chaanisar mercenary standing to his left. “This is it, Jamie. Do you feel anything?”

  “No, Sir,” Jamie said. “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure?” Pietersma said, wondering again if he was on a wild goose chase.

  Jamie nodded. “The Guardian has not contacted me, although this is the star system I saw in my vision.”

  “You’re sure you saw this star system?”

  Admiral Pike had briefed PIetersma on Jamie’s transformation. The immortals known as the Erinyie had triggered the change somehow. Jamie went from a highly capable warrior to someone with superhuman abilities.

  But it didn’t stop there. He evolved into something akin to the Diakan See’er and had strange visions that sometimes foretold the future.

  Both the Erinyie and the Antikitheri considered him an anomaly. The Antikitheri even tried to kill him. Why?

  Why did they want him dead, and why did these supremely powerful beings fail in their task? It seemed impossible that Jamie could have fought them off, and yet the Admiral assured him that it all happened.

  So, when Jamie said he needed to see the Guardian of the Gate, another strange being that defied comprehension, Admiral Pike tasked Pietersma with the mission.

  “Don’t you believe him?” a dark-haired young woman in a UHSF uniform said. Her name was Anki, but to most of the ship, she was known as Lieutenant Pike. Her stepfather was Admiral Jon Pike.

  “I didn’t say that,” Pietersma said. The Admiral’s stepdaughter was romantically involved with Jamie, adding another layer of complexity to the issue.

  “The visions are real,” Anki said defiantly.

  “I don’t doubt that they are.” Despite the briefing, Pietersma was still skeptical about Jamie’s so-called visions.

  “There,” Jamie said, pointing at the main viewscreen. “That planet. In my vision, one of its moons spoke to me.”

  Pietersma verified that Jamie correctly referred to the fifth planet in the system. “You’re right. That is where the Guardian reportedly came from when Admiral Pike encountered him, and he did appear as a moon.”

  Anki folded her arms in front of her chest and gave Pietersma an ‘I told you so’ look.

  “The report also says that the Guardian activated a galactic jump gate, but I have no interest in traveling to the Andromeda galaxy,” Pietersma said, referring to the Admiral’s quest several years before to find the mythical Antikitheri.

  “Understandable,” Jamie said. “Perhaps we need to be patient?”

  “Sure,” Pietersma said. “I intend to complete my mission. Tell me again why you think the Guardian wanted you to come here?”

  “It is hard to explain, but it is like the time I felt the need to go down to the Dvorkan planet where I encountered the Antikitheri. It is a compelling urge.”

  Due to the nature of this mission, Admiral Pike gave Pietersma access to top-secret files documenting Jamie’s changes and his encounters with the immortal aliens. “The Antikitheri tried to kill you that time. What if the Guardian wants to do the same?”

  “Contact!” the weapons officer announced. “One of the moons orbiting the fifth planet has broken orbit. It’s on an intercept course. Sir, I’m reading massive energy fluctuations. It’s firing!”

  “Sound general quarters,” Pietersma ordered. “All available power to shields.”

  On the screen, a massive surge of blue energy erupted from the moon and raced through space toward the battleship.

  “Jump system is offline,” the navigation officer said.

  We’re sitting ducks, Pietersma thought.

  The reports described a similar experience when the Admiral encountered the Guardian. It had not harmed them that time, and Pietersma hoped this time would not be any different.

  The fighter in him readied for a scrap, however. Jamie’s transformation had spooked the Erinyie and the Antikitheri. Who was to say that it wouldn’t do the same to the Guardian? What if the Guardian gave Jamie the vision as a ploy to bring him here and kill him?

  Pietersma gave his head a shake. No point worrying about something he couldn’t control. The Guardian seemed omnipotent. If it wanted them dead, there was nothing they could do about it, simple as that.

  This energy beam, for example, raced across an immense distance without dissipating. During the last encounter with the Guardian, Admiral Pike tried to outrun the beam, but it merely followed his ships.

  Knowing he couldn’t evade it, Pietersma just waited for it to reach them. They were all at the Guardian’s mercy the moment they entered the system. Nothing they did could change that now.

  The beam hit and expanded. It stretched out until it enveloped the Vigilant. All ship systems went dark.

  Pietersma’s console blinked off, as did all the rest of the consoles and systems on the bridge. The main lights were next to go, but the backups kicked in, providing enough light for everyone to see. The backup lights were made of luminescent strips and didn’t need power to work. They would last for at least a full day before failing.

  Pietersma gripped his console. “Gravity will fail next,” he said to Jamie and Anki. “I’d grab onto something.”

  As expected, their feet rose off the ground. Pietersma waited anxiously to see if the Guardian would kill them. The last time the ship life support systems continued to function. Would today be any different?

  Pietersma noticed that Jamie hadn’t held onto anything and now floated up toward the ceiling. Anki noticed too and called
out to him, but Jamie didn’t respond. He neither spoke nor moved a muscle. He seemed frozen.

  “He’s having a vision,” Anki said.

  “Is he talking to the Guardian?” Pietersma said.

  “I don’t know.”

  ***

  Greetings, child of darkness, a voice said in Jamie’s mind.

  Jamie floated in space before the celestial body. He did not wear an environmental suit but had no trouble breathing in the void. “Hello moon, or should I call you the Guardian?”

  I am the Guardian of the Gate, among other things. I have also taken the form of a moon. Both references apply.

  “Okay, why am I here, moon?”

  You came of your own free will, child of darkness. The answer is not mine to give.

  “That’s not true. I felt that I had to come here. Are you saying you had nothing to do with that?”

  What do you seek?

  “Answers.”

  For answers, you need questions. It seems you are not ready. The moon began to move away from Jamie.

  “Wait! Come back. I am ready.”

  The moon stopped. What do you seek, child of darkness?

  “What is happening to me?”

  You are an anomaly. You bring randomness.

  “That is what the Antikitheri said. They said I destabilized the continuum and tried to kill me. Why?”

  The Antikitheri desire order above all else. Your existence threatens that order.

  “What about the Erinyie? What do they desire?”

  The Erinyie sow chaos and despair. They have bathed you in darkness, drowned you in blood.

  “I am not like the Erinyie. I escaped. They no longer control me.”

  Irrelevant.

  Jamie felt his anger rise but stifled it. Was the Guardian trying to antagonize him? Was this some kind of test? “You said that I am an anomaly. Are the Antikitheri and Erinyie anomalies as well?”

  Why ask questions you already know the answers to?

  “Are you an anomaly?”

  Have other moons spoken to you?

  “Are there other anomalies?”

  The universe is vast. You struggle to grasp but a fragment.

  “How many anomalies are there?”

  How many stars illuminate the void?

  “This is not helping, moon. I am just as confused as I was before coming here. Maybe even more confused.”

  Is knowledge not won through hard experience?

  “Yes. I believe that is true.”

  Do you expect to earn knowledge without cost?

  “No. Of course not.”

  Until we meet again, child of darkness.

  The moon moved away from Jamie just as a great shimmering field took shape before him. Jamie instantly recognized it. A jump gate. Yet it dwarfed any jump gate he had ever seen before. It could only be the galactic jump gate Jon had mentioned.

  Without warning, the field began to spin, accelerating until it became a celestial whirlpool. Jamie felt something pull at him, subtle at first, and then with greater force.

  He started moving toward the giant portal with increasing speed. Jamie flayed his arms and legs, trying to reverse his forward motion. He failed. Nothing he did could prevent what was happening. Futilely, he continued to kick and thrash until he was sucked into the galactic maelstrom.

  Chapter 2

  Back on Earth, Admiral Jon Pike stood before a holographic map of the galaxy. His long-time friend, Vice Admiral Kevin St. Clair stood beside him. Like Jon, Kevin had a special forces background, and the two had fought together too many times to count.

  “Can we trust Emperor Kriss to keep his word?” Kevin said, referring to the Emperor of the Dvorkan Empire. Jon had recently helped the Emperor keep his throne in a civil war, where the Antikitheri had backed a group of Dvorkan generals against him.

  “For now,” Jon said. “Kriss has enough problems at home to deal with. It’ll be some time before he tries to expand his borders again.”

  “Good. The Dvorkans were an unnecessary distraction.”

  “There have been too many distractions these past few years, but I think we can finally get back to our real goal.”

  “The goddamn Juttari,” Kevin said.

  Jon nodded. “I spoke to General Tallos, and he is anxious to go on the offensive.”

  Tallos was a Diakan and a valuable ally. Jon and Tallos had a complicated past. One where they were often pitted against each other. But all that changed when the Diakan oracle, the Great See’er, recognized Jon as being ‘of the Temple’. To a Diakan, that made Jon holy and any hostility Tallos felt toward Jon vanished.

  “Doesn’t Tallos have his hands full rebuilding Diakan planets?” Kevin said, referring to the Erinyie destruction of the Diakan homeworld and many other populated planets.

  “Tallos is a soldier first. He’s put a civilian administrator in charge to oversee the cleanup. He’s ready to take the fight to the Juttari and believes that an offensive will give Diakus room to rebuild.”

  “No doubt. The Diakans are nowhere near as strong as they once were. The Juttari might be tempted to try and take a few star systems from them before they regain their strength.”

  “That is what Tallos thinks, and I agree with him. The Juttari are isolated. The Erinyie will not intervene directly to help them, and neither can the Kemmar.”

  “What about the Kemmar?” Kevin said. “Aren’t you worried about that nanoweapon?”

  “Sure, but they have no way of getting it off-planet. Our forces have orders to glass anyone trying to leave their homeworld without clearance.”

  “I know, but I’d sleep better with that threat gone.”

  “Me too,” Jon said. “But, despite all the things I’ve done in my life, genocide is not something I am willing to consider.”

  “The Kemmar wouldn’t hesitate to wipe us out,” Kevin said.

  “We’re not the Kemmar. Look, even the Kemmar must know that if they did somehow manage to use that weapon on us that we would eradicate their civilization in response. How would that benefit them?”

  “I don’t know, but they’re not human, and we can’t assume that they will think things through like a human would. From their point of view, it might be worth it. Who knows?”

  “Would you glass them if the choice was yours?” Jon said.

  Kevin thought about it for a few seconds. “Yeah, I would. They ate Private Denney right in front of me. When I close my eyes, I hear his screams. They hung up half the Reiver colony on meat hooks. They would have sold the rest into slavery. If you ask me, the galaxy would be better off without them.”

  “What about the Juttari?”

  “Seriously? Humanity lived under their boot for five centuries. They stole and violated our children. Yeah, you’re damn right I would wipe them out. Without question. Wouldn’t you?”

  “I don’t know,” Jon said sincerely. “What I do know is that millions of Juttari will die before I’m done. Do I need to exterminate them? I think I’ve got plenty of blood on my hands already. It might be more satisfying subjecting the Juttari to human rule for a few centuries.”

  “I suppose,” Kevin said pensively, though Jon didn’t think he changed his friend’s mind.

  The truth was that Jon felt the same not too long ago, and part of him still did. Would he eradicate the Juttari if he had the chance? He wasn’t sure. He grew up hating the vile creatures, and none of that had changed. He still hated them and wanted to kill as many as he could. But to wipe out an entire race? He didn’t know if he could go that far, even if it were the Juttari.

  Was he foolish? Many would argue that he was. If the Juttari were given the opportunity, they would kill every last human in the galaxy. The same held true for the Kemmar. That the Juttari had not done so during the occupation was irrelevant. Humanity was not a threat then.

  So why should he treat them any different? Because he was human, and that meant something. Humans were not the same as the genocidal beasts of the unive
rse. He needed to hang on to that lest he plunge headlong into the abyss.

  “What about Anki and Jamie?” Kevin said, pulling Jon out of his thoughts. “Why are they going to find this Guardian?”

  Jon shook his head. “It has to do with Jamie’s visions. I don’t really understand it.”

  “Do you believe Jamie can see the future?”

  “I don’t know what to believe after everything I’ve seen. But it all started after his encounter with the Erinyie on the planet Kem. For all we know the Erinyie could be manipulating him.”

  “Okay, let’s say they are. Why would they want Jamie to see the Guardian?”

  “I have no idea,” Jon said. “I do know that the Antikitheri tried to kill him over it and almost killed Anki in the process. They called him an anomaly.”

  “He is a strange guy.”

  “No argument there. It’s probably nothing, but I didn’t want to dismiss it if there was something to it. They might discover something valuable.”

  Kevin shrugged. “The Vigilant is a bruiser, and Captain Pietersma is a good man. They shouldn’t have any trouble looking after themselves.”

  Chapter 3

  “All available power to engines,” Captain Pietersma barked. “Do not let this ship enter that jump gate.”

  “Engines are not responding, Sir,” the helmsman said.

  “Can we jump?” Pietersma said.

  “Negative. Jump system is still offline.”

  Pietersma glared at the enormous portal on the viewscreen reeling his ship in. He then turned to Jamie, who was back on his feet after crashing into the deck when gravity returned. “What the hell happened? Did you talk to the Guardian?”

  “Yes,” Jamie said. “He said knowledge had a cost, and then the jump gate appeared.”

  “A cost? What kind of cost?”

  “I don’t know, Captain,” Jamie said. “He gave odd answers to my questions. I told him I was confused, and he asked if I expected to earn knowledge without cost. I said no, and that was when the portal appeared.”