Interstellar War (The Pike Chronicles Book 5) Read Online Free Page A

colonies.”
    “Did you?” said Krasnik. “Is that where you picked up your Chaanisar friends?”
    “Some,” said Jon, sitting back down on the cot. “It’s a long story.”
    “We’ve got plenty of time, Captain. That is, unless your friends start bombing us again.”
    “That isn’t going to happen, Admiral.”
    The Admiral waved his hand, dismissively. “Let’s start at the beginning. What happened to the Hermes?”
    “It was destroyed,” said Jon, with a sigh.
    “Destroyed? How?”
    “I ordered it to self destruct.”
    “There are no limits to your treachery,” said Lewis, his face red with anger. “Did you slaughter your crew too?”
    “Admiral, do we need to have civilians present?” said Jon.
    “How dare you?” said Lewis. “I’m the head of Earth’s government.”
    “You’re a Diakan puppet, and a pompous ass.”
    The President rose from his chair pointing a finger at Jon. “I’ll see to it that you hang for your crimes.”
    “Please sit down, Mr. President,” said Admiral Krasnik. “This is a military investigation, not a witch hunt.”
    “I won’t let this traitor speak to me that way,” said Lewis, his face nearly purple now.
    “Mr. President, you are here as a courtesy, but this is a military matter.”
    “What are you saying, Admiral?”
    “I am saying that you are free to observe the proceedings, and ask questions, but I will not tolerate anymore outbursts.”
    President Lewis looked flabbergasted, but didn’t seem willing to challenge the Admiral. Krasnik turned his attention back to Jon. “You were saying, Captain.”
    Jon could see why Admiral Krasnik ran Space Force. Out of respect for the Admiral, he decided to cooperate. “Why don’t I start at the beginning. When we left Sol, we were ambushed by a Juttari heavy cruiser after our first jump. The Juttari ship had jump technology, and also knew our jump path, leaving no doubt that Space Force had been compromised.”
    “Or further implicating you, Captain,” said Lewis.
    The Admiral glared briefly at Lewis. “Continue, Captain.”
    “I planned an ambush of my own, and waited for the Juttari in a system two-hundred-and-fifty light years from Sol. While there, we discovered a previously unknown human colony, and jump gate.”
    “But our data shows that the colonies are supposed to be well over a thousand light years away, not two-fifty.”
    “That is correct, Admiral. These weren’t the colonies we were looking for. We don’t know how these people ended up in that system, and neither do they. We assume they probably came through the jump gate at some point, maybe originally from the main colonies themselves. Either way, these people identified themselves as Reivers.”
    “Reivers?”
    “Yes. They used their jump gate to cross into alien space where they would reive, which is another way of saying they raided alien space.”
    “So you’re saying these people are criminals?”
    “No, Sir. Not exactly. It is their way of life. They raided the territory of the Kemmar Empire. The Kemmar are an aggressive alien species previously unknown to us.”
    “I see. And how far away from Sol is this Kemmar Empire?”
    “Based on our calculations, they are roughly eleven-hundred-and-fifty light years away from Sol.”
    The Admiral nodded. “What happened next?”
    “A Kemmar battleship crossed through the jump gate looking for the human colony.”
    “That isn’t surprising, is it?” said Lewis. “These people admitted to raiding Kemmar space. What did they think would happen?”
    “The Reivers had lived this way for centuries. They didn’t know any different. The Kemmar had no knowledge of the jump gate up until that moment.”
    “Did you make first contact with these Kemmar?” said Admiral Krasnik.
    “Yes. They told us they were annexing the system, and that they would fire on us if we didn’t leave. So we left.”
    “You left?”
    “Yes, in order to take them by surprise. We then jumped back into the