Free Ghost Fleet (The Pike Chronicles Book 4) by G. P. Hudson Page B

carrier?” said Jon. “I thought that was his flagship?”
    “There is another carrier. It has been undergoing repairs. As has the destroyer.”
    “What about recruits?”
    “He’s agreed to recruiting on a voluntary basis. He is going to give the option to the carrier crew first.”
    “Good. Their experience will be valuable, and we’ll need the pilots
    “I’ll arrange access for your people to the two ships. You should be able to begin the retrofits soon. Do you have everything you need?”
    “The Ronin’s fabricator is making the necessary parts needed for the jump systems, and Doctor Ellerbeck is helping Mr. Singh.”
    “Are you sure we can trust him?”
    “No, I’m not. But we don’t have any choice. We need him for this to work.”
    “Yes, but what if he sabotages the ships?”
    “Don’t worry, Prime Minister. He’ll be watched the entire time. If he so much as twitches the wrong way, I’ll know about it.”

Chapter 15
     
    Tallos sat in his cell, meditating on his home. Could he even call it home anymore? He had been away so long that he had difficulty remembering the intoxicating scents of his gardens, or the sounds of the ocean crashing against the rocks below. He saw his children, but knew they looked different by now. Would they remember him? Or was he just another story? The father who loved them, but never came home. Would they ever see him? Or would he spend the rest of his days on this cursed vessel.
    He considered his predicament. Imprisoned on a Juttari warship, thousands of light years from Diakus. Even if he could free himself, his chances of reaching home were practically non-existent. Of course, he could try and commandeer the ship and use its jump system to get home. How hard could that be? There was only the few hundred Chaanisar super-soldiers standing in his way. No, his chances were nonexistent. He would rot in here, unless somehow Diakus found him.
    That last thought intrigued him. The jump system was created through human and Diakan cooperation. It stood to reason that there would soon be a fleet of Diakan jump ships. How long would it take until one of them found the colonies? Unfortunately, they would have no idea he was here. All they would see was a Juttari warship. Nothing more. No, his prospects were grim indeed.
    His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the brig door opening, and footsteps approaching his cell. He knew those footsteps. They belonged to Captain Pike, the instrument of his misfortune. As the footfalls approached his cell, Tallos opened his eyes. There he stood, the cause of all his troubles. The man who destroyed the Hermes. The man who imprisoned him. Captain Jon Pike. And inside Pike lay his Diakan symbiont. A traitor to its own kind.
    “Special Envoy, or should I say General? I don’t know anymore. It’s been a long time since we spoke last,” said Captain Pike.
    “A longer wait would have been agreeable,” said Tallos. Did Pike come here to mock him? If that was his game, then he would be sorely disappointed.
    “This is your lucky day, Tallos,” said Captain Pike, with a wry grin.
    “How can it be lucky if I have to endure your presence?” Tallos spat.
    “Apparently miracles do happen. You are being freed.”
    “Really, Captain, this is beneath even you. Are you so bored that you need to come here and play such childish games?”
    Pike chuckled. “I have to admit, this is funny, in a perverse sort of way.”
    “Is that so? Well, now that you have had your fun, perhaps you will leave so I can return to my meditation.”
    “Yeah, as much as I’d like to leave you here, Tallos, it’s not going to happen. Don’t get me wrong. It pains me to let you go, but I don’t really have much choice.”
    Tallos took in a deep breath. Whatever game Pike was playing, he would not give him the satisfaction of getting angry. “As you wish, Captain. Stay if you like, but I am returning to my meditation.” With that out of the way, Tallos closed