Read Online Ronin (The Pike Chronicles Book 3) by G. P. Hudson - Free Book Online Page A

Colonel, I had no involvement in what was done to the Captain. I was only brought in after he was assigned to the Hermes project. My role was merely to advise the Captain, and take over the mission if he lost control.”
    “Lost control of what?”
    “Captain Pike had a Diakan symbiont implanted into his body.”
    Bast’s stomach tightened, reminding him of the Juttari technology in his own body. “Why would you do something like that?”
    “Look no farther than yourself, Colonel. Your Juttari implants have made you a super soldier. A formidable opponent on any battlefield. Diakans are not slavers, like the Juttari. Still, Diakus wanted a way to counter your effectiveness. A symbiont was genetically engineered for Captain Pike. It was able to augment his own physical capabilities. Unlike your implants, the symbiont is a living, sentient being. Diakans have long lived in harmony with their symbionts. If humans could successfully host Diakan symbionts, their augmented capabilities would make them a powerful asset for Diakus.”
    “You bastards,” said Bast, struggling to control his emotions. “You’re no better than the Juttari.”
    “On the contrary, Colonel,” said Tallos, in that infuriatingly even tone. “We are very different from the Juttari. We have not abducted any children. We have not enslaved anyone. Captain Pike volunteered for the experiment.”
    They were slavers. They were simply better at hiding it. If they implanted humans with Diakan symbionts, weren’t the human hosts now part Diakan? If the symbionts were sentient, did they not have their own loyalties? Could Diakus not command the symbionts? Could the symbionts in turn not command their human hosts? The pieces suddenly came together.
    “You lost control of the symbiont,” he said, pointing a finger at the smug Diakan.
    Tallos blinked. “We did not control the symbiont in the way you are suggesting. It is not a brain chip. The symbiont was supposed to enhance the Captain’s strategic and tactical abilities, yet the Captain behaved irrationally. In that regard the experiment failed.”
    “Because the Captain tried to rescue the Reivers?”
    “Yes.”
    Bast wondered what might be going on inside the Captain. Was there some hidden battle waging between him and his Diakan symbiont? Was he fighting for control of his own body? Bast knew how that felt. The Juttari dictated his actions his whole life. Had the symbiont done the same to Captain Pike? Tallos believed that the experiment failed. Perhaps it indicated that Captain Pike had won out over the symbiont.
    “How do you think the Captain will behave moving forward?” said Bast, still trying to understand.
    “Have you not heard what I just said? The Captain is irrational. How can I predict what he will do?”
    “Try.”
    “If the symbiont still has influence, my guess is it will see you as a threat and act accordingly.”
    “That doesn’t make sense. We rescued him and his crew.”
    “You are expecting gratitude? Interesting. That is a human way of thinking. Perhaps your humanity will prevail after all. The symbiont, however, is not encumbered by these notions. It will view things rationally. Like a Diakan. It will deduce that the only reason you have rescued the Captain and his crew is because you need to find Doctor Ellerbeck. They can convince her that it is safe to remove your brain chips. Once that task is performed, you will have no use of the Hermes crew. At that point you become a threat.”
    “The symbiont will make the Captain act first.”
    “If it still has influence over him, yes.”
    “Let’s assume that is the case. What could he do against a ship full of Chaanisar soldiers?”
    “I do not know, but I would be concerned if I were you.”

Chapter 12
     
    The youthful Prime Minister of New Byzantium, Christopher Sallas, studied the stern face on the screen in front of him. The gray haired man reminded him of a derelict freighter, long past its prime.
    “I still