Prevail (The Pike Chronicles Book 2) by G.P. Hudson

Juttari mind control?”
    “I can answer that question, Sergeant,” said Bast, seated a fair distance away from them.
    “You’ve got good ears,” said Henderson.
    “Juttari augmentation,” said Bast, pointing to his ears.
    “So how did you do it?”
    “One of the first things the Juttari did after they kidnapped us was to implant their chips into our brains. Those chips allowed them to control everything we did. They took away our free will.”
    “What changed?”
    “After our battle we lost your ship. We jumped around for days searching for you. Finally we retraced our steps and jumped back into the binary system. It was there that we found you, only you were already engaged in battle with the Kemmar battleship. Fascinated, we hid and watched the events unfold. Watched your ship jump after being boarded. Watched the Kemmar take the colony your ship was obviously trying to defend. And watched the Kemmar activate a jump gate and leave. A jump gate we never knew existed.
    “The Juttari Master ordered us to cross through the gate and follow the Kemmar battleship. We did, staying back a safe distance so as not to be detected. We followed the Kemmar to this planet. Watched them drop off their prisoners and waited. The Master was convinced that you would again try and rescue these colonists. And he was right. So we watched your tragic attack. And your eventual defeat.”
    “That’s all very interesting, but you still haven’t told us how you managed to overcome your Juttari masters,” said Henderson.
    “That, Sergeant, is the fascinating part. Every Juttari ship carries a system that emits a powerful broadcast intended specifically to exert control over our chips. These systems are in place throughout Juttari space. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that these systems go wherever we go. They are our shackles.
    “On this particular mission, however, something went wrong. The system stopped broadcasting. The effect, as you can imagine, was quite a shock. After all those years our thoughts were once again our own. At first we expected the malfunction to be discovered. There was no way it would last. But it did. And something else happened. As we watched you battle the Kemmar against such overwhelming odds, we were inspired. We wanted to fight with you. To fight for humanity.”
    “Why didn’t you?”
    “We had to fight for ourselves first. We had all spent a lifetime under the control of the Juttari Empire. To rise against the Juttari seemed… insurmountable. After your defeat on Kerces, our Master gave the order to head back home, and that was when we knew we had to act. Regardless of the malfunction on our ship, we knew the moment we were back in Juttari space we would fall under Juttari control again. So we rose up and killed every Juttari master on board. Then we decided to rescue you.”
    “What if the system on your ship starts broadcasting again?”
    “It won’t. We destroyed it during our uprising. The only thing that will control us again is a return to Juttari space. Which is why we need your help.”
    “You said that before,” said Kevin. “What is it you think we can do for you?”
    “We want our chips removed.”
    Kevin laughed. “We’re soldiers. How are we supposed to do that?”
    “You can’t, but your doctor can.”
    “Our doctor isn’t with us.”
    “No, she isn’t. But your people escaped from the Hermes before it was destroyed. We believe your doctor escaped too, and we’re going to find her.”
     

Chapter 24
     
    “Are you going to do it?” said Breeah.
    “Jansen’s mission?” said Jon.
    “Yes.”
    “I haven’t decided. We know nothing about what is going on here.”
    Breeah walked over to a window and looked out at the cluster of buildings surrounding them.
    “It is very crowded here. They all live on top of each other.”
    “A big difference from the parks and trees we saw on the flight in,” said Jon.
    “If you go on this mission I am coming