by T. R. Harris
“We have scouts searching the canyon floor, but we cannot draw much notice to our activities if we wish to keep our location a secret,” the Klin was saying.
“Your location has already been compromised, Sumonis. You should begin making arrangements to evacuate the population to the secondary location. Cain and his people may not be able to target all the Klin at one time, but they surely won’t hesitate to take out those they can.”
“You have a lot of confidence in the abilities of your fellow Human.”
“Are you not aware of the history of Adam Cain, especially when it comes to his interactions with the Klin?”
“Yes, I am aware. But with our current operation and the precautions we have taken, the allied forces of the Expansion and the Union are no longer a threat. How can one Human make a difference when an entire galaxy stands helpless?”
“That remains to be seen. But the biggest mistake you can make is to underestimate Adam Cain.”
“You mean the recently deceased Adam Cain?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
16
“That has to be the place, half of it is covered in snow,” Copernicus Smith said, looking at the long-range scanner.
Riyad straightened up and looked out the huge, three-sided viewport on the bridge of the Nautilus. “Kaylor, bring us in star-side, and then aim for one of the two moons. We may be able to cover our approach.”
Riyad had worn a perpetual frown for the past week, ever since losing contact with Adam and Sherri. Now that he had a bead on them, he wasn’t feeling any better. There were twenty thousand Klin on that planet, and all he had was a rag-tag team of five and a seventy-year-old freighter with minimal weapons.
“Adam is broadcasting a beacon,” Arieel announced. Her expression mirrored Riyad’s. The only member of the team who seemed enthusiastic about reaching the frozen planet was Jym. He was feeling cocky now that he had the hang of his ATD. He’d perfected the creation of static electricity balls and was making them pop into existence at the most inappropriate times. He was also very good at telepathic communications, to the point where he could invade other people’s private thoughts. Fortunately, the rest of the team had learned the tell-tale signs when he was doing this and told him in no uncertain terms to knock it off. The words airlock and jettison were often used in these admonitions. For the time being, Jym was behaving himself.
Arieel placed a locator marker on Adam’s location, which Riyad displayed on the main screen. He was on the other side of the planet, so Kaylor brought the huge freighter into the atmosphere four thousand miles from the beacon and began hugging the ground at over three thousand miles per hour. When they reached the verdant valleys at the foot of the towering mountain range, he slowed the ship and targeted a particular valley that would get them to their destination, hidden between jagged peaks.
That’s when they noticed Adam’s beacon was moving. A moment later, they got their first direct ATD link with Adam.
Prepare the sickbay with heating blankets. I’m on my way.
Did you say heating blankets?
Yes. Hurry. I’ll be there in three minutes.
Kaylor set the huge ship down in a field of soft snow and opened the portside landing bay doors. By the time the crew made their way aft, Adam was already in the cargo bay and the door was closing. Sherri was unconscious in Adam’s arms. He raced past the others, heading for sickbay.
He placed her on an examination table and began breaking open the sealed pouches holding the heating pads. Space was a cold and dangerous place to make a living, so all starships carried emergency provisions to combat the threat of hypothermia. Helping hands wrapped Sherri in the blankets, and moments later her pink glow returned, replacing the pale blue from before.
“I couldn’t block their scanners,” Adam explained. “They have constant reboots going. And their patrols are out in force with daylight only an hour away. I couldn’t risk them spotting the Nautilus.”
“But how…how did you?” Arieel asked, before letting the question trial off.
“I’ll tell you later.” Kaylor, Adam called out through his ATD. Get us out of here the way you came, and then bolt for space. Get us into a deep-well as soon as you can.
Already underway.
Sherri was sitting up on the table by now, Copernicus hugging her, adding his warmth to that of the blankets.
“You know,” she began through chattering teeth, “I’m going to need a long vacation someplace hot and humid when this is over.”
“I know just the place,” Coop said with a loving smile. “If someone doesn’t send armed sailors after us…again.”
The comment was directed at Adam Cain.
They made it into space and bolted away above the ecliptic. The home of the V’casin—the planet Corfe—was located at the edge of the galaxy, so it was just a short hop before the Nautilus was transiting at full gravity-drive through the fringes of intergalactic space.
The team was assembled on the huge bridge, which provided plenty of room and amenities for the seven of them. There were well-worn leather couches and two plush recliners, plus a full food and beverage prep station. The former flight crew of the freighter wanted to make sure their long transits were made in comfort. Adam and his crew weren’t complaining.
“You. Are. Shitting. Me!” Riyad exclaimed, punctuating each word. “Nigel McCarthy’s son? What are the odds? This is a frigging galaxy after all. You don’t just run into people you half-ass know.”
“It was more than chance, buddy,” Adam explained. “He’s been watching me—and as a consequence, all of you—for quite a while.” He looked at Arieel. “He even has the O’lac Building bugged from top to bottom. He knows what the allies are going to do even before they do.”
“I surmise bugged means surveillance?”
“Exactly.”
“Then I must contact my security personnel immediately and have the building un-bugged.”
Adam nodded, while giving her a wide, warm smile.
“Where do we go from here?” Kaylor asked. “From the story you have just told, the Klin are too disbursed to be eliminated effectively, and the son of Nigel McCarthy is planning attacks on planets far into the Expansion. What can we do to stop him?”
Adam looked at his Belsonian friend and shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, we’re going to need some help.”
“Help?” Jym asked. “From who…or is it whom in Human-speak?”
“What kind of help?” Arieel asked. Adam could tell by her tone she already knew the answer.
Sherri spoke next. “Mutant-type help, right?”
“And exactly how are you going to make that happen?” Riyad asked. “They disappeared a couple of years ago and haven’t been seen since. You would think if they were in the Milky Way they would have come to help long before this. Lila’s not about to let her mom and dad get hurt, not if she can help it. And you know Panur will do anything she wants. He’s the most pussy-whipped immortal mutant genius I’ve ever met in my life.”
“And how many pussy-whipped immortal mutant geniuses have you met?” Adam questioned.
“Enough to know.” Riyad flashed his trademark smile.
“They’re probably in another dimension and unaware of what we face,” Jym stated.
“That’s why we’re going to Earth,” Adam announced.
“How is going to Earth…the TD ship!” Sherri said.
“That’s right,” Adam confirmed.
“But it doesn’t work,” Coop pointed out. “They rebuilt most of it, but they still can’t get the power supply right.”
“Then we’re just going to have to fix it ourselves.”
“They won’t let you have it, Adam,” Riyad said. “They consider the technology on that ship—even broken technology—to be the greatest threat to the galaxy. I tend to agree with them. The Klin are bastards enough. Imagine what they could do—or the Nuoreans—if they had trans-dimensional travel technology.
They could pop in and out of the galaxy on a whim and no one could stop them.”
“We can, once we get the ship working.”
“Using your mutant super brain power, I suppose?” Sherri asked sarcastically. “Your super intelligence didn’t help us on that planet back there. All it did was tell you to go jump off a cliff…and you did.”
“It saved our lives, sweetheart…if you recall.”
“You really think you can do it?” Riyad asked sincerely.
Adam grimaced. “I can’t think of anything else. I can’t do all this on my own—”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence in the rest of us, asshole,” Sherri said.
“You know what I mean.”
Sherri gave him a conciliatory smile.
“So, we’re going to steal the Najmah Fayd….” Riyad stated.
“That’s the plan,” Adam said. Then he frowned. “But if we do—and we get the damn thing working again—can you grant me one little favor?”
“What’s that?”
“Can we change the name of the ship to something a little easier to pronounce?”
Riyad snapped his head back in surprise and indignation. “How dare you suggest that Najmah Fayd is hard to pronounce. It rolls off my tongue like…like it was in my native language.”
“Good for you,” Sherri spoke up. “But I’m with Adam on this one.”
“Me too,” added Copernicus.
The three aliens didn’t care. They spoke the words Star Panther in their native language and the translation bugs did the rest.
Riyad pursed his lips before nodding. “I seem to be outvoted. Fine, call it the Captain Kangaroo for all I care.”
“It was thinking more along the lines of—”
“Don’t tell me…the Enterprise, right?” Sherri interrupted.
“No, the Defiant…because that’s what we are: defiant and determined.”
“We have to steal the ship first,” Coop pointed out.
Adam smiled as he took in the faces around him. “I have no doubt that such a skilled and determined crew as this can pull that off without a hitch.”
No one cheered at Adam’s feeble attempt to enlist enthusiasm for his plan…while Riyad mumbled: “I kinda liked Najmah Fayd….”
17
Seventeen thousand light-years. That was how far the Klin world of Corfer was from Earth, a journey of four-and-a-half months. In the war with the Klin, that was a lifetime for a number of races, creatures who had evolved on their homeworlds over millions of years, only to have ninety-nine percent of their population wiped out over a couple of weeks. An estimated fifty worlds or more would be attacked during the transit. Some would be spared, most would not.
For Adam and his crew, it was an excruciatingly frustrating time. While the seven members of the team essentially sat around twiddling their thumbs, the Klin continued their offensive. And if Robert McCarthy had spoken the truth, the Klin would also destroy the most-heavily populated world of the campaign so far—the planet Bannokfore. It was one of the thirteen ruling planets of the Advisory Council. Its loss would be a shock to the galaxy.
The only consolation to the Nautilus’ snail’s pace journey through the impossible-to-imagine distances of intergalactic space was that Continual Wormhole technology allowed the team to stay in touch with Formil and Earth. This way Adam could do his part for the war effort, until the time came for him to take it over.
It came within one vote of the Humans being expelled from the Advisory Council. The fact that most aliens in the galaxy didn’t like Humans came as no surprise to Ambassador Ashton Hill. What did surprise him was the representative who cast the deciding vote. It was the Juirean Overlord Zaxis fe Rendor.
Hill had most of his belongings already packed and ready for the long journey back to Earth, a trip he didn’t look forward to, but an outcome he welcomed. He was tired of all the aliens he had to deal with, and he missed the familiar warmth and glow from his native sun. The Expansion was in a state of flux, and no one was willing to compromise on anything. The politics were too caustic and the beliefs too ingrained. During the seventeen months he’d been on the Council he couldn’t remember a single time when any of the members changed their minds on a subject, set instead with their initial reaction. That wasn’t how negotiation worked, or how councils were supposed to operate. Sure, consensus was formed and decisions made within the thirteen-member council, but that was simply because a majority expressed their pre-ordained opinions and voted accordingly in the odd-numbered chamber.
That was why the Juirean’s vote came as a surprise. The pre-ordained position of the Juireans had always been to counter whatever the upstart Humans wanted. It was like that with most of the member worlds—counteracting factions against predicable opponents. Hill had already considered the Juirean as being on the other side. But that wasn’t the case.
“This is an outrage,” shouted the Criminean Endender Das. “The Humans refuse to assist the Expansion, and therefore there is no reason to keep them on the Council.”
“We are not refusing to help,” Hill said in his defense. Half his brain wanted to continue the debate; the other half was thinking what a bitch it was going to be having to unpack when the meeting concluded. “We have supplied hundreds of nuclear weapons for the defense of Bannokfore, and to a lesser degree, Silea. And you must remember it was a Human—Adam Cain—who brought us the news of the impending attacks, allowing time for us to prepare a defense.”
“If Bannokfore is indeed the target of this Klin advisor, this Robert McCarthy—a Human I might add.” The Gacian representative Pinsion—just one name, Pinsion—had voted against Ashton remaining on the Council. He had argued emphatically that Cain’s report was just a diversion on the part of McCarthy, a way to draw precious resources from the real target. Ashton then asked where was the Klin’s real target, since he was so sure it wasn’t Bannokfore? He didn’t have an answer. It was one of those cases where he’d already made up his mind and no amount of facts or logic was going to change it.
The Bannokfore and Silean reps split their vote. The Bannokfore were pissed that the Humans would not send military ships to defend the planet, or even take over operational command of some of the units on an official basis, conceding the Humans’ talent at war. They did an end run by appointing a Human who was working for them on a contract basis to be the supreme commander of their defense force. The Sileans, on the other hand, had always supported the Human Orion-Cygnus Union, being as close to the border between the two galactic empires as they were. They figured the Humans would come to their rescue should the Klin attack. As it was, the current front was fifteen thousand light-years away from Earth, and Bannokfore was even farther than that. The Humans couldn’t see how this was their fight…at least not yet.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
Adam had told the leaders on Earth of Robert McCarthy’s plan to save the planet for himself. At the moment, that seemed a better option than a Klin invasion. No one on the planet believed for a second that the Klin would accept an offer of surrender from the Humans. It would be an all-out slaughter if they ever reached Earth. If McCarthy wanted to take over, at least it would be a Human in control, and not some silver-skinned lunatic alien race.
Of course, the Council didn’t know this. All they knew was that the Humans were withholding their resources, military might and combat expertise from the Expansion. Although most races resented the Humans, they acknowledged their fighting skills. And fighting skill was what was needed against the Klin.
But Earth didn’t want to antagonize the Klin—or especially Robert McCarthy—if it could buy them time, or in the worst case, save the population from extinction by falling under McCarthy’s thumb.
So, in a fit of anger, the Council voted to expel the Humans.
Ashton knew the Juirean Overlord well. He knew how pragmatic the creature was, and how he probably reasoned that keeping the Humans around might make them change their minds about contributi
ng more to the war effort. He also knew what badass military commanders Humans were. Even now—in spite of the official line from Earth—a fair number of rogue Human military personnel were chomping at the bit to lead a squad—or a fleet—against the Klin. They may die in the process, but this was what they lived for, if that made sense. And a juicy galactic war was right up their alley.
“I’m sure all of you know the history of the Klin’s manipulation of the Human race through the use of what were called Second Generation Humans—the 2Gs. McCarthy has never been to Earth. All he knows of his blood race is what he’s been told by the Klin and his murderous father. He’s as much Human as you are, Representative Pinsion.”
“Then why did not the very accomplished Adam Cain kill him when he was in his presence? Could it be he could not come to kill another Human?”
Ashton smiled. “Cain has killed plenty of 2G Humans, including Nigel McCarthy, Robert’s father. Believe me, if the opportunity had presented itself, he would have taken it.”
“This bickering amongst ourselves is non-productive,” said First Corusant U’lac Vision, the titular head of the Council. “The vote had been recorded; Ambassador Hill will remain as a voice for the Human Union.” The Formilians were the Humans staunchest allies on the Council; their vote was never in doubt. “As to the contributions the Humans wish to make in defense of the Expansion, any efforts will be welcome.”
“We will do what we can, First Corusant,” Ashton said. “And now, what is the status of the defense efforts?”
Endender Das flexed his lips at the Human, which Ashton knew was a sign of conciliation. “Yes, with other matters,’ said the alien. “Even without the Human ships or operational commanders, a fleet has embarked for Bannokfore, arriving in fourteen standard days. We have dispatched a small fleet for Silea, on the chance Bannokfore was merely a diversion. Each system will be supplied with a several hundred nuclear weapons in the form of mines and missiles. Fleet ships will be instructed to maintain a safe distance of at least five million miles from the black ships—the VN-91s, as they are designated. In the meantime, evacuations are underway on a grand scale, including vital records and historical artifacts. Bannokfore is thirty-eight standard days from the Klin front at maximum deep-well. It does not give us much time, and currently there is panic on the surface, making evacuation operations more difficult. Silea is much farther away, unless the Klin use unknown forces to launch an attack. Let us just hope our evacuation of Bannokfore will not been for nothing.”