by T. R. Harris
“Yes, my Lord.”
The accompanying flash was significantly dimmer than the first, as only eighty mines were left to stop the Klin’s retreat. The ships were moving, but not as expected.
With lasers shooting from the surface of the hulls like needles on a porcupine, the three alien ships changed course, one up, one down and another straight through the maelstrom. The courageous center ship shot for the planet. It didn’t make it far before taking in more energy than it could expel. This time no one cheered when the second Klin ship exploded. They knew what was coming next.
Gary gave the order for the missiles to be launched, but the two remaining VN-91s were moving away and using evasive maneuvers to avoid the incoming. They made it past the gauntlet and closed on Bannokfore. Nearly a thousand warships, many the most powerful ships the Expansion had ever built, stood helpless as the black ships made orbit around the planet. Planetside cameras picked up flicking silver clouds of tiny objects falling from the aft sections of the two ships. Minutes later the sky was filled with over six million black parachutes delivering the Klin’s killer robots to the surface.
Seven billion creatures were still on the surface of Bannokfore. They were organized into massive armies and provided with the latest and most powerful weapons, both handheld and mechanical. They would put up a fight, just as all the other worlds invaded by the Klin. It wouldn’t matter. The mindless killers would continue to destroy everything in sight, protected for the most part by individual diffusion shields. Each AN-9 robot carried a variety of offensive weapons and defensive measures. Tens of thousands would be destroyed by the defenders, but not enough to make a difference.
Gary Romaine watched the flood of videos images coming in from the surface. What the radiation would have eventually done to the planet, the Klin would do in a couple of weeks.
Bannokfore, home to the seventh most-powerful civilization in the galaxy, was lost.
“Why have you brought me to see this?” asked Senior Fellow Sumlis. “I have heard of the operation at Bannokfore. I approve.”
The Klin and Robert McCarthy were in a comm room of a VN-91 as the CW feed showing the destruction of the Council world was coming in. Two of the black ships had been brought in for the evacuation of the Klin from the planet Corfer. Although the ships were big, most of the interior was taken up by the laser weapons and the generators required to produce the blackhole pairs unique to the gravity drive. There wasn’t a lot of room for the evacuees. It would take twenty-four trips to move the population.
“I wanted you to see the preparations the Expansion made to defend the planet,” Robert told the Klin.
“And their preparations paid off in the destruction of two of our VN-91s.”
“There are seven more coming online within thirty days. It was no great loss.”
“Then I don’t understand why I am here.”
“The preparations, Senior Fellow,” Robert answered. “They were extensive and well-planned.”
“And?”
“And they would only have done that if they had advance knowledge of the attack.”
The Klin stared down at the shorter Human. “Then I amend my prior statement. Adam Cain did survive, and he communicated his findings to the Expansion.”
“That’s right.” Robert always loved it when a Klin had to admit he was wrong.
“What other secrets did you reveal to your fellow Human which he has now relayed to his allies?”
The question caught Robert off guard. “Nothing. He knows of Silea, but only as a backup for Bannokfore. Its destruction three weeks from now will come as a shock. They will have lowered their defenses by then, believing Bannokfore was our only target outside the main front.”
“And where is Adam Cain now?”
“I don’t know, but more-than-likely he was in command of the forces at Bannokfore. Two of our ships were destroyed. It sounds like something he could do.”
“Your invincible ships, I should add. What do we to do now? The galaxy knows the ships can be defeated.”
“It doesn’t matter. There aren’t enough nuclear weapons in the galaxy to stop us. And besides, all we have to do in change up the in-system arrival procedures a bit—become less predictable—and they won’t be able to cluster enough weapons to stop us. The defeat at Bannokfore—and Silea—will only reinforce how helpless they are against us.”
“That is good, although unproductive,” said the Klin. “We seek not their capitulation, but their humiliation. Should we not increase our rate of conquest? There are many more worlds to destroy.”
“That’s been scheduled, Senior Fellow. Another year and we will have enough VN-91s to sweep across the galaxy leaving a trail of fire and brimstone behind us.”
The Klin frowned. “I do not understand the reference.”
“We’ll make an impression, that’s what it means. You’ll get your galaxy, Sumlis, the galaxy you and your people have always felt was rightfully yours.”
“It is not for revenge that we seek control, Robert McCarthy.” Sumlis knew Robert hated it when he called him by his father’s name, but still he did it. “It is because we know better how to manage a galaxy. We always have. In time all will understand what we know.”
Robert smiled at the silver being. Delusional son-of-a-bitch, he thought. They all are.
20
The crew of the Nautilus sat in shock, watching the CW broadcast in the common room of the huge freighter. The Klin had destroyed a lot of worlds, yet this was the first one they had intimate knowledge of, with the exception of Copernicus and Arieel.
Silea.
The unofficial capital of the Fringe, the home of Kroekus—when he was alive—a world with memories…of tastes and smells, of sounds and places. This was more than just a name. This was real. Adam knew the planet. And now it was being overrun by hordes of mindless killer robots controlled by a Human named Robert McCarthy.
“He didn’t have to do this,” Sherri said, her voice low and even. She was beyond tears; she was spitting mad. “Bannokfore…that was enough.”
“He’s making a point,” Adam remarked. “He’s saying he can do anything he damn well pleases.”
“At this point, he’s right,” said Riyad. It was on Silea twenty-six years ago that a recent Human abductee named Riyad Tarazi had been sold to the Fringe Pirates, setting in motion a long and circuitous series of events that now placed him aboard the rusted freighter and a week out from Earth.
Kaylor laughed, startling most in the room. “I know the Kroekus family will have left before the attack. There was warning.” He and Jym had the most experience with the planet, using it as their primary source of shipping business for twenty years before meeting Adam.
Kroekus and his relatives had ruled the planet for over a thousand years, not officially, of course, but through their many businesses and political connections. Kaylor was right. They would have been the first to board private starships for safer climes. From what the reports were saying, the Expansion had sent defensive units to the planet, but when Bannokfore was destroyed—and no attack hit Silea—most of the defenders left. Then came the Klin. The black ships met only a smidgeon of resistance; a handful of nukes set off which did nothing more than charge their lasers.
Video crews were wrapping up their broadcasts and preparing to take company ships off the planet, joining anyone with the money or the means in a mass exodus. The galaxy had learned that once the robots landed, that was it. No need to fight…just run. It was the only way to guarantee survival. This left the less fortunate to suffer the true brunt of the Klin invasion. Even if they survived, their future would be a living nightmare.
Adam looked around the room. “Where’s Arieel?”
“She left after the video began.”
Adam sensed her on the bridge. He went to join her.
The Formilian was at the comm station, speaking again by CW link with Earth.
“My people are experts at power systems and electronics,”
she was arguing. “Even if the system is not as originally prescribed, I have confidence we can get it to work.”
“I’m sorry Madam Speaker, but our scientists are very close to a breakthrough. We prefer to work the problem out here. Besides, transporting the ship all the way to Formil could be dangerous, especially in the present environment.”
Arieel looked at Adam as he entered the room. Her face was flush and her neck tense. He stood back, out of view of the camera. “The vessel was in the command of Captain Cain prior to its damage. How can you now deem it a security risk if he has access to the ship again?”
“That decision came from a higher authority. I am sorry.”
Although he couldn’t see the face of the officer on the screen, he knew the man had fought tooth-and-nail to be the one to speak with Arieel. All the men in the technology department at Phoenix command were waiting in line to gawk at the ravishing female, if only to tell her no. That was why Adam made Arieel his spokesperson.
During the long trip to Earth, a plan was hatched, a multi-phase operation depending on how each element built on the other. The first part was simply to ask for the TD ship. With Arieel’s sex appeal and political clout, she was guaranteed an audience for her request. If they said yes, then the rest of the plan wasn’t needed. If no, then alternate plans were already in the works.
So far, they’d said no, even to Arieel.
“Then allow us access to work on it. I have with me three of the most-experienced starship engineers in the galaxy. Their contribution cannot hurt.”
“You have asked for this before,” said the young officer. “Your request is still pending, yet I can’t promise anything. The ship is in a very secure area with access given to only a select few. Your people would have to go through extreme vetting to be allowed entry.”
“Even for me? Even for the leader of the Formilian race? Is there not a diplomatic accommodation that can be made?”
“That would have to go through political channels. I do not have the authority, and neither does anyone else in the department. Again, I am sorry.”
“I am at a loss as to my next inquiry,” Arieel said, close to tears.
The young Human was almost in tears himself seeing the gorgeous alien about to cry. “Please, call back tomorrow. I will see what I can do. Ask for Captain David Palmieri when you do.”
“Thank you, Captain Palmieri. You have been very supportive. When I reach Earth, I would very much like to meet you in person.”
Adam could imagine the joy on the man’s face after Arieel’s invitation. She cut the link and turned to him.
“You Humans are so easy,” she declared, all trace of her impending breakdown gone.
“I just wish your young admirer had more clout. This would be a done deal if he did.”
“I would make it worth his efforts. He was quite handsome.” Then her face turned serious. “I am so saddened by the news of Silea. Bannokfore was a tragedy in its own right, but Silea came as a surprise. I wish I had gone there before this. Most of you speak highly of the planet.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. It’s just that several of us have spent considerable time there. It’s not the best place around, but it wasn’t the worst, either.”
“Perhaps when we accomplish this newest mission, you will have the means to avenge this tragedy, and all the others before it.”
“Revenge isn’t what I want. I just want all this fighting to end. It seems every time I turn around someone is trying to conquer the galaxy. Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. There’s plenty of room for everyone.”
“It is the way of creatures, to always covert what belongs to another.”
“And that is what keeps us in business.”
21
The Nautilus set down on one of the huge landing fields south of the main complex that made up Phoenix Command, the headquarters of the Orion-Cygnus military. The political hub for the Union was also in the area, the result of Phoenix being one of only a handful of major cities to survive the initial plasma bombing by the Juireans twenty years ago. Now the city was the center of the Union universe, spreading out for a hundred miles in every direction.
With the help of translation labels on packages in the sickbay, Sherri was able to find an adrenaline-based drug that space crews used to temporarily overcome the effects of higher gravity, at least long enough for them to deliver their goods and leave. This would help the three aliens aboard accomplish their missions; Arieel had to flirt with the security personnel, while Kaylor and Jym had assignments of a different nature.
The Technology and Development section of the huge military complex was located to the southwest of the main cluster of buildings. If the TD ship was anywhere on the base, it would be there. Adam had Kaylor set the Nautilus down at the far west corner of the landing field. As prodigious clouds of landing exhaust cascaded across the tarmac, the border fence was obscured, as were a number of nearby spaceships.
Air traffic controllers began yelling through their microphones at Kaylor, telling him he was coming in too far west. The panicked alien tried to compensate, which only caused the tail of the freighter to smash down on to the corner of the barrier, taking with it the security camera covering this part of the field. As the ship rumbled to a stop and smoke clouds faded into the gray of evening, Kaylor tried to make amends.
“I apologize profusely,” he said to the airmen. “I have never tried to land such a large vessel upon a planet with such high gravity. I am fortunate I did not come at a steeper angle, otherwise we would have ended in a fireball.”
The military personnel didn’t accept his apology without a few more rounds of yelling, but eventually they calmed down when they read on their computer screens that Captain Adam Cain was aboard. Their tone changed significantly after that.
Two jeeps arrived along the aft portside of the ship a few minutes later; the starboard side was sitting on top of a crunched section of fencing and inaccessible. The port cargo bay door opened and Adam stepped out into the cool October air of the southwestern desert. It felt good to smell the scent of home, and the familiar tug on his body from Earth’s gravity. Copernicus Smith came up beside him.
“There’s no place like home,” he recited.
“That’s why we do what we do, to make sure it stays that way.” Adam shook Coop’s hand. “Good luck. See you in a while.”
“Yessir.”
Adam climbed into one of the jeeps and it sped off. Arieel, Kaylor, Jym and Copernicus crowded into another. Sherri and Riyad would stay aboard the Nautilus. Their objective lay elsewhere.
The Technology and Development building was big and modern; ten stories of research labs, conference rooms and offices where the most-brilliant minds on Earth worked tirelessly, if not to stay ahead of the aliens scientifically, then at least not to let them get too far ahead. Humanity had come a long way over the past twenty years, since the first Juirean warships appeared in orbit above the planet and began their rain of energy bolts on an unsuspecting population. Even before then, the Klin and the traitorous 2Gs were helping mankind with advanced technology—just enough to make the natives think they were helping.
Now the Humans were on their own and making incredible headway, utilizing a unique talent of thinking one step ahead to stay in the game. The phrase ‘What If?’ was emblazoned over the main entrance to the building, and every day the staff came to work, they lived that motto.
In a corner office on the top floor was the head of the department, an Air Force general named Paul Sharp. Adam had met him six years before, and they’d struck up a cordial friendship. The general—a scientist with two master’s degrees in physics and mechanical engineering—hadn’t spent much time off planet, although he interacted with aliens every day. He was fascinated with Adam’s tales of intergalactic space and lived vicariously through his adventures. At seventy-three, the general wasn’t about to start a second career as an old Hans Solo, so Adam would have to do.
> The general was still in his office at seven in the evening when Adam was escorted in. He rose from behind his desk and came around to greet the Navy captain with genuine warmth. “Thank you, sergeant. You’re dismissed.”
Paul sat at one end of a long leather couch, Adam at the other.
“What’s that piece of junk you’re flying?” Sharp asked.
“A target of opportunity, sir. At least it runs.”
“For now.”
An aide entered with drinks—real whisky from a bottle and not a processor.
“Welcome home, Adam,” the general toasted.
They clinked glasses and downed the potent golden liquid. Adam’s eyes began to water; it had been so long since he had the real stuff that he’d forgotten how strong it was.
“I won’t be staying long, general, just enough to see if my people can get the Najmah Fayd running again.”
Sharp shook his head. “You know, even if they do, you can’t take her out.”
“Dammit, Paul, I’ve flown her for years and no one had a problem with it then.”
Sharp raised his eyebrows. “No one had a problem? Hell, we sent Andy Tobias into another universe to stop you—may he rest in peace. The truth is we never felt comfortable with you running all over the galaxy—and other galaxies—with the greatest technological weapon of all time.”
“If it’s so damn dangerous, why are you trying to get it working again?”
The general smiled; a wicked smile. “It’s only dangerous if it falls into the hands of our enemy. As long as we have it, we’re okay with that.”
“I thought so.”
“So, what makes you think this Copernicus guy and the two aliens can get it running? We have the best minds in the Union working on it, including alien minds.”
“They’ve been part of my crew for a long time; they’ve operated the ship and made repairs. I know, Panur built the original system, but they’ve been tweaking it ever since.”