by T. R. Harris
“I explained that to the taxing authority,” Aaron said. “They sympathize but say there’s nothing they can do to nullify the sale.”
“And the insurance?”
“That I just got a ruling on that.”
Adam’s Lake Tahoe log home had been destroyed several years ago when a team of commandos came looking for the mutant Panur and ran into a force of Klin coming through a trans-dimensional portal the alien had built in Adam’s garage. By the time the battle was over, his house was a pile of ashes. He’d been fighting with the insurance company ever since trying to get them to payout on the replacement policy he carried on the structure.
“They’ve agreed that you are entitled to replacement coverage….”
Adam lit up. At last some good news. “That’s great!”
“However,” his attorney continued, “the insurance company can’t pay to replace a home on land you no longer own. Sorry.”
Adam slumped in his chair. Of course, he thought. That’s par for the course.
“And the hits just keep on coming.”
“One last thing: your military retirement pay. Since the field commission Andy Tobias gave you to captain wasn’t authorized, your retirement pay at that rank has been denied. If anything, going from E-5 to ensign might have worked, but not all the way to captain. Captains need congressional approval—or that of the governing council these days. You never got that. Sorry, Adam, but you’re stuck with half of E-5 pay for your retirement.”
“And E-5 over twelve, not twenty,” Adam pointed out. “E-5s max out at twelve years. Do you know how much it costs to run a Klin Colony Ship? More than an E-5’s retirement pay, I’ll tell you that.”
“I know, Adam, it sucks. Seems no matter how many times you save the galaxy, you still get shafted in the end.” Aaron looked away, embarrassed. “And there’s one more thing.”
“Your fee,” Adam stated.
“Yeah. You know I do pro-bono work, but in your case—and that of the others—it’s taking a lot of time. It’s not just a single issue. Your tab is getting pretty high, my friend.”
“Give me until the next bounty,” Adam pleaded, “then I’ll start sending you some money.”
“That’s fine. Just something, okay? My wife does the books and she’s really pissed. I can deal with crazed killer aliens on distant worlds, but not a pissed off wife.”
“Roger that, Aaron, I’ll do the best I can.”
“Wish I had better news. I’ll talk to you later. Take care.”
Adam stared at the blank screen for several seconds. How did it come to this? There was a time when he was the most-famous Human in the galaxy, and according to the reaction of Adors Gin, he still was. But all the fame wasn’t paying the bills.
Adam, Riyad and Sherri had once commanded two-million-dollar appearance fees when the Orion-Cygnus Union was first forming, touring new member worlds to impress the natives with tales of their heroics. Everyone wanted to see and hear the trio, which in reality was mainly Adam Cain. After returning to Earth at the conclusion of the Klin war a year and a half ago—and learning that his life was in ruin—Adam had tried the talk circuit again and ended up speaking at Rotary Clubs and VA centers for pennies. No one was crediting him with the destruction of the Klin. They said the Nuoreans did that when they used a massive gravity beam to destroy the Klin’s new home base on Vesper. The fact that the Nuoreans only did it thinking Adam was on the planet didn’t seem to matter. Now the Klin were gone, the Nuoreans were locked away in the Andromeda galaxy, and the Juireans were back in control of the Expansion. Things were returning to normal and no one wanted to dredge up ancient history.
Adam Cain was an afterthought, a relic from a time most people wanted to forget.
So, he returned to the Vesperian star system and recovered the last surviving Klin Colony Ship thinking he could sell it to make some quick money. But since he didn’t legally own the ship there were no buyers. Having no place else to go, Adam and his two alien friends moved in. Arieel then helped get the huge space station to the Formilian system, where now it sat.
But on the bright side, it did have a really nice view of the colorful gas giant Andos.
Adam jumped when the CW screen chirped at him, indicating an incoming link. He saw the identifier as Arieel Bol.
As always, he gasped when the image of the dark-haired alien beauty came on the screen. Arieel was often referred to as the most-beautiful female Prime in the galaxy, and Adam whole-heartily agreed. Long silky black hair reaching to mid-back, full lips and high cheek bones, along with an incredible body of breath-taking proportions, it was also the Formilian’s potent sexual pheromones that made many an alien uneasy when in the presence of Arieel and her people, be they male or female. And the fact that she was over ninety Formilian years old made her stunning sex appeal even more amazing.
“I was informed by Jym that you were injured,” the Formilian said with genuine concern.
“It’s just a scratch, and you know how fast I heal these days.”
“So, you are all right?”
“Yes, my dear. I’m just glad to be back. Any chance you could pay me a visit? I have a lot of stress you could help relieve.”
The frown on Arieel gorgeous face gave him concern. “I will try,” she began. “But my link today is not of a welcoming nature.”
“What’s going on?”
“The council is attempting to pass a rule that would allow them to charge you a tax—or a fee, they call it—for remaining in the system.”
“They want to charge me rent…for having the Colony Ship orbiting one of their planets? When has that ever happened before?”
“Never that I know of, especially here,” Arieel replied. “The proposal is meeting resistance, since it would be targeted only to you and could be indefensible if protested. The only way to defeat the protest would be to apply it to all ships in the system. That would cause a revolt. But there are those on the council who hold much animosity towards you. They are now saying it is to recover the fee they spent having the ship brought here in the first place, and with interest. I see it as more of a way to punish you or force you to abandon the ship and leave.”
“Believe me, I’d leave if I could, and take the ship with me. I need it to do my job.”
“I am sorry for the bad news, Adam. I am working on your behalf, but as you know, I do not have much power any longer. If I advocate for you too much, it will only diminish what authority I do have.”
“I understand. Just keep me informed.”
“I must go now. I will try to make it out to you soon, if I can.”
The screen went blank again. Adam leaned back in the chair. In life, there should be a penalty for piling on, just as there is in football, he thought. But there wasn’t. Adam Cain would just have to…he tried to think of a term. About all he could come up with was ‘keep on keeping on.’ It was something his dad used to say, many years ago.
A week later, Adam and the Belsonian alien Kaylor left on another fugitive-recovery hunt. This one was only seven hundred light-years away and was for thirty-eight thousand credits. Although the money wasn’t very good—not in light of the high cost of running his business—Adam had to admit he liked the work. It kept him active and in full display of the advantage most Humans had over the vast majority of aliens in the galaxy.
Humans are from a heavy gravity world, as compared to others. Not only that, but they evolved on their world in a unique way. Most heavy-gravity beings were sluggish, stocky and dumb. Not so Humans. They were quick, strong, coordinated—and most of all—intelligent. This made them super beings, as the various galactic wars and other conflicts they participated in demonstrated. In just a brief time, they rose to the top of the food chain, even ruling the galaxy for a brief time. Now they maintained a small Union of planets in the Orion arm of the galaxy, although their reputation was known throughout the Milky Way.
But the primary reason Adam enjoyed being a bounty hunter was it allowed
him to beat up on aliens. Although this sounded xenophobic and cruel, Adam had good reason to feel this way. Twenty years ago, the evil Klin had abducted him—and thousands of other Humans—to help build a secret army to fight their perennial enemy, the Juireans. That plan had gone bust, but what it did do was take Adam away from his wife and young daughter, as well as the job he enjoyed as a Navy SEAL. Then when the Klin’s scheming led to the death of his family, his attitude toward aliens took a decided turn for the worse. Over the years, not much had changed. Although he’d met some aliens he liked and admired—including Kaylor, Jym and Arieel—overall he still didn’t like them very much. Now he was getting paid to bust heads and return bad aliens to face justice, which was right up his alley.
Years ago, Adam had spent time as an alien assassin, doing what he could to earn a living in a strange new reality out among the stars. But that was a lot harder way to make a buck. He had to wait for the assignments to come to him, which was unpredictable. Also, he couldn’t pick and choose his assignments. He worked primarily for a mob boss named Seton Amick, and when the alien said go kill someone, Adam had to obey.
Bounty hunting was different. There were literally millions of rewards being offered at any given time throughout the galaxy and from a thousand different worlds. And he could also take on criminal warrant processing if he wanted. There were large databases where these commissions were listed, and he and his small team would scour them for the highest paying within the closest vicinity to the Colony Ship. Jym would then load the pictures of the various fugitives into the Klin computer and wait for a hit. If any of the thirty-five subjects they could track at a time made a video link, they could pinpoint the planet and location within a square mile. After that it was just a matter of Adam using his superhuman abilities to take the bad guys into custody. And the more they resisted arrest, the better.
The only drawback…Adam needed to bring them back alive.
58
“Adam, there is a pair of spacecraft approaching,” Kaylor announced over the station’s intercom system.
“Identification?” Adam asked as he lay on the bed in his huge stateroom. He’d taken the largest and most opulent accommodations for himself even though it took a few extra credits to keep it lit and heated. It was one of the few luxuries he allowed himself.
“They claim to be from the Incus Federation.”
The IF was located in the Kidis Frontier, one of the up and coming regions of the galaxy now that the yolk of Juirean domination had been thrown off, thanks in part to some of Adam’s past involvement. The Incus were the fourth largest manufacturer of weapons in the galaxy, behind only Maris-Kliss, Xan-fi and Earth. They had been trying to make more of an impact for years.
“What do they want?”
“They wish to speak with you.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.”
The stateroom was only a short distance to the bridge of the mighty space station. Adam was there a minute later, looking at the face of a black-skinned alien displayed on the huge monitor at the comm station.
“You’re not Incus,” Adam stated. The Incus are worm-like creatures with short legs and short arms. This being was more Humanoid, but with thin gills on the side of his neck that fluttered when he spoke.
“We are Gracilians, members of the Federation and the scientific advisors to the Incus. As you know, they are excellent manufacturers, yet we provide much of the technical knowledge such activities require.”
“What do you want?”
“We have a business proposal for you, Mr. Adam. May we board your vessel?”
“Why didn’t you just call instead of coming all the way over here? That’s normally how these things work.”
The dark eyes of the alien showed no emotion. “Our proposal is rather complicated and requires background. I assure you we are no threat. In addition, we will pay you ten thousand Juirean credits for simply listening to our proposal.”
Adam raised an eyebrow. “No obligation?”
“No obligation.”
Adam looked at Jym and Kaylor. They nodded their approval without hesitation.
“I must warn you,” Adam began, “this station had formidable defenses, both exterior and interior. Don’t try anything sneaky or you’ll pay for it.”
The alien stretched out a thin smile. “We will do nothing sneaky.”
Twenty minutes later the Gracilian starships were in the landing bay, with Kaylor guiding their two guests to a large meeting room near the bridge. Jym had hurriedly turned up the lighting in the main corridor and poured heat into the conference room. They didn’t want the aliens to see how little of the Klin ship was powered. That would show them just how desperate Adam and the others were for money.
The Gracilians were taller than Humans—as were most aliens—and probably from a lower gravity world than Earth. Adam kept the gravity in the station at Juirean standard—about three-quarters that of the Earth—for the comfort of his two alien companions. When required, he would jack up the gravity in another section of the spaceship and spend a few days there so his muscles wouldn’t atrophy.
His guests took seats at the table.
They said their names were Volic Nusin and Kandor Nic, and when Adam went to introduce Jym and Kaylor, Volic interrupted.
“Oh, we know who you are. You are the famous Belsonian Kaylor Linn Todd and the Fulquin Jym. I do not believe we have ever known your last name.”
“It is often mispronounced so I do not state it.”
“Understandable. Even so, the two of you are well-known throughout the galaxy for your exploits with Adam Cain and his Humans. It is an honor to meet you in person.”
“May I offer you something to drink?” Adam asked, hoping to tamp down some of the bullshit circulating in the room. The aliens were going overboard trying to win Adam and the others to their favor. This sent the alert meter on the back of Adam’s neck to Defcon-1. But for ten thousand credits, he would be on his best behavior, at least for the moment.
“Water would be welcome,” said the lead alien, Volic, “as long as no additives are within.”
Adam met Kaylor at the processor along the wall. “Does Klin water have any additives in it?” he whispered to this Belsonian companion. Kaylor shrugged.
Adam brought two glasses of water to the table.
“Okay, so what’s this all about?” he asked.
“First of all, I must tell you we have researched your activities as a fugitive recovery agent and are quite impressed. In the short time you have been pursuing this endeavor you have had phenomenal—almost miraculous—success.”
Adam cast a quick glance at Jym. They couldn’t possibly know what the Klin computers were doing, could they?
“We’ve been lucky,” Adam said.
“I would attribute it more to skill, Mr. Adam. Throughout your tenure in the affairs of the galaxy you have shown remarkable ability, and within a variety of fields. This one is no different.”
Adam gave the alien a thin smirk. They were flattering him. That wasn’t necessary. You had me at ten thousand credits.
“So, you need us to find someone?” he asked pointedly, trying to hurry things along.
The two aliens exchanged looks. “That is true. But first let us give you the details.” Volic reached in his pocket and removed a small grey cube about two inches square. “Do you know what this is?”
Adam looked at the object resting on the table. “A rather plain looking paperweight?”
The alien frowned. “Before embarking on our journey, we uploaded much Human scientific terminology into our translators, but I am at a loss as to the reference.”
“Sorry, I was trying to be funny.”
The aliens stared at him.
“So, what is it?”
Volic looked down at the innocuous cube. “That, Mr. Adam, is dark matter.”
Jym leaned forward, looking closer at the object. “Forgive, but I am familiar with the theory of dark matter,” he began. “It is
an unknown particle which accounts for ninety-five percent of the mass of the universe. It is also undetectable, hence the term dark matter. It is invisible, yet this we can see. This cannot be dark matter.”
“Let me rephrase my statement, Mr. Jym,” said Volic. “This is a containment mold for dark matter. We estimate there is a pair of oppositely-charged particles within the cube, held in suspension.”
“Is that possible?” Jym asked.
“Quite possible…and true. Let me explain further for those less-informed than you.”
Adam winced. Did Volic just call him dumb?
“You are correct, dark matter is believed to comprise the vast majority of mass in the universe and has played a vital role in the formation of all that is around us, as I will detail. In the early universe, radiation dominated, preventing normal matter, such as electrons and protons, to form into more complex structures. Yet dark matter is unaffected by radiation, only succumbing to the effects of gravity. In fact, dark matter is gravity in its purest form, and as such, it was able to form anomalies within the fabric of the early universe—dents would be a good analogy. These dents allowed subatomic particles to cluster and form into structures that would eventually become atoms, stars, galaxies…and even us. So, you see, if it were not for dark matter, the universe as we know it would not exist.”
Adam thought about the ten thousand credits waiting at the end of the lecture. That was the only thing that kept him from yawning.
“So, you’ve learned how to capture dark matter. What good is it?”
“An excellent question, Mr. Adam. Let me demonstrate.”
Volic took the cube and moved it close to the glass of water. The surface of the liquid began to vibrate, causing concentric circles to radiate out from the center. “Dark matter affects gravity, even a small quantity such as this. Also…”
The second Gracilian removed a metal apparatus from his satchel. It was a short rail with holders placed at each end and a tube running between them. The holders couldn’t be more than an inch apart. Volic placed his cube in the holder at one end and a second cube Kandor gave him in the other. He took a remote-control device in his hand and leaned back in his chair. He worked the controls. The movement of the two holders was barely noticeable, but as they came closer, the overhead lighting grew brighter.