by T. R. Harris
Yet this was still better than any force had done against the Klin invaders. It was progress. And the Human warships were inflicting damage on the small Klin fleet. Their defensive systems were nothing to write home about. They relied on the power of their offensive weapons to protect them. Now the overwhelming number of allied ships was taking a toll. Soon, Kracion was down to only five standard Klin ships before his flagship appeared from the surface of the Aris station and the squadron bolted from the area.
Then the station exploded. It was a tremendous event, like a miniature supernova. Apparently, the station was already rigged for self-destruction, a precaution from billions of years before in case of some unforeseen happenstance.
“Where’s he going?” Riyad asked once the screens cleared and no sign of the Klin ships remained.
Adam snorted. “Anywhere he damn well pleases.”
“And with the Klin pouring into the Milky Way through the portal in the Dysion Void, he’s going to have all the firepower he needs,” Copernicus added.
“Another bad thing,” Adam said. “He probably has other tricks up his sleeve he hasn’t even had time to show the Klin. Their beam weapons are bad enough. Who knows what he’ll throw at us next?”
“And now he has all the time he needs to take us down…all of us.” Coop finished off the topic.
The bridge was silent for a long moment until the mutants entered, having wrapped themselves in storage tarps for modesty. The mercs backed away; they knew the beings by reputation only, and now they were in the same room with the immortals. Unfortunately, Adam thought, they’re no longer the only immortals in the galaxy.
Adam made the introductions, ending with Monty Pitts.
“We thank you for your expeditious rescue, Master Chief Pitts,” Panur said, extending his hand. His skin was still warm to the touch, but Monty took it anyway.
“Anyone care to explain what just happened?” Monty growled. “I thought this Kracion dude couldn’t become immortal without assimilating one of you.”
“Unfortunately, there was still some of my prior creation available on the station,” Panur said.
Monty looked at the others in the room. “And now we’re screwed? Is that what the understanding is? The whole purpose of this mission was to stop Kracion from becoming immortal. And if he succeeded, then all would be lost. Is that how it is? Are we all fucked?”
“Our challenge has definitely increased exponentially,” Lila said. “Yet all is not lost. Now that we know for sure what we are up against, we can devise strategies and defenses. There is still hope.”
Adam looked out the forward viewport of the Mustang Sally, at the blackness of space and the fire of the distant stars. He shrugged.
“Hope?” he said to the room. “We better have more than that going for us. Hope and a buck will get you a cup of coffee, but not much more. It’s going to take a whole lot of luck as well.”
134
Kracion set a course for the second Aris station. This was where the technicians were kept, all in their encasement chambers, waiting. He laughed. Waiting for what? They, like the Privileged, had been kept alive all these billions of years. Yet unlike Nunki and his kind, Kracion’s people did not have a certain future waiting for them. Even if the Apex Being project had failed, the Privileged would have moved on to another future. They would achieve their immortality, even if not in the most ideal manner. Yet the technicians would not share in that future. Indeed, there would come a time when they would all be replaced by the mechanical servants of robots and service modules.
But now….
Now Kracion could offer them something. He had twenty-seven vials of immortality with him and the means to deliver it. He could lead a small army of immortal Aris against this galaxy and many more, if the spirit moved them, and across multiple universes. Yet he’d already worked out the scenarios. If he allowed other Aris to become immortal, then he would not be in a unique position to lead them. He would then be just one among many.
Just as he considered himself a god to the galaxy, he could only claim that title because of his unique status among the living beings in existence. He alone would be forever. That would make him the god he—and they—imagined him to be.
Yet the mutants still lived. He laughed again. Lived was such an arbitrary term when used in this context. Even if assimilated, the immortals would have lived on, only in another form, as J’nae did within him now. He thought of the consequences of their continued existence. Were they a threat to him? Definitely. They were not only immortal, but geniuses as well; witness Panur and his creation of the J’nae creature.
So…there would be three gods in existence. Was that such a bad thing? It could be. The mutants would not stop planning his demise—ever. And the danger didn’t come from the threats he could see, but from those he couldn’t. Although he was intelligent beyond compare, he couldn’t predict the future. There may come a time when the mutants could devise a counter to him, either a way to destroy or contain him.
Kracion shrugged off his current concerns. Knowing that the mutants were free and a threat to him was enough at this point. He would continue to look for ways to destroy or contain them, even as they did the same regarding him.
In the meantime, Kracion had a galaxy to conquer. And as he had proclaimed before, he would accept no surrender before its time. And that time would come only after the galaxy knew what he could do. Only when the fear of him was absolute would he allow the beings of the Milky Way galaxy to bow at his feet. And foremost among them would be the obstinate Human Adam Cain.
But first, Kracion—the immortal Aris—had to become the destroyer of worlds.
The End
Coming next…
The Human Chronicles Saga #26
Destroyer of Worlds
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Novels by T.R. Harris
The Adam Cain Chronicles
The Dead Worlds
Empires
The Human Chronicles Saga
The Fringe Worlds
Alien Assassin
The War of Pawns
The Tactics of Revenge
The Legend of Earth
Cain’s Crusaders
The Apex Predator
A Galaxy to Conquer
The Masters of War
Prelude to War
The Unreachable Stars
When Earth Reigned Supreme
A Clash of Aliens
Battlelines
The Copernicus Deception
Scorched Earth
Alien Games
The Cain Legacy
The Andromeda Mission
Last Species Standing
Invasion Force
Force of Gravity
Mission Critical
The Lost Universe
The Immortal War
Destroyer of Worlds
Phantoms
Terminus Rising
The Last Aris
The Human Chronicles Box Set Series
Box Set #1 – Books 1-5 in the series
Box Set #2 – Books 6-10 in the series
; Box Set #3 – Books 11-15 in the series
Box Set #4 – Books 16-20 in the series
Box Set #5—Books 21-25 in the series
REV Warriors Series
Rev
REV: Renegades
REV: Rebirth
REV: Revolution
REV: Retribution
REV: Revelations
REV Warriors Box Set #1 – Books 1-3 in the series
Jason King – Agent to the Stars Series
The Enclaves of Sylox
Treasure of the Galactic Lights
The Drone Wars Series
Day of the Drone
In collaboration with Co-Author George Wier…
The Liberation Series
Captains Malicious
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