by T. R. Harris
At first Kaylor didn’t understand the question, but soon it dawned on him. “Nothing but a 45-ML launcher. It cannot puncture a battle hull.”
Adam knew the fourth ship was Riyad’s ride, and he also knew the ship was doomed. It had sped off to the right and was still barely visible when the three attackers changed course toward it and let loose another barrage of fire. This time all three bolts penetrated the hull and the ship exploded in a ball of yellow and green fire. Adam was astonished by the sudden evaporation of the explosion, as the fire flared briefly then vanished, as if sucked up by a vacuum. Yet he could still see, even at this distance, pieces of the ship flying off in all directions.
Riyad stood stoically watching the scene unfold, while the three guards in the room appeared visibly shaken. Adam reasoned this was their ship, and now all of their shipmates were dead.
The three attackers changed course again and Adam could see bright flashes from their sterns as they maneuvered closer to Kaylor’s ship. It was apparent from their approach that they did not intend to fire.
A buzz sounded in the pilothouse and Kaylor reached forward on his console and threw a switch.
“This is the Nimorian Ministry Forces. You will prepare to be boarded.”
All eyes turned to Riyad. “Do as they say.”
“What about the core” Adam asked. “Are you going to let the Juireans have it”
There was a mischievous look on the pirate’s face. “Don’t worry. We’ll take this fight to another venue,” he said as the corners of his mouth curved upward slightly.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Melfora Lum
The FS-475 was soon flooded with a myriad of aliens who placed Riyad and his pirates in one of the extra staterooms under guard, while sequestering Adam, Kaylor and Jym in Kaylor’s stateroom, also under guard.
Other pilots set the ship on a course for Melfora Lum, a trip which would take about two days. Then everyone settled into a tense routine. Food was brought and bathroom trips supervised. Adam and Riyad had no contact during the trip.
In Kaylor’s stateroom, Adam was able to remove their ankle bombs. What to do with them afterwards became the question. They had not seen the trigger device removed from Riyad, but that could have happened by now. If not, then the bombs could go off at anytime. So during one of the bathroom runs, Adam had hidden the bombs in a towel and deposited them in a trash can. Then asking for permission to dump the trash, Jym had jettisoned the bombs into the vastness of space.
Immediately, there was a profound change in the mood of Adam’s two alien companions, — at least up to the point they remembered that they were on their way to meet a Juirean Overlord!
The moment soon came when everyone was summoned to the airlock off the cargo bay and the four of them were transferred to a smaller shuttlecraft for the journey down to the surface of Melfora Lum.
Through the viewports, Adam could see a sprawling city with skyscrapers, paved roads and abundant traffic. This was more like it, a lot different from the Old West version of the Nimorian city of Gildemont.
They landed in a parade field next to a massive building, easily measuring a thousand meters on each side. It soared twenty stories tall and glowed a golden yellow as the glass walls reflected the setting sun. The prisoners were herded into the building under no fewer than 14 guards.
Speaking of guards, Adam had not seen the four pirates Riyad had with him on the FS-475. He had a passing curiosity, wondering what happened to them. Like extras in a disaster movie, they must have been expendable.
The large group entered an even larger elevator. Adam again marveled at the familiarity of it all. It was just a normal-looking elevator, yet he reasoned the mechanism for raising and lowering the car was probably a lot more high-tech than cables and pulleys. At least that’s the way Adam imagined it.
They entered an extremely large office, easily 30 meters square, lined with full-size statues of various alien creatures, all garbed in bright uniforms and holding a variety of weapons. Full-size plants were scattered around the room and they had to wind their way through some of them to come upon a massive desk, apparently carved from a single stone crystal. The desk was smooth along the front and back sides, but each of the other two sides had ornate carvings depicting various animals, all with savage, threatening expressions. The scene was clearly designed to intimidate.
And behind the desk was the Juirean Counselor Deslor Lin Jul. He wore a slightly amused expression as the four prisoners were placed in chairs before the desk. This time the guards remained in the room, their beady yellow eyes unblinking as they never took them off of the prisoners. Adam could tell these guards were of a different caliber than the ones on Nimor. Real pros.
As Adam sat there, he wondered when they would be meeting the Overlord. After all, Adam had already seen this movie.
Then the interview began.
The Juirean informed them that he had learned Riyad’s identity and had taken note that he was of the same race as Adam. This had piqued his curiosity.
“So I see we now have two of you, one a pirate captain and the other proclaiming ignorance as to how he came to be aboard the derelict ship. Does that seem inconsistent to either of you”
“Let’s cut the bullshit,” Adam said. “We all know it was a Klin ship I was on.”
The Juirean was sincerely taken aback. “So you know,” he seemed visibly upset. It was obvious someone back on Nimor must have leaked the information.
“And this makes it all the more infeasible that you are simply an innocent victim of an abduction with no knowledge of how or why you came to be aboard a Klin spacecraft.”
He turned to address Riyad. “And you, of the same race, are a pirate leader and apparently quite adapt at our way of life. So which is it Are you a primitive race, with no knowledge of the existence of the Expansion, or are you skilled warriors as evidenced by your position with the pirates and your escape from the Nimorian jail”
Neither Adam nor Riyad answered. Instead Riyad tilted his head toward Adam and said, “So this is a Juirean I’m not impressed.”
“That’s just what I thought!” Adam replied emphatically.
The Juirean bristled. “Play your games as you wish. But I should tell you, we have recovered the Klin computer core.”
Both Riyad and Adam were shocked. While thinking the Juireans still believed the pirates had the core, Riyad had hidden the core in Kaylor’s ship. If — and when — Riyad was able to escape - which he had every confidence that he could - he figured he’d have a chance of getting it back. In fact, he was quite ecstatic about getting both the core and the Klin ship back in close proximity to each other. But now.
“That’s right,” the Juirean said smugly. “Your two captains were quite effective in convincing us that the pirates never did have the core in the first place. That only left you two,” he said, addressing Kaylor and Jym. “After that, we didn’t have too much difficulty finding the core aboard your ship during the trip here.”
Damn it! Now the fucking Juireans are going to learn the location of Earth! Adam thought. Where does that leave me
Almost on queue, the Juirean spoke, “All of you are to be transported to the Klin ship to meet the Overlord. He is quite anxious to meet the two of you,” he said to the two humans. He turned to Kaylor and Jym. “As for the two of you, I have no idea what plans he has for you.”
Adam saw Kaylor turn even paler than normal - and Jym fainted.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Aboard the Klin Ship
Two hours later, Adam was handcuffed and walking on a narrow metal plank in the umbilical corridor connecting the Counselor’s private ship to the Klin ship. At the end of the plank, the group entered an airlock and soon Adam was walking back down the same wide, curving corridor he had been in only six short days ago.
Technicians had reestablished gravity, atmosphere and temperature, and even the air smelled like it had been disinfected, countering the stench of the dead bodies left by the pirates.
As he passed the wide window to the hiberpods room, he felt slightly nostalgic. He noticed that all the pods were now empty and that the dead bodies had been removed from the floor.
They soon passed the wide stairway leading to the command dome and then continued beyond, entered a corridor that cut through the center of the ship under the command dome. There were numerous doors on either side of the corridor and Adam reasoned this must have been the living quarters for the crew.
A wide door slid open to his right and the guards hustled them through, following the Counselor in his flowing and colorful capes.
The room was large, more deep than wide, with a viewport at the opposite end. There was a living area off to the left, complete with a bed and working desk, partitioned off with half walls from the rest of the room. Along each wall were colorful and strangely brilliant pictures that appeared almost alive. They were 3-D or holograms and depicted landscapes of rolling hills, towering mountains and tranquil, azure blue seas. One picture was of a large obelisk surrounded by manicured grounds. Within the pictures were numerous beings, all the same tall silver creatures he’d seen when he’d first awakened on the ship. They were smiling and some were even holding children. These were scenes of home.
The Adam noticed someone standing near the photo of the obelisk, with his back to the group. A long, billowing crest of blue hair covered the head, and the creature wore a long purple cape.
Without turning, the Overlord spoke: “This is a vid of the Eternity Monument on Klin. It was destroyed nearly four thousand years ago, but still they remember.”
He turned and Adam was immediately struck by the impossibly deep blue color of his eyes. They were almost hypnotic. His face was similarly shaped as the Counselor, but it appeared to have fewer creases around the eyes. A young Juirean Adam wasn’t sure.
The Counselor had taken a seat off to the right of the simple desk that was set near the rear viewport. He sat there silently as he waited for the Overlord to guide the conversation.
The Overlord swept his arm around the room. “This is all Klin. We are all standing in a memory, an ancient memory that has now been brought back to life.” The Juirean’s voice was almost singsong, as he seemed enraptured by the moment. “This is living history. The Klin should not exist, but they do.”
He walked over to the group and stopped in front of Adam. “They not only exist, but they appear to be thriving.” The smell of the Juirean was of thick body odor and his breath was a little sour. Adam did his best not to winch - too much.
The Juirean continued. “I am Overlord Oplim Ra Unis. The four of you are all responsible, in one way or another, for this great moment in Juirean history. Because of your actions, I will be remembered forever in the annals of the Juirean legacy.”
He walked over to the desk and leaned against it, facing the group. From the tone of the conversation, Adam felt almost as if the Juirean wanted to thank them for what they’ve done! Was that even possible
He continued: “But do you know how close I came to not making this happen” His voice lowered. “Just having the Klin ship, without knowing the location of the Klin hiding place, would have caused more problems than it solved. It would simply have confirmed that the Klin still exist, and that they have advanced technology developed over four thousand years, completely hidden from the Expansion. There would be Klin sightings all across the galaxy and it would undermine the Members’ confidence in the Juirean Authority.”
Then he stared at Kaylor. “And you had the computer core from the beginning.”
Kaylor’s eyes grew wide with terror, as Jym tried to slip in behind him, hiding from the steely attention of the Overlord.
At that moment, a communicator on the Counselor’s belt buzzed, distracting the Overlord momentarily. The Counselor quickly answered it, whispering into the device. Then he stood and moved next to the Overlord.
“My Lord, the technicians have tried all they can to decipher the information from the core, but there is a compatibility issue. They believe the core must be linked to its original system.” There was a slight panic in his voice.
The Overlord firmed his jaw, then instructed the Counselor to have the core transferred to the ship as soon as possible. He stood silently for a long moment, looking into the room without seeing. All the others stood silently, shifting nervously. The Overlord was used to doing things in his own time.
Finally he took a deep breath and said, “Now you see why we have purged all evidence of the discovery of this ship. The only beings that know of the ship’s true identity are in this room. Only after I have learned the location of the Klin hiding place and purged the Expansion of their plague will I let the rest of the galaxy know what I have done.”
After a while, the group was herded up to the command dome. The core had arrived and technicians were preparing to install it back into the equipment tower. Adam noticed Riyad had separated himself from him and the two aliens, standing closer to the Juireans. The rest of the room was crowded with guards and various technicians.
The last time Adam was in this room Kaylor had shot him, and the wound on his head still had not healed completely. Adam noticed that Kaylor and Jym were becoming ever-more agitated, almost panicky. They had been petrified with fear toward the Juireans for quite awhile now, but this was different.
The technicians lifted the core and struggled to get it lined up in the opening. Then it slid in. Immediately, three steady orange lights above the core opening changed to yellow and began to flash in sequence. Kaylor and Jym literally ran for the exit but were quickly subdued by the guards. The Juireans didn’t notice the commotion, as they had turned to the command consoles and a screen that had suddenly flashed to life. A technician sat down at the console and began to type on the keyboard before him — and data began to stream across the screen. The Juireans leaned closer.
Adam was curious, too, but of course, he couldn’t read any of the data. But what really piqued his interest was how Kaylor and Jym were acting so strangely.
“There!” the Overlord yelled and pointed his finger. “Stop,” he commanded to the technician. “Surrender your seat and leave the room.”
When the seat was empty, the Counselor slipped into it. Only the two Juireans could see the screen. They began to read intently.
Kaylor grabbed Adam’s sleeve. “We have to leave!” he whispered to Adam.
“What We can’t leave.”
“We have to!”
Adam shrugged off Kaylor’s grasp and returned his attention to the Juireans. If they learned the location of Earth, they might reveal something that Adam could use. He couldn’t read the screen, even if he could see it, but he could listen in on their conversation.
“Amazing!” the Counselor was saying. “Annan.”
“Yes, but that is not what concerns me,” said the Overlord. “Look what it says about these Humans.”
Both the Juireans turned to look at Adam and Riyad, who in unison backed away quickly, trying to look innocent. The Juireans actually looked scared. Then they turned back to the screen.
“There. That’s it.” the Overlord said.
A few moments later, Riyad shoved a shoulder into Adam’s chest, sending him flying into Kaylor and Jym and the guards behind them. They all tumbled to the floor in a heap. Then Riyad kicked the Counselor in the ribs and grabbed the Overlord around the neck from behind.
Guards rushed into the room, but Riyad swung the Overlord around in front of him for cover. The guards hesitated. The pirate backed further into the room, almost disappearing from Adam’s view from the curvature of the room. Then with his free hand, he reached down and flipped his belt buckle inside out, revealing the trigger device for the ankle bombs! He grinned at Adam and then pushed a button at the same time he ducked around the equipment tower.
Nothing happened. A few seconds later, Riyad, with the Overlord still firmly in his grasp, peaked around the corner. Adam had regained his feet, and seeing Riyad, pulled his pant leg up to reveal
a bare ankle.
A look of exasperation came over Riyad’s face. Then he gave Adam a wink and moved back out of sight, dragging the Overlord with him.
Guards rushed past Adam, some helping the Counselor to his feet, others heading after Riyad who had exited the command room through a secondary doorway.
Adam felt a strong tug on his arm. “Come Adam, we must go!” Kaylor had an absolutely terrified look on his face.
Using the confusion left over from Riyad’s abduction of the Overlord, Adam sent an elbow into the jaw of the one remain guard standing between them and the stairway out of the command room. He scooped up the guard’s weapon and the three of them bounded down the stairs and into the wide corridor. Three more guards ran past them and up the stairs, ignoring them completely. It seemed that rescuing the Overlord was a greater priority than subduing the three of them.
So they ran, back down the corridor, past the hiberpod room and into the umbilical tube. The hatch to the Counselor’s ship was open and they shot through it, Adam leading the way. Finding no one aboard, they quickly located the pilothouse and Kaylor took a seat at the controls.
“What the hell’s going on” Adam yelled as Kaylor fingered a switch that closed the outer door to the ship. Then he grabbed the control stick and sent the craft tearing away from the umbilical.
“The bomb!” Jym answered.
“What bomb”
Kaylor cranked the stick to the left and Adam could see the large Klin ship began to shrink away quickly.
“The nuclear bomb that’s aboard the Klin ship,” Kaylor said as he switched the screens to a rear view. The Klin ship was now about the size of the full moon and rapidly shrinking as the distance between the two craft increased.
“There’s a nuke aboard the ship How do you know”
“The core was hooked to a self-destruct,” Kaylor explained. “When I removed the core originally it activated the countdown. I was trying to disarm the bomb when you first attacked me.”
“So, why is it a problem now”