by T. R. Harris
Adam rested his head on the end of the control stick. “Then just don’t finish the damn thing,” he said without lifting his head.
“I just told you why I must complete the project. Were you not listening?”
Adam turned his head toward the alien. “Yes, dickhead, I was listening.”
Panur furrowed his brow as the translation worked its way through his mind.
“Then you must not have understood the message. As I said, I go into a dormant st—”
“Yes, I get all that,” Adam interrupted. “There’s no need to repeat it.” He sat up again and slumped back in the chair. “So this offer of immunity is all bullshit, and if you do get returned to the Queen, you’ll complete a weapon that will allow Earth—and countless other worlds—to be overcome even easier.”
Panur attempted a smile. “That is something I truly enjoy about Humans. You can condense a subject down to a single sentence or two if need be. That is a benefit of having such a simple mind.”
Adam stared out the viewport at the strange looking tunnel the ship was plowing through. “So what are we supposed to do now? I could try convincing Andy that you should never be returned to the Sol-Kor, but I doubt he’d believe me. He’d look at it just as I did at first, as a way to buy us time to better prepare a defense. I doubt the Klin and the Juireans will call off the bounty, either.”
“It is a perplexing situation.”
“No shit. I can’t hide you forever, and once word gets out that any race that returns you to the Queen will be spared, everyone and their alien brother will be out looking for you, regardless of what we say.”
“That is how it has been in the past, and why I have always been returned.”
Adam felt a sour lump in his stomach. “I’ll be seen as the one who selfishly kept you from their salvation. Thanks a lot, Panur. I’m going from being a hero to a goat overnight. You know how many high schools will have to change their name as a result of this?”
“Twenty-eight,” Panur replied.
“Twenty-eight, are you screwing with me?”
“No, I have studied the records.”
“Only twenty-eight?” Adam was let down. He assumed the number was a lot higher.
“However, three more are opening this year,” Panur said after studying his expression. “Does that make you feel better?”
Adam shook his head at the alien. “Feel better? Let’s see: my reputation is ruined, my home is destroyed, I’m the subject of a galaxy-wide man-slash-alien hunt…and I’m sitting here in my boxer shorts, bruised, cut up, and freezing from the damn air conditioning. You’ll have to do a lot better than that to make me feel better.”
Chapter 3
Admiral Andy Tobias tapped his fingers on the cover of the report he cradled in his lap, anxiously awaiting the call to enter the conference room. He had been kept waiting in the anteroom for over fifteen minutes past the scheduled time for his briefing, and Tobias was not one to tolerate missed deadlines. As the highest ranking Navy SEAL in the fleet, he and his charges operated by strict timetables, often measured in seconds. It was how operations were run—by the book…and by the clock.
Dealing with politicians…they seldom kept to schedules, content to bloviate well beyond their allotted time.
When finally he was summoned into the meeting, Andy wasn’t the least bit surprised to find a small contingent of Juireans present. After all, the worlds of the Expansion were also at risk from the Sol-Kor. Two Klin were also in attendance. He fought hard to suppress a smile as he noticed the obvious physical distress the pair were under as a result of Earth’s gravity. The silver-skinned aliens could tolerate it for short periods, yet with the meeting running into extra innings, the Klin were just about at the end of their endurance.
Serves the bastards right for destroying Adam’s house, Andy thought, as he took a chair at the far end of the table opposite the President of the Orion-Cygnus Union. Now where am I going to go for a little R&R? Adam’s recipe for mountain trout was to kill for.
Andy saw President Michael Osbourne eyeing him with an expression bordering on apologetic. Tobias had known the career politician for over thirty years, beginning when Osbourne served a stint as Secretary of Defense under the old American regime. He knew Andy, and would be aware that under his calm exterior, the admiral was steaming. He had better things to do than give a report to a bunch of self-centered politicians and aliens.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting so long, Admiral Tobias,” said the president. “It’s just that our course of action in light of current events is still in flux. We’re hoping you can provide us with the latest intel, something that will help in our decision-making process.”
“I will do my best, Mr. President.” Andy opened the cover of his report and hesitated slightly before beginning, debating whether to draw out his presentation as long as possible simply to torture the Klin, or to wrap it up quickly so he could get on to more important matters. Seeing the agony of the narrow faces of the Klin had him leaning towards dragging it out. Yet another glance at the stern-faced Juireans changed his mind. The sooner he was away from the mane-heads, the better.
“As you’re aware,” he began, “Captain Cain’s ship accelerated out of the solar system at a rate never seen before, so it’s obvious Panur has made some modifications to the engines, and it has also left virtually no trace to follow.”
“Virtually. Then there is some residual?” The Klin’s voice was weak and strained.
Tobias turned toward the alien and smiled. “I was speaking in generalities, Mister Ambassador. The gravity drive did leave a track, up until something new kicked in. Then it was as if the ship disappeared. It reappeared almost a light year away, before disappearing again.”
“So you cannot track it?”
“No, we cannot. It’s as if the ship can hop from one point in space to another without leaving any record of its passage.”
“How is that possible?” asked Jack Hardy, the scientific attaché for the Union.
“I wish I knew,” Andy answered honestly. “The gravity drive also appears to be working at an elevated level of efficiency, yet this new thing—this jump drive—is beyond anything we’ve seen before.”
“Do you at least have a direction in which they fled?” asked the Klin Ambassador.
“The first couple of hops were within our range, and it showed a haphazard jump sequence. I’m sure that routine continued even when they fell off our scopes. They could be anywhere by now, and I mean anywhere. That new drive will revolutionize starship pro—”
“If you can find Cain and capture the ship intact,” President Osbourne threw in. “Any more information gleaned from the brief conversation you had with Captain Cain?”
“We were able to pick up another voice, that of the alien—I mean the being known as Panur. He said: ‘Don’t trust him. They don’t have all the information they need to make an informed decision.’”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, Mr. President. That was moments before the ship accelerated out of the system.”
“Where would they be going?” asked a white-maned Juirean Overlord. “Did you not order your subordinate to return to the planet?”
“Yes I did, Overlord Palon, yet Adam Cain is no longer under my command.”
“And yet he must have been aware of your serious desire to acquire this creature Panur?”
Andy looked first at the Juirean and then the Klin. “You have also been offered immunity,” he stated when the reality struck him. “That’s why the Klin attacked Adam’s house.”
“Yes, both the Klin and the Juireans have also been offered immunity for returning Panur,” said President Osbourne quickly. “As have the Sileans, the Hybens, the Formilians, and about a hundred other species. That’s old news, Admiral. Let’s move on.”
“So it’s a race to see who can find him first? What about the rest of us then, the ones left out when Panur is found and returned?”
“That’s the purpose of this meeting, Admiral,” said Osbourne. “It’s obvious now what the Sol-Kor are doing, so it’s important we present a unified front. There won’t be immunity for just one of us, but for everyone in the galaxy. At least that’s the offer we’re going to make once we get possession of Panur.”
“And what if they say no?”
“Let’s just find Cain first, Admiral.”
“That won’t be easy.”
“He is one of your kind,” said the Juirean. “Surely you must understand his ways.”
Andy turned to the mouthy alien. “Yes, he’s one of our kind, but Adam Cain knows this galaxy better than any Human alive. He’s been to every corner and has contacts from here to the other Arm. If he wishes to remain hidden, he’ll remain hidden.”
“Even if it means his entire species will be consumed by the Sol-Kor?”
“If he chooses not to return Panur, then he must have a very good reason.”
“Communications?” asked the president. “Surely we can still reach him through continuous-wormhole links.”
“CW channels are open and broadcasts are being made. He’ll contact us when he’s ready, but probably not until he’s found a safe place to go to ground.”
“Even so, I want all his prior associates contacted and watched. And send out a galaxy-wide announcement to be on the lookout for him. Offer a sizeable reward. We have to find Cain and Panur as soon as possible. With the Sol-Kor continuing their attacks, the future of the Milky Way galaxy could depend on it. You know him best, Admiral, so where’s he going and what’s his next move?”
Tobias shook his head. “He could go anywhere, Mr. President. Rest assured, by now Captain Cain has already formulated a plan of action designed to keep him from being found. He’ll have every detail nailed down, contingencies for each phase of the op. There’ll be no flying by the seat of his pants, every move will have a purpose. It’s what he’s been trained to do. I’ll send out your announcements, Mr. President, but Adam Cain will only be found when he wants to be found.”
Chapter 4
“So what am I supposed to do now?” Adam blurted, finally reaching the breaking point after Panur’s insatiable line of questioning. “You’ve parked the Pegasus somewhere outside the plane of the galaxy, and five hundred light-years from the nearest civilized planet. We have the whole galaxy out looking for us—and you know I can’t hide you forever. What would be the point? I’m keeping you away from the Sol-Kor just so you won’t build them any more super death-rays, but even if I could hide you forever, the Colony will just keep absorbing planets until there’s no one left—which they’ll do even if you are returned…according to what you say. So what do you have in mind? You’re the genius around here, not me.”
“You are quite right on all accounts, and in order to secure my current status—short of having your entire galaxy stripped clean of advanced life—we must eliminate the Sol-Kor as a threat to your universe.”
“Duh…and how do we do that?”
“The first step is we must shut down all trans-dimensional portals, both here and in the other realms where they exist.”
“You know where the new portals are located?”
“No, not the ones currently being built by the Sol-Kor. However, before embarking for your universe, I detected six other doorways already in operation.”
“Six? I thought only the Klin built a portal?”
“The Klin built the only device capable of transiting starships. The other portals are of the smaller variety, such as the one I built in your garage.”
“Where are they?”
“Various locations within your universe. However, none of the smaller versions are within your galaxy.”
Adam shook his head. “Even if we destroy all of them—including the ones the Sol-Kor are building—that won’t stop others from inventing them in the future.”
“No, it will not. Yet if that happens outside your galaxy, the Sol-Kor will then concentrate their efforts within those harvest fields. Your home galaxy could be safe for several thousand years.”
“Or, as you’ve pointed out, they could use these other portals to branch out to neighboring galaxies. They know the location of the Milky Way and they know you’re here. That will make getting over here a priority.”
“The only other option would be to eliminate the threat at the source.”
“The Queen?”
“Not only that, but the entire Colony. If this queen dies, another will replace her and the activities of the Colony will continue.”
Adam had tended to his cuts and bruises and taken a shower before dressing in a pale blue tunic. Now he and Panur were in the common room aboard the Pegasus II, discussing their options.
“So all we need to do is find a way to kill off a trillion Sol-Kor who just happen to be in another universe. Doesn’t sound too hard.”
“That is my belief as well, Adam Cain. After all, they are mostly concentrated in one loca—”
“Are you mad? I wasn’t serious. We can’t take on the entire Sol-Kor Colony, not the two of us—unless you can come up with a new super-powerful weapon we can use against them. You can, can’t you?”
“I can think on it for a while. I’m sure I can come up with something…if given the time. In the meantime, it is imperative that you keep me safe and away from the Sol-Kor. You may need assistance to achieve that goal.”
“No shit, Sherlock. Let’s see, I’ll need something like the combined strength of the Humans, Juireans, Formilians and the Rigorians, just for starters. Oh yeah, and they just happen to be the same people who will kill me on sight just to get to you.”
“They must be convinced that turning me over to the Queen will not spare their worlds.”
“And for that I need to have a more detailed conversation with Andy—Admiral Tobias—and lay it out for him.” Adam reached for the comm button on his lap-top tablet.
“You do know that CW communications can be traced?”
Adam hesitated. “Traced? I didn’t know that. Are you sure?”
Panur frowned. “Even my systems can be traced, which means your primitive versions are wide open to anyone with the proper equipment.”
“What equipment?”
“I’m sure your people may not have the means, but I know for a fact that the Sol-Kor do. With the very nature of CW—that being longer communication periods—I would not be surprised if the Sol-Kor are already monitoring your communications in their search for me.”
“They can’t monitor all communications…”
“Not every communication sent is by CW technology. There cannot be more than half a trillion transmissions of this type at any given time within your galaxy. The Colony does possess the means of scanning that many transmissions simultaneously.”
“Let me guess: you built the equipment giving them that capability, right?”
“Of course. The Sol-Kor by themselves are very low-tech.”
Adam pulled up the navigation screen on his tablet. “Staying out here, without the means to communicate with anyone, is unacceptable. I need a base of operations, someplace we’ll be safe, yet with the resources to stay on top of current events.”
“Where might that be?”
“I know a place…or at least I did once. I may have to call in few favors, but it sure beats hanging out here in the middle of nowhere with an entire galaxy out gunning for us. Now show me how this new drive of yours works. You’ve screwed with my control board, so I don’t want to fly us through the middle of a star. That may give you something neat to talk about in the future, but it wouldn’t do my mortal body any good.”
“Do not blame me for your shortcomings, Adam Cain. Not everyone can have the privilege of being immortal.”
Chapter 5
Two days later the Pegasus II was nearing the Fringe, and after having had time to think about how to overcome the Sol-Kor threat, Panur announced that he could build a device that could detect all the new portals opera
ting within the Milky Way Galaxy. Adam saw this as positive step forward, the ability to shut down the aliens’ access. It wasn’t a quick fix, but it did hold promise, as long as the rest of the galaxy united to form an effective strike force against the existing Sol-Kor fleet.
But now Adam felt his eyes cross as he scanned the material list for Panur’s portal detector. “I don’t have a clue what ninety percent of this stuff is. You’re going to have to be a little more descriptive.”
“That’s understandable. If you were capable of identifying these items, you could build your own detector. As it is, I feel secure in knowing that I am the only one who can.”
“We’re on the same side here, Panur. We need you to build the detector, but you also need the rest of us to destroy the portals and defeat the Sol-Kor in battle. So how about a little cooperation?”
“Agreed. I will try to go slow so you can understand. My detector must be extremely sensitive, since transit through trans-dimensional portals sends out faint yet identifiable waves, interrupting the underlying harmonics of the universe. I need a material that can absorb these harmonics, and then a method of reading these disruptions. Your brain-interface device is a suitable reader, yet I will need four of them to form a zonal collector of the harmonic waves coming off the detector.”
“Four of them? Will mine work?”
“Yes, once removed from your body. I am fully capable of performing the operation. Shall we begin?”
“Hold on a minute. Let’s wait until we figure out how to get the other three, along with all this other stuff. I may need the artificial telepathy device in the meantime.”