by T. R. Harris
“Why didn’t you?” Copernicus asked.
“Because I enjoy watching Humans in action. I got quite a thrill watching you orchestrate our escape from the Panorius prison. I still have hope that at some point Humans could join with Gracilians, serving as part of our elite Guard.”
“Yeah, keep hoping, asshole,” Riyad said. “That’s not going to happen.”
“It is a vague hope. I will not be overly disappointed if it never comes to fruition.”
Copernicus leaned forward. “So, what is this all about, Aric? What have you and the Gracilians been up to all these years?”
“Ah, and now we come to it.” Aric grinned at the other Gracilians seated around him. “As you have surmised, the plans we’ve been working on started long before Kracion attacked Gracilia. I find it ironic that our plans to become the new Aris in the galaxy was interrupted by a rogue Aris. But that is one of the vagaries of fate. Our initial battle plans were not as ambitious as they have developed into. As the acknowledged superior intellect in the Kidis, Gracilia wanted to consolidate the Frontier into the third major empire in the galaxy, rivaling even that of the Expansion or the Union. We felt we had a more legitimate claim on our home territory than did outsiders. It was after the Juireans annexed the region—and the Humans chased them away—that we began to get serious about our plans. With the technological advances we were making at the time, we began assembling the underground fleet you have seen. We have nearly six hundred of the vessels. As Copernicus Smith can attest, they are the most advanced fighter craft in the galaxy. They also possess revolutionary dark energy weapons, making our six hundred the equal of ten thousand Expansion or Union vessels.”
“However, you must realize we did not want to use our fleet. Wars are not efficient events. Instead, we would use them as a deterrent against war as we make claim to the Kidis. Once that was achieved, then we would begin more subtle negotiations to expand our territory, with the ultimate goal being domination of the galaxy. You must admit, with our abilities and technology, we could do a much better job of ruling the galaxy than either the Expansion or the Union.”
“And then along came Kracion,” Adam said, cutting to the chase.
Aric pursed his lips. “Yes, then Kracion attacked. At the time, we were still manufacturing our warships and training the crews. The attack came so suddenly, and the crews still untrained, that only a few of our advanced vessels managed to escape the planet. Since then, our battle plans have been placed in suspension, pending a revision to allow for present conditions. In truth, our focus had shifted from the Kidis to another sector within the galaxy. We had planned on making Aac’or our new homeworld, beginning our expansion from there. I labored tirelessly on the effort, supporting the revolution while working on the technology that would make our domination possible. But, alas, the coup attempt failed, and once again, my plans were delayed.” Aric looked at Copernicus and smiled. “Until you came to Panorius. It has taken me five standard years to develop an alternative to our initial battle plan. Thanks to you, I can now put it into motion.”
“You’re still going ahead with your plan?” Riyad asked. “That’s crazy. There’s only a handful of you goatherders around. It would be impossible.”
Aric frowned at the term goatherder, but he’d been around Humans enough to let it go. He nodded. “At first, there were those who agreed with you, Riyad Tarazi. How could such a small residual population achieve what we have envisioned for our race? That is the solution I have been working on for five years.” He once again held up the service module. “Let me introduce to you our new flight crew.”
“You’re going to use the service modules to pilot your warships?” Copernicus asked.
“Correct. After Kracion’s attack, we lost nearly all our trained crews, and with very little population left to find more. We were in chaos, spread across the galaxy, and in a severe state of depression. Yet, a few of us persevered.” He looked to the other two Gracilians in the room. “My associates and I have continued, working in secret for years until we learned how to create the modules. You mentioned earlier, Sherri Valentine, that our modules do not contain archival information about the Aris. They do not need to. They are a basic functioning device, developed to accomplish one task, and one task only: to pilot our warships. And not only that, but they will be able to operate our starships far more efficiently, and without the physical limitations, than even our best living pilots.”
“So why now?” Copernicus asked. “You mentioned you had a deadline for escaping.”
“That is true,” Aric conceded. “And for that, I again thank you. Your assistance in the escape has allowed me to put our battle plan back in motion, and more along its original design. As you are aware, there is a vote taking place soon as to who will rule the Dead Zone, and consequently, the entire Kidis. We plan to give the region a third option, one born in the Kidis and one which will give the Frontier incredible power and influence, something the natives could never achieve under either Expansion or Union control. And all this has become possible because of your efforts, Mr. Smith.”
“Because I helped you escape,” Coop said sourly.
“Precisely. Not only from the prison but for your efforts on Liave-3. Yes, I know it was you who interfered a few days ago. And now, I will tell you how your efforts have been even more counterproductive to your desired results than you realize. Before the service modules can be activated for use in our warships, they must first be charged, and for that, I needed the Dark Matter Collector I had stored in the mountains of Liave-3. I sense you already guessed I had such a device. I had the collector in the transport when you foiled my capture. I suppose now you are regretting your decision to save me. None of what is about to transpire would be possible had you allowed the bounty hunters to have me.”
Copernicus was crestfallen. “As they say, no good deed goes unpunished.”
“I suppose if I analyzed your statement, I would find truth in its meaning,” Aric said. “But for now, I will be content with the sorrowful look on your face. But please look at this from a more practical point of view. The Dead Zone has been looking for an overseer for some time. Now it will get one, and from within. The refugees will welcome us, finding comfort in our strength. And the empires will not dare oppose us, not with our dark energy technology.” Aric looked at his companions. “And depending on how others react to our presence, the war for galactic domination may begin ahead of schedule, which in the end is the ultimate destiny of the Gracilians. It may be better to do it sooner rather than later, while we still have the element of surprise.”
“So, why are you telling us this?” Adam asked. “Why don’t you just kill us?”
“Again, because of Mr. Smith. I feel we developed a bond during our time at Panorius. I wanted him to know what an integral part he has played in the affairs of the galaxy, how one insignificant individual could be so vital. I was also curious who followed me from Liave-3. Believe me, if you were simply bounty hunters, I would have summarily executed you. Instead, I have had a chance to meet the famous Adam Cain and his cohorts. I will also have the distinct privilege of being the one who kills him and his cohorts. I believe I will have the event recorded so I may show it to others. Many will not believe me without evidence.”
Aric stood up, along with his silent partners. “It is now time for us to carry on with our arrangements. We have only now started the charging process for the hundreds of service modules we have built. And then they must be programmed. Fortunately, the vote is not scheduled to take place anytime soon. We will be ready by then.” He looked to his guards. “Take them to the security facilities. Be cautious; they are extremely dangerous. Pass the orders for the guards to shoot should any disturbance occur.” He turned to Copernicus. “You once told me you have escaped from four prisons in your lifetime. Panorius makes five. I will not let my compound become number six.”
17
As it was for most jails Adam had experience with this one appeared to
have been constructed hastily out of a bank of offices with extra locks placed on the doors and guards outside. Very few places had official security cells; there was no need to have permanent facilities for the occasional crime. In most societies, officials would be called to take the perpetrators away. The hidden starship bunker was no different.
The thing that made Adam nervous was Aric’s unabashed orders to shoot-to-kill if they tried anything. The alien was pragmatic. One way or the other, they were going to die. Aric had his preference as to how that would happen, but he wasn't picky, just so long as it happened. The rest of the team understood this, and now they were each locked away in a separate office with no windows or ways to communicate.
Despite that, Adam wasn’t about to give up. He immediately began surveying the room, looking not only for a way out but also for cameras and listening devices. If he was going to figure a way out, he didn’t want people watching.
The room was stripped clean of everything except a couch, and being far underground, there were no windows. The air duct in the ceiling was about eight inches square, making it useless as a means of escape. He removed the cushions from the couch and checked how it was constructed. He could perhaps break it apart to get a club of some sort, but that would take time. He had no idea when Aric was going to make good on his promise to kill them. He said he wanted to record the execution—a record for posterity and fame—so maybe that would take a little time to set up, and longer if he wanted to make a spectacle of it.
Adam set to work on the couch, seeing that it was the only object in the room. It had a metal frame, rather than wood, and that was good. He stripped off the support fabric revealing the metal skeleton. It had welded joints and seams designed to tolerate the stresses placed on them in the Gracilian gravity and to accommodate the weight of native bodies. As it was with most Prime worlds in the galaxy, the gravity here was lighter than Earth’s, but not by much. Juirean Standard was 75-percent that of Earth. Gracilia’s had to be eighty to ninety percent, hardly worth mentioning. Humans had the most advantage in gravities sixty percent of Earth’s or less.
Still, he set to work on the frame, taking only a few minutes to bend the metal to a point where it broke apart. He worked the long seat beam until it snapped off at the other end. He now had a bar about eight feet long. It was something. Now, what was he going to do with it?
He was standing in the middle of the room, gripping the bar when the door suddenly opened inward. The hallway was full of alien guards, with only a single Gracilian among them. Across the hallway, another door was open. Riyad was standing in the middle of the room, holding a mirror copy of the bar Adam had in his hands. He didn’t doubt the same was true for Copernicus and Sherri. With only so much to work with, they had to make do with available materials.
Aric poked his head in the room and smiled. “You wasted no time. Unfortunately, your time is up. I have been told I have more important tasks to tend to than the planning of an elaborate execution. I will, therefore, carry out your sentence now. Come along. I will make it as painless as possible.”
Guards rushed into the room. Adam lashed out with the bar, taking out two of them before a flash bolt fired at point-blank sent him writhing to the floor. It came from an MK pistol, rather than one of the Xan-fi rifles, and it saved his life. The level setting was at two.
In his pain-induced stupor, Adam heard commotion throughout the other rooms. The Humans weren’t going away quietly, but away they did. Eventually, each was stunned by flash bolts and dragged from their cells.
They were taken to the hangar. The entourage found an opening between the starships and placed the four Humans on their knees in a line. Still suffering the effects of the flash bolts, they barely resisted when guards pressed their heads down, exposing the backs of their necks.
Aric stepped up to Adam. He looked at a pair of Gracilians operating small recording devices. “Assure a good angle,” he said to them.
He then took Adam by the chin and lifted his head. He was holding a short, blue-metal sword in his right hand.
“This is called a craymisn, a ceremonial sword used in an ancient purification ritual. We have long since done away with such practices, but I collect ancient artifacts, a practice I began after studying those of the Aris. I find links to the past to be stimulating, showing a continuation of consciousness through the ages. Be aware, Adam Cain, I have only killed one other person before, and that was during my escape from Panorius. I must say, I found it empowering. You will be my second, followed by your friends. It is a habit I may practice more often.” He looked down the line of prisoners. “I understand there is a rite that is often observed at times like these, that of a final statement from the condemned. Do you have any final words you wish to say, Adam Cain?”
“I do, but you’d probably misunderstand the meaning if I said, ‘fuck you.’”
Aric recoiled slightly as the translation sounded in his ear. “Of that, you are correct. That was the last statement I expected to hear from you. Humans do have a strange way of expressing your—is it displeasure? That is what I would expect in a situation like this. However, your expression of a sexual nature is in fact, confusing.”
Aric sighed and stepped away, letting Adam’s head fall.
“I offered, and since I am recording this event, the last words of the famous Adam Cain will forever be remembered as ‘fuck you.’ So be it.”
He raised his right hand, lifting the ceremonial sword above his head, taking careful aim at Adam’s neck. “Forgive me if I falter at first. I know not how hard to make the hit. It may take me several attempts before your head is severed completely. I am sure you will understand.”
18
The sound was distinct and lasted only a split second. It was a swoop, followed by a blood-curdling scream. Adam was surprised to see the metal blade clang to the floor, initiating a cacophonous explosion of both flash bolts and automatic gunfire. The guard holding Adam’s head was blown away as a huge arm with an anchor tattoo scooped the Human up and carried him away.
Bodies were bumping into him while guns fired only inches from his head. Flashes assaulted his vision, blinding him momentarily until he was rudely tossed to the cold metal floor and a weapon shoved into his hands.
“Dammit, do something to help!”
Adam recognized the voice. It was that of Monty Pitts.
Adam rolled over and sighted along the barrel. He let off with a couple of quick bursts. There were so many aliens scurrying among the black starships that it was hard to miss. A flash behind him brought a loud cursing torrent from Monty’s throat. He’d been hit, and from the other two circular burn marks in what remained of his shirt, it wasn’t his first.
“Take cover, you dumb ox,” Adam yelled. “Even level-2s can kill if you’re hit with enough of them.”
“I’m okay, Captain. I feed off the pain. It only makes me stronger.”
“And dumber. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Just following your lead. When we saw that Jroshin left the planet, we figured Coop would go after him. And he would need a ship. So, we followed that big ugly thing you call a starship.”
“Why didn’t we see you?”
“Some of the latest stealth technology, courtesy of Priority Acquisitions. It seems our green-skinned friend has connections in the technology department.”
Adam squinted through the haze of the flash bolts and gunfire, spotting Aric just before he ducked out of the hangar. He was holding his right hand in his left, an arrow conspicuously embedded in the middle of his palm.
“That was some fancy shooting on Summer’s part,” he said. “Glad to see she’s staying in practice.”
“Yeah, my girl’s a prodigy. But we’ll talk about that later. We need to get out of here first.”
Adam and Monty took off running, dodging more bolts, heading for the edge of the vast field of alien warships. The rest of the team was there, huddled at a side passageway. Tidus and his people hadn’t c
ome with enough extra weapons, but Summer had surrendered hers to Sherri while she used her trusty compound bow to its highest and best use. The problem she was running out of arrows. She used them on only select targets, those with a bead on the others.
In the meantime, Copernicus, Tidus, Sherri and Riyad were blasting away with the weapons they had. It was an awesome display of Human firepower, using the more advanced M-201s. Adam wasn’t surprised to see the Juirean Tidus had stocked his ship with Human rifles. Although the galaxy had long ago adopted bolt launchers as their weapon of choice because of their ability to be recharged, Humans retained the preference for ballistics because of their unmatched killing power. Anyone experiencing the difference would make the same decision.
“How are we going to get out of here?” Sherri yelled through the din.
“I have an idea,” Copernicus answered. “Cover me.”
As the others opened fire again, Coop ran to one of the huge coils at the side of the hangar. There was a large and elaborate control console on the inside wall. He took a moment to study it, then began pressing buttons. At first, nothing happened. Then suddenly, a long, blinding shaft of light stabbed down from above. There was a lull in the fighting as everyone looked up. The overhead panel was sliding aside. At the same time, the floor of the hangar began to vibrate. The coils began rotating and soon, the elevator was lifting a section of the fleet of black starships toward the desert sky.
Most of the guards were caught in the side passageways and didn’t catch the ride up. The few left hidden among the starships remained frozen in place. The Humans quickly overcame their shock at the rising floor and began firing again. Aliens were dropping like flies.
The open sky was in full display now, even as the elevator moved with sloth-like speed. Adam could imagine the alien troops scrambling up stairways or entering other elevators and beating them to the surface.