Jason King: Agent to the Stars 1: The Enclaves of Sylox

by T. R. Harris

  “So you see, Mr. Cain, when you kill in war it’s different, and yet in both of my scenarios, wives, children, mothers and fathers have all had their lives shattered by the same event. It all depends on which side you’re on as to whether the killing was a form of self-defense or simply murder. That’s why you Westerners call us animals and savages, because you think we are killing indiscriminately, without cause. We are not. We are at war, and that makes all the difference, at least it does for us. So returning to my original premise, if we treat our own kind – mankind – in such a callous and arbitrary manner, then the act of killing aliens … well, we wouldn’t give that a second thought … and we’d feel no remorse in doing so.”

  “I thought you said all of that was in your past – my friend,” Adam said sarcastically.

  “Forgive me, but old habits do die hard. I apologize for my rant, yet you must agree my points are valid.”

  Regrettably, most of what he was saying was true. As a Navy SEAL, Adam had never concerned himself too much with the enemy he’d killed in combat; in fact, he never gave it a second thought, until now. Granted, he had seen horrific things on the battlefield, and that had upset him to a degree. The burned and maimed bodies, the bloody, ripped apart corpses, the vacant, hollow eyes of the dead – that he had trouble getting used to. But score one for the good guys, is how he often justified his missions. It was them or us – just as Riyad had said. And to agree with another of Riyad’s points, when he had killed the Rigorian lizards – as well as the Nimorians guards in the security building – he hadn’t felt any remorse in doing so. It had been like stepping on a bug….

  Riyad was studying Adam’s face as he went through his mental exercise, a sly smile on the terrorist’s face. “You know I’m right,” he stated. “For the Klin, we would be the perfect warriors.”

  Adam shook his head. “This is not our war, Tarazi. I’m really sorry that the Klin were screwed over by the Juireans thousands of years ago – talk about holding grudges! But we have no motivation to fight the Juireans.”

  “Not yet. However, once the Juireans learn of our importance to the Klin, they will come down on us with everything they have. And then it will be our fight.”

  Damn it! This asshole keeps coming up with good points! Then he shrugged. “So what can we do about it?”

  “For starters, we can keep the computer core out of the hands of the Juireans.” Riyad sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, suddenly very animated. “We have a great opportunity here, an opportunity to bring to our homeworld the gift of the universe.” Riyad’s eyes grew wide, even wild-looking. “Imagine what a power we could become if we had the technology of the Juireans, of star travel and of energy weapons. With our skill at waging war, we could direct our talents toward other enemies, and not at our fellow man. We’ve never been able to do that before; we’ve never had an enemy outside of ourselves. If given the opportunity, Humans could become the new force in the galaxy!”

  This line of thinking sounded oddly familiar. In fact, it was what Kaylor had told him about the early Juireans, the ones who had built the ten-thousand spaceships just so they could redirect their own primitive, warlike nature against outside enemies – real or perceived. And here Riyad was saying that Humanity should follow the same path as the Juireans.

  Adam studied the terrorist as he spoke; he had an almost insane look on his face while describing his vision for how Humans would enter the community of civilizations in the galaxy. Is this how Adam would have imagined it? He had never put much thought into it, having never been that big of a science fiction fan or visionary thinker. Yet he hoped that Riyad’s way would not be the only way, where Humans would be introduced to the galaxy as a savage horde of warmongering beasts, spreading out among the stars like a plague. Of course, Adam may have been a little melodramatic in his assessment, but on the other hand, he also knew the dark side of mankind. He wasn’t sure if Humanity was ready for the universe. Not quite yet.

  “Let me ask you, Riyad,” Adam said, “why do we have to go out as a force at all? Why not go as friends, as partners with the other races in the galaxy?” Even as he spoke the words, he knew they sounded hollow.

  Riyad just smiled back at him, almost a sympathy-smile for an innocent child. “I don’t know what kind of life you had back in America, Mr. Cain, but I do not hold such a naïve view of our fellow man. I have seen incredible injustices done by man towards man—”

  “And often in the name of religion, I might point out,” said Adam angrily.

  “No doubt, but that doesn’t change the fact that we, as a species, have survived and spread across our planet by killing our own kind and taking their land and possessions. And that, my friend, is the only way we will spread across the galaxy as well. It is simply our nature. And now we have the opportunity to direct that natural aggressiveness against creatures other than Human.”

  Suddenly, Adam saw the truth behind Riyad’s speech. “With you as our leader, I suppose?”

  Riyad stared back at him for a moment before answering. “And why not; someone has to lead and I have more experience dealing with the aliens than anyone else,”

  Now it was all coming clear; this megalomaniac wanted to return to Earth as its ruler, using the advanced technology of the Juireans to make that a reality. Then he would lead mankind in a galactic holy war that would cost millions, if not billions of Human lives. He would create enemies where none exist, just to turn mankind against the aliens. It was one thing to defend oneself against a real enemy. It was quite another to instigate a war just for one’s own selfish ambitions. It may very well come down to Humans having to defend themselves against a Juirean threat, but the way Riyad made it sound, he wanted to provoke a war just so he could become the savior, the hero of any such conflict.

  Then Adam suddenly burst out laughing, as the absurdity of the conversation hit him. Riyad recoiled slightly. “What’s so funny,” he asked, sounding insulted.

  “Are you frickin serious? Just look at us,” Adam began. “We’re two measly Humans, sitting in a room aboard a starship, thousands of light years from our home – and we’re seriously talking about leading an entire planet in a galactic war against an alien empire spanning thousands of worlds. When did we enter the Twilight Zone? What the fuck, Riyad! We probably won’t even survive the next few days, let alone long enough to return to Earth and lead our entire race on some holy crusade against an alien empire. You really have to be crazy to think like that.”

  Riyad stood suddenly, his jaw locked in anger. “You are wrong, Mr. Cain! Humans have a destiny that must be fulfilled, and believe it or not, the events of the next few days will determine whether or not we fulfill that destiny. I will get the core, and I will find my way back to Earth. Then we’ll see which one of us is crazy!”

  Riyad then stormed out of the room, leaving Adam wide-eyed and a little stunned at his reaction. It was all so surreal. But then he figured it probably wasn’t the first time in his life that Riyad Tarazi had been called crazy.

  Chapter 19

  With Riyad gone, Adam had his first real opportunity to inspect the bomb strapped to his ankle. The band itself seemed to have melded together leaving no latch of any kind, and the box where the explosive was held was seamless as well, leaving no way to gain access to the interior.

  The only solution he could see would be to cut away the device from his ankle. But what could he use, and was the metal even capable of being cut? He tried bending it, and found the metal to be malleable. That would make it easier to slip a cutter between his ankle and the bomb. He spent an hour or more rummaging through the stateroom trying everything he could find to cut through the band, but with no luck. Eventually, he decided what he needed was something like a flexible pipe-cutter, a sort of serrated wire that he could use to file through the metal.

  There might be something like that in the cargo hold, Adam thought, and with free-reign of the ship, he could go there now and see what he could find. Yet just as he was pre
paring to leave the cabin, the door slid open and he found himself face-to-face with Jym, who looked frazzled and nervous.

  Startled, it took Jym a moment to collect himself, then he said, “We are nearing the asteroids and the pirate wants you to come to the pilothouse right away.” Jym seemed to be numb with fear. Besides everything else that had taken place over the past two days, Adam knew the bomb on Jym’s ankle was freaking him out, as it would anyone.

  Silently, Adam followed Jym back up to the pilothouse, which was packed with people. Riyad didn’t acknowledge him as he entered, so Adam leaned against the far wall, next to the doorway.

  The outer viewport shield was open and Adam could see out into the darkness of space. If there was an asteroid belt out there, it was impossible to tell. He couldn’t see a single thing outside except for the blaze of stars off in the far distance. There was no great conglomeration of spinning rocks, looking like giant potatoes, and all in close proximity of each other like he’d seen in all the movies. As it had been with most things he’d experienced in this strange universe, he was mildly disappointed.

  Riyad stood behind Kaylor, who was busy working the control stick of the ship. And then Adam thought he saw something off in the distance. It looked like a dim flare that seemed to be growing brighter by the second. Soon he could make out a small cylinder, with its far end spitting an occasional burst of white gas. It was the pod, approaching them on chemical power.

  Riyad looked back at Adam, no kindness in his gaze. “You have weak thoughts, Mr. Cain,” he said to him. “You will always be a weak man, a man without vision.”

  Ouch. He’s still pissed at being called crazy, Adam thought, smiling back at the pirate. You just wait until I get this bomb off my ankle, you asshole. Then you’ll see just how weak I really am.

  Moments later Kaylor had brought the pod back into the ship, and by robotics, moved it into the cargo hold. They all adjourned to the larger room as Kaylor entered the pod and emerged a few moments later carrying the elusive computer core.

  Once again, Adam was disappointed. The almighty computer core that everyone was so enamored with was just a relatively plain looking metal box about three feet square. But even though it didn’t look that impressive, Adam found himself growing ever more excited at the prospect of what information the box contained. In one form or another, it would reveal the location of the Earth; whether or not Adam could use that information to actually get home remained a mystery. But first things first….

  Kaylor brought the box over to the workbench with the computer screen imbedded in the wall above and Jym stepped up to begin connecting cables to the device. Soon the lights on the face began to illuminate and Riyad moved in closer. Everyone began to focus on the screen in the bulkhead as Jym began to type feverishly on the keypad on the workbench.

  Symbols began to appear on the screen. Adam couldn’t read alien, so unless the information could be spoken and deciphered by the translation bug, he would never be able to understand the data. This he had not counted on.

  Riyad seemed to be growing just as distraught as Adam. His eyes were wide and his jaw was set. He grabbed the back of Jym’s tunic, “What is this crap?” he yelled at the sweating alien.

  “I’m sorry,” Jym pleaded, his voice shrill, “but it appears to be encrypted, or else there’s a compatibility issue with our system.”

  “Don’t fuck with me, you rodent!”

  “No, no – I can’t make it work! It needs to be hooked into a compatible module.”

  Riyad released Jym and began to pace the room, with all eyes upon him. Then he abruptly stopped and faced Kaylor, “Take us back to Nimor; we have to get aboard the Klin ship.” Then turning to the guards: “Secure the core. No one is to get near it except me. No one.” He looked directly at Adam as he spoke the last words.

  Soon everyone had left the cargo bay … everyone except Adam.

  Chapter 20

  It’s almost an impossible task to sneak up on someone when using a gravity drive; with the right sensors you can be detected for millions of miles away as you approach. So when the Juirean Fleet arrived near K’ly, alarms sounded at the pirate base and crews scrambled for their ships.

  Pirates lived life on the edge, constantly looking over their shoulders for any real or perceived threats. One of their major concerns was that one of the more ambitious governments in The Fringe would one day try to gain political points by attacking their home base. So escape plans were honed and drills run until a pirate crew could have their ship up and in a well within ten minutes of an alarm.

  And so like roaches when the lights come on, twenty-three pirate craft were bolting into space in a myriad of directions, following an escape plan designed to make it nearly impossible for an attacker to catch more than a few of the stragglers. Practice made perfect, and for the others – well the outcome was not so perfect.

  Captains Jiden and Meldeon were on perimeter duty when the Juirean Fleet appeared. Their current assignment was a temporary punishment for their cut-and-run abandonment of the ship they’d attacked a few days earlier. The real price for their cowardness would be paid when General Tarazi returned from Nimor….

  Stationed about one-and-a-half million miles from K’ly, and in the plane of the stellar ecliptic, the two ship’s captains spotted the massive gravity signatures moments before those on the planet below. Immediately on a link with each other, they quickly discussed their options. Their first impulse was to cut and run, just as their comrades were in the process of doing down on K’ly. But then they hesitated. They had been fooled before by this very action, and how would General Tarazi react if they fell for the same ruse a second time?

  So they stayed, charging up their weapons, battle crews at the ready – just in case the threat was real this time.

  One can only imagine the captains’ shock when sixteen Juirean battle cruisers – the entire Fringe Fleet – came into extreme visual range, and fanned out over an arc of ten thousand miles so as to avoid overlapping wells. Now turning to run, the two pirate ships didn’t make it very far before multiple bolts of intense plasma energy struck them from behind, taking out their maneuvering ports, as well as most of their generator capacity. Their ships remained in real space, drifting together, as two large battle cruisers slid in beside them and activated magnetic grapples. The rest of the Juirean fleet continued toward K’ly.

  Jiden and Meldeon kept their links open as they expressed confusion as to why the Juireans had not simply blown them to dust. But they were still alive, and that had to count for something. So deciding that resistance was futile, they instructed their crews to stand down and allow the ships to be boarded without a fight.

  It’s a mistake to assume that a fleet of Juirean starships was manned solely by Juireans. In fact, out of the over fifteen-hundred beings occupying the fleet, there was only one Juirean aboard, and that was Fleet Commander Giodol Fe Bulen. Once the pirate ships were secured, their two captains were brought before the Juirean in his spacious stateroom aboard his Class-5 flagship.

  Two heavily armed Rigorians forcefully dumped the captains into chairs before the commander, who remained seated behind a massive desk, casually stroking a rare MK-34 high-velocity bolt launcher resting the desk.

  “I want information,” Giodol began slowly. “Three days ago, a group of pirates attacked a ship in the Void near the Nimorian system. Do you have any knowledge of this action?”

  The two captains looked at each other, then back to the Juirean. Meldeon spoke first: “There are a number of pirate ships here, My Lord. We’re not aware of this particular attack.” Both shifted nervously in the chairs.

  The Juirean bore a dagger-look at them. “Are you sure? You’ve not heard anything of this attack?”

  “Nothing, My Lord,” Jiden offered.

  The Juirean just nodded, then after a moment, he lifted the MK-34 and sent a stun bolt into Jiden’s chest. The captain was thrust backwards by the blast as the chair tumbled over. Hurt, but not se
verely injured, the two guards righted the chair and threw him back into it.

  The Fleet Commander then took the weapon and dialed up the charge by three clicks before placing the weapon back on the desk. He returned his attention Meldeon.

  “Again, I’ll ask the question—”

  “Yes! Yes, we know of the attack.” Meldeon blabbered. “We are two of the three captains who were there. But we were just following orders, My Lord.”

  “That’s not important. What is important is what you took from the ship before you departed.”

  The captains looked at each other again, confused, Jiden grimacing through spasms of burning pain. Then Meldeon spoke again, “My Lord, we took nothing from the ship. We didn’t have time. Captain Angar had just finished his sweep for survivors when we were – when we departed.”

  The Juirean cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “You took nothing? Are you sure?”

  It was Jiden’s turn to plead their innocence. “It was Captain Angar who went aboard. But we know for a fact that he did not take anything. We all expressed our frustration at having nothing to show for our efforts.”

  The Juirean began to nod his head. “That’s very interesting. All I’m really concerned about is if anything was taken. And you both say there was nothing removed?”

  Both captains nodded emphatically. Then the Fleet Commander lifted the weapon again and blasted a hole through Meldeon’s forehead. The level one bolt was clean and tight, and Meldeon simply slumped down in the chair, his head falling forward.

  Stunned, Jiden began to tremble uncontrollably, his eyes wide with terror, saliva flowing from the corners of his mouth. The Juirean stared at him. “I’ll ask the question again: Was anything taken from the ship?”

  “No My Lord! I swear as such. We took nothing!” He began to sob uncontrollably.

  “Now, now captain, pirates are not supposed to cry,” Giodol said soothingly. “I believe you. I just had to be sure.”