Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  George has been considering his answer, and once indicated to speak, replies with a confidence he does not feel. With a deep breath, he says. “Regent Voknor of the Gamin, I once again implore you not to punish those that did as their leaders demanded of them. The people you have shown to me are victims, pawns if you will, in this incident.”

  The Regent looks at George, Sharz, and then at the man on the screen before him, almost willing the President to speak again. He stares at the President and waits. Finally, he points at the screen as he states, in a rather disquieting tone, “You and your Russian friend shall be my guests. It is time for me to eat.”

  The Regent lets a lot of his teeth show as he stands with his arms at his sides. The bone ridges seem to be flexing as he steps forward toward the screen. The President visibly blanches, as the color fades from his fear-filled face.

  With that, the screen blacks out. The Regent suddenly roars in laughter, “I am sure he thinks I am going to eat them both!” He laughs louder and harder as he rocks back and forth.

  Soon the entire bridge crew is laughing, which causes George to look around fearfully.

  Sharz notices George, and states. “We are civilized and would not eat another intelligent being, ever. Such a thought is as foreign to us as, well, as it is to you. However, we have crushed worlds in the past for what your leaders have done, and they must learn from their mistakes.”

  Voknor grins widely; he is reminded of the planet where the leader brought his steam powered military to confront them. He turns and says, “Sharz, well said.”

  Regent Voknor considers the main reason he summoned Sharz, turns to him and formally states, “You are now Prime. Assume the duties as soon as the new craft is ready. George, go with Sharz and collect those two idiots that call themselves leaders. Did they really think that a layer of frozen water was going to disguise those clumsy vessels? Collect that one from the place called China as well; it is time to prepare them all for their duties ahead.”

  Sharz bows his head low as he replies, “By your order, Regent.”

  George timidly speaks, his head bowed down, “Regent Voknor of the Gamin, please permit me to ask of the sailors you have captured.”

  Voknor glares at George as he leans forward, his vertical eyelids narrowing. “Even now, you ask of another's safety, at the cost of bringing my attention directly upon yourself.”

  George is feeling a little uncomfortable now and gulps as he continues to gaze downward.

  Voknor pauses, reflects, and then continues, “You are fortunate that I like you, George, most fortunate. They will be freed in good time. I have yet to make your leaders so nervous that they do not try to deceive me again. Politics is such an entertaining distraction from other concerns.”

  George remains quiet as he bows lower, and then retires with Sharz, who is already leaving the bridge area.

  As soon as they are gone, Skylow turns and questions, “Destroyed worlds?”

  Voknor shrugs as he replies, “It got their attention!”

  The bridge crew relaxes and laughs; releasing a lot of pent up tensions.

  It takes Sharz a short time to collect the leaders and transport them to the flagship. Voknor uses this time to prepare his presentation, one designed to intimidate the leaders into submission, once and for all.

  Regent Voknor turns off the main viewer and grins as the leaders of America, China, and Russia, step onto his bridge. Their noses are running, and their breathing is shallow as they stand before him.

  He stares at the leaders, then states, “I am Regent Voknor of the Gamin. This is my domain.” With a single sweeping gesture from his arm, all the screens come alive showing the picturesque view of Earth below them. The forequarters of the spacecraft seem to stretch on forever, adding to the diminutiveness of the planet below. The space nearby is dominated by at least a dozen other craft.

  “Let us eat.” The Regent states, clapping his hands while staring at the three leaders.

  The Presidents stiffen at the words, then as a pair of tables and some chairs are brought to the bridge, they relax. Plates of food are brought onto the bridge and set on the tables.

  The three leaders sit at one of the tables while Voknor strides throughout the room. Sharz takes a seat at a different table. George glances back and forth and then joins him.

  Addressing George, Voknor states, “Sit with your kind, if you desire. That is, if these arrogant people would have you at their table.”

  George looks back and forth once more, and, with stark realization, understands only too well what has transpired. He is more welcomed and comfortable sitting with an alien, than at a table of his own kind.

  Regent Voknor struts to the view screen again, and as he stares at the blue planet below, states, “Your bold and futile actions have caused the deaths of many of your kind. This foolishness will cease immediately. You have been playing games, and these are costly games with regard to your people. Perhaps you would take their places, but I think you are more willing to issue orders than to actually do anything that would put your own lives at risk.”

  Walking slowly to the three leaders, Voknor motions to George and continues. “George wishes to save those I have captured. He says that you are at fault, not those that follow your orders; perhaps you should be punished in their place?”

  While the three leaders look over at George, Voknor stares at each of them. None have the courage to speak, or perhaps they have the wisdom not to. In either case, silence fills the room.

  Regent Voknor slowly heads toward George, while taking food samples from his table, and continues. “They will be freed, but do not take me for a fool. Any action taken against us, or our friends, will be dealt with very harshly.” Regent Voknor is looking straight at George as he mentions friends.

  Pointing at the Chinese president, the Regent continues his speech. “You are here to see that I do not tolerate subterfuge.” The Chinese leader blanches.

  Prime Bralk steps onto the bridge, struts toward Voknor, and with a bowed head, waits to speak. After a moment, he leans close and whispers into the Regent’s ear, “The reclamation craft’s scans of the ocean floors leave a lot to be desired. Not only have the crews found vast amounts of radiologics dumped in poorly sealed containers, they have discovered an unusual mass below a thick layer of silt. This oddity is something that may interest you. When you are ready, I have transmitted the exact location to your sensors.”

  Voknor nods to Bralk; he would not have interrupted him, nor come personally, if there were not more to this than he is saying. He sits in his command chair, and taps his armrests as he ponders Bralk’s message.

  Addressing the room, Voknor states, “You are to increase the shipments of all materials. You are dismissed, humans.” He gives Sharz the barest of signals, then waits.

  Sharz catches the urgency, then walks to the table with the leaders. He looks at the nervous people before him, and orders, “Follow me.”

  The leaders, their eyes darting around, stand and hurry to follow Sharz. George rises, bows slightly to the Regent, and then follows the group. He trails behind the guards, Prytec is purposefully protecting him, in case the Presidents attempt something, and have to be eliminated.

  The moment the humans have gone, and while the tables are being removed, Voknor states, “Scan the ocean floor at the coordinates given by Prime Bralk.”

  Frazik taps his console, then states, “Regent, there is something on the scanners!”

  Regent Voknor’s eyes narrow as he asks, “What is it?”

  “It’s a dense material, buried deep in the silt at the bottom of the ocean.”

  Voknor’s face twitches as he demands, “I want more information.”

  Frazik transfers his data to the main viewer, then says, “The silt is interfering with the scans. Whatever it is, it will take some time to excavate.”

  “I want that object identified as soon as possible!’ Voknor orders, slightly concerned at the mystery, “We have had too many
surprises of late!” He adds with a sigh.

  As the excavation of the mysterious material takes place, ore continues to arrive at both Cruisers in vast quantities. All the while, the Chinese provide a never-ending supply of livestock.

  The bodysuit wearing locals, of which there are quite a few between the two sites, continue to fabricate various basic hull and armor sections. Many humans suffer mild headaches, or dizziness, while others become euphoric when using the bodysuits, to a point that it creates a psychotropic effect. Then there is George, an enigma, due to being a perfect neurological match to his suit, which is causing its own issues.

  With the Gamin’s own efficient mining operations, the construction of the new craft continues to proceed at a pace which far exceeds anything else done before. The fleet’s engineers struggle to keep pace with the influx of materials, something that has never happened before, certainly not on this scale.

  Terrorist Attack

  A long trainload of ore, like any other, approaches a bridge into what is left of Manhattan. The rail line snakes ahead, near the massive cruiser, then loops back around to cross back on a neighboring bridge. The train operator stares at the vessel which dominates the island, then glances down to an unconscious figure, the train’s original operator. His group took control of the train a short time ago, with plans to stop the flow of materials going to the aliens. The imposter adjusts his hat and waves at the half dozen police officers stationed at the bridge. The token police force pays him little heed; dozens of trains cross the bridge each day. The only things they get to deal with, are the various groups of alien lovers, and alien haters, both of which stand with placards, shouting their various mantras into the wind.

  As the train slows, a few police officers look on curiously. When the train stops on the bridge, a pair of officers walks toward the train, to see if something is wrong. Without warning, they are cut down by a lethal barrage of bullets coming from four machine-gun wielding men. The attackers run away from the train, toward them, yelling and screaming incoherent words.

  A spilt second later, all four fall to the ground, killed by ever watchful Gamin snipers. The imposter stares down the tracks at his dead colleagues, then realizes that he will not get far. He sets a timer to one minute, then crouches down and takes aim at a police car in the distance. He fires burst after burst from his machine-gun, ripping the car to bits in the process.

  BOOM

  The explosion is deafening, and powerful.

  The bridge beneath the front of the train is blown to smithereens, sending deadly shrapnel in all directions. The police are shredded, along with many of the nearby onlookers, who failed to run away at the sound of the gunfire. Windows in nearby buildings are shattered, many having only recently been replaced. The charge was well placed, and has performed its task as the bomb maker predicted.

  With an ominous groan, the locomotive drops over the edge, where it is held by the sheer weight of the ore cars. It slips, then catches, then slips again.

  Sirens wail in the distance, as smoke and flames begin to billow from the stricken train. Amazingly, it is wedged on the jagged remnants of the bridge, where it remains, precariously balanced.

  By some strange twist of fate, the imposter is still alive. His ears are bleeding, as is his nose, from the concussive force. Yet he manages to stagger to the doorway, lift his gun, and rattle off another barrage of gunfire, before being skillfully shot in the back of the head through a shattered window. The Gamin sniper is pleased with himself, as he should be, few in the galaxy could make that shot.

  Regent Voknor watches intently as the local authorities quickly take charge, and then waits for the expected flurry of disavowments by the planet’s authorities. He immediately recalls all crews, and informs the Primes to be ready for anything.

  Moments later, the President of the United States contacts Regent Voknor; he is clearly terrified as he stammers, “We had nothing to do with that, please believe me!” The man is almost in tears, such is his fear of reprisal.

  Voknor stands, then states, “If I had thought it was you, my fleet would be annihilating your people.” With a reluctant sigh, Voknor adds in a softer tone, “I understand this was not of your doing, you’re safe.” He closes the communication’s channel, then ponders his next action.

  Skylow watches the carnage on his console for a while, then with a frown, adjusts his display. He turns to Voknor and states, “One of the humans is in a bodysuit, repairing the damage!”

  Voknor strides to Skylow’s station, then shakes his head in amazement at the solitary figure. Leaning closer to the console, he notices that the suit is being operated by George. He glances around the bridge, then orders, “Inform Prytec’s forces to provide protection, and get our engineers out there to help!”

  Skylow grins as he relays the instructions, then states, “That is one tenacious human!”

  “I wonder what motivates him? He is dedicated, but why?” Voknor asks no one in particular.

  Skylow monitors the deployment of both Prytec’s defensive forces, and the engineers as they make their way to the bridge. He stares in disbelief at a message, and says, “Other humans are requesting to use the bodysuits to assist. Prytec is denying them access.”

  Voknor shakes his head once more as he states, “These humans are unpredictable. While some clearly want to harm us, others want to assist.” He considers the risks, then states, “Let them use the suits!”

  Skylow grins as he observes a string of humans walking toward the damaged bridge, and helping. He watches as their engineers use a handful of shuttles, and extreme care to extract the train, and move it to a safe location, where they cautiously examine it for more explosive devices.

  Voknor stands, then addressing his bridge crew, states, “I will be resting, as should you!”

  The following morning, local time, the ore train is deemed safe, having been repaired, and is unloading its cargo. The bridge shows no signs of damage, with the engineers returning to their duties on of the flagship. The local workforce quickly resumes their task of fabricating armor sections, thus, inside one local day, all signs of the terrorist attack have been eradicated.

  Prytec reviews the count of humans his crew eliminated, and is pleased. His forces showed considerable restraint, only killing a few locals, some twenty-seven.

  The engineers spend night and day completing repairs, along with some long overdue maintenance also being performed, especially to the engines. Finally, they report that the flagship is fully functional.

  Voknor receives the report in his chambers, and relaxes. The engine overhaul was a risky proposition, but is now complete. He leaves his room, hurries down the corridor, then strides onto the bridge, where he immediately orders, “The vessels that are in France, Brazil, and China are to prepare to rejoin the fleet in space. They do not have to rush, just finish their immediate tasks, then liftoff.”

  “Understood.” Skylow replies, then contacts the Primes, and relays the orders.

  The Primes all saw the aftermath of the bridge, with some having flashbacks to when Lokarz’s vessel was attacked, and destroyed.

  Voknor taps his claws on his armrests then states, “My father would have executed the captives in a show of strength. We will show how powerful we are, by letting them go. They are no threat to us!”

  Skylow turns, nods in agreement, then asks, “Shall I inform Malflik and Glarth?”

  Voknor replies, “No. I will travel to the site and inform them myself.”

  The ever vigilant Prytec follows Voknor, and travels with him once more to Malflik’s vessel.

  Meeting with Glarth and Malflik, Voknor paces before them as he talks, “I have been debating the fate of the captives for some time. Many would have me kill them, I know my father would.”

  “They should die,” Glarth comments, “they are soldiers; they know how war works. The losers die.”

  Malflik nods as he agrees, “It is the way of things.”

  Voknor tilts his head,
then states, “Glarth, I respect your perspective, which is why I insisted you remain Prime. And although we disagree on many things, I stand by that decision to this day.”

  Glarth growls, “You’re going to free them!”

  “Yes Glarth, I am.” Voknor states.

  Malflik quietly ponders his Regent’s reasoning as he listens to the two of them.

  Glarth is becoming agitated as he reports, “Did you know that some of the locals detonated a pocket of gas, killing some of their own, so they could capture a couple of bodysuits?”

  Voknor’s eyes narrow as he replies, “No, it would seem that incident has not been documented yet.”

  Glarth shakes his head as he replies, “It was not worth documenting. In fact, I have yet to activate the suit’s auto-destruct.”

  Voknor places a hand on Glarth’s shoulder and states, “Let the captives go, and let them keep the bodysuits. They won’t be able to do anything special with them.”

  Glarth shakes his head as he replies, “We are different, but I too respect you, and what you have done for our clan.” He catches Voknor expression and with a grin adds, “And no, they won’t all die in some mysterious prison break. You have my word that the captives will live, and be set free.”

  “I never doubted you!” Voknor lies, unconvincingly, then grins.

  The three relax and instead of Voknor returning to the flagship, they discuss various ways of letting the captives go. Finally, they decide to simply have them walk all the way to the ramp, and outside, and then let the local authorities deal with them. The three watch the chaos as American, Russian, and Chinese military personnel discover where they are. The Russians cheer heartily; they are clearly elated, while it is obvious the others are not so thrilled. They become subdued and sullen as they wait to see what happens to them next. Voknor waits until the last captive is transported away before returning to his vessel.