Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 6 (The Galactic Chronicles Series)

by Vanessa Ravencroft

  "I bet that is what Ninio deciphered too, and that is where they went, unless they went the other direction from the lobby."

  "No I am sure they came this way. Besides the other corridor leads to the boarding gates and the landing field." He then went straight for the door.

  "Slow down Plemo. I don't have a good feeling about that."

  "I think they took a train to town and found out it isn't running back because of the festivities or something like that."

  It was a plausible hypothesis; still it would not explain Deadan not coming back. Unless the train ran only in one direction or something like that or they simply got lost. My hand rested on the butt of the blaster as Plemo opened the door. "It's just a flight of stairs leading reason to get nervous." He said.

  A cool breeze wafted from the open door, the walls were naked gray concrete and we could only see to the first landing. The light came from long tubular lamps on the ceiling , one of them flickered erratic and emitted an electric hum. I had the urge to turn around and tell the Instructors. I would have felt better if two marines in destroyer suits were going down those stairs instead of me. I could not explain why I had this strong feeling of something being very wrong. Our friends could be in some sort of trouble and any delay could make it worse on the other hand I would be responsible for them being reprimanded if it turned out to be nothing. Both the Elly and I went slowly down the stairs. As we reached the first landing, the door on top fell shut with a heavy thud and the lights went out.

  Interlude: Distant events – present.

  Olnatar had been celebrated as a hero, as the one defeating a huge alien ship full of Plato, no less! He had to tell the events many times over and now was the grand Initiator of the fleet and in a brand new ship. He was leading the largest fleet ever assembled and commanded by one Siucra back into the direction where the boats and little ships of the Plato went, that survived the destruction of the big ship. They had left a trace of little sophisticated robotic devices behind marking their way. The things would self destruct before one could be secured, He was not sure what the purpose of these things were, but he was certain they would lead them to a planet or perhaps several planets of Plato scum. Escapees most likely from the master hand of the Kermac. It would be to the glory of the Masters to destroy and eradicate them. He commanded over 1000 ships all equipped with Holy Fire casters.

  The crew of the USS Ivanhoe in their small fleet of twelve D 20 shuttles, 8 P5-Specter and two science shallops had travelled back towards Union space as far as their engines allowed. Even the specters could make it 200 more light years; Commander Marcus Rullus made the decision to have the little craft stay together. Only the specters, based on the Wolfcraft fighter were armed. All the craft were cramped to the last possible space with the 600 beings of the Ivanhoe crew with the bulk of the numbers in the two shallops. The Ivanhoe had been equipped with escape pods, but launching pods with such a hateful enemy nearby was most likely suicide.

  The shallops were slow and did not have a very good long distance range. The life support systems strained beyond limit, Rullus was not sure how long they would last. They were still over 6000 light years from the fringes of Klack space and the nearest Union out Post. The twelfth fleet was on its way and thanks to the relay chain they were in direct contact with fleet command. However they were able to look into the other direction as well. They could access the Buoy scanner and sensor data and saw the huge alien fleet approaching, and two buoys had already been lost.

  Even though they had barely space to move, some of the scientists worked analyzing scanner results, language patterns, and weapon and tech specs.

  A hail came in on Union Com." This is the personal Honor guard of her majesty the Queen. Her Majesty and sovereign ruler of the Klack Hegemony ordered us dispatched and come to the help of our brothers and friends in distress. We are ahead of the Twelfth Fleet and should arrive within two hour. "

  Nn'tik, the former OPS officer of the Ivanhoe, made a pulling motion with his upper right arm in a very human expression of an emotion." Yes!"

  Someone padded the chitin back of the Klack and said." Let's hope they brought enough ships! Those aliens will be here in approximately 90 minutes."

  Nn'tik had a hard time turning in the crowded confines." My friend, the honor guard has only one ship. All other Klack ships are under Union Fleet command."

  "We should warn them! One ship won't be enough."

  "The Klack put his Antenna gently on the face of the human officer" What is the largest Space ship my friend?"

  "The Devi of course!"

  "No my friend. The Devi is the largest ship in the fleet capable of landing on a planet. The Bison Fleet tenders are technically space ships and are bigger than the Devi, the long freight tugs making it across the bridge with freight too large for the trains, are often 100 kilometers long and more, but soon you will see something few non Klack have ever seen." He then said." However I too would love to see the Stahl appear with the Devi and tear these upside down hanging Kermac thralls a new one!"

  "You sound more human every day, Nn'tik." A Purple throat Shiss wedged in between other crewmembers observed, while two small furry Holdian were sitting on his proud shoulders avoiding being trampled or crushed.

  "There is no need to insult me, Old enemy! I am as Klack as can be!"

  Everyone knew that the two were the best of friends and Nn'tik was playing on the fact that the Shiss and the Klack had been enemies for millennia. Nn'tik was of course not offended but very happy that the racial distinctions and habits slowly eroded and the huge collection of different civilizations slowly but surely became one new civilization.

  In this complete darkness. Something inside me made me close my eyes, just as I did riding on Tyr's back. I could sense my surroundings, felt every heartbeat of Plemo and I learned that Elly had two hearts. I felt the stairs and the faint electric residue in the lamps.

  The stairs transformed with a metallic hum, into a steep declined slide. Plemo had no warning and was sliding away before I could warn him. I managed to hold onto the hand rail and prevent the slide, but Plemo and most likely the others where sliding into a death trap and the fastest way down was sliding, but I would not slide unprepared. I drew the blaster dropped onto my butt and let go.

  I heard voices below, commanding voices and raised the blaster…There at the bottom of the stairs that now were a ramp two figures, perhaps 150 cm tall large heads and armed. I saw Plemo float in mid- air struggling against some unseen force, but with my new sense I saw the head of one figure almost if glowing. Psionics!

  I did not hesitate, I fired right at the center of that bright perceived glow, and Plemo fell instantly. The other figure turned his brain and something on his chin started to emit energies. Whatever the figure wanted to do, it was too late my second beam sliced right through his head.

  Plemo screamed, more out of anger than fear." I am going to get you!"

  I yelled back." It's me Plemo, Eric! I killed whatever was holding you. I noticed a circuit board on the wall and pressed the contact. With a sharp clack the Ramp went back into stair form and a second switch turned on the lights. Plemo ripped his blaster out of his holster and even though I never seen an angry Elly before, but I knew he was furious. Two dead beings still armed with strange shaped blasters lay on the floor, most of their heads were gone, burned to molecular ashes. "Plemo calm down, right now!" I said with a sharp tone." Get up those stairs and wake the Instructors. Tell them we need help down here."

  "But…"

  "No argument! Now go! I need to guard this panel so no one turns the stairs to a ramp again!"

  "Yes Sir!"

  He turned and stomped up the stairs. Only after I heard the metal door slam I went to my knees. I was in a short corridor, with some sort of conveyor belt on the left hand side, it was not active. It disappeared after a few meters through a square opening with a slated roll gate closing that opening, next to it a metal door. The door was rusty and had dirty
glass panels in the upper half. I kicked the dead alien's weapons under the frame of the conveyor belt. Now I could stay here and wait for the professionals to arrive, which would be the smart thing to do, but I resigned trying to go against my own nature. There were friends in danger, that much was now clear to me. I had no idea who these white skinned small men were in those stupid looking robes, but if there were two there might have been more!

  On my knees I crawled towards that door. Whoever was behind it was warned something had gone wrong. So I pressed myself as much as possible against the wall and gave the door a push at the bottom three bright beams perforated the door at the same moment. If I had still been standing at least two of the energy neam would have hit me. A shower of metal sparks burned my back and I clenched my teeth not to make a sound. Steps came closer. From the gap between floor and door I saw four Elly like feet. Someone in the local language said." Whoever it was you got him. Our masters will be pleased!" I was glad they had uploaded the local language into our brains and hour before we landed.

  I aimed the blaster's muzzle at that gap and the feet behind and fired describing a small arch while keeping the trigger pressed.

  The beam dug a bright glowing fan shaped pattern into the concrete and a wide slot with metal dripping white hot borders into the door. I heard them fall and one screamed at the top of their lungs in pain.

  Now I kicked the door open, rushed through, avoiding the semi liquid concrete by a fraction, and jumped onto the conveyor belt, remembering the third beam. Two Yokuta with badly burned leg stumps lay on the floor, one in shock and the other still screaming. A third stood about five meters behind them. Holding the same type blaster as the little men held. I aimed the blaster, holding it with both hands." Drop your blaster or your toast!" It was as if he was fighting something inside him. He wanted to lower the blaster I could see that but against his will it raised. He was controlled by someone or something. I didn't want to kill him. So I fired into the ceiling, showering him with sparks, hoping to distract him. His instincts were stronger than whatever controlled him and he raised his arms to protect his face. Now he was a Yokuta, at least double my mass and two heads taller, and I had no idea if they had any vulnerable spots, but I holstered the gun and I closed in anyway, hit him midriff with a running tackle and as much force I could muster. He was driven back but not as much as I had hoped. It felt as if I had ran against one of those big sand filled leather bags we had at fight school. I just knew I could not have done that with a Yokuta on top of his game, his left hand brushed my ear with a powerful hay maker punch and the burning blazing pain blinding my right eye felt as if he had taken my ear clean off. I retaliated with two left right combinations aimed into the middle of his face where the trunk meet the eyes, and rammed my knee into what would be the stomach pit of a human opponent. If he was to connect another one of his punches I would have been done for. So much for my decision not to wait for back up.

  He made a tooting sound as I hit him again this time right at the trunk, and he stumbled back, and I barley avoided another punch. He was trying now to aim the weapon he still held. Either I ended it now or I had to shoot him as well. I stomped my heavy boots on his open toe sandal like shoes and that had the desired effect. He screamed raised a leg and gave me a wide open target for an axe handle blow to his trunk! He fell back wards, and I kicked the blaster out of his hand.

  It took two more kicks against the head to make him stop trying to get back up. This seemed to be some sort of postal depot. The conveyor belt ran along a row of chairs, most likely occupied during normal operations to sort whatever was coming down the slide and along the conveyor belt. The stairs converting to a ramp was not a real trap but part of some industrial or ware housing purpose. Four man high capsules in the middle of the room looked out of place, the metal looked different and the design did not fit into the surrounding. A little square box was strapped to the middle of each; a red read out was displaying foreign glyphs changing in a steady pace. Even not being able to recognize these, I knew these were timers and those capsules had to be bombs or weapons of some kind. Something very bad would happen if the timers had counted to zero, that was obvious. No one else was in the room. I did not see Deadan or the others and thankfully no one hostile either.

  Not knowing if I doomed everybody including me, I pulled my knife and cut the strap that held the first timer box to the large metal container. . It came loose. Now what? I had a live bomb counting down in my hands! There were three more like it!

  Over there, across the conveyor belt a metal chute. There were chutes like this across all the now abandoned sorting or work stations. I cut all the boxes off and threw them each in a different chute. I noticed the cold sweat on my forehead now stinging in my eyes. I heard some machinery starting up from the first chute and the conveyor belt started running.

  The Conveyor belt disappeared through another portal at the other end of the room and I simply hoped on and lay flat on it.

  Just as I made it, there was a muffled explosion and the first chute emitted a flash cloud of fire and smoke, heartbeats later the other three did the same and I was through into the next area of this underground ware house place. I saw Deadan! He was lying on the floor and due to that I overlooked the robot arm that grabbed me, by the left shoulder in a painful crushing grip and was about to stuff me in some sort of machine. I fired the blaster against the robot arms base and dropped to the floor. My left arm was next to useless; the robot claw must have broken my shoulder, or dislocated it. I could not say but it hurt like hell, making me forget my still throbbing ear. Before I rushed to Deadan, I recognized him by his uniform; I took cover behind a large crate and looked around. The place was some sort of assembly plant, with machinery, conveyor belts and towering shelves. Millions of corners for someone to hide and take aim. The machine behind me so it turned out was similar to the machine that I had seen what seemed so long ago at the exchange wrapping the dead Tyranno in plastic. This machine was wrapping anything that entered it in a shrink wrap plastic skin and onto a pallet. I saw an empty pallet exiting the machine wrapped, the pallet I would have been on if hadn't escaped that machine.

  I kept low and rushed over to Deadan who wasn't moving. I didn't see any obvious reason why he would not move but he felt stiff and cold. I hoped against my sad conclusion of his condition that he was still alive, and just knocked out.

  The empty pallet had reached the end of the conveyor line and a robotic fork lift took it and placed it into a shelf, next to a pallet that had something on it that moved! Trying to stay as much behind cover I rushed to the shelf and found the human cadet, Ninio and Potsema, tightly wrapped in plastic, Ninio still moved! It took me no time to cut the plastic open. Ninio did nothing but breathe like I never seen anyone or anything take in air. Potsema was up and out next to me seeming little affected. She simply squiggled me all over."Eric! You saved us!"

  "Potsema not now! Take care of Ninio!"

  I checked on the human cadet. He was dead, no question. I could not feel any pulse and even after five minutes of intensive CPR I got no sign of life!

  A heavy hand dropped on my shoulder."Let him go, Cadet! He is gone!'

  I turned ready to fight but it was not necessary. A Union Marine and one of our Instructors were there.

  ***

  Olnatar heard his space feeler operator tell him they located the small fleet of little boats that had escaped from the doomed Plato ship. They didn't get too far! Out of fuel or with burned out FTL drives stranded in the middle of deep space. It would hardly take one ship, to destroy them. but he came that far with a thousand ships. The disgusting Plato must have their colony somewhere out here. They were moving towards the more star populated space of this sector of the galaxy.

  "Grand Initiator. We are receiving a long distance speech request."

  "As much as it disgusts me to see and talk to these Plato slaves, I will give them a chance to explain where their home world is."

  Not a Plato slav
e but an insectoids being appeared on the Visualizer." I am N'Vaant, First of the Guard of the N' Toothal. I am here by the command of Queen N'thannskknta the 674th most sovereign and sole ruler of the Klack Hegemony. I am hailing you Up Side down hanging aggressors! Let it be known to you. That the queen in her great wisdom has declared this space to be Klack and therefore Union space, you are to turn around and return to wherever your came from. We are the Klack and we are proud members of the United Stars of the Galaxy and we shall not fail in protecting our brothers and friends."

  "Empty threats from a being that is no more than vermin, you will be exterminated. You may report to your queen that we will exterminate anyone harboring Plato slaves and attempting to come this way! Go run and tell that queen of parasites to beg for mercy so we will be amused."

  "We will be soon in range of your limited scanners. You cannot insult us as we know who we are. I have delivered my official message and now let me give you a personal piece of advice." You destroyed a Union ship and you made the Terrans very angry! There is a fleet of Union ships on its way and you may seek doom fighting us, or turn tail and flee, but trust me it is you who should beg for forgiveness and offer pertinence. It is not just those few ships of yours, but your race that is in deadly peril. This was a friendly warning. Make your decisions either way. The time for talk ends now."

  Olnatar was furious that this insect cut off communications before he could spew a few more insults, but the Insect would soon enough hail again to beg."

  The first forward units of the Siucra fleet was almost in firing range, but then their space feelers detected something that could not be. A moon size object, almost overloaded the feeler circuits had just dropped into scanner range and standard space. It was no moon! It was artificial. A sphere of 4200 nuthum diameter. Not much smaller than the home world moon of the Siucra, and it moved!

  "Oh my god!" Someone whispered in the crowded Shallop. "Is that the Queens ship?"