by T. R. Harris
“It will still not be enough, my Lord.”
This was what Hydon had been afraid of. No matter what they did, the Humans would still prevail.
Now it was Hydon’s turn to pause. He looked down at the corroborating data on the pad and then at the larger monitor screen to his right. It displayed the relative positions of the seven systems which made up the Alliance Cluster and whose furthest border marked the outer boundary. Within the Cluster were located the power generating planets of Oannan and Bal, the breeding farm of Salin, the training centers on Crilis, as well as the shipbuilding facilities on Molipor and Pymilia. Taken together, the worlds within the Alliance Cluster made up the industrial and intellectual life-blood of the Expansion. And at its very center was its heart – the planet Juir. If the Humans could breach the boundary, then they could strike a crippling blow to all that made the Expansion function.
And Fleet Marshal Relion was saying there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Hydon looked to Councilmember Wydor. They were as close to friends as one could be in Juirean society, having served together half a dozen times throughout the years. Wydor had ascended to the Council upon Hydon’s nomination.
“I see no other option,” Wydor said to Hydon, regret thick in his voice. “We must save what we can and return when our forces are stronger.”
“I did not want to be the Elder who presided over the destruction of our homeworld, Wydor.”
“You will not be held responsible, my Lord,” said his personal Counselor Yol-fin, a trusted advisor who had been at Hydon’s side for over fifty standard years.
“Unfortunately Counselor, they will. Whether it be official blame or not, my name will be forever associated with the sacking of Juir.”
Wydor leaned forward to rest his arms upon Hydon’s desk. “You have an opportunity to pull victory out of defeat,” he began, his voice building in intensity. “You can salvage most of our heritage and capabilities, to be resurrected at a future date. The Humans are upstarts. They may have a more powerful fleet at this time, but they are also located a great distance away in the Far Arm. They may sweep through the area, but they will not be able to hold it – if we preserve our strength.”
“The Councilmember is right, my Lord,” said Relion, his voice gaining enthusiasm as well. “If we commit a sizeable portion of our remaining forces to defense of the Cluster – just to have the effort fail – we will only be delaying our recovery. All available ships should be used for evacuation purposes. We could stockpile ample energy modules and then cripple the facilities so the Humans cannot use them. With four months until their arrival, we could even manage to save a good portion of the population.”
“But not all.” Hydon’s statement was like sucking all the air out of the room. The population of Juir was just over a billion – and that was just the Juireans. Even with every possible vessel filled to capacity – and not only the military ships, but every ship – the most they could hope for would be a few hundred million evacuated in the four months before the Human’s arrival. And then they would have to find a place to move all the refugees, somewhere far enough from harm, yet close enough where transport time wouldn’t limit the evacuation ships to only a trip or two in the time available. Finally, there would be the space taken up with records, artifacts and energy modules to be considered….
“Hydon,” Wydor said softly, “we can only do so much. Juir is already lost. The most we can hope for is to salvage all we can, and to return with a new force strong enough to drive the evil Humans away.”
“When that time comes, Wydor, I hope it is you who is Elder to lead the way … the way home.”
After the meeting adjourned, Hydon’s senior Counselor remained. His other two advisors had rushed off to begin the monumental task of saving the core of the Juirean Expansion and legacy from the marauding Human invaders.
“What is it, Yol-fin? I still have a lot to do.”
“Pardon me, my Lord, but you specifically requested that you be notified when Overlord Anawar Fe Batlin arrived.”
“Anawar? Do I know him?”
“Not personally. He is bringing in a small convoy from the outer rim.”
Hydon shook his head and frowned, still at a lost to place the significance of the event.
“He has the Human terrorist Adam Cain with him.”
“Yes! Now I remember. I do not have time for this, Yol-fin. Just have him executed when he arrives.”
“My Lord, you mentioned before how you have never met a Human. You seemed rather pleased with the prospect of killing this particular terrorist yourself.”
Hydon finally focused on his Counselor. He’s right. I do not really know my enemy.
“He is traveling with others of his kind, is he not?”
“Yes, there are fifteen Humans and two others, a Belsonian and a Fulqin.”
Hydon thought for a moment how best to gain the most benefit from the acquisition of these Humans. He reached a decision.
“If I recall, Adam Cain is traveling with a female and another male, a pirate from Sector 17, is this correct?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Have those three brought to me. Have the others turned over to Relion’s department. I have heard these Humans are extremely strong and resistant to flash weapons. Have his technicians test them. Find their breaking points, both physically and mentally. We may not be facing them in defense of the Cluster at this time, but we will face them again in the future. I want to know how tough these creatures truly are, and I want to know their weaknesses. When are they arriving? I cannot spend too much time on this.”
“Anawar should be achieving orbit about now. His shuttle will be cleared to land at the Council field. They should be here in less than two hours.”
“Good. Have a cleanup crew standing by near the Pinnacle Room – for when I’m done with the Humans.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Chapter 4
Adam couldn’t see anything from the confined rear compartment of shuttle. He had hoped to at least catch a glimpse of the infamous planet Juir during the descent. Instead, all he had to look at were the forlorn faces of his companions, all silent, having finally resigned themselves to their fate.
The reality of the situation was hard to dismiss. Even if they did mount an escape and managed to confiscate a starship, one capable of escaping the planet, they were on the planet Juir for Christ’s sake. It would be a long, hard, and impossible slog fighting their way out of the very heart of the Juirean Expansion.
For his part, Adam still held onto a thread of hope. He knew that both the Humans and the Juireans had been maneuvered into this war by the Klin. If he could somehow convince the Juireans of that fact, then they might still have a chance at surviving. Granted, it was a very slim, razor-thin, microscopically narrow chance, but still a chance. And that was assuming he’d even get the chance to say a word before the executioner’s blade fell upon his neck – which had always been Adam’s fantasy way to die; he was a big Braveheart fan.
A bright, blinding light flooded into the shuttle’s compartment as the lower panel slowly opened, shaking Adam from his fantasies. A surprisingly fresh and scented air filled the chamber and Adam took in a deep breath. It had been two months since he last breathed fresh, unfiltered air, and it was marvelous.
Lined up outside the shuttle was a contingent of armed Juirean Guards. Adam quickly counted at least fifty of them – all for fifteen Humans. Before he knew it, the Guards were within the compartment, forcing them all out into the sunlight with the barrels of their flash rifles. Normally, Adam would have revealed in the lower gravity of an Expansion-standard world – and all were measured against this very planet – but he had just spent two months aboard a Juirean starship and his muscles had become acclimated to the lighter gravity. He was hoping that would not be a problem, should the need arise.
He took the opportunity to look around and was shocked at what he saw. Rather than a concreted-over mass of ugly government bureaucr
acy for as far as the eye could see, he was instead standing in a wide field of bright green grass, flanked by small buildings with dark bronze glass. In the distance was a grove of modest-height trees, all ablaze with leaves of rustic brown and bright reds. A soft breeze was stirring, and the scent of something akin to jasmine filled the air. He looked off to his left and saw that they were high on a hill or mountain, and off in the distance was a vast ocean of deep shimmering blue. The sky was streaked with pure white clouds that seemed to be gathering up the late afternoon light, and for a moment Adam almost felt like he was home.
The moment passed quickly, however, when the Guards began to cut Sherri, Riyad and himself out from the rest of the prisoners. There were silent protests as the three of them locked eyes with Lt. Tobias, Chief Rutledge and Petty Officer Tindal. Even Kaylor and Jym were being pulled away and loaded into the back of a large, truck-like transport. Adam could care less what happened to McCarthy and his men, but the others, that was a different story.
Sherri began to sob loudly as she watched her companions being herded into the back of the truck, believing, as Adam did, that this would be the last time they would ever see them. At the last moment, just as Lt. Tobias was stepping onto the truck, he turned to Adam and saluted. Adam crisply returned the salute, as Rutledge and Tindal joined in. Adam’s bottom lip was trembling visibly when he closed the salute.
Once the truck was loaded, the rear doors were closed and the vehicle hummed off towards its unknown destination, leaving the remaining Humans all alone. Another transport had arrived, and Overlord Anawar emerged from the rear of the shuttle and approached the car.
“The three of you will come with me,” he said almost gleefully.
It appeared the old Overlord was going to personally present Adam to the leader of the Juirean Expansion; he was surprised that Sherri and Riyad had also been invited, but in a way he was glad. They looked at each other and then reluctantly climbed into the rear compartment of the transport, while Anawar sat in the front. There was a third row of seats behind the Humans, already filled with four hulking Juireans, each with MK-47’s at the ready.
A quick sequence of eye contacts sent Adam the message that the two other Humans were content with staying put. If this was to be the end, they at least wanted to meet this supreme being of the galaxy before they went, if even to take the experience to their graves.
As they pulled around the shuttle, a large pyramid-shaped building could be seen reaching into the sky about two kilometers away. It was dark bronze in color and reflected the late afternoon sunlight off its western surface. It was very impressive, easily twice the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Surrounding the building were eight other structures, tall monoliths shaped like over-sized Washington Monuments. As they drew closer, Adam noticed that these surrounding objects were buildings in their own right, with dozens of aliens – mainly Juireans – moving into and out of the glass entrances at their bases.
The entire compound was painted with winding fields of dark green grass, tasteful fountains and walkways, and with parade grounds made up of decorative brick forming pleasing patterns. Adam was quite impressed. He never imagined the Juireans would be into urban planning and design, and he’d never seen any examples of Juirean art before.
He noticed both Sherri and Riyad appeared equally impressed, glad they had the distraction to take their minds off the inevitable. Although Adam still carried a slim glimmer of hope he hadn’t shared any of the details of his plan with them. He didn’t want to give them any false hopes.
The transport slipped around the massive pyramid along its northern face. On this side of the building was a large parking area and the car followed a circular driveway until it came to rest next to a wide glass entrance. Five Juirean Guards waited on the concrete landing, and as they all exited the vehicle, they moved up to the three Humans and strapped collars around their necks. The bands were about an inch wide, and each collar carried a small box that pressed against the back of their necks. These were probably explosive devices, Adam figured, such as Riyad had used on his ankle – damn, that was like three years ago, Adam thought. A lot has happened since then.
The group was led into the building by a Guard wearing a yellow cape. Anawar followed behind him with the Humans sandwiched between the other guards.
As they entered the great bronze pyramid, Adam’s breath was taken away. They had entered a vast open area with a ceiling soaring easily twenty stories high. Along the outer walls of this lower level were various offices, but what really took his breath away was the structure sitting at the very center of this vast gallery.
It was obviously a monument of some kind, with a circle of informational podiums set on top of pedestals and all surrounding something that looked like the Lunar Landing Module from the Apollo moon landings days. It was a bulky object with two distinct segments and resting on six legs, and rising above the odd-looking object was a large spire. One side of the spire was straight, attached to the LEM-like object at its top center and climbing nearly as high as the twenty-story ceiling. The other side of the spire bulged out in a free-form curve, thin at the bottom, thick in the center and then tapering to sharp point high above. There were a number of colored spotlights illuminating the entire display, all designed to highlight and impress.
Dozens of Juireans and other aliens moved around the monument, with only a few actually paying any attention to it – although Adam couldn’t help but notice the expression on Anawar’s face as they neared the display. The old Juireans stared up at the towering spire with unblinking eyes, his smallish mouth open slightly. His breathing appeared to come in shallow bursts and he slowed his pace as he came closer.
The procession stopped briefly as the lead Guard noticed Anawar’s reaction. “Have you not seen the Contact Monument before, my Lord?” the Guard asked.
“Only once, during my orientation tour,” Anawar replied, not taking his eyes from the display. “That was a very long time ago.”
“You have not been to Juir since?” The Guard’s tone was incredulous.
“We all do not have the pleasure of serving here, commander.”
The Guard simply grunted softly before turning to lead them to an elevator door set in the far wall of the gallery. There were two more Guards flanking the elevator; they nodded slightly to the lead Guard and opened the door for him.
The elevator was spacious and Adam could feel it move upwards, then sideways, before resuming the climb to what Adam guessed would be the very top of the pyramid. This is where the Council Elder would hold court.
To his disappointment, the elevator dropped them off at a very pedestrian-looking room filled with scurrying bureaucrats and an ample supply of Guards. The procession moved down a long corridor until it met up with another doorway with a stairway leading upwards.
Without a word, the lead Guard began to climb the stairs, followed tentatively by Anawar and the Humans. The other Guards did not follow.
The stairway led them to an opening in the ceiling and they stepped out into a large conference room with radically sloping walls that met at a point about thirty meters above. At the very top the bronze glass walls gave way to a clear, almost crystalline cap – the very peak of the great pyramid building.
The outer walls of the vast room were lined with counters with various monitors sitting atop them, some active, some dark; Juirean Guards stood at the four corners of the room, each wearing full body armor and cradling flash rifles in their grips.
A massive, freeform conference table made of polished stone took up a good third of the room on the other side of the opening in the floor that marked the stairway in and out. The table flowed like a stylized ‘S,’ with large padded chairs placed at intervals around its circumference. Numerous low-profile monitors were built into the surface of the table.
Adam looked around and gasped when he gazed out at the view the room provided. It was a 360-degree panorama, with the shimmering sea to the right, and to his left majestic
, snow-capped mountains off in the distance.
Adam looked at his companions; they returned his gaze, raising eyebrows and nodding. Looking at the Overlord, Adam could see he, too, was equally impressed.
The lead Guard motioned for Adam and the Humans to stand next to the far end of the conference table, just as another Juirean rose up from the stairway in the floor, followed by two others.
The first Juirean walked purposefully to the opposite end of the conference table, flowing a long purple cape behind him. He carried the white hair of an Elite, the highest in the Juirean caste system, and just from the air of confidence and power he exuded, Adam was sure this was the so-called Council Elder, the leader of the known universe.
As he sat – flanked now by the other two Juireans, one with white hair, the other green – he dropped an ornate short-sword onto the hard surface of the conference table. The blade was highly polished with a slight curvature, the hilt made of wrapped leather of various colors. In light of the high technology the Juireans commanded, the weapon appeared to be very basic and primitive.
“I am Council Elder Hydon Ra Elys,” the Juirean said abruptly, barely acknowledging the presence of the Humans. “Since we have heard stories concerning the tenacity of your kind as far as physical strength and resistance to flash weapons, the collars you now wear have been fitted with molecular blades of titanium which we assume will sever the nerves running through your spines.” He finally looked up at the Humans and took notice. “And from the thickness of your necks, there is a good chance the blades would separate your heads from your bodies with minimal effort.”
He looked down at the datapad he’d carried into the room, and then without looking up, he continued, “If you approach me closer than half the width of this table, the blades will be activated. In addition, the room is being constantly monitored. Any attempt to attack me or any of the guards will result in activation of the collars. My time is limited, so after a brief discussion, I will use this ceremonial blade from the time before Contact to end your lives. You are fortunate that I do not have more time, otherwise I would make you suffer more.”