The Human Chronicles Saga : Boxset #2 (The Human Chronicles Saga Boxsets)

by T. R. Harris

  As for his own fate, Adam was not so sure. The tables had been turned 180-degrees in McCarthy’s favor once Adam had learned that he was being held captive by a fellow Human. Being held by aliens was a completely different matter, one that never caused Adam any real concern. But this was different. This creature thought like him and could match his strength and skills one-to-one. McCarthy also knew what Adam was capable of – superman-wise. He would make sure not to underestimate Adam, either.

  As a matter of fact, it would be easier for McCarthy just to shoot him dead on the spot; Adam was sure the thought had already crossed Nigel’s mind. The MK-47 resting on the table was a deadly weapon that could easily bore a dime-size hole through his body when set on level-one. That was why Nigel was taunting Adam with the weapon – as a warning.

  “So what now, Nigel, it sounds like you have everything worked out?”

  A genuine look of sadness crossed McCarthy’s face. “Yes, and this is the part I truly regret, my friend. Since the Order sent you to ransom the Speaker, I think it only appropriate that your body should be found in the ruins of the attack, and right next to the very charred and dismembered remains of a female Formilian, like the one I have just recently acquired.”

  “They won’t believe she’s Arieel.”

  “Oh, I think they will. There won’t be much left, making further investigation into the identity of the body pointless. Besides, the Formilians will have a lot more pressing matters to deal with at the time. The Federation has been chomping at the bit to war against them for a very long time. The only thing stopping them has been their fear of little ole Arieel over there.”

  “You are one sick mother—”

  A thunderous concussion suddenly shattered the left side of the room, sending both Adam and McCarthy slamming into the opposite wall. The sound was deafening, and both the Humans stared out into the dust and debris with blank expressions, temporarily dazed and confused.

  McCarthy was the first to recover, managing to stand and lean against the wall, looking out through the massive hole that had once been the left side of the building. Outside he could see a gigantic crater that now filled the courtyard. There were pieces of bodies lying all around; some of the pieces were still conscious and crying out in agony.

  Nigel activated the comm box on his shoulder. “You’re attacking too soon, you bloody idiot! Call off the attack!”

  As Adam regained his awareness, he could hear a panicked voice screaming out from Nigel’s communicator. “It’s not us, Major. It’s something … else.”

  “What?”

  “Eight ships dropping from orbit – they’re firing again!”

  True to the warning, a barrage of additional bolts slammed into the building and surrounding area. The right wall of the room finally gave in, and Nigel disappeared into a pile of rubble. The force of the blast pushed Adam further to his left, closer toward where Arieel had last been sitting. He looked for her in the dust and crumbled concrete, finally locating a thin, blood-covered arm projecting up toward the now exposed sky.

  Adam grabbed the arm and pulled. To his relief, he heard a piercing scream of agony. At least she’s still alive.

  He dove into the pile covering Arieel and began to dig her out. Soon she was free, but now just a ghostly figure covered completely in white dust – except for the numerous spots of bright red blood that seemed to be everywhere on her body.

  In the light gravity of Uniss-3, Adam scooped Arieel into his arms and ran toward the opening in the wall where Nigel had fallen. It was the furthest from the continuing bombardment of the compound from outside and provided some relative safety.

  In his haste, Adam didn’t notice that the skullcap Arieel had been wearing was now gone….

  The building was in ruins, and Adam struggled over broken walls and shattered furniture, yet through all the noise and confusion, he could still hear Nigel screaming into his communicator, even though he could not see the Englishman.

  “Round! They’re round ships? Bullshit!”

  “They’re round, Major. I can tell round when I see it.”

  “Shit, Taylor. That could only mean Klin or Kracori.”

  “Or Humans.”

  Adam had heard the name Taylor before. He had been one of McCarthy’s lieutenants from years ago.

  “It’s not the Humans,” Nigel yelled back. “If it were, they would have come with a lot more than just eight ships.”

  “Major, they’re strafing your location again. It looks like you are their target!”

  “Take them out, Taylor. You have twice as many ships as they do. Do it now!”

  “Yes sir. We’re already lining up – they see us! This will give you a chance to get out of there.”

  “Roger, that. Keep me informed during the battle. McCarthy out!”

  As the conversation was ending, Adam barreled through a half broken door and into a side room. He slipped down along the wall, still holding Arieel in his arms. He could hear McCarthy moving through the debris in the hallway outside the room, back in the direction of the now-shattered meeting room, and he was not too far away to hear the big Brit explode in a tirade of curses as he returned to find Adam and Arieel both gone.

  Now he would come looking for them.

  Adam rose up off the floor and staggered through more debris toward a broken-out window. He worked his way through to the outside, before running off in a painful crouch as fast as he could in the low gravity, still carrying the unconscious Formilian. He moved through a maze of other shattered buildings, nearly all now in some form of demolition with fires raging throughout most of them. There was dozens of bodies strewn about, with very few survivors in this area of the compound.

  Klin or Kracori! Adam laughed out loud. Screw McCarthy! He was getting just what he deserves.

  Having betrayed every partner he had ever had; the aliens had come looking for Nigel. Adam admitted this had more the markings of the Kracori than the Klin; the tall, silver Klin seldom did their own dirty work. Yet not so the Kracori, who were very Human-like – strong, skilled and pragmatic. They would do what was necessary to protect against the location of their homeworld being revealed, even if it meant leveling an entire city to do so.

  The Kracori had found McCarthy. Now Adam hoped they would be successful in taking him out.

  Through the gray sky, now filled with smoke, Adam could make out the tell-tale signs of a distant battle raging in the upper atmosphere. There were brilliant flashes of bolt weapons, and then the occasional blue and yellow burst signifying a devastating explosion aboard a starship. It wasn’t hard to make out the opposing sides, with one combatant vastly outnumbered by the other. McCarthy had said his own forces – those preparing to attack the city posing as Formilians – outnumbered the Kracori attackers two-to-one. And if those ships were manned by Human warriors, then it looked as though McCarthy just might win the day.

  The consequences of such an outcome could have repercussions throughout the galaxy, but Adam couldn’t dwell on that at the moment. He had to get Arieel to safety and hoped that her injuries weren’t too serious….

  His eyes suddenly grew wide and he looked down at Arieel’s peaceful, yet bloodied and dirty face. If she were injured too severely, might her self-destruct go off at any second?

  Adam slipped behind a tall mound of rubble and placed the Formilian on the ground. He began to back away.

  What was he to do? He could see that she was still breathing, but he had no idea if her vital signs were being monitored by whatever device she had inside her. And why wouldn’t it? The device was capable of some incredible feats; monitoring the host’s vital signs would be a piece of cake. And if her life signs did fall below a certain level, would the device decide to end her pain? He had no idea.

  Just then Arieel’s eyes fluttered and she took in a deep breath. As she exhaled, her eyes opened wide and she let out a loud, piercing scream of pain.

  Adam rushed over to her and knelt down, placing his hand on her mou
th. “Please try to be quiet,” he pleaded. “They’re looking for us.”

  Arieel’s large eyes began to look around widely, her whole body trembling with spasms of panic and pain. It was all Adam could do to keep her from jumping up and running away.

  “Arieel calm down! You’re been hurt; don’t try to get up.”

  Finally her insane gaze focused on him and he felt her relax. He slowly removed his hand from her mouth.

  “Who are you,” she managed to eke out, grimacing as spasms of pain still wracked her body.

  “I’m Adam Cain. I was sent by the Order to deliver your ransom and bring you home.”

  “Ransom? Home?”

  “You don’t remember being kidnapped?”

  “What is kidnapped?”

  “Taken, abducted. You were taken from Formil. Those who took you have demanded credits for your release.”

  Arieel’s body suddenly went rigid, and even though her face softened, her eyes turned a hot, smoldering black. “I was taken?” she stated, a hard cadence now in her voice. “Against my will … I was taken?”

  “That’s right,” Adam confirmed, intimidated by the black intensity of her glare. He took his hands from her body and sat back on the blackened ground. Something wasn’t right.

  Arieel continued to glare at him, and then slowly she closed her eyes. Adam began to feel the hairs on his arms begin to stand on end and a strange, metallic odor filled the air. Then he noticed a soft, shimmering blue glow envelop Arieel’s body.

  He moved away from her as quickly as possible, sliding over next to a mound of debris. He didn’t know whether to stay and watch or cut and run. Was she getting ready to explode, or was this something else?

  Before he could decide on a course of action, the glow abruptly disappeared and Arieel took several deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again, they revealed a much softer look.

  Arieel sat up, and then fighting through her pain, shuffled over to a place where she could lean her back against. She looked at Adam. “You came to rescue me, you say? And exactly how is that goal progressing?” The tone from the stunningly beautiful, dark-haired alien was dripping with pure sarcasm. Adam just swallowed hard.

  “So far, so good,” he lied before stretching out a thin, nervous smile.

  To his surprise, Arieel smiled back. He began to relax.

  He continued: “The person who took you – or at least the one who masterminded it – reneged on his agreement. He wasn’t going to let you go after the money was paid.”

  “What is money?”

  “Credits, money is credits.”

  “Why didn’t you say so?” Arieel looked around at the smoldering devastation around them. “So you destroyed the buildings to rescue me?”

  Adam shook his head. “Not exactly; your kidnapper – abductor – was attacked by a force of Kracori warships.”

  “Kracori! I find that hard to believe. The Kracori are barely a myth. They came briefly, and then disappeared once the Humans took control of the Expansion.”

  “You’re right, but they really want this guy dead.”

  “But I was nearly killed in the process. Do the Kracori not know who I am?”

  “I’m sure they didn’t even know you were here—”

  “Quiet!” Arieel said, holding up a hand. “There are beings approaching.”

  She stood up, shaky but determined, and looked off towards her left. Adam couldn’t hear or see anyone approaching through all the smoke and crackling of the surrounding fires, yet Arieel was on the scent. She limped to the edge of the debris pile.

  “Get down!” Adam called out, moving up next to her.

  “I will not! I must face my attackers.”

  “Don’t be stupid—” Arieel jerked her head around to look at him, cutting him off with a piercing glare from her dark eyes.

  Just then Adam saw a squad of five native beings, moving carefully through the debris, flash rifles held at the ready. They spotted the two of them standing in the open and raised their rifles to fire. Adam grabbed Arieel’s arm.

  Just then one of the aliens fingered the trigger on his weapon – but nothing happened. He fingered it again, and still nothing. Then the other four took aim and pulled the triggers.

  The same result.

  Adam fell back on the ground, sitting on the blackened soil, shocked into simply watching what happened next.

  Arieel walked defiantly further into the opening until she was about twenty feet from the five natives. Then she held her hand out in front of her, and immediately all five flash weapons began to hum. Adam recognized the sound as an overload warning; he had heard it several times before, but only coming from the MK variety of hand-held flash weapons. Through mishap and experience, Adam had found he could create make-shift hand grenades by bending the barrels of the weapons and then triggering their controls, thereby building up an overload – and leading to an explosion!

  Adam jumped up and tackled the diminutive Formilian, just as the five flash rifles exploded in a rain of fire and deafening concussion. The heat from the blasts cascaded over them, searing the hair on Adam’s right arm as he shielded Arieel from the bulk of the blasts. When he looked up again, there were no remains of the five alien attackers, not even their shoes were left intact.

  “Are you crazy?” Adam yelled, grabbing Arieel by the shoulders. “I haven’t gone through all this trouble just so you can get yourself killed by being stupid.”

  “I was in no danger.”

  “Bullshit!”

  Arieel frowned at him – as all aliens did upon first hearing the word bullshit. “That’s not true,” Adam quickly amended. “The blast would have killed you.”

  “My Gods have protected me.”

  “Let’s not get into that.” Adam looked around to see if the explosions had attracted any attention. If they had, it was to affect a clearing out of any survivors from the area. “We have to get out of here. I have a ship a couple of miles away, if it wasn’t destroyed in the bombardment. Can you walk?”

  Arieel cocked her head. “Of course I can. My life energy is being enhanced even now. I am able to move, if not at my optimal speed.”

  Adam just looked at her. She may be cute and all, but this was one strange creature. “Then let’s get the hell out of here before any more of McCarthy’s people show up.”

  “What is a McCarthy?”

  “A McCarthy is the rat-bastard who’s behind your abduction. His forces probably won the battle against the Kracori, so his next order of business will be to find you.”

  “I am right here! This rodent-beast does not have to go looking for me. I will meet him here!”

  Adam leaned in closer to her, towering over the small female like he seldom did with most other alien species. “Listen, your royal Speaker-ness. I’m supposed to get you back to Formil, and hopefully, all in one piece. You may have some pretty impressive powers, but this is not the time or the place to pick a fight. Help me when you can, but first let’s make it off this stinking planet.”

  Arieel glared up at him for several tense moments. Then her face softened – just a bit. “Four more weapons are approaching from the south. I suppose we should be leaving … as you suggest.”

  “It was not a suggestion, your Highness.” Adam took her by the arm and pulled her off into the clouds of smoke, in the direction where he had left the Phoenix.

  “What is a Highness?”

  Adam just shook his head. She may have some incredible powers, but he figured as long as he wasn’t wearing a pacemaker, then he’d be safe.

  He just hoped his ship was still there. He was really counting on the ship’s special features to help him get this bitch back to her home planet … and out of his hair.

  Much to his relief, the Phoenix was safe and sound sitting in the backwater spaceport. As he approached the hull, with Arieel trailing behind him, the nervous native Azzel ran up to him.

  “What have you done? You have completely destroyed my home!”

&n
bsp; “I didn’t to it,” Adam said barely acknowledging the alien. He brushed past him and fingered the control panel to open the access door.

  “I’m not going to let you get away with this!”

  Adam turned to see that the alien had his MK-17 aimed at him. If this creature followed tradition, he would have the energy setting at level-two. That wouldn’t kill Adam, but it sure would sting. So Adam looked over at Arieel and nodded.

  The Formilian Speaker smiled slightly.

  Adam turned away and entered the spaceship, with Arieel close behind. As he turned to close the hatch, he saw the rust-colored alien fumbling with his now-inert weapon, at a loss as to why it wasn’t working.

  “You better back away if you don’t want to be turned to ash,” Adam called out just as the door slid shut. He had to admit, that was a pretty neat trick.

  Adam lifted off, and even before reaching orbit, spotted a squadron of oblong spacecraft lining up on his position. These would be McCarthy’ remaining fake-Formilian warships.

  Arieel had followed Adam to the pilothouse without saying a word and now sat in the co-pilot’s seat, looking at the display on the proximity screen.

  “They are beyond my influence! Do something!”

  Adam stopped what he was doing and looked over at her, a frown on his face. “Just who the hell do you think you are? You don’t tell me what to do on my ship.”

  “Well you did not appear too concerned about the approaching spaceships. I did not know if you were expecting me to save us – again.”

  “Just sit back and relax, sweetheart; you’re not the only one around here with super-powers.”

  And with that, Adam engaged the four forward focusing rings of the Phoenix, creating a gravity-well deeper than any of the pursing ships could even imagine this far in-system. The Phoenix sped off from Uniss-3 at many times faster than a beam of light and leaving the crews of McCarthy’s ships staring at a now-empty section of space.