by T. R. Harris
The auditorium was sparsely populated at the moment, with not more than twenty Kracori all crowded into the seats nearest the huge screen. Another cluster of Kracori was standing to the right and turned when the parade of guards entered the room with Adam and his team. Adam immediately recognized Langril Nomar Polimic among the group. And so was Daninf. The elder Kracori’s hate-filled glare could be seen from across the vast room.
A Kracori guard shoved a Xan-Fi rifle barrel in his back and pushed, herding Adam down a steep succession of stairs until he and his men reached the Langril.
“Is the war over?” Adam asked. “Did you ... lose?”
“Why do you try to antagonize me, Human?” Nomar asked. “Nothing that has transpired between your race and mine has been of a personal nature. We are all simply following our destinies within the scheme of galactic politics.”
“And your destiny called for you to kill billions of innocent men, women and children on my world?”
“It was required to assure our security. But I did not bring you here to replay our last meeting.” Nomar swept a hand out indicating the vast screen dominating the room, and which looked positively gigantic this close up. “I said I wanted you to witness the destruction of the Juirean invasion fleet.” He paused to cast a furtive glance at Daninf. “The battle you are about to witness may not spell the end of the Juirean presence in the Nebula, yet it will serve to show that their defeat is inevitable. My colleague here has convinced me that keeping you alive until our final victory is no longer a necessity for me to receive the satisfaction I seek. This victory will serve my purpose ... and will hasten the time when former-Langril Daninf can take out his vengeance on you and the rest of your Humans.”
Daninf’s face appeared to light up with the mentioned prospect of his revenge on Adam. For the hard-faced aliens, Adam had never seen a Kracori look happy, and he couldn’t allow the moment to last. He puckered up and smacked a loud kiss at the gruff old Kracori.
The gesture had the desired effect. Before he could be stopped, Daninf stepped forward and laid a strong backhand across Adam’s face. The blow was powerful, snapping Adam’s head over to the right. Absorbing the blow, Adam looked back at the Kracori, just as a tiny droplet of blood fell on his upper lip. He ran his tongue across his lip. “Yum … nothing better in the galaxy than Human blood.”
Kaylor had lifted the blastshield on the forward viewport once they touched down on Elision so that inquiring eyes would not be able to see into the pilothouse, yet he still had the remote cameras to see outside. Sherri came to huddle next to him.
“Zoom in on the dome in the center,” she commanded, an electric excitement now in her voice.
The color image on the screen grew in size as the vivid details of the ornate building became clear. The central dome of the government complex had a huge spire rising up out of it, with a curious double-circle ornament attached to it about two-thirds of the way up. It didn’t appear to be a communication array, so Sherri reasoned it was some kind of icon representing the Kracori race. The spire itself looked fragile. That was good; she may have to knock it down to get close enough to the main dome.
“He said the viewing room is in the middle of that building. Being in the middle should protect it from what I have in mind.”
“Won’t the upper floors fall down upon the room, killing all inside?” Kaylor asked.
Sherri grinned wickedly. “Hopefully that’s not going to happen. Remember, the upper part of the building is going to falling upwards, toward the gravity-well.”
Genuine surprise crossed Kaylor’s face. “Of course! I was confused.”
“Join the club. Now I have another idea, something to let Adam and the others know we’re here.”
Jym crowded in next to Sherri and Kaylor. “That is wonderful; what is it you have planned?”
“You can help with this, Jym. See if you can find the power controls for the building. There has to be central line that comes in, and everything here is controlled by microprocessors. Let me know when you’ve found it.”
Jym moved to the co-pilot seat and closed his eyes as he began a probe of the building along one of the comm lines he had linked to previously. Trimen walked up to him. “You do not have to close your eyes to access the gift—the ATD.”
The diminutive creature cocked his head upward slightly and opened one eye. “I realize that, Trimen. It just works best for me—so that I can eliminate all distractions.”
The Formilian caught the not-so-subtle meaning of the statement and backed away, slightly embarrassed. As it was with most times Trimen moved about a room, Sherri had been watching him. She smiled, both at the blushing hunk of male virility, as well as the new cockiness Jym was exhibiting. They were truly a diverse yet competent team. For a moment, Sherri actually believed they could pull this off....
“I have entered the computer controlling the power within the building. What now?”
At the moment, Sherri really wished she knew Morse code; the SEALs held prisoner within the domed building undoubtedly did. It would have made the task much easier.
“Begin shutting down the power and then rebooting it, but do it following this pattern: off/on, pause, then off/on, off/on, off/on, pause off/on, and then a longer pause and then off/on, off/on. Wait a minute and then repeat.”
“That seems complicated.”
“It’s meant to. It has to look like a pattern.” But only one a Human would recognize. ‘Shave … and a hair … cut … two bits!’ Something her father used to say way too often as she was growing up.
Jym closed his eyes again and began to follow Sherri’s instructions. It was a gamble on her part, but if Adam and the others knew she was in the area—and close enough to use the ATD—then when the fireworks started they could be ready. It just might save their lives.
“Daninf!” Nomar cried out. “Your time will come soon enough. Do not give in to his childish taunts.”
The Langril stepped between Adam and Daninf and pushed the Human down into one of the nearby seats. He looked at the others in Adam’s group, who stood glaring at him, appearing ready to strike. “All of you sit and do nothing foolish. If you wish death to come now, simply say so and I will forgo the presentation. If I will not gain your acknowledgment as to the fate of the Juirean fleet, then I see no reason to continue with this demonstration. I will be disappointed, yet that will quickly pass.” He looked down at Adam. “Which shall it be?”
Adam wiped more blood from his upper lip. “Sit down, guys. Let’s watch the show. Who knows, it may have a surprise ending.”
“There will be no surprises here—”
Just then the lights flickered off, and then came back on a moment later. The big screen had gone blank, and it instantly rebooted. Then the power flickered on/off in rapid succession several more times, before a hesitation and then two more flashes again. When the lights eventually stabilized, Nomar looked around at the others in the room. “This has happened before. What is the matter with the power grid?” he called out. Several underlings reached for comm pads, while two others actually ran from the room to investigate from another location.
The Kracori leader turned to the screen. “Bring up the graphic,” he commanded.
The center section of the large screen was instantly filled with a remarkably detailed 3-D representation of a small cluster of stars and planets, all in brilliant, vibrant colors. The image would rival the best CGI work of Hollywood’s special effect departments, and the vantage point was not static, either. It was constantly moving, sweeping in to show lines of defensive ships forming behind the various planets, while a huge wave of what were obviously Juirean ships approached the Corridor from between a pair of stars. And off to the bottom edge of the screen could be seen a fairly accurate depiction of the Shield, with all its roiling mass of hot stellar gases, all in startling colors.
“This is the entrance to the Volseen Corridor where the next battle will soon be joined,” Nomar said, beginning his narr
ation. “The Juirean fleet is approximately five thousand ships strong and they will be met by a force numbering nearly their equal, comprised of ships from the neighboring worlds in the Nebula—”
The power suddenly shut off again and ran through the same annoying pattern as it had before. When it finally settled down again, Nomar was visibly upset, but this time he simply glared at one of the senior Kracori standing near him. The confused alien looked back at his superior with wide, pleading eyes. He shook his head as his narrow mouth fell open slightly.
Nomar’s own mouth became a pinpoint as he tightened his jaw in frustration. He turned back to the screen. “The Juireans will no doubt prevail in the coming engagement, with the first units joining ... now.”
Indeed, a line of green and red-designated icons came together near the center of the gap between the stars.
“Having underestimated the defensive force which they are facing, the Juireans will suffer many more casualties than they had anticipated, yet they will clear the entrance to the Corridor and enter the Void. It will be at that time they encounter the thirty-five hundred ships of the Kracori defensive fleet. Fighting within our territory, the Kracori will lure the Juireans into designated killing zones where mines and other passive deterrents will reduce their numbers even more. With no replacements available, the Juireans will either elect to withdraw—or more desired—will fight to the last ship. Either way, the Juireans will lose all their strategic strength, here and throughout the Expansion. And the Kracori, thanks to the fodder provided by our useful allies in the Nebula, will emerge nearly fully intact … and ready to confront the Human fleet a few months later.”
He stopped and turned back to Adam. “Yes, we have analyzed the strategy that would be used by your fleet. We have to assume they are aware of the Juireans, and as such, will let the two of us fight amongst ourselves before facing the weakened victor. Yet we will not be weakened—”
For the third time, the power cycled through its odd fluctuations, causing the Langril this time to completely lose control. He grabbed the nearest chair that was not bolted to the floor and heaved it across the room.
All Adam needed was this third time to have complete confidence in his assumption. He turned his head slightly both ways so he could see the faces of the others. With steady gazes and ever-so-slight nods, Adam knew they had recognized the pattern as well. Only a few days earlier, the team had initiated a sporadic disruption of the Kracori power grid themselves. Now it was happening again, and with a regular pattern: dot … dot/dot/dot … dot … dot/dot. He recognized it, as one of the most-common door-knocking sequences on Earth, whose origins he knew were much older than the dorm rooms where it was most practiced.
Some of the other members of his team had survived, and they were here, on Elision, and very, very close. Something was about to happen, and they were letting Adam and the rest of them to get ready.
“Kaylor, where are all the military and security people around the ship?”
“There is still the small ship circling above, using chemical power.” He rotated the exterior cameras around until he had scanned the entire perimeter of the ship. “The tech crew is still outside the rear airlock, and there is a contingent of impatient-looking Kracori military—about thirty of them—almost directly in front of us.”
Sherri reached out with her own ATD and tried to detect any flash weapons larger than a Xan-Fi in the area. There was a cannon of some kind mounted to the left of the domed complex, just within her range, probably a defensive battery for the Citadel.
“Trimen, can you get control of the cannon and disable it?”
Trimen’s expression went blank as he, too, reached out with his telepathy device. “I have acquired control of the processor. It is done.”
“Good. I’m not that worried about the MK’s and Xan-Fi’s, but the cannon could have stung some.”
“What of the craft above us?” Kaylor asked.
Again Sherri flashed her devilish smile. “For lift-off, where will you aiming the gravity-well?”
Kaylor’s eyes grew wide. “Upward! Why is it that I cannot think like you?” There was more frustration in Kaylor’s words than compliment.
“It’s because you aren’t as devious as we Humans. I think it’s one of the traits that sets us apart from all the rest.”
“I will not argue with you on that point,” Kaylor said as he rapidly flicked switches on his pilot’s console. “I have to assume we are nearly ready.”
Sherri took a deep breath and looked around the pilothouse. Trimen had taken a seat at the nav console and strapped in. Jym and Kaylor were in the co-pilot and pilot seats respectively, also strapped in. Ruszel was in a flip-down seat attached to the rear bulkhead, just then strapping in. Sherri slipped into the observation seat behind the pilot and pulled the straps around her chest.
All eyes were now on her. “How’s the buildup coming, Kaylor?”
Kaylor looked back at his station. “Gaining compression; another thirty seconds and we reach lift-off mass.”
“Give it sixty seconds; I want us to really make an impact when the well forms.”
“I will monitor it. That will be close to critical mass, however.”
“I know. Do it ... just don’t let us explode.”
Kaylor turned back to his screen. The tension in the pilothouse increased exponentially over the next few seconds. There was a dull humming coming from the rear of the ship, growing rapidly in intensity.
“Five seconds ... four ... three....”
Kaylor gripped the controls tighter—and suddenly the air in the pilothouse was ripped from their lungs as a sharp, electric crackling echoed against the metal walls….
It began with a sudden distant boom that refused to fade away after the initial shock. Nomar and the other Kracori looked around the room, suddenly aware of the bass rumbling growing within the building.
“Find out what is happening!” Nomar yelled to no one in particular. Adam had no idea if earthquakes were common in this part of Elision, but it did appear as though the Kracori were surprised by the tremors. Already they were scrambling about the room.
Daninf turned to the cadre of guards positioned behind Adam and his men. “Watch them carefully,” he commanded. “They are not to move from this spot. If they do ... kill them.”
With no countermanding orders coming from Nomar, Adam knew the guards would follow through—if they could. For at that very moment, the distant rumbling sound wasn’t so distant anymore. Instead, the entire building now shook violently, with ceiling tiles raining down on everyone in the room. Flooring buckled, and the massive video screen suddenly exploded outward.
Everyone along the front rows of the auditorium—the Humans included—all dove for cover as sharp shards of glass cut into their flesh. Yet the glass cuts soon became the least of their worries, as the very ceiling in the room began to crack and break apart. Yet instead of falling dangerously to the floor below, the shattered ceiling appeared to lift away, moving upwards slightly before some of the larger chunks began to fall off to the side, crashing down on the opposite side of the room, killing several huddling Kracori.
Through the ever-increasing dust and debris filling the room, Adam could see that Nomar and Daninf had been spirited away by not only the entourage around them, but also by the Kracori who had been guarding them.
Adam did his best to protect himself from the falling debris by squeezing under several of the broken chairs they had once been sitting in. Whatever the others were doing outside, they were definitely having an impact.
The Pegasus surged upward off the concrete landing pad, lifting with it a perfectly round section of ground ten feet deep from the surface of Elision. Dozens of Kracori who were within the hundred-foot diameter of the gravity-well simply ceased to exist, their bodies ripped to shreds as they were pulled into the series of microscopic singularities being formed a few hundred yards above the Pegasus.
The monitor aircraft in the skies above the
spaceship was, unfortunately, right near where the back hole formed and its entire mass was pulled into the pinpoint in space that was the singularity. It didn’t explode before entering the event horizon; just one moment it was there, and the next it was gone.
The internal gravity-wells activated simultaneously with the drive singularities, yet the compensators took a split second to adjust to the added strength of the well. All the people in the pilothouse were jerked upward, their safety harnesses digging painfully into soft, pliable flesh. Fortunately, this only lasted a moment otherwise their fragile bodies would have been torn to pieces, to become nothing more than thin pools of bloody flesh painting the ceiling of the pilothouse.
“Let’s go, Kaylor!” Sherri yelled once air returned to her lungs.
Kaylor didn’t say a word. Instead the Pegasus began to approach the Citadel complex, gaining altitude as it went. The cluster of buildings was only a mile from the landing zone, so it was only seconds before the ship was hovering above the target building. Already there were blinding clouds of dust, dirt and debris spinning around the ship, creating a tornado of tremendous proportions out to half a mile from the Pegasus.
And then pieces of the dome began to fragment and splinter apart. Through the remote cameras on the exterior of the ship, Sherri could see large chunks of concrete and steel fly off the dome, in a weird reversal of traditional gravity. The ship was buffeted by violent collisions, as parts of the building impacted the underbelly of the ship. Watching the swirling scene below, through the vantage point of several camera angles, Sherri suddenly became very nauseous, and within seconds couldn’t keep from spewing a sickening mass of brown and white matter in Kaylor’s direction.
The Belsonian felt the wet, sickly-smelling gunk on his back and cranked his head around to cast Sherri one of the angriest looks she had ever seen from an alien.