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

by T. R. Harris

  “This could be the Polimor technical research center,” Nurick said as they swept in preparing for landing.

  “You mean you aren’t sure? Haven’t you been here before?”

  “No, I have never been here. I had no reason to visit during my time as a pilot. They have a large commerce center on Huof. That was where I spent most of my time.”

  “I thought you knew your way around here.”

  “I am sorry if I gave you that impression—”

  Nurick was interrupted by a landing challenge from the ground. After explaining who he was and his mission, he was given clearance to land.

  “That conversation will be more evidence of my collusion in this deception,” he said after breaking the link. “I am hoping the recordings we have made will help to shield me from prosecution upon my return to Vicor.”

  Adam had a flash weapon holstered around his waist; he pulled it out and pointed the barrel at Nurick. “Do as I say…or I’ll shoot,” he said with a smile.

  “Such a humor, Adam Cain.”

  The smile vanished from Adam’s face. “What do you mean? I’m being serious now.”

  “I just hope you can maintain your good spirits as we enter the most dangerous phase of your plan.”

  Adam had grown more confident with his plan as the hours passed and the prospect of being aboard the Pegasus once again drew closer. They were just now touching down, and so it should only be another hour or so.

  It turned out to be closer to twelve, and by then Adam was fuming, upset with all the bureaucratic bullshit he and Nurick endured before the Polimors were finally convinced that his expertise was needed. The Clan had sent three tech teams aboard the Pegasus before finally conceding that they were at a loss as to why the systems wouldn’t reactivate.

  Adam knew why. He sat on an open-air transport just outside the ship, and through his ATD, had thwarted every effort the technicians made to reboot the computers. They had achieved their goal three times, and each time they did Adam simply turned it off again. The best minds the Polimors had to offer couldn’t figure it out, and as a last resort, they agreed to let the specialist from Vicor see what he could do.

  Adam was having fun with this, and he played the role of the nerdy computer geek to the hilt. He had attached a chain to a datapad and then hung it around his neck, along with a second pad stuffed in the chest pocket of a Vicorean jacket he found in the Enforcer spacecraft. He also carried a third datapad in his hand. He mussed up his medium length blond hair and even pulled his shirt tail half out of his pants, completing the unkempt look. Whether the Polimors would interpret this as being nerdy or not, he didn’t know, but it sure did help to get him into character. He looked the part, so he felt the part. Now all he had to do was act the part.

  “Please allow my assistant entry as well,” he said to the eight-alien entourage of security and technical experts.

  One of the Vicoreans standing along the perimeter of the security zone around the Pegasus was the lead clansmon who had brought the ship from Karlis. Adam recognized him from the video eavesdropping he had done from the ridge overlooking the landing zone. Adam believed he was referred to as Captain Crous. The alien was frowning.

  Suddenly, he ducked under the security tape and was immediately intercepted by a guard. They spoke for a few moments before the guard escorted the officer to the entourage just before Adam and Nurick entered the Pegasus. The lead Polimor—a non-Vicorean female alien named Solius Vix, and with dark skin and dreadlocks reaching halfway down her back, held up a hand that stopped the parade into the ship.

  Adam tensed.

  “Proceed, Captain Crous,” said Solius Vix.

  The Vicorean stepped up to Nurick. “You are not the two Enforcers I met on Karlis,” he stated with suspicion. “Where are they?”

  Adam could see Nurick also tense up, and just in case, Adam moved his hand closer to the grip of his flash weapon.

  “They were called away upon landing. They will return in a few hours,” Nurick answered, reciting the story they had rehearsed in the event they were questioned.

  “But I did not see you—or your so-called expert—aboard the Enforcer ship while on Karlis.”

  Adam stepped close to the Vicorean and began to look him up and down in an exaggerated fashion. “I do not recall seeing you there, either,” he said to the alien. “Maybe it is because you never entered our vessel. Since I did not see you aboard the ship, then I have no proof you were ever on Karlis.”

  Crous looked completely confused. He turned to Solius Vix. “I am the one who brought the ship to Ralic-Sim; of course I was on Karlis.”

  “From my perspective, you were never there,” Adam reiterated.

  “What is your name, expert?” Solius asked.

  “Clint Eastwood, Lord Vix,” he answered.

  Solius nodded. “Clint Eastwood has a point,” she said, “although an absurd one. Did you not go aboard the Enforcer ship?” she asked the Vicorean.

  “No, I did not, yet I did not get the impression from the two Enforcers that there were others onboard, and especially not an expert in Silean technology. Why did he not attempt to reactivate the ship while on Karlis?”

  All eyes turned to Adam. He sent them all a thin, goofy smile. “Why pursue an alien spacecraft with a unique propulsion system without enlisting the assistance of an expert, such as me?” he said in character. “The Vicoreans thought it prudent that I accompany the Enforcers on their mission. I must interject at this point that the Vicoreans aboard were ambivalent to my presence aboard their ship. As far as your perception of the thoughts of the other Enforcers—Josel and Loren—I bow to your superior intuition. They never asked me to work on the alien ship at that time, I know not why.” He had learned the names of the other two Enforcers by rummaging through their personal effects on the ship while looking for his gold ingots.

  “Let them pass,” Solius said. “You may also accompany us, pilot. You seem to have some reason to distrust this creature. Our best technicians have failed to break through the ship’s security systems so let us now see how much of an expert Clint Eastwood truly is.”

  Soon they were all crowded on the bridge of the Pegasus. Adam sat in the pilot’s seat, and then wriggled his butt into the seat, as if forming it to his shape.

  “How is it that you came to be an expert in technology that originated in the Silean Galaxy?” Captain Crous asked, suspicion thick in his voice.

  “A fair question, Captain Couch.”

  “That is Crous, Captain Crous.”

  “In the end, your name does not matter, does it?” Adam said in character. “But to answer your question, I worked with the Kiran Clan for a number of years on their Silean engineering investigations,” he began. “Prior to that, I made the excruciatingly long journey to the Silean Galaxy, where I studied computer and propulsion systems at the prestigious Einstein Institute on Timbuktu. I am sure you’ve heard of it.”

  Adam looked pointedly at the Captain. The alien nodded emphatically. “Of course I have,” Crous lied.

  Adam fought hard not to smile.

  “Now let’s see what seems to the problem.” Adam had already made mental contact with the ship’s computer through his ATD. Now he was going to have some fun with the aliens.

  He pressed a button—one that would normally regulate the heat and air in the cabin, but now he had the computer blast out a screeching siren at deafening levels. Everyone cringed and covered their ears. “Oh my god, it’s going critical and about to explode!” He rose up out of his chair and leaned toward the entrance to the bridge. Two of the aliens in the room fled, while all the others took at least a step in that direction. Adam pressed the button again and the siren went silent.

  “Not really. Just having some fun,” he said with a grin. There were three species of alien in the room at that time, and all had gone suddenly pale—all except Captain Crous. He now glared at Adam with his beady red eyes.

  “I would advise you not to do that again
, Clint Eastwood,” Solius said between gritted teeth.

  “He was able to get the ship to do his bidding,” a voice said from the crowd.

  “That is correct,” Solius concurred. “Now make it do something useful.”

  Adam turned back to the console. “This is your typical Cain Computer System, named of course for the glorious hero of the Silean Galaxy who, after forty days and forty nights, led his people to safety through the deserts of Krypton.” He glanced at Captain Crous. “When your people attempted to access the computer system they nearly wiped the memory clean. I will now try a workaround to fix the mess you caused.”

  Adam pressed a few more buttons before allowing the main computer screen to come to life. It glowed white for a few seconds before a scroll of words came up. They were written in English. Adam pursed his lips. He had pulled up the first pages of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea from an ancient Kindle file.

  “This could take longer than I thought,” he said after reading the screen. “I will log into the engine status file and see if I can find some better news.”

  A moment later another screen lit up to Adam’s left. He leaned over and began scanning the words displayed there. This one was from A Christmas Carol by Dickens.

  “What does it say?” Solius Vix asked.

  Adam frowned as he scanned the lines of type. “The engine core has been damaged. It requires NX-2 energy modules and the ones acquired on Vicor are S-3’s. Even if I could get the computers linked to the generators it would do no good without the proper energy modules.”

  Solius Vix turned to another alien, one of a species different from her. “Have a supply of NX-2’s sent over here immediately,” she ordered. She then turned back to Adam. “This ship has eight focusing rings,” she stated. “Eight should suffice.”

  “I would triple that amount, Lord Vix,” Adam said. “These gravity engines are notorious for bleeding energy, not only with the rings, but also for all the other systems aboard. Once I get all the systems back online, and I run the diagnostics, we will run through a set of mods in no time flat.”

  “Yes, of course. Dosil, bring twenty-four modules.” The Polimor clan leader was beaming with joy at this point. “So you believe you can get this ship functional again, after the mistakes made to it on Karlis?” She turned to glare at Captain Crous.

  “Yes,” Adam said with confidence. “Yet it could still take a couple of days of very tedious work and reprogramming for me and my assistant.” He looked at the overcrowded bridge. “I’m sure the ship can accommodate at least you, Lord Vix, and two or three of your entourage during that time.”

  “We will not be staying. Just get the ship operational again, Clint Eastwood, and there will be a sizeable benefit provided for you at the conclusion. In the meantime, Dosil Crin will have the necessary energy modules delivered and installed without delay.”

  She turned and nodded to the other Polimor clansmon in the room. All except three left the bridge. Captain Crous remained. “You say two days until the ship will be fully functional?”

  “Yes, around that time.”

  “So I can schedule a revealing to Lord Dakken by that time? He will be most anxious to see the new prize I have for him.”

  “Give me fifty local hours just to make sure,” Adam said with a grin. He was nearly bubbling over with excitement, emotions he was fighting hard to contain.

  “That is acceptable.” The alien then placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You have done a remarkable job, Clint Eastwood, a job my technicians—as well as my captains—have failed to complete.”

  Adam looked at Captain Crous and grinned. He could tell Crous was fighting the urge to tear into Adam will all he had. Only the presence of his boss in the room prevented it.

  “A favor, Lord Vix,” Adam said.

  “Yes, anything.”

  “Captain Crous here seems to be very hostile to me. This is making me nervous and unable to function at the top of my abilities. Can you please see to it that he leaves me and my assistant alone as we work?”

  Solius whipped around in Crous’s direction. “Of course I can,” said Solius. “Lopis and Morr please escort the Captain off this ship and have him locked away until I issue orders to the contrary.”

  “But Lord Vix, I have done nothing wrong!”

  “Through your carelessness, you almost destroyed the single-most important technological acquisition the Polimor Clan has ever made. The advances learned from this ship will allow the Polimors to challenge Alic Kiran for dominance of Tanic. The efforts of Clint Eastwood must not be impaired. You will be released after the ship is functional again and Lord Dakken has come and gone. Do not protest Captain, or I may make your confinement permanent.”

  Crous snapped his rat-like mouth shut as Solius’s two alien associates flanked him, and after one last venomous glare at Adam, he was escorted off the bridge.

  “I will now leave you and your assistant to your work,” Solius said. “Let us know of anything else you require.”

  “Just the energy modules and some privacy,’ said Adam, struggling to keep his grin from erupting into a full blown smile. “This is very detailed and intricate work we must complete. Distractions will only slow our progress.”

  Solius nodded emphatically. “Understood, I will leave now.”

  After he and Nurick were sure everyone had left the ship, Adam burst out laughing, drumming on the pilot’s console a couple of times as he did so.

  “That couldn’t have gone any better!” he said.

  Adam could see the joy in Nurick’s eyes as well, even though the Vicorean didn’t share the full range of contagious emotion Adam was feeling.

  “And you are gaining twenty-four hybrid modules in the process. You must be overjoyed with the outcome.”

  “I am, my friend,’ Adam said. “We’ll get the mods installed and then take the Pegasus up for a test drive, with you in the Enforcer ship flying escort. And then I’ll take off for Anicett and you can return to Vicor.”

  “Even as I do, there will be many questions asked of me upon my return.”

  “Don’t worry, Nurick. We’ll keep building the case for your involuntary help. You’ll be fine.”

  Adam was ecstatic. He used his ATD to bring the ship back to life, including the brush of fresh air against his face as the a/c kicked in. The crush of alien flesh in the room had left quite a stench.

  Things may turn out right after all, he thought.

  And as has been said countless times before, he spoke too soon.

  Even though his ATD couldn’t control electronic devices built in this galaxy, it could still detect their presence. And if Adam hadn’t been so distracted by his own joy and excitement, he might have sensed the small Listening device Captain Crous had slipped under the navigation station console.

  Now, Foslin Bak, Crous’s second-in-command, listened to the conversation taking place on the bridge of the Pegasus from aboard his ship, the K-92, located about a mile from the Pegasus. With his captain in the process of being hauled away to spend the next fifty hours in confinement, Foslin wasn’t sure what to do with the information he’d just overheard. It was obvious the creature Clint Eastwood—along with the Vicorean—were not what they seemed, and they had a plan for absconding with the alien starship.

  Foslin suddenly grimaced as a horrible thought occurred to him, and in a panic, he pressed the button on the console that would now begin recording the conversation he was listening to.

  At least all future conversations would be recorded, even if not the first revelation just overheard, he thought.

  That was a missed opportunity. However, Crous had never told him to record the Listening device. And now without a recording of the plan to steal the alien ship, Foslin was without evidence. His Captain would be furious when he learns of Foslin’s oversight.

  So I will simply not tell him of the prior conversation, Foslin thought. I will instead hope for further recorded evidence. Yes, that is a good
plan. Crous need never know of what I heard, although I will take it upon myself to thwart the alien’s plan. In that way, I will become the hero, and not my Captain. As a consequence, I may end up a captain myself. Yes, this is a very good plan….

  141

  Like all the members of Captain Crous’s crew, Foslin Bak was a Vicorean. He was also a former Enforcer who had moved onto the more lucrative job with the Security Section of the Polimor Clan four years before. Even though he had moved on, Foslin still maintained cordial—if somewhat strained—relations with several of his former colleagues back on Vicor.

  With no firm plan for exposing the two imposters aboard the Silean spacecraft, he first needed to learn under whose authority they were operating. With the K-92 resting on a landing pad at the spaceport, all the other crewmembers were now off-ship and enjoying sometime in the city, so Foslin had the comm station to himself when he established a link with Vicor. He sent out the burst message, informing his contact in Enforcer headquarters that the NK-90 was now on Ralic-Sim and that the specialist Clint Eastwood, along with the Enforcer Nurick Nur, were now attempting to learn the operational secrets of the eight-array starship they had been sent to track down and investigate.

  Foslin knew he had to be careful. Even though he was a former Enforcer, there was still a lot of resentment within the Corps for Clan Security. Clan business always took precedence over local authority, so this resentment was often a one-way street and aimed in Foslin’s direction. And the fact that he had abandoned his native security force for a more prestigious organization had upset more than a few of his associates.

  So he couldn’t very well come out and start questioning the actions and motives of the team they had sent after the alien spacecraft, not without it coming across as some overriding of their authority. He would simply make a report and open a dialogue with Juris Lim, his old partner within the Corps. From there he could probe a little deeper, depending on Juris’s reaction to his link.