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

by T. R. Harris

  “No regrets, Mr. Link,” Commander Frost said. “And now the important stuff: What color would you like your medals to come in? And that goes for all of you over there.”

  “Gold, sir,” said Winston Jones. “Always prefer my medals to be gold.”

  “You got it, Mr. Jones. Now, get back here. We dodged a real bullet this time, and those smaller ships are still out there. They may have other beamships with them nearby, so I want to get back in a gravity-well as soon as possible.”

  “I hear that, Captain,” said Ensign Link. “We’re on our way.”

  179

  The Human forces lie in ruin, with dozens of once-mighty warships drifting helplessly in the middle of the Kracori minefield. The magnetic mines still closed on their targets, and occasionally one would latch onto a stricken ship and a devastating explosion would follow as a way of punctuating the defeat.

  Captain Adam Cain stood on the bridge of the Pegasus, contemplating the damage his own ship had suffered. Two generators were offline and the shields on the port side were mere memories. Sherri Valentine was strapped in the observation chair, unconscious and bleeding profusely from a wound to her leg. Adam knew she wouldn’t last long, yet he didn’t have time to tend to her, not if he wanted to save the Pegasus and the mission.

  Kaylor Lin Todd, the Belsonian pilot at the controls glanced back at Adam. “What are we to do? The Kracori are waiting for us outside the minefield. Anything that comes out the other side will be blasted to atoms.”

  “Let me think,” Adam said. “Any word on the Juireans? Hopefully they’re doing better against the Kracori than we are.”

  The tiny bear-like creature named Jym turned from his tactical screen. “They are in worse shape than are the Humans. And to make matters worse, the Klin have managed to power up again and join the battle. The Juireans are boxed in near the entrance to the Void, and between the Kracori and the Klin, they are being squeezed as if in the grip of Kronos viper.”

  “Does Fleet have any ships to send them?”

  “None. The entry point cut in the wall of the Void to gain access by Admiral Tobias was supposed to be a secret, yet the Kracori were waiting there for them. All of our reserves have been taken out, and now the main fleet is scattered. It is as if the Kracori can anticipate our every move.”

  Adam pumped out his chest in a show of defiance. “We’re not beaten, not yet. Just beyond that line of Kracori warships is their home planet of Elision. If we take out the planet then the Kracori will be defeated.”

  “But how do we get out of the minefield and past their waiting starships?”

  “We retreat,” Adam said. “That’s how we do it.”

  “I do not understand,” said Kaylor.

  “We go out of the minefield the way we came in and take with us every able-bodied ship we can muster. The Kracori forces are aligned to stop us from exiting the minefield on the Elision side. We’ll come out the other, and then once in the clear, we can use the planet Jorvis as a shield to approach Elision from the left. It will take time for the Kracori to reassemble. By then Elision will be a molten mass of magma.”

  The Pegasus rotated one hundred-eighty degrees out from her prior heading, at which point Kaylor initiated a shallow gravity-well and the ship sped off. Jym was on the comm links, summoning all the surviving ships from the decimated Human fleet to follow. Soon ninety-five warships from Earth were streaming out the back of the Kracori minefield and heading for safety.

  Once free of the mines, Adam ordered his tiny force to steer left, toward the second planet in the Kracori star system, the planet Jorvis. Long range scanners showed that Adam’s maneuver had worked. The three hundred Kracori starships stationed near the vast minefield were still forming up and had yet to head off after Adam’s force.

  Jorvis was growing larger in the forward viewport, and so far no enemy vessels had been detected.

  “Adam, the latest report: The Juireans have been crushed!” Jym cried out in a state of panic.

  Adam shrugged. “Oh well. Now we can’t count on them as back up. It’s us against the combined might of the Kracori and the Klin.”

  “If anyone can save the mission, it is you, Captain Cain,” said Kaylor from the pilot’s seat.

  “All ahead flank!” Adam cried out. “Charge all weapons. Once we whip around Jorvis, we’ll have a clear shot at Elision. Let’s send those gray-skinned bastards back to the Hell they came from!”

  The fleet changed course to starboard, ripping up the space around cloud-covered Jorvis. But then just as they cleared the edge of the planet and lined up on Elision, another Kracori fleet appeared from the dark side of the planet.

  “In-coming bolts—hundreds of them!” Jym cried out.

  “Evasive maneuvers,” Adam ordered, but it was too late.

  Four plasma bolts struck the side of the Pegasus, ripping open a seam along her portside. Pressure doors slammed shut on the bridge, protecting the four beings inside from the deadly escape of atmosphere taking place throughout the rest of the ship.

  “The fleet is down to only sixteen ships,” Jym reported. “The Kracori forces have lost only eight out of over two hundred. Adam, it is hopeless.”

  Adam turned to look at the peaceful face of Sherri Valentine, eyes closed, her mind oblivious to the tragedy taking place around her. He envied her. She would die in her sleep, while Adam and his two alien companions would watch the dark hand of the grim reaper close around them.

  “Bring what weapons we still have active to bear on that Kracori bastard in front of us. Let’s see if we can take one last enemy ship with us as we go.”

  “That’s General Tarazi’s ship,” Jym said.

  “I don’t care…fire!”

  “It won’t matter, Adam,” Riyad Tarazi said with a smile. “I saw this coming. A little twist here…and see, I’m now out of range. Say good-bye Adam Cain, superman and savior of the Human race. This time you lose!”

  The Pegasus was overwhelmed by another shower of plasma bolts. On the bridge, Adam saw bulkheads buckle and the forward viewport shatter. Kaylor was split in two, with his upper torso sucked out the gaping hole at the front of the ship. Jym died when the entire starboard side of the ship imploded.

  And as for Adam Cain?

  His standing body was bathed in a blue and yellow flame, and then while in the throes of the Devil’s own breath, Adam arched his head back and screamed out his final dying words. “Damn you, the enemies of Earth! This is not over! I will be avenged!”

  And then his body exploded…as did the Pegasus.

  The screen went black and stark white letters appeared: Game Over.

  “Who authorized such corny dialogue?” Adam asked as he ripped the virtual reality googles from his head and tossed them on the couch next to him. “If I had some last dying words to say—”

  “They wouldn’t be fit for broadcast,” Sherri Valentine said from over by the food processing station.

  Adam glared at her for interrupting. He was frustrated. He shifted his attention to Riyad Tarazi, seated next to him on the couch, his own googles now removed, yet with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

  “That’s four in a row, Riyad,” Adam said to him. “I’m beginning to believe this game is rigged.”

  “That’s not it, my friend.” Riyad’s brilliant white smile was blinding against his dark, Lebanese skin. “The game is quite sophisticated; it’s just that I know you too well. I can anticipate your every move. Actually, according to studies, Adam Cain and the Humans win the battle of the Dysion Void eighty-four percent of the time when played by average gamers.”

  “Yeah, but in reality, we won it one-hundred percent of the time.”

  “That would take the fun out of the video game, now wouldn’t it?”

  Sherri brought over two cups of steaming coffee to the couch. “Men, and they’re silly video games. You two have been playing that stupid game for most of the trip. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

  “That silly game
—as you call it—has made the three of us very rich,” Riyad said.

  “And I’m not giving up until I figure out his moves as well as he can mine. By the way, Riyad, why do you always take the side of the Kracori?”

  “Let’s just say I love an underdog. And there’s nothing better than beating you, Mr. Cain. I kinda like letting the villain win now and then.”

  Adam took a short sip of the extremely hot coffee, burning his lips in the process. “Still, we need to talk to the manufacturer about the dialogue. The graphics are incredible, but I come off sounding like some caricature of a comic book superhero.”

  “So what’s new?” Sherri asked with a smile. “Oh, and don’t forget to let me look over your speech before we get to Uinsid. The last one you gave at one of these things did sound like something out of a comic book.”

  “Well forgive me, Ms. Grammar, but I’m just a simple soldier with a simple vocabulary.”

  “That’s fine; you just don’t have to sound like one. There’s going to be a couple of billion people hanging on your every word. Let’s give them something to remember, and not a bunch of hackneyed tripe.”

  “Isn’t tripe a type of fish?”

  “That would be funny…if I didn’t know you better.”

  “Enough of your lover’s banter,” Riyad said. “Are you up for another game, Adam? You know eventually you’re going to get lucky and win the Battle of the Dysion Void…just like you did the first time.”

  180

  The Union of Orion was the vague and inoffensive name Humanity settled on for their burgeoning galactic empire. With thirty-five other races now included as members, it became a contentious subject when the Humans wanted to call it the Union of Man or the Union of Earth. While no one questioned Earth’s dominance of the organization; it was that the other races then felt like second-class citizens under the earlier proposals.

  Finally it was agreed that since all the planets were located in the Orion-Cygnus arm of the galaxy, that naming the affiliation the Union of Orion would be generic enough to accommodate most species. Even then, it took a lot of explaining as to what exactly Orion was, since that was a Human word. At least the name wasn’t Human-centric, and by this time, there was a lot of resentment amongst the members over the air of superiority and condescension exhibited by some—most—Humans towards aliens.

  Even in spite of that, new members were being added at a rate of one civilization every six months, and the pace was accelerating. After a rigorous—and often clandestine—screening process, qualified species were carefully approached and offered a seat at the table. Most races being considered had already come in contact with aliens at some point in their history, either by the Klin, the Juireans or the Humans, while a few contacts came through the more obscure races like the Sileans, who had established loose trade agreements with these worlds decades before. Most of the planets admitted into the Union had star travel and a technological level that made adjusting to the reality of being part of an organization of alien cultures as seamless as possible.

  As it was, most of the new members petitioned for inclusion, having watched the progress made throughout the Arm by the Humans. And when such an historic event was celebrated by a new member, an elaborate ceremony was held, which was broadcast not only planet-wide, but also Union-wide. Representatives from the Union governing body would be present, as would delegates from other worlds looking to establish embassies and trade missions. Also, celebrities were often invited, just to add a little glitz and glamour to the occasion for the common folk.

  And three of the most sought-after celebrities of the time were Adam, Sherri and Riyad. In reality, they all wanted Adam, after the stories of his exploits saturated a market as part of the priming process. However, it was a major coup when all three showed up, such as was the case for the joining ceremony of the Que’l.

  Of course, the Big Three didn’t come cheap, and even though the officials from the planet Uinsid—where the Que’l originated—had anted up a million base-credits each for their appearance, the Union threw in two million extra to make up for the going rate of their time and effort.

  All in all, Adam and his friends were living the good life, enjoying their celebrity and making a fairly good chunk of change as a result.

  At first Adam Cain dreaded these events. He wasn’t comfortable as a public speaker, and the accolades that were foisted upon him were embarrassing. If they only knew how haphazard and reckless his victories had been, and how often luck played the major role.

  It was Sherri and Riyad who first pushed him into participating. The two of them were celebrities in their own right…but everyone wanted Adam. And in order to command the highest appearance and speaking fees, the trio was needed.

  By now they had the act down, appearing on stage together and bantering back and forth in well-rehearsed mini-plays. Everyone loved the dynamic between the trio, and the stories that blanketed the media markets prior to their arrival played right into it.

  Adam had to admit he was enjoying himself more than he had in years and surprised to learn that he preferred alien audiences to those at home. He always felt his fellow Humans could see right through his ruse and know that what he’d accomplished over the years wasn’t anything special. To the aliens, however, this was all fresh and new, and the mysterious Humans—along with their most-celebrated heroes—were larger than life. After all, this was a race who once ruled a galaxy. And to top that off, only a handful of them managed to take control of the Large Magellanic Cloud, the small sister galaxy to the Milky Way. Adam had been instrumental in restoring equilibrium to the Cloud, which only enhanced his legend and god-like aura. It seemed that no challenge was too big or an enemy too strong to stop the Humans and their super-hero, Adam Cain.

  For the new member races, all this pomp and circumstance was a big deal. Now their race would be part of the Union of worlds which the Humans oversaw. Success and strength through association was the main attraction to joining the Union. And having the Big Three at the Joining Ceremony was just icing on the cake.

  181

  The Pegasus II was still three days out from Uinsid when Adam received a link from Admiral Andy Tobias on Earth.

  “Have you read my book yet?” the sixty-year-old officer asked when his image resolved on the large forward viewscreen on the bridge.

  “Read…a book? What’s that?” Adam said good-naturedly. “I’m too damn important to spend my time reading. I normally have someone else read things to me.”

  “And just think, I knew him when he was a snot-nosed boot on his first day of BUDS. Getting a little too big for your britches there, son.”

  “Sorry, Admiral sir!” His smiled widened. “Of course I read your book. After all, it’s all about me.”

  Tobias frowned. “Really?” he said. “And here I thought I was the main character.”

  “It’s that frickin’ ego of yours, but seriously, Andy, it was good, even if some of the things you detail in it are pure fantasy.”

  “It’s called having a literary license; gotta give them a good story, even if some things are embellished.”

  “Or made up.”

  “Yeah that, too.” The smile then evaporated from the Admiral’s face. “But that’s not the reason for the link. I have to give you a heads up about something potentially very dangerous in sector two-forty-two”

  “That just a hop, skip and a jump from here. What’s going on?”

  “Brace yourself, Adam, because this is really weird. A patrol ran across a Juirean Class-4 in the sector—”

  “In Human Space?”

  “That’s right, and in violation of all the current peace accords.”

  “A spy ship? I wouldn’t be surprised if it is.”

  “Was,” Tobias corrected. “When the patrol ran across the ship, it had been attacked and all the crew killed by an unknown alien race.”

  Adam was silent for a heartbeat, knowing there were very few entities in the galaxy that could take ou
t a Juirean Class-4. “Unknown? What’s the basis of that assessment?”

  “Because the patrol ship—you’ll get a kick out of this, it’s named the Tarazi—was also attacked by the same alien vessel.”

  “But they survived?”

  “By sheer luck. It seems that the attacking ship emits a pulse ray of some sort that puts whatever crew they’re attacking into a mindless stupor. They’re conscious, but unaware and unable to defend themselves. The ray completely incapacitated the Juirean crew.”

  “How did the crew of the Tarazi survive?”

  “A boarding party was on the Juirean ship when the ship was attacked. The beam appears to be focused, so the men on the Class-4 were unaffected and able to take out the attacking mothership with the Juirean weapons. Four of the alien boarding craft survived, however, and bolted for places unknown. The captain of the Tarazi did manage to kill three of these new aliens. The bodies are on their way to Camp Reagan for examination.”

  “And you’re sure they’re nothing we haven’t seen before?”

  “Positive,” Tobias relied. “We checked all the data bases; these guys are something new. And Adam, if it hadn’t been for a stroke of luck, the Tarazi crew would have suffered the same fate as the Juireans. And there’s more. Hold on to your hat, but all the Juireans were decapitated and then their heads and bodies removed from the battle cruiser. The aliens took nothing else, just the bodies.”

  “No shit! Why would they do that?”

  “If we find a live alien that’ll be the first question we ask—if we get the chance. I’ve attached the complete video record of the incident to this link. You’ll see how effective this suppressor beam is, as the captain of the Tarazi calls it. This is some scary shit, man. The alien ship pops into space in the vicinity of their target, and once the beam is activated, that’s all she wrote.”