by T. R. Harris
And yet Molison was also saddened. He knew the Klin would have to bring about an end to this magnificent being. The Sol-Kor were not to be trusted, and even though they would eventually bring about the demise of the Klin’s mortal enemies, the enigmatic race would also bring about the end of the Klin. For that matter, the aliens would sweep across the galaxy, concerned not with merely conquering a civilization for it to become subservient, but devouring all intelligent life forms they encountered. And why? For food, of all things.
One could imagine that without Panur’s help the Sol-Kor would have long ago been forced to create an adequate and constant food source that did not involve eating other intelligent creatures. Yet it was as Vosmin said earlier, it was easier to simply move between galaxies and universes, harvesting readymade crops of living beings without regard to conservation or compassion. Panur’s breakthroughs made it too easy for the Sol-Kor, so easy in fact that alternatives were not required. And with an infinite number of universes, all it took was some unsuspecting race—such as the Klin—to build a trans-dimensional receiver and the Sol-Kor had a whole new universe to harvest.
Yet the Klin had not gone into this unsuspecting. Rather, they had built the array in an attempt to find just such a race, one capable of destroying their enemies while allowing the Klin to assume their rightful place as the head of the galaxy. Unfortunately, they had opened what the Humans called a Pandora’s Box. The race they found could indeed destroy their enemies, along with everything else in this galaxy and beyond.
So Panur must die. He would have to anyway when he found out the Klin had no new technologies to assist the Sol-Kor in their search for food. This had all been a designed plan should the meeting with the aliens go awry. Zimfelous would depart the system, able to do so with the help of Molison’s beam defeating apparatus.
After that, the Klin would have to devise a more long-term plan to deal with the invaders. In one way, not having a planet to call home gave them an advantage. They could hide, as they had done for over four thousand years. The planets Juir and Earth could not do that.
Molison had no doubt that, if left unmolested, the Sol-Kor could accomplish their goal. They had done so countless times before—and were doing so even now, laying waste to hundreds of populated planets and killing trillions of helpless souls on an on-going basis. He was sure they often ran up against civilizations such as the Humans and the Juireans, against galactic empires like the Expansion. He got the impression these obstacles never impeded the Sol-Kor for long.
That thought was scary in its own right. Here was a race of basically mindless drones who could overcome any force sent against it. They could achieve this either through superior technology or sheer numbers. With Panur’s help, the gray aliens appeared to have both means covered.
When Panur continued to stare at him with that obnoxious grin, Molison could take it no more. The shuttle still had a few minutes to go before docking with the mothership and Panur was alone with no means of calling for help. Molison should have no fear of him, yet still he did.
Their eyes met, and before Molison could say a word, Panur spoke first. “You have found a way to defeat my beam,” he stated.
The scientist blinked several times as a reaction to the unexpected statement. Even as he was about to engage the alien in conversation, he still felt compelled to perpetuate the deception. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said unconvincingly.
“That is why you lied about the items you have aboard, so you could escape without fear of being subdued by the Sol-Kor mainships. Yet there are still eight of the Klin on the planet below. Are you abandoning them to Vosmin’s wrath?”
“They are willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of the race.”
“Now you sound like the Sol-Kor.”
“We are nothing like the Sol-Kor! They are beasts without conscience or souls. All they seek is to feed and multiply. Vosmin mentioned a queen—are the Sol-Kor like pollenating insects or colonies of ground dwellers? Were they all created by a queen, a solitary, yet prolific female?”
“Exactly, yet they also possess some degree of intelligence. Not a lot, but some.”
“And where would they be now if you had not helped them? Would they be threatening entire galaxies, and more?”
“Probably not. But at the time I began assisting the Queen I was still quite young. It is a fact that with my help the Queen may indeed live forever. As long as the Colony grows, they have need for her. If it stops growing, the Queen will die. And then when growth is required again, another female will appear. That is how it has always been for the Sol-Kor.”
“Yet what about you, what about your race? What became of them?”
“It’s as you suspect. My species also fell prey to the Sol-Kor. Yet when my special talents were realized, I was spared. Since that time I have learned a lot, not only about everything…but about myself as well.”
“What does that mean? You say you have lived for thousands of years. How is that even possible?”
“I take in nourishment differently from other species. I am unique in this regard. It has allowed my body to be much more efficient in its operation. My cells regenerate—all of them. I know now how they do so, yet I still don’t know why. Neither of my parents were special, nor my ancestors. Something happened within my body when I had aged twenty of my planet’s years. From then on I have lived more-or-less as I was at that time. Yet I also have to admit, as the years passed and I acquired more knowledge, I have done certain improvements upon my body as I discovered the means. So you see, scientist, there is a very good possibility that I, too, will live forever, even as you plot my death. By the way, you should abandon that line of thinking. It will not work and you may even anger me in the process. That you would not want to do.”
Molison glanced out the solitary window in the passenger section of the shuttle. He could feel the ship slowing and preparing to dock. He turned back to Panur. “So what if you were thrown from an airlock into the void of space? Could you survive even then?”
“I can…and I have. My body goes into a dormant stage until I come in contact with warmth again. Now I see you're thinking about casting me into a star. That would be an experience! My body would instantly regenerate, yet then I would be trapped within the star’s gravity well. I may have to think on that for a while. Could I build a device while in the depths of a burning star that could free me from my prison? Or more likely, how could I maneuver myself to be ejected within the stellar wind? Even as I dwell on the problem, several options already come to mind.”
Molison realized his mouth had fallen open again. “So what happens now? I assume you also have certain physical advantages over us that would make our attempt to throw you out an airlock prove—while not impossible—then extremely difficult?”
Panur nodded. “Do not take this wrong, Molison Jons, but I admire your intellect. I am not saying you are anything special, just that from what’s available to me in this universe, you are somewhat entertaining. And to answer your question: you’re right, I would not allow you to do what you contemplate.”
“So again I ask: What happens now? You obviously knew our ploy was a ruse from the beginning, yet still you came. Why?”
“There are things about to happen on the planet below that I do not wish to be a part of. Your ship seemed like a convenient way to slip away for a while.”
“What’s going to happen? Is the portal in danger?”
“Of course, Molison Jons, as was the intention. All I can say is that I would have your captain make a hasty departure from this region of space. Things are about to get a lot more exciting from here on out.”
Chapter 18
It was nearing daybreak and Adam knew the search teams would be out hot and heavy in about half an hour. The trio had moved south along the concealed wadi for most of the night, allowing them to now approach the camp from the opposite direction of the way they’d made their escape from the array site. Even then, in the light of da
y, their footprints would be easy to find and follow.
Throughout the night, a dozen or so more starships had landed near the camp, spreading out beyond the designated landing area and spilling over into the virgin desert beyond. In fact, the line of ships now extended in the direction from which the three escapees were approaching.
“There are some bigger ships now,” Adam said, “and some smaller ones. Let’s grab one of the small ones and get the hell out of here.”
“What about Ophelia?” Riyad asked. “We can’t just leave her.”
“Sure we can—watch us,” said Sherri. Even in the dim light of morning, Riyad’s reaction was obvious.
“Look, the best way to save her—as well as the others—is to get out of here and bring back help,” Adam said. “If we get caught—and the next time the aliens will be more careful with us—we’ll all be dead.”
“The encampment is right over there.” Riyad pointed off to his left. “There’s only a handful of bored guards watching.”
“So we go and rescue everyone?” Sherri said, throwing up her arms. “And wouldn’t that be a lot easier, leading a parade of over fifty people through the maze of alien spaceships until we can find—and steal—one large enough for all of us.”
“First things first,” Adam said. “We have to get over there without being—”
He suddenly hit the sandy ground—as did the others—when nearly all the ships in the spaceport lit off whatever type of engines they used and began lifting from the surface. Even from this distance, they could see dozens of individual Sol-Kor running throughout the landing area, some preparing more ships for departure, while others raced to board the ships.
“What’s going on?” Sherri asked.
“Dunno, but something’s got them spooked.”
“This will be the perfect time to rescue Ophelia, while the Sol-Kor are occupied with other matters.”
“Get your head out of your pants, Riyad,” Adam ordered. “We’ll do what we can, but right now we have to figure out a way to stay alive. We’re out in the open, and even though I can’t imagine all these ships are heading out to look for us, some may be. If all of them are after us, then we’re royally screwed.”
The question was settled soon enough, as a literal parade of starships lined up and streaked off toward space—and not in the direction of the portal, arcing off to the east and leaving the atmosphere on an oblique course. Within minutes the spaceport was down to only nine starships, many of them the ubiquitous mainships as the Sol-Kor called them. These were fairly large ships, capable of carrying the original complement of Human captives plus its own crew and passengers. Adam was confident he could figure out how to fly one, if given the time and opportunity. But the landing area was swarming with Sol-Kor. They appeared to be loading the other ships, readying them for departure as well.
And then right before their eyes the Humans saw the entire camp begin to be disassembled.
“They’re packing up!” Adam looked to the distant area where the prisoners were being held. He could see it was still filled with people and they didn’t appear to be moving. But neither were they lying in a heap of bodies on the ground, which was encouraging.
“C’mon, let’s move closer to where the others are. If the Sol-Kor start shooting, we may be in a position to stop them.”
“Now you want to save them?” Sherri asked, exasperated.
“If the aliens are on the way out of here, they may not want a lot of extra baggage tagging along, so…we can sit back and let all the others get massacred…or we can do something about it. Once the Sol-Kor are gone, then we can try to figure out a way off this rock.”
“Whatever you say. I just think that if the aliens are getting out of here in a hurry, maybe we should too.”
********
The Human fleet entered the star system from three directions, staggered over fifteen minute intervals. Already it was obvious the enemy force was much larger than anticipated, three hundred ships or more lining up on the screen before him. They were forming a defensive line aimed at his fleet, which was precisely what he wanted them to do.
Admiral Andy Tobias gave the command and the ships dropped out of their gravity-wells and charged their weapons. The forward wave broke into squads of ten ships each, spreading out as wide as they dared so as to diminish the effect of the suppressor beam, a weapon the aliens were sure to deploy.
He was getting too old for this. Not that his age hampered him in his duties. Indeed, his years of experience made him the perfect overall Commander of the Fleet. It was that he really did enjoy the thrill of battle, and this caused his heart to race. He was already on blood pressure medication, so any added stress could be problematic. He didn’t care, he’d already lived a long and satisfying life…and he did have a second-in-command he trusted implicitly.
What a way to go, he thought—if this was indeed his time—at the head of a massive fleet about to engage an invading enemy determined to destroy everything he held dear. It sure beat dropping dead from a massive coronary while fixing his morning coffee back home in Phoenix.
“Just about in range, Admiral.”
“Very well. Make sure the autopilot is active. We may need it for a while.”
“Aye, sir.”
And then, almost on cue, the entire crew of the Orion Union Starship Abraham Lincoln fell into a near-comatose state. Tobias could still hear and see, he just didn’t care what he heard or saw. It was as if he were floating on air—or more correctly, being held in place while floating on air. He thought he wanted to move, but he wasn’t sure. Yet even if he did, he believed he would be unable to, which was fine by him…
And then the haze cleared. He had an incredible headache, which quickly subsided, and when it did he found himself back in command of the Lincoln.
“What’s our status, Chief? Time lapse?”
“All systems functioning, still on course. Time lapse was only six minutes. The enemy ships have broken rank and are forming into—”
Andy Tobias was back in the peaceful arms of the air again, wondering ever so slightly if someone had been talking to him…
And then the headache returned.
“Dammit, we can’t keep getting hit by their beams. Fire at will!” he barked.
“Admiral, as planned the enemy ships were caught off guard by our three-pronged attack,” reported Lieutenant-Commander Ron Walker. “It’s just that we weren’t expecting there to be so many. We’ll probably keep getting hit by their beams on and off for a while, at least until we get them fully on the run.”
“What about conventional weapons? I see some flashes.”
“Light armaments on most of the smaller vessels. The larger ones just have more batteries, but all about the same strength, as far as we can tell. They must really rely a lot on their beam weapon.”
‘Mistake number one, Mr. Walker. All we have to do is get them moving in the right direction. And what about that, Chief?”
Senior Chief Tamara Allen checked her boards. “Good news, Admiral. So far they don’t seem to have any beams mounted on their asses, so when they turn to split we’re pretty safe. And as Commander Walker just reported, their conventional weapons aren’t much of a threat to our shield integrity. They’re running, sir.”
On his command tactical screen, Andy Tobias could see how the three phalanx assault had worked. First the aliens lined up to face his large force, with his ships taking the brunt of the blue pulses. Then the flanking units attacked, causing the aliens to break off their beams and change course. When they did, Andy’s ships were fully functional again. The black ships were caught in a vise, unable to cover a multi-front battlefield. The only way out was to exit the star system and engage what method of deep space travel they had available. If the aliens managed to do that, then they’d be hard to catch and impossible to track.
Of course, that was just what Andy was hoping they’d do. He’d intentionally left the narrow escape route open, and now the hundred or s
o remaining enemy vessels were streaming into it.
Andy grimaced. Looking at it now, his fleet could have handled the entire situation themselves. Instead, the Juireans with their fleet would get to finish off the black ships.
Andy shook off the thought. This was a glorious day, no matter how you looked at it. Yet he still had one more thing he could do to make it even better.
“Mr. Walker, have Blue and Gray form up with us. We’re heading for the planet.”
********
An hour later, the ships from the Human fleet appeared in the sky above the unnamed planet. The larger ships stayed off at a distance and shot at anything that rose off the surface. Even then, three or four of the black ships did manage to slip through and disappear in a pop when they engaged their star drives.
“Any readings?” he asked Chief Allen.
“Some, but faint. The array is still operating, but at a lower power level. Nothing seems to be coming through the portal at this time.”
“You mean it’s broken?”
“It would seem so, Admiral.”
“Okay then, locate the planetside array base and prepare the MN-1’s for strafing runs. Caution them that civilians are present in the area, so make sure all missiles are on-target before releasing. Commence attack run when ready.”
Thirty-two small, two-man strikeships poured out the back of the admiral’s two large carriers and streaked for the surface. Fourteen seconds later, Starfire missiles were released. On extreme magnification, Tobias could see explosions on the surface below, and then the mile-high towers began to topple. It was evident that a small settlement lay to the south of the array, and fortunately the huge structures fell off to the east.
“That’s it, Admiral!” Walker called out. “They won’t be sending anything else through there. I’d say mission accomplished.”