Prelude to War (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 10)

by T. R. Harris

  Suddenly the streaks of stars outside went away, to be replaced by the steady glow of their raging nuclear fires. The ship had dropped out of its gravity well, and as far as Adam could tell they were in the middle of nowhere. He looked at Arieel with pleading eyes.

  “Go, Adam Cain. The galaxy needs you.”

  He kissed her on the cheek and then left the observation deck.

  ********

  Arieel Bol watched him go, confused by the illogical resurrection of long-lost emotions. What it was about Adam Cain that attracted her so, she did not know. Yes, he was a larger-than-life figure, always running from one exciting adventure to the next. Yet he was also a reluctant hero. She knew his background; he never asked for any of this to happen. Perhaps that was what defined a hero. He did what he had to do when called upon, even if it was unwelcome and came at immense personal peril.

  But the attachment Arieel felt to the Human went much deeper than simply the physical attraction and the aura of adventure he exuded. Especially now.

  Arieel had told him the truth about the events of the past three years. She had indeed mated with Trimen, and she did have a child. What she failed to do was clarify the two events. They were not mutually inclusive.

  At the time of her official mating duties, Arieel Bol had already been with child. This news came as shock to both her and the doctors. None had believed it possible for the two species to produce an offspring. They were wrong. Fortunately, Lila had all of Arieel’s features, so there was no need to question the lineage. Yet the blood and the DNA told the complete story.

  Her father knew the truth, but Trimen didn’t. He had his duties to fulfill and so did she.

  Adam Cain might never learn the truth. If he did, it could become…complicated. He had lost a daughter years ago in the Juirean attack upon the Earth, and Arieel suspected he would seek in Lila a suitable replacement. That she could not abide. Even as she wished for her daughter to live a normal life beyond the Order and the responsibilities of her lineage, the scandal would destroy the religion that had given the Formilians direction—indeed their very identity—for over two thousand years.

  Arieel and her confidants would keep the secret. They had to.

  The Speaker of the Formilian race turned to the vast observation window and peered out at the distant flaring lights—the life stars of a million diverse species. As much as she was distracted by the presence of Adam Cain, she could also comprehend the danger her galaxy now faced. She would do her part, and if that meant assisting Adam Cain in his endeavors, she would tolerate the conflicts she felt within. There was too much to lose to do otherwise.

  Chapter 22

  The Surface Effect Ship—dubbed the Falcon by her original crew—arrived aboard the Abraham Lincoln two days later. Tech crews swarmed in, around, and over the starship, equipping it with the most-advanced and sensitive tracking equipment Human technology could provide. The ship was small, so only Adam, Sherri, Riyad—and now the ubiquitous Ophelia Naidu—were aboard when the vessel slipped out from Launch Bay Four of the carrier.

  Sherri was incensed that Ophelia was with them. Besides the fact that she contributed nothing to the mission—she was a mining rights expert after all—she was also a distraction for Riyad. Sherri acknowledged her jealousy of the woman, even if her affair with Riyad had been over for several years. Yet in light of Arieel Bol’s appearance, Sherri felt she was losing the intimate bonds she once had with the two most important men in her life.

  Now Sherri was sitting at the monitor screen of the highly-sensitive gravity-wave detectors, having to spot the smallest of anomalies…all the while fighting back visions of Adam with Arieel and Riyad with Ophelia. It was a wonder she even noticed the tiny blip when she did, even though it served to vanquish the visions and set her mind to purpose once again.

  “This looks like it! We’ll know in about a minute if another appears.”

  Adam sat in the pilot seat of the Falcon, at the center of the bridge and forward of her monitoring station.

  “Maintain course heading?” he asked.

  “For now. And I must say, this does look a lot clearer without all that miscellaneous bullshit the Lincoln was spewing out. If I pick up the trail again, I shouldn’t have any trouble following it. Do you think Riyad should be told about the contact?”

  “I would if I thought he cared. He trusts you, so he’s along for the ride until we get closer to finding where the trail leads.”

  “I just hope he can keep his head in the game, if you know what I mean.”

  “I do, but for now I’m not getting in the way.”

  “And what about you and Arieel? Do I have anything to worry about?”

  “Not a thing. As you said, we’ve been down that road before, and it leads nowhere. Now don’t take this wrong, but please keep your head in the game. There’s too much at risk not to.”

  “Yes, sir, Captain Cain,” Sherri said without malice. “There’s the other blip. Come to port four degrees. That should line us up on target.”

  Adam checked the charts. “If they maintain a straight line, that leads to a small stellar cluster designed GC-1735. At present speed it’s about seventeen hours out. Looks like a great place to hide a Klin colony.”

  “Yeah, and there’s not much else between here and there. Even so, make sure Andy stays back. I don’t want his big-ass starship mucking up my readings again.”

  Adam laughed. “I’ll be sure to convey your wishes verbatim, Ms. Valentine. He’ll get a kick out of that.”

  Chapter 23

  The small Klin transport ship with Panur aboard was nearing its final destination, even though the aliens had not told him where that was. He laughed, knowing all it would take was a glance at the alignment of the local stars for him to determine the location. He had memorized the bulk of the stars in this section of the galaxy and was capable of discerning patterns from any direction. He would know the truth immediately, while inferior creatures would need elaborate computer programs and detailed starcharts to do the same.

  Even then, he wasn’t concerned. At some point—if he desired—he would simply commandeer a vessel and return to Vosmin and the Sol-Kor. He had to admit that even this brief time away was providing him with some very strange emotions. Was it separation anxiety? It could be. After all, for the past five thousand years all he had known was the Colony. Even though he always felt above it—beyond it—the Colony was still home, and a place of comfort when he allowed the truth to emerge.

  An analysis of these feelings actually upset him. He’d had no idea he would experience them, and now he was beginning to question his entire plan.

  He shrugged. He was Panur. And that meant he could do whatever he pleased. If he wished to remain with the Colony, he could. If he wished to isolate this universe from the Sol-Kor and then use it as his exclusive playground, that he could do as well. Each choice had its pros and cons, yet knowing himself as well as he did, he knew boredom was his greatest enemy. Yes, the creatures he’d experienced in this universe had been the most interesting he’d encountered to date, but could they hold his attention for…well, forever?

  He knew the answer.

  On the other hand, for all their shortcomings, the Sol-Kor were constantly in a state of flux, always seeking fresh fields to harvest wherever they could be found. This gave Panur a constantly changing palette from which to color his world.

  If he chose to stay within this universe, then all his entertainment would be of his own making. He would know what he was going to next, and only the actions of others would come as a surprise. With the Sol-Kor, surprise was a given. They were always doing something unexpected, and without his input. They also came in contact with a variety of creatures—even if they ended up eating most of them. But for at least a brief period before the harvest, Panur was able to experience these strains before it was time to move on to the next.

  If ever a supreme being was perplexed, it was Panur, and the time was now. He decided to give it a littl
e more time, to see if the Klin or the Humans, or possibly even the Juireans, could surprise him. If not, then there was always the Sol-Kor…

  Chapter 24

  GC-1745 blazed in the forward viewport, six main stars in extreme close proximity, all pulling gases from each other in a brilliant fireworks show featuring all the colors of the spectrum. Beyond these six stars, the cluster counted another thirty-two as members, yet even then the effect of the irradiated gas cloud was enough to make the cluster appear larger than it was.

  Adam was still in awe of the true colors of the galaxy. No artist or computer enhancement could match the brilliance of real-life space. And then there was the size. Perspective was deceiving, as a gas cloud viewed from light-years away appeared as it would back on Earth, just something filling a small part of the sky. Yet the closer one came to the actual cloud, its grand size caused logic and common sense to shut down. Here was something so large it could contain a thousand solar systems or more, which made the relative size of the Earth lost to Human comprehension.

  Yet at gravity-drive velocities, the distance did make sense. The Falcon shot through the diaphanous wisps of glowing matter and emerged into open space, still surrounded by the fiery globes that made up the bulk of the cluster.

  Sherri had warned him that the blips were now coming tighter, meaning the ship they were following was slowing. If it hadn’t been for the shorter intervals between contacts, they could have easily lost the trail within the gas cloud. Given another day of interaction with the micro-gravity of the cloud itself, the signal would have been gone for good.

  Now the Falcon slowed as well. Adam had experience with Klin Colony ships before, so he knew they were detectable at considerable distances. These were massive starships, which often reminded him of the Death Star from Star Wars. At one time, the Klin had had twenty such stations, yet after the Battle of the Dysion Void, it had been estimated that only three or four had survived the treacherous passage through the wall of the Void— unlike what was portrayed in the video game of the same name.

  All Adam had to do now was look for the signatures of these giant space stations.

  “The track is actually leading to a planet,” Sherri pointed out.

  Riyad and Ophelia had finally made an appearance on the bridge, he at the weapons station and she seated next to him and asking questions every few seconds. He was patient, taking his time to explain everything he was doing. Adam knew this had to be distracting, yet he would wait a while longer to say anything, just long enough to see if Riyad’s reactions were impeded. Normally, he was one of the best gunners Adam had ever seen, with skills honed during his six years as leader of the Fringe Pirates. If there was a Klin Colony out there somewhere, Adam would need all of Riyad’s skills and then some. At that time, the last thing Riyad would need was someone yapping in his ear.

  “Everyone on alert,” he finally said, hoping that would make Ophelia shut up for a minute. “I wasn’t expecting them to head for a planet.”

  “That’s just what they did, Adam, and it looks like they landed instead of going into orbit,” Sherri reported.

  “Do you have a location?”

  “Yep. It’s on the hemisphere facing us. But it’s moving into night. We should swing around to the other side so our approach won’t be so easy to spot.”

  “We’re going in?” Ophelia asked. “Aren’t we going to wait for the rest of the fleet?”

  “We’re just dropping in for a look,” Riyad said with a smile. “We don’t intend to start anything.”

  “Not unless they start something first,” Sherri said with her best bravado.

  “Even then, I think that would be foolish,” Ophelia threw in.

  “Entering the atmosphere!” Adam called out before Sherri could respond to Ophelia’s comment. “Switch to standard sensors, ready on weapons.”

  “I’ve already switched, Adam,” Sherri said, testiness apparent in her voice. “I know what I’m doing.”

  Damn, Adam thought. This is not going to end well.

  ********

  Arriving on the dark side of the planet, it was evident from the total lack of observable lights that the planet was uninhabited, at least by anything with even a modicum of advanced technology.

  Adam found piloting the modern SES within an atmosphere was a delight. She had been nimble and smooth-controlled while in space, and now the same held true here. That wasn’t always the case with the smaller ships. Adam made a note to ask Andy Tobias if he could keep the Falcon when the mission was over. After all, the admiral did owe him a replacement ship.

  “Cut back, Adam!” Sherri suddenly called out. “We’re coming up on something.”

  Adam obeyed, cutting power and setting the ship down on a level plain at the base of a jagged range of snow-capped mountains.

  “What do you see?”

  “Something big, sticking up over the horizon. Oh my God…I can’t believe it!”

  “What is it?”

  Adam lifted out of the pilot seat and moved to Sherri’s station. “Metal structures, and if I have our range correct and the size of the planet calculated properly, they’re each about a mile high.”

  “Another array?” Riyad asked, unbelieving. He came over to Sherri’s station as well. Ophelia watched from the weapons console.

  “Looks like it, but this one doesn’t seem to be projecting anything…not yet.”

  “Just turned off or not completed?” Adam asked.

  “Can’t tell…not from here. We’re going to have to go out and take a look.”

  “Shouldn’t we call Admiral Tobias?” Ophelia asked.

  All eyes turned to her. “Don’t!” Riyad called out, not knowing if she was going to take the initiative and flick a comm switch. “We’re too close. They’d pick up the signal the moment we opened the link.”

  “That’s right,” Sherri said. “So don’t touch anything. You could get us all killed.”

  “I wasn’t going to do anything. I just thought someone else should.”

  “Let’s suit up,” Adam ordered, once again having to intercede before the argument escalated. “The atmosphere is just a little off. We can breathe it, but only for short intervals, so breathing masks for everyone.”

  All four of the them rose from their seats. “Ophelia, why don’t you stay here?” It was Riyad speaking. But then: “It could be dangerous.”

  Adam caught Sherri’s disgusted smirk. He’s not concerned about us, just her, Adam could imagine her thinking.

  “Okay,” Ophelia said. “Just be careful.”

  “Always.” Riyad flashed a smile at her. Adam swore she almost melted.

  ********

  When the three were suited up and out the rear hatchway, Adam had them all switch their outgoing comm signal to channel two.

  “She won’t be able to hear us on the ship then.”

  “That right,” Adam said. “I wouldn’t want her to worry. You can still talk to her when you want to by switching between channels.”

  “You two don’t like her, do you?”

  “Not the time nor the place, Riyad,” Adam shot back. “The three of us are proven assets, we know what we’re doing. This may be harsh, but right now Ophelia is just dead-weight. I should have never allowed her to come along in the first place.”

  “Now you say this! If she had stayed on the Lincoln I wouldn’t have to worry about her.”

  “You insisted she come along!”

  “I thought we were just going to track some gravity signatures, not go out looking for another trans-dimensional array. Remember, Adam, I’ve done my share of ops, and I know dead-weight when I see it.”

  Sherri coughed. “You do know we haven’t switched channels yet, don’t you?” she said, to the shock of the two men.

  “Ophelia!”

  “So I’m just dead-weight to you…all of you?”

  Adam couldn’t tell if she was crying hysterically or hysterically angry.

  “Maybe I should go back insi
de?” Riyad said.

  “Do what you think you must, Mr. Tarazi, but Sherri and I are going to see what’s over the horizon. It probably is another array, a portal where more alien hordes can come through and eat us all alive. You decide what’s most important.”

  “They don’t eat us alive,” Riyad countered. “They kill us first.” But then he turned and began hiking toward the dark ridge where only the very tops of the mile-high towers could be seen. “Sit tight, Ophelia. We’ll talk when I get back.”

  ********

  “I don’t see any Klin,” Sherri said as she scanned the field below with her Nighthawk infrared binoculars. Just a whole lot of Sol-Kor ships.” She tilted the lenses up as she took in the detail of the huge masts soaring into the night sky. “And these things look different, too. Sleeker and with nodules rather than coils on them.”

  “Probably a Sol-Kor design rather than Klin,” Riyad said.

  The three Humans were on their stomachs at the peak of the ridge overlooking the beehive of activity taking place below. Light flooded the area, and it was obvious work on the array was continuing around the clock.

  “They started building this thing long before the other array was destroyed,” Adam said. “Probably their modus operandi: as soon as they pop into another universe they start building a backup array so they don’t become trapped if something happens to the original.”