by T. R. Harris
“Looks like we got a bite,” Sherri called out from the nav board. “A squad of five—no six—ships headed on an intercept course from the cluster.”
Riyad cranked the well a little deeper and steered away from the approaching craft. “Don’t want it make it look too easy, not like we’re trying to get caught,” he said before the question was asked.
“Just don’t get us blown up,” Sherri offered.
Riyad caused a flare-out of the well, which was a brief dumping out into regular space. Flares occurred occasionally, especially when accelerating and decelerating in short intervals. By the time he reestablished the well, the Nuorean ships were upon them.
The aliens didn’t try to establish a comm link with them. Instead, they simply launched one of their energy balls at the ship. Screens were raised. When the concentrated ball of electricity hit the diffusion shield and was absorbed, it was too much for the internal circuits to handle. The technology wasn’t revolutionary, just effective. With time, allied ships would install stronger breakers to protect their systems.
But for now, the MD-8c was dead in the water, with the aliens hovering around without making a move to board. That came several hours later, after the occupants had begun to climb the walls out of boredom. Sure, the internal atmosphere was reaching the critical level, but they knew the alien’s game plan. They would be boarded in time to save their lives—or at least the lives of those aboard who could die.
The aliens weren’t cruel or even rough with the crew. In fact, they were workmanlike in their routine. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was when they scanned the races aboard and found that there were four Humans aboard…along with one Formilian. Panur and J’nae had morphed into their Human personas by then, and the scanners only matched body features to the Nuorean’s growing database of Milky Way species. The aliens seemed pretty excited about this and one even made an impromptu call as the prisoners were shuttled over to a larger ship.
The MD-8c was magnetically tethered to another ship for towing, while the ship carrying the prisoners shot off with extra urgency, leaving the others behind.
The prisoners, consisting of Riyad, Sherri, Panur, J’nae and Trimen were placed in a back compartment that was filthy and smelled like animal excrement. There was even a thin coating of straw on the deck to help absorb some of the left over dung.
“Is this how they transport advanced species?” Riyad asked, wrinkling his nose. He looked at Sherri. “I suppose you feel right at home.”
“I love the smell of horse urine in the morning…it’s the smell of victory,” said the former veterinary student. “But doesn’t this remind you of the chicken coops and sheep stalls where you grew up?”
Riyad was Lebanese by birth—but a city boy from Beirut.
“Brings a homesick tear to my eye,” he said, carrying the joke way beyond its lifespan. “I wonder where we are?”
“We have just entered a star system with twelve planets. The fourth one from the star is our destination. They call it Ankaa.”
Riyad and Sherri looked at the thin-faced Human Panur had transformed into as if he’d just grown a second head. “How the hell do you know that?” Sherri asked.
“I have accessed their navigation system.” He smiled. “Have you forgotten that I have powers?”
“On the contrary,” Sherri began. “It’s those powers I’m counting on to save Adam.”
Panur looked at the figure sitting next to him; also a Human male, this one with dark hair, a trace of stubble and brilliant blue eyes. J’nae had assumed the form of a male, knowing from the interrogation of Nuorean prisoners that only males were being kidnapped.
“How are you doing?” Panur asked. His ability to morph into specific forms was more practiced and required less energy. For J’nae to maintain the cell transformation required was more draining. To Riyad, it only went to show that not mutants were created alike.
“I detect no security cameras nearby. I believe I will reform back, only for a moment. It is all I require to realign.”
The six-foot-two-inch man melded into a seven-foot-tall alien female over the course of eight seconds. A look of relief came over the mutant’s face.
“Panur, may I ask how you can access the alien electronic technology when my Gift—my brain interface—cannot?” Trimen asked.
“Please call me George, George Washington,” the young man said. “If I am to look like a Human, I prefer to be called by the name of a great one, according to Human history. Now to answer your question: I am not really accessing it. Instead I mentally scan power sources until I can decipher the electronic signatures of the data they represent. I’m like a processor of data, not a reader.”
The answer was detailed, but still left the non-mutants in the room completely baffled, including Trimen.
“That seems much more complicated than simply pulling data from a memory drive.”
“Not more complicated, just more difficult. Once I’ve had more time with Nuorean technology, I will be able to fully access their systems. Right now, I lack the motivation.”
The ship lurched to one side then began to slow. Gravity drive switched to chemical and the internals were cut when planetary gravity became present. Three minutes later the ship was on the surface of Ankaa.
J’nae transformed back into her Human shape.
“Do you have a name you want to be called too?” Sherri asked.
“I have not considered it. I am not as familiar with Human history as is my creator.”
“I suppose Adolph Hitler would be appropriate.”
“However, I am familiar enough with your history to know that name. I would not prefer to be called Adolph Hitler.”
“Then Damien, Damien Jones.”
“An obvious reference to your devil deity. I will accept that, for the time I have this form.”
The prisoners were taken from the holding room and moved through the center of the ship to an outer hatch. They stepped into fading natural light and a hot breeze. Hundreds of artificial lights were snapping on, triggered by sensors. A very generous helping of Nuoreans walked a fair distance away from the landing zone, at a cluster of buildings that looked to be huge tents, all of the same design.
The one structure that stood out the most was still under construction, but nearing completion. It was made of huge stone blocks, mixed with sheets of metal, some fifty-feet across. The building was rectangular, measuring five hundred feet across along its face. From where the prisoners stood, they couldn’t tell how deep it was.
A six-wheel electric vehicle pulled up, with a partitioned section at the rear. Guards opened doors and the prisoners climbed in without protest. The sides of the back section were made of glass, allowing them to take in the lay of the land.
The Nuorean settlement was large, and growing larger. Vast swatches of land were already cleared, and the footings for more buildings like the nearly-completed structure were already in place. There could be dozen such buildings when this part of the project was complete.
The transport stopped in front of a tent like all the others. A Nuorean stepped through the open doorway, followed by three others. The prisoners were hustled from the back of the truck.
“I am Daric (611) Kallen-Nac, the leader of this expedition.” The alien stepped up to Sherri and Riyad, his golden eyes wide, a thin grin on his lips. “Our facial recognition database is very limited at this time, yet we do have the images of many of the more prominent entities in your galaxy. So you must appreciate the surprise I felt when I learned we had Sherri Valentine and Riyad Tarazi in our custody. Did I pronounce your names correctly?”
“Yeah, you did fine,” said Riyad with suspicion. “You know who we are?”
“Of course. I also know of your affiliation with Adam Cain. You are undoubtedly here to rescue him.”
“He’s here?” Sherri asked.
“You did not know this? I find that hard to believe. Why else would have so recklessly entered this section o
f your galaxy without escort or more force.” He eyed Trimen and the Human incarnations of Panur and J’nae.
“We took a chance,” Riyad added. “So…he is here?”
“Yes, he is. Your gamble paid off. Yet I highly doubt the five of you will be able to rescue him.”
“Is he all right?” Sherri inquired, her concern obvious.
Daric studied her for several seconds. “We have not yet secured females for our challenges. They must be used to produce more players for the games.” He smiled and stepped back, taking in all the males. “Yet now I have three more Human males. This is exciting. Your species has proven to be the most-challenging in the Kac. There is already high demand for contests, more than can be supplied with the inventory I currently have. The conquest of your world is still far in the future. However, the Nuor are here to stay; there will be time. Yet now I have more players. I must tell you, as the Game-Master, I share in the immunity points of all contests. Having more Humans is quite welcome.”
“That’s all riveting, douchbag, but can we get on with it? Where’s Adam.”
Daric frowned at Sherri’s possibly-indecipherable language. “You are indeed a companion of Adam Cain. You both share…an attitude, you would call it.”
“We’ve been accused of that before.”
“Then I will personally escort you to Adam Cain. He will be delighted to see you…or perhaps not.” He turned to the Trimen. “You are a Formilian,” he stated with confidence. “I do not find your presence here surprising. We have four others of your kind in the compound. During your time here, I wish to learn more of the one you call Lila Bol. She, too, shows up prominently in the recent archives of your galaxy, although I tend to believe most of the stories of her are tales of exaggeration, even myth. Her present location appears to be a mystery, even to you. I will require further investigation to decide the fate of this creature.”
Another vehicle pulled up, this one a large, open-air transport without the security cage on the back. Daric sat next to the driver, as the five prisoners were placed in the two rows of backseats. In was almost full night by now, except for the present of artificial lights and two bright moons in the sky. The car moved off.
Daric turned to his prisoners. “I hope you don’t plan on causing any trouble. I am constantly under surveillance and my guards are only seconds away. Besides, I am a First-Level Player. Even for Humans you may find me challenging. And as I speak of challenges, behold our nearly-complete Grand Arena.”
They were passing along the base of the huge building they saw from the spaceport.
“There are twenty challenge arenas inside, including the Grand Field. It should interest you that Adam Cain and I will meet there in two days, for the inaugural Level-One Immunity Challenge in the stadium. In time, there will be fourteen such Grand Arenas in this settlement alone. More settlements will come, until there are facilities across your galaxy for a million or more challenges every day, and not only with Humans, but all advanced species.”
The alien was bursting with excitement as he related the plans the Nuoreans had for the Milky Way. As they neared a walled compound, a gate was opened and they drove through with slowing down.
Daric was still going on. “This is a glorious time for the Nuoreans. We have planned five hundred cycles for this moment, and devoted considerable time and points to the endeavor. We are still many cycles from a time of stability for your galaxy, when all the routines are established and all are playing by the rules. But that time will come. We did the same in a galaxy twice the size as this one. We can do it here.”
The car pulled up to an area defined by a round wooden platform sitting two feet off the ground and dominated by a thatched roof canopy over the twenty-foot-in-diameter shelter. Most of the sides were covered with a series of braced-in wooden planks and more thatching draped from the canopy. A pit outside the shelter contained a small, yet steady fire.
Two men sat on the edge of the platform. They were dirty, with grisly beards and torn and bloody clothing. At first they paid no attention to the car, not until they noticed the passengers.
Their expressions were not those of joy, but of sadness. They stood up, as one called into the shelter. “Hey, more contestants.”
Two other men came out of the opening to the shelter. One was Adam Cain.
Sherri screamed and jumped from the car. She ran into his arms, ignoring the pungent odor and coarse beard.
Adam returned the hug, but not with enthusiasm.
He pushed her away and looked in her eyes in the dim light. “Tell me you didn’t come here to rescue me, and that you showing up here is just a coincidence?”
Sherri was taken aback by Adam’s cold reception. “We came looking for you. Unfortunately, we were caught.”
Adam looked at the rest of the group as they exited the car and walked up to him. Adam gave a cursory shake of his hand to Riyad, eyed the two unknown men and then shook hands with Trimen.
“I really wish you hadn’t done this. It was foolish, and now I feel like shit because you did this for me. FYI…there’s no getting out of here. These bastards are always one step ahead of us. They’re better at playing these games than we are.” He looked at the smiling face of Daric, still sitting in the car. “Did he tell you what’s going to happen day after tomorrow?”
“You and him are going fight…I assume,” Riyad said. Adam’s sour mood was contagious, and Riyad had caught it.
“That’s right…and to the death.”
“You can take him!” Sherri exclaimed. Her eyes were filled with tears.
“Even if I do, they’ll just schedule another fight, and then another. The system’s rigged, and now you’re all part of it too.”
“Forgive me Adam Cain,” Daric interrupted, “but I will be leaving now so your reunion can continue. The Formilian can stay here. He can find his own way to what’s left of his species’ encampment.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Adam grunted. Everyone watched the car leave, before retreating into the shelter. They placed a door made of fronds and sticks across the opening. Two benches for seating had been fashioned from wood planks resting on rocks gathered from the compound, while strategically placed sticks separated the thatch roof to let in moon light, casting everyone in a pale, ghostly sheen.
“What the hell, Adam?” Sherri whispered. “Did they break your spirit in here, or is this just some kind of act you’re putting on.”
“It’s not an act. Two days ago we tried to escape. Eighteen of us met up at the far end of the compound, under the cover of the jungle. Six of us made it over the wall before Daric sent his goons against us. They were waiting there and killed everyone except the Humans and Juireans, even those that hadn’t climbed the wall. It seems we were spared because of our precious immunity points.” He looked at Trimen. “They killed four of the six Formilians in the camp. We were under surveillance all along, expecting us to try something like that. These bastards can anticipate our moves, even before we think of them. It’s what they do. Everything is strategically and tactically planned.”
The shelter was silent for several seconds as the newcomers digested the depressing news. Sherri glared at Adam in the dim light. “You say they can predict everything? Well prepare yourself.. This is something these rat-bastards couldn’t have predicted.” She stood up straight and looked at the two Humans Adam had never seen before. “I’d like to introduce you to George Washington and Damien Jones.”
Adam’s face was cast in shadow from the light filtering in through the roof, so Sherri couldn’t see his expression when the two Humans morphed into their true selves. A moment later his eyes lit up, the whites reflecting the moonlit.
Adam’s three ragged companions gasped, overcome by the impossible scene they’d just witnessed. Morphing aliens may be commonplace for Adam Cain, but not these three.
“What the….” Billy Kring’s voice tailed off. Even in the dim light, he could make out a gray-skinned creature just under five-feet tall, sittin
g next to a seven-foot-tall alien female with pale yellow skin and blond hair.
“I…I’m in shock,” Pierre stammered. “I have heard of some weird things in the galaxy but I’ve never seen anything I couldn’t explain. Until now.”
“It’s not impossible,” Adam growled. His glowing eyes were focused on the taller creature. “Why the hell did you bring her here?”
“Who is she?” Manny Brown asked.
“She’s the insane mutant creation of an equally insane mutant. Manny, meet J’nae, the Queen of the Sol-Kor.”
The three men jumped to their feet, stumbling over the makeshift seats to get as far from J’nae as they could in the small enclosure.
“Former queen,” Panur corrected. “Trust me Adam Cain, she is not as she was before. I have had time to work with her. She is now on our side.”
It was Adam’s turn to rise to his feet, yet he did so slowly, methodically, every muscle in his body taunt and ready to spring. “We don’t have a side, not with that thing.”
Sherri placed a calming hand on Adam’s shoulder. “They’re here to help. Give them a chance.”
“They’re not here to help us. They’re here for Lila.”
“Lila is here?” Trimen spoke for the first time.
“No, but they came looking for her, not me. And they could give a shit about the rest of you. Mutants stick together, don’t they?”
Panur had worn a thin smile on his face until this point. Now his smooth features hardened. “Apparently not all mutants, Adam; Lila chose mortals over her own kind.”
“All three of her kind?”
“That matters not. She was among equals when she was with me…and J’nae. But she is…different. She is more of a hybrid than anything else. She has the powers of a mutant yet the sensibilities of a mortal.”
“Well shame on her for actually having compassion and feelings.”