The Apex Warriors

by Marc Stevens

  “Have you heard from my Grandparents?”

  If anything, Karl’s head sunk lower. “Nathan I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your grandfather had a stroke about a year after you were declared missing and presumed dead. He passed away three days later. It crushed your grandmother. She lived another thirteen months but passed in her sleep. We think her heart was not up to carrying on without your grandpa.”

  It took me several minutes to staunch the flow of tears from my eyes. It was not what I expected, or wanted to hear. It made me wonder about my father. “You wouldn’t happen to know if anybody has heard from my father?”

  “No Nathan, I’m sorry. My Uncle Bill talked to him briefly on the phone after you left, and I have to tell you, it bothered him to no end when he lied to your dad and said you were lost in the wilderness.”

  I didn’t realize how much hurt I would cause the people I loved when I chose to leave Earth. Karl unlocked the door to the office building and we went inside. He had an office that overlooked the runway. We sat down and he offered me something to drink. I asked for coffee, but there wouldn’t be any until the cafeteria employees showed up in the morning and fired up the big commercial unit at the head of the chow line. He brought me a cola, but the sweetness was almost sickening to me. I, like everything else around here, had changed.

  “Nathan,” Karl said. “What did you mean when you said you came back to warn the world?”

  “Karl, I wish that I could tell you the galaxy is an awesomely beautiful place filled with kind and gentle races just waiting to meet humans, but it couldn’t be any farther from the truth. Yes, there are some decent people out there, but so far it has been my experience, they are few and far in between. I have fought nonstop since I left Earth. If it's not pirates, it’s races wanting to enslave any primitive species they encounter. Believe me, when I tell you, they are not the worst I have had the displeasure of meeting. There is a race of bio-machines called the Prule. They came here from Andromeda intending to stamp out all biological life. They want to take every resource in this galaxy that can help them wage war, and bring it back to Andromeda. Their ambition is to be the dominant race in the universe.”

  Karl’s mouth was agape and he looked like he was in shock. “Jesus Nathan, how is Earth supposed to do battle with a race that has the technology to travel between galaxies?”

  “If we are very lucky, we won’t. But we need to be ready to fight if any of the hostile races I have encountered, stumbles across Earth.”

  “Nathan, I don’t know if that is even possible. Right now, the Earth is closer to all-out nuclear war than it was back in the cold war days. China is saber-rattling and wanting to take over the entire South China sea whether anyone likes it or not. They have coerced the Russians into bed with them. The damn fools have it in their heads, that once China has achieved its goals, they won’t be next. Regardless of who their allies are, the word is, if China invades Taiwan, we will go to war. Experts are saying it will probably go nuclear very quickly.”

  I looked my friend in the eyes and knew he was rattled by what I told him. I hoped my next statement would ease his anxiety. “Karl, I have the means to stop any threat of nuclear war.”

  I could tell he was skeptical. “Nathan, there are more nukes in this world than any time in the past. All of them are set with a hair-trigger and just waiting for some insane son of a bitch to start popping them off. We will be saving all the evil aliens the trouble of coming here because we are all on the verge of dying a really ugly death.”

  “Karl, the technology I have access to could turn every nuke on this planet into inert junk. I could shut down every satellite and communication system in minutes. All the warships and military aircraft on the face of the planet can be shut down or easily manipulated. The technology I am talking about is several hundred years more advanced than anything on Earth.”

  Karl was frowning. “Yeah, just like that defective robot that ran the ship you disappeared on? I sure hope you shitcanned that thing and got a newer model.”

  I winced at Karl’s reference. That was a long time ago, and Justice was a completely different intelligence now. He was more than up to speed on human interaction. That’s not to say, all of it was good, but the AI was very astute.

  “Karl, you need to trust me on this. I can do everything I told you and more.”

  “Okay Nathan, I will take your word for it, but why not go to the government, or the President, and tell them what you are telling me?”

  “Karl, I was hoping you would know someone more approachable. The security surrounding the President might decide I am a threat even before I could get a chance to speak with him. I want to talk with someone in the military that can bump it up the chain of command that I want to meet with the President. I will show them that I am not a threat and that they should take everything I am telling them very seriously.”

  Karl started to say something when his cell phone rang. He looked at it and held up a hand. “It’s my wife Cindy, she probably wants to know where the hell I am at.”

  I nodded while he took the call. I heard him explain that he had to go over the maintenance sheet on the Kodiak because it had a problem with the radar. It raised my eyebrows when he said he would kiss the girls good night when he got home and not to wait up.

  When he ended the call, I smiled at him. “I wondered if you were going to marry that gal one day.”

  “I married Cindy four years ago and now we have two daughters. I cannot imagine how lonely you have been out in space. I don’t know what I would do without Cindy.”

  I smiled. “I am not lonely, I have a crew now and have met someone that has my back, come hell or high water.”

  Karl’s eyes widened. “There are other humans out in space?”

  “No Karl, she is humanoid but not human.”

  Karl’s face flushed. “What! Are you telling me you are dating an alien!”

  I almost burst out laughing. “My lifemate is a warrior from the Chaalt race and also part of my strike team. Her name is Tria Burlor.”

  I thought Karl was going to fall out of his chair. “Are you telling me your married to an alien from another planet and she is some kind of badass?”

  I smiled. “I guess if you put it that way, then yes, I am sort of married to an alien from another planet.”

  He leaned forward and whispered. “Is she here on Earth?”

  I tried as best I could to keep from laughing at my friend. I leaned close to him and whispered back. “My crew is on board the Legacy and they are not far. Would you like to meet them?”

  “Are you kidding me or what? If you are seriously asking me if I want to meet real aliens, that would be a hell yes!” He shouted.

  “Justice, bring the Legacy back to the runway.”

  Karl jumped up from his chair and looked around. “Is there an invisible alien in here with us?”

  “No Karl,” I chuckled, pointing to my head. “I can communicate with the AI of my starship with my implants. I just have a habit of doing it out loud.”

  My friend nodded like he knew that but still asked what the response was. “He didn’t say anything back, are they coming?”

  I didn’t tell him that Justice stated that they had already come back. I just shook my head and waved my friend to the door. “C’mon, let's go meet them, they are down at the runway.”

  If my bodily dimensions did not fill the doorway to his office, Karl would have run out ahead of me. I put my hand on his shoulder to slow him down.

  “Karl, there are a couple of things I want you to know before you meet my crew.”

  My friend stopped and slowly turned around. “Is there a problem? I mean… if they are really ugly or something, I will keep a straight face, I promise.”

  I raised an eyebrow at Karl’s comment. I wasn’t quite sure if he was insinuating Tria might be ugly or what. Coonts and Klutch, on the other hand, will take some getting used to.

  “Karl, calm down a second. I just w
anted to tell you that one of my crew is a Tibor Troop Master. His race has some… very unique qualities. Please think before you say something to him. If you upset him even a little, we will all suffer for it.”

  Karl’s face took on a dead serious look. “He won’t start beating the hell out of me, will he?”

  “No, nothing quite that severe. Let’s just say if you value the contents of your stomach, you will refrain from saying anything stupid to him.”

  Karl frowned and scratched his head trying to figure out exactly what I meant by that. He finally nodded. “Okay, but how will I know which one is which, do they all look the same?”

  I had to look away and roll my eyes. This was turning out to be much harder than I thought it would be. “No Karl,” I said while holding my hands about five feet apart. “There will be one with shoulders about this wide, and a tad bit taller than that. Just smile and be respectful to all of them okay. And oh, there is one more thing, I learned early on. Don’t stare at aliens, they don’t like it because they don’t know your intentions. It is a good way to get into a fight before you know it.”

  My friend nodded his head vigorously and gave me a thumbs up. “Right, I got this. Be respectful, don’t say anything stupid, and no staring. Okay, I am ready.” He declared.

  We walked the rest of the way to the runway and stopped.

  Karl looked around then turned back to me. “I remember your spaceship is invisible, so how are we going to find it?”

  I wasn’t sure if Justice was trying to be funny or what. He blinked the cloaking on and off. The big starship appearing and disappearing just in front of us, made Karl leap backward and lose his balance.

  He fell to the ground. “Son of a bitch!” he yelled.

  I helped him to his feet as the open boarding hatch appeared. I tugged him up the ramp and into the opening. I was practically dragging him. His eyes were as big as dollars and if I didn’t know better, I would say he was scared shitless.

  “Karl, lighten up. You are going to be fine.”

  He finally composed himself and pulled his hand free of mine. “I’m alright. It was just a surprise that’s all.”

  As we walked out of the boarding hatch corridor, we came face to face with Tria, Coonts, Klutch, and Sael. Karl’s legs locked up and he froze. His eyes grew large again and his mouth fell open. He was speechless.

  I nudged him with my elbow to no avail. I decided to go ahead with the introductions in hopes he would snap out of it. “Karl, I would like you to meet the members of my crew. This is Tria. She is from the Chaalt race and is the female warrior I spoke to you about.”

  When I got no response, I looked at Karl and saw that his eyes were locked on Klutch.

  The Troop Master was being good-natured about it. “What is it with you humans and staring. Everyone knows it is not polite.”

  I stepped in front of Karl. “Hey buddy, did you forget everything I told you?”

  That seemed to snap him out of his daze and he focused on me. “Oh man, I’m sorry. It’s just that I never saw any aliens before.”

  He leaned around me and looked at Klutch again. There was fear in his eyes. “Is that thing going to kill me now or something?”

  My friend unfortunately made his comment loud enough for Klutch to hear. It pushed the limit of the Troop Master’s patience. “Who is he calling a thing?”

  Coonts of course thought that was hilarious. The overmuscled Grawl wasn’t about to miss a chance to irritate Klutch. “Don’t get all worked up, you should take that as a compliment”

  Klutch turned on Coonts and the look on his face was getting worse by the second. “What are you talking about?”

  Coonts just shook his head and gave him a big Grawl smile. “He thinks you are a female and wants to take you for a mate.”

  The pristine atmosphere took a turn for the worse. Tria and Sael walked away as Coonts started laughing and retreated down the corridor. Karl got a good whiff and fell to his knees, then puked on my boots. I picked my friend up by the back of his belt and took him out of the boarding hatch so he could get some fresh air.

  “Did that alien use poison gas on me?” Karl wheezed.

  I really couldn’t blame Karl for his reaction. I was thinking my first encounter with a Tibor was a similar experience.

  “No, Klutch did not use poison gas on you. That is his warrior’s scent, and I warned you well ahead of time, not to say anything stupid to him.”

  “That has to be the worst thing I have ever smelled,” Karl said as his pallor returned to normal.

  He squinted at me. “That didn’t bother you?” He asked with an incredulous look on his face.

  “I have been in combat with the Troop Master, and I can tell you first hand, the little dose he just gave you was nothing compared to when he is really pissed off.”

  “Are you kidding me? I thought I was gonna die in there. How can you stand to breathe that?”

  “I don’t, I shut down the olfactory sensors in my battle suit, and hope that our enemies are the only victims of his noxious broadcasts.”

  “Sorry Nathan, I didn’t mean to let you down.”

  “Karl, you didn’t let me down, you just have to control your emotions. These people are my clan. Treat them like you would treat your Uncle Bill and Callie. For the most part, they are wonderful to be around.”

  I wasn’t going to tell Karl, the part about my crew being wonderful was a stretch of the imagination. When it came to Coonts, Klutch, and at times, Sael, the comment was an inordinately large bucket of bullshit.

  My friend's next statement made me smile. “She’s beautiful Nathan.”

  “What?”

  “Tria, she is beautiful. I was not expecting that at all. The older gal with her was a pretty good looker as well.”

  “You may find this hard to believe, but the Chaalt people all have four arms. Tria and Sael did too at one time.”

  “Are you yanking my chain or what? They both had four arms, what happened to the other two?”

  I looked into Karl’s eyes and my face turned dark with the memory. “Tria was used as a shield to keep me from destroying a Prule Hivemind. The Bio-machine cut off two of her arms before I surrendered to it.”

  “Holy crap, Nathan. How the hell did you get out of that?”

  “To make an ugly story short, Justice and my strike team managed to save my life before the Prule could beat me to death.”

  Karl was in shock again. “You weren’t just messing around when you told me you were almost killed a bunch of times, were you?” He whispered.

  “No, the galaxy can be deadly to anyone not prepared for what they are going to face. It is why I came back to warn the leaders of Earth. They have to unite in the defense of Earth, or everyone could possibly die or worse.”

  “Jesus Nathan, what could be worse than death?”

  “Being used for a food source, sold as slaves, or turned into surrogates that are trained to defend their masters.”

  Karl put his face in his hands. I just cast a shadow of doubt on his family's future. “They are coming here aren’t they?”

  “Karl, there is no direct threat at this very moment. It’s not a matter of if a hostile race will stumble upon Earth, it is a question of when. I am here to tell the leaders of Earth that they have to prepare for that eventuality or suffer the consequences. This isn’t just about Earth. All peaceful developing races, face the same challenges. Thousands if not millions of species are already extinct at the hands of the Prule. Their technology is old, but they are catching up quickly. There are still Prule forces hiding in this galaxy. Me, along with my ally races, are wiping them out as we discover them, but we have no idea of their numbers.”

  “Nathan, I don’t know if that is even possible. The conflicts of interest between nations are tearing us all apart. If the aliens come here, we are all going to die.”

  “Karl there is hope. I have allies that are actively patrolling this sector of space. There are also thousands of Galacti
c Union drones that are set up as a tripwire to alert the Union of an illegal incursion on Earth. I also have some very advanced hardware that will be put in place as soon as my freighter jumps in from hyperspace. I am doing everything I can to help protect Earth, but it will take a united force to discourage any hostile alien race from wanting to lay claim to our homeworld.”

  Karl slowly dropped his hands from his face. “How can I help Nathan?”

  “I was hoping you would know someone in the military I could approach with my proof. If they can kick it up the chain of command, it would be a lot less scary than if I was to confront the president or others directly. I know they have a protocol for something like this. Aliens have been visiting Earth for a very long time. It is now illegal in the wording of the protected species act. That doesn’t mean that there still aren’t incursions. It would not surprise me if Earth was being monitored by remotely controlled drones twenty-four hours a day by the Union or other races.”

  Karl suddenly snapped his fingers. “Nathan, I know someone you might be able to talk to. We recently helped find a Blackhawk Helicopter that crashed in the wilderness. The Officer in charge of the base the Blackhawk was stationed out of, is General Thorton. He flew here and personally thanked me and my pilots for finding the wreckage and evacuating the lone survivor. He gave me his phone number and told me to call if I ever needed something. I have it in my desk somewhere.”

  “That’s great Karl. That is where we should start to get this ball rolling.”

  Karl looked at his watch. It was twenty minutes after eleven. “I can’t expect to talk to him tonight, but I will call him first thing in the morning. Can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure Karl, what do you need?”

  “Can you apologize to your crew for me? I need to get home before Cindy freaks out and comes looking for me. I don’t think I can tell her what is really going on. I am having a hard enough time processing it all myself, and think I have had enough excitement for the night. I have a couple of charter flights scheduled for tomorrow but I can pass them off to some of my part-time pilots. That will free up my day and I can meet with you in the morning if you are good with that.”