by T. R. Harris
Terminus Rising
An Adam Cain Adventure
The Human Chronicles Saga
Book #28
by
T.R. Harris
____
Copyright 2019 by Tom Harris Creations, LLC
All rights reserved, without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanically, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. *
Sign up for my Email List
Please sign up to be included on the master email list to receive updates and announcements regarding the series, including release notices of upcoming books, purchase specials and more, please fill out the Subscribe form below:
See the Author Notes with details to my FREE BOOK OFFER, as well as news about the Human Chronicles short story I’m working on, soon to be released exclusively to those on my email list.
Subscribe to My Email List
Email:
[email protected]
Website:
bytrharris.com
Facebook:
trharrisfb.com
Novels by T.R. Harris
The Human Chronicles Saga
The Fringe Worlds
Alien Assassin
The War of Pawns
The Tactics of Revenge
The Legend of Earth
Cain’s Crusaders
The Apex Predator
A Galaxy to Conquer
The Masters of War
Prelude to War
The Unreachable Stars
When Earth Reigned Supreme
A Clash of Aliens
Battlelines
The Copernicus Deception
Scorched Earth
Alien Games
The Cain Legacy
The Andromeda Mission
Last Species Standing
Invasion Force
Force of Gravity
Mission Critical
The Lost Universe
The Immortal War
Destroyer of Worlds
Phantoms
Terminus Rising
The Last Aris
The Human Chronicles Box Set Series
Box Set #1 – Books 1-5 in the series
Box Set #2 – Books 6-10 in the series
Box Set #3 – Books 11-15 in the series
Box Set #4 – Books 16-20 in the series
REV Warriors Series
REV
REV: Renegades
REV: Rebirth
REV: Revolution
REV: Retribution (coming soon)
Jason King – Agent to the Stars Series
The Enclaves of Sylox
Treasure of the Galactic Lights
The Drone Wars Series
Day of the Drone
In collaboration with George Wier…
The Liberation Series
Captains Malicious
Available exclusively on Amazon.com and FREE to members of Kindle Unlimited.
Contents
Foundation
Adam Cain is an alien with an attitude.
Prologue
1. …aboard the Arya in the Milky Way Galaxy
4,629 years ago
2. …aboard the Sansa in the Milky Way Galaxy
4,569 years ago
3. …at the lost Aris base in the AD-14 star system
3,219 years ago
4. …at the lost Aris base in the AD-14 star system
1,243 years ago
5. …at the lost Aris base in the AD-14 star system
603 years ago
6. …at the lost Aris base in the AD-14 star system
7. …at the lost Aris base in the AD-14 star system
8. …within the Aris base
14 years ago
9. …aboard the Aris space station
10. …approaching the Aris space station
11. …at Terminus Base
12. …approaching Terminus Base
14 Years Ago
13. …aboard the Klin Colony Ship Behemoth
14. …in a medical bay aboard the Behemoth
The End
… later that day
The Last Aris
Author Notes and FREE BOOK OFFER
Sign up for my Email List
Novels by T.R. Harris
Foundation
ter·mi·nus
/ˈtərmənəs/
noun
noun: terminus; plural noun: termini; plural noun: terminuses
1.
a final point in space or time; an end or extremity.
Adam Cain is an alien with an attitude.
His story continues…
Having learned of a potentially catastrophic disaster facing the universe, Adam Cain and Company are in a desperate race against time to prevent a creature from Panur’s past from bringing about the end of all existence. The being Te’moc was used to create the immortal mutant genius and he has the power to destroy him. The problem: Panur has been tasked with finding a solution to a crisis which is rapidly building to Armageddon. Without him, the end of everything is a certainty.
Te’moc is also on a quest to collect all the Essence of J’nae, and therefore achieve infinite power. But most of the essence has been absorbed by the ancient Aris, giving them the immortality they need to keep universes from colliding. Take away their immortality and you destroy our universe.
And to top all that, Adam must save Summer Rains from certain death at the hands of Te’moc. The evil alien wants what’s inside her—J’nae—who has deceived Summer into helping the entity achieve her selfish goals, no matter the cost. And now Adam Cain not only has to protect Panur and Summer from the deadly duo of J’nae and Te’moc, but he also has a universe to save.
It’s a lot of pressure on our hero, this whole saving the universe thing. But it is Tuesday, and Adam Cain always saves the universe on Tuesday.
Prologue
4,685 years ago on the planet Kor
The Eternal Queen watched as the wizened alien was wheeled before her, his body too weak for him to stand on his own. Even seated, she could tell he was tall, taller than the Sol-Kor tending to him, his boney knees pointing up at her as he scrunched in the seat. However, even in his withered state, she saw the intelligence in his clear, blue eyes. Seven hundred years of life did that to a creature, providing strength of mind, if not body.
She also sensed there was no fear in the alien; he would not last much longer. He knew she could do nothing to seriously impact his future.
The Queen was about to prove otherwise.
“You would be the creature known as Panur’Akenon,” she said confidently in the language of the Hal’ic. Through her own genetic makeup—as well as her nine hundred years of existence—the Queen’s intellect was beyond compare within the Sol-Kor Colony. Foreign languages were not a challenge for her.
The aged alien did not respond. Rather, he cocked his narrow head from side to side on an impossibly thin neck, taking in the Grand Hall and those of the Court in attendance. Several of her advisors had come to witness the anomaly, the ancient being they’d heard of even before the start of the J’nae invasion.
“We share something in common,” the Queen continued. “We have each lived longer than any before us. However, my longevity is the result of who and what I am. As long as I provide for the Colony and produce the required offspring, I am sustained. And although my body possesses a form of ce
llular regeneration, I still receive replacement organs should I need them along with the finest medicines and diet my civilization has to offer. You, however, are an oddity, a mutant, an abomination. The Hal’ic are known to live three hundred years or more. But seven hundred? Never. Until you. And while I survive through providence, you survive by accident.”
Again, the alien did not respond.
The Queen moved closer until she was towering over him, forcing his head to lay on the back of the chair to look into her piercing eyes. “Have you nothing to say?”
“I will speak when there is something to say. Until now, your words have been a preamble. Please make your point.”
There were gasps from those in the chamber, not only from the insolence of the statement but from the fact that it was in the Sol-Kor tongue.
The Queen smiled. “I see from your brief exposure to the Sol-Kor you have already mastered our language. That is a sign of the great intelligence you possess; another trait we have in common. It is also one of the reasons I brought you here today.”
She slid back to her original position; a stained section on the marble floor where she spent the majority of her time, when not in the laying room.
“You want me to state my reason for bringing you here? I will. I wish to save your life.”
The ancient alien smiled. “Save my life, even as your ravenous hordes commit the wholesale slaughter of my race? And for what purpose do you exterminate the Hal’ic and the A’nor? You seek not territory nor natural resources. Instead, you have come simply to feed. It is such a barbaric and pointless act that you would destroy an entire species for the momentary satisfaction of your hunger.”
“It is what the Colony does,” replied the Queen unabashedly. “We conquered and consumed the other colonies on Kor, and now we require more. Although your world may be the first we harvest, it will not be the last. But let us not debate this issue. The Hal’ic no longer qualify as a civilization. You are the only viable member left. And now I bring you before me to offer a new path, one of great benefit and for which your vast intellect and natural abilities will be rewarded.”
“What path?”
The Queen looked at the two Sol-Kor to her left. They stood ramrod straight, an air of superiority in their posture. “For the past two hundred years, I have been shepherding a great scientific endeavor, using multiple generations of technicians to further its advancement, with each new participant screened at birth and raised to work exclusively on the project. It has the highest priority and unlimited resources. I wish you to join this project, to become its leader.”
The alien in the wheelchair expressed humor at the reaction of the Sol-Kor scientists next to the Queen. For this meeting, they’d been given a position of prestige and respect near their living god, only to have their status suddenly downgraded in favor of an outsider, an alien. They grumbled with one another.
“And what is the purpose of this project?”
“It is the pursuit of an immortal being.”
The smile vanished from the old alien, replaced now with a deeply furrowed frown. “As in the search for such a creature amid the varied worlds of the galaxy?”
“No, as in the creation of such a being by artificial means.”
Panur’Akenon’s head bobbed on his thin neck. “I do not see how that is possible. Have you made progress in pursuit of this folly?”
“We have, to a degree. We understand much of the process, yet there appears to be a limiting factor.”
“Which is?”
The Queen saw that the intellectual curiosity of the alien was piqued.
“It is with the genetic material from which we work. Since all life on Kor shares a common ancestor, everything on the planet is related. What we seek is a unique ingredient—indeed, more than one. With the natural longevity of the Hal’ic, coupled with your mutant abilities, I see the potential for a breakthrough. Combined with my regenerative abilities, as well as the genetic material from a variety of other species we have found, the creation of an immortal being is not only possible but probable. However, the intelligence of my scientists is hampered by their limited lifespan. You do not have such a handicap.”
“Even so, I cannot see how it would be possible, at least not in the creation of a true immortal. Perhaps an extension of lifespan to thousands of years; that could be possible. But to be truly immortal and impervious to death, one must constantly regenerate, and not only select parts of the body, but the body total, including the brain. Also, you are not immortal, although you say you have regenerative abilities. So the quest must go beyond simply accelerating and expanding this regeneration. You would have to create something that has never existed before.”
The Queen smiled. Already the mutant was working on the problem.
“Let me clarify, Panur’Akenon, it is not I who will create such a being; it is you.” The Queen hesitated, sending a nasty frown at the still-fidgeting scientists. They froze in place.
“With the demise of your race, you are left with no loyalty other than to yourself. And although you are nearing the end of your incredibly long life, there is more remaining than the average Sol-Kor worker. I also sense energy within you. Use what you learn from us to save yourself, to attain eternal life. Live on to learn more, to learn everything. This is what I offer you, Panur’Akenon of the Hal’ic. I offer you … eternity.”
The alien stared at her for a long moment before giving a single nod. “I will lead your project,” he said. “And you may call me Panur; that is my preferred greeting … my Queen.”
For all their talk of creating immortal beings, in Panur’s opinion, the Sol-Kor lacked a certain sophistication in their technology. Take, for example, the chair he was sitting in. It was a simple process to attach a motor to the wheels to allow him to guide himself. Instead, a Sol-Kor worker pushed him along the corridors and down the elevator to the deepest reaches of the M-1 pyramid, the capital building of the Colony.
There were other indicators, as well. The aliens had a rather advanced space drive, capable of reaching speeds over three-quarters the speed of light. However, when they attacked his home planet of J’nae, they came with heavy ballistic weapons and bombs to subdue the population, rather than something more advanced. Even the Hal’ic possessed a form of plasma energy weapon, an invention of Panur’s from his early days as lead scientist for the A’nor sect. However, even possessing slightly more advanced defenses, the Hal’ic proved no match for the Sol-Kor. The aliens controlled the high ground of space, and with no desire for long-term occupation of the planet, they ravaged the land and cities, accepting no surrender, only the death of the natives.
Even as he was wheeled to the end of a long passageway and through a set of double doors, Panur knew he wouldn’t be the last surviving Hal’ic, contrary to the Queen’s belief. The flesh-eating invaders wouldn’t find everyone; that was impossible. And unless the Sol-Kor rendered the surface uninhabitable through irradiation or some other method, many of Panur’s people would survive. Would that be enough to repopulate the planet, Panur didn’t know. His only hope was that if they did manage to survive and multiply, that they wouldn’t advertise the fact. Being the closest inhabited planet to Kor meant that the aliens could return at some future date for a second serving of Hal’ic flesh.
As he entered the laboratory of the mad Queen, Panur pondered whether she honestly believed she could create an immortal being, and if so, for what purpose? The Sol-Kor were not interested in long-term planning unless it involved their endless quest for food sources. There had to be another reason.
By agreeing to be part of the project, Panur would occupy his mind while preserving his life a little longer. He was also desperate to learn more about this alien race which appeared in the skies above his homeworld without warning to harvest an entire planet of its native population. The motivation for such a horrific action had to go beyond simply the quest for food.
Panur mentally shrugged. Perhaps not, he thought. The Queen
has a life-preserving duty to provide for the Colony, and the Colony must feed. Whatever purpose this grand experiment served, it had less to do with the welfare of the Colony, and more to do with that of the Queen herself.
The two disgruntled scientists from the Grand Hall appeared in the sterile-looking work area, dressed in matching one-piece uniforms of light brown. Panur studied the aliens. Sol-Kor were a little shorter than Hal’ic, yet stockier, with tiny scales covering their skin. Their flesh tone was to the darker shade of grey and their features were similar to the Hal’ic, with two eyes, a nose and mouth. Tiny skin flaps served as ears.
The scientists introduced themselves as First-Intellectuals Warress and Kanc. Panur still detected resentment in their voices, but also caution. He was the new favorite of the Queen, and the natives knew it. They would be careful around him.
However, from what he knew of the Sol-Kor, this attitude toward him was strange. Each member of the Colony had a predestined function to perform. There was no competition, no questioning, no jealousy. They served a unified purpose to preserve and grow the Colony, along with an instinctive devotion to their Queen. The reaction from the scientists had to come from the fact that he was not of the Colony and never would be, no matter how much the Queen favored him. This attitude was something Panur would have to endure during his time working with the aliens.
