by T. R. Harris
What it didn’t leave behind was the Rutledge. The tiny ship came under the influence of the deep gravity-well and was taken along for the ride…wherever that may lead.
To Adam’s surprise, the landing bay of the huge ship was empty of any other starships or shuttles. It was large enough to carry hundreds, and as they witnessed from outside, this was only one of six such bays. Now the Tobias sat small and insignificant in the center of the cavernous chamber.
Once the room was sealed and atmosphere returned, Adam had to wait another fifteen minutes for the temperature to climb to a comfortable level; it took a lot to heat such a large room, especially one that had recently been open to the chill of space. He went to the main exit hatch and looked back at the anxious faces of his team and crew.
“No use putting it off. These guys are our new allies. And seeing what they did to the Nuoreans, I think we need to be gracious guests.”
The concerned looks on the faces indicated his little pep talk didn’t have the desired effect. So he turned and undogged the hatch, before stepping out into the warm and slightly humid chamber.
Although there was only one starship in the landing bay, it wasn’t truly empty. Along three walls were stacked hundreds—if not thousands—of metal boxes, each about four feet square. Their surfaces were uniform and carried no labels or markings of any kind. They were stacked to the ceiling, and from an angle, Adam could see there were twenty rows extending out from the walls.
Without closer examination he was at a loss as to what the boxes contained. If they were food stocks, then there was enough to support the population of a small city for ten years or more. Weapons, possibly, but what kind? The black ship used lasers against the Nuoreans. Besides, there could be a couple hundred thousand of the crates aboard holding over a million weapons. Where were the soldiers who would use them? Even a ship this big couldn’t carry that many troops.
The rest of the Tobias contingent joined him on the latticed deck, silently gawking at the sheer size of the room and the vast number of stacked crates. Adam could see through the glass panel into the control room for the landing bay. There was no one up there looking down at his motley crew. In fact, the whole place was as quiet as a tomb, without even the ubiquitous hum of the gravity generators. Was this a fully-robotic ship, with no living crew aboard? If so, then why build it so big?
“Please proceed to the second airlock door on your right,” a voice directed them from hidden speakers. It could have been a computer speaking; one couldn’t tell these days.
“Are you automated?” Adam asked as the entourage approached the door.
The panel slid aside.
“I assure you, Adam Cain, I am quite real.”
He was also a Klin.
139
In another time, Adam would have shot first and asked questions later. But with his new mutant powers, he didn’t feel compelled to act so impulsively. Sherri, however, wasn’t so conflicted. It took a sudden surge of his lightning-quick reactions to grab her hand before she could level the MK-47 at the alien. Adam would have liked nothing more than to see another dead Klin at the moment, but now he needed answers.
“Cool it, Sherri.” Adam growled.
She wasn’t having any of it. She struggled against his firm grip to free the weapon. “What are you doing? It’s a fucking Klin!”
“I know, and he saved our life. Don’t you want to know why?”
“So he can kill us himself, isn’t that obvious?”
“To the contrary, Ms. Valentine. I only wish for a constructive dialogue,” said the seven-foot tall alien with pure white hair and silver skin.
“And then you’ll kill us.”
“Possibly, but are you not at least a little curious what we Klin have been up to for the past several years? I am willing to be quite open with you.”
“Because you’re going to kill us afterwards.”
The shiny alien smiled.
Adam didn’t like that at all. Not one little bit.
“Please step into the foyer…all of you.”
The Klin stepped aside to allow the seven members of Adam’s team plus the four commandos to enter a spacious area beyond the airlock.
A boxy robot on double tracks moved up next to the Klin. It wasn’t your super-sleek automaton, designed to look like a Prime with a head, eyes, arms and legs. Instead it was rather gaudy, with a box-shaped torso and a series of attachments, gripping tools and obvious weapons placed haphazardly on the skin of the machine. There was a small round dome on top made of a dark glass-like material. Adam could see a rod spinning on an axis inside.
The Klin placed a slender, silver hand on the dome atop the five-foot-tall robot.
“Before we proceed, let me introduce you to the AN-9 automated assault module. I do this to inform you of the futility of direct action against me or any of the systems aboard the ship. Every eventuality has been considered, otherwise I would not have brought you aboard the ship.”
The Klin looked with pride at the robot. “The AN-9 is the most-advanced automated fighting module in the galaxy. Within its internal computer is programmed the strengths and weaknesses of almost ten thousand species, along with strategies and capabilities to subdue them all. There are thirty-eight specific weapons incorporated into the AN-9—including long-duration laser devices—which can be used individually or concurrently with other systems. It moves on tracks which can transition to bipedal locomotion for climbing and transiting uneven topography. It can move at seventy of your miles per hour and operate unilaterally or in conjunction with coordinated maneuvers involving hundreds of identical units. Oh…and it carries its own form of both electronic diffusion screens and magnetic repulse shields, designed to negate your ballistic weapons.”
The alien stopped to admire his prized possession.
“It is an amazing piece of machinery, and much more effective than anything the Klin have developed before.” He looked at his guests and smiled. “But I am getting ahead of myself. My name is Senior Fellow Siminous Cannin. I am the master of this ship. And if you expect to see others of my kind aboard, you will not. Only I control the entire vessel, with help from my AN-9s and other automated systems, as you will see. Now, let me take a survey.”
The alien pulled out a datapad and stepped up to the closest person in front of him. He smiled at Adam and then moved to Sherri. He looked down at the pad and then back to Sherri’s ‘if-looks-could-kill’ gaze. “Affiliated,” he stated.
He stepped over to Copernicus. After a moment looking at the pad, he looked up with surprise. “Copernicus Smith! Indeed. This is a surprise. We had dealings with you in the past. As it says here, you sold us Adam Cain and Riyad Tarazi.” The jubilant expression disappeared with the alien’s next comment. “That encounter forced the destruction of one of our six remaining Colony Ships. More than that, the twenty thousand Klin lost that day was a fifth of our remaining population. Can you imagine what it is like for your race to be so close to extinction…and then for that to happen?” Cannin looked down at the pad again, and in a very stern voice declared: “Affiliated.”
The next person in line was Lt. Chaudhory. After a moment, the alien said ‘Unaffiliated’ and asked the Navy officer to step aside.
He came to Arieel next. Again, he looked up with surprise. “Arieel Bol, the Speaker of the Formilians? I see the affiliation with Adam Cain; I just had no idea you would be here. Welcome.”
The alien continued the process until he had all of Adam’s team and the other affiliates on one side of the foyer and the four Marines and sailors on the other. Then he nodded to the robot.
Four bright red beams of light shot from the body of the robot. The duration was only fraction of a second, but it was enough for the precisely-aimed lasers to burn holes into the hearts of the commandos. Their expressions didn’t register the attack, as they collapsed to the deck.
Adam’s people rushed to their fallen comrades, jumping into action performing CPR and other emergency life-
saving techniques, but there was nothing they could do. Hearts had been penetrated and the holes cauterized. The men were dead before they hit the deck.
Adam surged to his feet, feeling the overwhelming influence of his mutant superpowers. A strong electrical current flashed out from the robot, striking Adam in the chest. His body spasmed, locking his muscles in place. He toppled to the floor, conscious but unable to move.
His team was on their feet and facing a tense standoff with the Klin and his killer robot.
“Please calm yourselves,” said the Klin. “He has only been stunned. The effects will wear off in sixty-five seconds.”
Adam had news for him: he was already fully recovered. But he remained on the deck, not wanting to reveal any of his latent powers until he knew what he was up against.
“Why did you kill them?” Sherri screamed, tears of anger and sorrow in her eyes. Her hand was on the butt of her MK-47, but she held back from drawing it, her eyes focused on the ugly metal box next to the Klin.
“They were superfluous, too much of a risk without any purpose.”
“What…what?” Sherri stammered. “But…you didn’t kill us.”
“No, you are valuable to the Klin. They were not.”
The Klin and his faceless robot stared down the angry six-person mob. Nobody moved.
Then Arieel stepped forward. “If you don’t mind, I would like to attend to Adam.”
Cannin nodded.
Both Arieel and Sherri knelt down, checking Adam’s pulse and pulling back his eyelids. Sherri took hold of his hand and he squeezed it lightly, letting her know he was conscious.
“Is there a place we can take him? His breathing is shallow; he needs care.”
“He is unharmed and will regain consciousness in fifteen seconds,” said the Klin. “We have extensive files on Human physiology. The weapon used on him was calibrated to produce a given result. It did. There is no need to move him.”
Adam waited the requisite time before waking. He was helped to his feet.
“As I said, no damage.”
Adam glared at the Klin. “What the hell are you doing? First you rescue us from the Nuoreans, and then you start killing us. What’s that all about?”
“We did not rescue you from the Nuoreans. We merely staged a test using the Nuorean forces, and your captivity was a bonus to the operation. Originally, I was transiting to the main Nuorean concentration. When I heard of your capture, I amended the plan. The test was still conducted…yet now I have the famous Adam and his entire team under my control.” He waved a silver hand at the ragged row of Humans and aliens. “For the Klin, today has indeed been one to remember. As it will be for you, as well.”
“If you don’t kill any more of us,” Riyad said, flashing his brilliant smile at the equally brilliant alien.
“That, Mister Tarazi, will be up to you.”
140
Senior Fellow Cannin summoned another three of his boxy robots and had them escort Adam and his team to four staterooms within the huge ship. The machines had specific orders as to who to place in each room. Adam drew Riyad; Kaylor and Jym were together; Copernicus and Arieel in another. Sherri was placed in her own room. She glared at Copernicus before the doors closed. He held up his hands as if to say, ‘I had nothing to do with it.’ He ducked into the room with the voluptuous alien and the door slid shut.
Adam waited a moment to do an ATD scan of the room before speaking.
“Klin…in a ship like this. This ain’t looking too good for us, Tonto.”
“What do mean us…paleface?”
“Yeah, you wish. Keep it up. Human-hating aliens hate all Humans, no matter their skin color.”
“Where’s your sense of humor, Captain Buzzkill.”
“I guess I’ve never been a fan of Klin humor…or hospitality. Remember the last time we vacationed at Club Klin? No hot water and the buffet was shitty.”
“Look on the bright side…there’s only one of them.”
“And Robby the Robot. Don’t forget him.”
“Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!”
“Wrong robot, wrong movie.”
Riyad and Adam sighed in unison. They’d done their part to act brave and macho. Now reality was setting in.
“Anything interesting happening in your brain?”
Adam knew what he meant. “Most of the systems I detect I can influence. I could probably even unlock the door. But until we know the lay of the land a little better, I think we should stay put. If the Klin wanted us dead, they would have sent lasers through our hearts, like the others. I think one Klin killing the famous Adam Cain Team would rob the rest of the silver bastards of a good time. They’ll make a big deal out of it.”
“For once, I’m glad it’s not the Riyad Tarazi Team.”
“Why? They’ll probably kill me last.”
Riyad fell back on one of the beds and locked his hands behind his head. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
After spending an appropriate time joking about their eventual demise, Adam laid back on the other bed in the room and called Arieel on his ATD.
I was led to believed your friend Copernicus was in a relationship with Sherri? the over-sexed alien began in a mental huff. He is not acting as such!
Adam smiled. Relax, Arieel, he’s harmless. Just slap him on his nose and he’ll behave.
Adam sensed the confusion in Arieel’s mind. He changed the subject. Have you been probing any of the systems aboard the ship?
Yes I have. The problem is not gaining access, it is in the number of them.
And the robots? I did a brief scan earlier. I don’t know if the Klin did it on purpose, but the inner workings are a mess.
Arieel was finally on his wavelength, having put the frisky Copernicus Smith out of her mind. Yes, it would appear to be haphazard, but I believe that has been planned. Each system, from weapons to motion to internal cooling is on its own circuit. I’ve traced ninety-one separate functions within each unit. It would take far too long to identify and disable each one.
I agree, Adam thought. But there has to be some central controller, something that feeds all those parts.
The central computer is a feeder unit, proving data to each system, which is then held inside smaller internal databases within the individual units. Using an analogy, you could cut off its head and the unit would still function.
Arieel was more proficient with her Gift than he was with his ATD, but he did have the advantage of his added mutant genius, limited as it was. He couldn’t believe there wasn’t a kill switch that could be flicked to shut down the robots. He would have to do a deeper probe using his mutant abilities. Arieel may have missed something.
Okay, sweetheart, Adam thought. Keep trying. I’ll try as well. Maybe between the two of us we can come up with something.
And what of your friend? He is exceedingly handsome, and I do have my needs. Yet I fear Sherri would not understand the dynamic.
Adam was amused by the alien’s openness. But that’s how Formilians treated sex; it was separate from love and affection. Their urges were always there and not to be ignored or suppressed. Yet Arieel had a point. Although he believed Sherri’s feelings for Copernicus weren’t that deep, it would still hurt her to know that her current lover had succumbed to the charms of the alien sexpot—just as Adam had.
Then he mentally laughed. By his estimates the team was living on borrowed time as it was. Any hurt feelings wouldn’t last too long.
Still….
You’re right, Arieel, Adam thought. You’re Sherri’s friend, so I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
I agree. It is unfortunate we were not put together in a room.
Adam had to disagree. If that had happened he wouldn’t be trying to figure a way to escape….
141
Seven hours passed, during which time water and processed food was brought to the Klin’s guests. As Adam probed the robots and the other systems of ship with ATD—appearing calm and contented on the
bed—Riyad was going stir crazy.
“Dammit, Adam, do something,” Riyad pleaded. “If not, then open the door and let me.”
“So you can get yourself lasered? No way,” Adam replied. “Then where would I get a new sidekick…Sidekicks-R-Us?”
“Now that’s low, my friend, especially since I always considered you my sidekick.”
Adam sensed the arrival of two AN-9s at the door. He sat up on the bed, alert and serious. Riyad noticed Adam’s change in mood and understood instantly. He moved to the wall next to the door.
Adam shook his head at his friend. “Careful,” he cautioned.
The door slid open.
The robots had voice capabilities, but they could also relay communications directly from their master, Senior Fellow Cannin. “Adam Cain, would you and Mister Tarazi please accompany my friends to the bridge. Ms. Valentine will also be joining us. It is time we talk.”
Adam had been expecting this. Those in power often felt the need to boast to their captives. It was S.O.P. for tyrants and megalomaniacs. Adam welcomed these little episodes because that’s where he gained most of the knowledge needed to defeat them. But after seven hours locked in the room, he was beginning to worry that Cannin would break the cycle.
Sherri met them in the hallway. She looked at the closed door to the room with Coop and Arieel. “They’re not coming?”
Adam kept the ribald joke to himself. “Apparently not,” Adam said, sensing Sherri’s anguish.
The robots began to move down the corridor, one in front, two to the rear, running parallel to each other, herding the Humans along.
Besides the rooms they were in, the prisoners had only seen the landing bay, an elevator and a corridor within the huge ship. Adam was able to hack into various computer programs and pull up schematics, so he had a working knowledge of the layout, but he didn’t have a sense of the place. That came from actually walking the hallways and experiencing the various compartments—and the bridge was the premier compartment aboard the ship. He would learn volumes by being there.
