Target: Earth (Extinction Wars Book 5)

by Vaughn Heppner

  Diana had already looked down at the map. She looked up now, glancing at me and then her secretary and seemed annoyed.

  “My personal secretary, Nancy Kress,” Diana said.

  “Nancy,” I said, as if tasting her name.

  “I’ve heard so much about you, Mr. Creed.”

  “It’s just Creed,” I told Nancy.

  Her eyebrows arched up. “Creed…?”

  “Just Creed,” I said.

  “There must be a story behind that,” Nancy said impishly.

  Diana cleared her throat.

  Nancy blushed, which surprised me. She hadn’t seemed the type.

  “If I could have your attention for a minute, Creed,” Diana said.

  “Are you in a rush?” I asked.

  “You can’t just show up and begin flirting with my secretary when we have momentous decisions to make,” Diana complained. “I know you noticed the battle debris around Earth while coming in.”

  “I saw it,” I said.

  “Where’s your spaceship?” Briggs asked. “You can’t have traveled all this way in the flitter.”

  I shrugged. Let them guess. The GEV was still in stealth mode, so no one could see it.

  Diana gave me a searching look. “You’re playing a part, Creed. It’s obvious, and perplexing to me.”

  “Oh?” I asked.

  “Now, see here,” Briggs said.

  “Later,” Diana told the general cryptically.

  Briggs shot me an angry scowl before nodding to her. It seemed to pain him, but the general closed his mouth and waited.

  “He’s well trained,” I told Diana, deciding to needle Briggs a bit, see what it would show me.

  “Yes, he is,” Diana agreed.

  I glanced at Briggs. The general seemed not to have heard the comment, but I knew he had. This man would react when he decided it would be in his best interest, not before. I cataloged him as possibly dangerous.

  “Before we continue,” Diana said. “I want you to look at this. Would you, please, Creed?”

  She pointed at the table map.

  I looked down at it. It was a stellar chart of the local region. The purple area must have been the Lokhar Empire. Blue showed Jade League territories. Red represented Terran Confederation star systems, while the Starkiens showed up in yellow. It surprised me to see that the baboons had spread out some.

  “The problem is not just a matter of territory,” Briggs said. “The relative armaments count for much more.”

  “He means warships,” Diana said.

  Police Proconsul Spencer took that moment to join us. He walked through the double doors in a scarlet uniform not much different from those of the security detail. The gunmen didn’t tense as he approached the map table. Instead, one of them gave Spencer a quick signal with his eyes.

  Did Diana know about that? She seemed oblivious, but that could have been an act.

  “Creed,” Diana said, as if Spencer’s arrival was a signal. “Our Police Proconsul is much more than a clever secret policeman. He’s become something of an authority on the inner workings of the galaxy core. For instance, because of him, we know you became the Curator’s Galactic Effectuator.”

  I eyed Spencer. He pretended not to notice the scrutiny, looking intently at the map instead.

  “Spencer has spoken to everyone who went to the Fortress of Light with you in the Moon-ship ten years ago,” Diana said. “With a few, he did even more than speak.”

  “He interrogated?” I asked.

  “I gathered information,” Spencer said, without looking up.

  The little man thought pretty highly of himself. I almost got the feeling he’d coached Diana in this performance.

  “We know the Center Aliens think of us as the little killers,” Diana said. “We don’t know much about why, or what the phrase means to them. We know Abaddon died ten years ago and that Jennifer went to the Fortress of Light with you.”

  “Diana, you do remember me briefing you all about that, right?” I asked. “I made a report about my time on the Fortress of Light before I quit the assault troopers ten years ago.”

  “You left some things out of your report,” she said.

  “Damn little,” I said.

  The Prime Minister stamped a foot. “In case you’ve forgotten, we know the galaxy is divided into civilizational zones. We know about the Ve-Ky and others. We’ve worked hard to gather all the advanced technology we can. It’s one of the reasons why we’ve been holding our own against the more populous Jade League.”

  “Noted,” I said.

  “I have to ask you, have you come back in the capacity of the Galactic Effectuator?”

  “Where did you ever hear about such a thing?” I asked.

  “If you’re not the Effectuator on official business,” she said, “that will change how we deal with you.”

  “Why bother hinting, Diana? Tell it to me straight.”

  “If you can’t help us as the Effectuator, we’re going to have to help ourselves.”

  “Why do you think I’m here?” I asked. “To help Earth.”

  “If you’re not the official Effectuator, how can you help us?”

  I stared at her, trying to decide what she knew about an Effectuator. She could be pretending to know more than she did in order to get me to drop my guard and talk about it. My gut told me she’d learned about the title, Galactic Effectuator, but little beyond that.”

  “What do you know about the alien ship that bombarded South America?” I asked.

  Diana hesitated before saying, “Precious little.”

  “She means we know nothing about it or them,” Police Proconsul Spencer said.

  Diana gave the small man a cool glance, the kind that said he should shut up already.

  “I say that in the interest of time,” Spencer told her.

  Diana stared at him a little longer and finally threw her hands in the air. “Do you know anything about these aliens?” she asked me.

  “Maybe,” I said.

  “No, Creed,” she said. “Don’t be coy. If you know something—”

  “Listen,” I said. “It’s not that easy. I want to help in every way I can. You must know that.”

  “The old Creed would help,” she said. “I know that.”

  “I’m the same man you always knew.”

  Diana shook her head. “I don’t think so. The old Creed was impulsive. You haven’t done anything impulsive yet.”

  “No?” I said, glancing at Nancy.

  “That’s another thing,” Diana said. “When did Creed ever flirt with the girls?”

  Diana had a point. Eight years as Galactic Effectuator and countless Intelligence missions might have changed me in ways I hadn’t recognized. It was possible I wasn’t as rash or as reckless as before.

  “About all we know for sure,” Spencer told me, “is that the three alien vessels possessed advanced technology.”

  “Highly advanced technology,” Diana amended. “The ships lacked force fields, for one thing, and yet they shrugged off our beams. Would you like to see battle footage?”

  I shook my head.

  Diana and Spencer traded covert glances.

  “You seem to know something about these aliens, Creed,” Spencer said. “We’re desperate to know more so we can make an effective strategy against them.”

  I drummed my fingers on the map table. What should I tell them?

  I cleared my throat. “I’ve, ah, been on a long research mission these past ten years,” I said.

  “Did you get kicked out of the galaxy core?” Diana asked.

  I stared at her. “Let’s just say I happened to come upon some ancient galactic lore.”

  “Does the lore include data on the aliens that attacked South America?” she asked.

  “I think so.”

  “Who are they?”

  I nodded and began to talk.

  -16-

  “I don’t precisely know who attacked Earth,” I began. “But I be
lieve they’re called Plutonians.”

  “They’re from Pluto?” General Briggs blurted in astonishment.

  “No,” I said, “from the land of the Lord of Hades.”

  “Are you saying the aliens have a connection with Abaddon?” Diana asked.

  “That,” I said, pointing at her, “but probably not in the way you think. Hades is one of our words for Hell. Abaddon is a name for the Devil.”

  “Come now,” Spencer said. “You’re not invoking Bronze Age sky gods, are you?”

  “I fought Abaddon,” I said. “I’ve lived…” I almost said, I’ve lived in the center of the galaxy.

  “You were going to say?” Diana asked, looking at me closely.

  I shook my head, telling Spencer, “I’m invoking nothing, I’m just telling you—oh, forget it.”

  I paused to recollect my thoughts. Why bother letting Spencer get under my skin? That’s what he was trying to do. He was a professional spook, after all. One of the best ways to get a man to say too much was to get him upset and preferably angry.

  Diana shot Spencer a hard look. The Police Proconsul spread his hands in an apologetic way. I could imagine what silently passed between them. Cut that out. Don’t do or say anything that will stop Creed from talking. We have to keep him talking.

  “We know Abaddon once found a way into another space-time continuum,” I said. “Ten years ago, the Curator told us that Abaddon was a First One. The First Ones were powerful humanoids with uncanny abilities or powers like comic-book super heroes.”

  I turned to Spencer.

  “Is that easier to accept than gods and devils?” I asked.

  The Police Proconsul shrugged noncommittally.

  “Whatever First Ones could do,” I continued, “they weren’t the only ones with powers or the ability to conjure themselves some. Sometime in the distant past arrived, evolved, were created—take your pick—the Plutonians. From my research, I learned that the Plutonians fought the First Ones. Does that mean they fought Abaddon? I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I think Abaddon had already lost himself in the Karg Dimension.

  “Be that as it may,” I said, “the war between the First Ones and the Plutonians lasted a long time. It did a lot of damage, but plenty of cool techs were invented as the two sides warred against each other. The Plutonians had the technological edge, I believe, but that failed against whatever advantages the First Ones possessed.”

  “You don’t know what those advantages were?” Diana asked me.

  I shook my head.

  “Please,” she said, “continue. This is fascinating.”

  I took a breath and plowed ahead.

  “However long the war lasted, the First Ones finally and utterly defeated the Plutonians. For reasons I cannot fathom, the chief First Ones didn’t want to exterminate the Plutonians. By this time, it was clear that the Plutonians were xenophobic to an intense degree. The First Ones might have debated the issue among themselves. I don’t know. Finally, though, someone suggested they do to the Plutonians what Abaddon had done to himself.”

  “Stick the Plutonians in another dimension?” Spencer asked.

  “Essentially,” I said. “But the First Ones had learned from Abaddon’s mistake. None of them wanted to open a way into another dimension. Who knew what they would find on the other side? It was too risky, they believed. So, the greatest First Ones used the best science as developed by the Plutonians and carved out a pocket universe connected to our space-time continuum.”

  “What is a pocket universe?” Diana asked.

  “Exactly what it sounds like,” I said. “The First Ones fashioned a small area the size of a star system. They stocked the pocket universe with a star, some planets, and put the sleeping or suspended-animation Plutonians there. Finally, they sealed up the pocket universe and washed their hands of them, congratulating themselves on ridding the universe of a dangerous menace and yet keeping their hands clean from genocide.”

  “If the Plutonians were that dangerous to the First Ones, why would killing all of them matter?” Diana asked.

  I smiled. “You, my dear, think like a little killer.”

  She eyed me. “Did someone tell you that once?”

  I nodded.

  “Was it the Curator?” Spencer asked.

  I shrugged.

  “Quit probing,” Diana told the Police Proconsul. “Let him finish.”

  “As you wish,” Spencer said.

  I wondered if that was an act, a form of good cop, bad cop.

  “According to what I’ve learned,” I said, “the Plutonians have slept in their pocket universe for eons.”

  I looked around the map table, waiting for one of them to ask how I’d learned all this.

  None of them did.

  I’d learned all this in the Library on the Fortress of Light by reading the same books Jennifer had perused. The rest of what I was going to tell them was merely educated guesswork.

  “Someone has broken through to the Plutonians, to the pocket universe,” I said. “The person wishes to revive them. The attack against Earth would lend weight to the idea that they succeeded in their effort.”

  “Prime Minister,” Spencer said.

  Diana was frowning, staring at the Police Proconsul and then me. Finally, she nodded.

  Spencer cleared his throat. “This is an interesting revelation. The Plutonians, presumably, have access to ancient technologies?”

  “The ships created their own jump gate,” I said.

  Spencer nodded. “These ancient technologies are from the time of the First Ones?”

  “That seems likely,” I said.

  “Mmm-hmm,” Spencer said. “One point troubles me.”

  I waited for it.

  “Who is this person that risked entering a pocket universe to awaken hyper-xenophobic Plutonians? More to the point, why would they attempt to convince the Plutonians to target Earth and to do it right away?”

  “Jennifer went to the Plutonians,” Diana said suddenly

  “Yes,” Spencer said, eyeing me. “She still hates you, doesn’t she?”

  I nodded slightly.

  “It’s all coming together,” Diana said. “There’s only one place Jennifer could have learned about the Plutonians: the Fortress of Light.”

  “If that’s so,” Spencer said, “you’re obviously the Effectuator. Why otherwise would you be in the Fortress of Light with her?”

  “Look,” I said. “Only one thing matters. We have to go to the pocket universe and—”

  “Creed!” Diana said, interrupting me. “That’s out of the question. Three Plutonian cruisers destroyed five times their number of battlejumpers and the Luna Defenses. They also wiped out a continent. We’d need more than the Alliance Fleet, never mind having to find a way into the pocket universe—” She stopped abruptly. “Just how are we supposed to reach this realm, anyway?”

  “There’s a planet called Acheron,” I said, “a venerated place, rich in horrific legends.”

  “Just a minute,” Diana said. “You’re not suggesting we visit there, are you?”

  “No.”

  “Oh?” she said.

  “I’m going to visit Acheron,” I said. “You’re going to loan me several battlejumpers, along with selected crews.”

  “I see. And just where is this legendary Acheron?”

  I glanced at her, Spencer, General Briggs and finally the sexy little secretary. “Several hundred light-years away,” I said.

  “And?” Diana said. “You may have been gone ten years, but I can still tell when you’re leaving something out.”

  I shrugged. “It’s in the Lokhar Empire.”

  “I knew it,” Diana said. “Where in the empire?”

  “The middle,” I admitted.

  “And you want to lead a Viking raid there, just like old times.”

  “We have to,” I said. “Look. There are harsh penalties for introducing higher-level tech to a lower civilizational zone. But if the highly advance
d tech happens to be lying around on a planet in the lower-level zone…that’s technically okay.”

  “What level tech are we talking about?” Diana asked.

  “First One,” I said. “We’re going to need it to generate a dimensional portal.”

  “Oh,” Diana said, “is that all?”

  “No. We need First One combat tech, too. That way, our ships will have a fighting chance.”

  “And these techs are definitely on Acheron?” Diana asked.

  “I have good reason to believe that what we need is deep underground in time-vaults.”

  “It’s simple then,” Diana said, sarcastically.

  “Not quite. There’s, ah, a guardian. I’ll need…seven battlejumpers.”

  “Seven. Right. That will be no problem. We’ll just slip in, out and around the Lokhar Empire with seven battlejumpers. No, Creed. That’s out of the question.”

  “I’m sorry you feel you that way.”

  “Has it escaped your attention that we’re under siege? We can’t afford to release and possibly lose seven battlejumpers.”

  “One might do,” I said. “I’ll need a handpicked crew, though.”

  “Your old team?” she asked, sarcastically.

  “That sounds good.”

  Diana looked away. “Is that the best you can do?”

  I sensed a shift in her, and not for the better. “Prime Minister, I’ve come a long way to help. It’s taken me over two years to get here. This is a good idea. Now, I have a few tricks up my—”

  “Guards!” Diana shouted.

  The marine guards were startled out of their parade ground rest as they hurried toward her, even as the security detail closed in around me.

  “Secure him,” Diana said.

  The marines and the security detail came toward me warily. I wondered what they’d heard about me to act this way.

  “Why are you doing this?” I asked Diana, while allowing the marines to cuff my wrists behind my back. “Is this payback for the first time we met when I took over aboard your freighter?”

  “Call him,” Diana told Spencer.

  The Police Proconsul hesitated, finally asking, “Are you sure this is wise?”

  Diana glanced at me before answering Spencer. “I don’t see that we have a choice. Call the Lokhar Ambassador. Let’s see if he’s still willing to make the deal.”