by T. R. Harris
And the sooner the better, Adam thought. He was in need of a very long vacation.
The pair was taken to a large room with rock walls and of a design not typically found with the Klin. The furniture, the arched ceilings, the thick, musty smell of the air, all spoke of an ancient structure which the Klin more-than-likely appropriated from the natives upon their arrival.
There were four smallish beds and Sherri crashed on one of them and was asleep a few moments later. Adam wandered the interior for a few minutes longer, noticing the mechanical lock on the door and not an electronic version. A precaution against his ATD, or just the native’s standard method of securing a room?
He fell back on another of the beds and closed his eyes. His ATD was active and monitoring the situation, his mutant brains cells linked to it on an unconventional level. He felt secure knowing his subconscious would alert him to any intrusions. So he closed his eyes and slept.
He and Sherri were in the belly of the beast, thousands of light-years from allied territory, and with only a handful of friends for backup. From here on out, things were going to get exciting.
13
The Klin have an air about them, a smug superiority undeserved in light of their four thousand years of running from their own shadow. So when Adam and Sherri were told they were to meet another creature—their escort made it obvious this was not a Klin—the alien treated the news as if this entity was nothing more than an underling assigned cleaning duties for the captives.
Appearing annoyed with the task of leading the prisoners to a new meeting room, the Klin ambled along the corridor at a snail’s pace, in no hurry to reach his destination. The two native guards behind them were more engaged, more alert, their black eyes locked on the pair of Humans, weapons gripped in hairy hands, ready if needed. The natives were called V’casin, and were six feet of thick muscles and furry bodies. Even without seeing the exterior of their mountain fortress prison, Adam sensed the high elevation and the sub-zero outside temperature. The natives were built for such a climate, Humans and Klin were not.
Adam and Sherri had displayed no signs of resistance prior to this, but the V’casin seemed aware of the Human race and the reputation surrounding them. The Klin could be complacent, but not the natives. The rumors may be true.
Their Klin escort opened a double-door entry and stepped through the portal. Adam and Sherri followed…before letting out audible gasps at what they found inside. It was a huge room, carved out of the side of the mountain, with an opening to the outside a hundred feet across by as many high. Beyond was the spectacular expanse of a towering mountain range, with most peaks twice as high as their current elevation. All were coated in a thick blanket of snow, with several of the higher tops ringed with impressive clouds of gray and white. The brilliant blue of the sky contrasted sharply with the evenness of the snow.
There didn’t appear to be anything covering the vast opening, yet the temperature within the room was warm and welcoming. Then Adam noticed a faint shimmer ripple across the outside scene. For a moment he thought it was a projection—a picture of remarkable clarity. But then he noticed more wrinkles across the opening. It was a force field, similar to a diffusion shield, but one designed to keep out the weather rather than energy bolts. Seeing that they were in a Klin stronghold, the presence of unknown technology was to be expected.
Ringing the room were a dozen or more flaming torches held in metal sconces attached to the walls, whose dancing light reflected off gold-inlaid symbols cut in the smooth stone floor. There was a huge central ornament hanging from the ceiling, made of crescents of gold and silver metal forming a huge hollow ball.
Music played as well; melodic swirling notes punctuated by the periodic punch of deep drums.
The room had a medieval—if not Druid—look to it. Sherri and Adam shared a look. They didn’t know whether to take it seriously or not. This wasn’t typical Klin interior decorating.
“Wait here,” the Klin snorted impatiently before he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. The V’casin guards went with him.
Overcoming the awe of the incredible view outside—along with the careful stagecraft—the Humans surveyed the rest of the huge room. It was sparsely furnished with only a raised platform to the left made from a smooth slab of granite. A sacrificial alter, Adam wondered? It would fit the décor. To the right was a secondary entryway. It was a wide arched portal thirty feet high and twenty wide, covered by double doors with metal bands riveted both vertically and horizontally in the dark, bark-like wood.
The room had a musty smell, but also the tell-tale trace of circulated heat from a hidden ventilation system. The room wasn’t without modern amenities, no matter how much someone wanted them to believe so.
Fortunately, the Humans didn’t have to wait long before the show began….
The double doors to the arched portal opened slowly inward. A pair of V’casin natives, dressed in black leather uniforms laced with metal supports, pushed the doors open until they were pressed against the stone wall of the chamber. A progression of torch-carrying natives followed, quiet and stern-faced, even as the subtle music in the room sounded a little louder. Next came the Grand Master, in a shrouded carriage supported on two long poles, carried along by eight natives, these dressed in red robes. A trailing force of eight more torch-carrying V’casin closed out the procession.
If this was meant to impress the Humans, it failed miserably. Sherri and Adam shook their heads and struggled to keep from laughing. It was so over the top, like something out of a bad B-movie from the ‘50’s, and definitely not of Klin design.
The carriage was lowered a few inches until its bunting-covered base sat on the floor. A native brought up a short three-step ladder and attached it to the side of the carriage. He then stepped up and separated the white shroud, allowing the figure inside to emerge.
He came forth, covered in a shimmering golden robe and cape, wearing a red and black painted mask depicting a generic male face with narrow eye slits and an equally narrow cut for the mouth. In his right hand was a seven-foot long golden scepter with a red-crystal headstone. The creature began to make his way down the steps.
When he reached the floor he stood to his full eight-foot height, dominating the much smaller, fur-covered natives.
Adam frowned; it all seemed so…hokey. He’d been traipsing around the galaxy for over twenty years and he’d never seen such a show of gaudy extravagance—and especially not for the intimidation—or enjoyment—of him and Sherri.
Sherri couldn’t hold it any longer. She burst out laughing, and not just a single snicker, but a prolonged, bend-at-the-waist, tear-producing chortle. Adam was more restrained, but not much.
The huge masked figure stood straight-backed for a moment…before leaning on the scepter and grabbing his stomach with his free left hand. A deep-throated cackle came from the other side of the mask, which didn’t stop until he was also doubled over with laughter.
“Damn you, Sherri Valentine. You ruined the whole thing!”
The towering figure bent over more and unfastened straps on his shoes. Then he stepped to the floor, coming in now at a respectable six-feet in height. Adam wasn’t surprised when he took his left hand and removed the mask, revealing the flushed and tear-streaked face of a Human male.
“Sorry for the dramatics,” said the smiling face. “I couldn’t resist.”
The man looked to be about thirty, with broad shoulders, bright blue eyes and blond hair. The shock came not from the fact that he was a Human, but because he looked a lot like Adam Cain….
“Was that really necessary?” Adam asked, impatience—and a slight warble—in his voice.
The man waved a hand at his V'casin entourage. “Leave us, now. Shoo!”
When the aliens stood looking confused, the man bellowed, “Go!”
The natives scurried from the chamber.
The man reached over and lifted the bunting covering the base of his carriage, revealing a
metal box underneath. “See, they weren’t even carrying me; it’s on wheels.”
“Who the hell are you?” Sherri asked, having recovered from her laughing spell.
“Robert’s the name. Welcome Ms. Valentine, and of course, the infamous Adam Cain. You don’t know how thrilled I am to have you here.”
“So what was the show all about?” Adam asked. They were still on an alien ice-world, surrounded by Klin. He wasn’t about to drop his guard…not even for a good-natured Human.
“I’ve always wanted to make a grand entrance. Having the two of you here gave me the opportunity. I have to say, I had a hell of a time finding something that looked like a scepter. A little too much?”
“Are you a prisoner…or a traitor?” Sherri asked, upset now with the man’s lack of seriousness.
Robert laughed. “Right to the point, I see, Ms. Valentine. I suppose you would call me a traitor, although that would imply I was once on the side of my blood-relatives. I assure you that was never the case.”
“You’re a 2G,” Adam stated flatly, fairly confident in his conclusion.
“Bingo, Mister Cain. You win a cookie. As you see, there are still a few of us around, mucking up the works.”
“That’s Captain Cain to you.”
Adam noticed the faint British accent and cringed. It couldn’t be….
“Forgive me. I’d didn’t mean to insult you, just dazzle you a little with my brilliance.”
“You don’t talk like any 2G I’ve ever met.” Adam pointed out. He glanced around at the huge chamber. “And you seem to be in some position of power. Is that right?”
“Rank does have its privileges! And you’re right. I’m not your typical Second Generation Human, born and breed to follow the indoctrination of the nasty-ass Klin. I received a slightly different course of instruction, and from a very unusual source.”
“Nigel McCarthy.”
The man called Robert staggered back a step. “I am truly impressed with your powers of deduction, Mist…Captain Cain. Bravo.” The man stepped closer. “You have just muttered the name of my illustrious father, a name I’ve not heard in a long, long time. And now you’re probably thinking what a small galaxy this is…and how the son of Nigel McCarthy intends to have his revenge on the man who took his father’s life?”
“Your father was an asshole.”
Robert’s blue eyes grew wide. “You are…correct! He was a royal arse, as he would say. I’m glad he’s gone; you did me a favor.”
Adam shook his head. “Okay…I give up. This is a strange coincidence, but I get the feeling this isn’t a coincidence at all.”
“Some is, some isn’t,” answered Robert McCarthy. “The story is fascinating, but one for another time. Let me first get out of this silly outfit. We’ll meet in my actual chambers in a few minutes, where we can share a brew, and get to know each other. Needless to say, it’s been a while since I chatted with a fellow Human, or was in the company of such a ravishingly beautiful female where my desires are considered normal and not a form of bestiality.”
“Keep wishing, dickhead.”
“I can admire you from afar, can I not Ms. Valentine? No harm in that.”
Sherri considered the handsome young man for a moment before responding. “I guess not. Whatever turns you on.”
The glint in the man’s eye answered the rhetorical question beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Robert McCarthy left through the side portal, leaving Adam and Sherri alone in the center of the huge room, bathed in flickering torchlight, wondering what to do next. They walked over to the hundred-foot-high opening and stared out at the stark mountain peaks, which were in the process of being overtaken by the shadows of the coming night.
Out of curiosity, Adam reached out a hand to touch the force field. To his surprise, his hand passed through the thin barrier with only a slight electric tingle. His hand felt the bitter cold on the other side.
“Well, that’s pretty neat,” he said, impressed
Sherri did him one better. She stepped completely through the barrier before quickly returning. “Burr!”
“That thing could have been one-way only. You could have been stuck out there.”
“What can I say: I live life on the edge.”
14
A few moments later a burly V’casin came to fetch them.
They were led through the side portal and down a long corridor, which was occasionally broken on the left side by traditional plate-glass windows revealing the stunning scene outside. They came to a door on the right and were directed to enter.
If unexpected was the word-of-the-day, it certainly applied here.
They were in a living room designed to be a throwback to 1950’s American suburbia, complete with a low-slung lime-green couch and two matching chairs, each with thin, highly-lacquered wood arms. There was also a shiny-top coffee table curved like a leaf, and stone block walls where a narrow teakwood credenza was placed. All that was missing was the RCA box TV with its 21-inch black-and-white screen.
The far end of the room opened to the kitchen, which was even more of a shock. The counters were made of individual two-inch-square pale yellow tiles, and edged with mirror-reflective metal bands. The appliances were a classic General Electric stove and oven, and a smallish refrigerator with bands of red-painted metal. There was even a figurine sitting on the counter of a pot-bellied Italian chef holding a wooden stirring spoon.
Ritchie Cunningham would have felt right at home here.
Adam opened the refrigerator; it was empty.
“What do you think?” asked Robert McCarthy from behind his guests.
“Are you trapped in a time-warp of some kind?” Sherri asked, not trying to hide her disgust for their host’s taste in interior decorating.
“Not a time-warp, but a celebration of a different time back on distant Earth.”
“And how would you know, you’ve never been there?” It was Adam’s turn to wrinkle his nose at the obviously-staged room.
“Yes, but I have studied it extensively. At the time this was popular, your America was going through a period of forward thinking, trying out new designs and ways of doing things. Don’t you like it?”
“It’s the gaudiest damn thing I’ve ever seen,” Sherri stated with certainty.
Robert was hurt. “It took me considerable time and effort to collect all this history. I find it grounding in a way. I may not be an Earth-Human, but these are things created by my ancestors at a time before they knew the outside universe existed—or at least knew it for sure. Too often we get lost in all the strange—all the alienness—around us.”
“You are a strange one, Robert McCarthy,” Adam announced.
The smile ran away from Robert’s face. “I would appreciate it if you would not refer to me by that name.”
“Why not? He was your father.”
Robert motioned for them to join him in the living room. A moment later, a V’casin native—looking even more alien within the odd setting—came in with a tray of light intoxicants, placing the glasses on coasters on the arm rests of the uncomfortable chairs. The cushions were hard and the backs too straight. Adam wondered how this style of furniture ever became popular in the first place….
“Let me explain more about the relationship between me and my late father,” the man began in earnest. “Nigel McCarthy was the senior Human within the Klin system. He was in charge of not only the abductees—the two of you included—but also the budding Second Generation population. You remember at the time, the Klin were breeding an army of 2G Humans to go up against the Juireans. As such, females were commanded to engage in acts of procreation on a continual basis. To refuse could lead to extermination. As a fervent supporter of the Klin plan, my dear old dad did his part for the cause, fathering well over one hundred fifty offspring. To say he took advantage of his position would be an understatement. That is why the fact that I am his son has little meaning. He had lots of sons.”
The man took a
sip of his drink before the smile returned to his face. “Yet I was one of his first. In the early days, Nigel still believed the Klin were going to honor their promise to award Earth to him as payment for his assistance. To that end, he took some of his first-born sons and began training us to be a sort of bodyguard regiment—a group of men who would have blood-loyalty to him when the time came. Or at least that’s what he thought. He believed most Humans wouldn’t take too kindly to having a new King forced upon them. On that account, he was probably right. Anyway, we were given advanced training regarding Earth and her history, and taught to be more Human than the other 2Gs, including lessons in military tactics and strategy. Then when my father learned of the impending betrayal by the Klin in favor of their true allies, the Kracori, everything fell apart. This, I might add, was about the time he met you, Captain Cain. My brothers and I were tossed aside by loveable daddy-dearest and left to our own means. It saddens me to report, but I am the last of my lineage existing within Klin society.”
“Why you? How did you survive so long?” Sherri asked.
“Good question, my dear.” Robert took a moment to openly look Sherri up and down before continuing. “It all came down to imagination.”
“What do you mean?” Adam asked.
“Imagination,” Robert repeated. “I have it, the Klin don’t.”
He drained his drink and slapped the glass down on the coffee table. Then he leaned back on the couch and crossed his legs. “Have you ever wondered why the illustrious Klin, masters of technological advancement throughout the galaxy, were never able to achieve their goal of dominance over less-advanced species? I spent a lot of time thinking about this before finding the answer. They lack imagination. Sure, show them that something is possible and damn, they’re on it like stink of shit, white on rice—how I love the way you speak! Can you imagine what a bore it’s been to spend all these years with the monotone-speaking Klin. It’s enough to drive a person crazy—”
