by T. R. Harris
“But General, we … we can’t—”
“Do it, damn it! Do it now!”
Angar sat back down in the pilot’s seat and cranked the stick over. The star field changed ahead of them, but they were so far out that the Klin ship was not yet visible. Riyad stood weakly behind the pilot seat, overflowing with anger. He was so close! The Juirean had been in the process of telling him where his home was located. He had half the coordinates: Ecliptic minus 4, sector 21. Another second and he would have had it all.
********
The link to the Fleet Commander was established and Giodol watched his screen as Oplim and the Deslor crowed together so they could be seen by the Fleet Commander. “Are you injured, My Lord?” Giodol asked, seeing the bloodied and battered Overlord. This was unheard of. No one in his memory had ever even struck a Juirean, let alone injured one as badly as his Overlord.
“Listen to me, this is important.” the Overlord said. “The Klin exist!”
The Commander’s mouth fell open as his eyes grew wide. “Are you sure?” He was so shocked by the statement that he abandoned all decorum with his superior.
“Yes Commander, it has been confirmed. They have a secret base in the area. But that is not our biggest threat.”
“What … what could be worse?”
“It is a race of beings called Humans. I will give you the coordinates to their home planet. Then Commander, you must assemble your fleet and—”
Giodol’s screen went completely blank, no static, no ghost images. He pressed the controls to regain the link, but nothing happened. After a few more tries, he called in a technician. Another few minutes went by while the terrified technician tried in vain to reestablish the connection. Finally, he had to tell the Commander that there was nothing wrong with his equipment.
There was simply nothing left to link to….
********
The blast first appeared as tiny, yet brilliant dot against the distant star field. Adam and his two alien companions watched in horror as the dot grew almost instantly to fill half the sky. They turned away to shield their eyes, before the view screen darkened to lessen the light intensity within the pilothouse.
A nuclear explosion in space is quite different than one within an atmosphere. The fire was not as intense from of the lack of oxygen to feed the flame, and there is no shockwave from the compressed air. But the radioactivity from the explosion created an almost perfect sphere of light, as the force expanded outward, equally in all directions. But what was most startling to Adam were the bolts of electric blue and yellow lightning that shot out from the point of origin. It reminded him of one of those static electricity globes he used to see at Spencer’s Gifts at the mall. The ribbons were beautiful and filled most of their view, traveling away on their own, while slowly losing intensity as the minutes passed.
Chapter 26
Riyad cradled his shattered right arm and fought the wave of nausea flowing through his body. He had no idea what just happened to the Klin ship. Had it been destroyed from the outside, maybe by the Klin themselves? Or was there a bomb aboard … a booby-trap of some kind? Either way, he was beyond anger, literally shaking from hatred for all things alien.
His vision had been so real – and he had been so close. Riyad Tarazi, ruler of the planet Earth! And now his vision had evaporated in an instant, along with the computer core and the Klin ship, all in a fireball of splitting atoms and radioactive debris.
Through the viewport, he watched as the last of remnants of the explosion dissipated into the nothingness of space above Melfora Lum – sparking ribbons of blue and yellow radiation. And then there was nothing, just the myriad of steady lights dotting the blackness of space.
But that’s not exactly true, Riyad thought, as a glimmer of an idea swelled up from his gut. I know that the Klin exist, and they not only know the location of Earth, but I sincerely believe they’re building an army of Humans, probably somewhere right here in The Fringe.
With a new-found determination borne of hatred – as well as his lust for power – Riyad swore then and there that he now had a new purpose in life. He would round up the scattered remains of his pirate fleet, and then spend every waking hour, every ounce of his being, on the singular quest of finding the Klin hideout and their Human army.
Riyad Tarazi would make his vision come true. He knew now that it was possible. He would find the Klin, and he would return to Earth. And from that moment on his homeworld would never be the same….
********
On the other side of Melfora Lum, Adam stood at the viewport of the FS-475, watching as the last remnants of the nuclear blast evaporated into ribbons of sparking blue and yellow electricity. He couldn’t believe it. He had been so close to finding his way home – and now nothing.
In reality, he didn’t care what happened to the Klin – or to anything else for that matter – in this nightmare universe he now occupied. All he’d ever wanted to do was get back home.
And now what was he to do….
Kaylor and Jym stood behind him, not knowing what to say. Adam finally spoke without turning, “Well, my friends, I guess I’m really stuck here now. There will be no joyous homecoming for Adam Cain in the foreseeable future.” He turned to face the two aliens. “But it looks like the two of you are off the hook for now. The Juirean did say no one else knew about the ship and the Klin other than a small handful of people. Now most of them are gone – all except us.”
There was an awkward moment of silence before Kaylor asked: “What will you do now, Adam Cain?”
Adam just shook his head. “Good question. If I’m going to be here for a while, then I guess the first thing I need to do is find a way to make a living. The two of you can’t keep carrying me forever.”
Kaylor nodded vigorously, much to Adam’s surprise. “What were you trained to do on your planet … on Earth?”
Adam thought for a moment. He knew the long answer, but the time didn’t seem appropriate to go into detail. Finally, he simply said, “I was a trained killer.”
Both Kaylor and Jym recoiled slightly from the answer. They had held their suspicions and now it had been confirmed.
Seeing the disgust on the faces of the aliens, Adam explained further, “I was in the military … a warrior I guess you could say.”
This seemed to appease the aliens, but then Jym blurted out, “Maybe you can go to work for the gangs – as an assassin!”
Kaylor jabbed him in the ribs, shooting him a stern look.
But Adam wasn’t offended. In fact, he gave them both a sly smile and said, “So … I could kill aliens for a living? I like that idea. That’s something I could get used to!”
The End
of
The Fringe Worlds
Book One of
The Human Chronicles Saga
Next up in
The Human Chronicles Saga:
Alien Assassin
NOW available on Amazon.com
In the exciting continuation of The Human Chronicles Saga, ex-Navy SEAL Adam Cain finds himself attempting to make a living the best he can in the alien universe he's been dropped into – as an assassin! After all, with his kick-ass attitude and instinctive hatred for aliens, he's a natural at it.
As a Human among aliens, he's stronger, faster and tougher than just about everyone – and everything – he encounters. In this reality – Adam is the Superman.
Alien Assassin is a whirl-wind adventure of incredible space battles, shoot-outs with galactic criminals, and even a love interest that is ... well, a little different. And as all this is going on, the political forces of revenge and 4,000-year-old grudges converge on The Fringe Worlds. But even as galactic forces close in on Adam and his gang, there's one message that all the aliens begin to grasp: Don't mess with the HUMANS!
Don’t wait. Pick up your copy of
Alien Assassin
today.
And let the adventure continue…
Please see this exciting ex
cerpt from Alien Assassin,
Book Two of The Human Chronicles Saga….
Adam Cain is an alien with an attitude.
His story continues…
Chapter 1
Adam Cain had an alien to kill…
… Yet before setting out on the mission, his professional training dictated that he take inventory of his equipment and run a weapon’s check….
Adam was in a pressurized hotel room in the Hildorian city of Jaxas, and spread out on the bed before him was a full array of energy weapons and other tactical gear. Although the tactics and strategies he’d learned during his formal U.S. Navy SEAL training had very little carryover into his present occupation, the habits developed during those years were hard to break. So with methodical precision, Adam went down the mental checklist and triple-checked his weapons.
His formidable weapons cache ranged from the standard MK-17 and XF Flash Rifle, all the way up to his prized MK-47 High Energy Bolt Launcher. The ’47 had cost him nearly an entire contract fee, but it had been well worth it. Being the top-of-the-line for handguns, the weapon boasted a standard level-one charge of twenty bolts, and its targeting computer carried the fastest rating in its class.
Personally, Adam never used the targeting assist, but just carrying the weapon often gave those who sought to challenge him second thoughts.
Honestly, Adam didn’t really care if they challenged him or not. He would kill anything that walked, slithered or crawled in this god-forsaken galaxy. In fact, Adam often referred to himself as The Exterminator, and every time he did a hit, he felt about as much remorse as The Orkin Man did when he wiped out a colony of termites back home.
Adam lifted the ’47, feeling its weight and the comfort of the grip in his hand. All his pistol grips were customized, as was the stock on his Xan-Fi Flash Rifle. With over 8,000 species in the Juirean Expansion, weapons manufacturers had to provide an extensive selection of grips and stocks to fit the variety of hands, tentacles and even robotic nerve attachments of their customers. Luckily for Adam, Human-style hands were quite common. Even still, he chose to have his stocks and grips molded to fit his hands exactly, providing even more control and confidence than was probably necessary. But Adam Cain was a professional, and nothing but the best would do.
For the past three days, Adam had donned the uncomfortable pressure suit and breathing attachment, and scouted the mark. His name was Kunnlar Bundnet, a high-level gang leader who had offended an even higher-level crime boss – and now had to pay the price. As it was back on Earth, most gang hits were within and between the gangs themselves. Adam didn’t really care. As long as they paid, he would kill. After all, it was the only thing he was really good at.
Satisfied that all was in order, Adam gathered up the tools of his trade and placed them in one of the backpacks on the bed, while reserving the ’47 for this oiled leather holster. He then strapped the clear plastic breathing cup over his nose, and scooped up the other knapsack from the bed. Lastly, Adam placed the camouflage boonie hat atop his head – the trademark of his SEAL persona – and cinched up the cord under his chin.
It was game time.
********
Bundnet lived in a fortified compound on a hill about 30 klicks outside of town. Adam drove the rented transport to within a kilometer of the house, and after applying streaks of dark green grease to his face, he slung the flash rifle across his back and secured four slide grenades to the MK’s utility belt. And then with the small knapsack secured across his left shoulder, he set off for the compound, covering the remaining distance in about a minute, through a combination of jogs and long leaps in the weak gravity.
In fact, gravity was an integral part of his attack plan. Rated at just .69 of standard, Adam estimated the surface gravity of Hildoria to be a little over half that of Earth’s. That was one of the reasons the atmosphere was so thin and the air pressure too low for him to function without the light pressure suit. It also produced natives who were all well-over two meters tall with huge, barrel chests. Apparently it required large lungs to inhale enough of the thin oxygen to survive….
The singular yellow sun had set by the time Adam reached the compound, and a deep darkness descended on the landscape of thick woods and bristled bushes, yet the compound itself stood out like a beacon. It was illuminated by numerous floodlights, and with at least a dozen heavily-armed guards patrolling both sides of the surrounding wall. The place was hard to miss.
His sources had informed him that Bundnet may have been forewarned of the impending hit. This didn’t concern Adam too much – it simply came down to whether or not this would be a surgical strike or an all-out scorched-earth campaign. To The Exterminator, either way would get him paid.
Crouching in a clump of bushes at the tree line, Adam watched as the first set of guards covered their route, flash rifles of their own held casually at their sides. Once they passed, he dashed off toward the wall, to a point he had selected earlier as his best point of entry.
Leaning against the warm stone surface, Adam estimated the height of the wall to be about five or six meters. Now comes the fun part, he thought with a smile. And then in a move that would have made any NBA center green with envy, he jumped straight up, enjoying the momentary sensation of flying, and easily reached the top of the wall with his outstretched arms. Then with a quick, fluid motion, he swung himself over the top and descended – essentially in slow motion – to the ground below.
Immediately, alarms began to blare, as motion sensors along the wall were tripped. Adam scrambled to a dark patch of trees and vegetation and lay on the cool, moist ground, watching as more guards rushed toward the clearing between the wall and the house. Each held flash rifles, and their large size and bulging chests produced a menacing, ominous scene.
Removing the small knapsack from his shoulder, Adam quickly released the binding cord and opened the pouch. With angry growls, two furry creatures –looking like large squirrels with spiked tails – shot out of the bag and ran off into the clearing. The guards spotted the animals almost immediately, and began chasing after them in a vain attempt to corral the elusive creatures.
As planned, Adam watched as one of the guards placed a communicator to his mouth, and a few moments later the alarms were silenced. The obedient rodents continued their flight to freedom across the field and away from Adam’s position, with the guards following closely behind.
Soon Adam saw his opportunity, and in a low crouch, took off for the house. Without breaking stride, he vaulted to the top of a small pagoda-type structure, and then onto the roof of the main building. He fell in behind a towering chimney stack, and waited to see if anyone had spotted his movement. Satisfied that he was unseen, he proceeded along the roof, until he came to a large skylight made up of numerous individual glass panels. A dim light filtered up from a single source in the room below.
Adam peered over the edge of the skylight and saw a large bedroom below; an expansive bed to one side, a set of dresser drawers against one wall and a wooden writing desk against another. And seated at the desk was Kunnlar Bundnet, leaning forward slightly, his arms on the desk.
Anticipating that the skylight frame would be wired for security, Adam removed a roll of tape from his bag, and quickly and quietly covered one of the glass panes with a large ‘X,’ leaving a rise of tape at the center. Next he took out a pen-laser, a special one with a muted tip, and began to silently cut through the glass along its edge. Then holding the rise of tape at the center, Adam lifted the glass away from the skylight frame and set it to one side.
Next he stood and withdrew his MK-47, and with a deep breath, stepped through the skylight opening to begin a slow-motion drop into the room below.
********
Landing with a muffled sound, Adam crouched on one knee, pointing his weapon at Bundnet’s back, fully expecting the crime lord to spin around in his chair toward the sound. But no movement came.
Cautiously, he moved closer to Bundnet, weapon at his cheek, s
ighting along the barrel. Still no movement. He slid up to the side of the desk, and leaned forward to look into Bundnet’s face.
The large, beady alien eyes were wide open, with a look of sheer terror frozen in them. And across his neck was a smooth razor cut, filled with dark, coagulated blood that had soaked into the front of his gold and green shirt.
But what surprised Adam the most – this was not Bundnet!
Adam sensed another presence in the room—
He dove to his left, just as a bolt of electric-blue energy slammed into the desk, sending splinters of wood trailing after him. Rolling on his shoulder, Adam came up on one knee, just as a large, boxy figure appeared out of the shadows near the bedroom door. He leveled the MK-47 and fired. Instantly, a shimmering wave of blue light enveloped the figure, and then quickly dissipated. A diffusion screen! His sidearm would be unable to penetrate the shield; he would need something larger – like the flash rifle he carried across his back.
Yet before Adam could un-sling the rifle, the large figure lumbered further into the room, and stopped. It made no further threatening moves, so Adam slowly stood to face his attacker.
It was Kunnlar Bundnet, very much alive, and encased in an exosuit. He had an MK-17 leveled at Adam – and he was smiling.
Hildorians often wore exosuits when off-planet, to help compensate for the heavier gravity they encountered on nearly every other world in The Fringe. The suits were mechanical transports, attached to the limbs of the wearer, providing added strength and support for their brittle-boned bodies. They also carried their own power supply, to which Bundnet had apparently linked a diffusion screen. Diffusion screens were very basic shields against smaller bolt launchers, yet because they often required an external power source, they were impractical for personal protection – unless you were wearing an exosuit.
