by T. R. Harris
Everything except that Adam and Panur were not onboard. They were on another starship and bound for…where? She wasn’t sure, but she could think of about half-a-dozen possibilities—and none of them good.
16
The small co-joined pair of space rocks twirled around each other, in a delicate dance of gravity and momentum. For a billion years they’d orbited the huge galaxy known to some as the Milky Way, beyond the outer rim, yet still under the influence of the supermassive blackhole that dominated the galaxy’s core. But that was about to change.
If the tiny pair of iron and nickel asteroids had awareness, they would have sensed something was wrong. One moment they were traveling as they had always traveled, along their pre-determined path through intergalactic space; the next they were in a cluster of unknown stars located on the outer fringe of an even larger galaxy known as Andromeda. The rocks would live on for another three thousand years before being absorbed into a nameless star, unimaginably far from the place of their creation.
At the other end of the transit line, at the point where the orbiting chunks of stellar debris had once journeyed, there now appeared a small fleet of twenty starships. They were identical in size and design—elongated with silver hulls. The fleet hesitated only a moment to regain orientation, before lighting off their generators and entering deep gravity-wells, heading for the rim of the galaxy…a place known to the beings aboard the ships as the Kac.
The supreme commander of the tiny fleet had to be careful. His name was Kontin Lemoon (981), and he was a Lead Third Cadre officer of the Molin blood team. As his small force of Nuorean players entered the space outside the Kac, they were on high alert. There were so many questions to be answered, not the least of which was what had happened to their fellow players left stranded in this alien galaxy? It had been nearly two full cycles since contact had been broken between the galaxies. Kontin admitted that wasn’t a lot of time to pass, yet when LP-6 was destroyed, the Nuoreans were under incredible assault by the forces of the Kac. Learning the fate of his fellow players was one of Kontin’s mission objectives. But it wasn’t his primary directive.
With the fleet still forty light-years from the nearest Kac star, Kontin sent out a coded alert beacon, using a wide-band wormhole broadcast. It was set to the emergency frequency of the Nuorean forces, and should have been the first time it was used in the Kac. As such, there was a good chance the enemy wouldn’t be monitoring the signal.
Now all Kontin had to do was wait…at least for a while.
Master-Player Qintis Bondo (435) still had two huge battle-carriers under his command. The rest of the fleet consisted of eight hundred smaller vessels, now all crammed with the seven hundred twenty thousand players remaining in the Kac. Conditions were horrific, as food stock constantly ran low from demand that overwhelmed the capacity of the processors. And there was the question of sleeping accommodations, as well as sanitary considerations….and so much more.
Occasionally Qintis would send elements of his fleet into passing star systems to gather supplies, often at the point of energy weapons. It was the best he could do in light of the situation dominating the Kac at the time. With the alien Klin attacking random worlds with impunity—and the Nuorean’s appropriated planets lying directly in their path—Qintis had to evacuate the land facilities for the more mobile starships. This way they could not only avoid the deadly Klin, be also stay ahead of the other forces in the Kac opposed to them.
In all honesty, the forces fighting the Klin had more important considerations on their minds than the defeat of a relatively few Nuoreans still remaining in their galaxy. From all the reports passing through interstellar comm broadcasts, the Kac was facing the inevitable fate of being overrun by the silver-skinned aliens. Qintis had barely heard of the race when researching the Kac and the players they were to face once the invasion began. Indeed, from what he learned, the Klin would be no match for the Nuoreans in the arena. They did not participate in physical challenges of superiority and skill. Instead, they relied on technology to overcome their enemies, which to the Nuoreans was a disgrace and an insult, displaying the Klin’s weakness to all. Yet it was effective. The Kac galaxy was being relentlessly absorbed by the Klin machines, and apparently no one could figure a way to stop them.
And the Klin showed no favoritism or preference with their conquests. They would attack any target, be it a direct threat or not. That included the Nuoreans. Qintis had already lost a hundred ships in a futile attempt to confront one of the Klin’s massive laser ships. He could not afford to lose any more. He had a population to protect, and only by constantly moving could he assure their survival.
Yonin Cavins (984) was Qintis’ second-in-command. He was well-known to the Master-Player; the pair had even met in the arena cycles ago—a match won by Qintis, by the way. Qintis knew every subtle change in the Lead-Player’s countenance and manners. So when Yonin rushed into his chambers, red of face and panting, Qintis took note.
“What has happened?” he asked.
“A beacon…an emergency beacon, Master-Player,” Yonin reported breathlessly.
“Sent from Nuor?”
“Sent from the outer fringe of the Kac.”
“Has it been sourced?”
“As we speak. It appears to be legitimate.”
Qintis maintained his control composure. Subordinates may hyperventilate, but not Master-Players. Even so, this was momentous. It had been decided part-cycles ago that the midpoint gravity generators had been destroyed, moments after debris from Nuor rushed through to the Kac. The generators were massive constructs, taking decades to build. So how could units from the Suponac have arrived so soon? Unless the damage was not as significant as first believed....
“I will accompany you to the comm center. We must authenticate this beacon without delay. My friend Yonin, we may be going home much sooner than even our most optimistic…wishes.”
When the beacon was verified and a wormhole link established, Qintis was overjoyed to see the face of an unknown Third Cadre lead-player looking back at him. Qintis knew all the upper echelon members of the Third Cadre. The fact that he did not recognize this player only added credence to the belief that Nuor had been destroyed. The Third Cadre was—had been—based on the planet.
“I am Kontin Lemoon (918),” the three-striper in the black uniform announced. “I am pleased to see that Master-Player Qintis Bondo (435) has survived his stay in the Kac. What of your force?”
Qintis was nervous with excitement. A link had been reestablished with his native galaxy. It was time to take his people home—at least back to their home galaxy—after which a debate would be entered into whether or not to reenter the Kac for competitive challenges. With the introduction of the Klin war machines, Qintis would recommend against returning to the Kac. His people had suffered far too much for too little gain.
“I retain over seven hundred thousand players in a fleet of eight hundred ships. We are embarked on our vessels.”
“Have you not sought out land bases and set up arenas?”
“We did, but now there is a new force in the Kac that threatens not only us, but the entire galaxy.” He went on to briefly describe the Klin and their current campaign.
“But please, Kontin, explain to me how you were able to regain the link between galaxies?” Qintis asked. “Was the damage to LP-6 less extensive than first suspected? We are hungry for information.”
“No, the damage was complete,” said Kontin. “Yet as a temporary measure, the generators from LP-1 through LP-3 were transported to the LP-5 transit point and then sent to the midpoint. They have been linked together to form a crude replacement for LP-6.”
“That is remarkable. The fix may be crude, yet it obviously works.”
“It requires a full twenty-two of charging as compared to only three days with the original generators. It is also precarious in nature, to be used only for transits of top priority.”
Qintis continued displaying his wide grin.
“It will take us that time and more to move to the outer rim of the Kac. Please relay the coordinates and I will make haste to join you. We are anxious to go home.”
The Third Cadre Kontin nodded slightly. “That is understandable, yet my mission priorities are different from yours.”
Qintis continued to smile. Even though he heard the words, they did not register immediately. “I…please repeat. Your mission is not a rescue?”
“That is correct. In fact, the rescue of your forces places third among my priorities.”
“What could be more important?” Qintis barked. Technically, he was of a superior rank than the Third Cadre officer. Until now he had deferred to the junior player, just relieved that he was on the link. Now Qintis was ready to exert his authority. “The rescue of seven hundred thousand Nuoreans takes priority over any orders you may have, Kontin.”
“I am sorry, Master-Player, but it doesn’t.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I am here to kill Adam Cain.”
17
It took little effort for the Defiant to catch up to the ore freighter carrying Adam and Panur. The problem came when the freighter was joined by a dozen other craft—including three Expansion warships—that formed a screen around the transport. Riyad didn’t get the impression they did this to protect the freighter from them, per se. It was just that the cargo was so valuable that precautions were being made to protect the prize. Once the makeshift fleet reached the outer system, it entered deep gravity-wells. The Defiant followed.
“Where the hell are they going?” Sherri asked.
“On their current course, they appear to be heading for Formil,” Jym announced.
“They’ve gone through lot of effort to catch a starship thief,” said Riyad, referring to Adam and his absconding with the Defiant from an Earth-based research facility. “And Panur isn’t wanted for anything, except maybe being a pain in the ass.”
Sherri turned to Lila at the comm station. “Any idea what’s going on? The people back on Siron seemed to know what they were doing.”
“I have been monitoring intergalactic CW broadcasts and I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
Riyad could read between the lines. Bad news for an immortal mutant genius often referred to its impact on others, not her.
“Lay it on us,” he said. “We pretty much exist on a series of bad news announcements.”
“The Klin have made an offer of peace to the galaxy…in exchange for our capture and subsequent possession by the Klin.”
There was silence in the pilothouse, as each person worked the startling information around in their heads. Riyad broke the silence.
“Well, that…is bad news for sure, at least for us.”
“That also includes you and Panur?” Sherri asked.
“Yes.”
Copernicus snorted. “How do they expect to catch you and Panur? I’d like to see them try.”
“Panur has already been captured,” Lila stated the obvious.
Copernicus raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, but that was just a freak thing. Normally it wouldn’t have been so easy.”
“With the announcement seeking our capture, the authorities on Formil also broadcast instructions on how to subdue Panur and me.”
“The old freeze-them-with-liquid-nitrogen trick?” Riyad said.
Lila nodded.
“So much for having allies….” Sherri said.
Riyad nodded. “Not to diminish our importance in this whole affair, but I think getting Adam and Panur is something like eighty-percent of the game right there. Of course, Lila isn’t very well-liked in the corridors of power, either, but the Klin may not care about that.”
“We have to rescue them!” Kaylor called out.
“That would be nice,” Riyad said, shaking his head. “However, the rest of the galaxy might get a little pissed if we did. They want peace, and I’m sure to everyone else, this is considered a reasonable tradeoff.”
“There is also news that the Klin are sending VN-91s to all the Core worlds to act as security until we are captured,” said Lila. “The Advisory Council has agreed to safe passage for the ships. They are assuring the population that there will be no danger.”
Copernicus slumped back in his chair. “Oh, really? So if we aren’t caught and turned over to the Klin, the bastards will be in a position to wipe out something like ten of the most-powerful civilizations in the galaxy with the press of a button. Hell, they may do that even if we are caught.”
“The Council had no choice,” Arieel stated. “The survival of the galaxy is at stake.”
Riyad looked at her and frowned. “You aren’t suggesting we surrender…for the common good?”
“It is one possibility.”
“If you trust the fucking Klin!” Copernicus shouted. “This is just another form of blackmail and bullshit. Even if we turn ourselves over to the Klin, they could simply declare themselves the masters of the universe and there would be nothing anyone could do about it.”
“I see your point, Copernicus,’ said Arieel. “But what are we to do? There is obviously a major effort being launched to catch all of us. Adam and Panur have already been caught. Although Lila is still with us, we have lost a significant portion of our team, including a likely means to defeat the Klin.”
“That’s the only thing that can save us—and the galaxy,” Riyad began. “We have to find a way to defeat them.”
“Which is an argument for rescuing Panur and Adam. We need them to find a solution,” Kaylor said.
Riyad stood up. “Listen, the people back on Formil are not going to kill Panur—or whatever they can do to him—before he’s turned over to the Klin. They won’t risk losing their best chance at peace. And according to Lila, Panur and Adam are going to eventually recover from the operation they underwent, probably while they’re being shipped to Formil. We need to make contact with them using our ATDs. We need to know how they’re doing.”
“We’re too far out for our ATDs to work,” Sherri pointed out. She looked at Lila. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
“I can make contact at a much farther distance, but at this point, it is even too far for me.”
“Then we have to get closer,” Kaylor declared.
Riyad nodded. “That’s easier said than done. We could hop in using the TD drive, but then the caravan will know we’re following them. Lila, how close do we have to be for you to make contact?”
“Possibly three light-years. It will also depend on if Adam has recovered enough to respond.”
“We are nearly at that distance now,” Jym reported. “We could go in cautiously.”
Riyad smiled at him. “What other way is there to go?”
“We could go in the Human way, which could never be associated with caution,” replied the tiny alien, seriously.
“Yeah, but it is a lot more exciting.”
18
Adam was the first to awake, which wasn’t saying much. He felt like shit, with his energy drained and a pounding headache. He scratched the back of his head and was surprised when he scraped across a small nub at the base of his skull. He couldn’t imagine what it was, but it hurt when he touched it. His hair was also gone from around the nub. He rolled on his side and felt the painful area with his fingers.
Eyesight returned a moment later, as a thick film was blinked away. There was a wall facing him, made of either plastic or glass. And on the opposite side of the small room was a cot. A short gray creature rested on it, also on his side, eyes closed, and dressed in what looked like a silk business suit.
Panur! The word flashed in Adam’s mind, although he was confused what significance it had. A name? If so, it was a strange name. But then so was the hairless, almost featureless alien on the cot. Alien? Adam knew it to be an alien, since aliens were…common.
How could that be? Should he not be more startled by the revelation? But he wasn’t.
Beyond the transparent walls of his square cage, Adam saw rus
ted bulkheads, like those found in the cargo hold of a ship. Then something moved in the shadows; it was another…person—an alien with scales and jagged bone plates for hair. It was staring at him while cradling a Xan-fi Model Nine flash rifle in his lap.
How did he know what type of weapon it was? And for that matter, what was a flash rifle? He was confused, and the more he fought for understanding, the more his head hurt.
He sat up on the cot and looked at the sleeping gray alien. The two of them were the only ones in the glass cell, which put them on the same team, as far as Adam could tell. He stood up on wobbly legs and walked over to the other cot.
He studied the alien, not seeing any evidence of breathing. Was he dead? Adam reached out a hand and pushed on the body. It was warm to the touch, unusually so. He pushed again. Still no response. Perhaps he was dead. He reached out again.
“Stop it!” the gray alien growled in a whisper without opening his eyes.
“You’re alive!” Adam announced, his voice echoing off the walls of the cell.
“Like, duh,” said the alien. He opened an eye and looked at Adam. Then with pursed lips, he reluctantly sat up on the cot and glared at his Human cellmate.
“I was pretending to be asleep,” he barked. “Now our guards know we’re both awake and will alert those in charge. I was still working on a way out. Now they’ll start watching us closer.”
“You’re called Panur, right?”
The alien narrowed his eyes, locking his with Adam’s. “You don’t know?”
“I think I do. You’re an…alien, right?”
Panur leaned back, placing his back against the glass wall. “You really took a hit from the procedure, didn’t you? Hopefully it’s only temporary. You don’t remember Lila and the little operation the three of us shared recently?”
“Lila! Yes, I remember her. She’s my daughter.” The words came out as a statement, but to Adam they were more of a question. His daughter’s name was Cassie, not Lila, yet a part of him could confirm Lila was, too. “What the hell’s going on? Where are we?”
