The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three)

by T. R. Harris

  Riyad brought her up to speed. “So what’s the plan, Stan?” she asked with a mischievous smile. Adam figured she was still on an endorphin-high, and slightly giddy. Her mood did not match the reality that Juirean spacecraft were closing in on them.

  “First of all, we have to assess the risk. I know I saw two blips, but there may be more.”

  “It could be the entire Juirean invasion force!” Jym said from his seat at the nav computer.

  “If that was the case, I don’t think they’d be playing cat-and-mouse with us,” Adam responded. He watched the faces of the two aliens as they completely lost the reference to ‘cat and mouse.’ He just shook his head. He didn’t have time to explain.

  “No matter how many there are, we’re going to have to deal with them. They can’t be allowed to follow us all the way to Earth. Besides, I don’t think that’s their plan. I’d rather confront with them on our terms, not theirs. So here’s what we’re going to do.”

  He huddled everybody around Kaylor’s station. “Kaylor, I need you to stack the diffusion screens to the rear of the ship. Leave our forward sections uncovered if necessary.”

  “That’s risky,” Jym chimed in.

  “But necessary. I need the Juireans to fire on us—”

  “What? Are you crazy?” Kaylor said, looking up at the smiling Human.

  “Relax. It will be fine.” Adam put his hand on Kaylor’s shoulder. “I need you to slow down quite a bit, and quickly. We need to see how many ships are following us – and we need to let them know we see them. As soon as they start closing on us, then speed up again. Get them coming after us as fast as they can.”

  “You’re losing me some regarding your ultimate plan,” Riyad said with a frown. “I’m usually a step or two ahead of you by now.” He flashed Adam a devious smile.

  “Here’s how it’s going to go down. As soon as the Juireans fire on us, Kaylor takes two of the generators off-line. They’ll think we’re hit. Then as the Juireans rush in toward us, we initiate a strong back-well, and let them shoot right on by. I saw Tom Cruise do this in Top Gun.” Adam’s smile belayed the nerves building up in his gut.

  He turned to Chris. “As they shoot past us, I need your guys to lay down a wide pattern of bolts. Hopefully, we’ll hit something. Then once we’re behind them, we shoot up their asses while they’re trying to regroup.”

  No one spoke for a moment, until Sherri said, “I feel the need…”

  And then all the Humans on the bridge sang out in chorus… “The need – for speed!”

  To which the two aliens simply let their jaws drop open, looks of utter confusion plastered on their faces.

  Chris relayed the plan to his gunner crews, to which many simply swallowed hard and turned back to their controls. This was going to get interesting.

  And then Kaylor jerked back on the stick. Almost instantly, five strong contacts appeared at the edge of the view screen. Adam had Kaylor hold there for a moment, as they watched the Juireans react to their move. At first they slowed down, but as soon as they realized they had been spotted, the Juireans intensified their wells, and shot out after them.

  Then Kaylor deepened his own well, and the chase was on!

  “Oh, no!” Jym yelled from his station. All eyes whipped around to him.

  “Two more contacts – straight ahead!”

  Kaylor buried his head in his computer. “They have a different signature.” He looked up at Adam, his eyes wide. “They’re Klin.”

  “Have the Juireans spotted them yet?”

  Kaylor looked back at this screen. “No. They’re still out of their sensor range.”

  Adam thought for just a brief moment. This may actually help. “Keep going,” he ordered.

  Just then, two of the pursuing Juireans let loose with a barrage of bolts, two each. “Hold steady, Kaylor, do not take evasive action.”

  “They’re going to hit us!”

  “That’s the plan. Steady!”

  The bolts closed on them, and soon the ship rumbled from their impact on the rear diffusion screens. The first two layers ruptured, as three of the bolts struck aft. But the others held.

  “Now! Take two of the generators off-line.”

  Kaylor obeyed, and the ship began to slow noticeably, allowing the distance between the Juireans and themselves to close rapidly. As the Juireans drew closer, everyone on the bridge waited for the next round of bolts to lash out. But none came forth.

  “They think they’ve got us,” Chris commented, more to himself than to the others.

  Adam leaned down next to Kaylor’s ear, and very calmly said, “Okay, dissolve the forward well, and engage the strongest back-well you can manage. Do it…now.”

  The entire ship began to vibrate, as the internal gravity wells fought against the sudden shift in inertia. The ship didn’t actually reverse course, but rather it slowed at an incredible rate. As planned, the five Juirean ships shot past them at incredible speed, with their own ship slipping very close to two of the Juireans in the process.

  Two strong jerks were felt throughout the battlecruiser, as the gunners let loose a barrage of 10 bolts on each side of the ship, the maximum that could be fired broadside at a time. All the people on the bridge looked up at the larger tac screen on the forward bulkhead, just as the graphic showed where four of the bolts had struck home.

  They all let out a cheer as they saw one of the ships suddenly drop out of the pattern and drift off to the right. The other ship that had been hit continued on with its companions, although the strength of its well could be seen dropping off rapidly.

  They were now behind the Juireans, and Chris shouted into a comm link, “Fire at will!”

  The ship began to rock as more bolts shot out from the great battleship’s myriad of gun turrets. These first bolts were absorbed by the Juirean screens, but the secret to ship-to-ship combat came with repeated hits in the same location. The bolts continued to trail off from Adam’s ship.

  On the screen, the Juireans could be seen making wide arcing turns to double back and engage Adam’s battleship. But just as they were in their turns, their own screens began to detect the two Klin ships ahead of them. Confused, the four remaining Juirean ships hesitated in their turns, and two of them returned to their original course, heading for the Klin.

  But before they knew it, the Klin were within their ranks, and strafing the Juireans with bolts of intense energy. Adam watched the dance on the tac screen, thankful for any help he could get – when suddenly the entire tac screen washed out.

  “What happened?” Chris asked.

  “Nukes!” Jym yelled. “Both the Klin ships have exploded! Nuclear explosions – very intense! Impact approaching!”

  Adam’s heart leapt into his throat. Then as the polarizing filter kicked in, the tac screen cleared up. Filling the entire screen was the blue and yellow wave of an approaching nuclear explosion. It was only seconds away.

  Adam dove for Kaylor’s controls and shoved him out of the chair. Then grabbing the controls for the gravity wells, forward and aft, he cranked them both up to max. Instantly, the ship felt as if it was being torn in half, as an intense, rumbling vibration coursed throughout the ship. Next, he cranked up the internal wells as high as they would go. These were much smaller than the drive wells, but still the effect with immediate and dramatic.

  Everyone throughout the ship was thrown to the deck, pulled down by the increased gravity, and feeling as if an elephant had suddenly stepped on their entire body. Screams were forced out of collapsing lungs, and through his bloodshot eyes, Adam could see Kaylor and Jym lapse into unconsciousness on the floor beside him.

  And then the wave hit them. Through the affects of vertigo, it was as if the ship was tumbling over and over, as lights flickered and bulkheads strained. Darkness came upon the bridge, and even the battery backups fought to maintain their charge as the electronic magnetic pulse swept throughout the ship. The tumbling sensation and crushing gravity continued for what felt like
an eternity, and the cries from those on the bridge echoed off the metal bulkheads.

  And then the tumbling stopped, and the groaning of the metal bulkheads began to taper off.

  But still the incapacitating weight pressed down upon their bodies.

  Through the pain, Adam forced himself to crawl the meter or so to Kaylor’s now-empty pilot’s seat. He fought against the invisible force to lift an arm up to the seat, and then to pull himself up even more. With screams of his own forced out from his lungs, Adam’s hand reached the top of the control console, and found a gravity control. He cranked it down, and felt the ship suddenly surge to the rear. The wrong control! He felt again and found another. As he turned this one, he felt the weight begin to lift from his body. A split second later, he had the gravity for the bridge back to normal, and he felt the air return to lungs. He could at least breathe again.

  Even though his entire body cried out in pain, he lifted himself onto Kaylor’s seat and turned down the gravity in the other four sections of the ship, as well as dissolving the forward and aft wells.

  The ship was dead in space – but at least they were still alive.

  As the Humans began to slowly lift themselves up off the cold metal deck, groans of pain spilling involuntarily out of their mouths, Adam looked over to see Kaylor and Jym prone of the floor, blood flowing from both their ears and noses.

  He dove to the deck and lifted Kaylor’s head. He had no idea how to check for a pulse on an alien, so he rested the side of his head on Kaylor’s chest. To his delight, he heard a rapidly beating heart. He gently set Kaylor back down on the deck and repeated the maneuver with Jym. He, too, was alive.

  Adam leaned back against the base of the command console and looked at the rest of the people on the bridge. They appeared to be no worse for wear, just a lot of stiff movements and bloodshot eyes, yet he desperately hoped there would be no lasting damage to the two aliens. He was sure that another second or two of the crushing gravity, and they both would have died.

  “What the fuck just happened?” Sherri managed to feebly ask. She climbed into one of the command chairs lining the bridge and looked up at the image on the forward tac screen. All around them were the last dancing blue, white and green remnants of the electrical discharge from the nuclear explosions. They had been exceptionally large explosions in order to affect such a large region of space; not your normal Earth-size nukes, but alien ones developed over thousands of years of advanced technology.

  “Sherri, can you take a look at Kaylor and Jym?” Adam asked his voice raspy, his throat dry. “They’re alive, but I don’t know what condition they’re in.”

  Riyad stood leaning against the command console, looking down at Adam seated on the deck. “I guess I should thank you for saving our lives, but I don’t really feel like it right about now.”

  Chris was also climbing into one of the large Juirean-size command chairs. “What are you talking about? What just happened?”

  Riyad looked over at him with a wry smile. “Adam used the gravity wells to absorb most of the blast from the explosions. We’ll have to check the radiation levels, but I’m assuming we’re going to make it through okay.”

  Then looking back down at Adam, he said, “Well played, Adam. Well played.”

  “Just seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “What about the Juireans?” Sherri asked as she tended to the two aliens, who were just now beginning to regain consciousness. She had torn off a piece of her tunic and was dabbing the blood from Jym’s nose. Both aliens were blinking rapidly, spittle draining from their open mouths.

  “Are you two all right?” Adam asked. He watched as slowly the sound of his voice began to register with the aliens. Then Kaylor awkwardly bobbed his head. “I believe so. Are you sure that was the only thing you could have done to save us? We almost died.”

  “Like I said, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  Riyad had turned to the tac screen and was studying the graphics. “It looks like it’s just us and one of the Juireans left; the ship that was knocked out of the fight. Their energy readouts are almost non-existent. They probably took the full brunt of the radiation.”

  “Chris, can you take Sherri to check on the other men. Even though we survived the blast, some of them may have been hurt when they fell to the deck.”

  Jym and Kaylor were struggling to their feet, and were soon back in their seats, still looking dazed and stiff. Adam rose to stand next to Kaylor.

  “Can you check the radiation level inside the ship, and run a systems check? Are we still able to operate?”

  Kaylor busied himself at his computer. “Radiation levels are high, but within tolerances. Most systems are still functioning, but the EMP did damage some of them. These ships are usually hardened against such things. They have automated systems designed to repair the damage. It could still take a couple of days before we’re fully functional again.”

  Adam looked up at the tac screen. “How far is the Juirean ship?”

  “Just a couple hundred kilometers,” Riyad answered. “Why?”

  “I want to go aboard. I need to see if there’s anyone left alive who can either provide us with intel, or who might report back to their forces.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  Adam turned to Kaylor. “Are you up to flying us over there in the landing craft?”

  “Sure – if I can set the internal gravity on the shuttle.”

  Adam smiled. “Of course, and the lighter the better. I ache all over, too.”

  Ten minutes later, an entourage led by Kaylor, was approaching the rear cargo hold, and beyond that, the main landing bay. Billy Piscopo and Chris Mullis had joined them, and they were all armed with MK-17’s. Kaylor had advised them all to wear full environmental suits aboard the Juirean ship to protect against the radiation. The suits were in the landing bay.

  As they neared the cargo bay, a strong arm suddenly reached out of a doorway and grabbed Kaylor around the neck. One of the 2G’s appeared – the one Adam had shot in the chest – shielded by the surprised alien, and holding the sharp end of an auto-screwdriver pressed against Kaylor’s neck. The man stared emotionless at Adam and Riyad, who both drew their weapons.

  “Don’t, or I will slash his throat!” the man said. And then Adam could see all the 2G’s from the holding cells standing in the room beyond them.

  Thinking quickly, Adam reasoned that when the ship briefly lost internal power the electronic locks on the doors must have been deactivated and never reset. The 2G’s were now free, and holding the ship’s main pilot as hostage.

  “Just relax,” Adam said, placing his weapon back in its holster. “Just let him go and we’ll all talk this out.”

  “No, we are taking him with us. He will pilot the shuttle off this ship.”

  “Have you thought this through? We’re in the middle of the Far Arm. Where will you go?”

  “There are Klin bases throughout the Arm. We’ll find one.”

  Damn! So he had thought it through.

  “Listen, if you keep this up, it’s not going to end well.”

  “Just drop your weapons and kick them over here, and then back away.”

  Adam pursed his lips and shook his head. “You might as well go ahead and kill him. We’re not giving up our weapons.”

  “I will kill him!”

  “And then we’ll kill you,” Riyad said, pointing his weapon straight at the man, who hide further behind the scared and wide-eyed alien.

  Just then, Adam saw an air vent in the room with the 2G’s begin to move and separate from the ceiling. Slowly, the barrel of a bolt launcher appeared.

  “One more chance,” Adam said, returning his attention to the man. “Release him, or we’ll have to do something about this.”

  “No. Move away. We’re going to the landing bay now.”

  Just as the man began to move to his right, the flash of a bolt lit up the room. The ball of energy hit the 2G at the base of the neck, an
d he collapsed to the deck. Suddenly, the remaining 2G’s began to rush out of the room and into the corridor with any weapon they could find – metal bars, tools and the like. The air vent in the room crashed to the floor, and Adam could see Chris Mullis lying flat in the metal tube, firing bolt after bolt at the men below. Adam could see the fire in his eyes. These were the men who had held him captive for so long, and now he was having his revenge.

  Four of the men rushed into the corridor and surged toward Adam and Riyad. Adam pulled his MK, just as Riyad let loose with several bolts of his own. Soon it was over, and all nine of the 2G’s lie dead on the deck, the last wispy vapors from the bolts still drifting in the air.

  Kaylor was leaning against the bulkhead, rubbing his bruised neck, and looking at Adam through squinted, angry eyes.

  “After all we’ve been through, you were going to let him kill me!”

  As Adam surveyed the dead men around him, he placed a hand casually on the alien’s shoulder. “He wasn’t going to kill you. You were his only bargaining chip.”

  “I don’t understand. He was going to kill me.”

  Adam turned to him. “No, he wasn’t. Trust me. I would never let anything happen to my favorite alien.”

  “I’m your favorite?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Adam said, as they stepped past the bodies, heading for the landing bay. “You’re my favorite Martian.”

  “Adam, I have not been receiving good translations recently. I wish you would speak in more commonly used language.”

  “I’ll do my best, ET.”

  “There you go again!”

  Chapter Nine

  An hour later, the landing craft was docking at the open landing bay of the other Juirean battlecruiser. As they had approached the huge warship, Adam saw where their bolts had penetrated the hull just forward of the aft generator room. The lucky barrage of bolts had done the trick, catching the Juireans off guard and disabling the drive generators. The other power systems would have remained active, but as the deadly heat and radiation from the explosions continued to affect the ship, more and more systems were continuing to fail. Soon the huge battlecruiser would be dead.