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

by T. R. Harris

  As they entered the room, all eyes focused on them, many with looks of suspicion or concern. Many of the civilians in the room had aides seated next to them, whispering in their ears and pointing out sections of the papers before them. Every station around the table also had a laptop computer, and Adam could see the screens on some of the closer ones as they were led to three vacant seats near the center of the table. Many of the screens showed aerial views of the landing craft and of Adam’s group, tiny figures casting long shadows in the early evening light. One of the screens even displayed an image of Adam in full military attire. He immediately recognized the image as one from his service jacket.

  Even though the whole scene was a little intimidating, Adam had been expecting this. In fact, he was relieved to see that his report was being taken seriously. He was sure it helped to have arrived in an alien spacecraft…

  His gaze scanned the room, and immediately noticed a stern looking man seated against the wall to his left, dressed in the dress uniform of a Navy lieutenant – and staring straight at him. Adam’s jaw dropped. It was Lt. Andrew Tobias, his platoon leader. Adam had not seen him since the night he and his squad had boarded the helo at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, on their way to that fateful mission in the Hindu Kush – the night Adam was abducted.

  Adam smiled broadly at his LT, yet all he received in turn was the cold, hard stare. Adam swallowed loudly, and then turned his attention back to the rest of the room as the meeting was being called to order.

  Abruptly, the room grew quiet, as a distinguished looking man with a masculine square jaw and thin-rimmed glasses cleared his throat. The man was seated directly across the room from Adam, and the placard in front of him read: ‘Matthew St. Claire, Secretary of Defense.’

  “I want to thank all of you for attending this very important meeting at such short notice. Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time.” St. Claire began. Then he paused, while he attempted to make cursory eye contact with all the people seated around the table. “In front of you, and on your computer screens, is a report that has been provided to us by Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Cain.” He nodded toward Adam, and all eyes locked on him. “Mr. Cain, along with his associates here, has just completed a truly amazing journey, and has brought back an incredible tale.”

  Adam didn’t like the use of the word ‘tale’ when referring to his report, but he chose to reserve judgment of the SecDef until he saw where the meeting was headed.

  “For most of you, this report will read like a science fiction novel, as Mr. Cain relates the story of an empire of alien beings and their military forces, who according to him, are currently on their way to Earth. He states that these aliens, the Juireans they’re called, are coming here to exterminate the Human race.”

  There were loud murmurs around the room, along with several “bullshits” voiced softly, yet firmly. Adam noticed how about a third of the room did not react at all to the news, while the others were quite animated.

  “I know how crazy this may sound to all of you, and you’re probably wondering if the old man has lost his mind, to drag us out of our warm beds at this hour just to hear such a fantastical story.” The SecDef managed a wide grin as he scanned the room. Then the smile vanished in a flash, and his eyes narrowed. “Yet, as you scan the documents in front of you, you will see that Mr. Cain and his companions did indeed arrive in a spacecraft of alien design, with technology well beyond what currently exists on this planet. I hope now you will understand why Petty Officer Cain’s report must be taken seriously, and why you are here at this early hour.” The room once again erupted in an explosion of voices.

  “Quiet please,” St. Claire said, trying to still the room, his voice rising as he did so. Many of those at the table were still shaking their heads and voicing their skepticism. “Before we get ahead of ourselves, I would like those of you around this table not already privy to this information to listen very carefully to what I say next.” St. Claire was an experienced politician, and he delivered his remarks with the cadence and tone of a true professional. By the time he resumed speaking, the entire room was deathly quiet, with all attention focused on him.

  “I can verify that what Mr. Cain has reported concerning the existence of this alien race is one-hundred percent true.”

  The table again erupted in a cacophony of voices, even louder than before. “What do you mean?” “That’s impossible.” Along with even more “bullshits.”

  St. Claire raised his hand. “Please listen to me. Please.” When the room had returned to a somewhat manageable level, the Secretary continued. “We have been in receipt of certain intelligence for some time now that supports Mr. Cain’s claims of the existence of the Juireans. As a matter of national security, we have kept this information secret from most individuals in the public and in the government, including most of you at this table.”

  Adam squared his jaw. He knew there was a possibility that the Klin had already made contact with the powers that be on Earth. He also knew that his task just became much more complicated. The Klin and 2G’s would have already passed themselves off as the saviors of Earth, and this would make it that much harder to convince the authorities that the Klin were not much better than the Juireans, and in fact, had manipulated the coming crisis into existence.

  But what else could he do but tell the truth? Blame had to be placed where it properly belonged. Yet no matter how responsible the Klin were for the events closing in upon the Earth, Adam also knew that they were humanity’s only hope. Without the Klin fleet to beat back the Juireans, every man, woman and child on the planet would die. But even then, the people of Earth deserved to know exactly what their new ‘friends’ were really like. Once the truth was out, then it would up to the diplomats to make things right – if possible.

  “And what about his assertion that there’s a force coming here to destroy us?” Adam read the placard of the speaker as Secretary of the Interior, Ronald Walker.

  The SecDef shook his head. “This is where some of our information is in conflict.”

  “Don’t you think this is vital information that must be confirmed?”

  “Yes I do, Mr. Secretary.” Adam could hear the sarcasm in St. Claire’s voice. “We are currently attempting to verify this information as we speak.”

  Walker turned to Adam. “Mr. Cain, what evidence do you have regarding this impending attack?”

  Adam was caught off guard by the sudden question, and the attention it focused on him. He cleared his throat. “Mr. Secretary, we intercepted a message on our way back to Earth that spoke of an impending invasion of Juirean space by us, the Humans. Later, we were attacked by Juirean spacecraft, and I had a conversation with their commander. He verified that the Juirean fleet is massing for an attack against the Earth. He told me that they had no choice but to answer the threat of the Human invasion.”

  “What invasion are you speaking of,” said a thick-set man with the perpetual tan of an infantryman.

  Adam turned to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Damien Daniels. “Sir, I don’t know. It’s our belief that the message was sent so as to provoke a conflict between us and the Juireans.”

  “By whom?” someone down the table called out.

  “By another race called the Klin.”

  More murmurs around the table. “So now there is another race of aliens involved?” said the Secretary of the Interior, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “Yes, sir. And we believe they are the ones who have set all these events in motion.”

  “Who are the ‘we’ you refer to, Mr. Cain?” asked General Daniels.

  “Me, and my companions here.” Adam noticed Sherri and Riyad shift nervously in their seats.

  “Let’s see,” said the CJCS, looking down at some papers in front of him. “A known Al-Qaeda terrorist, and a former veterinary student. Hardly a very credentialed set of analysts.”

  “With all due respect, General, but Ms. Valentine has just spent the pa
st three years living within the alien community, and Mr. Tarazi, the last seven. And I have just spent the past year living among the aliens. We have a lot more first-hand experience than anyone else in this room regarding these beings, and the threat they pose.”

  Adam could see the General – the highest ranking military officer in the country – bristle at being dressed down by a mere E-5.

  “If I can say something at this juncture,” the Secretary of Defense said, much to Adam’s relief. “All of you at this meeting have been brought here to be briefed on this current situation. You are a select group of individuals who are vital to the events that will take place going forward. As I said, some of you are already aware of certain top secret information, others are completely unaware. But very few of you are privy to all the information. Since from this day forward, the Human race will never be the same, the need for absolute secrecy has passed. However, it will be the President, as well various other leaders around the world, who will decide how and when the full story is disseminated to the public. But I will now brief all of you as to what we do know – and what we don’t – up to this moment.

  “First of all, we are also aware of the race of beings called the Klin. We have been in touch with them for a number of years.”

  “Are they helping us against these other aliens?” someone down the table shouted out.

  “Please let me finish before you ask your questions. But yes, the Klin have been here helping us, but mainly through their surrogates, a group of Humans whom they’ve trained for this very occurrence. The Klin are very few, so they have been recruiting certain Humans to be part of this defense force.”

  “Recruiting?” Sherri called out. “If you call kidnapping and rape recruiting.”

  “Please, Ms. Valentine. I believe you have not been fully informed as to the goals and methods of the Klin.”

  “Excuse me, sir, but I have been there.”

  “Then some of your experiences must be either an anomaly, or a misunderstanding on your part.”

  “That’s bulls—” Adam put his hand on Sherri’s arm.

  “Mr. Secretary, we have met the Klin, as well as their so-called recruits,” Adam said. “Most of these people were born off the planet and raised by the Klin from birth. You cannot trust what they’re telling you.”

  “And so we are to refuse their help because of your experience with these aliens?” said General Daniels. “How do you propose we defend ourselves against an alien attack?”

  “Everyone just calm down,” said the Secretary of Defense. “The information you’ve presented today, Mr. Cain, conflicts with the reality that many of us in this room have experienced firsthand. And as General Daniels intimates, we, as a race, are ill-prepared to resist an attack from such a highly advanced alien race as the Juireans.”

  “I wouldn’t call them that advanced…” Riyad decided to throw in.

  “They are more advanced than we are, Mr. Tarazi. That much is not in dispute,” countered the Secretary, losing his composure even more. “We must rely on—” An aide rushed up to the Secretary and whispered in his ear. St. Claire suddenly sat up a little straighter, as he whispered something back to the aide. The young man rushed out of the room.

  Then addressing the room again: “I have just been informed that we have a very special guest who will shed more light on our situation.” He turned his attention to a side door, not the main entrance to the conference room.

  The door opened, and a slender being, dressed all in silver was brought into the room seated in a wheelchair. The creature had long. white hair flowing down his back, and his eyes were a deep black. He seemed to be slouched down in the chair, and with a small tube running up to his almost non-existent nose. There were three other men with him, and Adam immediately noticed their blank, even countenance. 2G’s, Adam knew for sure.

  The Klin was wheeled up to an empty slot in the table.

  Again, Adam noticed how about two-thirds of those at the table began to shift nervously and whisper to each other, while the other third showed no surprise at all at the sight of real alien being.

  “Calm down, please,” St. Claire pleaded. “I would like to introduce to you Ambassador Senior Lumonsee, of the Klin race. He has been our direct contact with his race for eight years now. He is known personally to a handful of people in this room, and to a few of you by reputation. For the rest of you, I know this may come as a major shock to you.”

  “That’s an understatement,” said the Secretary of the Interior.

  St. Claire turned to the Ambassador. “Senior Fellow, may I ask you to please rely to the room what you have learned?”

  The Klin leaned closer to the small microphone in front of him. “First of all, I would like to thank the Secretary for the opportunity to address you here this morning.” Adam noticed that the Klin spoke English, which made sense considering his assignment on Earth. It was also a pretty good bet that the only three Humans in the room with translation bugs imbedded behind their ears were Adam, Sherri and Riyad. The Klin’s voice was soft and modulated, but he was easily understood.

  “If you are wondering, I must travel in this wheelchair because the gravity of your planet is much stronger than I am used to. It is quite exhausting for me to move around on your world. But now getting to the matter at hand, we do not have much time.” The alien looked directly at Adam.

  “I have been in contact with my people…and they have confirmed that a massive force of Juirean warships is currently in route to the Earth.”

  The room erupted in voices again, and it took the SecDef and General Daniels a full minute to calm them down.

  “Please, let me continue,” the Klin said, his voice louder now to be heard over the din. “Yes, the Juireans are coming. We have anticipated this event occurring for a number of years, but we had no idea it would happen so soon.” He paused and looked again directly at Adam. “It appears that the Juireans have been led to the Earth, and by the Humans who recently arrived on your planet.”

  Adam shot to his feet. “That’s bullshit! We didn’t lead them here. You did, with that message of yours!”

  “MP’s, will you please restrain Mr. Cain?” said the SecDef, pointing his finger at Adam.

  Adam turned to the uniformed MP’s, “Relax. I’m sitting down. But this isn’t right. We didn’t lead them here. That’s the truth.”

  “But Mr. Cain, you mention this so-called message in your report, the one that we Klin supposedly sent. Do you have any proof that we sent this message, or that it even exists?”

  “Not with me.”

  “Then I see nothing to dispute our conclusion. Besides, why would we send such a message?”

  “If I may interrupt,” said the Secretary of Homeland Security, Phyllis Conrad. “Who led these aliens to us is of little importance at this moment. Right now, I need to know if we are in any danger. Mr. Ambassador, since our two races have been working together for a number of years now…are you prepared to defend us against the Juirean threat?”

  The pale-faced alien scanned the faces of those at the table. The room turned graveyard-quiet. “I’m afraid not. We have been caught unprepared by the premature arrival of the Juireans.”

  “That’s not true!” Adam cried out, standing again. “We know for a fact that the Klin sent their fleet to Earth long before we ever left for Earth.”

  “I’m afraid that is not true, Mr. Cain,” the Klin said. “Your information appears to be tainted, or worse, deliberately falsified. Also, our scans indicate that you arrived in a Juirean battlecruiser. How do you explain that?”

  “We took over the ship off Zylim-4. You know this, as well as I do.” Adam’s face was a portrait of rage as he stared at the Klin.

  “And where is this massive warship now?”

  Adam hesitated. He did not want to compromise Kaylor and Jym, but he had no choice. “It’s on the moon. We didn’t want to shock people with a huge starship going into orbit around the planet.”

  “You ex
pect the people here to believe that a small group of 35 untrained Humans – yourself excluded – managed to commandeer a fleet vessel the size of a battlecruiser from the Juireans? Then you piloted said craft 1,400 light years to Earth, and according to your report, engaged in a major battle against the Juireans. And all the while you came through unscathed? I find your story—” the Klin paused as if searching for the right word, “implausible, to say the least. Whether your collusion with the Juireans is inadvertent or intentional is irrelevant. The Juireans have followed you here, and there is nothing we Klin can do to prevent the coming disaster to your planet and to your people.”

  “The Klin are here! You have to believe me,” Adam said, looking around the table.

  “If so, then why would we allow a Juirean battlecruiser to enter your system unmolested? That one ship could wreck incredible havoc on your planet.”

  “It’s because you want this war to begin! It has been your goal all along.”

  The Klin actually smiled, showing a full set of teeth; he had obvious been around Humans long enough to adapt to many of their mannerisms. “And why would we do that, Mr. Cain? We have been on your planet for many years now, helping your race with advances in science and technology, as well as preparing to defend your race against the Juireans – at a future date. It has been your reckless – or traitorous – actions that have put us all in jeopardy.”

  Adam’s heart was beating so hard that he felt as if his chest was about to explode. He knew his face was red and his eyes wild with anger. He scanned the faces around the table. Almost to the man, they all stared at him with unabashed hatred and disgust.

  “Everything Adam is saying is true!” Sherri cried out. “We did not lead the Juireans here. Why do you believe this alien over us?”

  “Because this alien has provided an invaluable service to this planet, including the offer of defending us against the Juirean threat,” the SecDef began, “while all you and your cohorts have apparently done is lead this danger to our very doorstep.”