by T. R. Harris
“How about nothing? I take them for no charge.”
“And why would I do that? I could move down the line and eventually I’d sell them.”
“Not if everyone in the clearinghouse realizes you are a Human.”
Riyad bit his bottom lip. “And how would they find that out?”
The Lucon grunted while the wicked grin returned. “I believe you know how this negotiation will progress. I get the monitors for no cost … and I do not alert the authorities that you are a Human, a vile beast who has infiltrated the Nebula. I believe that is a fair trade.”
“And if I refuse?”
The Lucon waved a hand toward the other two natives in the room. “Then I will report you to the authorities, but not before my two symbanors here make sport of you.”
Riyad looked at the two much-taller aliens. He had no idea what symbanors were, but he also knew he couldn’t risk having this alien report his true identity, whether they came to an agreement or not. And then what would prevent him from calling the alien police once they left the planet?
He took a deep breath, seeing the decision had been made for him the moment the Lucon recognized him as a Human. This would not be pretty, not in these tight quarters. And then there was Canos to consider. He hoped the innocent alien would stay out of the way. He was beginning to like the young Tel’oran.
Riyad tighten his right fist, and in a lightning-quick move, buried it hard into the face of the Lucon to his left. Immediately, he felt the other symbanor grab him from behind. The creature squeezed with all his strength … which only made Riyad laugh. Quick reactions, but another light-gravity weakling. A strategically-placed elbow to the Lucon’s midsection caused him to release Riyad, who then spun around catching the alien’s head under his right arm. He squeezed hard and then jerked upwards, snapping the creature’s neck.
The Lucon buyer had been momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events; now he recovered and began to move toward a hidden back door to the small cubicle; two quick steps and Riyad grabbed the back of alien’s shirt and pulled. The alien fell back, as his entire shirt ripped from his body. Riyad lifted the hairless Lucon by the arm and threw him on top of the small table; the fingers of his right hand digging into the cushy skin of the alien’s neck.
“I will not tell, I promise!” The Lucon’s large brown eyes were now moist with tears.
Riyad squeezed harder. Even though this being smelled of lilacs … and was handsome in an alien sort of way, he still had to die. “I regret this,” Riyad said, “but if you’ve had experience with Humans before then you should have known better than to provoke me.”
The Lucon made some gurgling sound.
“What was that?” Riyad asked, cocking his head. “You really do need to enunciate your words better.” A little tighter and the trachea collapsed; a moment later the alien grew still, his eyes open and frozen in the moment of death.
Panic leapt up in Riyad’s chest; he turned, and was relieved to see Canos still in the room. He released the dead Lucon and approached the Tel’oran. Canos recoiled in fear.
“Relax, Canos,” Riyad said with a smile. “I like you … you have nothing to fear from me.”
“But you are a Human.”
“Don’t believe everything you’ve heard about us.”
“After what I just saw, I cannot help but believe.”
Riyad shrugged. “You have a point there. But for now, help me seal up this room. I wouldn’t want you to be associated with the death of these three. After all, we are partners now, my young Tel’oran friend.”
Canos didn’t seem too pleased with the comment. In fact, Riyad thought he was about to faint….
********
Alien and Human left the small cubicle a few minutes later, having done their best to make it appear vacant and the booth unused. They skipped the next five booths so none of the buyers there would remember them if asked. At the sixth, Riyad walked hurriedly up to the buyer and placed one of the monitors in his hand.
“I have three hundred more just like this. They’re yours as a gift. If you like them, then I will be back in six months with a shipment of one-hundred thousand more, which I will sell to you exclusively.”
Canos and Riyad quickly unloaded the boxes of monitors in front of the still-speechless alien. Riyad then grabbed Canos by the arm and literally planted him in the passenger seat of the cart. They drove away before the open-mouthed Lucon could say a word.
Chapter 14
Aboard the Ifrit…
Thirty minutes later Riyad and Canos entered the Ifrit and went directly to the pilothouse where Ruszel sat at the pilot’s station.
“That took longer than expected,” Ruszel said. He got out of the seat and let Riyad sit down so he could begin the preparations for lift-off. Then he noticed the look on Canos’s face.
“What happened? Was there a problem?” When Canos opened his mouth but said nothing, he turned to Riyad.
“You’ll probably find out anyway – as soon as young Canos here can speak again.” Riyad turned and looked up at the frowning Tel’oran pilot. “I’m not really a Klingon. In fact Klingons are just an imaginary race created for one of the entertainment programs where I come from.”
“If you are not a Klingon—”
“I’m a Human.”
Ruszel was older and more-experienced than Canos, so he was better able to contain his shock. A stern look crossed his face. “This changes everything, you must be aware? Although I will not report you, we cannot accompany you to the Void.”
“My credits are just as good as anyone’s. Why would you want to forfeit all that wealth? You’ve never met a Human before and yet you hate and fear us. Why?”
“For years stories of your race have circulated throughout the Nebula. You originate in the Far Arm, and are savages who use the technology of others to rape and pillage entire systems. You even managed to defeat the Juireans using trickery and deception. During your tenure as leaders of the Expansion, you stole an untold amount of credits for yourself while leaving hundreds of worlds destitute and broken.” He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. Riyad noticed a look of resignation on the alien’s face, believing that both he and Canos would never leave the ship alive. He continued, letting his true feelings erupt as a last act of defiance.
“Yes, we have strong evidence that the Kracori do reside in the Nebula, although none of my acquaintances can verify that. We are also aware of the death-veil you have placed over them, and if they are found to be here, then your race will invade the Nebula and destroy all we know. That is why we hate and fear you. It is told that once a single Human is found here, then thousands more will surely follow. After that nothing will ever be the same within the Nebula.”
Riyad was silent for quite a while, watching the two aliens. They made no attempt to leave the pilothouse; instead Canos was trembling visibly while Ruszel’s shoulders slumped markedly at the conclusion of his diatribe.
Riyad pursed his lips. “I’m terribly sorry you have been fed such an incredible amount of false propaganda by the Kracori. I can see why they would want to spread these lies, as a way to insulate themselves and to use the other races in the nebula as shields. But I don’t have the time to present my side of the story, at least not now. Just believe me when I say that the other races in the nebula have nothing to fear from the Humans. We only seek vengeance against the Kracori for their attempt to destroy our homeworld with a bombardment of nuclear weapons. If the Tel’orans had been treated the way we have – and you had the means to seek justice – you would do the same. All we seek are the Kracori, and it’s my job to verify that Elision lies at those coordinates I showed you.”
When neither of the aliens responded, Riyad continued. “I have offered you far more than your assistance is worth, and you both know I’m capable of finding those coordinates on my own. However, a pair of qualified guides would make my job that much easier – and safer.” He glanced at the locked drawer holding the su
pply of alien credits. “I have been supplied with an ample amount of ruiens to help with my mission. They’re of no value to me now or in the future. They total half-a-million … and they all are yours – along with the Ifrit, my ship – if you help.”
The jaws of both the aliens fell limp and their eyes grew larger. Riyad continued. “One last thing; if you do choose to help me – and we’re successful – then I would recommend that you take your credits, my ship and your families, and head for the furthest corner of the Nebula from the Dysion Void. Trust me; things are going to get very wild around there for a while. You can always return to Tel’or once the dust has settled.”
He knew he had them when neither of them appeared confused by his settling dust comment. They stopped listening to anything else after half-a-million ruiens. That amount was a king’s fortune to them, and when ownership of the Ifrit was thrown in, the aliens never stood a chance.
Riyad smiled. “Just a few days, that’s all I ask. And maybe during that time you may come to love Humans rather than hate us.”
Ruszel’s eyes narrowed. “Of that, I have much doubt.” He glanced at Canos. “We will accompany you, yet we will not fight.”
Riyad looked at Canos as well and gave him a wink. “Don’t worry; I have that part of the mission covered.”
********
The Ifrit departed the surface of Lucon-Por and put on a good show of heading back in the direction of Tel’or. But then just beyond the outer rim of the system, Riyad abruptly changed course, heading for the unexplored region of the Silvean Nebula known as the Dysion Void.
Riyad allowed the more-experienced pilot to guide them most of the way through the turbulent maze of gravity sources that riddled the nebula, especially as they neared their destination. While at the controls of the Ifrit, Ruszel quickly forgot about his trepidation, delighting instead in the thrill of piloting such a powerful vessel. At times, he would open her up for short stretches, and his eyes would gloss over after a particularly thrilling transit. On occasion, Riyad even overheard him commenting to Canos about how very soon this ship would be theirs.
Riyad knew he was paying an ungodly amount for the assistance of the two aliens; however, the money was not his, and he could always get another ship if he needed – that was one of the benefits of having Kroekus, the leader of the galactic Expansion, on your side. Besides, Riyad was pretty sure that once the location of Elision was verified he would be returning to Earth for a prolonged – if not permanent – stay. Stomping on aliens year-in and year-out was all well and good, but he was growing bored. And besides, Riyad Tarazi had his legacy to consider, and there weren’t very many Human women to be found among the stars.
Chapter 15
Aboard the Pegasus…
Even before they achieved orbit, Adam and Sherri could tell the planet Arcton was a mess. There was a thin, brown haze surrounding the entire globe and even from space they could see dozens of huge fires raging on the surface. In addition, countless streaks of fire still rained down on the planet from space, as the gravity of Arcton sucked up more and more of the meteors, meteorites and asteroids now littering the system. Adam figured this was what it must have looked like when the stellar system was first forming. Unfortunately for the planet Arcton, it was about to return to a primordial state of exploding volcanoes and vast seas of molten lava, the likes of which had not been seen here in over three billion years.
If anything still survived on the surface, it wouldn’t for long. Arcton was doomed, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Even though the long-range CW-communications array for the Pegasus had been damaged in the debris field, the ship still carried traditional radio equipment aboard. Adam tried several times to contact the surface with the archaic device, using the coded reference for all Earth-vessels, but nothing came back except static. There had been a Human consulate on the planet at one time, along with a small service fleet. If any of those ships survived, Adam might be able to salvage a focusing ring or two.
At long last, Adam began a cautious descent to the surface, trying in vain to avoid the falling debris filling the sky. The lower they dropped the more of a beating the Pegasus took as only the largest pieces of space junk made it to the surface. As the thuds and pings on the hull become more numerous and pronounced, Adam was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea. All it would take would be direct hit on his engines by one of the larger objects and they would be stranded on the planet – a planet soon to become a prehistoric nightmare completely hostile to life.
Some relief from the fallout was found when Adam steered the ship around to the opposite side of the planet and the impacts became less frequent and severe – at least for the moment. This was the daylight hemisphere, yet in approximately twelve hours this side of planet would become a shooting gallery as well. And then the cycle would begin again, day after day until the system was clear of debris. By then it would be too late.
Arcton once supported a population of over three billion indigenous Primes, with cities and roads, schools and parks – all the trappings of a modern, pre-spaceage society. Now everything was burning or stood as blackened ruins, crumbling to the ground with each new thunderous impact on the surface.
The Pegasus swept over the smoking remains of several medium size settlements until Sherri guided them toward what had been the planet’s largest city, a place called An-kar-em, where the Human consulate was located.
The city loomed in the distance; now only a ragged range of burned out spires and crumbled silhouettes on the horizon giving birth to a massive black cloud that blocked out nearly all the sunlight at midday in An-kar-em.
As they cruised over the absolute destruction below, their depression grew to new levels. Nothing could have survived, not even the technologically-superior and possibly forewarned Human contingent at the consulate. And when Sherri guided them to the spot where the consulate had once stood, all they found was a hundred-foot deep crater, filling rapidly with water from broken mains. The building was completely gone.
Adam set the Pegasus down in one of the open fields near the large hole – open now because the buildings that had once occupied the space had been converted to ashes in the conflagration.
Relying on the external video monitors – those that still functioned – rather than the cracked and sealed main viewport, Adam and Sherri were shocked to see creatures moving within the ruins of the city. The natives – tall, thick-legged beasts with two main arms and two smaller ones below – moved slowly towards the Pegasus, unsteady in their gait and with dour expressions on their blackened, dirty faces.
“It’s a miracle anyone has survived,” Sherri said. “Maybe some of the people from the consulate did, too.”
“They may have survived so far, but once the planet rotates back around, this area is going to get blasted again and then again for weeks and months to come. It’s a pretty good bet no one is going to make it out of this alive. And then the nuclear winter will set in. No, this planet is finished—”
“And all because of those ships that passed by here!” Sherri sat staring teary-eyed at the monitor, watching the natives approach the ship.
“Don’t get any ideas about offering them a ride, Sherri,” Adam said. “We couldn’t take more than a handful, and then we don’t even know if the ship will make it to Earth. Besides, we don’t know what they eat or anything about their physiology; we just don’t have the resources to take care of them.”
“I know all that, Adam,” Sherri said softly. “It’s just so sad….”
“I’m going out to see if any of the Humans survived.” As he rose from his seat he reached behind his back and switched on the telepathy device.
Sherri saw him do it. “Do you pick up any electrical signals nearby?”
Adam shook his head. “Nothing, the place is as dry as a desert, but remember my range is only about half-a-mile. I’ll go out a little further, which shouldn’t take too long in this lighter gravity. You just kee
p an eye on things from here … and get ready to lift-off in a hurry if necessary. These natives may see the Pegasus as their only way off the planet; I know I would.”
“Better take your little friend along with you,” Sherri called after him, referring to his preferred Glock 21, while doing her best Scarface imitation.
“Never leave home without it,” he replied, and he didn’t mean his American Express card.
********
The atmosphere of Arcton was Human-acceptable, yet with all the soot and smoke in the air, Adam donned a respirator and a thick cotton jacket. He strapped the Glock .45 semiautomatic to his waist and then stepped out onto the surface. The respirator helped his breathing, yet his eyes were immediately accosted by the thick, oily smoke, causing them to burn and water profusely. He barely noticed when six of the Arcton natives surrounded him.
“You caused this – you and your kind!”
Adam whipped around just as one of the natives swung a thick wooden club at his head. He raised his right arm in time to deflect the blow and the club shattered when it hit. The strike stung, but he shrugged off the attack and stepped up to his attacker.
“We didn’t do this, what makes you think we did?”
The other natives backed away after seeing how effortlessly Adam had survived the attack. His assailant dropped what remained of his club and turned to run. Adam reached out a hand and grabbed the tattered remains of the creature’s clothing. He pulled him back in front of him. “Calm down,” Adam said. “I’m not here to hurt you. Just tell me what happened?”
“You speak our language?”
Adam could tell that the words he was hearing came from the telepathy device and not traditional translation bugs. This was one of the added features of his imbedded device; he could communicate with any Prime on a subliminal level. He wasn’t surprised to find that these creatures hadn’t been supplied with translation devices; that would come later, once they were made members of the Solar Alliance. The Humans weren’t in the habit to passing several billion of the tiny devices to every race they encountered, at least not initially. The little buggers cost money!
