by T. R. Harris
But now the Kracori had summoned him. Maybe now he might be of renewed value to them. And maybe now he could escape from the paralyzing boredom that was his constant companion on the planet Eilsion.
But just in case it was something else, he did take along a few accessories….
Nigel McCarthy was escorted to a non-descript conference room within the governing complex, but not one of the fancy chambers reserved for VIP’s. Instantly, alarm bells went off in his head. The SAS field operative was now on full alert.
He sat at the end of a long, gray metal table where four Kracori were already seated. He was glad to see Daninf Kicon sitting at the other end. At least this meeting was important enough to warrant the presence of the Kracori Langril himself.
“Mr. McCarthy,” Daninf began. He had long ago learned the proper form of greeting for Humans. McCarthy could also see the leader of the Kracori people had grown considerably older-looking in the four years since he’d seen him last. It must be tough for the Kracori, to be stuck here in their own nebulae, afraid to poke their heads outside their protective cocoon. “There had been a major development within the Expansion which we need your insights.”
Nigel raised his bushy eyebrows. Major developments, this could be interesting. “Sure, what’s happened?”
“It seems that your Human race have decided to relinquish control of the Expansion, and to return to their part of the galaxy.”
Nigel was stunned by the news. His eyes grew wide and his jaw fell open. “Well bugger me,” he said out loud. “Why would they do that?”
“That is what we have brought you in to answer.”
“Surely they had to give a reason?”
“There was a speech made by their representative – someone I believe you know: Adam Cain.”
Cain! So that bloody SEAL is still hanging around. I thought I’d heard the last of his name. “Go on. What did he say?”
“He said they have concluded that the galaxy is too big for them to govern, and that they have elected to claim the Far Arm as Human Territory. There was also something about not wanting to become like the Juireans.”
“So what’s your issue? It seems like they’ve handed the galaxy back to you blokes.”
Daninf looked frustrated with McCarthy’s casual concern over the information revealed. “If by blokes you refer to the Kracori, then you are mistaken. The Humans have also declared that both the Kracori and Klin are to be outlaw races, and they have sworn to continue their search for us.”
“I thought you said they were leaving?”
“They are, yet they will still be involved in trade and travel with the Expansion, and if any trace of either the Kracori or the Klin is found, they will undoubtedly send military units against us.”
McCarthy laughed. “That sounds like something they’d do.”
“That is precisely the input we require from you, Mr. McCarthy, of course without the cavalier attitude,” Daninf said between tight lips. “Are the Humans serious about their intent to leave and will they continue to pursue the Kracori?”
McCarthy leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. He looked up at the ceiling as if in thought. When he looked back at Daninf, his eyes sparkled with an inner glow. “Oh yeah, they’re serious. They never wanted to be in charge of the galaxy anyway, so for them to pull back makes perfect sense. And claiming a smaller part of the galaxy as their own – that’s ace. Now they can play gods in their own backyard. And as far as continuing to hold you and the Klin responsible for all that’s happened to them, you can bet your bottom tanner that they’re serious.”
“Please, Mr. McCarthy, speak more clearly.”
“Yeah, Daninf, they’ll continue to come after you, until the last star in the galaxy burns out. Is that clear enough for you?” He leaned forward in the chair and placed his hands on the table’s edge, sending a wicked smile Daninf’s way. The Kracori did not fully support the smile-as-a-challenge gesture, like the majority of races throughout the galaxy, but they did understand the concept.
Daninf glared at him for several seconds, obviously upset by McCarthy’s disrespectful behavior. After a moment, however, he regained his composure and attempted to return a pleasant smile to the Human.
“Thank you, Mr. McCarthy. That will be all. If we need your consultation in the future we will call upon you. Oh, and as an afterthought, I hope you are finding your accommodations here on Eilsion satisfactory? We are glad to have you and your fellow Humans as guests of the Kracori race.”
As he went to rise, McCarthy placed a small, button-size object under the lip of the table. “They’re just fine, Ludif Daninf. No complaints.”
“Good. I would hate to hear that you are dissatisfied with Kracori hospitality.”
As Nigel left the conference room, he reached up to scratch his ear, and placed the tiny receiver deep inside it and out of sight. The pickup he’d placed under the table was working perfectly; Daninf was speaking:
“This situation does not change our status to any great degree. The Humans may be leaving, but it is still not safe for us to venture beyond the nebulae.”
“But Daninf, soon the Humans will be ensconced in their own territory and may not wish to embark on another long-distance military campaign. We may still be able to emerge,” said another of the Kracori in the room.
“That may be so,” Daninf agreed. “But for the time being, we are still foremost on their mind. With time, what you say may be true, but not in the short-term. Until that time we must assure that we remain secluded – which brings up the subject of our Human guests.”
“No Kracori will reveal the location of Eilsion, and all the Klin have been eradicated. You are correct, Daninf: only the Humans are a variable,” said the other Kracori.
“I see no reason to continue with this accommodation, Linof,” Daninf said. “And with this new emphasis on casting the Kracori as outlaws, McCarthy and his fellow Humans may seek to trade their own forgiveness for our location. The Humans on Eilsion are few, but they are shifty and resourceful. We cannot risk keeping them around. Do what you must to remedy this situation, Linof.”
“Yes, my Ludif. I will begin to make the arrangements.”
Nigel had just stepped outside the tall, gray building when the conversation in the conference room concluded. He climbed into the back of the transport for the trip back to his apartment with a small grin on his face, an expression that went unnoticed by his driver.
So, they intend to snuff us out, the bloody bastards, Nigel thought. How predictable. He pressed the button on a small communication device he carried in his pocket, sending out an alert to the rest of his team. After all these years, his men would be ready for some action.
Just as Nigel McCarthy had done back on the Klin world of Marishal, he had long planned for all contingencies. Years back, while still in favor with the Kracori leadership, he had secretly secured an old, yet reliable flying saucer and stowed it away where it could not be found by the Kracori. In addition, he and his men maintained go-bags, packed constantly, just waiting for the word.
Nigel McCarthy had just sent the word.
While he enjoyed the rest of the ride back to his flat, he began to reflect on what the future may hold for him. With the Humans pulling back, there would be chaos and confusion, and Humans would be few and far between throughout the galaxy, except in the distant Far Arm. This could offer Nigel and his men an opportunity. With their skills and superior physical abilities – and no one around to challenge them – Nigel and his team could have their run of the place, something that had always been denied them.
Yes, there was opportunity in chaos, and Nigel McCarthy was ready to be set free within the galaxy like he had never been before. In the past, he had either been a puppet of the Klin or the Kracori. Now he was going to be his own boss and the master of his own destiny. He also knew there was not a single race of bloody aliens in the entire galaxy who could stop him.
Chapter 49
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nbsp; Adam Cain was feeling melancholy. He had kept busy for the past five months preparing for the departure of the Humans from the Expansion, which had helped to distract him from his demons. But now that he was scheduled to depart for Earth in three weeks, it was getting harder to keep them at bay.
The trip to Earth would indeed be painful and agonizing beyond belief. Even though he had been on many a Navy deployment in his career, with his particular rating, he had never spent that much time confined aboard a ship. For him it had always been about the action. So, even though the year-long trip back to Earth was contributing to his mood, it was not all that was bothering him.
It was also the uncertainty. He did not know where his future would take him. He had mustered out of the Navy years, as his fame and adoration would not allow him to simply do his job anymore.
And what about his fame? Upon his return to Earth he would now be credited with bringing home the troops, along with saving the Human race from following the same destructive path as the Juireans. He would find no peace. Instead it would be same old dog-and-pony show he was involved in before he’d left, constantly having to flash his fake smile to all the cameras and adoring masses. If they only knew how screwed up their hero really was!
Kroekus had requested that Adam come see him in the Silean’s working office down on the surface of Juir. Adam had just recently returned from a trip to Pymilia, where the Humans had set up their main military base. The base was now a virtual ghost town, but still the few remaining troops he’d encountered had showered him with such embarrassing praise that now he did his best to avoid the rank and file everywhere he went. They were going home – and Adam was getting all the credit.
And it would be no different back on Earth.
He decided that he would truly welcome the diversion with the hefty alien. At least the aliens didn’t treat him as a hero.
“Come, my friend,” Kroekus said in his typical jovial manner. “Have a seat on the couch; you look awful, as far as I can tell for a Human – you all look awful to me!”
Adam was in awe of the Silean. Even though he had been drafted into the role of absolute leader of the Expansion, he never seemed to show any stress or concern for the job. He just continued to function on a perfectly even keel, day-in and day-out. Adam didn’t know how he did it.
“I will serve you a strong intoxicant; maybe that will relieve some of the lines on your face which I have not seen there before.”
“Thanks, Kroekus, but I would imagine that by now you’d be ready to call it quits, as well. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Doesn’t anything bother you?”
“Of course, my Human friend. I have so many concerns jumbling up my mind that I find it hard to sleep for more than two hours per night, which is not normal for my people. But it is the challenge of the job that keeps me going.”
Adam accepted the drink from the Silean and downed a long swallow. He wasn’t lying when he said strong drink as Adam’s eyes began to water. Another swig and the drink didn’t seem as potent. One more should just about do the trick….
“So Kroekus, what did you want to see me about?”
“I wanted to see you one last time before you left. I will be busy and so will you. We may not get the opportunity.”
“I appreciate that, my friend,” Adam said, and he meant every word. He had met a lot of aliens in his day, but only a few that he could accept as friends. Kroekus was one. Kaylor and Jym were the only others still living.
“But I also have a favor to ask of you; I need your advice.”
“Sure, go ahead. I’ll help, if I can.”
Kroekus downed his own drink and then retrieved two more for them. Then he popped one of his omnipresent pastries into his mouth. “It has to do with Expansion security. With the withdrawal of the Humans, there will be no unifying military or police authority in the galaxy. Everything will resort back to the local systems.”
“I thought the one-ship-per-planet thing was going well?”
“It is. We are building a space fleet that now numbers over four thousand ships. Yet even with a fleet of this size, there is no unifying command. With each planet supplying its own crew, every ship is attempting to operate independently and not accepting any centralized authority. And then there are the more powerful systems who insist on supplying more than one ship, just so they may exact more control over the fleet.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t anticipate these problems. I thought the members of the Expansion more or less just followed orders.”
“They had, up until the time Juireans left. You Humans were able to maintain order because most systems feared your kind. Now there will be no single master race. Everyone is fighting for domination.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
Kroekus smiled, a wicked, almost devilish smile. “I believe I will have to make an example out of a few of the more vocal systems. I have much experience in dealing with upstarts.”
“So what do you need my advice for?”
Kroekus came and sat down next to Adam, straining the springs and cushions of the couch. The piece of furniture tolerated the two of them, having been designed to carry such weight. Kroekus placed his arm on the back of the couch and leaned in closer to Adam. “It has to do with basic law enforcement,” he began. “The fleet we are building will handle the major conflicts rising up from whole systems. My issue now is with individual planets and groups of renegades on those planets. I’m talking about the criminals, the drug suppliers, the currency stealers, the pirates and ransom-eers.”
“I thought you said all of that would revert back to the individual systems?”
“It does, to a point. But we are more interstellar. Jurisdiction for stopping various crimes ends at either a planet’s atmosphere or at its stellar boundary. And then we have sector-to-sector crime. There is no unifying jurisdictional authority to cover all these areas.”
“We had the same problem back in my country on Earth. They came up with something called the FBI – the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It has authority throughout the entire country.”
“Yes! I need something like that across the Expansion. But it’s also not only about crime. There are rebellious worlds who are making aggressive moves against their neighbors. Some of these animosities go back thousands of years, having been held in check only by the authority of the Juireans. Now they are simmering to a boil.”
Adam attempted a smile. “Yeah, it sounds like you’ve got your hands full. With challenges like these, you must be ecstatic!”
“You jest, my friend,” Kroekus said, his mood suddenly shifting back to his normal jovial self. “Not meaning to change the subject too abruptly, but do you know what you will do once you return to Earth? Are you continuing with politics?”
“Hell no!” Adam exclaimed. “I didn’t want to get into it in the first place. I was more-or-less drafted into the job. In all honesty, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Kroekus was silent for a long moment, while looking straight into Adam’s eyes, still wearing a thin, sinister smile.
“”I might have an offer for you, something that might better suit your talents” he finally said.
“An offer? What do you mean?”
“Adam, I pride myself in being able to read beings and to assess talent and desire. I have catered to these desires in every business I have ever managed. I can see that you are not happy with your current path in life, and the impending journey back to Earth is weighing heavily on your mind.”
“That’s no secret,” Adam said, uncomfortable with the naked – and accurate – reading Kroekus just made of him. “Who would look forward to a year of their life wasted away aboard a cold, metal disk?”
“But there is so much more troubling you, Adam Cain; there is no use in denying it.”
“So what’s this offer you have for me?”
“I am in much need of someone like you. I require a skilled fighter – especially a Human fighter – to
help me subdue the crime and rebellion throughout the Expansion. You have said it before – those of your race are like super-beings among the common creatures of the galaxy. Supermen you call yourselves. And now, with the bulk of Human-kind leaving, there will be very few of you available when needed. Just as you and your former companion Sherri Valentine had once been extraordinary assassins back in the Fringe, I need your set of skills to help bring order to the galaxy.”
“You’re crazy, Kroekus. I’m just one man. What could I possible hope to accomplish alone?”
The Silean smiled wider, even raising a bushy eyebrow a little higher. “I am far ahead of you, Adam. I have already begun to assemble the required unit, comprised of renegade Humans who are skilled and who still seek adventure among the stars.”
“Who are they?”
“If you decide to join, I will introduce you. But first I need to know if you are interested?”
Adam stared at the huge alien for several moments, knowing full well that Kroekus had nailed his melancholy to the tee. He was bored, bored of his life and of his prospects, and returning to Earth was not something he was looking forward to. He was a warrior; it was all he had been or wanted to be, and at only thirty-six-years of age, he was far too young to hang it up for a more sedentary way of life.
“Just for the sake of argument, how would this unit be setup, and by what authority?”
“It would be under my jurisdiction and purview. As you know, I am very well versed in the ways of criminal enterprise throughout the galaxy. I have contacts and influence. But now that I am on the other side of the ledger, I cannot tolerate such activities as when I was involved in them. This unit would be small, and involved in quick strikes against targets across the entire Expansion. You will have authority to operate on any planet in any sector, with permission to use whatever means necessary to accomplish your mission.”
