Human Chronicles Part 2 Book 3: A Galaxy to Conquer

by T. R. Harris

  She shook her head with impatience. “Never fucking mind. It’s a goddamn animal. That’s not the point. We four of us are equipped with ATD’s. When we get to the surface, we can disrupt all kinds of electronics, and may even be able to locate the team before we move. The Kracori use flash weapons exclusively, as far as I know. We can handle those kinds of weapons close-in.”

  Ruszel was physically agitated. “I understand you intend on taking me with you on your suicidal mission, so I have a vested interest in knowing what you are talking about. What is an A-T-D?”

  “I’ll show you,” Sherri said. She pulled out her MK-17 bolt launcher and set it on the table in front of Ruszel. “Pick it up and shoot me.”

  The alien eyed the weapon with suspicion. “I will not! Is this some kind of trick?”

  Trimen met the alien’s eye. “Do it. It will be fine.”

  After receiving acknowledging nods from Jym and Kaylor, Ruszel snatched up the weapon and pointed it not only at Sherri but the others as well sitting at the table. He stood up and began to back away. “You are all truly insane. I do not wish to kill any of you, but I can no longer be part of this crazy talk about raiding Elision.”

  “Don’t you think you should check the weapon before you go commandeering the ship,” Sherri said softly.

  Ruszel hesitated, but then did a quick systems check of the MK. Everything appeared in order. “The targeting computer has already locked on to you, female. I can fire when I desire.”

  “Then do it. Do it and the ship will be yours and you can go home to your billions of credits.”

  Ruszel’s eyes narrowed and he jutted his pointy-tipped chin in Sherri’s direction. “Wait ... I have seen this before. Is this how you and your tiny companion were able to disable the weapons at my home?” he said addressing Kaylor. “This weapon will not fire, and that is why you have given it to me.”

  “Not bad, Ruszel. You’re pretty quick,” Sherri said.

  And then the door to the conference room suddenly opened and closed behind him, as the lights began to flicker on and off.

  “How can you control such devices?”

  “It’s not important for you to know how, just that we can. And when we’re on the surface of Elision, we can disable the flash weapons the Kracori bring against us.”

  Ruszel said nothing as he placed the MK-17 back on the table.

  “So you see, we have some extra skills that help make this plan a real possibility. Stick with us, Ruszel, and no flash weapon can harm you.”

  “Hand weapons are one thing, but can you prevent us from taking a bolt to the side of the ship while we rip up the Kracori’s governmental headquarters building?”

  He picked up on Sherri’s hesitation. “I didn’t think so. This is still a suicide mission, no matter what fancy tricks you can dazzle the Kracori with.”

  “But you have to admit, it does improve our odds of winning.”

  “And how is that so?”

  Sherri looked around at the faces of the other three aliens in the room. They were now looking back at her, conveying nods and firm determination on their faces. Sherri grinned.

  “It has brought all the rest of us together behind the plan.” She then followed up on Ruszel’s rhetorical question with an inquiry of her own. “With a team like this, how can we lose?”

  After the meeting broke up, Trimen followed Sherri to her stateroom. The Pegasus only had two, and since she had boarded the ship, Kaylor had given up his to her. Ruszel was in the other, simply because he could be locked inside so he wouldn’t try anything stupid, like attempting to hijack the ship. After the recent demonstration of the ATD’s, Sherri was pretty sure he now saw the futility in any such effort.

  Trimen said nothing during the short walk to her room, nor asked for permission as they both entered and he shut the door.

  “What’s bothering you, Trimen,” Sherri asked, always slightly flushed when in close proximity to the incredibly virile alien. She had hoped their time together in the confined space of the escape pod would have cured her of her schoolgirl fascination, but it was obvious now that it hadn’t.

  “I am not aware how Humans approach the planning for an operation such as we are contemplating,” he began, “but you do realize that ripping apart a building with a gravity drive, while trying to rescue beings from within that same building, is contradictory to the ultimate goal of said operation?”

  Sherri had to laugh out loud at the rather formal and polite way Trimen had just told her that her plan was pure shit, from beginning to end. She was sure he was just being honest with his feelings and meant no insult, but he did recoil slightly from her chuckle.

  “I will be the first to admit that it does seem a bit extreme,” she said with a grin. “But I had to say something to get the others onboard.”

  “They are onboard ... but I doubt if they support your plan, especially the pilot Ruszel.”

  “I meant onboard with the plan—supporting it.”

  “Which I do not believe they do,” he reiterated.

  Sherri could see the frustration on Trimen’s smooth, tanned face. “It was something I made up on the spur of the moment. I’m sure we can refine the plan so it makes more sense. And Trimen, I do understand that you are more important to your people than to run off on a possible suicide mission with me. I would have no problem letting you take the shuttle and get someplace safe.”

  Sherri saw Trimen’s face now turn an even darker shade of brown. “When I volunteered for this rescue mission I fully intended on participating in its more dangerous aspects. Leaving McCarthy’s ship in the escape pod was simply an attempt not to waste my life—or yours—when nothing could be achieved by that loss of life. If I die while engaged in an activity linked directly to the rescue attempt, then that is perfectly acceptable, by me and those of the Order. My only question is whether your plan is the best use of our resources? Humans have much more experience with this sort of activity, yet I cannot ignore my logic and reason when I look dispassionately at the proposed operation.”

  Indeed, Sherri had simply spouted out an idea without fully thinking it through. However, it was something, anything. Just voicing on option for saving her friends on Elision—no matter how improbable—made her feel better. It sure beat sitting around doing nothing.

  When she didn’t respond to his last statement, Trimen continued. “And you propose reaching the surface of Elision with this ship. If that were a possibility, why did we not use it in the original plan, since it does possess superior speed? That was a rhetorical question. I know why: because the ship could not reach the surface without proper access codes. We still do not have those codes, and what codes we did have were destroyed with the Volseen ship.”

  “You’re right, Captain Obvious!” Sherri said a little too loudly. Even though the reference was lost completely on the alien, she was growing frustrated with his lack of contribution to solving the problem. She knew the questions; what she needed were some answers. “So use that superior logic and reason to help me out. Come up with something we haven’t thought of before.”

  Trimen was silent for a long moment, staring at Sherri with unblinking eyes. “The answer is obvious ... ah, I see the reference now!” He paused to gather his thoughts again before continuing: “We must abandon the team on Elision and return to Expansion space while we are still able.”

  Sherri’s jaw dropped open. “That’s no solution!” she cried out. “That’s surrender—giving up—and I’m not about to do that. If no one will follow me, then I will drop you all off on the nearest rock somewhere and go do it myself!”

  Just as Trimen was about to respond the intercom on the wall of the stateroom chimed. Trimen looked perturbed by the interruption, yet Sherri saw it as a blessing. He was probably about to say something that would only piss her off more.

  “What is it?” Sherri barked into the box on the wall.

  “It is Kaylor. Am I disturbing you?”

  “No, sorry, just having a
pointless conversation with Trimen. Do you also have a complaint about my plan? If so, then shove it!”

  “Shove your plan ... or my complaint? I do not understand.”

  Sherri placed her forehead against the bulkhead and began to bang it against the metal wall softly, yet repeatedly. After three hits she responded to Kaylor. “What did you call me for?”

  “It is just that Ruszel appears to have solved our problem about getting the Pegasus to the surface of Elision.”

  Sherri stood up straight and stared at Trimen. “Go ahead, tell me!”

  “He said that during the time that Riyad was being removed from his ship—Riyad’s ship at the time, now Ruszel’s—the Kracori commander gave him his name and mentioned the superior nature of the ship’s energy signature. The pilot now proposes he contact this same Kracori, and now that Tel’or and the Kracori are allies, tell him that he has acquired one of these superior drive vessels for study as a possible breakthrough in Kracori gravity-drive technology.”

  “He’s willing to do this? I thought he wasn’t taking sides?”

  “He appears to have had a change of opinion. Of course, he may also be looking for a way to transfer to the custody of the Kracori rather than remain our prisoner. Yet if I were this Kracori officer, I would accept the gift of the Pegasus, and once we have access to Kracori airspace, then your plan might have merit.”

  “Thank you very much for that, Kaylor,” Sherri said with heartfelt emotion; she glared at Trimen as she spoke the words. “We don’t have a lot of time, Kaylor. We’ll have to attempt to contact Elision right now. Will Ruszel do it?”

  “He has indicated so. If this plan does work, we could be on the surface of Elision within a few hours. From our estimates, that should get us to the planet just as the Juirean fleet reaches the outer Nebula. That should add to the confusion we would be instigating on Elision.”

  “Get Ruszel to the CW-comm room. I’m on my way.” She switched off the intercom and turned to face Trimen. “Well, are you in or out?”

  “If you mean will I accompany you on your mission or not ... then yes. I am in.”

  ********

  Ruszel had surprised himself with the fact that he could remember the name of the imposing Kracori officer who had allowed him and Canos to go their way with what was Riyad’s ship at the time. It was Furlon Dor, and he was a white-sashed vice-commander of the united Kracori defense corps. It had only been two months since the Kracori had stood on the deck of the Ifrit and commented on the uniqueness of the ship’s gravity drive. Looking back on it now, it was a wonder that the officer hadn’t confiscated the ship at that time and turned it over to their propulsion research division.

  A lot of things had happened during those fateful five days with the Human that had Ruszel almost believing that some omnipotent god of some sort was looking after him. Almost.

  With the intense Human female Sherri—he had not caught her minor name—sitting off to the side of him off camera in the comm room, Ruszel began the arduous task of trying to locate the Kracori vice-commander. With the Human fleet three months away—and with no knowledge of the Juireans closing on the Nebula—Ruszel was pretty certain the military officer would be located in the vicinity of Elision. The odds were greatly in his favor, since up to only a few days before, the Kracori seldom ventured beyond the Void. That had changed recently, but only over the course of the past week or so.

  Forming a CW-link with Elision was fairly easy; at least it was now that the Kracori had revealed their presence to the Nebula. However, finding one particular vice-commander would be the hard part.

  “This is Senior Guild Pilot Ruszel Crin, requesting a link with Vice-Commander Furlon Dor,” he announced once the link with Elision comm central was established.

  “You are wishing to contact an active military officer, through a CW-link, and you are a civilian, a Guild pilot?” the voice and demeanor of the Kracori on the screen seemed incredulous. “What is your business with this officer, Tel’oran?”

  Ruszel had been anticipating the question. “Now that Tel’or and Elision are allies against the invading Humans, I offer him a prize of incredible value. It is a Human starship capable of amazing speeds, much greater than any the Kracori possess ... and it can accomplish these speeds within stellar systems. Vice-Commander Dor witnessed a smaller version of this ship two months ago when he and I met at that time. I was hoping that he would allow me to deliver this gift to him personally. It will be the highlight of his career and a much needed boost to the security of the Nebula.”

  The gray Kracori communications technician on the screen looked confused. “That is a lot of information to be sharing, especially in light of the new openness we are attempting to establish with other races within the Nebula. Our comm links are overwhelmed at this time and there is no clear procedure for doing what you request. I can take your information and pass it along to my supervisor, yet there is no guarantee that you will receive a reply within a reasonable period.”

  Ruszel had dealt with admins from a variety of planetary governments for most of his adult life. Even though this was a Kracori he was speaking with, they all suffered from the same disorder, namely lack of imagination. Only when they could imagine themselves getting in trouble would they act.

  “I will require your name and contact information,” Ruszel said, hoisting a datapad from the console so the tech could see him begin to enter the data. “This vessel is a one-of-a-kind acquisition from the gravest enemy the Nebula has ever known and can offer an invaluable insight into the technology and weaponry of the Humans. I cannot maintain it for more than a few hours more before the Human spies who operate the craft will begin to look for it. At that time the opportunity for the Kracori to learn its secrets will be gone. I will not be held responsible for the loss of the single-most important piece of physical intelligence to ever come our way. The entire war effort could turn on the technology this craft will reveal, and yet we, as allies and co-inhabitants of the Silvean Nebula, could suffer a devastating defeat because the Humans possess this technology and we do not. And all of this could come about because you do not have a procedure in place to track down one Kracori vice-commander.”

  Ruszel paused to watch the technician blanch, as his stare bored into the dark eyes of the Kracori as best he could over a distance of eighteen light-years. “Again, I will need your name and contact information to provide at the coming inquiry.”

  “I do not know what you think I can do, Tel’oran?” the frazzled operator asked. “As I said, our communication protocols have not been established for such requests made outside the Kracori organization.”

  “Do you have access to military personnel records? Can you attempt to search the name of this vice-commander?”

  “Our systems are so linked. Yet that information is classified to outsiders.”

  “I am not seeking this information for myself, but so that you can locate the vice-commander and rely this information to him. I am sure that once he learns what I am offering, he will initiate all necessary protocols. And I can assure you, he and all the high command on Elision, will reward you for your exemplary efforts and perseverance. The relationship between the Kracori and the other planets within the Nebula is only days old. This singular act on your part could be forever remembered as a seminal event in the history of the Nebula.”

  The technician was shifting nervously in his seat. He reached over to another screen and began entering data. “I will do what I can, but there are no guarantees. I can access the military personnel records, and you may not realize this, but our entire society is built around the military. Nearly every Kracori of age is in the military database. Finding one particular officer could be imposs—oh, wait ... here he is. Vice-Commander Furlon Dor, Third Access Fleet, 2nd Brigade. He is presently assigned to Command Regiment Fourteen here in the capital.”

  “Do you have contact information?” Ruszel asked, astonished that the tech had actually come through. He risked a gaze
off camera at the Human and the Formilian who were monitoring the conversation and raised an eyebrow in their direction. The Human female gave an odd gesture with her fingers where the digits were wrapped into the palm and the thumb was projecting upwards. The pilot looked away before the meaning of the gesture confused him enough that the tech would notice that he was not alone in the comm room.

  “Yes, I have a direct comm link for VC Dor. I will attempt to open the link, yet I believe it is best if you communicate to him what you are proposing. I am pretty confused by now as to just what you have in your possession.”

  “I would prefer that as well. I will remain on the link until you are successful.”

  It took the distraught comm tech a full ten minutes before he was able to locate Furlon Dor and convey enough of the subject matter to the vice-commander that he agreed to speak with Ruszel. When the stern, leathery face of the Kracori officer appeared on the screen, Ruszel did not recognize him; as a matter of fact, he was having trouble distinguishing any differences in the Kracori from one to the other. They all looked large, tough and perpetually angry.

  “You say we have met?” Dor literally growled at Ruszel through the CW comm link.

  “Yes, my Lord. Forgive me if that is not the proper greeting for a Kracori. I have not been informed as to the proper manner of respect.”

  “Commander will suffice.” And then the Kracori narrowed his eyes at Ruszel. “Yes, I do recall. You and your Tel’oran companion were on the ship where the Human spy was captured. That was a major event on Elision. There had not been another Human on our planet for over three years, or so I was informed. If memory serves me, I offered your freedom so you may prepare the Nebula for our eventual reveal. By that time the events of the previous few weeks had already been set in motion.”

  “My colleague and I are eternally grateful for your generosity that day, Commander. We truly believed we would suffer the same fate as the Human.”

  “If the Human threat had not already been identified, you would have,” the Kracori said, much to Ruszel’s chagrin.