Jason King: Agent to the Stars 1: The Enclaves of Sylox (24 page)

“Jason, you have no concept what a tragedy it has been to watch the surface of my beloved planet be ravaged by off-planet developers, such as you and your associates. And it has not only been the Humans, although I must say your kind have been the most prolific and successful.”

“But Jonk builds underground homes; why are you pissed at him, too?”

“The Linorean Foundation is much more than simply residential builders. They also construct huge pinnacle structures – you call them skyscrapers. They also build traffic ribbons and mobile transports, plus they have investments in commercial and retail sales outlets, and so much more. They also supply weapons and other materials of war to any party capable of making payment.

“As you can see now, our plan is all-encompassing. And in one brilliant move, we will have managed to solve all our problems at once.”

“How is all this going to get your planet back?” Quint asked.
Good!
Questions required answers – and more talking – anything to keep us alive a little long while I did my best to formulate a plan.

“It is quite simple, Mr. Valarie,” Bill said. “The Velosian and the Simoreans will devastate each other in their war, while drawing in a number of other races for what will become a galaxy-wide conflagration. Yet since many of these worlds are far from Sylox – which I might add will declare its neutrality in the conflict – the bulk of the battles will take place at a distance, sparing us from any damage. At the war’s conclusion, the Union will be severely weakened. The Amelians, who never wanted to move the Capital to Sylox in the beginning, will elect to return the Union Capital to their homeworld.

“In the meantime, those entities complicit in the theft of the Unity Stone – and as instigators of the galaxy-wide war – will be expelled from the Union and banished from Sylox. Individual worlds, such as Earth, may even suffer catastrophic retaliation for their supposed involvement in the conflict.

“In the end, the Linorean Foundation will be dissolved, the Humans from Earth will be gone from Sylox, and the Union will return to Amelia, leaving Sylox to the
native
Zorphins. All the true
aliens
will then be gone from my homeworld.”

I nodded to Bill. “Damn, dude, that’s a pretty good plan.” And I meant it. It looked like Bill and his so-called people had it pretty well wrapped up. “So why didn’t you just protest in the Council and ask to have the Capital moved? If that happened – without a war – then the Human developers would move, too?”

“Unfortunately, not all Zorphins realize what a horrible thing it has been to have the Union Capital on Sylox.”

“But
you
have?” Miranda threw in.

“That is correct. My followers can see the damage being inflicted, even if others cannot. In the long-run, all Zorphins will benefit from our actions, and in time they will thank us.”

“But right now, how do they feel about your movement?”

Miranda seemed to have picked up on the flaw in Bill’s plan, because the big green alien was beginning to squirm.

“That is not important. We cannot be responsible for the narrow vision of some, those who cannot see the damage occurring right before their eyes. And then there are the traitors, the turncoats, as you call them. These are Zorphin who embrace the alien invaders and attempt to adopt their ways.”

“Jonk accused you of doing just that,” I pointed out.

“I had to play my role, not only for your benefit, Jason King, but also for the near future as Sylox goes through a major transition period. Yet as more and more of my people begin to turn to our side, I will rise up as the voice of the new Sylox.”

I laughed. “So screw ambitions for the Council, you want to be leader of the whole damn planet.”

“That is correct, Jason. And I will lead my people into a new era of peace, prosperity – and most of all – independence. I am sure you, of all creatures, can appreciate that.”

“So you
have
studied Human history, Billy.” I’d never called him Billy before, so I didn’t know how he’d react to it. It wasn’t good.

“I thought I would gain your respect by explaining myself, but I see that has not happened.” He began to walk towards the door.

Oh shit! Was the lecture over?

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“It seems as though I have been wasting my time here with you – with all of you. It is time for me get on with my affairs.” He stopped at the doorway. “Just to conclude, your bodies will be found in the wreckage of your pretentious spaceship, along with all the evidence necessary to prove your quilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That way, the file will be closed and I will be free to pursue the rest of my plan. The war will begin, and then I will start the push for independence. The Amelians will agree, as they have always wanted the Capital back on their homeworld. And without the Velosians or Simoreans to protest, it will come to pass.”

I had turned in the chair towards Bill and begun to rub my right leg as he talked. “Sorry, my friend, but we’ve been sitting for quite a while. But now I suppose it’s time for us to die.”

“Unfortunately, yes. But please go with the knowledge that with your deaths will come a new beginning for the
natives
of Sylox.”

“That’s good, Bill. I’m glad we could help. There’s just one last thing I’d like you to do for me – kinda of a dying wish and all.”

Bill frowned. “And what would that be, my Captain?”

“Catch!”

**********

I whipped off my right shoe, and in a flash, threw it directly at Bill’s head.

The ceiling of the room we were in was over twenty feet high; however the doorway where Bill now stood was only about twelve. Startled, Bill’s instinctive reflexes took over – and he sprung up on his double-jointed legs. His head crumbled against the door’s header, coming close to breaking his neck, but definitely knocking him unconscious.

At the same time, Quint took aim at the nearest Zorphin guard with his little laser pistol, and sent a pencil-width beam of red light through the alien’s chest.

For my part, after throwing my shoe, I also took aim with my own little ray gun at the last surviving guard, but I wasn’t so subtle. My beam entered the green alien’s right eye socket and then continued out the back of his head.

Chapter 33

To our credit, all three of the Humans in the room were up and moving even before the last guard hit the floor. Quint and I took the limp Billork by the arms and began to drag him into the corridor. That’s when I noticed Vol’ox wasn’t with us.

I looked back into the room and saw him still sitting at the table, his eyes wide and his mouth limp.

“Vol’ox, get moving!” I yelled.

The alien’s head shuddered in my direction, yet his eyes seemed to have difficultly focusing on me. He was that scared.

“Come on. You can’t stay here. They’re going to kill you.”

“But … but I am not with you.”

“But you know everything about their plan. For that, you’re going to die. Is that what you want?”

That got the Mulicorean’s attention. He rose unsteadily to his feet. “Get a move-on,” I yelled. “And help us with Billork. The sucker’s really heavy.”

Vol’ox made it over to the rest of us, and it seemed that having the task of helping us drag Bill’s body down the corridor shook him out of his trance.

Miranda grabbed an MK off the body of one of the guards and took point, as the three men – males – were burdened with the unconscious, seven-foot-tall grasshopper.

“What now?” Quint asked. We were rushing down the corridor with Bill’s leather shoes squeaking at a deafening volume as they slid over the polished marble floor.

“First of all, I can’t stand
that
any longer.” I stopped, which caused Quint and Vol’ox to fall over Bill’s body. As they were righting themselves, I stepped back and pulled off Bill’s shoes.

Whew! What a potent odor! Who would have known?

“What the hell is that stink?” Miranda cried out from ten feet away.

“Never mind, do you remember how to get out of here?”

We resumed our headlong rush down the corridor.

“You mean you don’t?”

“Hey, I was still suffering from the effects of a Taser-on-steroids shock when we got here.”

“But you’re supposed to be this super Special Forces dude—”

“For Christ’s sake!” Quint said, shaking his head. “Just keep going straight until you reach a wide corridor to the left. That will take us to the exit point. What the hell’s happened to you, Jason? You used to be better at this.”

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t eaten anything all day. Besides I took quite a shock a few hours ago.”

Quint looked toward Miranda. “What’s he talking about?”

“Oh, nothing; he’s just being a big crybaby.”

“Well screw you, Miranda!”

“You’d like to – again.”

“What is it with you two? Quint asked. “I hope I’m invited to the wedding. I love wedding cake. But on second thought, don’t invite me. I have enough stress in my life already.”

We reached the other corridor Quint had mentioned. So far we hadn’t run into any other aliens and no alarms had sound—

An alarm began to reverberate throughout the complex, echoing off the stone walls with a strange harmonizing effect. It was kind of musical in a way.

“How many ships came in with you, Quint?”

“Three medium-size warcraft. They piloted the Noreen in themselves because none of their bays were large enough to hold it.”

“About how many crew, if you had to guess?”

“Ninety or so. We only spent a few minutes with one of the captains before he spilled the beans about who they really worked for. But just moving through the ship, I can’t see more than thirty per ship.”

“And they won’t all be combat troops, either,” I said, trying to sound encouraging.

“But against two semi-useless laser pointers and one MK without any additional power packs, they probably won’t need more than a basketball team worth of fighters to take us down, not if they come packing.” Quint was always the more pragmatic of the founding partnership of Galactic Realty and Relocation Service. Now he was being almost too pragmatic.

“You obviously got my info packet from Vol’ox. What about that?”

“I got us the guns. And I have to say poor Vol’ox here was not the most-willing participant.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Miranda asked.

We were nearing the central access mound for the complex and already could hear a parade of alien footsteps on the marble floor. Luckily, the corridors throughout the complex weren’t straight line affairs. Instead they meandered through the underworld, either for aesthetic effect or following some kind of rock structure. We could only see maybe fifty feet down any given hallway before it curved off gradually. That also meant the bad guys couldn’t see us, either.

But now the hallways leading to our exit point were filling up with armed troops. We had to find a place to hide.

Quint tried one of the side doors and it slid open. “In here, quick before they see us.”

The three Humans and two aliens – one still unconscious – tried to squeeze through the standard size doorway all at once, which didn’t really work very well. Slender Miranda ended up being the only one to make it inside on the initial try. Then Quint jumped over Bill’s inert body and pulled him through. Next went Vol’ox, and I brought up the rear, taking one last check of the corridor before entering and activating the door controls.

“I repeat, what’s this about a data pack?” Miranda asked.

I ran further into the room, which turned out to be one of the many guest rooms the complex seemed to offer. It was almost a clone of the one I had spent a few restless hours in earlier. Satisfied that we were alone, I returned to the door to the corridor and took up a flanking position on the opposite side from Quint.

Miranda was standing next to Bill’s inert body, glaring at me, while Vol’ox stood beside her, allowing his debilitating fear to take over again.

It seemed Miranda wasn’t going to stop staring at me until I answered her question. “While you were enjoying one of your little naps in weightlessland, I sent a message to Vol’ox saying that Quint wanted to test drive a Noreen II for himself. I also sent an encrypted file along for him to give to Quint.”

“Why not just call Quint directly?”

“Hell, if anyone was being watched, it would be him. But I was pretty sure no one would be watching my starship salesman, person, thing.”

“So what was in the data pack?”

Quint moved over to the door and pressed his ear against it. The rest of us didn’t have to do the same to hear the sound of running boots in the hallway outside. Quint held his finger up to his lips. The three Humans knew what that meant, but when Vol’ox opened his mouth to speak, Miranda slipped an arm around his neck and clamped her hand over his mouth, pulling him to the floor in a lightening quick move. She had trouble covering the entire kangaroo-like mouth with just one hand, but it was the expertise with which she’d subdued him that made me take notice.

Miranda saw that I had noticed, too, but since we had to remain quiet, all she did was frown and shake her head at me.

I regarded her for a moment longer before breaking eye contact.

Quint surveyed the door controls from his location and found something that looked like it might be locking switch. With the universal translators working only on a verbal level, none of us had learned to read Zorphin – it hadn’t been necessary, until now.

Quint flicked the switch … but instead of locking the door, it slid open with a swish. A squad of four Zorphins military had just passed by and didn’t notice the door opening. But the two bringing up the rear did.

Quint stood up quickly and jumped into the hallway. “Hurry, Billork has been injured!” he cried out to the two soldiers, while pointing at Bill on the floor.

The two green Zorphins had brought their weapons to the ready position when seeing Quint, but now they looked past him and into the room. Spotting Bill lying unconscious on the floor, they hesitated. Miranda and Vol’ox where still wrestling on the floor next to him, their limbs interlocked and looking as though they were engaged in some bazaar interspecies sex act. I was still hidden from view, pressed up against the wall next to the doorway.

I held my breath – we all did – not knowing it these mere foot soldiers would even recognize their leader if they saw him; in fact I often wondered how any of them could tell themselves apart from the next Zorphin, since all aliens looked alike.

To my overwhelming relief, the two soldiers ignored Quint and rushed past him into the room. Once they were through the doorway, Quint casually entered behind them and flicked the same switch on the control panel. The two Zorphin soldiers didn’t even notice when the door to the hotel suite closed, trapping them in a room with three very pissed off Humans.

Fourteen seconds later Quint and I were standing over the two unconscious foot soldiers, sorting through the Unos-KM power packs we found on them, along with a pair of Model Series-33 flash handguns.

“Now these are some real weapons,” I said, admiring the solid feel of the military-grade handguns. The for-civilian-consumption MK’s were made mostly of plastic and always had a cheap feel about them. But not the S-33’s, and if all else failed I could always heave one of these at an attacker like Thor’s Hammer. It certainly would make an impression.

“It’s still not a lot against a company-size force of alien military,” Miranda said, as she released a very frustrated Vol’ox.

“Company size? And I suppose you just picked up that little bit of trivia sitting around the student lounge in the Galactic Affairs department of B.S…U?”

“No, smartass. You still don’t believe I went to college, do you? But to answer your question, I was a gamer – mainly military strategy – before the games all came to life and the aliens started shooting back. Now how about answering the question about the data pack?”

“It just had instructions in it, such as to bolt right through the region of space this side of the accretion disk and then go find the nearest military vessel for protection. I also asked him to bring some extra firepower with him if he was caught, hidden within Vol’ox’s marsupial pouch.”

Miranda shot a glance at Vol’ox. “You’re a female?”

“Do I look like a female?” The Mulicorean was offended, either from her question, or from the fact that Miranda had so easily taken him down.

I could tell by Miranda’s bemused expression that Vol’ox probably didn’t want to hear her true answer:
I can’t tell, since you all look alike to me.

Vol’ox continued. “Yet to further explain, Mulicorean males do possess a shelter pouch, but not for the nursing of our young, but simply for protection during the males’ time with our
tiegs
.”

“Tiegs?”

“Tiegs … offspring. You Humans truly are uninitiated.” Vol’ox looked at Quint. “And I must believe now that you have no intention of purchasing the Noreen II, since all this was simply a ruse, a means to an end. I wondered why you would pay me a hundred credits just to carry the small container in my pouch. Now I know.”

“And that was all that was in the data pack?” Miranda asked. “You’re not about to pull out some big surprise right here at the end?”

I grinned. “I never said
that
.”

“Yeah, about that….”

I jerked my head in Quint’s direction.

“They weren’t exactly enthusiastic about helping out,” Quint said, finishing his statement.

“Who?”

“The Marines at the Embassy; Jason and I play cards with most of them. Jason even dated their commander for a while.”