The Fringe Worlds (14 page)

“Then we were transferred to another ship — sold I believe — to a group of pirates. After about a week - I think it was about a week because I hadn’t done my clock thing at the time - we landed on a planet and were taken out to be sold again. Not taking too kindly to the idea of being a slave, I fought back and started a mini riot on the auction block. My human companion, a gentleman name Asbar from India, was killed in the riot.

“But not me. I caught the attention of one of the pirate captains who offered me a place in his crew. He had been impressed with my fighting skills.”

He stopped his story and narrowed his eyes at Adam. “You must know by now, my friend, that we humans have certain advantages over most of the creatures out here. In fact, I understand you bested two Rigorians your first day on Nimor. That is no easy task.”

“I didn’t pick that fight! They challenged me,” Adam said in his defense.

“Oh, I’m not being critical. I’m just pointing out a fact. In the six years I have been out here, I have found creatures who were faster, who were stronger and who were tougher than we are. Some even exhibited remarkable intelligence and coordination. But none combine all these traits into one being like we do. Out here, we are the supermen. No, we can’t fly, and we can certainly be killed by the weapons they possess, but none of the creatures I’ve encountered can stand against us in a fair fight.”

“What about the Juireans”

Riyad pursed his lips. “I’ve never met a Juirean, but from what I’ve heard, they may be a challenge. But I also heard how tough the Rigorians are and both of us have made easy work of them. But I have to admit, I have been trained at combat and am considered an accomplished warrior where I come from.”

Adam tensed up. His one advantage over his fellow human was the fact that he didn’t know Adam’s profession. In fact, as he listened, Adam was beginning to believe Riyad had been a terrorist in his past life.

“You were in the military” Adam asked, trying to make it sound as innocent as possible.

Riyad just laughed. “I guess you could say that. As an American, I’m not sure I should be telling you this, but for a while, I was a face in a deck of cards that your military carried with them in Iraq.”

Well he couldn’t play ignorant any longer. “You were a terrorist!” Adam tried to display as much shock and outrage as possible.

“I was a freedom fighter,” Riyad corrected without a trace of indignation. “My cause was just and I have no regrets fighting the infidels who invaded our lands and killed our women and children,” he droned. Adam got the sense Riyad was reciting a standard line. It all seemed so strange.

“So why do I sense that you don’t really believe that anymore” he asked.

“Well, look around you, my friend!” Riyad said, with a sweeping motion of his hand. “You can’t tell me that your belief in the Christian god has not been shaken over the past few days It’s hard to maintain your faith in light of the reality we both find ourselves in.”

“I was never that strong of a believer myself,” Adam offered.

“Oh don’t be mistaken, neither was I. That’s why I was leader in the movement and not a foot soldier. Suicide bombers are reserved for the young and most devote of our faith. The only time you’d see one of us take our own lives to meet Allah and our seventy-two virgins was when we have no choice.”

“By the way, we got Osama,” Adam injected, just to pick the scab.

“Captured”

“No, killed. In his pajamas.”

“That’s a shame,” was all Riyad said. “But he was more of a figurehead that our true leader. You do know he was not the one who planned the attack on 9/11 He was just the money man and helped supply some of the manpower for the attack.”

“Oh, we got Kalid Sheik Mohamed, too.”

Riyad just shrugged. “We all knew the risks we were taking. But that is all in the past now. We have both been shown a new future for our planet and for our race.”

“What do you mean”

The pirate leaned over on his elbow. “Adam, the Klin have plans for the human race. Why else would they be transporting 80 of our kind through hostile territory unless we are important to them. The Juireans have now learned that the Klin still exist, and they certainly will not let Earth remain unharmed knowing that they find us of value.”

“What do the Klin want with us”

“My guess is they are aware of our abilities. There is no telling how many of their ships have made it to and from Earth over the years, bringing humans to some unknown destination.” Then he grew very serious. “I believe the Klin are building a human army.”

Adam was shocked by this revelation, but he couldn’t dispute it. “So we can fight against the Jurieans”

“That would be my guess.” Riyad laughed and leaned back on the pillows. “And they couldn’t have picked a better race! We are pretty proficient killers; just look what we do to our own kind. Imagine what we could do against an alien enemy.”

Adam shook his head. “You come from a culture that doesn’t value life as much as we do,” Adam countered. “I don’t think we’re as blood-thirsty as you believe.”

“Bullshit! You’ve only been out here for a few days and how many aliens have you already killed”

“This isn’t a fucking video game! We’re not keeping score!”

“Sure we are,” Riyad shot back. “It’s us against them. When we’re faced with an enemy, we put aside all our humanity and treat them essentially as non-humans. I’ll prove it to you. A normal person, let’s say someone who works in a convenience store, joins the military and is sent out to kill other people - other humans. When he comes back home, to the so-called real world, no one - not even himself - considers him a murderer. Yet let him walk into that same convenience store and shoot the clerk, and now he is the most-vile of creatures. When you kill in war, it’s different. That’s why you Westerners keep calling us animals and savages, because you think we are killing indiscriminately. We are not. We are at war, and that makes all the difference. At least for us. And killing aliens - well, we wouldn’t give it a second thought!”

“I thought you said that was all in your past - my friend,” Adam said sarcastically.

“Old habits die hard.”

Adam knew he had a point. As a Navy SEAL, Adam had never concerned himself too much with the enemy he’d killed in combat. In fact, never gave it a second thought. Granted, he had seen horrific things on the battlefield, and that had upset him to a degree. The burned and maimed bodies, the bloody, ripped apart corpses, the vacant, hollow eyes of the dead — that you have trouble getting used to. But score one for the good guys, is how he always justified it. It was them or us. And he also had to admit, that when he had killed the Rigorian lizards and the Nimorians guards in the security building, he didn’t even feel a trace of remorse in doing so. It had been like stepping on a bug.

Riyad was studying Adam’s face as he went through the mental exercise, a sly smile on his face. “You know I’m right,” he stated. “We would be the perfect warriors for the Klin.”

Adam shook his head. “This is not our war. I’m really sorry that the Klin were screwed by the Juireans thousands of years ago — talk about holding grudges — but we have no motivation to fight the Juireans.”

“Not yet. But once the Juireans learn of our importance to the Klin, they will come down on us with everything they’ve got.”

Damn it! This terrorist keeps coming up with good points, Adam thought. “So what can we do about it”

“For starters, we can keep the computer core out of the hands of the Juireans.” Riyad sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. He was suddenly very animated. “We have a great opportunity here to bring to our homeworld the gift of the universe!” he said, his eyes growing wide, even wild-looking. “Imagine what a power we could become with the technology of the Juireans, of star travel and energy weapons. With our skill at war, we could direct our talents toward other enemies, and not toward humans. We’ve never been able to do that before. We would be the new force in the galaxy!”

This line of thinking seemed very familiar. In fact, it was what Kaylor had told him about the early Juireans who had built The Mass to help redirect their own primitive, warlike nature toward outside enemies, real or perceived. And Riyad was saying that humanity should follow the same path as the Juireans.

Adam studied the terrorist as he spoke; he had an almost insane look on his face as he described his vision for humans entering the community of civilizations in the galaxy. Is this how Adam would have imagined humans becoming part of this universe He had never put much thought into it, having never been that big of a science fiction fan. Yet he hoped that Riyad’s way would not be the only way, as a savage horde of primitive beasts spreading out like a plague. Of course, Adam may have been a little melodramatic in his assessment, but he also knew the dark side of humanity. He wasn’t sure if humanity was ready for the universe. Not quite yet.

“Why do we have to go out as a force — as you call it — at all Why not as friends, as partners with the other races in the galaxy” Even as he spoke the words, he knew they sounded hollow.

Riyad just smiled back, almost a sympathy smile for an innocent child. “I don’t know what kind of life you had back in America, Mr. Cain, but I do not hold such a na‹ve view of our fellow man. I have seen incredible injustices done by man towards man—”

“Often in the name of religion, I might point out,” said Adam angrily to the Muslim.

“No doubt. But that doesn’t change the fact that as a species we have survived and spread across our planet by killing our own kind and taking their land and possessions. That is how we will spread across the galaxy as well. It is our nature. Now we have the opportunity to direct that force against creatures other than human.”

Then it dawned on him. “With you as our leader, I suppose” Adam said.

Riyad stared back at him for a moment before answering. “Why not Someone has to lead, and I have more experience with the aliens than anyone,” he said evenly.

Now it was all coming clear to Adam. This megalomaniac wanted to return to Earth to be its ruler, using the advanced technology of the Juireans. And then he wanted to lead it in a galactic war that would cost millions, if not billions of human lives. It was one thing to defend oneself against an enemy, yet it was quite another to instigate a war just for your own selfish ambitions. It may very well come down to humans having to defend themselves against a Juirean attack, but the way Riyad made it sound, he wanted to provoke a war so he could become the savior, the hero of any such conflict.

And then Adam laughed, as the foolishness of the conversation suddenly struck him. Riyad recoiled slightly. “What’s so funny,” he asked, sounding insulted.

“Just look at us,” Adam said. “Two measly humans, sitting in a room aboard an alien spaceship, talking about leading an entire planet in a galactic war against an empire spanning thousands of worlds! And you’re taking it seriously! When did we enter the Twilight Zone We probably won’t survive the next few days, let alone long enough to return to Earth and lead the entire planet on some holy quest against an alien empire. You’ve got to be crazy to think like that!”

Riyad stood suddenly, his jaw locked in anger. “You are wrong, Mr. Cain. Humans have a destiny that must be fulfilled, and the events of the next few days will determine whether or not we fulfill that destiny. I will get the core and I will find the location of Earth and of the Klin. Then we will see which one of us is crazy!”

Riyad then stormed out of the room, leaving Adam a little stunned at his reaction. It was all so surreal. But then he figured it probably wasn’t the first time in his life that Riyad had been called crazy!

With Riyad gone, Adam had his first real chance to really inspect the bomb strapped to his ankle. The band itself seemed to have melded together leaving no latch of any kind, and the box where the explosive was held was seamless as well, leaving no way to gain access to the interior. The only solution he could see would be to cut away the device through the band. But what could he use, and was the metal even capable of being cut He tried bending it and found the metal to be malleable. That would make it easier to get something between his ankle and the bomb. What he needed was something like a pipe cutter, a serrated wire that he could use to file through the metal.

There might be something like that in the cargo hold. But as the door slid open, he found himself face-to-face with Jym, looking pale and nervous.

Startled, it took Jym a moment to collect himself, then he said, “We are at the asteroids and the pirate wants you to come to the pilothouse right away.” Jym seemed to be numb with fear. Adam knew the bomb on his ankle was freaking him out, as it would anyone.

Silently, Adam followed Jym back up to the pilothouse, which was packed with people. Riyad did not acknowledge him as he entered, so he leaned against the far wall, next to the doorway.

The outer shield was open and Adam could see out into the darkness of space. If they were in an asteroid belt out there, it was impossible to tell. He couldn’t see a single thing outside except for the blaze of stars off in the distance. There was no great cluster of floating rocks, looking like giant potatoes, all in close proximity of each other as he had seen in all the movies. As it had been with most things in this strange universe, he was mildly disappointed.

Riyad stood behind Kaylor, who was busy working the control stick of the ship. And then Adam saw something in the distance. It looked like a dim flare that seemed to be getting brighter. Soon he could make out a small cylinder, which grew larger as the seconds passed. It was the pod, approaching them on chemical power.

Riyad looked back at Adam, no kindness in his gaze. “You have weak thoughts,” he said to him. “You will always be a weak man.”

Ouch. He’s still pissed at being called crazy, Adam thought, smiling back at the pirate. You just wait until I get this bomb off my ankle. Then I’ll show just how weak I am.

Moments later Kaylor had brought the pod back into the ship, and by robotics, had moved it into the cargo hold. They all moved into the large room as Kaylor entered the pod and came out a few moments later with the computer core.