The Fringe Worlds (15 page)

Adam was again disappointed. The almighty Core was just a relatively plain looking metal box about one meter square. But even though it didn’t look that impressive, Adam found himself growing ever more excited at the prospect of what information the core contained. In some form, it would reveal the location of the Earth. Whether or not Adam could use that information to actually get home remained to be seen. But first things first.

Kaylor brought the box over to the workbench with the computer screen imbedded in the wall above and Jym stepped up to begin connecting cables to it. Soon the lights on the face began to illuminate and Riyad moved closer. Everyone began to focus on the screen in the wall as Jym began to type feverishly on the keypad on the workbench.

Then symbols began to appear on the screen. Adam couldn’t read alien, so it was all Greek to him. And unless the information could be spoken so his translation bug could decipher the symbols for him, he would never be able to understand the data! This he had not counted on.

But Riyad seemed to be growing just as distraught as Adam felt. His eyes were wide and his jaw was set. He grabbed the back of Jym’s tunic, “What is this crap” he yelled at a sweating Jym.

“I’m sorry,” Jym pleaded, his voice a shrill, “but it appears to be encrypted. Or there’s a compatibility issue with our systems.”

“Don’t fuck with me, you rodent!”

“No, no. I can’t make it work. It needs to be hooked into a compatible module.”

Riyad released Jym and began to pace the room, all eyes upon him. Then he abruptly stopped and faced Kaylor, “Take us back to Nimor! We have to get aboard the Klin ship.” Then he said to his guards, “Secure the core. No one is to get near it except for me.” He looked directly at Adam as he spoke the last words.

Soon everyone had left the cargo bay, everyone except Adam.

It’s almost impossible to sneak up on someone when using a gravity drive; with the right sensors you can be seen for millions of kilometers as you approach.

So when the Juirean Fleet arrived near K’ly, the alarms sounded at the pirate base and crews scrambled for their ships.

Pirates lived life on the edge, constantly looking over their shoulders for any real or perceived threats. One of their major concerns was the expectation that one of the more ambitious governments in the Fringe would try to gain political points by attacking their home base. So escape plans were honed and drills were run until a pirate crew could have their ship away and in a well within 10 minutes of an alarm.

And so like roaches when the lights comes on, 23 pirate craft were bolting into space in a myriad of directions, so as to make it nearly impossible for an attacker to catch more than a few of the stragglers. Practice made perfect. For the others - well the outcome was not so perfect.

Captains Jiden and Meldeon were on perimeter duty when the Juirean Fleet appeared. The assignment was a temporary punishment for their cut-and-run abandonment of the ship they’d attacked a few days earlier. Their real punishment would come when General Riyad returned from Nimor.

Stationed about one-and-a-half million kilometers from K’ly, in the plain of the ellipse, the two ship’s captains spotted the massive gravity signatures moments before those on the planet. Immediately on a link with each other, they quickly discussed their options.

Their first impulse was to run, just as their comrades were in the process of doing down on K’ly. But then they hesitated. They had just been fooled before by this very action. How would General Riyad react if they fell for the same ruse twice in a row!

So they stayed, charging up their weapons, battle crews at the ready.

One can only imagine the captains’ shock when 16 Juirean battle cruisers came into extreme visual range, fanned out over 10,000 kilometers so as to avoid overlapping wells. Turning to run, the two pirate ships didn’t make it very far before multiple bolts of intense plasma energy struck them from behind, taking out their back wells and most of their generator capacity.

Their ships remained in real space, drifting together, as two large battle cruisers slid in beside them and activated magnetic grapples. The rest of the Fleet continued toward K’ly.

Jiden and Meldeon kept their link open as they expressed their confusion as to why the Juireans had not simply blown them to atoms. But they were still alive, and that had to count for something. So deciding that resistance was futile, they instructed their crews to stand down and allow the ships to be boarded without a fight.

It’s a mistake to assume that a Juirean Fleet was manned solely by Juireans. In fact, out of the 1,520 beings occupying the Fleet, there was only one Juirean aboard: Fleet Commander Giodol Fe Bulen. Once the pirate ships were secured, their two captains were brought before the Juirean in his spacious stateroom aboard his flagship.

Two heavily armed Rigorians forcefully dumped the captains into chairs before the Juirean, who remained seated behind his massive desk, casually stroking the MK-34 high-velocity bolt launcher that lay on the desk.

“I want information,” he began slowly. “Three days ago a group of pirates attacked a ship in the Void near the Nimorian system. Do you have any knowledge of this action”

The two captains looked at each other, then back to the Juirean. Meldeon spoke first: “There are a number of pirate ships here. We’re not aware of this particular attack.” Both shifted nervously in the chairs.

The Juirean bore a dagger look at them. “Are you sure You’ve not heard anything of this attack”

“Nothing, My Lord,” Jiden offered.

The Juirean just nodded, then after a moment, lifted the MK-34 and sent a stun bolt into Jiden’s chest! The captain was thrust backwards as the chair tumbled over. Hurt, but not severely injured, the two guards righted the chair and threw him back into it.

The Fleet Commander took the weapon and dialed up the charge by three clicks and then placed the weapon back on the desk. He returned his attention Meldeon.

“Again, I’ll ask the question-“

“Yes! Yes we know of the attack!” Meldeon blabbered. “We are two of the three captains who were there. But we were just following orders, My Lord.”

“That’s not important. What is important is what you took from the ship before you departed.”

The captains looked at each other again, confused, Jiden through spasms of burning pain. Then Meldeon spoke again, “My Lord, we took nothing from the ship. We didn’t have time. Captain Angar had just finished his sweep for survivors when we were - when we departed.”

The Juirean cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “You took nothing Are you sure”

It was Jiden’s turn to plead their innocence. “Captain Angar went aboard. But we know for a fact that he did not take anything. We all expressed our frustration about having nothing for our effort.”

The Juirean began to nod his head. “That’s very interesting. All I’m really concerned about is if anything was taken. And you both say there was nothing removed”

The captains nodded emphatically. Then the Fleet Commander lifted the weapon again and blasted a hole through Meldeon’s forehead! The shot was clean and tight, and Meldeon simply slumped down in the chair, his head falling forward.

Stunned, Jiden began to tremble uncontrollably, his eyes wide with terror, saliva flowing from the corners of his mouth. The Juirean stared at him. “I’ll ask the question again: Was anything taken from the ship”

“No My Lord! I swear as such! We took nothing!” He began to sob loudly.

“Now, now captain. Pirates are not supposed to cry,” Giodol said soothingly. “I believe you. I just had to be sure.”

Jiden sat up a little straighter and wiped the moisture from his face. “Thank you My Lord. I’m telling you the truth.”

“I know.” Then the Juirean lifted the weapon and placed a bolt through Jiden’s chest. Then he depressed a button on his desk and said, “Open a link to the Overlord, immediately.”

Moving quickly, Adam scanned the cargo hold for anything he could use to cut the bomb off of his ankle. The cargo bay was filled with a plethora of tools, most of them robotic. From his brief time with the aliens, he had noticed that they weren’t very coordinated, and this must carry over to their use of tools, too.

However, Adam soon found what he was looking for. It was a thin wire with a corrugated edge. Taking a length of it, he threaded the wire between his leg and the strap then gripped the two ends of the wire with a couple of cloth rags. Then he began to saw back and forth against the strap.

It wasn’t long before metal dust began to accumulate on the chair. After about a minute he could see the wire making progress, cutting into the edges to the strap. This was going to work!

So he stopped.

It was too early to let Riyad know that he could escape from the ankle bomb. After all, Kaylor and Jym were still wearing theirs. He would pocket the wire and then formulate a plan later. And it would also be nice to get his hands on the detonator.

Adam returned to his room. The journey to the asteroids had taken about six hours, so they should be arriving back at Nimor in about three. He had a lot of thinking to do.

Reclining on the bed, Adam began to rerun the conversation he’d had with Riyad. So we’re the Supermen Funny, he didn’t feel like one. Yet he did have to admit that any preconceived notions he had about being awed by the great alien empire and their vast superiority to humanity were completely dashed by now. There was little out here that impressed him. Sure, they could travel between stars and they did have some pretty neat energy weapons. But beyond that, just about everyone he’d encountered had been a big letdown, including the almighty Juireans.

So was it possible that Riyad could return to Earth and conquer the planet using the Juirean technology Conquer probably wasn’t the right word. After all, what good would it do him to inherit a planet ravaged by war

His plan would be more subtle. All he really had to do was allow the Juireans to learn of Earth’s existence and its importance to the Klin. Then offering himself as the most-qualified person to defend the planet against the alien threat, he could simply be appointed the leader of the world. That would satisfy his ambition, but what of the Earth Could one planet really stand up against the combined might of the Juirean Expansion Not likely, even with the help of the Klin, whoever they were. In fact, Adam had no idea who or what the Klin were. Were they friend or foe Would they use the humans simply as fodder to further their own need for revenge And were they any better than the Juireans

These were monumental questions for a 26-year-old human from California, and again, Adam had to let out an audible laugh. Was he really taking this line of thinking seriously Could what he did aboard this spaceship over the next day or so really impact the future history of his entire planet

Damn! This is some heavy shit, Adam thought. He closed his eyes. When he did, he saw a vision, an image of Maria and her dark eyes filled with tears, her bottom lip trembling. She had tried to remain strong on the day he left for Afghanistan, but it was getting so hard on both of them. No matter how many times you tried to prepare for a moment like this, it was never as you planned. This time it had been much harder! Adam opened his eyes in an effort to make the vision go away. That line of thinking was just too painful to take.

He stared at the ceiling, having no idea how all of this was going to work out. But he knew one thing for certain: He had to get home. If there was any way possible, he would do it. And if Riyad had plans for involving Earth in a galactic war, which could bring harm to Maria and Cassie, as well as to everyone else who was important to him, then he would have to be stopped.

Just then an announcement came over the ship’s intercom: “General Riyad, please come to the pilothouse immediately!” It was one of the terrorist’s guards calling him.

Curious, Adam left his room and went to the pilothouse. He arrived the same time as Riyad.

“What is it” the pirate leader demanded.

“We just received a link from your command ship. The K’ly base has been attacked by the Juirean Fleet!”

Adam saw Riyad’s dark face grow a few shades deeper as veins in his neck began to protrude. Kaylor and Jym entered the room and Riyad spun to face them.

“See what your lies have done! The Juireans think we have the core so my base has been attacked! All because of you.”

Adam was half-expecting to see Riyad draw his weapon and shoot both the aliens dead right there on the spot. Instead he turned to the guard. “Any word on the damage”

The guard was listening on a headset. “So far, only five ships are unaccounted for. Your emergency evacuation plans were successful. The fleet is regrouping at the backup location.”

“Who did we lose”

“Filor, Caporian, Jiden, Sim and Meldeon,” the guard reported.

Jiden and Meldeon, good, Riyad thought. The filthy cowards were on perimeter duty. This is partially their fault any way. Then to the guard: “Send Captain Angar’s ship to the rendezvous location with orders to coordinate all survivors. Backup supplies and weapons are to be distributed and send out perimeter guards immediately. The Juireans will not rest until they have what they seek.”

He turned to face Adam, fire in his eyes. “If you or your alien friends give me even one more problem, I will kill all of you without a second thought.” Then he stormed out of the room.

Adam spent the next couple of hours with Kaylor and Jym in the common room, sipping on carbonated drinks and chewing on some sort of granola-tasting cake. The aliens were scared to the point of incapacity; Jym had even thrown up a couple of times. Adam could sympathize with them, but he was also a little disappointed in their total lack of courage in the face of danger. Were these the same two aliens who had scared the pirates away from the Klin ship He knew a showdown was coming with Riyad and his guards, and he dreaded the thought of having to rely on these two for any help at all.