The Tactics of Revenge (26 page)

Linuso did recognize the face immediately. “Ah, Senior Fellow Lumonsee, I am glad to see we have finally made contact with you. I have a special guest here with me, Mr. Adam Cain. I believe the two of you have met.”

“Pleabaen, you may want to have this conversation in private,” said the pale Klin, his voice low and serious.

“Nonsense. This is a glorious time for the Klin. Speak, Senior Fellow, what news have you from Earth. I’m sure our guests will find it interesting.”

Still the Klin hesitated, his eyes narrow, his lips tight. Finally, he spoke, “Linuso, the Humans have staged a purge.”

Linuso suddenly became very serious. “What do you mean?”

“They have begun arresting – or killing – all the surrogates they can find. Also, it appears as though most of our 2G’s have joined the native Humans in this effort, helping to identify the remaining surrogates.”

“Silence!” Linuso commanded, rising from his chair. “Off screen!” The image disappeared, to be replaced by a sold gray screen before expanding once again to show the interior of the Klin flagship.

Linuso and two of his aides headed for the door to the theater room. “Oops,” Adam said, sliding down a little further in the comfortable padded seat. This was getting interesting.

Chapter 50

Once in the command center, Linuso had the image of Lumonsee transferred to a nearby monitor. “Explain!” he yelled.

“The attacks have been coordinated across the entire planet, plus all the ships in orbit. Humans are now aboard my ship and are hunting me. I do not have much time.”

“So we are going to lose control of the planet.” It was a statement, not a question.

“That is true.”

“But what of our assistance – can the Humans survive without us?”

“From the few reports I have received from the surviving surrogates, the natives have apparently been building many of their own facilities, unknown to us until now. They have apparently mastered our technology – and they
are
prolific builders.”

“And what of this new fleet entering the Fringe?” Linuso asked. From the look on Lumonsee’s face, the Pleabaen could tell he knew nothing of it.”

“What new fleet? None have left from here. However, the Humans have commandeered all of our ships, both in orbit as well as those under construction. I estimate they are now in control of a fleet over twelve-hundred ships in strength.”

“Plus another five-hundred thirty-five that have just recently entered the Fringe Sector.”

“I am not aware of this.”

“You are apparently not aware of a lot of things happening under your jurisdiction, Lumonsee.”

“My failings, Pleabaen, will soon be paid for with my life; the Humans are very near. I only hope that this subterfuge isn’t a precursor to something more widespread.”

“What do you mean?”

“Simple. The Humans are proving to be very deceptive. If what you say is true – about a new fleet arriving in the Fringe – then they have managed to pull off a major coup in spite of all our efforts. It appears as though the Pleabaens – both now and in the past – may have underestimated the abilities of the Humans.”

“That is yet to be supported. So far the only failings I have seen have come from your jurisdiction.”

“And what of Adam Cain and
his
activities? That single Human has disrupted our timelines for three years already, so much so that our manipulation of the war had to be advanced by twenty years.”

“This line of conversation is getting us nowhere, Lumonsee,” the Pleabaen scolded. “I will deal with events as they unfold; you, however, should prepare yourself for your imminent demise.”

“I will do what is necessary. I have confidence that the Klin will survive; we always have. Just beware, Pleabaen, the Humans are not as we supposed.”

Lumonsee looked off to his right, as a disturbance was heard from that direction. He then turned back to the screen. “Farewell, Linuso—” and he cut the link.

Linuso remained staring at the blank screen for several seconds. He was desperately trying to correlate all the information he had just received and to determine how it all related to the current events taking place thousands of light years away. The new Human fleet – he was positive now that it did exist – was too far out to affect the outcome of the battle about to take place off Falor-Kapel. The Klin, with their Kracori allies, could still accomplish the ultimate goal of this phase of the master plan. Whatever was happening on Earth was of no consequence at this moment, or into the foreseeable future. Yes, the Humans would have to be dealt with, but that could wait. That situation was months away from having to be resolved.

Right now, the Pleabaen had a galaxy to take over.

Chapter 51

Linuso had been gone from the theater room for fifteen minutes, and by the time he returned – stern-faced and tight-lipped – the first engagements in the battle of Falor-Kapel had already taken place. The Pleabaen slipped into his seat and placed his chin on his hand, his elbow resting on the arm of the chair.

“So the people of Earth don’t want to play your games anymore,” Adam said, poking the bear.

When the Pleabaen didn’t reply, Adam pressed a little more. “So how does this affect your plans for galactic domination?”

Linuso lifted his head and glared at Adam. “You believe we Klin have been doing all of this for power and for domination? You are wrong! We do this for justice. The galaxy will be a better place with the Klin in…” he hesitated ever so briefly… “power.”

“That’s what they all say.”

“Silence,” Linuso commanded, “else I reconsider my decision to allow you and your companions to observe the battle!”

Adam glanced over at Sherri and smiled. She reciprocated and squeezed his arm a little tighter. If they were going to go out, they all preferred to go out with a bang.

The screen before them remained split, and on the left side they could see the cloud of green and red contacts begin to intertwine. To Adam, it reminded him of a Christmas ornament, even though he knew people were dying before his very eyes.

The green dots dominated, forming a sphere around the red contacts, who, even though outnumber two-to-one, appeared to be holding the integrity of their lines. And yet, despite their tenacity, the red dots were being compressed into an ever-smaller ball within the sphere. Adam could see the writing on the wall. The battle couldn’t last much longer.

“Fleet Master,” Linuso said, startling all the others in the theater room who had been intently watching the left screen. “You may begin your attack. The Humans are of no consequence; your priority will be to prevent any Juirean ships from escaping.”

“Understood, Pleabaen,” Hoden acknowledged. He turned on the screen and nodded to one of the Kracori seated at a console facing the back of his chair.

Just then, a large set of undesignated contacts appeared at the bottom of the left screen in the theater room, approaching the battle from a direction along the main entry point to the Kapelean Corridor.

“Your forces are out of position, Hoden,” Linuso stated sharply.

The Fleet Master turned his back on the screen again and had a quick and muffled conversation with an agitated Kracori behind him. When he turned back to the screen, his eyes were wide with shock.

“They are not our ships, Pleabaen.”

“More Juireans?”

Hoden turned back to the Kracori.

“Give me answers, Fleet Master!” Linuso lifted out of his seat and took a step toward the screen. At the same time, the senior military advisor seated next to him hurried out of the theater room and into the main command center.

Adam looked over at Riyad, who was seated to his left, and raised an eyebrow. “It appears as though our Klin friends do not like surprises,” Riyad said through a bright, toothy smile.

“Yes, the plot thickens,” Adam said, sitting up a little straighter in his chair and glanced around at the others seated around him. He caught Lt. Tobias’s eye, and sent him a wink.

“Classic,” was all the Lieutenant said.

Fleet Master Hoden leaned in toward the screen. “The gravity signatures match our own, Linuso, but they are not our ships. And we count over five hundred of them closing on the battle scene.”

Chapter 52

For two billion years, each of the gas giants had played host to a pair of massive asteroid rings, and for most of their orbital journeys, these tiny bodies of rock and metal remained at relative peace and stability with their sisters. Yet there was a place where the two rings merged, to intertwine in a complex and violent dance of unpredictable collisions and billiard-ball like disbursement. This place was called the meat-grinder.

It was here that the two gas giants of Falor and Kapel fought for dominance within their system, not allowing any smaller planetoids to gain footholds to become planets in their own right, not against the completing tidal pulls of the giants. It was through this invisible tug-o-war that the somewhat uniformed rings would enter, then scatter, only to be pulled back in line by the colossal gravities of the giants once emerging from the meat-grinder. And this had been going on for billions of years.

Near the confluence of these rings, there formed a narrow corridor of relative quite between the giants and the colliding asteroids, where gravity and matter were formed a tenuous alliance. Unfortunately, there was only one way in or out of what was known as the Kapelean Corridor. Arriving along the elliptical plane was suicide; the only approach came from the top, with the bottom of the corridor effectively blocked by the thickness of the completing asteroid belts.

To travelers familiar with the Falor-Kapel system, the Corridor was well-known. To others, entering this stellar Venus-flytrap, without knowing the way out, could spell disaster.

The Juireans knew the system well, and as such, found the confusing dynamic of dead-ends in space to be particularly ironic when planning their trap for the unsuspecting Humans. Escaping from the rear of the Corridor was nearly impossible. And now with the damper field strung across the entrance, the Juireans were effectively planning to place themselves at the bottom of a jar and then close the lid, effectively trapping themselves inside with a swarm of wild and angry Humans.

For the Humans, the trap was simply too inviting to ignore. Here was a small force of Juireans, the remnants of their much larger fleet, now backed into a corner with nowhere to run. With nearly all of the recent battles ending with the Juireans engaging deep-gravity wells and departing, the Humans would surely find the lure of a fight to the death fitting justice for the attack upon their homeworld. Yes, the Humans would bite. They would enter the Corridor – their bloodlust would allow for nothing less.

Yet unknown to the Humans, there were over three hundred additional Juirean ships already in the jar, invisible, in dark status. Once the invaders were in the jar – and with the lid snapped shut – the Humans would have no way to escape. It would be a glorious and momentous victory for the Juireans, and reestablish their reputation as the greatest warriors in the galaxy.

The Council knew that the Juirean myth of invincibility had suffered greatly over the past several months. The strategy of hit-and-retreat was making the once-vaunted Juirean military the laughing stock of the galaxy. An attempt to lock down the media coverage concerning the string of Juirean defeats had failed miserably. Recently, however, the Council had begun to use the media to spread the rumor of even greater Juirean losses, hoping that the news would filter its way back to the rapidly advancing Humans. The more the invaders believed the Juireans to be weak and on the verge of defeat, the more headlong would be their flight into the trap.

Council Elder Hydon Ra Elys was feeling conflicted with the strategy. He was the proudest of the proud Juireans and hated to see the reputation of his race besmirched, if even for a greater good. Even though the plan was sound, Hydon still made a resolution: after this conflict was over he would show the Expansion just how powerful the Juireans were – and still are. Even now, the factories were running around the clock churning out the machines and weapons of war. Going forward, he would not have them slow. Instead, he would rebuild the Juirean military might and then clamp down on any uprising, and squelch any discontent among the Members. Within the Expansion of the future, there would be no doubt left as to who was in charge of the galaxy.

The threat from the Humans had opened Hydon’s eyes to the complacency his kind had been guilty of over the millennia. In reality, the galaxy was still a dangerous place, and one never knew from where the next threat would emerge. From here and evermore, the Juireans would be ready to face any foe. They would not be caught unprepared again.

Chapter 53

Captain Lee Schwartz had already fallen for the old
‘run ‘em through the asteroid field’
ploy once before, and as a result, he wasn’t about to fall for it a second time. Of course, this did limit his options as to how he would deploy his numerically-superior shadow fleet in the coming battle.

Thus far, there had been no confirmation that the Juireans had even reinforced their rapidly dwindling fleet, yet the strategy was too obvious to ignore. And now they had backed themselves into a corner. Lee – along with all the top brass in the fleet – just couldn’t believe that the vastly more-experienced Juireans would let this happen by accident. No, this was deliberate, and as such it must mean that it was here where the aliens planned on springing their trap.

On the charts it was called Falor-Kapel; for Lee, it was a chance to get back in the action.

Of course, it had been drilled into him time and again by his uncle that Captain Lee Schwartz was now in
command
of the fleet, and not just one of its jet-jockeys, as he called them, even though that term no longer applied to ships in space. It was now his job to stand back and observe the entire battlefield and to deploy his forces as needed. Lee agreed that would be hard to do with your ass on fire, in the middle of a dogfight with an alien spacecraft.