Human Chronicles Part 2 Book 2: The Apex Predator (17 page)

Runor turned to another Kracori officer who was sitting toward the back of the room. “Samen, I believe our Klin partners would welcome this information. Please inform them.”

The officer stood and left the room.

“Yes, it is true; the Kracori and Klin are allies once again in the struggle against your kind. And since you evoked the name of the Jusepi, then it is obvious you know of the new skirmish that has erupted between them and your kind. You now have three enemies all conspiring to put an end to your race. And yet it is
this
fleet that will bring about the ultimate demise of Human-kind.”

“You’ve tried this before,” Adam said, speaking for the first time. “What makes you think you’ll have better luck this time around?”

“A fair question, Adam Cain. We know of the strength of your military, and how even if we were to send all our military might against you, it would still not be enough, not when considering the vast distances our fleet would have to travel and the prolonged engagement such an attack would require.” The Kracori officer paused, leaving Adam to fill in the silence.

“So why do it? You know you can’t win. Earth is too closely guarded, thanks in part to the last time the Kracori tried to strike the planet.”

“Agreed! And that is where the wonder of this plan is to be admired. You must understand that the Jusepi war is simply a diversion. Even as we speak, the defenders of Earth are speeding away toward Jusepi space in an effort to make quick work of the uprising. According to our Klin allies, the debate on your planet was lively, as each side argued for either a more-modest response to the revolt or for an all-out assault using all the forces available. One argument would involve a longer, more drawn-out campaign; the other would get the conflict over quickly. And even though this would leave Earth temporarily unprotected, it was an acceptable risk for a quick resolution to the crisis. In the end, the remaining Klin surrogates on your world were able to influence the final decision.”

“So you’ll be free to strike a near-defenseless world….”

“Correct, Adam Cain, it will be the ultimate solution to the death-veil your people have imposed on the Kracori. We also know the Humans are aware of the location of Elision, so I’m sure you will appreciate the urgency – as well as the necessity – of our actions. You have left us no choice.”

“I was told on Aslon that the last of your fleet has arrived. So is that to mean the attack will commence soon?”

Runor frowned. “You were told this by the O’mly? I find this very disturbing, yet one of the unfortunate circumstances of having to rely on others to provide our staging area.” He entered something into his datapad. “The O’mly are such an insignificant race, with nothing to offer the Kracori in the long-term. You, Adam Cain, have helped me reach a decision to a dilemma I have been struggling with for a while. Now when we depart this system for Earth, the fleet will conduct practice fire upon Aslon. It will be a fitting rehearsal to the destruction of Earth.”

“You’ll destroy an entire civilization just for target practice?” Sherri shouted. “When Humans do wipe your miserable world out of existence, the galaxy will be much better off. Your kind doesn’t deserve to live.”

‘Do not be so melodramatic, Sherri Valentine. Your people are about to do the same to the Jusepi.”

“We won’t indiscriminately attack civilian populations, only those fighting against us.”

“Do you honestly believe that? Humans and Kracori are one and the same; it was the reason the Klin chose our two races to serve our particular functions in their ultimate plan. We are two savage races who were always destined to rule the galaxy. Humans had that opportunity, and yet you gave it up. Now it will be the Kracori’s turn.”

He stopped abruptly and his tone turned deadly serious. He looked at Adam. “Now tell me, does your fleet also employ the advanced gravity-drive as does your ship? If so, then the transit time from Jusepi space back to Earth would be greatly reduced and my plans will have to be altered. I must know the extent of this technology within your fleet!”

Adam simply smiled. He now possessed information the Kracori commander desperately needed. He wasn’t exactly sure how the alien would go about extracting it from them, but for now he was enjoying watching the gray creature squirm.

Chapter 24

The Klin…

A
norn Elsinum was one of only four Klin on the planet Aslon, cloistered away in a special section of the Kracori base on one of the larger islands in the Southern Sea. The water world had a more comfortable gravity for the tall, silver-skinned being, much more tolerable than the oppressive gravity aboard the Kracori warships. It was much easier for the heavy-worlders to accommodate less gravity than it was for the opposite, so it was rare that a Klin would visit the fleet.

Yet Anorn was the one to receive the call from the Kracori officer regarding the capture of the two Humans, an event for which his immediate presence aboard the flagship was requested. At first he was at a loss as to why he was being informed of the capture in the first place, let alone why his presence was required. Yet the Kracori officer on the link seemed to think the names of the two aliens relayed to him should hold some significance.

Adam Cain and Sherri Valentine
; Anorn shook his head after struggling to recall the names from his memory. Nothing … just two odd names of no importance to him.

 
Eventually, he went to the Kracori data center and requested a terminal. As always happened when the Kracori had to deal with a Klin, the clerk in the center regarded him with unbridled contempt. Anorn was always confused at this reaction; it had been the
Kracori
who revolted against the Klin, killing over two thousand of his kind, so if anyone should show distain and contempt, it should be the Klin towards to Kracori. And yet the Klin did not react that way. Instead, they accepted the fact of the loss … and then immediately began to make plans for revenge against the Kracori.

Yet the Klin revenge would be more subtle than visible contempt. It would be well-planned and could take place over generations. The Klin were patient. Only when the time was right would the Kracori experience the full wrath of the Klin.

But first the Human situation had to be resolved, and that was the only reason the Klin and Kracori were now allies once again.

The Kracori clerk reluctantly activated a terminal for Anorn, and then it was only seconds before the significance of the two Humans was revealed. As Anorn read the report, he kept thinking that he should have known this, since the events he read about had had such a major impact on the fate of the Klin. Adam Cain – and to a lesser degree, Sherri Valentine – had been a major thorn in the side of the Klin for going on fifteen years. In fact, it had been because of the Human male that the timetable for the start of the Juirean War had been accelerated. It could be argued that this single event was enough to cause the entire plan to fall apart, resulting in the Kracori sacking of Juir – not the Klin – and leading to the Humans assuming control of the Expansion – not the Klin. Even the Kracori revolt against the Klin could be traced back to Adam Cain and his escape from Marishal. Cain’s forewarning the Humans of the Klin plans had left the Kracori in a difficult position, with the Klin now useless to them. A revolt was inevitable, along with the deaths of all his Klin brothers and sisters.

Even the death of the great Pleabaen Summlin was the result of Cain’s escape from the planet Marishal. Summlin had led the Klin for over a hundred years, bringing the race the closest they had ever come to getting the revenge they had sought against the Juireans for over four-thousand years. And it had been the Human Adam Cain who had ruined it all.

And now the notorious Adam Cain was a prisoner aboard the Kracori flagship. Yes, Anorn would have to don a lightweight exo-suit and journey to the Kracori ship; Cain was too important a prisoner to be left in the custody of the Kracori. Besides, the more Anorn thought about it, he wondered who was in the most danger at the time, Adam Cain or the Kracori? Now fully-briefed on the background of the two Humans, he was pretty sure it was the Kracori.

Chapter 25

Adam Cain…

A
dam and Sherri were taken from the Fleet Commander’s quarters and placed in the brig. The Kracori had an actual jail aboard their ship, which made him wonder about relationships between Kracori, since the jail had not been built specifically to hold them. Maybe Humans and the Kracori
were
just two sides of the same coin….

There were only two cells, and they were faced with a clear glass wall with a door set in it and secured by an electronic lock. Once they were inside and the Kracori guards had moved back to their stations, Sherri leaned in close to Adam and whispered, “How long are we going to stay here?” Her voice was low and muddied, just in case their conversations were monitored.

Adam covered his mouth and cupped his hand, directing the sound towards Sherri. “A while longer; we still don’t know the strength of the fleet or the timetable for the attack.”

Sherri hugged him, placing her mouth next to his ear. “You’re sure you can get us out of here?”

“About eighty-two point six percent sure.”

Sherri pulled away and looked at him with a puzzled look. “I thought the odds would be higher,” she whispered.

Adam smiled. “There’s a whole shit-load of gadgets and gizmos operating here … and remember I’m still a rookie. It’s hard for me to keep everything straight.”

Sherri’s expression changed to one of concern. “I hadn’t thought of that. And what about the
Pegasus
, what if they tear her apart before we leave?”

“If that’s the case, then we’ll have to take over this whole damn ship.” His smile conveyed confidence, yet his eyes were clouded with doubt.

Sherri took Adam by the arm and led him to the only cot in the cell. “Then you better lie down here and get to work.”

“I thought you said I was being lazy for lounging around all the time getting fat?”

“Just do it,” she commanded, pushing him down on the bed. “Now you and your ATD get to work … and no sleeping on the job!”

********

The first thing Adam did was find a link with the
Pegasus
. His ship was within half-a-mile of his present location, so theoretically he could have complete control of the ship. He activated the internal monitors and did a quick scan of the ship’s present condition. Everything seemed to still be functioning, even though he did detect that the Kracori technicians were in the generator room and currently attempting to gain access to the main computer. Several of the covers had been removed from the generator components with probes attached to the circuits. Multiple-array drives were commonplace, yet it was the intricate arrangement and seemingly impossible overlapping of the focusing rings that had the technicians baffled.

Adam tapped into the various datapads carried by the techs and had the ATD translate the entries that had been made. A recent directive had been given instructing them to do all they could to gain access to the computer, the purpose to see if this technology was widespread among the Humans forces. If this question could be answered, then Adam and Sherri would become worthless to the Kracori. It was also obvious from the tone of the communications that the Kracori believed they had all the time in the world to dissect the
Pegasus
. The Human ship was now aboard the Kracori flagship, and the two Human pilots would soon be dead or turned over to the Klin. Either way, the ship was now the property of Kracori military and would remain so forever.

Adam Cain was of a different opinion.

He commanded the ATD to send a debilitating virus from the computer aboard the
Pegasus
to the datapads used by the techs. This would erase all data on the devices, and once the source of the virus was detected, it would give the Kracori pause to try hacking the ship’s computer again.

After the virus was delivered, Adam smiled at the panicked communications going back and forth between the technical crew and the military leaders. The military types insisted that they try again. The scientists and engineers refused, saying that the virus could possibly spread throughout the entire computer system of the flagship. This caused the brass to reconsider their order. A tense period of indecision followed.

Sherri was leaning against a wall of the cell and noticed Adam’s wide grin. He saw her looking at him and gave her a wink. She smiled back, content in the knowledge that Adam was making progress.

Next Adam tapped into the computer system of the flagship. Since all the data was in Kracori, it was difficult for him to decipher what he was looking for. Fleet numbers and operational orders were in there somewhere, he just needed to find them. The problem, he found out, was that once data was entered into the computer, either by written or verbal means, it was converted to an electronic code that effectively spelled out everything in the Kracori written language. If it had been verbal, then the translation device could search for certain words and phrases. He set the ATD to work deciphering the written language, at least to find these corresponding keywords he could then search for. In the meantime, he accessed the latest communications between Commander Runor and the Kracori command back on Elision. These transmissions were both visual and verbal. Adam pulled up an algorithm searching for any reference to fleet size and readiness.

It wasn’t long before he had his first hit. It had been a link only a few minutes ago, as Runor informed Elision of the capture of Adam and Sherri. It appeared that Command shared Runor’s concern for the tech level of the Human fleet, even though the Klin had assured them that there had been no great breakthroughs in gravity-drive technology being used by the Humans.

The Kracori were being cautious. The three-hundred-two ships within the fleet were ready to deploy as soon as confirmation was received that the Jusepi and Human forces had joined battle. That confirmation could come at any time, Runor was informed, and he was ordered to prepare his fleet for departure from the staging area.

Runor would comply, even though he repeated his concern regarding the gravity-drive of the
Pegasus
. Eventually, another officer on the link back on Elision had pointed out that since the Human fleet had not as yet arrived at Duelux, then the Humans must
not
be employing this revolutionary type of gravity-drive. If they had, then the battle would have been joined long before this.

The officer was immediately congratulated for his astute observation and Runor was authorized to leave the Aslon system and proceed to Earth at his discretion.

And what of the Human captives?

Runor was informed that a Klin representative would be arriving at the flagship within the hour to take possession of the prisoners. It was a tradeoff for the Kracori retaining possession of the Human starship. It seemed that once the Klin had been informed of the identities of the two Humans, they had been quite anxious to meet them.

Runor had joked with Command on Elision that it was too bad these two Humans would be removed from his ship. He had to explain the punch line to his superiors by saying that in a week or so, the Human race would be essentially extinct, with their kind to be found only in zoos and museums. The two Humans he held captive could become very rare indeed, and worth a lot of credits in the future.

The Kracori back on Elision now shared the joke, while wishing Runor luck on his mission to destroy the Human homeworld of Earth.

Once the link was cut, Adam had the bulk of the information he sought. He knew the fleet was three-hundred-two ships in strength and that it would depart momentarily. What he didn’t know was how the Kracori fleet expected to deliver the death-blow to Earth, yet he assumed it would be nuclear; the Kracori had tried this before. Yet that attack had only had ten ships to carry it out. This one was thirty-times that size.

It seemed as though this time the Kracori were serious about destroying the Human race.

Next Adam began mapping out an escape route, not within the ship, but within the ship’s electronics. He not only had to provide cover for Sherri and him to leave the ship in the
Pegasus
, but he also had to figure out a way to keep the fleet from immediately following them. With the diminished focusing ring array on his ship, he would only be slightly faster than the fastest Class-5 in the fleet. Arriving on Earth only an hour or so ahead of the aliens wouldn’t provide them enough time to mount a defense for an attack they were not aware was coming. The ship’s standard radio would be useless since the
Pegasus
would be arriving in the system at faster-than-light speeds. The planet would
not
be warned until their physical arrival.

And now he had a deadline for devising a plan and putting it into motion. There was a Klin coming to take them from the Kracori ship; that he couldn’t allow.

Adam closed his eyes and fought against the frustration he was feeling. His ATD could do so much when he was within range, and a half-mile was plenty when aboard a specific starship. Yet what about the other three-hundred-one ships in the fleet? He thought about trying to link up with Arieel back on Formil and ask for her advice. They could communicate near instantly across interstellar distances by riding along Continuous-Wormhole links. CW-communication was able to open microscopic wormholes between two points and keep them open for as long as an hour at a time. CW had revolutionized communications across the galaxy.

Adam began to search for a CW-link heading in toward the bulk of the galaxy. Once he found one, then he would create a phantom point using his ATD and then piggyback dozens of other links until he found the path to Formil and Arieel’s own module. Once that link was established, then they could communication telepathically for even longer than traditional CW links.

CW had changed the galaxy, and now nearly all advanced ships used the technology for their communications, even when traditional radio waves would have sufficed….

Adam suddenly sat up on the cot, his eyes wide. Sherri jumped at his sudden movement. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” said quickly. “But I think I just came up with an idea that could be … well incredible, if it works.”

Sherri looked around the cell quickly, frowning. She knew others were probably listening in on their conversation and didn’t want Adam, in his excitement, to alert the Kracori of a possible escape plan.

Adam smiled and nodded. He then fell back on the cot and closed his eyes. This was going to take a lot of concentration.

First Adam tapped into the communication system for the flagship and found what he was looking for. At any given moment, there were literally hundreds of CW–links going back and forth between the ships of the fleet, and being aboard the flagship meant all the others were coordinating through fleet command. Adam tried an experiment.

He hopped a ride on a link going to one of the nearby ships and was able to establish a subliminal connection with that ship’s central CW-comm computer. After checking that the link was solid and would exist even if the overlying link was cut, he began to see if he could drill deeper into the computer system of the other Kracori ship using the CW-computer as an access point.

The effort was exhausting, as Adam found that he first had to command the ATD to create a ghost version of itself aboard the other ship before he could venture beyond the CW computer. However, once this was done, Adam he was able to convey commands from his ATD directly to the ghost ATD, as if he was aboard the other ship himself. It wasn’t a fast process, but now Adam could bip around throughout the electronics of the faraway Kracori ship even though it could be light-years away.

Why Arieel or Trimen had never told him about this feature of the device was understandable – they probably didn’t even know it could be done! Until she met Adam, Arieel Bol had never used her device for offensive purposes and therefore never had the necessity to stretch the boundaries of its range. Now, as long as CW communications joined two points in space, Adam could infiltrate the CW-computer and other linked electronics at the distant station. His discovery would do nothing to extend his range for just normal electronics, only if they were linked by CW and centrally-controlled by a master computer, as were all electronics aboard a starship.

He opened his eyes and found Sherri staring at him with an intense, troubled look.
 
He smiled.