Scorched Earth: (The Human Chronicles Saga Book #16) (7 page)

Slowly, the aliens closest to the exits began to move away, followed quickly by the rest of the them. A couple of battery packs weren’t that important to lose one’s life over.

Adam stepped over to Access Tube Eight-Four—the one leading to the Mark VII—and opened the hatch. With Adam guiding the cart and Riyad pushing, the pair rushed down the tube. Using his ATD, the outer hatch opened. Adam rushed through the airlock and opened the inner door so the battery banks would fit inside. Then he commanded the outer hatch to close and the internal air pressure to rise.

Adam pulled off his helmet.

“Get the batteries to the engine room. I’m going to the bridge.”

Pogo, are we ready to go?

Yes, Adam Cain. I have also channeled some of my energy to the weapons. You should see a seventy-percent increase in their intensity.

No shit?

No shit.

Excellent. Can’t wait to try them out.

Adam fell into the pilot seat; the screens were already up and running. A cascade of native dust erupted from under the starship as Adam triggered the chemical lifting jets. A glance outside showed several of the Juirean ships riding matching clouds of grayish exhaust as they rose from the surface. With only a moment’s head start, Adam rotated the Mark VII around until the forward tip of the ship was facing the closest Juirean Class-2. He fingered the trigger on his control stick, activating the forward flash cannon.

He recoiled at the intensity of the white stream of plasma; a blind spot occupied the center of his vision
. Is this what a seventy-percent increase in bolt strength looks like? If so, I like it!

The target warcraft hadn’t reached enough altitude to engage its diffusion screens, so the full brunt of the enhanced bolt slammed into the hull. The thin metal skin melted instantly, allowing pressurized internal atmosphere to rush out with explosive force. The mortally-damaged warship tumbled sideways, falling toward the service colony, overcome by the stronger-than-normal artificial gravity of the planetoid.

By the time the vessel crashed into the main courtyard dome, Adam had already shifted the Mark VII to another target, firing off a series of bolts that ripped a wide gash along its port side hull. The Juirean warship fell back to the surface, at almost the same spot it had lifted from, before exploding upon impact.

The Mark VII was now several miles above the surface, and in the area where the much larger and better-shielded Class-4’s were waiting. Adam activated the ship’s shields, moments before the first powerful cannon bolt slammed into his starboard side.

Spinning the Mark VII into a cork-screw-like path, Adam managed to avoid the next two cannon blasts, while bringing the first of the two alien battlecruisers into his sights. This time he selected the prototype vessel’s ballistic weaponry, unleashing a barrage of cannon fire made up of seventy-millimeter, uranium-encased bullets. He found it amusing as the Juirean warcraft’s diffusion shields merely flickered with tiny flashes of light. The deadly lead slugs carried no electrical charge, so they passed through the shields without a second thought. Gaping holes perforated the silver hull, followed again by magnified explosions from the interior.

To defeat most starships, all it took was a breach of the pressurized hull. After that, air pressure did the rest. During normal combat operations, internal compartments were sealed off and non-essential areas purged of their atmosphere. That’s how the Humans did it. Juireans did that as well; however, the first Class-4 hadn’t taken the small Mark VII starship seriously, not until it was too late.

The other C-4 would be better prepared.

But Adam wasn’t going to give them a chance.  He activated the jump-drive. In the blink of an eye, the tiny, experimental starship disappeared.

Chapter 4

Once the Mark VII was back into its jump cycle, Adam sought out the tiny ancient orb.

“What the hell was that flash bolt all about?” he asked aloud. The orb was resting on a console in the engine room, while Riyad worked to connect the two A-20 battery banks in sequence. “It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before.”

Yes, it was unexpected. I’ve accessed the data files aboard the ship to learn more myself.

“And?”

The Mark VII’s flash weapons are of an experimental type, which like the other systems aboard, have been unable to function properly because of the high energy requirements. I appear to have solved that problem.

Adam shook his head. “So…how are they different?”

From what I’ve learned, compared to your conventional energy weapon, this new design is quite revolutionary. First of all, the device produces an intense laser beam into which the plasma components of the bolt are channeled. The bolt lengthens, yet loses no strength while in the beam. In fact, it draws more energy from the concentrated light waves. As you would expect, such a weapon requires incredible energy to function, yet when fully-powered, it produces a continuous plasma beam traveling at light speed and with an effective range of twenty thousand Earth miles—

Riyad slammed a wrench down on the metal case of the battery bank, causing Adam to jump at the sharp report. “Dammit! Your one-sided conversations are very irritating!” he yelled. “Either keep them to yourself, or provide a narration.”

“Sorry, Riyad. Give me a minute to digest what Pogo just told me, then I’ll brief you.”

Just then, a screen on a nearby control console came to life. On the black background field were lines of white type, written in English. A synthetic voice translated the words. “I’ve discovered that I’m able to access the data functions of the computers, Riyad. We can communicate this way. Will that help?”

“Hell yeah! Maybe rig me a wrist communicator. That way I won’t feel like such a third-wheel around here.”

“Getting back to what you just said, Pogo,” Adam interrupted. “You’re saying we have a super-powerful combination laser beam-flash cannon with a range of twenty-thousand miles?”

Riyad’s mouth fell open. “What did I miss?”

“We all missed it,” Adam relied. “It’s some experimental upgrade to the flash cannon.”

The tinny voice sounded again through the console speakers: “According to the files, the weapon was only made to work on Earth by hooking it directly to a fusion generating station. It was placed aboard the Mark VII simply for weight considerations, and with the hope that someday it could be powered it fully.”

“To which I present: Pogo The Magnificent!” said Riyad with a wide grin. “Our dreams come true.”

“I thank you, Riyad. My programming is sophisticated enough for me to experience emotions, so in that regard I mean it.”

“Do you know what this means?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, it means nothing can get closer than twenty thousand miles to us without being vaporized,” said Riyad.

Adam turned to the tiny globe. “Okay, just like with the jump-drive, are there any side-effects we need to be aware of?”

“Just one. Although I can draw energy from my surroundings, I do have my limitations. Dividing my capacity between too many devices will affect them all. For the beam weapon, it requires nearly all I can offer at the time of its operation.”

Adam nodded. “That’s good to know. We’ll have to keep that in mind if we need to use it again.”

“Now that I can communicate with you, Riyad, let me guide you to a quicker and more efficient installation of the battery banks. The method you’re using now is…well, very Human-like.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Riyad asked, frowning.

“I would prefer not to say. We must remain on good terms for the duration of the mission.”

“Is that sarcasm I detect?” Adam asked.

“I told you before, I have absorbed most Human mannerisms and personality. That’s what I was programmed to do. Whether my comment is sarcasm or not…I will leave that up to you to decide.”

The orb vibrated visibly. Adam got the impression it was laughing.

Chapter 5

It took twelve more hours beyond the supply colony to reach the Worak-nin star system. The journey was uneventful, which gave Adam time to recall dozens of experiences he and the late Andy Tobias had shared over the past twenty-five years.

Adam was no more than a sniveling twenty-one-year-old at the time he joined SEAL Team Six, based at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base in Virginia Beach, Virginia—if SEALs could ever be termed
sniveling
. As it was with most boots right out of training, Adam knew nothing of his job until the knowledge was pounded into him by senior men like Tobias. A full lieutenant at the time, Andy was his first squad leader, and he took the young seaman under his wing. It was baptism by fire, yet in such a deadly occupation, Adam quickly realized it was also the most effective method of getting the point across to the cocky, young Alpha Males in the Teams. First one had to be humbled by your betters before you would respect what they had to teach you. Andy Tobias excelled at humbling.

Adam spent five years on Andy’s team before being abducted by the Klin. That was twenty years ago, and everything that had happened between then and now could fill several volumes of the most-unbelievable science fiction series anyone could imagine. Most times Adam didn’t believe it himself, thinking his adventures to be just some crazy dream from which he’d eventually wake. However, this dream-like state would often evaporate when he’d look out the viewport of a starship or when an alien crossed his path. That’s when reality would slap him rudely across the face, as every bump, bruise or beating he’d suffered throughout the years came back to haunt him. At forty-seven, Adam Cain had already lived several lifetimes worth of adventure. And here he was again, approaching an alien planet full of alien villains, while on one more desperate mission of life or death.

He suddenly felt very tired.

“I don’t see a lot of traffic around the planet like you’d expect,” Riyad said from the co-pilot seat. “I thought the reports said Juireans were crawling all over the place?”

“See if you can raise Tom and Travis on their comm unit. We should be within range.”

Energy surged back into Adam’s body, stimulated by the coming mission. For good or bad, this is what he lived for, had trained for. He let that training and instinct take over.

“Rocky to Apollo Creed, come in Apollo.”

Adam looked at Riyad askew. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“It’s a code, stupid, something the Juireans won’t recognize.”

“No shit. I know it’s a code. Just why that one?”

“It’s better than Bambi to Thumper, come in Thumper.”

“That I’ll give you. Stick with Rocky and Apollo.”

********

Adam stationed the Mark VII four light minutes from the planet. The comm unit was a traditional radio, not a wormhole type device, so its signals could only travel at light speed. Even this far out, they would be visible from any planet-based detectors, and the one drawback of the jump-drive was they could never go fully dark. There was always a some residual energy signal coming from the various generators and battery packs onboard.

So as Riyad tried to make contact with the two Humans on the surface, Adam kept a close lookout for any approaching warships.

“Eh, this is Apollo, I guess,” came a questioning voice over the bridge speakers. It was Sergeant Travis Morgan.

Riyad leaned in close to the console. “Travis, it’s Riyad.”

“Yessir, I recognized your voice. Why the code? We’ve been broadcasting for a couple of weeks and so far no one has come looking for us.”

“Just a precaution, sergeant. Is Paulson with you?”

“He’ll be back in about fifteen minutes. He’s out scouting the palace again. Is Captain Cain with you?”

Adam took over the conversation. “I’m here, Travis. The two of you have done a remarkable job. Where are you?”

“We came down off the mountain and now we’re hiding in the woods near the palace. That’s where the Juireans have set up their headquarters, and where Sherri and Arieel were taken.”

“So they’re still there?” Adam’s heart leapt. He didn’t want to admit it, but he’d been expecting them to have already been moved—or dead—by the time he arrived.

“As far as we can tell, although we haven’t actually seen them. We were about four hours behind the Juireans getting here, after finding out about the admiral. Also, we haven’t been able to maintain constant surveillance on the compound. Too many mane-heads wandering around. And the damn natives here are kissing their asses, too, so we can’t trust them. How many ships do you have, sir?”

“Just one, sergeant,” Adam replied.

There was a slight hesitation before Travis spoke again. “Understood. Can you home in on my signal?”

“I have a way of doing it. Is there an LZ in the area, someplace we can land without being seen?”

“Not where we are. When Commander Paulson gets back, we’ll move to a better location and make contact again.”

“Very good, sergeant. Looking forward to seeing you again.”

“Same here, sir. It’s been a long three months—hell, even longer than that, really, if you count being in the Sol-Kor shithole, if you pardon my language, sir. I’m pretty anxious to get back home, sir, if that’s in the cards.”

“Aren’t we all. Be careful and report back when you have an LZ mapped out. Cain out.”

“No sightings in two weeks,” Riyad said, concern heavy in his voice.

“I know. But we have to assume the best, while preparing for the worst.”

“Yeah…but two weeks.”

Adam shrugged.

********

It was an agonizingly long five hours before the speakers crackled again and Lieutenant-Commander Tom Paulson’s voice was heard.

“We’re about nineteen kicks from the palace. Had to go out this far to find a safe landing zone. There’s a mountain pass to the north. If you come in five hundred miles on the polar side and stay low you should be able to slip through the pass undetected. The LZ is a wide clearing surrounded by a thick grove of trees. What kind of ship do you have?”

“It’s experimental, about three hundred feet long.”

“That should fit without any problem. Be careful, Captain. The place was swarming with mane-heads up until about forty-eight hours ago. Since then, I have no idea where they’ve gone.”

“The spaceport?”

“Virtually empty, but no liftoffs that we know of in a week.”

“And Sherri and Arieel?”

“Still no sightings.”

“Roger that. We’re making our approach, Commander. See you in a few minutes.”

********

After so many jumps, Adam was getting the hang of the new stardrive. He now calculated a short hop to the planet’s north pole region. Even still, the maneuver was risky, appearing so close to a large gravity body. If he pulled it off, they’d reach the surface with minimal chance of detection.

Once engaged, the blackness of space was immediately replaced by the blinding white of a pristine snowpack fifty miles below the ship. Adam gunned it, dropping even lower in a matter of seconds. He leveled out at seven hundred feet, keeping a very weak gravity-well created above them to stay aloft, while using the chemical jets for forward propulsion.

The relatively smooth and level expanse of snow soon gave way to a rising mountain range to the south. Adam spotted the twin peaks that formed the pass Paulson had mentioned and steered in that direction.  From there, it was a rollercoaster ride, as the topography rose and fell, often with little warning.

After fifteen minutes, the valley floor began to fall away, dropping toward a vast plain covered in verdant forests and laced with shimmering threads of rivers and streams. Adam and Riyad had spent a couple of weeks on Worak-nin, mostly in and around the area where the mutant Panur had built his golden palace, so they knew the area fairly well, at least where they were headed.

Even so, they had the benefit of Adam’s mental ghost presence in Paulson’s comm unit to guide them

This was a trick Adam had learned long ago, right after he’d first been fitted with his brain-interface device. It was discovered he could send his awareness along various communications waves, be they continuous wormholes or conventional. Once at the other end, he could create a surrogate presence. This came in handy for controlling things at space-borne distances. In this case, all he needed to do was plant a signal in the comm unit’s internal circuitry. Within his mind’s eye, he could see the white dot in his vision. They were almost there.

The clearing rushed into view; Adam pulled back on the stick and the nose rose up to slow the ship, keeping them from overshooting the LZ. He corrected the jarring maneuver, before unceremoniously plopping the craft down on the grassy surface with a pronounced bump.

Riyad twisted his neck and looked at Adam. “Might have a lawsuit coming after a landing like that.”

“Good luck trying to collect. I’m just a poor GS worker.”

“Aren’t we all.”

********

Paulson and Morgan were waiting at the hatch when Riyad cracked it open. After the obligatory hugs and fist-bumps, the four men moved inside.

“What is this thing?” Paulson asked.

“It’s a Mark VII experiment craft. One of a kind.”

“How did you get it here undetected?”

“It employs a type of trans-dimensional stardrive—”

“No way, not again!”

Adam smiled. “Relax, Tom, it can’t jump into other universes.”

“Thank god. I’ve had about as many universes as I can handle in one lifetime. Any backup expected?”

“’Fraid not,” said Riyad. “We kinda borrowed the ship…without permission.”

“We call that stealing where I come from.” Paulson’s smile matched that of the other three men.

“Like the saying goes,” Adam began, “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.”

“Well, I would say you’re one
trying
son-of-a-bitch…sir,” said Travis Morgan.

Adam gripped the enlisted man’s shoulder. “Thanks, sergeant. Now what say we go rescue us some damsels in distress?”

“Yessir, Captain Cain, sir! That’s what legends are made of.”