The Copernicus Deception (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 15) (12 page)

Chapter 16

Senior Overlord Daven Kri didn’t know whether or not the information warranted the Elder’s attention, yet he had been tasked with monitoring the situation on Visidor. The facts were still thin, and it could turn out that the situation had resolved itself.

Still, he was an ambitious Overlord, hoping to one day be appointed to the Council. The more time he spent in the presence of the Elder, the better chance he had of being remembered when the time came.

He requested an audience and was granted access.

“Is this about Visidor?” Synnoc asked even before Daven reached the Elder’s desk.

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Did the Humans escape?”

“That has yet to be determined, yet there was a major disturbance at the Visidoran prison.”

Synnoc grinned. “What kind of disturbance?”

“A major power failure that resulted in the compound being overrun my wild native beasts. There has been considerable loss of life, including most of the guards and over half the prisoners. The Humans are not among the survivors, yet they could have just as easily been eaten, along with the others.”

“And what of the ship the Humans arrived in?”

“It was commandeered by one of our Overlords.”

“Which Overlord?”

“The Visidorans were confused, but they believe his name was Osama bin Laden.”

“Do we have an Overlord in the area by that name? It does not sound Juirean.”

“I have checked, and we do not. But as I said, the Visidoran flight controllers were confused. They may have noted the name incorrectly.”

The Elder’s thin grin turned into a smirk. “No, they did not get it wrong. The Humans have escaped, and if you check you will also find the service vessel and the Gradis ship are also missing. You had a tracker placed in the distress vessel. Find its location.”

“I will, immediately.”

“Determine the destination of the ship then send Overlord Esketon Hann in a single ship to investigate.”

“A single ship?”

“Yes. I don’t want the Humans to panic. In addition, I have plans for this encounter.”

“I will follow your commands immediately. And, my Lord, I must compliment you on being right regarding the Humans.”

The smile vanished from the Elder’s face. “I only wish I could be right about the Humans in every instance. The galaxy is headed for a turbulent time, Daven. Even so, it is the unpredictable nature of the Humans that I worry about the most.”

Chapter 17

A strong case of homesickness swept through Adam as he watched Liave-3 grow in the viewport. The planet could be Earth’s twin, with large, shimmering oceans, wispy white clouds and just the right percentage of land to water with evidence of long rivers, snow-capped mountains and vast deserts. He could see why Copernicus chose this world for his headquarters, even if he did mention the existence of dinosaurs and fifty-foot-long sharks.

Adam had had his fill of dinosaurs recently.

Yet Liave-3 looked to be a tamer world than Visidor. Hopefully they had their dinosaur infestation under control.

Kaylor guided the
FS-475
to a private landing field south of a large city that was nestled up against an azure sea. The community was sprawling, running along the shoreline for several kilometers. The buildings were painted in colorful pastels and the wide streets were lined with palm-like trees. Adam craned his neck to get one last look at the tropical paradise through the viewport before the ship landed. This was without a doubt the most anticipated landfall he’d made in years. He couldn’t wait to get to the town and sample the local cuisine. He could almost taste the fruity umbrella drinks already.

His impression of Liave-3 changed abruptly when he turned his attention to where they were landing. It was a repair yard for sure, full of rusting derelict starships scattered about willy-nilly through the huge, walled compound. From what Copernicus had told him, he got his start salvaging the remains of warships left over from battle. It looked to Adam like he’d brought most of them back here—and then left them to rust and rot away. There didn’t appear to be a working starship on the grounds.

Kaylor was aiming for what appeared to be a segregated section of the compound, pockmarked with the signs of several lift-offs and landings. The client’s broken down ship was lowered first by the mag-lines, then the
‘475
followed suit. When the dust settled, Adam got his first real look at the Gradis Cartel starship.

Like most of the contraband runners throughout the galaxy, the ship was an amalgamation of several spacecraft, pressed together to make something that could achieve star flight and not leak atmosphere. He knew the ship was no longer capable of flight, and he seriously had his doubts about the latter.

Yet that ship was the center of attention throughout most of the Kidis Frontier. It was the catalyst for all that had happened recently, even if the Visidorans had failed to find any serious contraband aboard. Adam sincerely believed they just didn’t know where to look.

“Are you coming?” Kaylor asked.

Adam turned. “Sorry, lost in thought.”

“We need to either stay aboard or clear the area. Copernicus is coming in for a landing. His ship tends to stir up a lot of dust and debris. Prepare yourself, I’m cutting internal gravity.”

Adam didn’t have to do much preparation. The local gravity appeared to be very close to Earth’s, and although he’d spent most of the past three days in his cabin with the gravity turned up, he still welcomed the constant and familiar feel of his real weight. He looked at the agony on the faces of his two alien friends.

“I bet this is torture for you?”

“We have grown somewhat accustomed to it,” Jym said. “Yet we will be spending most of our time in the
FS-475
with the internals on. Hurry now, Copernicus is in final descent.”

When the hatch cracked and Adam stepped out onto the sandy surface of Liave-3 he took in a deep breath of fresh, humid air, traced with a scent of salt and the familiar fishy smell that came from the sea. He had grown up near the ocean, and as a Navy SEAL was never far from it. But those days were long gone. He’d moved to the mountains after settling down, and then with his recent re-entry into galactic affairs, had spent most of the past couple of years aboard starships or on alien worlds.

Liave-3 could be home if he ever wanted to escape the limelight he experienced on Earth.

The trio made their way to a single-story building made of thick wooden planks and painted in local blue pastel. They entered a large room containing a series of work desks, a bank of computer equipment and a couch. A computer monitor on one of the desks spun around toward them.

“Welcome back, Kaylor and Jym. I understood you were detained for a while during your last assignment.”

“Thank you for the greeting, Dora,” Kaylor replied. The monitor followed Adam as he moved further into the room.

“Dora, this is Adam Cain. He helped free us from the Visidorans,” Jym said.

“Yes, I recognize him from my files. It is an honor to meet you, Captain Cain. I am a great admirer of yours.”

Adam frowned as he stared at the blank monitor. “Eh, thanks, I guess, but you are a computer, right?”

“Yes I am, yet Mister Smith has programmed me to appreciate the finer things in life—including the heroic accomplishments of others.”

“Did he tell you about me?”

“Yes, initially. He had me do extensive research on you—as well as Mister Tarazi and Ms. Valentine. Are they with you?”

“Just Mister Tarazi. He’s with Copernicus.”

“I look forward to meeting him, too.”

So Copernicus had done extensive research on the group. Adam wondered how long that research had been going on? Coop had made it out as if his approaching them had been a spur of the moment thing.

“Do you have a form…something you project on the screen when talking with Mr. Smith?” he asked the computer…Dora.

“I do…why do you ask?”

“I would feel more comfortable if you had a face.”

“Forgive me, I should have realized.” The image of a middle-aged woman with short black hair and deep dark eyes popped on the screen. It was not what Adam had been expecting.

“Your expression is one of surprise.”

“I was expecting something…different.”

“Younger perhaps, more attractive?”

“Well, no, not exactly.”

“It is okay, Captain Cain. I am a replica of Mr. Smith’s mother.”

“No shit?”

“No shit.” The woman on the screen stretched a wide grin across her face. “Oh how I love Human speech. We will get along just fine, Adam Cain.”

“Call me Adam.”

“I am Dora. Dora Smith.”

“Well, Dora, how long has Coop had an interest in me and my friends?”

“It has been—”

The conversation was interrupted when Copernicus rushed through the doorway with Riyad trailing behind. His eyes narrowed as he looked first at the image on the computer monitor and then at Adam.

“I see you’ve met Dora?”

Adam grinned. “Your mother is delightful.”

“She’s not my real mother, you know?”

“You could have fooled me.”

“Welcome home, Copernicus,” Dora said, a motherly smile on her two-dimensional image. “Mister Cain and I were just having a conversation—”

“Resume generic image…restrict access,” Coop ordered. The woman disappeared, replaced by a stylized CS Repair & Hauling with the trail of a starship wrapping around the logo. “Little reminders of home never hurt anyone,” he said, tossing a duffle bag on the couch.

Riyad walked gingerly into the room, taking short breaths as he did. Adam took notice.

“Keep it moisturized, that will help.”

“Crashing on a bed with a fifth of Jim Beam would help more.”

“So much for your religious upbringing.”

“You know I gave up that part of it many years ago. Now, Coop, do you have any spirits around?”

He pulled a bottle of golden liquid from a desk drawer and handed it to Riyad.

“Not the real stuff, but close enough. They make it locally.”

“Now…about a bed?”

“There are four small bedrooms down the hallway. The big one at the end is mine. Don’t go in there. The head is…well, follow the smell.”

“Typical bachelor.” Riyad flashed everyone a wide grin and then disappeared down the hallway.

Coop turned to Adam. “The computer is off-limits, too. I have sensitive client information in there. And you know how paranoid my clients can get.”

“Just your clients?”

There was a moment of awkward silence until Adam spoke again. “Are you still going to repair the Gradis starship?”

“Of course, that’s what we get paid to do.”

“Aren’t you curious about what’s really aboard?”

“Nothing, according to the Visidorans.”

“You don’t believe that, do you? If the Cartel had nothing to hide, why would they put so much pressure on you to retrieve the ship, and why would the crew hightail it out the moment the ship broke down?”

“It was a Gradis crew, Cain. Each of them were probably wanted for other crimes. Besides, the normal procedure would have been to destroy the ship rather than have it fall into the hands of an unfriendly government.”

“But they didn’t know that at the time. They thought—or at least their bosses thought—that the ship was going to be repaired. So why did they skip?”

“Don’t have a clue, Sherlock. And now that we’re here—and your friends are safe—the Gradis ship is my concern, not yours.”

“They sure did want the ship back…along with it’s perfectly legal cargo. Aren’t you curious?”

“I may be, but it’s none of
your
business.”

“C’mon, Coop, let me take a look around. I may be able to see something the Visidorans missed.”

Coop spun around until he was face to face with Adam. “Fine, go take a look! Just don’t steal anything. We may not know what’s aboard, but you can sure bet the Gradis know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some phone calls to make.”

“They’re called links out here in the galaxy,” Adam said with a smile.

“What?”

“Phone calls…they’re called links—”

“I know that…!”

Copernicus was about to shout something more, but then he took a furtive glance at the computer screen facing him and thought better of it. He took up the duffle bag and stalked off down the hall, slamming the door to his room behind him.

“You guys want to join me,” Adam said to Kaylor and Jym, his voice edged with excitement and mischief.