The Copernicus Deception (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 15) (7 page)

Chapter 10

With the collar restraints around their necks, the Visidorans felt confident enough in the security device’s deterrent abilities to leave the Human’s hands and feet unbound. When the rear door to the transport vehicle swung open, the trio climbed out without too much effort, except for the after-effects of the beating they’d taken, which seemed to have intensified the longer they sat immobile in the back of the truck.

It was nearing dusk, yet with enough remaining light for Adam to get a good look at the layout of the prison compound. Like the city of Swiv, the prison was surrounded by a series of tall towers with silver globes resting on top, electric deterrents against invading creatures from the jungle, if not the growth. However, the encroachment of the jungle vegetation—unlike in the city—was managed by physical labor in the form of prisoner work crews, made up mostly of natives with a few aliens thrown. They were waging a never-ending war with the aggressive growth, as guards sat in dual-tracked crawlers watching their sweating charges use hand-held trimmers to attack the stubborn foliage. But no sooner had a section of jungle been beat back, then a recently cleared area was once again overrun. The workers would then shift back to the first section and began the process over again. Adam reasoned that the jungle didn’t stop growing at night, so the process had to be a twenty-four/seven affair.

A squad of short guards began herding Adam, Riyad and Copernicus toward one of the many identical buildings located at the center of the clearing. There were no walls enclosing the compound, just a wide buffer of cleared mud between the structures and the jungle.

A loud growl blasted out from the jungle shadows. Everyone stopped in their tracks, including the guards. Without warning, the huge, fanged head of a savage-looking beast appeared from the fronds. The head was easily twenty feet long and ten high, with a tangle of long, white teeth—each measuring a foot long—jutting from an extended mouth.

In the blink of an eye, two of the native workers were snatched up by the beast. The massive head angled upwards as the mouth opened wider, sending the unfortunate victims sliding down the long throat, their cries of pain and panic cut off as the mouth suddenly clamped shut.

A series of brilliant flashes lit up the evening gloom, shooting out from two of the balls resting atop the thin towers. Crackling bolts of electricity converged on the head of the beast, causing its smallish yellows eyes to open wide, while a loud, painful roar erupted from its throat. The dinosaur stumbled and fell back into the jungle, the bolts of electricity still connected to the writhing body. But then it rolled over, regained its feet, and dashed off into the darkness.

Adam could both hear and feel the stomping of the creature as it fled deeper into the jungle, having survived the shock.

“That’s not something you see every day,” Riyad said calmly.

“Look at the guards and the prisoners,” said Copernicus. “It’s like nothing happened.”

He was right. After only a brief pause, the guards began ordering the prisoners back to work, as another cart raced off toward the building Adam and his group were nearing, ostensibly to collect replacements for the prisoners who had just been eaten.

“You will soon join the clearing crews,” said one of the squatty guards. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, as if the recent event had stirred her sexually.

Copernicus smiled at the guard. “Looking forward to it. Back home, I have a beast like that for a pet. You just have to let them know who’s the boss.”

The native blinked several times, not knowing how else to react to the comment. Eventually, she shoved the trio forward.

At the wooden landing of the nearest building, more prisoners sprayed water on their mud-caked boots before allowing them to enter, yet even with the quasi-cleaning, the inside floor was covered in a combination of wet mud and dried dirt. Two older Visidorans sat at a counter. The Humans hovered above the guards.

The supervisors wore dirty, once-white striped shirts, while the other guards wore uniforms with orange stripes. One of the seated officials had a red circle sewn onto the top stripe. She looked up from a computer screen and surveyed the new prisoners.

“This indicates you to be Humans?”

“That’s correct, we are Humans,” Copernicus replied.

“We have never had Humans here before. As a fact, I have never seen a Human before in true life. Are the markings on your face some form of camouflage?”

“No, those are bruises, a gift from your Juirean masters.” Copernicus threw out his chest in a show of defiance, wearing his injuries as a badge of honor.

The native guard huffed and glanced at her counter-companion. “Yes, the Juireans…but they are
not
our masters,” she said with a frown. Then she grinned. “As Humans, it will be entertaining to see if you are all your reputation claims you to be.” She looked back at Copernicus. “From my first analysis, I would say the stories have been…embellished.”

“We wish to cause no problems while here,” Adam said before Copernicus could reply. The starship repairman was angry and eager to boast about the superiority of Humans. Adam knew that was not the smartest tact to take in this situation. “We are not responsible for the stories you have heard. We are just simple creatures who wish only to get along with other species.”

The guard frowned. “Yet the Juireans fear you enough to have you sent here.”

“You know how the Juireans can be,” Adam said. “Always trying insert themselves into other people’s business.”

The native nodded, as did her partner. In their eyes Adam saw not only fear, but also contempt. The Juireans had that effect on people, no matter what species you were.

“That alters not the fact that you are to be held here until further notice. As you witnessed outside, there is a constant demand for laborers to maintain the facility. If Humans are as portrayed, then you will become an asset in our fight against the growth. You will be given quarters and then assignments; you begin in two standard hours. Rest…if you can.”

********

Beyond the check-in station the Human trio was led into a long open bay barracks with double rows of bunks ending at a door at the far end of the room. The cots were filthy, with brown stains on the fabric mattresses and dirt on the floors. There was a small, open shelving unit between the head of the bed and outer wall, were prisoners stored extra clothing and toiletries. Only about a third of the bunks were occupied at the time, although nearly all of them appeared to be claimed.

A guard directed the Humans toward the far end of the room.

“You two can take these,” said the rare male guard to Adam and Riyad. “One of the bunks has only recently become available.”

The two Humans looked at each other.
Only recently become available
—
as within the past ten minutes
?

A little further along, the guard assigned a bunk to Copernicus, this one also appeared to be occupied, yet possibly no longer.

“Shift change at night4. Wear what you have on, or scrounge through the prior occupant’s possessions. What you acquire there—or from others—is all you will have available.”

Adam and Riyad sat down on their respective cots, facing one another. “I didn’t see Jym or Kaylor in here,” said Riyad. “They could be in another building or on their work shift.”

“They shouldn’t be hard to find,” Adam said. “There looks to be about a five to one ratio of natives to aliens here. Our two friends should stand out—”

“What the hell! Leave that alone!”

Adam and Riyad followed the sound of Coop’s voice, seeing him standing chest-to-groin with a beast that towered close to ten feet tall. This was one of the other aliens in the prison, and of a species neither of them had seen before. Copernicus looked tiny compared to the huge creature.

A long and narrow head, sporting a menacing-looking snout, glared down at Copernicus. He was not only tall, but easily twice the width of the Human, with arms reaching nearly to his knees. The creature wore a surprisingly clean set of shirt and pants, and looking past where the two were facing off, Adam noticed a veritable oasis in the form of a segregated bunk area, obviously made to accommodate a being of gigantic proportions and elevated status.

When compared to all the other prisoners Adam had seen, this creature would be the natural apex predator, and as such, had staked out his territory with little resistance from the others—including the guards. Now he had taken an interest in what was in the open cabinet at Coop’s bunk.

“I will take what I want—Bordis is dead. His possessions are now mine,” the huge beast growled.

“That’s not how it was explained to me,” Copernicus countered.

The creature looked past the scrawny Human and at the four guards in the room. The natives turned quickly and left the room without a backwards glance. Adam and Riyad rose to their feet, noticing eight of the other prisoners slowly closing in on them. Only two of their stalkers were the shorter natives. The rest were taller, meaner-looking aliens.

Adam and Riyad looked at each other. “So much for trying to play it cool,” Riyad sighed, flashing his trademark grin.

Adam turned to the advancing aliens and held up his arms, palms out. The aliens stopped advancing. Then he swept his hands downward and turned, making a presenting motion to where the face-off between the giant and the Human was about to come to a head. The outcome of that confrontation would determine if Adam and Riyad had to get involved.

The giant was surprisingly fast for his huge size, managing to lift a tree-trunk size arm and wrap it around Coop’s slender body before the Human could react. Yet it was his smallish stature that allowed him to slip down and out of the grip with little effort. But then the second arm came swinging around like a bat, catching Copernicus off guard. The impact was tremendous, sending the Human tumbling to the other side of the room and into a series of bunks. Two prisoners were standing next to the beds; they grabbed Copernicus by the arms and shoved him back in the direction of the giant.

Using the prisoner-provided momentum-assist in the light gravity of Visidor,  Coop leapt from the floor, extending a bunched up fist ahead of him as he formed a Human-size dart in the air. The fist landed squarely on the tip of the giant’s long snout, crushing bone and cartilage upon impact. Then the full weight of the Human fell into the shocked alien. The pair tumbled backwards, the giant’s body crushing an adjoining bunk under his incredible weight.

Copernicus was now on top of the huge beast, delivering blow after furious blow to the creature’s head. The beast was dazed, yet still managed to clamp an umbrella-size hand over Coop’s head and pull him away. Then the creature stood, holding the Human by the head, his feet dangling a good three feet above the floor.

Adam was about to intervene when he saw Coop grab hold of a thick finger and bend in back. A loud snap was followed by an agonizing scream. The giant released Copernicus, who landed lithely on the floor, crouched and ready for action.

Yet the giant didn’t counterattack; he was preoccupied, cradling his broken finger in his good hand, eyes wide, a loud whimper escaping his mouth.