The Unreachable Stars: Book #11 of The Human Chronicles Saga (11 page)

A look of resignation crossed the alien’s pale face. “Please make it swift.”

“I promise.”

The Castorian nodded, just before Adam grabbed his head on each side and twisted it with a sudden jerk. The neck snapped and the body collapsed to the floor.

Adam looked down at the dead alien, and for the first time in—well, he had no idea how long—he actually felt regret for killing an alien.

“Am I getting soft in my old age?” he asked aloud. He looked around at the three dead aliens littering his common room, one bleeding on his couch. “It does leave a mess most of the time. That blood is going to be impossible to get out of the fabric.”

********

An hour later, Adam returned to the hotel. He didn’t tell anyone about the incident with the thugs, or of his conversation with Riyad. With Angar waiting for him at a nearby restaurant, he didn’t want to complicate things before securing the pirate’s commitment to the mission.

And now there was the issue of Dox Noan, Angar’s second-in-command.

Was Angar also involved? Was he out to get the massive reward being offered for Adam and Panur, or was Dox a rogue agent looking for a huge score of his own? From Adam’s experience, whenever a second-in-command is involved, he would always suspect a double-cross was underway—grab the reward, stab Angar in the back, and take over the Fringe Pirates. It’s what second seaters always did, at least those with ambition.

Adam was confident Dox would be at the meeting. It was being held in a closed restaurant—one of Angar’s choosing—arranged through his contacts within the criminal element of Krune. Both Dox and his boss would feel secure in the setting. Yet how would the turncoat react when he saw Adam? His hired thugs were supposed to have grabbed both him and Panur
before
the meeting.

Adam decided to send Kaylor and Jym in first, telling Angar that Adam was delayed but would be along in a few minutes. This would make the bad guy—or guys—believe the plan had worked. Studying their reactions when he appeared would tell him what he needed to know.

Although Krune was located underground, it still had individual buildings with rooftops contained within its huge caverns, and Adam stationed himself on one of them with a clear view of the entrance to the restaurant. It was late night in the city, which even without a natural sun still observed cycles of night and day, light and dark.

There were two guards outside the restaurant. They searched Kaylor and Jym before allowing them to enter the building. Then they relaxed. They were just muscle, tasked with providing security for a meeting that they now believed had all the attendees present.

Adam climbed down from the rooftop, dropping the last fifty feet in the light gravity to the surface of an alleyway next to the restaurant. Once on the main street, he still had about twenty feet to cover to reach the guards, and with no shelter to mask his approach.

So he took a deep breath… and then swung around the corner and out of the alley, sprinting toward the two pirates.

Twenty feet in the light gravity of Castor was covered in a second, and Adam’s lowered right shoulder plowed into one of the guards, and then the other. They both landed in a heap a few feet down the sidewalk, one unconscious, the other stunned but recovering.

Adam needed Angar and the Fringe Pirates, so he didn’t want to kill any of them—except for Dox Noan. So he simply slapped the conscious guard into a peaceful sleep and then moved quickly to the door of the restaurant.

He looked inside, and seeing no other guards, raced to the other side of the dining area and to the entrance of a lit room in the back. Without hesitation, he walked boldly into the room.

Angar—and who Adam assumed was Dox Noan—were seated next to each other on a long sofa, with two other pirates in chairs to each side. Kaylor and Jym were on another couch facing the pirates.

Kaylor beamed when Adam entered. “I told you he would be here.”

Adam first studied Angar’s face. It showed surprise, yet also joy, the recognition of seeing a long-lost friend. The plump alien seated next to him—Adam didn’t know the species—showed surprise as well, along with an overflowing amount of panic. He shifted nervously in place, glancing side to side, looking for an exit.

Adam smiled and walked quickly to the sofa, positioning himself directly in front of Dox. Angar stood, his five-foot-tall frame appearing slender and frail. He had aged considerably since Adam had last seen him, but his eyes were still bright and active.

“Adam Cain, it is a pleasure to see you again,” the pirate leader said. “Throughout the years I have heard of your exploits and often boasted to those who would listen that I know you personally. Most did not believe me.”

“We know the truth, my friend. I’m also glad to see you, though I must say I was surprised to hear that you’re still in the pirate business. I thought you would have retired long ago.”

“Pirating is all I know.” He glanced down at Dox, who remained seated on the couch, blocked by Adam’s body. “Even though many have counseled me to pass along the leadership to others, I fear I will be doing this until the day I die. Let me introduce—”

“Dox Noan, yes I know,” Adam said, turning his attention to the now-trembling alien.

“You know Dox?” Suspicion was thick in Angar’s voice.

“By reputation only, Angar. You see, he hired a gang of thugs to capture me and Panur tonight. It didn’t work out too well for the thugs, by the way. And now I’m sure he was going to betray you so he could take over control of the pirates. It’s always good to meet a being with ambition.”

The other two pirates were on their feet, MK’s drawn and ready. They appeared to be waiting for orders from Angar and not part of the conspiracy.
Good,
Adam thought.
They’ll live longer that way.

Angar glared down at his seated second-in-command. “Is this true—there is no need to answer! I can tell by your expression that it is.”

“I was not going to betray you!” the fat alien squealed. “And I intended to split the reward with all of us. We have not had many profitable raids recently. It was easy credits!”

“This is Adam Cain, you fool,” Angar said. “Did you really think you could find others who could subdue him? Have you not heard the stories? Besides, Adam is my friend, and I came to Castor to hear his proposal without malice and with an open mind. Now you have embarrassed me.”

Angar turned to Adam. “Would you prefer I take care of this matter, or would you like to do it yourself?”

“I’ve already killed enough for one night,” he said to Dox with a wink, although he was sure the gesture was lost on the alien. “I wouldn’t want to get too far ahead of you in score. You can have him.”

“And my guards outside?”

“Bruised, yet alive.”

“I thank you.” Angar nodded to the other two pirates. They rushed in and took Dox out of the room, rather roughly and with purpose. “With that done, can we get down to business? For what purpose do you need the Fringe Pirates?”

Fifteen minutes later, Angar sat on the couch, his mouth slack and his eyes wide.

“I understand the principle, but is it even feasible? Can we actually affect the orbit of a black hole and control the collision precisely enough where all of us are not consumed by the resulting explosion? And then the time factor...how long will it take for this collision to take place? We are speaking of stellar distances here.”

“I asked Panur the same questions. He said once the two objects reach this gravitational imbalance, they’ll accelerate rapidly. And then the collision will only be glancing. The explosion will be modest and the material cast off will be ready for pick-up as soon as all the shockwaves subside.”

“How long will that be?”

“Eight hours, approximately.”

“Do you believe these estimates? I have never heard of such a thing being attempted.”

“Panur’s been alive for five thousand years and he’s learned a lot in that time. I tend to side with him when it comes to technical matters.”

“Yet still…moving a black hole and crashing it into a star…I believe this could end up being a fruitless folly.”

“But if it’s not, then you and your pirates would have your pick of thousands of huge diamond remnants. If you act fast, before the rush to recover them begins, you’ll be able to make a fortune—and it would all be legitimate.”

“And if the mutant cannot do what he says?”

“Then it’s only cost you a couple of weeks in transit time to and from the Sylox region.”

Angar looked over at Kaylor and Jym, who had been silent during Adam’s presentation. “Do you believe him—I mean the mutant? Can he really do this?”

Kaylor spoke: “I have only recently met him, yet he does appear to be quite intelligent. However, it is Adam Cain I trust. If he believes the mutant can do this, then so do I.”

Angar nodded. “I tend to agree. Very well, Adam Cain. I will provide you with the ships you need. My fleet is only fifteen in number at this time, so I will give you all of them. You say you need ten in total, and with Kaylor’s ship, only nine from me.” And then he grinned. “Having a few extra marauders in reserve could not hurt.”

“More firepower is always preferred to having too little,” Adam agreed. “So we have an agreement?”

“Yes we do.”

“Good, prepare your fleet. I need you at Sylox in eight days.”

“It will take an all-out effort for us to get there in that time, yet I will make sure it is done.”

Adam was ecstatic—up until he thought of Riyad. Angar and him had a storied past, but he was hoping money spoke louder than old grudges. And with luck, Angar wouldn’t find out about Riyad’s involvement in the operation until he and his pirates were on station.

The meeting broke up, and after apologizing to the battered guards, Adam, Kaylor and Jym returned to the hotel…where they discovered Panur was missing-in-action.

********

 “This is just great!” Adam said as he moved from room to room looking for the diminutive alien. “I knew I should’ve taken him with me.”

“Where could he have gone?” Kaylor asked. “With the entire galaxy looking for him, he must know he cannot go wandering the streets, especially late at night. Very few establishments are open at this hour.”

Adam spun around to face the Belsonian mule driver. “What places
are
open? He’s never been to Castor before, so he may be out trying to learn all he can about the natives while he’s here.”

“That would be extremely reckless,” Jym added.

“Reckless is his middle name.”

“Truly? That seems like a strange coincidence.”

“It’s not his middle name, Jym. Damn, I thought you understood the nuances of Human language better.”

“It has been a long time since I had extensive contact with your kind, and you have no idea how tedious it is having to constantly decipher your odd way of phrasing and description.”

“You’re right…sorry. We do tend to make up a lot of weird ways of talking as we go along. In fact, the more creative we can get, the more we respect the speaker.”

“That would appear to be very confusing and counterproductive to clear understanding. But now we must find the mutant. Without him, we have no reason to be here.”

“So what’s open at this hour?”

“Intoxicant stations, mostly,” Jym answered.

“Bars, of course. Do you know of any nearby?”

Jym went to the imbedded computer in the wall of the hotel room. It wasn’t very sophisticated, mainly just a search directory. “Three are within a short walk of here. All are operating at this time.”