The Unreachable Stars: Book #11 of The Human Chronicles Saga (22 page)

Chapter 21

The planet Fillion-Cassada was located only three thousand light-years from Earth, and although it was not a member of the Orion-Cygnus Union, it had been surveyed and its natives classified as
Future-Potential
. This designation meant that in about fifty years or so they will have reached a point in their development that contact with alien races would not be a shock to them, at which time membership in the Union would be offered.

Andy Tobias found this line of thinking to be funny, if not ironic. Here Humans were now the UFO’s in the night, the creatures making clandestine visits to an unsuspecting world, planning for the population’s eventual assimilation into the greater collective.

That was about the point in his thinking when his stomach turned sour and he became nauseated.

Unfortunately, the intelligent natives of Fillion-Cassada were not going to get the chance to witness the awe and wonder of Human starships descending from the Heavens, proving once and for all that there was advanced—and benevolent—life in the universe.

Their first contact with an alien species would be when their world was blanketed in a mind-numbing pale blue light, after which thousands of huge starships would land on the surface to collect the natives as food. It was a clichéd plot found in too many science fiction novels and movies, yet Andy Tobias would be there to see, firsthand, the horrible aftermath of that first encounter.

As a matter of fact, since the offer of immunity had been extended, nineteen worlds within the Union and thirty-six in the Expansion had fallen to the Sol-Kor suppressor beam. Fortunately—if it could be called that—the leaders of the Expansion and the Union had negotiated with the alien bastards to have them only harvest worlds which were not members of either empire. This placated the fears of members, but it did nothing for the trillions of creatures who had already lost their lives to the invaders from another dimension.

In Andy’s opinion, the-powers-that-be were having entirely too much contact with the Sol-Kor. It was almost as if the politicians hoped they could wiggle their way out of the current crisis by just giving up a little bit more here and there, even without an official immunity agreement. In fact, Andy could imagine a time when Expansion, Union, and Sol-Kor officials would meet to plan for the systematic—yet managed—harvesting of the entire Milky Way galaxy. Sure, there would be winners and losers, but who better to decide which category a species belongs in than our glorious leaders? Then, a thousand years in the future, when it’s their time to be consumed, the so-called survivors will look back on all the time their clever negotiations had bought them and give themselves a pat on the back...just as the blue pulse beams begin to radiate over the surface of their homeworlds.

Admiral Andy Tobias had come to the Fillion-Cassada system at the head of a ninety-ship-strong Union fleet. He was there to observe, not interfere. He was also under orders not to be provocative with his presence. He’d questioned President Osbourne about this, asking how a fleet of ninety warships couldn’t help but be provocative. The politician had hemmed and hawed, before finally blurting out with frustration: “Just don’t act too powerful.”

There had been a time when Tobias admired Michael Osbourne. Unfortunately, those days were long gone. Now he was disgusted with the whole pitiful lot, the appeasers and sycophants who were letting the SK’s walk all over them.

But what was really irking Tobias at the moment was the fact that he was under orders to act just like one of the fucking politicians. Soon a representative of the Sol-Kor harvest fleet was due aboard his flagship. As a Navy SEAL with over thirty years of experience, Tobias was a trained killer of the utmost skill. But now he had to be in the presence of the most despicable creatures any universe could produce. And he couldn’t kill any of them.

He wasn’t about to parade the flesh-eating assholes through the
Mount Rushmore
,
his flagship, essentially bowing before them to his entire crew. A meeting room had been set up in a pressurized room off the main landing bay instead. They would come aboard, do their business right next to the landing bay, and then be gone. He had no idea why they had insisted on the meeting; the fleet wasn’t there to cause them any trouble. Yet he was under orders to accommodate the SK, and that meant spending time with them in a room aboard his ship.

They wore black armor made of strong composite material, and helmets with wide, clear faceplates. Other than the gray of their skin and the faint trace of tiny scales on their faces, Andy couldn’t tell much more what a Sol-Kor looked like. Sure, he’d seen plenty of their corpses; these would be the first live ones.

There were only three. The leader was introduced as High-Noslead Sala. Another of the entourage referred to him as the supreme leader of the SK forces in this universe, which Andy understood to mean the Milky Way galaxy—as of now—so his presence here was significant.

It was Andy’s sincere hope that the alien wasn’t coming aboard simply to flaunt his superiority—and immunity—to Human attack, that the Sol-Kor were in such a position of power that they could walk aboard the flagship of a Human war fleet with impunity. If the alien bastard took that attitude during the visit, Tobias wouldn’t be responsible for what happened next. And he wouldn’t care. It would a glorious way to go out.

When all parties were seated around a large round table, the Sol-Kor leader began the conversation. His voice was tinny coming through the helmet, but his words were clear.

“What progress is there in locating Panur? My Queen demands an update.”

My Queen demands! This isn’t starting out right.

“We’re still working on it,” Tobias said aloud. “There have been a few opportunities, but you—better than most—know the capabilities of the mutant. And he’s being helped by one of our most skilled operatives.”

“The Queen feels you have not put all the resources you have available to this endeavor.”

“No offense, but she would be mistaken.”

Even through the faceplate, Andy could see the alien bristle. He’d just called Sala’s queen a liar.

“She has decided to tighten the deadline for his return.”

“I didn’t realize there was a deadline.”

“There is now. Thirty-eight of your days.”

Andy was confused. “Why thirty-eight? It seems to such an odd number.”

Now the alien was really showing signs of being upset. “That is the number of Sol-Kor millennia my Queen has been alive. It converts to five thousand, two hundred and four Human years. The number is significant to her.”

“Sorry, it just seemed at little…different. But I can’t guarantee we can meet that deadline. What happens if we don’t?”

“Then there will be no immunity, and no concessions as to the worlds we harvest. The Sol-Kor only grow stronger in your universe. Even now you cannot match us in power. I have long awaited permission to treat this galaxy as all the others. In thirty-eight days, I will be given that permission.”

Andy stared at the alien with undisguised hatred. His eyes were mere slits and his jaw muscles pulsed.
If the gloves are coming off…then let’s start here!

“However,” the alien said, “in an effort to remedy this situation and bring about a more cordial accommodation, I have information which may aide you in the search for Panur.”

Tobias fought to regain his composure, only seconds before he was about to pounce. “What…what is that?”

“The Human identified as Adam Cain will be near the Lupcanen star system in four days’ time. It is believed he will have Panur with him.”

“How do you know this?”

“We have detected certain communications between his ship and another designated the
Crescent Star
—is that correct?” He looked to one of his subordinates, who nodded his agreement. “Yes, the
Crescent Star
.”

Tobias was stunned. “This message was in the clear?”

That’s when Andy saw the Sol-Kor officer smile through his faceplate. “No, it was what you refer to as a CW-form of communication.”

“But CW comms can’t be traced.”

“No they cannot.” The wicked smile remained.

“You mean they can’t be traced by
us
!”

“If that is your conclusion from what I said. Now I will leave. As you are aware, there is much work to be done in this system before we can move on. And to let you know, your empire has already approved of forty-four more worlds within your space which we are permitted to harvest. It is a beginning, yet it will not appease the Sol-Kor. That, you may pass that along to your leadership.”

********

Andy didn’t escort the Sol-Kor delegation back to their ship. He sat alone in the conference room, lost in thought.

When he’d first heard of the communications intercept, he had seen it as a deliberate act on Adam’s part, knowing it would be overheard, recorded, and relayed to others. But this was a CW communication, a type of transmission which, until just a few moments ago, he believed to be secure and beyond intercept. Now this changed everything. He would have to let command know about this ASAP. Why Sala had let this vital piece of wartime intelligence leak was anyone’s guess.

Then there was Adam Cain.
If the Sol-Kor know where he’ll be in four days, why don’t they pick him up?

There were too many questions at the moment, without a lot of answers. But there was one thing he was certain of: he wasn’t doing any good sitting here. With a deadline now imposed for the return of Panur, Tobias had no time to waste.

He pressed the comm button on the table that would connect him with the bridge.

“Commander Walker, set a course for the fleet to the Lupcanen star system.”

“Where’s that, sir?”

“Hell if I know. Look it up. In the meantime, recall all our observers and screen ships, and have the fleet ready to bolt in two hours.”

“Aye, sir.

Chapter 22

“We’re pretty sure it’s him, Admiral.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“It’s the gravity drive signature. We’ve been tracking it from the Lupcanen system all the way here, and the closer we get the more it looks like the same one we recorded leaving Earth a couple of months ago. It’s quite unique.”

Tobias looked at the green-tinted screen within the dim light of the CIC—the combat- information-center—aboard the
Mount Rushmore
. “If it’s Cain and the mutant, why aren’t they using that jump drive of theirs? The last confirmed sighting of the
Pegasus
was back near Sylox, with that whole white dwarf, black hole thing. I still can’t believe that little rat-bastard was able to pull that off.”

“I don’t know why they’re not using the jump drive, sir,” said Master Chief Tamara Allen. “Maybe it’s energy intensive, so only to be used in emergency situations. But I agree with the analysts. This is the same gravity drive signature we recorded leaving Earth.”

Andy’s fleet had traveled the five thousand light-years to the Lupcanen system, and just as the Sol-Kor leader had promised, a unique gravity signature had been detected nearby. With his suspicions piqued, Tobias had sent out cloaked drone ships to follow the mysterious signal. That was six days ago, and now the fleet was far from the Lupcanen system and nearing a huge fiery nebula known as NC-1187.

“No course deviation, Chief?”

“Not so far.” Allen replaced the image on the screen with a schematic of the glowing nebula. “NC-1187. It’s been surveyed. Not much there. The main part has a triple star system which has cleared out a void area, but it’s also formed a kind of funnel, wide at one end, narrow at the other.”

“And they’re headed there?”

“As far as the scouts can tell.”

Tobias pointed to the narrow end of the void. “Any other way out except here?”

“Not that we can tell. And there is a small Juirean fleet in the area.”

“No shit? What are they doing here?”

“President Osbourne gave them permission. Apparently, the Sol-Kor also gave the information about Cain’s location to the Juireans. I just got word that the president gave them our coordinates so they could assist in the capture.”

“And I’m the last know of this?”

“Sorry, sir. Fresh data.”

 “Regardless, it makes sense,” Tobias conceded. “Both the Union and Expansion are after immunity. By showing this to be a joint operation, the Sol-Kor may be forced to accept our request for a galaxy-wide exemption.”

“Cain hasn’t changed course in four days, according to the track. He’s definitely headed for the nebula.”

“Right into the mouth of the beast,” Tobias said with a frown. “Something doesn’t seem right about this.”

“In what way, sir?”

“That I can’t put my finger on, Chief. It just feels…weird.”

“Orders?”

Tobias studied the screen a moment longer before answering. “Contact the mane-heads—I mean the Juirean warriors—and have them barricade the exit at the narrow end of the funnel. Keep the main fleet back, scouts only, until Cain’s firmly within the void. Then we’ll fan out and prevent them from escaping. Maybe then I’ll be able to talk some sense into that insubordinate bastard.”