The Unreachable Stars: Book #11 of The Human Chronicles Saga (9 page)

Now the targeting computer of the alien’s weapon had an unobstructed bead on Riyad.

The Human crouched down, springing upwards in the light gravity just as another flash bolt whizzed by below him. The ceiling of the dining room was about twenty feet high, and with outstretched arms Riyad managed to reach it, locking his stinging hands around a narrow crossbeam. He swung forward as another flash bolt singed the skin on his butt. He let out another yelp.

Riyad continued his arc, releasing his grip only when he flew over the head of the Juirean. He tumbled backwards in midair, and a split second later landed hard on top of the Juirean Guard, who had been trying in vain to follow the movement of Riyad’s swinging.

Riyad wrapped his arms around the almost non-existent neck of the alien, using it to break his fall. He ended up riding the back of the Juirean, who was fighting desperately to break Riyad’s vise-like chokehold. Although a good foot shorter than the Juirean, and appearing to be much lighter, Riyad was in fact a heavier and denser creature. His weight caused the Guard to fall backwards, and as he did, Riyad’s feet reached the ground. With a firm base of support for torque, Riyad heard a snap, and then the green-haired creature fell limp in his arms.

Riyad tossed the dead alien aside—threw up briefly—and then looked to where the Overlord still sat in the booth. He was coughing up blood, his arms and hands clawing at his throat, suffocating from collapsed lungs and a crushed ribcage. Wiping his mouth, Riyad calmly bent down, picked up the Guard’s discarded MK-17 flash weapon, aimed it at the Overlord and pulled the trigger, not waiting for the targeting computer to give its slight vibrating confirmation. A moment later, the Juirean Overlord was relieved of his painful spiral towards oblivion.

Riyad sprinted—staggered—toward the exit he’d spotted earlier. It wasn’t an exit from the building; it led to the kitchen area. Although no one remained in the dining room, this part of the building was still occupied. Many of the cooks and servers had been watching events unfold through slits in doorways or security cameras mounted in the main dining hall. Now they tumbled away from the doorway as Riyad barreled through. The Makeans were slower than the Human, and Riyad found himself having to shove seven-foot-tall aliens from his path. But soon he was at the end of the kitchen, crashing through another doorway and out into the area behind the restaurant.

No Juireans were present; however Riyad collided with a moving transport, tumbling over the hood and falling to the concrete road on the other side. The driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the small electric vehicle to a stop twenty feet from where Riyad fell. By the time the car’s occupant had opened his side door and stepped out, Riyad was already there and pressing past him to slide into the driver’s seat.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine, just a little drunk,” Riyad shouted as he grasped the door handle and pulled it shut. “And by the way, I need to borrow your car. I hope you don’t mind.”

The native didn’t say a word, startled into silence by Riyad’s unexpected arrival…and now departure. Through the rearview mirror, he could see the alien standing in the middle of the road, gawking at his departing vehicle, just as another speeding car plowed into him.

Riyad grimaced.
That was unexpected. Oh well, he won’t need his car back anytime soon.

Riyad steered the stolen car toward the spaceport, where his private starship was located. His co-pilot-slash-lover, Regina Greywood, was aboard and would have the engines already warmed up and ready for liftoff—she was pretty anal about that. All he had to do was get through the crazy alien traffic, which at the moment appeared to be spinning all around him, without somehow killing anyone—anyone
else
—including himself.

The spaceport was about eight minutes out—if he was going in the right direction—which should be just enough time for him to contact Adam using his Formilian brain-interface device, what Adam called an ATD, or artificial telepathy device. Riyad hadn’t used his in about a year and half, so he was hoping he could remember how it worked. As drunk as he was, he had no idea what kind of mental images he would be sending.

Still, he tried. The thought would link to an outgoing CW communication, then filter its way through a dozen more until it identified Adam’s ATD signature. In the past, Riyad had found such mental links could be nearly instantaneous or take up to five minutes to complete. In some rare cases, no link could be established since no CW comms were outgoing.

Now, while weaving his way through modest traffic on yet another alien world, he waited for a reply, and pursed his lips in disgust. The Juireans weren’t going to take too kindly to his killing of four of their kind—including an Overlord. Future consulting jobs within the Expansion might be a little scarce from here on out. And he still didn’t have a good feel for what Adam was up to, especially when it involved that obnoxious little alien Panur.

What he did know for sure was that he would help his friend—that was beyond question—even if he was the most wanted being in the galaxy. But what kind of deadly misadventure Adam had got himself into this time, only time would tell.

Two minutes later the link with Adam Cain was established.

Chapter 9

Adam left the hotel room and returned to the
Pegasus II
, and after routing a traditional comm-link to the planet Silea, he attached that link to a CW blast being sent towards Earth. If Panur was right, the Humans wouldn’t be able to trace the call. And with this extra cut-out, he was hoping the Sol-Kor would be slowed down in tracking it back to Castor.

He called Earth and the private CW number for Andy Tobias.

It was a visual link.

“I’ve been expecting your call, Captain,” said the red-faced officer. “And I have to say, you really screwed the pooch this time.”

“Me? Why would anyone trust the Sol-Kor to keep their word?”

“That’s not the point. Whether they do or not, the reprieve might give us the time we need to figure out a better defense, and all it will cost is returning an alien to the people he’s been living with for the past five thousand years. It’s a pretty cut-and-dry call in my opinion.”

“But it isn’t, Andy.” Adam leaned forward in the pilot’s seat. “It will be far too dangerous to return Panur to the Sol-Kor. He’s told me things—”

“Why do you believe him, especially over your own people? You’re being manipulated, son.”

“Aren’t we all? I sincerely believe the Sol-Kor will not honor any immunity agreement. As Panur says, why should they? They make no long-term commitments with anyone. To them, everyone is just food. All they want is Panur, and once they have him, all bets are off. They’ve done this before, so the pattern isn’t new.”

“We’re counting on them just moving on after they get him back, Adam. We’ve already caused them more trouble than they’re used to. It would be simpler just to move to another galaxy, or another universe.”

“It’s not as simple as that, Admiral. They can only go where there’s a matching portal. In our universe, the only one large enough for starships was built by the Klin. And now that they have a foothold in the Milky Way, they’re not going to give it up. They have nowhere else to go.”

“Aren’t there enough universes for them?”

“Only those with portals, and they’re few and far between.”

“Even if that’s the case, we have nothing to lose.” The admiral rose up from his seat and began to pace in front of his desk, the camera sensor following his movements. He was angry and frustrated, Adam could tell. And the doubling of deep worry lines on his forehead spoke of the strain Tobias was experiencing.

“Andy, I know you’re under a lot of pressure, not only from the Union but from the Juireans, the Klin, and everyone else in the galaxy…”

“Do you really? They know my feelings are conflicted. At any moment I could be pulled from command and replaced with someone they consider to be more impartial.”

“Then you have to give them all the facts. If Panur is returned it will not save their worlds. The Sol-Kor will renege and then Panur will go on to build even deadlier weapons against us. He says he’s working on a new beam platform that can subdue a world from a light-year away. Just imagine how terrible that would be.”

Andy stopped his pacing and turned toward the camera. “Why the hell would he do that? I thought he was your friend? Damn, and you’re risking your life to keep him
away
from the Sol-Kor.”

“It’s complicated, but I believe he’ll be forced to continue his work.”

“Forced? Hell, he’s already provided those alien bastards with everything they need to kill gazillions of creatures. If I could kill him myself, I would. That would be the best solution all around.”

“Or we can use him to build defenses against the Sol-Kor.”

“Like what?”

Adam hesitated telling Andy of Panur’s plans. They were so vague, so impossible to explain. But Adam wasn’t getting any closer to getting Andy on his side, and he would need the admiral as his advocate against the forces united against him.

“He can build a detector, something that can find all the Sol-Kor trans-dimensional portals in the galaxy. If we can shut down their access to the galaxy, they won’t be a threat to us anymore.”

Adam saw Tobias hesitate, his bright blue eyes staring into the camera with newfound intensity. “He can do that?”

“He says he can, and I believe him.”

“So bring him back to Earth and we’ll get him working on it right away.”

“It’s not that simple—”

“What the hell, Captain! You can’t keep saying,
It’s not that simple.
At some point it has to get simple!”

“He doesn’t trust the Klin or the Juireans. He believes they prefer to cut a deal with the Sol-Kor where their enemies are destroyed and they’re left as the sole power in the galaxy, especially the Klin. They don’t have a fleet or even a homeworld, so they consider themselves safe from the threat. With immunity for returning Panur, they could sit back and let the Sol-Kor consume Earth and Juir and everyone else they see as a challenge to their leadership of the Milky Way.”

“Bullshit! I’ve had a lot of contact with the Klin recently and they’re just as concerned as the rest of us.”

“Concerned for themselves, Admiral. If the status quo is maintained, they’re shut out, as they’ve been for the past four thousand years. They need a change, and they see the Sol-Kor as their ticket.”

“But you say the SK’s won’t honor their agreement?”

“And to the Klin, what if they don’t? They’ll concentrate on whole worlds first and not a scattering of colony ships. The entire Klin population wouldn’t provide even an appetizer for a Sol-Kor Sunday brunch. With the Klin’s ability to build TD portals, they may even convince the Sol-Kor that they can help them expand further into our universe. Andy, if anyone can’t be trusted, it’s those silver-skinned bastards!”

“So what are you proposing, Captain, that we let Panur build his detector—on his own—and then launch major attacks against the locations his gadget spits out?”

“That’s exactly what I’m proposing.”

Tobias shook his head. “And what about the opposition, from the Klin and others? Everyone has their own agenda.”

“You have to convince them, Admiral. This is the only real solution. As I said, the Sol-Kor will not honor any immunity agreement, so those who think they will are in for a rude awakening. If Panur is returned to the Queen, he’ll complete work on a new beam platform that can subdue a world from a light-year away. We wouldn’t even know what hit us before it’s too late.”

This time Tobias pressed both his hands against the sides of his head. “A new weapon, built by the very alien you’re protecting, the creature you’ve sacrificed everything for? Whose side is he on anyway? He’s willing to provide us with a way to defend against the SK’s, but if he’s returned he’ll build even deadlier weapons to be used against us. Can you see how screwed up that is?”

“Of course I can, Andy, that’s why I keep saying it’s not that simple. If Panur is returned he will be forced to complete work on the beam platform.”

“How? I thought the bastard couldn’t be killed?” Tobias saw Adam open his mouth to speak. “I know…it’s not that simple,” he interrupted. Shaking his head, Tobias returned to his desk and fell back into his chair, looking defeated. “You haven’t given me very much, Captain. And you’re right, I am under a lot of pressure. If what you say about the Klin is true, then they’ll fight me every step of the way. I need more details, details about this detector. How does it work?”

“You’re asking me?”

“Damn right I am! You trust this mutant. Give me a reason to trust him, too.”

Adam looked around at the darkened pilothouse of the
Pegasus II
. He felt totally alone and with no one to ask for counseling. If he made the wrong decision it could mean the end of the Milky Way galaxy, or at least all advanced life within it. And all he had was the word of a mutant alien to go by. What if he
was
being manipulated by what was undeniably a greater intellect than his? Adam had no doubt that Panur had his own endgame in sight. Whether it was beneficial to Humanity or not, he couldn’t tell, not yet. But he had to do something to get Andy on his side, to take his case before the powers in the galaxy, something to lift the manhunt for him and Panur.

He nodded. “Of course I don’t know how it really works, but he says certain crystals can pick up the disturbances in universal vibrations caused by the portals. With the proper crystal, and sensitive equipment to read the signals, he can detect TD portals.”

“What kind of crystal?”

Adam shrugged, displaying a wry smile. “Diamond, of course.”

“No shit? That’s it? He just needs to read some mystic diamonds to find the portals.”

Adam shook his head. “It’s not that simple,” he said, knowing that Andy would give him the nasty glare he now displayed. “He needs a flawless, thousand-pound diamond…”

An outside thought beamed into Adam’s brain like a sledgehammer. He paused speaking with Andy to respond.

Riyad! Damn dude, tone it down a little. And I’ll have to call you back. I’m talking with Andy Tobias right now.

But I need to talk to you!

I know. Give me a couple of minutes.

Tobias stared into the camera for almost a full minute before suddenly bursting out laughing. It took him another thirty seconds to recover from the fit. “Oh, is that all? Damn, Captain, I’m disappointed. I thought we taught you better in the SEALs, to face reality and not live in some fantasy world. I suppose Panur has convinced you that such a diamond exists?”

Adam bit his bottom lip. “Yeah, he has. In the core of a white dwarf star.”

Tobias frowned. “Adam, I’m worried about you. Have you gone completely mad, or is Panur feeding you some kind of drug that makes you lose all sense of reality? Even if he’s right, what good does that do us? It’s in the core of a friggin’ star!”

“He can get to it.”

“I’m afraid to ask how.”

“By smashing a black hole into the white dwarf.”

The smile returned to Andy’s face. “This will have to go down in history as the dumbest conversation of all time. But seriously, how the hell am I supposed to go before—well, anyone—with a story like this, and expect them to believe me?”

“Just do it, Admiral. Let the experts evaluate the feasibility of the plan. To you and me it sounds like science fiction—maybe even fantasy—but to them it could make sense.”

“And this is what I’ve been waiting to talk to you about, hoping it would give me a reason for what you’re doing?” Tobias was crestfallen. “If this is all I have, I’ll run with it, but you have to know it’s the longest of long shots…ever. Don’t be expecting too much.”

“Believe me, Andy, I’m not. My whole life has been poured into a blender and set on high. I’m taking one day at a time. I know you’ll do the best you can. I’ll do what I can from this end. And if we both live long enough to meet again, one of us will owe the other a beer when this is all over.”