A Clash of Aliens (The Human Chronicles Book 13) (10 page)

Chapter
9

Overlord Ranor was livid, and frustrated. He had chased the elusive Human starship all the way from Formil and had not been able to gain any ground. He was relying on advance units to provide him with updates, which was more a reaction to events rather than guiding them.

Now he learned that the Humans were on Lasiter and more than likely had already located the energy broker Syrus Jacs. With the head start they had on him, they could acquire the mutant while Ranor was still a thousand light-years away.

“They are still on Lasiter,” his Second, Wynn O’ori reported. “It has been nearly half a day.”

“Jacs must be on the planet.”

“That is a possibility.”

“If so, then Panur may be there as well. Send in covert operatives. Locate the Human ship and their whereabouts. If I have to send in backing units to accomplish my mission I will do so, but I would prefer to guide the operation myself.”

“I understand, my Lord. I will issue the orders.”

********

Two hours later, Wynn rushed into Ranor’s stateroom without announcement. The Overlord looked up from his desk, annoyed. But before he could comment, Wynn was speaking.

“They are gone, my Lord!”

“Explain…the tracker?”

“Was discovered. We located it on another ship still in the port.”

Ranor stood up. “Where are they?”

“We do not know.”

“They are going to where Syrus Jacs is to meet Panur.”

“Of course—”

“Send in what forces are necessary to extract the information from Jacs’ associates. Use whatever means are necessary. We have no time left.”

Wynn produced a handheld comm device and began barking orders. Then he spoke again to his Overlord. “After Wokan, the peoples of the Frontier should more readily succumb to our authority.”

“If not, make a point of it.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

With six warships in orbit around Lasiter, as well as an assault force of over five hundred, the Juireans met no resistance this time, either within the city or at the headquarters of Syrus Jacs. Wynn relayed the information to Ranor forty minutes after issuing the orders.

The two Juirean officers huddled over the navigation screen. “The Lossen Asteroid Field. At last we have found good fortune,” said Ranor. “It is along our path to Lasiter, and only two standard hours ahead. Prepare the fleet.”

********

The
Najmah Fayd
slowed as the haze of small contacts filled the nav screen. The asteroid field was huge, measuring nearly a million miles long by half that wide, the remnant of an Earth-size world that had been obliterated billions of years ago in a cataclysmic collision with a similarly-sized body. Now the mass of debris orbited a yellow star at a mean distance of sixty million miles.

“How are we going to find two ships out of all this mess?” Sherri asked Riyad.

“There’s no habitable planets in the system, so any gravity drive in the region should stand out like a sore thumb. Besides, neither ship should be expecting anything. It’s just a simple rendezvous to take delivery of a set of power modules.”

“Please use your Gift to scan for Lila’s presence,” Arieel asked Sherri. “She has the unique ability to communicate telepathically, even without the Gift, yet with one the communication can be strengthened.”

“She can do that? How?”

“I do not know how. All I know is that she is different and that it is possible. She demonstrated it to Adam and me when her and Panur absconded with the
Pegasus II
.”

“No kidding…wow. Sure, I’ll start scanning. And if she has a particular connection to you, you should try too.”

“I have been already, although I know not how to achieve such a state. All I am doing is calling out in my mind.”

“It must have been tough on you when she left.”

“Unbelievably so.”

The two females were in the common room, helping to clean up after a communal meal. “I lost a child, too,” Sherri confided. “It was a miscarriage, not like you.”

“I am sorry to hear that. It was my understanding that your wish for a family is what caused a rift between you and Adam. He already had a child in the past. She was taken from him as well.”

“Yeah, we’ve all had something taken away from us.”

Arieel studied Sherri’s face. “He always loved you more,” the alien said. “I realize his attraction to me was more chemical in nature than practical. The birth of Lila was completely unexpected.”

“I appreciate that, Arieel, but it’s not necessary to explain things. I’ve known Adam for almost twenty years. We had our chances long before you came along.”

Riyad’s voice blared from the PA system. “We have an incoming ship! Conventional gravity drive. This could be Syrus.”

Sherri and Arieel looked at each other. There was no joy on their faces, only concern. A moment of truth was approaching and both females were worried. They rushed to the bridge.

“Any sign of the
Pegasus
?” Sherri asked.

“Not yet, but you know the signal is harder to pick up. It hops through space rather than along a continual line.”

“Can Syrus detect us?”

“We’re dark, so I doubt it. I’m using maneuvering jets to get us closer.”

Sherri trembled, a reaction not missed by Arieel. “Are you okay?”

“I…I feel like I need to scratch my brain. You ever felt that? There’s definitely an itch inside there.”

“Lila?”

“Hell if I know. It’s quite annoying.”

“Please call out to her.”

“I am, if only to get this itch scratched.”

“There she is…the
Pegasus
!”

All four of the people on the bridge rushed to the nav screen. A signal was approaching the asteroid field, appearing as sporadic blips. Each appearance was a little closer, and the blips were coming more frequently. Then the ship steadied out, its full energy signature displayed on the screen, on a course directly for that of Syrus Jacs. The
Najmah Fayd
was closing fast, still in dark mode and using gas jets for propulsion.

Jacs and Panur were now only a few thousand miles apart and closing on each other at a leisurely pace.

“How do you intend to proceed?” Benefis asked Riyad.

“Not sure. I’m hoping Sherri and Arieel can contact Lila before we have to open a link to the ships. I think that would be less of a shock to both of them.”

“Lila!” Arieel cried out loud. “Please hear me.”

The itch in Sherri’s brain suddenly became a full-blown pain. She grasped her head by both hands. “Damn, what’s happening?”

The pain and the itch vanished and Sherri heard a clear yet soft voice in her mind. “Mother? I can hear you…and others. Sherri Valentine, the mind says. I detect a Gift! How can that be?”

“Lila, I’m here,” Arieel spoke again aloud.

“I hear you. You are close.”

“Yes, we can see you on our screen.”

“This is not right. Panur will be angry.”

********

Ranor stared at the screen with fire in his eyes. The data was streaming in from an inert drone within scanning range of the three alien ships. His small fleet was out of range and undetected.

“Arm the missiles. Fire in two…one…now!”

From the bellies of five Juirean Class-Fours, five oblong canisters shot out, using intensive gravity drives to propel them to incredible speeds in a fraction of a second. After the initial acceleration, the engines and all other internal electronics went dormant. A mechanical clock was counting down the time to contact, having been calculated from the data provided by the drone.

The deadly weapons streaked through space unseen. When only three seconds from their target, the electronics and engines reenergized and minute course corrections were made.

Even in that short interval from detection to contact, the occupants of the small starship were able to raise the shields. But it wasn’t enough. The first three missiles struck their energy fields and overloaded them. The two trailing missiles passed through undeterred and impacted the hull with devastating results.

The
Pegasus II
was pulverized. It split into a million pieces and debris streamed out into the asteroid field.

********

Sherri passed out as the incredible cry within her mind was too much to bear. Arieel cried out as well, as she too heard her daughter’s psychic scream.

Then there was silence.

Riyad was speechless, seeing the far distance flash of light…and then nothing. The contact on his screen disappeared, and within moments the individual remnants of the
Pegasus II
became too small to detect.

“Explain!” Benefis called out.

Riyad shook his head. “I don’t know. There was a spark right before the explosion, and then nothing.”

A beeping began to chime from the comm speakers. An incoming link.

Riyad rushed to the station and pressed the contact. An image appeared on the main screen between the two forward viewports, the face of a white-haired Juirean Overlord.

At first he didn’t speak, taking in the bridge of the
Najmah Fayd
and its four occupants. His gaze settled on Benefis.

“You are a Juirean…and an Overlord. Who are you?”

“I am former Overlord Benefis Na…my Lord.”

“Are you a part of my operation?”

“No, I am with the Humans and the Formilian.”

The Overlord leaned to his right as someone off screen spoke to him. He nodded. “You are a deserter. I have rarely heard of this, yet I have never met one in person. I should take custody of you, yet I am informed that since this is such a rare occurrence there are no specific regulations against such an act. I will have to introduce such regulations and then return for you.”