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

“Let me tell you why the situation has grown proportionally worse…and why it’s now imperative that I help you.”

“You’re going to help us?” Riyad exclaimed, caught off-guard.

“If I don’t, you will all die.”

“You sure have a way with words,” Sherri growled.

“Let me explain some basic truths.” He looked to Benefis. “You say I have been responsible for all the death caused by the Sol-Kor, and in a way you are correct. Yet throughout the centuries, I have regulated the technological advancement of the Sol-Kor by releasing only those innovations I wished to release, and when I wished to release them. I have so many more ideas in my head that if revealed would make the Sol-Kor invincible, now and forever. Yet I have allocated these advancements a little at a time, over five thousand years. But now comes J’nae…

“As I mentioned, she is a creature
I
created, designed to be essentially my clone. She is just as intelligent as I am, with the same innovative spirit…yet with a difference.”

“What difference?” Benefis asked.

“She has been held in relative isolation for several hundred years. Yes, she had access to news and research materials, yet in a very real sense she lacks real-world experience. A creature may have unlimited intellectual potential, yet if they are never exposed to a possibility, they may never think of it on their own.”

“So she’s like a child?”

“In a way. Yet when exposed to a possibility, even if it is not something that currently exists in her reality, she will think on it until she finds a way to create it for herself. Just knowing that something is possible will become a challenge for her to figure out how it is done.”

“So if we do use the
Najmah Fayd
to jump into Sol-Kor space, and even if we aren’t caught, just knowing that such a thing is possible will get her working on the problem.” Riyad felt his heart sink to his feet. So much for taking the
Najmah Fayd
into Sol-Korland.

“The sad truth is: if I can think of it, so can she. To be honest, I have known how to adapt a starship into a TD-portal for a thousand years, I just never had any need to reveal such. I also knew what that would mean to Sol-Kor growth and the subsequent demise of victim races. Contrary to your belief, Juirean, I am not a cold-blooded killer. I have used the Sol-Kor to visit countless worlds across the five universes. I thrill at the chance to meet new species, and I often regret when the time arrives for their harvest.

“As far as J’nae is concerned, one of her major problems at this time is accessing your universe. She will seek to solve this problem, and there will no holding back once a solution is found. She
is
the Sol-Kor, and that is her only concern. In summary: it is inevitable that she will come to the same conclusion I have, with or without our influence.”

The room remained silent as the consequences sank in. There was no avoiding the obvious: the Sol-Kor would be back, and there would be no way to stop them this time.

“Yet there is more.”

“I do not think I can handle
more
,” Arieel said, gripping her daughter’s hand even tighter.

“Lay it on us, Panur,” Sherri said. “My day’s a mess already.”

“As mentioned earlier, I release my innovations according to my timetable, not that of the Sol-Kor. With J’nae as the new leader of the Colony, she will be operating on her own schedule, and solely for the benefit of her people. As with the TD-capable starship, possibilities will continue to flow to her at an ever-increasing pace. And with a burgeoning population to feed and an eternity to rule, she will develop things even I have never dreamed of.”

“You make her out to be some kind of megalomaniac bent on universal domination,” Lila said.

“She is like us, Lila, immortal and of superior intellect. Her only purpose in life will be to expand her horizons. Whereas we sought to create a race of similar beings, she will be content being the one and only of her kind. She already has a trillion loyal subjects, and many more to come. She will provide them with the means to spread even further and faster than ever before.”

“Does this make you a proud papa?” Sherri asked.

“What it makes me is determined to stop her.”

“How is that possible?” Benefis asked. “You have just described…the end of time for everyone except the Sol-Kor.”

“Just as your people sought to neutralize me, I will have to do the same.”

“She’s your daughter,” Arieel stated.

“She is more my
creation
, a project, and as Sherri pointed out earlier, not all my creations should have seen the light of day.”

“So I
was
right!”

“On the contrary, I said under the proper conditions. Those conditions have not been met in J’nae’s case, thanks in part to her premature assumption of her position and the unlimited resources it affords her. For that I have Misters Tarazi and Cain to thank. Now it will be up to me to clean up the mess they have created.”

Shrugging of the insult, Riyad stood up. He surveyed the concerned faces staring back at him, before focusing his attention on Panur. “So, it looks like we’re back in…and with the
Najmah Fayd
.”

“Just as soon as I can make the modifications.”

Chapter
12

“There’s a ship closing on us!” Sherri called out to the distracted bridge crew.

“Juireans?”

“Nope…believe it or not, it’s Syrus Jacs. I didn’t think he stuck around after all the fireworks started.”

“He is a tenacious being,” Benefis said. “Probably looking to collect his fee…from someone.”

“We can’t let him know Panur is still alive—I mean thawed out,” Riyad said. “He may tell the Juireans.”

“He’s hailing us…what should I do?” Sherri looked to see who was going to take charge.

“We must first find out what he knows,” offered Panur. “He may have been monitoring your activities and already know of my recovery. If that’s the case, and we shun him now, he could sell that information to the Juireans. I vote that we destroy his ship now, just to make certain he doesn’t do that.”

“He may also know nothing,” Arieel countered.

“So lure him in and find out.”

“I would also vote to kill him,” Benefis added with enthusiasm.

It was Sherri’s turn to pile on: “I’m with you!”

Arieel shook her head. “What is the matter with all of you? Are you savages with no compassion?”

Sherri, Panur, and Benefis looked at each other, before the Human voiced the unanimous thought. “That’s right, we are. But this has nothing to do with compassion and more to do with survival.”

“Panur, would not you require additional supplies for your conversion of this ship?” Lila asked. “This creature Jacs had been our main source of advanced technology since our arrival in the Frontier. He may still have value.”

“I could also serve as your broker,” Benefis offered. Riyad could see the greed in the alien’s yellow eyes.

“Lila is correct,” Panur stated. “Syrus Jacs already knows our needs, and he has been trustworthy in the past. Forgive me, my Juirean friend, but I don’t know you.”

“So do I open a link or not?” Sherri asked impatiently.

“I will speak with him,” Panur said, stepping up to Sherri’s station. He nodded. “Syrus Jacs, this is Panur.”

“Panur? It can’t be! I saw your ship destroyed.”

“Ships can be destroyed, I cannot.”

“This is great news! Where are my credits?”

“They were aboard the
Pegasus II
.”

“So you’re saying you no longer need the modules? Unfortunately they were a special order, and I will require a thirty percent cancellation fee.”

“Or what?” Sherri cried out. Panur frowned at the Human.

“Who was that?”

“Just one of my old friends. Let me discuss the matter here for a moment.” He signaled for Sherri to mute the link. “I have been thinking…your ship, Riyad, uses a modified SCAC fuel source, and when I make the conversion it will have to be the 18’s that Syrus has aboard his vessel. We therefore need to go through with the transaction.”

“The
Najmah Fayd
came to me with a full power charge, so I haven’t had to think about replacement mods. How much are SCAC-18’s?”

“One hundred seventeen thousand Juirean credits each.”

Riyad was stunned. “And you need five of them?”

“That’s correct.”

“That’s five hundred eighty-five thousand credits,” Sherri announced. “Anyone have that kind of cash lying around?”

“Not aboard the
Fayd
,” said Riyad, dumbfounded.

“I have it on my planet,” Panur stated.

“You mean the planet where you’ve been hiding?” Riyad asked. There was something in the mutant’s tone that made him ask the question.

“No…it is the planet I own.”

“You own a planet?” Benefis asked.

“It is a small one, but yes.”

“He’s beeping us again,” said Sherri.

Panur nodded. “Syrus, we have discussed the matter and we’re willing to go through with the transaction.”

“You are?”

“Yes. However, the credits I brought with me are no more, as you can understand why. I will ask that you accompany us to my world, where settlement will be made.”

“Where is that?”

“I will not divulge that information within a link. You will have to follow us. And I must warn you, no unauthorized transmissions are to be made from your ship. If so, I will instruct the captain of this vessel to destroy you without hesitation.”

“What makes you think he could destroy—”

Anticipating the conversation, Riyad had already plotted a quick hop to a location just behind Jacs’ ship. He made the jump with weapons charged and glowing on any close-range detector.

Jacs was cut off in mid-sentence as the
Najmah Fayd
disappeared off his screen, only to reappear a heartbeat later, and in perfect firing position behind him. “Okay…I agree to your terms. Please lead on.”

“It is a pleasure doing business with you, Syrus Jacs.”

Chapter
13

It took two days to reach Panur’s world, and as they swept once around it in orbit, Riyad saw that it was indeed a small planet. However, its heavy core density afforded it a gravity equal to about .85 of Earth, along with an atmosphere rich in nitrogen and oxygen.

“How the hell did you end up owning an entire planet?” Sherri asked, as she too surveyed the world from space.

“It was given to me—and to Lila.”

“Given why?” asked Arieel.

Panur looked to Lila and smiled. Arieel’s daughter reacted with a small smirk of her own. “Forgive us, Mother, but Panur and I have been posing as gods.”

“Gods?” Riyad, Sherri and Arieel’s voices all blended together in a very pleasing three-part harmony.

Arieel continued as a solo: “In what manner?”

“All manners,” Panur chimed in, a rather pleased expression on his face. “I chose this world because the indigenous species has basic intelligence, a firm grasp of technology…and they already had a plethora of gods which we could infiltrate.”

“How so?”

“As we in this room are aware, gods are the creation of the worshippers, not the other way around. So when Lila and I began to demonstrate our unique abilities in person, it didn’t take long for the population to discard their old gods in lieu of some new ones—us. Forgive me, Arieel, but it is similar to what the Speakers of your world have done for two thousand years. We put on some shows…and the next thing we knew the entire species had dedicated their lives to us. They even offered legal documents handing over ownership of the planet. We didn’t ask for that, but we took it anyway.”

“And what did you expect to gain from such a…deception?”

“A place to experiment with a new race of immortals. The natives would embrace these new creatures, offering us protection, anonymity, and all the wealth we desired.”

“And how’s that working out for you?” Sherri asked, sensing from Lila’s expression that all was not well in Fantasyland.

Panur looked at Lila, and his expression changed dramatically. He looked sheepish, almost embarrassed. “Unfortunately, with all my wisdom I still have much to learn about interpersonal relationships.”

“You mean like between you…and Lila?”

“Exactly.”

Sherri’s grin was wider than Riyad had ever seen it. She was ecstatic. “You two can’t get along, is that what you’re saying?”

“I have never had to accommodate such an intellect, especially not one close to my own.”

“Equal to yours,” Lila stated.

“That is assuming quite a lot, Lila.”

“Yet it is a fact, whether you choose to accept it or not.”

“I have been alive for five thousand years. My depth of experience is far greater than yours.”

“But not your ability to comprehend and evaluate. In terms of raw ability, I am every bit your equal.”

“Or so you say.”

Lila looked to her mother. “He is insufferable.”

“And she is unreasonable.”

Sherri laughed out loud. “So what…separate beds?”

“There will be no need for such, not until he treats me with more respect.”

Arieel went to her daughter and hugged her. “I’m here for you, Lila, should you require understanding and compassion.” She looked over Lila’s shoulder at Panur, a dark gleam in her eye.

“I feel I am without allies here,” Panur said in a huff.

“I’m with you, man,” Riyad said. “Can’t live with them, can’t outsmart them either. Hell, in your case, you can’t even kill them!”

“Yet I can outsmart—”

“See what I mean, Mother—insufferable.”

“Are we going to land this tub or not?” Sherri asked with a lilt in her voice. “Or do we continue with this riveting episode of Dr. Phil?”

“Who is Doctor Fill?” Benefis asked.

********

Panur’s adoring subjects ended up being squat little creatures with huge heads and large round eyes. They were stocky and incredibly strong for their size, which was slightly shorter that Panur. Lila, for her part, had continued to grow. She was now over eight inches taller than Panur, and Riyad saw how she enjoyed leaning over him in a dominating fashion during conversations. Even between immortal mutant aliens, power games were played.

The two mutants had only been on the planet for a year, yet in that time the awestruck natives had constructed a magnificent palace for their two living gods. Apparently gold was plentiful here, and held in as much veneration as it was in most primitive societies. The building was literally covered in shiny gold, every square inch of it, except for the gold-tinted windows. Riyad had to squint against the building’s glare as they exited the
Najmah Fayd
and made their way over to Syrus Jacs’ ship.

The planet was called Worak-nin on the charts, but Panur had renamed it Panurland in honor of…well, himself. Lila bristled when he mentioned this to the others, seeing that her name had been excluded. Not a wise move on the part of the so-called genius intellect, Riyad thought. Even a dumb guy like him knew better.

The natives referred to themselves as Nar, and they had rudimentary electronics and wheeled vehicles powered my fossil fuels, yet no space travel. They marveled each time Panur and Lila flew their incredible starship—the one that was now a thin cloud of debris streaming toward an unnamed star eighty light-years away. The
Najmah Fayd
was an even more impressive craft, drawing gasps of amazement as it rested on the surface of the primitive spaceport the mutants had had constructed near their residence.

Then came Syrus Jacs’ ship. It, too, inspired gasps, but of concern rather than awe.

If ever a vessel should be classified a derelict, this was it. It was an ugly amalgamation of at least four other discarded starships, welded together along clumpy seams and confusing in its basic orientation. At first glance it was almost impossible to determine the head from the tail.

Riyad was confused. From the sophisticated look of Jacs’ headquarters building on Lasiter, the merchant-trader appeared to be very successful at what he did. Looking now at his spaceship, Riyad had his doubts.

He was waiting near the exit hatch of the hideous starship with the rest of his so-called crew when Syrus appeared. Riyad hadn’t heard the name of his race, but he found the alien to be about his height, gaunt-faced, with a scraggly crop of pure white hair radiating out from his head. He was slender, with standard arms, legs and hands. Yet it was the eyes that truly labeled him as an alien, at least to the Humans. They were two protruding sockets set on each side of his head, allowing him to look in multiple directions at the same time. Most lizards and fish used the same set-up, so Riyad knew it worked—for them. It was an odd experience facing the creature and not knowing which eye to focus on. So he focused on his narrow nose instead.

Syrus scanned the faces of the six creatures waiting for him outside his ship until he spotted Benefis. Then both eyes whipped around and pointed at the Juirean.

“I thought we had an exclusive deal, Panur? What is the Juirean doing amongst you?”

“I have no idea,” the mutant replied. “He came with the others.”

“This is my customer, Benefis. I know not what you are attempting.”

“I am not attempting anything. I am but an unwitting passenger aboard the Humans’ spaceship.”

“Humans?” Syrus looked at Sherri and Riyad, and then a moment longer at Arieel. “What are Humans doing here? I have never met one before, yet I understand they are dangerous and ill-tempered.”

“We can also hear,” said Sherri.

“Of course you can. What does that have to do with anything?”

“It means show a little respect.”

Syrus nodded, while his eyes darted to each of the others. “Indeed…ill-tempered and easily provoked.”

“Just get this jerk his credits, Panur, so he can get out of here in his piece-of-shit spaceship.”

The alien focused his eyes on Sherri as the embedded translation bug near his tiny earholes did its best deciphering the phrasing. “I understand you do not respect my vessel?”

“Sure I do,” Sherri countered. “I respect the fact that it’s still in one piece after landing. How long that miracle lasts is anyone’s guess.”

Syrus took a step toward Sherri, but then changed his mind after recalling the stories he’d heard about Humans. “My ship is a fine example of frugal innovation and adaption. It is structurally sound, incredibly fast, and powerfully armed. The appearance is as it has evolved, which also adds to its deceptive value when confronting hostile forces. You would be wise not to underestimate my ship.”

“It could use a fucking paint job.”

“Paint does not mate,” said Syrus after the translation.

“Let’s move on, please,” Panur said, stepping in. “I have a transport waiting. Please allow me—and Lila—to enter first, as appearances must be maintained for our subjects.”

********

Even though the palace was covered in gold, it wouldn’t win any awards for design innovation. It was just a huge box, five stories tall and covering the footprint of a standard football field. Five rows of tinted windows wrapped the building on each floor, yet when they entered they found most of the interior open all the way to the ceiling. Only about twenty meters to the left and right was filled with additional rooms.

Panur led them to a golden doorway that opened to an elevator.

“What’s with all the damn gold?” Sherri asked. “I should have brought my sunglasses.”

“My subjects—”

“Our subjects,” Lila corrected.

“Yes…
our
subjects insisted on it. You think that with the amount put into this building that the metal would be ubiquitous, yet it is not. Apparently this structure contains over two thirds of all the gold ever recovered on the planet. Nothing is too good—or rare—for their gods.”

Syrus’s mouth had fallen open at the first sight of the palace. “Perhaps I have undercharged for my products. I would gladly take the elevator door as fair compensation in lieu of future Juirean credits.”

“And then the cab would be without a door,” Panur stated. “I have more credits than I have gold elevator doors. I shall pay in credits, not doors.”

“Regrettable.”

“Syrus Jacs, I will insist that you remain on Panurland until I have developed the parts list for the conversion I will be doing on Riyad’s ship. I have much of what I need already here, yet I can think of a dozen or so items I require from off-planet. Are you agreeable to this?”