A Clash of Aliens (The Human Chronicles Book 13) (15 page)

Of course, he would catch them off guard…all thousand or so who normally manned an array.

Still, it was the best plan he had. If he could slip in undetected and then steal a ship in his own universe, it would be easier to get someone’s attention—someone who wouldn’t serve him up for dinner if he was caught.

An exit appeared and he pulled off. This road was leading east; the portal farm was on the west side of the spaceport. He made his way to the main road that ran along the north side of the huge spaceport. He only had so much time before he would be found out—or the body of his clothes-donor was discovered. Then it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out his escape plan.

It was about an hour and a half after he’d slipped out of his room when he entered the maze of identical buildings the natives called the
Farm
. Although most of the portals here were used for inter-universe travel, he knew where the long-distance units were housed. He raced through light traffic until he reached the sector.

From what he understood, any working portal here could be dialed into his universe, so he pulled up to a building with a truck parked outside, and he didn’t play it safe. He bounded out of the cab and ran to one of the smaller doors bookending a large roll-up metal door.

The Sol-Kor’s nasty habit of not using locks was soon to be their downfall. Adam boldly entered the building and looked around. The five Sol-Kor in the large warehouse  turned to look at him. He was silhouetted against the glare of light flooding through the open door, so at first they didn’t react. After a quick survey of the aliens’ positions, Adam rushed forward, swift in Kor’s light gravity, and made quick work of the scaly technicians. Then he sat down at a control console and began punching buttons as Adrian Kaczynski had once shown him.

Spinning in the chair, he looked to the trans-dimensional portal sitting in the center of the huge room. Lights activated along the frame, and a light shimmering film filled the interior of the gateway. He was close.

He turned back to the panel and pulled up a list of active portals in his universe. Only three were listed, which he was both happy and sad to see. It meant the good guys within the Milky Way were shutting down all the enemy portals, but it left him with limited options. A galaxy is a huge place, and he had no idea where these portals were located in relation to Earth, or any allied planet for that matter.

He didn’t care. He clicked the first one.

The scene through the portal changed to that of a dimly-lit room with a matching control panel occupying a nearby wall. At first blush, the room looked empty.

Without a second thought, Adam sprinted to the rectangular-shaped doorway and ran through.

As was normal with TD transfers, there was a slight moment of disorientation and nausea, which quickly passed. That was welcome; it meant the transit had worked. What wasn’t welcome was what he found waiting for him off to his left, hidden from view of the portal from the other side.

“I should have had this moment recorded,” said J’nae, the Queen of the Sol-Kor. “Your expression is…well, beyond wealth.”

“
Priceless
, we would say.”

“Exactly! That is a much better way to describe it.”

Adam let his shoulders slump as he took in the gathering of ten armed Sol-Kor soldiers flanking their leader. They made no move toward him, waiting for instructions from J’nae.

“I take it we’re not in my universe?”

“No, you took at little jump back to my quarters. It is how all the portals in this sector have been programmed.”

“I hate being predicable.”

“How else were you to return to your universe?” The Queen’s smile was gleeful. She was really enjoying the moment. “I must say your escape from your chambers was rather clever, but it didn’t take long to discover you were missing. You actually made good time getting here—I mean to the portal farm. I am very busy these days, so I could only wait for you for so long before I would have had to turn responsibility over to High Noslead Lociss.” She turned to the stern-looking, black-armored Sol-Kor male next to her. “Now, Lociss, please return my guest to his quarters—unharmed. When I find time, I will dispense an appropriate punishment myself.”

She looked back to Adam with a pout. “Unfortunately, I cannot let this indiscretion be forgiven. You must learn that any attempts at escape will result in some rather unpleasant consequences.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“That why your punishment will be mild, although you may not classify it as so. Just remember, by comparison to future treatments, it will be. Now, back to your cage, Adam Cain.”

Chapter
15

Fanon trailed the entourage returning the alien to his room. He twisted his neck slightly to relieve the tightness in his skin, a consequence of the surgical procedure he’d undergone. So far the results had been satisfactory. For the past three weeks he’d passed himself off as a Sol-Kor, but the disguise only covered the exposed parts of this body, including the very painful limb extensions that brought him to a comparable height with the
feeders
. He had been assured that the procedure was reversible. This gave him hope and joy. He couldn’t imagine living out the remainder of his life with the appearance of the mortal enemy of his people. That was not part of his assignment.

However, the short, slightly built creature they called a Human
was
part of his assignment—plus an assessment of the current state of affairs in the Sol-Kor Colony.

So far, he’d acquired a wealth of knowledge, developments which the Scribe Council would find significant. He’d yet to transmit his findings; that was reserved for specific periods, the first of which was schedule for tonight. It would be then he would relay his analysis of the Human.

Even now, Fanon was having trouble believing both his own analysis and his observations. He prayed the Council would accept them, since they were reality. Yet sometimes reality was difficult to accept.

As a lower-ranking Sol-Kor drone known as a Durlead, he was placed outside the Human’s chambers on guard duty, along with another DL. The prior two guards had been relieved of their responsibilities, to be recycled as part of the Sol-Kor’s insatiable need for food. That was the price of failure within a Colony of cannibalistic flesh-feeders.

His shift would end in three standard hours. His heart raced with the thought of his report. If the Scribes saw the same significance with his information, decisions had to be made, and preparations. His people would enter a new phase in their long history. If all went well, it would mean their salvation, and a long-overdue settling of affairs.

********

Adam flopped back on his bed and stared up at the high ceiling. “Damn, I hate being predictable,” he said aloud. A SEAL’s advantage came from being just the opposite, doing the impossible at a time no one would be expecting it. Now he would have to go back to square one.

He shuddered. He couldn’t imagine what J’nae had in mind for his punishment, but he was sure it would be creative. He just hoped it wouldn’t lay him up for too long. He was running out of time.

********

Fanon pulled the coat tighter against his artificial skin, fighting the bitter cold of night on Kor, the wind whipping the higher elevations of the pyramid. Like all his people, he had been raised underground, in huge shelters hidden from prying eyes above. He wasn’t used to such shifts in temperature and weather as experienced by topside worlds. But now he was required to journey outside the structure, on one of the higher platforms formed by the step building modules.

He placed the communication device on the concrete surface and quickly turned it on. It would be shielded from detection, but it needed to be placed outside in order to link with the hidden relay station located in space halfway between Kor and its star called Sol. He had a lot to convey, and the conversation would be two-way, so detailed explanations would be required. He would be out here for a while, suffering as he was.

He placed a microphone around his head and then replaced the hood of his garment. It didn’t help much, and the thin layer of scales on his face didn’t offer any extra protection either. He would have to endure as best he could.

However, once he began his report, he quickly forgot about the cold. His data was received with skepticism at first, but then enthusiasm as more detail was provided. After a full hour of conversation, he shut down the device and headed for the entrance back into the black pyramid. He was nearly frozen, but he had a new assignment, a dangerous assignment, and if he was successful, he would be returning home sooner than expected.

The thought helped to warm him from the inside out.

Chapter 16

Three days had passed since Adam had made his failed escape attempt, and still J’nae had not been by to dole out his punishment. Every time the door opened, he tensed up. Was this a game she was playing with him, a form of mental torture? Was this to be his punishment? He let out a snort. Nah, J’nae enjoyed causing physical pain. When she found the time, she would be by. Until then, each snap of the lock on his door twisted his stomach into knots.

It was the same when the lock snapped late at night. He was asleep but came awake instantly. This would be like the sadistic Queen, to come to his chambers late at night when he least expected it.

He didn’t find much relief when a solitary Sol-Kor guard entered. He recognized him as one of his regulars. He was probably here to escort him to wherever J’nae would inflict his punishment.

However, they usually came in pairs, or more, when visiting the Queen’s prized yet dangerous pet.

“Dress, and then come with me,” the guard commanded.

The outer door remained open—another oddity—the second guard hidden from view. Adam wondered if he should take the chance. One guard, even two, was not a problem for him. It was the presence of the damn security cameras that gave him pause. At a moment’s notice, a hundred additional Sol-Kor could descend upon him.

“Where are we going? Do I need a tie and sportscoat?”

The alien frowned. “Formal wear will not be necessary.”

Adam tensed. The guard should not have been able to make such a statement, not at his intellectual level. Something wasn’t right.

He finished dressing and then stepped out into the dimly-lit corridor outside his chambers, the Sol-Kor following a meter behind. The second guard wasn’t there. This was his chance…

Adam spun around, whipping his right leg along the stone floor, but it made contract—with nothing. The guard had jumped, reacting to Adam’s attack with unnatural quickness. As the alien landed, Adam stepped forward with a left hook for the guard’s face. Like with the leap to avoid the leg sweep, the creature bent backward, out of range of Adam’s fist. But then the Human had his right hand balled up and heading straight into the wide nose of the Sol-Kor’s scaly face.

Again the guard moved with unexpected quickness and agility, and Adam’s fist found nothing but air.

“Are you about done?” the guard asked.

“What the fuck? You shouldn’t be able to do that,” Adam said, a little too loudly for the deserted hallway.

“Please lower your voice, if you wish us not to be discovered.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Explanations will come later. For now you must come with me.”

“Where?”

“Outside.”

Adam stared into the steady, confident eyes of the guard. There was something different about them, a depth that didn’t exist in the standard Sol-Kor soldier. Adam knew the Sol-Kor didn’t often practice deception. They didn’t need to, especially not here in their capital building on their homeworld. He had the sneaky suspicion he wasn’t speaking with a Sol-Kor, or if he was, then this was a different kind of Sol-Kor. In light of J’nae’s existence, he couldn’t dismiss that thought offhand.

“Lead on, if that’s how it works.”

“Yes. Do not deviate. Our route is specific and timed. Come.”

The alien took off at a quick pace down the corridor. He didn’t look back to see if Adam was following, though he was, reluctantly. At least he was out of his prison, and apparently in the company of an ally, something he had no idea he had, at least not in this universe.

It was night on Kor. There were still SK’s about, attending to various duties, but not nearly as many as filled the hallways during the day. The mysterious guard avoided the other Sol-Kor with choreographed skill, dodging into shelters just at the right moment, with Adam now glued to his back. The alien knew what he was doing, that was obvious.

The pair entered a deserted elevator, and to Adam’s surprise they headed up, not down toward the vast system of underground subways and vehicle tunnels. The short journey was made in silence and the door slid open after traveling only about halfway up the pyramid.

The huge room outside the elevator was empty, lit only with a few security lights. The space appeared to be undergoing some form of renovation, with construction equipment and building material scattered throughout. Adam had to trot to stay with the taller alien as he moved to one of the exterior doors.

A biting wind hit Adam as he stepped outside. He was wearing only the thin, white shirt the Sol-Kor had made for him, along with equally thin pants. On his feet were shoes made of soft plastic, with no socks. He started shivering uncontrollably within seconds of leaving the building.

“Damn, you should have warned me,” he said to the alien as he followed him further along the balcony and around the corner.

“I was not aware you weren’t provided with additional garments better suited for this weather.”

“I wasn’t, smartass, but I could have put on a couple of shirts instead of just one.”

“You will not have to endure much longer.”

The Sol-Kor stopped near the edge of the platform and pulled a small control module from his uniform.

Adam moved back against the wall, seeking a buffer from the howling wind. It didn’t help much. He wrapped his arms around himself and stomped his feet.

“I’m beginning to regret coming with you—”

Then a small hovercraft appeared over the lip of the balcony and settled on the surface about three meters away. Adam had seen something like this before, when he and his commandos had escaped from the building after killing off the last of the Royal Zygotes. He didn’t hesitate to jump in, falling into the oversize seat next to the Sol-Kor guard. Unlike the last trip he’d made in one of these hovercraft, there was plenty of room for both occupants.

The canopy came down and a blast of hot air bathed him in glorious relief. “Damn that feels good.” He looked over at the huge alien and saw a similar expression on his face.

“I agree. I am not accustomed to such cold temperatures.”

Ah, a tell.

“Where are you from?” Adam asked.

“It will become obvious with time. Yet now I must remain silent in the event we are captured. You will not be able to provide information you have not been given.”

Again…
damn!
That makes perfect sense,
Adam thought. He truly was dealing with a different intellect, along with physical abilities he’d not seen in an alien…ever. At least an alien that wasn’t a mutant.

As the craft lifted from the platform and streaked off toward the illuminated spaceport far below, Adam soaked in the warmth of the heater, feeling more secure than he’d felt in a very long time. He was in good hands, friendly hands, even if he had no idea who they belonged to.

His attitude shifted slightly when the pilot banked the hovercraft sharply and sped along the edge of the long mountain ridgeline where a succession of eighteen Sol-Kor pyramids were perched.

“We’re not heading for the spaceport?”

“We are…just not that one. It is too obvious. There are several more nearby.”

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you? You got a name?”

The creature glanced over at him. “As I said, in time. Remain ignorant for now, it will serve us both better that way.”

“You’re not your average run-of-the-mill Sol-Kor, are you?”

The alien shook his head. “You are persistent…and insubordinate.”

“I’ve been accused of that before.”

The pilot turned his head to stare at Adam for a long moment, steely eyes boring into him. “Well…stop it!”

********

The rest of the flight was done in silence. The planet Kor had two huge moons, and light reflecting off them cast a soft glow on the landscape streaming below them. After leaving the mountain range with the M-1 pyramid atop it, they passed over a wide plain formed by an ancient lava flow. In the distance, another mountain rose up, capped as well with Sol-Kor pyramids, yet only nine of them. The pilot passed by this mountain as well—including its accompanying spaceport—before finally descending toward a much smaller field at the base of a five-hundred-meter-tall hill with only three pyramids resting on top.

They slipped over the surrounding fence of the spaceport with only meters to spare before dropping down next to a spaceship Adam had never seen before in the Sol-Kor fleet. It was much smaller than a beamship, and at first Adam took it for an alien spacecraft, probably left here by his host. Then he noticed there were dozens of the same model ship populating the spaceport.

The canopy popped open, letting the warmth escape. If anything, it was even colder here than on the side of the M-1 pyramid. His silent escort went to the side of the ship and keyed in an access code. The entry hatch slid open and the two of them hurried inside.

“I’ve never seen a ship like this before,” Adam stated. “Would it break your super-secret code of silence to tell me about it?”

“It is a mining survey ship,” the alien answered, leading him to the bridge. “This port and pyramid complex nearby specializes in mining operations. The feeders have as much a need for raw building materials as they do for food.”

“So you’re
not
a Sol-Kor!”

“We are still on Kor,” the alien scolded. “Even as we gain space, we will remain under their influence for many hours. Please…do not ask any more questions, even of the innocuous kind.”

“Innocuous? Fancy word, even in translation. You know, all you’re doing is piquing my curiosity.”

“Then you will truly welcome the time when all can be revealed. But that time is not now. Sit!”

Adam sat in the co-pilot’s seat and buckled in. Five minutes later the ship lifted from the surface of Kor and angled sharply into space, passing between the two brilliant moons moments later.

The ship was challenged five times before it reached the edge of the solar system, and each time the nameless pilot provided the proper response. Adam had to smile. What were the chances of two races, located in different dimensions, both having mother stars called
Sol
? Maybe it was destiny that had brought them together. In any event, it was obvious only one would survive, and going strictly by the numbers, it wasn’t looking too good for the Humans.