A Clash of Aliens (The Human Chronicles Book 13) (4 page)

“Let us hope that does not happen.”

“Yes. I have a family to consider.”

“If that should happen, I will endeavor to provide for you and yours. I still have some assets to employ.”

The doors slid open, and the male slipped out before anything else could be said. He hurried down the corridor, leaving the trio standing awkwardly in the elevator. The doors began to close.

Together, they rushed out of the car.

There was a set of heavy metal doors across the narrow lobby, with an assortment of locks and other security devices on them. Riyad was surprised when the doors opened at the slightest touch and no alarms went off.

“Have you ever been here before?” Sherri asked Arieel.

“I have toured the facilities on a number of occasions, as new sections have been added. At times I have also been allowed to access data. It is a rite of passage in a way, since the existence of the Library and language banks are so crucial to the galaxy. We revere these institutions almost as highly as we do Mislin and Sufor. Or at least we did.” The Formilian had a sour look on her face.

Sherri carried an MK-17 bolt launcher, set on level-three. It would stun a Formilian but not kill, should they run into any trouble. Fortunately, as had been promised, the room was empty, though there was seating for several operators placed before a huge bank of sophisticated computer servers.

Riyad’s jaw fell open. “Where do we even begin?”

“Any of these consoles can draw data. Let us sit. Now, tell me, what are you seeking?”

“I’m assuming Panur went to a section of the galaxy where the Union and the Expansion are not well represented. If that’s the case, then any mention of the
Pegasus
would have to have been added to the local language programs. So first let’s access the translation servers.”

Arieel tapped the surface of a monitor and a series of boxes appeared on the screen. She hit one, then a sequence of two more as new data options came up. “We now have access to the language programs. This is where all the millions of languages spoken within the galaxy are stored. I will  look for references to the word Pegasus to see if it has been added to a language program over the past six standard months.”

The results came up instantaneously. They were written in Formilian, so only Arieel reacted when the data came up.

“We have success!”

“Where?”

“The word was added to the Rissen dialect, T41, four months ago.”

“Where is Rissen spoken?”

She tapped the screen again. “The Dzin Sector.”

Sherri shook her head. “Where the hell is that? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Neither have I,” said Arieel. “I will check.”

A few taps later, she was again reading the screen. “The Dzin Sector is a minor arm of the galaxy, located between the Far Arm and the Expansion Kidis Frontier. T41 is a language spoken by the Aforac, natives of the planet Opness Gaslinska Dor.”

“That’s a mouthful,” Sherri said, her eyes rolling back in her head. “Can you print out a specific location?”

“I have entered it into my translator. I can call up the reference as need be.”

“All right, we’re making progress,” Riyad said. He checked his watch. They were running out of time. “Now I need you to access the Library files.”

“Requesting what information?”

“Suppliers of the SCAC-18 fuel modules. That’s what the
Pegasus
runs on since Panur made the change over to his hybrid propulsion drive.”

Arieel set to work tapping the screen again. The seconds ticked by, causing Riyad and Sherri to share a nervous look. Anytime now the automatic alarms could be set off. Neither of them knew what would happen then. This was the hub of all data that circulated within the galaxy, along with the translation programs that filtered down to the trillions upon trillions of embedded language bugs, allowing for interspecies communications and interaction. The place had to be one of the most secure locations in the entire galaxy. And they had waltzed right in.

 “I have eighty-four manufacturers of the SCAC-18 fuel modules,” Arieel announced. “Their records are now available to us.”

Riyad leaned in closer. “Good, now, from the research I’ve done, as a rule these mods are used primarily in huge power plants and not individual starships. Can you isolate recent orders to only those for smaller quantities?”

“Yes. The orders are numerous and in bulk, as you intimated. There has only been one such order for a five-module quantity.” Arieel looked over her shoulder at the two Humans and smiled. “And the order came from a planet within the Dzin Sector!”

“The Aforac?” Sherri asked.

“No, the Wokan. I have the location and the name of the firm that placed the order.”

“Has it shipped yet?” Riyad asked.

“Yes…but is still en route. Scheduled delivery date is two days from now.”

“How far is it to the Dzin Sector from here?”

Arieel shook her head. “According to this data, it is beyond twenty thousand light-years.”

Sherri looked at Riyad. “Even your new starship couldn’t make it there in time.”

“Is that when the modules will be delivered to the…the Wokan company that ordered them?”

“Yes.”

“Can you find out where the modules are ultimately headed for?”

“That information is not available, although that seems highly irregular that it would not be included.”

“Bingo!” Riyad said. “Sounds like something Panur would do to keep his location and identity a secret.”

“I have recovered the reference to the word
bingo
, although I do not see where it would apply in this case.”

“That’s all right, my dear,” Riyad said. “I’ll explain later. For now, get the address of the company on Woken. That’s our next destination. Make sure our tracks are covered and then let’s go.”

“I am closing out the access. I need thirty seconds—”

Which ended up being twenty-nine seconds too long. Alarms blared all around them, while the lights in the room began to oscillate on and off.

“Time to go!”

They ran for the exit, yet as Riyad pulled on the wide lever on the security doors, they wouldn’t budge. They were  locked inside the main server room.

“Any suggestions?” he asked Arieel.

“Within moments, security personnel will arrive. Traditionally, we consider the integrity of this facility, as well as the eighteen redundant sites storing data, as paramount. Formilian respect relies on it.”

“So no way out?” Sherri summarized.

“None that I am aware.”

Sherri moved closer to the security panels on the doors. “If you had a…a Gift… could you override the locks?”

“Of course. They are governed by devices we have created.”

“Then help me out.”

“I do not understand?” Arieel said.

Riyad cast an accusatory look at Sherri. “I thought you had yours removed over a year ago, when you left the gang to marry Ricky?”

Sherri smirked. “I wanted to, but somehow I couldn’t make myself do it. It’s a pretty neat gadget to have if you’re not being called to participate in some wild galactic adventure at all hours of the day and night.”

“Arieel, can you help her get the doors open?”

“
You have a working Gift within your body?
” Arieel was aghast. She knew Adam, Riyad, and Sherri had once been equipped with brain-interface devices—
Gifts
as they were referred to within the Formilian religion—but she too had thought their devices had either been used in Panur’s portal detector, or as in Sherri’s case, been deactivated.

“Do you not know how to use your Gift—your device?” Arieel chided.

“Sure I do, for the basics. But not to unlock security doors like these.”

“It is all the same. Search for the control modules in the area and then identify those within the locking mechanisms. It is quite simple.”

“Maybe for you, but I haven’t used this damn thing for much more than as a fancy TV remote control for over a year.”

“Hurry, Sherri,” Riyad interrupted. “The bad guys are closing in.”

“Just reach out and feel the energy,” Arieel prodded.

Sherri accessed the brain-interface device, the pencil-size transmitter embedded under the skin below her right armpit. She could sense dozens of electronic control modules in the room. Within her mind’s eye, she saw glowing sources of light all around her, and when she looked at the double doors she saw four especially bright ones, two on each door panel.

“Command their contacts to be severed.”

“How do I do that?”

“By visualizing the event.”

“Sure…just imagine the doors openi—”

The foot-thick metal panels began to rotate inward toward the trio.

“You did it!” Riyad exclaimed. He drew his own MK-17 from its holster and slipped through the ever-widening opening.

“I don’t know how I did it…but damn!”

“Excellent, Sherri Valentine. Now please come along. Your Gi—device—may be needed again before we make our escape from the data center.”

They entered the elevators across the lobby and were headed toward the surface before any guards appeared. Whoever had made the arrangements for them to infiltrate the center had also stationed members of the rapid response force in another area of the building, thereby delaying their arrival at the site of the security breach. However, as the elevator doors slid open at surface level, the trespassers were confronted with a contingent of ten uniformed guards, armed to the teeth and with serious, determined looks on their faces…until…

Arieel Bol stepped from the elevator.

“My…Speaker…what are you doing here?” the lead security officer stammered. Although news had circulated long ago regarding Arieel’s demotion, old habits survived.

“I was guiding a tour of the facilities when the alarms sounded,” said Arieel. “I have with me dignitaries from the Union. It is all I am allowed to do these days.”

“I do not understand.”

“I have been relegated to escort duty,” Arieel explained to the shocked gathering of guards. “And now I am highly embarrassed by this apparent scheduling of a surprise security test just as I was concluding my tour. My guests have been quite irritated by the rudeness of the drill.”

“I was not aware this is a drill,” said the officer. “I received no such notification.”

“If you had, what good would your response rating have been?”

“Indeed. However, that is not how the drills are conducted.”

“Until now, apparently. As you can see, this is a much more conclusive test of your readiness, would you not agree?”

“Yes…I suppose.”

“Now, apologize to my distinguished guests and let us proceed.”

The guard looked at Riyad and Sherri, who each displayed their best expressions of disgust and anger. “I wish to apologize,” the officer began, not completely sold on the explanation, even though it came from his former Speaker. “The scheduling of such a drill was not my doing. I will certainly investigate to find who is at fault, not only for the timing of the drill, but also for not informing me of the tour conducted by our Sp—our former Speaker.”