A Clash of Aliens (The Human Chronicles Book 13) (8 page)

Benefis looked at Arieel and his grin grew even wider. “And Arieel Bol, the infamous ex-Speaker of Formil. I have seen vids of you and heard the rumors. Speaking as an off-species, I must say even now I can sense the allure of you within the room. It is quite an incredible power you have, and naturally occurring from what I understand.”

Riyad was getting impatient. He had a ship being guarded by questionable individuals, plus a new lead to Panur that had to be followed.

“So why take us captive?” he asked to move the conversation along. “Are you looking for our autographs or what?”

The grin diminished slightly on the Juirean’s face. “No, I do not seek souvenirs of our encounter. Rather, since I am a Juirean, I still possess certain information channels, and recently I received a very interesting communication. It came from a command ship that was leaving the Formilian system.” Benefis looked at Arieel. “The communication was directed at any and all Juirean units within the Frontier. They have been ordered to be vigilant of your arrival in the Kidis Frontier, claiming that the main ship and accompanying fleet would be unable to maintain contact with your experimental vessel.”

“They knew we were coming here?” Riyad asked.

“Yes. They even knew your arrival time, and later the destination.”

“Dammit, we have a tracker on board!” Sherri yelled out.

“Apparently.”

“That could only have been placed aboard back on Earth,” Riyad added.

“The communication also called for the assistance of any Human units in the area as well, although there are none that I’m aware of.”

Sherri’s mouth went slack. “They’re working together?”

“So what are these assisting units supposed to do with us?” Riyad asked.

“Simply track and observe. Codes were sent that will allow local units to access your tracking device. So why are you being tracked?”

“Hell if I know,” Riyad said.

Benefis stared hard at Riyad. “Please do not insult my intelligence, Tarazi. I am not your typical naïve creature. I am a Juirean, a former Overlord. No one goes through this much trouble without cause. I acquired you so I could learn if there is anything in your activities that could benefit me. So what is your mission?”

“It’s none of your fuc—”

“Trouble, Riyad!” Sherri announced as she stood up. The Defender stationed along the wall drew his weapon.

“What is happening?” Benefis asked, also standing.

“I’m picking up more MK’s approaching the building from all sides.”

“How…”

An explosion came from all around them and the building literally rocked from dozens of flash bolts being unleashed on the guards outside. Sensing danger to his employer, the Defender in the room aimed his weapon at Sherri. She looked back at him and smirked, shaking her head. He triggered the weapon. When nothing happened, he panicked and tried it again…and again...and again.

When he turned his attention from his defective handgun and looked up, Sherri was standing two feet away. She had to literally jump up for her right hand to connect with the left side of the seven-foot tall alien’s head, sending him spinning around several times before collapsing to the floor. Sherri bent down and picked up the MK.

She aimed it at Benefis, who had discovered by now that his own weapon was just as useless as that of his Defender. “This one will work,” she said, and as a demonstration fired a flash bolt zipping over the Juirean’s left shoulder.

“I do not understand.”

“Understand this,” Sherri said. “Your building is under attack and we need to find a way out. Either you help us or it ends here.”

“I can help! I have several emergency exits available to me.”

“Lead on, my friend,” Sherri said with a smile, waving the MK.

The Juirean rushed to the service counter in the room where the food and beverage processors were located. He reached behind the right side of the counter and activated a latch. Then he pulled the counter away, revealing an opening behind. He ducked inside.

Sherri nodded to Riyad, indicating that she sensed no flash weapons inside the hidden room. Arieel and Riyad disappeared into the opening, followed by Sherri.

Benefis reach past them and pulled the counter back against the wall. Instantly, a string of lights attached to the ceiling came on. “Follow me. This will lead to an underground garage with transportation.”

“Who’s doing the attacking?” Riyad asked the Juirean as they rushed down the dimly-lit hallway. “I thought your units were told just to track and observe.”

“Communication security is virtually non-existent in Kidis. This may be another faction looking to either capitalize on the goal of your mission, or to offer you up for ransom. It is how things are done here.”

“We have to get to the spaceport.”

“I followed you from there, so I know the location—as will others.” He skidded to a stop. “Let me try something.” He pulled out a small communication device, similar to a cell phone. Sherri placed the barrel of the MK against his chest.

“Don’t do anything foolish.”

The Juirean grinned. “I am not like others of my kind. I value my individual life. I am attempting to clear us a pathway to your ship.”

When the connection was made, the alien said, “This is Benefis Na. There are hostiles attempting to confiscate a vessel I have at the Zou Spaceport, pad forty-one. I need a force of Defenders to clear the area of everyone nearby. The hostiles may be posing as Defenders. I will pay a bonus for their elimination.”

There was a response from the other end. “That is very high,” the Juirean protested, until Sherri pressed the MK at little harder against his body. “But it is agreed. Proceed immediately. I will be there in approximately twenty minutes, if not sooner. I will be in a brown Unii. The lights will be flashing. Be sure to alert your forces.”

He broke the connection.

Sherri smiled. “Very impressive, Benefis. I like your style.”

“Save the compliments until we are safe. Now, again, follow me.”

********

Benefis was able to take his Unii transport vehicle out through a long tunnel that emptied onto a deserted street several blocks from where the battle was taking place. He sped along, eventually joining up with roads with more traffic, before using what was essentially a very fast mini-tank as a battering ram on any car or truck that got in his way. After leaving a wake of destruction behind them, they reached the spaceport a mere fourteen minutes later. Benefis flashed the lights.

A pitched battle was taking place in front of them, all centered around Riyad’s ship. The five Defenders who had stayed to guard the ship were being fired on by no less than a dozen similarly-dressed Defenders. One by one, they were falling, even as they sought shelter behind huge power boxes embedded along the side of the landing pad.

The new Defenders stepped back and allowed the Unii to rush through their line, heading for the
Najmah Fayd
. The tank screeched to a halt right beside the entry hatch. Sherri was the first one out. She crouched down to avoid the flash bolts that filled the air and fingered in the access code. The door slid open and she rushed inside.

Next, Arieel and Benefis ran from the transport and into the ship. Lastly, Riyad stepped out. He heard a call from off in the distance. Turning, he saw Saln Xacin yelling at him.

“You owe us our bonu—”

The level-two flash bolt to his chest, fired from an unseen assailant, ended the negotiation. With a sigh, Riyad entered the
Najmah Fayd
and secured the hatch.

Sherri was already seated at the controls. Three seconds later the ship lifted off the pad. Through views offered by several exterior cameras, the four people on the bridge saw Defenders fly into the air, following the ship as she climbed higher into the sky of Wokan, caught up in the gravity-well. Some would fall back to the surface, others would remain under the influence even as the ship entered space and engaged the full engines.

Riyad reached up to place his hand on the shoulder of the seven-foot-tall Juirean. “Look on the bright side, Benefis. We just saved you all that expense of having to pay the Defenders.”

Benefis continue to stare at the screen showing the rapidly shrinking globe that was Wokan. “The fee was already deducted from my accounts,” the Juirean stated. And then he sighed. “It has taken me many years to build the organization I had on Wokan. It took you less than an hour to destroy it all.”

“Maybe you should have left us alone,” Sherri called back from the pilot’s seat. “Just a suggestion.”

“Without doubt, Sherri Valentine, for what little good that conclusion does now.”

Riyad patted the alien’s back. “It’s your turn to relax now, my friend. You have just joined the winning team.”

********

“There has been a confrontation on Wokan,” Ranor’s new Second, Guard First Class Wynn O’ori, reported.

From his command seat aboard the Juirean Class-Four, Ranor could see that his new appointee was displaying the calm confidence he had hoped he would. The Juirean race was made up of stable and pragmatic creatures; bad news should be reported just as good news would, without prejudice or bias. Only then could reliable command decisions be made.

“What sort of confrontation?”

“The Humans were taken captive after leaving O-Pell Energy, and then the building in which they were being held was attacked by mercenaries.”

“Are they injured?”

“No. Apparently they escaped and have taken to space again in the advanced starship.”

“Good, then they are continuing with their mission. We obviously have them under surveillance again.”

“Yes. Units are keeping their distance and monitoring remotely.”

“Has a destination been determined?”

“They are heading further into the Frontier, yet they made such a hasty retreat from the planet that they may simply be gaining distance before charting a new course.”

“Very astute observation, Wynn. My compliments. Maintain your vigil.”

Ranor saw no emotion on the face of his new second-in-command, as should be expected. Even though he had complimented his subordinate, no such accolades should be expected for doing one’s job. Still, he knew his comments would circulate throughout the ship and the fleet, showing that he was not simply a sadistic taskmaster who had publicly executed his former Second. He was a Juirean with a mission to accomplish; nothing would get in his way, especially not incompetence or a potentially traitorous under-officer.

“Time to Kidis?” he asked the bridge.

“Three days, seven hours, my Lord,” answered a voice from across the room.

“Maintain course and speed.”

“As ordered.”

Chapter
7

“Syrus Jacs, yes I know him. Most of the independents in the Frontier know him, or know of him. That is who you seek?”

“He has information we need,” Riyad said.

Benefis shook his head. “Even for Kidis, he is a dangerous and conniving creature. He will not welcome you openly…if at all.”

“Do you know where he is?” Sherri asked.

“He could be anywhere. That is the nature of our business.”

“Who would know?”

“He maintains a headquarters of sorts on Lasiter.”

“That’s what we heard. But you don’t think he’d be there?”

“It is possible, yet we make our profits through the buying and selling of various items. This involves pick-up and delivery, and finding trustworthy assistants is very hard. Most of us prefer to carry the merchandise personally.”

“Can you get us into his headquarters?”

“We are not friends—we are competitors. I highly doubt they would grant me an audience.”

“But they know you. You would have a better chance than we would. Tell them you come with an offer Syrus won’t be able to refuse,” Sherri suggested.

“You still have not told me of your mission. Why is it important that you speak to Syrus?”

Sherri and Riyad looked at each other. They shared a common thought. The Juirean was now their prisoner, but he could also come in handy within the unpredictable environment of the Kidis Frontier. Having him on their side could be helpful.

“He recently sold a small quantity of SCAC-18 fuel modules to someone,” said Riyad. “We need to know who he sold them to.”

This time Benefis laughed out loud. “In that case, you will have to force the information out of him. Client confidentiality is of paramount importance in our business. If not, no one would trust us and business would stop.”

Sherri smiled. “If that’s what it takes, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Her matter-of-fact attitude, especially when it came to torture, made the Juirean’s face turn to stone. “I assume your casual attitude in that regard would also carry over to me?”

“If you have information we need, and you’re not willing to part with it, of course.”

“Humans are even more—notorious, might be the word—than I even imagined.”

“We do what we must to get the job done.”

“Then please ask me questions first, before assuming I would not be willing to talk.”

“That would be the preferred course of action.”

Benefis then turned to Riyad. “I was not aware it was the females of your species who are the most ruthless.”

“It’s one of those little secrets we try to keep to ourselves. Kind of embarrassing for the males to admit, but now you know.”

The Juirean continued to stare at Sherri. “I will have to shift my opinion, and my guard. Forgive me if I have offended you, Sherri Valentine.”

Sherri narrowed her eyes at the alien. “You’re forgiven…for now. But just watch yourself.”

Riyad witnessed the Juirean literally tremble under the glare of the Human female.
Welcome to my world
, he thought.
You’re beginning to understand what we have to put up with every day…

********

 “We have to find the tracker,” Sherri was saying. Then as an afterthought: “I sure hope Andy isn’t behind this.”

“I doubt it,” Riyad said. “He’s gone through a lot of trouble and expense if he is.”

“Would not that trouble and expense have been hard for your Admiral Tobias to justify unless there was a purpose behind his efforts?” As an outside observer, Arieel could say things the others would never dream of about their long-time friend.

“The purpose, if you remember, is to rescue Adam,” Sherri barked.

“I do realize that, but do you have any concept of what a vessel like this would cost to develop and to build? Forgive me if I’ve upset you, but it would be far beyond the worth of any one individual, even Adam Cain.”

Riyad saw Sherri snap her jaw shut, unable to present a cogent counter-argument.

“It makes sense, Arieel,” he said. “But I honestly believe that it wasn’t Andy. He was granted the authority from higher up to give me the ship. He probably just jumped at the chance without questioning why.”

“Then you’re saying Secretary Arness is behind this?” Sherri said. “I know the man and his wife. I can’t believe that, either.”

“It doesn’t really matter at this point,” Riyad said. “We already knew there were people in our own government who want us to fail. This is how they hope to make it happen.”

“They don’t want us to fail, Riyad. They want us to find Panur for them.”

“And then what?” Arieel asked. Riyad could see the worry on her face. If Panur was attacked in some way, her daughter could be caught up in it as well.

“With the way they’re going about it, I doubt they want to offer him a job,” Sherri offered.

“They fear him. That is why you are being hunted.”

All heads turned to the doorway to the common room and the tall Juirean standing there. “So you are looking for the mutant who is responsible for all the evil that has taken place within our galaxy recently?”

“You know of Panur?” Riyad asked.

“Who does not? The Sol-Kor have been the subject of countless studies and reports throughout the galaxy. No advanced race is immune, even those within the Kidis Frontier. We get our news. And now I am beginning to see some logic behind the activities of your trackers.”

“And what would that be?” Sherri asked.

“They are afraid you might succeed. The mutant has disappeared, and according to most people in the galaxy, they welcome that development. Yet you seek to bring him out of the shadows. Why?”

“So he can help us,” Riyad replied.

When no further explanation was provided, Benefis pressed the issue. “Help you do what? Develop weapons to be used against my people? No, that cannot be it, otherwise the Humans would not be assisting. What is it?”

“We need him to help us rescue Adam Cain.”

“From where…from whom?”

“He’s being held prisoner by the new Sol-Kor queen.”

“Here?” the Juirean asked, pointing at the deck. “Or…there?” he gestured toward the ceiling.

“In the Sol-Kor universe.”

“There is your answer, Humans. You want the mutant to reopen a doorway to our enemy—the enemy of all within the galaxy. All thinking beings in the galaxy would be against you. You mentioned before, Riyad Tarazi, that I had joined the winning team. I understand the term, yet I believe now that I have been deceived. You are on a dangerous and potentially harmful path, and I wish no part of it.”

Sherri stood up. “No one asked you to get involved. You did that yourself.”

“Do not get too angry, Sherri Valentine. All I say is that I will not cooperate. You wish me to make contact with beings who would know the location of Syrus Jacs, who would then lead you to Panur. Now I refuse.”

“If that’s the case, then you’re just using up air and food resources. Let’s see how you like it on the other side of the bulkhead…”

“Hold on, Sherri,” Riyad said. He turned to the Juirean. “The last thing we want to do is reopen a gateway for the Sol-Kor to reenter our galaxy. You’re forgetting, I’ve been to the other side—twice—and I really don’t want to have any more contact with those animals than I have to. And it was Arieel and I who helped Panur build the array detector that’s being used to shut down the SK portals. But throughout it all, Adam Cain was our leader. Now he’s on the other side, and we owe him at least a chance at being rescued. Panur may laugh in our faces—if we find him—and not help at all. But we have to try.”

“And if he does help, and he does build another gateway, what guarantees are you offering that the Sol-Kor will not use it to come back through?”

“We’re only talking about a personal transporter, nothing that would allow starships to enter. The SK’s still have those. They’re linked to the portal arrays we haven’t destroyed yet. But they can’t come through with anything bigger than a single individual. That’s all we need Panur to do for us. We already have a dimensional portal back on Earth. He just needs to make some adjustments to it, just so we can get back to Kor and rescue our friend.”

“Who may not be alive.”

“That’s right, he may not be. But that doesn’t mean we don’t go back and check for ourselves. And once we either rescue him or not, we destroy the portal back on Earth. We’re not so stupid and reckless we’ll endanger the entire galaxy just for one person.”

Benefis scanned the faces of the other three people in the room. “I believe you believe your motives are pure, yet I doubt others will feel the same. In fact, I know they do not already. If there is even the slightest chance of relinking the two universes, they will continue to oppose you.”

“This is a one-time shot we’re taking, Benefis. And as I said, Panur may not help us, content to live out what existence he’s made for himself in the Kidis Frontier.”

“Are you positive this is where he is hiding?”

“All the evidence points to it. Your friend Syrus Jacs may be on his way to meet with him as we speak.”

“He is not my friend.”

“You better hope he doesn’t feel the same,” Sherri said ominously. “Otherwise you’re no use to us.”

“Is she always this way?” Benefis asked Riyad.

“Yeah, most of the time.”

“Then I will help, if only for self-preservation.”

“At least he’s honest,” Sherri pointed out. “Now, let’s find that damn tracker.”

********

It took all four of them six hours to locate the elusive tracking device. It was located in the portside engine room, and it was only with the help of Sherri’s ATD that she was able to detect the incongruous power signal among a slew of others.

“So what do we do with it?” Arieel asked. “If it goes silent, the forces tracking us may decide to end our mission prematurely. At least that way Panur stays hidden.”

Riyad had been thinking the same thing. “We’re going to land on Lasiter, aren’t we, Benefis?”