The Legend of Earth (The Human Chronicles Saga -- Book 5) (17 page)

Adam and his team were hustled outside and moved away from the incredibly hot hull of the boring pod as quickly as possible. It was obvious the pod wasn’t designed to be opened so quickly after making a passage, at least not until the exterior had time to cool. Parts of the craft were still covered with rapidly-hardening clumps of lava, still glowing a hypnotic, iridescent red, and the tracks of the vehicle were rapidly being cemented into monuments of stone as the lava entwined within them cooled. Adam realized the craft had been designed for one-time use only. Once its journey was complete it would be impossible to break the stone cancer which had infected nearly the entire exterior and all exposed components. The craft had done its job. Now it was retired, to forever become part of the landscape at the base of mountain.

The group moved into the grove of trees and Adam’s team were ordered to sit on their hands on the cool grass, while Hydon was segregated and placed with his back against one of the trees, Michael Amarillas watching his every movement with a flash rifle leveled at his chest.

Adam took the opportunity to survey their surroundings. The grove of trees appeared to be large and grew thicker the further it spread from the rock-strewn cascade of boulders near the base of the Kacoran Plain. Off to his left, Adam could see a small creek running into the grove, fed from the myriad of small waterfalls painting the walls of the cliff.

Directly ahead of him and through more trees, Adam could barely make out the jagged skyline of Juir City, a towering plume of black smoke sending a quilt of dark shadows on the ashen ground below. He had only had a moment to glimpse the expanse of the millennia-old city from the top of the Plain when he first arrived, but he knew it had once been a thriving metropolis of several million beings. Now it was gone, replaced by a graveyard of burned out buildings, their defiant remains jutting skyward at radical angles and all a uniform, oily gray in color.

The stench of death was everywhere.

Adam looked at Sherri and saw her near tears. Even though these were Juireans who had died, they had still been living beings, the vast majority of them simply going about their daily activities with no diabolical or evil intentions. This was genocide in its most-naked form, not hidden by any pretense other than to kill until there was nothing left to kill.

Adam could hear McCarthy and Thomas talking, trying to figure out what to do next. After a moment, they decided to wait until the pod cooled and then see if any communication equipment inside still worked. They were fortunate that it was late afternoon; it would have been more difficult to guard the prisoners in the murky greyness of the Juirean night. With three moons populating the sky, and a brilliant swatch of stars from the galactic center – thousands of times closer here than on Earth – the night on Juir was never truly dark. However, the time of day was not one of the things either man considered when they made their escape from the bunker.

Hydon had recovered from McCarthy’s blow to his mouth, at least mentally. The side of his face and mouth had swollen up so much that the Juirean could barely spread his lips, and when he tried, his face contorted in pain. Still, he managed to speak. “You are foolish to trust these Kracori. Humans are their enemy, too.”

“Shut up Hydon,” McCarthy ordered. “I’ll take my chances out here over rotting to death in your bunker. And I have news for you: we’re not going to be welcomed back by our fellow Humans, either.”

Adam saw Hydon frown, not understanding the comment.

“What he means is that he and his men are traitors. They’ve been working with the Klin for years,” Adam explained.

“That’s right,” McCarthy said. “So you see now why the Kracori’s offer of amnesty was so appealing. And the credits for Cain and his people certainly won’t hurt, either.”

“How can you be so alone all the time?” Sherri asked. “Even if you do survive, you’ll have no home, not even a race of beings to belong to.”

“The only race I belong to is the race of
Me,
missy. I’m the only one who really gives a damn about what happens to me. I’m just being practical.”

“And so you’ll live out the rest of your life on some alien world, surrounded by creatures completely foreign to you?”

“It sure beats the shite out of being hanged as a traitor.” McCarthy smiled and looked over at his men guarding Adam and Sherri. “Do they still hang blokes for treason these days, or is it now more high tech?”

They all got a good laugh out of that one, but then McCarthy’s men fell silent and dropped to their knees when they felt the vibration of approaching vehicles.

McCarthy motioned with his hands for four of his men to keep watch on the prisoners while he and Thomas went to investigate. With flash rifles gripped firmly in their hands, the two of them moved off through the grove and toward the sound of the rapidly approaching transports.

Adam could hear multiple vehicles now, as if an entire convoy was drawing closer. It hadn’t taken long for whoever was in the vehicles to locate the pod, probably drawn there by the sound of the craft moving through the rock. And it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out from where the pod originated. These would be Kracori, and they’ve coming looking for Hydon.

McCarthy and Thomas watched as the caravan of five large electric vehicles moved single file across the soft soil of the meadow. They ran on wide tires that chewed up the ground, leaving a dark brown scar in the bright green grass. These were troop carriers, similar to any such vehicle on Earth, with a cab in the front and an open bed in the rear where a dozen or so heavily-armed Kracori were seated. Standing at the rear of the cab and at the head of the truck’s bed, stood a single Kracori soldier, holding a weapon with a flattened barrel. McCarthy had never seen this particular weapon before, but he was sure it was not to be trifled with.

Once the convoy was within thirty meters or so, Nigel told Thomas to stay in the woods and cover him. He handed his flash rifle to the large former Army Ranger and stepped out into the clear.

Immediately, the trucks turned toward him, and all the heads in the back of the transports craned to get a look at him, each bringing their rifles up into their laps. McCarthy raised his arms up and out to his side, palms open, showing he was unarmed.

The lead truck stopped only meters from his position and the troops poured out the back and over the sides, surrounding him instantly. The majority of the creatures were taller than McCarthy, greyish in color, with rigid plates running along the sides of their heads. The necks were very thick and formed a pyramid shape down from the head and joining up at the ends of what would have been shoulders, if they had any. The eyes were almost solid black, large and intimidating.

So these are Kracori
, Nigel thought,
the new kids on the block.

An officer of some rank moved through the line of Kracori surrounding him and approached. “Who are you?” the creature asked, not bothering to draw his own weapon.

“I am Nigel McCarthy, a Human. I have brought the Juirean Hydon Ra Elys for your commander Jonnif. This is by his request.”

The Kracori looked completely confused, first by the mention of McCarthy being a Human, and then secondly about Hydon and Jonnif. He placed his hand to his ear and began to speak. “There is a creature here who says he is a Human. He professes to bring a Juirean named Hydon for Commander Jonnif.”

The officer listened in silence for a moment, and then all of a sudden his eyes grew wide. “Yes, my Ludif!
Immediately.
”

He returned his attention to McCarthy. “Where is this Juirean?”

McCarthy turned and pointed into the woods. “Through there, and I also have Human prisoners for Jonnif as well.”

The confused look returned to the Kracori’s face again. “But
you
are Human, yet you say you are holding
Human
prisoners.”

“That’s right. We do things a little differently where we come from.”

“That is apparent. Show us the way.”

Within a few minutes, the small clearing in the grove of trees was swarming with Kracori. Adam’s team had been bound – as had been Hydon – while McCarthy agreed to let the Kracori have their weapons in exchange for not binding them as well. Strictly for security reasons, they were assured. Then they were all led through the trees to the large transport trucks and loaded onto the back of one of them.

Soon they were bouncing across the green meadow while skirting the edge of the granite wall of the Kacoran Plain. After a few minutes, the convoy met up with a paved road, wide and well-traveled. One direction led away from the mountain and toward the city. The other climbed up the mountain, through a series of switchbacks, climbing the two thousand meters to the shear plateau above.

As Adam was jostled back and forth in the back of the truck, he looked up at the plain high above. Within minutes they were on top. They had traveled one long circle, only to end up at the same grassy landing field they’d arrived at only six short days before. And he was right. What had once been an awe-inspiring complex of majestic shining obelisks, surrounding the massive bronze pyramid, was now just a sickening pile of smoking ruble. The entire cluster of magnificent buildings was gone, now an alien environment, unrecognizable from just days before.

Chapter 20

 
The landing field to the north of the building complex was now spotted with nine Klin flying saucers, all sitting precariously on the shiny, round pedestals protruding from their underbellies. A camp of several large white tents had been set up close to one of the starships and the convoy made its way in that direction.

After parking, all the prisoners were herded off the back of the truck and paraded to the closest tent. A tall Kracori emerged from inside, wearing a tight-fitting vest and black pants. His arms were bare and showed a defined musculature Adam had not seen in many races – other than his own. The wide mouth of the creature was stretched into a grin, and there seemed to be a sparkle in his eye. This would be Jonnif, commander of the Kracori invasion force.

The Kracori officer from the convoy pulled Hydon forward by his arm and placed the Juirean leader in front of his commander. Jonnif grinned even wider, displaying a double row of long, sharp teeth. He made no effort to conceal them, meaning he was either issuing a challenge to the Juirean or his race did not subscribe to such covenants.

“So Lord Hydon, here you are in the
flesh
,” Jonnif said with immense joy in his voice. “I believe you made a vow that I would never gaze upon your intact body.” Jonnif poked Hydon with a clenched fist. “This does not appear to an apparition standing before me, so I assume you must be very troubled by the circumstance you now find yourself in. I hope so, because your trials have only just begun.”

Jonnif turned to address the officer holding Hydon’s arm. “Who has delivered the Elder to me? Bring him forward.”

The officer motioned for McCarthy to step forward. The two creatures faced each, both of similar heights and builds. McCarthy’s face remained stoic.

“You are a Human?” Jonnif asked, truly seeking the answer.

“That’s right. My name is Nigel McCarthy. You promised amnesty to the one who brought you Hydon, as well as a financial reward for Adam Cain.”