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

He took the opportunity to look around and was shocked at what he saw. Rather than a concreted-over mass of ugly government bureaucracy for as far as the eye could see, he was instead standing in a wide field of bright green grass, flanked by small buildings with dark bronze glass. In the distance was a grove of modest-height trees, all ablaze with leaves of rustic brown and bright reds. A soft breeze was stirring, and the scent of something akin to jasmine filled the air. He looked off to his left and saw that they were high on a hill or mountain, and off in the distance was a vast ocean of deep shimmering blue. The sky was streaked with pure white clouds that seemed to be gathering up the late afternoon light, and for a moment Adam almost felt like he was home.

The moment passed quickly, however, when the Guards began to cut Sherri, Riyad and himself out from the rest of the prisoners. There were silent protests as the three of them locked eyes with Lt. Tobias, Chief Rutledge and Petty Officer Tindal. Even Kaylor and Jym were being pulled away and loaded into the back of a large, truck-like transport. Adam could care less what happened to McCarthy and his men, but the others, that was a different story.

Sherri began to sob loudly as she watched her companions being herded into the back of the truck, believing, as Adam did, that this would be the last time they would ever see them. At the last moment, just as Lt. Tobias was stepping onto the truck, he turned to Adam and saluted. Adam crisply returned the salute, as Rutledge and Tindal joined in. Adam’s bottom lip was trembling visibly when he closed the salute.

Once the truck was loaded, the rear doors were closed and the vehicle hummed off towards its unknown destination, leaving the remaining Humans all alone. Another transport had arrived, and Overlord Anawar emerged from the rear of the shuttle and approached the car.

“The three of you will come with me,” he said almost gleefully.

It appeared the old Overlord
was
going to personally present Adam to the leader of the Juirean Expansion; he was surprised that Sherri and Riyad had also been invited, but in a way he was glad. They looked at each other and then reluctantly climbed into the rear compartment of the transport, while Anawar sat in the front. There was a third row of seats behind the Humans, already filled with four hulking Juireans, each with MK-47’s at the ready.

A quick sequence of eye contacts sent Adam the message that the two other Humans were content with staying put. If this was to be the end, they at least wanted to meet this
supreme being
of the galaxy before they went, if even to take the experience to their graves.

As they pulled around the shuttle, a large pyramid-shaped building could be seen reaching into the sky about two kilometers away. It was dark bronze in color and reflected the late afternoon sunlight off its western surface. It was very impressive, easily twice the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Surrounding the building were eight other structures, tall monoliths shaped like over-sized Washington Monuments. As they drew closer, Adam noticed that these surrounding objects were buildings in their own right, with dozens of aliens – mainly Juireans – moving into and out of the glass entrances at their bases.

The entire compound was painted with winding fields of dark green grass, tasteful fountains and walkways, and with parade grounds made up of decorative brick forming pleasing patterns. Adam was quite impressed. He never imagined the Juireans would be into urban planning and design, and he’d never seen any examples of Juirean art before.

He noticed both Sherri and Riyad appeared equally impressed, glad they had the distraction to take their minds off the inevitable. Although Adam still carried a slim glimmer of hope he hadn’t shared any of the details of his plan with them. He didn’t want to give them any false hopes.

The transport slipped around the massive pyramid along its northern face. On this side of the building was a large parking area and the car followed a circular driveway until it came to rest next to a wide glass entrance. Five Juirean Guards waited on the concrete landing, and as they all exited the vehicle, they moved up to the three Humans and strapped collars around their necks. The bands were about an inch wide, and each collar carried a small box that pressed against the back of their necks. These were probably explosive devices, Adam figured, such as Riyad had used on his ankle –
damn, that was like three years ago,
Adam thought.
A lot has happened since then.

The group was led into the building by a Guard wearing a yellow cape. Anawar followed behind him with the Humans sandwiched between the other guards.

As they entered the great bronze pyramid, Adam’s breath was taken away. They had entered a vast open area with a ceiling soaring easily twenty stories high. Along the outer walls of this lower level were various offices, but what really took his breath away was the structure sitting at the very center of this vast gallery.

It was obviously a monument of some kind, with a circle of informational podiums set on top of pedestals and all surrounding something that looked like the Lunar Landing Module from the Apollo moon landings days. It was a bulky object with two distinct segments and resting on six legs, and rising above the odd-looking object was a large spire. One side of the spire was straight, attached to the LEM-like object at its top center and climbing nearly as high as the twenty-story ceiling. The other side of the spire bulged out in a free-form curve, thin at the bottom, thick in the center and then tapering to sharp point high above. There were a number of colored spotlights illuminating the entire display, all designed to highlight and impress.

Dozens of Juireans and other aliens moved around the monument, with only a few actually paying any attention to it – although Adam couldn’t help but notice the expression on
Anawar’s
face as they neared the display. The old Juireans stared up at the towering spire with unblinking eyes, his smallish mouth open slightly. His breathing appeared to come in shallow bursts and he slowed his pace as he came closer.

The procession stopped briefly as the lead Guard noticed Anawar’s reaction. “Have you not seen the
Contact Monument
before, my Lord?” the Guard asked.

“Only once, during my orientation tour,” Anawar replied, not taking his eyes from the display. “That was a very long time ago.”

“You have not been to Juir since?” The Guard’s tone was incredulous.

“We all do not have the pleasure of serving here, commander.”

The Guard simply grunted softly before turning to lead them to an elevator door set in the far wall of the gallery. There were two more Guards flanking the elevator; they nodded slightly to the lead Guard and opened the door for him.

The elevator was spacious and Adam could feel it move upwards, then sideways, before resuming the climb to what Adam guessed would be the very top of the pyramid. This is where the Council Elder would hold court.

To his disappointment, the elevator dropped them off at a very pedestrian-looking room filled with scurrying bureaucrats and an ample supply of Guards. The procession moved down a long corridor until it met up with another doorway with a stairway leading upwards.

Without a word, the lead Guard began to climb the stairs, followed tentatively by Anawar and the Humans. The other Guards did not follow.

The stairway led them to an opening in the ceiling and they stepped out into a large conference room with radically sloping walls that met at a point about thirty meters above. At the very top the bronze glass walls gave way to a clear, almost crystalline cap – the very peak of the great pyramid building.

The outer walls of the vast room were lined with counters with various monitors sitting atop them, some active, some dark; Juirean Guards stood at the four corners of the room, each wearing full body armor and cradling flash rifles in their grips.

A massive, freeform conference table made of polished stone took up a good third of the room on the other side of the opening in the floor that marked the stairway in and out. The table flowed like a stylized ‘S,’ with large padded chairs placed at intervals around its circumference. Numerous low-profile monitors were built into the surface of the table.

Adam looked around and gasped when he gazed out at the view the room provided. It was a 360-degree panorama, with the shimmering sea to the right, and to his left majestic, snow-capped mountains off in the distance.

Adam looked at his companions; they returned his gaze, raising eyebrows and nodding. Looking at the Overlord, Adam could see he, too, was equally impressed.

The lead Guard motioned for Adam and the Humans to stand next to the far end of the conference table, just as another Juirean rose up from the stairway in the floor, followed by two others.

The first Juirean walked purposefully to the opposite end of the conference table, flowing a long purple cape behind him. He carried the white hair of an Elite, the highest in the Juirean caste system, and just from the air of confidence and power he exuded, Adam was sure this was the so-called Council Elder, the leader of the known universe.

As he sat – flanked now by the other two Juireans, one with white hair, the other green – he dropped an ornate short-sword onto the hard surface of the conference table. The blade was highly polished with a slight curvature, the hilt made of wrapped leather of various colors. In light of the high technology the Juireans commanded, the weapon appeared to be very basic and primitive.

“I am Council Elder Hydon Ra Elys,” the Juirean said abruptly, barely acknowledging the presence of the Humans. “Since we have heard stories concerning the tenacity of your kind as far as physical strength and resistance to flash weapons, the collars you now wear have been fitted with molecular blades of titanium which we assume will sever the nerves running through your spines.” He finally looked up at the Humans and took notice. “And from the thickness of your necks, there is a good chance the blades would separate your heads from your bodies with minimal effort.”

He looked down at the datapad he’d carried into the room, and then without looking up, he continued, “If you approach me closer than half the width of this table, the blades will be activated. In addition, the room is being constantly monitored. Any attempt to attack me or any of the guards will result in activation of the collars. My time is limited, so after a brief discussion, I will use this ceremonial blade from the time before
Contact
to end your lives. You are fortunate that I do not have more time, otherwise I would make you suffer more.”

The Elder finally finished scanning the information on the datapad and set it down on the tabletop. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at Overlord Anawar standing about three meters to Adam’s right.

“Lord Anawar, I am very grateful that you have brought these outlaws to me personally. Your file will be noted. And the prize of the Klin spacecraft is even now being loaded aboard another ship for transport so it can be properly analyzed out of the area. As well, the ten ships you have delivered will serve an important function during the evacuation.”

“Evacuation? My Lord, I do not understand. What of the defense?”

“Of course you are not aware; the decision has only recently been made. Juir, as well as several other important facilities throughout the Cluster, are to be evacuated to safer territory as a result of the impending attack by the Human forces. It has been determined that any defense we may mount in the time available will be inadequate, therefore we are evacuating so as to preserve Juirean artifacts and records, along with as many lives as possible.”

“Forgive me, my Lord, but
Juir
is to be abandoned … to the barbarians?”

“Overlord Anawar, this is not a decision we have come to lightly. Unfortunately, at this time it is the only one that will preserve Juirean culture. And even though the Humans will occupy the Cluster for the time being, we do have ample reserves to repel them at a future date. It is more important at this time to save our heritage, if not our homeworld.”

“But there are over a billion Juireans on the planet. There certainly cannot be enough ships available to save them all.”

Adam could tell the Elder was growing impatient with his subordinate’s questioning. This latest revelation also explained why Hydon seemed to be so distracted.

“We will be able to save over half, according to our estimates. There are still four months before the Humans arrive.”