The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (45 page)

“Nah. I prefer to keep my dingle-berries in my pants, and not dangling below my ears!”

He started the motor and pressed the center joystick forward. Soon they were cruising through the chaotic streets of the Industrial Complex, as more and more creatures were struggling to find out what all the commotion was about. There had been explosions and bolt-fire…and now an ‘earth’ quake of some kind.

As they approached the gate, Adam and Sherri could see the guards were in a panic as well. From their vantage point, they could see that the mighty communication relay had collapsed, and from all the sounds of battle emanating from that direction, they knew there had been an attack of some sort. The guards were busy fortifying the gate against
entry
into the Complex, not exit out of it, so they hardly noticed when Adam’s huge transport raced through the gate.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Within two hours of the attack, Adam and his Team were back aboard
The Jackson
, its generators charging and preparing for liftoff.

Adam and Sherri joined Tobias in the pilothouse. The lieutenant had become a pretty proficient pilot, so Adam and Sherri took seats behind the pilot’s station and let him concentrate on the liftoff.

After a few minutes, however, Adam had to know.

“Any word from the Chief and Riyad?” Adam asked, as he watched the planet of Melfora Lum begin to quickly fall away below him.

He noticed that Tobias did not answer immediately. “What happened?”

“We lost Cohen. Some kind of automated sentry robot. Shot him as he was getting off the station.” Tobias did not turn as he spoke the truncated sentences.

Adam was silent for a long moment. He hadn’t known Josh Cohen for long, or very well for that matter, yet he did respect the man. And since their numbers were so few, every loss of life was a tragedy.

“He’ll be missed,” Adam finally said.

“Here, here,” was Tobias’ standard reply. Unfortunately, Adam had heard Tobias say that phrase too many times in the past, yet up until now, it had only been back on Earth.

As their mission against the Juireans grew longer and more intense, Adam was sure it wouldn’t be the last he would hear it said.

Chapter Sixty-Three

Two weeks later, the supply ship arrived from Earth. Everyone had gathered around the flying saucer and greeted the crew who had volunteered for the five-month-long voyage. They were all military personnel, twelve men and three women.

Six of the men would be remaining as part of Adam’s slowly growing strike force. All the new arrivals moved about the base with expressions of both wonderment, and uncertainty. Adam watched their faces change with the second; one moment saying, “What an adventure,” to the next asking, “What the hell am I doing here?” It couldn’t be easy on them, but in light of what had happened back on Earth, many more had wanted to come and join the force. These were just the first of them.

The leader of the group was Warrant Officer 3 Darren Cole. He was U.S. Army Special Forces, a helo pilot, who had flown over fifty missions throughout Afghanistan and Iraq. A tall, stocky man crowding 225 pounds and 44 years of age, he had lost his entire family to the Juirean attack, and as such, he was out for blood – even green blood if that’s what the alien bastards had.

Adam liked his attitude; he would fit right in.

But more than that, everyone was anxious for first-hand news about home. Although communications had been established with Earth, the messages took four hours to be sent back and forth, and they had to be very careful with what they said, just in case curious ears were listening in.

Cole and his second, a sergeant named Kyle Littlefield, joined Adam and his top lieutenants in Adam’s quarters. The base had once been manned by living beings, who figured that if they had to suffer through a tour of duty on this hellish rock, they would at least do it in comfort. So the suite of rooms was large, with all the comforts of an alien home.

After the raids on Melfora Lum and the monitoring station, all the members of Adam’s army were feeling pretty good about themselves, even though they felt a little guilty celebrating in light of Cohn’s death. The SEALs handled it a little better; they’d been here before, far too many times. But now the top brass were all scattered around Adam’s room, anxious to hear what Cole had to tell them.

“It’s been really tough,” Cole was saying. “Can you imagine over a billion people killed in one day – not even a day – but a few hours? Some people just went berserk, and there were mass suicides all over the place. They thought it was the End of Days, or something like that.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your family,” Sherri said from her seat next to Adam on the large couch in the room.

“Thanks. It’s hard to wallow in your own sorrow when there’s enough death around for everyone.”

“What’s the mood of the planet now?” Lt. Tobias asked.

“It’s better, I guess. It seems like most of the people have really bought into this idea of revenge against the Juireans.”

Sherri kicked Adam in the ankle, gently. He looked over and gave her a wry smile.

“They can’t build ships fast enough for all the people looking to join up. The fleet should be on its way by now, and there’ll be a second fleet ready in about nine months, they tell me.”

Cole was part of Admiral Allen’s inner circle, so he was aware of the role the Klin had played in starting the war. “Any word about the Klin or the 2G’s?” Adam asked.

“Except for a few of us, everyone still thinks they’re the cat’s meow. Do you know they even go around with
‘Savior’
written on their shirt pockets?”

“No shit?” Chris said. “Those God-damn bastards.”

Then Cole smiled. “Don’t worry about them too much,” he said. “Admiral Allen has them figured out pretty well now, and so does the President and Admiral Keller. The 2G’s may come from the same stock as the rest of us, but they’re really missing what it means to be truly Human. Admiral Allen can play them like a violin. They don’t have any concept of sarcasm, or even of lying. And they’re all so starved for acceptance that all the Admiral has to do is throw a few compliments their way, and he can get anything he wants.” Then his face turned serious. “It’s the
converts
we have to watch out for. Talk about bastards, those guys are the real traitors—”

He stopped abruptly and looked embarrassingly at Adam.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Cole,” Adam said. “I’ve gotten used to it by now.”

“Well, Mr. Cain, I’m supposed to tell you that the President apologizes for everything he said about you. He knows now that you – and all of you – were set up. He says that when this is all over, he’ll make sure your name is cleared, and that you’ll get the recognition you deserve.”

Adam just nodded back at the Warrant Officer, slightly embarrassed. “That’s what I’ve been told. But frankly, I’d be happy if he can just keep the supplies coming, so I can kill more aliens.” He smiled broadly. “And with you and your men joining the effort, we can now chalk up even higher scores.”

Cole smiled back and nodded. “Oh and one other thing; The Saviors – I mean the 2G’s – have somehow found out about you being out here.”

Adam grew serious. “How did that happen?”

“It’s the coverts, like I said. These guys were born and raised on Earth, and then voluntarily joined the Klin. They’re not so easily noticed, and they’re working exclusively for the Klin and the 2G’s. They’re trying to infiltrate nearly all of our operations.”

“Any luck?” Riyad asked.

“Some. One of them got really close to Admiral Keller, before he and Allen purged his ass off.” He smiled again. “He’s working for us, now.”

“Glad to hear it,” Adam said.

And then Adam Cain looked around the room at all the anxious faces gathered there. Everyone was smiling and talking with each other. There seemed to be a renewed spirit in his little clan, and a common belief that they could actually contribute to the war effort.

 
Adam would continue to lead them, and yet he was still waiting for the one moment, that one instance, when he felt like he was actually getting the revenge he sought. It may be just a fool’s errand, and an endeavor which has consumed the souls of countless people before him, each seeking their own form of justice, of redemption.

But there was one thing that Adam Cain knew for sure: He wouldn’t stop until justice was done – or he was dead.

Chapter Sixty-Three

Fleet Marshal Relion entered the private chambers of Council Elder Hydon, with a look of concern on this face. Hydon looked up from his work desk and noticed the expression immediately. The Marshal was not prone to physical displays of his emotions. This had to be serious.

“Yes Relion. Please give me your report.” Hydon offered the other Juirean a seat with a wave of his hand. Relion sat down quickly.

“My Lord, we have lost contact with Sector 17.”

“Explain.”

“All relay communications with the Sector and the Juirean headquarters on Melfora Lum have ceased abruptly. There is also a major sentry station near what they call The Barrier that is now offline.”