Human Chronicles Part 2 Book 2: The Apex Predator (12 page)

He turned to peer into the dimness of the room and was totally unprepared for what he saw.

Chapter 17

Aboard the Pegasus…

A
dam had never seen a real blackhole in space, so when the trail of the mystery squadron led them past a bizarre system where a singularity was eating a neighboring star, Sherri and he stared mesmerized at the awesome sight.

The blackhole was unseen, of course, with just its influence on the nearby white dwarf indicating its presence. A long stream of stellar gas was being drawn from the star and sent spiraling off into space towards a dark dot surrounded by a tight ring of the star’s stolen material. Even though the two objects were still two-hundred million miles from the
Pegasus
, the two enraptured Humans could clearly see the movement of the yellow and white hot gas as it spiraled down into the bottomless pit of the blackhole. To see something this big and this violent – and to observe it happening in real-time – was fascinating.

It had taken the
Pegasus
four days to catch up with the convoy of warships, helped by the fact that they did slow down to normal in-system velocities as they approached the spectacular scene of the star-eating blackhole. Adam and Sherri were sure the ships weren’t on a sightseeing tour, so they began to frantically scour the star charts trying to assess the fleet’s final destination in the region. It was obvious the death-spiral system was not it; no planets could survive orbiting such an unstable gravity source. Yet this region of space had barely been surveyed – even though it was only about fifteen-hundred light years from Earth – and there were half-a-dozen stars located within a light-year of their present location.

Fortunately, the alien spacecraft hadn’t slashed through any other systems getting to this point; in fact it avoided most of them as it got closer to Earth, apparently not wanting to draw attention to its movements. The Adenion system – which the ships had shredded – was located over thirty-five hundred light-years from Earth, so the Kracori – or whoever they were – hadn’t been as cautious then as they were now.

But the gravity wave was now lining up towards a star located a third of a light-year from the dwarf-blackhole system, a star designated as HIP-322 on the chart, and just one of millions of such stars too insignificant to carry an actual name. There was no data regarding planets within the system – inhabited or not – and yet the twenty-plus starships were definitely headed there.

As the
Pegasus
entered the outer limits of the stellar system – a discrete distance from the source of the wave – Sherri began to pick up dozens of other smaller spacecraft flitting about within the system. Adam swung a second seat over next to her and helped analyze the gravity signatures of these new contacts. They appeared to be different from normal sigs, indicating that these drives were of a foreign design than even those used by the warships that had just entered the system.

“Could this be an undiscovered race who have their own gravity-drive technology?” Sherri asked.

“Undiscovered by us, but not the Kracori or the Klin,” Adam pointed out. “The wells are efficient, but not as refined as those from the Expansion. And look.” He pointed to a grouping of nine starship signatures just now entering the system behind them. “These ships have even a different sig … and they’re arriving from outside the system.”

“What’s your point?”

“It could mean that there are a variety of alien ships operating within this system, and not just those belonging to the natives.”

“So you think we can slip in without standing out … too much?” Sherri asked, a look of concern on her face. “If we can analyze their signatures, then they can surely analyze ours.”

“You’re right,” Adam said. “But the
Pegasus
does have a signature unlike any around, including those of Earth-built ships. If these natives are in cahoots with the Kracori, then they’re probably aware of Earth-specific signatures.”

“
Cahoots?”
Sherri’s smile almost erupted into full-blown laughter. “Do all you people from California talk like that? Even we hicks from Kentucky don’t use words like
cahoots
anymore.”

“I guess I watched too many History Channel programs when I was growing up. It seemed like an appropriate word for the situation.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, sweetie, it is. But damn!”

“Mind if we get back to the matter at hand,” Adam said, feeling more than a little embarrassed. “We still need to verify what’s going on in-system. Those warships didn’t come all this way just to take shore leave on some tropical paradise of a world. They’re up to no good.”

Sherri was still staring at him and smiling; she suddenly bent over and kissed him on the cheek. “Sometimes you are just too damn cute.”

“Later, babe; this isn’t a
Viagra
-moment.”

“Too bad….” Sherri turned back to the nav screen with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “That planet there seems to be where most of the activity is centered.” She pulled up a read-out of atmosphere, temperature and surface gravity: “Breathable air, average temperature, if a little cooler than Earth, and with surface gravity about Juirean-normal, or around a quarter less than ours.”

“So we’ll be
supermen
there.”

“Super-
persons
, my dear,” Sherri corrected. “We really have to work on your misogynistic tendencies.”

He smiled back at her. “I don’t hate women – just some women – and then just some of the time.”

“Present company excepted, of course!”

“I didn’t say that.”

Chapter 18

A
few minutes later panic swept over the two Humans, as they approached the central planet for this unnamed system and discovered that the warships they’d been trailing were nowhere to be found. Even a fleet of over twenty metal behemoths is easy to hide within the volume of a star system, and operating only on maneuvering-wells and chemical drive made them virtually impossible to track.

“I’m sure they haven’t moved on,” Adam said aloud, more to soothe this own doubts than Sherri’s. “But until we find them, we can’t be sure if there are only twenty ships or a thousand.”

“We’ll find them, Adam,” Sherri said. “The transmissions I’m picking up are being translated by the onboard computers, so the aliens down there appear to have translation bugs. Why don’t we drop down to surface and ask around. Besides, we still need to get the forward viewscreen repaired. Using only the monitors to see outside is driving me crazy.”

“But we don’t have any idea what they use for money down there,” Adam countered. “How are we going to pay for the repairs?”

“I haven’t a clue,” Sherri answered with a smile. “But that’s what you specialize in, isn’t it – getting stuff by brute force? And now you have Arieel’s gift. Just make ‘em an offer they can’t refuse.”

“Aren’t you just the regular comedian today?”

“If you can’t laugh in the face of imminent danger, then when can you?”

Adam began the descent calculations. “By the way, why don’t you slip me a little of whatever you’re smoking? I might like a little artificial courage myself.”

********

The world below was a mass of shimming blue and white, and dotted with countless green and brown patches signifying tiny landmasses made up of atolls and islands. Some of the larger islands weren’t much bigger than the United Kingdom back on Earth, and there didn’t appear to be anything close to being classified as a continent. There were no mountains, no deserts and no vast open plains … just two small icecaps at each pole to break up the expanse of water. If ever there was a
waterworld
, this was it.

The ship’s comm crackled as the planetary traffic control linked up. “Approaching spacecraft, declare your authorization,” the almost artificial-sounding voice commanded.

“Requesting approach vector for repairs and resupply,” Sherri responded. They had decided to let her do the talking since even in space female pilots were a rarity and not something the aliens would be expecting, especially if they were scanning for possible intruders and spies. “It’s been a long journey and I would really like to stretch my legs.”

“The transponder on your vessel is not registering. What is your planet of origin?”

Before their CW-array had been damaged back in the Adenion system, Adam and Sherri had heard about the uprising in the Human colony of the Jusepi. Even though
Jusepi
sounded more like an Italian restaurant than a race of aliens, if the natives here were on the lookout for Humans, then claiming to be one of their enemies seemed like a plan. “Duelux, my friend; we are
Jusepi
.”

There was a pause on the link. “You are cleared for entry,” the voice said. “What repairs do you require? That will determine your landing point.”

“Just hull work; we have a cracked forward viewport … oh, and our CW-link is down.”

“Follow the beacon to Neforlan. There are facilities there to assist you, although I am not familiar with the term
CW-link
. Do not deviate from the beacon once you enter the atmosphere.”

“
CW
is a form of communication relay; sorry for the confusion. I understand about the beacon and will comply … and thank you for your kindness.”

There was a slight pause on the comm before the alien spoke again. “I am also sending you a briefing video for
Aslon
. It is apparent you have never been upon our world before. There are certain manners you must assimilate to avoid conflict, first of which is the use of familiar terms and greetings when you are not of the
O’mly
. Study the video before having any further contact with us.”

Both Sherri and Adam matched raised eyebrows. “Well, excuse me!” Sherri said after cutting the link. “Snooty little bastards, aren’t they?”

“Better check the report for anything about carrying weapons,” Adam said. “I don’t intend to go out in public without backup.”

“At least
you
have Arieel’s gift—”

“I really wish you’d stop calling it that,” Adam said.

“What should I call it: the
device
, the
implant
… your
turbo-charged remote control
?”

“I don’t know; I grew up around the military acronyms out the wahzoo, so why not ATD … for
Artificial-Telepathy-Device
. I need to settle on something myself.”

“ATD? I like it,” Sherri said. “But what about
ATD-PBTOSANA
?”

“
What!
” Adam had no idea what she was talking about.

“That stands for
Artificial-Telepathy-Device … Provided-By-The-Over-Sexed-Alien-Named-Arieel
.”

“You’ve got to be kidding—”

“Yeah, I’m just screwing with you, Adam. Lighten up. ATD is fine.”

“I think you’re losing it, Ms. Valentine,” Adam said, forcing a smile.

“You could be right; all these cosmic rays out here are affecting my brain. Or maybe I’m just going stir-crazy and need a little action.”

“
That
I can relate to,” he said, as he locked the
Pegasus
on the approach-beacon being sent from the surface. “And down there is a whole new world of aliens we’ve never met before. This could be as much fun as a barrel-of-monkeys!”

“Careful, Adam, at this point we don’t know what these
O’mly
look like. This may indeed be a
Planet of the Apes
.”

********

The approach-beacon guided them to one of the larger islands that had several large v-shaped additions jutting off from it of obvious artificial construction. Most of the buildings on these extensions were of a uniform charcoal-gray color and varied only in height and width. Near the tip of the largest v-structure was a small landing area, presently occupied by only a handful of small delta-shaped spacecraft. Being delta-shaped itself, the
Pegasus
would fit right in, even though it was nearly twice as large as any of the other ships in the spaceport.

This larger island was surrounded by literally hundreds of much smaller atolls, each with central crops of green vegetation and surrounded by white, sandy beaches. At first glance, this planet
did
look like some kind of tropical paradise, even if the nasty demeanor of the natives could ruin the entire vacationing experience.

The briefing video was far too long and detailed to be assimilated in one viewing, yet it did fill in some of the blanks regarding this uncharted world. The planet was called Aslon and its natives the O’mly, and even though they didn’t look like monkeys, they did resemble trolls in a way. They were large beasts, with scaly skin that apparently changed color like that of a chameleon. Their heads were large, with several ridges of raised bumps that formed patterns above their yellow eyes and then ran up to form a central bulge at the crest of their skulls. Large, fan-like ears projected straight out on either side of the head and they appeared to be hairless, both on head and body. Even though Adam and Sherri couldn’t tell from the video, the webbed fingers on their hands led them to believe that the O’mly were amphibians and probably had gills hidden somewhere on their bodies. This made sense considering that most of their world was covered with water.

As they studied the report, both Humans cringed when they noticed the two, eight-inch long talons protruding from the tips of the middle fingers on their webbed hands. Each hand had four fingers and an opposable thumb; very Human-like – except for the talons and the webbing. They figured it must be a real hassle for the O’mly to have what were essentially two very sharp, eight-inch long fingernails with them all the time; having sex must have been especially challenging. Seriously however, Adam and Sherri knew the aliens had evolved over the millennia with the deadly-looking spikes as a natural part of their bodies. They had no illusions that these spikes were for adornment only. These were weapons, and even though the Humans would appear stronger and have quicker reactions in the light gravity of Aslon, the spikes would prove deadly in a street-fight – and the
ATD
would be no help at all. Adam just hoped they wouldn’t have to spend too much time on the surface of Aslon. They weren’t here on a sight-seeing tour; there was a mystery fleet nearby, and the sooner they found their answers concerning it, the sooner they could resume their journey home.

Adam and Sherri put on thick coats to protect against the deceptively cool weather, and since there had been no mention in the report of restrictions to carrying weapons, they each wore MK-17’s on their hips. Once geared up, they opened the side hatch and stepped outside.

Six O’mly met them on the landing field, arriving in a large, electric cart with two rows of seats and a flatbed to the rear. In person, the scaly-skinned aliens were even more intimidating than in the video. Each wore form-fitting dark-green tunics and stood over seven-feet tall. Adam was getting tired of nearly every alien species being taller than Humans, but this was just one of the consequences of most life-supporting worlds having lighter gravity than the Earth. Adam didn’t complain too much; it was this gravity differential that gave Humans most of their superman-like abilities. However, as he watched the hulking green mass of alien approach him – their yellow-tinged talons clicking together in a deadly dissonant chorus – Adam was hoping he wouldn’t have to test his physical skills against
this
species.

The leader of the group stared down at Adam for a long moment; Adam knew better than to present a greeting to the alien – that was one of the things he’d gleaned from the briefing report. Instead, he let the creature take his time thinking about … well, whatever aliens thought about at a time like this. Finally, the O’mly pulled a datapad from a utility pocket in his tunic and moved to the front of the
Pegasus
; his entourage followed, all pointing out the numerous pits and holes along the once-shiny hull. The lead O’mly looked up at the blast shield covering the forward viewport, and noticed traces of sealing foam seeping out from the sides. He entered some information into his pad and then turned to Adam and Sherri.

“Ninety
korlons
… for the viewport only,” the creature said. “The other hull damage will be considerably more, if you elect to repair the damage. This
CW
communication device you mentioned we cannot repair, since we do not know what it is.” The tone of the alien was flat and decisive, leaving Adam with the impression that there would be no negotiation regarding the price. Because of the variety of currencies throughout the galaxy, a fair amount of the transactions between alien species involved barter and trade. Even still, Adam had to be careful that he didn’t come right out and admit that he had no idea what a
korlon
was or how he would set a comparable value for anything he might trade for the repairs.

He also knew that the repairs were not absolutely necessary and that his real purpose for being on the planet was to track down the mystery fleet.

“That is acceptable,” Adam said finally. “For payment, we can either trade for the repairs, or we can arrange for payment from our partners who have also just arrived in-system.”

“We do not trade for service at the port. If you do not have the fee, then you will have to arrange for a sale of items though a merchant transaction. If you have partners who can provide the korlons, then you should pursue that option as well.”

“We came in with the squadron of battleships that just arrived. Is it possible to secure transportation to the fleet … on credit? We do not want to risk any further travel with the viewport in its present condition.”

The alien stared at Adam with unblinking yellow eyes. “The viewport appears to be sealed. I do not see any danger with travel in your craft.”

Adam looked over at Sherri, seeking any help she could provide. She stepped up to the alien. “Yes, we can use our ship, yet the CW device you mentioned is also tied to our navigation system. We have lost the ability to track our fleet. We will need assistance if we are to retrieve the
korlons
for the repair. Can you help – assist – us with this?”