The Legend of Earth (The Human Chronicles Saga -- Book 5) (10 page)

The overall impression of the office was eventually brought full circle when Adam was directed to take a seat opposite the Elder, and noticed that Hydon was even wearing what appeared to be a thin pair of eyeglasses. Adam had to suppress a chuckle as he took the seat.
Aliens wearing glasses – what next?

Hydon looked at Adam over the thin glasses. “I have security measures in place, but I’m hoping we will not have to deal with any such nonsense,
Mister
Cain – I believe that is the traditional prefix for a male of your race?

“That’s correct,
Lord
Hydon; I was told that is
your
preferred title. And you won’t have to worry about me doing something stupid. I don’t have a death wish.”

Hydon simply snorted. “That is precisely the reason for this meeting.” Hydon slipped off the glasses and set them on the desk. He continued to stare at Adam with an intense look of exasperation. “We have been unable to detect any trace of this Klin/Kracori fleet that you say is headed for Juir. You must realize what will happen to you and your companions if you are found to be lying to us? If anything, your wild tale has only delayed the inevitable by just a few days. So why would you lie?”

When Adam had been summoned to Hydon’s office, this was the last thing he expected to be confronted with. He
knew
there was a Klin/Kracori fleet – he had been present when the Klin Pleabaen had been in communication with it. What he wasn’t so sure about was where they were at the present time.

“I assure you, there
is
a fleet, and I’m ninety-percent positive that they would be looking to attack Juir before we do. It just makes sense.”

“So now you’re saying they may
not
have designs on attacking Juir after all?” Adam could hear the tone of Hydon’s voice raise an octave.
But he was so sure….

“The Klin could move on Juir at its weakest moment, ransacking the planet like you did to their homeworld thousands of years ago. It’s what I would have done.”

Hydon snorted again. “I have only recently had direct contact with your kind, yet all I have learned of Humans is that you are a savage and heartless race.
Of course
you would seek to take millions of innocent lives to satisfy an ancient vendetta. That is your way, but that is not saying the Klin would. The story you told me about our attack on your Earth was logical and sensible, and I believe there is indeed another fleet – a Klin fleet – out there somewhere. That is why I gave you this reprieve. But the Klin have been running from us for thousands of years. They may have simply decided that now is not the time to strike against Juir. And if that is the case, then it is only
your
Human fleet that we must fear.”

Hydon paused and leaned forward in his chair. “Mr. Cain, are you still willing to contact your fleet and attempt to have them call off their attack?”

“Yes, of course! I honestly believe that the Humans and Juireans would not have gone to war against each other if it hadn’t been for the Klin.”

“Can you do it?”

It was Adam’s turn to hesitate, an event which caused the Elder to slam both his hands down on the desktop and push back in his chair.

“Why have you built up my hopes just to have them crushed? Is that the answer – to play games with my emotions? What kind of creatures are you?”

“I’m not playing games with you. I can try to convince them to call off the attack, but I can’t guarantee they will,” Adam pleaded. “I realize this will probably mean all of our deaths, but all I can do is try.”

“Then try you will!” Hydon yelled. “And there is no reason to delay. I will begin immediately to locate the communication frequencies associated with your fleet – and then you will try—”

A large monitor to Hydon’s right suddenly burst into life; on the screen was the face of Fleet Marshal Relion. “Pardon my intrusion, my Lord,” he said, his eyes darting between Hydon and Adam.

“What is it, Relion?”

“A curious development, my Lord.” He looked directly at Adam.

“Speak freely, Fleet Marshal,” Hydon commanded. “The Human is either on our side – or he will die.”

“Yes, my Lord. We have detected curious ship activity originating from
Sector Three
.”

“Sector Three? What kind of activity?” Hydon’s voice deepened and he looked at Adam.

“Larger than normal ship traffic, and it appears to be broken into clusters of ten to fifteen ships each.”

“Have the signatures been analyzed?”

“It is difficult, my Lord. The signatures are overlapping – and there appears to be some sort of wave disruptor causing interference.”

Hydon’s eyes grew wide. “Where are these ships headed?”

“Various locations within the Clusters. Many are now well within the outer boundary.”

“You’ve tried to communicate with them?” It was more of a statement than a question.”

“Of course, but the wave disruptor is making it difficult. Garbled replies are all we have received. They appear to be trying to communicate with us, but can’t.”

“How convenient,” Adam said. He could see the veins on Hydon’s neck dancing to the beat of his heart.

“I take it we have no adequate defense in place at this time, Fleet Marshal.”

“It is well sooner than two months’ time, my Lord, so no. We have nothing to counter an attack, if this is indeed an attack.” Relion’s voice had grown more panicked by the moment. He appeared to be anxious to get off the screen, as others around him were trying to get his attention. “Lord Hydon, even if this is not an invasion, it would be wise to have you and the other council members evacuated immediately. The closest unidentified ships could be at Juir in less than an hour.”

Hydon looked down at the top of his desk for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Then he looked back at Relion. “No. I will stay here and take refuge in the bunker vault beneath Malor Tower. But do have all the other council members evacuated. Use my authority to make them comply. And Relion, no exceptions, is that understood?”

“They will protest.”

“Let them, but get them away as quickly as possible. Now tend to your duties.”

The screen went blank immediately and Hydon turned back to Adam, appearing to have aged ten years in the past two minutes. “You may have been right about the Klin fleet, Mr. Cain, if not about the timetable.”

“How could they have gotten here so fast?” Adam asked, not knowing now what he should do. Without a defense, the Cluster would be decimated and the planet Juir excoriated.

“They must have traversed the Core region. It is the only way they could have journeyed from Falor-Kapel to here in such a time.” He hesitated again before continuing. “In a few moments we will have confirmation as to whether or not this is an invasion,” Hydon said to Adam. “If it is, then I will ask that you do something for me, personally.”

Adam jerked his head back slightly in an involuntary display of shock. At a loss for words, Adam simply stammered, “Sure, what?”

“
Don’t
call off your fleet. If you are right, and the Klin are approaching, then please have your forces continue to sweep through the area and vanquish the coming scourge. The Juirean people and your Human race may one day make peace, but we will
never
make peace with the Klin. I trust you feel the same.”

“Billions of people have died – and are about to die – because of the Klin. I don’t think peace will be on our minds if we ever encounter the Klin fleet head-to-head. And as far as me calling off our attack, it looks like I’m in the same boat – situation – as you’re in. Neither one of us may live out the day.”

Chapter 10

Even Jonnif of the Kracori was surprised at how easily his forces had infiltrated the Juirean Alliance Cluster. Before even the first alarm was raised, units from Ludif-Five were already strafing the breeding facilities on Salin, killing thousands – if not millions – of young Juireans, their birth mothers and the females nursing them to maturity. This one action would set the Juireans back a hundred years, depleting their future numbers to a level where hunting down the survivors would be a more manageable task for the Kracori.

Other units were just now reaching the energy facilities and manufacturing centers on Oannan and Bal. With so many dependent on the energy modules and generators produced at these locations, chaos would soon reign throughout the Expansion, and when the Kracori revealed their own reserves of modules and generators, penitent races would come crawling to them, begging the Kracori to help them maintain their decadent lifestyles.

These early victories were significant and satisfying, yet Jonnif’s true goal lay just ahead, as he watched the blue and white planet of Juir grow ever larger in his forward viewport.

There were dozens of defenders grouping between the planet and his forces, but they would be inadequate. The Klin-designed ships were of a superior style and weaponry than the Juireans, and much of the local defenders were just a hodge-podge of hastily culled together ships of all classes and function. Even as he watched, intense bolts of energy lashed out at these ships from his forces, firing even before his own ships came within the range of the defender’s weapons batteries. The bulk of his attacking forces barely even slowed down before entering the atmosphere and zeroing in on their assigned targets.

Jonnif had reserved the Malor Complex for himself, along with the twenty ships in his squadron. He swung in low over the Southern Sea, and then climbed for altitude, attempting to avoid the ground-based defenses that were still a danger on the homeworld of the Juirean race. Three of his ships disintegrated even before he could see the form of the Kacoran Plain rising up in the misty distance.

His energy bombs were smaller than those of the orbital release variety, their power more concentrated. These were building-busters, not city crushers. Jonnif would take his time on the Kacoran Plain, where a number of iconic structures where located. These were the symbols of the Expansion, monuments to the power of the Juireans.

Jonnif activated his ship’s vid recorders; he wanted to document for all time the destruction of these structures, including the giant pyramid that was the seat of power for all the galaxy.
Legend
was what determined a Kracori’s placed in history. After this day, the name of Jonnif Vinn would be
Legend
for as long as the last Kracori breathed.