The Legend of Earth (The Human Chronicles Saga -- Book 5) (12 page)

Adam wasn’t the best at reading alien body language, yet it didn’t take an expert to see the tension and sadness on the faces of all the Juireans in the underground bunker. For hours now the bombardment on the surface had continued, and with each blast the natives knew their world above was being torn apart. Adam could relate, having lived through the bombardment of Earth by this very same race of aliens. And yet at the time, Adam had been more concerned about saving his own life, along with those of wife and daughter, than with any planetary legacy issues. Also at the time, he truly believed the Klin would stop the destruction – as they eventually did – but only after so many people had died.

Yet on the surface of Juir, the destruction was continuing unabated. It was evident by the frequency and intensity of the explosions that the Klin had eliminated any Juirean resistance, both in space and on the planet, and now had free reign to cause all the death and destruction they could deliver. The only limitation would be the capacity of their energy generators, and with constant rechargings, the bombardment could continue for weeks, if not months.

In a way, Adam felt sorry for the Juireans. They had to stay sequestered in their self-imposed prison far below the surface while their entire world was being destroyed, along with countless generations of Juirean history. When the Klin were through with Juir, all that would be left would be smoldering monuments to a once great race of beings.

Adam was sure the Klin already had detailed schematics of the maze of tunnels and chambers under the great pyramid. For hundreds, if not thousands of years, Klin spies had infiltrated Juirean culture and government. Each target would have been carefully delineated and scheduled for destruction, including the underground labyrinth. But first they had to gain control of the surface, and as the occupants of the bunker began to hear the slow, yet very clear, decrease in the frequency of the explosions above, they knew that time was drawing near.

After all
, Adam thought,
you can only bomb a building into ashes for so long. More than that and you’re just being a dick.

Adam knew that if he survived to ever walk the surface of Juir again he would find a completely
alien
landscape, unrecognizable from the one he had only the briefest memory of. It would be a scene right out of his vision of Hell. And for the non-religious Juireans who managed to survive, it would be the new standard from which they would forever associate with their own concept of Hell.

Chapter 12

Jonnif had his Klin-designed flying saucer land next to the smoldering remains of what had once been Malor Tower. All that was left now of the once-massive structure were a few tall, twisted sections of the east and south facing skeletal supports, now blackened from the intense fire and smoke that had consumed the building.

Jonnif was greeted by a passing cloud of dense, black smoke when he exited the shiny silver pedestal that supported the saucer above. He took in the fragrance of death and destruction, savoring every last moment. All around him were piles of still smoldering debris; some structural material, some the charred remains of the thousands of creatures whose lives had ended on this very spot – and by Jonnif’s hand.

The Kracori commander looked up into the sky, patched now with a combination of white clouds and smoke from the thousands of fires still raging across the area. He was almost in tears – tears of joy. He was standing on
Juir
, at the very center of the universe, the planet where it had all started. And where he stood wasn’t just any location on the planet, but high atop the
Kacoran Plain
. He looked to his right and across the sweeping panorama all the way to the Southern Sea. Before him lay the metropolis of Juir City, the very place where the Juireans had taken their name. The city was now just a dense cloud of black smoke, penetrated here and there by flickering towers of yellow fire, raging uncontrollably, consuming the entire area.

Jonnif would let it burn itself out, leaving nothing but ashes. If the Kracori ever decided to build settlements upon the surface of Juir, the ashes of the past would be easier to clear than the skeletal structures of the former civilization.

Kaddof and Mininof joined him for the stroll into what had once been the main gallery of Malor Tower. They were equally giddy with the splendor of the moment. Jonnif moved to the center of the remains knowing that somewhere near here was where the Contact Monument had once stood, the very spacecraft sent by the Klin to the then-savage and barbaric Juireans. There was nothing left.

Jonnif turned to his companions and laughed, a full-throated bellow that was soon joined by the others.

“Juireans….” Kaddof spit on the ground, and the others followed suit. Then he handed a datapad to his commander.

Jonnif scanned the entry; it was the latest casualty estimates. He looked up at Kaddof. “Excellent results, my Ludiffs, excellent. An estimated half-a-billion dead so far here on Juir, as well as another half-billion on the surrounding planets! But most-exciting are the millions of dead females on Salin. This could trigger a complete racial collapse.”

Jonnif knew that the rigidity of Juirean society called for each gender to fulfill its highest-and-best duty for the wellness of the race. That meant females were relegated almost exclusively to the job of species procreation. This was not a demeaning or second-class responsibility; on the contrary, Juirean females were revered, almost worshiped, in Juirean society. While
any
male could fill the duties of Admin, Guard, Counselor or Overlord, only females could ensure the continuation of the species, including the necessary males required to fill the every-growing needs of the Expansion. It would be impractical to waste a female in any of these more trivial positions.

Juirean females of child-bearing age and physicality were expected to remain pregnant during their most productive years. Those beyond that were the mid-wives, the medical personnel, the educators and the scientists associated with advancement of new and safer child rearing.

Because all these activities had been centralized on the planet of Salin, the Kracori attack there had the effect of nearly sterilizing the Juirean race.

However, between fending off Juirean defenders, attacking ground-based targets and eliminating vital infrastructure on the worlds they had attacked over the past five days, the Kracori did not have the resources to stop every rogue spaceship leaving the area. And for months prior to the attack, the Juireans had been stockpiling thousands of spacecraft in the Sector, mostly commercial-class vessels. In spite of the Kracori’s best efforts, these ships had been able to spirit away millions of Juireans.

Jonnif acknowledged that on those ships were many thousands of females – it had been impossible to kill them all – but it would not be enough to save the Juireans from eventual extinction.

The destruction of the females on Salin was probably the most significant victory of the entire campaign. The surviving females, even if left alone and not pursued, would require many generations just to replenish their own numbers, let alone those of the entire race. Granted, through DNA sequencing, most of the newborns going forward would be female, which would help speed up the rebuilding process. Yet this practice would also cause other problems for the Juireans. Although many billions still survived within the galaxy, ninety-nine percent of the remaining Juireans were male. As these males grew older and died off, there would be very few younger males available to replace them, at least not until the female population had been restocked.

Yes, Juirean society had been dealt a crippling blow these past few days – almost fatal. And even if the Kracori chose to let them be – which they were not prepared to do – then just with the passage of time, the Juirean race would slowly disappear, thanks in part to the segmentation of their society, as well as their own shortsightedness.

Jonnif stepped up to the charred and smoking body of a Juirean lying in the ruins of Malor Tower. He could still see the traces of blue hair atop the head, signifying that this had once been an Overlord. He kicked at the body, and saw the blackened flesh around the rib cage give way. Jonnif knelt down and pulled a generous handful of flesh from the corpse. He smelled it, and then placed the meat in his mouth.

The Juirean was juicy and cooked just to his liking. Jonnif stood, flashing a wide smile to his companions. “I believe I will have a table set up right here and we will all feast on the flesh of Juireans tonight! I will even have vids made so our celebration can be broadcast throughout the Expansion.” He bellowed a hearty laugh again. “The Kracori have not only destroyed the Juirean
Legend
, we will now devour their flesh while sitting atop their most sacred monument. How more can a legend be dishonored?”

The next morning, Jonnif awoke with a serious hangover and a bloated belly. The celebration festivities had continued almost until new light, with his commanders and support staff wandering throughout the still-smoking ruins pulling huge hunks of meat from the hundreds of bodies lying about. The intoxicants had flowed as well, far more than Jonnif had personally ever remembered ingesting before. But this was one of those unique moments in history which would never come again. Jonnif had been bound and determined not to let it pass without giving it his all.

But now he had to pay the price.

He could barely focus on the datapad when Mininof brought it to him. “Assist me,” Jonnif said. “What does it read?”

Mininof had participated in the prior evening’s festivities as well, but obviously to a lesser degree. “It is some of the last reports filed by the spies within the tower just as we began our attack. There is some interesting information.”

“Go on, don’t leave me in suspense.”

“Hydon is in the bunker below!”

Jonnif was nearly shocked sober – almost. This
was
very interesting news. Prior to the attack, the Klin – and now the Kracori – had had no fewer than thirty-five active spies operating within the building. They continually fed information to the Kracori, no matter how trivial. As is often the fate of spies, none had been warned of the impending attack, so all perished in the building.

“Yes, he and a group of what appeared to be Humans entered the bunker elevator just moments before your first strike.”

“Humans? Here?”

“That is what was reported.”

“Did the spies know who they are or what was their significance?”

“It was not mentioned in this report, yet a previous file might mention them. I will research it.”

“Good. In the meantime, get me linked into the bunker’s communication network. I wish to speak to the almighty Juirean Elder, now cowering in fear within his metal tomb, right below my very feet.”

“Technicians have already located the trunk lines. It should not be long before you have access. I am anxious to hear your conversation with Hydon. It will be
legend
.”