The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (5 page)

“In addition, you are instructed to not only prevent the
UN-233
from reaching Earth, but also to provide any information you can ascertain regarding the strength of the Human enemy. We need to know if they control a coalition of planets, or if they stand alone. We need to know about their industrial and technological capabilities, and what weapons they possess, as well as any allies they may have in neighboring systems.”

Then the Overlord leaned in closer to the screen, “And Commander, we must not let them know we are collecting this data. The information we have received indicate that the Humans may be three years or so from being able to launch a direct assault on The Expansion. If so, then they may already be amassing ships for the assault. Should they learn that we know of their plans, they may choose to attack sooner.”

“I understand, My Lord. And the first priority should be to stop the
UN-233
at all costs.”

“That is correct. The fleet we are assembling should consist of over 500 warships, which should be ample firepower to defeat this threat. However, it will not be ready to depart for approximately three more weeks, and then we will only be able to travel as fast as our slowest support ships. The assault on Earth will not take place for another four months. During this time, we need an advance force to lay communication relays and to provide whatever intelligence it can provide.
You
will be that advance force, Commander.”

“This is a great honor you’re bestowing on me, My Lord. I will not let you down.”

“I’m sure you will do your best. But I must stress to you again, the Humans must not learn of your presence in the region.”

“Once the
UN-233
has been destroyed, we will proceed with the utmost caution and stealth. With the
UN-233
on its way to…to Earth, where would you project its location to be at this time?”

“I will transmit an estimate to your nav computer presently. If we are right, they are probably just now beyond the Barrier and located about five light years from your current position.”

“They are in a Class-5 starship, just as we are. My forces will have to run all out to catch them.”

“I understand that. Do what is necessary, Commander. That is all.”

Once the screen went blank, Lod-fin sprinted for the grooming station once again. This time he had the added element of his new assignment to help summon forth the surges from his rotted gut …

Chapter Four

Nigel McCarthy heaved the fifty-pound weight across the room and through the opposite wall of the gym. The metal barbell crashed through the thin material as if it wasn’t there, and landed on the moist grass outside. Several Klin were in the field at the time, and Nigel could see their shocked looks through the hole in the wall the barbell had left. Once they noticed Nigel staring wild-eyed at them from the room beyond, the Klin quickly moved away and out of his line of sight.

Gaining only an ounce of satisfaction from the scared looks on the faces of the aliens, Nigel turned to the other Human in the room. His assistant, Carter Thomas, did not show any reaction to the outburst by his boss, or any unease. Even though Nigel was tall and massively-built, with a fiery crop of ginger hair, Carter still made Nigel look like a school boy next to his own hulking mass of black, bulging muscles.

“How the fuck did this happen?” Nigel spat out between gritted teeth.

Carter didn’t bother to look down at the datapad he carried; he knew the report inside and out. “It seems as though Cain and Tarazi were able to free a number of the non-converts and escape in the Juirean cruiser. They even managed to take a few 2G’s with them.”

“Where are they now?”

“Our sensors at the Barrier picked up their gravity wave…heading for Sector 12.”

“Fuck!” Nigel slammed his massive fist into the heavy bag that hung from the ceiling next to him, sending a sound like a gunshot reverberating throughout the gym. The bag swung away, and then returned; Nigel grabbed it and squeezed as hard as he could. “They must have learned the location on Z-4. They’re going to ruin this whole goddamn thing!”

“They have to be stopped. We can’t allow them to reach Earth before the Juireans.”

Nigel glared at him. “Don’t you think I know that? What assets do we have available between the Barrier and the outer perimeter?”

“Not many. Most of our forces are already on station. But there is a small Klin outpost near Jaann.”

“Any 2G’s with them?”

“Some, and they have a couple of old Klin ships there as well.”

“But can they take out a Juirean battlecruiser? I doubt it,” Nigel said, answering his own question.

“What about a suicide mission?” Carter said evenly. “Just get them in close enough, and then set off a nuke?”

“Are these 2G’s Kamikazes?”

“No. But we could always have the Klin rig a detonator, unknown to the 2G’s.”

Nigel stared back at his subordinate, this time with a thin grin stretching across his freckled face. “You are one devious son-of-a-bitch, aren’t you? I like it. Make it happen.”

Chapter Five

Adam Cain found Sherri in the aft port corridor, emerging from the stateroom presently occupied by Billy Piscopo, one of the men they had rescued from Zylim-4. Her hair was mussed, and there was a reddish glow to her cheeks.

“There you are,” Adam said, stepping in stride beside her as she proceeded forward toward her own stateroom. The Juirean battlecruiser was so large that the rescued Humans, as well as Adam’s group, could each have their own individual staterooms. The 2G prisoners, however, were kept in two secure rooms near the aft cargo bay.

Sherri glanced over at Adam and saw the look on his face. “Don’t judge me, Adam.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“But I know what you’re thinking. You’re on the way back to your wife and kid. I have no one to return to.”

“I thought you had a fiancé.”

Sherri just shrugged. “Yeah, I kinda made that up. But a girl’s got her needs, too. And besides, I like the girl-to-guy ratio we have onboard.” Her attempt at a wicked smile came across as insincere.

“Still, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to get involved with these guys so soon.” Adam knew he was experiencing a trace of jealousy. After all, Sherri and he had shared a bed together for a couple of weeks before the battle on Zylim-4, as well as for the first few days on the Juirean cruiser. After that, Sherri had claimed one of the staterooms for herself, and began to spend more time with a couple of the men they had rescued. He had to admit it, Sherri couldn’t go anywhere onboard the ship without being flirted with by at least a dozen of the younger men, and she seemed to be beaming with more and more confidence with each passing day.

“So what’s up?” she asked as they neared her stateroom.

“Kaylor wants to meet with us in the ready room. He says it’s important.”

“And Riyad?”

“He didn’t ask for him to be there. Besides, he’s still scared shitless of him.”

Since Kaylor and Jym were the primary pilots of the huge battlecruiser, Adam had allowed the two aliens to claim the captain and XO quarters directly off the bridge. They were also able to adjust the gravity for this section of the ship to a more comfortable level, while the Humans kept the rest of the ship up to their much-heavier standard.

The ready room was a small conference room off the captain’s quarters, and Kaylor and Jym were already there when Adam and Sherri entered. A three meter long table jutted out from the rear bulkhead, with chairs on either side. A monitor was mounted on the bulkhead at the end of the table.

Adam could see the look of worry on Kaylor’s face. “What going on?” he asked, as he and Sherri took seats on the opposite side of the table from the two aliens.

“We may have a problem,” Kaylor said without preamble. “Jym picked up a massive gravity wave about a day ago that nearly collided with us.”

“What does that mean?” Sherri asked.

“It bolted past us as if we were standing still,” Jym said, bobbing in his chair, visibly agitated. “It was a communication pod.”

Sherri shook her head. “I still don’t follow.”

“When a region of space is without communication relays, the fastest way to communicate is to send physical communication pods. These are small craft with incredibly large gravity generators. They can travel at many times the speed of even Class-5 ships, like this one.”

“And..?”

“This pod is following the same track as we are – heading for Earth.”

Adam leaned in closer to the table. “So someone has sent a communication pod to Earth? Where did it come from?”

“Somewhere in The Fringe. But that’s not the worst of it,” Kaylor said.

“Go on.”

“The pod was sent in the open, with its message broadcasting continuously.”

Sherri shook her head. “Listen guys, we’re not up on all the intricacies of intergalactic communications. What are you trying to say?”

Kaylor stared back at her for a moment before answering. “It means anyone can trace the pod to its destination, and also intercept its message.”

Adam suddenly went pale. “So the Juireans could learn the location of Earth?”

“Correct. And the message – tell them, Jym.”

Both Humans shifted their stunned stares to the tiny alien. “The message was encrypted, but I’m pretty good at this kind of thing. Using the equipment aboard, I was able to decipher it.” He looked down at the datapad he held in his hand. “It said, ‘Existence of Humans and of Earth has been exposed, along with our association with the Klin. We have engaged the Juireans off Dimloe and on Zylim-4, and the Juirean forces appear to be weaker than anticipated. Our Klin advisors have recommended that the time to begin our invasion of Juirean space should be within three years. It has been projected that we will have sufficient forces by then. The Human race should be able to secure vast sections of Juirean space before they are fully aware of our capabilities. At the time of the invasion, the Juireans will not be able to resist our incursion into their space. However, it is imperative that our plans remain secret, since our forces on Earth are still in preparation. The three-year timetable for invasion appears reasonable. Juireans still believe Klin are the major threat. We will work on this end to keep up the deception.’”