When Earth Reigned Supreme (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 12) (4 page)

“We propose a more direct approach.”

“Explain.”

“The portal at your house.”

“I thought it burned up?”

“No, sir. Fire crews arrived in time to save it. There was a little damage, but that’s been repaired.”

Adam shook his head. “Panur said it couldn’t open up between universes. He did some weird shit to it that stopped that from happening.”

“That appears to be the case. We’ve been trying, but so far no luck.”

“Okay, so what’s your plan?”

“The Klin.”

“What about them?”

“They came through your portal. How did they do that, and where do you think they came from?”

“Probably from the portal they have aboard the colony ship.”

“Exactly.”

“And your point is?”

Monroe leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs. “We believe the Klin are working with the Sol-Kor, feeding them intelligence and other information about the galaxy and our military actions. This belief is based on an almost uncanny avoidance of our sentry units by the most recent shipments of array parts entering the galaxy. It’s obvious they’ve been tipped, and Klin fingerprints are all over this new dynamic. They insist on sitting in on all strategy meetings even though they have no major force invested, just a token ship included in every task force.”

“The portal in the SK universe that linked to the Klin ship was destroyed.”

“They could’ve rebuilt it by now. And that portal was located where, Mr. Cain?”

“The Queen’s Chambers.”

“Bingo.”

Adam was silent for several seconds as he thought through the mission parameters: Use his portal to enter the one on the Klin colony ship, make a quick transfer over to the SK universe—right into the heart of the Queen’s Chambers—take her out…and then extraction.

“You’ve been there before, Mr. Cain,” Monroe said to fill the silence. “And according to your after-action report, it was only because of Panur that you didn’t take out the Queen at that time. It could be done again, and this time without any interference.”

“They’ve probably added several more layers of security around her since the attack.”

“Undoubtedly, and that’s why we need you and Mr. Tarazi. The two of you know the lay of the land, at least better than anyone else we could send. And this wouldn’t be a rogue rescue mission like last time. This would be fully-sanctioned and supported. You’d go in with skilled backup and armed to the teeth, which, according to what I’ve heard recently, is how you prefer it.”

Adam knew the video that was circulating didn’t show him holding his combat knife in his teeth, but his after-action report did mention it. Monroe seemed to be the real thing, at least as far as having access to classified documents.

“I’ll have to talk with Riyad.”

“Of course. And I hope the tender feelings he’s expressed for the Queen won’t interfere with the mission.” There was a wicked smile on Monroe’s face.

So the bastard’s been listening in on our conversations.
Adam returned the knowing smile. In war one became very pragmatic and determined; very few things were off limits, including privacy. Adam knew it went along with the territory. Still, part of him was bothered by the intrusion.

With the Sol-Kor now indiscrimanently destroying entire planetary populations without harvesting, Adam agreed it felt like a personal reaction by the Queen. Her son—Panur—was gone, probably for good, and she was blaming the Milky Way galaxy for her loss. With the SK fleets concentrating on the Union, obviously she was holding the Humans more responsible than others. If she wasn’t stopped, her hatred could eventually lead to the Earth being sterilized, just like all the others.

Adam could see the need for such a mission, but launching from aboard a Klin starship added an incalculable degree of danger. Sure, there was a good chance he and his team could get through. It was getting back home that would be the issue. Any escape route would be closed off within seconds of the team’s passage into the SK universe.

Yet with the Union controlling a full transport portal, there could be a way. The strike team would need to acquire a starship. But then there was no telling where the matching portal was on the other side, if it even worked that way. Or could any large portal be linked to the one on this side? And if it could, then how exactly was that done? It would require gathering intel…

Monroe let Adam think, but after about a minute he stood up. “I assume by your silence and look of concentration that the mission is a go?”

“There’s a  lot of unknowns, questions that won’t be answered until we’re on the other side.”

“That’s why you and Mr. Tarazi are the perfect leaders for such an operation. You’ve proven time and again you can adapt, improvise, and overcome.”

“That’s a Marine slogan, Mr. Monroe, from back in the day when we had Marines. In the SEALs we used to say, ‘If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.’”

Monroe laughed. “I’ve read your jacket, Captain Cain, and hearing that now I can see why you’ve been so successful throughout the years.”

“Yeah, rules are for saps. I prefer to make things up as I go along, no matter what others say is the proper course of action.”

Adam got up off the bed as Monroe approached. The two men shook hands.

“Good luck, Captain.”

It was a simple sentiment, but Adam sensed the not-so-subtle meaning: Monroe believed this to be a suicide mission—just as Adam did. But if it could stop the slaughter of trillions of intelligent creatures, then it would be a sacrifice worth making.

He just hoped Riyad would see it the same way.

********

“So, do you miss her?”

Riyad looked at Adam with a frown. “Who…Sherri?”

“No, the Queen.”

“Oh, her…every lonely night, my friend. My thoughts are consumed by her. But, honestly, I think we need some new material if we’re going to take our act on the road.”

Adam laughed. “Yeah, on the road…again. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

Riyad and Adam were in one of the many ready rooms aboard the
Mount Rushmore
, taking an inventory of their gear, preparing for the assault on the Sol-Kor portal array. This one was scheduled to be a nuke attack, but in the event that it didn’t come off, Adam and his strike force had to be ready to go. This time there would be over five hundred ground troops, not the hundred and twenty like before. Hopefully they wouldn’t be needed.

Riyad set an assault rifle down on the bench and turned to his friend. His eyes narrowed, his bushy eyebrows nearly joining as a frown carved his dark forehead.

“Why did the hair just stand up on the back of my neck?”

Adam’s answering grin was…well, goofy.

Riyad cocked his head and his eyes widened when he understood. “That’s a suicide mission and you know it.”

Adam wasn’t surprised his friend had been able to not only read his thoughts but immediately conceptualize the mission before a word of it had been spoken. Riyad had spent a lifetime in the planning and execution of missions just like this one. All it took was the mention of the Queen—the target—and Adam’s silly grin—confirmation—for Riyad to know.

He sat down on a nearby metal bench and stared at Adam. “It would have to be through the Klin portal. It was linked to the Queen’s Chambers before, and the scalies have probably rebuilt the portal on their side by now. But how do we get into the Klin ship?” His eyes grew wide again. “The one at your house. It must have survived!”

Adam nodded, not only for confirmation, but also for the admiration he felt for Riyad at that moment. His powers of deduction were truly amazing.

Riyad pursed his lips and shrugged. “It makes sense that they would want the two of us to lead such a mission. But as straightforward the entry may be, I’m at a loss as to how we could get out? I hope you have some ideas about that.”

“I’m working on it. So…are you in?”

“Are you kidding? I get to live out the fantasy of nearly every guy who’s had a bad relationship. I get to kill my ex…and get away with it—hopefully.”

Adam laughed. “I’m sure that line of thinking goes both ways, buddy, maybe even more so from the opposite side. Don’t you know that every breakup is the man’s fault?”

“That’s what I’ve heard…far too many times.”

“I just hope you don’t have second thoughts when the time comes to pull the trigger.”

“It will be difficult, for sure, but I’ll do my best to resist the inner conflict for the good of the mission.”

“Far out, dude. Now let’s go bag ourselves a queen.”

********

Andy Tobias, Admiral of the Joint Union Defense Service fleet, was livid upon hearing the news that his two most competent officers were leaving the ship. He insisted on knowing why, and as he held position at the very top of Union military leadership, nothing was held back.

His bluster didn’t last long once he realized the significance of the mission and the prospects for a safe return by the team. If anything went south, there would be no black helicopters in the night coming to their rescue. But what could go wrong? They’d just be isolated in a completely foreign universe swarming with trillions of flesh-eating aliens, and more than likely with every escape route shut down the moment they appeared.

“You’re going to have to make it to a transport portal, one of the big boys. That will involve commandeering a starship. And take plenty of backup batteries for the beam neutralizers. No telling how long you’re going to be over there—”

Adam grasped Tobias by his shoulder. The man was losing weight at an alarming rate, probably from the stress of command. At least that was Adam’s hope. Tobias was sixty-eight years old, and although he could still go up against men half his age, time had a way of defeating even the strongest warrior.

“We’ll be okay, Andy. I promise. The Sol-Kor won’t be expecting this, so we’ll have the element of surprise on our side.”

Andy shook his head. “I have every confidence you can achieve your primary mission. It’s what happens afterwards that I’m worried about.”

“I think it’s the Sol-Kor who should be worried, Admiral. You know how deadly a trapped animal can be. We’ll deliver a little shock and awe on their asses and see what they think about that.”

“You be careful. You too, Riyad. I’ve grown rather fond of you bastards over the years.”

“Don’t go all mushy on us, Admiral,” Riyad said. “Your strength and bullheadedness has been a constant throughout the years. Just promise to kick our butts if we don’t make it back alive. That should be incentive enough for us not to get ourselves killed.”

Andy nodded. No other words were said, just some hugs and handshakes. Then the pair left.

********

Andy Tobias stared at the closed door of his cabin for a long moment afterwards. He’d spent a lifetime in military service, with countless men under his command providing the ultimate sacrifice, but this was different. If ever there were two men he could call true friends, it was Adam Cain and Riyad Tarazi.

He chuckled. Regardless of the ultimate outcome of the mission, the Sol-Kor were in for quite a surprise. A storm was coming their way, and the scaly bastards had no idea how strong and destructive it was going to be.