The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (26 page)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Guard Commander Rillor, in the Light Quarter-Ship UA-14, saw the devastation being exacted on the Juirean Fleet from his position as an outer perimeter sentry about a light year out from the Earth. He, and the other two ships in his squadron, maintained guard duty over the nine supply ships that lay off their aft sections, while 12 other squadrons, guarded the hundred or so other supply ships that had accompanied the fleet to Earth. He couldn’t believe what his screen was showing. It was impossible, and yet he was seeing it with his own eyes.

As communications were broken with the fighting ships of the fleet, Rillor was at a lost as to what action to take next. He had never operated on his own before, and now he could see dozens of the smaller contacts that had destroyed the fleet moving in his direction. Without a command decision, his entire squadron, along with all the supply ships, would be destroyed as well.

Yet before he could act, he began to receive links from the other sentries. They were all under attack, and suffering catastrophic losses.

The young Guard Commander had no choice. He opened a link to the other sentries with him, as well as to his supply ships. He would lead them out of the area at flank speed, and attempt to return to Juirean space. They would leave immediately.

And then he saw them, five disk-shaped spacecraft, streaking near him on his port side. Rillor’s ship did possess weapons, but he had seen how effortlessly these strangely-shaped ships had dispatched the mightiest warships in the Juirean fleet. His tiny sentry ship would not stand a chance.

But the other ships did not fire on him, so he maneuvered his 12 ships in a direction heading away from the Earth system, and initiated a deep well, as did all the other ships in his tiny fleet. As they all bolted out of the area, Rillor watched for evidence that they were being followed, but there was none.

After about an hour, the young Commander began to relax. He had escaped the tragedy of the Human attack. How, he did not exactly know.

But he didn’t dwell on his good fortune for long. Rillor would soon compose a message to be sent to Juir, through the communication relays laid during the fleet’s journey to Earth. It would be a message like none before it. It would speak of the greatest military defeat ever suffered by the Juireans in their entire history. And Rillor would be its author.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The gray bleakness of the lunar surface streaked by below them with dizzying swiftness. Soon the landing craft had wrapped around the far side, and was closing in on the location where Adam had left Kaylor and the Juirean Battlecruiser.

As they approached, Adam also knew there was a possibility that the Klin could have discovered the ship already and destroyed it. If that were the case, then the landing craft would have to return to Earth. The tiny craft only had a range of about 10 light years, and no weapons. There wasn’t much he could do aboard the landing craft to exact his revenge on the Juireans and the Klin. But with a Juirean battlecruiser, that was another matter altogether.

Then another thought crossed his mind:
Kaylor may not be there!

The plan had called for Adam to return to Earth to a hero’s welcome, and then he would contact Kaylor and Jym, and have them bring the large warcraft into Earth’s orbit. Human scientists and engineers would then tear the ship apart and learn all her secrets. But Kaylor may have bolted already, once he saw the Juirean Fleet arrive, or more likely, when the Klin started shooting. Either way, Adam’s blood pressure was climbing with every kilometer they put behind them.

Adam activated the coded beacon Kaylor had set up prior to their departure. Hopefully there was someone at the other end to receive it…

“Adam! Is that you?” Jym’s voice cried out through the speakers.

Adam breathed a sigh of relief. At least that uncertainty was erased. Now they might have a fighting chance of making it out of the system alive.

“It’s me. How are the two of you holding up?”

“Do you know what’s been going on up here?” It was Kaylor now. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“No one has, my friend. But we have to get out of here as soon as possible. We’re coming up on your position. Prepare to bring us aboard.”

Riyad had slowed the landing craft considerably, and now they were approaching the crater where Kaylor had landed the giant spaceship. They could clearly see its outline now, completely covered in grayish-white dust, and blending in perfectly with the surrounding monochromatic landscape.

And then in the blink of an eye, all the dust disappeared from the ship when the gravity well was established, forming a perfect circle in the soil of the crater surrounding the ship. Then the massive battlecruiser began to slowly lift off the surface.

As it gained altitude, Riyad brought the landing craft around to its aft section, closing in on the lighted landing bay just under the starboard superstructure. Moments later they skidded to a stop, while large metal doors rolled from each side of the entrance to seal the compartment.

The moment the landing bay was pressurized, Riyad lowered the rear loading ramp of the shuttle, and dazed and bewildered men and women stepped out onto the deck of the Juirean starship.

Adam rushed up to Sherri. “I’m going to need Billy and his men to man the weapon systems onboard in case we have to shoot our way out. Can you get him on that? And have them take the SEALs with them. The sooner they see how things work, the better.”

“What about them?” she asked, indicating the cluster of wide-eyed scientists standing near the loading ramp.

“Hell if I know. Have them go with Billy’s men, too. Just make sure they don’t get in the way.”

“Why’d you bring them along in the first place?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, I can’t tell a supernova from a hole in the head. I thought these guys might be able to fill in some of the blanks.”

“We’ll see.” Then she was off to find Billy Piscopo.

Adam headed for the bridge, with Riyad close behind. As they entered, Kaylor looked back at them from the pilot’s seat. “I hope you have a plan. There are Klin ships buzzing all over the place.”

Adam looked at the tac screen displayed on the forward bulkhead. Most of the Klin ships were now situated closer to the Earth, with dozens of them having formed long lines, which were now moving methodically around the planet.

“What are they doing?” he asked Kaylor. “Are they searching for smaller ships – or survivors?”

“I don’t think so. I think they’re vacuuming the space around the planet.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently they’re using their gravity wells to attract the debris from the battle. The space around your planet must be littered with millions of bits and pieces of Juirean spaceships. It would be very hard to maneuver with that much junk left in orbit. It makes sense.”

Leave it to the Klin to have thought of everything
, Adam thought.

Adam studied the screen for a moment, and then he made a decision. “We’re just going to have to take our chances. Trying to sneak out of here probably won’t work. It will take too much time, with too much chance of being spotted.” He turned to Riyad. “I say we us the moon as a shield and just bolt out of here as fast as we can.”

Riyad just cocked his head. “Sounds as good as anything.” He turned to Kaylor. “You can recycle the generators several times before initiating the well. Really build up a big charge. The well will be incredibly deep right from the start.”

Kaylor’s head bobbed back and forth. “That should work. We just have to make sure we don’t overload the generators. But that will get us away in a hurry.”

“Exactly, and then we’ll use Adam’s zigzag technique once we’re clear of the system, just to make sure we aren’t followed.”

Kaylor turned back to his controls. “It will take about 10 minutes to recycle the generators enough. Then I’ll
punch it
.” Kaylor looked over at Adam, and his mouth spread into a wide grin.

The alien’s learning
, Adam thought, returning the wide grin.
We just may get out of this after all...

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Riyad’s plan worked like a charm, and after about eight hours and several zigzags, Adam was feeling confident they had escaped the system without being followed. They were away from Earth and safe from both the Juireans and the Klin – at least for the time being.

Now all he needed was a plan.

Throughout the journey to Earth, as well as the week he’d spent cloistered in the warehouse at Little Creek, a plan had been percolating in the back of Adam’s mind. And now with the addition of the 18 SEALs he had onboard, the plan was looking even more promising – if they weren’t too late.

Two days later, Adam walked onto the mess deck and spotted several of his new crew there, eating processed meals and all in a more relaxed mood. Most of the groups at the tables were clustered into groups of three. Sherri had matched each of the SEALs with one of Billy’s men, along with one of the seven scientists aboard. The tasks were divided among each team member.

Billy’s men were responsible for training the SEALs and the team’s scientist in the operation of the ship, including its weapon systems, food modules, grooming stations, etc. They also set everyone up in individual staterooms.

The SEALs were to teach the civilians all they could about the weapons and gear the SEALs had brought along with them in the two trucks down in the landing bay. They were also to be taught basic tactics and strategies, at least enough so they wouldn’t be too much of a drag when operating with the SEALs.

The scientist in each team was there to help explain the astronomical and scientific aspects of their journey – if possible – and to also to learn how the systems aboard the ship worked from a technological standpoint. It appeared as though all members of the teams were finding the arrangement very exciting and mutually beneficial.

Lt. Tobias approached Adam, followed closely by Kaylor and Jym. The lieutenant had quickly accepted the two aliens as friends, experiencing only a brief moment of discomfort upon meeting the two of them. After all that had happened over the past few days, Lt. Tobias was proving to be one of the most adaptable people Adam had ever met. Nothing seemed to faze him.