The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (29 page)

Carol was one of the first ones to sprint to the spaceship. With no children or husband to consider, Carol had made a spontaneous decision. A lifetime of dreams were about to come true, if only for a few hours. She truly believed she would die that day, but at least she would do it in space.

And now, in the course of 18 days, Carol Nash had lifted off the surface of the Earth, met real-life aliens and experienced faster-than-light travel. If ever there was a kid in a candy store, it was Carol Nash at this very moment.

Also, Carol and Sherri had begun to bond; after all, Sherri had had no contact with other Human females for over three years. It had been either aliens or men, and most of the time Sherri couldn’t decide which she preferred.

Adam was glad to see it. It at least took some of her time away from Billy Piscopo.

As Adam returned to his cabin, he marveled at how quickly the other Humans were adapting to their new existence. He knew this was just the beginning, but still he envied them in a way. They had all essentially volunteered for this journey, something he, Sherri and Riyad had never been offered. Even Billy and Chris’s men had chosen to return to space.

Now, as he lay on the large, Juirean-size bed in his stateroom, feeling the fingers of sleep begin to reach out to him, Adam Cain had a purpose – a mission. It was a mission to help his people, but it would also afford him the opportunity to exact revenge on those who had murdered his innocent wife and child. And with that thought streaming through his head, he fell into a deep, satisfying sleep, the first he had enjoyed in over a year.

Chapter Forty-One

The planet Juir was not what one would expect from the capital world of a galaxy-wide empire.

Instead of concrete and skyscrapers for as far as the eye could see, the planet had preserved most of its open space and forests, and the settlements that did dot the landscape were studies in harmonious integration with the surrounding ecosystems.

It had not always been like this. Early in the history of Alliance, Juirean cities were well on their way to becoming sprawling eyesores upon the surface. Yet as more and more worlds were brought under Juirean domination, the leaders decided to outsource most of the heavy industrial and manufacturing operations, as well as the day-to-day administrative centers, to any number of available candidate worlds. This left the planet Juir to evolve into a shining example of urban planning at its best.

Most of the government buildings were pyramidal in shape and style, with ample use of shimmering bronze glass and sparkling gold accents. Fountains of crystal clear water were everywhere, and greenbelts of perfectly manicured lawns coursed their way around the buildings, along transport lines and through areas of aesthetically-designed forests and groves.

Even though there were transport lines snaking across the surface of the planet, most mass transit was underground or through the air. There was no traffic to speak of, nor the frenetic pace found on many other capitals throughout The Expansion.

The Juireans had established their breeding facilities and educational centers on many of the nearby worlds of the Cluster. The military academy was on Sellon, while most of the manufacturing activities were centered on the 18 worlds near the Core, and had served as such for over 3,000 years. What this left was a capital world that was designed exclusively for the most senior of Juirean officials, with no need to jam all the functions of governing onto one overcrowded and polluted planet.

Juirean officials who had the pleasure of serving on the home planet often moved about in casual, relaxed states of mind, enjoying the fresh air and temperate climate, while dealing with the responsibilities of an empire spanning over 8,000 worlds.

The headquarters of the Juirean Council was located in the grandest building of them all, a kilometer high pyramid of glass and gold that sat atop the Kacoran Plain, directly on top of the site of the First Contact. Within its massive structure was a monument dedicated to the event, taking up the very core of the building. Placed around the monument, were the oversize statues of Malor the Great and Arolus Ra Un, the two most revered Juireans in history, and builders of what would eventually become The Juirean Expansion.

At the very zenith of the building sat the Council Chambers, a hundred meter square room surrounded by angled walls of sparkling bronze glass and topped by a golden point at the very peak of the building. No doorways disturbed the 360-degree view from the Chambers, as entry was gained through a stairway in the floor. And in the center of the room was a vast round table of polished Kacoran granite, with seating for the 40 members of the Council Elite.

At the time, the room was occupied by only three Juireans, including Hydon Ra Elys. Hydon was the current Council Elder, and was in effect the most powerful being in the galaxy.

The label of ‘Elder’ did not mean Hydon was the oldest member of the Council. Rather, he had attained his position partially by bloodline, but mainly through ability. He had never pined for the position, although it had been decided long ago that Hydon would serve on the Council. But as the years passed, and crises were debated and solutions developed, it became apparent to all that Hydon was just a cut above the rest.

The past Elder was still on the Council; Juireans did not advance in status based upon the deaths of those above them. Rather, a simple vote had been taken when it became obvious that Hydon possessed better analytical abilities than the current Elder. At that moment, Hydon simply became The Elder, and everything proceeded as normal. It had all been quite uneventful, as the ascension process was designed to be.

But with high position came high responsibility, so Hydon now found himself in the Council Chambers, accompanied by only the Supreme Military Guard, Fleet Marshal Relion Fe Lans, and Elite Member Juls Ve Kikel, the most senior political advisor on the Council.

Hydon held the datapad in his hand and felt his entire body go weak. This was stunning news, unbelievable news, yet Hydon had no doubt that every word in the young Guard’s report was accurate. Over the course of the past two weeks, Hydon and the Council had received many corroborating reports, yet this one was from an actual eyewitness.

The entire fleet had been destroyed, utterly and completely!

After reading the report, Hydon concluded that its author, the Guard Rillor, had been
allowed
to escape the battle scene with the few ships under his command. It was obvious these Humans wanted the Juirean Council to know what they had done to the greatest mass of Juirean warships in over 1,000 years. And they wanted Hydon to know how effortlessly they had achieved such a lopsided victory.

Hydon found this part of the report to be vaguely disingenuous. The fleet had been lured to Earth and then ambushed. The results may have been dramatically different if it had been a stand-up fight. But the fact still remained that now The Expansion’s military forces on the far side of the galaxy had been decimated, leaving those Sectors vulnerable to a Human invasion.

Hydon had been aware of the Human threat for the past six months, yet he often heard of them spoken in the same breath along with the Klin. Now it appeared as though the Humans were the true threat that must be addressed.

The Klin!
Yes, they really did exist, as Hydon felt most Juireans secretly believed.
The Reckoning
had killed billions of them, but they didn’t get them all. And the fact that no one had seen or heard from the Klin in nearly 4,000 years led many to believe that there was a reason for their hiding, a reason beyond the simple fact that they would be killed should they show their faces within The Expansion. The Klin had to be planning something, and it was this fear of an unknown retaliation that stirred many a young Juirean from his sleep, drenched in sweat, after another Klin-based nightmare.

Through the passage of time, the Juireans had been able to put into perspective what a tragic and cruel act they had committed on the Klin people. Yes, the Juireans had been humiliated by the Klin, but was that any reason to destroy an entire population?

Some Juireans questioned the legitimacy of the argument for
The Reckoning
, but what was done was done. Even if the Klin did finally reappear, there could be no reconciliation. Too much time had passed, too much fear and guilt had been felt. The feud between the Juireans and Klin was what it was and would always be. There was no going back.

The Juireans had eliminated four other races throughout the millennia, but that had only been after protracted wars with these adversaries. They had been fights to the death, and the Juireans had won.

The Reckoning
, on the other hand, had been planned and executed in secret – much like the campaign against the Humans. But unlike the Klin, the Humans had been waiting for them.

The report stated that the attack upon the planet Earth had commenced
prior
to the fleet being destroyed. That would mean millions, if not billions of Human dead. That was not something one could back away from. The die had been cast. This would be another case of no turning back.
 

The Juirean Expansion and the Human race were now at war.

Hydon addressed Fleet Marshal Relion first. “What is the status of our forces in the higher Sectors?”

“Thin, My Lord. Overlord Yan’wal pulled most of the larger warships from the neighboring Sectors to build his fleet. We have managed to step up production of new ships, as well as consolidate the few remaining ships into Sector 17. There are currently 92 fleet ships in the region. Yet in light of the reported size of the Human fleet, this force is woefully inadequate to hold the Sector should an invasion come soon.”

“What about the new ships?”

“We are producing new ones at the rate of two per day, yet the production rate is not the problem, it’s the crews. We have ample Juirean leadership for them, yet not enough trained supplemental beings. We are beginning an all-out recruitment and training operation to help overcome this handicap.”

Hydon next turned to Elite Member Juls. “How are the Members reacting to the loss of the fleet? We’ve obviously not been able to contain the news.”

“No, we haven’t, My Lord. It is clear that the news of Yan’wal’s defeat has already spread throughout The Expansion. There appears to be a stunned disbelief among the Members. This has shaken their confidence in Juirean leadership.”

“How is this affecting recruitment?”

“Mixed. It is down on the more-affluent worlds, yet up in the poorer sections. The attraction to gaining employment aboard a Juirean warship depends on the economic conditions on the Member worlds. We should be able to meet Fleet Marshal Relion’s requirements, just not in a very timely manner.”

“An estimate?”

“Within a year or so.”

Hydon grimaced at the news. He did not believe they had that much time before the Human invasion would commence. The original message had spoken of a three-year timeline, but that had turned out to have been a ruse. The Humans were ready now.

Hydon surveyed the faces of both his subordinates. Neither expressed any fear nor apprehension. They were professionals, and would act as such.

“We cannot afford to have this situation get out of hand. From what the eyewitness report relates, the Humans appear to be simply a single-planet race. They may have a vast number of ships and advance weaponry, but there are only so many bodies they can commit to the war effort. As a last resort, we can win through attrition. But that will take time, as well as major loss of life on our side as well. This means more and more of our Member worlds will suffer large casualties. This will not go over well from a political standpoint.”