The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (7 page)

The 2G seemed equally surprised by the question. “Calamore. The base on Calamore,” the young man answered. His partner jabbed an elbow into this ribs, causing the boy to wince.

Without hesitation, Adam lifted the MK and shot a bolt into the second man’s chest. He fell backwards in the chair from the concussion, crying out in pain, as the Level-2 bolt scorched his clothing and skin. Sherri and Riyad were stunned, and the first man cried out in shock. Once they realized the weapon had been set on a non-lethal level, everyone appeared to calm down. The second man climbed back into the chair, brushing at the still smoldering embers around the hole in his tunic. Then he held his hands on his chest, as tears welled up in his eyes.

“The next shot will be Level-1. Now go on,” he said to the first man, as he dialed up the charge on the weapon.

“Calamore, it’s where the main base is, on this side of the Barrier,” he said quickly.

“Are the breeders there?” Sherri asked, acid in her tone.

“Of course. Where else would they be? They’re females.”

Sherri took a step toward the man, and Adam reached out to grab her arm. Once he had her calmed down, Adam took up the questioning.
       

“How many 2G’s are there?”

“No many…now. Maybe fifty or so. Most are on the ships. Just a few support personnel – along with the breeders, and the non-converts, of course.”

“The non-whats?” Riyad said, stepping up beside the man.

“The non-converts – the native-borns who would not join us.”

“Are there a lot of them?”

“No, not many. Not more than a thousand I would say, at least for the time being.”

Adam, Sherri and Riyad all shared wide-eyed glances at each other, before Adam turned his attention back to the 2G. “Where exactly is Calamore?”

“I don’t know the coordinates. I just know it’s approximately three light years on the Far Arm side of the Barrier, in a small cluster of three yellow stars.”

“Is it to the Rigor side of the Barrier, or the Silea side?” Riyad asked. He knew The Fringe better than anyone in the room, and with Rigor and Silea lying at opposite ends of The Fringe, this could narrow down the location.

“Rigor, I believe.”

“Does the base have any defenses?” Adam asked.

“Not many, now. We left there about three months ago and went to Z-4, just as the main force was preparing to deploy.”

“What did you mean when you said,
for the time being
?” Sherri asked.

The 2G blinked at her. “Now that the war is about to begin, they are of no further use.”

“Go on.”

The 2G blinked several times, not quite understanding what more could be said. “The breeders are no longer necessary, now that we are to make direct contact with Earth. And the non-converts…well their conversion is no longer necessary, either.”

It didn’t take long for the implication of the 2G’s cavalier comments to hit the three natives in the room. It was Sherri who stated the obvious.

“They’re going to be killed.” It was a statement, not a question.

“They are of no use anymore,” the man said, with absolutely no emotion in his voice.

This time Adam did not try to restrain Sherri. The woman stepped forward and smashed her right fist straight into the nose of the 2G. The cracking of cartilage could be heard, as blood spewed forth and down the chin of the man. Then Sherri turned toward Adam, her gaze locking on his MK-17.

Adam quickly pulled the weapon from within her reach.

“Calm down, Sherri,” he said. “We’ll deal with this scum later. Right now, I need the two of you to take them back to the others – without killing them?”
 

Somehow, Riyad was able to maintain enough control over Sherri so that the two men got back to their holding cell alive, if not bruised up some from the rough manner in which they were dragged through the corridors. But as soon as the two of them returned to the interrogation room, Sherri was speaking.

“We have to go get them!”

“Not a good idea,” Riyad countered.

Sherri spun to face him. “There are a thousand people there being held prisoner, plus the women, who have been constantly raped in order to build this so-called army for the bat-shit Klin. And they’re all going to be killed!”

“I understand that. But right now, we have to warn the Earth about what’s about to happen. Besides, they may already be dead. It could be a wasted trip.”

“He’s right, Sherri,” Adam said. “We now have proof that a 2G fleet
is
heading for Earth, and they wouldn’t be going there unless they believe the Juireans are headed there, too. We have a whole planet to be concerned with right now.”

“So we just leave them there?”

“First things first. If we do get to Earth in time – and all in one piece – we’ll see about coming back for them. Hopefully we won’t be too late. It’s a given that our planet will never be the same after we get back, so if we don’t come back for them, I’m sure someone else will.”

Sherri sat down in one of the chairs and crossed her arms. “This still doesn’t tell us how we’re going to get through the waiting 2G fleet to warn the Earth, and not only about the Juireans, but also about how crooked and conniving the fucking Klin are. They’re responsible for all of this, and the 2G’s have been raised by them.”

“Sherri’s right,” Riyad said. “These men have been brainwashed from the day they were born into believing everything the Klin have told them. They are more loyal to the Klin than they are to Earth. I’ve seen it. These men are fanatics – and true believers. They will not let us reach Earth, just to speak ill of their masters.”

“We’re assuming the Klin know of us—” He held up his hand as both Riyad and Sherri opened their mouths to speak, “But I agree it’s the safe approach to take. We need to get Kaylor and Jym to start prepping the others on the weapon and defense systems of this ship. If we do run into any Klin or 2G’s along the way, we have to be able to defend ourselves. Can you coordinate that, Sherri?” He smiled at Riyad. “The two of them are still scared shitless of Riyad.”

“The emotion comes in handy at times,” Riyad said with a wink.

Chapter Seven

Over the next two weeks, Kaylor and Jym held dozens of training and orientation sessions with the 32 other men aboard. Soon the Humans were nearly as proficient at running the ship as was the original crew, and Adam began to believe they might actually have a slim chance should they encounter any resistance getting home.

During the training, two of the men rose to assume leadership positions among the non-converts: Sherri’s friend Billy Piscopo, and an older man named Chris Mullis. Chris had spent 12 years in the Marines, the last five in Force Recon, up until the time his wife developed breast cancer, and he left the service at the end of his current enlistment. He had been out of the service for 14 years now, spending most of that time as a mortgage broker in Sacramento, California. His wife had passed away four years earlier. Chris had been taken by the Klin six months before, and had served as a strong rock of resistance for the captives on Zylim-4.

“Assuming we get back to Earth all in one piece, you know we probably can’t set down in D.C., or Norfolk, or any other place with a large military presence,” said Chris to the assembled people seated within Kaylor’s quarters.

Adam nodded. He had been thinking about this very subject for a year now, trying to envision what kind of homecoming he would have if – and when – he ever returned to Earth. “I agree. Dropping down near a sensitive location will just invite a missile up our ass. I’ve been thinking about Texas somewhere, but far enough away from Ft. Hood and San Antonio. We don’t want to appear to be a threat of any kind.”

“Why not Roswell?” Billy said with a smile. Everyone in the room laughed, everyone but Adam.

“That’s a damn good idea, Billy!” he said. “I like the symbolism. I don’t know if you guys know it, but the little gray aliens that are always shown in UFO movies and books are actually called Jakreans. They really do exist.”

“No shit?” Billy said, looking over at Riyad and Sherri.

They both nodded their agreement.

“Then it’s decided. Roswell, New Mexico it is,” Adam said, much to the satisfaction of the others.

“You still haven’t told us how you plan on getting past any Klin or 2G’s who are hanging out around the Earth,” Sherri said. All eyes turned toward Adam.

“That’s because I don’t have a good answer yet. I’ve thought about coming in dark, and essentially coasting in undetected. But Kaylor has informed me that we’d have to start so far out from the solar system that it would take years for us to get in traveling at sub-light speed. I’ll get Kaylor and Jym working on deactivating the transponder, which would at least keep the ship’s identity a secret. But the gravity signature of a Class-5 starship is very distinctive, and there’s not a lot of them around, other than Juirean and Klin.”

“How about this,” Chris began. “I saw this once in a program about drug running in Florida. We overshoot the system, and then come in from the opposite direction. In the program, the drug aircraft would fly in past the panhandle of Florida, and then double back. The Fed’s were only looking for aircraft coming up from the south, so they never paid much attention to anything coming down from the north.”

Adam raised his eyebrows. “That might work, if we can turn off the damn transponder. With so many other ships buzzing in and out of the system preparing for the Juireans, we might be able to blend in with the rest – if someone doesn’t analyze our gravity signature too closely.”

“It’s also a pretty good bet that the Klin know exactly where the Juirean fleet is, and when it will be arriving at Earth,” said Riyad. “Knowing this, they may not be on such high alert to check out every signature they see.” He looked over at Adam. “I think it’s worth a shot.”

Adam nodded. Then he turned to Kaylor. “Is it even possible to deactivate the transponder on a ship this big?”

It was Jym who spoke up. “Actually, it’s easier than on a commercial vessel,” he said, bouncing in his chair with enthusiasm. “Commercial ships make landfall on a variety of planets, so it’s more important for the authorities to track their movements and origins. Military craft, especially something this big, do not make landfall, and their identity is pretty much established already. The transponders aboard military craft are used primarily to keep track of the individual vessels in times of battle, to help the commanders allocate their forces. I’ve been checking out the circuitry and I don’t see a problem deactivating the transponder.”

The mood in the room lifted after Jym’s statement. “Great,” said Adam. “It will still be a risk, but we don’t have much choice. Of course, we also can’t park the ship in orbit so that the Klin can see it visually. So we’ll drop it off on the moon. Kaylor says he can set it down on a surface with a very low gravity threshold, even though these ships are designed never to make landfall. I have confidence that he’s right.”