When Earth Reigned Supreme (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 12) (14 page)

Adam stepped closer to the Queen, whose beady eyes glared at him with a universal look of hatred and contempt.

“I remember you,” she said. “You are Adam Cain. And you are Riyad Tarazi.”

Riyad looked at Adam and nodded. “She even pronounced it right. I’m impressed.”

“You will find that I am not like the rest of the Sol-Kor,” she continued. “I have been alive for a very long time, and like my very special son I have learned many things. To that matter, I believe it was the two of you who corrupted the incredible mind of Panur, causing him to abandon the Colony.” And then her hideous face attempted a smile; a stream of yellow bile drained from her mouth. She looked directly at Adam. “And as I understand it, he has also absconded with your own offspring, Adam Cain, with plans to father a master race of mutant geniuses.”

The Queen reveled in Adam’s shocked expression. “Yes, I have my information sources; however in this case it came directly from Panur. He has chosen to stay in communication with me, if for no other reason than the bond we have built over five thousand years.”

“But not strong enough to keep him here.”

“We shall see. He and his new mate have plenty of time to change their minds.”

“Will he still be interested in returning to the Colony without you around?”

Again the sickly smile. “It is obvious how little you know of Sol-Kor society.”

Adam felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. The Queen noticed his expression change.

“You do not realize what you have done, do you?” The Queen actually patted her hands together in a display of childlike giddiness. “Oh, this is even more enjoyable than I imagined it.”

“What are you rambling on about?” Riyad asked, growing impatient with the conversation, especially with at least a thousand armed Sol-Kor soldiers on their way.

“Since you will not live much beyond this moment, I will explain. You have come to kill me, believing that by destroying me you leave the Sol-Kor without a leader, even though you know eventually a new queen will rise up to assume my position. This thinking only shows how little you know of the Sol-Kor.” Her gaze shifted from Human to Human. “The last time you were before me and threatened my life, an amazing thing happened. Since this had not happened in several thousand of your years, even I was surprised.”

“When what happened?” Adam prompted.

“In my moment of anxiety—even as I was unaware—my body excreted a special enzyme that permeated among my most recent lays. Hopefully it will come as a disappointment for you to learn that there are now thirteen other female Sol-Kor, one of which shall become the next queen in the event of my death.”

Adam and Riyad looked at each other. “A new queen was expected. This isn’t news to us.”

“Perhaps not, but only because you do not realize the full impact of this news. Because of the birth of these females, I searched my memories until I could recall two other occasions that this has happened. In each of those prior cases, the females were destroyed when it became apparent that a new queen would not be required. Yet in this case, they have been allowed to mature and grow, and at an accelerated pace. You have come here believing my death will save your universe. It will not, as a new queen is nearly ready to assume control of the Sol-Kor.”

“Growth may be one thing, but experience is another. We’ll take our chances with a rookie queen.”

“I understand your statement, even as you do not realize the significance of mine. Your race obviously has no concept of a term called genetic memory. With the welfare of the Colony at a critical juncture during the succession of queens, we carry the unique ability to pass along a certain level of memories within our genetic material. This gives the new queen the natural ability to lead the race and help it survive immediately upon succession. It is nearly a certainty that you will end my life within these chambers, yet within the thirteen females who will compete for leadership of the Sol-Kor, a large portion of my memories will be retained. My body may die, yet my awareness will survive. My most-recent memories will be lost, yet those up until the birth of my replacements will survive. I have been the longest-living queen in Sol-Kor history, so my memories are expansive and will allow the new queen to assume my role seamlessly. Attendants will fill in the most recent gaps, including what has happened to my beloved offspring Panur. At that point, my campaign to sterilize your galaxy will continue, even as I have instructed my staff to do so until the time the new queen assumes her position.”

The Queen scanned the sour expressions on the faces of the Humans. “I find gratification in seeing on your faces the realization that your lives will be sacrificed for nothing. When last you were in my chambers, I was very concerned for my prospects of ever seeking revenge against the two of you. How could I have ever expected that you would return to the Sol-Kor? Yet here you are. My essence will continue, yet yours will end here, far from your universe, far from your homes. So you see now that I do not fear my death, since I know my awareness will live on in—”

Adam unleashed a torrent of automatic gunfire into the bloated mass of the Queen, sending red blood and thick yellow bile cascading to the tile floor, forming a small wave of goop that lapped at the boots of the two Humans. Riyad reacted a split second later, adding his own hot lead to the mix. Two seconds and it was over, the lifeless body of the Queen slumped over in her cart, supported by straining side panels.

“Nag,” Adam whispered.

“Bitch,” Riyad added.

Tarazi stepped a little closer to his partner. “My friend, we did it. We have killed the Queen of the Sol-Kor.”

“The current queen.”

“So…where do you suppose they keep these queens-in-waiting?”

“Up top—”

A rain of flash bolts came from behind. The other seven members of the assault team were sprinting for their position. With news of the Queen’s assassination coming instantly to the troops outside—probably monitored by security cameras—the Sol-Kor had no reason to hold back. They rushed headlong into the room, releasing a hail of bolts and sacrificing their bodies. Hundreds more were waiting in the wings.

All the commandos dove through the hole Adam had made in the wall, and soon the entire nine-man team was running toward the opposite side of the smaller chamber. A relentless pounding came from wall separating this room from the main chamber as bolt after bolt impacted the barrier. The wall gave way as the wave of Sol-Kor defenders breached it without breaking stride.

The small room ended at a huge metal doorway, large enough to allow for the passage of the Queen. The team rushed through, and then stopped to push the door shut. In a panic, they looked for a locking mechanism but failed to find one.

“Don’t the damn Sol-Kor believe in locks!” Adam yelled.

He turned quickly as gunfire erupted behind him. Some of the team had fired on a group of robed officials hiding in this new room.

“Hold up!” Adam yelled. “Grab them. We need information.”

Gunfire behind him again, this time toward the huge metal door, he turned to find Riyad and two other men firing at the supporting frame of the doorway. It was beginning to deform, dropping several thick metal bars over the edge of the door. The door banged as a weight hit the other side, and surged inward before being stopped by the metal bars.

Adam could hear groans from the other side, as dazed Sol-Kor recovered from running headlong into the door. There was only a moment’s reprieve, however, until bolts began hammering against the metal.

The team corralled three of the officials, and manhandled them down a long corridor leading to…Adam had no idea—further into the interior of the giant pyramid, not doing them any good in finding a way out. He had a pretty good idea where the trans-dimensional portal room was in relation to the Queen’s Chambers—he’d made the trip before—but the further they traveled down the maze of corridors, the harder it would be to find their way back.

And that was assuming the portal had been rebuilt.

But now he had another problem on his mind. Was it possible to locate the other thirteen Sol-Kor females, one of which was destined to become the new queen? If not, even if they managed to beat all the odds and make it back to the Milky Way, the effectiveness of the mission would be virtually nil.

“Connors, see what you can do about collapsing the corridor behind us. The rest of you help out.”

Three of the men turned and unloaded a series of grenade canisters into the ceiling and walls of the corridor behind them, aiming a safe distance away. Wallboard and metal caved inward, and within seconds the way behind them was blocked, at least enough to require an alternative route to follow. Of course, as far as Adam knew, there could be a corridor running parallel to this one, causing no delay at all for their pursuers. They were operating blind.

They continued running, turning corners and firing at several shocked Sol-Kor when they happened upon them. When the sound of pursuit began to fade away, Adam lowered a shoulder at a side door and smashed it open. “Post sentries. I’m going to have a conversation with the prisoners.”

He was in a large room filled with rows of desks. Several Sol-Kor ran for a distant exit, even as half of them were cut down by fire from his men. Grabbing the closest Sol-Kor prisoner by his brightly-colored robe, Adam pulled him close.

“Where are the other females? Are they at the top?”

An old Sol-Kor frowned at him. “I will not reveal such to you—”

With a spasm of pain on his right side, Adam pointed the barrel of his M-91 at the prisoner next to this one and pulled the trigger. At such close range, the thin-boned native was cut nearly in half, spraying blood on everyone within a six-foot radius.

“I’ll ask you again: where are the other females?”

“I will gladly sacrifice my life—”

Adam sent a bullet into the alien’s foot…which turned out to be a mistake. The creature was in such pain and shock that he failed to scream out. He passed out instead.

“Dammit!” Adam yelled. He turned the weapon on the last conscious Sol-Kor prisoner.

“It will do you no good even knowing the location of the Royal Zygotes,” said the alien.

“The what?”

“The females.”

Adam shook his head. “Then why not tell me?”

“It would be a betrayal of my duty to the Colony.”

“But if you tell me, then we’ll spend more time in the building, giving your troops more opportunity to kill us. If not, we’ll make our way to the extraction point and escape.”

“You cannot escape.”

“Of course we can. You don’t think we’d go through all this trouble without having a way out, do you? We’re not like the Sol-Kor. We want to live.”

“If you remain in the building you will die.”

“Exactly! So you see, telling us where the females are—the Royal Zygotes—
will
get us killed. You will be a hero for telling us…so we can get ourselves killed.”

“Your logic is…odd.”

“Can you dispute it?”

“I am not of the class to be able to reason it out completely, yet initially your argument appears to make sense.”

“So tell me where to find them. If you do, it will be like you killed us yourself.”

“I do wish you dead.”

Adam smiled. “So there you have it.”

The alien stared at him with a furrowed brow of gray scales. Then he made a short nod. “They are above us, as you have suggested, at the pinnacle.”

“How do we get there from here?”

“There is a lift at the end of the corridor outside, also a series of stairs if the lift is not working. They are in the nursery.”