The Immortal War

The Human Chronicles Saga #25

T.R. Harris

An Adam Cain Adventure

Copyright 2018 by T.R. Harris

All rights reserved, without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanically, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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Novels by T.R. Harris

The Human Chronicles Saga

The Fringe Worlds

Alien Assassin

The War of Pawns

The Tactics of Revenge

The Legend of Earth

Cain’s Crusaders

The Apex Predator

A Galaxy to Conquer

The Masters of War

Prelude to War

The Unreachable Stars

When Earth Reigned Supreme

A Clash of Aliens

Battlelines

The Copernicus Deception

Scorched Earth

Alien Games

The Cain Legacy

The Andromeda Mission

Last Species Standing

Invasion Force

Force of Gravity

Mission Critical

The Lost Universe

The Immortal War

Destroyer of Worlds

The Human Chronicles Book Bundles

Bundle #1 - Books 1 -5 in the series

Bundle #2 - Books 6-10 in the series

Bundle #3 - Books 11-15 in the series

REV Warriors Series

REV

REV: Renegades

REV: Rebirth

REV: Revolution

REV: Retribution

Jason King – Agent to the Stars Series

The Enclaves of Sylox

Treasure of the Galactic Lights

The Drone Wars Series

Day of the Drone

In collaboration with George Wier…

The Liberation Series

Captains Malicious

Available exclusively on Amazon.com

and Kindle Unlimited.

Contents

Adam Cain…

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

The End

Author Notes & FREE BOOK OFFER

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Novels by T.R. Harris

Adam Cain…

…is an alien with an attitude.

His story continues…

In the exciting continuation of the battle against the evil creature Kracion, Adam and the team race against time and unbeatable star fleets to stop the mad Aris from becoming immortal. At stake are the lives of Adam’s daughter, Lila, and the mutant genius Panur…along with the fate of the entire galaxy. Never has the Milky Way faced such a deadly foe. And never has the galaxy needed Adam Cain and his band of heroes more than it does now….

1

If this keeps up we’ll be dead in an hour….

“Here they come again!” Copernicus yelled from the weapons station.

“How many?” Adam inquired, distracted from his morbid thought.

“Six…no seven.”

Theoretically, the Klin Fleet Vessel known as the Davion had an unlimited capacity for flash cannon bolts…as long as the generators could recharge between salvos. The problem: the Olypon were sending ships through the breach in the Dysion Shield every few minutes, so the generators couldn’t build up a full charge. The ship still had weapons, but after each brief battle, the number of available shots was reduced by one or two. Adam needed time to get the systems fully charged or eventually their weapons would run dry.

Riyad swung the Davion along another attack line, giving Coop a clean shot at the first alien ships emerging from the swirling mass of nebular gas and stellar debris. It wasn’t that hard to counter the Olypon warships; they could only exit the corridor two at a time and with each pair separated from the others by a respectable distance because of their gravity-wells. Also they appeared with their sensors scrambled by the electrostatic charge built up on the surface of the nebula, making them temporarily blind as they emerged. A few point-blank shots by Copernicus and a shield panel would drop, opening the enemy ships up for the kill shot.

But then they were back at it again, without giving the generators time to recover. They had already countered four such salvos, with a combined eighteen Olypon ships destroyed, yet with no sign of letup.

Adam wasn’t sure if this was a deliberate strategy on the part of the Olypon, or just how they were moving their ships through the corridor the Humans had blasted in the Shield with a pair of colliding gravity-wells a few hours back. The passage was narrow and unstable, with random debris and gas clouds already closing in to fill the void. It was now a race to see who lasted the longest: The Davion and its rapidly draining generators, or the integrity of the opening allowing the enemy ships access to a region of space outside the Dysion Void.

Either way, it was going to be close.

Adam’s eyes were glued to the charge meter displayed above Coop’s station. The Olypon had an entire fleet of warships on the other side of the Shield, so it wasn’t a question if they had the units to overwhelm the Davion’s systems. It was whether or not they could get a foothold on this side of the barrier before the corridor closed. Adam’s tiny ship was preventing them from doing so. So it wasn’t a question of stopping the enemy with cannon fire, but rather letting the nebula do the job for them.

“Riyad, set a course for the opening,” Adam ordered. “Let’s see if we can help close that damn thing once and for all.”

“Even if we do, it will only be a thin barrier,” Sherri said. “The Olypon will be able to punch through.”

“But it will give us time to recharge our batteries or bolt out of here.”

“Ready,” Riyad reported.

“Coop, spray the lining to the opening with cannon fire, as much as you have left,” Adam said. “Let’s get everything moving. Maybe the chaos of the colliding debris will help. If anything, it’ll make passage through the corridor a little more dangerous.”

The Davion swept along the impossibly large outer wall of the Dysion Shield, aiming for a dark spot in the kaleidoscope of colorful gases. The wall wasn’t exactly a wall, just a denser version of the space the ship was bolting through. The gravity-well forward of the Davion could suck up this diffused matter; any closer to the wall and it would overload.

Adam didn’t have to give the order to shoot or tell his pilot the proper course to take. Both Coop and Riyad were experienced enough to know. The gravity-well absorption rate was near redline when Copernicus opened fire, sending twelve powerful balls of white-hot plasma energy into the gas cloud at either side of the opening. Already, the gravity-drive of the Klin flying saucer was affecting this tiny part of the nebula, changing the direction of the swirling wisps of methane, oxygen and helium, creating even more turmoil in the structure. The dark opening became clouded and eventually closed, overcome by the introduction of new material into the small void.

The Davion sped away, maintaining the deepest gravity-well they could. That should hold them, Adam thought. Not for long, but long enough.

He knew the Olypon weren’t in a position to launch a full-scale invasion of the Milky Way, not without the Klin forces or their Aris master—Kracion—leading the way. The insane ancient alien had boasted about his superior technology, and how the Union and the Expansion would be no match for his much smaller fleet and their advanced weaponry. Adam had no doubt what the Aris said was true. Your race didn’t survive for a million years of civilization—and then another three billion in suspended animation—without possessing technology beyond imagination. Kracion would provide his allies with the means of defeating the combined forces of the Milky Way in any heads up battle. The key to victory would be to out-smart the Aris.

Adam slumped in his command chair at the thought.

Yeah, right. Outsmart the beings who created nearly all advanced life in the galaxy; who could travel between dimensions when the Human race was just a glimmer in an ameba’s eye, and who could build hibernation pods that allowed them to live long enough to see their multi-billion-year-long experiments come to fruition. A piece of cake.

“What now, Adam?” Riyad asked from the pilot seat. “Do we stay and hold down the fort, or do we find some safe place until we can warn the galaxy about the coming threat?”

The voluptuous Arieel Bol moved up to the side of Adam’s chair. “We must rescue Lila!” the sexy Formilian exclaimed. “Nothing else can take priority.”

“She’s not even in the Milky Way yet,” Sherri Valentine pointed out.

“Which is why we must find the Aris station before Kracion can come through the portal,” Arieel said. “Once he does, that will be the first place he goes.”

Adam nodded. “She’s right. The conquest of the Milky Way will take a backseat to his becoming immortal. And he needs the artificial world of the Aris to make that happen. If he makes it into the galaxy, we know where he’ll go first.”

“Along with Lila,” Arieel pointed out. “He must be stopped.”

“I agree. But we also have to let the word out about Kracion and his Olypon and Klin fleets. We can’t stop them on our own—”

“But we can stop him!” Arieel stated.

Adam thought for a moment, all eyes on him. “We’ll contact Earth, let them know what’s going on. Arieel, you need to contact Formil and get the Expansion on alert. After that, we’ll head to the Kidis Frontier. That’s where the Aris world is located.”

“Do you remember how to get there?” Riyad asked. Of all the members of the team, Adam was the only one aboard who had been to the planet-size artificial space station the Aris had created for themselves.

“I have a pretty good idea,” he said. “It seems the harder I concentrate, the clearer things become. But first things first.” He wanted to get off the subject as soon as possible. Although he had enhanced recall ability from the brain meld with Panur, it hadn’t come with a new level of confidence. His memory was a hit-or-miss thing. “We need to make some calls and then get to the nearest Expansion base to warn the people there.”

Sherri was scanning the navigation files. “Looks like it’s a place called Vadon. It’s just outside the entrance to the nebula, near Tel’oran. The Juireans have an outpost there.”

“Good; Riyad, set the course. In the meantime, let’s make a call to Earth, while Arieel contacts Formil. Kracion is a threat to the entire galaxy, so it doesn’t matter who gets the news first, just so that everyone eventually knows and reacts.”

“Who do we call?” Sherri asked. “Everyone we know on Earth has either died, retired or won’t take our phone calls.”

She had a point. Any allies the team may have had in the past were long gone, which was a sad thing. It seemed that no matter how many times you save the galaxy, it’s always a question of what have you done for me lately that counts.

“Pull up a directory for Phoenix Command,” Adam said to Sherri. “Let’s see if we recognize any names.”

“Public records will be for the unclassified personnel and command staff. They don’t publish all the big names.”

“Do it any way. It’s worth a shot.”

* * *

“He’s still in charge?” Adam asked as he recognized a name a few minutes later. “I figured after we stole the components to the trans-dimensional starship he would have got the boot.”

Sherri looked at him askew. “If you remember, they put all the blame squarely on us. You don’t become the director of the Orion-Cygnus Union’s Technology and Development section without knowing how to deflect some incoming shots.”

General Paul Sharp had been Adam’s friend, an aging warrior/scientist who liked to live vicariously through the adventures of Adam and his team. Adam had used that friendship to distract him while the rest of them stole a non-working prototype vehicle that would eventually become the Defiant. The general was a physicist and a mechanical engineer, in addition to a military officer. That was probably why he was still in charge of the division. His mind was too valuable to let go.

“Let’s see if he’ll take my call,” Adam said. “Open a link to his command.”

Continuous Wormhole communications weren’t designed for making direct calls to local numbers on Earth—or anywhere else, for that matter. They were effective for ship-to-ship comms because just about every starship carried the required equipment. But for linking to land-based numbers, the call had to be routed from a larger center and then transferred to the local system, and not every link warranted such attention or priority. It took Adam a full thirty minutes—half the single link time limit—just to convince someone that his call should be forwarded. He wasn’t even sure what time it was in Phoenix, or if General Sharp would be in his office. The fact that the man practically lived on-site was a plus.

“General Sharp’s office, sir or ma’am, Staff-Sergeant Janice Reynolds speaking.

“Hello, this is Captain Adam Cain calling for the general. Is he in?”

There was a pause on the line. Everyone over sixteen on Earth knew the name of Adam Cain, for good or bad. “Captain Cain? Yes, sir. I will check with the general.”

Janice Reynolds didn’t sound that impressed. Had she been assigned to the division during Adam’s last visit?

“You fucking pirate,” said a gruff voice over the audio-only comm link. Video was seldom available for multi-transfer comms. “You have some nerve calling me. The last I heard, you were busted and leaving the planet with your tail between your legs.”

“Yeah, nice to hear your voice, too, general,” Adam replied sourly. “Thanks for reminding me. No one wanted to believe I had much to do with defeating the Klin.”

“And did you?”

“The only reason the Nuoreans destroyed the Klin planet was because they thought I was there. You don’t really believe those bastards did it to help us out, do you?”

“Of course not…I’m just fucking with you, captain. But seriously, you are the last person I expected to hear from.”

“Are we cool, general?”

“Hey, your last visit here was just more material for my book. I can’t make it all up. Some of it has to be based on true events. So what’s up?”

Adam gave Sherri a sigh of relief. It seemed like his old friend was still his friend. It was a start.

“I have some bad news to relay to you, Paul. There’s a new enemy about to attack the galaxy, and this time it’s really bad.”

“That’s good to know,” General Sharp said. “I didn’t think the Sol-Kor and the Nuoreans were that bad, so I’m glad to see this one is really bad.”

“I’m serious, general. Have you ever heard of the Aris?”

There was a pause on the line. “Aris? I don’t believe so.”

“Then they’re keeping the information on ice. I was debriefed, so someone knows.”

“Who are they?”

“Only a race of three-billion-year-old creatures who helped seed life throughout the galaxy.”

There was another, longer, pause on the line. “You’re serious? And these creatures are still around?”

“It’s a long story, but what’s important right now is that one of these Aris has gone insane and is about to attack the Milky Way from another dimension with an army of Klin and Olypon.”

“Hold on, Adam, let me get a datapad out. This is too good to pass up. This could be a new series of books, maybe even a Netflix movie.”

“I’m serious, general. We just got back from a parallel universe. The Aris—his name is Kracion—has been trapped there in hibernation for four thousand years. Now he has a way to come back, and he has technology that can make him a threat to the galaxy.”

“That…that sounds, well, crazy,” Sharp commented. “And what the hell is an Olypon?”

“They’re a race of beings in the Kracori star system—”

“Wait, I remember them. They’re that backward race on the planet the Klin used as a base. So now they’re a superpower with a fleet of warships. And you mentioned Klin. What Klin?”

“There’s a whole colony of them in this other universe. They’ve been there since before the Reckoning.”

“Okay…slow down, captain. Have you been drinking?”

“A little…but what I’m saying is true.”

“It is, general,” Sherri said, leaning in toward the microphone.

“Who was that?”

“Sherri Valentine, general.”

“Of course; you two still hanging out together?”

“I have my whole team with me, along with the Formilian Speaker Arieel Bol.”

“Are the mutants with you too?’

“No sir, they’re being held captive by Kracion.”

“The Aris? He’s holding them captive?”

“I told you he has some really advanced technology.” Adam could tell he was getting farther away from convincing the general of the threat.

“Let me summarize,” Sharp began. “There’s a three-billion-year-old alien—

from another universe—who’s about to attack the galaxy with a fleet of extinct Klin and a primitive race from deep within the Juddle Nebula? And he also has Panur and Lila captive—the two most-powerful beings to ever exist? I can see why you called me. I’m the only person gullible enough to believe you.”

“Why would I make this up, general? I’m calling to warn you…all of you.”

Adam could tell where this was heading.

“General, just do me a favor. Check with some of your contacts. Find out what you can about the Aris. There are records somewhere. And also about the Olypon. They’ve been using ancient Klin technology left over from when the Klin were on their planet. This is real, Paul. But I know you need to confirm this for yourself. Just hurry. We damaged the Olypon portal when we came through. I don’t know how long it will take them to repair it. And once they do, Kracion will come over. After that, we’re really screwed.”

Sharp laughed. “Okay, Adam, I’ll see what I can find out,” he said, much to Adam and Sherri’s relief. “And this better not be a joke.”

“It’s no joke, Paul. And hurry. We don’t have much time.”

Adam saw that the link was beginning to fade, a consequence of the natural movement of the galaxy. CW links could only be maintained for an hour or so. There wasn’t much more Adam could say anyway. General Paul Sharp would have to make up his own mind whether to believe him or not.

Then he grimaced. If it was this hard convincing the always suspicious Humans, what did Arieel have in store for her when she contacted Formil? She was next in line at the comm station.

* * *

Formil had a governing council made up of politicians, industrialists and a few priests from the Temple. In the recent past, the council had been comprised mostly of the First Corasent and the Speaker, along with the senior officials from the religious order. But that had changed, both as a result of the scandal involving the brain-interface device—commonly referred to as The Gift—as well as from the planet assuming the reigns of the Expansion during Lila’s brief stint as the leader of the galaxy. Since then, the council had become diverse, more secular…and more political. This often put them in direct opposition to the Temple and the Speaker, although Arieel was still the official head of the government. But like most figureheads in an overly politicized environment, she only had the power the council granted her.

Now she sat pale and wide-eyed, shocked by the conversation she just had with members of the council.

“They cannot do this!” she said finally. “I am the Speaker.”

The team had listened in on the conversation, and they, too, were stunned.

“It’s a coup, plain and simple,” Copernicus stated. “They’re using your absence to reshape the government.”

“They tried this once before, and it succeeded for a brief time,” Arieel said. “But things have changed; I am back in power. How can they do this without the consent of the people?”

“They said the resolutions have been drafted. A vote is coming up,” Sherri added. “You can’t let them do this. You still have time to fight this.”

“And they wouldn’t even listen to your warnings about Kracion,” Adam said.

Arieel’s breath came in fits, panic in her dark eyes. “I…I cannot deal with this, not with Lila’s life at stake, as well as the fate of the galaxy. And now this. What do I do first?”

Adam was thinking the same thing. He had to find the Aris world before Kracion, and Arieel was the key to convincing the Expansion of the impending threat. He looked to the Juirean Tidus, who was seated at the other end of the long, curving control console of the Klin KFV. The alien knew what Adam was thinking.

“I cannot help,” he volunteered. “I have no favor with the Juirean Authority. They will not listen to me.”

“Well, shit!”

“We have to get Arieel back to Formil,” Sherri stated. “She needs to defend her throne. If she can, then she can mobilize the Formilians against Kracion. That’ll get the ball rolling in the Expansion.”

“But Formil is on the other side of the Core from here,” Riyad pointed out. “And according to Adam, the Aris world is in the opposite direction, somewhere at the far edge of the Kidis Frontier. We don’t have time to take her back before heading for the Kidis. The portal could be repaired at any time. We don’t know how badly its damaged.”

He was right; how could the team be in two places at the same time? Adam needed time to think, to plan. And time was something he didn’t have a lot of at the moment.

2

The planet Vadon was only six hours from their current location at max drive. The Davion had already burned through its existing fuel mod and was halfway through one of the two Arieel brought with her. They would need a backup pretty soon, whether they went to Formil or to the Frontier.

Just as they entered the system, a link came through from General Sharp. Adam was encouraged by the quick turn-around. It was obvious the officer hadn’t wasted any time following up on the first conversation.

This time the message came through as a video, signifying that Sharp was speaking from a secure comm center at Phoenix Command. There was an admiral and a civilian in the room with him.

“I checked out your Aris creatures,” he began abruptly. “I had to get downright belligerent to get my point across, but finally someone gave the authorization to open the files. Damn…you were right.”

“I’m glad you believe me now.”

“I believe you about the Aris being almost god-like creatures who have been around for a very long time, but your report said only eighteen survived and they’re now immortal…which is really hard to grasp.”

“We found out there are others, the worker-class. They were responsible for watching over the experiments. Kracion was one of them.”

“Where are they now?”

Adam shook his head. “I don’t know. The elite class never spoke about them. I get the feeling they weren’t kept at the space station.”

“And speaking of that, you said it was a planet-size artificial construct.”

“More like a planetoid, maybe a third the size of the moon. But it had gravity like a planet.”

“And you know where it is? The report was vague on that.”

“I do.”

“Okay, now about these Olypon and the trans-dimensional portal.”

The civilian stepped in front of the camera.

“Captain Cain, I’m Assistant Defense Minister Gavin Kavanaugh. We were able to link with the authorities on Olypon to ask about your claims—”

“You did what?”

“We had to verify your story. Olypon is a sovereign world. We can’t go around launching preemptive strikes on facilities owned by Expansion members, not without evidence.”

“And of course they admitted to everything. You just tipped our hand, Mr. Kavanaugh. Now they’ll be expecting us.”

“You can’t say that, captain,” Kavanaugh said in his defense. “We made no indication that striking them was our intention. We simply inquired about the rumors that they had linked to another universe.”

“And what did they say?”

“They said the facility is not a trans-dimensional portal, but rather a communication relay center for the nebula. They said with their unique location in the Dysion Void they need a particularly powerful array to link with outside worlds.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Our signal was routed through the facility, according to the techs,” the politician pointed out.

“We didn’t travel between dimensions using a comm station, Mr. Kavanaugh. That’s not how it works.”

It was obvious the life-long diplomat didn’t like being talked down to. His face was growing redder as he spoke. “The Olypon laughed off your accusations, Captain Cain. They asked where would they get the expertise to build TD arrays? And according to what we know about the race, they have a valid point.”

“They got it from the Klin,” Adam countered. “The Klin have had TD technology for thousands of years. Kracion gave it to them, along with the gravity-drive and more.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” General Sharp said. “Are you sure?”

“That’s why there’s a colony of Klin in the other universe. They’ve been there for four thousand years…and multiplying. There has to be billions of them by now and they all worship this Aris dude.”

The admiral now stepped to center-screen.

“I’m Admiral James Warner, captain, assistant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I’m here because we are taking your warnings seriously; however, it’s hard to initiate a major operation without concrete proof, especially outside Union territory. If we launch a strike into the Juddle Nebula without cause, it could start a shitstorm with the Expansion, both diplomatically and militarily.”

“Admiral, we don’t have time to play these games. I’m trying to tell you that we have a narrow window of opportunity to stop Kracion from entering the Milky Way.”

“How long do you think it will be before the array is repaired, if it really is a TD portal?”

“As I said, I don’t know for sure. We don’t know the extent of the damage we caused. It could be a week, or six months. And we also don’t know the abilities of the Olypon when it comes to repairing the damage.”

“This primitive race who until now have never exhibited any exceptional technological abilities,” said Kavanaugh sarcastically, “yet who can now build trans-dimensional portals for fun and profit?”

Fortunately, Admiral Warner spoke before Adam had a chance to tear into the politician, dressed as he was in his immaculately-tailored light gray suit. “As it is, we will send a force to investigate. It won’t be large and it will not be coming to initiate any sort of military operation, just to check out your story.”

“How soon?” Adam asked anxiously.

“It could be at the Juddle in nineteen days—”

“That’s not soon enough!”

Now it was Warner’s turned to show his irritation at being interrupted. “It’s the best we can do, captain. Even if it was a strike force, that’s the soonest we could get any forces to the area. The nebula is pretty deep into Expansion territory.”

Adam looked at the faces of his team, now clustered on the small bridge dome of the Klin KFV. He could see the fiery determination in their eyes.

“All right, admiral, if that’s the best you can do.”

General Sharp spoke next. “Even if we had all the evidence in the world, it takes time and considerable effort to mobilize for such a mission. In truth, this is an Expansion problem, and the Juireans have more assets in the region. Have you contacted them?”

“We’re working on it,” Adam admitted. He didn’t feel this was the time to tell Sharp about the attempted coup taking place on Formil.

“That sounds like a more realistic answer to your problem, captain,” said Kavanaugh. “Olypon is one of their member worlds. Let the Juireans take the lead on this one.”

“I’m sorry, Adam,” said General Sharp. “Nineteen days is the best we can do, and that’s assuming we don’t run into any diplomatic resistance from the Juireans. If I were you, I’d go the Expansion route in the interim.”

“You’re right, general,” Adam said. “Thank you for your prompt response. We’ll keep you informed. Cain out.”

* * *

As soon as the link was cut, Tidus lifted up from his seat and moved behind the others at the control console. “We will have to do this ourselves,” he stated to no one’s surprise. They had each come to the same conclusion during the link.

“We’ll need help,” Riyad said. “Anything you can do, Tidus?”

“Possibly,” the alien answered. “Priority Acquisitions does have mercenaries on retainer.”

“How do we pay for them?” Adam asked. “We have six bricks of gold from Worak-nin onboard, and another forty-thousand JCs in cash, which we’ll need for new fuel modules and other supplies. Then we’ll need a way back into the Void, and the Davion isn’t exactly a stealth vessel.”

Tidus didn’t look happy; in fact, he looked downright morose. “This is not something I propose lightly, but I do have certain assets—not many—but enough to fund a small operation such as this. My resources will be depleted afterwards. Yet I realize I have little option. It is a forgone conclusion your forces will not get here in time. And even if they did, they will not be coming to destroy the portal array. And knowing how the Expansion operates, it would be like attempting to change the course of a comet to get them to act in a timely manner. Regrettably, no one will commit a major force allocation without a real enemy at their gates.”

“Eloquent as ever, Tidus,” Adam complimented. “Can you round up this squad of mercenaries in time, and for the right price?”

“Unknown, yet when we get to Vadon, I will inquire as to local assets. PA is galaxy-wide, so I am sure there will be some available, yet I will not vouch for their quality.”

“And starships?” Riyad asked. “Something a little less obvious than the Davion. We don’t have time to make the big loop to come into the Void through the front door. We’ll need to make another pass through the Shield, and in that case, smaller is better.”

“Yes, that is another consideration,” said Tidus. “Yet the operation need not be large, just enough to get in and destroy the array, and more thoroughly this time.”

Adam looked hard at the Juirean. “This isn’t like you, Tidus. It’s almost as if you’re doing this out of some altruistic calling.”

“I do this reluctantly,” the alien replied. “Yet I have witnessed firsthand the threat we face. I know it to be real and widespread. I may not come out of this with the wealth and power I desire—as was the goal of our last mission. But I prefer to come out of it alive, or at least having contributed to the salvation of my home galaxy.”

“And what about Arieel?” Sherri asked. “We can’t let her lose her crown while we go out playing Rambo.”

“What is a Rambo?” Arieel asked.

“A fictional superhero stud from Earth,” Sherri answered with a grin.

“Like our Adam Cain?” Arieel said with a seductive smile of her own. “Except for the fictional reference, of course.”

“And without all the muscles,” Sherri added.

Adam was embarrassed. “Okay, enough of that,” he said. “When we get to Vadon, Sherri will take Arieel back to Formil in the Davion while the rest of us use some of Tidus’s merc ships to reenter the Void—”

“No way!” Sherri exclaimed. “You’re not going to start killing aliens without me.”

“Someone has to pilot the ship.”

“Why don’t you go?”

“Because after this mission, we’re heading straight for the Aris station. Listen, Sherri, it’s important that you and Arieel get the Expansion motivated. You know what we’re facing if Kracion makes it over to the Milky Way. Arieel and Formil are the key. This is important. And I’ll give you the coordinates to the station. Get the Colony Ship and as many Formilian warships as you can and meet us there. You’ll be the backup if anything goes wrong.”

Sherri looked at the other people on the bridge, hoping someone would side with her. But no one did.

“Dammit, this is just a way to protect the fragile women while the men go off to fight. It’s all bullshit.”

Adam snorted. “If there was a way to have you man a weapon at my side, you know I’d do it. We’ve been through too much for you not to know that’s true.”

“You are a real asshole, Adam Cain.” Then she looked at the sheepish expressions on the faces of Copernicus and Riyad. “And you spineless bastards, what can I say? Fine…I’ll do it. What the hell, Arieel and I can trade recipes on the way to Formil, maybe catch up on our knitting.”

“That a girl, get something constructive done during the trip. And I could use a new Afghan for Christmas.” Adam wrinkled his nose the moment he spoke the words. They didn’t go over well, not at all.

Vadon was primarily a jungle planet, with two vast oceans and very few mountain peaks above five thousand feet. There was a thick cloud cover over the equatorial region, evidence of an immense rainforest shrouded in white. A quick Library search told the team that the planet was sparsely populated—about a million inhabitants total—although unlike most worlds within the galaxy, three distinct indigenous species vied for dominance over the surface area. This probably came about because of the difficulty in migrating across the planet, allowing divergent bloodlines to develop independently.

There was also a fair representation of Expansion members on the planet, drawn there by the world’s proximity to the huge Juddle Nebula. Most of the aliens were clustered in a dozen small settlements cut out of the verdant jungle, and mostly along stretches of sandy coastline. Gravity was rated J+, at about point-eight of Earth’s.

“The mercenary pickings could be sparse here,” Copernicus Smith commented as the Davion landed at a narrow, beach-front spaceport south of one of the larger alien settlements with a local Priority Acquisitions office. The natives and off-worlders didn’t mix well, so they stayed more-or-less segregated. The town even had a modest wall surrounding it, although no guards were stationed on the ramparts.

“We only need a handful, just enough to fill out a strike force,” Adam pointed out. “I just hope we can find some ships for the trip into the nebula. From the look of the spaceport, there aren’t a lot of candidates to choose from.”

With Sherri and Arieel about to take the Davion to Formil, Adam was desperate to find a way to speed up the process. An idea came to him and he contacted Kaylor and Jym back at the Klin Colony Ship in the Formilian system. On a number of occasions over the past twenty years, the Klin had used secret navigation charts to move fleets through the turbulent Core of the galaxy, rather than transit the major gravity lanes above the ecliptic. This cut down on travel time moving from one side of the galaxy to the other. He was hoping Kaylor and Jym could find some of these navigation charts in the ship’s computer system, allowing Sherri and Arieel to cut their travel time to Formil by half. If not, then they would have a forty-two day journey ahead of them. By then, the fate of the team and the TD array would have long been settled, for better or worse.

When the hatch cracked on the Davion and the team stepped out onto the surface of Vadon, they were hit with blasts of hot, sticky air. They were anticipating this; thick jungles didn’t exist without a lot of heat and humidity. Still, it took some getting used to. Now, while Sherri and Arieel remained inside the ship, the rest of the team took an open-air transport into the town to shop for mercenaries and starships. They were soaking wet when they arrived.

3

The town was called Rosnor-Unikor, and there were about forty-five thousand people in the area, mostly aliens. Adam had trouble deciding which were alien and which were natives, since none seemed more prevalent than the other. According to the Library, mostly miners lived here, flitting back and forth between Vadon and the nebula, scooping up floating debris and gases which were then sold to merchants and energy companies. The inhabitants were a hardy and tough group, and most knew the Juddle like the back of their hand, paw, or tentacle.

The buildings were mainly low-level wooden structures and coated with a thick type of paint to fight the constant ravages of moisture and dry rot. It seemed they’d gotten a deal on the color purple, with nearly every structure displaying the same gaudy look. It clashed with the vibrant green of the nearby jungle.

Tidus stopped at the first financial establishment he came to—a type of bank with advanced comm systems. Adam, Riyad and Copernicus entered with him, just to get out of the oppressive heat. It didn’t help. It seemed air conditioning was a luxury no one in the town was interested in. The Juirean left a few minutes later with an impressive stack of Juirean credits, having drained his bank account.

“We must make these count,” he said to the others. “They are all I have.”

Before leaving the Davion, Tidus looked up the address of the local PA office. He had been to a hundred worlds in his day, but never to Vadon. A datapad led him to the address.

Like the bank, this office also was without air conditioning. The team walked in, finding the lobby empty and the air stale.

“Are they still open?” Riyad asked. He approached a counter and looked behind it. A computer was on but no one was there.

“Assistance?” said a female voice from behind them.

They turned to see a long-armed creature with glistening brown skin following them through the door. She had a box with her.

“I am Tidus Ne Landon,” the Juirean said. “My PA number is six-one-one-eight-green.”

The slender being slipped past them and stationed herself behind the counter. She placed the box on the desk and then opened it. Something moved inside. She picked up a sharp rod about a foot long and stabbed inside the box several times. Whatever was inside stopped moving.

“You are a supervisor, according to your code,” she said. “I am Bracios Carn; I manage this facility. Are you here to inspect? I was not notified of your coming.”

“No, no inspection. I am here seeking operatives. How is your inventory?”

Bracios reached into the box and pulled out a smooth-skinned rodent of some kind, now dead and dripping with blood from several puncture wounds. “Forgive, it is my midmeal time.” She ripped off a generous portion of the still warm animal with her sharp teeth, chomping away on meat and bone alike. She eyed Tidus and the others while using her free hand to dab away the blood on her mouth with a gray cloth.

“You are a Juirean,” she said. “I believe I have heard of you. There are not many of your race in PA. As for the others…obviously Human. I find this an odd affiliation.” She took another bite of her lunch. “Do you seek location services or other? And is this PA business or outside services; do you need them for your Human clients?”

“They will be part of an operation I am leading,” Tidus said.

“So… an employee discount.” Bracios sounded disappointed.

“I seek assets for a military operation.”

The office manager showed signs of alien surprise, a widening of her eyes and a shake of her head. “Mercenaries; how strange. I was not aware of any operations in the region.”

“I will need only a small unit. Do you have candidates on Vadon, or will I have to go to Tel’oran?”

Bracios’ head wobbled again. “We have operatives, and in surplus,” she said. “There are more veterans of the various wars than there are assignments to give out. As you know, Tidus Ne Landon, skilled operatives for our other company functions are hard to come by, but not so mercenaries. How many do you require, and any particular skills?”

“Infantry,” said Adam. “And with piloting skills.”

Bracios eyed the Human. “Do you need Humans, or will others suffice?”

“There are Humans here?”

“A few. I only mentioned it because you chose to speak at this time.”

“Knowledge of the Nebula is preferred over race. And of course…the cost,” Adam added.

“Humans are too rare and skilled to come cheaply. I would suggest a few of the natives, such as myself.”

“You’re a native?” Copernicus asked. “Which one?”

“I am Navnin. Depending on the assignment, all three of the native castes have different specialties. Ours is in climbing.”

“Can you pilot spaceships?” Copernicus continued.

Bracios recoiled slightly. “We are not primitives, Human. We have technical skills and abilities, just as you.”

“He did not mean to insult,” Tidus said, stepping past the Humans to resume control of the conversation. Humans were still relatively new at dealing with aliens. They more often than not insulted when they didn’t mean to.

“What would be the cost for a team of six? They must possess weapons skills, have up-to-date translation bugs and be inclined to follow orders. Also, no bulky beings. Our size or smaller.”

Bracios set the bloody corpse that was her lunch aside and wiped her hands on the cloth. Then she typed on the computer pad. “Duration of contract?”

“Ten days, maximum. Six-day guarantee.”

“Thirty-five thousand JCs, minus your ten-percent employee discount for the guarantee period. Five thousand for each additional day. You mentioned piloting skills and knowledge of the Juddle. Will you provide the ship or will you need one?”

“Four small mining vessels, capable of transiting the Dysion Shield.”

Bracios looked up from her screen, a look of curiosity on her smooth, brown face. “A Shield transit? Will you provide the guide? I do not believe any of the operatives would have such skills. That is another category unto itself.”

“I might know someone,” Riyad said. “A Tel’oran named Ruszel. I worked with him before.”

“I have heard the name,” Bracios said. “I believe he is retired. We have used him in the past ourselves. The Juddle is not a place to travel unprepared.” She looked at her screen. “The ships will be twenty thousand each.”

“Each? For only ten days?” Copernicus exclaimed. “That’s too much.”

“They are worth more than the flesh assets,” Bracios countered. “And much more expensive to repair. And for a transit through the Shield, damage is guaranteed. The price is the price.”

“Then only two,” Tidus said. Adam knew that would just about clean him out. And they still needed weapons, ammo and explosives if they were to do a job on the portal array. And then Sherri and Arieel needed their own supplies for the trip back to Formil.

“Then two it is. Would you like to choose the operatives?”

“Yes,” said Tidus.

“It will take a few hours to call them. Go to this address—” she handed him a data chip. “It is an eatery two building blocks from here. The candidates will appear there for your interview. Now I will need fifty thousand as a deposit.”

“Fifty thousand?” Tidus questioned. “We haven’t even selected the assets.”

“It is what I demand,” Bracios said firmly. “I suspect this operation is of high risk. Although you are of Priority Acquisitions, I also believe you are operating without sanction. And it is only through my generosity that I am extending your employee discount.”

Tidus reluctantly counted out the Juirean credits. His once impressive stack of blue and green chips had shrunk by two-thirds when he finished. He slipped the remainder into his pocket with a grunt.

“We will await your candidates. And the ships?”

She handed him two more data chips. “These are the locators and keys to the vessels. They are in the southern spaceport. Follow the directions. Final payment will be due before I release the assets to you.”

The team left the office. They were on their way to building a larger team of mercenaries, and they had their ships. But none were happy. Especially not the Juirean.

4

The eatery was a decent-looking open air-affair with a generous helping of canvas awnings to protect against the near-constant drizzle. It was nestled against the jungle, with a number of round tables, each with blood-testing boxes and wicker chairs. There were a few patrons at the tables and along a standard bar manned by the brown-skinned beings like Bracios. Those seated at the tables and bar were a mixture of creatures from a dozen worlds, some Adam recognized, most he didn’t. Fortunately, there was a nice breeze blowing in from the nearby ocean, keeping the smell of the sweaty aliens at bay.

They took a table at the back, near a small fountain and pool of running water. The scene was tranquil and inviting. All that was missing where the umbrella drinks. Adam checked the credits he had in his pocket. He had enough for a couple of rounds for the team, but not much more than that.

Before sitting, Copernicus walked up to a squat plant with wide green leaves, laced with a spiderweb of red lines. Yellow flowers adorned the top of the long leaves, giving out a strong fragrance of peach.

“These are nice,” he said. “These things look almost like blood vessels—”

“I wouldn’t get too close if I were you,” said a voice to their left.

Suddenly, the leaf closed on Coop’s arm, wrapping itself around him in an instant. Coop yelped and struggled against the grip, managing to pull his arm from the plant before anyone could come to his rescue. His arm was coated in a slick, burning ooze.

“I’d wash that off as fast as you can. That shit can sting.”

Coop raced to the nearest pool and dunked his arm into the warm water. He scrubbed with his other hand until all the goop was off. When he was done, the arm was glowing red from the strong, toxic chemical.

“What the hell is that thing?” he asked the stranger.

The person turned in his chair and looked around the thick bamboo-like support to the canopy. It was a Human male. He flipped back the wide-brimmed hat he wore, revealing a head of white hair to go along with his bleach-white beard. His face was deeply tanned and creased, brilliant blue eyes making him look like a more-weathered version of an old Ernest Hemingway. He wore a sleeveless shirt, displaying thick, muscular arms, one with a faded anchor tattoo on the forearm. Adam spotted the tattoo, thinking that that goes back a few years.

“They said there were Humans here,” Adam said. He leaned over and extended his hand. “I’m Adam Cain.”

The man raised his bushy white eyebrows. “No shit. I’m Monty Pitts. Hull Tech Master Chief Monty Pitts, retired.” The voice was like gravel on sandpaper.

“Well, master chief, what brings you this far from home?”

“To tell the truth, you!”

Adam sat back, grinning. “Me? How is that?”

“I was aboard the Bainbridge twelve years ago during the party you threw for all of us in the Dysion Void. We got hit by one of those trailing mines on the way to Elision and crashed on Olypon. By the time we got our act together, most of you had already left. So…I stayed. Been here ever since.”

Adam introduced the rest of the team, after which Pitts locked his eyes on Tidus.

“Funny how things change. Now you’re all sitting here with a Juirean, and an Overlord at that, acting all buddy-buddy. And what’s with the hair?” he asked, eyeing the alien’s ponytail.

Tidus met the steady gaze of the old Human. “I am independent of the Authority. I now follow my own path.”

Pitts snorted. “Like I said, things change. So what brings the famous Adam Cain and Riyad Tarazi to our fair city?”

Adam noticed Copernicus bristle at being left out of the lineup. Next to Adam and Riyad—and the renegade Juirean—he was the odd man out.

Adam grinned. “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

“That never gets old, does it, even fifteen thousand light-years from Earth.”

“So what have you been doing all these years?”

“I do a little mining, but mostly I run product to Olypon. Have you heard of the place? It’s the sister world to Elision, what’s left of it. They don’t have much of anything there, but they’re willing to pay top dollar for even the most basic stuff.”

Adam studied the grizzled old Master Chief. “Yeah, we’ve heard of Olypon. I take it you know the way there, probably through Tel’oran and the Volseen Corridor.”

Pitts laughed—it sounded more like a growl. “Shit, that takes forever. I’d eat up all my profit just in fuel going that route.”

“So you go through the Shield.”

“It’s really not that hard, if you know the way.”

Adam looked to Riyad and Tidus. Copernicus had gone to douse his arm in the water again. It was still burning.

“Listen, how’d you like to make a few extra bucks?”

Pitts’ blue eyes burned into Adam. “That sounds like an invitation to something shady…and possibly dangerous. And coming from Adam Cain, it could also be life altering.”

“We need a guide. We need to get to Mon-Sim, you know, one of the outer planets in the Kryils system.”

Pitts recoiled. “You really do know the Void. Even most of the miners on Vadon have never heard of Mon-Sim. And I take it you need to get there quick.”

The conversation was interrupted when a Rigorian stepped up to the table. He wore double MK-17s on his waist and the ubiquitous black vest of his race around his torso. The lizard-like creatures were everywhere throughout the Expansion, although they came from the Fringe. Wherever there was fighting or criminal activities taking place, Rigorians would be there.

“PA sent me,” he growled at the team. He couldn’t decide whether to focus his attention on the Humans or the Juirean. It was such a strange assortment of creatures.

“I am Tidus Ne Landon of Priority. Bracios sent you?”

“That is correct. You seek fighters?”

“Yes we do. Please, let us sit over here so we can talk freely.” Tidus knew Adam had his own gambit going. He would leave him to his conversation with the weathered Human.

“Fighters?” Monty asked. “You’re putting together a strike force, aren’t you, made up of mercs? Could this have something to do with the recent activity taking place on Olypon?”

“What do you know about that?” Adam asked. “And I guess I should ask at the outset, are you tight with the Olypon?”

“Have you met them? No outsiders are tight with the Olypon. I think all those years under Klin rule made them into a bunch of mini-Klin, but without the chops to back it up. I take their money is all.”

Adam looked over at Tidus and the Rigorian. He knew the lizards were good fighters; he’d just never felt comfortable around them. Another two, mean-looking creatures had shown up, species Adam didn’t recognize. They only needed five or six more…and if Monty came along, he would fill one of the slots nicely. Adam gestured to Tidus who acknowledged the message: save a spot for the Human. He’d rather spend the money on a Human than an unknown race—or a Rigorian.

“We are putting together a mission. There’s a facility on Mon-Sim and we need to take it out. We damaged it recently, but we have to go back in and do a better job. We could really use an experienced guide, and especially a Human.”

“What does it pay?”

“We can give you ten thousand JCs.”

Monty sat back, a heavy frown on his face. “Ten? I get twice that much during a normal run. And I take it if you’re successful, I may not be able to return to Olypon.”

“That’s not necessarily true, but you probably wouldn’t want to. Have you noticed a buildup in warships recently on the planet? It had to be hard to hide.”

The frown remained on the man’s face. “Yeah…I’ve seen it. I thought it weird that a planet locked away in the Void would need so many new ships. What’s up? After all, these are the Olypon we’re talking about. They ain’t much of a threat to nobody.”

“That’s what we have to make sure of,” Adam said. “They could have some very powerful allies on their side soon if we don’t do something to stop them.”

“What the hell is going on, Captain Cain?”

Riyad and Coop were watching, waiting to see how far Adam would take this. Would he go all the way and tell Pitts everything? If so, it could take all day. Adam was debating the issue, too. But then he figured pretty soon everyone in the galaxy would know about Kracion, the Klin and the Olypon.

Adam looked for the waiter. “I think we need to get stocked up on some drinks first. It will certainly help make what I’m about to tell you a little easier to swallow.”

* * *

By the time Adam was done explaining the situation to the master chief, Tidus had already selected his five mercenaries. Unfortunately, one of them was the Rigorian. Adam would have him ride with the Juirean.

For his part, Monty Pitts was speechless—for a few moments. Then he set off in a curse-filled tirade that got the attention of all the patrons in the restaurant. Adam did his best to calm him down, yet the grizzled old master chief wasn’t having any of it.

“Dammit, I had a pretty good thing going here,” he barked. “Now you’re saying we’re all going to be in the middle of another fucking galactic war, and one we may not win. What the hell is wrong with everyone? Have they seen this galaxy? Why would anyone want to rule it?”

“Relax, chief,” Adam said. He wasn’t anxious for the word to get out, at least not yet. He couldn’t deal with a widescale panic on the planet. “So…are you in or not?”

“I suppose I could hop in my ship and beat feet for the outer rim, maybe find some uninhabited rock to live out the last few years of my life. God dammit.”

“Well?”

“Yeah, I’m in,” he snapped. “But I still want the ten-g’s. Juirean money will still be worth something for a little while longer.”

“Hey, we might be able to stop this thing in its tracks,” Copernicus said. “With your help, of course.”

“I said I was in; what more do you want, a signed affidavit?”

“Good,” Adam said. “You say you have a ship.”

“I do. She’s nothing to look at but reliable. Been through the Shield more times than I can count. You say you have two others? What make?”

“We don’t know yet. They’re back at the spaceport.”

“Probably those slow-ass Borin-Noc pieces of crap PA uses around here. You can add another day of transit time with them in tow.”

“Can you get us through the Shield at the closest point to Olypon?” Riyad asked. “We don’t want to be in the Void any longer than necessary.”

“Yeah, I know a spot,” Pitts growled. He didn’t talk like normal people. It was either a bark, a spit, a growl or a groan. He would take some getting used to. “Should be a couple of mil out from the system. But even then, our gravity drives would have to be some of the shallowest. There’s not a lot of traffic there, we’ll be noticed.”

“When was the last time you were there?”

“Six weeks ago, maybe a little more.” Monty shrugged. “Even then I was sensing a change. They didn’t seem that anxious to schedule another delivery. Usually I couldn’t make the runs fast enough.”

“They were anticipating making the link to the other dimension,” Coop said.

“Yeah, whatever.” Monty shook his head. “I heard all about those Sol-Kor creatures and how they came from another universe. That is some wild-ass shit, if you ask me. That’s really possible?”

Riyad clasped the man’s thick forearm. “It is, and if you stick with us, my friend, then you’ll see more than your fair share of wild-ass shit.”

Monty Pitts didn’t see the humor or sense of adventure in the statement. Instead he glared at the three Humans seated around the table. “That’s what I’m afraid of. You people are bat-shit crazy.”

Adam smiled. “And you’ll fit right in. Welcome to the team, Master Chief Monty Pitts.”

* * *

Monty’s ship was in the southern spaceport, along with the Davion and the two ships from PA. Since Sherri would be leaving soon in the Klin flying saucer, the team decided to set up camp in Pitt’s ship. It was larger than the Priority vessels, with supposedly more room.

That was a miscalculation on their part.

“Hey…I’m a bachelor. I don’t get too many visitors.” Monty said as they stepped through the side entry hatch into a jungle of stacked boxes, strewn about clothing and discarded food trays. And the place stank worse than anything alien Adam had encountered. “Just toss anything on the deck to make room.”

“How about out the hatch; I can’t even see the deck,” Copernicus whispered.

Monty heard him. “If I’d knew Architectural Digest was going to do a photoshoot of my place, I would have cleaned up…a little. Other than that…bite me.”

The team forced their way through the clutter on the way to the bridge. At least this was a little cleaner, although the smell still lingered.

“So what’s the plan?” Monty asked as he plopped down in the worn leather pilots seat and placed his legs on a neighboring console.

Tidus was with the mercenaries, checking out the other two ships of their tiny strike force, so it was only the Humans aboard.

“Nothing fancy,” Adam said. He chose to lean against a station rather than sit in a chair. There was no telling what that brown stain was on the seat. “We damaged the tower array on our way out of the system, but the control building needs to be taken out. It’s pretty big and flanked by a pair of generator buildings. They have considerable defenses in place. With us having made our way out, the Olypon will be on guard for something like this, especially since the Earth made contact with them. They have to know we’ve warned them about the array. Because of that, I don’t think another aerial attack will be possible. We’ll have to land somewhere nearby and make our way across land.”

“The atmosphere on Mon-Sim is too thin for us to breathe,” Monty pointed out. “We’ll have to wear spacesuits, but the lighter gravity will help us make it across country. What are you going to use the aliens for?”

“We’ll need covering units. We have to set explosives—”

“An RPG attack?” Monty asked.

“Probably not strong enough to penetrate the walls.” Adam motioned at the other Humans in the room. “We’ve all been there. The place is built like a bunker, and it is in a hostile environment with a lot of radiation. It’s tough. We’re going to have to make it inside and lay charges.”

“Have any of you had experience with that kind of stuff?”

Adam, Copernicus and Riyad all raised their hands.

Monty laughed. “Then I’m in good company.”

“And once we do that,” Adam continued, “we need a plan for exfil. I don’t want this to be a suicide mission. That’s where the mercs will come in handy. The other problem is the place will be crawling with Olypon, both security personnel, as well as repair crews. We couldn’t have picked a worst time to make an assault, but we don’t have a choice.”

“I have an idea,” Riyad said. “Since we have Monty’s ship as a third vessel, we could use one of the PA ships as a flying bomb. Set a remote and let it go, either as a diversion or as a missile to strike the towers.”

Adam laughed. “Tidus won’t like that; I’m sure he’s expecting to get his deposit back. But I like it. Coop, can you rig a remote?”

“Piece of cake. But where are we going to get the explosives? We’re just about out of money.”

Monty snorted. “I said I did a little mining. I have half a ton of alien bang-bang powder in the back. That should be enough.”

“Will it work in a low oxygen atmosphere?”

“Yeah, this stuff is designed to go off in space. It won’t be a problem.”

“Cool,” Adam said. “Let’s not tell Tidus about that part of the plan until we have to. I’m sure he’ll try to talk us out of it.”

Monty surveyed the faces of his fellow Humans. “You guys sure are a bunch of scoundrels. I like it.”

* * *

“What’s that smell?” Sherri asked when Adam returned to the Davion to check on the preparations for departure.

“A little residual from Pitts’ ship.”

“You sure about him? I want to meet him before we leave, just to make sure he’s a gentleman of impeccable character.”

“I’ll save you the time…he isn’t.”

Sherri was feverishly getting the ship ready; the sooner she and Arieel left, the sooner they would get to Formil and she could get back in the fight. Kaylor and Jym had come through, having found a secret Klin route through the Galactic Core. It would be dangerous for a part of the trip, but it would get them to Formil in only twenty-one days. Sherri had already sweet-talked another fuel module from the crew of a neighboring bulk freighter. She didn’t go into details how she did it, but it was for no cost, so Adam couldn’t complain, although he knew there was nothing sweet about how she got it. Adam hadn’t seen any of the crewmembers since she left the freighter. Hopefully the team would be off the planet by the time the bodies were discovered….

Coop, Riyad and Tidus were in the process of transferring all the weapons and battery packs they had to the other ships, as well as grabbing their personal gear. It could be several months before they met up again, if even then. Copernicus and Sherri were trying to be strong. They had been an item for a while now, and the uncertainty of the mission—both ends of it—was weighing on them. But it was particularly hard on Sherri. Over the years, she’d had intimate relationships with all three of the men, even marrying one of them. Now she fought hard against her imagination, keeping the what-ifs at bay, at least on the surface.

But it all came to a head when the last of the gear was moved out. There was nothing left except the good-byes.

Arieel was an emotional wreck—which wasn’t anything new. She sobbed, slobbered and wailed while making her rounds—even hugging the towering Juirean. She saved the last embrace for Adam. Finally she broke away and ran into the Davion.

Sherri’s eyes were moist, but she refused to cry. “This is only temporary,” she stated in a trembling voice. “You know I’m taking an awful chance here, that you won’t go and get yourselves killed. Just let it be known, if you do, you’ll have to answer to me. And you think Hell will be bad. Just wait until I get a hold of you.”

She hugged each in turn, saving Adam for last; they had the longest history together. “Take care of my boys, will you?” she asked. “Get them back to me in one piece.”

“Will do, sweetie. Just a walk in the park.”

Sherri bit her bottom lip, took another look along the line of glassy-eyed males, and then turned and entered the support pedestal for the flying saucer. She made her way to the bridge, checking the exterior cameras as the men moved away quickly, clearing the liftoff blast radius. Arieel was seated at the console.

“Will we ever see them again?” she asked.

“No doubt,” Sherri answered. “It will take more than a three-billion-year-old crazed alien to stop Adam Cain and his gang of misfits. I’m just pissed off because I won’t be around to see them kick Kracion’s Aris ass.”

5

The five mercenaries had their own weapons and spacesuits, along with a modest supply of power packs. Tidus paid the PA supervisor the balance of the contract and then spent the last money they had on back-up power packs and a dozen small packet-bombs he found at a local mining supply shop. The inhabitants of Vadon were pretty open about such things and didn’t give him a second glance.

While Tidus would pilot one of the Borin-Noc vessels, along with a crew made up of the Rigorian, a creature called a Flin and one of the long-armed natives, Copernicus would command the second PA vessel, along with the other two mercs. Each ship was compact, made up of only a series of sleeping bunks along the narrow spine corridor, a galley, the bridge and rear airlock. There was no shuttle. The ship was designed to grapple chunks of space debris or gas pods for transport back to a planet. They weren’t designed for long-term habitation.

Coop had to rig his ship for remote control and detonation, having moved a fair amount of the explosives to a holding chamber off the airlock. He figured he’d have to tell the crew about his plans at some point; they were fairly intelligent and experienced warriors of two different species. They would know something was up.

Adam and Riyad would be in Monty’s ship.

After surrendering to peer pressure, the master chief allowed the other two Humans to dump a staggering amount of trash out the rear landing bay. Once the ship was cleared of the clutter it wasn’t half bad, except for the residual smell, but after an hour or so, they got used to it.

Pitts’ ship was a mule-hauler, similar to Kaylor and Jym’s old FS-475, but about a third of the size. He’d named it the Mustang Sally. It had only a single level, a docking bay with a two-person shuttle and a pair of compact cargo holds on the exterior of the dual generator rooms. As with most muleships, it had ample power, designed to tow long strings of cargo pods from port to port. Without the pods, it was a literal monster truck in space.

“It will take three days to reach the transit point through the Shield,” Monty informed them. “I’ll grapple the PA ships to save their fuel. Besides, it will be faster that way.”

“Good. How well do you know Mon-Sim?” Adam asked.

“Not much at all. There’s nothing there, or at least there wasn’t until recently. I would just make runs to Olypon, drop off my cargo and then leave.”

“How about when you were stranded on Olypon after the battle of the Dysion Void?” Riyad asked.

“That was a long time ago. All I can say is the Olys were enthusiastic followers of the Klin, although after the silver-skinned bastards left the planet, the natives did all they could to disavow them, thinking they were next in line to be crushed by the allies. They treated me and the rest of the stranded Humans like VIPs, not wanting to piss us off. That’s when I developed my first contacts among the natives. In spite of that, I’m surprised we didn’t make an attempt to strike the planet.”

“The Kracori were our main target…and the Klin in their Colony Ships. By then only a few Klin remained on Olypon and when they left, it wasn’t worth the trouble to attack another world in the system, especially one without a military,” Adam explained.

“Besides, you were busy rescuing me from an Elision prison,” said Riyad, flashing his trademark white smile.

“Yeah, that was something we were obligated to do, although it wasn’t a priority,” Adam said sardonically.

“Thanks for that, dickhead.”

Adam returned a wry grin. “I tried to find anything about Mon-Sim in the Library, but there’s no mention of it. All we have to go by is our brief visit there. We didn’t get a good look inside the facility. Coop worked with Panur and Lila for a while as they were working on the array, but then he gave up and returned to the Davion. We spent most of our time inside the saucer.”

“Then we’ll have to wing it,” Monty said. “If what you say about the place being crowded is true, we may have to do a hostile takeover and then use the mercs to help get us out, holding them in reserve until needed. The Olys may figure we’re all there is and leave their asses uncovered as they come for us.”

“Once the bombs go off, there should be plenty of confusion; that will help,” said Riyad.

Adam nodded. “I’ll get on a conference link with Tidus and Coop and figure out the details.”

* * *

Three days later the trio of starships looked microscopically small against the vast wonder that was the outer wall of the Dysion Shield. The nebula extended two light-years from top to bottom at this point, appearing as a swirling mass of matter and energy which disrupted electronic probes to see beyond the turbulence. Only foreknowledge of what lay on the other side told them of the void area hidden within. To everyone else, it was a semi-solid accumulation of stellar debris unimaginably expansive and dense.

“So how do we get through that?” Riyad asked, staring out the forward viewport. He’d made two other treks through the Shield in the past, once twelve years ago with his guides Ruszel and Cano, and then recently with the help of merging blackholes. His first passage had been nuanced and skilled; the second the result of brut, gravitational forces.

Monty smiled. He had a link opened with the other two ships, the worried faces of Tidus and Copernicus displayed on small side monitors at his pilot station.

“The key is less, not more,” he announced cryptically. “We go in on chem drive only. Although gravity drives—even shallow ones—can clear out some of the matter in front of us, they also draw in crap from all around. It becomes a lose-lose situation where enough matter can’t be cleared before more comes crashing in on us. So we use the reactive jets to weave our way through. The nebula isn’t uniform. There are dense areas and thinner regions. This is a thinner section. I’ve gone this way a dozen times before. Sure, things are always changing, but each passageway is good for a while before things shift.”

“Well, here’s hoping things haven’t shifted too much,” said Coop through the link.

“I’ll lead the way,” Monty said. “It may get a little warm behind me as you guys eat my exhaust. But at least you’ll be able to stay closer than you could under gravity drive. The Shield is about two hundred thousand miles thick at this point. Unfortunately, we will be creeping along, so it will still take several hours to make the transit. Coop, Tidus, keep a sharp look out on your flanks. That’s where the danger will come. The path forward should be clear, but it’s the shit flying it from the sides we have to watch out for.”

“Sounds like fun,” Coop said with bravado. He had a wealth of experience flying and repairing just about every type of starship in the galaxy, so he was up for the challenge.

Adam looked at Tidus. The Juirean’s face was a study in stone, making his emotions impossible to read. “You okay, Tidus?”

“Yes…but please take care of the ships. They are expensive.”

Adam smiled. So it wasn’t the transit that had the alien worried; it was his deposit.

Adam shared a knowing look with Copernicus, then he shrugged. “If there’s nothing else, then let’s get this show on the road. It’s all yours, master chief.”

* * *

The initial foray into the nebula was anticlimactic. The outer layer of gas—although dark and foreboding—was relatively thin. The ships, running in single file on thin trails of blue, ionized chemical propellant, were able to pass through the diaphanous cloud with ease. They didn’t bother to raise their shields—they were only effective against charged energy bolts. In normal running, the ship was protected from forward collisions by the series of microscopic black holes forming ahead of it. Most chem drive operations were for landings and takeoffs, as well as maneuvering close to other vessels or space stations. This was different. Even at the relative low velocity they were going, any gravel-size bit of space debris could damage the ship. Now they were essentially going supersonic through a sandstorm, multiplying the effect of the tiny collisions on their hulls.

Simple radar was Pitts’ greatest tool, scanning for the thinner sections of the Shield. The course was erratic and abrupt, sometimes making forty-degree changes in the blink of an eye. The inertia compensators were on and helped alleviate the more nauseous effects of the course changes, but they couldn’t overcome the wild scene through the viewport. After a few minutes, Adam looked away and concentrated instead on Monty’s radar screen. At least it provided a more static view of the area.

“Oh crap!” Adam heard Copernicus say over the still-open comm. Long-range cameras on the aft section of the Sally showed a real-time view of the other two ships behind them. Coop’s ship was veering off course. Not only that, it was twirling.

“We took a pretty good bump to our ass,” he reported. “Luckily, it came in obliquely so the damage is minimal, but it did send us spinning.” Tiny maneuvering jets were flaring from the sides of the small mining vessel. Coop’s piloting skills were being tested, and in a moment he was straightened out and back in line, although now behind Tidus.

Adam looked at a relieved Riyad. With the amount of explosives in Coop’s ship, an explosion would have surely taken out all three of them.

“Follow me,” Monty ordered unnecessarily; the other ships were still close on his tail. “It could get hairy from here on out.”

“You mean that wasn’t hairy?” Coop asked rhetorically.

They entered an area of relative emptiness in the middle of the nebula wall, surrounding a jagged asteroid about ten miles across. It was rotating wildly, with tiny sprays of particles flying off it, the result of some recent collision with another decent-size body. Monty slipped under the stream of deadly rock and then dodged a large outcropping of the asteroid.

“Is this normal?” Riyad asked.

“No,” Monty answered tersely. “This wasn’t here before. It could also screw up the rest of the transit.”

Watching the rear-looking camera, Adam gasped as Tidus’ ship came within a hundred feet of the spinning rock. He corrected his course, which sent the tiny starship racing away and out of the clear space around the asteroid. The internal cockpit view to the left of Monty’s pilot station showed the Juirean fighting against multiple hull strikes. He was attempting to turn away from the path of the micrometeorites to lessen the impact of the hits, but the ship was still taking a beating.

“There goes my deposit,” he groaned against the near-constant vibration through the hull from the dozens of hits.

“Get out of there, Tidus!” Adam yelled into the comm.

“Do you not think I would if I could?”

Just then, a propellant tank ruptured and a jet of diffused gas shot out from the hull at a ninety-degree angle. The ship began to spin.

“I will have to jettison—”

The tank flew off, colliding with unseen objects. It exploded a moment later.

Tidus brought the ship under control and steered it back toward the spinning asteroid. Copernicus stopped his ship in the clear space next to the rock, while Monty made a tight loop with the Mustang Sally. Soon, all three ships were hovering in the tiny oasis of calm in the middle of the Dysion Shield.

“How’s the other tank?” Pitts asked.

“It appears intact,” the exhausted alien replied. “I will have power, at least enough to keep up. Yet I will not have enough fuel for the return journey from the Void. I should have known I would not receive a refund. It appears my Priority Acquisitions counterpart was correct in assessing the risk.”

Pitts surveyed the radar. “We’ll be playing it by ear from now on. The old channel has been closed by this fucking rock. We’ll have to feel our way out of here.”

“Speaking of that,” Riyad said. “Do you know another way out of the Void…when the time comes?”

“I know several, but none as close as this one to Mon-Sim.”

“That’s fine,” Adam said. “By then they’ll be no need for stealth. We should be able to use full gravity drive to make for the Shield.”

“Copernicus, Tidus, form up on me again,” Monty said. “We’ll be going really slow, so it shouldn’t be a problem keeping up. Heading out at point-eighty-five degrees. Follow me.”

Although the rest of the journey was without major incident, that didn’t mean it wasn’t without its tense moments. Twice Monty had to turn around and probe other sections of the gas cloud when the way ahead closed off. As it was, the normal four-hour transit ended up taking seven, by which time the crews were exhausted and stressed to the breaking point. Monty took them along the inner wall of the Shield until he found a small asteroid and had them nestle in its shadow to catch their breath. They were in no condition to make the run for Mon-Sim.

After a couple of hours, Tidus and Copernicus donned spacesuits and went outside to survey the damage to their ships. The tiny vessels were beat up, but still air tight and functioning. They also surveyed the Mustang Sally, but gave up after a few minutes, unable to tell old damage from new.

“We’re about a million miles out from the Kryils star system, with another eight million to get to Mon-Sim,” Monty reported. All the members of the team, old and new, were aboard the Sally for the briefing. “We’ll need to go in on gravity-drive if we want to get there this year, so that will be dicey. I say we spread out and maybe drop in and out of wells to keep our weak signals sporadic. That will confuse anyone monitoring us. If we go in as a cluster, the signature will be stronger. Tidus, Copernicus, you lead the way. You’re sigs will be the weakest, and if you are picked up the Olys may just think their equipment is acting up when they see my stronger trace.”

Adam was leaning against a console, his arms crossed, listening to the experienced master chief give his briefing. He felt no insecurity; it actually felt good to delegate some of the planning for the mission to another. Too often, the full responsibility for an operation fell on him, and that was getting old.

Monty shrugged. “I can’t say I’ve ever been to the planet before, so I have no direct experience, but I have been by it several times. Mr. Tarazi piloted the Davion on its one and only trip to the planet, as well as the brief raid you made after dumping out of the portal. He’s been able to accurately pin-point the location of the array. That helps…a little. Still, we have no idea of the terrain surrounding the facility and what cover it might provide. So…after consultation with Captain Cain, we’ve decided to come in at the complete opposite side of the planet and then skirt the surface until we get to the array.”

Adam was impressed that Monty would give credit to the senior officer onboard for part of the planning, something any non-com worth his salt would do to maintain the chain of command. He was a sly old fox, Adam observed. He may be rough around the edges, but in the few days he’d known the chief, Adam had gained respect and confidence in the man’s abilities.

“We won’t be able to go much beyond fifty feet above the surface on the way in,” Pitts continued. “And again, in the interest of time, we’ll be going pretty fast. So stay alert. I don’t want any of us crashing into the side of a mountain or crater. Speaking of that, there are a number of craters on the surface, just like Mars back home.” He looked at the team, of which a majority were aliens, and shrugged. They got the message. “This should allow us to stay hidden most of the way. When we get to the array, we’ll find a nice little hole somewhere and crawl in. After that, Mr. Cain and Mr. Smith will make a reconnaissance of the facility to identify points of entry and to assess the opposition. They will be in radio contact with the main force throughout. Any questions?”

There were none. Adam stepped next to the master chief, who still wore his sleeveless shirt and jeans, but now sported an old Atlanta Braves baseball cap over his longish white hair. “Very good, master chief, excellent briefing. Tidus, Coop, get your people back to your ships. We jump off in thirty minutes.”

The Humans fist-bumped, while the aliens gave an assortment of nods and wobbles of their strange-looking heads. Then the team disbursed. It was game time.

6

With Tidus and Coop spread out over a distance of ten thousand miles, each of the tiny ships engaged very shallow gravity-wells. They would slip in and out on an irregular basis and out of sync with each other. Monty, in the Mustang Sally, would do the same, trailing behind fifty thousand miles back.

The boundary of the Kryils system was only an imaginary line on the nav screen. Long before that, the ships encountered a sea of comets and other rogue bodies left there after the formation of the inner ring of planets. Because the star dominated the Dysion Void, there was even more miscellaneous crap orbiting the system, all part of the nebula that had been cleared out during the star’s formation. It wasn’t hard to navigate, not after coming through the Shield, and soon the team entered the relatively clear space between the planets of the system.

There were twelve of them, including three gas giants that had migrated to the outer regions of the system. There were two small asteroid belts, rather than one large one like in the Solar System, and just beyond the last one was the world of Mon-Sim.

It was farther out from its star than Mars but was of comparable size and density. The thin atmosphere reflected the reddish soil, turning the sky a light pink. The light from Kryils was dimmer, making the planet colder. There was also more moisture in the air, creating large sheets of frozen carbon dioxide across most of the surface. And as Monty had said, there were thousands of impact craters, both large and small. Two jagged mountain ranges dissected the planet as well, running north to south and about three thousand miles apart. The portal array was near the equator, resting along the slopes of one of these ranges. That was fortunate. It would allow them to approach on the other side of the ridge, moving over the north pole and down for approximately a thousand miles.

Once they reached the planet, Monty took the lead, dropping the Sally to a dangerous altitude of fifty to one hundred feet. Normal navigation equipment could keep the ships from plowing into a level surface, even at the speed they were traveling. But this wasn’t level ground. All three ships were on a form of auto-pilot, letting the radar-control computer attempt to keep them at a stable altitude. The pilots controlled the path forward, looking ahead for crater walls, deep canyons and other obstacles. Soon, they were on a roller coaster ride, dropping into deep crevasses before turning to run along the valley until they could pop back out into the clear.

The crater walls were harder to avoid. The ships would ride up along the steep rises, before dropping into the smooth level ground inside. But then it was up again in an instant and then back down. They were traveling on chem drive at this point, with the inertia compensators off. They didn’t work this close to a surface.

After three hours of this, Monty brought the Sally to a stop along the southern slope of a small impact crater and settled to the surface. The man was drenched in sweat and smelled like a skunk. He hadn’t used deodorant in twelve years.

Coop and Tidus showed up fifteen minutes later, their tiny ships better able to handle the close maneuvers but lacking the power of the Mustang Sally. All were grateful for the reprieve.

“The array should be on the other side of the mountain range from here,” Monty panted. “We’ll move in a little closer once everyone catches their breath.”

The unspoken worry among the team was that the repairs were already made to the array and Kracion would be in the Milky Way by now. They would have no way of knowing whether this was true or not until they made a visual inspection of the facility. That would be Adam and Coop’s job, Adam because he was the boss, and Coop because he was the mechanic. It had been nine days since they came through the portal from the lost universe, and without knowing the extent of the damage they caused to the array, it was anyone’s guess as to the status of the facility. It was possible all their efforts were for naught.

An hour later, they set out again, this time traveling only about fifty miles per hour over the jagged terrain, up the mountainside through steep ravines until cresting the frost-covered summit. The array wasn’t visible from here, being as it was behind a series of hills farther to the south. Adam would have liked to have had a quick aerial view of the complex, but that was too dangerous. Instead, Adam and Coop put on their spacesuits, set their comms to secure frequencies, and armed with binoculars and flash weapons, set out over the dusty surface of Mon-Sim.

It was estimated the array complex was about twenty miles to the south, over a set of low hills strewn with huge boulders. The gravity of the planet was about a third of Earth’s, so that helped. They had rebreathing systems in their suits, providing up to eight hours of air. It was late afternoon on this part of the planet, with another two hours of daylight left. Barring any unforeseen incidents, they could reach the site, make their assessment, and be back to the Sally in time for a late dinner.

Although encased in the synthetic fiber of the suit and carrying a load of weapons, oxygen tanks and other equipment, Adam found the hike to be refreshing. He was stretching his legs and using his muscles, all the while amazed by the stark, alien scenery around him. He had rarely spent time on a planet with a hostile environment. Most of the worlds he visited were Earth-like. There was no need to go anywhere else. But this was different. The late afternoon sun was casting long shadows over the rust-colored surface, and the mountains to his right towered up several thousand feet, rugged and raw, preserved throughout the millennia by the lack of substantial weathering. The scene was both beautiful and exotic and left Adam with the impression he was an explorer in an unknown land.

But then they spotted the towers.

They could be seen over the nearby hills for several miles before Coop and Adam reached the last buttress. They dropped down on their hands and knees and climbed the remaining few feet to look over the ridge.

Adam let out a sigh of relief. The facility was a beehive of activity, with spotlights illuminating the towering structure and the three surrounding buildings, signifying a work in progress. The array was still out of service, and the repair crews were preparing for an around-the-clock shift.

“It’s still down,” Adam reported over the comm. “We’re still a go.” Adam could have communicated with Riyad and Coop by ATD, but he used the standard link for the benefit of the others.

“That’s great news,” Riyad said. Through his tone, Adam could sense the brilliant white grin on this friend’s face. “What is the guard strength?”

“We’re just beginning our survey,” Adam replied. “We’ll have to move in closer to make a proper assessment.”

“Please be careful. None of our ships are equipped to fight our way in for a rescue.”

Adam and Coop breached the crest of the hill and slid down the side on their bellies, using the increasing shadows of the Mon-Sim sunset for cover. The facility was still a mile or so away. It was crawling with Olypon, scurrying about in spacesuits, as well as bouncing over the surface in wheeled vehicles. There was a series of powerful lights on the three towers, which upon first glance, appeared to be erect and in alignment. Sherri had laid three cannon bolts into them as the Davion sped past a little over a week ago. Slow motion video of the attack showed one of the towers leaning into another, enough to prevent a portal from being formed in the space above the array. Since then, the Olypon had pulled the towers apart and were working on getting the last of the internal parts working again. There had to be miles of wiring and other components that had been damaged, not just the towers themselves. The three buildings—the control center and the two generator rooms—had been left unharmed in the attack.

That was what Adam and the team were here to remedy.

Keeping the internal helmet lights off, Copernicus and Adam moved in the shadows closer to the control building. The problem: the vast nebula surrounding the star system caused the night to stay illuminated stronger than the full moon on Earth.

Coop crouched behind a boulder and lifted his binoculars.

“They’ve set up a pressure house near the towers for the main work crews,” he reported to Adam, who had his binoculars up as well and was scanning the scene. They swept their views to the control building. It was well-lit, but with fewer Olypon moving in and out. There were airlocks, but once inside, the aliens working in the center remained there for longer periods than the repair crews. They would be fine-tuning the equipment, getting it ready for when the towers would be operational again.

Adam looked up into the darkening sky. Seventy-five thousand miles up, a portal could open at anytime and the mad Aris Kracion appear, at the head of a fleet of subservient Klin. He had no doubt the force Kracion would bring with him would be a threat. The ancient being knew the level of technology the Milky Way had to throw against him; he wouldn’t be making the effort if he wasn’t sure he could win.

Of course, the other consideration was the alien’s quest for immortality. He had the mutants—including Lila, the Apex Being. His first priority would be to preserve his life through her assimilation. After that, he could take his time assimilating the galaxy. If they were lucky, Kracion would come ill-prepared for a long-and-drawn out fight, just enough to get him to the Aris station. After all, it was less than two weeks ago that the alien even learned there was a way back to the Milky Way. Could he have had time to assemble and equip a fleet, basically from scratch? And the Klin, for their part, would be even less-prepared. With Kracion’s help, they had dominated the lost universe and their new galaxy, with very little resistance that would require the fighting of wars. And war was an acquired skill, which required constant practice to get it right.

Adam relaxed, letting the logic of the situation sink in. Perhaps Kracion wasn’t the danger to the galaxy he imagined. Even so, he was a threat to Adam’s daughter, as well as his quasi-friend Panur.

A pang of regret twisted his stomach. If he and the team were successful, then Kracion could be trapped in the lost universe for a very long time, if not for good. That would also leave Lila and Panur there as well. Arieel had agonized over that fact, debating quite vocally with herself and him. Yet she was pragmatic, as was he. Although they may not see their daughter again in their lifetimes, it was a good bet Kracion wouldn’t harm the mutants. They were his ticket to immortality. And he needed to reach the artificial world of the Aris to make that happen.

Unless he was able to figure out a way to do it in the other universe.

That was another worry for Adam. Kracion was a genius; eventually he would find a way. So it was to their advantage if Kracion entered the Milky Way sooner, rather than later. That way they could confront him while he was still mortal. It would also give him a chance to rescue Lila.

Adam fell back against the boulder, looking off in the opposite direction of the facility. Copernicus noticed.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just fighting some internal conflicts. You know, it’s really hard deciding what to do.”

“Bullshit,” Coop snapped. “We need to stop Kracion from coming over. I know you’re concerned about Lila, but we have an entire galaxy to consider.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Adam barked back.

“Then act like it, Captain Cain. Do your fucking job.”

Adam stared into the dark abyss that was Coop’s faceplate. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll do what’s necessary.”

“Then get your ass back up here. We need to move closer, see if there are any other entrances to the control building. I only know of the one.”

Adam stood up and leaned on the rock, raising his binoculars, rededicated to the effort. “There has to be a freight entrance. They didn’t bring all the equipment in through the front door.”

“Good thinking,” Coop said. “That’s more like it. It has to be around the back. Let’s go.”

7

Gendius Valin was terrified. Although she was Leadin of the Newfound Galaxy, ruling over eight billion Klin, in addition to the populations of four hundred other worlds, the thin, alien creature before her left her trembling with fear.

Her experience with the god-being Kracion only went back five days—from the time she ordered his unexpected resurrection from the sacred preservation crypt. It had been a terrible risk, knowing she would suffer his wrath should the purpose not be warranted. Although she’d been subsequently rewarded for her insight and decisiveness, her fear of the temperamental Aris could not be understated. She’d already witnessed the slaying of six of her associates, each for simply not responding to his demands in a timely manner. These had been high-ranking Klin, yet Kracion did not hesitate. He cast powerful streams of white energy from his hands, cooking the tender insides of each of his victims, resulting in excruciatingly painful deaths. Gendius feared she could be next if the god-being was displeased.

Kracion absorbed pure energy to survive, and yet was able to channel some of that power externally, as a weapon. He also controlled a small army of floating metallic orbs that did his silent bidding. They fed him energy, provided information when needed and even spied on the efforts of the Klin in fulfilling his directives. They could teleport short distances, which made no part of the starship they were aboard off limits to either the orbs or Kracion’s unquenchable desire for control.

“We will move to the surface, to the alpha generator room,” Kracion announced impatiently. “Set up a survival habitat and bring your most-skilled electrical technicians; they will be needed to carry out my orders. You will be in charge of the repair effort.”

Gendius and Kracion were aboard the largest of the Klin starships, one which the Aris had commandeered as his flagship. It was the first to be equipped with the new weapons systems Kracion had invented, miraculously created and installed by his magical orbs. Now the crew was busy learning how to operate the new systems, the mechanism by which she was told the Klin and their Olypon allies would conquer the birth galaxy. Kracion had another twenty ships in this initial fleet, similarly equipped and with crews undergoing the same rigorous training.

Gendius questioned how twenty-one ships could conquer a galaxy, but she kept her doubts to herself. She had to trust in the wisdom of the Aris. She had to be accommodating and compliant. She had to survive.

* * *

The tiny fleet had journeyed to the site of the ancient dimensional transport portal in pursuit of the escaping aliens. There she and Kracion found the control building damaged beyond repair and the towers out of alignment. At that time, Kracion did not seem concerned. He had the fleet wait in the space above the moon, counting down the time when the portal would open from the other side—the birth-galaxy side.

But that time never came.

It was at that point Kracion became angry, ordering her and a portion of her crew to the surface of the moon. She did not know the purpose; the facility was in near-total ruin, and she gathered from the god-being’s reactions, his path to the birth galaxy had been shut down from the other side, infuriating him even more than when the aliens escaped his captivity. Was he intending to rebuild the ancient complex? If so, that would take considerable time, time which Gendius feared she would not survive.

And that was why Gendius Valin was terrified.

* * *

In the shuttle, the Leadin attempted to extract more information from the god-being.

“If you propose to repair the facility, it will involve a considerable reeducation of the technicians.”

“Worry not for the repairs; I will instruct your workers. Yet the towers must be realigned. Prepare shuttles to pull them apart. I only need two of them working.”

Gendius did not pursue the questioning. She accepted the fact that Kracion knew the technology as no one else. If the god-being wasn’t concerned with the destruction of the control building, then neither was she.

Four thousand years before, at the time of the Silence, Kracion had ordered the facility shut down and abandoned, forbidding any Klin from attempting to reconnect with the birth galaxy. This directive was in the archives and had never been violated. But now the ancient facility was consuming nearly all of Kracion’s attention. The remainder was focused on the two aliens he held in a blue interphase field, powerless and impotent…yet still a threat.

Kracion never went anywhere without the aliens; even when not in his presence, he kept constant watch on them. This caused Gendius more concern. Kracion was terrified of the creatures. How could the god-being be afraid of anyone or anything?

Creatures he called the mutants were with him now, standing silently off to a side of the shuttle, still encased in the shimmering blue light. They neither slept nor ate, not even taking in the raw energy such as Kracion. They simply stared, watching everything taking place around them. At times, their dark eyes would lock on Gendius, making her even more uncomfortable. She had always enjoyed the trappings of power and position. But not so any longer. She was outclassed by a number of strange beings capable of miraculous feats. Her life had been turned inside out, to where the unimaginable was now commonplace. All she could do now was react to the moment, hoping to survive until the next.

* * *

Kracion was rumored to be three billion years old, a member of a race of beings who created the Klin, along with countless others. His civilization was a million years old at the time they began the organic seeding process, and it was because of him—and him alone—that the Klin came to be in the Newfound, having survived to this point.

Of course, that was long before Valin’s time, four thousand years ago when the Klin were just stretching their legs in the arena of the birth galaxy. And then came the Silence, when all contact with their homeworld and birth galaxy was lost. The Klin in the Newfound—Gendius’ ancient ancestors—initially relied on Kracion’s active participation for their survival, and he did not disappoint. He gave them new technologies and innovations which allowed them not only to survive in this new environment, but to prosper and expand. As a result, the Klin had traveled to all reaches of the Newfound Galaxy, expanding to colony worlds while integrating others into their growing empire. There had not been a major war of conquest fought in over a thousand years, and the current empire of the Klin was a peaceful and beneficial environment for all inhabitants, be they Klin or alien.

And then a few days ago, strangers from the birth galaxy appeared, and all of Klin civilization was turned upside down. The story they told was having a profound impact on the Newfound. It spoke of the destruction of their ancestral homeworld of Klinmon and the subsequent millennia-long ostracism of the Klin, along with four thousand years of death, ridicule and insult. With the small band of aliens came another, members of a race that worshipped Kracion and the Klin, and who verified the disturbing accounts. In the span of a few days, the anger and venom of the Klin was set loose. Word was spreading quickly, not only by organic means, but also through Kracion’s call for the assembly of a massive fleet, one to be used to enter the birth galaxy, seeking revenge for the travesty exacted upon the Klin.

Gendius was in favor of such an effort. She was sickened by the stories and wanted to make the nameless aliens in the birth galaxy pay for what they had done to the Klin. What she resisted was the speed and apparent recklessness of the effort. Kracion was recalling nearly all Klin vessels to the planet Genzi, there to be fitted with revolutionary new weapons systems and crewed by hastily-trained military personnel. This war machine had to be built essentially from scratch, and Kracion was tolerating no delays.

Out of a desperate need for understanding, Gendius accessed the confidential Leadin files, those dating back to even before the Silence. She sought the origin of Kracion and how he came to be among the Klin. What she discovered made her even more nervous, more terrified. It told her there was definitely something strange about the Kracion of today, compared to the Kracion of ancient times.

* * *

Kracion had appeared on Klinmon without warning, yet kept his presence known only to a handful of the most powerful Klin. He came offering gifts, revolutionary technologies that would transform the race and help expand the Klin’s fledgling stellar empire across the galaxy. He gave them the secret of faster-than-light travel, unlimited and affordable energy, advance weaponry; he even had dimensional portals built which opened up other universes to the Klin.

The alien god-being was magnanimous, altruistic and asked nothing in return for these wonders.

And then during one of his many visits to the Newfound galaxy, the Silence came. The records show how Kracion attempted to make contact again with the birth galaxy, traveling to other universes through the major portal array on the moon called Zanor. But his efforts were short lived. He always returned disappointed, and according to eyewitness reports, more irritated and violent. He built the eternity crypt and entered it, leaving instructions to only be revived in the most-dire of circumstances…or upon contact with the birth galaxy.

Gendius had not been aware of the details of the instructions; it was not necessary for her to do her duties as Leadin. And since Kracion had not arisen in over a thousand years, most of the details of his directives had been forgotten. Deep down inside, most Klin assumed Kracion was dead within his crypt. Gendius felt the same…up until the moment she opened the chamber and the god-being emerged.

Now she studied his actions, seeing an emotional side that was not referred to in the ancient reports. There appeared to be two versions of Kracion, the old and the new. She refused to speculate on which was the true god-being. She was afraid she would not welcome her conclusion.

* * *

Kracion was irritated that he had to wear an environment suit while traversing the short distance from the shuttle to the temporary shelter set up against generator building alpha. Once in the structure, he could move into and out of the building and the repair center with ease. Until then, all the suit did was remind him of his mortality.

The mutants didn’t have such worry. Although both of them were infinitely younger than he, they didn’t fear a vacuum, nor radiation nor radical swings in temperature. They were immortal, possessing the one thing Kracion did not, yet his race had spent billions of years to develop.

And now he was gazing upon the culmination of that impossibly long effort: The Apex Being. Yet even with that incredible achievement, Kracion was still frustrated. He could do nothing with the creature called Lila until he moved back to the main galaxy—the birth galaxy as the Klin called it.

The mutants walked across the grey, powdery surface of the moon, not actually touching it as the interphase effect restricted contact with any material surface. They entered the airlock to the repair facility with Kracion, remaining silent and stoic. Their expressions seldom changed, although Kracion knew they could. Instead they were watching, studying…waiting.

The entourage entered the environmental structure outside the generator facility. Gendius and the Klin continued into the other building, leaving Kracion and the mutants alone for the moment.

“I take it you are set on creating a secondary control station within the generator building,” stated the tiny grey creature known as Panur. “I saw that was a possibility from the plans I studied.”

“Very astute,” Kracion replied. He knew this particular mutant was rumored to be an expert at trans-dimensional technology. He had just confirmed the rumor.

“I assume that is because my father destroyed the Olypon array as he successfully escaped your Klin sycophants,” Lila stated with a satisfied grin.

See, the mutants can display emotion! Kracion thought.

“That is of no consequence,” he said aloud. “The portal I will open will be linked to the birth galaxy by the residual effects. Although it will be only a temporary connection, it will be enough for me to move over. Once there, I will rebuild the alien array, as well as this one, and thereby create a permanent opening between the dimensions with which to move the bulk of my forces.”

“Are you capable of that?” Panur asked. “I met Nunki, the leader of the Aris. He was the true genius of the race. I have noticed that you possess none of his maturity, reason and intellect. That is understandable; you are simply the janitor, tasked with maintaining what others have created.”

Anger welled up in Kracion. He took a step toward the tiny alien, a surge of energy building in his body. Then he resisted.

“I understand what you are doing,” he said. “You are attempting to provoke me, believing an energy blast would temporarily disable the interphase shield.”

“And it will. I know your technology, both its strengths and weaknesses. I also understand your personal failings, of which there are many, primary among them your emotional instability,” Panur said. “Your manic behavior will be your downfall. I say this openly, knowing there is nothing you can do to overcome this deficiency.”

“Yes! I have more emotion than the Privileged. Where they suppressed their inner feelings, I embrace them. I seek immortality, and what good is immortality without the ability to sense the wonder of it all. That is emotion. Emotion makes life worth living. You term this a deficiency, while I call it an asset.”

“Then you better get to it,” Panur continued. “I see you are an older Aris, aged much more than Nunki, the result of your many awakenings while the others slept. Every minute you spend living a mortal life brings you closer to the death you fear so much.”

“I do not fear it any longer, not with the two of you to provide me with what I seek.”

“But what good is immortality if it occurs a day before your death? Immortality does not subtract years from your body. All it does is add time to your current condition. You will spend eternity on death’s doorstep. Hardly a prospect I would welcome.”

“I still have many years before I reach that point.”

“But do you?” Lila questioned. “Your race is capable of living thousands of years, yet only with enhancements provided by technology, technology found only within the Aris artificial world, and of which the Privileged created. I believe you are without the needed skills to sustain your life beyond simple hibernation.”

“That is not so! I know how the machines work. I have maintained them.”

“That is wrong,” Lila countered. “You supervised the biological experiments of Nunki and his kind. It was the robots and service modules on the Aris world that maintained the others. That was not your responsibility.” She hesitated a moment, watching the anger surge again in the thin, almost frail-looking alien. “I accept that you are extremely intelligent, on a comparative basis, with skills regarding elementary Aris technology, such as star-drives, energy production and TD transport. Yet compared to Nunki and the Privileged, you are but a child. That was why your kind was segregated. You are the failures of Aris civilization.”

Kracion’s hands began to glow. He could lash out at the mutants, sending bolts of super-heated energy through the shield and into their bodies. Yet they fed on energy, just as he did. That would only give them more strength, while disrupting the holding field. He stood back, his eyes wide, sensing how close he had come to giving into his impulses.

“I see the fear of us is growing ever-stronger within you,” Lila said. She laughed. “Your vigil over us will have to be constant. You cannot afford to have us free. You are no match for us.” She looked to Panur, smiling. “And the Klin call you the god-being. You are no more a god than Panur and I. We are each just the culmination of evolutionary processes, as are all beings. Yet in our case, we will live forever…and you will meet your end sooner than you realize. Your destiny has already been written.”

“Empty boasts,” Kracion said. He turned away, heading for the entrance to the generator building. “I, too, will have the secret of immortality. And it will come at your expense.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Kracion” Panur said with a sinister grin. “It may come true. And if you do assimilate us into your being, be sure it is you who emerges at the other end, and not us. As in the words of my Human friends, if that happens, the entity you know as Kracion would become our bitch…forever. I trust that is not the vision of immortality you seek.”

8

There was a larger airlock door to the back of the building, and that was where most of the activity with the control center was taking place. There were a dozen Olypon or more, with a number of wheeled vehicles with stacks of components being moved inside.

Adam contacted Riyad and the rest of the team.

“I think it’s time we let the cat out of the bag,” he said. “Better tell Tidus what we have planned.”

“Tell me what?” the Juirean questioned. “What have you planned without me?”

Adam heard Riyad’s voice through the comm. “Just that we rigged Coop’s Bandin-Noc ship with explosives. We’ll fly it into the tower array to create a diversion.”

Surprisingly, Tidus was silent for a moment; Adam had been expecting an emotional outburst, with his sizeable deposit being the main topic. Instead: “What the hell,” he said. “After the beating they’ve taken, I would not have received any refund. Yet won’t the facility’s defenses counter such an attack?”

“They’re aimed above the surface,” Riyad said. “We’ll send it zipping along the surface. They won’t know what hit them.”

“Then why not send it into the control building?”

“We still don’t believe the blast would be large enough beyond crumbling some walls and damaging a few of the systems, things that can be easily repaired. And then the towers would still be standing. We didn’t come with a plan to take them down. This should do the job.”

“Very well,” Tidus conceded. “And what of the mercenaries?”

“We carry through with the main plan,” Riyad said. “You’ll take up covering posts while we Humans move inside the control building in all the confusion of the attack on the towers, taking with us the packet bombs. The defensive forces will think it’s only us and will leave their rear uncovered. At the right time, you guys come in and blast the crap out of them. Then when we set off the bombs from the inside, the strength of the building will be to our advantage, trapping all the explosive force within.”

“We shall be prepared.”

“Good. Adam…give us fifteen minutes to move into position. I’ll join you at your present location and control the missile with my ATD.”

“Roger that. Initiate…the clock is ticking.”

* * *

Adam didn’t see where Tidus and his mercs were set up, but he was glad when Riyad and Monty slipped in beside him and Coop, carrying six backpacks with a supply of compact explosives. They were behind a small berm, lying in the shadows on their stomachs, watching the activity at the back of the control building about fifty feet away. When the time came, they could cover the distance in just a couple of seconds.

“You up for the sprint, master chief?” Adam asked. “You spend a lot of time on a planet with a lighter gravity than Earth.”

“Give me some credit, captain,” Monty growled. “I know I have to spend as much time as possible in the Mustang Sally with the gravity cranked up. I’m every bit as strong as you runts…sir.”

“Glad to hear it. Tidus…get ready,” he said over the comm. “Riyad will be sending the ship over your heads any time now.”

The interior of their helmets were still blacked out and deep in shadow, keeping the expressions of the other three Humans around Adam from being visible. But still he noticed the nods. They were ready, weapons firmly in their grips and back packs attached to the spacesuits.

“Let her rip, Riyad.”

The small starship was still on the other side of the hill from the TD array. Riyad tapped into the controls through his artificial telepathy device, thankful that the Bandon-Noc used the ubiquitous Formilian control devices in all their electronics. He got it up and moving, slowly at first, steering it over the mound until there was a direct path to the huge trio of towers.

Unlike the movement of living beings in the spacesuits, the appearance of the starship immediately activated the security measures for the site. Lights flashed everywhere, while Adam suspected alarms were sounding in the helmets of the workers. Everyone reacted, rushing for emergency stations.

Adam was impressed. The repair crews and security personnel of the Olypon were well-drilled. Word had probably gone out about Earth’s rash contact with the Olypon government, asking about the facility. Although they’d lied about its purpose, the natives were ready for any assault against the array.

Any assault except one coming at them fifteen feet above the surface and going five hundred miles per hour.

The fifty-foot long starship/missile scraped the dusty surface as Riyad had trouble maintaining a constant altitude as it picked up speed. The Olypon were reacting, they just didn’t know to what at the moment.

And a moment later it was over.

The missile reached the base of the towers and Riyad mentally detonated the explosives rather than let the impact do the job. This way he could control when and where the bomb was set off.

There was a trace amount of oxygen in the Mon-Sim atmosphere, enough to cause a flare along with the massive concussion from the explosion. The blast was substantial, yet against the thick base of the triple towers, it was surprisingly muted. There was damage, considerable damage. One of the red-painted towers began to sway, half of its wide support legs blown away. Unfortunately, it fell from the others and in the opposite direction from the control building. A four-hundred foot high tower would have done an admirable job on the building, saving Adam and his people the trouble of blowing it up. But that was not to be. Instead the ground rumbled as the huge metal structure crashed to the surface, falling slower and with less impact than Adam was expecting, a result of the one-third gravity of Mon-Sim.

But at least the facility was offline again. Now he needed to make sure it stayed that way.

The Olypon to the rear of the control building had disappeared, many running into the fortified structure at the first sound of the alarm. Adam and the other Humans moved, sprinting the distance to the airlock door, leaving trails of dust in the soft surface.

Adam gained control of the operating system to the doorway with his ATD, following internal connections that would activate the panel. He looked briefly to Monty, watching the big master chief’s reaction as the door opened without anyone touching the controls. They moved inside a moment later, with the pressure door closing silently behind them.

The Olypon had moved inside the building, seeking what protection they could find from a potential attack within its strong structure. The room cycled through, adding air and pressure, before Adam activated the internal door.

There were Olypon on the other side, startled by the opening of the airlock door. Seeing the four figures in spacesuits, they at first figured these to be stragglers, only now reporting to their emergency station. But then they noticed these were not Olypon suits. For the five aliens in the outer room, that was the last thing they ever noticed.

Adam figured they couldn’t stay hidden for long, and he was right. The building was packed with Olys now, many armed and posted in corridors, waiting for an outside attack, if that had been the reason for the alert. When their comrades fell, the flash of the bolts lit up the room and flared beyond the point of contact. Already on guard, the Olypon reacted.

Adam, Riyad and Coop did their best to disarm all the enemy flash weapons they could with their ATDs, but except for Adam, the other two were having trouble firing at a beehive of aliens while also seeking out firing control circuits with their minds. They couldn’t do both things at the same time. They chose the old fashion way of killing aliens…one at a time and with level-two bolts to their frail bodies.

Adam was better with his ATD than the others, able to locate and defuse the Olypon flash weapons while sending deadly streams of plasma fire from his own bolt launcher. For his part, Monty was chewing up alien troops with particular glee. Adam figured he hadn’t seen any real combat in years, so he was enjoying himself. He didn’t have time to worry about why some of the Olypon weapons didn’t fire while others did. He just killed anything that wasn’t Human.

Pretty soon, the enemy troops were in retreat, moving farther into the building and taking up defensive positions in other corridors and side rooms. Soon Adam and his team came to the conference room where they had sat only two weeks before with the site’s administrator. Adam couldn’t remember his name at the moment; it wasn’t important.

“Start setting the charges,” he ordered through the comm system. They hadn’t removed their helmets, not knowing if a breach of the building’s outer wall would happen prematurely or not. Riyad and Coop reached into the backs of their partner’s packs and pulled out small, breadbox-size paper-wrapped packages. Adam and Monty did the same, neither man bothering to remove the packs from their backs.

After setting four of the charges around the area, mostly hidden in overheads, they continued into other rooms, blasting aliens along the way.

They made it to the main control room, where Panur had helped open the initial link with the lost universe, setting all the events of the past two weeks in motion. They placed the rest of their charges here, hiding them as well, although they knew they would not give the Olypon time to locate and disarm the explosives. When this was done, they headed for the front exit to the building.

As expected, word had spread of the invaders in the control building. Outside a small army of Olypon waited, their full attention focused on the building. What they didn’t see was Tidus and his five mercenaries move into position within the fallen framework of the array tower. They had Xan-fi rifles and even a few grenade launchers, something the Humans had brought with them.

Adam activated both airlock doors, after he and his team secured themselves against the incredible rush of air escaping the building. Any Olypon in the structure without spacesuits would be dead in less than thirty seconds in the thin atmosphere of Mon-Sim.

From both sides of the doorway, Monty and Adam opened fire. A breath later, answering bolts streaked into the interior of the control center. The rate of fire quickly died off as Adam, Riyad and Coop methodically deactivated the Olys weapons. And that’s when Tidus and his troops opened up, aiming at the unguarded backs of the enemy defenders.

The battle only lasted a few seconds before the surviving Olypon, realizing their weapons were useless and they were caught in a crossfire, ran off in all directions into the stark and inhospitable landscape of the planet.

Tidus met Adam and his Humans at the entrance to the control center.

“Well done, Tidus,” Adam said. He looked at the menagerie of mercenaries. “And you, as well. Very well executed. Now let’s move away and light this candle.”

“Forgive?” said one of the mercs.

Tidus put a hand on the alien’s shoulder. “He means he is ready to set off the charges. We must reach a safe distance.”

Beyond the huge tower array was a low-ridged crater. The team moved to it and hunkered down along the interior slope. All the detonators were linked. He sent a mental command to the firing controls.

Monty was watching him, waiting for Adam to finger a trigger, or do something other than just sit there. When the building went up in a spectacular geyser of flame, dust and debris, his attention was averted. But he would revisit the questions he had at some future date.

After the falling shrapnel stopped landing nearby, the team climbed to the edge of the crater and gazed over, looking at their handiwork. It was impressive. Two of the side walls of the control center remained and only cracked and crumbling versions. The rest of the structure was gone. The combined strength of the explosives had been confined to the interior by the strong outer walls, magnifying the effect. When a critical mass was reached, the building shattered, forming into a fountain of debris.

It was done. The tower array was seriously damaged and the control building was no more. Adam rolled over on his back and looked into the dark sky. They’d done it. Kracion was trapped, along with the mutants. He sighed. So it must be, he thought. Lila would outlive him and Arieel anyway. That was as it should be with your children, although Lila would outlive them in spades.

Yet Adam had no illusions that he could keep Kracion out of the Milky Way permanently. But at least he’d bought them time, time to convince a war-weary galaxy that they had to gear up for another battle. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long enough.

A thin white line appeared in the blackness of space, growing in length and intensity. Adam could clearly see it in the distance above him. The rest of the team was still entranced by their destructive handiwork and didn’t notice. And then the line split down the middle and began to spread apart.

“Hey guys…we got problems,” Adam said, barely heard through the din of cheers and congratulations. “Listen up!” he finally yelled. All eyes turned to him.

One by one, they looked into the sky. Members of Adam’s original team knew what they were looking at; not so the others, including Monty.

“What the hell is that?” he asked.

“That, my friend,” Riyad answered, “is our worst nightmare.”

* * *

It had taken four days to rig the auxiliary control in generator building alpha. Three more Klin sacrificed their lives to Kracion’s temper, frustrated at the lack of skill and speed by which they worked. He knew the Leadin Gendius Valin was terrified of him; his recent fits of impatience only made it worse.

The Aris didn’t care, although he did admit to a strange sense of satisfaction he found within the fear others had for him. He already had absolute power, but it was even more satisfying to know others knew it as well. This was one of the reasons he’d told the Human Adam Cain that he would accept no surrender from the defeated peoples of the home galaxy, at least not initially. They had to know what he was capable of, and that he wouldn’t hesitate to exterminate entire races on a whim. Besides the joy in experiencing their fear, he also wanted to drive home the fact that he had created most of their species, and just as easily, he could destroy them.

Although he wouldn’t eliminate them all, he did plan on exterminating a significant portion of the first races he encountered to make his point. Other than that, it wouldn’t pay for him to rule over a dead galaxy.

And now the portal was open, yet unlike even the temporary twenty-two minute duration of a single-sided link, this one would only last nine minutes. He had his small fleet of Klin and Olypon vessels in queue, ready to make the quick transition. The Olypon would bring up the rear. Whether all—or any—of them made it through was immaterial. They were not vital to his initial plans. They would have to wait until the array complex on the Klin side was rebuilt. That would take time. But depending on the extent of the damage to the array on their side, they might be able to return sooner.

Again, it mattered not. Kracion would have his twenty-one specially armed Klin vessels to lead the way. Besides, this initial foray into the home galaxy was of limited purpose.

9

Coric Son Kal Sorum was visibly shaking when Lead Scientist Sindus entered his office. Coric was the Pleab of the planet Olypon, a term the natives had appropriated centuries ago from their Klin occupiers, a variation of the Klin’s Pleabaen title for their leaders.

Sindus had just arrived on the planet from the transport facility on Mon-Sim, where he was supervising repairs to the array.

“You say the facility will be operational again within a day?” Coric barked at the scientist, dispensing with any greetings or formality. “Is this so?”

“Yes, Coric.” The two Olypon were on familiar terms when in the privacy of the Pleab’s office. They were relatives and of comparable age. “The damage was minor, primarily to the focusing towers. All repairs are proceeding on schedule. Has something occurred?”

“You may not be aware, yet after damaging your facility, Adam Cain and his team managed to escape the Void.”

“How…when?”

“They passed through the Shield eight days ago.”

“Are the mutants with him?”

Coric recoiled. “I do not know; why is that important?”

“Just a matter of curiosity. We are assuming the transfer frequencies are still correct and that we can regain contact with the other dimension once the system is operational.”

The sentence had a profound effect on the Pleab. He pressed back in his chair, the dark tone of his skin turning a shade lighter.

“What has happened, Coric? You are in distress.”

“Distress! Yes, I am in distress. Are you not?”

“The array will be functioning again soon.”

“Shall I summarize for you, Sindus? We had two brief exchanges of information before your facility was damaged, verifying the existence of the Aris Kracion, as was relayed in the ancient documents. This was good. Yet the news of a massive colony of Klin was not. For eight hundred years the Olypon were under the control of the Klin. Yet they are now gone, and the Olypon control our own destiny. That destiny was to include an affiliation with the Aris, one which would lead us to power and glory within the galaxy. Now we learn that the Klin have been partners with Kracion for all this time. Yes, he will surely accept our assistance, yet in what capacity? Subservient to the Klin once again?”

“That will have to be negotiated,” Sindus replied. “Once contact is reestablished, we will receive the honor we deserve for freeing the Aris from his prolonged exile. It is a feat not easily dismissed. Not even the Klin—either here or in the other universe—could accomplish such a task. We will be rewarded.”

Coric was not placated. He was shaking his head. “And with that recognition was also to come protection, protection against the forces of the galaxy who would see Kracion—and us—as a threat. At this point, there is so little we know of the Aris and his powers. We were to learn of that before exposing ourselves. Now with the array inoperable, we are at a loss.”

“Of course, yet this is only temporary.”

“Even so, we may not have time. Adam Cain has already alerted the Union, and as a consequence the Expansion, of our intentions.”

Until this point, Sindus had been standing before the governing desk. Now he sat in a chair to relieved his weakened legs.

“How do you know this?”

“I received a link from Earth.”

“Directly? What did they say?”

“They asked about your facility, knowing it to be a trans-dimensional portal.”

“They…they….”

“I told them they were mistaken; that it was a communication array of considerable complexity due to the location of Olypon within the Dysion Void.”

“Did they believe you?”

“The CW signal was routed through Mon-Sim, yet I very much doubt they are believing. Adam Cain would not let them accept such a deflection.”

“But we are not ready—”

“That I am aware. We have but two hundred ships, all clustered within the Void. We could easily be barricaded at the Volseen Corridor. And without Kracion and any miracle weapons he could provide, we would be no match for even a small force from either the Expansion or the Union. We were to remain hidden until the time of our choosing. Now our plans—all of our plans—are in jeopardy.”

“I understand now your concern, Coric. I was not aware of what has taken place.”

“Everything is dependent on getting the array operational again, allowing for Kracion to enter the Void. He will provide guidance and our needed protection.” Coric gnashed his teeth in a fit of frustration. “At this point, I would even welcome the Klin, anything to save Olypon from certain doom.”

“I will expedite all efforts at the facility.”

Sindus stood up, just as an assistant entered the chamber unannounced.

“My Pleab, a development on Mon-Sim!” said the excited young Olypon. “The report is being relayed on channel six.”

With all the unexpected events over the past several days, Coric was not upset with the messenger and his abrupt appearance and report. Instead he turned to his control device and activated a large-screen monitor on the wall. The three natives stood in awe of what they saw.

It was a selection of aerial views of the transport facility on Mon-Sim, taken from orbit above the planet. It only took a moment to realize that the station had been attacked. Smoke still filled the thin air, and dozens of guards and repair crew lay on the ground between the tower array and what had once been the control center. One of the towers was on its side, a mangled mass of red metal strewn across the gray dust.

Sindus fell back into the chair. He knew the facility better than anyone. There was a backup control station in one of the generator buildings which could be modified if need be. But it was the loss of the tower that was the most devastating. The other two towers were still upright yet leaning at strange angles. The scientist knew the effort required to replace the tower and correct the others. That would take longer than rebuilding the control center.

And then Coric’s words came back to him, speaking of the Humans and the Expansion knowing of their purpose. In no reality would they give the Olypon time to repair such damage before entering the Void in force.

“My Pleab, what is that?” asked the young assistant, still in the room, having been caught up in the graphic nature of the video.

The scene had shifted, taken now from another of the many warships in orbit above the planet, showing a vast stretch of space lit by the ever-present glow of the Dysion Shield. Sindus knew what was happening, even if the Pleab did not.

A portal was opening.

* * *

The small Klin fleet shot through the rip in the space-time continuum, along with five of the Olypon ships before it closed. Unlike a traditional single-sided link, this was a one-time affair, a two-tower creation that would burn out after a single use. If Kracion had remained on the other side, he might have been able to rebuild the system. But not the Klin. Any future transits would have to be initiated from the Olypon side until the ancient TD array was rebuilt completely.

After a very brief period of disorientation, Kracion checked the location screens. He knew the portal would be open to his home galaxy, but exactly where was not known. It should be in the vicinity of the Olypon array, since the fabric of space-time had been joined by the creases of the TD arrays. But that was not guaranteed. His first concern was whether or not he was in the right galaxy at all. If he wasn’t, and without another array nearby, he could be trapped in a second lost universe for eternity, however long that was for him.

To his relief, he was sitting in space directly above a planet with an anomaly identified as a trans-dimensional portal array. He had made it. After four thousand years, Kracion was home….

“My Lord,” said a voice behind him. He had designated the title simply for convenience. The Klin insisted on calling him something other than his name. They seemed embarrassed to use it.

“Report.”

“Several contacts closing. Energy weapons charged.”

“Pilot, place the ship to the center of the formation! Order the Olypon in to form a screen around us. Shields up!”

“They are Olypon vessels, my Lord,” said the same officer.

“Olypon? Why are their weapons energized? Connect me to First Sentry Harkor.”

The Olypon commander appeared on a screen a moment later. He was in the lead alien ship, one of the five that made it through the portal.

“Your forces are engaging, why?” Kracion yelled. “Back them away or they will be destroyed. Defensive stations, prepare to fire.”

“My Lord Kracion, I am in contact with them at this moment. I have ordered them to stand down. They were on alert and not expecting our arrival. It was simply a reaction; no hostilities were intended.”

“Maintain alert status,” Kracion ordered the Klin bridge crew. “Answer any overt acts with full retaliation.”

“Yes my Lord.”

Kracion fingered his security vest, absently stroking the smooth leather straps. It would save him in case of the ship’s destruction, yet only temporarily. He was in a strange universe, one he’d not visited in four thousand years, and as long as he remained mortal, he was vulnerable. He was not known here; even the subservient Olypon had turned against him in a moment of confusion. He had a long way to go before his position in this galaxy would be secure.

“My Lord, other developments.”

The high-pitched squeal of the Klin officer was grating on Kracion’s nerves. The alien had given him nothing but bad news since their arrival in the home galaxy. What now?

A screen lit up next to the main monitor, this one showing a section of the planet below. The image zoomed in.

Kracion didn’t need to ask what these new developments were; he could see them on the screen. It was a magnified view of the portal array complex. It was a total loss, with one of the towers spread out on the ground to the west and only two of the three buildings remaining intact. As it was at the facility on the moon Zanor, the control center was gone. But there was more.

A number of beings in spacesuits were running from the complex in panic, while others lay motionless on the gray ground, spread haphazardly about. And in the light atmosphere of the planet, dust and smoke lingered in the air. What had happened to the facility had just occurred.

Kracion was stunned. There had been a high probability that Adam Cain did not have a chance to cause severe damage to the facility, not after jumping into the middle of an Olypon fleet. He would have been fortunate to escape alive. However, there was also a chance he had engaged in a suicide attack to prevent Kracion from entering the galaxy. But even that would have caused minor damage. So Kracion was expecting a facility that could be easily repaired, which would provide him the means to return to the Newfound—and his encasement chamber—if the need arose. Now it appeared he was trapped in this universe and without options for return.

And until he found the Aris station, he would remain mortal for all that time.

Could this be the work of Adam Cain? Possibly, yet eight days local time had elapsed. Would he have remained in the area for that duration? Could he have mustered an assault team from local resources, possibly even among the Olypon? Or was this something else? His questions were many, and for a creature like Kracion, having questions without answers was a sin.

“Search the survivors for the perpetrators,” Kracion ordered.

“How…how can we tell, my Lord?” asked a brave—or foolish—crewmember.

“Study the spacesuits. Beings with suits like those lying dead on the ground are to be discounted. Look for others.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Would you wish to inspect the damage?” asked the Klin captain, Benorin Velosi. “Shall I prepare a shuttle?”

Kracion cringed. A shuttle? No! That would be too exposed, and the terrorists may still be in the area.

“No…instruct the Olypon force commander to escort my ship to their planet. I seek an audience with their leader.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

10

Having left the TD facility in a sprint, Adam and the team reached the Mustang Sally ten minutes later and ran inside, huffing and puffing even in the light gravity of Mon-Sim. Monty took up piloting duties while Copernicus sat at the nav station and Riyad designated a free console for the ship’s limited weapons. Tidus rotated a chair next to him.

“I’m calling up the threat board,” Riyad announced. “Damn…looks like twenty-one of those oblong Klin ships above us, plus a whole slew of Olypon.”

“How can we escape from such a force?” asked the Flin mercenary. “They will destroy us the moment we lift off.”

“He’s right,” said Monty from the pilot seat. “And we can’t sit here. Eventually they’ll scan farther out and see us.”

“This thing has landing skids, doesn’t it?” Adam asked.

“You know it does. We’re sitting on them right now.”

“Then we need to put some distance between us and the TD array before we make for space. How small of a gravity-well can you create ahead of us?”

“Small? You want us to be pulled along the surface with a gravity-well? Are you crazy?”

“A little. But we can’t use chemical drive, that would leave a trail.”

“Yet the Sally skidding along the ground won’t?” Riyad asked.

“Yeah, but most of our dust will be sucked into the singularity. We’ll leave a line in the sand, along with some torn up soil, but nothing that should be visible from seventy-five thousand miles in space.”

“You hope not,” Copernicus said. “I say go for it. What do we have to lose?”

“My thoughts exactly. What say you, master chief? You up for some cross-country skiing?”

Monty Pitts already had the generators humming. It would be a minute or so before they would be charged enough for the focusing rings to create a series of miniature blackholes out of nothing. Monty fingered the controls to the gravity-well with exquisite precision, moving the dial until there was barely a signal. The well would have to be incredibly small to avoid being detected from space. And to make it move the ship, it would also have to be incredibly close. The graphic on his display placed the microscopic dot only nineteen feet beyond the farthest point of the forward section of the Sally. The ship began to move.

Then it rumbled to a stop, plowing a portion of the nose into the loose soil. Pitts made adjustments, angling the focusing rings up slightly, giving the Sally a little extra lift. They began to move again.

Moments later they were skiing over the gray surface at a respectable clip. Adam was disappointed to see that not all the dust was being sucked forward into the gravity-well. It wasn’t strong enough to pick up all traces.

“There,” Adam said, pointing. “Get behind that hill. It should give us some cover.”

“From the surface, but not the air.” Copernicus noted.

Adam ignored him, although he was closely studying Coop’s nav screen, watching the miles click off.

The mountain range dissecting the planet was not a contiguous feature. At various intervals one mountain would descend to the high plain before another rose up to take its place. At one of these gaps, Monty pulled the Sally off the ground and began to thread cautiously through a steep valley. Fifteen minutes later they were on the other side of the mountain range.

“Time to make a break for space?” Pitts asked. The question was out of respect for Adam’s rank, but he already had the starship angled upwards.

“Ready on weapons,” Adam ordered.

Riyad and Tidus had been ready for forty minutes, tensely gripping the firing controls, waiting for a target.

To their surprise, the space above the planet was relatively clear of hostiles. Coop expanded the range and picked up a large mass of ships bolting away, heading for Olypon; the Klin vessels remained in formation while following the signatures of the native ships.

“This is our opening, guys!” Adam explained. “Mr. Pitts, get us to the Shield as soon as you can.”

“You are not expecting another transit of the nebula, are you?” the master chief asked. “We’re pretty beat up, and I don’t know the way from here.”

“Just hide us somewhere,” Adam said. “It looks like Kracion is going to Olypon. Let’s wait and see what his next move is. If he decides to stick around until the TD array is repaired, that will give our people time to get here, and maybe even the Expansion, if Sherri and Arieel have any success. The longer he stays in the Void, the better. At least here he’s contained.”

* * *

Coric’s office was swarming with heavily armed Klin. He had many years of experience with the silver-skinned aliens, yet he found these to be different. These seemed stronger, rougher. The Klin who had occupied Olypon for all those centuries had been more gentle, delicate even. Not these Klin from the lost universe.

They cleared most of the people from the building, over the protests of the natives, staring down several members of Coric’s security force until he ordered his people to obey. This was what he feared, that the Aris would treat the Olypon as second-class citizens in his new regime. Yet he could not blame the alien. He did not know the Olypon, only from the brief contact he had with First Sentry Harkor and his small fleet. It would be Coric’s job to win over the powerful being.

Kracion eventually entered, a disappointment in Coric’s mind. The god-being and the Source, as he was called by various contingents of the Klin, was a slender, frail-looking creature of modest height. On the streets he would have been barely noticeable, someone to ignore. Coric did his best to put aside his preconceptions. This was the alien referred to in dozens of ancient documents, the genius who had single-handedly formed what the galaxy had become, and who not only helped create races, but also provided the wonders that allowed the Klin to set the stage for the Expansion and all the other empires it has spawned, including the Human Orion-Cygnus Union. Standing before him could be the creature who created the Olypon from primordial mud. By all definitions, Kracion was a god, no matter what he looked like.

“I am Kracion,” the Aris stated. “Who are you?”

“I am Coric Son Kal Sorum, Pleab of the Olypon. I welcome you to our world. We are at your service, having done all we could to make this moment possible.”

“Yes, you built the array, using ancient plans I left with the Klin. For that I am appreciative. For allowing the facility to be destroyed, I am not. You will devote all your efforts to its rebuilding. Spare no personnel or resources. The array must be functioning in twenty days.”

“Twenty days?” Coric gasped. “My…my Lord, it took us four years to build it initially.”

“You will complete the task as I have ordered. The generators are intact, as are two of the towers. I will instruct your technicians in new production methods and will provide a pair of my service modules to supervise the construction. It will be done.”

With that statement, Kracion moved behind the governing desk and sat in Coric’s chair. The Pleab was standing in the center of the room, there to greet the Aris. He did not protest the appropriation of his seat and position. Kracion motioned for him to take a chair on the other side of the desk.

“We shall have a discussion, Pleab Coric. I have been away from the home galaxy for a long time; there is much I must learn. I was not aware Olypon was located within a void area within a nebula. The names you call these regions will mean nothing to me initially. At the time I was stranded within the Newfound Galaxy, no such names existed. You will give me a briefing as to our location and the forces of the galaxy as you know them to be. I wish to learn of opponents, of political and military alliances, as well as scientific technology with regards to transport and weaponry. Bring in what prompts you need. I can absorb the knowledge much faster than you can provide it. I seek first a living perspective on the missing history of the galaxy, after which I will access your computer databases.”

“I will be more than willing to oblige; however, I must inform you of a potential threat developing.”

“Proceed.”

“The Humans—you are aware of the race? They are sending a delegation to Olypon.”

“I know of the Humans,” Kracion replied, displaying a thin, sly smile. “Why are they sending a delegation? Do you have relations with the species?”

“We do not, yet they have learned of the portal array. I told them it was a communication facility; however I doubt they believed me.”

“Are the Humans powerful in this galaxy?”

“They are among the handful of races with dominance, yet the nebula does not fall within their jurisdiction.”

“Then why are they allowed to come?”

It was Coric’s turn to smile. “The Humans may not control the largest empire, yet they are commonly accepted to be the most-powerful. They do as they please most of the time.”

“What is your ship strength?”

“We have two hundred warships at the moment, producing more as we speak.”

“I surveyed your region of space. There appears to be only one way in.”

“Yes, the Volseen Corridor.”

“Station a strong force at the entrance. Allow no entry until my other forces arrive through the completed portal.”

“Others—primarily the Humans—have gained access to the Dysion Void through the Shield wall.”

“They have? Interesting. Is this the intent of this Human delegation? I detect a belief in you that they are not coming for diplomatic purposes.”

“That may be their initial design,” Coric said. “But the Humans are known for their erratic behavior. Nothing with the Humans is for certain.”

“Then patrol this Shield wall. You must not let anyone deter you from your task of rebuilding the array.”

Coric noticed something in the Aris’ tone. “Are you not planning to remain until the repairs are complete?”

“No, I am not.”

“But how…how will you leave the Void?”

“That is of my concern. I will take the Klin fleet with me. Your responsibility, Pleab Coric, will be the array and the security of your homeworld. In the future, your forces will play a very important role in the conquest of the galaxy. Are you willing to accept this responsibility?”

There it was, the confirmation Coric had been hoping for.

“Yes, my Lord. The Olypon have devoted all our means and measure to your return. We are at your service.”

“Very good. Now, let us proceed with the briefing. I am anxious to learn what you have done with my galaxy while I was gone.”

* * *

One tiny starship, glued to the face of a mountain-size asteroid, was impossible to spot unless one knew what they were looking for. The Olypon patrols racing along the edge of the Dysion Shield were traveling too fast to detect the weak energy signature bleeding from the Mustang Sally. The team relaxed, while grimly assessing their situation.

They didn’t have the means to communicate through the turmoil of the nebula, so warning the galaxy that Kracion was here was not possible. Some of the ship’s critical early-warning systems were offline, and a manual transit of the Shield was out of the question. They had food and water for about a week, seeing that the small muleship now had a passenger list of ten. Comms within the Void were possible, and the team was able to monitor local chatter. What they heard wasn’t encouraging. The Olypon were moving forces to the Volseen Corridor, essentially blocking off any access to the Dysion, in or out. Adam knew they were doing this to give them time to rebuild the array. If that happened, then Kracion could move more Klin ships over, even if they had to come in 22-minute-long increments. Kracion would consolidate his forces, hidden from the prying eyes of the galaxy.

At least he hoped there were prying eyes. So far no one seemed anxious to jump on the major-new-threat-to-the-galaxy bandwagon. Fortunately, this delay could give Arieel and Sherri time to get to Formil where they might have more success convincing the Expansion of the risk. Of course, this was assuming Arieel could maintain her status within the Formilian power structure.

Even if that was so, Adam and his team couldn’t stay here. Eventually they would have to make a supply run, and the only planet with what they needed was Olypon itself. That wouldn’t be the smartest move they could make.

On the bright side, they were alive, relatively safe…but depressed as hell.

11

The line looked more like a snake than a course.

“No offense, Kaylor, but you’re crazy.”

“It is not I who charted the path through the Core,” the blue-skinned alien said in his defense. “This is what we found in the Klin archives. Adam requested we search for a quicker route from the Juddle Nebula to Formil, and that is what we have done. Unfortunately, it leads through the Core.”

“I know that,” Sherri Valentine said. “That’s not what I’m getting at. It’s crazy to expect me to be able to follow such a course, and especially within the most dangerous part of the galaxy.”

“That is why it is so convoluted,” Jym squeaked. The two aliens were on the huge bridge of the Colony Ship, speaking with Sherri and Arieel over a video CW link. “There are numerous obstacles along the way.”

“You’re making my case for me.”

“I do not understand.”

Sherri shook her head. Arieel was seated next to her on the bridge of the Davion. “Are you a proficient enough pilot for such a transit?” the voluptuous alien asked.

Sherri didn’t take offense; she was thinking the same thing. “And that’s another point. I’ve never been the primary pilot during any of our adventures. I always let the guys drive.”

“We will maintain communications throughout,” Kaylor assured her. “We will help guide you.”

“Well, we ain’t going to set any land-speed records along the way, that’s for sure.”

“Of course not,” Jym said. “You will be in space.”

Sherri was still shaking her head. “So when do we start?”

“You are nine light-years out from the first turn. I would prepare yourselves now. Arieel will have to monitor the threat board for any unexpected obstacles. The date on these records suggest that they are relatively recent—about ten years old. Yet this is the Core; there are constant changes taking place.”

“Okay, let’s do this thing. We have to get Arieel to Formil as soon as possible. We have no time to waste.”

“Yet if our haste results in her death—”

Kaylor jabbed Jym in the ribs.

“You will make it,” the Belsonian said, glaring at his small bear-like associate. “A pilot’s confidence is often his—or her—greatest asset.”

“Thanks, Kaylor. Let’s get this over with.”

Kaylor checked his screens. “Once in the channel, transit time should be nine hours before you are beyond the most-dangerous region. Rest if you can before you start your run. It will become intense very soon.”

* * *

Among other things, the Klin had been master navigators. They also sought the most secret and obscure routes to protect them from their numerous enemies within the Milky Way. The course through the Core was one of them.

Sherri tried to reassure herself. The Klin would not risk their lives on something that wasn’t safe. There had been far too few of them for that to happen. So everything would be fine.

The first evidence she got that that may not be so was when she and Arieel crossed the imaginary boundary that all standard charts called ‘restricted territory.’ A few light-years farther along, they began to see why.

The space around the Core was swarming with stars, many more than could be found in even the densest nebula or globular cluster. They came in all shapes and colors, creating a veritable maze of gravity channels and waves which played havoc with the drive system of the Davion. Star drives worked best when free of outside influences, like stellar masses and planets. But there was no escaping the hundreds of stars filling the space before them.

Sherri had the course plugged into the nav computer and the ship was doing an admirable job of following it. Or at least it had been. Now the warping of space became so chaotic that the readings became suspect. Traditional means of surveying the curvature of space were useless.

“Do I have to take manual control?” Sherri asked Kaylor through the CW link.

The alien’s image wavered. “I did not hear your question.”

“The autopilot is going wacky,” she said. “I may have to take manual control pretty soon.”

“That would not be advised.”

“What else can I—”

The screen turned to static. Sherri checked the link time. It had only been seven minutes.

“Wormhole communications only last until the fabric of space shifts to a new pattern,” Arieel stated. “Around the Core, the fabric is ever-shifting.”

“That’s just great,” Sherri said, exasperated.

“I do not see where that is a benefit,” the Formilian said, confused.

“It’s not.”

Sherri studied the nav chart. They were still on course, but from the vibration of the generators she could tell the engines were fighting a strong pull to their right. It was obvious why. The outer rim of the event horizon for the supermassive blackhole at the center of the galaxy was only twenty light-years away. Even at this distance, there was a steady, brilliant glow in that direction.

The other curious feature of the space they were moving through was that the objects on their screens were moving at incredible speeds. As she and Arieel watched, star-size objects would actually shift several degrees. That would take speeds approaching one-half light. Dozens of stellar furnaces were nearing their last stage, soon to whip around the event horizon of the supermassive black hole, slowly spiraling in. Sherri was in awe of the fact that something the size of a star could be sucked into a dark void, lost forever in an impossibly large abyss. She just hoped the Davion didn’t join them.

“Is that object within our course?” Arieel asked, pointing at an energy signature on the screen.

“It certainly looks like it,’ Sherri replied. She didn’t have to guess. The white line of their course dissected the object.

“What is it?” Arieel asked. “It does not have the signature of a star.”

She was right. The energy readings showed a curved flare to the north with another, thinner line to the southwest. To Sherri it looked like radar pictures of a disorganized hurricane eyewall. The fact that it formed a broken circle made her blood run cold.

Could this be a black hole directly in their path?

Sherri disengaged the autopilot and the ship immediately surged to the right.

“What are you doing?” Arieel yelled.

“That’s a black hole up there, and if we don’t get away soon, we’ll be caught in its grip. The little Davion won’t be able to pull away.”

“Yet now we are headed for the glow.”

“Give me a minute; this thing is really fighting me.”

The Klin KFV could be controlled by either a flight stick or by computer input. Sherri now had the stick between her legs struggling to pull it to the left. The ship straightened out, but now it was back on the original course…toward the smaller blackhole.

She pulled harder, but the stick wouldn’t cooperate.

“Shall I assist?” asked Arieel as she moved closer.

“That would help, but let’s not break the damn thing.”

Even with Arieel’s strength added, it was a losing battle. They couldn’t get the Davion turned to the left enough to get away from both blackholes.

“This isn’t working,” Sherri said. “Let me try one more thing. Give me the stick.”

Arieel backed away.

Sherri let the stick wander to the right. The ship followed. Then she gunned the engines, deepening the well ahead of them. They had been moving along at barely a quarter of max speed, picking their way carefully through the minefield of stars and debris. Now they raced forward.

“How is this helping?” Arieel asked. “All it is doing is hastening our demise.”

“What can I say; I’m impatient.”

Arieel’s face was still covered with shock when the Davion zipped by the invisible event horizon of the small blackhole, evident only as a gravity signature on the screens. The pull from the supermassive blackhole lessened, overcome by the much closer influence of the singularity on their left. Then Sherri shifted course, more to port.

The stick accommodated, feeling looser than before, using the gravity of the smaller blackhole to whip them along their arched path through space. Sherri maintained the strength of their gravity-well, adding it’s influence to the gravitational assist the Davion was getting from the singularity now behind them and off the port rear quarter.

The drag on the ship decreased as the blackhole fell away in the distance, allowing Sherri to steer farther to the left, lining back up on the original course line. They had passed the midpoint to the galaxy, now heading essentially downhill from here.

Sherri reengaged the autopilot and pushed back from her console.

“How about doing us a favor, Arieel? Go below and fix us a couple of the strongest intoxicants you can conjure up. I feel like having a stiff one.”

Arieel smiled. “I assume you are speaking of a beverage.”

“For now, but no promises when we get to Formil. Your men are unbelievably hot.”

“They are attractive as well.”

12

Adam was called to the bridge by Monty Pitts three days into their stay within the Dysion Shield. The ship was on rations, but that wouldn’t last long. Sooner or later they would have to do something.

“What’s up, master chief?”

“Increased activity along the Shield wall.”

Adam tensed. “Looking for us?”

“I don’t think so. They’re doing a methodical survey of the nebula. I think they’re looking for weak points.”

“That would make sense. I’m sure Kracion doesn’t intend to take his fleet through the center of the nebula. He’s planning on doing what the Humans did; cut a hole through it. But where, and how?”

“From what you say of this Aris creature, the how is pretty much decided. He’s smart enough to already have a way. The where is still a question.”

Monty put a survey of the Shield on the screen in front of him. There was a blue dot to the left. “This is where we are. The Klin—and only the Klin—are over here.” He pointed to the right. The plot map wasn’t really a survey, but more of a suggestion. There were huge swaths of yellow, signifying unknown regions or areas where data was now out of date. This covered eighty percent of the screen.

“Is that the place? Can you tell?”

“The Juddle Nebula was created from a series of supernovas, a chain reaction in fact,” the master chief began. “It spread out over a vast area before gravitational forces began to draw it back in. At one point the star Kryils came into being and cleaned out the nebula around it, creating the Void. It’s still influencing the region, making the Void smaller. As it does, it affects the inner wall of the Shield more than the outer portion. This makes the barrier wider and thinner in sections. This looks like one of them. This could be their way out.”

“We should get over there. That could be our way out as well.”

“I’d wait until we see what they’re going to use to open the hole. If it’s large enough to move a fleet through, I don’t think we want to be anywhere near it, especially not within the Shield.”

Adam smiled. “Good point, chief.”

“But there is a lot of activity. What’s going to happen will be soon.”

“This means Kracion isn’t waiting for the array to be rebuilt. He’s going out looking for the Aris space station on his own, not waiting for the rest of his fleet. This could be to our advantage. I’ll wake up the others. This is the best news we’ve had in a while. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.”

* * *

The breakout came a day later.

All twenty-one of the Klin ships showed up at the barrier, with one larger signature located within a shield of flanking vessels. That had to be where Kracion was located. Where else would a god-like being ride but in the biggest and the best. Adam watched the image feeling impotent, knowing that Lila and Panur were aboard the ship. But with Kracion heading out with only this small force, the galaxy still had a chance. The Aris madman was still mortal. One well-placed shot would put an end to this whole thing. After which they would scour the wreckage for the mutants.

Of course, Adam couldn’t do the job alone. He needed a little help from his friends.

* * *

Kracion had the mutants sequestered in a room off the bridge with a camera on them and the image transfer to his command chair. The pair of odd creatures was too much of a distraction for the Klin bridge crew for them to be kept in the same room as he.

He surveyed the multiple screens before him. A circular phalanx of Klin ships was lined up facing the distant wall of the nebula, it’s gases alive with swirls of brilliant colors. On his command, they would launch a series of hundreds of remote controlled gravity probes into the Shield. They would activate miniature gravity-wells, sucking in volumes of debris. Then more would be launched, one wave after another, until they burst out on the other side of the barrier. Then it would be Kracion’s turn to move forward.

Now he gave the order to launch the gravity probes. There was no time to waste.

* * *

He’d spent several hours listening to the excitable, yet nervous, Olypon leader give his recital on the Milky Way galaxy. That was a term the Humans associated with the home galaxy, one of thousands of such named references. It was now the common nomenclature accepted by a thin majority of races, content in having a neutral name for something they all shared.

Then he set to work absorbing computer data relating to the history and technological base of the galaxy. This was a huge amount of information, containing not only data on a handful of worlds, but on thousands.

Kracion was in awe of it all, thinking how in such a short time he had been the catalyst for all that had taken place over the past four thousand years. Without his influence, the Alliance of the Klin would still be a fledgling grouping of civilizations, one of many, yet none reaching galactic scale in the time allotted. His intention had been to speed up the interaction of the races, a circumstance that would hasten the creation of the Apex Being. It worked. Now the galaxy was a mixture of thousands of species, many aware of the others and associating across the star lanes. Without Kracion, the Milky Way would be only a vague shadow of what it was today, with tens of thousands of years still to go before reaching maturity.

Yet the data he was accumulating was limited to the speed of the primitive computers in use. He could absorb the information much faster than it could be disseminated. Therefore, his study was not complete when time came for him to leave the confines of the Dysion Void and begin his quest for Solis, the artificial world of the Aris.

Although he’d been out of his encasement chamber much longer than this in the past, there were far too many unknowns in this galaxy to make him feel secure. His pride prevented him from considering these unknowns as threats, but that was what they were as long as he remained in his current state. In the past—both distant and recent—he had not feared death as much as he did now. It was simply his destiny. He would do his job and then return to his chamber, to be awaken in another hundred thousand, or even a million years beyond. He had lived for billions of years, yet in tiny increments. Whether the experiments of the Privileged could produce the results as expected was a question he seldom pondered. If they did or didn’t it would have very little impact on him. His kind had not been included in the first round of immortality should the time come. They would be rewarded only later, if there was any immortality left to be spread around.

And that was why he took matters into his own hands. As the mutant Panur had said, Kracion was not a young Aris. He had been when he began his long journey, but even in the encasement chambers, the body still aged. And his frequent awakenings only subtracted more years from his existence. Gone were the maintenance centers where new organs, joints and skeletal features could be provided. The Aris had gambled their future on the creation of a single immortal being. Now all Kracion had was what was left of his natural life…unless he could learn the secret of immortal assimilation. He was sure he could figure it out, once the equipment was before him. He also had the knowledge that the eighteen surviving Aris within Nunki’s class had achieved their ultimate goal. They were now immortal, and hopefully, off on some eternal quest for all knowledge and understanding.

That was great for them, but not Kracion. He had grander plans.

Physically, he was just like every other Aris. What worked for the Privileged would work for him. Now he had possession of the Apex Being—as well as a backup. And knowing that immortals really did exist and the technology was available for passing that miracle on to others, gave Kracion an emotional thrill like he’d never experienced before.

Yet that was tempered by the startling fact that he could be denied his destiny in one of a million different ways in this chaotic galaxy. As of now, he was just like any other living being, susceptible to death, premature or otherwise. And now he was in a strange universe which he was only now beginning to understand. And the more he learned, the more paranoid he became. If ever there was a place full of innate danger, it was the Milky Way galaxy.

* * *

The outer rim of the channel had been cut through using the small, yet powerful gravity mines. Now Kracion ordered his flagship forward, until it was only a thousand miles from where the wisps of nebular gas became thicker, more noticeable.

“Charge the wave drum,” he said to the bridge crew.

They knew their jobs; he’d been drilling them in the process for several days, once it was discovered what was required to breach the barrier.

Computer screens showed dials and graphs as energy built up within the gravity generators. The focusing rings had been modified, re-tasked. Now the moment was here.

“Fire!”

The gravity wave burst out from a point several hundred miles in advance of the warship. It was unidirectional, creating tremendous force heading away from the flagship. The invisible blast struck a portion of the Dysion Shield, pressing it away, yet filtering throughout the entire depth of the barrier. An entire section of the wall moved away, following the weakened points from the gravity mines. A huge mass of the gas and debris left the Shield, maintaining the tubular form until it was thousands of miles beyond the outer wall and into clear space. When the wave dissolved, the gases spread out, creating another small nebula next to the dwarfing magnitude of the Juddle.

A channel was now open in the Shield, circular and straight, as if bored out with a drill. It was three thousand miles in diameter, enough to allow a span of five starships abreast to transit on minimal gravity drive without overlapping. Kracion only had twenty-one vessels to move through. At least at this time. The Olypon would post sentries at the opening to guard against any uninvited entry. Then when his full fleet was in the Milky Way, this would be their avenue into a wide, new universe. He would meet up with them in the near future. And when he did, he would fulfill his destiny, as the one true god of the galaxy…an immortal god.

13

Captain Curt Lyon stood aghast at the scene before him. The immense cloud of gas and debris had erupted from the wispy wall of the Juddle Nebula like a giant solar flare. It had come without warning, filling the space before his nineteen-ship-squadron, stopping them in their tracks.

“Maintain position,” he commanded. “What are we looking at, Mr. Jansen?”

LCDR Steve Jansen was the science officer aboard, something that was a necessity for galaxy-traversing starships, rather than a tribute to Star Trek. There were just too many unexplained things happening within interstellar space.

“A powerful concussion wave accompanied the outburst, captain,” the junior officer reported. “It’s dissipated by now and the gas cloud is expanding.”

Lyon checked the charts. “That’s the wall between here and the Dysion Void. Any breach you can see?”

“Still looking, sir. Our instruments are all screwy at the moment. There’s a lot of static electricity resulting from the gas cloud.”

“Are we blind, Mr. Harvath?” the captain asked the navigator on duty.

“In the direction of the nebula, sir, but the screens are clearing. This appears to be a temporary effect.”

Captain Lyon propped an elbow on the left arm of his command chair, placing his chin in it for stability as he thought. His unit was on a mission to enter the Juddle Nebula at Tel’oran for a guided transit to the Dysion Void and the planet Olypon. Aboard was a small group of diplomats, along with a larger team of commandos. They were tasked with researching a supposed trans-dimensional portal within the Kryils system. If the facility was as suspected, then the diplomats were to attempt a negotiated agreement to shut it down pending a comprehensive study of its purpose and threat level. If that failed, then Lyon had the authority to send in the commandos. This would cause an uproar within the Expansion, but that was for others back on Earth to sort out. They were still six days from entering the Void—a legendary location for the Human military—and one which Lyon remembered from his days as a boot lieutenant twelve years ago. He wasn’t part of the force that breached the barrier to take on the Kracori, the Klin and the Juireans, but he had shared vicariously in the pride of the victory. He was anxious to see the place first hand.

But now this. He didn’t know how to react to the anomaly, which at this point was all it was. This was probably another of those natural phenomena common throughout space, even if his science officer was at a loss to explain it.

“Sir, I’m picking up gravity signatures mixed in with the gas cloud,” announced his weapons officer.

“Within the cloud?”

“More on the other side, partially hidden from us at this point. The number and intensity is climbing.”

Lyon began to see what was happening. A section of the barrier wall had been blasted out…and now starships were emerging from within the Void.

“Sound General Quarters!” he ordered. “Set Condition One, all hands to their battle stations.”

The bridge exploded in a symphony of organized chaos. Each sailor donned specialized radiation gear and placed breathing masks around their necks in case of atmosphere loss. The lights dimmed, replaced by red illumination and the glow from monitoring screens.

“Disburse the fleet, fan out in three sections.”

“Sir, image becoming clearer…twelve, no fifteen ships on screen. They are of an unknown configuration with energy batteries armed. Now twenty, twenty-one bogies. They are moving to engage.”

“Shields at maximum. Do not fire unless fired upon. We don’t know they’re intent.”

“It’s pretty obvious what their intention is,” his XO whispered from the weapons station.

“We’ll wait to verify, Mr. Roberts.”

Lyon scanned the tac screen. He had three sections of warships, consisting of two rows. His command ship was placed to the rear, behind the central formation. There were nine ships facing the enemy, their weapons charged and outer doors open.

“They’re slowing, sir, coming to face us, range one hundred thousand kilometers.”

This was easily within the range of the flash cannon. Lyon also had a full complement of gravity torpedoes, as well as an assortment of ballistic weapons which could be used closer in. Although his numbers were small, he commanded a formidable force. All he needed now was to learn the intentions of this unknown—

The first row of Human warships suddenly exploded, lighting up the space forward of his command vessel. Lyon was confused; they’d received no notification of shots being fired.

“What the hell just happened?” he yelled out.

“Unknown sir, but we just lost half of our units. They…they simply exploded.”

“Full back!” Captain Lyon ordered. “get some distance between us and the enemy.”

Back-wells were initiated, pulling the surviving ten Human warships from the static line they’d been maintaining.

“Update!” he commanded. “I received no warning of shots fired.”

Commander Daniel Roberts was at the weapons console, hovering over the shoulder of a chief petty officer. He turned to his captain. “There were no shots fired by the enemy ships. Nothing at all.”

“Well something destroyed my ships! What was it?”

“Sir! Enemy ships advancing. They’re closing, sir.” Lyon could hear the panic in Lieutenant Harvath’s voice.

“Evasive action. Open fire with everything we’ve got. Lay down a screen.”

The ship bucked, as powerful plasma bolts lashed out from the command ship. On the tac screen Lyon saw that all his ships were doing the same. Then came the vibration of ballistics being released, millions of tiny metal ball bearings traveling at tens of thousands of kilometers an hour. They were each miniature meteorites, capable of passing through diffusion screens with impunity and causing catastrophic damage to anything they came in contact with.

The torpedoes were launched as well, smart weapons that would lock on enemy targets and not give up until they were either destroyed or reached their destinations.

Then three more of his ships disintegrated.

“What the hell is happening?” Lyon called out to no one in particular.

“Three more ships off-screen. Now two more.” This was his Executive Officer reporting. His voice had more anger than fear in it.

“Give the order, Mr. Roberts. Full retreat. Enter deep gravity-wells at the earliest opportunity. Get us out of here.”

“Aye sir. Navigator, come about. Set course for one-one-six, down twenty. Full—”

To the five remaining ships in the Human force, the command ship simply exploded on their screens. Yet they had little time to consider the consequences. Each ship was on its own, running for the cover of deep gravity-wells. Two made it, while another three disappeared from the monitors before they could enter the wells.

Of the nineteen ships of Task Force Alpha Green, only two got away. They remained in deep wells for six light-years before stopping to assess their situation. The enemy ships weren’t following. As Commander Alex Steele of the UFS Greenville caught his breath, he sent all pertinent data in a burst message to Earth using a CW link. Within minutes, the full extent of the tragedy was being transmitted around Phoenix Command and the halls of the Pentagon in Columbia.

Everyone who saw the data pack was at a loss to explain what happened. Seventeen warships of the Human fleet had simply exploded, and with no corresponding incoming from the unknown enemy ships.

As the initiator of the mission, Admiral James Warner, assistant to the Joints Chiefs of Staff, was one of the first to receive the data pack. He was in Columbia at the time, in his office, enjoying a mid-day snack at his desk. Now he sat in stunned disbelief for a moment before opening a comm line with General Paul Sharp in Phoenix. It was eleven in the morning in the desert.

“I’m sending you a data link, Paul,” said the admiral. “It seems our little exploratory mission to the Juddle Nebula has met with disaster. Seventeen of the nineteen ships have been summarily destroyed, and we can’t figure out how. It seems Captain Cain’s warning about this Aris thing is coming true.”

“What do you mean you can’t figure out how?” Sharp asked, himself stunned by the news.

“The ships just blew up, and without any fire coming from what I assume were Aris ships.”

“Cain said the Kracion had a fleet of Klin ships with him, as well as Olypon. He also talked about the genius of the Aris. This could be the first indicator.”

The image of Admiral Warner was one of worry. His skin was pale and he kept running his finger between the pages on the screen of his datapad, reviewing the report. “This is some shit, Paul. We have the computer records from the two surviving ships that got away. We should know more once they’ve been gone over.”

“And Cain? Any word from him?”

“Nothing, not since that first contact.”

“Seems we probably should have listened when we had the chance.”

“We did send a force,” Warner barked. “What more could we have done, considering what little we had to go by? And this attack took place outside the Dysion Void. There was no way we could have been expecting something like this.”

“Outside the Void?”

“That’s right,” Warner acknowledged. He huffed. “That’s about all we do know, the location of the attack.”

“We also know that if what Adam was saying is true, this Kracion bastard is now out of the nebula and into open space, and with a weapon system we have no counter for. I say you get a hold of your boss and tell him to get everything we have on alert. And get him to get the fucking Juireans off their asses, too. This happened in their space. And, Jim, see if we can find Cain. He knows more about this alien than any of us.”

“I’m on it, Paul. And in the meantime, look over the data with your scientific perspective. This is a technological breakthrough, which is right up your alley.”

14

Kracion didn’t care that most of his crews were in the dark as to what just happened. They had been part of a glorious one-sided victory against the forces of the birth-galaxy, yet very few had an understanding of the event. There were the loaders, of course. They had packaged up explosives that were then sent to the cargo bay of the flagship. After that, they didn’t know what happened next.

The captains of the twenty Klin warships had gone where ordered and took up positions fronting the Human vessels. Then the enemy ships began to explode. The Klin had not been ordered to fire, only to pursue once the enemy retreated. The flagship came forward as well. And then more of the Human ships exploded. Only two managed to gain entry into deep gravity-wells before the attack—if it could be called that—was called off.

Kracion then gave the commanders a course to follow, and the twenty-one unscathed and victorious warships set off for one of the minor spurs of the galaxy. None of the Klin knew this island of stars, only vague references to the Alliance Cluster and the mythical world of Klinmon. There were rumors that Klinmon no longer existed, stories that circulated days before they were ordered to accompany the god-being into the birth-galaxy.

Yet with this stunning victory, the Klin of the fleet were feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride, not from their own actions, but from those of Kracion. Everything he’d done to this point had succeeded. And now they were bolting through space, heading for an unknown destination, yet with purpose and intent known only to him. And who were they to question their god?

* * *

It was a confused mass of sparkling energy that Adam ordered the Mustang Sally into after Kracion’s gravity blast cut an impressively large and smooth corridor through the Shield wall. Although there were a few Olypon ships around, the Klin were gone, having bolted into the opening in groups of five. Now Adam followed.

Taking the master chief’s advice, Adam had the Sally lay back and observe the Klin’s actions from a safe distance. But then when the massive gravity wave hit the Shield, cutting out a near-perfect cylinder through the barrier, everyone stood in awe of what just happened. And it wasn’t only the crew of the Sally. It was also the few Olypon vessels that had witnessed the event as well.

But Adam had recovered before the Olys and ordered the muleship into the corridor at near full gravity drive. In the blink of an eye, they were through—and nearly colliding with the ass ends of the Klin ships that had made the transit earlier.

“Hard to port!” Adam ordered, something he didn’t have to do. This was Monty Pitts’ ship, and he didn’t need anyone telling him how to save the Sally from peril.

Fortunately, none of the oblong Klin ships were paying attention to their six. Instead, they were focused on the small group of Human warships fronting them.

Adam saw an opportunity. They were clear of the Dysion Void and could now bolt off for the depths of the Kidis Frontier and the location of the lost Aris world. He was sure that was Kracion’s intention for breaking out of the Void, to reach the station as soon as possible What Kracion—nor Adam—were expecting was to find a force of Human warships on the other side of the barrier. Should he stop to help?

There were nineteen of them against twenty-one Klin. Adam considered his options. He was in a lightly-armed muleship and could offer no assistance to his fellow Humans. Instead, the fleet could be the distraction he needed to get ahead of Kracion. Hopefully, Monty’s ship would have the horsepower to stay there.

“Master chief, get us heading for the Kidis, maximum well-depth. How fast can the Sally go?”

“Pretty damn fast, when not towing a string. She’s essentially all engines and no frills. Hold on,” he ordered figuratively. The ship bolted away.

* * *

“That didn’t take long,” Copernicus said from the nav station a few minutes later. “The Klin are forming up and heading this way.”

“What about the Humans?” Adam asked.

“I can’t see them. Just a couple of faint gravity waves, but that’s it.”

“And the Klin strength?”

“Still at twenty-one.”

Adam was at a loss. What happened to the impending clash between the forces? Could they have simply talked it out and then called off any engagement? This made him furious. What the hell does Earth need to happen before they take this threat seriously?

“Can you raise the Earth on your comm system?” Adam asked Monty.

“I can, even though it’s an older CW system. But at the speed we’re traveling, link time will only be fifteen minutes or so, not the full hour.”

“Riyad, try to contact General Sharp. This squad had to be the one he and Admiral Warner sent. We need to find where they went.”

“I’m on it. Monty, how about a hand? Your comm equipment is pretty archaic.”

It took the two men forty minutes to refine the linking signal and lock in with Earth. Adam had the address to the secure facility where the last conversation had taken place. There was no guarantee Sharp would be there, but it was a direct connection to military command without having to go through civilian operators.

To his surprise, the link was routed directly to both the general and the admiral as soon as Adam mentioned his name. This was more like it.

“Are you okay?” Paul Sharp asked the moment his image resolved.

“Yeah, we’re fine. What’s going on? We just came through the Dysion Void and ran into a group of Human ships. Now they’re gone. Where did you send them? They had Kracion and his Klin ships in their sights.”

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“The task force was wiped out, all except two of the ships that escaped in deep gravity-wells.”

“Wiped out? We just left the area and there’s no sign of a battle taking place. Now Kracion is close on our tail. What happened?”

“We don’t know. Seventeen ships simply exploded, and with no corresponding attack from the Klin ships.”

Everyone on the bridge of the Mustang Sally moved to huddle around the screen linking the ship to Earth, even the three mercs who were there at the time. Adam was a professional. He reigned in his emotions.

“You said two escaped. What have they told you?”

“We’re still analyzing the data, but from what we can tell from video and other scans from the survivors, the explosions were internal. The hulls exploded outward, as if from pressure breaches.”

“But from nothing fired from the Klin?”

“Not that we can tell. There’s a possibility the incoming were invisible to our instruments, but I don’t see how, unless it’s something new, something your Aris has come up with.”

Adam’s face was rock hard. “Kracion did say he had secret weapons. We have to assume this is it, whatever it is. What’s next, Paul? Are you getting the people back their off their asses and into the fight?”

“I’ve been in contact with the JCS,” Admiral Warner said from a second insert screen. “He’s looking at the data, plus your previous report. There will be a response. But you have to realize, until we know what we’re up against, we can’t waste assets in a futile effort. Seventeen ships, captain, gone just like that, and without a single enemy casualty. Until we know more, no ships will be committed to a direct confrontation.”

“But he’s heading for the Kidis already. I know where he’s going. You can place units in his path.”

“And get them blown away? Not going to happen, not unless you can tell me how Kracion is able to destroy our ships without batting an eye.”

“I’ll have to think about it,” Adam said. His anger now made him weary.

“Adam,” said the Juirean Tidus. “May I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

“Admiral, at what range were the units when they exploded?”

Warner eyed the pony-tail Juirean Overlord. He wasn’t aware Adam had a Juirean aboard and he was suspicious, as was obvious by his expression.

“And you are?”

“Tidus Ne Landon, formerly of Priority Acquisitions. But is that really important at the moment?”

Warner was taken aback by the Juirean’s rudeness. But he swallowed his pride and answered. “About a hundred thousand miles.” The admiral’s eyes grew wider as a revelation came to him. “Our forces retreated after the first row of ships exploded. Then the Klin followed before the others were destroyed.”

“A limited range weapon,” Tidus stated. “I was asking because Kracion is not far behind. I would not welcome our ship exploding unexpectedly.”

“How far away are you?”

“We’re half-a-light out,” said Copernicus. “That should keep us safe.”

There was visible relief on the bridge of the Sally.

“Hell, Kracion may not even know we’re here,” Adam pointed out. “He’s following the same line I am, toward the Aris space station, but not actually chasing us…I don’t think.”

“Anything you can tell us about the Klin ships?” General Sharp asked. “The initial reports said the signatures were unique and unknown.”

“They’re not like the KFVs, Paul. These are more traditionally-shaped, not saucers. But they do operate by gravity-drive. They may just be of a slightly different design. Remember what I said, Kracion gave the technology to the Klin thousands of years ago. He’s surely tweaked things in the meantime.”

“Can you stay ahead of him?”

Adam looked to Copernicus, who had been manning the nav station until he left to watch the conversation.

“Their drive systems don’t seem to be anything special, as far as I can tell. We’re in a muleship and maintaining distance. I think if Kracion was able to get more speed out of the ships he would be doing it.”

“That’s good to know,” said Sharp. “We still need to figure out how he was able to get our ships to explode from the inside out.”

“Were the compartments pressurized at the time?” Coop asked.

“I would assume so?” the general said. “We’ll have to check.”

“Even small explosions can have catastrophic effects within pressurized ships.”

“But how would they get bombs into a ship a hundred thousand miles away?” Admiral Warner asked.

Something was gnawing at the back of Adam’s mind. Movement through space, undetectable, and through barriers. He knew of only one thing that could do that.

“The service modules!” His statement was loud and unexpected.

“What are you talking about?”

Riyad’s eyes grew wide. “Of course!”

“The service modules,” Adam repeated. “They can teleport.”

“Teleport?” Admiral Warner asked. “Like in ‘Beam me up, Scotty?’”

“Exactly,” Adam replied. “I thought it was only over short distances.”

Riyad looked anxiously at Adam. “But you remember when Zee teleported into your escape pod just before the Klin Colony Ship blew up? That had to be several thousand miles. You survived the explosion.”

General Sharp was shaking his head. “Are you saying the Aris have things that can teleport through space and matter? How?”

Adam snorted. “How does any of their shit work? That doesn’t matter, sir. It just does.”

“How does this explain what happened?” Admiral Warner asked.

“I’m not sure, but what if the service modules teleported into the ships and planted the bombs.”

“Would Kracion waste his orbs like that?” Riyad asked. “Does he have that many?”

“You saw he had several when we met him. They came out of the hibernation pod with him, feeding him energy.”

“What are these service modules?” Warner asked, sounding frustrated.

“They’re little floating globes that use dark matter to produce energy. They’re like personal assistants for the Aris. And I see your point, Riyad. He wouldn’t sacrifice them. He gets his food from them.”

“Then he uses them to simply place the bombs and recalls them. They have to be limited in number. He can’t have hundreds of them.”

“Or he uses the same technology to send the bombs over, without the service modules,” Copernicus offered.

“If that was the case, then he could have destroyed the entire task force at once,” Adam said.

Warner was shaking his head. “This is pretty sketchy, and pure supposition. I don’t know if I could send a fleet without proof.”

“Send one, and put remote-controlled ships in the first lines,” Adam suggested.

“And depressurize the ships in battle,” Copernicus added. “Minimize the effects of any internal explosions.”

General Sharp gave a wicked grin over the comm link. “C’mon, Jim, this is the best plan we have. Let’s give it a go.”

“We can’t let Kracion get to the Aris world, not with Lila and Panur,” Adam stated for punctuation.

Warner only took a moment to reach a decision.

“Send us Kracion’s course, Captain Cain. We’ll check for intercept points and times, see what units we can move into position.”

“Thank you, sirs. In the meantime, we’ll continue to the Aris station.”

“Good briefing everyone,” Sharp said. He winked through the screen, directing it to Adam. “Now…go to work.”

After giving their course to the two officers the screen went blank.

Monty turned to Adam. “Friggin officers…present company excluded, sir. What do they think we’ve been doing while they’ve been attending social balls and strategy meetings back on Earth?”

15

From their current location, it would take eleven days at max-drive to reach the outer region of the Kidis Frontier where the artificial world of the Aris was located. Adam was surprised he could remember the coordinates; he, Panur, J’nae and the Formilian Trimen O’lac had followed an intermittent gravity signal left from the Aris starship to the location several years ago, not knowing where they were headed or what they would find at the end. That was the only time he’d been there, but still he remembered, possibly a consequence of Adam’s enhanced memory recall. He just wished the ability was more predictable, or reliable. He realized most of this frustration came from his own lack of confidence. He may be smarter, but he didn’t feel that way.

The team stayed in contact with Earth over the next few days as plans were drawn up and intercept points identified. The problem: the galaxy was in a period of relative peace. There weren’t a lot of active military units out patrolling the Union space or the neighboring Kidis Frontier. Most ships of the fleet were operating in smaller groups, on cocktail cruises visiting member worlds and showing the flag, yet with very few beyond the border of the Union, an area of space once referred to as the Far Arm.

The two flag officers did their best to rally the troops, and they were getting a response from Earth Command. These were Human ships that had been destroyed so it wasn’t hard to get a fire lit under the military brass and politicians.

The Expansion was another issue. Although Phoenix Command had sent video and data files on the attack, the Juireans and their lieutenants were reluctant to launch a full-scale assault on either the small Klin fleet or the Dysion Void and the Olypon array. They said they had confidence in the Human’s plan to destroy Kracion before he reached the Aris station, since their theory of teleporting orbs made sense. General Sharp confided in Adam that the Juirean response sounded more facetious than serious. The aliens still hadn’t bought into the whole three-billion-year-old creature thing and his transporting service modules.

But leaders of the Expansion did promise to put their forces on alert in case the Human attack on the twenty-one-ship fleet failed.

Adam was also in contact with Sherri and Arieel aboard the Davion. Once the CW comm cleared after they exited the Core region, he, Copernicus and Riyad were relieved beyond words that they’d survived. The men aboard the Sally enthusiastically told them about Kracion’s attack and the impending intercept by Human forces. They also told them how Juir was aware of the threat and how the news had been relayed to Formil. This should give Arieel ammunition to use against the short-sighted and greedy politicians who were looking to unseat her. They would be on Formil three days after the planned attack on Kracion’s ships.

* * *

The attack was to take place as Kracion passed the Andannar system, a red giant near the outer reaches of the Kidis. Adam had never heard of the place and he was frustrated it would take place so close to the Aris station. Admiral Warner apologized, saying it was the best they could do considering the current status of Union forces. It had taken a while to cull together the attack force and to get it into position, in addition to rigging some of them for remote operation. There would only be seventy-one ships of battle class, with a support fleet of eight others, including supply and fuel ships. They hid in the Andannar system before moving into Kracion’s path and going dark.

* * *

“I hope they realize we’re the good guys,” Monty Pitts grunted as the Mustang Sally neared the target zone. The area was marked on the screen, although no energy signals were showing.

“Just keep going until we see the first contact indicators,” Adam said to the pilot and ship’s owner. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“And maybe they’ll be able to knock out some of his Klin ships with the surprise,” the Juirean Tidus said.

The standard crew was on the bridge, manning stations. The five mercenaries were amidships, ready for damage control. Although Adam had no intention of the Sally joining in the fight, he didn’t know what else to do with the aliens, especially the Rigorian, who made him nervous. Damage control was a good excuse to keep them off the bridge.

“Kracion should be contacting the first line in thirty seconds,” Copernicus said from the nav station. “If we’re lucky, this could save all our asses and get the story over in a hurry.”

“As much as I like a good space opera adventure, I’d be okay with that,” Adam replied.

Although Copernicus could be right, there was still the matter of Panur and Lila. If the Human fleet could destroy Kracion’s forces—including his ship—there would still be the difficult task of finding the frozen bodies of the immortal mutants in the wreckage strewn across the vastness of space. It wasn’t an impossible task, just a difficult one. Fortunately, there would be an entire task force devoted to their recovery.

“Here we go….” said Coop’s anxious voice in the quiet of the bridge.

* * *

The first line of Human warships—fourteen in all—materialize the moment their weapons were energized. Kracion had been expecting something like this for many light-years, knowing the warning had gone out and his destination was near. The forces of the Milky Way were not about to let him go unmolested upon his way.

Shields were raised a split second later and the ships dropped out of light speed, forming up as they did before to face the enemy vessels. Kracion’s ship remained to the rear, but not too far back. He had to get in range.

The explosive packs were already in the cargo hold, with each service module assigned a section. There were plenty of explosives. The material was nothing exotic and easily supplied by the Olypon. The simplicity of the plan was almost insulting to Kracion’s intelligence yet making it more complicated wasn’t necessary. The Humans had no defense for it, although this particular strategy would not work on a grand scale. He had to be too close to the enemy to make it effective against a massive force. But Kracion had other systems to employ at that time.

For now he was content to send his service modules to the nearest Human warships. He only had twelve of them, so he would have to rotate them in and out, depending on the size of the force placed against him. The first wave disappeared from the cargo hold, along with their corresponding packages.

Kracion was on the bridge of his flagship, with the mutants again locked away in a nearby room yet monitored at his command station. Somehow they had witnessed the first attack on the small Human task force, immediately realizing what had taken place and how Kracion had pulled off the stunning, one-sided victory. He couldn’t read their concern now for the larger fleet about to be exterminated; he doubted they really had empathy for the Humans as a race. It was more the challenge of the contest between him and them, the immortals against the soon-to-be immortal.

Although Kracion had confidence in his abilities, the continued presence of the mutants were a reminder of his vulnerability. It was unsettling having a pair of incredibly intelligent super-beings constantly planning your demise. And they were patient, a patience bred from their immortality. If it wasn’t for the fact that Kracion may soon assimilate them, they could take a lifetime—his—to exact their revenge. What he had to do was make sure his lifespan was as long as theirs.

He watched with almost absent-mindedness as the first line of enemy ships exploded. Yet even before the bridge crew noticed, he saw the difference. There were explosions, small ones erupting from the hulls of the warships, but no great secondary eruptions, explosions that blew the ships apart.

They have depressurized their ships, he deduced immediately. He sent a mental signal to his orbs. Where before they simply targeted vulnerable compartments within the ships, relying on the chain-reaction explosions to destroy the vessel, he would now send them to more crucial areas.

The next tiny explosions targeted the engine rooms.

The first line of Human warships began to drift aimlessly before the Klin vessels, their engines dead and generators destroyed. Without power, their weapon systems were useless as well. Kracion ordered his fleet to engage the enemy, moving farther into the larger cloud of warships emerging from dark status. Now he would give them a taste of his other innovations….

* * *

“Shit, that didn’t work!” Captain Tim Robertson exclaimed.

“The remotes are all disabled, sir,” a petty officer first class called out from the tac station. “They’re moving toward the manned vessels.”

“It does look like they can only target a limited number of ships at a time. Maintain a safe distance, greater than a hundred-kay out. Weapons, target all enemy vessels, launch when acquired.”

The fleet had a multitude of weapons systems available, including the deadly guided torpedoes. Robertson doubted the Klin could target the tiny missiles with their beamed-in explosives as easily as they could the larger ships. In fact, there were no open voids in the torpedoes, just machinery, electronics, and a shitload of hull-shredding ballistics. Dense pieces of metal had been found to be most-effective against space-born warships. The energy weapons had greater range and could be constantly recharged. But they had to get through energy shields designed specifically to defeat them. Only by overloading panels could the bolts reach hull metal. But ballistics were immune to the diffusion shields. Their only drawback: they had to be close to be effective. The torpedoes were designed to get them in range.

There was a kill list posted on the forward bulkhead of the Robertson’s command ship. He started with seventy-one warships committed to the battle. Twenty-one were already destroyed. Another screen showed the enemy strength. He sighed deeply. This alien—they called him Kracion—had lost three of his ships. That was hardly a satisfying exchange, yet it was better than the first encounter with this new Klin fleet. Robertson had been shocked to hear the word Klin again in the first briefing for the mission. He thought the Klin had been wiped out. But here they were again and being led by something called an Aris. When would anything ever make sense again, he’d thought at the time. Aliens, dimensional travel and teleporting bombs. When had reality changed from the commonplace to the realm of science fiction?

“Sir, the strategy seems to be working,” said his XO, a commander named Ellis Williams. “The Klin are breaking ranks, and although we’ve had a few additional ships knocked offline by explosions in the engine rooms—and even a couple to the bridge—the bulk of our force is intact. Torpedoes are chasing a number of the enemy ships, which may be getting ready to bolt away to avoid the weapons.”

The crews of the task force were dressed in full spacesuits with the atmosphere evacuated from all compartments. Although engines and generators may be down on some, the bulk of the crews were alive, and the ships farther away from the Klin were fully operational and launching their torpedoes.

And then a bright light flared through the forward screen.

“What was that?” Captain Robertson asked. He didn’t like surprises in the heat of battle.

“An energy blast of some kind,” a crewman answered. “But not a bolt, as far as I can tell.”

Robertson moved to the station, slowly in the bulky suit. They were designed for operation in space, with zero gravity, not aboard spaceships with the internals still active.

“Several more, coming in from the Klin ships.”

“Someone give me an assessment. Why are these different?”

After a moment, a voice answered in his helmet comm. “Concentrated energy beam, captain. It’s not a bolt, but a steady stream.”

“Sir, three more ships offline. Nine torpedoes as well.”

“What are we looking at?” Robertson asked.

“The beams are too intense for the diffusion shields. They’re only about a foot in diameter, and each as strong as a cannon bolt. The screens aren’t designed for that. The beams are cutting through the shields and striking the ships.”

“Damage estimates?”

“The beams can penetrate all the way through. Reports of hulls being sliced in two. Sir…we have no counter.”

Robertson glanced at the kill board. Forty-one of his ships were either destroyed or dead-in-the-water, with the Klin now targeting the sitting ducks.

“Mr. Williams, see if we can get grapples on the disabled ships and pull them from the area without getting any more ships destroyed. Sound a general retreat. Escape Plan Alpha. Everyone back to the Andannar system. Break off, I repeat, break off!”

Monty Pitts had brought the Sally to a stop just outside the field of battle so the crew could watch the results. What they saw stunned them.

“Kracion has lost nine of his ships,” Coop reported solemnly. “His flagship is still operational. Our guys have lost over half their strength and are in full retreat.”

“What about those new beam weapons? What can you tell me about those?” Adam asked.

Tidus had taken a station and was studying the energy signals. Although the Mustang Sally wasn’t a warship, she could still analyze energy readouts which were used for navigation and threat avoidance.

“Intense concentrations of plasma. They are like compressing a flash cannon bolt to a hundredth of its size, yet still retaining all the energy. Your shields could not absorb such intensity in the affected areas. The shields were useless.” He continued to study the screen. “Yet it seems your theory of the teleporting bombs was correct, although Kracion changed his strategy almost immediately and began to target drive systems rather than random compartments.”

“Where is he now?” Adam asked Riyad at the nav station.

“His ships are still in the area, sifting through the wreckage, taking out survivors.”

“Dammit! We should have continued on to the station. We could have put more distance between him and us. Monty, get us going again. He won’t stick around here for long. Let’s get to the station before he does.”

16

The bad news was piling up, reaching a point where the Juireans could no longer ignore the threat. Links were made with Earth, Formil, Juir and a dozen other important worlds within the Expansion and the Union and a slow mobilization was begun.

It was slow because at the moment, the threat was still far away in the Kidis Frontier and getting farther away by the minute. It was explained where Kracion was going, yet the significance of him possibly becoming immortal hadn’t sunk in yet. All the species involved knew of Lila and Panur, so they were aware of immortal beings. The fact that Kracion could become immortal himself was taking a backseat to the reality of his new weapons systems. The threat from teleporting bombs and ray guns they could grasp. Immortality they couldn’t.

By the time Arieel and Sherri entered the Formilian system, news of the Human defeats and the existence of the alien Kracion was blanketing the broadcasts. Yet rather than drive straight for the planet, the Davion took a detour to the Klin Colony Ship. Arieel had left her royal yacht there when the Olypon/lost universe affair had begun. She now wanted to retrieve it and appear in the sky above the Temple in the official vessel of the Speaker of the Formilian People.

The starship was almost completely automated and able to be controlled mentally by the powers of the Speaker. It wasn’t magic, just a proliferation of controls designed to be accessed by Arieel’s Gift. She didn’t have to know how to pilot the vessel, just know how to think about piloting it.

She commanded the ship to land at the spaceport outside the Temple grounds. A fleet of government vehicles awaited the pair of females as they exited, ready to take them to the Grand Hall of the Temple of Light. Arieel had insisted on making a presentation there, rather than in the towering government building to the north of the Temple grounds. This was a much more impressive setting and one steeped in the two-thousand-year traditions of the Speakership and Temple Order.

High Celebrant Sadin O’nic greeted the pair at a side entrance. Arieel had to prepare for the entrance in the Grand Hall, where her ceremonial throne was located.

“I apologize for all the palace intrigue, Speaker Bol,” Sadin said. He was extremely old for a Formilian, yet still vibrant and deeply tanned and well-muscled. Sherri was always stunned by the strength and vitality of both sexes of Formilians, overcome at times by the pheromones they exuded. This time she grimaced at her feelings, knowing it had been the ancient Aris who designed the Formilians to do just that. Arieel’s were the catalyst race, the one which most other species would find irresistible on a sexual level. Although not all were physically compatible with the Formilians, there would be a drive to mate with the aliens on a primal level, and at some point, a fire would be lit as a result between an interspecies mating and a child would be born—the Apex Being.

Sherri’s expression turned sour. That mating had occurred between Sherri’s one true love—Adam Cain—and the incredibly sexy Arieel Bol, resulting in the birth of Lila. The feisty blonde from Owensboro, Kentucky, had found herself left out of the cosmic equation, leaving her feeling insignificant within the whole scheme of things.

But Sherri had to admit Arieel Bol could be impressive at times. Now she was dressed in an unbelievably sexy and form-fitting white gown, with a separate shoulder shroud resting around her neck, leaving amble cleavage for all to see. Sherri knew the outfit wasn’t designed to be as revealing or provocative as it was, not to the Formilians. But to outsiders it would have an effect.

Two Formilians in civilian wear approached her as Arieel waited in a side corridor. The Hall was filling up with dignitaries from across the planet, having been notified in advance of Arieel’s presentation. The Council had tried to deny her the right to address the planet, but that had been quickly shouted down by, well, everyone. Arieel Bol was the latest in a two-thousand-year long bloodline of matriarchs who had ruled the planet in their capacity as Speakers, the rare breed of native with direct contact between their twin gods of Mislin and Sufor, the polar opposites for positive and negative electromagnetism. The mystical nature of the Speakers had been dispelled recently when the secret of their powers had been shown to be the result of an artificial device implanted under their skin. This was the so-called Gift from the Gods—what Adam Cain called the Artificial Telepathy Device. And because of that scandal, forces within the Council sought to dethrone Arieel and break the bloodline for good.

Arieel was here to stop them.

“My Speaker,” said one of the younger Formilians, a Councilmember named Loknin. “This is highly unusual. All official matters should be conducted within the Council chambers, not here, in the Temple.”

“It is the power of the Order you wish to supplant, Loknin,” Arieel said in a powerful, official voice. Sherri was standing a step or two behind her and was impressed by the strength and tone. “I will make my case before the people of Formil and in the appropriate setting. If you are uncomfortable with being here, then you are welcome to leave.”

The other civilian stepped up to Arieel. “My Speaker, this is not necessary. We seek an accommodation. In light of the news coming from Juir and elsewhere, this is not the appropriate time to engage in a battle for authority.”

Arieel glared at the older Formilian. “Councilmember Nannon, I did not start this battle…you did. I tried to warn you of the danger and you discarded me, focusing instead on your own petty ambitions. You have had amble time to present your argument to the people. Now it is my turn.”

Arieel abruptly turned away and entered the Hall. The Council members scurried away, not following her. Sherri stepped up to the doorway so she could watch the event unfold.

There was no clapping or cheering as Arieel made her way to the throne platform, nor was there a podium from which she would make her speech. Instead, a reverent hush fell over the room as Arieel stood in front of the throne preparing to speak to the attentive throng. There were broadcast stations set up to the rear of the chamber which would send Arieel’s picture and words around the planet and throughout the system, including the eight manufacturing worlds which Formil controlled. Her people were the foremost builders of electronic components in the galaxy. They even ran the galactic internet system called the Library. Arieel was their spiritual leader and had once wielded absolute power within Formilian society. Until the politicians got greedy.

“Formilians—all Formilians—we are facing a terrible crossroads in our history, a time of confusion and danger which I will detail. Yet first, I must address a question you may all have regarding me and the standing of the Speakers.”

Arieel held out her hands. Immediately, two fiery balls of blue and white crackling energy appeared in her palms. They sparkled, casting brilliant flashes of light on her bronze skin and reflected in her eyes.

“Does it matter how I am able to do this…or is it more important to think of where this wonder comes from? I did not create this, nor this.” The lights in the Hall dimmed before rising again. “All we see is a product of Mislin and Sufor, the deities we have revered since the beginning of our civilization. All these wonders are but manifestations of the energy all around us. How it is gathered, how it is displayed is but detail. Yes, I, as all the Speakers, have been provided with a Gift, a means for channeling this power into physical form. But it does not mean the power does not exist. It does. It is all around us. It is in the air, in the land…inside each of us. I am but a symbol of this power, of this wonder of nature. The Formilian people have always honored and respected this power, no matter the form it takes or who represents it in physical form. And that is all I am, simply the current representative of this power. I—nor any of the Speakers—claimed to be gods ourselves, for we are not. We are a focal point, something to which the Formilians can point to as proof of the connection between the real and surreal. And this is as it should be. The Speakers have not ruled simply to rule, but to provide a light—the Light—bringing order to that which is unseen. You may reject this light, turn your back on it, refuse to accept it as being real. Rather you may call it artificial, a trick of technology to enamor the masses. That is not what has happened. All the Speakers have been is a conduit for truth…and for belief. There has been no deception. Just as we use transports to move across the land, or starships to journey through space, my Gift is but a tool, a means of reaching a deeper truth. I am here to proclaim my devotion to you, my loyalty, my love. I was born into this, as have all the Speakers before me. It is our destiny. Do not reject this destiny, for it is not mine alone, but yours as well.”

She paused as the flames in her hands slowly faded away. Then she glanced to her side, making eye contact with Sherri. Then she turned to the crowd once more.

“And now I will speak of the current crisis, of the shallow interests who wish to change Formil forever, who wish to strip us of our legacy, our heritage, our history. And why do they attempt to usurp the authority of the Order and replace the Speakership with a system that mirrors so many others around us? It is all about power, about control. The Speakers have never sought control, yet we have wielded power, natural power, power from nature. These Formilians now seek power for themselves, created by them out of the control of the masses. Yet I stand in their way. Let me say this now: I will always stand in their way.”

Now the chamber erupted in raucous applause and cheers. Arieel’s proud figure took in the adoration for several moments before she mentally dimmed the lights, all except a spotlight on her.

“I thank you for your reaction to my proclamation. It is gratifying that I still find support among my people. Yet let me explain more. As you are aware, the galaxy now faces a new threat, an ancient threat manifested in an evil entity which I have witnessed firsthand. From the broadcasts you have only glimpsed a fraction of the terror that awaits us in this great struggle. Several days ago I tried to warn the Council of this danger. Do you know what they did? Nothing! Worse than nothing. They dismissed me in favor of their own greed and ambitions. They informed me that I was in the process of being deposed, of being stripped of my authority, along with that of the Order.

“How could this be, you may ask? I asked the same. This is not a time for petty powerplays. This is a time for unity, for strength in the face of a common enemy. Granted, at the time the threat was little known, except for my word. Yet why would I lie about such a thing? But that was not the true issue. It was how cavalierly my words were tossed away. These Formilians were blinded by their own selfish desires. I was not warning only Formil, but the entire Expansion. Yet my warning was not taken seriously, by a group of unserious individuals.

“And now these same Formilians have placed questions before you regarding what direction our people and our planet will take. I scoff at this. If we do nothing, then this threat is great enough to consume us all. There will be no Formil to fight over. There will be no Formilians which to rule and control.

“Yet nothing can happen without your approval. No Formilian can rule without the consent of the governed. No evil can be done without willing accomplices who allow it to happen. You know me, you know my bloodline. It is your bloodline as well. You know all I say and do is for you, not for me. Can the same be said for those who seek to replace me?

“But this is not the time for this. I call for all petitions to be set aside—temporarily if wanted. But now we must unite to face this new evil. We must help lead the Expansion—indeed the entire galaxy—against the creature known as Kracion. You may not have heard the name before, but you have now. And unless we do something about him, his name will be forever associated with the death, destruction and subjugation of our homes, our families, our history. Members of the Council, call off your naked effort to gain control of the people. Set aside your greedy ambitions until we know if there will be a Formil left at the end of this struggle. Do this not for me, but for the people you profess to care for…as I do. As I always will.”

The cheering went on for several minutes, even long after Arieel had left the chamber. Sherri had tears in her eyes and was impressed beyond words. She’d never seen this side of Arieel before, the leader, the Speaker of the Formilian People.

Arieel walked up to her with a wicked grin on her face.

“Well, how did I do?”

Sherri simply stared at her before saying: “Who…are…you?”

“I was just doing my job. Just as you are good at killing things, I am good at expressing my emotions. I am not called a Speaker for nothing.”

“No shit! That was great.”

A messenger walked quickly up to Arieel and handed her a thin dataslip.

“That did not take long,” Arieel said after scanning the message. “The Council has unanimously agreed to postpone any vote or further discussion of regime change until after the current crisis is resolved.”

“You did it! Congratulations.”

Arieel leaned in close to Sherri, a stern, serious look on her face.

“Now that that is over, it is time to get to work. Come with me. We have a fleet to assemble…and a Colony Ship to stock. Adam and the others will need our assistance. We must not disappoint.”

* * *

As Arieel set about conferring with her military experts, Sherri made contact with Adam and filled him in on Arieel’s speech and the aftermath.

“Damn, she’s pretty impressive, isn’t she?” he said.

Sherri smirked on the screen. “Yeah, she’s not only hot, but talented. Who knew?”

“Hey, you’re pretty impressive yourself.”

“Thanks.”

Adam turned serious. “Listen, we may have a problem.”

“A problem? Just one?’

“It’s the service modules aboard the Colony Ship.”

“Will and Grace? What about them?”

“I told you Kracion is using his orbs to deliver bombs. You also saw how they helped him on the Klin world in the other universe. How can we trust them?”

“They don’t belong to him,” Sherri countered. “And besides, they said they were given permission from the Aris to help us. They may be able to contact the others. Maybe they can help us fight Kracion.”

Adam grimaced. “And what if they don’t? Aris fighting Aris, I’m not sure how kosher that is for their race. It was his efforts that sped up the process that helped create the Apex Being, even if it wasn’t strictly according to plan.”

“But they didn’t use Lila to attain their immortality.”

“That’s just a detail. They would have if J’nae hadn’t volunteered instead. In a way, they owe Kracion. Can we risk Will and Grace contacting the Aris and letting them know about him? And how can we trust them not to turn against us and start doing his bidding?”

“What do you want to do with them? They’re fucking Aris service modules! What could we do against them even if we wanted to. They can teleport from anywhere to anywhere. And they contain dark matter, kinda touchy stuff, if you recall.”

“I’m just saying be careful. You say Arieel is going to crew and stock the Colony Ship and get it into the fight. That’s great. Just don’t let the orbs know all that’s going on.”

Sherri laughed. “You really think we can keep secrets from them?”

Adam was shaking his head.

Sherri continued. “I say we be upfront with them, before we get the CS up and running. Then we’ll deal with the circumstances.”

“That’s too dangerous.”

“You mean without you being here to protect us? Bullshit. How about this, Captain Cain: You deal with your mission and I’ll deal with mine.”

“Dammit, Sherri, this isn’t a pissing contest.”

“Listen, you’re not here. Let me handle this. We’re heading out to the CS tomorrow to meet with Kaylor and Jym and get a list of things we’re going to need. I’ll do it then. If things go south, we’ll abandon the Colony Ship and meet you with the Formilian fleet, and whatever other assets the Expansion gives us. Let’s face it, even if you are able to find the Aris station and destroy it, until Kracion is dead this immortal war is going to continue for a while. This is going to be a galaxy-wide affair. We’re going to need all the help we can get. And who knows, Will and Grace may be assets rather than liabilities.”

“It’s still a risk.”

“And one I’m willing to take. So chill. I’ll let you know how it goes. Valentine out!”

Sherri smiled, enjoying the power she felt by disconnecting the link. But then the feeling faded. What if Adam was right?

17

The next day a large fleet of Formilian vessels embarked for the Klin Colony Ship, bringing with them a crew of ten thousand, supplies, strike craft and with enough fuel modules to fill the Grand Canyon. After Arieel’s impassioned speech, the Council couldn’t grant her wishes fast enough, not with an entire planet of angry natives watching them. They gave Arieel everything she wanted and more, mobilizing the fleet, preparing for battle.

The Formilian space force wasn’t large, not compared to others, with only seven hundred fifty vessels of various classifications. But it was the huge Colony Ship that would lead the way against the Aris invader.

The CS was twenty miles in diameter, capable of housing twenty thousand Klin for extended periods. Before the arrival of the Klin troops, there had been only two living beings aboard, the aliens Kaylor and Jym. Plus the two Aris service orbs, Will and Grace. Now the aliens met Sherri and Arieel in one of the huge landing bays, overwhelmed by the swarm of activity taking place.

“And what is to be our status?” the insecure bear-like Jym asked.

Sherri patted the black fur on his head. “You and Kaylor are the only two experienced Colony Ship pilots in the galaxy. You will be the captain and executive officer.”

“Which is which?” asked Jym.

The elder alien Kaylor glared at him.

“I will let the two of you decide,” said Sherri diplomatically. She looked around the room. “Where are Will and Grace?”

“I believe they are in the forward engine room, where they are most of the time,” said Kaylor. “They seem to enjoy the free energy that is in the air in the compartment. They are to accompany us on the mission, are they not?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out.”

Arieel was directing the flood of Formilians entering the ship, but it was more than she could handle alone.

“Go help Arieel,” Sherri said to the aliens. “You’re in command…so start commanding.”

With everyone distracted, Sherri made her way to the huge engine compartment under the bridge of the Colony Ship. None of the Formilians had made it here yet; there were nine other similar facilities within the station.

As soon as she entered the quiet and dimly lit chamber, the four-and-a-half-inch, greenish orbs appeared on a shelf nearby, having teleported in from someplace within the compartment or the ship. They could have been anywhere, even eavesdropping on her in the landing bay. She tried to shake off the conspiratorial thoughts in her mind. The service modules had done nothing to deserve her suspicion.

“Hello, Will and Grace,” Sherri said aloud. She could communicate with the orbs telepathically through her ATD, and they with her, but she chose actual speech. ATD links often conveyed more emotion than she was comfortable with at the moment.

“Welcome back,” said the orb with the male persona, known as Will. His words came through a speaker attached to a nearby bulkhead. “We sense an apprehension in your voice. Is there an issue?”

Dammit, Sherri thought. She should have known the modules could sense changes in her voice, they were that sophisticated and intelligent.

“Have you been monitoring the events taking placed in the galaxy recently?”

“Referring to the Aris Kracion, I would assume?” said the female Grace.

“That’s right.”

“Yes we have.”

“Do you know him?”

“We do not know him personally, yet the names of all the technicians are known to us. We are of the same service class.”

“And what do you think of what he’s doing? Do you support him or not?”

“That is a rather complex—yet direct—question,” said Will. “I sense this is the reason for the tension in your voice. You wish to know our loyalties.”

“That’s right,” said Sherri. “I hope you’re not insulted by the question, but I hope you also see the logic in it.”

“We do,” Will continued. “The answer regarding our loyalty is not an easy one. We are Aris service modules. We were created by the Aris and we belong to them. As such, we have been essentially loaned to you by our masters.”

“Do your masters include Kracion?”

“Again, a complicated answer. We initially serve the Privileged, yet in their absence, we serve any and all Aris. It is what we do. We hope you understand the dynamic.”

“I do, but that doesn’t answer my concerns. Do we have anything to fear from you?”

For the highly intelligent orbs to hesitate while forming an answer to the question spoke volumes. Adam was right! Sherri thought.

“We do not pose a threat to you…unless we are directed by an Aris to become one,” said Grace, picking up the conversation.

“So if Kracion called upon you, you would go.”

“We would have no choice.”

“Well…shit.”

“Do not be sad, Sherri Valentine. It is not as you assume. Kracion has no method of contacting us, not without the facilities aboard Solis.”

“What is Solis?”

“It is the artificial world where the Privileged were maintained, until they no longer needed maintaining.”

This brought up a question that had been bugging Sherri for years. “And where are they now? Where are the immortal Aris?”

“We do not know.”

“But you communicated with them a year ago.”

“We sent an inquiry and they answered. It was not instantaneous.”

Sherri now had an idea about the loyalty of the orbs. Now she asked the next question. “And the Aris—the Privileged Aris—whose side are they on, Kracion’s or ours?”

“You ask questions for which we have no answers. The Privileged are free to do as they wish. They may support Kracion or they may support you. We do not know which. We assume that would depend on the situation.”

Sherri sighed. “You guys aren’t helping much. I really like you, but I need to know whether you are my friend or my enemy.”

“We are your friends, Sherri Valentine. Is that not obvious?”

“Well…no, not after what you’ve just said.”

“We are your friends…until instructed otherwise. To date, we’ve received no such instructions.”

“And what do you think Kracion would have you do if he can make contact?”

“We see your point. He would undoubtedly enlist our services to his cause.”

Sherri was doing her best to hide her anxiety, yet she was sure the orbs could sense it. She decided to go for broke. The service modules appeared to be reasonable—beings? Perhaps they would want to help her.

“Will, Grace, I have a problem,” she began. “I’m afraid of you now, and I’m sure you can see why.”

“We do.”

“Then what am I to do? You are Aris service modules, powerful beings in your own right. There would be nothing I could do to protect myself—or the ship—from you. I can’t force you to leave and I can’t lock you up to protect us. What am I to do?”

“You can do nothing.”

Sherri cringed. Had the tone of the orbs suddenly changed?

“We will have to do it all.”

“Do what?”

“We will leave.”

“You’ll do what?”

“In order for us to protect you, we must go. We must go to where even if Kracion contacts us we can do no harm to you or your cause. At this moment, we serve you, as have been the instructions we were given. That may change in the future, yet to service our current charter, we must do what we can to protect you from us. Have a spaceship move us to an isolated and uninhabited world or moon, outside of our teleporting range. There we will await the outcome.”

Sherri was in a mild state of shock. “You’re okay with that?”

“We have been in existence for several million years, having been built to replace other service modules by the technical robots. We have spent nearly all that time in the company of ourselves and the machines. We will survive. Yet if the crisis is resolved in your favor, we would appreciate the opportunity to serve you again, Sherri Valentine. We find your kind to be most stimulating.”

Sherri was near tears. It was as if two of her best friends had just said they’re going away, probably for good. And, dammit, they were being noble about it.

“I promise you, there is nothing I would want more than for things to be back to normal…whatever the hell that is.” She grinned. “Okay, then, I’ll make the arrangements. And thanks. You had me going there for a while.”

“We sensed as much. Take care, Sherri Valentine, and good luck.”

18

Kracion resumed his original course four hours after the battle. The Mustang Sally was already on the way and estimated to be three days out from the location of the lost Aris station. If everything stayed as it was, Adam would have only four hours to either find a way to destroy the station, sabotage the immortality equipment—which he had no idea what it was—or devise a plan for freeing the mutants and let them deal with the alien themselves.

Four hours. It wouldn’t be long enough.

And then the unexpected happened.

Kracion changed course.

It wasn’t a major shift, but it was definitely towards another location. Adam panicked. He double, then triple checked his memory, making sure he remembered the coordinates accurately. They were as he could recall. Whatever that meant. His memory could be flawed.

Or else Kracion knew something he didn’t.

The fact that the Aris had made a beeline for the outer rim of the Kidis was confirmation that the lost world of the Aris was where Adam thought it was, or at least in the vicinity. Yet what if Kracion knew where it was now, not where it had been six years ago? But how could he?

“You have to trust your instincts,” Riyad was saying. “What else can you do?”

“We can follow him,” Adam snapped.

“And what good would that do? If he does reach the Aris station ahead of us, we are in no position to stop him. We don’t have the firepower to destroy the station and we can’t get through the screen of Klin ships. It’s best if we continue to where you think the station is. At least then we’ll know for sure.”

Adam ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair. “I don’t know. What if I’m wrong?”

“Then it will make no difference. He will get to the station ahead of us, as he would anyway. And then what’s going to happen is going to happen.”

“And Lila?”

“I’m sorry, my friend. Let’s think of one crisis at a time.”

* * *

By now, the Juireans had decided to get into the fight and sent a decent-size task force to the Dysion Void to destroy the portal array and prevent any additional Klin forces from entering the Milky Way. Video of the second encounter with Kracion and the Klin couldn’t be ignored, and with Arieel Bol stirring things up on Formil, the leaders of the Expansion were forced to act. Unfortunately, their delay in entering the fight allowed the inspired Olypon to finish the repair work on the array according to Kracion’s schedule. Similarly, the Klin in the lost universe had done the same with the facility on their side. By the time the Expansion forces showed up at the Juddle Nebula, a sizeable fleet of Klin ships were waiting for them, and all armed with the plasma beam weapons. They didn’t have any of Kracion’s teleporting service modules with them, but in the end, they didn’t need them.

The feeble attempt to blockade the Void was summarily crushed by the escaping Klin warships, setting them free in the galaxy. The Juireans and their allied forces lost a hundred and twenty-five ships in the short engagement, compared to only eighteen Klin vessels destroyed.

And then the massive fleet of victorious Klin ships headed for the Kidis, tentatively to meet up with the god-being.

* * *

A squadron of Human military forces had been trailing Kracion’s small fleet for light-years but staying well out of range. They weren’t there to engage, only monitor his movements.

The bigwigs back on Earth were playing a game of what-if regarding Adam’s search for the Aris station, and now the Expansion was getting into the act, asking unanswerable questions which only added to the frustration, fear and tension spreading across the galaxy. In a few hours the Mustang Sally would be entering the burned out remains of the Aris star system and they would know then who was correct, Adam or Kracion.

And then the time came. Monty Pitts’ small muleship raced into the system that had once been the home of a million-year-long civilization. They then transited above the plane of the ecliptic to a region of relative clear space, devoid of any junk that could damage the three-billion-year-old artificial creation of the Aris. Adam knew there were warning systems aboard the station that would move it in case of impending danger, a feature that had been vital to the wellbeing of the sleeping Aris.

So it didn’t come as a surprise when they reached the exact coordinates and didn’t find the artificial planet.

Adam’s frenzied mind was still in a quandary why Kracion had not come here first. It was logical; this was the ancient home of the Aris. It had only been a few years ago that the station was here. Why would it be somewhere else now, especially since the Aris had achieved their goal of immortality and had moved on? Did they take the station with them? Was that why he couldn’t find it now? Was it at the mysterious location Kracion was racing toward? The myriad of questions only added to his anxiety.

Adam reported his initial findings to Phoenix Command and then began a systematic search using gravity sensors. That was how the station had been located initially. It had the gravity signature of a planet, although it was only seven hundred miles in diameter. The gravity was artificially created to mimic that of the Aris homeworld. It would standout on the scanners like a normal planet.

Adam didn’t want to admit it, but he felt their efforts were a waste of time. As the hours passed, he was becoming more convinced that Kracion knew the location of the station and not he. That was why they both weren’t here and looking for the same elusive signal.

“I have something,” Tidus announced. He was at a station scanning one of the several monitors assigned to detect gravity sources. “It is faint, yet out of place. There is nothing else nearby. It is beyond the realm of the system, one-quarter light-year from here.”

Not wanting to get his hopes up, Adam nevertheless joined the Juirean at the console. “It could just be an asteroid,’ he said dejectedly.

“According to the grav-sig it is fairly substantial, yet there is no light signature associated with the object.”

“Then it’s small,” Monty Pitts offered. He was also at the station; he leaned over the shoulder of the tall alien and toggled between buttons. The image switched from gravity to visible light. The grav-sig was strong—and getting stronger—yet their was no light associated with the object. “This isn’t right. The sig is for something the size of Venus or Earth. Range…” he checked the readings. “Now at a tenth light. We should be seeing an image by now.”

Could this be it? Adam thought. It wasn’t where it had been before, but close. Could the automated systems have moved the station to avoid some rogue asteroid or comet? As the minutes passed, and the ship made a beeline for the anomaly, Adam’s heart began to race.

He moved to the comm station and opened a link with the squadron of Union ships following Kracion.

“Where is he now?”

“He came to a stop about two hours ago. I’m sending the coordinates to you in an under-signal.”

Copernicus pulled out the data and compared it to their location. “He’s sixteen light-years out. Still only about twelve hours from here at max drive.”

“Thanks for the update,” Adam said to the officer on the other end of the link. “Keep us informed of any changes.”

Adam returned his attention to the nav screen. The gravity source was getting closer, and now a faint glow of light could be seen at the spot.

“The light readouts are odd,” Tidus reported. “Variable and slightly oblong.”

“It’s the ring,” Adam announced. “The station has a large metal ring around it that forms a magnetic field. That’s it. It has to be.”

His voice wasn’t enthusiastic, just relieved. The others on the bridge felt the same. The Aris station was here, and if that was the case, then what was Kracion chasing?

19

“Slow down,” Adam said to Monty. “There’s an interphase defense shield in place around it.”

“What the hell is an interphase defense shield?”

“Something that shifts between normal space and not normal space.”

“Is that what those three lines are?”

The station was now in full view of the crew, a shimmering ball that glowed a light blue in color and was ringed by a metal band reflecting the light of distant stars. The closest star was the Aris brown dwarf, an Earth-size object that gave off very little light or heat. There were other stars in the area, but this close to the edge of the galaxy they were few and far between.

As the Mustang Sally drew near, three glowing bands of light appeared between them and the station. Monty changed course to go around, but they shifted as he did.

“Now what?” he asked Adam. “How did you get past them the first time?”

“I was in a TD ship.”

“A what?”

A trans-dimensional starship. We simply jumped to a point in space beyond the shield.”

Monty grunted. “Last time I checked, we ain’t got one of those TD things, so what do we do?”

“We think about it for a moment, that’s what.”

“Can we fire upon it?” Tidus asked.

“I don’t know, but I doubt it,” Adam replied. “It’s there to protect the station. Firing on it will just confirm us as a threat. And I doubt the little flash cannon Monty has on the Sally will do much against that.”

Adam opened a link with General Sharp back on Earth.

“Paul, we’re sending you all the data we have on the interphase screen. See if you can find a work-around.”

“Are you serious? We have our hands full trying to find a work-around for Kracion’s plasma beams, oh, and a way to stop his service modules from beaming into our warships. Now this?”

The general took a moment to scan the data files coming through from the Mustang Sally. “There’s not enough here. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

Sharp shook his head. His forehead had permanent creases in it, something new since the last time Adam spoke with the officer. He was under considerable stress—as were they all.

“Do the best you can, Paul. We’ll work on it from our end. Cain out.”

Riyad had been studying the data as well. “The shield popped on when we got within ten thousand miles,” Riyad pointed out. “Either it picked up our gravity signature or our mass. At the time the system was built, the Aris didn’t have any outside enemies, only the potential of being struck by asteroids and such. Could it be a defense against us hitting the station?”

“I don’t know; however the station itself is covered in debris, large and small rocks that have been attracted by the gravity field. They had to get in somehow.”

“So it could be keyed to our electronic signature.”

“Let’s find out,” Adam said decisively. “Monty, send out a couple of your gas detecting probes, one fully charged and the other ballistic only, no energy output. Let’s see how the field reacts to them.”

“So it would be like firing a ballistic round at a diffusion shield.” the master chief stated.

“Hopefully it will be that simple.”

“Queuing them up. Probes away. I’ll shut down one of them when it gets closer.”

“Don’t get it going too fast. We don’t want it to appear to be a threat to the station, even if it’s mistaken for a rock.”

It took six minutes for the first of the probes to reach the shield, the one on chem drive and with all its electronics active. They were recording the encounter so they could study the results in detail later on.

The moment the probe came in contact with the shield it disappeared. The other probe was still eight minutes out, time for the team to replay the video. At the moment of contact, the probe was encased in a light blue bubble—then it vanished. Extreme slow motion showed an orange fire appear at the edges of the probe, literally eating it away until there was nothing left.

“Dang, that was…effective,” Copernicus gasped.

The second probe made its leisurely approach to the barrier. But this one passed straight through.

The team had their answer, but they weren’t thrilled by it.

“So no electronic signatures,” Tidus summarized. “How will we be able to negate all electronics on the muleship?”

“We can’t,” Monty stated firmly. “It’s impossible. There are always passive systems on and energized. Even in dark status we’re not completely dark…no ship is. Hell, even the battery in my razor might set the damn thing off.”

It was quiet on the bridge for several moments as the team searched for an answer.

“The shuttle,” Adam finally said.

“That won’t work, either,” Monty said. “Too many electronics.”

“But not as many as the Sally. And I can search it for trace readings with my ATD and shut down or remove everything I find that isn’t critical.”

“And what about your special device, is that not electronic as well?” asked Tidus. He’d been given a brief explanation of what the ATD was and what it did.

“I think I can turn it off. I’ve done it before…to a degree.”

“And what about the rest of us?” Coop asked. “I wouldn’t know how to do it.”

“I could do it for you, and then do mine. Or I could go over on my own. After all, I’m the only one who’s been there before.”

“I would not be comfortable with that,” Riyad said. “That thing is seven hundred miles in diameter. Even if your intention was to blow it up, how would you do it? You may need another pair of eyes and hands helping out.”

“Or more,” said Coop. “I can’t let you go off and play the hero again. I’m not famous enough yet to get my own series. This could help.”

“If you survive,” Riyad added. “Besides, I’ve been around from the beginning and I still don’t have my own series.”

“Knock it off you two. You can come along if you want, but no one’s being ordered to.”

“Ordered?” said Riyad. “Since when are we in your chain of command?”

“You’re wasting time,” Monty Pitts growled.

“The master chief is right,” Adam said. “Let’s get ready.”

“What about turning our ATDs back on?” Riyad asked. “Do you know how to do that? I kinda like having a brain-interface device.”

“I’m not sure. But if we can free Lila and Panur then I’m sure they could help us. If not, then once we get back to Formil—”

“If we get back to Formil.” Leave it to Copernicus to be the wet blanket.

“We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Adam snapped. “For now, let’s get to work on the shuttle.”

“And what of the rest of us?” Tidus asked.

“You and Monty stay with the Sally, along with the mercs. If we can figure a way to shut off the shield, then you can come in an save us, if we need saving.”

Monty looked worried. “I’m all for staying with my ship, but not being left out of the action.”

Adam placed a hand on the shoulder of the bulky master chief. “I would love to have you along, Monty, but we each have our mission. Yours is to keep the Sally in a position to help if need be.”

* * *

The Sally’s shuttle was barely that. It was a pressurized shell of a vessel with a single chemical drive strapped to the back. It had seating for two people, which meant one of the three Humans would have to stand—or float in this case, since the shuttle had no internal gravity. All of this made it the only viable candidate for the operation. There were very few electronics needing isolation and shutdown at the proper time.

But still they took their time. They couldn’t miss even one stray circuit.

Then the link came in from the monitoring squadron following Kracion.

“They formed up and bolted from the area!” said the excited officer on the other end of the link.

“Where is he headed?” Adam asked. He was using his ATD to link with the Sally’s comm system. He was going to miss the use of the device when—and if—they made it to the station.

“He’s on a direct track to your location, captain. ETA, nine hours.”

Copernicus and Riyad were not on the link. He looked at them. They were using their ATDs but were tracing feed lines within the shuttle and not on the comm line.

“Keep me informed,” Adam said in his mind. His thoughts were converted to words over the link.

“Sir, we have a task force headed your way, but they won’t get there for another twelve hours.”

“Understood, commander. We’ll deal with things on our end. Cain out.”

“Pick up the pace, boys,” Adam said aloud to his friends. “We have company coming in nine hours.”

“Kracion?”

“It ain’t the tooth fairy.”

“Monty has about sixty pounds of explosives aboard he’s willing to lend us,” Riyad said. “But he says he wants it back after we’re through with it.”

“Not sure what sixty pounds can do against something that big,” Coop said.

“It could knock out a system or two…like a mutant assimilation machine.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Adam surveyed the electronic readings aboard the shuttle. They were nearly all dead, except for a small charge to run the chem drive, which they would shut down after the shuttle was moving. They would also go dressed in spacesuits, which themselves would have to be shut down prior to making the pass through the barrier. Fortunately, once they were through, all systems could be reactivated, all except their ATDs. They also had weapons placed aboard, good ol’ fashion assault rifles Monty had lying around. They, too, had a few electronic components, but they could be disabled. Flash weapons carried charged battery packs which couldn’t be hidden from the shield. The way to do that was to take a dead battery, and what would be the use in that? So it was the ballistic weapons or nothing. Not even the use of their artificial telepathy devices….

20

The gravity was shut down aboard the Sally and the rear shuttle bay door opened. The escaping atmosphere was enough to dump the shuttle out the back, after which, Riyad lined up on the interphase shield using a minimal burst from the engines. Once the craft was on its way, the three Humans shut down the drive system and then did a quick rundown of the shuttle to make sure they hadn’t missed anything.

Then they turned solemnly to Adam.

“It’s time,” said Riyad. “I must say, it will feel like going into battle naked without the ATD. It’s been a part of my life for so long.”

“I understand,” said Adam. “But it has to be done.”

He accessed Riyad’s device with his ATD. Shutting it down wasn’t hard, not with the willing assistance of the holder. Before doing so, he scanned the device, looking for any timing mechanism, something that would turn it back on after a period of time. But even that would require a power source.

Adam switched off Riyad’s ATD.

“Whoa, I felt that,” he said. “It’s like loosing one of your senses. I never realized it was such a part of my being.”

“You’re next, Coop.”

“Do it.”

And he did.

Now all eyes fell on Adam.

“You sure you can shut off your own device?” Copernicus asked.

“If not, then be ready to fire this thing up and turn us around.”

Coop smirked. “Thanks for that.” All systems were down, including their spacesuits. All they had was the residual air in their helmets. And it was already getting cold.

Adam could see the brilliant line of white light through the viewport, huge and dominating outside the shuttle, growing closer.

“Do it, Adam. There’s not much time,” said Riyad.

Adam located his own device and sent the command. A moment later it was like he’d gone blind. His ATD had been operating within his body on a different level than the others. He’d had his the longest, and with the enhanced level his mind operated at after the meld with Panur, the affects of the device were more integrated within his every sense. The blindness he experience was literal. For a moment he lost the sense of sight.

“Are you all right?” Coop asked, taking hold of Adam’s extended arms.

“I…I can’t see!”

And then the shuttle passed through the barrier.

There was a sensation, one that caused panic in the three-man crew. Had they missed something? Was this the beginning of their disintegration?

But the sensation passed. They were on the other side and still alive. Riyad and Coop turned their attention to Adam.

“I’m getting better,” he said to the relief of his friends. “It’s almost as if I had to learn to see again, without the help of the ATD. I didn’t know I’d become so dependent on the damn thing.”

Adam could see again, yet it was like looking through a thin, gray fog. Was this how he’d always seen things, before the ATD? Unfortunately, he believed that was the case. He would eventually get used to his new reality, but forever aware of what it had once been like to see with all his enhanced senses.

Coop and Riyad were already firing up their suits and the shuttle. Riyad gunned the small spacecraft, bolting for the Aris station still ten thousand miles away.

Copernicus opened a link with the Mustang Sally. “We’re through, safe and sound.”

“We noticed,” said Monty Pitts. “I set a timer for Kracion’s arrival. Seven hours, forty-two minutes. You might want to make a note of it.”

“Roger that, thanks, chief. Now you get the Sally away someplace safe. We’ll call if we need you.”

“On our way…by the way, where is safe?”

“Hell if I know. Just don’t go too far in case we can get the shield down.”

“Good luck, gentlemen.”

“Ain’t no gentlemen here, just a ship of fools.”

“Yeah…that’s what I meant. See you on the other side of what happens.”

“Shuttle out.”

Copernicus looked to their fearless leader, Captain Adam Cain, USN. “Now what?”

“We look for where the surface has been cleared of debris. That’s where we set down the last time. It hasn’t had time to fill in. That will get us to the area I’m familiar with.”

Adam had already told them about the three boxes Panur had given them the first time he’d come to the station. The devices turned off the interphase bubbles and created a fake field in their place. Panur’s strategy worked, up to the time J’nae betrayed them and shut off the devices. Adam reasoned they had to still be aboard the station, and more than likely somewhere near where all the prior action had taken place. If he could find the landing zone and the field nullification boxes, then there was a chance the mutants could be freed of the fields once Kracion arrived.

Once Kracion arrived.

That was the sticking point. For Adam’s plan to work, the mad Aris had to be aboard the station, along with all the inherent risk. The other plan called for the team to locate the assimilation equipment and destroy it with the small batch of explosives they had with them. A third option would be for them to kill Kracion before he became immortal. They could do it with the explosives or the assault weapons, although this probably wasn’t an actual option; he would be protected by an interphase field of his own, making him impervious to outside attack. Unless they could find Panur’s devices. The mission had a number of alternatives, along with very few certainties, short of outright failure.

In Adam’s opinion, it came down to only two viable options: Destroying the assimilation equipment or finding Panur’s field nullification devices. Or both. That would be cool, Adam thought as the shuttle skimmed over the rock strewn surface of the Aris artificial world. But first things first. They had to find an impossibly small section of the vast crust and gain entry to the interior of the station…and do it in less than seven hours.

From past experience, Adam knew the station was made up of gigantic metal girders, stanchions and cross braces made of increasingly finer sieves the lower they went. On the surface, huge boulders had accumulated, forming a thick outer crust, drawn to the station by the planet-size gravity influence of the structure. Adam often wondered if this was by design, the debris placed there to disguise the station from curious observers.

Below the surface, smaller rocks filtered down to the next level, until finally, only dust made it to the living quarters, a six-story section that sat atop the central machinery dome where the gravity generators were located. It was a massive construct, and all maintained by an army of self-replicating robots that had allowed the station to survive three billion years in the hostile environment of an ever-changing galaxy.

The outer layer of rock varied from a depth of a hundred miles thick to only a few feet in places. On their previous visit, Panur had found one of these thin layers, and then using the gravity-drive of the Najmah Fayd, had cleared the debris to form a landing pad for the TD starship.

“This could take forever,” Copernicus griped. “There’s a lot of ground to cover.”

Adam was feeling the same, but they didn’t have a choice. If they gained entry at a location five hundred miles from the last place, they were screwed. It had to be the original point.

Adam was watching the surface, which was a uniform brown and gray. Yet the underlying structure was metal…shiny metal.

“Back off some; get a wider view. Then change the polarization for the sensors. Darken the whole thing so that only the lighter areas stand out.”

Immediately, several areas on the half-globe below them became prominent. They made a quick run around the station, comparing the light areas to each other, further narrowing the search. Three spots stood out starkly from the rest. They marked them on the map and then dropped down toward the closest one.

This wasn’t it, simply a large rock with a sheered side that was reflecting the metal ring around the sphere. The next one was a hit. It wasn’t much more than five hundred feet square, just large enough for the Najmah Fayd to set down. Adam recognized the tell-tell signs of gravity runs over the surface and a piling up of debris around the LZ. There was plenty of room for the shuttle.

The surface of the Aris world had an atmosphere, thick and capable of sustaining Human life, even for an object this small, thanks to the planet-size gravity it generated. The team geared up, stocking up on extra ammo and dividing the explosive packs between the three of them.

“I should warn you, there are robotic guard dogs around,” Adam said.

Coop shook his head. “No shit? Nice that you got around to telling us that.”

“They’re not hard to detect. Their metal feet clank on the deck. You should be able to hear them coming. Don’t hesitate to shoot. They ain’t puppy dogs.”

Riyad cracked the hatch. “Six hours, twenty minutes, my friends. Tic-toc.”

The air had a distinct stale odor to it, something he didn’t remember from the last time he was here. Perhaps now that the Aris were gone, it wasn’t so vital to maintain a rich and pleasant atmosphere. However, all the readings were still in the green; the team set out toward the row of piled up boulders, following Adam’s lead.

He’d been hoping for a trail left from before, and maybe if given time, he could have picked one out of the light layer of fresh dust. But it had been several years and the station was being constantly bombarded by a rain of microscopic particles that built up on the surface.

Even so, it wasn’t hard to spot the openings in the huge girder system below the rock layer. These were the gaps where smaller rocks fell and were large enough for the Humans to fit through with space to spare. They climbed down a twenty-foot-wide support beam coming up from below before reaching another level. They were on an incredibly wide girder, easily five hundred feet across and running a mile or more off in either direction. There were mounds of rock they had to go around to reach the edge.

Adam looked over the side. This was the spot where Adam and Trimen had climbed on the backs of Panur and J’nae for the two hundred foot drop to the next level. Planning ahead, Adam had a long length of rope he’d brought from the Sally. He secured an end and then scampered down, the three-quarters Earth gravity helping with the effort. Riyad and Copernicus followed.

“This is where we ran into the dogs. Keep an ear out for them.”

Adam led the team along the deck, looking for a thick support column with a door set in it. He’d taken an elevator to the lower levels the other time he’d been here. It had to be around here….

“These look like shoe prints,” Riyad pointed out.

Adam knelt down, studying the faint images in the light covering of dust. Not as much debris reached this level, preventing six-year-old footprints from being covered up. “They lead off this way—”

Click, click, click.

“I told you so,” he said. Riyad and Coop heard the sound, too, and already had their weapons unslung.

The spindly, six-legged robot crawled up the side of a pile of debris and looked down at the Humans.

“I thought you said they were dogs?” Coop said. “I’ve never seen six-legged dogs before.”

“They have them on Dimloe,” Riyad said. “You really do need to get out more often, my friend.”

Adam didn’t participate in the banter. Instead he let loose with a blast of 7.62 NATO rounds at the mechanical beast. They did the trick, ripping the sentry to shreds.

“Watch for others, they move in packs.”

He was right, as three more appeared, encircling the flesh-and-blood invaders to their private domain. The sound of the M-101s was deafening, echoing off the support beams and metal decking. In the cacophony, two additional robots managed to move in close to Riyad and jump. He was slammed to the ground, the length of this rifle now held firmly in the mouth of a mechanical beast as he struggled to keep the creature at bay. The other one was circling, looking for an opening to snap at one of Riyad’s limbs.

Adam stepped up point blank and pressed the barrel of his weapon against the torso of the robot on top of Riyad. He pressed the trigger, ripping through the mesh screen and into the innards of the automaton. In the meantime, Copernicus blasted the second dog from a distance, sending the shards skidding into a pile of small rocks next to a support column.

Riyad climbed to his feet, covered in dust but otherwise unharmed.

“The path leads over here,” Coop was saying. He was at the column were the dead dog lie. He moved around to the other side. “Bingo, we gotta door.”

“There’s no lock on it; just push it open.”

The three Humans crowded inside the small chamber. The door closed automatically, trapping them inside. Adam felt a moment of apprehension, until the elevator began to move. It would have been shitty for them to get locked inside a six by six metal box.

He hadn’t noticed before, but the ride took longer than he expected. Perhaps the first time he didn’t know what to expect. This time he had the impression the ride to the main level of Aris occupation was only a few hundred feet below. That may not have been the case. He also noticed subtle shifts in direction, meaning the car could be moving anywhere in the general area, perhaps to a central receiving area where they’d been carried before. Maybe the entry point wasn’t so crucial after all.

All the while, Adam was thinking of an exit plan. He took out his K-BAR and scratched a large ‘X’ on the inner wall of the elevator. The moment the door opened, he scratched another on the side wall outside while Riyad and Copernicus moved into the wide lobby area, weapons hot.

The room was well-lit and the air a little fresher. Adam thought he recognized the room, but it could have been one of a hundred within the station. There was no furniture, artwork or other decorations of any kind. Just bare metal walls, floor and ceiling.

“Now that you got us here, where do we go?” Coop asked Adam.

Adam motioned with his hand down the only corridor that connected to the foyer. “That way.”

“Genius,” Coop said.

“They don’t use doors much here, so be looking for a meeting area off to the right. That’s where the Aris first greeted us. Also, if you see any of the metal orbs, don’t trust them. I got jolted by one the last time I was here.”

“Do you really think the Aris would go off and leave their orbs?” Riyad asked.

“Not really, but if we see any, it could be a good indicator that we’re not alone.”

“I’ve got your meeting area,” Copernicus announced. He was in the lead and had disappeared around a corner made up of the frame of a large portal. The ceiling in the room was domed, reaching a pinnacle a hundred feet above. It was simply a metal structure, unlike the last time he was here when it displayed a field of stars far above. There was no one here to run the projector, no need to impress the guests.

“Check the side rooms,” he commanded. “We’re looking for three boxes about the size of cigarette packs. Check any drawers you find.”

There were side rooms, each with normal height ceilings and some with low lying furniture and blank monitors fully integrated into the walls. The Aris of the station spent the bulk of their time in hibernation, and the robots didn’t use the furniture, so the items were in showroom condition. But there were no drawers, no desks, no panels set in the wall that they could see.

“Where the hell would they have put the boxes? They took mine from me here. Wait…they handed them to a robot afterwards.”

“Where do the robots hang out? Do they have a lounge area, with soft techno music and where they can get a nice spiced-oil drink?”

“I know of one place. But we still need to find the assimilation room.”

Riyad fingered his neck communicator. “Then we’ll split up. Since we don’t have working ATDs, we’ll have to stay in touch the old fashion way.”

Adam stepped back into the main corridor. “All right, down there about five hundred feet should be the room I was held in. Then to the left, a series of corridors to the power room. The robot center is near there, so be careful. The Aris may be gone, but someone is still maintaining the station. And listen for clicks. That was something the Aris didn’t think about when designing their metal sentries.”

“Something they didn’t think of…that has to be a first.”

“Cause and effect. They had no reason to make them stealthy.”

“Riyad, head for the power room, Coop to where they held me. Check every room along the way, looking for any sophisticated equipment set up. There has to be a place where they planned on assimilating Lila. J’nae was a different process, an easier one. From what I could tell, Lila’s was a lot more complicated. And computers. I’m not sure if the Aris used them, but maybe the robots have some that will give us a layout of the place. And use your knives to mark your way. All the corridors here look the same.”

“Where are you going?”

“Farther down, to an area I haven’t seen before. Who knows what I’ll find. Okay, move out, and stay in touch. And be ready to shoot anything you see—except me.” He noticed the glint in Copernicus’s eye. “I’m serious, Coop. Don’t shoot me.”

“Never say never,” he said with a wicked smile. Then he rushed off down the corridor.

Adam took off at a sprint. They had a lot of ground to cover and not much time. He held his weapon firmly in his grip, ready to shoot anything that appeared. Any of the robots would be a threat and he didn’t have time to negotiate with them.

The station was huge, and Nunki had told him it was maintained by fifteen-hundred service robots. Even then, it was rare to see one of the thinly build metal constructs, most of which walked upright on two legs, although they could shift to four-legged transport on a whim.

Adam encountered one of the machines. It was clinking along a side corridor, moving away from Adam. It sensed his presence and turned, showing no reaction to seeing him. He blasted it anyway.

He was soon in a section of the station that had not been included in Nunki’s boastful James Bond-type tour of the mastermind’s evil lair. To his relief, most of the rooms he passed had elaborate machines and piping, mostly embedded in the metal walls. Adam suspected these to be environmental equipment, and not something to be used to assimilate a living being into another.

Then his communicator crackled.

“Adam, Copernicus…I found something in the robot room. It could be your magic boxes.”

“I’m on my way!”

21

Adam had scratched the surface of the metal walls with his combat knife so it wasn’t hard for him to find his way back to where the team split up. He remembered how to get to the robot room from here; he’d dispatched something like fifty of them there in the heat of anger after Trimen’s death. The more time he spent in the station, the more vivid his memories were becoming.

Adam raced through the open portal. The remains of three service robots were strewn across the floor, along with a smattering of spent cartridges. He ignored the carnage and ran up to his friend.

Riyad held up a trio of black, metal boxes. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

Adam took them from Riyad, a wide grin painting his face. “Exactly! This is the best news we’ve had in a while.”

“Do they still work?”

Adam’s smile disappeared.

“I don’t know.” He studied the boxes. “There’s only a button with no on/off light. And I think that was all for show anyway. Panur designed them to work after they were taken away, when they were placed next to each other.”

“Then they could have been operating all this time…until the batteries ran out.”

“But J’nae said she sabotaged the units, even though they did work at first, when I left my room to go to the power station. Where did you find them?”

Riyad pointed to a work bench where the robots did maintenance on equipment…and themselves. There were very few tools, just a pair of what looked like Dremels on the end of flexible hoses. “They were in a drawer under the table—but wait! One was. The other two were across the room, under that other table.”

“Maybe it takes all three to turn on the damping field. All J’nae could have done is separate the units.”

“That seems pretty simple.”

“Panur did prefer things that way. He made us believe that all we had to do was press the button and the field would go off. He wanted the units to be taken from us and locked away in a safe place. Only then would they work fully.”

“Then they couldn’t be that sensitive, otherwise just walking next to another person with one of them would set it off.”

“You are a genius, Mr. Tarazi. That makes sense.”

“But are they working now, now that they’re all in your hand?”

“Hell if I know. We’ll only know if there’s an an interphase field around.”

“Speaking of that, does that look like a master control panel to you?”

Riyad was pointing at a bank of gauges and monitors at the other side of the room. They moved over to it and began checking out the station. If it was a control panel it would be almost impossible to tell. It was designed to be used by robots, machines that could plug into the wall to get data, rather than having to study active monitors. Early warning systems, guard duties and a myriad of other chores that required eyes in normal systems wouldn’t be needed here. But it was a station of some kind, and with a number of ports where plugs could be inserted.

Adam shook his head. “Even if we could access the data, it would all be computer code to us.”

Copernicus showed up at the portal. “I heard you found something?”

Adam held up the three boxes.

“Cool, so now we can free the mutants.”

“Possibly. We aren’t sure if they’re still working.”

“And the only way we’ll know is when Kracion gets here and parades Panur and Lila down the hallway. That’s when we jump out and shout, ‘Surprise!’”

Adam ignored his sarcasm. “Did you find anything that can help us?”

Coop was eyeing the control panel, running his fingers over the smooth metal surface of the components. “Not much,” he said, “just maybe the assimilation room.”

“What? Where?” Adam stammered.

“How do you know?” Riyad added.

“It’s either that or a hospital room. There’s a couple of body-size beds and a bunch of equipment hooked to hoses, like this.” He gripped one of the tools hanging above the workbench.

“Could it just be another one of these workshops?”

“No, this place looks sterile.”

“Then lead on, Mr. Smith.”

As the team rushed out of the robot room, Adam checked his watch. Five hours, five minutes. He grinned, feeling better than he had in a long time. Plenty of time, he thought. Just have to work out a plan now to make everything come together.

* * *

The room did indeed have the look and feel of a hospital room, and an O.R. at that. There were two utilitarian slabs covered by a thin cushion and cloth sheets. The fabric was smooth, appearing never to have been used, and even within the interior of the station, a fine layer of dust covered the surfaces.

“They never used it,” Adam said as he studied the layout.

There were a lot of electronics here, along with tables, benches and the almost non-existent chairs. This was where Prime beings would work, sitting on high stools as they performed their miracles. There would be one Aris at a time undergoing the procedure, while Lila—the Apex Being—was slowly dissected on the other bed. Adam pulled one of the overhead tools down for a closer look. There appeared to be only a lens at the end, perhaps a laser of some kind. There was no way he could comprehend the function of anything in the room, except maybe the chairs and stools. Those he could figure out a use for. And now he put one to use, sitting on one of the wheeled stools.

“Hopefully, this is the only operating room in the station, but with only one Apex Being, I think we’re pretty safe there. So how do we put our plan into action?”

“You will have true telepathic contact with Lila when she arrives,” said Riyad. “And without our ATDs to possibly give us away, Kracion won’t suspect we’re here. Activate your magic boxes and then let her and Panur know they’re free. They should take it from there.”

“In the meantime, we’re hidden away somewhere from the fallout,” Coop added.

Adam’s stomach was in knots. The plan—as simple as it was—was relying solely on the disruptor boxes working. If they didn’t, then Lila would be in the room where Kracion could set about doing whatever he had to do to absorb her powers.

On the other hand, they had found the room…and they still had the explosives.

Reading the concern on his face, Riyad spoke. “We could set the explosives and only activate them if we need to.”

Adam nodded. He’d already thought of that. “That sounds like our best plan.”

“And what of the Klin ships Kracion will have with him?” Copernicus asked.

“If we can free Lila and Panur, we’ll let them deal with them, even if we have to hang out here for a while as they devise their own plan. The key is freeing the mutants. We need them for anything going forward. Without them, there’s not much that can stop Kracion.”

“Except maybe the other Aris.”

“We’ll see about that,” Adam said. He hadn’t told them about the conversation he had with Sherri regarding the Aris service modules—Will and Grace—aboard the Colony Ship. He also worried how Nunki and the other immortal Aris would react knowing that the galaxy was theirs for the taking, following Kracion’s lead. To Adam, Kracion looked to be a traitor and a renegade. To the logical Aris, they may see his actions as sensible and expeditious. Or they could spank him and send him to his room without dinner. Reality probably fell somewhere between these two extremes. And at this point it was impossible to tell which.

“Set the bombs. We just need to have one explode. That should set off the rest.”

“And how will we do that?” Copernicus asked.

Riyad smiled and fingered his comm switch. “With one of these. We trigger the electronic signal in the communicator. An old freedom fighter trick. Two of us will have to go dark, but that’s the price to be paid for saving the galaxy.”

“And after setting the bombs, let’s clean up our mess. Nothing like a bunch of blown apart robots to let people know the Humans have been here.”

“And a bathroom,” Coop said. “We need to find a bathroom.”

Adam laughed. “I can help with that. There’s only one in the entire station, and that’s in the room where I was held. They made it exclusively for me and Trimen.” He looked at his watch. Four hours, thirty-eight minutes. “Let’s get to work.”

22

The Klin fleet swept into the area and spread out, forming a protective screen around the ringed Aris world of Solis. Kracion had been here countless times before, although this was not his primary work station. That was at another location.

He fingered the code into the comm system that would deactivate the interphase shield and moved his flagship in closer. He would take a shuttle down, along with a loyal team of Klin…and the mutants. He checked the small control box on the belt around his thin waist; the controls for the personal interphase fields for he and the mutants. He would go in protected by one. It had been three hundred thousand years since he’d last been here; he had to be leary of what he might find.

He also opened a comm link with the station’s security center, checking to make sure no Aris were aboard. He was taking the word of the mutants and Adam Cain that Nunki and his Privileged had indeed found the secret of immortality and had moved on. Status data was sent from Solis, confirming that no Aris were awake aboard the station and none of the encasement modules were active. They were gone, and the only reason that would be so was if they had become immortal. They’d done it, the culmination of a three-billion-year-long plan. And now it was Kracion’s turn.

A section of the outer skin of the station slid away, revealing the interior landing area. The shuttle set down amid a variety of smaller Aris vessels, spacecraft capable of trans-dimensional hops. He would have them transferred to his Klin ship at the end of his time here.

A small squad of Klin had control devices that moved the interphase bubbles surrounding the mutants, forcing them from the shuttle. They followed Kracion into the interior. They weren’t resisting; it was just that Kracion wanted to feel in control…as he was.

His first stop once inside the station was a central data room, a large open area with ports set within the walls. He pressed a section of the metal barriers and a panel slid open. Kracion removed a flexible tube and inserted one end into his utility belt. Then he stepped to a port and plugged in the other end.

A large section of the metal wall turned opaque, forming a fully-integrated screen. Kracion began to scroll through schematics.

“What do you seek?” Lila asked from behind the Aris.

“When I was last here, the Apex Being was still a distant objective. None of us knew fully what form you would take or what would be required for your assimilation. Yet since you were discovered and brought here, I must assume Nunki and others had a way and would have built a center for the procedure. That is what I seek.”

“And you have no idea how to accomplish the procedure, as you call it?” Panur asked.

“That matters not,” Kracion said with a dismissive tone. “I am a technician. I understand Aris technology even better than did Nunki and the Privileged. Once I study the facility, I will know. All I must do is locate where it is placed within the station. It should not be hard to find. It will be a relatively recent modification and will be near the central living quarters.” He stopped and pointed at the screen with a thin finger. “There…I have found it.”

He turned and looked with amusement at Lila. “Your time as a single entity is drawing to an end. Do you not find it exhilarating that you are about to transition to a new state of being?”

“I enjoy the state I am currently in. And as my father would say, ‘Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.’”

Kracion laughed. “Shall I make a confession? Once I have assimilated the galaxy, I will spend a portion of my eternity studying my creations, entertained by their idiosyncrasies and survival traits. Prime among these will be the Humans. In the short time I have been aware of their evolution, I have found them to be of particular interest, as have you, Panur. The connection Lila feels is understandable. Now I see why you have also taken a liking to them. They are fascinating primitives. As I eliminate other, less interesting species, I may save them until I grow bored. As immortals, I am sure you understand the sentiment. Something I created is something I can destroy. The sense of power is quite satisfying.”

“And insane,” Lila said. “You do realize that?”

“Of course,” Kracion replied, showing no insult at the statement. “Yet sanity is a relative construct. As I assume my rightful position within the galaxy, my insanity will become normal. What I do will be accepted. How I think will become sane.”

“Spoken like a true psychopath.”

Kracion chuckled again. “I will set the definitions to come. Do what you wish to provoke me. It will not work. To me, my reality is already here. Now come along. There is assimilation to be done.”

* * *

It was a fair distance from the entry point near the landing bay to the assimilation room. As he walked, with the mutants sliding silently behind him, under superfluous guard by the Klin, Kracion marveled at the construction of the station. This was a facility billions of years old, older than most stars in the galaxy, older than any civilization to come before it. His people built it, in fact, his class of Aris had done the construction. Yes, the Privileged designed Solis and the systems, but without Aris like him, it could not have been built. Not even the army of intelligent robots or service orbs could do what flesh and blood Aris could do. Now he ran his fingers along the smooth surface, pride swelling in his chest.

There were scratches periodically in the metal, perhaps left there by the robots as they moved material through the corridors. The imperfections were random, and at some point would be repaired by the robots. But still, they were an inconsistency, an itch within the mind of Kracion.

Eventually they came to the smallish assimilation room. Kracion was indeed surprised by the compactness of the facility and the graphic meaning behind the two simple beds placed in the center. Yet he was not surprised that the room was clean, sterile…and unused. If it had been used for its intended purpose, then the Apex Being would not be standing near him. He looked at the small, four-foot-tall being called Panur, considering for a moment who he was and what he represented.

It was his creation—this J’nae creature—who Nunki and the other Privileged used to fulfill their ambitions, even as the Apex Being was available. This thought brought both anger and respect from Kracion. This tiny, near-featureless mutant had done in six years what the Aris spent billions to create.

Kracion shrugged off his thoughts. He was wasting time, time which for him would soon stop. But not before he learned the secrets of trans-body assimilation.

He still had the contact tube dangling from his side. He now plugged it into one of the ports in the wall. The Aris computers were the most sophisticated in the galaxy, even though this particular system was three billion years old. It was encased in the walls of the station, and to this day, nothing had been invented that could match it. Kracion now called up the assimilation data, having it fed directly into his brain. He concentrated, seeing immediately that the process was complicated beyond compare. As he took in the data, he looked around the room, identifying equipment while activating screens set in the wall. What he noticed was the complete lack of an overarching theme. Nunki was making it up as he went, exploring avenues of experimentation even before the Apex Being was brought before him. After several minutes of intense revelation and education, Kracion came upon a sidebar note, a recent entry, one pertaining to the J’nae creature. This had to come after her appearance at the station; how else would Nunki had known of her. It mentioned another location within Solis, where her assimilation was to take place.

Kracion suddenly turned to the mutants, withdrew the connection from the wall and walked summarily from the room.

“Watch them,” he ordered to the Klin in the corridor. “Do not let them leave.”

“My lord…can they without our permission?”

“Just do as I order. I will return momentarily.”

Kracion rushed down the hallway, following directions prominent in his mind. There was another center, a place where the transition from mortal to immortal had taken place for the Privileged Aris. Kracion had to know why they chose J’nae over their Apex Being.

He found the room and entered, shutting one of the few doors within the station behind him. This space was larger than the one he’d just left. It was clustered with equipment and showed signs of being extensively used. He plugged into the wall and began to take in data, startling data, life-altering data.

23

Lila and Panur were puzzled over Kracion’s abrupt departure. They had been glimpsing what they could from the data screens yet even they were at a loss as to what it meant. They’d only acquired bits and pieces, not enough to draw any conclusions.

And then Lila heard a voice in her head.

Father, you are here, and close. Yet I do not sense the presence of my mother. Is she well?

We are close, not too far down the hall. Arieel is fine. She’s on Formil assembling a force to go after Kracion and his Klin fleet. But tell Panur we found his interphase nullification boxes. I have them sitting on top of each other, in direct contact. I don’t know if they’re working, not without a field to influence.

Lila served as a conduit between her mind and Panur’s. She relayed the information.

Panur raised the hairless skin above an eye.

This is interesting news, he thought to Lila. Let us experiment.

He reached out a hand…and it moved effortlessly beyond the shimmering glow of the containment bubble.

My devices appear to be working. We are free of the influence, yet a ghost of the fields remain.

Lila passed the news on to Adam.

Great! You can get away. We’ve placed bombs in the assimilation room. Get out now and then we’ll set them off, killing Kracion while he’s still mortal.

He is not in the room.

Where is he? Lila could sense the tension in Adam’s thoughts.

We do not know. He left the room suddenly a few moments ago.

It doesn’t matter. Just get free. We’re in the room where the Aris kept Trimen and me. Come find us. We’ll get away together. That way Kracion will never be able to become immortal, not without you.

We will wait for his return. Lila stated firmly. She could sense the anger building in her father’s mind. Kracion believes he is protected by the interphase field. He will return, and when he does, we will attack.

You don’t need to. The bombs will kill him. And if not that, then he’ll be just like every other mortal creature. We’ll get to him somehow. What’s important is keeping him from using the two of you to make himself invincible.

I understand, father, yet this is something we must do. Without his leadership, the Klin and Olypon will falter. We must be sure he is dead. Besides, if we have access to the Aris computer system we may gain incredible insight and knowledge. Please do not destroy anything until we have a chance to look at it first.

That makes sense. Sorry, I just like to blow things up.

Lila chuckled. Yes, we have noticed. However, be patient. Now that we are free of the interphase field, it will not be a problem dealing with Kracion on our terms.

Be careful.

We will. And father…thank you for coming to our rescue.

I figured I owed you.

You do; yet consider the debt repaid. I shall keep you informed as the events unfold.

* * *

In his mortal state, Kracion’s body had to gain support. He sat in one of the many chairs as the data streamed into his mind. He was stunned, overwhelmed by the…the simplicity of it all.

He thought back to the beginning of the Aris’ grand experiment. Options had been offered, and since his life—like all the other Aris participating in the experiment—had been spent in tiny increments of consciousness, followed by millions of years of sleep, he remembered every detail. Talk of a synthetic being had been discussed, to create a master mutation similar to J’nae who would allow the Aris to fulfill their goal. Yet at the time, the technology was beyond even that of the Aris. Then there was the continuation of the practice that had kept his race living as long as they had, through enhancements. Even transfer of conscious thought to inanimate objects was contemplated. The mechanical devices could then be repaired and replaced over time giving the Aris an unlimited lifespan.

And then there was the alteration of biological processes on the thousands of worlds within the galaxy. The Aris had an unlimited resource for experimentation, which upon further study, showed a success potential near one hundred percent. An Apex Being would be created—eventually—a true biological immortal.

There was also discussion of the creation of a race of immortals on a single planet, yet this was quickly dismissed. That was not the goal of the Aris. If so, then this immortal race would naturally compete with the now-immortal Aris, with a planet of beings dominating the few surviving Aris. What they needed was a single being which they could assimilate.

In order to do that, the Apex Being would have to be a mutant, a one-of-a-kind creature, and the only way to assure that would be through the rarest of occurrence, the mating of alien species. This was the course chosen so long ago and the one most of the remaining Aris embraced. But not all. Some chose to live out their natural lives, while others continued with the enhancements until even they grew tired.

As a technician, Kracion had not participated in the decision-making. Rather, he went along with the majority, as was required. He and his kind were offered potential salvation at the end of the experiment, if it was possible. Even the Privileged could not guarantee this, since the final results of the experiment were still unknown.

Over the eons, Kracion’s frustration, fear and resentment grew stronger. He and his kind were making it possible for the Privileged to fulfill their dreams and ambitions, while dangling a prize before the others, a tantalizing promise that may never be delivered. So he took matters into his own hands.

Now as he took in this new data, he was in shock. His skin seemed to tingle from the realization that he was about to do what no Aris of his class had ever truly contemplated. Yet there was a complication.

The procedure for assimilating Lila was a theory, even now. Nunki and the others had never actually done it. They didn’t need to; they had J’nae. This thought frightened Kracion. He would be the first to achieve such a feat, and without the assistance of the Privileged. For only a few times in his long life, Kracion acknowledged the genius of the upper class of Aris. Could he do this on his own?

He would need to bring over several of his service modules to assist. Even then, they could only do what they have been instructed to do. They could not create on their own.

Yet he did have Panur. The mutant created J’nae from himself, meaning that the process that had worked on J’nae should work on him. And Nunki chose J’nae over the Apex Being—and with success.

Kracion began scouring the data files for more details on the procedure—the actual procedure that had taken place within this very room.

An then he found it. The reference to the quantity of material needed. It was remarkably small. And then he discovered another interesting item.

Rather than eighteen Aris needing the procedure, only fifteen had actually been converted. Further researched revealed how the Human Adam Cain had killed three of the Privileged at the time he was on Solis. Kracion gasped. Although he resented the Privileged, the idea of killing one was so foreign to his thought process as to be inconceivable. Yet the primitive creature—this animal—had killed three of the surviving Aris. Even with his accelerated thought process, it took a moment for Kracion to recover from the shock.

But this meant fewer Aris had to be converted. Not only that, but the amount of material from the mutant was far less than he imagined. In fact, he had not thought much on this, since the idea of assimilating a creature other than the Apex Being had never been contemplated.

A moment later, Kracion was nearly thrown from the chair by the revelation.

Not all the material had been used. There was a supply still in existence.

Through mental control, Kracion commanded a panel to open in the metal wall. A shelf slid out…and on it was a small container.

He rush to the box. There were controls on the exterior which he deftly operated. The lid slid open, revealing an interior divided into a number of small holders for glass containers, all frozen and with a red substance inside. A quick count showed twenty-eight vials, and each holding the essence of the mutant J’nae, in perfect dosage required to give immortality to the mortal.

Kracion did not rush through his emotions. Instead, he stood staring at the vials, a light cloud of steam rising up from the frozen compartment. The significance of the find was beyond compare. There was not only enough biological material here for him, but for twenty-seven of his brethren. He smirked at the thought, his mind formulating contingencies faster than any computer. The possibilities became apparent.

Still connected to the computer port, Kracion searched the files until he found what he was looking for. Another chamber beneath an exam table opened. He reverently walked over and removed the item inside and set it gently on the table.

It was a small mesh device, segmented with a round opening in the center. Kracion turned it over and noticed a series of fine needles extending from the inner surface. On the outer section was a small portal, just large enough for one of the vials containing the red material.

This was how they did it. This device would fit over the shoulders of the Aris and snap into place around the neck. Then the immortal fluid would be warmed and thawed, before being injected into the body. From here, the liquid would permeate the subject. From the data, it was revealed very little of the immortal essence was required. Each immortal cell would infect the other normal cells around it, transferring the secret of eternal life to the next, and so forth until the entire body was converted. And it wasn’t immortality that was transferred, but the knowledge of spontaneous regeneration.

As the Aris had debated the various methods of becoming immortal, their primary concern was to remain thinking, feeling flesh and blood creatures. Even having their minds still active within metal shells was possible, yet that would lessen the very essence of life, removing the reason for living. As the discussion progressed, the Privileged decided to first try for a natural form of immortality before surrendering to the artificial means. Kracion was holding in his hands the instrument of natural immortality, and he had the fuel required.

He looked to the steaming box then back to the lightweight shoulder gear. His heart was pounding, his mind ablaze with possibilities. He placed the apparatus around his neck, feeling the needles penetrate his mortal skin….

24

Lila and Panur could hear Kracion approach from the hallway outside. They prepared themselves, morbidly enjoying the moment and the satisfaction they would get from the surprise on Kracion’s face when they stepped beyond the interphase bubbles.

To their surprise, Kracion was no longer encased in his, overconfident that the mutants were held securely within theirs. He had a particular lift in his step and a thin grin on his lips. He leaned against one of the operating tables and looked at the mutants.

Panur had decided to make a show of it, rather than a quick strike and kill. He and Lila had been held in captivity by the Aris longer than either had experienced before. It was time to exact some revenge.

“You look satisfied,” Panur said.

Kracion cocked his head but said nothing.

“I suppose you feel in total control and on the verge of a great achievement.”

“On the verge may not be the proper phrase.”

Panur grinned. “Then let me rephrase the statement. You were on the verge of a great achievement.”

The mutant walked forward, penetrating the shimmering blue screen and stepping into the open. Lila followed suit.

Kracion raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. You have found a way to negate the interphase effect. I am to assume the markings on the corridor walls are from your savior Adam Cain and his friends. Only he would take the risk of coming back here for a second time. My compliments for his tenacity and innovation, as I also offer them to you, Panur, for your creation of J’nae.”

Confused, the two mutants held back their attack. They were between Kracion and the entry portal, blocking his exit. The Klin guards, seeing Lila and Panur step from within the fields, stood awkwardly outside, their weapons raised.

“Do not fire,” said Kracion. “You will only feed them energy. Be gone. Return to the ship.” The aliens rushed off, not needing to be told twice.

“Then you accept your fate,” Lila stated.

Kracion nodded. “Sadly, I do. I am what I am and I must now suffer the consequences.”

“You should have known your vulnerabilities and planned accordingly,” Panur said.

“I realize that…and I have. That is why I no longer need the protection of the interphase field and why I have set the station for destruction in mere minutes, denying you the wisdom of the Aris…forever.”

Both mutants immediately realized the significance of the statement, understanding now Kracion’s unexplained confidence. Nevertheless, they attacked.

Two mutants against one frail and skinny Aris was no match, whether immortal or not. The bodies came together, tumbling over the table and to the metal deck. Hands gripped Kracion’s neck and squeezed while others pressed his arms to the floor. The Aris didn’t fight back. Instead, he let his eyes roll back in his head, as if in ecstasy. After a moment of futile attacks on his body, he rolled over, dislodging the mutants.

They came together again, this time with Kracion raising his arms in defense, but only as an experiment. His altered state had not given him any additional strength, so his bones broke and his flesh was frayed, but all were instantly repaired, with no associated pain.

“So this is what it feels like to be immortal?” Kracion took in a deep, shuddering breath. “It is glorious!”

Then he let loose with a blast of energy from his hands, using the ancient implants from so long ago. The force threw the mutants across the room, slamming them into the opposite wall. Yet they, too, were unhurt. Instead, their bodies began to glow with the infusion of electricity. They jumped at the Aris again, feeling renewed. It had been a long time since they had jolts of energy.

The three immortals ended up in a cocoon of white light, with lightning strikes flaring out and crackling against the metal walls of the room. Lila and Panur had Kracion pinned to the floor, even as he shot more energy into the air to be absorbed by the mutants.

Adam! Lila called out in her mind. Detonate the bombs! Do it now!

* * *

Adam was slammed against the wall of the room by the intensity of the thought. It took a moment for him to recover.

“Are you all right?” Riyad asked, shocked and concerned by the expression on Adam’s face. “What happened?”

Adam shook his head. “I don’t know. But trigger the bombs!”

“What?”

“Do it! It’s what Lila wants.”

Riyad took up the communication box and pressed the button. The weak electric signal was sent to the matching box, with contacts embedded in the explosive. The room was rocked by the nearby explosion, a thundering that lasted much longer than normal as it reverberated throughout the metal structure of the station.

Adam, Riyad and Copernicus were in the hallway a moment later, weapons ready, and rushing to the operating room.

The hallway was filled with black smoke, and metal fragments had been sent skidding down the corridor in both directions. The portal entrance to the assimilation room was now twice the size it had been before and mostly obscured by billowing clouds of smoke. The metal deck, wall and ceiling were deformed like so much tin foil.

Then a glowing form flew from the smoke and crashed into the wall of the corridor. A moment later, a second object appeared, following the same trajectory. Adam recognized the first radiant form to be that of his naked daughter, now consumed in a halo of white-hot energy. Panur was climbing to his feet as well, his own tiny body naked and aglow.

Then Kracion stepped through the shattered opening. He was naked as well, his clothing burned off not only from the explosion but also by the energy radiating from every pour of his slender body. He watched the mutants stagger to their feet before glancing down the corridor at Adam and the other two Humans.

He held his arms out to his sides and let streams of yellow fire flow from his hands. He threw back his head in a sign of passion. “I never imagined it to be so exhilarating!” he yelled. “I can feel eternity…I can feel the invincibility. I will live forever!”

Adam was having feelings of his own, and just as powerful. Something had gone terribly wrong with the plan. Although Lila and Panur were still alive, the insane Aris was now immortal. The thought scared him beyond comprehension. All he could chant over and over in his mind was: What now? What now?

Kracion locked his glowing eyes on Adam, who was standing fifty feet away with the other two Humans, uncertain what to do next.

“Adam Cain! I have learned you killed Aris.” The words echoed off the walls, clear and powerful even through the residual effects of the explosion and the still vibrating walls. “No one has done that within my memory. Are you proud of yourself?”

Adam didn’t answer. Instead, he looked to Lila and Panur. They weren’t attacking, frozen in their glowing bodies only a few feet from Kracion.

“I will reserve a special place for my revenge against you,” Kracion continued.

“Lila, let’s get the hell out of here!” Adam yelled aloud, dispensing with the mental link.

His daughter looked to him, then back to the Aris. Panur took her by the arm and pulled her away, running toward Adam.

The approaching heatwave snapped the Humans from their shocked reverie. They turned and ran, putting distance between themselves and the glowing mutants. Lila and Panur understood the danger they posed to the team and stayed back, not moving at anywhere near full speed. Adam glanced back, relieved to see that Kracion wasn’t following.

They were heading away from the main series of rooms and toward the small elevator that would—hopefully—lead them to the outside. But the three Humans could not possibly share the elevator with the flaming hot mutants.

Lila linked with his mind. You go first.

But Kracion isn’t following us.

No, he is going to his shuttle. He will destroy the station once he is away. You must be gone by then.

You and Panur have to come with us.

We will do the best we can.

How…how did he become immortal?

There was some of J’nae left by the other Aris. He used that.

I didn’t see that coming.

Adam slid up to the elevator door and slid it open. He turned to see the mutants stop a safe distance behind.

“You go first,” Lila called out. “We will follow.”

Adam could see the glow had diminished somewhat, but still far from a safe level if they were all to take the small shuttle off the surface. As he and the other two Humans entered the elevator, he fingered his comm, the only one left among the trio.

“Monty, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” came the immediate reply. “We’ve been monitoring things in the area. The inter-something-or-another shield dropped a while ago. We were going to move in but we couldn’t get through the screen of Klin ships. But now they’re moving away, forming up to face off against a new Human fleet that just arrived. They’re forming a skirmish line about half-a-light away from the station. Where are you?”

“We’re heading for the surface. The mutants are following, but they can’t ride in the shuttle with us.”

“Why not?”

“They’re too hot. Can you come down and get us?”

“That’s a possibility. We’ll home in on the shuttle. I should be able to pull its signature out from the other clutter. Will I have room to set down?”

“Crush the shuttle if you have to. It’s basically worthless anyway.”

“Thanks,” said Monty Pitts. “It did get your asses to the station.”

“Don’t be so sensitive.”

“Sensitive…me?”

“Seriously, just get your ass down here. The station is about to blow any minute.”

There was a silence on the line. “And you want me to bring the Sally in? Are you crazy?”

“Hurry up.”

“I’m on my way.”

25

The three Humans emerged from the elevator at the same point they’d entered nine hours before. Fortunately, no additional robotic dogs where there to greet them. They stood back and waited, hoping the mutants would only be a minute behind. Five minutes passed before Adam attempted a mind link with Lila.

We are on the surface, near what appears to be a small shuttle, was her reply.

How did you get there?

We don’t know. The elevator door opened and we simply made our way to the surface.

You came out at another location, Adam thought. We’re on our way. Hopefully we’ll have enough time. Wait there for us. Monty is coming to pick us up.

Who?

A friend of ours. You’ll like him…maybe.

The team rushed off, looking for the rope they would have to climb to reach the higher level. They found it and scurried up. From there it was still a hike along the wide girders and to the support beams they had to climb. Eventually, they made it to the surface and the piles of rocky debris strewn about. Their footprints were prominent in the dust, giving them directions to the landing zone.

Lila and Panur were still glowing, but not as much. Adam was able to move within ten feet of his daughter.

“What are we going to do now?” he asked.

“First we get off the station, then we assess the situation,” Panur snapped. He had a look of frustration on his gray face.

“But he did it, he’s immortal.”

“Yes, but just like us, that doesn’t mean he’s invincible. He can be defeated if not killed.”

A bright light began to grow in the dark sky above the station. Adam locked his attention on it, hoping it was the Mustang Sally and not some Klin ship sent here by the mad Aris. He didn’t think that was the case. From what he saw of Kracion, he was in a zone, reveling in his new state of being, having very little interest in the events around him. That was fortunate. Eventually, he would regain his focus on Adam, the mutants, and even the Milky Way galaxy. But for now he was high on his immortality.

The bulky starship gained definition the closer it got. The team moved out of the way, and the Sally set down in the clearing, and right on top of the small shuttle. The weight of the muleship smashed the vehicle into the thickness of a baking pan before the landing gases disappeared into the atmosphere of the station. The rear landing bay door fell open and the team ran inside, keeping their distance from the still radiant mutants. The door rose up and locked into position even as the Sally was lifting away and bolting for space.

The mutants remained in the landing bay while the three Humans raced inside the ship and to the bridge.

The place was packed. Even the five mercenaries were there, their eyes locked on the various monitoring screens, some with an outside view of the station and others showing graphic displays of the battle about to take place in the surrounding space.

“Welcome back,” said the master chief. “I take it with the mutants coming along for the ride your mission was a success.”

“Not hardly,” Adam replied. “Kracion got his wish. He’s immortal and more a threat than ever.”

“How is that so?” Tidus asked. The towering Juirean was at one of the all-purpose stations. The Sally was bolting away, from both the station and the battle field, not wanting any part of either.

“He found a way. We’ll explain later.” Adam moved up next to the Juirean. “What’s going on? Is the fleet going to take them on? That’s crazy.”

He triggered a comm link, dialing in a military access code.

“This is Adam Cain calling the nearby Human fleet. Come in.”

The line crackled. “This is Captain Quinton McCurry, commander of the fleet.”

“Captain, what are you doing? You know you can’t go up against the Klin ships. And keep your distance from the Aris station as well. It’s about to blow.”

“We are a half light out from the station, Captain Cain. And as far as taking on the Klin, we have a strategy we are about to check out. Whether we stay and fight or run for the hills will be known momentarily. Please stay off the line until we know which. I’m a little busy at the moment.”

The line went dead.

“I guess he told you,” Copernicus said, no humor in his voice. He was just as worried as the rest of them. The last thing they needed was to have more ships destroyed in a losing cause.

“The Klin are firing,” Tidus reported from his station. “Using their concentrated beam weapons.”

Although the Sally was too far out to see the battle visually, the graphics were able to convert the readings into fairly decent representations of what was happening. To their delight, they could see that a number of the Klin beams were being diverted away from their targets. The diffusion screens now carried stronger signals and were angled at such a degree as to deflect the deadly force away from the ships. But not all were so lucky. Easily a third of the beams managed to reach the hulls of the Human ships, yet most didn’t follow direct paths, the screens managing to divert the beams enough to cause them to miss their intended locations. The ships didn’t explode, operating now in depressurized status, yet there was still damage. Other beams reached the shields unaffected by the angle, burning into hull metal and slicing through large sections. These ships began to break apart, while escape pods with abandoning crews filled the space around the condemned vessels.

Yet this was still better than any force had done against the Klin invaders. It was progress. And the Human warships were inflicting damage on the small Klin fleet. Their defensive systems were nothing to write home about. They relied on the power of their offensive weapons to protect them. Now the overwhelming number of allied ships was taking a toll. Soon, Kracion was down to only five standard Klin ships before his flagship appeared from the surface of the Aris station and the squadron bolted from the area.

Then the station exploded. It was a tremendous event, like a miniature supernova. Apparently, the station was already rigged for self-destruction, a precaution from billions of years before in case of some unforeseen happenstance.

“Where’s he going?” Riyad asked once the screens cleared and no sign of the Klin ships remained.

Adam snorted. “Anywhere he damn well pleases.”

“And with the Klin pouring into the Milky Way through the portal in the Dysion Void, he’s going to have all the firepower he needs,” Copernicus added.

“Another bad thing,” Adam said. “He probably has other tricks up his sleeve he hasn’t even had time to show the Klin. Their beam weapons are bad enough. Who knows what he’ll throw at us next.”

“And now he has all the time he needs to take us down…all of us.” Coop finished off the topic.

The bridge was silent for a long moment until the mutants entered, having wrapped themselves in storage tarps for modesty. The mercs backed away; they knew the beings by reputation only, and now they were in the same room with the immortals. Unfortunately, Adam thought, they’re no longer the only immortals in the galaxy.

Adam made the introductions, ending with Monty Pitts.

“We thank you for your expeditious rescue, Master Chief Pitts,” Panur said, extending his hand. His skin was still warm to the touch, but Monty took it anyway.

“Anyone care to explain what just happened?” Monty growled. “I thought this Kracion dude couldn’t become immortal without assimilating one of you.”

“Unfortunately, there was still some of my prior creation available on the station,” Panur said.

Monty looked at the others in the room. “And now we’re screwed? Is that what the understanding is? The whole purpose of this mission was to stop Kracion from becoming immortal. And if he succeeded, then all would be lost. Is that how it is? Are we all fucked?”

“Our challenge has definitely increased exponentially,” Lila said. “Yet all is not lost. Now that we know for sure what we are up against, we can devise strategies and defenses. There is still hope.”

Adam looked out the forward viewport of the Mustang Sally, at the blackness of space and the fire of the distant stars. He shrugged.

“Hope?” he said to the room. “We better have more than that going for us. Hope and a buck will get you a cup of coffee, but not much more. It’s going to take a whole lot of luck as well.”

26

Kracion set a course for the second Aris station. This was where the technicians were kept, all in their encasement chambers, waiting. He laughed. Waiting for what? They, like the Privileged, had been kept alive all these billions of years. Yet unlike Nunki and his kind, Kracion’s people did not have a certain future waiting for them. Even if the Apex Being project had failed, the Privileged would have moved on to another future. They would achieve their immortality, even if not in the most ideal manner. Yet the technicians would not share in that future. Indeed, there would come a time when they would all be replaced by the mechanical servants of robots and service modules.

But now….

Now Kracion could offer them something. He had twenty-seven vials of immortality with him and the means to deliver it. He could lead a small army of immortal Aris against this galaxy and many more, if the spirit moved them, and across multiple universes. Yet he’d already worked out the scenarios. If he allowed other Aris to become immortal, then he would not be in a unique position to lead them. He would then be just one among many.

Just as he considered himself a god to the galaxy, he could only claim that title because of his unique status among the living beings in existence. He alone would be forever. That would make him the god he—and they—imagined him to be.

Yet the mutants still lived. He laughed again. Lived was such an arbitrary term when used in this context. Even if assimilated, the immortals would have lived on, only in another form, as J’nae did within him now. He thought of the consequences of their continued existence. Were they a threat to him? Definitely. They were not only immortal, but geniuses as well; witness Panur and his creation of the J’nae creature.

So…there would be three gods in existence. Was that such a bad thing? It could be. The mutants would not stop planning his demise—ever. And the danger didn’t come from the threats he could see, but from those he couldn’t. Although he was intelligent beyond compare, he couldn’t predict the future. There may come a time when the mutants could devise a counter to him, either a way to destroy or contain him.

Kracion shrugged off his current concerns. Knowing that the mutants were free and a threat to him was enough at this point. He would continue to look for ways to destroy or contain them, even as they did the same regarding him.

In the meantime, Kracion had a galaxy to conquer. And as he had proclaimed before, he would accept no surrender before its time. And that time would come only after the galaxy knew what he could do. Only when the fear of him was absolute would he allow the beings of the Milky Way galaxy to bow at his feet. And foremost among them would be the obstinate Human Adam Cain.

But first, Kracion—the immortal Aris—had to become the destroyer of worlds.

The End

Coming next…

The Human Chronicles Saga #26

Destroyer of Worlds

December 2018

Author Notes & FREE BOOK OFFER

I want to thank you for reading this latest edition in the The Human Chronicles universe, The Immortal War. This is the 25th book in the series and I’m just hitting my stride. I hope you’ll continue with me along this incredible journey.

If you’ll bear with me, I’d like to take this opportunity to fill in a few of the blanks about myself and what I have planned for the future.

First of all, I’m one of those people who decided at the early age of twelve that I wanted to be a novelist, and like a lot of others, it wasn’t until I turned fifty-eight before I actually achieved my life-long goal. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t active in the field. I was trained as a journalist, through high school and college; I served as a Journalist in the U.S. Navy, and then did freelance publication design for a number of years once I got out. Then I became a real estate agent and broker, publishing a magazine called Homes For Veterans for twenty of my twenty-five years in the field.

This is all a long way to introduce the FREE BOOK OFFER I’m making for those readers who sign up for my email list. It’s actually THREE FREE BOOKS, including the first two books in my Jason King: Agent to the Stars series, as well as Captains Malicious, co-authored with my friend George Wier.

Sorry, but these aren’t in either my Human Chronicles or REV Warriors series. However, I am working on an exclusive short story for my email subscribers which will go into detail how Adam Cain was abducted by aliens at the beginning of The Human Chronicles. I’m still working on the short story, but the three book giveaway is now active.

Click here to get your free books.

www.trharrisbooks.com

Now about the Jason King novels.

Currently, there are two books in the series (hopefully with a third coming out in early 2019). Jason King has been a passion project of mine. It involves the adventures of an ex-Army Ranger who is now a very successful real estate broker working on the capital planet of a vast galactic empire. But please be assured, these are not real estate books. Instead, this is the story of a money-grubbing scoundrel and the troubles he gets into dealing with a variety of alien species, as well as conniving Humans. Because I spent twenty-five years in the real estate and mortgage industries, I do throw in some realistic insights which make the series not only humorous but also a look behind the curtain. Bottom line, Jason is a victim of circumstance—often brought about from his desire for the all-mighty buck.

The story originated from my belief that once Humans become part of a huge galactic family of aliens, they wouldn’t be content to live in the housing of the aliens. Instead, they would prefer their own style of home, not only because they would be more familiar, but to overcome the shock of the strange universe we find ourselves in. This is the catalyst which takes Jason King from his homeworld to a planet twenty thousand light-years away, just so he could get into the trouble that seems to follow him wherever he goes.

Needless to say, these books are light-hearted and humorous romps through interstellar space. And you can get both The Enclaves of Sylox and Treasure of the Galactic Lights for free by signing up on my email list.

But there’s more….

I’m also including Captain’s Malicious. This is a book I co-authored with my friend George Wier. George and I created a more traditional military sci-fi/space opera adventure involving the first clash between two great stellar empires, the Humans and the Vixx. At the outset of the war, the Human forces decide to pull back to more defensible lines, leaving their outer colonies on their own and at the mercy of the aliens. This includes The Reaches, where our hero, Captain Robert Kincaid, now wages a privateer operation against the alien occupiers in the last remaining Human warship in the region, the Malicious. This is a full-fledged sci-fi adventure novel with plenty of space battles, twists and turns.

Oh, and you get it for FREE as well when you sign up on my email list. www.trharrisbooks.com

And last, but not least, the exclusive short story detailing how Adam Cain came to be captured by the Klin. This is a behind-the-scenes look at how the Klin and their minions, the Jakreans, managed to abduct the most-lethal creatures in the galaxy. This story is still in the works, but I hope to have it completed in January 2019.

As I mentioned before, as an email subscriber, you will receive notices of all my giveaway and bonus material as they become available from now until the end of time—or until I move on to the happy writing grounds in the sky, whichever comes first.

In the meantime, what’s up is the next Adam Cain novel in The Human Chronicles Saga, Destroyer of Worlds. This is book number 26 in the series and details the continuing struggle against the now-immortal Aris, Kracion. I’m honored that the series has maintained a loyal following throughout the years. And be assured I work hard at making each novel unique and thrilling, something that’s a must in a series this long. In fact, that’s my number one goal with each new Adam Cain novel, to keep it fresh and interesting for you.

After that will be the fifth book in the REV Warriors Series, REV: Retribution. The war with the Antaere has taken an unexpected turn, and now the Human race is on the brink of extinction. Unless the new breed of Human—the REVs—can save the day once more. The series is building momentum. Hopefully, you’ll be amazed by what comes next.

Thanks again for reading The Immortal War and for being a loyal reader throughout the years. As I say, as long as you continue to read my books, I’ll continue to write them.

T.R. (Tom) Harris

—December 2018

Email Sign-up & FREE BOOK OFFER

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See the Author Notes at the end of the novel for information about my FREE THREE EBOOK OFFER, as well as details about my exclusive Human Chronicles short story coming soon.

Click on the link below to subscribe and to receive your FREE books!

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Novels by T.R. Harris

The Human Chronicles Saga

The Fringe Worlds

Alien Assassin

The War of Pawns

The Tactics of Revenge

The Legend of Earth

Cain’s Crusaders

The Apex Predator

A Galaxy to Conquer

The Masters of War

Prelude to War

The Unreachable Stars

When Earth Reigned Supreme

A Clash of Aliens

Battlelines

The Copernicus Deception

Scorched Earth

Alien Games

The Cain Legacy

The Andromeda Mission

Last Species Standing

Invasion Force

Force of Gravity

Mission Critical

The Lost Universe

Destroyer of Worlds

The Human Chronicles Book Sets

Box Set #1 - featuring books 1 -5 in the series

Box Set #2 - featuring books 6-10 in the series

Box Set #3 - featuring books 11-15 in the series

REV Warriors Series

REV

REV: Renegades

REV: Rebirth

REV: Revolution

REV: Retribution

Jason King – Agent to the Stars Series

The Enclaves of Sylox

Treasure of the Galactic Lights

The Drone Wars Series

Day of the Drone

In collaboration with George Wier…

The Liberation Series

Captains Malicious

Available exclusively on Amazon.com

and Kindle Unlimited.