T. Harris - The Tactics of Revenge

First, this could mean that his small force may have actually stumbled upon the location of the secret hiding place of the evil Klin. Like all Juireans, Anawar had been overcome with emotion when it had been confirmed that the Klin actually did still exist, and that for four thousand years they had been planning their revenge against the Juirean race. And now that the war had begun, the Klin were proving that they had found the perfect surrogates with which to carry out their evil deeds in the form of the barbaric Humans.

The other possibility was that this ship was not operating alone, and that the Humans were attempting to outflank the Expansion by traveling into its heart from above the ecliptic plane. Yet so far, no other gravity signatures had been detected. This ship appeared to be traveling alone.

Anwar’s options were obvious, in light of the overwhelming advantage in firepower he had over this single vessel. He could simply blow the ship to atoms, or he could have it submit and take the crew as prisoners. The second possibility was preferred. Acquiring an intact Klin spacecraft — along with its crew — could be very valuable to the technicians and analysts within the Authority.

Whether or not he could take the ship captive or not would depend on the course of action its crew chose to take. If they elected to stand and fight, then he would surely destroy the ship. If they succumbed, then he would accept their surrender.

On the forward screen, Anawar could see his small fleet form up to the rear of the contact. They would overtake it in less than ten minutes at their current velocity. The choice as to whether they lived or died now rested in the hands of the crew of the small saucer-shaped vessel.

Either way, Anawar would be satisfied.

“Son-of-a-bitch! Didn’t we just leave this party?” Sherri Valentine yelled to no one in particular. She ran to the pilothouse just as Riyad approached from the other direction.

Already inside were Adam, McCarthy and Tobias, along with the two aliens Kaylor and Jym. Adam nodded at her as she entered, a look of worry and disgust on his face.

“Juireans, are you sure?” she asked moving to get a closer look at the tac screen facing Nigel McCarthy.

The big Brit didn’t look back at her, but rather kept his attention focused on the screen. “Not just Juireans, Miss Valentine, but ten of them.”

“What are they doing this far out?”

“At the moment they are rapidly closing on our position.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The better question is what are they going to do?” said Andy Tobias. “We can’t outrun them and we can’t out fight them. If they’re in a bad mood, they may just blast the crap out of us.”

Adam slipped into the co-pilot seat next to McCarthy and activated the shields. “I for one am not going down without a fight!”

“Relax, Mr. Cain,” said McCarthy. “We’re already within range of their weapons. I think if they intended to shoot, they would have by now.”

Adam released the controls and leaned back in the chair. He let out a deep sigh. “So what now, prisoners again and hope for an escape or rescue?” He looked around at the others in the pilothouse. “Just about everyone I’ve ever counted on to come to my rescue is right here in this room with me. If we’re going to do this, we’ll have to do it on our own.”

Riyad Tarazi placed his hand on Adam’s shoulder and grinned in his interminable way. “Adam my friend, we are all quite resourceful — as you are well aware. We have been like a cancer to all our past captors, destroying them from the inside out. If I were the Juireans, I would be the ones afraid of taking us prisoner.”

The Juirean forces dissolved their wells and then moved under chemical drive to surround the much smaller spacecraft. A comm link was established, sending directions for docking the Klin starship within the bowls of the Class-3. Soon, atmosphere was returning to the vast landing bay, as the shimmering hull of the alien craft creaked and moaned, warming from the absolute cold of space.

Anawar had never seen a Klin/Human spacecraft in person before — very few Juireans had and lived to tell about it — so he was anxious to see this one up close. As he entered the landing bay, he was first struck by the circular shape of the craft and its near-uniform gray color. The prominent disk now rested on a wide pedestal that had descended from its center … and a doorway in the base was slowly sliding open.

A squad of twenty security personnel formed a semi-circle facing the doorway, flash rifles leveled and ready for any sign of hostilities. Having read dozens of reports regarding the ferocity of the Humans, the Overlord could not discount the possibility of a head-on suicidal attack by these beasts from within his ship. The guards appeared nervous, yet ready.

Anawar stepped forward to calm his guards. He did not want any premature discharge of their weapons should the occupants of the ship flinch the wrong way. That could get messy.

And besides, he might actually see a Klin emerge from the doorway in the pedestal, and not a Human. To see a Klin in the flesh would be the most momentous event in his life. An actual Klin!

To his disappointment, no Klin emerged from the circular ship. Instead there appeared a Human, about a full head shorter than he, wearing a light tan shirt with an open front, displaying a primitive-looking series of abdominal muscles for all to see. Disgusting. The creature had dirty yellow hair, bright blue eyes and a redness on the left side its face which appeared to be a healing wound. The creature’s arms were bare below the shoulders and exhibited a remarkable degree of musculature — Anawar had read that these creatures were extremely strong and quick with their reactions. Overall, the beast looked primitive and savage, as all the reports had indicated.

Yet the expression on the face, coupled with the sharpness of the eyes, led Anawar to believe that this being also possessed a hidden intelligence not mentioned in the reports. He would have to careful with this one-

And then Anawar involuntarily took a step backwards, as another Human appeared, followed by another and then another. In a moment, Anawar Fe Batlin, Overlord of the Juirean Expansion, was experiencing an emotion he had never felt before. His heart was racing and he felt a flushness on his face. He knew this to be fear — and standing before him was the catalyst.

He now counted thirteen Humans standing before him, all dressed in a variety of tattered and dirty clothing. Some were even larger than the yellow-haired one; there was even a black one, and of a size almost equal to his own. There was an obvious female in the group as well, yet from her demeanor she appeared as an equal to the males, both in resolve and toughness. In the back stood two other creatures, a Belsonian and a Fulqin, yet Anawar could not take his eyes off the Humans.

The Overlord could sense the tenseness in his guards; if he was feeling as such, then surely the non-Juireans manning the flash rifles must be on the verge of panic. Anawar looked over at the sentries and calmly spoke: “Stand at ease. Do not fire unless ordered.”

The row of sentries appeared to relax, even more so when five Juirean Guards entered the landing bay, also armed with flash rifles. They took up positions on either side of the Overlord. Good, Counselor Timino is observing, Anawar thought. He has sent reinforcements.

The yellow-hair Human took two steps forward — he was apparently their leader. “What now, boss?” the creature asked.

Gathering his courage, Anawar himself stepped forward until he was only an arm’s length from the formidable beast. “I am Overlord Anawar Fe Batlin. You and your crew are now prisoners of war. Your ship will be confiscated and-”