“You’d do better with help,” Riyad said.
“If we can’t beat back the Juireans, as well as these other crazy Humans, it won’t make a difference. I need the two of you to guide our little army. If we all bolt and run, they may not trust us anymore.”
“He’s right,” Sherri said, pulling Riyad away. “Hurry! They’ll notice we didn’t follow in a moment.”
Reluctantly, Riyad allowed Sherri to lead him away.
Adam watched them disappeared around a bend in the hallway, and felt a sudden loneliness envelop him. He was hoping it wouldn’t be the last he saw of them. Then he turned and sprinted down the deserted hallway.
As Riyad and Sherri caught up with the others, they found them huddled in doorways and firing at the line of Juireans filling the main passageway leading into the cavernous chamber. Several Juireans lie dead, and the second line was just beginning to back away.
“Suppressing fire!” someone called out, and a number of electric bolts flew into the retreating ranks. Then at least ten men ran forward, and slid baseball-style on the smooth stone floor until they impacted the bodies of the dead aliens. Then they began snatching up bolt rifles and straps of power packs from the dead, before sprinting back to their lines.
Almost instantly, the rate and intensity of fire increased, filling the corridor with white hot streaks from the energy weapons.
Riyad and Sherri had taken up the cause, and were firing at the reformed line of advancing Juireans. And they were advancing, taking bolts shots to their body armor. But the Humans were very accurate with most of their shots, and numerous Juirean heads exploded in bloody messes, leaving only empty cavities within their helmets.
The Juireans once again began to retreat.
As they turned their backs on the blistering fire from the Humans, the Juirean heads were better protected, with their helmets covering their necks as well. But this then presented to the Humans the fatal flaw in the Juirean armor. The armor was concentrated in the front, with only supporting straps across their backs. The Juireans never figured they would be retreating from a battle, rendering rear armor superfluous.
Many Juireans died before learning of this flaw in their equipment.
Adam could hear the sounds of battle all around him, but fortunately, the passageways he entered were all deserted. Eventually he turned left at an intersection of corridors and came out in at the edge of the vast cavern that made up the main uranium excavation. Far to his left, he could see the main force of Juireans trying to penetrate the fire laid down from his small army of Humans. Then across the cavern, he saw a second of force of Juireans being fired upon by twenty to thirty Humans in blue tunics. At least these 2G’s hadn’t deserted the battle. He had no idea how many more there were within the complex.
To his right he saw a large plate glass window set in the rock wall with a door next to it. That would be the control room, and hopefully, the still intact computer core. He sprinted towards it, MK in his hand.
He knelt down below the window, and then did a quick pop-up glimpse inside. There were beings in the room. He spied two large Humans, as well as three tall creatures with white hair. Klin! There were Klin here.
He did another quick look to fill in some of his visual gaps. There was a Klin seated at a terminal, with two standing behind him. The two hulking Humans were standing with their backs to the window. Adam had no time to waste. He was sure they were erasing the computer’s hard drive as he watched.
Adam slid his hand into the recess depression in the door and pressed. The door slid open, and he barreled into the room, jumping headlong into the Klin seated at the computer. He hit something hard as they tumbled into the other two Klin. They all fell to the floor. Adam lay on the Klin and brought his MK-17 to bear on the nearest Human. He pressed the trigger and a bolt lashed out to strike the man just below the shoulder blade. The man fell back against the window and collapsed to the floor.
As he swung the weapon toward the other man, he found he was too late. A block-like fist slammed into his jaw. Adam’s eyes crossed and he felt himself go limp. The MK fell from his hand.
Next, thick hands gripped his tunic and pulled him off the floor. When his vision cleared, he was face-to-face with a massive head; the man had piercing blue eyes, a square jaw and a trace of stubble. The goliath reared back with his right arm for another blow. But Adam recovered just in time, and fell into the body of his attacker, sending a knee into the man’s groin. He screamed loudly into Adam’s ear, but did not release him. Instead two massive hands clamped themselves around Adam’s throat, and began to squeeze.
Adam managed to force his arms up between the two bulging arms, and then spun his whole body to his left, using his entire weight as leverage to break the grip on his throat. The man’s arms separated more, and Adam flung his right elbow up, impacting the man’s protruding jaw.
His attacker stumbled backwards; Adam sent a left jab into the man’s nose, and blood gushed forth.
Next, Adam sent a spin kick to the man’s rib cage. He fell back even more. And then his opponent saw the MK-17 on the floor to his right. He dove for it, just as Adam took shelter behind one of the Klin.
The first bolt struck the Klin in the center of his chest. Adam supported the alien for cover as the Human charged forward, tying to line up a better shot Then a bolt flashed past Adam’s head, in the direct of the Human. The man took the blue bolt of electricity in his throat, falling to the floor, dead.
Adam turned to see Sherri standing in the doorway. “That’s twice I’ve saved your worthless life,” she said with a smile.
Adam nodded at her, then turned his attention to the two surviving Klin. They were getting to their feet, each wearing small exo-suits, mainly to help support their weight against the heavy gravity. Adam saw one of them reach under a counter and withdraw a small laser weapon. Sherri shot him dead.
Adam grabbed the last Klin by his robes and pushed him against the large window. “Why are you doing this to us?” Adam screamed at the alien. “What do you hope to accomplish by getting my entire race killed by the Juireans?”
The Klin appeared calm in the light of his situation. His eyes looked old, yet bright and clear. “Your race will not be exterminated. At least not yet.”
The cryptic answer just sent Adam into more a rage. “Stop playing games with me, asshole. Tell me why you’re doing this!”
“This plan has been in the works for a thousand years. There is nothing you can do to stop it now.”
Adam jerked the alien to the computer terminal, righted the chair and threw him into it. “Get me the location of Earth — now!”
“You are too late for that, too.”
Adam looked at the screen. There was cryptic writing on the screen, and the lines were disappearing even as he watched. He couldn’t read the writing, but he did recognize numbers. There! Two sets of numbers, preceded by a two digit number. But the first of the two was gone, then the last. He looked hard at the next two numbers: 446.78 and 319.51. And then they were gone, too.
He knew he had part of a set of coordinates. Where they led him would take more time and concentration then he could afford at the moment. He turned to Sherri.
“What are you doing here? What about the Juireans?”
“They’ve retreated to the elevator area. They’ve barricaded it. We’re not getting out that way anytime soon.”
Adam turned his attention back to the Klin. “Is there another way out of here?”
“I would never tell-”
A laser beam penetrated the Klin’s back and his eyes grew wide. Adam looked over his shoulder just as the first Human with the wound to his shoulder was taking aim at him. Sherri’s answering bolt nearly severed the man’s head.
Adam threw the now-dead Klin on the floor and took his seat at the console. The data was gone; the screen just a maze of static.