Alien Caller (69 page)

“No. He was a
top scientist. But that was before he betrayed his entire race,
shaming them into giving up their position at the head of the
Interstellar Council. All the wrong doing he’s done, he’s done in
their name, and in the process he’s shamed his people worse than
anything else he could have done. Or didn’t he tell you that? I
wonder why?” David smiled at the mad man knowing he would truly
hate that more than anything else. The idea that someone else could
have the upper hand over him, that ran against everything he lived
for.

“You’re
lying.”

“No I’m not.
You see Trellin there found out that his ancestors had created or
manipulated the entire human race, and the Leinian race thirty or
forty thousand years ago, and he did everything he could to try and
stop anyone else ever finding out. Including piracy, kidnapping and
possibly even murder. That’s why he rescued you, so you could kill
off our people when he couldn’t. It would have been a major
disgrace to his people if the truth was ever learned, and he was
desperate to stop it getting out. But a greater disgrace was if
anyone ever found out about what he’d done to hide it.
Unfortunately for him, we got a message away a couple of months
ago. The word’s been sent out including a record of his own crimes,
and his people have been hunting for him ever since.”

“Now you’ve
delivered him to his own people, and in the same act of idiocy,
delivered yourself to me. It was stupid. The Leinians would never
have been able to execute you, they’re far too pacifistic. Now
though, thanks to your reckless stupidity, they’re under my
command, and you’re a dead man.”

“Your prisoner
has nowhere left to go except trial, and that is his only choice.
His people’s Council have ordered it, and by not already turning up
for judgement he has already failed them again. If he aids you in
your usual lunacy he will disgrace his people even further.
Therefore he won’t. He wants to die. And if you kill him your ship
has no pilot. Of course if you do nothing you still die. In two
days his own people’s warships will be here, and then you will be
handed over to me, and I’ll personally flush your remains out an
airlock if they leave that much of you behind. If you attack we’ll
blow you out of the sky a few seconds later. And if you run, you
will run into our warships.”

“How could you
make so many stupid mistakes, Dimock? You were supposed to be
intelligent. When they removed your implants did they remove your
brain as well?”

“You lie!” It
was all the lunatic could come out with after a lot more incoherent
screaming.

“No, you
hideous lump of plastic surgery. I’m telling you the truth. Your
hostage is Mentan public enemy number one. On his life he cannot
help you, and dead he leaves you a sitting duck. Ask him.” Somehow
he even found the strength to laugh at him, the terror being buried
deep inside.

The screen
immediately went dark and David guessed that Dimock was doing just
that. Asking his captive in his most unpleasant way about what he’d
done. And he knew that Trellin would start denying everything as
hard and fast as he could. But what Trellin didn’t know was that
Dimock would quickly spot a lie even in an alien, and from there
the truth would flow along with his green blood. Once Dimock had
the partial truth out of him, and David was guessing that Trellin
himself didn’t know about the position of his people in the
community so wouldn’t be able to deny it, he would have no choice
but to accept the rest. Then he would believe his hostage was
worthless as such. But it would all take time. Time he had to make
use of.

“What are you
doing?” He turned to face Lar and tell him what he would never want
to hear. He looked if anything, even more worried than before.

“Exactly what I
have to do.” He could have explained his actions to him then, but
David’s mind was racing as he thought through what would likely
follow. What Dimock would do, and how he would have to fight him.
The arguments would flow from Lar like water the moment David told
him his plan. The Leinians would never accept it, but it had to be
done.

Instead of
answering he ordered the captain to contact the Earth, specifically
the United Nations, and open a dialogue with his world. After that
he had to identify himself formally to the Secretary General. Not
something he had ever even thought about doing but essential. He
needed their support for what was to follow. And more importantly,
they needed to know there was a plan in place. They needed to keep
their people from killing themselves in their panic.

Five minutes
later a herd of world leaders’ faces appeared on the bridge's front
screen, as the Leinians accepted incoming broadcasts from them.
Naturally David understood, the rest of the world was also
watching. A thousand TV stations tuning into those same broadcasts.
He just hoped Dimock hadn’t thought to tune in. But in all
probability he was busy with his hostage. Torturing and maiming him
in a desperate attempt to reclaim his sense of power as well as
gain information. In any case the Leinians claimed that they were
blocking those signals if he tried to listen in, just as he’d asked
them to.

First David made the Leinians
broadcast to them everything that had just occurred between him and
Dimock, and then David gave
them
a brief potted history of who Dimock was and why
he was on an alien space ship threatening global annihilation. And
all the while he was trying to put flesh on the bones of his
plan.

Finally it was
time as the Leinians had finished doing everything he’d asked, and
David knew he had to explain his plan. Mainly because Lar asked him
once more what he was doing.

“I’m attacking
his mind. Breaking him. Making him run around in fear and panic
until he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s weak now, physically
limited and in an environment he doesn’t understand no matter how
much he pretends to. That’s bad enough for him, and I’m going to
play on it until he doesn’t know up from down. Then, when
everything’s in the most chaos, I’m going to give him the thing he
wants more than anything else in the entire universe; me. Then I’m
going to kill him. It will be our last and probably our only chance
before he starts destroying whole worlds with his new weapons.”

“But we -”
Already David could see the decency of the Leinian nature coming
back to the fore. Even now, with the potential loss of an entire
world laid at his feet, he couldn’t envision the idea of trying to
kill someone. Murder was beyond him.

“NO!” David
gave in and grabbed Lar by the collar, yelling in his ear, letting
his rage take hold. He controlled it but only just. He could
imagine the entire world cringing as he did it but there was no
choice. Passion would have to overpower logic. Finally they would
have to do what was right.

“We kill him!
No ifs, no buts, no maybes. We kill him. I kill him. There is no
other option and this is the only opportunity we’re ever going to
get. The last chance. He has to die. If even an atom of Dimock
survives he will return. As he always does. And he won’t be so weak
any more. He’ll know what he’s doing, he’ll control his ship and
its weapons effectively, and countless people will die, and you
will live with that same guilt till the day you die. The
understanding that if only you’d done your job properly, they’d
still be alive.” David wasn’t even sure if he was talking to Lar or
himself.

“It will be the
same nightmare that I’ve lived with all these years. I will not let
him escape again!” He took a few deep calming breaths before
carrying on. He even released Lar’s collar, and patted him down a
bit.

“In any case
it's not your decision. Be grateful because if it was, you would
let him escape again. You can’t help it. You don’t understand the
man, and you probably never will. Be very grateful for that. But
understand this much. I will not let him live! If Dimock escapes
now with that ship he will gather his resources and try again. If
he destroys a city or ten he won’t stop there. He will keep going.
Even if and when he destroys the entire Earth, he won’t stop.”

“If by some
miracle you capture him, imprison him, exile him, the same thing
will happen again. Someone else will rescue him, and they will
suffer and die for their sins, as will thousands or millions of
innocents as Dimock is unleashed on an unprepared universe. Every
single time.”

“He is a psycho
and unfortunately the universe seems to like him. His only joy is
in killing, rape and torture. He loves it. He lives for it. He
can’t help himself and he wouldn’t want to if he could. He has to
kill. He has to hurt people, terrify and break them. He has to
crush them. Make them worship him. Destroy them, eat them. That is
his life. And now, you’ve let him live and the Mentan has given him
weapons even more powerful than before. He will use them. Again and
again and again. He will not stop. And once he’s finished with the
Earth, once it’s a radioactive ball of dust, he’ll find other
worlds to attack. Any other world. They may even be your worlds.
Your families, your children; all will pay the cost of your
principles.”

“But –“

“No buts. He’s
insane. But he’s brilliant with it, and utterly determined, and
somehow with Satan in his hip pocket the universe does exactly what
he wants. He will not give in, he will not stop, and you cannot
hold him prisoner. Get used to it. If Dimock lives, sooner or later
all of our people will die, and a lot of others with them.”

“We cannot -”
Finally the truth and David was actually relieved to hear it.

“No. You cannot
And I understand that. But I can and I will. This is not your
decision, it's mine. I am Major Hill, late of the US military. I’m
temporarily reactivating myself as an agent of both the CIA and the
DOD. And I am taking command of the situation. This is our crisis
first. Our mess. We created it, you and the Mentan made it a
thousand times worse, and now I am going to clean it up.
Permanently.”

“Your job,
since we’re in Earth space, is to support me as I clean up the mess
you’ve helped us make. I will tell you what I need and you will
provide it.” He might be a technologically illiterate human
barbarian on a Leinian spaceship, but David knew one thing better
than any of them. That was how to take control. Untold years in the
army had taught him when and how to do just that.

“But -”

David didn’t
allow him any more than the first syllable of his objection. He
already knew what it was going to be and what had to be done.

“No!” He
practically bellowed it at him. “We have done it your way once. It
was an unmitigated disaster as it has been every other time.
Exactly as I told you it would be. Now we do it right. I do this.
You do as I say. There will be no discussion in this matter. I will
not allow this screaming madman to destroy my world, aided by your
own foolish inaction. We have tried it your way. It failed. Exactly
as I repeatedly warned you it would, and as you repeatedly told me
was impossible. Now my world is at terrible risk, in part because
you failed to allow me to do my job. And if I fail now, my world
will die and yours will follow, and then many others. No longer
will I allow you to make the decisions in this matter.”

“This is Earth
space, and I am the highest ranking officer in the world at present
aboard this ship. This is my job, my responsibility, and you will
answer to me.” Despite the fact that he was almost shouting at him,
in fact he wasn’t really angry at Lar or any of the others. He was
just desperate, determined to do what had to be done, and to take
the decision out of their hands. And the guilt. If they couldn’t
make the decision, they couldn’t be responsible for it.

It must have
been enough as he saw Lar nod ever so slightly to him. Accepting
his argument, or more correctly, his own lack of a plan that might
save the world.

“Now, I will
need these things, and fast.”

Chapter
Thirty Five

David followed
the lights down the corridor to the main room of the science vessel
and then stepped through the doorway after the door slid silently
open. Inside it was more or less what he'd imagined. One spaceship
it seemed was pretty much like another. Steel walls, steel
corridors and occasional view screens. His destination was the
same.

A single large
round room, filled with displays on the walls, and a few steel work
benches underneath. There were a couple more benches ringing the
room, perhaps the equivalent of a kitchen bench and maybe science
stations. And there was even what might have been a pair of easy
chairs for a coffee table shaped alien. It was a small science
vessel, and the main room had to be everything for the scientist
calling it home. But his eyes didn't spend long on the room. Not
when his enemy was finally right in front of him. Dressed for war
as well.

“So, a little
overdressed for the occasion aren’t we? After all you are just
being arrested.”

Actually David
couldn’t believe what he was looking at when he first set eyes on
Dimock. The man had gone over the top in his choice of armour,
which not only covered every millimetre of his body in shiny metal
but also sprouted weapons like porcupine quills if the gun barrels
were anything to go by. In fact it looked like he was wearing a
small titanium battleship with only his face showing through the
transparent visor, and he had to weigh in at the best part of four
hundred pounds, maybe more. Goodness only knew how powerful the
servos in the suit were to let him move. Of course he slowly
realised, over the top was always Dimock’s aesthetic, and now that
he no longer had his genetically boosted strength, he was probably
feeling vulnerable and so even more desperate for power.