Scorched Earth: (The Human Chronicles Saga Book #16) (22 page)

Chapter 26

Seventeen years earlier—at the time the Kracori dropped a small asteroid on the planet Juir—there were still a little over billion Juireans awaiting evacuation. Synnoc li Qriss was one of them.

He was a Master-Overlord at the time—number three in the Juirean military hierarchy—and had just been appointed a junior member of the general Council. At a time of war, the composition of the of the governing body changed, taking in more military officers than Admins.

However, with his lowly status, most of Synnoc’s duties took place outside Juir City, supervising the evacuation on the far side of the planet. As a consequence, he missed the last shuttle off the planet before the Kracori launched their air, space and ground attack. Two weeks later—when it became evident the Humans were on their way to Juir—the Kracori dropped their asteroid. It landed a hundred miles off the coast of Juir City. Most of the immediate damage was isolated to that area, sparing many of the remaining Juireans still on the planet, including Synnoc.

But then the skies clouded, and remained so for two long years. The full effects of the nuclear winter took hold, and nearly ninety percent of the survivors died from either cold or starvation.

The Humans were on the planet by then, but they were more concerned with their own survival than helping the dying natives. However, as the skies began to clear—and the number of survivors reached a manageable level—the Humans rounded up the last remaining Juireans and turned them over to others who would shuttle them to the new hiding place of the Juirean race.

The nine hundred thousand, eight-hundred and six survivors were each assigned a number by the Humans, and would later come to be called
The Million
. Synnoc was one of them.

Wydor bin Sulic was the Elder of the Council at the time and he welcomed
The Million
back as courageous heroes to the mother race. As the highest ranking survivor, Synnoc was immediately elevated to the Council Elite, becoming one of the nine supreme rulers of the Juirean people.

To his utter disappointment and shame, Synnoc found that the Elites no longer ruled over a galaxy-wide empire, but rather a single race of humiliated creatures, defeated and cast off from their homeworld by savages and upstarts. Gone was their empire and their history. Gone was their pride and respect.

In Synnoc’s opinion, the weak Wydor only reinforced that image. Although the public persona of the Elder was that of the dedicated leader who brought the Juirean race back from the brink of extinction, Synnoc felt differently.

His anger and frustration would fester for another five years, until the time when the Humans—through their mouthpiece, Adam Cain—relinquished control of the Expansion and returned the planet Juir to the Juireans.

The years had taken their toll on the already ancient Elder, and upon Wydor’s death, Synnoc was advanced to the position of Council Elder, based mainly on his fame as a member of
The Million
. The timing of these events was fortunate, because by then Synnoc was the leader of an underground movement dedicated to driving the Humans from Juir and the Expansion. Adam Cain’s foolish and overly-threatening speech probably saved millions of Juirean lives; even so, Synnoc still felt cheated out of his opportunity to force the Earthlings from Juir, something that would have been a lot more impressive than having them simply pack up and leave of their own accord.

That was ten years ago, and the relationship between the Juireans and the Humans remained strained, to the point where Synnoc had his military personal—including his good friend Fleet Marshal Kradis—constantly working on contingency plans for a new war with the Humans.

Then the Sol-Kor invaded.

From that point on it became a desperate fight for survival, and one experienced by every advanced race in the galaxy. Juireans and Humans joined forces, even though the Earthlings had the advantage of Adam Cain’s relationship with Panur. The mutant had originally been a vital part of the Sol-Kor Colony, yet he eventually switched sides and joined the Humans. He helped the Union defeat the Sol-Kor—both in this galaxy and the Sol-Kor universe—leaving the Juireans to play a minor role in the victory.

The galaxy celebrated the defeat of the Sol-Kor, lavishing praise and respect on the Humans—and particularly, Adam Cain.

Having just restored the Juirean race to a position of strength and respect within the Expansion, Synnoc saw it slipping away after Cain’s latest escapade. Something had to be done…and that something was war, followed by a humiliating defeat of the Union.

Somewhere within Synnoc’s plan, Adam Cain had to die, and in a very public and humiliating way.

********

Synnoc was in the Pinnacle Room of the Malor-Hydon Tower, staring up through the glass ceiling at the brilliant swath of stars painting the sky above. Somewhere out there was an incredible accumulation of weapons of war, all preparing for the largest space battle in history. Also among those twinkling lights was Adam Cain.

The Elder had set the game in motion by bringing the prisoners to Juir earlier than expected. Now the galaxy was awash with news of their multiple sins and demands for swift punishment. Yet Synnoc would delay the final outcome, as he watched Cain’s efforts to reach Juir in his experimental warship.

But that didn’t keep the Elder from playing with his captives.

He began by calling in the former-Overlord Benefis Na. He would start with background information the Juirean could provide, details about Cain’s adventures in the Sol-Kor universe, most of which were unknown at this point.

Synnoc frowned when the former Overlord was brought before him in the Pinnacle Room.

“Why is your glory white? You were not a Master-Overlord at the time of your desertion.”

Benefis was sniveling and nervous. He stood before the supreme leader of the Juirean race, surrounded by an invisible cloud of foul odor. Synnoc wrinkled his nose.

“My Lord, this is the natural color of my glory. I am old.”

“You are also disgusting and a traitor. I will not—cannot—tolerate your presence much longer.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Quickly, tell me of Adam Cain’s efforts in the Sol-Kor universe. I only wish to hear the truth and not embellishments, as he is want to spread. Do not delay.”

In his nervous and excited state, Benefis began to talk, and talk he did. His rambling were recorded, which would be how Synnoc would decipher all the words pouring from the traitor’s mouth. Yet the Elder did find some interest in what Benefis had to say, particularly in how Cain—along with his mutant daughter—had defeated the new Sol-Kor queen. Something as simple as liquid atmosphere and freezing the immortal beast. It was—genius.

Eventually Synnoc grew weary of listening to Benefis, as well as the awful smell now permeating the most-revered chamber in all the Expansion. He couldn’t kill the female prisoners, but he could the disloyal Overlord. He produced a ceremonial dagger and ended the life of Benefis Na by his own hand. It was satisfying—to a degree—but not enough.

Once the body was removed and the Pinnacle Room vented of the former Overlord’s caustic odor, Synnoc began contemplating the other prisoners. 

The Formilian Arieel Bol was being held in the visitor’s section of the building, being treated gently and with respect. In three days, a delegation from her planet was due on Juir to plead for her release. That wouldn’t happen, but still Synnoc had to go through the motions of considering it. He needed Formil and their scientific expertise, at least until the time the Formilians had no other option other than to bow to his will. Even then, if it came down to him having to destroy the planet to quell an uprising, then the Expansion would have to make do until other races—or entities—took their place. He knew MK Weapons Systems was making progress in developing an advanced line of control modules, so he wasn’t overly worried.

He smiled. Yes, Adam Cain and his Humans had made a few feeble attacks on MK and their facilities, but no lasting damage had been done. MK would do nicely as a replacement for the Formilians, if it came down to that.

The Human Sherri Valentine was another matter. Her case was more straightforward. She was a cohort of Adam Cain and Riyad Tarazi. She had been disrupting Juirean activities for twenty years and there were no political considerations surrounding her case. She would die and no one would complain—with the possible exception of the Humans. But their concerns didn’t factor into his thinking. All Synnoc had to do was come up with the most public and horrific method of killing her.

And what would be better than for her to die standing beside Adam Cain and Riyad Tarazi?

********

Two huge Guards escorted the prisoner up the stairs and into the Pinnacle Room. Sherri Valentine had been fitted with a neck security device, one designed to stun into submission rather than sever the spinal cord. Synnoc couldn’t risk her committing suicide before he had the opportunity to kill her himself.

The stairway was wide and long, rising up from the lower admin level into the four-sided, pitched-roof, all-glass room that sat atop the Malor-Hydon Pyramid. When the new building had been constructed, there had been talk of adding an elevator to the room rather that a stairway, but such an addition would have obstructed the three-hundred-sixty-degree view. So the stairway remained, much to the detriment of the Juirean Guard following Sherri up the steps.

As she reached the platform at the top, Sherri kicked out with her leg, striking the Guard in the chest. He tumbled backwards down the stairs, breaking both his neck and back.

But she wasn’t through. She charged toward the lead Guard, ramming her head into his back. He fell to the floor as she dropped a knee onto his thick neck. The crack was pronounced.

Sherri knew she only had a split second before those watching the room monitors would react to her attack. She’d already been told what type of security collar she wore: non-lethal. That was little comfort knowing that her fate was already determined. If she was to die a horrible death on Juir, she might as well take a few of the mane-heads with her.

And the mane-head she had her sights on now was Elder Synnoc li Qriss. He stood ten feet away, leaning against the stone conference table. He reacted to Sherri’s attack on her escorts with wide eyes and an intake of breath. It was Sherri’s goal to make sure he didn’t take too many more breaths after that.

Her hands were bound, but not her legs and feet—that would have made it hard to climb the stairs. Now she jumped in the light gravity of Juir, throwing herself at Synnoc. She hit him hard, throwing the Juirean onto the table with her on top. The seven-foot-tall alien swung his arms at her, which she blocked them with her bound hands. Then she sat on his shoulders and swung balled fists at his head. The blow stunned the Juirean, long enough for her to wrap her legs around his neck. She rolled on her back, pulling Synnoc with her until his back was to her, with powerful runner’s legs clamped around his neck. She applied all the pressure as she could, grimacing and letting out a high-pitched squeal from the effort.

Synnoc had his hands on Sherri’s legs, doing all he could to keep his neck from breaking and air flowing to his lungs. Sherri could feel his resistance lessening. Another couple of seconds—