Read Online Human Chronicles Part 2 Book 3: A Galaxy to Conquer by T. R. Harris - Free Book Online
Authors: T. R. Harris
Tags: Science-Fiction, Fantasy
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Klin!”
“I didn’t lead the Juireans to the Earth, Adam Cain, you did. And let’s look at what else you did that caused even more deaths.”
“And what’s that?”
“It was your bloody Cain Initiative .”
“Again, bullshit, McCarthy. The Initiative got Humans back home, out of a situation we were ill-prepared to handle. It saved Humanity from becoming like the Juireans.”
“That part it did, but it’s the other part I’m talking about.”
Adam was growing frustrated and angry. He didn’t have time for this senseless banter. He was also sure that at any moment, Andy and Sherri would become worried and check in. And how would they react when they saw McCarthy?
“What part are you talking about, mate! ” Adam snapped back.
“The part about making outlaws of the Klin and the Kracori. When you did that—and that was all you —the aliens had no choice but to attack the Earth first. You left them no option.”
“We couldn’t let them get away with what they’d done. Is that what you’re proposing?”
“Not entirely, but it would have been nice to use a little diplomacy. Instead you sentenced two entire races to extinction. They couldn’t reveal themselves, they couldn’t interact with other races, and they couldn’t even offer reparations for what they had done. You said we would track them down and we would kill them, when and wherever we found them. And then you deputized the entire Expansion into helping you.”
When Adam was silent, Nigel continued.
“What would we have done if the roles were reversed? What if our only chance for survival rested in our ability to destroy our tormentors ... and before they destroyed us? You know what we’d do. We would attack, without mercy and without warning. Our survival as a race would depend on it.”
A hard, angry look turned McCarthy’s face to stone. “When you announced the bounty and the intentions of the Humans, I had no choice but to leave Elision. I was a Human with knowledge of the location of the Kracori homeworld. And when I did leave, it traumatized an entire race. They knew I would turn over the coordinates—and then their world would be destroyed.”
“But you didn’t, not for three more years.” Adam managed to say. He felt weak; his heart pounding in his ears.
“That’s right,” McCarthy said. “I may never have, until I was captured. But during the time before I did, the tension and paranoia within the Kracori were growing to the boiling point. They knew they had to act before we did. And even though the Klin were more insulated from your threat, they decided to help the Kracori eliminate their mutual enemy. With Humanity gone, both races would be free to reveal themselves, even the Klin. With the Juireans hunkered down at the far end of the galaxy, the Klin would finally be able to join the rest of the Expansion. But first, the Earth had to be destroyed. And it was all because of you, Adam Cain! ”
Adam didn’t know how to respond. He had heard the words when McCarthy asked what the Humans would have done if it were they with the death warrant. He began to sweat when the answer came: Exactly what the Kracori just did.
Had Adam really initiated the series of events that had led to all those deaths? Was he, along with his short-sighted quest for revenge, responsible for it all?
He gathered his composure as best he could. “Your theory sounds all neat and everything, but the Klin and Kracori have been out to destroy us from the beginning. We just happened to be better at war then they were. I admit, I may have forced their hand some, but eventually it would have come down to them or us. And after the Juirean attack on the Earth, and then the Kracori’s first attempt to nuke us, we had no choice but to do what we did.”
Nigel took a deep breath. “In the history of my country, the bloody Germans lobed V-2 rockets down on London for months. They killed thousands of my countrymen, there and in Europe. And the
“I didn’t lead the Juireans to the Earth, Adam Cain, you did. And let’s look at what else you did that caused even more deaths.”
“And what’s that?”
“It was your bloody Cain Initiative .”
“Again, bullshit, McCarthy. The Initiative got Humans back home, out of a situation we were ill-prepared to handle. It saved Humanity from becoming like the Juireans.”
“That part it did, but it’s the other part I’m talking about.”
Adam was growing frustrated and angry. He didn’t have time for this senseless banter. He was also sure that at any moment, Andy and Sherri would become worried and check in. And how would they react when they saw McCarthy?
“What part are you talking about, mate! ” Adam snapped back.
“The part about making outlaws of the Klin and the Kracori. When you did that—and that was all you —the aliens had no choice but to attack the Earth first. You left them no option.”
“We couldn’t let them get away with what they’d done. Is that what you’re proposing?”
“Not entirely, but it would have been nice to use a little diplomacy. Instead you sentenced two entire races to extinction. They couldn’t reveal themselves, they couldn’t interact with other races, and they couldn’t even offer reparations for what they had done. You said we would track them down and we would kill them, when and wherever we found them. And then you deputized the entire Expansion into helping you.”
When Adam was silent, Nigel continued.
“What would we have done if the roles were reversed? What if our only chance for survival rested in our ability to destroy our tormentors ... and before they destroyed us? You know what we’d do. We would attack, without mercy and without warning. Our survival as a race would depend on it.”
A hard, angry look turned McCarthy’s face to stone. “When you announced the bounty and the intentions of the Humans, I had no choice but to leave Elision. I was a Human with knowledge of the location of the Kracori homeworld. And when I did leave, it traumatized an entire race. They knew I would turn over the coordinates—and then their world would be destroyed.”
“But you didn’t, not for three more years.” Adam managed to say. He felt weak; his heart pounding in his ears.
“That’s right,” McCarthy said. “I may never have, until I was captured. But during the time before I did, the tension and paranoia within the Kracori were growing to the boiling point. They knew they had to act before we did. And even though the Klin were more insulated from your threat, they decided to help the Kracori eliminate their mutual enemy. With Humanity gone, both races would be free to reveal themselves, even the Klin. With the Juireans hunkered down at the far end of the galaxy, the Klin would finally be able to join the rest of the Expansion. But first, the Earth had to be destroyed. And it was all because of you, Adam Cain! ”
Adam didn’t know how to respond. He had heard the words when McCarthy asked what the Humans would have done if it were they with the death warrant. He began to sweat when the answer came: Exactly what the Kracori just did.
Had Adam really initiated the series of events that had led to all those deaths? Was he, along with his short-sighted quest for revenge, responsible for it all?
He gathered his composure as best he could. “Your theory sounds all neat and everything, but the Klin and Kracori have been out to destroy us from the beginning. We just happened to be better at war then they were. I admit, I may have forced their hand some, but eventually it would have come down to them or us. And after the Juirean attack on the Earth, and then the Kracori’s first attempt to nuke us, we had no choice but to do what we did.”
Nigel took a deep breath. “In the history of my country, the bloody Germans lobed V-2 rockets down on London for months. They killed thousands of my countrymen, there and in Europe. And the
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