Read Online The Biofab War by Stephen Ames Berry - Free Book Online

as comprehension dawned on the Terrans’ faces. “We could blast in and find it, you know. We know where you were transported from and Implacable is more than a match for your planet’s combined defenses. “But”—he held up a hand as John’s face clouded angrily—“not only is it against our law, but human life is becoming a rarity in the universe. So I can’t—I won’t—demand. But I ask—will you help us?” His voice held a certain tenseness.
    John scanned his friends’ faces, then turned back to Detrelna. “We’ll be happy to help in any way we can, Captain.”
    “Thank you,” said Detrelna, relaxing and giving a slight bow.
    “This was the start of our journey, sir,” Greg said. Removing the stele from his pocket he handed it to Detrelna. Borrowed from Bob, then forgotten in the excitement, it had been there since the Clam Shack.
    “What do you call this language?” asked Lawrona, removing his translator to hear the Greg’s intonation.
    “Egyptian.”
    He nodded and replaced his earpiece. “We call it I’Goptak. It was a colonial language of the Empire—one of a family of hieroglyphic languages used to reestablish the tools of written communication among lost colonies sunken to barbarism.” Handing it back, he asked, “How did you come by it…cousin?
    Zahava, John and Greg told their story. The Kronarin officers listened attentively, interrupting only to ask precise questions. When the Terrans had finished, the food was cold and the cups empty.
    Lawrona collected the plates, dumping them down a disposer. “Sounds like you stumbled onto an at least partially functioning Imperial base,” he said, resuming his seat. “Maybe even a full Colonial Service planetary installation with defenses intact. Which,” he added thoughtfully, “would explain why a Scotar garrison isn’t now nestled among your rotting corpses.”
    “But it wasn’t a very large place, just a few rooms,” protested Zahava.
    “Oh, it need not have been,” said Detrelna. “If there is a transport system, it would girdle the planet. You could have been in just one station. We may assume the computer’s functioning, judging from the way you were forced into the transporter web.”
    “Just before your arrival,” Lawrona said, “a Scotar assault unit teleported aboard from a satellite base orbiting the fourth planet. They and their base were destroyed, but not before they got off a distress call. Enemy reinforcements could be here in as little as a day. It’s vital we land and remove whatever equipment we can.”
    “Vital to whom?” John frowned. “If the only thing preventing the Scotar from slaughtering billions of us is some ancient defense grid, you surely don’t plan to tamper with it?”
    The captain looked him in the eye. “I hope it isn’t a question of choosing which of our peoples is to survive,” he said carefully. “I’ve already sent for reinforcements, but the Scotar forces are closer than our own. If we can recover the nexus of a transport system, my duty’s to take it home. We’ve already lost some fifteen billion people behind that red veil, and each day the Scotar press their attacks more boldly. Without that transporter, we fall. And then the day that ancient computer on your planet fails, or the Scotar find a way to best it, your people will join ours in death.
    “In tactics and initiative, we’re superior,” he continued. “With the transporter, we can nullify the advantage the Scotar’s teleportation abilities give them. We’ll crush them. I hope the price of their defeat won’t be another planet—yours. But if it is, so be it. I’ll sacrifice Terra as readily as I would a Kronarin world.” Detrelna rose. “Commander Lawrona will show you to your quarters. Get some rest. We’ll be landing in six hours.”
    Before the Terrans could speak, the captain was gone and Lawrona was ushering them down the corridor.

Chapter 8

    D etrelna was sure he’d just closed his eyes when