The Legend of Earth

Chapter 47



Seven Years Later…

It was a particularly cold day in Hell when Adam’s shuttle landed atop the Kacoran Plain, near the cluster of twenty-four buildings that now made up the provisional capital of the EU – the Expansion Union. He watched through the shuttle’s viewport as great clouds of snow were thrown back by the craft’s chemical landing ports as they settled onto the hard, icy surface of Juir.

He wasn’t surprised to see that the climate still hadn’t returned to normal on the homeworld of the Juireans in the seven years since he left. It would normally be winter in these latitudes, however, the temperature worldwide was still sitting about ten degrees below normal. Harsh winters covered more of the surface these days and lasted longer into the year, and the experts estimated it would still be another ten years or more before the planet would heal itself completely from the Kracori asteroid attack.

Adam felt the sudden shift in gravity as the internal well dissolved, leaving him suddenly about fifty pounds lighter than he was used to. It had been years since he’d experienced the sensation, and for a moment it made him smile thinking about all the amazing feats he had been able to accomplish back in the day.

What is this crap? he asked. Am I feeling nostalgic?

He might have been in a way, he acknowledged. A lot had happened since his return to Earth so many years before, after an excruciating long and boring ride back to the planet. In fact, putting that in context, he had spent two out of the last seven years just traveling from Juir to Earth and now back to Juir again. Two years out of his life wasted aboard a giant metal Frisbee.

His tenure back on Earth had been a whirlwind, too, so much so that it seemed like only a blip in time looking back on it now.

He had been welcomed back as a hero, a role for which he was completely ill-prepared to play. The current president of the United States, Sean McLaren, had kept the promise of his predecessor and pardoned him – along all his cohorts – for any culpability in the Juirean attack on the planet. In fact, he was made out to be the lone voice of reason, unheeded by those in power at the time.

But it hadn’t ended there.

He was also given credit for stopping the Kracori attack as well.

The entire population of the planet was well aware of the nuclear plague the aliens had attempted to infect them with – the resulting EMP was something that couldn’t be hidden and had to be explained. What very few people knew, however, was that the Human defenders had had nothing to do with stopping the attack.

Within the enclaves of the powerful, it was decided that this particular bit of information would not have been welcomed among a race of people sitting on the brink of hysteria. If they had known the truth – that the Kracori had been only minutes away from irradiating the planet for generations, and that those they had entrusted to protect them had failed – that would not have done anything to instill confidence in their leaders. There would have been a complete breakdown in trust that their governments could keep them safe from all the disparate forces in the galaxy who – for some god-damn reason – didn’t like Humans very much.

So that part of the story was kept quiet, and after much convincing, Adam went along with the deception. The new official version was that Adam had warned the authorities of the impending attack, and then through sheer skill and determination, the authorities were able to stop the Kracori.

It made the Human race sleep better at night knowing that their leaders could protect them, even if it was a lie.

And so now Adam Cain was considered the savior of all mankind.

He had gone on the lecture circuit – another thing he abhorred – before finally settling down in a genuine log cabin in the pristine, pine-shrouded mountains outside of South Lake Tahoe, California. At the time, Sherri Valentine was still with him, but that soon ended. It seemed that when two people are thrown together through some tragic or life-threatening event – such as spending three years being chased by aliens throughout the galaxy – then trying to maintain that relationship in light of the everyday and the mundane was very difficult to achieve. He had not heard from her for nearly three years.

Riyad Tarazi had faded away as well. He was semi-famous now – although nothing like Adam – and had made a fair amount of money off a book he wrote about his experiences in space. Adam hadn’t had the time to read it yet, but he was sure Riyad had glossed over some of the more unsavory parts of his adventures. Adam hadn’t heard from him in a couple years either.

Lieutenant Andy Tobias was now Captain Andy Tobias, still in the Navy, yet spending most of his time off-planet, as most of the military did these days.

Chief Geoffrey Rutledge had retired from the Navy and was now living in Key West, Florida, running a small fishing boat operation with his buddy John Tindal. Unknown to Adam before this time, the two of them were actually fairly accomplished musicians, and they moonlighted as a duo at the Hog’s Breath Saloon on Duval Street four nights a week. They were known by the professional name of Local Knowledge, meaning they knew their way around. In their case, that meant a lot of places – including the galaxy.

Yes, Adam was feeling nostalgic. But now he had a job to do, one that had brought him twenty thousand light years across the galaxy and to a planet he swore he’d never return to.



Adam was escorted to the main structure on the mountain, a building unceremoniously called NU-6. Aliens never were very creative at naming things – but neither were Human bureaucrats! It was a nine-story concrete structure, housing the Administrator’s offices and the primary diplomat corps for Earth. Most of the surrounding buildings housed the military headquarters for the galaxy, as well as various Human trade missions.

Below the mountain, and on land that had once been Juir City, a new city in its own right had sprung up: Consulate City. With a population nearing half a million – including an estimated thirty-five thousand Humans – this was where the diplomatic missions from nearly eight thousand worlds could be found.

And snuggled up against the base of the mountain were the buildings of the Union Assembly, where representatives from the twenty-three sectors of the Expansion held court.

Adam was amazed at all the changes that had taken place here in seven years, especially in light of the planet’s harsh weather. But when one has the resources of a galaxy at one’s disposal, then anything was possible.

Yes, it turned out that the Human Expansion was still run out of the planet Juir, at least officially. Most of the actual day-to-day operations, however, took place on Earth, a task made easier by the sustained-wormhole (S/W) relays invented by the Klin, which allowed for instantaneous communications between Earth and Juir. It seemed that in their haste to leave the Cluster, the Kracori had left an S/W relay station in orbit around Juir. Human and alien technicians had quickly learned the secrets of the device, and had actually improved upon it. Now most starships and planets within the Expansion utilized this revolutionary new technology.

Even though communications had improved greatly in the intervening years, travel time throughout the galaxy had not. Earth was still located much too far away to make an effective capital for the Expansion, and so it was decided that it served everyone’s best interest to keep the official capital of the galaxy at the same location it had been for the past four thousand years.

At least it would remain so for a few more months, until Adam Cain concluded his assignment.

Inside the main administration building it was warm and cozy, with dark wood paneling lining the walls and with impressive statues of crystal and marble set about tastefully. The wide corridor that led to the Administrator’s office was floored with a thick, red-wine colored carpet with intricate designs subtly embossed in its weave. Adam followed the young Human aide down the hallway and up to the ornate double doors of carved wood. The doors looked familiar, and Adam knew why.

The aide opened the doors and Adam walked in. Behind the massive wood desk, the Administrator for the Expansion Union rose up with a wide grin across his face, his huge figure looking slightly less huge than the last time Adam had seen him.

“My friend, Adam Cain, it is so wonderful to see you again. It has been ages.”

“Yes it has, Kroekus, and I’m glad to see this meeting is on much friendlier terms than last time.” Last time was when Kroekus had attempted to have him, Sherri and Riyad all killed in the crime boss’s headquarters back on the Fringe world of Silea. “And I see you have imported the same doors from your old office.”

“Please have a seat, Mister Ambassador! And yes, I try to make myself as comfortable as I can wherever I go. Charm is a lavish life, so they say.”

Adam didn’t quite catch the Silean reference, but the meaning registered. Adam grinned as he took a seat in a richly-padded chair in front of the desk. “You look good, Kroekus. Have you lost weight?”

Adam noticed a frown appear on the alien’s forehead, but then the smile quickly returned. “Ah, your foreign ways,” Kroekus said jovially. “Your ignorance can be forgiven, but let me explain why that question is not a compliment. For Silean males our, ah, sex organ, grows with our accumulation of weight and mass. Therefore, the larger the male, the larger is his, shall I say – tool? It is a sign of sexual prowess and attribute to be of considerable bulk, and quite appealing to our females. But looking at you Humans, I see that does not apply to your race – or does it?”

Adam couldn’t help himself; he burst out laughing, exposing teeth and all. Kroekus did the same, however his laugh was like that of car engine trying to turn over in cold weather. The two of them laughing made for a quite a scene.

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, along with a little more reminiscing, the two diplomats got down to business.

“Your news will not be welcome, Adam.”

“I realize that, but it is a decision we’re going with. I hope you understand.”

“Oh I do, completely. It is just that it will throw the galaxy back into turmoil just as we were beginning to recover. It will not make my job any easier.”

Adam had often wondered why the former crime lord of Silea had taken the job of Administrator in the first place – he didn’t need the headache. Kroekus had capitalized on the retreat of the Juireans during the war by issuing gold-certificates to the hundreds – and then thousands – of worlds who had previously relied on Juirean credits as their currency of record. And then with the complete downfall of the Juireans and their money, Kroekus soon reorganized the entire financial structure of the galaxy, through a combination of gold-backed credits and an elaborate conversion program that allowed for individual worlds to use their own currency in intergalactic transactions.

Adam was in awe knowing that sitting across the desk from him, was the wealthiest creature in the entire galaxy.

“Kroekus, I’ve often wondered why you even bother with this job? You don’t need to put up with all the bullshit – I mean – trouble that goes along with it.”

The Silean had had drinks and snacks brought in and now he devoured a pastry-looking thing and then downed a long swallow of a brown liquid. “Adam, my friend, my family has controlled Silea for a thousand years; I was born into wealth, so credits mean very little to me. I enjoy the running of things, of seeing vast organizations operating under my direction, and I gain pleasure in seeing these operations work efficiently. When I saw the financial system of the Expansion collapsing, I simply offered a solution. That solution worked, and now I have more wealth than I could possibly use. But I had that already. Now it is the challenge I live for.”

“Then my announcement shall give you a challenge like never before.”

“Indeed. And speaking of the announcement, the representatives should all be assembled by now. Are you ready to turn the galaxy upside down, my friend?”

Adam suddenly felt knots twist in his stomach. He had never been comfortable with public speaking; his only consolation came from knowing that only about thirty beings would be present – and nearly all of them would be aliens.



Adam’s ‘announcement’ would take place in a room resembling a small college lecture hall. There were several rows of seats rising up to the back of the room and all facing a small stage. A lectern had been set up on the stage.

Adam had had a year to prepare for this announcement, even though he had long ago decided not to follow any formal structure. He wasn’t a public speaker, so instead he would simply state the facts as best he knew them and then play it by ear. For far too long he had made himself sick wondering how his presentation would turn out, but then one day, months ago, he came to a liberating realization: He didn’t give a damn what they thought! This was something the Human race was doing for their own benefit, and not for the Expansion’s.

If the aliens didn’t like it – then tough.

Adam and Kroekus entered the hall from a side door. There was a cacophony of alien chatter filling the room when they entered that quickly dropped to a hush as they were noticed. The Administrator took a seat off to the side of the audience while Adam climbed the three short steps to the stage and moved behind the podium.

He placed notes down on the small surface before him and then took a quick glance at his audience. There was a menagerie of aliens of nearly all shapes and sizes sitting before him, but since ninety percent of the members of the Expansion were Primes – meaning Humanoid to Adam – they all followed the same basic physicality. Even then, some wore pressure suits and helmets, while still others had small tubes running to their noses, providing supplemental breathing atmosphere they required.

These were the appointed representatives of the twenty-three sectors of the Expansion, along with a few VIP’s from manufacturing and commerce. It would have been impractical to hold such a meeting with representatives from every planet in the Expansion, nearly eight thousand worlds. Now that would have really tied Adam’s stomach up in knots. Eight thousand aliens all in one room – and imagine the smell!

There was a familiar face smiling at him from the front row. Adam immediately recognized the two dangling appendages below his ears and knew it to be Kaylor. So he’s entered politics? I didn’t see that coming, Adam thought. Better him than the emotional little bear, Jym. But even as he nodded at the tall Belsonian, he caught himself. Just look at me! I’ve entered the political arena myself, so I can’t be critical of anyone else. I wonder if he’s having as shitty a time doing this as I am?

He cleared his throat and the chatter in the room began to diminish. It took a couple more ah-hems before it was quiet.

Adam had no idea what the formal welcoming would be for all these various races, so he chose something very basic and generic.

“Greetings to all,” he began. “I am Adam Cain, Special Ambassador from the planet Earth and representing the interests of the Human race.” The one thing that actually allowed him to remain somewhat calm during his presentation was that he was sure most of the creatures here couldn’t discern Human body language, so no matter how much he screwed up, he was sure they wouldn’t notice. Maybe a shaky voice and redness in the cheeks was normal for a Human….

“I come before you today to make a very important announcement regarding the continued Human involvement in the affairs of the Expansion. Yet before I make the formal statement, I would like to summarize what my race has experienced during the past seven years, since the time we first assumed control of the Expansion.

“As all of you should be aware by now, our conflict with the Juireans was thrust upon us. At the time, my race was not planning some great invasion of Juirean territory, and therefore was not a threat to the Juireans, or to the Expansion and any of its members. It was the Klin who circulated these rumors, causing the Juireans to take action against us. The Klin needed a war between the Humans and Juireans to further their ambitions – and they got one. However, the results of this conflict were not as they had planned.”

A murmur ran through the crowd. Many of the delegates present were still loyal to the Juireans; many were not, yet they all missed the stability the Juireans had brought to their sectors. For the most part, Humans were resented by the majority of the delegates, even though all those present knew there was no viable alternative at the time.

“After the war, and the destruction of Juir, we Humans found ourselves deluged with calls for leadership from the members of the Expansion. For thousands of years, there had always been one central race to set the rules and maintained peace and stability in the galaxy. Now that the Juireans were gone, that job fell to the Humans.”

Adam paused to take a sip of water. He caught Kaylor’s eye, who was watching him intently with a frown. Adam sent him a quick wink as he finished with the water.

“Now the thing you have to realize about Humans is that we enjoy being in charge, so the opportunity to govern a galaxy was quite appealing to many of us, even though we didn’t have a clue about what we were doing. Luckily for us – and for all of you – none of the members sought to challenge us militarily for that position. That would have been a mistake.

“However, it wasn’t long before we began to realize just how involved the Juireans had been in the day-to-day operations of the Expansion. The rules and regulations that had evolved over time – along with their enforcement – came as second-nature to the Juireans, and it appeared at first that the Expansion functioned pretty much on its own, with very little outside influence or direction.

“We were wrong. It turned out that running a thing as big as a galaxy takes a total commitment from those attempting it. Over the past seven years, the Human race has tried to embrace that commitment, not only for the good of the Expansion, but also for ourselves, for without this total commitment, we were doomed to fail.

“As you’re probably already aware, Humanity is very good at certain things, and primary among these is the fighting of wars. This was the main reason the Klin chose us to go up against the Juireans. However, we also pride ourselves on being good administrators. This is a talent, however, that we may have been fooling ourselves about.

“Most of the governmental systems on Earth consist mainly of an accumulation of past laws and regulations all stacked one on top the other, with very few of the old, inefficient or outdated laws ever being purged from the system. We simply write new laws to try and correct the effects of the old ones.

“But now we found ourselves in control of a galaxy, and just like before, our leaders jumped right in and starting setting down thousands upon thousands of new laws, regulations, and guidelines regarding how the Expansion should be managed, even though we had no idea what we were doing. Unfortunately, a lot of these early efforts didn’t work and only made things worse – to say the least. The feedback from many of you in this room has helped us gain our footing, but it’s still a mess.

“Most of what I’m saying is just a lead up to what has been our greatest revelation. On the Earth, our land is divided into about two hundred separate and distinct countries. I know most of you cannot grasp this concept, but you must understand we are new to the galactic community. Before now, we had not looked upon ourselves as one race or one planet among many. We do now – and things are changing – but old habits die hard.

“But now we found ourselves in charge of a system with eight-thousand separate units – like having eight-thousand countries to deal with. This has proven to be incredibly difficult for us. For example, most of the countries on Earth have consulates – diplomatic missions – with all the others. Now – as a race – we had to establish eight-thousand more, and with races and cultures completely foreign to us. This caused an overwhelming demand for not only thousands of new diplomats, but also for all their support staff. In addition, we found that this new responsibility spilled over into so many other areas we had never imagined, from commerce, to medical science, to supplying housing and other materiel support for all our various missions. And more than just the sheer need for personnel, there has also been an unbelievable amount of new things to learn – from protocols, to cultural differences, histories and so much more.

“The Juireans, for their part, had four thousand years to evolve into the role we Humans suddenly inherited overnight. We were allowed no period of transition. One day we were a solitary planet existing by ourselves in the Far Arm. The next, we were expected to assume the position of leaders of an entire galaxy. The job has been daunting, as well as incredible strain on the Human race.”

He took another sip of water. Now it begins….

“And now to the main reason for this meeting,” he began. “After much discussion back on Earth, we have settled on a course of action which, over my objections, has been called The Cain Initiative. Although it is named after me, I was not the first to suggest it. Instead, there has been a constant and growing group of Humans who have supported this action almost from the beginning. At the conclusion of this meeting you will be sent more detailed explanation and guidelines for the Initiative, but in summary, it simply states that the Human race is relinquishing all control of the Expansion—”

An uproar of voices exploded throughout the assembly. Although none here were especially fond of the Humans, they were accustomed to having one authority in charge. After all the turmoil, confusion and uncertainty following the fall of the Juireans, they were not anxious to have a repeat of those times.

“Please calm down. Quiet everyone,” Adam pleaded. Once order was restored, he continued. “That’s right: Humanity is giving up the Expansion. We will be returning to our part of the galaxy, namely the Far Arm. This changeover will happen in approximately six months. And now for more of the details.

“We have designated Kroekus of Silea as the interim Administrator of the Expansion Union to assist in the changeover, a role he has been competently filling for several years, yet until now, always under Human direction. Over the next six months, and with your help, he will be tasked with devising a governing document which will establish the general operation principles for the new EU. The representatives within this room will form the core of a new governing assembly. Once complete control is turned over to the EU, you may decide to have direct elections of your leaders, or may choose them from within the assembly. The ultimate decision will be yours, as will all others that follow.”

Adam continued to get more serious with each new item he outlined. “We do realize that with the sudden departure of the Humans there will need to be established a new universal military and police force to maintain order throughout the galaxy. To achieve this, each member will be requested to supply one military-style starship, with trained crew, to the Expansion. If this is accomplished, then the new government will control a police force of eight thousand ships, making it the second largest military force ever to operate within the galaxy. This should go a long way to maintaining security for your respective worlds.

“In addition, Kroekus will continue to advise the EU in financial matters concerning currency, banking and trade – something he is very proficient at – so there should not be a repeat of the meltdown that occurred when the Juireans left.”

Adam paused again and took another sip of water. When he finished, he looked out at the crowd with burning eyes. “This next part you should pay particular attention to. Although the Humans are leaving the Expansion, we have a word of warning for all of you present: We are not doing this out of weakness. We are doing this because we do not want to repeat the path taken by the Juirean people. We do not want to become slaves to our success or to the sheer size of our endeavor.

“However, we Humans do recognize our nature, and now that we have been exposed to the wonders of the universe, we will not be content with just one world any longer. Humanity will return to the Far Arm, yet we are declaring the following: From the area in the Fringe called The Barrier, and along a line running parallel to that landmark, all territory within the Arm will now be designated as Human Territory. It will be our sovereign space and we will not tolerate any hostile actions against it by outside forces. Within this space, we will establish our own mini-empire – if you will. This will satisfy Humanity’s need for exploration and expansion, and will also keep certain desires at bay, at least as they pertain to the space beyond the Arm.

“Furthermore, even though we have established this dividing line in space, it will not restrict trade or travel within our respective territories. Even though we are giving up control of the Expansion and pulling back our forces, we still wish to remain an active member of the galactic community of worlds and races.

“Now with all these changes come a few other declarations of a more selfish nature. First of all – as far as we Humans are concerned – we have designated two species as outlaw races. They are the Klin and Kracori. You may have noticed I did not mention the Juireans. Even though our world was attacked by the hand of the Juireans, they were not in full control of their actions. They were manipulated and mislead by the Klin, just as we were. But don’t get it wrong; we do not seek to be friends with the Juireans We just have not designated them as outlaws – at this time.

“What this designation means is that until further notice, Humans will continue to hunt them down the Klin and Kracori and exact our own form of justice. To that end, we will not respect the sovereignty or the laws of any other world or galactic entity in our efforts. In addition, any world that, as a policy, supports or protects either the Klin or the Kracori will be also deemed outlaw and they, too, will suffer the full force that the Human race can bring to bear. These two outlaw races will be isolated and alone.

“So let this be a warning to the Klin and Kracori – as well as any who choose to support them: We will not rest until our revenge has been satisfied.”

Adam paused and looked out at the crowd. The murmuring had stopped, as had all the protests. There was now a stunned silence throughout the room.

Adam would now conclude his speech, but not before he finally realized why he had been selected to be the face of the Initiative, as well as the one to give this presentation. The message would not have had the same impact if given by a diplomat and in diplomat-speak. The politicians in the room – even alien politicians – would have simply treated it as just the opening salvo in an on-going negotiation. But for Adam, this was no negotiation. It was proclamation, a law – an order!

So he took a deep breath and continued. “Most of you in this assembly have had only minimal contact with the Human race – if any at all – and most of that, if not all, has been through the prism of diplomacy. Well I’m here to tell you right now that what you’ve seen of us so far is nothing compared to the reality We have gone up against the most powerful force in the galaxy – and we beat the Hell out of them. That may not translate properly, but I’m sure you get the meaning. The message should be clear; we Humans are not to be trifled with. We are a mean, savage and vengeful race, and we possess certain physical advantages that make us even tougher than our attitude.

“I will now conclude with this one final item and word of warning. Although we are leaving, we are not running away, and if any of you seek to challenge us in the future, it will not be pleasant – for you. So from me and my race, we have this very simple message: Don’t mess with the Humans.”