The Dead Worlds
The Adam Cain Chronicles #1
T.R. Harris
Set in The Human Chronicles Universe
Copyright 2019 by Tom Harris Creations, LLC
All rights reserved, without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanically, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. *
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Novels by T.R. Harris
The Adam Cain Chronicles
The Dead Worlds
The Human Chronicles Saga
The Fringe Worlds
Alien Assassin
The War of Pawns
The Tactics of Revenge
The Legend of Earth
Cain’s Crusaders
The Apex Predator
A Galaxy to Conquer
The Masters of War
Prelude to War
The Unreachable Stars
When Earth Reigned Supreme
A Clash of Aliens
Battlelines
The Copernicus Deception
Scorched Earth
The Cain Legacy
The Andromeda Mission
Last Species Standing
Invasion Force
Force of Gravity
Mission Critical
The Lost Universe
The Immortal War
Destroyer of Worlds
Phantoms
Terminus Rising
The Last Aris
The Human Chronicles Box Set Series
Box Set #1 – Books 1-5 in the series
Box Set #2 – Books 6-10 in the series
Box Set #3 – Books 11-15 in the series
Box Set #4 – Books 16-20 in the series
REV Warriors Series
REV
REV: Renegades
REV: Rebirth
REV: Revolution
REV: Retribution (Dec. 2019)
The REV Warriors Series 3-Book Box Set
Jason King – Agent to the Stars Series
The Enclaves of Sylox
Treasure of the Galactic Lights
The Drone Wars Series
Day of the Drone
In collaboration with George Wier…
The Liberation Series
Captains Malicious
Available exclusively on Amazon.com and FREE to members of Kindle Unlimited.
Contents
The alien with an attitude is back!
1. Three aliens walk into a bar…
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Author Notes
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Novels by T.R. Harris
The alien with an attitude is back!
The Adam Cain Chronicles
Moving to the tropical paradise world of Liave-3 was supposed to be a reward for twenty years of saving the galaxy from a variety of aliens with evil intent. But for Adam Cain, Sherri Valentine and Riyad Tarazi, it’s turning out to be anything but. It’s turning into a disaster.
Besieged by gangster thugs, alien assassins and troublesome dinosaurs, the Humans are learning they’ll need all their skills and natural abilities to survive.
And now a young Human friend of theirs has put them square in the sights of an enormously wealthy alien with an army of Gradis Cartel soldiers, who accuses the trio of stealing something they don’t have and know nothing about. But does anyone believe them? Not hardly.
Now it’s a race against time to stay one step ahead of a variety of parties, each out to kill them … or worse!
Just when our heroes were hoping to make a new start on a distant world, it’s soon back to the same old thing. More alien head-bashing, more incredible battles … and more lessons to be taught.
And Lesson #1:
You don’t mess with the Humans!
Ever!
1
Three aliens walk into a bar…
Jay noticed them the moment they entered. Each wore long, trench coat-like outfits, and their thin, beady eyes were intense and unblinking. Jay had seen their type before. They were professionals, serious and determined, and not here for the food and drink. They were looking for someone, and nothing would distract them from their goal. The aliens scanned the interior before locking their yellow eyes laser-like on a table of six seated near the large open portal at the back of the building.
Jay was a regular at the bar, so he knew the routine. He turned his attention to the long, polished bar to his left and noticed the bartender—Kaylor—checking his computer screen, concern clouding his light blue face. There were detectors at the front door, and the newcomers had come in armed, ignoring the signs proclaiming Capt. Cain’s Bar & Grill to be a no-weapons-allowed establishment. A moment later, Kaylor was on a link, calling Adam for backup.
Jay’s four alien companions were oblivious to the newcomers, content instead to down another round of the finest intoxicants to be found anywhere in the coastal enclave of Balamar—at least the finest to Human standards. But their ignorant bliss didn’t last long. Moments later, the intruders made a beeline for the table with the six aliens, their attention focused, their purpose never wavering.
Then all hell broke loose.
The three aliens pulled back their coats and produced Xan-fi flash rifles, bringing them to bear on the unsuspecting patrons. To their credit, those seated at the table were quick to react and managed to tumble from their chairs before the first bolt launched. Unfortunately for two of them, it wasn’t fast enough.
Now, as the surviving targets scrambled away on their hands and knees, the assassins opened up on the rest of the bar, indiscrimin
ately sending their deadly plasma bolts into the surrounding tables as they tracked their targets through the panicking crowd. Pandemonium broke out, followed by a cacophony of screeches, squealing and screams.
Jay lifted the bottom of his table and tipped it over, before diving unceremoniously behind it for cover. Flash bolts didn’t have much penetrating power, so the table would protect him. However, when he flipped the table, his four companions ended up on the other side and in full view of the killers. But they weren’t the primary targets; they would be okay. At least that’s what Jay hoped.
Just then, one of the aliens from the target table crawled around the end of Jay’s shelter. His left shoulder was a bubbling hunk of red meat and the side of his face a charred, hideous mess.
“Help me,” the alien pleaded in an anguished voice.
Jay placed a boot against the alien’s forehead and pushed him back into the open.
“I don’t think so.”
“Mercy! I will provide a reward.”
“A reward? What kind of reward?”
“No time now. Help!”
Jay poked his head above the overturned table. The killers were blasting through crowds of people, trying to locate their scurrying targets. They’d lost sight of the one with Jay, at least for the moment.
“I’ll help, but for a reward.”
Jay grasped the alien by the intact part of his shirt and lifted him from the floor. In the light gravity of Liave-3, it wasn’t much of a chore, not for a Human. Hunched over, Jay carried him through the back portal and onto the sand of the beach behind the tavern, before turning right and tossing the wounded alien into the dark alley between Cain’s and Sherri’s Golden Slipper Hotel next door. He then crawled back to the portal to see if they’d been followed.
Fortunately for him and his charge, the assassins were otherwise occupied. Jay looked inside just as one of the bar’s owners—Adam Cain—jumped from the second-floor balcony, landing on top of two of the killers. All three tumbled to the floor, before rolling over and attempting to get to their feet.
At the same time, another of the owners appeared—Sherri Valentine, this time—armed with a wooden club. The third alien assassin had his weapon lined up on Adam, but he never got the chance to finger the trigger. With all the skill of a major league home run hitter, Sherri swung the club at the side of the killer’s head, catching him off guard. The blow was so powerful that the alien’s head was nearly ripped off his shoulders, as every bone in his neck shattered with only the thick, pliable skin keeping it attached. The head flopped onto the alien’s chest, as the momentum of the blow sent his body tumbling over another table.
In the meantime, Adam Cain managed to grab the arm of one of the other killers and lift the rifle up and away from the fleeing crowd. A bolt lit off, splashing on the ceiling below the balcony. Adam then unleashed a powerful elbow straight into the alien’s chin. Even from where Jay lay, he could hear the cracking of bone. The alien dropped where he stood, dead before hitting the floor.
The remaining assassin was crawling away when he suddenly rolled over and brought his flash rifle to bear on Adam. Frozen in place, Adam stretched out a thin, almost sinister grin. A moment later, the targeting computer in the rifle locked on, and a brilliant ball of white flared out from the barrel. It hit Adam squarely in the chest.
Adam grimaced, the veins in his neck standing out in stark relief. A perfectly round hole formed in the fabric of his shirt, glowing red around the edges. Adam’s chest was exposed, displaying a raw crimson burn. The angry Human patted at the embers of his shirt, his grin now a savage growl.
Jay laughed when he saw the expression on the face of the would-be assassin. He’d seen the same shocked look three times before, on the faces of the unfortunate few who also shot him with level-two flash bolts. To a Human, all a level-two did was make them mad. A level-one was required to take down a Human, and only then if it was in the right spot.
Adam jumped, dropping a knee onto the chest of the stunned killer. An impossibly deep depression formed in the torso, as ribs broke, lungs collapsed and his heart burst. At least that’s how Jay imagined it. He had no idea as to the physiology of the alien. It didn’t matter. The creature was dead upon impact.
Satisfied that the show was over, Jay returned to the alien in the alley. In the dim light of the dangling lanterns on the canopy covering the beach area behind the bar, Jay could see that the injured alien was on his last leg. His eyes were closed, and he appeared to be dead, although he was still breathing.
Jay roused him, shaking his frail body until his eyes opened from the associated pain. With sad, bloodshot eyes, he looked down at his toasted torso.
“I appear to be severely injured,” he groaned.
“That you are.”
“Will I survive?”
“I doubt it,” Jay answered honestly. “What was that all about? Those guys came in looking for you, and the others at the table.”
“They came to prevent us from speaking … about the weapons.”
“What weapons?”
The alien coughed, and droplets of blood stained his lips. He began to drift away again.
“Stay awake,” Jay ordered, gently slapping the unburned side of his face. “What weapons?”
“The weapons on Hax’on.” His watery red eyes then locked on Jay. “I promised a reward. I will now honor my pledge.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“On Hax’on, in a warehouse at the Tainesin Manufacturing Works…in the city of Ko…you will find the weapons. They are prototypes, the most powerful energy weapons in the galaxy…” The words of the dying alien came out in descending intensity, trailing off to almost nothing at the end.
“In a warehouse?”
“Yes, number eleven,” the alien moaned. “The entry code is, is 0881.”
“How many weapons are there?”
“Many.”
“How do you know about them?”
“I … a contract to ship. Never the chance…”
The alien coughed again, accompanied by another spray of blood.
“Who was that trying to kill you?” Jay asked. But it was too late. When he leaned in closer, he could see the alien had died.
Jay leaned back against the clapboard exterior of Capt. Cain’s Bar & Grill and considered what the alien said: There’s a boatload of prototype weapons in a warehouse on Hax’on. This could be interesting.
Jay knew of the planet Hax’on, although he’d never been there. It was one of the hundred-plus worlds the Mad Aris Kracion had irradiated a few years back, killing nearly all of the native population. Hax’on was one of the first to be attacked, and as such, the catastrophe came without much warning. Only a few thousand survivors made it off the planet, many of whom came to nearby Liave-3 as refugees. Even so, most of the wealthier and well-connected Hax’oneans didn’t stay long; Liave-3 was a hole-in-the-wall planet at the time without much to offer those with means. For that matter, it still was. By this time, the bulk of the more-affluent refugees had moved further into the galaxy, looking for more sophisticated planets to call their new home. Unfortunately for the alien in the alley, he was left behind on L-3.
Jay’s heart pounded, the excitement building. Weapons were a hot commodity for the thousands of salvagers pouring over the stricken worlds left in Kracion’s wake. Although dangerous to ship and often illegal to sell, they could still fetch small fortunes on the black market. They were part of the infinite variety of contraband that made up the gold rush taking place within what was called The Dead Zone. Staggering fortunes were being made by those resourceful enough to find and hold onto their salvages. The last part—holding onto their claims—that was the main challenge. The Zone was a wild and wooly place where only the strongest or most-tenacious survived.
Even so, it was obvious Jay would have to check out the validity of the alien’s claim.
He left the dead alien in the alley and returned to the bar.
The
re he found Adam Cain waving his arms and swearing up a storm while Sherri Valentine sat at one of the few upright tables, a drink in her hand. She chugged it, then called to the tiny bear-like alien Jym to bring her another.
The place was a mess. Burn marks dotted the walls, and there were easily a dozen tables broken or overturned, with chairs scattered everywhere. But worst of all, several bodies lay helter-skelter across the floor, creating huge puddles of dark blood on the wooden planks. Jay identified the five aliens from the original table—now dead—their clothing and skin still giving off sickening whiffs of pungent white smoke. They were all of the same race—Hax’oneans, like the one in the alley. The three killers were also of the same race, although Jay didn’t recognize the species. That wasn’t unusual, not with the incredible influx of people coming to Liave-3 recently.
Adam looked at Jay, his face red, his eyes wide. “Look what they did to my place!” he barked. “Damn aliens, every last one of the bastards!”