The Legend of Earth

the screen — was that this offworlder knew his name, his family and where he worked. He had no idea he had even been noticed.

“Greetings Master Xuv,” the Klin had said in a serious tone, his face appearing sad. “I am Suneso of the Klin. The message I bring you will be very disturbing. If you wish to send your mate Zees out of the room, it might be recommended.”

Xuv had done so and then returned to the screen. “Why are you contacting me, Suneso? I am not a diplomat or involved in any trade missions.”

“We understand that, but you are in a unique position to assist not only the Klin, but your entire race as well.”

“Please explain yourself. I do not wish to become involved in anything that can bring harm to my family.”

“That is the very reason we Klin are contacting you. I will explain, but first I must digress. Do you recall a horrific accident that occurred on one of your transport lines about six months past? It left thirty-five children dead, if I recall.”

“Yes, I remember; we all do. It was the worst loss of life among our children in over twenty years.” Children were at the center of Gielian life, even more so than the welfare of the adults.

The Klin nodded, his face still carrying the sad expression. “I regret I have to do this, but I must. I will now play a series of vids for you, Xuv. They will be disturbing, but it is necessary that you see them.”

The image of the Klin was replaced with a vid from a media crew at the scene of the deadly crash. The transport carrying the children had collided with a fuel truck and then burst into flames. Most of the children had been burned beyond recognition. Xuv found the vid to be sickening, yet he had seen it at least a dozen times before.

The next vid showed the burned bodies of the children in a sterile, metal-lined examining room, probably that of the medical officials who had assumed control over the bodies. From the angle of the vid, this was apparently from a security monitor within the room. Most of the bodies were covered with white cloth, yet a few still lay uncovered on cold-looking metal tables. There was no audio associated with the vid, yet it showed a couple of technicians moving about the room, each with grim looks on their faces.

The scene flickered, and Xuv could see that it was the same room and taken from the same security monitor, but now with fewer lights on and no technicians present. And then there was a movement from under the camera position — as three gray Kracori walked into the room.

Xuv was confused. What are Kracori doing in the medical examination room?

Mesmerized, Xuv leaned in a little closer to the screen.

The Kracori walked up to several of the bodies and pulled the covers away. They appeared to be laughing and enjoying themselves, right in the middle of such incredible loss and tragedy.

Then one of the Kracori reached over to a body and pulled a small, charred arm from the corpse. Xuv almost vomited; he finally did so when the Kracori lifted the tiny arm to his mouth and took a generous bit of the dead child’s flesh.

Xuv was sweating and weak, with spittle drooling from his mouth when the next vid appeared. It was also from a surveillance camera, yet this one showed a banquet hall, with a long table trailing off to the other end of the room; around it sat a dozen boisterous Kracori, laughing, drinking, celebrating. Xuv nearly fainted when he realized that lining the center of the table and filling the plates of the Kracori, were the burned remains of four of the children from the accident — and the Kracori were feasting on them!

To his salvation, the screen mercifully switched back to the image of the Klin, conveying a look of extreme sadness. “I am hoping you have found the behavior of the Kracori as appalling as we do.”

“Of course! How could I not? But why are you showing me this?”

“I’m sure you are aware, Xuv, that the Kracori have recently turned against the Klin and purged us from Glai-I mean Giel. Up until that time, we had been their restraints when it came to your kind.” The Klin paused, a deep moment of silence that drew Xuv in closer to the screen. Then he spoke: “The Kracori intend to use your race for food, Xuv, unless you do something to stop them.”

It took the Gielian several moments to recover from the Klin’s last statement. “Food? They intend to eat us?” His words came out in a sharp staccato.

“I’m afraid so.”

“Why … how do we prevent this?”

“That is the purpose of this communication,” said the Klin. “You, Xuv, must lead a revolt against the Kracori before they can bring in reinforcements.”

“But we can’t revolt. How can we? They are like you, advanced otherworlders.”

“You must, Xuv. You have intimate knowledge of the Island. Also, there are presently only forty-eight Kracori on the planet. That will not last long, unless you act.”

“And what’s to prevent them from coming back, with more forces?”

The Klin actually cracked a small smile. “We have allies in the region — a race of beings called Humans. They are superior to the Kracori and will be able to protect you. However, this is another reason why I have contacted you personally.” He paused again before continuing. “As we speak, the Kracori are planning an attack upon the homeworld of the Humans. The beasts are soon to have delivered to Giel, a cache of nuclear devices which they intend to send against the Humans. You must prevent this from happening.”

“How?”

“You will soon be assisting the Kracori with the assimilation of the weapons aboard their attack ships. You have been working on these vessels for the past few weeks, is this correct?”

“I have been helping in the preparation of ten ships. I do not know their purpose.”

“Now you do. Xuv, you can prevent this attack by placing a diverter on the triggering device of one of the bombs on each of the ships. Once you have, then as the bombs are armed, there will be a timed detonation long before the Kracori can make good on their strike.”

“I am proficient in basic Gielian electronics, but not with advanced Klin or Kracori technology. I cannot do this.”

Again the sly smile from the Klin. “I will soon be transmitting instructions on how to construct such a trigger bypass. These will be fairly simple devices, serving only one basic purpose. You will need to construct and place ten of them in the Kracori ships. You can do this, Xuv. We have confidence in your abilities.”

“Suppose I do, what about this revolt you want me to lead?”

“All you need to do is show the same series of vids to a number of your associates, namely those who work on the Island with you. There are many more Gielians working on the Island now, as a large number of the normal Kracori contingent have left. You will find allies. But you must be cautious. The Kracori are fierce and accomplished warriors. If they learn of your plans, it could be dangerous.” The Klin smiled again. “You will have the element of surprise on your side, Xuv. The Kracori will not be expecting any such attack, and we Klin have research that confirms the Gielians do possess weapons which can kill Kracori.”

It was Xuv’s turn to pause. He looked down at his feet for several moments, trying to erase the image of the Kracori beasts feasting on the bodies of Gielian young. He knew his companions would have a similar reaction to the vids. He would indeed find his allies — if he chose to do this.

But what choice did he have? He thought of his own children, and also of his mate. If the Kracori did come to Giel — and use the natives as a food source — then they would all be vulnerable, and not just the children. They could all end up on the Kracori banquet table.

“I will do it,” he said finally.

The Klin simply nodded. “We were hoping you would, Xuv. You were our only hope. With your decision today, you have not only saved your own race, but also the Humans. Your selfless act will be remembered throughout time. Now I will transmit the plans for the trigger bypass.”

Xuv now stood at the closed door of the base communications center and surveyed his handiwork. There were five Kracori in the room with him, each with a series of deep, bloody gashes coursing across their backs.