The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) Read Online Free PDF Page A

had proved to be a destructive force upon his digestive tract, and now it was ripping his insides apart.
    The condition had started innocently enough, just a few sharp pains in his side. But now that he had been deployed with Commander Siegor’s force, and on a mission of such importance as tracking down the last surviving Klin, he was afraid to report the ailment to his superiors. He would not risk losing his command on account of his medical condition.
    His aide stood at the doorway to the grooming station, looking unsure of himself. Overlord Yan’wal was not one you kept waiting on the link. So after one final surge, Lod’fin looked up from the sink and over at the aide, spittle dangling from his mouth. “Tell the Overlord I will be with him presently. Just let me clean up a little first before I speak with him – but don’t tell him that! ”
    “Yes, Commander,” and the aide quickly retreated back into the stateroom.
    Lod’fin splashed some water on his face and rinsed out his mouth, before brushing the long mane of light green hair back over his head and down his back. His eyes were blood-shot, and his normally bronze skin looked pale. He had no choice. He had to face the Overlord in his present condition.
    After slipping into the chair behind his desk, Lod’fin took a deep breath, exhaled, and then opened the link to the Overlord.
    “My Lord, I apologize for the delay.”
    Yan’wal appeared on the screen, and took several long seconds to consider the image of the Senior Guard before him. “Are you all right?” he finally asked.
    “Yes, My Lord, just a slight malfunction with the dietary computer. I appear to have eaten something that does not agree with me.”
    Yan’wal stared at his subordinate for several more seconds, during which Lod’fin fought the urge to resume vomiting right in front of the Overlord. Eventually, Yan’wal nodded.   “Very well, Commander. First of all, I would like a progress report on your effort to locate any secondary Klin bases on your side of the Barrier.”
    Lod’fin was relieved for the change of subject. It would help get his mind off the burning pain in his gut. “As directed, we have revised our search parameters to include only planets with a substantially higher surface gravity than standard, and have surveyed seven planets to date. Only two were within the habitable zones for their stars, and none have shown any evidence of a base of any kind. We are continuing our survey.”
    Yan’wal nodded again, and then furrowed his brow slightly. He was silent for several more seconds, as if contemplating a decision. Then he looked straight at Lod’fin again. “Commander, have you been keeping abreast of the events in the Sector over the past few weeks?”
    “Yes I have, My Lord. I am aware of the battles that have taken place, especially the fleet casualties suffered off Dimloe. Do you require my presence to supplement the fleet?”
    “Not at this time. I have another assignment for you.” And then again, that look of uncertainty on the face of the Senior Overlord. Lod’fin began to grow concerned.
    “Have you heard any references to a race of beings called Humans? ”
    “Yes, My Lord. They appear to be the race that participated in both battles, alongside the Klin.”
    “Well, Commander, it now appears as if the Humans may have been the primary participants in both these confrontations, and that the Klin may have played only a minor role.”
    “I don’t understand. I thought the Klin are our primary targets during this campaign?”
    “That was the original mission. But now the focus has shifted to these Humans.”
    “Who are they, My Lord? Where do they come from?”
    “From the Far Arm, Commander.”
    Immediately, the significance of the link from the Overlord became clear. Lod-fin’s force of five Juirean battlecruisers was located at the very beginning of the Far Arm, on the opposite side of the Barrier from Sector 17. His force would be the first line