Free The Unreachable Stars: Book #11 of The Human Chronicles Saga by T.R. Harris Page A

device?” Kaylor asked.
    “It’s a detector, something quite sophisticated. If it works, it’ll help free the galaxy of the Sol-Kor.”
    Kaylor smiled. “If I may use a phrase I learned from you…no shit?”
    Adam returned the smile. “No shit. Let’s just hope I—now we —can stay hidden long enough for him to build it.” Adam rose from his chair. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go make a call. Keep an eye on him. And don’t let him leave the room.”

 
    Chapter 8
     
    Although he was drunk out of his mind, Riyad Tarazi still noticed the four hulking Juireans when they entered the restaurant. He credited his exceptional situational awareness to the many years he’d spent as a jihadist serving in the name of Allah, where constant vigilance was an occupational necessity.
    Yet even as his training took over, he still had to curse his host for not informing him that the irresistibly delicious local beverage he’d been drinking all night was an intoxicant. It wasn’t evident from the taste; however, the results spoke for themselves. How his reaction time would be affected was anyone’s guess.
    Riyad was solidly within Expansion space. The wars were long over and the creatures from Earth were allowed almost universal movement within the empire, unlike the restrictions mankind placed on aliens coming into the Union. Yet the stern looks on the faces of the approaching Juireans told him that his presence on the planet Vinnous Mak was unwelcome, at least to them.
    Riyad had been personally invited—and well compensated—to attend a strategy conference and weapons demonstration being held on the planet to address security issues to counter the Sol-Kor threat. In the end, his contribution to the conference amounted to little more than a lot of reassurances that the primary powers in the galaxy were on top of the situation, and that the Sol-Kor were on the run.
    Just keep an active vigil and the natives of Vinnous Mak should be fine…
    Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to purchase about a quadrillion credits worth of defensive military equipment from his Earth-based benefactors either. The commissions he received for these cut-out transactions were seldom reported, and were currently gaining interest on a planet called Zufin, just on the Expansion side of the border with the Union.
    Riyad was nearing fifty, and he had his pending retirement to consider.
    The truth be known, the ravenous invaders from another dimension were anything but contained. In fact, no one had an accurate handle on the situation to even hazard a guess as to their strength or movements within the Milky Way. But that wasn’t what the attendees wanted to hear. So Riyad accepted his consulting fee while doing his best to calm the concerns of the nervous aliens.
    At the conclusion of the conference, its chief organizer—a Makean named Rorick something-or-another—had invited him to dine at one of the capital’s more exclusive restaurants. And now, watching the four Juireans wend their way directly for his booth, Riyad felt like a trapped rat, unsure of the lay of the land or what forces were being brought against him—all the while harboring a blurry vision and numbness tingling from his head to his toes.
    He had already located a secondary exit not too from where he sat, and so far no Juireans were stationed there. Normally, with only four aliens to contend with, Riyad wouldn’t have given the developing situation a second thought. If that was the extent of the threat, he had confidence he could handle it.
    Except he might fall flat on his face the moment he stood up.
    The Juireans made an impression on the crowded dining room. Each stood over seven feet tall. There were three green-maned Guards, along with a white-haired Overlord. His presence was what set Riyad on guard. Overlords seldom ventured out among the populace of the Expansion, so his being here was a warning that something big was up. The Overlord stopped at the booth and glared