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sure it’s not coming from us. We wouldn’t be bluffing with something this big. I think about what my friend Saddam Hussein did back before the main war with the Americans. He tried to bluff with the fact that he had weapons of mass destruction, just so the Americans would not attack. And we all know what happened then.”
    “ We don’t,” said Kaylor.
    Riyad just looked at him and smiled. “Let’s just say it didn’t work out very well for him. If you’re going to bluff, you had better prepare to be called.”
    “I still don’t understand.”
    “Never mind that,” Adam said impatiently. “Riyad, you once believed that the Klin were building a Human army to fight the Juireans. I’ve come to believe that, too. Now they’re sending the Juireans to Earth, where we have no force capable of defeating them—” Adam’s eyes suddenly grew wide, as did Riyad’s. Then simultaneously, they both blurted out: “It’s a trap!”
    “What are you two talking about?” Sherri asked, frustration growing in her voice.
    Adam turned to her. “Don’t you see? The Klin have set it up so that a large Juirean force will arrive at Earth. Then they plan on unleashing their Human army against them there , much like they did off Dimloe. Rather than have their Human army fight battle after battle right in the heart of Juirean territory, they will have one major battle – and against a force that is expecting the Humans to still be preparing for an invasion. The Juireans have no choice but to attack now, before they believe us to be fully battle-ready.”
    “But we will be ready,” Riyad picked up the dialog. “The Klin would not have set these actions in motion without making sure of that.”
    “So? You’re saying we have nothing to worry about?” There was skepticism in Sherri’s voice. “The Klin and their 2G army are going to step in at the last minute and save the Earth from destruction? That’s taking a lot for granted, isn’t it?”
    That sobered up the other two Humans in the room. Adam just nodded. “I know we’re assuming a lot, but why else would the Klin be doing all this? According to Riyad – and now in this message – the Klin seem hell-bent on making the Juireans believe that we’re a threat to them. What we’re saying seems to make the most sense.”
    “So what do we do now?” Sherri asked.
    Riyad and Adam just looked at each other. Then they shrugged.
    “Oh great!” Sherri said, rolling her eyes. “We just continue on as if we have nothing to worry about, while the greatest battle in the history of history is about to take place?”
    Kaylor cleared his throat again.
    “Just say it, Kaylor!” Adam barked at him.
    “You do realize we are in a Juirean battlecruiser, and according to you, heading into a massive fleet of Humans and Klin bent on destroying anything that resembles a Juirean…”
    The three Humans stared at him for several shocked seconds. Then Adam cleared his own throat. “Ah, good point, Kaylor. That’s definitely something we’ll have to keep in mind as we get closer to Earth.”
    Sherri shot him a piercing look. “No shit, Sherlock.”

 

    Chapter Six
     

    After the meeting, the three Humans went to the mess decks and settled into a table far enough away from the other men in the room so as not to be overheard. There were six others in the large room, including Billy Piscopo, Sherri’s current lover. Adam noticed how they both shared furtive glances at each other, as if no one else knew what was going on. He tried to put the conflicting emotions out of his mind and focus on the larger issue at hand.
    “So how do we get through the Klin – or Human – blockade to get to Earth?” Riyad asked, setting the agenda for the meeting. “If there is a fleet waiting there for the Juireans, I doubt if they’ll just let us slip through simply because we announce that we’re not really Juireans, but Humans, just like them.”
    Adam absently picked at the synthetic food in