

Worlds Apart

The 3rd installment of the Eric Peterson series.

by

Phil Cocker

Copyright Phil Cocker 2015

Published by Numpty Publishing at Smashwords
Other books by Phil Cocker.

In the Eric Peterson series:

2 Years, 2 Weeks, 2 Lives

The Kylapitar

Worlds Apart

Earthbound. Due for release 2016.

Worlds Apart, first published in Great Britain in 2015

As a Numpty Ebook

By Numpty Publishing.

Copyright Philip Cocker 2015

The right of Philip Cocker to be identified as the author

of the work has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Numpty Publishing.

EBook Version, published at Smashwords

ISBN 978-0-9563302-4-6

#####

##### Acknowledgements.

Once again, for everyone who has cajoled me to keep going. I do admit, there is less cajoling required, as I do enjoy writing these books, and the others that I hope to finish and release one day.

Thanks to my "Besties", Toby, Di, and Julie; who enjoy my company and keep me smiling. For Hannah, who's artwork has has taken her to new levels. For our Lazy Loafy, whose smile and laughter touches all who know her. To my Paula, always nudging me onwards and upwards; and to finish some of the nearly finished jobs around the house.

To my Big Bruv, for just supporting the greatest football team in the land. To my Dad, for teaching me that working with your hands can be as satisfying as working with the brain. Finally, to my Mum, who gives clear, incisive criticism, loves my writing, and at 82, can still make the best steak and kidney with biscuit ring.

It's funny that even though I turned 50, being able to escape the drudgeries of our everyday lives by creating a whole set of universes held within this series of novels, makes the physical years roll away.

I apologise for sometimes slaughtering the English language,

my awful editting skills, but I love to tell a tale.

So please bear with me, and yes, I truly do thank you all.
Chapter 1. The End of the Beginnings

FLASH!

Janosh Acflor, Security Chief and very good friend of King Harvin of the planet Ansolon, sat back in the huge spoon-shaped metal chair and smiled melancholically. He flicked a wayward lock of his carrot coloured mop-top hair back into place and considered how the day had gone. The plan he'd devised with the Earthling, Eric Peterson, had gone very well. They'd boarded the huge Starship that orbited his planet and taken control of the main hangars. Janosh had set off on his own mission, had managed to plant his small explosive devices in the ship's arsenal, and had found his primary target, the Supreme Commander of the Rexon Fleet, K'nash. Meanwhile, Eric and his friends, Princess Aisha, the thief Skaler, and the diminutive winged wood-squire Ashton Debrun, completed their primary mission and freed over 400 people from their vacuum packed living nightmare, and Janosh was pleased to see that they'd all escaped off the ship safely.

Overall, apart from the slight timing issue he was having in getting off the ship, it had been a good day.

Janosh gazed at the Supreme Commander of the Rexon Military, K'nash, who was searching frantically through his desk. Janosh wondered what he was looking for, but was still amused by the spectacle.

His chair bounced off the floor, making him giggle like a child on the playground. "There she blows!" He hollered, gripping the now bucking chair. "I presume you've lost something?" He asked, wondering what the Supreme Commander could possible find that would help him at this very moment.

K'nash growled at Janosh, stopping for an instant to glare at the Human who was finding the situation amusing. "You have failed yourself." The anger was spat across the metal desk at Janosh, as K'nash tried to remove the smile.

"I think we did a good job, overall." Janosh nodded, still smiling. "Apart from this minor hiccup." His chair bucked once more.

"You call blowing yourself up a hiccup?" K'nash growled. "On my Ship?"

Janosh thought about it for a second. The plan he and Eric Peterson had devised had coming to fruition. The teenager, Eric, who'd arrived from another Galaxy, from a planet called Earth, and who he'd only met days before was turning out to be very resourceful and intelligent. He'd led his team very well, getting the 400 humanoid test subjects off the ship and down onto the planet Ansolon, below. This, in itself, would be a major coup for the rebellion against the Rexon, as those 400 would have been used for experiments to find a disease that would kill all humanoid life.

"Ah, but my primary mission was to kill you, and well..." He pointed at the floor of K'nash's office which rippled like a wave. "I think I'm achieving that, indirectly." He rolled his head from side to side.

Another explosion was heard, deep below them and after a few tense seconds, the floor bucked once more.

Janosh giggled again.

K'nash continued to dig around in his drawer, muttering words Janosh didn't understand.

"So yes, a minor hiccup." Janosh agreed to his conclusion as the huge Starship they were currently on was being blown apart, and the subsequent look of horror on the face of his enemy, was enough to keep him smiling. The irony of this action and his subsequent predicament wasn't lost on him, as he knew that he was about to become the latest casualty in this battle. Yet, from his viewpoint, he'd much rather sacrifice himself so that the others could live, than have to live with the grief of losing any one of them.

"What have you done?" The gravelly voice of the Alien leader sat across the desk from him came out as a half bark, half scream.

Another explosion rocked the room; the metal structure of the ship creaked and groaned, screaming as if it knew its existence was ending.

"Woo Hoo!" Janosh giggled as his feet were lifted momentarily off the floor. "Wow, those bombs in that arsenal were very, very big, weren't they?" he added, impressed with the Rexon firepower he'd turned against them. "And the ones I'd left next to them were such teeny-weeny things." He held his thumb and index fingers a short distance apart to demonstrate the size of his own devices. "But when they set one of yours off, well, it just creates one huge BOOM!" His hands flashed out, dramatizing the explosion.

On cue, another bomb exploded, carving the ship in two, the rear section fell away from the main part in slow motion. The force of the blast caused the vessel to roll over, its stationary orbit above the planet Ansolon starting to decay.

Alarms blared, and footsteps clattered by the closed door as many Rexon dashed to escape pods in an effort to save themselves from the inevitable.

Janosh laughed and shook his head as K'nash continued to scramble around in a desk drawer as everything inside the office started to slide towards the left hand wall. He lifted his feet up, enjoying the slow glide across the now slanted reality, keeping pace with the desk and the stumbling Rexon leader.

K'nash froze as he spotted what he was after, diving forward and snatching hold of the item as another explosion ripped the floor apart directly beneath the desk. The blast split the piece of solid metal furniture in two as if it had been made of paper. Its contents spewed into the air, including the gun that K'nash had laid down while he searched through his drawers. Janosh spotted his chance and leapt for the weapon, just as his own chair was thrown off the floor; the force pushing him up to get nearer to the gun that had been flung into the air.

He realised that it was all a very futile act, but he liked the idea that he would have killed K'nash before the bombs did. It would give him one final piece of satisfaction, and a last goal to aim for.

More bombs exploded, as a cascade of detonations rippled through the ship. Volatile chemicals used within systems and the fuel tanks helped Janosh's cause. Parts of the ship broke off, floating away into space, taking their contents of systems and people along with them.

In K'nash's room, Janosh was feeling cheated. He was trying his best, but the bombs he'd set off were beating him to his final mission. Even though he felt disappointed, knowing the end was only seconds away, he continued to stretch his arm out as he flew through the air, his fingers touching the cool metal on the side of the gun. He managed to clamp his fingers around the grip just as the final series of bombs blew in unison.

Flames leapt up out of the chasm in the floor of K'nash's office and the flash engulfed them both.

Janosh Actflor never heard the final explosion, splitting the ship into a million tiny parts.
Chapter 2. A New Start.

Eric Peterson sat quietly on a large round rock, his feet tucked up, his knees under his chin, and his arms wrapped tightly them. He'd been perched on there all night, watching the moons pass overhead, and was now watching the sun rising over the distant mountains on this strange planet they were currently on. Its radiant light and heat crept down the mountains behind his battle weary friends as they slept. As it drew over them he closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth flow down his face. The night had been very cold and the fire they'd made had been welcome, but was only warm if you were within a reasonable distance to it. The rock was within that radius, and so, his back had been warmed all night.

The fire had also been useful in keeping the varied wildlife at bay that he'd heard investigating the new arrivals, staying within the relative cover of the surrounding dense forest.

Eric opened his eyes and watched the early mist, which had sat as a duvet over the lake, form into a cloud and slowly rise up in the warming air. He watched in awe, because compared to what had occurred over the last few days, it was a beautiful sight to see, and one that finally distracted him from his night full of internal turmoil and serious thinking.

During the course of the night, he'd glanced many times at his friends, checking they were all there, checking they were all OK. As much as his brain automatically asked for him to complete the task one more time, he didn't need to, as he knew exactly how his friends would be positioned around the fire, behind him.

Aisha was the nearest, just behind him, to the left. She was curled into a tight ball, lying nearest to the fire, the young and very pretty princess's face brightly lit all night by the dancing flames. Her long blonde hair, which was held together in a bun, now draped over the arm she was using as a makeshift pillow. Adjacent to Aisha was Eric's best friend, Tom.

Eric sighed, thinking of what his best friend had been through. Tom had been killed, stolen from the grave, and then sent to a distant galaxy. There he was brought back to life to be used as a human guinea pig whilst a bunch of Alien scientists found a way to kill all humans, and then vacuum packed and stored, before finally being freed by Eric and his new friends. After all of that trauma, Eric knew that Tom was lying on his back, arms and legs spread eagled out from under the jacket he was using as a blanket, snoring his head off noisily, without a care in the world. That was Tom, carefree and comical.

What Eric had noticed was Tom's former fuller figure had trimmed down over the past few weeks, and he looked better and fitter for it.

Skaler was next, at the furthest point from Eric. A petty thief turned friend and savior of a planet, he had proved to be useful when they'd been captured, and Eric had grown to like him, despite their first meeting in a gorge. Skaler was also curled up in a safe ball, occasionally opening one eye as he slept fitfully through the night. His cute mousy curls and almost too pretty face helped him win the hearts of his victims, as they'd easily believe that he was just some young lad, not a Master thief, part of the Guild of Thieves on Ansolon.

Finally, there was Ashton Debrun, the diminutive but majestic Hawcon leader who was amongst the branches of the tree above Eric, snuggled into a small hollow, soundly resting. He'd curled his wings around his diminutive body to use as a blanket. His external features belied the fact that he was so old, as he appeared to be only in his mid 50's, yet was over 200 years old.

Eric was the only one who hadn't slept, his mind racing through countless possibilities, problems, and dangers they now faced. The main three that had occupied the nights hours were that they'd blown up the Rexon ship, causing untold problems between the Rexon and the Ansolonians. Yes, they'd defeated the enemy of the Ansolonians, but at what cost. How many Rexon had survived, and with what force. Had there been smaller craft that had escaped, and were now attacking the planet? Or, had the Ansolonians turned on any Rexon, beating and torturing the few who had escaped. As strange as that might have seemed, to anyone else, Eric had been brought up to respect all life, no matter how big or small, how curious or seemingly useless in the world. Everything had a place, and he'd been told that nature would weed out the weak; it wasn't for man to do that, even though there were hundreds of species on Earth that had been eradicated by man.

Secondly, they'd initially beamed to another planet that had Rexon soldiers on it, wherever that was, within whichever galaxy they'd been to, and Eric worried about how many more planets there were, and how many had Rexon on them. Finally, for the three major problems he had churned over and over in his head, he was now being seen as the leader of this group and had sent them to who knows where, with no real means of getting back to Earth. Yes, they had a Kylapitar device, so could transport themselves to anywhere the symbols led them to, but none of them understood the symbols, and none of them knew where the symbols could take them. They could try a series of hit and miss attempts, scrolling through the series of symbols, one by one, trying each one, but they'd never know where they were being sent to. Each time they used the next symbol would mean one further away from the starting point. Would there be danger, would it be inhabited, would it be able to sustain life. He could be sending them to a place with no air, or into space. His imagination raced away with the possibilities, and it took an almighty effort to ease them out of the way and return to the present.

Eric looked at the view ahead of him, and thought about how much it reminded him of the Alps. He sighed, thinking it had been only a couple of years since he'd been there, with his mum, Emma, and his dad, Simon, on Earth. His thought's drifted quickly away, the pain of losing his father still a touch raw. Eric closed his eyes and saw a vision of his mum just doing maternal things around the house, nothing exact, just a mix of pictures and videos in his mind, as if in a lucid dream. His lips tensed as the emotions welled up within him. She'd been there for him so much in the last two years, since his dad had died, and now he'd left the planet without her knowing what had happened. He wished he could tell her he was OK, and relatively safe, and was going to try his hardest to get home. He heard a muffled noise behind him and turned to see that everyone within their little army of renegades had the same problem, and as their leader, he had to keep them safe and more importantly find a way home for all of them.

All these thoughts kept bouncing around his young head all night, keeping him awake. They had agreed a roster for keeping watch, with each one of them being given a two hour period. Eric had said he'd go first, and at that point he'd decided to not wake anyone else up.

"You are a very noble and foolish young man, Eric Peterson." The majestic voice of Ashton Debrun, the Hawcon Leader whispered into his ear.

"I couldn't sleep." Eric didn't turn round, but kept looking towards the edge of the lake where small waves lapped at the shingle shoreline, soothing his mind. "I had too much to think about." He smiled at Ashton, watching the diminutive winged humanoid land on a rock in front of him, "And I still don't know what to do."

Ashton returned the smile, "I am here to help you in any way I can, even if that is to act as a mere sounding board for your worries, whenever you wish, whatever they may be." He folded his wings gracefully behind him, and leant back against them, using them as a tripod leg. "I have many years' experience, not only from life in general, but a s a leader of my people, so please let me impart some of that wisdom to you, to help ease your concerns, or guide you."

Eric had come to understand how appearances were very deceptive since starting this adventure. This small half-person, half-bird creature seemed so fragile, but had the heart of a lion, and the presence of a king. He'd come to respect Ashton over the last few days, and knew that he would become a very useful ally, especially with his abilities. Yet above all of that, he had already become a good friend, and trusted his council. "You more than anyone know my dilemma, as you can read my mind."

"Eric, my dear boy, I may be able to read minds, it doesn't mean that I always choose to do so."

Eric was taken aback, pleased for the moment to lose the night's worries within a conversation. "So, you're not reading minds all the time?"

"Oh dear No, to have the ability on all the time, reading everyone's thoughts would be too much. The noise from all of the voices in my mind would drive me insane." He shook his head. "No, definitely not, we focus our thoughts onto a singular person. For many centuries, my people battled with ourselves, until we passed laws against the act of entering a mind without consent. It would an intrusion into someone's privacy." Ashton scowled, shaking his head in disgust at the thought of such an act.

"So, how did you know everything about me, then?" Eric asked.

"Ah, well, even though we may not read a person's thoughts, we can clearly see if a person is honest." Ashton eagerly explained. "Then, if they are true, we let them carry on with their stories and tales."

"But you thought I was lying?" Eric was quite perplexed by the thought that Ashton had initially thought of him as an untrustworthy person.

"I could tell you were not being openly true, but that you were overall an honest person." Ashton smiled. "To our eyes, there is a glow around each and everyone of us, and that changes with the moods of the person. When you lied your aura darkened, but it was still a vibrant aqua-marine colour, which is the colour of the great leaders of the world."

Eric blushed. "Well, thank God for the colour scheme."

"God may have had a hand in helping us meet, in his own mysterious way," Ashton raised a knowing eyebrow towards Eric. "But I sensed something a lot stronger within you, and knowing the prophecy, I had to delve a little deeper." He looked at Eric and then bowed in shame as the continued. "I apologise for that intrusion, but I had to make sure that you could have been who I thought you were." He raised his head to look at Eric, and once again, felt the trueness of this young man facing him.

Eric blushed more, honoured and humbled by the thought that he could be this great leader. "About the prophecy." He cleared his throat and looked at the floor anxiously. "I know that it may look like it's me, but I'm not that person." His glanced back up at Ashton. "I'm not a hero."

"A true hero will always denounce his claim on any title." Ashton said.

"Oh no, you can't say that; that's not fair." Eric argued. "So, If I said was a Hero, then I would be, but saying I'm not means that I am, because I..... Oh, I don't understand really."

They looked at each other and then burst out laughing, waking the others up.

"What's up?" Tom shot up, his fists positioned for an instant attack on any potential foe. He blinked furiously, finally yawning and stretching once he realised that they were safe.

"Nothing my good friend Tom, it was a conversation between myself and Eric, and it had the desired reaction." Ashton explained.

"What? It was meant to wake us up?" Skaler merely opened one eye and peered at the now standing group around the fire.

"No, it was meant to make Eric smile, and momentarily release him from his woes and fears." Ashton watched the now beaming Eric, and could clearly see the purple hues within his aura drift away along with the previous night's troubles.
Chapter 3. Alive and Kicking.

Janosh opened his eyes, but couldn't see anything; it took a second to adjust after the flash of light. He didn't have a clue where he was, but that didn't matter.

He was alive.

Instinctively dropping low to the floor he scanned all around, and through what were still very hazy eyes spotted his target ahead of him, standing 3 metres away. Janosh could see that K'Nash was also struggling with the change in light, as he was using the back of his hands to rub his eyes.

Janosh felt the comforting weight of the gun in his hand, even though, for some weird reason, it felt a little lighter and strangely sticky, as if someone had poured syrup down it. That was inconsequential as he raised his arm and aimed the weapon at his target. Janosh's eyes started to clear and he noticed the colour of the sky was a hazy green. He felt a little dizzy, which he thought was an after effect from being transported from the now completely destroyed ship. Years of military and police training were working overtime within Janosh as he used instinct and muscle memory to curl his finger around the trigger. As all of the training raged forward, controlling virtually every millimetre of his mind, there was also a tiny voice, right at the back, which seemed totally unrelated to the current action. It had raised a small question, as it knew something wasn't quite right.

K'nash stopped rubbing his eyes, and turned around, admiring the familiar scenery. As he got halfway round he stopped, and looked at the human crouched down before him aiming a weapon his way. He blinked a couple of times, looked again and then started to laugh.

Janosh was momentarily puzzled but also quite pleased to see that K'nash was happy to be killed, and he squeezed the trigger, not wanting to take a second longer than was needed to end this, and he would complete his mission.

Nothing happened, as Janosh realised that something was definitely wrong with the gun. His eyes pulled their focus back from the laughing Rexon Leader to the end of the gun. The green hazy light that illuminated the planet wasn't helping and Janosh wished he had a torch. The little voice at the back of his mind grew, shouting that there was a problem, and started to barge its way through to the front. Janosh turned the gun sideways, very slowly, to get a better view, and he blinked a couple of times as his brain couldn't register what it was seeing.

A bright light suddenly illuminated them both, but Janosh didn't really think about where it was coming from, just that he was grateful that he could clearly see what the problem was with the gun.

Everything slowed as all the sounds and movements became sluggish, as if he was under water. It took a few moments for his brain to work it all out, but then it all clicked into place. The end of the gun was smoking, as if it had been fired, but he knew that hadn't happen. The strange thing was that the part that was smoking was about 15 centimetres closer to his hand than it should have been. That explained why it was lighter, but didn't explain the sticky syrupy feeling he'd also noticed. He looked a little closer at the grip, and saw that it was covered in a brown sticky substance. Another couple of blinks cleared his eyes fully and he traced the flow of the brown goo along his hand to its source, the point where his index and middle finger used to be. The fingers and the gun all ended at the same point, as if all had been severed in a perfect arc.

"You foolish Human." K'nash walked over, still laughing, holding out the Kylapitar he'd found in his desk drawer on his ship. "The limitation of this device is that it only transports anything that sits within its beam. Therefore, when you foolishly reached for the weapon, the ends of your fingers and half the gun went outside that range and you instantly chopped off two of your fingers."

Janosh's reached the same conclusion at the same moment, and on seeing everything, the pain started to flood through his hand, sending it's signals up his arm and finally to his brain. "Aaarrrgghhhhh" he screamed, not only in agony of the loss of his digits, but from the anger he felt at himself for not killing K'nash sooner.

Through the pain, Janosh tried to stand up and attack the Rexon leader, but as he did, he realised that the light that had been upon them was getting lower. He turned to see a small craft hovering only metres above the ground, and as it landed a guard climbed quickly out and ran over to them, his gun raised over his head, ready to swing down and knock the swaying human out.

Janosh tried to focus more clearly on the guard heading towards him, yet he found he was struggling to do so. He closed his eyes hard and threw his head from side to side to clear the deepening fuzziness that was there. Unfortunately, it was as if his brain was in a vat of oil, which now slushed slowly from side to side in his head, making him feel even dizzier. He opened his eyes just as the guard reached him. Janosh couldn't fully see the guard, but as he brought the gun down to bear on his head, Janosh's highly trained skills came to the fore.

He stepped quickly to his left, bending that knee to take him away from the impending blow. Pushing off with his right foot, he spun round in a full 360 arc. This created enough momentum to bring his now beam–like right leg across the front of the Rexon guard, sweeping him off his feet and onto his face, his skeletal nose cracking as it hit the floor. As soon as the guard fell, Janosh pushed up with his left leg, launching into the air like a spinning top. As he came back down towards the felled guard, he placed what was left of his left hand over his right fist, pushed his right elbow out and locked his hands into his chest. Everything was timed perfectly, as the point of the now solidly held elbow, with all of Janosh's mass behind it, met with the back of the guard's neck, snapping it like a dry twig, killing him.

Through the deepening haze he leapt up quickly onto his feet, knowing that there were probably more guards around. He was right, as he saw another 50 or more closing in, all had guns trained on him. As much as he was a trained fighting machine, Janosh also knew when to concede defeat and lowered his hands. His head and shoulders slumped and he blew a blast of air out of his nose, like a bull waiting to charge. Only this beast was going to bide its time.

K'nash held a hand up to the guards to stop them from firing, then walked over to Janosh, clapping. "Most impressive for a human, you may yet become entertaining as well as useful." He commended the Ansolon Security Chief. "It always astounds me that such a small feeble race can also be so clinical, so ruthless, and almost Rexon-like in their actions." He then turned to the nearest two guards. "Take him to the cell, let him cool off in there for a day or two." Janosh watched attentively as a low ranking Rexon officer walked through the crowd of soldiers and over to K'nash, whereby he proceeded to whisper something into the Supreme Commanders ear.

Janosh tried to hear, but as they were whispering in Rexon, it made it very difficult. He'd learnt enough to be able to carry out a basic investigation, but not to have a full conversation. He saw K'nash's eyes light up, he looked at the device in his hand and said one sentence within which Janosh was able to pick out four key words.

Janosh let a faint smile cross his face as he walked away to his cell as he understood the words Kylapitar, children, here and gone.
Chapter 4. The Basics

"So what are we going to do?" Asked Skaler, deciding to sit upright.

"Firstly" Eric started, "We need water, food and shelter." The weekends he'd spent camping with his Dad were becoming very useful.

"Not wanting to be a complete dufus," Tom replied, "But there's a dirty great lake next to us, so I think the water part is sorted." And he smiled at Eric, proud of his involvement.

"Tom, you will always be a dufus to me, as you've just proven." Eric said, partially removing Tom's smile. "But at least you've come up with a positive answer, thanks." This brought a glimmer back to Tom's face.

Eric continued, "There are also fish in the lake, and animals in these woods, as I've seen and heard them through the night." He looked warily at the group, "although some of them are very big."

"What, the fish?" Tom asked.

"No, the animals in the forest." Eric sighed. "Some of them are like bears and leopards, the fire kept them away, so let's be careful."

"I also noticed, last evening whilst I scouted around the area," Ashton added, "some plants that seemed to be like the vegetables and fruits on Ansolon."

"Good, good." Eric said, mulling over the news. "If you and Aisha go and get some fruit and vegetables." He turned to Skaler, "Can you make traps and snares?"

"No problem, I had to do it all the time."

"Great, and Tom and I will build some form of shelter and get more wood for the fire." He looked at the group around him again, and their faces all eagerly beamed back at him, keen to get started. "Right, we all know what to do, so let's get the day going."

As everyone headed off on their various tasks, Eric snorted a quiet laugh, having shown that he was acting as their leader, and seemed to be coping with the tasks so far.

"How about where we're based now?" Asked Tom as they scoured the area for a camp base.

"No can do, buddy, 'cus if the Rexon beam in to the same point, then they'll spot us instantly."

"Fair point well made, my good friend. We'd better move a bit further in then." And Tom set off deeper into the forest, with Eric alongside. They'd walked for about 40 minutes up the mountainside when they came across an opportune find.

"Eric, how about this?" He turned excitedly to his friend.

They'd seen a few potential places on the way up. Small clearings, on relatively flat areas, but they'd carried on, just in case something better was found. Overall, they believed that they'd probably only gone about 2 kilometres away from their overnight camp, but from where Tom now stood looking back down to the lake, the view was spectacular.

Yet, the more impressive advantage to this location was currently behind Tom.

"Piggin' hell, that's brilliant." Eric said as he arrived.

Before him was a cave. The opening was 3 metres tall by 4 metres wide, and even from outside, it looked reasonably deep, as any light was soon engulfed by the inky black depths.

Tom turned round to inspect the cave, "I think she'll make a nice home, once we get the carpets down and some new light fittings in," he joked as he headed for the entrance, "I presume there's an IKEA somewhere round here, and have you seen the state of that bathroom. Who on earth uses brown carpet tiles with a jade suite? Oh and that artex stuff on the ceiling is a devil to get off, but overall I think it's a good fixer-upper prospect, what do you think?"

Eric slowly shook his head and huffed a laugh as he followed Tom into the mouth of the cave, which was partially obscured by bushes.

"This should give us a little cover and protection from the elements and more importantly, any prying eyes" said Eric as he squeezed past the bushes.

"Ow!" cried Tom, as a thorn scratched his arm. "Watch it, you just let that thing spring back at me." He lashed out with his foot, stamping sideways on the bush. The outer branches gave way, and his leg dropped through. His trouser leg caught and the now exposed lower limb was attacked by mor thorns. "OW, OW, OW!" He shouted as he slowly removed his leg from the lattice of spikes.

Tom crouched down to pull his pant leg down and inspect the countless rivulets of blood that now flowed. He set about plucking the thorns out one by one. He removed the first three and stopped, noticing something very interesting. "There's some tracks leading into here."

Eric came back over to inspect. "I never thought about anything else being in here." He said as he looked down at the tracks then back towards the now menacingly dark cave. "Presume it's something about the size of a small dog, a fox maybe, looking at the size of the paw prints."

"Yeah, but what if it's a killer fox." Tom said with a slightly worried tone in his voice. "What if there's a whole pack of them and they're all vicious zombie killer foxes who feed on humans, and that's why there aren't any humans left on this planet." He looked at Eric, "We'll be like a new feast for them and we'll all be killed." Raising his hands to his face in mock horror.

"Or maybe they're quite timid and fluffy and cute foxy-woxes that will keep out of our way." Eric stuck a tongue firmly into his cheek, gave Tom a look of disdain, then looked again at the tracks.

"I prefer mine, being brutally honest." Tom replied.

"There seems to be only a few prints back and forth, so there's probably only one or two."

"Maybe it's a lurve-shack" Tom added, in a silly American voice.

"Typical!" Eric exclaimed, raising his eyes to the skies and puffing a blast of air out of his nostrils.

"What?" Tom said, as he stood up, his hands out to his sides, feigning innocence.

"Typical of you, that's what." Eric replied as he headed into the mouth of the cave. "One minute you're panicking over hordes of rabid beasts, and then in your next breath it's a lurve-shack."

"Gotta go with the flow, man." Tom stood up and followed Eric, swaying his hips from side to side in a Hawaiian style dance.

"And you can pack that stupid dancing thing that you're doing." Eric retorted, even though he was facing away from his friend.

"How do you know I'm doing anything?" Tom asked, still swaying about.

"Because you always do that Hawaiian dance when you've used the word lurve in a sentence." Eric used the time to keep looking into the cave, and focus on letting his eyes adjust to the change in light levels as it went deeper in. He started to make out shapes. "There's more than one cave in here." He said.

Tom was now adding in a few pelvic thrusts and doing a wave action with his hands, oblivious to what was going on ahead of him, and he bumped straight into Eric.

"Oi!" exclaimed Eric, "Watch where you're going will you."

"Sorry, just got a bit carried away." Tom replied. His eyes had also started to adjust. "Wow, lots of caves, can we have one each." And he dashed off down into one. "This one's mine." He said, which echoed off the walls. "Cool, ECHO!" He shouted, listening to the word reverberate around the room. "Eric, you've gotta try this, listen, ECHO!"

"I will, once we've got everyone agreed to the move and we've checked this place thoroughly." Eric replied.

Tom walked back into the entrance area. "Who died and made you King?" He said with a slightly shocked look on his face. "You've become really boring Mate."

Eric looked at his friend, the anger of all the worries that had kept him awake the previous night rising within. "Look, Mate." The name was called out harshly. "It was you who died, you who was then turned into a Zombie, you who stole a Kylapitar, you who came back to Earth, you who gave it me, got me beamed to another planet, where I got mugged, arrested, and sneaked out of prison by the Security chief." He was counting each one on his fingers as he said them, and his voice was rising the more he said. "I then got caught, escaped, was beamed to a starship, found you again, got caught again, imprisoned, lost a new friend, nearly got killed when we beamed to the wrong place, and finally ended up here." He took a couple of breaths. "I then worried all night about what we've done, and how to sort it all out, and have now been seen by everyone as their leader, for whatever reason. And you wonder why I've become boring with all that going on." His chest was heaving from the effort he'd just put in.

"When you put it like that, I suppose it's true." Tom replied. "And you did just make a cool ECHO!" He smiled at his friend, and bowed as he proclaimed. "All hail King Eric."

Eric's hand wiped across his eyes, and started to laugh quietly.

Tom walked over, placed an arm across his best friends shoulders and joined in. "And you'll be a good King."
Chapter 5. Introductions.

Colonel Gordon Kelsall was lost in deep thought. Sitting facing away from his desk he contemplated the orders he'd been given the day before, and the mission that would his staff would have to take. He was now in his mid-50's and had started to know that his tour of duty would soon be nearing its end. Having served his Queen and Country for over 30 years in many varied and well publicised wars, he'd latterly been the head of a special operations team that carried out the most secret of missions, and he was wondering how he'd cope with the quietness of retirement. The world had moved on around him, and he knew that his type of leadership was not going to be needed in the battles that they were about to become embroiled in. He picked an ornate brass watering can up and fed his small collection of plants that stood on the window ledge. Gordon nudged his chair closer to the window, crossing his feet and resting his heels on the top of the old-style roll-topped radiator, placed his hands behind his head and relaxed back into his sumptuous leather chair, as he felt the weariness of how futile his place in the universe actually was. He snorted a small ironic chuckle and then sighed at the drizzle that smeared the colours from his wonderful view of the distant Lakeland Mountains, standing proudly on the far side of Morecambe Bay. The power and glory of Mother Nature's handiwork seemed so far removed from his office, within the green painted portakabins which sat on the top edge of the secret installation in a disused quarry near Nether Kellet. The base was used by the British arm of an elite force of worldwide Military Intelligence, which had been created by the G8 World Leaders. Gordon commanded the MI9 force, created to defend Earth from other world attacks.

His intercom squawk box crackled into life "Major Jackson's here now, sir." His mental wanderings were broken as he brought his feet down off the radiator and spun himself round in one fluid movement to face his desk. The strong and determined Commander of the Earth Defence Global Environmental Security reached across his regimented desk and pressed the call button "Thank you Kerry, can you send him straight in please." He let go of the button, relaxed back into his very comfortable chair, pushed his current woes to one side and planted a carefree smile on his face.

There door was given a quick double tap before it opened.

"Ian, welcome." Colonel Kelsall greeted the tall wiry man who entered his office in his nasally middle England accent. He waved an arm at the vacant leather chair on the far side of his desk. "Have a seat and let's get this party started."

"Thank you sir." Major Ian Jackson responded formally.

"Gordon please, there's no time in this plan for being too formal, as you well know." He smiled at his best officer. "And when you're on whatever ground you're going to, you will need to blend in and be a neat cohesive team."

"Thank you, Gordon." He replied without any hesitation as he sat down, placing the stack of folders carefully on the desk between them.

"So, who have you picked?" Gordon asked, a knowing eyebrow rose as he waited for the answer.

"If we're being so informal, and without using rank...." He shuffled the 10cm stack of folders, splitting them into two piles with the dexterity of a dealer in a Las Vegas Casino. "Then to start with, those are not required." He slapped his hand down on the larger pack that he'd placed to his left.

"OK." Gordon eyed the larger pile inquisitively. "Any surprises left in there?"

Ian rolled his eyes around the top cover, knowing who was in that pile. "All very good guys, but they're not good enough, not for this mission." He thoughtfully bit his tongue, doing a final mental check of everyone.

"Fine." Gordon replied. "So, who have you brought in?"

"Firstly, Lanky."

"No surprises there then."

"Good at the details, fast response, good organiser." Ian picked up the top folder and placed it to his right as he spoke. "He's going to be my right hand man in this one."

Gordon nodded, knowing Captain Lancaster's many accolades and exploits. The wry Yorkshire-man was a good and safe pair of hands on any type of mission. In very good physical shape for a man who had just crept into his 40's, his uniquely cropped hair raised many quips from his underlings.

"Next, Brock & Dicko." Two files swapped across. "No need to explain why." Ian smiled.

Gordon shook his head in agreement to not needing an explanation, knowing that Ian's two lieutenants would have been the first on the list. Brock was a hardened grafter. His skills at close hand combat were unrivalled as his other nickname was Dan-Dan, borne from the time when he was only a 2nd Dan in Karate. Brock had continued his studies and added 2 more Dan's to his black belt collection, with newer recruits adding the nickname of Dan-four to his collection.

Most who ever came across Dicko out of her uniform would easily be drawn to a very attractive mid 30's true lady. Those who had worn a uniform alongside her knew that she was a true career soldier. Born into a very wealthy family, she had spent her youth in private education, holidaying on Cruise ships and in the family villa in Provence, France. At the age of 18 she got the chance to rebel against her privileged but strict upbringing, by joining the British Army. The irony within her choice being the strict control and regimented discipline was something she reveled in. What she gained was a tight buzz cut, chopping off her long flowing blonde hair, that had been brushed for many hours by her mother, Dicko also learnt that her aloof upbringing, had given her the skills to be a cool-headed sniper.

There had been very few missions where they hadn't all been together as a team. In actual fact the only one that Gordon could currently think of was the most recent one, where Ian and Lanky had been assigned to keep a careful eye on Eric Peterson. Brock and Dicko had been sent to other teams for specialist missions, yet Gordon knew they would be pleased to be back together, once more.

"I'd also like to borrow Cock-up, erm sorry Cockburn from Development to work directly in the field for once, rather than be a shared resource." Ian held the folder up while he waited for an answer.

Gordon mulled it over for a second. He knew the Sergeant in question was a useful chap. Ingenious and knowledgeable in breaking down very complex problems, digging through reams of raw data, understanding foreign languages and thus creating simplicity for the remaining team to work within. It was Cockburn who had finally deciphered some of the symbols and subsequently the functionality of a device that they'd been investigating for some time. His normal reaction in this case would be to block a move for "Cock-up" Cockburn, but he also knew of the need within this mission. He regretfully & slowly nodded his agreement. "OK, I'll get him to hand over any assignments to Zydenoweicz; he's capable enough for short term back-up."

Before Ian dropped the file down and moved onto the next one he tilted his head to one side and asked "Sure?" He wanted the Colonel to be 120% certain on this one as he knew that Sergeant Cockburn was well respected by all who'd worked with him, and his qualities within the hole base, not just out on individual missions.

"Yes." He answered, nodding. "I'll pull him onto the equipment full time with immediate effect, so he can get fully up to speed on it all." He watched Ian drop the file down before he asked, "Next?"

"Private Grape, he's a little whippet, very useful as a scout."

"And finally?" Gordon asked knowing how many Ian usually took on this type of assignment.

"I have the two you suggested from outside the regiment." He split the last pair of files and flipped the top covers back. He'd studied the details within many times, but knew the words lacked the personality and more importantly the trust you only got from working with someone.

"Colonel Harvie has worked with an associate of these and finds them very thorough."

"But they're mercenaries." Ian countered, knowing the problems associated with hired guns.

"Specialists within their field." Gordon retaliated, knowing he had to defend his decision to bring them in. "We've lost our explosives expert, and don't have time to bring anyone else in at such short notice. CT has vast experience as he comes direct from the customer, and they've been our prime sub contractor on the investigation of the Rexon explosives you managed to get your hands on." He gave Ian a very determined look. "So, he's in."

Ian merely nodded and closed the first file.

"And Finchy is former military, admittedly Navy," The last work spoken by any branch of the armed forces when mentioning the others. "Although he will be useful if you guys find anything wetter than mud." He smiled at his army colleague. "He's also a top marksman and a specialist in..." He thought of the right word carefully, "negotiations."

"By negotiations, I assume you mean interrogation?" Ian asked knowingly.

"A very good negotiator with both friend and foe." Gordon clarified the statement with a broad smile.

"OK". Ian replied, stacking the closed folders back up.

"Get the request into Kerry...."

"Already done." Ian broke in.

Gordon snorted another laugh. "You never change. How did you know that I wouldn't refuse anyone?"

"Cus they're my choice, in the main." Ian glanced back at the folders. "So they're my responsibility."

"Good." Gordon's face became stern once more as he stated his usual speech to all of his teams. "Get everything prepared, get them briefed and then go get out there. And when out there, find friends, find artefacts, find weapons, complete the mission, and if you meet the enemy, cause chaos."

"And maybe I'll find a spare moment to find out what happened to Simon Peterson's lad." Ian replied, through a wry smile.

"Insolence has no place in the British army, soldier." Gordon reprimanded through a beaming grin.

"It's a good thing that we're with the Military Intelligence." Ian stood up & saluted his superior officer. "Sir."
Chapter 6. Chitty-chat Time.

"Tell me who you're leader is." K'nash asked patiently whilst sat in the relatively cool shady corner of the room as he interrogated Janosh.

"Bert Stinkybum." Janosh replied, stifling a short laugh, but then had to lower his head to spit out a glob of blood that had pooled in the back of his throat. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was so dry that he couldn't.

He'd suffered a thorough pounding at the hands of the Rexon guards for over 5 hours before K'nash appeared to interrogate him. That had been an hour earlier, when the routine went from question to stupid question back to beating.

Yet through all that, Janosh still dug deep within his very soul to defiantly raise his head back up once more as he managed to put a smile on his face, which was still discernable even amidst all the cuts and bruises that had been given him with a great deal of pleasure in the last few hours by the Rexon guards who were helping K'nash.

"Leave him for now we'll let the suns weaken his resolve." K'nash said to the guards who stood over Janosh, their blood splattered fists balled and awaiting their next order.

The more senior interrogator spat on the back of Janosh's head as he walked past and then followed his leader out of the room; the other merely retreated to the shade to make sure the prisoner stayed where he was.

Janosh rolled onto his back splaying his arms and legs out to bathe in the blistering sunshine that poured into the open roofed, 3 metre high walled cell he was being contained within. He protectively closed his eyes and then let his mind wander back over the events of the last few hours since he'd arrived on this planet inside K'nash's Kylapitar beam. It had been a green hazy twilight, but he didn't know if that was the evening or the morning. He remembered dropping the gun and having one last look around at all the guards, trying his best to stand up, just before he became too weak and passed out. He presumed the effort from his final attack and the loss of blood from the severed fingers had taken the last of his strength,.

He awoke some time later, how long he didn't know, but there was more daylight. He had no clue as to the time, or even the day, as he didn't know how long he'd passed out for. He found that he was sat on a hard chair under the sun in this pen, with its open roof. At the time he found it very strange. His hand had been simply bandaged which was enough to basically slow down the loss of blood, not stop it. He remembered raising it up, using what little strength he had and looked at it being coloured a deep crimson as the blood seeped into it. He sighed and it flopped back down to his side, banging against the chair, making him wince

The cool green sky he'd first seen when they'd arrived had finally given way to a series of 3 suns, each more intensive than the other. K'nash had warned him, as the first one hit the ground in the cell, that it could eventually reach 140 degrees, and that the forecast was for a very clear and sunny day. He also added, that Janosh should be grateful that this was still the middle of winter, and even though they were having a run of clear days, the full strength of the suns would not be felt for another 16 months, when Summer finally arrived on Scarx and took the mid day temperature to past 200 degrees.

Janosh had been used to a maximum of about 120 degrees, as he'd completed his survival training on Feiryeon, the nearest planet to the Sun in his Galaxy. That was a barren, inhospitable desert planet, with very little indigenous life, but it was perfect as a military training base. He'd survived one month of the sweltering heat on Feiryeon, having been dropped there with no means of shelter, carrying no food and limited water.

As he rolled his head back to feel the warmth of the current mid-morning sun on Scarx, he assumed that it was already getting somewhere near that limit, and he was starting to feel it bite into his cuts, making his skin instantly blister. Although, for now, he was more than capable of letting it just be a tiny amount above bearable.

Overall he was pleased with everything, even within his current predicament, and after weighing everything up Janosh started to laugh as heartedly as he could.
Chapter 7. New Friends.

"Right." Eric said, composing himself. "Let's start with the left hand one, and then we can systematically work our way round them all."

"Isn't it going get a teeny bit dark in there?" Tom asked.

"That's true, I'd never though of that," He thought for a second. "We need some sort of torch." Eric looked around the cave. "Do you still have the lighter Skaler gave you this morning?"

"Yip," Tom replied in a daft voice as he retrieved it from his pocket. He watched Eric pick up a small branch, and then he ripped his sleeve off his shirt and wrapped it round the end.

Eric held the simple torch at Tom, "Should last a couple of minutes."

Tom lit the end, and both were quite pleased to see the room grow a lot brighter.

"Let's not stray too far into each one, just incase it goes out and we have to find our way back here." Eric then tried to add a comforting smile to help fend off his dark thoughts of what they may find within.

They both headed off into the left hand cave.

They'd only gone round a bend, about 2 metres from the main room, when the cave came to a dead end.

"Short and Sweet." Tom said, "This might not take as long as we'd thought if they're all like this.

They turned and headed back out to the central area. "Although it's seems like its big enough to be a bedroom, if we do move in here." Eric tried to add a positively slant on their slightly pessimistic findings.

The second cave went on a little further, although they had to squeeze through a tighter gap, before it opened out into a bigger room. "Nice size. It would make a nice lurve nest." Tom noted, and he wobbled his eyebrows up and down knowingly, which complemented his smutty grin and wolf whistles.

"And it wouldn't be seen from the entrance, making it a safer prospect." Eric added, once again being practical despite Tom's continuing light heartedness.

"There are also more caves off here." Tom said as he stuck his head into one of them. "This one is really tall, with a small hole in the roof to the outside."

Eric looked inside. "That would make a good kitchen area, as that would be a natural chimney."

Tom returned to the main room and looked around at the 4 other small caves off, in the flickering light from the torch. "Is it hot in here or what?" he asked Eric as he slowly turned around. Eric hadn't heard and Tom didn't wait for an answer as he wiped his brow with his sleeve. It was then that he noticed something strange that took his mind off the rising temperature, and he headed towards the cave that was diagonally opposite from the one Eric was inspecting to see if it could be used as their kitchen area. As Tom neared, his suspicions were realised. "Eric, there's some light coming from this cave." He called back across to him.

Eric came across joining his friend, "This looks interesting."

They both walked cautiously in and after a few metres came around a corner, back into the main cave.

"Ah, that's why there's light coming in, because it's another way into that second cave." Tom said nervously. "And you wouldn't have to squeeze through that tiny gap if we came in this way either."

Eric wasn't really listening, and just nodded at Tom. "So that's the second and fourth caves which lead into the better caves behind." He looked at the torch which seemed to be two thirds spent, "We won't go into the third one, as that's probably a dead end."

Tom looked at him enquiringly.

Eric answered his thoughts. "The third one is in between the two routes into the better caves behind here, and we didn't see it on the other side. Also, the torch is going out."

Tom nodded in agreement. "So, let's see what's in cave No.5." He added in an American quiz-show voice. He walked over to the cave and held his hand out. "Eric Peterson, come on in...."

Eric walked past his friend into this last dark cave, shaking his head in bemused sufferance to his friend's antics. As they entered, they both noticed that this one seemed longer than the others, and they walked for at least a minute along a very long and slightly sloping passage before they saw anything of interest.

Eric stopped suddenly, holding his hand across Tom's path to halt his progress.

Tom walked into the outstretched arm. "Oomph." He said as the air was knocked out of him. "What's that..."

"Shhh!" Eric whispered, holding a finger over his mouth.

"For?" Tom finished his sentence in a whispered voice.

Eric waggled his finger in front of Tom's eyes, and with Tom carefully watching its progress, he moved it away and pointed it to the far side of a larger room, they'd entered.

As the light from their torch flickered around this cave, they could make out some shapes cowering in a corner.

"They look more like foxes than rabid dogs." Eric whispered to his friend.

Pushing back against the far side of the cave was one large fox, and four smaller ones, a couple of which were hissing and snarling, baring their teeth at the two boys.

"Aw, aren't they cute little things." Tom replied in a hushed voice.

"They look a little frightened; it would be better if we backed out slowly and left them alone."

"Yip." Tom started to back up, keeping his eyes firmly locked on the family of foxes.

"If we use the back caves, down tunnels 2 and 4, then we probably won't disturb these too much."

"Bat caves? What like Batman?" Tom added, his eyes excited as they left the caves and were greeted by bright and warm sunshine.

"No, you lemon, back, b-a-c-k not bat." Eric knew that Tom was being his usual silly self, and was very grateful for it, as it kept him level headed an was a break from the serious task of being the team's leader. "Let's get back down the mountain side and get the others moved up here as soon as possible."
Chapter 8. Just a Quick Hi.

"Ah Commander, I believe that you have that report for me now?" K'nash questioned the officer as he came into what had been his office only 9 hours before. He wasn't pleased that he had also been removed from his quarters, and was now 'bunking' up with the lower ranks. Unfortunately, K'nash was a higher rank, by far, and even with his connections within the Rexon Council, Commander Prant would have to give way, for now. He had his own questions to ask about the Rexon Supreme Commanders sudden appearance with an injured Human, but they would also have to wait, for now.

"Yes, Supreme Commander K'nash," Prant spoke in a more hushed, yet still distinctive gravelly voice of the Rexon race. He was slightly smaller than most of his people, but his intelligence had helped him get to where he was today, as the Commander of a Rexon outpost on the planet Scarx. He'd also seen where his intelligence had held him back, in the eyes of his superiors. This occurred on the occasions when he'd seen the dangers of an assault, knowing it was a human trap, and had held back his troops, over-riding a direct order. This had caused him to be dealt with in the usual brutal Rexon way, but it had probably saved many lives, this he thought was a reasonable offset to the beatings he'd received. He knew his time would be coming, and that the old guard, including the leader currently sat in his chair, would soon be removed. "As my junior officers and troops had seen, just before you appeared, another bubble had brought some others, humanoids mainly, and before we could apprehend them, they left."

"Humanoids, mainly?" K'nash questioned the words.

"Yes, sir. Captain Gorn had seen the bubble arrive, immediately alerted the base, and leapt into a hover-ship. By the time it took the lights from towers three and four to be brought round, he was over the fence and heading for them. The report clearly states that he clearly saw three young human males, one young human female and a much smaller and older looking bird-like humanoid."

"Mmmmm!" K'nash raised his eyes to the ceiling and sat back in his chair. He brought his hands up to his chest, and placed the palms together, as if he was about to pray.

"I presume that they also have a Kylapitar, Sir." Prant added his own assumptions.

K'nash's eyes snapped back onto Prant. "Eklan, the fool." He said quietly.

Yet he hadn't said it quiet enough, as Prant had heard the named Commander before. Without giving too much away, Prant asked, "Sorry, sir, did you say something?" He wanted to learn more before he reported this to the Marshall-General. He had a suspicion that all was not too rosy in K'nash's garden, and the Supreme Commander may not be as liberal with all of the truth when he reported back up the ranks. Whereas Prant was going to find out the full truth and he always did find out using his own methods, and make sure that the archaic tyrant that was sat in his chair, at his desk, was removed from power. K'nash hadn't answered his last question, and Prant hadn't expected him to. "Am I dismissed sir?" he asked clearly, as he wanted to be away from here to start his own personal investigation.

K'nash snapped out of his deep thoughts. "What? Oh yes, yes, you're dismissed. Go!" He waved a hand to usher him out of the office.

Before Prant had closed the door, K'nash had spun round on the chair to look out of the window behind him. From where he sat, high up on the top of the central barracks, there was a commanding view of the area to the south of the camp. Even though he could probably see over twenty kilometres into the distance of the scorched, desolated and barren planet of Scarx, his mind was many millions of kilometres away, searching through the memories and wreckage of his decimated ship.

The sun on Scarx was beating down, bleaching the colours out of everything, a total contrast to what it had been like 9 hours earlier when he'd arrived. His mind drifted back, and to the moments before it had all been lost. He remembered being in his office with Janosh, and he'd shown him his screen on his desk, and that the human collaborators had been captured. It had been four humans and a Hawcon. How could they have escaped from the cell, and got off the ship with a Kylapitar? He questioned himself, trying to come up with any sort of answer.
Chapter 9. A Man And a Van.

By the time the boys got back to their overnight camp by the edge of the lake, the others were already preparing everything for their lunch.

"Great news." Eric said. "We've found a very nice sized cave up the mountain side."

"Safe and secure?" asked Ashton.

"There's a series of other caves, some interconnecting, but a couple lead to a rear cave, and well..." Eric could see that they were struggling to understand his explanation of the layout. So he turned to Ashton first. "Yes, they're safe and secure, and it will be easier showing you all after lunch." He looked up at Ashton, Aisha and Skaler, "So what's for lunch?"

"We'll for entree," Aisha said, looking coyly at Skaler, who was beaming broadly. "Ashton and I found these plants, which Ashton tasted and agreed that they are what they look like, lettuce and tomatoes."

"What if they're poisonous?" Eric asked, a look of shock on his face that someone as wise as Ashton would even consider eating something that could be potentially lethal.

"Don't worry my dear friend, as I have the constitution of a Kaber beast."

Eric didn't have a clue what one of those was, but presumed that it be something big and menacing, just from the sound of its name. "That's all well and good for you, but how do we know if that's OK for us to eat?"

"Ah well, my digestive system is very selective. If there was any trace of a poison within the food, I would regurgitate it within seconds."

"So you'd throw it back up?" Tom added, a nauseous look on his face, and his hands shot to his stomach. "After hearing that I don't think I'm that hungry now."

Eric gave a harsh look at Tom. "So, I presume we've had a few minutes of waiting and can accept that the food is ok?"

"Yes, it's safe." Aisha added. "And delicious." She raised her eyebrows at Eric, knowing what look she was about to get from him. "Well, I was famished, and it's been known for many thousands of years that the Hawcon have been exploited by my ancestors as a means of detecting any foul play to any food of the Royal family." She turned to Ashton, "And even though it hasn't happened for probably 300 years, I still feel like I should apologise to you."

"There is no need, Princess, as it was always an honour to be given such a role within our people."

"Anyway, thanks for the history lesson, but why are you smiling so much?" Tom asked Skaler, who sat beaming quietly .

"That's because I managed to bag a few fish." And he held up a twine which had 6 fish dangling from it.

"They look like trout and nice sized ones as well." Eric was looking longingly at the fish, his stomach starting to rumble a bit more, compared to the lettuce and tomatoes he'd just been offered.

"And I snared this." Skaler put the fish down, then got up and went round the back of a large tree behind him. He walked back with an animal trotting along on a makeshift lead. "What about that for a first catch?" He asked of the group.

Ashton and Aisha were also beaming, as they'd been in on the rouse, and now all turned back to Eric and Tom, who to their surprise stood there drop jawed with looks of horror on their faces.

"We can't eat that?" Eric said, at which point the animal trotting quite amicably behind Skaler stopped and tilted its head to one side and looked at Eric. He couldn't be sure, but he felt as if the animal understood what he was saying.

"Why not?" Aisha added. "We've got a nice fire going, and it's fairly meaty, enough to keep us going for a couple of days."

Eric looked at the intrigued animal, and he got up and walked over to Skaler and started to untie the knots on the lead.

"Hey, what are you doing, that's lunch, and tea, at least." He started to push Eric off, but Tom had also joined in and grabbed hold of Skaler.

"We can't because in the caves I just mentioned I think we found his wife and kids."

Skaler carried on struggling. "But we might not find another animal like that for days."

Eric had untied the fox-type animal and was surprised that it didn't run away. He knelt down and stroked his head. "Sorry for that, go and see the family." He watched in amazement as the fox looked at him and pulled its lips back. He could clearly see that this wasn't being done to bare the teeth in an aggressive way, it was a smile. Eric was shocked at what he was seeing, and it took a moment before he smiled back.

The fox bowed its head slightly before it ran off into the forest, heading straight for the cave.

Skaler had stopped struggling and shoved Tom away as he released him. "Well done, Mate, you've just probably condemned us to starve." He trudged over to a log on the far side of the fire and slumped down onto it, his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

Aisha got up and walked over to Skaler and put an arm around him, which he shrugged off angrily as he grunted at her. "Unfortunately, I have to agree with Eric and Tom that we can't break up a family." She returned the arm around his shoulders again, and he slumped down even more. "We've still got the fish." She added, hopefully.

"Yeah, and what about their families, or are they not cute enough for you?" Skaler fired the accusation across the makeshift camp.

Eric wasn't listening, as he was still amazed at how the fox had reacted to his actions. It really was if it had understood him.

Tom saw that Eric was elsewhere in thought. "There's probably tons of fish in the lake, and Eric said that there were loads of animals wandering through the forest at night, so we must be able to catch those." His eyes pleaded for leniency from Skaler. "Let's have the fish for lunch, get moved into the caves, then I'll help you set some more traps set up?" Tom asked, but glanced at Eric who was still deep in thought.

Skaler's anger started to subside as he started to see the other side of the argument.. He let out a huge sigh. "OK, but can we have something to eat, I'm starving?"

"Right, let's get this fish cooked, and have some of that delicious salad." Tom added enthusiastically, rubbing his belly.

Ashton had noticed Eric's change and decided to have a quiet word with him after their meal.
Chapter 10. Filling the Gaps

Ian Jackson went through all the reports he'd filed recently about his mission which included keeping a close watch on Eric at his school and home. He then went through the ones Sergeant Cockburn had completed on the understandings of the device he'd used a couple of times previously.

There were huge gaps in the timeline and facts, and he needed some answers. Nudging his mouse so his computer screen came back to life, he typed in the search field the simple words "First Contact". The hard disk light flashed a few times as the program searched through their vast repository of electronic files. A small series of bars walked across the bottom of his screen, showing that he was making progress, or was it just a means to distract the person waiting, he thought to himself. Ian wondered if the job of espionage was making him more cynical in his everyday thoughts. Were all people to be distrusted, did he always have to look for the truth between the lines, or even worse, the truth that was hidden? He snorted a laugh as the bars slowed; knowing that he was always too trusting and always accepted the information he was being given, unless, as in this case, it then didn't stack up. Suddenly, the screen changed and flashed up a light green background which was rapidly populated with titles and fields. He quickly cast his eyes over this database front screen and smiled as he saw Sergeant Cockburn's name in the bottom right hand corner. He knew that this had been one of his many ad-hoc creations which made the job a little easier, a simple workaround to gather the data into one place making it user friendly.

The database finished updating and he was now looking at a list of files that had the correct search term listed in the sub title. Ian knew that this was the best place to search as most people gave the main title various abstract mission names. The sub title contained more information about what had happened, and that's where most people would state that they'd had first contact with an alien race.

He took a swig of the steaming black coffee that he'd just made and clicked on the top file.

After reading a few files he came up with the same conclusion. The Rexon had been here on Earth before. He'd seen 2 reports from investigations carried out in the U.S., one from China, and 3 from the UK. He'd been involved in two of those encounters, so didn't need to read any further, but the third one intrigued him.

This was the first time the British had had any dealings with the Rexon. A location had been found in Antarctica where the Rexon landed and took up camp. A small British scientific team, searching for mineral deposits had found their ship quite by accident. They'd investigated it, and as it was empty they'd assumed it had crash landed and the occupants had died outside, probably now covered in snow and ice. Realising the enormity of their find, they initially decided to salvage items off it to investigate back at their base 40 kilometres away. Once back on base, they'd send back the appropriate equipment to extract the whole ship to a safe location.

What they didn't realise was that the Rexon crew had merely been away investigating a nearby US Scientific expedition team, and upon returning simply followed the very clear trails that had been left by the British snow vehicle all the way back to their base. Upon arrival at the British camp, they destroyed the whole base, killing all who were there, with no effort by the Rexon to make it look like an accident.

So how was this report completed? Ian asked himself. He turned the page to reveal the answer. Sergeant Cockburn had been part of that British Scientific Team, helping them correlate the data that they were gathering. Unfortunately he'd broken his leg falling out of the snow tractor upon their return. Ian giggled at the thought.

He'd broken both his tibia and fibula, with the upper shard splitting the skin on the top of his thigh. The British facility didn't have the ability to deal with such an emergency, and the rest of the team very quickly and easily decided to call in the help of their US neighbours. A rescue helicopter had been sent and had only just airlifted him away from the area when the Rexon had arrived and destroyed the camp.

The shock waves from the explosion could be felt in the US camp and a medical & rescue team was immediately sent back. Upon arrival at the British camp, they could clearly see the devastation that had occurred. They all said how lucky Cockburn had been in not being at the camp when it had exploded, stating that it looked like an accident.

Sergeant Cockburn didn't believe in luck, although he was pleased that he'd kept his coat with him, for within the pockets he had a couple of items he'd found and taken away from the Rexon ship.

"Well done Cock-up." Ian quietly commended the Sergeant for his fortune and ingenuity.
Chapter 11. Fried and Tested.

The door slammed back against the wall of the cell as K'nash stormed in. The fire in his eyes was as intense as the heat from the 3 suns that were now bearing their full force down onto Janosh's badly sunburnt and blistered body that lay flat-out in the centre of the cell. The Ansolonian Security Chief rolled his head over to face the seething Rexon leader. "Have you any factor 50 sun lotion as I might be starting to burn a touch." And he started to laugh.

K'nash stormed the short distance across the cell, and kicked Janosh's head as hard as he could. "CLARFEN" he shouted as the boot impacted with Janosh's skull.

Janosh hadn't seen the attack coming. Having had to squint for hours as the suns intensity grew through the day, his eyelids blistered until they'd finally closed. The kick hadn't knocked him out, and he rolled his head back round and spat out some more blood. In a very dry and croaky voice he asked, "Just one thing."

K'nash had been about to strike once more, but stopped and leant forward, believing that maybe the Ansolon Security Chief had finally cracked. "What?"

Janosh tried licking his sore lips, but his mouth was so dry from the heat, that all it did was make him use his tongue as a rough file, stripping another layer of skin off. He winced at the pain before chortling a small laugh at the absurdity and futility of his predicament. "Oh, and I might need a touch of after-sun lotion this evening." And he started to laugh again.

Janosh knew that it would infuriate the Rexon leader, but it was worth it as K'nash rained blow after blow on his head and body with his fists. All the time screaming the word 'CLARFEN', which Janosh assumed was some derogatory term.

He managed to keep laughing through all this, hoping that he would drive K'nash to the point of killing Janosh. This may have seemed ridiculous to many, but it was based off practical and military strategy. If Janosh was dead, he couldn't give them any secrets, and he'd not have to endore any more days of unbearable heat and torture.

K'nash's rage grew, and he knelt down next to his prisoner, punching him repeatedly about his head. Janosh heard two of his ribs being broken during the onslaught. He knew why K'nash was taking all his rage out on him; Eric and the others were safe somewhere else.

Janosh was still able to laugh through the attack; right up until a massive blow across the temple knocked him unconscious. His suspicions, and probably more his hopes, had now been confirmed. He now knew that K'nash didn't have them, and didn't know where they'd gone to.

The door crashed open once more, and two guards raced over and dragged the Supreme Commander off the prisoner. It had taken a while for the news to get through to Prant, who immediately raced through the complex to stop his superior. The guards never questioned Prant's orders, even with the difference in rank, as they were loyal to the Commander.

K'nash threw them both off. Seething with rage, he scoured the cool dark shadows at the edge of the room for the instigator. "Where are you, weak fool?"

Prant stepped forward into the blazing heat of the suns, walked over to Janosh, knelt down and checked his pulse. "An unconscious prisoner will talk again, but a dead one never talks." Is all he said as he stood up and faced his Leader.

K'nash balled his fists up once again, the skin stretching tautly over the multi-coloured knuckles, as Janosh's blood swam alongside the grey Rexon blood which flowed from the cuts across K'nash's hands. He raised his fists up into the air, and as a low rumbling growl grew frm the pit of his stomach, the Supreme Commander rolled his head back and let out a blood curdling scream, which all could hear within the camp. Even the most battle hardened soldiers instinctively flinched when they heard it, as it was such a spine chilling sound, which to Eric would have sounded like a t-rex about to attack.

K'nash finally lowered the volume and his head, and his eyes bore hatred into Prant.

The Commander waited, standing firm on his decision to keep the prisoner alive, even though a little part of him had seen this opportunity to simply rile his Leader. He needed to know what had truly happened with his ship, and why he had been so angered at this prisoner. He'd gleaned from his intelligence network that K'nash's ship had been blown up, but who were these humans that had beamed in and out just before he'd arrived? The answer to that question was still very elusive. Therefore, Prant had decided to keep a close watch on the Rexon Leader, wanting to be there when he exploded, so that he could get him into a position where he would find out the truth. It was a risky strategy, which could lose him his own life, never mind his command, but the truth was always more important to Prant.

K'nash's chest heaved with rage, sucking in huge mouthfuls of the searing hot air, keeping his own temperature at boiling point. He stormed towards Prant, smashing a shoulder into his chest as he marched past. "My Office, NOW!" And blazed out of the interrogation cell.

Prant had known that K'nash would charge him down, and he'd let himself go a little limp to make it look more dramatic for the guards. He also knew that given a fair chance, which would never be allowed under Rexon military laws, Prant would easily have beaten his Leader. K'nash may have had size, weight, and strength on his side, but Prant had youth, agility and had studied human fighting tactics and methods. He was intrigued after a human beat one of his soldiers, in awe that such a race which was smaller and more feeble than he could kill a powerful Rexon soldier. He practiced those skills with some of his most trusted soldiers, and had become quite proficient, and as such didn't need to use the Rexon methods of ugly brute force, merely thumping and crushing a victim to death. Prant was far more skilled and had beaten his finest soldiers in hand to hand combat.

Yet, the Rexon always relied on their advantages, and so to let K'nash believe that he was in charge was important to the Supreme Commander. Prant dusted himself down a little, and then followed K'nash back to his office.
Chapter 12. Tom, Dick and Harry.

It had taken the whole of the afternoon for Eric and the rest of his troupe to move everything up the mountain and into their new camp in the caves, as they'd managed to collect a sizeable amount of firewood and fish. Upon arrival, Tom had gleefully given them the grand tour, as far as they could for now, and he told them all which cave to not go down, as that had the foxes in there. They decided to keep the initial entrance cave clear, as this would help keep their hiding place a little more secret, but would also allow the foxes to move in and out with limited disruption.

Eric decided that he'd love to check on their progress, and after eating an evening meal of fish and salad items Aisha and Ashton had found, he crept quietly and carefully down their cave. He hoped that Eric and his friend's intrusion into their caves wouldn't disturb them too much, and force them to move out, as he felt a hopeful comfort to know that there were other families in there, even if they weren't human.

He inched around the corner to peek at them, not wanting to frighten them. The light from the flaming torch he carried lit their eyes, making them sparkle in the darkness. "Wow, so it was your family then." He whispered as his suspicions down by the lakeside had been correct. The ones in the caves had been the mother and her children, and they were all nicely snuggled together at the far side of the cave. The mother opened one eye to see who it was, then closed it again. The father, he presumed by the larger size, was sat grooming. He stopped and looked straight at Eric and this time he was positive that he saw the animal actually smile at him. He blinked a couple of times to make sure, and wondered if it was the flickering light from the torch, yet as he looked more intently at the fox, it definitely had a smile on its face.

"Sorry for earlier, my friend didn't understand." Eric said quietly to them. He knew they didn't speak English, but he had the strangest feeling they understood him. "I hope that we haven't disturbed you by moving in next door, and we'll do our best to keep out of your way." The fox tilted his head to one side, as if he hadn't fully got his meaning. For some very strange reason, that Eric couldn't explain, he decided to elaborate; even though he was talking to a fox. "I promise that we'll not come down here again, and we shall leave you in peace; so you probably won't see us again." At that point, Eric was shocked to see the smile replaced with a look of sadness on the face of the animal. He closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side, to help clear his head, as he wondered if something was making him hallucinate.

A low hissing sound came from the fox, and its head bounced up and down, one paw covering its mouth.

Eric opened his eyes again, wondering what he'd done. It took a couple of seconds for him to realise that his actions of trying to clear his head had been amusing to the fox, and it appeared to be laughing. Eric stepped back, stumbled and fell over, landing on his bum.

The fox looked at Eric, then at his family, who had all woken up to watch. All of them started to make the hissing noise, only this time it was louder. Two of the smaller ones rolled around the floor of the cave, the mother buried her head into her paws and the father was laughing so hard it had it was clearly wiping tears from its eyes.

"Wow, you understand what I'm saying and doing don't you?" Eric asked.

The fox's laugh eased a little and nodded at him.

"OK, I'll, erm..." He was so shocked, and struggled to understand this new information. "I'll be going then, bye." He stood up, dusted himself off, and waved.

Eric had his final shock, as he watched the Father wave a paw back at him.

He headed slowly back to the entrance cave, still very unsure of what he had seen, wondering if he'd imagined it. As he got to the end of the cave Skaler was waiting for him, leaning against the wall, chewing on a blade of grass.

"So I presume the family is nice and safe?" a tinge of anger clearly sounding in his voice.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we have to respect the local wildlife, as much as we can." Eric wondered again if his imagination had been playing with him, or if he had wanted to see something there. "I can't just kill something like that."

"Well I could have done it, and have done so on many occasions." He glanced at Eric. "And so will you when the food sources have dried up for a few days." At this point Skaler snorted and stormed into the back cave, never noticing Ashton coming out, who had to swerve in mid-flight to keep out of his path, his right wing catching the wall of the narrow entrance to their new camp.

"Skaler, would you mind watching where you are walking?" The Hawcon shouted.

Skaler never even heard him as his thoughts were elsewhere, still arguing with Eric in his own mind.

"Insolent youth." Ashton said to himself as he steadied himself, remembering where he was heading. "Ah, Eric, may I have a quiet word with you outside?" He asked as he flew towards him.

"Yes, what about?" Eric was puzzled by this and could sense that something was wrong.

"I'd rather we were out of earshot first, if you don't mind." And he motioned with his eyes back into the caves, highlighting that it was something that he wanted to keep quiet from the others.

Eric was now very intrigued, wondering if someone had upset Ashton, but he knew that Ashton was only going to tell him once he'd gone outside, so had to follow the Hawcon leader, who led him a short distance further up the mountainside, back into the trees. He wondered if this was to make Ashton feel more like he was at home on Ansolon, or if they would provide more shelter from any prying ears. They'd not spoken along the short journey, and as Eric stood before Ashton, he was quite anxious to hear what he had to say.

"Last night when I did a quick check around the immediate vicinity for any other sentient beings," Ashton started. "I only sensed the woodland animals, which would equate to the ones you saw during the night."

"OK." Eric added, just to show that he was definitely listening, but had the weirdest feeling that he wasn't going to like what Ashton was about to say.

"Yet, I feel as though I have failed you, as I must have missed something." His head bowed a little in shame.

"Missed something?" Eric repeated. "Like what?"

"It's a little strange, as it's not always there, and on a more sublime level." Ashton tried to explain.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand." Eric was trying his hardest to work out what that meant, screwing his face with the effort.

"I apologise, as it's hard to relate how our powers work." Ashton looked up through the trees for inspiration, and to help gather his own thoughts. He took a final deep breath, and then began. "Have you ever had the feeling that someone is watching you, and when you turn round you just catch someone's eye for a fleeting moment as they look away?"

"Well, yes, quite a few times." Eric answered.

"Well without seeing the expression on that someone's face you wouldn't know their intent towards you." Ashton could see that Eric hadn't quite grasped that part, so he continued. "For example, if when you see who it is, they are smiling, then you know that they like you." He waited a second for Eric to recall such a moment, which didn't take too long as Eric was a handsome young man, who was admired quite a lot by the young ladies at his school. "Well, as a telepath, I could hear a thought towards me, yet without seeing the face of who sent it, I am at a loss to know if they are friendly or not."

Eric was knocked back into the present by that last statement. He lowered his head and scoured the forest floor, as if looking for something elusive that he'd lost. The thoughts he needed came to him, and for once, it didn't sound strange to talk to someone about it, as he knew that Ashton would understand. "Ashton, did you sense something this lunchtime?" He asked first, to get a reference point set before he relayed his whole thought.

"For a fleeting moment, there was a sense of gratitude and joy from somewhere close by." Ashton explained. "I had dismissed it as a minor thought from one of the group when they had let the fox go, as it was not a deep meaningful feeling, more of a general sensation, something milder."

"Ok." Eric composed his thoughts, as it seemed his previous instincts had been correct. "Well, I believe that it came from the fox." He stopped there, expecting to hear Ashton suddenly burst out laughing, but it never came.

Ashton raised a hand to his chin, and gently stroked it as a question formed. He looked at Eric. "And had you just been with the fox before I met with you in the caves just now?"

"Yes." Eric added excitedly, a smile had started to appear on his face, as he knew he wasn't just seeing things.

"That would explain the singular strong feeling I sensed." Ashton continued. "It was one of friendship and maybe the start of a bond, and then, very strangely, one of humour." He looked at Eric who was sat wide eyed. "I presume that I've confirmed your own suspicions."

"Oh my, yes you have." Eric explained. "The father of the family of foxes smiled and when I tripped up I actually thought I saw him laugh." Eric was shocked by this new revelation, knowing his earlier thoughts were true. "Ashton, this is fantastic." He shook his head in disbelief of these new facts, but was elated at the possibilities.

Ashton had another revelation and decided to bring Eric back down. "I would agree with your sentiments of joy apart from one tiny point. To have the feelings from a few would explain the Fox and his family, yet it wouldn't explain the many hundreds of other thoughts I've felt since we relocated to the caves."
Chapter 13. Time for Action.

Prant walked into the office, and glanced as casually as he could towards the desk before closing the door. The chair on the opposite side was turned away from him, but he could see the top of K'nash's head looking out of the windows over the vast barren landscape of Scarx.

"At ease Prant, and take a seat." The usually harsh and commanding voice of the Rexon leader was gone, and it had been replaced by a far gentler tone, one which Prant had never heard before. One which made him a little uneasy. He sat down casually lowering his hands to his side, the fingers of his right hand resting on the grip of his gun. He pushed it down a little, levering the barrel up. He moved his legs slightly to the left, helping the gun aim at the chair opposite. He wasn't going to use it there and then, as he didn't have enough reason, and that could lead to a messy disciplinary hearing. It was merely a precaution, borne from experience, and this new nice version of K'nash made him feel very uneasy.

Moments passed, and the silence within the room was only broken by the soft breathing of two men. Both were calm and relaxed, but for very different reasons.

"I have no intention of killing you Prant, so you can remove your hand from your weapon." K'nash eventually broke the silence. He waited a second, knowing that his junior commander would have to wrestle with the thought that it may just be a means of making him drop his guard. "I actually need your help." He said just before he slowly spun the chair round to face Prant.

Prant had lowered his hand, but kept his thumb on his gun, just incase. He now looked into the face of a dejected and lost Rexon leader. This was a very strange turn of events, and he finally relaxed his prepared defensive stance and sat quietly as he waited for K'nash to talk. Prant had learnt this method of interrogation whilst dealing with a very stubborn human a few years earlier, and it was very effective. He quickly developed an air of understanding about himself that made it easier for the one being questioned to give a lot more information than they thought they were doing. The best part was that the bigger the ego, the more they had to show off and tell all of the details. So, Prant waited patiently for potentially the biggest ego he had ever met in a Rexon to open up and start telling him everything.

He didn't have to wait long before K'nash took a long drink out of a glass of what Prant thought was probably very powerful and intoxicating Felusian Liquor, before his jaw became loose.

"You probably detest the sight of me," K'nash started. "And you've probably already started to investigate how I got here and the circumstances behind my sudden appearance." He looked up at his Commander and saw no emotion there. He took another swig of his drink, which finished off the glass. He looked at it sat in his hand, an object that at that moment seemed so worthless, with no purpose in his life, and threw it across the office, smashing it into a thousand tiny shards.

A guard raced in, his weapon ready for action. Prant merely raised one hand, his back towards the door and the expectant guard, and then he flicked his fingers towards him. The guard instantly recognised the simple signal, and retreated hastily, closing the door quietly behind him as he left.

The silence returned.

"This may come as a surprise to you Prant, but I do need your help." K'nash Looked at the Commander across the desk.

Prant merely raised an eyebrow in response.

"I was trying to redeem an impossible situation." He paused, took a deep breath to help keep his calm exterior in place before he continued. "I realise now that your personal intelligence network and your renowned ingenuity would probably hasten my inevitable demise."

Prant was inwardly surprised and felt honoured that a very high ranking leader would at least know of him, and secondly would want his help.

"Your name is highly regarded within the Counsel of leaders." K'nash sat back in his chair. "Your strategies and intellect are being watched very carefully, even in a flea-bitten, edge of the galaxy cesspit like this." He swung his arm around the office.

Prant had always wondered why he had been sent to Scarx, and had initially thought it had come about from his unorthodox battles strategies, leading to the occasional moments of disobedience. He had never been demoted, and was still rising at a ferocious rate through the ranks, because those moments always led to him winning battles without risking huge casualties.

"Counsel Leader Argonch had been closely monitoring your progress, and knew that you weren't going to let any of your command die needlessly." K'nash got out of his chair and walked around it, resting his hands onto the window sill to help steady himself from the effects of the liquor. "He sees that the present set of leaders, like me" and he turned his head slightly, beating a fist against his chest. "Well, we are more willing to do anything to win the war, even if it meant sacrificing everyone in the process." He stopped and swung round to face the commander. "Whereas you are the beginning of a new breed of leader. Argonch can see that we need to use our troops more efficiently, if we are to survive as a race after the final war is won." K'nash turned round a little too quickly, and unfortunately he'd put too much effort into the action, stumbling forward, grabbing hold of the chair to steady himself. He shook his head to clear the alcohol induced fog, "You use intellect to beat your enemy, and Argonch had to protect you, so he sent you here, for now."

Prant held his feelings deep within, keeping everything calm on the outside, even though he was bursting with enthusiasm and vigour.

"So, as you probably know, I've lost my ship." He staggered over to a unit at the side of the office and poured himself another drink, in a new glass. K'nash waved the glass at Prant, who slowly shook his head at his leader, refusing the offer of a drink.

"Good choice, once you start with this, it's a slippery slope downhill." He headed back to the desk and slumped back into the chair. "But right now, I don't give a damn." The drink sloshed around in the glass, with some spilling over the side, and onto the desk top. "I'm a useless Clarfen." He mumbled to himself as he swept it onto the floor with his hand, a trail of liquid being left across the surface which slowly soaked into the wood, bubbling the varnish instantly.

Prant watched in horror as his grandfather's desk was being ruined before his eyes. With K'nash being so far under the influence of the drink he knew that it would need the slightest amount of effort to walk over and break his neck. He took a deep breath in to calm himself and rolled his head round to ease the tension that was building in his own shoulders and neck.

"Anyway, I had a commander, not one like you who's respected for their guile, but one of the old kind. She would have killed anyone and everyone I dared mention, and she'd enjoy it." His mouth slowly moved into a deep and disturbing smile. "But she was a fool." The smile was instantly replaced with a grimace. "She lost her Kylapitar, to a Human of all things."

He raised the glass and took a swig of drink.

"The human escaped back to his planet, and gave it to his friend." He said the last word as if it was something dirty. "Eklan found them both, but the friend, who is called Eric, used the device to escape to Ansolon."

"Weren't you based at Ansolon, sir?" Prant decided that a question was finally needed. He already knew the answer.

"Yes I was there." K'nash looked at the commander inquisitively, not understanding why he'd asked a question about something he would have known the answer to. "Anyway, this Eric human-thing rounded up the local resistance and they freed the experimentation units from my ship before blowing it up." His chest started to heave again, as it had in the cell earlier, as the anger rose within.

"But you managed to capture one of their more influential figures, and bring it here." Prant decided that diplomacy was the best course, and hoped that flattery would help keep the information coming.

"Yes, yes, I did." K'nash could suddenly see how it would look if he told it that way. The tale could unfold that it wasn't a fluke that one of their top leaders and he could even elaborate and add in that he was an infamous assassin had been in his captivity; actually within his office when the ship had blown up. He mulled it over, agreeing with his thoughts. He could add that he was interrogating him, cutting his fingers off as he bleated more information. K'nash let out a small laugh. And as the ship was destroyed, he managed to beam to one of the best and safest locations in the universe, the Rexon controlled planet Scarx. There was that moment of hope, but K'nash suddenly remembered the tale he was relating to Prant, and his feelings of hope fell. "Unfortunately, it looks like my Commander let her Kylapitar fall back into the core of the resistance, led by this Eric, and they also escaped."

Prant had already worked this out, but decided to humour his leader. "Ah, so they were the group of humans who beamed in and out just before you arrived?"

"Yes, it was them." K'nash said through gritted teeth.

"Apart from this Eric, do you know any of the others?" Prant asked, hoping that he'd prompt his leader in the right direction.

A realisation dawned on K'nash and his face lit up. He'd seen who had been in the cell, but it had never registered until now. "By the god Zuleth, it was that damn insubordinate sniveling King's daughter, what was her name?" His eyes scoured the desk top as he worked through the recesses of his brain.

Prant waited a few moments, already having the answer, but wanting to play with his Leader, before he said "Aisha, Sir." He offered the answer knowing it was correct, as he'd digested the intelligence he'd obtained thoroughly.

K'nash raised his head and looked in disbelief at the commander. His face slowly changed into one of delight. "You are very good, much better than I had ever believed. Now I know why Argonch has hidden you away for now." He thumped the desk in joy, making everything bounce, spilling more drink. "Aisha." He said to himself as a plan started to form. Prant already had a plan formed, that had been put into motion before he'd walked into the room.
Chapter 14. Developments.

"COCK-UP!" Ian Jackson shouted across the quarry floor to the rugby-player built sergeant who was making his way to the mess.

The base was set within a disused quarry near Nether Kellet. The former foreman's offices had been converted for the senior staff, meeting rooms, and security. The most surprising addition to any unsuspecting visitor was a lift. Anyone looking from the outside would see the usual splurge of single layered grey portakabins in a cluster around the rim of the quarry. What they didn't see was the mine shaft that had been dug secretly from below into the rock which became the lift access for all military personal to move down into the base below, unseen.

The lower operational level looked completely different. A waterproof & camouflaged sheet had initially been created and suspended about 30 metres above the base of the quarry. This was to protect any of the initial workforce below it, and to remove any chance of anyone seeing into the base from above. The surrounding area at the top end of the Trough of Bowland, and heading towards the bottom of the Lake District was renowned as a perfect location for hang gliders and microlight aircraft; it needed to be safe and secure. Under the cream canopy, over the space of a few months was constructed a roof that would withstand any known weapon, bar a direct hit from a nuclear warhead. Once complete, the base took shape. A series of state of the art modular buildings were created, containing sophisticated computer mainframes, test laboratories, a fully sound proofed gun range & the ultimate in fully interactive 3d gaming. Programmers could recreate any vista, landscape, building, etc that had been mapped into a virtual 3d world.

Ian Jackson had just left the "Wii Room" as it had been affectionately named, when he saw Cock-up heading for the mess.

"Sir." Sergeant Cockburn saluted the officer that was trotting over to him. "How can I be of assistance?"

"Well you can drop that arm first." Ian smiled to help ease the formal military greeting and thrust out his hand. "Welcome on board to what will probably be the most informal military team you've ever been part of."

They both shook hands.

"Thank you Sir." He smiled awkwardly. "It is a little different here, with the dress code, etc." He tugged at his Black rugby polo top.

"Secondly, let's drop the ranks, as we have to blend in with civvies when on a mission." Ian continued explaining as they walked over to the mess. "I prefer using nick-names, as people are more responsive. It's also quicker for the brain, as I read somewhere that the friendly name being used in the usual range of human vocalisations helps the recipient understand the emotion being portrayed without actually seeing who is saying it and what predicament they're in."

Sergeant Cockburn thought for a second. "So the brain instantly tells who has said it and can tell what mood they are in, fascinating."

"And that means there's less chance of a 'Cock-up' in the field, especially when a half salute could be fatal." He held the door open for his newest recruit, "So, are you happy to be onboard Cock-up?" He watched for any reaction of acceptance.

Sergeant Cockburn waited a second; not quite believing what was happening in this strange base, but decided to accept the offer. "Cheers..." he hesitated and stepped past his Major as he continued, "10%." And smiled at Ian

The Major was a little perplexed at the name. "10%?" Ian tried to see why he'd been given that name, and drew a blank. "Why 10%?"

"10%, yes Sir." Cock-up continued. "I've been speaking to a few of the guys since I got here, mainly to get used to the methods and processes, and I always ask them about our superiors." They picked up trays and started to choose from the selections of a usual canteen, from cold sandwiches to hot meals. "Quite a few said the same thing, especially the ones who've been on missions with you. You've always given that extra 10%, but make it look like you're just doing 10% in the first place. And, if required..." He reached for a large scone that sat aside a mountainous dollop of clotted cream and a ramekin full of jam. "You always have an extra 10% up your sleeve if the enemy is that bit better than you anticipated."

"Oh." Was all Ian could say, as he was quite surprised by the succinct commentary to his command skills. "When did that come about?"

"It's after your last few missions." He'd pointed to some steak and kidney, that the Chef, on the other side of the serving counters, served onto a plate with mash and some vegetables. As he placed the plate onto his tray he stopped, and turned to the Major. "Although, I would assume that it's not come from the last mission, as you let the Rexon Commander Eklan escape."

"How did you know about that?" Ian's arm was still pointing at the food he'd selected.

"I'm a systems administrator, so have access to the whole mainframe." He flashed a cheeky smile to Ian before continuing to add some mustard to his plate. "So, I do like to keep up to speed on the more interesting missions with my Kylapitar."

It suddenly dawned on Ian. "Of course, you stole it from the crashed ship, and have been partially working on its abilities down in Oxford."

"And they're very intriguing," Both soldiers selected their cutlery. "The functionality and abilities of the ones we know about at least."

"So, you'd be interested how your baby's been getting on." Ian nodded as the train of thought concluded.

They both sat down at a quiet corner of the mess.

There were only a few people in the room, the whole base was operational, and as such always had staff off-base. A couple of catering staff hovered about behind the counter, quietly chatting whilst topping up the huge serving platters. They'd occasionally come round to collect some dirty dishes from the returned trays, and take them through to the back to be dealt with later. They were also military staff, specifically chosen for their other abilities, as was everyone in the base of the Quarry.

"So have you had chance to get to physically get to grips with your baby again?" Ian asked expectantly.

"Indeed I have." He leant a little forward, even though there was no one in earshot. "You already know about its transportation abilities. Well, it's based upon which button you press."

"How?"

"Press the wrong one and you transport whoever's in front of you." He stopped and raised his eyebrows knowingly. "That explains the button on the left being renamed the A6 effect, if you'd noticed the last time you used it."

"I'd seen that, but I don't get the A6 effect name?"

"Yeah, Hall & Connor were arguing over the buttons use. Hall had stated that if he didn't stop messing about, Connor would be outside on the A6 before he knew it. As it was, he pressed the button, and as the device was pointing at Hall, he was sent just over a mile west of here, exactly onto the A6."

"Wow!" Ian was very intrigued now.

"They think that it's the thought, not the words that make the difference."

"Yeah, but how?"

"They don't fully know, and hope I can find out the truth. But, they've tried a few things, and it's worked every time. The Device sort of reads your mind and knows where you want to send the object. Thus they've been playing with it, and you'll find items popping up at all times in strange places. The only drawback is that you can't take the device with you, even if you point it at yourself." Cock-up finished.

"Ooh, what a shame."

"True, but what a great defensive weapon." Ian could see Cock-up's face screw as he tried to understand. "Just think about the ability to send your enemies to somewhere else." They smiled and nodded as both of them liked that thought.
Chapter 15. Ill-gotten Gains.

Eric was still amazed by Ashton's new found information. "So, if there are other's here, can you tell if they are friend or foe?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't. Either they are too far away, or too good at blocking my mind searches." Ashton looked a little disappointed.

Eric looked off into the distance for a minute as he thought it all through. "So, to be safe, we need weapons, of some sort."

"I would concur, but I can only fashion simple snares and traps, as can Skaler."

"Not a problem. In our history, we used to have wars using Bows and arrows." Eric said optimistically.

"And what type of weapon is that?"

"Well, basically it's a thin branch with a string tied very tightly from one end to another." He moved his hands up and down in the air, as if he was describing one that he had with him. He continued to animate his explanation. "And then you use a very thin and straight piece of wood to fire at your enemy." He made the action and sound effect of an arrow whooshing through the air. "Reasonably effective, for now."

"Would Tom also know how to construct one of these Bows and Arrows weapons?" Ashton enquired hopefully.

"Tom was the best at making them; I was already going to suggest that he got on with the job once we'd got back in the cave." Eric answered, and then motioned to the entrance as he wanted to get on with the plan.

Ashton didn't move. "We will need more than that though, as I can't tell how many there are, and if the Rexon come, a simple hand made wooden weapon will not be enough when pitted against their firepower."

Eric hadn't thought about this, and his enthusiasm waned a little. He looked anxiously around the floor, scouring the bed of leaves and pine needles for an answer.

Ashton saw the idea start to form in Eric's mind.

"OK, so we need to go and find some other weapons." Eric started to lay his plan down.

"I agree, but there seems to be none around here, and these people that I sense may be the only ones on this planet."

Eric reached into his pocket and removed the Kylapitar. "Who says we have to stay on this planet?" He smiled at Ashton as the idea worked its way around his head. "We already know the address to get us back here, so Skaler, Aisha and I beam off to somewhere. Aisha charms someone, or at the very worst, Skaler uses his "special skills" and we come back armed and ready."

"Good idea. There are lots of pitfalls with this plan, but I think the risks are far outweighed by this immediate need to protect ourselves from whatever, or whoever is out there." He smiled cautiously at Eric, who likewise read the signs.

They returned to the cave, ironing out a few ground rules, and put the plan to the others, who met it with mixed responses.

"Brill! I can go and make Bows and Arrows, yippee." Tom said gleefully, then looking at Eric. "You know Mum never liked me doing it, and I always told her that maybe one day I'd need to make one to save my life." The grin straightened for a second as he glanced at the others. "I didn't actually believe what I was saying though." He then wiped his hand across his forehead, "is it warm in here or is it me?" Nobody really heard as Aisha had leapt to her feet.

"So, we are going off-world to try to steal some weapons?" She said her face one of utter disbelief. "I don't see why you can't see the problems with that. What have we to trade? What if we get caught? What if we get killed? How do we know that their need isn't greater than ours?" Her hands were moving wildly from side to side as she marched up and down.

"And what if the people Ashton sense are just as bad as the Rexon?" Eric replied. He knew that it didn't answer any of her questions, but it did explain the main reason behind his plan. He also had the same doubts and questions running through his mind, but his first priority was to keep everyone in that cave safe, as they all needed all of them to be fit and healthy to help attack the Rexon.

"Skaler?" Eric asked. "You're not saying a lot."

He glanced up at Eric, his feelings of anger at not eating the fox replaced by simple resignation of the fact that he wasn't in charge and his plans wouldn't be good enough. "Not a problem, we need guns, I can steal." He shrugged his shoulders in a matter of fact way. "When do we go?" He asked.

Eric looked around the team. "Might as well get on with it right away, as we don't know who, where or when we'll meet our neighbours on this planet." He looked around the group for acceptance of the plan.

Skaler merely stood up and headed towards the cave entrance.

Eric took that as compliance.

"Ok, we might as well try." Aisha said to Eric. "I just hope Skaler remembers the code for here, as I don't want to be stranded somewhere nasty."

"He'll be fine." He answered her, with a slightly forced smile. Inside he had the slight worry that the anger Skaler felt towards him would be a problem.

They walked down the mountainside, back to where they'd beamed in. They knew that they could stand anywhere, but they didn't want to frighten the foxes. Standing in a little group around Skaler, they watched him scroll through the symbols.

"So, any take your fancy?" Skaler asked not looking at anyone.

"Well, which is the one back to here?" Eric asked his own question.

"Why?" Skaler glanced up.

"Well, let's start at the one above it, and then we only have to come down one to get back here quickly." He looked at Aisha, knowing that she was worried about lots of things, and he was merely confirming her fears. "Just in case there's a problem." He smiled at Aisha.

She simply pursed her lips. "Glad you're listening."

He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm not saying that there will be a problem, it's just that it's the most logical one to remember for when we want to get back." He smiled again, and she pulled the lips back, but tilted her head slightly, showing him that she didn't fully believe his reason.

There was the blinding flash of light and the mountains disappeared.

They were stood on a huge open and perfectly flat desert plain.

Eric felt as if he was in the base of a huge frying pan as the only change to the plateau was a range of mountains that sprung up from the earth all around them, a few kilometres away in every direction.. The air was fresh and clean, and the sun shone just above the mountains to their left. There was only one minor problem. It was freezing cold. They'd mistakenly beamed onto an ice field. Eric wondered if he was in the middle of Antarctica. He knew that it would mean that he was on Earth, but as the bitingly cold wind ripped through their inadequately clothed bodies, he also knew that he wanted to be anywhere else but there.

Before anyone said anything there was another flash of light and they were back within their own mountains.

"Oh good." Aisha started. "First test and you nearly get us frozen to death." She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, hugging herself.

"OK, bad call." Eric answered her. "But how many ice planets do you know of?" He asked.

"Probably only one." She replied. "Why, how many do you know?"

"Well, we have two land masses of ice on Earth, but I'd never want to set them as a destination point on a transporter." Eric added.

"But that's not the real point, is it?" She asked. Before Eric could answer, she continued. "What if the next ones boiling hot, or made of molten rock." She started to pace up and down, counting out the options on her hand. "What if they are all ice planets?"

"I've heard stories of a whole galaxy of ice planets." Skaler looked wide eyed at them both. "They say that there's huge monsters covered in fur wandering over them, and they eat anything that goes there." He looked in shock at his own story.

Aisha and Eric looked at each other in disbelief. They then looked back at Skaler who couldn't keep a straight face anymore and burst out laughing. "The look on your two faces, priceless." He shook his head as he laughed.

Eric and Aisha also started giggling, as they realised they'd been had.

"Right, if we need some ice for a cocktail, then we go one above." Skaler had managed to control himself, and resumed his searching. "So what are the chances of finding another place like that?"

"There's probably thousands of combinations on the Kylapitar and I'd bet it's the only one on there." He had a thought come to him. "It's a pity that we didn't know where it was, as we could try a few planets, find out where they were and try and map it all out."

"Yes, but we're not traveling along a normal map. You're not thinking three dimensionally." Aisha explained.

"True, I always struggle with that in CAD." Eric replied honestly.

The others looked at him.

"Sorry, Computer Aided Design, it's a program that lets you draw stuff."

They still looked confused.

"And we go taught it in school."

Aisha and Skaler looked at each other and shrugged. Then they both giggled.

"What's funny?"

"You talk funny." Aisha replied. "You use some very strange words that mean nothing round here."

"Oh!" Eric huffed. "I never thought about it before."

"So, where to now?" Skaler held up the Kylapitar and shook it suggestively.

"Let's keep it close to here, once again." Eric looked at Aisha once more. "Just in case. So, let's try two up?"

Skaler looked down at the screen. "Here we are." He said, and then added. "One, and two." His finger hovered over the button as he looked up at them. "Everyone ready?"

They smiled at him and he tapped the button.
Chapter 16. Smash and Grab.

King Harvin woke up. He looked at the clock on the bedside cabinet and it read 4:38am. He wondered why he'd woken up so early. It wasn't a hot Killnjar summer evening, where the temperature stays in the upper 20s all night, making it warm and sweaty, far more difficult to get good night's sleep. He also hoped he hadn't reached the age when he would start to need to go to the toilet a few times a night like his father had started doing in his later years. He smiled at the memory of his father, King Granth, and how he used to complain in his later years about his failing body, whereas his mind was as sharp as the finest scientists on Ansolon.

Harvin stroked his chin and thought. No, there was something else, something that was more elusive than that.

He decided that he probably needed to get out of bed and walk around a little, as this may reset his body and he'd be able to get back to sleep. Harvin had learnt this many years before, as he knew that if he simply rolled over in bed, whatever it was that had disturbed him would gnaw away at his sub-conscious and keep him from falling back asleep.

He stood up and stretched; a yawn swam up through his body, creating a shiver as he reached to the ceiling and let escape a loud howl. His left hand dropped and scratched the itch on his stomach that appeared suddenly. Harvin made his way over to the bedroom curtains, and pulled them back to peek out at the planet Ansolon's night-time capital of Killnjar. Everything seemed normal, as the almost silent streets slept peacefully. He watched a cab go past the ornamental gates at the front of the palace and head down the long and wide tree-lined lane heading away to the east end of the city. He wondered if they were driving staff home from restaurants, late-night clubbers with tired feet, or it could be early shift workers heading in, he thought to himself. He watched for a few seconds, as a dairy provider rattled past, his goods clinking merrily.

Harvin was amazed to not hear both vehicles, and realised that they were Hydrogen powered. His finest scientists would never have developed that technology for another 200 years, if it hadn't been for the Rexon. Yet, only a few years later, they were in full production around his planet, safe, economical and all from a glass of water. Maybe the Rexon weren't all that bad, really. He thought, looking up to the sky and grateful that the foreboding sight of the Battle-cruiser had gone from orbit.

All of this was a welcome distraction from the recent events. The joy of getting rid of the Rexon was easily forgotten under the weight of the decision he had made to send his daughter to her death. At first, he thought he'd merely lost touch, as communications were decimated in the aftermath of the nuclear explosions and the resultant Electro Magnetic Pulse that came from the ship being blown up. Alas, as age old military systems kicked in, he got a message from the Hawcon that only an hour before the ship was blown up, Aisha had been captured by Nerith who had appeared with some Rexon guards and was beamed there along with the others.

He delayed his own personal grief to this news as there too many things to deal with on Ansolon, and that saddened him more, as he remembered a conversation in a room not too far from where he stood with Aisha. A wave of sadness washed over him, as she had been right. He hated himself in that moment as Aisha had been correct; he was a King, Politician and a Father last. He shook away the negative thoughts as Harvin also secretly hoped that she'd escaped, as Janosh had schemed. He still had a touch of anger aimed at Janosh for letting him down. Harvin looked out of the window again, but he could see nothing, as his eyes had filled with tears. The grief was the hardest thing to deal with, and so far he'd managed to keep it in check by working tirelessly, distracting himself with anything from paperwork to physically helping in clearing debris from the recent unexplained explosion that had occurred the day before in the city.

Harvin sighed, his chin rested on his chest. He took a deep, quivering breath and closed his eyes to help squeeze the tears away. "Aisha, I'm sorry." He whispered.

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of white light and Harvin span round to see a semi-circular bubble of light form in the centre of his bedroom. It measured about eight metres in diameter, reaching up to four metres high at its peak. The room trembled slightly, and the light fitting rattled as the top of the bubble nudged it. He shielded his eyes as it was so bright.

As quickly as it had arrived, it was gone.

Harvin lowered his arm slowly, his eyes were slits as they tried to readjust to the darkness. "Damn!" He whispered as he could make out 6 Rexon guards stood before him. They were all pointing weapons around the room, checking all areas cautiously, methodically, skillfully. Harvin could now see from their attire that they were a very elite group of soldiers, probably a Rexon equivalent of the same teams which Janosh used to lead when he was in the Armed Forces on Ansolon. In the centre was a single alien, who even though he was smaller and not as physically built as the soldiers, he confidently strode through his troops and walked up to the King.

"Allow me to introduce myself" He bowed slightly. "I am Prant, Commander of the Scarx Military Outpost." He held out his hand, knowing the human way of greeting a stranger.

Harvin was ever the diplomat, and decided that, at this moment, couldn't do anything else. He thrust his hand forward, thinking he may as well shake the hand before him; at the least it may delay what they are doing, and give his guards chance to rescue him.

"Now if you would come with me, Your Majesty, I've got some people that you probably want to see at my camp." Prant leant slightly forward and nodded towards the King, to reassure him. In his mind he replayed the specific instructions he'd been given by K'nash to beam in and drag the sniveling human from his bed, preferably alive. Prant smiled a little as he knew his method on enticement would be more alluring to the human, and also more devious. "If you would join me back over here, we can then all beam out and you can be reacquainted with someone you now very well." He held his right arm out back to where the bubble of light had appeared, and turned his body away from the King to open his stance up, but his eyes never left their target.

Harvin was doing his best to keep calm. Upon their arrival, his military training had come to the fore, calculating all the options he had, wondering if he could hide, find a way out, call out to get help, retrieve his weapon from the bedside unit; all of these scenarios were run through in a millisecond and all were knocked back, as none would see him live through it. Yet, when Prant spoke those few words, his heart crumbled and he struggled with the emotions he was feeling, for now he had someone to meet, someone he knew very well, and his heart raced in anticipation.

Is Aisha safe and do they have her? The Question burned away in his mind as he walked between the soldiers. He watched Prant remove a Kylapitar from his pocket and press some buttons. A bubble of light appeared again, only this time, he was within it.

A split second later the bubble dissipated and he was in a large hangar. He looked around to see huge piles of military equipment neatly stacked around the large room. He could tell that the cases probably contained weapons of all kinds. At the far end there were rows of vehicles, all painted in desert camouflage colours, all silently watching and waiting for their moment of action.

A short command from one of the Rexon guard and all the soldier, who had been standing in a complete circle, all facing away from the centre moved. They lowered their weapons and formed two neat lines either side of Harvin and Prant.

"Ahem, Your Majesty." Prant got Harvin's attention.

Harvin was taking his time, trying to keep calm, as he turned slowly around to face in the same way as Prant and the elite guard who had captured him. He followed their gaze and before him stood someone he was totally amazed to see, and asked incredulously, "You!"
Chapter 17. New Horizons.

The ball of light dissipated and the three teenagers stood looking around at a new world. It was twilight, and the air was very warm and dry. Eric looked at the ground and saw that it was hard rock, with a layer of course sand and rocks over it.

"At least it's warmer." Skaler whispered to the others, and was greeted by a snort of laughter from Eric and a huff of derision from Aisha.

"This is what we'd call a desert." Eric looked at the distant sun, ending its traverse across the sky to their right. Its heat was dwindling, but it still gave off a small amount of light. To their left were the last flourishing colours of another setting sun. They all watched the changing purples and pinks in awe for a minute, enjoying the spectacle. He presumed the two suns passed overhead during the day, and after a few moments of watching both could clearly see that one slightly was faster than the other to set.

"That would be an interesting sight to see."

"What?" Aisha asked, wary of everything around them.

"One sun is faster, so some days there would be two suns at the same time, others would be one, and then the other, and a mix of everything in between."

"So some days would be daylight all the time?" Aisha asked.

Eric thought for a second. "I suppose so."

"What's that?" Skaler said, pointing to something ahead to something that had started to appear.

Everyone followed his gaze.

"It looks like lights." Aisha replied.

Between them and the horizon was a town, whose lights had now started to come on, making it visible.

"It's a town of some sort." Eric added eagerly. "So, let's go and meet the people."

"Let's go and see who lives there first, from a safe distance." Skaler said looking from one to the other. "Just in case." He smiled at Aisha, hoping for support.

"We can't be too eager, we have to keep ourselves safe." Aisha explained to Eric, agreeing with Skaler's cautious approach, but for different reason from the Thief's instincts..

They set off for the town, making sure that they kept a small mound of hills between them at all times. It took about 30 minutes to get to within about 200 metres from the edge of the small clutch of buildings. They climbed up the last small hill and crouched down on the top, keeping their outlines as small as possible.

"It looks fairly quiet." Aisha said.

"Look, there." Skaler pointed over to left where a group of people had just emerged from a building. "They look human, at least." He added.

"If they are friendly, then we should ask for more." Eric relayed his thoughts. "We need other things than just weapons."

"Like what?" Aisha said.

"Binoculars, lanterns, sleeping bags, tents, rucksacks....." He shrugged his shoulders as if to say that he could go on.

"Right you take this. Scroll up a few and....." Skaler handed Eric the Kylapitar. "There, that set is home, well home for now. I'm off to case – the - place." He smiled at his word game.

Eric initially wanted to stop him, but knew that he was the right man for the job. His mind flashed back to the meeting with Janosh in a police cell on Ansolon, and the Security Chief's words of "He could have his uses" drifted in. Eric nodded to himself as he knew this was one of those times. "Good luck, and don't get caught." He smiled at Skaler. "Oh, and we don't know what their jails are like." He added remembering Skaler's love of a warm bed and hot food.

Skaler winked, then headed off; leaving the others to watch anxiously. It took a couple of minutes for Skaler to reach the first buildings, even over such a short distance, as his training on the streets of Killnjar ensured he used the three rules of thieving; Safety, Escape route, Scatter. These three simple rules had kept him safe, even though he would always recount the tale on the rooftops, with tiles sliding away under his feet as he headed for an open skylight. The escape route was mandatory for all in his trade, as you needed that before you went in and stole anything. You'd be better off getting away with nothing today, and grabbing a huge booty tomorrow, than be in the cells for years. That was a Maxim the Grand Master himself told Skaler. Finally, there was Scatter. At the sign of any danger, you run, anywhere you can, and keep running until you can breathe no more and your legs crumble, because up until then, you will probably be caught.

Skaler used the three rules as he approached the first building, his eyes and ears working overtime to look or listen for any danger, any noise that may be different, or unexpected. He peered around the corner of the simply constructed timber building. His fingers unconsciously stroked the dry, untreated, log-lap cladding, as his eyes darted back and forth across the scene before him, his mind clearly on the task of finding items to help them. The village was set out along a single street, running left to right, and he looked both ways to make sure nothing was along that road. Skaler counted 40 buildings from where he crouched. There were houses at each end, and bigger commercial buildings in the centre, spread evenly along each side of the road. The words on the top of a couple of the buildings in the centre were unfamiliar, yet he could tell what sort of places they were. He chose the one he wanted, checked the lights were off from his vantage point, checked up and down the road once, more, scanning every building along the way, and then he was gone.

Aisha and Eric kept a close eye on the buildings, looking for shadows or a friendly shape scurrying around. The problem was that Skaler had darted around the other side of the houses and the lighting was very limited.

"It's very quiet." Aisha broke the eerie silence that had fallen upon them.

"Too quiet!" Eric replied, a smirk on his face.

Aisha gave him a funny look.

"Sorry, it's what they say in films." Eric answered. "On Earth."

Aisha nodded and returned to watching the village.

It was a further 10 minutes before Eric broke the silence once more. "I wonder what they're like?"

"Who?" Aisha whispered.

"The people of this town." He nodded towards the tiny cluster of houses. "I wonder if the Rexon have been here?"

"I don't know, I hadn't thought about it." Aisha answered.

Their heads whipped to the left at the sound of breaking glass and a female screaming. Eric and Aisha looked at each other. "Skaler" they whispered at the same time. They looked back to where the noise had come from. The buildings at that end of the village looked to be more like houses, and they wondered why Skaler had decided to steal from somewhere like that.

A shadow appeared, cowering, their hands over their heads. They couldn't tell, because of the limited light and their distance if it was Skaler. Another shape appeared behind the first.

Aisha's hand flew to her mouth in shock. "Oh no!" She whispered. "Look around you idiot."

The new person strode out towards the cowering figure and raised some sort of weapon above her head.

"Oh my giddy aunts, she's not going to...." Whispered Aisha.

The weapon was brought down and the clear and unmistakable dull 'ding' of a frying pan on a skull could be heard all around the plateau.

"She is, and she has." Eric replied, a smirk on his face. "A woman scorned, and all that."

Aisha nudged him. "Yes, don't mess with us ladies, Mister."

The former cowering person now lay very still on the floor, but the woman continued to berate him. The sound of her voice drifted over the land between them, but the words had spread too thin on its journey and they couldn't make anything out of what she was saying. Lights started to flash on in the houses around where the commotion was taking place.

"Damn, all we need is for him to get caught." Eric said. His mind started to formulate a plan to get him out of there quickly. "I was hoping she'd leave him there, and we could go and pick him up."

"Look, the other house lights are going off again." Aisha told him.

They both stopped and looked back at the houses as they slowly went back to their quiet lives.

"Very odd." Eric said out loud. "Why would they come on, and then go off." He started to think about this for a second.

"Maybe they were just being nosy and don't think it's anything unusual." Aisha added her comment.

"You don't think hitting an alien thief over the head with a frying pan, knocking him unconscious and leaving him in the street isn't unusual enough?" Eric asked incredulously. "They don't seem to have the most exciting of lives, looking at their village."

"Why who's been hit with a frying pan?"

Eric and Aisha jumped, as the voice had come from behind them. They both turned and saw Skaler standing there carrying a whole host of items.

"Skaler, you frightened us by sneaking up like that." Aisha said first.

"Sorry, I lost my bearings a little, and guessed wrong as to where you were. So I made my way back out of town and up the hill back there." He swung round and lots of straps and items flailed around with him. "I sort of knew that this was the hill, and so I made my way along the ridge till I found you two." He had a curious look on his face. "So what's this about a frying pan?"

"Oh nothing, it looks like someone had got on the wrong end of their wife's anger." Eric explained, more eager to get on with seeing what loot he'd acquired. "So, what have you got?" Eric said.

"Enough to get us going for now. I would recommend that we head back down the hill and beam back, just to be safe." Skaler motioned with his head away from the town. "Before anyone sees that half of the main store has been lifted."

They made their way back down the other side of the hill and Eric decided that they'd be better leaving sooner than walking all the way back to the beam in point, and risk being caught.
Chapter 18. Misguided Anger.

"I saw your ship blown apart, from my Palace windows, and I know that YOU were on there, you scheming..." Harvin's emotions had switched from potential joy of seeing his daughter once more, to seething rage as he marched forward pointing at the Rexon Supreme Commander.

K'nash stood before him, smiling profusely.

Harvin's momentum was halted as a Rexon soldier swung his gun around from across his chest and into Harvin's midriff, punching all the air out of him, and cracking a couple of ribs in the process.

"King Harvin, how pleasant it is to see you looking so well." K'nash glowered at Prant, as he'd given him explicit orders to make sure the King resisted being captured.

Prant merely smiled at his leader. He knew that his method had been effective, more so in the fact that it would also annoy K'nash. Prant also understood that he had the upper hand, as the Leader was still trying to cover up his mistakes.

"Pick that thing up and let's take him to meet someone." K'nash growled at the soldiers.

None of the Elite Guard flinched, until Prant gave the "Go" command.

This annoyed K'nash even more, as he knew that these Rexon were renowned as the finest group of elite warriors in their army, and that they implicitly followed Prant's every order, and only his orders.

The two either side of the king hooked the butts of their weapons onto their body straps, before slipping an arm under the armpits of the felled human, hoisting him up onto his feet. Prant walked around them and led them to the holding cells past a simmering K'nash.

Harvin was still struggling for breath as they entered the open topped room, the broken ribs making it difficult and very painful to take in a lungful of air. The searing heat within the cell dried up his breath making it even harder to gasp for fresh air. A guard, who had moved out of their way when they entered, walked across into the blinding sunlight and retrieved a chair from the opposite side of the open roofed cell; it's metallic squeal as it was dragged back across the room sent shivers down Harvin's spine. It was finally lifted off the ground and heavily thumped onto the floor in the centre of the room, next to another. Harvin was then unceremoniously dumped into the chair, his broken ribs biting into his side. His arms were yanked back, increasing the sharpness of the pain. His hands were lashed to the back of the chair; his ankles were likewise tied to the legs.

K'nash strode over and stood in the way of the suns blazing rays, creating a shadow over Harvin. "Now dear King, I'm going to leave you in this room with an old friend of yours. I shall return a little later when the sun has cooked you for a while, even if it is beginning to set."

With that he stepped back towards the cool shadows at the edge of the cell, and out of sight as the suns brightness caused Harvin to instantly close his eyes, protecting them from the glare. He hadn't had much time while K'nash stood before him to see who he was taking about, but hoped dearly that it was Aisha, for in his heart he felt that she was still alive.

"Harvin?" The croaky question came from the chair to his left.

Harvin turned and squinted even harder, as this wasn't the voice he'd hoped for, and due to the croakiness, it was also one he couldn't quite define. He turned his head slightly, trying to create a shadow over his eyes by tilting his head forward. The face on the person next to him was so burnt and blistered, he was struggling to guess, but one feature stood out above all, the hair.

"Janosh?" Harvin's voice was raised, more in shock than being a simple question as he saw the damaged face.

"Yes" The Ansolonian Security Chief licked his lips, trying to wet them and help them move more freely. He winced as the pain sliced through him, the cuts felt like huge chasms gouged across them during what would currently be a very welcome ice age. "I'm sorry, it's only me."

Harvin felt his anger rising within, as he had been so focused on finding his daughter, and he'd never wanted to believe his worst fears. His anger had been directed at his missing friend and Security Chief, blaming him for his daughter's demise, as he hadn't been there to defend his plan, or help him with his grief. Janosh was so much more to him than that. Both men were thrown together when Harvin's older brother and Janosh's sister disappeared, years before. They had been each other's rock in those days, and had been as close as brothers ever since. Harvin tried to keep all his emotions in check, but the last few days had become increasingly difficult. "You swine." He rocked on his chair as he struggled to free his hands, wanting to attack Janosh. "You promised me that my daughter would be safe." He glared at his former friend. "And now you've killed her."

"No, no." whispered Janosh hoarsely, trying to appease Harvin with what strength he had left after another day of raging heat and vicious beatings..

"Don't try to deny it." Harvin's chair stopped rocking as a thought came to him. "And it's strange that you escape, and then get me captured." Harvin was now verbally lashing out at anything and everything.

"Harvin, wait..." Janosh tried to stretch his mouth, hoping it would help him talk. "Explain." He decided to be very simplistic with his answers, as the pain was getting unbearable, pushing him over the invisible threshold of reality and into unconsciousness.

"I bet you can concoct an excellent excuse for all this." He sneered at Janosh.

"Listen!" Janosh snapped, trying to put a little more force behind his voice, hoping he could get the explanation out before he collapsed.

"WHAT!" Harvin's anger exploded at being spoken to in this way, and this only added to the blaze that was already within. Even though he felt Janosh was a good friend and confident, the unwritten barrier between a King and his most trusted aide should always be there. "How dare you talk to your King like that?"

Janosh mustered all of his remaining strength. "Listen!" His chest hurt from the effort; the air had been so dry all day and it was scorching the inside of his lungs. "Ship - destroyed. She - safe."

Harvin was about to give him another salvo when he heard the last two words. "She's safe?" he repeated it quietly back to Janosh, just to be certain that was what he'd heard.

Janosh rolled his head forward in a painful nod. "Heard Rexon; kids, beam, Kylapitar." Janosh's eyes smiled a little as he as he looked at his King. "Safe, can – feel - it."

Harvin sighed and looked at the two suns that scorched the inside of their cell, and a smile appeared on his face. "I feel it too." Buoyed ever so slightly by the snippet of hope Janosh had given him. A tear crept out from his left eye and started to roll down his cheek, into the heat of the sun where it evaporated instantly.

"How touching gentlemen, I'm overcome with emotion." K'nash was hiding in the shadows at the edge of the cell, out of the direct sunlight. He wanted to hear this first meeting. Alas, due to the very nature of the method of torture he was using, Janosh's voice had become so dry that the whisper never carried more than a metre or so and K'nash had had to make do with what Harvin was saying. At times, even that had been difficult to hear.

"I don't care about what you think, K'nash." Harvin spat back into the darkness at the edge of the cell. "You've lost everything. Your ship, your command, and I presume your future." He tried to antagonise the Rexon leader.

"But your daughter has gone to who knows where. Probably dead by now, frozen on the Ice planets of Banst or boiled alive in the volcanoes of Danlice, and," He paused for a second to let those thoughts cause havoc with Harvin's imagination before he finally added. "You are going to lose your life." He replied. "Ships can be rebuilt, careers can be salvaged, but daughters can never be replaced."

Harvin waited a few seconds, letting the rational side of his brain recover from the anger that raged once more. He let Janosh's words of comfort, however slight temper the pain. He thought about his current predicament and it suddenly dawned on him. "You know my daughter is safe, and that's why you've brought me here." A smile crept across his face as he knew he was on the right track. "I'm the wriggling worm, merely here to help lure her and the other fish into your trap." He said confidently.

"Well done." K'nash replied, eventually. With a flamboyant wave of the arms he strode confidently out of the dark shadows and into the path of the sun once again. "All of this is an elaborate trap," He stopped directly before Harvin, casting his huge shadow over the Ansolonian King. "And it will work."

"I can only presume that is once you've worked out where she is?" Harvin smiled back, as he started to understand how the Rexon mind worked. He knew that failure was seen as weakness, and weakness within the ranks of the Rexon army was a chance for someone younger and hungrier to climb the ladder. Not knowing where Aisha had gone was another failure for K'nash, and Harvin knew it was also another nail in his prestigious coffin.

K'nash growled his disdain at the king, and merely stepped to one side, instantly blinding Harvin with the sun. The powerful Rexon leader swung his leg round, kicking the legs of the chair from under the king. K'nash's anger and enhanced strength was evident as the force of the kick sent both the chair and its occupant flying up into the air. Gravity eventually took control and brought Harvin crashing back down to the floor, onto his head.

The chair shattered into many pieces, but it wasn't needed as a form of restraint anymore, as Harvin lay motionless on the floor. K'nash was infuriated at the frailty of the human lying unconscious before him. He wanted more information from the Ansolon King, and he wanted it now. I another fit of temper, he raised his boot, and aimed it at Harvin's head. The anger within was boiling over again, losing control of his actions as his muscles tensed in his thigh, ready to strike the blow which would crush Harvin's head to one tenth it's normal size. He was also so focused on this single act of retaliation that he never saw what smashed into him; sending him crashing across the nearly molten cell floor. K'nash leapt up onto his feet facing his attacker, who was slightly smaller than him. In the glare of the sun he couldn't quite make out who it was, so he shuffled circled around to his right, until the sun was on his back.

"It won't make any difference K'nash. I will still beat you." The voice of his attacker called back as he also circled around the fallen king.

"Prant?" K'nash questioned angrily.

"Yes Sire, it is me." The Commander kept his eyes squarely upon his Leader, even though the lower of the two suns was now in his face. "I apologise for the force of my actions, but I have to stop you before you kill the human." He said clearly and calmly. "We still need the Kings and the Security Officer."

"You have that wrong, Former Commander." He emphasised the word to make sure that Prant got his meaning.

"I apologise once more and appeal to your fine and experienced Leadership skills. You need to curb the flames of the anger which this human has stoked within you." Prant pointed at the unconscious King, hoping he wasn't dead already. "But if you persist with this line of interrogation, then I'm going to have to stop you, permanently." Prant emphasised his key word very carefully.

Janosh's eyes flicked from his King to the circling pair of Rexon soldiers. As closed as they were he could just see the slight rise and fall of Harvin's chest, and he knew he was alive. They then flicked to Prant, as he wondered why this Commander wanted to save a human so badly. Finally, they flashed to K'nash as he could hear a low rumbling growl coming from the Rexon Leader.

Prant stood his ground, not moving or preparing for action.

This infuriated K'nash even more, and he bent over slightly, his chest starting to heave, like an angered bull ready to explode and attack a matador. His eyes were fixed on Prant, and he waited only a few moments before he'd built up enough energy within from the anger to let it all burst out. The low growl increased into the full roar of a beast as he charged across the cell at Prant.

Prant never flinched, standing his ground as his bigger, heavier and far stronger Leader charged at him.

Janosh watched the Commander with utter fascination. The smaller Rexon waited calmly, his eyes focused on the raging animal that wanted to kill him. The Ansolonian Security Officer could see that the Rexon wasn't using normal fighting tactics for his race, but was about to do something completely alien, and fight like a human. The realisation of the Commanders tactics took Janosh by surprise as he could see that Prant was about to fight exactly as he would, a human.

K'nash roared his anger as he charged across the blazing cell.

Prant waited, and at the very last moment simply stepped to one side, raised his left leg up and flicked the heel of his foot out and across the side of K'nash's knee. The effect was instant, as K'nash's leg buckled inwards and under him.

The slight change in movement for the knee was enough to put it under great strain from the overweight Leader, and the ligaments within snapped. He crashed to the ground in a heap and an anguished cry of pain. The anger blazed even more, and he attempted to rise once more, and carry on the attack. He hadn't realised the extent of the damage that Prant had caused and fell forwards onto his hands, the pain from his knee making him let loose with an unworldly scream.

Prant merely nodded to the shadows, where two of his personal elite guards appeared, hoisted the disgraced and pained Leader off the floor.

K'nash struggled within the grasp of these two soldiers, but it was to no avail, as they were by far stronger than he. His flailing leg was dragged along behind, hitting every step and obstruction they could see, making him scream in agony every time. Prant noted this and he believed he saw one of his soldiers flash a smile across his face to the Commander.

He walked over and crouched down next to Harvin. He rolled the seemingly unconscious King's head to one side to check for damage. "Why?" Prant asked rhetorically.

Prant heard the almost inaudible whisper from close by. He looked up at the carefully watching Janosh. "We have our reasons."
Chapter 19. The Enemy Within.

Eric, Aisha and Skaler headed back into the cave, only to be met by a flustered looking Ashton. "Oh good, you've returned. Please come quickly, I think Tom's ill." He chewed the inside of his cheek before he voiced his worst thoughts, "I think he has the Sarf."

Skaler didn't hesitate and raced off.

Eric and Aisha exchanged shocked glances before racing after him into the rear cave.

Skaler dumped what items he was carrying onto his makeshift bed as he ran through the cave, stopping in mid-flight when he saw a very pale and sweaty Tom. He let out a slow breath, looking at how deathly his friend had become in such a short time before crouching down at his side. Skaler mopped Tom's brow with a damp cloth; the steam could be seen rising off Tom's feverish body.

"Tom, can you hear me?" Eric asked as he knelt down next to his friend.

Tom managed to open his eyes and the faintest smile flashed across his face between the violent shivers that wracked through the whole of his body. Summoning up what little strength he had, Tom whispered, "Yip."

"Can you explain the symptoms?" Eric knew that this would be difficult, but it might give them some hope of finding out if it was a human illness or if it really was the Sarf.

"Hot – cold." He took a couple of seconds between each word, tried to swallow what little moisture he had in his mouth, giving him time to regain some strength. "Aching – pains." He continued.

"Where, Tom, where are you aching?" Eric pleaded.

"All." Another set of tremors took hold and he let out a scream. Another few seconds passed as they all watched and waited for his reply. "Over."

"And you said you're in pain, where's that?"

"Head – ache – and – neck - move." He whispered to Eric, each word sapping the strength out of him before a grimace clenched his teeth together and his fists balled up tightly as a burst of pain ripped down his spine. "Aarrgghhh!" He screamed.

"Sorry, mate." And Eric placed a hand onto his friends arm to help comfort him. "I've got to ask. You said it was moving, which way?"

Tom's eyes short wide open. "Can't – move – neck – arms."

Eric looked up at Aisha and Ashton, "Is this the Sarf?"

Aisha was totally shocked by Tom's condition, her hand slowly dropping from her mouth as she replied. "No, they get blotches on their body, like he has, but I've never heard of anyone becoming paralysed by it." She looked at Ashton for support on her answer, and he nodded in agreement.

Eric looked at the marks all down Eric's arms. They were nothing he'd seen before, and so he could only assume that it wasn't a human illness. "Maybe it's something the Rexon gave him while he was being experimented on?"

"Whoa!" Skaler pulled his hand back in shock. "You said that they were trying to create something that could kill everyone." He looked at Tom. "This could be the one, and it might be really contagious."

"In which case we already have it, and I don't see any blotches on us." Eric tried to calm Skaler's fears.

"But we don't know the incubation period." Aisha interrupted. "Sorry, we were doing this in science. It may need a week of incubation in the body first, and then it starts its cycle."

"That would be a despicable method of delivery, where they carrier doesn't realise he is spreading it to all he meets for a week before succumbing to the visible symptoms." Ashton shook his head from side to side. "And that is exactly the sort of underhanded method used by the Rexon."

"Great, so we won't know if we've got it for a week yet. Brilliant." Skaler replied dejectedly.

"In which case it doesn't make any difference you not touching him now then, does it?" Eric said. He looked up at Ashton, "We need to help him. Can you make contact?"

Ashton shook his head slowly. "We don't know if they are friend or foe, I realise your predicament, but we have to be very careful." He explained the reasons for his hesitancy. "If this is a new disease, we could be spreading it to them. Even if it's an old disease, or one from your planet, or merely a genetic disposition within Tom, we don't know how the immune system works on the ones I've felt. We have to be very careful. And finally." He took a deep breath before continuing. "We don't know if we can trust them, or if they'll help us anyway."

"Aarrgghh!" Tom eyes opened wide as the pain took hold and they locked directly onto Eric's.

Everyone held their breath, time stopping for a moment as the wail rolled around the walls of the cave. Eric felt it the worst. He so wanted to help, but had no idea what to do.

Tom shook violently as another convulsion tore through him. His teeth clenched tightly, the veins on his neck stretched to breaking point as his he fought against the pain. Seconds passed as he whole body was forced to its limits before it suddenly stopped. His breathing became very shallow, as he panted like a dog. Tom's eyes rolled back to meet Eric's for one last time as foam started to appear at the side of his mouth, before he passed out.

Silence fell on the cave. Nobody knew what to do, and all were shocked by the latest turn in Tom's illness.

Aisha gasped as the last pain shook Tom, but she now stood silent, her hand on her mouth.

Skaler had stopped mopping his brow when the convulsions came as they'd been so violent they had made Tom dance around on the floor. He felt frightened that whatever had got Tom might be contagious, and he could end up in the same state. He'd shuffled away, but stumbled and fell backwards when Tom passed out. His previous lifestyle as a thief on the streets of the Ansolonian capital of Killnjar had seen many former colleagues and the odd friend go through a whole range of diseases. After losing Kral, who had probably been the nearest thing to a friend that two thieves could be, he promised himself that he would never have a friend again, as it hurt too much when they died. Yet as he sat in the cave, he felt as if he'd failed in that task, and a huge wave of sadness washed over him as he feared for his new friend's life.

Ashton merely hovered over Eric's shoulder. He felt the horror and sadness of the moment, but being far older and wiser he knew he had to keep a calm head to help when the time was right, in whatever way that may be. Tom's exhuberance and joy with life had touched Ashton, and he struggled to hold back the tears that wanted to burst out.

Eric looked from face to face, eventually ending up with Ashton's. He never spoke a word, yet his eyes pleaded for help.

"He's probably still frail from his ordeal on K'nash's ship, allowing whatever this illness is to get an easier hold of him." Ashton nodded, making sure that it was a reasonable conclusion. "At least he can rest and gain some strength, now that he's passed out." He looked directly at Eric. "And yes we do need some help with this, but I can't say from where."

Eric heard what Ashton said, but the words didn't really register in his brain, as he churned over his own thoughts on how to help Tom. He knew that Ashton had said that he'd felt hundreds of minds somewhere nearby, but as of yet, they'd seen no sign of anyone. It was at that moment a single idea surfaced above all the others. As he thought it through he smiled and shook his head in disbelief at the simplicity of it.

Aisha turned from Tom and watched Eric's facial expressions with intrigue. "Eric, are you OK?"

He lifted his head to look her in the eyes. "Never better." He smiled, gripping her shoulders and giving her a peck on the cheek.

Aisha staggered away rubbing her cheek, wondering if this had been all too much for him, and it was his way of dealing with the traumatic situation.

"Don't worry, I've not gone nutty." Eric said in answer to her concerned look. "And this might not help my case in keeping me out of a straight jacket, but..." He stopped for a second as the thought concluded in his head, and then laughed. "I'm going to ask the fox for help."

Skaler hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on, but had heard the last few words as they filtered through his feelings of sadness and fear for Tom. "Hold on, did you just say you're going to ask the fox for help?"

"Yes, the fox." Eric laughed once more at the absurdity of the thought as he headed out of their cave.

"The fox that we nearly had for lunch? You know, the one with four legs, furry bits, pointed ears," He shouted after Eric, trying to make sure he knew which fox he meant. "You know, the one with the tail." He finished describing the animal as simply as he could.

Eric popped his head round the corner, snorted a laugh and smiled at him. "Yes Skaler, the one with the tail." He giggled once more, "and his name is Basil."

"Basil?" Ashton asked.

"Yes, on my planet they're all called Basil, after a TV character." Eric replied.

Everyone stood in silence, concerned for Eric's sudden change in attitude.

"It's a human joke, sort of."

"Wait!" Aisha called as she saw Eric turn to leave once more. "Do you mind if I come?" She asked this, not out of curiosity to see what would happen, but to be there when it all came crashing down around him.

Ashton flew over to Eric. "You don't know if it is them, or if they have any contact with the others." He quietly said out of earshot of the rest of the group. "They number into the hundreds, and I'm still not sure if they can be trusted."

"You're absolutely right, but at least I'm doing something to help Tom, even if it's the most stupid thing I've ever thought of doing in my life." Eric took a huge breath, gathering strength. "And I've done some stupid things based upon even more ridiculous thoughts."

Ashton understood the reasoning behind Eric's actions, and he admired him for that. Many would have merely moped around, feeling sorry for themselves, never lifting a finger. Yet this young boy was willing to try anything and everything that might be of use. He could also see the determination behind his eyes, and knew that it wasn't worth trying to stop him. Ashton merely smiled at Eric. "Good luck, and if you need me, I'll be here, making sure Tom's comfortable, and trying to reach the others."

"Thank you." Eric smiled.

"Right, are we ready for this little adventure to talk to the animals?" Aisha added with a sly grin on her face.

"Sure are, my dear." Eric leant towards her, his hand extended out. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Dr.Dolittle." He said in a very posh English accent. He looked at the bewildered faces of Aisha and Ashton, and then burst out laughing. "Sorry, another Human joke. Come on, let's get going and I'll explain."
Chapter 20. Briefing.

"Morning Guys" Major Ian Jackson started the briefing session in his usual casual way. The room contained over 100 years military experience between all the soldiers present, yet he had a more relaxed method of dealing with his troops. "Thankfully we're finally all here on base." He looked carefully around at the assembled team. They were in another part of the secret military operations unit in the bottom of the secret Nether Kellett military installation built into a quarry. Gunmetal grey paint adorned the bare windowless walls, and everyone sat around the solitary 3 metre circular glass-topped table in the centre. Two small rectangular devices, about the size of a small tablet computer sat on the table. One had a spaghetti tangle of wires sprouting out from all of its sides which crawled over the edge of the table and onto the floor.

He'd worked before with Captain Lancaster, Sergeants' Brocklehurst and Dickson, and he'd managed to get to know Corporal Berry an hour earlier and Sergeant "Cock-up" Cockburn over lunch. His looked around everyone until he stopped at the last two members of his team. He felt a little uneasy as he hadn't had chance to meet the new guys personally, but was willing, at the moment, to take Colonel Gordon Kelsall's word on how suitable they would be going into this mission.

"Right, let's begin." He tapped the top of the table, which flashed once and came to life. A series of various sized multi-coloured balls rose from the table top. Everyone instantly spotted that the tennis ball sized one in the centre of the display was Earth; it even had a proportionately smaller moon slowly rotating around it. The Earth had a tiny, but very clear red dot on it, just over halfway up the UK, which flashed every second. Other known planets magically grew out of the table; Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, and then the sun appeared and they all flinched for a split second at its luminescence, even within this mesmerizing miniature 3d view. Everyone stopped breathing for an instant as the planets stopped spinning as they all waited expectantly for the next event. A couple of them gasped as the visible solar system shrank to one tenth its size where upon more coloured balls started to appear around them. Once again, when all of the planets had fully formed, they all stopped spinning before shrinking towards the centre once more. More new planets appeared, and this appearing and shrinking action repeated a few more times until everything finally stopped. By this point, the Earth was the size of a pea, but it was distinguishable within the tiny solar system as the red dot still flashed as brightly as before, almost engulfing the side of the planet.

"Hey, this one's flashing as well!" Corporal James Berry chirped up, surprised at noticing the one right in front of his eyes also had a similar red dot.

"And this one." Sergeant Angela Dickson noted, pointing to one near her, at the far side of the room.

"And there's a green here one that's not on a planet." Sergeant Simon Brocklehurst stated.

"Excellent." Ian stated as he walked around the room. He patted Cock-up on his back as he passed. "Sergeant Cockburn, or Cock-up as some of you know him found those two devices a few years back in Antarctica." He pointed to the centre of the sat on the worktop. "The one wired up has this 3D stellar mapping system built within it, and Cock-up has managed to hook it up to our Holographic Representation Projector so that we can see what it looks like, and hopefully learn something."

"It looks like it picked something up here on base, and is then showing us the same around the universe." Lanky stated in his usual curt Yorkshire drawl. "But that's just my view."

"I would agree." Cock-up added.

"This other device is the Kylapitar." Ian picked it up and everyone marveled as it shimmered psychedelically in his hand. "So far, we know that this little box can transport people, things, whatever you desire, to somewhere else."

James leant forward as Ian passed by to get a closer look at the device, but leapt back as a cluster of orbiting planets passed through his nose. "Aaarrrgghhhhh"

"It's OK, they're holograms." Ian explained with a smile, and then wove his arm through the myriad of slowly rotating balls, making them instantly disappear into his arm before appearing out the other side. Everyone could see that both he and the planets were unharmed. "It's quite safe."

James smiled nervously back at him and poked a finger tentatively at the nearest planet.

"These symbols on the front of the device change regularly." Ian held the device up for all to see as he continued to circle the room. "And we've found that that they're the addresses for these planets."

He was greeted by interested nods. He'd walked all the way round the room and handed the device back to Sergeant Cockburn.

"So, if for example, I changed it to these and then pressed this button." Sergeant Cockburn's finger hovered over the central button that appeared on the screen of the Kylapitar.

"COCK-UP NO!!!" Ian shouted and leapt across the table to stop the sergeant.

Unfortunately, he was too slow and the room was engulfed in a blinding flash of light.
Chapter 21. Hold the Front Page.

K'nash, the Rexon Supreme Leader was letting all know that the pain from his damaged knee was unbearable. Prant let the half-smile dance across his lips as he heard the screams all the way across the Rexon military camp, because so far, it had been a good day. He'd saved the life of the Ansolonian King, knowing he was of greater use alive than dead. He'd managed to defeat his Supreme Leader in combat, and finally, he'd managed to get a message to his medic to swap the pain relief given to K'nash to be swapped for saline. This helped it look like he'd inflicted far greater damage than he'd actually done.

As he sat quietly in his old chair, the Commander started to formulate a very personal plan. Prant drummed his fingers on the desk while the various ideas and possible actions and reactions rolled around in his head. After a few minutes, he got up and walked around the desk a few times as the initial choices were pushed and pulled to breaking point, until the final scheme was in place. This had only taken a few minutes, but it was long enough for him to know that he needed the help of a few very influential and extremely secret allies.

He glanced at the desk as he made his final circuit, and spied the Kylapitar which sat innocent and alone. He had his own, but using K'nash's would be more practical and far more incriminating, if any of his plan was accidentally leaked. He also knew that K'nash's had been upgraded with additional features, due to his higher rank. The device could now be used to track another Kylapitar, over great distances, thus helping him keep an eye on what any of his senior staff were doing, or going. This made it all the more important that he had control of that device.

Prant knew that Eklan's Kylapitar also had this facility, but that was because she'd had it in her lab and they'd activated the application. She'd also been very sensible in making sure it had an 'off' button. Prant assumed that this was why it had been in there when the human test subject called Tom found it, making his escape far easier

Prant turned the chair round to face a plain looking storage cabinet which was sat just below the large window overlooking the desolate and sun-scorched barren planet of Scarx. The cabinet looked very simple in construction, made of a light coloured wood, which was not indigenous to the planet. It had had no distinguishable features except for an ever so slightly recessed circular button in the lower left corner.

Prant pressed it.

A slight humming noise rose from the back of the cabinet, and a long, thin rectangular section of the top appeared to start melting. Small blocks remained standing in neat rows as the top drained away around them. Prant leant forward a little and pressed one of the keys on this magically appeared keyboard. Flickers of light burst upwards from the tiny holographic projectors at the rear of the keyboard. The separate beams scanned from side to side until merging into a single long block of brilliant white light, hovering 10 centimetres above the desk. Everything stopped for a split second before a sudden explosion of static charge crackled out of the light and created a large screen.

Prant waited a second as he looked out over the Scarx landscape in the distance. His eyes refocused back to the semi-transparent computer screen and typed a short command on the keyboard. He didn't need to check it on the screen, as he'd used this one many times before. A tiny series of coloured rings grew and diminished a couple of times before a very pixelated face appeared.

"Freez, so very nice to see you." Prant watched the pixilation diminish.

As the features became clear, the screen changed to 3D view, as if Freeze's head and shoulders were poking out through the top of the cabinet.

"Ah, Commander Prant." The head glanced around uneasily, as if checking Prant's office for prying eyes.

"Are you busy or can we talk?" Prant knew full well that he'd caught the scheming creature from the planet Wordon up to his neck in trouble, as usual. That was none of the Commander's concern, as Freez was a far lower life-form in the order of rank and stature, possibly only just above the hated humans. Prant was intrigued and mildly amused that someone he used quite a lot for information found enough time to do anything else. This proved that he was very good at the tasks given to him, as he always gathered all the correct details, and even delved into areas which Prant hadn't considered. Alas, Freez had problems with intoxicants and gambling, and was regularly found attempting to evade a collector. This seemed to be his current cause for his uneasiness.

"Well, no." Freez glanced around, his shoulders hunched, making himself into a smaller target, if he was being watched. He was an average Wordon, 1.5 metres tall, and quite round. His race had developed into deft thieves and over millennia their arms and legs became roughly the same length, which made it all the better for them to escape capture. Most Wordon could easily reach 50kph over a short sprint when forced to run on all fours. Freez was one of the best at his trade, wearing very loose fitting clothes. This was not because he couldn't afford ones that fit well, but because of how he had made them. They were actually loose loops of material, allowing him to drop items in at the neckline hide them about his body. This was achieved because the Wordon had folds of skin that could be used to conceal the various items they carefully retrieved from unsuspecting tourists.

Prant tapped a couple of keys and the holographic screen widened out across the full cupboard. Freez's head shrank as the view of his whereabouts expanded. The Commander could see that it was a busy market place, full of tourists milling around, buying items, always looking elsewhere, always distracted by the sights and sounds around them, and never knowing that there was a thief amongst them.

Freez popped his head up suddenly and he leapt into the air to look behind him upon hearing a shout.

Prant looked in the same direction, and noticed two security officers making their way through the crowd towards him. They hadn't seen their prey yet, but it only gave him about a minute to conduct his business before the thief was caught.

"I can see that you'll be very busy soon, so let me explain this to you once." He looked back through the crowd and was pleased with what he saw as many races walked through the market. "Perfect." He said quietly.

"What? I didn't catch that?" Freez shuffled about, his edginess building as the officers neared.

Prant leant forward, ignoring the question and knowing that his menacing face was probably filling the screen of the communication unit Freez held. "I want you to tell everyone that King Harvin of the Ansolonian Monarchy has been captured and tortured by the Rexon. I want you to tell anyone and everyone that he is here on Scarx."

Freez stopped fidgeting as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. The great commander Prant didn't want him to steal anything, or obtain information from anyone, but he wanted him to give information out, for free. He raised his head and looked around again, but didn't really see anything as he was trying to work out what Prant was really up to.

"Stop thinking about it, Freez." The Commander told him bluntly. "Can you do that?"

"Well yes, but why?"

The look of disbelief on Freez's face almost made Prant laugh out loud, but he kept a straight face as he ignored another question from the thief. "50% of the usual fee will be deposited at the termination of this call, the remainder being held for 6 standard solar days, or until I hear the news from 3 other sources."

Freez grinned, his jagged teeth in his round head making him look like a Halloween pumpkin. He realised that if he told enough of the right people quickly enough, he might get his hands on the second part of the fee far quicker. His mind started to race off thought of how to complete this task.

"And one last thing." Prant waited a second as he watched the Security Officers get that little bit nearer, enjoying the simple pleasure of making the thief's escape difficult but not impossible. "Tell them that it was K'nash who has him."
Chapter 22. Changing Friends.

Eric and Aisha walked very carefully towards the family of foxes who slept peacefully at the end of their cave.

The large male half-opened one eye, and after a cautious couple of seconds recognized Eric's face in the light cast from the flickering flames of the torch he held.

Eric raised a hand up to them apologetically, "I'm sorry for disturbing you again," and he glanced at Aisha, who looked slightly amused that he was talking to a fox as if it was human. "But I need your help, this time." Eric smiled at the fox hoping that he'd understand him once more.

The fox looked at Aisha for a second and raised a curious eyebrow. Eric followed the foxes gaze and saw that Aisha's bemused grin at the surreal conversation had been replaced with a look of horror.

"It's OK, She's a friend." Eric explained to the fox. "I can vouch for her."

The fox turned back to Eric, nodded a couple of times and smiled at him.

A curiously warm sensation swept through Eric, and he turned to Aisha whose jaw was nearly touching the floor in shock.

She raised a hand and pointed at the fox. "It.....He......" She stopped and looked at Eric, her eyes wide open. "He read my mind, I felt him in there, and he spoke to me, and then he smiled at you." Aisha looked back from one to the other her mouth bobbing open like a goldfish in a tank. She wanted to say more, but her mind couldn't think of any words to explain her thoughts. Aisha kept making little squeaks and grunts, as if she was starting to form words, but nothing relevant came from her mouth.

Eric turned from the now convinced Princess and gazed in wonder at the fox, who simply smiled then winked at him. Eric found this hilarious, and started to laugh.

Aisha looked in complete shock, especially when Eric started to laugh. "Eric?" she questioned his sanity.

He was laughing so hard he fell backwards laughing. He knew that his best friend was probably dying, and that was still foremost in his mind, but this was a healthy release of tension and relief as he guessed what was about to happen. "Watch, if I'm right, this will be unbelievable." He said to her, nodding back towards the foxes.

His guess was correct, as all of them slowly morphed into human form, all wearing similar metallic-looking jumpsuits. The ones who'd been the mother and father also carried side arms. The father stepped forward and held out a hand to help Eric back up onto his feet. "I must apologise for our previous form, but it's an effective means of protecting our true identities." He stood to attention and smiled at Eric. "I'm Sim, may I introduce Caro," he gestured towards the former mother figure who nodded at them both. "The others are Oli, Kir and Jo." They all nodded one by one.

Eric cleared his throat, "I'm..." but he was interrupted by Sim.

"We know, you're Eric, from a great city called Preston, on the planet Earth and you're Princess Aisha from the capital city of Killnjar on Ansolon." He tilted his head slightly and raised his eyebrows, hoping he'd pronounced them correctly.

"How do you know that, I've never said my name, let alone where I'm from?" She stopped herself as the thought came to her. "When you read our minds!"

"Yes, I'm very sorry for the intrusion into your mind, but we have to make sure that you are a friend, and not a foe." He bowed slightly.

"That's just how Ashton feels when he read minds." Eric added.

"What?" Aisha questioned alarmingly. "Ashton can read minds?"

"Sorry, didn't you know?" Eric answered, shaking his head, amazed that someone who'd co-existed on the same planet didn't know such things.

"No, we've never known the Hawcon can do that, that's probably why they've always been good warriors, as they know what the enemy is going to do before they do it." She said.

"I'm sorry." Sim interrupted. "This Ashton is someone we'd like to meet, as his powers of telepathy are much more advanced than ours." Sim looked at Eric. "But may I suggest that waits until after we have tended to your friend, Tom."

"Yes sorry, can you help?" He hadn't forgotten about his friend, but had been distracted by the changing aliens.

"Let's go and see shall we?" Caro said as she stepped forward. "I'm a field physician." She added, pointing along the tunnel, for Eric to lead the way.
Chapter 23. Oops !

"Oops!" Cock-up said sheepishly as the light dissipated.

Everything was frozen for a second, shock running through most of the soldiers standing round the circular table as they had never used the Kylapitar before and more so to suddenly find themselves somewhere completely different to the portakabins in the base of a quarry in the Lancashire coutryside.

Reality crashed into everyone's thoughts as Major Jackson fell onto the table top, before rolling onto the floor. He sighed heavily as he got to his feet. "Cock-up, can you get us back to earth please." And he dusted the sand off his clothes.

"Wow, what a superb place." Brock stated in his usual positive way, whistling the 's' sounds as he'd not had chance to get his front teeth repaired after a recent altercation with a tree on a training exercise. "So this is another planet?" He asked no-one in particular, turning slowly round to enjoy the view.

Everyone else followed suit.

They were in the middle of a huge desert, sand dunes all around as far as the eye could see. It wasn't exactly hot, but neither was it cold. The distant sun was mid height in the sky, and a moon directly overhead that looked like a small Earth, with seas of blue and land masses of jade green.

"I'll have my lounge here, with a huge picture window." Brock added, his arms describing the features. "I could enjoy that all day." He leant casually against the table and folded his arms, drinking in the vista before him.

"Any idea where we've gone?" Lanky added.

"Erm, well, no." Cock-up added nervously as he furiously flashed through the symbols to try to find Earth. He glanced at the very patient Major, who merely smiled at him. "Sorry, only be a sec...."

The alien device that was still hooked up to the table started beeping.

"I thought it was dead, having been cut from the power source." Dicko stated, picking it up and looking at the small screen. "But I presume that it has its own power supply, like that one." She nodded at the Kylapitar in Cock-up's nervous hands.

"And it's beeping because.....?" Ian asked, hoping that his fear's weren't about to be realised.

"I'm not sure." She replied, looking pensively at the screen.

Brock turned and looked over her shoulder. "Ooh, that doesn't look good."

"What, do you mean that?" She asked pointing to something on the screen.

"Yep."

"What?" Ian asked, starting to get a little impatient.

"Well, you remember when the display table first set off." Brock explained cautiously as he didn't want to be wrong.

"Do you mean when we could see the Earth appear with a red dot on it." Ian confirmed that they were all thinking the same thing.

"Yeah, well." Brock continued, but stopped and looked up pointing to his left. He then looked back at the screen, his hand still pointing off into the distance. "Do you agree?" He asked Dicko.

She turned the device back and forth a couple of times. "Aha." She confirmed.

"We started with the red dot about halfway up the UK, roughly about the place where we were." Brock continued.

"Yes, can we hurry this up as I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this." Ian gently pushed.

"Whereas the display kept zooming out across galaxies and the universe, this one hasn't." Dicko smiled nervously at Ian.

"And....." His impatience was starting to show as he reached for his pistol in its hip holster.

She saw his movement. "Correct." She agreed. "This one has zoomed in and I presume we're smack bang in the centre of the screen and there's a green dot heading straight for us." Dicko followed Brock's pointing. "From over there."

"How long?" Ian asked, now straining his eyes as he looked into the distance.

Nobody replied as they were all now transfixed on a tiny spec that had appeared.

"Cock-up?" Ian asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

"Nearly, but I can't be rushed." He replied, scrolling frantically through symbols. "You know when you've started looking through stuff and you started in the middle and headed right." He pressed more buttons. "And then you realise that maybe you should have gone the other way."

Ian had removed his pistol and was slowly bringing it up. "You're not helping at the moment." He added.

Everyone else wasn't armed, so they slowly moved round to the other side of the display unit, ready to duck down behind it for protection.

"Sooner would be a better option than later." Ian stated the obvious, trying to stay as calm as possible in their current plight. "And if not to Earth, anywhere else would probably be more preferable than here."

Cock-up stopped. "Oh I, I'd never thought of that." His gaze returned to the screen and saw that he'd been pressing the keys that quick that it was still scrolling very fast. "There!" He exclaimed as the Earth set of symbols raced past.

"Anywhere Cock-up, anywhere, as long as it's NOW!."

"No, that was the one." Cock-up was tapping frantically in the opposite direction, trying to get the correct symbols back.

"We've got about 10 seconds before they're in firing range."

At that moment, they all saw a flash of light from the approaching craft.

"OK, 3 seconds." Ian added resignedly. "Two – One – Ze...."

"Done!" Cock-up stated and hit the button, just as the missile exploded.
Chapter 24. Healing Hands.

Tom lay peacefully on his bed. Gone were the pain filled jerks and judders. Apart from the heat being radiated, anyone would have thought he was simply sleeping.

Eric guided Sim, Caro, and the others into their cave.

Skaler looked up in shock "Who in Snalems House are they?"

"Friends." Eric replied, glancing at Ashton, who looked a little concerned and slightly angry.

"Where from, 'cus we aint seen anybody round here." Skaler continued.

"They were the family of foxes." Aisha answered as she walked in at the rear of the group. "You know Sim anyway, as he was the one you wanted to eat for lunch." She smiled at Skaler and nodded at the lead male, who merely smiled back at them both.

"Oh." Realising his mistake. "Sorry for that, but you did look like a nice edible fox." He sheepishly bowed his head. "An easy mistake for anyone to make." He looked for sympathy from everyone.

None came as they all turned their attention to Caro who had knelt down next to Tom.

Everyone watched in complete silence as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. With her hands over his midriff, she spread her fingers and slowly moved one hand up towards Tom's head and one down towards his feet.

Eric watched carefully, wondering if she was performing a kind of Reiki, as a good friend of his Mum's had used the same technique on him a couple of years earlier after spraining his ankle. Something caught his eyes, and he blinked a couple of times. There was a small shimmer in the air between Caro's hands and Tom's body. It reminded him of a heat haze on hot sunny day that comes up off a road. This one was more slight, but still very intriguing. She carried this on for about a minute, the expressions on her face changing as she moved her hands up and down over his body, as if she was finding something unusual. Finally she stopped and looked at Eric.

"You have a very strange physical state." She said with a curious look on her face. "Your internal organs are placed differently, and some are very unusual." She sounded like she was choosing her words carefully, as if she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"But can you help him?" Eric pleaded; that was all he wanted to know right now, as fascinating the subject was.

"Yes, but I will need help." She glanced over each shoulder to Sim and Jo. They both stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. All three took a deep breath and closed their eyes, as Caro performed the same motions as before.

Eric watched in awe as the shimmer that had been only slight and maintained between just her hand s and Tom's torso was magnified. It changed into a golden glow and engulfed all three aliens and Tom alike. He looked around his friends who had all seen the phenomenon and were as intrigued and shocked by the spectacle as he.

Everyone watched in silence, all seeing a definite disturbance in the airflow, as their hair gently swayed in the invisible breeze. Caro had a look of total concentration on her face this time, her lips pursed tightly and her brow furrowed.

It lasted a few minutes and Aisha and Eric exchanged nervous glances on many occasions during this time before it all ended abruptly.

The shimmering light stopped glowing around them. Sim and Jo rocked back and forth as if they were standing on a moving train. Eric looked down at Caro, who had slumped down onto her hands, across Tom. Her head had dropped forward and she was breathing heavily. Oli and Kir walked round Tom and gently lifted Caro up onto her feet. She glanced at Eric and flashed a smile across her face as she was led out of the cave on her colleague's shoulders.

"Is she OK?" Eric asked Sim, who had steadied himself and just shook his head occasionally. He took deep breaths and opened and closed his eyes as if he had become unfocused.

"Yes, as is your friend now." He finally replied, placing a weighty hand on his shoulder.

Eric looked down at Tom, who looked better than ever. The sweating and shivering had gone, and the colour that had been mainly in his cheeks had returned across the whole of his face, but he was still asleep. Eric wanted to wake him up to make sure he was truly fine.

"Let him rest, he needs it." Sim answered Eric's thoughts.

"What was wrong?" Aisha asked.

"It was a poison from the bushes that guard the entrance to this cave." He nodded back to the main entrance.

Eric remembered how Tom had tried trampling it down and had got quite a few thorns in him for his sins. "The idiot stuck his leg right into it."

"We had noticed that. It was the main reason we stayed here, as we knew one of you would become ill, and we could also observe and learn what you were like, and how you reacted to such pressures." Sim said.

"Observe how we react?" Ashton interrupted. He'd been quiet up until this point, and flew in closer to join in the conversation.

Sim smiled at him. "I apologise for this, but we have had others who arrived as you did." He looked around at the group. "But none were as kind as you all are, or treated your own with such care and passion."

"Others?" Eric asked his head tilted to one side, wanting to know more, but also regretting his question, fearing the answer.

"They arrived before the last winter." Sim started. "A bubble of light appeared near the lake side, as yours did." He gestured towards Eric, not as if it was his, but as he felt he was responsible for it. "There were 10 of them, all carrying weapons, all dressed for war." His head lowered for a moment and he slowly moved it from side to side as continued.

Eric wondered if it was pain or a regretful action.

"We greeted them in this form." Sim's hand ran up and down his body. "And they took some of us hostage, killing the others upon sight."

"What did they look like?" Ashton enquired.

"They looked human, slightly taller, and their faces thinner."

"Rexon?" Skaler asked.

"I don't think I've heard of that species." Sim nodded with a look of deep sadness on his face. "We came in peace; they merely shot their weapons and killed half of our group instantly."

"Were you there?" Aisha asked.

"Yes. Yes I was one who escaped, eventually." He looked at Aisha; a tear had started to form in the bottom of both his eyes. "But my life companion didn't."

There was a moments silence in the cave.

"So how did you escape?" Ashton asked, wanting to know the entire story.

"Out of the thirty delegates who went to greet them, 12 were killed in the first wave of firing the moment we arrived. 14 tried to escape as soon as they sensed trouble. 10 of those were killed as they ran for cover and the other four were hunted down and recaptured. We had conspired telepathically to all morph into something small and fast at the same moment, and so we waited till night fall. I'd wanted to stay to then watch how they worked, and learn their weaknesses, of which there are few." He said to Ashton who he assumed would have wanted to know such information. "As the majority of the Rex-on..." he paused to check that he'd pronounced the name correctly.

Eric nodded back for him to continue.

"As they slept, we were left with two guards, both observing outwards for a presumed retaliatory attack. Their arrogance was their undoing as it was at a quiet moment that we all fled." He chuckled a small laugh. "I even stamped my paw onto the face of the one who had shot my Nam, which instantly woke him up, but left him with a nasty scar from my claws." He smiled once more. "The first they knew about it was when they saw the back ends of 16 small animals dashing away. One of the guards took a shot at Col, who had chosen to become a cheetah, but he missed. It took them a few seconds to realise that the animals they had just seen were us. By that time we were in the cave and safe."

"I don't think that being in here would be that safe." Ashton commented. "I realise it will afford some level of protection, but I believed the Rexon to be more accomplished at searching."

"Oh, they did, and they killed any animal they saw, just incase it was one of us." His face had dropped again. "They did check the caves, all of them."

"So how come they never found you?" Eric asked, knowing that they couldn't morph into thin air.

Sim eyed them all cautiously, realising that he'd made a small mistake during his tale. "I suppose that I'll have to explain that one now." He said eventually.
Chapter 25. The Word on the Street.

Freez, the short, bulbous pickpocket & occasional spy for the Rexon Commander Prant, had completed his new orders admirably. He reveled in the fact that he had been the first to own this new information, and could quietly and secretly inform others of it. He used all his skills of guile and intelligence to weave a terrible tale of the Great Ansolon downfall at the hands of the despicable Rexon. The news spread, others embellishing their own slants on the story.

Whole cities had been wiped out as the Rexon took the near ultimate action of destroying the planet. The word moved from person to person and the story carried on its many mutations, one saying that the Rexon had simply taken the planet by force as they only needed slaves to mine the priceless ores.

Freez had had a good day as he sat down in a dark dingy corner of a dark dingy bar. He'd even managed to sell the information to some, and had made a tidy profit for his sins. As the market emptied and the evening drew in, he retired to his customary corner of the Fallen Gods Inn. The host had seen him in there many times before, and always about the same time of day, just before the dark-dwellers appeared.

Anyone who had spent any time in this city knew that as the evening drew in, you retired from the streets as soon as the sun started to set, and especially while there was still some light around. The many bars had rooms available, or if you were in the type of establishment where Freez currently rested, the host would be willing to let you spend enough money to get completely drunk and simply fall asleep where you sat.

Freez tapped the keys on the small screen set into the table top. Moments later the landlord arrived with more drinks. Not a word was said between anyone as Freez pressed his thumb against another tablet that the landlord held out to him. Freez placed a fake smile on his face, and the landlord grunted in reply.

That was probably the most that anyone had ever got out of the landlord, so Freez thought, as he'd been coming here for nearly 4 years, and had never had a word from him yet. He slouched into the nearly padded seat. It had seen better days, as the fake leather was ripped in many places, the padding within escaping. The corner he used as a home was probably the comfiest in the whole bar. It was an 'L' shaped seat, both sides measuring about 2 metres. There was a table in front of it, and during the better days, it would have probably sat 8 in relative comfort. He'd dimmed the lighting to ease his eventual and fitful bout of sleep, but more importantly, it hid him from any prying eyes.

The passage in front of his table was used by everyone going to the toilets. The smell didn't affect him, as his home planet was one of sulfur gasses and brimstone. His race had evolved a secondary flap to block the nostrils, and his taste buds were in his fingers. As long as he wore gloves, he'd not notice the stench at all. His location allowed him to see who was in the bar, and ensured most people wouldn't come and sit with him.

The hours passed as Freez sipped his drinks, staring blankly at the table. His middle finger glided across the table top, like an invisible ice skater, swishing back and forth. He'd got to what he called the "comfortable stage". This was when he cared less about what could happen to him, and didn't feel as many of the broken springs in the seat. He was lost in thought, light years away on his home planet, in a time that had long since slipped from his grasp.

He never saw the two men enter the bar, or when they went over to the bar, carefully eying everyone in the room. He never heard the landlord grunt again or see his nod to the corner of the room where Freez sat. He was so lost in dreams that he never saw the two huge men march over to his seat, or see that the landlord had set the silent alarm off on the screen on the table top.

The two hulks split up, plonking themselves either side to remove Freez's options of escaping.

Too late, he looked to his left and was confronted by a grotesquely scarred face. The completely black and lifeless eyes stared at him, sucking the strength from his soul. Muscles bulged everywhere; mountainous peaks and troughs as one flowed into another, and another.

The one on his right never looked at him, as he slid in closer. He watched everyone else in the bar, waiting for any signs of assistance for his quarry. He was 99.9% certain that none would come, not for someone like Freez, not in a place like this, but even knowing those odds he still never took any chances; which was why he was the best of his type.

Freez looked to his right and saw a slightly smaller version of the beast on his left. This one was different as he eventually turned and smiled at Freez. He obliged by smiling back at him, having no other options available. He hated times like this, as he was very willing to gain and give information to anyone, at any time, as long as he never got hurt. Unfortunately, he knew that this was one of those times.

"Freez, how are you doing?" The deep husky, almost whispery voice came from the smaller hulk.

"Fine, fine, never better in fact." Freez's voice warbled in perfect tune to his personal quivering as fear ran amok through his nervous system.

"I'm Sharlock, and I am so pleased to finally meet you." The smile never changed, but Freez saw that the black eyes never gave away any other feeling than complete and utter malevolence. They delved deep into Freez's soul, chilling and evil, scouring away & ripping the tiny piece of good that was left deep within him.

"H-H-Hi." Freez stammered, nervously.

"Do you know who I am?" The voice was so controlled and calm.

"Y-Y-You're a M-M-M-Mallesian, I-I-I think." Freez was really struggling to speak now.

"Correct, were from Malle, well done." He smiled at Freez. "And do you know my name?"

"Sh-sh-sh-sh..."

"We don't have to be quiet, we're with friends in here." The Hulk quipped as Freez stammered.

The larger hulk on the other side of Freeze groaned at the terrible joke.

"Sh-Sharlock?" Freez enquired, knowing it was the evil and feared Mallesian spy.

"Well done Freez, you do know your stuff. So, as we're acquainted..." He motioned towards the table. "Wouldn't you like to offer us a drink?"

Freez nodded slowly, eventually tearing his gaze away from the pitch black & dead eyes to look at the tables ordering screen. He flinched as he finally saw the warning flashing away, telling him that someone was after him.

Sharlock glanced at the table, a wry smile on his face as he looked up at the landlord, who kept his eyes firmly on the glass he was wiping out of existence.

"Nice to find a landlord who looks after his customers." Sharlock tapped in a few keystrokes on the ordering screen.

Moments later the landlord arrived with two large ales, both had a top which billowed thick black smoke into the air. He set them on the table and held out his small tablet towards Sharlock, who merely glanced at Freez.

The landlord understood the gesture and proceeded to thrust the scanner under the quivering nose of the bulbous Rodensian, trapped between his captors.

Freez obligingly placed a quaking thumb onto the pad.

The landlord looked back at Sharlock who had reset the screen to its flashing warning message. The landlord grunted again and shrugged his shoulders.

A roar of laughter erupted from Sharlock's.

Freez nearly leapt up to the roof in shock, as did virtually all of the other customers in the bar.

"I admire the man's morals." He said as he turned back to the cowering Freez. "First he gives you up, and then reconciles this act of betrayal by setting off the warning system." He laughed once again, his voice echoing off the walls of the bar. This time nobody flinched, except Freez.

"I believe that you have some interesting news about our good friends and close neighbours on Ansolon." Sharlock asked, raising one eyebrow. He moved closer, and Freez tried to back away, only to find Sharlock's quiet aide impeding his exit. Sharlock placed an arm firmly around the cowering Rodensian's shoulders and yanked him towards him, squeezing him a little more. "And, my dear friend, I'd like the truth. All of it, not the over-embellished excrement you're currently peddling for a few meager credits."
Chapter 26. Home Again.

"Excellent." Ian stopped holding his breath. "Right, let's get this hooked back up to the power and services in the conference room, and then we'll continue with the briefing." He looked around everyone, most of who were still shocked by what had just happened and were nervously chuckling to themselves. "OK, back in here tomorrow, when we'll let Cock-up describe and not touch." He waited a second before slapping the unlucky Sergeant on the back and laughing out loud. "Those of you who didn't know will now agree that you have an excellent pseudonym."

"Nobody was hurt." Cock-up said quite frankly. "So it was a great training exercise as to what could happen in a real situation."

"Tell that to the Rexon," Brock interjected quickly. "I think the ship they were flying towards us was not on a training exercise."

"And the missile fired at us was extremely real in my books." CT chirped in, his strong Home Counties accent clearly enunciating the words. "And as much as I love ordnance, that was a little too close of a test detonation for my liking." He nodded to everyone, agreeing with himself.

"I get the picture." Cock-up held his hands up in acceptance of his guilt. "My mistake, even though I did mean to do that."

"What?" Ian exclaimed.

"Yes, it was all part of my plan of giving you guys a practical demonstration, and to test a theory."

"I think we'll change your name to Mental." Corporal Berry added.

"No, let me explain." He glanced around everyone who all waited intently. "As you saw earlier, before I did my test transport. There were red dots and green dots on the planets in quite a few different locations of the universe."

"Correct, but what has that got to do with taking everyone and everything in this room halfway across the flaming galaxy." Lanky was getting a little irate.

"True, I had made the slight..." He hesitated before he used the words. "Cock-up in forgetting that the display table was hooked up to the base." He waved his hands as he pleaded for leniency. "But it showed you new guys what to expect, and also answered the dotty question."

"Dotty question?" Ian asked, perplexed.

"We'd assumed that the Dots were associated with the Rexon, but couldn't understand why there were different colours."

"And what did that trip to nowhere tell us?" Lanky asked abruptly.

"The green dots are vessels, ships, and most probably other craft that contain Rexon technology."

"so, how come we only saw one dot, there must have been more than one ship on that planet." Dicko asked.

"Ah, yes." Cock-up held a hand up as he thought. "When we started the presentation in here, we started with Earth, and then zoomed out to the Galaxy, then out again, and again, and so on." He was greeted with puzzled looks. "I presume it's the same on the Kylapitar, a bit like a map on the computer. It starts with city view, and then increases when you zoom out."

"So, we only saw the one heading towards us on the planet, as it was within the zoomed-in range of the Key-la-pee-tar thingymabob!" Lanky waggled his finger at the device.

"Exactly." Cock-up replied excitedly. "And we'd have not seen that until we'd gone to a planet with Green blobs."

"A little heads-up in future would have been nice." Ian replied. "OK, so what are the red ones?"

"They're still a little grey."

"I thought they were red!" Corporal Berry quipped.

Everyone groaned. Corporal Berry accepted it like praise.

"I think the only thing we can safely assume is that they are Kylapitars." Cock-up added.

"How can you tell that?" Dicko asked.

"Because Earth had a Red dot on it, in this location, and the only bit of kit we've got is this." Cock-up waggled the Kylapitar in the air.

The room was silent at the thought of other devices out there, and the ease at which the enemy could move troops and munitions.

"And if we can see them, then they can see us." Dicko stated a painful truth.

"Correct." Cock-up said. "What we can't do is associate the symbols with the planets."

"What do you mean?" Brock asked.

"We don't know which symbols on the Kylapitar screen will take you to which planet with a dot."

"How many symbols are there on the device?" Ian asked, a thought occurring to him.

"I scrolled through hundreds while trying to find out way back here." Cock-up replied, just as the penny dropped. "But we didn't see that many dots, thus there are many planets that don't have any Rexon tech or Kylapitars on them."

"Exactly." Ian nodded. "And that may mean more friendlies, allies."

"More and improved Ordanance." CT added, his eyes lighting up at the thought.

"So we need to align the symbols with the planets." Cock-up added excitedly.

"Wow." Finchy spoke up for the first time. "If we could do that, then we'd not be fighting the crocodiles in the swamp, but sailing through a bed of rose petals."

Everyone froze for a second as they tried to compute what he meant.

"Not been in the military for a while then, talking such private-sector-arty-farty-claptrap?" Lanky stated in his simple Yorkshire accent.
Chapter 27. Show and Tell.

Eric, Aisha, and Skaler stood silently, and all were a little worried. Ashton hovered near Eric's shoulder, not as concerned as the others, but was intrigued about what was happening.

Sim came and stood in front of Eric, and looked him in the eyes as he asked a very simple question, "Are you honest?"

Eric couldn't be sure, but if he ever managed to recount this event in his short, yet hectic life, he'd say that he felt something touch his deepest thoughts. It was as if a gentle mist had wandered into his mind, and slowly drifted from one set of thoughts to another, never delving deeply, merely calling out the question, over and over again.

After a few seconds, Sim repeated the question while looking deep into Aisha's eyes.

Ashton watched Sim very intently, his own skills and abilities being used to follow the mist through their minds.

Sim stood in front of Skaler, who was looking decidedly sheepish by this point. He opened his mouth to ask the question before stopping and then laughed out loud. "No need to worry my young friend." He placed a reassuring hand on Skaler's shoulder. "I can't fully read minds, only sense a feeling. And even though you presume you are completely dishonest, you are actually the antithesis of that fact."

Skaler's face screwed up and he tilted his head to one side, like a dog awaiting a command that it understood.

"No my friend, you are a very honest person." Sim explained.

Skaler sighed as he didn't want to let anyone down. That in itself was a weird thought, but this new-found feeling of friendship was one that he'd never really had before. The Guild of thieves had always felt like a family, but that was probably because he never knew what a true family was. Since being caught stealing fruit outside Mr.Kebblewell's shop in Killnjar, he'd found his first true friends. Skaler felt a little scared that he was about to lose it all if he'd been found dishonest.

"Once again, I apologise for the intrusion into your minds." Sim said and bowed to them.

Eric was the first to speak. "No problem, but we wouldn't mind knowing why?"

"It would normally take many weeks of observation and quite a few readings to see if you could be trusted." He explained to them. "Alas, circumstances have hastened this process, and I believe that maybe we should let you into our little secret."

"Secret? I like the sound of that." Skaler added, intrigued.

"Yes, we might as well explain everything, and the best way to do this is to take you for a short walk." Sim continued. "If you would all like to follow me."

He turned away from them and took the first couple of paces.

"What about Tom?" Eric asked, looking back at his peacefully sleeping friend.

"Jo will watch over him, and if there should be any adverse reactions, he will know how to contact us." Sim smiled at him. "Now please, will you follow me?"

Ashton noted that Sim's voice was not its usual calming and musical tone, but had turned harsh. He couldn't tell why, and was suddenly hit with a dilemma. He sensed that all was not quite right about the situation, and wondered if it was they or Tom who was in danger. He couldn't be in two places at once, so decided to go with the group, as the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, or the one.

They all followed Sim round the corner and back into the entrance cave. From here he led them into the short middle cave.

"Excuse me, Sim" Eric asked. "Isn't this cave a dead end, as the ones either side lead into the cave 5 metres behind this rock?"

"You would have thought so wouldn't you?" Sim replied, a sly grin on his face.

Eric looked around at everyone, and they were all trying to work out the same problem, all except Ashton, who was watching Sim, trying his best to secretly read his mind.

"Please, this way." Sim held out his arm to point into the seemingly short cave.

After a few seconds of hesitation Eric led the others in, cautiously at first. Sim smiled as they passed, bunching up behind the trapped Eric, who had already reached the back of the tiny cave and had turned around. He looked at the others and shrugged his shoulders. Sim finally entered, a fleeting look of concern flashed across his face as Ashton flew past him. Eric noticed it and looked at Ashton, who seemed to be concentrating on something. He decided that now wasn't the best time to discuss this with the Hawcon leader privately later.

"Ah, so you now all think I've made you arrive at a dead end for no reason." Sim placed his hand onto the rock surface. "Please stay perfectly still."

They all watched in wonder as the rock under Sim's hand started to glow. A tiny flash of light burst out of the rock from under the tip of his thumb, and traced all the way round his hand. A bright light glowed under his hand, making it become transparent, as if he'd placed his hand over a torch head.

Eric presumed that this was some sort of security scanner, reading his hand-print to check that he was allowed in. He was then struck by another thought, one far more intriguing. Allowed into where?

Further back down the passage, towards the entrance of their little cave, a single beam of light burst from the ceiling. It blasted into the floor, before spreading sideways, blocking off their exit.

Aisha stopped smiling and started to back up into Eric, who gently placed a hand on her arm. "I think it's OK." He whispered quietly.

"Think it's OK?" She flashed her head around at him; a look of anger came with it.

"It is OK, Aisha." Sim said. "This is scanning my hand, it's a security device." He smiled at her. "The light field behind me has been placed across the entrance to this room to make sure everyone is safely within the transport unit."

"Transport unit?" Skaler asked cautiously. "Transport to where?"

Sim removed his hand from the wall; the imprint glowing for a second before fading away. The light curtain that was across the entrance to the cave dropped into the ground and before them was a sight to behold.

"It's a transport unit to here, the underground city of Lynd." Sim stretched his arm, like a magician's assistant showing off the finished trick to the audience.

"Wow!" Skaler said as usual. Then he dropped his head in thought. "What would Tom call it?"

"Brill!" Eric answered, which was the word he was about to use.

"That's it, Brill!" Skaler snapped his fingers and then pointed his index finger like a gun. "Peew, peew!"

Eric smiled.

Tom taught me that one the night we arrived." He was grinning like a school kid who's just been given an annual pass to the chocolate factory.

Aisha had jumped at the sound. "I don't think Tom's a good influence on you." Walking past him onto a large platform overlooking a huge city which spread out before them. She froze, her head tilted down.

Skaler bumped into her as he tried to click his fingers again. "Aisha, why have you stopped?" He asked.

Eric had now joined them and was concerned by her sudden action. He walked round to the front of her and saw that she had a look of total horror on her face. She was also staring at the floor.

"What's up with her?" Skaler asked Eric. "She'd just stopped dead."

Eric followed her eyes down. The platform they were standing on was made out of clear glass. The buildings and people below were at least 100 metres away. He understood what the problem was and took hold of her arms. "Aisha, look at me." He asked.

"I....cant." She managed to say.

"Yes you can, now look at me." He said it sternly, squeezing her arms a little.

After a second of waiting he ducked down a little, so that his head came into her field of view. She looked at him without moving her head. Their eyes made contact. "Good." He said. "Now let's follow my head back up." He slowly stood back up, Aisha's head followed. "It's OK." He kept repeating to reassure her.

Eric kept his eyes locked on Aisha. "How safe is this glass floor?" He asked Sim.

"This platform is made of a transparent alloy that can withstand a point loading of 500Kg per square centimetre."

"Now did you hear that? This is a see through aluminium." He calmly relayed the information to Aisha, to help her overcome her fear. "I'd have to get all of you on my shoulders, including Tom, and then stand on just one big toe. And I'd say that even then, the load on that one little point would not damage the floor."

"So, jumping up and down on the spot wouldn't make any difference either?" And with that Skaler started to try out the theory.

The platform hardly quivered, but Aisha suddenly threw herself into Eric's arms.

"Skaler, pack it in." Eric snapped. "Can't you see she's scared of heights?"

Aisha rolled her eyes up to see his smiling face.

"Don't worry; the Numpty's stopped acting like Tigger." He added a warming smile.

"What's a Numpty, and who's Tigger?" She asked, smiling a little.

"He's a Numpty, and I don't need to say anymore. And Tigger is a character from a book on Earth."

Skaler stopped his bouncing and looked down. "Wow! They look like ants from up here." He said out loud, then turning to Sim. "How many people live in here?"

"There are twelve thousand of us in here." Sim answered.

"And are there other places like this?" Ashton enquired, as he'd listened very carefully to what Sim had said, and realised that he wasn't telling them everything.

"There are more on this planet." Sim replied, a slightly strained smile across his face. "Let me show you around." He added with a bigger smile, which Ashton realised was being used evade the subject.

They returned to the small cave and Sim once again held his hand against the rock face. The same reaction was seen and the curtain fell over the entrance. Moments later it poured into the ground and they had arrived at ground level.
Chapter 28. Timing

The radio crackled in Sharlock's hand as he raced along the dark and eerily quiet streets, his hulking aide only steps behind. "We're on our way back up; I want the ship ready and prepped for battle, and a comm. link set up to Maredsous in the High Command on Malle."

He waited a second to see if the lieutenant that he'd left in charge had understood. There was no reply. "DID YOU RECEIVE?" he barked into the device, both he and his aide coming to a halt.

Sharlock looked at the seemingly useless device and was tempted, in his current state of rage, to throw the unit with all his might against a wall. He shook it about, hoping that this would help repair itself somehow.

"That won't help, my friend." A voice came from the shadows ahead of them. "It won't help at all."

Sharlock didn't even look up to see where it came from. "Why not?" He asked as he shook the unit again.

"There's too much interference coming from all the security devices on the buildings down here." The voice said. There was silence for a moment and then a man appeared from the shadows and stepped out into the dimly lit street ahead of them.

"And where is here?" Sharlock asked, finally raising his head to see who it was.

"I apologise. I presume you're not from these parts." He paused, waiting for a reply; none came. "I'm Plau, and here is Brown 5, known locally as the Dark-and-Die area, for reasons you'll soon find out." He pulled back his long coat and a machete blade menacingly glinted from the limited light of a nearby streetlamp.

"Impressive tool you have there, Plau." Sharlock replied. "Notice how my aide and I are quivering in our boots where we stand." Neither of them even blinked at the threat the huge blade posed.

"True, I would assume that I would not be a match for you on my own, but if I always get by with a little help from my friends." The dark stranger let out a short sharp whistle.

There was a small rustling of feet in all directions and out of the shadows appeared 8 men, brandishing a variety of glinting weapons from long bladed ones to heavy ones with spikes on chains. Some had two machete type blades that they swished and rotated skillfully.

Sharlock and his aide could clearly see that these assailants knew how to handle their weapons, yet still, neither Sharlock nor his aide flinched.

"I don't actually have a lot of time for this." Sharlock said finally giving up on the radio and placing it back into his pocket. "So, if you don't mind, I'd like to be on my way before I have to kill all of you."

There was a moments silence as the thugs passed incredulous looks from one to the other at Sharlock's threat.

Plau started to laugh, and his accomplices joined in. After a few seconds the laughter subsided. "I do like your sense of humour, but this will only take a moment of your time." He removed his blade and swished it back and forth a couple of times. "Treat this like a game of poker." He continued. "I've shown you my hand, and you've quite clearly bluffed." Plau nodded at Sharlock. "So now I'm calling it."

"So you call it Poker, on Malle, we call it Rekop."

"That shows how backwards the Mallesians really are."

"Very funny my friend, but back to your game." Sharlock replied, containing his anger at the insult. "I presume you want to see my hand now."

"Yes, I think we all would, if you don't mind." Plau let out a half-hearted laugh, still not believing the gall off his victim.

Sharlock's aide folded his arms across his chest and huffed his derision at the delay to his leader.

Some of the thugs readied themselves, adrenalin flowing as the hopped from one foot to the other.

"OK Plau, you've called." Sharlock pulled his hands from his pockets slowly and opened his palms for all to see.

"What are those on your hands?" Plau asked, noticing the four small golden orbs which hovered and swirled around on each opened hand.

Sharlock smiled. "The official name of these are NMBGs."

The leader's voice started to have a slight hint of panic in it as he asked. "NMBGs, what does that mean?"

"Non-Mallesian Blister Grenades." Sharlock grinned, his jagged teeth like a sharks.

"And, erm." Plau cleared his throat. "What do they do?" Starting to fear the answer.

"I'm glad you asked that, as they do this." He quickly dropped his hands from under the units, all of which made a small click and the top halves turned red.

The thugs surrounding Sharlock and his aide leant in a little towards the multi-coloured spinning orbs, trying to see them a little closer. They looked from one to another as they heard a single musical note, rising in pitch and volume.

The red and gold halves of the orbs started to pulse. The luminescence of the colours and the noise increased for a couple of seconds as everyone stood transfixed on them.

"Now!" Sharlock nodded and the orbs shot off in all directions, each one landing on a different weapon wielding thug, all except Plau who stood horrified, watching all of this occur.

"I'd stick your fingers in your ears if I was you." Sharlock told Plau, demonstrating the action to him.

There was a moment's complete silence as all the thugs stopped tugging at the small units that had landed on them. It was as if they knew what was about to happen and had decided to all give up at the same instant. What had actually happened was that a massive shot of morphine had been injected into their bodies, stopping them from removing the device.

Plau was frozen to the spot as the effectiveness of the units became apparent. His team of muggers all exploded as one, bits of them flying over everything around him. He could hear a loud high pitched scream, and finally realised it came from him. Plau set off running along the alley behind him, hoping to get away before Sharlock let loose with another blister grenade.

Sharlock merely picked various large pieces of exploded thug off himself for a few seconds. "Break him." He ordered, never looking up from his task of flicking pieces off his jacket.

The aide nodded and then gave chase. For such a huge man, he was extremely nimble on his feet and soon caught the screaming Plau. In one swift movement he lifted him off the ground by the collar of his coat in one hand and swung him upwards and sideways. Plau's legs floated into the air for a moment before they were grabbed by the aides other hand. Plau was held horizontally in the air as the aide dropped onto one knee.

To anyone who had wrongly ventured out and into the area that night, it would have looked as if the aide was about to propose to someone, whilst holding them a gift above his head. Alas there were no other witnesses as in one very swift movement, Sharlock's aide snapped Plau across his knee, killing him instantly.
Chapter 29. Tell-tale Signs

"I'm afraid that as K'nash is otherwise indisposed I'll have to carry on with the interrogation gentlemen." Prant smiled at Janosh and Harvin. They glanced at each other, wondering if the smile was one of sympathy for how harshly they'd been treated, or one that meant that he was about to enjoy his work.

"I first have to say that I've unfortunately been talking to an associate of mine." Prant continued as he strolled around in the shadows of the now baking interrogation cell. "It seems that I've let slip some information about Ansolon's current problems."

"What problems?" Harvin said huskily, as the air was so hot and dry.

"Ooh, that sounds like you have a very dry throat there, your majesty." Prant turned away from them and momentarily returned carrying a metallic jug. "Here, have a drink of water." He stepped towards them. As he neared he said "Oops", he then playfully and deliberately stubbed the toe of his military boot on the floor, making him spill the contents of the jug down Harvin's shirt, trousers and on the floor. Even though the jug had been sat in the shade, the contents had still become quite hot and as the searing heat soaked his clothes and hit his already tender skin, Harvin screamed in agony.

"You Rexon swine." Janosh cursed.

"Now, now, chief. That's not a very nice thing to say, as you saw it was an accident." He pointed to a perfectly smooth floor. "I tripped and lost my footing. I can only apologise." And he bowed before Harvin. "I beg your forgiveness, your highness." He gave a moment's honour to the king, but as he stood up he was laughing.

"Oh the look on your face. You are in agony over the hot water and you, security chief are annoyed that I would do something like this to your king." He laughed some more. "Little do you know what I have done to your planet. You're so engrossed with this petty squabble against me that you can't see the whole picture."

Harvin finally composed himself. The heat of the day had blistered his exposed skin, and the pain of the hot water still made him feel like he was melting, but Prant had just struck a nerve. His planet was somehow under threat, and that was more important. "What have you done?" He asked.

"I unwittingly told my associate, Freez." Prant turned to look at Janosh, who had pursed his lips and slowly shook his head as he heard the name. "Ah, an associate of yours as well I presume." He said to Janosh.

"Not an associate, more a pain in the backside." He slowly raised his head and gave a Prant a steely look.

"Yes I have used him on many occasions to annoy you, and your allies." Prant added gleefully, looking up at the suns and wiping a bead of sweat off his brow. He returned to the shadows again and started to circle the room as he continued.

"What have you asked him to steal this time?" Janosh asked reluctantly.

"Oh, my dear security chief, I haven't asked him to steal a single thing." He stayed in the shadows as he circled the prisoners. "In actual fact I've asked him to do the opposite, to give something out." He paused for effect while he walked round to face them again, "For free."

"There is nothing that Freez would give freely, except lies." Janosh was wondering what Prant's game was, as he couldn't work it out yet.

"You are so close with that answer." Prant continued. "They are mere words that he is giving out, mainly truthful, but I would presume that someone of his calibre would have added some embellishments by now."

"What have you said?" Harvin added the question, his strength returning more than his pain was subsiding.

"Well that there's been a huge accident on the planet, which explains the loss of K'nash's ship." He said as he continued his promenade. "And that you two have been captured, leaving the planet in disarray, and with relatively few defences." He'd circled them again and as he came into their view he had a hand up to his face in mock surprise. "Unfortunately, Freez will tell everyone, and I think I haven't helped matter by sending him the message on an unsecured transmission."

"So everyone within hearing distance will pick it up and think that Ansolon is for the taking." Janosh sighed deeply. He felt terrible that his plan, which seemed so prefect initially, would come to this. "I'm sorry Harvin; I've let you and the planet down."

"It's not your fault; I should have seen the problems for you." Harvin replied trying to ease Janosh's pain.

"Oh, how touching." Prant wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes. "It would be such a shame if the Mallesions found out." He let the words sink into both Ansolons. "Especially if I accidentally made sure that Sharlock was listening."

"You scheming Rexon pig." Janosh started bucking about on the chair, trying to snap the bindings from his wrists. "If I ever get out of here, I'll kill you with my bare hands."

"Well, what a coincidence." Prant continued a look of shock now on his face to help the mocking. "That's exactly what Sharlock said he'd love to do to you, Janosh."

"AAAARRRGGGHHH!!" Janosh screamed. The neck muscles visibly tightened as he pulled with all his might to free himself. His usual calm and very collected self had finally snapped.

"I think we're finally getting somewhere now." Prant added, contentedly. "My dear King Harvin, do you know why Janosh is so aggrieved?" He asked more to prolong Janosh's pain, who was still wriggling and pulling, his efforts were now bouncing the chair around on the floor.

"I only know that he was sent on various military missions against Mallesions." Harvin replied, he didn't want to tell him all the facts of the reports he'd read over the years.

"I know that you know everything to do with the missions, as you receive every report." Prant said. "I am also heartened to see that even in these dark and terrible times that you are still not breaking and are keeping the information within. I admire that, I really do." He nodded at him and continued to circle them again. He congratulated the King, inwardly, for his resolute attitude. He passed the still struggling Janosh.

"I'll help fill in the details for you, Harvin. 5 Years ago Janosh was sent to lead a team of your top infiltration soldiers to the moon Cappu, which orbits the planet Ital. This is a Mallesion colony planet, one which is clearly within the agreed sanctuary zone under the Juille Treaty I believe." He stopped walking and looked at Harvin, who merely nodded back at him to help confirm his details. "But your intelligence also found a base of operations for the Mallesion Special Forces on Cappu, which was even secret from their own kin on the planet below them." He shook his head back and forth sarcastically. "Terrible that people would keep such secrets." Then he threw his head back and laughed. "Anyway, I digress. Janosh led the infiltration team that found the Special Forces camp and destroyed it, killing everyone." He turned to Janosh. "Or so you thought."

Harvin was suddenly concerned by this new information. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, so the Mallesions aren't the only ones to keep secrets, are they Janosh?" Prant asked of the security chief, who had now used all his energy up and was merely slumped forward in his chair, breathing heavily from the exertion.

"Yes, a young officer was out of the camp on a routine patrol, and hadn't been picked up by the Ansolonian ships sensors. He escaped and returned to Malle to inform his superiors of the attack. It was unfortunate that the senior officer he told was Sharlock."

Even though Janosh was completely worn out from his struggling he threw his head back up at the sound of the name and started to make a low rumbling growl-like noise.

"Sharlock. Sharlock." Prant sarcastically repeated the name, just to wind him up. He watched the anger rise more in Janosh's eyes, and then laughed again. "Anyway, Sharlock had a brother on Cappu, who was killed by the Ansolonian Infiltration team. He vowed to make whoever was responsible pay." He walked round the back of Janosh and leant forward to whisper in his ear. "Which he certainly did with the whole of your immediate family."

Janosh whipped his head back and smashed the rear of his skull into the bridge of the Rexon commander's nose. As Prant reeled backwards in agony, Janosh lifted himself up onto his toes and ran backwards as fast as he could, straight at Prant. The Rexon leader never saw anything coming as he was concentrating on stemming the flow of blood from his nose.

Janosh hit him hard with the legs of the chair, sending one through the soft tissue above the knee and out the back of the Rexon leader's leg, making him instantly scream in agony. As he collapsed, the whole grotesque structure of men and chair fell backwards, smashing the chair upon impact with the floor. Janosh's binding came free and he instantly he leapt up and spun round, gripping hold of a leg of the smashed chair. He raced back over to a very impressed but startled Harvin, and whipped the sharp end of the broken leg through the bindings, instantly freeing him.

Turning back towards Prant, he saw that he was now realising what had happened and was trying to stand up to get to the side of the room. Janosh leapt on him and grabbed hold of the broken piece of chair that was embedded within his leg and twisted it round. This got the attention of the Rexon commander and sent him crashing back down to the floor in agony.

Harvin had now joined them and picked up another broken piece of metal. "Can we make it out alive?" He asked Janosh, some strength coming to him as the adrenalin raced through his veins.

"Let's give it a damn good try." He looked towards the door as the guards flung it open and started to charge in, weapons aimed at the two humans. "They won't kill him, and they probably won't kill us, if they're not given the order." He added.

They waited a few seconds to see how it all panned out. The guards had formed a line across the far side of the room. Harvin was behind Janosh, who had one arm around Prant's throat, and the other hand on the leg of the chair that was embedded in the Rexon's leg.

After a couple of minutes another Rexon entered. Janosh assumed that he was probably a middle ranking officer, what he would class as a lieutenant. "You – leave – him - down, back – move - you, killing – here – today - never." He waived his arms at the group in the middle of the floor.

"I presume he's only just learning our language, is he Prant?" Janosh asked and twisted the metal slightly to get the Rexon commander's attention. Prant screamed again. The soldiers all steadied themselves, ready for the shot to present itself. There was an eerie silence as no-one moved. Then the officer stepped forward, realising that he had to do something, but afraid to take command of the situation as it was developing. He turned to face the guards and called out. "Nig Flort, Nig Flort" He held his arms out, waving his hands up and down slowly. The soldiers lowered their weapons reluctantly, but kept them ready to shoot from the hip, if required. He then turned to the three on the floor. "What – have – needings – you - want."

"I presume he wants to know our demands." Harvin said, nodding towards the anxious officer. "So, what needings do we have Chief?"

"Hmmmmm, let me think." Janosh replied.
Chapter 30. A New World

"Brill!" Skaler exclaimed as he stepped from the transporter.

"Presume that's the new Wow?" Aisha said as she strode past him and across the small courtyard.

It was about 30 metres square, with a small pillar in the centre which faced the entrance to the cave they'd just used. Aisha noticed how clean everything was, and that the pillar had some symbols on it. She turned towards Sim. "What do these mean?"

"Ah, that is a welcome greeting and a message of luck." He replied, strolling over to her. "Roughly translated into your tongue, it says Welcome, Good Bearings bring you here, may you find friendship, hope and duplicity."

"Duplicity, that's a strange term to use." Aisha questioned.

"I presume it's a translation problem," Eric explained. "We're struggling to understand each other at times, and we write in the same language."

"I presume so." Aisha was still puzzled.

"It probably means find Love or companionship, or something like that. Is that a better translation Sim?" Eric asked.

Sim rocked his head from side to side, "You could say it that way, I suppose."

Ashton's senses tingled as he knew that Sim wasn't being truthful, but couldn't know what it was about for certain, so kept his thoughts to himself.

"So, all this was here, all the time, and we didn't know a thing?" Eric asked Sim.

"Yes, we try to keep this as secret as possible, while we ascertain if you're a friend or a foe." He smiled at Eric and then held his arm out. "We'll head this way to meet the Council, as it takes us past some of the more enjoyable sights."

Everyone followed Sim through the underground City's streets while he described the history of its humble beginnings of a simple set of caves, and how long it took to create a livable habitat. He explained how they use the geothermal energy from within the planet to create power and light. Sim pointed out various pieces of architectural nuances that nobody really found interesting, but they all smiled and nodded at the right times enthusiastically. As they strolled through the city's streets other people came out of their dwellings and shops to look at them, most smiling and waving, most greeting them in their native tongue, which Eric and the rest didn't understand at all, but could tell that it was something kind and said with sincerity.

The group's reactions to the greeting were very different. Ashton was used to this sort of attention, being the leader of a race, as he'd been on various missions to new planets within the galaxy over the years with the Ansolonian leaders. His head was held high and he glided along, regally waving at the on-lookers. Aisha followed suit, as she also had been on state visits with her father, King Harvin, and had been taught how to react in these circumstances. Eric was a little embarrassed, but was still nodding and waving, and giving the odd "Hi" to the people they passed.

Skaler meanwhile loved the adulation, or adoration as he called it. The enthusiasm in his waving and greeting was met with a mixture of shock and amusement as he strode up to people and shook their hands and hugged them. His enthusiasm meant he kept falling behind the group, but he'd give his apologies, blow a few kisses to any young ladies who might be looking and then trot off to catch the others up.

"Enjoying yourself?" Eric asked as Skaler caught them up once more.

"Oh yeh, this is superb, I've never been a Celebrity before." He gave a huge wave and blew some kisses to a group of young females who were all standing outside a shop. One waved back, and then turned to her friends, who all giggled.

Eric shook his head slowly in disbelief.

Aisha had noticed his actions. "Skaler, stop that now." She said in a stern voice, her brow furrowed.

"Sorry Ma'am!" He mocked, thrusting his hands in his pockets, dropping his head and shuffling his feet along the path behind her. He'd also furrowed his brow and forced his bottom lip out as far as he could, playing the upset child perfectly. "S'not fair." He added in a grumpy voice.

"Typical." Aisha said. "I ask you to stop being so enthusiastic, and you throw a hissy-fit."

She snorted her anger at his actions, before turning back to follow Sim.

He'd been oblivious to this going on behind him as he'd continued to recount anecdotes about the City's buildings and places.

Eric was looking at Skaler, a mixture of mild amusement and respect at how he could act at going from ecstatic to miserable in a split second.

Skaler looked back at Eric with his miserable face, and then he burst out laughing. "Brill!" he said, before trotting off to greet some more people.

"Leave him alone," Eric said to Aisha as she tutted once again. "He's enjoying himself, and they're enjoying him, so don't let him wind you up."

"Well, he just does though." Aisha said as she stomped after Sim in a huff.

Eric had to jog a little to catch her up. "Something else will amuse him shortly, and then this will all be a distant memory."

"That's the problem, that something else will also annoy me." She stopped and looked at Eric, then glared at Skaler. "Everything he does annoys me." Flailing an arm in his direction.

Eric sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think he knows it does, so he does more things to get to you, as it's his way of coping with all this. He needs a release, someone to get at to make all of this normal." He gave her a heart-warming smile. "It could be worse; he could have been bullying you, using that as his release."

"No, worse was when he mugged you, remember? And that was back on his home planet of Ansolon, so what was his excuse then?" She raised one eyebrow knowingly, and then stormed off after Sim once again, who still hadn't noticed that they had all fallen behind and was still merrily describing architectural highlights of the city.

Eric had a bemused smile on his face as he turned towards Skaler, who was hugging and waving at everyone in sight. "SKALER!" He shouted at him. "COME ON, WE'RE BEING LEFT BEHIND."

Skaler looked up and saw the distance between the head of the group and him. "Oh!" he exclaimed suddenly. He turned to the group around him. "Sorry, gotta make tracks." He blew one huge kiss to them all and then ran towards Eric, who was half turned, waiting him to catch up. They both jogged along to reach Aisha, Eric giving the odd Hi out, Skaler still reveling in his Celebrity status.

"What have you been up to?" Ashton asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I've had this one drone on to me for the past mile about the wonders of the City's architecture." He rolled his eyes round in an exaggerated expression of boredom from Sim's stories.

"Sorry, we were just saying Hi to the locals." Eric replied, glancing at an annoyed Aisha and then at a sniggering Skaler.

"Ah, and here we are." Sim said as they rounded the final corner.

Ahead of them, the road ended at a huge archway, perfectly smooth and beautifully crafted into the rock face.

Eric looked up at the archway as they walked under it. It made a perfect semicircle over their heads.

"Wow!" Aisha said, looking at the building in the centre of the courtyard ahead of them.

Whereas everything else had been ornate and rather Victorian looking, this was a modern sleek building of glass and stone, mixed with huge timber supports and beams, hewn from what Eric believed would have probably been the biggest trees in forests above. It was angular, a sloping roof that started with a small apex at its peak on the right hand side, and kissing the ground on the left. To Eric, it looked like someone bowed over in respect. He smiled as he knew that if Tom had seen it he would have wanted to use is as a ski slope.

Sim guided them round the taller end and a huge glass pyramid came into view, which he informed them was the entrance.

Eric thought it was reminiscent of the controversial entrance to the Louvre in Paris, as it was also a glass pyramid, the corner of which was the point where you walked into the building.

"This way please." Said Sim, and he guided them across an atrium that seemed to reach up to the ceiling of the cave outside. Plants were growing within this part. There were huge palms at ground level, ivy and other trailing plants draped themselves across various balconies and open walkways on each of the floors above.

They all followed him, out of the atrium and into the angular building beyond. A wide central passage had impromptu meeting and seating areas along the sides. Every few metres was a glass fronted display cabinet presenting various delicious looking cakes and other foods, and it looked like anyone could simply walk up and select whatever took their fancy. Along the wall hung paintings, decorative rugs and tapestries depicting ancient battles and lifestyles from the times when they lived on the surface.

Eric wondered if these reminders brought sadness or joy to the viewers, showing them what they have had to give up to let their race exist in a life below the surface. Between the artwork stood majestic doors, all firmly closed, and he wondered what discussions and meetings were taking place. As they continued along the corridor, the number of floors diminished as the roofline dropped. Eric could see that by the time they reached the far end, there was only a singular and very imposing door.

The building was relatively quiet, only a few workers seen along the way, all stopping their meetings and food selections to smile at thei new arrivals to their world. Skalers boots clacked and scraped along the hard floor, echoeing off the walls. Aisha gave him another stare and huff, to which he simply shrugged his shoulders. So quiet was this space that Eric could hear the soft swish of Ashtons wings.

They arrived at the far end and Sim opened the huge solid wooden door and then bowed towards them as he showed them through and into a huge office beyond.

The door slammed shut behind them, making all four jump and turn round. They were alone. Sim had closed the door, and he was on the outside.

Eric turned and scanned the room as Skaler tried the door. It looked to be at least half the width of the building, and doors on each side wall indicated that further rooms lay beyond. The far wall was still quite tall, which meant that there was space between that wall and where the roof touched the ground. He couldn't see a door into that area and wondered if it was used at all, or if it had been sealed off.

"It's been locked." Skaler said, tugging on the handle.

"Use the lock-pick, dear man." Ashton instructed as he flew over to give assistance.

"I can't" Skaler replied.

"Why forever not?" Ashton asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Have you forgotten the device?"

"Nope, I already have it here in my hand." He waved the small pen shaped item in Ashton's face, his teenage frustration starting to show. "Look, here it is, but that's not the problem."

"So what is the problem, you insolent boy?" Ashton's patience was being tested as he could sense something sinister within the room, his senses spiking as his native instinct to flee came bursting to the top.

"If you can show me the lock to pick, then I'll start using it, but..." Skaler pointed the device at the extremely blank looking door.

Ashton gazed around the two huge ornately carved wooden panels. He couldn't even see a hinge at the side, let alone a handle to open it with. "How bizarre!" He exclaimed. It looked like the pieces of wood had been slipped into place, not that they were doors that had been used only moments before. His expression changed suddenly, from curious to anger in one very swift movement.

"What's up?" Skaler could see Ashton was deep in thought.

"I felt as though something wasn't right when we arrived in the courtyard outside, and it has grown in its strength and depth of malevolence the further we delved into the bowels of this building." He started to look around the room anxiously.

Skaler was watching him and wondered what was going on. He now stood with the curious look on his face holding the lock-pick in one hand, waving it around randomly at the door, hoping its magic would work.

Ashton kept looking furtively around the room, yet his voice was very calm and collected as he spoke to Skaler. "I would recommend that you keep trying to use the device to aid our escape."

"What's wrong?" Skaler asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

Ashton shot him an angry glance, and through gritted teeth said. "Trust me and just keep trying to open that door."

Skaler didn't need to be told twice. He'd had that look thrown his way on many occasions on Ansolon, and it was one that meant he had to do it, or suffer the consequences. He aimed the lock-pick at the door, but hesitated for a second, as he didn't know which part to use it against.

Ashton saw the delay, and his calm voice had returned as he said. "Point it in the middle, to start with, and then rotate it slowly around in an ever increasing spiral motion."

Skaler looked at Ashton, who was still turned away and now darting up and down, and from side to side, changing the angle of his view of the huge room.

Eric and Aisha, who had been taking in the grandeur of the room, walked back over to them.

Amused by Ashton's manic dance moves, Eric enquired. "What's up?" A slight smile on his face as he watched Ashton dart up and down, his head swishing back and forth.

"We need to leave, there's no visible lock, so the Rexon device is currently useless. I've asked Skaler to just point the damn thing at the door and start pressing." Ashton replied, the anxiousness starting to be heard.

"What's wrong?" Aisha asked, sensing the urgency. "Why do we have to leave so quickly?"

Ashton looked at Skaler. "Point and shoot, dear boy, just point and shoot." Skaler obliged, and the blue beam came from the end and hit the door. It appeared to shatter and multicoloured shards flew out and through them. They covered their eyes instinctively, but it made no difference, as the rays passed through their hands and then through them, spraying out across the room.

Skaler started to aim the beam in a spiral, swirling it around in an ever-increasing arc, his finger pressed firmly on the trigger button. The shards sprayed out, filling the room with a whole spectrum of colours. "It's not working."

"Keep trying!" Ashton encouraged, anxiously looking around the room.

"But why Ashton? What can you sense?" Eric asked.

Ashton stopped and looked at Eric, desperation in his eyes as he said, "Something very evil is in this very room."
Chapter 31. Reality Bites.

The bright flash of light dissipated and the group appeared. Several blinked the light blobs from their eyes while all remained crouched, aiming weapons in all directions, covering any point of attack.

"Clear!" Ian Jackson called out, which was repeated around the group in sequence. Once it had returned, he stood up and turned to face his team. "OK, we're safely in. And so far, we're undetected" He smiled at the nervous faces before him. "A quick verse of a campfire song might help this Scouting trip." He glanced at Dicko. "Sorry Angie, or where you in the Brownies?"

"Sea Cadets, Duke of Edinburgh Gold," Her gaze then went very intense. "Then special ops assassin."

"Fair point well made." He flashed an apologetic smile at her. "And with that I think we'll head off."

Lanky and Brock exchanged glances before letting out a little snigger.

"Cock-up, let's keep the Kylapitar switched off at the moment, so that we're not detected as quickly as the last time we were off world."

"No worries." Cock-up replied, remembering their previous encounter with the Rexon.

"Brock, can you take point please." Ian asked the eager soldier who nodded his acceptance of the position. "And Lanky, can you bring up the rear, please."

"Done." He replied in his usual direct Yorkshire method.

"Thank you lady and gents so lets get going." Ian did a quick look to see that everyone was ready to proceed.

"My, my, it's all very polite in this little troupe, is it not?" Finchy chirped up, amused at how agreeable everyone was being.

"There's always a need to be polite and decent." Ian replied as he passed, patting him gently on the shoulder.

Finchy fell in line with the others as they started to trek along a rough track that led off into the distance. "Yes, but what if the person you're dealing with isn't as polite. Won't you get a little frustrated at their lack of manners?"

"Nope, we'd just kill them." Dicko cleanly stated with a sly grin on her face.

"Oh!" Replied Finchy at the brutality of the outcome.

"Excellent." Ian broke the silence. "Let's head up to that ridge, and find out what's on the other side. Everyone be very alert." He paused for a second. "Please."

Another couple of sniggers erupted behind him.

After a few minutes, they'd climbed to the summit of a small hill, and Brock raised his hand to halt everyone before turning back to Ian. "It looks like a small village, and it's very quiet."

Ian looked around at their location. The village sat neatly in the bottom of a u-shaped glacial valley with a few clumps of trees rising up the sides to an altitude of probably 1000 metres at the summits of the mountains around them. "Let's get over to those trees first for some cover before we go too close to the edge of the village." He pointed to everyone's left at a small coppice about 100 metres away.

They all kept a neat formation, their Army training having been drilled into them to follow simple processes. All continued to check all points around them for anything unusual as they headed over to the better cover of the trees.

Once inside, they grouped around Ian. "OK, Grape & Brock, can you do a recce of the village, be quick, be clear, and be safe." He looked cautiously at the 2 men. "No weapons that make noises, unless absolutely necessary."

Both men patted their knife pockets on their tunics before turning and heading off the short distance to the nearest houses on the edge of the village. Within a few minutes Brock appeared again at the corner of the nearest house and signaled back the all-clear. The rest of the troupe trotted across to him.

"Seems fairly clear at the moment, but there's definitely been something here." He nodded down the lane which ran down the side of the house and into the centre. "There's been a fire fight at some point, Rexon weapons and local munitions scores across the fronts of the buildings about 100 metres. I think the locals gave it a good fight, but still lost."

"Damn." Ian exclaimed, peeking at the narrow lane bordered by two story flat roof buildings. Most looked like they were simple mud and timber built homes, with the odd local shop interspersed along the lane. It reminded him of his last tour of an Afghanistan village, very peaceful at this time of the evening, but also an ever-present underlying menace which could be hiding behind the next door. "I was hoping for some local intelligence or resistance, maybe even some allies." He tutted as he thought through their next move. "But you say it's quiet at the moment."

"Seems OK, but Grape is checking more thoroughly."

"Good, let's go and see for ourselves then."

They all kept to the left of the lane, hugging the line of roadside buildings; instincts, reactions and weapons at the ready. They watched every window for movement, checked every door was closed, adrenalin pumping as they waited for some movement. After two hundred metres they came across the first intersection of two roads.

Brock was leading once more and crouched, aiming his weapon towards the centre of the village, his eyes flitting back and forth. "Clear, but I'd suggest we bear right." He nodded as he scanned the village square ahead.

Ian crouched by his side, carefully eyeing the area ahead. A small area, approximately 70 metres square lay before them. At one end was a long make-shift low-level shelter, which Ian presumed was probably used by market traders. The central area was quite barren, which he thought would allow local groups to meet. At the back of the square was the largest building they'd seen so far. It had 3 floors, with a set of steps up to a balconied area along its front on the first level. It was in complete darkness, as had all the other buildings they'd seen so far. The bulk of the village looked to head off to the right, as Brock had indicated. "Agreed, we'll move over and then you take the rear flank."

Brock nodded, his eyes never stopping his scanning of the area.

Ian went to the back of the troupe to speak to Lanky. "Cross over and you lead, we're heading right."

Lanky nodded, got up from his crouch and dashed across the road.

Everyone followed suit, reversing the order of the line.

When Ian finally crossed he went to the front and slipped into the line just behind Lanky.

"Clear Boss." Lanky noted.

Ian scanned the area one last time. "OK, Go!"

They set off, with Ian dropping back to be alongside Brock at the rear.

After another 100 metres they stopped suddenly. Lanky had got to the corner of a building, and held his hand up.

"What's up?" Ian asked as he made his way along the crouching troupe.

"Grape's over there." He nodded down the next lane. "He's signaled that he's seen 3 Rexon in some sort of communication set up."

"Right." Ian turned back round and noticed that Brock was crouched next to a solid wooden gate. "Brock, can you just check in there." Nodding to the house that he was next to.

Brock dropped to the floor and peered into the garden under the gate. "Clear." He leapt up and carefully thumbed the latch open. The gate swung back quietly to reveal a small 3 metre square patch of dried grass. Strewn across it were very old, simply constructed and very dirty children's toys.

"I think the fire fight was quite a few years ago, looking at how unloved these are." Ian commented. "But let's take it carefully." He turned back to Lanky. "Tell Grape that we're setting up a makeshift base in here."

"OK." Lanky replied and instantly started to wave his hand about like someone trying to hit a demented wasp as he conveyed the message.

Within a couple of seconds he spun round and followed everyone else into the garden.

Brock and Dicko were already heading in through the back door.

Ian, Finchy and CT followed closely behind.

Within a minute the house had been checked and everyone, including Grape was safely gathered around the kitchen table at the rear of the house.

"We're here." Grape started by drawing a simple rectangle in the thick layer of dust on the kitchen table, to represent the house they currently occupied. He then drew another above it. "And that's the Rexon communication centre." He placed a cross in the building. "There are 3 operators, with no visible guards. They've limited weaponry and one of those hovering ships parked down the right hand side."

"Excellent." Ian nodded. "I think we'll assume this is their outpost." He looked for agreement, yet continued before he got the answer. "And I think it's safe to say that there's no local collateral damage to consider."

"True." Brock answered for everyone.

"May I blow it up then?" CT, who hadn't spoken so far in this mission, suddenly became excited.

"As you've asked so politely." He glanced at Finchy who merely scowled back. "Then you certainly may go and blow it up." Ian then looked at Cock-up. "Can you be ready to get us all out of here, without switching on the Kylapitar?"

"No worries." His eyes narrowed and he nodded his head up and down as a thought crossed his mind. "I'll probably need about 30 seconds from switch on to beam out."

"Great." Ian looked at Brock. "You and Grape go with CT, just in case we've missed someone out there, and set up the explosives on the building, that should be enough to take out the transmitter."

"Yep, and remember that if you do meet any opposition it's still hush-hush, if we can until CTs babies go boom, OK?" Lanky added.

"As always, unless it is absolutely necessary." Ian replied.

Everyone nodded their agreement before the three set off out of the back door on their mission. "Lanky, can you take the gate into the yard, and keep a check on our exit route. Dicko, Finchy, set up snipers positions in the upstairs bedrooms, just in case."

Everyone nodded and headed off to their respective command posts.

Ian and Cock-up went into the lounge and stood either side of the large window that overlooked the front of the house. They watched the explosives team appear on far the side road and dart across to the back of the building where the Rexon were based.

"So far, so good." Ian said quietly, knowing Cock-up was looking and checking all the other areas within their field of view. He watched CT swing his rucksack off his back and place it carefully on the floor. He opened the top and pulled out some beige blocks. Ian knew they were C4 explosives and saw CT carefully place the timed detonators into them, setting the timers as he went along the wall at the rear of the Rexon communication centre.

CT was just wedging the last one into a small gap in the brickwork when a tiny red dot appeared and bobbled around on his left hand side. Ian watched in horror, knowing he couldn't tell the soldier what was happening, and willed his fears towards the soldier, hoping some telepathic link would be felt between them.

The light stopped moving, turned green and grew in size.

"Damn!" Ian gritted his teeth as he watched a fist sized hole appear where the green dot had been. An explosion erupted from CT's right hand rib cage as he was blasted sideways into the wall before slumping to the floor, dead. "Damn." Ian repeated angrily under his breath. "Cock-up, do you see anything?"

"Oh no." Cock-up stated as he swung his vision along the lane. "Rexon guards, I can see 5."

"Damn!"

Brock and Grape started firing their weapons at them as they saw what had happened to CT, and then saw the Rexon heading towards them. The first 3 Rexon guards were instantly cut down as they hadn't seen the other two Humans hiding in the shadows at either side of their communications building. More thick green beams of light shot out of the Rexon weapons, blasting holes in the buildings above and around Brock and Grape's positions.

"COVER FIRE!" Ian shouted, knowing that Dicko & Finchy wouldn't have needed the command as he heard the soldiers move their positions on the floor above them.

Cock-up fired a couple of careful rounds towards the soldiers, not wanting to waste bullets.

"BROCK, GRAPE, BACK HERE, NOW!" Ian shouted.

Just as he gave the last order, the window exploded as they were now under attack from the remaining 2 guards. The one nearest to them was hit, knocking him into the street, and into the full line of sight of Grape who didn't miss. The last guard adjusted his position to give him better cover from the weapons being fired at him. He casually waved his weapon about, blindly shooting anywhere, hoping for a lucky shot.

Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The guard was frozen for a second, not believing that he'd been hit, and then he fell onto the wall he was using for cover.

Lanky appeared on the lane at the front of the house. "I step out the place for a split second and look what happens."

Ian chuckled, and then shouted. "CHECK CT."

Brock ran across to the fallen comrade and checked his pulse. He gave a thumbs down signal to Ian before grabbing hold of him and lifting him over his shoulder.

Ian nodded, knowing that Brock was following his rule No.1; No one gets left behind, even the dead. This was for two main reasons. Firstly, the technology they possessed may be far in advance of the civilisation they were visiting, and as such could taint the timelines and development of that planet forever. Secondly, and more importantly, they should never let the enemy get their hands on that technology, as they could create a means of defending themselves against any weapon found.

"Damn." Ian sighed. "I didn't want to lose one on our first mission."

"Don't worry, Mr.Jackson, you haven't lost one." The deep gravelly voice came from behind them. Ian and Cock-up spun round to see 8 Rexon guards, all pointing their weapons at the two humans. "Good bye Mr.Jackson."

Ian had that final moment of despair, knowing that he'd let everyone down. Everything slowed to a virtual standstill as his brain processed thousands of pieces of information and thoughts. More Rexon guards appeared from side streets, kill Lanky, Brock and Grape with ease. He hoped that Dicko and Finchy wouldn't be found upstairs, but realised in that last instant of his life, that it was a very unlikely.

He glanced down at the red dots on his chest as they all turned green. The rear of his Kevlar body armour exploded as he was shot multiple times.
Chapter 32. Freedom at a Price.

"Listen very carefully." Janosh pressed the jagged edge of the broken chair leg into Prant's throat. "As I'm only going to say this once, understand?"

Prant nodded carefully, fear, pain, and anger evident across his face.

Even though Janosh and his King, Harvin, were still trapped in the interrogation cell, deep within the confines of a Rexon camp, on a desolate planet where the temperature soared to over 140 degrees during the day, Janosh had managed to find a chance for them to escape.

Prant, the Rexon Commander at the base, knew he had very few options at that moment. As well as the one held to his throat, there was another piece of the broken chair sticking out of his leg, and to top it all his breathing was laboured due to a couple of broken ribs from where Janosh had smashed him into the wall during the attack.

"We thank you for your hospitality." Janosh continued, his eyes fixed on the two guards by the door, their weapons aimed at him. "But we believe that we've outstayed our welcome, and are going to leave."

"How are you going to do that?" Prant asked in between sharp intakes of breath, as one of the ribs had punctured into one of his four lungs. "Especially when there are 2 guards and one Lieutenant in the cell, another 6 posted just outside the door, and a further 2 thousand between this cell and the camp fence."

"Ah, that my dear tormentor and enemy is where I have a cunning plan, one where we don't need to leave the cell at all in order to escape." Janosh teased. "I know very well that the two within the cell can't shoot me without hitting you. And they are all under orders to not shoot us, as we're too precious a commodity alive." A smile danced across his face. "Finally, as I hold a sharp object to your main artery, and as you're their commander, you will tell them not to."

Prant paused for a second, then felt the edge of the metal start to press into his skin as Janosh pressed for a quick answer to his demands.

"Veale, cpeext ouy. Veale." He commanded his officer and troops. The guards looked at the lieutenant, who was uncertain if he'd heard his commander correctly. He finally gave a similar order, and the Rexon guards filed out of the cell, leaving the Janosh, Harvin, Prant and the decidedly more nervous officer in the room.

"Good work so far Prant. Now we need a Kylapitar and I know that K'nash has his here, as it's how I got here, remember?" Janosh waited a second, the quiet of the cell a calming influence on him. He then explained to Prant. "Don't think about it. When I was in the forces we had a very simple saying. Do it, do it now, no regrets."

Prant took a deeper breath, and instantly regretted it, as the pain from the ribs cut into him.

"How – do – I – get – it?" It was getting harder for him to talk through the pain.

"You seem to be suffering my friend." Janosh gently glided a hand down Prant's body until he saw him wince. At that point his hand stopped. "Ooh, I seem to have broken one or two of your ribs, I am very sorry for that." His look of sarcastic concern changed suddenly to a deep and dangerous smile. Janosh was very pleased he'd done so much damage, as it gave him more leverage to use against the Rexon commander. "Anyway, back to the current question. How do I get it? you asked. Well, firstly you get him." Janosh nodded his head towards the anxious officer stood near the door. "To get us two fully charged weapons from the guards waiting outside." He looked at Prant and waited for an answer. The nod came quickly. "Good, then you will send him to get the Kylapitar, and he has 5 minutes, so I would make sure you give him clear directions."

Prant gave the first order, and the officer didn't even question it, as he quickly turned and left, swiftly bringing back two of the guards assault weapons. These were carefully slid across the floor of the cell. Harvin picked them up, throwing the strap of one of them over his shoulder. He aimed the other gun towards the now extremely worried officer.

"Very good so far." Janosh told Prant. "And now for the Kylapitar. 5 minutes, remember."

Once again, Prant struggled giving the order as his ribs bit into his punctured lung. The officer this time looked relieved that he would be leaving the cell, and away from direct gunfire, but also concerned that he had to steal an item from the Leader. Prant could see the look and barked something at him that made Janosh look in shock at him for a split second.

The officer visibly leapt into the air at the sound of the order and slammed himself into the closed cell door before he'd had chance to open it. Prant barked an order again, and the officer didn't look back to acknowledge it as he fumbled with the cell door handle and sped through and on his mission.

"You have us worried that you'll take over the world with officers like that Prant." Janosh said whilst smiling sarcastically at him.

"Of – all – officers." He replied, the barking of orders visibly taking its toll. He then started to cough, which hurt him even more, until he leant forward, and coughed up some purple liquid across the cell floor.

Janosh had removed the metal from his throat as he didn't want Prant to slash his own neck by accident. "Blood?" He asked.

Prant wiped a hand across his mouth and nodded. He knew that he had little time left, and this needed to be resolved quickly, so that he could get medical attention.

"Shame that." Janosh added sarcastically. "It truly would be a shame if you died here, in your own camp, in your own cell, at the hands of a despised Human."

Prant didn't look at him, as he realised that this would be a very dishonorable way for him to die.

Silence fell over the cell again, just as the first sun started to rise, the sky brightening.

"Looks like it will be another beautiful day here on Scarx." Janosh said. "Pity we won't be here to see it."

The sun started to hit the roof of the cell, and slowly crept down the walls towards them. "God thing that we're in the shade today." Harvin added. "As this one looks like it will be a warm one and I didn't bring my trunks and a book to read."

Janosh looked at Harvin in shock. "My dear King, you do have a witty sense of humour in there."

"Probably rubbed off from being near you so much." Harvin replied.

"Quite true." Janosh added modestly.

At that moment the door slammed open and the officer was hurled in and across the cell, landing in a heap and sliding the rest of the way into the wall. All three occupants of the cell watched with a mix of shock and mild amusement at the ensuing events.

The all looked back at the door, which was now filled with a very imposing and familiar figure.

"K'nash, how good of you to join us in this little gathering." Harvin greeted the Rexon Leader, and raised the weapon's barrel to aim directly at his head.

"Harvin, Janosh." He returned the formal greeting. "I assume that my commander has been looking after you."

"Oh, he's been quite the congenial host." Harvin replied. "It started with cocktails and some fine entertainment laid on by my fellow human, who simulated an attack on your commander. We then carried on through the main course of obtaining weapons and ended up with a desert of flying officer with a drizzle of Limping Leader over the top."

"How amusing King Harvin. Yet you still need this." He held up the Kylapitar. "Don't you?"

"Yes, we do. Now if you would do me the honour and slide it across the floor." Harvin calmly said.

"Why should I?" K'nash asked.

"Because I've asked nicely." Harvin replied.

Janosh was impressed by his King's negotiating skills, mixed with sarcasm. He'd never seen him like this and realised that this current predicament forced him to use a different style.

"Because you asked nicely?" K'nash grunted a laugh. "And you believe that this is enough of a reason?"

"Actually I do believe so." A steely resolve had come across the King's face. He raised the weapon he held at his side to his shoulder and aimed it at K'nash's head. "And because if you don't I'll kill you where you stand."

"How do I know that you won't kill me, after I've handed this over?" K'nash asked.

"You don't."

"Boys, boys." Janosh interrupted. "Before we get too far into this, and start exaggerating that my Dad's bigger than your Dad, and he can easily batter him sort of thing, let me explain a few more things." He looked from his King to the Rexon Leader to make sure they were listening. Both were glaring at each other, but both had stopped talking. "Prant is now losing blood, so he will need medical help very soon, or you'll lose an excellent officer."

"I don't care about him." K'nash retorted.

"Oh that has been made very apparent to us during the last few days." Janosh replied.

K'nash started to growl at his own incompetence of allowing his enemy to gain such valuable intelligence about him and his Commander.

"So Yes, that is very true, you don't like Prant at all." Janosh paused for a second. "but your Superiors do." He added and let that fact slowly sink in. "My intelligence had his name popping up more times than a Gophare beast in the Arconian desert." He could see the puzzled look come across K'nash's face. "Wrong analogy for this crowd. Anyway, after having first-hand experience of his handiwork, I know a good officer when I see one."

Prant was curiously humbled by this human's words. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Janosh replied.

"And why do you care?" K'nash was intrigued why a Human would help an enemy, especially one who was so efficient.

"Good question." He replied. "You need him alive and even though I admire him as a fellow Commander and soldier, I would prefer to see him dead. Alas, this situation needs a little more give and take. I'm willing to give you your Commander's life, and take the Kylapitar." He looked at K'nash to make sure that he understood him. "He's my bargaining chip in this deal. The good news for you is that even after we've escaped, you can always find us again, and have another chance of killing us."

K'nash pondered the very few options he had open to him, and after a few seconds bent down and slid the Kylapitar over to where they all were crouched down.

"Thank you." Janosh said. "Now if you would leave, closing the door behind you, we will release the Commander and back ourselves into this shady corner, set the co-ordinates and leave."

K'nash hesitated a moment, thinking hard to find an angle to use before he obliged Janosh.

As the door closed, Harvin stood up and moved a step back, keeping one eye on the door. He picked up the Kylapitar and then retreated to the corner of the cell.

Janosh leant forward again to whisper something to Prant. "We'll meet again old friend, although I hope it's a long time off, for your sake." He smiled at the Rexon Commander, and then turned to his king. "Ready?"

"Nearly." Harvin thumbed through the symbols. "Stuff it, I'll pick any sequence."

Janosh saw Harvin hover his thumb above the main button, then look at Janosh and nod. He thrust Prant as hard as he could in the back to make sure he was clear of the beam before diving into the corner of the cell.

Just as Harvin's thumb made contact, he fell backwards and screamed in pain. He instinctively knew the rough direction that the shot came from and fired his weapon at the roof of the cell where the sniper had lain in wait for his moment.

The flash of light engulfed them both, and Janosh knew that the weapon fire had never reached its target.
Chapter 33. Plotting and Scheming.

"From your report, it looks like we have a unique opportunity." The monotone electronic voice spoke.

"Yes, Master." Sharlock bowed to the screen, as if the person was actually there in the room with him.

The person talking to him was sat behind a desk holding his hand to his throat and pressing on either side of it. "So, we need to be swift with our actions." The Master held his throat again, using the implant within to help him speak.

"Yes Master. May I suggest you inform the League of Allied Planets that we must gather the armada now and strike at Ansolon while we have the upper hand?" Sharlock put forward his thoughts, knowing it was against their protocol to demand anything from a superior. He also knew that the Master had worked with Sharlock for many years, and due to his effectiveness, allowed his pupil some minor indiscretions.

"A little forthright aren't we?" The monotone voice had no feeling in it, but it still conveyed a hint of sarcasm in its message.

"I apologise Master. I did not mean to tell you your actions; I merely wanted to propose my favoured and one of many options you will be considering." He lowered his eyes again from the screen and awaited his Master's response.

"Sharlock, we have fought together some 20 years now, through many wars." The visible half of the face on the screen conveyed feelings of camaraderie towards his lieutenant. He held his other hand to the metallic mask that covered the other half. "When I lost half my face in the Agruminx war twelve years ago," He raised his hand and touched the cold metallic cover that hid the mix of mechanics and flesh and bone which had been reconstructed to repair and replace his features. "It was you who picked me up and ran 30 kilometres across that desert to our base hospital." The Master smiled at the screen. "I thank you for that, and will always remember it. So if you need to propose something to me, then do so. We don't operate in the same way as other Mallesian regiments. We have a special understanding, and I enjoy using your special talents."

Sharlock smiled back at the screen, a hint of cynical enjoyment flashed across his face as he thought of his special talents.

"I agree with your suggestion though." The Master continued. "Although I know what some of these Mallesian Councilors are like. They have turned from being brave soldiers to feeble politicians; it has been so long since our last full war. Alas, they will need more information. So, I need to send you on a mission, to obtain as much intelligence as you can, and get it back to me as quickly as is possible."

Sharlock was buoyed by this order, as this meant he could go and terrorise some more people, and this time they would be Ansolonians.

"You need to go to Ansolon, and get the truth. You have 48 hours to get this information as that gives me enough time to get back to Malle and get the League together."

"48 Hours is long enough for me to extract the intelligence you need, if I can find any Ansolonians with any intelligence in the first place." Both men laughed at their dry humour, as this was a standard joke on Malle.
Chapter 34. Phoenix.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Finchy growled, angry more at himself than anyone else.

"These things happen." Dicko replied, walking over to place a comforting hand on the shoulder of her sniper colleague.

They were still upstairs in the house, having watched everyone outside and heard everyone downstairs in their troupe being killed by Rexon soldiers.

"Yet I believe we could have assisted them with more effort." His home-counties plum-filed accent sounded strange coming from a non-ranking soldier.

"Thankfully, you're only Human." Dicko replied. She could probably imagine the life Finchy had had up until him joining the Army; an affluent family, probably Barrister or Consultant Father, maybe even a working Mother in a similar profession. Boarding schools, expensive holidays, she wouldn't have been surprised to hear of him having a Nanny or other staff in the household. His had been the typical silver-spoon upbringing, and yet here he was, a lowly soldier in the British Army. Her story was the antitheses of his. She had been brought up on a squalid, broken-down, and derelict council run estate in the roughest area of Preston, where everyone had so little. An absent Father, she was fortunate to have a focused Mother who pushed her 4 children as hard as she could. Dicko was the second youngest, who could have been the forgotten middle child, yet she would admit that as the only girl, she was the most looked after. Having 3 brothers meant many tussles and scraps over anything from toys to teasing. This hardened her up more than most of her female peers, and probably helped her succeed so well within a very male-orientated military system.

"We are allowed to make mistakes at times, and you can't change what has happened." She added turning to face the 5 Rexon soldiers who stood behind them, weapons at the ready.

"Thankfully it was only a training simulation." Ian Jackson smiled at them both from the bedroom door. The Rexon soldiers evaporated, before everyone's eyes. "Come on and we'll go over the footage of what happened."

All three descended the stairs and returned to the courtyard garden, where all of the others were standing around waiting.

"I think I've got a short on this thing, cus I got an electric shock when they shot me." Brock stated as he struggled to remove his specially adapted flak jacket.

"Erm, yeah, about that." Cock-up looked sheepishly about the group.

"Meaning......." Ian drew out the word with a knowing look on his face.

"Well, I'd forgot that the other guys and me had decided to add some more realism to the simulator." He explained.

"Realism?"

"Well, yes, it was meant to help the overall sequence. If the jacket sensed that you were wounded with a hit, then you'd be given a small jolt of current. As the type of injury increased, so did the amount of current passed to the wearer."

"I'll give you a flamin' touch of reality...." Brock threw his jacket to the floor and charged through the group.

"Whoa there horsy." Ian grabbed Brock across the chest then turned to Cock-up. "Scoot back to your hovel now while I can hold him back."

Cock-up didn't need a second command and quickly headed out of the garden back to the rendezvous point and the now visible door of the Wii room.

After a few moments to allow Brock to calm down, Ian gave the order for everyone else to head off to the same place.

As they stepped through the doorway Ian called to everyone "Kit off and up top and into YJ04 conference room in 10 minutes please for debrief." Then he thought for a second. "Grape, get the word to Cock-up as well, please."

"No worries boss." And the youthful soldier trotted off to make sure he could get everything done before the meeting.

Ten minutes later and everyone was back in their normal attire, and sat around a large wooden conference table in a large grey coloured portakabins.

"Right, what did we learn?" Ian asked everyone.

"That they're sneaky and accurate." Lanky stated the obvious. "And that we shouldn't take things for granted."

"True." Ian nodded. "It's only a training scenario, and in the real world, we would probably be a lot luckier and nothing would have happened." He gazed into the distance through the windows of the conference room. The view outside was of the other portakabins above the quarry. "But, we're not going into what we believe is the real world, based upon our preconceptions." He'd found his words. "As you're now realising, it's gonna be different. The sky can be green, the land could be mountainous, and the people could be pro-Rexon."

"Pro-Rexon". CT asked. "How could that be?"

"Some worlds are grateful for their support." Ian answered. "They see them as a means of getting medicines and technology that would have been way beyond their own technological years." He wiped his hand down his face, across the stubble on his chin and down his neck. He felt weary from all the research he'd been doing.

"You OK boss?" Dicko asked.

"You're not starting to show any maternal instincts there I hope?" Ian replied with a weak smile and a sigh.

"NEVER!" She barked back at him, the venom in her voice made everyone jump.

"OK, OK, sorry, I was only joking." Ian patted her on her shoulder, deciding to continue the meeting with no more jokes. "So, some races are Pro-Rexon, wanting to support their new friends."

"We can't be careful at all then?" Lank asked.

"That's why we need to blend in more than attack."

They all nodded in agreement, even though it made their jobs 10 times harder.

"Cock-up, apart from doctoring simulator jackets." He flashed a grin at Brock who merely grimaced in return. "Have the guys found anything else about the Kylapitar?"

"Well, it seems that the symbols are like an address based on a stellar GPS system." He leant forward and hooked the Kylapitar up to the computer in the centre of the room.

"You're not going to beam this furniture to another planet?" Brock sarcastically asked, a small amount of kudos gained back from the electric shocks he'd received earlier.

"Erm, no." Cock-up dipped his head down to not see everyone's eyes all on him. "I've learnt from that mistake."

"Anyway." Ian butted into the minor skirmish within his team. "What do you mean by a Stellar GPS?"

Cock-up tapped the keyboard and then jiggled the mouse to bring the previously blank projection screen to life. The main screen of the device was replicated before everyone. "Yes, well, the 3 symbols in the middle there are like simple x,y,z co-ordinates."

"But don't they need to be based from a ground zero?" Finchy asked.

"True, and that's where we have a small problem." Cock-up answered dejectedly

"You don't know where ground zero is, and also what the symbols mean?"

"Correct".

"And thus you can't determine if we're heading away or towards ground zero?"

"Nope." Cock-up was regretting giving this snippet of news out, as it looked like he was failing.

"And what awaits us, if we went there?" Finchy continued.

He sighed heavily. "No."

"Alright, we need to get some more answers." Ian decided to break up the minor battle. "But it's a start, thank you Cock-up." He smiled at the Sergeant to help him feel a little better. "Right, we'll have another simulator session tomorrow, and we'll let the computer decide our location." He smiled to the group. "Any more for anymore?"

"Yeah." Brock asked. "What's a stellar gps?"

Chapter 35. A Fleeting Visit.

Harvin collapsed as the bubble of light dissipated. His arm hurt from whatever had hit him as they beamed out.

"Sorry Harvin." Janosh was angrier with himself for not seeing the sniper on the roof, but more so for allowing his King to be shot whilst he was there. "I should have taken the shot." He took hold of Harvin's arm and looked at the wound. "It looks like a clean shot, no real damage on it's way through." He twisted his friends arm gently round, feeling worse as he watched Harvin wince. "Sorry, it's missed the bone, there is a bit of soft tissue damage, but nothing that can't really heal, but its..." The words trailed off as he looked closer.

"What?" Harvin winced as Janosh prodded around the outside of the wound.

"Sorry, I need to check it." Janosh explained and gave him an apologetic look, before returning to investigate the wound. "This has not come from a normal Rexon weapon."

"Meaning?"

"The normal Rexon weapons are energy based, not projectile." Janosh started to explain. "We use projectile and when the bullet rips through it's spinning and has lots of imperfections on it, so rips bits and bobs, and then smashes into bone and makes that explode, causing more damage, snd so on and so forth."

"OK." Harvin understood the mechanics of the Ansolonian firearms, but needed to understand what was intriguing his Security Chief.

"The Rexon's beam or energy weapon basically burns a hole through you, which does have an advantage for some of the unlucky ones."

"How can being shot be lucky?"

"If you had been shot with one your wound would have been cauterised, which would have stopped all of this bleeding." Janosh ripped a bit of material off the bottom of his shirt and tied it around Harvin's arm. In some ways, it helps on the battlefield as the medics don't have to do as much immediate triage work."

"And you said this one's different?"

"Yes, this is a projectile, it's ripped through, and thankfully, not done a great deal of damage."

Harvin moved his arm around a little. "It's OK." He stalled Janosh's assistance, knowing it was what was needed. He'd been a King too long, living a life of luxury and comfort, and had forgot about the basic military training he'd had so many years ago.

"And it's the diameter. A normal Rexon gun would have blasted half of your body away, not left a small hole in your arm." Janosh moved in closer to inspect the wound. "This is something completely different, and for me that makes it into something very suspicious in more ways than one."

"In what ways?" Harvin asked, craning his head round to inspect the temporary bandage and was glad that Janosh was there more than anybody.

"You had moved into the corner, and stayed there while I dealt with K'nash and Prant." Janosh looked around, visualising the cell once more.

"Yes, I'd shouldered this weapon and held the other, and had it trained on the two by the door."

"OK." Janosh recreated the scene in his mind. "So you were a stationary target for about 60 seconds, long enough for someone to get the perfect kill shot."

"Thanks for the pep-talk." Harvin added as he thought about it. "Yes, I was picking the symbols out on the Kylapitar as well."

"And when I leapt back, I would not have been able to be anywhere near where you got shot."

"Yes, but why is that important?" Harvin was puzzled.

"It means I wasn't the target, you were."

"Oh!"

"And it qualifies the fact that the sniper was within 100 metres, had clear line of sight." Janosh scratched the back of his neck.

"Correct." Harvin started to understand. "And even though I haven't fired a rifle in many years, I could have got a more accurate shot than in the arm."

"That's it!" Janosh clapped his hands together. "They did."

"They did what?" Harvin had returned to being puzzled.

"They did get an accurate shot."

Harvin waved his hands up and down his body. "I'm still alive, so I would disagree."

"No, you don't see, it all makes sense." Janosh snorted a laugh. "This was all a set up."

"What was?"

"The whole thing had been staged." Janosh thought about it for a second. "Probably from the moment Prant and K'nash had the fight, the timings were so perfect."

"I'm not seeing it." Harvin needed more clarity.

"K'nash was about to kill you, and Prant appears and saves you, just at the perfect moment." Janosh explained.

Harvin opened his mouth to reject the theory but stopped. "Go on."

"And then I was able to defeat Prant, who had just beaten K'nash." Janosh nodded as it all fell into place in his mind. "I would never be able to beat K'nash in a Clarvian Year, even though he's very old, yet I went an beat his Victor."

Harvin was starting to see the same jigsaw puzzle build up in his mind. "That's right, there's no way you'd beat him."

Janosh looked a little hurt.

Harvin let out a little laugh, enjoying the wind up for a moment. "So our escape is all part of a bigger plan."

"True." Janosh nodded. "And that worries me."

"In what way?"

"Why did they let us leave, and what was the weapon they used on you." Janosh let out a sigh.

"So what do we do?" Harvin was very willing to let Janosh lead in this situation.

Janosh stood up and surveyed the landscape. It was a relatively flat with short harsh grasses growing. No discernible features were along the horizon. "About the whys and wherefores of Rexon plans and schemes, there's little we can do at the moment." He'd completed a full 360 degree scan of their location. "I can't say that I know of this place." He said as he bent forward to give Harvin a hand up.

Harvin looked all around. "It doesn't look like there's much here at all." He concluded as well.

"Nope." Janosh added, retrieving the Kylapitar from his pocket. "Let's be safe and assume that they can track the first jump, so we should go from here and hopefully they'll lose the trail."

"Agreed." Harvin said as he looked at the symbols scrolling past on the devices screen. "Any ideas on where we can get to with that."

"Looking at all the combinations, possibly anywhere in this galaxy. Then again, knowing Eric got here from another galaxy, then it could possibly be literally anywhere."

"Do you know any combinations?" Harvin enquired, hoping that Janosh knew the one for Ansolon.

"I'm hoping that I recognise one set, and then we can see from there." Janosh scrolled past hundreds of combinations. "I can't find the set that was K'nash's ship."

"I don't think we should go there anyway, as that will be a little devoid of air." Harvin said.

"Already realised that, but I thought that maybe they're all related geographically, with the ones either side getting us to Ansolon." Janosh explained. "So I just thought that we'd find that one and then go one down." He scrolled again and again. "But I can't find the ones for the ship."

"That seems strange." Harvin mulled over Janosh's last statement. "So what now?"

"Let's simply pick any of them and go there." Janosh looked up from the Kylapitar and Harvin nodded at him. "OK, Let's go there." Janosh never looked back at the device and pressed the left hand button, instantly engulfing them in the bubble of light.
Chapter 36. Familiar Breeds.

"There's Evil in here, Evil in what way?" Eric asked Ashton in a hushed voice, as he felt that they were being listened too. He scanned the large room in which he, Skaler, Aisha and Ashton appeared to be trapped within.

"I'm sorry Eric, but I can't exactly say whom or even what is creating this malevolent aura, it's just my perception of what is in here." Ashton replied as he kept up his vigil of looking around the room for whatever was spooking him. "My abilities are being toyed with, as if a tentacle is flicking at the edges of my mind, and I do not like the darkness which I feel every time it touches me."

Eric could see how agitated Ashton was becoming, and wanted to help his friend so much, but knew he couldn't apart from help find whatever it was that was causing his grief or get them out of the room as fast as possible.

"Finished!" Skaler suddenly added, making Eric jump.

"What do you mean finished?" Aisha pleaded, a look of deep concern on her face. "The doors haven't opened, you can't have finished."

"Maybe this thing only works on Rexon doors." Skaler put his own theory to her, waggling the pen-sized device at her.

"If so, how did I find one in my room in the Palace on Ansolon?" Aisha replied with her own question.

"Good point." Skaler thought about that for a second, and then he thrust the item at her once more. "Yeh, but maybe that was because it had been dropped by a Rexon."

"Your point would be a very good one except for the simple fact of who you stole it from." She tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

He looked up at the doors, then at the lock-pick and it suddenly hit him. His face lit up as he got the answer, then before his mouth had the time to form the name, it dropped and his voice came out as a disappointed mumble. "Nerith."

"And as Nerith was a scumbag who was working for them, then yes, he'd got it from them, but had used it on probably every door in the city of Killnjar." Her voice also trailed off from its triumphant tone as she also realised that this wasn't getting them anywhere.

"All very good and interesting stuff." Eric interrupted, as he'd been listening to their argument. "But the door is still closed."

"And will stay that way for a while, I'm afraid." The calming voice echoed around the walls.

All four turned as one and looked to the far end of the room, where the voice had originated. A large richly coloured and ornately carved wooden desk stood resolutely on a hand-woven rug. The desk was relatively clear of any clutter, save for a small orb on the right hand side and what looked like a quill standing proudly from an ink pot. A wide-backed leather chair faced away from them, and Eric wondered why he'd not seen it earlier.

They all moved a little closer, slowly, carefully edging their way.

It came to Eric in a flash, and in a hushed tone told the others. "They are changelings, and we've been looking for a person, when it could be something as small as a mouse."

"Very good Eric." The disembodied voice from behind the chair replied. "But that would be for a normal changeling, as opposed to someone like me."

They looked on in amazement as the first cloud-like wisps appeared from the other side of the chair. They flowed and weaved around and over the chair, before pouring into the singular shape of a person. Everyone watched in awe as the apparition slowly became whole, changing from an empty cloudy husk and into a full person. As the shape formed more detailed parts a wisp flowed back out at each side, forming arms, one of which stroked the chair, making it turn slowly round to face the audience. Eric could now make out indentations where the eyes would be, the bump of a nose, yet there was no colour, no shadows.

The cloudy substance slowed, forming more details, and within seconds, sat before them, was a tall wiry grey coloured humanoid.

"May I welcome you to the planet Demda, I am Yeg, leader of the Demdonians." He spread his arms and bowed his head slightly.

Eric turned to Ashton. "Is this the evil presence you felt?" He whispered.

Ashton closed his eyes for a second and then opened them slowly, a concerned look on his face as he looked intently at the person before them. "I'm afraid that I cannot say." He shook his head a couple of times. "It feels different." He turned to Eric, a mixture of pain and concern registered on his small features. "Maybe I read it wrong with all the tension that we felt when we became initially trapped in here."

"Trapped, did I hear you say?" Yeg interrupted. "I only asked of my assistant that the door should stay closed whilst I entertain you for a while, as my guests." He looked along all four faces. "I apologise for the awkward interpretation, if you would like to leave, please be my guest." With that he held his hand, palm down, and waved it across the desktop. Behind them, a small round section of the door lit up and there was a click as the previously immobile doors opened slightly.

"Do we go?" Skaler asked the others, a slightly anxious tone in his voice, his natural instincts of being very wary and cautious when trapped had come to the fore. He remembered the first lessons in Thievery he'd learnt from his mentor, Crallum. He was one of the old school members of the Guild of Thieves who had started to need a younger, more agile, more mobile assistant, and had found Skaler. They had been sat at the side of a large square in the centre of Killnjar, on Ansolon, and the old Master had given his first rule. "Rule No.1; Always find the way out, first".

"Let's see how hospitable Yeg is first." Eric answered, knowing that they'd just evaded the might of the Rexon Military, so one Demdonian shouldn't be a problem. Eric winked at Skaler, "We should be OK."

Skaler didn't really feel any better, even being buoyed by Eric's enthusiasm. His own personal instincts had served him well as a thief. He'd learnt from an early age to never ignore that indefinable gut feeling, as it usually meant trouble, and was also Crallum's rule no.2. This time it was not as prominent; more of a cautionary twinge. Skaler smiled back at Eric to show him that he was OK with staying, but he kept all his senses on Alert, just in case.

"I'm very glad that you've decided to stay. Please sit." Yeg swept his hand across the chairs ahead of them and they all obliged by sitting down, apart from Ashton who stood defiantly on the corner of the huge wooden desk, arms crossed.

"Thank you." Yeg bowed slightly, once more. "Would any of you join me in celebratory drink, to thank the gods for your arrival to Demda?" He rested his hand on the edge of his desk and pressed a long spindly index finger down. Five glasses half filled with a frothing liquid appeared on the desk. Each glass had appeared directly in front of a person, and they all watched in mild amusement as the smoke poured out and over the sides.

Eric thought it looked like a sinister brew in a horror movie, where the good character tries his latest potion and turns into the evil monster. He lifted his glass up first, holding it under his nose to test his senses. Eric smiled to himself as he suddenly daydreamed that his initial thoughts about the drink had come true. He watched as they all drank the liquid. They started to gasp and hold their throats, Skaler falling off the chair as hairs started to appear all over his face. His skin bubbled and blistered. Aisha leapt up, screamed, and then fell over, grasping hold of her stomach. Eric looked back at Skaler, who had calmed down, but was not his usual boyish self. A very large hairy hand took hold of the chair spinning it round as a huge brute of a beast rose up from the floor. Skaler's clothes were in shreds around the bulging muscles of this monster that was now bearing down on him. A growl came from Skaler's alter ego, as his hands grabbed hold of Eric and lifted him out of the chair. The brute pulled Eric closer, who saw his chance appear and tickled him under the armpits. The Monster started to giggle and said. "Stop it, please, stop it, I'm ticklish."

Eric shook his head, knowing that this was a childish thought and that it was probably the drink being offered which had started his daydream off. Eric shook his thoughts and daydreams away, and turned to look at his friends. He smiled as they were all watching him with a look of curious concern on their faces. "Sorry, just a silly daydream." He smiled at them, trying to ease their concerns.

"Are you going to test it or what?" Skaler whispered next to him.

Eric remembered he had the drink in his hand, looked around his friends, then across the table to Yeg who merely nodded back at him. He looked at the desk and realised suddenly that it should be OK to drink, as Yeg also had a similar looking glass of frothing liquid sat before him; and he wouldn't want to harm himself.

"Oh forget this malarkey for a monkey's left foot." Skaler shook his head as he leant forward, whipping the glass up to his mouth in one swift movement before he took a hefty sip. The froth went up his nose, making him cough and splutter. Skaler wiped the residual foam away as he carried on coughing.

"What does it taste like?" Aisha whispered.

"Like a vanilla smoothie." He answered. "With a lot of froth on top." He smiled at her.

They all tried the drinks, and soon were enjoying them fully, sitting back in their seats.

"What do you call this drink?" Eric asked Yeg.

"Scrimlin, and I presume you like it?" He asked as he saw all the glasses being drained.

"It's delicious." Aisha added and looked a little sheepish as she glanced into her empty glass. She looked at Yeg as something had been tugging away at her memories since he'd appeared and it suddenly came to her. "Aren't you a Spellian though?" She asked.

"Yes, but the Spellians and Demdonians are related."

"But the Spellians are from the neighbouring galaxy to Ansolon's, and that's far away from here." She added.

"Correct also, but the Demdonians evolved from the Spellians who had traveled through the cosmos over a thousand years ago." He explained whilst making large sweeping movements with his arms to explain his distant relative's great journey. They had developed space travel and sent a large Generational ship to a distant galaxy, knowing there was a hospitable environment on some of the planets.

"Generational ship?" Eric enquired, whilst wiping his finger around the inside of the glass, and then licking his finger clean.

"Yes, the journey would take so long, that the original crew would have died, so they created a ship which was as large as a village, holding hundreds of people, who could procreate and thus extend the longevity of the ships life." Yeg explained.

"That seems very clinical; procreating to extend the longevity." Aisha looked uncomfortable.

"It had to be." Yeg explained. "They could only take around 600 crew, so the finest engineers, doctors, scientists, soldiers, and even some of the finest specimens of females available."

"Finest specimens of females!" Aisha's voice increased in volume.

"They had to procreate to exist."

"Procreate to exist, was there no love?"

Yeg started to laugh, but stopped as he saw the anger growing in Aisha's eyes. "The majority of people there were logical, so love wasn't the priority, only that they could create a child who would continue their journey." He explained. "They had to give themselves the very best chance of creating healthy intelligent people, or they would have died partway through space."

"Yes but." Aisha started to argue once again, but started to see the logic. "I do understand, somewhat, yet it seems a little cold, with no warmth, no love."

Yeg smiled. "The stories do tell of love flourishing for a few, and those were the original families of the people you have seen today."

"So how long have you been here?"

"I came here about 70 years ago as a young Spellian officer on a routine spiritual exchange visit. Some of us settled here and helped the evolutionary process continue for the Demdonians." He smiled at Aisha, knowing that his words were still clinical.

She returned his smile, understanding the scientific value of his words. Aisha started to take another drink before realising that her glass was empty. She asked Yeg. "Could I ask for another?"

"Could I have another too?" Skaler also asked. "I didn't want to seem too cheeky."

"And me." Eric added his own request.

"Certainly, you may all have some more." Yeg smiled at the three humans, and then he turned to Ashton. "And how about you Sir, would you like some more?"

Ashton smiled very meekly at Yeg, before looking at him directly in the eyes, and replied with "I'm only a very small being, and it's taking a while for me finish this first one off. So I'll have to refuse for now, even though I have to agree with Aisha in that it is delicious." He looked down into his nearly full glass and then took another very small sip. He smiled once more, hoping it looked genuine, as he still felt as though something wasn't right about Yeg, it wasn't the initial sensation of pure evil that Ashton had had earlier. This was a feeling of something more sinister, more devious and Ashton was making sure that he kept his senses on full alert to keep an eye on the others, and his fears closely guarded, for now. He took a mental note to have a quiet word with Eric later, to see if he sensed any foul-play.

Eric, Aisha and Skaler had refills appear on the desk before them once again, and by the end of their fourth glass of frothy foaming liquid were feeling quite giddy. During that time they'd all shared their own little stories of where they'd come from, describing their planets and origins. Yeg was a very friendly host, laughing at the right times, and intently listening all the while.

Ashton had joined in, but had kept his stories to ones that were more fable than fact, and let the others run off at tangents when they butted in with their own anecdotes. Everything was very light-hearted and jovial, apart from a singular fleeting moment when Ashton caught Yeg's expression dropping to one of a hard stare as he looked directly at him. It was if his head was turning and looking along the four faces and he was laughing as he passed Eric and Aisha, then as it came in direct line of fire with Ashton, the expression changed to one of hatred, for the most fleeting of split seconds. Ashton blinked to check that he wasn't seeing things, but Yeg's head had carried on and was once again laughing at one of Skaler's stories.

Ashton knew he hadn't been hallucinating, and that Yeg had looked at him differently, as he'd felt the sensation of evil once again when it had happened. He flew over to Eric's, landing on the top of the backrest, becoming very quiet as he contemplated the problems that he knew were eluding him. He didn't have a single clue yet of what they were, but he definitely knew that something sinister was happening and he had to stay alert to protect the others.
Chapter 37. New Arrivals.

Sharlock brought his ship into the recommended geostationary orbit around Ansolon and waited for the clearance procedures to start. "Rules and regulation World." He snuffled a laugh at the in-joke his race of Mallesians called them. "How did we not manage to beat them?"

"The local records state that it was King Granth's leadership skills in battle that helped defend Ansolon, Sire." The electronically enhanced female voice replied out of the speakers above his head.

"It wasn't a question ship, I was being rhetorical."

"Sorry Sire."

"Yes Granth did lead his people very well, but it was the deviousness of his son, Harvin, and that murdering swine Janosh Actflor who I blame."

"The records here don't have any mention of those two individuals for any commendations during the war."

"It won't as they were both sent on very devious missions."

"The black ops missions are still sealed." The ship replied. "I can hack them if you require?"

"No, I've read them already." Sharlock's voice had started to growl, and he wiped his hand down over his face, closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. "Harvin led the team which killed the majority of the Council, bringing chaos to our home planet." He took a deep breath. "And Janosh Actflor killed my brother in cold blood."

The ship's speakers were quiet.

Sharlock rubbed his face vigorously and let out a small grunt before sitting back in his chair.

"Sire, I'm confused."

"In what way Ship." It was at least helping to pass the time while he waited for Rules and Regulation World to wake up, Sharlock thought.

"If you believe that Black Ops missions are underhanded and devious, why do you complete so many."

"They're only devious and underhanded when someone else does them to me." Sharlock grinned.

It had been a while since he'd been to Ansolon, and he'd never been there on this sort of mission, one where he wouldn't be killing anyone, probably.

The radio crackled into life. "Zero-Three-Alpha-Six-Delta." The voice spaced out his transponder I.D. clearly, and then continued. "Please state your business on Ansolon."

"Holiday, I'd like to see the ruined city of Faarge." Sharlock smiled ruefully; as it was his personal command 23 years earlier that had decimated Ansolon's second largest city.

"How long will you be staying?" The customs officer on the other end of the radio had a very nasally voice, but was relatively musical whilst talking, the pitch rising and falling as they asked the questions.

"Just 8 days, as I have to get back to my shoe repair business on Nimro." This was basic intelligence work, giving up a little of their presumably boring lives, as it made the customs officer believe their story.

"And where are you from?" The voice asked.

"Nimro, as I've just said." Sharlock knew that they were just asking a series of questions, and filling in an electronic form with the answers. He knew that the customs officials weren't listening fully, as they were getting near the end of their shift, which was exactly how he'd planned it.

If, on the other hand, he gave any suspicious answers, or if the multitude of scans of his ship's interior from various satellites and from the planets surface found anything, then this conversation wouldn't be occurring at all. He knew that by now he'd be surrounded by at least 3 military ships, all armed and ready to ask more serious questions, where they would be willing to listen to every syllable.

"Do you have any weapons on board that would contravene part 3.1.7 of the Galactic Peace Treaty?" The voice continued to crackle and sing in its bored tone as they read from the crib sheet before them.

"No." Sharlock didn't need any of his toys, as he had enough firepower with his trusty sidearm, made from materials found on any orbiting ship, and thus invisible to any scans. He also had his own very effective martial arts skills.

"Do you have any products, meat or vegetable that would contravene part 4.9.6 of the Ansolon Infestation Act?"

"No." This one always made him smile, as most planets had this one through various problems with bugs and diseases, and it was usually the farmers who'd revolt and force the government into making them pass this act. The smile came from the fact that as a visitor from another planet, if not another galaxy, how would he know what was on the Ansolon Infestation Acts naught list.

"Zero-Three-Alpha-Six-Delta, you are cleared to land at Killnjar Galactic Port. Please hold your current flight path until the instructions given by the local flight control team are made."

Sharlock heard the tapping of a key, which probably meant that the last part of the statement being read was on another screen.

"Thank you for choosing Ansolon as your holiday destination, I hope you have a pleasant stay with us."

"Thank you, I think it will be very informative." Sharlock replied, knowing that his meaning was more literal to the hopeful downfall of the Ansolon Kingdom.

He checked his instruments on the flight deck; all showed that he had a perfect geo-stationery orbit over Killnjar. He idly mused over the idea of being able to drop a fusion bomb on the city from where he sat, and the authorities wouldn't even realise what had happened until it all was over, if he'd thought to bring one.

Unfortunately, for now, he had to sit and wait for flight control to get in touch. If it was anything like the ones on Malle, they'd be hours before they got to him, just because he was an alien, even if there was nothing else within 500,000 kilometres of the planet.

He didn't have too long a wait, and was quite impressed by the response time as his radio once again crackled into life.

"Zero-Three-Alpha-Six-Delta. This is Killnjar Galactic Port Flight control, do you copy, over." This was a nice sounding female voice. It was quite deep and a little husky, and from this single attribute Sharlock created a mental picture of a very alluring young brunette. He blinked and shook his head as he snapped out from vision. "Zero-Three-Alpha-Six-Delta here, over."

"Please be aware that we're having some meteorite shower problems at the moment and are experiencing problems with internal communications and transport systems." The husky voice replied, sounding as if she really was communicating directly with him. "With this in mind, we cannot bring you in on our systems, so we will need you to fly yourself in manually. Do you copy over?"

"Killnjar GPFC, we copy manual landing, over." Sharlock knew that the meteorite shower problems were because of the battle that had ensued over the planet, but he needed more information on what the battle was, and who with.

"03A6D, we've opened up the usual 10 second window for automatic landing to 30 seconds to allow for manual handling problems. Please be advised that we need you to start your descent in 60 seconds from my mark, landing at gate 389B. I repeat, start your descent in six-zero seconds from my mark, landing at gate three-eight-niner-beta. Do you copy, over?"

Sharlock had the flight data safely written down as he replied. "60 seconds from your mark to 389B. Awaiting your mark, over."

"Excellent, 30 seconds descent time." There was a moment's delay as she waited for the right second to be met. "Five-four-three-two-one. Descend now please, we'll track you down, flight control over."

Sharlock had straightened himself up in his chair and fired the booster rockets to help his descent as she'd counted down. "03A6D descending now, E.T.A. at gate in 25 seconds."

The radio crackled but no sultry voice came back. Sharlock presumed that he was doing everything by the book, and she was now dealing with another ship in orbit.

This was very good, as he could now drift a little out of the path and take some scans and pictures of his own of the surrounding area. He gently tweaked the flight stick, which helped him drift to the east. He quickly took the scans and photos and then drifted back onto path. The radio stayed silent, which meant that either they didn't know he'd done what he'd just done, or that they allowed a little sideways movement due to manually flying the ships into the port. This would allow for some of the older ships that needed a little more care in their handling.

He settled into a steady drop for a few seconds, and then let it drift to the west, taking his scans and photos quickly and then back. Still nothing came from the radio. He completed a northern drift and information gathering manouvere. He decided to make the southern drift a little bigger, as his angle of viewing the planet was depleting as he neared the port. He let her drift a few more seconds, and took more scans and photos before the radio came back to life.

The husky voice was gone as a rather irate and nervous male voice barked "03A6D – stay on track, you've drifted too far to the south, correct now before we apply manual grapple, over."

"Flight control, apologies for the drift." Sharlock tried not to smile as he replied. "I didn't take into account the wind sheer at altitude, have corrected drift and will maintain correct path to gate 389B, over."

The radio went silent, and Sharlock smiled to himself that he'd now got a lot of intelligence from the surrounding areas of Killnjar. For now, that would suffice his curiosity until he'd landed and found somewhere to eat that evening.
Chapter 38. Problems Seen.

"BROCK!" Major Ian Jackson shouted across the quarry floor of the secret MI9 base. "I NEED A QUICK WORD, MATE!"

Brock stopped and sighed as he span round to greet his Major. "Sir?"

"Hiya mate, I think we need a quiet word." Ian threw his strong arm round Brock's shoulder to forcefully guide him to one of the portakabins which had been split into multiple small conference rooms. He opened the door to allow both soldiers inside. As he closed the door he asked his single question. "What's up mate?"

It was very simple and straight to the point. Ian had noticed that the performance had been slowly dropping over the last few months and that Brock had become more confrontational with others recently. He'd even had a couple of quiet words with Colonel Kelsall over the Sergeants' recent skirmishes with other members of other teams, as he tried to keep everything under his control and out of sight from any formal charges. He now looked at his long term colleague and friend with concerned eyes.

"Nothing, why?" Brock had crossed his arms and didn't want to look Ian in the eye.

"Something's wrong and I need to know what it is, so I can help you deal with it." He added with a kind voice.

"Look, it's nothing." Brock snapped. Then realising his mistake, sighed slightly and repeated his words more calmly, "There's nothing's wrong at all Ian."

"You know I'm not prying just to be nosey." Ian continued. "It's just that we're off on some serious missions, and I need you to be there 120%."

"I will be." He looked Ian directly in the eye this time, hoping his voice had sounded convincing, for within, he knew he had started to struggle a little. The Army had been his life from leaving school, and he loved it all. Yet now, nature had caught up with him, and he didn't like it.

"Unfortunately, I think you and I both know that I don't doubt you can give 120% nowadays, because I also know that there's a problem." Ian asked, "I just don't know what it is, so please..." He held his hands out for Brock to give his answer.

The room fell awkwardly silent for a few seconds, both men not speaking. Brock swirled his finger round and round on the table top, drawing imaginary circles. Ian merely waited patiently.

Brock stopped circling for a second and looked up at Ian, who was still watching his hand. Horror and anger came across Brock's face as he turned back to see his right hand gently quivering all by itself. "DAMN!" He screamed at no one in particular, and then raised his shaking hand up into the air, balled it into a fist and smashed it back down onto the table.

Ian leapt back as the table exploded with the force, breaking into many pieces.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Brock kept stating, gripping his quivering wrist. "Why?" He turned again to look at Ian, tears filling his eyes, fear and anger welling up within as he wanted to explain everything. But once again, he saw the Major wasn't looking directly at him, but at a piece of the broken table that was resting against the wall at the opposite side of the room. He followed his gaze and noticed something very strange.

Both men carefully worked their way through the wreckage of the table to the piece that interested them so much.

Ian bent down and picked up the formerly solid piece of pine and touched the small black object that was sat on it.

They looked carefully at the 1cm black cube that had one external feature; a tiny aerial protruded out of it.

Ian hurled the piece against the wall and smashed it into a thousand tiny shards, obliterating the listening device that they'd just found.

He looked at Brock. "I think we can forget your problems for the moment, as I need you more than ever." Ian opened the door to the conference room and looked around the MI9 base, "It looks like we have a spy in the camp."
Chapter 39. Frenemies.

"The Rexon?" Yeg sounded intrigued. "They are part of myth and legend. I believe they are a race from a distant galaxy with a singular mission to kill all humans, and humanoid species."

"Wish I'd know that before we got into this." Skaler added his own thoughts, a look of dejection on his face. It changed to sublime happiness after he'd took a gulp of his fifth Scrimlin.

"You are going to need some allies." Yeg added.

"We do, can we count on your support, not only the Demdonians, but the Spellians as well?" Eric asked hopefully.

"Certainly, but will that be enough?" He posed the question, looking as reassuring as he could, as his guests worked things out for themselves.

The group went silent, except for the slurping of the drinks.

It wasn't long before Aisha piped up. "If we could use some of your soldiers to help us free other planets, then maybe they'd help join our cause." She sounded very upbeat and started nodding to herself.

"We should be able to equip you with weapons, and let you take some of our troops, but how would we travel there?" Yeg already knew that they had some sort of device, but needed to understand what it actually was.

"We have a Kylapitar. We can use that to get everyone there." Skaler added.

Ashton's lips pursed as he heard Skaler giving up a useful piece of information so quickly. He wondered if this was what Yeg was after. He couldn't show his hand yet, and alert the Spellian of his intentions, so decided to just smile and nod along with the others, hopefully showing enough enthusiasm for the plans to help hide his deceit. Glancing at his tiny thimble of a cup, he also wondered what was in this drink to make everyone lose their control so easily.

"A Kylapitar, I don't believe that I've ever heard of one of those before." Yeg replied. "How does this Kylapitar work?"

Eric explained the basic functions, as he understood them, and showed Yeg the device.

To Ashton's surprise the Spellian never leant forward to take hold of the device, which made him realise that his intentions probably lay elsewhere.

"We need to make preparations." Yeg continued. "If these are such dark and dangerous times, as you say, then we need to be organised into as large and efficient a fighting force that we can muster, and do so as quickly as is possible." He waved a hand across the corner of the inlay of his desk and then tapped lightly at the illuminated symbols which appeared.

To Eric, it looked like Yeg was playing an air piano absent mindedly. He smiled at the thought.

"I will inform the Exterior security officer of our agreement, and get him to gather a small troop of soldiers. They can be outside at the point where you arrived in within the hour. Is that quick enough?"

"Wow that would be fantastic." Eric replied. "We'll need Sim's help to get us back to the surface though."

"Do not let that concern you." Yeg answered. "He is your personal guide whilst here on Demda, and will stay with you whilst on this planet." He passed his open hand over the desk once more and the door behind them clicked opened. "I will make preparations for my people." He looked at the group as they stood up "Good luck in your mission, and may it bring peace to the galaxy."

"Thank you fro your help." Eric replied, pleased that they'd found a good friend.

"And thanks for the Scrimlin." Skaler added. "Can you have one ready for when I get back?" He asked cheekily.

"Certainly Skaler, I'll make sure that your accommodation has a Scrimlin maker in it." Yeg threw his arms wide open and beamed at them. "It will be a pleasure."

"Accommodation?" Ashton enquired.

"Yes, of course. You can't stay in that damp cave when we have lots of room down here." Yeg explained graciously.

"But we can't get in or out of here." Ashton replied, a more concerned look starting to appear on his face.

"Correct, but Sim or one of his team will be with you at all times." Yeg explained. "And they will help you get in and out of the city at any time you request."

"And that will be more than adequate, thank you." Aisha interrupted, seeing that Ashton was being a little picky about nothing. "It's very kind of you, but we'll have to leave as we have other more important things to attend to." Her voice had gone hard as she turned to Ashton and looked him in the eyes. "Don't we?" She finished with the question, aimed to not just redirect the conversation, but to get Ashton off this seemingly meaningless quest about where they should live.

Ashton understood Aisha's intentions, and realised that this wasn't the time to fight this battle. He wasn't too sure about the living arrangements. He wondered if it was just him, having lived in the open forests of Ansolon, a winged person who could fly off to visit anywhere on the planet at a whim; the idea of being underground in a cave, where he was at the behest of another for access in and out, making it feel more like a prison, with a guard on constant duty. He understood that this was a different planet, with people who had developed far different lives, yet he also wondered if it truly was because circumstances had made them all live underground and they just accepted it that way. He also didn't like the idea of the Scrimlin making their tongues wag so easily. Finally, he didn't like the feeling he'd originally had when they entered the office, for even though the feeling of malevolence had dwindled, there was still something there. There were too many questions to be asked, and unfortunately, he had no-one he believed he could talk to about it. All his friends seemed to be under the influence of this drink, and that left him in a precarious position. He knew they would all be watched, and he had to control his fears whilst he gathered more information. For now, he was resigned to simply play along with everyone, and focus on the overall mission of defeating the Rexon. With a slight sigh, he smiled at Aisha to appease her, and then bowed graciously at Yeg.

They left to make their way to the beam in site, with Sim following in their wake as they burst through the door.
Chapter 40. First Contact.

The light dissipated as usual, and both Janosh and Harvin instantly crouched, checking the open landscape around them. The ground was a mixture of harsh grasses and heather. There were low fells all around three sides, which all dropped down to a vast plateau to their left. They were on a small hill, about 300 metres above the level of the plateau. In the distance, about 20 kilometres away, they could make out an ocean. The sun was still very high, so they assumed it was midday.

"What's that?" Harvin asked and pointed to a flash of light, and then some smoke rising about 10 kilometres to their north.

There was a huge bang, as the sound eventually arrived.

"Some sort of fighting." Janosh looked at a couple of small dots in the sky above where the action was taking place. They looked like flies buzzing around at that distance, but he instantly recognised them. "Fighters!" He quickly scanned around the hill side and found what he was looking for.

Harvin just watched the ensuing attack, oblivious to what Janosh was doing.

"We've gotta go now as one of those may have seen us beam in." At that moment, one of the dots stopped its constant dipping towards the city it was bombing and looked like it had stopped moving.

"That ones hovering." Harvin pointed to the fighter that seemed to be motionless.

Janosh turned and looked for a second before he realised what was happening. "Actually, If you look very carefully, you'll clearly see that it's getting bigger, which means it's heading straight for us." He tugged on Harvin's arm. "Let's get under those trees, we should be relatively safe down there."

With that they both ran at full pace, heading for the nearest trees, about 50 metres away.

They darted through the first couple of trees and hid behind ones a couple of metres into the forest, just as the ship came over the hill. It circled the hill where they had arrived only seconds before a couple of times and then flew back off to the city to join its colleague and carry on the attack.

"Rexon." Janosh said as he turned and slumped against the tree. "I can only presume that they don't have close range scanners on those fighters, or he'd have found us immediately, and we'd now be sat in the middle of a bomb crater."

"So what can we do?" Harvin asked, still watching the hill for the ship to return.

"The same as us and hide." The voice came from further in the woods.

Harvin and Janosh raised their weapons instantly, aiming into the darkness, flicking the muzzles back and forth as their eyes strained to see who had spoken.

"It's OK, Don't shoot, please." The voice called from the darkness, and a man walked from between two trees that they'd both been aiming at. He had a gun slung over his shoulder across his back and held his hands up. "We mean you no harm."

Harvin and Janosh didn't lower their weapons. "We?" Harvin asked, keeping his eyes on the man walking towards them.

Janosh's eyes and weapon continued to scan all around them, wondering how many the 'we' consisted of.

"I do mean it." The man glanced at Janosh as he walked towards Harvin. "Please don't worry, we sincerely mean you no harm." He slowed as he approached. "I'm Zeph, the leader of the 3rd Resistance Brigade." He walked up to Harvin and lowered one hand to a position where it was being offered to be shook. "We came out here on a scouting mission to find some cover for our people to escape the coastal town of Noirville, which as you can see is being decimated by the Rexon, and saw that someone was beaming in." He pointed to the hill and past it to the small seaside town Harvin and Janosh had seen when they arrived.

Even from this distance they could all see the orange explosions dwindling as the Rexon attack diminished. A former monument, which had stood tall and proud for over a century was snapped in half, and was being washed over in a surreal vison of white smoke and the clear royal blue sea behind.

"We thought that it might be more Rexon soldiers, but were very pleased to see you guys." He thrust his hand forwards a little more and looked at it. "I don't bite fellow humans." He smiled cautiously.

Harvin finally lowered his weapon and shook Zeph's hand. "I'm Ki..." He stopped himself before he gave too much away. Realising that it was now a very awkward moment between the two of them, and he'd been about to tell him that he was a King, which could be very beneficial to anyone who wanted a handsome reward. He quickly coughed as if clearing his throat, then continued. "Sorry, got a piece of grass in there from running down the hill away from the fighters." He smiled at Zeph to help reassure him. "As I was about to say, I'm erm, also kind of glad to meet other humans. I'm Harvin, very pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you Harvin." He turned, and as he nodded towards Janosh, flashing his eyebrows up, with a slightly jovial look on his face. "Who's your deadly, non-trusting assassin friend?"

"Janosh." Harvin replied. "And in times like these it pays to be a little cautious and bring along a personal killing machine."

"Very true, how very true." Zeph replied letting out a little laugh and shaking his head.

For a fleeting moment, the smile faded and he sighed deeply, and Harvin saw in Zeph's face the thousand tales of anguish he'd seen and suffered. Zeph caught Harvin watching him, flashed a smile as he lowered his eyes and then saw the bandage on Harvin's arm. "Let me take you to our camp and get our Doctor to have a look at that, get it cleaned up."

Harvin looked at Janosh, who merely nodded his approval, and finally lowered his weapon, just a little. He uncurled his finger off the trigger, but left it hovering, ready.

Zeph accepted the cautiousness, "These are the rest of.." He took another deep breath and composed his voice. "The last of the 3rd Brigade."

A small ragged group of soldiers appeared out of the darkness, all carrying weapons. "Off the triggers guys." Zeph ordered.

"I will if he will." A muscular soldier flicked the muzzle of his gun towards Janosh.

"Tam, it's OK." Zeph replied.

"That's a Rexon weapon, how do we know that they're not spies." He flashed an angry glare at Zeph. "They've done that before."

"We're not spies." Harvin stepped towards Janosh, his hands raised. "We've escaped from a Rexon prison camp, and took this from one of their soldiers."

"A likely story." Tam replied, nodding at Janosh. "As if he could beat a Rexon soldier, even I've only just managed, and I'm twice the man he is."

Janosh smiled. "I am just being cautious, especially after what we've been through recently, and yes I did beat a Rexon guard, and have done so before now."

Tam huffed his derision.

"I'm more than willing to show you how I did it, if you're willing to receive such a beating."

Tam dropped his weapon and stepped forward, fists raised.

"Tam, please." Zeph stood in his soldiers path. "We need as many friends as we can find." He glanced from the angry glares of Tam to the smiling Janosh. "There are so few of us left on this planet. The Rexon are killing so many humans, don't help them by fighting between ourselves."

Harvin had made his way to Janosh and placed a hand on his Security chief's weapon. "Don't, please." He asked as he pushed the muzzle away from its target.

"You think you could beat me?" Tam growled.

"Unfortunately for you, I could do it very easily." Janosh smiled.

"I like him, he sounds like he'd be good fun." The tension popping as Tam's laugh boomed around the trees. He walked over and planted a heft slap onto Janosh's shoulder. "I think we're going to become very good friends."

Janosh returned the smile, lowering his weapon to his side.

"OK, now that we have that sorted." Zeph let out a sigh. "Let's get you two to the camp." Zeph led the way, Harvin at his side as the two of them exchanged Rexon war stories.

The remainder of the 3rd Resistance Brigade fell in behind, with Tam and Janosh bringing up the rear, keeping a constant watch around the area as they walked through the woods, ready for anything.
Chapter 41. Infiltration.

"I'll have the chef's pie and a beer." Sharlock slapped some notes heavily onto the bar top.

After he'd jumped at the force of the bang, the bar tender asked nervously, "Would you like chips or boiled." Then he quickly added a "Sir." And a smile to make sure he wasn't going to be killed for asking such a seemingly innocent question.

"Chips." Sharlock growled after a moment's thought.

The bartender had shifted back the half metre gap on the other side of the bar and his voice also seemed to have diminished in strength and had gained a stammer as he asked. "W-w-which B-b-beer, Sir?"

Sharlock made a low growling noise and moved closer to the terrified barman. His nostrils flared as he snorted loudly, watching and enjoying the anguish he inflicted upon the poor chap. Then, he laughed out loud, grabbing hold of the barman to stop him flying off up to the ceiling for a second time.

"I'm only playing with you my dear friend." He pulled him off his feet and across the bar top as he hugged him. He dropped him back onto his feet, and planted his hands onto the bartender's shoulders, crushing him under the force of the friendly pat. "So, tell me," he waggled his head up and down the bar, "which of all this vast selection is the finest beer that you can recommend to a world-weary traveller?"

"I-I-I'd pr-probably say the K-K-Kings Head is my f-f-favourite one." The barman dared to glance up at Sharlock from within the increasingly tight grip. A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, slid between the eyes and along the ridge of the nose, finally coming to a temporary halt ight on the end. He knew it was there, but he daren't try and blow it off, as he didn't want to offend his tormentor.

Sharlock turned to face the bartender, after admiring the amusingly names beers, just as the bead of sweat completed its journey onto the end of the barman's nose. He released one hand off a shoulder, reached out and grabbed hold of a huge wad of paper napkins, brought them round to the petrified publican and proceeded to rub furiously at his face to get rid of the drop.

The barman spluttered and struggled from Sharlock's ferociously firm grip. "Th-th-thank you Sir." He stammered as he backed away, rubbing what he thought would be a broken nose.

"Never a problem for a good friend." Sharlock grinned, baring his discoloured teeth. "Right then, I'll agree with you and I'd love to have the King's Head on the bar right now." His grin became wider as he imagined the real thing happening by his own deadly hands.

The barman tried to laugh through his fear, not understanding the joke. As he pulled the pint Sharlock decided he'd ask a few innocuous questions. "So what do you think about this meteor storm then." He drew imaginary speech marks around the words.

The barman looked around his establishment as if he was about to give a great secret away. "I don't think it was one."

This was a little disappointing for Sharlock, but he continued. "You're a bartender, you hear all sorts of stories and rumours. What's the word on the street?" He took hold of his beer, marveling at the inch thick creamy head. Beer on Malle was warm and flat, with only a few bubble floating lazily to the surface. He took a huge swig, emptying half of the glass in one go, gulped and let out a satisfying sigh. He wiped the froth from the top of his lip and looked at the now half empty glass. "I always knew that having the King's head would be a very tasty treat." He nodded as he said it.

The barman had calmed down from his earlier anxiousness, thinking that this customer was merely very boisterous. "Some of my locals say that it was an explosion on a solar farm in space, but I believe Jerlanne and Greig, who work in the Palace." The barman raised his eyebrows knowingly and paused for effect.

Sharlock decided to help his story along. "Why, what are they saying in the Palace?" He leant over the bar, tilting his head to one side to make it look like he wanted to be in on the little secret.

"Well, the other night, when Jerlanne came in, she'd been talking to another maid." The Barman stopped and looked at the floor as he thought. "Can't remember her name, Florn, something like that, but that doesn't matter right now." He shook his head to clear his head. "Anyway, she said that the Princess was acting strange, and then she just left, disappeared," He snapped his fingers. "And that no-one's seen her anywhere since."

"Aisha's gone somewhere." Sharlock said. "When was this?" He took a smaller swig of his beer, ensuring he kept his head as clear as possible whilst listening.

The barman counted in the air with his hand. "Today's Sunday, so it was either Wednesday or Thursday. Oh, which one was it." He scratched his head.

Sharlock continued to look interested, although patience wasn't one of his better skills. Normally he'd have beaten the information out of someone within seconds of walking into the room.

"Hold on, Andarl, come here a moment." The Barman waved at the only other customer in the place, who had been sat near the roaring fire, reading a paper. "He's getting on a bit, but his mind is quite sharp.

They watched the old man fold the paper carefully, place it on the table, pick up his drink and walking cane and hobble over to the bar.

"Andarl, do you remember when Greig was in here last?" The bartender asked whilst the old chap approached the bar.

"Now, hold your horses." Andarl huffed between breaths. "Let an old man sit down first."

Sharlock pulled the adjacent stool out from under the bar. "Do you need a hand my friend?"

"Thanking you my boy, but no." He stopped, placed his drink on the bar and then rested his free hand on the top of the stool to steady himself and catch his breath. After a few seconds he hoisted himself up onto the stool, and hooked his cane over the edge of the bar. "Right now, what were you asking me while I shuffled my weary old bones away from that warm fire and over here to this cold dry bar?"

Sharlock smiled, he liked the old man, even though he was an Ansolonian. "Another pint and also something small and warming for my new friend."

"Aw, that's very kind of you my boy." And he patted Sharlock on the arm. "Whoa, those are mighty tree trunks you have there, a fine strapping lad you are."

"Fine ales, thickly sliced buttered bread and raw meat." Sharlock joked, flexing his arm. "And good old fashioned hard farming work for my father as we grew up."

"There's nothing better than a good day of hard graft, and then to sit down to a finely cooked wholesome meal." Andarl reminisced, a sad look on his face.

"You're right there, my friend." Sharlock knew he had to let the old man tell his tales first, before he got to the good stuff.

"So Andarl." The barman interjected. "When did Grieg come in here last?"

"Ooh, that's a good one, ooh, let me think." Andarl rubbed his stubbly chin. "I'd have to go with Wednesday, because the Ansolonian North End were playing Faarge Rovers and he came over to ask me in Finney was playing." He turned and looked back at the fire, as if he could see the conversation taking place. "He said that the Ansolonian manager had been quiet all week after Finney hobbled off during the match at the weekend when that dirty Larnham defender hacked him down." He tutted and shook his head. "Did you see it on the box?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Anyway Greig was complaining that they never give his name out until the teamsheet is read at the match." Andarl nodded and laughed a liltle. "Crafty way of getting another few thousand fans through the turnstiles." He laughed again, Sharlock and the Barman joining in. "So, yes that was Wednesday, why do you ask?"

"Well, this chap was asking about the meteor shower we've been having." The barman nodded at Sharlock. "And I was telling him what Jerlanne had said when she came in with her fella, Greig."

"Oh, aye, meteor shower my left armpit." Andarl huffed. "That's no more a load of little space rocks than I'm Ecclesiastical Minister himself." Andarl added. "It all kicked off with that explosion over on the other side of the city."

The barman picked up a cloth and started to dry a rack of recently washed glasses, putting various shaped ones back into their respective homes around the bar as he listened.

"Explosion in the city eh?" Sharlock asked, definitely intrigued now.

"Oh aye, they say it was a gas appliance which had leaked and then went BOOM!, exploded like a bomb, but I've heard it was a real bomb placed by the Rexon." He nodded slowly. "I've seen many an invader from Cranfrians to Mallesians, and I thought they were bad, but these Rexon lot seem to be the worst. They're really devious and underhanded, yet with real killer instincts."

Sharlock resisted the urge to laugh at the thought where another race could be more evil than his, especially as he'd never heard of them. "Who are these Rexon?" He asked, shocked to be hearing a new name. He also knew that he'd found a rich vein of information, admittedly filled with hearsay and innuendo, but some of it would be true and he would glean some decent intelligence out of it all.

The barman stopped for a second and looked at Sharlock with a very puzzled expression on his face. "Are you not from round here?" He asked, then regretted his forthrightness, remembering the earlier intimidation and strength of his huge customer. "Although I'm not prying, as you could have been working on the mineral mines on the moons around Spellian for all I know, or care." He added hastily, rubbing the glass a little faster, hoping that he hadn't upset this overpowering customer.

"No, I'm from Nimro, just come to see the old country." He sighed as if it was a long held dream of his to see where his forefathers had come from. He was also enjoying the act.

"Oh." Said Andarl, eying up the muscular person sat next to him.

"Anyway," The Barman continued, "The Rexon are a race of aliens that came with great schemes of helping us with medicines, equipment and technology, etc." He nodded as he spoke, then he stopped to lean in to add his own personal thoughts. "I bet they also came with new weapons, but the military would never let that out would they?" He looked at the glass he was cleaning and noticed a greasy spot that hadn't been removed. Whilst rinsing it under the tap he continued. "Anyway, rumour has it that they fell out with King Harvin over the slave labour in the mines. Well, he stormed back the the Palace, got onto his Security chief, Janosh Actflor and ordered half the fleet of Ansolonian ships up there to sort them out and there was a huge battle in space and everything got blown up because the Rexon had a massive fusion bomb on board, and that's what the meteor shower was really."

"Really!" Sharlock said as he rubbed his chin in deep thought. He knew that to confirm this he'd need to get to the meteor debris, and see if it was rocks or pieces of ships. He'd also have to see if half of the Ansolon fleet was missing, as this would be very good news for the Mallesian Council. The pictures he'd taken earlier would help with some of this, but actually seeing with your own eyes was the best way, he thought.

"I was talking to my old farming friend Phillen, and he said he'd found huge pieces of spaceship all over his land." Andarl added. "They were all blown up and bent, burn bits and melted." He raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Is that true?" Sharlock asked.

"Oh, Aye." Andarl nodded. "He said he'd been collecting it all together in his barn to get the scrap value."

Sharlock wondered if he could find a way of inspecting the items, and see if he could work out which ships they had come from, or the defences of this new Alien threat. If he could get hold of a piece of the materials, he could analyse it on his ship, hopefully finding a weakness in the material before the Rexon came knocking on Malle.

"And he'd got most of it together," Andarl continued whilst Sharlock ran through the potential positives of getting a small part of the ship. "When yesterday, the Army just turned up with some huge Lorries and just took it all off him." Andarl crushed Sharlock's hopes. "Not a word or a penny given, basically stole if off him without letting him complain or owt."

"Anyway I've saved the best for the last." The Barman said, putting the glass down to get really close to both men.

Sharlock wasn't that interested as his mind was elsewhere; wanting to know more about the Ansolonians lack of ability to defend their planet, so further embellishments to the Barman's tales weren't required anymore. He was already planning his evenings work and also how to see if he could get to see any of the remaining the meteor debris, but decided to look interested for one last time, as the barman may have further information for him during his stay. "Ooh, go on, what's the best bit?" He asked, and raised one eyebrow again to help him look very intrigued.

It seemed to have worked as the barman's lips were virtually touching his ear as he whispered. "And since then nobody has seen either the King or the Chief of Security."

Sharlock felt like he'd been slapped in the face as he leapt off his elbows and stood bolt upright, his stool flying back across the bar. "So you're saying that King Harvin, his daughter Princess Aisha and Janosh Actflor have not been seen on this planet for 3 days or more?" He asked the question, although his mind was racing with the possibilities of what could be done.

"Yep, they all went, along with some kids who broke out of jail, so they say, but they also say that Janosh helped them." The Barman added.

Andarl had been nodding all through the conversation, "From what I heard, I think they were all spies."

Sharlock finished off his pint, his mind running over a thousand questions he now required answers for. He smiled and nodded at Andarl and the Barman. "Well, this has been a very interesting start to my vacation here, very interesting indeed." He shook the old man's hand, his withered and frail bones feeling so small in his hand. "Barkeep. This has been good night, and you may see me return before I head back home to Nimro." He headed for the door, stopping to turn and look at the two men at the bar. "All gone at the same time of the battle with these Rexon, hmmmm, very interesting indeed, thank you my friends." He headed out of the bar and back to his ship.
Chapter 42. Eeny Meeny, miny moe !

"Booze or Parkinsons?" Ian asked Brock as they stepped outside the smashed meeting room and back onto the quarry floor. The broken shards of the meeting table had been left where they were, the listening device on view to all. Ian had stopped Brock from tidying up, as he realised that anyone listening would wonder what was going on, and may figure out what had happened. Thus Ian had held his fingers to his lips as they left the room. As much as he'd given a very useful piece of information to the enemy, that one of his team had problems, it could also be useful to see who suddenly found out about it. Admittedly, Ian had noticed the shakes, and so may others, but for now, he would keep the secret between the two of them, and hope a third person started to mention it.

Ian closed the door, and slid the "reserved" tab across. Both men stopped to look at each other. One concerned for his colleague and friend, and the other worried about his livelihood and lifelong career.

It took a few moments of silence for Brock to realise that he had to give an answer. As much as his head and heart didn't want to, the truth would eventually come out. "Parkinsons, but I've been hitting the bottle with some gusto." Brock replied dejectedly. He knew it wasn't worth arguing with Ian, and he hoped that by being honest he could be used somewhere in the team.

The sun had gone over the top of the quarry and shadows had started to climb the walls, cooling the section of the base where they stood. The automatic lighting under the secure camouflage cover had started to come on, the low wattage led lighting clicking as the internal switches tripped.

Ian looked up and watched the traverse of lights illuminate across the roof of their protective canopy. It was as if a wave of electricity was rolling across the surface, touching each row of lights as it flowed. As wonderous a spectacle it all was, from the might of the day's Sun through the ingenuity of mankind's inventions, he worried about what Brock was feeling. Ian sighed as he tried to understand his friend's current plight with such a terrible degenerative disease. He knew that stem cell research had been developed to help control such problems as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, but they were years away from producing a viable answer. There were also the political and theological problems associated with the research, and how it was conducted, which could mean that a cure may never be allowed to appear. It was one of Ian's dreams when he joined the team to go off world and come back with medicines and technologies to help cure some of these diseases that were a scourge to mankind, but as yet he'd not been so lucky.

It took a while for him to try to come up with some meaningful words, but the best he could do was "Fair enough mate." And he patted Brock on the back. "Tough luck." Ian sighed, knowing that he would be there for his friend if he needed him, but there was nothing that he could personally do to help. "Don't panic, cus I'm not going to get shut of you, you're too good at what you do." He set off towards the main complex of buildings. "And with the amount of booze you've consumed over the years, you could open up a chain of off-licences in Lytham St Annes, so I don't think you upping the levels should make much difference to your performance levels."

Both men laughed at the thought before Ian continued. "Come on, we need to start trying to find out who we don't want around here." He'd started to formulate a plan in his mind.

"But that could be any one of 300 members of military staff." Brock answered as he trotted to catch him up. He seemed a little relieved that his problem was out in the open, well, at least with his superior officer. "And then there are all the sub contractors." He stopped for a second and shrugged at the possibilities of finding someone who would be very good at not wanting to be found. "There's catering staff, cleaners, systems guys....." His list was being counted out on his hands as he continued.

"Oh I don't disagree that it's not going to be easy, but I think we have to try to narrow it all down a little." Ian smiled cheekily at Brock.

"Eh, I know that smile," Brock looked curiously at his Major, "And it's one that usually means bending a few rules."

"Moi, bend rules!" Ian held his hand to his chest in mock innocence. "Never."

"Yes tu!" Brock continued with the Franglais. "And actually, I must admit that you don't bend rules."

"Merci beaucoup for that vote of confidence." Ian bowed in gratitude.

"Nope, you smash the rules into a thousand pieces – Ka-pow." Brock karate chopped the air as he laughed. "So, How can I help."

Ian's look of mock shock gave way to a smile, "Fair point, well-made young man." He turned around to check that there was no-one within earshot. "Well, funnily enough, I've been thinking about that."
Chapter 43. Boys Toys.

Sim was startled as the door burst open and everyone raced eagerly to their new mission. He caught them as they crossed the central square, and led them back through the caves to the Beam in site. A wry smile passed his lips wondering how long it would have taken them to realise that they didn't know the way.

Back on the surface of the planet, Sim led them down to the beam-in site, the others still jammering actively to each other, and even sometimes just to themselves, except one.

It was whilst they waited for the other troops to arrive that Ashton seized the opportunity to ask some questions. "How's Tom doing?" He asked Sim, making sure he was in earshot of the others.

"I believe he's come round but is still too weak to get up and about yet. Don't worry, as he's being very well looked after by Caro." Sim replied, the usual calming smile on his face.

"Oh yeh, Tom." Eric suddenly said. "I'd forgotten about him, with all this excitement about going on a mission. We'll have to see him when we come back."

Ashton noticed how quickly Eric was talking, "Yes, these things do take over ones thoughts." He replied tersely, then saw a group of 12 people all marching towards them in two perfectly neat columns. As with any well drilled troop, all limbs and movements were synchronized. "Ah, the escort has arrived."

They came to a halt in front of Sim. The one at the head of the right hand column, who had been barking orders as they approached, stepped forward. "I'm Ara, Troop Captain, at your service." He brought his right hand up quickly and across his chest, with the palm open and facing down. It rattled against his rib cage and then he slowly took it away, the hand curving slowly down and round to his side. "At Ease!" he barked, and all the soldiers lifted their left feet to plant them to the side, their arms round their backs, and hands clasped together.

Eric was amused by the hand actions, but knew that it must be some sort of salute. He had noticed that the soldiers all wore casual looking cargo trousers and gillet vests tops, with zipped pockets all over them. They weren't camouflaged at all, but were jet black, almost shining in the sunlight, and he wondered what the material was. Eric assumed the vest was bullet proof, and wondered if the trousers were as well, as they looked to be made of the same material. Yet, what really took his interest was hanging around Ara's neck and clipped to his jacket. It could only be described as a shortened rifle. The butt had been cut in half, an oval hole bored through it, and the barrel was likewise snub-nosed in length. There was a moulded piece near the front that would take a hand through, and a hole just behind that that would accommodate a thumb.

"Nice weapon." He nodded at the weapon admiringly.

The captain was suddenly taken aback. "Ah, yes, sorry." He turned to his troop and gave a short sharp whistle which started off high and then slid down to a lower note. The soldier who had been behind Ara slid a rucksack off his shoulders and brought it round to the front. He opened it to reveal three similar looking jackets and trousers, and more importantly to Eric's curiosity, three similar looking weapons. The soldier removed them from the bag and handed them out to Eric, Aisha and Skaler.

They were all very grateful, but as they were getting themselves kitted out, Ara turned to Ashton. "I'm sorry Sir, but due to your stature and abilities." His eyes turned to Ashton's wings. "We didn't know how to kit someone out like you."

"Do not worry, my dear friend Ara." Ashton replied with graciousness. "I'm honoured that you even considered me, but I can take very good care of myself."

"These are awfully light." Aisha said as she zipped up her jacket.

"Yes Miss, they have a special lining inside that will stop virtually any projectile." Ara explained. He then took hold of one of the weapons and approached her. "May I?" He asked.

Aisha looked puzzled but dropped her hands back to her sides and replied "Yes, of course." Although she didn't have a clue as to what he was about to do.

"The butt clips onto here." He looked to Skaler and Eric to make sure that they were watching and understanding his actions as he snapped a clip that was just below her right shoulder. "You are right-handed?" He paused as asked.

"Yes." Aisha replied.

"Excellent, because there is a corresponding clip on the left hand side." Ara pointed to the clip on Aisha's jacket, making sure Eric and Skaler were both watching before he continued. "OK, the muzzle holding snap is down here." He pointed to another item diagonally across and further down her jacket. Eric thought it looked like a spring clip. "The barrel snaps into this." He looked at Aisha. "If you wouldn't mind demonstrating, Miss."

She took hold of the gun, and looking down carefully to make sure she didn't get it wrong, moved the barrel towards the clip. She got to within 5 centimetres of the clip when the weapon leapt suddenly out of her hand and snapped into position.

"Wow!" Skaler added with his usual surprise.

"They are magnetic and will pull the weapon back to a safe harness position it merely dropped down." Ara explained. "This position leaves them ready for use, but safely pointing away from you, and hopefully not at a colleague." He smiled and turned to glance at one of his troop who instantly blushed. "As one of my soldiers found out to his displeasure last year."

"Ouch!" said Skaler.

"Indeed." Ara replied and turned back to look at Aisha. "Finally, and most importantly, if you could unclip the weapon and raise it up to a firing stance."

Aisha reached back down and grasped the unit, her thumb slipped through the hole in the butt, and her fingers closed around the grip. She pulled out and up in one very natural and smooth action. With the butt still anchored onto the jacket, she pulled it back into her shoulder and then took hold of the weapon with her left hand, just a little further along than where her right hand was. At the same time she opened her feet, to create a solid stance, her head tilted to the right to look through a small round window on the top of the gun.

"Excellent. You've had weapons training I see." Ara was very impressed with her technique.

"A Killer Princess." Skaler whispered into Eric's ear, making them both giggle.

Ashton tutted, bringing both boys back to the moment.

"Wow!" Aisha looked into the small round window. "It's like a mini television."

"I presume that's what you call a visual screen in your galaxy, but yes, it is one of those." Ara replied.

Aisha pulled her head back from the gun to investigate it in more detail. The screen was only millimetres deep, and she had thought it was merely a glass line of sight guide. Aisha was amazed as she returned to look back at the screen to see the distant hill zoom into view. Within the trees across the lake, some 2 kilometres away, were a whole host of various animals, which were all being scanned in infrared on her screen. A small central crosshair would flash green when on placed directly over an animal.

"As you can probably see, the unit will tell you when it's correctly aligned to the target." Ara guessed that was what she was looking at currently.

"Guys, you've got to have a look." Aisha said, not moving her head from the gun.

Eric and Skaler followed suit, and both were equally amazed at the outcome.

"Now people, the gun will do a few different things." Ara started to explain again. "A short pull of the trigger will fire a single round; a full and hard pull will set it to automatic."

Aisha moved her head a little closer to the screen. "That's fantastic. How does that work?" She asked.

"I presume you mean the sensory zoom feature." Ara replied.

"If that's what you call it when it zooms in even closer, then yes." Aisha moved her head back and forth a fraction as she played with the scope. She finally moved her head a little further forward and gently pulled the trigger back. There was a small click noise as the first round was fired. She felt no recoil and a second later the tree she'd zoomed onto splintered as the bullet hit. She pulled her head back a little and the infrared facility kicked in as she watched the animals that had been around the area race away. "Superb."

A sudden rattling noise turned everyone's attention to Skaler who was aiming at the very same tree to the north of the lake. He never flinched as the magazine was emptied, scything the tree in half with ease. The gun stopped firing suddenly and he released the trigger, pulling the weapon away to have a look at it. "There's something wrong." He turned to Ara. "I think it's jammed."

"Actually," Ara replied as he walked over to him, glancing at the see-through casing around the bullets. "It's empty." With that he reached round his back and tugged at something from the rear of his jacket. The box was about the size of a deck of cards and he raised his free hand to take hold of Skaler's gun. "This gives me a good opportunity to explain how to change magazines. If you press here the empty cassette will drop." A thin cage fell to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces. Everyone was in awe as seconds later; it turned to liquid and sank into the soil. "Then we just snap in the full one."

"Is that magazine made of some sort of changeling substance?" Eric tried to put his thoughts into words.

"I suppose you could say that." Ara replied. "It is very biodegradable. Although, this is more a way to hide our tracks from our enemies than being friendly to the environment."

"So are the bullets the same." Eric asked.

"Yes, there are 600 in a magazine. The have an initial hard shell which breaks down very quickly and releases a deadly toxin." He explained in a very clinical way; his voice and facial expressions very flat, as he turned to face the whole of the group. "OK then, are we all ready?"

Eric was taken aback by the seizure of his lead of the group. He'd struggled with the idea since it had first been voiced in the very same spot days before by Skaler & Tom. Ashton's 1000 year old prophecy of a Hero from another galaxy fit Eric's life so closely that to deny it would not just have been foolish, but would have been a very difficult argument to create against it. As he'd come to terms with the new position in the group, he'd started to make command decisions, on the camp, the caves, the best way for them to survive. He'd helped save Ansolon from the Rexon, and had started to believe that he truly was the Hero everyone was telling him he was. The feelings coursing through him scared him a little, as he wondered why it meant so much. He took a deep breath, holding back the rage within him, and cleared his throat to get Aras attention. "Excuse me, but this is my." He glanced at Aisha, Skaler and Ashton. "This is our mission; you're here only as our back-up." He stepped forward, chest blown up.

Ara nodded graciously. "Apologies Eric, I was just making sure that everything was in order with the weaponry and protective clothing. My main concern is the safety of everyone here, and I was about to ask you to lead the way."

"Oh!" Said Eric, slightly embarrassed that he'd just blown up for no reason at all. "Okay then, erm Skaler, if you could choose somewhere." He flashed a quick and very fake smile to him, before adding. "And not anywhere like that Rexon army camp." Eric laughed, knowing it was fake, but trying to direct everyone's attention away from his outburst.

Ashton flew over the Eric's shoulder. "Are you OK?"

"Erm, yes." Eric replied, as strong a smile he could muster on his face. He shrugged off the question. "Why do you ask?"

"I am concerned that people are reacting to situations in unusual ways." Ashton glanced around the others.

Eric huffed in annoyance. "In what way?"

"I'm sorry to have to say this but I have been observing that people's behaviors have changed, and I have a feeling I know what might be causing it." Ashton whispered.

"What?" Eric replied angrily. "Nothing's different, nothing's changed, we're all fine." He swung an arm around the group. "If anything you've changed, you're the one suddenly seeing things that don't exist, I thought you could read minds and see this sort of thing." Eric swished a hand at Ashton. "Maybe you're not as good at that as you thought you were."

Ashton took a moment to think his reply through. His fears had just been answered. Eric's initial reaction to Ara taking the team's lead was out of character, which lead to him at least asking the question. He had seen this young man arrive into his forest, and instantly knew that he was confident, atheletic, and strong willed, when required. He quickly saw him take lead of situations and accept advice and help from others around him. What he saw now concerned him, because not long after he';d arrived on Demda, Eric had changed. He looked at the angry young man before him, took a breath, and bowed. "I apologise." He looked at Eric's eyes to see his acceptance. "Maybe the atmosphere, or the conditions of being enclosed for so long underground has affected my abilities, you're probably right." He bowed once more, knowing in his heart that he'd had to lie to leave the argument for another day.

Eric huffed once more. "Don't worry, these things will probably be affecting us all in various degrees, but I feel fine, so maybe I'm coping with it in a far better way than you."

"Yes, quite probably." Ashton smiled graciously.

"Right then." Eric clapped his hands together. "Now we have that misunderstanding resolved, let's get on the road again!"

Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"It's a Earth saying, in fact it's a song, sung by a Donkey once – On the road again!" He sang the last few words, and then giggled. "And then the Ogre said..." He saw the puzzled looks around the group. "It doesn't matter does it."

Everyone shook their heads.

"I'll explain it one day when we get back to Earth." His fake smile reappeared. "OK, Skaler, can you find us a planet to visit."

Skaler moved towards the centre of the group. "If everyone could make sure that they're within a 6 metre diameter circle around me."

Ara did another whistle, this one three distinct notes going down. The troops span round suddenly and spread out and around the group in a tight circle. They knelt down, unclipped their weapons and brought them up, ready for action. Ara stayed in the centre with the others. "Ready." Was his only communication to Eric.

"Right then." Skaler looked down at the Kylapitar and started to scroll. "Were here." He flicked down once. "We've been there, and they won't be too happy as we nicked a load of stuff off them."

"Long story, which I'll explain one day." Eric hesitantly noted to Ara.

"So..." Skaler flicked it once more, then as his finger came into contact with the main button he said, "Let's try here."
Chapter 44. Home is where the Heart is.

"And here is home." Zeph looked to each side of him to gauge the reactions of Harvin and Janosh. Seeing the look of shock and disbelief on Harvin's face he added, "Well, its home for now."

They'd walked for a while though the huge forest until they came to a ravine. The height of the trees which stood peeking over the sides gave it shelter from any prying eyes in the skies above. Thus any Rexon ships wouldn't see anything as they flew over except for a small gap in the trees. As Harvin and Janosh looked over the edge they could see that the walls of the ravine curved inwards. Thus someone would have to get right up to the edge, at ground level before they'd spot anything.

Janosh was impressed at the location.

"The surface layer of rock is extremely tough." Zeph pointed across the ravine to the grey granite looking layer about 5 metres deep. "And the underlying materials are softer." They all followed his gaze down. "So the sides slope inwards, creating a natural dense and tough canopy over the camps, making it quite hard for them to get a scan on us." Zeph explained.

Very basic shelters were erected in the natural scooped out walls, created as the river eroded its path down to the bottom. Wooden walkways and bridges had been created where the rocks weren't helpful for movement between shelters, and near the bottom were bridges which were hardly visible from their location. At the very bottom, a forceful river rumbled over the rocks.

"We've only been here a week, but it's getting better every day." He pointed out some thick cables which weaved their way down the opposite side and then disappeared, as if being eaten by the raging torrent of the river below. "There's a hydro generator down there that powers everything we need." He turned to the two of them. We have to keep sneaking back into the city to steal whatever we need, but it's a risk we're willing to take."

"But what if you're followed or the items are tracked?" Janosh asked, concerned that this brigade was starting to look more like a rag-tag bunch of home-owners with guns.

"Never, we make sure we always get things at random times, from random places." He looked directly at Janosh, as he knew what he was doing. "We did have problems to start with, that's why we moved around a lot, until we came here."

"And how do you know here is safe." Janosh asked.

"Because, as you saw from the other side of the forest, they're trying to find us, but can't. So they're blasting the city to pieces hoping we'll come out of hiding and give our position away." Zeph raised his eyebrows at Janosh and tilted his head. "A third of these people down here are part of my battalion that was wiped out 8 months ago when the Rexon had had enough of jerking us around and decided to just start wiping us out." He explained, his voice harsh and tinged with little feeling. "I lost 700 men in one day. Another 300 got trimmed down over the last few months through mistakes, diseases, ambushes and stupidity. We now have 50 former full time soldiers and the other 120 are families, friends and anyone else that we can find to help at least survive, even if they don't want to fight.."

"So there are only about 170 people down there?" Harvin asked, shocked to think so few had survived, but also that people would allow themselves to live this way. He was also quite impressed at how secure it was, as it looked to him as there was only a handful of people down there.

Zeph's shoulders dropped and his breathing eased as he answered. "Yeah, about that many, give or take the odd straggler or Sarf victim."

"Sarf victim!" Harvin's voice caught in his throat as the name of the disease that was ravaging his home planet was also here. Then another thought his him. "And you let them into your camp?" Harvin took hold of Zeph's arm and swung him round, his voice full of concern.

"Yeah why?" Zeph asked, and then before he got the answer his eyes widened. "You've had the same disease."

"Yes, we've only just started to get it on our planet." Harvin replied. "But it's killing thousands."

"Ah, that's the start of it. We had the odd strange and inexplicable diseases hitting various cities." He took a large, deep and thoughtful breath. "And then the Sarf came along." Zeph stroked the bristles on his chin, memories flooding his mind's eye, understanding Harvin's fears. "It took our doctors months to find a vaccine, but by then it was too late." His head dropped again as he felt the burden of his planets troubles on his shoulders.

The realisation of what Zeph had just said hit Harvin. "You have a cure?" He was upset by what had happened here, but also a little excited. He tried to stay calm as he listened.

"Yeah, but it would be best to go down and talk to our doctor, as she understands all of that stuff and can explain it a lot better." Zeph looked at both men, before nodded at Harvin. "Let's go now, and we can get that arm seen to."

Harvin sounded shocked as he continued his question. "I hate to ask, but how do we get down there?" Harvin asked leaning and peering over the edge a little and seeing nothing else but rock face and the ultimate drop into the river.
Chapter 45. Q and A.

"WHAT?" K'nash bellowed as he leapt out of his hospital bed. The pain jolted through his knee like a huge electric shock, yet he only growled at the pain.

"They've escaped again Leader." The unfortunate aide had his head bowed as low as he could, knowing that the little piece of floor which was directly under his nose could be the last thing he ever saw.

A medic appeared and huffed at K'nash. "Don't damage your leg for a third time..."

K'nash looked directly at the Medic who shrank a little, yet still came over to check the strappings. He mumbled the remainder of his words. "Leader. You had to come back here because you got out of bed too early last time when those humans...."

"ESCAPED!" K'nash's voice boomed around the small hospital facility. "YOU - OUT." He shouted at the Medic, who didn't argue as he was more than pleased to comply with the wishes of this ferocious beast.

"But Commander Prant said that..." The aide was starting to panic, as the voice was either getting higher in volume, or worst still; it was coming from somewhere a lot closer to him than he liked. As he kept his eyes firmly fixed on his little piece of clean flooring, he hoped it wasn't getting closer. He brought his hand up to wipe the non-stop flow of sweat off his top lip, which was interrupting his words.

"COMMANDER PRANT SAID WHAT?" K'nash howled down the poor aide's ear hole.

The aide quivered, nearly losing control of all bodily functions as his worst fear had been met. He knew that his fate was sealed, and either K'nash was about to make sure he ended up needing a lot of medical attention, or worse still, a casket to be launched into space. Determined that his life would not be in vain, he still managed to get the message from Commander Prant out, although this was said with a whisper. "He said that all is under control." The unfortunate aide knew that this would be the final straw for the infamous Rexon leader.

"UNDER CONTROL?" The question was once again shouted into the aide's already shattered ear.

"Yes sir." He squeaked in reply, bracing himself for the impact of a fist, or to be picked up and hurled across the ward. He closed his eyes and tightened all his muscles, and waited as his mind raced through all the possible outcomes of the next few moments.

The room fell silent.

The aide kept waiting, tensing everything more and more as each second passed, until.....

"Good." K'nash replied finally, and at a normal volume level.

This was a surprise, as the aide suddenly wondered if this was a trick to make him relax for a split second, just as the impact of something heavy came his way, causing him even more damage.

K'nash started to laugh.

The volume had returned and it made this turn of events even more unbearable. The poor aide's heart started to race, but his blood pressure started to drop dramatically, causing him to faint.

K'nash had started to walk back to his bed when he heard the thud of the aide hitting the floor. He turned and laughed at the unconscious messenger. "A damn fine place to faint, if I say so myself." He laughed even more at his own joke, and then bellowed. "MEDIC!"
Chapter 46. Snakes and Ladders.

"This time's for real, guys!" Major Ian Jackson looked carefully around his assembled troupe. "We've had a few simulations where we've all come back surprisingly." He nodded and smiled at Private Grape. "Sometimes through pure blind luck, I might add."

Everyone else smiled as they remembered the incident on their very last mission where the young Private had been carefully checking the upstairs of a building when the floor collapsed. He fell through that floor, then the next, and luckily landed on a pile of old mattresses in the basement.

"We just need to remember to concentrate at all times." He paused to get the nods back from everyone that they understood fully before he turned to Cock-up. "OK mate, take us somewhere nice."

Everyone turned round and crouched, creating a rough circle around the Major and Sergeant 'Cock-up' Cockburn. All had their weapons facing out, covering a full 360 degree angle of attack. Cock-up scrolled up 7 from the earth symbols, as he thought that it was a lucky number for him, and an easy one to remember if they had to get away quickly. He closed his eyes as he pressed the central button.

The light still shone brightly for an instant, even with his eyes closed, and he was reminded of a bright summer day on holiday in the Algarve when he turned his face fully to the sun with his eyes closed. The warmth of the sun felt good, but he knew he couldn't open his eyes as he'd do instant damage. This felt the same, only without the heat.

Cock-up switched off the Kylapitar and slipped it into his pocket as soon as they opened their eyes.

"Eh up." Lanky stated in his clear Yorkshire accent. "You're a big 'un".

Everyone else turned to see what he was looking at. 20 metres away and staring straight at Lanky was a huge bear like creature. It rose up onto its back legs, making it stand over 3 metres in height and let out a deafening lion-like roar.

"Pigging hell." Cock-up instinctively stepped backwards, forgetting that Ian was right behind him. He fell over the Major cracking his head on the floor, knocking himself out instantly.

"Oomph, cock-up!" Ian shouted as he was pushed over.

"Major, what should I do?" Lanky asked the floored Major.

"Take him down?" Brock gave his version of what he would do, his weapon already aimed and ready for the command.

"Wait." Ian gave the order as he got back onto his knees. He glanced at Cock-up who was having his pulse quickly checked by Dicko. CT had darted over to lend some medical assistance if needed.

"This thing's starting to move forward Boss, and it's getting a little too close to wait much longer." Lanky exclaimed, and also raised his weapon as he watched the bear stagger slowly forward towards them, the roar getting louder.

Ian's love of David Attenborough's nature programs made him realise that he had a few seconds as the animal was merely startled and wanted to chase them away, not attack. He turned to Dicko. "How is he?" Nodding at the prone Cock-up.

"Out fully, we need to get him back cus he may be concussed." She checked his vital signs and looked for any sign of blood appearing from his head.

"OK." Ian checked on the slow progress of the Bear. It was now 15 metres away from Lanky who was now fully concentrating on its movements as he inched his way backwards. He glanced around the area before looking at his team. "Finchy, CT, Grape & Dicko, grab an arm or a leg and let's move him back and up the hill over there." He pointed with his weapon to a gradual rise about 100 metres behind them.

"Eh, you lot, can you be a bit quicker." Lanky carefully said the words, "As my big mate over here is getting within swiping distance."

Ian watched the four bearers sling their weapons over their shoulders and pick up a limb in unison. None spoke a word, but all knew what to do.

"Sugar!" Grape exclaimed. "I think he needs to lose a few pounds." He added as he did a weight lifters jerk movement to get Cock-up's leg over his shoulder.

CT had the other leg bent over his shoulder and sniggered at the youngster. "You need to steal those pounds from our fallen friends here and get that bit of meat onto your muscles."

"Go." Ian gave the order and everyone moved as one.

The four carrying Cock-up set off at a trot in the direction Ian had indicated.

"Slow down, 'cus we don't want to startle the animal and make him charge us." Ian's viewing experiences being used once more. "And we don't want to damage Cock-up any further.

They instantly slowed their rate to a walking pace.

Ian then turned to Brock and Lanky. "OK.........Damn!" The two remaining guys had been concentrating on the bear so much that they didn't realise that the others had started to move.

"Eh!" Lanky shouted as he ducked under a huge paw being swished over his head.

"Lads, back up now." Ian called out. "And do it slowly."

The two men didn't need a second request as the bear took another step forward and swung its other paw at them. Lanky rolled across the floor, as he wondered if the bear might have anticipated another simple ducking move by him. He felt the air being moved behind his head as the bear narrowly missed him.

Brock had shuffled back about 5 metres, his stance tightened up when he saw the bear swish at the Captain. He brought his weapon up to his shoulder and aimed at the bear.

"No!" Ian shouted, knowing what Brock was about to do.

Brock wasn't really listening and started to squeeze the trigger, but was knocked backwards as something crashed into him. His instincts kicked in and he scrambled backwards before leaping up, bringing his weapon to bear on what had hit him.

"Whoa mate, it's only me." Lanky was crouched before him with his hands up in acceptance of submission. "We're clear, now move."

Both men checked back and saw the bear holding its ground, 5 metres away, not advancing any further. They got up and trotted over to Ian and the other guys who were waiting for them.

"Slow down, cus we don't want to make him chase after us." Ian lowered his hands slowly to help emphasise the command.

They all turned to watch the bear drop onto its four legs and then sniff around the area where they'd just been, taking in their scents.

"Ah, it looks like it only goes for movement." Lanky commented on the bear's current actions.

"True mate, so let's carefully back away." Ian repeated his command again and everyone headed off to the hill behind them.

The troupe set off at a steady pace, Brock and Lanky checking repeatedly on the bear until they crested the ridge Ian had directed them towards. The 4 carrying Cock-up rested him carefully down on a layer of thick grass.

"Dicko, if you could check him over." Then he turned to Private Grape. "Can you find the Kylapitar; it should be in his pocket." He left them to their tasks before turning to Brock. "What were you about to do?" His face had suddenly become concerned.

"It was about to kill Lanky, so I thought it best to protect him." He defiantly answered his critic.

"Cheers' mate, but I was doing fine." Lanky interrupted, placing a hand on his shoulder, which was instantly shrugged off.

"Brock, there's no need for that." Dicko tried to calm the situation down. "Lanky didn't mean anything nasty."

"Stuff the Yorkshire....." Brock held his anger in check.

"Captain?" Lanky dropped the friendship.

"What?" Bock replied perplexed.

"Stuff the Yorkshire Captain I think you were saying, Lieutenant." Lanky replied, emphasising the rank differences.

"Guys' guys." Ian walked between them, turning to face Lanky. "Let me deal with this." And he gently nudged Brock away from the group.

"Stuff you as well, Major." He spat the words out in anger.

Chapter 47. A New World

"Brill!" Skaler exclaimed.

"Do you have to say that every time we go somewhere new?" Aisha huffed at him.

"Well look, it's fantastic." He replied looking, his mouth wide open.

Aisha turned round and could see what Skaler was commenting on, and was also very impressed. They were standing on the edge of a lush tropical rain forest. The trees reached as high as they could, their leaves spread out as far and wide as their branches would push them, all to get as much rain as possible when it fell. Colourful birds darted and circled above their heads, singing beautiful songs to each other in constant courtship.

Eric had watched many wildlife programs with his Mum and Dad. "It reminds me of places like Malaysia on my planet." He said.

"You have places like this on Earth?" Aisha asked, shocked as there was nothing remotely like this on Ansolon.

"Oh yes, they're around the equator of the planet." He explained. "But there's lots of people chopping down the trees there, and it's slowly killing the planet."

"All the way round the planet?" She asked.

"Well, most of the way round where there's land, as the rest is sea." He said, a coy look on his face adding to his sarcasm.

"Brill!" She said.

"Oh, when I say Brill, it's annoying, but when you say it its ok." It was Skaler's turn to huff.

"I'm sorry, but that's really impressive." She stopped for a second, as there was a single sudden squawk above them; an odd sound of panic in the midst of all this heartfelt singing.

They all looked up to see where the noise had come from and realised that other birds had joined in as the squawking grew ever louder. Eric was worried as they all scattered, dashing off in the same direction into the safety of the trees.

"Ara?" Aisha asked the commanding officer whilst pointing in the opposite direction from the birds. "Who are they?"

"Don't know miss, but we've already seen them and would assume that they've already seen us." He said as he watched the same 100 people Aisha had just been talking about walk towards them.

Eric looked concerned as they neared. "Shouldn't we go and help them?" As he saw that some looked quite battered and bruised.

"We should hold our line, not break the group up, as that would make us an easier target." He turned to Eric. "Apologies, but these are basic military tactics." His voice was quite harsh.

"It's also flaming inhumane." Eric snapped as he barged past the soldier in front of him. "Half of them are struggling to walk."

"Damn!" Ara said with a deep sigh, his fears of being led by a civilian coming to reality.

"The boy is very head strong, although he does have a point." Aston interrupted the troop leader's thoughts on how to handle the situation with his own interpretation. "They don't look like much of a threat, and this looks more like a humanitarian effort, rather than a covert smash and grab raid; using simple human logic." He added sarcastically; with that he flew off to catch Eric up.

Aisha and Skaler had already set off after him and they were greeting the ones at the head of the column.

"Hi, I'm Eric, this is Skaler, Aisha and Ashton, can we help?" He asked as he approached the first person, taking her arm so that she could stand more comfortably.

"If you can stop us from being hunted and killed by the Rexon, then yes." The woman looked at the mere child that stood before her offering help with disdain.

Eric saw that she had no hope left in her eyes.

Her voice was angry as she continued. "And as you're just kids and a small flying man, then I very much doubt it. So, you can either flee and save yourselves, or join what's probably left of the Cabostian race."

"This is all that's left of your whole race." Aisha said incredulously. "It can't be."

"Look little girl." The woman raised her hand and thrust a finger onto the end of Aisha's nose. "It's only because you look humanoid that I haven't given the order to kill you, yet." She was breathing heavily and her nostrils flared as the anger rose within. "But we've been fighting those damn aliens for 3 years" she pointed off into the distance. "And they've finally hunted everyone down to just us few." Her voice softened as the weight of the responsibility she was carrying took its toll. Her head dropped, and she sighed as tears filled her eyes. It took a few seconds before she glanced up to the trees. "Even the birds know that where we go, the Rexon come and decimate the area."

Everything fell silent in the forest, and then a new burst of strength raced through her body, and along with it, the anger of everything that had happened. "We know what's happened here, and you're not from here." Then another thought hit her. "In fact how the hell did you lot get here?" There was a sudden flurry of movement behind her as a multitude of various weapons were suddenly brought up and pointed at the four of them.

"Whoa, hold on. Let's not get hasty." Eric said raising both hands up to try to calm the situation; and also knowing that Ara would not be enjoying this latest turn of events back up on the hill. "We've come to help, if we can. We got here using a Kylapitar." He nudged Skaler. "Show her."

He slowly removed the device from his pocket and showed it to her. She moved a little closer in awe at such a neat and clean item.

"It's one of theirs, isn't it?" She asked looking up at Eric to see his answer.

He nodded then when she looked back at her people he glanced back up the hill to where Ara and his troops should have been, but was concerned as they were not there.

"A friend of mine stole it." Eric continued.

"He is a very great friend, as this is a powerful tool." She said, her hand cautiously starting to rise towards it. "May I hold it?" She looked at Skaler who pulled it away from her slightly, suddenly having the feeling that all wasn't right. "It's OK my dear, I understand your actions. All I want to do is feel something so clean in my hand." She waved one hand up and down her body, showing her tattered and filthy clothes as her other hand made a slower move towards the Kylapitar.

Skaler was too much of a thief to fall for a simple piece of distraction, and kept the device away from her.

"Give it here boy, or else." She snapped her fingers and half a dozen of her armed people stepped forward, their weapons up and aimed at Eric and the others.

There was a gentle rustle in the undergrowth around them and suddenly the Demdonain troops appeared as if out of nowhere, all aiming in various directions at the Cabostians who were holding weapons.

"I don't think so, madam." Ara said, his weapon held tight to his shoulder and aimed at her head. "Please drop your hand back down, nice and slow."

She did as he asked, but the anger had returned to her face as she spoke. "How dare you attack us like this?" She demanded an answer.

"As far as I can see, they came to help, you tried to steal, and then you drew weapons. We've appeared as a far superior and organised military force to give assistance to our friends and keep the peace." He twitched one eyebrow. "So, do you want the help our friend was about to offer, or do we use that device and leave you all here for the Rexon to finish you off?"

The woman glared at Ara, then turned to Eric. "You're friends are very persuasive Eric. We've been alone too long to want to trust anyone we meet, but I think the time has come to change that." She raised her hand and then slowly lowered it. Everyone with a ready weapon in her column followed the simple order and withdrew them. "We would be very grateful of your help, and if that means for us to leave our planet," She took a very deep breath and looked around her, tears welling up as she was resigned to the fact. "Then so be it." She forced a brief smile as she asked Eric. "Can you take all of us back?"

He turned to Ara as he answered her question. "I'm willing, but it's not my planet you'll be going to." He paused for a second. "It's his, so the final decision belongs to him."

Ara lowered his weapon, and the rest of his troop followed suit. "I'm not really the one to ask that." He glanced at Ashton and remembered his words from before. "But this is more of a humanitarian mission, so I'd have to say yes."

"Thank you." She said. "I'm Janix."

"The only problem is that it will only take about 15 to 20 people in one bubble, so we'll have to take you in batches." Eric explained the limitations of the device.

"Don't worry, as I wouldn't care if it only took one at a time, as long as we all got off the planet." She said.

"Eric, a word please." Ara said, nodding away from the group to talk to him privately.

"That's OK. I'll tell everyone the news while you have a chat about your military tactics." She said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Eric and Ara stepped away from the rest of the group before Ara started to talk. "I'll send 4 troops back with their first ones of her people and also yourselves on the first run. If Skaler does the trips back and forth, the rest of my troop will hold on here to see everyone gets through safely."

"Sounds reasonable." Eric glanced at the refugees and could see that some were injured and needing assistance from their fellow Cabostians. "I think we'd be best getting the worst of the injured off here first, to get medical assistance back on Demda, then the next worst, and so on." He saw Ara nod his approval. "I'll go and explain that to Janix."

With everyone happy with the plan they headed back up the hill to the beam in location. Ara stayed behind with some soldiers as 4 of his troops left with Eric, Aisha, Skaler and Ashton. They also took 12 of the most infirm people from Janix's group.

Skaler soon returned from the first transport and they realised that if they all squeezed in a little more, then they could take 20 people per trip.

On Demda, Aisha quickly returned to the underground city with one of the Demdonian troops to get help. As they returned with a team of medics, they saw that Skaler had only made 3 retrievals as there were about 50 refugees all spread out along the shores of the lake.

Skaler was getting ready to go back for the forth as Ashton approached him. "Why is it taking so long?" He asked as he was a little concerned that there weren't all of them through by now.

"The Kylapitar keeps scrolling off and it takes it's time to go back to either the address for here or the other place." He pointed dejectedly at the Kylapitar. "Then we also have to leave the spaces free both here and there so that I can beam in. Then we have to get everyone to move into the circle, adjust the odd person, as they're too tall and might get their heads chopped off, and once we think we have a full load, we can then beam them out, and start unloading them at this end." He pointed to a few Cabostians slowly hobbling around them. "And these first few lots aren't the fastest movers I've seen. Then, once everyone's clear we start the process all over again." He leaned towards Ashton as he whispered. "You'd think they'd move a little quicker for a race being hunted to extinction." His eyes scanned around the ever increasing group of refugees, then back to the Kylapitar. "Ah, got it." He looked up at Ashton. "Stand back about 5 metres, as I'm about to do trip number 4 of probably 6." He rocked his head from side to side as he mentally calculated the numbers remaining and the trips required. "That may be 7 trips with Aras soldiers."

"You'd better get going then or it will be next week before we get them all off their planet." Ashton replied as he flew away to a safe distance.

"See ya shortly!" Skaler said, pressing the button to beam out.
Chapter 48. Waiting Game.

"It's not there, Major." Grape stated.

"What?"

"The Kylapitar, it's not there."

"WHAT?" Ian shouted, his usual calm resolve disappearing for a second. "Check the other pockets." He ordered, regaining his composure, and trying to remember what Cock-up would have done with the device.

"I have." Grape replied.

"I'd make sure and check again lad." Lanky interjected, as he came to stand next to Ian.

"Major?" Dicko suddenly asked. "We might have a small problem."

"If we don't find the Kylapitar, I'd say that we have a huge problem."

"Nope Major." And she removed her hand from the back of Cock-up's head to show it was covered in blood.

"Oh Winnie!" Ian sighed, and then looked at Grape who was merely shaking his head at him. "Right, we've got problems. We've got a man down seriously injured and we've lost the Kylapitar." Ian looked over the hill to where they'd beamed in. "And I've got a terrible feeling that there's a big bear-like beast currently sniffing round it."

"Actually, it looks like it could be about to sleep on it." Brock added, a little ironic snort of laughter coming from his lips.

"Typical, can it get any worse?" Ian sighed.

"Aye lad, cus the enemy have just been sighted over there." He pointed across the clearing below them.

They all followed his finger and saw about 6 Rexon soldiers fan out in a line as they appeared out of the woods at the far side.

"Oh Flaming Winnie." Ian exclaimed. "Everyone down, and let's hope they didn't see us."

They all crouched down, with Brock and Lanky lying flat, bringing their weapons up to face the Rexon who were about 200 metres away.

"Not the mission we were hoping for." CT whispered.

"There's nothing typical about any of these missions, as you'll learn." Ian whispered back to him.

They watched the alien guards slowly crossed the clearing, their weapons sweeping back and forth.

"What do'ya think they're after Boss?" Lanky whispered, never taking his eyes off the soldiers.

"They may have realised we've beamed in before Cock-up switched the Kylapitar off." Ian added his thoughts. "If he did!" The terrible thought crossed his mind.

"But why not send a ship?" Brock asked.

"It might only be a small outpost, so they might not have a ship here." Ian replied.

"So is that all of 'em?" Lanky asked the next question.

"I doubt it, so I'd not want to start a firefight here to see if there are any more of them."

"Very true."

Grape was helping roll cock-up over so Dicko could tend to the head wound. "That looks bad." She whispered, and then looked at Grape.

He grimaced at the sight of the wound. "How the hell could you do that tripping over the Major?"

Dicko doused the wound with sterilized water to clean it up before placing some field dressing over it..

"Why does the Major keep saying – Oh Winnie" Grape whispered.

Dicko stifled a laugh. "As in the honey loving character from the books."

"Who?" Grape asked, perplexed by the reference.

"Oh my, what do you kids watch and read at school nowadays?" She shook her head in disbelief knowing she was about to receive some hideous answer about some comic or Pokemon cartoon, she then continued with "As in Winnie – the – sounds – like - brown – smelly – stuff." She proceeded to rock her head back and forth knowingly.

It took a few seconds, before Grape finally caught on and said "Ooooh." Then he thought for a bit longer. "Why doesn't he just say sh.."

"Cus he's a Gentleman amidst all of this," Dicko cut him off before he said the word. "And so he uses a more cryptic method of exclaiming. Now help me lie him back down." And they rolled Cock-up onto his back.

Ian, Lanky and Brock watched as the guards crossed to about the halfway point of the clearing, and were nearing the now sleeping bear-like creature. The beast lifted its head a little on hearing them approach and let out a low rumbling growl. The nearest Rexon soldier strode over confidently and waited. As the Beast stood up on its back legs and roared, he raised his weapon and shot it.

"Coward." Ian mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Git." Lanky added; his sights fully on the Rexon. "Can I kill him Boss?"

"Not yet mate, without the Kylapitar we're not safe." He glanced back to see how Dicko and Grape were doing with their patient. "And we'd be too slow if we had to bug out of here carrying Cock-up."

"Ah, but we might have another problem to add to your list." Lanky added as through his telescopic sights he watched the Guard bend over and pick up something shiny off the floor. "Damn!"

"Has he found what I hope he hasn't found?" Ian asked hesitantly, not wanting to hear the answer.

"Yep, it's the Kylapitar."

The Rexon stopped and all ducked down, aiming around themselves in an arc.

"Now can I kill him?" Lanky asked again.

Ian rubbed a weary hand over his face as he thought. The day was only getting worse, and this latest turn of events was going to push him to his limits.

"Major?" Lanky called out. "I think he's seen the blood."

"Even better." Ian replied.

"And he's seen our tracks in the grass, and his weapon is slowly rising up here to...."

There was a cracking noise as a gun fired. Everyone froze for a second, instinct flinched their bodies downwards. They were all wondering where the sound came from, and where it was heading to when the central soldier who'd the killed the bear and found the Kylapitar fell backwards.

"Who fired that?" Ian asked cautiously.

"It came from there." Lanky replied, nodding to his left.

Ian noticed Brock had disappeared and was grateful for the fast thinking of the lieutenant to distract the enemy away from the path in the grass they were following.

All went quiet again for a few seconds, then the other Rexon soldiers, who had fanned out around their fallen comrade started firing in all directions into the woods.

"It looks like they don't know where the shot has come from." Ian added his thoughts again. "So everyone keep low, keep calm, and do not fire any more shots."

They all did as was asked as shots blasted around them for a couple of minutes. Brock returned, and Ian nodded his thanks.

The Rexon guards stopped firing when they realised they were getting nothing back from the enemy they couldn't see. They slowly retreated back across the clearing the way they'd come, two of them dragging their fallen comrade behind them.

"Did they see the Kylapitar?" Ian asked hopefully, knowing how badly his day had been going so far.

"Doesn't look like it." Lanky replied. "I don't think the others knew why he'd crouched in the first place, so didn't see what he'd picked up"

"And that was one of the other reasons why I shot him," Brock added. "As I hoped he might have dropped it, and it's still there near the beast."

"And I think we can also assume that they're now watching this area very intently for quite a few hours." Ian added.

"We might not have that long." Dicko added as she'd watched the bandage she'd placed around Cock-up's head turn crimson very quickly.

"Oh Piggin' Winnie!" Ian blew out a heavy breath.
Chapter 49. The Ravine.

Zeph flicked his eyebrows up and down and smiled whimsically at Harvin before turning round and leading them along the top of the ravine. They headed to their left towards a large rock that looked like it had been very carefully perched on the edge. As they walked around its side they saw that it had been cut away to create a very narrow passage. It was concealed from the forest, and most of the ravine, unless you walked right up to it. This meant that no-one would find it, unless they were looking very closely.

Zeph waved to a clump of bushes on the other side of the ravine, and it took a couple of seconds for Janosh to spot the very well hidden barrel of a 30mm gun. Anyone who had made it so far and then found the passage would put themselves in direct fire from that security station across on the other side.

"We're starting to camouflage everything, just to make sure." Zeph said, seeing that Janosh was dismayed at their current existence as he led them along the ravine's edge. He said "hi" to a few enquiring faces as they walked along the narrow, and in some places slippery path. Eventually, they came to a slightly larger shelf, which had been created by the river scooping out some of the softer rock face. Stood there were two people in conversation, one male, one female. The woman had her back to them as they arrived but didn't turn to look, even though she would have clearly heard them approaching. The man peeked over the ladies left shoulder and nodded for them to sit at one side.

As they obliged, they noticed that the lady held a small child carefully in her arms; the girl looked as if she had been in an accident of some sort. Harvin noticed that her arm was bent in the wrong place, and instantly realised that it was broken. He pulled in some air at the thought.

The Doctor heard the noise and saw that he looked concerned. "Excuse me, would you be able to help me for a second Mr.....?" He left the question trailing as he wanted an answer to his primary question for assistance and the secondary underlying method of obtaining a name.

"Erm yes, and its Harvin." He replied and leapt up from his seat.

"Good, now Harvin, can you please come round here on my right and take hold of her shoulders." The doctor asked watching carefully.

"Hi, I'm Harvin, from Ansolon." He spoke directly to the small and very frightened looking girl. He wasn't ignoring her mother, he realised that the priority was to make the daughter more comfortable and calm, which would then radiate through to the mother as a natural course of being a parent. "I've got a daughter, she's called Aisha."

"Is she pretty?" The girl asked.

"Yes she is, and she's also a little older than you." He took in a deep breath as he was suddenly reminded of the fact that she was missing and could be in trouble, or captured, or worse. He snapped out of the day-dream and the smile returned as he asked. "What's your name?"

"Neera. Do you know where she is?" The girl asked, and the mother gasped a little.

"I don't," Harvin paused for a second, as the fears came forward once more. "She's missing at the moment, and my friend Janosh and I are trying to find her and her friends, and then find our way home." He explained to her calmly.

"I hope you do find her." Neera replied, a tiny smile appeared.

"So do I, but let's get you better first." He smiled at her then turned to the doctor. "Sorry." He apologised for the delay.

"Never a problem, you have a nice bedside manner. Ever thought of being a doctor?" He asked.

"I did once, but the family business was too big a draw."

Janosh smiled knowingly, having heard Harvin's reply.

"What do you need me to do?" Harvin asked, deflecting the subject away before any awkward questions came at him.

The doctor looked directly at him for a second before he continued. "Just hold her shoulders quite firmly, as I have to remove this obviously unnatural bend in her arm." He raised his eyebrows to make sure Harvin understood what was about to happen.

Harvin took another deep breath and firmly gripped Neera firmly by her shoulders, then nodded at the doctor. "OK"

"Now my dear Neera, I want you to be a very brave girl and within a few minutes it will all be over." He smiled caringly at her, stroking a few long straggly wind-blown brown hair from her face.

Harvin had suddenly become anxious, as he knew that a break like that didn't heal itself within a few minutes. He'd done the same after falling from an apple tree many years before in the orchard at the rear of the palace. It broke his arm clean through and that was dealt with in the same ruthless, but yet effective way. He also remembered that it hurt for a couple of weeks.

The Doctor lifted her broken arm very carefully, taking hold around her wrist and then at her elbow; either side of the break. Before Neera or her Mother had a grasp on what was about to happen, the Doctor yanked sharply at her wrist, pulling the broken pieces apart, and then quickly straightening it back to its normal shape.

As Harvin had predicted, Neera struggled within his grip and screamed a blood curdling scream. Before Harvin had realised what was happening, the Doctor whipped a device out of his pocket and pointed it at the break and pressed a button on the top of it. A purple beam fanned out from the device and across her arm. Upon impact with her arm it changed colour, to a pale shade of pink, but it also made her arm transparent.

Harvin looked on in amazement as he watched the mini x-ray device start to repair the broken bones within her arm. The Doctor flicked another button before taking a second pass over Neera's arm. This time, the light was green, and Harvin watched in awe once more as the torn muscles repaired themselves along the skeletal structure. In all, it took about 30 seconds to complete both passes and make the broken arm whole again. Neera had stopped fighting as soon as the device was switched on, and she also had watched, fascinated by the miracle that was occurring before her own eyes.

"All done little lady." The doctor said to her. "Now make sure you don't trip up again whist dancing on the rocks, because I might not find the nice Mr. Harvin here to come and help next time."

Neera wriggled from her mums grasp. "Thank you Doctor." Then she turned to Harvin and gave him a hug. After a few seconds she pulled away and took hold of his hand and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. "She's quite safe, and you will find her." There was a moment's pause as her eyes seemed to look deep into his soul. "It will be tough, but everything will be OK."

Harvin listened intently, not believing his ears, and blinked and refocused his eyes to see if he was dreaming.

Neera giggled as she watched him. "Thank you Harvin, King of Ansolon. And I do mean it; don't worry as everything will turn out OK, in the end." With that she giggled once more and ran off along the ravine's passage.

Harvin looked even more shocked as a thought came to him, "But I never said that I was a King." He eyes flashed back and forth, searching through his words, as if they had fallen from his mouth and onto the floor. He couldn't find an answer. He looked at Janosh who also looked surprised at the words, and realising his Kings problem simply shook his head to answer the unspoken question. Eventually he looked up at the Doctor. "How did she know?"

"She has a special talent, that one." He turned to see her skip away round the corner of the ledge, but not before she stopped and gave him a cheery wave. He returned the gesture gladly. "I don't know if it was a side effect of the Sarf or the cure, but she now has some sort of clairvoyant powers." His voice was smooth and calming, nothing but kindness. He shook his head in disbelief. "For want of a better term that is."

"She's had the Sarf?" Harvin instinctively looked at his hands where he'd been touching her.

The doctor chortled a little, having seen this reaction many times before. "You can't catch it off her and especially not from touch alone."

"Sorry!" Harvin said, a little embarrassed by his reaction. He knew that the Sarf couldn't be passed by touch alone, but the initial misinformation and rumour mongering in the press meant that the instinctive life preserving fears everyone had were hard to repress. "You hear so much on the news and even though the finest physicians and scientists tell you it can't be passed that way, it still feels as if you'd see something dirty on your hand once you have touched them."

"It's quite understandable." The doctor placed a comforting hand on Harvin's shoulder. "We had the same here for months before we found the cure, and that was when the Rexon became..." he searched for a more pleasing term, "Yes, that's when they became rather temperamental and forthright with their attacks."

"You mean that's when they started wiping you out." Harvin replied in his direct way.

"We suddenly became a threat, as we'd found the cure." The doctor snorted a laugh and nodded in agreement. "The irony of it was that they'd been helping us find a cure. And I think one of them had a conscience and slipped someone the breakdown for the real cure." He walked Harvin back over to Zeph and Janosh. "Of course as soon as the Rexon realised what had happened there was a terrible accident in the laboratory, killing virtually everyone. Unfortunately by that time Doctor Marwell Impt had passed the information around the world on the Planetary Information Network. This made it easy for anyone to synthesise the antidote, as thousands had."

Zeph and Janosh both stood up as they arrived. "Doc." Zeph said and nodded at him.

"Zeph. I've already met Harvin here, but would you like to formally introduce us?"

"Sue thing Doc, this is Harvin and Janosh, both of Ansolon." He pointed to them with an open hand. "And this is Doctor Clarion Impt."

Harvin was surprised that the Doctor hadn't used his title, or let it be known that he was the King. "Any relation?" He asked.

"To whom?" Janosh interrupted wanting to know what he'd missed.

"Am I related to Doctor Marwell Impt, the finder of the cure to the Sarf." Clarion explained to Janosh. Then he turned to Harvin. "Yes he was my big brother."

Harvin saw a very weak, yet proud smile cross Clarion's face, and understood the emotions he felt.
Chapter 50. Plans within Plans.

Sharlock drank some beer, and ripped a huge chunk of bread off the loaf he held, stuffing it into his mouth and eating noisily. "Large screen." He said with a mumble. Nothing happened and he took another big swig, chewed twice and then swallowed hard. "Large screen." He repeated the command, more clearly this time and a huge transparent screen lit up above the workstation on the command deck of his ship.

"Display overall plan of Killnjar and surrounding area to 25 kilometre radius."

The screen flashed once and then the bottom left corner changed colour and it looked like someone had started to pour in the picture, as it was being created in ripples across the screen. He leant forward as he took another bite of bread and chewed, bits of crumbs falling from his mouth onto his keyboard. He grunted and swept them off and onto the floor of his ship, where they sat mingling with a small layer of many years of sticky, smelly, rotting crumbs and spilt drinks. Sharlock grunted and made pleased noises as he chewed another chunk of bread, his eyes slowly scanning across the map. "Relief map of grids a1 to c3." He said eventually.

The screen moved left and down, which centered on the section he wanted. It then zoomed into the grids that had been requested.

He leant a little closer again, as it was easier to scan a slightly less detailed picture on one screen, than keep zooming in and out to get a bit better detail. The Mallesian Spy's eyes scrolled around the picture methodically, analyzing every tiny shape or colour which didn't quite fit in with its surroundings. Sharlock enjoyed this point of the investigation, as he always thought of it as a work of art. It was a masterpiece of a painting created solely by Sharlock, showing the aerial view of the city below him. Only he was its biggest critic and he was now looking for tiny flaws in his work.

After an initial quick scan of the section, he then set about methodically skewing from left to right, lowering his eyes slightly after every pass.

It took a few minutes to complete the whole section and he was a little disappointed to have not found anything on this first pass. He had a good nose for pinpointing his target, a gut feeling of sorts similar to a criminal investigator. As he's initially requested that section of the map, it had felt right. "Damn!" He snorted and lowered his head into his hands to let his feelings reach out and find the first little snippet of intelligence he needed to get the ball rolling. There must have been something the people he'd had to suffer today said, something so insignificant, yet was a critical piece of information. He felt frustrated, angry at himself for not listening more intently, for not doing what he wanted to do, which was to grab hold of a few of these worthless Ansolonians and interrogate them until they gave him the answers he desired. He thumped his hand on the workstation, making his drink jump. "Damn!" He repeated.

The computer unfortunately took that as a literal request and proceeded to scroll the picture across the screen. The view went up and to the right, to a location that was just outside of section A3. It zoomed in onto a man-made reservoir outside the city.

Sharlock hadn't been watching what had been happening on his monitor. He looked up to start another search and was confused by what he saw. There was a large expanse of water heading off to the right of his screen, surrounded by hills. "Computer, why have you relocated the view?"

An electronic voice came back to him through the overhead speakers. "You requested I search for a Dam. There is one located to the west of grid A3, on the western end of Lake Counstance."

"Counstance?" Sharlock queried.

"Queen Counstance is the former wife of King Harvin on Ansolon." The computer replied. "She died in the Mallesian raids 12 years 3 months and 18 days ago."

"Oh I know exactly how that defiant Queen died." A sly grin crept across his face as the memory returned. He'd been the leader of the team which stormed the holiday residence in the Ansolonian mountains he currently was looking at. They'd been after Harvin, the mission was to take him prisoner to interrogate and use as a hostage to help free a former Mallesian Colony which now sat on the wrong side of their current border lines. The intelligence they'd received wasn't quite up to date, and Harvin had been delayed, so stayed in Killnjar whilst Queen Counstance and their 3 year old daughter Aisha went ahead for their annual summer break in the picturesque villages and countryside, which had been where Counstance had grown up. As the King hadn't arrived, the security was very lax, and thus it had been easy to enter the facility. Counstance had been playing with her daughter in the gardens and had thought that Aisha had been the target. She'd killed two Mallesian soldiers on her own before one of Sharlock's team shot her. Realising that Harvin wasn't there, Sharlock escaped, taking his two fallen comrades with him. No-one, bar the young Princess had seen the battle, and as such it was only speculation and conspiracy theories which pointed the attack at the Mallesian's door.

He balled his fists, frustrated at the memory of a failed mission, for losing two good men, and moreso, the impending failure of this mission. He had the unnerving feeling that he'd been given mis-information, and the stories were simply that. Anger welled up through him and he raised a fist into the air and was about to thump the computer for his stupidity in listening to the drunken ramblings of a landlord and old man when he noticed something. The face of the dam had a tiny blemish on it. "Zoom in on the dam."

The screen closed in around the physical structure and Sharlock started to laugh. "Damn, they know how to hide things." He said.

He pulled his head closer to the screen to make sure he wasn't seeing things. There before him, about two-thirds of the way down the face of the damn was the tail of an Ansolon fighter.

"So, you build a damn for the wonderful city-folk of Killnjar, but hide a fighter hanger underneath." He smiled as he was impressed. "Looks like I need to go see the sights of Killnjar's countryside tomorrow."

Chapter 51. A Speedy Recovery.

"All aboard!" Skaler said as the beam dissipated. He noticed that the next group was all ready and they started to step into the beam out area as soon as he got there. "Well done." He congratulated them, but noticed that they were all looking a little nervous. "It's OK, it's perfectly safe. You've seen about 60 of your people use this already, so you don't have to worry at all." He smiled at the nearest ones to help appease them. "Just give me a second to find the right set of symbols and we'll be gone."

"We might not have a second." A woman snapped at him. "Look!" And she pointed to the sky.

Skaler followed her arm and saw 5 tiny black dots. "All I can see..." and he leant a little forward and scrunched his eyes to try to see more clearly. "Is some birds in the distance." He said as he tried to appease them, but he looked again, just to be sure and to see if their wings moved.

"I think you'll find that they're 5 Rexon Gun-ships, and they're heading our way." Her tone had become even harder. "So stop looking up there and get us out of here, now."

Skaler was still looking into the sky, and realised that the birds were indeed getting a lot bigger, and were doing so very quickly. "By Snalem's House, it's them." He searched frantically for the correct address on the Kylapitar. "There!" He exclaimed, a little relieved to have found them, and looked up as he hit the beam out button.

He saw the first ship was so close that it had opened fire on the group and he distinctly heard someone starting to scream as the bubble of light engulfed them.

There was moment's silence.

The light dropped and Skaler heard the screaming start once more.

"Skaler." Aisha shouted to him, who was helping the medics on Demda. "He's been shot." And she pointed to his right.

Everybody turned to see a man of about 40 years, who had been on the edge of the group suddenly collapse onto the floor holding his shoulder.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"5 Rexon Gun-ships arrived as we beamed out."

"Oh my!" and she rushed over to tend to the fallen man.

Everyone else who had just beamed in shuffled around him to see what was wrong.

"Damn!" Skaler suddenly remembered that there were still others there, including Eric. "Everyone out of the zone NOW!" He bellowed, which startled everyone, yet nobody moved.

"What?" Aisha asked, concerned that someone else had been shot.

Skaler was trying to shove people away from him, but they were all looking shocked at what had happened to one of their own and at what he was doing.

Aisha watched him for a second, also puzzled by his actions, then realisation hit. "You can't be serious." She pleaded with him. "This man's just been shot by the Rexon. You've just said that there were 5 gun-ships over the beam-in zone."

"Can do, will do, if I can get the beam-out zone clear." And he pushed a woman roughly. "Come on, move!"

"Hey, stop being so pushy mate." A man stepped through the crowd and pushed Skaler back.

"Look, I'd love to get into a pushing game but I have my friends and the rest of your people to save." Skaler replied angrily. He then decided that he couldn't fight these people as they were too shocked to understand his actions. Yet he had more important things to do, which stopped him for a split second as it was completely alien to his former character of wanting to flee from danger. "Sorry mate." He said to the man, and he held a hand on the woman's arm, "Sorry." He turned to Aisha and winked, "Sorry babe, looks like you've infected me with your terminal niceness, and I've suddenly got this unusual urge to be the Hero for once, by saving the real Hero." He said with a smile. With that, he turned and dashed 20 metres away. He stopped and looked all around him to check that it was clear. Then, without looking at anyone else, because he feared his heroic resolve would be stopped by a single glance, he scrolled through the symbols and then hit the transportation button.
Chapter 52. The kettle hadn't even boiled.

"So you have the cure?" Janosh stepped forward, eager for an answer.

"Yes." The doctor said in a quite matter of fact way, nodding and smiling at him. "But first I think I need to see to your King's arm."

Janosh flashed an angry look at Harvin for letting the secret out.

Harvin smiled back. "It wasn't me; it was that little girl." He nodded at the disbelieving security officer and friend. Seeing that he needed more of an explanation, he continued. "It was strange, but I could sense something..." He searched the ravine for the words, "something different, no more than that it was special. She can see things, and says that it will be all OK, in the end." He stopped as he thought about it for a second. "Whatever that means!" He finished with a frown as he replayed his last words back in his mind.

"Look that may be true, but let's at least try to get you sorted, and then get the cure back to Ansolon." He gave Harvin a hard stare.

"Your right, we need to get this done as soon as possible." He replied, and then turned to the Doctor who had the device back in his hand, pointing it at the wound he'd now undressed. "Sorry Doc but we need to be going; this can wait for my doctors to treat."

"I'm afraid it can't Harvin." The doctor's face was one of bewilderment. "This little device tells me that the projectile passed straight through, but left the residue of a substance that's not letting your body heal." He looked up from the device. "Very ingenious and so simple really." He marveled at the Rexon's latest weapon. "In that way all you have to do is make sure you hit the target, and if they don't get help, they die anyway." His ironic smile instantly changed to one that was serious. "But we need to find a cure, and this little box of magic tricks is struggling. It might be able to fill the holes either side of your arm in, but that will just seal the substance internally, letting it spread in the bloodstream, if it hasn't already." He suddenly thought and scanned up and down Harvin's torso. "Ah!" He took in a deep breath before he gave the news. "Yes, It has, and this means that any injury will mean that you'll just bleed to death."

Harvin didn't even let the fatal news sink in, as there was a more important task to undertake. "Fine so I'm going to die, but so are millions of my kin. I'd rather spend my time getting the cure for the Sarf to them than be a guinea pig here." Harvin said defiantly.

"Good words, but this weapon could be the as lethal as a new version of the Sarf, and that in itself means that I'd prefer you stayed here while we find the cure." He tried to be as kind as he could as he looked at the larger picture. "This could save billions throughout the galaxy if we could find the cure. They probably don't realise that we know you've got this new problem yet, and we could end up being one jump ahead."

"I'm sorry, and yes I do see what you're getting at, but there are other concerns. You have the cure now for a disease that's ravaging my planet, and we could be trying to get that back. If we did get home, then our doctors would also start work on the cure for this blood disease. My daughter is also out there somewhere, and I want to find her as well." He'd been counting the options out on his hand as he was speaking. "Take some blood from me and work on that, please. That's enough, isn't it?" He pleaded. "Patch me up the best you can, and I'll promise to not run round with any sharp scissors." He smiled to help the mild humour. "I'm sorry Doc, but we need to get home, and we'd like to take the cure with us, please."

There was a moments silence as the doctor thought it all through.

He eventually took a deep breath and said. "OK. Let me take a few vials of your blood, patch you up and give you the Sarf cure, but on one condition." His face was serious as he came out with the deal.

"Which is?" Harvin replied cautiously.

"I presume you don't know the address for your home world, or you wouldn't have arrived here." He waited for Harvin to nod in agreement. "So, you still don't know where you'll end up next time?" Once again, he waited for the agreement. "My condition is this. Take some of Zeph's soldiers with you, as a joint venture." He looked from Harvin to Janosh who'd tilted his head slightly to hear him and ponder over his offer.

"It's safer, as you don't know what you'll be venturing into, and if you do find home, then you can always beam back here where I can carry on doing more tests." He placed his hands on his hips and waited for an answer.

Harvin looked at Janosh who pursed his lips as if he was about to give someone a peck on the cheek. This was a small habit he had while he thought something through. His eyes rolled around, reading every word again, as if they hung in the air. Eventually he nodded twice.

Harvin had also been contemplating everything, and reached the same conclusion just as Janosh had. "OK, let's get on with it."
Chapter 53. Crimson Kippers

Ian Jackson had watched the darkness fall, and was pleased that it gave them a little cover. Dicko had carefully patched up Cock-up's wound on the rear of his head the best she could with a very limited set of butterfly plasters and a bit of superglue. The bleeding had finally stopped, but he was still unconscious, and now they feared the worst due to the amount of blood he'd lost, and also with how long he'd been out.

Ian sent Brock and CT on a reconnaissance mission to the left of their position, and Lanky & Grape on one to their right. It was to check on the locations of the Rexon at the other side of the clearing. He waited patiently for them to come back with their intelligence. They'd been gone about 30 minutes, and he realised that they'd probably be there by now.

His breathing had become quite shallow as he calmly stared across the open area where a very large bear-like creature had been killed by a Rexon soldier. A layer of clouds had rolled in as the evening wore on, so there were no stars out, and it left the whole area completely devoid of light. They couldn't start a fire, or use torches, as that would have easily given away their position. They could hear animals shuffling through the undergrowth, and their night vision goggles helped see very clearly for about 80 metres, although after that it quickly lost resolution, yet it was more than enough to discern that it was an animal, and not a Rexon soldier creeping around.

There was a sudden flash of light, then the clearly distinctive crack of weapon fire. Ian, Dicko and Finchy all peered into the distance. It all fell silent, for a few seconds then there were more flashes and cracks in a group at the far side of the clearing.

"Damn!" Ian whispered, annoyed that his night vision goggles couldn't pick anything out.

"What do you thinks' happened?" Finchy asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but the first shot was definitely one of our weapons."

"Anybody see anything?" Dicko asked who hadn't been wearing any night vision goggles.

"Nothing. And it's all gone quiet." Ian thought for a second, knowing that he had to do something. "Right, we don't know what's happened over there, and it will be some time before we do find out, agreed?"

"Agreed?" Both Dicko and Finchy added.

"And we think the Kylapitar is still in the middle of the clearing, near the animal." He paused again for a reply. "So, Finchy, take your goggles, and crawl out there and find it, cus hopefully, if the Rexon won that battle across there, then they may be distracted from watching the clearing for a short period." He flashed a brief smile to help encourage everyone. "No matter what, we need that Kylapitar, and they probably wouldn't be expecting us to attack from the front right now."

Finchy simply nodded. "I realise that I'm going to be using an Americanism," he cleared his thought for dramatic effect, "As even though it's a bit of a Hail-Mary pass, I'm more than willing to dodge the crocodiles in the swamp ahead for the pursuit of freedom."

With that, he dropped his excess webbing and adjusted his night vision goggles, hitched his weapon up and set off out in the clearing, crawling quite quickly.

Dicko and Ian merely exchanged worried glances, and Dicko shrugged her shoulders at one of Finchy's infamous unfathomable quotes.

"If nothing else, he's quite fast for a chunky guy." Ian added, trying to make light of the worsening situation, as they watched him crawl off into the dark grasses ahead.

They waited patiently for 10 minutes, watching, and listening for anything. A loud scuffling noise came from their left. Ian and Dicko rolled across the floor, pointing their weapons at the approaching noise. They were extremely relieved to see CT collapse against a tree, then drop to the floor.

Dicko immediately leapt up and dashed over to him, Ian stayed with his weapon directed into the dark, just in case he'd been followed.

"Where's Brock?" She asked as she rolled CT over.

"Dead." Was all he replied.

"Did you see Lanky or Grape?" Ian asked, shocked at the news.

"Yes, but..aarrgghh!" He screamed as Dicko doused the wound in sterilised water.

Ian had waited long enough, his weapon having been trained on the area being CT and Dicko, fearing a reprisal attack. He came over to give assistance. "You're not too bad, just the right arm grazed." He said as he looked him up and down for other signs of injury. "What happened?"

"Lanky shot Brock."

Everyone froze for a second as the information seemed to stop on its journey from the ears to the brain. The forest they were currently hiding in went silent as the news sunk in.

"What?" Dicko asked, cautiously.

"Lanky fired first." He sighed, looking lost in his thoughts. "That gave away our positions and the Rexon fired at both me and them."

"He must have been shooting at something else." Ian thought it through. "There must have been a Rexon soldier near you that you hadn't spotted, and in trying to get them, he accidently got Brock." He was hoping to let the other's see his reasoning, but worried about the truth he was trying to conceal.

"That was my first thought." CT Shook his head to clear the grogginess that was seeping in as the adrenalin he'd been pumping through his body started to run out. "We got to about 30 metres away from the first Rexon, and could see the remainder at 5 metre intervals. I was leading and gave Brock the sign to stop and take cover." He took a couple of deep breaths as Dicko bandaged his arm up. "We waited a few minutes and saw Lanky and Grape appear about 80 metres away, just at the end of the range of the goggles." He stopped talking, as if the next part of the briefing was doing its best to not come out. "Then Lanky simply aimed at Brock, and fired." He looked at the shocked faces of Ian and Dicko, "then there was a moments silence as the Rexon wondered who'd shot, and who they'd shot at, and then, well, it all kicked off."

"Oh!" Was all Ian could add, his fears being realised.

"I think..." CT continued, hesitant to speak his thoughts. "I think Lanky's a Rexon spy."
Chapter 54. Rourkes Drift

Skaler ducked instinctively, as he arrived back on the Abostian home world. He crouched as close to the ground as he though practical, yet ready for him to sprint away if required. A quick look around told him that everyone who had still been there when the Rexon attacked had managed to get away, and were now tucked within the relative safety of the trees. He could see Ara's troops about 200 metres away on the edge of the tree line and they were firing up at the three ships directly above Skaler. It was because of their location that he wasn't spotted as he beamed in.

"GET OVER HERE NOW!" Someone shouted from his right.

Skaler had to spin round to see where it came from, as it wasn't from amongst the group of soldiers at the top of the open area.

"MOVE!" Ara shouted once more, his weapon firing constantly at a fourth ship, which had been circling the area of the woods.

The pilot had seen the Kylapitar's bubble, changed his flight path was now heading towards Skaler.

"NOW!"

Skaler didn't need to be told again, as he realised that something bad was about to happen. He made it halfway between the beam in zone and the woods before the bomb exploded. Thankfully the pilot had targeted the beam in zone and the blast threw him into the air, as the ground heaved up. He crashed into some rocks as huge clumps of earth came raining down on him. Skaler flipped himself over and onto his hands, and knew something wasn't going to work. He managed to get his left knee up off the ground, placed his foot on the floor and lifted himself upright. He shook his head, his ears ringing from the bomb's explosion. Skaler set off and then threw all his weight onto his right foot that he'd brought up underneath himself, and collapsed in a heap. "Damn!" He shouted towards Ara as he collapsed in a heap again. "I've done my ankle in."

Eric had been behind Ara when the bubble appeared, but moved to the front line of trees to see who it was. Without a seconds thought, he sprinted the 40 metres out of the cover and straight for Skaler. One of Aras troops had also seen this and did the same. Between them they hoisted Skaler up onto their shoulders and dragged him back to safe area.

Another soldier appeared and gently grabbed Skaler's foot. "Can you wriggle your toes?"

Skaler winced as he obliged.

"Good, now can you move the foot?" He asked the second question.

Skaler managed to move it a fraction back and forth, wincing at each twist and turn.

"That's better news, as it looks like it's only twisted, not broken." He smiled at Skaler. The soldier then reached around onto his back and snapped a small bag off his backpack. This was unzipped and he delved around to come out with a roll of tape.

"What's that for?" Eric asked the soldier, as Skaler had looked at him in horror, and then screamed as he'd tried to pull his leg back.

"It's only a sprain, so it needs strapping up. If we take his shoes off then it will only swell more and we still need to get out of here." He looked at Skaler's very worn and battered footwear. "And thankfully, looking at those, if I just tape over it, to help protect the injury and give you some support, I'll also not have to touch them."

"Hey!" Skaler managed to get out through gritted teeth. "They were brand new a couple of weeks ago!" Then looked at his now battle weary trainers that had travelled so many miles, and were already starting to look like the ones he'd dumped in Janosh's cells in Killnjar.

The medic never replied as he started to tightly wrap the tape around Skaler's ankle and foot, which brought a lot of yelps and cries from him.

Eric knelt beside Skaler all the time. Once finished, he asked. "How's it feel now?"

"Like it's in a vice, but it does help." He replied as he lifted his leg up a little to inspect the handiwork.

"I suppose a nice Scrimlin would help alleviate the pain." Eric said with a smile.

Skaler's body visibly relaxed a little and he sighed. "Mmmmm, a nice warm Scrimlin." His eyes closed as he could visualise it being there in front of him. He took in a deep breath through his nose as the imaginary steam drifted dreamily up from the full mug, hints of vanilla essence wafting around them. "I think that would help a lot."

"Sorry to break up the daydreams boys." Ara said forcefully as he came over. "But I think we've enough to do here and now."

"Oh yeah sorry." Eric replied who had also been enjoying the same sensations as Skaler. "Let's get everyone around Skaler and we can beam out." He said, but his mind had a tiny pin-prick of worry about how he'd been so intoxicated by the thought of the drink.

"No can do." Skaler replied.

"Why not?" Eric asked, a worried look on his face.

"We can't fit everyone in the beam out zone." He said.

"Why not, there's only about 18 of us left now. You've been taking over 20 on every trip. In fact you took 28 on the last transport." Eric was starting to get worried that Skaler was about to tell him that the Kylapitar was damaged in some way.

"There might be only 18 of us here, but there would also be the same number of flaming' trees making the trip." He said in a slightly angry tone. "And someone would have to come back to pick up Ara's other troops who have been drawing fire at the top of the plateau."

Eric stopped and looked around at the environment. "Damn, I'd never thought of that." He then did do a little thinking, and his face became suddenly shocked. "Damn, that means we have to get out in the open, which means we'll be under fire from the Rexon gun-ships."

Ara had been distracted by another wave of attacks from the Rexon ships. He turned back towards them. "What's the problem?" He questioned, and then added. "Why aren't we beaming out?"

"Because of all the trees." Eric answered with a concerned look waving his arm around at the dense woodland. "They'd be taking up the space of people, so..." He took a deep breath before giving the bad news. "We need to get out there in the open to make sure we get everyone safely into a beam out bubble."

Ara blew out a huge breath as the news physically winded him. He looked around the woodland as he thought of a strategy to get them out of this predicament, hoping he'd see another small clearing somewhere further back.

All three of them, Ara, Skaler and Eric sat in silence as the blasts hit the first trees, smashing through, chopping them down and creating havoc amongst everyone there.

"Right." Ara started. "We need to get out there, and they seem to be attacking us in a series of waves." He nodded at the others to see if they understood the direction he was heading. They have three in a holding pattern firing, one circles and the other one flies off. He snapped his fingers. I bet it has to cool down as the head builds up too much during an attack. Then the three fly off, leaving the one circling, and the one which has flow off to circle and come back."

"So, apart from the one circling, there is a short period of time when the three have to break off, and before the other one comes back." Eric added

Ara nodded cautiously as he thought it through. He sighed and added a comment. "Maybe!"

"That's not the word I wanted to hear." Eric replied.

"If we can get the timings right, we will be OK." Ara explained. Although, if they don't see us, we can then clear everyone out of the beam in site on Demda, then beam back in and dart into the trees before the Rexon know."

"And then get the last of your troops out."

"Excellent." Ara smiled. "I'll get word to them to make sure the continue drawing the fire of the ships, and thus letting us move location."

"OK, if we get ready at the edge of the forest while they attack, probably a bit further round over there." Eric pointed to the bottom of the clearing. "Once they've finished we get everyone about 5 metres out of the trees and beam out." Eric looked to the others for confirmation of his plan.

Everyone nodded back at him.

"If you get the symbols ready." Eric continued the idea, filling in the details. "And keep it on them; it will be a lot quicker."

Skaler slowly nodded as he worked it all through.

"Apart from you, there's no kids or old, or infirm to load up." Eric continued. "And we'll carry you between us." He said looking at Ara, who simply nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." Skaler said.

"Right, they've just finished an attack, so we'll have to get ready. We've got about 30 seconds of quiet time for me to tell the others, while they regroup and cool off, and then it's another 7 full minutes of attack." Ara explained the Rexon tactics clearly. "If we use that time to get into the trees, then circle around a couple of hundred metres and get back to the edge of the forest, that may give us a few extra seconds to work with." He looked from one to the other and they both agreed.

"So what are we waiting for?" Eric stood up and then held out a hand to help yank Skaler up. "Let's get moving."
Chapter 55. Hidden Doors

Sharlock raised himself very slowly so that he could peer over the bushes. Before him was the dam he'd been looking at on his screen the previous evening. Even from this distance, it still looked innocuous. There were lines along the face, but from here they could easily be seen as the joints in the huge concrete sections that had been created during the dam's construction.

"Fascinating." He whispered to no-one else as he dug his binoculars from his pocket. He brought them up and was amazed at the quality of the workmanship. "They've gone to a lot of trouble to make sure this looks like an innocent looking dam."

A small device started to beep in his pocket. He brought it out and looked at the screen.

"Thermal image sensing and movement trackers at their optimum extents." The ships computer told him.

"Mmmmm, probably enough to spot most intruders." He mused over the level of security being afforded to the installation. "Good thing I'm only moving slowly and using the trees as cover, and wearing this thermal reduction suit under my kit or I'd be a big red humanoid spot on their screens during that last scan of this area." He reached up and tugged at the neck, which was stuck snugly around him, trapping in his body heat. "Except they are a pain to wear as you sweat your bits off."

"I can have the medical suite prepared for your return, as long as you bring your bits with you to reattach." The electronic voice stated.

Sharlock smiled. "That's OK, it was a saying."

"Apologies, medical suite has been deactivated."

"Thank you computer." He was stood at was the edge of the forest, some 100 metres away from the base of the damn. Sharlock had started to formulate a plan on how to get through the low level shrubbery when there was distinct sound of a claxon.

He ducked back down as the noise that was coming from within the dam ahead made him flinch. This was a warning sound, and wondered if he had been spotted. He slowly raised himself up and was relieved to see two of the imitation sections of dam wall start to slowly move out from the face towards him. Once they'd moved 3 metres out, the whole section started to tip over, as if it was hinged at the bottom.

The whole face fell slowly forward revealing the secret hangar within. Unfortunately, due to the height of the entrance up the side of the dam face, and the fact that he was out of view at ground level, he couldn't see too far into the building. Sharlock knew that he had only one option. He waited patiently and heard the bleep go off again in his pocket. This signaled that they'd got to 2/3rds of their outbound sweep. He had the last 5 minutes of them heading away from him. This gave him more than enough time to get across the open area and to slip into the hangar, hopefully unseen.

Sharlock waited patiently. He knew that the door had only just opened and it had been a slow process, so waiting a minute to set off immediately would allow anyone inside chance to check the local area for problems. He raised his legs up into a starting position and looked across the landscape ahead. He roughly worked out the optimum route through the low level shrubbery that would get him there the quickest, and not cause too many problems.

The portable scanner bleeped twice more, he had 30 seconds left before they turned and headed back. The noise was like a staring pistol to his senses. Sharlock set off at full pelt. He'd only got about 20 metres across the open land when he dove to the ground for cover as a huge roar of sound hit him. He glanced up to see the underside of a jet fighter coming out of the hangar. Realising that he'd have to be extremely unlucky to be spotted, and that he was now in the middle of no man land, he got up and set off again. He'd lost about 15 seconds, and knew that his heat buildup within the suit would probably be seen on the next scan, even if he stopped running and lay flat on the ground.

He got to within 10 metres of the base of the dam when another fighter came whooshing out of the hangar above him, although he didn't flinch as he was running out of time. The surface of the concrete dam was quite rough and curved gently away and up as it climbed. This meant that it was easy to sprint up a good 10 metres, at which point he leapt up and sideways onto the edge of the platform that had been created from the hangar door. He pulled himself up slowly so that he could peer over the top again, and was relieved to see that the nearest people inside were a long way back in the hangar.

The claxon sounded again and he dropped back onto the full length of his arms as the door started to tilt back up. The initial shock of this new problem was quickly turned to anger and he used this emotional energy to pull himself onto the now sloping face. Sharlock swung his legs through the reducing gap as the door became upright once more and he slid to the floor, landing quietly and safely. A quick look around found the machinery that worked the huge slab of concrete hid this end of the door.

A slight dash to his left and he was safely behind the equipment, catching his breath from the sudden burst of energy across the undergrowth outside.

"Now for a quick scout around, see the sights, take a few snaps, all the usual nice touristy things." He whispered as the door ground to a halt with a slight whoosh of air as the hangar was sealed closed once more.
Chapter 56. From tiny seeds.

"It works." Commander Prant stood in the doorway to the office as he reported to his Leader.

"Excellent." K'nash replied, also smiling. He turned his chair round to look up and out of his window. "So, we're picking up the ancillary data from it?"

"The signal is loud and clear, even across this great distance, and I don't think we've been detected, yet." Prant said with a hint of a smile on his face at his latest ingenious idea.

"Yet?" K'nash swiveled round to face the Commander as he questioned the last part of the statement. "That sounds a little defeatist my dear Commander."

"Not defeatist leader, merely practical." He limped forward and closed the door behind him. He took a short breath to steady himself before he hobbled carefully across the short divide to the nearest seat. His rubbed the leg as it was still very sore from the fight with Janosh. He could still feel the broken chair leg which had been rammed all the way through as the Ansolonian Security chief and his King fought for their freedom, never realising that it was all part of a plan where they were being allowed to escape from the cell. The plan had worked wonderfully so far, yet the pain he'd had to endure was more than he'd realised, but very worth it for the end result they were now achieving. Prant had also learnt, whilst being treated, that the chair leg had smashed through the bones as well. This meant that the technology available on the minor military base on the planet Scarx could repair the soft tissue, but there were shards of skeletal structure floating about, grinding and slicing away inside his leg. As it was only an outpost on a relatively safe haven, this sort of medical problem was never envisaged as there was very little chance of them encountering anything more sinister than a wandering bout of Rexon flu. Unfortunately, this meant that the most senior medic on site was merely a slightly better equipped and trained first aider. Prant slumped into the chair adjacent to the desk and opposite K'nash and started to rub his thigh as he continued. "This is only my opinion made from many years of observations of this sort of thing. The technology we steal is never as good as our own."

K'nash though about the words and slowly nodded his head. "True, the quality of the craftsmanship is much better in Rexon technology, but you have to admire the ingenuity of these humans." He leant forward resting onto his elbows.

"I do admire them, and it's a reason why I never underestimate them." He looked at his leg, his minds eye got lost in the moment as if he could still visualise the metal sticking out. Suddenly a hand grabbed the end of it, he looked up and saw Janosh standing there, a huge grin on his face as he twisted it back and forth. Prant felt the scream well up within him and he closed his eyes to the pain.

K'nash followed Prant's eyes down to his leg. "Once again this is also true as your plan was fool proof, but for the over exuberance of the captive, Ansolonian Security Chief Janosh Actflor."

Prant snapped out of the daydream, which he presumed was caused by hallucinating from the pain medication he had been taking. "Even for a human, he was a beast." Prant said, his anger rising slightly as he thought of what he would do to him, the next time they met.

"A very formidable opponent for someone like you, but then again, we had been terrorising them for 2 days, in this heat, with very little food and water." K'nash smiled again, thinking of what they'd subjected Janosh and Harvin to.

"And even though I would have liked to kill him with my bare hands there and then, I always concede to the logic that letting the one go free could lead to the annihilation of millions, and thus patience is a far better weapon." Prant said, fighting to get his emotions under control once more.

"Ah!" K'nash mused as he leant back in his chair, staring off into space, "I am of the old school of just kill all the infestations while you can, and then just go and find some more to exterminate." K'nash divulged his thoughts with a pleasurable look on his face at the many human lives he'd extinguished.

"Very true." Prant agreed with the leader, if only to appease him. "But, by using this method it means that our ground assault squad will be ready to lift off within the hour, and go and destroy everything." It was Prant's turn to smile again as his plan was coming to fruition.
Chapter 57. Finally my luck's changing...

Ian's shoulders slumped as the information of them having a traitor in their camp hit him like a sledge hammer. He and Brock had discovered the listening device within the Nether Kellet military base only a day earlier, and as such they hadn't yet formulated a plan to find out who the spy was.

And now all this had happened. The feeling of isolation on a distant planet, far from the comforts of home hit him hard. He so longed to walk away from all of this, be away from the Politics of the modern military, to be far from the constant threat of illness or injury from an unknown enemy down to a tiny organism. He had a family on the way and that was going to be his life, not deceit and betrayal within his own ranks, and from someone who he counted to be a close friend. Lanky had been round to his house on many occasions, their families mingling, socialising as close friends do, yet this had happened. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, the emotion of the moment fogging the issues and facts. He walked away from Dicko and CT, "I'll go and see if Finchy's on his way back yet." Ian walked to the edge of their current area, got back down and covered the clearing with his weapon, pulling the night vision goggles back over his eyes. It was only then that he started to logically go through the facts in his mind.

We know there's a spy, because of the listening device.

Do they know we've destroyed it? He asked himself. If it's a Rexon device, then that's a possibility. "Damn!" He mumbled, as he realised his mistake in smashing the piece of desk it was attached to into the wall. But the desk was initially broken by Brock in a fit of temper. He pondered that for a second. They may or may not know that. On the one hand they may simply think the desk has been broken and that was that, or they could have took a more cautious line and assumed we'd found it and then broke the desk to hide evidence. He realised that he was making far too many assumptions, but that was all he had to deal with, and he had to use his military knowledge to work out their strategy, and hopefully get one ahead of them. So why kill Brock? He mulled over the possibilities. Maybe Lanky realised he'd been found out, and decided to take the opportunity to remove Brock from the equation. There was a potential risk he could have been caught in a firefight, but then again, maybe he had a marker on him that made sure he wasn't a target, and I don't know their positioning when they encountered the Rexon. "Damn!" He said a little more clearly and shook his head in annoyance. Too many variables, only one side of the story and not enough answers, yet. With that he let out a sigh, knowing he'd have to play a waiting game to see how it unfolds, trying to find snippets of clues as they went along.

He pushed the goggles up onto his forehead and rubbed his eyes as they were feeling tired from how late it was, and also the strain of the events of the day. A twig snap about 30 metres ahead of him, and Ian's mind cursed as he'd realised he'd not actually been watching for anything coming across the clearing. Quickly pulling the goggles back on, he raised his weapon up and peered into the now soft green-lit forest to where he'd heard the sound. He saw nothing but the columns of stationery pillars of trees making it impossible to see everywhere, and which also would give fantastic cover to anyone approaching. If it had been Finchy, then he'd have seen him by now, as he wouldn't be using stealth for the final 30 metres back to their makeshift base.

This worried him and he quietly flicked the safety switch to off on his assault rifle, ready for what was about to occur. The adrenalin coursed through his body, muscles started to tense as expectation levels increased. Ian realised that he'd not heard another sound for a few seconds, since the twig snap, and was getting quite concerned.

All his military instincts had kicked in, he waited patiently, thoroughly checking every single centimetre of space that was in front of him; the slightest hint of a breath, something metallic sneaking out from behind a leaf, that was all he needed to see.

He slowed his breath down and waited for their next move.

There was a sudden flurry of movement about 5 metres to the right of where he'd been looking. Ian swiftly realigned the direction his weapon was aiming and squeezed the trigger a tiny amount, taking up the slack of the mechanism. "Doh!" He exclaimed, copying a well know cartoon character when they'd made a mistake. It was a more ironic use of a phrase as before him was a young female deer, chewing on the grass it had just been nibbling on behind a tree. He sighed and laughed inwardly at how he'd got so embroiled in the moment, as they'd had animals wandering around them all evening.

Dicko slid down beside him. "What's up?"

"Me being a plant-pot, that's all." Ian explained.

"Eh?"

"Just a doe startling me." He stopped watching the deer and scanned across the forest. "How's our patient?"

"Patched up and doing fine, he's taken the watch on that side, incase they have followed him."

"Good." Ian said, his thoughts wandering back to the Rexon.

"So, what about the stuff CT just said." Dicko asked cautiously.

"I've just been thinking it through, and until we know more, we'll have to take CT's word on it until we can prove different." He flashed a weak smile at her. "Although we can't assume......." They instantly fell silent as at that moment, the deer stopped chewing, then flashed its ears round, and before anyone else had really seen all these movements she darted away into the night.

Dicko and Ian pointed the weapons into the dark again, and waited to see what had startled the deer.

"Don't shoot, 'tis I bearing gifts from the gods." An eloquent voice came from out of the darkness.

Dicko and Ian looked at each other, and then giggled before they both said at the same time, "Finchy." His usual and very strange use of the English language made him very unique, and they knew no Rexon could ever have said anything like that.

Ian's spirits rose as he suddenly interpreted Finchy's statement. "So you found it then?"

"Yes, it was merely lain sleeping with the thunderous Beast, but I also found a lost soul awandering through the depths of despair." He stopped for a second, which Ian and Dicko were grateful for, as they needed a moment to decipher the words Finchy was using into proper English. "That last statement rhymes, maybe my talents should be redirected elsewhere like the cattle away from the abattoir."

"What?" Dicko said a little louder than usual, her annoyance at his farcical words.

It had been an in-joke since Finchy joined the team that they enjoyed his quips, as they must have made sense to someone somewhere. Unfortunately, in the military, you use a more direct method of communication.

"Yes I've found the Kylapitar, and also this lost soul." Finchy stepped into view and from behind a clump of trees came Lanky.

Before they took another step, Dicko and Ian raised their weapons at him, with Ian giving the command. "Halt, drop your weapons."

"Sorry chaps." Finchy exclaimed in his rounded Home Counties accent. "Do I detect a little hostility to your comrades in arms?"

"Finchy, shut up." Ian gave the order in the usual Military jargon; a simple clear command. "Move to your right."

Finchy didn't understand why he was being told this, but agreed, raising his hand up into the air.

"Put your hands down, Finchy, It's not you." Ian sighed. "Lanky, drop everything, then place your hands behind your head."

"Eh up lad, tha' can't be serious." Lanky replied, although he did carefully unclip his pistol out of its holder and just using his index finger and thumb, place it on the floor. "What's going on?"

"Finchy can you cuff Lanky's hands together."

"Erm, certainly." He agreed hesitantly to the order, not knowing what was happening.

Lanky reluctantly to placing his hands behind himself and a very strong tie-wrap was placed over his wrists and zipped shut.

"Right, let's get a few answers." Ian mumbled to himself, knowing Dicko was thinking the same.
Chapter 58. Out of the Blue.

"This is definitely not Ansolon." Harvin said through chattering teeth whilst hugging himself fiercly as he fought to stop his body shivering from the intense cold.

"You don't say." Janosh replied sarcastically as he steadied his hand as well as he could to scroll back through the symbols to find the next set. "We might as well go to the next place from here."

"I completely agree," Harvin chattered his reply back, glancing at Zeph and his soldiers who were all flapping their arms and stamping about in a effort to keep as warm as they could. "Can you please hurry up before we're frozen here for all eternity?"

The planet was a huge frozen wasteland, with fierce icy winds blasting from their right across its monotonously flat expanse. The fine ice laden snow that was being blown in the wind from their right was building up on the sides of everyone who'd beamed in, and the soldiers to the left ducked slightly, using their comrades as a shield to get a bit of protection from the numbingly cold conditions.

"This is rather unusual." Zeph said, amazed that such a place could exist.

"I presume you have nothing like this on your planet?" Harvin asked, wanting to pass the time with something other than just letting the cold slowly eat away at his inner warmth. He turned slightly towards Janosh, asking hopefully. "And?"

Janosh lifted his head slightly, smiled a little at how his King couldn't stand the cold as well as he was doing. He also enjoyed the irony that only the day before they would have welcomed this temperature for a short period in the middle of the blazing heat during their time in the Rexon interrogation cell. He brought the Kylapitar up to his face, steadied his cold waggling finger as well as he was now able, before pressing the beam button again. "Done." He smiled as the bubble engulfed them. His military training had prepared him for extreme weather conditions, but he would usually have some items available to create a shelter or warmth. He preferred warmer climates, and was pleased he'd been able to press the Beam button before he lost control of his hands.

"That's much better." Harvin said as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. "Well, at least it's not freezing, but I don't think its Ansolon either."

"Do we have a look around first?" Zeph asked.

"Might as well, while we're here." Janosh added, and shrugged his shoulders. "We don't know what we may find."

"OK." Harvin agreed.

They saw a road adjacent to their beam in location, and in the distance a small village, its lights burning brightly. From where they stood it was a picture postcard setting, a village of modest houses, pooled together in the valley base. Welcoming lights twinkled in the windows, making outsiders want to come and view the wholesome lives of the villagers.

Janosh's instincts and training told him different. "I would assume that over there might be a good place to start from." Janosh suggested, pointing at the clump of buildings at one end of the village which were in darkness. They looked to be more industrial in nature, and Janosh assumed they were offices or working factories, and at this time of day would be empty or would only have a scant security presence. Thus the chance of being seen entering the village from this end would be minimised.

They headed cautiously along the lane. Two of Zeph's soldiers brought up the rear of the troupe, keeping a careful watch to their side and behind them, checking all points where an attack may come from.

Harvin noticed this constant aiming of guns and turning and twisting by these two. "Do they always act in that way?" He asked Zeph.

"We've been dealing with the Rexon for far too long to not discount any method of attack." He said with a slight sigh. "I lost 12 very good guys on a routine sortie on the edge of the city 3 months ago from not being careful enough, and being too trusting." His eyes glazed over as he continued his story. "I'd got used to their methods, and suddenly, they changed tactics."

"But from the encounters I've had with them, they always seem to attack in a brash full on way." Janosh interrupted.

"No, we always thought that. They'd just throw huge amounts of fire power at you, or come marching down the main road, right up to the market square, or in front of the Town Hall and start attacking, as if they simply didn't care about any collateral damage they might concede in the process." He shook his head in disbelief as his minds eye saw the scenes of destruction that he'd personally lived through. "Then, when our numbers were reducing, and we just thought they'd do one huge blitz against us, their tactics changed completely." Zeph's right hand waved about while he explained his side of the story, whilst his left rested on his weapon that was slung over is shoulder, ever ready for action. "We had gone more underground, hiding and scavenging for any victory we could. Up until this point, the usual Rexon method of attack..." and he nodded in agreement to Janosh's previous comment. "Was that they would be so easy to see that we could stop for a 20-minute tea break before we had to start hiding again. That was until about 15 months ago," he shrugged his shoulders, still angry at himself for being so careless. "We knew that they were on the far side of the city, and that our side was completely clear of any Rexon activity, or so we thought." He snorted a despondent laugh. "They'd got a new Commander..." He thought for a second to get the name from the recesses of his memory. "Prank or Prent..."

"Commander Prant." Janosh ruefully smiled. "We know him quite well." He glanced at Harvin who had looked instinctively at the bandage on his arm; a present from Commander Prant's latest endeavors in Human genocide.

"Yes, that was it, Commander Prant." Zeph nodded, his eyes screwing up as he remembered the battles they'd had. "Well, we thought he'd be the usual new Rexon Commander, coming in with the big boots and forcing huge attacks, obliterating everything in sight." He shook his head again as the memories flooded back. "Anyway, we were carefully walking along the left hand side of the main street, taking cover between the outlying suburbs shop fronts. There was nothing to be taken from within them, as the looters had done that the moment the attacks came 2 years before."

Harvin was watching him closely and could virtually see that this poor soldier's mind wander off to another time as he told the tale.

Zeph took in a deep breath and pursed his lips as it still hurt to tell this part of the story. No matter how much carnage he's seen, no matter how many friends he'd seen die at the hands of the Rexon, no matter how many cities they'd flattened before his eyes, this attack was the one that broke him. "I never saw the thin wire that they'd placed about 5 centimetres off the ground, all the way across the road. I instinctively ducked as it snapped and pinged off my boot, shouting at my troop to get down, but by that time it was too late. The first 2 behind me had reacted as fast as me, seeing me drop to the ground, and the last 5 were thankfully just too far back in our line." Zeph stopped for a moment as he heard the clear ping of the wore which set off the trap. He grimaced as the explosion boomed once more in his mind.

Janosh noticed that he was chewing the inside of his cheek. He always took this as a sign that the person was keeping things in, which was not a good thing, as those emotions would break you in the end. Janosh wondered how far from the end Zeph was, or if he'd even passed that point and was already nowhere near as effective a soldier as he'd once been.

"It was so primitive, so simple, so devious and nothing like any Rexon attack we'd encountered before." He stared again into the distance, his mind still not reconciling the new methods they'd used. "They had basically set up two devices in shops on either side of the street. They had an array of cross bows and the wire that I snapped tripped them, killing twelve good soldiers." His head dropped for a second, searching the ground for the answers which lay in another city on another planet. Zeph's head came up very slowly and he looked Harvin deep into his eyes. "I lost 2 very good friends in that singular moment of carelessness." He held a solitary finger in front of Harvin's nose. "Just one tiny mistake and... boom, they were gone!"

Janosh felt for him, as he hated seeing a good soldier die. He also understood that their circumstances were very different from anything he'd ever encountered. These soldiers had endured a huge upheaval in their lives. They weren't based in a relatively safe camp, sleeping on beds in barracks, lots of military equipment and a solid line of command to help guide them. These guys were all living, eating and sleeping together in places they could find from under roadways, in tunnels, in basements and all the other places a mind could think of. They'd slept on may floors, occasionally finding something to give them some comfort, from piles of clothes, through bales of straw in a ban. Food was scarce, and equipment even more so. They had no chain of command to call upon, and didn't evn know if there was anyone else alive on their planet. All they had was the Human spirit to survive. They'd had to endure all these hardships for some time, and that had slowly eeked the spirit from their souls Yet through all of that, they had endured, and it had brought them closer than any unit Janosh had ever been a part of. That's why Zeph had also called them his friends.

"Ah, were here." Harvin said alarmed at how quickly they'd arrived at the village.

The houses were dotted along either side of the road. All looked individual, all had character.

"Which one do we go to?" Zeph asked.

"I'd say that big one at the end of the street." Harvin replied. "It's probably a Mayor or some other type of Civic Leader."

Janosh agreed with the premise. "I'll go and see who's there." He trotted off towards the house.

As he arrived he slowed down and carefully checked all the windows for anything suspicious. He didn't know if this was his normal reaction to this sort of situation, or something that he was picking up on from Zeph and his story. In any case it all looked quite normal, and as he walked up the steps he could hear the sound of a piano being played and people singing merrily. Janosh stopped for a second to see if the could tell what sort of music it was and was soon realised that this was just a nice sing-a-long type of tune. He smiled a little as he continued up the steps and knocked on the huge solid oak door.

The piano stopped but the singing continued for a couple of bars before ending with the sound of laughter. Janosh assumed that it must the pianist who was coming to answer the door.

"Welcome stranger, I'm Filop." The door opened to reveal a large overbearing character with a bright red nose, and a warm and genuine smile. "And may I extend a warm and hearty greeting from the village of Cambe." Filop now held his arms open wide.

"Well, erm, thank you." Janosh was taken aback by the friendliness of Filop, and also a little cautious at the openness of the welcome..

"And I see that you have some friends with you." He tilted himself over to his left and up on his toes to see over Janosh's shoulder. His voice became stronger and boomed past Janosh's ear as he continued. "All of you are welcome." He slapped his hand on his head. "What am I thinking? Please all come in, and make yourselves as comfortable as my friends are, as you are also to be our new friends." He looked at Zeph and his troops and continued. "By the looks of some of you, I would be very remis in my duties as leader of our Commune to not extend our welcome to include a fine meal and some comfortable and fresh clothing." He waved his hand, beckoning them into his house. "Please, please come in out of this cool evening." He waved his hand and stood to one side of his doorway to beckon everyone in. "there are friends inside, along side food and refreshments. I shall beckon my good lady to request clothing from our local stores to replenish your wardrobes as you eat and drink and enjoy the warmth of the Cambe welcome."

Janosh turned back to the rest of them and shrugged his shoulders again, before they all stepped inside.
Chapter 59. Moving Targets and other Clichés

Ara led the way through the woods. He kept everyone close to the edge of the forest, but deep enough in so as to not be seen by the hovering Rexon ships. They'd managed to circle around the clearing, and were now about 200 metres away from their starting position when the 3 Rexon ships which had flown away to cool their engines turned and headed back. They knew they only had 2 minutes whilst the three ships flew off, cooled down and then returned, and in that time, they'd only managed to get that far.

Ara stopped the procession of refuges, and they dropped immediately behind the nearest trees and rocks. Everyone held their breath as they watched the clearing ahead. The single ship which had remained firing at their last position pulled away for it to circle off and cool its engines. The one circling the clearing continued to do so, but it didn't look as if they'd been spotted. Time slowed as they waited for the returning ships to appear above the clearing in the trees.

Ara peered round the side of the tree he was hiding behind. "Where's he going?" he asked no-one in particular.

"What's happening?" Eric asked.

"The ship which has just finished firing isn't heading to the south but over the woods to the North." He glanced at Eric. "Where's he going?"

"I don't know." Eric shrugged. "I'm nt worried about him, it's the other three."

Ara turned and saw the ships coming straight for them. "Damn!" He whispered.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked, also in a hushed tone.

Ara turned back round, "They're heading straight at this location, so they know we've moved." He looked to the floor searching for an answer to this new dilemma.

Eric, who had been carrying Skaler along with another soldier, got out from under Skaler's arm. "Back in a second."

Before Skaler had a chance to react, Eric had dashed over to Ara's location, and also peered around the other side of an adjacent tree.

Ara glanced at his watch as the ships started to drop down. "Four – Three – Two – what?" His voice rose in pitch as he finished the sentence, and before he got to one. He'd been counting down the seconds to the next attack and was amazed at what he saw.

The Rexon ships that had been coming directly for them had turned at the last second and then started firing at their previous position.

"They must be trying a new angle of attack." Eric suggested his own thoughts and watched for a couple of seconds. "Look, they're already starting to fire across the first row of trees, hacking them down."

Ara had appeared at Eric's side and nodded. "Instead of firing directly at us, they've decided to clear the area."

"Hopefully, they'll think that they're driving us back." Eric thought for a second. "And that's why the other went North, to trap us in a pincer movement. Simple military strategy."

"But, we won't be there. So, they will be holding their attack position for the next 7 minutes, firing away at an empty forest, with their backs to us." Ara let a small smile appear. "Brilliant, let's carry on round for about 3 minutes, that should be enough time to get us far enough away, and let us find a perfect beam out location."

"Why not here, while they're concentrating their attack on our old position?" Eric asked, confused that they wouldn't use such a simple tactic.

"Because we're still possibly in view out of their side windows, and if they did see us, those ships can turn round whilst hovering and be facing us in a second." Ara explained. "If we get further away, there's less chance of them seeing us, and if they did, it would take a few more seconds for them to get to us. Hopefully buying us enough time to beam out."

"OK." Eric agreed, as it seemed like a reasonable explanation. "But what if they think we'll be pushed back in that time, and..." He gasped. "We won't appear and they'll know we've moved."

"Damn!" Ara could see the logic. "OK, let's move now and get over there." He pointed to a relatively flat area about 200 metres away. "And hope it's enough time."

They headed off again, Eric taking Skaler's arm once more to help his friend through the woods. They managed another 150 metres before Ara stopped them all. "Here will do." He said to the group, nodding to the area just outside the cover of the trees.

Eric rested Skaler against a tree. "You OK here while I go with Ara and scout out a nearby beam out location?"

"No." He said. "I wanted to come as well."

There was a moments silence as Eric was taken aback at what Skaler had just said. He didn't want to hurt his feelings.

Then Skaler started to smile. "How on Snalem's Paws can I get over there without being carried, you....." He paused whilst searching his mind for the word. A little light went on and his eyes flashed wide as it came to him "You numpty!" Then he laughed. "The look on your face was priceless. Go on and let me rest for a bit, my foot's really killing me." He shook his head. "I'll start scrolling through the symbols and get them ready."

Eric shook his head at him and smiled as he turned to join Ara to help find a safe beam out location.

Together they cautiously darted from tree to tree, hunched over to keep their profiles as small as possible. They arrived at the last trees before the clearing. Peering round the side of a tree each, they watched the Rexon ships in the distance blasting away at the forest.

"That's strange." Ara said.

"What is?" Eric asked.

"That end ship, the one furthest away." And he pointed to it. "The rest are firing constantly, whereas that one is intermittent. It's not even firing in regular bursts. It's more sporadic, and the timings are getting longer between it actually blasting away at the trees."

"So, what could that mean?" Eric asked his next question.

"That one's got a problem, and..." He waited as his own question was answered, the ship in question peeled off and headed away. "It's going back to base to be repaired?"

"So that means there are only 4 ships here now." Eric smiled, for even though they were vastly out numbered in fire power, it seemed to be going ever so slightly in their favour.

They watched the other two continue firing for a few seconds. The one circling over the clearing was about to fly over their heads, the one which had flown to the North was out of sight.

"We might be lucky." Eric pointed North. "That one ship which we thought was going to be waiting for us isn't in sight, which is good news."

"And?" Ara didn't understand Eric's reasoning.

"It means they don't expect to drive us back in this first attack, so we can wait for the ships to fly off."

"Excellent." Ara's face beamed for once at the good news. "So, is that good enough, and close enough." He nodded to the area just ahead.

Eric nodded his initial reply and they both ducked back down and took the first few cautious steps out into the open. They only needed to go about 5 metres for them to see they had been lucky for a third time and had found a suitable spot. The bracken and brambles that were all around the clearing and the edge of the forest were absent in this one spot, as the rock that was normally below the soil was prominent. They crouched down on the edge of a large flat and smooth lump of rock that was about 20 metres in diameter.

"Perfect." Eric whispered.

"I couldn't agree more." Ara said. "Let's get back to the others and start preparations."

They sneaked back in to the forest, checked that they hadn't been seen, and then headed back to the others. It only took a few seconds of explanation about the broken ship and the large rocks to change the worried looks about their predicament into smiles.

"We're still not there yet, so hey, let's be careful out there people." Eric added his caution before turning to Skaler. "Are you ready?"

The former Guild Thief had already dug out the Kylapitar and held it up to show the symbols for Demda. "Got them ready." He said.

"Brilliant, let's get to the edge of the forest and wait for them to stop firing and head off." Ara told them.

Eric heaved Skaler back onto his shoulder and they made their way to the edge of the woods.

It was only a few seconds later when the ships finished blasting away at their old location, turned and sped off. As they were behind the ships, Eric could see the engines glowing white hot, and knew that the explanation for the 2 minute window was accurate.

"Let's go." Ara said, and headed off into the clearing towards the rock.

Everyone followed, but they soon realised that the undergrowth between the two was too dense for all of them to get out in one go, and they had to follow each other in single file.

"Damn!" Ara said, as he saw how long it was taking. "We need to move people." He ordered.

The problem was Skaler. As he was being carried it was harder for Eric and the other helper to move along in a row. They had to turn sideways and shuffle along in single file. Unfortunately Skaler was key to the whole escape, as he was the only one who knew the symbols and could work the Kylapitar.

They got him to the centre of the rock, and he dropped his arm off the Eric's shoulder to free his hand to scroll back to the Demda symbols.

The remaining soldiers started filing in from the forest, along with the last refugees. They had all just got out into the open when Ara shouted. "GET DOWN!"

Eric turned to his right to see why. The supposedly broken Rexon ship had rea appeared and was heading straight for them. "They did know we'd moved, and called our bluff." He said as the ship started to open fire, its ammunition hitting the ground some 200 metres away from them, but closing on them fast as the pilot brought the nose of the ship up.

"SKALER, BEAM US OUT NOW!" Ara ordered.

"But they're not all here; your troops?" Eric pleaded. "We've got time."

"In about five seconds, that ship will be firing on us and none of us will make it, so press the damn button NOW!"

Skaler turned to see the bullets from the ship ripping the ground up about 50 metres from the small group of refuges all huddled around him. He turned to the soldiers who were along the narrow path leading back to the forest and saw that they were too busy firing their guns at the ship to move into the beam out zone.

His heart went into his mouth as one of the soldiers glanced at him and winked. He had heard his commander give the order and knew the consequences of this sort of attack. He had it drilled into him that on a search and rescue mission, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or even the one.

Skaler hated himself for doing it, and his finger hesitated, just for a split second. He wanted to give them as long as possible so that everyone could get into the beam out zone. He could also see that the soldiers were not going to move from their entrenched positions, firing on the ship, trying to give the ones about to beam out that little bit of time. His heart did not want him to do it when a hand grabbed hold of his and squeezed.

By doing so Eric had pressed the transport button as the first bullets from the ship started to ricochet off the rock they were crouched upon, and doomed the remaining soldiers in Aras troupe.
Chapter 60. Sneaky Sneaky

Sharlock waited for a few seconds, his back resting against a bank of cabinets that contained the electronics to work the huge door to the secret hangar under the dam. He turned his head and listened both ways for anything, or more importantly, anyone. All was very quiet at this end of the hangar now the ships had gone. He moved away from the door end to take a quick peek around before he carried on.

His feet were whisper quiet for such a large man as he made his way along. Arriving at the far end of the cabinets he looked curiously at a door that was across the adjacent passage. This was labeled Danger Risk of Electric Shock 415v. "Aw didums for the poor little Ansolonians; they need little signs to tell them not to touch things." He shook his head in pure disbelief. "They act and treat each other like babies, how on Malle did we not defeat these imbeciles."

When he'd been looking at the map whilst on his ship, he'd seen that the man-made lake he was currently under had a bend in it, which wasn't not too far from where the Dam held its secret contents. Sharlock peered round the end of the electrical cabinets and could now see the point where the hangar also matched the bend in the lake above. Between him and the bend, there were two engineers working on a piece of ground equipment. The side of the unit was opened and they had a mobile toolbox on the floor. Sharlock thought the equipment was probably a large portable diagnostic device to check the ship's onboard computers. He didn't need to consider it's use any further as it was inconsequential to his plan, yet the Engineers working on it were a problem. They both had their backs to him, and with being about 200 metres away, they'd probably not see his head sticking out anyway.

It unfortunately meant that he couldn't go that way. He removed a tiny camera from his pocket and took a couple of shots of the overall hangar, then zoomed in on the ground equipment and the engineers, taking more shots of them. He even then took a shot of the door sign. "A little something to build up the moral of the troops, when I get back to Malle." He commented. The photos and his comment were immediately uploaded to his ship, which sent packets of information every 5 minutes out to a small receiver he'd left in orbit, which was linked to a series of beacons across the galaxy from Ansolon to Malle.

Sharlock headed back to the door end of the equipment. The huge concrete doorway which was built into the dam was about 80 metres across, and on the other side was another set of machinery filled cabinets, similar to the one he was using for cover at the moment. He peered around this end and the remainder of the hangar was empty apart from the 2 engineers he'd already seen. Looking up and along the right hand side of the hangar he could see a large room that overhung the walkway below as its floor to ceiling glass windows bowed out into the hangar. He assumed that this was the control room as from there they could see the whole of this secret location, including around the bend. He realised that this was where he needed to be, as this would let him confirm or deny the bartenders story of half the planets ships being destroyed.

He knew he had to get across the void before him, and the easiest way was to walk casually and confidently. To anyone watching it would look like there was another engineer at that end of the hangar. At about 200 metres away, they wouldn't be able to see that he was a Mallesian spy.

Sharlock gave it one quick glance, saw the Engineers were still engrossed in their work, looking away from him, and with his head held high he strode across the 80 metre divide between the two sets of door machinery and electronics. Sharlock got to the other side and stopped, once again listening for anything. All was quiet. He knew that if he had been seen then either they hadn't realised who he was, or they were using stealth as a tactic to trap him. A smile crept across his face, as he also knew that it would be claxons and a herd of stomping size 10 boots charging towards him if they had really seen him.

Sharlock shuffled quietly to the far end of the equipment cabinets and peered around to look along that side of the hangar. He was quite shocked to see an electrical engineer crouched down, working on the wiring inside the end of the equipment cabinet which Sharlock was using to hide behind.

"Who on Snalem's World are you and what are you doing here?" The engineer asked as he stood up, brandishing a screwdriver in one hand and a pair of wire clippers in the other.

He had the cabinet door open, which was the full height and width of the end of the equipment. This meant that he couldn't be seen from anyone else in the hangar.

Sharlock smiled at him and without another word flashed his hand past the wire clippers being brandished at him.

"What?" The electrician said as he looked down and saw his hand peel away at the wrist and fall onto the floor. "How?" He asked as he lifted up the stump of his severed right arm to look at it, wondering why it wasn't bleeding. He staggered backwards, crashing into the cabinet door, making a large bang that made Sharlock cringe and blow a huffed blast of air from his nostrils. He glanced round the door and noticed the Engineers looking in his direction.

He shook his head at the electrician, grabbed his left arm and wagged it in the air. He then glanced past the arm and saw the Engineers return to their work, knowing they had been appeased by his actions.

"What?" the Electrician was asking as shock seeped into his mind.

"Shush now." Sharlock eased the Electrician back to lean against the cabinet door. "OK, let me explain what's going on in nice simple English which even a little Ansolonian person can understand. Don't worry, I won't use any long words." He added sarcastically as he raised his own hand. The Electrician could see that Sharlock was holding a small device which was making a very light whirring sound. "This little beast is a beautiful piece of engineering." Sharlock waggled what looked like a small, portable circular saw in the air. "It does three things all in one go. As you can see it slices with this blade, as clean as a butcher's cleaver." He nodded and brought it closer to the electrician's nose who flailed his other hand at it. Sharlock pulled it back. "Whoa there fella, you could have nearly hurt yourself on it, and I'd hate for that to happen. Anyway, the second thing is that it spins so fast that it gets quite hot, so it cauterizes the wound; thus sealing it off neatly so that it doesn't leave any nasty mess to clean up." Sharlock nodded at the device and then at the electrician who was starting to slump against the cabinet. "And thirdly, I pressed this little trigger." He pointed to it to show to the now collapsing Electrician. "That one injected you with a deadly serum which will kill you in about 30 seconds, which is about...." He paused and looked at his watch. "Now!" The Electrician's eyes flew open for a split second before his dead body slumped forward onto Sharlock. "Unfortunately it doesn't have a fourth skill of hiding the body!"
Chapter 61. Let the Games Commence.

"Lanky, where's Grape?" Ian asked very bluntly.

"Dead." A very cold look on his face, wondering why his hands were tie-wrapped together, but the vision he had before him of a brave young soldier made him continue. "The kid had no chance."

"I would purpose that we continue this dalliance at home over a fine Darjeeling." Finchy added his thoughts.

"We can't go home yet." Ian replied, a dejected look on his face at what had happened to his team.

"Ah, is that because of Sergeant Cockburns status of reposing like a young child?"

"I hate to agree with the blithering plant-pot." Dicko huffed out some air. "That may be a problem, as who else knows the right symbols." Dicko asked, knowing that Cock-up was still unconscious.

"Oh Winnie!" Ian hadn't realised that he had another problem, and this one had a cruel twist. "I presume from your statement that Cock-up is still out?"

"Sleeping like a baby." Dicko answered.

"That's exactly how I described the status." Finchy mumbled to himself.

"We're not leaving yet, but the other 3 who knew of the co-ordinates were Brock."

"Dead." CT stated and flashed a cold glare at Lanky.

"Grape." Ian continued.

"Also dead." Lanky was looking coldly back at CT, staring him out.

"And Lanky." Ian sighed at the thought that their potential Rexon spy was the only person who could help them get home. "So, are you willing to help?"

"Aye lad, of course I will, but before I do I'd like an explanation for this?" He thrust his cuffed hands sideways.

Ian blew out a very long breath of air, as he didn't want to do this yet. "There's been an accusation." He looked him straight in the eye.

"An accusation?" Lanky looked incredulously at each person in turn. "About what?"

There was a moments silence as Ian stared deep into each person's eyes, till he got to Dicko, who looked back at him with warmth and friendship, understanding the anguish he was going through.

"The accusation is that you're a Rexon spy."

"Ha!" Lanky forced a laugh out. "Very funny guys, you had me for a second." He laughed some more. "Good one, who thought that up?" He turned to hold his hands round to Finchy again. "Cut these flamin' things off, now cus the jokes getting a bit thin with everything that's gone on."

"Sorry mate." Ian explained.

"Mate!" Lanky spat the words out.

"Who's accused me?" He asked out loud. "Can't be you." He nodded at Finchy.

"It doesn't matter who has made the accusation, there's more important things to sort out."

I'm accused by someone." He glared at CT again, as he'd worked out that it must have happened at the far end of the clearing, and there was only he and CT left. "And you say that there are more important things to sort out." He now flashed his glare at Ian.

"Look mate." Ian touched his arm.

"Ow!" Lanky winced back.

Ian looked at his hand, which was now covered in blood. Then he looked at Lanky, and noticed that a trickle of blood had appeared from under his cuff and was running down his hand. "You've been hit."

"A flamin' scratch, that's all."

"Let's have a look at it." Dicko came over and took hold of the Captains arm.

"Stuff that." Lanky tried wriggling from her grip.

"Look you jumped up Yorkshire wind bag." She thumped him hard in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. He stumbled backwards and she caught him, lowering him to the ground. "Shut that cake hole up and let me sort this out." She reached for the medical kit again. "Cock-up's still unconscious, we've managed to stop his bleeding, but he's lost a lot." Dicko ripped Lanky's sleeve off him and started to clean the wound. "We've lost two good mates already, and you're fed up 'cus someone has accused you of being a Rexon spy, accused that's all so far." She emphasised the repeated word. "There's no hard proof yet, and we'd let the investigation team deal with that once we get back to Earth, so let's get you patched up, and then sort these symbols out."

There was a moments silence in the camp. "Sorry." He whispered back to her.

"I think you'd better hurry up." Ian interrupted.

"Why?" Dicko asked.

"We've got company flying in from the south." He added and pointed to a small light that was heading their way.

"Damn." She replied and quickly slapped a couple of butterfly plasters on his arm, "that'll do for now, it's not too bad." And she hoisted him back up onto his feet.

"Finchy, the Kylapitar." Ian ordered.

"I thought we couldn't leave for some reason?" CT asked.

"I don't like leaving comrades on the battlefield, and letting their kit fall into enemy hands, but we have no choice." Ian sighed, the concern clear for all to see. He hated the personal side more than anything, and Brock was a friend, which made it worse. He knew Grape came from near Blackpool, and had family there, living with his parents when he went home. This was the most difficult part of his job, and the one that made wonder why he had joined in the first place. He also remembered that Eric and his friends were still out there, and he was a bigger hope for humanity than any of them. That was his mission, and not just to save his team, or even Earth, but to save Humanity itself.

"All ready and poised for its next instructions." Finchy handed the Kylapitar to Ian.

"Hit that left one and keep your finger on it." Lanky asked.

"Not wanting to put the pressure on you too much, but I'd say we've got about 15 seconds before that ship gets to the clearing." Dicko added.

"That one, stop." Lanky directed Ian's fingers over the device. "Now, hit the middle button."

"Are you sure?" Ian asked, looking a little perplexed at the symbols that were currently on the screen. He knew something didn't quite look right.

"No time, do it Ian, NOW!" Lanky shouted as the ships searchlight illuminated their location.

The Captain of the Rexon attack ship watched his instruments as the red blip got nearer and nearer. He got to within firing range and was about to give the order for them to fire their weapons when there was a momentary blast of light, and the red blip disappeared.
Chapter 62. Celebrations.

"This is my wife Cather, and her brother Jeant and his wife Kitty." Filop introduced the adults who were in the lounge of his house, all had been eagerly waiting to see who was at the door. Everyone was dressed in their finery. The men had long velvet coats, buttoned up the front, ruffled shirt collars bursting out of the tops to wrap themselves around their necks. The ladies wore long and voluminous gowns. Lace decorated every extremity, from hem to cuff and collar. Each lady had a little fascinator on their heads, worn at a jaunty angle.

Janosh entered first and so returned the introductions. "I am Janosh, this is Harvin, a countryman of mine, and this is Zeph and his friends."

"You look very different in those clothes, are you from..." Kitty's hand flew to her mouth.

"I'm sorry, are we from where?" Harvin asked.

"I believe my good wife was about to ask if you were from another planet?" Jeant asked

Filop entered the room carrying drinks on a large silver tray. "Sorry, did I hear you say planet?" Filop interrupted, leaning forward to see if his hearing hadn't been playing tricks with him.

"Yes we're actually from two different planets." Harvin sounded a little confused.

Janosh flashed an angry look at his King, worried that he was giving away too much detail.

"My oh my, what joyous news." Filop continued. "Did you all hear that?" Everyone nodded in answer to his question. "These fine people are from not just one, but two different planets."

Janosh looked to Harvin, who in turn looked amused to meet someone who hadn't met anyone before from another planet. "Do you not travel between your planets?" Harvin asked.

"Oh no no no. Our scientists say that it is possible, but they have many arguments with the engineers over how to construct such a ship." He explained to the bemused guests.

"Oh!" Harvin said, knowing that their presence could alter the future of the planet.

"Why are you wearing so many weapons?" Kitty asked.

"Well, we are traveling between planets, trying to find our home world." Harvin replied. "And we can't always expect such a warm welcome as the one you are giving us here."

"Ah, I see." She nodded slowly, not quite understanding that there are other worlds where people would not be friendly.

"We apologise for the intrusion, as you seem to be celebrating something, we'll be on our way and leave you in peace." Harvin bowed slightly.

"In no way shall you do such a thing." Filop insisted. "Yes, it is ironic that we were celebrating, as we had wonderous news on our televisual information programme this very day." A huge smile beamed across his face and held his hands out to his sides.

"Oh, and what was that?" Harvin asked.

"Well, our president came on our televisual unit and personally told us that aliens from another galaxy had indeed arrived to our planet and they were in talks with our planetary government to help with medicines and technology." Filop added enthusiastically. "And then on the same day, you arrive here from two other planets, in our little commune. What an amazing coincidence." He held his arms out and let out a hearty laugh, with everyone else in his family joining in. "What a fortunate and joyous day, we do need to celebrate such an occasion."

Harvin flashed a concerned look to Janosh, who also had the same thoughts. "Did you see these other aliens?" He asked.

"Oh yes, but they weren't as human as you. They were a little thinner and taller." Filop replied.

"And they had a slightly wrinkled long chin, and spindly fingers, and they wore hooded cloaks." Harvin asked, fear creeping in through his veins, hoping that he wasn't about to hear the wrong answer.

"Yes, yes, that's them exactly." Filop's voice was near fever pitch and he clapped and danced around the room, the tails of his long coat flapping and clapping along in his wake. "You know of them." He turned to the others. "They know of them, our new alien friends."

"I wouldn't call them friends." Janosh interrupted Filop's enthusiasm. "I would not call them that at all. In actual fact, I'd call them something completely different."

Filop stopped his little jig and turned to Janosh with a very angry look on his face. "I don't think that you should say that about the Rexon, as they seem to be very nice people." He glanced from his friends to the strangers in his lounge. "They may look a little different from you or I, but at least they are friends, bearing gifts and hope."

"Unfortunately." Harvin tried to diplomatically interrupt the stand off between the host and his security chief. "We have had dealings with these new friends of yours and they started off in exactly the same way." He smiled at Filop who had finally broken his hard stance with Janosh. "They came in peace to our planet, until recently, when we found out their true intentions." He sighed slightly, thinking of all that had recently occurred to his people, and how he had let them down.

"I don't think that I want to listen to this anymore." Filop said. "They have come here bearing gifts of help and assistance and development, where as you came here bearing weapons and anger." He flashed his hand at the guns around the soldier's shoulders. "In fact I think you should leave now." And he headed for the door, his arm held out to gesture for them to go.

"We're sorry that you don't understand, but please at least be very wary of these new friends, as you call them." Harvin tried to be as diplomatic as he could be, as he led everyone out of the room.

"I'm very sorry, but I'm not listening to you anymore." Filop insisted. "We have made you welcome, as our President made them welcome. They come here, to give us hope to our world when we are fighting a new disease that is killing thousands." His face changed from anger to sadness.

"The Sarf." Zeph interrupted.

Filop's face lifted up to his. It was full of confusion. "How did you know what it was called?" He asked him.

"We've both suffered the same fates, on our two separate planets. It arrived just as your new friends, the Rexon, arrived, and gave us and them that hope that they could have a cure. Most of the people on my planet are dead, killed by the disease or by the Rexon soldiers. Many of their people are still suffering." He pointed to Janosh and Harvin. "But we have a cure. That's why we are searching for their planet, to help them." He stopped to plead with Filop. "Can't you see, all of our Sarf plague's started just before the Rexon arrived." He flashed a smile across his face and nodded at him to let Filop understand that he was being genuine. "We do come in peace. Our attire and demeanor may not seem like it, but we can only help you if you want us to."

Filop stopped herding them to the door for a second, thinking about what he'd just heard Zeph say.

"You know I'm telling the truth, you must see that." Zeph pleaded some more. "Please stop this before you end up like my planet with only a few hundred people scattered into nomadic groups, scavenging for our very survival."

Filop had listened carefully, but then made his mind up in a flash. "We don't want your help. And how could they put a plague on a planet before they arrived, it's preposterous." He started ushering them all out of his house again. "I believe that you are just trying to implicate them for a crime they haven't committed, now please leave us in peace." He started to close the door, and then stopped. "I speak for all my people and say that you are no longer welcome on this planet." The door slammed behind them.

Harvin led the troupe of dejected soldiers down the stairs. They regrouped on the square across the road from Filop's house.

"So, they are here already." Zeph said dejectedly.

"And unfortunately, the locals don't want our help." Janosh added.

"How foolish are these people." Zeph added his anger evident.

"We wouldn't have listened in those first few days." Harvin then looked at Zeph. "And I would hazard a guess that your people would have felt the same way at that point." He waited for the inevitable nod of Zeph's head before continuing. "But they will, one day, and hopefully we can be there to help them, all of them." Harvin said. "Or at least help the ones who are left." The truth drifted off into the night.

"Let's go back to your planet to recharge our batteries before we try again." Janosh gave to command.

"I agree." Zeph said. "Let's hope we can come back here one day and they'll believe us."

"It may be too late for them already." Harvin mumbled.
Chapter 63. Pain and Sorrow.

"WHY?" Skaler screamed at Eric, looking at his friend's thumb which was still pressing Skaler's down onto the transport button of the Kylapitar. He snatched his hand away and then threw the device to the ground. "I was trying to give them as much time as I could." He screamed angrily.

Eric's shoulders shook as he understood what he'd done, and tears rolled down his face.

"Eric did the right thing." Ara patted Eric on the shoulder as he walked over the Skaler. "Each and every one of my soldiers knew the risks they take, on each and every time mission." Ara explained, his face filled with sadness. He took hold of Skalers shoulders and looked him in the eye. "I had some very good friends back there, and I will honour their memories, and how they've saved all of these people."

"You sound like there's no other choice, but let's just move somewhere else, go back a bit later and bring them back." Skaler's face hardened with determination. "Yeah, let's go get them now." Skaler grabbed hold of the Kylapitar and started punching the buttons.

Ara pulled his the device away. "It's no use." And he shook his head at him slowly, a tear rolling down his face.

"WHY?" Skaler screamed again. "You're leaving them for dead!"

"They're already dead." Ara said as he nodded. "And you wouldn't want to go there anyway."

"How do you know, how could you know?" Skaler angrily asked, he reached down for the Kylapitar and picked it up, flipping open the cover to reveal the symbols.

"The ship was virtually upon us, and they were next in line." Ara swallowed hard as he organised the words in his mind. "By the time the bubble had taken us away they would have been in the firing line."

"But you don't know for sure." Skaler couldn't fight the denial he was feeling. "There might be a chance that even one of them might be alive, even if they're injured."

Ara slowly shook his head from side to side again. He unclipped his weapon slowly and held it up so that they were looking along the side of the weapon. "Do you see this red button?" His finger came out of the trigger hole and tapped onto the end of a little red bubble on the side of the gun.

Eric and Skaler leant in closer and nodded.

"This is a self destruct." Ara quietly explained.

They all fell silent at the thought.

"You mean they..." Eric didn't finish the sentence as he slumped backwards away from them.

"Within the weapon is a very small fusion device." Ara continued.

"Sorry, but did I just hear you say a nuclear bomb!" Aisha had been walking towards them and had only heard the last bit. "Who has a nuclear bomb?"

"We all did." Eric replied.

"Actually that isn't true, as your weapons didn't have that device fitted." Ara said.

"What!" Aisha exclaimed. "You all were carrying nuclear bombs." She looked around at the group. "Where is everyone?"

"We moved location." Eric started to explain.

"I thought so, as you're about 300 metres away from where everyone else beamed in." She said pointing back around the side of the lake.. "That's why it took us a couple of minutes to get to you."

Eric then looked at their surroundings and realised that by moving the beam out location, they'd moved the beam in point.

"Thank god you didn't move the other way, or you'd have beamed into the middle of the lake." Aisha smiled, trying to break the obvious tension.

By this time others had arrived and were helping the refugees. Ara organized the remainder of his troops and headed off to their base.

"Anyway, what happened?" Aisha asked Eric and Skaler.

"Ask Lover-boy-hero over there." Skaler huffed. "Or should I say Friend-killer." And he stormed off into the woods.

Eric's shoulders slumped once more at the thought of what he'd done, and more tears rolled down his cheeks as he told Aisha everything that had gone on.

It took a few moments for her to compose herself, and all of her Royal training came to the fore. She knew that her own guard would throw themselves in front of a bullet to save her, but she'd never wondered if she would have to give the order for them to be killed. She couldn't understand the emotions which Eric felt, but understood his pain and anguish. "There was nothing you could do." Was all she could say as they made their way back to the caves.

Skaler had got back first and was stomping angrily in the out of the main cave, overlooking the valley and lake. He mumbled to himself as he kicked up bits of sand and stones into the surrounding bushes. He glared at Eric as they approached.

"Oh my dear Skaler." Aisha dashed over and gave him a hug.

Skaler's emotions erupted as he burst into tears. He'd never tried to truly be selfless before, and he'd simply given everything without thinking to help those people. The pain in losing soldiers, and knowing he was part of the decision to let them all die was too much. At that moment he hated himself for allowing it to happen, Eric for forcing his thumb down, and Ara for accepting it so easily.

Eric came over and patted and rubbed him on the shoulders. "I'm sorry, so very sorry." He fought the tears back.

Skaler shrugged his shoulder away.

Aisha held a hand up to stop Eric follow Skaler, and then faced the former thief. "I can't say I know how you feel, because I don't, but I think we have to just accept that this is the way of life we've chosen."

"I didn't choose this life, if you remember." Skaler snapped back.

"In a way you did, back in that police cell in Killnjar." Eric shrugged his shoulders in acceptance of their combined guilt in all these matters. "We all took on these roles to stop the Rexon."

"But they willingly killed themselves back there." Skaler balled his fists up. "They blew themselves up."

"I know, but they had to, to help save us all." Eric walked over, tears rolling down his face once more.

"How?" Skaler pushed himself away from Eric. "How could blowing yourself up with a nuclear bomb help anyone?"

Eric had to stop for a second as he hadn't thought about that, and the shock of what they had just endured overwhelmed him once again.

Aisha hugged them both. "I know from my military self defence classes with Janosh that by using something so devastating, there'll be virtually no trace of what happened and how it occurred."

"But they all had one of those red buttons on their guns, all of them." Skaler pointed to the blank butt of his weapon. "How big a bomb do they need?"

"Each one will have to be big enough to do the required damage." Aisha tried to help by explaining the training she'd had.

"You sound like a robot." Skaler shook his head. "These are people were talking about, friends, and they carried a nuclear bomb on their front like it was an everyday occurance." He walked a few steps away, turned and waggled his weapon about. "Ooh look, I've got a small thermos-nuclear device inside my butt."

"Thermos-nuclear is going a little far, but I can certainly make a mean killer smell from my butt.." Tom said as he walked into the cave behind them. "How's it hanging Dudes and Dudette?"

Eric whipped around, the sadness gone instantly as he saw his friend. "You're feeling better?" He dashed over and hugged him.

"Just hold on there Cowboy." Tom snapped himself out of his grip. "I just said I didn't want one of those." He looked at Eric and saw the tears welling up and he pulled him back into a hug, knowing this wasn't the right time to make jokes. "What's up mate? They said that you've been off world bringing back refugees."

"Yeah, long story, we'll tell you later." Eric said, enjoying the warmth of his best friend.

"Would any of you Heroes like a Scrimlin?" Sim said, carrying a tray of steaming cups as he arrived via the small cave which accessed the hidden underground city.

"I'd love one, but please don't call us Heroes." Eric replied. "I've had enough of that word, and I'm positive that Heroes don't feel this bad, when you have to leave some very good people to blow themselves up, just to save your own necks."

"Oh my." Sim said with a shocked tone. "Then let us retire to the city and enjoy the simple pleasures and celebrate the life of those who have fallen whilst helping others, and also rejoice in the ones who have been saved."

"What do you think mate?" Eric asked Skaler.

He pulled himself away from Aisha's grip. "A Scrimlin would be nice right now."

"Good, well let's get you all safely down into the City, get you a drink and the medical team can check you over." Sim explained and held his arm out to show the way to the city access lift. "And Tom, you can have you're first Scrimlin."

Tom turned to Eric. "Yeah, I was about to ask that, what's a Scrimlin?"

"It's this delicious milky vanilla-like drink." Eric explained.

"Ah!" Tom said. "Is it milk?"

"Oh yes." Eric remembered Tom's medical problem, and turned to Sim. "Does a Scrimlin have milk in it?"

"What's Milk?" Sim asked.

Eric and Tom looked at each other in shock. "Well, it's actually the juice that a Cow makes to give to its Calf to feed it with nutrients and food." Eric decided to make it as simple an explanation as possible.

"What's a Cow?" Sim asked.

"And what's a Calf?" Aisha asked.

Both Earthlings looked completely dumbstruck at the thought that these people had no knowledge of what they were talking about. "Well a cow is a fairly big animal on earth that eats grass and produces this, erm well, milk for its young." He turned to Aisha. "Which is called a Calf." He continued. "And it's also slaughtered for its meat which is called beef." Tom smiled. "Or Veal if it's still only a Calf."

"What?" Aisha was horrified at what she was hearing. "You eat baby animals?"

"I haven't personally, but it is supposed to be delicious." Tom rubbed his stomach playfully as he walked to the entrance of the cave. He looked around at all the wildlife that was visible before pointing further up the mountainside where a small herd of animals gently grazed. "And that's what a Cow looks like my friends." He rolled his head from side to side. "Sort of like that-ish!"

Everyone joined him and looked at the gently grazing animals.

Eric understood Tom's added comments, as the animals were large and round, eating grass, and had udders full of milk. The difference was that they were a shade of purple and some had antlers on their heads.

"We don't have them on Ansolon." Aisha shook her head.

"Ah," Sim said. "Yes those are Bovin, and yes that's where we get the liquid which forms the main basis for a Scrimlin."

"Well, on Earth, they are all part of the Bovine family of animals, and he's allergic to their milk." Eric explained.

"Oooh!" Tom rolled the word up and down. "Who's the little swot. They are art of the Bovine family of animals." He added in a joke voice as he smiled.

Eric play-glared at his friend. He welcomed the distraction from the events earlier, and knew that tom was the only person he knew who could help him forget these troubles, just for short while.

"Oh dear, dear, dear, that will not do." Sim said, slightly angry. "Not do at all, no, no, no!"

"It's OK mate." Tom said and patted him on the shoulder. "There's no need to get so upset about it, I'm used to not having any milk anyway."

"No, no, no." Sim said, getting more agitated, and he started to scratch his head. "We need to find a way of getting Scrimlin into you." He looked up, shocked at what he said and smiled hastily. "I mean we'd hate for you to miss out on the erm," he hesitated as he searched the heavens for the words, snatching at them as if they were floating just above their heads, "the delicious drink, as Eric said."

"And they are delicious." Skaler said and smiled weakly at him. "You are missing a treat."

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Tom explained again. "I'll just have a glass of water." He turned to Sim who was heading back to the transporter down into the underground city. "I presume you know what water is?"

"Yes, water, maybe mix it, Mmmmm yes, maybe." Sim mumbled as he walked into the small inner cave.

"Is he OK?" Tom asked.

"I think so." Eric answered his friend. "Let's just get somewhere comfortable first."

"Good idea." Tom said, but was a little concerned by Sim's actions. He'd woken up whilst the others were off world, and had been greeted by Ashton, who was very pleased to see the recovery. The diminutive Hawcon Leader had managed to grab some quiet time with Tom and warned him of his fears about the Demdonians. Tom had been able to leave the medical facility quite quickly and had been very cautious of not spying, but wary of every encounter he'd have. He blamed it on the poison from the berries, which most accepted, but Ashton's words had rung in his ears and after seeing Sim's reactions, had started to believe him.

Chapter 64. Excellent Smithers.

"100 percent success." Prant said as he back into K'nash's office.

"And we left some alive?" K'nash enquired. "Even though I hated your suggestion to that part of my plan." He emphasised the personal words, knowing where the blame and success could be placed.

Prant took a deep breath as he contained his anger. The whole plan was his idea and his alone, and he knew that K'nash knew it also, yet he was having to deal with one of the old guard, so accepted his standing and rank. He wasn't shocked to see that any of the success the plan might have was being leeched away by K'nash.

"It's the best way, as then they have doubt as to how we found them." He closed the door behind him, first checking the corridor for anyone listening. It was an old spy habit that he did automatically nowadays, even though he was safely ensconced in a Rexon military camp on a world on the outer rim of the Rexon galaxy. He then continued explaining once more about why they had to leave survivors. "They will think it was a chance attack by our soldiers, and that we were beaten back. They will then, probably, and very quickly decide to relocate as their home isn't safe, and then we can see if we can track them again." He forced a smile at the Rexon Leader.

"But as I've said many times, I hate leaving any of these insects alive." K'nash grimaced as he thought about having to do this virtually criminal act.

Prant came and sat down across from K'nash. The leader looked shocked, as he hadn't given permission for him to do this. This made Prant smile all the more, although he managed to keep this contained within. "Although we did find out two very interesting points whilst they were off world and while we crushed their village."

"And those two things were?" K'nash's anger was still evident, but he needed to know what information this underling had.

"Firstly, they went to B7X92, in the Croed galaxy." Prant paused to make his leader wait as long as he could.

"I'm not fully conversant with all the Croed galaxy planets." K'nash hid behind his ignorance.

You're not conversant with any of the planets in the galaxy, you ignorant plan stealing dimwit. Prant thought, smiling all the while as he watched his Leader squirm, relishing in his anguish for a short while before he continued. "It's probably because B7X92 is a planetoid really, so not one of the more known destinations." He said, enjoying his more thorough knowledge of the Universe over his Leader. "And what makes it even more interesting is that it's a frozen wasteland."

"And your point?" K'nash was getting rather irritable with Prant's attitude and lecturing.

"They didn't stay too long there, before beaming to B7X93." Prant was still holding all the cards, knowing he had a royal flush, and he slowly and painfully played his hand, lowered each winning card one by one, and increasing the pain in his opponent.

"The next set of co-ordinates on the Kylapitar, yes that's quite logical, even for a human." K'nash snarled as he said the name.

"Which means we probably have a good idea where they will go to next." Prant posed the idea. "Assuming they don't stay there."

"B7X94, yes. That's commander Volk's planet. We can organise a welcoming party there." K'nash rubbed his hands together.

"No." Prant said calmly, knowing what reaction he was about to obtain.

"What do you mean NO?" K'nash's eyes blazed anger at the insubordination of his junior officer. "I allow you some leniency in your actions here because of who your mentor is, but do not think for one moment that I wouldn't hesitate in killing you and explaining it quite simply that you were disrespecting the chain of command." K'nash thumped the desk, making all the items dance.

Prant smiled, knowing he was safe, as K'nash would be signing his own death warrant by killing him. "We can pick them up whenever we want, because of the tracking device." Prant paused for effect. "So we need to let them think it's a safe planet, and bring more people there, even let them think it's a sanctuary."

"And we will then kill thousands of them, not just a handful." K'nash rubbed his hands together again, all thoughts of anger towards his commander lost. "Excellent plan, I wish I had thought of it sooner."

Prant waited for a few seconds as his leader enjoyed his moment of potential triumph before he continued. He stopped for a second and thought about the second interesting bit of information he had, and decided to keep it secret from his Leader for now. Prant knew that the idea of taking a prisoner from the raid would not be acceptable to K'nash, unless they had military or tactical information to beat out of them. This was neither, as Prant had captured a prisoner who was so very young, because he'd seen that she was also so very talented.
Chapter 65. Diversion Tactics

"Oh Winnie!" Ian exclaimed as the light dissipated. "Did you know this wasn't going to be Earth?" Glancing at Lanky as he surveyed the surroundings. "Although I do have to thank you for the wonderful views."

Everyone else wondered where they were as they turned to face a picture postcard looking dark blue lake surrounded by huge mountains. The sun was high and there were no clouds in the sky.

Ian was taken back to his younger days when he used to go walking in the French Alps. The place looked a little like the area around Lac de Roseland set in the mountains above Albertville. It was so very quiet and there was a cool freshness to the air, very different to the centre of a British city centre, or the base of a quarry. He took in a huge breath, his nostrils flaring as he enjoyed the freedom and tranquility of the moment. It was a marvelous mixture of mirror flat lake, which touched lush green pastures, setting them off to run up the mountainsides, before being covered in trees. As the the air thinned and the curve of the mountain increased, the roots lost grip and the rock faces struck out of the forests and reached for the sky.

He had always enjoyed these places as it was away from everyone, away from the pressures of life. With only his family by his side to please, he could happily spend his life there. Unfortunately, as much as he wished he was there right now, away from the horrors he'd been dealing with over the last day or so, the sound of CT trying to calmly ask Lanky a question brought him back to reality.

"I said, where the hell have you sent us?" CT asked once again, gripping hold of Lanky's lapels and pulling him forward.

Lanky merely let him be pulled forward, his head lolling back before whipping it forward at CT's nose, breaking it instantly.

"Whoa there Captain." Ian barged between them as CT fell backwards holding his blood sodden face.

"The Git broke my nose." He said through his now blood painted fingers.

"Unzip these and I'll do much worse." Lanky took another step towards CT, making him kick his legs out to try to stop the Captain attacking him again.

Ian grabbed Lanky by the arm and dragged him away as he gave orders to the others. "Dicko, patch him up, Finchy, have a scout around to make sure we're safe, cus we're staying here for now till we sort this out." He said over his shoulder before turning back to Lanky. "And you can come with me for a quiet chat."

They walked about 200 metres away from the beam in point where there were some large rocks sat drinking from the lapping waters's edge. They were perfectly smooth from initially being rolled down the mountainside by the glacier as it slowly crept down the valley.

"Sit there." Ian ordered.

Lanky agreed to the command, and willingly perched himself on top of the rock Ian had pointed to. Ian then walked round the back of Lanky and cut the tie wraps off his wrists.

Lanky was surprised by this action. "Cheers." He rubbed his wrists where the makeshift cuffs had dug into his skin. "Sure you trust me enough to do that Major?"

"Less formal Mate and you know I always prefer the more relaxed method of dealing with things."

"Aye, and it's flamin' irritating to us hardened career lads, cus we hate that softly, softly approach." He flexed his fingers. "I think I'd prefer a damn good kicking to get the answers out of me, not a nice rock in a tranquil valley for a quiet chat."

"You need to wipe some blood off your face as well." Ian added as he sat across from him, tapping his forehead.

"Damn!" Lanky exclaimed, wiping over his face with a cloth, then patting it again to see where he'd cut himself.

"I don't think you need to panic, you're pretty boy looks are safe." Ian added, understanding what Lanky had been doing. "It's CT's blood from the head-butt you gave him." And he turned to see Dicko finishing off patching CT up in the distance. "So, why did you do that?" He asked first, "And secondly why did we end up here and not on the next set of co-ordinates that would have took us to Earth?"

Lanky merely sniggered. "I wondered why you wouldn't have known what the symbols were for Earth, cus you've been off world before."

"Once or twice."

Lanky snorted a laugh. "Once or twice, yeah right." Knowing the countless missions the Major had lead. "Let me ask you a question first. Why all of this deception?"

Ian took a deep breath and watched a large bird swoop down from his left, it pushed its wings out wide as it glided majestically and peacefully over the water. The tip of the left wing dipped down as it turned away, creating a rip in the silky surface. The disturbance in the perfect picture brought Ian back to the rality of the moment. "There's a spy in the camp, and I don't like to give everything away which might be useful at a later date."

"But you thought I was the spy and zipped me up back there, so why tell me now?" Lanky was confused.

"Ah, I don't think you're the spy at all."

"How do you know I'm not." He held his hands up to stop Ian. "Just being Devil's advocate, that's all."

"Too easy an explanation of what happened, and you're a career man, done well in the job, and moving nicely up through the ranks to as high as you'd probably want to go." Ian was using his inherent ability to read people.

"How the hell would you know that?" Lanky was shocked by the accuracy of his friends appraisal of his life.

"You're a true working class lad, born and bred." He smiled at his very proud Yorkshire friend. "You probably only ever wanted to get to Sergeant," he paused and looked him over for the subtle clues before continuing. "Sorry, Sergeant Major was your highest rank."

Lanky looked at Ian, bemused at how he could have known this. "Maybe?" he cautiously added.

"Then you got good at the job and rose that much higher." He flashed his hands open at him, waiting for the nod. "And the last thing you'd want is to get to the poncy senior officer levels of Major and above."

"And that's the last thing the higher ranks would want as well, cus I can't talk like a stuffed pillow either." He shrugged. "Present company accepted." He added realising he was currently talking to a Major.

"Accepted fully." He smiled at the Captain. "I only got this rank through Army Intelligence."

"And that's not the real Army."

"Nope, although I've seen enough action recently to be bad enough, all I don't get involved in is the actual front line constant bombardment." He thought for a second about what that must be like, being hit by wave after wave of munitions. "I go in and find out the intelligence, or set something up, so potentially less killing."

"Different now though." Lanky was being as frank as usual, considering what he'd just witnessed.

"Speaking of which, what's your angle on what happened back there in the woods."

"Well." He took a breath and his eyes screwed up as if he was staring at a very small and distant television, replaying the story before his eyes. "We had only just got to a point where we saw the first Rexon at our side and before we'd even taken full cover, they must have only seen the lad, not me, and Grape was hit with a bullet." He stopped and looked in shock at Ian, knowing he should have seen something coming. "Or whatever it is that they shoot from their guns."

"OK." Ian was keeping some information back for now as he didn't want to influence the story. "Continue."

"The woods went deathly silent, I dived for cover automatically, but was in a position to see the young lad just sitting there holding his stomach, blood pouring out." He sighed. "Nothing I could do to help, as I knew it was a slow kill." He shook his head slowly, seeing Grape in front of his minds eye once more. "After about 5 seconds all hell let lose at the far end of the Rexon soldiers, near to where CT and Brock were. I saw most were looking that way, so took a few quick pot shots at taking the nearest 2 out, without giving my position away."

"Did you?"

Lanky's thoughts were broken for a second by Ian's question. "Erm, yeah, head shots, first time on each one."

"Then what?"

"The others realised they were under attack on both sides, so started firing both ways, at Brock and CT, and at us." He snorted a laugh. "It was only then that Grape came out of his shock, looked at me and winked." He laughed again. "The cheeky bugger knew what was happening and winked at me before he lifted his weapon up and started spraying the woods with bullets." He stopped as he was proud of the young lad, then his face dropped to one of deep regret. "He had their heads down, he was starting to sway as he lost consciousness, and..." He stopped for a second. "and he was about to be hit by a hail of weapons fire, so I bugged out of there pretty sharpish, taking this sneaky shot in the process from a stray bullet." He patted the patched up wound on his arm.

"You positive he was going to die?"

"I've seen enough of my comrade's take hits like that over the years to know that you don't recover from that sort of wound." He looked him fairly in the eye. "And if I'd have gone for him I would have been killed as well." The regret appeared again, but was quickly replaced by a strong resolve. "The lad knew hew was dead, and did his best to save me, and I commend him for that."

"And that's all you know?" Ian asked, knowing that there were too many blanks in the story.

"That's as far as I can tell you with the facts I know, the rest would be hear say and conjecture."

"True." Ian replied, knowing he still didn't have enough to decide who the spy was. Then another thought came to him "So why not take us back to earth?" Ian asked.

"Cus whoever it is has a direct link to the Rexon, and I assumed that they've already made contact via that link on Earth. In fact, as you've said, you knew there was a spy, so they had already been in contact from the base. If we go back there, they can tell them what happened."

Ian thought about it for a while. "They may be able to communicate from here though."

"Aye, but as there's only us 5, we'll all be watching each other like hawks, so there's no nice little places to hide and chat to their friends."

Ian nodded, agreeing with the thought process the Captain had.

"Yep, they've nowhere to hide for now." Lanky added his own question, "But what are we to do with me?"

"I've been thinking about that." Ian said with a sly grin on his face again.
Chapter 66. Homecoming.

"I suppose that after what we've all been through, or" as Zeph looked at Janosh and Harvin, "Are currently going through, then it does feel very strange to find someone who's happy with the Rexon arriving on their planet."

They had all beamed back to Zeph's world, and were still discussing the merits and failures with Filop's actions as they walked back to his camp which clung to the edges of a hidden ravine in the depths of a great forest.

Harvin sighed, "It does seem extremely strange to us now, but it also seems quite plausible." Janosh and Zeph walked on either side of him. "When we first met the Rexon I was also too excited to see the problems." He thought about it for a second. "I suppose we were blinded by the fact that a new race of aliens from another galaxy could just turn up and offer so many good things. A truly benevolent and seemingly powerful force" He snorted a laugh. "I've never told anyone about this but when I was a small child I build a telescope out of an old washing up liquid bottle, and tapes it to some cardboard to make a stand. I coloured it all in and used to spend hours peering through the bottle neck and out of the bottom looking at the stars, wishing there were others out there."

"You didn't have the ability to travel between worlds back then?" Zeph asked.

"Yes, but that had been a normal way of life for many years before me, and that was only to our neighbouring planets, some of which were only days away at the worst."

"Boys can dream." Zeph smiled, and then grabbed hold of his jacket to show the others. "Although at this moment, I think a full bottle of washing up liquid would be somewhere near the top of my list."

Everyone laughed.

"Going back to the Rexon, for me, it was the fact that they gave us too many good things that made me suspicious." Janosh interrupted the laughter.

"I'm sorry for saying this, but I've only known you two days, and by your overall demeanor at all times, you'd be suspicious of anyone." Zeph added with a wry smile, and a wink to Harvin.

"I'm the one who's sorry now, but I have to stick up for my friend this time and say you're statement is definitely not accurate." Harvin replied, holding his hand up to stop Janosh answering for himself.

"Thank you for that." Janosh said, quite touched that his friend and King had defended his honour and reputation in such a strong way.

"No Janosh, let me finish, what Zeph said wasn't accurate." Harvin continued. "You are not suspicious of just anyone, you're suspicious of everyone!"

Harvin and Zeph burst out laughing as Janosh swung a friendly punch onto Harvin's shoulder.

They were still laughing as they arrived at the ravine, trading jokes between each other, their spirits lifted after the meeting with Filop and his people. The two troops who'd been left guarding the entrance came marching up brandishing their weapons at Harvin and Janosh. "So, which one of is the traitor?" The nearest one said.

Harvin looked at Janosh, and both men held their hands up. "I'm sorry but I don't know what you mean." He thought about their question, and as a gun was thrust into his chest, pushing him back, Harvin continued. "Whoa, neither of us are traitors, why, what's happened?"

"Corf? Phlin?" Zeph asked the soldiers who brandished their weapons angrily at the two Ansolonians, "What's happened?"

"They came while you were gone." The one who Zeph had called Corf answered. "A crack infiltration unit." He shook his head whilst swinging an arm in the direction of the ravine. "They knew everything, where to find us, how many there were..." He visibly shrunk as the sadness gripped him. "They killed virtually everyone." His head came back up; the sadness now replaced by anger. "And they knew that we were here."

"What do you mean virtually everyone?" Janosh asked before getting the muzzle of a gun stabbed into his chest.

"Shut it, traitor." Phlin snarled.

"Guys, come one, he's right, how come they didn't kill everyone in the camp?" Zeph asked the question again, stepping in between Corf's raised weapon and Harvin, and placing a firm hand on the end of Phlin's weapon, lowering it carefully as he continued. "We have fought for many years, my friends, and yes their tactics have changed somewhat, but there is always one constant; the Rexon don't kill nearly everyone." He emphasised the word as he felt something was very different in the attack. "Look Corf, I will vouch for these men for now, let's go and see what's happened, count people and bodies, take stock, start relocation preparations." He took hold of Corf's pistol by the barrel and lowered it slowly. "Now isn't the time for recriminations, we need to get all this sorted out and get whoever is left away from here, and get the fallen buried." He looked at him directly in the eyes. "Like we always have done," he paused and nodded at him to let the words slowly sink in. his voice now soft and caring, "And like we always will do."

Corf, whose eyes had been locked onto Harvin's nodded eventually, and his arm went limp.

Zeph turned to a shocked Harvin and Janosh and wiped his hand over his forehead, trying to remove the anguish he currently felt. He took a deep breath as he talked. "I trust you, as I have the feeling that you are good honest people. Neera trusted you completely, and she would truly know if you were a threat as she has a gift for that." He took another deep breath. "Will you let me take your weapons for now though?" He looked at their hesitant expressions. "Not because I don't trust you, but because I want to make everyone else feel safer."

Neither Ansolonian argued and willingly gave up their guns, although they felt slightly naked and defenceless against any similar reprisals, which would probably come their way. They also understood Zeph's request, and the feelings of his kin, and trusted the protection he offered.

"Let's carefully go and see what's happened, shall we?" Harvin said. "And see how we can help."

Zeph nodded and led the way down into the ravine.

They were all shocked to see the devastation which had been caused down in the ravine. The guard location on the other side had been obliterated. The small crevices which had housed families were splattered with blood and parts of bodies, the ones who were still alive not able to clean up or have time to deal with that as they worked on bigger priorities.

They made it through the carnage to the bottom where a group of about 20 people congregated, quietly sobbing and mourning. Some were being comforted by others, some just merely sat on the floor completely lost in thought.

As they walked in amongst them, the sadness was once again replaced by anger, and they got up to come and confront Harvin and Janosh. Their voices rose as one, even though no-one could tell what they were saying through the anguish and screams.

Zeph made sure he was in front of the two accused and waved his hands about as he shouted. "PLEASE, PLEASE STOP THIS." Even though he shouted the words, he knew he wasn't being listened to and so he fired his weapon a couple of times into the air. This had the desired effect and most people reacted by backing away. All had become quiet. "Thank you my friends." He patted the shoulder of a lady nearest to him who held a small baby in her arms. Once again he was hit by the fact that these people were alive. The baby wailed and he knew that the noise alone would have been enough for the Rexon to find them and kill them. He smiled at the lady as he continued. "I know how this looks, and yes we will make whoever is responsible pay."

"Like them." A voice said from the back of the group.

Zeph craned his neck up and found where the voice of dissent had come from. "Toeb, I understand your anger."

"No you don't. I've lost my wife and daughter because of them." Toeb spat the words out in total anger, his fingers swished angrily from Harvin to Janosh, then back again.

"Toeb, I'm sorry for your loss." Harvin started to reply but Zeph stopped him by touching his arm.

"As Harvin was saying. We are all sorry for all your losses, but I believe that these two are not responsible." He tried to help reduce the heat out of the moment. "We've been off world, and have found another planet that has just been visited by the Rexon. Both Harvin and Janosh tried to help these people, but they would not listen."

"It was very convenient that you were off the planet when this all happened." Toeb continued his verbal assault; it was the only weapon he had left, the only one he wanted to use after losing so much over the years. "They had themselves and a dozen of our best troops away, leaving us relatively defenceless."

"But if they were so inclined, then wouldn't they have taken us to somewhere where the Rexon would have captured us." Zeph replied, letting the question hang in the air, using it to make people think, make them try to gain some rationality on the moment. "And why let us live, because if we are the best of our troops, then why would they let us all come back to help fight against our combined enemy." His voice wasn't as loud now as he tired of arguing for so many years. "Please remember that the Rexon hate all humans and that makes us friends." He placed his hand on Harvin's shoulder. "Let us resolve the issues we have here, so that we can move on. We will find out what has happened later. For now, let's bury the ones we've lost." He lowered his arms and moved through the crowd to see what was needed.
Chapter 67. Old Mother Hubbard.

Sharlock closed the door to the electrical equipment built along the side of the aircraft hangar, under the reservoir. He smiled once more at the sign on the outside again warning anybody to the dangers of the electricity within. "I presume that my one-handed electrician friend will not be worried by this now." He'd stripped the overalls off the dead electrician and had just about managed to fit into them. It had been a bit of a struggle and shuffle but he could tell that it was going to be snug, and in the wrong places. Sharlock straightened himself up to his full size. As an average Mallesian, they were, on average, a few centimetres taller, yet he was very grateful that the seams burst at the groin first, relieving the pressure at both that point and subsequently across his shoulders.

"He looked down at his bulging groin peeking out of the ripped clothing, and was pleased he was wearing a similar colour. "Ahh, that's much better."

He set of at a normal pace, strolling casually away from the safety of the doors mechanical cabinets and out into the open hangar. This was done on purpose as it placed him at the far side of the hangar from the engineers who continued to work on the ground equipment and faced away from him. Sharlock made his way to a spot directly under the control room, situated in the right hand corner of the hangar. This was where the hangar followed the natural shape of the valley containing the semi-fake reservoir above and bent off to the left. This took it away from the main doors built into the dam face, and thus was a whole new information gathering opportunity for him. Where he had stopped was surrounded by more ground equipment and fork lift trucks, making it very easy for him to slip out of sight of anyone in the hangar and observe the daily goings on.

Sharlock looked round the corner and down the remainder of the hangar and was amazed to see how large it actually was. It seemed to spread out from the corner and he presumed that it was built under the mountainsides above, not just the reservoir. "Ingenious." He whispered to himself. Sharlock realised that the control room wouldn't be able to see everything in the hangar after all, and would probably have security cameras to help the staff in the control room above his head to manage the daily activities.

This gave him an idea.

As he now looked like an average electrician, he could move around the whole building with relative ease, as they would only see a set of electrician's overalls on a man, not a Mallesian spy.

He took a few pictures and relayed them back to his ship for safe keeping, ready to relay back to his home world when the next burst of data was pinged. I addition to the constant updates, If he didn't return within 24 hours, or if someone else tried to enter his ship, then all his hard drive would be instantly sent to the Mallesian council for investigation, and then the ship would activate its silent self-destruct. Sharlock didn't want that, as he needed to add his own thoughts and notes onto the evidence he was gathering, and he wanted the recognition for the work he was doing, not some sniveling desk clerk who received the information and then passed it on up the chain to some back-stabbing councilor who had never seen the working end of a knife, never mind sit in a freezing cold pool of stinking mud for 12 hours waiting to ambush an Ansolonian brigade.

He snarled a little as he took a few more pictures, anger at the corrupt politicians within the Mallesian council. Sharlock delved into the pocket of the overall and removed a tiny circular disk, about the size of a large coin. He flicked it into the air as if he was tossing a coin and had to now decide on heads or tails. It span round for a few seconds, initially hovering for a couple of seconds before rising up until it neared the underside of the control room, where upon it instantly stopped spinning and stuck itself. He then produced another and flicked that so it would stick further along, and finally a third one was flicked onto the stanchion adjacent to his current location. He waited a second, watching them blend into the colours of their surroundings as their built-in camouflage ability started to work.

"Time to carry on with the tour." He whispered to himself as he headed off once more along the passageway, heading into the remainder of the hangar. He was looking at all the equipment, taking mental notes of what twas there, how many bays it contained, how big the bays were, but something didn't seem right. He'd seen the solitary ship setting off on a routine mission, but that was the only one he'd seen so far. There were quite a few stations for diagnostics and refueling. There were huge amounts of ground equipment, dotted every few metres. Overall, he did a quick calculation and he would guessed that the hangar should have had approximately 70 or 80 different ships in there. One other thing took his notice, and that was how clean it all was.

"Why do you spend so much time cleaning an empty aircraft hangar when you've a battle to fight is beyond me." He thought to himself. This was a thought and theory he'd had since the Great Wars, as he always wondered why the Ansolonian army were always well presented and pristine as they marched into war. "It's all very nice being pretty and perfectly timed marching, yet the Mallesians take pride in being a dirty army, both in methods and looks. That's probably why we win so many against you." He continued his thoughts as he casually strolled along the passage whilst glancing from side to side, not just to make sure he wasn't being watched too closely, but also the check if everything was as it was supposed to be. There were well trod ladders around the bays,used for the pilots to climb up to their cockpits, or for support staff to climb onto the aircraft and maintain it. He noticed that everything looked worn and well used. Everything looked as it should do, but for some reason it still felt wrong. There were no footprints or oil pools where a leaky engine had dribbled; this was too clean, as if someone had a lot of time on their hands.

He'd covered another 200 metres and ahead Sharlock saw that the hangar turned once more, angling around to his right. As he neared the corner and saw into the next section he spied a control console which seemed to have a computer built into it. A quick and casual glance around and he saw that all was very quiet at this point of the hangar; as it seemed to be everywhere. This made him wonder even more that the picture his mind was working through was wrong. It was all so very real, yet also so very fake, like a movie set. To the cinema goer, they'd see how authentic it looked, yet in reality, to the stars of the movie, it was all an illusion, and this started a tiny niggling worry at the back of his mind.

As he approached the console the screen it came to life. "Very nice, sensory awareness." He said as he scanned the information which was currently being shown. A list of colour blocks down the left hand side showed what looked like subject headers. He didn't have to look too far down to see the one he needed, "Inventory". As he moved his hand towards the screen the various headers looked as if they were being pulled into the air, as if in 3d. Even though his finger was still 5 centimetres away from the screens surface, the header had neared his finger, stopping about 1 centimetre below it. "Very, very nice, and it means that I won't leave fingerprints, how thoughtful of them." He smiled inwardly as he tapped the floating header that was now floating above the screen.

The screen flashed and up came a secondary pop-up screen. Another list had been created down the left hand side, and the one he needed was right at the top, Aircraft. "And let's have a look at these." He tapped his finger in mid-air once more on the floating icon.

This time the new pop-up appeared to the right hand side of the screen. This one had another list and he carefully perused the short list of names. "Dragons, Bears, and Wasps." He wondered for a second. "So they would normally keep all three types in here." He quickly scanned around the hangar, just to check that he was still relatively alone, and was pleased to see that all was still clear.

"So how many of those nasty little wasps have you in here normally, Ansolonian Air Force?" He asked, tapping the floating icon. The screen threw up a new pop-up and this showed a constantly scrolling and rotating 3D mini model of the Wasp aircraft. This was a small fighter, just like the one he'd seen leave the hangar as he approached. Below the picture was a specification list, showing the weight, class, armaments, flight range; all information the Mallesian knew by heart. He continued to scroll down and right at the bottom was the one he wanted to see, the total usual inventory of Wasp aircraft in the hangar. He was shocked to see that his estimate had been out by a long way, but that ws before he'd seen this new section of the Hangar. "So, there's only the one, out of one hundred and twenty, Mmmmm!" He exclaimed as he looked around the empty bays. "So, where are the others, and are they just doing everything they can to keep that one Wasp flying, making it look like the whole squadron is still here?" He asked no-one in particular.

He did a mid-air tap over the close button for the Wasps, and then repeated the process of viewing how many mid-range Dragon bombers, and finally how many of the air to ground attack Bear fighter aircraft they had. Both of those showed zero inventory out of 30 Dragons, and 60 Bears. Once again, it showed that they were very low on aircraft. "So where have you all gone?" He asked himself as he stared at the screen, formulating ideas for the lack of inventory.

"Hey, Corin, what're you doin' on the flight box?" The lazy voice came from directly behind Sharlock. He presumed that as his head was bent over, the person asking for Corin hadn't realised that it wasn't him, yet. From the style of talking, which had a lazy West Country lilt to it, Sharlock would anticipate that the person was not the brightest of the bunch, probably just a cleaner or labourer. This meant that he might have some strength, as he might be the sort who would be used to manually move items, but he'd still be far weaker than the Mallesian spy. Sharlock kept tapping the screen to clear what he was looking at, hiding his tracks just in case he was about to be caught. This made him smile, as he knew that some lowly electrician or engineer would be a tiny hiccup in stopping him walking out of the hangar.

"You know the Cap don't like us playing with his toys." The voice said. It was a lot nearer, and Sharlock assumed that he was probably only 10 metres behind him now. He was a little annoyed, allowing this to happen, and he realised that this person must have walked along the same passageway, thus sneaking up on his blind side. He could clearly hear the footsteps now as the man approached. Sharlock kept his head down, but his eyes flashed from side to side, to see if any shadows were forming, waiting to see which side this unfortunate person, and soon to be killed Ansolonian would approach from.

Then the footsteps stopped, as Sharlock had anticipated. He took a long, slow and deep breath to calm the rush of adrenalin, as he knew he'd been rumbled. The adrenalin was pumping through his body, and all of his senses had increased his natural military abilities. He knew that something was about to go terribly wrong, and he'd have to react quickly.

"Hey Corin, that ain't you is it?" The voice said. But it suddenly seemed different to Sharlock. The voice had changed; it was deeper, and more controlled. It was also not where it should be, and this confused him slightly. He needed to hear it again to help pinpoint his attack.

"If I ain't Corin, why call me that name." Speaking in a similar lazy way to the initial lazy country voice. As he waited for the response his head started to rise so that his ears weren't bent over, thus increasing the accuracy for the line of attack.

"Because you're a stupid Mallesian Spy who looks like a Corin, which is the name of a weak little rodent that we crush for fun on Ansolon, Numpty. That's why I said it." The voice had lost its heavy country accent and was now very controlled and harsh.

"Ah, very good for an Ansolonian, very good indeed." Sharlock replied, and now realised why he couldn't pinpoint the position of the voice. To confirm his notion, he raised his hands into the air, open handed and then started to turn around to face his accuser.

"Slowly scumbag, very slowly." The guard said. Then continued more quietly. "Got him, near station XL5, need a little back up, as this one is fairly big, although I have my weapon trained at his head."

Sharlock realised he'd been talking into a radio, could hear the faint smile that was on his accusers face, hearing it in the conversation he'd just had with the control room. He continued to turn around very slowly, knowing that he'd also found out that this person was on his own, was a little cocky, and frightened at the same time. All this worked towards Sharlock's favour. He had rotated through 90 degrees so far and could now just make out the shape of a soldier, crouched down, aiming a gun at him. He smiled, his notion had been spot on.

"Wipe that smile of your face you Mallesian scum-bag, or I'll zip a round across your cheek to leave a permanent one there." The guard snapped.

Sharlock heard the slight tremor in his voice, and knew he was very frightened. He smiled more, as he was starting to enjoy this new game.

"I've warned you scum-bag. Drop the smile." The guard added, his voice a little croaky as his nerves tightened his throat, making it more difficult to say the words.

Sharlock kept turning, watching carefully for the moment he needed. He knew the tension was building and he needed the sweat to just start appearing on the guard's forehead. As the first bead dropped, then the guard would have to drop his eyes, and remove the offending and annoying bead.

When he was about 30 degrees from facing the soldier fully, it happened. The guard blinked and shook his head to flick the sweat away, and that was Sharlock's cue. He dropped to the floor and rolled over, digging a hand into his pocket and pulling out a small disk. This was flicked towards the unsuspecting guard. Before it made impact, Sharlock was up onto his feet and running full pelt down the hangar. He knew that taking on the one guard was very easy, but taking on a troop of them could be more difficult, as one of them could get a lucky shot in, which would ruin his day.

Behind him, he heard the small explosion, and didn't look to see how badly hurt the guard was. His luck improved some more as the door alarms sounded, heralding the return of the Wasp he'd seen leave earlier. The huge doors started to lower slowly and he smiled as this made his escape so much quicker and easier. He'd passed the command centre, and glanced up to see shocked faces staring down and the fingers pointing at him. He smiled and waved cheekily as he enjoyed the adulation of his speedy exit.

The door was fully open as he reached the end of the hangar and could see the Wasp on its final flight path. It was with a huge grin on his face that he took the last two steps before leaping out of the hangar door. It was also, whilst in mid-flight that he felt something thump into his shoulder. This sent him spiraling through the air, and he crashed and rolling down the rough concrete outer skin of the hangar.

He collapsed in a heap at the bottom and took a breath. Realising what was about to happen, he got up and sprinted across the clearing and through the woods. He leapt in one swift movement over the fence and into his waiting vehicle, which sped him away from the scene.

All this time he was smiling, as he'd uncovered a terrible truth on Ansolon. He needed to report back to the Mallesian Council that they were completely defenceless. Unfortunately Sharlock hadn't realised that he was losing a lot of blood from the bullet wound he'd received as he leapt from the hangar door, and it took a few minutes before the blood loss was so huge that he passed out at the wheel of his car. It lurched across the carraigeway, crashing it into a building on the edge of the city, in a somewhat undesirable area.

He was quickly dragged from the vehicle by local thieves that scavenged the area and they sped off, leaving Sharlock to die at the side of the road, his knowledge trapped within him.
Chapter 68. Broken Dreams.

Zeph led Harvin and Janosh over to the Doctor, who had been treating the injured at the back of the gathering place. As they approached, he looked up, "They took Neera." He went back to cleaning up the wound he currently worked on. He looked at all three in turn to get their attention. "They were excellent soldiers, but at first they seemed to be missing shots."

"What do you mean, missing?" Janosh was very curious, as this wasn't the usual Rexon tactics.

"I soon realised that they were deliberately not shooting everyone, as if they wanted some of us to live." The Doctor replied, squinting a little as if he was searching though his memory for a clue.

"They don't do that." Janosh also started to run things through his mind. "They kill everyone and everything, even pets." He looked up at the rest of the group. "It's a simple two pronged method. One is to totally demoralise the enemies, making them give up and thus become an easy target. Second is to make them so angry that they lose all discipline and attack without drive and guidance, thus making them an easy target again."

"You sound as if you admire their tactics." Toeb replied sarcastically, still wanting to blame them, as he joined the group, and was now listening to their conversation intently.

"I think what my friend Toeb is trying to say...." Zeph started to ease the tension that had suddenly built up upon his arrival.

"I don't think Zeph that you have any idea what I'm trying to say at all." Toeb butted back in to make sure his point was being heard very clearly. "I know what's happened, and I can hear the tone in his voice." He gave Janosh a dirty glance.

"And that's your problem in a nutshell." Janosh retorted. "You don't think."

Toeb leapt at Janosh, his arms raised ready to kill him.

Janosh merely side stepped, placing his weight onto his left leg, span round and lifted his right leg. This went round for a full 360 degrees, picking up momentum before impacting with Toeb's stomach. Janosh instantly dropped his leg and grabbed hold of the collapsing man. "Just take simple breaths." He tried to calm Toeb down as he lowered him to the floor.

Zeph hadn't reacted too quickly, but had now raised his weapon and was pointing it at the back of Janosh's head.

"Zeph please put that away, as I'm just conducting a little exercise in Rexon tactics." Even though he knew the weapon was there, he concentrated fully on Toeb, to make sure he was breathing safely. He waited a second to see how he was, then span round and up, snatching the weapon from under Zeph's chin, turning it round and aiming it directly at its previous holder. As good a soldier as Zeph was, he had no chance against Janosh.

The ravine became deadly silent as the crowd that had been gathering stopped in their tracks, not wanting to inflame the situation before them, but also not able to stop watching, as they waited for the next piece of action to unfold.

Janosh waited a few moments, watching a bead of sweat slowly roll down the side of Zeph's head. He then lowered the weapon and handed it back to him. "If I was involved in this I could have killed all of you whenever I wanted." He turned to Toeb who was now sitting transfixed by the action that had happened. "I do admire their tactics. As it's a fantastic means of wrecking your enemy's resolve. I have even used similar tactics in wartime situations against our enemies, although I still to this day regret doing some of those things."

His head dropped for a second as his mind flashed through images of those horrific times. "But I hate the Rexon as much as you and can tell you honestly that they are the only race in this universe that I would willingly wipe out completely, given the chance."

"As a man of medicine I understand your feelings." The doctor said. "I will always help anyone, friend or foe, if they come to me injured. They have been given orders to do what they have to do, but no creature deserves to systematically wiped from existence" He took a breath as his conscience battled with his next set of words. "But, I do have to say that they have no heart, no soul, and they need to be extinguished from God's plan." He turned to the entire group and looked at each one in turn. "We all know all too well that they would have no qualms over wanting to kill each and every one of us, even without orders, because they hate us so much."

"So why did they leave us alive. We basically had no way to defend ourselves." A voice said from within the small group.

"Decin. Those are the exact thoughts that we were just discussing before our friend and ally Janosh." The Doctor touched his shoulder and flashed a smile at him. "Before he gave us a simple demonstration of his very effective skills and of his true loyalty."

"May I say something?" Harvin interrupted, asking the Doctor.

"Be my guest." And he held out his arms to his side and bowed a little.

"I am Harvin, King of the planet Ansolon." There were hushed gasps and whispers of his name and title around the ravine. "We have defeated the Rexon on our planet, and for that." He nodded towards Janosh whilst walking around the clearing, addressing everyone. "For that, we paid quite a heavy price. My one and only child, Princess Aisha is missing, feared dead. An ally of ours, a great and wise leader from another race of beings from our planet is with her, along with two very brave and courageous boys, one of whom is from a completely different galaxy where the Rexon are also starting to be present." He lifted his head up and swallowed hard. "After our part in ridding our planet of them, we were captured and taken to a holding planet where we were tortured for 3 days. I can tell you quite honestly, that we hate them with all our hearts." He looked around the small group, who were listening to his every word. "We are also hoping to get to our home on Ansolon, and would be willing to take any or all of you on this journey."

There was a low murmur amongst the crowd.

"How do we know that you haven't become in league with them, and that's why they've actually left you alone now?"

"I can't give you the information you're looking for, as the proof is on Ansolon." Harvin answered the lone voice. "What I can give you is my word that we will do anything for anyone who wants to rid the universe of the Rexon. I can also say that if you come with us and we find somewhere else that you believe is suitable for your life, then we will help you with provisions and help you make it your new home." He shrugged his shoulders as he continued. "I can't say anymore, as I have nothing else to give."

"What happens to Neera if we all go?" The doctor asked the question that was on some lips.

"We will find her, although we may need to go home first to get reinforcements to help get her back." Janosh answered with a stern and defiant tone.

"I'd rather stay and take my chances with the Rexon." Toeb stood up. "We were doing fine till you turned up."

"We weren't doing fine." Zeph replied. "We were being slaughtered, bit by bit." He sighed a little. "This is our home planet, but we've lost it to them. I personally will be going with Harvin and Janosh, and I promise to help every single one of you either find a peaceful home, or let you destroy the Rexon." He paused to let the words sink in. "That is my word, and it's been the same one that has tried to lead you well for the past few months. Humans are not the enemy, even misguided fools trying to help themselves." He glanced at Janosh and Harvin with a weak smile, as they were all reminded of Filop and his family. "The Rexon hate us all, and want to kill us all. Let's turn this round and unite with our other fellow humans and then use our experience and resolve to help destroy them, once and for all."
Chapter 69. Next Move.

"Right, I've cut the locking tab back a bit." Ian explained as he took a fresh tie wrap and zipped it round Lanky's wrists again. He looked back up the lake side and saw Dicko packing the medical kit away, CT was carefully dressing himself, and Finchy was facing away, looking as if he was either scanning the woods for enemies, or simply lost in thought. Ian smiled as he knew it was probably the latter. With everyone occupied he slipped his personal and well hidden Beretta out of his ankle sheath and tucked it into the back of Lanky's trousers. "It's a only a snub Beretta, not too accurate over distance, but in close quarters, well, it's just in case."

"Cheers." Lanky said, relieved to have any sort of weapon to help defend him against any attacks.

"Let's get back up there and start the ball rolling."

They made their way back over to the other three, who all turned as they approached.

"Any news?" Dicko asked, knowing what the answer was probably going to be.

"Nothing yet." Ian replied cautiously.

"So, as we're not quite in good old Blighty, might I suggest we take flight to our true nests?" Finchy gave his usual skewed English slant on his preferred move.

"If you mean shall we go home." Ian clarified, a wry smile on his face.

"That is what I'd clearly stated in my aforementioned statement." Finchy added, looking around the others for confirmation, but received the usual puzzled faces and blank smiles.

"As I was saying." Ian could see the frustration rising in Finchy's eyes. "If you meant that we should go home, then the answer is No."

"What do you mean No?" CT asked, leaping to his feet.

"Lanky is still the only one here who knows the correct symbols, and he's refusing to tell us them." Ian explained calmly.

"He will if we ask him nicely." CT raised his weapon up at Lanky's chin as he sarcastically emphasised the last word.

Lanky put the Tie wrap under tension, and he felt it click open a few stops. He knew he could now reach the pistol Ian had hid in his trousers if required.

"Let's calm down, cus we're all a bit emotional." Dicko stated as she nudged the end of her assault rifle into CT's right temple.

"Why aim at me, he's the Spy." CT flashed his eyes from Dicko to Lanky.

"Cus he's cuffed and unarmed, and you're letting your emotions rule your thoughts."

"Look everyone." Ian gently grabbed hold of the barrel of CT's gun and pulled it back down to the ground. "Let me explain, as I think it's going to work out quite well for us." He then turned and nodded for Dicko to drop her weapon away from CT.

"Not a problem now, Sir." Dicko said, never taking her eyes of CT.

"We're on a foreign planet, it looks fairly peaceful at the moment, no Rexon, in fact no others at all." He looked around at the picturesque setting in the mountains and lakeside. "We can't go home, as we need to find out the facts first, it's the only safe way." Ian continued, looking from one to another. "Is Cock-up stable?" He asked Dicko.

She glanced at the motionless body on the floor between them, even though she knew the answer. "He'll survive at the moment, or at least he won't get any worse, looking at everything I can do."

"Right, lets go up there and make camp, sort out a two man, two team watch system, and then see what happens."

"What do you mean by that?" Ct asked.

"Lanky has said that if the Rexon arrive, he'll give us the right co-ordinates." He looked at Lanky who merely smiled back. "So, let's do a recce of the planet, as we were going to do on the last one till it all kicked off." He held his hands out in an admission of acceptance of the current situation. "Then let's work through the facts together of what certain people did and didn't see." He looked from Ct to Lanky as both men glared at each other. "And if we can get some answers out of it, then all the better, and the sooner that we'll all be home in sunny Blighty."

"So you're not too sure if one of us is a Spy?" Dicko asked.

"I'm not ruling anything out." Ian explained. "It might have been Brock, and Lanky saw something that made him shoot at him."

"But I..." Lanky started to spurt out.

Ian held his hand up to stop the Captain. "If that was what actually happened." He then looked at CT. "We'll hear all the facts from everyone still here, well except Cock-up, cus I think he has the best alibi of all." He sighed again. "Then we can all decide as a group on what we think. We might not get an answer, and stories might conflict, but I want to do this here, now, and without letting the Spy get back to Earth."

"If the Spy is here." Dick angrily added.

"Yes, if the Spy is indeed here with us." He smiled at Dicko, knowing in his heart that it wasn't her, and hating himself for accusing such a loyal soldier with something as despicable as this. "So, Finchy, can you take a quick look up there with Dicko and find a suitable spot to set up a camp." Ian ordered, and then we can move Cock-up and get some tea on, cus I'm starving, and he rubbed his stomach to emphasise his needs.
Chapter 70. First Refusal.

"So, tell me again." Tom asked the nurse attending to him. "Why am I being subjected to having tests done on me when I didn't go off world?" He tilted himself a little forward to look at her eyes. "Nurse......?" He asked for her name.

"I'm Nurse Daw, and you're here because I'm told to check the status of everyone who comes through here." She flashed a fake smile at him, and then returned her concentration to drawing the small vials of blood from his arm.

"But what if, and I'd have to say this was a hypothetical question." He added sarcastically. "I had only just come in with my friends while they were being checked over." He raised one eyebrow to help emphasise the point.

"I can't see why anyone would do that." She withdrew the needle and placed it on the tray next to her. Picking up the tray of vials and needles she hurried out of the room they were all sat in, firmly closing the door behind her.

"You're not happy about this are you mate." Eric said with a slight snigger in his voice.

"No I'm flaming not." Tom replied.

"Yes, I understand." Aisha interrupted. "But for the sake of a quick needle, is it worth all this anguish." She rubbed her forehead. "I think I'm getting a headache from it all."

"Me too." Skaler said angrily. "So just shut up Tom." He looked to the door. "When will we be finished, I'm really looking forward to that Scrimlin, maybe it will ease the stress and the headache?"

"Ooh yeah, hopefully." Aisha said, taking a deep calming breath.

The nurse came back in and picked up a chart from the end of Tom's bed and wrote down the readings from the equipment behind his head.

"Ah, Nurse Daw." He said.

"Yes?" She asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I am saying that I did just walk in with this lot, and so you didn't need to take any blood from me." He continued.

"I'm sorry?" She asked putting his board back on the end of his bed and then moving over to Skaler's bed and repeating the process.

"What?" Tom said, because now he was confused.

"You said something about you just walking in with the rest, and didn't need any tests. I didn't understand so I said Sorry." Nurse Daws carried on writing down the numbers onto the sheet as she moved from bed to bed.

Tom scratched his head, and then looked around at the others in the room. "Aren't you all confused by this?" He asked them.

"Confused by what?" Eric asked.

"Why Nurse Daw doesn't remember a conversation I had with her not 2 minutes ago." He replied, watching her move to Aisha's bed.

"That's because I'm not that Nurse Daw." She replied to the accusation, but carried on scribbling onto the charts.

"What?" Tom asked, "Now I'm totally confused. How can you not be Nurse Daw, but you are Nurse Daw?"

"Because we're both Nurse Daw." And the first one came back in through the doors carrying a tray of drinks. "Anyone for Scrimlin?" She asked, and proceeded to hand the steaming mugs to Sim, who had been following the group very closely since they'd returned to Demda. He walked from bed to bed, filling the eager hands that awaited them. Turning to Tom, he asked. "We're led to believe that you have a problem with the Bovin juice, and can't digest it?"

"Yep, I'm what's known on Earth as Lactose intolerant." He said with a smile.

"Don't worry; we have the finest scientists in our city working out a way to simulate the drink for you." She smiled at him and started to swap empty mugs for full ones.

"That seems to be a strange and may I say very wasteful way of using the cities resources." Ashton asked as he came into the room, closely followed by Sim.

"What does?" Sim asked.

"Using your finest scientists to find a way to relieve this boys lactose problem." He replied and flew over to Tom. "Doing OK now?" He asked, and Tom nodded slowly, still confused by the two Nurse Daws.

"Ah, but we, erm, well." Sim tried to come up with a suitable answer. He suddenly stood straight up with a smile on his face. "Yes, that's it. We use Bovin juice to administer many medicines, and if he can't have that, then we'd struggle curing him if he had certain illnesses." A smug look was on his face.

"But you cured the lad before using that device." Ashton added his curiosity piqued by Sim's reactions.

"Ah yes, but that doesn't cure everything, it's only good one some illnesses." Sim quickly added with a smile.

"Yeah, but if nothing else, this stuff is the best." Skaler interrupted, wiping the foam from his top lip. "Is there anymore?"

"Of course, I'll make another batch up right away." The original Nurse Daw said, and then left the room again.

"So, are they twins?" Tom asked, but nobody was really that interested, as they were all relaxing with their drinks, all except Skaler and Ashton.

Skaler was looking a little edgy, waiting for his second drink as he'd downed the first one very quickly. His eyes were fixed on the door, and this was worrying Tom a little.

Ashton was also worried by this behaviour and flew over to Tom.

"So, what do you think now?" He whispered in Tom's ear, nodding towards Skaler

"I think you're right, maybe." He wiped his hand across his eyes and took a deep breath. "They do seem a strange race of people." He continued.

"And what do you think is the answer to your last question about the two nurse Daws?" Ashton asked, his own views shrouded for now.

"I presume that they are twins." Tom replied, his only conclusion being voiced, but not believed by him.

"In a way I think it's true, but I also think that it's far more than that." Ashton whispered.

"In what way?" Tom was surprised by Ashton's last statement.

"I cannot say for certain at this moment as I need more information first." Ashton quickly replied. Then his voice rose in volume as he continued, just as the door flew open. "It is amazing how they've crafted the stonework down here."

Nurse Daw strode in carrying a fresh tray of steaming Scrimlin, and Tom saw her flash an evil glare at Tom and Ashton.

"Some of the carvings on the buildings must have taken years; you really need to see the one near the fountain in the centre of the city dear boy." Ashton continued, and then turned to Nurse Daw. "Can this healthy boy be released from captivity yet?" His sarcasm was tempered by a little laugh.

"Well, as he won't be having any of this, and we've done the tests, I suppose so." She didn't look too happy, but had no real reason to refuse.

"But you didn't need to do the tests in the first place." Tom replied, grumpily..

"Now isn't the time young man." And Ashton tugged on his sleeve to guide him to the door. "You need to see the fantastic architecture down here, seeing as you've not had the tour." He used all his strength to virtually drag him off the bed and through the door.

"But I can help guide you around." Sim said, and headed after them.

Ashton popped his head back through the door. "No need old chap, I think I know my way round now, and I love to get lost and find all new things by mistake. I'd hate to take up your valuable time, Bye." And with that he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.
Chapter 71. A New World.

As the light dissipated Janosh and Zeph coordinated the remainder of the troops to fan out a little and check the area around them. "Toeb, take the civilians into the trees, we'll give you cover." Zeph flicked his hand at 3 of his soldiers and then pointed towards the woods. They darted off ahead of the group of people that were all scared and huddled together. As they neared the edge of the forest they slowed, the central one silently directing the men either side to check all the angles and strike points using simple hand gestures. He then turned round and held his hand up, palm facing them. They instantly recognised that signal and stopped, all crouching down.

He turned back to see his two fellow soldiers were now at the edge of the forest peering around trees, carefully scanning the woods for movement, or just anything unusual. He crept up and in a more central position glanced at the other two who simple nodded back, ready for action. They slowly and very carefully entered the darkened forest, their eyes peering into the gloom, straining to see the slightest imperfection within this naturally beautiful sight.

After they had crept for about 200 metres he gave the signal for them to stop. He then set off back to the edge and brought everyone into the relative sanctuary of the woods.

"Anything?" Zeph asked his officer.

"Nothing apart from a small dog like animal that quickly scurried away."

Zeph looked further into the forest for a second before giving a nod to release his man back to his vigil on the edge of the group. "Wait." He said before he went too far. "Take 3 others and scout around the local area, we're going to need shelter, and look for anything unusual, as this place can't be this good, we're not that lucky to find a good spot first time." He raised one eyebrow knowingly and then glanced at Harvin and Janosh who had finally entered the forest.

"Why is it so peaceful?" Harvin asked. "You just start to presume that the Rexon are everywhere, or that they have influence everywhere." He looked out over the mountains and lake, enjoying the tranquility of the place.

"True, you do get a little paranoid." Janosh said, and turned to see Zeph heading their way. "Your guys found anything yet?" He asked him.

"Nothing so far apart from local wildlife." He smiled back at Janosh who could see the tension underneath.

"I know you don't trust us 100 percent." Janosh said. "Which is understandable, considering what's happened." He took a deep breath and looked to the floor. "But I say here and now that we are not working for them, in any shape or form, although I also know that trust only comes over time."

"OK, I'll be honest and tell you that I only trust you about 75 percent, and that I'm probably the one who can say that they trust you so much." Zeph replied. "The doctor says that Neera trusted you, and her gift is good enough for me, but after what we've been through, then it will always take a little more." He stood upright to emphasise his very strong and open thinking.

"Wow." Harvin replied. "There's honesty and there's honesty." He smiled at him as he continued. "You won't get a job in politics being like that."

"Right, let's get a fire going and get these people warm and safe for tonight." Janosh decided to change the subject. "I can go back with one of your guys to get the rest of your people." He waited for the nods from Zeph who nodded at one of his soldiers to come over to accompany Janosh.

Harvin nodded also, adding, "And if we get the people organised into groups doing the various tasks, then they'll not be worried about the Rexon for a while."
Chapter 72. Curious.

Ian took Lanky's arm and led him into the forest. "This would be a nice place to settle down."

"Aye, it's a bit like Scotland."

"Well I never, a Yorkshire man who's been somewhere else." Ian smiled. "Doesn't that constitute a crime to the Yorkshire nation?"

"Ha Ha, very funny." Lanky replied sarcastically. "I think being here on this planet constitutes being slightly outside Gods country."

"Lancashire?" Dicko asked, not having heard the first part of the conversation. "I presume you meant that fine colourful Rose County when you say Gods country."

Lanky merely growled at Dicko.

"Now, now children, let's all calm down, the War of the Roses was many years ago, in a land far far away." Ian said.

"Very Star Wars, I'm sure." CT added.

"Well I never would have taken someone like you to know that."

"Ah, you can't always tell what people are really like, can you Major?" CT added with a wink.

Ian and Lanky flashed a look at each other.

"Lady and Gents, may I have your attention for a moment." Finchy asked in his usual way.

Ian looked over to him. "What's wrong?"

"I seem to have found a flea in our ointment."

"Eh?" Lanky managed to shrug his shoulders, even though his hands were still clasped together.

"There's a minor infraction to the peace and quiet of our locale over here." Finchy tried again to explain.

"I know French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch, I can get by in Japanese and have a reasonable understanding of Mandarin, but this guy's English is worse than an American." Dicko stated quietly to Ian and Lanky.

The both stifled sniggers.

"So what is it?" Ian asked, having roughly grasped that Finchy had found something curious.

"The tree fellers of this world use very unusual practices." Finchy added.

They had all arrived alongside him and realised what he was talking about.

"Oh" Dicko stated first. "That's not normal, and a little worrying."

They were all looking at a fallen tree adjacent to what was left of its stump.

"Presume weapons fire of some sort." Finchy examined the shredded top of the stump. "And very effective fire as well looking at the multitude of impacts the tree had."

"So who did this, as it doesn't look like Rexon fire power?" Ian added.

"Definitely not." Dicko was also looking closely at it, and then she ducked down, bringing her eyes level with the top of the stump.

"What?" Ian asked, knowing she'd seen something.

Dicko turned round slowly, following an imaginary line from the top of the stump, and then looked back at what remained of the tree once more.

"What?" Ian asked again, also looking back and forth, but not knowing what he was looking at. "Dicko?" He said, his patience starting to fray slightly.

"Well." She started, her head spinning back and forth like a possessed beast. "Actually, no." She stopped.

"What?" Ian asked for a third time, exasperated by her actions, an angry tone in his voice.

"Just wait a second." She stood up and searched the surrounding area. "Ah!" And dashed over to pick up a fallen branch that was about 5 metres long. Finchy, can you hold this end, and stand over there." She used the branch to point to a point behind the stump.

"Ah!" Ian exclaimed, suddenly understanding her actions. "You've watched too many CSI's."

She giggled slightly at the thought. "True, but they use computers and straight pointers and fancy graphics, not a broken branch and a guesstimate." She also went round the back of the stump and laid one end of the branch on the top of it. Directing Finchy sideways, and then raising his end of the branch up a little, she then said "Hold it there." Dicko unclipped her P90 off her jacket and moved halfway towards Finchy. She crouched down and aimed her weapon along the length of branch, past the stump and all the way across the lake.

"Of course." CT added, the thought process catching up, finally. "The munitions trajectory, well done."

"Thank you, but if my sights are correct, the person firing the weapon was either stood this side of the lake and was extremely tall, and I mean about 5 metres tall, or more probable, yet just as inconceivable, they were across on the other side of the lake, which I guess to be about 3 kilometres away."

"That is one major piece of kit." CT added, "I'd like to get my hands on one of those."

"I bet you would." Lanky said under his breath.

"I think we need to make ourselves known to our allies." Ian added, ever the optimist. "But, for now I think we'll make camp here and wait till morning, as it's getting rather dark now." The evening was starting to draw in, and they quickly set up a simple camp.

Once everyone had eaten they all sat in a line facing the lake, towards the estimated position of where the person who'd fired the weapon had been standing when they saw something very distinctive.
Chapter 73. Where Now?

"So they are on a planet on the outer rim of the Quenga Galaxy, how interesting." K'nash steepled his long spindly fingers to rest his chin on as he mulled over the news from Prant. "Do we know of it?"

"Yes it seems to be a humanless planet; although I believe that they would call it an Eden in their language." Prant replied, his grasp of human folklore being far superior to the Leaders, as with everything else they'd discussed over the last few days, and he enjoyed using it as a blunt weapon to beat at his ignorance.

"Yes, yes, an Eden." K'nash bluffed, making a mental note to scour the Rexon archives for the translation later. "And how many are there?"

"In total, there are 37 of them. They are in a bad shape physically, and have limited firepower." Prant replied.

"And that device the fool is carrying tells you all of this, fascinating." K'nash leant further forward as his fingers stroked his chin.

"It also tells us the composition of the chemicals in the air, and the types of animals within a 50 metre radius." Prant was not telling all, as usual, as that would then make him dispensable.

"So your plan of capturing them was wrong for once." K'nash sat back and reveled in his glory at being able to put one over the Commander. "You merely assumed they'd make the one jump to the next logical set of coordinates." He shook his head. "How terrible you must feel being fooled by a human, again." He held the last word back for the slightest of moments.

Prant swallowed back the anger, but had the answer ready anyway. "I should have guessed he'd alternate on a prime number sequence, as it looks relatively random to the untrained eye, but can easily be calculated by someone more intelligent." He replied, knowing that the Leader was completely dumfounded by this simple mathematical deduction, and it would ping the ball back over to his side in the mind-game they were playing, and also it wind him up.

"So you finally worked it out then." K'nash lobbed the ball back over the net into Prant's side of the court; their game of intellectual tennis constantly being played. Prant had the intelligent plays, but was still struggling against the sheer luck and brute force of his opponent.

"Once they'd relatively disappeared, it was a very quick and easy deduction." Prant managed to just hit the ball back, but was starting to feel the match slipping away from him. He knew he needed a killer shot, of which he had many in his armoury, but he couldn't quite get them into play at the moment. "I've been there, and killed some animals. They'll think that they're in a safe place, for now. We can get a ship there within 2 days, and then decimate their numbers once more, causing more doubts to creep into the remaining people's minds."

"You're enjoying the game aren't you?" K'nash smiled at him, yet his eyes told a story of pure malice, as his enjoyment was something far more sinister, more evil. "Pity you're not quite good enough."

Prant took a moment, the game was gone, he had nothing he could muster from his arsenal of tactics and information that would be appropriate. "I'll go and check on a more specific arrival time for the troops, and then carry on with the days tasks." Prant said.

"Yes, you had better keep this place running efficiently; now leave, as I have some important calls to make anyway." K'nash waved him away with a flurry of his hand. He hadn't anyone to call, but that wasn't the point, as he didn't need the commander to know about that either.

With that, Prant turned and quickly left the office as he wanted to do some other checks in the peace and quiet of his new quarters just along the corridor, and he didn't want K'nash to know about, not yet.
Chapter 74. Meet and Greet.

A bubble of light appeared, and then disappeared a few moments later.

"Anyone else see that?" Lanky asked worriedly.

"Yes." Ian replied. "Finchy, put the fire out."

All of them sat there, watching the place where the bubble had appeared.

"We can assume they have a Kylapitar." CT finally started the conversation, as they'd all been sat in total silence for about 15 minutes, watching the beam in point at the far side of the lake. "As that's too distinctive a bubble of light, even at this distance."

"Very true, but are they Rexon?" Ian asked, his fears of having to deal with further attacks foremost in his mind. He worried about the people he'd already lost, the fact that they had a spy in the camp, and that Cock-up was still unconscious. This concerned him the most, as it restricted their movements, and he knew he needed some very serious medical attention.

Dicko lifted up her weapon and peered through the sight. "I don't think that they're Rexon, but can't tell at this distance if they are human."

"OK, but maybe they're allies of the Rexon." Lanky added.

"I think we can we assume that they're not the ones from where we'd just come from, and that they've somehow managed to track us and then followed our transport to this planet?" Dicko had her own thoughts as she strained her eyes looking through the telescopic sights on her weapon to pick out any sort of detail that would help them. "Cus that's a bit too stretched an idea." She wished she had her snipers kit with her, as that had a far superior telescopic sight on it, and would have been able to tell the type of weave on the clothes they wore at the other side of the Lake..

"Oh my." Finchy interrupted. "Can those devices perform such Whale and Krill games?"

"If you mean can it play at follow the leader, then we don't know until we find out whom it is at the other side of the lake." Lanky stated, the irritation at Finchy's warped English was very clear for all.

"We can't assume anything; apart from treat them as potentially hostile for now." Ian interrupted before the anger levels grew too much. "We'll have to send out a scouting party as we can't just wander up with Cock-up on a stretcher and Lanky cuffed, cus it won't do our first impressions any good."

"Very true." CT added, a thoughtful look on his face. "Maybe Finchy and I could go for a look?"

Ian flashed a cursory glance at Lanky, who had the same thoughts. "I think we can leave Dicko here with Lanky and Cock-up."

"Hold on boss." Dicko interrupted. "I know I can handle myself, but what happens if something kicks off?"

"True." He pondered over the dilemma for a few moments. "Right, we'll leave you the Kylapitar, so at least you can beam out of here if too much trouble appears." He waited for the nod. He knew that Lanky wasn't the spy and that he had given him a weapon and would be able to help Dicko if required. "And CT, Finchy & I will go and see who our friends are at the other side of the lake."

They all stared at the point where the bubble had appeared the evening before. They could see a group of about 40 people all milling around, but there was no way of knowing the detail of who they were, and if they were friend or foe at this distance.

"Everyone OK with the plan?" Ian asked, making sure they all understood their parts. "Any problems, use the throat intercoms, as we should get a signal across that distance as it's fairly clear line of sight."

With that they all hooked their tiny Bluetooth adapters over their ears and each tested it was sending and receiving voice transmissions. Ian handed Dicko the Kylapitar and gave her a quick run-down of what to press and when. He knew that as a worst case all she needed to do was press the centre button and go to wherever the symbols said. Even if that was a Rexon base, then she'd only need to flick up or down one and transport again.

"Right." He said when everyone was finally ready. He turned to Finchy. "Have you got the cup of sugar ready?"

Finchy took a moment and then burst out laughing.

Everyone else looked puzzled at Ian's comment.

"Oh my God, he's contracted that virus." Lanky said.

Dicko was wary. "What virus?"

"It's the one that makes you say things that don't mean anything. I believe the Latin name is Finchicus Talkinus Crapium,"

"Very amusing." Finchy forced a laugh out.

"All I meant was that we needed to go an meet the new neighbours, and they usually ask for a cup of sugar." Ian explained so that everyone could enjoy the joke fully.

"One good thing out of all this though, Boss." Dicko stated.

"What's that?"

"You can now be an official Translator, or even a Finchy Whisperer."

The laughter could be heard as the two teams split. Ian was happy that they were still in good spirits, as this was a dangerous mission. He didn't know if he had a spy with him, who the people where at the other side of the lake, or if there were others they'd not seen yet on the planet. He'd also given his best chance of escape to Dicko, meaning if there was a problem, he'd have to find another way back to Earth. The seriousness of all his missions wore heavily on him, yet he always made time to raise a smile.
Chapter 75. Well I Never.

After having been around the city with Ashton discussing all the problems that only they seemed to see, Tom said that he needed some fresh air. He went back up to their initial home in the large caves on the surface, and stood in the mouth of the entrance, watching the early evening draw in. The daytime animals were becoming quieter and he instinctively readied himself for the nocturnal shuffles that would start creeping from the undergrowth around the woods. He knew that owl-like creatures flew around, and hunting cats came out, after keeping watch by the side of the Lake, the first day they'd arrived.

Hearing the faint whispers of some people in the cave behind him, he decided that he needed some quiet time, and walked about a kilometre away from the mouth of the cave, along a line that took him on a relatively level altitude so that he could return with relative ease once it had gone fully dark. The moons would be up, but the light under the trees was very patchy, and if he needed to use some speed, he only had one way to go and he'd find his way to the cave in moments. He found a small clearing and sat down on a large set of rocks in the centre. Tom had done some basic Geography and understood about how rocks would have been dragged along by the glaciers, and then left in the strangest of places. These were very smooth and rounded granite like with flecks of pink in them as the Moonlight caught the right angle. All he needed was somewhere alone and reasonably comfortable to sit down for a short while. The trees below him were fairly spares, giving him a relatively unobstructed view all of the way down to the lakeside right to where they'd started their adventure on this planet. He thought about how his life had changed so much in the last few months, and his mind then started to process all the information he'd discussed in the last hour, as Ashton's voice ran through his head as if he was still there beside him.

They'd walked around the city, Ashton pointing out the nuances in the architecture from street to street whenever anyone was around. Then when it looked quiet, Ashton would discuss the problem he was suspecting the city had, and the larger ones which their friends were in.

At first Tom didn't want to hear any of it, but soon came round to seeing the little differences which independently would mean nothing, like randon looking dots on a piece of paper. Yet, when the dots were joined together, the picture would become very clear. Unfortunately, even with Tom's limited life experiences, he'd started to realise that these times occur when you or someone else helps you take stock of the whole picture. As Ashton recounted all of the individual events, Tom's denial had been forced into understanding and a horrible realisation of what was wrong, which then turned to how they could resolve the problems.

The first moon had risen at the far side, casting a long silvery line across the lake. Tom watched the tiny flickers of the line, as waves and ripples on the lakes surface tried to erase it. He sat there, his mind racing through thousands of scenarios, but still feeling very blank and empty as he had no real way of hoping to help everyone. At that point he decided to just lie back in the grass and watch the stars gently move above him. He slipped off the rock into the soft, moss filled grass that was all around that part of the mountainside. A shooting star arced across the sky, and he wished that was him. It was something so beautiful to anyone watching, but so non-existent to most. It's life short and bright, but also quickly replaced by others.

Another arced from directly above his head. This one was far larger, and he watched as it streak across the sky towards the mountains at the far side of the lake. "Wow!" He exclaimed, as that had probably been the finest example he had ever seen. His eyes were still looking across the Lake when he saw something quite familiar, yet very disturbing which caught his eye, just on the water's edge, on his side of the Lake..

A bubble of light appeared, his eyes instantly drawn to it. He climbed back onto the rocks to get a better view and he focused all his attention on the place that was lit up so brightly. In a second it was all gone, and his eyes had to adjust to the ambient darkness. It took a few moments for his eyes to finally see a little movement of humanoid-looking figures at the side of the Lake, and he watched, holding his breath. He could see orders being given, and then a few headed off into the woods, whilst the others mingled around the lakeside..

Tom decided that it was not worth reporting back, as currently, he had very little information. On a more personal level, he didn't want to back there just yet, especially after what he'd learnt and deduced with Ashton. So, he climbed down off the rocks, very quietly, and carefully headed through the woods towards what could only have been where he'd seen another Kylapitar being used.
Chapter 76. Strange Victim.

"John Doe, gunshot wound to the upper right quad, in through the back, no exit visible, BP down, lost a lot of blood, vitals low." The paramedic said as he helped the 7 other members of hospital staff load the nearly dead hulk of a man onto the hospital bed.

"I thought we'd stopped having John and Jane Doe's 10 years ago." The doctor started to cut away at the clothing. "So, no ID at all, not even on his fingerprints or retina scans." He asked glancing at the medic.

"Nothing Doc, this one's a ghost. All I do know is he's very big and very heavy, and my back will kill me later." The medic hunched over and rubbed the small of his back. "And its bowling night, so I need to keep supple." He smiled at the Doctor. "Got any advice?"

Yeah, seeing as your paramedics are playing against the docs and nurses team, I'd recommend do nothing so that it seizes up completely." The Doctor returned the smile.

"Love your bedside manner Doc." The medic said as he turned and wheeled his trolley out of the door, his back problem seemingly forgotten.

"So, John, how did a handsome young chap like you seem to be shot and left for dead in...." He looked at the notes. "Ah, Downtown Dengan, a lovely place which could do with a little demolition work across the whole district." He stated in his crisp, educated accent as he looked back at the patient lying before him. "I know why you were shot now." He continued talking to John Doe as if he was conscious, all the while other members of his staff removed clothes and cleaned any other wounds. "You don't look like a typical Kilnjarian, as your clothes aren't the latest fashion, which is a mixture of mildly amusing through to indecent I'd like to add Sammy." He directed the comment at the industrious nurse at the end of the bed who merely shrugged her shoulders. The Doc grinned behind his mask, knowing he had a good rapport with his team, even though most were half his age. He returned to discussing everything with the prone John Doe. "You out-of-towners think you can drive anywhere in the city, have a look at all the highlights from the city Hall, the Palace, the Regents Park, even walking down Deep Dale Way to see where it all began, and then you even believe that a little bit of seeing the gory highlights from the news is fine. Nip down and see where the Butcher of Banshee plied his trade of exquisite and many said very delicious meats."

A couple of his staff groaned, making him smile.

"When in actual fact, those of us who live here keep very well away from those more salubrious tourist locations, and we especially ensure we keep away from Downtown Dengan. I won't even drive down Highway 37 as it passes a little too close to the Dengan demilitarised zone." The Doctor added with his normal dry wit whilst carefully peeling the shirt away. "Damn, clean through. Small exit wound." He gently placed his little finger in the hole. "So how come the medics missed that?"

"I might have than answer here." Sammy the Nurse replied holding up a front section of John Doe's jacket. She slowly turned it around and rapped her knuckle against the coat. "There's some sort of plate inside this section." She bent down and checked a couple of other pieces from the front. "And they're the same." She flipped one over. "And here it is." She held the piece up showing a indentation and smear of red in the centre. She brought it round for the Doctor to look at.

"Ah I would assume that divot was made by a nice little 9mm," He peered at the small well in the centre of the plate. "So you wear a bullet-proof lined jacket, unfortunately, only on the front which shows a strong character."

"Why?" Sammy asked, intrigued by the Doctor's appraisal of the comatose patient.

"He is one brave and charismatic person, as he only has the protection on the front, thus will always face his opponent, and not run away."

Sammy nodded. "So why was he shot in the back?"

"That is the question and answer for our Security Chief Mr.Acflor and his staff to understand and resolve." The Doc replied. "And they will want that as evidence when they appear shortly. Although to start with, they may have a big problem. Have a look through his things to see if the bullet has slipped out and been caught in another piece please."

The Nurse checked all items of clothing, giving each piece a shake in the air. She shook her head at the Doctor.

"So, we have no bullet, not good, and a 9mm shell could have been donated to our friend here by any of a thousand suspects, including our own military, security, and a whole host of villains." He looked back at John Doe. "So, it might be a series of clues you have given the Security Forces, but that little slug of brass, or lack of it, has caused us a few more problems."

"Sir, I would have thought it good that the bullet exited cleanly, Sir." A small young man asked from the far side of the patient's bed.

The doctor looked up in the direction of where the voice had come from. The trainee Doctor became transfixed, like a deer on a road at night, caught in the glare of the headlights. "Ah, Junior – Registrar - Arlon." The Doctor left gaps between each part of the name so that all could hear. "An excellent supposition, based solely upon medical reasons, and for that you should be commended as your true healing senses and the skills which you have naturally and those which have been added to your repertoire via the first 3 years of training in this fine Medical establishment are indeed correct." He raised one eyebrow before continuing. "But, and I say that with my vast years of experience to fall back on, we have a mystery here, not a patient, and we need to find and use all the clues possible." He was getting into his stride now, the Lecturer coming to the fore. "A bullet still within can be removed carefully, and with ease, and shouldn't cause too much of a problem, as we have the techniques to ensure any further damage is limited. But the residue of that action is that we can then perform other test on it and have a very good clue as to who fired that weapon, as we'd have a bullet to get matched forensically by our diligent and hard-working Police."

"Ah, so it isn't always about saving the singular patient who is here. It's also a means of preventative medicine, Sir." The Junior said tentatively.

"Excellent Arlon. Saving this patient is paramount, but by solving the mystery of how this occurred we may save many more. Was this a single act of an angry husband finding his wife with another man, or do we have a nutter out there taking pot shots at anyone over 2 metres tall, or with lots of overgrown and shaggy hair, we can only surmise at this point. Thus our aim at all times is as Junior Arlon noted, preventative medicine, not just in giving a patient the means to stop a disease or prolong the need for a replacement joint, it is also at times like this when we could have helped stop another potential nutter from walking the streets of Dengan."

"No bullet means No evidence." Arlon concluded.

"Very true." The Doctor said. "Very true indeed." He started to inspect the wound. "It looks like he's not losing any more blood, so we'll patch him up for now, give him a wide spectrum antibiotic, just in case he's caught anything and as he's a tourist to these here parts we should extend our warmest welcome and hospitality and give him a bed for a couple of nights, to see how he recovers and monitor his ongoing health."
Chapter 77. Twitchy Curtains.

Tom was being very careful as he got to within about half a kilometre of the place where he'd seen the unmistakable flash of a Kylapitar's beam of light. In the darkness that had descended over the planet, something that bright would have been seen for many, many kilometres. He slowed down his approach and started to creep from tree to tree, carefully watching for anything unusual ahead, stopping and listening every time he stopped for anyone creeping up on him.

On 2 occasions he'd stopped and held his breath as he'd heard a noise to one side, and he waited a few seconds behind a tree, hardly breathing, his heart thumping away in his chest. He expected to see the spine chilling silhouette of a Rexon come crashing towards him at any point, or a hand would slowly creep around the tree and grab him firmly. His eyes darted back and forth, waiting, listening, and giving anything that had made the noise enough time to make its move first. Invariably it was an animal, or a branch falling from a tree, which made him realise that if he wasn't there a tree falling in the woods would make a sound. He peered around the latest tree, carefully scanning every centimetre of the woods ahead, looking for anything that looked out of place. There had been a couple of times where he thought he saw something strange, hiding in the eerie partially moon-lit shadows. His mind raced, playing games with strange shapes all around him, as the moon managed to fight through the canopy of leaves and branches. He'd wait, listen, and slowly retreat behind the tree. Time would pass, as he plucked up courage to peer around of the other side and see that it was just some branch, or a rock or an animal waiting like he was. This usually resulted in him taking a deep sigh and smiling.

Due to his diligence, and fears, it had taken him a few minutes to cove the last 100 metres. He was now only 300 metres away, and could hear faint wisps of words drifting up the hillside in the wind. He couldn't make out what language they used, or see anyone, as the forest was still fairly dense, but he knew they were there, and hoped it wasn't being reciprocated. He had time on his hands, and waited a couple of minutes behind each tree as he continued his slow approach. This gave him time at each point to try to pinpoint an accent, a word, and more importantly, if he'd been seen.

Time passed and he crept slowly forward, careful to not stand on anything that would make a sound. His feet were placed carefully on every step, and if anything seemed unsafe, then he'd lift his foot and reposition it, starting the process all over again.

He was about 200 metres away and had just reached the safety of a relative large tree when he stood on a small very dry old branch which cracked loudly, or so he thought. His heart froze as he shut everything down, listening to anything that might spell danger coming his way.

"Oh dear, oh dear." The whispered voice came from somewhere very near to his ear, which made him leap backwards, letting out a little yelp of surprise. "And you were doing so well." The voice added. "Very well indeed for a kid."

Tom squinted into the gloom and couldn't see anything, till he slowly tilted his head up, and saw a person laid out on the branch right above where he'd been standing only seconds before. He also saw the weapon being aimed directly at his head.

"Don't panic, kid." The voice said. "As there's a weapon trained on your head from either side as well, just slowly have a look."

Tom turned his head slowly to his left and saw the person crouched down behind the adjacent tree. He looked in the opposite direction and at a similar shape behind a rock.

"Oh." Tom said, fear rooted him to the spot.

"Good you can understand us." The voice said. "So, if you don't mind waiting till I climb down, we'll go back and see what you have to offer us, shall we?"

Tom knew it was a rhetorical question, as he was about to have to tell them everything, no matter what, and suddenly realised what trouble he was about to let his friends in for. Yet worst of all was that he'd simply left the safety of the caves, and even more that he wished he'd told someone about seeing the Kylapitar bubble of light before he'd set off to investigate on his own.
Chapter 78. Some Beans.

"Intelligence officer Grank." Prant asked as he stuck his head round and into the surveillance office. "Anything to report?"

"Yes sir, three of the Humans left about 30 minutes ago." He replied hastily.

"Left?" Prant asked, intrigued by this statement and stepped fully into the room, closing the door behind him, but not before he checked it first outside to see if he'd been followed.

"Sorry sir, they must have gone out of range." The officer answered.

"Right, they're probably just checking out the local area for any other signs of intelligent life, but as they are just humans, then it seems unlikely." He waited a second as his idea ran through his head. "Anything else?"

"Nothing sir, except they've started a fire in the midst of their camp." The officer smiled, and then quickly added "Do you need to know the temperature sir?"

"Excellent, the sensors can pick that up?" Prant said to himself quietly as he was amazed by the intelligence the small device in Harvin's arm was offering. He then looked at the officer and realised he'd just asked a question and was waiting for a reply. "No, I don't need to know the temperature, thank you." He looked and could see the junior Rexon had a question. Alas, being a junior officer meant that you didn't ask, unless noticed first. Prant enjoyed watching him squirm eagerly for a second before flashing his eyebrows up, finally.

"Yes, sorry sir, but the device; how long will the power supply last?" He asked hesitantly.

"Good question. It will last as long as the human is alive." Prant replied, knowing he wasn't giving the full answer.

"How is that sir?" Grank asked.

"Humans have a small electrical charge within them, and this is used by the device. So as long as the human is alive, the device will carry on transmitting data, ingenious really."

"Yes sir, ingenious." Grank was pleased as this meant he had a long time completing this latest assignment, as it was much more preferable than the usual military training he'd been subjected to recently.

"Carry on, officer, and inform me immediately as soon as anything changes." Prant said. He didn't wait for the junior to reply, but turned and opened the door. He was just about to close it and head off down the corridor when he heard an excited cry from within.

"Sir!" Came Grank's voice.

Prant opened the door again and slowly walked back in. "Yes?"

"Sir, remember I said 3 humans left approximately...." He looked at his notes. "37 minutes ago."

"Yes." Prant was keen on the officer giving him the information.

"Well 4 have returned." Grank said, relieved to have given some very important news.

"What?" Prant said and walked over to the computer. "Maybe another member of the group left while you were asking me questions?" Prant said.

Grank suddenly panicked, as his euphoria may have made him miss this very obvious mistake. "Erm, sorry Sir, but..." He scanned all the information. "There is an extra human there."

"And what does that screen tell me." Prant pointed to a small popup screen that was flashing the details of a human.

Grank leant in and read it, then his eyes opened wide as he realised what it was telling him. "We know him Sir."

"Who?" Prant replied.

"The new human, Sir."

"How is that possible?" Prant tried to calculate the odds on a new human appearing, and that they already knew of his existence. "And how does the system know that we have his details within our database?"

"I tied in the medical records database from our systems here on the base, just to help me understand as I watched their readings, especially if they were dying, Sir." He felt a flush of embarrassment as he explained his unauthorised actions. "I thought it might be useful information to help our Scientists, Sir." His voice trailed off as he wondered if he'd over stepped the mark on this one.

Prant considered this officers ingenuity and made a mental note to keep a watchful eye on such a talented chap. "Very good, that sort of information would be invaluable in knowing how they react to situations. Very good indeed." Prant congratulated his junior.

"Our system has the record of everyone who has been medically tested by the Rexon." Grank continued.

"And it should only have 2 records then, Janosh and Harvin." Prant said out loud, his eyes squinting as he looked at the screen, but didn't see anything as his train of thoughts was elsewhere, working through all the permutations of people who had appeared, and how they had escaped from the clutches of another Rexon.

"Yes but this new human was tested on whilst on a ship." Grank said, reading through the data being presented before him.

"And how did he escape?" He thought for a second, not waiting for an answer when another question came to him. "And moreover, whose ship?" Prant asked, wondering if this new little snippet could be useful down the line somewhere when he needed to use a little leverage. He knew the rules, even though he'd never commanded a ship. Any experiments were disposed of. Simple, quick, effective.

"It was Rexon Leader K'nash's ship sir." Grank said hesitantly, knowing the leader was in the camp.

"Excellent news." Prant said as he laughed out loud. "Excellent." He then turned and walked away.

Grank merely sat staring at the back of the now closed door, listening to the Commanders laughter that slowly diminished as he headed along the corridor.
Chapter 79. Chaos Theory.

"What's going on over there now?" Ian asked CT and Finchy as they came back to him.

They'd rounded the Lake and found a spot about 200 metres away and had been watching the group of people near the lake for a while. After having arrived, they split up to check the surrounding area, to make sure they were safe, and then re-grouped to collate any intelligence gained.

"I'm not too sure, but they seem to have captured a young chap." Finchy explained. "I saw them as I checked out the area further up into the woods. There were two of them, and they were armed; not too heavily, but enough to hurt. They were on patrol and one recounted the events of the evening before to his friend. They'd been waiting for him as he crept down the hill to spy on them and they have now brought him back down to their camp." And he pointed to the rear of the people who had beamed in. "They've interrogated him fairly lightly so far."

"Thanks Finchy." He nodded at the consultant who was doing a reasonably good job under the current circumstances. He'd also been rather succinct and clear in his description and wondered if the strange language was all an act for the customers. He was also pleased that they've been fairly light when interrogating the young man, as that showed promise for them to be allies. "CT, anything from here to the lake?"

"Nothing to report, apart from a few wild animals." He shrugged.

"Right then." Ian peered through the night vision goggles once more. "The majority are unarmed, and seem to look more like refugees." He scanned around from person to person. "There are a dozen of them with weapons, and the red headed one and his mate who seems to not have a weapon, but are somehow in a position of power and also are closely linked to the small dark haired scruffy bloke who I would say is the overall leader."

"So, as they don't seem to be hostile, should we make ourselves known?" Finchy asked.

"Seems like a reasonable assumption, but let's..." Ian stopped talking for a second as he was still scanning round everyone and had finally reached a somewhat familiar face.

"What's wrong?" CT asked, knowing there was a reason why Ian had stopped mid-sentence.

"The Boy." Ian said, the shock and puzzlement in his voice was clear to the others..

"The one they've just captured?" Finchy asked.

"Yes, I can't be 100% sure at this distance, but I think it's someone I know and..." He stopped again and whipped his goggles off.

Finchy and CT looked at him amazed by his actions. "What is it?" CT asked.

"He's dead." Ian replied firmly.

"I don't want to seem a little impersonal, but I assure you that the boy is alive and well." Finchy replied, and then had another thought. "Unless you mean that you're about to kill him, and it was a rhetorical statement."

"Oh no, it wasn't rhetorical at all." Ian was thinking he had it wrong, and simply held his goggle up to his face to check again.

"So what did you mean?" CT asked.

"My last mission on Earth was with Eric Peterson." Ian started the quick tale.

"Yes, I read that one." Ct added. "He was the boy whose father had been killed by Rexon 2 years ago, and was being targeted by Eklan."

Ian stopped and looked at CT.

"Ah yes, apologies, but I thought it would be prudent to analyse previous missions with the Rexon and try to learn their tactics." CT explained cautiously.

"Erm good, good." Ian replied, knowing that his thoughts were that either CT or Finchy was the spy. "Yes well, Eric had a very good friend."

"Tom, who was mistaken as Eric and..." CT had arrived at the conclusion.

Ian merely nodded at CT. "Yes, he was killed by lethal injection of a completely new disease."

"Are we sure he died?" Finchy asked.

"I was at the hospital." Ian explained. "We'd emptied a ward, and brought in our own personnel into what the rest of the world thought was a private ward at the Royal Preston hospital that we had carefully secured." His mind replayed the events from only a few months before. "To everyone else it merely looked like a very quiet ward, but we had armed guards posing as staff and patients, we used our own medical team from Nether Kellet and made sure no-one could interfere, or that the disease could get out."

"So we can presume that you took many samples of the virus?" CT asked.

Ian hesitated, as he realised that those files weren't yet available as they were still carrying out the tests. This meant that CT hadn't seen them yet. If he was the spy he didn't want to give away too much at this point. "We took a couple of vials, but our guys used it up in a whole host of tests and couldn't get anything from them." He shook his head slowly from side to side. "There was nothing in the blood at all."

"Oh dear." Ct added. "That would have been so very useful."

"True, but they've got the edge on us at the moment, so we have to be careful." Ian replied. He knew that they'd taken quite a lot from Tom, and for that he now felt guilty. The test had gone quite well, and they could clearly isolate the virus, but as of yet, couldn't kill it. He knew that the scientists at the base would find a cure, but it would take time.

"So, as you said earlier, he was dead." Finchy accepted the previous statement.

"I saw him being buried."

"So how do we explain the fact that he's now here in a distant galaxy?"

"I don't have a single clue." Ian looked through the night vision goggles once more.
Chapter 80. Enemy or Comrade.

Tom had been held on the edge of the camp and held him there for a short while. His wrists hurt from the strapping they'd used on him and he was very frightened. One of the three soldiers who had brought him down had gone off to talk to someone else, and when he returned they guided him to a rock and motioned for him to sit on it. He agreed, as he had no other options at the moment. His idea of just gathering a little intelligence and then reporting back had gone incredibly wrong as now he was being held captive, and no-one would know where he was.

"So who are you, young 'un?" The very scruffy main man asked.

"Tom, Sir." He replied hastily, not wanting to upset him, especially as he was carrying a gun. He didn't like the look of one of his two comrades. One seemed OK, but the one with the red-hair looked quite tough.

"And what were you doing back up there?"

"Just looking." He knew he couldn't lie, as the main man asking the questions raised one bushy eyebrow just to let him know he didn't believe him and he was giving him a chance to alter his first answer. He'd been found out. "Sorry, I was trying to spy on you, Sir." His head dropped in shame.

"So do you live local?"

"No, I'm not from this planet." Tom stiffened when he realised his mistake.

"Interesting?" The scruffy man asked and looked at his two comrades who also looked surprised. "So where are you from then?"

"Earth which I'm led to believe is in another galaxy." Tom replied. He had no choice but to be honest to everything. They hadn't killed him, yet, and hadn't been too rough, apart from the tightness of the cuffs, so decided honesty might give him the slightest chance of getting through this.

"So you're here and you don't know how you got here?"

"Oh no I know how I got here; we used one of those devices like you did." Tom said, then realised his second mistake. Honesty is good, but giving away extra information is not.

"We?"

"Erm well, yes there were 5 of us." Tom said dejectedly.

"Were?"

"No there still are 5 of us." Then he realised what he'd said again. "Damn." He mumbled and his head dropped again.

"Not very good at this interrogation lark are you." The scruffy man walked over gently placed his hand on Tom's chin and lifted his head back up. He was smiling and Tom didn't know if it was sarcasm or just the simple enjoyment of humiliating him. "You're supposed to either not tell us, or lie."

"Sorry." Tom said apologetically, looking at his interrogator for the first time and noticing how smelly he was, stale sweat clung to his clothes, making Tom wince, but curiously seeing how bushy his eyebrows were.

"Don't be, it's quite refreshing to meet a teenager who is so open." He sighed and his face dropped a little. "My lad would have been the same age as you and I could never get anything more than a mumble out of him."

"Would have?" Tom asked innocently, and then a touch of fear gripped him as he saw Bushy Eyebrow's face darken, as Tom had named him in his mind, and he also knew he shouldn't be asking the questions.

"Yeah, he's dead, along with virtually everyone else on my planet. We're all there is I think." He said turning away, his arm waving across the 30-odd people Tom could see milling around, or keeping warm by the fire.

Tom distinctly heard a tiny sniff and then saw the interrogator take a deep breath as he composed himself. A moment later he spun back and the smile had returned.

"But I was supposed to be asking the questions, so let's carry on." He flashed a look to his side as two others appeared to watch. "So how did you know of the Kylapitar?"

"We stole one just before we escaped the Rexon." Tom said.

"Ah the Rexon." Bushy Eyebrows said, rubbing his chin. "I think we need to have a little chat between ourselves before we continue. Please wait there." And he smiled at him, knowing that Tom wasn't able to go anywhere as he had two guns trained on him all the time.

Tom watched as Bushy eyebrows walked away to talk to the other two who had been just watching and listening all the time. He noticed that the one with the Ginger hair also smiled at him, and this worried him even more. The other one, Nice Man, as Tom had named him, had a serious look on his face. Tom tried to strain his hearing as he tried his very best to see if he could pick up anything that they were saying about him or the Rexon, or Earth, or anything. He'd realised that the key moment had been when he mentioned the Rexon, and was wondering why that had been so important. His mind played with everything, running many scenarios of him being a spy for the Rexon, through to being refugees from their planets. Earth had been relatively Rexon free when he'd left it, apart from the odd visit by Eklan, but wondered if they'd made contact there yet. He listened some more, and there was the odd word that he could pick out, Rexon, Kylapitar, Earth, but that was all, nothing of any substance that might help him know what questions were coming next. He still couldn't pick up on names or other words, so learnt very little. They all kept looking at him every so often, and then turning back into their little group. This was very disconcerting for him, as he worried what was going to happen.

Tom gave up eavesdropping after a while, as he was getting nothing back. He had the Lake behind him, and in between the waters edge and the rocks he sat upon was a large fire. From where he sat he could feel the heat on his back and it cast a light around him and onto the surrounding trees. He let his mind wander off into nothingness, not thinking of what would be, and just stared into the dark woods, letting his eyes gently adjust to the lack of light. After a while he made out a small fox-like animal sniffing about, which got the attention of his two guards, but they let it creep up to the edge of the trees, sniff the air a little, and then left it to trot off to find other food sources. Tom wondered if it was the fire which had brought it down, and also was amazed to see that sort of animal come so close to humans. He wondered if it was because they weren't afraid of them.

This brought him back into his current predicament. He became even more lost in his own worst thoughts as he sat there, as he started to be afraid. He wondered if he was really going to die, again, only this time he'd not have the Rexon around to bring him back to life. He fought back the tears as his shoulders slumped, his chin dropped onto his chest. He felt utterly drained and shattered from the ordeals he'd gone through over the last few weeks, and actually started to wish he was dead for real, and this time forever.
Chapter 81. B&B.

"Where, what the......" Sharlock woke up, dazed, confused and angry. Even though he was very groggy and feeling the effects of the anesthetic from the operation to seal up the bullet holes either side of his shoulder, he knew he was being held down. He threw off one nurse holding his left arm, hurling her effortlessly across the ward, and snatched the needle the doctor was brandishing in his right hand and used his now free right hand to grab him by the throat. In one very fluid and well trained movement he picked the doctor up off the floor, spun him round, dragged him backwards at the same time of getting himself sat up onto the side of the bed. As good as the muscle memory and the military training was, he'd not accounted for the drugs, and the quick movement made Sharlock dizzy and he momentarily relaxed his grip around the doctor's throat.

Feeling the lessened pressure, the doctor decided to make his move and grabbed the back of Sharlock's hand to pull it off him.

This was all to no avail as Sharlock quickly regained his composure, blinked a couple of times, deftly spun the needle around in his hand to point it away from himself and stuck it into the throat of the unfortunate doctor, with his thumb poised over the plunger.

"Now, I have your attention; please tell me what's going on." He whispered into the Doctor's ear.

"You're in hospital, and that needle only contains pain killers as you've been thrashing about in bed in agony for about 30 minutes." The Doctor croakily answered; his heart beating very fast and he struggled to swallow as the terror of the moment hit him.

"And why am I in hospital?" Sharlock asked, carefully scanning the ward, checking the eyes of the other patients and staff, making sure they all looked as terrified as his current victim felt. That way he knew that no-one was a spy, or that it was all an elaborate hoax. Part of his military training had been evade and capture. He had to endure being captured and fooled into thinking he was in a safe environment. He remembered the training very well as they Mallesian Colonel had used this very same environment. They'd injured him, knocked him out and then took him to a fake hospital. There, he quickly realised that everyone was very proficient at their work, very calm, but when he lost his temper and was enacting this very same sort of situation he currently was dealing with, the reactions were far different. Some of the staff in the fake hospital were very calm, or they spoke of being afraid, but the eyes told a very different story. It was then that he knew it was all an elaborate ploy to get him to relax and talk. As he scanned every pair of eyes within sight, he could only see expressions of complete shock and fear. This was real.

"You were shot in the back and had lost a lot of blood, and then your car was stolen." The Doctor's voice was starting to crackle a little and he tried to swallow again, but found that he couldn't as Sharlock's grip was so tight.

"Damn, the Hangar," he started to remember snippets, "yes, just before the door closed." Sharlock mumbled.

"Sorry Sir, I don't understand" The Doctor said croakily.

"Nothing." Sharlock mumbled. "How do I leave?" He released the doctor very lightly from his grip.

"You can't Sir, sorry." And he quickly backed away into the adjacent bed, rubbing his sore throat. "You've only just come round from an operation where you'd lost a lot of blood before you got here."

"Sod that." He got off the bed and started to pull the various leads and tubes off his body. Alarm bells started ringing and he quickly scanned the ward, only to see a doctor and two more nurses come dashing in.

The new Doctor looked around at everyone all standing around the edge of the room, and then to the patient who was being allowed to simply pull out all of the cannulas feeding him various drugs and fluids, and other wires leading to equipment. "And where do you think you're going young man?" The new Doctor asked sternly as he approached the end of the bed, whom Sharlock assumed was a more senior member of staff.

"Home." Sharlock said, not even looking at her as he now continued untangling himself.

"Ah, that's just one of a host of questions we need answering." The Doctor held up a finger. "Where exactly is home, as we have no details at all on you."

"I'm not from round here, Lady." Sharlock said, and then he snapped his head to look directly at the young doctor he'd been holding only seconds before. "Clothes?"

"We sent them for cleaning, and some were damaged during the operation, sorry." A male nurse who had just run into the room said nervously as he slowly slid sideways to join his fellow medical professionals. He hoped that the numbers would dissuade his attacker. It didn't.

"So get me some new ones as I can't exactly walk out of here like this." Sharlock tilted his head to one side and even managed a glimpse of a smile as he swished his hands up and down his current attire of a cream coloured medical gown.

"But I insist." The Senior Doctor said with a firm tone. "You are staying here young man until we've completely treated you, and we have our answers." She waited a few seconds. "It may be very important that we have your previous medical history as we've had to guess at some medication, or use a basic broad spectrum antibiotic. How do you know if you're not allergic to anything, and you had quite a few other injuries which seemed similar to those you'd received..." She stopped mid-rant as the hairs tingled on the back of her neck.

Sharlock had blinked his eyes slowly, but as he opened them they were pointing directly at the female doctor. He made a low rumbling, growling sound and his eyes became steely towards her.

A cold shiver ran down the Doctor's spine, as if someone had just walked over her grave. The years of learning and working, slowly building up to being a Senior and well respected Doctor in the hospital; one known for being open, frank and forthright. This forceful demeanor quickly disappeared like steam from a kettle as she nervously spoke. "Well, erm." The Doctor cleared her throat a couple of times, and started to shuffle about. "I suppose if you're feeling fine." She picked up the chart and flicked over the notes. "And everything seems to be in order. The wound has been cleaned and repaired and you don't seem to be suffering from the operation. So if nurse Limoun would get you some clothes, erm I will get you some more pain killers.

"Don't need any, just the clothes." Sharlock rumbled.

"Ok, good, good, well, yes, just the clothes then." She put the charts back and smiled at Sharlock, hoping to ease the tension.

Within 3 minutes Sharlock dressed, was outside, had stolen a convertible car and was heading back to the spaceport to relay his information back to the Mallesian council.
Chapter 82. Parky.

Tom sat dejectedly on the rock wondering what was happening, and what were they going to do to him. He started to think through his options. There was no way he could get word back to the others, and he was secretly hoping he didn't have to tell these new people where the caves were; but realised that was a foolish thought in believing that at some time he wasn't going to have to lead them somewhere, now that he'd let them know there were others on the planet. He knew that they couldn't get into the city, not without the help of the Demdonians to use the lift device in the small central cave. After all of that, his mind then wandered off track as he thought about the reason he'd ventured outside of the caves in the first place. He mused about seeing how his captors would react if he told them that the caves were lifts and they took you to an underground city full of clones and his friends were being tested and probably being cloned right now. He also had the other problem in that his friends didn't care anymore, as he and Ashton believed that their friends were being drugged and were now hooked on this strange milky substance called Scrimlin.

"Something amusing you?" The ginger haired man had appeared next to him and this made him jump.

"Sorry?" Tom said, startled.

"You sighed and then smiled; I presumed something was amusing you." Ginger hair said as he walked round to face Tom, dragging a huge log effortlessly off a pile over. He sat down, about a metre in front of Tom, looking straight at him. "So what was it?"

Tom looked at the log he was sat on, and realised that it was probably very heavy, yet he had lifted it with ease. He then looked up and saw the man smiling at him, waiting patiently for an answer. Tom glanced at the bulging arms and the wide muscular chest and knew that this was a man you didn't make angry. The looks he'd had off whilst being interrogated by Scruffy Man had been mixed, but overall, he knew he had to keep tis man happy. He saw the man raise one eyebrow and then tilt his head to one side. It took a few seconds, but Tom suddenly realised that he hadn't answered him, and he was now waiting for his reply.

"Erm, sorry." Tom said, panicking a little, not knowing if the smile on this chaps face was one of sincere amusement, or the one that appeared just before he exploded into a tyrannical rage. "I was just thinking about a couple of problems I have running through my head, and had been sat up there turning them around when I saw the flash of the Kylapitar and thought it would be a useful way of not having to think about it, by just coming down here to have a look and see who'd arrived on this planet." He prattled on nervously, and smiled, hoping the new man was happy with his ramblings so far, as he realised that the truth was the most obvious and safest route.

"And...." This new interrogator drew the word out to help expand his meaning.

"Yes, and now I'm here after being captured by you guys, and I then had this thought where I wished I was still up there just worrying about my other problems, and that made me smile." He snorted a little fake laugh, but this was more from fear rather than humour.

"Up where." And the man turned to see if he could peer into the darkness that was all around and see a village or something that had escaped his attention earlier.

"Well it would be sort of in that direction," Tom pointed towards a large imposing black lump that was currently blotting out the view of the stars behind it. "About half way through these trees, back up that mountain." He said, hoping that if they did go then they'd not find anything but a series of empty caves, and by which point he'd have come up with a damn good plan as to why there was no-one else around.

"So how come I can't see a camp." He turned to Tom. "It's very cool and in this darkness we'd easily see some light being thrown by a fire." He posed the question and then carefully watched the young lad to see his reaction.

"When we arrived we soon found a series of caves up there, and they have other caves that sort of interlink," He mingled his fingers together to explain his words, which was difficult because of the cuffs. "And we were set up in a camp which is in the back set, as it was drier and warmer back there anyway." Tom looked straight at the man interrogating him. He knew he had to keep a strong eye contact, as it was true, well it was when they had first arrived.

"We?" He asked, having picked up very carefully on certain words that Tom had used, "So, let's go and see who else is there shall we?" And he waited to see the reaction from Tom again.

"Yes, can we? As I'm not a Spy and I want you to know that, once you've seen our camp." Tom replied, as he knew the group that would go and investigate would only be a small troop, as they'd leave some soldiers to keep the remainder of the refugees safe that Tom had seen earlier.

"And you said were in the back caves."

Tom stiffened as he heard the word being emphasised.

"So where are you living now?"

"Erm." Tom could feel the sweat starting to bead on the top of his head. "We're still in the caves." He wasn't lying, but wasn't being very accurate.

The man sat for a few seconds, watching Tom very carefully before he got up and walked away, calling over a couple of people into a small group. There was his original interrogator, Bushy as Tom was now calling him, and the nice man.

Tom watched intently. Ginger hair was being reasonably animated as he talked to the original one. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it all ended and Ginger hair came back over to Tom.

"Right it's you, me and those 4 well-armed and very well trained soldiers off for a little stroll up the mountain to have a quick look around your caves, is that OK?" He dragged his arm around to one side to roughly point at a small group of very efficient and ruthless looking men to his left. He turned back to see Tom gulp, making a tiny smile appear on his lips. "So Tom, let's get going." He smiled fully at him to ease any tension, although the interrogators eyes were very firmly telling a different story.
Chapter 83. It's Now or Never.

"I've seen enough from here." Ian said finally, as they'd watched what had been going on in the camp before them.

"And our next course of action is...?" Finchy asked.

"Meet and greet."

"One or all?"

"All." Ian smiled, as he didn't want to leave the other two alone. "So, let's holster those weapons, and make the move in, empty handed, waving a big white flag."

"We haven't got a flag, Sir." Finchy replied, concerned that he should have been issued with this piece of kit, and quickly checked his rucksack for one.

"I meant a metaphorical white flag." Ian explained, slightly exasperated. "OK, we'll walk in side by side, hands casually at our sides, weapons slung over our backs, nothing confrontational, no quick movements, but be very alert; keep checking all points, just not with a weapon in your hand OK?."

"And if they see us as hostile?" CT asked.

"Hopefully Tom will recognise me quite quickly and help ease that problem." Ian shrugged the answer back.

"And what if they already think he's a Spy, and then wonder if you're also a Spy?" CT asked.

"Or if the boy deduces that concealment is a better ploy?" Finchy was back to using his obtuse English.

"I know, I know." Ian replied. "Both of those are reasonable thoughts, but we have to be seen on our merits. They look to be serious, yet friendly, so let's use the same stance. They'll see the kit, yet see we're not intending to use."

The other two soldiers looked at each other for a second, before nodding their agreement. They restrained all their kit and were about to make their way when they noticed a small group leave, with Tom included.

"Ah!" Finchy said, a little concern in his voice. "Our potential ally in the camp has left."

"I can see that, which could make our arrival a little awkward." Ian watched the group leave and head up into the trees.

"And as previously stated, it may have been a hindrance." Finchy noted.

"True, so what now?" CT asked. "Do we still go to the camp, or follow Tom?"

"I'm not sure." Ian replied, turning over the options in his head. He decided to voice them to see which was more acceptable. "The assumed leader and the red-headed ones mate are still in the camp."

"But Tom isn't." CT added his own thought.

"And Tom, the red-headed one, plus four soldiers have gone up the hill to somewhere."

"And that's another problem."

"True, where have they gone to, as it looks like Tom was leading them away, so is he here with someone else?" Ian was still following his train of thought.

"Who could be good or bad?" Finchy pitched in.

"Also true, but we won't know unless we follow."

"So, we follow Tom?" CT clarified the point. "I can agree to that."

They turned to Finchy. "And so can I." He smiled to show his acceptance.

"OK then. We've not been detected as yet." Ian added as he churned over a further set of ideas and options. "If we can keep our wits about us, we can keep it that way and watch from a distance, before deciding on a course of action as and when required." He watched the others nod. "And if Tom is in danger from these people, it's easier to save him from 5 people than 30-odd."

With that they drew their weapons once more and headed off taking a parallel line to Tom's, about 100m apart, keeping themselves as safe as possible as they headed off up the hill.
Chapter 84. Hiccups.

"Flaming Hell." Exclaimed Killnjar Security Officer Towne Syse as he drove along through the Hampson district of the city. The slightest problem or change to his routine was always seen as a major catastrophe, no matter how small.

"What?" His partner, Officer Cern Batarn calmly replied as he always did, quite laid back and easy going as he took another sip of his favourite freshly brewed coffee.

Both Officers had taken a few minutes break from their routine patrol of Killnjar's outer districts to grab a coffee and a muffin from their favoured independent coffee shop. That had been the moment they'd clicked as a partnership, as neither liked to go to the many identical chains that seemed to be every 10 metres along every high street or in every petrol station.

"Didn't you see that?" Towne asked his colleague.

"Nope what?" Cern replied, his head slowly swinging round to see what he'd missed.

"That big bloke back there, heading the other way in the convertible, I'm positive he's the BOLO that the military are after." Syse said.

"You sure?" Cern asked, casually tilting his head so he could glance into the passenger mirror on the car, knowing the convertible would be too far away, but he wanted to show a little willing effort.

"Positive."

"And how can you tell if he's..." Cern started then stopped, as he couldn't believe that a Mallesian spy was on Ansolon. "Well, from you know where."

Towne hand-braked the car around in the road; the wheels screeched their annoyance to such a violent action. "Cus he's just slammed on the brakes to take that hard left and took off down the alley when he saw us slowing. Radio it in." Towne demanded from his youthful partner.

Cern sat up quickly, throwing the remainder of his coffee out of the window and picking up the radio handset. "Officers need assistance. Car Zulu-Three-Eight, In pursuit of Military Suspect....." He looked at the days slop sheet that he scrolled up on the large tablet computer which was fixed to the dashboard. It told them all the basic details of all currently wanted suspects. "Come on, faster you piece of junk." He thumped the top of the computer as he watched the slow scroll of data. "Got it." Cern tapped the screen on the line and a complete static info sheet appeared. "BOLO-One-Nine-Alpha-Four. Suspect heading down...." He paused while he found his bearings.

"One alley south from Moorland and Watling." Towne said as he slid the standard police car expertly around the corner and into the alley he'd just seen Sharlock head down. "And it's a dead end!" He grinned knowing the suspect wouldn't be able to escape in the car.

"One Alley South from Moorland and Watling." Cern repeated into the handset. "Whoa!" He exclaimed into the radio.

"Zulu-Three-Eight-Repeat-Last-Statement."

"Oh, sorry control, the suspect's car has been smashed into the side of a mill and..." Cern looked a little harder at the car they were now approaching cautiously.

Towne stopped the car as they drew alongside the other vehicle.

"Where's he gone?" Cern asked as he couldn't see the suspect anywhere. "Towne, you sure you saw him?"

"Positive, and he's got to be somewhere down here." He leant forward to peer out and up from the windscreen, checking the fire escapes on the buildings either side of the street as they rolled the police car a little further down the alley.

Cern glanced at the front of Sharlock's car. "Whoa, how did anyone get out of that alive?" He whistled as he looked incredulously at the car; the front third had been buried into the old and very solid stone wall of the building, crushing itself back into the body.

Suddenly there was a bang as something large and very heavy landed on the roof, the force of which made the police car bounce on its wheels.

Both officers swore as the shock hit them.

"ROOF!" Cern shouted, drawing his weapon as he leapt out of the car.

Towne's life went into slow motion. He looked across the car at Cern, watching him step out and his weapon raised up across the roof. For some reason Towne sat there, motionless, as if he was in a cinema. He was utterly powerless to help as he saw his colleague's arm being wrenched upwards. A gunshot rang out, and then a scream as the Towne brought the squad car finally to a halt. The older officer daren't move as he watched in horror as Cern was lifted up into the air, his legs flailing in the open doorway, screaming for the help that was paralysed within the car.

Towne reached nervously for his weapon and wondered if he could shoot through the roof and hit the suspect and not his friend.

There was one final scream that stopped very abruptly with a huge cracking sound.

Towne was now aiming at the roof with his weapon, but he glanced to his left to see that Cern's legs had stopped moving, and had gone limp. He flinched as the body was dropped over the top of the opened door, as if someone was laying a folded shirt over the back of a chair.

Towne froze for a second, the panic and fear gripping him until something snapped within. The anger kicked in and he blasted 4 shots in a circle through the roof of the squad car. He let out a fearful blood curdling yell, more one from panic and fear than anger.

All was silent for a second as he waited for the body on the roof of his car to drop. He held his breath, his heart banging in his chest, a deafening noise that was too distracting in his current predicament.

The car lurched and bounced once more, and he lowered his eyes to see a gun pointing at him through the windscreen. His weapon was still raised to the roof and he knew that he had lost the game. His eyes widened as a finger was outstretched towards him and wagged back and forth. "Cheeky Git" he thought as he saw the smile of the beast that had killed his partner. The finger stopped wagging and pointed to Towne's weapon. It then bent and motioned downwards a couple of times. Towne understood completely and rolled his own gun around his finger, releasing his grip and then dropped it to the floor of the passenger side of the vehicle.

Sharlock gave him a thumbs-up, his fixed Mallesian grin constantly there.

Towne realised that this was either a nasty piece of sarcasm before he was killed, or, as he hoped, it was a sign that he'd done well and his life was about to be spared. In the distance a faint siren was heard and Towne felt a small amount of relief, and the faintest moment of hope.

Sharlock turned his head slightly, and then lifted it up to look over the top of the squad car. He quickly flashed it back down to wink at Towne before turning and fleeing away from the stricken car and petrified officer.

Towne didn't hesitate as he saw the suspect and killer of his partner flee, he dived across the car and fumbled around on the floor for his weapon. His fingers opened wide as he quickly swept them back and forth. His thumb hit something solid that also moved a little, and he readjusted his hand instantly to grip the gun and bring it back up to bear on the assailant.

Towne raised the gun and aimed it through the windscreen, bringing his head up a little to be able to see the down the alley, and also at the back of Sharlock. He frowned as he looked along the alley. It must have been another 200 metres all the way down to the far end from where he'd stopped his police car. He could see the bollards clearly at the far end, which the local council had installed to stop drivers using it as a rat run through the industrial area adjacent to the spaceport. He quickly calculated that he had only been fumbling for the weapon for 4 seconds at the most. Yet as he looked carefully all the way down the alley, it was completely empty. His eyes scanned along the alley, fear starting to rise as he suddenly wondered if he'd been duped by this huge beast of a man again.

Bang Bang!

Towne screamed again as the roof of the car was thumped hard.

"Towny, what the hell happened?" Another officer stuck his head in through the door and was greeted by the business end of Towne's weapon. "Whoa!" The new officer said. "It's me, Cherlie." And he slowly reached towards Towne's weapon to push it away from where it was pointing.

As Cherlie's fingers touched the barrel of the gun an invisible bolt of energy must have passed between them as Towne suddenly snapped out of his panic filled trance. He blinked a couple of times and then drew his weapon back.

"Towny, who did this to Cern?" Cherlie asked.

"Suspect." Was the only word that Towne could say, his throat suddenly gone very dry.

"Where is he?"

"Dunno." And this made him realise that he needed to check the alley again, quickly. "He left as you got near, I picked my gun back up, 4 seconds, 4 seconds mate, that's all, and he was gone."

"But it's 200 metres to the end." Cherlie said, calculating the distance and the approximate time Towne had described taking. Realisation hit him. "Damn, he's gone into somewhere." He turned to see 3 other squad cars screech to a halt behind his, and 2 others arrived at the far end of the alley. All the officers leapt out, their weapons drawn. "You two stop them cars and start a door to door search along the alley."

The nearest officers took off without a moment's hesitation, and then Cherlie looked back into the car he was leaning on. "Towne, get out of the car and let's go back there to see if you can recall any more details."

Towne nodded slowly and started to straighten himself up.

Cherlie had done this to get him away from seeing his partner's lifeless body draped over the passenger door. As Towne started to get out of the car and head down the alley Cherlie turned to speak to another officer right behind him. "Radio for a coroner, and get more backup." He glanced at Cern's lifeless form draped over the door of the car and realised that they were dealing with someone very strong and very dangerous. "Make that lot's more backup."
Chapter 85. Animal Farm.

Tom led the small group of soldiers up the hillside and back towards the caves. He trudged his feet heavily as he tried to keep them moving as slowly as possible, so that he could get his story together in his mind before they got anywhere near to the seemingly empty caves. He knew there would be a lot of questions, but he hoped all their gear was still there in the back, so at least it looked like he wasn't a complete liar and he'd try to say that they must be elsewhere, gathering food, or wood or anything. His mind raced and his heart thumped very fast. He knew the ginger haired one was very good at spotting his expressions so had to tell the truth. He also knew that if he told himself the story enough times, he'd start to believe it. With no-one there, he really didn't know where they were, and they could be out gathering supplies. Thus, it wasn't a complete lie, so he knew he might get away with it.

"Wait." The rear guard said. "We're being followed." He glanced around the trees. "Or hunted."

"What do you mean?" Ginger-air said, a look of suspicion in his eyes as he thought about the words the soldier had used.

"Well, since we left the camp we've been followed by a couple of animals."

"What sort of animals?" Ginger-hair asked, his voice had hardened.

"I think they're like large foxes." He looked and nodded towards a clump of trees where the moon lit 2 pairs of animal eyes staring directly at them. "But now there are more of them." He nodded to a point about 50 metres ahead of them, where a small group of similar animals waited in their path.

"Maybe they've just had a kill and that's where it is." One of the other soldiers added his own ideas on the situation.

"They look more like pack dogs, so we should give them a relatively clear berth." Ginger-hair replied.

"Yeah, but that's the problem." The guard leading the group said. "They've been that far ahead of us for the past few hundred metres, so there's no kill, and they keep looking back at us to make sure were following."

"And there are those two in the woods over there making sure we don't go too far up the hills on that side, and..." The second soldier peered into the darkness behind them. "And those are stopping us returning." He smiled as he pointed out the 3 sets of eyes that slowly came into view.

"We're trapped." The first soldier said.

"Sort of." Ginger-hair thought for a second. "And it seems to be by a very intelligent type of animal, a lot more intelligent than any pack of dogs that I've ever seen before." A smile appeared as his next thought amused him slightly. "Way too intelligent. Me thinks there's more to this than meets the eye."

"Well done Janosh Actflor of Ansolon, you are very correct in your assumptions." The voice said from behind them.

Everyone spun around to face a human who was stood 20 metres away, his arms outstretched, with no weapons on view. "Please don't worry, I am unarmed and here in peace." The stranger spoke clearly and softly. "We have been watching you for quite a while now, and would like to offer our hospitality." He looked individually at each face stopping finally at the one he knew. "Ah Tom, we had word that you had left the city I tasked myself to find you and see if I could assist in any way."

"Hi Ara. Sorry for leading them towards the caves, but they had me captured and they had guns, yadda, yadda, yadda, you know the routine." Tom held his wrists up and nodded at the soldiers looking from the stranger to tom to the pack animals.

All the soldiers looked completely befuddled by the current situation.

Janosh smiled and let a small snort of a laugh out.

"How are the others?" Tom asked as he moved away from his captors and halfway behind Ara.

"It was Ashton who raised the caution of your wanderings.."

"Ashton?" Janosh interrupted, then shook his head and mumbled to himself. "No, it's probably someone with the same name as I don't know Tom." He then looked up them all, "Sorry, my mistake."

There was a moments silence before Ara continued. "Well they are currently in their new quarters playing games. Skaler and Eric have been racing cars and Aisha is reading our finest literature as she got bored beating them all the time."

"Excuse me." Janosh interrupted again, steeping forward, a huge grin planted across his face. He gently touched Ara's arm to make sure he was real before he continued with his next question. "Did you just say Aisha, Eric and Skaler?"

"Yes, why?" Ara answered a little puzzled look on his face.

Janosh turned to Tom as the realisation struck. "Ah, so you're Eric's dead friend from your planet, Earth was it?." He slapped his hand on his forehead. "This all makes sense now."

"Well, Yes, I am" Tom replied, bemused that this person seemed to know of him already. "And who are you?"

"Janosh. Very pleased to meet you, finally. You must have been one of the experiments, yes, of course." Janosh walked around as he worked it all out. "I'd gone off to blow up K'nash's ship while they got you and the other Rexon experiments down to the planet and thus that's why we'd never met, sorry." He stepped forward, a beaming smile on his face. "But it's an honour and a very welcome privilege to do so now." And he threw his arms around him.

"So you all know each other then, or not?" Ara asked, a confused look on his face.

"Well sort of." Tom replied, struggling to release himself from Janosh's strong grip.

"What does that mean?" Ara didn't drop his gaze that was pointing at Janosh and the others, as Tom explained his side of the story, with Janosh adding in the missing pieces of how he had got split up from the kids.

"We need to go back and tell Harvin." Janosh suddenly added.

"Aisha's dad is here. How?" Tom asked puzzled, having heard Aisha tell stories of her life as a Princess.

"Long story short." Janosh continued. "K'nash had a Kylapitar, that's how I got away, but at a cost." He held up his bandaged hand. "The Rexon then went back to Ansolon to kidnap Harvin, and brought him to that planet you went to first when you escaped the ship." He looked at a curous looking Tom. "You know, the one with the Rexon Army camp on it." He gestured towards Tom, who nodded back remembering the first planet they beamed to after the ship had blown up. "Anyway, I guessed that by what I heard before they dragged us off to a cell and battered and interrogated us for 3 days. Right, sorry, getting off track, we escaped, but Harvin was shot, and Zeph's people patched him up."

"Hold on." Ara interrupted. "The Rexon let you go?"

"No, we had to break a few ugly noses, especially that one Prant." He smiled a little as he pictured his face. "He deserved it though."

"Sorry, Prant did you say?" Ara stepped in closer.

"Yes, why, do you know him or something?" Janosh's instincts kicked in and he lost his pleased expression as the defences shot up.

"Yes, he came here many years ago and obliterated thousands of us. He was the reason we went underground." Ara explained. "The word is that he's a very intelligent and also a very devious one. Our friends around the galaxy say that he has some very influential allies, none of the old guard types, these are the more powerful, but as yet silent new ones who control the money behind the Rexon high-guard."

"But he looks like he's been dumped in some god-forsaken backwater." Janosh said, trying to work out why.

"He has, but it's to keep his profile low. He has technology there that's the very latest and is being tested and upgraded by the very best Rexon they have, or other races that they have captured." Ara explained and took a deep sigh. "They have some of our technology that we developed." He stopped suddenly, his mind elsewhere as a thought hit him. "You said that Harvin had been shot?"

"Yes, why?"

"Damn, was there a bullet?"

"No, clean through, some traces of chemicals, but nothing sinister." Janosh answered him cautiously.

Ara blew out a long slow breath. "So you may think." A dejected and dark look shadowed his face. "We need to find a way of testing him, as he may be in more danger than he thinks."

"How, we're away from them, and have even moved planets, twice, if not three times since." Janosh replied.

"I hope I'm wrong, but we need to get a physician to see him, quickly." His mind was racing with possibilities of what was about to happen. "And we need to do this now." Ara grabbed hold of Janosh's arm to emphasise the urgency, then looked deeply into his eyes, a sad expression had fallen across his face. "But, let me tell you right now that I think it's too late."
Chapter 86. Changing Ways.

"Well I never!" Ian whispered into the darkness.

"I too am flabbergasted at the science fiction reality of the situation." Finchy stated, open jawed at what they'd just witnessed.

"I've seen Star Trek and knew the storylines, but never thought I'd see an actual being that could openly change its form." Ian was quite amused and fascinated at what he'd just witnessed. "So, those fox like animals that we'd seen following them were actually humans."

"Ah, two of the, eh..." CT struggled to find the correct terms. "Well, the ones who were animals before, they're on the move, and very quickly back up the hill." He nodded towards the humans who had appeared. "And two of the Soldiers guarding Tom have gone the other way."

"They're heading back towards the camp, something's happened, if only we were closer to hear their words and then we could decide what to do next." Finchy added.

"We stay here and simply watch for now." Ian explained. "It looks like there are quite a few changelings surrounding them, so we're safe knowing that nothing will happen to Tom." He watched as the human changed back into fox and trotted away from Tom and the remaining soldiers. "Also, as Tom is still there, we'll stick with him and wherever he goes."

"OK." Finchy said.

"I've just had a thought though." CT started to explain. "We've seen these animals following them, and they've turned out to be Humans."

"Yep." Ian had a rough inkling to where he was heading with this thought, as he'd already arrived at the same conclusion.

"And we've seen similar animals since we arrived at the far side of the lake."

"Also yep."

"So, how many of those were actual animals, or were they humans in disguise as well."

Ian sighed and turned round slowly, knowing the answer already. "Well, let's ask this young chap here then, shall we."

Both Finchy and CT turned to see a fox-like animal appear from the pitch black night and slowly change into human form.

"Hi." Ian lowered his weapon and held out his hand to greet him. "It's a real pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm Ian Jackson and this is Charles Thorsen, also known as CT, and finally may I introduce Graham Finch-Walker, commonly referred to as Finchy." He waved his free hand at his two comrades, both of whome stood motionless. "And we're from the planet Earth."

"Hello, we knew who you were already, oh, and welcome to our planet." He held his hand out, mirroring Ian's action. "I'm Fio."

Ian took hold of Fio's hand and shook it. "What a wonderful place you have here."

"You knew who we were?" CT asked. "Can you read minds as well?"

Fio laughed, a soothing gentle sound, making everyone who heard it feel at peace. "I apologise, but we've been tracking you since you arrived the day before yesterday, and we've already taken care of introducing ourselves to your friends at the far side of the Lake. I believe to you they are known as Dicko, Lanky and Cock-up?" He questioned his own pronunciations of the names.

"Ah, of course you will have." Ian chortled and shook his head in disbelief.

"I apologise for the early intrusion into your camp but we had scanned the one named "Cock-up" and knew that he was seriously injured and needed medical attention." Fio explained. "And we had already concluded that you weren't an adversarial race, so offered our immediate assistance."

"That's fantastic." Ian was overjoyed at the news. "So is Cock-up OK?"

"I'm afraid he's still unconscious as yet, but his injuries have been assessed by our finest physicians, and yes, he will survive."

"Thank you." Ian shook Fio's hand again. "So why didn't you make yourselves known to us before now?"

"We were still unsure about some aspects of your arrival, and the fact that you carried weapons, so we waited till we were confident that you were friendly and then, well, here we are."

"Excellent, so where do we go from here?" Ian asked.

"We'll take you to see your friends, if you'd like to follow me?"
Chapter 87. Closing In.

"How long." Prant demanded as he stepped through the door, checking both ways along the corridor to ensure he hadn't been followed.

"2 hours and we will have forces on the ground, Sir" The Communications Officer replied quickly.

"Good, anything else occurred since the last report?"

"6 of them left the main group some time ago, and haven't returned, one of them being the new person." He replied.

Prant thought about it for a second, his eyes searching into the dark corner of the room, working their way around to help find the answers he was looking for. He leant back against an adjacent wall in the small closet sized room and folded his arm across his chest. After a few seconds, his right hand moved up and he placed his thumb under his chin and let his index finger carefully and slowly rubbed up and down the lower bridge of his nose.

"So, the boy arrives, and then five others leave with him, Mmmmm." Prant quietly said. "Why would you follow him?"

"Sorry sir..." The communications officer said.

"Nothing, just thinking out aloud." Prant continued with his thoughts. "That's it, they've gone to see the rest of the boy's comrades, and then report back."

"I'm not quite sure of that Sir." The officer replied, hesitantly.

Prant stopped. "Are you not sure because you don't have the evidence, or are you not sure because you have your own personal thoughts on the matter?"

"Probably sir." The officer replied, not fully understanding Prant's question.

Prant stared at him for a second, his cold dark and unblinking eyes bored into the Officers mind, making him sweat and cower. Prant enjoyed the power, and the games; and he started to laugh. "I do like to do that, I'm sorry." Prant continued to laugh as the Officer still looked panic stricken. "You've spent too much time with the Old-guard, being beaten for having your own thoughts, having had to follow orders, no matter how ridiculous or a waste of perfectly good Rexon life it would take." He watched the Officer's mind go from fear to puzzlement, and that was what he wanted. "I lead by example, but am willing to hear other ideas." He held his hand out as he waited for the Officer to take the point.

"Oh, yes, sorry, Sir." The Officer's mind clicked into gear. "I had been analyzing the brain activity of the group, which was fairly static, apart from the occasional burst of excitement when an animal came close by the camp and scared them." The Officer stifled a laugh very quickly when he saw Prant's stern expression. "Yet, it was the new person, Tom, who had fluctuating levels of chemicals and activity in his brain. I've been trying to analyse it from the medical research but I might be wrong."

Prant was impressed at how ingenious this young Officer had been. "Continue, and let me look at the data."

"I may be wrong, but initially Tom was feeling fear and great anxiety, as per these readings." He pointed to a screen to show the information he'd seen.

Prant sat down next to the Officer and scrolled through the timeline.

"After a while, the fear subsided a little, and was replaced with sadness, maybe even loneliness, but I may be wrong."

"Excellent work, continue." Prant praised.

"But since they left the camp, a sort of calmness has come over him, yet his imagination and creative side has gone into overtime."

Prant reviewed the data, as he'd studied Human brain activity in the Rexon University as one of his qualifications. So far, the young officer had been correct. "Keep watch." Prant said, as he stood and looked at his watch. "I'll be back before the 2 hours are up, unless something else happens that is unusual."

"Sir, something's happening right now."

"What?" Prant said as he came back over to the screens.

"Two of them have come back into the camp and they are causing such a commotion." The officer watched the dots representing all the people there running everywhere like ants and he smiled. "The levels of adrenalin and dopamine are rising dramatically in some."

"Maybe it's an animal chasing them?" Prant surmised verbally, trying to analyse the data before him, and the actions of the people.

They waited and watched as the commotion eased, with no other animals appearing.

"Probably nothing, it looks like it is simple humans being very silly, playing childish racing games against one another." Prant didn't believe that, yet wanted to let the Communications Officer believe in the age old fables of silly humans. He knew how intelligent and resourceful a race his enemy was, and never let his guard drop on them at any time. His face dropped and he growled a little in disgust as he didn't like this turn in events. Even as resourceful and intelligent as it was, he wished the technology could tell him so much more. With that he left the room and the Communications Officer blew out a huge sigh of relief.
Chapter 88. Houdini.

More squad cars screeched to a halt at either end of the alley. Officer Cherlie was still commanding the scene at present until a higher ranking officer decided to arrive. "You men get onto that rooftop and keep a lookout to see if he's heading off anywhere." He pointed his right arm up to the top of the abandoned warehouse that was adjacent and then let his finger trail off down the fire escape to make it easier for the officers to get up there. "Just be careful as it may not be as safe as it used to be." He looked ruefully at the now rusting metal structure of stairs and platforms. "If it ever was sturdy in the first place." He mumbled to himself, and then grabbed the arm of the more senior partner of the two as he ran past. "Keep an eye on Critch, he's very young, gun happy and might get a little too keen in the more heated moments." The older officer glanced from Cherlie to the young chap racing away ahead, leaping up to grab the bottom set of stairs to pull them down. He merely nodded and sighed before setting off after him.

Cherlie then turned back to the very silent and pensive Officer who was very stood 20 metres ahead of him in the centre of the alley. "Towne, let's talk this through first and sort out a plan." He waited for an answer. Nothing came back. Cherlie's face screwed up as he tried to read Towne's mind, trying to understand how he felt, and what he might do next. The last thing he wanted was a second Officer dead through him being rash.

More squad cars arrived in a hail of sirens, the message of a fallen comrade bringing them to the scene in droves. Officers ran down the alley and Cherlie directed them in pairs to start searches through each set of doors in turn as another pair of policemen arrived by his side. Between every command he'd glance at the motionless Towne, getting more worried about what the Officer and friend was thinking.

Towne stood perfectly still, looking to the end of the alley, no fresh thoughts running through his head apart from the time it had taken for him to find his weapon in the foot-well. He replayed the minds view of what had happened only minutes before. His hand reached automatically for his weapon, and he removed it out of his holster again and without thinking, reloaded it.

"Towne, What are you doing?" Cherlie shouted, watching his Officer load his weapon. He was getting very concerned now and started to slowly move towards his friend of 20 years.

Two more Officers appeared behind Cherlie. "What's happening Sarge?"

It took a split second for Cherlie to realise someone had spoken to him, but then blinked and turned to each Officer in turn. "the suspect is a Mallesian spy and he's in one of these building." He took a breath. No matter how many times he'd already said the next words, it was as difficult as the first time. "He killed Cern, left him like a puppet over the door of his car and fled before Towne could get a clear shot."

"How's Towne taking it, he was Cern's buddy wasn't he?" The shorter of the two said, who also was an experienced officer with many years to his credit.

Cherlie looked back at Towne again. "He's not doing well by the look of things." There was a moment's pause in the alley, everyone looking at the seemingly peaceful Towne. "Right, you two get in through that 6th door on the right, take it easy, cover each over fully." He pointed to a doorway which was back towards the start of the alley.

Towne's mind could only hear what was being replayed over and over again. The gunshots, the scream, his own heartbeat as he saw his partner being draped over the door, and then the feeling of anger, fear and worst of all the utter helplessness as he saw the beast of a man crouched on his bonnet wagging his finger at him. He turned round and looked towards his squad car, and could just make out the ghostly image of a man shouting at him. His mind couldn't register who it was, and what they were shouting. There was lots of movement and flashing lights behind the ghost which made Towne lift his head up and peer down the alley to the entrance, but it was still all a haze as his mind didn't want him to see any of that clearly. It had a singular thought running through it, which was getting louder and louder with every second.

"Towne, put that damn thing away and get back over here, NOW!" Cherlie's voice rose in volume and anger as he tried to control the now wayward Officer, who seemed to be looking at him, but he could see his eyes were very distant. He saw that Towne was now looking past him and he followed his gaze as a different type of siren approached. It took a couple of seconds to finally see the Ambulance arrive, followed closely by the coroner. Cherlie blew out a grateful sigh as he directed the two new vehicles towards the crime scene. "Thank god we can get this poor soul away at least." He mumbled to himself, thinking about Cern, and the effect this must be having on Towne. He'd already directed two of the latest batch of officers to contain the crime scene and start to mark out the information and clues. This was ahead of the Crime Scene Investigation team to arrive, but Cherlie wanted Cern's body to be dealt with quickly, as it wouldn't be helping any of the other Officers seeing a dead comrade lying over the top of a car door for many hours. With the Ambulance and Coroner parked, informed of the potential threat by the Spy, and directed to their place of work, Cherlie looked back round to see an empty alley. "Damn!" Cherlie gritted his teeth as he knew that Towne had gone loco and was now on a vendetta mission to avenge his partner. This could jeapardise the rest of the work they were all doing, and also, his reckless actions could puut at the very least himself at risk At the worst, he could put a lot of other officers at risk. Cherlie blew out a long slow breath, as he tried to contain his anger. He failed. "TOWNE!" He bellowed at the top of his voice, hoping that he could get through to him.

Chapter 89. A Testing Time.

Janosh sprinted back to the camp with one of Zeph's men in an attempt to drag Harvin out of there and take him back to an agreed spot halfway between the caves and the Lakeside camp. This had been the agreed rendezvous point, based upon the information Janosh had received of Ara. They both came charging into the camp so fast that everyone started screaming, causing panic everywhere. The guards, who had been quite relaxed, leapt into action and one nearly fired a shot at Janosh before he also caught sight of his comrade.

Janosh was metres ahead of the other soldier and reached Harvin first. "Come now, quick." He panted, his hands on his sides he'd been running so hard back into the camp.

"Janosh, what's up?" Harvin said, placing his hand on his friends shoulder, worrying about what he was about to hear.

"Can't explain, need to go now." Janosh sucked in huge amounts of air, getting ready for the run back up the mountain-side.

"Why now, why me?" Harvin was quite perplexed that this situation had arisen so quickly.

"NOW." Janosh balled at him, pushing him back out of the camp as he'd had enough and knew he needed time to explain everything, time that he didn't have if he was to save his King and friend.

"OK, OK, let's go." Harvin said and they both set off just as Zeph's soldier arrived.

"You stay," Janosh told the guard as he collapsed on all fours holding his chest. He then turned to the one who had nearly shot him. "You; come with us." Janosh, knew that they were still under a lot of suspicion by some of Zeph's soldiers, and this would ease anyone's fears.

The new soldier looked anxiously from Janosh to his stricken comrade, who turned his head slightly and nodded, his chest heaving.

They set off at a fair pace up the hillside, running back to the rendezvous point that had been agreed with Ara moments before. It wasn't long before the pace slowed, although it was Janosh who was still in front, forcing them to be quick, dragging Harvin up the hill. Even though he'd asked the guard to come with them, he didn't mind leaving him behind.

Harvin held his hands up and looked back down the steep side of the mountain at the soldier who was collapsed against a tree.

Janosh took the chance to get his breath back a little and could talk more so he explained the discussion he'd had with Ara.

Harvin placed a hand on Janosh's shoulder. "OK, what's the rush?"

"It's some good and some maybe good news."

Harvin's heart started to race even more, even over and above the way it was already thumping from the exertion. "Explain, please." He asked, a touch of fear and sadness in his eyes at his friends words."

"We've not got time, but it's your arm." Janosh didn't want to explain too much, as he was concerned about what Ara had explained.

Harvin pulled his arm round and looked at the bandage as if he was able to see something suddenly different within his arm, as if he could feel what was there.

"Harvin." Janosh said sternly. "We haven't got time to stop." He ushered his friend forward, but he didn't move. He knew he had to give him a better reason to make him move on. "Look the Rexon fired something into your arm, and there's still a chance that we could get it cured, depending on how quick they detect it. So let's get moving up this flaming hillside and get to that equipment."

At that point Zeph met them heading back towards the camp. "Ara came back, and he's left the stuff with the others." He started to set off again down the hill. "He's trained Tom on how it works." He placed a hand on Harvin's shoulder. "Good luck."

"Where are you going?" Janosh asked.

"Back to camp, a Rexon Deep Space Cruiser has just appeared on Ara's radar screens and they need us all in the caves quickly to protect us." Zeph said. As he ran past his stricken soldier, he grabbed his arm. "I'll take this one back to help."

Janosh nodded and thought about what he'd just said for a second and realised that the offer from Ara seemed a better option than anything the Rexon would be willing to give. He let him head off down the hill to get the other refugees, and then grabbed hold of Harvin's shoulder. "Move you pig headed King. If nothing else, the flaming Rexon are coming, and there might be a surprise for you in the caves." Janosh smiled as he hadn't mentioned Aisha, but was tempted to do so to make him move more quickly. He also knew that he'd never get to test and cure him if that happened as he'd be too preoccupied in seeing his daughter. "C'mon mate." And he tugged him up the hill a little.

Harvin snapped out of the trance he was in and saw Janosh's face and smiled back. He hadn't heard a word that had been said, and hadn't really registered Zeph heading back in the other direction, as his mind raced through countless possibilities of what was wrong with his arm. "OK." And they set off back up the hill at a faster pace

They soon reached Tom and the other soldiers in the centre of a clearing where Tom had sat the night before. They saw a metal case sat on the rocks. "Where's Ara?" Janosh asked looking around.

"Over there." And Tom pointed at a fox sat patiently on the path. "He said that he would be detected as a human if the King has been infected with the device, so had to go back over there and revert to another form to wait."

"Oh." Janosh said, initially shocked, but agreeing with the verdict. He then opened the case.

Tom reached in and took hold of the rectangular device that sat there. He twisted it round a couple of times, unsure of the device and what it would do. It quivered in his uncertain and nervous hands. "Right, I think I point this towards the King."

"Please just call me Harvin," He said in a very calming voice, easing Tom's concerns. Even though inside he was a cacophony of voices screaming for answers to the questions he had, his training to be the leader of all people had helped him ensure he could look calm and in control, when required. "I'm not your King, and right here, right now, I have no place to be one." Harvin smiled at the young Earthling. "It's OK."

"Oh, OK." Tom looked back at the device, his nerves easing at the sound of the soothing voice. His mind raced once more at the thought he was using this device on the King of Ansolon, yet it eased instantly when he remembered that he was also and very simply known as Aisha's father. "Right, I press this and wait for 2 seconds."

There was a moment's hesitation as the device made a slight whirring noise, and then the screen came alive, a whole host of flashing numbers and graphs appearing, each one overlaying the other as more reading were taken. They all leant forward as Tom lifted it up towards his face to see the result.

Harvin watched this youngster closely, waiting for his expression rather than the verbal answer that would come, knowing that he'd not actually hear it.
Chapter 90. Murphy's Law.

"And how is your little surveillance exercise going?" K'nash asked Prant, trivialising the importance of the task.

"Sorry, which surveillance are you referring to Leader?" Prant replied, knowing a new game had started between the two of them. He closed the door and sat down without being asked, which infuriated the Leader, and made Prant keep a little smile locked away from view. The Commander waited for a reply, letting time be on his side as he wanted to know how specific K'nash could be, as he had lots of ongoing surveillance investigations and missions across the galaxies, most of which K'nash didn't know about.

"You know." K'nash fluttered his long spindly fingers lazily around in the air, trying to seem disinterested in the details, although he knew he had to clarify the point. "The surveillance on the humans from Ansolon. King Harvin and his Security Chief Janosh Actflor." K'nash's voice had a touch of anger in it as he continued. "Does that pinpoint the exercise enough for you, out of the three tasks you currently have on your order list." The Leader was getting a little irate at the silly games the Commander was playing.

"Ah yes, sorry Leader K'nash." Prant let a tiny smile flash across his face, then hid it before his aging Leader saw it. "It's going very well if I must say so myself." He was very pleased with everything so far. The data they were receiving was far in excess to what he'd expected, and the ability to track it from planet to planet was worthy of a commendation at least. Prant decided to give K'nash a few more details, to show that this little exercise, was far bigger and more important to those a lot higher than K'nash. "Counsellor Angor has let us borrow a Nebula Class Cruiser, which at this very moment is closing in on their current location and I would hope to have captured them and exterminate a few of the others at the same time within the next 27 hours." Prant openly smiled that time, as he knew he'd said the bare minimum. It was just enough to annoy K'nash.

"Damn you Prant." K'nash smashed a hand against the desk which made everything leap into the air. "I meant a full report, all the details you insubordinate fool."

"Sorry my Supreme Leader." Prant managed to bow his head a little before a beaming smile ripped across his face. "The humans that they saved from B7X93 are all now on G2F08 in the Quenga galaxy, as you predicted." He paused for a second and watched.

K'nash's face dropped as he'd expected them to go to B7X94. The anger started to rise, but he kept in check. The commander was openly playing him, and he knew he'd have to stay calm, as there were too many on the Rexon council who watched Prant's activities with great interest.

Prant had deduced that the humans wouldn't go as planned, but had worked on the various permutations until he'd narrowed it down to three. G2F08 had been his prime choice. "We estimate that they have very little in defences and are being led to some caves. Thus it makes it so much easier for the cull."

K'nash didn't like the idea of leaving humans alive. He was from the old-guard, one where you sent in all your troops, with lots of weaponry and marched straight in and decimated the enemy as fast as you could. He'd sent many a soldier to search houses to find every last person and kill them, even their pets. No human meant No problem. These new ideas of chasing and teasing, killing a few here and there meant that some were left to continue the fight. There was a chance they'd group, find others, become a larger force to fight back, and that was never good. Yet, once again, the Council listened to commander Prant and his revolutionary ideas, and as such, if K'nash wanted to continue being a Supreme Leader, then he'd have to accept the current line of attack. "Excellent Prant, excellent." K'nash gritted his teeth as he congratulated the Commander. He decided that he'd have to accept the new world order and sat back in the chair, rubbing his hands together. "I presume we're taking back the King and his Security Chief?" K'nash stopped for a second. "Or are you going to let them scurry away once more to lead us to better and more fruitful culls of humans." He had to agree that whole worlds were getting more difficult to find, as they'd been waging this war so long they had already decimated the majority of galaxies. K'nash had heard of one last world, which had upwards of 7 billion humans, ready to be slaughtered. This hope made him smile inside, as this current cat and mouse tactics was pointless. He'd rather have blown up their worlds than continue to root out the last of the infection. "I realise that this has proven useful, but there comes a time when even a cat will stop playing, and kills the mouse."

"Yes." Prant said harshly as he remembered what Janosh had done to him. He rubbed his leg involuntarily, still feeling the pain of the metal that had been thrust through the muscles. The field physician had completely healed the leg, but he had the mental scar of the attack to deal with. Even though it was all part of the plan, he struggled to deal with the fact that a mere human could have done so much damage to him and his troops, so easily, and so effectively; even if it had been part of the plan. He was a little annoyed that he'd underestimated the Human, and vowed to not make the same mistake ever again. Prant hadn't realised he'd been thinking for a few seconds about what had gone on, and his head had dropped to gaze at the blank floor.

"I think you should have a more fair fight with the security human next time." K'nash said, nodding towards the damaged leg, whilst watching his Commander closely. He could see that Prant's thoughts were on the humiliation of being defeated, and he relished in it. "It would be a relatively even contest, considering the damage he inflicted last time when you let him escape." K'nash emphasised the word, baiting the Commander to snap back at him.

"I doubt it." Prant retorted angrily, before he composed himself very quickly. "He is a human at the end of the day, so should easily be killed by a superior Rexon opponent, even one with a slight injury."

"Well, once you've captured him, we'll arrange a re-match." K'nash smiled. "And I think it shall be to the death this time, whoever that may be." A sly grin slithered across his face as he watched Prant leave. He pondered over his last words and found that he didn't mind who won really. Having a human humiliate Prant again would be bad enough for the Commander. Allowing Janosh to kill Prant would at least remove this young upstart from his way of keeping his control and power in the Rexon army. It would then be easy and logical to simply kill Janosh after he'd done the dirty deed for the Supreme Leader. It was a win-win situation, and as the door closed to his office K'nash started to laugh.
Chapter 91. The Jam.

Ara stayed in his animal form at about 70 metres ahead as he led all the refugees back into the safety of the caves. Zeph had managed to get everyone up to the rendezvous quickly and it was only another 30 minutes later when they were entering the caves.

Once inside, Ara changed into human form. "The minerals in the mountain act as a shield against any scans, so I can resume a human form once more." He explained.

"So, where do we all go now, as this still seems fairly exposed?" Janosh said.

"If we could split into groups of about 10 people at a time, then we'll soon have you safely within the city." Ara had raised his voice lifting himself up off his heels to make sure everyone heard.

"City?" Toeb, one of the refugees looked around the cave, peering around the corner of one of the rear ones.

"Please be patient." Ara explained, and lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. He then turned and looked at Janosh and Zeph. "I have troops stationed along the perimeter of the main cave, and I would assume you keep yours here to help provide cover if the Rexon do arrive before we can all get to safety."

Janosh and Zeph both nodded, then Zeph turned and organised his men while Janosh arranged everyone into groups of 10 people. He took hold of Tom by the shoulders who was looking quite dejected. "Go with the first group."

Tom merely shook his head slowly and slumped his shoulders even more.

"You have to remember that it's not your fault. You were an integral part of the process, and merely a messenger, that's all." Janosh shook him a little to make him lift his head up. "You need to go with the first group, find the others, tell them were here, and most importantly get Aisha up here to see me first." He looked deep into Tom's eyes, and could see acceptance of the task. For now, that would be all he would expect. "You can take Eric somewhere quiet and tell him, but that's all, no-one else, not yet, OK?"

"Yeah but is it worth it?" Tom said, a touch of anger in his voice, the knowledge burning away at him.

Janosh span Tom round a little to make him face Harvin, who was helping Ara organise the first group of people into the rear tiny dead-end cave. "Does he look dead to you?"

Tom glanced from Harvin to Janosh, not fully understanding the question. "Well, No, but he may as well be."

"OK then; go and tell Aisha that her Dad's dead." Janosh said firmly.

Tom's head dropped once more, his chin thumping into his chest. "I can't."

"And why can't you?"

"Cus she'd be devastated."

"Why?" Janosh kept up the questioning, wanting him to work his way through his remorse.

"Because that's what happens when you tell them bad news." Tom was struggling to understand Janosh.

"But that's what you have to do, tell Aisha when you go with the first group."

"But I can't." Tom was getting angry for being pushed into doing this.

"OK, Look at him again." Janosh guided Toms head up. "Why can't you tell her he's dead?"

The information was like a fire inside burning away at all his logic. "I just can't do that to her, she's my friend."

"No, you can't tell her because he's not dead." Janosh shook Tom again, he didn't have any more time to waste on this life lesson. "These people are going to try to help. They may not be able to; he may be too far gone. But for now he's truly alive and will live for a while." He let Tom look at Harvin for a few seconds. "So don't mourn his death until that time has finally come." He waited a second and looked hard into Tom's eyes to make sure he now understood his message of hope. "So go with that first group and tell Aisha and the others that we're here, and see how they respond."

Janosh nudged him to join the first group into the small cave. He understood what Tom was going through and moreso because he was still so young, but this was life, and the lessons at times were hard to get to grips with.

Janosh watched everyone shuffle a little closer into the small cave, a curious look on his face as he wondered what was going to happen next. He didn't have long to wait, and he watched in awe as the cave sealed itself behind them. "Excellent." He mumbled, but his thoughts were disturbed by raised voices near the main cave entrance. He spun around and raced through the other two groups of waiting refugees to see Zeph and a couple of Ara's soldiers pointing their weapons into the woods behind them.

One of the Demdonian soldiers who was nearest to where they were all aiming at dropped his weapon and raised a closed fist into the air. "It's OK, it's Fio!" He shouted back to everyone as a small group of 7 men appeared from the dense forest.

"Apologies, but I was keeping the channels clear on the radio network for any main traffic in reference to the Rexon coming, and we thought the cave would be clear." Fio explained to Ara as he neared.

"Who are our guests?" Janosh asked, noting the different clothing on three of the group.

"They're from Earth, friends of Eric and Tom."

"Excellent, welcome Gentlemen." Janosh waved them into the cave. "This is going to be a good reunion party." He smiled. "Although it might be cut short by the usual band of party-poopers."

Chapter 92. Reunions

"DAD!" The name bounced around the cave as it had been shouted at full volume.

Everyone turned to where it had started from and saw the wall melting away to reveal the lift within. Two of Ara's troops were barged out of the way as Aisha burst out of the small cave to race through the groups of refugees.

"DAD!" She screamed again, spying him across the melee of refugees and soldiers.

Harvin popped his head up over the crowd, using Ara's shoulders to lever himself up a little higher. "Aisha" he sighed a little, then turned to Ara. "My Daughter and some of your troops have come up from below. With that he smiled and turned from the soldier, who gave him a gentle smile in return and a push towards oncoming force of his Daughter in full flight.

Most people moved out of the way as Aisha acted like a bowling ball, ramming and smashing her way in a direct line to her Father. Some were rewarded for being bounced out of her way with the occasional "Sorry."

They both stopped about 2 metres apart, looking each other up and down, not believing what they were seeing. It took a few seconds for their brains to catch up, which gave them enough time for their eyes to well up with tears of utter joy. Smiles ripped across their faces as the happiness spread through their bodies.

Everyone who was nearby also felt the strong feelings of love and regret, such a force they had between them.

"Aisha." Was all Harvin could say with a croaky heartfelt voice as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his daughter's shoulders, enveloping her in his love. He planted a very firm kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes as he pulled in a huge lungful of his only daughters unmistakable scent.

Even after all this time apart, on different planets and through varied experiences and cultures, her scent was what he'd missed most, and it felt warming to have her back near him again. "I've missed you Pumpkin. I've missed you so much." He mumbled into her hair. "I thought you were......" His voice trailed off.

Aisha pulled her head back away from him, and looked at her father. "As I did about you Dad, I couldn't...." She stopped as her voice caught in her throat and looked up into her father's eyes. For a fleeting moment, as their eyes met, she thought she saw the slightest glimmer of a frown flash across his face, but put it down to the remnants of being sad about thinking each other was dead. "But we're together here, now."

Harvin took in another huge lungful of air and composed himself. "Sorry sweetie, but we need to get out of here," His face had lost the smile, although was still very concerned and soft. "The Rexon are about to arrive and we need to get somewhere safe."

"I know, we'd had the word whilst below, but then Tom also appeared and told us that you were here." She took hold of his hand. "We've so much to talk about, and I've so much to tell you." She turned to look around the group of people, wondering where they had all appeared from. She hadn't noticed them before whilst heading for her father, but was aware of them now as their presence was felt, their voices rising in her head. "Dad, who are these people, they're not from Ansolon, are they?" Her fears of what had become of Ansolon raced through her mind, the consequences of tier actions on K'nash's ship hitting home.

"Later Aisha, later." He squeezed her hand a little, but shook his head to give her a quick and reassuring answer. "Go back with the next group; make them safe, I'll be down with you soon."

Aisha knew it wasn't worth arguing over, and understood the slight shake of the head. What she didn't like was the fact that she had just got her Dad back and now he was sending her away, and the feelings inside hurt her. She lingered for a second, drinking in her Dad's love. It was a moment she thought she'd never have after all they'd been through and wasn't wasting any more time in etching her Dad into her memory.

"Go, it will be OK, I promise." Harvin smiled, weakly.
Chapter 93. Grudge.

"Where the Hell have you gone?" Towne mumbled to himself through Gritted teeth. The anger at what had happened, at the death of his partner, at his own cowardice had been eating away at him for a few minutes, until he snapped. He'd raced into the nearest warehouse, his weapon drawn, one word racing through his head, "Revenge!" The building had once been a huge factory; manufacturing the front and rear fuselages for fighter aircraft. As such, the ground floor was quite high to accommodate huge rows of large drilling machines, 7-way milling machines, presses and jigs. Cranes were built into the ceiling above to help move items from stage to stage. The company had relocated out of the city, as new techniques in carbon fibre and Kevlar were introduced.

He heard a low growl of a laugh above him.

Towne raced up the stairs in the corner and onto the first floor. This was still quite tall as it had been used for storage of all the myriad of parts from rivets to small computer assemblies. The imprint of the low level racking was still on the floor, pathways marked in faded colours of paint to help the staff move efficiently and safely through the area.

Towne scoured the now open area, his eyes checking every last point where his target could be hiding.

"You're getting warmer you Ansolonian coward." The gruff taunting voice came from above him once more.

He charged up onto the third floor, and raced into a smaller area which looked to have also been a storage area. He wasn't concerned that this had been for stationery items, paper for printers, or large rolls of drafting paper for Engineers to check and change. All that was left were a smattering of dust covered papers and boxes on it. There was still the odd section of useless and broken racking along the back wall.

"Ooh, you got so close, but no, no, no, I'm up here." The voice taunted him once more.

Towne raced up to the third floor, where the offices had been. A layer of thick dust and bird droppings had settled over the remaining furniture of the open plan office he had raced into. The grime covered windows gave the room an almost twilight look, allowing it to have many dark places in which to hide. His weapon was gripped behind white knuckles at arms-length, flashing back and forth as he walked very cautiously around the room, checking every perceivable hiding space he passed. The single word in his head was now shouting, the taunting having increased its force. "Revenge!" It bellowed into his hears.

"I'm here." The voice crept out of the dusty darkness behind him.

A cowardly shiver down Towne's spine before the anger took over. He spun round and saw nothing but fired a couple of random shots into the rough direction of the voice.

"Missed me, but at least you fired this time."

The voice had moved to his right. Towne fired again.

"Ooooh, you must have got within 4 metres of me that time." The ghostly unseen voice continued taunting him. "That's not bad for an Ansolonian coward."

Towne swung to his left, from where the voice had moved to and fired 4 more shots in an arc.

"You've got brave and you're trying to use what limited intelligence you Ansolonians have to find me." The gruff voice half-whispered behind him once again. "Ah that's so sweet."

Towne spun around, his arms at full length, his finger ready to squeeze the trigger when his forearm hit something extremely solid.

Sharlock clamped his arm around Townes, and squeezed them together. "I warned you when you were in your squad car, don't fire at me."

The anger and strength Towne had used to burst into the Warehouse and chase the fugitive who had killed his partner melted away instantly. He couldn't talk as the fear gripped him, but it wasn't helped as Sharlock free hand gripped his throat.

"I'm going to leave this pitiful planet now, but before I do I'm going to kill you; which only seems fair as you've just tried to kill me." Sharlock let an evil smile creep across his face. "It's only right that the better person wins, isn't it. And as we both know, Mallesians are by far the better people."

Towne's voice was still paralysed with fear, and all he could do was nod.

"SHARLOCK CRENZA – COME OUT OF THE BUILDING WITH YOUR HANDS RAISED ABOVE YOUR HEAD." The electronically enhanced voice boomed throughout the warehouse.

"Ah, your friends have arrived and oh no, I'm really frightened as it looks like they've brought an.........amplifier, what shall I do?" Sharlock pleaded mockingly.

Towne was starting to choke as he was being lifted off the floor to be brought on the same eye level with Sharlock who had returned the evil grin to his face.

"I thank you for the minor interlude of this game on my way back to the spaceport, but I have to leave now." He nodded to the choking Towne. "I have to get back to my ship, send the information I've gathered back to the Mallesian council, and hopefully get an armada of warships here and take over this planet, and rid them of you worthless scum, once and for all."

Towne lost control of his bodily functions as he knew what was about to happen.

"SHARLOCK CRENZA – DROP EVERYTHING AND COME OUT OR WE'LL BE FORCED TO COME IN."

"Oh my, that would be an unfortunate plan of action for your comrades." Sharlock was looking around the room, assessing his options while he spoke. "I'd hate to have to kill so many, as much as it would please me."

"SHARLOCK – THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING – DROP EVERYTHING AND COME OUT."

He turned to the petrified Ansolonian police officer he had in his grip. "So sweet that they give me three warnings. On Malle, we'd have simply blown the building up, without a single warning." He walked over to the windows. "But seeing as they've asked so nicely, I'd do what they ask." With that he simply tossed Towne through the window. Sharlock leant out to watch Towne fall the four floors onto his squad car, killing him instantly. "Good bye." He waved to the shocked group of officers and raced across the warehouse as a storm of bullets ripped through the remaining glass. He'd picked up enough pace that he dived through the windows at the rear of the building that he'd already checked, flew across the tiny alley behind the warehouse and into the similar sized building directly behind. He rolled across the floor, a couple of times and then in one fluid movement, and without stopping, set off running so that he could do the same again. He smashed through the rear windows of the small warehouse and leapt across a second alleyway into the third and final building. He could hear the gunfire continuing to blast away t the first warehouse, a long distance behind him. This made him smile as the noise from the guns and shattering glass drowned out the sound of him diving through the huge panes of glass as he moved from building to building, to building.

A quick check on everything, ensuring no-one was following him and he smiled some more as he now trotted down the stairs, shaking his head at how incompetent these people were.

Outside he simply crossed the road, reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out something that looked like a small holiday sized tube of toothpaste. As he neared the outer fence at the spaceport he glanced both ways before squeezing the contents of the tube in and arc, which instantly melted the metal wire, creating a gap big enough for him to duck through.

Alarms sounded in the distance and he knew that he'd been spotted on the Spaceport's security monitors, but it didn't matter as he only had to sprint 100m to his ship.

As he neared the ship, which appeared as though it had been squashed into the ground, a door appeared as it sensed his presence. The invisible protective shields dropped and Sharlock slowed to a gentle jog as he entered his ship.

"Engines" was all he said as he walked casually up from the lower levels into the cockpit. The shields came back up, the door closed and it raised itself up onto its legs. A split second later, the engines fired up.

"Home." Was his next singular order.

He wasn't going to wait for space traffic control to give him clearance, and knew that the planet had only the one ship left within range that could be any sort of minimal threat to him, the Wasp fighter he'd seen in the Hangar under the reservoir.

As the sound of the Spaceport's security vehicles mingled with the ones from the warehouses behind him, Sharlock's ship raised itself about 20m off the ground. The first officers on the seen stopped and leapt out, firing their weapons at the now protected Mallesian ship.

The hovering thrusters grew in magnitude, blasting away the debris that was lying around, making the officers duck behind their vehicles as large stones and other pieces of debris were blasted in all directions.

The front of Sharlock's ship raised itself up till it was vertical at which point the main engines fired fully, instantly melting the concrete below as the Mallesian Spy's ship blasted its way out of the Ansolonian atmosphere.

All the officers who had arrived could only look up and see the rear of the ship on its way back to Malle.

Inside, Sharlock knew that the Mallesian Council would have to debate his findings, and he knew what the outcome of those discussions would be. He grinned once more at prospect of his rapid return.
Chapter 94. Small Universe.

"Mr.Jackson?" Eric asked, amazed to see someone he knew from Earth come strolling down the corridor, heading for the medical centre.

"Eric, how are you?" He asked casually as if this was a normal question to ask when you're on a strange planet in a distant galaxy.

"I'm fine, Sir." Eric was very puzzled by this new addition to the faces he'd seen in the past few minutes. "How? well, why?" He couldn't get all the questions out quick enough that his brain was processing.

"I'll explain all later." The door opened at the far end of the corridor and in came a few refugees with Harvin. "They're just going to check me over and then I'll be right out, ok?"

An orderly gently ushered Eric to one side and guided Ian into the examination room. "OK Sir, I'll see you outside." He managed to say before the doors closed.

"Eric, my fine young friend." Ashton landed on Eric shoulder. "And how are you this very wonderous day."

"Well, fine I suppose." Eric was still processing his thoughts.

"You suppose, you suppose." Ashton was taken aback by this reaction. "Aisha has found her father and you can only suppose that this is a good day?"

"Well, yes, it's just that I've just seen someone I know." He turned to Ashton, a puzzled look on his face. "And it's someone from Earth."

"Your home planet, well that is exhilarating news then." The diminutive winged Hawcon leader laughed heartily, his large belly wobbling up and down.

Eric smiled a little, the laugh was so infectious, yet was still struggling with this new addition to the planet. "Why has Mr.Jackson appeared here?" He stopped as the thought came to him. "Does he know the way back to Earth?" A smile slid onto his face as the question teased him.

"Did I hear you say Mr.Jackson." Ashton had stopped laughing, suddenly. "Major Ian Jackson of the Earth-force MI9?"

"Yes, well, I'm not sure about the MI9 bit, and I think his name is Ian." Eric's smile had gone again, realising that Ashton may know the same person.

"Let me go as I have to greet him." Ashton raced to the door of the ward.

"They won't..." Eric started to say, but by that time Ashton had slipped into the room.

"Ashton." Ian called out as he saw another friend arrive. "What a small universe this is."

Ashton flew over and they shook hands. "Ah my good friend, do we find you fighting fit and well?"

"I'm in fine fashion." Ian replied, and then his face saddened slightly.

There was a moments silence between them until Ashton merely said "Ah, I'm sorry for your losses." Reading the thoughts of the soldier and friend.

"Collateral damage it's called." Ian said with a heavy heart.

Ashton merely patted him on his arm, knowing no more words would help at this point.

"So what brings you here?" Ian asked, wanting to change the subject.

"I'm following the Leader of All." Ashton glanced towards the door.

"Surely you don't mean that you've found the one who fulfills your 100 year old prophecy?" Ian asked, excited by the news.

It's not a prophecy any longer my dear friend, it is a reality." He stopped as he made himself comfortable on the end of Ian's bed. "Eric is the One."

Ian was a little suspicious about this choice, but willing to hear more of Ashton's theory on why Eric was the fabled One who would bring peace to humanity.

Ashton nodded. "Many have I seen who have tried to claim the prize, but all were mere imposters to the throne."

"And you think Eric Peterson is the real thing?"

"I do." Ashton crossed his arms defiantly.

"OK, I'm not saying your wrong, its just so..." Ian searched for the right words that wouldn't hurt Ashton's feelings. "Well, Eric doesn't strike me as the Great Leader of all Humanity."

"Ah!" Ashton leapt to his feet again, puffing his chest up with pride. "Some are born to greatness; some have it thrust upon them."

"Well, he's having a lot thrust upon him at the moment." Ian replied.

"No, my fine Earth friend, you are wrong." He shook his head slowly, a smile creeping across his face as he looked Ian directly into his eyes. "Eric Peterson doesn't know yet, but he was actually born to it."

"Oh." Was all Ian could say in reply to such a revelation.

The door opened and in came a nurse carrying a tray of steaming drinks. "Scrimlin time!" She sang as she handed them out to the refugees.

Ashton whispered something into Ian's ear. He looked puzzled initially, but nodded in agreement. He then flew over to Harvin, and did the same.

"Scrimlin sir?" The nurse asked with a beaming smile on her face. "It will make all your aches and pains float away on the wisp of a cloud."

"Ah." He glanced at Ashton who merely nodded back at him. "Is it made with milk?" He asked as he looked into a cup.

"Milk?" The Nurse questioned. "If you mean is it made with the finest bovine juice you can find anywhere in three galaxies, then yes Sir." She thrust the tray towards Ian. "Would you like to take one?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I'm lactose intolerant." Ian smiled apologetically at the nurse.

"Unfortunately, so am I." Harvin stepped forward, having heard Ashton's whispered warning.

"What a coincidence that is, having two people in the same room." The Nurse flashed a look of anger at both men for a second before the beaming smile came back. "We have another refugee who has the same problem, and we're working on an alternative method of making sure you have your Scrimlin." She continued on to the next person who took the cup and drank heartily.

"I'm Harvin, pleased to meet a friend of Ashton's." Harvin offered his hand.

"I'm Ian Jackson, from Earth." They shook hands. "I presume you're the Harvin of Ansolon?"

Harvin hesitated for a second. "And how would an Earthling know that?"

Ian smiled. "I've known Ashton for some time, and have been to Ansolon on a couple of occasions, along with a few other planets."

"Ah, our mutual friend has been keeping secrets from me." Harvin turned to Ashton who bowed before the King. "I presume Janosh knew all of these discrete visits?"

"Of course, there isn't a single thing that occurs on Ansolon that Janosh doesn't know about, no matter how we try to keep it a secret from him." Ashton replied, smiling.

At that moment the door burst open and in walked Janosh, saw the tree of them together and asked, "What's going on?"

"Thankfully that skill only seems to work on Ansolon then." Harvin said.

Then all three burst out laughing.
Chapter 95. E Presto.

"They've disappeared, Sir." The Communications Officer told Prant, nervously as the Commander stepped into the room. 2 hours had passed and everything had been taking readings, as normal, until now.

"What?" The Commander replied, a concerned look on his face as he read the readings on the screen. Prant had only come in to finalise the location his troops needed to go to, as they were currently orbiting Demda. He knew the refugees, Janosh, and Harvin had been moving towards the caves, and had wanted to set a trap with his troops, but was confused that they now had disappeared completely.

"We also received intelligence telling us that some others had been detected." The Communications Officer hoped that this new information might help deflect the anger that was surely about to come his way.

"Others, what others?"

"Yes Sir, 6 humanoid life-forms were detected, and one of them is an ally."

"How?, Who?" Prant demanded, a whole host of new questions running through his mind.

"When the ship arrived into orbit, they completed a standard process scan for all life-forms within a 25 kilometre range. That scan brought up the ones we knew of, a range of indigenous small animals, a few indigenous large animals, and two separate groups of 3 other humanoids." He read the list he'd made. "To answer the Who part of your question, the system states that one of them is our Senior Based Agent on Earth."

"Ah!" Prant was intrigued by this new information. It wasn't helping him understand where Harvin had disappeared to, but if the Earth SBA was also there, then another old acquaintance and nemesis would also surely be there, Major Ian Jackson of the Earth Force. That part could wait, as he had to understand the disappearing act first, and then send his troops down. The added bonus whereby Major Ian Jackson may be involved, and potentially killed, would be a huge bonus to the day. He started to formulate an idea. "Where was the last known location, before they disappeared?"

The Communications Officer checked his data. "They were on the side of the mountain, approximately 2 kilometres from their base at the side of the Lake, Sir." The Communications Officer's level of concern for his own well-being started to rise as the conversation had reverted back to Harvin and the others.

"Very good. Send the troops directly there, and get them to investigate for anything at all."  
"Yes Sir, immediately." The Communications Officer allowed himself a brief smile as the relief flowed over him.

Prant left and returned to his office. Once inside he opened his computer and typed in a few words. The screen flashed then a face appeared.

"Your Eminence." Prant bowed his head for a second. "And how is High Commissioner Goran today, Sire?" Prant asked.

"You find me to be very well Commander Prant, and also a little intrigued to be contacted directly by you." The old Rexon face on the screen smiled a little, seeing his young protégé again. "So, is this contact to give information to me or to take from me?"

"Sire, you doubt that I would call you just for information download?"

"No Prant, I don't doubt you at all." The Rexon High Commissioner smiled again. "I just know you so well; you are after all part of my own flesh and blood, even if you are an unknown leg of my bloodline."

Prant smiled back, having been reminded of that fact once more.

"So, which is it?" Goran was impatient.

"Both, actually."

"Proceed then, and do so quickly I have a Council meeting planned in 17 minutes." He looked sideways to the check the time on the ancient clock hanging on the wall.

Prant smiled, having seen that clock many times in his life. The smile quickly slid away as he continued. "It is in reference to King Harvin and his Security Officer."

"Jurnesh?"

"Janosh, my Lord."

"Ah yes, Janosh, he was the one who damaged your leg as he escaped." A steely look came over Goran's eyes, his personal family pride at stake with this issue.

"I let him escape as we wanted to test the tracking medium." He emphasised the word to help the High Commissioner understand that it was all part of his plan, admittedly not as severe an action as he would have liked, but he knew he would be injured.

"Of course." Goran nodded sarcastically.

Prant shook his head, not wanting to play these games. "He eventually arrived in the Quenga Galaxy with some refugees and has been joined by the SBA from Earth."

"Mmmmm Quenga Galaxy, we already have an ally in that area." Goran's eyes rolled into the air as he thought. "Let me make a few enquiries and get back to you with a name and a plan."

"Thank you Sir."

"And you say our top Earth agent is there as well?"

"Yes Sir."

"Excellent, this may well work in our favour as we've had limited assistance from Quenga recently and need to close that down, before we move to Earth for final closure on that whole sorry episode."

"Very good Sir." Prant replied, pleased to have gleaned some of the Councils plans again. This always helped him prepare and make his own fall in line; which made him look very good. "As soon as you have the remaining information for me, I'll be ready to act."

Goran turned and flicked the communication link off. Prant wasn't offended by this action as he knew he had to be kept secret. It wasn't based on shame as many of the Rexon Council leaders had many illegitimate children; it was an accepted fact of the job. Yet Prant knew that he was the most powerful and influential of all the children, as he had been kept secret. The council had a twisted morality in that it was acceptable to have many illegitimate children, but they couldn't be helped to any position of power as that would be lead to the bitter tribal wars that had plagued their race for millennia. Goran had flouted that unwritten law because he was the High Commissioner, answering to no-one, and because he saw the potential of a young boy many years before.

Prant leant back in his chair, thinking of what Goran had just said, and started to make plans to help fulfill the orders that he now knew were coming.
Chapter 96. Finality.

Harvin held Aisha very tightly, squeezing as much love into her as he could, while he could. They were in a pretty courtyard near the medical centre in the Demdonain underground city. Aisha stayed there, waiting patiently whilst her father had been checked over. Skaler sat with her for a short while, keeping her company, but it didn't make the wait any better. She had told him it was OK to leave her there, but he'd replied that as he had no-one else here, that he would prefer to stay with her. Aisha had smiled at the thought that she would have made such a friend. He Royal lifestyle would have kept her far away from the ravages and reality of the underworld on her planet, yet in Skaler, she'd found a loyal and trusting friend; ironically because of the code he'd worked under as a thief. The buildings around them in this part of the city were some of the oldest, probably built by some of the original settlers into the caves, a long time before the Rexon forced them all down there. They were wooden log chalets, which Eric had explained looked similar to a place called Switzerland on Earth, whilst on their tour of the city when they'd first arrived. Aisha remembered that she and Skaler had laughed at the name of the place, at how silly it sounded. "They do look pretty though." She said aloud, looking at them now, wanting to simply pass the time of day with anything of interest.

"Yeah, not bad, but they'd get cold inside in winter." Skaler added.

"I understand that the thermal qualities of wood are excellent."

They both looked up and saw Harvin walking over to them.

"Ask Ashton to explain, the next time you see him." Harvin smiled at Skaler.

"I think I'll be off now." Skaler took the hint to leave, bowed slightly before his King, who nodded his appreciation back.

"Thank you Skaler, for everything." He replied, and then took his daughter back into his arms once again.

"Dad!" The muffled name struggled up and out from his chest.

He released her a little so she could breathe a bit better.

"Thank you, I thought you were about to crush me to death."

"Sorry my little Princess."

"Little?" Aisha pushed him away, her hands flying onto her hips, her head tilting to one side. "Little did you say, after what we've been through?"

Harvin stepped forward and pulled her back into a hug again. "You'll always be that tiny sweet child to me. The one who baked cookies with Phyllis, or played hide and seek in the east wing with her maids; that's the girl I see." He took in another lungful of her personal and very precious scent, as he continued. "And I'll continue to see that in my mind, no matter whom you've killed, where you've been, what you've blown up or how dirty you got."

Aisha thought for a second, "But I'm not that little girl anymore." This was from her fears of how he'd come to see her, not from the constant teenage struggle of becoming an adult.

He pulled her in a touch closer. "Do you think of Janosh as a friend, or as a highly trained soldier and assassin?"

"Well no, but I didn't know he'd done all of that."

"You knew of his background, you knew of his military experience, and even some of the tales of silly things they did whilst on a mission." He tilted his head as he looked at her, waiting to see the realisation in her eyes first before he continued. "In which case, why can't I do the same with you?"

She relaxed and fell into his grip, understanding his argument, and simply relieved to have him back again. "I know Daddy, but it's nice to be back together again."

"And we'll enjoy every second we have left." A tear escaped from the corner of his eye.

Aisha took a second before realising what he'd just said. She pushed away again, not as far this time, so she was still within his arms, looking directly at his face, which instantly had a smile flash upon it. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"What?"

"Where are you going?" Aisha was more defiant.

"Nowhere, why?"

"You just said that we'll enjoy every second we have left, meaning that you're leaving soon." She pushed herself away and turned her back on him, crossing her arms in anger.

"Baby, why do you think that?"

"I know you and how careful you are with words."

He snorted a laugh, "But I'm not going anywhere, honest."

"Yeah right." Aisha retorted. "You're a politician, and a King, remember that conversation in a cell in Janosh's police station."

He walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder, and she shrugged it off. "I remember all our conversations Aisha. And I do remember the one in the interrogation room in Janosh's police cell." He gently rubbed her shoulders, "I wish it was all that simple again."

Aisha turned to face her dad. She looked deep into his soul and didn't like what she saw. He could never hide his true feelings from her. No matter what was wrong or right on Ansolon, Aisha would see it in his eyes. This time she knew it was something terrible, something she really didn't want to know about, not right now, not ever. Aisha dived into his arms, buried her head into his chest, hugging him hard as the tears flowed.

Harvin stroked her hair and held her close as his own tears fell. "I'm sorry babe." He whispered. "They've just confirmed it."

Somebody cleared their throat behind them, making them turn to see Janosh standing there. He gave a weak smile, knowing why he had come. "Sorry, but..." And nodded for Harvin to follow him.

The father gave his little Princess one last big hug, one huge kiss on the forehead and smiled at her. "Bye."
Chapter 97. Arrival.

Commander Anche of the Rexon Elite force tapped his right foot furiously as he waited. This was a part of the process he hated most. Sitting in his personal quarters on the side of the Cruiser Scewall, he looked at the planet they orbited and tried not to get too angry. He'd been a Commander in the Rexon elite forces, so had completed similar missions many times, yet he hated how politically dominated his working life had become. He had been within beaming distance for over an hour, and took the time he had to make it to a geo-stationary orbit above the planet, check on all the troops individually, and have some lunch. He now looked at the empty plate on his table, trying to control his temper. He lost the battle and the plate was hurled across his quarters, smashing into a hundred pieces as it hit the far wall. Anche screamed in anger. He knew that the enemy would have detected them long ago, and would have had time to prepare for the attack. He anticipated that they would have hidden the families and set up the usual pitiful humanoid defences. With his many years' experience of exterminating these vermin, he knew their tactics and how futile an action it was against the far superior Rexon soldiers. This was made more futile when facing his Elite troops. The only advantage in giving the humans time to prepare was that it made it into a better game; a slightly more challenging affair, rather than the early massacres that he soon bored of. His troop had only become an Elite force due to this personally resented political red tape. During the early years they had merely been a normal brigade of soldiers, sent immediately onto a planet to kill all and remove any technology; it became too easy, too boring. He couldn't remember an exact date, as it now seemed to be a gradual development, but at some point the Council started to stick their aging long faced bony noses in. Instead of decimating a planet, wiping anything human, or connected to humans out, they decided to make allies within them. They were given orders to merely steal, rather than pillaging. The orders would be delayed as red-tape snarled the process up, which meant they had the inevitable delays, and when they finally attacked, Rexon lives were lost. As the humans improved their tactics and weaponry, the need to create a more clinical force was sounded by the Military leaders, on the back of studies conducted by Commander Prant. Thus a decree was announced to create a more specialised and effective team to be sent in first. Anche had stepped eagerly up to the mark, bringing with him a troop of 20 of the finest Rexon he had commanded. He enjoyed pitting his undoubted far superior military wit against others, taking on subversive tasks to help undermine a planet, letting them kill themselves while he watched from orbit. Those missions had been interesting, but as the years passed, his enthusiasm waned, along with his health. The bones creaked a little more; the muscles ached and the need to see his family yearned at what little Rexon soul he had.

He made his way back to the transport room and just as he stepped through the door he heard a low buzzing noise coming from a pocket on his flak-jacket. Anche slipped two spindly fingers inside and pulled out a portable communications device. It was quite old, compared to the current units which were a flexible layer which was fixed to the rear of a hand. He preferred the solid feel of his old unit, even though it brought some remarks from the lower and younger ranks. He held it horizontal and tapped a button on the top. A 3D face grew up and out from the phone.

"Commander Prant." Anche immediately stiffened at the appearance of his senior officer.

"Anche." Was all Prant said as he turned round to survey the troops that were behind his 3D image. "Excellent. The coordinates are being sent to your communicator now."

There was a small blip sound, announcing the arrival of the information. Anche merely nodded.

Prant's image had turned all the way round to face Anche once more. "I apologise for the delay, but we lost the prime target for a short while."

Anche was always amazed when his commanding officer was so forthright with him. It wasn't what he'd been used to from the old-days of Rexon military leadership.

"There are deposits of Credmezium in the Mountains, which hinders our scanning and transmitting equipment. We can only assume he went into a cave, but he seems to be back out in the open again. Unfortunately the majority of the humans he's travelled there with are still within the caves."

"Do you need us to go in and resolve the issue?" Anche hoped.

"No." Prant explained. "I'm changing the orders. Capture just him and if possible, E3156, I've sent you their resemblance details, and if you find any of the others in the vicinity, as they may be trying to spring a trap, then kill them."

"Sir." Anche replied, never questioning the orders he was being given.

"How many in total Sir?"

"Including the King and E3156, there should be 31." Prant explained. "8 have weapons, but they should be easy to dispose of, the rest are injured, or mere women and children."

"When?" Anche asked, itching to get on with the hunt.

"It seems they've made a camp in a clearing part way down the mountain, away from the cave, which is here." Prant explained as his face dissolved and a terrain map replaced him. It zoomed into a tiny red dot on the side of the mountain. "Your prime target is here." Another dot appeared, higher up the mountainside. "these are the caves, where the remainder should be," Prant emphasised the word. "They are a short distance away, and your ship's scanning equipment will spot anyone else leaving the caves, yet be mindful as they might put up a little resistance." Prant's smiling face had replaced the map. He knew his troops, and knew that they would love a real fight for once.

"Apologies Sir, but once again, when?"

"Well, I think you can get on with it immediately if you like." Prant nodded. "The High Commission has agreed to the order, so beam in and enjoy."

Anche smiled back. "Thank you Sir." Anche nodded as the transmission ended. He then turned to his troops, all standing to attention, all eager to get on with the task at hand. They'd heard the orders, so he didn't need to repeat them. Anche pressed a couple of buttons on his devices screen and all the other Rexon soldier's weapons bleeped as one. Anche then slipped the communicator back in his pocket as he bellowed the orders "You heard the Commander, Hitch up, we're going for a stitch up."

He was greeted by a tumultuous roar of "Sir" from his 20 Rexon troops.

"You heard, only King Harvin and if possible, E3156." He walked along the line of eager killing machines. "The orders are in each of your systems, their resemblances are stored, and as you heard, if we meet any resistance, we can kill the rest." Anche punched the shoulder of his second in command, who replied with the obligatory "Sir."

He knew that they wouldn't hurt the two they wanted to return with, as their weapons had target recognition software built into them. This would freeze the trigger action if the weapon was aimed at the person stored within the database, which also included the Rexon race as a whole, thus no Rexon weapon could be used against them. Conversely, if you wanted just a single target, then you could load the weapon with their resemblance, hold the trigger down and aim it at a crowd of people. Once it had a match, it fired. Very simple, and very effective.

"Transport ready?" Anche called over to a single Rexon who was standing next to a plinth with a large touch screen on it.

"Location locked sir, ready when you are." The Rexon pilot turned transporter operator replied. He'd stay with the ship, if it was needed to be brought lower, and was thus given the task of working the transporter controls.

"Attack plan Delta." Anche ordered.

The Rexon moved swiftly and with precision as the created two concentric circles around him. The outer 10 soldiers crouched down on one knee, whilst the inner 10 stood behind them. They were all equally spaced, and all had their weapons at the ready.

Anche merely nodded at the transporter operator and a semicircular bubble of light engulfed them.
Chapter 98. Two into One.

The door opened into Yeg's vast office.

"Welcome Comrade, welcome, welcome, welcome. It is so lovely to meet a fellow Rexon Spy." Yeg greeted the guest, who glared at him for blaring out the information. "Oh don't worry, It's very safe in here Jim; there are no transmissions in or out."

The Rexon Spy closed the door slowly, peering through the crack till the very last second, making sure that they were not seen.

2 hours previously, Jim Lancaster felt a light tingling sensation in his upper arm, like a money-spider crawling around, tickling the hairs. It was specifically designed to not be too strong and shock him, which could make him act suspiciously; it was more a gentle and slowly increasing sensation that let the person know they were being contacted. The ingenious device had been implanted 4 years previously; an organic based receiver that could be used across galaxies, and not be detected by any known human derived scanner. "I need a walk to find my bearings and get my head straight before this battle." He'd told Ian, who merely nodded to allow him the freedom, understanding what was happening around them.

Ian had quickly took the decision to release his captive once they heard the Rexon were on their way. Little did he realise that the person he'd just let go really was the Rexon spy.

Once outside, Jim found a very quiet corner and peeled the tissue thin communicator screen off his arm. He now held the flexible 7cm x 4 cm sheet of silicon in his left hand and tapped the bottom corner. It flashed once as it came to life, and stiffened into a solid sheet. He read the clear, concise message. "Contact Yeg."

He'd already known of the leader upon their arrival to the city, but hadn't been formally introduced, like Eric and the others had. That didn't make any difference really, as he now needed to go and see him, as he'd been directed to do so from somewhere very far away.

Jim set off walking, taking various routes down alleys and across courtyards, criss-crossing the underground city's thoroughfares. He casually looked around at the buildings, or so it seemed to anyone watching him, as his real intention was to constantly check that he wasn't being followed. Many times did he walk to, past and from the main government buildings in the centre of the city, which was his final destination, at Yeg's office. This was to check all means of arrival and more importantly, escape. He needed to see how and where he could quickly disappear, and where he could also dive into the melee of a crowd and hide within. After 2 hours of walking around, and being as certain as he could that all was safe he walked directly up to the main door and opened it. Inside the Great Hall he strolled as casual as he could, not wanting to stand out from all the others who were now starting to congregate within this part of the city. He looked up through the glass roof of the huge hall and a strange thought struck him, why would they need a roof within a caved city.

"Wonderful isn't it?" A voice from his left asked.

Lanky was shocked but managed to keep fairly calm. "Yes, it is." He glanced and saw a small elderly chap wearing a name tag on his lapel. Lanky leant a little forward to read it. "Pal. I was just wondering why there's a glass roof within the city."

"Ooh, yes." Pal excitedly answered. It had been a very slow day for him as Court Aide, ushering people to the correct offices, pointing out where the toilets were, meeting and greeting anyone of importance. He was glad to give out a little history once in a while to help break up the mundane days. "Excellent question. The glass isn't glass." He hopped and nodded excitedly. "It's actually an extremely tough clear plastic that was originally built as protection while they built the city."

"In what way?" Lanky was doing his best to act like an interested tourist.

"When we first had to move down here, there were huge natural caverns already here. Alas they couldn't accommodate everyone, so we had to expand with the inherent problems of mining to overcome." His arms swept back and forth as he told the tale. So our finest scientists and engineers constructed this bubble for everyone to live inside while we expanded the caverns. This has now been used as our central hall for concerts, etc." Pal smiled as he'd completed the well known facts.

"And as a bomb shelter." Lanky added.

"Well, yes it is, and that's why some people are now coming here to be safe from the Rexon, but I don't think they'll find us, as they never have before." He shook his head. "We're quite safe within this cave."

"I do hope so." Lanky smiled. "Excellent, thank you for that Pal." Lanky moved away slowly, looking up at the structure above him, and glancing back to watch the aide carry on his duties elsewhere.

After two changes of direction across the Hall, he came to Yeg's door, glanced around and then quickly opened it and slipped inside.

Yeg tapped the desk and the door sealed shut. "Were completely safe in here now."

"Good, but what happens if we need to escape quickly."

"There are many concealed exits around the building." Yeg tapped another part of his desk and a series of doors lit up around the room, including one directly in front of him in the floor. "And we have our own transport system to any ship within 2 light-years." Another tap and a 3 metre circle illuminated at the back of Yeg's desk.

"How do you know if there's a ship in orbit?"

"The device is set to the nearest Rexon ship, or if their defensive shields are in place, then it will transport you to the far end of the lake."

Lanky smiled, as he'd only just been there the day before.

"So, do you have any more concerns?" Yeg asked.

"Yes, why all the clones?"

"Ah, an excellent question." Yeg laced his fingers together before he continued as if he was about to tell a story to a group of pre-school children. "Many years ago my race found these similar beings on this planet. They were technologically advanced in many ways, medically in the main, and as such we thought they would be a useful ally to help my people extend their lives. We set up an alliance and worked together, until the Rexon found us." He sighed. "They decimated the planet, killing virtually all humanoid life on here."

"So you thought it prudent to gather them together and start to find a way of replicating them quickly."

"Sort of. The Rexon dropped a weapon that made all the males infertile, thus making sure that any of the populous that did survive would eventually die off."

"Ah, so cloning is the only way of re-populating the species."

"Once again, I have to correct you on that deduction." Yeg looked into the air for the most apt method of explaining his answer. "By this time I had decided that the Rexon would be a better Ally than an enemy. So, I agreed to let the people here resolve the Cloning problems, and pass that information to the Rexon, so that their scientists could perfect the technique." Yeg's smile never reached his eyes. "I thought it a prudent method of maintaining my health."

"And a method of increasing the Rexon forces rapidly, whilst they continued to fight their cause." Lanky nodded. "And were you successful?"

"Sort of." Yeg rolled his head from side to side. "It's taken many years of testing, and impregnating."

"Impregnating?"

"The initial trials failed, with many genetic problems, so it was decreed with the Rexon that we'd isolate the problems they were having, and impregnate the populous down here with them, thus the Demdonians could use their vast experience and medical expertise to learn ways of resolving the issues for the Rexon."

"Ingenious."

"You would have thought so, but the physiological differences caused more problems than resolved them."

"Which I presume our masters didn't like the sound of."

Yeg's relaxed stance stiffened for a second. "They were less than pleased, shall we say. It took many hours of careful negotiating to stop them from completely obliterating the planet."

"And I presume that it was Commander Prant who you had to persuade."

"No, it was K'nash himself." Yeg nodded knowingly at the Spy having dealt with such an illustrious name. "We continued the testing and have virtually perfected the technique."

"Virtually?"

"They have a limited life span. So they have perfected a growth serum to get them up to adulthood quickly and then to use them as expendable troops."

"A practical solution." Lanky snorted an incredulous laugh.

"Very." Yeg leant forward. "Now I have answered your question, let's get down to the real reason for you being summoned to my office."

"Correct." Lanky answered. "So why am I here?" The Yorkshireman came straight to the point.

"I've had a communication from the Commander you mentioned." Yeg sat down and proceeded to tap away at his desk. "I wasn't allowed to read it till you were here." A screen appeared above the desk with writing on it. It was transparent, so you could see the person clearly on the other side, yet the writing on it was also legible from both sides. When both spies had finished reading they sat back into their chairs in unison, a mild look of shock on their faces.

"Oh!" Was all Yeg said.

Lanky's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He could say no words and simply stared at the floor, his brow furrowed in deep thought over what he'd just read.
Chapter 99. 1 + 1 = 30

The bubble dissipated and a hail of bullets rained out from all the Rexon weapons, blasting away in all directions, except for one.

The Rexon soldier had his finger squeezing the trigger, yet wasn't firing at all. He released the trigger and turned his head to shout back to Commander Anche, "Sir."

Anche turned and looked directly at Harvin.

The King didn't flinch, even amidst the cacophony of noise that was being made by the 19 firing Rexon weapons.

Anche's eyes narrowed as he looked at the Ansolonian King, a moments hate and desire for revenge flashed across his mind before his usual steely resolve returned. The Rexon Commander had both of his younger brothers stationed on K'nash's ship that had been blown up above this despicable human's planet. Anche quickly returned to his normal disciplined military self and span around a full 360 degrees, checking for anyone else. The outlying forest was being ripped down by the bullets the other soldiers fired, yet there was no-one else to be seen. "Cease Fire." He shouted clearly above all the noise, and instantly, there was silence.

It hadn't been the soldiers who had reacted, but their weapons, which had Anche's voice-print built within containing certain major commands such as the one he'd just given.

"King Harvin of Ansolon." Anche said as he walked out from the centre of his troop and towards the human before him. He held out his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." The Rexon Commander held his anger in check.

Harvin looked skeptically at the Rexon soldier before him, but still held out his hand, as it was still the decent thing to do. "Likewise!" He replied, cautiously, wondering where this was going.

Anche took hold of Harvin's hand, and his moment of anger flowed through him as he squeezed as hard as he could, sending Harvin to his knees as every bone in his hand was crushed.

The pain was so severe that Harvin's jaw dropped open, but he couldn't make a sound.

"Where are the others?" Anche asked as he released the pressure on Harvin's hand a little, grinding the broken bones around as he kept hold.

"Aaarrrgghhhhh." The King said as he dropped further onto his now one good left hand. "What others?" He managed to ask between gulps of air as he fought to stay conscious from the pain.

Anche squeezed a little harder again, making Harvin flinch. "You were impregnated with a device when Commander Prant let you escape from Scarx which tracks you and your friend's whereabouts. We know which planets you've visited, and who you have been in contact with. We know that you came here with 36 others. One refugee was from your planet and 35 others from B7X93." Anche released the grip again. "Should I continue?"

"Why have you come?"

"An excellent question, and even though you haven't answered mine yet, which is very rude, I will answer yours." Anche explained. "We have been sent here by Commander Prant to take you and E3154 back to Scarx for further questioning."

"E3154?"

"Ah yes, apologies, we know him as former experiment E3154, yet you would know him as Tom Barratt." Anche let go of Harvin's hand completely and started to circle around him as he continued. "He had been on K'nash's ship as a test subject. They'd been trying various serum's on him, one of which you called the Sarf."

Harvin nodded while gently rubbing his damaged hand, trying to squeeze it back into shape, causing him more pain, yet he found it a relief compared to it being crushed under the powerful Commander's hand.

"He had escaped with Eklan's Kylapitar which he passed to one Eric Peterson, who then got involved with your daughter, Aisha, and together they blew up K'nash's ship above your planet. The one that had 2 of my brother's within." He firmly laid a boot into Harvin's right kidney, sending him sprawling across the floor.

"As you've now met up with Tom, the Commander would like to take you both back."

"But why just us?" Harvin asked as he got himself up onto his knees and one hand, his damaged hand carefully tucked under his armpit.

"You have a lot of information within your brain about all the worlds within your Galaxy, and Tom has a very special serum within him."

Harvin listened intently.

"So where is everyone else?" Anche asked, his anger more evident. "As I'd like to let my troops let off a little steam, a little practice killing humans for a short should help increase morale." He glanced around the edges of the forest. "That is before we obliterate this whole worthless rock."

"What?" Harvin's heart stopped as he heard the last words.

"Oh yes, it's not your problem anymore, but once we have you and E3154 safely on board our cruiser, we're going to deploy 100 thermo-nuclear devices to completely destroy this planet, or at the very least make it completely inhospitable to any form of life for quite a while." Anche started to smile.

"Cheddar." Harvin said.

Anche heard the strange word and stopped, turning to face the King, "What?" He asked, not understanding the word. He had a very good gasp of the human languages, finding he could pick up the variations with ease. It had been noted by his leaders at an early stage when they overheard conversations on radio frequencies they were monitoring. Anche had been a mere soldier at the time, but found he had an inherent skill on translating the Human language with some ease, and helped his commanders deploy troops efficiently. Yet, with all his knowledge of human, the word "Cheddar" had never been used before. He tilted his head to one side as he thought of its use. "Cheddar, what does that mean?"

Harvin smiled. "Cheese." He added the second command key.

At that instant all 19 Rexon guards dropped to the floor. Anche spun round in horror. He looked at the small dots which had appeared on the forehead of every one of his Soldiers, as all of them leaked blood. "What, how?"

"Cheddar cheese." Harvin said, standing up slowly, aiming the pistol which had been buried in the soil at his feet.

"Ah, simple codes for aim and fire." Anche nodded, letting a little snigger out for the ingenuity of the human. "Well done, but all it means is that this planet will now be obliterated without taking you and E3154 to safety."

"We'll see." Harvin said as he squeezed the trigger.
Chapter 100. Catch Up

"Mr.Jackson?" Eric shouted over the crowd ahead of him. He'd been told by Tom that Ian had been taken to the medical facility, and wanted to see a familiar and friendly face. As much as he'd enjoyed going on the adventures he'd been having, the thought of seeing someone else from Earth was overwhelming. So much so that he'd hugged Tom and leapt into the air, before racing off through the narrow streets.

This only confirmed another of Tom and Ashton's suspicions.

Ian heard his name and turned to see who it was. The Demdonians were moving swiftly, like a river after a heavy downpour, with side tributaries feeding the swell. As every second passed, more and more entered the main streets, and people were being jostled and pushed as the fear of an attack grew closer.

Eric bounced and nudged his way through everyone who flowed down the main street and came to a halt in the doorway Ian had slipped into to keep out of the flowing throng of people. "What's going on?" He asked as he neared.

"The Rexon."

"Where?" And Eric glanced around, expecting to see guards at the end of every street, his eyes steely, and his movements skittish as his head flicked back and forth.

"It's OK." Ian placed his hands on Eric shoulders.

"No, you don't understand." Eric was wide eyed with panic.

"Unfortunately I think I do." Ian sighed.

"No, no, no." Eric shrugged him off and backed away. "I need to find the others; we've got to get out quick." The nervousness was growing within.

"It's OK, they've only just arrived in their ship." Ian was struggling to control the boy before him, who seemed so different to the calm, calculated an confident young man he'd known a few months previously. "King Harvin and some of the Demdonian soldiers have gone to greet them." He smiled, knowing the plan.

"No, they'll kill us all, we need to go now."

"Eric!" Ian tried to calm the young man down.

"Where are they, they need to be here." Eric wasn't listening as he bobbed up and down, searching through all the faces for his friends. "The Rexon are coming, and we need to get off the planet, now."

Ian stepped forward, gipped Eric's shoulders and gave them a gentle shake. "Eric!." He said again, his voice firm, with a hint of concern.

Eric blinked a few times as he came to his senses for a second. He smiled at Ian, as if he'd only just seen him, but seconds later, his eyes started dashing back and forth again.

"Looks like Ashton was correct about the Scrimlin." Ian mumbled as he let another sigh out.

"Mmmmm Scrimlin, do you have some?" Eric's head whipped back round to look at Ian. His eyes softened and glazed over, his mind completely gone from the worries of the Rexon.

Ian gripped Eric by the shoulder. "This way now." He dragged him off along the main road. He could see and hear the panic in everyone as he headed to his destination. "They've all got it bad." He mumbled.

Ahead, the Great Square, siting safely under the huge plastic dome loomed and he saw another friendly face. "Dicko!" He hollered across the crowd.

"Boss." She shouted back, then noticed the dazed Eric within Ian's grip. "Peterson?"

"Yes." Ian replied as he nudged his way through the people, flitting back and forth, eyes wide, pupils large.

"What's up with them?" Dicko flicked her head at the people around them.

"Drugged."

"Why?"

"Presume so they can clone them."

"Clones?" Dicko couldn't believe what Ian was saying at the moment.

"I can only presume it's to keep their species alive. It might be why they are down here, or whatever, I don't really know, and I don't really care at the moment." Ian was furtively glancing around. "This is my priority, along with the others." He hitched Eric up a little, who had started to ask people around them for Scrimlin. "Ah, over there." He pointed to the far side of the square. "CT, Finchy, Ashton, over here!" He released Eric from his grip as he shouted, and started to wave his arms above his head.

The small group noticed Ian and CT waved back before they started to make their way through the ever increasing and surprisingly frenzied crowd. Ian then noticed that they had Aisha, Skaler & Tom with them, two of them were reluctant to move, and had to be physically dragged over by CT and Finchy, with Tom leading the way across the square.

Eric started to wander away and Ian grabbed him again by the scruff of his collar. "Back here." He said as he pulled. "Damn drug, they must not have had it for a while and are getting a little twitchy."

"Whoa, what are you doing to these kids?" Ian's arm was yanked round and up his back before he realised what was happening, bending him over skillfully.

Ian didn't fight back, as it had been such a swift move.

Dicko whipped her weapon out and aimed it at Ian's attacker. "Let him go now."

Janosh had been following the crowds into the Great Square, under Ara's instructions to meet him, Zeph and his soldiers there. As he saw the huge crowd gathering, he wondered how he was going to find any of them, but did see Eric, and how he was being dragged about. He decided to step in and help.

"Janosh, Janosh." Tom saw everything that was happening, and dashed over, pleading.

The Ansolonian Security Chief pushed Ian's arm a little higher up his back, whilst staring at Dicko's weapon, a smile on his face.

"Janosh, It's OK; they're friends from Earth and want to help."

"It's a funny way of helping someone in my book." He kept the lock on Ian's arm as he looked around the faces. It was only Ashton's nodding in agreement to Tom's explanation that finally made him release it.

"Apologies." Ian said. "But they're under the influence of a drug."

"Ahhhh, a gun." A Demdonian woman who was passing by Dicko, screamed, pointing at her pistol, which was still being aimed at Janosh.

"Dicko, holster the weapon please." Ian turned to the lady who was still screaming. "It's OK madam..." But his voice was lost under more and more screams. "Oh Winnie!" Ian exclaimed realising that he wasn't getting anywhere, and the situation in the square was only getting worse. He looked over to the far side again. "Back over there everyone, and take it nice and steady and everyone should calm down." He pointed the way and then put his arm around Eric to lead him in the direction he needed.

"This isn't going to be easy." Janosh said to Ian, and then smiled at him.

Ashton flew over to the still screaming lady and whispered directly into her ear. Her face calmed, her eyes glazed over, and her arm lowered slowly. She smiled, mumbling the word "Scrimlin" over and over again. The word was like a stone thrown into the middle of a pond as it rippled out from her, having the same effect on everyone who heard and repeated it.

Within 30 seconds, the whole square was a static mass of people, all mumbling the same word. "Scrimlin."

All was static except for the small group of people who were making their way slowly through the crowd towards the Town Hall.
Chapter 101. Forced Hand.

"Anche, COMMANDER ANCHE?" The angry voice crackled from the pocket of the fallen Rexon body.

Harvin rummaged through the pockets and found the slim mobile phone sized device. He turned the screen round and smiled as he recognised the face before him.

"Harvin?" Prant asked incredulously.

"Prant, my old Rexon buddy." Harvin beamed, enthused by the minor victory. "How's it hanging Baby, still getting the sun on Scarx?"

Prant seethed for a few seconds, wondering how this Human could have got his hands on the communicator. His eyes flashed around while he worked out the possible scenarios. Eventually he had to start asking questions to fill in the blanks. "Harvin, I can assume you've killed my troops?"

"Yes, they're all quite dead." He replied defiantly. "Look!" And he turned the communicator around to show Prant the fallen heap of elite guards.

"Thank you for that." The sarcasm clearly evident in his voice.

"You're very welcome." Harvin had a ping of anxiety appear in his mind as he wondered why Prant had said it that way.

"They were getting a little old and creaky, and we would have had to retire them fairly soon." Prant explained. "But you've saved us that expense, and all the time and effort we would have wasted hunting you down."

"Glad to be of service, now what do you want?"

"Straight to the point, excellent." Prant smiled. "None of your usual political and regal pontification."

"Not today, we've got much more important things to do, like kill Rexon."

"Oh, how powerful we sound. It's a pity that these will be your last words."

"There's very little you can do to stop us."

"Actually there is." Prant beamed. "The ship that the troops were sent from is an advanced military attack vessel, carrying enough firepower to destroy the whole planet."

"2 things though." Harvin smiled. "We've killed the 20 troops from the ship that only has a compliment of 21 on it."

"Excellent intelligence." Prant replied through gritted teeth, a touch of concern in how much bravado the Human still had. "It's a pity we couldn't have used that technology more from whoever it is that's helping you."

"Ah well, that is a shame."

"Hmmm, even if you have some method of removing the 21st member of my troop from his post, unfortunately, the ship can be worked remotely, so we don't even need a pilot. Thus I will be initiating the countdown shortly." He thought for a second. "Now, you said there were 2 things, what's the second one."

"That you need me and E3154." Harvin started to smile. "That's why you sent troops in first."

"Well done, King Harvin." Prant tried to smile, but his face told a different story.

"So you might have to delay that command, which will also give us time to leave here."

"And go where? Assuming you can actually perform such a task."

"We've got people from at least two other planets,

"Oh you mean your refugees from your little saunter around the galaxy." Prant chuckled.

"In know you could track me, but those aren't the planets I'm talking about."

"Ooooh!" Prant replied musically. "Another 2 planets, my, my, the Demdonians have become popular."

Harvin made a buzzer sound. "Wrong again, and you've used all your guesses, thank you for playing Beat the King!" He replied imitating a gameshow hosts voice.

"What?"

"I'll keep it simple, there are two other races here, at least, from planets you've not mentioned so far, and we could go to one of those, as they are relatively safe."

Prant screwed his eyes as he thought. One finally came to him and he started to chuckle with his gurgling laugh. "Ansolon, oh my dear King Harvin, I'm afraid that you will have no planet to go back to."

"Why?" Harvin kept his anger in check.

"The Mallesians are already getting an armada together to head there and take it over." He beamed at what he had done. "And after they've decimated your planet, we'll simply move in and destroy it all." He gurgled his laugh some more. "I've found a perfect human killing machine, and they're called Humans."

"You still need this." Harvin pointed to his bandaged arm, his last throw of the dice.

"Correct, you were the guinea pig and although the device you carry is required, as it is a prototype, and you're a useful puppet to play with for a while, there are times to simply cut your losses and get on with the next job, so....." Prant smiled for one last time before severing the communication link.

"Damn!" Harvin screamed and threw the communicator to the ground, where upon it smashed into a hundred pieces.

"I've already alerted the city, we've started to get people off the planet." Ara appeared from the trees nearest to Harvin.

"Thank you." He looked at Ara directly. "I'm sorry for bringing all this to your planet."

"We would have had to face this at some time. As a soldier, it's better to do this now than sit around waiting for it to happen."

"That's a very positive view." He placed his hand on Ara's shoulder. "Now go and save as many of your people as possible." Harvin looked up to the skies, thinking he'd see a bomb appear through the light layer of clouds and head towards him.

Ara saw him looking up, tapped a couple of buttons on a small tablet computer he held. "Thankfully the ship is positioned in a geo-stationary orbit at the far side of the planet. I would predict it would take a minimum of 30 minutes for it to reach a location where it could fire upon us."

"I don't think Prant will wait 30 minutes. I've a terrible feeling that he's angry enough to simply start firing those missiles from where they are, and keep doing so every few minutes until they get all the way around the planet to here."

Ara sighed as he agreed with the hypothesis.

As if on cue, Harvin and the others felt the ground shake as the first nuclear bombs exploded at the far side of their planet.

"We haven't got long, get moving NOW!" Harvin shouted.
Chapter 102. Double Trouble

Lanky was concerned, noticing how quiet everything was as he exited Yeg's office. He stood for a second trying to get his bearings, wondering what was happening. In the distance he could hear a dull murmur of a word, as if a large group of people were chanting incantations in unison.

"Lanky?" Ian was surprised to see the Captain coming out of the room.

"Oh Hi." Lanky quickly closed the door, realising that all his efforts beforehand in not being seen entering the office had been blown away. His mind had been elsewhere since reading and re-reading the information Prant had sent. He wasn't completely happy with what he was being asked to do. This was further compounded by the lack of people in the main hallway outside Yeg's office, and the distant chanting. He admonished himself for committing the simplest of mistakes as a Spy, by being caught. "What's going on out there?" He quickly tried to deflect the situation, nodding towards the Great Square.

"The Rexon have arrived and everyone's got edgy as a result of the drugs they're all on." Ian explained, a concerned look on his face. "So why were you in there?"

"I was just looking around the city and saw this fine door and peeked inside." He rapped the solid oak door firmly with his knuckles. "Damn fine timber used in this."

"And what did you see?" Ashton asked, hovering just above Eric's right shoulder, remembering the malevolent force he'd felt within there.

"A really nice office." Lanky nodded as if impressed by what he'd seen.

"Was it empty?" Ashton continued the questioning, his arms folded.

"Yes, but I think someone important uses it, like a Mayor or something."

"Mr.Jackson, we have a dilemma." Ashton's face had grown angrier.

"In what way?"

"Mr. Lancaster isn't being totally truthful."

"How the hell can you tell?" CT asked, his curiosity tweaked by the revelation.

"I have my ways." And Ashton winked knowingly at Eric, who smiled back, slowly coming round from the influence of the drugs.

"Oh yes, you can read minds." Eric said, nodding and grinning at everyone. "Cool isn't it."

CT raised his weapon at Lanky. "You're the dirty Spy."

Ian raised his weapon at CT. "Now there's the pot calling the kettle."

"What?" Finchy's head was darting back and forth trying to follow the conversation.

"Are you saying CT is the Spy?" Dicko asked, pointing her pistol at CT.

"We'd guessed a while back." Lanky explained. "Ian and Brock found a listening device in the meeting room on Earth, and saw CT going through some secret files. When we met the Rexon on the first planet, they then got some more information that he was meeting with them, and it was him that killed Grape and Brock."

"You lying swine." Dicko jabbed her gun in CT's neck. "It would give me no end of pleasure to squeeze the trigger and end your sniveling life right now."

"Actually, they are both spies." Ashton added to the fast firing information, hoping to help ease the tension.

"What?" Ian asked, now flashing his gun back and forth between Lanky and CT.

The first missiles hit at the far side of the planet, sending shock waves through the city like a small earthquake. The buildings wobbled and pieces of masonry fell. In the Great Square, the crowd, who had been chanting "Scrimlin" quietly had their internal panic switches flicked on masse and they all started to scream and run around.

Lanky seized the opportunity and snatched Finchy's weapon and pointed it at CT.

"Whoa, let's sort this out sensibly before someone gets hurt." Eric had come round enough to suddenly see what was going on, and that if they all started firing, lots of them would be killed or at the least badly injured in the crossfire. "Come on, we've got enough problems from the orbiting Rexon ship dropping thermos-nuclear bombs without fighting each other." He stepped forward and placed his hand on Ian's weapon, lowering it slowly. "Ashton, what did you mean?" He blinked and shook his head a couple of times, trying to clear the fuzziness of the Scrimlin.

"Both Mr. Lancaster and CT are spies."

"And you sensed that in both of them." Eric confirmed. "I'm sorry for asking, but you can't get mixed up, or the emotions can't mess up your antennae, or anything like that. We have to be really clear on this sort of thing, as it was different when it was just the two of us in the forest."

"I can sense each of you, and those emotions and thoughts are as individual as their voices."

Yes." Eric had a thought, as he wanted to be 100% clear on Ashton's accusations. "People from my planet can make their voices sound different, or can throw their voices, to make it look like it comes from somewhere else."

Ashton understood the questioning, and was pleased to see the old Eric returning through the fog of the drug. This young man had to make clear and concise decisions, based upon all the facts, not just hearsay and accusations. "As you know, I can obtain a general sense, or I can go deeper, which isn't the norm as my people abhor the opening of another's mind without permission."

"Hold on, sensed?" CT asked. "What do you mean sensed?"

"I have the ability to see the emotions, feelings and intentions of a person." Ashton explained, as everyone else listened, amazed

"So you can't read minds and know for sure then." Dicko asked, her gun pointing at CT, but her eyes were on Lanky.

"No, not quite." He shook his head a little. "But I am always correct with my assessment."

"It still seems a bit vague though." CT added. "How can you be sure?"

"Because you are both very good spies."

"OK, let me just say, for the case of the argument." Lanky waggled the weapon from side to side. "That I am a Spy, how can you tell how good a Spy I am?"

Ashton sniggered a little. "You misinterpreted me somewhat." He held his hands up apologetically. "What I mean is that you are both on the side of good."

"I'm confused now." Eric interrupted. "How can they be both spies and both on the good side?"

"Well," CT looked around everyone. "I'll explain my position first then." CT lowered his weapon and put it back into his holster. "I'm actually an officer of a newly formed secret service away from the police and the military." He reached into his inside jacket pocket and retrieved his credentials.

Ian read the small card until he got to the governing body. "European Foreign office?" Ian shook his head. "So do you work for the UK Government?"

"Not Quite. This is a wholly created body within the European Union nations, which isn't ratified by the UK Government on its own, but by all the members."

"But our funding and military staff come are headed by the G8, overseen by a section of the UK Government, doesn't that cover it?"

"No, the European Union knows of MI9, as word does get leaked, and funding has to be accounted for."

"So it's all about the money, as usual."

"In some respect, yes, as they are concerned that the European members of the G8 are being influenced and guided by the larger, more powerful members." CT explained. "They are also worried that technology won't be shared."

"So how long have you been working for them?"

"We've only just been created on the back of your work."

"Me?"

"Yes, the European Union felt that we needed to make sure there were no irregular dealings within the military and G8 members and so set up a secret section of specialists."

"So you're like James Bond?" Tom asked excitedly.

"Sort of." He stroked his cleanly shaven head. "Although the look fools many into thinking I'm the bad guy."

"So was that you're device in the Nether Kellet meeting room?" Ian asked.

"Yes."

"And what files were you looking at?"

"We knew that information was being leaked off world, so I found which files had been used and who had looked at them."

"And who was that?" Ian asked, knowing there was a bad spy still in the camp.

"Captain Lancaster."

"True." Lanky replied quickly as the weapons were once again raised and trained in his direction. He released the grip of the pistol he was holding and spun it round on his thumb before handing it back to Finchy. "But I was doing this to get some fairly insignificant information to the Rexon so that they'd believe I was Spying for them."

"What?" Eric asked, shocked by the revelations.

"You're a double agent?" Ian asked, slightly relieved at the outcome.

"Yes." Lanky replied, "But why were you talking to the Rexon on the first planet?" He asked CT.

"Snap." CT merely said. "I too am a double agent, and was meeting them to transfer limited and mis-information."

"How do we know that's true?" Finchy now asked, not believing anyone anymore.

"Because I can sense that they are both true to our cause." Ashton answered.

"And that's good enough for me, considering the circumstances." Ian added, lowering his weapon and looking to Eric, who nodded his approval.

The second set of missiles hit the planet and the buildings rumbled again, more violently this time as they were a little closer.

"You have to get off world now, we have..." Ara had raced into the hallway, having come directly from Harvin, and was on his way to tell Yeg. He stopped to tell Eric and the others as he looked at his watch. "We only have 16 minutes before the ship starts firing directly at the city."

"Oh Winnie, not a lot of time to get out of here." Ian stated.

"And how can we do it, cus I haven't a clue where the Kylapitar is." Eric's mind was getting clearer every passing moment.

"Same here." Ian added

"What?" Dicko asked.

"I let the Demdonians take it off me for investigation when we arrived." Ian explained.

"Same here." Eric added, curiously.

"You wazzaks!" Dicko stated, shaking her head.

"In there." Lanky pointed at the door he'd just come through. "Yeg's got transporters and everything."

"But my Dad." Aisha asked, now concerned about her father's well-being. "Did he come back with you?" She asked Ara.

Ara opened his mouth and looked at Ian and Janosh for help.

"He can't come with us sweetie." Janosh took her shoulders, turning her to face him. "When they shot him in the arm, it implanted a device which tells the Rexon where he is and who is near him. If he comes with us we're all in danger of being found."

"But..." She started to argue but couldn't think of what to say. The logic of Janosh's words not making sense. "Can't the Doctors remove it, can't they do surgery or something?"

"It isn't like that. It's a set of nano-robots that attach to your blood cells, flow around the body, and then replicate." Janosh explained the device as well he could. "They can't get it out without taking all of his blood."

Aisha thought. "Can't they do an infusion, like they do in hospitals on Ansolon, for people with kidney diseases?"

"No, the blood left in him is so infected that it would start replicating and attach itself to the new stuff coming in."

"But there has to be a way." She turned to Eric, her eyes pleading for an answer, "Do you have the technology on your planet?"

Eric shook his head, feeling helpless.

"Unfortunately, no-one can do it, and we wouldn't find anyone quick enough to do it." Janosh hesitated for a second before he broke the news. "It's killing him."

A third set of missiles hit, and the building around them started to break up. Cracks appeared in the roof of the cave and screams erupted from many people as they pointed up as a huge piece of rock broke off and fell towards them. Some fled the area but others were simply transfixed by their impending doom. The rock hit the top of the dome and bounced, not even making a crack, then rolled and bounced down the side until it fell another 50 metres onto a dozen houses adjacent to the dome, flattening them instantly.

"Wow!" Ian said, amazed at what had just happened.

Lanky had opened the door into Yeg's office and ushered everyone in. "Over there, at the right hand side of the desk." He pointed to the position of the transporter. "I'll get it fired up in a second."

"Get what fired up?" CT asked cautiously.

"A transporter." Lanky answered who'd arrived at the desk and was looking at the perfectly flat and smooth glass surface with no distinguishable features.

"A transporter?." Ian asked. "To where?" He stopped guiding people to the rough area Lanky had initially pointed to.

"It should take us to the ship above."

"Whoa!" Eric interjected. "Do you mean the Rexon ship that's currently dropping bombs on our heads?"

"Yes" Lanky argued. "Come on, there's no time, and where would you rather be, here about to be crushed as the cave collapses, or up there?"

"It might be the Scrimlin making me think this, but then again." He shook his head to clear it some more. "That seems like a daft idea." Eric was the one who spoke everyone else's mind.

"I'm not on the stuff." Tom said. "And I like doing daft things, but I have to agree with Eric, won't we be playing straight into the enemies hands?"

Janosh saw Aisha hesitate, still drawn to her father outside. He grabbed Aisha and dragged her into the office, she didn't resist as her thoughts and hopes were now gone. He'd heard the conversation between everyone in the room. "It's OK," He said to Eric and Tom to appease their fears. "Ara and his troops, along with your father, the Great and Noble King Harvin." He smiled at Aisha who wasn't really listening. "They killed the 20 soldiers on the surface, so there is only the pilot and a possibly a medic left onboard." He shrugged. "And they may be one and the same person."

"This doesn't sound good though." Tom was getting a little nervous about the plan as he looked at Eric, who had a curious smile appearing.

"Look, there are only two of them onboard, at the very worst." Eric explained. "And the medic's probably not a soldier, so we should be able to take him and the pilot without any fuss." He looked at everyone. "There are 11 of us, and by beaming in, we've got the element of surprise and lots of weapons." He waited till everyone understood.

Another salvo hit the mountain. More screams were heard outside as more pieces fell, flattening buildings, killing those unfortunate ones within.

"And then we should be able to stop the bombs and save the planet." Lanky held his hands out to plead for acceptance.

"That sounds reasonable." Ian added, thinking through Lanky's logic.

Lanky took the hint and waved his hand over the corner of the desk. A white ring appeared on the floor, adjacent to them.

Everyone reluctantly agreed and went and stood in the 3 metre diameter circle that had appeared.

"Where's Yeg?" Eric asked.

"Don't worry about him; he's a true Rexon spy." Lanky added. "I'll explain all when we safely get out of here and onto that ship."

Lanky tapped the desk again and 5 more concentric circles, all a lot dimmer, appeared outside of the main one they were all stood inside. One flashed bright red, and then faded away.

"What's that?" Skaler asked, as he was stood next to the now dimming red circle.

The adjacent circle flashed red, and then dimmed.

"I think it's a countdown timer." Ian explained his thoughts. "Lanky get in here now."

A third circle flashed.

Lanky ran over and stepped inside the circle as the missiles hit the mountain at the far end of the lake. The walls shook and cracks appeared in the office. Everyone gasped, expecting the worst.

The fourth circle flashed.

"Anyone with a weapon, get it ready." Ian shouted the order, hoping the room would hold.

As they started to reach for their respective guns, a missile landed directly on the mountain above the city. The whole room shook, and everyone ducked instinctively.

Another missile hit the mountain above and the cave started to break up. The roof of the cave started to collapse and huge pieces fell onto the dome, making everything bounce. CT fell out of the main transport circle as he lost his balance. Finchy grabbed him, but was now also off balance and so fell outside of the white circle as the fifth and final countdown circle flashed red.

The white circle on the floor shot up 3 metres into the air, creating a tube of light around everyone who was still inside.

Outside the office, the Great Square cracked, and then buckled under the sheer mass of mountain that had fallen upon it and all the buildings in the city crumbled under the now constant bombardment.

CT and Finchy died instantly as all of the the buildings were crushed.

Everyone within the tube of light looked up, expecting the worst, but were whisked away.
Chapter 103. Truths.

"Well done, I didn't think you could have done it so easily." Prant explained as the transport completed its journey. "And to get so many key players in one go, and a few surprises as well." He continued, looking around the startled group of nine evacuees. "Lower your weapons Ladies and Gentlemen, please."

Eric, Aisha, Tom, Skaler, Ashton, Ian, Dicko, and Janosh all looked up at the group of 50 Rexon guards standing around them, weapons trained on their heads.

Lanky kicked the weapons away that everyone had lowered to the hangar floor, sending them clattering across the metallic surface towards the guards. He then walked backwards away from the group. "The least I could do for my Commander." Lanky bowed to Prant as he went and stood by his side.

"So you were the real Spy after all." Ian said dejectedly, glancing at Ashton, whose face was blank.

"Let me just..." Dicko said through gritted teeth as she prepared to attack Lanky. Janosh gently held his hand on her arm as he looked around the room.

"They want to kill all Humans." Eric seethed with rage at the traitor. "And you're a human like us, how could you help them."

"Not all Rexon are the same." Lanky glanced at Prant. "And they don't want to kill all humans; you should know that better than any of us." Lanky replied with a knowing smile. "And that's why I thought it would be in the best interests of everyone to be on their best side in this war."

"By being on the wrong side." Eric snapped.

"And in the best interest for whom?" Aisha asked, already angry at losing her Father, and wanting to take that rage out on anyone. She thought that a Rexon Spy would be a good place to start.

"Now's not the time." Janosh interjected, placing his other hand on Aisha. He looked at both angry ladies. "If you try to kill him, they will all shoot and we'll all be killed, he's not worth it." He motioned around the room at all the Rexon guards who had their weapons trained on them.

"As usual my good friend Janosh." Prant leant sideways to look directly at him as his view was slightly obscured by Ian and Tom. "You have the common sense to see when it's not worth fighting." He looked at everyone carefully then turned to Lanky. "Actually, now I look around at our guests, you have done rather well indeed." He looked from face to face, surprised on who was in the group. He took his time as he went through everyone. "Ian Jackson, Major in the Elite Earth Force MI9, welcome."

"Thank you." He flashed a fake smile.

"So we're now on the Rexon ship orbiting the planet?" Eric probed, trying to gather intelligence, knowing he wasn't right, but had to start somewhere.

Ian was impressed by the question, and waited for the answer.

"A very good assumption, but no." Prant reached into his right pocket and held something out for the group to see. "Extremely useful little tool, these." Eric recognised the Kylapitar that was being held before him. "As you currently know, they can be used to push you to a set location, but they can also be used to pull you from a set location when a transport has been initiated." He slipped it back in his pocket.

"So if a transport has been started, you can snatch it?" Eric asked.

"Yes." Prant slipped the device back in his pocket.

"But how do you know when a transport will be initiated?"

"Ah, the symbols can be locked."

"What?" Skaler asked. "The symbols can be locked, and I've been letting the damn thing scroll round and round!"

Eric glanced at Skaler, and winked.

Skaler understood.

"So it's a bit like setting up something to record off the telly." Eric asked, then realised why everyone except Tom didn't understand him. "Forget that, but I think I know what I mean."

Tom beamed as he saw Eric blush a little.

"So where are we then?" Eric asked.

"Welcome to Scarx." Prant replied proudly, holding his hands out to his sides and bowing slightly before them, as if greeting them to a Royal gala. "And where exactly is that?"

"Remember when you escaped from K'nash's ship?" Janosh decided he could offer a better explanation to Eric.

"Yes."

"The one with the green sky?" Tom asked, his recollection of the events being very vivid after having spent so long in a vacuum packed bag.

Janosh nodded, remembering the nights he'd spent in the cell. "Yes, that first planet you came to was here, Scarx."

"Oh!" Eric's shoulders slumped as he realised they were in the midst of a heavily fortified Rexon camp.

"I apologise for the intrusion into your little discussion gentlemen." Prant pushed his head close to theirs. "But I think we should all be introduced first."

Eric half smiled. "Sorry, but I like to know these things."

"And curiosity is a wonder in a child, but formalities must be followed." Prant explained, turning to his right to greet his next guest. "I believe you are Dicko, we've never had the pleasure I know, but..." He stepped forward offering her his hand. Dicko grimaced and snarled a little at him.

Janosh huffed a tiny laugh, and placed his hand back on her arm. He liked this little fighter, and understood why she'd become a favourite of Ian's when he picked the best for his missions.

Prant smiled at Dicko, not rising to the challenge before turning his head slightly and moving his hand up and to the right. "Ashton Debrun, my little flying and frail Wood Squire of the planet Ansolon, welcome to my humble domain."

"I think you above anyone know how strong the Hawcon are." Ashton replied defiantly, remembering one particularly pleasing battle against a small group of marauding Rexon led by Commander Prant within the Great Forests of Ansolon. The Commander had arrived on Ansolon, and decided to gather intelligence of his own. On entering the Great Forest, he'd soon found and captured three families of Hawcon; intruiged by these diminuitive winged humans. Ashton had mobilized his forces very quickly. Armed only with simple bows and slings, they were small enough to stay quite hidden. With their wings, they were mobile enough to move and change tactics on a whim, yet they were stronger and in far greater numbers to beat back the Rexon. Many Commanders would have lain waste to the Forest, yet this was Prant. He understood the political ramifications if they attacked the forest, having to explain it to K'nash, who would have to beg forgiveness from King Harvin. That was not going to be done, and thankfully, he saw the time wasn't right and gave the order to retreat.

"Yes, that was a decision taken for the good of everyone on Ansolon, not just yours." Prant added hastily.

So far no-one had shaken his hand and Prant snorted his disdain as he continued. "E3154 or Tom as I believe your friends call you." He nodded at him, holding his hand before him for a couple of seconds before he finally pulled it back and started to walk around the group to see everyone more clearly. "Janosh I know very well." His face stiffened.

"How's the leg?" Janosh asked, smiling.

"It's healing very well thank you." Prant flashed the slightest of grimaces as he thought of the damage that had been inflicted upon him, and the pain he still felt on every step. This only helped fuel his hatred of any Earthlings.

"Hope it doesn't hurt too much." Janosh added sarcastically, noticing the faintest of limps as Prant moved around the room greeting everyone.

"What did you do?" Skaler whispered to Janosh, although it was a whisper that was loud enough for all to hear.

"Stabbed him through the thigh with the leg of a metal chair." Janosh made a thrusting action with his hand. "Through the muscle and the bone."

"Oooh Cool." Skaler was impressed.

"Actually, It was very hot." Janosh snorted a laugh at his bad joke.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but you are..." Prant asked, not knowing his next guest.

"Skaler, Master Criminal, and I'm never at your service." He smiled at his own joke, and held out his hand which brought a few shocked murmurs within the group of evacuees.

Prant stepped forward with his hand out. "A Criminal you may have been, but a Gentleman you certainly are amongst these sorry excuses of supposedly civilized humans."

Skaler stepped through the group, but stumbled over Eric's foot and fell into Prant's arms. "Oh sorry, for that, I fell over his leg. Apologies, but..." He straightened himself, up, brushing down his clothes to be more presentable first. He took a small breath to compose himself, gave Eric a sly look, and received a fake smile back. He shook his head, rising above the contempt he could feel from everyone else in the group and thrust his hand out once more. "Shall we try again?"

Prant shook to offered hand. "A decent human, how unique in the present company."

"Well, you may be the enemy, and want to kill all humanoids, but there's no reason why we can't be civil, is there." Skaler added.

"None whatsoever." Prant nodded at this young human who had actually impressed him slightly with his ability to rise above their impending and ever probable death. "Well done young human." Prant turned to the next person. "Anyway, let me continue and greet Princess Aisha, welcome to Scarx."

"You killed my father." She spat the words at him and took a step forward, her fists balled.

Eric gripped her elbows to hold her back.

Prant thought for a second. "Yes I would assume he's actually dead by now, as opposed to the slow death we'd injected into him." He nodded at Aisha in agreement to her statement.

"You will die one day, and I hope it's by my hand." She growled her threat.

"Now there you are." Prant looked shocked. He stepped back and waved his hand across the group. "We have the criminal being a decent diplomat, and the supposedly decent diplomat being the criminal, how contrary and fickle a race you are." He shook his head in mock disbelief. "I can agree that one day I will die, but I'm afraid that my plans mean it won't be at your hands, unless you manage to do it very, very soon."

Aisha looked at Dicko's weapon which was laid nearest to them on the floor, but Eric gripped her elbows a little tighter.

"I would take your friends hint." He glanced at the weapon Aisha desired. "Or your end will come a lot sooner." Prant scowled at her for a few seconds.

Eric felt the tension and anger leaver Aisha, and he relaxed his grip on her.

"And finally." Prant turned to Eric, a curious look on his face. "Who do we have here?"

"Eric Peterson, from Earth." Eric's defiance was clear for all to hear.

Prant took a step back. "I'm sorry, did you say...." He reached into his left pocket and pulled another device out, and waved it up and down in front of Eric. "My oh my." He said as he looked at the readings on the device, taking a step back. He took a deep breath, and stood to his full height. "Gentlemen of the Rexon guard." Prant spoke in a strong and authoritative voice to announce the next guest to Scarx. "We have here the young Mr. Eric Peterson."

None of the guard responded.

"I thought that may fool you a little, but he is the Son of the most famous human ever, Simon Peterson." Prant explained.

There were shocked murmurs around some of the Rexon guards, some repeating his Dad's name is whispered tones.

"Hi," Eric was shocked, his eyes followed the whispers around the room. He glanced at Ashton who nodded back at him before looking at Prant. "How can that device know who I am?" Eric asked. "And how do you know my father?"

"I know your father well, very well indeed. He's a..." He thought of the right words. "He's what you would call a celebrity to the Rexon people." He then stopped for a second as a tiny memory of a thought occurred to him. Prant took the device and waved it up and down in front of Aisha. "Well, well, I'd always wondered if the conspiracy theorists were accurate or merely telling tales, but even I'm surprised by those readings." He glanced back down at the medical scanner and shook his head, a sly grin slipped onto his face as he looked at the two of them. "Well, well; I wouldn't have believed that..."

The bubble of light engulfed them, shocking virtually everyone in the group, except one, Skaler.

"What? You wouldn't have believed what?" Aisha asked as the light dissipated, but her voice merely drifted off into the clear evening air.

Eric nodded at Skaler, "You understood my wink, well done."

Aisha had stopped for a second, her brain had already started to register that they'd been transported away, but didn't know where to or how they'd managed to do it. "Where are we, and how did we get here." She asked

"I got us here with this." Skaler waggled the Kylapitar about in the air. "It seems you can pull the same trick twice." He winked at Ashton who merely beamed back at him. "First Nerith and now Prant, easy pickings."

"Well done." Ian patted Skaler on the back, chortling at the ingenuity of the two boys.

They were stood in the middle of a field, a gentle slope dropped to a large bay of water ahead, and mountains rose in the distance their right, snow still capped some.

Ian turned around and recognised the buildings behind them. "Anyway, less of the doom and gloom, we're alive, and best of all, we're quite safe."

Eric wondered why Prant had known his father so well, but knew he had to leave that for the moment. He understood Ian's relief, as he also recognised the view ahead. Everyone stood looking at the sun reflecting off large bay of water, painting it a mix of bright orange and purples as it slowly set. Eric walked to the front of the group, turned, and with a large grin on his face declared, "Welcome to Earth!"

Eric Peterson may have beaten the Rexon once again, with the help of his freinds, but will he continue his adventures on Earth, and how will he fulfill the 1000 year old destiny from another galaxy.

Find out in the final book in the series, Earthbound.

Due 2016.
