 
First Contact

by Eric Filler

Copyright 2012 Eric Filler

Published by Planet 99 Publishing at Smashwords
Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter One

The planet was perfect. It had high, rugged mountains and dry, barren deserts that covered half of its surface. Water was scarce and the air was barely breathable. Towards the poles were savannahs of tall grasses and a few trees dotted the area. There were a few dense forests scattered about, mostly near small hills that rose from the deserts. It was a habitable, yet harsh world that housed no intelligent life of any kind. It was perfect for mankind's first terraforming expedition.

Captain Lisa Shaw looked out the forward viewport of the starship Explorer. She glanced down at the brown planet hanging against the backdrop of deep space. She shifted her gaze to the freighter Pioneer, which was to her right. While the Explorer was filled with soldiers and weapons, the Pioneer carried three hundred scientists who were to 'make mountains out of mole hills and mole hills out of mountains', as the terraformers liked to say. Lisa had her doubts about the expedition. It was the first trip out of the Solar System, and who knew what she and her command would encounter out here. The Explorer was one of about twenty cruisers in the United Earth Alliance's fleet of starships. It was one of the most powerful ships in Earth's inventory, and yet Lisa had a feeling that she had been sent out here because she and her ship were expendable.

She shook away her doubts and looked over at the officer who handled the communications equipment, Ensign Laurie Terraz. "Signal all units to deploy and secure the landing area," Lisa commanded. Terraz nodded and then the intercom system in the ship sounded.

"Attention all units, deploy and secure the landing zone. Repeat, deploy and secure the landing zone!" Soldiers scrambled to shuttles that would ferry them to the surface, armed with laser rifles and wearing thick olive armor. Soon the deployment was underway and the thruster trails of the shuttles could be seen as they left the ship behind. Lisa watched them go down, uninterestedly. It seemed so anticlimactic after such a long journey to have to wait for the shuttles to get down to the surface of the planet. She turned away and paced near the window, hands clasped behind her back as she thought about her mission.

She didn't like being out here with only her ship and the transport. There was so much that could go wrong, and it would take months or years before anyone could get out to help them or find them. She knew that under these circumstances any captain would be nervous, but she was especially so because the Explorer was her first command and she had worked too hard to lose it now.

She had taken command of the ship about five years ago after she had been promoted to captain. She had served for nearly seven years in Washington, working for United Earth Alliance Command under her mother, the admiral in charge of Earth's space fleet. It had been an experience she didn't want to repeat. Hanging around bureaucrats all day wasn't her idea of fun; she liked the freedom of space a lot more. She had spent a couple of tours on small ships when she had first graduated the Academy, but once she had reached Lieutenant Commander she had been sent down to Earth. She shivered as she thought about it and in a way was glad she was out here right now, at least she was far away from all of that. Still, she would much rather have had an armada of ships to back her up in case something bad happened. She turned back to the window, watching the last shuttles leave the hangar.

Ensign Terraz crossed the bridge to where her friend, and fellow Academy class graduate, Ensign Jack Laurants, was stationed. Laurants coordinated the sensors that swept the area for danger. He turned and smiled at her. They both snuck a glance at Lisa, who was turned away from them. "So, how long until we leave this dirtball and head back for Earth?" Laurants asked.

"I'd say we've got at least another week here to make sure that the colonists get settled in and the ground units get set up. I just wish that this place had some life or something so that we could get some shore leave to stretch our legs before we have to leave for Earth," Terraz replied, sitting down in a spare seat next to him and nodded.

"Yeah, some shore leave would be nice. Six months with nothing but recycled air and these dingy corridors makes you wish for some fresh air," Laurants remarked and they laughed quietly. Terraz was a native of Los Angeles, and used to tight and dirty conditions while Laurants, who was raised in the Yukon in Canada with its clean air and open expanses, was much less suited to life aboard a starship for months at a time.

"I doubt the captain would allow it though," Terraz snuck another glance at Lisa and sighed. Captain Shaw had not said one personal remark to either of the young ensigns since they had boarded the ship, and they doubted that she would be so kind as to let them have a few days to relax. Still, there was no protocol for this kind of mission, so there was a small possibility. Terraz made a note to talk to the First Officer about it, since she seemed to have a little more pull. "You know, it's a real disappointment to come all this way just to drop some scientists off on a planet with no intelligent life. This wasn't exactly the kind of mission I had in mind when I signed up."

"I'd have much rather been assigned to a ship around Mars or the lunar colony, where the action is. When I boarded, I thought we were going to have some kind of adventure, but this has been nothing but a really long milk run. Intercepting space pirates is a lot more interesting than this," Laurants assented. It was then that they noticed a third person coming over.

"I think you two should stop daydreaming and get back to work," Lieutenant Susan Sanders, the ship's helmsman, scolded.

"We were just...discussing a few related issues, Lieutenant. Care to join us?" Terraz replied.

"Sure, there's nothing better to do. Anyway, I'm sure that you two were discussing the possibility of shore leave. Being a little higher on the chain of command, I can tell you that it isn't going to happen," Sanders whispered conspiratorially.

"That's what we thought. Any reason why?" Laurants asked.

"From the scuttlebutt I've heard, the captain doesn't think that we should go down there while the scientists are working, it could screw things up with the terraforming."

"Figures she'd take their side. What about us, don't we deserve a little time off after being cooped up here? After all, most ships have six-month rotations before the crew is let off to resupply. We've been out for that time, so we should get some R & R," Terraz protested.

"Trust me, it isn't going to happen. If the scientists don't want us down there, that's it. They've got top billing on this mission, we're just the escort. So, if I were you two, I'd stop worrying about it and get back to work before the captain sees you slacking off," Sanders walked away and Terraz knew that she was right.

"I'll see you after shift," she casually left Laurants alone and eased over to her own station across the bridge. Even though there wasn't any real work to do, they still had to look busy. Laurants checked the sensors and yawned; it was definitely a boring day.

Nearby, a lone ship cruised along on a seemingly never-ending journey. The ship was unlike anything that humans had ever encountered before. It was six miles in length and over two miles wide. It was shaped like a long, rounded box and its surface was covered with weapons and equipment. It had just entered the Rygan system and even now its passive sensors could see the two human vessels in orbit.

The commander of the alien vessel was overjoyed at the sight of the ships. After months of traveling through barren space, they had finally found something. It was going to be his lucky day. He signaled one of the crew around him to ready the active sensors to scan for life on the brown world.

First Lieutenant Amanda 'Manny' Rosaro cradled her laser rifle in her arms as she rode down to the surface in the shuttle. She wished that she didn't have to be strapped in, it prevented her from moving more than an a centimeter in any direction. She managed to move her head enough to look over at the rest of her platoon. Their faces were masks of unconcern, as was her. Even though they were strapped in, most of them were chatting loudly, which was against regulations, but they did it anyway. She had never really had her men stick to the rules; rules were too restrictive. Sitting next to her was her second-in-command, Sergeant Alex Davis. He was a muscular man with a deep tan and black hair that was hidden under his olive helmet. His eyes were closed, but she could tell that he wasn't really asleep. Like her, he was trying to put on a good face for the others. Everyone was a little nervous whenever they left the ship on a mission, but his was a routine mission, no one expected to encounter any resistance. Her Fifth Platoon had been selected for securing the most treacherous, mountainous terrain on the planet. It was the worst assignment, and she wondered why the brass had singled her platoon out for that mission.

It was probably from their track record. In the past year her platoon had been reprimanded nine times and half of the platoon's ten members had been disciplined. It was only logical that they would draw the worst assignment. It was something she and her men were used to. The only reason that her platoon was still around was that it had been decorated eight times in the past two years.

Her platoon was the one that had helped settle the Martian War by destroying the rebel's headquarters. They had also defended the lunar colony from interstellar pirates. They had been responsible for saving the president of the Alliance from an assassination plot. They were too valuable to get rid of, but they weren't perfect soldiers. Manny leaned her head up against the wall of the shuttle as it shook violently. Must be entering the atmosphere, Manny thought and closed her eyes for a brief nap. Unlike Davis, she actually did sleep.

Davis looked over at his slumbering commander, feeling a little nervous. He had been a soldier for nearly twenty years and had seen just about everything in the Solar System. Coming out here and heading for an unknown world made him worry. Anything could happen, and if it did, they were a long way from home. He thought of his parents in Sacramento and knew that they were very worried about him. He hadn't seen them before leaving, but he knew that they were concerned about him whenever he was out of communications range, which was most of the time.

He did, however, know that he and the rest of the platoon were in good hands. Manny had been in charge for a couple of years now, and the platoon had never performed better. She was a daring, capable soldier and inspired those under her command. That was probably why almost the entire platoon had survived the Martian War while others had been decimated. Still, there were new faces in the group and Davis knew that rookies could always make mistakes when it counted. Not even the best commander could do anything about it.

Commander Arsa Veranda sat at her station on the bridge of the Explorer, bored. She looked around her and saw that nearly everyone else was bored too. She couldn't blame them, there was really nothing for the Explorer to do until it recovered its troop shuttles, and that would be days from now. So, all there was to do was sit and wait. The captain stood by the front viewport, silently watching the Pioneer as it entered low orbit. Arsa was worried about her friend. Lisa had been quiet for most of this voyage, almost as if something was bothering her. Arsa hadn't talked to her yet, but she knew that she would have to soon.

Maybe, Arsa pondered, she's just homesick or something. This is the first time that we've been far away from other ships and Earth won't even register on long-range sensors. On their other missions, it had just been short runs between Pluto and Jupiter, Earth was always nearby, it didn't feel so far away. But now they were in an entirely new system and were far away from anyone or anything familiar. Arsa sighed and stood up. She had to talk to Lisa now, before it was too late.

She walked across the open space of the bridge and tapped her captain on the shoulder. Lisa turned and saw Arsa behind her. "Can we talk for a few minutes?" She asked and Lisa nodded. They left the bridge and went down to an empty conference room. Lisa sat down and Arsa made some coffee for the both of them.

"What's this about?" The captain asked tiredly. She hadn't slept in a long time and there were circles under her green eyes.

"I just wanted to know what's eating you. There must be something," Arsa said and handed Lisa a coffee cup.

"It's nothing really, I'm just tired," Lisa replied. Arsa didn't look convinced. There's no fooling her, she thought and pressed on. "It's just that being out here, I feel so...so out of the loop. Like we were dumped out here or something."

"Well, we were, in a way. But our mission is important. When we come back, we'll all be heroes," Arsa smiled and took a sip of coffee. She rubbed her tired brown eyes and hoped that her friend cheered up.

"I don't think so. I think that the brass has it in for me. Think of all our other missions. None of them had any real significance. Even during the Martian War we were on deep space patrol around Jupiter. We've always been out of the action. And this time it seems that they put us as far out as they could." Lisa knew that Arsa wouldn't believe her, but it was true. She had seen the evaluations on herself. She had been described as 'a captain lacking initiative and creativity, follows regulations, plays by the book, not a natural leader'. She knew that she was cautious at times, but she had been brought up to follow the rules. Her parents were both in the military, her father a general and her mother an admiral, and she had followed the tradition. Still, there were many who thought that she shouldn't be a captain, that she had got her position from her parents. That wasn't true, she had been forced to work twice as hard as anyone else to overcome that fact.

But here she was, stuck out in the middle of nowhere. She knew that people back home thought her and her ship expendable. Although powerful, the Explorer was one of the older ships of its class and its captain was less than respected by everyone. So, if they encountered some problems out here, who better to lose than her and her ship? She sighed and wished that she was back home. Arsa frowned and took a quick look outside one of the windows in the room.

"Don't worry about it, when we come back, you'll show them the kind of captain you really are. Then they'll be putting you right in the thick of things."

"I doubt it. They've got it in for me, because I chose to come out into space, instead of stay back home on nice safe Earth. Since then, my mother's wanted to do something like this to me, to prove her point."

"What point is that?"

"That I can't handle it, that I'm not starship captain material. She wants me to be one of those ass-kissing admiral's aides until I can get promoted again. That's not what I want to do. I want to be out in space, maybe not this far, but I want to be out in the stars. So, now I am."

"You don't really believe that your mother would hold a grudge for five years and send you on this mission because she wants to punish you. That's insane!"

"She's done stuff like that before. I wouldn't put it past her."

"I think you're getting a little paranoid. You need some rest."

"I guess you're right. Well, we'd better get back before someone misses us," the two women set aside their coffee and went back to the bridge. Lisa's thin, tall frame sank into the captain's chair, and she felt even more tired than before.
Chapter Two

Manny unstrapped and opened the hatch of the shuttle. She ran from it with her weapon raised. She soon saw that there was nothing but sand around her and lowed the rifle's muzzle. The rest of her platoon gathered around her and heaved sighs of relief. No one reflected on the fact that they were the first humans to step foot on a planet outside of the Solar System, there was too much to do.

"All this way and there ain't nothin' here," Private Luis Sanchez groaned. He was one of the battle-hardened veterans that was always looking for a fight.

"Sorry to disappoint you. Let's move out," Manny called and took her group to the base of the mountains they had to climb. From her webbed belt she took a small gun that contained a grappling hook. She aimed for a cliff up the mountain and fired. The hook shot up and caught on the rocks. Manny pulled the rope a couple of times to make sure that it would hold before she began to scramble up it. She grunted a little, carrying over a hundred pounds of equipment and armor on her back, but soon she was used to the weight and made it easily up to the cliff.

Davis came up next, followed by the others. Manny surveyed the terrain and saw that the mountains were steep, but there was a narrow path that went up. Her platoon, weapons leveled, had spread out and secured the area. Manny wasn't surprised when Davis told her that they hadn't found anything. She hadn't even seen any animals up here. She took her binoculars and looked up the path. She couldn't see anything and decided that they may as well risk going up the narrow path, even though it would mean traveling in single file. She gave the hand signal to move out and the platoon continued up the mountain.

Sanchez took point, followed by Manny and Davis, and then the rest of the platoon. A relative newcomer, Corporal Harry Beffis, was at the rear, nervously sweeping his rifle right and left. The soldiers continued their upward trek, not finding anything. "This is the most boring planet I've ever been on!" Sanchez groaned. For some reason, Manny had a sinking feeling about that.

On the bridge of the Explorer, Laurants stared at the long-range sensor display in confusion. Something was blocking his scan of the outermost planets of the system. It could be some sort of natural disruption, or it could be another ship jamming the scan. He fiddled with his instruments for a few seconds and then looked over towards Arsa, who was the most senior officer on the bridge at the moment.

"Commander! Take a look at this," Arsa hurried over and studied the display. It seemed odd that the scan was being blocked by something out there. It wasn't really anything important right now, but if it moved towards the ship, then it could become a problem.

"Yellow Alert! Call Captain Shaw to the bridge!" Arsa commanded and took the captain's chair. Being so far from home, Arsa knew that it paid to be cautious. After all, if there was trouble, then there would be no one there to support them, except the lightly armed freighter in low orbit over the planet. The bridge doors parted and Lisa strode onto the bridge.

She had been enjoying a few minutes of sleep when she had been paged by one of the bridge officers. She had raced to the bridge, fixing her uniform as she ran. As she stepped onto the bridge, her uniform was picture-perfect, as always. Every hair was in place and she quickly disguised her fatigue. Arsa stood and she took her chair, asking for a status report.

"Something's interfering with our long-range scan. We're not sure if it's organic or created by some artificial intelligence. At any rate, I think we should be cautious until we know what we're dealing with," Arsa suggested.

"I agree. Order the Pioneer to land and have two platoons redeploy to escort the scientists to safety until we know what we're dealing with. That should be the safest place for them until we figure out what that is." Lisa took a deep breath and thought about the problem at hand. There was any number of spatial phenomena that could block a long-range scan. Or, and she felt fear rising as she considered it, it could be something else. It could be another ship out there. No one had ever encountered an alien before, but regulations were very careful to give guidelines on a first contact experience. A captain had to be careful not to start a war with another species. Especially out here, she thought glumly, we'd be too far from reinforcements to force a prolonged battle.

Laurants checked his instruments again and noticed that whatever it was seemed to be moving. His scan was not able to reach as far as before, and he was worried. "Captain, the anomaly appears to be moving...towards us. I'm gauging its speed at half lightspeed. It'll reach us in approximately...forty-five minutes."

Lisa whirled around in her chair to face Laurants. "That's strange...can you read anything into the source of the jamming?"

"Nothing, Captain. Whatever it is preventing us to read into it and beyond it. If it's an alien jamming signal, its the strangest I've ever seen," Laurants replied.

"If it's an alien ship, I'm sure it'll be the strangest thing any of us have seen." Lisa wiped her brow of sweat, feeling tense and nervous. Something was out there, she could feel it. "I want to know as soon as the Pioneer lands. And prepare a standard first contact communications message. I'll want to send it as soon as the anomaly is in range. Also, have all laser batteries go on alert and prepare fighters to launch."

"Yes, sir." Lisa leaned back and hoped she didn't appear as nervous as she felt. She knew that it was going to be a long day.

The alien ship closed on the sixth planet of the Rygan system. Unbeknownst to the humans, the aliens weren't jamming them. Rather, they were completing a long-range scan of their own. The captain of the large vessel looked over to the ship's expert on scientific material, S'Tallen.

"Any scans of bio-energy in this system?"

"Yes, Captain S'Olonny. There are trace readings from the fourth planet in the system. There also appears to be a ship in orbit and another that appears to be entering the atmosphere. However, they do not appear to be much of a threat to us. There are sufficient bio-energy readings to warrant a collection mission."

"Very well. Ready all batteries. Neutralize those starships first, then launch the transports to begin collection," S'Olonny ordered a subordinate. He wondered briefly who it was that he was attacking. He hoped that they made good sources of energy. He didn't concern himself with that though. His job was simply to launch the collection raids and to run the giant ship. The technicians would be the ones to actually gather and use the precious bio-energy. He paced around the massive bridge and checked on the officers readying the ship for battle.

Unknown to the ship's captain, S'Tallen had left the bridge and was heading down to his lab to check on the progress of his latest patient. The doors hissed open and he saw that the two security guards posted outside of the lab were lying in bloody pieces on the floors. Orange blood stained the walls and S'Tallen looked for his patient.

The patient had once been what resembled a two-legged rhinoceros, but now its gray skin had turned a sickly green color and scaly. The patient appeared to have trashed the lab and then destroyed itself afterward. S'Tallen shook his head. This experiment had turned out like all of the others. The patient had undergone genetic replacement and then gone on a rampage, destroying his lab and killing the guards. He began to pick up the pieces and hoped that this next time things turned out differently.

Things had to go differently, it was important. S'Tallen's work was the most important work of the whole mission, even more than collecting bio-energy. His work, if successful, would issue in a whole new era for his people. If not, then it would mean their eventual destruction. He looked at the body parts scattered about and shivered. He could not fail in his mission, he would have to find another species to attempt genetic replacement on.

The terraforming scientists of the Pioneer quickly disembarked, leaving behind possessions and equipment. The freighter had performed an overglorified crash landing which the pilots had called an 'emergency landing'. Most of the scientists were bruised and shaken up, but none the worse for wear. Two platoons of troops met them and hustled them off to a small hill surrounded by a thick forest, where the soldiers had set up their temporary command post. Most of the freighter's passengers didn't know why they had landed so suddenly, but the ship's captain did.

He sat on the bridge of the cargo ship and looked around at his skeleton crew, most of which were young and scared. He was barely able to control his fear himself. The landing had scraped the hell out of the ship's bottom, but the message from the bridge of the Explorer had been much worse.

They had encountered jamming somewhere out there, and the Pioneer was to remain grounded until further notice. The captain knew that his ship didn't have enough firepower to do anything in a fight, which is what everybody was fearing. They were out in a remote corner of space, encountering some strange anomaly which could be anything. He trusted the Explorer to protect his ship and was glad that the passengers had gotten out safely. They would be in good hands until this crisis was over. The freighter captain looked up towards the sky and prayed to God that the crew of the Explorer knew what it was doing.

"Captain, the Pioneer has landed and its passengers have disembarked," Terraz reported and Lisa looked relieved. Arsa sat at her station, feeling the tension in the air. She looked worriedly at her captain, hoping that she knew what she was doing. Their talk earlier had troubled her. Lisa had seemed to have lost confidence in herself, and that could be very dangerous right now. Any hesitation or indecisiveness might get them all killed.

She looked around the bridge and saw that everyone was working dutifully. They were hiding their fears, their doubts. It wouldn't be long until they knew what they were dealing with. She knew that they couldn't back out, run back to the Solar System. They were sworn to protect the Pioneer and the freighter was now on the ground, where its passengers would be safe. Whatever was out there, the Explorer's crew would face it alone.

"We're in communications range."

"Send the transmission and stand-by to raise shields," Lisa ordered and hoped that whatever was out there was friendly or just a harmless anomaly.

On board the alien ship, the communications tech was pondering the strange message that had just come in. It was a series of pictures showing odd-looking beings and other nonsense. He quickly checked his equipment before alerting S'Olonny.

"Sir, a strange signal has just come from the ship in orbit." S'Olonny came over and looked at the message. It was strange all right. None of it made any sense, then again it didn't have to. If this was some kind of alien psychological weapon, it wasn't going to work.

"Are we in weapons range?" S'Olonny demanded of the weapons officer.

"Yes sir."

"Very well, dispose of this ship." S'Olonny commanded nonchalantly and then took his seat once again. "After its destruction, deploy all collection units to the surface."

On the Explorer, all Hell was breaking loose. Laurants called, "Captain, the jamming's stopped! There's definitely an alien ship out there!"

"Has our message been received?"

"I'm not sure," Terraz replied.

"I'm getting massive energy readings from the ship!" Laurants called out and Lisa looked over to him.

"Shields up! Deploy all fighters and fire all weapons!" The order came too late. A massive laser barrage enveloped the ship and holed it in a dozen different places. The bridge shook and Lisa was barely able to keep her seat. The lights dimmed and red emergency lights kicked in. There was a deathly silence in the room for a few seconds as equipment came back on-line.

"Damage report!" Lisa called.

"Weapons systems off-line! Hyperdrive engines took a direct hit. All fighters are launching to counterattack. Shields aren't responding!" Laurants shouted.

"Put us in full reverse! Have all work crews try and get the shields and weapons fixed! Eject the prototype ExoArmor units down to the surface. The troops below may need them." The ship began pulling back, leaving orbit. Before it did, a massive green cargo crate was ejected out of the hangar. It quickly fell through the atmosphere and then to parts unknown on the surface. Everyone on the bridge was too busy to notice exactly where it had landed. Below, the captain of the Pioneer ordered the freighter to lift off. Though slower and more lightly armed than the Explorer, the Pioneer could still be able to distract the enemy ship long enough for the cruiser to get back into the fight.
Chapter Three

The alien captain watched the battle through the main holoviewer. Small fighters boiled up at the ship like angry bees, firing missiles and laser cannons that were ineffectual against the ship's armor. His ship had faced battles worse than this and prevailed. Whoever these aliens were, they were no match for his vessel. He leaned back in his chair and continued to watch the battle. The small alien fighters had prevented the launch of the collection forces, but not for long.

The tiny, crescent-shaped Eclipse fighters buzzed around the alien ship, firing at will. The human weapons proved to be no match for the thick armor of the alien ship, and the shots were in vain. The alien ship's guns poured out steady streams of fire at the offending craft, sometimes taking out several in one barrage. It soon became a battle of attrition, one that the humans were losing badly. Some, seeing that their missiles and cannons were ineffective, began plowing their fighters straight into the alien ship like Japanese kamikaze pilots. Soon it was almost all over as only three human fighters remained. They formed up into a triangular formation and streaked towards the alien ship at full speed. The first pilot, the leader of the squadron, gave a last war whoop and only seconds later it smashed into the hull of the enemy ship. It blossomed into a minute fireball and then there was nothing left to ever signify its existence. The second pilot let go of his stick and closed his eyes, saying a last prayer before his fighter slammed into the alien ship. Then the final Eclipse fighter dashed itself against the armor of the alien vessel, its pilot screaming curses at the aliens before she was destroyed. Her fighter fireballed against the hull harmlessly and S'Olonny knew that he had won.

Then the Pioneer broke through Rygan's atmosphere, heading for the enemy ship. Its few laser batteries fired, raking the alien's hull with green fire. The ship returned fire and the Pioneer was nearly cut in half by the blasts. On the bridge, everyone was dead, except for the captain. He managed to crawl over to the helm and set a ramming course at full speed. The bulky freighter streaked towards the alien ship and closed the distance quickly. Its nose plowed against the bottom of the alien craft with a tremendous amount of force. The freighter's hull was crushed as it impacted against the alien ship and then it exploded in a last act of contempt for the aliens.

S'Olonny felt the ship rock and looked over at his weapons officer. "No major damage, sir."

"Destroy these insects, now!" S'Olonny roared. The weapons officer nodded and aimed a huge barrage at the Explorer, which was still slowly backing away.

"Captain, the Pioneer's destroyed!" Laurants called out.

"Status on weapons and shields?" Lisa demanded.

"We have partial weapons and shields are at five percent. Engineering reports they can have full shields in about three hours," Arsa said.

"Not good enough. Raise what's left of the shields and bring us within maximum firing range. I want to keep their heads down."

"Captain, the aliens are firing again!"

"Brace for impact!" The blast quickly vaporized the shields and then the beams of energy speared the ship. The hull began to buckle and flake off like large metallic crumbs. "Hull breaches reported on all decks!" Lisa looked around helplessly. Her ship was gone, trashed. The bridge was a mess and the last blast had crippled it. Tears formed in her eyes as she knew the order that she had to give.

"Order all hands to abandon ship," she ordered quietly. Arsa nodded slowly and then went on the PA system and spread the order.

"All hands abandon ship! Repeat, all hands abandon ship!" The crew that remained dashed to the escape pods. Arsa looked over at Lisa and saw that she was sitting defeatedly in her chair, her head in her hands. The bridge crew ran for its pod and Arsa ran to Lisa's side.

"Lisa, snap out of it! This is no time to go down with the ship!" She cried and grabbed the defeated captain.

"No! This is where I should be!" Lisa screamed as smoke filled the bridge. She fought off Arsa's grip, but Laurants dashed over and helped the First Officer drag her into the escape pod. The hatch shut and the pod was propelled away and towards the surface of Rygan. The pod was made to fit about ten people, and nine now rode it down. They strapped in and sat on padded benches. Lisa watched through the small window as her command exploded in a huge fireball. She could see a few other pods rocketing down and tears streamed down her face. It was gone, her ship was gone. And so was any hope of returning to Earth. She turned away as a storm of debris streaked down towards Rygan's surface like miniature comets.

S'Olonnt was happy now. The aliens had been annihilated and now the collection forces could be deployed to the planet's surface. A small fleet of bulbous shuttles headed for the planet, engine's blazing. Bulky escort ships herded them down like a flock of sheep, guns ready to handle any trouble. There should be no problem now. It would be a simple bio-energy collection mission, his men had done it a hundred times before.

As he waited, S'Olonny looked over to the weapons officer with an evil gleam in his eye. "I think it's time for a little target practice. Begin firing at those alien pods. Do not cease firing until they are all incinerated. I want all of those pests eliminated. The weapons officer nodded and then began targeting the escape pods. The helpless escape pod occupants watched as beams of red fire headed for them and obliterated them swiftly. All of the pods were gone within less than a minute, only tiny molecules of human DNA and metal entering Rygan's atmosphere. S'Olonny saw the results and smiled. There would be no further trouble from the humans, he was certain of that.

The shuttles were soon on the ground and large hatches lifted. A score of troops dashed out with weapons drawn. A platoon of human soldiers hid behind some rocks and waited in ambush. Before they were ready to attack, an alien escort ship was overhead, its engines buzzing like a swarm of bees. It hovered over the soldiers and then it cannons opened up. In a single bright blast, the human platoon was destroyed. The escort ship raced upwards and soon joined its comrades in low orbit over Rygan.

A bitter battle was going on near the human temporary command post, with two human platoons barricading themselves inside. They were determined to protect the civilians at all costs. There were no reinforcements available, all the platoons were either under attack or too far away to help. The commander of the human ground forces, Colonel Al Berra, couldn't get a hold of most of his platoons. He had been trying desperately to get a hold of the Fifth Platoon in the mountains, but there was no answer. He ducked as a laser bolt whizzed over his head. Many of the platoons had already been wiped out by the aliens.

He raised his rifle and peeked out of a small slit. He aimed and pulled the rifle's trigger. The alien, dressed in heavy, red armor that prevented the humans from seeing what their attackers looked like, was hit in the midsection. It struggled forward and Berra fired again. The alien was hit again and went down, for good this time. Three more took its place, and Berra knew that it was hopeless. His troops couldn't possibly hold off the swarm of aliens.

"Lieutenant!" Berra called for his aide. Lieutenant Bob Jameston went to his commander's side. "Give the order to move out! We've got to get these people out of here!" Jameston nodded and passed the word. Soon the humans were backing out of the command center, abandoning equipment and fallen comrades. That was when they realized that they were completely surrounded. Hundreds of armor-clad aliens stood with weapons leveled. One dressed in seemingly more ornate, white armor made some kind of hand signal and a huge energy burst came from the alien guns. The energy enveloped the humans and Berra felt himself blacking out. He knew it was some kind of stun weapon, the energy wasn't searing his flesh or even penetrating his armor. He fell to his knees and his world went black.

"Captain, we have captured most of the aliens intact. However, there are a few units that are still engaged in fighting," the weapons officer called out.

"When will these pathetic creatures give up? If they will not surrender, then destroy them. Order escort ships to support the units that are still fighting. Has the collection facility been sent down to the surface?" S'Olonny asked.

"It's on its way, sir." S'Olonny nodded, his job was finished now. The aliens would soon be routed and the survivors taken to the collection facility. He stood and decided to take a walk while the collection forces landed and went to work.

S'Olonny walked back to the engineering section of the ship, which was completely dark. He stopped at a catwalk and looked around him. Behind a thick wall of a clear material sat many enormous lantern-shaped bio-energy storage tanks. The tanks were filled with a multi-colored liquid that seemed to glow and radiate power. The substance was bio-energy, the lifeblood of his people. He frowned and saw that of the twenty mile-high tanks, seventeen were completely empty. He needed to find a good source of bio-energy soon, before the supply ran out. He turned away, hoping that this raid would at least fill another tank. His people needed the bio-energy, needed it badly. Without it they would all die, and that was something S'Olonny was unwilling to think about.

Manny looked around the valley and flicked a switch on her comm. "Fifth Platoon to base, Fifth Platoon to base, do you read?" All that came back was static. Every member of the platoon tried their comms with duplicate results. "Must be some interference from the mountains or something."

The platoon was walking through the sparse forests of the valley, where a tiny stream trickled. They hadn't heard or seen any of the fighting, the valley was too far removed from the battlefield. So they kept to their original mission, to explore and secure their sector. Sanchez resumed point and they followed the stream.

"For a forest, this place is pretty quiet," Davis remarked, uneasy. He had been in combat many times, and knew that silence always came before the storm. He kept a wary eye looking for any signs of an impending attack.

Manny was nervous also. Like Davis, she knew that this planet was too quiet. She could feel that something would happen soon. The lack of comm contact with base made her think of something else. She hadn't told the others this, but there was a chance that their base and everything else had been destroyed. When she had been briefed, Colonel Berra had brought up the possibility of an alien attack by natives of the planet or something worse. That could mean that they were the only survivors of some kind of attack.

She knew that the best thing to do was to keep going with their mission, for now. It wouldn't be smart on her part to get her troops all worked up for something that could be accounted for by interference or a glitch in a comm. But if she couldn't make contact soon, then she would leave the area and find out what the Hell was going on. It was against the rules, but she didn't care.

She looked around her again, still wondering why there weren't even any animals around here. This entire planet seemed strange to her. It seemed to be devoid of any form of animal or intelligent life, yet there was water and plantlife. She didn't know much about biology, but she did know that this planet's ecosystem was very strange in human terms. She had always thought that animals were needed to maintain a balance of oxygen versus carbon dioxide. There were no animals here, yet there was still breathable oxygen. It didn't make any sense at all, which left Manny feeling a little more scared and also very confused. The platoon continued its trek across the valley, unsure of what lay ahead and each person feeling that it was too quiet.

Lisa watched in horror as the alien ship fired on the other escape pods. She waited for that final blast that would forever wipe them out, but it never came. The pod was camouflaged amongst the debris and the alien ship had not seen it. She finally leaned back in her seat and looked away. Almost her entire crew was gone, nearly three hundred people were dead. She hadn't known most of them personally, but they were still her crew, part of her responsibility. She had failed them.

Sitting across from her, Jack Laurants couldn't help but feel sadness rise up in his chest. He hadn't known the captain for long, but he had always thought her a good person. She didn't push her officers too hard, and treated her crew with respect. She was cold and impersonal, but not a bad captain. She ran a good ship, or had run a good ship. When Laurants had graduated the Academy, he had requested to serve aboard the Explorer, because he was looking for an adventure out in deep space.

When it had been sent out of the system, Laurants had been elated. He liked the idea of exploring the unknown, of finding out what was outside of the Solar System. He had known that certain risks were involved, but it was an exciting idea nonetheless. After what had happened, Laurants wasn't sure that he ever wanted to travel in space again. It seemed that the first attempt at exploring outside of Earth's neighbors had ended in a miserable failure.

The escape pod slammed into the ground and rolled over end for end. The pod was smoking and finally came to a stop in a vast desert. Lisa looked around and saw that no one had been thrown from the pod and everyone seemed to be all right. She slowly unstrapped herself and then stumbled over to the hatch and punched the open button. Explosive bolts blew the hatch open and sunlight blinded Lisa. She shielded her eyes and then stepped outside.

She was surrounded by miles and miles of sand and desert vegetation. She sighed and smoothed her blue uniform jacket. She hated feeling disheveled, even after a rough landing like this. She felt that a captain that looked rumpled wouldn't be able to inspire any form of confidence in their crew. She unbuttoned the collar of her jacket, feeling sweat bead up and then ran a hand through her short brown hair to smooth it out. Rygan's sun was beating down on her and she turned away and went back to the pod, where everyone was unstrapping.

"We'd better get the emergency supplies and then get out of here," Lisa said and Arsa nodded. She opened up an emergency panel and took out a small, metal box. "Any weapons in there?"

Arsa opened the box and gave a disapproving look. "Nothing except some flares. I don't think those'll do anything against the aliens."

"Right, we need to find some better weapons. Did we get those ExoArmor prototypes off the ship?"

"The hangar crews reported that they got those off before we had to abandon ship," Terraz reported.

"Good. If none of the troops have found them, then we can use those. So, our first priority will be to find them. Any idea where they landed?"

Laurants took a tiny computer out of his pocket. "They should have given off a homing signal. We can follow them with this compad."

"Good, then let's go," Lisa commanded and then stepped outside. She hoped that they found those ExoArmors before the aliens did. The rest of the bridge crew fell in behind and they set out across the desert.
Chapter Four

The sun was beating down on the bridge crew and everyone was ready to drop. Lisa kept the lead and tried to keep walking as fast as she could to keep everyone going. Finally she ordered everyone to rest while she and Arsa stood aside. Lisa unbuttoned the high-collared uniform jacket and tied it around her waist, leaving only the white uniform blouse. She sighed, not used to the dry desert heat. There seemed to be no shade anywhere, and she was almost positive that they would all die out here unless they found some sort of water or vegetation soon.

Arsa shared her concern, she could see the others were panting, sweating, and suffering from extreme fatigue. The last time she had been in heat like this was during her Academy survival course. She and Lisa sat down on a rock, catching their breath. "We can't go on like this for much longer," Lisa started.

"I know, we'll be dead before nightfall. We've got to find some water or something soon."

"I think we're going to have to split up and hope that one group finds something. We can use the emergency comms to keep in contact. You'll lead one group and I'll lead the other. Be careful," Lisa cautioned and Arsa nodded. She took a comm from the box and then took three bridge crewmen with her, walking to the east. Lisa, Terraz, Laurants, Sanders, and a young tech went north.

Lisa didn't like having to split up, especially since they didn't know where the aliens were and they were all unarmed. But, someone needed to find those ExoArmor units and use them to fight back against their aggressors. She led her small group along the deserts and then she saw it. It was a single, gnarled old tree, but it was enough to provide a little shade, and hope. Lisa's team ran to the tree and they sat down and rested under it.

"We'll stay here until nightfall and then we'll start walking again," Lisa said wearily and the others nodded. She told them to rest and took first watch. Everyone gratefully fell asleep, leaving Lisa by herself. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hoped that Arsa would be all right. If she didn't make it, then it would be all Lisa's fault, and she couldn't bear to lose another life.

She had volunteered for first watch, because she knew that when she closed her eyes she would see it all over again. She would see the ship being destroyed by the aliens and would hear the tortured screams of those who had died. She would smell the smoke, see the flames, and feel the same helpless feelings again. She knew that it was her fault that the Explorer had been destroyed. She should have opened fire immediately, or put the shields up sooner. She should have done something. She had played by the rules, holding her fire until fired upon. She hadn't wanted to start an interstellar war, but one had been started anyway. She tried not to blame herself, tried to tell herself that any captain would have done what she had done, but she knew that that wasn't true.

She had always followed the rules to the letter. Ever since she had started as an ensign out of the Academy she had played by the rules. It had gotten her several quick promotions, but eventually it gave her a reputation for not being a risk-taker, not being able to improvise. Those were qualities that the best commanders had. She had always wished she could be like that, but she couldn't do it. She had just never found that fire inside of her. Even when her ship was being destroyed right under her she didn't have it.

When she had been chosen for this mission, she had been told that it was because she and her ship had so much experience out in deep space, away from Earth, and that she was cool-headed enough not to start an incident out there. But she knew that it was more than that. As she had told Arsa, she knew it was someone's attempt to get rid of her. What she hadn't said was that before she had become the captain of the Explorer, she had gotten into a terrible fight with her mother, the admiral. Her mother didn't want her so far away, so far out there. She had argued that she was doing her duty and eventually she screamed at her mother that she was going whether she liked it or not, and then she had walked out. They hadn't spoken since, and Lisa could almost feel that this was her mother's attempt at saying: If you like it out there so much, then you can stay out there!

Now, she was stuck out here, on an unfamiliar world with her only friend out in the desert somewhere. She briefly wished that she had never come out here, that she had never taken on this mission. Still, there was one part of her that kept telling her that if she pulled this off, it would prove all of her critics wrong. She had to somehow stop the aliens and get back to Earth, or at least to one of the colonies in the Solar System. If she could even get to the Pluto Deep Space Lab, it would be good enough. From there, a message could get to Earth that an alien intelligence had been encountered and that it had attacked and destroyed her ship. Then, all of Earth's defense forces could be brought to bear on the aliens. And she would be able tell her mother how sorry she was.

She shook these thoughts away, there was something more important to think about now. She had to protect what remained of her crew from the enemy. She wondered if any other escape pods had been able to make it somehow. The chance that there were still any around was small, so finding those ExoArmor units would be their first priority. So far she hadn't seen anything, and now the sun was setting. A cold wind had whipped up and she shivered a little. She untied her jacket and put it back on, feeling a little warmer. She checked her watch and then realized that she hadn't woke the others up and had been sitting there for five hours.

She began to wake the others up and then she stood up and stretched a little. Her joints ached and she was getting tired. The colder temperatures had raised her spirits a little and woke her up slightly. The five bridge crewmembers continued north, towards the homing signal that the ExoArmor emitted.

Laurants had been the first one to wake up, and he had noticed something a little different about his captain. She seemed sad and alone, which wasn't unlikely since her ship had just been destroyed. He could feel that there was something more to it, and he couldn't help feeling sorry for her. His older brother had been a starship captain and had died with his ship when it was destroyed during the Martian War. He knew what the burdens of commands were, and knew that Lisa was probably just as connected to the Explorer as his brother had been to his frigate.

He jogged ahead of the others and fell in next to Lisa. "You know, it's not your fault," he began quietly. Lisa didn't turn to look at him, hiding her mask of sadness.

"What do you mean?" She asked slowly.

"About the ship, it's not your fault. You did what you could, no one's blaming you for that."

"I obviously didn't do enough," she growled angrily.

"You did all anyone in your position could have done. You tried to prevent a war from starting, you should be commended for that." Laurants could feel her anger, knowing that it would fade in time. He had been angry himself when his brother had died, that's what had made him join the military in the first place. There he had learned to deal with his pain and to use his anger constructively. He only hoped that Captain Shaw could find the same thing here.

Lisa kept her gaze ahead and forced the anger down. She knew that she hadn't done enough, she didn't deserve anything. She couldn't help but thinking that she should have gone down with her ship, at least she would have died with some form of honor. She stalked ahead, her eyes trying to catch a glimpse of any life. It was dark, but her eyes were adjusting rapidly. The ground was hard under her boots, and there didn't seem to be anything except for flat, desert plains. It seemed as empty as her life.

Arsa climbed up the sand dune and looked around her. There was still nothing except miles of dunes. It seemed this desert went on forever in all directions. The three bridge crewmen with her were keeping up, but she was tired. It was almost night, but they would have to keep walking while it was cool, and then find somewhere to rest during the day.

Arsa wished that she and Lisa hadn't split up, she was feeling very lonely. Her group was walking east, following the homing signal in a more roundabout way than Lisa's group. She hoped that they found something soon, this landscape was very boring and tiring. She marched on over another dune, wishing that it was the last. To her amazement, it was. She stood on the top of the dune, wind whipping sand past her and saw that the desert faded into small foothills that rose into the distance. She broke out into a run, covering the ground as quickly as she could. Soon she reached the foothills and looked around for shelter. The hills were rocky and steep, and it was growing steadily darker, she and her team would have to find somewhere to hide for the night. She found a little outcropping of rock and decided that it would provide enough shelter for her team. They each curled up in a separate spot and Arsa looked up at the stars.

She thought of Earth and her family that she had left there. Her husband and daughter were back there, far away. She tried not to think about it when she was on-duty, but when she was alone, it was all she could do to keep from crying. She missed her son Kevin and her husband, Ted. But, her duty came first, and she hoped that she would see them soon.

Before she had left for this mission, she had received a message from her husband. He had simply told her that when she got back, they would sign the divorce papers. She had known that things were getting bad between the two of them, but she had thought their love could get them through the long times of separation. It hadn't, and now she knew that she had to forget their life together. She had tried to think of life without her husband or her daughter, but she still loved them both. Time and space had ripped them apart, and now she was out here while he was at home on Earth, probably with another woman. She wanted to come home and straighten things out, but first she needed to get off this planet. And to do that, they had to find those ExoArmor units and form a plan to get a ship.

She told herself that if anyone could find a way off of this planet, it would be Lisa. Even though Lisa wasn't the most creative when it came to finding a way out of a situation, she was smart and a good captain. She would find a way to take care of her crew. She would get a ship and find a way for them to get back to Earth.

Arsa looked down at the ground and really tried to believe that. She knew that it wasn't true. Lisa was distracted by her own self-doubt right now, and it didn't make her the best person to find a way out of this mess. While finding the prototype ExoArmor suits may help solve the situation, Arsa wasn't sure that Lisa had a plan for after that. Someone had to take charge, to make a plan. She hoped that it didn't have to be her. She hoped that Lisa would find the strength and the courage to lead them through this hour of darkness.

She fell into a fitful sleep, dreaming of the Explorer's demise and her family. She woke up, sweating heavily and realizing that the sun was rising. She stood and brushed the dirt off of her uniform, then she looked around. The foothills seemed to become steeper in the distance, turning into mountains. She could see the dark green shapes of trees on the mountain slopes. What lay beyond that, she didn't know. She woke up the other crewmen and then they resumed their march up the hills.

It was slightly cooler now, and the temperature was steadily dropping the higher they went. There was still little in the way of vegetation and the air was thinning. Arsa took a deep breath, but her lungs still didn't feel filled with air. They stopped frequently to rest, not used to this environment. Arsa resumed her pace and then stopped. Ahead of her was a steep wall of rock. The rock didn't appear to be a natural formation, which seemed curious for a planet so devoid of intelligent life. She panted and looked for handholds. She found one and gripped it, pulling herself up with it. Quickly she looked for another one and stretched to reach it. Her fingers touched the cool rock and she groped to get a solid hold of it. Her fingers slipped and for a second she was in a limbo between the air and the ground. Then gravity took hold and she fell backwards to the ground. She groaned as she landed on the solid rock.

She lay dazed for a few moments, then one of the crewmen gave her his hand and pulled her up to her feet. She shook her head to clear it and looked up at the rock wall. There had to be some way up, there had to be. They didn't have any ropes or anything else to climb with and there didn't appear to be any way around the rock wall. She looked around and couldn't see any vines, or any other useful material. That was when she saw a large tree limb that must have fallen down. She went over to it and she and the others hoisted it upright. They dragged it over to the rock wall and set it up against it. Arsa smiled triumphantly and saw that it nearly reached the top. That would be close enough, she thought and then began to climb up the tree branch. She went up slowly, hand over hand, pulling herself up.

She was soon near the top and had to make a reach for the lip of the wall. One long arm reached out and her fingers got a firm hold. She moved her other hand up and grabbed the ledge. Then she pulled herself up and swung her legs over the ledge. She looked down and took a deep breath, then motioned for the next person to come up. One crewman began ascending the branch, reaching the top and extending his hand. Arsa grabbed it and pulled him up. Then the last crewmen grabbed onto the branch and climbed up it. The four of them stood on the ledge and Arsa took in her surroundings. All around her were pine trees and brush. She signaled to take a break and they lounged near a rock for a few minutes. That was when she heard something rustling in the brush.

Manny and her team were making progress up the mountains and out of the valley. There was still no signs of life, and no word from headquarters. Manny was getting tired of waiting and she could see that the others were getting edgy. Davis took her aside as the others lounged by some brush. "We've got a problem here. Everyone's getting really worried about what's going on. Frankly, I'm worried myself. When the damn command pukes don't call you to whine about this and that, you've definitely got to be a little nervous. We need to find out what happened," Davis said.

"I know, that's why we're trying to get to higher altitudes, so we can get a better comm signal, and more of a view of the area. We might be able to see something. If not, then we're going to head for base and find out. Just tell the others that we've got things under control, we'll find out what's going on shortly," Manny replied.

"Isn't that getting their hopes up a little?"

"Yeah, but it's better than having them all worried and not concentrating. We need them focused right now." Davis understood and nodded. He went back over to the others and Manny looked down below them. They had been cutting a rough path up the side of the valley and she could see the sparse vegetation and a tiny stream below. The sun was beginning to set and she knew that it would do no good to go farther. She motioned for Davis to signal the others to make camp and then she sat down and tried to think of what she needed to do.

She knew that something had happened to headquarters. Davis was right, when the commanders didn't call in almost a day, then something was definitely wrong. Maybe they had run into some hostile life on this desolate planet, or maybe they had been attacked by something else. Manny didn't believe that much in the existence of life outside of Earth, but in her position she had to consider things like that. At any rate, she knew that she needed to get her and her men to base so that they could sort things out. They would have to be careful and observant along the way, to find out what had happened. She could understand why everyone was uneasy, and it was something that would hamper them all along their way. They would have to put their fears aside and achieve the mission at hand. Manny closed her eyes and soon she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

Davis woke her up a few hours later and she grabbed her rifle and took her turn standing watch. She stared blankly into space, thinking of Earth. She hadn't really been on the planet since the end of the Martian War, mostly because she had nowhere to go there. She didn't have any family or friends on Earth, so there was little connecting her to it. Still, to at least be able to see it right now would be heartening. It was at these late hours of an off-world assignment that she would always feel the most alone.

Looking up at the stars, she would think of what she was missing. She had given her whole life to the military, to protecting innocent lives. Still, there was no one in her life, no husband, fiancé, or even a steady boyfriend. She had never found anyone that she could connect to and stay with for more than a few days or hours. Her life had just been a series of one night stands, there never had been anything else. A lot of her men had people back home who they could love, but she had nobody. She sighed and knew that she couldn't let it get her down, or interfere with her job. There were other things to worry about, like what the hell was up with Rygan I.

Dawn came and the platoon began moving out once again. Manny led them up the slope of the valley. She kept a watchful eye out, but didn't see anything. Unlike Arsa, she and her platoon were in excellent physical condition and had been trained to handle high altitudes, which made it so that they reached the top in only another hour of careful climbing. Manny ordered the others to wait near the top while she went up and checked things out. She reached the top and pulled out her comm and tried to contact headquarters.

All she heard was static and checked it to make sure that it was tuned right and that it was working properly. She noted that the comm was in perfect shape and looked around her. A fog was rolling in from somewhere, obscuring her view of the land. She put the comm away and then signaled for the rest of the platoon to climb up. As she did, a nearby rock exploded. She dove for cover, but all she hit was dirt. She desperately looked around her, but there was nowhere to hide. She pushed herself up and then got to her feet. She dashed for the edge, with laser bolts whizzing around her, and then jumped from the top of the mountain. She landed on the shelf of rock where the others waited and thought of what to do next. Whoever was up there wasn't friendly, and held a clear advantage over her and her men. She didn't want to risk them in a foolhardy charge up to the top, but she also knew that they had to get up there. She looked up and saw tiny pebbles falling off the ledge, someone was up there. She used her free hand and reached for her rifle.

Davis saw his commander pull her rifle, and he motioned for the platoon to seek cover. They scampered down a little way and then spread out behind some rocks and raised their rifles. Manny was the last one down, Davis covering her all the time with his rifle. He didn't know what was up there, but everything was telling him that he wasn't going to like it. He saw Manny reach their position and begin to run towards him. When she was a few steps away, she dove towards him, narrowly missing a laser blast. In all his years of soldiering, he had never seen anyone as good as her. She seemed to have a natural instinct for avoiding trouble. It was no wonder she commanded the best platoon.

Manny landed next to him and did quick roll so that she came up with her gun pointed back at the ledge. She looked over at him and a grin came to her dust-covered face. "Well, we finally found something on this worthless dustbowl," she said and fired a wild shot towards the top. She looked around and knew that it was a standstill. Whatever it was wouldn't come down to be slaughtered, and she sure as hell wasn't going to order her people up to be killed. Her team was in a better defensive position, they had more cover than whoever was up there. However, it was only a matter of time before their guns hit her platoon. They had to find a way out, now. She looked around her, feeling like a trapped animal. Then a very risky idea came to her. That little stream running through the valley had to flow somewhere. It wasn't very fast or deep, but it should be able to get her men out of here. First, they would need a distraction so that they could run for it. She looked at her belt and pulled out her grappling hook. She whispered the plan to Davis and he nodded. He knew that it was a long shot, but one worth taking.

Manny shot the hook up so that it caught the top of the mountain, then she began to climb up slowly, her rifle strapped to her back. She tried to make as much noise as she could, hoping that the thing on the top of the mountain would think they were coming up to attack. That was when Davis began climbing down like mad, the others following him down. Manny chanced a look down at them and then continued her noisy climb up. She just hoped that Davis would conceal himself in the brush so he wouldn't be spotted.

Davis reached the valley's floor and then ran into what brush there was. He hoped it would be enough to hide him until he reached the stream. He moved slowly through the brush, trying not to make too much noise. That was when a laser sizzled just past him. He swore to himself and began running at breakneck speed for the stream. He weaved around to avoid the hail of gunfire. He didn't know how the aliens had seen him, but at the moment he didn't care.

Manny saw the lasers hitting the ground below and knew that she had to do something to help. She planted her feet squarely against the rock and then pushed off it with all of her strength. She swung back in the air and with one hand grabbed her rifle from her back. As she was flying through the air she got a bead on some of the alien soldiers and fired wildly. She went crashing back towards the rock and stuck her legs back out to try and absorb the blow. Her legs hit the mountain wall and buckled, sending her shoulder and side smashing into the rock. Then she came to a complete stop and took a moment to catch her breath. She knew that there was nothing more she could do and began to descend the rope.

Davis jumped into the shallow water and let the current take hold. He wished that he could be moving a little faster, but this was only a small stream. It carried him across the valley and then out to a desert plain that was littered with withered trees. The stream was getting shallower by the second and Davis extended his arms and legs to slow himself. When he had nearly stopped he stood and looked around. As he did, a laser beam screamed past. He dove and then saw someone coming at him.

It was a man-looking thing in red body armor and wearing a visored helmet. Davis squeezed his rifle's trigger, but it fizzled, having gotten wet in the trip. Davis threw the rifle aside and ran at the alien. He tackled it and they both went crashing to the ground. He struggled to get the enemy's weapon. The enemy soldier was fighting back, his gauntleted hand striking the chin strap of Davis' helmet. Davis finally came away with the rifle and fired at pointblank range at the soldier's head. The helmet exploded and revealed an alien face. Davis stood and then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw that Sanchez was behind him.

"Would you take a look at that," he breathed and clutched his rifle. The rest of the platoon was soon assembled and Manny knelt down beside the body. She looked for a way to take the armor off and finally the alien was stripped down. The hardened veterans and nervous rookies looked on in fascination.

The alien had a green, scaled, cobra-like head with large, orange eyes. The eyes seemed to be staring at everyone, and Manny felt a chill race down her spine. The rest of the body seemed to be based upon a snake-like axis that ended in a long tail. From the central axis came a rib-like exoskeleton that wrapped around the alien's back to form a shell. The legs and hands were long with webbed appendages. The whole thing was about six feet long. She held up the armor and noted grimly that it was thin in the back, but very heavy in the front. That made sense with the alien's anatomy, and Manny wished that she had paid more attention in her Academy science classes.

"Let's move on people. I want to be out of here by nightfall." The platoon formed up and marched ahead. Davis came to Manny's side, and they began to lay plans. "I want to circle back to the mountains and slip by the aliens under the cover of darkness. Hopefully they'll run right past us. Besides, we should try to get back to headquarters and find out what's going on."

Davis nodded and passed the word. Soon they were moving back towards the mountains. They walked slowly and quietly, trying to go undetected. The sun was setting and the platoon was once again at the foot of the mountains. Manny sighed and Davis shot his grappling hook up. It caught and Manny once again began the long climb.

Arsa looked for some kind of weapon as something came through the brush. Three green-clad forms appeared with large black rifles in their hands. The three bridge crewmen with Arsa jumped to their feet. Time seemed to slow, and Arsa knew that there was nothing that she could do except to try and save the two people with her.

"Run! Get help!" Arsa screamed and hurled herself at the invaders. They raised their weapons, but she slammed into the center enemy soldier and the other two toppled. The bridge crewmen ran for the ledge and slid down the branch like a fire pole. The alien soldiers knew they couldn't get the others, so they turned to run after Arsa.

She was dashing through the forest, the aliens on her heels. She kept her eyes ahead, but felt as if she were trapped in a nightmare. Her heart raced and she could almost feel them closing on her. She ducked and missed a tree branch, not sure how far she had ran, or where she was going. She put her head down and her long legs began to pump faster and faster. Then she was flying through the air, her left leg tripping over a protruding tree root. She crashed to the ground, swallowing a mouthful of dirt. She rolled over and screamed as two of the aliens grabbed her arms. She fought vainly against their iron grip, but eventually she let her body go limp.

The aliens dragged her through the woods and eventually they reached a small hovercraft vehicle. She was roughly shoved in and one of the aliens took the craft's control. The vehicle leapt into the air, and Arsa wondered what was happening. She managed to look down, but it was too dark to see anything. She hoped that the bridge crewmen had gotten away.

The crewmen were running for their lives. Their legs pumped as hard as they ever had, and they were setting speed records for human running. They ran recklessly down the foothills, narrowly avoiding trees and managing to keep their footing on the loose rocks. In what seemed like seconds they were racing over desert dunes, searching anxiously for the other group, unsure of exactly where they were. They sped across the desert, unsure if anyone was following them.

They were heading straight for Lisa's group, which was wandering the desert. They had just gotten moving again, after spending the daytime in a small lean-to they had carved from the dirt, a few scraggly branches, and their uniform jackets. The sands of the desert were turning rockier, and it had been easy enough to make the shelter. The temperatures were still fairly hot, and with little water, Lisa didn't want to waste it by forced marching in high heat. Their pace was slow, everyone was hungry, dirty, and tired. She didn't know how much longer they could go on, they had to find some food and water fast.

It was in the midst of these dark thoughts that three bridge crewmen came running up. Lisa turned and everyone stopped and gaped. The crewmen were panting and sweating, unable to speak until they had gulped down some of the group's dwindling supply of water.

"What's going on?" Lisa demanded. She began to wonder where Arsa was, and what the crewmen were doing here.

"We...we had just climbed up some hills, and we reached a forest. There...there were some aliens there. Commander Veranda...told us to run, and she drew them off. We ran out here to...to find you guys." One crewman said, breathing hard. Lisa felt her heart sink, Arsa was in big trouble. None of them had any weapons, but there were six of them.

"How many were there?"

"Three." Another crewman said.

"Maybe we can overpower them. Can you lead us there?" The crewmen nodded and the small band began to jog eastwards towards the foothills. After nearly three hours of running, they had reached the steep rock wall. Lisa ordered everyone to stop and tried to examine the rock face. She grabbed the tree limb that was still in place, and began to climb up. She shimmied up the limb and then swung herself up.

The sun was just coming up and only now did she realize how tired and worn out she was. She looked around her as the others scurried up. Laurants was the second one up and he looked at the weary captain. He had to admit that he was kind of tired too, but she had led their trek without hardly ever sleeping. The bridge crewmen came up next, and they led Lisa to where the aliens had attacked. She knelt down and looked for tracks, which weren't hard to find. She could see the deep impressions of Arsa's boots, as well as three sets of alien ones. She followed the tracks into the forest, until they abruptly stopped. Everyone fell in behind her and looked around. They stood in the silent forest for a few seconds, as Lisa tried to think of what had happened to Arsa. It was then that the bushes began to rustle. The captain and the other bridge crewmembers turned to find rifles leveled at them.
Chapter Five

S'Olonny sat on the bridge, reading status reports with disinterest. The collection facility was being set up, and a large group of aliens had been rounded up. S'Olonny put the report down and yawned, his forked tongue whipping out briefly. He closed his orange-red eyes and stretched his muscles. He stood and then took the report back to his small quarters. He sank down into a padded chair and stretched out his long legs. He stood about seven feet high, tall for his race, and found that the spaces on the ship were fairly cramped for him. He looked down at the report on a computer pad, unconcerned.

This operation was going just like many others, and S'Olonny found that they were very routine. These aliens had proved not to be much of a challenge. Their inferior ships had been destroyed in mere minutes. There were few that had been able to stand up to his ship, and he had always prevailed in every battle. Being given command of one of only five collection vessels had been a great honor, as well as a burden. Commanding a ship of such power meant huge responsibility. Looking at a holopicture of his wife and children, he was also reminded of how lonely it was.

His ship was away for years at a time, collecting bio-energy for his people. When the giant tanks were filled, he headed back for home and emptied them. Then, after a few days with his family, he and his crew went back into space. He rarely saw his children, and they barely remembered him when they did see him. To his people he and his crew were heroes, his ship, with its life-saving bio-energy tanks, was one of only a handful that kept his race alive. Without it, his people would die.

S'Olonny got up from the chair and went over to his bed to sleep for a few short hours. Soon the collection facility would begin to take bio-energy, and his ship would leave this worthless planet after it the process was complete. He closed his eyes and began to sleep. His door opened and a young officer entered.

"Sir, you told me to report when the scientist left for the surface. He took a shuttle and some of his bodyguards with him."

S'Olonny sat up and stroked his pointed chin and nodded. Ah, the scientist. He always went down to the surface on collection missions. Each time he would experiment on a creature. S'Olonny couldn't remember how many times S'Tallen's lab had been destroyed. Yet, there was nothing he could do. He had been told that S'Tallen's experiment was vital to the survival of their entire race. So, S'Olonny had to allow this insane research to continue. That didn't mean he couldn't keep an eye on S'Tallen.

"Dispatch an escort ship to follow him. I want to know what he's doing down there," S'Olonny commanded. The officer nodded and left. S'Olonny closed his eyes again and soon fell asleep, thinking of his family and strange scientific experiments.

The tiny shuttle streaked towards the surface, S'Tallen and five green-clad bodyguards in tow. S'Tallen grinned in the passenger's compartment. His operatives on the surface had captured a specimen. They were bringing it to S'Tallen's mobile laboratory, which was in the collection facility complex.

S'Tallen always conducted the initial tests on the surface before bringing the specimen up for observation. He knew that this time it would be different. This time his work would succeed. It had to. S'Tallen didn't know how much longer S'Olonny would permit these experiments. The captain seemed to greatly dislike S'Tallen and the Grand Council's orders to allow him all the leeway he needed to conduct his research. But, unless the Grand Council rescinded its orders, S'Olonny could do nothing to harm him. To do so would be to risk losing his command and to be drained of all bio-energy.

But, S'Tallen knew how easy it would be for S'Olonny to say that he had been killed by a malfunction in his shuttle, or by some primitives. He would have to be wary. The shuttle was nearing the ground, and S'Tallen readied himself for the landing. It bumped and rocked as it came to a stop. The hatch opened and the bodyguards rushed out and looked around. They signaled that it was all clear, and S'Tallen stumbled out.

He walked over to his lab and opened the hatch. All of his equipment was set up and ready to go. He began to turn on computers and the various other instruments in the lab, and then sat down in a chair to wait for his specimen to be brought in. Soon, he thought, soon my work will be complete. S'Tallen heard the distant sound of a hovercraft and smiled, pointed teeth showing.

Manny took a step forward, taking the safety off of her rifle, but keeping it leveled nonetheless. She hadn't seen any other humans, except for her platoon, in days. She was sure that they had all been killed, but now she knew that she was wrong. Somehow, these people had survived. Manny recognized some of the bridge crew and signaled for everyone to lower their guns.

Lisa took a step forward, unsure of what was going on. She was almost certain that all of the platoons had been destroyed and that she and the bridge crew were all that was left. She saw the rifles go down and was relieved. She wasn't sure who this platoon was, but she was glad that they still had their weapons and protective armor.

Neither commander knew exactly how to begin, so they both extended their hands and shook them. "I'm Captain Lisa Shaw, it's good to see that you guys survived the attack."

"Glad to see that you guys did too. I'm Lieutenant Amanda Rosaro of the Fifth Platoon. Is there anyone left down here other than us? Anywhere that's safe?" Manny was anxious to hear some news about what was going on.

"I don't think there's anyone else left. I'm sure most of the other escape pods were destroyed."

"Escape pods? The Explorer's gone?" Sanchez burst out in despair.

"Both ships were destroyed by the aliens," Lisa replied grimly.

"Then how are we going to get off this mudball?" Sanchez shouted.

"I don't know, but we've got other problems right now. One of my men has been captured. We need to find some special weapons so that we can rescue her."

"Special weapons! What's wrong with plain old rifles?" Manny shouted. She was really getting a bad feeling about this Captain Shaw. She had heard that this lady was a real stickler for the rules. She always stuck to the book, the exact opposite of Manny's philosophy. Manny crossed her arms and locked a sour expression on her face. Obviously, Captain Shaw had never heard of the Fifth Platoon. Whatever was out there, they could handle it.

"You've seen those aliens out there. There's nothing that any single platoon can do against them. We need some heavy firepower to rescue Arsa and to steal some sort of ship to get off this planet!" Lisa was on the verge of losing control in front of her troops. How could this Lieutenant Rosaro even think that her puny platoon could stand up against those aliens. Her entire ship was destroyed in mere minutes. Lisa looked defiantly at Manny, sizing her up. The silent battle of wills continued for a few moments. Both sides watched and wondered who was going to win.

Laurants stepped in between the two officers. "How about we just sit down and talk this thing out?"

"Yeah, come on Manny. Maybe we should listen to what they have to say," Davis chimed in. The two women nodded and sat down on the ground. They glared at each other for a few moments and then Lisa spoke.

"If we all head north, it'll only take us a couple of days to find the weapons, and another few hours to find the aliens and where they're holding Arsa."

"But if we start to head back for headquarters now, we should be there in about a day. Then we can see if anyone survived and find out where the aliens went. Then we mount a surprise attack, rescue your friend, steal a ship, and haul ass for deep space," Manny retorted triumphantly. Sounds of approval came from both sides.

"That'll never work! The aliens will overwhelm you, surprise or no. We'll need substantial firepower to fight back!" A few people nodded at that.

"By the time we get the weapons, your friend could be dead, and so will a lot of other people! We've got to act now!" Nearly everyone cheered and Lisa felt her anger swell. Rosaro's plan was suicide! There was no way that it could ever work.

"Lieutenant, in case you haven't forgotten, I'm the senior officer. We'll follow my plan, and that's an order!" All of the bystanders let out a shocked gasp. Manny's troops took a step forward, ready for trouble. The bridge crew looked around for some sort of weapons, standing by their leader, although some of them had been clearly swayed by Manny's emotional argument.

"Or you'll do what? Court-martial me? Your ship is destroyed, our forces are gone, there is no command structure left! I will not follow orders which sacrifice human lives! Anyone who wants to follow me, can! But I will not follow you anywhere!"

"More human lives will be sacrificed if you carry out this foolish raid! Have you figured out how you're going to get into space? The aliens will be on your tail as soon as you lift off!"

"Exactly what's your plan for escape?"

Lisa was caught off-guard and thought for a moment. "In the chaos and confusion of the raid, we can sabotage the other ships and steal one for ourselves. Then we take-off and head towards the far side of the planet and use speed to get away." Lisa smiled triumphantly, and Manny mumbled some unintelligible phrase.

"I think Lieutenant Rosaro is right," someone said quietly. Lisa turned and saw that Terraz was standing behind her. "If we don't start now, Commander Veranda could die. We've got to try and save her. We may be killed, but at least we'll have tried to save her." The rest of the bridge crew, save Laurants and Lisa, gave a cheer.

"Let's go!" Someone shouted. Everyone else left their positions and joined Manny's troops. Only Laurants stood behind his captain.

"You can join us if you want," Manny offered, knowing that she had nearly everyone's full support. Lisa's eyes blazed with anger and her fists clenched. She couldn't believe it, her own crew! It was outright mutiny! She jumped to her feet, but nothing would come out of her mouth. Finally she managed to speak.

"It's suicide! If you really want to help her, you'll go with the sure way!" Lisa shouted, but the bridge crew was already leaving.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but I think they care more about their comrade than a sure-win. Maybe someday you will too," Manny tossed over her shoulder as she led her troops away. Lisa sank down to the ground, paralyzed. Laurants knelt down next to her, and looked her in the eye.

"It's all right Captain, I'm still here. We'll find the weapons, and we'll save them from themselves," Laurants gave her his hand and pulled her to her feet. He pulled out his compad and they stumbled after the homing signal in silence.

Lisa staggered along, branches whipping against her. She didn't notice though, she was too busy thinking of how she had lost her crew. She must be as bad of a captain as people on Earth thought. She had lost the respect and loyalty of nearly her entire bridge crew. One of the first lessons she had been taught at the Academy that once a captain lost their crew, they could never get them back. Lisa had never thought that something like this could happen to her. She had thought she was a good captain, until this mission had come up. Now she knew for sure, if she made it to Earth, she'd put in her resignation. She had no business commanding anything anymore, not after what had happened.

Laurants walked behind his captain, wondering what was wrong with her. He had thought that she would settle down and concentrate on the mission, but it seemed that this was too much of a shock. To have her own crew walk out on her, that was something that Laurants couldn't even begin to understand. He looked down at the compad and made sure that they were still following the homing signal.

They reached the edge of the valley that Manny's platoon had explored. Lisa looked over the cliff and saw that it was a very steep drop. The only way down would be through the valley. Lisa began to descend the rocks, slowly finding her way down. Laurants came down after her. As he stretched his leg to find a foothold, a laser blast hit the rocks below him and his leg hung out in the open air with nowhere to go. He clutched to an outcropping with both hands. Lisa reached the ground and saw that Laurants was stuck up there. The aliens had seen him and were firing. There was nothing that she could do for him, she didn't have a weapon.

The aliens were on the other side of the valley, firing blast after blast. Lisa didn't know how much longer Laurants could hold on. She ran across the valley, running as fast as she could. She splashed across the stream and then she saw that someone had left a rope hanging down the other side of the valley. She dodged trees and brush, and then jumped for the rope. Her hands caught it and she began to climb up. It seemed to take forever to get up the rope, but in actuality it took only a minute. Lisa climbed onto the edge of the valley and saw the three alien gunners. In a rage, she charged the red-armored aliens. She lunged at the nearest one and tackled it. She punched it in its helmet visor and, not noticing the pain in her hand, she stripped its weapon from it and shot it in the chest. The other two aliens had held their fire, not wanting to hit their comrade. Lisa whirled around and squeezed the rifle's trigger. One alien fell with a gaping hole in its helmet. The other fired and Lisa dove away from the shot. She rolled to her feet and let off a shot. The alien was hit in the neck area and collapsed, grasping its throat. Lisa stood up and then remembered that Laurants was still hanging. She slid down the rope and managed to shake it loose from the wall, then made her way across the valley.

Laurants felt his fingers begin to slip and chanced a look down. Now that the aliens had stopped firing, he could attempt to make his way down. He saw nothing to hold onto and then looked to his left. An alien shot had burned a hole into the rock near his feet. He eased his left foot over, scraping the rock with his boot, and was able to get it into the hole. Now that his weight was more dispersed, he could hold on a little longer. Lisa threw the rope up with all of her strength. It caught on something near Laurants and he reached out for it. His right hand caught the rope and he let the rest of his body go. He managed to grab the rope with both hands, and began a slow descent. When he reached the ground, he saw Lisa standing there with an alien weapon in her hands. He shook the rope loose and pulled it down.

"Come on," she said and they began a trek across the valley. Lisa wanted to get back up to the alien bodies and see what they could scavenge from them. They climbed up, with Lisa covering Laurants, and then went over to the alien bodies. They studied them for a few moments, and then began to search for more weapons. Laurants took a rifle and Lisa began to unstrap the alien armor. It was too big for her, but she was able to take it apart and strap on just the chest plate. Laurants was able to get the full armor suit to fit snugly, and now they knew it was time to leave. No aliens had shown up yet, but Lisa knew that they could at any minute. She and Laurants climbed down and then walked along the stream's banks and out of the valley.

Manny and her team were walking through the forest, heading out of the mountains and towards where the humans had set up their headquarters. She knew that would be where they might find survivors, equipment, and more weapons. Davis followed closely behind her, with Sanchez, Bridges, and Hodges walking behind the bridge crew. Manny was beginning to wonder if she had done the right thing. Captain Shaw and the other man were out there all alone now. They may be the last humans on this planet, maybe they should have stuck together.

But, Shaw had been sure that her way was better, and there was no talking her out of it. Just like there was no way Manny was going to change her mind. They had to do something now, they had to strike quickly and strike hard. The aliens had killed hundreds of humans already, and they had to pay them back. Plus, there was still a chance that they could save some of the humans the aliens had captured.

She wasn't sure what they would encounter in the way of alien resistance along their trip. The Explorer's crew wasn't armed and she knew that would be a problem in a fight. Her platoon would have to defend themselves as well as the bridge crew. A battle like that would be extremely difficult to win. Many of the unarmed personnel could be killed. They needed to find some weapons for them, or some way for them to defend themselves.

"You think those bridge creampuffs will be able to fight?" Sanchez asked, looking around nervously.

"I don't know, they should be able to," Manny replied.

"Well, at least we got rid of that uptight captain. God, what a bitch," Sanchez moaned.

"Shut up, do want to bring the aliens down on us?" Manny hissed.

"Oh, right," Sanchez whispered.

Davis saw how worried his commander was, and shared her concern. They were going to probably run into quite a few problems, and he couldn't help but wonder whether Captain Shaw's plan had been better. They really could use some firepower. But, they were soldiers, they could handle whatever was thrown at them, so he hoped. Manny stopped ahead of him, and he wondered what was going on. The rest of the column stopped and waited.

Manny could hear something stomping nearby. She turned to Davis and motioned for him to get the bridge crew to cover. She hefted her rifle and the rest of the platoon formed up behind her. The Explorer's crew stayed in the bushes, trying not to make a sound. Manny waited and heard the sound close and then when she heard it nearby, she burst through some brush and out in front of an alien patrol. She dashed off and the aliens fired in her direction. That was the signal for the rest of the platoon to fire. They fired their rifles and caught the aliens in the back. The aliens turned and began to return fire. The platoon dove for cover, not expecting the aliens to be able to fire back. Bridges was hit in the chest, his olive body armor showing a gaping, blackened hole. He screamed and went down.

Manny wasn't sure how the aliens had survived, then she remembered the alien she had seen. The aliens had a thick shell, which must have blocked the laser blasts. She raised her rifle a little and pulled its trigger. The neck of one alien exploded and it hit the ground. An alien saw her and concealed itself in the brush during the confusion. It slowly crept along ground until it reached her. It pulled the trigger on its gun, but luckily for the lieutenant, it was jammed. The alien threw its weapon aside and lunged for her.

Manny spun around and nailed the alien in between the legs with a kick of her boot. The thing reeled back and she raised her rifle. The alien used its tail and kicked the rifle aside. She rammed the alien in the midsection with her shoulder; it fell over and she jumped on it. She ripped its helmet off, revealing the ugly reptilian face. She punched it with a gloved hand and its hands reached up to grab her. One hand managed to grab the strap of her helmet. It threw her aside like a rag doll and Manny lay on the ground, dazed.

The alien was already standing and coming for her. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and found her vision blurred. The alien was reaching to grab her, ready to finish her off. Manny rolled and the alien missed as she got to her feet. She slammed the alien soldier across the neck with both hands and then pushed it to the ground with a foot. She kicked it once in the head and looked for her fallen weapon, and heard the alien groaning as it tried to get back up. She saw the rifle and dove for it, rolling and coming up firing as the alien stood. It took a shot in the head and toppled over, dead at last. Manny gave a sigh of relief and wiped strands of black hair out of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Davis and the others were in deep trouble. The aliens had taken cover and were trading limited shots with the humans. Davis gave a hand signal and laid down a covering fire while Hodges scurried out and dragged Bridges's body into the bushes near where the bridge crew was huddled. Davis quit firing and ejected his drained power pack and then slapped a new one in. This battle was using up a lot of laser energy which would probably be needed later. He hadn't seen Manny in the battle yet, and hoped that she was all right.

Terraz looked Bridges's body over and took off the blasted piece of body armor. She could tell right away that he was long dead. She looked over his equipment and then took his rifle and a few clips. She pulled off his helmet and put it on, then looked over to see where Davis was. They needed to make some kind of plan to get out of here, and Davis was the one in charge. Terraz let go a few shots and then ran and dove over to where Davis was crouched. He fired a couple of shots, trying to stay behind the rock that was his only cover.

"That soldier is dead," Terraz said sadly.

"Can't worry about that now," Davis replied grimly.

"Any idea how we can get out of here?" She asked.

"Not a one, but I'd take some suggestions. Any ideas?"

"How about we just rush 'em?"

"A little risky, but we need to take these guys down quick. You cover me." With that, Davis counted to three and then jumped up to his feet and ran towards the aliens. He fired his rifle from the hip, shooting wildly. He took one alien in the face with a blast, and then he was in their midst. He lashed out with one foot and kicked an alien in the face. The alien fell over, clutching the shattered helmet. Another one took a shot at him and he ducked. Terraz took it out with several shots to the side. Two more were bringing their guns to bear on Davis.

"Shit!" He shouted and rolled to cover in time as two bolts sizzled past him. He fired a shot and blasted one alien in the chest. It fell, wounded, and the other took aim at Davis. Something came careening through the brush. Manny tackled the alien and took it out with a shot to the head. Terraz rushed over and finished off the alien with the hole in its chest. Davis killed the alien with the broken helmet. Then Manny gave the all-clear signal.

"Well, that was invigorating," Sanchez said sarcastically, but everyone ignored his comment.

"I think there're enough weapons here to arm most of us," Terraz said and Manny nodded tiredly. She knew then that it was going to be a long, dangerous journey.

Arsa was roughly taken out of the hovercraft and dragged towards a small building. She didn't put up much of a fight, hoping to find some kind of opening to escape. Whatever was going on, she had to keep looking for some kind of opening so that she could get away. She looked around her at the strange buildings that had been put up.

A large reddish building loomed two stories over Arsa. Strange silver tubes and pipes were all around it, and Arsa wondered what was going on there. A few other small buildings connected to the central one, and Arsa was being dragged to a small gray building. It didn't have windows or any other decorations. It was just a dull gray cube, which gave Arsa a very bad feeling. It was now that she wished Lisa and the others would come to rescue her.

An alien emerged from the building with an entourage of bodyguards. He stood about five feet high and Arsa gasped when she saw his reptilian face. She clawed to get free, but the guards held her firmly. The alien's tongue lashed out and a sick-looking smile came across his face. "Welcome," he said in perfect English. A chill ran down Arsa's spine as the alien and the guards took her to the building.

In the central building, Colonel Berra was hanging like a side of beef on a hook. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he had been put on this hook with the rest of the humans being strung up behind him. After the surrender, he had tried to talk to the aliens, to negotiate, but they hadn't made any attempt to listen to him. Instead they had marched all of the humans to this complex, in a grueling death march that had taken the lives of several of his men. Most of the civilians were still alive, but they were sickening, thinning, and dying. He and the other soldiers had looked for a way out, but the aliens had kept them surrounded every step of the way. They had no choice but to do whatever the aliens wanted, and now that Berra was hanging from the ceiling, he knew that there would be no escape.

The hook began to move slowly and Berra saw a silver tube ahead and below him. He didn't know what was going to happen as the hook slid towards the tube. When it was directly over it, the hook plunged down and thrust the colonel into the tube. The hook stopped and Berra sighed with relief for a brief moment. Then the tube erupted in blinding blue light that washed over Berra's body. It felt like the life was being sucked out of him and slowly he began to lose feeling throughout his entire body. Then the light turned from blue to white and Berra's mind instantly blanked out and his world went forever black. As Berra hung there the white light began to dance with a rainbow of colors. A hole opened in the tube and the multi-colored energy was sucked down a long pipe and to storage containers that were mini-replicas of those aboard the alien ship. Then the hole closed and the next human, a civilian, began to move forward on his hook.

S'Olonny read the latest report. The collection process had begun on the aliens. So far the statistics weren't good. Ideally, the collection process would drain an organism of all bio-energy. However, in his travels, S'Olonny found that for most species, collection could only drain about ninety percent of the bio-energy. The organism would be dead, but a little bio-energy was left in cells. But, so far these aliens were causing problems. The collection process was only taking eighty percent of the bio-energy, yet the technicians reported that there was nothing wrong with the machines themselves. Something was wrong with the aliens' compatibility.

S'Olonny would already have left this planet, except that they needed whatever bio-energy they could get. However, there was another problem. With eighty percent of bio-energy drained, there was still enough energy in the aliens for basic biological functions. In short, the report stated, the aliens were still alive after collection. There was no cerebral activity apparent, but their bodies's other organs were still functioning. Something was causing interference in the collection process that allowed these aliens to keep on living.

This presented a new dilemma, destroying them. S'Olonny had never had to destroy anything after collection before, and he was unsure that he wanted to waste the energy killing things that were nearly dead anyway. An idea began to form in S'Olonny's head when he was suddenly interrupted.

"Sir, two of our patrols have not reported in yet!" The messenger gave S'Olonny a map showing where the two patrols had been located. They were both near the midsection of the planet, although the coordinates were far apart. Could it be? He wondered to himself.

"Have the escort ships check those areas out. It appears that not all of the aliens have been captured after all. Also dispatch several squads to search each area on foot. I want them to be in constant contact with us. Oh, and establish a link with S'Tallen on the surface at once, I require his assistance," S'Olonny ordered.

"At once, sir," the messenger replied and scurried up to the bridge to relay the orders. These aliens presented an interesting challenge. They had lasted longer than any other species his race had ever encountered. They refused to accept the fact that they were beaten, being outnumbered and outgunned. He would have to make sure that they were all destroyed, that none survived. If they did, they might try to cause more trouble. He turned towards his computer terminal to receive the scientist's call.
Chapter Six

Lisa was about ready to give up. There seemed to be no end to the deserts that stretched before her and Laurants. They had given up on conversation along time ago, as the high winds whipped sand at them. The sun beat down, but was obscured by the fierce sandstorm. Lisa took a tired step and fell over.

She lay in the sand for what seemed like hours, breathing heavy and weak from exhaustion. She tried to reach for the pouch of water she carried, but her arms wouldn't move. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to move her weary limbs. She knew now that it was all over, she was going to die light-years away from her home and her loved ones. She only wished that she had been able to help Arsa.

Laurants saw Lisa go down and stopped in his tracks. He reached down to grab her hand and saw that her eyes were closed. He knelt down next to her and took a pulse. He heaved a sigh of relief when he found one and then groped around for her water pouch. He opened it and took it out. He pressed it to her lips and poured a little. Her eyes fluttered open as she took in the cool water. She was still weak and unable to move.

"Go on without me...please," she begged him. He looked into her eyes and could see the pain and pleading in them. He grimaced and took her hand. "Damn it, I order to leave me!" She screamed wearily. He nodded, but silently pulled her to her feet and then wrapped an arm around her, helping her walk. She stumbled, but he stopped her fall and kept her going, the two of them now in the very heart of the sandstorm. Laurants wasn't sure how long he could hold out against this weather, but he knew that he had to, for his sake as well as Lisa's. He kept looking for some sort of shelter, but there was nothing in the limited range of his vision. He wished that the storm would stop for just a few minutes, so that he could rest and get his strength back. He took a heavy step forward and then there was nothing below his feet. He began to fall, and he let go of Lisa. A hole was below him and he was falling into nothingness. His hands reached for something to grab and his left hand caught onto Lisa. She groaned as his weight pulled her down with him. They tumbled down the hole together, screaming into the darkness. The hole closed above them and now what little light had remained was gone.

It seemed like he was falling forever, but finally Laurants crashed into something soft and very cold. He heard Lisa screaming above him and then she came down on top of him. He struggled to get her off of him and then groped for some kind of light. He found his compad and turned it on. The light from the compad allowed him to see a little better. He saw the faint outline of a passage carved into the solid wall and then turned to attend to Lisa. She was unconscious and there was a cut on her head that was leaking blood at a tremendous rate. He looked around and knew that he had to get her out of here to somewhere where he could take care of her wounds. He grabbed her hands and began to drag her down the passage.

The passage was dark and all he heard was silence. He stopped and scanned the area. He thought he saw a glimmer of light at the passage's end and began to drag Lisa along as fast as he could. He kept pulling until he got near the end of the passage.

He walked ahead a little and looked around. The passage spread out into a city street in what was obviously an underground city. He felt his jaw drop as he stared at the city. It was impressive to say the least. The entire city looked as if it had been transplanted from above ground. There was even an underground river flowing through it. There wasn't a sound except for those of the river. Laurants smiled as he looked down at Lisa. He would easily be able to find somewhere for her to rest and hopefully heal her wound. He began dragging her again and took her into what he thought used to be someone's house. The house was empty and dusty, but he was able to get her onto something that resembled a bed. He touched a hand to her forehead and could feel that she was burning up. He tore a strip from his uniform and tied it around her head to stop the bleeding, but he would need something to stop that high fever. Then he sat down for a moment and rested before preparing himself to begin the search for some form of medical equipment.

Arsa was strapped onto a table, unable to move. She wasn't sure what was going on, but the lights were bright and she could hear aliens moving around her. The one that spoke English looked down at her.

"Good, you're awake. Now we can begin the procedure," S'Tallen said.

"What are you going to do?" Arsa asked hoarsely.

"Nothing that is your concern," S'Tallen snapped and picked up a large needle. The needle was connected to a computer monitor that gave an overview of Arsa's body. The needle pricked her side and S'Tallen jammed it in. Arsa screamed in pain and the needle emptied its contents. S'Tallen removed it and Arsa panted and rolled her eyes as her head spun. She felt weak and nauseous and her vision blurred as she stared blankly at S'Tallen.

"What's going on?" She groaned. He looked at the monitor and grinned. Everything was working as he had expected.

"It's working," he whispered mostly to himself before turning to Arsa. "Today the future of my race begins. You are the one that has been spoken of for generations. Because of this, I must make you understand why this procedure was necessary." S'Tallen handed the needle to an assistant and then began to pace the floor. Arsa's eyes remained unfixed on anything, and her head was still spinning, making her unable to think clearly. All that she was sure of was that something bad was going to happen.

"You see, my people are what you would call 'predators'. We hunt our prey and then drain them of their bio-energy. Bio-energy is the energy that runs all the biological functions of an organism. Many years ago, my people used special organs to drain their prey.

"But a few centuries ago, we found that this method wasn't very efficient. Much of the energy was wasted, and my people were becoming too civilized to hunt their food. So we created machines to collect energy from prey that soldiers would capture. Our population grew and a great culture emerged. It was a Golden Age for our planet.

"But then the Dark Age began. Food became scarce as we ran out of prey to drain. We began to try to drain bio-energy from each other and great wars nearly destroyed us. It was on the verge of extinction that we realized that the only way to save ourselves was to find a new species. A great project began, using up almost all of our reserves of bio-energy. We launched five great starships, all of whom would search for the bio-energy we so desperately needed. Soon our culture and people thrived once again. Now there is a grave new problem. The latest species that we've tried to drain are proving not to yield as much energy as we had hoped. If things do not pick up soon, we are not going to be able to get enough energy to feed everyone on my home planet.

"There is only one thing that can save us. That is to find the one the ancient legends have called the Savior. It is told that he or she will be unlike any being in the universe and will have the power to save us. That is why this procedure is so important. I believe that you are the one that the legends speak of. You may be the one who will save my world and my home. Soon, very soon you'll be able to take your place in the universe," S'Tallen looked at the monitor and knew that the procedure would be over with in a few days. Arsa passed out again, feeling a sense of terror rising within her at the scientist's words.

Manny dove and the shot just grazed her left leg. She winced in pain and really wished that they would stop running into alien patrols. She rolled to her knees and let off a couple of shots that caught one alien soldier in the chest. The trooper went down and Davis gave her his hand and helped her stand. The others had taken out what remained of the patrol and everyone stopped to rest and reload.

"That was another close one," Davis commented dryly.

"I know, we've really got to stop meeting like this," Manny joked halfheartedly and checked her leg. There was only a little bleeding, not enough to warrant any concern. Besides which, everyone had at least a few cuts and scratches from the battles and the forest. She checked to see how much charge was left in her rifle and frowned. Everyone was starting to get low on ammunition, they only had enough for a few more battles. The only good thing was that she had a spare alien rifle on her back that would give her some extra firepower if it was needed. She had made sure that the others packed an extra rifle, just in case. Still, the alien weapons were unfamiliar and a little harder to use than her own rifle. She just hoped that she would never have to actually use it in battle.

"Let's get moving out, people," Manny called and the weary travelers began to move on once more, each one wondering if this was really such a good idea.

High above in the alien ship, S'Olonny listened to the latest news of action on Rygan's surface. He smiled when he hard of the patrol's defeat. "Excellent, our prey are moving just the way that I had anticipated." He looked at a map on his computer terminal that showed the suspected progress of the aliens. At each point where there was a battle indicated, S'Olonny deduced that it had been the aliens who had fought his patrols. From the battles so far, S'Olonny could see that they were heading right for a trap; that was if he could steer them in the right direction.

From where the latest battle had just been fought, S'Olonny could see that the humans were moving out of the dense forests and into the more rolling hills, near where the collection facility was located. However, just south of the dense forests was an area of marshy swampland that led into an ocean. If S'Olonny could force the humans to turn south, then he would have them right where he wanted them. All that needed to be done was point them in the right direction. He smiled as he contacted the bridge. "Assemble five patrols and have them sent to coordinates that I will provide," he ordered and knew that the aliens would be destroyed very soon.

In her fevered dreams, Lisa smelled smoke. She was sitting in her chair on the Explorer's bridge and there was fire all around her. "We're under attack!" She heard Terraz's voice shout. The ship rocked and Lisa was thrown from the chair and onto the deck.

She looked around her and saw her crew working feverishly to fight back. There was another hit and a body went flying past her. No matter what the crew did, nothing seemed to be working. The aliens kept pouring fire on, and Lisa knew that soon the ship would be destroyed. She got to her feet and ran over to the weapons station to try and help. She moved to touch the controls, but they didn't respond. She tried to say something to the weapons officer, but he didn't see her. What was going on?

"Damn it, where's the captain?" She heard Arsa shout.

"I'm right here!" Lisa shouted, but no one noticed.

"I don't know," Laurants responded.

"I'm right here!" Lisa shouted even louder, but still no one heard her. There were more hits and she watched in horror as Arsa was wrenched from her station and landed at her feet. Her body was bloody and broken, and her eyes were staying into Lisa's. She backed up slowly in terror until she was up against the lift doors. She watched helplessly as the bridge was hit again and again. One-by-one the bridge crew was cut down before her. Laurants was the last one left, defiantly working the weapons station until the computers exploded and threw him to the deck. He tried to crawl back over to it, but another hit sent a piece of rubble crashing down on him, shattering his spine and skull. "No!" Lisa screamed. She ran over to him, but there was nothing she could do. Her hands couldn't get a hold of the rubble, it was like she was a ghost. She screamed as the bridge vaporized in one last blast.

In her sleep, Lisa turned violently from side-to-side. "No," she moaned. "Not again." Then she, like the entire underground city, was silent once more.

The forest was beginning to become less dense, and Manny could see hills ahead of her and her platoon. She knew that they were closing on their goal. Everyone was looking around and a few people were actually smiling. As Manny was about to motion the group forward, there was a scream and Manny turned to see that one of her men had a hole in his chest. The man, whom she recognized as Private Kountz, toppled over. Then laser fire erupted from all around them and Manny realized that she and her group were surrounded.

"Spread out and return fire!" She ordered and looked for some means of escape. The red forms of alien warriors appeared, and she could see that there were close to thirty of them all around her small group. She also saw that there were less aliens to the south and began firing on that cluster in order to form some kind of gap that she and the others could escape through. "Concentrate fire on the southern flank!"

"Yeah, right!" Sanchez shouted. He and Beffis were pinned down on the northern flank.

"Just keep them busy, then!" Manny commanded. She could see that most of her platoon had similar problems. It was going to be hard to get them all out of here with the aliens pouring on fire.

Davis pushed Terraz to the ground just as a shot was about to take her head off. The young ensign smiled thanks and shot another alien trooper. She heard Manny's order to concentrate on the southern side, as did Davis. They were pinned down by alien fire, and there was no way for them to help. It was then that one soldier, shouting and pumping off shot after shot at the aliens joined them.

"Come on!" He shouted. "I'll cover you!" Terraz vaguely saw the name 'Garren' on the soldier's armor as Davis nudged her to the left. The soldier kept firing repeatedly as Terraz and Davis ran crouch-legged towards where Manny was directing fire. They dove down on the ground next to her. Terraz looked back at where they had been, just as the soldier who had covered them came diving past her. A blast hit him in the foot and there was the smell of burnt rubber in the air for a few seconds. The soldier cursed and rolled up onto his elbows.

"All right, Davis and Terraz, just pour everything you have into that flank. Garren, I want you to make sure none of the bastards get behind us!" Manny shouted over the sound of the raging firefight. Terraz nodded and began to fire madly at the aliens that were ducking for cover in the weeds and short trees on the southern side. Splinters flew everywhere as some shots hit the trees, and Terraz knew that this was hopeless, it was a stand-off. The aliens and the humans were both so entrenched in the thick cover of the area that it would be impossible for one side to take out the other without a direct frontal assault.

"Lieutenant, what do we do now? They're too far behind cover!" Terraz wondered aloud. Manny's grime and blood-smeared face was lost in thought for a moment and then she looked at Garren.

"Garren! Do have anything on you that could cause a fire?" Garren was the platoon's gunnery sergeant and knew more about weapons than anyone else.

"Yeah, I've got a plasma grenade that could probably start a fire if the area's dry enough," Garren replied.

"Good, target the south side and throw that sucker!" Garren nodded and then hurled the grenade. It exploded in a blinding flash, but then there was a puff of smoke as some of the weeds and leaves began to burn. The aliens, knowing that they were in trouble as the fire spread and became more intense, darted out of cover and right into the sights of Manny's group. It was a quick and efficient slaughter, and Terraz thought she might throw up. The three soldiers were stone-faced and then Manny stood up and waved for everyone to follow her. "Let's go!"

Davis, Terraz, and Garren turned and ran backwards, getting off a few cover shots for the retreating humans. Sanchez and Beffis were the last ones out, running furiously and firing over their shoulders. Just as they were about to reach the others, a shot hit the ground near Sanchez's feet and he went flying into the air. He hit the ground at Davis' feet and spit dirt out as Beffis helped him up. "Man are they gonna pay for that!" Sanchez snarled and brushed himself off. Davis chuckled as he continued to fire and retreat.

"I'm sure they're really scared," Davis snapped as he got off another shot.

"They should be." The group ran quickly through some of the brush that had yet to burn, and out of the alien trap. Manny knew that they were heading away from her goal, but it was their only way out. Even as the sun went down she had her group continue to trudge on.

S'Olonny knew that the trap was set and nearly complete. The humans were unwittingly walking right into their doom. All S'Olonny had to do now was make sure that they kept to their path and did not head back for the hills and towards the collection facility. "Have an escort ship discreetly monitor the humans at all times. If they deviate from their current path, obliterate them," S'Olonny commanded and knew that now all he had to do was wait and the humans would destroy themselves.

Laurants felt frustrated as he went into the house where he had left Lisa. He had found no medical equipment of any kind, and no food either. If he didn't find either soon then they were both going to die. He did, however, get a jar full of water to drink, and to wash Lisa's wounds with. He saw that she was still unconscious and very pale, which made him begin to wonder if she would pull through. He could feel that she was still feverish and hoped that the fever would break soon. He removed her bloody bandage, soaked a wet cloth in the water, and then gently put it on her forehead over her wound. As he did, he felt her entire body jerk violently, like in some kind of spasm.

Lisa's mind was back in the forest where she and her crew had just met Lieutenant Rosaro's Fifth Platoon. Around her in a circle were members of her crew and the platoon. They stared at her in silence and she began to feel very uncomfortable. Then Lieutenant Rosaro stepped forward and smiled menacingly. "Well it seems, Captain, that me and my friends here don't need you anymore. We can take care of ourselves, rescue Arsa, and beat back these aliens all without you. We don't need your bumbling and incompetent leadership anymore. You got us into this mess, but we can get ourselves out of it just fine without you!" It was then that Manny, a fire in her eyes and a sneer on her face, stepped up to Lisa and hit her squarely across the jaw. The blow felt like a train had hit her and she fell to the ground. Then Manny kicked her in the stomach and she cried out in pain.

"Stop! Don't do this!" She shouted weakly, but everyone in the circle around her laughed.

"You pansy! You aren't good for anything! You can't fight and you can't lead; you don't deserve to be put in command of a ship!" Manny roared and with her boot turned Lisa over on her back. Lisa was too battered and tired to fight back as the platoon commander stripped off her rank insignia and ground it into the dirt. "Now you may dispose of this worthless carcass." Lisa screamed as the circle rushed forward and began pounding her from all sides. She saw faces of her crew smiling as they hit and kicked her time and time again. She begged them to stop, but that only brought on more brutality. Blood filled her eyesight and she could no longer see anything around her. The merciless pounding stopped abruptly and Lisa realized that she was wet, not with blood, but with water.

She was floating in water with no one around her. It was then that she heard a voice. It kept whispering, "You have a reason to live," over and over again. She looked for the source of the voice, but she was suddenly thrust up out of the water and onto dry land. The voice continued to speak and she looked around her, but there was no one around. Then she felt sick as she realized that the strange voice was coming from inside of her own head. She turned to the water to try and splash some on her face to shake herself out of this weird dream, when she saw that the reflection in the water was not her own. It was of an old man whose eyes seemed to be staring at her, burning into her soul. The mysterious image vanished and in her dream, Lisa screamed.

Night was falling on the surface of Rygan, and in the underground city Laurants had gotten up to go and continue his search for supplies. He was starting to worry about Lisa a lot. When he had left she was moaning in her sleep and thrashing around wildly with her arms and legs. If something didn't happen soon, then she would probably die. Laurants left the abandoned house just as Lisa's eyes opened for a brief moment and then she settled back into a more relaxed, less feverish sleep.

The platoon and accompanying bridge crew had entered a swampy area, mud and water up to their knees. Manny didn't like the terrain, but she and her group had no choice really, except to try and fight their way through the hills, which would be costly in lives and ammunition. Their only hope was to go through these swamps and eventually swing towards the hills and go up them from a different direction. In the meantime, the already battered, dirty, and tired people under her command would have to put up with wet feet and slogging through the mud.

Terraz and Davis were walking side by side, not speaking from exhaustion. Terraz could see that the others from the bridge crew were also very fatigued, and even the professional soldiers were showing signs of strain. Occasionally, Terraz would sneak glances at Davis to see how he was holding up. She could see him begin to falter as they waded through the mud and knew that like the rest of them, he couldn't go much farther.

There was a collective cheer when Manny signaled a halt to rest when they came across a dry strip of land. "It's about time," Sanchez groaned half-heartedly, and he was asleep a few moments later. Everyone sank wearily to the ground and many curled up to try and get some much-needed sleep. Davis gratefully sat down and relaxed. Terraz came over and sat down next to him.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life back there," she began, looking deeply into his eyes.

"I was just doing my job," Davis stammered in reply.

"Well, thanks anyway," Terraz whispered and then their lips touched. They embraced and kissed passionately for what seemed like forever. They moved to a spot where tall weeds could hide them from prying eyes and began to take off their soggy clothes.

Davis felt a little odd getting naked with the fellow members of his platoon so close by, but one look at Terraz's unclothed form cast all of the doubts from his mind. She smiled at him in the dim light and they embraced and kissed once again. Then Terraz lay in the cool sand and the first sounds of passion could be heard on Rygan I. No one chose to investigate who was responsible; everyone was too tired to care. It was a long time until Davis and Terraz put their clothes on and went to sleep.

Manny had heard the strange noises and had a guess who they belonged to. Still, she had better things to do than interrupt Davis' moment of fun. She turned worried eyes to the stars, wondering when she would ever see Earth again. Even if she did get to Earth, she had no home to go to. She had never had a family or a home, and it was at times like these that she felt a longing for those things. She wished that, like many others still alive on Rygan, she could have a family and a home to return to. The 5th Platoon had been her only family for years, but sometimes her kinship with her command just wasn't enough. It was mostly because once things were over, they all went home and she had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. She remembered just after the conclusion of the Martian War when her platoon had been granted two months of leave for their heroic efforts in the war. Davis, Garren, and the others had all gone to their families while she had spent the time alone in the barracks with nowhere to go.

She had gotten used being alone after years spent in the horrible slums of Mexico City, where she had been born. Her parents had succumbed to disease when she was only a toddler, and she had spent nearly five years surviving on petty thefts. Her life had soon turned to one of the local gangs, where she first felt what it was like to have a family of sorts. It was only after her best friend was killed in a fight that she realized that her family wasn't much of a family at all. She had turned to the military, and after years of training she had been given command of her own platoon, where she was the head of a makeshift family.

She looked back down at the ground and knew that she had to get some sleep. She saw that the two guards she had posted were still walking around the camp, nervous like she was. She sank down to the ground and closed her eyes. In her dreams she was haunted by her loneliness and the aliens. Then there was a dream where she felt herself spinning out of control and falling down a deep pit. Everything was dark and she wondered where the bottom was. Unlike most falling dreams, she saw the ground rushing closer and then it came up and met her. She screamed as she impacted and her eyes flashed open. Sweat was pouring off of her and Davis came over to her, worried.

"Something wrong, Manny?" He asked quietly.

"Sorry, just a bad dream. I'll take your watch," she answered. Davis thought about telling her to go back to sleep, but nodded and left. Manny grabbed her rifle and began sentry duty, not wanting to close her eyes again.

The next day, the humans were wading through chest-high weeds in a marshy area. Manny wasn't sure where they were, but the forests had given way to the marshes. She had thought that there wasn't much water on this planet, but her soggy boots were making her think twice about that. The rest of the platoon splashed through the marshes, rifles at ready.

Everyone looked worn and haggard after a rough few days of hiking and avoiding alien patrols. Supplies and morale were extremely low and Manny knew that this couldn't go on much longer. She slowed to a halt and looked around her to try and see if there was any break in the marshes. She surveyed the area with her nightvision visor and saw no end in sight. Davis slogged up next to her.

"See anything?" He whispered.

"Nothing but marshes in any direction. Looks like we'll have to tough it out," she replied gravely.

"I know that's not a problem for us, but what about the Explorer's crew? They aren't used to this kind of thing. I'm not sure that they can make it." Davis looked back and saw Terraz and the others standing in the muck. Their faces were pale and hollow. Manny could see that they weren't going to last much longer out here. She had to do something, except that she couldn't think of anything that would help.

"For now, they're just going to have to stick it out. Once we get out of these marshes, maybe we can find somewhere safe for them to wait it out." Davis nodded and then patches of weeds burst into flames as a horde of alien troops descended upon the marsh. Manny wasted no time in beginning to fire. The aliens had them totally surrounded, and Manny didn't know how they were going to get out of this.

Terraz clutched her alien rifle and ducked down. She took aim and squeezed off a short burst. An alien went down into the muddy water and then she fired again. The alien dodged and another one came up from behind and grabbed her. It pulled her to her feet and she kicked at it with left foot. The alien avoided it and kept its iron grip on her wrist. Terraz's gun fell into the murky water and out of her reach. The alien gripped her neck and began to squeeze with an armored fist. Terraz began to black out and she couldn't breathe anymore. She wanted desperately to fight back, but found that her muscles wouldn't respond.

Davis saw Terraz and tried to help her. He moved as fast as he could, but the marshy ground slowed him down. Finally he realized he wasn't going to get there in time and aimed his rifle. He took careful aim and fired. A blast ripped past the surprised alien, who let Terraz drop into the water. The alien began to move towards him and Davis fired again. The blast hit the alien's armor, but it was still alive. Another alien saw what was going on and took a shot at Davis. He ducked and fired back, but it was too late. The other alien had already closed in and punched Davis in the face. His helmet went flying off and he splashed into the water, two aliens looking down at him.

S'Olonny watched the battle from a monitor on his ship. The aliens were trapped by walking into this swamp area. They were surrounded and bogged down by the terrain. It was time to go in for the kill.

Nearly a hundred of his best men had been pulled for this assignment, as well as three escort ships which were en route. There would be no escape this time. These aliens would be destroyed. S'Olonny looked at the monitor and knew that this species would have to be eliminated, they were too dangerous. Their fighting abilities had caused too much trouble for this operation already. And in the future, he knew that any others of this race would have to be annihilated swiftly.

Davis lay dazed in the water and looked up at the red alien. He saw how easily they were moving about in this environment and wondered how he and Manny could have been so stupid. These aliens were reptiles, this was their kind of climate. They had walked into a trap, and now they were all going to die. The alien reached down and picked up the startled soldier. Davis stared into the face mask of the helmeted alien and knew that he was going to be killed unless he did something. He reached down to his belt and was able to grab his grappling hook pistol. He raised it and fired just as the alien was about to snap his neck.

The hook shot through the alien's armor, and the force sent the grappling hook tearing through the thing's chest. Davis fell to the ground as the alien sank back into the water. Davis grabbed its rifle and ran towards where Terraz lay. He dodged several shots and dove down next to her. He checked her over and then looked around. He heard screams and then pulled Terraz into a thick growth of weeds. He hoped that she would be safe in there. Then he aimed his rifle and rejoined the fight.

The fighting was in close quarters now. The human soldiers and bridge crewers were outnumbered, but they were still fighting. Sanchez went down into the water with an alien on top of him. Three aliens had cornered a bridge crewman who was wounded. The crewman set his gun on overload and clutched it tightly before it exploded and took two of the aliens with him. It seemed hopeless as the aliens kept pressing the humans on all sides.

Manny kicked one alien in the midsection and it doubled over. She shot it quickly through the head as two more rushed to the scene. Her rifle was getting low on charge and she knew that she couldn't hold out much longer. An alien grabbed her arm and she was able to wrench free and launch a vicious spin kick into the other, sending him crashing into the water. The remaining alien grabbed her and it knocked the gun from her hands. The alien was able to grab her other hand and then it pushed her into the water, trying to drown her. Manny kicked and squirmed, trying to get free as blackness closed around her. The dark water around her suddenly lit up and the alien pulled her back to her feet.

Manny looked up and saw three ships hovering overhead. Spotlights lit up the battlefield and Manny could see many human and alien bodies floating in the water. The alien that had a hold of her began to speak in a low, guttural language. Manny didn't know what was going on, but one of the ships began to descend and a ramp lowered. The alien pushed Manny forward and towards the ship. She knew what was happening: they were being captured.

"Everyone, lower your weapons! There's no use in all of us getting killed!" Manny shouted. Everyone had stopped fighting now and Davis put up his hands. No one had seen Terraz, and he knew that she would be better off where she was. He walked towards the ship and the aliens herded the rest of the humans up the ramp. Davis snuck a look over at Manny and saw that her face was streaked with grime and blood, yet he could still see the sadness in her eyes as they were captured well short of their goal. He only hoped that they could find some way to escape.

A portion of the aliens marched up the ramp to guard their prizes and then it retracted behind them. The ship lifted off into the night sky. The other two ships quickly landed and picked up the rest of the alien troops and the wounded before leaving. In the weeds, a form stirred. Terraz sat up and noticed how quiet everything was. She looked around and saw the ships streak away. She was alone now, and wondered what she could do. Before she could think of something, she passed out again, her last thought of Davis and whether or not he was still alive.

S'Tallen was watching the monitor and could begin to see the internal changes coming over Arsa. It was working so far, he noted. The DNA he had taken from a dead soldier was bonding with the human DNA as expected. Soon the experiment would be over and she could be taken back to the ship for further testing. He knew that this time his experiment would work, it had to. He turned away and read the latest communiqué from S'Olonny.

The captain wanted to know how S'Tallen was doing on the task he had been assigned. He looked over at the still human form in the corner of the lab. As S'Olonny had told him, the human was still alive, although it had no brain activity. If he could find some way to artificially control the human's body, then they would be able to use these humans for whatever purposes they chose. S'Tallen thought about it for a moment and then went to work. It was then that his bodyguards broke through the door.

"Sir, Captain S'Olonny reports that he's captured the rest of the humans. He wants you to go up to the ship with them to calibrate the interrogation equipment. He also commands that you take the human project with you so that he can see your progress. Shall I prepare your shuttle?"

"Yes, yes. Be sure to take this human and my equipment with me. The other we will be unable to transfer for a while," S'Tallen waved them away and looked at Arsa. He knew that he would be able to leave her unattended for a few days while he worked aboard the ship. The bodyguards began to gather up equipment and S'Tallen went out to the shuttle and began to power it up. He looked back at the lab, not wanting to leave the experiment. The human could return to consciousness at any moment, and that could be very dangerous. He couldn't give her a sedative for fear that it could ruin the DNA bonding. He would have to hope that his business on the ship didn't take long. The equipment and the corpse were soon loaded and one of the bodyguards took control of the shuttle while S'Tallen worried about the project he was leaving behind.

As the shuttle took off, slow changes were working over the body of the Explorer's former First Officer. Strands of alien DNA were connecting to human DNA where S'Tallen's instruments had created holes for it to bond to. There had been no physical changes yet, but slowly her internal structure was changing, reconfiguring. All during this time, Arsa was trapped in a dark netherworld of neither reality nor fantasy. She was neither awake or asleep. There were no dreams or images of any kind. Moments stretched into eternity and she could almost feel a part of herself slipping away slowly. Thoughts seemed to bubble up to the surface and then quickly streak away before she could grab a hold onto them. She could hear faint voices, but they were all indecipherable. Arsa knew that she was going to lose her mind.

She could feel insanity sneaking up on her, like a dark shadow of an animal stalking its prey. She could feel only this and an immense and terrible fear that this was never going to end, that she was trapped in some sort of hellish limbo between life and death. She wished that she could scream to answer the fear, but nothing would come out of her mouth and there was no sound in the blackness of her mind, save for the mumbling of voices that went unrecognized.

Laurants stumbled through the streets of the abandoned city, scavenging supplies. So far he had found nothing that looked like medicine, and only traces of edible food. He carried a blanket with him that he had found as well as a canteen filled with water, and for a moment he stopped to take stock of the situation.

The city was magnificent, Laurants had to admit that much. It seemed very high-tech, the buildings were all made of a high-gloss metal and the architecture was beyond anything on Earth. Buildings were many different shapes, some were even spiral-shaped, and were tightly packed, yet their variations made them appear farther apart. The most amazing thing was that each building seemed sculpted instead of constructed; the walls were completely smooth and seemed to flow upwards. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

He could see that this search was hopeless, and hurried back to where he had left Lisa lay. She was still unconscious, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. He removed the soggy, blood-soaked rag from her forehead and splashed some water onto the wound. He could feel that her fever had broken, a good sign. He cleaned it and then ripped a piece of clothing he saw lying around and used it to cover her head. Then he put the blanket over her and sat down to watch her.

He couldn't help but think of the pleading in her voice when she had asked him to leave her in the desert. It was like she wanted to die, to pay some imagined price for losing her ship. He knew that she still hadn't gotten over it, and that the pain wouldn't go away for a long time. Laurants still had horrible nightmares about his brother, regretting that he hadn't been there to save him. He could understand her pain, but he also knew that she would have to be strong to complete this mission. He wasn't sure that they could make it if she wasn't, and he wasn't sure that he could go on without her.

Looking down at his former captain, Laurants felt something other than respect and duty. When he had left with her and seen her so vulnerable, he had begun to have that feeling. He had tried to deny it, but there was no use in that now. He knew that he had fallen in love with her. He didn't want to tell her, it would ruin their professional relationship. Besides which, she wasn't in any condition to handle that kind of revelation right now. It would have to wait until later, after all of this was over, if all of this would ever end.

While he was immersed in these gloomy thoughts, Lisa's eyes slowly opened. She blinked in the dim light as her eyes adjusted. Blurry images came into focus and she took in her surroundings, thinking back to her last moments of consciousness. She remembered the sandstorm, and then falling. She could barely remember hitting the ground, and wondered how she had gotten to where she was. Then she saw Laurants sitting near her. He didn't seem to notice her and she groaned and began to stir. He jumped to his feet, startled by the sudden break in silence.

"Captain, you're awake!" He knelt down next to her and then checked the impromptu bandage.

She smiled glumly up at him. "Where are we?" She asked quietly.

"I'm not sure, it's some kind of underground city. No one's home though. I don't even know how we're going to get out of here."

"We'll have to look for a way," she said and began to get up. Laurants pushed her gently back down.

"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere for a little while yet. Not until you're ready to travel."

"I'm ready now," she protested as she tried to get up again. Her legs seemed like lead, and she began to feel weak. "All right, I'm not. Do you have anything to eat?"

"Here," he said and offered her a small morsel of food. She chewed on it and looked at him thoughtfully as she sat on the bed.

"You didn't leave me in the desert. I ordered you to leave me there," she began.

"No, I didn't," he replied, feeling a little strange.

"Why not?"

"I couldn't leave you out there to die," he replied softly.

"Oh," they both were quiet for a few moments, hearing nothing but the faint sound of the river running through the dead city. Lisa touched the cut on her head and winced a little. "How did that happen, anyway?" She asked.

"It was when you hit the ground after the fall." Laurants was beginning to feel uncomfortable. For the first time, Lisa realized that Laurants had taken off her alien armor. She laid back down on the bed, still feeling weak and sensing that Laurants was uneasy, she decided to get some rest. She closed her eyes and soon fell deep into sleep once again. Laurants turned away from her and clutched his rifle, leaving the building to search for a way out of the dead city.

In the deserts above the city, the sandstorms had died down and revealed three black-armored alien soldiers. In the lead was S'Revlar, an expert tracker. S'Olonny had pulled the patrols searching this area, and had sent him and his men to continue the search for the other possible group of aliens. A patrol had been wiped out a few miles back, and S'Revlar had the feeling that there was another group of aliens, humans as they were called, nearby. He hadn't found any tracks, but then again the sandstorm had probably wiped them all out.

He swept the area with his scanning instruments and stopped. He bent over and brushed away some sand with his gloves. Under the sand was some kind of door. He motioned to one of his subordinates, who stepped forward and then stepped on the door. He dropped out of sight and went crashing to the ground. After he hit the ground he called up to S'Revlar and told him what he saw.

The alien scout's scanner found traces of human blood mixed in with the soil. There were also signs of a body being dragged across the ground and through a tunnel. Then the scout requested instructions. S'Revlar told him to stay where he was, they would join him soon. He jumped into the hole and activated the mini-jetpack on his armor. He swooped down the hole and then gently landed on the ground. He looked around and saw that the scout was right; there were signs that the aliens were nearby. He activated a spotlight on his helmet and began to move down the tunnel as the last scout joined them.

They moved carefully down the tunnel, watching for any boobytraps or any enemy ambushes. S'Revlar wasn't sure how clever these humans were, but he wasn't about to take any chances. He had his laser pistol ready, and hoped that his lightly armed recon team wouldn't meet a large group of these aliens. From the traces of the humans in this area, he suspected that there were only a few of them around. Nothing that he couldn't handle.

As he walked through the tunnel, he thought at how on all of the collection raids, he had never really faced an enemy that was an equal. On his last missions, he had simply been hunting for signs of life after a finished raid. Never before had anyone stood up to the might of the collection forces for more than a few hours. This was his first real combat situation in a while, but he was sure that he was up to the challenge. He was an expert tracker and had hunted down many a hiding group. Now he had to hunt down these aliens, who had so surprised and baffled Captain S'Olonny.

The scouting party neared the end of the tunnel and stopped. S'Revlar began to get massive readings of synthetic materials and water. Ready for trouble, S'Revlar stepped from the tunnel and stopped dead in his tracks. It was a massive underground city that appeared ancient and abandoned. After seeing how empty the city was, the trio of scouts proceeded boldly through the city, no longer expecting trouble. There were signs that the humans had been here, but the readings appeared fairly old. They strolled past the building where Lisa slept, the materials of the structure shielding the alien sensors.

In her sleep, Lisa turned over and bumped the wall, which contained an overhead shelf. A pot went crashing to the floor. The sound was heard by the scouts, who turned towards the building and started towards it cautiously. S'Revlar could sense trouble as he went into the structure. "Freeze!" He shouted in his native language, which to Lisa's sleepy ears sounded like a lion's roar. She opened her eyes and reached for an imaginary weapon as the alien kept his weapon trained on her. "There may be more of them, find them!" Lisa screamed as S'Revlar grabbed her. The scream echoed down the empty streets, echoing into infinity.

Laurants was walking through the silent city, looking for a way out. He decided to rest for a moment and sat against the front of a building, looking up at the distant dirt ceiling over the city. He cradled his gun on his knees, feeling sad. He began to wonder why he hadn't just told Lisa why he hadn't left her, why he wouldn't ever leave her. She wouldn't understand, he told himself. She didn't feel anything for him, he was certain of that. It wouldn't do any good to tell her now, he would have to wait until all of this was over, then he would tell her.

Laurants closed his eyes for a few seconds, hearing nothing but the faint sound of rushing water. Then he heard a terrified wail echoing through the underground city. He jumped to his feet and looked around. "No!" He shouted and ran towards where he had left Lisa, cursing his carelessness. He skidded to a halt at the corner of a building, seeing two black-clad alien soldiers coming his way. He aimed his gun and pulled off two shots, both of which struck the side of a building. The aliens dove for cover and fired their weapons. Laurants ducked and looked around to see where Lisa was. He couldn't see her and slowly edged behind the corner. He crouched down with his gun resting on his chest and thought the situation over.

The aliens would be hard to deal with now, and Laurants was sure that more were on their way. He hadn't seen these type of aliens before, and wondered if the color of armor was some kind of system. Then he thought about Lisa. Where was she? Was she being held captive? And if so, where? As he thought about this, a shadow moved.

The aliens held up their weapons, ready to charge. There was two of them, and only one human so they knew that they could overrun him. Just then something hit one of the aliens on the head and it fell over, groaning in pain. The other alien turned and then the front of his helmet caved in as something heavy smashed into it. It fell over and Laurants came out from where he was hiding and swept the area with his gun. It was then that the shadows began to move again and something began to move into the faint light...

Manny felt the temperature rising aboard the alien escort ship as it entered the atmosphere. The ship entered orbit and started to cool off a little. Out one of the small windows, Manny stared slackjawed at a corner of space. A huge ship dominated her view and she saw that it was bristling with weapons. The seemingly minuscule escort ship headed for the alien vessel. For a few moments it seemed to be running into a solid wall, until a heavily armored panel opened and the ship slowly entered the gaping maw of the flagship. Aliens clad in bright orange spacesuits raced about, getting the landing area ready. Finally, the ship set down and a ramp extended. Alien soldiers motioned for the humans to stand and herded them down the ramp.

Manny followed the aliens down the ramp, taking in her strange surroundings. The lights seemed strangely dim and the walls were painted a dull gray. Her boots echoed down a long hallway as the aliens marched them out of the landing area. She was stripped of all equipment, weapons, and armor. She wondered if there was any way for her and her troops to get out of here. They couldn't find their way back; this ship was too big and already the landing bay was out of sight. There were too many guards to overwhelm, and she wasn't sure if they would care if she was able to take a hostage. But still, she knew that she couldn't give up hope.

As she marched down the hallway, the alien soldiers turned around a corner and for a moment seemed to disappear. One foolhardy bridge crewer decided to make a run for it and dashed down the hallway. The aliens seemed unconcerned and one touched something on the chestplate of its armor. An alarm sounded and the bridge crewman ran head-first into an invisible force field. As soon as his flesh touched it he was vaporized. The other humans watched in horror, and Manny couldn't believe it. With defenses like that, there was no way for them to escape. She plodded along after the aliens, feeling depressed and trapped.

The aliens stopped and then several doors opened. Humans were divided into pairs and stuffed into small cells, all except for Manny. Two aliens grabbed her roughly and led her down a maze of passages that eventually led to a brightly lit room with harsh white walls and two aliens standing inside. One was very tall, and the other was shorter and had a weird gleam in its eyes. The short one stepped up to her and grinned, its snake-like tongue whipping against the corners of its mouth.

"You are the leader?" It asked in English.

"Yes I am," Manny conceded.

"Excellent," it hissed and then the alien soldiers forced her to sit in a strange looking chair. Metal restraints wrapped themselves around her arms and feet, and she wasn't sure what was going on.

"What are you doing?" She demanded and the tall alien laughed harshly. He began to speak in a deep, guttural tongue and she strained her ears to understand what he was saying. Then the short one drew closer and began to translate.

"He says that you are in no position to make demands. Now we will begin the interrogation. If you do not cooperate, then we will take the information from you, understand?"

"Yes," she replied, knowing that she couldn't cooperate. She had been trained to never give anything to the enemy. Then again she didn't know what kind of devices the aliens could use to take information from her mind. She looked at the orange reptilian eyes of the tall alien and felt a chill run down her spine. Then the short alien bent over and placed some kind of device on her head and pushed a few buttons. Instantly her eyes closed and darkness wrapped itself around her.

S'Tallen and S'Olonny turned and looked at a monitor as the mind probe began to map Manny's mind. The scientist had already probed one human's mind before Arsa was brought to his lab, which had allowed him to learn the foreign language and some basic information about the species. For this one, he was getting nothing but static. Her mental defenses were strong and he turned the probe off; they would learn nothing from her this way.

"Begin the interrogation," S'Olonny growled and then left the room, heading for his quarters. He sat down and sighed. After all this time, he had finally met the leader of these humans. He was not at all impressed. They seemed small, weak, and foolish, nothing like the brilliant warriors who had managed to beat several squads of his best troops. He looked at the information S'Tallen had compiled on the humans. He had suggested that S'Olonny learn their language to speak to them, but he saw no need. They would all be destroyed soon, and then there would be little use for their pathetic language. There was also the scientist's report on the project he had been given. The results were encouraging.

S'Tallen believed it feasible to modify mind probes to control the active impulses still going to the human's brains. Then they would be able to be controlled by S'Olonny as extra soldiers, and a deadly pawn when it came time to finish off these insects. He thought it out and found the logic sound. He put that away and pondered the situation again.

There was information he needed to get from this human. He needed to know if there were others on the planet, and where their home planet was. He could get this from other prisoners, but he wanted to break the leader of these humans to repay them for all of the trouble they had caused. He brought up a graphic of the star charts, wondering where the homeworld of these troublesome aliens was.

S'Tallen had learned that the humans were far from their native land. They also lived on several other planets and moons and had a vast fleet of spaceships. They would be a challenging foe indeed. He would need any information the human had on their defenses, so that he could find the easiest way to dispose of them. Normally he could overwhelm his adversaries with firepower, but now that he was so low on energy, he had to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Standing now, S'Olonny hurried back to the room where Manny was being held. She was unconscious, and S'Tallen was getting the equipment.

"When will we be able to start?" S'Olonny asked.

"In only a few minutes, Captain. I should be able to revive her by then."

"Very well, carry on. After the interrogation, I'd like you to begin preparations for testing your control device on the aliens. I want all of them under our control before we leave orbit."

"I'll try to have it ready, but there are no guarantees. I have other matters to attend to."

"I'm well aware of what those are. Make my orders your first priority. You can finish your experiments later." S'Olonny saw the scientist flinch and barely managed to keep the grin off his face. S'Tallen turned away, wondering how the meddling captain had found out. Obviously he had been watching somehow. S'Tallen vowed to not let that happen again. But there won't be any need for future experiments, he thought. He finished making adjustments on the equipment and then injected Manny with a substance to force her to wake up.

Her eyes opened and she saw the aliens hovering over her. The short one smiled at her and she groaned. "Now you will tell us what you know," he said. The tall one grumbled something and the short one translated. "If you do not cooperate then we will kill all those who came with you." Manny felt a chill run through her at the words.

Terraz opened her eyes and wondered if she was dead. Then she saw plants around her and a gray sky overhead. The sun was just coming up and she moved her limbs experimentally. Her wrist still ached and the rest of her joints felt a little stiff. She struggled to stand up, and when she finally managed it, she looked about her in a daze.

Bodies lay in the swamp water, rotting where they lay. Much to her chagrin, many of the bodies were human. She checked the bodies, looking for any that were alive. She was relieved to find that none of the bodies belonged to Davis or Manny. She knelt down next to one that was lying face-up in the water. The man was pale but when she checked for a pulse she found a faint one. He was breathing shallowly and she took off his armor and checked for his wound. He was bleeding from a wound in his chest, and she knew that it was serious. She tore off a strip from her uniform and dipped it in the water. She washed the wound and then looked for some kind of bandages. She found a medical kit in one soldier's pack and bandaged the man's wound. She slowly dragged him over to a dry spot and left him to rest. Then she looked at the other bodies and found that none were alive. She was just turning away when suddenly something jumped up.

One of the alien soldiers was still alive and Terraz whirled around and tried to run. Her feet slipped in the mud and she fell. She groped for some kind of weapon, and then saw that the alien had its arms raised, mimicking the human sign of surrender. She cautiously stood up and motioned for the alien to put its hands down. The enemy soldier removed his dented and battered armor, and for the first time she saw one of the aliens without its protective coating. She gasped and then out of the corner of her eye she saw something moving. The man she had patched up was stirring and she rushed over and helped him up. The soldier saw the alien and let out a war-cry. He tried to charge at it, but Terraz stopped him.

"No, don't! He's not the enemy! He surrendered, he's not the enemy!" She screamed and he stopped and looked at her blearily.

"What?" The man exclaimed. He was taller than her by a foot, and as she gripped his muscled arm she hoped that he didn't decide to try and break past her.

"It's all right," she said softly and his muscles relaxed. "Everything's going to be fine Sergeant..." She looked for some kind of name tag, but his uniform was stained.

"Garren, ma'am. Sergeant William Garren," he extended his hand and she shook it, vaguely remembering him from the firefight at the edge of the forest.

"Ensign Laurie Terraz, formerly of the Explorer." They turned back to the alien, who was watching them with interest.

"I S'Amleng," the alien croaked and extended its hand. Terraz smiled and shook it.

"Hello S'Amleng," she said while Garren stood back with his arms folded defensively across his chest. She wasn't sure how the alien had picked up the language, but she was glad that it was making friendly overtures. "Let's get some supplies and get out of here."

"Where'll we go?" Garren asked.

"Our only hope now is to find Captain Shaw. There's no way that the three of us can save Arsa and the others. We've got to find those weapons that she was talking about."

"All right, I see your point. Let's get some gear together and move out. The aliens might come back, so we'll have to be quick." They began to search for food and weapons and other supplies. S'Amleng began to help and soon they were ready to leave. None of them knew the way out, and so they began to trudge back the way that they had come. S'Amleng, whom Terraz nicknamed Sam, took the lead because he was more adept to the swampy climate. They walked in silence as the sun came up and the scent of rotten meat wafted to their noses. Even after the sun went down, they kept moving, trying to escape the stench of the dead.

Terraz was worried. Their supplies were few, and she didn't have the slightest idea where Captain Shaw and Laurants had gone. All that she knew is that they would probably head north again, until they came to their destination. And so they would have to go north and hope that they could find them. She hadn't told Garren this; she didn't want to worry him so soon after being wounded.

As they struggled along, Terraz wondered even with these weapons if they could beat these aliens. They always seemed to have the upper hand. She didn't know much about the ExoArmor project, but she did know that it was the most ambitious weapons project that had been put together since the Manhattan Project back in the 1940s. The project had been rushed so that a set of prototypes could be put aboard to boost the Explorer's firepower. So far it hadn't done any good, but that was because the captain had ordered the prototypes be ejected to the surface. Terraz had to admit that it had been a smart move. Against the firepower that the alien ship possessed, the Explorer hadn't had a chance. On the ground they at least stood a chance to rescue Arsa and the others and steal a ship to escape to Earth with. And once they got to Earth, what would they do? She stared at the ground in despair.
Chapter Seven

The thing stepped out into the light, and Laurants took a step back, clutching his gun. The creature that emerged was almost comical looking. It was a furry animal that resembled a prairie dog standing on its hind legs. It wielded a heavy length of pipe that was stained with alien blood. It began to squeak in some kind of language that Laurants didn't understand. He looked at it in a daze for a moment and then remembered his compad. He pulled it out and fiddled with its buttons, trying to activate the translator. The compad was a little banged up from the journey, but eventually the translation program came up. As the thing spoke, the translator compared it to any known language or dialect on Earth.

The native creature spoke for several minutes and made some gestures with its pipe and its four-fingered hands. Even without the compad, Laurants could guess that it wanted him to follow it. Looking towards where he had left Lisa, Laurants reluctantly followed the direction that it was waving its pipe. He wasn't sure if any more of these things were in the shadows, and he didn't want to kill it until he found out something more about it. It seemed to be the only intelligent life that was native to the planet thusfar.

The prairie dog walked ahead of Laurants and then it stopped at a branch of the river. At the water's edge the city seemed to end abruptly. He wondered where they were going, and then the creature moved something aside and revealed a trap door buried in the dirt. It motioned for Laurants to go down the hole. He shrugged and then complied, slinging his gun on his back. At the base of the hole, the prairie dog took the lead again and led Laurants down a system of dark, winding tunnels. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and he saw that the tunnels were lined with stones that seemed to be arranged in some strange order, almost like signs pointing the way to somewhere. He checked his compad and was dismayed to see that they were traveling away from the ExoArmor signal. The trip seemed to last forever, but eventually the prairie dog stopped and pointed to a doorway carved into the rock. Laurants stepped into it and saw a dim light casting a faint glow in a huge cavern.

A beeping came from the compad and Laurants grinned in the darkness. The compad had been able to decipher parts of the alien speech, enough so that he might be able to communicate with the prairie dog alien. The creature stood in the doorway and then it went down on one knee, bowing to some unseen figure. Shadows seemed to blur and whirl until finally Laurants saw a shape coming towards him. It seemed tall and mean-looking and Laurants fought the urge to pull out his gun and begin firing. The shape finally stepped into the pale light and Laurants was shocked.

It was an old man standing there, human in appearance. He stood a few inches taller than Laurants and had a shock of white hair that seemed to cast its own faint glow. For a few seconds the two stood there, sizing each other up. It was only then that Laurants saw more of the prairie dog-like aliens standing behind the old man. The man began to speak in a high, nasal voice and it took the compad only seconds to figure out what he had said.

"Welcome, friend," he had said. Laurants saw on the compad that the old man was using a language similar to the ancient Greek tongue on Earth.

"Hello, sir. I am from a distant planet and come in peace," Laurants raised his hands in a symbol of goodwill and the old man nodded.

"I am Lothgamm, the last of my race. To whom am I speaking?"

"I am Ensign Jack Laurants from the starship Explorer. I come from a planet called Earth that is far from here."

"I see. You seem like a decent enough lad. Come and sit down so that I might tell you why you have been brought here and why you are so desperately needed." Lothgamm motioned to a chair made of stone that had until now been hidden by shadow. Lights came on as candles were lit, and Laurants saw that a small army of pipe-wielding prairie dog creatures were standing in the cavern. Lothgamm sat in a similar chair and Laurants wondered what was going to happen now.

"Gethol saw you fighting those despicable aliens in the old city. I instructed him to bring you here so that I could gain your help in driving these aliens from off this planet," Lothgamm began.

"But what happened to the people who built that city in the first place? And why haven't you just attacked the aliens yourself?" Laurants interrupted, knowing that each minute wasted was a minute that could be used to rescue Lisa.

Lothgamm leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling of the cavern. "A long time ago my people were like yours, exploring the stars, building cities, making scientific and technological achievements. But then a great war erupted as various factions fought in a brutal civil war. Almost the entire planet was destroyed, and all of our once great fleet of ships was destroyed."

"Those who wanted peace came down here, to live under a barren desert. Here we lived for a long, long time. Then scouts were sent to the surface, myself being one of them, to see what had happened to the planet. In our absence we found everything obliterated. There was no sign that anyone had ever even existed. Forests took over the rubble of our cities and deserts covered the battlefields. I returned to the city with the other scouts and found that the city's people were gone. A mysterious disease had killed them all in the years that we had been gone."

"Amidst all of our pain and sorrow, we found one cause for hope. We found a map that showed the way to a secret place where the Last Ship, the Avenger, was berthed. It was the last of the great fleet of ships and we boarded it eagerly. But we soon learned that we didn't have enough people to man it, and it couldn't fly. In the memory banks a message had been left. It said that one day war would again ravage the planet and a great race from the stars would come and claim the Avenger and lead her into victory over evil. Your people are that race; we must help you free them so that the Avenger can take flight."

"It was after we left the ship that we found Gethol's people. They lived in primitive holes underground and were the only animals left on the entire planet. At first we left them be and went back to the city, where we destroyed all of the dead bodies and lived in a pitiful existence of scavenging. A couple of my friends went mad from this lifestyle and killed themselves. There were soon only a few of us, and we knew that we weren't going to make it. We searched the city for supplies and then drew lots to see who would be the one to wait for the race from the stars. I won and watched the rest of the group plunge daggers into their hearts. I disposed of their bodies and then left the city. I sought out the Glan, Gethol's people, and lived with them. I learned their language and customs and befriended them. We have lived in quiet isolation since then, waiting for you. Now that you have arrived, we must hurry and free the rest of your people or else soon these aliens will find you, me, and the Glan and exterminate us all." With that Lothgamm pulled a small black pistol out from the dark blue folds of his coarse robe. Laurants could almost feel the excitement in the air, and knew that he could rescue Lisa now. Lothgamm led the way out of the cavern with Laurants and Gethol following behind him. Further back was a swarm of Glan, all of them clutching pipes.

S'Revlar was worried. He couldn't raise the other two scouts on the comm. He was alone with this prisoner and was afraid that there was someone else in this city. He looked down at the human female and grimaced within his helmet. She looked so pathetically pale and frail, much like all of this species. They had shown themselves able to fight, and yet their bodies didn't seem well-suited to it. His people were stronger, better, and smarter, and yet they kept being defeated by these puny things. The prisoner stirred and he helped her to her feet, wanting to get out of this city. When he got to the surface he would be able to contact S'Olonny and then the city would be swept by a horde of soldiers. Then whatever else inhabited this area would be destroyed.

Lisa felt her head clearing and she looked up at the menacing black-clad alien soldier. She stood weakly and brushed the dust off of her uniform. Then she looked around for the other aliens that she remembered seeing, or any sign of Laurants. Not seeing either, she hoped that he hadn't been caught yet. He was their only hope for escaping, unless she could find some way to get away from this alien. She looked for a weapon but there was nothing that she could use. The alien pushed her back towards the entrance to the city and she stumbled forward, still feeling a little weak.

It was obvious now that the other two aliens were either dead or had been sent on some other errand. It was just her and this single enemy soldier. If she could take him down then she would be free. This strengthened her will and resolve and she quickly made a plan. She pretended to fall forward, and when the alien went to grab her arm she turned and slammed into him with all of her weight. They both toppled over and she tried to grab a hold of the alien's neck. S'Revlar grabbed her wrists and tried to push her away. Doggedly she stayed on top of him, her hands clawing at his throat. Finally he jerked a leg up and his knee crashed into her midsection. She fell sideways and he stood. Lisa got to her feet, determined to fight to the end.

Enraged, S'Revlar charged at her and took a swing with a gauntleted hand. Lisa ducked and went under his blow and landed a punch on the base of his helmet. Her knuckles cracked and bled and she knew that they wouldn't do any good against the alien's armor. So she tripped him with one leg and pushed him to the ground with both hands. He fell face-first and she sat down on top of him. Then she looked around for his gun, but it was nowhere to be seen.

S'Revlar struggled to free himself, feeling the human on top of him. Just then he heard a shout and a laser blast flew past and hit the entrance. Lisa turned and saw Laurants at the head of a large column of creatures. Using the distraction, S'Revlar triggered his mini-jetpack. The heat burned Lisa's legs and she screamed, falling off of the alien. S'Revlar shot into the air, surveying the crowd below, and then rocketed out of the city and up to the surface. It was then that he stopped and landed, activating his comm.

"Captain S'Olonny, this is Tracker S'Revlar. There is a large group of aliens under my position. The others have been killed and I am requesting that you send reinforcements at once."

On the bridge of his ship, S'Olonny digested this information. He had suspected that there were more of these humans, and now he knew that he had been right. He would have to send most of his troops to deal with this menace. From S'Revlar's report, these humans were underground. The ship's sensors had been unable to penetrate much of the planet's interior, but that was chalked up to volcanic disturbances under the crust. Obviously the clever humans had shielded some kind of underground fortress where they could stage a counterattack.

"I'm putting you in charge of a half division of men as well as escort ships, should you need them. I want you to make sure that they are destroyed and their base obliterated," S'Olonny commanded.

"Yes sir," S'Revlar mumbled.

"The assault force will assemble at the collection plant. I want you to meet them there." S'Olonny broke off the communication and S'Revlar calculated that he had enough fuel left in the jetpack to get back to the collection facility. He took off, knowing that he would soon be back.

On the ground, Lisa was sprawled out, unconscious. Laurants was at her side, examining the burns. They looked bad, at least second-degree but probably third-degree burns. Lothgamm knelt down next to him and shook his head. "The poor girl, take her somewhere where I can tend to her," he ordered and Laurants and Gethol hauled her to a house and laid her down.

"You're a doctor?" Laurants asked hopefully.

"A healer of sorts, but I'm not sure that I can help her, her wounds are very serious. I'll do the best that I can," he began to chant some strange words and Laurants wondered what was happening. To his astonishment he saw the burns begin to heal. "My people have telepathic abilities which can be used to heal damaged body tissue. The chanting is really nothing more than a formality. I'm afraid that's all I can do for her for now." He leaned back against a wall, tired. The wounds on Lisa's legs looked better, and Laurants was almost certain that she would pull through now. He couldn't remember being so scared then when he saw Lisa lying on the ground, her legs and uniform scorched. He was beginning to think that neither one of them was going to make it through this mission. They had already cheated death too many times, eventually there was going to be that last throw of the dice, and then they would lose it all. He clutched his rifle and looked outside of the house at the flock of Glan milling around outside.

That brought him back to the problem at hand. That alien was probably going to come back with a lot of friends. They had to move soon to get the ExoArmors, or stay and fight. Either way seemed hopeless now. If they fled then the Glan, Lothgamm, and he and Lisa would be hunted down and killed. If they stayed then they would face an enemy horde with superior firepower that would eventually overwhelm them. Looking back at Lisa, he knew that they couldn't run. She was in no shape to travel in the kind of high-speed chase that would be required.

And what about Lothgamm and the Glan? It was because of he and Lisa that the aliens had found the underground city, so he had the responsibility of making things right again. And to add another wrinkle to the whole mess, there was the strange ship that Lothgamm kept mentioning. To man the ship they would need to find Lieutenant Rosaro and the others and rescue Arsa. No matter what they did here, they had to survive in order to make that happen. Laurants wished that Lisa would wake up again to help him find a way out of this dreadful mess that he had gotten them into.

Manny woke up and saw the aliens waiting for her. The short one grinned at her and then signaled to the tall one. She knew that she was in trouble now and closed her eyes, trying to play possum.

The aliens weren't fooled and S'Tallen signaled for S'Olonny to begin the interrogation. He nodded and knew that he would get information from Manny this time. "Are you ready to cooperate?" He asked her with S'Tallen interpreting.

"Never," Manny hissed, feeling a cold feeling in her stomach. Just then S'Tallen pushed a button and something extremely hot and painful jabbed her. A blunt rod sparked with electricity and sent a charge through her body. Manny winced and barely kept the pain under control, not wanting to appear weak.

"It seems they are tougher than we thought," S'Olonny grumbled. "Increase the voltage." S'Tallen nodded and S'Olonny asked the question again.

"I'm not going to cooperate with you, even if you kill every last one of us here. Some day you bastards are going to meet your match!" She spit at the tall alien and he laughed amusedly and then signaled for S'Tallen to shock her. Manny felt pain in every nerve in her body, overwhelming her mind so that she let out an unearthly howl. S'Olonny merely laughed and then S'Tallen turned the rod off. Manny's head sank to her chest and her world began to go gray. She felt dizzy and light-headed.

"Next time it will be higher," she heard the alien say before she blacked out.

In his cell, Davis sat and mused about the battle in the marshes. He should have spotted the trap, but then again so should have Manny. The problem, he knew, was that they had both been pressured by having to care for the bridge crewers and tired from several nights with little sleep as well as the many firefights they had been in. Now they both would be able to catch up on their rest.

The cell was dark and it seemed at if days were passing. The effect was maddening and he could hear whimpering from the other cells where several less-experienced soldiers were breaking. Before long they would all be broken and there would be little hope for escape. He thought of Terraz and hoped that she would find a way to rescue Arsa. Maybe she could even find Captain Shaw, but as for them, they were finished. Shaw had been right after all, they should have gone for the weapons.

Davis slammed his fists against the wall and knew that he couldn't give into self-defeatist thoughts like that. If he did he would soon be nothing but a mere shell of a man and his spirit would be gone. No, he was going to do something to raise not only his spirits, but the spirits of the others as well. He was going to get them, and Manny out of here, and he didn't care what it took. With new determination his mind began thinking of a plan. He would have to somehow find out some things about this ship and the guard schedules. Only then would he be able to make a clean getaway. He smiled to himself grimly and wondered how he would get out of this place.

The maddening darkness was coming abruptly to an end and Arsa saw a myriad of colors flash past her. The colors were spinning around her and she felt dizzy. At last she could begin to feel things again, tangible things, as the procedure was completed. The DNA had been reworked and all of the gaps were filled. Arsa knew none of this and she opened her eyes suddenly. She looked around and saw that there wasn't anything to see.

She was still strapped down where S'Tallen had left her, and she couldn't move any of her limbs. There were no mirrors around and no way that she could see what had happened to her. All that she knew was that she was alone in this quiet room, but at least she was alive. Still though, she felt as if a piece of herself was gone forever after the seemingly years she had spent in a dim, black world with no sight or sound.

As she lay there, she realized that now was her chance to try and escape. If she could find some way to get these bonds free, then she could be able to escape and find Lisa and the others. She tried to move her hands and found that she could move them slightly. With a great effort she tried to break free and then something snapped and her hand was able to move about. She used her free hand to remove the other bond, and then she concentrated on getting the leg restraints off. It was about then that she stopped and realized that there was something wrong with her.

Her skin wasn't smooth anymore. It was the same color but now it was scaly and slightly slimy. There was a green tinge to it and she gasped. Now she knew that the alien scientist had done something to her; he had done some kind of experiment on her. She recalled his speech and then she began to understand what was going on. Anger rose in her and she was able to easily snap the leg restraints. Now she was free and sprang off the table. That was when she noticed the long tail dragging behind her. She stopped and looked at it in disgust. It was clear what he had done, he had tried to make her into one of them. He had tried to make her this Savior that his people believed in. She wasn't going to let him keep her like this, she was going to find him and make him change her back.

Enraged, she broke down the door and then two guards skidded to a stop a few feet away from her. They gasped and raised their rifles. She barely noticed the green-armored aliens, her mind was thinking only of finding the alien scientist. A laser sizzled past her and she stopped. The guards were terrified and shaking miserably. They were fairly recent additions to S'Tallen's guard and were unused to seeing the byproducts of his experiments. All they saw was a naked and scaly human with a long mane of dull gray hair and large orange eyes filled with fire. Her tail seemed to crack like a whip and they thought that she was some kind of evil demon coming to get them. The aliens bumped into each other as they scrambled to run away.

More guards came, these ones more experienced. They immediately realized what this thing was that was looking evilly at them. The captain of the guard took a step forward and sized up the creature before him. It looked dazed and angry, like many of the things that had just awakened from one of S'Tallen's experiments. He held his rifle up in its face, trying to get it to snap out of it. Then he signaled for someone to call S'Tallen and tell him what was going on.

S'Tallen got the call on the ship as he was readying Manny for another round of interrogation. This time he was determined to keep her conscious no matter what. He listened to the voice of one of the panicky rookies and a smile came to his face. She was awake, and ahead of schedule.

"You've got to get down here, sir," the rookie guard squealed.

"I can't leave the ship, but I want you to stun her and bring her to me. Put her in my lab until I can deal with her," S'Tallen broke off the communication and turned back to his work, knowing that his moment of triumph was at hand. With control of the Savior, all the people of his homeworld would praise him as a hero and he would have power nearly beyond mortal means. Then S'Olonny and everyone else would have to bow down to him. He looked at Manny and wondered what he could do with her after his experiment came aboard.

On the surface, the captain of the guards turned his rifle to its lowest setting. The creature was still standing there, unsure of what to do. The anger had left Arsa and now she was left confused and disoriented. Before the captain even took a shot she fell to her knees, her head in her hands. She wanted to cry, but she didn't have any tear ducts and all that came out was a pitiful moaning sound. The captain signaled for two guards to put restraints on her. They slapped shackles on her hands and feet and then tugged the chains. Feeling very much like a wild animal, Arsa got up and meekly followed them to a shuttle. Waves of pain and sadness overwhelmed her and in the shuttle she was able to catch a glimpse of herself in a wall of the shuttle.

The alien had turned her into a monster. She wasn't a person anymore, she thought and moaned. One of the rookies, emboldened by her sudden change in attitude, hit her with the butt of his rifle. "Shut up!" He screamed. She reached up to grab him, but then she held back. It was no good, there was nothing that she could do. The alien guard laughed and sat down across from her, realizing that she was no longer an evil demon, just another experiment gone wrong. Or right, he mused. He wasn't sure what S'Tallen was trying to create, but it couldn't be good. He had heard horror stories from some of the older guards about the experiments the scientist had conducted. Hideous monsters that would kill and rampage until they either destroyed themselves or were brought down. At least this one seemed a little tamer. The shuttle climbed into the atmosphere, heading for the alien ship.
Chapter Eight

The interrogation was about to begin again. S'Tallen was getting impatient with this, and S'Olonny looked a little annoyed. This time S'Olonny knew that he would get the information from the prisoner. If not, then he would kill her. There was no more time for games, he had his men already on the move to destroy the last stronghold of human resistance. If the female wouldn't break, then she would have to be executed.

Manny woke up and knew that this time would be worse than before. She was still torn between giving in and having her and everyone else killed by not cooperating. She looked at the aliens with a look of distaste and waited for them to ask her their questions.

"Time is short and your usefulness is at an end. My soldiers have already found your last point of resistance. Your friends will soon be destroyed. You and your troops will live if you give me the location of your home system," S'Olonny spoke through S'Tallen, and a wicked grin came across his face as Manny grimaced. So that's what this is all about, she thought and then her mind turned to Earth. They were unprepared for an alien attack and she wasn't sure if the entire fleet of Alliance starships could last a few hours against the alien dreadnought. If she revealed the location to the aliens, it would assure the destruction of mankind.

She knew now that Captain Shaw had failed and all of her men were captured. What good would there be in giving away the location of Earth? They were all dead either way. The aliens were waiting for her response, and she knew that the next time she was shocked, it would be fatal.

After several seconds of silence, S'Olonny spoke again in a mocking voice, "There's no use in fighting us, we'll find your planet eventually. Your race is already doomed to extinction. But if you cooperate then I will let you live, I give you my word as one warrior to another. You can stay on this ship; you are a most excellent commander and you could be there at my side as we conquer the universe. My people aren't out for territory, we just want bio-energy to live on. All of the worlds we leave behind could be yours to rule. Think about it." Manny stared at him incredulously.

What was he playing at? He should know that she could see the flaw in his logic. The worlds left would be barren and desolate, she would be ruler of numerous dirtballs. Besides, she would never turn her back on her entire race. Still, there was a small voice telling her that she should take his offer so that she and her men would survive. As she looked at the alien she thought about what he had said. An idea came to her mind.

"As one warrior to another, I want to settle this honorably in single combat. The winner of the duel gets what they want. You want to know where my planet is, and I want me and my people to go free. Those are the stakes, are you willing to challenge me?" She said haughtily in a mocking tone.

As anticipated, S'Olonny laughed mightily and sneered, "Very well, I will challenge you. However, I will supply the weapons for the duel. We will begin in twelve of your hours. Do not disappoint me by using this for some sort of trickery." With that he strode away and then S'Tallen followed him, leaving Manny alone to plan her desperate gamble.

On another part of the ship, the shuttle carrying Arsa was docking. She stood and her head was bent in shame. She was shoved out of the shuttle and slowly her eyes adjusted to the light. The guards walked her through the ship and back to S'Tallen's lab. He wasn't there and the captain of the guard posted the two rookies at the door while he chained Arsa to the wall. He knew that she could probably break the chains if she chose, but in her condition the chains would be able to keep her in line. He left the lab and the rookies at the door shifted nervously, although they doubted that the creature would try to escape.

The captain strode down the corridors, looking for S'Tallen. He wasn't sure where the scientist was, but he knew that he had to find him. He would want to see his creation as soon as possible to see if this was what he had been searching for. The captain doubted that it was, the creature seemed pretty pathetic, nothing like the glorious Savior that S'Tallen was always preaching about.

The captain was one of the many aliens who had begun to believe that the only way for his people to survive was to go out and grab their destiny with both hands. There were still many who thought that the Savior would come and save them eventually. Most of the spacefaring soldiers and officers knew that there was no Savior. Yet S'Tallen and many like him at home still believed the old prophecy, only S'Tallen believed that he could artificially create this wonderful being.

The captain wasn't opposed to the experiments, it was a good morale-booster for his men and for others on the ship who believed in the old religion. Still, there was something unnatural about the whole thing, it was tampering with nature. That would only lead to trouble in the end, the captain knew. He reached the bridge and looked inside. Technicians scurried about in preparation for the final assault on the humans. There was a lot of work to get done in a short time, forces from all over had to be coordinated and brought together. Support and logistics vehicles had to be positioned, and plans had to be laid for how the attack would be carried out. The captain wasn't interested in that though, he was simply interested in the bio-sensors for inside the ship.

He went over to an empty console and then began to search the ship for S'Tallen. To his surprise he found that the scientist was a level below, in the War Planning Center. He sighed and went down to it. The doors hissed open and he saw a mix of different classes of soldiers. Over it all towered S'Olonny, and next to him in black armor was S'Revlar. He wasn't sure when the expert tracker had come back aboard, but he had heard from a few comrades that S'Revlar would lead the attack. In the captain's mind, there was no one better to carry it out. S'Revlar had been involved already in a battle against these aliens. The captain wished that he could be a part of the battle, but he was just a lowly guard. He looked around and then found the scientist. He brushed past a few soldiers and then saluted the small genius.

"Sir, the creature has been brought aboard without incident. Two of my men are guarding it in the lab," the captain said.

"Excellent, I will go to her at once. There is nothing for me to do here," S'Tallen replied and followed the captain out of the room. Indeed, there was nothing for him to do in the War Planning Center. This battle was S'Olonny's idea, not his. His special project wouldn't be ready in time for the battle, so there was nothing for him to do. He could use his time better by testing his experiment. He had to see if she had the special powers that would mark her as the Savior.

He went down the winding corridors until he finally reached the lab. He brushed past the guards and told the captain to wait outside. Then he looked inside and saw Arsa chained to the wall. She looked pitiful and he picked up the special instruments he had designed. Before he began to use them he looked her over. It looked as if the bonding process had worked, the DNAs of two different races had blended together. He touched her arm and felt the semi-slimy texture of her skin. He smiled and then forced her chin up and looked into her orange reptilian eyes. Her tail was limp and her pale gray hair was hanging in her eyes. He brushed it away and smiled. She looked perfect. Now if she just had the powers.

He began to scan her, looking for some indication of the great powers the Savior would possess. His initial scans revealed nothing remarkable and he pricked her with a needle to take a tissue sample. She moaned a little and he noted that her disposition was better than many of his specimens. As he waited for the sample to be analyzed by his computer he daydreamed of all of the power he would control if she were the one. He would be a hero; he would be the one who would bring the Savior to his homeworld to save his people.

Arsa saw the alien scientist sitting there, looking at her, and felt her heart sink even further. She was just a sideshow attraction now, something for people to gawk at. All of her humanity had been stripped away by this alien. Her life had been destroyed. She tried to remember things from her past to cheer herself up a little, but she found that they were gone. All she could remember was a vague image of herself as a normal human and then the alien jabbing her with a needle. Then there was that awful blackness, and then she had woke up to find that he had changed her physically and destroyed her mentally. The scientist was still looking at her and she closed her eyes, feeling alone and very cold.

Flashes of memories appeared and before she could grasp them they were gone. She could barely remember something about a starship. There was a swarm of faces that blurred together before her, and then the memory surge was gone like a pounding wave hitting the shore. She grit her teeth as a searing pain ran through her mind. The scientist kept looking at her curiously, wondering what was going on. Her head lifted for a brief moment as the pain reached its climax, and then it sank wearily back down to her chest. Her eyes closed and she felt afraid with nothing but blackness around her. It was almost as bad as when the experiment had started, only that she could at least open her tired eyes. She heard something beep and then saw the scientist get up and go over to a computer.

S'Tallen looked at the results from the tissue samples. There was nothing to indicate any kind of special powers. In short, his experiment had failed miserably. He looked at Arsa in disgust and frustration. Yet another experiment had gone wrong, S'Tallen thought and then he called for his guards. The captain entered and saluted.

"Get this miserable failure out of my sight. Put it in with the other humans where it belongs," he commanded and stomped out of the room, furious. The captain looked at Arsa and then unhooked the chains from the wall. He let one of the rookies lead the creature to the holding cells where the humans were kept. He found one with only one occupant and then opened the door.

Davis was in the midst of planning his escape when the door opened. He heard the rattle of chains and something was shoved roughly into the dark cell. There were a few moans coming from something huddled in the corner.

Davis felt fear rising in his chest. This was obviously another prisoner, but who could it be? He hoped that it was Manny, then at least she could help him find a way out of here. He stumbled over to the corner of the room and bent down, feeling for whatever was in there. He touched something scaly and slimy and quickly his fingers darted back. It had to be one of the aliens!

"Who are you?" Davis demanded.

"I...I don't know," Arsa replied in a deep voice, feeling the words coming slowly for her. This was the first time that she realized that she didn't even know her own name. She just knew that she had been a person, and now she was a monster.

The voice was muffled and deep, and Davis didn't recognize it. He wished that there was some light in the cell so that he could see who it was the aliens had put in here with him. He sighed and went back to where he had been sitting. He was beginning to think again when he heard the strange voice again.

"Who are you?" It asked slowly and deliberately. Davis was surprised and looked back over at the corner. Was this some kind of trick? He wondered. Maybe they had planted this newcomer as a spy. But he knew it wouldn't hurt to at least give his name, that was pretty much common knowledge anyway.

"I'm Sergeant Alex Davis of the 5th Platoon. The aliens captured me and put me here, why are you in here?" He asked, hoping to pump some information from the thing in the corner. Arsa wasn't listening though, she was shivering and feeling afraid. Even with Davis in the cell it still seemed as though the darkness was closing in on her, threatening to swallow her up. Her eyes closed and the pain increased. Her mind began to spin and she felt like she was going to die. Then she saw and heard nothing more.

Terraz, Garren, and Sam were at the edge of the marshes. They were all wet, and the two humans were more than glad to climb out of the muddy water. Night was falling and they decided to find somewhere to make camp for the night. They stopped in a little area enclosed by trees. Since Terraz and Garren were both a little cold they built a small fire to warm themselves up. Sam leaned against a tree, making himself comfortable. Garren kept an uneasy eye on him and Terraz checked his bandages before trying to go to sleep.

She wasn't sure what to make of Sam. He had been helpful the whole way, helping to carry equipment and he had pointed out areas where the marshes were deeper so that the humans didn't get completely drenched. In all he seemed very nice, not at all like the merciless aliens she had seen so far. Garren, she was sure, didn't trust Sam, but she was beginning to like him. During their journey she had helped teach him some more English words so that he could communicate better. He was learning slowly, but he seemed eager to learn the human tongue. She hadn't tried to get any information out of him yet, he seemed like a young soldier who wouldn't be privy to any real useful information. Besides, her only concern was for finding Captain Shaw and Laurants. If Sam wanted to volunteer some information, she would be glad to hear it, but she wanted to make him feel comfortable being around humans, not threatened. They might need him before the end of the journey and right now Terraz knew that the humans needed every friend they could get.

She looked up at the night sky and thought of Manny, Davis, and the others. What had happened to them? They had probably been captured or else were dead. She knew that Davis had saved her life during the battle, and she longed to see him again. He seemed to be so much more than just a soldier, he was a kind, gentle, sensitive man. She wished that he were here right now to ease her mind and her heart. She knew that this trip was going to be difficult, and she really needed someone to be there for her. Garren seemed to be all right in his own way, but he was also aloof and distant. She hadn't seen him much before the battle at the edge of the forest, and she had never really been able to talk to him. Now he was the only human companionship she would have for some time. This quest was going to be the hardest thing she had ever done in her life and she wasn't sure if she would be up to it.

Her gaze shifted towards where she hoped she could see Earth. It was there somewhere, one of the many planets in the universe. But it was more than that, it was her home. It was the home for the entire human race. She shivered as she thought of the aliens finding Earth and enslaving the population. They had run over the few defenders at Rygan easily enough, the entire fleet of Alliance starships wouldn't be able to stand much of a chance. She began shaking as she thought of her home in flames as aliens and humans fought in blood-stained streets. If it came to that, she knew that the human race would become extinct. There would be nothing left of it except the ruins of the once-proud planet. She turned her gaze down and closed her eyes, knowing that the only chance now lay with her and her companions.

On the alien ship, a swarm of activity buzzed around the hangars. Shuttles and escort ships were readied for battle. Armed soldiers would soon be marching into the ships. Orange-clad aliens loaded ammunition and supplies onto the ships and it seemed as if the aliens were preparing for Armageddon. S'Revlar watched it all from a monitor in the War Planning Center. S'Olonny had pulled him up here to plan the final assault. He had even brought up the soldiers on the surface for a reason that S'Revlar could not even begin to fathom.

The attack would come in less than thirteen hours, and minutes seemed to stretch into hours. He wanted another crack at the humans and their comrades, and he could feel his lust growing with each passing moment. He wanted to avenge himself and the scouts under his command for that humiliating defeat. He had known that the humans were great warriors, but they seemed to be even better than he could ever have imagined. They had led him and his men into a trap, luring them into their fortress. They would pay for that, soon, very soon. This time they would be crushed and the ship could leave this accursed planet forever.

He was beginning to hope to return to his home soon so that he could retire and make up the time he had missed with his family. He loved being a tracker, but now he was beginning to have his doubts. It was becoming too dangerous and he was getting too old. Eventually he would be killed if he didn't give the job up soon. His family barely knew him and he vowed to make it up to them in whatever way that he could. As soon as the ship reached the homeworld he would quit tracking forever. The government would give him a nice pension and plenty of bio-energy to dine upon. He and his family would be taken care of, all he had to do was survive this attack against the humans and the others that would follow.

S'Olonny had told him that they would soon learn the location of the human's homeworld. As soon as they did they would conquer it and have more than enough bio-energy to return home. The ship was already launching long-range sensors into space, hoping to find any sign of the planet in case the humans didn't give up the location. He hoped that they would find it soon, one way or the other. He was tired of this planet and knew that the best way to avenge himself would be to kill as many of the humans as he could. Then he would be able to go home, a highly decorated tracker and warrior. He sighed and turned back to the planning table.

In the next thirteen hours, it would be his job to position and get the soldiers ready for combat. S'Olonny would coordinate the attack from the ship, positioning the escort ships to where they would do the most good. Since the humans were underground, he doubted the ships would be able to help until they were flushed out of their hole. He checked the time and decided that there was enough time for him to bathe, take a short nap, and to change into a new set of armor. His present armor was dirt-stained, dented, and scorched. Besides, he had to get out his suit of warrior armor for this mission. He strolled out of the room, tail twitching anxiously as he thought of the best way to kill these blasted humans.

Lisa opened her eyes again and saw Laurants sitting over her. She struggled to sit up and then spied Lothgamm crouched in a dark corner. He seemed to be meditating and she wondered why he would be meditating at a time like this. Laurants watched her sit up and urged her to take it easy. She would have none of that and got to her feet with a grave look on her face.

"Those aliens are going to be back," she began quietly, feeling as though she were talking to herself. "We aren't going to have much time to prepare a defense, and not nearly enough time to find the ExoArmors. We're going to have to make do with what we have, which isn't much." She was speaking rapidly now and Laurants barely managed to keep up with her line of thought. He was glad to see that his captain was back. Maybe we'll get out of this yet, he thought grimly. He sighed as she slowly staggered to the door of the building. By this time Lothgamm had risen and eyed her warily. His healing powers had managed to keep her alive, and to make her able to walk.

He knew that there was little else he could do. Her wounds would be fully healed within a few weeks, but with an alien attack coming, he was unsure of what good she would be. He stood in the corner and watched Laurants hand her something to use as a crutch. She slowly shuffled outside of the door and Lothgamm grimaced. He could feel the change in her when he had first felt her presence. She seemed a little more hopeful on the outside, but he could sense the turmoil going on underneath the front. She knew as well as they all did that the aliens would sweep through their ranks like a sword through paper, and they would be lucky if anyone survived. Still, they had to try to defend themselves. There was no use running and no use fighting, but at least fighting would be the less cowardly of the two.

Still, there was something unsettling about her. There was something that not even his telepathic abilities could read. He could only feel the shadow of it, a shadow leading to a feeling so dark and deep that he could not even begin to guess at what it was. He moved to the doorway and looked towards the river. Beyond that, he knew that the Avenger was waiting. He wished that he could be aboard, but he also knew that it was not to be his destiny. He had to stay here. There were things for him to do here, to rebuild the city and to bring back his race.

As Lisa and Laurants ambled away from the building, Lothgamm stayed behind. He wondered if Lisa was truly meant to be the captain of the Avenger. She seemed to have suffered much, and her soul was still being tormented. But, then again, who better? The Avenger had been the last hope for many tortured souls, maybe it would lead her to peace. As for Laurants, he could sense that he too was troubled.

The young man seemed to have an inner desire for his captain that he was unwilling to share. That would only lead to trouble somewhere down the line, he was sure. He wasn't sure if she shared the same desire, but he hoped that someday he would express his love to her. Hopefully it would be before the battle. A troubled mind was never the best thing to take into a fight. It would end up getting him distracted and most likely killed, Lothgamm knew this from experience. He had seen a couple of his friends die that way. He wished that he could counsel the two young people, but he didn't want them to know that he could read their minds and feelings. They would never trust him then, and he wanted their complete trust. He sighed and then ambled over to the bed to catch some sleep before the fighting began.

Lisa's shuffling feet echoed throughout the city, and she was beginning to feel tired. The Glan were hiding in the shadows, unused to the city, and she could at times catch brief glimpses of them. She reached the river and sank down to the ground wearily. She stuck her injured feet into the cool water and felt a little refreshed. Laurants sat down next to her, struggling with his thoughts. He wanted so much to tell her how he felt, but he could sense that she was busy with troubles of her own.

"Do you think we'll make it through the attack?" He asked glumly.

"I'm not sure," she breathed tiredly and now leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. She felt so tired, she wanted to go to sleep and not wake up for a long time. But she couldn't go to sleep, there were still a lot of things to do. "We could sure use the ExoArmors right about now."

"Don't worry about that. As soon as this is over, we can go and find them."

"And how are we going to do that?" She snapped bitterly. "I can barely walk, let alone go miles through a desert to God-knows-where." She threw an angry glance at her crutch and then looked back up at the ceiling. It was just like back on the Explorer again. She felt so useless right now. She could barely walk and there was no way that she would be able to fight. All she was going to do was slow Laurants and the others down. She should have been left to die in the desert, at least then she would have stop burdening Laurants. She looked over at him and half-heartedly smiled. He was a good man, he had followed her every step of the way. If anyone could find the ExoArmors, it would be him. He didn't need her. In fact, without her he probably would have already found them.

In his sleep, Lothgamm turned. He was beginning to see things now, dark evil things. Everything was abstract, but he was beginning to understand. He saw a form stumbling into a dark, deep pit. The pit was black and seemed to swallow the form. Then he began to see faces that he didn't recognize. The form was still falling and then he could feel that it was reaching the end. Falling, falling...

Lothgamm awoke and shot up in bed. He was sweaty and cold, shivering from the terrifying dream. He thought of the dream and realized that those weren't his thoughts, they were somebody else's. He gathered his robe about him and knew that he had precious little time to spare. There was still one thing that he could do to help. He had hoped that it wouldn't get to this point, but it had. He ran at full speed, hoping that he was in time.

He skidded to a halt near the river and saw two bodies laying near the shore. He could feel right away that they were Lisa and Laurants. To his dismay he realized that Laurants was asleep. He plunged forward just as Lisa began to move, slowly creeping forward on her hands and knees. Lothgamm shouted and just as she reached the water he tackled her and rolled her over onto her back.

"No, you can't do this," he whispered to her. The dream had told him what Lisa's dark secret had been. She felt helpless and useless, like she was falling down a long, dark pit. He had come just in time, before she had killed herself.

"Let me go, please," she begged. "I...I don't want to live anymore. I'm just a burden, I'm no good to anybody." She burst into tears and Lothgamm kept her shoulders and legs pinned.

"No, you are not a burden. There are people who still love you very much. You must go on for them. You have a crew, a destiny to fulfill. You cannot shirk your responsibility now." Lisa stopped crying, seeming to understand. With that, Lothgamm closed his eyes and gathered his strength. This would take nearly all of his telepathic power, but he knew that he could do it. His grip tightened on Lisa's shoulders and she winced in pain. Then she cried out in surprise and her eyes closed. A white light was all around her and passing through her. Almost instantly she began to feel refreshed and healed. After a few seconds the light faded and she opened her eyes. Lothgamm's grip lessened and Lisa watched him collapse, unconscious, into the sand. He seemed to grow older and looked feeble and frail. She sat up and then saw that her legs were nearly fully healed. She stood up and nudged Laurants, who moaned and woke up. She helped him up and gleefully danced around with him. She was no longer useless, she still had a purpose! Then she looked back at the old man on the ground and knelt down beside him.

"It is done," he mumbled in a trembling voice. "Please...you must complete my work. In...in the main labs are...are tissue samples taken from the city's inhabitants. Start up...the...system. It...is...the...only...hope." Then Lothgamm closed his eyes and his breathing stopped. Lisa nodded and new tears came to her eyes. Laurants held her and together they wept for their fallen comrade who had given his life to save another.
Chapter Nine

There's not much time," Lisa remarked softly and she turned away from the body. It was then that she noticed the Glan standing in a semicircle nearby. Seeing their friend lying dead, they slowly marched forward. Gethol was the first one there and he slowly picked up the body, with the help of several other of the creatures. They bore him away from the river and the Glan formed up protectively around him as they marched towards the cavern. Laurants rushed to pursue them, longing to see the old man one last time. Lisa grabbed his shoulder. "Where they are taking him, we are not allowed to go." There seemed to be something mysterious in her voice as she spoke, and Laurants watched the Glan drop out of sight.

"Where's that?" He demanded with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"To the burial grounds," she replied simply and then looked towards the city. "We must hurry to carry out his last request."

"What are you talking about? We don't even know where the lab is, let alone how to start the system!"

"No, but he does," Lisa winked and tapped her temple with her index finger. Laurants's jaw dropped and he understood.

"My God! You mean...you mean that he's alive?"

"Yes, but we must hurry." Then she dashed off and he struggled to follow. He knew now what would be in that lab. Lothgamm had said that he was the last of his people, but there had obviously been something that he had neglected to tell them. He had never fully understood the strange man, but now he knew for sure that there was much he had neglected to tell Laurants about.

Lisa rushed along, feeling very strange. It was like there was this other voice in her head telling her where to go and what to do. It was almost like someone else had possessed her body and she was now just a passenger along for the ride. Still, she felt this aura of total peace around her, allowing her to keep completely calm. She just hoped that once they got where they were going she could get rid of what was in essence Lothgamm's soul. Her thoughts stopped as that other voice told her that the objective was nearby.

Laurants followed Lisa around a corner and then she stopped. Ahead of them was a glass-domed, oval-shaped building. Laurants stood next to Lisa for a moment and she smiled. "This is the place," she remarked.

"This is the lab?"

"Yes. Let's go." She moved at an unbelievable pace and they entered through a circular portal that slid aside at their approach, almost as if it knew that they were coming. They went down several long corridors and then they came to an ancient staircase. Lisa began to descend it slowly and Laurants thought that it looked like it wound down into the core of the planet itself. They began to move faster, and then Lisa was running at breakneck speed. Laurants struggled to keep up and then she dropped out of sight in the darkness of the staircase. He stopped and then heard a door open and beams of light cut through the dark. He hurried to the source of the light and then stopped. At the bottom of the staircase was a huge laboratory complex.

The room was massive and lining the white walls was a row of glass cylinders. What these were, Laurants couldn't even guess. In the center of the room sat computers and some strange lab equipment. Lisa seemed to know what she was doing, and Laurants just watched with fascination.

"The system is old and worn, but I think that it'll still work," Lisa mumbled to herself.

"What's going to happen?" Laurants asked.

"The tissue samples. The system was made to clone them when the race had died out. Lothgamm was the last of his race, only he could reactivate the system. When he died, he telepathically gave me all of his memories and knowledge." As she talked, Lisa's hands flew across the computer screen. Finally the lights dimmed and Laurants could hear the whirring of equipment.

"Is the system running?"

"It is now, but it's going to take a while to complete its task." Laurants felt a chill run through him, this whole thing was beginning to scare him. Lothgamm had given all of his knowledge to Lisa. How was she going to get it out again?

The answer came when she stepped over to one of the lab machines and punched a few buttons. A headset with wires dangling from it appeared and Lisa grabbed it. She put it on her head and then punched a few more buttons. Laurants shielded his eyes as a white light flooded the room. In a few seconds it was over and Lisa stood hunched over the machine, a dazed look on her face.

"Are you all right?" Laurants asked.

"I'm fine," she smiled, sounding a little out of breath, and motioned to the glass cylinders. Something was beginning to happen. The cylinders were flooded with the same white light that Laurants had seen only moments before.

"What happened to Lothgamm?"

"He's in the system. It'll take years to finish, but someday his race will reappear and reclaim the city." Lisa sighed and then turned to leave.

"What I don't understand is: why didn't he just turn this thing on sooner?"

"He was waiting for a sign. A sign that his race could come back in peace and hope. We were that sign. When we came, he knew that it was time." She turned back, a gleam in her eye. "Let's go, we've got a battle to prepare for." Laurants smiled and followed her up the staircase.

Terraz shivered and wished that she had brought a heavier jacket with her. Sam had suggested that they keep south and head around the desert and mountains where patrols were sure to be searching for any other humans. Unfortunately this change of direction had brought them to the colder plains where harsh winds whipped at the three travelers.

Garren barely seemed to notice the cold, although she had seen him stumble a time or two from it. No one had said anything since coming out of the marshes and into the prairie and Terraz was sure that the relationship between Garren and Sam was even colder than the weather. Garren kept his rifle raised and ready, but Terraz and Sam weren't expecting any action.

The aliens were sure to be combing the area between where Arsa had been captured and where Manny and the others had been taken, looking for stragglers or reinforcements. But they were going in the opposite direction and three lifeforms wasn't going to show up on any orbital scans. So, for the meantime they were safe. Of course, they still had to somehow find Captain Shaw and Laurants.

They had been heading through the desert, chasing after the homing signal from the ExoArmors. Terraz hoped to find the ExoArmors and the captain and then rescue Arsa and the others. The rescue was an entirely different thought and Terraz tried not to think about it too hard, that was Captain Shaw's department. When they found her the young ensign would gladly turn this mission over to her. She shivered again and looked up at the sky, trying to judge what time of day it was.

She thought she saw something glimmer in the light and signaled for the company to halt. Garren and Sam were both looking around with their weapons ready to attack. The glimmer was gone and Terraz saw nothing more. She began to walk again, nervous about what she may have seen. It could have been anything, some creature indigenous to the planet, a stray piece of debris from a battle, or an alien scout. She strapped her rifle to her back and trudged ahead with her hands in her pockets, trying to stay warm. Whatever it was hadn't attacked, but Terraz wanted to hurry away from the scene and put some distance between her and the mysterious glimmer that had suddenly vanished.

The sun would soon be setting and the temperature would drop even further. She looked for some kind of shelter. Sam, whose eyes were better than hers in the dwindling light, stepped forward and pointed to his left. In that direction was a large mound of dirt and grass that seemed unnaturally placed. Terraz nodded to the alien and they headed for the mound. Garren kept the rear guard and looked around warily.

Terraz was surprised to find a hollow opening in the mound. It was just big enough for her and the others to squeeze through, although she knew that Sam would be a tight fit. She moved aside a little loose dirt and then took a few steps back and dove through the hole. She landed on her stomach in a dark place and waited for the others to come through. Garren made Sam go first and the alien ran back and then tried to imitate Terraz's dive. His head fit through the opening, but his hump-like shell and broad shoulders wouldn't fit. Garren groaned and began to push Sam through, forcing him through the narrow opening. Sam struggled to get through and with one last effort Garren stepped back and then ran at the alien soldier, throwing his shoulder into Sam's rear end. Sam shot through the opening like a cork out of a bottle and landed somewhere in the vast, dark opening. Garren shouldered his rifle and easily dove through the enlarged opening and landed with a grunt near Terraz. A faint light shone as Garren found his flashlight and examined the area. Terraz and Sam homed in on the light and soon the three companions sat next to each other.

The cave they had squeezed into seemed huge and they soon realized that they were on the edge of a vast canyon plunging downwards into the planet's crust. Terraz motioned for Sam to look down into the cavern.

"I see...I see nothing," he reported in his broken English.

"Great, now what do we do?" Garren grumbled.

"We'll rest here until daylight and then maybe we'll be able to see what's down there," Terraz said hopefully.

"Sounds good to me," Garren growled and threw himself on the ground, snapping the flashlight off. Terraz shrugged and soon was dropping into a fitful slumber.

The aliens had moved Manny from the laboratory to a tiny cell which had once been some kind of storage room. She sat on a pile of vile-smelling rags that served as a temporary bed and thought of her plight.

She would be soon going up against an alien warrior much larger than she and who probably had twice her strength. Manny smiled grimly as she thought of the alien. His sense of honor would be his Achilles heel, and all she had to do was to find some way to beat him or distract him long enough to escape and free the others.

That was her other problem. She didn't know anything about this ship, she would probably end up getting lost. She needed to find some way to get around that problem too. She sighed and then she heard a distant thumping sound. It seemed to be coming from the back wall of the room and she crawled over to investigate. She pressed her ear to the wall and listened.

She heard a voice growling and cursing and throwing things. As she listened closer she realized that she was behind another laboratory. She recognized the alien scientist's voice being the one doing all of the shouting and she smiled. An idea was forming in her head, one that would gain freedom for her and her men.

S'Tallen threw the computer into the wall in a blind rage. He kicked his equipment and howled curses, so angry and frustrated at the failed experiment. He had been so sure this time, so sure that this was going to be the one. Instead it was another failure. He pounded a console and then sank to the floor, exhausted.

The only consolation was that the creature that had given him all of his false hopes would live out the rest of her pitiful existence amongst her former people, living a life of terror and shame. For the rest of her life she would be a humiliated freak of nature not fit to live among his people or the humans. He smiled cruelly as he thought about that. He almost wished that he could deliver her back to her homeworld himself, just to watch her wretched life as she was daily tortured by her disgusting reflection in the mirror. Yes, it would be his ultimate revenge.

He shook his head and realized how futile that hope was. Her homeworld would soon be obliterated, and her along with it. But, what if he could have her sent to his own world? Yes, he thought optimistically, she would be as much a freak on his world than as on her own. Even more so after her race was annihilated.

He could see it now. She would be put on display in a zoo, a curiosity for adults, a living nightmare for children. She would be gawked at by the masses and forced to live a life of constant humiliation. She would be held by electrified bars in a cage and he could see her driving herself mad trying in vain each day to escape. Yes, that was even better. He slowly rose to his feet and then went to find the captain of his guard. He would need a shuttle ready to take her back to his homeworld. He left the laboratory with an evil grin on his face.

When Arsa came to, she saw a strange face hovering over her. She reached out an arm and something warm touched her shoulder and she dropped her arm.

"It's all right," Davis said gently and he helped her sit up on the bed he had set her on. He had gotten over his fear of her when he had went over to her and found her lying unconscious. He had then painstakingly moved the heavy creature over to the bed and set her there. He himself had sat on the floor, thinking of Terraz down on the surface and of how to get out of this cage. He wanted so much to get back down there and to see how she was faring. He hoped that she was all right and that somehow she would find a way to save the rest of them.

As for the thing lying in the bed, he could only feel pity for it. It was locked up in here and it seemed deathly afraid of the darkness in the cell. If he could escape, he would take it with him; no one deserved to be tortured like this. Now that it was awake again, he wanted to calm it down and keep it awake.

Arsa looked at the human standing over her and for a few short seconds she hoped that this was all a dream and that she would wake up and find that she was still human. She soon realized that that was just a dream and that she was still the same as when she had blacked out. She sighed, which to Davis sounded like the hissing of a snake, and he backed away.

She stretched out one hand in desperation. "No...please don't leave me. I'm..." Before she could finish the cell door burst open and the captain of S'Tallen's guard stood there with one of the rookie soldiers. A slim dagger of light pierced through the darkness and Davis could see Arsa for the first time. He cried out in surprise and the captain came closer. Davis smiled grimly at Arsa and then spun and ran at the captain. He rammed him with his shoulder and they tumbled to the cell floor. The rookie soldier hefted his rifle and Arsa leapt at him. He fell over and her hands ripped at his neck. The young soldier battered her arms aside and landed a glancing blow to her head. She groaned in pain and fell off of the guard. The alien struggled to its feet and looked for its gun. Arsa whipped him across the face with her tail and lunged at him again.

The guard seemed ready for her and got his hands just under her breasts and heaved upwards, causing her to lose her balance and fall. Then the guard smiled and kicked her in the face. Arsa screamed in pain and could feel blood leaking from a gash on her face. She seized his legs and with a tug the guard collapsed to the floor. Arsa quickly jumped on top of him and stared deeply into his eyes as she raised a clawed hand. She could see the terror in his eyes, a mirror reflection of her own when she had awaken and seen herself for the first time. "Vengeance...begins here," she growled and slashed him across the neck. Orange blood squirted out and the rookie soldier lay dead.

Davis felt the captain's hands tightening around his neck. He saw Arsa fighting with the other soldier and knew that she couldn't help him. He flailed about with his arms and landed a solid blow on the side of the captain's helmet. The alien guard grunted and for a moment the hands loosened. That was just enough time for Davis to get his legs up and push the captain off of him. The alien rolled over onto the floor and Davis shot to his feet. The captain came at him, but this time Davis was ready for him. He crouched down low and then came up with his shoulders and arms just under the alien's reach. The alien fell and Arsa pounced on him. She clutched the other guard's rifle and pinned the guard. She delivered a shot to his neck and his helmeted head lolled off his torso. Davis turned away, feeling violently sick and then stepped over to the rookie guard.

He stripped the guard and put on its armor, trying to disguise himself as best he could. His lack of a tail and the blood stains on the armor would make it less than passable. Arsa, not having any clothing at all, was grateful to strip the captain and don his armor. Then they heard the pounding of heavy feet coming down the corridor and looked for a place to run. Arsa's keen eyes spotted an air shaft in a dark corner of the cell and she shot it out with her rifle. She quickly catapulted Davis through the opening and then sprang into the shaft. They began to crawl like mad, hoping that their escape wouldn't be noticed for a little while.

After they had gone on for a while they stopped to rest. Davis panted and removed his helmet. He noticed that Arsa didn't take hers off and he wondered why.

"Who are you?" He inquired again.

She stared at him for a few moments and closed her eyes, trying to think. "I...I don't know who I am," she replied slowly.

Davis could feel that she wasn't lying, her voice was too sincere. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you? You obviously aren't human or alien." Davis asked quietly.

"I was...human. I was captured by the aliens and...and experimented on," her voice was sad and hollow. A thought struck Davis and he gasped.

"Commander Veranda!" He blurted out. Arsa closed her eyes and thought about it deeply. She tried to see if any part of her had ever heard that name before. Then a tiny voice, seeming to shout from a million miles away, answered her. Arsa...Commander Arsa Veranda, she had heard that name before.

"Yes, that's me!" She half-shouted triumphantly, remembering where they were. Davis could feel that was who she was, and all of the pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit. "Do you know me?" She asked.

"Not really, but we were on the same ship together. You see, I'm a soldier and you were the second-in-command of a starship, the one that brought us to this planet."

"Now I'm just a monster," she burst out glumly.

"No, you're not. You've just been through a lot. We'll find some way to make them change you back."

"How? We're on a ship...full of them. Them, how can I say that? There is no them...and no us...not for me. I'm not human or alien anymore. I don't belong anywhere." Her head sank down to her chest and she closed her eyes. Davis looked away, knowing that there was nothing that he could say to make her feel better. Their chances were slim as it was, there was no way that they would be able to make anyone do anything. Still, he had to try. He would try to restore her and to rescue the others. But first he would need to find a ship.

Lisa looked over the empty city from one of the taller buildings. Laurants stood with her and she turned to him. He had noticed a change in her since they had gone to the river, she seemed more energetic and alive than when he had ever seen her.

Even since the incident at the river, Lisa had felt weird. Even after Lothgamm's presence left her, she still odd, like she wasn't herself anymore. Some part of Lothgamm seemed to linger on inside of her, giving her extra energy and wisdom. It was as if she were looking through the world with two sets of eyes now. She hoped that after all of this was over she would have some time to sort things out.

"They'll have to come in through there," she pointed to the opening to the city. "We'd be able to easily bottleneck them there for a while...until they overrun us. No, there's got to be a better way to hold this place."

"Are we going to be able to count on the Glan to help us? With Lothgamm being dead and all, I wouldn't think that they'd want to help us," Laurants grumbled.

"They'll come back as soon as they've completed their funeral ritual. They owe not just Lothgamm a debt, but this entire city. They are sworn to defend it, and they will...with our help."

"Good, I like those odds a lot better. So exactly what are we going to do? There's going to be a lot of them and they've got all of the firepower."

"We'll find a way," Lisa said and sat down on the floor. She closed her eyes and mumbled, "I'm tired, I'm going to rest for a little while." Laurants nodded and let her sleep. She had been through a lot, and maybe sleeping would help her think up some way out of this hopeless situation.

Laurants decided to take a walk to clear his head, and his heart. He went down a lift car to the ground level and then began to walk along the street with his hands in his pockets and his head bowed.

He wasn't sure what to make of Lisa anymore. She had changed so much, so rapidly, and his head was spinning. He didn't know now whether to love her or to be in awe of her. She seemed to have that air about her like Lothgamm had, one that demanded respect. It seemed to put her on an entirely different level than him.

He loved her, or used to, but she never seemed to return his love. Until she gave him some sign that she cared about him, then he wouldn't be able to tell her what he felt. But, he wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. His heart seemed to be bursting and he wanted so desperately to tell her. There was so much he wanted to tell her. He wanted to say how he could understand how terribly alone she felt, he had always been overshadowed by his brother and his death in his family. He wanted to tell her that he would always be there for her, that he loved her and always would. But it seemed that he would never get the chance.

He stopped walking and sat down in a shadowy alley. He buried his face in his hands and wept, letting it all out. After a few minutes he lifted his head, tears streaming down his face, and thought of the city and the lab that set under the underground city. He knew that he and Lisa as well as the Glan were the only thing that could keep the aliens from finding that place. He wiped his eyes, knowing that there was a lot of work to be done.

Terraz awoke and saw a faint light in the cavern that they had spent the night in. She yawned and woke the others up. Garren moved his stiff joints and groaned.

"Morning already? It seems like I just went to sleep," he grumbled, rubbing a sore shoulder.

Terraz too felt like she hadn't been asleep for long, but it had to be morning, there was light now. Just to check she looked at her watch. The numbers said what they had all been thinking: they had only been asleep for two hours. "What?" Terraz gasped and went over to the canyon. She went to the edge and peered down. There seemed to be light coming from down there and Sam bent down next to her.

"Movement, people!" He shouted and pointed down into the canyon.

"Is there a way down there?" Terraz asked.

"Wait, wait a minute! Am I the only one here who doesn't think that we should jump down into this canyon? There's only three of us and God only knows what's down there! It's suicide!" Garren said harshly. The other two ignored his protests and Sam nodded to Terraz. He pointed along the side of the canyon and Terraz could just barely make out what he was pointing to, a ladder carved into the rock.

"Let's go," Terraz whispered and swung herself over the canyon. Her foot searched for a foothold for a few moments, but finally she found the ladder and began the slow descent. Sam came after her and with a shrug Garren followed. He didn't want to go down there to face whatever was waiting, but he knew that he had no choice.

Terraz concentrated on climbing down, but the back of her mind was hoping that they found Captain Shaw and Laurants down there, waiting for them with the ExoArmors. It was a slim chance, but there seemed to be no other life here except for humans and aliens, so there was the possibility that it was them.

As she thought, she got distracted and then her foot missed a step in the ladder. She slipped and her hands barely managed to hold on to the rock. She hung in the air, at least twenty feet from the ground. Sam and Garren stopped and looked down helplessly. Terraz gritted her teeth and with all of her strength pushed herself up. Her foot found the foothold and quickly flashed a thumbs-up at the other two to show that she was all right. Then she began the painstaking descent once more.

After what seemed like an eternity she reached the ground. She looked around for the source of the light and then with a start jumped against the rock to hide in the shadows. Sam and Garren joined her and they both stifled gasps.

The light was coming from hundreds of creatures carrying torches. At their sides they wore clubs and from their mouths came a strange, deep wail. They paraded around in a circle and Terraz tried to see what was in their midst. She slowly moved along the edge of the canyon, sticking to the shadows. Finally she was able to see between a crack of two furry bodies and instantly her legs felt weak and her stomach heaved.

The creatures were dancing around a body that was on fire. To Terraz it looked human and she thought that it could be Laurants, but it didn't appear to be the captain. She thought of her friend, dead and being burned in some hideous ritual by a group of primitives. She dropped to her knees, feeling sick, and Garren put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's get 'em," he hissed.

Before she could stop him he charged into the light. With his weapon drawn he snarled and cried out, "Bastards! Die!" The creatures drew their clubs and dropped their torches. The light from the burning body threw eerie shadows around the cavern. Instead of shooting, Garren charged into their midst and wielded the gun like a club. He laid it about him like a whirlwind, knocking down the Glan left and right. Gethol, nearest to the body, unleashed a bloodcurdling snarl and lunged at Garren, who was heading to the body. The two met halfway between it and Gethol used his club to knock away Garren's weapon.

By now Terraz and Sam had joined the fray, not bothering to use their guns either. Terraz punched a Glan in the middle and then let go an uppercut, knocking it to the ground. She stripped it of its weapon and then smashed another of the prairie-dog creatures in the legs. It went down and she jumped over the groaning body, trying to reach Garren and the burning corpse.

Sam was surrounded by Glan, who attacked him in fury, knowing that he was an alien like the ones who had invaded the city. He took the full brunt of the assault with Glan clinging to his legs and arms. He moved forward, dragging them along with him. His tail lashed out like a whip in his wake and his claws tore into any Glan that got into his reach. Like Gethol, he let out a war cry of his own, a deep hiss that caused several Glan to let go of him and fling themselves away. Sam was going away from Garren and Terraz, trying to draw away as many attackers as possible.

The fray was turning bloody now as many of the Glan lay with wounds. Sam was bleeding in several spots and Garren's wound had opened up again. Garren was on his knees now as Gethol tried to smash his skull in with his club. Garren flung up his arms in defense and then with all of his remaining strength he pushed himself up from his knees, taking a firm hold on Gethol's club. He ripped it away and then flung it aside, having reached the body. He punched Gethol across the jaw and then looked into the flames. For a few sickening seconds he saw the features of the man and realized with a start that it was not either of the people that they were looking for.

"Stop! Stop, it's not them!" Garren called and Terraz and Sam stopped instantly. Terraz, holding the throat of a Glan, let it go and looked around her with a dazed look on her face. Sam stood straight up and gazed towards the body. Even the Glan had stopped fighting, sensing that something was going on. For a few seconds no one moved. And then Garren saw the opening to the canyon. He motioned for the others to follow him, holding his bloody wound. Terraz and Sam scooped up their weapons and ran towards him. The Glan reformed their ranks and let the humans go. Then, as the flames leapt higher, they took up their clubs and continued their funeral ritual.

S'Olonny sat on the bridge of his ship, deep in thought. He had tired of the War Planning Center and had withdrawn to his command chair to think. From what S'Revlar had said, there was only one way into the city and it involved a substantial drop. A large invasion force could be held off for hours or days by a determined foe before they even got into the city. They would have to find another way in to get an invasion force inside the city. Still, it would take a while to search the planet and to find another way in. But, the only alternative was to commit his forces to a long and bloody battle, something that he was unwilling to do. So, he would have to send S'Revlar and the rest of the scouting troops to find a new passage. At least a two-pronged assault might allow them to get in easier.

He had to admit that by putting themselves underground the humans had created a fortress that would be nearly impossible to penetrate. Still, once a foe got in, it would be hard for them to escape. They had backed themselves into a corner, albeit a well-defended one. He stood up and then walked back to the War Planning Center. He found S'Revlar sitting in a lonely corner, wearing a set of white armor that indicated a dress attack uniform worn only by the commander of a large attack force. He strode over to the corner, pushing aside a few junior officers until he reached the scout turned field commander.

"S'Revlar, it is imperative that we find another way into the humans' headquarters," S'Olonny said frankly.

"There is no other way, only the one," S'Revlar bit out. S'Olonny eyed him furiously for a few seconds and then hissed quietly.

"Still, it will be your task to find one. Now then, get out of that armor and into your scouting gear. I am pushing back the attack until you find a new opening so that we can take the humans by surprise. Hurry, there isn't much time." S'Olonny walked away and S'Revlar slowly stood. He would be glad to get rid of the armor. While he was anxious for battle, he also preferred his scouting armor, it was more comfortable and flexible. The commander's armor seemed stiff and rigid, besides which it was old and didn't have all of the latest gadgets like his scouting armor.

He knew that he was getting old, he liked things to be the same, routine. It was time for him to leave, but not until the humans were destroyed. He sighed as he went to his quarters and stripped the armor off. He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. Already some of the scales around his eyes were falling off. It wouldn't be long until he shed his skin again. He had already shed it at seventeen when he had become an adult, and now he would shed it again to signify his passage into becoming a mature adult. He wasn't looking forward to it, but it was something that he couldn't stop. He turned away and found his scouting equipment. He donned it slowly, not savoring the task at hand. He would take an escort ship and use its sensors to look for flaws in the planet's crust that might create caves or tunnels that could be used. As he fastened his helmet, he wondered whether there was another way in. Then he thought of it: he had heard water while in the city, maybe there was an underground river or stream that could be used to attack from. His lips turned up in a grim smile as he exited his quarters, pausing only to look at the picture of his family that he kept on his desk. He looked longingly at it and then pulled himself away and stepped out the door, which hissed shut after him.

When Laurants came back, he found Lisa still sleeping. He looked down at her and saw that she looked totally at peace. He sighed and stepped away and wished that he could have some peace, even for a little while. Even in his sleep he had dreams about her turning him away. There was never any peace from this daily torture of his heart. He slumped down against the wall and wondered when she would wake up. She had been asleep for a long time now, at least so it seemed. There were still a lot of things to do, and there was no sign of the Glan. He wished that they would come so that final plans could be made.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and when he opened them he saw Lisa standing over him. She laid a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "You need to get some sleep," she said and then turned to leave.

He grabbed her hand, and said, "Maybe you're right." He abruptly let go of it, cursing himself for his weakness. He curled up on the floor and she sat down a short distance away, watching him sleep. He tossed and turned and almost seemed to be fighting something. The look on his face was one of anguish and she knew that he was deeply troubled by something.

She too was troubled. While Lothgamm's personality and knowledge were gone for the most part, she still felt that she was not herself. She had hoped that an hour or two of sleep would help, but it hadn't. She could still hear a different voice in the back of her head, almost like an echo of his. And while he had strengthened her mentally and physically, she still felt weak at her inner core. There were still doubts in her mind, she just tried now to keep them to herself.

While she had been asleep, she had felt this inner turmoil more acutely. It was almost as if she were two different people now, one the strong and confident woman that she tried to be and had always aspired to be, and the other the weak and doubtful child that she had been. She was deathly afraid of what would happen if the child won out. She had almost killed herself, had been only a few inches from doing it, and she shivered at the thought of doing that again.

Still, she didn't like this new person she was trying to be all that much either. Laurants seemed to be looking to her for all of the answers now, and she wasn't comfortable with that. He had been the one who had gotten them here; he had saved her life on several occasions. It wasn't fair for him to think that he was inferior to her. He would be a great commander someday and she hoped that he would get the chance. She had known his brother for a little while, something that she never told him about. They had even had a brief affair, falling madly in love with each other. She had only been a commander back then, attached from Earth to inspect the readiness of ships patrolling the Mars-Earth trading corridor, and he had given her some advice on how to be a good captain someday. He had encouraged her to try and get away from her job with Alliance Command as soon as possible and get into the stars. But soon she had been promoted and the Martian War tore them apart. When he had been killed she had cried for an entire night.

When she had first read the new roster for the Explorer she had been shocked to see the name Ensign Jack Laurants on it. She had wanted to tell her mother to replace him, that she didn't want to be haunted by those awful memories. Ultimately she had told herself that it wouldn't be fair for her to exclude him because of his deceased brother. She remembered when he had come on board and her heart had nearly stopped. He looked almost exactly like his brother. The same dark brown hair, baleful hazel eyes, and handsome physique. For that reason she had made sure to keep away from him as much as possible during the voyage.

She hadn't been very surprised when he was the only to stick with her after the others had abandoned her. She had known that his brother was a very kind, warm-hearted person, and it was no surprise to see that it ran in the family. She had been more than grateful for his help so far, how he had pushed her along and kept her going when everything seemed doomed. She was only now beginning to realize that she was starting to feel something for him. That was something that she didn't want to admit even to herself. She had only fallen for a couple of men in her life, why did two of them have to be in the same family? She sighed and wished that this adventure would be over soon so that she could settle down and get her life back in order.

Until then, she would have to be careful with her feelings around Laurants. She didn't want him to know about what she felt for him or what had happened between her and his brother. She closed her eyes and again felt the pain of that night when she had heard of Brian Laurants's death. Tears came to her eyes and she quickly left the room.

When she got outside she stumbled blindly for a few paces and then sat and cried. She thought of all of the pain and torment of that night, when she had known that she would never see him again. After that night she had felt a slight bitterness and anger towards him for a few days, cursing him for staying with his ship when it was destroyed. Hadn't he cared enough about her to get to an escape pod? But when she had been on the bridge of her own dying ship she had wanted to stay with the vessel until the end. If Arsa and Laurants hadn't pulled her away, she would have died like him. She shook her head and looked with a tear-stained face towards the forest where Arsa had been captured. Was Arsa still alive? She wondered and sobbed anew.

Arsa slept in the air shaft, trying desperately in her sleep to grasp the images and sounds whirling around her. Faces, places, and names seemed to spin about her madly and all she wished for was to catch just one of them and hold on to it, just one memory to hold. Finally she reached out her hands and caught something...

"Lisa..." Arsa whispered in her sleep and then woke up.

Davis, sitting across from her and nearly asleep himself, bolted upright and looked around. "What?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I thought that I had remembered something...and then when I woke up I...couldn't remember it anymore," she spat out bitterly. She had been so close! "I wish that I could...remember something...anything. This is so confusing...and frustrating. Just when I think that I'm...going to grasp onto a memory...it floats away."

"Don't give up, you'll remember something eventually. Just don't try to force it." He smiled and continued, "Let's get going." They crawled carefully along the shaft and soon they reached a point where it branched out. Davis kept going straight ahead, hoping to find something. He thought that he saw light ahead and motioned for Arsa to stay back. He crawled forward and then noticed that the shaft ended. He eased over to the end of the shaft. He looked out and saw to his delight that he was above a hangar. He saw orange-suited aliens directing the ugly ships around. They were just like the one that had taken them captive and he winced at the thought. For an instant his thoughts turned back to Terraz and he longed to see her again. Then he shook those thoughts away and looked for a way to go unnoticed into the hangar.

There seemed to be now way down there except through the main entrance. If they went through that way their phony disguises would be seen through easily. There had to be another way to get down there. Seeing nothing, he crawled back to where Arsa was and told her the bad news. She nodded and thought for a moment.

"We should try...and get better disguises, or to get someone...to secure a ship for us. I'm not sure how...but maybe we should try one of those other shafts."

"Sounds like a plan to me, let's go." They moved back to where the shaft branched off and then took a different tunnel. At the end of this shaft was an equipment storage room. "Bingo!" Davis whispered and then looked for a way down. Finally he smashed the shaft open with his gloved hand and then positioned himself to jump down. When he hit the floor he looked around and saw racks of armor hanging. Quickly he stripped down and put on a suit of red alien armor. He heard footsteps and hurriedly grabbed a set of red armor for Arsa. He threw it up into the shaft and then Arsa leaned down and helped him up. He held the grating to the shaft in one hand and hurriedly replaced it. Then they crawled backwards and at the intersection Arsa changed awkwardly.

While she changed, Davis noticed the gash on her face that had left a smear of brownish blood. He turned his head away, thinking that she would probably look pretty if they had met under different circumstances and she were fully human. He had never actually seen Commander Veranda before now, but he had heard of her. He tried to picture her as a person and then sighed. She had been put through so much, this torture had been worse than any he and the others had suffered when they had been captured. They hadn't lost their memories, their identities. She had lost everything that had once been important to her. He still pitied her, but now he found himself wishing that it had been him instead of her. He hated to see her in so much pain, he would rather take it himself. This kind of chivalry didn't usually occur to him; he had worked with lots of different women in the past and this was the second time that he had really felt this way. The first was during the battle in the marshes when he had saved Terraz. He sighed and leaned back against the shaft, hoping that this would all be over with soon so that he could get back to Earth where things were a lot simpler.

Terraz and the others were moving quickly down a dark tunnel. She didn't know where they were going, but she wanted to put as much distance between them and the cavern as possible. They were all tired and hurt, but they kept going nonetheless. Garren struggled along in the rear, with a makeshift bandage covering his wound. He kept looking behind him, trying to see if the Glan were pursuing them.

Terraz signaled a halt and they sank down in the dark tunnel, huddling against the walls and trying to keep out of sight. Terraz went over to Garren and examined his wound. The blood had dried and he seemed all right, but she hoped that it didn't get infected. She redid the bandage and then gave him a hopeful smile. He didn't move and she saw that he was falling asleep.

It was a rest that he had earned. He had saved them back there by finding out that it wasn't Laurants or Captain Shaw burning. He had paid the price for it, but he seemed to be taking it well. She slumped down next to him and turned her head towards Sam.

Sam had proven his loyalty during that last battle. He had unflinchingly fought for the humans, drawing many attackers from Garren and herself. Orange blood stained his skin but he hadn't complained at all. He acted like he was in better shape then both humans, never faltering as they fled the cavern. She saw that his eyes were closed, but when she touched his arm his lids shot open and he looked warily at her.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did back there. Anyone else probably would have fled, but you stayed. Thank-you," she whispered.

He gave her a grin and she could almost feel him blush. "It was nothing...You saved my life," he replied slowly.

"We didn't do anything, you surrendered to us."

"You kept me from...taken captive."

"Would they have come back for you?"

"Yes."

"And then they would have punished you, right?"

"No, kill."

"They would have killed you! Why, because you didn't fight?"

"Yes, think me a...coward. Not like cowards."

"You weren't a coward, you were scared. I was scared back there in that cavern, but that doesn't make me a coward."

"But cowards...no fight."

"You aren't a coward Sam, you saved our lives back there. You're a hero." She smiled at him and he smiled back. She understood now why he had surrendered. If he hadn't then the aliens would have found him and executed him. Just because he hadn't fought them in the marshes. Because he was young and scared. She could understand his pain; he would be dishonored amongst his own people. He closed his eyes and she sighed.

She had never intended to take command of people during this mission, she was just an ensign, she didn't really know how to lead. And yet she had been thrust into leading Sam and Garren through this planet. It was beginning to feel overwhelming. As she thought of Sam she grinned grimly. She wasn't much older than he was, and yet he seemed to look up to her like a child to its parent. It was really too much for her to handle. She closed her eyes to doze, hoping that this was all over soon.

It was then that Garren touched her arm and she looked sleepily over at him. "He really isn't one of them, is he?" Garren asked quietly.

"No, he isn't. I hope that there are more like him," she whispered back.

"I hope that we find the others soon. I don't like thinking about what's happening to the lieutenant and the others up there. I'm sure that the bastards are torturing them. Unless they killed them. The sooner we get them back and leave this dirtball the better."

"I know what you mean. It seems that we've been going for days and yet those things are the first sign of life that we've seen. This place is starting to give me the creeps. You know," Terraz looked off into space for a few moments. "This wouldn't be happening if we had just stuck together."

"Yeah, then they could have taken us all instead of getting us piecemeal. I think we're better off with a smaller group, we're harder for them to find. But with these weapons in our possession we might be able to rescue the others."

"Still, five against however many isn't good odds. We're going to need a miracle."

"Amen to that." There was a feeling of desperation and loneliness in the air around them. They both began to wonder if they could even make it to the ExoArmors and save the others. Another fight like the one with the creatures back in the cavern and they would be dead. Maybe they would never make it and never see their friends or family again. It was then that their eyes met for the first time. They could each see something there, some flame of passion just beginning. They were two of the last humans left on this planet, and they might never see anyone else again. It was then that she leaned towards him and he towards her. Their lips met and they wrapped their arms around each other, knowing that this might be the last chance they got to touch another human being.
Chapter Ten

Manny sat in her cell, waiting. Now that she had her plan worked out, she would have to wait to execute it. She looked down at the floor and tried to estimate her chances.

Her plan was risky to say the least, but she was used to taking chances. Ever since she had taken command of the 5th Platoon she had taken chances. During the Martian War her platoon had taken many chances. They had risked going into battle without waiting for reinforcements, and because of it they had caught the enemy by surprise and the battle had been a rout. She knew that it could easily have gone differently, but that was the risk she had taken. Now, the risk she was taking was for her own life and the lives of her men. If she failed then the aliens would soon torture and kill them all, and she would be killed with them. If it succeeded then she would be able to free her men and escape, at least temporarily. She had no doubt that the aliens would find Earth eventually. When they did, she would be there and she would battle them once again. But then they would be fighting for the existence of humankind. It would be a battle that they couldn't lose.

Manny stood and paced the cell. The aliens seemed to be extremely overconfident, on the outside. Yet she could sense that they were moving cautiously for some reason. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Manny's small force had destroyed several of their platoons before being captured.

Her heart still ached as she remembered the battle in the marshes. She had led them there, and that had been a risk that had gone against them. She should have recognized the trap, but she had been too anxious to find Commander Veranda and prove Shaw wrong. But instead she had gotten many of her men killed and the rest were captured and being tortured even as she stood in the cell. It had been the biggest mistake of her life and it had been all her fault. She couldn't blame Davis or the others for not spotting the trap, they had been busy and they had been tired. The responsibility was hers alone.

She sighed, knowing that she shouldn't have gotten into that fight with the Explorer's captain. They should have all stuck together, or at least discussed things rationally. Instead she had practically ripped out Shaw's heart right then and there by having her own crew walk out on her. Then she had left the captain and one of her crew walk all alone into the desert. That fight had distracted her a little, driving her to prove the senior officer right come Hell or high water. Because of that, she and her men were trapped on this alien vessel, being tortured and probably killed sooner or later.

She would make up for her error in judgment now. She would save all those that were left and she would find a way back to Earth. She wasn't about to fail her men again. As she paced, the door opened and two guards stood at the door. They silently chained her hands and led her from the cell.

S'Revlar sat in the co-pilot's seat of the escort ship. The pilot was a veteran who S'Revlar had known for many years. They had fought together a long time ago and had been friends ever since.

"So, S'Figthl, do you think we'll find what the captain seeks?" S'Revlar asked his friend.

"Ha! You'd sooner find a well of bio-energy before you find another way to attack the humans. We should launch the attack now before we give ourselves away," S'Figthl snorted.

"The captain doesn't want to risk our lives with a frontal assault. I think that he fears these humans. I have fought against them and found them tough opponents, but our superior numbers would soon overwhelm them."

"I have heard that the captain is planning for a much wider campaign against these humans. Perhaps he doesn't want to waste troops on so few enemies before he finds and destroys their homeworld."

"Maybe. I can hardly wait until we find their world. It will be a historic battle to say the least if these humans are half as strong as I think they are. It'll be great to be in battle again. Scouting is good, but I'd really like to see some action."

"I think we'll have more action than we can handle soon enough my friend." The pilot revved the engines as the hangar doors opened. He pushed forward on the controls and the escort ship leapt out into space. For a few seconds S'Revlar looked back towards where his home planet would be and then turned away as the ship nosed down into the atmosphere.

S'Revlar fiddled with the sensors and began to map the planet's crust with the computers on board the ship. S'Figthl leveled the ship off just after breaking through the atmosphere and S'Revlar saw him put the ship on autopilot as it casually flew over Rygan.

There seemed to be no unusual fissures or cracks in the surface or underground that would lead them to the city. The sensors swept across the prairies of the largest continent and S'Revlar saw something unusual. There was a large mound jutting out in the middle of the prairies that suggested something unnatural. He pointed it out to S'Figthl and smiled.

"Tell the captain that I may have found something. Keep us at this altitude, I'll go alone." With that he went to the back of the ship and opened the airlock. Strong winds bit at his armor and he made sure that his helmet was on tightly enough. Then he jumped out the door and for a few seconds he free fell, plunging away from the escort ship. Then he activated his jetpack and dove for the mound, hoping to go in unnoticed.

His feet soon reached the ground and he cut the engines of the jetpack. Then he pulled out his pistol and carefully eased forward. He stopped at what looked like the opening of the mound. There was a large opening there and as S'Revlar knelt down he could see signs that someone had been through it recently. He smiled to himself and then dove through the opening. More heavily burdened than Sam, S'Revlar barely got his head through the opening. He grunted and then activated the jetpack. He burrowed his way through the opening and finally landed inside the cavern. He cut his engines again and then switched on his infrared lenses. He could see where someone, likely more than one, had been only a few hours ago. He stepped over to the lip of the canyon and bent down. He looked, but saw and heard nothing. He jumped down the canyon, using the jetpack to land softly.

He looked around and then spotted the ashes from a fire and everywhere around him were blood and tracks. A large group had been in here and some kind of battle had been fought. He took a handful of ashes and let them fall between his fingers. They were spread about in a circle, usually some kind of primitive funeral rite. All of this told him that he was on the right track. He saw the opening to the tunnel and went through it, knowing that he would soon find the humans.

Arsa and Davis were sitting in the shaft, making sure that their plans hadn't been discovered yet. Soldiers walked on the deck below, not noticing them. They didn't say anything, too nervous to speak.

Arsa was sure that they were going to be captured again. The fact that the aliens hadn't brought them in yet scared her even further. She knew that they were just playing with her, waiting for her and Davis to feel confident that their plan hadn't been discovered before they pounced.

Sweat poured down Davis' brow as he waited. He could feel that they had gotten away with it, but he wasn't sure. It could be a clever trap, but he doubted it. He hadn't heard or seen anything that would indicate that they had been found out. Some of the soldiers did seem tense and he wondered why. They had nothing to be tense about. They had captured nearly all of the humans and those that weren't dead were languishing in a dark cell. For all practical purposes they had won. All they needed to do was find Captain Shaw and Laurants and then they would have destroyed the humans on Rygan I. Then suddenly hope came to him.

Maybe Shaw and Laurants had found the secret weapons! If they had, it would tip the scales the humans's way, for a little while. It might even distract the aliens enough so that they wouldn't notice a pair of escaped prisoners. He hurriedly began to crawl towards the launch bay. Arsa struggled to keep up behind him, unsure of what he was going to do. She still felt scared, but she was glad to be moving.

Davis looked down into the hangar and then he saw the red-clad soldiers filing into ships. He wasn't sure where they were going, but he knew that now was their chance. Even with their bad disguises they still stood a chance of blending in. He began to crawl back, hoping to find somewhere where they could drop in unnoticed. They went back to the equipment room and saw no one there. Davis removed the grate in front of the shaft and then he jumped down, Arsa nervously following him. She replaced the grate and then Davis went to the door. It hissed open and he saw no one around. He quickly stepped into the hall and Arsa followed. When they got to the corner of the corridor a bunch of soldiers came passing by. They waited and then followed, trying to blend in as much as possible.

Davis wasn't really sure what he was going to do when he got to the hangar. He knew that stealing one of the alien ships would be suicide, he didn't know how to fly anything. Arsa might have known if she hadn't had her memory destroyed. But he knew that someone would know, he just had to rescue the others and then one of the Explorer's crew could get them down to the planet. In the meantime he hoped to at least be able to find where the others were kept so that he could plan his next moves.

The confusion in the corridors with all of the alien soldiers moving around would hopefully mask their activities so that they could do a little reconnaissance without anyone figuring them out. They reached the hangar and then he saw the soldiers piling into one of the ships. He quickly dropped into the shadows and pulled Arsa close to him. Then they began moving quickly out of the hangar, staying close to the wall.

Davis was watching the soldiers and ship handlers, trying to figure out what was going on. Whatever it was, it was big. There seemed to be hundreds of troops, and more were coming every minute. He had a sinking feeling that it had something to do with Shaw and Laurants. Whatever he did, he would have to hurry. He turned away from the hangar and quickly darted back into the corridor, Arsa following behind him.

As another group of aliens flooded the corridor, Davis threw himself against a doorway and then pressed the button for the door to open. It opened with a sharp hiss and he ducked inside. Arsa watched the procession of alien soldiers in awe and Davis had to yank her through the door.

Seeing how much firepower and strength they had, Arsa was unsure if the humans stood a chance. She felt a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, the feeling of despair. Being a part of both races now, she hated to think about them obliterating each other. She knew that the humans would never give up, they would fight to the end, and so would the aliens. Neither side would give in and all that could happen was for one side or the other to eliminate their enemy, or maybe they would both go down. Either way she didn't like thinking about it.

The room they had entered was another equipment room and Arsa hunkered down next to Davis behind some crates. She wasn't sure what they held, but it didn't look like weapons. Yet, it couldn't be food either. The aliens didn't eat anything...except bio-energy. She had heard that word before and she vaguely knew what it meant: the energy that was the very soul of a lifeform. The bio-energy was what they needed to survive.

She nervously used her claws to open the crate and inside was a tiny pile of clear bags that glowed with a multi-colored swirl. She looked at it and then remembered what the bio-energy was. Davis gazed at it in astonishment.

"What is that?" He demanded.

"This is a ration pack that they use for food. It's called bio-energy," Arsa replied, handing him the ration bag. She wasn't sure why the aliens would keep these here. She had thought that the bio-energy was precious to them, why would they leave it here in a crate? Then the answer came to her as she saw what was written on the crate. It was stamped "Medical Kits" and she knew right away that someone was hoarding their own supply of bio-energy. Her thoughts turned instantly to the scientist that had experimented on her. It seemed like something that he would do.

"What's bio-energy?" Davis asked.

"It's the...the soul of a being that they drain from them. Where I was...held they drained humans of their bio-energy. That's their whole purpose for attacking us...to scavenge bio-energy for their people."

"In other words they're a race of fucking vampires," Davis hissed in disgust. He threw the bio-energy ration back into the crate. "So that's what this is all about, huh? They're turning our people into dinner for themselves. They're destroying our entire goddamned race just so they can have breakfast in the morning!" He pounded his fist on the crate and glared at her. Then he opened the door and stomped out into the corridor.

Arsa wasn't sure where he was going, but she couldn't stop him and so she merely followed behind him. She knew that he was angry, she was angry too. But she also didn't want him to get them all killed by doing something foolish.

"What are you going to do?" She asked. He stopped and turned on her.

"I'm going to find a way to blow these bastards up when we go," he replied with a fire in his eyes. His fists were clenched and he kept looking around. "I need to find some kind of weapons room so that we can find some explosives or something. I want to blast these guys back to their home planet."

In her armor, Arsa shivered. What he proposed was next to impossible. How could they rig the ship with explosives without the aliens knowing? She didn't really know that much about the aliens or bio-energy, she just remembered parts of what the scientist had said. Still, there was no way to stop him now, he was too angry. She kept up with him as he moved quickly down the corridors, looking for something to help him.

They were moving down a maze of corridors and she noticed that there were less and less doors around them. The corridor seemed to be getting larger too, and she wondered where they were. They stopped at a large door that was marked with some alien scrawl. Davis slapped the door release mechanism and then a red light flashed.

"Access denied, you are not authorized to enter this area. Please turn around and go back to your designated quarters," a computerized voice warned.

"Where are we?" Davis mumbled and Arsa shrugged. He looked around and saw that no guards had been alerted. He took a few steps away .

"What are you doing here?" A harsh alien voice growled. Davis turned, not understanding the question. "You are not allowed near the bio-energy storage containers." An alien wearing blue armor was at the end of the corridor, and Davis quickly tried to think of something to say.

"We were lost, sir," Arsa replied in the alien tongue. Since receiving the alien DNA she knew a little of their language; she hoped that it would be enough.

"Get back to your unit then," the officer ordered and Arsa marched past him. Davis followed and then the officer shouted for them to stop. "You, what happened to your tail?" He asked Davis.

"He lost it in a...battle," Arsa said slowly.

"I see. Did he lose his tongue too?"

"Yes, sir. I speak for him."

"Very good, carry on then. I don't want to see you here again." Arsa nodded and she and Davis hurried away. They stopped in the corridor and Davis opened a door that led to an empty barracks. They sat down and he patted her on the back.

"Way to go! I didn't know that you knew their language. That really saved our butts."

"I don't know...much of it. It just comes from having...alien DNA," she stammered. Davis nodded and thought of what to do. Whatever was behind those doors was sure to be important. He would have to find some way to get in there and see what it held.

"Do you know what was behind that door?"

"No, I didn't catch that part...of the conversation. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. We've got to find some way in there. I have a feeling that it's the key to all of this."

Manny was led to a large, empty room that looked like it was a cargo hold. The alien captain stood in the center of the room, with the scientist standing next to a rack that held something. The guards led her over to the captain and he smiled at her. He motioned the scientist over to translate for him.

"It is time for our battle. You and I will fight to the death with the traditional weapon of warriors: the S'Zai," S'Olonny gestured to the rack and Manny wondered what a S'Zai was. S'Olonny went to the rack and pulled something out. It was a gleaming sword made entirely of some crystal that seemed to blaze with a green fire. Manny gulped, having hoped that they would use knives or guns, or something she was more familiar with. S'Olonny smiled and then pulled out a blue S'Zai for Manny. The guards undid her restraints and she held it in her hands. The sword was heavy, but when she swung it experimentally it felt good in her hands. The sword was made of blue crystal and she saw that it was carved entirely from one crystal, there was no evidence of having been manufactured from separate ones. The S'Zai was beautiful and when she ran her finger across the blade she saw that it could be deadly too. The edge was extremely sharp, and so was the point. She hated to think what would happen if she was hit with one.

"Let's get on with it," Manny said and raised the sword. S'Tallen stepped back to the rack and Manny kept a close eye on him. S'Olonny held his sword at ready and they assumed fighting positions.

Now was time for Manny to put her plan into action. As S'Olonny charged at her and swung his blade she dove out of the way and scampered out of his reach. He quickly recovered and lunged at her. This time she didn't have time to get out of the way and blocked his swing with her S'Zai. The blades met with a grating sound and then Manny spun away from S'Olonny. He came back at her and this time she was ready.

As he swung at her she gathered all of her strength and then leapt into the air. She pulled up her legs and she flew right over him as his blow came up empty. He fell on his knees and turned, expecting her to be at his throat. Instead, she landed on her feet a short distance from him and then turned and began racing across the cargo hold. S'Olonny wondered what she was doing and the guards brought up their weapons.

S'Tallen was standing by the rack, watching the battle, when all of the sudden he saw Manny racing towards him. He wasn't sure what she was doing and he looked around for a weapon, but there had been only two S'Zais. As he was about to flee she reached out and grabbed him, with her momentum carrying them both to the floor. He flailed about him, but then a strong hand pulled him up and he felt something cold at his throat. Manny stood a little behind him with one hand grabbing the back of his tunic, and the other holding her S'Zai to his throat.

"Now, let me and my men walk out of here or else he gets it!" Manny shouted. S'Olonny stared back in shocked silence.

"You! I took you for a true warrior. You are a coward!" S'Olonny bellowed and S'Tallen translated.

"Yeah, and when have you aliens ever played fair? You attacked us unprovoked! That's cowardice! Now let me and the others go or I'll kill him!"

"You realize that if you kill him, I'll kill you," S'Olonny hissed.

"Of course, but what do I have to lose? He's important to you, I know that he is. But he's not important to me. Now I want my men and I to be able to take a ship back home. Now!" S'Olonny stared at her and then motioned for the guards to lower their weapons. He dropped his S'Zai to the floor, feeling like a fool. He had let this human take advantage of his weakness, his sense of honor. Now there was nothing that he could do, except one.

"I'll let your men go. A ship will be prepared for you. Now, when will you release him?"

"Will the ship have an escape pod?"

"Of course."

"Then when I'm out of your ship's weapons range I'll put him in the escape pod and you can pick him up."

"How do I know that you aren't lying?"

"What choice do you have?" She replied coolly and walked past the guards and S'Olonny. He watched her leave and then smiled. She was tricky, but he could play dirty too. He motioned the guards over and then gave them orders.

Terraz woke up and found herself entangled with Garren. Sam was sleeping just a few feet away and the tunnel was still dark. She nudged Garren awake and he groaned. She stood and tapped Sam on the shoulder. His eyes opened and he stood up. Garren stood slowly and then they made ready to continue their journey. They began to walk forward, Terraz vaguely remembering the events of last night.

She remembered the surge of passion between her and Garren and she wondered why she had fallen victim to it. It was probably from spending days with an alien and a man providing her only company. She missed Davis and the other soldiers and her friends from the Explorer. She was beginning to feel lonely and longed for the others. She kept moving and snuck a quick look back at Garren. His face was a mask of unconcern and she scowled. She wished that he would at least pretend that he had felt something!

Garren was at the rear of the party, trying not to look too long at Terraz. She was a beautiful young woman, but he wasn't sure if she deserved him. He was just a soldier, a nobody. He felt his heart being split in two, but he wanted to try and hide his feelings from Terraz. One part of him had really enjoyed last night, the other part knew that it would just complicate the mission further. He looked at the ground and tried to think about the mission.

Terraz turned her mind back to the mission, hoping to find some comfort in it. The creatures from the cavern were sure to be on their tail, she had to keep ahead of them. She just hoped that the tunnel came out somewhere, and that it didn't lead them into more trouble.

They trudged along in silence, no one wanting to speak their thoughts. Sam stopped all of the sudden and sniffed the air. He turned back and pointed. Terraz saw nothing, but a few seconds later she saw the first creature. They didn't carry torches this time, but Terraz could see fury in their eyes. She unslung her rifle and Garren threw himself against the side of the tunnel. For all practical purposes they were trapped. They couldn't outrun the creatures, and they didn't have any cover. More of the Glan filled the tunnel and Gethol let out a battle cry and led the charge. The Glan lunged at the humans, hate filling them for the attempt to desecrate the body of Lothgamm. They wielded their pipes and the three defenders knew that the end was near.

Hoping to spare his comrades, Garren threw himself into Gethol, knocking him down. He got to his feet and vainly grappled with other Glan, trying to hold the tunnel. "Run!" He shouted to Terraz. She saw the look on his face, the grim resolve and the concern in his eyes. She knew that he couldn't last long, the creatures would soon overpower him.

"No! We're all going to stick together!" Terraz cried back and threw herself into the fray. Sam was beside her, lashing out with tail, claws, and teeth. The Glan finally knocked Garren to his knees and then Gethol grabbed him by his shirt collar. Blood streamed down Garren's face and his breathing was shallow. He could barely raise his head, and with his last strength he spit in the creature's face. Gethol growled angrily and threw the soldier aside like a rag doll. Garren landed a few yards away, bleeding heavily.

Seeing him go down, Terraz screamed in despair. She threw aside the Glan assaulting her and then dove at Gethol. She bowled him over and then punched him in his jaw. He snapped at her hand with his jaws and his sharp teeth left a deep scratch on her hand. She came back with her other hand and hit him repeatedly. Deep blue blood oozed from below Gethol's eye. He wrapped his arms around Terraz's back and then butted her with his head. He kicked her aside and she lay dazed for a few seconds. She wearily scrambled to her feet and then charged at him. As she neared him she swung out with one leg and kicked him upside the head. Gethol fell and Terraz looked back over at the dying Garren, knowing that she had to get them out of there.

Sam was once again knee-deep in Glan, wading amongst them and striking left and right. He was tiring rapidly and saw that the one human had already gone down. Part of his mind told him that now was the chance to run, to flee. But he still owed the humans and he would fight to the end to protect them. He saw the woman fighting with the Glan's leader and knew that she didn't have a chance. He wished that he could find his gun, but it had been pulled from him during the fighting. A Glan warrior near the end of the tunnel threw its pipe at Sam, trying to knock him out with a long-distance blow. Sam knew that he couldn't duck and instead he raised an arm, claws sinking into the flesh of a Glan. He held the creature up like a shield and the pipe smashed its head. Sam snarled and threw the dead thing away, looking for some way out of this desperate situation, knowing that the next pipe might hit its target. Yet there seemed to be no way out.

Terraz went over to Garren and struggled to move him away from the battle. He looked dead and his body felt heavy. She dragged him over to the tunnel wall and her back hit the rock. Suddenly she was falling backwards. She landed on her rear and saw a small opening carved into the rock. It was too dark to see in the fighting, but now it might be their only way out. She saw Sam vainly fighting, but she knew that soon the creatures would overcome him. She saw a gun lying useless on the ground and a plan came to her.

"Sam! Fall back!" She shouted as she put the gun on overload. She ran to the opening as Sam struggled to meet her. The Glan didn't see Terraz or Garren, it was as if they had vanished. The gun built up its final charge and Sam finally broke free. He dashed towards the opening as the gun blew. A blinding flash of light erupted and Sam threw himself into the opening. The Glan, not being able to see because of the flash, had no idea where the defenders had vanished to. Gethol stared, dazed, and then led the remaining Glan forward. His lust for the humans' blood died down and the Glan were peaceful once more. They marched forward and soon the opening was far behind them.

A shadowy figure trailed behind the Glan, moving cautiously. He knelt down beside a dead Glan, noticing the drops of orange blood on the creature's fur. He sniffed the blood and frowned. He moved forward and found a pool of red human blood. He thought for a few moments, trying to piece together what had happened. Then he saw the blast area and examined it. He recognized the pattern of a gun exploding due to overloading and filed it away in his mind. Then he loped off after the Glan, anxiously hoping to find battle soon.

Manny confidently walked to the cells where her men were being held. S'Tallen staggered ahead, the point of Manny's S'Zai grazing against his shell. They stopped and Manny waited for the doors to open. Slowly one door hissed open and before she could react, S'Olonny shot out of the cell door like a bullet, his S'Zai poised to kill. He swung down and Manny had no choice but to push S'Tallen aside and swing her blade to block the attack.

Sparks flew as the swords clashed against each other and Manny's body reverberated from the force of the blow. She staggered backwards, but S'Olonny was not about to let her rest. He came at her again and she struggled to block him. The S'Zais met again and then Manny swung hers upwards. The swing was weak and S'Olonny easily deflected it. She stumbled back and threw her S'Zai up in defense once more.

S'Olonny's mind burned with anger and hate as he furiously assaulted her, not letting her take even a few seconds to dart away from him or to regain any strength. He would drive her back as far as she could go, and then he would mercilessly strike her down. The corridor soon ended and Manny's back was against the wall. S'Olonny went for the kill, but she dodged and wearily rolled away from him and into an adjacent corridor.

S'Olonny gave her no time to think, though, as he lunged at her again. She felt herself tiring and knew that she could not last much longer against such an attack. She looked for a way out and saw a lift at the end of the corridor. With her last strength she turned and ran for the lift and slapped the button. When nothing happened she slashed the doors with her S'Zai and the doors rumbled open. Seeing S'Olonny running at her, anxious to carry the fight to her, she stuck the sword in her belt and then jumped down the shaft.

S'Olonny cursed and stood at the lift door for a few seconds, looking down the shaft and trying to catch a glimpse of his opponent. Then he hurried to find a way down. He ran for an emergency stairway and impatiently gave the computer his access code. The doors, painted to blend in with the walls, parted and let him through. The emergency stairs were designed in case power was cut or the ship was boarded. He ran down the stairs a few levels and emerged in a similar corridor. He hurried to where the other shaft was and ordered the computer to open the doors. He looked down into the darkness, searching for Manny.

Manny was falling quickly, and she hoped that she found something to break her fall. As she free fell she tried to think of a way to stop herself. She flailed about with her hands and then her left hand hit upon something, presumably some kind of power conduit. She grasped it with her one hand and then felt it burn as her momentum carried her down. She reached out with her other hand and gripped the conduit with her right hand. She jerked to a stop and for a few seconds hung there. Then she began climbing back up, looking for a floor where she could get off. She finally spotted one and then cautiously jumped to the ledge. Her hands caught the metal of the ledge and she groaned as she pulled herself up. She lay there, panting for a while. Then she stood and hacked the door open. She stepped out into a darkened corridor and instantly had a bad feeling. Little did she know that she was in the very bowels of the ship, on one of the last floors that were not inhabited by anyone and were used by no one other than officers and bio-energy storage technicians. To conserve power the floors' lighting was kept dim.

As she moved along, she heard heavy footfalls approaching rapidly. She saw a large dark form coming straight at her, almost as if she were in a nightmare. She turned to run, but her legs felt like lead. She looked back and saw green fire coming for her. She pulled her S'Zai and with grim determination turned to defend herself. Sparks jumped as the battle continued unabated.

S'Olonny was once again driving Manny back, and this time she knew that she would die. She desperately fought back, but S'Olonny easily turned her blows aside. One of his own struck Manny's arm and blood gushed from the wound. She screamed and blindly moved backwards until the corridor ended and the green fire filled her vision. S'Olonny swung downwards and she ducked down. To her surprise a door opened and she scrambled to her feet and sprinted through the door.

She saw that she was standing on a metal catwalk surrounding several lantern-shaped containers that were enormous. She didn't have time to admire the scene as S'Olonny pressed his attack. She was growing weaker and could hardly stand. She feebly warded off his swings and slowly edged backwards. Her feet dragged and she could feel the end coming. Still, she kept her sword up and valiantly fought on. Another of S'Olonny's swipes hit her, this time tearing open her side. She screamed in pain and her knees buckled. She pitched backward and fell against the rail of the catwalk. She threw her S'Zai arm in front of her face and S'Olonny slashed at her. With one final swing the crystal blade of Manny's S'Zai shattered. There was a horrible sound as the blue flame died and the catwalk shook. The railing collapsed and Manny's barely conscious form tumbled into the dark abyss below. S'Olonny stood at the rail, a grin on his face. He turned away, knowing that his enemy was destroyed.

Lisa and Laurants were walking through the city, inspecting it before the aliens attacked. Most of the buildings were very strong and any one of them could be a fortress. But Lisa wasn't interested in fighting a defensive battle, she was more interested in wiping them out in a swift, decisive slaughter.

"We need a trap," she murmured. Laurants nodded, deep in thought. He was still unsure if the Glan would arrive in time, but he knew that if he and Lisa could hold long enough, they might be able to come and join the fight.

"We could block the entrance to the city, that would buy us plenty of time. Or we could boobytrap it and kill a bunch of aliens as they try to enter," he suggested.

"Yes, we'll have to do that. But I was thinking more along the lines of a ruse, one to lure the aliens into a trap that they couldn't possibly see through. And then we would spring the trap and wipe them out, or at least a lot of them. I'm just not sure if we have anything that could really hurt them." She looked down at the ground and they both avoided eye contact at all costs, neither wanting to betray their thoughts. Lisa found it hard to concentrate, thinking of Laurants and everything else that had happened. She felt pressured and nervous, unsure of what to do. She had walked through the city several times now and still she didn't know what to do; her thoughts were too confused. She sat down near a building and kicked a rock. It went flying off and she heard it land a short distance away. Laurants slumped down next to her, trying to come up with some kind of plan.

Time was running out, they both knew that much. If they didn't come up with something soon, the aliens would be upon them and catch them unprepared. It wasn't a comforting thought, and it made Laurants feel extremely uneasy. Part of this was due to Lisa's presence. If he had been working with any other woman in the universe his task would be a hundred times easier. But they were stuck together, and if she couldn't think of anything than it fell to him. He wasn't any kind of strategist, but he had seen these aliens in action. There had to be some weakness that they could exploit. Then he heard a clatter in the distance and stood up, ready for action.

Popping up from the trap door by the river was Gethol and the other Glan. They marched in single file and Laurants was shocked to see blood coating some of their pipes and fur. There was orange blood like the alien's, and red blood like human blood. He gasped and felt the urge to vomit. Lisa ran over to Gethol and began talking to him rapidly. He wondered when she had learned the Glan's language, but then he figured that it had something to do with the time she had spent with Lothgamm's knowledge in her mind. He raced over to her side and her face was a mixture of disgust and hope. "Gethol says that two humans and an alien disrupted their burial ritual. They attacked and then fled into the tunnels. The Glan fought back, but he doesn't think any of them are dead. They're probably wounded, but they disappeared in the tunnels. The good news is that we aren't the only humans here. Lieutenant Rosaro must have made it to the alien's headquarters. But the alien with the humans worries me," Lisa said and Laurants digested the information.

"They're probably captured," Laurants put in.

"That thought occurred to me, but when I asked them about the alien they said that he wasn't dressed like a soldier. That may mean that the humans captured the alien. At any rate, we may get some help if they find us."

"But we can't count on it. Now that we've got the Glan, we can make some new plans." He thought for a moment, toying with an idea as he thought about the encounter between the Glan and humans. He suspected that the aliens knew as little about humans as humans knew about aliens. If they could capitalize on that, then they might be able to set a trap for the aliens. "Hmmm, I think I have an idea." Lisa smiled at him as he explained.

Davis snuck around the corner of the corridor, Arsa covering him. He saw no one around and headed for the door where they had been stopped earlier. He examined the door and saw the sensors where the computer would identify who was seeking entrance to the room. There was no way to get in from this way, but maybe there was some kind of access hatch or something that they could use. He went back to Arsa and shook his head.

"Let's try the shafts and see if we can find anything from there," he said and they were soon crawling around in the shafts again. He was parallel to the corridor, hoping to find something. Arsa trailed behind him, doubtful as to whether or not this would yield something. He stopped suddenly and stuck his hand out. Energy crackled and he yanked his hand back. The shaft was blocked here, there was no way to get to the room from here. A room so heavily guarded had to hold something valuable. Something that the humans might be able to use to destroy the aliens or if not, anything of value to the aliens was well worth obliterating. He motioned for Arsa to turn around and they began to crawl back the other way. They stopped to rest for a moment and Davis thought.

He snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. Maybe they could get below the room and use their weapons to make a hole. Then they could crawl in and see what was so secret. But first he needed to find a lift. He jumped down into the corridor and Arsa shrugged and went after him. She was tiring from all of the jumping and climbing, and getting impatient. Still, she hoped that whatever they found would be able to help make her normal again.

That's all that she wanted anymore. She didn't care about aliens or humans, she just wanted to be normal again. She wanted her life back. She knew that it was a low priority to Davis, but then again he hadn't been turned into a hideous monster. She followed him, but what she really wanted to do was find the alien scientist and make him change her back.

They were moving cautiously down the corridor, passing a few straggling soldiers. No one paid them any heed and it didn't take long to find a lift. Davis slapped the button and the doors opened. The two intruders stepped inside and Davis studied the lift. There were no buttons, meaning that the system must be voice activated.

"Down...please," Arsa said and the lift began to move quickly. Davis' stomach dropped to feet as the lift screamed down the shaft. Arsa felt sick and gripped the rail inside the lift, feeling her knees buckle. Then the lift screeched to a stop and Davis' stomach shot up to his throat. He doubled over and nearly vomited, but managed to get control as the doors opened. The level they had stopped at was dark and quiet. He and Arsa entered a corridor, ready for trouble. No one was nearby and Davis shrugged. He looked around, but it was too dark to see much.

He stopped as he heard heavy footfalls approach and he dove into the shadows as a large shape passed. There was a green glow coming from the figure, and it went by swiftly, not seeing them. Davis sighed with relief and then he crept forward. He neared a door, and felt it. It felt rough, and Arsa tapped his shoulder.

"Something slashed the door open. I think we can get through," Arsa, with her better eyes, had seen the damage to the door, and couldn't help but wonder if that thing they had passed had something to do with it. She pried the doors open and then peeked through and gasped. She motioned Davis forward and they entered the room. Davis' jaw dropped as he stared in disbelief.

There were many huge lantern-shaped containers in the room. They were on a metal catwalk and Arsa knelt beside a piece where the rail had given way. The metal was hot and she pulled her fingers away quickly. She looked down and saw nothing, it seemed like a bottomless pit. She stood and they looked around for any guards. On the far end of the cavernous room were computers and the tiny forms of technicians scurried about.

"What are those containers for?" Davis asked in wonder.

"Bio-energy," Arsa said and his face lit up.
Chapter Eleven

The tunnel was dark and Terraz thought for a few moments that she had gone blind. She signaled Sam to stop and they set Garren up against the tunnel. She felt his wounds and blood drenched her hands. She tore off some strips of cloth from her uniform and tried to stop the bleeding. Not being able to see made it extremely difficult and she wasn't sure if she had done anything.

She sat down next to him; suddenly feeling exhausted. Her arms and legs were bruised and she had cuts all over. Sam wearily dropped down and slept. She put her arm around Garren, feeling for a pulse. She finally found it and to her relief it was still strong. His breathing was shallow, but she hoped that he would pull through.

He had tried to save them; he had given them the opportunity to escape. But she didn't want to leave without him, he was a part of the team and the only human other than herself. She didn't know what she would do if he had died. Sam was nice, but he still wasn't human. She needed contact with other humans, she couldn't stand being alone. So she needed Garren around, and she needed Sam too. He was a good fighter with an equally good heart, and he would come in handy if they met up against any aliens. They were a team, all of them, and they would be a team until the end.

Right now, the end seemed close at hand. They were lost in a dark tunnel on a foreign world. Garren was badly wounded and she and Sam weren't in great shape either. There were aliens and creatures all over who would kill them upon sight. Their only hope lie in finding the secret weapons that Captain Shaw was looking for. It was the only way that they could even try to take on the aliens and steal a ship to get back to Earth. Terraz's eyes closed and she wished that she was back home.

She didn't really have a home anymore. The Explorer had been her home, but it was destroyed. She had no family or friends on Earth, that was why she had joined the military in the first place. Still, just to see familiar cities and smell familiar smells would be close enough to being home. She drifted off to sleep, thinking about returning to Earth.

All Manny remembered was the long fall down after the catwalk broke, and the sound of glass shattering before blackness took her. The second that she was unconscious, she knew that she was dead. There was no way that she could have possibly survived that fall. For a few moments she was suspended in some kind of limbo, and then the white light appeared.

It closed around her and she felt warm and good. The light then changed colors rapidly until it seemed as though a rainbow were swirling around her. She felt so safe and secure that she never wanted to leave the light. She felt herself being pushed forward, the light still all around her.

She stopped moving and looked down, seeing a bloody and broken body. It took her a few moments to realize that she was looking down upon herself, and she knew that she really was dead. Her skull looked shattered and blood stained the area where she had landed. There were strips of fabric clinging to her corpse and she wished that she could turn away, but she could not. Her legs stuck out at odd angles and her left arm was pinned beneath her crushed spine. It was the most disgusting thing that Manny had ever seen.

The light around her seemed to be fading and she was again pushed forward. Now instead of joy and happiness she felt sadness and pain. She was accelerating rapidly and the light had vanished. She spun out of control and the white light ended and again she was plunged into blackness. It was then that she saw a faint light again, but it wasn't the white light. It was very dim and red. She focused on the object and realized that it was a light bulb. Then she became aware of her body. She nearly shouted with joy, she was alive!

She sat up and looked herself over, noticing that something had changed. There were no cuts or bruises, but that was the less disturbing part. She gasped as she examined her left arm. It flexed normally, but her skin was extremely pale. It was only then that she felt the sticky liquid beneath her. She touched it with her fingers and saw that it was a clear liquid that seemed to dance with many colors. She remembered her out-of-body experience and tried to piece together what happened. There seemed to be no explanation other than she had been brought back from the dead somehow after she had smashed into whatever held the strange liquid.

As she stood up, she saw something gleaming beside where she had lain. She picked it up and saw that it was a S'Zai. There were drops of the strange fluid on it and she dried them off with her hand. The weapon shone bright red and there was a fire seeming to radiate from it. She held it and as she looked around near where it had been she saw a few blue crystal fragments. Could it be? She asked herself. Could her S'Zai somehow have been brought back with her? It seemed that both she and it had undergone a complete change. She held it and then looked for some way out from where she was.

She stood at the base of a huge container, and she couldn't see the catwalk from her vantage point. There was a metal beam attached to the container, presumably holding it in place. She slowly made her way across the beam and then touched the metal wall, feeling for a door. A small hatch opened and she stepped through. The hatch closed behind her and she tried to determine where she was.

A metal tunnel, large enough for one alien or human to fit through at a time comfortably, led upwards. It appeared to be some kind of disposal shaft or else an engineering tunnel. She began to climb up slowly and carefully, putting the sword in her belt, which was nearly all that remained of her tattered clothing. It seemed that whatever had brought her back hadn't seen fit to give her some clothes, so she was still clad in the same bloody rags as before.

She stretched one pale arm up and reached the top of the shaft. She pulled herself up onto a ledge and saw that from here the tunnel went horizontally. She walked forward, ready for action. No one was around, and in a way she felt glad. She stopped when she saw an equipment locker along the tunnel, confirming that this was in fact an engineering access tunnel.

She opened the locker and found something to wear. It was a heavy garment that was white with a squarish helmet which looked like some kind radiation or space suit. She put it on, glad to strip off the rags, and attached her S'Zai to the belt. It was a little large on her, but otherwise it fit perfectly. There was nothing else of value in the locker, and she closed it before moving on. Inside the suit she was sweating and she stopped as the tunnel branched out. One branch went upwards while the other continued horizontally. She decided to climb up higher and gripped the handholds of the tunnel and began her ascent. With the bulky suit on, it was slow work at best and she was grateful when she reached the top. She sat on the ledge for a few moments, panting and sweating. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and thought for a few moments, reliving the battle with the alien captain.

By now she was certain that she had climbed up several levels. She needed to find a way into the ship itself, into the main corridors. She still had a mission, to rescue her men. But first she was going to pay a visit to someone. She looked for a hatch and saw a button. She stood and pushed it and suddenly a panel slid aside. She stepped through the opening and recognized a corridor. She looked around and saw only a few aliens milling around, talking to each other. She eased into the corridor, hoping to go unnoticed. The red S'Zai might give her away, but it was also her only weapon. No one paid her any attention and she began looking for something familiar. Seeing nothing she looked for a lift. One way or another she would find what she was looking for, and when she did she was going to surprise these aliens.

S'Revlar climbed up to the hatch by the river and opened it slowly. He smiled when he saw the city. He had found what S'Olonny was looking for: a second way into the city. Now he had to get out of here and prepare the assault. He was sure that they were going to win now, they would simply drive the humans and their allies between two forces and slaughter them in the crossfire.

He jumped back down to the tunnel and knew that he had to hurry back with the important news. He wanted to look around the city and spy on the humans, but there was no time. He had to move quickly and take them completely by surprise. He activated his jetpack and flew through the tunnel at as high of a speed as he dared. It would still take him an hour to get back out. He knew that it was useless to try and contact the ship from here, there was too much interference from the rocks.

He stopped at the latest battlesite and carefully stepped over the Glan bodies. Than he ran forward a few steps and took to the air again. It was a long, dull journey in the darkness through the tunnel. When he reached the cavern, S'Revlar shot up to the lip of the canyon and then ran to the opening of the mound.

He eagerly dove through the entrance and emerged into the darkness of the planet's night. He checked his fuel supply and saw that he would have to call S'Figthl to come and pick him up. He activated his comm and waited a few seconds while a secure channel was activated.

"S'Figthl, this is S'Revlar. I need you to come and pick me up at the drop site as soon as possible. I have very important information to deliver to the captain at once," he commanded and waited for a reply.

"I'm on my way, S'Revlar. I assume this isn't something you want to discuss, not even over a secure channel," his friend answered.

"Exactly. I'll tell you when I get aboard."

"I'm looking forward to it." They signed off and a few minutes later the escort ship can into view. S'Revlar jumped into the open hatch and took the co-pilot's seat. He sat down and took off his helmet.

"I found our way in," he began as the ship leapt into the night sky.

"I see. So, will we be able to take the humans now?"

"Well, things are definitely looking up. This is something they'll never suspect until we spring it on them."

"Great, the sooner we finish this, the better. I'm looking forward to eliminating these pests, they've set us back substantially already. From what I heard while you were gone, one of the human prisoners tried to take S'Tallen hostage, but the captain took care of it before it could do anything."

"Good. One of those things running amuck aboard the ship is just what we don't need right now."

"I also heard that the captain's real angry and he's probably going to execute the lot of them very soon."

"More than likely. Just where do you hear all of this stuff from anyway?"

"I have my sources," they both laughed as the ship entered the atmosphere, the mother ship coming into view. S'Revlar prepared himself to deliver his good news to S'Olonny.

It wouldn't take long to get the forces redeployed and reassigned for this new attack. He just hoped that the humans would still be caught by surprise when they popped up through the hatch at their backs. It sounded like a good plan, but the humans were crafty creatures, they might be able to anticipate this move. Still, it was their best shot. He sat back and took a deep breath, not anxious to don the white armor again. But that was the burden of command, he thought as the ship docked and the hatch opened. He walked down the ramp and was met by a young ensign with a powered cart. S'Revlar jumped into the cart and waved farewell to S'Figthl as it sped down the corridors and to the bridge.

"Sir, Engineering reports a breach in Number Four Bio-Energy Chamber," an officer reported to S'Olonny.

"Has a crew been dispatched to repair it?" The captain asked, uninterested in a minor breach.

"They're on their way now, sir."

"Very well. Do we know if any bio-energy leaked from the container?"

"Scans seem to indicate a minute loss of bio-energy fluid from the container."

"Have the human prisoners drained and use their bio-energy to replace what was lost in the container. Then give the bodies to S'Tallen for...further study."

"Yes, sir."

"Sir, S'Revlar's ship has landed and he is on his way to meet you," another officer reported.

"Good. Have him shown up here."

"Yes sir."

S'Revlar entered the bridge a few moments later. S'Olonny showed him to a chair and they quietly discussed his findings. "We can use this back entrance to place a team in to flank the humans," S'Revlar concluded after briefing S'Olonny.

"Yes, that should work. Will you need additional troops for this new attack?" S'Olonny asked.

"No, I'll just take away a few of the platoons that are already scheduled for the assault. It will just be a matter of minor reshuffling. There is something else that I'd like to suggest."

"What's that?"

"I'd like to have a tunnel dug near the second entrance so that we can have easier access, and a quicker retreat if things go wrong."

"That will require retrofitting an escort ship with heavy mining tools. Very well, I'll order one prepared; it will only take a few minutes. Anything else?"

"No, sir. However, I would like to dispense with formalities for this attack."

"I don't think that you can do that. Some of the troops are superstitious, it would be bad luck to break tradition. We don't need them any more nervous than they already are. Proceed with the attack...and the formalities."

"Yes, sir. The attack will be launched within five hours."

"Excellent, keep me informed." With that S'Revlar left the bridge and S'Olonny sat and thought about destroying the humans. He checked the status on the probes searching for the humans homeworld. So far there was nothing. He hoped that after the battle they might have their answer.

The final preparations were being made for the defense of the underground city. Lisa worked with the Glan, finding fortifications as well as things they could use for body armor. In the end they began to heap furniture into flimsy barricades and used jackets lined with metal plates for protection. Lisa had wanted to find better weapons, but Gethol insisted that the Glan would use no weapons except their clubs. She reluctantly let the subject drop and looked at the finished product.

It looked like a weak defense, but Lisa knew that it was suitable. The buildings themselves could be used as fortifications and in that respect she thought that Laurants had done well. He had taken it upon himself to mark rallying points as well as to stock food and ammunition in several buildings, all far away from the hidden laboratory. The central headquarters was a tall, conical building that gleamed silver in the dim light. There were medical supplies there as well food and weapons. Although neither he nor Lisa was a medic, they both knew basic first aid. She just hoped that it didn't come to that.

Laurants was on the top floor of the central point which he dubbed "Glan Point", because it would be where the Glan would rally to if their plan failed. He covered the windows with metal plates taken from other buildings, he drilled holes to fire weapons from and in a closet sat rows of supplies, and he had scavenged what weapons he could find and these were lying against the wall. Lothgamm's pistol was among the half-dozen pistols that he had found. There was a pile of knives and pipes across the room and sitting in prominent places were the three long-range laser rifles he had found while scavenging through the homes of the ancient race that had dwelt in the city. All in all it was a very meager defense against the onslaught that they would face. Still, he and the others could easily entrench themselves and force the aliens to come to them. He figured that there was enough food for at least a month, so they could afford to wait the aliens out for a while.

He looked out one window that he had left open, the one that faced towards the entrance to the city, and saw the barricades blocking the streets. Lisa had done her best, and from here it looked like it might just be enough. They had blocked all of the major streets and so the aliens would find it difficult to make any progress. He turned away and sat down in one of the chairs in the room.

Glan Point was a fortress now. He had dedicated the top room to storage with a small table and three chairs for command purposes. On the next floor down were sleeping quarters and a board room as well as more gunports. The building had six floors, and the remaining four held only guard posts and boobytraps in all empty rooms. He had cut all but one of the lifts, the service lift, for Lisa and the Glan to use if they needed to come to the building. The fire escape had been destroyed and the stairs would be guarded if the need arose. The aliens would find it equally difficult to storm the fortress as they would getting to it.

On the table where he sat were maps of the city that he had hastily drawn, and his compad. There were also several bottles of explosive material that could be lit off and used as primitive bombs. There was no guarantee to the bombs' accuracy and so he had decided to leave them in reserve. He sighed and tried to think of anything that he had missed.

He had done what he could for Glan Point, because he knew that all of their lives might depend on it. He had fortified two other buildings with a few basic supplies, but nothing on this scale. This was where he intended to make his last stand, if it came to that. He hoped that it wouldn't, but if it did then he would die here. If the aliens took this place, then nothing else would matter. Glan Point was the center of their defense. If it fell then there would be no where else to go, except if they could somehow make it to the Avenger. Even if they did, there was no way to take off in it without a crew, which they didn't have. So if the fortress collapsed, all hope was lost. He put his chin down on the table and closed his eyes, trying to rest before the storm hit.

Terraz helped Garren to his feet and he leaned against her as he stumbled forward. Sam was in front of them, acting as a scout. The tunnel was still dark and she wasn't sure where they were going. They were moving slowly down the tunnel, and Terraz felt the walls closing in on her. It was so dark and she shivered.

She wasn't sure how Garren was doing, but he seemed a little better. He hadn't spoken yet, but he was still weak and she had advised him against trying to talk. She didn't feel any fresh blood on him, and she hoped that meant that his wounds had stopped bleeding. Still, there was a very good chance of infection, so she wanted to hurry through the darkness to get to the surface. But he couldn't move very fast and there was no other way to transport him. She was surprised when Garren nudged her.

"We've got to go faster," he whispered hoarsely. She nodded and he coughed painfully. She felt something cold hit her arm and knew that it was blood. Still, he began to shuffle along faster and she moved along in pace with him. She could imagine his pain and wished that there was something that she could do for him. He had sacrificed himself for them, and she knew that he didn't deserve this. Tears stung her eyes and she held them back, not wanting Garren to see or hear her crying.

This whole thing is my fault, she thought gloomily. She had led them down here, where they had met the Glan. It was all her fault. If she hadn't insisted on climbing down the canyon, then Garren would still be all right and they wouldn't be stumbling around in this dark hell. They might even have found Captain Shaw and the weapons. They could have been on their way home, if only she hadn't made the wrong decision.

These thoughts plagued her as they struggled on for the next few hours. As she and Garren stopped to rest, Sam went on ahead, scouting the area. He turned a corner and then stopped in his tracks. Then he turned and began to run into the darkness. He tripped over Terraz's foot and hit the ground. That didn't matter though, for his finding was more important.

He motioned furiously, too excited to speak, and Terraz stopped him. "What is it?" She demanded, feeling too tired and sorry for herself to really care.

"Light! Light!" He shouted and pointed towards where he had seen it. Terraz shouted for joy and felt new hope surging as she helped Garren back up.

Davis looked the containers over and saw that most of them were empty. There were three that were full and he took a good look at it. This was definitely the most important thing that they had found yet. If they destroyed the alien's food supply, then they would starve to death before they could reach Earth.

"We've got to find a way to destroy that container," Davis whispered to Arsa.

"How? We don't have any explosives," she said with annoyance. The area where they were at was a vital area for the aliens, guards were sure to find them if they stayed too long.

"I don't know, but we'll find a way. Come on, we've got to go foraging for supplies." He turned away from the containers and then stepped through the slashed door. The corridors were still dark, and he wondered where weapons were stored. From the looks of this level, it would be somewhere else. He began to look for the lift when suddenly a group of aliens approached. Several were clad in white suits that looked like an old-style radiation suit. There were three guards in green, carrying rifles. Arsa saw them too, and she threw herself against the wall, hoping to hide in the shadows. Davis quickly followed her example, but the aliens had seen them.

"What are you doing here? You are not supposed to be here," a guard said.

"We were just...lost," Arsa replied, but Davis could tell they weren't convinced. The alien guard reached to activate his comm and Davis charged forward, springing on him. Arsa raised her gun and blasted another of the guards as well as two technicians, who were on their way to stop the leak in the bio-energy container. The other technicians dove for cover and the lone guard covered them, firing a burst from his gun. Arsa ducked to avoid the blast and then tried to get a bead on the guard and techs, but they had retreated back through the door. With a loud blast Davis finished off the other guard, but already klaxons were sounding. They ran for the lift, but it was locked down. They were trapped!

They sprinted farther down the corridor, turning a corner. Then they saw a small room ahead and Davis slapped a button. The door refused to yield and finally he shot the controls and it opened. He dashed into the room and saw that it was a small unmanned security post. Computers were all around him, but nothing was on. Arsa, who was covering him, looked at the computers.

"A secondary...security station. Probably in case...someone boards the ship," Arsa bit out as she sat at a console and read the controls. She stabbed a button and power blinked on. Screens flashed alien words and she read them slowly and then tapped a command into the computer. A heavy rolling sound was heard and then a clang. A security door had rolled into place, sealing the room. "We'll be safe...for now."

Davis wasn't so sure about that. Once the aliens found them it would be easy enough to blow the door open. And then they would be captured. There had to be some way out. He looked around and saw the weapons sitting in a rack against the wall. He picked one up and examined it. It was a heavy laser rifle with a scope on the top and something below the barrel. When he looked closer he saw that it was some kind of projectile launcher. He slung his gun on his back and took the rifle. It was fully charged and ready, and he hoped that it came in handy. There were also suits of some kind of body armor hanging. These were olive green with large helmets. They looked more heavily armored than what he was wearing and he stripped off his old armor and put this new suit on. He had to admit that it did feel better, and even fit better. He saw that the suit had some kind of receptors that automatically adjusted to fit him. He flipped the helmet's solid visor up and saw Arsa still working on the computer.

"What have you found so far?" He asked.

"Nothing...much. The security door is...blast-proof. We can hold out here...for a long time. But there is...a way out. There's an...emergency tunnel leading out. We could use it to...find a way out. But first I would...like to get some maps."

"Sure. I've found some armor and weapons that we can use. Is there any way that you can find out where we can find explosives."

"Sure thing." She began typing information in and he nervously waited. "Level 3...forward section is a weapons room. Explosives...may be held there."

"Good. Let's hurry and move out." Arsa nodded as maps of the ship printed out. She moved over to the rack and quickly undressed, then she grabbed a rifle. It was then that they heard the aliens at the door. Arsa quickly opened a hatch and then dove through it. Davis followed and closed it after him. They were in a dark tube and the hatch clanged shut behind him. As the aliens burst into the room they began to crawl forward.

S'Tallen sat in his laboratory, still in shock after nearly being killed by the human. He was too distracted to work, or to even remember that his guard captain was supposed to bring Arsa to him. He just kept thinking of the S'Zai blade at his neck, and the death he had almost suffered.

He was slumped in his work chair, staring at the displays for the control device he had designed for drained humans. S'Olonny wanted him to begin manufacturing the devices, but he couldn't concentrate to load the specs into the computer. He sat up as he heard something move near his door. He stood, fear gripping him, as the door hissed open.

Standing at the door was a human, or at least it looked like one. Except that its skin was abnormally pale and its black eyes burned with an unnatural hatred. It was wearing an engineering suit, but it did nothing to hide its demon-like appearance. Its eyes glared at him menacingly and the long jet black hair and flaming red S'Zai gave it a devilish quality that he found greatly disturbing. He shook and fell to his knees, pleading for mercy. The human came closer and then with one hand hefted him to his feet.

"Remember me?" It hissed, its voice laced with anger.

"No...I don't! Please, don't hurt me!" S'Tallen whined and in an instant the S'Zai was at his neck.

"Maybe this will jog your memory." His eyes went wide as he understood.

"You! But you're dead! S'Olonny killed you, he told me himself!" Manny smiled grimly and laughed hoarsely.

"He didn't kill me, because of this," she showed him a drop of bio-energy on her sword. "What is it?"

"It's...bio-energy. We suspend it in a liquefied form and store it in containers. But its harmless, it can't bring back the dead!"

"Oh, but it did. Or at least in some form," she noted gravely as she thought of the drastic change in her appearance.

"It's impossible! But, what does this line of questioning have to do with me? I didn't kill you! Just leave me alone, I won't tell anyone! Please!" He moaned, and she let him drop to the floor.

"You're going to get me and my men to Earth. Now, or else." She motioned with the flaming red sword and he nodded.

"That could be a problem."

"How?"

"Your friends have been scheduled for execution, S'Olonny already told me that he was going to drain them and have me study them."

"Then we're going to have to hurry," she replied and motioned him forward.

The attack was at hand. S'Revlar watched the escort and transport ships begin to take off. His own, the special mining one with S'Figthl at the controls, was waiting. Since he had already been in the tunnels, he decided to lead the second attack force. He shifted uneasily in the white armor and then boarded the escort ship. S'Figthl grinned at him and the engines began to rev. There were three technicians and twenty soldiers crammed into the ship as it slowly backed out of the hangar. They emerged in the open blackness of space and then S'Figthl killed the engines and they dropped like a rock through the atmosphere.

No one was really sure how much fuel and energy it would take to carve a new hole into the secret passage, but just in case S'Figthl was using an engineless drop-landing to conserve their limited supplies. The escort ship was falling extremely fast, but S'Revlar's stomach was rising even faster. He felt nauseous and a look back into the rear of the craft showed that the others were also feeling sick, one poor technician had even thrown up, vomit staining the floor of the ship. Through it all, S'Figthl wore a smile and even laughed when he saw the regurgitated material on the cabin's deck.

"Nothing like a good old-fashioned drop-landing! Remember when we used it to surprise those primitive creatures? Dropped my ship right on top of them without any engine noise and then you went in and cleaned 'em up. Those were the days," the pilot reminisced. S'Revlar vaguely remembered that attack, but he remembered the hellish drop in best. Still, S'Figthl was the best pilot there was, drop-landings were an old hat to him. The sky was spinning madly through the canopy and S'Revlar's stomach continued its churning. They were at nearly a thousand feet and S'Figthl began to call out the numbers as they continued to fall. When he reached five hundred he pushed a button and the engines came back on. The ship rocked violently and then slowly descended.

S'Revlar took his helmet off and wiped away the sweat. Then he called up a map and pointed out where they would begin to drill. S'Figthl placed the ship over the spot and then the technicians went to work.

Energy packs alongside the ship charged and began to send power to two long rods mounted on the front of the craft. Then red beams struck the rock and began to melt it. The first few layers were tough and used up a lot of power, but the lower ones were much easier. S'Figthl looked at his friend worriedly.

"We're going to be tapping into my energy reserves in a few seconds. We've only got about a minute more of drilling before I won't have enough energy to get back. So, you'd better hurry it up." A minute was all it took, and soon S'Revlar and the others were on the ground. S'Figthl waited inside the escort ship, all of the power off, waiting for them to return. He flashed S'Revlar a parting smile and he grinned back as he stood at the base of the hole.

"Units Three, Five, and Seventeen, the way is clear. Repeat, the way is clear. Report at once," S'Revlar ordered and in less than a minute two shuttles and an escort ship were at the scene.

The pilot of Escort Ship 17 hesitated for a moment, looking nervously at his sensors. "Sir, we've detected a strange signal coming from a location nearby. It seems weak and human in origin. I'd like to investigate for possible human forces," the pilot said shakily. It was his first real mission and his stomach was heaving. The more veteran co-pilot nodded encouragingly at him.

S'Revlar thought for a moment. It could be a human trap, or it may be some kind of supply base or outpost. Either way, he could spare a single unit. "Go ahead Seventeen. Report your findings immediately." The escort ship zoomed away and then S'Revlar gathered the nearly one hundred and fifty aliens that comprised his attack force. He chanted a guttural chant that was an ancient ritual, and then he jumped into the tunnel. The tunnel wasn't very long and it was an easy fall. He rolled and came up to his feet, brushing dirt from the white armor, and then adjusting his night-vision sensors, he moved forward. It took nearly a half hour for the entire group to form up inside the passage, but when they did, S'Revlar motioned for them to move out.

They were trotting along at a good pace and S'Revalar wasn't tired after going for twenty minutes. The passage was still dark and they stepped over the bodies of dead Glan and continued their trip. S'Revlar knew that the main attack force was waiting for them, and he was determined not to make it a long wait. He increased the pace and it only took another ten minutes to reach the opening. Everyone stopped and S'Revlar contacted the main group, using an ultra-high frequency that could transmit through the rock. His simple message read: Time to kill the humans. The battle had begun.
Chapter Twelve

It was the moment that Lisa had been waiting for. The aliens began pouring into the tunnel. Laurants was at her side and they were standing in the middle of the city's main street, waiting nervously. When the aliens were at the end of the tunnel she signaled that it was time for their grand performance.

"Where the hell are the Glan? They said that they'd be here!" Laurants shouted, hoping that his plan worked. Lisa had tried to assure him that it would, but he still had his doubts. It was such a simple ruse, even the aliens might see through it.

"I don't know, it's not my fault! They must have left us. Oh no, it's the aliens!" Lisa shouted and pointed. They both feigned surprise as the first aliens emerged from the tunnel.

"Let's make a run for it, we don't stand a chance!" Laurants shouted and they both took off, running for dear life. Lisa turned and defiantly shot off a short burst from her pistol. The aliens shouted in anger and joy and then charged to take the hapless prey. The humans turned a corner and waited. The aliens followed and found themselves surrounded by buildings. Suddenly the Glan appeared from everywhere and brutally assaulted the invaders.

Gethol charged out from behind a building, waving his pipe in the air. The surprised aliens were taken aback, but the Glan were upon them before they could retreat or even really realize their folly. It was a slaughter right from the start. Unable to raise their weapons, the aliens were forced to fight hand-to-pipe. The heavy pipes easily smashed the alien armor and Lisa watched from a distance as the Glan easily swept through their attacker. Laurants was running to Glan Point, getting it ready just in case. He rode the service lift up to the top and then looked around from the building. He saw the battle, but then he saw something else.

To his horror he saw a white figure and a horde of red-clad aliens emerging from near the river and heading straight for the battle. He hurried and grabbed his make-shift bombs, knowing that they were the heaviest weapons he had. He hurled all three out the window in quick succession and watched them explode, obscuring the troops in dirt and debris. He waited for the dust to clear and to his horror saw the red tide still streaming through the city and towards Lisa and the Glan. He cursed and knew there was little else he could do, except to grab one of the long-range rifles and pray. He took a few shots at the aliens and a couple fell, but then the aliens dispersed and began moving along the buildings, looking like red ants from his vantage point. He slammed the wall in frustration, knowing that he was too late.

Terraz emerged from the dark tunnels and saw a vast sea. She smelled salt and sunlight poured down. She helped Garren into the light and he smiled slowly. Then she saw the dark stains on his uniform and remembered to check his wounds.

"Sam, find a way to get some water and firewood. I'll need fresh water to clean these wounds," she commanded and he obeyed. He took Garren's helmet and rushed off to fetch the water. She held him close as Sam playfully dashed into an oncoming wave and took a helmet full of water. He scurried back and handed Terraz the helmet. Garren groaned as Sam brought back a few twigs. Terraz searched for something to light the fire with and found a blood-stained lighter in Garren's breast pocket.

"Gave up smoking a long time ago, but I kept that...just in case," he coughed and shivered; she could tell that he was weakening. They needed to give him some food and clean clothes. They lit the fire and a small stream of smoke rose into the air as Sam held the helmet over the fire. After several minutes the water began to boil, and Sam gingerly removed the hot headpiece. He gave it to Terraz, who ripped away another strip of cloth from her own uniform and began soaking it in the water. Sam stripped Garren's clothes off, and for the first time he saw a naked human. He admired Garren for a few seconds, until the soldier gathered enough strength to shoot him a dirty look. Sam backed away, but Terraz couldn't help but laugh.

She began dabbing the cloth at the wounds, hoping that nothing had already been infected. Garren sighed and his eyes closed, and for a few moments she thought that he was dead, until she heard him snoring softly. She set him down in the sand, trying to make him comfortable by the fire. Then she walked away and looked out at the steel-gray water.

It reminded her of Earth, and she had always loved water. But she had loved space even more and that had led her here. The ocean was beautiful, but cold. Off-shore was a small island that looked insignificant from the distance. As she wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm she heard the sound of approaching engines.

Escort Ship 17 hovered into view of the beach and the co-pilot pointed out the smoke and the figures that looked vaguely human. The pilot swooped down for a closer look and saw a human standing by the water. Then he saw the smoke from a fire and two figures, one of which looked like one of their people.

"Arming weapons systems," the pilot said and the co-pilot smiled. They were going to see some action now. He tightened his straps as the pilot began firing the ship's laser guns. Below, the humans near the water scattered and he turned to pursue it.

Terraz ran down the beach, hoping to draw the alien's fire. She had left her own weapon behind, and then she stopped for a moment. The beach was running out, and there was nowhere for her to go, except into the sea. She ran towards the water and dove into it, instantly feeling cold. She swam with all of her might and the alien ship followed. She heard a splash and for a brief moment she saw Sam following behind her. She kept going, seeing the island looming before her. She felt numb and swam more slowly. The water around her heated up as the alien's lasers hit all around her. Steam rose and she wearily plunged onward. Still, she was going slower and slower, and knew that she wouldn't make it. Water began boiling in front of her and she floated through a cloud of gas. Her lungs burned and her arms wouldn't move. With one last effort she paddled forward and then she began to sink. The world turned gray around her and water stung her eyes. Then she felt something solid beneath her. It was soft yet firm and her brain told her that it was sand and tried to nudge her forward.

Her exhausted and numb limbs responded slowly and she pulled herself onto a rocky beach. She coughed and shook and then Sam was at her side. The alien ship was hovering nearby, a ramp lowering. There wasn't much time, and she forced her freezing body to move. The island was rough and there was a tiny passage leading up from the beach to the higher ground. They stumbled up, Sam's body moving more quickly than Terraz's. Aliens shot at them, but sharp rocks protected them and they continued to climb. The aliens were moving up the passage now, and Terraz knew that they were done for. Then she stopped in her tracks as she saw a large object looming before her. It was a crate and it had markings in English. She smiled and ran towards their only hope.

All over the alien ship alarms sounded and red lights flashed. Manny and S'Tallen went unnoticed in the corridors as aliens rushed about, looking for the intruders. They were on the level of the holding cells, and Manny felt a little nervous as she thought of the odds of getting her men out alive.

"What's going on?" She asked over the raucous.

"An intruder alert. I'm not sure why, though," S'Tallen replied, trying to be as helpful as possible. They entered the holding area and a guard rushed forward. He recognized the scientist and glared suspiciously at Manny. "Who is that?" The guard asked.

"This is an assistant of mine. Captain S'Olonny directed me to take a human for experimentation."

"Where are your orders?"

"I have none. This is a private, top secret matter. You are not supposed to know that I am here."

"I see. Mind if I confirm these top secret orders?" The guard reached for his comm and Manny sliced his hand off with her S'Zai before he hit the button. She quickly slashed his throat and he dropped noiselessly to the deck. S'Tallen looked wide-eyed at her.

"You bloodthirsty animal! There was no need to kill him!"

"He was going to betray us, I had no choice." She shoved him forward and put the bloody S'Zai away. There were no other guards around and Manny stepped over to the first door and hit the release button. It asked for an identification code and she nodded to S'Tallen. He reluctantly gave his code and the door opened. He went inside and she heard him gasp. She followed him and saw two bloody, decomposing alien bodies on the floor. She looked around and drew the sword from her belt. The glow of the crystal showed her the blown open air shaft. She smiled at the human innovation.

"It's obvious that at least one of your human friends is running loose. Probably why they called an alert," S'Tallen said and Manny agreed. At least one, but were there more? She quickly jogged out of the cell and had S'Tallen open the next one. She went inside and found the weak bodies of two Explorer crewmembers. They groaned and struggled to stand. Manny helped them up and she saw the fear in their eyes.

"It's all right, we're going to get you out of here," Manny told them soothingly.

"No, you're just lying to us! This is just another alien trick!" One crewman whispered wildly.

"That's not true, we're here to help you." The crewpeople went with her uneasily and she began the slow process of releasing all of the prisoners. They were all in the same shape, even the battle-hardened veterans of her platoon. They were weak and paranoid, but the stronger ones could at least toddle along on their own. Getting them out was definitely going to be a challenge.

"Before we leave, there's something that I need to get," S'Tallen said.

"What's that?" Manny inquired warily.

"I need to get some supplies...food. My digestive system isn't compatible with human nutrition supplements. I'd die if I ate your food, it would be like taking poison."

"Fine, better to have you alive than dead, but make it quick. I'm not sure how much longer we have." They slowly headed for the supply room where S'Tallen had built up a stash of bio-energy for his personal consumption.

The tube that they were crawling up led to another security post. This was unmanned also and they took a brief rest. Arsa wanted to activate the computer to see exactly where they were, but Davis knew that would tell the aliens where they were. They already had the entire ship looking for them, there was no need to push their luck. Arsa agreed reluctantly and closed her eyes.

Again bits and pieces of a life she no longer recognized floated by her. She couldn't latch on to anything and she felt lost and afraid. She wanted to know who she was, what kind of life Commander Arsa Veranda had led. She knew now that there was really no way to restore her life to what it had been, she was too changed. Scientists could change her appearance back to that of a human, but there was no way to really restore her memory. Things that she had once felt and experienced would now seem like just cold, distant events. Still, she needed to know what her life had been like or else she would lose her identity forever. Her name would lose meaning because she would never really know who she had been. As images floated by she reached out her hand and seemed to latch onto one. But just as she did, Davis shook her awake.

"No time to sleep, we've got to move," he told her and she stood wearily. She had been so close, she had almost latched onto a memory. If she could grab one, then others would follow, or so she believed. She just needed that first one. She trailed Davis out into the corridor and they both heard the sirens and saw the aliens rushing around. They blended in with the crowds, unsure of where they were heading. Arsa looked at the maps and then realized that they were near the hangar. From there it was only a short trip to the forward areas, where there were more than likely the explosives that Davis wanted. She tapped his shoulder and whispered this to him. He nodded, deep in thought.

There was a good chance that they could find the explosives, but the ship was abuzz with activity now, and security around the containers was sure to have been beefed up. It might not be possible to set the explosives even if they found them. That left him with a choice. They could continue with their present mission, or they could try and find a way off of the alien ship and try to make it to Earth. There was a high risk involved with either option, but he knew that even if they did make it to Earth, there would still be little that they could do. They had to try to take the aliens down now. Besides, they had already gone this far, why turn back?

"Let's go," he said and continued going forward. They stopped at a hatch and Arsa looked at the map.

"This is it...the forward weapons room," she announced. He nodded and then he tried to open the door. It refused to budge and he tried frantically to open it. Arsa shouted and he turned to see guards approaching. Angrily he pulled his gun and shot the door controls. It yielded a little and he used all of his strength to push the doors open. Shots hit around him and he pulled Arsa through the door with him. The weapons room was dimly lit, but he could see racks of weapons everywhere. The door hissed shut behind them and Arsa punched an emergency seal button that instantly locked the door. She helped him look for explosives.

Racks of armor and weapons hung all around them, but there didn't seem to be what they were looking for. Davis slammed his fist against a crate in frustration. The aliens were at the door and he knew that he had led them to their doom. There was no way out, they were cornered. They had to find a way out, but there was no way to break past the alien forces amassing at the door. Then he saw something in a dark corner. It was a large dark tube and on closer examination he realized that it was a heavy laser weapon. A tripod was nearby and he hefted it upon the tripod and motioned for Arsa to help him. This just might be their only hope for escape.

S'Revlar shot the furry thing at close range and it fell to the street of the city. The Glan were easily being pushed back now, yet a few foolishly fought on. The rest were retreating deeper into the city and S'Revlar knew that it was now a simple mop-up operation. The humans and their allies had foolishly taken a gamble, and they had lost. The last opponents on this world would be annihilated, as would their homeworld as soon as it was located. The end of a pathetic little race that had dared to take on the vast, superior forces that faced them. He nearly laughed out loud, but instead snapped the neck of a wounded Glan that had tried to grab a fallen weapon.

He would soon be home again, to see his family. Only this time when the ship docked he wouldn't have to board it again. He would stay home forever. He shook away these hopeful thoughts, trying to concentrate on the battle. He was the leader, he was expected to be paying attention. He sighed and then pulled aside some of his unit commanders. His men were pursuing the humans's allies, which gave him time to plan his next moves.

"All right, the humans and their friends are falling back farther into the city. Our men are pursuing, but I'm going to call them back soon. There are probably traps and other things set for our troops and I'd rather save my men for the attack on their pitiful homeworld. Therefore, we'll pull all forces back to this point and see where the humans retreat to. Then scouting parties will clear the area of any traps or surprises. Questions?" S'Revlar ordered.

No one had any, as he had anticipated. The pursuit was called off and soon the soldiers were gathering and the scouting parties were being organized. Since he was the leader, he couldn't go scouting, as much as he wanted to. Instead he went inside a building and sat down, waiting for reports from his commanders. He smiled and thought of going home.

Lisa and the remaining Glan straggled into Glan Point, tired and blood-stained. Lisa took the lift up to the top floor with as many Glan as could fit. The door opened and an ashen-faced Laurants stood and looked at her, surprised that she was still alive.

"You're alive! I thought that they had you for sure," he said and she wearily sank into a chair as the Glan took the lift down a level. She wiped sweat, grime, and blood from her forehead and sighed.

"They almost did have us, we were lucky that at least some of us got away," she replied gravely, her face without emotion. He wanted to take her hand and reassure her that everything was all right, but he couldn't. Instead he looked away.

"There isn't much we can do now but post guards and wait for them."

"Yes, I know. I'll take care of it." She got to her feet and he could see how tired she was. She had been in the middle of the fight, hitting, kicking, and shooting whenever she could. It had been a whirlwind nightmare that she wished she could just forget. Blood, screams, and death were everywhere. She gripped the back of the chair and for a second she closed her eyes and tried to push these horrible visions from her head. When she opened them Laurants had an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"No, I'll take care of it. You get some rest." He led her over to a cot he had set up in the room and she lay down without protest. Her eyes closed and he pulled a blanket over her. He knew that it was the last time she would get to sleep for a while. Then he turned away and went to the lift and took it down to where the Glan had gathered. Using his compad's translator, he was able to give out guard assignments. He took charge of watching over Lisa while she rested, cradling a pistol in his hands and waiting for the enemy to come.

The scouts had cleared all the traps and blockades leading to the building where the humans had taken refuge. Someone pointed it out to him on a map and he nodded. It looked like a defensible place, but it could be easily breached.

"We will launch a full frontal assault on their base. When we get inside I want to search the entire building for humans and their allies. I want them all dead. Let's move out," he grabbed his weapon and went outside. A column formed behind him and the alien force marched towards Glan Point, intent upon destroying it. It took several minutes to get there, but when they did S'Revlar saw how imposing it looked. Still, he had to destroy the humans, and that meant breaking their pitiful defense. He gave a cry and charged the main entrance. He threw his shoulder into the door, but it didn't budge.

He signaled a couple of soldiers forward and they heaved themselves into the steel door all at once. It finally creaked open and then S'Revlar motioned for them to move in. He followed them, weapon ready for trouble. It was dark and hard to see even with night-vision sensors. He listened for any sounds but heard nothing. He went through a door at his right and heard a loud twang. He ducked just in time, before poison darts could have stabbed him through the neck. He motioned a pair of soldiers forward and they searched the room, finding nothing. He had to admire the humans for their cunning trap. It had come very close to killing him; in the future he would be more careful.

Two of his commanders told him that they had swept the floor and found nothing. S'Revlar nodded and began to look for a way up. The lifts were down and inoperable. The stairs were blocked. There seemed to be no way up. Then he noticed a tiny passage off to the left. It was some kind of access corridor, large enough for one person to fit through at a time. He led the way and the others followed behind. The corridor led to a service lift and S'Revlar smiled. The humans had just made their first mistake.

He punched the lift button and the doors opened. Inside were three Glan, wielding their bloody pipes. They leapt upon S'Revlar and he threw them off. The other soldiers quickly shot them all and S'Revlar stood and brushed himself off. Some of the sticky blue blood had stained the gleaming white armor. He stepped into the lift with twenty of his best men. The rest would wait until the lift came back down. He knew that this was a strategic risk, but he had no time to find another way around. The humans had to be destroyed expeditiously and without fail. He was confident that twenty could take the humans out. If not, the rest of his troops would have to find a way up. The lift rose and S'Revlar fingered his gun's trigger nervously. It stopped on the second to last floor and the doors opened.

Glan guards were waiting and the first five soldiers out of the lift felt the sting of their pipes. S'Revlar waved all of his troops out and they rushed the guards. The Glan fought valiantly and more joined them as they awoke from a short rest. S'Revlar was still in the lift, the doorway being blocked by the embattled warriors. He barked for two soldiers to join him and then the doors closed and the lift rose again. He hadn't seen the humans in the fighting, and he suspected that they were somewhere else. He wanted to find them. The lift stopped and the doors opened.

Laurants turned to see three aliens in the lift. He raised his weapon, but the aliens were quicker. He ducked down to the floor as shots flew over his head. At the sound of fighting Lisa sprang from the cot, ready for battle again. She threw herself at the two soldiers while S'Revlar headed for Laurants. Laurants scrambled to his feet and saw the white-clad alien coming for him. He fired a shot, but it was hurriedly aimed and went wild. S'Revlar began firing and Laurants dove to the floor. The alien broke into a run and jumped on top of the startled human.

Meanwhile, Lisa was entangled with the two other aliens. She grabbed one's helmet and slammed it against the floor. The helmet shattered but the soldier reached up and got a hold of Lisa's neck. His fingers closed around her windpipe and she gasped for air. The other soldier got to his feet and kicked Lisa in the side. She groaned and the other alien let go of her throat and she rolled onto her stomach, wheezing. She heard one of them laugh and she tried to get to her feet, but a boot slammed into her ribs. Then one of the aliens grabbed her and hefted her to her feet, clutching her shoulders. The other, the one with the smashed helmet, removed his helmet and smiled as he punched her in the stomach. She groaned and then a fist smashed into the side of her face. Blood streamed down her cheek and then the fist hit her in the jaw. She could feel herself weakening, plunging into unconsciousness. In a desperate attempt to get free she kicked at the alien hitting her. Her foot struck him in the midsection and he staggered backwards. This gave her the opening she needed to elbow the other one in the chest. She could feel his grip loosen and then she burst free. She dashed past the other alien and then from the cot she grabbed her gun. She whirled and fired, cutting first one and then the other alien down. Then she dropped to her knees and darkness claimed her.

Laurants struggled to free himself from S'Revlar. He vaguely saw Lisa fighting the other two, but there was no time to help her. The alien grabbed him by the collar and yanked him to his feet. Laurants wasted no time in whipping around and smacking the alien commander in the face. Surprised, S'Revlar relinquished his grip on Laurants and took a step back. Before he could recover, Laurants's shoulders slammed into his middle. S'Revlar hit against the wall and swung down with his fists, striking Laurants in the back. Laurants groaned and fell to his knees. S'Revlar kicked him in the ribs and he shouted in pain. He fell to the floor and lay, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. S'Revlar was ready to finish him off, reaching for his gun. Seeing his dead troops and Lisa he snarled in anger and turned his weapon towards her. Laurants hefted himself to his feet and charged wildly.

"No!" He screamed and tackled the alien. They both hit the floor, but this time Laurants was quicker. He got to his feet and socked S'Revlar in the face, energized to save the woman he loved. Then he looked for the fallen weapon, but it was nowhere to be seen. S'Revlar was already recovering and Laurants knew that he didn't have much time. As the alien stood up groggily, Laurants rammed him in the midsection. They both fell backwards and punched through one of the fortified windows. For a moment Laurants was suspended in midair with the alien, but then they began falling. Laurants reached for the window and his right hand just caught the ledge. The white form of S'Revlar fell towards the ground and Laurants hung on for dear life.

S'Revlar saw the human catch the ledge and resigned himself to the fact that he was going to die. Of course, had he been wearing his scouting gear he could have cut in his jetpack and saved himself. But he had to wear this stupid white armor. He fell quickly, not flailing about, but instead he was as stiff as a board. Before he impacted upon the ground he had just enough time to think of his family and how he would never see them again. Then he slammed into the street and his world went forever black.

The crate was huge and Terraz studied it for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to open it. Then she saw a touchpad on one side and she pushed a green button. The touchpad lit up and she pushed a button that told the crate to open. It demanded an access code, which she didn't have. She swore and punched a few more buttons, trying to override the code.

"For Christ's sake, this is an emergency!" She shouted at it and then she heard Sam firing at the aliens below. She gave up on the pad and looked for a way to pry the crate open. She saw a crack that had formed from the impact. She used her gun to hammer at the crate, widening the crack. The crate was laserproof and there was no way to blow it open. The crack finally split into a hole just wide enough for her to fit herself through. She scrambled inside the huge crate and instantly dim red lights flicked on.

The crate was really more of a mobile base for the ExoArmors. She looked around the volumous crate and saw bulky spacesuits hanging on racks. There were helmets and large laser rifles hanging by each one and she knew that these were the ExoArmor suits. She felt one of the spacesuits that was made of a cold, hard material that felt almost like plastic. She climbed a small ladder up to the top of one of the space suits and saw no way in. Then she saw near the rear a little opening that was just big enough for a person to crawl through. She slid through the opening, feet first, and then stood. The suit fit around her loosely and she wondered how maneuverable they were. Then she raised a bulky, gauntleted hand and grabbed the helmet. She used both hands and managed to put it on. Instantly displays inside the helmet lit up and she heard a hissing sound. The suit contracted until it fit tightly around her.

She reached up for the laser rifle and found that now the suit reacted a lot easier and that her movements were much more precise. She held the rifle and heard the sound of fighting close by. She remembered Sam and stepped forward. She reached the bottom of the crate and then raised the rifle. A green crosshair showed on her helmet display and she pulled the trigger. A thick red laser fired and she took a step back, a little surprised at the firepower.

Sam was behind a rock, firing desperately. The aliens were closing in and he was sure that he was going to die. Then he heard a loud boom and the crate burst open in a hail of debris and smoke. The aliens stopped their attack, and a few seconds later a turquoise thing that resembled an armored spacesuit appeared, carrying a large, smoking rifle. Sam cheered and Terraz stepped forward. She fired and the aliens ran. There was an explosion of rock and dirt and screams of the aliens. Sam saw that the aliens were all dead and shouted with joy.

"Climb into one of the suits and let's go," Terraz shouted over the ExoArmor's speakers. Sam nodded an ran inside the crate. Terraz knew now that they had a chance to beat the aliens; they had found the weapons!

Manny herded the former prisoners and the alien scientist down the corridor. They were still moving slowly, but S'Tallen's presence had allowed them to go unnoticed. They finally stopped in front of a small room and S'Tallen opened the door. He rushed inside and she followed him.

The prisoners seemed to be gaining strength with every new step. Some were even able to run now, their fear and weakness draining as they realized that they were free. The effects of the alien's torture were leaving them, and soon she would be able to count on them to help her steal a ship. She watched S'Tallen open a crate and take out a bag filled with something. Then she saw him stuff a little clear bag full of bright, multi-colored ooze which she knew was bio-energy, into a pack. The same kind of bio-energy that had brought her back from the dead. She felt a chill run down her spine as she thought of her near-death. It still seemed unreal to her, yet she knew that it had happened. For a moment she closed her eyes and again saw her bloody and broken body lying there on the container. Then she opened her eyes and the scientist looked at her strangely. She motioned for him to move forward and he turned around. They emerged from the room and then heard a huge explosion. Manny raised her S'Zai and they began to move as fast as they could, expecting the aliens to catch them at any moment. Manny knew that it was time to give up subtlety and just take a ship. "Which way to the hangar?" She demanded. S'Tallen pointed and they hurried towards their one chance at escaping.

Davis fired the huge weapon and the door exploded. Aliens screamed and then he and Arsa charged forward through the smoke, firing their weapons wildly. They burst past the alien forces and ran for the hangar. Suddenly Arsa stopped and looked at something to their left. Davis wondered what she saw and he looked in that direction.

Before he could stop her she charged at whatever she had seen, and Davis followed her. The aliens were regrouping and he could hear them behind him. There was little time left now; they had to get a ship and get out of here. Arsa pounced on an alien and then he saw something bright red flash. A thing in a white suit held what looked like a flaming red sword. He rushed forward to stop it from slicing Arsa in two. He gripped its hand and it fought with him furiously. It was then that he saw the human prisoners against the wall. He stopped fighting and flipped up the visor on his helmet.

"Davis! What the hell are you doing here! You look like one of them!" The thing that he had been fighting with took its own helmet off and he took a step back. He vaguely recognized the pale face looking at him, but he was still shocked.

"Manny? What the hell happened to you, you look like shit," he said half-jokingly.

"It's a long story, so let's get out of here." He nodded and saw that Arsa was still grappling with an alien.

"Arsa, stop it! He's a friend! We've found the others, let's get out of here!" Arsa stopped and she looked at Manny and the others. She stood and flipped up her helmet visors, sniffling and moaning. "He's...he's the one. He hurt me," she sobbed and leaned against Davis. He patted her on the shoulder understandingly.

"I know, we'll make him pay, when we get to Earth. Let's go," he spoke softly and she nodded. Manny helped S'Tallen up, but Arsa still stayed away from him.

"Is that Commander Veranda? What the hell happened to her?" Manny whispered.

"It's an equally long story," Davis replied and then shots hit over their heads. The aliens had found them and closed in for the kill. Manny put her S'Zai to S'Tallen's neck and the aliens stopped firing.

"Stop or he dies!" She screamed and the aliens lowered their weapons. They knew that S'Tallen was someone important, S'Olonny would kill them if they killed the scientist. They watched the humans go past them and into the hangar.

S'Tallen directed them to his personal shuttle and they moved towards it. Mechanics stepped back and let them past. The procession of humans moved quickly and Manny stood at the ramp of the ship with S'Tallen until all of the humans were aboard. Susan Sanders, the Explorer's former helmsman, and Ensign Jerry Klein, the ship's navigator, took the helm of the shuttle and the engines revved up. Then Manny pushed S'Tallen up the ramp and it closed behind her with a clang. "Can you fly this thing?" Manny asked Sanders and Klein.

"We can fly anything," Sanders answered confidently with a smile. The hangar doors opened and the pilots took off, gunning the engines. The shuttle shook and Manny threw the alien into a seat and strapped in beside him. The shuttle shot out into open space and a cheer went up from the ex-prisoners.

A relief watch technician on the alien ship watched his console with disinterest. He was monitoring the probes that had been sent out all over the galaxy, trying to find the human's homeworld. Nothing had happened for all six hours of his watch so far, and he was looking forward to the end of it in another two hours. He leaned back in his chair and saw that the other bridge officers were monitoring the battle that was being fought on the planet below. He had heard that it was a success so far.

Something beeped and he turned to his console. The deepest probe had found something and he told the computer to give him clarification. Suddenly a small world appeared on his monitor. From the readings it was mostly ice and had one tiny moon. The probe was picking up lifeforms in the proximity of the planet's orbit and he commanded it to match the lifeform scans with all races stored in the computer's databanks. This took a few minutes as the computer took the data and tore it apart, comparing it to everything in the library.

The results were shocking. The lifeform scans from the probe identically matched the basic structure of humans. There weren't any on the planet, so it couldn't be their homeworld. But still, they were close. He ordered the probe to do a long-range scan of the star system. This would take hours and he copied the original report to a pad and then left the probe to scan by itself.

The technician gave the report to S'Olonny. He read it and smiled. They had at last found the humans, or at least a colony of theirs. In time they would find the rest of their race, but for now they would have to go after this new clue.

"I want all forces on the surface to be immediately recalled. We're leaving as soon as they are aboard," S'Olonny commanded.

"Yes, sir!" The technician scampered away to relay the orders. Just then an officer approached the captain.

"The humans have taken S'Tallen's shuttle. Should we let it pass?"

"Of course not. Destroy it at once."

"Sir, the scientist has been taken hostage aboard the shuttle."

"Yes, I know. You have your orders." The officer ran towards the hangar and S'Olonny knew that this was the best day of his life.
Chapter Thirteen

Laurants wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. He could feel his strength waning and knew that when it did, his fingers would lose their grip and he would fall. The white, still form of S'Revlar lay far below and Laurants had no wish to join him. He shouted for help, hoping that maybe a Glan would hear him and pull him up.

Lisa groaned and stood up slowly. The whole left side of her face was swelled and painful to touch. Dried blood was splattered on her uniform and skin, some of it not her own. She stood in a daze for a few moments, unsure of what to do. The two alien bodies lay nearby, but there was no sign of Laurants or the other alien warrior. Then she heard a shout coming from an open window. She thought that was odd; all of the windows were supposed to be closed. Then the thought sunk in and she dashed to the window and saw Laurants hanging on.

"Lisa! Help me!" He called up to her. She nodded and extended an arm out to him. His hand enveloped hers and she pulled with all of her strength. Slowly he was hauled up until his knees lay on the ledge. He crawled inside and then panted, exhausted. He saw Lisa's bruised and puffy face and he laughed. "Looks like they did a number on you. That's what you get for taking on two of 'em at once. Look at me, I took on just one of them and I'm fine." She shared his laughter and then she turned serious.

"What happened to the other one?" She asked.

"He fell out the window and couldn't fly. Poor guy, I'm really going to miss him." Laurants wiped his brow and Lisa helped him stand. "What about the Glan?"

"I'm not sure. We should get down there and help them."

"Yeah, let's go." They went to the lift and took it down a level. The doors parted and they were surprised by the silence. There were many bodies lying there, some Glan and some alien. A few Glan milled about, but there were no aliens. Gethol came up to them.

He spoke in his language and Lisa translated. "He said that the aliens left suddenly. He didn't pursue them. I don't think that the city's in any more danger." She turned and spoke to Gethol. Then he and the thirty or so remaining Glan went into the lift and Lisa and Laurants followed them. It sank to the ground floor and Lisa led them from the building. When they were outside the Glan hurried off towards the river. Gethol gave a final wave to them and then he disappeared through the tunnel that the enemy had used.

"They're leaving?"

"Yes, their work is done. They are going back to their lairs and try to go on with their lives. It's not going to be easy, most of their people are dead. As for us, it's time that we left too."

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to find those weapons."

"I suppose you have an idea where they are now, right?"

"No, but we'll find them. Or maybe they'll find us. Who knows." She started off to the main entrance of the city and Laurants took one last look at it. He remembered everything about it and knew that it had been a city worthy of defending, or even dying for. Lothgamm, many Glan, and a lot of aliens had already died for it. He and Lisa had been in the middle of everything. It didn't seem fair that they had to leave now, but they still had a mission to carry out. He turned away from Glan Point and followed after his captain, ready to finish the mission.

Garren sat up and looked around. He still felt weak, but he was feeling a little better now. He heard and saw the ocean and the cold gray water pounded the beach. A fire smoldered next to him, but there was no one around. He wondered where Terraz and Sam had gone, and then he heard the sounds of engines. He knew that it was the aliens coming to get him. A minute later two shapes appeared and landed on the beach.

One was turquoise and the other black. They both resembled armored spacesuits and carried large rifles in their fists. He knew that he was a goner now. Then the things came closer and he saw a human face peering out of the helmet of the turquoise machine. It was Terraz and she smiled at him.

"You're looking better, soldier," she said and laughed. He smiled and she helped him up. He recognized Sam in the other spacesuit.

"Hey, why don't I get one of these things?" He joked.

"Actually, you do. Let's go!" Terraz called and, with Garren in hand, she activated engines mounted on the lumpy back of the ExoArmor and leapt into the air. Garren shouted in surprise and then they were flying over the water. They soon came to the island and Garren could see the blackened remains of an alien ship. They landed near a large crate and then Terraz carefully set him down. He went into the crate and saw the ExoArmors hanging. Terraz helped him figure out how to get inside of one and he crawled inside and yelped as he put the helmet on and the suit closed in around him. Then he stepped outside, enclosed in a dark blue ExoArmor.

"These things are great!" Garren said, and already he felt better. Terraz told him how to activate the engines and he realized that most commands were voice-activated. They took off and even from this distance he could see a swarm of alien ships taking off. "Let's get 'em!" Garren shouted and commanded the engines to go faster. He dashed towards the grouping of alien vessels. He lowered his rifle and the other two were behind him. He dove upon the first escort ship, the one that belonged to S'Figthl, and fired.

The veteran pilot expertly pulled the ship around in a bank and the first shot missed. S'Figthl was angry, having heard of his friend's death, and was more than willing to take a little of this anger out on someone. The modified ship was a little heavier and more lightly armed, but it was still able to fight. He fired at the blue ExoArmor and it was Garren's turn to dodge. He fired again and this time he hit the escort ship in the middle. The shot did little except scorch the armor plating. Garren lowered the rifle and stored it in a leg holster. Then he grit his teeth and dove straight at the front of the ship.

S'Figthl had no time to react as the armored shape crashed through the front viewscreen. He leapt from his chair and Garren rolled to his feet and drew his rifle. He fired, but S'Figthl avoided it and instead the shot hit the ship's controls. It lurched and Garren knew that it was going to crash. The alien pilot grabbed Garren and the ship fell rapidly. Garren cut in his engines and S'Figthl let go, fire scorching his scaly flesh. Then the blue ExoArmor burst through the viewscreen and into the sky as the escort ship went up in a fireball that destroyed two other ships still on the ground.

Terraz blasted one shuttle through its underbelly and it lost altitude. She had taken down three of the transports already and looked for another one. Sam was destroying an escort ship and she knew that he had already taken out more than his share of them. But then again, he was an alien and he probably knew some kind of weakness. Then she was knocked forward by the exhaust from a transport that was breaking loose. She was about to chase after it when it cut in its main engines, which were meant for interstellar travel. The shockwave threw her to the ground and she blacked out. The rest of the alien ships followed suit and soon all three ExoArmors lay motionless on the ground, their pilots unconscious.

S'Tallen's shuttle was being bombarded on all sides. Escort ships and even a few transports, all that were left in the hangars, chased after them and fired mercilessly. There were no weapons on the shuttle, and everyone knew that their chances for survival were small. Manny sat uneasily in her seat as Sanders and Klein maneuvered through space, still trying to get free.

She finally undid her straps and went up to the cockpit. Sanders and Klein were both sweating and she knew that they were doing all that they could to keep the ship in one piece. There was no way that they could get free to break the speed of light and race back to Earth. They needed to get down on the ground.

"Try and get us down to the surface," she said and Sanders nodded. She gripped the backs of their seats as the pilot put the shuttle into a hair-raising dive. The co-pilot put the throttles to full and they broke through the atmosphere. Manny struggled backwards to her seat and finally fell forward and hit the deck. She crawled up to her seat and strapped in. Explosions hit all around them and she knew that they weren't in the clear yet.

Sanders was almost sure that she would be able to land, until Klein pointed out a flock of alien ships heading for them. They both gulped and knew that they were done for. The alien ships were moving fast and in a last ditch attempt to make it to the ground, Sanders pulled the throttle past full and was able to get a little more speed from it. To her surprise, the alien ships passed over them without even a shot. But their pursuers kept to their tail and a shot hit the rear of the shuttle, blowing up one of the engines. The shuttle slowed, still over five thousand feet from the ground.

Sam was the first to wake up. He stood up and nudged the others. Garren groaned and slowly got to his feet. They had only been out for a few minutes, giving them a chance to catch up to the aliens. They leapt into the air and gave chase to the enemy. They were going as fast as they could, but Terraz still wasn't sure if the ExoArmors could catch up.

The three ExoArmors passed over the desert as Lisa and Laurants emerged from the tunnel. It had been a treacherous climb, but Lisa had known the way. Seeing the weapons she shouted for joy and waved at them. They didn't seem to see the two small figures below and passed overhead. The two humans cried in happiness and hugged each other, knowing that there was still a chance. When they pulled away from each other Lisa looked to the sky while Laurants stared at the sand, deep in his own thoughts and feelings for his captain.

The first shuttles and escort ships began to dock and the probe completed its scan ahead of time. The technician gave the report to S'Olonny. There was interference that prevented the sensors from scanning the entire system, but there were at least four planets and signs of human life. Now it was time to wait for everyone to get back. An officer from one of the first shuttles to dock came up to the bridge.

"Sir, I bear bad news. Assault Commander S'Revlar is dead," the officer said. S'Olonny held back a sly grin, just barely.

"That's very disturbing news. How did he die?"

"He was thrown from a building in the human city."

"Oh, what an ending for so great a leader!" S'Olonny replied in a mock-sad tone. The officer left and S'Olonny felt happiness wash through him. All of his enemies would die on the same day, it really was the best day of his life.

Terraz saw the shuttle smoking as it plunged towards the ground. Alien ships were firing on it, which meant that it was a friendly ship. It could be the prisoners. She thought of Davis and headed for it. She needed some kind of long-range weapon if she was going to save the shuttle. It was being pounded on all sides and she knew it wasn't going to last long. There were no weapons other than her rifle, and that wasn't nearly accurate or long-ranged enough to use.

"I need some missiles or something," she said to herself and then she saw the crosshair on her display change to a box.

"Long-range missiles activated," a computerized voice said and she wondered where the missiles were. Then she saw the arms of her ExoArmor were changing. The shoulders and upper arms were reconfiguring, the armor swinging around and revealing hidden parts. Finally the arms became boxes with gray missiles sticking out. She swung her arms around until the box centered on the aliens. "Fire!" She shouted and the missiles streaked off.

The shuttle had lost nearly all of its engine power. The aliens buzzed around the stricken shuttle, firing at will. The transport was becoming unresponsive and Sanders was about to hit the intercom and tell everyone the bad news. Just then she saw plumes of smoke in the distance. Seconds later one of the escort ships exploded. The pilots looked around for their savior, but saw nothing. Then three more of the alien ships blew up. The shuttle bucked a little, but Sanders and Klein were able to get control. The rest of the aliens were looking for their attacker, but saw nothing. They broke off the attack and headed for the alien ship.

The shuttle hit the desert sands with a thud and slid until its inertia ran out. Klein and Sanders unstrapped and hugged each other joyfully. Everyone cheered and Manny lowered the shuttle's ramp. As they emerged, the ExoArmors landed, their arms turning back to normal. Terraz was about to speak when there was suddenly a loud boom that shook the entire planet. Then there was silence once again.
Epilogue

The humans gathered around the shuttle. Sam and Garren had searched for Laurants and Lisa and had found them struggling towards where the shuttle had crashed. No one had spoken since the crash, because no one knew what was going to happen now. The ExoArmors landed and Lisa brushed herself off after the ride. Laurants sat down on the ramp.

"We're going to destroy them," Lisa announced and Manny and the others nearly laughed.

"How?" Davis asked.

"While we were underground, we learned of a ship, a starship. It's ready and waiting for us now, all we have to do is go and find it and board it. I know the location already, so the sooner we start, the better."

"I'm afraid you'll have to find them first," S'Tallen said. Everyone, save Arsa, looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" Manny demanded, hand going to her S'Zai.

"I'm talking about that they left orbit. That boom you heard was the sound of the main engines pulling the ship out of orbit. They're gone."

"We'd better hurry to that ship, Captain," Manny smiled at her. They were no longer rivals or enemies, they were allies in a common fight. "I'll be glad to serve under you."

Lisa smiled and she looked her new crew over. They were definitely an odd assortment, but maybe Lothgamm's people had already known that. There weren't just humans, there were aliens, and Arsa. There were many different kind of personalities, but she saw by looking at their faces that they were all willing to accept her as their captain. Any grudges they had held against her for losing the Explorer were gone.

Tears came to her eyes as she replied, "Thank-you." Everyone looked back to S'Tallen and Terraz voiced the obvious question.

"Where are they going?" No one was ready for the answer. Even as S'Tallen answered their faces paled and they knew that their mission was more important than ever.

"To Earth," he answered simply.

