 
Galaxy Spies

A Story By

Philip R Benge

Smashwords Edition

***************

Published by

Philip R Benge on Smashwords

Galaxy Spies

Copyright Philip R Benge 2012

Cover Art Copyright Philip R Benge 2012

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Galaxy Spies

Contents

Chapter One: New Terra

Chapter Two: Trouble

Chapter Three: Rescue

Chapter Four: The Church of the Universe

Chapter Five: The Planet of Lyre

Chapter Six: Journey in to the Wilderness

Chapter Seven: Charles Bragg Talks Freedom

Chapter Eight: The Carpathian Mountains

Chapter Nine: Jail Break

Chapter Ten: Betrayal

Chapter Eleven: Octavius

Chapter Twelve: Keeping a Low Profile Again

Chapter Thirteen: Returning Home

About the Author

Other Books by the Author

Chapter One

New Terra

The Interstellar travel office was much plusher than the offices of their cheaper rivals, ones that Jean Summers had visited throughout the morning in an effort to find one that would take her to New Terra. As she walked through their large glass doors and entered into the spacious reception area, a young man of around twenty-five years of age looked up at her. He stood behind the expensive looking mahogany style desk that was set along the rear wall of the office, he looked pleasant enough. Jean hoped that they also had a budget price list, but whatever the cost Jean had now run out of options.

"Can I be of assistance Ms?" He enquired, his brown eyes smiling as he took in Jeans slim figure, and youthful good looks.

"I hope so, for no other travel agency seems to want to be of help to me." Jean said with just enough tiredness in her voice to indicate that she had been doing the rounds of the various travel and transport firms since ten that morning, and it was now one in the afternoon and she had only allowed herself a short break for a coffee earlier on.

"I need to get to the planet New Terra in the Hercules star system, what can you offer in the way of transport?"

"Nothing at all I am sorry to say, unfortunately that planet`s political set up ensures that no firm of repute will go anywhere near the place, only a few disreputable freighters call there, no honest firm will go near the planet."

"I need to get there to find my brother, he is missing, he has been for the last eight days at least, don`t you know of anyone who could help me get to the planet?" Jean asked, now pleading for his help.

"No, I am sorry, you see the only sort of firm that does go there is the sort that I wouldn`t recommend to anyone."

It was a tired and dejected Jean Summers that turned to leave the office when the assistant suddenly called her back.

"Hold on a minute Ms, I have just thought of someone who may be able to help you, a Mr Ray Connors is the captain of a small freighter, he normally doesn`t handle passengers, but if you were to flutter your eyes a little, he just may agree to help you."

"Flutter my eyes a little!" Jean stormed, getting back just a little of her diminishing energy.

"Oh don`t get me wrong, I wasn`t trying to be rude, it`s just that Ray Connors has never agreed to take any passengers before, you might need to go that little bit further to get him to agree to help you."

"I am sorry that I raised my voice, if you could just tell me how to contact Mr Connors, I would be very grateful." Jean Summers replied apologetically.

Just a little ray of hope began to grow inside of her tired mind, maybe now she would now succeed in finding someone to take her to New Terra, so that she could begin to search for her brother. The assistant soon wrote down the details of where she would be able to find the freighter captain. The address read; Bay 27, at the Universal Space Port. The assistant just hoped he was really helping the young woman, for New Terra was hardly the place for such a young woman to visit all on her own.

Jean thanked the assistant for his help and walked out of the travel office and into an adventure that was to last for the rest of her life. Jean soon found a taxi and asked the driver to take her to the spaceport, and after just twenty minutes, she was standing in front of the large colonial spaceport of the planet New Caledonia. The doors of the building that housed the offices of the spaceport were straight ahead, so she walked through them and once inside the building she looked around for some sign to direct her to Bay 27.

"Can you help me; I need to get to bay 27." Jean said to the woman at the reception desk in the main foyer of the spaceport.

"I am afraid that members of the public are not allowed to wander around unaccompanied, its for safety reasons, I will ring and see if they can send someone down to meet you Ms...?"

"Summers, Jean Summers, and thank you, if you would call them, I would be ever so grateful."

"Reception here, I have a Ms Jean Summers here, she would like to speak to Mr Connors, can you get someone to come down here to meet her?"

"They want to know what you want Ms Summers." The woman said kindly to Jean, a smile coming to her face.

"Please tell them that I have something that has to go to New Terra urgently, I will pay up front if they can do it."

Jean sounded so very desperate that the receptionist was beginning to feel sorry for her, even though she had only just met Jean and knew nothing at all about her, or her problems. The woman conveyed this information to the person to whom she was speaking to, and after a moment she put down the phone.

"They are sending someone down now Ms Summers, seems that the words pay up front did the trick." The woman smiled at Jean and then feeling that she should explain a little more continued speaking to her.

"That was Ray on the phone just then, he is a nice guy but he runs a small time but honest operation and you cannot get rich that way, but you will be able to trust him."

"I hope so; you see my brother has gone missing on New Terra and no one on the planet seems to care, I have to go there and find him, he is the only living relative that I have and for some reason no one on New Caledonia will travel to that planet." Jean was almost in tears now.

"Well if anyone will help you find him, Ray will." The receptionist said looking sympathetically at Jean but just then another customer took the receptionist`s attention away for a moment, and so Jean waited on a bench nearby until someone came for her.

Ray Connors was almost thirty years of age, he had a rugged face that could not be called handsome, and his slim build was hardly muscular. He was almost six foot tall with grey eyes and dark brown hair, and at the moment, he stood at the reception desk talking to the receptionist.

"Where is my customer Rita, her money will hopefully go towards paying for the new parts that I have just installed into the Jeanette?"

The Jeanette was his freighter, named by his father after his mother, unfortunately they were both dead now from an epidemic on New Caledonia some ten years before.

"That is her over there Ray, the young teenage girl sitting on the bench next to the sign telling new arrivals about the wonders to be found on our planet." Rita said, the latter being said tongue in cheek.

Ray looked across at Jean, who on seeing him look her way enquiringly, stood up. Ray immediately liked what he saw, although she was obviously very young, Ray guessed maybe sixteen years of age, if she was older then she would have been Ray`s perfect woman. She had auburn coloured hair, hazel eyes and a slim figure, she stood five feet five inches tall in her bare feet Ray guessed.

"Mr Connors, I need something taking to New Terra urgently, can you do it?" Jean Summers said almost pleadingly.

"Of course, how much do you have to transport there, Ms Summers?"

"All I have to transport is my luggage and myself, I am your cargo Mr Connors."

Jean looked up into Ray`s rugged face and she knew that he was about to refuse to help her, she almost burst into tears but managed to just hold them back. She remembered the advice that the travel agent had given, but she thought that fluttering her eyes lashes at the freighter captain would make her look cheap or very young, or both so she discarded this piece of advice.

"I am desperate to get there so that I can find my brother, he has disappeared and no one anywhere seems to care." She said in a rush. "Please you must help me." Jean pleaded with Ray Connors.

"Look Ms Summers I don`t carry passengers, my starship is not a passenger ship, it is an old tramp freighter out of Mars and she hasn`t got the comforts that a young woman like you needs."

"I am not after comfort Mr Connors, I am only after help in getting to New Terra so that I can find my brother, now tell me when we can leave and how much is the fare." Jean demanded loudly through the tears that were now slipping down her face. Jean tried to get a hold of her emotions, put a determined look on her face that would tell the starship captain, and anyone else who might be looking at her, that she was not going to take no for an answer, in reality, she just looked really desperate.

"Ray you know that in the end you will give in, so why don`t you put the young lady out of her misery now?" The woman at reception said to Ray Connors.

"You know what my ship is like, it is all greasy and dusty, and things like that Rita." Ray Connors protested.

"So, a little dirt is not going to worry her none, she is worried about her brother, are you going to take her or leave her to end up trying someone like Chin`s freighter service as a matter of last resort?"

Ray Connors would certainly not leave this young woman to the mercies of Chin`s freighter service, he would not wish that on any woman no matter what their age was, or how good they were to look at.

"All right Rita I will take her, but if anything happens to her on New Terra don`t you go and blame me."

"Don`t worry Mr Connors, I can take care of myself, I will be fine as soon as I get to New Terra." Jean assured him while wiping away her tears and hoping that the small amount of makeup that she used wasn`t too badly smudged.

Jean Summers was nineteen years old but looked at least two maybe even three years younger. She had never been away from home in her life, but following the death of her parents in a diving accident, her only surviving relative was her older brother, he worked for the government. She didn`t know what he did, only that when someone named Tom Parkinson called it meant that he had to leave home and go off to some distant planet for a while.

She had tried to locate Mr Tom Parkinson, but no one in the government offices she had contacted knew who he was, and after two days, she had given up. Tom Parkinson was in fact the head of the newly created Interstellar Investigations Bureau, and very few people had ever heard of him, or of it. At the moment his time was taken up with the preparations for the coming war against the Lyre Federation, and the attempt by Lyre to locate and mine the new fuel of the twenty fifth century, Dylithium Crystals. The name had been given to the crystals by the scientist who had discovered them, she liked old sci-fi stories and in one story it was the miracle fuel of choice. The Lyre Federation needed the crystals to fuel their starships in their bid to build an empire, something that Earth was dead set against, because so far Lyre`s idea of empire meant enslaving local star systems. His agent, Peter Summers, who was currently working on New Terra, had sent him a message stating that he was following up a lead, but so far, he hadn`t come back to him. He had heard that Peter Summers` sister was becoming worried about his supposed disappearance, but Parkinson didn`t want to cause any ripples on New Terra in case it compromised his agent there.

"How old are you Ms Summers?" Ray Connors asked, still unsure as to whether he should abide by the wishes of the two women.

Jean wanted to tell him to mind his own business, but she knew that she looked younger than she really was, for it had caused her problems before, so she answered Ray`s question.

"I am nineteen years old; look here is my Identity Card." Jean said taking her card out and showing Ray her card. "I am certainly old enough to travel by myself, when I want to and to wherever I want to go" Jean stormed in protest at his question.

Ray Connors looked into Jean`s eyes and could see the desperation in them, and he could also see the latent fear that lay hidden deep within them. What he saw made him almost refuse to take her, but fate had already ordained both of their futures and they were interlinked for more than just the few minutes that they had been together in the spaceport. Ray Connors was just about to say sorry, but I cannot take you, but something about Jean made his words come out a little different.

"All right, as I said, I will take you, I just hope we do not live to regret this decision Ms Summers, we leave in two and a half hours, come back here with your luggage before then and get someone to call me on the internal system."

Maybe she was nineteen, maybe she wasn`t but Chin wouldn`t give a damn about it Ray Connors thought, which is maybe why in the end he decided to take her to New Terra.

Jean was delighted, and her face lit up to prove it was so, but deep down inside of her, even she had discovered her hidden fears about this decision to go and find her brother on a strange planet, and with no one to aid her in her quest and not much money to fall back on. Instead, she smiled across to Rita.

"Thank you, I really do appreciate your helping me."

Rita smiled back at Jean. "I hope that you find your missing brother, honey."

Jean then turned to Ray Connors. "I will return in one hour with my luggage Mr Connors, I will see you then." With that, she hurried off back to her cosy home in the suburbs of the capital city of New Caledonia to pack a small bag, for she intended to travel light in case she had to move about some in her search for her brother.

It was ninety minutes later when Jean returned to the spaceport and asked a different receptionist to call Ray Connors; Rita was on her coffee break. "Will you please tell him that Ms Summers is here in reception?"

Minutes later and Jean Summers was getting into Ray`s vehicle that resembled an old-fashioned pickup van but much newer, for it was a hovercraft, and like many of his things it had seen better days, and then they were driving to bay 27 and the Jeanette. The freighter to Jeans eyes seemed huge when in fact it was quite small, it had been old when his father had purchased it and now was only kept flying due to Ray`s engineering prowess and that of his engineer and friend Harry Proctor. Harry was an ancient space faring man who had taught Ray all he knew about operating and repairing an old space tramp like the Jeanette.

"We didn`t speak about how much your fare to New Terra is going to cost you. You are lucky because we already have one cargo for the planet and were due to take off for her anyway; your fare will increase the profitability of the flight and help to pay for the replacement parts that I have just installed in the ship." From behind them, Jean heard someone call out in protest at Ray's words.

"You installed! Why it seems like most of the work was done by me as usual, while you go swanning off to talk to pretty young women. Hello Ms, how are you?" Harry only caught the latter part of Rays conversation with Jean, so he didn`t yet know that they had a passenger on this trip.

"Good afternoon." Jean replied to Harry's greeting. "I am fine thank you."

"Ms Summers here is coming on this trip as a passenger Harry; she is in a hurry to get to New Terra and we are taking her." Ray said, expecting and getting an outburst from Harry.

"You can`t take a young lady like Ms Summers to New Terra, Ray, are you mad, didn`t your parents and me teach you nothing at all?" Harry protested loudly.

"Ms Summers is going to New Terra to look for her brother who is missing and she insists on going to the planet whether we like it or not. She either travelled with us or Chin, so what could I do Harry?" Ray replied, his attitude saying that the discussion was over.

Harry agreed, for to let a young woman travel with Chin was definitely not an option, Harry had been in space for most of his sixty-eight years and he had learnt who to trust and who to avoid, and Chin was of the latter variety. Harry had once been young but not for a while now, for he now looked as old as some of the cratered moons that they occasionally visited. His hair, or what was left of it, was white, his eyes were blue and his skin so pale that occasionally he had a session under a health lamp to get a bit of colour. He was only five feet eight inches tall, and as his body was a little bent, this made him appear to be a little shorter than he actually was. His clothes sense was absolute zero, not that it mattered as he spent much of his time tinkering with the hyperspace engine on the Jeanette.

"How much is the fare, Mr Connors?" Jean asked.

"As you are cargo and not a passenger Ms Summers, we will charge you the going rate of thirty Earth credits, can you afford that?"

"Thirty Earth credits, yes that will be fine thank you."

It was more than fine and Jean was sure that a starship passenger liner would have charged here a great deal more. Ray wasn`t going to be able to pay for his spare parts now, but he felt sorry for the young woman and for some reason even responsible for her, at least for the time that she was on his ship.

"Right then, let`s get aboard shall we and be on our way."

The large door of the freighter closed up behind them, but it was at least twenty minutes before her engines began to fire and two more before she was lifting off from New Caledonia and moving upwards towards the skies above the planet and finally into space.

"We are calling at the planet Ares first, and then this system`s asteroid belt to drop off some mail and parcels for the colonists and miners at each of the two places, only then will we enter hyperspace to travel on to New Terra. I will call you when we approach the two drop off points as they can be quite a view, if we are lucky enough to catch them just right that is."

"Thank you, Mr Connors, I will look forward to that." Jean said smiling at the freighter captain.

"Call me Ray, I feel old enough already, what with having to work with Harry, without you adding even more years to me." Ray replied.

"Okay Ray and you must call me Jean in return, as Ms Summers makes me sound old as well, a bit like an aging school mistress." Jean said shyly.

"And you can call me Harry, Jean, which is a lot more polite than some of the names that I am called round here." Harry threw a scowl Ray`s way before continuing. "Here let me take you to your cabin, it is a bit crowded as we also store some of our things in it, but after our two mail drops it will be almost empty. You will be able to stretch out then on the cot, and when you feel rested, why don`t you come down to engineering and I will show you where all the work is done?" Harry offered smiling. Jean thought that he reminded her of her old granddad, but he too was dead now, which was why her brother was so important to her.

"Thanks, Harry, I might just do that."

The Jeanette was soon done with the New Caledonian system, but as Ray had said, Jean had enjoyed seeing the planet Ares and even more so the asteroid belt. She had seen pictures of them, but to actually view them both from up close and to actually walk on the planet`s surface was thrilling. She couldn`t walk on any of the asteroids as that would have meant that she would have had to get dressed up in one of the space suits and that would have taken too long, and any way they smelt of stale bodies and they would certainly have messed her clothes up.

They finally entered hyperspace for the two-day journey to New Terra; she was excited but also a little scared, once there she would be able to make a start on her search for her missing brother. During the two days Jean had been spoilt by the two space men, Ray giving her lessons flying the ship and Harry showing how to work down in the engineering section, she felt at one time that she hadn`t a care in the world, that is until New Terra finally came into sight.

**********

New Terra was a mining planet that had gradually evolved into a regular colony world with far more farms than mines, and now far more people associated with farming than mining. It had only one city, but it did have a dozen hamlets scattered around the planet, these catered for the farmers and miners in much the way that the small towns of the American west had done in the nineteenth century back on Earth. There was law and order, there were also many people who bent, bought or just plain ignored the laws of the land. In its spaceport, there were people of all these sorts and so the Jeanette was never left unattended whenever it had reason to land on this world.

"Let me unload our cargo first Jean and then I will take you to wherever you want to go, remember that you cannot trust too many people on New Terra, and you certainly should not travel around it unaccompanied and especially at night when anything could, and probably would happen to a young woman as pretty as you are. If you have ever read about the old-time white slave trade, then believe me when I say that this is probably where it still might happen." Ray said trying to stress the dangers of such a world for a woman such as Jean, rather than just to scare her.

"I will do as you advise Ray, but how long will you be?"

"It should only take an hour to unload the cargo and then to get a signature for it, after that I will be all yours."

"You will be my own little white slave?" Jean asked innocently, smiling across at Ray.

Ray wanted to answer Jean but somehow the words just wouldn`t come out of his mouth, he just coughed and spluttered a bit and then turned away red in the face and got stuck into his work of unloading the cargo. The two days that they had been together had been mind-blowing for Ray, because although he was ten years her senior, he had never felt this way about a woman before now. Sure, he had enjoyed many a relationship with a woman before, but never had one been strong enough to tempt him away from his path of independence. With Jean, he would certainly have entered her employment as her personal white slave. Harry who had just come down to the ships hold could only just hold back his laughter. Jean didn`t know quite know what it was that she had said to bring about this odd behaviour in Rays part, and the obvious amusement that she had caused on Harry`s part. As for Harry, he didn`t know whether to be jealous or not of Ray for getting to enjoy so much of Jeans company alone. Harry wasn`t sure if Ray looked on Jean as a woman or as the daughter that he had never had, but one thing was sure, Ray could do with a little romance in his life.

While Ray and Harry took care of unloading their cargo, Jean stood just outside of the ship and took in the view, which was pretty much the same as in any other spaceport. It was set on the edge of the city and was filled with hangers and various spacecraft, some like the Jeanette had seen better days, but with the sun glinting off their hulls, it made them look almost new. One large white spacecraft was certainly not old, she wondered just how much they would have charged to carry her, she knew that she probably couldn`t have afforded it. It was a hot cloudless day on New Terra, but at least it shouldn`t get any hotter as the space port was nowhere near the planet`s equator.

Jean had spoken to many a boy before today, she had met them both at school and at the church social events, but she had never met a man before who was quite as interesting as Ray. She whiled away the time while she waited for the two men to finish unloading their cargo spinning romantic thoughts of a life spent with a man such as Ray, it would be so thrilling travelling to so many new and exciting planets, with someone like Ray to protect her.

After completing the unloading, Ray and Jean took a taxi to the hotel where her brother was supposed to be staying, and on entering Jean spoke to the manager.

"My brother Mr Peter Summers is staying here in your hotel; can you tell me if he is in the hotel now?"

"I am afraid that Mr Summers hasn`t been in for a number of days now, and we have moved his baggage into our store room."

"Do you have any idea at all where he can be then?"

"No, Ms Summers, I do not know where he might be, although I assumed that he had travelled to another part of New Terra as he was not sleeping in his room."

"Can you tell us what local telephone calls he received while he was staying with you?" Ray said interrupting the conversation by trying to find out something positive to take away from the hotel, and not just the negative information that the clerk was giving out now.

"That is most definitely not allowed Sir."

"I see, in that case can I pay his bill and take his baggage with us?" Ray Connors asked hopefully.

"I don`t know Sir, it seems highly suspect to me."

Jean now interrupted the two men's conversation.

"Look I have my identity card here, and here is a photograph of Peter and me together, you can see that I am his sister, I have come to New Terra to look for him because I think that something may have happened to him, and to do that I need your help." Jean said a little more aggressively than she had been so far.

Startled, the clerk stuttered and finally said. "All right then yes, if you are to settle his account then I suppose we can give his baggage to you to keep safe until you find him again." The clerk tone was now more conciliatory.

"And will the account include all of the telephone calls that he made while he was staying here?" Ray Connors asked.

"Yes Sir, we always include an itemised list of all the things shown on the invoice." The clerk said happy to get the money for the unpaid bill, and to be of some help to the couple from New Caledonia.

Ray knew that Jean had very little money so he had been about to pay the hotel bill, but Jean insisted on paying her brother`s hotel bill, although she thought that it was kind of Ray to offer to do so, if she could not afford it. However, she wanted to pay for anything that was to do with her or was related to the business of finding her brother. Soon though, she realised, she would become short of funds and would then have to take employment on this planet to pay for any prolonged search, but only when her limited funds gave out. When they were standing outside of the hotel Jean turned to Ray.

"Thank you Ray, I don`t think that I would have thought to ask about the telephone bill, or to collect his luggage, this means that we may be able to trace some of Peter`s movements since he arrived on the planet."

"That is right Jean, we might find a lead in his baggage; however, we should take his baggage back to the Jeanette and look through it there in our search for a lead, afterwards we had better check the hospital, because we may find him there. After that we will visit the police station, but don`t volunteer any information to them, this isn`t New Caledonia, in fact unless it becomes necessary just leave the talking to me."

"Ok Ray, I will leave it to you." Jean said thankful to have someone like Ray to fall back on, for she had never even been in to a police station before.

She wondered just how well she would have fared if she had come to New Terra on a regular flight, thank goodness none of them wanted to know, she thought, thanking her good luck in this matter. When they got back to the Jeanette with Peter Summers` luggage they went through it all, but as was to be expected they didn`t find anything, except that is for a small book with telephone numbers in it.

"That one there is the number that I called to try and get hold of Tom Parkinson!" Jean exclaimed. "So why didn`t they put me through to him?"

"Maybe because you have to be on a list of people before you are allowed to speak to him immediately, he probably looks through the list of callers who didn`t make it through to him each day to see if he wants to speak to any of them?" Ray said.

"And he doesn`t want to speak to the likes of me, you mean?"

"From what you have said about your brother`s job, he could well be a federal agent, and in that case, Tom Parkinson could well be his boss. Maybe behind the scenes he is already looking for your brother, but he can`t reveal your brother`s real job of work to you in case you inadvertently mention it to the wrong people."

"Yes of course, I never thought of that. What telephone numbers are on the invoice from the hotel?" Jean asked. Ray opened the hotel bill and looked through it.

"Just two calls, one to Earth, probably to that Tom Parkinson, and one local number that he called eight days ago, I suggest that we try the second one when we get back into town, if they prove to be the bad guys, I don`t want them tracing our call back to us here." Ray replied.

"Good thinking, I would have made a pretty poor investigator had I tried to do this alone Ray." Jean said ruefully.

"Well a pretty one anyway." Ray said daring to offer up a small piece of flattery, but even now, he only said it with his back partially turned towards Jean, for he felt that Jean probably saw him more in the way of an aging Uncle than anything else. If he had been looking straight at her he would have seen the small smile that appeared on her face, and the light in her eyes, as he spoke those words to her, for she didn`t think of him as an aging Uncle at all.

"Come on Jean it is time to take a taxi ride to the hospital and see if they have him there."

Harry looked after them as they walked to the space port`s gates, they should have been getting ready to return to New Caledonia now, but Ray seemed more interested in helping his passenger. Well she is a nice girl, Harry thought as he began to ready the ship for a hurried departure, should the need arise, for he had a bad feeling about the fate of the missing Peter Summers.

As Ray and Jean drove through the city, Jean noticed that it was similar to the city on New Caledonia where she lived. They were wide roads that were mostly tarmacked; they had a proper drainage system installed, and running along on either side of the roads there were the usual variety of buildings with a mixture of small shops, offices, houses and small factory units. They were mostly built of wood, as this was the easiest material for the people of New Terra to lay their hands on. New Terra had a large number of trees, and like New Caledonia at least all the timber taken from the wild was being replaced with new saplings to ensure that the environment wasn`t damaged too much, Mankind had at least learnt to do that much to ensure the long term future of their colony. Jean was quite taken up with looking at the view, and the time went by so quickly that she was quite surprised when they arrived at the hospital; it was quite modern looking for a planet such as New Terra and looked to be reasonably clean.

"I`m all mixed up Ray, one part of me wants to find Peter here while the other part would rather not, for it would mean that he must be seriously ill for him to not contact me."

"I know what you mean Jean, but hopefully if he is here, he won`t be in too bad a way." At the reception desk, a young woman looked up as they walked towards her.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked politely.

"Yes, I am trying to trace my brother, he has been missing for up to eight days, his name is Peter Summers. This is a photo of him here; it was taken a couple of years ago and shows the two of us together." Jean said handing the photograph across to the receptionist who after looking at it shook her head.

"Can you check to see if he might have been brought here for some reason?" Jean asked for she now found that she was hoping for a positive reply. The receptionist checked the book in front of her.

"Peter Summers, no there is no one of that name listed over the last two weeks, and there are no patients listed as identity unknown." The receptionist looked at the photo again to make sure that she didn`t recognise him. "You could try round at the emergency department; he may have been brought in there; they might recognise his face. Follow the corridor to you right and it will take you straight there." The receptionist smiled at them as they thanked her and she watched as they walked away along the corridor towards the emergency department, before getting back to her work.

The receptionist at the emergency department was not too busy and had time to check her files also before referring them to the head nurse who also said no, she hadn`t seen anyone who looked remotely like her brother, so it looked as if the police station was there next place of call. Here Ray did the talking, but apart from the constable filling in a missing person form they didn`t get any further here.

"It is time now Jean to try that telephone number and see if it leads us anywhere, if we get no joy there then we could try Tom Parkinson`s number again?"

"Let`s have a coffee and something to eat first Ray, then if we get anywhere with the telephone number, we can get straight down to it without worrying about our stomachs." Jean said with a feeling of hopelessness slowly pervading her mind, her brother had disappeared, probably murdered by an alien spy ring and she would never find out what had happened to him. Ray could see the depressed state of her mind, for it was clearly written across her pretty face.

"Sounds like a good idea to me and then afterwards as you say, we will be free to follow any leads to wherever they take us." Ray tried to sound confident to cheer Jean up.

They found a small café with an empty seat by the window and spent half an hour resting there while they had a coffee and a sandwich that didn`t taste too bad. Ray told her funny stories about some of the places he had visited which seemed to cheer her up, but in the end Jean couldn`t wait any longer and so they left to find a public telephone box from where they could call the number.

"I hope it isn`t the speaking clock." Ray joked still trying to raise their spirits a little. Ray called the number and soon got through.

"Lyre import export, how may I help you?" The voice of a woman said in answer to their call.

"I am trying to locate a missing friend, a Mr Peter Summers; he called this number eight days ago. Can you tell me if you know of him, or have any idea where he may be right now?" Ray asked.

"I am sorry Sir, but I don`t know any person of that name, however, if you call at our offices after two o`clock this afternoon I will have asked around for you by then to see if there is anyone here who might know your friend. You can find us in the Balsams Market Square." The receptionist sounded genuine so Ray decided to take her up on her offer.

"Yes, we will do that, and thank you Ms ...?" Ray asked politely.

"Ms Celia Dalton, you will find me at the reception desk."

Ray put the phone down and turning to Jean related to her all that had been said.

"They are called 'Lyre import export' and with your brother being a possible spy then it would seem that we have a definite lead, as Earth and Lyre are currently heading towards a war, although at the moment it is more of a skirmish with some explosive incidents thrown into the mix." Ray said grimly.

"Then it might be dangerous to call at the offices, if they are enemy agents, they might think that we too are agents from Earth?" Jean said feeling just a little worried, but she forced these worries away as she remembered why she had come to New Terra, it was to find Peter and she decided that she would call at the offices anyway, whatever the risk to herself. She realised that she wouldn`t get anywhere if she allowed fear to govern her search.

"Not when they see you Jean, for there is no way that a young woman like you could ever be a spy." Ray said deciding the matter for them and then laughing. With time to kill, they decide to return to the café and have another coffee, and a sticky bun this time.

Two o`clock came along and it saw them standing outside of the Lyre import export offices, over the door was a sign with the firm`s name upon it and a picture of a Lyre, the Greek musical instrument made famous by the god Apollo.

"Maybe we were seeing spies where there weren't any, maybe the owner is a fan of ancient musical instruments?" Jean suggested.

"We shall soon see if you are correct Jean, but it sure made a great lead, and one that I am reluctant to let go of just yet." Ray Connors said doubtfully. Ray and Jean entered into the small office and approached the reception desk.

"Hallo, we spoke earlier on the phone about my friend Peter Summers." Ray said to the young woman sitting behind the desk.

"Oh yes, well I am afraid that I asked around but no one seems to know your friend, maybe he got the wrong telephone number?"

"Yes, maybe he did, well thank you for checking anyway, we will just have to continue our search elsewhere." Ray said smiling at the receptionist and then ushering a baffled Jean out of the door.

"Is that it, what about it being our best lead, aren`t we going to insist on speaking to the manager?" Jean wanted to know getting angry and just a little disappointed with Ray.

"No, Jean, because I happened to see a very shady character peering at us from behind the blinds of the Managers office, a shady character that I happen to think is behind many of the illegal deals that happen on this planet." Ray said steering Jean away from the office.

"And you think he could be behind Peter`s disappearance?" Jean asked.

"I think it is a bit early to say that, but as I said before, it is our best lead and one that we must follow, but not now, later when the moon is getting tired and every honest citizen is in bed." Ray replied grimly.

"What shall we do until then Ray, head back to the ship and rest up?" Jean asked.

"No Jean, we will go around to a bar that I know and see a man about a dog." Ray said with a smile.

"A dog, what do you mean?" Jean asked wondering just what Ray meant.

"The name of the man in that office is Terrier." Ray answered with a large smile across his face.

"Oh, very funny Ray, you should be on the stage. Well come on then where is this bar with the dog lover?" Jean said smiling up at Ray.

"Jean, one thing I must stress before we enter the bar, never raise your voice above a whisper and especially when in a bar full of potential enemies. They will be interested anyway, in a pretty woman such as you." Ray warned Jean.

"Okay, Ray I will remember to speak quietly at all times on this planet." Jean said pleased with yet another unsolicited compliment.

New Terra city was a bit like the Chicago of Earth`s early twentieth century except for the fact that there were only two gangland bosses here, and they had both agreed to keep to their own side of town and not to start a destructive gangland war. Working alongside the gangsters there was a collection of crooked law enforcement officers, and of course crooked and corrupt politicians. The population of New Terra was some fifty thousand people within the city and another twenty thousand people farming or mining on the large continent that was home to the city, and which was the first part of the planet to be colonised. The rest of New Terra`s people lived in the remaining three large continental land masses with approximately fifty thousand people on each of the them. Five minutes later found Ray and Jean seated in a plush bar talking to its owner Joel Planter.

"Joel, what can you tell me that is interesting about Karl Terrier, my friend here is missing someone dear to her and he may be mixed up in it?" Ray Connors asked quietly of the large man who owned one of the best bars in town.

Joel was large in size but small in stature being only five feet seven inches in height, and some said about the same in circumference. His face was always full of smiles and he could have been quite good looking if he didn`t like his food quite so much, his grey eyes took in his two guests. Ray was the only person that he trusted with his life, for Ray had saved him from a couple of thugs years ago and demanded nothing in return even though Joel had offered him plenty, including the job of running the bar that they were currently sitting in, and with a large salary to boot. Ray had declined it as at the time, he still had a very large travel itch and enough money for the moment.

"As I like you Ray I shouldn`t tell you anything, but I know that you must have more than mere curiosity to even mention his name. Even in here he has his ears and eyes, the couple over there by the wall are two of his paid spies who earwig on conversations in the hope of learning something valuable to sell to him." The two men that Joel referred to looked like a pair of weasels. One was painfully thin with matching hair while the other matched his looks but he was just a little bigger in stature.

"Why don`t you tell them to leave then Joel, if they listen in to your other customers private conversations?" Jean asked innocently. The two men quietly laughed as Ray went on to explain.

"Because Karl Terrier would get to hear of it and he would then send some thugs around to the bar to exact revenge, and Joel`s future co-operation." Ray explained.

"Oh, and do I also take it then that the local law enforcement agency will just sit about and do nothing to stop it, that`s terrible?" Jean exclaimed, although she had read stories of such things, she was still shocked, having never experienced anything remotely like it.

"Yes Jean, unfortunately there are many officers of the law in his employment, and those that aren`t are too few to do anything." Joel said sorrowfully.

"To business Joel, what is our friend up to lately, nothing good I am sure?" Ray asked.

"He seems to have some new buddies, from off world by all accounts, it also appears that he has taken up an interest in nature and takes trips into the outback with some of his new friends who are supposed to include a couple of geologists." Joel quietly informed them. "Is that any help at all to you? Oh, and the off worlders have a large white starship that is sometimes parked in the space port." Joel said.

"Oh, I think that I saw it earlier today Joel." Jean said.

Ray Connors looked at Jean for a moment, very interested in what she had said, and he made a mental note to have a closer look at the starship, when there was time and when the dark hid him from prying eyes. However, for the moment Ray was more interested in what his friend had to say so he turned back to Joel.

"Yes Joel, that ties in with what we have deduced from our investigation so far, we believe that the off worlders may be from the Lyre Federation." Ray replied thoughtfully.

The war between Earth and Lyre was still only an assortment of skirmishes and had not been of interest to the people of New Terra, although that would soon change.

"Can you tell me why you two are looking for trouble from the likes of Karl Terrier; you most certainly are not federal agents?"

Jean looked at Ray who nodded to indicate to Jean that she could tell Joel the reason why they were poking around in so much potential trouble.

"My brother has been missing for eight days and our only lead is his interest in the Lyre Import Export firm, and today Ray caught sight of Karl Terrier in their offices, when we called to ask if they knew my brother, which they said they didn`t." Jean replied quietly.

"Did Terrier see either of you two?" Joel asked worriedly.

"Yes, he did, we phoned their offices two hours before we actually arrived there and were asked to drop by after lunch so that they could ask around to see if anyone knew anything about Jean`s brother. He may have been waiting to see who was interested in Peter Summers." Ray answered.

"Then the two of you had better take care to keep to public places in future, ones that have plenty of people about, just in case he decides to get rid of any potential problems."

"I am sorry to drag you into my problems Ray, if you want to get back to your ship and your work then I wouldn`t complain, I couldn`t complain anyway after all the help that you have been."

Jean felt compelled to say these words, but she was terrified that Ray would actually accept her offer and go. Joel knew that Ray wouldn`t leave Jean in the lurch, not only could he see that Ray was very interested in Jean romantically, but Joel knew that even if Ray wasn`t, then he would never leave a friend in the lurch.

"Just what sort of person do you think that I am Jean; there is absolutely no way that I would leave you to the tender mercies of Karl Terrier, or his cronies for that matter." Ray complained, but quietly so the weasels couldn`t over hear their conversation.

Jean had seen Ray surreptitiously looking across at the two men and she had seen the weasels looking back across at them. She wasn`t sure if it was because they were interested in the conversation or just her. Jean was used to some attention from the male population wherever she went, for she knew that she was good looking.

"Now we have that settled Ray, what is your next move?" Joel asked diffusing the tension that had risen between Ray and Jean.

"I will have to go back to the Lyre offices early tomorrow morning, before they open their doors to the law abiding public and see what I can find out."

"Just take care the place will be alarmed, so you will need someone who can bypass such pedestrian things and allow you access without the prospect of the law demanding to know what you are about. It just happens that I know of the very person, someone who also happens to owe me a large favour. Come back to the bar an hour before closing for a drink and I will introduce you to him."

"Thank you, Joel, but are you sure that you can trust him not to drop you and us in it?"

"This gentleman is okay, so don`t worry on that score."

Chapter Two

Trouble

Midnight soon came by and Ray and Jean arrived back at the New Ritz bar, once inside they crossed over to an alcove in a darker part of the bar and ordered a cold beer from the evening bar man, here they waited for Joel to introduce them to his professional burglar. Moments later, Joel appeared quietly from out of the darkened room to stop beside them.

"Ray will you follow me through into the back room, my friend is waiting to meet you both there, far away from prying eyes, he doesn`t want to be seen talking to you, for your interests are normally much too rich for his blood."

Once inside the back room, Joel introduced them to Ingmar Schultz, Ingmar was tall for someone whose chosen occupation was to move stealthily about whilst breaking into other people's premises; he was six feet two inches in height. He had very blond hair, light blue eyes and he had quite a muscular looking body.

"Ingmar here will go with you to the Lyre offices and see that you get in and out without any problems, after you are safely away, he will leave you to your own devices and get on with his own work." Joel explained to them. Ray and Jean both nodded to the tall man who resembled a Norse god rather than a New Terran housebreaker.

"Thank you for helping us out Ingmar, we both appreciate it." Ray said by way of a greeting.

"No problem, I owe Joel a lot, and this will go some way towards repaying my debt, but I will only help you the once, for to trust that our luck holds when going up against such people would be foolish." Ingmar said grimly.

"That is understood Ingmar, and once again thank you for helping us."

The time went by quickly as they first filled Ingmar in about their particular problem, but then Ray lightened the atmosphere with stories of his past adventures amongst the stars and planets of this sector in space. On hearing about Peter Summers and seeing the pain in Jean`s face Ingmar relented on his previous statement.

"Should you be in any serious trouble and are in need of any help Ray, call me, but only if the problem is serious, as I said, it is dangerous to go up against such people."

Soon it was two o`clock in the morning and time to move off, they drove by the young people of the city who were going home, that or moving on to another bar that stayed open even later in to the small hours of the morning. They finally arrived at the rear of the Lyre offices in the small delivery vehicle that Ingmar used occasionally for his nocturnal operations. Before allowing Ray or Jean to leave the vehicle, Ingmar quickly scanned the silent street at the rear of the offices so as to make sure that their movements would not be seen. He then walked quietly to the rear of the premises and took out a small electrical device, this he ran down the length of the rear door of Lyre`s import export offices. Seemingly satisfied he then took out another device that he put against the electronic lock, which after a minute's work made the door spring open leaving the way clear for them to enter into the empty building, however, Ingmar stopped them from doing so.

"Before we can enter, we must first ensure that there are no traps inside for the unwary burglar." Ingmar said quietly to his two fellow criminals, Ray and Jean.

Taking out the first device again, he traversed it across the room but it and everything else stayed silent.

"Ok we can enter now, but please do not walk past me in case you trip a silent alarm."

Following in Ingmar`s footsteps they made their way to the manager`s office. Ingmar made swift work of the single desk in the office, and there in the bottom draw he found a file that was of use to them. Ray quickly photographed each of the pages contained within the file and then returned the file to the drawer; just as he did, they heard noises coming from the front door of the office and then voices.

"I think that I left that file in my desk draw, and it might be safer if I was to put it in the wall safe, there it will be away from any prying eyes." A male voice said from the outer room.

"I thought that you always locked such things away safely." A female voice said, sounding as if the person speaking was almost at the door to the manager`s office. From the small kitchenette, to where they had quickly retreated, Ingmar quietly opened the rear door to the premises and then the three burglars left, Ingmar silently resetting the electronic lock so that there was no sign of their earlier presence.

It was later the next morning, the Manager of the Lyre import export company was enjoying a coffee when his secretary entered his office. "Köln did you enter the offices by the rear door at all last night?" Athena Polios was a striking brunette who would have liked to strike up a more intimate relationship with her manager, except that he was still in love with his wife, even after twenty years, and obviously didn`t want to have any outside interests.

"No, we came in through the front door, why ever do you ask?"

"The computer shows someone entering at ten minutes past one and leaving twenty minutes later."

"We came in at one thirty, whoever our nocturnal visitor was, we must have disturbed him and caused him to leave early, thank god he didn`t turn violent, what with Shula being here." Shula Brant was the wife of Köln Brant the manager.

"Whoever it was seems to have left empty handed anyway, and why didn`t the alarm sound?" Brant said, just a little relieved.

"Whoever it was used a device to neutralise it, but luckily for us the recording part of the program operated as usual. I suppose they could have photographed that file, the one you said you forgot to put away in the safe yesterday evening?"

"Whoever could our visitor have been, another federal agent?" Brant wondered with a sickly feeling beginning to spread though his stomach. "If so, we can expect them to show up at the Dylithium mine in the near future, you had better send a message to Karl Terrier and have his manager up at the mine be ready to receive some guests in the near future." Brant said to his secretary.

"I will do it immediately, you had better be more careful in the future or the Lyren General Staff could take some unpleasant measures to show their anger, should anything happen to interrupt the mining operation and the delivery of the Dylithium." Athena Polios said as she walked over to her phone. She was worried for her boss following Brant`s silly mistake, Brant was also worried about that.

"Athena what strangers have we seen lately?" Brant asked.

"We have only seen the couple looking for the last federal agent, the young girl and the older man." Brant looked across at his secretary.

"Yes, but surely a federal agent wouldn`t bring a child along with him on a job." He argued.

"She was supposed to be the sister of the missing agent, they said that she was worried by his disappearance, maybe she was and the man was a friend helping her. They seemed innocent enough; Karl saw them when they entered and recognised the man, but couldn`t remember from where, I will ask Karl if he has remembered who the man was." Athena said and immediately put the call through to the gangland boss who answered almost immediately.

"Yes, I have remembered who he is now, I couldn`t place him yesterday but it came back to me late last night. He is the captain of a small freighter working out of New Caledonia, I tell you what, I will send a couple of the boys over to their ship and get them to ask our space man a couple of questions."

"Ok but subtly, we do not want to draw attention to our mining operations."

"My boys invented the word, don`t worry."

"Oh, and in case it wasn`t the starship captain who came by last night, you had better warn your men at the mine to keep an extra look out for any unwanted guests."

"Yes don`t worry, I will call them and put them wise to last night`s visitors."

Karl Terrier was a vindictive man who ruled by brute force; he was of a light build and medium height but he more than made up for lack of build with his indiscriminate use of his weapons, and of his gang. He was forty-four years old with brown eyes and hair to match, his suits were the best that New Terra could provide and he was looking to improve his situation in any way that he could, including trading with an enemy of Earth.

At the spaceport, Harry returned to the freighter to find that both Ray and Jean had finally awoken after their late-night activities, and he had news for them. Sitting himself down he told them what he had discovered.

"While you two have been out enjoying yourselves, I have been hard at work finding out some interesting facts. Did you know that that large white spacecraft that was parked over there yesterday is thought to be from the Lyre Federation, and if you had looked closely at its fuselage you would have noticed some strange lines built into it which could well be hidden Marshall energy weapons. It also sports quite a large defensive shield array for a commercial craft. It had just returned after its last trip, which was eight days ago, and which according to the local gossip supposedly took it first to a hidden location somewhere on this planet and then back to its home planet. Yesterday, it flew away again, supposedly to this same hidden facility where there could be a Dylithium mine. What do you think of that?" Harry sat back and waited for the praise.

"That is good work Harry, it ties in with what we found out last night. The ship is of Lyre origin and is called the Nike, and the mine is two thousand two hundred and eighty miles away to be precise and it is a Dylithium mine. We didn`t know about the trip but eight days ago coincides with the time that Peter Summers went missing, now that could mean anything, but it is worth bearing in mind." Ray said to Harry who seemed a little deflated but went on to say.

"Well I found my information out without breaking into any alien`s offices, and without risking my freedom."

"Thank you, Harry, with what you have found out my next destination must be the mine to see if Peter is there." Jean said smiling at Harry and receiving an astonished look back from both Harry and Ray.

"You are not going to any mine Jean, not only would they soon recognise a pretty thing like you as somebody who was making enquiries about a federal agent, but they would likely kidnap you and sell you to some white slaver." Harry stormed, he for one was not going to allow her to go anywhere near to the mine, and Ray agreed with him.

"Harry is right Jean; it would be foolish on your part to walk right up to the mine and expect them to give you the red-carpet treatment."

Jean exploded, it was the two men calling her foolish and naïve that caused the outburst. "Why couldn`t I have got two men with brains to help me. I wasn`t going to go straight up to the mine and ask if my brother is being kept prisoner in there, I was going to sneak up and stake out the place to see if Peter is there, I am not stupid you know." Jean complained.

"Sneak up there, how are you going to do that, it is over two thousand miles away from us?" Ray demanded to know.

"I thought that you two men could take me in your shuttle craft maybe, and glide in behind that mountain range shown on the map that you photographed. Then I could walk the last fifty miles to the mine and find somewhere to keep watch." Even Jean thought that the last part sounded lame.

"It`s two hundred miles across the mountain range, the mine is at the foot of the mountain range, you would need a fully provisioned team of mountaineers and guides to get you through." Ray said now fully exasperated by the young woman.

"Well what do you suggest then; that we call it quits and let Peter rot on this god-awful planet?" Jean cried out at Ray, tears almost exploding from her eyes as they streamed down her face, her whole body was racked with such a violent sobbing that Ray was forced to think hard and fast for a solution to their problem.

"Jean I am sorry of course we will not leave your brother to rot, Ray has a plan already worked out, you`ll see if I am not right." Harry said hurriedly as he tried to comfort the distressed woman before him. Jean tried to compose herself and looked up at Ray her wet face filled once more with happiness.

"Ray, you really have a plan to help rescue Peter?"

Ray`s mind was working overtime, for he knew that he had to come up with the beginnings of a plan or see the young woman break down again.

Ray turned on their computer and pulled up a copy of the map of Lyre, it was the one that they had photographed the night before, transferring the picture to a large monitor on the wall so that the three of them could see it, and Ray then told them of his thoughts, seconds after they occurred to him.

"Yes, at least the beginnings of one, we can adapt your plan to walk across the mountain range to a slightly more practical one. Harry can pilot the shuttlecraft; he can take it in over the sea to the eastern range of mountains and along this narrow valley." Ray said indicating on the map where he meant. "We can then land on top of the mountain that runs along behind the mine." Ray said pointing out the place he meant with his finger. "Above the mine entrance, the mountain is only about four thousand feet in height so if he drops me behind the mountain ridge, we should be out of view of the ground below. From there I can easily scramble across the top of the mountain and then climb down it, as the map indicates that the sides of the mountain at this spot gently slope down to end up on this narrow ledge, from here I can climb part of the way down to stake out the mine entrance from this point." Ray said indicating first one rocky ledge and then the second of the ledges that would give him a clear view of the mine entrance and buildings scattered around the area.

"That is fine Ray but I won`t just drop you there, what I shall do is land and give you any assistance that you require, and then be available to get you the hell out of there." Harry said quietly amending Ray`s plan of campaign to make it a much safer proposition.

"Thank you, Harry, I had thought of asking you to hang around after dropping me off but didn`t want to ask you to risk your life, not without you first proposing it." Ray said smiling at his friend.

"That was nice and thoughtful of you Ray, thank you." Harry said.

"Well you cannot leave me all on my Ownsome, me being so young and sweet and all, so I had better stay with Harry, while he is up on that lonesome mountain top." Jean said adding her own contribution to Ray`s plan.

"I will go into town and buy some ropes and maybe buy myself some shoes that are better suited to scrambling down rock faces than the shiny leather shoes that I am wearing now, you two hustle up some lunch and then after lunch we will be on our way." Ray said moving across to the door.

"Thank you Ray, I really don`t know how I would have coped without you." Jean said smiling at him and giving him all the thanks, he required.

"That`s all right Jean, things have been a little too quiet lately anyway."

Ray was away for just one hour, but when he got back, he found Harry lying unconscious on the deck of the freighter and Jean gone. Ray moved quickly through the freighter to see if there was anyone else there, but no it was as silent as the grave, so he returned to the body of his friend having first collected a bowl of water and a cloth. Wiping Harry`s head and shaking him gently at first that worked up to a little bit rougher at the end when Harry didn`t come around immediately. Slowly this brought Harry back to the world of the living, luckily, he hadn`t been hurt enough to break any bones or damage any vital organs and on seeing Ray he smiled for a second before he remembered the thugs.

"I am sorry Ray, two of Terrier`s thugs came by, and when they saw the map on the monitor they snapped. They forced us both down into a chair and then questioned us, asked where you were, what were we doing with the map, what are our plans. I didn`t tell them a thing Ray, and neither did Jean, she was a real trooper. So, this annoys them some more and so they hit me again and again, then they hit Jean, so I try to get my pistol, but they knocked me unconsciousness, I guess they took Jean with them when they left."

"You take it easy for a while Harry, I know where to find Karl Terrier, at this time of day he likes to have a massage down at the Blue Parrot parlour. Today he is going to get some special service, from me."

"Just give me a hand to stand Ray and I will come with you." Harry said as he attempted to stand, but the spinning room defeated him and he slumped back down.

"You stay here and rest Harry; I will need you at your best later today, when I return with Terrier." Ray said grimly.

Ray went to the door and stopped to look around the space port, none of Terrier`s men were in sight so he caught a taxi to the town centre and once there he phoned Joel to fill him in on what had happened and also asked for directions to Ingmar`s house. Then he took a taxi to the neighbourhood where he would find Ingmar`s house, but he purposely got out a few streets away and walked the rest of the way so that he would not endanger Ingmar`s life any more than necessary. The Swedish giant had offered any help that he could give to help in finding Jeans brother, so Ray now asked for it, his muscle would come in handy as would the Colt Plasma energy pistol in Ray`s belt.

"Ray, I didn`t expect to see you so soon." Ingmar said questioningly. Ray filled him in and told him of his plans for Karl Terrier.

"Okay, Ray, let`s get a move on, I have a date tonight and I mustn`t be late or I will get into trouble. We will take my van again, you will need it later to transport Terrier in, mind you it will also mean that I will have to dump it, for I certainly won`t be able to use it after today. You do realise that if Terrier sees me that you will have to kill him, as my life expectancy will drop sharply otherwise."

"Hopefully it won`t come to that, I only want you nearby in case things go wrong and don`t worry Ingmar, I will get Joel to pay for a new van and I will pay him back at some later date." Ray promised his new friend.

The Blue Parrot Parlour was what was termed by Karl Terrier, its owner, as a classy joint which only the wealthier clients frequented, which meant that Ingmar`s arrival caused some curiosity.

"I have recently come into some funds so I decided to spend some of it here having a massage." He said to the receptionist on the door, following him in was Karl Terrier who was a bit miffed to have the riff raff frequenting his place, but he decided that if the mug wanted to spend his money in his place then he could not complain about it.

Ingmar would only become part of Ray`s plan if he was needed, otherwise he was to enjoy his massage on Ray. Ray turned up at the rear of the premises, and after seeing Karl Terrier follow Ingmar into the parlour, he slipped around to the rear of the premises and waited for one of the girls to appear for a breath of fresh air away from the heat and stuffiness of the Parlour. They did this frequently according to Leon, who gave Ray quite a few useful facts about the place. Carly was the girl who provided Ray with his free admittance. Carly, a brown-eyed blonde-haired person with a liking for champagne and chocolate opened the door and pushed a wedge under it to stop it from closing and then she went for a ten-minute break in the nearby square. This allowed all and sundry free admittance to her workplace, but no one ever accused Carly of being intelligent, which was probably why she was working at the parlour. The other girls usually sat on the low wall that was opposite the rear door, and Ray had thought that he would have to threaten whoever opened the door with his rather wicked looking knife, something that he carried whenever he thought the situation might require some additional persuasion.

Ray slipped in through the open doorway and climbed the back stairs to the first floor, and then on to the booth at the rear of the Parlour where Joel had told him Terrier would be. He didn`t need to worry about bodyguards, because unlike Chicago, here on New Terra there wasn`t any gangland violence, and so there was no need for muscle to follow Karl Terrier about for every minute of the day. Ray took out his Colt pistol and checked that it was locked on its lowest setting before covering it with one of the towels that were laid upon a table outside of the booth, and he then silently entered the booth. Terrier was lying naked, except for a strategically placed towel, and face down on the massage table, and so only the young female masseur saw him enter, Molly was a pleasant girl, too pleasant for this place and the likes of Karl Terrier. Ray put a finger to his lips and tossed the towel onto a nearby chair. Molly suppressed a gasp when she saw the Colt pistol in Ray`s hand. Behind Molly was a cupboard, Ray motioned Molly towards it with the hand that held his Colt pistol, she slowly backed up and opening the door went inside, Ray slipped across and turned the key. The next thing that Ray did was to pull out a cosh, that he had remembered to bring along, and he smacked Terrier across the head to catch his attention, it did that.

"Hey what is going on?" Terrier exclaimed turning over on the table to see Ray aiming the ugly end of his Colt pistol at him.

"Good morning Terrier, get dressed you are coming with me, and you had better do it both quietly and very carefully, or I might have to shoot you, got it chummy?" Ray said to the angry the gang boss.

"What`s the meaning of this, do you know who I am Connors?"

"Yes, and you know who I am, so what, now quickly move to the door and walk down the rear stairs of your parlour."

"I am not dressed yet." Terrier protested hoping to delay things to give one of his boys the chance to intervene.

"You are ready now, either you move, or I shoot you and carry you down." Terrier looked into Ray`s eyes and could see the anger within them, he could also physically feel the power of Ray`s determination to let nothing get in his way.

"Ok don`t get stressed Connors, I am coming." With that, Terrier strolled over to the door nonchalantly and began to get dressed. He had just put his shoes back on when Ray had had enough, so he slugged him once again with the cosh only a little harder this time, he caught the gang bosses slumping body as it fell towards the floor. Ray tossed the unconscious gangster over his shoulder, while he didn`t look particularly strong he still managed to cope with Terrier`s weight, and with the unconscious gangland boss carried so unceremoniously he proceeded to leave the Blue Parrot premises. Before going through the still open rear door Ray peered outside but all was clear and so he moved quickly into the alley way and the waiting vehicle that Ingmar had provided, Leon was there.

"I thought that you might need a little help, so here I am." Leon opened the rear of the vehicle and Ray let the gang boss crash down inside of it, and then he closed the door. The two friends got inside of the vehicle and drove quickly away, and before they were noticed by any of Terrier`s cronies.

"Is he all right Ray, what did you do to him?" Leon asked.

"He thought that he was still in charge even though I had the Plasma pistol, so I slugged him with a cosh Leon."

"And what would have happened if you had killed him Ray?" Leon asked slightly shocked by his friend`s actions.

"I would have had to go after his lieutenant and slug him too Leon." Ray said smiling across at his friend.

"You always were a man of action Ray, it is why I am still alive, and why that piece of scum in the back of the van had better be a little more careful around you. Now where do you plan to take him, to your ship?"

"Yes Leon, and as soon as me and cutie pie here are on board I will take off and travel across to the second moon of this planet, no one ever bothers with that lump of rock." The lump of rock in question was more of an asteroid than a moon and it orbited some half a million miles away from New Terra making it of no use to anyone except for Ray at this precise moment.

"Ok then you had better let me drive this vehicle back to its owner, after you empty it of your garbage back there." Leon suggested.

There wasn`t any security at the New Terra space port, it would not be welcomed by its users or the planet`s ruling council, so Ray pulled in beside his ship, and behind the cover of its massive hull, he then pulled the unconscious gang boss out and carried him up into its small galley and dropped him into a chair.

"Joel, I need another favour from you, that van of Ingmar`s will need replacing, can you provide him with enough cash to buy one and I will replay you as soon as I am able?"

"Please do not come back too soon Ray; you make life just a little too exciting for the likes of us more placid individuals, and don`t worry about the van, I will sort something out, bye." Leon said waving as he drove Ingmar`s vehicle away, Ingmar would have to give the vehicle a complete makeover after all the use it had been given over the last couple of days, Leon thought, a paint job and a new fake number plate to replace the present fake number plate should be more than enough to satisfy Ingmar.

"You got him then Ray." Harry said while tying the gang boss securely to the chair.

"Yes, and now the three of us are going to take a ride out to the second moon of this lump of rock, and once there and away from any prying eyes, we can get this garbage here to tell us where our girl is." Ray said walking up to the small bridge of the Jeanette.

The Jeanette soon lifted off, Ray took it swiftly up out of the atmosphere of New Terra and across to rear of the waiting small moon, here he gently landed the ship within a shallow crater. Terrier was just coming around as Ray returned to the galley and to his waiting guest.

"You slugged me you rat, when I get free of these ropes, I am going to take great delight in killing you Connors."

If Karl Terrier`s promised violence was supposed to make Ray tremble with fear then Terrier must have been very disappointed, for all that happened was that a very disinterested Ray Connors pulled out his knife and approached a suddenly quietened gang boss.

"You are going to do one thing only if you don`t want me to put you into the airlock and open the outer door Karl, you are going to tell me where Jean is and you are going to do it now, that is if you want me to let you live to see another minute or two." Ray promised a suddenly very frightened Terrier.

"If you kill me how are you going to find your girl Connor, tell me that?" Terrier scoffed hoping to sound confident yet failing dismally.

"By putting your lieutenant in the exact same chair that you are now sitting in and asking him the same question, now Karl for the last time, where is she?"

While Ray was questioning the gang boss his knife was cutting away the seams of the gang boss`s expensive jacket until first one expensive sleeve and then a second one hung limply on his arms.

"Do you know how much this suit cost me Connors?" Terrier asked part in anger but mostly he was in fear for his life.

"He isn`t going to talk Ray, I will open the inner door of the airlock and then we can carry him inside and I can get my revenge for the damage his boys did to my skull." Harry moved across the galley with an evil look upon his face as if he were thinking about what was about to happen to the gangland boss.

"You keep that old loon away from me Connors; I will tell you where you can find your girl and she is all right, none of my boys have touched even as much as a hair on her head." Terrier answered fearfully.

"Speak now Karl, tell me exactly where she is or I promise you that I will allow Harry to have his fun." Ray threatened loudly.

"She is at the mine, when the Lyren ship leaves with its next shipment of ore they are going to take her with them to use as leverage against her brother. They have him captive back on their planet. That is the truth so help me god." Karl Terrier swore, no longer a tough gangland boss just someone who was terrified that he was about to lose his life.

"Where at the mine Karl, tell me exactly where she is so that I can go and get her." Ray demanded to know.

"She is in my personal room; you will need me to get in there, for the door will only open when the security device sees the eyes of one of my lieutenants or my own eyes." Terrier said and just for a moment, his eyes held a look of his old devious self.

"Then we only need to take along his eyes Ray we can dispose of the rest of him." Harry said pulling out his knife. Harry was pleased to see the greatly renewed fear appear in the eyes of Karl Terrier.

"Keep him away from me Connors, you promised me my life if I cooperated with you, which I have done."

"Don`t worry Karl, I keep my promises, and as long as we get our girl back unharmed, then you will live."

Ray now turned from the gangland boss and spoke to his friend.

"We will take the shuttle craft down as we originally planned Harry, except that Karl here will accompany us on the trip; give me a hand carrying this chair and its occupant into the shuttle."

Harry took one side and Ray the other and they carried a quietly scheming Karl Terrier, still tied to the chair, through the ship and into the hanger bay and then into their old but trusty shuttlecraft.

After depressurising the hanger deck, Ray took the shuttle out of the ship and into a long looping course that eventually brought them to within a mile of the mine. Now they only had to walk across the top of the mountain and then down its sloping side to get to within spitting distance of the mine. Ray took with him a few things he thought might come in handy on the trip, like an extra fully charged Colt pistol and some plastic explosive, should he need to create a diversion.

Harry was to have waited in the shuttle but with Terrier to look after he was also going along, but only as far as the mountain`s ridge and there he would stop while Ray and Terrier would begin their descent towards the mine area beneath them. They untied the gangland boss with at least one of their weapons always pointed his way and then the three men left the shuttle and began their journey across the top of the mountain. It was cooler up here with a breeze blowing but not enough to make a coat necessary, down below the sun was scorching the ground, for the mine site was much nearer to the planet`s equator than the space port was, and at the moment it was mid-summer. It was easy going, luckily for Harry, and with just the odd scramble up or down its bare rocky surface they soon reached a place where everything below them became visible. They were still some four hundred feet above the mine but the going was getting easier and the trail before them sloped down to the mine below.

"Where is this building of yours Terrier?" Ray demanded.

"Look down the trail that we have to descend by, and near to the bottom you will see a rough set of steps cut into the rock by some prospector so long ago that they were unknown, that is until we found Dylithium here last year and began to mine it."

Ray peered down while Harry kept a watch on the gang boss and soon saw that they would have no problem reaching it undetected.

"It looks like you will soon have your freedom after all Karl, as long as you haven`t been lying to us, for if you have been lying all you will get is yourself killed." Ray promised him.

"Ray, make sure you keep a right good eye on that rat, he would double cross his own mother if he thought that he could make a profit out of it." Harry warned Ray.

"Don`t you worry none Harry, Karl and me are good friends now and if he proves to be false then as I said, he will become a dead good friend very quickly." Turning to Terrier, Ray told him to get started on the climb down the side of the mountain.

"Don`t try and say hi to your boys down there Karl or else it will be the last thing you ever do, be nice and quiet and you will get to live." Ray warned the gangland boss.

"Don`t worry Connors, I can wait to kill you some other time." Terrier said sulkily.

The two men were hidden from the miners below by the large rocks and boulders that littered the side of the mountain and then by the trees and bushes as they descended nearer to the ground below. Up above Harry worried about his friend, but he knew that Ray was a match for anything that the gangland boss could think up, but even so, Harry worried. Soon they arrived at the old stone steps that wound up to the cave with the very modern door set into it. It was powered by a cable that came up from the mine and if there was a power cut, it could not be opened from the outside until the power was restored. Karl Terrier put his eye against the retina scanner and as the door opened for them, Ray could see that the cave went quite a long way back with most of it hidden from view. Terrier ambled in; now full of confidence, against the sidewall hung an expensive looking sword that he now slid from its scabbard, just as the door slid shut behind them.

"Now Connors perhaps you should put your pistol down, because there are six energy weapons set into the roof of this place which will all fire down immediately you touch the trigger. I will be all right for I see that you set yours on stun, but you will be dead and before you begin to reset it, I should warn you that that very action will activate my energy weapons before you could ever finish doing it. That is why I have this sword; it gives me a great advantage over anyone else who happens to be here with me."

Ray looked very dispirited as he took in the words and the hand that held his Colt pistol dropped down so that the weapon now pointed to the floor.

"Karl, do I take it that Jean is not here then?"

"Oh, she is here all right, only by this time she is probably about to be taken over to the Lyren starship, for her journey to Lyre to meet her dear stupid brother."

Chapter Three

Rescue

Earlier on, when the two gangsters had forced their way onto the Jeanette and into the galley area where Harry and Jean were seated, Harry had moved across the galley to put his body between the gangsters and Jean, only to be forced aside as the two gangsters entered into the small cabin.

"What do you two think you`re doing on board my ship. Get off now before I throw you both off?" Harry boomed from the side wall that he had been pushed against by the larger of the two men. He was named Gorilla by his friends and it was not too hard to understand why. He was big, he was hairy, he was strong, oh, and he was a dumb animal.

"Do you hear Gramps over here George; he is going to throw me off his ship?" Gorilla laughed while picking Harry up and forcing him down into a chair next to Jean who in turn had been pushed back into her chair by George.

George was smaller than his friend, but what he lost in sheer size he made up for with brains and a sadistic nature that he liked to parade for anyone unlucky enough to meet up with him.

"Shut up Gramps and we will be out of your way soon enough. All you need to tell us to make that happen are two things. Firstly, why Connors and the broad here went around to the Lyre import export offices yesterday; we will come to the second part of the question if you answer the first part correctly?" George looked from Jean and then to Harry.

"We are searching for Jean`s brother, that is all, he has gone missing. Why, do you know something about his disappearance?" Harry said angrily. "Because if you do, you can tell us where he is." Harry demanded of the thugs.

"I am asking the questions Gramps so here is the second part of my question. If you are so innocent like, why did you break into my friend`s office last night?"

"We didn`t do any such thing, just what sort of people do you think we are? "Harry said trying to sound wounded by the very idea.

"You`re upright honest citizens are you, well what are you doing with this here map on your computer monitor, this is amongst the things that my boss thinks may have been photographed in his friend's office last night?" George decided to add a little muscle to the conversation; he swiped Harry across the face, and then pressed Harry to answer his questions.

"After you tell me what you are doing with the map here, you can also tell me where your buddy is and what he plans to do next?"

Harry kept quiet and got another slap for his silence, but Jean screamed at George to stop hitting Harry and so George hit her too and repeated his question to her. Harry now decided that the time had come to flex his muscles and catching Gorilla unawares he shrugged him off and made to grab his Colt pistol from the belt that was laying upon the table, but he was not quite quick enough, for Gorilla was surprisingly quick for a man of his size. Gorilla thrust out an arm that put extra speed into Harry`s moving body thrusting him head first into the nearby metal bulkhead knocking Harry unconscious with a sickly thud. Jean on seeing her friend treated so roughly screamed out his name in fear. She turned angrily and launched a punch into George`s face, but as Jean was not all that strong, George merely shrugged it off with a grin. He then walked towards her and pushed the barrel of his Remington pistol into the soft underside of her neck, forcing her head backward and bringing a moan of pain when her head was stopped by another of the ship's bulkheads. George even then didn`t lessen the pressure and the hard metal of the barrel pressing into her neck was making it very difficult energy for Jean to breath. His face was just inches from hers as he smiled down at her, she could smell garlic on his breath and she almost puked on him.

"You, me and Gorilla here are going for a walk to see my off-world friends, because I am sure that they will want to talk to you. If you come quietly, I won`t kill Gramps here, it is your choice girly."

Jean`s eyes went from the thug across to the prone body of her friend, she couldn`t speak because the pressure from the pistol prevented her from doing so, so she nodded causing the Remington pistol to dig further into her neck while silently pleading with her eyes for him to stop choking her, which at last he did. The three of them left an unconscious Harry to be found just a little later by Ray.

The thugs took Jean across to a small terrestrial shuttle craft parked alongside of the Jeanette and entered it, George went forward and sat next to the pilot while Gorilla took Jean to the rear where he threw her inside the passenger compartment and forced her into a seat, then he sat down opposite her.

"Be a good little girl and I won`t have to hurt you none." Gorilla said to Jean and then proceeded to ignore her as he looked around the compartment.

George liked flying in shuttles, he had dreamed of it ever since he had been a young boy. The pilot was only waiting for his passengers` return, so on seeing Jean being bundled into the rear section of the shuttle, and after a brief word with George, he took off and headed deep within the continent`s land mass to the far-off mountain range and the Dylithium mine.

The area around the mine was filled with long wooden dormitory buildings for the miners, plus a few individual cabins which were for the use of the mine`s bosses. The mine itself was a square hole set into the mountain side with wooden uprights framing its entrance and a railway track going from inside of the mine and leading down towards the huge starship of the Lyren Federation. Jean was bundled out of the shuttle and taken to a small building used as a store, here she was roughly pushed inside, and the door to the building shut and locked. Jean was in here for hours that to her seemed to stretch on for days as she imagined all the horrors that could befall her, so she was terrified when Gorilla finally opened the door. He told her that she was boarding the Lyren ship now, the long walk across the hard compacted ground that stretched all around the mine entrance seemed far too short for Jean. Her last view of New Terra was of George grinning across at her before she was taken to another small storage room, but this time one aboard the starship. The Lyren officer who took her ignored her pleas for help, and so she once again found herself being locked away as a prisoner, this time by an evil nation whose only desires were to rule over the planets that they had conquered and enslaved, and to do the same to any other free worlds that came their way.

**********

Tom Parkinson had also become increasingly anxious about the wellbeing of his agent Peter Summers, and he was even now speeding towards New Terra aboard the space cruiser Indomitable with Captain John Stalker in command. He was on the bridge of the ship at the moment and speaking to the captain.

"Captain, how much longer is it before we reach New Terra?"

John Stalker was thirty years of age, young for a captain of the space fleet, but he was one of the fleet`s most ablest of officers and had seen many skirmishes with space pirates in the many parts of space which had been colonised by Earth over the last one hundred and fifty or so years. He was tall, blue eyed and handsome with a shock of brown hair that was in need of a cut to get it back under control; however, the Indomitable of late had been too busy to allow him the time as the ship had become increasingly involved in the skirmishes with the planet Lyre.

"Another two hours should see us in orbit around the planet Director. We will drop you off there and then continue on our way towards the Ragdalian system, that is currently the area in space where we are trying to control the urges of the Lyren Federation to enslave even more of the galaxy."

The Ragdalian system was quite small with only one planet currently occupied and its population was still relatively small, being only two million strong spread out across the planet, with a very low level of technology, not having had as yet their own industrial revolution. This made them a perfect prize for any planet wanting an abundance of free slave labour, and as the planet was filled with a wealth of mineral assets, it was too tempting a prize for the Lyrens to pass up. Unfortunately, the space fleet of Earth had taken up residence near to the planet and was currently engaged in stopping the Lyrens from enslaving the planet.

Tom Parkinson was going to New Terra to ask for the assistance of the planet`s law enforcement agency to locate his missing agent. If necessary, he had a cover story that he could use, that Peter Summers had been on the trail of a Neo Nazi group whose aim was to destabilise the planet and take it over during the resulting crisis. This wouldn`t be too far from the truth and quite believable to some of the ruling council on New Terra. They were becoming increasingly worried by the trading ties that the planet currently held with the Lyre Federation, especially with a full-blown war about to erupt between Lyre and Earth. Travelling along with Tom Parkinson was a squad of space marines led by Colonel Ronald Michaels, they were there to give him protection from the planet`s rival faction who were making a good profit trading with Lyre, and so were in direct opposition to Tom Parkinson`s own aims.

**********

While Jean had sat waiting within the wooden building set in the area of ground in front of the mine entrance, there slightly above her and to one side of the mine itself, she would have seen, had there been a window in the wooden building to see out of, a large cave. It had been fitted with an ultra-modern looking door to make a fair sized secure room within it. Inside of the room built within this large cave, Karl Terrier face wore a wide grin, it lasted for at least half a micro second before the pain in his chest made him look down to see the long thin knife that protruded from his blood-stained shirt. Ray Connors seemed to grow in height as Karl Terrier`s legs buckled beneath him and then Terrier collapsed to the floor of the stone room, it was over for the gangland boss, for now he was dead.

Ray went to the dead body of the once powerful gang leader and pulled out his favourite throwing knife from the still body. He then leant over and wiped the blood off of its thin blade upon the dead Karl Terrier`s clothing, this was just before picking up his Colt pistol that he had dropped to the floor prior to reaching for his knife. Knowing how to throw a knife was a skill the captain of a small freighter needed when frequenting some of the ports that Ray had delivered merchandise to, and today it had come in handy again. Ray walked to the cave door and using the manual inner door handle opened the door and peered outside to see what was happening near the cave. What he saw was Jean being led across the arid ground by a gorilla of a man towards the Lyren ship, here she was handed over to a member of the ship`s crew and taken inside. Quickly Ray looked about the room and soon found the controls to the automatic energy weapons that were set into the roof of the cave; a moment later and they were turned off. Now he took out some of the explosive that he had brought with him in his back pack and turned one of the timers, that he had also brought along, to explode in five minutes, this would not only hide Terrier`s body but provide him with a diversion that hopefully would allow him to board the Lyren ship.

Harry meantime was fretting on top of the mountain ridge fearing that Karl Terrier would pull a stroke that would allow him to get the better of Ray. He was constantly searching the area around the cave and the mine with a powerful pair of binoculars, hoping for a sight of either of his friends to show that they were still alive. This was when he caught sight of Jean being led across the hard ground far below him, immediately he realised that they had been deceived by the gangland boss, but still there was no sign from the door of the cave to show just what was happening within its depths. His vigil was rewarded at last when he saw the metal door of the cave opening and there from within it, he saw a figure cautiously peering out. That it was Ray, Harry was positive, even though he was so far away, and that he had caught sight of their girl was also obvious as she was right there in front of Ray, but he was puzzled for a moment when Ray disappeared within the cave. This puzzlement turned to fear when the thought that maybe Terrier had allowed Ray to see their girl before ordering him back inside of the cave. Harry was just about to descend down to the ground far below him when a figure appeared in the doorway, it was Ray again and this time he moved quietly down the stone cut steps and along the edge of the mountain`s steep rising walls. From here, he moved across, and behind, whatever cover there was as he headed towards the huge starship, only to wait under cover of a large rock set slightly to one side but behind the ship. Minutes later Harry heard a loud explosion that came from the cave that Ray had previously exited; this was followed by the heavy metal door flying forward to land with a crash upon the hard ground, and smoke billowing out from the open cave mouth. Harry knew that the large amount of dust and dirt that followed the explosion, meant that the roof must have collapsed and buried whatever or whoever was inside. Miners and their bosses all ran towards the door to stop and peer down at it for a moment before rushing en masse to the smoking cave mouth. Lyren crewmembers emerged from the ship and joined the melee allowing Ray to stroll across to the ship and disappear within. Harry now realised that the explosion had been to allow Ray free access to the Lyren ship, and it had worked perfectly, it also meant that Terrier had tried something and so was now dead. Minutes later the Lyren crewmen returned to their ship and its door closed behind them, more minutes elapsed and then the huge starship lifted off taking with it one extra passenger than the crew had planned on. Harry stood looking up at the Lyren ship until it finally disappeared and, as his shuttle could not match the speed of the starship, when he finally got back to the shuttle he headed back to the small moon and the Jeanette that was waiting patiently for Ray`s return.

**********

Tom Parkinson was shown into the Police chief`s office to meet the new Police Chief of New Terra, Gregory Marlin. Marlin had been elected six months ago by the locals against the man running for the criminal element of the planet, and this was in spite of the violence that was used by the criminal element as they sought to push their own man into the important post. He had a face that showed a man who had led a life of excitement during his sixty years existence, lined and with a long scar over his right eyebrow that showed that his life had also known danger. But it was still alert and he also wore a smile that lit up his entire face, Tom Parkinson`s blue eyes took in the man opposite him and found that he liked the man already. Tom had been previously informed that this man was fighting a one-man crusade against the endemic corrupt stratum that made up the leaders and many of the employees of New Terra. Police Chief Marlin enjoyed the support of some of the planet's council and the majority of the general population of the planet. However, this was not enough to defeat the criminals; he also needed aid from Earth, and he hoped that the Director of the Interstellar Intelligence Bureau could help him secure this, or at least point the way to someone who could. As the two men shook hands, the Chief of Police launched the first broadside of his attempt to get this aid.

"I am really glad to meet you Director, for I live with one hope in life; that of taming the criminal tendencies of many of our so-called leading citizens, and at the moment that hope revolves around enlisting your help in my personal crusade."

"Greg, if I may call you by your first name; if you help me to locate my missing agent then I will help you clear out your Augean stables to your satisfaction."

"That is a deal Tom, and if we are to become firm friends then it can only be on a first name basis."

"Agreed Greg, and maybe you can fill me in on the state of play here on New Terra."

"The state of play as you call it is that the criminal element is led by two gangland bosses, Karl Terrier and Richard Coonan. Assisting them are half of the planetary council, many of my law enforcement officers and of course many of the officials who enforce the local regulations."

"So, Greg first we have to cut off the two heads of the Hydra and then prevent any more from taking their place. We can do this by ensuring that your courts of law are manned by law abiding citizens who are not terrorised into releasing the criminals of whom they are sitting in judgement."

"That sounds so easy Tom the way you say it, but to do all that within our own laws sounds a little more difficult."

"We will have to deal with the two gangland bosses first, and also their lieutenants, without the terror spread by them, the good citizens of New Terra will soon rise and take care of the rest. You initiate the search for my agent while I mull over your problem."

**********

Two thousand or so miles away and unknown to the two law enforcement officers one of the heads of the Hydra had been well and truly decapitated, leaving Ray Connors with his next problem, for once inside the huge starship Ray had to move quickly or be discovered by one of the starship`s crew. He scanned the starship`s plan set on the wall near to the entrance, he was looking for the hanger deck, the engineering section and the sleeping quarters as the ship did not show any sign of having a brig anywhere upon the ship`s plan. By the time that the crew returned to the ship, he had located the ships hanger deck, also where the engineering section was and he had begun his search of the sleeping quarters. To his surprise, he heard the ship`s engines start up and felt the increased vibrations as it lifted off and headed up into space just as he had reached the storerooms in the lowest levels of the ship. Here he reckoned he would be safer from detection during the initial period of the starship`s journey, and it was here that he found a locked door. There was also a plastic magnetic key that had been foolishly left in the outside of the lock by a crewman, the crewman had hurried outside to see what had caused the loud explosion.

Jean looked up at the door of the near empty store room where she had been put for the duration of the voyage to the planet Lyre, wishing desperately for it to open, although what she would do now the ship had taken off, she did not know, that it had taken off she was sure. Worried sick, she went over the reason for her leaving home, it had been to find her missing brother, only to find that she would now be used to pressurise him into doing the bidding of his enemies. She knew her present predicament was all her own fault, both Ray and Harry had warned her of the many dangers on New Terra, now Harry might be dead. Ray would have no idea where she was and would be blaming himself for allowing two women to coerce him into bringing her to such a god-awful planet. Jean heard the plastic key operate the lock and looked up as the door opened and then she almost fainted, for she suddenly felt so light headed, what had caused this was the sight of Ray standing just inside the open doorway and who was now looking down at her, smiling.

"Well Jean, do you want to go home or would you rather stay in this delightful room?" Ray asked with the largest of grins set upon his craggy face and a twinkle in his eyes.

Jean was stunned, but then she realised that it really was Ray, and he really was standing there talking to her. She launched herself up from the floor and straight into his waiting arms.

"Ray, I thought that I would never see you again, please you must tell me if Harry is all right, and then you must tell me just how on Earth did you find me?" She gasped out, crying all time without trying to stop the tears of joy and relief from flowing down her face.

"Harry is fine and I will answer your other questions later, for first we have to get off this ship, and as always we will have to do it quietly in case the crew of this ship realise that you are dead set on leaving them without even saying goodbye."

"Okay Ray, I can be quiet." Jean whispered to him while beaming up at him.

Jean continued looking at Ray even as they crept along the ship`s gloomy corridors and towards the ship`s hanger deck. This man had boarded an enemy starship to find her and to save her life against any of the odds that fate threw their way, what a man.

As they approached the hanger deck, Ray took out his long thin dagger and the look upon his face almost made Jean shudder, but she now knew that this man would do anything and everything that it took to get her back to safety, and she in turn would help him in every way possible.

"Wait here a moment Jean, I won`t be a moment, I just want to check to see if there is anyone home." Ray whispered. With that, Ray entered the hanger deck, he saw that there was indeed someone working there, but one man only, a mechanic from the look of him putting the final touches to a repair he was carrying out on one of the two extended version shuttlecrafts sitting upon the hanger deck of the starship. They were the version favoured by the military. Ray approached him quietly and was almost upon him before the man turned and saw him.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked in Lyren. Moving the last two feet that separated them Ray put his knife against the mechanics throat and just pierced his skin with the tip of the blade of his evil looking knife.

"I am the man who will not kill you if you do as you are instructed." Ray replied in Lyren. His father had traded with the planet for twenty years and had insisted that Ray learn the language to help him, and so Ray learned Lyren almost at the same time as he had learnt how to speak English. The crewman blanched and tried to draw away from the sharp blade, but without success. Ray had chosen to use his knife in case the ship`s sensors warned the crew about the use of an energy weapon, should he be forced to use a weapon to silence the mechanic.

"Move over to the other shuttle and open the airlock and then stand back." Not for a second did Ray take the knife away from the man`s throat as they edged awkwardly over to the other shuttle craft. As soon as the crewmember had opened the airlock, Ray called across to Jean.

"Jean, I want you to come over here and get aboard the shuttle, but do not come out again after I close the airlock because the hanger deck will be empty of air prior to us leaving." Jean ran across the hanger deck, but just before she went aboard the shuttle, she turned to Ray.

"What about you Ray, won`t you need some help with whatever else that needs doing before we can leave?"

"You do not need to worry about that, I will only be a moment and then I will join you aboard the shuttle."

Jean was just about to go aboard the shuttle without further argument, and Ray could see that she was worried in case anything happened to him, when she stopped and said to him.

"No Ray, I will go aboard only when you are ready to leave with me." Jean looked determined so Ray reluctantly agreed that they would stay together, for they didn`t have the time to argue about it. So, he then turned to the mechanic and looking straight at him while pulling out his energy weapon, it would be easier to cover the Lyren with it as they travelled along the corridors, he would just have to hope that the ship`s sensors were not set to react to energy weapon fire, should it become necessary.

"If you cause me one little bit of trouble, I will forget that there is a lady present and I will shoot you, do you understand?" The mechanic understood and not used to being threatened, he felt an icy chill run through his body as he quickly nodded his head.

"We will take him down to that storage room where they incarcerated you Jean, and lock him in there." They quickly marched the mechanic down and had soon deposited the mechanic down in the storage room with instructions to be quiet or they would come back and shoot him.

"Jean, we must now go to the engineering section and destroy the controls to the hyper-space controls so that the ship drops out of hyperspace, it will also delay them from chasing after the shuttle when we make our escape, they could quite easily blow the shuttle into space junk otherwise."

Inside the engineering section were six crew members who were all busy working at their posts and quite oblivious to their presence. That is until Ray moved over to what he knew to be the control panels to the hyper-drive engine. For each of the panels read hyper-drive control panel, he fixed the remainder of his plastic explosive to the nearest one and set the timer on it for ten seconds, he was just about to return to the door and back outside when one of the crewmen noticed them and sounded the alarm. Ray and Jean sprinted out of the engineering section and down the corridor to the hanger deck, the explosion coming just as they entered it. The lights all went out on the hanger deck and the ship dropped suddenly out of hyperspace with an explosive jolt throwing them both to the floor, moments later the red emergency lighting came on.

"Jean, put on a pressure suit, and an oxygen bottle, you will find them in the lockers over by the far wall, when you are done you can bring a set over to me, I will be at the doorway watching out for the Lyren crew."

Ray stood just inside the air lock that was situated between the hanger deck and the remainder of the ship, here he would be ready to receive the Lyre crewmembers who he could already hear shouting out as they made their way towards them. The first two Lyren crewmembers briefly came into view only to disappear fast as Ray fired his energy weapon at them; the high-pitched bolts of energy whistling passed their ears as they ducked behind the safety of a bulkhead. There now followed the noise of a heated discussion from the two crewmen, who were soon joined by another half a dozen men, including the ship`s captain, and he now called down to them.

"Surrender now and we will not harm you; you will never get off this ship alive unless you do as I say."

"Sorry but the word of a Lyren pirate means nothing to me." Ray answered; he was playing for time so that Jean could put on a pressure suit, and anyway there was no way that he would ever put his trust in these men.

"We are not pirates, we are just the crew of this freighter, we trade merchandise between Lyre and New Terra, and I urge you again to surrender now, before we are forced to hurt you."

"If you are not pirates then tell me why you kidnapped a young Earth woman to take back to Lyre with you?"

Silence followed this question as Ray turned to look back into the hanger deck to see how Jean was getting on with the pressure suit. Jean had finished putting her pressure suit on but was struggling with the oxygen bottle. As the Lyrens showed no sign of attacking Ray quietly called Jean over and moving back inside of the hanger deck assisted her with the oxygen bottle, which he then connected up for her.

"Jean, take the energy weapon and fire at anything you see moving while I put on my pressure suit."

Jean positioned herself between the two doors of the air lock, a position that almost caused her death minutes later but for the moment, she was busy ducking energy weapon bolts, for the crew had decided to try to stop them from escaping from the starship. As Ray struggled into his pressure suit, he watched as Jean fired blindly back down the corridor as energy weapon bolts whistled by her head to explode against the starship`s hanger deck inner wall. Ray cast many anxious looks Jean`s way, but he finally got suited up and decided that Jean could be left to keep the Lyren crew busy while he went into the control room on the hanger deck and started the de-pressurisation of the hanger deck. As both Ray and Jean had pressure suits on this didn`t matter, but with the hanger door airlock open, both the inner and outer doors of the airlock began to close automatically and almost trapped Jean inside. Although Jean was surprised when the two doors began to close, she still managed to just get out before the door closed. The first that Ray knew of it was when he saw Jean fling her bodily through the airlock and land painfully on the floor, an energy weapon bolt whistling past her fast-moving body.

"Sorry about that Jean, I should have realised that both of the airlock doors would close when I began the de-pressurisation of the hanger deck." Ray said ruefully.

Jean smiled at him. "It`s okay Ray I`m fine, what do we do next?" She asked, making it sound as if this sort of thing was common place to her.

"Now it`s time for us to leave the party Jean, it is getting rather late, and we do not want to leave it too long and have our ship turn into a pumpkin?" Ray said with a smile playing on his face.

Jean looked across at Ray and smiling at him she sadly shook her head. "A pumpkin, I really must check out your reading matter to see if we cannot find you something more suited to your age Ray." Jean said smiling condescendingly.

"You do that Jean." Ray replied smiling across at her. "But first will you get yourself into the shuttle while I open the outer hanger deck door?"

Jean turned and ran awkwardly towards the shuttlecraft, for she had never run before while dressed in a pressure suit. Watching as she neared the small craft, Ray pressed a button that opened the hanger door, and then he too bolted for the shuttle. Luckily the hanger deck main door operated on a backup system to allow the crew to be able to leave a ship, without the ship`s main electrical power, if it ever became necessary. Ray ran to the front section of the shuttle and sat down in the pilot's chair, this shuttle was a little more modern than his own one, but it operated in much the same way. A press of one button closed the shuttle`s airlock door; the press of another button started the shuttle`s engine. Ray quickly engaged the engine and the ship moved slowly forward out of the freighter's hanger door and out into the blackness of space, and well before the bridge crew of the starship found a way to override the controls on the hanger deck. Slowly the large hanger deck outer door began to close, but it was too late to stop Ray and Jean from escaping. Ray took the shuttle away from the damaged Lyren freighter and then pushed its engine up to its maximum speed, they were heading back to the planet New Terra and its second moon. He then put a call in to the Jeanette and Harry Proctor to come and collect them, because otherwise it would be a long flight at the sub-light speed of the shuttlecraft.

Ray had planted the plastic explosive to both disable the freighter's hyperspace engine and also the controls to the subspace engines, unfortunately, the ship had exited hyperspace very near to a red giant star that was even now dragging the stricken ship into its gaseous grasp. The captain of the stricken starship immediately sent out a distress call to Lyre, for assistance.

It was a lucky mechanic who had been saved at the last minute by his close friend on the ship. Noticing his friend was missing he had asked the captain to institute a search of the ship before abandoning her, something the crew did in the newly repaired second shuttlecraft, and with only minutes to spare. They knew that their rescue wa on the way, this stopped panic from breaking out on the packed craft.

Lucky for Ray and Jean, Harry got to their shuttlecraft before the Lyre rescue ship arrived in the planetary system to rescue the Lyren crew, or they could have been found themselves prisoners of the Lyre Federation.

**********

Back on New Terra, Greg Marlin had already spoken to the manager of the hotel and got a second copy of Peter Summers` bill, he had heard about Summers` sister and her friend. He also found the Lyren connection from the telephone number listed on the bill, what he didn`t know was what had transpired to cause Peter Summers` disappearance, or where Jean Summers was now or who her friend was. Marlin had called at the offices of Lyre import export but they couldn`t or wouldn`t help him at all, they didn`t know of a Mr Peter Summers and had not spoken to his sister or her friend. He took this limited information back to Tom Parkinson to see how he was getting on with his thoughts regarding his side of the bargain made between the two men.

Chapter Four

The Church of the Universe

On New Terra, a large starship was landing at the space port, emblazoned on its side were the words 'The Church of the Universe'. On board were Bishop Nicholas Collingswood and a team of specialists who would seem to be more suited to being members of the space marines than to the church, for they were members of a particular group of priests called the 'Soldiers of Christ'. Collingswood and his team had come to New Terra after repeated requests from the local vicars who needed help in quelling the rampant corruption that existed on the planet, and his team fresh from a successful mission back on Earth were just the people to do it. An armoured transporter rolled down the ship`s ramp and took the Bishop away to visit the city`s Chief of Police, Gregory Marlin, a much-surprised man who was at that moment talking to Tom Parkinson. On being told that he had a visitor, and just whom it was, Tom looked across at Greg Marlin.

"Your problems could well be coming to an end, outside your door is a very powerful man who belongs to just about the most powerful church in the galaxy, and he will stop the corruption on New Terra."

"You had better send him in Roberts." Marlin told his assistant.

Bishop Nicholas Collingswood was a short man being only five feet seven inches tall, but he more than made up for his lack of inches with a dynamic personality and a conviction that come what may his way was the best.

"Good afternoon Bishop Collingswood. I am Police Chief Marlin and this is Director Tom Parkinson of the Interstellar Intelligence Bureau. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Good afternoon Chief Marlin, good afternoon Tom, I hope that you are still well?"

They had been working hard together over the last twelve months on a secret mission known only to a select few, and they were both surprised to see one another here on New Terra. Bishop Collingswood didn`t wait for Tom Parkinson to reply but went straight on.

"I am here as I have been informed by the vicars of this world that New Terra is a hotbed of sin and iniquity, almost akin to the infamous Sodom and Gomorrah of biblical times, and I intend to clean it up. What I want to know Chief Marlin is this, are you going to help me clean up this world or are you going to fight me?" Collingswood was looking almost directly at Police Chief Marlin while he said this but half an eye was kept on Tom Parkinson as well to watch for his reaction. As Collingswood saw, both men were delighted to have him here on New Terra.

"I have been attempting to clean this world up for a while now, and with some success I might say, but as I was saying to Director Parkinson, I need the help of Earth to fully succeed, and with the help that you are offering me I know that we will succeed." Marlin said to a quietly smiling Collingswood.

"And you Tom, why are you here on New Terra?" Collingswood asked, having turned to face Tom Parkinson. Parkinson was tall and slim but with some muscular development showing through his well-tailored clothes. He had blond hair and blue eyes.

"One of my agents was here on New Terra, he was following up a lead that was taking him directly towards Lyre when he went missing; I believe that some of the criminal elements on New Terra are responsible for his disappearance. Hearing only good things about Police Chief Marlin I came here to enlist his help in my search for my missing agent."

"Then we are all interested in cleaning out this world to bring it back to the light and to the ways of God." Collingswood stated smiling. "Let me outline my plans to you both. Although this planet is not one of our colony planets, many of its population are followers of the one true faith. The Church of New Terra is going to request on behalf of its people that the status of a colony world of the Church of the Universe be bestowed upon it belatedly. This means that all the charters that accompany such a world will also apply here. The leading criminal element will be jailed for contravening the charter, the council members and police officials who are known to be allies of these men will be relieved of their posts and threatened with imprisonment if they do not sign a confession and agree to atone for their sins. The officials who regulate in local matters will also be treated in this same manner, although some leniency may be shown if they confess immediately."

Police Chief Marlin first looked shocked and then delighted at the bishop`s plans, but Tom Parkinson, while delighted when any major criminal was brought down, was also a little worried at the legality of such measures but he knew Bishop Collingswood was a good man who he personally trusted.

"Surely to do as you suggest is illegal, even if what you plan to do is pleasing to my heart, I still cannot believe that it can be legal."

"Oh, it is legal Tom, just not widely known about. A law back in the beginning of the twenty fourth century gave the founders of a new colony world of the Church of the Universe, or any other major religion, the right to jail all lawbreakers temporarily whom the local Bishop knows to be guilty of a crime. This applies even if the said Bishop does not have enough evidence but fears for the individual safety of his flock, should any of them come forward before the criminals are convicted. And as we will be issuing a new world colony charter to the people of New Terra, belatedly of course, we will henceforth be known as the founders of this colony planet as well as its saviours."

Tom Parkinson was rather concerned that such power should be in the hands of any large powerful Quasi-governmental organisation as powerful as the Churches now were both on Earth and on the colony planets. However, he was saved from worrying about this law, for he received a call on his satellite phone system, it was from his office back on Earth.

"Sorry to bother you sir but we have a freighter captain on the subspace radio who says that he needs to talk to you immediately regarding the planet Lyre`s activities on New Terra. As you are currently operating from that planet in connection with Lyre, I thought that you might like to speak to him, shall I redirect his call to you sir?" His communications officer explained.

"Yes, and thank you, please do connect me to the freighter captain?" Tom Parkinson ordered.

The call was immediately rerouted, instead of coming to Earth via the New Terra satellite, it came directly to Tom Parkinson.

"Tom Parkinson here, who am I speaking with?" He demanded to know.

"My name is Ray Connors; I am with Jean Summers who has come to New Terra in search of her brother. While assisting her to do this, we ran afoul of one the major criminals of that planet who in turn led us to a Dylithium mine ran by him for the sole use of the Lyre Federation, it is the Lyre Federation who now hold her brother prisoner on their home world."

"I am on New Terra now Captain, where are you at this moment, because I would very much like to talk to you about your recent entanglements? I am here with Bishop Collingswood of the Church of the Universe whose sole reason for being here is to clean out the criminal element of this world, so you see we would both like to talk with you about our respective problems."

"I am on my freighter and I can land at the space port of New Terra within thirty minutes, can you send some of your people to meet me so that my safety, and that of the other two people here with me, is guaranteed?" Ray asked.

"Don`t worry Captain, I will come in person, and for company I will bring along some space marines." Tom Parkinson replied.

"Yes, they will do nicely." Ray said smiling.

Tom Parkinson arrived at the spaceport in exactly twenty minutes, and along with the marines led by Colonel Michaels were Police Chief Marlin and Bishop Collingswood. Collingswood thought it best to carry out the initial debriefing, as the bishop called it, aboard his own large starship. It was more secure there, away from any spying eyes and ears, and any sort of assassination attempt, for the starship`s armour was very impressive and its sensors which would instantly detect any more serious threats and turn on the ships defence shields, should the need arise.

The Jeanette was contacted as it approached the space port, which was unusual in itself for New Terra, and instructed to land alongside the starship belonging to the Church, so as to make their journey between the two ships as brief as possible. Tom Parkinson was at the door of the Jeanette as Ray Connors opened it.

"Hello, I am Tom Parkinson; you I guess are Captain Connors?" He said greeting them.

"Yes, and it was good of you to meet us, this is my partner Harry Proctor and this lady here is Jean Summers." Ray said introducing the other two people on his ship.

"Mr Parkinson, it is good to meet you at last, I have left countless messages for you." Jean said a little frostily.

"I will explain aboard the starship behind me, it offers far more security than this spot in front of Captain Connors` freighter."

Ray looked at the name emblazoned along the fuselage of the starship and then looked back quizzically at Tom Parkinson who smiled and explained.

"No, Captain, this is not my ship, it is being used currently by Bishop Collingswood, who as I said before, is here on New Terra to clean out the lawless element on this planet. My own team consists of a squad of space marines spread around the spaceport to stop anyone getting too interested in you or us, and I am here partly to do with my job and mostly to do with my missing agent. Now shall we board this ship?"

Once aboard the starship they were led forward to a large room that resembled the main room of some Victorian gentlemen`s club, for apart from a dozen armchairs spread around the room there were only a few coffee tables to be seen in the room. The walls of the room were in imitation mahogany and the wall lights looked to be replicas of the same period in time.

To Ray, Harry, and Jean it looked impressive but in fact the Church had ensured that it had cost little, for they had many other calls on their money. Bishop Collingswood stood up from one of the armchairs over in the far corner of the room and greeted them. The only other people in the room were Police Chief Marlin and Colonel Michaels of the space marine corps. Michaels had dark brown hair cut short in the style favoured by all of the marines, a ramrod stance that emphasised his six feet tall figure, and seemingly electric blue eyes that were filled with latent power.

"I am glad to meet you; I hope that what you have to tell us will help all of us in our chosen missions." Collingswood said before he introduced Marlin.

"Over here is Police Chief Marlin who has been attempting to get the lawless element of New Terra under some sort of control, I am here to see that he succeeds. But please be seated and then we can talk."

Ray showed Jean to a seat, in keeping with the décor of the room, except for the fact that in a genuine club a woman would never have been allowed within its hallowed rooms, before he and Harry sat down nearby.

"Maybe you would tell us your story Captain?" Tom Parkinson suggested.

"To keep it brief I will tell you the relevant facts of our recent difficulties. The Lyre import export office here is run by the Lyre Federation to acquire Dylithium for export back to their planet, they use a large freighter for this, one that almost certainly has energy weapon weapons concealed within its sleek fuselage. They used a local gangster, the late Karl Terrier, to run the mine and to keep their secret, a secret. Whilst doing this he arranged to kidnap your agent, Jean`s brother, Peter Summers, and he was then handed over to the Lyrens who took him back to their planet as a prisoner. Karl Terrier`s men also kidnapped Jean and then handed her over to the Lyrens for transport back to Lyre so that they could use her as a lever to get your agent to cooperate with them, and they might have succeeded if I hadn`t rescued her. Two of Terrier`s men almost killed Harry, and Terrier tried to kill me before he went to meet his maker."

"Karl Terrier is dead you say; how did that happen?" Marlin asked.

"He was supposed to be taking me to where he was keeping Jean a prisoner, but instead it was a trap and when he sprung it he had a sword in his hand so I was forced to stop him in the only way possible, I threw a knife at him and killed him." Ray said looking at each of the four men there, apart from Harry that is, to see what effect his bold statement had on them. From what he could tell from their expressions they didn`t appear to be too shocked over the death of the gangland boss.

"Do you know the identity of the two men who kidnapped Ms Summers and attacked Mr Proctor?" Marlin then asked in the hope of legally jailing two more of the criminal fraternity. Jean answered his question.

"One is called Gorilla, probably because he resembled one, and the other one is called George, it was George who was the most loathsome of the two, for he took a real pleasure in hurting me. I think he would have been happy to kill me if he didn`t have to take me to the Lyren starship." Jean said, entering into the discussion, a look of pain appearing on her face as she recalled the events that had been so recent.

"Yes, I know the two men that you speak of Ms Summers, and I will also take great pleasure myself in incarcerating them both in our lovely jail. They will not go unpunished." Marlin replied to Jean with a look of relish upon his face.

"Tell me Captain, how on earth did you rescue Ms Summers from the Lyren space craft?" Tom Parkinson asked.

"After creating a diversion, I was able to steal aboard the ship and free Jean, unfortunately the ship had taken off by then so we were forced to temporarily disable their craft and then borrow one of their shuttle craft to make our escape."

"Captain if you ever need a job contact me, I need resourceful men such as you." Tom Parkinson said with a look of admiration.

"I was going to anyway, contact you that is, because Jean is dead set on travelling to Lyre and somehow freeing her brother." Ray replied with a look of admiration when he glanced across at Jean.

"You are not serious Captain; you intend to walk into the heart of the Lyre Federation and then free Peter Summers and walk back out?" Tom Parkinson said in bewilderment. "It is just not possible."

"Oh, I don`t know Director, I think with a little help from your informants on Lyre and also if a couple of space marines were to go along as protection, it could be attempted with a good chance that it would succeed." Colonel Michaels said interrupting the conversation.

Colonel Michaels had been seconded to this mission on New Terra as it was thought that the publicity generated by this mission would help his political aspirations. The Church of the Universe were backing him for the next election that was due in less than a year, for the post of the Vice President of Earth and all its colony planets, and the Church`s views held sway over a large section of the voting public. He was running with Jeffery Clarkson who was a senior man in the current Presidency and who was running for the post of President as the current incumbent, President Blocker, was retiring due to ill health.

Colonel Michaels hoped that this war would catapult him further forward into the political arena, and to take part in a successful escapade such as this, could help him do just that.

"You mean that you would be willing to go along with them on this mad enterprise Colonel?" Tom Parkinson said, still in bewilderment. He knew that Michaels had aspirations, but he never realised how far the man would go to see them realised. Tom Parkinson then turned back to Ray Connors.

"Captain Connors just how would you expect to get to Lyre, and when you do get there, how will you be able to get around when you don`t know the language?" Tom Parkinson demanded to know; he was fast finding the conversation ludicrous in the extreme.

"My father traded with the Lyre Federation for some twenty years and he always took my mother and me along with him, he insisted that I learn their language to ensure that we were not tricked by them, for even then they were a gruesome bunch. I learnt their language almost at the same time as I learnt English. I intended to go to Lyre this time as a blockade-runner, I would then trade with the people who until the present difficulties arose, I had been trading with before. Then using a faulty engine as a reason for not leaving Lyre immediately, use the time to locate Peter Summers. If you would provide us with some leads to follow up, it might make things less risky, otherwise, it might be a little difficult for us, but I know enough of the people to maybe find out where he is being held, and maybe get him out."

"You haven`t said anything yet on the subject Mr Proctor, what are your feelings on the matter?" Collingswood wanted to know, as the subject of the conversation had gripped his interest.

"If Ray thinks it is possible to get in and out again, and with a better than even chance of doing so with our skins still intact, then I will go along with him. You and Mr Parkinson don`t know Ray, but he is a very handy man to have about you when there is any risk to your future health, as Jean found out recently."

Jean had been quiet for she knew that Ray would be endangering his life and that of Harry`s because of her, which she also knew must mean that he had strong feelings for her, something that was not disagreeable to her, for she was beginning to have feelings for him. She felt though that she ought to say something about the subject of finding her brother.

"Mr Parkinson I am only here because you wouldn`t answer my calls. Now that I am here, I intend to carry on until I find my brother. We have always been close and with the death of my parents, well he is the only family that I have left to me and I do not intend to let him go just yet. I would do this alone, however foolish that may be, except Ray and Harry would never allow it, something I am so very grateful to them for, for I know that it would be far more difficult, if not impossible, to find my brother let alone free him if I were alone." Jean said with a look of strength now showing on her youthful face, a look that those who knew her had never seen before, for up until recently she had never needed it."

"You are right in censoring me Ms Summers, and I offer my rather belated apologises and assure you that I had decided to look into your brother`s disappearance before today. The reason that I had held back before was that I didn`t want to expose him as one of my agents to the authorities on New Terra, not when I was unsure whether he was in any danger at that particular moment. I was also unsure of their loyalties, fears that as far as Police Chief Marlin is concerned were unnecessary, for it is plain for all to see that he is fighting on the side of law and order. However, I don`t think that Captain Connors fully appreciates the current situation on Lyre, but if you are all hell bent on this foolhardy rescue attempt, then I will of course give you all the help and advice that I can to make it a better than an even bet, as Mr Proctor puts it."

Just then, Police Chief Marlin interrupted the conversation. "For my part I am thankful to Captain Connors for the assistance he has given us and the first thing I shall do when I return to my office is to order the arrest of Gorilla and George Bushnell for the kidnapping of Ms Summers and the attack on Mr Proctor. Bishop Collingswood, maybe after this other business is finished, we can make a plan of action as to how to coordinate these two arrests with a far greater plan of campaign?" Police Chief Marlin was eager to get on with his chosen mission and away from the one favoured at this precise moment by Tom Parkinson and the three foolhardy people in search of the missing brother.

"Maybe the three of you wouldn`t mind writing out a statement each, then I can proceed with arrests of the two gangsters and also of the people at the Lyre import export offices."

Ray Connors immediately agreed to do this and after paper and pens were supplied, their statements were written, signed, and witnessed, Bishop Collingswood and Police Chief Marlin left the others to continue their discussion concerning Peter Summers and his freedom, while they spoke further about the level of corruption on New Terra.

Tom Parkinson looked at the four people before him and couldn`t help but admire them.

"I will need an hour to think matters over before I finally decide to what level I will assist you three foolhardy people, and you too Colonel Michaels."

Tom Parkinson had been sitting in his chair ignoring all the others while he mulled over in his mind the best way to help not only the four people with him, but also the war effort. He finally looked up, for he was now ready to speak to them.

"I have decided that we should proceed with the plan that I am about to outline to you. It will help you, it may also endanger you, but it means that the admirals in command of the war with Lyre will not stop you from going ahead, as they could do by simply accusing you of trading with the enemy. You don`t know it yet but the police action reported on by the news agencies has already escalated in to a war and it is soon going to enter its deciding phase, and you can either be part of it or return home." Tom Parkinson looked at the others seated around him, and Jean who was sitting directly opposite him was the only one to speak.

"Go ahead Mr Parkinson, tell us what we have to do to get my brother home." Her voice held a trace of fear, for she was new to all of this, but determined to continue her quest.

"Right, well as you are to be recruited as agents of the Interstellar Intelligence Bureau my name is Tom, okay Jean, Ray, Harry, Ron. The danger that my agents face means that we are all on a first name basis, and the danger that you will face is even more so than my other agents normally face." Tom stopped here for a moment as he looked into the serious faces around him before continuing.

"I could of course supply you with the names of my contacts on Lyre, but to do so would put their lives in danger, if any of you were to be interrogated by the Neo Nazi thugs of their intelligence services. Instead, I will ask them to initiate the contact, but only when they feel that it is safe to do so, that way this additional danger to their wellbeing will be smaller than if it was left to you to initiate contact. I will also provide you with some of the contraband that Lyre is seeking to acquire, as we have recently captured a couple of blockade runners and are holding the ships and their cargoes at the Enterprise space station in the nearby Cardinal planetary system." Tom said to the delighted Jean.

"It is of a low value as far as contraband goes but it would be foolish if you were to turn up there with a load of Dylithium, for they would ask too many questions. The confiscated load will have to be mixed with some other items in case some inquisitive fellow realises that you are carrying the same goods that we confiscated from another blockade runner not so long ago, for that could all too soon end your mission." Tom said, and then he turned to Ray.

"Captain, you will have to enter the area of space controlled by them from the direction of Apraxia, which as you might know is unaligned with any other planets or Federations, and makes quite a profit by keeping it that way. They are not interested in the morality of the situation; they are only interested in getting the best possible price for their goods with as little fuss as possible."

Tom Parkinson then turned to the marine. "Colonel perhaps you would explain why you want to join in on this dangerous mission?" Tom Parkinson asked.

"Life has been very dull lately, minding various people such as yourself Director, and I could do with a little excitement for a change, if we succeed it will be worth the effort." Tom Parkinson realised that Colonel Michaels was being economical with the truth, but he let it pass.

"You said a couple of marines, bearing in mind it would have to be a volunteer, who else would you take along with you, assuming that he volunteers?"

"Lieutenant Bragg is also getting bored with the lack of action at the moment; I believe he would welcome the chance to come along."

"Okay then, as well as taking the contraband along to Lyre, I will also need you to take along a large consignment of arms and gold for the freedom movement on Lyre, as they call themselves, this will ensure that you are contacted, as all my contacts on Lyre are members of the movement. The freedom movement is made up of Lyren nationals only; some of them are politicians, they could be local or national, some of them are in the military and they could be state police or part of the Lyren armed forces, yet others are just ordinary workers. Apart from the members of the freedom movement, the Lyren people may seem to be just like you or I. However, many of them are fiercely patriotic, and even those who are simply members of the public should not be trusted. You can bet your last credit that they could still turn you in should you give them a reason to distrust you more than they will a stranger anyway. Now you will probably have to travel to find Peter and so I will have the freedom movement provide you with the necessary documents, Ray tell me just how good your grasp of the Lyren language is?"

"If you are asking whether I could pass for a local then yes I could quite easily." Ray answered, he didn`t have to wait long for an explanation.

"Good because my plan calls for you to be one of two low ranking officers in the state police, the other will be Ron who can also speak the language well enough to pass muster. I will have my agents on Lyre arrange for you to escort a small group of farm workers to a distant part of Lyre. Farm workers are normally people from the enslaved planets and so they are the lowest form of life on Lyre. However, any of your party who are not travelling under the guise of a state police officer will be amongst the luckiest of slaves, as they will have transport in a form of a truck. Our state policemen will have a staff car." Tom stopped here for a moment to collect his thoughts, and to allow what he had said to sink in. Smiling, he then continued.

"You must always be careful not to annoy anyone, slave or Lyren they can all turn on you and you do not want to attract any attention. Jean you will be made up to look a lot older, a little tired and nowhere near as attractive as you are, your looks will attract too much attention from both the men and the women, slave or Lyren, please do remember this, it could be vital to the success of your part of the mission. Now I do not imagine that any of you speak the different languages of the farm workers, so Jean you personally will have a problem that you will have to overcome, and when you do talk always mumble it quietly so that you cannot be overheard. A Lyren will only talk to our two state policemen, the policemen can make a slave worker understand him either by using force, a favourite way amongst the state police or by sign language or whatever other way he can think to use. Oh, I will try to arrange for two members of the freedom movement to go along with you; they will be your drivers. Normally only groups of twenty or more are moved about, so you will be among such a group. The drivers can use this opportunity to contact members of the freedom movement that are further afield. We will provide them with sufficient gold to bribe the officials that will allow your little group to travel around Lyre with the necessary paperwork. The freedom movement will be able to pass on messages to other members of the movement, they will also be able to supply them with some of the arms and gold that you will be transporting to Lyre. This unfortunately could also increase the dangers to you if any member of the movement makes a mistake during this time. Oh, in case you wondered, the officials taking the bribes are nominally against the ruling party, but they require a little gold to make their fears subside while they cooperate with the freedom movement." Once again, Tom allowed all this to sink in before finishing off.

"Well Jean, do you have any second thoughts?"

"I admit that it is very scary, and probably any sane person would quit now, but as I said, I need to get my brother back, so I will even endure the unendurable to this end."

"I don`t know what to say Jean, except that I don`t have a sister, but if I did, I would hope that she was someone like you." Tom said with a feeling of admiration for her.

"Colonel, I will expect you to take real good care of these three people here, and I hope that you get whatever it is that you are after out of this venture."

When told about the operation Lieutenant Charles Bragg volunteered immediately because he had not joined the Space Marine Corps to baby sit one important person after another, he had joined for the excitement, in the future he might well hanker after the quiet life, but not just now.

Tom Parkinson said goodbye to the brave group and returned to the office of Police Chief Marlin, while later that same day the Jeanette took off with Jean Summers, Colonel Ronald Michaels and Lieutenant Charles Bragg. It was rather crowded in the small galley as they journeyed the thankfully short distance across to the Cardinal system to the space station Enterprise, it was here that the confiscated freighters Barnaby and Goliath awaited them. There the station`s crew followed out Tom Parkinson`s orders, quickly and without any questions regarding their next port of call. It took them only four hours to reload the contraband cargo onto the Jeanette plus a further thirty minutes to take on the arms and gold destined for the freedom movement on Lyre. It took another two hours to construct a false wall and door to hide the arms and gold from the eyes of the Lyren officials. Coded messages went back and forth between the office of Police Chief Marlin, where Tom Parkinson had taken up temporary residence, for he was assisting in the cleanup of New Terra, and the Lyre freedom movement until finally all was set for the go.

The Jeanette finally departed the space station, and the Cardinal system, and started off on its long journey that took it into the area of space controlled by Apraxia, but the Jeanette did not stop off here, instead it turned sharply towards the Lyre Federation and the planet Lyre. Inside of the starship the team were feeling tense and Jean, well she was just a little scared. Her parents would go ape, if they had still been alive, and her brother would probably have screamed at her for being so stupid, but stupid or not she was not going to back out now, she was determined to find her brother, there were no other options that she cared to think about. The blue green planet that was Lyre appeared on the ship`s view screen and soon filled it.

They had been escorted to Lyre from the planetary system`s farthest edges by a lightly armed war ship, but one powerful enough to ensure that they went where they were supposed to go. After speaking to the Spaceport, Ray was given permission to land on its outermost edges. This was almost exactly in the same location as his last trip to this planet, only this time he came as her enemy and not as a simple trader.

Chapter Five

The Planet of Lyre

The large bulk of the Jeanette slowly settled down on to the barren land that was the space port of Lyre, its engines purred down to a quiet hum and nothing moved around it or near to it. That was until the local customs men came across in a small vehicle to stop to one side of the large hanger door of the space craft, which slowly opened before them and sunk down to rest on the hard ground. Ray was standing just inside of the ship to call a greeting to the two uniformed men, and to ask them where they could unload their cargo of vitally needed goods, now that the embargo by Earth was stopping so many of the vitally important imported goods from getting through to the planet. He sounded like many of the contraband runners, too full of his own importance.

"What do you have on board there Captain?" The Lyren official called up to Ray, not impressed one little bit by what he saw or heard.

"Mostly clear Aluminium sheet plus a fair amount of Titanium and a small amount of metallic glass." The aluminium was from one contraband runner, the titanium from a second and the glass came from yet another, this mixture should avoid any unnecessary complications arising when their ship`s cargo was finally sold.

The two customs men did a quick tour of the hold of the Jeanette, stopping occasionally to glance inside one crate and then another, but they didn`t look too hard, and they never even looked at the rest of the ship. Suppliers of contraband were a necessary breed of men for the Lyre Federation now, and the customs men had been told not to make life difficult for them, as the goods they brought were needed if the Federation was to win the war against Earth.

"Ok, Captain, stay here, when your customer arrives, we will direct him to you. See you next trip." The two customs men left to return to their warm office and another cup of coffee.

Ray had arranged to sell the cargo to one of his old customers who dealt in such merchandise, along with many other goods, he should be arriving the next day to take possession of the cargo and pay in gold, a payment that was easily convertible into any other currency that a trader like Ray was portraying to be, may require. He also called their original customer, the one that he had mentioned to Jean when on New Caledonia, and asked him to come by and collect his cargo of computers, a cargo now banned by the authorities on Earth but which had been legal when he accepted the contract.

"We had better stay on board tonight and wait for the freedom movement to make contact with us. It would be asking for trouble for the crew of an Earth vessel to go ashore and visit the local bars, the locals may well be a little annoyed with any earthmen that they might encounter at the moment, what with the present troubles between the two planets." Ray said to the others.

"Anyway, it would be just our luck to run into some of the customers of the bars later on in the trip, and when two of us would then be masquerading as slaves and the other two as state police officers." Colonel Michaels stated. "Especially when we will need to keep as low a profile as is possible while we are travelling around this delightful planet."

"Join the space marines and see the galaxy." Lieutenant Bragg quipped. The Lieutenant was already becoming a tough veteran Space Marine; he was aged thirty, just six feet tall with an athletic looking build, fair hair and light blue eyes.

"You have nothing to complain about Charles, I have had to put on so much make up to ensure my safety, but no not to highlight my cute face, no, I have to look old and ugly, and with warts and all." Jean said laughing as she looked at herself in the mirror of a small golden compact that had been a present from her father on her sixteenth birthday.

"After you have met a few more of this planet`s charming inhabitants you will probably want to add a few more warts." Harry said quite seriously to Jean.

When midnight came and went, they all decided to turn in and try to get a good night`s sleep. Sleep was elusive for some of them though, Lieutenant Charles Bragg thought about his reasons for being on this enemy planet. He had volunteered for this mission because Colonel Michaels was part of it and Michaels brought success to all things that he touched, he dared when other men calculated the odds, and he acted while other men dithered or awaited orders from command. Michaels` success had brought him to the media attention and the thought of participating with him, Bragg hoped, should increase his own chances of promotion.

Colonel Ronald Michaels thought about his future, he was soon to leave the space marine corps to contest the post of the Vice Presidency of Earth and all of its colonies. The Archbishop of The Church of the Universe, one Jeremiah Smallwood was a very good friend of the Michaels family and had enjoyed many a dinner at their house. The Archbishop had warned him not to go anywhere near a scandal and to court publicity whenever he could. Michaels had volunteered for this mission as he hoped to win one more coup, one last medal before retiring from the Corps and entering into the political arena, one far more dangerous than the one that he was taking part in now. He intended to take over command of the mission at the first possible opportunity to ensure its success, and his being credited with it.

Jean went to sleep almost immediately, as the mental stress of the last week had taken its strain on her body and her mind. Being so exhausted she had quickly fallen asleep, but it was not a deep refreshing sleep, she was troubled by nightmares starring her companions and her brother; they were being hunted down by various uniformed assassins and murdered before her eyes.

Ray also went off to sleep quite quickly, but not before thinking hard about the danger they were about to face, and all for a young woman that they had known for only a very short time. The fact that somehow, she had become so important to him in so short a time, well it surprised even this hardened spaceman. His sleep was troubled with nightmares as well, his being filled with sadistic monsters torturing Jean, while he was chained against a wall and was forced to watch.

Harry was used to being in trouble and so he too went quickly to sleep, one which was untroubled by the nightmares that Jean and Ray had to endure, or the desires of the two marines.

Morning brought with it a cold drenching rain, and they didn`t expect to have any visitors until after it had finished, but they were wrong, for the hoped-for contact came halfway through the morning, it was when the rain had slowed to a drizzle for just a moment. They heard a knock on the wall of the freighter, and then two men entered calling out for Ray.

"Can I help you two gentlemen?" Ray asked hopefully.

"We are friends of Tom, he said that you had something to give us in return for some help in locating a missing friend of yours." The first man said.

He was tall and was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, both of good quality, he also had a heavy coat to keep out the rain. This he took off for the moment as his grey eyes looked them all over searchingly, almost as if he were looking for signs of a trap. He was an intelligent man, which Ray Connors could tell from his face, but his eyes also showed a hint of the stress that he had been forced to endure ever since he and his family had decided to assist the slaves, ones who had been forcibly relocated from their own planets. Ray would recognise this look amongst the slaves as he and his small team moved around the planet.

"My name is Jonas, and my friend here is Carl-Josef."

Carl was similarly attired, and like Jonas, he had the look of an alert and intelligent man, one who took them all in calmly and who waited for Jonas to carry on the conversation. He was a little wary of these people from Earth as they were strangers, he was also a little concerned that they might do something unwise while travelling through Lyre, something that might lead the state police back to Jonas and himself, but he kept this fear hidden from everyone present. Certainly, the state police of Lyre were getting ever more vigilant in their task of searching out subversives and eradicating all the enemies of the state.

"I am glad to meet you both, yes we have some trinkets for you both that Tom sent along with us, but first tell us about our missing friend. Jean here is his sister and is very worried about him." Ray said in reply to the first Lyren who looked at Jean for less than an instant and dismissed her as some plain spinster, one who seemed worn down by whatever hardships her life had thrown her way. Never had a man looked at her in such a way, the makeup must be good, Jean thought.

"He is being kept in a jail cell in the Wallachia fortress which lies deep within the Carpathian mountain range, to find him you must travel to the centre of the large continental land mass that you are so lucky to be on now. Unfortunately, the fortress is over one thousand miles away from the spaceport, and you will have to travel along some very rough country roads to get there. Roads that will be filled with state police officers all eager to get their hands on some earthmen, and full of people who will gladly sell you to them for the price of a square meal. Unfortunately, you cannot use your freighter to get there as no off-world ships are allowed to travel anywhere except up into space, this is due to the new security measures that have been set up because of the war against Earth. They fear an attack by the Space Marines of Earth, who they fear more than any other force that Earth may send against them." Lieutenant Bragg looked across at his colonel and smiled as Colonel Michaels now joined the conversation.

"Have you arranged for the necessary paperwork to be made out so that we can travel there in relative safety?"

Jonas turned to take in Colonel Michaels before answering, what he saw he liked, for he saw an experienced military man and not an adventurer, which is how he saw Ray.

"You are who?" Jonas asked.

"I am Colonel Michaels, but if we are going to travel together then please call me Ron, my colleague here and I are both officers in the Space Marine Corps of Earth." Colonel Michaels said smiling.

Ray thought this bold declaration a little foolish, for they didn`t yet know whether these two members of the freedom movement were to be trusted and just how far that trust should go. They could easily sacrifice the men from Earth if it furthered their aims. Colonel Michaels though had wanted to impress upon the two freedom fighters that there were two experienced fighting men accompanying Ray and Jean on their quest. He also wanted to try to ensure that the four of them from Earth wouldn`t be dumped along the way as excess cargo if the going got too tough, and the best way to do this would be to show the freedom fighters their worth as fellow warriors.

"Well to answer your question Ron, when we have some of the yellow coloured trinkets that you hopefully brought along with you, we can pay the man who will provide the necessary documents, only then will the documents be given into our hands."

"You can take the arms and the gold whenever you wish Jonas; would you like to inspect our cargo?" Ray asked the Lyren.

"Yes, I would like to see it very much Captain." Jonas replied to Ray`s invitation.

Ray took the two men through to the hold of the freighter, and after opening up the secret compartment manufactured by the two men in the employment of Tom Parkinson, he showed the two freedom fighters the large quantity of arms and the solid gold coins that would pay for the struggle against the Lyren government.

"The people who are supplying us with our travel documents, are they trustworthy Jonas?" Ray enquired, although he could guess the answer and his guess proved correct.

"They are to be trusted as long as we pay them enough gold, and as long as the state police don`t get around to suspecting them, if they do our friends would probably turn us in very quickly." Jonas replied cynically. "We will be back here later today, at around two in the afternoon for the arms, but we will take a little of the gold with us now so that we can pay off some of the Lyren officials, and also to procure the necessary travel documents for your journey to the Carpathian Mountains. The rain has started to strengthen so we will leave while the local officials are indoors, goodbye until then." Jonas said and then taking up some of the gold coins, he and Carl-Josef departed as quietly as they had come.

Ray looked out of the door and watched the van as it drove across the wet spaceport and then through its gates, after the usual delay while their friends` papers were checked, although it was superficial as none of the guards wished to get soaked. The rain began to come down even harder now so Ray closed the door and turned back to his friends.

"Why are all of the names of planets and places on them always of Earth origin, why can`t they be completely alien?" Ray demanded again of anyone who could supply him an answer.

"Because most of the planets near to Earth have been colonised by Earth. Lyre was colonised about two hundred years ago by a right-wing bunch who were fed up with the power that the Churches were beginning to enjoy on Earth, so they left Earth to colonise this planet. Once here they proceeded to enslave the natives on nearby planets and loot their mineral wealth. Then they began to force the slave workers to either work on Lyre or on their own world, and all of the wealth that was amassed that way was then shipped back to Lyre." Colonel Michaels said. "To the Lyren Government the locals on these planets were a backward bunch of people only just out of the Stone Age, and so ready for enslaving by a more advanced and, to their eyes, a deserving culture such as themselves."

Colonel Michaels was correct in his summing up of the Lyren people, for their main characteristic of the Lyrens was that they are a people certain of their own destiny and position in the galaxy. They had no feelings at all for any who they considered beneath them, seeing only barbarians or slaves. The people of Lyre came in more or less equal parts; from Germany, Austria, England, France, and the USA, there were also a few people from a host of other western European countries. They chose German as the national language because they all saw Adolf Hitler as a Messiah rather than a demon, and they wanted a society that followed his lead.

"You are correct about the Lyrens, Ron, for they have nothing at all to endear them to anyone, apart from their own kind. My father only began trading with them because at the time the Federation was going through another recession, and Lyre was the only planet that had any money. Later when the recession was over, we just carried on trading with them from habit, until that is, they carried out one foul deed too many and we changed locations and began trading with the more pleasant peoples of the galaxy." Ray said and was lost in memories of his family and their travels for a few moments before continuing.

"Even back then they only thought of being masters of the universe, and my father began trading with them almost thirty years ago, so you see Earth must have seen this war coming with the government of Lyre long ago, but decided to do nothing until now. Harry and I occasionally trade with them so as to keep up our contacts on the planet, just in case another recession turns up, but we mainly trade with the more peaceful colonies of Earth, when we can."

"Politicians always like to leave things like a costly war to the next politician, unless of course they are in danger of losing their position, and then a war seems to be a good idea. A bit like our current President who is very unpopular now and had hoped that a humanitarian course would benefit him in the polls early next year. All it got him was a heart attack which is why he is not standing for re-election now." Colonel Michaels said.

Later on, the cargo of computers was collected by their owner, he seemed to like the weather, for he too preferred it as it kept the checks at the gate of the space port to a minimum.

They turned in early that night, for tomorrow would likely be a long day.

**********

Kurt Bowers was a minor member of the Lyren freedom movement and had been one for some time; he was aged fifty, although at times of great stress, such as when he was doing the movement`s work, he looked a lot older. He was a widower now, for his wife had died two years back, but being a member of the Church on Lyren had helped him through this bad time. It was through the Church that he had learned about the movement. He had decided to join the freedom movement because he firmly believed that the Lyren enslavement of so many people went against the teachings of the Church. His task today was to arrange for the 'purchase' of the travel documents for two earthmen posing as members of the state police force. They would be taking a consignment of slaves to the Wallachia Mountains to help in the work of clearing the local woodland, it was so that the land could be used for growing more cereal crops. Why they wanted to go to this remote region on Lyre he didn`t know, but Jonas had requested that he make out the necessary paperwork and so he did.

His son Karl was serving with the Lyre military forces based on the enslaved planet of Rigel, and he had recently been on leave for a week. What he had told his father appalled him, the slaves were treated little better than animals and he for one was happy to work to overthrow the present regime and to replace it with one based on good Christian values. Unfortunately, his son had now been sent back to Rigel, to complete another tour of duty on that god-forsaken planet.

**********

The next day brought with it a let up on the weather front, and the sun even tried to break through the rain clouds, but it was still decidedly cool. The firm that Ray had contacted to buy the contraband goods duly arrived, they collected their goods, and paid in the promised gold coins. One piece of luck for the group was when the firm asked Ray if he would like a cargo that should be ready for shipment within the next seven days, assuming that he had no other pressing commitments. Ray jumped at the chance, as any contraband runner would have done, after saying goodbye the Lyren merchants then left. They now had a reason for delaying the departure of the freighter from Lyre.

The morning went by slowly, and the fear that Jean felt increased with each passing minute, when lunchtime finally came and went, she could barely control her compulsion to burst into tears. She visibly jumped when their recent guests returned with some friends to take away the weapons hidden within the hold of the Jeanette. They had returned in a delivery van with the name 'Foods for All' written in German across its side, a large white vehicle that was large enough to contain many things as well as the food that it always carried. Various foods were unloaded in large crates, and when the crates had been taken into the Jeanette`s hold the food was taken out of them and the weapons were then put into the same now empty crates, and then taken back aboard their truck. Now the danger that they all faced reached maximum, for should they be discovered with the weapons they would all be at the mercy of the vile regime that ruled this planet.

Jean realised that she would have to either give up her journey across the wilds of Lyre or toughen up. If Ray and the others went without her, she knew she would live in dread of the possible failure of their mission until they returned, and suffer for ever more with a loathing of her own cowardice. If they returned without Peter, she would live with a feeling of guilt, of having left Peter to die on this horrible planet without raising a hand to try to secure his release, and that kmowledge would stay with her for the rest of her life. Not long-ago Jean, although nearly twenty, was still just a young girl protected from life by her brother, at this moment in time Jean took the second step to becoming a woman, the first step being when she decided to look for her brother. She had hoped that no one had seen her state of mind but Harry Proctor had, he had also seen her get control of herself and so he had said nothing, there was something about Jean that Harry knew would rise to any occasion that life threw at her, if she was given the chance to prove herself.

The 'delivery of the food' was finished and also all of the weapons and the rest of the gold were safely aboard the delivery truck, and as the deliverymen began to get aboard it, Jonas spoke to Ray.

"Be ready to leave tomorrow, about ten in the morning, what excuse will you give for not immediately leaving the space port?"

"I have arranged with the firm who took delivery of our cargo to take a cargo of their goods to the planet Apraxia. It is due to be ready for despatch in about seven days or so, we must be back here by then or Harry will have to delay our departure due to a mechanical fault. They may give us a little more time to fix the problem, if not then we will have only lost a cargo, but if we were to arrive much later after that date then the ship would begin to attract unwelcome attention."

"This missing agent must be very important then?" Jonas asked casually. Ray would never put his trust in a Lyren that he had known for only a few hours, so he wondered if there was more behind the question, but for now, they needed the Lyren freedom movement.

"To his sister he is most important and the sister is very important to Harry and me."

Jonas threw a perplexed glance at the person who was now Jean, and he thought that she must have some hidden quality that he had missed, for he wouldn`t risk his life and his ship for the spinster.

"I will be back tomorrow morning Captain, until then stay lucky." Jonas then turned and left with the other members of the freedom movement. He needed to make more arrangements for their journey tomorrow.

Jean had a penchant for languages and already knew three other languages apart from English, and so eversince the trip had been planned, she had been trying to learn Lyren. It was easier than she had imagined for the language was a hotchpotch of a language very similar to German, which Jean could speak fluently, with a large smattering of English and French words thrown in for good luck. Ray had asked Jean to stay silent regarding her newly discovered talent, as it might come in handy if people thought that they could speak freely in front of her without the fear of her understanding their conversation.

With the rest of the afternoon and night ahead of them, they decided on an early evening meal, and then Colonel Michaels entertained them all with recollections of the high points of his time in the space marines and of the many places he had seen. Ray and Harry had been to some of the places, but always as simple traders rather than as trouble busters, and they too told tales of their own past and also those of Ray`s parents. It was a happy evening and took everyone's mind off the coming day and the dangers that it carried, but as the night turned late, they all settled down, to what would be the last comfortable night`s sleep they would enjoy for some time, in preparation for the hardships of the coming journey.

The next morning was dry and fine but much cooler when a different delivery van from yesterday turned up; this one was supposedly from a firm that sold spare parts for starships. Two men jumped down from it, Jonas was again one of the men, and he was carrying a large suitcase and a sack.

"Captain this is Claude, my brother." Jonas said indicating his driver who simply nodded to them all.

"You are all ready to depart?" Jonas asked.

"We are ready, how do you want to play this, do we simply get into your van, or do we employ subterfuge?"

"It is simple, Captain." Jonas said putting the suitcase on the table in the galley and opening it. "You and the Colonel will put on these two state police uniforms along with these heavy overcoats, as it will be very cold where you are going at this time of the year. Your other two friends must put on the clothes worn by the slaves of this planet, they are in the sack, and I have some furs for them that the slaves working in the Carpathian Mountains wear. When the time is right, we will all climb in through the door in the side of the van, your ship is large enough to shield us from view by the officials in the port's offices, and my van does the same from anyone who may be watching from the other side of the space port."

"Don`t they have any sophisticated surveillance devices anywhere?" Colonel Michaels enquired.

"They do, but in fifteen minutes time they will flash off for twenty seconds, during that time we will make the transfer, you should be wearing your new clothes by that time. You will hide in a false front section of the van, a similar concealed space to the one on your ship in which you concealed the weapons that you brought for us. Claude will open this when he climbs back into the van, and then with Claude and me in the front of the van we will leave the space port and take you on to your starting point."

Jonas caught sight of a query growing in Colonel Michael`s eyes and answered the unspoken question.

"You will all have to travel in the back because only citizens of Lyre are permitted to enter or leave the space port, unless of course you are a member of the crew of a visiting ship. Claude, Carl-Josef and I are all Lyrens. As none of you will be leaving the space port as a member of the crew of this freighter, we must hide the two slaves as they are not citizens and the two state policemen would be noticed leaving as they were not seen entering." Jonas explained as if to a child. He then went on to tell them something about himself.

"My brother and I actually started the freedom movement; we both felt that it was wrong of our people to enslave others. We decided to do something about it; up until the time that Earth declared war upon the Lyre Federation there was a limit to what we could actually do for these people, but now we hope to overthrow the current government and give the people of the enslaved planets back their freedom. The people you will be travelling with are people who have been forcibly relocated from one of the nearby planets, we have arranged for this particular batch to travel to the area around the Carpathian Mountains. Workers are needed there to begin cutting down the forest, and then to start to set up the new farms where they would be expected to spend the rest of their lives, if things on this planet do not improve, now time is short please finish dressing quickly."

In just ten minutes they were all dressed in their new outfits. The state police uniforms were almost completely black and well pressed, and together with the peaked cap that completed the ensemble, looked quite smart, if you are in to such things. They were also provided with starched shirts, a black tie and long leather boots. The clothes for the other two were of a much different quality, just a pair of trousers resembling jeans of a poor quality, a thin shirt, a heavy jumper. They also had a pair of what looked rather like wellington boots, a long cloth coat and finally a rather worn looking fur coat. Together they would help keep out some of the cold of the Lyren winter.

"Jonas, Ray and I have a change of underwear and socks in our backpacks, along with our washing gear which we will take with us, but if Jean and the lieutenant are going as slaves then they will need the use of your sack to take their gear with them." Colonel Michaels said.

"Yes of course Colonel, they can use the sack." Jonas replied. "However, I hope that any labels have been removed and the items carried by the two who will be farmworkers are of poor quality?"

"I saw to that last night Jonas, nothing that we are taking with us will stand out." Ray replied before turning to Harry.

"It is almost time to go Harry, so I will say adieu now and tell you not to worry too much about us, for we will see you real soon, take care of the ship and also of yourself." Ray took Harry's hand and shook it and then Jean indicated that she too wanted to say goodbye.

"Don`t you worry about Ray; I will look after him Harry." Jean said raising a small smile and then kissing Harry on the cheek.

"I`m not worried about Ray he`s old enough and ugly enough to take care of himself, and now you are all out of my hair I can give the Jeanette a bit of a clean-up." Harry grumbled but when he looked at Jean, he winked at her and smiled. "You take care of yourself Jean, according to that Tom Parkinson, Lyre is a very dangerous place right now, and it sure isn`t New Caledonia." Harry said gently to the young woman of whom he had come to be very fond.

Then Jonas`s timer rang its message to them with a quiet tingling bell, it was to inform them all that the four people from Earth should now climb into the nearby side of the van. When they were inside, Jonas closed the door and then in turn got in to the front of the van beside Claude his brother. The four in the rear of the van were safely hidden from view, and from their claustrophobic space they heard the van start. Moments later, they felt it move away and after a brief stop at the space ports gates, they were off on their adventure.

The journey took more than an hour, so they were all relieved when their journey was over and they could get out and stretch their legs. Colonel Michaels though had been spending the time thinking certain matters over.

"Jonas as a delivery driver you hardly have the power to arrange where and when slave labour can be moved around the planet?" Colonel Michaels asked when they had climbed from the van. Ray had also been pondering over this as well.

"That is because I am not a delivery man, this firm is owned by my brother, and I occasionally help him when it suits me to do so. I am actually a member of the Lyren Government, and the movement of slave labour is my main responsibility, should I be recognised it could be embarrassing for me but not dangerous, for this eccentricity of mine is well known."

"Why then do you need to obtain travel documents, if you are in charge of the slave labour department?" Colonel Michaels asked.

"Because although I am in charge of my own department, all travel around Lyre is regulated by the state police, and it is this department that gives out the necessary travel documents, so you see helping you is a very risky business. Now then, Ron, Ray, you will take your two compatriots around the corner where you will find a truck full of people, they will accompany you on your journey, the two drivers are members of the movement but all the others are slave labour and so they are not to be taken into your confidence. From now on, your two friends are vermin, as are the other slaves. You will travel in the staff car parked behind the truck. As I said the driver is a member of the movement, as is the driver of the truck, you would normally not drive the staff car as the state police are above such things, treat him as you do the truck driver, and that is as one treats a poor relative. Here is an envelope, it contains all of your documents plus a little about the lives that you are supposed to have lived on Lyre, memorise it as soon as you get into your vehicle and then destroy it." Jonas said giving Ray the envelope. "Good luck on your mission, I will probably not meet up with you again, but I will always remember four brave if foolish people who came to this planet in search of a friend."

Chapter Six

Journey into the Wilderness

There was a cold wind blowing as Ray Connors and Colonel Michaels went with Lieutenant Bragg and Jean Summers to the waiting truck that was already half full with the men and women. They were huddled together at the far end of it for warmth, for the temperature was dropping fast. The only other things that were in the truck was a large pile of sacks that contained the few possessions that the slaves had been allowed to bring with them from their home world. Michaels immediately took charge.

"You two, quickly get into the truck here, you will find some more of your fellow workers there who have also been given this glorious opportunity of serving their masters." He snapped these words out arrogantly, his face sneering as he looked at the cargo of humanity that was already on board the truck, trying to keep the pity for these people from showing in his eyes.

When Lieutenant Charles Bragg looked at him, as he didn`t understand just what had been said, it being in the Lyren language, Michaels pushed him towards the back of the truck and appeared to strike him to make him get aboard the vehicle.

Ray turned to look at him and wondered how he had become the part so quickly and so perfectly, for Ray had seen such officials on his last visit to Lyre. After Jean and Lieutenant Bragg had boarded the truck, Ray Connors and Colonel Michaels walked to the drivers cab and spoke with the driver.

"I suppose you know where we are going driver?" Michaels asked condescendingly.

The driver was an elderly man dressed in the uniform of the army of Lyre, and he looked round slowly at them and smiled.

"That is very good my friend, if you ever want a new job then you would do fine in the state police of Lyre." He whispered, smiling across at the two men before carrying on. "Yes Lieutenant, I have been there on a previous occasion." He answered in a much louder voice.

"Then as soon as we get into our vehicle you may proceed." Michaels ordered.

Ray Connors and Colonel Michaels then walked back along the length of the truck and got into the back of the waiting staff car. It was Ray who introduced the two of them to the driver.

"I am Ray and this handsome man next to me is Colonel Michaels, how are you my friend?"

"You address me as Strauss, Lieutenant, when you deign to speak to me at all Ray, and when you have both digested the contents of the envelope that Jonas gave to you, you should get into your part even when we are alone, for there are many alert eyes and ears on Lyre."

"Understood Strauss, and for the first and probably last time for a while, thank you for assisting us on this dangerous mission." Ray replied.

"It is my pleasure to come to the aid of an earthman, for your planet will hopefully help restore sanity to my own one." The driver said politely before turning his attention to the truck ahead which had already begun to pull away, his true thoughts though he kept to himself.

The temperature inside of the staff car was chilly, as the thermostat in the vehicle wasn`t working properly, but it was still warmer than outside where the cold wind was beginning to gather strength. Ray and Colonel Michaels ignored the chill of the day and turned their attention to the items contained within the envelope. Inside were their identity papers, a map of the area through which they would travel, and a résumé about their adopted characters to save them from having to think of a past quickly, and in doing so tripping themselves up in the process. When they were satisfied that they could remember their respective résumés, Ray took out an old cigarette lighter that he always carried and carefully set fire to the papers. Ray was playing the part of a Lieutenant Arno Adler while Colonel Michaels was Lieutenant Leopold Bayer. Ray was thankful that the names were comparatively easy to remember.

The relatively empty area around the spaceport soon gave way to the large ploughed fields that had been sown with a crop of some sort of winter wheat; it stretched for miles in all directions. These were followed by fields of green cabbages and parsnips. They now began to pass through an area where the farms were broken up by the numerous small villages that lined this road up to the mountains of Lyre. They were full of Lyren women passing the time away as they caught up on all of the latest gossip, their servants stood patiently waiting in the gutters that ran alongside the pavements. Some carried produce bought by their mistresses from one of the small but smart shops that lined the main thoroughfare, others were obviously still waiting for their mistresses to commence todays shopping from one of the many stores. Their small convoy was soon through these obvious signs of 'civilisation' and passing through yet more farming country, Ray knew that the factories of Lyre were all located to the south of the space port, only snow, mountains and farms waited ahead of them, along with a few more small villages. The first flakes of snow were beginning to fall already and Ray and Colonel Michaels were quietened by a steadily deepening sense of gloom that permeated their minds, in tune with the darkening morning skies. A mist had begun to form hiding the fields that were only two hundred yards away, this didn`t bode well for it meant that the temperature was dropping even further, and there was the distinct possibility that they would see much more snow falling from the heavily laden clouds within a short time.

Twenty feet ahead of them, within the truck that they were following, Jean and Lieutenant Bragg were feeling the cold much more so than their two friends following on behind them, and not only because of the weather. Their fellow travellers obviously distrusted them, and the two friends kept a careful watch on those nearest to them in case they should take it into their heads to take things to a more violent level. This was the first time that Jean and Lieutenant Bragg had spent any time alone together, but instead of getting to know each other a little better, they could only sit and shiver in the corner of the truck. Even their furs could not protect them from the cold weather of Lyre that penetrated through the canvas sides of the truck so easily. Jean decided that they needed to do something to take their minds of the cold and suggested that she teach Charles Bragg the Lyren language, as it might come in handy sometime in the future.

"I hope that we are not still on this planet sometime in the future." Lieutenant Bragg exclaimed. "But learning the local language might come in handy at that, so let`s start school, Mam." Charles Bragg said smiling across at Jean.

Jean shivered as an extra cold draft chose this moment to blow through the canvas sides of the truck and swirl about them, but she managed to smile back at him.

"I hope that I haven`t dragged us all to the awful planet to just see us standing outside of a fortress and be no nearer to saving my brother." Jean said anxiously.

Charles Bragg looked at Jean and smiled. "Well the usual ways of dealing with a fortress are either besieging it...." He began quietly.

"What all four of us besiege a fortress?" Jean butted in annoyed, for he seemed to be taking things far too lightly.

"Or, as I was about to say, as there are only four of us, by entering it by stealth which is something the Colonel is quite capable of doing. I am sure that when he sees what we are up against that he will be able to come up with a plan of rescue that will satisfy even your critical ears." Charles Bragg said in a quiet voice so that their fellow travellers could not catch any part of their whispered conversation.

"I am sorry Charles; I am just feeling a little down at the moment, it is travelling in this cold weather, for I feel as if the life were draining out of me with each icy blast that comes our way."

"I am more used to it than you are Jean, in the corps we train in weather even colder than this, but you must keep your wits about you, for we never know just what is waiting for us along this road." They were soon to find out what the immediate future held for them.

Their fellow travellers decided that it was getting too cold for even them, for they picked up some of the sacks that they had been sitting on and pulled out their winter furs. These, some bedding and cooking utensils were the only personal possessions that they had been allowed to bring with them.

They had been on the road for three hours and the threatened snow had begun to fall almost an hour before when Strauss, the driver in the vehicle in which Ray and Colonel Michaels were travelling in, butted into their thoughts.

"I am getting a little tired, it is driving in these conditions that has done it and I`m sure that my friend up ahead is feeling the same, we need to rest up awhile if we are to avoid an accident."

"Okay, Strauss, maybe it would be best if we broke our journey to enjoy a short rest now, it will allow you two drivers to rest your eyes and for everyone to stretch their legs, and maybe get some warmth back into their bodies, and we seem to be entering a small town anyway so we may find some shelter here." Colonel Michaels said.

So, Strauss signalled the truck in front and then brought their vehicle to a halt amid the snowy verge. Ahead of them, the town was almost empty of people, but the trees along this part of the road did offer some shelter from the icy wind. The map told them that they had arrived at the outskirts of the town of Henin, although town seemed too grand a name for it. It was somewhere in between a large village and a small town, the last of any size that they would pass through on their journey to the frozen Carpathian Mountains.

Ray and Colonel Michaels stepped out of the vehicle, for both of them needed to stretch their cramped limbs while they took in the view, it was very picturesque but it only served to make Ray feel even colder than he had already felt. Ray saw that the truck in front was slowly emptying of its human cargo, and then he saw Jean and Lieutenant Bragg looking towards him and catching their eyes ensured that they were all right. The slave workers didn`t need guarding, for in the middle of this wilderness, indeed anywhere upon this planet, there was nowhere for them to run and hide. Ray and Colonel Michaels decided to go for a short walk; their walk took them towards a large building set in its own grounds with a six-foot high wall around it, which was mostly hidden from their view by the large shrubs and bushes that had been allowed to grow along its length. Being near to this perimeter wall sheltered them both from the strong cold wind that was blowing from the north and it was along here that they came across a woman. She was very distressed, for she was weeping very loudly and calling out a woman`s name, Isabella, with her was a man who was trying unsuccessfully to calm her and who they assumed to be her husband. He looked up fearfully as they approached the two locals who were obviously slaves.

"Please forgive my wife for causing a scene." The man begged. "She is just a little upset."

"Why is she so upset, what has happened, can we be of any assistance?" Ray enquired kindly.

"You know why I am so upset." She wailed. "Two of your fellow policemen have taken my only daughter into that building to rape her, and she is so very young and still a virgin. If you wanted to have a woman then I would have gladly taken her place."

This was all spoken in the Lyren language, as all slave workers were taught the language to enable them to carry out their orders before they were shipped to Lyre, any who were too simple minded to learn the language were sent to work in the mines where all of the orders were issued by the overseer`s whip. Ray looked across at Colonel Michaels, his eyes asking a question which was answered by a simple nod of Colonel Michaels head. Ray turned to the pair of farm workers, for this area was all farmland.

"We will try and get your daughter back for you before any harm comes to her, but please try not to bring attention to yourself by crying quite so loudly, it may bring more trouble down upon your heads and also that of your daughter and ours too." The woman quickly got her crying under control and looked incredulously at Ray, for she had never met such a Lyren state police officer as him.

"Please Master, if you can save her, I will do anything that you ask of me."

Ray and Colonel Michaels knew that to enter through the gate at the front of the building would necessitate them showing their papers to the guard huddled inside the small guardhouse by the gate. This in turn might bring undue attention upon them later, and so looking about them they saw that they were hidden from prying eyes by the many shrubs around them, and as one decided to scale the wall. First, they unbuttoned their heavy overcoats, as these restricted their movements and they left them with the slaves, then they leapt up the side of the wall and pulled themselves up on to the top of the seven-foot-high wall. This they did very quickly, much to the surprise of the worried couple who wondered why the two state police officers didn`t used the gate to the front of the building. The fall of snow had begun to increase; it was now falling in much larger flakes, and together with the concealment offered by the bushes that they also found on the other side of the wall, their entry into the narrow garden went unseen by any casual watcher. Slipping by the bushes they crossed the ten feet to come to a side door which was the building`s fire exit for the upper two floors. Security it appeared was lax in this part of Lyre, for although it was to be expected to find the door to be easily opened from the inside, to find that they could open it from the outside showed a real lack of discipline. However, the Lyrens were contemptuous of the slave workers, thinking of them as mere beasts of burden to do the bidding of their masters. A steep flight of stairs led up to the upper two storeys, and Colonel Michaels thinking it more likely that the young girl had been taken to the upper floor led Ray up to this floor. A door stood at the top of the stairs, and after listening at it for signs of activity on the other side of it, Colonel Michaels slowly opened the door to show a corridor with doors on both sides of it. Together they both moved away from the door with the same idea, to listen at each of the doors for signs of occupation, but almost immediately they heard the sound of a young girl, weeping, and then they heard her begging for mercy.

"I have never been with a man before; please let me go back to my parents, I beg of you."

The sound of her voice was coming from the door nearest to the stairs that they had just walked up. Having found the room where the drama was unfolding Ray and Colonel Michaels opened the door and walked into the room.

"We have visitors Karl." The nearest uniformed thug declared, smiling at them. "Have you come to watch, or to join in my friends?"

On the floor lying on her side was a young girl whose pretty looks were twisted in fear, her long brown hair was dishevelled, her long legs exposed for them to see, for her plain frock was almost ripped from her body. The girl turned her head, saw two more men in uniforms had entered the room, and she was able to mouth the words 'help me please' before she fainted. This action caused the second thug to burst out with a high-pitched laugh.

"Look at the pathetic creature she has fainted at the sight of two more real men." He declared sadistically.

Ray and Colonel Michaels had walked further into the room while the two state police thugs laughed over the body of their latest victim, a young girl whom they should have been protecting from the likes of them. Ray was now within reach of the nearest state police officer, and not wanting the noise of an energy weapon to sound the alarm to the other officers in the building, he pulled out his favourite knife from beneath his uniform jacket. He pushed it effortlessly between the ribs of the monster, Ray's victim looked at him shocked by his action but the blade of the knife had pierced the state policeman`s heart and killed him almost instantly. The second police officer stood stunned for just a moment, not quite realising just what he had seen happen in front of his eyes, this was a mistake when a space marine of Colonel Michaels` quality was moving rapidly towards him. Colonel Michaels had also taken a knife out from under his uniform jacket, and he quickly took care of the second of the two state police officers in much the same way.

Ray moved across to a washbasin set against the wall and washed his knife first and then his hands, for they were spattered with the dead man`s blood. He then filled a beaker with water and took it back to the body of the young girl who now lay face down on the concrete floor, setting the beaker upon the floor Ray gently turned her body over and then picking up the beaker again he splashed some of the water onto her face and she slowly recovered consciousness. Seeing the alarm spring once more into her eyes, he spoke softly to her.

"It`s okay, we are not state policemen, we are friends of your parents and we are here to take you back to them, so please be quiet, and if you are up to it come with us now."

The girl looked over at the dead bodies of the two state police officers and getting to her feet she spat on the bodies.

"It`s okay I am all right now, thank you both for saving me from those two foul monsters." The young girl said, her voice still weak but showing some of the gratitude that she felt towards these two strangers.

Colonel Michaels had just finished washing his hands and now he moved over to the door where he stood for a moment listening out for signs of life outside in the corridor, he then crossed over to the window and stood watching for any sign of life down in the narrow garden.

"It seems to be quiet out there at the moment so we had better dump these two thugs out of this window, so that we can hide their bodies and delay the authorities from finding out just what has happened to two of their finest. We will then go downstairs with our young friend here, and if the coast is clear, we can dump our other two friends over the other side of the wall. Look in that cupboard behind you Ray to see if there is any rope, we can use to help lift the bodies over the wall."

Colonel Michaels had said all of this in English so unfortunately the young girl didn`t understand anything that he had said, and she was now beginning to get afraid, but even so she managed to keep control of her growing fears.

"We should leave now before any more policemen come." The young girl said, scared that she could still end up in the clutches of the state police, but now as an accessory to two murders.

At that moment Ray held up a large coil of rope that he had found in a cupboard filled with items of torture that the state police would use to loosen their victims' tongues, if they decided not to use the more effective and far more humane ways of obtaining information.

"Ok Colonel if you will check to see that the coast is still clear we can dispose of the bodies."

Ray had said this in the Lyren language and so the young woman was once more back in the loop.

Colonel Michaels scanned the area outside of the window and then gave the all clear.

"Okay this one first Ray." Colonel Michaels said indicating the thug who was nearest to the window.

"We are lucky Ray, for there isn`t a window beneath this one here, the windows on the two upper floors are alternated and there isn`t a window at this end of the building on the ground floor either."

The two men lifted the first of the bodies and tipped him head first out of the window, seconds later they heard the soft thud as the dead body hit the snow-covered ground.

"Who dares, wins, Ray." Colonel Michaels quoted an old motto he had found when researching something on the internet.

Ray smiled up at him as he bent for the second body, it too went through the window to follow the first and once again, from below them, there came the soft thud of this body too hitting the ground. Ray then closed the window, and then after listening at the door once again to ensure that the coast was still clear, the two men escorted the young girl to the door at the top of the stairs. From somewhere else inside the building the sounds of laughter could be heard, but they were now walking quickly down the stairs to the snow-covered garden below. Ray took the young girl, who informed him that her name was Isabella, through the bushes to the perimeter wall where upon he cupped his hands.

"Isabella put one of your feet into my hands so that I can boost you over the wall, your parents should be waiting for you on the other side of this wall."

Excitement mixed with the joy to be away from the terror that she had so recently been a part of, showed clearly upon the young girl`s face, she was to be reunited safely with her parents. Isabella stood on her toes as she reached up and kissed Ray on the cheek and said thank you before putting her foot into his hands and shooting up to the top of the wall to then disappear from Ray`s view. Ray then turned to hurry back to Colonel Michaels but he had already arrived dragging one of the bodies across to the wall.

"You get the other one Ray while I tie a length of this rope around the first one."

Ray said okay and rushed off to return moments later with the second body, to see that the first body disappearing over the wall. Snow was still falling heavily and they were beginning to feel very cold without their overcoats from the chill of the day, but at least the weather gave them the concealment they needed, and the snow was already covering the signs of their recent activities. It was also much darker, partly because it was getting late and partly because the thick snow clouds were preventing the light of day from penetrating through the dense clouds. This, together with the fact that all sane people were huddled about their fires to stay warm, kept the two earthmen safe for the moment.

"Colonel who is it that is helping us on the other side of the wall?" Ray enquired.

"The young girl's parents I expect Ray, but frankly I don`t know, I threw the rope over the wall and it became taught and the body rose up and away. Let`s tie the rope around this body and then we can be away."

They finished tying the rope to the body and then threw the rope over the wall and once again it became taught and with Ray and Colonel Michaels, assisting from their side the body quickly reached the top of the wall and then disappeared over it. Colonel Michaels suggested that it was time for them to leave as well and seconds later the two brave friends were standing on the other side of the wall and being introduced to Isabella`s uncle. He had been called over from the fields some one hundred yards away to assist in the disappearance of the two state policemen`s bodies. Isabella had told her parents of her rescuers plans and they had collected her Uncle to assist them.

Handing the two earthmen their overcoats, the father of Isabella told them of his plans to get rid of the two bodies of the state police officers for good.

"Today, I have to burn an old cowshed as it has become infected with a rather nasty bug, so two more nasty bugs won`t make any difference my friends, we will take care of the bodies and any traces that they may leave."

The only other sign of their death was the blood on the concrete floor inside of the room where they both had died, but this was room was already blood stained from the torture of so many victims of the violent ways of the planet.

"Look to the future my friends; we are from a planet called Earth, for we are not Lyren state policemen. Earth has gone to war with Lyre to stop them from enslaving any more planets and to free those planets already occupied by Lyren forces. Be ready to fight for your freedom when the time is right."

Isabella`s parents and her Uncle were very excited by this news, and Colonel Michaels repeated his final words again. "Remember only to rise when the time is right, not before, for to do so would be to throw your lives away."

"My name is Octavius my friends, should you ever come this way again you will always be able to count on my help, and that of my family."

Octavius was a tall powerful man approaching sixty years in age, with greying hair and a proud face, he and his family were meant for better things than the kind of life they were forced to lead here on Lyre.

Isabella came up to the two earthmen and thanked them again and kissed each one on the cheek, but then the two heroes had to leave, and the family looked after the two departing men and determined there and then to begin to fight back against the monsters who ruled on this terrible planet.

Jean and Charles Bragg had begun to get a little worried as Ray and Colonel Michaels had been missing for quite a while now, and with the snow beginning to fall heavily and settle on the road they had almost decided to go and search for the two men. Then Ray and Colonel Michaels finally returned, much to the relief of both Jean Summers and Charles Bragg. Jean had begun to feel very safe in the company of Charles Bragg, as he was tall and heavily built, and because he didn`t appear to fear anything or anybody. Lieutenant Charles Bragg however hardly noticed Jean at all, as if he were unaware of her presence except for when she was teaching him a little of the Lyren language. It seemed that her disguise worked very well indeed. In fact, Lieutenant Bragg thought her too young in both body and mind and was surprised that a mere girl could have been included on such a dangerous mission as this, little did he realise that it had started out as her mission and the rest of the team were all late comers who had very thankfully come along. Ray and Harry to minimise the risk to her, Colonel Michaels for glory, and he, Lieutenant Charles Bragg, for the chance of some excitement and maybe promotion. Excitement that seemed to be eluding him as he stood looking at his two friends returning, he would be very annoyed when he later found out that he had missed it, their first piece of action on the mission.

**************

Peter Summers should have felt something, as he was the subject of so much effort by his sister and her new friends to find and then to rescue him. However, he wasn`t aware of anything, at this moment, he was trying to get warm. He was sitting on the cot that was his bed, inside a cold and damp six-foot square cell, which was lit by one dim light, there only to keep out the darkness of the day. His jailers had left him alone ever since he had been given an injection of their truth serum that had allowed them to take everything from him that they had required. However, it was very unfortunate for his examiners that he had been trained on how to surrender knowledge under such circumstances. Tom Parkinson had also given him a new drug that rendered anyone impervious to any known truth serum for up to two months, and he had had his injection less than one month ago. Peter Summers had only told them as much truth as he thought they might already have from other sources and nothing more. His main worry at the moment was that he stood a good chance of catching pneumonia and dying, as his jailers were not interested in him or his wellbeing anymore. They were awaiting the arrival of Jean, then they would pressure Peter Summers for any information that he had managed to keep from them. He decided that he would just have to find a way of escaping from his prison and making his way back to the spaceport so that he could find a lift back to civilisation. The only problem with this plan was that it was midwinter on this planet and to get all the way to the spaceport would require a vehicle. However, when he was found to have escaped, and a vehicle stolen too, he would probably be recaptured in a very short time, but he need not have worried quite so much, for help was on the way.

***********

Colonel Michaels ordered everyone back into the vehicles, only to find that the slave workers were already sitting huddled together in the back of the truck because of the heavy snow fall and also so that their combined body heat would give them some protection against the cold. Jean and Lieutenant Charles Bragg were still getting the cold shoulder from their fellow travellers, as they were still not trusted, being complete strangers to them.

Ray told the drivers the reason behind the decision to move on in this extremely bad weather, and they angrily agreed that it was probably for the best. However, Ray could see that they were baffled as to how the two Earthmen could have put them all at risk, for they had thought that the four travellers from Earth had realised the importance of keeping as low a profile as possible, so as to minimise the great risks that they were all taking on this mission. However, as their driver Strauss had said, it was all too late to worry about it now, and so the two vehicles slowly moved away at a speed of only twenty miles per hour, which was the maximum speed possible in such bad weather conditions, and on such roads as they were travelling on. Strauss suggested that they travel some seventy miles along the road to a small village where they would be able to find shelter and some degree of warmth, for them as well as for the slave workers in the back of the truck. Once there, they should be able to escape the attention of the local office of the state police. The road was now completely empty of traffic and their speed varied as the depth of snow rose and fell. Ray put his recent excitement to the back of his mind and decided to immerse himself in the picturesque scenery of this part of Lyre. The world around them was very beautiful to look at, the trees were all heavily decked with snow, as were the bushes that lined the roadside and all but the largest were now covered by a thick coating of snow. Jean and Lieutenant Charles Bragg of course were too busy with their Lyren language lessons to notice it, and when they did it only made the icy weather feel all the colder.

They arrived at the small village, which was their destination for that day, and the slave workers were directed into one of the long houses, which already housed some of the local male farm workers who were all still unmarried. The majority of the farm workers lived in family rooms, when a couple were permitted to marry, they moved out of their parents' homes which consisted of three rooms and into a separate house where they too could raise a family. This of course enriched the farmer who got free slaves to farm his land in the future, when the older slaves had either died, which was the norm, or got too old to work as hard as they had been able to originally and were then moved into the home of the farmer to work as house servants to his family. A newly wed couple`s new home would be built from material supplied by their master as a marriage gift, but constructed by their family and friends.

Along the principal arteries of Lyre, the local landowners were obliged by law to club together and build one longhouse for every fifty miles of road, it was for the use of slaves being conveyed to places further along the road. The longhouses could also be used by the slaves of the owners who wanted a little more space than the cramped quarters occupied by their families, provided that space was always available for passing batches of new slaves. The batch of slaves with which Jean and Charles Bragg travelled with, found a relatively warm place to keep their poor abused bodies alive, somewhere to sleep and food to eat.

The morning broke to find that the snow had finally stopped during the night, so one of the younger women decided to explore and was foolish enough to wander off alone into the snow-filled countryside during the brief interlude between travelling and sleeping. Her second day could have been her worst day ever had not Lieutenant Charles Bragg also wandered away to stretch his legs before the confinement of the truck began again. He came across her struggling with one of the local males who was trying to force his attention on the woman, but Charles Bragg hit him hard enough to make him change his mind quickly. The local male looked up from the cold snow, where he had fallen following the force of Charles Bragg`s punch, with blood trickling down from his broken nose and he hurriedly got to his feet and turned and ran away into the white countryside before the stranger decided to continue the fight. A relieved young woman allowed Charles Bragg to escort her back to her family and the waiting truck. When her family had found that she was missing they had begun to get just a little worried, and so were relieved to have her back, but when she told her family what had nearly happened to her and how much she owed to Charles Bragg, they rushed to him to thank him and shake his hand. They also took Jean and him into their group, no longer were they strangers to fear. Lyre was not a place for anyone to travel about without friends and family nearby to turn to for assistance.

Chapter Seven

Charles Bragg Talks Freedom

Seeing that the young woman returning with Lieutenant Charles Bragg was looking a little distressed, Ray called Jean and Charles Bragg over to them in a contemptuous voice to explain what had happened, this also gave the four friends their first chance to update each other since starting on this trip. On exchanging stories, it became obvious to all of them that life on Lyre was hard for all who allowed the beauty around them to lull their minds. Jean was also happy to be able to talk without having to watch every word that she spoke, but they soon had to return to their respective parts for it was time to move on, certainly time to leave the area where once more attention had been brought to one of the four people from Earth. They were now continuing on their journey towards the Carpathian Mountain and Ray turned to Colonel Michaels.

"Well this is our second day as state policemen Colonel, and I hope that for the rest of this day we can all keep a slightly lower profile than we have managed so far, because up till this moment we have failed dismally."

"We may have failed to keep a low-profile Ray, but the two young women and their families are very thankful that we did, and we have made some friends along the way which may well turn out to be a blessing, only the future will tell." Colonel Michaels said. "And if we have to fail to keep a low profile once again in the days to come, and if it is while we are helping another person against the evil on this planet, then I for one will be quite willing to do so."

Ray had to agree, but he also vowed to keep a much better eye on Jean, and if he had to move out of eyesight, then he would order Lieutenant Charles Bragg to stick to her like a limpet. Strauss then decided to enter their conversation, as they had been speaking in his language out of a courtesy to him, and of course to get used to speaking only Lyren so that they were not caught out at some future date.

"I am afraid that this regime has allowed the worst elements of both the Lyren people and the imported slave labour to give free rein to their worst desires."

"Yes, unfortunately it would appear so Strauss, and by the way you were quite right to censure us earlier, for we are indeed playing with fire when we attempt to intercede on someone else's part. We too don`t want to get burned, but as Lieutenant Bayer says it is impossible not to interfere when the chosen victim is defenceless against the evil that grows like a weed on this planet."

Ray had used Colonel Michaels` fabricated identity to get used to calling the Colonel by that name, although of all them he was easily the worst member of the group, for he constantly referred to the others by their real names and identities. Ray liked Colonel Michaels and from some of the tales told by the Colonel about his life in the Space Marine Corps, he had certainly enjoyed an interesting life, even if it had been regularly filled with danger. Ray hoped that the Colonel would enjoy his new life as a politician, and he also hoped that being a politician would not change him, for Ray held a very low opinion of many a politician and also of many a person who was thrust into a position of power. A few of these people had impressed him, Tom Parkinson and Police Chief Marlin both seemed men dedicated to justice and fought against the corrupt. As did Bishop Collingswood, even though Ray wasn`t a follower of the Bishop`s faith he still respected him. He had heard that he was a man who lived his life by the rules that he preached to his Church`s followers, to live a righteous life as is possible for a mere mortal, if they wished to please God.

The roads on this part of the planet of Lyre were filled with snow, and there didn`t appear to be any attempt at clearing them, or of making them safer to use by gritting them. Such things only happened nearer to the main centres of civilisation, Ray thought, and while they were only six hundred miles away from the capital city of Lyre, they had been travelling further north with every second and further into the wilderness that still covered much of the planet.

The relationship that Jean and Lieutenant Charles Bragg shared with their fellow travellers was now on a much better footing, so Charles decided to ask them about their home world and their life upon it, obviously he had to use Jean to interpret for him as he didn`t speak their language, or that of the Lyrens. The elder who had been appointed by the others as their leader spoke for them; he said that his name was Iliad. Jean had forgotten what Ray had said to her, that she should keep her knowledge of the Lyren language a secret.

"The part of our planet where our people live is called Khios; it is much like it is here on this part of Lyre, for it too has a cold harsh winter. In fact, if we were not here on Lyre as slaves, we would feel quite at home. Part of our world is warmer, traders told us of lands where the sun shone down and scorched the earth dry, other places were somewhere in between, but we were advised to stay away from these lands as they were constantly fought over, so we stayed where we thought we were safe. We had plenty of animals to eat during our short summer and during our harsh winter, we never went short of anything, not before the Lyrens arrived and began to enslave the peoples of our planet. We were especially chosen to work in the part of Lyre to which we are travelling to, and why, because we lived in a similar land back on our planet. Funny isn`t it, one of the reasons why we stayed where we were on our planet was to escape the wars of the warmer lands, only to be enslaved by the Lyrens because of where we lived." Iliad`s tale took quite a time to tell for Jean had to constantly retell it to Charles Bragg in English but finally she was done, only to ask a question of her own.

"I have had enough of talk about the cold and the snow, Iliad, tell us of your summers."

"In the summer the land turns many different colours as the flowers bloom. Large herds of animals returned to our land to graze on the green fields of summer, they provided us with meat to feast upon and hides to make our clothes. The streams and rivers shake off their winter coats and flow freely, allowing us to catch some of the many fish that lived within their waters. We had a good life back in our own land." Iliad was obviously thinking back to his native land, for he stopped speaking for a while allowing Jean to repeat everything to Charles Bragg, but then he continued.

"In the winter, during the coldest months we stayed inside our homes for longer periods than during the summer, except for the times when we went hunting the large Oryx, or when we visited our neighbours for a celebration of the days hunt. On the shortest day of the year we all got together and feasted, for it was a sign that the warmer days would soon be returning to our land, to free it from the frozen grip of winter. Our young people married when the springtime marked its arrival with the flowing of the rivers, all was good then. Now we are slaves, unable to return to the land of our ancestors, unable to fight the cruelty of this world. The weapons that the Lyrens use against us are so deadly and the number of our enemy so large that we can only bow down and serve them, or die in a useless attempt at defiance."

Lieutenant Charles Bragg was first a space marine and he would never surrender to the sort of lifestyle described to him by Iliad, no matter what the odds.

"You can and must fight if you are to provide a better future for your children and your children`s children. While I agree that you cannot launch a mass attack against the Lyren forces because of their superior weapons and their larger number of trained soldiers, the enslaved peoples on this planet could launch a series of small attacks across the entire planet designed to harass them into offering you a better deal. You can each be a slave for part of the time and a freedom fighter for the rest of the time; all you need are leaders, men who are capable of planning your campaign and also of leading it."

Jean had had a hard time repeating all that Charles Bragg had said into the Lyren language and some of it had got lost as Iliad didn`t know that much of the Lyren language, but she finally managed to convey the meaning of what the Lieutenant wanted to say.

"We know nothing of fighting, we are a peace-loving people, even on our own planet where we would have our weapons, we couldn`t do it, here on Lyre we do not even have any weapons." Iliad said looking very distressed; the earthman was making him feel extremely ashamed of himself and of his people.

"To begin with a knife is all you need; as the fight for freedom escalates you can let the Lyrens provide the weapons, with the death of each state policeman you have one more energy weapon to add to your arsenal. All you need is a leader to get you started, after that you will soon get the hang of it." Lieutenant Charles Bragg argued.

"You keep telling us what we need to do, what of yourself, are you not a slave of the Lyren people also. Are you just going to sit back and let us fight for your freedom, speak now or hold your tongue stranger?"

Iliad`s tone had become angry with Charles Bragg, and he was almost back to being distrusted, as he had been earlier. The people of Khios looked at him and awaited his answer to the question that Iliad had put to him, some with contempt plainly written upon their faces, many with anger. Lieutenant Charles Bragg looked across at Jean who simply nodded at him.

"Ok I will tell you who I am, and also of my friends and my planet, but you must also realise that I am putting a great deal of trust in you. This is because if it should get back to the Lyrens then we would all be killed, after they have extracted everything that we have to tell them by giving us their truth serum." Charles Bragg said looking just a little worried at disclosing so much without the Colonels agreement.

"You need not worry about their truth serum as my people have long been immune to it; on our native planet we chew a leaf of the chino plant. We found out by accident when the Lyrens used the serum on us, much to our delight, that it didn`t work on us, of course we never let on to the Lyren monsters. Here on Lyre, we have found it again, and each day we chew one of its leaves, we have many seeds of the plant to grow when we reach our destination. When we are given the serum, we simply tell them what we want them to know, nothing more. Now earthman we have told you a great secret, and should you not convince us of your integrity we may well be forced to kill you and your female to keep it a secret. Iliad said as the men of Khios moved closely around the two people from Earth.

"My friends I will tell you my secret and then we can kill one another should we both feel it necessary." Charles Bragg said smiling for he felt that things would now end peacefully.

"Jean and I are here with the two state policemen who are in the vehicle following us." The Khions looked shocked and alarmed at this his words but he continued.

"Don`t worry we are not Lyren spies, we are from a planet called Earth which is at war with Lyre; it is trying to stop Lyre from enslaving any more planets, and it is also trying to free the slaves that the Lyren people already have. We are here to free a comrade of ours; we are not slaves, as soon as we free him from the prison where he is being held high in the Carpathian Mountains, we will return to Earth in our starship."

The Khions were stunned by what they had heard, but also delighted to hear of the war, and they wanted to know when Earth would defeat Lyre and set them free. To this question Charles Bragg said he didn`t know the answer, maybe months maybe years.

"Yes, Charles Bragg I believe you, for I see the truth in your eyes my friend and hear it in both of your voices. However, my people and the others that we shall re-join in the far-off mountains need a leader we can believe in, a leader trained in the art of war, you must stay with us when your friends return to Earth. They can tell of our slavery at the hands of these devils. You must stay here to help us, or we will be forced to endure the yoke of slavery that the Lyrens have put around our neck for years, maybe even forever if your planet doesn`t prevail against the Lyren monsters, your words are not enough by themselves, you must back them up with deeds." Iliad said pleading for Charles Bragg`s help.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg looked at Iliad while he hurriedly went over all of the possibilities before asking Jean to give them his reply.

"I cannot help you at the moment, for I have promised Jean to free her brother, and then I must ensure that they both get away from this terrible planet, but I will speak to my leader who is one of the two men in the following vehicle. I will tell him all that we have said and see what he has to say. He will know what is possible, for he is a great leader. If he cannot come up with a plan to help you all, then I will ask his permission to return here and lead you in this brave quest to end your slavery on this planet, this I swear to all of you now."

The people of Khios all reached out to grip his hand in theirs, to thank Lieutenant Charles Bragg, and he hoped that Colonel Michaels and Ray Connors wouldn`t be too angry with him for giving them all away to these good people.

The time to talk occurred when Colonel Michaels decided that the two drivers needed a break from the driving again. The roads were still covered in snow and in parts, the snow hid thick layers of ice, which almost gave them heart attacks when the vehicles skidded wildly across the ice, the people travelling in the back of the truck never noticed the bad roads for they were too taken up with their discussions. They stopped in the middle of nowhere because this suited the Colonel, who wanted to see how his Lieutenant and Jean were faring with the slaves, he should have been worried more about his mission. Colonel Michaels moved up to the rear of the truck with Ray, and he was surprised when Lieutenant Bragg came forward quite openly and told him all that had happened, and all that had been said. It was an angry Colonel Michaels who for once was lost for words, so Ray Connors stepped into the breach.

"Lieutenant, this mission was as risky as hell before you spilled all of our secrets to your travelling companions, I just hope you haven`t increased the dangers we will have to face. Lieutenant, you really should have kept your thoughts to yourself and not spoken rebellion." Ray said quietly to keep this new problem in house, but Jean could see that he was fighting to keep his anger under control. "And Jean, why on earth did you go along with it, you could have refused to translate for the lieutenant."

"Because Ray, my heart was breaking for these poor people and all they will have to endure under the tyranny of the Lyrens." Jean said defending herself and Charles Bragg but once again in a very quiet voice that she was getting very used to using now.

"Jean this planet is full to overflowing with slaves, your heart will explode unless you keep a firmer grip on it."

But for all of Ray`s words, she could see that his anger had gone, he also felt as they did about these poor wretches that were travelling with them, but for Iliad and his people there would be no end, for they were travelling into slavery, unless Earth proved victorious and was able to free them.

"Ok, what has been done is done, maybe the Colonel can come up with a vote winner to help these people, and also help us to complete our own mission, which is to get your brother out of prison just in case the two of you had forgotten it. What do you say Colonel, if you can solve the problems of this planet, as well as get us out alive, then I promise to vote for you in the upcoming presidential elections?"

Colonel Michaels had been listening to all that had been said. His anger had reduced to plain simmering point when he next spoke.

"The problems of this planet are not going to be solved in the regions around the Carpathian Mountains, it is not about a small group of hunter gatherers, but a state of slavery last seen when the Romans had an empire." Colonel Michaels stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts and to control his temper before continuing to explain just why he thought the Lieutenants revelations had been unwise.

"Jean, Lieutenant, we cannot just help these people in their fight for freedom, the authorities on this planet would massacre them, especially if they only had a few slaves to deal with at a time. Your recklessness means that there is even a chance that the Lyren freedom movement will consider doing just that. The two of you must understand that you may have lit the fuse that will lead to an explosion of one sort or another, and we have to see that we don`t get caught up in it."

Lieutenant Charles Bragg now saw that he had meddled in things far above his area of expertise, he could only hope that Colonel Michaels would succeed in pulling Charles Bragg`s chestnuts out of the fire.

"Maybe we can make something work from out of your indiscretions Lieutenant, I will to speak to Strauss and tell him about this new complication, if he can put us in contact with Jonas, we can discuss the matter. If he decides to follow my lead, then he and I could then contact Tom Parkinson to convince him that it would be worthwhile sending another shipment of weapons through to Lyre, so that the Lyren freedom movement can team up with some of the enslaved peoples on this planet to the benefit of everyone. With more people to help them, the freedom movement will be able to give the authorities real trouble. This new movement will have to be finely managed though, and at times, the slaves will have to be led with an iron hand. They can`t be allowed to kill any Lyren that they have taken a dislike to, or one that has treated them badly sometime in the past. If that were to happen then the Lyren freedom movement would disappear and the movement`s former followers would side with the authorities, this could all blow up in our faces at any time. Only members of the state police, the officers in the military and the ruling elite can be legitimate targets until the wishes of the majority become clear, and if the majority side with the government then this planet could easily turn red. This is not a problem that just requires a little tinkering with; it needs a great deal of work and a leadership to match, and a rapid outcome to the war that is about to be fought by Earth and Lyre, with Earth coming out as the undisputed winner."

Colonel Michaels stopped speaking to allow what he had said to sink in. Even if he could get in contact with Tom Parkinson, there was no knowing what his decision might be, for he had more than one option. One, he might just say forget it, you are on Lyre to free Peter Summers, do so and get out, leave the slaves until Earth has destroyed the Lyren space fleet. This would put the young Lieutenant in a spot with the slaves, but he should have kept his mouth shut.

Two, yes, a second front on Lyre is a good idea, and if the slaves are wiped out then so be it, they won`t have died in vain, for at least they won`t be replaced by a fresh supply of slaves, if Earth can triumph in the war that is.

Three, he might decide that killing this batch of slaves was the easiest alternative. Michaels didn`t know the Director well enough to decide which of the options he might take, but he personally would fight against any but the second option. To do otherwise could lose Clarkson the election for the Presidency of Earth, and Colonel Michaels the Vice Presidency that he had been nominated for by the Church of the Universe, for should his opponent find out that he had not contested the decision vigorously, he wouldn`t have a chance of winning. To go from a Colonel in the Space Marine Corps to the Vice President of Earth in one move would be unprecedented, but his family had always been in politics, and it was his many connections that had kept him in the news. The amount of publicity that he enjoyed was enormous, he could have enjoyed the rank of General but that would have meant sitting behind a desk, far better to be a Colonel and have your family newspaper tell of your deeds, all in the cause of a better and safer Earth and its colonies.

When Colonel Michaels informed Strauss of the new situation that they found themselves in, due to Lieutenant Charles Bragg`s disclosures, he nearly exploded.

"Is this supposed to be keeping a low profile, do you Earth people not realise just how dangerous the situation is getting by the hour, now a truck full of slaves know of your true identity, have you also told them of Jonas and of me?"

Colonel Michaels could see that he was fuming and he couldn`t blame him. "No, thankfully Lieutenant Bragg didn`t go that far, he said that he realised that it was your secret to divulge and to whom you felt needed to know."

"Thank God for that, at least the Lyren freedom movement is safe for the moment. I knew that Jonas was making a mistake when he agreed to help your intelligence bureau in return for weapons and gold. They will not be worth a fig if our movement is discovered by the state police; they would tear through us like a hot knife in butter. Maybe I am being unpatriotic when I say that many of my people would willingly kill anyone who they found on Lyre who was spying for Earth, and of course the killing of slaves doesn`t matter a jot, and our movement would be seen as subversive to the extreme."

"If your authorities have no idea that the Lyren freedom movement is even operating, then maybe it is time that they and the people of Lyre should know of it, for your movement can`t have accomplished much if no one knows about it." Michaels said mockingly at Strauss, for he had had enough of Strauss`s complaints about his small team, however warranted they may be. "We appear to have accomplished more in the two days that we have been operating on this planet than your movement has in all of its history." Colonel Michaels declared defiantly. Strauss made to interrupt but Colonel Michaels stopped him.

"No, you listen to me, for I have thought about Lieutenant Bragg`s youthful and rather zealous mistake, and I believe that I can make it work for both you and us."

"And just how can we make anything out of this disastrous mess Colonel?" Strauss demanded to know forgetting Colonel Michaels cover for a moment.

"First by not forgetting to call me Lieutenant Bayer and secondly by informing me whether or not you are in direct contact with Jonas." Colonel Michaels asked.

"I am sorry of course Lieutenant Bayer, I shouldn`t have allowed my anger to get the better of me, for that can be disastrous in our game." Strauss replied trying to get control of his anger with this earthman.

"I am in direct contact with Jonas via the planet`s internet system. My computer can encode any message that I wish to send to him on our electronic mail system, why?" Strauss asked interested in spite of his anger.

"I want you to send him a message outlining the current situation and also giving him a way to make this new situation work out better than before, for the Lyren freedom movement, for the people of Lyre and for the enslaved peoples on your planet."

Strauss now had control of his jagged nerves and Colonel Michaels had begun to intrigue him.

"You can tell me what it is you want to say and I will input it into my computer Lieutenant Bayer. If at the end of your message I am in agreement with it, then I will encode it and then send it to Jonas, if not we can discuss what I am in disagreement with, will that be acceptable to you Lieutenant Bayer?"

"Yes, Strauss, that sounds fine, when shall we do it, when we stop for the night?" Colonel Michaels suggested.

"Yes, that sounds best, it will also give both of us time to think matters through, as I guess that this new complication has also thrown your own plans out of sync." Strauss replied, sounding as if he thought that it was highly unlikely that they would come up with anything worthwhile.

"It did when I first heard about it, but now that the situation has had time to sink in, I think that we can build upon it, I think that it will even push things along in a positive way." Colonel Michaels responded to Strauss`s pessimism.

"I hope that you are correct in your thoughts, but let us leave it until tonight, so as to give me time at least to consider matters." Strauss said leaving Colonel Michaels to ponder the new situation.

Strauss walked over to the other driver, who was stood by the truck watching the strange confrontation between his comrade and the earthmen with a baffled look upon his face. He knew nothing of what had occurred so recently, he now found out, for Strauss told him the reason behind his long conversation with Colonel Michaels, and Anderson, was of the same opinion as Strauss.

"I cannot believe that the security on this mission is so bad Strauss, I just hope that Lieutenant Bayer`s new plan is as good as he believes it to be, and that it will benefit our movement, if not, Jonas may want to use a more drastic solution to end the problem."

They set off one hour later on their journey to the Carpathian Mountains, Lieutenant Charles Bragg and Jean told Iliad that their leader had a proposal, one that he would be putting to them after he had had enough time to fully think it through, and had tied up any loose ends. A few loose ends such as convincing the Lyren freedom movement to go along with the proposal and not simply send a hit squad to remove the problem by murdering all of the slaves on the truck, and maybe even the nuisances from Earth. This he thought was unlikely, for Tom Parkinson hadn`t risen to his position of power by being weak, he would not be above selling the freedom movement out to the government if they dared to murder his friends and operatives. This was something that Jonas would understand, as he was a Lyren, a people who used such methods all the time, but they might just deport us as undesirables, and this Tom Parkinson would sympathise with when he heard how the mission had gone from bad to worse.

In the back of their vehicle, Colonel Michaels began to write down a draft of his proposals with the help of Ray Connors, while Strauss drove the vehicle in silence, for he too had much to ponder.

"Okay, Ray, top of the list must be for Earth to provide a lot more weapons, some M17 explosive and of course a quantity of gold to oil the wheels of those lacking in moral fibre." M17 was the latest directional explosive and extremely powerful.

"Tom Parkinson will not mind sending any of those items, he will even be ready to supply more contraband to cover up the weapons shipment, but Jonas, and Strauss here, need to know just how their movement, and even more importantly their planet, will benefit from Lieutenant Bragg`s rash revelations." Ray put in.

"What I had in mind was for some agents fluent in the Lyren language being brought over with one of the contraband shipments. They could give training to Lyrens and to any of the enslaved people who want to fight for their freedom. They would have to operate in cooperation with the Lyren freedom movement, and there would have to be enough of these men to work with the enslaved people in different areas around the planet. We know of two sets of enslaved people who would be only too keen to fight back, and the Lyren freedom movement must also know of people both enslaved and free whom they could trust."

Strauss who had been determined to oppose all of Colonel Michaels` proposals was getting interested despite himself.

"That is quite true Lieutenant Bayer, for I know of many people of both types who would demand to be part of this enlarged movement, and I would assume that Jonas and some of the other members of our movement know of others."

"Strauss you have warned us about the state police, are you sure that none of these people are members of your movement?" Ray Connors asked.

"The authorities are interested in criminals, aliens and slaves, as of yet there have been no protests from the Lyren people against the authorities. There are some restrictions of course, religion isn`t tolerated by the party, although some of the population follow some sort of religion behind closed doors. There aren`t any non-white people, and of course there is no opposition party, but the population are mostly quite happy to abide by these restrictions." Strauss was quiet for a moment, and then he continued in a vein that surprised the two men from Earth.

"There have been no protests from the Lyren people to tell the authorities of their disquiet about the forced enslavement of so many people, Colonel you are correct, our movement hasn`t accomplished anything much up until now!" Strauss said, so disgusted with himself and with his movement's failings that he once again forgot Colonel Michaels` nom de plume.

"We must ensure that we do make a difference with these weapons that you have supplied to us, they are to be used when Earth sends us the signal that the time has come to up the ante. We are supposed to launch a series of guerrilla raids against members of the state police and the government who have been particularly vile in their dealing with the slaves. Our people are meant to leave evidence showing that the attacks were made by your space marines, this it is thought will cause a certain amount of panic on Lyre, and it will happen without the need for Earth to commit too many ground forces, and without too many innocent deaths."

"Maybe the time is right to make up for your movement`s failings now Strauss, and not when Earth gives you a signal in the distant future, maybe you should be thanking my lieutenant for making you see this." Colonel Michaels said.

"Maybe I should Lieutenant Bayer." Strauss said once more remembering to address Colonel Michaels correctly, his voice sounding very reflective. "We shall see what the future holds for us all." Strauss finished grimly.

"Earth will never commit enough ground assault troops to subdue the planet, and I am sure that you would not want them to Strauss, far too many people would lose their lives in such a conflict. But you have a population of slaves on Lyre that is far greater than that of the Lyren people, if these were to be mobilised properly by your movement, they could make a difference. Of course, their targets would have to be limited to the state police, the upper echelon in the military and the worst of your politicians, then they could gain freedom for themselves, and you, political freedom for your own people." Colonel Michaels said. "The Church of the Universe has a team of priests who are called the Soldiers of Christ, they are taught many languages including the Lyren language, for it was foreseen by the Church`s elders that Lyre would need to be led back to Christianity one day, being the Church`s soldiers these priests are also trained to fight. They would make ideal soldiers to lead the enslaved peoples Strauss, and they would be fully equipped and their mission paid for by the Church." Colonel Michaels said hoping that Strauss was not too anti-religion.

In fact, Strauss was a practicing Christian, as was Jonas, which was one of the reasons why they and others had started the freedom movement. For there to be so many followers of Christ on Lyre was a miracle in itself, but someone amongst all their ancestors had secretly passed it on and the followers had begun to meet one another socially, and to marry only within their faith, and so the movement had grown.

"I have heard enough to convince me that you have raised valid points, and I will put forward your arguments to Jonas and come back to you regarding his feelings on the matter. However, I think that he will agree with everything that you have said, and that he will contact your intelligence director and put all that you have said to him." Strauss declared much to the two earthmen`s relief, for it was now obvious that Strauss had been converted over to their point of view.

"One other thing Lieutenant, the slaves must be warned to not discuss their hopes for freedom except for when they are within the truck and it is moving, otherwise they might be overheard by anyone and then we shall all be exposed." Strauss ordered.

Colonel Michaels was in full agreement with this and he asked Jean to pass this order on to her new friends, which as she saw the wisdom of this order, she did. Iliad too saw the wisdom in abiding with this restriction and he promised that his group would obey it.

That evening, they stopped at one of the longhouses along the road and had their evening meal. Iliad and his people sat in a circle around a log fire that blazed away in the centre of the room, they were lucky this evening, for some of the local single males were making use of the longhouse`s extra space and had got in a good supply of wood.

Strauss was busy on his small computer that evening, and twenty minutes after he had started, he came over to Colonel Michaels and showed him what he intended to send to Jonas, it was more or less what had been discussed earlier in the staff car, and getting Colonel Michaels agreement Strauss encoded the message and sent it off.

"I don`t expect that we will get an answer until tomorrow or even the day after, he will need time to digest the contents of the message, understand the many good points and then contact your intelligence chief before he gets back to us Lieutenant Bayer," Strauss said still addressing Colonel Michaels by his nom de plume.

Chapter Eight

The Carpathian Mountains

The third day of their journey was underway, and they were travelling through more small villages whose streets were carpeted with snow. They passed by vast snow-covered farms where the workers were toiling to dig a way through to the main thoroughfares, for there was no rest for the slaves of Lyre. As the day wore on there was still no word from Jonas about the group`s proposals, but ahead of them the Carpathian Mountains began to emerge from under the cloud filled skies of Lyre.

"Lieutenant Adler, I shall feel much happier when we get to that range of mountains ahead of us and can finally see the walls of the Wallachia fortress, and then maybe we can get to work on a plan to free Peter Summers." Colonel Michaels said to Ray Connors using his nom de plume.

"By my reckoning, we should be there sometime tomorrow Lieutenant Bayer, but once we get there, we must try to complete our task as soon as possible, for the longer we spend in the area around these mountains the more chance there is of Harry getting into trouble back at the ship." Ray replied.

**********

Back at the spaceport, Harry Proctor was busy stripping down the engine for its long overdue service. Normally they had periods of enforced rest due to the difficulties in procuring work, but just lately there had been no problem in getting orders, just in finding the time to fulfil them. Jean had been lucky to find them at a time when they had a gap between delivering cargo to New Terra and Lyre, and their next contract, which was to take a cargo from New Caledonia back to Earth, they were due to start this in just two weeks from now. He was wondering whether they would get back in time to complete the contract, had he known of the latest developments he would have not bothered even thinking about it, he would have been far too worried about his friends.

**********

On the truck in front of Ray and Colonel Michaels, Lieutenant Charles Bragg and Jean were trying to keep warm by huddling up against the bodies of Iliad and his people.

"I will be glad if I never see this frozen planet again." Jean complained. "Never was there so much of me frozen for so long a length of time."

Charles smiled at her. "It is a little cool isn`t it Jean?"

"Cool is not the word for it Charles."

"It will soon warm up as soon as we reach the mountains and the fortress." Charles Bragg said, but this fact hardly comforted Jean, except for the fact that then they could begin to make plans for freeing her brother. Iliad moved over to join them, for he wanted to tell them of a decision he and his people had come too.

"We have decided my friends, that whatever your people decide, we will fight to free our people and their children, but it would be easier if we had some help and direction."

"You are making the right decision Iliad; it is better to die fighting for your freedom than to live as a slave and to see your children born into slavery. One piece of advice that my Colonel came up with, don`t make it too obvious that all the trouble is coming from one small section of people. You must combine your attacks with others made by other groups of slaves away from your area, it would certainly be safer for your family, and if you can lay the blame on the space marines of Earth then it would be better still. Have your people yell 'space marines back to the ship' or 'space marines attack', phrases such as these in English will work wonders on the locals. Also make your attacks on property rather than people and if people then only those of high rank, not the ordinary man who you will want on your side at some later time in this war." Charles Bragg answered.

Something inside Charles Bragg begged him to stay and help these brave people in their fight for freedom, but the Colonel had convinced him that this was not just about one small group of slaves in the Carpathian Mountains; it was about all of the slaves on Lyre. Events elsewhere though were moving at such a speed that would make any plans made at the present time, out of date.

Jean was exhausted after translating such a long sentence with such an important meaning to Iliad, who took time to grasp it all, as his Lyren was not perfect.

"We will practice these English words until we all know them off by heart my friend, but as for getting assistance from other groups of slaves, that could be dangerous, unless the people are from our own land and are already known to us. We will however, follow your advice as to who to attack and who to leave alone." Iliad said.

"I think that you would be wise to follow the advice from my Colonel. In addition, you might consider committing such acts as far away from your families as is practically possible so as not to bring the wrath of the Lyren state police down upon your families alone, make those evil sons of bitches work harder to get their enjoyment. Charles Bragg had also added some slightly more colourful words to get his meaning across to his new comrades.

Their third day of travel finished with the landscape ahead of them dominated by the Carpathian Mountains. In summer, they would have been at the Wallachia fortress already but with the roads covered in snow, and the danger of hitting a patch of ice always there, their speed had been necessarily that much slower. Ahead of them there were signs of a temporary thaw, with the snow melting into slush. They would arrive near the fortress by lunchtime tomorrow; today they were cold, hungry and impatient to get a reply from Jonas to their message. They got it soon after they made their final stop of the day at one of the longhouses; this one was in a worse condition than the ones that they had previously stopped at, probably because they were that much further away from the more populated areas of Lyre.

The message was in a code used by Jonas and Strauss alone, this ensured that it was difficult for anyone else to read. It came in the form of a rambling letter but Strauss was only interested in the first words at the beginning of each paragraph. Each paragraph answered a point in Strauss`s message to Jonas.

Point one was where Strauss had said he was angry with the premature disclosure of the four Earth people to the slaves, Jonas wrote 'I am too' this was followed by a lengthy paragraph as was every other answer to Strauss`s points.

Point two was how Tom Parkinson would react, Jonas wrote 'Our friend is also annoyed but agrees to help'

Point three was would Tom Parkinson supply further weapons and gold, Jonas wrote 'We have a full agreement.'

Point four was regarding the supply of contraband to cover the shipments and the reply was 'Yes they will help us.'

Point five covered the sending of the soldiers of Christ to train and lead the enslaved peoples on Lyre in co-ordinated attacks with the Lyre freedom movement, and the answer was 'They are very interested in this suggestion but will consider it fully before committing themselves.'

"Strauss why all the cloak and dagger when communicating with Jonas and why did you encode your letter while Jonas didn`t bother to?" Ray Connors asked.

"Yes, Strauss, you said that the state police don`t suspect the existence of a freedom movement?" Colonel Michaels said.

"While they do not suspect that such a movement exists, they are very interested in imprisoning any person suspected of being a subversive. This is why we were troubled by your Lieutenants disclosures, because they are almost paranoid about this subject. They have many eyes and ears all around the planet that are happily paid if they can point out such a person. Any of the slaves who have lived for any length of time on Lyre will already know this, for they will have seen it happen. In answer to your question Lieutenant Adler, the reason that I encoded my message was because of all that I had to communicate to Jonas, while he in return only had to say yes or no. and we use the encoding program as little as possible so as not to make it easier to break." Lieutenant Adler was of course Ray Connors nom de plume.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg was told that he could inform Iliad and his people of the decision to incorporate members of the enslaved people on Lyre into the Lyre freedom movement. They would be taught how to use modern weapons as soon as Earth made them available, and as soon as the freedom movement had identified suitable warriors from amongst the slaves. This might take time, as they did not know whom they could safely approach. There was always the danger of the slave revealing their plans to the authorities, if they attempted to recruit a spy who was already in the pay of the state police. There would also be a delay in providing men to lead the new recruits, and in some cases existing members, as the Church of the Universe had still to agree to supply the Soldiers of Christ to fill these posts. Jonas and Strauss were both eager for the Church to become involved in this fight for freedom of all the people within the Lyre Federation, for then they could call on the Soldiers of Christ to lead the fight against the demons of hell.

Their first sight of the Wallachia fortress was one of surprise, for although they knew that their target was a fortress none of them expected to see an fifteenth-century fortress perched upon a high hill on the planet of Lyre. Why would someone go to all the trouble and expense to build a fortress in the wilderness of a planet that had no enemies anywhere upon it? The answer to the riddle was that it was built by a multi billionaire with a liking for ancient fortresses, and he used it as a corral, an expensive corral, to keep his farm animals safely away from the many predators that still roamed about the highlands of Lyre. Later it was appropriated by the authorities, because a farsighted politician foresaw that one day, they might have a problem with their slaves, and the fortress represented a secure stronghold in the north of the planet. Within the fortress, they would be able to reach out and suppress any sort of rebellion, providing the attacker only possessed hand weapons. This had seemed likely to be the case, although with Earth now on the side of the slaves it might mean that the slaves might be given weapons that were a little more sophisticated. Inside of its walls there was a small landing port for terrestrial shuttles, repair facilities for armoured vehicles, barracks had been added for at least two hundred soldiers when the situation required, and a prison for any special troublemakers who came their way. The solid walls of the fortress would provide safety for the forces of law and order in this northern region of Lyre, if the need ever arose.

Iliad and his people were delivered to a Lyren farmer who led them away to their new homes, built recently by the slaves who were already working on the farm. The men started work in a wooded area, clearing it of its trees and undergrowth so that large fields of wheat could be planted there. The women were to go up to the fortress to get it ready for occupation by a regiment of Lyren soldiers. They were to train for deployment to the planet where Iliad and his people came from, as more slaves were to be brought from its colder regions. Normally the fortress held just a skeleton staff to keep it secure against any who might want to use it for illegal purposes, and of course to maintain it. Unbeknown to the owner of the slaves, Jean was to be billeted with the family of Iliad for safety, while the three men were staying in a small nearby inn, Charles Bragg as their servant, while the other two were supposed to be taking the chance to see some of the winter beauty of Lyre. Charles Bragg now knew many Lyren words, ones that might be used by a Lyren should they give him an order.

Colonel Michaels looked up at the fortress that sat along a ridge of the foothills that rose up towards the Carpathian Mountains behind them. The foothills were covered in trees bereft of their snowy covering for the moment, as a spell of warmer weather spread over the district, but the mountains above still held on to their thick covering of snow. When Colonel Michaels heard about the first job that the female slaves were ordered to do, he had told Jean to go up to the fortress with them so that she could make a plan of it. It might even be possible to find out where her brother was being held. Jean had jumped at the chance to do some real work for a change, instead of leaving it all to the men.

At the beginning of the fifth day of the mission Strauss and Anderson had taken the truck back to the capital city of Lyre, leaving behind the staff car and also a computer so that the earthmen could keep in touch with them, Lieutenant Bragg was to act the part of driver when required. Colonel Michaels pulse had begun to beat at a slightly faster rate now that they were going to attempt the rescue, after a reconnaissance mission had been made and a suitable plan conceived. This part would be down to their own efforts, success or failure. Colonel Michaels and Ray Connors planned to reconnoitre the area around the fortress in the early morning, and when Jean returned in the evening, he hoped to be able to start working on a plan to rescue Peter Summers.

**********

That night a lonely officer came down from the fortress to enjoy a beer and some friendly conversation in the small inn. Colonel Michaels on seeing him enter nudged Ray Connors and the two men wandered across to the bar and ordered some food, and then they began to converse with the officer about the beauty of the country around and about the inn. Inviting him to join them for dinner and another beer, the three men moved over to a table and sat around it to talk while they awaited their meals.

"You might find this area of the Carpathian Mountains beautiful, but believe me gentlemen, its beauty begins to pale after weeks of cold days and icy nights. Give me the capital, or even some of our bases on the planets of our Federation, any place where the sun shines down from almost overhead and allows the heat to get into your bones." Captain Reynard complained loudly. "I can only hope that my constant request for a transfer will be finally heard." The captain lamented.

"Yes, Captain, I must say that I do agree with you about the cold, the thermostat in our car is broken and it was decidedly cold following a truck load of slaves along frozen roads, with only slightly warmer rest stops along the way." Ray Connors replied with feeling.

"I do not know what I have done to deserve being posted here, I have served for twenty years in the Lyren army with never a discredit to my name, no I think that somewhere along the line I must have trod on some one's toes, and he had me posted here to punish me." Captain Reynard said sadly. "It isn`t as if there is any interesting company up at the fortress, up until last week all I had was a sergeant, a corporal and a dozen privates, not one man among them has any more intelligence than the slaves who come up occasionally to clean the place." The captain complained bitterly. "They have now sent me twenty mechanics, the generals have decided on a build-up of the permanent forces based here, except that we do not have any vehicles for them to maintain."

"You should try our job then, trailing after a truck full of slaves just to ensure they don`t get lost." Colonel Michaels complained.

"Well I am due to get some company in a little over a week, they are sending a regiment of infantry who are due to go off world, they will be here to train in the sort of terrain they can expect to get on the planet they are being sent to." Reynard said, sounding just a little happier.

"As long as they don`t send you along with them to whatever cold planet they are visiting." Ray said laughing.

"Oh, you may laugh my friend, but knowing my luck just lately, that is just the sort of thing that I can expect to happen."

Dinner came and went and as the captain rose to leave his new friends, he had a bright idea.

"Look you two, you are here to take in the beauty of the mountains, well why don`t you both come up to the fortress tomorrow morning, the view from the battlements is absolutely breath taking, and anyway we can have lunch up there and it will break up my boring day?"

"Thank you Captain we really appreciate the offer; we will come up after breakfast." Ray Connors said.

The next morning was bright and clear with no sign of the snow showers that had made their journey to the Carpathian Mountains so arduous. Lieutenant Bragg drove the other two men up to the fortress and stopped forty feet before its heavy gates in an area cleared by numerous military vehicles moving up to the gates and parking here while they awaited their turn to gain entrance into the fortress.

"Take a walk around the outside of the walls of the fortress, Karson." Karson was the nom de plume that Lieutenant Bragg was now using. "You shouldn`t be bothered by anyone as the garrison is extremely small, and they are all probably huddled around its fires inside their barracks, but try not to be seen, even by the slaves of this area as anyone may give you away for the cost of a day's food." Colonel Michaels ordered the young officer.

"Yes Sir." Lieutenant Bragg answered and moved away along a well-worn trail that followed the walls of the fortress, soon he disappeared from their view. He moved slowly and quietly, moving from one piece of cover to the next, his eyes taking everything in, he constantly stopped, seemingly to take in the view as he checked the battlements and the countryside about him. He only seemed to be out for a stroll, and no one would have mistaken him for an officer of an elite Corps of men. The air was fresh, the sun warming him as it gradually rose in the blue sky, and he thought to himself that he could have got to like walking the roads of Lyre, if only the planet was not so thoroughly evil.

At the gates of the fortress, Ray Connors and Colonel Michaels were stopped by a bored guard who didn`t ask to see their papers, for they were obviously members of the feared state police, instead the guard sent a man to look for Captain Reynard. This hard work done he then sat back on his chair and stared everywhere except at them, but then they were members of the feared state police. Captain Reynard soon appeared and greeted them cheerfully.

"Come in my friends, we will have a cup of coffee before we take in the views, I never do anything this early, not until I have had my coffee."

Colonel Michaels could see why the man on the gate was so bored; this officer had let discipline slip badly until this was no longer a military unit, just a bored bunch of men letting life pass them by. They entered Reynard`s office and sat around his desk which was almost empty, as the captain had little to keep him occupied. The coffee was hot, it was nice to be out of the cool morning air for a moment, and the conversation was friendly, even if Colonel Michaels had little respect for the man as an officer. As the morning began to slip by, Ray Connors brought matters back to the reason why they had come a calling.

"Captain, how about this tour of your battlements so that you can show us your views."

"Of course, my friends forgive me, but I like to hang on to intelligent men when I can, for I never know when the next one will come along." Captain Reynard said smiling at his two guests.

With that, the captain stood up and led his guests back across the courtyard and up the stone steps on the far side that led to the battlements. At the top, he let the view of the surrounding countryside do the talking for a moment, before continuing.

"As you can see my friends the view of the surrounding farms stretches for miles until the trees of the far-off woods block the horizon from our view, but if we look back across the courtyard then you get a magnificent view of the mountains from here, finely decorated with their mantle of white snow."

Ray Connors turned the conversation around to the reason why the two earthmen were really visiting the fortress.

"I take it that those buildings on the far side of the fortress are the barracks Captain, but what is that building over there with the bars on its windows, it looks remarkably like a prison?"

"It certainly is a prison, of sorts, but one meant to house only special prisoners. At the moment only one inmate is incarcerated inside of its cold walls, down in the dungeons there is an earthman who was caught spying on one of our off-world operations, he is being kept alive in case we need to exchange him for one of our own men."

As the three men turned back to look out at the farms that spread out below the walls, a Lyren, who had been recently transferred to the fortress as part of the general build-up of the permanent forces based there, stopped to stare up at one of the men on the battlements. He was staring at Ray Connors in puzzlement, his beer sodden brain was befuddled, for the man he knew to be a spy of Earth was wearing the uniform of an officer in the Lyren state police. This earthman had threatened his life and then destroyed the starship Nike. Somehow, he had boarded the ship and freed their prisoner, a young girl from Earth, the expression on the Lyren's face turned to one of resolve. Unfortunately for him he had not noticed that the same young woman from Earth was staring across the courtyard at him, she was so well disguised that not even her own brother would recognise her now. Jean remembered the mechanic who had been working on the hanger deck, when Ray had so miraculously rescued her, and she saw too that the mechanic recognised Ray. If Ray was denounced, then they would all be in danger, and her brother would have to rot inside his cold prison until the war was won, and then he would only be freed if someone remembered he was there. Jean sidled across the yard until she was behind the mechanic, the mechanic had just about summoned up the courage to denounce a person who was dressed up in the uniform of the feared state police, something that was dangerous to do on Lyre. It was now that he felt the pressure of the blade of a knife cut through his uniform and prick his skin. Ray had given her the knife, it had been meant, as a weapon of last resort, and the time to use it seemed to be now.

"If you call for help, I will drive the blade of this knife deep into your vital organs; now walk over to the store rooms or die where you stand." Jean said softly to him.

"Why should I when you will only kill me when we get over there?"

"Because at least you will live for that much longer, and anyway if you do as I say I promise that I will not kill you, I will only keep you a prisoner until I have accomplished what I came here to do."

The mechanic was thinking about where he had heard this woman`s voice before when it came to him, she was the young girl on the starship, but why was she here in Wallachia, his mind whirled, her brother must be the prisoner in the dungeon. He had heard later that the reason that she had been kidnapped was to bring pressure on her brother to work for them.

Cassandra, the wife of Iliad, had seen the drama unfolding, she had seen Jean approach the Lyren male, seen her pull out her knife and speak to him with her knife pressed against the man`s abdomen. She knew much depended on Jean and her friends, for her people`s fight for freedom would be much easier with the help of their friends. She decided that she must help Jean against the man who was already turning around, and who would soon attack the inexperienced young woman. Cassandra quickly checked that there were no other Lyrens in sight and then she moved quickly but quietly as only a hunter could do, and taking out a cudgel that she carried to protect herself brought it heavily down on the back of the mechanics head knocking him out. The mechanic sank to the floor with a soft thud and Cassandra looked at a Jean.

"He was about to attack you, quickly we must drag him over to the store rooms before anyone notices." Jean hesitated for only a moment, she felt her heart racing as the danger of the situation caused an adrenaline rush, then she bent down and took one of the man`s arms while Cassandra took the other, then the two women dragged the unconscious man across the courtyard to the concealment of the store rooms. Thankfully the man didn`t weigh too much, and they were lucky that the Lyren captain on the battlements was absorbed in his conversation with Ray Connors and Colonel Michaels.

"Cassandra if he isn`t dead then we will have to tie him up until my brother has been freed." Jean said slowly getting control of her rapidly beating heart.

"Jean, who is this man?" Cassandra asked rather belatedly having just struck him down.

"He is someone who knows that Ray isn`t a Lyren police officer but an earthman, if Ray is discovered then it will bring the state police down on all of us, including the Lyren freedom movement. My brother will be forced to stay in that cold prison cell, and they would probably question your people as well if they find out the truth about the rest of us." Jean answered. "It will certainly finish off the idea of your people fighting to regain their freedom, for the authorities may decide to send you all to the mines rather than risk your people rebelling against them.

"Then he must die, for we cannot risk him escaping and telling what he knows." Cassandra said as if she were speaking of ordering a meal for them. "There is a side entrance in the walls of this fortress which is open so as to allow me to collect some fire wood that some male slaves have already left outside earlier this morning. We will take him outside and kill him, later Iliad can have his body collected and we can bury it. First though I will get two more of my people, they can keep an eye open to ensure that we are not seen taking his body outside." Cassandra was gone for just two very long minutes before returning with a handcart that she was to use to bring the firewood into the fortress, and with her were two friends who watched from the shadows.

"Come on Jean we will move him now."

The two women struggled a little but they finally manhandled the unconscious body of the mechanic up onto the handcart, they then covered him up with some sacking that they found within the storeroom. They then wheeled the cart along the walls of the fortress to the open side door that led them out of the fortress and into a wooded area beyond.

"We will take him further into the trees Jean, there we can hide his body beneath the ferns."

The area beneath the trees was thickly covered in ferns during the summer, now they were sparse, but Cassandra had planned everything out during the short time that she had been away. When Cassandra was satisfied that they had gone deep enough into the wooded area, she tipped the body of the mechanic onto the ground and arranged the sacking in a thick wad above the soldier`s heart.

"Don`t fret Jean, the Lyrens have enslaved many of my people and killed all who resisted, well I have just begun to take the fight back to them."

Saying that Cassandra bent over the still body and taking out a knife that Iliad had made for her out of Obsidian, she plunged its blade through the sacking and deep into the man`s heart, killing him instantly, the sacking prevented any of the man`s blood from spurting out on to her clothing.

"Come on Jean we must cover his body with whatever we can find to ensure that his body is not found."

Jean had gone very pale, never before had she seen a man killed, and it had been done so matter of factually, without any thought about the act, her body was shaking as she took everything in that was happening at her request. The danger to her friends as they accompanied her on her quest, making Cassandra murder this poor man, her innocence fled her as she stared at the blood on the knife that was in the hand of Cassandra.

"Jean, come on or your man will die along with the rest of us." Cassandra said cleaning the blade of her knife on the dead man`s clothing.

Jean thought of her brother freezing to death in his cold prison cell, of Ray being tortured by these foul beasts if he were to be caught on this filthy planet, she knew she would break down tonight, to cry for her lost innocence, but not right now. Right now, she had work to do and she got busy covering the dead mechanic with the brush and dead leaves that covered the ground beneath the trees. When all was finished to the satisfaction of Cassandra, they wheeled the handcart back to the wood stack and began to load the wood onto it. Just then, the overseer in charge of the slaves appeared; he had been warming himself until now, but thought that he should check on his charges.

"What are you doing here?" He said to Jean.

"I have finished my work so I thought that I should help this woman with the wood as it is very heavy work, I hope that is all right sir?" Jean replied in the manner of a cowed slave.

"Yes, that is fine, we need slaves who are not afraid to work, you carry on like that and you will be granted extra food rations. Both of you see me when you are finished." With that, he turned and re-entered the fortress and went in search of some more warmth, for it was too cold for him out here. As the two women watched him go, they smiled at one another.

"So, there is the heart of a warrior inside of your breast Jean." Cassandra said smiling at her young friend.

"I don`t know about a warrior Cassandra, but I am being forced to grow up fast on this lousy planet." Jean replied and then laughed. "With fools like him to deal with, our job should be even easier than we could ever have hoped for.

"Don`t take him too lightly Jean, he would probably be an evil son of a bitch given the excuse."

The snow had now begun to fall again and they grew colder by the minute, even with all of the hard work that they had to get through. By the time that they had finally finished they were truly exhausted, but all Cassandra could do was look in amazement at Jean. The make-up that Jean wore to make her look older and rather plain had been partly washed off with the snow, that and the sweat caused by Jean doing so much manual labour, a thing she was not used to doing, for on New Caledonia she lived a life of mostly leisure, for she kept house for her brother. The result was to show the young and pretty woman hiding beneath the make-up. Misunderstanding the reason behind Cassandra`s look Jean felt rather embarrassed until Cassandra told her the reason why she was staring.

"Jean you are not quite as old as you appeared to be and not so plain either as you would have us believe, in fact you are very young and also very pretty." Jean immediately realised that her make-up was being washed off by the falling snow, and she now begged of Cassandra for even more of her help.

"Cassandra, I am made up like this as my friends thought that I would be much safer if I looked rather plain, than if I went about as I actually am. I have more make-up back in our rooms; will you help me to reapply it?"

"Of course I will my child, we are friends and friends will do anything for one another." Cassandra said smiling. "And I agree you are much safer hiding beneath that mask, but we must do something about your face right now." Cassandra thought for a moment and then said. "Maybe we can apply a little mud to your face to hide your natural youth and beauty, and make sure you keep that hood pulled all the way up, and that your scarf is wrapped tightly around your face." Cassandra quickly applied some mud to Jean`s face and then helped her with her scarf.

"With luck that should keep you safe until we return back down the hillside to your room." Cassandra said to her young friend. "Now I see why Ray is so happy to help you, I had thought that maybe he was a saint."

"Ray may well be a saint Cassandra, for he has gone through so much for me." Jean replied thinking of Ray and smiling.

**********

While the two women had been working hard, Lieutenant Bragg had been out for his stroll around the outside of the fortress. He had seen the stack of wood by the door, which was still closed when he had walked by it. He had been forced to stay hidden for five minutes behind a large oak tree when some of the male slaves had appeared suddenly with another batch of wood. He had also made a remarkable discovery. Around the far side of the fortress, he came across another door and this one was open. In fact, it had been open for some time, for shaded from the sun as the door was, a small amount of snow was still present between the door and the frame and there was no sign that anyone had been through it since the snow had fallen. Amazing Charles Bragg thought to himself, the security here is so poor that anyone could walk into the fortress through this open door, and not a soul would know about it. Charles Bragg entered through the open door and explored, inside a track took him alongside the fortress wall on his left and on his right, he passed a large building that was currently empty but was in fact a repair shop for the vehicles that carried the powerful mobile plasma cannons. Further along he came to a low concrete building that appeared to Lieutenant Bragg to be an ammunition depot buried deep within the ground for protection. He stopped when he saw that he was approaching the large parade ground that filled the centre of the fortress. On his right was a two-storey reinforced concrete building with barred windows, which resembled a prison. By his feet there were a series of small windows, and these too were barred. It had been a very productive walk but it was time to leave the fortress by the same way that he had entered it, and before one of the guards noticed him. It was while the lieutenant was walking back to the gate that he almost ran into one of the garrison who was looking for his missing locker key, he had dropped it earlier and had he been more alert he would surely have seen the lieutenant. However, had he been more alert he may also have ended up dead, for he was no match for a fully trained space marine from Earth. The man stumbled by, for he was also rather drunk, and the lieutenant was able to proceed to the open gate without further trouble.

Chapter Nine

Jail Break

Ray Connors and Colonel Michaels stayed for lunch at the fortress to give their friends time to complete their part in the mission. The snow was falling heavily again when they said their goodbyes to the captain, telling him that they would be leaving in the morning to travel back to the capital and back to whatever boring job would be put their way. On the drive back down to the inn, Lieutenant Bragg told the other two men of his amazing find, if all went well, they would not have to scale the wall, but simply walk through an open gate and along to what looked like the prison building. This coupled to the information that the other two had found out, where Peter Summers was being held in the fortress, meant that it should be an easy task to free him, getting safely back to the space port was another thing altogether.

"We will see if Jean has anything to add to the bag, and if not then I say we should leave the inn early in the morning, say four o`clock, any earlier might cast too much suspicion on us when Peter Summers is found to be missing. We should be able to get to the fortress in say twenty minutes, for we will have to walk most of the distance in case an insomniac soldier hears the engine of our staff car. Hopefully we can quickly secure the release of Peter Summers and be back at the staff car by five, we can then hightail it out of here, the only question Colonel, is which way?" Ray Connors said forgetting once again to use Colonel Michaels` nom de plume.

"I think that we should start out earlier than four o`clock Ray, we can pay for our room tonight, saying we are planning to get an early start because we heard that there may be bad weather tomorrow, but leave extra early, say two o`clock when everyone else in the inn will be asleep. Our leaving any later will not stop the state police from looking for us once they discover they are short of one prisoner. An earlier start will get us far enough away from here to escape any road blocks they may set up, and hopefully the Lyren freedom movement can provide us with a safe haven later in the day where we can rest and hide out for twenty-four hours." Colonel Michaels suggested to the other two men, but unless somebody had a better idea than the one outlined by Ray Connors, and amended slightly by him, then as far as he was concerned it was the plan they would follow, and the others would just have to abide by this decision.

"Okay, Colonel, an early start it is, and let`s hope Jonas doesn`t let us down, because if we are not getting any sleep tonight then I will sure need it later. May I suggest that the lieutenant here beds down right after dinner so that he is partially rested so that he can then be the first driver? One thing though, twenty-four hours is too long, we are already getting very close to our departure time off of this planet and Harry won`t be able to put off leaving for too many more days." Ray Connors said agreeing with Colonel Michaels, and adding a little more to the plan.

"Yes of course Ray, maybe we should only rest up for eight hours at the most and then be on our way, and all of us should also have an earlier meal than last night and try and catch a short nap in preparation for tomorrow." Colonel Michaels agreed.

It was well after sundown when Jean returned down the steep hill with the other slaves; she was heading towards the quarters where she would be sleeping that night. She had been lucky to avoid the attentions of the overseer and of any of the other slaves, who were all too concerned with staying scrunched up in their clothes as they tried to keep out the cold wind that had blown up. Jean and Cassandra had finished moving the wood inside the fortress walls, where it would now be used by the garrison in the fireplaces of the fortress during these icy winter nights.

Ray Connors had driven across to a lane near to the slaves` quarters on the Lyren farm and waited for her return, slowly getting colder and colder as he sat there, he was relieved when he saw her for more than one reason. Jean saw the staff car as she walked by the lane and silently slipping away from the others of her party, she was soon sitting beside him, to her the car felt nice and warm after one of the coldest ever days that she could remember. The two of them had not been alone together since the trip in the borrowed shuttlecraft that they escaped the Lyren starship in, and both of them felt something stir within them as she turned to him.

"Ray are you okay, are the others okay?" She asked hesitantly at first.

"Yes, we are fine Jean, how about you, all this cold not getting to you?" Ray said looking out at the snow filled fields rather than run the risk of letting Jean know how he felt about her.

Jean brought up the subject both of them were thinking about, but which Ray was too much of a gentleman to broach.

"Ray I know that you think the age difference between us matters, but I don`t, in fact I believe that I am falling in love with you."

As Ray listened to her words two different thoughts went racing through his mind. Whether he should tell her that he was falling in love with her, or to give in to the doubts that had plagued him ever since he had met her, that he was too old for her, whatever answer he may have come to didn`t matter in the end.

"Ray." Jean said and as he turned to look at her, she kissed him. "I love you Ray." She said looking deeply into his eyes; and somewhere far away Ray heard a voice reply.

"And I love you Jean." They kissed again oblivious to the cold, oblivious to the dangers of Lyre, all that mattered was that they were together; it was Jean who finally remembered all that she had to tell him and moved her lips just inches away from his to tell him of her day, and of his own escape. Ray was amazed that Jean could have been brave enough to confront the Lyren, and to have threatened him with her knife, and then also to have been party to his murder.

"Jean you once more amaze me, if he had been allowed to live, we might all have been in sitting in that cold prison cell with your brother, but tell me how are you coping with it, it must have been terrible for you?"

"It was to start with, but now it doesn`t matter quite so much." Jean said staring into his grey eyes. "I did think that I would break down and cry tonight Ray, but now I know that I simply cannot afford to, I will be able to cope with it until we get home to the Jeanette. It is so important that we all cope with such terrible things for now. Not only for my brother`s sake or even for the sake of all the others who have been involved in this venture, but so that we can bring help back to Lyre after our small adventure is finally over." Jean had finally become an adult that cold day on Lyre.

"Oh, Ray I did find out where the prison is, it is a large building with bars on its windows, and it is set back from the large courtyard."

"Yes, we found out that as well Jean, he is being kept in the prison`s dungeons and he is the only occupant at the moment." Ray sad, amazed that the young shy girl he had met on New Caledonia could be this strong young woman sitting next to him. He then told Jean all of his news and of the plan to release her brother in the early hours of the morning.

"We will pick you up here a few minutes after two o`clock tomorrow morning and then park the car in a sheltered spot beneath the fortress, it will be a steep walk up to the fortress, but then you already know that don`t you Jean?"

"Yes, Ray, that is one thing I do know." Jean said having made the trip up to the fortress and then back down again on foot.

"Well with you and Cassandra saving the day, I can now tell the Lieutenant that his freedom movement is a going concern, and that it looks as if it will continue to operate just fine if Cassandra is a sample of the other members of the new movement." Ray said and then he smiled at her with a look of regret in his eyes. "You should get back now and have an early meal and then get some rest, tomorrow will be a long and busy day."

"We have only just confessed our love for one another and already you want to leave me." Jean said pouting at Ray, but she couldn`t hold her look of displeasure for long and soon broke into a laugh.

"But I suppose that you may be right Ray." Jean said glumly.

"Oh, but how will you ensure that you wake in time Jean?" Ray asked her.

"Oh don`t worry Ray my other lover is not as keen as you to be away, he can wake me." Jean said laughing when she saw his unhappy face.

"Very funny my darling, but tell me how will you ensure that you wake up Jean?" Ray insisted.

"Cassandra told me while we were walking down from the fortress, that in her former life back on her own planet, she trained herself so that she can now wake up at any time she chooses, so I am sure that she will agree to wake me Ray."

Ray leant over and kissed Jean again, but after a brief moment they parted and Jean left him to return to her room where Iliad and Cassandra demanded to know why she looked quite so happy, for she had been quite morose earlier on because of the cold weather, and also because of the dangers that were ahead.

"Because Ray told me that he loved me, that is why, now stop being so nosey." Jean said shyly, as she felt herself blushing.

"And did you also confess your love for him Jean?" Cassandra probed.

"Yes, Cassandra and we kissed and everything was all right for a moment, until the present forced its way between us and we had to part." Jean confessed. "But even those few moments were wonderful."

Cassandra smiled across at her Man, and then she turned back to Jean to help her to reapply her make-up so that she was once more the tired plain looking woman who had entered Lyre. The difference was such that Iliad declared that only magic could have made such changes in Jean`s appearance, then it was time for their evening meal and finally Jean departed for her bed, having got a promise from Iliad and Cassandra to wake her early enough so as not to delay her friends.

As Jean lay down upon her hard bed, she thought back to the kisses that she had shared with Ray, it wasn`t fair, instead of staying in his arms while he whispered sweet nothings into her ear she had to return to her cold empty bed. This was hardly what she had imagined her night would be like after she had confessed her love for her man, and he had said that he also loved her. Just then Jean yawned and closed her eyes, moments later she was fast asleep and not even the excitement of reliving her kisses with Ray could keep her awake a second longer, not after such a long cold hard day`s work up at the fortress that held her brother a prisoner.

Dinner at the inn was a quiet affair and they retired to their room before Captain Reynard made his nightly appearance, must to his chagrin. Colonel Michaels woke first, followed by Lieutenant Bragg who in turn woke Ray. The hour was fast approaching two in the morning as they departed the inn and drove over to collect a very tired Jean Summers who was still tired even after falling asleep almost the instant that she had laid her head down on her uncomfortable pillow, not even the excitement of rescuing her brother could keep her awake. Iliad had escorted Jean to the rendezvous to ensure that she got there safely, and Cassandra had given her some bread and cheese for the journey, food the slaves could ill afford, but they would not see their friends go hungry.

Colonel Michaels spoke to their new friend before leaving for the fortress. "Iliad, I promise that I will speak to my superiors about all that you have discussed with my lieutenant, and I will ensure that your people are not left to rot here, it might take some time but help will come to you."

"Thank you, my friend, we now have hope in our hearts where before we only had pain, I know now that our suffering will not go on forever."

It took only two minutes on the empty road to get to the place where they had decided to leave the car while they journeyed up to the fortress. The path up the steep hillside was rough and twisting, and the thick layer of snow that had recently fallen didn`t help matters, but thankfully the planet`s one moon had chosen this moment to shine a dim light down onto the white snow that enabled them to make good time. Care had to be taken however, for the track narrowed deceptively in places where the carpet of snow hid many things and made the way look wider than it really was. Even so, within fifteen minutes they were approaching the track that Lieutenant Charles Bragg had followed around the fortress. Everything was going smoothly, but it was also here that Jean stumbled, she was still very tired after the day`s work and the cold was drawing all of her remaining strength out of her. Her foot caught in a root of a tree, and the ground that she stepped on to stop herself from falling was just soft snow with nothing to support it or her, so she carried on falling towards the open hillside on her left. She knew that she was going to be hurt and probably injured by this fall and there seemed to be nothing for her to grab onto to prevent herself from falling down the hill.

"Ray!" Was all she had time to call out in fear as she fell. Her right hand brushed against Ray`s overcoat for a moment, he was walking just in front of her and she managed to grab onto it but her momentum pulled it from her grasp and she continued to fall forward toward the ground so far below.

The second that she had gained holding onto Ray`s coat gave Ray the time to spin round in answer to her call. Seeing Jean beginning to disappear over the edge he fell to the ground and put out his hand to grab her arm as she almost disappeared completely over the side of the steep hill. For a moment, she hung there looking up at Ray, pleading for him to save her, Ray then caught hold of her other arm and lifted her back onto the track, as if she weighed nothing more than a doll.

"Are you all right darling, what happened?" Ray asked in fear that Jean was ill or injured.

"I`m fine thanks to you Ray, I guess that I am more tired than I realised and I caught my foot in something and fell, thankfully you were there to save me again." Jean said smiling. Ray had his arms about her and was looking down into her eyes and couldn`t help himself, he just had to kiss her. Lieutenant Charles Bragg chose this moment to cough, ever so softly. Ray looked around at Charles Bragg who was smiling and Ray couldn`t help smiling in turn before saying.

"Well come on Lieutenant, let`s move on, Jean just tripped, she isn`t hurt."

Ray decided to follow Jean for the rest of the way up the hill and they finally got to the top without any further mishap and then on to the open doorway in the fortress wall. After listening for any sign of life from inside the fortress, Lieutenant Charles Bragg led the way through the doorway and along a rough track with the wall on one side and the assortment of buildings on the other side. The track meandered round to finally bring them near to the door that Jean had used to take the mechanic`s body out of the castle. Here Colonel Michaels checked to see if this door had also been left unlocked, but no, this one had been relocked after the firewood had been brought into the fortress. Listening again for signs of life brought only silence to their ears, so they made their way along to the prison. Here more signs of the lax discipline were in evidence as the door to the prison was open and unguarded; quietly they entered only to find the guard inside fast asleep on a chair with his head pillowed by his arms upon a table. Colonel Michaels put his finger to his lips to give the age-old sign of quiet please, and then they tiptoed by the soldier to a door at the end of the passageway that would lead them down to the dungeons. Lieutenant Charles Bragg had been designated to wait here to look out for any signs of trouble, and now he also had to ensure that if the sentry awoke, he could be put back to sleep quickly before he could raise the alarm. Colonel Michaels hand reached out for the door handle and prayed that the door would not squeak and awaken the sentry when he opened it, it didn`t. Before them was a wooden staircase, and descending slowly down it they saw that a dim light was lighting up the room below through an open side door, and after they had quietly approached it, they saw that there was yet another sleeping guard, he was sleeping within one of the empty cells. A plan sprang into Ray`s head, but first they had to find Peter Summers. They found him in the only cell with a closed door; Jean looked through the small grill set in the door and told the others that it was her brother, so Ray quietly told the others of his plan.

"First, we knock the guard out, then we tie him up and gag him and put him in the bed currently occupied by Peter Summers. When the morning shift come down here, they will probably believe that the night guard had simply left early, the non-existent discipline would tend to support this, but first we should free Jean`s brother and check with him just what the morning routine is."

The guard just then began to snore and Jean could hardly control herself, but luckily, she managed to suppress her laughter after some effort. The keys to the cell were on a hook on the far wall, so they quietly collected them and putting the key into the lock opened the door of the cell that imprisoned Peter Summers.

"You wake him Jean, but tell him to talk only in a whisper." Ray suggested.

Jean slipped into the cell and knelt down beside the cot that her brother was sleeping on, she now gently shook him while whispering his name.

"Peter, Peter, wake up it is me Jean, I have come to take you home."

Peter Summers stirred and thought to himself 'I must be dreaming I could have sworn that I heard Jean`s voice.'

"Peter!" Jean said just a little louder. "Will you open your eyes?"

Peter Summers eyes slowly opened to see a rather plain woman looking down at him who seemed rather familiar.

"It is me Peter, Jean, I am in disguise and I have come with some friends to take you back to New Caledonia." Jean said just a little angry with her brother for not being a little more awake.

"Jean, what on Earth are you doing here?" Peter Summers said in his normal voice eliciting another rather loud bout of snoring from the sleeping guard.

"Quietly you twit or you will wake everyone up, now before we carry out the rest of our plan you have to tell me what the routine is here in the morning."

Peter Summers sat up and looked up at Ray Connors, Colonel Michaels was outside the cell ensuring that the sleeping guard didn`t wake up and give the alarm.

"It really is you Jean, how on Earth did you get to Lyre?" This time he whispered his question.

"Peter will you listen; please tell us the morning routine we need to know if it ties in with our proposed plan of action." Jean demanded.

"They make a lot of noise and about ten o`clock they put a plate of porridge on the table there and don`t comeback until the afternoon when I get my daily exercise. Is it really is you Jean?" Peter Summers said rather baffled by this knowledge.

"That routine will tie in nicely with our plan, quick now we are going to knock the guard out then we will put the guard in your bed and tie him up and gag him, it should buy us a little extra time." Ray said to the sleepy spy before him.

As they left the cell, Ray nodded to Colonel Michaels who promptly knocked the guard out without the poor fellow waking up to know just what was happening to him. They then tied him up using his own belt to go around his arms and body; the sheet from the cot that the guard was sleeping on was used to bind his ankles, he was gagged with one of his socks and a torn strip from another sheet on the bed secured it. They then carried the guard into the cell that been home to Peter Summers. Here they bound the guard's body to the bed with two of the sheets from that bed; lastly, they threw a blanket over him to keep him warm and to conceal his identity. The guard would not be able to summon help easily as the bed that he was tied to, was in turn fixed to the floor and wall to prevent it being used as a weapon of sorts by a disgruntled prisoner. All of this might provide them with the extra time necessary to make their escape plan work all the better.

The next part of their escape plan, after they had returned the keys to the hook on the wall, was to get as far away from Wallachia Fortress as quickly as possible, and then find a place to lie low and rest. They crept back up the staircase and by the still sleeping guard and back into the empty courtyard of the fortress, except it was not going to be empty for long, as they heard the sound of vehicles approaching, and then the sound of a large number of soldiers marching their way, finally they heard the voice of an officer.

**********

"Captain Peterson, replace the guard on the main gate with a squad of our own men, and also have a squad of men put up on the battlements to patrol our perimeter. The officer then turned to his two Lieutenants, Lieutenant Muller take four men and inspect the inside of the perimeter wall clockwise, Lieutenant Wilson you do the same but anti clockwise, both of you report back to me when you have done so. Just then a hurrying figure appeared from out of the officer`s rooms, it was Captain Reynard.

"Colonel, I am sorry that I was not here to greet you, but I had no idea that you were coming."

"No Captain, the war with Earth has changed the plans of the General Staff regarding the security of our planet, all of our bases are now being put on to a high alert status. I have been sent to this cold and lonely base to take command; I assume you will get your orders about your own situation within the next few days."

The colonel had no respect for the captain, but then he was only the caretaker of the fortress, so nothing much could be expected of him. The colonel was a different kettle of fish, having only recently returned from Regina, the nearest of the enslaved planets.

The two colony worlds of Arcadia and Argos were nearer, but the people of Lyre had colonised them one hundred and fifty years before, and each of these two planets had a large colony of tens of thousands of their people on each of the two planets, and both of these colonies outnumbered the slave population on the two worlds. Regina was one of the more troublesome enslaved planets, where the trouble makers had been dealt with ruthlessly, by flogging the slaves within an inch of their lives, his appointment as garrison commander of the Wallachia Fortress was meant to be a rest period for him until a more suitable position presented itself.

"Is there anything that I should know about the fortress, Captain?"

Captain Reynard mind stumbled along for a moment, in front of him the colonel got more and more impatient waiting for Reynard`s reply, who finally remembered the one thing that had happened in the fortress during the four years that he had been incarcerated there.

"Yes Colonel, we have an earthman imprisoned here, he was spying on one of our off-world missions and was caught by our operatives there."

"Well he can wait until the morning; I have more important things to attend to at the moment, such as turning this base into a fortress in reality."

**********

Colonel Michaels led the group quickly back along the empty track that ran along the inside wall of the fortress, and by the first side door that was now locked, and along to the open door through which they had gained entry into the fortress.

"Quickly now, let`s move down the track, but remember to be careful, we don`t want anyone tripping and falling down the hill the hard way." Colonel Michaels warned.

Once out of the fortress Ray closed the door to give the appearance that it was locked, and then he pushed a buttress of snow against it to hold it shut against anything except a determined effort to open it. He then walked backwards along the track, smoothing the snow and obliterating their footprints for a distance of twenty feet, this was when they were finally hidden from the view of the guards on the battlements by the trees and shrubs that grew along the ridge of the hillside.

Colonel Michaels appeared at his shoulder, he wanted to be away from the fortress before they were discovered.

"Come on Ray, that should be enough, I hear the sound of approaching soldiers up on the battlements, and we cannot afford to be seen at this stage of the game."

"Okay Colonel, I`m done, let`s move out." Ray replied to Colonel Michaels` warning of impending company.

Peter Summers had managed to exchange a few words with his sister but any full description of the efforts she had gone to on his behalf, and the dangers that she had faced, would have to wait until they were sitting safely in the staff car that was waiting for them down below. They walked by the place where Jean had tripped and almost fallen down the hill without further mishap, and they were able to keep up reasonable pace down the slippery hillside. The moon had now gone behind a cloud, but there was still just sufficient light to see by, and at least the reduced visibility made them all the harder to see. Jean was amazed that she no longer felt quite so tired, her body had been boosted by the adrenaline rush she had experienced by the recent events, even the cold didn`t feel quite so icy. Finally, as the visibility was reduced even further by the growing snow clouds, which were blotting out any further light reaching them from the moon, they arrived at the staff car.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg was the man chosen to drive with Peter Summers sitting beside him; Jean Summers was hidden between the other two men in the back of the vehicle. With only Ray and Colonel Michaels having the necessary paperwork, and of course the uniform of the dreaded state police, it would be down to them to get them through any inspections made by the genuine state police who they might encounter between the fortress and the space port. Ray came up with a plan that called for Jean and her brother to be their prisoners who were being taken back to the capital for questioning. To support this story Peter Summers` hands were loosely bound. Now this might work for the initial part of the journey, but would be more dangerous when Peter Summers was found to be missing.

"Colonel, if we had arrived two hours later, as I had suggested, we would never have even got into the fortress never mind freed Peter here, it would have meant some drastic re-planning on our part to have got him out." Ray said acknowledging Colonel Michaels` brilliant handling of the jail break.

Colonel Michaels smiled across at Ray. "We did manage to time it just right, didn`t we Ray." He said smiling.

"You timed it brilliantly." Peter Summers stated, highly delighted to be out of the cold prison, and to be with friendly faces once again.

"And I would like to thank you all for getting me out of that cold hole, but you must tell me, why on earth you included my little sister on your mission?" He sounded perplexed and he was, for he could think of no good reason why she had been included on the team.

"Your little sister is the reason that any of us are here Peter, she was all set to come here alone and free you, it was only because of her that Tom Parkinson set up this crazy mission to attempt to bring you home, personally I am amazed that we are got as far as this with so little trouble." Colonel Michaels stated. "I was in constant fear of being forced to turn back to our ship." This thought had also occurred to Ray, and it was left to Jean to explain the reasons behind his escape.

"We got as far as this because of you three men; you are the most wonderful men that I can ever hope to meet." Jean said with tears streaming down her face as the realisation of what they had accomplished finally kicked in, Jean reached for a now grubby hanky and blew her nose. "Thank you for risking your lives for my brother and me."

Peter Summers was still a little stunned by his sudden freedom, and by what he had heard, and could only add his thanks to those of his sister for their heroic action. He would really have to talk to his sister and hear the full story behind her magnificent deeds he thought, but for now, he allowed her to close her eyes and get some rest.

They were driving with dipped headlights in case of the need to get off the road and hide quickly without being seen. They had been travelling for thirty minutes when they saw ahead of them the glow of the lights from a far-off column of vehicles moving towards them.

"Get off the road fast Lieutenant and turn off our lights." Colonel Michaels ordered.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg pulled the vehicle to a halt and took a quick look about and seeing the beginning of a dirt track twenty feet ahead of them he turned off the headlights and moved ahead with just the sidelights to show the way. He pulled their car off the tarmacked road and along the dirt track. He brought the vehicle to a halt when they reached a farm gate that stopped any further progress. Here he turned off the sidelights, and here they all waited for whatever was coming towards them to pass them by and allow them to continue with their journey. Jean was oblivious to all of this as she had been asleep for most of the journey, she was resting her head against Ray` shoulder, which he was more than happy for her to do, for she was thoroughly exhausted by the events of yesterday and the early hours of the morning.

It was only a few minutes later that a column of vehicles mounted with heavy mobile plasma weapons drove by with a guard of armoured vehicles that bristled with weapons protruding from every opening. Soon the column of vehicles ended and was moving away from them towards the Wallachia Fortress and their comrades.

"What on earth are they doing sending troops to the fortress for?" Peter Summers wanted to know, his past activity as spy coming to the forefront of his mind.

"They were front line troops, as were the ones we only just escaped from, it certainly seems to be strange to be moving the cream of their army to such an out of the way outpost." Colonel Michaels agreed.

"Could it be that Earth is doing much better in the war than was thought possible at the time we embarked on this mission, Colonel? Tom Parkinson did say that the war was about to enter a crucial phase." Lieutenant Charles Bragg ventured. It proved to be a brilliant insight on his part, insights such as this would make him one of the best officers that the illustrious Space Marine Corps would have.

"What are you thinking Lieutenant?" Colonel Michaels asked of his junior officer.

"They most certainly were front line troops, and up until now they were supposedly being used off-world enslaving planets and peoples across the whole of this sector of space. However, if their space fleet lost a major battle, then the Lyren General Staff just may think that it is time to bring their best troops and equipment home to help fight off any planned invasion of Lyre itself. It may even be to stop them from being trapped on the enslaved planets by the starships of Earth and then picked off one by one." Lieutenant Bragg suggested.

"Earth may even have used agents to arm the locals and attack the Lyrens on each of the enslaved planets, just as you suggested could happen here on Lyre, Colonel, while the space fleet of Earth attacked from the safety of space." Ray Connors suggested. "If that was already happening, then it would explain the sudden movement of troops to an out of the way place here on Lyre, they are afraid that the slaves will rebel, and there are an awful lot of slaves on Lyre."

Colonel Michaels looked at Ray for a moment before answering. "We would have to see a lot more troop movements to prove those theories Ray, but you both may be correct, we will have to wait and see."

Peter Summers brought the conversation back to earth with a warning. "One more thing, if this planet is becoming militarised to an even greater extent than before, then we may well encounter more units and also road blocks, there to check on all travellers here on Lyre." This thought by Peter Summers proved why Tom Parkinson valued him so much. "Hopefully though, that won`t be for a couple of more days, when they have fully organised themselves."

Jean woke up then and seeing the serious faces around her and the fact that they had stopped asked sleepily.

"What is up, what have I missed?"

"Nothing much sis, just an event that might make things a little more interesting and a whole heap more dangerous." Peter Summers said smiling at his younger sister.

"No change then." Jean said and settled back down to sleep, which made all the men laugh.

"Let`s get moving Lieutenant, but be ready to turn off our main lights at a moment's notice and switch over to our side lights."

Chapter Ten

Betrayal

"Where do you think that we should rest over, Colonel?" Ray Connors asked.

"I thought that we could use the computer that Strauss left with us and contact Jonas with it, he may know of somewhere up ahead where we can rest up in safety."

"Yes of course, we should give that a try, and maybe sooner rather than later, for if we do find that the roads are full of road blocks checking the paperwork of weary travellers, we may need his help in getting through them."

So, while Lieutenant Charles Bragg drove them ever nearer to the capital of Lyre and the space port, Colonel Michaels sent a message speeding through the internet system of Lyre, hoping that Earth hadn`t already destroyed all of the satellites around the planet, and as before, he was asking Jonas for even more of his help.

"Why did you come on this mission without an escape plan to get you out?" Peter Summers asked, worried now that his young sister could fall into the hands of the Lyren authorities.

"To travel around this awful planet, you need travel documents, if your unlucky enough to rouse the interest of the authorities, and they must be dated for the days when you are actually travelling. The presence of the slaves meant that we were seen to be one of the many authorised movements and so we were not asked to present our travel documents. On our return journey, not only did we not have such a visible reason for our journey, but we had no idea just how long it would take us to get you out of prison, and we couldn`t hang around once we had got hold of you for obvious reasons. Therefore, we have no known date, no travel documents and no slaves to transport, as they never journey back towards the capital city or the spaceport. My thoughts all along were to call on the help of the freedom movement, if necessary, but until today we didn`t know that we might also have to worry about military road blocks." Colonel Michaels explained. "We had hoped that the sheer speed of our escape would take us far enough away from the prison to ensure our safety."

Peter Summers thought about this for a moment before quietly accepting it.

"And it still may Peter, it is only your supposition that we may be forced to get by some military road blocks, and that was based solely on sighting one military convoy." Ray Connors put in.

**********

In the depths of space, a mass of drifting wreckage marked the destruction of most of the Lyren space fleet, they had never imagined that the technology of Earth could have developed so much faster than their own. Only four small corvettes had escaped to the safety offered by the powerful energy weapons in orbit around the planet of Lyre, and others set on the far side of its one moon. That had been three days ago, and the space fleet of Earth had already moved since then and attacked the Lyrens on the enslaved planet in the Malan system, which was the last of the planets to be incorporated into the Lyre Federation. Long before the war had started, the Soldiers of Christ had been secretly landed onto the planet by a ship operated by the intelligence bureau run by Tom Parkinson, and unknown to Colonel Michaels there were also three squads of the space marines' special forces along with them. The ship had been built on Lyre, so that it would go unnoticed amongst the Lyre Federation. It was just another small freighter paid for by Earth with gold from their huge reserves, if the galaxy knew just how much gold Earth held within its vaults, the value of it would drop to that of iron.

The Soldiers of Christ and the marines had met with each of the groups of freedom fighters on the six enslaved planets of the Lyre Federation, but not the two colony worlds of Argos and Arcadia, which were the first of the planets to be enslaved and which had too large a Lyren population to make them a reasonable bet. They had convinced most of the freedom fighters to stop all operations until the fleet of Earth was strong enough to declare war upon the Lyrens and win. After the fleet had arrived and taken out the larger and more powerful weapons that Lyre had mounted on each of the planets, the freedom fighters could renew hostilities.

Earth had also promised to equip the freedom fighters with energy weapon weapons when the time came, but they were having second thoughts now. They did not want to alienate the Lyren people with news of a blood bath on the slave planets, they hoped to force the surrender of the Lyren troops and then to send them home.

The cessation of the majority of hostile operations for the past year had begun to allay the suspicions of the Lyren occupation forces, and this allowed the slaves to move more freely around the military posts of the enslaved planets of the Lyre Federation. Over the last days of relative peace before hostilities commenced, this relative freedom of movement allowed the slaves to conceal electronic tags on all of the major military targets. When the starships from Earth arrived out of hyperspace to blockade the planet of Malan, the space cruisers easily took out the radar installations, the powerful mobile plasma cannons and the storerooms where fuel and ammunition were stored. The Lyren military had used the locals to do all the heavy manual work, which allowed them access into places that they shouldn`t have been allowed near, never mind access. With this phase of the fighting over, most of the hated overseers were then killed with an arrow somewhere in their body; collaborators were hung from the tallest trees for all to see. Only the civil authorities had been left untouched, so far, as they were in the urban areas on the planet, and so had troops armed with energy weapons to defend them, this might not be enough, not when the slaves arrived with captured weapons of their own.

The earthmen did manage to extract some promises from the local warriors, that the women and children would be spared, and as the space fleet of Earth had left a light cruiser behind for use as artillery by the local freedom fighters, the earthmen could threaten to withdraw it should the locals threaten to kill every Lyren that they found.

Also, a small detachment of ground troops had now been sent down to the planet, they were there to protect any Lyren soldiers or civilians who surrendered, they in turn had set up a small defence shield, should the locals turn nasty and did attempt to murder every Lyren that they came across.

The space fleet then moved on to the next enslaved system, they were still not committing a large amount of land forces to the bloody battles down on the planet`s surface. It was only the Soldiers of Christ and the few marines who had initially stood in the way of a lot more bloodshed, and who called on the Lyrens to surrender to them before it was too late.

The Lyren authorities back on the home world only knew that one of their colony planets had been besieged by the space fleet of Earth, and that the fleet had begun to fire down upon it. Nothing else had come out of the system as the Earth ships destroyed the transmitter on the planet soon after their arrival, thanks to the use of the electronic tags that permitted the space cruisers to target anything of strategic importance.

**********

On Lyre, Jonas contacted the five earth people almost as soon as he received their message, he told them to stop off at the small village of Rouen, and to visit the local newspaper offices where the proprietor, Mr Luther Van Peters, would show them to a safe place to rest. He would contact them again when he had something to tell them, but they should know that unknown to the public on Lyre, the space fleet of Earth had destroyed most of the Lyren space fleet, and almost certainly liberated the enslaved planet in the Malan system. This information excited everyone, but Ray Connors brought everyone back down to Earth.

"This war with Earth will inflame the Lyrens against anyone suspected of being from Earth; we should be on our guard at all times. We should also try to get to the space port sooner rather than later, or we will be forced to stay on Lyre until help arrives, because all the ships that are not Lyren will be fleeing the coming blockade and ensuing battle en masse. Harry will be forced to leave with them, because to stay would bring too much suspicion down upon the Jeanette, especially as our ship is from Earth." No one argued with his summing up of the situation.

"We will have to consider all the other alternatives, if there are any that is, as soon as we can get some more information, but I for one would prefer to leave this planet, because it will be a long siege before the space fleet of Earth finally arrives to take us off this planet." Colonel Michaels stated.

"But can you really besiege a planet that has enough of its own food and fuel, and without the necessity to import goods from the other planets of the Lyre Federation?" Peter Summers asked. "For it to really work, the siege would have to be in unison with the enslaved peoples being supplied with weapons, and their rising to throw off the yolk of slavery, which would mean a sea of blood. That, or Earth would have to launch strikes against the farms and industry of Lyre, which as we are talking about a whole planet doesn`t appear to be practical even with enough ground forces to ensure a victory, and that would also bring about a sea of blood on both sides."

"Well I cannot see Earth committing enough land forces to defeat the large Lyren nation and its armed forces, so it will have to be the slaves who free themselves." Lieutenant Charles Bragg said. Jean was much more awake now and joined the discussion.

"You are missing one other alternative, the Lyren authorities could be persuaded to free the slaves and return them to their planets; this could be in unison with allowing those slaves who wish to stay on Lyre to do so, but as free men, and paid for their efforts. It would be much as happened in the old United States of America back in nineteenth century Earth; they went to war there to free the slaves. It is a very compelling alternative, given the other bloody options that you have outlined."

The four men looked at her in amazement, for she could well have been foretelling the future of this planet, and for one who was not yet twenty years of age it was an impressive insight and it also showed that she wasn`t just a pretty face.

Jean then turned to her brother and began to tell him the full story of her adventures, and of the bravery of their companions. Of the time Ray had miraculously saved her by boarding a Lyren starship and had taken her to safety while the ship was in deep space by stealing one of the ship`s shuttles, and how his strong arm had caught her as she plunged down the hillside that rose up before the Wallachia Fortress. She told him how Ray and the Colonel had rescued a maiden in distress who was about to be raped by two Lyren state policeman inside of their own headquarters building, and how Charles had similarly rescued a young woman from a similar fate from a local slave. Lastly of how the four men, who were all strangers two weeks ago, had volunteered to help her come to Lyre and rescue him, of how they had slipped into the fortress and stolen him away from his cold damp cell.

They reached the village of Rouen late in the afternoon, after another short stop where they ate some of the bread and cheese that Cassandra had given to them for their long journey to the spaceport. It was five o`clock in the afternoon and the lights of the buildings were now on as the sun had set one hour ago, they had been travelling for nearly fourteen hours along snow filled roads with the ever-constant fear that they would be caught and returned to the Wallachia Fortress. The feared military roadblocks never materialised, nor did any further military convoys, so their luck appeared to be holding.

"There is the newspaper publisher`s office over on the left; it is the office that is just after the large inn." Jean exclaimed excitedly; she was much more awake than the others were, following her sleep during the long drive. The others were almost exhausted because of the short time they had been able to sleep, that and the cold and finally the stress of their situation.

**********

Much earlier in the day, Colonel Frederick of the Lyren armed forces had woken up early as usual and decided to visit his prisoner, the Earth spy. After washing and eating a large breakfast, he took with him his sergeant, also a corporal and two privates who were to be the guards for this first shift. It was eight o`clock and the guard at the door from last night was awaiting the new shift so that he could go and enjoy his breakfast. First Colonel Fredericks circled the building with his men to see how many points of entry there were, he discovered that as all the windows were barred, the only point of entry was the door where the guard was posted. The men under his command all wore combat uniforms, for as he had told his two lieutenants, if an enemy suddenly appeared on the scene, they would hardly give his men time to change. They all had orders to watch the weather and wear winter white when necessary, which today it was as a thick layer of snow covered the ground from the earlier heavy downfall. He stopped before the entrance to the building and gave his orders to the sergeant for the security of any prisoners kept inside.

"I want one private and the corporal to stand guard in the small guard room that is just inside of the building and the other private to be on guard downstairs. The privates can alternate during the day to relief the boredom of the duty, and the team is to be different each day as I don`t want any of my regiment to be only jailers, but for all of the men to be front line soldiers. First though, we will all go down to the dungeons and see what is there, and also to check that our guest is well."

The five men entered the prison building to find the guard dressed in khaki standing to attention, he had already heard that the new commanding officer led a regiment of front-line soldiers and that he demanded smartness and discipline at all times from his men, the good times were over for the existing troopers of Wallachia fortress.

"Good morning soldier, take us down to the prisoner please." Colonel Frederick asked politely, as was his custom unless angered, when he would be anything but polite. They walked downstairs to the large hall to find the guard on duty missing.

"Isn`t there supposed to be someone here soldier?" Colonel Fredericks asked, sounding just slightly concerned at this obvious lack of security.

"Yes sir, maybe he is in one of the empty cells." The guard volunteered knowing that the man in question would be in real trouble if he was to be caught sleeping on duty. A search was made but without them being able to locate the missing soldier.

Didn`t you see him pass you by soldier, or were you asleep upstairs?" Colonel Frederick demanded to know in a voice that was now not polite but was in fact full of rising anger. The guard was silently cursing the missing man for dropping the both of them in it, and he could only stammer out a negative answer. Colonel Frederick now turned to his Sergeant.

"Those appear to be the keys Sergeant, please open the prisoner`s cell and bring him out here for my inspection."

The Sergeant snapped to attention and replied "Right away Sir." And promptly collected the keys and opening the cell door went in and shook the seemingly still sleeping earthman, only to discover the missing guard bound and gagged and showing signs of being attacked, there being a nasty looking bump on the back of his head.

"Sir you had better see this, I appear to have found our missing guard." Colonel Frederick rushed into the cell to look down on the struggling soldier who was still tied securely to the bed.

"Cut those bonds Sergeant, we may have found our missing guard, but we now seem to be missing our prisoner."

When the guard had been untied and brought out into the large hall, the Colonel demanded to know the full story. After being awake for two hours the guard had concocted one to get him out of trouble.

"I didn`t have a chance Sir, at least ten of those space marines from Earth rushed me, and before I knew it, they had knocked me out, I have only just woken up, but struggle as I did, until my wrists bled, I couldn`t break free to sound the alarm Sir." This guard looked a sorry sight while the other guard knew that he was in deep trouble. Colonel Frederick turned once more to his Sergeant.

"Sergeant have this soldier taken to the doctor for a check to ensure that he didn`t get hurt too badly, and put the other in the cell recently vacated by our missing spy. If you need me, I will be communicating with the authorities regarding the missing spy, but if he was rescued by space marines then he is more than likely on the way back to Earth by now in a starship." With this, Colonel Frederick turned towards the stairs while a very worried guard was locked inside the cell that he had supposed to have been guarding.

**********

Luther Van Peters, who was just another member of the Lyren freedom movement, had left the strange assortment of people at the safe house operated by the freedom movement. He hoped that they would be able to rest safely from whatever ordeals that they had been enduring, he didn`t know and didn`t particularly want to know what these ordeals might be, he just obeyed the request made by his friend Jonas. In the house, the friends were happy to be safely hidden from any chase that might be already on the way, or at least one that must start soon. Luther Van Peters was the owner of a small newspaper that catered for this region of rural Lyre; it gave advice on farming and acted as the local peoples` diary of upcoming events. Ray Connors wondered to himself whether it had advised its readers to pencil in the upcoming slave revolt that would make the one of ancient roman times seem trivial in comparison, certainly to the people of Lyre who would be caught up in its epicentre.

The house was the usual two-storey design with a lounge and kitchen downstairs and two rooms and a bathroom upstairs, one of the rooms being a small box room. A door led from the kitchen directly into the garage where they had just left their car. The house was the last house in a block of five and was situated at the left-hand end. It was of a simple wood construction, as were most rural houses on Lyre, and had only a few items of furniture. Three arm chairs and a coffee table in the lounge, a small table with four chairs in the kitchen and three cots upstairs. There was bedding and towels in a large walk-in cupboard at the top of the stairs, this being why the second bedroom upstairs was so small.

"Why don`t we all get a couple of hours rest, for I`m sure that we could all do with some, and maybe later, we can finish off the last of the bread and cheese that Cassandra gave us while we can discuss our next move." Colonel Michaels suggested, a suggestion that everyone took up.

On the first floor, there were only enough cots for three of them to use, two in the large bedroom and another one in the small box room. The men tossed a coin for who got to use two of the cots and Ray Connors and Charles Bragg won so Colonel Michaels and Peter Summers had to make do with the armchairs which were downstairs. The men had decided to save the bathroom for later, although Jean decided to make use of it immediately, but then she had been able to catch some sleep in the car. The long hot bath that she enjoyed, while the others slept, confirming the wisdom of her choice, but it also made her rather drowsy. Reluctantly she got out of the warm water, and after drying herself, she settled down for a short sleep in the smaller of the bedrooms where the third of the cots had been allocated for her to use.

It was almost midnight when they were all back downstairs and had eaten their meal, and it was now that Jean decided that she should tell her brother about Ray and her, he didn`t take it well.

"He is far too old for you Jean, what on Earth do you see in him?" Peter Summers was really angry with his young sister, but had wisely kept his voice down to an enraged whisper so that the locals didn`t hear an earthman`s voice coming from the usually empty house.

"He is not too old for me Peter; he is only about your age and I have seen you out with girls not much older than I am. He is also the most wonderful and bravest man that I have ever met, and before you forget it, he is the reason that you are free. I would still be on New Caledonia without him, he is the one who found out where you had been taken, and he is also the one who saved my life, not once but twice." Jean raged.

"Ok I am grateful to him and the others, and amazed at what you yourself have accomplished, but even so Jean, gratitude is all you feel for him, not love." Peter argued politely, which angered Jean even more.

"Don`t you dare tell me what I feel Peter, I know exactly what I feel and if you don`t like it, well you will just have to put up with it." Jean was extremely mad at her brother; how dare he tell her what it was that she felt for Ray.

"How am I supposed to feel about an older man making a play for my sister?" Peter was slowly losing the cool exterior that he had tried to show.

"He did not make a play for me; in fact, I believe that he felt as you do, that he was too old for me, it was I who kissed him first." Jean stated fiercely.

"You mean you threw yourself at him Jean?" Peter Summers said angrily. Jean looked up at her brother, he could see the anger building on her face, and then she brought her right hand around to slap him loudly and painfully on his face.

"How dare you say that to me Peter?"

Ray had seen the heated conversation out of the corner of his eye from the armchair that he was sitting in, and he had heard some of what was said and guessed the rest. He had winced when he heard Jean slap her brother, but he had wisely kept away from it, or he had tried to because Jean stormed over to him and promptly sat on his lap and flung an arm around his neck. The look that Peter Summers flung his way was hot with rage to say the least, as he stormed out through the kitchen and into the garage where he stood and fumed. The two marines had also wisely decided to stay in the kitchen, where they were sitting at the small table drinking a hot cup of coffee that they had made after finding a small store of food in one of the cupboards.

"You are looking lovelier than ever Jean, especially now that you have washed off your disguise." Ray said hoping to calm Jean down a might.

"Thank you Ray, at least you see me as a woman and not still as a silly school girl, Peter is worse than a father." Jean said sulkily.

"He is your big brother and so he feels bound to look after you now that your parents are gone, it is just that you are not the little girl he knows, you have grown up while he was busy working away from home, he just didn`t realise it." Ray said trying to explain her brother`s attitude in a way more acceptable to Jean.

"I know Ray, but it is so annoying, I wanted him to be happy for us, to see us as a new family for him to be part of, with Harry as our favourite Uncle." Jean said dejectedly.

Colonel Michaels had found a radio when he had searched through the cupboards in search of food, and he now turned it on just in time for the news. It told the Lyren people about the attack on their outpost in the Malan system, which was the outermost of the planets enslaved by the Lyren Federation. It also told of a further attack on the Rigel system. It also said that their own space fleet had suffered a setback but had given the space fleet of Earth a bloody nose that it wouldn`t forget, but it didn`t say why the Lyren ships weren`t defending the Malan or the Rigel systems. The newsreader went on to say that no information was coming out of either system, but the authorities were sure that the settlers on the two planets were safe as they were protected by experienced troops. The announcer then added that many Lyrens were panic buying, it was because they feared that an attack must be imminent on the home world. The government has issued a bulletin stating that this would not happen because Earth didn`t possess a land force big enough to win a battle on the surface of Lyre, and it asked for everyone to calm down and await further news bulletins.

Peter Summers had come back into the kitchen to listen to the new broadcast, and Ray said the he would speak to him, and so Jean moved over to another armchair with an anxious look upon her face while Ray took her brother back out to the garage to try and calm things down.

"Peter I can appreciate your point of view, which is one that I worried over and why I didn`t make a pass at your sister. I want to assure you that I don`t intend to take our relationship to the next level until I am sure that Jean is really in love with me." Ray said, quietly trying to reassure the man who might soon become his brother in law.

"Thank you, I appreciate that Ray, and I know that you are a good and certainly a brave man. The way that you have risked your life for Jean by coming to Lyre just to rescue me proves that. It is just that Jean is still so young, and I didn`t anticipate her getting romantically involved with a man who is my age." Peter explained his reaction to his sister`s revelation.

"You missed the last two or three weeks Peter, because Jean grew up a lot while she travelled around the galaxy looking for you. She is no longer your baby sister; she is a young woman who knows what she wants." Ray said trying to explain the new Jean.

"And she wants you, is that what you are saying Ray?" Peter said getting angry again.

"No Peter, I didn`t mean that, I meant that you missed a vital time in her life, the part where she was forced to grow up fast because of the life that you chose to lead, and before you explode, I think that you are one hell of a guy risking all for Earth. However, Peter, it meant that due to circumstances beyond your control, Jean was propelled into your world as well."

Peter Summers hadn`t thought that his life style, something that he did more for himself rather than for the people of Earth, could have endangered all that he held dear, his baby sister and her innocence. He now recognised that what Ray said could in fact be true.

"You may well be correct Ray, and if you will agree to take things slowly then I am happy for you and Jean to see one another romantically. You can tell Jean that a peace treaty has been signed, I don`t want to be on the receiving end of another of her slaps." He said ruefully.

When Ray and Peter left the garage smiling, the others and especially Jean were amazed, Jean had thought that the two men could come to blows and here they were the best of friends. When Ray came across to her, she had to ask.

"I heard the sound of Peter`s voice in there and thought that I would have to go in there and stop a fight between the two of you, but you come out the best of friends, what did you say to change his mind about us?"

"Just a bit of understanding and a little male bonding, and just in case your suspicious female mind dreams up anything else, I should tell you that Peter is feeling a little bad about leaving you all alone on New Caledonia, so don`t question him about what was said out there. Anyway, the good news is that Peter has given me permission to see you romantically, as long as we move ahead slowly so as to give you a chance to prove to yourself that you are in love with me, okay?" Ray said smiling down at Jean.

"I already know how I feel about you Ray, I don`t need time to prove it to myself, or to anyone else." Jean protested.

"I know Jean, but just go along with your brother for the moment; we will have plenty of time to take things further once we have returned safely home to New Caledonia and you are back amongst your normal surroundings." Ray reasoned.

"My normal surroundings will not change the way that I feel about you Ray, but I agree that we do have plenty of time to get to know each other a little better." Jean said by way of agreement. Colonel Michaels brought their minds back to the real problems in their world.

"Well there was nothing about us on the news, you would have thought that they would have found out about Peter`s escape by now." Colonel Michaels said just a little surprised.

**********

Kurt Bowers of the Lyren freedom movement lived in the village of Rouen, from where he journeyed each day to the capital city to work. He was feeling very scared for his son at this moment in time, for he had heard on the news about the disasters that had occurred in space, of the attack on their fleet, and of the attacks on their outposts by the soldiers of Earth. His son Karl was serving on Rigel, and he couldn`t find out if he was still alive or whether he was in fact lying dead upon the hard ground of an alien world, killed by some savage only just out of the stone age. He now felt something else deep within his heart, it was a hatred of Earth and its people, and so intense was this feeling that he forgot his former values and sent an anomalous message to the state police. In the message he told them that five people, who he believed were from the planet Earth, were hiding out in the village of Rouen. He gave them instructions of where in the village they would find them, where they could kill them. He didn`t think about his plan to turn traitor, he didn`t realise that the state police would trace the ownership of the house to his friends, and then onto him and finally to the capital city and the leaders of the freedom movement, hate coupled with worry for his son blinded him to everything. In fact, his feelings caused him to do something that he would have thought was beyond his abilities, he went to the house where the earthmen were staying and burst in on them, armed with a lightweight plasma weapon that his son had left behind on his last visit home for his father`s protection. Bowers rushed in just after Ray Connors and Peter Summers had reached their amicable agreement.

"Put your hands where I can see them earthmen, I am here to ensure that you do not escape the authorities that are even now rushing to imprison you, to kill you, for the many murders carried out by your people out there in the depths of space."

"What murders are you talking about; we have committed no murders, in space or anywhere else." Colonel Michaels said angrily refuting the accusation.

"My son and his comrades; that is who I am talking about, your comrades have killed my boy on Rigel and he is all that I had left of my darling wife, and you must pay for it." Bowers was now crying as he thought about his poor boy murdered so far from home by barbarians. Their hearts went out to him, but they also knew that they must act against him. They had to overpower him or risk imprisonment, or worse.

"Please sir, don`t do this, I assume that you are one of the freedom movement, you must realise that your wife and son would not want you to hurt us, or to have you hand us over to the state police, put down your weapon and let us escape this village while there is still time." Colonel Michaels begged of the broken man before them.

Kurt Bowers screamed with rage at the Colonel. "Do not tell me what my wife and son would want me to do, you are not even worthy to clean their shoes, you are just another officer, another vile individual who cares for nothing but his own desires." Bowers was beyond reasoning with now, although they had to try.

"Please Sir, you must let us go, do you realise what will happen to us should the state police take us prisoner?" Jean begged, she hoped that a female voice might sway him, as the male voice of Colonel Michaels had only enraged him.

While Colonel Michaels and Jean had been talking to Bowers, Ray had moved behind Jean, who had stood up when Kurt Bowers had entered the room. He used her body to shield his own actions, he slowly but carefully took out his throwing knife and waited for an opportunity to present itself so that he would succeed without any of his friends being hurt in the process. The opportunity was presented when Colonel Michaels seeing Ray`s actions deliberately focused Bowers` complete attention on him, he slowly moved toward Lieutenant Bragg`s position.

"You are a good man; you must see how wrong your actions are, please put your gun down and let us go free." While he was speaking to Bowers the stricken man`s eyes followed him leaving Ray free to act. His knife flew through the air at the same time as Colonel Michaels threw his body away from the line of fire of the energy weapon held by Bowers. This distracted the poor man even further, as Bowers` eyes followed Michael's diving body. The knife sank deeply into the tendons on Bowers arm cutting them, and the energy weapon in Bower's hand dropped harmlessly to the floor. Bowers screamed out in pain as the knife bit into his flesh and then he broke down and wept as he watched Colonel Michaels scoop up the fallen plasma pistol.

"Lieutenant, will you please go upstairs and check to see if there is anyone about."

Lieutenant Charles Bragg bounded up the wooden staircase and into one of the darkened upstairs rooms to look out of its solitary window to check that all was clear before they moved off. Unfortunately, he noticed movement along the street, people were leaving the houses near to the one that they were occupying, uniformed men with energy weapons were moving in behind the walls of the houses and the vehicles that were parked in front of some of the buildings. He called softly downstairs.

"Colonel we have company, we are surrounded by the Lyren state police, and they mean business." Colonel Michaels rushed up the stairs while Ray went to look out of the kitchen window, what they saw confirmed what the Lieutenant had seen, that they were in trouble.

"Well we cannot fight our way out; we are outnumbered and assuredly out gunned." Colonel Michaels stated. Jean for one looked worried, as did her brother, but more for her than for himself.

"Peter, how are we going to get out of here?" She cried, fearing that in just a few minutes time they would all be lying dead upon the cold hard floor of their refuge.

"It will take some doing sis." Peter Summers replied sadly. To be free for so short a time and then sent back to prison with his sister and their friends for company was sickening, Peter Summers thought, but he kept his worries to himself.

"There may be a way out everyone." Ray Connors said to a quietened room. "I noticed that the cupboard upstairs has an entrance up into the loft, these building are mostly wood, and they are not the best built of houses that I have seen. It is possible that we may be able to break through the loft partitions of this and the other houses that are attached to this one, and escape from the last house in the terrace without being seen. They should all be empty now as the state police have taken all of the locals out of harm`s way. But we must be quick or else the police may well take up residence in the house next door."

"Let`s check it out Ray, you others keep a watch on our friends outside and also our injured friend here, I don`t suppose they will give us much time to act."

With that, Colonel Michaels followed Ray up the stairs and into the cupboard. They climbed up the shelves in the cupboard, which were the one thing in the house that were fixed firmly to the walls, and pushed up the hatch to climb up into the loft space. Colonel Michaels produced a small torch from out of nowhere, turned it on, and illuminated the far wall with its surprisingly bright beam.

"You were right Ray; it looks like it is only made of wood I was worried for a moment that they might have put in a fire wall. We should be able to prize the individual slats out and crawl through, but we will need a diversion though to cover the noise of the breaking wood, for it is awfully quiet out there now."

"A few blasts from our plasma pistols into the parked vehicles should cover any noise that we make up here, and our own vehicle blowing up and setting fire to the house should cover our escape Colonel."

"I could have done with you on some of my more hazardous exploits Ray." Colonel Michaels said grinning across to Ray.

"Come on Colonel, we should be able to find a suitable tool in the garage to use to jemmy the wood apart."

The two men returned to the others and Colonel Michaels quickly told them the plan while Ray found two large screwdrivers, they had been left behind in the garage by the owner of the local newspaper in case any maintenance work was required, and having them handy would save him from having to return home for his tool kit.

"Lieutenant you keep watch on the back of the house from upstairs, Jean you and your brother go up into the loft and start work on our escape route, don`t make any loud noises though until we start to fire at the vehicles outside. I will turn on this radio and play some music loud enough to cover any noise you make while you start work up there." Colonel Michaels said, and reaching over turned on the radio and tuned in a band playing martial music, he turned up the volume so that everyone in the house could hear. Kurt Bowers looked angrily at his captors waiting for a chance to escape.

"Tell us when you are in need of some extra cover Peter and we will provide it." Ray said calling softly up to the disappearing backs of Peter Summers and his sister.

Peter and Jean were soon sitting in the loft space, and Peter was just about to start pushing the flat edged screwdriver into the first slat when Jean, who had the torch, noticed that they seemed to be held in place by three lengths of wood. One long one ran along the bottom end of the slats and two other shorter lengths of wood that ran across the top of the slats; they went at an angle from the eaves of the house up to the centre where they were fixed to the central roof beam.

"Peter why don`t you try undoing those screws first, we might be lucky and get by without making any noise at all."

"Well done Jean, even the Colonel and Ray missed those." He said with relish.

"They are almost the same colour as the wooden slats; I only saw them because I was right up against the wood." Jean said in defence of the other two.

Peter smiled at his sister`s defence of Ray and got down to work. He had soon taken the bottom length of wood off and then one of the upper strips too. With the upper strip removed, Jean plucked the slats out of the way only for them to see another row of slats behind the first set.

"Drat we will still have to lever a couple of these slats off so that I can get to the screws holding them in place unless. Jean you pop down to the garage and see if there are any saws amongst the tools in the garage, we can use one of them to cut the slats once we have one of them out."

Jean turned to her brother and said contemptuously. "Men!"

Just the one word and then reaching forward she picked up the second screwdriver and took out the screws that held the retaining central strip of wood that ran across the floorboards between the two rows of slats to the floor, and then the one that ran across the top. With this removed, Jean reached forward and Peter watched as the rear set fell towards them.

"It is only the horizontal lengths of wood that are screwed down Peter. I will tell the others that we are already through into the house next door, you go through here and start on the next partition." Jean said indicating the opening that they had just made.

With that, Jean turned and went to the open hatch and quickly climbed back down and then rushed down the staircase to tell the two men downstairs the good news, they were delighted with this good piece of luck. Standing up Ray pulled her to him and quickly kissed her. Jean smiled up at Ray and whispered 'I love you', but then she turned around and headed back to the loft and her brother.

Outside the state police were obviously ready now, and to prove it one of them called out.

"Earthmen we know that you are hiding in there, come out with your hands up and you will be treated with respect, you have done well in breaking your spy out of the Wallachia Fortress, now you must surrender, for we have you surrounded and we are very well armed." The commander had heard earlier about the escape of their prisoner, and Rouen being on a road that ran directly up to the fortress, had guessed just who they were, although he couldn`t understand just why they had chosen to come to this small village instead of escaping in to deepest space.

Colonel Michaels was playing for time so he returned this demand with silence. Two minutes later, he saw two state police officers moving towards them.

"Ray ensure that your energy weapon is set on stun, we don`t want to make the situation any worse by killing one of them or else they may bring up a heavier weapon and simply blast us into oblivion." Colonel Michaels then called softly up to Lieutenant Bragg and told him the same thing.

"My weapon is always set on stun Colonel." Ray Connors replied.

"Okay Ray, let`s stop those two from getting any nearer, aim for the ground just in front of them."

Ray and Colonel Michaels both slid the two windows in front of them out of their way and fired warning shots that kicked up the stones in front of the two officers. The high-pitched whistling sound of their plasma weapon fire making the two state police officers duck in fear as the energy bolts exploded just in front of them. The two officers seeing themselves caught away from any reasonable cover scurried back into the safety offered by a nearby vehicle. However, the two bolts of energy brought a flurry of powerful energy bolts from the pistols head by the state police officers, and these exploded forcefully against the outside of the building sending splinters of wood everywhere. Then a burst of shots hit the glass in the windows, from which the two men were keeping watch, to send splinters of glass flying across the room. Some of the shards of glass cutting the faces and bodies of the Ray and Colonel Michaels and making them both hug the floor. Seconds later and another burst of shots came through the now empty window frames to explode against the far wall. Kurt Bowers took this opportunity to run for the door and rush outside screaming for the state police to hold their fire, they answered him by shooting him down, his last thoughts were of his wife and son, and how he would soon be seeing them again.

From upstairs they heard the energy weapon of Lieutenant Charles Bragg opening up on an antagonist approaching from the rear of the house, there too the answering fire was explosive in the extreme.

"Colonel their energy weapons are not set on stun, they don`t care if they kill us!" Ray exclaimed, still lying flat on the floor.

"My order stands Ray; we cannot afford to have the situation escalate until we are ready to depart."

"Okay Colonel, let`s at least deter them by hitting them this time."

With that, both men sat up and picking a target each sent a well-aimed shot out of the broken windows to hear two groans that indicated that these two officers would not be taking a part in the proceedings for a little while. Unfortunately, this brought even more bolts of energy weapon fire heading towards them and the outside walls of the house, quickly reducing the wall to kindling making it resemble a sieve rather than a wall as the light from the streetlights shown through the growing number of holes in the wall. Ray stood up again, beside the window he sent another energy bolt flying from his pistol to cause their attackers to duck for cover, but one soldier must have been braver than the rest, for he returned Ray`s fire, his energy bolt raking Ray`s arm and causing Ray in turn to duck back down. He looked at his ruined shirt and the painful red line that went up his arm, and then he wondered how he had managed to hold on to his pistol.

"Colonel, much more of this and one of us is going to be dead real soon. Peter Summers is probably through the second partition by now but we still need to delay our friends outside for a little while longer. They are close to finishing us of with their energy weapons, but I`m also a little worried that they might get bored with firing at us with hand weapons. They just might decide to lob a couple of grenades in here, which could spell the end of both of us, what we need right now are some delaying tactics, have you got any bright ideas?"

Ray`s words were greeted by a new burst of energy bolts that burst through the tattered walls of the building and only narrowly missed both men, forcing them back to the cold floor once more.

"Ray, I`m soon to be a politician." Colonel Michaels said by way of an answer and smiling called through the broken window.

"Who is in charge out there, I want to speak to you, please hold your fire?" A moment later and the officer in charge of the state police replied.

"I am in charge, my name is Captain Hans Kroeber, do you wish to surrender?" The Lyren asked hopefully.

"Two of us do, if you can just give us a little time to convince the others, I am sure that we can end this without any further blood being spilt."

Captain Hans Kroeber thought about the matter for a moment, there was no reason why he couldn`t allow matters to cool, he was a humanitarian after all and they couldn`t escape from the building, and having a squad of space marines as his prisoners would earn him a quick promotion.

"You have five minutes, use it well."

In the house the two men smiled, they had their extra time to allow Peter Summers to get through to the end house.

"You keep watch Ray, while I set that vehicle in the garage to explode as soon as we are ready to leave."

Four precious minutes had gone by when Jean rushed back downstairs.

"We are through to the last house, and it sounds quiet inside, Peter is investigating it now, we are ready to leave when you are." Jean called quietly across to them.

"Let`s go Colonel, we must be better off there, than in here waiting to die." Ray said, he now thought that they stood a chance of getting away from Rouen alive.

"Okay Ray, I will set the timer in the garage, Jean you go up and don`t forget to collect the lieutenant, Ray and I have some theatricals to put on."

Jean rushed upstairs wondering about the theatricals, and looking into the rear bedroom called softly to the lieutenant to say that it was time to leave, and then the two of them climbed up into the loft. From downstairs came the sound of raised voices and then energy weapon fire, seconds later Ray followed by Colonel Michaels ran up the stairs and into the cupboard. Ray stopped for a moment to collect some of the blankets and rugs, for they would need them to keep the cold of Lyre out while they were on the run from the state police, it was only a few seconds more and then they were up into the loft. Outside they heard the voice of Captain Hans Kroeber calling to ask if everything was okay. It had just started to rain heavily and whoever didn`t have to be outside rushed for the shelter of their houses, leaving the night to the state police.

Ray Connors and Colonel Michaels had just joined up with Peter Summers and the other in the empty house at the end of the terrace and were now standing in the kitchen of the house.

"We can escape through the back door and if we keep low, we shouldn`t be seen." Just then, a massive explosion shook the house, the cause, the staff car had exploded in the house that they had so recently vacated.

"It is time to leave everyone." Colonel Michaels ordered.

He then opened the rear door of the house and they all escaped into the night, as they ran, they saw a group of military vehicles parked out of sight of their previous dwelling. Peter Summers chose a staff car similar to the one that they had just destroyed, and found to his surprise that the keys had been left in it. As they drove away into the night, Peter Summers enquired of Colonel Michaels.

"Which way would you like to go Colonel?"

"Straight ahead and take the first turning on the left, we are heading towards another friend that we made here on Lyre, to take up his offer of help." Colonel Michaels said.

Behind them, the sky was lit up by the flames coming from the house that had nearly been their final resting place. Ahead was the unknown, but one tinged with the hope of finding sanctuary with a friend?

Chapter Eleven

Octavius

Colonel Michaels had decided to head for the small town of Henin and their friend Octavius, with the hope that he would be able to conceal them for a few days until the clamour died down a little, and the others had agreed that this was a good idea. Colonel Michaels thought that the chances of Octavius being able to find a hideaway for them to rest up and plan their future course of action were good, for he had not only taken to the man during the short time that he had known him, but thought him quite able to look after their interests.

Luckily, they were able to get a good start before Captain Hans Kroeber realised that he was not going to find any bodies in the still hot ashes of the two houses that had gone up in flames following the explosion caused by Colonel Michaels. Captain Kroeber then decided to have the other three houses searched, for they seemed to be the most likely place to find the fugitives, and this took up a further twenty minutes as his men were finally reduced to looking into every nook and cranny that they could find. Finally, Captain Kroeber had to admit to himself that he had been outsmarted by the space marines from Earth; they had escaped his clutches as if by magic. The word was put out across the airways again that a watch should be kept on all routes out of Rouen and he set up roadblocks around the immediate area. It was twenty minutes later that a staff car was found to be missing, so the search was expanded to include the whole county and those adjoining it, Kroeber knew that his superiors would not be pleased by his bungled attempt to apprehend the fugitive earthmen, but he had done everything possible to capture them, it had just not been good enough.

Peter Summers could have been a rally driver, for he drove the staff car as it was never meant to be driven, along a country lane filled with large puddles of standing water from the downpour, and skirting the debris blown on to it by the strong wind that had suddenly sprang up from nowhere. By the time, Captain Kroeber had finally decided to put out a nationwide alarm for the fugitives they were almost one hundred miles away from the village of Rouen, and after another thirty minutes they were entering the outskirts of Henin, and well outside the ring of hastily erected roadblocks.

"Turn right here Peter, this is the road that we came up on, we thought it better to return by a slightly different route which would hopefully throw any searchers off our tracks. Pull into a narrow track that should be along here somewhere on the right, if my memory is still working. That should leave us about a mile away from the local state police headquarters, and Octavius lives near to them. I hope that we can rest up until dawn tomorrow, and the start of the working day for the enslaved people on Lyren. At least it has stopped raining for the moment so hopefully we will be able to find Octavius and his family without getting too wet."

Colonel Michaels` memory was not defective, as the track was just where he had said it was, and Peter Summers pulled off the road and took them as far along the track as he could go. Then he drove the car off the track to pass under a large oak tree and to stop between two large shrubs that should help hide the car from any casual passer-by. He turned and looked at the others who were smiling with relief to be somewhere that was relatively safe.

"I`m glad that bit is over as I was getting rather tired, we should maybe conceal the car a bit more with whatever material we can find to camouflage it, just in case a Lyren comes along and is not your friend Octavius." Peter Summers suggested.

"Good thinking Peter, let`s do it now." Colonel Michaels said in agreement. He then got out of the staff car and went to work cutting and then pulling vegetation towards the vehicle.

"Let`s get stuck in team, there appears to be plenty of material at hand to do the job well."

They all got out of the car and began the work of hiding their vehicle. They spread parts of fallen trees over the car and then cut down bushes with their knives to add these to the camouflage around the car. Peter tried with some success to disguise the tracks the car had made as it had moved off the track and over the wet muddy ground around the tree, that should do it, he thought to himself when he had finished, for no one was going to be looking for any tracks. They then all got back into the car from the side furthest away from the track, they had purposely left this side clear to allow them to be able to use the car for shelter. Although everyone got a little damp from the drops of water falling off the trees, and from the wet ferns and other plants that they picked up for use as camouflage.

Colonel Michaels decided that they ought to inform Jonas of their hurried departure, as he could easily be implicated once the state police began to investigate the owner of the burnt house that they had left behind them, and when he told the others of his decision, no one disagreed.

His message told Jonas of the state police surrounding the house and of their own escape, he also warned Jonas that a subsequent investigation would probably bring the owner`s identity to light. Even if that was well hidden, then someone had looked after the house when it was not in use, such as the newspaper proprietor, and his identity would be known and everything he knew would soon be in the possession of the authorities. From there it was only a matter of time before the names of the local members of the freedom movement were discovered and after that, the trail might soon reach his doorstep. If there was a possibility of this happening then his family and that of his brother were welcome to escape on the Jeanette, which would soon have to leave anyway, what with the war moving ever nearer to Lyre. Jonas would know all this, but it did no harm for someone else to echo his own thoughts.

After sending the message, they all tried to get as much rest as was possible, and the blankets and rugs that Ray had thought to bring along helped to keep out the worst of the cold, although it was still a cold uncomfortable night that finally ended with the rising sun. Their luck appeared to be holding, for as Ray Connors ventured out from the staff car on his mission to find Octavius, he bumped into Isabella almost immediately, she was collecting wood blown down by the storm for use as firewood after it had dried.

"Ray, what are you doing here, and where is your friend?" Isabella said, surprised to see him.

"He is with some other friends of ours; we came here Isabella in the hope of eliciting your help this time."

"You know that our help is freely given to you Ray, tell me what we can do to help you and it is done." Isabella said very happy to help the two men who had saved her from hell.

"We are on the run from the authorities Isabella, after we freed the man we came to Lyre for, we were betrayed and only just escaped with our lives, we need somewhere to make our vehicle disappear, and somewhere to use as a hideaway while we plan our next move." Ray said hoping that his new friends could help them.

"Show me where you are hiding Ray, so that I know where to bring my father, he will make everything that you require, happen."

Ray took Isabella back to the staff car and introduced her to the others. After greeting them and promising to help in whatever way she could, Isabella left to fetch her father. Somehow, she seemed to have aged since they last saw her; just like Jean she had lost her innocence and was now a woman, and in Isabella`s case at a very young age. Ten minutes later Isabella returned with her father, accompanying him was his brother Jason and his friend Linus.

"My friends, I am glad that it is to me that you have turned too in your hour of trouble, for now I can repay in some measure your own deeds that you carried out without a thought for your own safety. First my brother and my friend will help you to dispose of your vehicle and then, we will find a place for you to stay without the Lyren scum finding you." Octavius said proud to be of assistance to his friends from Earth. "One of you must operate the car while Jason and Linus direct him." Octavius said.

Peter Summers took it upon himself to be the driver, and getting into the car turned the engine on. Jason and Linus who had never been inside of a car before were extremely happy to jump into the car and direct him to a high cliff above a large lake, one that had once been a quarry. There they got out and told Peter to help them to hide the car until midnight, when the two would return to push the car into the lake, to do so any sooner would be foolish in the extreme, for a Lyren might see the act and report it to the state police. Jason who was a duplicate of his brother, but a little younger, began to gather more ferns and the branches of fallen trees to hide the staff car for a second time. Linus was much shorter than the two brothers were, but he always seemed to have a smile upon his face, now more than ever as he helped in this small battle against the forces of evil. They soon had the car hidden behind a wall of vegetation; they then hurried Peter back to the others. Their eyes constantly searched for signs of a Lyren, for a slave is never free to take time off from his work, they have to be constantly on the alert for signs of their master's presence or suffer for it.

Octavius and his clan were not like the other slaves that lived on Lyre; ever since Ray and Colonel Michaels had showed them the way, they had begun to plan their revenge on their Lyren masters, now they would make more of them disappear, and woe betide any Lyren who dared to harm one of Octavius` family or friends. Octavius took the friends to the rooms that his people shared and told them to stay hidden until the night.

"For the night," Octavius said to them, "has become the time when my family can meet up with other proven friends to discuss how best to push the Lyrens for more freedom. Some of the slaves think we should be careful not to alarm the Lyrens too much, for they fear that this could result in making our situation even worse. My answer to those who fear to fight the Lyrens is this. They will not begin to treat us better unless we fight for our rights, yes, some may die, but at least they will die fighting for freedom. We should make plans to begin a planet wide revolt that will make the Lyren monsters come to dread the setting of their sun, for then the slaves will be able to move around more freely, and turn from slaves into freedom fighters."

Octavius was no longer a slave; he was a man who was leading the slaves' revolt in this part of Lyre.

"That presupposes that the Lyrens will not chain you up at night to prevent you from threatening them, and then bring in overseers to take charge during the day." Ray said to his brave friend.

Octavius looked up at Ray and grinned. "Others have mentioned that this could happen but I find that I am adept at picking locks, and they will not stop me from acting to free my people. Now I have to return to work, to become a slave again, but as I said, it is only for the daylight hours."

Left alone Colonel Michaels turned on their computer and tuned into the Lyren news programme, it was full of the latest events, both on and off Lyre. The first part of the report went on to report that the space fleet of Earth had surrounded a third planet and as before nothing more was heard from the Lyren forces based there, it must now be assumed that Earth was landing massive land forces and capturing or killing all Lyrens found on the planet. The second part of the report referred to the rumours that were sweeping across the planet. It stated that teams of space marines from Earth were thought to be operating in many areas of the planet. One had recently freed an Earth spy from the Wallachia Fortress, and another team are thought to be behind the fire in the village of Rouen, where a squad of them had escaped the clutches of a complete company of the Lyren state police. Reports of further sightings were coming in from all over the planet, the two state policemen missing for almost a week from their headquarters in Henin are also thought to have run into a squad of the marines.

It was just about now that they received a message from Jonas, he told them that their freighter the Jeanette would leave Lyre for Apraxia that afternoon, it would take with it his family and that of his brother, and that the two of them had now gone into hiding. He saw from the news that they were still keeping an ultra-low profile. This last comment being said more in jest than censure.

**********

In the depths of the Lyren General Staff headquarters, the generals had panicked and ordered the evacuation of the innermost three of the enslaved planets. The troops and their equipment were to be moved to the two Lyren colony worlds, the planets of Arcadia and Argos, where they would reinforce the already sizeable armies already on the planet. These two planets had been the first of the planets to be enslaved and sizeable colonies had been built up over the last one hundred and fifty years, Earth would find it difficult to take these two planets without a massive loss of life on both sides. To cover the evacuation the remaining four small corvettes of the Lyren space fleet had been despatched to cruise the area between the third and fourth enslaved planets. The three planets were to be surrendered without a shot being fired.

The local inhabitants on the three planets already freed by Earth, were already out and about celebrating and praising the planet Earth, soon those on the next three planets would be joining them, leaving Lyre with just their home world and Argos and Arcadia.

Unfortunately for the four small Lyren corvettes, the Earth space cruiser Indomitable captained by John Stalker had already been despatched with a squadron of four light cruisers to make a lightning attack on the planet of Lyre itself, and he came across the Lyre squadron while on his way to the planet. He immediately ordered his squadron to attack the outgunned Lyren ships, the four Lyren starships were forced to run for the shelter of their home world with the powerful energy bolts from the Indomitable and the lighter ones of her consorts blasting away at their defence shields. The first Lyren ship to fall out of hyperspace was the Lector; she was the oldest of the four and was overdue for an upgrade, one she would never get now. With her shields gone, her hyper-drive engines destroyed and her energy weapons smoking wrecks the captain of the Earth light cruiser Illustrious gave her crew the opportunity to abandon ship in their shuttlecraft and they took it, moments later the Earth ship Illustrious destroyed what was left of the Lector. The Indomitable had caught up with the Leander, a Lyren corvette that had already taken terrible punishment from the powerful energy weapons of the Indomitable, and it too was abandoned to the destructive forces of the starships from Earth. Captain Stalker could see that the remaining two heavily damaged Lyren ships would reach the protection of their home world before his squadron could catch up with them. However, with his original mission of a quick strike now impossible, what with the Lyrens knowledge of his squadron, he continued to chase after the two small corvettes and so destroy whatever moral the Lyren space fleet had once possessed. He was almost upon the planet of Lyre when he decided to turn back for the planet of Rigel, where he would confer with his superiors regarding his future missions.

**********

Peter Summers now took Ray aside to speak to him. "Thank you Ray for getting my sister safely out of Rouen, I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to her."

"Think nothing of it Peter, there was no way that I would let them get their hands on Jean, especially seeing as how she hasn`t put her make up back on yet." Ray replied. "You can rely on my being by your sister's side at all times Peter."

Peter Summers looked at Ray Connors for a long moment before replying.

"I know Ray, and maybe I am beginning to think differently about things, just give her a couple of months or so amongst her familiar surroundings when we get back to New Caledonia, and if after that she is still of the same mind then I will drop any opposition to the two of you marrying."

The two men moved away from one another as Jean walked in. "Okay guys?" She asked nervously, fearing that they had been arguing about her.

"Yes Jean, I think maybe you two are." Peter replied, it took Jean a moment to realise just what he had said, and when she did, the problems of Lyre seemed to weigh a little less.

Jonas now contacted them again, his message was full of woe but it brought further hopes to them. "The freedom movement that I built up is now in tatters, following the outbreak of war with Earth. My people are very concerned about the many Lyrens who are thought to have lost their lives, both in the space fleet and amongst our land forces on the recently freed planets. Many of our soldiers were based off-world along with many Lyren officials, whose job it was to regulate the farming on the worlds. The authorities have now moved our forces back to the two colony worlds of Argos and Arcadia where they have been told to fight to the last man. Even I am torn between the two forces, on the one side I believe in fighting for the freedom of all god`s children as taught to me by the priests of my religion, and on the other side I weep for the Lyrens who have lost their lives in this war. Am I a traitor to my people or a warrior of god; I for one do not know?" Jonas seemed to be very dispirited, and Colonel Michaels for one was worried about him.

"I fully understand the trouble he is currently going through." Colonel Michaels told the others. "But what did he expect to happen, some loss of life was bound to occur, we can only hope that this loss will bring the Lyrens quickly to the negotiating table."

Octavius had now returned for a midday meal and Colonel Michaels now told him all that they had learnt and all that they hoped.

"This news brings with it a stronger reason to hope that the enslaved peoples on this world can soon be free." Octavius said. "As now are the ones on my planet."

"I think that I will return his call Colonel, tell him of our hopes for a negotiated peace, and also reassure him that he was fighting for a noble cause that would please God, if not the people who advocate the use of cruelty and slavery." Ray Connors had liked what he had seen of Jonas and and he hoped that his message would help to make the night just a little lighter for him. Jonas and his brother were all alone on the planet, now that their families had been forced to flee, and soon the news might well be full of tales of their group's treachery.

Just then, Isabella came in with news that overturned the joy of the moment before, and chilled the marrow in their bones.

"Some Lyren men have taken a dozen slaves, that include women and children, captive, they are planning to hold a celebration tomorrow, relatives of some of their missing soldiers are due to arrive in the morning and they plan to burn the slaves at the stake!" She sobbed in horror.

"Isabella, this cannot be happening, surely the authorities are going to stop this terrible thing?" Octavius cried, aghast at the thought of such a thing happening to people who were just like he and his family, and who knew who would be next, his own family maybe?

"The state police are going to be there; they are going to help to burn them." Isabella cried almost breaking down. Jean moved across to try to comfort her.

"Don`t worry Isabella, no one here will allow it to happen. I`m right aren`t I, Ray, you will come up with a plan to stop this terrible thing from actually happening." Jean said, looking across at Ray Connors in the hope of seeing him agree with her.

Ray was not sure jow how, for the moment, but he was determined to at least try to comply with Jean's request, so he asked Isabella.

"Isabella, where did you get this information?"

"I was cleaning our master's house this afternoon when they spoke of it, they too were aghast, but only because of the financial loss that the owner of the slaves would incur, not because of any humanitarian concerns." Isabella had spat out the word master; it obviously disgusted her that she should have to call anyone that.

"It seems that a group of young Lyrens began to insult and manhandle one of the newly arrived slave women, and two men from her family, not being used to such treatment of their women, stepped in, they struck the young Lyrens causing them to lose face amongst everyone there. The Lyrens went home and told their parents, they decided that the slaves must be taught a lesson that others would not soon forget, they picked up their energy weapons and rounded up not only the two male slaves but also their entire families."

"This is what some of my people feared would happen if the Lyrens were pushed too far, and of course they were right to be concerned, but if these people die it will only strengthen our resolve to have freedom restored to our people, and especially our children." Octavius said.

Jean could see that despite his brave words Octavius was feeling very dejected now, and so she sought for a way to help him, but her mind was a blank, so she turned to Ray Connors for an answer.

"Ray you seem to be deep in thought, tell us, do you have a plan to stop this madness?" Jean asked in the hope that he could once again save the day.

"An inkling of one that will need some work on, but first Octavius would it be possible for you or a member of your clan to scout the area around the building within which they are being imprisoned?"

"Isabella, do you know where they are being kept?" Octavius asked his daughter, his hopes for his people beginning to rise again with Ray`s words.

"Yes father, they are being kept in the old jail building over on the Schultz plantation, there is plenty of cover over there for us to keep a close watch on it without the fear of being seen." Even Isabella`s voice was now full of hope that something could be done for their neighbours.

"Yes Isabella, you are correct, there is plenty of cover over that way to ensure success, if a surprise attack was made on the jail." Turning to Ray Connors, Octavius said. "Brave men with a good plan could free them, but we would need a plan that would ensure that they were not recaptured immediately afterwards, together with anyone who may have helped them."

"As I said I have the inklings of a plan." Ray Connors turned to Colonel Michaels. "Colonel what I have in mind is to first ask Jonas if he is still in contact with Tom Parkinson. If he is, then he must ask Tom Parkinson to have a space cruiser destroy the state police headquarters at four tomorrow morning, that should give the cruiser time to get here, presuming that one is both available and also near enough to do so. For our part, we will free the slaves during the attack and hide them amongst the other slave workers in plain sight, one slave looks much like another if he is toiling away and suitably wrapped up against the cold. The attack by the cruiser might convince the locals that the freeing of the slaves is the work of the infamous space marines, who have taken the freed prisoners with them back aboard the cruiser and freedom." As Jean listened to the plan so she breathed a sigh of relief, Ray would see them through.

"That is magnificent Ray, but while I send Jonas a message, we should work on a second plan, in case we cannot get the space cruiser."

Ray looked across at Peter Summers expecting such a plan to come from his new friend. "Your turn Peter, my mind will only come up with one idea a day."

Peter Summers returned his smile. "I prefer your plan for the day Ray, but if we cannot get a space cruiser then maybe we could free the slaves and then launch an attack on the state police building ourselves. We can steal as many weapons that we can lay our hands on and hand them to the slaves; the only problem is that we would find ourselves having to fight our way across Lyre along with the freed slaves, just like Sparticus did in Italy, because at the moment I have no idea how to get them away. We could use the second part of your plan and hide them in plain sight, we could leave a police officer alive with the knowledge that the space marines had been responsible for the attack, and that there was a shuttle craft waiting nearby to take us all away."

Lieutenant Charles Bragg then chipped in with his contribution to the slowly developing plan.

"We might be able to add that last bit to Ray`s plan, if we can get the space cruiser that is, we would just have to find someone to whom we could impart the information."

Octavius was looking on amazed at the earthmen, and as soon as Ray had translated for him what Charles Bragg had said, he told them of his admiration for them.

"In just a matter of moments you have come up with two working plans and even if the freed men were discovered, with weapons stolen from the state police they could die like men and not slaves burnt at the stake."

Colonel Michaels who had just finished sending his message to Jonas then entered the conversation.

"As Ray suggested we should check out the area around the old jail in any case, later tonight Octavius can you take the lieutenant and me there so that we can get a clear idea of what we are up against?"

"Of course, it will be dark then and the night can hide us from the few Lyrens that venture outside of the bright lights of Henin. Here in the countryside they are beginning to worry about how safe they are, for they have treated us badly for a century or more and it is only the state police that keep the lid on things. Soon though, as the slaves hear more about Earth, and of the many groups of the feared space marines that are on the planet, there will be an explosion of violence that will only end when there is only one side left in the countryside. It is different in the cities of course, for there are plenty of lights there, plenty of Lyrens and only a few domestic slaves and refuse workers, the Lyrens there go about with no concern for their safety." Octavius said to his friends of Earth.

"Octavius, as far as I know we two, the lieutenant and I, are the only space marines on the planet."

"Yes, my friend, but fortunately only we few know that." Octavius said quietly. "And now the state policemen are becoming paranoid about the space marines of Earth, and they are blaming your space marines for any acts of violence for which they cannot find a culprit. Just now, more and more of these acts are being committed by slaves who have decided to fight back, as we have following your presence here when you saved Isabella from those monsters. However, the state police are unwilling to believe that we as a people are capable of such calculated acts of aggression and are blaming the space marines instead. They are then passing this false information on to the government, and their government leaks like a sieve, and this incorrect information is being spread to the civil population of Lyre by their news organisations."

"How are you so sure about what is happening far away from the farm where you work Octavius, who is giving you all of this information about places far away from here?"

"We hear a great deal of the gossip that our masters pass on to one another, when they forget that we can hear them that is. However, of late, they have been sending us from the room before they speak of such things Our other source of information has been around for almost two hundred years, a network of news has been set up in that time that conveys what is happening around the planet, it is sometimes a bit slow and sometimes inaccurate. I weed out the obvious fiction from these tales and so I am able to get an idea of what is happening around this planet. Unfortunately, not all of the slaves are as discerning, and some believe everything that they hear, and it is these that I fear for the most, for they could be persuaded by such fiction in to openly rebelling against their masters." Octavius replied.

"Yes, if enough people believe the fiction then they might well go on a rampage with dire consequences for the more intelligent people of this planet." Peter Summers said.

"And that is exactly what is happening on Lyre; soon our masters will execute us for even a small offence against them, and we will be treated much more brutally to ensure that we obey our masters immediately without question. This could happen all too soon on this planet, and also on the two remaining colony worlds, for how can we hope to win against the powerful weapons that the Lyrens possess." Octavius lamented.

"Colonel this appears to be a dangerous case of Chinese whispers being believed." Ray Connors said. "Unfortunately, these whispers could all too easily blow this planet apart."

"We really need to contact Tom Parkinson and tell him the about the possible situation on this planet." Peter Summers said. "Let the politicians decide on the best course of action."

"The politicians will just argue the case back and forth, we need to speak to Jonas and get his point of view and see how it matches up with the view of Octavius." Ray Connors insisted.

Colonel Michaels was very worried by what Octavius had prophesied, but he too wasn`t sure just how much was fact and how much was fiction.

"I couldn`t agree more Ray, I will contact him again and ask him what his view is on the state of the country and its people, and tell him our reasons for asking."

Therefore, Colonel Michaels was once more sending an urgent message to Jonas, telling him some of what they had been told and asking his opinion on it. He stated that it was vital not only to Earth but also to the people of Lyre that something near to the truth be put before the Government of Earth, sooner rather than later. Colonel Michaels knew that if a blood bath was to occur within the Lyre Federation, then it would be on the consciences of not only its population for centuries to come, but on the people of Earth`s as well.

Octavius had to leave them now to get back to his daytime duties as a slave, leaving the small group of friends to lie low behind a closed door so that the plantation`s owners didn`t see them and rouse the state police.

As night fell, Octavius returned at last from his hard days toil, he had just come from the plantation`s main building where he had been talking to his master about the work that he was to carry out the following morning. Octavius was lucky in that his master left him very much alone to carry out the daily toil, Octavius was well liked even by the Lyrens because he was very respectful of his betters and worked harder than any other slave at his allocated tasks. What his master didn`t know, wouldn`t hurt Octavius, for he often went out of his way to help other slaves who were in need of extra muscle, sometimes even if they worked for another master, he also had his notions of freedom. Exhausted as he was, Octavius was still willing to lead the two marines on a reconnaissance trip.

"Ray, you stay here with Jean and Peter, while the lieutenant and I go with Octavius and check out the old jail, we should hopefully be back in less than two hours." Colonel Michaels said handing the computer over to Ray, and then calling Lieutenant Charles Bragg, he then walked out after Octavius into the cold night air of Lyre.

Octavius led the two marines along the narrow tracks that took them through the fields of the farm, the two space marines couldn`t see anything except the blackness of the night, and only their training allowed them to walk at the rapid pace set by Octavius, for it appeared that Octavius` night vision was much better. At every intersection, Octavius would stop to listen before moving on, this rapid pace ended as they came to a main road. Here the three men stopped to check that it was empty of traffic, and that the other side of the road was clear of potential enemies before crossing the road. Once again, they were moving along a narrow track, this time that went at a tangent to the road, but it was still concealed by the all-enveloping blackness, and also by a small wood that still grew here to supply much needed firewood to the local area.

"The old jail is just another quarter of a mile further on, so we should take care now in case there is anyone about." From ahead of them they were now able to see a pale light glowing softly in the dark night. "That is the old jail, the light must mean that they have left a guard to prevent anyone freeing the prisoners, such as their owner, or now even a slave, for as I said they are beginning to fear us."

As always Colonel Michaels had to translate everything what was said into either English or Lyren, and if Lyren, only what was essential to the plan, as Octavius only spoke so much of this alien language. At times, it was hard work to get across what he wanted to say to their new friend, and this was a problem for Octavius, when he had something to say.

As they proceeded forward, now with a lot more caution, stopping at ever bend in the track, every clearing, they came to a spot where the track divided into three distinct trails.

"Colonel Michaels, all of these tracks go past the jail building, with the main track going right up to its door and so that is the one where we are most likely to meet up with a Lyren." Octavius advised his friend.

"Maybe we should each proceed along a different trail, so as to ensure that we cover the area thoroughly and miss nothing, especially a hidden watch waiting nearby for the unwary." Colonel Michaels suggested.

"Yes, it would be best to do as you advise Colonel Michaels, so as to ensure that we are not greeted by any surprises later on when we come to rescue my friends." Octavius agreed.

"We will also be able to assess the danger to our night time operation more fully. Remember to go slowly, go quietly, and we can meet back here in twenty minutes time and compare notes." Colonel Michaels said in a quiet voice, first in English and then in Lyren so that both of the other men understood what they had to do.

Colonel Michaels moved away along the main track to disappear into the blackness of the night. Lieutenant Charles Bragg took the track that was furthest from the road and Octavius found himself left with only one choice, the narrow middle track.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg moved slowly away from the others and was amazed at how soon the blackness swallowed them both up and the light from the jail. He walked at a snail`s pace, his ears alert for every sound, his eyes looking for the merest hint of a light. Within three minutes, he could once again see the light coming from the jail building and he decided to stop for a moment and listen for any sounds of unwanted company, but there was no noise, not even a nocturnal bird to shatter the silence around him, so he decided to move on. The track then meandered around for a further five minutes, sometimes moving back towards the jail but in the main away from it, so he decided to turn about and head back slowly to their meeting place where the three tracks met up.

Octavius had a similar experience to that of Lieutenant Charles Bragg except that as his track went quite close to the jail, he took the opportunity to listen at the rear of the building and hear the laments of the soon to be victims of Lyren violence. He was back within minutes of the lieutenant to greet him, thankful that they were both safe.

Colonel Michaels decided to move slower than the other two because of the greater risk of meeting someone, but everyone was staying safe inside their homes tonight as the fear of violence increased in their hearts. It was when he neared the jail that he heard two men approaching along the track. Colonel Michaels hurriedly stepped off the track and hid behind a large beech tree that stood some twenty feet away from the track and watched as the two men walked by unaware of his presence. As soon as he was sure that they were gone Colonel Michaels moved from behind the giant tree and was back on the track before he realised that a third man was walking towards him silently, and hidden by the blackness of the night. He too came from the direction of the old jail, and the man was upon him before he could even think about hiding. Bending down as if retying a loose shoelace, he waited for the moment before the man was upon him, the man in turn not realising that anyone was there until he almost walked over the Colonel. Colonel Michaels stood up quickly within a few inches from the man, his knife ready for use if it was needed, was already moving up towards the man.

Jonas almost died of fright as Colonel Michaels reared up from the earth in front of him, for he had been thinking of his family rather than looking about for an enemy. The first thing that he noticed was the feared uniform of the state police and Jonas immediately thought that he was about to be taken into custody for his crimes against the state, he then saw the glint of the blade shining from some stray moon beam that had just escaped from behind a large cloud. He only had time to groan No! when he saw that it was Colonel Michaels, it was lucky for him that the Colonel`s reflexes were fast for the Colonel stopped the knife even as it entered through the thick coat that Jonas wore.

"Jonas am I glad to see you, for once again we are in need of your help." Colonel Michaels said smiling at his Lyren friend.

"If this is the way you treat friends Colonel, then I would hate to get on the wrong side of you." Jonas said trying to still his rapidly beating heart. "It doesn`t take much to realise that once again you are about to keep to what only you and your friends could call a low profile; you intend the free those poor wretched prisoners in the old jail building of Henin?"

"Could a human being do anything less Jonas?" Colonel Michaels wanted to know.

"No Colonel, for they are the reason that I too am here. In my position as a servant of the government of Lyre, I have persuaded the locals that to kill so many slaves when the supply has now dried up would be foolish. The locals have agreed with me, and they are just going to burn the two males who actually struck the young men. They will just flog the other men and their families, but only those who are older than thirteen years of age. I tell you Colonel I can only lament the distance that my people have descended towards hell. You may not think that I have accomplished enough Colonel, but even that is something in these trying times." Jonas declared grimly.

"No Jonas I think that you have done a brilliant piece of work, but you are correct, I can`t even leave two men to die in such a fashion, tell me Jonas have you been into the jail itself, and if so, can you tell me how many men there are inside guarding the prisoners?" Colonel Michaels wanted to know.

"I have just left there Colonel, even after I heard of your interest in the matter, I carried on with my own efforts in case you were unable to carry out any plans of your own. There are just three men acting as guards, and so the only way that I could have over powered them would have been with an energy weapon, which I would have had to use, and as I am not a killer, and also without a plan to help the slaves escape, I came away Colonel."

"Three is just the right number Jonas and we will also be able to leave them alive to tell how another squad of space marines arrived from Earth and freed the prisoners and then escaped into space."

Jonas held his laughter down to a quite giggle as he listened to Colonel Michaels` plan of action.

"Then that is perfect Colonel, for enough people have already died. I am here with my brother Claude, you have already met him if you remember, and we are parked a half a mile ahead just off the main road and in front of a small row of shops."

Colonel Michaels and Jonas returned down along the track and met up with their waiting friends, who appeared from behind a large tree, which they had hidden behind when the two Lyrens had suddenly appeared along the main track.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg was surprised to see Jonas and introduced Octavius to him while looking questioningly at his Colonel, but he greeted his Lyren friend with a smile and a kind word.

"Jonas is here for the same reason that we are, to see if there was a way to free the men."

Colonel Michaels told the other two of the work that Jonas had already done on behalf of the slaves.

"Now with his help, we should hopefully be able to do what we have planned. Let`s head back to the others Lieutenant, Octavius." Colonel Michaels said and then turning to Jonas. "Jonas why don`t you join us; I think that we both have a lot to talk about." Colonel Michaels said.

"I will be delighted to join you, but first we must collect my brother."

Five minutes later and they had not one but two additions to their band of desperadoes. Claude was obviously the brother of Jonas with the same grey eyes but he was younger and also not quite so heavily built.

"Colonel Michaels, Lieutenant, whatever brings you two to Henin?" Claude asked quite surprised at seeing them, for his brother had not had time to tell him of the messages that he had received from the earthmen.

"We will tell you later, but first we must move on to our secret hideaway Claude."

Chapter Twelve

Keeping a Low Profile Again

Octavius closed the door behind them as the five men entered into his house, he immediately greeted his wife and daughter with the news that only the two men were now to be burned at the stake. This was something that their new Lyren friends had accomplished, and he then introduced Jonas and Claude to his wife and daughter. They added their own thanks for their new friends` hard work; for they had believed that there was no one amongst the Lyren people who cared for the lot of the enslaved peoples.

"To know that there are Lyrens who think of us other than as slaves is as surprising to us as it is wonderful Jonas, for we have only encountered contempt and hardship since we were brought to your planet. Now we know that a better life is possible for the slaves on this world." Harmony, the wife of Octavius said to her new friends.

"I have always hoped so; it is what I have been working towards, unfortunately with only minor success."

"Were you not both responsible for helping our friends from Earth, which is a large step for all of our people?" Isabella said smiling at the two brothers.

Jean was surprised to see Jonas and Claude as was Jonas to see Jean without any of her disguise on and turning to Ray Connors said; "Now I understand my friend, why you risk your life". Ray smiled across to his two Lyren friends.

"It is good to see you both Jonas, Claude; once again we could sure do with a little of your help." Ray replied.

"We will do all that we can to assist you in the hope that the prisoners can be freed." Jonas said.

He had purposely not said slaves, as he didn`t know if his using this term might upset his new friends. Jonas was in fact gripped by a fierce depression, and now having got over the joy of meeting up with his friends, it returned with double the intensity. Ray could see his mood change, and so asked him if there was anything troubling him.

"My brother and I created the freedom movement because we thought it was wrong to go to other worlds and enslave their people, now that Earth and Lyre are at war in earnest, my movement will be branded as a group of traitors." Jonas wept. "Am I a traitor to my people Ray, for even speaking to you, never mind planning even more actions against my people while Lyrens are being killed on other planets?"

"You followed your own feelings regarding what is right and what is wrong. The enslaving and abuse, even murder, it is very wrong Jonas, and future generations on Lyre will praise the names of all of you for standing up against the current brutal system operating here on Lyre, of that I am positive, for yours is a truly Christian act of goodness Jonas." Ray Connors said this with such feeling that his sad friend knew that Ray meant exactly what he had said. The others from Earth also agreed with these words, and even Octavius and his family felt for the man who was assisting enemies of his world at a time when some of his own people were dying.

Jean was feeling just a little tired after the excitement of the day, and so she went into the room that the she and her brother and friends were sleeping in. Lying down upon the one bed in the room, she closed her eyes. She could hear whatever was said by the others as the internal walls were very thin, and anyway the door was open. The room was the third and smallest room of the house where Octavius and his family lived; the other rooms were the main living room of the house used for cooking and eating in, and a main bedroom, outside there was a communal shower block. The bedroom that she was in now was normally used by Isabella, who now used the living room.

Ray decided to enjoy a moment alone with Jean, so he followed her in, sat down on a chair next to the bed, and held her hand. Jean was pondering on something that she couldn`t find an answer to.

"Ray I can understand why Charles is here, he is young and after some excitement, he probably also sees the chances of advancement in the space marine if all goes well. But I am not sure why the Colonel chose to come along?"

"The vice presidency and later if his running mate doesn`t watch out, he probably hopes to take his office too." Ray said, and when Jean looked questioningly at him, he then added. "He is after the Presidency of Earth and all of its colonies, Jean."

"Oh" Jean said now understanding the Colonels reasons for coming to Lyre. Colonel Michaels came to the door and interrupted this moment alone.

"Ray we are going to discuss the plan for tonight, we could do with your input."

"Okay, Colonel, coming." With that, Ray had to forego his moment and went back into the main room of the house to join the others.

"First Jonas, do you have any news for us?" Colonel Michaels asked.

"Since Lyre retreated back to its home world and its two remaining colony worlds, I wasn`t able to communicate with Tom Parkinson, that is until yesterday evening when a squadron of space cruisers from the space fleet of Earth exited hyperspace above Lyre. In just a short time, they took out many of the orbiting energy weapons and they sent a message down to my computer via one of our own communications satellites. They are all still in operation at the moment, probably because Earth can make use of them to make contact with the people of Lyre, I had been keeping my digital diary up to date and the cruiser accessed this via the same satellite, as Tom Parkinson has my password. They then disappeared back into hyperspace before the authorities here on Lyre even knew what was happening. I only knew that they had been in orbit above Lyre when a message flashed up on my computer to notify me that I had mail. Tom Parkinson informed me of this latest attack by the space fleet of Earth, and that the Government of Earth regretted having to take the lives of Lyren soldiers, but some deaths were inevitable, such as those lost when the two space fleets met. He did assure me that many of the soldiers who were based on the six recently freed enslaved planets were taken prisoner by the soldiers of Earth`s. However, many of the overseers were killed by the native population immediately the attack from space commenced, as too were some of the civilian administrators on the planet. I suppose that these deaths were inevitable, following the harsh treatment of the enslaved people by the authorities and the overseers."

The fleet from Earth contained a new class of starship, a destroyer; one that Earth had been waiting for before commencing hostilities with Lyre. It is small and stocky and its main attribute is that it possessed a very strong defence shield, one that would take the punishment thrown at it by the many powerful energy weapons in orbit around Lyre. It also had double the normal weapon capacity of the normal space cruisers; four of these reduced the defences of Lyre to atoms.

"Today I received another message, delivered in the same way following an attack that took out most of the remaining orbiting energy weapons, as well as the ones on our moon. Tom Parkinson tells me that the public on Earth and the colony planets were excited to hear of your groups exploits. The risk you took to enter the local state police headquarters to rescue a young girl, of the rescue of yet a second girl from the hands of a local male also in Henin. They will soon learn of the release of Jean`s brother from the Wallachia Fortress while the new garrison of the same fortress was in the process of entering it. Regarding the destruction of the local headquarters building of the state police, he said that if you, Colonel Michaels, can tag it, he will arrange for its destruction as a cover. In any case he will also send a ship down to collect the five of you and also the freed slaves, I too have been asked to accompany you so that he and I can talk over plans for the future. From that statement, I assume that he is running more than just the intelligence bureau at the moment." Jonas looked at the faces around him and saw a mixture of emotions ranging from relief to excitement. "That is all I have to tell you, now the rest is up to you." Jonas now fell silent.

"We asked for the space cruiser to launch its attack at four o`clock tomorrow morning, so there is no need to place the tag until three o`clock, that will mean that we don`t run the added risk of being spotted earlier on and exposing our plan to the authorities. We shouldn`t run into anyone that early in the day, but with an hour to spare it will mean that we can case the joint and so not run into any unwelcome surprises." Colonel Michaels said. "So, I suggest that we all get some rest after we have eaten so as to be ready and able. Jonas, Claude can you stay with us or will someone realise that you are both missing?"

"We will not be missed Colonel, our families are on their way to Apraxia, and no one knows where we are on Lyre at this moment, the people at my office think that I have taken a few days leave because of personal problems, the people in Claude`s office think he is also away for similar reasons. Thankfully, the state police are not yet on our trail, but how long that will last for I do not know." Jonas said still feeling a bit low.

"Soon you will both be back amongst your families Jonas, Claude, and then you will feel better." Ray Connors assured the two brothers.

Dinner, if that was what you could call it, as Octavius and his family only had so much food, and seven extra dinner guests stretched their limited resources to the extreme. It was not filling but at least it drove the hunger pains away for the moment. More importantly, it was a time when they could forget about the dangers around them and speak of easier times, of family and friends, of the best meal they had enjoyed, of their favourite pastime.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg`s favourite pastime was reading. "I read anything and everything as long as it is well written; mainly about other places, other worlds, other people and their cultures. They say that travel will broaden the mind, well so does reading about them."

Ray Connors then spoke of his travels. "I have experienced many different cultures and found many similarities in them, even on troubled Lyre we find a group of people interested in helping strangers who come from many different worlds. Be it Jonas, Claude, Strauss, Octavius and his family, Iliad or Cassandra near the fortress, they are good solid people who know right from wrong, good from bad, I hope that I never come across a planet whose people are totally devoid of this spark, for then I will know that I have truly found hell."

It was now Jean`s turn to speak to her friends. "I haven`t travelled much, being still a young woman, but I too like to read about other places. But while I have everyone's attention, what I really want to say, and I hope that you will forgive for following on in Ray`s vein, is this. Before I left my secure home, I constantly read in the news the constant complaint that the world had lost its spark, how self-interest ruled. Well I would like to go on record and say that I will never find a group of people that are less self-centred than the people that I have met since I left my home to come on this quest. When I return to more easier times, I will write a book about you all, and hopefully being part of this team will generate enough publicity for the book to thank you all properly, just as you all deserve to be."

Peter Summers now asked if he could say a few words. "I must agree with those words my friends, for when we return to our normal lives, I want to invite you all to the best restaurant that I can find so that we can celebrate our good fortune, and although the meal may surpass this one for taste, it will never equal this one for our host and his family, or its guests." Peter Summers said. "I thank you all for being here and for helping me escape my dark damp dungeon." Jean reached across and squeezed her brother's hand, happy in the knowledge that they would all be returning home soon.

"My friends there is nothing left to say, so I for one am retiring to our small room to try to sleep for half of the few hours that we have left on this planet." Colonel Michaels said, and the others decided that they too needed some sleep, with only Jean getting the single hard cot to rest her tired body on, the rest having to make do with the hard floor.

The few hours soon passed, even on their hard sleeping surfaces that they had to rest their weary bones on, and it was now time to move out. Octavius appeared and said he had to speak to them before they moved off.

"Colonel Michaels, you told me that I would probably have to join you on the escape shuttle, for to try and return here would probably end up with my being caught, well in that case I must insist that we also take my wife and daughter together with my brother, whose family are hopefully still on our home world." Colonel Michaels was taken by surprise for once.

"Yes of course they must join us Octavius, are they ready to go, as we should set off at once." Michaels replied, only too happy to comply with his friend`s request.

"Yes, my friend they are ready." Octavius called quietly for his family and then taking the lead, he set out in the pale moonlight that lit their way, but also made them more visible to any insomniac who happened to be out for a nocturnal walk on this freezing cold winter`s morning.

Their first port of call was to be the local headquarters of the state police where they had to leave an electronic tag to allow the Earth space cruiser to lock on to it and destroy the building as a diversion. They thought that it was highly unlikely that many of the members of the state police would actually be there, and in any case, they were not looking to kill any one unless it was necessary. The ground was hard now, with the snow washed away by the heavy rainstorm of yesterday and then refrozen during the icy cold of the day, this made travel a little slippery, but without the soft clinging mud finding its way in to their shoes. Finally, they were standing near to a building that they never dreamed, or wanted, to return to.

"Lieutenant, will you slip over the wall and place the tag against the wall of the building." Colonel Michaels said.

They were back at the exact spot that they had been on their last visit to the headquarters. Luckily, the moon had slipped back behind a cloud and Lieutenant Charles Bragg was able to scramble over the wall unseen to place the electronic tag against the wall of the building and then return to his comrades.

"It is done Colonel."

"Ok then Octavius, let`s head off towards the jail and the waiting prisoners." Colonel Michaels said in a whisper to the tall local who was their new comrade in arms.

They slipped quietly away from the state police headquarters and made their way through the now pitch-black countryside of Lyre, past the unsuspecting Lyrens who were all tucked up warmly in their beds and enjoying their night`s sleep, and on towards the old jail building, when the quiet of the night was broken by the voice of a Lyren soldier. Unknown to the group, the commanding officer of a small column of military vehicles had arrived in Henin late, and so their commanding officer had decided to rest up there for the night, the column having arrived shortly after Colonel Michaels had looked over the lay of the land around the jail earlier in the night.

"Where on Earth did they spring up from Colonel?" Ray Connors asked, worried by this new development.

"I don`t know Ray, but they may not get in our way, we will just have to see. Lieutenant, will you move ahead with Octavius and take up point to ensure that we don`t stumble over any sleeping Lyren guards." Colonel Michaels said to the young officer. "Jonas why don`t you go along with them to act as translator, for one is sure to be required."

"Sure thing Colonel, Octavius would you like to join me?" Lieutenant Charles Bragg said to their friend, beckoning him on so that he understood what was required of him, although Jonas had already said as much to Octavius.

Lieutenant Charles Bragg, Jonas and Octavius moved slowly ahead of their other eight friends towards the old town jail, their eyes and ears straining to catch so much as a yawn or see a flash of light that would denote the presence of an enemy soldier somewhere in the close proximity of the narrow track. None of the three men spoke again until they came near to the old jail along the middle of the three tracks, so as to minimise the chance of discovery. Once again, they saw the warm glow of light coming through the single window of its main room, they were now only fifty feet away from the main road that ran through Henin, and what they also saw might have frozen the blood in their veins, if the cold of the early morning hadn`t almost done it already. There before them were the tents of some of the soldiers, they were set up only twenty feet from the only entrance into the jail and continued down to the main road.

"This is going to make things a little trickier than we had thought Jonas, getting ourselves and the twelve prisoners out without a sound being made, and then away to the waiting ship, but then things hardly ever go easier than planned?"

"No, my friend you are correct, but God has often tested the courage and resolve of those he has chosen to do his work, and I am sure that Octavius here would agree with these words." When asked Octavius nodded his head in agreement of Jonas`s words when he translated them to him.

Charles Bragg had not realised that Jonas was a Christian up until now, and he took a moment to look again at his friend before turning his attention once more to the Lyren soldiers before them.

The temporary encampment was quite small and stretched past a line of heavy mobile plasma cannons to the other side of the road where more tents were set up. Lieutenant Charles Bragg counted just four sentries to watch over them.

"Jonas, why don`t you skedaddle back to the Colonel and tell him about the soldiers while I keep a close watch on the surroundings?"

Jonas didn`t reply, he simply returned back along the track until he met up with his friends who were coming along the rough track towards him, he then told them of the added problem. They all crept quietly along Indian style until they neared the lieutenant`s location and then just Colonel Michaels, Ray Connors and Jonas carried on to look at their problem, with the rest hanging back so as not to be seen by any keen-eyed sentry.

"Never look at a problem as a problem gentleman." Colonel Michaels said to his friends. "Always use it to your advantage, I have another dozen electronic tags in my back pack, and placing them on the mobile energy weapons will add to the confusion amongst these troops when we most want it."

"I will definitely vote for you Colonel; you sure know how to look for the positive in any given situation." Ray Connors said quietly.

"The soldiers' presence might even work out for the better, as long as we can slip the prisoners out unnoticed." Peter Summers said.

He and Jean had just come up to have a look at the new problem they faced. Behind these brave words there hid a large dose of uncertainty, for Peter Summers was more than a little worried by what he saw ahead of them.

"I have been watching these soldiers Colonel, there are only four of them, and when two of them meet up they stop and chat for three or four minutes. They do that at the four points of the compass giving us adequate time to make our moves. We only need to take out the ones on this side to give us the necessary time to get the prisoners out and away, if we then signal the space cruiser to open fire with their diversion, we should be able to get far enough away to escape detection." Lieutenant Charles Bragg said in a matter of fact way, for he thought that his idea would fit the bill, and his Colonel agreed.

"Okay, the first thing to do is for us to enter the jail and take care of the guards inside. We can then free the prisoners and await the next break that the sentries take. We then take out the sentries on this side and move Octavius`s friends away from the building. Peter, I would like you to be the one to plant the tags on the mobile and very powerful energy canons, you should be ready to plant them as soon as the sentries on this side have been neutralised. As you speak the language it would be safer for you to do it rather than Lieutenant Bragg, as should any unforeseen problem crop up, you can at least understand what the soldiers are saying and act accordingly." Colonel Michaels then turned to Jonas.

"Don`t worry about your people we will only knock them out, we are not looking to kill anyone if we can help it, are you okay with our plans?"

Jonas had been feeling more and more like a traitor as the Colonel had outlined his plans, but his final words to him had helped calm his conscience a little, as he too wanted the prisoners freed. His conscience would have suffered much more had he been forced to watch some of them being burnt at the stake, and then others flogged.

"Your plans are fine with me Colonel; as long as no blood is spilt by us, I am only too happy to help free those poor wretches in the jail and stop my people from committing such a terrible act." Jonas happily replied.

"You had better stay here Jonas, as the sentries will recognise you if you were to enter the jail, and that will put the authorities on to you if they are not already, and anyway you may want to come back to Lyre after your talk with Tom Parkinson."

"Colonel, all of the sentries are chatting at ninety degrees to us and so out of sight of the entrance to the jail as long as we keep very low." Lieutenant Charles Bragg said in a very low voice.

"Okay Peter, you move into position on the near side of that row of vehicles, here are the electronic tags you simply flick this switch up to activate each one, just wait for us to take out the sentries nearest to the jail before moving." Colonel Michaels said handing over the tags. "Jean you wait out of sight with the others, because none of you look like a space marine and it might spoil the allusion that we are attempting to make." Jean looked crestfallen at the Colonel and then said smiling up at him.

"No! I thought that I looked just like you and the lieutenant. Okay, we will all keep out of sight."

Jean looked at Ray and tried to raise a smile. "Look after yourself Ray, and bring my brother back with you." She quickly kissed him and then turned and slipped back to the others.

Colonel Michaels led Charles Bragg, Ray and Octavius towards the entrance of the jail, ensuring that they all kept low and so out of sight of the four sentries; soon they were inside of the old jail, and with their energy weapons set on stun they confronted the three stunned guards who sat rigidly on their chairs with their mouths wide open.

"We are space marines from Earth, if you keep quiet and do as you are told you will live, if not you will die, do you understand?" Colonel Michaels said in a low menacing voice. Three men simply nodded, stunned at their sudden appearance. He then took out some plastic ties that had once upon a time been used as cable ties for computers, he then ordered Octavius and Jonas to bind the men`s hands behind their backs.

"You just slip the plastic around their two hands and then slip the tongue through the loop and pull it tight Octavius, it will then be impossible for them to get loose without assistance." Lieutenant Charles Bragg said when he saw the baffled look on Octavius` face. When the guards were all secured, Colonel Michaels then moved forward and gagged them with some rags that also came out of his backpack, Harmony had given them to him when he had asked her if she had such a thing.

"Okay, let`s move in to the cells gentlemen." Colonel Michaels ordered, pushing the men towards the door at the rear of the room.

Inside the room was one large cell where two very sad families sat, either on the floor or one of the three cots set against the three walls. As Colonel Michaels entered with his three prisoners and his three friends, the prisoners within the cell looked up without much of a show of interest, until they noticed that their erstwhile jailers were now bound, then they began to realise that something of real interest was occurring.

"You three, where are the keys?" Colonel Michaels asked impatiently of the three gagged men who could only just make mumbling noises as a reply.

"They are there on the wall behind you." The voice came from one of the men inside the prison cell."

Ray Connors turned, and seeing the keys took them from their hook and walking to the cell door opened it.

"Come on out friends, but please stay in this room for the moment." Octavius said from behind Colonel Michaels, the prisoners on seeing him recognised him immediately.

"Octavius what is going on?" One of the freed slaves asked Octavius.

"These men are part of a large squad of space marines; they have travelled all the way from Earth to free you and take you off this awful world to safety, all of our planets are free of Lyrens, they belong to us again." Octavius said, in the language of Lyre. "But you must stay in this room until you are told to leave." The erstwhile prisoners were soon milling around in the room while their three jailers were having their legs tied up with more of the cable ties, and then the door to the cell was locked up.

"We will be leaving soon but you must keep absolutely silent as there is a regiment of Lyren troops camped just outside of the jail, and we must get by them to reach our transport ship. Ladies I see that you have a couple of very young babies, I don`t care how you do it but please try to keep them from crying while we are in close proximity to the soldiers." Colonel Michaels told the freed prisoners who immediately quietened down; such was the training that had been instilled into them, even in the short time that they had been on Lyre, by their former masters.

"They are asleep just now and we will try to keep the cold night air from them, but should they awaken then it will likely be because they are hungry so we will feed them, should it become necessary, but maybe we should leave sooner rather than later, just in case they do wake up hungry." One of the mothers said.

She stood out against the other slaves with her flaxen hair and blue eyes, she was extremely pretty for one living the hard life of a slave, she had been one of the women accosted by the Lyren youths. Lieutenant Charles Bragg had taken up his post by the outer door and he now came back to speak to his Colonel.

"Colonel the two sentries are back here and deep in conversation, I reckon that as you and Ray are dressed in the uniforms of their state police, you should be able to approach the two men without any problem."

"Good thinking Lieutenant, please make sure that everyone stays inside of this inner room until we are ready to move out." Colonel Michaels said smiling at the young officer.

"Come on Ray we`re on, follow my lead."

Colonel Michaels and Ray went out through the door, however, the Colonel stopped after just a few steps and beckoned the two sentries with his hand. The sentries seeing only the uniforms of the state police immediately crossed over to the two men, who then walked back inside of the old jail with Ray holding the door open. The two sentries walked by Ray and into the outer room of the jail to look questioningly at the two officers, who for some reason had taken their energy weapons out and aimed them at the two soldiers.

"Please be quiet and no harm will come to you or your comrades outside, the rest of my squad of space marines plus a second squad is outside and if you raise the alarm then many of your comrades will be dead before they even realise that they are under attack. Now put your hands above your head and carefully lean against the wall, quickly for we are only here to free the prisoners."

The two sentries were to say the least a little stunned by the turn of events, to be under the guns of two members of the fearsome space marines of Earth meant to them immediate obedience, and raising their hands they leant against the wall. Colonel Michaels turned to Ray.

"Shoot them if either of them resists Lieutenant."

Then he moved forward and taking out what looked like a blackjack struck the first soldier on the back of the head knocking him out. The second one seeing what had happened to his comrade half turned towards Colonel Michaels but Ray had come up behind him and Ray forced him back against the wall while Colonel Michaels stuck him too, both men were now unconscious on the floor of the jail and the next part of the plan could now proceed. Colonel Michaels moved across to the rear cell and opening the door said.

"Listen everyone we are moving out now, we`re going to meet a starship which is going to take us all home, now move quickly but very quietly, you will meet more of our comrades outside. Lieutenant you lead the way." It was only a moment later when the room was empty of its former occupants.

"Ray let`s drag these two through to the cells and then we too can leave." The two men pulled the two unconscious men through to the rear room of the jail, they then turned and left to join the others who were already disappearing into night, and away from the soldiers and towards freedom.

Peter Summers had already laid a number of the tags before he saw the two sentries disappearing into the old jail it took only a few more seconds to lay the remainder and he was back near the jail at the same instant that Ray and Colonel Michaels were exiting the building.

"You laid them all then Peter?" Colonel Michaels said.

"Yes, no problem, when does the space cruiser start the fireworks display.

It was at this moment that the officer of the watch decided to check on his sentries, but what he saw were Colonel Michaels and the Ray Connors leaving the jail and he also saw the last of the freed slaves slipping away from the encampment. Jumping to the conclusion that the infamous space marines of Earth had decided to free the slaves, he sounded the alarm.

"To arms; we are under attack from Earth, the space marines have freed the slaves, quickly men they are escaping back to their ship."

The howling from the officer brought the other two sentries rushing towards the old jail, it also caused the troops to roll out of their sleeping bags and crawl out of their tents grasping their energy weapons, once there they all looked groggily around the encampment for the enemy.

"They went this way, follow me." The officer howled.

Looking behind him Colonel Michaels swore and promptly stunned the officer with a swift energy shot from his plasma pistol. Standing next to him, Ray took out the sentry nearest to them, this caused his comrade to hang back until he got extra help, but by then other officers had begun to arrive and they now ordered their troops to open fire. The quiet of the night was broken as it was filled with the high-pitched whistling sound of energy weapon fire as bolts of energy streamed by the three earthmen as they ran for the cover of the night with at least fifty soldiers in pursuit of them.

"They start just about now." Colonel Michaels said answering Peter Summers question while taking out a small transmitter.

"Colonel Michaels calling any Earth space cruiser who can hear me, we have laid thirteen electronic tags but we are now under attack from at least fifty Lyren soldiers, please take them out first and then the items that we have tagged."

Only moments passed, for the Indomitable was ready for action, it had sent down an attack craft belonging to the space marines to assist in the attack, it now relayed infra-red images of the pursuing soldiers to the Indomitable which in turn fired a batch of light energy bolts designed to hit a wide area of ground. Ray and his two friends heard the high-pitched whistling noise that came along with the powerful bolts of energy and sprinted all the quicker, the energy bolts fell behind them amongst their pursuers and stunned the majority of the Lyren soldiers. The idea was to ensure that Ray and the others escaped, not to kill the Lyren soldiers, it worked for it made the other soldiers run for cover. With the danger to their friends minimised the Indomitable located each of the electronic tags and sent down more bolts of energy from its main energy weapons. These more powerful bolts of energy streaked down from the sky, causing a much louder whistling noise that filled the air and almost deafened those near to the jail. The energy bolts hit the mobile but powerful plasma canons destroying them in a series of massive explosions that lit up the whole area almost as bright as day. Then the local headquarters building of the state police force was hit again and again until there was nothing left of it. The enlarged group of friends heard the bolts of energy as they whistled overhead, but then they heard the explosions, signalling so much destruction that also told them that their own escape was happening. Ray heard a loud humming noise coming from above him, and looking up he saw a large shape overhead as it flew by them, only to come to a sudden halt. It was the small attack craft from the Indomitable, it was now ordered to defend the larger transport ship that was already landing nearby in a large field of winter wheat. The attack craft was once again relaying infrared images of another squad of attacking soldiers who had regrouped under a brave young officer. These images were again sent up to the Indomitable which again targeted them with its lighter energy weapons, once again it began to send more energy bolts down, once again spread over a wide area, and thereby saving the lives of men, women and children who hoped to leave the evil planet of Lyre far behind them. The rear door of the transport flew open and there was Harry Proctor calling to them.

"Ray over here quickly, we have got to get out of here now, because I think that they are plenty annoyed with you."

Jean saw Harry first and called out his name, before harrying the mass of people now in her charge towards the Jeanette and the safety it promised. Soon all were on board and Harry turned to Ray as he arrived breathlessly.

"You can drive Ray I`m feeling a little tired after spending the last week fretting about you lot."

"Okay Harry, you take it easy for the moment, I will drive." Ray said smiling at his old friend, and with that Ray turned and rushed up to the small bridge while Harry turned around and made for the engine room, which for the moment was under the control of two engineers on loan from the space fleet of Earth.

"Okay guys, I`m back now so don`t worry anymore."

"Harry we could operate this lump of antique garbage with one hand tied behind our backs, we grew up on it, what amazes us is that you have been able to keep it flying."

Harry was not listening though, he was smiling, and Ray and Jean were back in one piece. He felt the ship lifting off from the ground and he felt the acceleration as they hurtled off into space and the safety of the Indomitable, which along with its consorts was already turning around and readying to leave the planetary system and leap into hyperspace.

Chapter Thirteen

Returning Home

On board the Jeanette, Jonas and his brother Claude found to their joy their families were there waiting for them. They had refused to go to Apraxia when they had heard that Harry meant to go from there to join the Indomitable, for he had been told that it was intending to extract his friends, plus Jonas and Claude, from the planet Lyre the following morning.

Never had the small freighter carried so many passengers, or rocked to so much laughter and jubilation amid the celebrations that were going on in the ships hold, the small galley being far too small to hold them all. Harry had demanded that Ray and Jean tell him everything that had happened to them on the planet.

"How I wish that I was young enough to have been able to join you, the Connors family haven`t been in so much danger, or had so much fun, since the time your parents bamboozled that space pirate out of his hostages on the small moon in the Arcturus system."

Jonas was feeling much better now that he had his family by his side once again, and it was with his spirits raised that the Jeanette landed on the planet of Rigel to the cheers of all of the freed slaves aboard. Tom Parkinson was also there; he was now in total command of all operations to do with the war with Lyre. He had at his disposal a freighter that carried two companies of space marines and all of their equipment, six light space cruisers, the four new destroyers, the space cruiser Indomitable and a second space cruiser, the newly launched Revenge.

He greeted the freed slaves and assured them that the armed forces of Earth would leave their planets as soon as Lyre surrendered. Octavius then asked to speak to him.

"We realise that we will need your troops here to ensure that those of Lyre do not return Tom Parkinson, however we also look forward to a time when our land is free of your soldiers, for then we will know that we can return to our old way of life. I would like to thank you personally for bringing my family back to the land of our ancestors."

Tom Parkinson now greeted the returning heroes, Ray Connors, Jean Summers and her brother Peter, Colonel Michaels, Lieutenant Charles Bragg and Harry Proctor.

"I really don`t know just how you all managed to accomplish so much and then return safely back to our forward base." Tom Parkinson said to them all, amazed that such a small amateurish team could have beaten the odds. Then he turned to speak with Colonel Michaels.

"I hear that you had a narrow escape Ron, after freeing the slaves back on Lyre, if it hadn`t been for Captain Stalker having that attack craft on hand things could have been a little tricky for you all."

"Yes Tom, I will have to remember to thank him properly when I see him next." Colonel Michaels replied.

"I suppose Ron, that you will soon be heading back to Earth, to begin your political life, I suspect that you will also be quite the celebrity following all my disclosures about your mission on Lyre. It was done at the bidding of President Blocker to make the financial costs of the war a little more acceptable to the people of Earth, for everyone likes a hero. Personally, I would have thought the actual reasons behind the war were enough to convince anyone that it was necessary."

Tom Parkinson then turned to include the young lieutenant in the conversation. "Ron, Charles, after you have had some lunch, an interview has been set up by the general staff so that you can tell some of what you have been through to the people of Earth." Colonel Michaels was very glad to obey that order, for it would ensure that he and Jeffery Clarkson won the forthcoming election. Tom Parkinson turned to his newly rescued agent.

"Peter, you can have some well-deserved rest back on New Caledonia, where your brave sister can look after you. Maybe if Ray here is heading back to his base there, he can take you along with him?"

"Yes, we are heading back to New Caledonia to pick up some cargo, so we would be glad if you would join us on the trip Peter." Ray Connors offered.

"I am not the one to make such a decision Tom, isn`t that right Jean?" Peter Summers said, deferring to Jean.

"That is quite correct big brother, and yes Ray, we would like to accompany you on the trip back to our home." Jean said smiling, she for one was glad to be leaving a war zone, and looking forward to spending a little time with Ray.

Tom then offered Ray Connors a proposition.

"If the profit drops out of the freighter business Ray then call me, I could sure use a man like you."

"I may think about it one day Tom, but for the moment the peace and quiet of space will suit me fine."

"And me too, my nerves will not stand the strain of worrying about you all." Harry said.

Ray now turned to Jean to tell her about his own plans.

"I will be heading back to New Caledonia today Jean, so if you and your brother would like to get aboard the Jeanette in about an hour then we will be on our way back home. Harry and I then have a contract to deliver some cargo to Earth, but when I return would you like to join me for a trip out to the countryside of New Caledonia, out by the great lakes maybe, it is beautiful there at this time of the year." Jean looked up into Ray`s eyes for a moment.

"I think that I would like that fine Ray."

The End

If you enjoyed this story then please leave a positive revue, your support really does make a difference.

Also, why not visit my author page by clicking on the link. Smashwords Books.

About the Author

Like most of the world, I had to work hard to pay my mortgage and all the other bills, so I only had the time and the energy to write some short stories. Since retiring to the Greece, I have finally found the time and the energy to write some full-length Science Fiction stories.

Other Books by the Author

Colonies of Earth Series in order

Galaxy Spies

Time Storm

Rebirth

Trial by Ordeal

Horror Stories

Strange tales; three short mild horror stories

The Vampires of Cymru

Rob Hinds black magic stories

Kidnapped and Bound for Hell

The Satanists

Dreamscape

The Return of the Bitch from Hell

David Charlton stories, a science fiction series

Rescue Mission to the Stars

The Treasure of Altaraus

Return to Mazere

Other science fiction stories

Quasar

The Venetou

Invasion Earth

Lost and Far from Home

Journey to the Stars

Rebellion is in the Air

Pen Draig

Insurrection

Alien Attack out Nov 2019

Short children`s stories

Three Journeys of the Scary Kind

