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Tyler Burrows knew nothing of the problems that the crew of the starship Dagger were encountering, and wouldn`t have cared about them if he had known. After the children had rested, eaten and had a drink of water, Tyler recharged his magnetic key, which supposedly meant that he had twenty-four hours to reach the next portal, and then after he had seen Caroline recharge her key and the keys of their children, he led the way through this portal with Appolon bringing up the rear. The sight before them was of a wide valley with a distinct trail that led away towards what they hoped would be the next portal. They were now on the other side of the mountain chain, and this side obviously didn`t get as much rain as it was a semi-arid land that greeted them with even a few cacti to make Tyler think of his Earth. Tyler had been told that this series of portals had been built by a very advanced race that used these series of ordeals to help them chose their new leader, Tyler thought that this was highly unlikely, for any race who could construct the portals and separate domains would never have used these domains in such a way. Although he had not been here for very long, he had the idea that they might have originally been built as a wild life safari park. The portals built to keep the different animals and environments apart; you probably drove though the domains just as you did back on Earth. He expected to find a different sort of country in each of the other domains that they would be forced to visit, as they tried to find a way out. There was the possibility that the time limit he had been told about might not even be the true meaning of what had been written on the wall. It might even have been added by a second race much later, they might well have used the domains for a much more serious business, such as a trial by ordeal, with the odds loaded against the contestants, Tyler doubted this though. He was about to find out how much the odds were loaded.
Tyler looked over at Patina and decided that as they were here anyway he should take a passing interest in the missing man.
“Just how do you expect to find your husband in this series of domains, they could have hidden him anywhere, near or far and we wouldn`t find him, you might have to resign yourself to never seeing him again, unless of course fate decides otherwise?” Tyler ventured.
“There is one way which should make it quite easy.” Patina said a smile appearing on her face, for she felt that once again she was a step ahead of this infuriating man. However, even as she was enjoying the feeling she felt her heart beat faster, it happened whenever she spoke to the primitive, what was wrong with her? Ever since she had married Marot Pallas she had found herself attracted to other men, it seemed to Patina that she was under a curse, and try as she may she couldn`t help herself. Why did she feel impelled to act this way, it was Marot that she loved? Patina forced her mind back to her conversation with Tyler.
“Marot always carries a tracer with him which will lead us to him as soon as we are within its range, which is a considerable distance. As for how far off the track we would have to search you are forgetting the time limit, his abductors couldn`t have moved too far off the track or they would have condemned themselves to staying here for eternity, and as my android told you earlier, they are extremists and not religious fanatics.” She tried to show her contempt for this primitive but somehow it failed to come across again, damn you to hell, Patina thought, as she grew angry with herself.
“How do you detect it?” Tyler asked.
“With this instrument that I brought along with us, and thankfully it has a solar battery so it is still operating.” Patina said angrily, but more at herself than Tyler.
“How about the tracer, what powers that?” Tyler asked expecting the worst.
“It also has a solar battery, so as long as his abductors do not find it; and as it is part of his wristwatch it should escape their detection as it is not particularly valuable, we will be able to find him easily.”
“The only real problem then will be the time limit.” Tyler said.
“Which is why I didn`t want to waste all of that time you insisted upon wasting sleeping in the other domain.” Patina said while stamping her feet in anger, while tears poured down her face caused mainly by the rage that she felt for the world and everyone on it.
“Then you shouldn`t have brought my children through the portal, should you?” Tyler said even more angrily. “Because then we could have moved a lot faster.” Once more fear dug deep into the heart of Patina and she stepped back towards the android so that he could protect her if the situation exploded into one of violence.
“If need be my husband can use the android`s key.” Patina said trying to offer a reasonable solution to calm Tyler down.
“And you would be alright with that, android?” Tyler asked. To stay inside this domain for eternity, you must respect Patina`s husband an awful lot?”
“He is only an android; his program will allow no other action.” Patina said haughtily.
“I have a thought that might fit the bill; the android could carry your husband through with him, sort of two for the price of one.” Tyler offered the idea as an olive branch to Patina, although it had nearly stuck fast in his throat.
“Would it allow such an action?” Patina asked interested, for androids were expensive machines to lose.
“It depends on how it counts the items that pass through the portal, if it counts heartbeats then yes, it all depends on what it considers one person to be.”
“Couldn`t the android carry one of your children through, they are smaller and lighter.”
“I am trying my best to overcome my extreme hatred for you, please don`t make it any harder than it already is. I just said that it depends on how the portal counts objects, my children, my wife, my friends and I have our keys and we are keeping them, do you understand?” Tyler said once more getting angry and wishing that he had followed Appolon`s earlier advice.
“Do not worry about me Mistress, for if necessary I will remain behind.” The android volunteered, trying to smooth things out as he moved forward in front of Patina.
“Why don`t we keep the android and lose her?” Caroline suggested. She also found herself fighting to keep control of herself, for what she wanted to do was to strangle the evil bitch of a woman. Tyler looked across at his wife and smiled.
“You could well have a point there darling.” Tyler said agreeing with his wife.
The android quietly moved his mistress to the rear of the group.
“Mistress you must be careful when you speak of Tyler Burrows` wife and children, someone is likely to try to kill you otherwise.”
Patina had already reached that conclusion; for she was very pale and trembling, she wished that she could wake from this nightmare and find herself back home in her soft bed, what had she ever done to deserve all of this?
Tyler approached Patina once again after getting control of his temper.
“How old is Marot Pallas?” Tyler asked her.
“He is sixty years old but he has always kept himself reasonably fit, but if you are thinking that he would delay you then you needn’t worry for if he were to tire then my android would carry him.” Patina replied.
“I would have thought that it is likely that he is dead already, for why would his abductors bother to keep him alive?” Tyler asked.
“He would not die at the hands of the extremists, for it is strictly against the religious beliefs of the Helionians to kill another Helionian.” Patina replied.
“But it is not against your religious laws to kidnap him or to endanger the lives of my wife and children, plus those of my four friends?” Tyler said angrily.
“You were given the chance to come of your own free will but you didn`t take it.” Patina said, as if his refusal to come meant that what followed was the fault of Tyler.
Tyler looked at the woman in exasperation, the rights of other people or their freedom to choose meant little to her, or it seemed to the other Helionians. Tyler turned away from her before he hit her, and that would be against his deeply embedded ideas of right and wrong, instead
he now spoke to the others.
“We should move out, for we have a lot of ground to cover, and the children are going to need carrying for most of it.” Tyler said picking up Callisto.
“Appolon would you mind taking point, and Cimon will take up tail end Charlie.” Tyler asked.
“I will not need carrying father, for I am almost old enough to be a warrior.” Apollo said for he was seven years old and so quite old enough to walk.
“Of course you are darling your father meant your younger brother and sister.” Caroline said.
Callisto was not yet three and so could hardly be expected to walk ten miles a day. Anyway, she was having a great time now that her daddy was there to carry her. Tryon looked across to Perseus who was marching along humming to himself.
“Perseus when you get tired just let me know, and I will give you a piggy back.”
“Not yet though Perseus, you can walk for a little while, Tryon don`t let him take advantage of you.” Caroline said smiling across at Tryon.
Perseus didn`t mind walking with his older brother for the moment, this adventure was very exciting now that his daddy was with them. The person who Perseus put so much faith in chose this moment to approach the android.
“As you were able to not only come through the portal, but keep a hold of the energy within your power cells, we can assume that whatever drained our Phasers is selective, do you agree?”
The android had also come to this conclusion and had been waiting for one of the humanoids to broach the subject. He was happy that it was Tyler, for he was beginning to like him, a weird feeling for an android. However, he was not only the latest model to come out of the Helionia Automotive factory, he had many special features added, and had been given to Marot Pallas to ‘test drive’ to ensure there weren`t any bugs.
“I too have considered this and it occurred to me that as the robotic machines that were earlier sent through the portal also appear to have made it this far at least, then as you say the brain behind it is indeed selective.” The android was quiet for a moment then spoke again, but of a different subject.
“Sir I know that you do not like my mistress, and with good reason, but I beg of you to try and understand her. She has been brought up as one of the rulers of Helionia, and her actions under normal circumstances would never be questioned. Unfortunately, she is not wired to think any further than the small box that she normally operates in, and the mystic who accompanied her to Orion is certainly not trusted by my master. It occurs to me that my mistress has been reprogrammed, so as to speak, by the mystic, and her key wound up, and now she is being forced to operate under circumstances that her original programming wasn`t geared to work in.”
Tyler had been quietly furious with Patina, and her people, ever since the moment that they had kidnapped his family. Now that they had exposed his young children to serious danger meant that they must be as barbaric a people as the Heliots whom he had met some eleven years earlier and thankfully beaten in battle, or out thought would be a better way of putting it. Tyler just hoped that Patina kept her head down, for he was not sure how much more Caroline could take before she killed the foul woman. Appolon couldn`t understand why Tyler had not simply killed her earlier on, as for Tryon he just assumed that Tyler knew best so followed whatever course his friend set.
Tyler looked across at the android, something had already told him to bide his time, for there would be time enough to kill Patina, if he finally gave in to his own primitive urges, and those of his wife and friends.
“You mean you would rather that I didn`t kill her immediately?” Tyler asked.
“Yes Tyler Burrows that is exactly what I mean.”
“If she doesn`t endanger one of the Orionists then you have a deal.” Tyler replied.
“Agreed, Tyler Burrows, for I too have taken a liking to you all, and would also take exception to such an event.”
“You, an android, have taking a liking to us.” Tyler asked in surprise.
“Yes, peculiar isn`t it, but then I am a new prototype android, on a test drive so as to speak, with Marot Pallas.”
“Android I am also taking a liking to you, and I refuse to call you android again, from now on you will respond to a given name, just as we do. Your name shall be Data, a name used by an android of Earth; he was able to rise above his programming to become the best of humans, he also was a new prototype model.” Tyler decided.
“Did they make further models of his design?”
“Just one, but like your mistress he was also reprogrammed and had to be destroyed, but Data went on to do many great things.” Tyler replied.
“I will consider the name Data and come back to you Tyler Burrows.”
Appolon who was leading the group brought them all to a halt.
“Tyler there is something very large coming our way; I think that we should move off the track and into the cover of the rocks beside the cliff. They had been walking through a narrow ravine for some time now and had reached a part where a large section of it had collapsed to the bottom offering them some protection behind the large rocks that had come down as well.
“Ok Appolon let`s do it.” Tyler said.
One minute later brought the large creature to within fifty feet of them. It resembled a smaller version of the fearsome Aucasaurus, from the late Cretaceous period on Earth, and stood almost seven feet high. It not only looked hungry, but it looked to be capable of doing something about it. The others had never seen such a creature before, but Tyler had seen similar creatures to the one in front of them in the Natural History Museum back on Earth, and he knew just how dangerous they were, especially as they were only armed with bows and spears, while it had large teeth and a thick hide. The dinosaur on catching sight of them had stopped still, it let out one giant roar showing off its fearsome teeth to them, Callisto immediately burst into tears, and Perseus and Apollo froze in terror.
“Caroline will you look after the children while we take care of the overgrown lizard.” Tyler called to his wife. Though he had some doubts about just how they would be able to kill it before it killed one or more of them.
“Don`t worry children, your daddy and your uncles will take care of this nasty beast. We will be safe amongst the rocks, it won`t be able to hurt us in here.” Caroline said to her terrified children. She held the two youngest children tightly against her body but Apollo tried to be brave and asked Appolon if he could help him.
Tyler had Cimon give his spear to Data whom Patina had insisted should stay by her side to protect her, Tyler ignored her and told him that he could use it to assist Caroline in protecting the children, as well as his mistress. Appolon and Tryon gave their spears to young Apollo to hold with instructions to pass them back if either of them called for one, and Argo had pushed his one into the ground just behind him, for he did not intend to retreat any further, as that would endanger the three children who were just behind him. The five men from Orion had soon put an arrow to their bows, and Tyler now told them the sort of animal that they faced, and that was now only twenty feet away from them.
“The hide of the beast is very thick, I have no idea how our arrows will cope with it, I suggest we aim for its eyes or its throat my friends and trust in god to protect us.” Tyler told his friends.
Caroline would have liked to have been up at the front fighting the dinosaur, and she would have been if the children weren`t with them. However, she knew that it was her job to protect them, as to ask one of the men to do so would have meant one of them losing face with his friends, for Orion was still a very male orientated planet, and no more so than in the village of the red plains where they all lived. Caroline was the only woman who had ever been a warrior, and up until the birth of her first son she had always accompanied Tyler on his travels about the planet.
The dinosaur moved towards them even as their arrows flew up towards it head, with three hitting it in the throat and two sticking into the head of the animal near to its eyes, but all this accomplished wa
s to infuriate the animal and it easily brushed the arrows away from its body and head. It now charged towards the brave Tryon, who had foolishly moved forward for a better shot at the beast, to make him its first victim. It would have done so except for the arrow that Tyler sent whizzing into its right eye, blinding the animal in that eye. This made it stop its charge and lift its head away from Tryon, as the pain reached its brain it let loose a roar of agony from its massive mouth, so ferocious that it would have frozen lesser men. The arrow had gone deep into the beast`s eye socket and entered into a region where many of the creatures nerve ends were located, causing the beast to roar as so much pain filled its body. The beast shook its head as if to rid itself of the pain, and in doing so dropped its head down only to receive a second arrow, this time from Tryon who had been waiting for just such an opportunity as this, and his arrow flew straight into the other eye of the giant beast as it descended towards him. This one also penetrated deep into the eye socket of the beast, and brought forth yet another loud roar in pain, as the beast now began to stumble around on its large legs throwing up clouds of dust as four more arrows went deep into the thinner hide at the front part of its neck. The beast’s short hands went to them and attempted to knock them out, but only made the wounds all the greater.
Tyler looked back at Patina Pallas, crouching in fear behind the children, with the android guarding her, and he decided that the need of the party came before the needs of Patina Pallas.
“Data your greater strength is needed now; come up here and throw your spear at the beast.” Tyler ordered the android.
The android moved forward immediately, without so much a glance towards his mistress, he launched the spear with all of the super human strength that he possessed. Its sharp metal head struck the giant reptile in the chest causing it to rear back, roaring its pain again at them, the head of the spear drove deep into the soft inner tissue of the animal and it finally killed the giant when it reached its heart. The beast crashed to the ground sending dust flying amongst the Orionists and silence descended on the dark domain. Tyler was thankful to see its life force drain from its bloody eyes as it died before them. The reason why the Orionists had triumphed without injury to themselves was that they were expert archers who practised every day on a moving target. Otherwise their arrows would only have made it even angrier, that and because Tyler knew the only possible places to send their arrows that would give them half a chance of coming out of the encounter alive.
The attack had cost them eleven valuable arrows, and with the beast lying before him, Tyler asked Data, who was easily the strongest of them, to pull the spear out and whatever arrows he could. He asked if he would try not to damage the aluminium shafts or the flights, he also suggested that he stood at the back of the beasts head and try one of the arrows that went into its eye, for if it were not quite dead the beast would soon let them know, and he should be safe enough there.
Tyler now moved over to Caroline and their children, knelt down, and asked the children how they were. Apollo was trying to act like a brave warrior, as his father and uncles were. He smiled at his father.
“I am fine now daddy but I was a little scared, especially when that monster tried to bite Uncle Tryon.” Apollo said.
“I know what you mean Apollo, I was afraid for Tryon as well, he won`t be doing that again.” Tyler replied with a chuckle.
Perseus and Callisto still had tear filled eyes, but Perseus was no longer frozen so Tyler kissed each of them and said he would carry the two young ones, if Apollo didn`t mind looking after his mummy. Tyler looked up at Caroline.
“Is it alright if Apollo looks after you darling while I give these two tykes a carry for the moment?”
“I will protect you mummy, I`m sure that Uncle Appolon will let me keep his spear for the moment.”
Appolon who had two daughters and no sons, spoilt his godson, and certainly wouldn`t take back his spear at this moment, maybe later if the situation called for it, but not right now.
“That`s settled then.” Tyler said picking up his youngest two children and setting off along the trail, and away from the dead dinosaur, with Appolon once again in the lead and Tryon at the back of the party.
Tyler soon had his two youngest children back in high spirits having told them fairy story after fairy story, where the good always won and the bad always lost. It was a little later when his arms had all but dropped off, and after he had given Callisto to her mother and put Perseus down, so that he could walk for a while, that he approached Patina.
“Why didn`t you permit your android to come to the front immediately to assist us when we were attacked by the dinosaur, you must have realised that we could have made use of his greater strength, I thought that your mystic told you that I was the chosen one, my death would hardly help you, would it?”
“You are so obviously the chosen one; I could see that from the way that you handled the situation, so why should I risk my bodyguard so soon into our quest, your life is obviously charmed.” She said sulkily.
Caroline had been interested in what Tyler wanted with the woman, so had moved nearer to them and had been listening to what was said.
“Darling why won`t you let me kill her, just a little at least, it would surely make her a better woman?”
Tyler looked across at his wife and smiled. “No Caroline, maybe if you are good I will let you do it later on.”
Apollo now appeared at his father`s side and took his hand. “Daddy, you and Uncle Tryon were so brave when that dinosaur attacked us, you showed that nasty beast didn`t you?”
“Yes we sure did Apollo, although as I said before, Tryon did scare me a little when he ventured so close to it.” Tyler replied to his eldest son.
“Do you think that there are more of those animals here in this place daddy?” Apollo asked just a little anxiously.
“I`m afraid that there might well be Apollo, but with all of your uncles to help me look after you, Perseus and Callisto, there is no dinosaur big or nasty enough to hurt any of you, so don`t you worry.”
“Or mummy, daddy, don`t let it hurt mummy either.” Callisto called across.
“I won`t Callisto, I could never let your mummy be hurt.”
Perseus had come up quietly on his other side. “Don`t let a dinosaur hurt Uncle Appolon or Uncle Tryon or Uncle Cimon or Uncle Argo, daddy.” Perseus begged of his father.
“I think that they are all big and strong enough to look after themselves, Perseus. But if they ever get into any real bother, then I will help them too.”
Caroline smiled at her men walking hand in hand and then she kissed a tired Callisto whom she was carrying over her right shoulder.
“With your daddy and your brothers to look after you darling, nothing bad can ever happen to you.” Caroline whispered to her youngest child who had just fallen asleep.
Perseus began to yawn too, and so Cimon came across and picked him up as Apollo spoke excitedly about the dinosaur, his fears were now forgotten.
“When I grow up and become a warrior daddy, and I am as brave as you are, I would like to come here and fight a dinosaur.” Tyler smiled at his eldest son and secretly hoped that his son would never have to fight such a beast.