Dimension Lapse

CHAPTER TEN

  Onboard the Starlighter, Riona and Balta amused themselves by interrogating their prisoners. Jeff was exhausted from their mistreatment of him, pushing and shoving that caused him substantial wounds. Balta punched him several times in the face, which caused his left eye to bleed and bruise.

  “Tell me why you were snooping around our Ventros base, Mr. Walker,” Balta sneered.

  “I told you the truth, you just don’t care if I’m right,” Jeff gasped. “You were attacking my friends!”

  “You were after the Triachilite,” Riona accused.

  “No!” Jeff screamed. “No!”

  “You lie!” Balta snarled. “You were sent by the Republic as a spy!”

  “He’s probably been conditioned to mind block me,” Riona said. “We’re wasting our time. Why don’t we just torture his Belorion friend? Then he will tell us.”

  “Is that what you want, Human?” Balta barked. “For us to torture your friend?”

  He was interrupted by his subordinate, Kolar. “We are apparently being scanned, Sir,” he said.

  “Identify,” Barva commanded the computer.

  “A Fleet of ships, Tolarion in nature,” the computer said.

  “Probably escaping from Alokia,” Riona said. “Those humans made a mess out of our base.”

  “What do you know about that?” Balta asked, as he turned towards Jeff. He grabbed the human around the neck firmly.

  “Nothing,” Jeff gasped.

  “You know nothing about another attack of our base, heh,” the Tolarion jested. “Very well, have it your way. When we reach Tolaria it won’t matter anyway, because you’ll both be dead!”

  “Is that a promise?” Jeff sarcastically asked. Balta swung his fist, and struck him in the other eye.

  Zarcon, who sat next to Jeff, turned towards Balta. “Is that all your people understand is violence?” he asked.

  “We will be the true leaders of the galaxy when this is all over!” Balta shouted.

  “Dream on,” Jeff joked, as he raised his head. He didn’t have much energy left.

  “And you, Riona,” Zarcon scolded. “Is this really worth giving up twenty years with the Republic for?”

  “Yes,” he laughed. “As a matter of fact, it is!”

  “And what happened to our ray gun?” Zarcon questioned. “On Tolaria perhaps?”

  “You’ve said quite enough,” Balta said, as he raised his fist to the arthropod.

  “Wait,” Riona said, as his comrade backed away from the chair. “I’ve got a better idea. Perhaps you might want some mental anguish, President Zarcon?”

  He began to place an image in Zarcon’s mind. The Belorion visualized hanging by his leg from a tree on his home planet, Zacharas. There was a pool of bubbling lava below him, as the branch began to break. He screamed, as he could feel in his mind the unbearable heat that seared through his whole body. Illusion or not, in his mind it felt real. Riona broke his concentration, as Zarcon could still feel the burning sensation. afterwards.

  “Does that convince you that we mean business, Zarcon?” Riona laughed. “How about it? Why was the human on Ventros?”

  “He’s been telling the truth!” Zarcon cried. “The council told us about the Triachilite!”

  “The council?” Balta barked. “How did they know?”

  “Perhaps they have a few spies of their own?” Riona suggested. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Once the weapon is in position, they don’t dare defy us!”

  “I hope you’re right,” Balta said. “The Ventros base has been moved, however, and its location remains a secret. Riona, come with me.” The two exited the brig and walked towards the control room.

  “Do you believe they’re telling the truth?” Balta asked.

  “Yes, they are,” Riona answered. “Zarcon has done nothing to block my thought transmissions, and they have no idea where their friends are.”

  “Probably tailing us in that alien ship,” Balta surmised. “Are you sure that the Triachilite is still working?”

  “Of course,” Riona assured him. “When we reach Tolaria, I will give you the formula, as we agreed.”

  “You should have given it to me on Ventros. Maybe then this whole incident could have been avoided.”

  “I doubt it. They would have found out about it without the human’s help. I also wanted to make sure that Akros was dead first.”

  “He’ll be dead when we reach Tolaria,” Balta insisted. “I’ll see to it personally.”

  “If you don’t mind,” Riona chuckled. “I’d like to have the privilege.”

  “So be it. How long before we reach Tolaria, Sergeant?” Balta asked his helmsman.

  “Thirty four hours, Sir,” his subordinate answered. “There is a gas cloud coming up that we need to avoid.”

  “Is that Tolarion fleet still behind us?” Riona asked.

  “Yes,” the helmsman said.

  “Then at least we have some added protection,” Balta said. “We’ll try to lose them near it.”

  “If we get too close, it will affect our operating systems, Sir,” the sergeant said.

  “I’m well aware of that,” Balta said.

  They couldn’t detect the Talokian ships due to their advanced jamming systems, which made them virtually invisible to the Starlighter’s scanners. Balta was still skeptical about whether it was his own fleet or the rest of the renegades.

  The hours passed, and Jeff and Zarcon sat restrained in the brig. They kept their minds on clear thoughts, which was not an easy task for either one of them. Jeff spent most of the time sleeping, which was long overdue. He hadn’t really slept a good night’s sleep since he was on Zebula. He wondered if there wasn’t something he could have done on Pluto to prevent this. Perhaps if he hadn’t killed the Tolarion scout or invaded their ship. He knew that being a violent race to begin with, the only way he could have stopped them was to somehow go back in time and stop their creation from the start, which was physically impossible. If they could get close to the ray gun, they might be able to self destruct it. It would start a nuclear blast that would destroy most of Tolaria. As Tolaria came closer, so did their fears. All of this became absent from Jeff’s mind, however, as he thought about how simple life was on Lingwort. His only disappointment of the world was the fact there weren’t any humans to share it with.

  He also knew that if their friends couldn’t rescue them, they would surely be executed. The Tolarions didn’t take kindly to spies of any sort, especially those involved with the Republic. It was apparent to Jeff now that Beloria and Mars no longer existed. Their people were killed and the bases destroyed. Although only the Zacharians colonized on Beloria, there were at least ten thousand of them. Riona showed no remorse over the mass murder at all.

  The Tolarion government killed many more than that, however, and took control of many underdeveloped colonies. The fusion weapon and the Triachilite were indeed the two catalysts the Tolarions needed to achieve their goal. What Riona and Balta would receive in return was beyond either of their imaginations.

  The Tolarion fleet dragged behind them as their destination finally became within their reach. The Varcon still remained undetected by the empire itself, working to their advantage. Carver notified the Republic of their position, and the fleet was on stand-by alert. Half of their fleet remained near Sentros for defensive measures, and fought Tolarion ships that already arrived. Although Tolarions were much more aggressive and numerous, they lacked the technology to win this war effectively. Many of the Tolarion ships were being attacked from behind and without warning.

  The dark brown world of Tolaria was now within the range of the Starlighter’s scanners. The Talokian vessels silently followed behind them, keeping a great distance from them. Balta gazed at his home planet on the screen as he paced across the floor of the control room.

  “Tolarion control center,” he announced into the ship’s communication panel. “This is Balta, please respond.”

  “This is Tolaria control
center,” a voice announced. “We read you loud and clear.”

  “Prepare landing bay for Tolarion fleet,” Balta commanded. “We will land in three hours. The fleet is behind me, perhaps an hour or two.”

  “Roger,” the voice said. “Akros wants you to report to him immediately.”

  “Affirmative,” Balta said. “Over and out.”

  Riona placed his claws on his friend’s shoulder. “Akros seems a bit anxious, doesn’t he?” he remarked. “It’s a good thing we lost the others in the gas cloud.”

  “I hope you’re right. He does seem anxious. Anxious to die,” Balta laughed as his crew joined in. “Get the prisoners and bring them up here!”

  The crew responded, and four guards walked back to the brig and opened the door. Jeff took a weak swing at one of them as they grabbed his arm and threw him to the floor of the control room. “Still fighting back, heh?” Balta sneered, the guards lifting him back to his feet. “I admire your persistence, Mr. Walker.”

  Jeff pushed them away and lifted himself up, and they pulled Zarcon out as well. “This is my home,” Balta boasted, as the human gazed at the viewing screen. “And it will be your cemetery. You still have a choice, however, if you want to reconsider?”

  “Not on your life!” Jeff barked.

  “You are stubborn!” the Tolarion said. “That is one of humans’ most annoying traits.”

  “And ignorance and barbarianism are a couple of yours,” Jeff responded.

  “You’re probably still wondering how you ever got in this universe in the first place, aren’t you,” Balta asked.

  “The thought has crossed my mind.”

  “We brought you here, accidentally through the wormhole, after you attacked a ship of ours on Pluto, as you left the Mars base.”

  “So you do know where Mars is!”

  “Yes I do, Mr. Walker, and I’ve already conquered it,” he sneered with terror in his eyes.

  “You son of a bitch!” the human yelled, as he violently grabbed for his throat. Two guards pulled him off immediately and held on to him tight. He felt a murderous rage inside him he never felt before.

  “It may interest you to know that I am not without pity,” Balta explained. “Most of your people have been relocated to various work colonies such as Alokia.”

  “So they could die a slow death instead?” Zarcon remarked.

  “Who is Lori Anderson?” Riona asked, as he read Jeff’s thoughts. “A past romantic interest, perhaps?”

  “Where is she?” Jeff yelled, as he clenched his teeth and fist and struggled to get away.

  “I have no idea,” Balta answered. “She could be on any one of one hundred planets, or she could be dead already?”

  “I’ll kill you!” Jeff roared, his adrenaline pumping through him.

  “Don’t bet on it!” the Tolarion laughed. “Pretty soon, you’ll be the one who dies.”

  “There is still one thing that puzzles me,” he stated, calming down a little.

  “What is that?” Balta asked.

  “How I ended up on Ventros.”

  “We brought there and left you for dead,” Riona explained. “Your ship crashed into the ocean. We assumed that you drowned.”

  “I thought you needed my DNA?” Jeff questioned.

  “Akros needs it,” Balta said. “We don’t. We just want you out of our hair.”

  “I won’t be out of your hair until I kill both of you!” the human said, as he continued to struggle to get free.

  Two and a half hours later, the retrorockets were fired and the ship entered the nitrous oxide atmosphere. They could gradually see the enormous city that seemed to stretch a continent. It was hard to believe that half of its residents were at battle elsewhere. Jeff kept an undisturbed watch on his captors as they glided towards the metropolis.

  The ship was currently entering the landing bay, which was an enormous storage area for supplies and the Tolarion fleet. There was enough room in it to house at least five hundred spaceships. It was similar to an aircraft carrier, for there were landing strips like an airport runway.

  The Starlighter landed, and they saw at least fifty guards waiting for them. They were heavily armed, and each one had the same ugly look of conquest in their eye. Riona opened the main hatch, and he was saluted by his welcoming committee. Balta followed him, and the guards brought the prisoners out behind him. “Guard them well,” he told his men. “I want them alive until their execution. But first, Akros wants to see them, so we shall not keep his Excellency waiting.”

  The troop of Tolarions surrounded the two renegades and they were directed down a corridor, their superior officers following them. They headed down a second corridor, which took them in the direction of Akros.

  They still wore their masks, which Jeff didn’t quite understand. Why was there Oxygen here in the complex? He did find the air heavier than what he was used to on Ventros, but it was still breathable. They were lead down the hallway, and many thoughts raced through Jeff’s mind as he realized he still had many unanswered questions.

  Would Barva and the lingworts be able to help them in the way Barva had said? Would the Republic come through with their promise and what about this gas cloud? How would it interfere with the Varcon’s systems, and would they survive the ordeal? All of this raced through his mind in a matter of minutes.

  He was going to finally meet the famous Dr. Louis Avery face to face. It was hard to believe that someone who was so prominent a scientist would resort to such a destruction of any race. The young geneticist and physicist in the history records would never have done this, at least according to what he heard. Something must have happened to him to carry out such a personal vendetta against the human race. He always admired Avery’s great achievements, but never pictured him as an adversary. One thing was for sure; if Jeff didn’t stop him he would destroy both universes.