39
Rescue
Before they left to search for the downed plane, the base commander advised them that if they found the plane and needed help rescuing the passengers there were some allies in southern Tributon that they could call upon for help. He said to go to a city called Gulh and find a tavern called the Mighty Jolly. The name sounded familiar but Peter couldn't remember why. He said the place was owned by a mutant and he would help them. Then it hit him. Threebeard had a tavern by that name, but it was in Shisk. Peter wondered if he owned this one as well. Peter was glad to hear there was help waiting in the wings, because when they found the plane there was no telling what they'd be up against. They no doubt would need all the help they could muster. At least Peter hoped that was the case. He didn't know what he would do if they found the wreckage and everyone was dead. That was too horrible a thought to even contemplate, so he purged it from his mind.
When they finally got to their planes they fed the grid into the onboard computers and prepared for takeoff. Tam and Peter were flying T47s but they gave Red a PT22 in case they found the missing plane and there were survivors. Red complained that he'd never trained on this plane, but they finally convinced him flying it wasn't much different than the T47s.
The PT22 could only travel at Mach 2, so it would slow them down. At Mach 2 it would take them several hours to get to the search zone. Then they'd start flying the grid lines. He figured he'd have to refuel about midway through their search. That would be interesting and a little scary. A lot of things could go wrong, assuming the access codes even worked.
Soon they were in the air and flying low over the Southern Sea. They decided to stay clear of Ock Mezan as they knew the TGA had a large force there. They thought they could probably fly over it safely but then TGA command would know they were in the air and could try to find them. Their plan was to fly over the water between Muhl and Ock Mezan and then swing northeast across the Coral Sea until they were 600 kylods due east of Pogo. Their search would begin there. Peter just prayed the E-box was functioning properly.
As Peter watched the sea fly by below him, he thought of Luci and his baby and prayed they were alive. In his mind's eye he imagined every possible scenario that could explain their disappearance. They might have had mechanical problems and been forced to land. They could have run out of fuel. If either of these things had happened they'd find them alive and all would be well. Conversely, they could have crashed or been captured. Of these possibilities, Peter hoped it was capture. If they were alive there was still hope. They could rescue them.
The horrible feeling in the pit of Peter's stomach that he'd been suffering with ever since he'd heard that Luci was missing, was getting worse by the minute. He couldn't wait to get to the search zone. He knew he'd feel better once he was actually doing something to try to find them. Traveling at Mach 2 was very agonizing. They could have already been there had they not been instructed to stay with the PT22.
Looking at their navigation systems Peter saw that they were finally coming up on the grid. The hunt was about to begin. At the edge of the grid Red went straight, following the center line. Tam and Peter split left and right and covered the first two parallel grid lines. They each had their receivers tuned into the frequency of the E-box and listened carefully for the signal.
They had six vertical lines and six horizontal lines to cover. They heard nothing from the receivers while traveling on the horizontal grid lines and were about to start on the vertical lines when Peter noticed he was getting low on fuel. He said through his communicator, "Time to find mother so we can feed the babies."
"Affirmative," Red said. "I'm nearly empty too."
"Follow me," Peter said breaking out of the grid and setting his navigator to the coordinates of the orbital fueling drone. As they were climbing, Peter kept a close eye out for enemy fighters. He knew they could run across one at any time. When he saw the drone in the distance he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket with the access codes on them. He prayed they'd work because if they didn't they'd have to land in enemy territory.
Just as he was about to move in on the drone, Peter spotted an aircraft above him. "Back off, enemy aircraft at fifteen degrees. Stand down," Peter said into his communicator.
"Copy, R1, standing down," Red said.
"Copy, R1," Tam said.
"I wonder if he's alone," Peter said.
"If he is we can take him out," Tam replied.
"If he spots us, we're in deep trouble," Red warned.
"Yeah, and if a plane goes missing that's almost as bad as being spotted. Let's keep away for awhile and hope he's not paying attention to his radar."
"Acknowledged," Tam said.
They waited at a safe distance until Peter's fuel warning light started blinking. "Shit, I'm going to have to go in now. If he's still around one of you are gonna have to take him out."
"Not me," Tam said. "My light’s been flashing for 60 tiks."
"I've got fuel, but I'm not armed," Red said. "You two go in and I'll pray to Sandee."
"Acknowledged," Peter said, and started to make a move on the drone.
There were two lines flowing out from the fueling drone. Red went left and Peter went right. After they'd locked on Peter held his breath and punched in the code. Nothing happened for a moment and his heart nearly stopped. Then a green light came on and Peter heard the rush of fuel coming into the fuel tanks.
"Thank you God and Sandee," Peter said. "That was a close call."
"Oh, durk birds! Our friend is back," Red said. "What should I do?"
"Crap," Peter replied. "Ah . . . try to lure him away from us so we can finish refueling."
"But what if he locks on to me. I have no defenses."
"Wait," Tam said. "No one's had time to change the markings on these planes. He doesn't know if we're friend or foe. Maybe we can bluff him."
"I doubt I can," Peter said, "but go ahead and give it a try."
"He'll be on frequency 24. I'll switch over and try to make contact."
"Copy, God be with you," Peter said.
Peter switched over to frequency 24 and waited. After a moment Tam came on the air, "T47 approaching drone, please identify."
"Liberty one here," he replied.
"Haven't you already sucked on mama?" Tam said.
"Affirmative, just checking to see who was feeding," he replied. "Wasn't told anybody was out this way."
"We're on escort duty. On our way to Shisk—got some brass going to a meeting. After the disaster at Lortec everybody is scrambling."
"Heard about that. Okay. Have a good flight."
"Where are you headed?" Tam asked.
"Just my regular patrol. Looking for anybody going north to Rigimol—big Loyalist party starting soon."
"You out to spoil the party?" Tam said.
"That's my orders."
"Good luck."
The radio went dead and Peter switched back to frequency 21. "You think he bought it," Peter asked.
"Don't know," Tam said. "I'll watch him on my radar."
Red said, "He's moving away pretty fast. I think we're okay."
"I'm full," Tam said, "Breaking off."
"Me too,” Peter said. “Red, get on the line and then let’s get back on the grid."
"Affirmative, approaching line," Red said. "This shouldn't take long."
Moments later they were on their way back to the grid. If the E-box was working, Peter thought, one of them should be picking up the signal soon. It was just a matter of time now, he told himself. As Peter soared along the grid line he wondered if Luci and Lorin were still alive. He couldn't fathom the possibility that they would be dead. Lorin had hated him in the beginning, but that had changed. Peter thought she at least respected him now and he'd always had nothing but the greatest admiration for her. She was smart, determined, and fiercely loyal to her beliefs—and she wasn't hard to look at either.
"I've got a signal," Red said excitedly.
&n
bsp; "Where are you?" Peter asked.
Red gave them his coordinates and Peter changed his course to intercept him. When they all had met up they followed the signal until they had a ground location. It was near the southeast corner of Allso which was a thick jungle area. Allso was on the equator and very hot and wet most of the time. It wasn't going to be easy even to find a place to land.
As they flew over where they thought the signal had come they were astonished to see a large clearing in the midst of the jungle. As they approached they saw a huge military complex and a runway. Near the runway Peter spotted what he believed to be the plane Luci and the others had been on when they left Lortec. His pulse quickened. They were alive!
They didn't dare do another run over the base. That would attract too much attention. Peter thought about what he'd seen as they flew by. There were many barracks, several fighters, an armory, headquarters building, and a parade ground. The base also was completely surrounded by a ten foot steel fence. This wouldn't be an easy rescue. They'd need help.
The base commander had told them if they needed help to go to Gulh and find a tavern called the Mighty Jolly. They inputted the location of Gulh on the computer and set on a course northeast. To get to Gulh they had to cross Quori which was TGA territory, so they went to stealth mode until they'd crossed the Tributon border. When they got close to the airport they radioed in for clearance. The air traffic controller welcomed them and gave them clearance to land.
Gulh didn't have many Loyalist troops but the local commander did manage to send them over a couple of local transport vehicles to take them around to where they needed to go and offered bunks in the barracks for them to rest. After eating and getting a little shut-eye, they proceeded to the Mighty Jolly Tavern. Much to Peter's surprise and delight, Threebeard met them at the door. He introduced them to Tam and Red.
"We meet again, Liberator," Threebeard said.
"What are you doing here?" Peter asked. "The last time we met it was in a place like this in Shisk."
"I'm afraid I had to abandon the Mighty Jolly in Shisk. The last I heard, Videl was arresting any mutants he could find and shipping them off to work camps. He'll use the ones that can help the war effort and exterminate the rest."
Peter winced at the thought. "It's hard to believe anyone could be so evil."
"For you, perhaps, but Tarizon has no shortage of evil men."
"Well, I guess you know why we are here then," Peter said.
Threebeard smiled and replied, "To summon your army I hope."
"Yes, I'll need some men to help rescue General Zitor, Lorin Boskie, and my mate, Lucinda."
"Lucinda. Didn't I meet her?" Threebeard asked.
"Yes. You did."
"So quickly you found love."
"Yes, but we've had just two brief meetings since I left Shisk. I've got to find her."
"And we must rescue the Councillor's daughter and General Zitor before they are tortured and give up critical information about the Loyalist organization," Threebeard said. “They were on their way here to meet with me when their plane went missing.”
"Yes, we found their plane. It appears to have been diverted somehow and is sitting on the ground in southwest Allso. I don't know now they managed to intercept it unless they had a spy at LB1."
"When I talked to General Zitor he said he thought there was a spy on the base."
"Yes, that's what he told me, too. I don't know—"
"The spy must have been on the plane and commandeered it."
Peter thought about that idea and it made sense. "Yes, that would explain everything. We've got to hurry. I can't bear to think that they might be torturing them for information."
"They won't be torturing Lucinda. They know she knows nothing. Likely they'll think she's the Liberator's Achilles heel."
"Achilles heel? You read Greek mythology?"
"No. Remember, I download all your American movies. Very good stuff. Don't pay royalties, though. I guess that makes me a pirate, right?"
"I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think they'll be sending the FBI after you."
Threebeard laughed heartily. "No, no FBI."
"So, what do you think they'll do to her?" Peter said almost afraid to hear the answer.
"I don't know, perhaps just keep her from you so you will be angry and lose your focus. She'd also make a nice prize for Videl to show off to his friends and allies."
Peter shook his head. "That scumbag! He just wants to torture me."
"Yes," Threebeard said, "and you are right; we must go now before it is too late. . . . Your army is ready."
Peter nodded and replied, "Good. When do I meet them?"
"The ones you need for this mission will meet you at the airport before sunset."
"Good. Will you be there?"
Threebeard shook his head. "No, I've been asked to go up to the investiture. I'm no warrior, anyway. I would just hinder your rescue. The men that will meet you are extraordinary soldiers who will serve you well. When you take off tonight you can inspect your army. They will salute you as you leave so you will know they are with you."
“Before you go, could I ask one favor of you,” Peter said.
“Anything. Just name it,” Threebeard replied.
“I was told you can talk to the Nanomites and that you have showed others with telepathic abilities how to do it.”
“Yes, that is true, but I regret it now since Central Authority used my pupils to exploit them.”
“I know, but if I’m going to lead them, I need to be able to talk to them.”
“Yes, you are right. I should teach you how to fully exploit your telepathic abilities. Unfortunately, there’s so little time.” Threebeard thought for a moment. “I guess I could postpone my flight. We’d have all night then, but you’d be exhausted for your mission.”
“It’s okay. I can sleep later. This is important.”
“Indeed it is. Then I’ll give you a lesson tonight.”
Peter smiled. “That would be great. Thank you.”
“I must caution you, though. Not everyone can talk to the Nanomites. Only my sister and one other have been able to do it.”
“Rupra Bruda,” Peter said.
“Yes. So, you’ve heard the story?”
“Un huh. From Colonel Tomel. He said Bruda helped Videl enslave the Nanomites.”
“Actually, it was the other way around. Bruda was Videl’s mentor. He was much older than Videl and was a master of telepathy and telekinesis. Bruda tried to teach Videl those disciplines but he didn’t have the natural capacity to learn them. He did manage to fill his mind with evil and hatred, though.”
“So, was Bruda the founder of the Purist Party?” Peter asked.
“Yes, he could claim that as much as any man.”
“So, why did you teach him how to contact the Nanomites?”
“I was under orders from Central Authority to do it and, regrettably, I followed those orders. Now Rupra Bruda is Videl’s bodyguard and closest confidant.”
“So, he’s telekinetic? You have that ability, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do those with telepathic abilities have telekinetic ability too?” Peter asked.
“Not always, but often if you have one gift you’ll also have the other. Telekinesis is much more difficult to master, I’m afraid.”
Peter nodded. He wondered if he could make objects move. He’d never tried it or even thought about it.
“Well, I hope I don’t meet up with Bruda any time soon. He sounds like he’s out of my league.”
“For now he is, but that may change,” Threebeard said. “We’ll see how well you do tonight. I’m anxious to see the extent of your abilities.”
“Don’t expect much,” Peter laughed. “It’s all been pretty much trial and error, so far.”
“Trial and error is a dangerous way to learn, particularly when your adversary is a master at the game. After the briefing tonight we’ll get started and perhaps I can s
how you enough that you, at least, won’t make any fatal errors. Go get some sleep now. You’ll need your strength tomorrow.”
Peter said goodbye and left to go back to the airport. Peter wondered what kind of a fighting force Threebeard had for him. Knowing Threebeard's reputation, it would be quite extraordinary. When they arrived back at the barracks Peter went straight to bed. He was exhausted and if he was lucky he’d get four hours sleep before Threebeard arrived for the briefing.
When he awoke Tam and Red were waiting to go to dinner. When they were finished they went to the airport for the briefing. The fighting force waiting there was impressive; three choppers, each carrying thirty-two tough-looking soldiers loaded down with an assortment of guns and ammunition.
The soldiers were mutants, which didn't mean much to Peter at first. All he knew about mutants was that they were different from an ordinary human. In the case of the soldiers that would be accompanying them in the rescue, he was told each possessed some unique ability that could be useful in combat. Peter couldn't wait to see them in action.
After Peter had explained all they knew about the location where the hostages were being held, Threebeard outlined a suggested plan of attack. He said it was imperative that they catch them by surprise or the hostages might be killed. He told them about two of his men that he used as scouts. Their body color changed with the landscape and the light to make them almost invisible. Additionally, they walked barefoot moving through the jungle without making a sound. He suggested they go in first and look for weaknesses in the TGA security. Then they could fine tune the attack.
There was another mutant Threebeard told them about, who could crack into almost any security system and disable it. Not only was he a computer genius, but he had a sixth sense when it came to codes. Before the war he worked as a code breaker for the TGA. Threebeard said with these three men he was certain they could get them in the compound undetected. Once inside it would be up to Peter and his unit to find the hostages and get them out.
The mission commander was Lt. Leode. Before they took off, he presented them with detailed blueprints for the all the buildings on the enemy base. He said once Peter had told Threebeard where the hostages were being held, Threebeard had hacked into the TGA computers and downloaded the blueprints. They agreed that the most likely place to keep the hostages was the headquarters of the military police. So they studied the blueprints of that building and then decided on the best way to get in and out of it quickly.
Threebeard adjourned the briefing and told everyone to report at 0500 the next morning. Tam and Red went back to the barracks to sleep and Peter stayed in the briefing room with Threebeard for his lesson. When they were alone, Threebeard began. “Mental telepathy is all about will and focus. You must have an intense desire to penetrate the targeted mind and the ability to focus your thoughts to that end. If you have a willing target it doesn’t take a lot of effort. You and I could converse with our minds right now effortlessly if we both willed it. It also doesn’t take much effort to penetrate the unprotected mind and I suspect that’s all you’ve done so far.
“It’s a different story if the targeted mind doesn’t want an intrusion and is guarding against it or if you are trying to converse with another species like the rhutz or Nanomites. Even if your rhutz wanted to converse with you, since your brain patterns are different, it takes much more will and focus to make the connection. It took my sister and I a long time to make contact with the Nanomites because they are so small and their brain waves so fragile. I knew they must communicate through a common consciousness because trillions of Nanomites couldn’t act in unison unless they had a common link.”
“So, how did you do it?” Peter asked.
“My sister and I camped in the desert near one of their cities for awhile watching and studying them. I was hopeful they would get curious about our presence and reach out to us. My sister made first contact as I was called away. She realized that in order to talk to them they had to learn Tari, so she thought of images in her mind and then connected them with words. In time the Nanomites learned our language and began to communicate in a meaningful way.”
“Wow. That’s amazing,” Peter said.
“You have an advantage over me, though,” Threebeard said. “You know that it is possible to talk to the Nanomites and the Rhutz and they are anxious to talk to you. It will not take you nearly as much will and focus to make the connection as it did us.”
“That’s fantastic. I wish I had Rhin here so I could give it a try.”
“You’ll be seeing her soon, I’m sure.”
“I did have a dream where I saw through the eyes of a rhutz back on Muhl. Could that have been real?”
“Oh, yes. Connections with others often come in our dreams when our minds are relaxed and wide open, but only if there has been a past connection so that the two minds know the way to each other. This is a vulnerability that leads me to the topic of our first lesson. How to protect your mind from unwanted trespass.”
“You mean if I connect with an enemy he can come to me in my dreams and search my mind?” Peter asked.
“Yes, if you don’t put up barriers to stop him.”
“How do you put up barriers?”
“Again, it is will and focus. In your mind you imagine a wall, an impenetrable fortress that cannot be breached. While you are drifting off to sleep you must focus on the fortress and tell your subconscious mind to guard it and wake you if there is an intruder.”
Peter just stared at Threebeard in amazement. “That doesn’t sound too hard. Are you sure it will work.”
“It will work if your will and focus are strong enough. It is not good enough just to think of these things. You must will that there be no intrusion with all your might, energy and focus. It takes discipline and a passionate desire to protect your mind.”
Peter nodded. “Okay. I see.”
“This is the same way you protect yourself while you are awake. If someone is trying to touch you directly, to probe your mind, you must build an impenetrable fortress in your thoughts and protect it with all your strength, passion, and might. It’s a battle of wills and if your will isn’t strong enough your enemy will plunder your mind and learn your most guarded secrets.”
Peter felt uneasy and less confident than he’d felt before the session with Threebeard had begun. He realized now how dangerous these battles of the mind could be and almost wished he wasn’t telepathic. Suddenly he felt a presence in his mind. It was Threebeard consoling him, telling him not to worry, that his gift was strong and that he could defeat anyone if he just focused. Then he felt a jolt as Threebeard’s memories came flooding through his mind. He saw flashes of his life, images of places he had been, people he knew, and bits and pieces of emotions he’d felt—fear, frustration, anger, love, peace, and joy. Peter grabbed his head as he felt his mind was about to explode.
Volcanos erupted in his mind’s eye, tidal waves washed over cities, tremors toppled buildings, billows of smoke plumed out of exploding volcanos, people ran in terror, and darkness came over the land. Then a flash, the city exploded into riots and chaos. He saw murder and mayhem, sickness, disease, and death, many deaths—people dying everywhere. Troops marched through the streets, planes streaked across the skies, and missiles fell to earth bringing death and destruction.
Then it stopped and he saw himself immersed in a pale green fluid flowing swiftly, effortlessly through time and space. He felt a thought spring into his head. “Why do you reach out to us? Who are you?”
“I am Threebeard of the human race. Who are you?”
“You can call me Allo.”
“Allo of the Nanomites, greetings. I have so long sought to reach you. As you know our planet is in distress and near ruin. All life forms must work together to bring back the balance or face extinction.”
“What could we possibly do that would have any impact on these events?” Allo replied.
“You are great builders. You can build magnifice
nt structures to house and protect your people, but your size prevents you from going beyond the borders of your small desert world. We offer you the planet. Help us build the structures we need and we will help you multiply and spread throughout Tarizon.”
“Yes, that sounds magnificent, but how do we know we can trust you? We don’t know you and all we see in your world is chaos.”
“You must pray to your gods for guidance. We can accomplish great things together, but we have to trust one another. Most of our people are good but I will not lie to you, some are evil. Is your world like ours?”
“What is good and evil?” Allo replied. “All Nanomites think and do as one. Survival is our purpose. We must survive. If you can help us thrive and multiply our survival will be guaranteed.”
“What about happiness and the quality of your lives?”
“If we survive we are happy.”
The liquid began to boil, then dried, and turned to dust. The wind carried it away and Peter’s mind calmed. He opened his eyes and looked at Threebeard and gasped. “What was that?”
“Since we were short on time and your purpose on Tarizon is so important, I’ve given you my memories and experiences to help you fulfill the Prophecy. It will be confusing at first until your mind sorts everything out, but eventually you’ll be able to draw on these memories to help defeat Videl Lai and the TGA.”
Peter, still rubbing his temples, replied. “Thank you. This was a gift I hadn’t expected. I’m already feeling the power of it. My God! I didn’t know you could transfer so much information so quickly.”
“You’ve been using very little of your mind, Peter. You must learn to use all your powers. Few minds are as powerful as yours, but you must unleash this power with determination and focus. Unless you do this we won’t be able to defeat our enemies and end the Purist’s rule of Tarizon.”
“I know. I’ll try harder. I promise,” Peter said feeling exhilarated.
“That’s all we can do tonight,” Threebeard said. “You must go and meet your army.”
It was still dark when Peter left the briefing room and went to the staging area where his assault force was waiting. Soon they were in the air and on their way back to Allso. As they gained altitude Lt. Leode told them to look out the window. Peter did and was amazed at what he saw. There was an ocean of lights flickering below. It was a beautiful sight but Peter didn't really know what to make of it.
"That's your army down there—over 1.2 million strong. They're protecting the southern border between Quori and Tributon now and await your orders," Lt. Leode advised, beaming.
"Are you serious? They'd follow my command?"
"Absolutely, they believe you'll one day lead them to victory and freedom."
Peter shook his head in wonder. "Well, I'm not giving orders quite yet, but I'm glad you were able to recruit such a great army. We'll need every last one of them to be victorious."
As Peter settled back to rest before they reached their destination, he felt good about their chances of success. The only thing that worried him was the fact they'd flown over the compound the day before. If the TGA had seen them, they'd be expecting their return visit. He just hoped they hadn't moved the hostages.
As he fell into a shallow slumber he had strange dreams, dreams of places he’d never seen and people he’d never known. They were Threebeard’s memories and they seemed as real as if they were his own. He woke up with a start. The plane was descending. They were near the jungle base.
When they arrived at the location, they came in close to the ground, dropped the scouts a kylod from the base fence, and waited for them to do their survey of base security. About twenty loons later the scouts returned and indicated the perimeter of the base was heavily guarded, but that there was one entry point that was unguarded for about one loon out of every ten. This looked like their best bet, so their pilots took them as close to entry point as possible and dropped them off. It was agreed that the pilots would hide the planes in a clearing in the jungle, they'd seen on their way in, until they got a call for pickup.
Their security expert inspected the perimeter fence and said it was not only electrified but came with sensitive motion detectors that would immediately inform command of its breach. He suggested they tunnel under it, but that the tunnel would have to be more than three feet below the surface as there were motion detectors buried two feet below ground.
Peter protested that they didn't have the time or tools to dig a tunnel under the fence, but Lt. Leode just smiled. He motioned and two soldiers came forward. They had strange looking hands that looked more like hoofs than hands. Lt. Leode talked to them in a strange language but surprisingly, Peter understood it perfectly. It was such a strange feeling that he broke out in gooseflesh. Then he realized, Threebeard knew every language on the planet and he’d just transferred that knowledge to Peter. Peter gasped at the reality of this but was quickly brought back to the present situation by the sound of frantic digging.
The soldiers dug at an incredible pace, sending dirt and rocks flying out behind them in a steady stream. Before Peter could express his wonder and amazement at their tunneling abilities, the mutants were halfway under the fence. Five loons later, the last soldier was scrambling under the sensors and heading for the headquarters building, where they were pretty sure the hostages would be located.
Their scouts had warned them that there were patrols circling the building ever six loons. This meant their security expert would have just five loons to deactivate the building security system giving them just two more to get into the building without being seen. They rushed to the building perimeter just after the patrol had left. Their security man immediately went to work, but after four loons hadn't been able to crack the code. Just as the next patrol came by he motioned that he'd done it and they were safe to go inside. They all quickly scrambled in the door and prayed they hadn't been seen.
Once inside, Peter could feel that Luci had been there, but it was a faint wisp of a sensation that disturbed him. He feared they had killed her already! He immediately took off in the direction of the force he was feeling. Everyone followed him, although many were wondering how he knew where to go. They went through a large common area and then down a long hallway. When they got to a door with a sign that read Military Detention Center. Peter's pulse quickened and he could feel his heart beating furiously.
"This is it," he whispered.
Three mutants rushed over, blew the lock, and rushed in. Two startled TGA soldiers were at a table playing some sort of game. They went for their weapons but were quickly silenced by two laser blasts. The soldiers blew open another locked door and behind it found cells where many prisoners were being detained. They rushed in behind them searching for the hostages.
"Leek! Over here," Lorin said.
Lorin's voice brought joy to Peter's heart. He rushed over smiling. "Oh, thank God! Where are the others?"
"I don't know. They separated us. Perhaps in the other cell blocks."
One of the soldiers blew away the lock on the cell door and Lorin rushed out. Peter embraced her. "Come on," she said and started running through the cell block. When they came to the end she pointed to a door. "Through there." The soldier shot the lock with his laser and the mechanism shattered. Lorin rushed through the door into the next cell block. She led them through cell after cell full of prisoners yelling and begging to be freed. Finally they saw General Zitor. They rushed over to him.
"Thank Sandee you are safe, General!" Peter exclaimed. He looked at Lorin and then the General. "So, where's Luci?"
Lorin sighed. "I'm sorry, Leek. They took her away yesterday without a word. Hopefully she's around here somewhere."
"Where? We've got to find her. We can't leave without her." Tears began to well up in Peter's eyes. He was so scared and frustrated he could hardly think.
Tam took his arm. "Come on, Leek. We'll find her."
Peter took a deep breath and followed Tam as they searched the rest of the cell
block, but to no avail. Finally, they entered the last of them and raced through it, looking left and right searching frantically for Luci's pretty face, but only seeing more outstretched hands of sick and malnourished prisoners begging to be rescued. At the end of the block Peter sank to his knees in utter despair.
Lt. Leode came up from behind Peter and put his hand on his shoulder "I'm sorry, sir. We've searched everywhere. They must have taken her to another installation."
"No!" Peter screamed. "Isn't there any other place they could be holding her?"
"Perhaps," Lt. Leode said, "but we don't have time to search anymore. If we don't leave now, we might not get out at all."
Peter stood up and clinched his fists so hard he could feel them throb. He felt like screaming but knew that would do no good. Where was his Luci! Why would they separate her from the other hostages? Then he remembered Threebeard's words. She'll make Videl a nice trophy to show off to his friends and allies.
"We must go, sir. Now!" Lt. Leode insisted.
“Find me a guard. I’ll probe his mind.”
“We’ve killed everyone we’ve seen. We don’t have time to find another. We must go!”
Peter took a deep breath and nodded dejectedly. "Very well. Move out. I'm right behind you."
Lt. Leode began to run back down the hall. "Free as many of these prisoners as you can," he ordered. "They'll provide a nice distraction for us."
The mutant soldiers began blowing each cell door as they ran by. Soon prisoners were fleeing from their cells. As Peter watched the melee unfolding in front of him, he said to Tam and Red, who hadn't left his side, "I'll get even with Videl Lai for this one day. That skutz! He'll regret what he's done!"
Tam nodded and then took Peter's arm, "We'll find Luci, Leek. Don't give up. We'll find her, but we've got to go. Come on."
Red took Peter's other arm and between the two of them, got him running after Lt. Leode and the mutant soldiers. It was slow, weaving their way through the disoriented prisoners milling around. He felt sorry for them and wished they could rescue them all, but that was out of the question. When they got out of the cell blocks Peter heard laser fire ahead. At the exit door Lt. Leode advised them that a security patrol had discovered them and opened fire. He told them to wait a minute until they'd been neutralized. A moment later he motioned for them to leave. They ran quickly through a protective corridor provided by the mutant soldiers. Soon they were at the fence and in the chopper. Lorin sat next to Peter and put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Leek. I know you must be devastated."
Peter looked at her but said nothing. It was all he could do to keep his composure in front of the other soldiers. Finally, he said. "Well, at least we saved you and the General."
"Yes, and we are very grateful. I thought our lives were over. I couldn't believe it when I saw you break through the cell block door. We'll always be in your debt."
"It wasn't just me. Thank Lt. Leode and his men. Without them you'd still be rotting in your cell."
"I will thank him, but I know it was you who found us."
Peter looked at her. "Where did they take my mate? Do you think she's alive?"
Lorin swallowed hard. “It was Evohn Cystrom. He’s betrayed us. He’s not Videl’s enemy as he swore to us, but his adopted son. He’s taken Luci to Videl.”
Peter looked at Lorin in horror. She put her arms around Peter's neck and drew him into her bosom. "We'll find her, Peter. Don't worry. You'll get her back. I promise."