Hey Look, Chocolate!

Bits and Bites is officially published. It's my first short story collection. It's a nice big collection, holding thirty-six stories securely between the covers. Believe me, some of these stories you will want to know that they are being securely held and can't come out to get you.

Some of the stories were written as early as 1982, while others were as recent as 2010. Some of my friends may (or may not) recognize themselves in the pages. One of the stories has a small incident in the life of Lt. Jenna, who also appears in Assignment to Earth.

Find out why a bookworm is not always a good thing. Find out where the missing socks go. Find out why having an identical twin is not all it's cracked up to be. Amuse yourself when you only have a few minutes for reading. Enjoy the dying art of the short story. Adventure and answers await within the pages of Bits and Bites.

How did I come up with the name? A short story isn't a huge chunk of reading. It's like eating a box of chocolates, there's a little bit of this, and a little bite of that, but no matter what flavor is hiding under the chocolate, it's tasty on the tongue. Except for the maple nut crunch. Does anyone actually eat the maple nut crunch?

At any rate, here's hoping you enjoy my small bits and bites of stories, perfectly sized for any amount of reading time, from a few minutes to an entire evening.

You can buy Bits and Bites here:
Print: $11.99
Kindle: $2.99
Nook: $2.99
Other ebook formats: $2.99

A Down-to-Earth Winner

Congratulations to Lulahe, the newest winner in the ongoing Great Book Giveaway! Drop me an email with your address and how you want it inscribed and I'll package it right up for you.

~Marie

Where on Earth?

My new book, The Siege of Kwennjurat, is scheduled for release six days from now, and I feel like celebrating. For the next six days, I am giving away one signed book each day. Here’s how to enter:

Making a comment on the blog gets you one entry. If you’re a blog follower, say so for a second entry. Tweeting and sharing to Facebook or Google+ are worth one entry each (post a link to where you shared in your comment). First thing tomorrow morning, I will put all the entries in a hat and draw a winner. I’ll announce the winner, and then they can email me their real name and address, and their signed book will be on the way!

Today, I’m giving away my science fiction novel, Assignment to Earth. I’ve always been fascinated with anything to do with space, and at one time wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. My earliest memory of space-stuff was when my mom woke me up at the age of four to watch the moon landing. In your comments, share your favorite space-related memory. See you tomorrow with a new giveaway and the announcement of today’s winner.

Book Giveaway!

My writing friend Janette Rallison has a new book, Erasing Time, coming out in 11 days. To celebrate this, she is giving away a book a day on each of her blogs. (She has one blog for each pen name. She writes YA as Janette Rallison and SF as C. J. Hill.)

Today, she is giving away signed print copies of my books Tanella's Flight and Assignment to Earth. Head to her blogs for Janette Rallison and C. J. Hill if you'd like a chance to win one of my books, along with her wonderful book, My Unfair Godmother.

~Marie

News and Resolution Update

First, the news.

Christopher Wilke wrote a review of Assignment to Earth, which can be found at the League of the Iron Quill.

The Moms Place is now available in all formats. Links to both books are on my website, am-jenner.com.

I was out of town at my sister's wedding when it was time to publish my resolution update, and it's taken me a week or so to recover from my trip and get all the loose ends at home tucked back in again. I have not been neglecting my goals, I've just been too busy to write about them.
My goals for this year are:

• Graduate from college.
• Write a new manuscript, something I haven't had time to do since I started college.
• Take a vacation someplace out of Arizona.
• Hug my daughter every day.
• Learn how to make book trailers and post them to YouTube.

College graduation was May 11, so that goal is now retired.

My darling daughter and new partner Jenna helped me plot a new book, Crown of Tears, which I will be writing for Camp NaNoWriMo in August.

I just got back from my vacation in California, where I visited with family and a large sentient rodent.

I continue to hug my daughter on  a daily basis.

The book trailer project has been put off indefinitely.

As I continue through the year, my goals now read:

• Write a new manuscript, something I haven't had time to so since I started college.
• Hug my daughter every day.
• Finish editing The Siege of Kwennjurat and get it published.
• Support my daughter as she takes her turn at college.

In June I read 17 books, with a total of 5335 pages. At the half-year mark, this brings my reading total to 120 books and 25,903 pages read for pleasure. None of the reading I do for school or work is included in this total.

~Marie

Typographical Errors

A friend on Facebook commented that one reason she likes to follow authors was that she loves it when they share their typos with their fans.

My first thought was, “Ack! Share those little things I’m supposed to keep hidden? No Way!”

My second thought was, “Hey, how cool would that be to read typos committed by my favorite authors?”

I commented that I would keep that in mind, and then turned to editing my upcoming book, Assignment to Earth.

This is the final edit before publication, and the manuscript has been in process off and on for 22 years, so you would think I would be down to tiny things. I won’t bore you with the missing punctuation, the period that should be a question mark, and the double punctuation hanging around, but there are a few that made me laugh at the absurdity of what it actually said, and also give myself the “V-8 salute” that these had not been found earlier.

Trusting that you have a keen eye, I won’t tell you what the mistake is, but let you discover it on your own.

·         One character turns to her superior officer and says, “What do you us to do, Sir?”

·         “This must be the great-grandpappy,” he said with a grimly.
·         He bent to the task, determined to obtain answers to each and every one of his many and questions...as soon as she woke up.
·         He shook his head slightly, if trying to realign his thinking.
·         Chapter Thirty-two…Chapter Thirty-three…Chapter Thirty-three…Chapter Thirty Four…

I can understand how extra keys could get pushed, or not pushed fully down, but how entire words could be missing for years and never be noticed, is totally beyond my comprehension.

For those who really enjoy typo hunts, after I fixed the accidental typos listed above, I put a (different!) typo into Assignment to Earth just for you. Email me if you can find it!

~Marie

Wow! What a week!

First off, and most exciting, my book A Heart Full of Diamonds has finally been published in print and ebook! Some of my fans have been waiting ten years for this event, so I'm understandably excited. I love the new cover, too. It's been a lot of fun learning to make my own covers, and with this one, I'm feeling confident that I finally know what I'm doing.

What's this one about? Here's what's on the back cover.

Once she saw the diamonds, she was out of options.

A wig, a change of clothes, and nerves of steel freed Marilee from her diamond-stealing husband, but Tony has too many friends in too many places for her to trust anyone.

A thousand miles away, she's fashioned a new life in a safe haven. Her brawny neighbor Richard and his engaging son Derreck would do anything to help her, but she keeps her past a secret until two of Tony's goons kidnap her in broad daylight.

The race is on, and Marilee's life hangs in the balance!

A Heart Full of Diamonds is available in print here, and in ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

In other news, the renovations have been finished on the older books. Clues to Food and Fabric of the World have new covers and lower prices.

Due to requests from blog readers, I'm working on preparing Assignment to Earth and Inherit my Heart for publication in print and ebook. I'm also putting together a short story collection and a sampler book, which should be out shortly. I expect that The Siege of Kwennjurat will be coming out sometime this winter. It needed more work than I had time to complete during summer break.

School starts again in two weeks and I've got a very full schedule this fall, so if you think I've dropped off the face of the planet, you'll know where I am. In the mean time, I can promise there will be a new blog post every Tuesday on something related to writing.

~Marie

Assignment to Earth Chapter Thirty-two

Jenna took her time with her pre-flight inspection, suddenly wishing she had a little more time on Earth. She’d been here a long time…longer than any one planet, really…and it had become a second home in her heart. "Ready to go?" Skylar asked over the intercom once she had her helmet on. "As ready as I'll ever be, Captain. Let's go." They started their engines and took off. Shortly before their arrival at the Charys, Skylar broke the silence which had reigned since take-off. "Why so quiet? You're not regretting your decision, are you?" "Not really. I know I'm where I belong. I'm just missing them already. I've been with them every day for five years—it's a little tough to let go so suddenly. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Hannah. I don’t know what story Glen’s going to have to tell her…but I don’t think she’d accept the truth, even if Glen hadn’t promised not to tell where he’s actually been. "Don't get me wrong, though, because I'm counting my blessings on being home. I thought I'd never set eyes on a Dragonstar again. Thank you…" Her voice trailed off, her throat tight with unshed tears. "You're welcome, but no thanks are necessary. We helped each other, so I can thank you, too. Now it’s time to get on with new things. How are you getting back to the Octavia?" Jenna cleared her throat. “Actually, I’m not. I’ve been assigned to the Aubria, so I’ll be transferring along with Commander Mykela when he leaves.” "Great,” he said enthusiastically. “We can use someone like you.” “It’ll be strange serving with people I didn’t grow up knowing, but I’m looking forward to telling you all the stories about Uncle Xavier. And you’ll have time to tell me all about how you got here from Timora.” Skylar laughed. A few minutes later, Skylar contacted the Charys for landing instructions and they were soon carefully guiding their ships into the landing bay. Jenna climbed out of her borrowed ship and waited while Skylar pulled his pack from the rear seat and jump down to the hangar floor. She easily spotted the Aubria's shuttle, its bright orange markings standing out among the blue stripes of the Charys' ships. A Cavalier standing nearby waved both arms in the air and shouted. "Hey, Skylar!" his voice carried across the hangar. "Come on, we're leaving!" Skylar waved to show he’d heard and hefted his pack onto his shoulder, then looked over at Jenna. “Ready to go?” She nodded. They turned as one and hurried over to the shuttle. Nearly as soon as they had the door latched, Halley threw the shuttle into motion. Jenna felt the gentle acceleration press her into her seat. Anticipation for being on duty lifted her heart. She had missed being in space so much during her enforced exile on “Sol Three”, as Commander Tyson put it, that it had been painful. No matter what came her way, Jenna knew it was going to be a wonderful day. She had a new assignment, and it wasn’t on Earth.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Thirty-one

Glen followed Jenna down the corridor. He was at once relieved and filled with regret the time had come for him to return home. The last two days had been an experience he would never forget—although being shot at by seven-foot lizards with laser guns was probably something he’d want to forget, eventually. Jenna opened a door and led him into another of the dormitory-style sleeping rooms the Cavaliers used. Apparently, they didn’t mind the lack of privacy. His army days had not included privacy, but the barracks had also not included mixed genders. He shrugged, guessing it came down to whatever customs one was used to. The room was unoccupied with the exception of Skylar, sleeping on a middle bunk. Jenna silently crossed the room and lifted a pillow, hurling it at Skylar with extreme precision. It hit Skylar's back and bounced off. Immediately waking, he rolled over and grabbed, but the pillow already lay on the floor. Jenna giggled. "Wake up, sleepyhead. You've already missed breakfast. Are you going to skip lunch as well?" Skylar slid from the bunk and picked the pillow up from the floor, throwing it back at her. She caught it with the ease of one who's been in many pillow fights. Skylar stepped to the chair where he’d left his uniform tunic and quickly shrugged into it, then began pulling on his boots, wincing at the strain on his recently repaired arm as he did so. "How's your arm, can you fly?" Jenna wanted to know. "Fine." "Liar." She shook her head at him in mock despair. He grinned. "Stiff and sore, but it'll be fine and I’ve been cleared to fly.” “Good, because we’ve been ordered to take Glen home. You’d better grab a ration bar because Tyson wants us back before noon; the Charys is already behind schedule. I’ll go hurry the crews prepping our ships. See you in the hangar.” Jenna bounced out of the room. Skylar shook his head as he finished donning his boots. “Is she always this cheerful in the morning?” “She’s always been cheerful in the mornings, but I’ve never seen her this happy.” Glen replied, shaking his head. “Must be from being back where she belongs,” Skylar observed dryly as the men moved toward the door. Glen made use of some of his new-found knowledge and smugly slapped the button to open it. Skylar followed him out of the door with a low chuckle. “I see you’re taking all this pretty well.” Glen looked around. Jenna was nowhere in sight. Skylar started off down the hall, walking easily, but with a long stride which ate up the distance rapidly. Glen followed close behind. “It’s all amazing. A whole universe I never knew existed. I’ve always wondered if there were people out among the stars, and now I know there are.” They entered the hangar together, Skylar answering Glen’s questions. Not far from them, Jenna waited between two Wyverns. Glen ran his eyes over the ships, inspecting them from a pilot’s viewpoint. “Those two are bigger than the rest of them, aren’t they Skylar?” “Yes, they are,” Skylar’s grin was broad. “The two-man design is new and I can’t wait to try it out.” Jenna had climbed the stairs to her fighter as the men approached. "Ready to go home, Uncle Glen?" Glen’s breath came a little more quickly with excitement. "Not really, I'd love to stay longer, but I am definitely ready to fly in one of those." He pointed to the new Wyvern. Skylar laughed and clapped Glen on the shoulder, then climbed up the stairs to his own ship, motioning for Glen to follow him. The ground crew chief handed Skylar and Glen helmets, then leaned over the craft, helping Glen settle into the rear seat and fasten his straps. He snapped three different wire connections to Glen’s helmet. “And don’t touch any of the controls!” he admonished Glen with a severe look on his face. “Don’t worry about it,” Glen said, “I’ll behave myself.” The crewman turned to Skylar, snapping the wires to his helmet. “You behave yourself too, and bring my ship back in one piece.” Skylar grinned and saluted. “Yes, Sir! I plan on it.” The crewman grunted and pulled the canopy closed latching it down from the outside. Glen was seized by a momentary panic, wondering how they would open the thing when they wanted to get back out. He took a deep breath, forcefully telling himself there had to be way to open it from inside. He turned his attention to the cockpit, to see if he could figure out how any of it worked. The control stick that snaked from the floor between his knees gave him a comfortable sense of familiarity. He supposed there were only so many ways for human beings to comfortably control flying machines. The similarity amid so many foreign things warmed his heart and gave him hope for the future. Humankind would grow up and eventually take their place among the stars as a member of the Fellowship; but they could do so without losing what it meant to be human. “Skylar?” “Yes?” Skylar’s voice sounded in his ears. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance I could…fly it for a few minutes?” Skylar’s laughter sounded through his helmet. “It’s good for you I’m a Wyvern instructor. Let me get us launched, and I’ll give you the controls for a while.” Glen listened idly to the radio traffic between Skylar, Jenna, and a disembodied voice he supposed was coming from some controller someplace. Shortly, they had permission to launch. “Breathe in and hang on,” Skylar said, just before a giant’s hand took a firm grip on Glen’s ribcage and forced all the air from his lungs. "Launch is right! I feel like a missile," Glen said as soon as he got his breath back. Jenna’s laughter echoed in Glen’s ears. Skylar said softly, "Glen, look up." Glen looked up…and up, feeling as though he was falling into the depths of the stars spread before him. He breathed in sharply. "It’s beautiful. The stars go on forever. They look so peaceful!" They flew side by side for a short time, then Jenna backed off a bit as Skylar allowed Glen to take the controls. Closer to Earth, Skylar retrieved the controls and they soon landed near their camp. It was virtually undisturbed, although the tents had collapsed. No doubt the stakes and lines had loosened when the Klodfon base exploded. Skylar and Jenna helped Glen strike camp, placing his equipment into the jeep, while they secured their gear in the back seat of one of the Wyverns. When everything was ready, Jenna hugged Glen goodbye, clinging tightly for a long moment. “Thank you,” she whispered, “for everything you’ve done for me.” "Take care of yourself," Glen growled in a gruff voice. Jenna nodded. "You, too. I'll miss you both, terribly..." her voice choked off and she let go, turned and ran to her Wyvern, dashing the tears from her eyes as she inspected it for take-off. Skylar shook hands with Glen. "It has been a pleasure knowing you, Sir. Thank you for all you have done...for Jenna, for me, and for your planet." Glen cleared his throat. "It's been quite an adventure knowing you, Skylar. It’s one I’ll remember always. Thank you—and your people—for all they are doing for Earth; risking their lives to keep us safe. The same goes for you as for Jenna. If you're ever in the neighborhood, you're more than welcome in our home, and I mean that sincerely." "Thank you. If I get the chance, I'll do that." With a final smile at Glen, Skylar turned and walked to his own ship, gave it a quick inspection, and climbed in.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Thirty

Skylar woke suddenly as the shuttle gently touched down on the deck of the Charys. He released his harness buckles and turned toward the back of the shuttle waiting while the other Cavaliers exited. He turned Lokin over to the black-clad security team, re-stating his advice to place him in solitary confinement and keep him under heavy guard.

He turned and left the area, frowning at what was coming next. Why did Tyson dislike him so intensely?

Walking as quickly as he could manage, Skylar headed for Tyson’s office to make his report. He could feel blood once more dribbling slowly down his arm; apparently the bandage had become saturated. It was a lot of blood. Maybe too much. He touched the fingers of his left hand. They were icy and refused now to move under their own power. His trip to the infirmary would have to wait a little longer—he didn’t want Commander Tyson finding excuses to bring him up on charges.

Commander Tyson’s door opened at his approach. As he stepped into the office, he thought his vision had been affected by his wound and the loss of blood. There were two Commanders sitting near the desk.

They both looked up at his entrance, then he realized the second Commander was his father. Skylar smiled at Mykela, then addressed himself to Commander Tyson, standing nearly at attention, his hands held loosely at his sides, praying the blood flow would not accelerate.

"Sir, the assault team is back. We lost two people on the surface, Lieutenant Josh, and Ensign Waimena; Ensign Gradan died on the journey home. We succeeded in destroying the base. We rescued five Cavaliers and took one prisoner, a man named Lokin, who will be wanted by the Council as soon as they know he’s escaped again. We can add attempted murder to his crimes. He's on his way to your prison block under heavy guard."

Skylar felt the trickling blood reach his knuckles, then drip to the white carpeting. He knew it would be difficult to clean, but he had been ordered to come and make his report immediately after his return. He certainly couldn’t be faulted for following his orders exactly, could he?

Skylar waited while Tyson accepted the information given and made a note on the computer in front of him. When nothing more seemed forthcoming, Skylar continued. "With your permission, Sir, I need to go to the Infirmary. It has been a very long day."

Commander Tyson nodded, "Permission granted, Captain."

Skylar turned to leave the room.

Commander Mykela spoke. "Wait a moment, Skylar. I'll walk with you."

"Thank you, Commander. I'll wait outside."

Moments later, Mykela left Commander Tyson's office and fell in step with Skylar.

"Where's the Aubria?"

"Not far; in the capable hands of Colonel Harlan.” Deep concern marked his voice. “What happened to your arm?"

Skylar shrugged. "A fight with Lokin. I'll be all right as soon as I get it patched up. What brings you to the Charys?"

Mykela sent Skylar a sharp glance. "I expect you’ll put the full details of your skirmish in your report?”

Skylar nodded. “You know Harlan will have my skin if I don’t.”

Mykela nodded. “I’ll read it later, then. As to why I’m here, the council asked me to see if I could help Commander Tyson run things a little more smoothly." His smile was wry. "He wasn't quite ready to take command when his grandfather died and left it to him."

"That might be very helpful," Skylar murmured, "if he's bright enough to accept your advice. His people are trying to transfer out before the mutiny comes"

"Actually, Commander Tyson recognized the danger and asked for the help. I think he’ll do fine. I’ll be returning to the Aubria in a day or so; you're welcome to ride back with us if you’ve completed your assignment."

Skylar nodded. "All I need to do is file my report and I can do that from anywhere." He paused as they reached the Infirmary door. "You know, Father, Lokin had plenty of time to get clear of the base before we blew it; he was only caught because he stopped to kill me."

Mykela nodded. "Revenge is seldom worth the cost in time or the effort spent, and generally never worth the consequences." Noting the tired lines around his son's eyes, he rested his hand on Skylar's shoulder "I'll see you tomorrow when you're feeling better."

Skylar nodded, then slipped into the Infirmary.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-nine

Skylar, left arm held close against his side, moved quietly with the others toward the hangar, his pistol held ready in his right hand. Tension high, he prayed they would meet no opposition. Left-handed, his right-hand aim was shoddy at best and he doubted he’d be an asset in a fight.

He breathed a silent sigh of relief along with his unuttered thank-you-prayer as they reached their destination safely and he awkwardly holstered his pistol. Skylar watched as Grayson strapped Lokin's limp form into a make-shift harness and hauled him up the steep slope of the broken door. He put restraints around Lokin’s wrists before dragging him into the shuttle.

Skylar grasped the rope, wrapping it around his good arm, and started up the slanted door. He slipped a little, and reflexively grabbed for the rope with his left hand. The searing pain sent shafts into his innards and brain, his left arm falling uselessly at his side. A wave of dizziness drove him to his knees. He kept hold of the rope with his right hand, and fought for control of his body.

Kiernan appeared at his shoulder holding the harness they’d used for Lokin. “Your turn, Captain,” he said, hefting the harness.

Skylar nodded and allowed Kiernan to fasten it around him. As they reached ground level, he gingerly walked over to the shuttle under his own power, swaying only slightly.

Inside the shuttle, he eased himself into the pilot’s seat. Blood was beginning to seep through the hastily applied bandage and his fingers felt cold. Skylar wondered how much blood he had lost—and how much was left.

Looking out the shuttle's window as he waited for the others to join him, he watched the sunrise. It was beautiful, the sky blossoming with various shades of pink and orange. Several flat clouds nearest the horizon flashed brilliant silver as the sun’s first rays hit them.

'Thursday morning,' Skylar thought. ‘Hannah isn't expecting us until Saturday, so she won’t be worried yet. There’s still time to get Glen back before he's missed, if the commander allows us to do it.'

Skylar shook his head as the shuttle filled with Cavaliers, jubilant with their accomplishments of the night. He listened to the reports from each team leader. There had been only two deaths and very few serious injuries. The mission had gone better than they had hoped.

A crackle came over his headset followed by Jenna's voice. "Shuttle Two to Ground Team One."

"Go ahead, Shuttle Two." Skylar answered.

Her voice continued, "Our charges are set and we're ready to go. We’ve rescued five prisoners, including Rantek. He's been badly burned, but I think he'll be all right."

"Good job," Skylar answered Jenna. "Launch when ready. We'll follow."

He looked around, addressing those in his own shuttle. "Where's our pilot?"

Lissanne replied, the tiniest catch in her voice. "He didn’t make it." She hesitated a moment, then continued. "I'll fly it if you don't want to."

Skylar moved out of the pilot's seat and held up his arm with a grimace. "Please do, Lissanne. I can't fly anything right now."

She nodded, her eyes taking in his injury. She took her place, started flipping switches and pressing buttons to activate the shuttle's systems, and announced to the empty air, "Strap in, we're launching in about 20 seconds."

The flurry of movement behind her proved the Cavaliers took her twenty second warning seriously. Skylar took the co-pilot's seat and fumbled with his harness. The fingers of his left hand didn’t want to work and he found he couldn't fasten the buckles with one hand. He braced himself for the take-off.

Lissanne unstrapped, stepped to his side and snapped his buckles shut.

"You can't afford any more injuries, Captain, and I don't want to get stuck filling out the paper work," she said quietly, moving back into her own seat.

Skylar smiled, “Thanks for the concern.”

“Besides,” she muttered as she refastened her own harness, , “I know exactly what it’s like to slide all over the place when you’re not strapped down and have a madman at the controls.”

Skylar chuckled. “Not my fault. We didn’t have enough harnesses.”

“True,” Lissanne said, “I’ll have to grant you that, but I don’t hear you pleading innocence on the mad pilot charges.”

“There isn’t enough evidence in the entire universe to convict any pilot of sanity,” Skylar noted dryly.

Lissanne giggled as she nudged the engines to full power and the shuttle smoothly left the ground. They took off into the beautiful golden sunrise and Skylar realized he'd been awake since before dawn yesterday. He checked the chronometer set in the instrument panel. They should arrive on the Charys just as the night cycle began, giving him plenty of time to catch up on his sleep, following his stop by the Infirmary for care to his arm.

After he reported in to Commander Tyson, of course, he cynically reminded himself. He chuckled aloud.

"What's so funny?" Lissanne asked.

"I'm just thinking of the pretty picture I'm going to make reporting to Commander Tyson with my tattered uniform, one sleeve flapping, covered in dirt and dripping blood all over his nice white carpet."

"He did say "immediately", though, didn't he?" She shook her head, grinning widely. "Oh, Captain, I wish I could be with you when you give your report. The look on his face would be worth at least a month’s wages."

“If he wants formality and protocol, I’ll give it to him, by the book, all over his carpet.”

Skylar turned his attention back to the screens in front of him. Halfway out of the atmosphere, he activated the radio detonators and they were rewarded with a clear view of the explosion in the desert below.

Now that the Cavaliers were gone from the planet's surface and there was no more evidence of the Klodfon base, it was of little concern whether or not the locals came to investigate the explosions during the night. Skylar drew a deep breath of relief.

He radioed ahead to have a security team waiting for Lokin, giving enough details to advise them of the seriousness and importance of the prisoner in their keeping. That duty completed, he relaxed back in his seat, content to watch the control panels and Lissanne's competent handling of the shuttle, his eyes growing heavy as his adrenaline levels dropped.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-eight

Aiming by the helmet lights, the Cavaliers made quick work of the Klodfons in the control room. An eerie silence descended upon the darkened room.

Skylar hoped the darkness was because of the destruction of the power supply by the other team. They holstered their laser pistols, activated their glowsticks and began setting the explosive charges which would be detonated later from the shuttle.

A slight scraping noise behind Skylar startled him, triggering an instinctive reaction to feint to the side and duck his head. He turned, reaching for his laser, as a solid weight hit him in the side.

Skylar’s glowstick dropped to the floor, but not before he glimpsed a silver flash near his throat. A knife? Part of a broken control? The impact threw him off-balance and he allowed the other’s weight to carry him to the floor, using the momentum to roll on top of his assailant. It was human, shorter and heavier than himself but the glowstick was too far away to shed sufficient light on the face of the person thrashing beneath him.

A knife, barely visible in the dim gleam of the glowstick, again flashed near Skylar's face and he threw up his left arm to protect himself. The sharp blade cut deeply and Skylar felt the blood flow freely down his arm, but now he knew which of his opponent's hands wielded the knife. He pinned the man's wrist down with his injured left hand, hoping he could stay out of the way of the knife long enough to subdue his attacker.

As Skylar fought, part of his brain was busy trying to figure out who was trying to kill him. Could it be a Cavalier from his team? Skylar hated even the thought of that possibility and continued the fracas in silence, unwilling to bring any other possibly traitorous teammate into the fray.

Loath to release his fragile hold on the writhing wrist of the knife-wielding arm, Skylar groped with his right hand for the laser on his left leg. He found he could not draw it entirely free of his holster and maintain his meager hold. The pistol slipped from his fingertips and the laser clattered to the floor.

Hearing the noise, the man scrabbled toward the sound to retrieve Skylar's pistol for himself, and, with a sudden lunge, managed to break partially free of Skylar's weakening grip.

In desperation, Skylar kicked out and connected with the laser, propelling it across the floor and out of reach.

The motion of kicking the laser out of reach put Skylar off-balance for a small moment, but it was enough time for his assailant to press his advantage and break completely free of Skylar's grasp. He rose to his knees, breathing heavily with the effort of fighting. Skylar rolled over before coming to his own knees, turning to meet the next rush.

Suddenly the lights flickered on, then off, then came on at less than half power, bathing the room in an eerie reddish glow.

With a semblance of vision restored, twin beams of light came from two pistols, meeting as they connected with the man. He fell to the floor, stunned or dead, Skylar could not tell which. Skylar looked about, noting all his team members were still standing, which relieved his mind as he realized his assailant had not been a Cavalier.

"Were your pistols set for stun?" He panted as he sank back onto the floor, light-headed with loss of blood and the effort of fighting. Both Cavaliers affirmed the man was not dead.

Kiernan came to Skylar's side, returning his laser to him. He picked up the knife which had dropped to the ground during the fight and cut Skylar's uniform sleeve to expose the wound on his arm. He made a small sound in his throat as he opened his aidkit and began bandaging the bloody wound.

"Should have brought a full aidkit," Kiernan muttered under his breath.

Skylar grimaced, his lips tightly compressed in an effort to control his pain. "You weren't expecting anything other than laser wounds. Don't worry about it. At least you brought a bandage." His smile was grim as Kiernan worked on.

"The charges are all set, Captain," Pasha's voice called out through the semi-darkness.

"Good," Skylar acknowledged, "then we're about ready to go."

Kiernan finished and put away the aidkit, remarking, "It was a pretty clean cut, but it’s deep; the knife was very sharp."

"You did great. Thanks." Skylar rose to his feet shakily and took a moment to steady himself. He stepped through what looked like an awful lot of blood to the side of the man still lying where he'd fallen.

Carefully Skylar rolled him over and knelt near enough to see his face clearly, the other Cavaliers close beside him.

Skylar drew in his breath sharply at the flabby face revealed in the dim light. "Lokin."

"He'll be unconscious for quite awhile," Grayson said. "You don't recover from two stun bolts in just a few moments. I take it you know him?"

Skylar nodded. "He works for the Klodfon Empire. He’s supposed to be locked in a Fellowship prison for life." He rose to his feet adding, “We have quite a history…he keeps escaping and I seem to be the one who catches him more often than not.”

"We can add attempted murder to his list," Kiernan put in. "We ought to just kill him now and be done with him."

"No," Skylar countered, looking up at his Cavaliers. "Our duty is to bring him in for trial…again. If we kill him, we'd be no better than he is."

Choosing the largest of their group, Skylar continued, "Grayson, think you can get him to the hangar? Then we'll have help to get him into the shuttle."

Grayson nodded. Kiernan stepped forward to help pick Lokin up, situating the limp form across Grayson’s shoulders.

They left the control room and headed back the way they'd come, looking for any sign of Klodfons along the way.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-seven

Skylar took a seat near the front of the shuttle, strapped in, and settled back. The Cavalier at the controls handled the shuttle with precision and the liftoff was smooth.

It took nearly an hour to reach their desired orbital position above the planet. From this high perch, they waited until the moment was right, to begin their descent toward the base.

Skylar knew the Wyverns' pilots were waiting tensely above, virtually holding their collective breaths. Staring at their scanners, fervently hoping they wouldn't be needed, they would remain on high alert until the shuttles returned to space.

The common mood in the shuttles was edgy, somewhat in anticipation of the mission to come and to some extent nervousness at having left their defenses behind. Skylar could see it in their faces, could sense it in their silence. Every person aboard knew they would be helpless for several minutes should the Klodfons attack them now. Even so, each would choose to be in the assault team rather than sitting vigil in the Wyverns high above.

The descent was flown in tight formation, nearly straight down so as to confuse the local radar systems into thinking they were natural meteorites. The last thing they needed at this point was to have the local military checking out their avridime bombs and laser weapons.

In a very short time, they were close enough to the surface to level out. The first shuttle landed near the door Skylar and Jenna had uncovered. Jenna was leading that team; their mission was to free any other prisoners and to lay out some of the charges needed for the destruction of the base.

Her team was small—five Cavaliers—the shuttle nearly empty, so there would be plenty of room for anyone they picked up along the way.

Conversely, Skylar's shuttle was filled to capacity with five teams of four Cavaliers, each team with their own objective. Once they'd broken into the hangar, one group would hold that area secure, while attaching avridime to Klodfon ships in order to prevent pursuit.

A second team would find and destroy the main computer room, while a third went after the back-up computers. Lissanne’s team was to disable the base’s power generators and lay explosives for their eventual destruction.

Skylar looked at the members of his team. Pasha was a short girl and somewhat chubby, but still looked capable of taking care of herself. Kiernan was compactly built and appeared strong. Grayson was the tallest of the three, close to Skylar's own height and build.

Their assignment was to destroy the control center. The one pack of avridime they carried would be sufficient—the hardest part would be getting in and out of the control room. They each carried a fully charged pistol in addition to the one in their holsters. They also carried two glowsticks each, in anticipation of Lissanne’s success.

Skylar could see a mini aidkit strapped to Kiernan’s belt and hoped it would not become necessary to use it.

The shuttle pilot landed near the large hangar doors. The Cavaliers exited the shuttle, collecting their packs of explosives as they went. Skylar supervised the placement of four spherical avridime bombs at the corners of the doors. Each was the size of a small melon, and quite capable of completely obliterating their shuttle. Skylar noted with approval the respect and professional manner used by the Cavaliers as they placed the explosives.

Making sure everyone was under cover, he gave the signal for the bombs to be detonated. The explosion brilliantly lit the night sky, and the sound echoed off the distant mountains with a sharp crack. The shuttle rocked with the blast. Hopefully they'd be gone before anyone could reach the remote desert area to investigate the light and noise.

When the dust had cleared somewhat, they could see that one of the hangar doors had fallen completely to the floor, helpfully crushing everything beneath it. The other door hung at a precarious angle, its slick surface making a perfect slide for the Cavaliers to make a precipitous but safe descent to the hangar floor.

The crew which was to remain in the hangar began to string long pieces of thin rope down the slanted door to aid in climbing back out. The rest of the Cavaliers slid down the door, split into their teams and began moving rapidly toward their objectives.

Skylar picked himself up off the hangar floor and threaded his arms through the straps of the avridime-filled pack, settling it comfortably into place while his team assembled around him. They followed his lead toward the door by which he’d entered the hangar on his previous visit, another team coming close behind. The door had been repaired, showing no sign of the damage they’d inflicted a few hours before. The Klodfons had always been efficient mechanics.

He looked toward the control panel Rantek had shattered. It had also been completely repaired and there was no sign of Rantek's body. There was a Klodfon draped across the panel where he'd fallen a moment before, the fight already beginning.

Before they reached the door, it slid open. Cavaliers dived to either side for cover and came up firing at the Klodfons now pouring into the area. Skylar took cover behind a large, unmarked cylinder as he fired at the enemy.

Soon there was a pile of armor-plated bodies in front of the doorway, slowing the Klodfons' entrance into the hangar, further aiding the Cavaliers in exterminating them.

Someone yelled to Skylar to get away from the tank and he immediately moved to find other cover, not pausing to find out why. A blast behind him threw him to the floor. As he regained his feet, he looked at the furious flames now engulfing the tank he'd been crouching behind. Acrid fumes filled the hangar, proclaiming to all noses that cinadium was on fire. Skylar sent a mental thanks to whoever had yelled, saving his life.

His laser ran out of energy, and he tossed it aside; the Cavaliers remaining in the hanger would retrieve it once the area was secure. He drew his second pistol from his holster and resumed the battle. Finally the Klodfons ceased climbing over the pile of dead bodies and the firing stopped in their area of the hangar.

The Cavaliers moved cautiously into the corridor, fearing an ambush, but met no resistance. The two teams who'd come through this doorway split up.

Skylar spoke quietly to his group. "Rantek said the control room wasn't very far from this hangar entrance." Gesturing to a nearby cross-hallway, he continued. "Pasha, Kiernan, take that hall; Grayson come with me."

He walked quickly down the hall in search of a door. After several minutes, he heard a shout from behind.

"Skylar!" Kiernan called, "We've found it!"

Skylar and Grayson turned and hurried back the way they'd come, skidding slightly on the polished floor as they rounded the corner. They followed Kiernan to a door made of transparent material. Pasha was re-wiring the door to open it.

The Klodfons inside did not seem to notice the activity going on outside the door. Each mindlessly continued to perform whatever task it had been assigned.

Most of the Klodfons inside seemed to be armed only with short ceremonial daggers. Skylar could see no laser weapons. This would be a short battle.

"Don’t worry about the wiring; we’ll just blast the door down," Skylar said. Pasha stopped her work and watched as he removed the pack from his back and opened it, taking out a fist-sized avridime explosive with a sticky substance on the back. Skylar exposed the adhesive and stuck it to the door, then activated the timer. Everyone backed out of the way.

The charge went off, destroying the doorway and part of the wall as well. As they stepped through the hole into the control room, they were already firing at the nearest of the Klodfons. Without any warning, the lights blinked out plunging them all into thick, inky darkness, lit only by the orange lights on the Klodfons’ helmets and the network of rainbow hued laser weapons.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-six

Deep in conversation with Ensign Hekekia, Skylar was surprised the summons to see the Commander had come so promptly. Extracting a favor from Hekekia to look after Glen for him, he collected Jenna from the other end of the room and they headed for the Commander's office. The planning session was short and intensive. The tactics were quickly laid in place for the total destruction of the Klodfon base below them on Earth. The Cavaliers involved in the assault were gathered and briefed. Skylar was placed in command of the expedition only because the message from Terradia had ordered it. He guessed from the increased animosity in Tyson's manner, the assignment was not his choice. Skylar wondered what offenses he’d committed to gain this much ill will when he didn’t remember ever meeting this commander. He promised himself he’d pursue the matter when he returned from this assignment, though, and let the feeling go for now. He made sure to observe all the niceties, including the final salute before leaving the commander’s presence. He didn’t want anyone pointing fingers at him again regarding a lack of proper protocol.
* * * * *Freshly showered and in a clean, borrowed uniform, Skylar stood near the shuttle, mini-computer in hand. Several hangar crew members bustled around, fueling and inspecting the shuttle to make sure it was ready to go. Nearly everything was set. As he glanced around the hangar area, he noticed Glen striding across the deck, solemn purpose displayed in every step. Ensign Hekekia trailed in his wake, protesting, "You can't bother him now, he's busy!" Skylar knew Glen intended to insist on going, probably using the same argument he’d used on Earth…that it was his planet and therefore his responsibility to help defend it against all alien intruders. He bit his inner cheek to keep from smiling. He’d have done much the same were the tables reversed. He couldn’t let Glen go back into the Klodfon base, even had he wanted to. It was not only for his own safety, although that was a large share of it, but because his orders expressly forbid it—which might just give him some leverage for the coming argument. A hangar crewman came up to the shuttle, pushing a cart with several boxes on it. "Where do you want this avridime, Captain?" "Just put it in the shuttle, the teams will divide it later. We'll be carrying it in our packs." The crewman unloaded the boxes from his cart and took them into the shuttle as Glen and Hekekia arrived. "Skylar, I tried to keep him in the Rec Hall, but he insisted on finding you and I couldn't stop him,” Hekekia explained, breathless. “It’s all right, he can be pretty stubborn when the mood takes him,” Skylar answered. "What's avridime?" Glen asked. "A high-powered explosive." Skylar kept his answer short and focused most of his attention on the computer he held, checking the avridime off his list. “We’re getting ready for a mission, and I don’t have time right now to argue with you. I’ll join you when I return.” "You're going down to wipe out that base, aren't you?" His voice was accusing. "Yes.” Skylar looked up, meeting Glen’s gaze. “And no, you're not coming. Commander Tyson’s orders are for you to wait on the Charys until we get back. You used to be in the military, so I’m sure you understand the importance of obeying orders. Hekekia will look after you while we're gone." There was a finality in his voice and look that could not be mistaken nor argued with. A long moment passed, then Glen snorted in disgust. “I don't need a baby sitter!" Skylar took a deep breath. "He’s not so much a baby sitter as a tour guide, Glen. He knows his way around. He'll answer any questions you have and keep you from being picked up by security. Think about it; when will you get another opportunity to be on a Dragonstar? Check it out. Don't give Hekekia any trouble. Please.” Glen quietly, answered, “I'd like to be with you on this one. I was in on the beginning and I want to see it through. And it is, after all, my home…my planet." Skylar shook his head. "I know. It just isn't possible, Glen. I'm sorry." He paused, then continued. “I don’t have any latitude in the orders I was given for this mission.” Glen nodded, his lips in a tight line. "All right." Skylar placed his hand on Glen's shoulder, a smile of thanks curving his lips. "We won't be long." Glen looked at Ensign Hekekia with mock severity. "Where do you hide your food, man? I'm starving." "Right this way." Hekekia grinned and was quick to remove Glen from the hangar deck. Skylar watched them go with relief and ducked inside the shuttle to make sure each team would have the avridime they needed. Within a short time, the teams had assembled, and they were ready to launch.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-five

The battle was short, and it wasn’t long before Skylar landed his borrowed Wyvern, taxiing it neatly out of the way of the ship behind him. Lissanne was waiting for him as he climbed out of the ship. She bounced from one foot to the other, a worried frown on her face.

"Commander wants to see us both. Immediately."

He looked at her tightly drawn lips, the controlled manner of her stance, the shuttered expression in her eyes. She didn't seem to want to talk. So be it. He wouldn’t force her to.

He followed her out of the landing bay and down a corridor to the elevator. She punched the button for the correct level and the doors slid shut, the lift quickly taking them to their fate.

As they arrived outside the Commander's quarters, Skylar smoothed his rumpled shirt tucking it in better where the exertions of the day had loosened it.

Lissanne did the same to her uniform jacket and tunic, tucking her hair behind her ears, then took a deep breath before turning back to the door.

If she was this nervous about being called to the Commander’s office, he wondered how strict on protocol her commander was. Lissanne reached out and pressed the door chime to signal their presence and the door slid open.

Skylar smiled and gestured for Lissanne to precede him into the room. She gave him a sarcastic smile as she complied.

The Commander sat behind his desk, his deep blue uniform crisp and neat. Skylar was surprised at his young age; he looked no older than many of the Cavaliers on board.

He was pretending to read some kind of printout as they walked in and did not acknowledge their presence. Skylar recognized the intimidation tactic immediately. He'd used it often enough on cadets. As he had not been invited to sit down, he remained standing, consciously using a relaxed, casual posture, instead of looking nervous and jumpy the way the cadets usually did.

He took the opportunity to examine the room. The Commander's office was strictly standard issue, decorated in the usual blue and silver, but without a single personal item visible. Jenna and Glen sat on a couch near the door.

Jenna was smiling broadly, her joy at once again being on a Dragonstar so great she could not conceal it. She was back in uniform—apparently obtained while she was being treated in the infirmary—and no longer appeared frail; indeed, she looked every inch the Cavalier.

Glen’s face wore a mixture of amazement and worry. Skylar gave a small smile, imagining the type of thoughts which must be chasing themselves around in his head.

"Something amuses you, Captain?" the Commander asked.

Skylar returned his attention to the man behind the desk. "Just the look on Glen's face, Sir. With your permission, I'd like to borrow a shuttle to return him to his home."

"I was quite disappointed that you didn't come to see me right away," the Commander said, his light blue eyes coldly stabbing a glare at Skylar. "Could it be Timorans don't practice common courtesy, or do they simply not understand proper protocol?"

Skylar couldn’t believe someone this rude and petty had been allowed command of a ship where he would have to coordinate the personalities of several hundred people. The insult stung, though he probably deserved some rebuke. He carefully reined in his temper and deliberately kept his face and body under rigid control, not allowing his facial expression or casual posture to change in the slightest degree.

"Timorans generally follow both protocol and courtesy, Commander. Normally I would have enjoyed meeting you and observing all the social niceties, Sir, but I was responding to the red-alert. I felt it was my duty to help fight the Klodfon ships that followed me here."

The commander gave a brief, frozen smile, his eyes like chips of ice. "Next time, it might behoove you to see me first, regardless of what is going on around you. We have well-trained Cavaliers perfectly capable of fending off a few Klodfon ships."

Skylar's temper flared, but his training stood him in good stead. He kept his voice calm. "Yes, Sir. Next time, I'll come disturb you on the bridge in the middle of a battle so you can see I understand how to conduct myself and perform all the finer points of social niceties."

The commander seemed to relax a little. “I'm Commander Tyson. Welcome to the Charys, Captain Skylar.”

"Lt. Jenna and her friend have told me a great deal about a Klodfon base on Sol Three."

Skylar answered. "There's a base there. It's a full-sized garrison, but not fully staffed. Much of the base is not in use." Not wanting to earn another lecture, he kept his voice low, polite, and formal.

"Lt. Jenna indicated as much. I've reported her observations to representatives of the Council on Terradia and requested instructions." He once again looked at the printout on the desk in front of him. Skylar wondered anew at his choice of actions...they were directly out of the textbook, every last one of them. Was this boy so green at command that he was substituting formality and protocol for the experience he didn’t have? He continued to watch him closely.

The young commander looked up, his gaze still cold. "You're welcome to enjoy the hospitality of the Charys until I receive my orders concerning you from the Council." His gaze was sharp as he looked at Skylar. "You may not borrow any craft for any function, no matter how reasonable the purpose may seem to you. I hope I make myself clear, Captain."

Skylar put his hands behind his back as much to appear calm as to control his desire to wrap them around the Commander's throat. "Yes, Sir. Perfectly clear, Sir. May I inquire as to your plans for returning this civilian to his home?"

"No, you may not. That will be decided later. In the meantime, as you brought him aboard, he's your responsibility. See that he stays out of trouble."

Skylar gave a tight nod "Yes, Sir."

Commander Tyson returned to his computer printout and, waved his hand to generally include all in the room. "Dismissed."

Skylar spun on his heel and, beckoning to Glen to follow, stalked out of the room. He wished the door was not the automatic sliding type; it would have felt good to slam it loudly behind him.

Glen moved quickly and followed Skylar into the hallway, Jenna and Lissanne close behind. Skylar was halfway down the corridor to the elevator before the three gained the hall.

"Skylar," Jenna called, "wait up!"

He paused at the controls and punched the button to summon the elevator. The door opened immediately, but Skylar held it until the other three had joined him. They stepped in and the door closed behind them.

"Officer's mess,” he said. "What level?"

"Gamma deck,” Lissanne answered, “but you can't take Glen there, he's a civilian. How about the Rec Hall? It's on Beta."

"Fine." Skylar punched the correct button and the elevator was on its way. Turning to Lissanne, he asked, "Is he always that arrogant, or was that little show just for my benefit?"

Lissanne colored in embarrassment. "No one much likes his arrogance, but he hasn’t always been that way. He was given command just two years ago. I'd never actually served with him before, but I knew him at the Academy. He was pretty formal even then, but nice.

“His grandfather died suddenly and Tyson was called from the academy to take command. I think choosing Tyson for commander is the only bad judgment call the old man ever made."

“You have inherited command?” Glen asked.

“Not usually,” Jenna answered, “but it is Terradian custom that a retiring Commander chooses his replacement.”

"It's a wonder you haven't mutinied yet." Skylar's voice softened as knowledge and reason replaced his anger.

Lissanne’s eyes flashed. "'Yet' being the operative word. Several of us have put in for transfers. I just hope mine comes through before the actual mutiny does."

"You've asked for a transfer?" Skylar asked.

"Yes, to the Aubria. Ensign Hekekia has been telling us how wonderful Commander Mykela is and how he wishes he never left."

Skylar's voice was now filled with interest. "Hekekia's here? How's he doing? I'd like to talk with him. I wonder how well he’s dealing with your commander." He shook his head.

“Tyson’s not so bad,” Jenna chimed in, “I know the arrogance is new, but he’s always been too formal. We shared a first-contact mission to Kiral, once, and he really does very well once you get him to relax.”

Lissanne shook her head. “I can’t imagine him on a first-contact mission. And Kiral! That place is so military…actually, come to think about it, he’d probably fit in very well there.”

Glen spoke. “We had an officer of about the same stamp in our military. We figured out a way to slip into his quarters and not only short-sheet his bed, we put Novocain in his toothpaste and tipped anchovies into his underwear drawer. He looked funny talking for about three hours each morning for a few days. He smelled bad for about a week even though he’d take all his wash down to the laundry every day for that week. Took some of the starch out of him, though.”

Skylar laughed; the girls looked shocked. “Did he find out who had done it?” Jenna asked, eyes wide.

“Nope.” Glen grinned even bigger. “I’d forgotten that until now. Ah, the follies of a misspent youth!” A chuckle skittered between his teeth, answered by all as the elevator stopped at their level and they stepped out.

"I'll see if I can find Hekekia for you. Rec Hall’s right over there." Lissanne pointed down the hallway to the left.

Skylar, Glen and Jenna followed her instructions and Lissanne hurried off in the opposite direction in search of Ensign Hekekia.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-four

The Dragonstar Charys was on the far side of Earth’s moon, hiding from the local satellites. On the bridge, the young woman at the scanner console was quickly becoming confused. She looked at her screens, punched several buttons and again studied the screens before her. A small sound of frustration came from her as she tried once again. With a negative shake of her head, she turned toward the command area. "Colonel?" . "Yes, what is it?" He stepped to her post, standing behind her to look at the screens. "I'm reading a single craft of Klodfon make, but it's transmitting a distress beacon over the Wyvern channel." "Are you sure that ship is the one transmitting the beacon?" "I've checked it twice; see for yourself, Sir." She repeated the sequence of keystrokes, while the colonel watched. “Interesting,” he said. “Can we get an internal scan?” She shook her head. “Not at this distance, but I’m working on it.” He studied the control board a moment longer, coming to a decision. "Send out a patrol to check it out. I want to know who...or what...is in that ship." "Yes, Sir," she replied. As the young woman made arrangements for the patrol to be launched, the Colonel returned to the command post and put in a call to Commander Tyson’s quarters. Although the commander was off-duty, he had asked to be kept informed of what was going on.
* * * * *"Can't we make verbal contact with the Charys?" Skylar's voice was edged with frustration. He knew they all felt the same...he could hear it in their voices, could sense it in their ragged breathing. The atmosphere in the small Klodfon ship was charged with fear. Jenna shook her head. "We don't have the right frequency. The best we can do is keep transmitting the beacon on the Wyvern channel you already opened.” "Can we voice transmit on that channel?" Glen wanted to know. "No, only send the recorded distress signal." Her voice was flat and unemotional. Skylar let out a breath, trying to think of a way to keep from being blasted out of the sky by the Cavaliers he knew would be launching soon. Glen spoke again. "Is there any way we can change the recording? Could we tell them who we are, maybe kind of like an answering machine does or tap out a Morse code signal?" "Glen, you're brilliant!" Jenna yelped as she quickly turned off the radio, unstrapped her safety harness and crawled under the console. "What's an answering machine?" Skylar and Lissanne asked Glen nearly in unison. Jenna's muffled voice came from under the panel. "It's a...never mind, I'll explain later." Skylar reached over to Jenna's side of the craft and shifted a toggle switch. Looking intently at the numbers scrolling up the screen, one set began to flash. He moved the switch again and a picture flipped up onto the screen. It was the outline of a Dragonstar. Returning the switch to its original position, he noted the closing distance between the small star in the center of the screen and the large circle at the far edge. Two small squares appeared on the screen next to the large circle and moved toward the center star. "They've launched two Wyverns," Skylar announced tersely. "I'm hurrying," Jenna's voice drifted up from under the console. Moments later she crawled out from under it. "That should do it," she said and re-activated the radio. * * * * *"Captain Kiernan, something's wrong with my radio." Cadet Trello’s voice crackled in Kiernan’s ears. Kiernan punched a few buttons on his control panel and frowned at the results. "I’m showing the transmission is now running backwards. Is that what you get, Trello?" "Yes, but who would make the message run backwards? Not Klodfons, that's for sure." "Good point. Maybe someone is trying to tell us they aren’t Klodfons…." Pressing a button to transmit to the Charys, Captain Kiernan spoke. "Gold Leader to Base. Can you scan that ship for life forms?" The response was immediate. "We’ve been trying, but the ship is shielded." There was a pause. "Commander says try to get them to follow you in if you can't make radio contact." Kiernan acknowledged the order, turning his transmission to his wing mate before he spoke. "Hear that, Trello?" "Yes, Sir. I’ve tried but can't raise them on any frequency we've got; I can’t be sure they're even receiving us. What do we do now?" "I've got them in sight. Let's move into standard patrol formation, with them in the middle. If there's a Cavalier at the controls, he'll follow us." There was significant a pause before Trello responded. "And if it's Klodfons?" "The front ship will get blasted and you'll retaliate. Ready?" Kiernan’s voice was crisp and professional. Trello's voice held some uncertainty. "I guess so. I mean, yes, Sir." Kiernan was glad Trello couldn’t see his grim half-smile at the cadet’s hesitancy as they began to maneuver their ships. Kiernan thought momentarily of his own first encounter with a Klodfon ship, remembered his own misgivings. And he’d known that one had Klodfons in it. 'Well,' he thought, 'there's no time like the present for Trello’s new battle experience. At least there’s only one ship for his first fight.' Watching their controls, they moved closer to the Klodfon raider. * * * * *"There they are now," Skylar said quietly to Jenna. "Have you been able to receive anything from them?" "No." Her voice was steady, although the atmosphere in the little ship could have been cut and stacked in slabs by now. "Do you think they'll shoot us down?" Glen asked. "It's a possibility," Skylar said. "I hope they won't open fire as long as we don't shoot first. It depends on who they sent out after us. Some of us are jumpy and a lot more eager to fight than others." They sat tensely as the Wyverns flew past them. One ship came up on their right, far enough behind that Jenna said, "That's either a real loose formation, or he's going to shoot us." Skylar glanced up from the controls. "I think they'd have shot by now if they were going to. Just make sure you don't accidentally hit that firing stud." Jenna grinned and held her hands high, far from the purplish buttons. "Yes, Sir." Skylar returned the smile then involuntarily ducked as the second Wyvern passed close over his head and took up a lead position ahead and to his left. "Patrol formation!" Jenna crowed with delight. Lissanne, though silent, relaxed visibly. “I’d hate to be accidentally annihilated by the good guys,” said Glen. “Does this ‘patrol formation’ mean they won’t shoot?” “Probably,” Jenna answered, her eyes glued to the screens before her. The lead ship then began a turn that would take them to the Charys. Skylar followed, working hard to match the moves of the smaller, more maneuverable ship. Soon the Charys came into view. Glen gasped at the sheer size of it, the sound carrying to the front of the small craft above the noise of the engine. Skylar grinned. Even though he’d grown up knowing about dragonstars, he’d had the same reaction the first time he’d seen the Aubria. Now he was relieved to be alive to see one again. The lead Wyvern landed and Skylar came in, giving the other pilot just enough time to get out of his way. The moment the Klodfon ship stopped, it was surrounded by a security team, their weapons trained on the door of the raider. Skylar grinned at the familiar security precautions. Seeing them in action was comforting, somehow. Turning away from the control panel and gesturing toward the door, he said, “It’s your dragonstar, Lissanne. Lead on!” Opening the door, Lissanne exited the ship, her hands held in plain sight. She stopped at the bottom to make sure all knew she wasn’t a danger to them. She was met with perplexed looks on the part of the security guards and a moment of silence. Finally recognizing her, the squad leader smiled. "Lt. Lissanne! Welcome home!" He stepped forward at bit and lowered his laser, the rest of the team following suit. "Thanks," she said, smiled in return. The others from the Klodfon ship joined her just as the lights in the landing bay dimmed and turned red, accompanied by a loud noise. "Battle stations!" she groaned. "Looks like the Klodfons made it back with their buddies." Taking the security squad leader by the arm, she gave simultaneous introduction and explanation. "Glen's a local; he's okay, no security threat. Lt. Jenna's hurt. She needs to go to the infirmary. I'll leave them and this ship," she motioned behind her, "in your capable hands and I'll see you later. Captain Skylar is from the Aubria. We’re going to join the fight.” Beckoning to Skylar, she yelled to be heard over the noise of the alarm. "Let's go find a couple of spare Wyverns. Are you game?" Skylar nodded, and quickly followed her to the launching area.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-three

Jenna's voice was flat, devoid of all emotion. "He must have destroyed the panel so we could get out the doors before the Klodfons could close them."

"There's no way anyone could have survived that fireball,” Glen said, stunned. The man they had come into the base to save was dead—and had died to save him. Skylar had been right; as a civilian he was a liability to the others.

"Glen, take the third seat and strap in. Quick." Skylar spoke crisply. Lissanne stepped back inside the ship and slammed the control that would shut the door.

“But Rantek—” Glen began, unmoving in his place.

Skylar’s harsh voice cut across his protest. “Is dead. Now get in that seat and strap in before we’re dead, too.”

Glen moved, slowly, numbly.

“Move!” Skylar bellowed.

In shock, Glen scrambled to obey, while he shouted almost childishly at Skylar.

“You don’t even care! That man died—died to save us—and you sit here acting like nothing’s wrong and we’re going for a Sunday drive!”

Skylar ignored Glen and swiftly continued to prepare the ship for flight, his face impassive, his attention focused.

Glen tried to make sense of the array of straps that passed for an alien seat belt, his fingers fumbling. Lissanne stepped to his side and buckled the straps around him. She retreated to the corner Glen had been standing in, braced her feet solidly, her back in the corner, and held tightly to the webbing straps, her knuckles going white with the fierceness of her grip.

Glen sat in his seat, continuing to fume at Skylar’s careless attitude toward a man’s death.

Preparations complete, Skylar threw the ship into motion, lifting swiftly between the massive hangar doors and into the bright blue afternoon sky.

"Objective accomplished,” Skylar murmured, half to himself. “I found Rantek and he's beyond the reach of the Klodfons. He won't be forgotten, I'll see to that."

Glen cleared his throat. “How do your people honor their dead?”

“We hold a memorial service,” Jenna said softly, “and share our special memories of our fallen comrades-in-arms.”

“What about his body? We can’t just leave it there.”

“After that explosion there won’t be enough of a body to retrieve,” Skylar said, “We have to finish the battle first. There’ll be time to mourn later.”

Shame washed over him as Glen realized he had once again misjudged Skylar. He was neither callous toward death, nor uncaring of his companions’ safety. What he was, was a competent, professional soldier. He recalled his own days in the army and the necessity of leaving the dead, on occasion, to be buried later when there was time to mourn and honor them.

The important thing at the moment was to insure that Rantek’s sacrifice hadn’t been in vain. They must themselves escape and bring reinforcements back to destroy the base and remove the Clod-fawns from his planet.

"This might be a good time to do some damage to their base before they follow us." Lissanne said.

Skylar shook his head. "I don't want to do any fancy maneuvering this close to the ground, especially with a loose body in the cockpit. We need to let the fleet know about the base and destroy it properly."

Skylar turned the ship in the general direction of Glen's camp. "How's the scanner look?"

"Empty," Jenna replied, then, "No...wait," she paused a moment. "Five pursuit craft."

"We'll worry about getting Glen home later. Let's build some altitude."

The ship climbed sharply, pressing them all into their seats.

Skylar glanced at Jenna. "The firing controls should be on your side; pair of buttons about halfway up your panel on the left. Find them?"

"Think so," Jenna answered, experimentally pressing a purplish button. Twin beams of blue energy reached out in front of the ship, exploding the air at their point of contact. "Got it."

"How close are they behind us?" Skylar asked.

Her eyes scanned the monitor. "Too close. Twenty seconds and closing. Are you going to loop?" The raider shook from the concussion of a shot behind them.

Skylar shook his head. "I'm going to hit full reverse thrust. They'll fly right past us, into our sights."

"Skylar, that's crazy! It'll never work!"

"Trust me." He was calm, his voice assured.

"It’s your skin, Captain."

“It’s your skin, too,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s what’s got me worried,”

Skylar smiled as he slowed the craft as quickly as he could and the Klodfons flew past.

Lissanne lost her grip on the cargo net and slid into the back of Jenna's seat. She scrambled for something to hold on to as Skylar accelerated again, now behind the Clod-fawns.

As soon as the first raider was past them, Jenna fired at the ships. She blasted the first one in the engines, transforming it instantly into a glowing fireball. The second was cut nearly in half under her fire and disintegrated before their eyes. Nothing remained but a cloud of sparkling particles, drifting slowly towards the ground.

During the exchange of fire they had climbed steeply, the Clod-fawns seeking their natural fighting ground in the airless void of space. The three remaining Clod-fawn ships were busy using evasive measures to avoid Jenna's fire.

The sky grew dark, then black. The stars came out as they left the Earth's atmosphere and entered space.

Glen had a sudden sensation of falling and it was all he could do not to become ill as his stomach turned inside out. Lissanne began to float upwards until she threaded her arms and one foot more securely through holes in the cargo netting she’d clung to.

"See if you can get the gravity working," Skylar muttered, swallowing convulsively. “Try something on the far top right corner of the panel.”

Jenna nodded and fiddled with several switches before she found the one she wanted. Weight returned with a rush and Glen’s stomach stopped complaining.

A sudden fireball erupted next to the view port, the blast causing all aboard to flinch.

Skylar dove their raider away from the ships chasing them, executing a neat outside loop and emerging behind the trio of Klodfon ships.

"I didn't know these ships were that maneuverable," Jenna remarked as she fired on her targets, destroying another raider.

"Neither did I," Skylar returned. The ship jerked as it slowed. "They must be worse pilots than we thought."

Jenna blasted another ship to fragments. "Either that, or their instruction manual skipped the chapter on 'Creative Combat Maneuvers' written by Captain Skylar."

Glen shook his head in amazement. “We’re about to get blasted into a cloud of dust and you two have nothing better to do than make jokes?”

“Yeah, well, joking about it is better than crying,” Jenna said, blasting the fourth ship.

“You doing okay back there?” Skylar asked.

“I’m managing,” Glen replied.

“Lissanne?”

“Hanging on, Captain,” her cheerful voice replied.

The last Klodfon ship turned tail and ran toward the planet below them.

"He'll be back pretty soon with some of his friends," Skylar said. "Let's see if we can raise the Charys."

He searched the control panel and flipped a switch. “Automated distress signal on the Wyvern channel,” he commented to Jenna, “but I don’t see any other fleet frequency.”

This part of the battle over, and gravity restored to the ship, Lissanne untangled herself from the netting. Skylar turned to his rear passengers and gave Glen a reassuring smile. "Sorry we had to drag you along like this; I meant to drop you off at your campsite before we left."

The threat of imminent annihilation at least temporarily removed, Glen grinned back. "I don't mind. I wanted to see your spaceship anyway. Besides,” he said, "Hannah's not expecting me for a day or so." His voice then became more serious. "How will I get home?"

Skylar frowned and turned back to his controls. "I really don't know. We have to do something fairly soon, before we're out of range. Right now, that's the least of our concerns."

"You mean the one that got away?" Glen asked.

"That, too," Skylar agreed.

“That, 'too'? What else?" Glen’s voice was grave.

Jenna answered, her voice flat and serious. "Have you stopped to consider what the Charys is going to think when we come cruising up in a Klodfon ship?"

"I hadn't thought of that," Glen said, slowly. He grew very quiet as he sat contemplating the possibilities. He didn’t like the prospects those thoughts brought to his mind.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-two

Glen swore. He could hear all their heavy breathing as they stopped their forward motion. He hoped none of them could hear how loudly his heart was hammering in his chest.

He felt Skylar’s hand on his shoulder as he pulled them into a tightly bunched knot. His low voice barely made sound as he warned them all.

"They'll be trying to locate us by sound and they'll also be looking for our body heat. We’ll need to be extremely careful of making noise."

There was a small crack and a green light sprang to life in Skylar’s hands. It was much brighter than the light stick Jenna had been using earlier, and was a deeper shade of green.

“Skylar!” Glen hissed in alarm. “Won’t they see the light from that?”

Skylar shook his head. “Klodfon eyes see well into infra-red, far past what human eyes can detect; but this green is beyond the other end of their visual range. They won’t even notice it. And we need the light; it will be too easy to get lost if we can’t see where we’re going.”

They moved as quickly as they could, but their progress was much slower than it had been. Their silence was very nearly perfect, broken only by the occasional sound of a quiet footfall. Glen knew their silence wouldn't help disguise body heat, but short of dying, nothing could be done about that. And he didn’t intend to do any dying today—he hadn’t seen any space ships yet.

They hadn't gone far when Jenna stopped. A soft humming sound came from the darkness in front of them and a faint orange glow outlined the edge of a corner ahead.

Jenna handed Glen the light stick, a hastily whispered “stay” reached his ears as she snuck toward the corner.

She got to her hands and knees, then laid flat on the floor, inching her head just far enough around the corner to get her eyes past the edge. Within seconds she had pulled her head back and carefully raised herself to her feet again.

The group gathered in a tight knot around her while she delivered her report. Her whisper was almost sub-vocal as she muttered, "They're just around the corner, waiting for us to show up. There's about twenty-five Klodfons, roughly ten lengths down the hall. With four rifles, that's only six or so a piece."

"Without the light how can you tell there are twenty-five of those monsters?" Glen asked

Though her voice was nearly inaudible, the trace of smugness was very clear. "Those stupid lights on their helmets make them easy to count."

"Are they between us and the hangar?" Skylar questioned.

"I...I think so." Her voice faltered a little.

"You're not sure?" he asked.

Jenna's voice betrayed her frustration as she answered, "I...know the general direction we need to go, but I'm not sure of the exact route."

"Are we lost?" Skylar voice held no condemnation.

"Not exactly, but I'm not positive where we are in the dark." She sighed, "Skylar, it's been five years." Her voice shook just a bit.

“Don’t worry about it,” he answered. “Do you know if we need to go through those Klodfons, or can we go around them somehow?"

"If we go through them, we're almost at the hangar." A low male voice whispered.

"Rantek?" Skylar queried.

"Yes. It's only about 30 lengths down that corridor to the hangar."

"Then we fight,” Skylar decided. "The Klodfons can't scan us around the corner. They know we're coming, but not when or exactly where, so we'll have a very few seconds of surprise on our side. We need to kill enough of them, or at least drive them back far enough for us to get into the hangar. Once there, we'll grab a ship and go. Anyone else here have experience in flying a Klodfon raider?" Silence was his answer.

"Fine. Jenna will be my co-pilot. Rantek will take the command chair. Glen and Lissanne will have to sit on the floor and brace themselves as best they can. We'll take the first ship in line to go out.” He took a deep breath and continued to direct them.

“Lissanne, you open the hangar door while we get the engines started."

"Right," she assented.

"Why her?" Glen asked.

"She can run faster than Rantek and you don't know how to open the hanger doors."

"So tell me how. I'll do it.”

"Can you read enough Klodfon to know which button is marked open and which one is marked self-destruct?" Skylar’s whisper was blunt.

"No.”

"Then skip it.”

"Skylar, I can't read Klodfon either, but I think I can open it," Lissanne's said.

"Hit the wrong switch and you'll destroy the panel and yourself along with it. The rest of us will end up back in the prison block...or dead."

"I'm fluent in Klodfon,” Rantek whispered. “I'll open it."

There was a long pause in the conversation; Glen waited to hear the end results of Skylar’s thought processes.

Finally, he spoke softly. "We'll give you as much cover as possible to give you time to get to the ship. Lissanne, you cover Rantek. Glen, you stay close to Jenna. Any questions?"

There was no sound in response.

“Everyone ready?" There was whispered acknowledgment. "On three."

They all moved as close to the corner as they could without being seen by the Klodfons, Skylar in the lead this time.

"Steady…one...two...three!" Skylar finished, stepping well out into the hallway and beginning to fire at the Klodfons.

It was difficult to see; the only thing they had to aim at were the lights on the Klodfons’ helmets. It soon became brighter, however, with the many-colored laser beams flying in a deadly web.

A high-pitched whine that didn’t sound entirely mechanical raised the hairs on the back of Glen’s neck, and a shiver whispered down his spine. The noise of exploding bits of wall and the sparks and arcs of the electrical equipment embedded in the walls was quite loud. In a strange contrast, Glen thought, the laser guns made no sound at all.

They slowly advanced down the corridor, firing at anything that moved ahead of them. A Clod-fawn laser grazed Jenna's leg, throwing her against the wall. Glen helped her up and she tried to keep pace, but found it painful to put weight on the leg.

Glen dropped the rifle he carried and slid his arm around Jenna’s waist, supporting her. She tried to hold on to Glen with one hand and shoot with the other, but the angle was too awkward to be effective.

"Give me your laser, Jenna. I'll cover you." Rantek shouted at her.

She handed her pistol to him and he fired with great vigor at the Clod-fawns in their path.

Finally they reached the hangar door, having forced the few remaining lizards far enough down the hall to pose little threat.

Skylar opened the door to the hangar and hurried everyone through. Closing it behind him, he used one shot from his pistol to destroy the controls. The lights were on here and he pointed at a ship at the far edge of the hangar. "That one!"

The small group moved across the vast floor quickly. Lissanne and Skylar led, followed closely by Glen, who still half-supported Jenna. Rantek turned away from them and headed for the console which controlled the hangar doors.

The piercing alarm sounded again and Glen knew more Clod-fawns were on the way.

With a final burst of speed, Skylar reached the ship. He slammed the hatch open and directed Glen and Jenna to enter first.

Jenna hobbled to the front of the small ship and slid into the right-side seat. “Glen, you sit there.” She pointed at the floor in the back corner of the ship. There was some heavy netting hanging on the wall. “You can hold onto the cargo straps to brace yourself during flight.”

Skylar entered behind them and settled himself into the left-hand pilot seat. He stared at the control panel for a long moment. Glen found himself praying that Skylar actually knew how to fly one of these ships.

Lissanne hovered just outside the door, rifle at the ready, covering Rantek. Glen moved toward the corner where Jenna had directed him, but did not sit. He watched Rantek’s progress across the hangar through the windshield of the space ship.

Skylar breathed out a deep sigh and began flipping switches and pressing buttons, Jenna following his directions.

Skylar found a moment to belt himself in, as Jenna had already done.

"How's Rantek doing?" Skylar demanded.

"He's just reached the control panel," Lissanne reported through the open doorway. "The hangar doors are opening now."

"Good. He's got about five seconds to get here before we're ready to go."

"The hangar doors are nearly fully open now. We've got plenty of room." Jenna said. She glanced back to the control station where Rantek was working and drew in her breath.

Lissanne stepped out of the door of the ship and began shooting.

"Klodfons in the hangar bay. They're firing on Rantek." Jenna’s voice was calm as she reported the events. She might have been talking about the weather. Her actions, however, were swift and economical as she released her straps and began to rise out of her seat.

Skylar's firm grip on her arm returned her to her place. "The best thing we can do for him now is to be ready to go." His voice was low, but the tone of command allowed no argument.

Jenna re-fastened the straps around her.

A large explosion rocked their ship, the fireball centering around the console where Rantek had been standing.

Assignment to Earth Chapter Twenty-one

After what seemed like hours, Skylar finally heard heavy Klodfon footsteps coming down the hall toward the cells. Hoping they hadn't been seen on a scanner, Skylar stood and flattened himself against the wall out of sight of the opening.

The footsteps paused outside his cell and the door opened. With the swing of a green arm, an unconscious body was unceremoniously dumped in a heap just inside the door.

The door closed again and the footsteps retreated down the hall. A low whistle came from somewhere outside the cell, probably Lissanne telling him the Klodfons were gone.

Skylar opened the aidkit on his belt as he quickly stepped across the room to the Klodfons’ latest victim and began looking for injuries which needed immediate attention. Finding none, he concluded the man had been stunned or else beaten to the point where the pain itself would render him unconscious. He gave the man two injections, one a painkiller, the other a stimulant. Hopefully, the medications would work together to help him wake sooner.

He was a young man. His hair looked like it had once been a light red, but was now bleached by the sun to golden blonde. One eye was swollen nearly shut. The other eye, green in color, was bloodshot and staring unseeingly at the ceiling. His slightly crooked nose had at some time been broken and allowed to heal improperly. His arms were covered with bruises and probably the rest of him as well, although Skylar wasn’t going to undress him to find out.

Judging by the gaunt look of his large frame, he had not been fed properly and was probably dehydrated.

“They’ve really worked you over,” he said to the unconscious man. “I can’t believe the terrible shape you’re in. I wonder if this is what they did to Jenna, too.” The tattered clothing the man wore was not a Fellowship uniform and looked as if it hadn't been washed in a very long time.

Because of the way the cell doors were staggered, Skylar couldn't have the girls identify the man until he woke up unless he picked the man up and smushed his face against the door. Taking another look at the man’s face, he wasn’t sure they’d be able to identify him even if they could see him.

He stepped to the door and updated Glen and the girls on the situation, then retreated to a corner of the cell. If the man had been stunned, there was nothing to do now but wait.

Presently the man stirred. Skylar was quickly at his side, helping him to sit up. The man blinked several times, wiping at his good eye with a torn sleeve until his vision cleared. When he finally saw Skylar, a puzzled look came over his face.

"Are you Rantek?”

The man tried to answer, but his dry throat would allow no words to pass. He swallowed, then, and just nodded.

“Relax and don't try to talk. I'm Captain Skylar, from the Dragonstar Aubria. We picked up your distress call and I've been looking for you. If you can walk, we'll get you out of here. Think you can make it?"

Rantek nodded again and Skylar helped him to his feet. He swayed slightly, but managed to stay upright.

Reaching through one of the holes in the door, Skylar inserted the identicard in its slot, pulling his arm back quickly before the door took it off with its swift-opening movement.

Stepping out into the hallway Skylar was moving to release the others from their cells, when Klodfons appeared in the corridor.

Skylar only had time to push Rantek back into his cell and hand the identicard to Lissanne before the Klodfons began firing. He took what scant cover was available in the shallow depression in the wall against the now-closed door of Rantek's cell. Although the Klodfons could not hit him here, he was unable to free any others. He signaled for Lissanne to wait until he drew the Klodfons’ fire before opening her cell. She nodded her understanding.

Skylar stepped into the Klodfons’ field of vision and began shooting, diverting their attention long enough for Lissanne to get her own door opened. She also fired at the Klodfons, but the large rifle didn’t fit well in the narrow confines of the cell doorway. She had to try several times before finding a position that worked well.

Lissanne paused long enough between shots to slide the identicard across the corridor floor toward Jenna. Fortunately the Klodfons didn’t blast the card, and it skidded to a stop at the base of Jenna's door, close enough to be reached.

Snatching it up through a lower ventilation hole, Jenna soon had her door open and together the three of them blasted the remaining Klodfons.

As silence reigned, Jenna quickly let Glen out, then once again released Rantek, Skylar stepping close to help support the injured man. The group hurried toward the end of the hallway as a piercing alarm sounded.

"Blast it! Some of them must have gotten away!" Jenna muttered disgustedly as they quickly slipped through the door they'd used to enter the cell block earlier.



*     *     *     *     *

Laser fire exploded part of the wall just above them, the bolt narrowly missing Glen's head. Debris from the wall showered down on everyone. The group retreated quickly down the hall while firing behind them. It had taken him quite a few wild shots before he’d gotten the hang of the heavy laser rifle and began using it with a fair amount of accuracy, bringing down a good share of the Clod-fawns.

Upon reaching a cross-hallway, Jenna cried, "This way!" and the group turned and ran down the hall, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and their pursuers before they would need to turn and fight again.

Their speed was hampered somewhat by Rantek's condition, but he seemed to grow stronger with every step, now able to walk on his own, buoyed up by thoughts of freedom. Glen knew that when the adrenaline rush wore off Rantek would be totally exhausted; however, for now it meant he could move nearly as fast as the rest of them.

The Clod-fawns rounded the corner behind them, fired again, and the humans turned once more to fight. Slowly but surely they made progress against this larger group of lizards, as they moved in the direction Jenna led them.

Glen saw Skylar glance at his watch. In the middle of a fight? The man really was insane! Then he remembered they were running against a time limit; their spaceship would leave without them if they didn’t get there soon enough.

“How much time do you have left, Skylar?”

Skylar grimaced. “Not enough, unless the Charys stays a little longer to look for Lissanne. With the Klodfons this roused, if we miss our ride, we won’t live long enough to wait for the next Dragonstar.”

Turning another corner, they moved as quickly as possible. As they passed a small alcove to their right, Jenna stopped, the others skidding to a halt just behind her.

"Skylar and Glen stay in here,” she ordered. “We'll try 'divide and conquer' again."

Skylar and Glen moved into the alcove, pressing themselves against the wall in an attempt to become invisible to the Clod-fawns’ eyes. The rest of the group quickly moved off down the hall.

The Clod-fawns marched around the corner with their typical precision, firing as they advanced. Glen watched them march past, holding his breath and silently praying that none would look their way. If they did, they would certainly see him, as the alcove was neither large nor dark.

By a piece of fantastic luck, or in answer to his prayers, Glen wasn't sure which, not a single Clod-fawn spotted them. He wondered briefly how much charge was left in his rifle, and how he would know if it were running low.

As before, Skylar allowed them to get far enough down the corridor they would not be shooting at him at point-blank range, yet close enough for his aim to be deadly. He watched Skylar for the signal to go.

When it was given they stepped out into the corridor, opening fire on the lizards. This time, the Clod-fawns were quicker to figure out what was going on. The human tactics were illogical enough to confuse them temporarily, though…long enough for the Cavaliers to gain the advantage.

There were still several Clod-fawns left when Glen’s weapon sent a small electrical shock tingling through his hands. Four blasts later, it abruptly stopped firing when he pressed the trigger. He threw the useless weapon aside as the Cavaliers made quick work of the remaining menace.

Reuniting, Skylar's small group scooped up Clod-fawn guns, recharging their own weapons on the move, discarding the depleted rifles as they ran. Glen grabbed up a pair of rifles as they passed the dead lizards. He slung one over his shoulder, adjusting the strap as they moved, and kept the other in his hands ready for use. He didn’t intend to run out of ammo again. The group ran on, following Jenna’s lead.

Without warning, the power was cut, plunging them into an instant blackness, darker than night.