With fresh, new starjets, Maurice, Tony, and Linda landed undetected. No one knew they were there. This was the best place he thought, on top of a flat mesa far from the ground, away from prying eyes.
“Okay, this is what I want,” Maurice said. “I want you both to go down into Kai and see if you can get their help. Tony, I want you to protect Linda. Her communication skills should at least let them know we mean them no harm. I’m going to the city of Omen alone to rescue our friends. Any questions?”
Neither of them liked that plan. Tony wanted some action, and Linda wanted to stay with Maurice.
Linda spoke, “You can’t do that. I want to be with you.”
For the first time, Maurice blew up at Linda, “Go with Tony! That’s an order!” Linda cried on the inside as she bit her lip. She was shocked and hurt and thought, He’s never treated me like this. I wonder if his near death experience messed up his thinking? Either way, this made Linda feel angry. She had been by his side almost always since they had left Earth. Sometimes she felt like a part of him.
Tony was angry too, though he tried not to show it. Oh well, he thought, get on with the mission at hand.
They had to camouflage the ship into stealth mode so nothing could ping the ships. No radar or sonar.
Maurice flew on Merek. The good thing was no one could pick him up on radar or sonar. Only someone with magic skills could pick him up. All he had to do was sneak into Omen and find out where Tasha and the rest were.
He landed on top of a rooftop tower. Below, it was crawling with guards all dressed in black. Something was odd. They were all carrying pistols, not rifles. They were out and alert.
Maurice got closer and hid in the shadows. He lowered himself to the ground. The best thing to do was be quiet. He could hear different guards talking. After about ten minutes, he heard an explosion. It was in one of the towers. It almost looked like fireworks of green and orange. He recognized it.
Tasha’s magic!
Instantly, Merek buzzed beneath his feet. Something was happening. There was an explosion again from the tower, then Maurice saw Duhbe fly away into the evening sky as several guards fell out of the tower. Tasha and Kimberley were on it! He wanted to go after them immediately, but just then, several dozens were running by. Maurice hid again. He knew he would catch up to them. The guards patrolled the streets. He had to wait.
* * *
Kim and Tasha had made a clean getaway, but Tasha knew something was wrong. Even though they had a head start, they needed to be secluded. They needed rest. They were both scared.
As they passed over a mountain, Kim noticed something. “Look, a cave.”
Tasha replied, “That’s a mine, not a cave. At any rate, we need to land.”
They did. Outside of the entrance, there was mining equipment, several skeletons, and tools. No one had been here in years, they thought. There was even a digging machine in the distance.
Tasha folded Duhbe and they went in. Tasha really wanted to look in Omar’s book. Something about it is mysterious and forbidden, yet inviting. They saw flickering lights of all different colors ahead. Now they were going to find some answers!
* * *
Tony and Linda had a chance to finally start walking and exploring down at the bottom of the mesa. He could see little creatures jumping around, and the air was fresh and breathable. Judging from the scanners, it was a little weird, considering the planet was 95 percent lifeless on the surface. Tony knelt on the ground. There were footprints, multiple footprints. Some were barefoot. Some were shoe or boot prints.
Then something hit Tony—a rock. Then a volley of rocks were hitting both him and Linda. Suddenly, Tony saw several figures coming out of the bushes.
Tony responded with rifle fire and shot at least seven of his attackers. All were middle-aged men. Tony went closer to make sure they didn’t get up. Then more people came toward them. They were carrying metal bars and branches. He shot a few more.
“Stop, Tony, we were supposed to be talking to them,” Linda said.
“I am talking,” said Tony as he kept firing.
Over in the distance, they saw a vehicle. It was carrying two passengers. They were much younger, maybe in their teens. The female was black and the male was white. They seemed to be more civilized.
Linda wanted to talk. She grabbed the barrel of Tony’s rifle and pointed it at the ground as he fired. “Tony, please . . . Let’s surrender. We need to talk to somebody.”
He hated it, but Linda was in charge. He threw his rifle on the ground as did Linda.
Slowly these people approached them. The two young rushed to them first, and both Tony were subdued and tied and carried into their vehicle.
The road to any type of order was bumpy from there. There was a gathering along the way. These people watched as they were paraded through the crowds. When they finally stopped, there were a string of tents and shacks and two small buildings that looked like they were built by anybody who knew anything about construction.
A man came out to meet them from the largest tent. To Linda, he was very handsome. He was somewhat muscular and in better shape than everybody there. He looked about forty-nine years old with salt and pepper hair and mixed race.
He spoke in a language that neither Tony nor Linda could understand. He wore what looked like a torn uniform, and he was heavily armed with a gun on each hip and a rifle strapped across his back.
He reached over and grabbed both of them. Their first thought was harm. Linda saw his nametag.
“Markell,” she said.
He was shocked. She spoke his name. He pulled the both of them into his tent, and even though they could not understand each other verbally, they exchanged notes.
“Linda,” she said. “Tony,” she said, pointing to him.
“Tony, this is Markell. He says the people of Kai are a race, or rather, a culture of scientists. He knows all about The Devil’s Comet, and we can help each other. Those young people that captured us are Sephine and Kion. They are his best soldiers.”
Tony replied, “Maybe they can give us our equipment back. We need to contact Maurice and see how he’s doing.”
“You’re right, Tony,” she said.