The Summer Vacation
Chapter 9
By Rachel76m
Edited by Don Kaufman

“General, have we received any news from the scout ship?”

“We have, Supreme. However, the data is incomplete. The only complete log we have is from the resource inventory.”

“Excellent. How much is in this system?”

“It appears we can stay here for twenty cycles before we need to move on.”

“Twenty cycles? That is very good. Is there anything else from the scout ship?”

“We received the comm-log of the planet. It is inhabited, but there are no mech. orbs around the planet.”

“That's odd, General. What did the comm-log show?”

“It only showed the planet, the two moons and the scout ship. They're white in color. The background is totally black. That was the last transmission image before we lost contact with the scout ship.”

“Lost contact? Explain that General.”

“There is no telemetry from them at all. It is as if they disappeared.”

“Disappeared? I think that is unlikely. They must have been attacked or crash landed on one of the moons or the planet surface.”

“It is hard to tell from here, Supreme. The energy spike could come from the planet, the two moons or something else. We don't know. Do you want to send another scout ship to verify, Supreme?”

“It might be best. We have encountered resistance before, but they always get dispatched in the end.”

“Were there any reactions from the artifacts that we found so far?”

“None of them glowed if that's what you mean. The last one we found was on a planet with no redeemable value, including their star system. So we took her and her mate in a trade that we didn't consume their star system.”

“We were surprised. Their bodies resisted all attempts to put our imprint in them. It turns out all they are good for is to work the health wards.”

“I agree, General, she and her mate are most unusual. It they become a problem, we can always isolate them with the others.”

“What do you think will happen when we find all of the artifacts? These artifacts have to come from somewhere in this galaxy.”

“Hopefully they will lead us to a planet with great power. This world must be powerful if they can contact these worlds so far apart. Once we claim that power, nothing will stop us from conquering this galaxy.”

“If this star system is rich. We might be able to build our second star ship and continue to grow faster and find your cure.”

“That would be great, General. I'm tired of sitting here and doing nothing. At least my brain power was not diminished when we became infected.”

“Did you sense anything when we lost contact with the scout ship?”

“No, I didn't. If they are on the planet's surface still alive, then their thoughts are being blocked from me somehow.”

“We are computing the actual numbers of the resource inventories. Once that is determined, we can start getting our storage areas ready to receive their wealth.”

“If this world is rich, after we have dispatched the inhabitants. We will use this world for our base to start building our fleet.”

“I'll start making the plans for the next star ship after I send word for a second scout ship.”

The General bows and rises back up. He turns around and steps into the transport circle. He disappears in a flash of light.

The Supreme turns his head and faces a nearby control panel. “Emperor's Log. A light comes on the panel. E-Date 1238.95, begin entry.”

“We have arrived at the next star system. We found an inhabited world on the third planet from the sun. It has two moons circling. We received the resource inventory but not the comm-log. It was interrupted when we lost the telemetry from the scout ship. We know there are no mech-orbs circling the planet. We're sending a second scout ship to verify the world's resistance capability and to complete the comm-logs. We will be prepared if they resist.”

“E-Date 1238.96, second entry. The artifacts that we have found so far have led us to a very interesting selection of different star systems. Our study of the artifacts show that they are similar, but each one is designed differently. The crystals are of the same property meaning they come from one world. We don't know the full range of this world's influence. We suspect it is a source of great power.”

“E-Date 1238.97, third entry. After taking the wealth of the last two star systems, we encountered an alliance called the Local Group. We found ourselves badly outnumbered. Fortunately we found two more artifacts on those worlds before we had to leave. But we'll be back to dispatch them all and collect their wealth when we are stronger.”

“This is Supreme Emperor Natachlon of the Kiywalym System with orders from High Emperor Lechstar of the Sagitarii Dwarf Galaxy. We're making progress with our ultimate plan. Fortunately our ancestors spread their influence far and wide in this galaxy. All fifty of our brethren have been contacted. They are doing the same thing we are in the other quadrants of this galaxy. We will have our revenge for our ancestors who were dispatched on that cursed world.”

“End Emperor's Log on this E-date 1238.97” The light turns off on the panel.

The Supreme turns his head and faces the center of the room. “If it takes another thousand years, so be it. We'll still be here after all these worlds in this galaxy are dispatched, hah, hah, … !! Now let's continue with the mind exercises.”

The Supreme concentrates on a box in one corner of the room. He focuses his mind on it. The box slides a bit. Then in a few moments the box is lifted into the air. Then the box moves to the other side of the room. The Supreme looks at the box. He has beads of sweat dripping on his forehead. He can't hold it any more and let's go of the box. The box falls to the ground. “That’s much better than last time.”

“Now let's try multiple objects.” He looks at another box in the room and concentrates on it. Floating out of the box rises twenty small metal balls. He sends them around the room in a group. After a few circuits in the room, he returns the metal balls to the open box.

“That's getting better. This was easy before I became infected with that virus. I will be the strongest of our race in this galaxy. Nothing will stop me or our plans!!”

“We underestimated our enemy thousands of years ago. Well, not this time. We'll dispatch that world the cursed Maker showed favor on then. Fortunately Lechstar gave me the coordinates of that world before he had to find refuge in that faint galaxy system. We'll have our revenge, hah, hah, hah, … !!”

~~~000~~~

Thaygard, Renard, Trianna and I are now flying East. We fly over the countryside of Correlle Kingdom. The land is very beautiful with rolling hills. Near the towns and villages you can see the farm lands. There are castles in prominent locations on high hill tops. Some have a veil of lowing lying clouds around the castle, giving it that appearance of a castle floating in the clouds. Then we start ascending to fly over the Correllianne Mountains. Once we fly over the peaks we are greeted with the spectacular view of Angathorn Kingdom.

We make our descent and fly toward the Grand Castle. I see towns and villages scattered around, each with buildings and planting fields. Most are near streams and rivers. I also see several castles perched on hill tops and open fields. Near them are more towns and villages.

Then I see the forest edge approaching. Once we fly past it, I see the Grand Castle with its twelve camp walls in the field near the castle. They are empty right now since there are no festivals at this time. As we approach the Grand Castle, I see the other Legion Commanders arriving as well with their wizard escort. We start making our descent to the court yard. I see a large sundial in the center of the court yard.

We appear there in a blink of an eye. The other Legion Commanders show up one by one. In all, seven commanders show up. We start talking among ourselves while we wait for the escort into the Grand Castle.

“Which one do we have here?”

“His name is Brin, Richard. He is the leader on the scout ship.”

“We'll soon find out if he has an implant on the back of his neck or not.”

“If he does not, he could be one of the original crew members.”

“It's possible.”

One of the Legion Commanders walks up to me. We both nod our heads to each other slightly.

“Greetings ,Richard. I'm Sir Aridian.”

“Greetings, Sir Aridian.”

“Let's hope we get more information from their leader this time than with Tran.”

“I agree, Sir Aridian. He will be one more piece to the puzzle.”

Just about before another question gets asked, we see the chamberlain arrive with a squad of four knights. We all get quiet as they approach us. They come to a stop. The chamberlain steps forward to greet us.

“Greetings, Legion Commanders, Wizards, Sorceress and Outside Helper Richard. Will you please follow us? We will meet with some Kings before we go to the holding cell. This is for a quick exchange of information with them. They need some information just like you do, commanders.”

“We understand, chamberlain. Please lead the way.”

We all get ourselves arrayed into two columns. Two of the knights take the rear while we are led by the chamberlain and two knights.

We walk toward the main entrance. A pair of knights standing at attention at the double door entrance, open the doors for us to enter. We all walk in together and turn left in the foyer. We walk toward an intersection. Straight ahead are stairs and ramps. We turn right at the intersection and walk down a crystal lighted hallway. We pass a couple of doors on our left and right-hand sides. Soon we arrive at the end of the hallway. The two leading knights open the two double wooden doors and we follow the chamberlain into the Grand Kingdom Council Chamber. I see other Kings and Queens there with wizards standing around talking to each other. They stop their talking and turn to face us to greet us.

“Welcome, Legion Commanders, wizards, sorceress and Outside Helper Richard. Please have a seat here so that we can get an update so far.”

“We have a recording of the interrogation with the first crew member, Tran.”

“Yes, it is most disturbing. They use the implants to control their minds.”

“Richard, I hear that you found a weakness in their machine magic. Is that true?”

“Yes I did, King Dryden. I figured out how we can use it for our advantage.”

“Can you explain to us what that is?”

“I can, King Dryden. I will try to keep it simple.” I take out the crystal card from my satchel and show it to them. “This crystal card contains a simple distress signal from the scout ship. Within that signal I hid several functions.”

“When the signal is received on the star ship, the hidden program will first embed itself on their computer system and copy itself and spread throughout the star ship. I remembered how your Ethereal Space is very important for you to do your magic. So, I analyzed the Ethereal Space and created a folder with that data.”

“The first step will put the folder into their sensor log so that their warning systems won't alert anyone. Then all someone has to do when they're on the star ship after being captured is to say out loud, 'Computer, reboot to Twainor Control.' Then the Ethereal Space will be generated on the star ship.”

“When that happens, several things will occur on the star ship. First their hand-held light weapons will no longer work. The second item is anyone can speak in your language and do your magic there. You can give the command to have their barrier shields to be turned off for example. I also included a set of passwords for your commanders who are leading them.”

“Then we can come on board and proceed to take control of the star ship. We can use our sleep spells and put them to sleep so we can remove the mind control implants from them safely.”

“That's right, Sir Elion.”

“Then all we have to worry about are the other surprises that they might have.”

Then everyone claps their hands and gives thanks to the Maker for this opportunity to save their world and star ship crew.

“Thank you, Maker!”

“Thank you for sending the Outside Helpers!”

“Thank you for the Twin Moons!”

“Thank you for the Ethereal Space!”

After awhile, they quiet down.

“Richard, there was an entry we found in the historical records. We came across a phrase that we did not understand. Perhaps you can tell us what it means.”

“I'll try, Sir Krellen. What's the phrase?”

“They encountered a world that had air capability. Once they learned that, they sent out their air fighters.”

“Air capability? Air fighters?” I get a little wide-eyed and give a concern look on my face. I take a big breath and shake my head slowly up and down.

The others noticed the change in my face.

“What does it mean, Richard? I think you know what it means.”

“I do my friends. These fighters are machines that can fly through the air and cause damage on the ground. They're like the dragons here, but different. They can't destroy the planet. They are used to fight other air machines. They can be piloted by someone in the machine.”

“Can our dragons defeat them?”

“They will need intense practice for this. These air fighters are fast in flight. They will probably shoot light weapons, drop bombs or shoot pieces of metal.”

“I see. What can we do to give the dragons an edge in fighting these air machines?”

“Well, the dragons can hover in the air and breathe fire.”

“That may be true sir, but these air fighters might have heat-seeking bombs that can zero in on their target.”

“That's not good, Richard. I wish there is a way. We need to think hard on this one everybody.”

After everyone thinks for a moment, then Sir Braxton speaks up.

“Can't we let a wizard fly on their backs? He can use the transport spell and disappear into the Ethereal Space. Also, they will fly faster than normal.”

Everybody around the room begins to smile.

“Yes, that can work. If the dragons can coax them lower to the oceans, then the sea dragons can come up for a surprise of their own.”

“Sir Trenton, did one of your captains find an entry where they improved the shielding?”

“Yes he did, Richard. These air fighters will be exposed to our Ethereal Space. These air machines should suffer a great lightning hit in our atmosphere.”

“If my program can turn off the barrier shield on the star ship. We should be able to turn off the barrier shield on the air fighters. Then the air fighters will be easier to destroy. It would be nice if these air fighters are not manned but controlled by a computer or even remote control.”

“What are you talking about, Richard, an air fighter not manned?”

“On my world, when our wars progressed each generation, weapons would be designed to be more lethal than before. Same thing could be said of air fighter machines. They are usually piloted by people. However, when the air fighter would get hit, there is a loss of life with the pilot. Unless he ejects from the craft in time to save himself.”

“So, in time our computers and machines would get sophisticated enough to create air craft that would fly by itself or controlled remotely. Either way, it involves electricity for the air craft to fly. They will have engines and fuel to create the forward movement.”

“Now that I have said that, I have an idea that will help you see this. I'm going to use a sheet of paper that I brought with me.”

I open my satchel and take out my notepad. I tear off a blank page. I put the pad of paper back inside the satchel. I then start folding the paper to make a simple paper airplane.

“Now I'm going toss this plane into the air. It will glide in a straight line or curved path in the air. It will be like one of your sea birds gliding in the air.”

I toss it in the air. The paper plane glides in the air from one side of the room to the other until it rests on the floor. I walk over to it and pick it up. I put the paper plane into my satchel. I walk back and sit in my chair.

They whisper among themselves when they see it glide through the air.

“These air fighters can be any size, but generally they won't be as big as Marcon. They can accelerate very fast and maneuver very quickly. It would be nice if there is recording of these flying in the historical records.”

“So, that means they must have some preparation and to be ready just in case.”

“I agree, King Dryden. I remembered Belgaron said his clan is looking for something new to do.”

Everybody in the council chamber laughs at that statement of fact.

“If they are to be involved, we'll need tell them soon. Probably the best place would be at the Grand Gala Sea Arena here.”

“I agree, King Beltrane. We'll contact them after we are done with Brin.”

“Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?”

King Dryden sees no movement. He sees that they are in deep thought.

“I know we have a lot to think about, but we need more information from the captives. So, if you don't mind, let's go to the holding cells below here.”

Everybody gets up and walks to the double doors. King Dryden opens the doors. “Guards, it is time. Please escort us to the prisoner here.”

The guards snap to attention, “Yes, my King. Please follow us.”

We follow the knights as before. We walk in two columns behind the guards. At the end of the column, the rear is taken by the other two knights. We walk down the hallway and come to the intersection with the ramps and stairs.

Near the stairs, the guards unlock a strong wooden door with a small window with two bars. We follow in one at a time into the hallway. The last guard locks the door behind us when we are all in together. The hallways are lit with light crystals. The guards lead us down several flights of ramps. The hallway is similar to the one I saw in Castle Correlle. We see two guards standing on both sides of a doorway outline. The two front guards we followed stop on the far side of an outlined doorway. He takes out a crystal sphere and puts it on a small stone holder near the doorway. He recites the spell to see in the cell room. The others in our group take out theirs and connect to the contact crystal with a spell so that they can see and hear as well.

We see Brin sitting up on the mattress. He appears to be in a calm state of mind.

Master Wizard Eldwin steps up and speaks to Brin. “Prisoner, my name is Wizard Eldwin. Can you hear me in there?”

“I can hear you, wizard. I don't know how you got me in here. Apparently you're more powerful than we expected.” Brin keeps his eyes closed while he speaks.

“Would it be all right if some of us come in there? We wish to examine you and make sure you're in good health.”

“You may come in.”

Mean while, back in the hallway.

“We'll take in the same group as before. One of the guards will accompany us.”

“Be wary. This one appears to be more aware of his situation.”

“Set up a barrier shield before we enter in, Trianna.”

“I'll do that, Master Eldwin.”

“I'll stay behind you so as not to draw attention right away. I'll watch and observe.”

“I agree, Richard. That has proven to be the best approach so far.”

“All right. Are we ready?”

Everyone looks at each other and nods their heads in agreement.

Trianna raises her hand palms toward the wall and concentrates on the cell. She looks at the image above the crystal sphere and recites the spell. An invisible barrier shield is erected about two arm spans from the wall.
“All right, the barrier shield is in place. Stay close to this wall. There is room for you.”

“Thank you, Trianna.”

Trianna then takes out a crystal to record the conversation inside the cell.

We all join up hand to shoulder. Master Eldwin recites the transport spell. All five of us disappear in a blink of an eye. We soon appear in the cell. We disconnect ourselves from Master Eldwin.

I stay in the background. The knight moves forward and stands on the left of Master Eldwin. Thaygard and Renard move to the right side of Eldwin.

Brin looks up and sees us all standing there. “That's a neat trick, Wizard. I wish I could do magic like that. It would make life easier.”

“However, we are used to it. My name is Grand Master Wizard Eldwin.”

“I'm sure you are. Was it one you who got into my mind when we were in the cave?”

“Yes, I'm sorry for the discomfort, but we had to know your intentions.”

“But you didn't get that information from me, right?”

“No, we didn't, not at first.”

“What were those fire breathing beasts that we saw?”

“We call those beasts dragons.”

“Dragons? I've never seen such creatures. They're the largest we have seen.”

“The Maker's creation is very large. Perhaps there are creatures out there, bigger than them?”

“Perhaps, wizard.”

“What were you doing behind our moons?”

“We were behind one of your moons scanning your world. We were trying to determine how you communicated world wide. You have no mech-orbs around your world.”

“What are mech-orbs?”

“Those are communication machine devices that allow talk to take place around the world. I take it you use a different way of doing it?”

“We do, Brin. Can we approach you? We want to take a closer look at you.”

Brin looks at the five men and tries to make his decision. Who is that one in the background? He has not said anything. He does not look like a guard or the other four men. He's just observing the interaction. He must be important. “Yes, you may approach.”

“Thank you.” Eldwin makes a hand signal.

Trianna removes the barrier shield.

The knight takes two steps forward. Renard stays in front of me. Thaygard and Eldwin step forward and stand in front of Brin.

“Do you need me to stand up?”

“Yes, and face the knight please. Also, take off your shirt please.”

Brin stands and removes his shirt.

Thaygard and Eldwin walk around Brin and look at him closely.

Eldwin gets behind Brin. “Please bow your head forward, Brin.”

Brin bows his head forward. Eldwin notices a bump at the base of his neck. Eldwin looks toward us and nods his head up and down.

“You may raise your head, Brin.”

Brin raises his head and looks at the guard.

Eldwin and Thaygard continue their examination.

Thaygard looks at Eldwin and nods his head up and down.

“You're in good health, Brin. However, I noticed a bump at the base of your neck. Do you know what it is?”

Brin brings his right hand up and touches the back of his neck. “That's part of my neck skeleton. It's been there since I was born.”

“I don't think it is, Brin. We saw some thing similar on Tran earlier today.”

“You did? How can that be? He is from a different world.”

“Let me take a scan of your neck. I'll replay it back for you.”

Eldwin takes out a crystal from his pocket. He brings it up and recites the spell. A misty balloon appears, he then moves the crystal and the balloon downward and scans the neck. He ends the spell and brings the crystal in front of Brin.

Brin looks at the crystal

Eldwin recites the spell and replays the scan.

“What? How is that possible? Our best equipment can't do this.” Brin looks at the bump closely. “That's not my bone skeleton that looks like a metal capsule.”

Renard speaks up this time. “That's right, Brin. It's a device that controls your brain to think otherwise.”

“We know of your plans to destroy our star system after you have taken the planet's wealth, including some of our people.”

He turns his head quickly and looks at each of us. “What?! How did you find that out? Our computers can't be breached!”

“We have no knowledge of electrical machinery. Our world prevents us from using it.”

Brin smiles, “that's great. Your world will be easy to conquer and destroy.”

“We don't think that will happen. We sensed your presence behind our twin moons. We sent a call out to our friends before it is too late.”

“You sent a call out? So that is what we saw on our monitors. Did anybody respond?”

“Yes, one did show up, Brin. He has already proven his worth more than you know.”

“I present to you Outside Helper Richard Moore. His specialty is in computers and security.”

Renard steps aside, I step forward. The knight tenses up for any sudden movements.

Brin looks at me, his mouth hangs open and gets wide eyed. “Your specialty is in computers?”

“Yes, Brin. I infiltrated your computer systems on the scout ship. I found a hole in your computer code.”

“That's impossible no one can hack our systems.” Brin looks at me then he sees my medallion.

“I don't believe it. That's the twelfth medallion that I have seen. Owww . . . my head!”

I look at my medallion then back up. All of a sudden I get a revelation, I shout out loud. “What?! The twelfth one? Put him to sleep now!”

The rest of them look at me quickly with worried faces.

“No!”

“What?!”

“What did I say?!” shouts Brin.

Eldwin nods his head up and down. Eldwin looks at Brin and recites the sleep spell.

Brin falls asleep, the knight steps forward and helps him down easy.

“Remove the mind control device now. Some of your plans just got changed in taking over the star ship.”

“Yes, Richard. It just became more complicated.”

Thaygard and Eldwin bend down near Brin's neck. Thaygard takes Eldwin crystal and replays the neck scan. He stops when the image of the implant appears.

Eldwin places his hand palms toward Brin's neck. He concentrates on the bump. “I have the implant. I'm ready to remove it.” Eldwin moves the mind control device into the Ethereal Space. He then moves the device into the water basin and nods his head up and down.

Renard puts a barrier shield around it. Eldwin releases the device into the water. The device explodes in the water. Thaygard hands the crystal back to Eldwin.

~~~000~~~

“General, I just received another signal from one of the scout crew members.”

“Which one is it?”

“It’s Brin, Sir.”

“That’s good Tek. Keep monitoring the frequencies.”

“Yes, sir.”

That’s interesting. Now Brin’s signal is sent. That means there is one left for us to worry about. I hope it does what’s it to suppose to do.

~~~000~~~

Eldwin then gets up and looks in the water basin. He recites the reassemble spell like before. The implant magically reassembles like magic without the battery and the outer shell. Eldwin dips his hand into the basin and retrieves the pieces.

Renard activates his contact crystal and sees the others in the hallway.

“That was close, my friends.”

“I agree, King Dryden. Your line of questions just changed. If they have the other medallions that mean your Outsides Helpers are on that star ship.”

“So is some of their own people, Richard. All the more reason to rescue the people on the star ship.”

“Yes, but think of the help you will have once the mind control devices are removed or turned off.”

“That's true, Sir Aridian. The other mystery is this. Someone is looking for the twelfth medallion and where they come from. The Supreme must be looking for the home world where they originated.”

“Yes, that is a most disturbing comment, Richard. We must be very wary when we're on the star ship.”

“There will be a confrontation on the star ship whether we want one or not. Our dragons must be prepared if the fight is brought to our skies.”

“Yes, they must be prepared for anything.”

“We all must be prepared for anything.”

“All right, Master Eldwin, wake up Brin. We need some answers to new questions.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

We all turn around and face Brin laying on the mattress. The knight stands ready like before. I stay in the background again. Eldwin kneels down and recites the spell to wake up Brin. Then he stands back up.

Brin slowly opens his eyes. He moans as he slowly wakes up. “Unnnh . . . my head. What happened?” He opens his eyes wider and see several people looking at him. “Who are you?” He looks around, “How did I get here?”

“What is the last thing you remembered before you woke up?”

Brin sits up on the mattress with his back to the wall. “I was running down a street looking for shelter. We were attacked by a large star ship. They sent many air fighters. We tried to defend ourselves. Then a white light appeared above me. The next instant I was somewhere else. After that I don't remember much else.”

“What is the name of your home world?”

“Its name is Traglan Four of the Sergii Star System.”

“I'm sorry, Brin. We checked the historical records on the scout ship. It is one of the star systems that was consumed by the star ship.”

“No!”

“But have heart, Brin. The star ship took some of your people from your world and they are now part of the crew.”

“They are? Then we must free them!”

“We will, Brin, but we need all the information you can give us. There is not much information on the Supreme himself for example.”

Brin calms down and thinks about it. “I don't have an answer for you. I’m sorry.”

“We can help you remember. If we can do it for Tran, we can do it for you.”

“Please, I want to remember everything I did on the star ship.”

“Stay seated like you are. Close your eyes and breathe slowly.”

Brin closes his eyes and slows down his breathing.

“Remember the day the star ship showed up.”

“I remember. Our planet space sensors found it about ten days before it showed up in our skies. We sent our air fighters to combat theirs. However, the weapons on their air fighters were far superior to ours. They had light weapons on them. Every time we shoot at them, our weapons did not bring them down. They were too fast to track even from our ground base weapons.”

“Then their air fighters eventually destroyed all of our air fighters. We still had some weapons to use. We launched our heat seeker missiles. We did get a few of them down. When we investigated the wreckage, we found no bodies in the cockpit. We concluded that we were dealing with a very advanced robot race at the time.”

“We wished we had put heat seeker missiles on our air fighters. Then the star ship showed up high in our skies. We could not believe how big it is. We sent our largest missile weapons at it. It had no effect. For some reason they blew up before reaching the star ship.”

“Their air fighters were not seen when the star ship showed up. We were defenseless. We had nothing left to throw at them after we launched all of our missile weapons.”

“Then the star ship starts to use its major weapons on our world. There was no place to hide. While we were running in a panic, I remembered seeing a bright light aimed at us. Then I saw some of our people disappeared.”

“We thought that was the final insult to us. We will be disintegrated, totally wiped out from existence. No one would remember our world. Then the light appeared above me. But, I had a surprise. I appeared in a room. “

“I was immediately subdued and put to sleep somehow. When I woke up, I became a member of the star ship's crew. Eventually I was assigned as leader of one of the scout ships crews.”

“We would search out star systems to resupply the star ship's inventory. Then we would take some of the world's people before destroying their world.”

Then Brin slams his fist on his knee. “No! This madness must end. We must rescue my people. This Supreme leader must pay for his crimes!”

“We will do all we can, Brin. But first you must meet one of our Outside Helpers. Richard, please come forward.”

I step forward, “Greetings Brin, my name is Richard Moore.”

“I remember you now. You're wearing a medallion that we have discovered else where in this galaxy.”

“I know. In fact we all know it now. Those eleven other medallions you found belong to eleven other Outside Helpers to aid this world in its time of need.”

”What can I do to rectify the problem, Richard?”

“You have told us a lot of information already. But we need some more information.”

“I'll try to do that.”

“We still need to interview two more members of your scout ship.”

“You won't get much info from Tark. He is very new to our crew. Mal-tor has been there since before I was assigned to the scout ship.”

“Thank you for telling us that. Now we need to introduce you to some of the leaders on this world.”

Renard takes out his contact crystal, he places his right palm above the crystal and recites the spell. Soon there is an image of about a dozen people in the hallway.

”Brin, I present to you some of our kings, queens and military leaders.”

King Dryden speaks first, “Greetings, Brin, welcome to Twainor.”

“Greetings, royalty.”

“We have an important question for you now. Can you provide a sketch of the star ship and how the floors are laid out? We couldn't find a copy of it on the scout ship's computers.”

“That's a good question. It was never put there because of this possible scenario. But because the implant has been removed, I can provide that for you.”

“Thank you. Do you know where our friends are and the medallions are?”

“Some are crew members, and some are in lock-up. The medallions are secured in a separate area with the Supreme. They are protected by light weapons. It takes a password and voice type recognition from the Supreme only.”

I smile as I look at them. They smile back.

“Have you ever seen the Supreme?”

“No, not personally, Richard. I have only seen his face on the 3-d video screens like I see here now.” Brin pauses for a moment, “I have a question or two, sirs.”

“You may go ahead and ask them.”

“How are you going to fight the air fighters and get on board the star ship? If you have no knowledge of electrical machinery, you don't have any air fighter capability, rockets and missiles.”

“Don't worry about that Brin. We are preparing for this invasion as we speak. How long will it take for the star ship to reach here?”

“It will take about seven to ten days. They usually thoroughly investigate a star system and any potential resistance. They want to prepare themselves as well. Since the scout ship has disappeared, they will send out another scout ship to finish analyzing your star system. They will start going after your gas giants as the star ship works its way here.”

“What if you send a message that the greater prize is Twainor itself and not the rest of the planets in this star system?”

“Well Richard, they would need to know this is the origin of the twelve medallions. They think this world they are looking for is a source of great power to influence the worlds where the medallions were found.”

“Well, that is true to a point. Our magic comes from Twainor itself not of us.”

“You mean to tell me, King, that is true?”

“Yes it is, Brin.”

“I think the Supreme would do that. Not only for finding your world, but they would plan to be here for twenty sun cycles consuming your star system. They would do this so that they can build a second star ship and start creating a fleet of them.”

“We'll not let that happen.”

“I've heard rumors of an ultimate goal while this destruction is going on, Kings. It's the Supreme's goal to get revenge for his fallen brethren on a distant world that occurred long ago.”

“That hatred sounds very deep rooted. Did you ever hear the name of these brethren and the world's name?”

“No, I haven't. I'm sorry, King Dryden.”

“That's all right. You did well today.”

“Tran said he would not be reunited with you until the rest of your crew has been freed.”

Brin smiles, “I agree with that decision, Kings. At least you know where I am if you need any more information.”

“We can provide food for you. The water in the basin is for you to drink.”

“That's fine, Kings. Bread, fruit and water will do. I take it that box in the corner of the room is for waste disposal?”

“Yes Brin, and for your own body waste as well. It has a couple of spells on it. One, it will clean you when you're done. Second, it will send the waste to a fire mountain pit on our world.”

“Ouch! Thank you for telling me that.”

“Don't try to put yourself in that box to escape. There is another spell that detects and rejects any attempt to sabotage it. You will only end up hurting yourself.”

“I understand. I'll be a good prisoner. I can wait for the others so that we can gain our freedom together.”

“Brin, we might need you for a later task to bait the Supreme to come here.”

“I understand, Richard. Contact me when you're ready.”

“Thank you, Brin.”

“Come, my friends, it time to leave.”

We all walk toward the wall where we came in.

Eldwin puts his palms outwards. We all join with him hand to shoulder. He recites the transport spell. We all disappear in a blink of an eye.

I sure would like to know how they do that. Brin thinks to himself when he sees that trick done.

We all appear in the hallway together standing next to the others there.

“Guards, inform the Captain of the Guard to continue with the rotation. Keep him under watch. Let us know if anything unusual happens. He's very valuable to Twainor's survival.”

They snap to attention. “Yes, my Lord.”

“We can be escorted back to the Grand Council Chamber guards.”

“Yes my Lord.”

Two of the knights take the lead. We all follow him. The other two guards take the rear position.

The original two guards we saw continue the watch of the prisoner. One of them takes out a contact crystal to inform the Captain of the Guard of King Dryden's request and the latest news and condition of the prisoner.

The guards lead us back to the foyer area. We walk back to the Grand Council Chamber to continue discussing what to do next. Each one is deep in thought. This is especially true now that they know why the other Outside Helpers didn't show up.

The lead knight opens the doors to the Chamber. Everyone walks in and sits down where we sat earlier. The double doors are closed, and the knights stay posted outside the Chamber.

King Dryden looks at each of us, one by one. He sees faces that are deep in thought. The Queens have a look of worry of their faces. The Kings are trying to figure out what to do next. The Legion Commanders are in deep thought on how to prepare the forces.

“I'm sorry to break the silence, but we must move forward and plan the next set of moves.”

“I agree, Dryden. We must inform the other kingdoms right now on what we know now.”

“Yes my darling Queen Lorinor. We must do that. Eldwin, Renard and Thaygard please go and contact the other Master Wizards. Legion Commanders contact the other Legion Commanders. The rest of us will contact the Kings and Queens. Wizard Eldwin, then you will connect them all together for a Grand Council.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Everyone gets out their contact crystal sphere and contacts the others. It doesn't take long to get everyone's attention. Eldwin then recites the spell to synchronize the images together so that everyone can see each other.

“First, I just want to thank the Maker that we have an opportunity that we can save Twainor and our star system.”

Everyone shouts out loud in praise of the Maker. After a few moments, Lord Dryden raises his hand to quiet everyone down.

”We finally discovered why our Outside Helpers did not show up my friends.”

“What happened, King Dryden?”

“When Richard was introduced to Brin, Brin recognized that Richard is wearing the twelfth medallion.”

Everyone starts shouting.

“What?!”

“Our Outside Helpers are on that star ship?”

“We must rescue them all!”

King Dryden raises his hands to quiet them down. “That's not all. They have air fighters that can destroy our castles, towns and people.”

“What can we do?”

“Can the dragons defeat them?”

Dryden raises his hand again. “I'll let Richard answer that question.”

“Thank you, King Dryden. These air fighters can be as big as Marcon or smaller. They can fly very fast. They have light weapons, heat-seeking weapons and shoot pieces of metal. Right now the dragons won't be able to defeat them at all. We discussed that problem here already. The best solution is to have a wizard sit on their backs and use the transport spell.”

“Yes, that is a great idea, Richard.”

“We'll need to meet all of the dragons at the Grand Gala Sea Arena. We need to inform them now so that they can start practicing.”

“Can the sea dragons help out?”

“They can provide a surprise attack if these air fighters get too low to the water. Perhaps they can be baited by the land dragons.”

“Yes, that can work, Richard.”

“Do these air fighters have people in them?”

“Brin said they do not. They pilot themselves by computers. It is their type of machine magic.”

“That's great, Richard, but won't they be affected by our Ethereal Space?”

“Probably not at first, Sir Jakan. That's if they have a barrier shield in place to protect themselves. If we can turn off the barrier shields on the star ship, we can do the same for the air fighters.”

“If that can be done, they will be easier to destroy.”

“That's right, Sir Jakan.”

“King Dryden, it is more than likely the medallions are separated from our Outside Helpers. What can we do to find them?”

“Well, we know who they are and what they look like, King Jeriel. We were told the medallions are locked away and only the Supreme has access to them. Brin says it is protected by light weapons and password with voice recognition.”

“That's interesting. Richard, can your program break that security?”

“The password and light weapons are not the problem. The voice detection will be. The voice is based on sound waves. It is very unique to person. It is very difficult to duplicate. However, if the electricity is turned off, it is possible that room will be affected as well.”

“We can only hope, Richard.”

“Another thing that Brin told us, they will send a second scout ship to finish surveying Twainor. They want to make sure there is no resistance. Right now they don't know how we communicate with our contact crystals, our dragons and our Ethereal Space to do magic.”

“Well, at least we have that going for us. It looks like our tasks for our forces getting on the star ship are getting bigger. We need all the information we can get.”

“There are two more interviews though.”

“Yes, we'll continue with the training. How long do we have King Dryden?”

“Brin said they could be here in seven to ten days.”

“But, if we bait the Supreme that our world is magical and not about the effects of our Ethereal Space. That will goad him to come here to claim the prize.”

“Then he will get a big surprise when their barrier shield is down and we bring the fight to him.”

“Yes, that can work very well to our advantage.”

“Before I forget, friends. There is one more piece of information. The reason why the Supreme is doing this.”

“What is it, Richard?”

“Brin said the Supreme wants to get revenge for his fallen brethren that died a long time ago. It is on a world somewhere in this galaxy.”

“Thank you, Richard. We'll keep that in mind. We have an opportunity to save our beloved Twainor. We must be diligent to do so.”

“All right, Legion Commanders, you know what needs to be done for now. Make your plans accordingly. Brin says that he can provide us some floor drawings of the star ship layout if we want them.”

“Yes, that would be of great help, King Dryden. We'll use them as backup just in case. If Richard can generate the Ethereal Space inside the star ship, then there will be no need for the maps. We'll use them to mark off where we have been to keep track of our forces.”

“Go and contact the dragons, land and sea in your region. Have them meet at the Grand Gala Sea Arena.”

“Should Eingana be there, King Dryden?”

“That's her choice if she wants to.”

“Some of the dragons are assisting our legions in training. Should that be interrupted?”

“That's a good question, Sir Jakan. Well it's all part of the training really. Yes, have them all come. It will be a chance for them to get all together. We can explain to them what is going on and what could happen here.”

“We still need to interview the other crew members.”

“We can do that first thing in the morning. We'll do Tark in Evenshard first. Then we'll do Mal-tor in Antarte.”

“That sounds fine, King Dryden. What about the second scout ship? What if the Maker sends it to our surface? Who should keep the crew under guard this time?”

“That's a good question, Sir Krellen. We'll still need to split them up. Since there are four here in the Eastern kingdoms, let's put them in the Western kingdoms this time. That way they will not have contact with the others.”

“I agree with that assessment. When the star ship receives no signal from the second scout ship, it might cause the Supreme to get really mad. We must send the bait to goad him to come here before that happens.”

“I'll agree with that idea, Sir Trenton. How about we send the message after we interview the last one in Antarte? By then we'll have a better idea when the star ship will arrive.”

“Will the forces be ready in half that time, like three to five days?”

“Well five days is better than three days. We'll just have to be diligent with our Seeing Stones to keep an eye on its movements.”

“How long will it take to get the dragons to come and meet at the Gala Sea Arena?”

“For the furthest ones we can use the wizards and sorceresses to transport them there faster.”

“Very well. We still have time to do it today. Have them meet there at the Third Mark after the noon repast.”

“Yes, King Dryden.” Most of them respond at once.

“Oh and one more thing. Bring your ear plugs. There will be a lot of roaring.”

Everyone laughs at the joke.

“We will, King Dryden.”

“Wizards go and contact the land and sea dragons in your kingdoms. Tell them to meet there at the Third Mark after the noon repast. Legion Commanders, you can go with them to relay the latest information to your forces.”

“You can come back here if you wish to see the dragons at the Gala Sea Arena.”

“Yes, King Dryden.”

“You can have your noon repast here if you wish.”

“Thank you for the offer, King Dryden, but I think it will be best if we are in our own kingdoms. We need to give the latest news to our castle lords and the dwarves’ kingdoms as well. They need to know what is going on.”

“I would not mind sitting here, King Dryden, unless Renard and Trianna are needed back in Thryson Kingdom King Tierion.”

“You three can stay there if you wish. We can always get of hold you with the contact crystals to get any information we need.”

“Thank you, King Dryden and King Tierion.”

“Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?”

Seeing and hearing nothing from them, King Dryden continues. “We should all meet at the Grand Castle at First Mark after the noon repast tomorrow. We'll give an update then. Does everyone agree to that?”

“Yes, King Dryden.” They all respond as one.

“Until then, keep safe Twainor. Let us know when that second scout ship shows or the star ship moves.”

“Be safe, King Dryden.” They all nod their heads as one and raise them. Then all of the images disappear above the crystal spheres.

We all exit the Grand Council Chamber. We walk down the hallways, we turn left and walk down the foyer to the main entrance. We exit through the double doors of the main entrance and enter the main courtyard. We see them get organized for the trip back to their kingdoms.

The ones who stay behind are King Dryden, Queen Lorinor, Eldwin, Thaygard, Renard, Trianna and I. The Legion Commander for Angathorn Kingdom leaves as well with his wizard escort.

“Come, my friends. My Master Chef has set up the noon repast for us here on the second floor.”

“Thank you, King Dryden.”

We follow them back inside the Grand Castle. We turn left in the foyer area. We walk toward the stairs and ramps at the intersection. We walk up the stairs to the second floor. We walk down the hallway until we see two guards standing by two wooden double doors. They open the doors for us and we walk inside.

We see a single long table with chairs set up for us. King Dryden takes the Kings' Chair at one end of the table and Queen Lorinor takes the Queens' Chair on his right-hand side. Eldwin sits in the chair on the King's left-hand side. The rest of us take the seats at the other positions.

“Richard, please take the seat opposite from me at the other end of the table.”

“Yes, King Dryden. Thank you for the honor.”

“You're welcome. It is not too often that someone sits there who is from another world.”

“Did one of the Emissaries sit here at the time?”

“Yes Richard, one of them did. Let us give thanks, Eldwin.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Wizard Eldwin stands up. “Maker, we thank you for this food that you have given us. We pray that it restores our strength to do the task at hand to save Twainor. We thank you that Richard has answered the call for help. We pray he is successful as well with the task at hand to help us rescue the crew members from the star ship and our own Outside Helpers. We also pray that we bring swift justice on the Supreme and stop his plans from destroying your Creation. Thank you, Maker.”

We all respond as one, “Thank you, Maker.”

“Master Chef, you may serve the noon repast.”

“Yes, my Lord.” He turns and walks into the kitchen.

The servants come out with trays to serve the first course. It is a light salad with greens and cold vegetables on top. Another servant comes around and fills our glasses with water and fruit juices.

“Richard, do you think there is a chance we can overcome this potential tragedy?”

“There is always a chance. I have read many stories and seen images like some of the historical records you have on your storage crystals. For us to win, it will take planning and coordination from the knights to the commanders then to the Kings and Queens.”

“Hmm . . . I agree Richard. We must be prepared for anything. This will be our greatest test.”

“The only unknown I see at this time is the Supreme.”

“Perhaps, Richard. These next two interviews will reveal part of that answer.”

“I hope so, Wizard Eldwin. This hidden agenda or ultimate goal of getting revenge disturbs me. I might get another warning from the Maker one of these nights when we go to sleep.”

“Yes, I remembered the last time you had that Richard. Let's hope we all get one of those. I don't want you to go through that again alone.”

We laugh on recalling that memory.

“Thank you, King Dryden. That means a lot to me.”

“You're welcome, Richard.”

The servants come and take our salad plates. They are soon replaced with a simple fish dish and cooked vegetables on the side. It is seasoned with various spices to tantalize the taste buds.

“If we get those dreams, we better discuss it quickly before we lose sight of them. I'm sure we all had dreams that will stick in our minds for days. Then there are dreams that lose their meaning the next day and are forgotten.”

“That's very true, Richard. Wizards and sorceresses, has the selection begun who will transport our forces to the star ship?”

“We have, King Dryden. We're making sure they can transport the knights and dwarf warriors to the furthest moon and back.”

“Don't forget about the dragons. Some will want a rider to help them fight.”

“Yes, King Dryden. We have more enough for the forces. We figured at least one hundred and twenty of us will do. That provides a reserve for backup here on Twainor.”

“After the meeting with the dragons we'll have an idea how many will be needed for them. I would think the female dragon mates should not participate, including the younger ones, King Dryden.”

“I agree, Thaygard. It took a long time for their numbers to come back since our First War.”

The servants come out and take our main dish plates. They come back out with bowls of fruit. I see that they are whole this time. We each take two different kinds of fruit and put them in our bowls. We cut them into bite size pieces.

We enjoy the fun as we eat the fruits. We laugh and giggle as we try to be neat while eating them. We separate the seeds and rind pieces in the bowl as we finish each piece.

We get done with the fruits after awhile. When we get done, the servants pick up our bowls and leave a damp towel so that we can get ourselves cleaned up.

King Dryden turns his head, “Server, will you please go tell the Master Chef to come in so that we can thank him for today's noon repast.”

“Yes, my Lord.” She bows her head quickly and raises it. She turns around and leaves the dining room.

After a few moments, the Master Chef comes back in with the kitchen staff. They all line up as they face us.

“Thank you, Master Chef for this simple meal. It is very delicious and satisfying.”

We all clap our hands. The Master Chef and the kitchen staff bow their heads quickly and raise them.

The Master Chef steps forward. “Thank you, King Dryden, for this opportunity to serve again. We pray to the Maker that Twainor is successful in defeating the enemy so that we can continue to serve the bounty of Twainor.”

They bow their head again quickly. They turn left and walk back to the kitchen so that they can have their own meal and finish cleaning up the kitchen.

“Come, my friends. Let us walk to the garden fountain. It should help us clear our minds before we meet the dragons.”

“That sounds great, King Dryden.”

We get up from our chairs and walk out of the dining room. We are escorted by a pair of knights. We turn right. We walk down the stair case on the right side of the Grand Foyer area. Once we get on the main floor, we walk down a long hallway. We turn left at an intersection. We walk down the hallway some more passing hallway openings on the right. We get to the end finally. The knight opens the double doors that lead to the garden. We walk inside and take in the beauty of the place.

We see that are alone. One of the knights walks over to the wall and steps up to the platform so that he can get a commanding view of the grass plains. The other knight closes the door and stands at attention, then he moves to a relaxed stance.

I walk up to the fountain, I move my hand under one small stream that's spilling over one of the bowls. I smile as I feel the coolness of the water. I take some water in the hand and rub it over my face. I breathe in deeply the cool air there. “Hmm . . . yes it is beautiful here.”

The others are sitting down on the benches in the garden. I walk over to one of the open benches and sit down. Each one of us is deep in our own thoughts.

I can only imagine what they are thinking. Our silence gets interrupted by the knight standing guard on the wall.

“King Dryden, I see some fairies flying this way.”

“How many are there?”

“There are about six coming this way.”

“Allow them to come if they come here.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

After a few moments, the fairies approach the wall and stop. They hover in front of the knight. One of them speaks, “Is King Dryden here?”

“He is resting here. He said you can come and meet him.”

“Thank you.” The fairies fly into the garden area and hover in front of King Dryden.

“Greetings, King Dryden.”

“Greetings, fairies of Silverwind. What can I do for you?”

“We heard there will be a meeting with the dragons at the Grand Gala Sea Arena at the third-mark today.”

“Yes, we need to give them news of any possible air attacks that could come.”

“Can the rest of the First Ones be there? They wish to be there as well.”

“I see no reason to deny them. If any of them wish to show up, they can.”

“Thank you, King Dryden.”

They turn around and fly toward me. They hover in front of me.

“Greetings, fairies.”

“Greetings, Richard. We just want to thank you for being here to help us in our time of need.”

“You're welcome, fairies. We must all work together so we can rescue our other Outside Helpers and the crew members.”

“Yes, we all have our part at this time. We hope that you don't get taken on the star ship.”

“I agree. I don't want to be there. We must trust in Maker that whoever is taken will have the chance to say the phrase to turn it into Twainor's favor.”

“What is that phrase, Richard?”

“'Computer, reboot to Twainor Control.' If a fairy gets sent there, there are very few places to hide there.”

“I'm sure you're right, Richard. We'll tell the others what the phrase is just in case.”

“That is wise to do so, fairies.”

“Yes, it is Richard. Thanks for providing hope to us.”

Then the fairies fly around me a few times. They hover in real close to me one by one and smile at me. I smile back to them.

“Thank you, Richard. You are Fairy Friend for all time. If we are still here after this time of trouble, we'll give you a grand time in the forest.”

“Thank you for the honor, fairies. Give greetings to the unicorns for me. I'm sure some of them miss me.”

“Yes they do, Richard. They would like to touch you again to be reminded where they come from.”

“Yes, I'm sure the rest of the First Ones do as well. Take care fairies. I’ll see you at the Sea Gala Arena soon.”

“See you soon again, Richard.”

Then the fairies fly around the fountain and dive through the little water streams giggling and laughing.

We all laugh with them as they do that.

“See you all there, friends.”

“See you soon at the arena.”

Then the fairies fly out of the garden area and back to the forest to carry their message.

We all smile at each other after they left.

“Richard, have you seen any fairies on your world yet?”

“I have, Queen Lorinor. However, they are in butterfly mode. They can't change into fairies because there is no unicorn on Earth. They're very good at hiding. Besides, it is up to them if they want to reveal themselves to me.”

“I'm sure you're right, Richard.” She smiles at me.

“How much longer until the meeting, King Dryden?”

“We still have about a full mark and a half to go. Is there somewhere you wish to visit before then?”

“I was thinking of visiting some different parts of Angathorn Kingdom and see how the training is proceeding here. I want to see if it is getting better with this new information so far.”

“That's a fine suggestion, Richard.”

“Don't worry about me, Richard. I can stay with Queen Lorinor. You men can take off and do your check up.”

“Thank you, Trianna. We'll meet you at the Sea Gala Arena at the Third Mark.”

“See you then, my dear King. Moreover, you better not be late.” She smiles at him.

“I won’t be my Queen. Eldwin will make sure I'll be there in time.”

They stand up and hug each other quickly. They give a quick kiss on the lips.

“Wizard Eldwin, will you please take us to our training fields here in Angathorn Kingdom?”

“Yes, my Lord. If you please put hand to shoulder who is going with me.”

The men connect with Wizard Eldwin. He recites the transport spell and we all disappear in a blink of an eye. We start flying north westward and fly over the forest. We see dragons flying in the air. Soon we see a large field near a large castle. We see about two thousand men and dwarves going through the paces. Some are in groups of five acting as a team in achieving a goal. Some are going through obstacle courses to increase their stamina and endurance. Some are doing one on one fighting skills or fighting in a group.

“I've seen enough, Eldwin. Take us down to the pavement area near the sundial in the court yard.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

We make our descent and appear in a blink of an eye.

A knight sees us appear. He comes running up and stands at attention.

“Welcome, King Dryden, to the training grounds. Do you wish to see Legion Commander Braxton?”

“Yes I do, sir knight. We are only here for a mark only. Richard here made the suggestion. He wanted to see how it is progressing and I agree with him. After the mark is up, then we are going to the Sea Gala Arena. This is to inform the dragons and the other First Ones who requested to be there.”

“I'll go inform Sir Braxton. Please wait here.”

“We will wait, sir knight.”

The knight turns around and walks toward a platform. We look around the area. Then I see an older castle in the distance.

“Is that the home castle for Twainor, King Dryden?”

“Yes it is Richard. This where we started, Richard. There is a lot of history behind those walls. That is also the location of the Grand Library. The main archives are kept there in deep underground vaults. The vaults are kept dry by using a certain spell. We try to make sure the other kingdoms have copies of these records to be safe.”

“Yes, copies are important. You don't want any fire or destruction happening to the originals. It has happened on my world lots of times. Some of it was by war or even by angry mobs of people.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, Richard.”

“That's all right, King Dryden. All we can do is to be disappointed and sad when it happens. Then we move onto the next day and rebuild.”

“That's what we did when had our First War.”

We look at each other and nod our heads up and down solemnly and in agreement. Soon we see some knights coming our way. They come to a stop. The Legion Commander steps forward to greet us.

“Welcome, King Dryden and honored guests. Welcome to our training field. Please follow us, you can get on the raised platform that we use so we can survey the training.”

“Thank you, Sir Braxton, for the opportunity.”

We are then escorted by them to the training fields. I see a raised platform with a multicolored awning covering over the top platform. On the four corners of the platform are pennants fluttering in a slight wind. The platform has three flights of stairs to get to the top platform. When we get there, we see several tables with maps laid out and weighed down. There are a number of chairs there as well. We look around and see how it is progressing.

“We saw the general layout as we came in, Sir Braxton. It looks good. What do you think, Richard?”

“It looks very good to me. You have informed them of the air fighters that could come here in the skies?”

“We just announced it during the noon repast here. They were not happy with that news, Richard.”

“I'm sure they weren't.”

“Have the wizards started doing their practice runs using the transport spell to the Twin Moons and back?”

“They have, Renard. Some are making the trip. We want the best ones there for that. The rest of the Mystic Order will be needed here to ride the dragons or for general protection, besides being healers if somebody gets injured.”

“I agree, Sir Braxton. Their minds must be on the task at hand to keep the forces together. We don't need an additional tragedy while they are waiting in the Ethereal Space.”

“That's true, Wizard Eldwin. Richard, are you sure you can generate the Ethereal Space inside the star ship?”

“I was able to generate it in the scout ship. Thaygard and Renard can vouch for it.”

“It does work, Sir Braxton. Not only can you use our spells, you can command certain functions of the star ship off or on by your new commands. It will over ride theirs.”

“That's great. Thank you, Richard.”

“You're welcome. I gave some new passwords to Sir Trenton if you need them for emergencies.”

“I saw that list. That is very clever to do that for us. Will these passwords help us release the medallions?”

“Probably not, that’s if they are near the Supreme for safe keeping. It will probably be a different and separate set of security measures. There could be a separate power supply to keep his own defenses up and active.”

“I'm sure you're right. I would probably do the same thing to make things more secure.”

“Can our dragons destroy the air fighters, Wizard Thaygard?”

“Well, like Richard said before in the Grand Council Chamber Lieutenant Commander. With the wizards riding on their backs and using the transport spell, they should be faster than them. They can destroy them however they wish.”

“They can set them on fire. If the barrier shields can be turned off, then the Ethereal Space will render their weapons useless. But, then they can have orders to commit a suicide run to hit a castle and explode on impact.”

“That's not good, Richard. Either way we must be prepared. I'll inform the other Legion Commanders of this possibility.”

“Sir Braxton, perhaps the dragons can drop large boulders onto the training field or a simple wooden structure. Then your men and wizards can practice how to work around that.”

“That is an excellent idea. Thank you, Renard.”

“You're welcome, Sir Braxton.”

“Since these air fighters do not have people on board and are operated by machines, the Ethereal Space will affect that part of it. You can try using a barrier shield spell around the castle. But the best solution is to nudge them off course, then they miss the castle and other buildings.”

“I see, that is a better solution. If we were to launch catapult boulders at them, it would be like trying to hit the smallest flying insect on Twainor.”

“We had the same problem a long time ago. We would shoot up hundreds of rockets hoping to hit just one air fighter. It took awhile to develop the ideas how to do it more efficiently Lives were lost during those times.”

“Thank you for the insight, Richard.”

“You're welcome.”

“Has the star ship moved yet, Wizard Eldwin?”

“No, it hasn't, Richard. It's still there. We'll probably sense the second scout ship first before that star ship moves.”

“I hope we can show the bait to the Supreme before they discover more information about Twainor.”

“I agree, King Dryden. We need all the advantage we can get.”

“Did Sir Trenton tell you about the possible hidden corridors and rooms?”

“Yes he did, Richard. We'll make sure we have dwarf warriors among us. They have proven to be very effective in these situations.”

“That's good, Commanders. How is it going picking the one hundred?”

“Well, my King, we'll be close to picking our one hundred by tomorrow evening.
The Navy Commanders have agreed to bring their largest sailing vessel to the southern port of our kingdom at Beserte. There will be a total of six there from six kingdoms. The other six will stay in their own kingdoms.”

“That sounds fine, Sir Braxton. I think we have been here long enough. It is time to meet the dragons.”

“Yes, my Lord. Be well and keep safe. Thank you, Richard, for everything so far. You have provided hope for us.”

“You're welcome, Sir Braxton.”

“Hold a moment. It is time for their breather break. Let me introduce you.”

I look at King Dryden.

He smiles, “Please do it, Richard. It will help with the morale.”

“Of course, King Dryden. Do they know about Outside Helpers on the star ship?”

“Yes, they were told today.”

“Commanders, please sound the bell for the breather break and have them come near the platform.”

“Yes, Sir Braxton.” The Army Commander turns around walks down the stairs. He walks over to a pedestal and picks up a hammer. He strikes the bell in a certain sequence to the end the current session.

“Bong! Bong!”

Then everyone stops in the training field.

Then the Army Commander strikes a different sequence to gather everyone at the platform.
“Bong!” . . . Pause … “Bong!” . . . Pause … “Bong!”

Then all of the men put down their weapons or sheath them. They come running toward to the platform. They assemble by brigades behind their banner. They get themselves evenly spaced.

Once Sir Braxton sees everyone present, including the dwarf dragons, dwarf warriors and wizards. He looks at his Army Commander, Sir Levon and nods his head.

“Legion Angathorn, attention!”

Everyone snaps to attention including the dragons surprisingly.

“At ease, Legion Angathorn!”

Then they all go into a relaxed stance and look up at the platform.

“Legion, we have several honored guests with us up here on the platform. Shortly thereafter, they will be flying to the Grand Gala Sea Arena to meet the dragons and the other First Ones there. They will be given instructions on how they can help us to defend our skies from the star ship's air fighters.”

“You have heard a lot about him when he was here the last time. He heard our call for help in our time of need. He has provided us much insight and knowledge on how we can bring the fight to the enemy. I present to you, the Outside Helper for Thryson Kingdom, Richard Moore!”

I step forward and raise my hand.

Then everybody begins to clap, cheer and roar, including everyone on the platform.

“Thank you, Maker!”

“Thank you for coming!”

Then they begin to chant, “Richard, Richard!” Over and over again.

I smile as I wave at them. “I think that is enough, Sir Braxton. I'll say some words now.”

“Of course, Richard,” He smiles at me. Sir Braxton raises his hands. The Legion quiets down. He gestures with his hand for me to step forward.

I speak out really loud. “Friends, we must stay focus with the task at hand and with a clear mind. We must not let anger rule our decisions. Your Outside Helpers are part of the crew on the star ship. It is our intention to rescue them and the crew. Also, to bring justice to their leaders for doing this abominable act.”

Everyone cheers to that announcement.

I raise my hand to quiet them down. “Be sure to tell your families and friends the key phrase if the star ship appears here and puts a light beam on top of them and they disappear. Have heart for they will appear on the star ship. Then say quickly 'Computer, reboot to Twainor control.' When that is said, the Ethereal Space will be generated within the star ship and their barrier shield will be turned off. This will allow Twainor's forces to board the star ship and bring the battle to them.”

They cheer some more.

I raise my hand again to quiet them down again. I yell out loud, “For Twainor!”

“For Twainor!” they shout back.

“For the Twin Moons!”

“For the Twin Moons!” they shout back.

“For the Maker!”

“For the Maker!” they shout back.

Then I started yelling and clapping my hands in exuberance.

They do the same thing yelling back.

“Yeah!”

“For the Maker!”

“Thank you for the Outside Helpers!”

This goes on for a while. I turn and face King Dryden.

He acknowledges and steps forward, while I step back. He raises his hands to quiet them down as he looks around.

“Thank you, Richard, for those words of encouragement. We must all work together. All sixteen kingdoms must act as one. All of the First Ones must act as one. This is Twainor's greatest challenge that we have ever faced. We will succeed! We will be victorious!”

Then everybody shouts out loud with approval.

“Victory! Victory!”

King Dryden raises his hands again. They quiet down as before.

“I'll be leaving now to meet the First Ones at the Grand Gala Sea Arena. Train hard, Angathorn Kingdom. The ones who are left here are just as important. You will keep our kingdom safe if the fight is brought to our skies. Remember that my Legion. Sir Braxton, you may continue.”

Sir Braxton steps forward, “Yes, my Lord.” He looks at the Legion. “Legion, take your water break and rotate to your next station. We'll begin the next session at the next half-mark. Dwarf dragons you can fly to the Gala Sea Arena if you wish. Don't worry about the training here. We'll keep them very busy until you get back.” Sir Braxton looks to his Army Commander and nods his head.

The Army Commander shouts out loud, “Angathorn Legion attention!”

Everyone snaps to attention.

“Legion, you’re dismissed!”

The Legion breaks apart, some walk, some half jog their way to the long tables where servants are ready to serve tall mugs of cold water. The dragons go to several large tubs and eat some sea-Cantrell together. When they get done, they begin to fly southeast wards to the arena.

Sir Braxton turns around and faces King Dryden and his guests. “Thank you for those words, King Dryden and Richard.”

“You're welcome,” we both say it at the same time.

Wizard Eldwin speaks up, “It is time, King Dryden to be at the arena.”

“Yes it is. See you at the end of the day, Sir Braxton, to hear your daily report.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

They both nod their heads up and down in respect.

We walk toward Wizard Eldwin. We put our hands to shoulder and connect to Eldwin's left and right shoulders. Wizard Eldwin recites the transport spell. We disappear in a blink of an eye.

We fly over the training fields and head southeast ward back to the Grand Castle. We fly over the countryside. We see other dragons flying along the way, including the dwarf dragons at the training fields. Some of them have wizards riding on their backs in the Ethereal Space. We straighten out and fly eastward toward the arena. The forest clears and I see the Grand Gala Sea Arena.