The Tymorean Trust Book 1 - Power Rising

by Margaret Gregory

  Chapter 43 - Recapture

  With every instinct screaming at them to transmit away, Tymos and Kryslie disciplined themselves to stay. They covered their noses with a double fold of cloth and summoned the aura to form a layer of protection about themselves, and then tried not to think of the danger they were letting approach. The aliens had seen the extent of their power and would take no chances. Warlord Kellex wanted them off planet and disabled; neither must be allowed to happen. It was folly to lie there waiting.

  Their premonitions proved correct. The aliens, knowing where their quarry was hidden, saturated the area with the stronger green aura force field. The effect was weaker within the cave as the natural aura was strong there.

  Tymos and Kryslie felt its effects with trepidation but remained aware and were still able to think at each other. Then came a foul smelling gas that caused the mutants to slump to the ground unconscious. Kryslie and Tymos breathed shallowly through the folds of cloth, resisting the creeping feeling of lethargy. The mutants’ torches had fallen to the ground and two were burning close to unconscious bodies. To keep their minds awake, Tymos and Kryslie drew energy from the flames causing them to die out. As they extinguished the last of the torches, four armour-clad aliens strode into the cave. They each wore a bright light on their helmets, and these flicked around the cave as they looked around. The lights all came to focus on what they thought were unconscious red haired children.

  Since they had their eyes closed, the first either Tymos or Kryslie knew of the paralysing ray was when they felt a cold chill rushing along their length, followed by a loss of all sensation from neck down. They felt the chill stop, and peeped through almost closed eyelids. The aliens were giving the same treatment to the unlucky mutants.

  “So much for friendship,” Kryslie managed to think at her brother. Since she was still conscious, she drew on the aura to help her overcome the paralysing beam’s effect.

  Tymos warned her when one of the aliens returned.

  She was aware when the alien leant down and spoke, “I know you are somehow still conscious, but I have a little something to make sure you give no trouble.” She could not prevent him from pressing the orifice of an oddly shaped weapon to her neck. Within moments, her mind began to feel weird. She drew in yet more power and willed her mind to resist the effects of the drug. As her mind began to grey out, she knew Tymos was feeling the same and the aliens were now sure they would give no trouble.

  Watching from the scant cover of some scrubby bushes, just down hill from the cave, Jonko watched the armoured aliens carry his friends like they were just two animal carcasses. Each of the aliens held either the hands or feet of their captives as they walked openly to their aircraft. These were the same type as they had used the previous night.

  He had heard the aircraft approaching soon after leaving the cave. He had pushed Keleb into the nearest cover, and tried to hide himself nearby. He had a view of the aircraft, and he studied them while the aliens were inside the cave. He wanted to go closer, but dared not. He needed to protect Keleb, and his friends had seemed confident that they could handle themselves. After seeing what they had done – was it only yesterday – harnessing the power of that unnatural storm, he had to believe them.

  The two captives were slung into the rear section of the nearest ship - not even tied up. That meant they had to be completely incapacitated. Jonko felt a shiver of disquiet. They would be able to overcome what ever drug or weapon that had been used on them, but what if they could not do it soon enough to prevent being taken off world? He wanted to go and help them.

  Keleb groaned and tried to sit up.

  “Keep your head down, Kel,” Jonko warned quietly. He didn’t take his eyes of the airship.

  “What’s happening,” Keleb asked weakly.

  Jonko gave a terse explanation.

  “We have to help them,” Keleb insisted with as much force as he could gather. He tried again, unsuccessfully to stand. “That alien will kill them this time.”

  “You can’t do anything, Kel. But now you are awake, I am going to transmit into that flitter. If I fail, you will be our last chance at rescue. The mutants have promised to get a message to the palace. But I don’t think help will get here in time.”

  “Mutants?” Keleb quizzed Jonko, but his friend wasn’t listening. The airship doors were closing and the engine noise was increasing in pitch.

  Quickly estimating distance, Jonko transmitted into the rear hold, stumbling on arrival as the craft began to roll forward. He found his balance and crouched beside Tymos who was trying to move. Jonko reached out ant touched his friend, who reacted by turning his head to face him. Tymos’s eyes were unfocussed, and the mind touch seemed strained. “Jon?”

  “What can I do?” Jonko asked, and it seemed an eternity until Tymos touched his mind again.

  “Use our transmitters,” Tymos managed to think. His thought sounded groggy.

  “They took them,” Jonko said quickly.

  “Stop us flying,” Tymos forced out, trying to overcome his foggy mind. “Drive engines – behind wall – cut power – stop the force field – transmit down.”

  Kryslie was slowly inching her way nearer Tymos. Jonko saw the strain of the effort on her face as he adjusted the beam of the mutant’s weapon to its hottest and narrowest setting. He wasted no time starting to burn through the metal wall. As soon as he could, he peeled back the metal, ignoring the searing heat on his unprotected hands. He received an image from Tymos and aimed the weapon at the vital engine workings. He turned back and crouched next to his friends, adjusted his transmitter, to cover all of them. He then felt Tymos and Kryslie touching him and adding power to the unit; he imaged down – and activated it.

  They dropped the last ten feet, hitting the ground with a solid thud. Jonko rolled to look at the direction of the low flying airship. Its engine sounded like it was about to cut. Just before it disappeared over the horizon, the craft exploded into a huge fireball.

  “That fixes that!” Jonko said aloud, and his mind quickly turned to his friends. He was relieved to see they were looking at him, even if they were unable to talk to him. “We’re too exposed here. Are you two all right? Will you be able to move?”

  “Give us a little while,” Kryslie sent to his mind. Her mind was clearing. “Between the gas, the paralysing ray and the mind boggling drug – a ten year old could tie us in knots. At least we are out of that green aura field.”

  “What about the fall? I miscalculated. They came in low, but went out a bit higher,” Jonko babbled the apology.

  “Jon. It’s okay. We didn’t break anything. Just winded ourselves. Luck that – it pushed the last of the gas from our lungs. Help us up, will you?” Tymos urged his friend.

  “But the paralysis – it won’t have worn off yet.” Jonko said with concern.

  “We’ll be able to walk in a little while,” Tymos assured him. “Help me up and help Krys to me.”

  Jonko obeyed, feeling both of his friends trembling with effort. His own hands were extremely painful, but when he gripped Tymos to help him up, he felt blessed coolness. As Tymos used him for support, Jonko looked at his blistered hands. The blisters had gone and the redness was fading.

  “You didn’t need to do that, Tymos. I’ll be fine, and you need all your strength.”

  “I need yours,” Tymos argued. “We can walk, if you can support us.”

  Jonko accepted the prognosis.

  “Head off a bit to the left of east,” Kryslie urged.

  “Shouldn’t we go undercover?” Jonko suggested.

  “Yeah, but trust me,” Kryslie agreed. “We won’t have to go far.”

  With a shrug, Jonko did as directed. He needed all his strength to keep his friends upright, so he asked no more questions. He moved from sand to scoured rock, and thought briefly that they were lucky to have landed on the softer ground.

  Tymos and Kryslie were able to do little more than move one foot forward and then the next. Jonko
was concerned by the slow pace, especially when he began to hear the sounds of more aircraft. He watched the sky alternately with placing his feet carefully. It was too dark to spot the aircraft, but they were very near.

  “Damn,” he swore silently.

  To his surprise, mutants appeared, seemingly out of the ground barely a few lengths away. Hand signals and soft grunts from the mutants indicated that he should follow. When the mutants realised that his friends were weak, two squat but solid males wearing clothing like sacks tied at the middle, came closer and lifted Tymos and Kryslie and began to trot back to the inconspicuous rock chasm they had appeared from. Jonko followed them, hoping to stay out of sight of the aircraft.

  “Here safe. Help coming,” he was told tersely as they went deeper into the rock passage. At the end was a wider area, still not very big, but a small amount of light came from several banked fires nearby. The mutants lay Tymos and Kryslie down gently onto beds of springy fronds and then disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared.

  Commander Nairo allowed a servant to transmit him to President Reslic’s office. Reslic was staring at a screen with a feed from the Jacen Tyr. The Captain was reporting.

  “… no signs of a grounded ship in the near hills…”

  Reslic, aware of Nairo’s arrival, gave him a glance and returned his attention to the space fleet officer. When the report was finished and the connection closed, Reslic asked Nairo for a report.

  “Your Excellency, my men captured a mutant - early this morning- out near the forest. He was in their camp when they woke. He claims to have a message for His Majesty, but that was all we could get him to say. He has a terrible speech impediment.”

  “Was he carrying weapons?” Reslic asked.

  “No, sir, and no sign of any dangerous substances. He just walked up to one of my squads and demanded to come here and talk to Governor Tymoros. We thought him addled. The mutants usually don’t want to talk to us.”

  “Where is this mutant now?” Reslic demanded.

  “We have him in an isolation cell, Sir. He also has a highly odorous body smell. Captain Armon is guarding him.”

  Reslic gestured to his unobtrusive attendant. Yeven approached silently.

  “Give Governor Tymoros word of this, and bring him to the isolation cells.”

  Reslic transmitted to the observation room next to the isolation cell. He studied the mutant, and betrayed nothing of his inner reaction to the short man with his gargoyle like face and twisted body. The poor creature, poor man, was not responsible for his looks. He half expected the mutant to be condescendingly arrogant – especially if the mutants were allied to the aliens who thought themselves so powerful. He was wrong. The mutant was visibly trembling, and cowering behind a chair on the opposite side of the room from Armon.

  Tymoros arrived and walked to observe the prisoner. Aldiv stood back by the wall.

  “He wanted to talk to me?” Tymoros remarked, studying the terrified mutant. “His message must be important, to come here voluntarily. I will talk to him.”

  The mutant saw the red haired man arrive from nowhere and tried to get further behind the chair. With eyes scanning the room for possible escape, the mutant noticed the newcomer settling himself into one of the two chairs and gesturing to the other.

  Tymoros concentrated on seeming non-threatening and spoke quietly and calmly. “I am Piyani Tymoros, High King Governor. You are welcome to sit if you wish. Can I offer you a drink?”

  The gargoyle shook his head and stayed partly in hiding.

  “I understand you have a message for me,” Tymoros asked.

  The mutant bobbed his head. He was almost rigid with fright. He had heard too many horror stories about what the royals did to his kind. But he had promised to bring the message, and he began to speak, stuttering violently.

  “Th… Th… This me… me… message i... is f... for T… T….Tym…or...ous, H... High K… King” the man began. “C… can I t…tell you m… mind to m… mind?”

  “Go ahead,” Tymoros invited, accepting the implication of the mutant’s request. He unshielded his mind and received the message, exactly as it had been spoken; no flaws in the wording had occurred through out the entire telepathic relay.

  “Tell the High King that we are prisoners of the dark eyed ones who are Aeronites. They have captured us for a second time and we may not be able to escape so easily this time. They will try to take us off world and we will do all in our power to delay them. Jonko and Keleb are free in sector six-five and the alien ship is in sector seven-four. The mutants are now our allies and will lead you to Jonko and Keleb and the alien ship.” The mutant went on to repeat a string of numbers that were the coordinates for the cave Tymos and Kryslie had met the mutants.

  Tymoros sensed Reslic’s wordless, “I’m on it.” He concentrated on trying to ease the mutant’s fears. He could help them a lot more than by merely being a messenger, if he chose.

  “I am grateful to you, Sir. May I have your name?”

  “T…t…ureg,” the mutant stammered, looking suspiciously at the High King.

  “Tureg, thank you. Your news both gladdens and saddens me. Is there something that I might provide for you and your people in return?”

  With a headshake, the mutant used telepathy to make his reply. “To receive gifts, I did not come. Bring gifts, others want, make new friends, new enemies. Better without, home be rather.”

  “I will have you escorted back to where you met our Peace Corps officers. Will that do?”

  “Yes, do well, go now?”

  Tymoros rose, summoned Armon, and gave instructions. The Guard Captain escorted the mutant out.

  Keleb, from his hidden vantage point, heard the sound of airplanes – jet planes, his mind whispered. A flight of three flew over him, heading in the direction the alien ship had gone. He didn’t know if they were alien ships, or Tymorean. He had heard mention of a Tymorean Space fleet, but not an air force.

  He had no idea if Jonko had succeeded in rescuing Tymos and Kryslie and he was worried. He tried to stand up, but he felt incredibly weak. He would not be able to walk anywhere and he was vulnerable where he was.

  With his mind worrying about his friends, and being helpless, it was a while before he noticed, the gentle nudges on his legs. When he finally did, he jumped slightly, causing two of the hopper creatures to withdraw a few feet and stare at him.

  “Hey, little ones, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said quietly. He held out his hand and let them inch forward to sniff him.

  The creatures came closer and sat on their haunches, and then balanced on hind legs, with forelegs on his leg. They looked into his eyes. He hid the thoughts of this being strange behaviour for the creatures. They had come up to him before, to sniff him and occasionally some let him pat them, but never like this.

  He stared back at the creatures, keeping his body still, and a vision came into his head. He saw an open area, rocky ground, a crack in the rock with a sense of ‘deep’, and then a sense of ‘humans’. This stayed in his mind for a time and was then replaced by a second scene – of a narrow rocky path, leading down through rock to an open area – like a cave, but with a narrow line of sunlight through it. Again there was the sense of ‘humans’.

  “Where?” Keleb tried to ask the creatures, but they suddenly took fright and hop-ran away.

  Keleb stood unsteadily, realised he wasn’t alone, turned and almost fell over. Relief flooded through him as he realised that the Governors had arrived behind him. When he tried to bow, in the traditional greeting, he almost toppled. Xyron gripped him gently.

  “Foster father,” he greeted, grateful for the strong arms supporting him, and the sense of energy filling him.

  “Where are Tymos and Kryslie, and Jonko?” Xyron asked, with a tone of urgency.