Chapter 10: The Sentinel

Yuri stood on the deck of his air car with vision glasses on and looked down on the Likos village below. This was to be their first stop. The air cars floated so far above the village that they only appeared as specks in the sky from the ground. They intended to make sure that all of Ginaya's people were indeed dead and to make sure the Likos were not preying on any other tribe. Yuri and his force would try to contact the Likos and persuade them to change their brutal ways. If that were not possible, the next plan was to find some way to isolate them so that they could not leave the island on which they lived. The last option was distasteful but necessary if no other way became available, especially if they were menacing another tribe. That option was complete, total destruction and extinction of the Likos.

Ginaya joined Yuri on the deck with vision glasses of her own. She scanned the ocean around the island and then spotted them. Ginaya shook Yuri on the shoulder and pointed at where she was looking. When he followed her point, he spotted the two canoes also. They watched as the canoes rowed to a nearby island and there they spotted two more canoes that were on the beach. They searched the island and soon spotted another sickening ceremony in progress. Yuri spoke to Damia on the radio in his ear and she quickly called the other three ACs (air cars) and told them to form a backup. Quickly Yuri leaped to the controls and dropped the air car toward the ground. Malika and Storm came on deck and each went to operate one of the large guns at the front and rear of the craft. When they were, about ten feet above the clearing containing the sacrificial ceremony, the hairy brutes looked up. They stopped as if frozen in place. When the air car had descended to about three feet off the ground, Yuri and Ginaya leapt off. The car rose again until it was about fifteen feet off the ground. The other three air cars circled high above keeping careful watch against the possibility of more Likos' canoes launching

Ginaya, in the few words she was able to speak in the Likos language said, "Do not come near or I will kill you."

She and Yuri scrambled toward the prisoners to free them. One of the Likos saw what they intended and howled in rage. The brute charged and its fellows, about twenty in all, charged along with it. Malika and Storm opened up with the deck guns and mowed the Likos down. The charge ended almost as soon as it started with all the Likos lying on the ground either dead or dying. Yuri knelt over the prisoners and released their bonds one at a time while Ginaya stood guard. He talked to the prisoners via the translator he wore around his neck though he was sure that his words were unintelligible. When the effects of the paralyzing poison started to were off one man started to speak back and so the process of learning a new language began.

Malika and Storm were covering Yuri with the deck guns so Ginaya stepped over to the moaning Likos that remained alive. Ginaya looked down with a glare containing loathing and hatred of the wounded beast at her feet, a member of the race that had destroyed hers. With one foot, she rolled the beast onto its stomach and then knelt down placing one of her knees squarely in its back. None to gently she secured its arms and legs with the plastic cords she carried. She stood up, checked each of the other Likos to make sure they were dead, and if in doubt, shot it in the head. Ginaya made no move to treat the living Likos' wounds but instead rejoined Yuri.

As the paralysis continued to leave the former prisoners they began to sit up but made no move to escape, instead they joined the first man in his conversation with Yuri. Rudimentary use of the new language slowly formed and Yuri and the first man began to understand each other's words. The man had become much more willing to talk about his race when he found that Yuri and his unit did not intend to hold them as prisoners or invading their villages. Yuri told him that he and his fellows were free to leave at any time, and not followed. Several of his fellows did just that. Moreover, neither Yuri nor Ginaya attempted to stop them. The man did not know of course how easily the air cars above tracked them

The man named Barak became much more forthcoming with information after his fellows left. Yuri learned that his race inhabited both this island and one nearby and had about three hundred members in a number of small villages. The Likos had just recently started to come and although his race fought them, the Likos were ferocious fighters and were usually victorious.