Chapter 2

Samuel had been following the energy trail for over an hour now. He had passed through several solar systems, getting further and further from Earth. Shit, he thought, I just hope I can find my way back!

Pulling up short, he saw that he’d arrived at a huge space station. It appeared to bear the insignia of the Intergalactic Patrol, which he’d seen both women wearing. Shaking his head, he looked at all the ships that were there. Nodding, he spotted the one that the two women had been on. Good, he thought, at least one friendly face!

Approaching closer, he suddenly ‘heard’ a voice in his head. [This is a restricted area. Unless you have an appointment with Intergalactic Patrol personnel, it is suggested that you depart this area. You are being bio-scanned now. Know that deadly force will be used if you persist in your actions!]

Concentrating, Samuel thought back, [I suggest you speak to Drivas Flot before you do something you will regret. I doubt you have anything that can stop me, though you might piss me off!]

There was a moment of silence, then many confused thoughts came back to him. Clutching his head, he concentrated as hard as he could. Finally, the voices started to thin until he heard Drivas and another male.

[Is this the one you saw?] Samuel heard the man say.

[Yes, sir, he is even purer than the criminal Mellos Thymp. We were unsure of him, so we came back to report. As of yet, we are unsure of what abilities he has.] Drivas said.

[You know, it is rude to talk about someone when they can hear you.] Samuel broke into their conversation with his thoughts.

Samuel could feel the shock that both were experiencing. [I apologize. It has been a long time since a humanoid with your abilities has been seen. Though as you can see, all are trained to handle almost anything. Please come aboard so we can discuss this in a more relaxed setting.] The man’s thoughts returned. Samuel was nodding, though he was feeling a lot of deception from the man.

Samuel drew closer to the station, then suddenly vanished, appearing in the same room as the man and Drivas. Sitting when the man offered, Samuel felt as if there were a thousand eyes on him.

“I’m sure that Drivas has already made a full report to you. I also know that you are broadcasting this meeting to whoever you can. I’ll tell you as I told Drivas and Thellus. Don’t come after me; you really got nothing to fear. Piss me off? Well, I don’t think you want to see what I can really do,” Samuel calmly told them.

“Sir, we don’t...” The man started, then was quiet when Samuel held up his hand.

“Please, don’t insult my intelligence. I am former military; I recognize a military installation. An independent civilian operation? I think not. So, would you like to talk to me straightforwardly, or would you prefer for me to just leave?” Here, Samuel spread his hands in a gesture of unconcern. Samuel’s eyes narrowed as he suddenly heard more thoughts. “Unless you want people to be hurt, I suggest you tell them to stand down, NOW!”

The other man nodded as he spoke into a communicator. Turning back to Samuel, he asked, “If you aren’t here to conquer, then why?”

“I want to find Mellos also. She has a hell of a lot more information about me than I can get from asking,” Samuel turned to Drivas. “When I asked for the information on your ship, I gleaned quite a bit; the problem is hardly any of it makes sense. It’s in another language, one that your beam has had no success in deciphering. I know that the patrol is after her also; that’s fine. She tried, I believe, to kill me, unsuccessfully as you can see. I’ll go now; I just thought I’d tell you what I was going to do.” Samuel stood to go, then turned back to the two there. “Remember, Drivas,” Samuel tapped his head, “I still had them when I was back on Earth.” Drivas’ eyes went wide as she slowly nodded to a smiling Samuel. With that, he vanished, appearing outside the station then speeding away.

Drivas sat with a thud, as did the sub-commander of the Intergalactic Patrol. “You believe him?” He asked her.

Swallowing hard, Drivas looked at the male. “A lot of what he said I do believe. As of yet, he has made no aggressive moves against the Patrol, even when Thellus discharged her weapon at point-blank range.”

The Sub-commander nodded; this was good. If they could use him in their quest, then this would be worth it. Touching a panel, he asked, “Did you get enough of a scan to confirm?”

“Almost a complete scan, sir. We are comparing the data to that of the first scans. So far, they are showing no deviation from the pattern of those that were recorded over five centuries ago. All readings indicate that he is from Owt Los! Sir, I thought that was impossible! They were all destroyed in...” came the voice.

“Enough! This is not a secure channel. You will store all you have gotten under the self-destructing section. You and all that are there are to report to the expungement center immediately!” The male said, then he turned to Drivas as he clicked off. “I know that both of you are class elite thought warriors. Though, as I saw, he breached her defenses in no time. We need to upgrade the status of both of you. It appears he has somewhat attached himself to both of you. Pray that doesn’t change.”

Drivas swallowed again as she thought of the ease with which Samuel had entered her ship. They had the shields at full when he teleported in. Shaking her head, she thought that he’d done this as easily as walking into a room. Here he was, just starting to emerge. The sub-commander was right; they had to turn him to their side.

“Sir,” Drivas said, coming out of her musings, “do you require Thellus and I to continue to monitor him and any interaction he has with Mellos?” The male was quiet for a minute as he thought about it. “I think that would be a good idea. I also think that both of you should be promoted to special field agents for the duration of this mission. I have already sent the request to central.”

The door on the far side opened as Thellus walked in, nodding to Drivas. Drivas had thought they might be given this assignment. She’d already got her requests in ahead of time. It was, after all, what had gotten her the Sector Commander position, the youngest to date. Smiling, she thought she’d say thanks to Samuel the next time they were face to face.

“Alright, Special Agent Thellus and Special Agent Commander Drivas. As soon as you both have been escalated to the next level of thought warrior, follow him. Maintain as little contact as possible. Also, stay as hidden from him as you can,” the sub-commander instructed both women. “You should know the next level is painful. Not much, but painful. As of right now, there aren’t many thought warriors at level two. Far fewer at three, and four. Level five, well, there is only one—Thantas is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Thank you, sir,” they both said as they started to exit the room. “Oh! Commander, all your requests have been filled, including a few others that Thantas thought you might need. Good luck, good hunting.”

Both women left, heading to a little-used section of the station. Entering a door, both women watched as several guards took up positions on either side of the door. Five minutes later, the guards cringed as the screams of the women started.

Samuel had turned back toward what he hoped was Earth. The problem was, nothing looked familiar. Damn, he wished he’d paid closer attention in science class. Stopping for a moment, he thought, then shrugged. Where is Earth? he thought, then waited. Ah, come on! This had worked last time. Waiting a moment longer, he felt his eyes start to shift, then he saw a path through space beside him. Shrugging again, he turned, heading that way. I really need to get back faster, he thought. Suddenly, his speed began to pick up, then a tunnel opened in front of him. What the hell?

Flying into it, he was only in it for what felt like a few seconds, then he was coming out not far from Earth. Okay, now that was a neat trick, and I have absolutely no idea how I did it. Shaking his head, he decided not to dwell on it. Looking around again where Mellos’s ship had been, he began to run through the spectrums again. Growling, he started a second time, this time slower; he had to be missing something.

Frustrated, he was about to go through them a third time when he noticed an extremely faint energy trail. It was so faint that it almost blended into the darkness of space. Smiling, he started to follow it, then he thought again, I need to go faster. His speed picked up, and another tunnel opened as he flew into it. This time, it seemed more like a few minutes rather than a few seconds.

Emerging into the darkness of space, Samuel began to look around. The trail was just as weak here, though it seemed to be moving slower. It was thicker, meaning they weren’t in the tunnel. Whatever, he thought as he started to follow the trail. A few minutes later, he arrived in front of a solid blue-colored world. Funny, he thought, what’s that grey patch that seems to be growing on the surface? Looking closer, he did a double take. There was no surface—it was actually gas.