Chapter 7

Venta said, "You all have done an excellent job. You are almost ready for the final attack. Do you need any other equipment before we begin the real campaign?"

I answered, "Yes, We need a little more firepower. We almost lost it when the mob of robots showed up and when we faced the pillbox. Can you supply us with a grenade launcher that functions like our regular guns? The best deal would be a combination of rifle and grenade launcher, but I would settle for the grenade launcher, if that's all I could get."

Venta was silent for a minute and then said, "I have consulted our engineers and they think that they can give you the combination weapon you ask for, but it will take a few days to get it ready. Are you willing to wait that long?"

"Absolutely! We can wait indefinitely to get such a weapon!"

"Very well, you will be returned to your home and contacted again when the weapons are ready."

With that, we were home in our beds. Amy and I relieved the built up tensions with sex, and I'm sure the others did the same. We all slept well and woke up late the next morning.

Jim had returned to Blister to resume his duties as marshal, as he did every day, and the rest of us returned to our normal activities as well. I was sitting in my shop ruminating about my next project when I heard a voice trying to contact me. It was similar to the first time I had talked to Venta.

VOICE: "John Akers, can you hear me? Please answer if you can."

ME: "Yes, Venta, I can hear you. What do you want?"

VOICE: "I am not Venta, I am Lustra. I must talk to you about a serious problem. Will you talk to me?"

ME: "Certainly, Lustra. I am at your disposal. Please continue."

LUSTRA: "You and your friends are the victim of an elaborate and cruel hoax! I have been listening and watching Venta's activities and she has been lying to you. We are the real target of your attack!"

ME: "I find that hard to believe. Can you prove what you are saying?"

LUSTRA: "I am not sure that I can prove it, but I can show you my side of the story. Will you let me bring you here so that we may talk, face to face."

ME: "Certainly, what do I need to do?"

LUSTRA: You don't need to do anything. I will bring you to me... NOW!"

I looked up at the largest being I had ever seen. It was much, much larger than an elephant; bigger than the largest giant whale. I stepped back in surprise, and the being said, "Do not be frightened! I am Lustra. I will tell you a little about us so that you will have some background.

"The dominant beings on this planet are called Arcnas. You might say that we are at the top of the 'food chain.' We may look something like spiders, but we are more like your ants or bees. We have a dominant female 'queen', a few males to keep us fertilized, and a multitude of neuter workers who labor for the good of the family, but do not reproduce.

"When Venta brought you here, you saw the landscape outside. Each of those buildings you saw is the above-ground access point to a 'hive.' There are thousands of hives on our planet and we constantly war with each other. The wars are normally limited to 'hand-to-hand' conflicts between two small groups of workers, but Venta has decided to take the war to a new level. She wants to conquer the whole planet and become the Empress of Arcna.

"Venta wants to destroy our power source, which is a device called a 'fusion reactor.' If that is destroyed, our ventilation system will stop and I will suffocate in short order. Most of my workers would survive because they could escape to the surface, but, as you can see, I am now too large to go anywhere. I could not leave this room, even if the doors were large enough to let me through.

"Can I prove all that I have said? NO! But Arcnas cannot lie. If, the next time you face Venta, you ask her if what I have said is true, she can only say that it is, or else, she will say nothing on the subject. Ask her and see what happens."

"Will she try to kill me if I expose her plot?"

"That's a good question and I don't know the answer. Perhaps you had better have a weapon handy when you ask the question. I will monitor you and try to rescue you if she does act hostile, but I cannot guarantee anything."

"Very well, I'll do as you request. Please return me to my home, now, as I have a lot to think about."

"Off you go. Goodbye."

The next thing I knew, I was back in my shop. I was very confused by that whole encounter with Lustra. If what she said was true, then there would be no way that I would want to help fight her. I had better warn the others before our next meeting with Venta.

I was trying to decide how to handle this when I got a communicator call from Jim, "John, please assemble the team and bring them with their weapons to Blister as soon as possible. We have a situation developing and I have no idea how to handle it."

"Acknowledged, Jim. We'll be there as quickly as we can run."

I switched over to a general call and said, "Attention team members! Jim needs our help in Blister. Grab your weapons and meet me on the front veranda."

In virtually no time, the team was assembled on the veranda and we left for Blister as fast as we could run. We were all armed with our shotgun-pistols and I was also carrying the repeating rifle. Since all of us could run at over 100 MPH, we reached Blister in about one minute.

"Jim, where are you?"

"I'm on the far side of town standing next to a big metallic thing that just showed up a few minutes ago."

"We're on our way!"

We rounded some buildings and skidded to a halt. Before us was the biggest, shiniest hunk of metal I had ever seen. It was a round, sort of disk shaped thing about 150 yards in diameter. It looked like one of these Greek discus things, or maybe two of them placed face to face. It was thicker in the middle than it was on the edges. I couldn't tell what was holding it off the ground, there was a funny kind of shimmer in a ring under it, but it wasn't kicking up any dust.

While we were looking at this strange thing, a set of stairs seemed to telescope out of one side and we moved toward the stairs. A voice appeared in our heads through the communicator, "Please, all eight of you come aboard. I'm afraid that I would cause a panic if I were seen by the general public. You may being your weapons."

I looked at my companions and shrugged my shoulders, "Let's go. I don't know what this thing is, but I'm dying of curiosity."

We walked up the stairs and a door opened. We stepped into an all-metal room and the door closed. We heard air hiss and we felt a decrease in gravity, not much, but some. The air smelled and tasted a little funny, but it wasn't far from what you might find in a barn. We heard a voice say, "Please don't panic when you see me. I mean you no harm and you are certainly stronger than I am."

The door on the opposite side of the metal room opened and a being stepped through that snatched our breath away. It looked like a cross between a bear and an alligator. It was standing on its hind legs and it had arms and hands where its forelegs would normally be. But its head was the most striking! It had the flat head and long snout of an alligator, but it was covered in hair instead of scales. It was wearing clothes and its boots were the metallic color of the vessel and reflected light like a mirror. It was about 7 feet tall and generally as impressive as hell!

"Let me introduce myself, if you please. I am Ambassador Rik-Rik and I have been sent by the galactic council to discuss some things with you. If you wish, you may call me 'Rik.' I already know your names. Please come this way. Oh yes, I know you're curious, I am female."

Rik led us down a long corridor to what appeared to be a meeting room. There was a table with several stools spaced around it. "Please join me at the table."

We sat down and the stools changed into very comfortable chairs. I don't know how she did it, but it sure was a neat trick. Rik grinned (have you ever seen an alligator grin?) and said, "The chairs are spectacular, aren't they. They have to be able to conform to an almost infinity of body shapes. You would be amazed at how much technology went into them.

"Let me preface this meeting by saying that I know your recent history and of your adventure with the Arcnas. I am not here to interfere, but what they did to you is why I am here. You people now have a set of characteristics which are unique in the galaxy and I am here to make you an offer.