Chapter 18

"I've heard enough. Shut it off Blantor."

"He knows it's us Ditilan. What are we going to do?"

"How am I supposed to know, this was your great idea remember!"

"Maybe he could help us?"

"First of all, there's no us! And you want him to help with what? There's only one way out for you, after all this, I'm afraid."

"There's no way I'll end up like my ancestor! What if I get him to help us take over the council?"

"Have you lost all your senses? Of all the Idea you've ever had, this must be the stupidest one yet! Is this your idea of a suicide?"

"Don't you think that it's about time that the high council reflect the population of Brissa?"

"I don't care what you or I think is appropriate for the High Council. What I do care about, on the other hand, is the length of my life, which seems to be shrinking with every second I speak to you."

"So what should I do? Stop everything, go back to Brissa and surrender myself to the High Council just so I would end up dead and further shame the rest of my family? No thank you Ditilan!"

"You're going to place your life in the hands of a Human? You can't be serious! I for one will not stand by and let you throw your life away like that! Computer?"

"yes Mech3 Ogeaya. What can I do for you?"

"Do you have a record of ALL that's happened on this ship since it left its docking bay."

"No I do not Mech3 Ogeaya."

"Make a recording of what you have and my involvement in all this and send it to..."

Blantor could feel his world getting smaller and smaller which each word spoken by Ditilan. He was seeing himself in front of the High council and all his peers, being ridiculed for trying to restore his family name.

No sound was made when Blantor press the trigger on his lasergun. The sound of Ditilan's body hitting the ground was all that was heard and what got Blantor to notice what he had done.

-"Oh my ... Well it's too late now anyway but I'm sorry Ditilan. All of this would have been better with you by my side but ... oh well!"

"Computer?"

"Yes TimeTech2 Butonia. What can I do for you?"

"Demolecularize the body on the floor please."

"That procedure is not allowed on Brissians. I can remove it to the Cryo-chamber until the Mortuary Department takes the body off of the ship. Would that be satisfactory for you TimeTech2 Butonia?"

"You do understand what I'm undertaking here don't you?"

"Yes I do TimeTech2 Butonia."

"I will not surrender until I see this to the end, which means that I'm ready to die before I give myself up. Extrapolate from there. If I don't surrender, what will the HC do when then find us?"

"They will kill you and destroy the ship you are in and go back to Brissa."

"Now you see what I mean! Demolecularize Ditilan while I see what I can do to help out my human down there."

"I would suggest sending all the data in my memory banks to his AI."

"Great Idea. I'll do that."

Millions of microscopic nanobots were released into the air system and directed themselves to the body.

If Blantor had been looking back, the scene in front of him would have been nothing out of the ordinary. The body started to vanish from the eye, top to the bottom, layer by layer till not even a drop of blood was left on the metallic surface of the floor. For all intent and purposes, it's as if Ditilan Ogeaya had never been on the ship.

For this trip and to make an example that no one would be soon to forget, the Military High Council of Brissa Boarded their planetary ship with only two option. Bring back the lost ship or blow it out of existence so no one else would stumble upon it and all the marvels of Brissian technology that's been worked into it.

"Are you sure he's in this solar system?" Said the supreme ruler of the MHC to one of the lower techies all standing at one of the different screens around the bridge, his disdain for the techy in question, evident on his face has he his addressing him.

"He's a Butonia. Where else would he go with a ship capable of time traveling?"

All he got as an answer was a grunt as he look at the retreating form of his leader with daggers in his eyes. "Go crawl under a rock and die you worthless piece of shit." he mumbled under his breath.

Just before I get back to the men, I went to see S'sesstor. I don't have the slightest clue as to what to do with him. Even if he's able to live with us, will he want to? Will the people accept him? I know he's a scientist, but in what field?

When I opened the door to the storeroom, S'esstor was at the table going over the content of a small note book

"Ah! There you are. Do you think I can get out of here now? Oh! Did you have another session with the device?"

My right hand, in the air, palm out got him to shut up before he could go on.

"S'sesstor, what am I to do with you?" I think my question caught him off guard. His eyes were opening and closing rapidly and his mouth was opening as if he was going to say something but nothing was coming out.

"Before you think up any more scenarios in your head, I don't have any intention of killing you anymore. I have other worries, but I still have no Idea what you can do to contribute to a group such as ours. Can you help me here? I thought of sending you back,..." As I start to say this he's shaking his head negatively " ... I'm afraid I can't do that. If your kind keeps attacking us, I'm afraid I'll have to take the fight to them and if I do, I'll kill every last one."

"I can eh ... well, I'd like to ... if you don't mind that is, to stay with you. I have a feeling that you will be the cause of great changes and I would like to be present when it happens. As for the other Drazzards, I think I can help you with that."

"You would help me decimate your race?"

"It's not that I would help you, it's more to help the rest of the Drazzards that are not as military in lined. Most of us would be quite satisfied with a normal everyday life. For a few of my kind, being some sort of leader is prominent in our genes, but only for a minority and unfortunately, those are the one that find themselves leading our people."

"So I wouldn't have to kill a lot of them, just a few at the top! Is that what you're telling me?"

"Exactly! Most of them meet up at days end to discuss the next day. I don't know how you were able to overcome the ship I was on, let alone three of them, but if you could do that, I don't see why you couldn't get to them if, let's say, someone like me were to help you as to their meeting place. What do you say?"

Put that way, he just became part of the big picture but I still have to deal with him on a day to day basis. I fear for his life if I just let him loose within the gates of the town. Eventually I would like for all the different races to live peacefully with each other or at least not kill one another on site.

"That sounds all good but that still leaves me with the same problem I had when I came here in the first place."

He just looked at me, saying nothing. "Do you mind staying on the ship for the time being? We'll need to get the people comfortable having around. By the way, why do your people kill everyone they encounter?"

That same empty look was staring at me again. "What are you talking about Rock? My people don't kill systematically. The military do defend the waters for fear of having others invade our land. Their mandate is to sink any ship that they can't take over as to always have control of the waters."

"I was told that they kill everyone not even bothering with slaves." He was shaking his head negatively again.

"We do have slaves Rock. We just don't go looking for them. My race have natural enemies in the Barrials, which makes up for most of our slaves. Every fight we have with them either makes us more slaves or some of my kind becomes slaves themselves. I find that practice quite repugnant myself but I'm but a scientist and I have little power to change things even if I wanted to, which would be a sure way for me to be killed. I would be killed just being seen talking to you let alone helping you but I believe the prophecy will be fulfilled by you so I will do anything in my power to help you if I can."

"Alright, you've convinced me. How many of those leaders meet up like that, do you know?

"It's always sixty or so why?"

"S'sesstor, first I need to know what awaits me, then I have to think about how I will deal with it. I've answered your "Why" this time, but don't think I'll make a habit of it. You chose to help me, not the other way around. Are we clear?" The look I was giving him was making him uncomfortable, so by the time I stopped talking, he was looking at the ground.

"Yes Rock, very clear."

"Ok. Now, those sixty or so you're talking about, once we've dealt with them, will there be more?"

"There should be a few more underground but no more than thirty."

"What's underground for them to be there?"

-"Oh ... I thought you ... umm ... well you see ... we, ahhh ... I mean WE, as a people prefer to live in dark places, it's just better suited for us, so we live in underground dwellings. I thought everyone knew that!"

"You still haven't answered my first question."

"Ah yes ... your question ... well ... I ... What was your question again?"

I don't know if I should laugh at him or slap him. "Can you handle staying here on the ship for the time being?"

"Well yes, I don't see why not. There's food and water here. I'll be fine."

"Do you need something to sleep on?" Now he's looking at me like I'm an idiot.

"Oh sorry, I guess you didn't know. As a race, we don't need anything to sleep on. The ridges on our back makes it impossible to sleep like you do. We sleep lying face down and it's more than enough for any of my kind, but thank you for asking, we are used to very little comfort."

"Ok then, try to stay inside for the rest of the day and I'll see if I can bring you in town tomorrow." I didn't need to share my fears as to his safety if I brought him out today. I have enough on my plate right now.

On the beach quite a few mounds of rocks were already waiting with more coming in every second. Same thing for the logs. When Aldread saw the look of surprise on my face he came towards me.

"When we went to town to get the buggy, the people there wanted to know why we needed it. In the end, everyone wanted to help. The only ones not here are the ones taking care of the children." He had a huge smile on his face, so proud he was of his people. "Andres is waiting for you right there." Pointing to my right.

When I looked, he was knee deep in the water, with a regulator in each hand, trying to get one of his men to go under water with him.

"Come with me, we'll go see him and I'll explain my plan to the two of you." My plan was to show them how to hold up the logs just below the water with the rocks so the ship would impaled themselves on it. The idea is to leave a gap that is navigable only by our ships.

As we got closer, we could hear Andres insisting that he could breathe under water if he held one of the ends in his mouth to the point of getting red in the face. I hadn't even noticed our stuff being brought to shore.

When he saw me coming he lifted his arms in the air in resignation or at least he tried. The hoses on the regulators are not long enough to permit full extension of his arms.

"Having problems?" I didn't try to say more or I would have laughed at him.

"Ah, yes and no. You remember Raphael and Abilio?"

"Yes I do." I acknowledge both with a nod of the head.

"They have a hard time believing me when I tell them that they can breathe under water with your stuff."

"Did you go under with it to show them instead of just telling them?"

"I aah ... well not exactly ... I thought maybe ... you know... ?

"So you want me to show them, is that it?"

"Well ... I eh ... I only used it that one time and only for a few seconds and I..."

I remember his face when he came out of the water sputtering the first time he tried it and had to suppress a smile again.

"Let's get out of the water first. I'll explain what you guys will do and then we'll try the diving equipment."

Once back on the beach, I assembled the four vests (BCD), tanks and regulators with a mask. Checked the air in the tanks and all were around 3000 psi which was more than enough for the work they had to do and the depth they would be doing it in. Depending on how hard they breathe, they should have about 90 minutes of down time if not more.

I didn't have to spend a lot of time adjusting the weight belts since they would be walking on the bottom all the time. The belts were set for the weight of a normal human and would keep them down, no problem.

All of them looked on with attention but surprisingly no one asked a single question. "So all of you will be able to assemble one of these when you need it too?" Four mouths opened wide at the same time.

This time I wasn't able hold back the laughter. "If you could see your faces right now!" And laughed some more.

"Ok, now for something more serious." I made a half of an oval shape circle in the sand close to the way the beach was naturally made. I made finger size hole inside the arc for the position of the poles I want put under water.

"You guys will go under water till you're in, twice your height of water. You will first dig holes at an angle in which the logs will go. Then you pack the rocks around them so that they will stay still when a ship rams into them. Make the space between each log the length of your extended arms. Andres, you need to get the stones about half way into the water. They won't be able to come up on the beach to retrieve the rocks they need, so the further into the water your people can get them the better. Any questions?" Except Aldread who had a clear job to do, the divers including Andres had that blank look on their faces.

"I need two more divers. Do you think you could find two of your people that would like to help under water Aldread?"

"If that's what's needed to defeat the Barrials, you'll have your men in a few minutes." And he was off to it.

Turning back to the divers. "I'll do the first one with you guys first. That way you'll know exactly how to do it. Each of you grab your vest by the tank at the top and drag it into the water where we'll put them on."

Once about waist deep, I helped them put the vest on, the belts having been put on before we got in. I showed them how to inflate the vests in case they needed to get back to the surface in a hurry and got them to put their facemasks and the regulator in their mouths.

"First, I want you guys to sit down." Raphael and Abilio were looking at me as if I'd told them they were about to die and Andres wasn't too sure himself also.

I looked in his eyes and winked, got the regulator in my mouth and sat down underwater. About four seconds later, Andres join me. We got to wait a minute or so for the other two, a look of surprise plastered on what we could see of their faces.

I got them to stay there siting down for about five minutes till I gestured to them to get up.

I was about to bring them deeper when I noticed the group of people back on the beach. We also had no material to work with.

"Let's go see the people and get what we need to put in our first log." All I got as an answer was three nods.

As we walked in the water to the beach, the people looking at us would have been amusing had it not been for the five or six who turned around running away in fright. This time, all four of us started laughing at the same time which got the ones running to slow down and look back. The look on their face was just what was needed to diffuse the situation and everyone there started laughing also.

Eventually the runners joined in the laughter. They did get teased but that was expected. I was just wondering how many of the ones that stayed only did so cause they were rooted there in fright. I guess it would have been better to take off our facemasks, come to think of it.

Aldread was the first to speak. "This is Ramos and Sanril." He was pointing at two men who nodded as he mentioned their name. "When I explained what we needed the men for, they volunteered. Now looking at their face, I'm not so sure they still do!" The look on Ramos and Sanril was enough to get everyone laughing again.

The laughing subsided when the two men in question joined us in front of the group, making their intention quite clear to all.

"Is there a shovel close by that we can use?" I asked him.

"I'll have to send someone to town to get one." I saw him look at a man present and with a nod the man was on his way to get me a shovel. You really have to admire a people who do what they have to do like these people do. No arguing, no questions, no whining just a nod and you could be sure a job would get done.

"What we are doing here is putting logs that will go into any ship that will come here to attack us. We'll leave the left side of the beach open enough so that we can pass our ship that way. Anyone else that come here will be stranded before they even get to the beach." Again I drew a replica of the beach indicating where I wanted the post put in so that everyone knew what we had in mind.