[Prologue]    [Chapter 1]   [Chapter 2]    [Chapter 3]    [Chapter 4]    [Chapter 5]    [Chapter 6]    [Chapter 8]     [Chapter 9]    [Chapter 10]    [Chapter 11]    [Chapter 12]    [Chapter 13]    [Chapter 14]    [Chapter 15]    [Chapter 16]    [Chapter 17]    [Chapter 18]    [Chapter 19]    [Chapter 20]    [Chapter 21]    [Chapter 22]    [Chapter 23]    [Chapter 24]    [Chapter 25]    [Chapter 26]    [Chapter 27]    [Chapter 28]    [Chapter 29]    [Chapter 30]    [Epilogue]
   

Chapter 7

Loria flew the shuttle over the Sherran streets. All she could see were Catlans lying on the streets or being tied up. Tyrons were relaxing, lying down or guarding Catlans. Shuttle loads of different Taklans were now wandering around bored because they either lost their shuttle or thought there was nothing more to do. Some streets were deserted.
    Loria was flying over a deserted street when she noticed a street up ahead with a full Catlan gang on the roads.
    "Yain, what's the raid status?" Loria asked and looked behind her. Yain looked at the pad he was holding.
    "According to the info, the street ahead and a few others behind it are the only ones left," he reported.
    "Good." Loria looked behind Yain. "Ready for the final raid crew?" They nodded with big grins.
    She looked back forward with a smile. She could now see a few bars and clubs. Her smile went.
    "There's more Catlans here than I thought." Loria pushed a button under the speaker. "Shuttles 43 and 58 attack the street northeast Sherran."
    A voice came over the speaker. "But Loria, shuttle 58 has crashed."
    "Oh, shuttle 57 then." She let go of the button and sped up the shuttle.

The squad had now broken up into 10 little groups-1 group per entrance. 1 group was stepping carefully along the dark corridor before a guard came into view. The Catlan thought she could see shadows and hear whispers. She walked forward a bit, but she never saw it coming. A laser blast came out of nowhere-she fell to the ground.
    Other Catlans nearby heard the blast, one pressed a button on the wall, one pressed his ear against the wall (to listen out), another was shot. Then another.
    Around the other side, a particular Catlan was feeling smug and waiting for a group to arrive. Then he heard a shot, screams and yells, then lots of firing. At first he didn't know what to do, then he switched on his laser rifle and tip-toed without making a sound-which is something Catlans are very good at. He edged along a wall. He could see many shadows moving and lots of lasers.
    "I guess the Imperial Guard was sent for," he thought. "Well, if I get close enough, I should be able to see the red armour."
    A Wayan pressed himself against the wall. "Man I hope Rekla can get us out of this!" (Rekla is another name for Gaderan.) Then out of nowhere, a load of lasers were heard and seen and all the Catlans were down before anyone realised what was going on. When they looked up, there was one Catlan standing with his laser rifle pointed down.
    "Hey er, thanks!" Someone called out.

Zana and Jaron flew along the silver-lit corridor, shooting the odd Catlan that appeared. Then at one point, a secret door that Zana didn't know existed, opened up and a Catlan with orange hair came out. He saw them coming and dropped his laser rifle, putting his hands into the air.
    Zana and Jaron slowed down. "What should I make of this?" thought  Zana.
    "Is he up to something?" thought Jaron.
    "I'm being honest here," the Catlan said. "I'm on your side and I'm no threat. Our lifestyle's absolute crap anyway."
    Jaron and Zana looked at each other, then looked back at the Catlan. "How old's this tunnel?" Zana asked.
    "10 years."
    "Where does it lead to?" asked Jaron.
    "The slave-morgue, royal arena and parlour." He carefully picked up his laser rifle, looking at them as he did. "It's perfectly safe to come through here, there are no security cameras."
    The strange Catlan led them into the tunnel. "By the way, the name's Loray."
    "He's nice," Jaron said quietly.
    "Real nice," Zana answered just as quietly.

    "Okay, so what're the numbers?" Kane demanded.
    "16 assistants, 23 scientists and 13 arrested guards," a Wayan told him.
    "What about the gate-crashers?" asked Kane.
    "All unconscious sir."
    Kane looked where there were a few Taklans standing around a metal chamber. "Can't you get that thing open?" he asked. A lot of them looked at Kane and shrugged. He shook his head. "Kiar! Can't you get that thing open?" The Catlan who helped them came to him.
    "Looks easy enough," commented Kiar and went to the chamber. Kane followed him, purposely stepping on a Catlan soldier.
    Kiar went to a side of the chamber and looked at a dial of buttons. "This should be it," he said and pushed a red button. A light exploded with a crash. This annoyed a lot of people and a scientist nearby tutted at him. "Sorry!" Kiar called and glared at the scientist.
    Kane then snapped: "Just open it!" Kiar then pushed a blue button and the chamber door opened slowly, letting out a lot of steam.
    Kane felt himself getting sleepy and shook it off. "Must be sleep gas," he thought. Other people were getting sleepy too, but not all of them were snapping out of it. The door had stopped moving, Kane and Kiar slid the door the rest of the way to the side and walked inside the steamy chamber.
    They found a Tyron girl sleeping on a metal bed. There were needles sticking into her arms, legs, chest, tummy and wings. They were injecting a bright green liquid.
    Kiar picked up a manual pad at a corner of the bed, then read a bit of it. "The green stuff's mural gel."
    "Meaning?" Kane asked.
    "She won't be able to move when she's awake," the reader answered. Kiar looked under the bed. So did Kane. There was a tank as big as the bed, it was half empty.
    "How do I switch this thing off?" asked Kane. Kiar went back to reading the manual. It was quite a long time before Kane noticed he wasn't talking and read Kiar's mind.
    "Man this stuff's cruel,"  Kiar thought, "to think this was goin' on all the time I wasted away at the door. She didn't even know this was comin'."
    "Are you gonna be readin' that all day?" Kane asked in Kiar's mind. Kiar looked up in a shock. "Sorry your majesty," he said with a stammer and pressed a button on the manual-pad until he found the right page.
    "Okay Kane," Kiar began, "to switch it off's complicated. There's a dial in front of you, you code in..."

©Ruth Amy Louise Hüneke 2008