The Secret of Mars

“What do you mean you’ve called off the search?” PiePie screamed at the Commander. “Princess Mary is still out there somewhere.”

“Well, if you can tell me where I will gladly send the troops back out to search,” the Commander answered. “For fifteen days we have searched that area. We’ve looked under, inside and in everything out there and found nothing. She is gone. Accept it, PiePie.”

“She may be gone, but we will not accept it,” came a voice, stopping PiePie from answering the Commander. It was Jeanip. He and Monarch Earon had arrived with Staybo.

“Your Majesties. Staybo,” PiePie said, a big smile on her face. She raised her hand to her forehead and bowed. “Commander, I’d like you to meet Mary’s Uncles and my monarchs. Monarchs Jeanip and Earon.”

“A pleasure to meet you both,” the Commander greeted. “But your presence does not change things. The search teams will not be going back out.”

“I don’t expect them to,” Jeanip announced. “I have brought my own team. And a special speeder to survey the area. All we need from you is a place to rest our heads and a corner somewhere where we can set up our communications equipment.”

“And a spacesuit, if you happen to have one lying around,” Earon added. “Somehow mine got lost in the journey here.”

“Suits are in short supply around here, but I’ll have someone look into the possibility,” the Commander said. “As for a place to set up your equipment, you can use the small office down the hall from the Observation Room.”

“Thank you.”

“Your Majesties, I am sorry for your loss,” the Commander stated.

“We have not lost her yet,” Earon smiled. “She is out there somewhere, and we will find her.” He turned to PiePie. “Has Amber arrived yet?”

“She should be here by 0-nine hundred tomorrow,” PiePie said.

“Is there someplace where we can speak?” Jeanip asked. “I need you to tell us every detail of what happened.”

“Yes, Sire. There’s a room down the hallway next to the room where Staybo is setting up the communications console.”

“Staybo, I need that console up and running within the hour,” Jeanip ordered.

“Right away Sir,” Staybo said, hurrying from the room.

“How many Oonocks have you brought with you?” PiePie asked as she led the Monarchs from the area.

“Ten, counting Staybo,” Earon answered, following the protector. Both he and Jeanip stopped in their tracks when they encountered Glock in the hallway. Both males looked up at the very tall, hairy being. “I thought we grew them big on Europa.”

“Your Majesties, let me introduce you to Glock. He is a Hipper from X-3B in the Taurus constellation. And his companion is Tong. She’s a Flick from the second planet circling Centauri B of the Alpha Centauri system and Mary’s roommate. Tong and Glock, met Monarchs Jeanip and Earon, Mary’s uncles.”

Jeanip held out his hand. “A pleasure to meet you.” Glock did not react to the gesture or statement, except to grunt.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Tong stated. “Glock is unable to communicate with other species, except for us Flick. But he does say he is glad you are here to help us find the princess.”

“Remarkable,” Jeanip said in awe. He had heard of the Flick but never seen one. He held out his hand, palm up. “May I?”

“Of course,” Tong chuckled, as she maneuvered her tiny sphere into the Oonock’s hand. Jeanip studied the small sphere. He noted the small engine and power source on the top. It was only about an inch long, cylinder in shape, with a circumference of about a half inch. He wondered if it supplied the small inhabitant with whatever she needed to survive, and if so, how anything that small could do so much work. But then the Flick were very tiny. Anything they constructed would be tiny too.

“Yes it does,” Tong replied, surprising the protector. “And believe it or not, some creatures on our planet think WE are giants.”

“I did not have the opportunity to inform you both that Flick have the capability of talking telepathically like we do,” PiePie stated. “That is why she can communicate with Glock.”

“Was Mary able to talk with him?” Earon asked.

“Some, but not to the degree Tong could,” PiePie answered.

“No, Monarch Earon,” Tong answered, hearing his thoughts about what she looked like. “We’re more of a glowing ooze of liquid. We don’t have bones or muscles like Oonocks do. But our home environment is much like yours – a liquid ocean, just different chemicals. Who was it Mary said we resembled?”

“Amoebas,” PiePie answered.

“Well, Tong, it is a pleasure to meet you,” Jeanip stated. “Perhaps you and this big guy would join us in the conference room. One of you may have seen something PiePie did not. Every tiny piece of information is important.”

“It would be our pleasure, Your Highness,” Tong responded. She turned and translated the request to Glock, who grunted and started down the hallway toward the room.

“I’ll go secure a place for our soldiers and us,” Earon announced. “I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

“Make it so,” Jeanip replied, following the towering Hipper and tiny Flick down the hallway, PiePie bringing up the rear. Jeanip thought how odd the union between the two aliens was. One was so enormous that he could barely fit through the doorway while the other was so small he could crush her with two fingers. Yet somehow these two vastly different species had forged a friendship, a friendship he hoped would help him find his lost princess.

“Actually, Your Highness, it would be quite difficult for you to, ah, how did you think it, ’squash me like a bug,” Tong stated, making Jeanip’s cheeks glow red with embarrassment. “My habitat is manufactured from an alloy even stronger than your soobree. Plus, it is protected with numerous defense mechanisms which would render you useless or dead before you could apply any pressure to my shell.”

“I do apologize for my thought,” Jeanip stated.

“No apology necessary,” Tong said, resting on Glock’s shoulder once more. “I often hear that thought, or something similar, in my travels. That is why our shells are so sturdy, to dissuade anyone from trying to eliminate someone as small as us.”

“You say the alloy that makes up your shell is stronger than our soobree?” Jeanip asked. “In that case, you and I need to have a talk afterward about this material.”

Jeanip heard something like the sound of laughter emanate from the tiny sphere. “While I am more than willing to tell you about this alloy, please realize that many have asked to export it,” Tong said. “My answer to your unspoken request will be the same as to all the others – we do not export our material. It is not for sale, for any price.”

Jeanip saw the logic in the small alien’s statement. The Oonock race had done the same for six millennia – unwilling to share their precious soobree gold with the human race, and, now, with other alien civilizations. He realized that the Flick guarded their precious metal the same way he did theirs, making the point moot. He sat down at the table and turned to PiePie. She laid before Jeanip a picture of a stone. “Report.”

“This is a picture of the stone we discovered after Mary disappeared,” PiePie replied, carefully watching her commander’s face. “Mary was sitting right in front of it when she disappeared. Have you been able to identify it? It appears to be Oonock.”

“We believe it is, but further analysis will tell us for sure. It’s the same symbol that adorns the entrance to the palace on Europa,” Jeanip announced.

“What of the second symbol below that one, Sire? Where you able to identify that one also?” PiePie asked, holding her breath in anticipation of the answer.

“Yes. It is the sign for the Nuuk Clan, led by Lord Hoffman and Lady Arianna. See this mark here?” Jeanip pointed to an etching of a leaf. “The Nuuk Clan was a farming community who used the impression of a leaf as their mark. Almost all the Oonocks on the two ships that settled on Mars were from that Clan. Unfortunately, when JeffRa eliminated them, he wiped out the entire clan. No members remained on Europa to carry on their clan’s heritage.” Jeanip bowed his head in sorrow and respect for the lost clan. “Although a significant find, it still does not explain what happened to Mary or where she went.”

Glock grunted a few times, looking at the picture on the table. “He says he heard the stone singing,” Tong translated.

“Singing?” Jeanip asked, his curiosity arose. Europa thought Mary’s disappearance had something to do with the Orbs. Could that stone have sung a song that opened up a portal as they believed? “By any chance, is he able to sing the song?”

Tong translated again. “He said he can’t sing it, but he can hum it.” Jeanip froze when he heard Glock humming the Ancient’s song, the same song Europa and EJ used many times to heal the wounded or create a force shield of protection.

Without a word, Jeanip dashed from the room and into the adjacent one where Staybo was just plugging in the communications console. As Jeanip rushed in, he could see all the lights coming on, blinking and beeping. “Staybo, I need to send a message to King Kiijon and Queen Europa NOW.”

“Do you think this ship could go any slower?” Amber grumbled, looking out the starboard window. It had been five days, and they were still a long ways from Mars.

“Sorry, Your Majesty, but she was the only one going in our directions,” Cainbow stated, apologizing for her source of transportation. “The next vessel heading in this direction would not have been coming through for a month.”

“I do not understand,” Amber huffed. “It seems like starships are landing on Earth every other day. Why are there none going that way when I need one?”

“They probably still are,” Cainbow announced. “”But those ships are going from the more densely populated areas of space. Where you were, on Setus Three, there is not much traffic. And with the expansion of the pirates, even less traffic than normal. Our next transport should be much faster. Have you been able to sense anything else?”

“No, just what I felt that one time,” Amber replied. “But I still feel that something is wrong. It is like Mary is not out there anymore.”

“No longer on Mars or Earth?”

“No longer anywhere. It’s like Mary has completely vanished from existence, removed from reality.”

The two Oonocks heard footsteps and turned to see one of the crew walking towards them, bringing some food to eat and something to drink. The ship was a freighter hauling supplies to the outer colonies. On the sly, the captain smuggled peaches from Earth, something strictly regulated. Apparently, peaches were a coveted commodity on many settlements across the galaxy, bringing as much as a thousand dollars a peach. The freighter was on its way back to Earth for a new cargo.

“The captain asked me to bring you this with your meal,” the crew member announced, handing Amber a piece of paper. “It’s from Earth.”

Amber quickly opened the piece of paper, momentarily forgetting how hungry she was. It was from her grandmother, Queen Europa. She read aloud:

“Dear Amber;

Uncles Earon and Jeanip on their way to Mars. Should be there by the time you arrive. Orbs may be involved with Mary’s disappearance. Be very careful. Take no chances. Keep an eye on your amulet.

Love,

Grandma E”

“The Orbs?” Cainbow asked. “Why would the Orbs be involved? And for what purpose?”

“Perhaps to make me come there too?” Amber said, a serious look covering her face as she took a bite of her food.

“You?”

“Think of it, Cainbow. Mary and I both have Orbal powers, but together, our powers are doubled. Closer to quadrupled. It makes sense. How else could they get the two of us together? That is why I cannot sense Mary. She is being shielded by the Orbs somehow. But where?” Amber yawned. “Oh, excuse me, I suddenly seem to be exhausted.” Her head began to spin, and her vision was blurred. “Cainbow, what is happening? Something is not right.”

“Your Majesty,” Cainbow said, standing up from her chair. She took one step and collapsed onto the floor, sound asleep from the drugs in their food.

“Cainbow,” Amber said, bending over to see what happened to her protector. Cainbow was the last thing she saw as the drugs took effect on her too. She slid from her chair and laid next to the unconscious Cainbow. Neither female knew that their entourage was also sedated and already sleeping inside holding cells.

Several hours later she heard Cainbow calling her name. “Mistress Amber, wake up. It’s I, Cainbow. Can you open your eyes?” Unaware of what was happening, the protector was unwilling to call her protectorate by her royal title of princess.

“What happened?” a groggy princess asked. “Where are we?”

“Still on the ship, I think,” a confused Cainbow replied. “I believe we’re in a holding cell, by the looks of it. It appears we were drugged.”

“Our soldiers?”

“We’re here also,” came Klonc’s voice from down the hallway. He too purposely did not refer to Amber by her designation. “I do apologize. We were all deceived and taken out before we even knew there was a struggle. But Kleet was able to get a distress call sent.”

“No apology is necessary, Klonc,” the princess replied, slowly sitting up, adjusting as the room slowly stopped spinning. “Do you know why we are prisoners?”

“No. No one has come to talk to us and tell us what they want,” Cainbow replied. “But I do believe we have altered course.” She looked out the side portal. “The stars have changed locations. Plant 5-T5 was on our starboard side before. It is now toward the stern.”

“And which way is Mars?” Amber inquired.

“Not in this direction. Here, thankfully our captors had the heart to leave us something to drink.” Amber stared at the liquid, debating if it was safe to drink. “I drank some myself earlier to make sure it too wasn’t drugged. I suffered no ill effects.”

Amber took a large drink of the refreshing liquid, thankful for its quenching effect. It helped to stop the room from spinning and calmed her upset stomach. Aided by her protector, she stood up and wobbled over to the portal and stared into space. She too could see the stars had changed. And there were now several spacecraft approaching. She wondered if they were the pirates that had been raiding ships in that area. She also pondered if the Captain was part of the pirate team. Silently she instructed, “It appears we are about to receive company. Whatever happens, wait for my signal. These beings have no idea we can shapeshift. Once we learn of their intentions, we will shapeshift into an Armaneon cat and make it to our speeders in the cargo bay.”

“We won’t get far in the speeders, Your Majesty,” Klonc replied silently.

“Perhaps not, but we have a better chance out there than we do in here,” the princess answered.

Finally, they heard footsteps and voices. The Captain appeared with two creatures that resembled walking lizards without tails. Their heads were covered with royal blue scales that rose up into a dome. The scales extended down their necks, how far Amber could not tell for the creatures wore armor. But she assumed it ended somewhere on their chest or shoulders because their exposed arms were a light yellow in color. At the end of their arms were hands with four fingers, joined with what appeared to be webbing. Neither wore boots, so she could see their feet consisted of six long toes, each with a hooked claw. She could hear the nails hiting the steel plating of the floor as they drew closer. They reminded her of Lilly’s college roommate Snee, a Nitt from Orion. She had met her several years earlier at her grandparents’ estate. But Snee’s colors were different, and she had more of a bird-like beak. These creatures had an elongated mouth, much like Earth’s monitor lizard. And she swore she saw a forked tongue protrude several times very rapidly.

“Captain Biggs, I insist you release my company and me immediately,” Amber ordered. “You were paid to take us to Saturn’s moon, Phoebe.”

“Sorry, Your Highness, but there’s been a slight change in plans,” the Captain smirked.

Amber froze for a moment. How could the captain possibly know she was a monarch? “I do not know what you have heard, Captain, but I assure you, I am no ‘Highness.’ I’m a simple girl from Earth.”

“And the daughter of Prince Enok and the granddaughter of Queen Europa and King Kiijon,” the Captain laughed, staring straight into the unflinching female. He held up a hologram player. A picture emerged, crackling as it solidified, showing Amber standing beside her father and grandmother. “Are you going to tell me this is not you?”

“Yes,” Amber said, in the most confident voice she could summon. “You are not the first being to mistake me for this Princess. I believe her name is Mary? My name is Elizabeth. Let us go, and we will forget your mistake.”

The captain reached through the bars and grabbed Amber’s shirt, pulling her close to the cell bars and off the floor. Immediately Cainbow tried to stop the captain, but the human was too fast for her. And too muscular. She started pounding on the captain’s arm but had no luck in breaking his hold.

Holding the princess with one hand, the captain reached down with his other hand into Amber’s shirt and pulled out the amulet. “Do all humans wear royal necklaces? No, AMBER Elizabeth, you are a Waters. And a most lucrative commodity. No more peach transporting for pennies. You will make me rich above my wildest dreams.” He let go of her shirt, allowing her to fall to the floor.

Amber landed with a thud. Now able to breathe, she coughed several times, then asked, “How can my capture possibly make your dreams come true?”

“Many will pay a handsome price for the powers you possess,” the captain chuckled, a gleam of greed in his eyes. “Your longevity alone is worth all the wealth of this quadrant. Already I have bids from the Solinas and the Biddie.”

“What?” the surprised lizard-like creature shouted. “We had a deal. I and I alone am taking the princess.”

“Afraid not,” the captain shouted, drawing a weapon and firing, hitting the second creature in the chest, killing him instantly, knocking the first creature down. By the time he was able to regain his stand, the captain had disappeared down the hallway.

“Bruk, we’ve been double-crossed,” the first creature announced into a communicator. “I need reinforcements now. And keep an eye on the scanner. This kaavat of a captain has offered the princess to the highest bidder. More takers should be arriving soon.”

“They’re already on their way, Sir,” came the voice over the communicator. “We’re picking up several ships coming in this direction. ETA thirty-eight minutes.”

“Stand back, Your Highness,” the creature stated. “I need to blast your door open.”

“You are out of your mind if you think I am going anywhere with you,” Amber firmly stated, standing by the cell door, refusing to move.

“I don’t have time to argue this, Your Majesty.”

“Amber, perhaps we can at least allow him to free our soldiers and us,” Cainbow stated, grabbing ahold of the princess’s shoulders and gently pulling her backward. “At least out there, we have a fighting chance. You heard what the communicator said – more ships are on their way.”

“How do we know he’s telling the truth?” Amber argued, looking away from the creature. As a result, she did not see him aim his weapon at the door lock and fire. She jumped when the door was blasted away. Seeing their opportunity to escape, Cainbow grabbed Amber’s hand and pulled her from the cell.

“Here,” the creature said, shoving two weapons into Cainbow’s hand. “Free the others. Come, Your Majesty, I’ll take you to safety.”

Before Amber could argue, there were the sounds of weapons discharging, the bullets whizzing by them. It was the Captain with reinforcements. The creature bent down and grabbed his fallen comrades’ weapons, tossing it to Amber. “Can you use one of these?”

“My father made sure I knew how to operate all kinds of weapons before I was four,” Amber replied. Taking cover, she grabbed the gun and fired at the advancing throng.

The exchange of gunfire lasted several minutes with no sign of either side giving up. The Oonocks were starting to run low on ammunition, while it appeared the Captain and his men had an unlimited supply. Just when they feared all was lost, fifteen lizard-like creatures appeared, turning the fight to their side.

“If I can’t profit for her, no one will,” the captain shouted, as he shot a massive hole into the side of his ship. Immediately, alarms began to sound as the sudden decompression created a powerful force sucking everything outside. It all happened so fast that Amber did not have time to react – to grab onto the cell bars or transform into a being who could survive space. As she was sucked out the opening, she felt Cainbow grab her arm and throw her toward the alien lizard.

Amber watched in horror and disbelief as Cainbow slipped through the hole and out into space. Desperately clinging to a wall security bar, the alien grabbed the princess and brought her into the protective fold of his arm. “Cainbow,” Amber yelled, reaching out her hands but unable to make contact with her protector. She watched as her protecter drifted further away, the light gone from her eyes in seconds. Her mind no longer maintaining the transformation, Cainbow’s body reverted to her true form. Floating through space was the lilac glowing creature from Europa, with three sets of beautiful wings lying still in the vacuum. Pearls of glowing light cascading out from her head. Even in death, she was a wonder to behold. With no pressure in space, it was only a matter of seconds before the Oonock’s body’s membranes broke down and her insides flowed out. Pieces of who she once was drifted further apart, scattering across the Expanse.

The lizard creature stared at the beautiful Oonock disintegrating in space, enraged at her loss. “You filthy, greedy piece of yackerdo dung,” the alien shouted. He brought his weapon around and fired, killing the Captain. Outnumbered and leaderless, the remaining assailants retreated.

“Princess, I could not save your companion, but I can save you,” the lizard creature stated. “Please, let me get you to safety.”

Amber looked at him through tear-filled eyes. Could she trust him? Or was he lying too? The creature saw her hesitation. “Please, Amber. Come with me. I offer you my life if I am not telling you the truth.”

“Your Majesty, we need to get off this ship,” Klonc stated, stepping forward to take over the temporary role of protector. “This ship has been compromised. It’s not going to stay together much longer. Plus, there are more ships headed this way, possibly coming for you. We need to trust this being.”

“That we do,” Amber replied, wiping the tears from her eyes.

As soon as the ship sealed the breach, the lizard creatures quickly led the Oonocks down several hallways to the cargo hold. Amber was glad to see three alien ships waiting.

“Your Majesty, we do not have the time to start your speeders,” her rescuer stated as he led her towards one of the alien spacecraft. “We must immediately leave if we hope to escape those other ships.”

“Agreed,” Amber replied. “But they cannot be left behind for others to steal our technology. Klonc, destroy the speeders.”

“How long until we are outside this ship?” Klonc asked the lizard commander.

“I’d say approximately three minutes,” he answered. “Why?”

Klonc held up a keypad containing many purple blinking lights. “Because we have 3.4 minutes until those speeders explode.” Realizing that the Oonock soldier had just set the ships’ self-destruct mechanisms, he ran with the princess to the ship and threw her inside.

“Get us out of here,” the commander yelled, even before he had the door closed. The three alien speeders with their new passengers rose into the air and shot out of the cargo bay door. Within seconds, the ship shook as the blast of the explosions spread across space. “That’s what you call cutting it close.”

“I thought your ships were a bit faster,” Klonc answered.

“Thankfully they weren’t a bit slower,” the lizard-like creature laughed.

“Is that your ship?” Amber asked, seeing a massive starship floating nearby. Its designed seemed familiar, almost Oonock like. She wondered if, over the past six thousand years, these creatures had had contact with the missing Oonock starships and adapted some of their technology and design.

“Yes,” the rescuer said with pride. “She is called Dreamer One.”

“What about those other pirate ships?” Amber asked.

“Do not worry. We have a few tricks that will prevent them from following us.”

“I need to get to Mars,” Amber stated, still not ready to trust this alien.

“I will personally make sure you get to Mars safely,” the creature said.

It only took twenty minutes for the speeders to enter the bay of Dreamer One. “One of my men will take you and your people to where you can rest,” the rescuer announced upon exiting their craft. “I need to get to the bridge and deal with the approaching pirate ships.” He turned to one of his men. “Ashtim, ask Reenee to bring our guests something to eat. And some TeePoon tea for the Princess.”

“TeePoon tea?” a surprised Amber asked. “How?”

“We’ll talk after you’ve eaten and rested.” He hurried away towards the bridge.

“This way, Princess,” the lizard creature stated, extended his arm to the left. Klonc watched the leader, wondering if they had just jumped from the frying pan into the fire or not.

Three hours later the lizard creature returned to speak with Amber. Knocking on the door, he entered, nodding to Klonc as he stepped inside. He was glad to see her sitting at the table, munching on a few pieces of food. “I hope the food is to your liking.”

“Yes, it’s very delicious,” Amber replied. “Especially these long pieces of what, I presume, are meat. It reminds me of a food we often eat on Earth called piiquid, a creature we Oonocks brought with us from Europa.”

“That’s because it is piiquid,” the lizard said, taking a seat at the table without waiting to be invited, laughing at the astonished look on his guest’s face.

“How do you know about piiquid?” Amber asked.

“I know you have many questions, Princess, and all will be revealed to you when we arrive home.”

“But you said you would take me to Mars,” Amber declared.

“And I shall, but this ship cannot make the journey. It is necessary to return home and get a more stable ship capable of such a flight. And we need an escort to avoid a replay of your attempted kidnapping.” He reached over and poured himself a glass of the liquid in the pitcher. It was a pinkish fluid, with a sweet smell. “Would you like some, Your Majesty? We make from several fruits that grow on our planet. There’s nothing hidden within it – just simple fruit juice.”

“Yes, thank you. May I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” the creature said, pouring a glass of juice and placing it before her on the table.

“What is your name?”

“I am known as Gart. I am from a planet called Helix Six. It is eight hundred million miles past the planet you call Pluto.”

“Why did you save us?”

“That, Dear Princess, is two questions, but I will answer them. We heard you were traveling from Setus Three. We were hoping to intercept your travels when we stumbled across the plot to kidnap you and sell you and your guards to the highest bidder.”

“Why were you going to intercept us?” Princess Amber asked.

“My daughter is very ill,” Gart stated. “In fact, she is dying. She was bitten by a creature that lives on our planet, one we have no remedy for. We were told that your grandmother, Queen Medaron, was a great channeler of powers. We hoped you might be the same. You are her only hope.” The creature stood and lowered himself onto one knee, raising his hand to his forehead. “I beg of you, Princess Amber, save my daughter, and I will swear to you my eternal love and loyalty.”

“How does he know all these Oonock customs?” she asked herself. His kneeling was an Oonock gesture. Definitely, at some point in his race’s history, they had contact with Oonocks.

“Please, Gart, you owe me no such homage,” Amber stated, a little uneasy having the creature kneeling to her. “Your gesture is Oonock. You serve me piiquid meat and TeePoon tea. How do you know these things? Has your race met my kind before?”

“As I said, Your Majesty, all will be revealed when we arrive on Helix Six.”

“And I suppose that, if I do not heal your daughter, you will keep us as your prisoners?”

“No, Your Majesty. My request comes with no strings attached. I will take you to Mars no matter what you decide. Besides, I do not bargain with my daughter’s life.”

“You are an honorable creature, Gart,” Amber stated. “I do not know if I can help your daughter, but I will try.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

“But what is to stop those others that attacked us from coming after me?”

“Apparently, the other two ships which were approaching when we left were none too happy at finding their prize gone,” Gart said, smiling. “They finished destroying the freighter. And we left no trail for them to follow. Our ships are designed to leave no indication they were there or where they went. In a few days, we will send out reports that the captain of the freighter was part of the pirate gang operating in this area. He was luring ships in with false claims to have an Oonock princess as captive. One believer of his lies became infuriated and killed him and destroyed his ship. The story of you will disappear into the emptiness of space.”

“Just like Cainbow,” Amber said.

“I am sorry I could not save her, Your Majesty,” Gart replied. “It happened so fast. When she exchanged places with you and pushed you toward me, she propelled herself outside the craft. I did not have time to grab her too.”

“Had you, you would both be dead,” Klonc suddenly spoke. “The Captain had you in his weapon’s sight. Plus, Cainbow fulfilled her responsibility as a protector. She could not have asked for a better death.”

“That still doesn’t make her death right, or any less a tragedy,” Gart stated, rising from his chair. “If you have no further need of me, I will take my leave of you, Princess. I need to make arrangements for our arrival on Helix Six.” He saw an odd look on the female’s face. “And, I promise, all your questions will be answered when we arrive.”

“Until we meet again, then,” Amber replied, watching the creature leave her room. After he was gone, she turned to Klonc. “What do you think?”

“He seems to know an awful lot about Oonock ways. And I thought my knees were going to buckle when I heard him say you were eating piiquid. Piiquid? Way out here? Unbelievable. But, as you said, he seems like an honorable fellow.”

“Do you think I was right in telling him I would try to heal his daughter? It appears that he might not know the truth of mine or my family’s ability to heal. He knows that great-grandmother had a gift, no more. Our healing power is one secret that must be kept above all others.”

“It isn’t my place to judge your actions. Besides, since that captain scum that tried to sell you knew what you were capable of, we must assume this alien does too. I don’t believe it did any harm to agree to try.”

“I hope so.”

“Might I suggest, Your Majesty, that once we reach Helix Six, we have Gart send a message to Earth to inform your parents you are safe.”

“My parents,” Amber shouted, jumping to her feet. “They are going to freak out when they hear the ship is destroyed.”