THE REBEL UNIVERSE(c) 2015 by Anthony DurrantAs I ran toward the HMS Precision's airlock, I put on my boots and handedmy I.D. to one of the security officers guarding the airlock."You're Commander Rogge?" one of them asked, and I nodded, then enteredthe airlock chamber through the door and headed into a turbolift, where Isaid:"Please take me to the bridge!"The turbolift took me to the top of the Precision's saucer section, andwhen the doors slid open, I stepped out and walked over to greet the C.O.,Captain Herbert."What took you so long?" he asked, and I replied:"I overslept! Sitting at my console punching in those numbers all daymade me a very tired officer, especially with the boys whistling at mewhenever they came into my office!"I then seated myself in the chair to his right, just as the Captain rosefrom his chair and made an announcement to the entire crew after orderinghis communications officer, Lieutenant Fridge, to open the appropriatechannel just as the helmsman - Lieutenant Jerry Morgan, an officer who hadbeen in my squad when I was at the Space Force Academy - whistled at me."You sure are a good-lookin' babe, Rogge!" he cried."You can thank my Fey friends for that!" I replied.Then the Captain made his announcement:"Ladies and gentlemen of the crew, we'll be going on a permanent exile inthe Great Sphere, created by the Space Force's finest brains to containthe rebellion of the Space Force vessels in that sector. Therefore, thisis the last time any of us can expect to see our home planet again. We'llhave to fight to survive there while we try to uncover the reasons behindthis rebellion. Take a moment to salute that big blue marble in spacebefore we leave, for I doubt that we shall ever return!"All of us saluted Earth in the main viewscreen, and then we occupied ourrightful positions on the bridge, and the Precision undocked from EarthStation One and slingshot away from our home planet itself. As soon asthe slingshot was half completed, Captain Herbert gave the order toactivate the vessel's new slipstream drive. The stars became blurs as thePrecision zoomed into the slipstream that the drive had opened for it inthe space of a few seconds."Beautiful!" I cried, and the navigator, Lieutenant Mesa, looked up at mefrom her station and replied:"Yes, Commander, it is that!"An hour later we were in the Quazar System, just on the inside of thesphere, and the outer wall of the sphere reformed behind us. LieutenantMorgan examined his readings, turned to the Captain and I, and said:"There's another vessel in orbit nearby - it's one of ours!""I thought we were the first vessel here!" I cried."Hail them!" the Captain shouted, and Lieutenant Fridge did so."Their captain wishes to speak with us!" she said."Put him on screen, then, Lieutenant!" the Captain replied.The face of a tall man with short blonde hair and gaunt facial featuresappeared on the viewscreen."I am Captain Trent Herbert of the HMS Precision!" Captain Herbert said."And I am Captain Ehrich Weiss of the Boudicca!" the other captainreplied. "You are agents of the Space Force, and therefore now ourenemies. If the living city on one of the planets below us wasn'tpreventing us from firing our weapons, you would be stardust by now. Whenwe finally leave this system after completing the repairs to our F.T.L.drive, all bets will be off and I'll blow you right out of the sky!Weiss, out!"The sun returned to the viewscreen, and Fridge cried:"For crying out loud! That was one of the rebels!""It was good of him to warn us about the living city!" Captain Herbertreplied."Just what is a living city?" Morgan asked, and I said:"They're a nasty legacy of a long dead alien race: fully alive citieswith artificial environments that still function even though the buildersdied out centuries ago. Their guiding intelligences will never allowweapons to be used in the system where they're located - the controls willfreeze on you if you do try it. There was one out near the Fey homeworld,and its presence meant the Fey warrior caste had to leave their homeworldbefore they could fire a single shot until they finally blew that planetup.""Find that planet and put us in orbit around it!" Captain Herbert ordered,and Morgan and Mesa quietly complied. As soon as we were orbiting theplanet with the city, a party led by the science officer, LientenantCommander Leonus Homnus, that included me went down by shuttlecraft."I hope this works!" I said as the pilot landed the shuttlecraft justoutside the city and we got out. We then went up to the entrance, and Iused my transmitter badge to relay the entry code for the city in theFey's home system to the guiding intelligence for this second city. Thedoor slid open and the four of us walked inside. We were close to thecity's central tower, so we headed there immediately. Using our disruptorpistols, we burned through the lock on the tower door and Mesa kicked itdown. We then entered the tower easily, only to be greeted by an officerfrom the Boudicca, an officer I recognized. Like Captain Weiss, he was ablonde, but as I already knew, the resemblance ended there."Mattie Tremblay?" I asked, and he cried:"Yeah, I'm Matthew Tremblay - Lieutenant Commander Matthew Tremblay of therebel forces. And you, Fey girl, had better be careful whom you trustthese days: the Space Force's antics have become legally questionablesince the Robot War, and so we've broken away to continue the SpaceForce's original mission of peaceful exploration!""I never heard anything like that!" Homnus replied, an angry scowl formingon his strong but pleasant face. Mattie shouted an obscenity in Frenchand then slammed his fists into Homnus's chin, at which point Mesacoldcocked him with the butt of her repulsor pistol and knocked him outcold.The four of us headed up the tower stairs to the control room, where Mesaquickly found the weapons console and cut off the top with her repulsorpistol. After she had removed it, I pulled out the cube to which theconsole's functions were slaved and took it with us back to theshutlecraft."When I get back to the ship," Jerry said, "I'm going to install this inmy weapons console and become a regular hot shot!""Join us for a party when we hit the Precision?" Mesa asked me, and Isaid:"As long as you don't serve feywine, which is a Fey's greatest weakness, Iwill be there!""Then we won't serve any feywine!" Jerry replied."Thank you!" I said. "I'd really appreciate that." ***The four of us headed to the officer's lounge for our party, and when weseated ourselves at the bar, the bartender handed me a drink in a tallglass, then eagerly took my crewmates' orders. Then he smiled a me andsaid:"I made that concoction just for you, Commander Rogge!"Nervously, I raised the glass to my lips and took a sip as my crewmateslooked on. It tasted wonderful, and the kind of energy it sent through memade me tingle. I let out a loud fluting cry and said:"Did you hear that noise, Mr. Homnus?""Yeah, I did!" he replied, then asked me, "Where did it come from?""C'mon now, take a good long swig of that Rogge!" the barkeep shouted,and I promptly complied and for a third time, made that weird flutingsound, then said:"You named your concoction after me?""I did indeed, Madame!" he replied, and I smiled at him and said:"Thank you, Monsieur!""C'est non problem, Commander!" he replied."I feel really good all of a sudden!" I thought as I sat back in my chair,then put my arm around Homnus's neck and kissed him hard on the lips.The next few hours I barely remember, other than to say I was probablyable to drink another glass or two of Rogge before I passed out. When Iawoke, I was lying on my bed in my quarters with my pants pulled rightdown! I hastily did them up again after putting them back on even as twokettle drums banged away in my head and I walked over to my console, whereI used the V.R. net to send the barkeep a reprimand for slipping mefeywine, the key ingredient in that concoction of his."Don't you realize we Fey are strong, especially when we're on feywine?" Iasked him. "Gods of Space, I could have torn you apart with my bare hands- and my crewmates as well!"When I looked in the mirror to check the damage, I saw that my upper bodywas naked except for a regulation bra! Hastily I grabbed the tunic for myuniform number five and put it on."Thank Heaven I have those other uniforms!" I cried as I left my quartersand headed to the bridge to begin my shift. The Precision had left theQuazar System and had gone into slipstream. Jerry reported to us that thegadget had been installed in the weapons systems in place of the originalweapons tcomputer. I said:"The weapons computer was red-flagged?""Last week, yeah, Commander. We had to have the old thing removed fromthe weapons systems and disposed of in the appropriate manner. The gadgetfrom the city should be an effective replacement!""Hooboy!" I said. "This is quite a morning!""Commander," Jerry said, "the Boudicca has followed us into theslipstream, and its weapons systems are now online!""Damn!" I cried. "Lock on their drive core!""Locked on, Commander!" Mesa replied, and I then shouted:"FIRE AT WILL!"The lepton torpedos slammed into the Boudicca's torpedo bay with pinpointaccuracy, rupturing its drive core and causing it to explode. The crewblasted away in the vessel's saucer section just as the lower hull eruptedin a huge, soundless explosion."That should delay their departure considerably!" I cried."And the Boudicca's saucer section will fall out of the slip stream andend up somewhere far away!"Jerry cried, "Rogge, you're the most!""Why, thank you, Jerry!" I replied, then opened a channel to mainengineering and shouted:"Engineering! Damage report!""We're sitting pretty, Commander, but thank you for asking!" a woman'svoice replied, and I said:"Thank Goodness for small mercies like that!""Looks like Jerry's Hotshot Device worked!" Mesa cried."Yes, it did!" I replied. "The targer range was so narrow, the weaponssystem's accuracy has been greatly improved!""The captain will be pleased to hear this!" Homnus cried."I'll tell him right away!" I replied. "Ms. Fridge, please open a channelto his quarters.""Aye, sir!" she cried, and the Captain's face appeared onscreen."The Boudicca followed us into slipstream, and we were forced to use ourweapons systems to blow up their drive core. They managed to escape inthe vessel's saucer section.""Good work, Ms, Rogge!" he replied. "That's a common method of followingvessels equipped with the new slipstream drives. Once a vessel is caughtup in your slipstream, they're dragged after you until you do something topush them out of the slipstream. Herbert, out!"But then a soft gentle voice from the vessel's speakers cried:"Congratulations, all of you! You located my backup copy and brought meback online after the systems shutdown a few hours ago. I am Kloota, theguiding intelligence of City Baaboobee, and I am once again fullyfunctional!""Damn!" I said. "We should've thought of that. The backup copy of thecity's guiding intelligence was in that cube we took from its weaponscomputer. It's overwritten the operating program of this vessel and soreestablished itself!"Then I told Kloota:"I would like you to scan all of this vessel's data files and see ifthey're still there."Having bought us the time we needed to scan the files ourselves manually,I did so, and found that they were still intact, having been incorporatedinto Kloota's intellect and consciousness. Relieved, I left the bridgewhen my shift ended feeling much better."Gods, it'll be good to get some rest after such a shift!" I said tomyself as I went into my quarters and opened a casket of my GrandfatherRogge's with a key I wore around my neck on a chain. Inside the casketwas a red book with the title CLIFF ROGGE'S KEY TO A NEW AND BETTER YOU onthe front cover. I said:"Grampa, you never were any good with titles, were you?"I flipped to the description of my grampa on the back flap of the dustcover and found his picture there. At the time that picture was taken,Clifford Howard Rogge had quit his job and his cigarettas and taken uprunning in marathons. He wrote the book to promote his new way of life.The caption under the photograph read:"Clifford Howard Rogge is the creator of the New and Better You fitnessProgramme and the holder of the Most Perfectly Developed Man title. Hecurrently lives in a wooden house on the outskirts of New London with hiswife and two beautiful children, Deanna and Clifford Rogge junior."I hated to talk about my grandfather, because I was uncomfortable aboutthe fact he'd made his fortune in such a bizarre way, but then again, Idon't believe he still knew I'd become a Fey either."I'm glad I've never followed his fitness program!" I said to myself as mydoor chimes went off."Enter!" I shouted, and the Captain came into the room."I thought I'd drop by your quarters and see how you were settling in!" hesaid."I'm settling in just fine, thank you!" I replied.Then he took my hand and pressed a watch on a chain into it. The watchwas round with a steel casing and had a white dial with Roman numerals anda decent pair of hands."Thank you!" I said, touched by his gift. He replied:"That old watch was repaired by a Maphooz jeweller who replaced the rustedoriginal movement with one that generates a force field that protects youfrom all harm. Just slip the chain over your neck, Commander, and youshould be just about fine!""Thank you so much, Captain!" I said as I put the chain with the watch onit around my neck and slipped the casket's key into a nearby drawer forlater use."You're very welcome!" the Captain said, and then he shook my hand andwalked out of my quarters.Looking at the watch, I smiled at myself and then had Kloota make me someflapjacks for lunch with maple sugar syrup and a cup of wonderful hotcocoa. As I ate my lunch, I let my mind drift back to my time on the Feyhomeworld as a young cadet fresh out of the Academy... ***I'd been assigned to the Fey homeworld as part of a Space Force detachmentcommanded by Captain Gordon Lonsdale, one of the best officers we had atthat time. When I'd first gotten off the shuttlecraft after it had landedin the yard that fronted the chalet where Lonsdale was now living with therest of my detachment at the time. I headed into the chalet, where \i wasinducted into the team by Lonsdale himself. There were also numerous Feyoccupying the building, and I asked one of them:"What's the purpose of our team?"She looked at me in an odd way and said:"Don't you know? You're here to help us as we begin a new chapter in ourhistory as members of the Interstellar Federation. Our military has beenbanished to a distant sector, and Captain Lonsdale and his team -including you, Ensign Rogge - are to help us learn to be a peace-lovingpeople.""And to help heal the rift caused by the war," Captain Lonsdale added."Your job is to act as liaison for the priestesses of the goddess Oshawa.""Aye, sir!" I said as the Captain handed me a map for the city in which wewere staying. I followed that map to the temple of Oshawa and thenfollowed a line of the beautiful Fey women that populated the whole cityinto the church. When I approached the priestess at the altar, Idiscretely identified myself as a Space Force officer, and when theceremony at the temple had ended, she took me into a chamber I assumed washer ready room. I then formally introduced myself:"Good morning, Madame. My name is Ensign Rogge, and I have been assignedto act as liaison between out team and the temple by Captain Lonsdalehimself.""Thank him for me, will you?" she replied. "It was a good idea on hispart. But, Rogge, in order to understand our ways, you'll have todedicate your life to the goddess Oshawa!""If that is what I must do, then I shall!" I replied.The priestess then led me through a door at the back of her ready roominto a room containing a pool or spring of some sort. The priestessgrabbed me by my collar and pants when I stopped dead in front of thisbody of water. Took me to the edge, and said:"O sweet and gentle Oshawa, this Space Force officer would like to joinour temple as a full member. Give him your blessing, my sweet goddess,and see to it that his heart is always joyful and full of love, and thathis soul is always at peace!"She then shoved me into the pool and forced my head under the water,forcing me to inhale some of the water. All at once I was hit by a hugestomach cramp which soon spread to other parts of my body and into mylimbs shortly after that, growing so intense that I passed out completely.When I came to, I found myself in another chamber, in a bed surrounded byother initiates. Looking around me, I saw the other members of my team,including the Captain himself, who said calmly:"Looks like you're a member of Oshawa's temple, now, Rogge!""And you and the priestess had this little caper planned right from thestart, didn't you, Captain?" I cried."Nevertheless," the Captain said as he raised a hand mirror in mydirection, "you're now one of Oshawa's priestesses!"Looking into the mirror, I saw a beautiful Fey woman with long dark hairthat went down to the small of her back. Stunned by the sight, I yankedthe sheets off my bed and revealed a lean, muscular Fey body underneath.Angered by what Captain Lonsdale had made me do to myself, I leaped out ofthe bed and punched him right in the kisser, then shouted:"VERY FUNNY, CAPTAIN LONSDALE!" ***"He set me up, and I fell for it like a ton of bricks!" I said to myselfas I ate my pancakes. "I was considered damaged goods after that missionwas complete, and have vegetated at a station at the Spahuce Force H.Q.ever since - that is, until Captain Herbert selected me to replace hisretiring First Officer for this mission into the Great SphereTerritories!"I looked at my watch and then at Grampa's book."I'd better start exercising!" I said to myself. "You were right, Grampa- I do need to stop bellyaching and build myself a better life!"And with that, I started doing Grampa's exercises, and then left myquarters to jog through the length of the corridor on that level for mycardio. The Precision had arrived in a second solar system, this oneunder Space Force control, and I heard a weird thump as we arrived insystem, but thought the sound might be from a meteorite striking thePrecision's hull. When I began my turn around the rim of the saucersection, however, I saw holes forming in the hull and shouted:"We're under attack! In another minute or so, our attackers will beclimbing through the holes in the hull. Get me a repulsor rifle,someone!"When nobody responded, I rushed to an emergency booth and shattered theglass with my penknife, then grabbed the repulsor rifle as the Precision'sattackers climbed into the vessel through the hole in the hull."Fey warrior women!" I cried. "Here - on this ship!"The Fey who'd invaded the Precision attacked everyone nearby, and so Irushed up to them and began to fire at them with my repulsor rifle,hitting two of them and vaping them right before their comrades' eyes. Athird warrior grabbed a crewmate and killed him with a dagger thrust tothe back of the neck, after which I shot her as well, then vaped a fourthas she emerged from her transport pod."STOP!" cried a fifth Fey as she emerged from her pod. "I am yourprisoner now, Commmander Rogge: take me to the brig, for my team's littlebattle is now over."I forced her into a turbolift at riflepoint, and both of us went down tothe brig together. There, I had the security officer in charge of thebrig lock her up, then used my transceiver badge to make a report to theCaptain on the incident. Fortunately, he was able to get the Precision tothe automated repair facility in this new system just in time."The facility should be able to patch the holes in the saucer section!" Ithought as I went back up to thelevel above the brig and began my run all over again.As soon as I returned to my quarters, I changed out of my track suit andinto a uniform, because it was time for my shift again. By now, theCaptain was back on the bridge, and I gladly took my official place in thechair next to him. We'd been lucky that the Fey warriors, who wereobviously allied with the rebels, had been sent to capture the Precisionand not destroy it."Is there anything insystem besides the repair facility?" I asked Mesa."Just a small artificial planet nearby!" she replied."That could be a rebel base or an ancient relic!" I said. "Either way, theplanet's position near the facility makes me uneasy - an attack from therecould easily destroy this facility, so we'll have to don spacesuits andtravel there by shuttlecraft so as to take a look at it. ***It only took about fifteen minutes to make the trip to the planet. Whenwe landed on its surface, we leftthe shuttlecraft in a small buggy and I drove us to the one structure onthe surface, the biggest damn dome I had ever seen in my life. As soon aswe reached the dome, I used my repulsor pistol to cut a doorway into thewall, then kicked out the cut section so we could make our way into thedome. Mesa was astonished by what we found there: a sort of tomb fordiscarded weapons from a lost civilization, presumably the one responsiblefor the living cities, and said:"This is presumably a weapons dump, Commander, but I've never seen weaponsof this kind before. Could they be able to operate in a living city'ssolar system?""I was wondering that, too, Ms. Mesa!" I replied. "Well have to bringsome of these ancient weapons back to the ship to determine their originand proper function."But then we heard a wild scream, and a bunch of rebel officers leaped outat us, aiming repulsor rifles at us. We returned fire, and Idisintegrated one of the rebels, but was taken captive while their leadergrabbed as many of the ancient weapons as he could carry, before leadinghis team - and us - into a shuttlecraft with a starship's name on theside."The Russian Rhapsody!" I cried. "That was one of the finest vessels theSpace Force ever made!""And now she's the finest rebel vessel of the fleet!" the man said smugly,and he then launched the shutlecraft and returned to the Rhapsody, whichwas an Emissary class dreadnought similar to the Precision, but much newerand better equipped. The vessel had been built new, instead of being an80-year old hull like the Precision, about twenty years prior to therebellion as a replacement for a lost vessel. When we were taken to thebridge by turbolift, I was stunned to see a Fey warrior in the commandchair. Her first officer was none other than Gordon Lonsdale!"Welcome to the Rhapsody!" the fey cried, and Jerry and Mesa froze intheir tracks as she added, "I don't recognise the two humans, but you areRogge, the Fey who was once a human being, are you not, Commander?""I am, yes!" I replied."On which ship are you serving?" she asked."I am serving on the Precision!" I replied."Well, we'll exchange you for our sister on that vessel!" she said,referring to the warrior imprisoned there, "that she may be able to rejointhis joint Fey - rebel fleet!"Two Fey guards escorted the three of us to the brig, where we were placedunder a human guard."How can we escape this?" Mesa asked, and I replied:"I don't know yet, but - trust me on this one - we will get out!""I certainly hope so!" Jerry replied, and instead of just sitting around,I began doing Grampa's exercises."You don't need to do that, Commander!" Mesa cried. "You're a Fey, andall Fey are naturally lean and muscular, thanks to a metabolism thatconverts food energy into muscle power.""Even so, these exercises of Grampa's are relieving my tension," Ireplied, "And I now recall that each of these brigs has an escape hatch tobe used in case of emergency, usually hidden behind a mirror. I'll keepexercising to distract the lady while you two break the mirror!"While I exercised, Jerry and Mesa shattered the mirror and Mesa opened theescape hatch, then got away, and I quickly followed them out. We climbeddownward through an emergency stairway to the other end of the tunnel, atthe bottom of the saucer section. As it turned out, the tunnel ended inanother hatch, which I pulled out using the emergency handle. We thendropped down from the tunnel into the auxiliary bridge, where we were metby a squad of four Fey guards, one of whom said:"She thought you might sneak down here and blast away in the captain'syacht, Commander! Now, you're going to go all the way back up to the brig- in the turbolift, this time. We'll seal that emergency stairway lateron!""You're a Fey, Commander!" Mesa said. "Why don't you fight?""Because warrior Fey are twice as strong as the average Fey!" I replied.Jerry then handed me a snifter, drew a repulsor pistol from his belt, andshot one of the four women holding us prisoner. Mesa then threw a secondwoman over her shoulder, and I opened the snifter and took a whiff of itscontents."ROGGE!?" I cried, then took a sip and felt a burst of raw energy surgethrough me. Leaping on one of the two remaining Fey warriors, I slammedher into the wall and then rendered the fourth unconscious through anuppercut.We then put the four defeated Fey warriors in the turbolift and sealed offthe auxiliary bridge. I then seated myself in the command chair andactivated the separation program. The Captain's yacht, which comprisedthe entire auxiliary bridge, separated from the rest of the Rhapsody, thenMesa steered it toward the Precision. She contacted our vessel andinformed the Captain of developments."So, the rebels and the exiled Fey have joined forces and are fightingtogether, eh?" he asked, and I nodded. "Well, we'll have to be on guardfrom here on in."Mesa steered the yacht into the vehicle bay, where she landed it safelyand the three of us got out. After returning to the bridge, Fridgeinformed us that the Rhapsody was hailing us from its own position behindthe artificial planet."On screen!" the Captain shouted, and the face of the Fey Commanderappeared on the screen. She said:"The three officers from your ship whom we imprisoned have escaped fromthe Rhapsody on my personal shuttlecraft! If you all value your lives,hand over my sister in battle or be blasted from space with my neutrontorpedoes!""Very well!" the Captain said. "We will comply." ***And so I went down to the brig to get the prisoner personally at theCaptain's request. Still looking splendid in a form-fitting grey combatsuit, she walked with me into one of the turbolifts, which I asked Klootato send to the shuttlebay, where the Captain and the others awaited me. Isaw to it that she was loaded onto the Captain's yacht from the Rhapsody,which she flew through the open bay doors toward the planet. Anothershuttlecraft came toward us from the direction of the Rhapsody at the sametime and landed in our bay. Out of the shuttlecraft came Gordon Lonsdale!"The Captain sent me in return for her sister-in-battle!" he told CaptainHerbert. "Like most Fey, she prides herself on her honour. She, like allother Fey, will always keep her word - and she promised me she'd get meout of the rebellion somehow. As for the kid here, I see she's now yourFirst Officer!""I replaced Commander Pinecrest, who retired from duty to spend more timewith his wife and children instead of joining the Captain in exile!" Itold him. "And, I still haven't forgotten how you set me up! I may be aFey and a follower of Oshawa now, but I will always choose my owndestiny!"I then escorted Lonsdale to the brig where I put him in the cell, thenreturned to the bridge. Now that the repairs had been completed, we casroff from the facility and headed out of the system. Soon we arrived atanother system with a Class M planet. Even knowing that each system hasits dangers, I was surprised by the beauty of the new planet."There appear to be no humanoid life forms down there!" Mesa said as sheexamined the sensor data, and I replied:"I concur. That's a jewel in a rock quarry!""Commander, you lead a team down to explore this planet. Take Lonsdalewith you - he must know this area of space better than anyone else. UseShuttlecraft Two.""Aye, Captain!" I cried and again took Mesa and Jerry with me. First, wewent down to the brig to collect Lonsdale, and then reported to theshuttlebay. From there, we took the designated shuttlecraft to thesurface of the new planet, an ecological Eden that was spotted here andthere with ancient ruins, suggesting that the people here had died out."There's an intact building just over there!" Mesa cried, and then thefour of us entered the building. Even Lonsdale, a veteran of this area ofthe Galaxy, smiled at the sight of the pictograms chiselled onto the stonewalls above a set of ancient computer consoles and said:"This is much older than the Space Force itself, I think. What abeautiful setup for a killing of these people!"He then began to tear the skin and clothes off his body, revealing a blue-skinned warrior woman inside. The actual Gordon Lonsdale had apparentlybeen dead for quite some time."ERRA-EMITTI!" I shouted, and after she'd fully pulled off CaptainLonsdale's skin, Erra-Emitti - the warrior who had been grown from an uglyold plant - smiled at me wickedly."Yes, it is I, Erra-Emitti: the warrior you exiled from your own territoryafter my home planet Ognom was accepted into the Confederation of Stars!"she cried."Exiled?" I asked. "Erra-Emitte, I don't understand!""I was banished from my homeworld by Space Force personnel because I wasgrown from a plant and can hear my sisters and brothers talking to me!The ones here know of your presence, and are demanding your death fortrespassing on their planet and murdering the ones you stepped on when youemerged from the shuttlecraft! DIE-EE!"And then she drew her sword and attacked me! I had no choice but to fightback! Grabbing her swordarm, I slammed my fist into her stomach - only tocome into contact with thermoplast armour! She took advantage of mysurprise and kneed me in the stomach. Despite the pain, I slammed myelbow into her cheek - only to be blocked by her hand! I then slammed myknee into her chin and knocked her down. She leaped to her feet and swungher sword at me. Grabbing the blade with both hands, I snapped it in twoand hurled it away."None of that!" I shouted, and then Erra-Emitti jumped me, pushing me downto the ground. Using both my legs, I threw her over my head and thenleaped to my feet, then allowed her to attack me again. This time, Igrabbed her arm and hurled her into the floor of the building we were in.She was now out cold."Try and activate this building's data core, Mesa!" I said. "There couldbe knowledge on that database of which we are unaware, but needdesperately in order to survive. I'll secure Erra-Emitti!"After tying Erra-Emitti's hands behind her back, I took her with me to theshuttlecraft and placed her in it, then went back to the ancient building.By now Jerry and Mesa had cut open the main console and retrieved the CPUof the ancient computer. Delighted, I said:"We'll have to analyse that back on the ship!"We returned to the Precision with Erra-Emitti as our captive, placing herin the brig as soon as we returned to the ship. Now that she'd beensevered from contact with the local plants, Erra-Emitti was much morelucid."Who sent you to kill me, Erra-Emitti?" I asked."The Captain of the Russian Rhapsody!" she replied. "I was serving as amember of her crew, but wanted no part of the rebellion, so she disguisedme as Gordon Lonsdale and sent me to kill you, Commander Rogge!"I pulled the watch out of my uniform collar."You see this watch?" I asked her. "This was what protected me from youwhile we were fighting - itsforce field shielded me from your blows. You're lucky I'm not chargingyou with an assault on my person for attempting to kill me like that!"you gav"It looks like an ordinary watch to me!" she replied."It was repaired by a Maphooz jeweler who gave it the ability to protectits wearer from all harm!" I replied, but Erra-Emitti just threw her headback and laughed."No watch can protect its wearer from all harm!" she cried."Well," I said, "it's worked so far!" ***Later, I joined Captain Herbert and the rest of the original crew in theofficer's lounge for supper."Mr. Homnus reports that the data from that ancient CPU includes acomplete star chart of the solar systems in the Sphere area!" the Captaintold me. "If you hadn't retrieved it, Commander, we would still befumbling around in the darkness.""Thank that watch you gave me that protected me from all harm!" I replied."Without it, I'd be dead!""No, Commander, that wasn't your watch - that was you!" the Captainreplied. "You were the one who overcame your fears and battled Erra-Emitti bravely!"I suddenly realized he was absolutely right."Yes!" I cried. "It was me all along, but I didn't realize it. I can dothis, after all!"Then I threw back my head and laughed as I tossed Jerry back his snifter,saying:"I won't be drinking from that snifter ever again!""And what will happen to Erra-Emitti?" he asked."We can't just leave her on another uninhabited world, Captain," Ireplied, "or the local plants will cause her to go crazy again. I'll seeto it that she's given a plant to talk to, but we'll have to keep heraboard the Precision or her mental stability could be affected.""Good thinking, Commander!" the Captain replied. ***The next morning, we activated the Star Charts for the first time.Appearing on the screen as a rotatable oval filled with stars, the chartspinpointed the location of all of the solar systems in the Sphere."Now we can pick and choose our destinations at will!" Kloota cried."Thank you for the lovely upgrade, Rogge!"I didn't know what lay around the corner, but I did know that we were morethan ready for it, especially me, as I had now finally embraced the lovein my heart."Praise be to Oshawa!" I shouted as we slipstreamed.