Peter had the advantage in numbers, but, as far as phasers were concerned, the battle was dead even, at least for the time being. Reinforcements could arrive at any moment.
"We could shoot each other, but that won't do any good," declared the Altair 7 commander. "Come with us and the others will not be hurt."
"You just want credit for capturing me," Peter replied bluntly.
Some of the natives put themselves between Peter and the Altair 7 commander. They knew how valuable Peter was to their fight and wanted to protect him if at all possible. Peter was impressed with their loyalty. He Altair 7 commander was too. Getting them to surrender was going to be toug her than he thought.
Peter was the key. If he could get Peter to surrender, the natives would follow suit. It was time for his secret weapon.
"If you don't surrender now, Detrina will die!" he threatened.
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter could see two of the natives sneaking around behind the Altair 7 commander. Both of them had phasers.
"What guarantee do I have that you won't kill her anyway?" demanded Peter.
"Do you really have a choice?" he attacked. "We both know you've lost, so if you save us the trouble of having to track you down the hard way, we promise to take it easy on you and your friends. If not, I promise you a very painful experience."
The Altair 7 commander was suddenly shot down by one of the natives. The soldiers were caught completely by surprise. They didn't expect the natives to be able to operate the phasers they were holding. By the time they reacted, the battle had already been decided.
The native's aim wasn't very accurate, but, considering they had never used a phaser before, they were showing remarkable ability. They had already learned the basic requirements for winning a phaser battle: strike first, take the enemy by surprise, and finish the battle quickly. They had adapted very quickly giving Peter an unexpected edge.
One of the natives was about to kill the Altair 7 commander with a spear, but Peter stopped him. The native respected Peter's authority and left the body alone.
Only two of the natives had been shot in the fight, the two that had been protecting Peter. Once the Ruler's soldier's weapons had been redistributed among the remaining natives, he had twenty-five people and fourteen phasers, including himself and his own phaser. The odds were slowly starting to even out.
Peter knew the Altair 7 commander had alerted the Ruler as soon as he spotted them. They couldn't return to the village safely. They would have to attack the Ruler's camp directly. The homing beacon he had been following when he first arrived on Glunzet was still in the middle of camp. A fact Peter could use to his advantage.
Peter started toward the Ruler's camp with the natives close behind. Whether he liked it or not, this was the best chance he was going to get.
TIME : 8:04 P.M. (20:04)
PLACE : The Ruler's camp
Still trapped inside the force field, Detrina, Linda, Lisa, and Hank waiting to learn what was happening to Peter. As long as he wasn't inside the force field with them, the news could only be good. However, even they didn't expect Peter to make a direct assault on the camp. They expected Peter to be alone or with a few survivors from the scouting party, not with a small army.
Suddenly, the whole camp was filled with mass confusion. Soldiers were running this way and that not knowing where to go or what to do. They were being attacked from several different directions at once.
"I think we found Peter," Detrina said with a smile.
Although Peter had planned the attack, he wasn't involved in the actual attacking. There were some things of vital importance that needed to be done, and only he could do them. The first of which was rescuing Hank, Linda, Lisa, and Detrina. He spotted them in the center of the camp and slowly made his was towards them as quietly as possible. He was just about to reach them when he bumped into something invisible.
"We're trapped inside some kind of force field," explained Lisa.
"Do you know what controls the force field?" asked Peter.
Lisa shook her head.
"A nearby generator, I'd imagine," Hank speculated.
Peter went closer still to the homing beacon in search of a small generator. As he got closer, he spotted a small, but complex computer hidden inside a clump of trees. The computer probably controlled the force field, the jamming device, and other things he didn't even know about yet. It was more than he had hoped for.
Standing a safe distance away, Peter set his phaser to its highest setting and fired a good, solid blast at the computer. After a few seconds, the computer exploded into millions of tiny fragments leaving no trace of the computers existence except for a large, scorched, black spot where the computer used to be.
Knowing they were going to freed soon, Lisa started tapping on the edge of the force field. Peter was just out of sight looking for the generator. She tried to see what he was doing, but she would have to get out of the force field first.
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Lisa stuck her hand through the force field and found it was no longer there.
"We're free!" she exclaimed.
The four of them went scampered into the forest.
The natives were starting to loose the battle. Peter didn't expect it to last long. He had done what he set out to do. Now, he had to start thinking about a strategic retreat. His phaser was almost drained. He could only fire a couple of shot on a moderate setting before his phaser was completely drained.
That wasn't the worst of Peter's problem. As he started to leave, in the direction of the ship, he ran straight into the Ruler and Vondwin. Peter froze in his tracks. One of them was bad enough, but both of them was too much for him to handle.
In the distance, the battle was starting to die out. The Ruler's soldiers were forcing the less equipped natives back in the direction of the village. There were only a few of them remaining. They had done their best, but it seemed like their best just wasn't enough.
"You have caused us a great deal of trouble," snapped the Ruler. "I see I shouldn't have tried to capture all of you at once, it only gives you time to rescue each other. This time, I will defeat you one at a time, starting with you!"
"You're coming with us to Altair 7," added Vondwin. "We're leaving to prevent you're friends from pulling off another amazing rescue. You were the one we wanted the most anyway. Without you, the others will fall apart."
"Don't count on it!" shouted Linda from directly behind them.
The Ruler and Vondwin forced Peter to move to the other side of them so they could see both of them at the same time. Soon, they saw that it was not just Linda, but Lisa, Detrina, and Hank as well. Each of taken a phaser from a fallen native or soldier.
"We know about your laser proof armor," Hank began. "but we don't think your armor can survive a direct blast from all four of us at the same time. Do you want to see if I'm right?"
The Ruler ordered Vondwin to put his gun aside and slowly back away. The Ruler did the same. Peter wiped the sweat of f his forehead and ran over to join his friends.
"Did you think we had deserted you?" wondered Hank.
"I didn't know what you were going to do," Peter confessed. "but I'm greatful that you intervened."
The five of them headed back to the ship. No one tried to follow them which made things much easier on them. The Ruler, Vondwin, and most of the soldiers were soon left far behind.
"Why did you let them go?" complained Vondwin.
"I can wait," the Ruler replied simply. "It wasn't worth the risk. Eventually, they will make a mistake. Then, I will strike. You have to learn the value of patience. I can wait for years if necessary. It is they who will grow old and weak, not me."
"We should have killed them when we had the chance," insisted Vondwin.
The Ruler grabbed Vondwin by the neck and started choking him.
"I am in charge," the Ruler reminded him painfully. "Never second guess my decisions. Otherwise, I will have to find a new second in command. Is that understood."
"Y-yes," gargled Vondwin gasping for breath.
The Ruler released his grip. Vondwin left as quietly as he could in search of a subordinate he could bully around. They had won the battle with the natives, but the victory meaningless to them. Peter, Hank, Linda, Lisa, and Detrina had all escaped and, to make matters worse, the natives had learned to make things hard on them. There was nothing left for them to do except leave the planet and try again elsewhere, preferably someplace a little closer to home.
TIME : 8:20 P.M. (20:20)
PLACE : The clearing the ship was in
Since Peter and the natives had gotten inside the ship when there were four soldiers guarding it, there were now seven soldiers guarding it. All of them more experienced than the four Peter had faced previously.
"Any ideas?" whispered Peter.
"How did you get inside the ship last time?" asked Hank.
"I joined forced with some of the natives," Peter explained. "I had some of them come towards the ship from the other side of the clearing to provide a distraction. Then, I crept up to the ship and fired at them from close range."
"Sounds good to me," said Hank. "If it worked once, it might work again."
"In that case, I'll provide the distraction," Peter reasoned. "My phasers almost empty."
"You'll need somebody to come with you," Detrina reminded him.
"I need the company," agreed Peter.
The group split up once again with Peter and Detrina moving swiftly to the other side of the clearing. They weren't quite as undeductable as the natives were, but it didn't seem to make any difference. Hank, Linda, and Lisa watched them until they could no longer guess where they were.
"I hope this works," Lisa whispered holding her breath.
About a minute later, without warning, a shot came from the other side of the clearing hitting one of the soldiers. Another shot quickly followed, also hitting its target.
"Now!" Hank declared making his way towards the ship.
While Hank was doing that, Linda and Lisa joined in the phaser battle leaving the ship unguarded. Hank entered the ship and immediately sent a message to M.W.G.D. Headquarters for help. To his relief, the signal wasn't jammed. Help would reach them in about twelve hours.
Outside the ship, the M.W.G.D. officers had won the phaser battle. Four of the seven soldiers had been stunned and the other three surrendered. Peter, in particular, was relieved the battle was because his phaser was completely drained. He couldn't fire another shot.
Linda, taking charge, ordered the remaining soldiers to leave the area without looking back. Once they were gone, they joined Hank inside the spaceship.
"We still have a problem," warned Detrina. "There's someone up there waiting to shoot us the moment we take off."
"If we fly low, we should be able to reach the village before they catch us," suggested Peter.
"What village and what's there that's so important?" questioned Hank.
"The village belonging to the natives helping me rescue you," answered Peter. "At the village are two survivors from the scouting party. Both of them are wounded, one of them seriously, and they need our help."
"Where is the village?" asked Hank.
"It's east by southeast of here," said Peter. shouldn't be more than five kilometers."
"We should be able to make it in plenty of time," Hank assured him. "Here we go."
The ship slowly rose out of the clearing and headed east by southeast at an altitude of about five hundred meters. They all held their breath. The Ruler's ships had probably spotted them and were on their way to attack.
"So far, so good," Hank sighed heavily.
The ship continued to move slowly at a low altitude. All of them were starting to grow impatient. The Ruler's forces would be upon them any minute.
"I see the village!" exclaimed Peter.
"Where?" Hank wondered nervously.
Peter pointed in the direction of the village until Hank could see it too. Hank brought the ship in for a landing without a second to spare. They had just landed when the Ruler's ships flew overhead.
"They know where we are!" cried Lisa.
"I think they would have found out anyway," Peter replied pointing to the chaos surrounding them.
TIME : 8:22 P.M. (20:22)
PLACE : Inside the "guest" hut
Enrick was busy finding something for Raya to eat when he heard the natives jabbering outside. Something important must have happened. Perhaps news from Peter.
"I'll be right back," he promised Raya as he left to investigate.
A few of the natives who had left with Peter had returned looking terrified. They had lost to a technology they didn't understand which now threatened their village.
Enrick looked in the direction the natives had come from saw what it was that terrified them. A large number of soldiers were headed in their direction. They had found the native's village.
Fortunately, that was the time of the M.W.G.D. officers' arrival. The soldiers kept their distance while they were landing, but Enrick knew it wouldn't stop them for long.
Slowly and cautiously, Peter stepped out of the ship.
"What's going on?" he asked Enrick the moment he saw him.
"They've found the village," Enrick explained. "They were about to attack when they saw you coming. As soon as they find out you're not a serious threat they'll attack again."
Peter went back inside the ship and told the others to come out. He introduced them to Enrick who told them, more or less, what he had told Peter.
"The ship is a place of safety," Peter began. "We need to get Raya inside the ship before they attack."
Enrick led Peter and Hank back into the hut where Raya was sleeping peacefully.
"The Ruler's soldiers are about to attack," warned Peter summing it up as briefly as he could. "We have to move you back to our ship before they do."
Peter had said too much for Raya to take in at once, but she understood they needed to carry her and helped them in any way she could.
"I see your rescue mission was successful," she remarked upon seeing Hank for the first time.
"It's not over yet," Peter argued. "We're all trapped on the planet. Help won't arrive for another twelve hours and, in the meantime, we have to rescue the natives."
While Peter and Hank were carrying Raya back to the ship, Lisa, Linda, and Detrina were keeping an eye on the approaching soldiers. The soldiers were huddled together discussing what to do after the unexpected arrival of the M.W.G.D. officers. At first, it looked like all they were going to do was talk about it, but then, they started marching slowly toward the village. From the look on their faces, they could guess that this time they weren't using the stun setting.
"They're attacking!" yelled Lisa.
Peter and Hank were only halfway to the ship. They increased their pace moving as quickly as they could without dropping Raya. Peter wondered what he would have done on his own.
"I'm glad were together again," stated Peter.
"Me too," agreed Hank.
They put Raya down gently on a bed in the back of the ship and came out ready to face their attackers.
Copyright MCMXCI, MCMXCIX
