Shawn immediately came running to her aid.
"I'm fine," Lisa told him finally able to speak. "Just a little out of breath."
"Is this another friend of yours?" Ovetta asked Hank. Lisa introduced herself and explained that she had come to warn them that the Ruler had followed them.
"I'm afraid you're a little too late for that," Shawn smiled jokingly. "but you can help us look for a sculpture of a bear, an old engine, or a radio transmitter."
"I know all about it," said Lisa. "He caught me too."
Seeing the condition Lisa was in, the others agreed to rest a few minutes longer. They need a break anyway and, in a seven hour race, odds were a minutes wouldn't make that much of a difference. Shawn, Hank, Ovetta, and Lisa took turns explaining what had happened to them for the last twenty-four hours. Seeing the day's events from four different perspectives gave them a definite advantage over the Ruler. They though that they could learn something from each of the four accounts and figure out what Galico was up to.
When Lisa, the last of them to talk, was finished, Shawn urged them to move on. Since the Ruler's party had taken a different path, they had no idea how far ahead or behind they were. There only choice was to keep moving.
"I'm glad I caught up with you," Lisa stated to no one in particular.
"So am I," agreed Peter.
The six of them continued down the tunnel with a renewed strength and a feeling of togetherness.
TIME : 4:44 P.M. (16:44)
PLACE : The center of the city
"There's light up ahead!" Ovetta called out to the others.
Hank could see it too. It was like looking out a window on a sunny day. The dimly lit tunnels began to look a little more cheerful as they neared the end of their journey.
Ovetta stopped next to one of the side tunnels and waited for the others. They had become too spread out for her to take any sudden turns.
"This tunnel leads to the surface," she explained. "We should be close enough to the center by now."
"How close are we to the center of the city?" asked Hank.
"This is the center of the city," replied Ovetta. "but we're still not at the true center."
The light ahead began to grow brighter as they approached a small stair case. There was only enough room for them to go up one at a time, so Ovetta volunteered to test the rickety staircase.
"I made it!" she shouted once she reached the top. "Who'd like to go next!"
Hank started up the staircase next and he, in turn, told Shawn to come up. Eventually, all six of them were safely on the ground floor of yet another building.
"I know where we are," said Ovetta. "The art museum is nearby. They should have a sculpture of a bear somewhere."
They were all tired after walking nonstop for several hours, but they couldn't afford to rest until they had found two of the three items. Ovetta led the way. After visiting the art museum hundred of times, she had the way memorized.
For the first time, Shawn, Peter, Linda, and Lisa were able to gaze upward and see all the beauty the City At The Center Of The Universe had to offer.
"How many building are there?" asked Peter.
"I don't know," Ovetta told him. "No one has ever bothered to count them. It would take days just to find them all."
When they got there, the art museum was empty. Needless to say, they weren't surprised. The entire time they had been there, the only people they had met were Ovetta and Galico, but that didn't stop them from worrying about breaking in.
"I do it all the time," Ovetta assured them. "No one has ever been in charge of this place. Whoever built this city provided the art museum for our enjoyment."
Ovetta made them feel more confident about entering the museum, but it still didn't feel quite right to them. However, all doubts were gone when they immediately a sign point to where the sculptures were.
"We should have brought Detrina with us," remarked Peter.
Detrina, Peter's girl friend, use to work in a museum on her home planet, Terni, before joining M.W.G.D. They had worked with her on many occasions and she always helped them out when they needed it.
"Detrina might know more about museums than we do," agreed Hank. "but she would be just as lost in the alien city as we are. We'll have to made do with do with who we have and what we've got."
"Your as sensible as always," sighed Peter.
The section reserve for sculptures was fairly large, so Shawn ordered them to split up. With six of them looking, one of them was bound to find it.
TIME : 4:46 P.M. (16:46)
PLACE : Near the center of the city
While Shawn's party was on its way to the art museum, the Ruler's party had left the tunnels and was on its way to the center of the city. Vondwin was feeling cross after being forced to walk at the Ruler's pace for over seven hours. He had no idea how their opponents were doing, but he had a feeling that Shawn's party was doing better than they were. They had a guide to lead them.
"It's not fair," complained Vondwin. "They have someone to lead the way who is not a member of M.W.G.D."
He was talking to Galico, but he did not expect an answer. The only reason he had said anything about it was because he felt like he had to complain about something. He couldn't say anything about the Ruler or anything associated with him which left only his enemies to complain about.
He didn't expect an answer, but Galico provided one anyway.
"There are no rules in this contest other than finding the items," snapped Galico. "Anything is legal. Both parties can use any means necessary to get the items and that includes the help of outsiders."
"If you were as good as M.W.G.D. at establishing allies, you would have conquered the galaxy a long time ago. That is one of THEIR advantages. I would advise you to find one of your own."
"This is just what we need," declared the Ruler.
At first, Vondwin thought the Ruler was talking about something Galico said. Then, he realized that the Ruler had come across an old map with various points of interest labeled on it. The Ruler was particularly interested in a nearby repair shop.
"There should be plenty of junk over here," the Ruler said pointing to the repair shop on the map. "like an old engine or a radio transmitter."
"Not again," grumbled Vondwin as the Ruler continued, at his pace, toward the repair shop.
TIME : 5:03 P.M. (17:03)
PLACE : The art museum
Peter wondered if the sculpture was even in the museum. There were sculptures on all kinds of exotic animals, but no bears.
"Most of the sculpture are either of people or inanimate objects," thought Peter. "The animals are where I am, so if I don't find it, no one will."
Peter was debating whether or not to call the others and tell them in look in his section when his eyes fell upon a forest exhibit filled with trees, rocks, and other things found in a forest, including plenty of animals.
The exhibit took up an entire room and Peter found himself getting lost on several occasions. Ironically, he was trying to find out where he was when he found a statue of a baby cub and its mother drinking from a mountian stream.
"I found it!" Peter yelled.
"M.W.G.D. leads one to nothing," announced Galico. "The sculpture of a bear has been found. They only need one more item to win."
Peter jumped when he heard Galico's voice. Galico hadn't said anything for a while, so Peter figured that he wasn't paying any attention to him. Another that surprised him was where the voice was coming from.
The voice came from outside and sounded like he was talking into a loud speaker. He was loud enough to be heard for miles, so Peter guessed that everyone had heard him. Knowing that he was trailing, the Ruler would be madder than usual. The second item would not be easy to find.
TIME : 5:10 P.M. (17:10)
PLACE : The repair shop
The Ruler's party had heard that Shawn's party found the bear sculpture which, as Peter predicted, made them more determined than ever to find the other items. The four of them had been searching through the pile of junk for almost fifteen minutes with no results.
Vondwin, in particular, was upset at their lack of results. He feared that M.W.G.D. would find one of remaining item and Galico would vaporize them instantly. He had become the Ruler's second in command because of the weapons he was able to create, not because of his ability to find things. With that thought in mind, a came across a model spaceship and looked inside. It had an engine! It was old and badly in need of repair, but that was the type of engine Galico wanted.
"The Ruler's party has found the old engine," Galico announced. "The score is now one to one. Whoever finds the radio transmitter wins!"
"This way!" commanded the Ruler as soon as Galico was finished. He thought he knew where the third item could be found.
As usual, the Ruler gave Vondwin no credit for finding the engine. Strangely, it made Vondwin feel much better to see his accomplishments ignored by the Ruler. Things were back to normal.
TIME : 5:11 P.M. (17:11)
PLACE : Near the true center of the city
Shawn's party had heard Galico's announcement too. They realized that Galico's voice was coming from a specific location. If they could pinpoint the sorce, they would probably be able to find Galico. Not surprisingly, they found that the voice was coming from the same direction as the true center of the city. He was wanting them to find him.
"He must have the radio transmitter," Linda remarked.
The true center of the city, rumored to be the exact center of the universe, was not that far away. By running, they could get there in less than five minutes. They were suprised when they found enough energy left in them to make the short run. All was going well until Hank spotted four small figures in the distance.
"It's the Ruler!" warned Hank pointing in their direction.
They Ruler's party spotted them too and began running toward the sorce of Galico's last message.
"Why didn't he attack us?" Linda inquired.
"If he finds the radio transmitter, he won't have to," Shawn reminded her.
It was a race to see who would get there first with a Ruler an overwhelming favorite. Peter saw no possible way for them to beat the Ruler, so he began to think of alternative locations for the radio transmitter. The sculpture of a bear had been placed in fairly obvious location and he assumed the same thing applied to the old engine.
"What would be the most obvious place to look for a radio transmitter?" Peter wondered out hoping one of the others could give him an answer.
"In a radio station," replied Lisa.
"Is there a radio station anywhere around here?" he asked Ovetta.
"I believe so," she answered hesitantly. "but I'm not sure where it is."
"It should be up ahead," suspected Hank. "Galico probably used the radio station when he told us the score."
"The Ruler's going to beat us there," cried Lisa.
"He might beat us to the station," agreed Hank. "but we can still beat him to the transmitter if we stop and think before we go rushing in."
Suddenly, Shawn had an idea. He looked closely at the buildings directly ahead of them to see if one was different than the others. Among the tall sky scrapers was a building the size of a large house. The smaller building had some light coming from it which probably meant that somebody was inside. It was a long shot, but Shawn had a good guess who was inside.
"Split up," commanded Shawn. "Peter, Lisa, come with me. The rest of you will continue toward the radio transmitter. I don't want Galico to catch on to what I'm up to."
"And what exactly are you up to?" wondered Hank.
"I'm about to drop in on Galico and have a nice, quiet chat with him," Shawn explained feeling his confidence slowly return to him.
TIME : 5:17 P.M. (17:17)
PLACE : Just outside the small building
Shawn, Peter, and Lisa quietly crept toward the building. Even if it wasn't Galico, they knew that someone was inside. A light was on in almost every room and, occasionally, they could hear the quiet hum of machinery coming from the building. Peter tried the front door and found it to be locked.
"Stand back!" ordered Shawn pulling out his phaser.
Peter got out the way as quickly as possible half expecting him to shoot the door down. Chuckling to himself, Shawn quietly walked up to the door and cut the lock keeping his phaser on a low setting so no one could hear him. Even in the midst of an emergency, Shawn never lost his sense of humor.
Shawn pushed the door open and the three of them went inside. The building was filled with T.V. monitors observing places all over the city. A dull glow came from the room to their immediate left indicating that more T.V. monitors were inside.
Cautiously, they entered the room. A small man was seated in a large chair watching the T.V. monitors closely. One of the monitors showed Hank, Linda, and Ovetta and another one showed the Ruler's party. The only place in the entire city that he could not see was inside and around the building he was in. They had found his blind spot.
The man had no idea they were there. He was viewing the radio transmitter and comparing it with the location of the two parties. Both of them were headed straight for his trap.
"There might not be a winner at all," he thought.
"Turn around nice and slow and don't make any sudden moves," ordered a voice from somewhere behind him.
Shawn, Peter, and Lisa were surprised to see a small, slender, cowardly looking man who looked like a small dog shortly after being punished. This was Galico, Guardian of City At The Center Of The Universe. The contest was over and Galico was the overall looser.
"I controlled everything with this machinery," he whimpered pitifully. "The voice, the barriers, everything. Without it I'm powerless. I can't destroy anyone unless they're within range of my weapons. None of you are in range right now."
"Why did you bring us here?" questioned Shawn not caring much for his whimpering.
"I wanted to leave the city," he stated simply. "I can bring people here, but I can't leave. When I found out X had left the city, I figured I could pull in someone from M.W.G.D. and allow him to contact X for help. Then, I would kill X at the first opportunity and get away in his ship. Do you know how long I waited for Hank to come within range of my tractor beam?"
"If you had the ability to contact us, why didn't you just ask us to help you?" Shawn demanded.
"I wanted to end the war between you and the Ruler by destroying the looser," answered Galico. "I would be a hero to either one side or the other and would be able to live in luxury for the rest of my life."
"The Ruler would not reward you for destroying us," Shawn declared. "You have made him angry. He would only thank you after you are dead and, if you had destroyed the Ruler, we wouldn't see you as a hero. You would merely take his place as the number one threat to the galaxy."
"Not everyone thinks the way you do," he argued forgetting, for the moment, that he was no longer in control of the situation. "There are plenty of people out there who would support anyone killed the Ruler, or the leader of M.W.G.D."
He glared at Shawn as if he intended to fight him through he was unarmed and Shawn had a phaser pointed straight at him. He was convinced that he could win. Shawn knew Galico wanted to fight him, but he wasn't going to give him a chance.
"You're lucky we found you fist," warned Shawn. "Had the Ruler found, you you'd already be dead."
"Then, you wouldn't be able to leave," Galico smiled in an evil way. "The winner of the contest will be the looser."
"Just what did you mean by that?" demanded Shawn, but Galico refused to answer. As long as he was the only one who knew how to make contact with people outside the black hole, Shawn couldn't do anything to him.
While Shawn had been questioning Galico, Peter and Lisa were investigating his equipment to see if they could contact their friends. They had figured out how to make a general broadcast, but they didn't want the Ruler to hear them. They had to find a way to talk to Linda, Hank, and Ovetta directly.
"Linda still has the communicator," Peter recalled. "but where's the one Galico used."
"I'm not going to tell you," Galico said smugly.
Suddenly, Lisa looked at the object the others were headed for and knew what Galico meant by "the winner shall be the looser".
"The radio transmitter is booby trapped!" she exclaimed.
Peter looked where Lisa was pointing. One of the monitors clearly showed some explosives attached to the radio transmitter. It wasn't hard to guess that they were set to go off on contact. Although Galico wasn't as powerful as they thought, he could still provide them with a few surprises.
There was no time to look for the missing communicator. They had to warn the others whether the Ruler overheard them or not.
"Hank! Linda! Ovetta!" Peter began hoping everything was working properly. "Raise your right hand if you can hear me."
"All three of them can hear you," Lisa told him looking at the monitor.
Peter remembered his experience in the control tower at M.W.G.D. Headquarters and knew that he could not let Hank down a second time.
"The radio transmitter is bugged," he continued. "It is set to explode as soon as someone touches it. Leave the area at once and come to you know where. Over and out."
TIME : 5:20 P.M. (17:20)
PLACE : Near the radio transmitter
The Ruler's party could see the radio transmitter ahead of them when they heard Peter's message.
"Do you think they're telling the truth?" asked the Altair 7 officer who was normally quiet. "It could be a trick to make us give up our lead. They know we have them beat."
"I don't think so," the Ruler replied. "but if you want to check it out, go right ahead."
The officer looked at the radio transmitter one last time before deciding that it wasn't worth the risk. Linda, Hank, and Ovetta had already turned around and were going the other way.
"Follow them!" ordered the Ruler. "They might lead us to Galico."
When Peter shouted his warning, the Ruler knew that he had found Galico. Shawn's party had split up with Shawn and Peter going one way and the rest of them going the other. (He still didn't know Lisa had joined them.) When the M.W.G.D. officers reunited, he could destroy them, and Galico, at the same time.
TIME : 5:24 P.M. (17:24)
PLACE : The small building
Galico had been disturbingly quiet since Peter warned them of his trap. The color in his face faded to match his shattered confidence. He had slumped back in his chair afraid to even move.
Peter and Lisa had left Galico to Shawn and were busy trying to find the other communicator. They couldn't afford to communicate directly as long as the Ruler was able to overhear everything they said and the others could only reply visually.
Peter glanced up at the monitors and saw that the Ruler was headed in their direction. He was clearly following Linda, Hank, and Ovetta as they headed back to the small building. If he warned them, the Ruler might decided to attack and, if didn't warn them, they might all be in danger. He called Shawn over and told him the situation. No one was watching Galico giving him his chance to flee. He sprang up and ran to the door as fast as he could go. Peter offered to follow him, but Shawn told him to stay.
"He can no longer do us any harm," he explained. "The Ruler is the one we have to worry about."
"Peter, do you read me? How many people are with you?" a familiar voice asked over one of the speakers.
"X?" asked Peter in utter disbelief. "How did you find us?"
"I picked up Lisa's message and figured you had found the City At The Center Of The Universe," X began. "Sorry it took me so long to find you, but City At The Center Of The Universe is a rather big place. If I hadn't heard your message a few minutes ago, I'd still be looking for you."
"Shawn and Lisa are with me," said Peter answering X's previous question. "Linda, Hank, and Ovetta, our guide, are on their way here. Unfortunately, the Ruler is following them and I don't know how to warn them without provoking the Ruler."
"Leave everything to me," X replied.
TIME : 5:30 P.M. (17:30)
PLACE : Near the small building
Galico's luck had taken a drastic turn for the worse. Once in control of the Ruler and M.W.G.D., now forced to flee for his life. Worse still, he was spotted by the Ruler who immediately knew who he was.
Ignoring M.W.G.D. for the time being, the Ruler ran after Galico. After his humiliation, he had a score to settle and the fact that Galico wasn't as powerful as he had claimed to be didn't help matters much.
Galico saw the Ruler was following him. The only way he could survive was by hidding. He tried to turn a corner, but, by that time, he was in range of the Ruler's phaser. The Ruler shot him in the back killing him instantly.
However, the Ruler's victory was short lived. A few seconds later, he heard X demanding his unconditional surrender.
"You shouldn't have killed him," scolded X. "In spite of all he did, you had no right to kill him."
"Where are you?" demanded the Ruler.
"That is not important," X declared. "The important thing is to make sure you leave the city. I know you are capable of leaving this. You wouldn't have come otherwise. I am giving you five minutes to go back in the direction you came from before I start firing."
For a few seconds, all was silent. Both sides refused to yield. Then, at last, the Ruler agreed to leave.
"I don't want to fight you right now," the Ruler shouted as fiercely as he could. "I have patience. Someday when you least expect it, I'll be waiting for you."
There was no response. X was too smart to let the Ruler intimidate him. He knew he had won, for the moment.
As they left, all that could be heard was a loud groan from Vondwin knowing they would be walking nonstop for another seven hours before they finally reach the ship. One day, he would get his revenge.
TIME : July 3, 2017
PLACE : M.W.G.D. Headquarters
Peter, Hank, Linda, Lisa, Shawn, and X were all safe and sound at M.W.G.D. Headquarters. Ovetta had just left for Altair 3. She was greatful to be out of the city, but M.W.G.D. wasn't quite right for her. She wanted to settle down on a nice, quiet planet and learn about the rest of the galaxy.
Hank promised to visit her in the near future and tell her all he could about Earth the way she had done with her home. Shawn gave her some money for assisting M.W.G.D. when they need it. It was only half a week's pay, but it would be enough for her to live off of until she got a job.
"I'm going to miss her," said Hank after Ovetta's ship disappeared from the radar screen leaving only empty space.
"Amazing how much power someone can get with modern technology," remarked Peter. "The only thing that made Galico as powerful as he was, were his high tech gadgets. Without them, he didn't stand a chance."
"There is still nothing that can replace the human mind," declared X. "Now that the Ruler knows about City At The Center Of The Universe, he will try to find the secrets of their technology. I'd advise you to send a couple of people over there to keep an eye out for the Ruler."
"I think Doug is the prime canidate to lead them," Shawn told him. "I'll tell him he's been promoted first thing tomorrow."
"How did you find out about the city?" Lisa cut in.
X acknowledged he had heard her, but didn't say anything else. He was deep in thought debate whether or not to tell them something. Lisa guessed it might have something to do with his origins.
"I'd prefer not to tell you right now," he began. "but I promise to tell you someday."
X had a habit of saying that, but the others knew he always kept his word. They would just have to wait until X was ready to tell them more about City At The Center Of The Universe.
Copyright MCMXC, MCMXCIX
