“You’re back?! Where’s Ta’Balshén?” Do’Lânqwa demanded to know.

“He’s safe, don’t worry. We’ve left him with one of the medical team. He’s fine, don’t worry,” reassured Mindy. “We just came past the medical centre on our way here, they can mind him while we talk,” she finished explaining. The Facility didn’t exactly have round the clock childcare facilities.

“What’s the urgency?” Madame Secretary asked as she came into the room looking rather harassed, after being called by Do’Lânqwa. “Oh, you’re back?” she said noticing the triplets were also there.

“Yes, and we need to talk to you all together,” Blane said.

“So,” started Holt, “we got back to Earthtun without a problem.”

“Did you find your parents?” Do’Lânqwa asked, interrupting. Holt then found himself having to brush over the news of their death in order to get to the point.

“Despite that,” he said as he finished up, “there’s something you need to know, Do’Lânqwa.”

“Go on,” he was getting confused and anxious, wondering what he had to know so bad.

“Our uncle told his bosses in the state Government of what scientific military experimentation is being done on Earthgrë and they decided that they were going to declare war!”

“What?!” he shouted. “Why did you tell him all of that?” he fumed.

“Well in our defence we needed to explain the reason for us disobeying The Pact and for coming here. You know, to explain our absence. It was all down to The 45th after all and that’s where he came from,” Mindy argued.

Blane chipped in, “He was saying he was going to detain us all but we knew we had to come back here and warn you.”

“I need to go back and rescue my family,” he announced, getting up. He was very agitated.

“Right! Just slow down all of you, for one minute,” Madam Secretary said softly, in an attempt to calm the emotions in the room. “How are you going to get back? Remember what happened last time?”

“This will be different. I’ll be more forceful.”

“But Do’Lânqwa, anything more forceful you do could put this planet at risk of looking like it’s committing an act of war, or bringing retaliation to our door step. I for one don’t know enough of the politics to take that risk,” the Secretary stressed.

“They’ll be too tied up with the war on Earthgrë to worry about you here,” Do’Lânqwa responded. Turning to the triplets, he asked, “so this war declaration. Tell me more, quickly!”

“Do’Lânqwa, it was a brutal attack that night. The 45th killed and injured a lot of people. Some very important people too. The fact that it originated from something created on Earthgrë is not something that they feel they cannot be left unchallenged.”

“But Earthgrë has no military or defence systems. It’s a passivist planet. That wouldn’t be a war. It would be an annihilation!” he exclaimed, banging his fist on the table, which stunned the triplets into silence.

They agreed with him, there would be devastation like nothing seen before. Wars went on on different planets, definitely. Worlds always had people within who challenged and vied for leadership. But never before in the Council of the Universes’ history had powers in state declared war on another planet.

“On our way back, we heard that Earthriq and Earthzab were sending forces too,” Blane added, not making the situation sound any better.

“How long do you think we have?” Do’Lânqwa asked. The triplets shared glances.

“We have no idea. It won’t be long though,” was the honest answer Holt could give. And Do’Lânqwa knew it.

***

Madam Secretary had managed to persuade them to give her six hours. Any more would be too late. She knew she couldn’t stop Do’Lânqwa from going, but she wanted time to help prepare him.

An emergency Collective meeting had been called and Brad had requested that the G7 members be invited. In good time, they were all gathered in the conference room. Mindy and Blane were helping Do’Lânqwa and Lucas prepare the jets, so Holt stayed and helped conduct the meeting, bringing everyone up to scratch.

“So that’s the plan,” he concluded at the end.

“Is the four of you going to be enough? I think I oughta come too,” Brad offered when Holt had finished.

“Nope. I need you here Brad, holding down the fort I’m afraid,” interjected the Secretary. Brad began to protest but knew from her face that he wasn’t going to get very far.

“You’re going to need some fire power. Count me in,” a woman Holt didn’t recognise said.

“Woah, can I just remind you that we’re not going there to fight, Anna.” The Secretary spun in her chair and gave a rarely seen stern look.

“Well thank you, Anna,” Holt said, trying to keep the momentum of the offers going.

“I’ll go as well,” Terri stated, raising her hand.

Ferris, who was sat next to her gave her daggers, whispering, “Babe, are you sure you should? Is this your fight?”

“This is exactly my fight. I’m rock hard and strong. With Anna and her indestructible build, we are a force to be reckoned with.”

“I probably know the answer,” Dylan started, “but-”

“Yeah, it’s a hard no,” interrupted the Secretary, stopping him in his tracks. He shrugged as if it was worth a shot.

“I will go too,” a soft voice said, from someone else who Holt didn’t recognise. Whoever it was, Brad wasn’t keen about their offering.

“No way Stephanie, I don’t think that’s a great idea,” he called out from across the conference circle as if there was no one else there. “You’ve been through a lot lately. No one expects you to be doing anything right now.”

“I am fine. Thank you for your concern but I can make my own decisions, Brad. This man deserves the chance to save his family. I want to help.”

“Well thank you S-Stephanie,” Holt said, hoping he had remembered her name correctly. It was a good job Blane wasn’t here, Holt thought. He would not have been able to string a sentence together seeing someone so beautiful.

“Well if Europe are losing Germany and Italy, Sandrine and I will stay behind,” a man said. A rather handsome man, actually.

“Thanks Isaac, that’s a sensible plan,” expressed the Secretary, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

“Guys, this is just going to be hopefully a simple, straightforward rescue operation. In and out. We won’t need a lot of people,” said Holt.

“Good, because I don’t think I could handle space travel,” Kimona said. “Fighting The 45th on this planet was bad enough for me. I don’t think I want to go there looking for them.”

“I’m sorry,” a vaguely familiar Texan male voice drawled, “but why are we bustin’ our balls over this? Potentially thousands or more are going to die in that war. Maybe even you guys. This ain’t ev’n ours to worry about. And we’re going to all this trouble to rescue two people? Doesn’t the whole planet deserve to be saved?”

“I haven’t asked for any help,” Do’Lânqwa snapped back, walking into the room at this awkward moment. Reuben fixed his gaze with Do’Lânqwa but didn’t say anything. “I was more than happy to go by myself hours ago. I don’t expect anyone else to ‘bust their balls’ for my family, but I will be.”

“It’s fine Do’Lânqwa, we have got some volunteers to join you,” Madam Secretary said, in the hope of easing the tension. “You’ll have the triplets, Terri whom you know, and Anna and Stephanie will be joining you. They’re very good at what they do.”

“I want to go too,” announced Ferris.

“Ferris, no. Please.” Terri said, turning to him, and speaking in stern whispers. “I get that you’re concerned about me but I’ll be fine. We can’t all go into space. You stay here, honestly.”

Ferris rolled his eyes out of frustration. Holt nervously watched on, seeing how unhappy he was about it.

“Right, we we’ll be leaving within the hour,” announced Do’Lânqwa.

***

The two jets tore through space, having left Earthuu on schedule. The triplets flew with Stephanie on board in their jet- much to Blane’s excitement, and because Do’Lânqwa’s Astral jet wasn’t weaponised like the triplets’ was, Anna and Terri rode with him.

“I can see you getting excited,” Brad had said to Blane after the meeting, referring to Stephanie’s decision to fly with them. “But she’s been through a lot of hurt and pain. Behave yourself and don’t get on the wrong end of her. Or me,” he warned, not sharing with him the extent of Stephanie’s enhancements.

Stephanie was quiet on board during the flight and didn’t say much, despite Blane’s efforts. Even Mindy didn’t get much conversation from her. Maybe it was the pain she was going through that Brad mentioned, but equally, Mindy assumed, it could have been the beauty of the views of infinite space.

The three human space tourists had been loaned space-jump suits that the US military use and had helmets available should they need them when in a different atmosphere, but Do’Lânqwa was sure they would be fine.

***

Right on cue, roughly at the same point as the last time when Do’Lânqwa made his first attempt to go home, the two jets slowed to a stop at the sight of the Peacekeeper ships in formation.

The announcement was almost identical to the one Do’Lânqwa had got before, but they seemed to know that this was both their second times leaving Earthuu. The commanding voice continued through the channels of the rogue jets.

As per the plan, the triplets waited to hear Do’Lânqwa respond to the anticipated obstruction.

“Last time I tried to reason with you,” Do’Lânqwa started, but Mindy was to wait for the signal, listening via the two-way communicator that Lucas had had fitted into the jets before taking off. “This time, I’m not going to be as polite!”

That was the cue. Mindy opened fire with their jet’s shooters, taking out the four Peacekeeper jets quickly.

“Four out of four. Let’s move onto Phase Two,” cheered Mindy.

“Good job, but we must be quick for this next bit,” Do’Lânqwa warned.

After some furious flying through galaxies, Earthgrë soon came into view. It was clear at this point that the planet’s orbit was not filled with attacking crafts and that the war hadn’t yet started. They still had time.

“Right, follow me in Holt. Get ready for touch down.”

Only one week to wait to find out what happens in Part 2 of The Power of Three, ‘Intergalactic Rescue’...

as The Collective rescue party lands on Earthrë. But will they get back out in time?