“If everyone would find your places around the table, the banquet will be starting soon!” announced a member of staff from the serving team.

“Blane, where are Do’Lânqwa and Vedhika?” Glói asked in hushed tones as the guests went to their seats. Vedhika being The Secretary’s actual name.

It was now just gone twenty past seven. “I have no idea, Sir,” he replied, desperation and frustration in his voice.

“Go now and check, before the food arrives,” Purcell suggested.

“What? No way. If I go, you’re both coming with me. If something untoward has happened then I have to protect you from something similar. No, we’ll go now. I’ll speak to Jodeth.”

Blane paced urgently to her and informed her of what the three were going to be doing.

“But you’re the guests of honour!” she said.

“And we’ll be back shortly. Are they the only ones we’re waiting for still?”

Jodeth looked around doing a visual check. “No, I think we’re still waiting for Sammeron Mack and his aides.”

“Sammeron? From Earthtun?”

“Yes.”

Blane scrunched his face and groaned.

“I’m sure they won’t be long,” she said, distracted enough to have missed Blane’s initial reaction. “But if you are going to check on your friends, do it quickly or you’ll miss the first offerings.”

Blane hurriedly turned and headed back for the humans he was now going to take charge of.

7:25

“With me. Now,” he hissed as he carried on out of the room. Purcell and Glói, sensing the urgency in his body language and tone, followed without complaint.

He led them to the stairwell that led up to the guest’s sleeping quarters.

“What’s going on? Where’s the fire?” Glói asked as he puffed up the stairs to keep up with Blane.

“Do’Lânqwa, The Sec and the Earthtun’s are all conveniently missing from the banquet and I don’t have a good feeling about it,” he explained, leaning over the hand rail to check above and below them.

“The Earthtuns attacked Earthgrë didn’t they?” Purcell clarified.

“Yes.”

“And the Earthtuns blame Earthgrë for The 45th?”

“In simple terms, yes.”

“But why go for Do’Lânqwa?”

“My best bet is that as far as they’re concerned, he’s the last grëhman alive and he knows of the destruction that his planet was subject to at the hands of tunmans. We were smart to never actually divulged to anyone here that we have Fo’Vylrian back on our earth and that there are other survivors left on Earthgrë. So in their eyes, Do’Lânqwa is the only person who could lift the lid on the whole thing. But I don’t know, you know more about politics than I do.”

7:33

They arrived to the correct floor and Blane led the men charging down the corridor to The Secretary’s room. He tried to open it.

Locked.

“Are you going to break it down?” Purcell asked, with a glimmer of excitement.

“No. I've got X-ray vision.”

“Sure, ok good… That sounds less destructive.”

“What do you see then?” Glói asked.

“No one’s there and there’s signs of disturbance. We have to find them now!” he cried out urgently, heading back along the corridor the way they had come.

“We’re going back down? Can we take the elevator this time?” Purcell asked.

Blane looked at his watch. It was seven thirty five. “And risk getting trapped in it? No way, let’s get moving.”

After the quick descent back down the stairs to the banquet room, Blane burst through the doors and past the butler types standing on guard. They didn’t even flinch or react to the urgency in the dramatic re-arrival.

The diners however stopped and turned towards the commotion, seeing Blane stood with a look of anger and desperation on his face. A winded Glói and Purcell stood behind him.

“Any luck?” called out Jodeth.

Blane scoured through the faces sat around the table. There were only five empty seats. The three of them and Do’Lânqwa’s and The Secretary’s.

“You!” Blane shouted, accusingly pointing toward Sammeron Mack who had conveniently found his place at the table. The tunman feigned ignorance as his sipped on the soup.

Blane charged to where Sammeron was sat and the other worldly dignitaries gasped at the show of aggression. Sammeron began to get up, and Blane helped him the rest of the way, sweeping out his chair with a kick and grabbing him by the front of his jacket.

“Where are they?” Blane snarled through his tensed jaws.

“Please, Blane. Calm down before we get security in,” Jodeth urged, coming in close.

“No! He knows where they are. Vedhika’s room is a mess. Something happened in there and I will crash your moon into this planet if I don’t get them back.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sammeron claimed.

If only Do’Lânqwa was here, he’d know if this was the truth, Blane thought. “I think we’re going for a walk. You’re not going to play games with me,” threatened Blane, his options running desperately through his head. All he had for back up was a frail framed sixty year old Icelandic man and a physically huge but out of shape Vice President.

“I can assure-” Sammeron Mack began to say, but stopped when he felt himself being lifted off the floor, hovering and ascending from the ground in Blane’s grip. Armed security guards burst through the doors with guns drawn. Mack’s aides drew theirs.

“Don’t shoot!” commanded Blane. He appeared confident, but he was flapping underneath. “You hurt me, I drop him.”

7:45

Sammeron stared wide eyed at Blane and then tried looking down. “Do what you have to, but you’re too late,” Sammeron whispered menacingly.

***

7:20

“Do’Lânqwa… Do’Lânqwa! Can you hear me?” The Secretary hissed urgently. Her eyes adapted to the dim light in their new environment. Adjusting her position, she found herself to be sat up with her hands tied together behind her and her legs restrained at her ankles and across her thighs. She turned her head left and right which she considered a good sign. “Do’Lânqwa! Wake the fuck up!” she pleaded desperately, rocking back and forth to gauge whether it was Do’Lânqwa that was similarly tied up behind her.

The rocking was a step too far as she was reminded of the electrocution she had into her side.

“Ma’am?” croaked a voice back.

“Do’Lânqwa?”

“I’m here… Are you hurt?”

“A little sore,” she answered. “What about you?”

“Same. My chest is a bit tight.”

“Where do you think we are?” she asked checking out their cell a bit more. And that was the best way to describe it. A chamber with dark grey, non-descript walls and minimal red lighting. It was no bigger than the back of a truck but it was definitely a stationary structure.

“I have no idea. We could be heading somewhere or we could be still in Plalia. Are you restrained?”

“Yeah. I have no mobility at all.” She sighed and felt her eyes begin to well up, her nose crinkling to fight them back.

“Are you crying, Ma’am?”

“No.”

“Well that was a lie.”

“Ah shit. I forgot for a moment that you can tell.”

Do’Lânqwa searched around their confines. Am I at the front or back? Was there a door? Or a hatch? The red lights were coming from strip lighting in the corners. He started to shuffle around to see if he could free himself but he too was securely strapped in.

It felt like forever that they were in silence, and Do’Lânqwa could sense he ought to say something reassuring. “I know Blane, he’ll be out doing something to find us.”

“What if he can’t? What if he doesn’t know where we are?”

“I have faith in him. He’s like a dog with the bones.”

“A dog with a bone, you mean?”

“Oh yeah, that’s it. He’s determined.”

“There’s being determined about doing something and then there’s actually doing it.”

“Hey, Ma’am…”

“Just call me Vedhika. You might as well now.”

“No. No. You’re The Secretary. C’mon, you’re stronger than this. Don’t be giving up now. And I know Blane will be working something out... I can’t believe I dragged you all into this.”

“Into what? With Fo’Vylrian?”

“Yeah,” he cringed. “I promise it was with the best intentions. I said before, and I stand by it, that I thought he would be able to help.”

“I know. I know you did.” She sighed heavily. “This all just stresses me out, I have to admit. All this outer space stuff is still a lot to take in. Before you came down it was just us, and now there’s now life in space and beyond space... I don’t feel in control of anything anymore. I’m helpless to manage and lead you because you’re not from here. Why would you listen to me?”

“We do listen to you. We have so much respect for you and what you’ve done for us. I just… I just, I guess am used to doing things my way, and having the authority to do so. It’s no reflection on you. I’m sorry. I regret that that’s how you feel.”

“Look, don't worry about it. We all have regrets,” she said.

Do’Lânqwa chuckled. “Oh yeah? So what are yours?”

She paused for a moment and shook her head smiling as she tried to make sense of their situation. “Ok, fine... Well, one thing I regret is not being there for Lucas more than I actually was... I let that boy down.”

“But how were you to know he was going to do what he did?”

“I should’ve known. Of all the team, I was around him more, and I didn’t pick up on the clues. The signs. I knew his situation with Brad was bad, but I just dealt with each fire, and not the cause.” She paused to gather herself. “You know that night before he took his life, before he went to LA to see the grave of his friend, Brad’s sister... he stopped by my office and asked if I had a moment. And you know what I said, Do’Lânqwa? I said 'no'. I remember specifically he asked for a moment. And I couldn’t even give him that. I had no idea what it was about, but I didn’t give him a chance. That makes me a crap boss.”

Do’Lânqwa thought he could try to convince her otherwise, but her feelings were her truth and he knew he wasn’t the one to talk her round.

“Have you told him that?”

“Huh? What, told Lucas? Do’Lânqwa, he’s-”

“Dead, I know. But I talk to my wife all the time. I know she’s dead, and I have regrets there about how things were, and regret not saying some things to her. I regret my work being such a presence in my life that I risked everything to be able to do it.”

“I know that feeling,” she muttered. “I mean, not to the same extent, but I know about work getting in the way of things, or getting in the way of other things.”

“Of love?”

“Of allowing myself the chance to even find it.”

“There’s been no one?”

She hesitated. Talking about this was not something she did at all. Not with her friends, let alone the people she led. “There was. My high school sweet heart. We married young, at twenty years old. He was killed a year later.”

“Wow. Oh heck. I’m sorry to hear that. How was he killed? If you’re ok with me prying?”

“Sure. If we’re dying in here, it matters not... He got caught in the cross fire of an Enhanced gang called The Mambas going up against a local vigilante. And that was twenty years ago.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It was a lifetime ago and it motivated me to be where I am now in the job I am now.”

“And you’re happy?”

“Well the thought of dying here having not done something about it upsets me. I wish I had made more time for me.”

“If we get out of here... Promise me you will?”

“Sure, why not?” she laughed, bemused by her own words. She was telling the truth.

“There has to be someone out there who understands your struggles and is patient.”

“And handsome?”

“Oh definitely! Out of this world handsome. And funny..!” Do’Lânqwa said.

“For a moment I thought you were just describing yourself, but then you said ‘funny’ and I knew you couldn’t be.”

“Ouch. Human sense of humour is cutting.”

The Secretary and Do’Lânqwa shared a brief moment of silence. “Thanks for making me smile. For a moment I forgot I was tied up in a box on a different planet.”

“Same,” he muttered before giving his restraints an aggressive shake, as if reminded by their predicament. When he stopped, he let out a resigned breath. “Do you talk to him? Your husband?”

“I used to. I still think of him, but life has got in the way. Moved on, if that's not too harsh. Maybe I need to do more talking if we live long enough to do so. So do you talk to your wife a lot still?”

“Yeah and whilst it doesn’t rid my guilt and the regret I have of what happened, it does quell it enough to help me move on with my day.”

The Secretary considered what he said. “I’ve not done that for Lucas. Maybe I should.”

“When we get back home, we’ll go to his grave and you can tell him.”

“Thanks. I like that idea. I’m going to be busy when we get back. Finding love and talking to Lucas.”

“All steps towards taking care of yourself more,” Do’Lânqwa said.

She smiled, although she knew Do’Lânqwa couldn’t see it. “Do you realise you said ‘home’?”

“Yeah, well it is now, isn’t it? I really feel that. It’s where Ta’Balshén and Wo’Trendsont are, and they are all I have left. Frick, if we don’t get out of this, I won’t get to see them grow up.”

“Oi! No! You were the one trying to convince me that we will get out of this. Don’t start flaking out on me.”

“Sorry Vedhika. You're right. I'm not flaking.”

“Don’t be. There is a catharsis to sharing things in the face of hopelessness. And they’re fine boys. They both seem to be taking to things well.”

“Yeah, they are. Ta’Balshén’s taken to therapy well and is adjusting to Earthuu. We’ve actually been working on harnessing his abilities too.”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Not much gets past me in my Facility, even when you think you’re being sneaky,” she chuckled.

“Damn, well he’s coming on leaps and bounds. He’s desperate to show you.”

“He will. He can. When we get out of here.”

“Yeah ok, you’re right. But Blane needs to get a move on though.”

***

“Too late?”

“Yeah, you won’t find them. And you’ll be detained as soon as you touch foot on the ground, unable to do anything about it.” Sammeron menacingly smiled at Blane just enough for Blane and no one else to see.

Blane was ready to tear him in half but knew this would achieve nothing. Instead, he turned Sammeron around, holding him as if he was using him as a body shield.

“This man is responsible for taking my friends! If I do not get out of here with this a-hole here and those two humans over there, I’m going to be the cause of so much damage. Lower your guns now. Believe me here, Jodeth!”

“Jodeth, no. Don’t let this mad man take me,” Sammeron cried out, acting the innocent.

Jodeth looked on in bewilderment. What on earth was going on?

“If he doesn’t know anything, then why does he have Do’Lânqwa’s badge on him?” Blane challenged, digging into Sammeron’s front jacket pocket and revealing it.

The crowd gasped.

“How-how did you?”

“X-ray vision, obviously,” Blane said. “Now, take me to them Sammeron!”

“I told you, it’s too late! They’re all ready to go!”

“You son of a bitch!” And out of impulse and rage, Blane threw Sammeron to the floor, forcing him down like he was touching down a football. Sammeron plummeted hard, landing on his back onto the marble dining table. Something cracked, and it wasn’t the marble.

Blane whizzed down, soaring towards Glói and Purcell, grabbing them each under one arm.

“Stop them!” Sammeron could be heard trying to yell through the blinding pain he was experiencing.

“So what now?” Purcell asked, the heaviest of the two.

“Sammeron said they’re ready to go, so we’re going to check the jet field to find the Earthtun jets. This has gone on long enough. If there’s any fighting to do, take cover and wait for me to tell you the ghost is clear.”

The trio flew across the plaza outside of the Council consulate building, out towards the river which eventually led to the estuary where the jet field was located.

“We got company, just as I thought. Run and hide,” Blane commanded as he descended to put his passengers down. Ahead of him stood a thirty strong team of armed soldiers all dressed tactically in a black.

“Come at me, boys,” Blane dared as he lunged forward at high speed, grabbing out. In doing so he caused the ground to erupt up, sending the hostile attackers flying in the air yelling. Those who were not sent up in the air started opening fire.

Blane propelled himself forward again, fighting with a group of four before they had an idea of what was happening to them. He started to take fire on his position from his right, so he blasted back at them with his stardust beam. They were foolish to think they could take him down. When the dust had settled, thirty bodies lay sprawled out around a hole in the ground.

“Humans, you can come out now!” Blane called out.

“That was… I’m just glad you haven’t done that back home,” Purcell commented, surveying what was in front of them.

“Well, I actually like it on Earthuu, so I’m now a bit more refrained.”

“Can you see them? Are they even here?” Glói asked.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” warned Purcell.

Blane looked around and stopped when he identified it. “Yeah, I’m on the same page as you. They’re over here, stand back.”

***

“The fighting’s stopped. Thank God. We’re getting out!”

“I told you he’d get to us.”

The cell shook and a loud clunking sound rung out as a bright line appeared going left to right along the wall. Whatever was causing the light burnt right through. Two hands popped through the gap and prised apart the two bits to make a gap.

“Oh hey there, you two. We missed soup because of you.”

“Just untie us both and get us off this fucking planet,” insisted The Secretary, unimpressed with the delay. Blane tore at the restraints on her first, and then for Do’Lânqwa.

“Oh, you need to keep a better eye on this thing,” Blane said, tossing Do’Lânqwa his badge back. “Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.”