The door to the lift of the command deck opened and Geerhil Golmad stepped out of it to greet the tall, handsome elf in front of him.

"Commander" Golmad said extending his hand for a shake. "I'm eager to find out what it is you have uncovered on your little scavenger hunt."

"There are plenty of weapons, some quasi-infinite energy cells, but nothing really destructive as far as weaponry."

"No trace of the radiation-emitting devices, either?"

"None" Golmad said stolidly.

"You don't seem overly concerned. Did you not make sure you knew where the most dangerous artifacts were before going forward with your little operation? The princess is not going to be pleased you kicked a bee hive and returned with no honey."

"Let them swarm" the commander said scornfully. "They don't have any more stingers now."

"That won't last very long, Commander Roggle, especially if you've created more sympathizers for the outworld rebels, which I imagine you have."

"And that is all the more reason to not relent and continue an aggressive approach to dealing with the humans. We can keep them under control now that the gloves are off and there is nothing else to lose politically."

"You really seem to have quite a narrow view of things, Roggle. There are worse things that can happen besides losing an election."

"And playing nice with these humans has done nothing but embolden them. They need to know that they need us and that we have the upper hand. I was chosen for this job because I-"

"Save your rationalizations for someone else, commander" Golmad said cutting him off. "If you did not recover any weapons, what did you need me here for?"

"I've got a special guest I want you to meet. Come with me" Roggle said motioning Golmad to follow him. Golmad walked across the command deck to the door right across from captain's quarters and opened the door. Inside was a large, silver, cylindrical column that went up to the ceiling with a control panel and lights at the bottom near the floor. On the front of the cylinder was a sign reading "Caution: Keep Well Insulated".

"A cryogenic freezing chamber?" Golmad said surprised. "Who is in it?"

"When we went through the computers of the rebel hideouts, we found some information about a possible major base of operations on the world of Zenithala" Roggle said pushing a button on the cylinder. The silver-colored exterior of the column separated in the middle, telescoping upward and downward revealing a transparent cylinder underneath. A gray could clearly be seen in the colorless, cold fluid. He had one forearm that was black and thicker than the other one.

"That's Baycorf" Golmad said sounding quite surprised to see him in the chamber. "What were you planning on doing with him?" he asked Roggle, his eyes narrowing.

"He knows the world of Zenithala better than any living individual. We can have him lead us to this base and offer him his freedom in return. I need to know if you or any of your men can disable his bionic systems to make him less dangerous." Golmad walked up to transparent surface to take a closer look at Baycorf.

"There is a good reason this gray is cryogenically frozen. You're going to release him to go on a fishing expedition to Zenithala?"

"Save your judgements on my actions for someone else, Geer. Can you disable his bionic systems or not?" Roggle asked not seeming the least bit interested in Golmad's admonishment.

"I could disable at least some of them, but there's no guarantee you could disable every trick he has under his sleeves. He is extremely crafty and elusive."

"Well, then, I think we can at least have a brief chat with him?" Roggle hitting a few buttons on the control panel. A loud, hissing sound could heard from the top of the chamber as thick, white fumes starting coming out of the top as the fluid in the chamber drained. The last bit of fluid drained from the chamber, and the room was noticeably colder. Roggle opened up a small compartment on the side of the chamber and pulled a lever inside. The transparent walls of the chamber opened, exposing the gray's body to the outside. After a moment, the gray's body made slight movements and the control panel indicated vital signs were on.

"Where am I" said a soft, high-pitched voice through a microphone on the inside.

"Do you know who you are?" Golmad asked being sure to enunciate as best as he possibly could.

"I am known as Baycorf to the hominids" the gray said. "Who are you and where are we?"

"You are at the place of your rebirth and we are the elves that are going to give you your life back" Roggle said back to him. The gray stared both at Golmad and Roggle with his large, black eyes.

"I suppose you're going to want me to do something for you" the gray said.

"Of course" Roggle said in a stern tone. "We don't owe anything to you. You owe a debt to us, which I am offering to absolve."

"I owe no debt to you. I have done nothing wrong but spreading wisdom to those that will accept it" the gray said.

"You undermine relations between humans and elves" Roggle said quickly. "You spread dangerous ideas to impressionable and gullible humans."

"You elves do not understand peace" the gray answered back. "You think peace is a one-way relationship of a potentate and a subject, not of understanding."

"Let me explain something to you about 'understanding', gray. Understanding is not possible with a species whose rationality is limited. Your ideas about peace are as idealistic as those of the human church. Now here is the deal" Roggle said changing back to a soft tone. "There is a human rebel hideout on the world of Zenithala that is hiding a very dangerous weapon. If you lead us to it you can go free." The gray said nothing for several seconds.

"I cannot promise you that once I am set free that I will act in a way that you approve of" Baycorf said looking at straight at him with his big, black, glistening eyes. Roggle smiled at him.

"So you can show us the way to this hideout" Roggle said seeming delighted to hear those words. The gray continued to look straight into Roggle's eyes with a piercing stare, as if being able to look inward to all of Roggle's thoughts.

"Very well, but I cannot guarantee your safety from the defenses of the stations you want to visit. The human hideouts on Zenithala are more well defended than any of the other rebel installations in outworld." A big grin overtook Roggle's face.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear" Roggle said delightfully. "See Golmad, this could work out after all!" Geer turned to look at the gray and motioned for Roggle to accompany him outside the room. "We will come back in a moment to release you" Roggle told Baycorf.

"You are playing with fire, commander" Golmad said to Roggle back on the main room of the command deck. "I certainly hope that you know what you're doing."

"Don't worry" Roggle said. "When I am done it won't matter what happens in the silly election." Golmad glared at him, seemingly not able to decide whether or not to rebuke him.

"I will help you deactivate his bionic implants" Golmad said. "But whether this works or it blows up in your face, you own it. Move him to the engineering vessel in half an hour, I'll have the crew over there ready."

"Thank you, minister" Roggle said in a manner that only sounded half sincere. Golmad walked back to the lift and said nothing else.