Greyla piloted the transport back to the Moz Lidule. It was dwarfed by the huge landing bay. She headed to the bridge to report back in person.

“Welcome back, Greyla,” Anakron said. “Etaine actually let someone leave for a change?”

“Yes. I was surprised too," Greyla said.

“No strings attached?” Anakron asked and raised one eyebrow.

“I’m not so sure about that. Bethon is staying with her of course, but so is Valorah.”

“Valorah?”

“Yes. Bethon smuggled one of the girls aboard just in case he got stranded," Greyla explained. She grimaced at the thought. "He's predictable to a fault."

“He completely disregarded my warning. Why am I not surprised?”

“I tried to pretend she was my assistant, but Etaine soon figured out what was going on," Greyla said. "She is keeping her in pretense of curing her mutism. Bethon told her Valorah was your subject and she should consult with your first, but you know Etaine. Her planet, her rules.”

“That is consistent with her proclivity to fix everything," Anakron said. "What about Bethon?”

“He and Etaine were totally content when I saw them this morning. Apparently they’ve patched things up already."

"And Kage?"

"He seems to have adapted well enough. Too well actually, but his devotion to Etaine seems quite genuine."

"Sag Leggan probably had a hand in that. He would have no qualms tampering with Kage's affections to insure things went smoothly."

Greyla tapped a hand to her forehead. "Of course, he would. That explains everything," Greyla said recalling her own experience on Sagor. "I had a moment to speak with Kage alone and asked him to look after Valorah.”

“I'm sure he will. Kage is a fine man. I’m sorry to see him caught in the middle of this.”

“Me too. I doubt you’ll be getting Valorah back anytime soon.," Greyla said, shaking her head.

“We’re not sending anyone else to Erizza. Bethon has placed me in charge of the Moz Lidule in his absence. I plan to stay in orbit for now," Anakron said. "The crew on Lady Devora will be gone for a while so make yourself at home here. I’ll assign few duties to keep you occupied and you will of course be our empath. What are your perceptions of the demon at present?”

Greyla frowned. “You're going to find this strange, but I can barely feel him now. He was growing stronger by the day and suddenly he fades to almost nothing. It's like he pulled a curtain between us, but I know he's still there. I'm tuned in to the least hint of his evil presence.”

“We think he has learned to cloak himself judging by the manner in which he recently ambushed the BakoNaat vessel," Anakron said. "I want you to take a read on him every waking hour and look for changes of any kind. Not having empathic skills, I’m not sure what to ask you to look for.”

“Understood. I’ll observe what I find and keep some notes. He’s more organized now and I get a more distinct impression of a personality, still hard to define," Greyla said. She sat down and took a moment to collect her thoughts, glad that Anakron was in charge. He was far more stable than Bethon could ever be. Tajlon and Nova were away at the Academy, Hal was flirting with death in the path of the demon. She even missed Widhbo, something she thought would never come to pass.

"I almost forgot," Greyla said. "Not only did Etaine did agree to the alliance and mining colony, but she also promised to send some troops for added defense."

"Good. Let's hope she'll keep her word," Anakron said with skepticism in his voice.

"I have reason to believe she will. She wants the demon gone as much as anyone. I'm worried Lord Anakron," Greyla confided. "Really worried about Hal and the others. They're far too close. What if they fail?"

"Widbho can pull them out in an emergency. His magiton body is directly connected to a homing device on board the Moz Lidule. He has enough energy stored to teleport in an instant from almost any location. The demon is another matter. All we can do is try." Anakron said. He paused and gazed intently upon Greyla. "You're sorry you didn't make up with Hal before he left aren't you?"

Greyla took in a deep breath. She had felt Anakron probing her psyche. He had voiced the words she could not.

"I am. There's no point in denying it, I love him."

"Not to play therapist, but why won't you tell him?" Anakron asked.

"He just takes me for granted for one thing," Greyla said and sighed. "Hal assumes he can just pick up where we left off as though nothing's happened."

"What exactly did happen?"

"That's the problem. I can't remember. I blacked out. Hal knows, but he won't tell me."

"He's protecting you from something?"

"Obviously, and I don't like it. I'm not a child," Greyla felt a few hot tears running down her cheeks. "He said he promised not to tell and he won't even tell me to whom he made the promise."

"You might call it even now," Anakron said placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you planning to tell him about your trip to Sagor?"

"No. That's an entirely different matter," Greyla said. "In my defense, I did that because I had no choice."

"Different circumstances perhaps, but the principle looks the same to me," Anakron observed. "You're trying to protect his feelings the same as he's protecting yours. I doubt Hal had a choice either. You should trust him more."

* * *

The mining operation had gone well and the rockets were built in record time by an army of mechs provided by the BakoNaat. Most of the rockets were already mounted at strategic points over the back side of the planetoid. Blunt noses were set deep into sections of solid rock to transfer their thrust. Everything was well hidden behind the cloaking shield which deflected or absorbed every cosmic ion or speck of space dust.

A large sleek ship appeared and took a position in orbit around the planetoid opposite of the Lady Devora. "Is that a BakoNaat ship?" Hal asked.

"No, It's markings are Sagorian," Widhbo replied.

“How would you know? You’ve never seen a Sagorian anything.”

“I checked the archives Lord Anakron graciously provided. I know practically everything.”

“You can’t know everything," Hal said.

“You haven’t seen my archives so how would you know what I don’t know? Ask me anything. Anything at all.”

“Okay, what’s the Sagorian ship doing here?” Hal asked.

“Oh, Hal. Even you could guess that one. They’re bringing fuel for the rockets. Now ask me what sort of fuel and where did they get it. That would a worthy question at least.”

“And you know the answer?” Hal asked.

“Of course, I do. Checking into the history of Sagor, BakoNaat pioneers from the early Tor Galaxy first established a mining colony there because of its rich mineral resources. It was found to be the perfect place to establish a large reality interface and the capitol sits on top of a rich vein of anorthorsite today. The planet we call Sagor was hotly contested and the BakoNaat fought a long and bitter war with rival forces. Sag Leggan, allied with the Lidulians and arangas, was able to defeat the BakoNaat. Skirmishes have occasionally broken out between renegade tribes of the BakoNaat and the Sagorians as recently as two hundred years ago.”

“So how did the Sagorians win the prize?”

“They were the dominant race and more technologically advanced. The Sagorians were better equiped to develop the resources on any planet. In exchange for their military support, Sag Leggan established a chain of refueling stations throughout this sector of the Tor Galaxy. Lidulian and aranga vessels were allowed to refuel for free over the following one hundred years and pay only the actual fuel cost thereafter.”

“So that’s why the fueling stations are so thick.”

“Yes, follow the energy flow, Hal. Without it you die. Energy is power. The BakoNaat lost their prize and had to find other ways to meet their growing energy needs. They took to pirating and stealing rich ore shipments. Out of necessity they evolved their alchemists, adepts and magi far beyond what any other culture could imagine.”

“Okay, so that's how they learned to make fuel out of almost anything." Hal said. "Here's a question for you. What was the BakoNaat’s original name for the planet Sagor?”

“That’s a silly question. Who cares?” Widhbo replied. "History is written by the winners, Hal. "

* * *

"This should prove interesting." Cratus said to Hal. They were watching the Sagorian vessel land at the BakoNaat space port. "The Sagorians and BakoNaat have been at war from the beginning of this epoch."

"Yes. Widhbo filled me in on their history. He said it's been about two hundred years since they actually fought," Hal said.

"Except for the occasional encounter with one of their pirate ships, that's true," Cratus agreed. "The BakoNaat are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be. We don't know their full power and much of their knowledge is shrouded in secrecy."

A cargo door in the belly of the Sagorian ship opened allowing aerial freight transports to exit. They flew off the landing pad and docked with the closest rocket cylinders. After depositing a load of rocket fuel, they returned to the mother ship to reload. It would take a few hours before all the rockets could be fueled.

“This seems to be going smoothly enough,” Hal said.

“The transports look to be remotely controlled so there doesn't have to be any diplomatic interaction."

"Well, scratch that. Look who's here." Hal said getting up from his seat to get a better look.

A sleek personal transport rolled out to the surface. Even from a distance Hal could see it was clearly Queen Etaine with a retinue of BakoNaat following in her wake.

"Clever," Cratus said. You never know what the BakoNaat might do, but with their queen arriving on the Sagorian ship, I suspect they'll behave perfectly. Is that who I think it is sitting beside Etaine?"

Hal peered closely and let out a long whistle. "It looks like Bethon to me. Great, now we'll need to get ready for inspection."

"That won't be necessary. We're in battle mode at present and inspections are deferred," Munaci's voice came from the corridor. "I received a notice from Lord Anakron this morning. The empath, Greyla, has sensed a change in the demon. She fears his battleship is complete. They predict he may soon launch an attack. We're accelerating our plans. I sent Widhbo to inspect the rocket units."

"We're launching the planetoid?" Hal asked.

"Today," Munaci confirmed.

Hal had been watching as the freight transports fanned out across the planet delivering their payloads and returning for more. They suddenly disappeared. "Where did all the transports go?"

"They've speeded up the fueling process and changed from flying to teleporting. They are going directly from the belly of the ship to the rockets and back," Munaci said. "Lieutenant, check the grid and prepare to send full power to the demon shield."

"I'm on it, Sir."

"Colonel, I should mention I took the liberty of asking Widhbo to develop improved shielding for the ships as well," Hal said. "The Lady Devora's is now operational. Yoeke went over to install one on the BakoNaat ship earlier. We didn't know they would need them so soon."

"Good thinking, Hal," Cratus said.

"What about one for the Sagorian's ship?" Munaci asked.

"I'll get started on it now. Widbho showed me the basics and he can fine tune it when he gets back."

"Good. There's no time to waste," Munaci said.

"We were developing a remote relay system for the planetoid, but there won't be time for that. We'll have to let Widhbo stay here and guide this thing in," Hal added.

"I think someone should stay with him, Hal," Cratus said. "I don't doubt his ability, but apparently he needed a little encouragement last time around. What if he freezes up again?"

"I'll stay. No problem," Hal said. "What about you, Munaci? Want to stay and keep us from screwing things up again?"

"You can babysit the bird. I'll be of more use on a battleship," Munaci growled. "Take Yoeke with you. I want at least one officer to remain on the planetoid."

"I'll be glad to stay on," Cratus offered.

"You have more pressing duties," Munaci said. "Yoeke can do it. He's dispensable."

"What's more important than pushing the demon through the event horizon before he destroys us all and conquers the entire galaxy?" Hal asked.

Munaci glared at Hal. "You have your orders. I'm not entertaining any more questions."