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Day of the Mystikon

Chapter 1:
The Martian Landlords

Chapter 2:
The Post
Neutronic Era

Chapter 3:
The NYC
and the EMDA

Chapter 4:
Stranded at Toyland

Chapter 5:
A Gem for
a Raygun

Chapter 6:
An Isotope
for an Engine

Chapter 7:
A Sublime
Portent

Chapter 8:
A Hard Rain

Chapter 9:
 Against the Wind

Chapter 10.
The Monster Tank

Chapter 11:
The Secret Agent
Chapter 12:
The NDX Unit

Chapter 13:
Fort Granite

Chapter 14:
Contact with the Natives
Day of the Mystikon

15. Lakeside Limbo

I looked at Exo, at the ray-gun pointed directly at my chest, and realized he was serious. At this point in the game, I was expendable.  I decided it was time to be reasonable, took the skems from inside my jacket slowly, and handed them over.

  He checked them and spoke to Xik.
  “Take us down, we’ve got the goods.”

  As Xik prepared to take us down, he said, “I did not think you had it in you, Ren.”
  A minute later, we swooped down over the lake by the mountains, and landed by the   concrete blockhouse.

  “Keep your seats,” Exo said, “we’ve a time-jump to make.”
  “Then, you’re taking us back?” I said.

  “Does it matter where you go?” he said. “You are together. Isn’t that all that matters?”
  For a minute, I looked at Lisa and didn’t know what to say. What Exo said held some truth, for somehow, in the last few days, Lisa and I had become much closer, as if a natural bonding had occurred after being too long in separation. But Exo was using it as a weakness, attempting psychological manipulation.

  “Yes, of course it matters,” I said, speaking with a gut I seemed to have only recently acquired.
  He gave me a taste of that sly evil grin that had bought me originally in ‘94 and decided to hold onto the gun as insurance.

  “As I said, and you know, Ren,” he said, “You can go elsewhere. We have the means to take you. Think about it.”
  “What are you talking about?” I demanded. “I did your dirty work, now take us home!”
  “I’d rather we do this the easy way,” he said, “but if you must be difficult...”
  At that there was a bright discharge from the gun and I grew very weak, and then blanked out.

  When I awoke, I was in the blockhouse, on a sleeping blanket on the floor, and Lisa was on the bed.  There was a box of ‘space rations’ on the table and the door was unlocked.  I went outside and looked around. We appeared to be alone.  I returned to the block- house, found Lisa going through the food on the table, coming out of a daze, not quite fully awake.

  We took some food outside and sat in the shade of a tree.
  “I don’t know where they are,” I admitted.
  “Are they letting us go?” she said.
  “I’m not sure. We’re in the middle of nowhere; it would be a long hike out, in any direction.  If we try to leave, they may let us go or stop us.  I don’t know.”

  She looked to the lake.
  “It’s beautiful here, Ren,” she said. “We have food and shelter. Lets stay a day or two.”
  “Perhaps,” I tended to agree.

  Then I realized my armored vest was not on.  I’d become so used to wearing it that I forgot it was on.  It appeared Exo must have had it removed. As I thought about it, and flexed my muscles a bit, the feeling of nakedness was replaced by relief.

  “Oh well,” I admitted. “It feels good to be out of that armor. Maybe I’ll take a swim.”
  “Good idea,” she said. “Come on, let’s go see the water.”

  We had no bathing trunks, and appeared to be alone, with no one else for kilometers, so we freely located an area where the bank was high, and discarded our clothing to bathe in the nude. There was a large tree on the edge of the bank, where the roots were exposed and hung over a small beach of rocky sand.

  We hung our clothes on an out-stretched root and crept carefully into the water. It was a bit cold, but we got used to it, as the sun rose toward its peak at high noon. The lake was calm and crystal clear. We waded out and went under, washing away the days of anxiety like sweat from our bodies.

  Later, as we dried off, Xik appeared on the bank above us.
  “Do not attempt to leave the area,” he said, “unless you want another dose of those rays.”

  “Why do you keep us?” I demanded.
  “Believe it or not, human,” he said, “it is for your own good.”
  As I pondered the meaning of this response, Exo called from the distance.
  “Xik, I need your hands!”
  Xik looked at me, then glanced at Lisa and left us, to answer the command.

  I looked at Lisa, then turned out at the wide lake, and thought.
  “They must have the ship cloaked,” I said. “This has something to do with those skems, I’ll guess.”

  “What are they for?” Lisa said, “A secret device?”
  “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I didn’t get the time to look them over. NDX stands for Null Detervent, but I’m not sure how the ‘X’ fits in.”

  “What’s a ‘Null Detervent?”
  “Again, I can only guess. It sounds like a chemical agent, but I’m not sure. It could be secret, military jargon for next to anything, I suppose.”

  “Ren,” she said, with curiosity, “What happened yesterday? I mean, that was some high security place you were in. Those skems...”
  “It was strange,” I said, and recalled. “Colonel Daebolt appeared to be under excellent references. Everyone treated me like someone they knew and trusted. I was accepted into the general’s office without more than a second’s hesitation.”

  “Did they give you the skems?”
  “No,” I said, and explained. “After the explosion created by Exo their attention was diverted. They did not seem to think I would add to the problem, and I slipped away without much notice. Then it was just a matter of bypassing so many security locks. A Major stepped in, admitted he had suspicions, and caught me in the act. We fought;  I knocked him out, and ran to the roof.   I’m lucky I wasn’t captured.  I hate to think of what they do to enemy spies.”

  “Interesting,” she admitted. “The skems have to be something important.”
  “Yes,” I agreed. “What the hell is a null detervent?”
  We let it hang in thought.

  “Why do they keep us now?” she said. “Do they want to use you again?”
  “I don’t know...” I said,  “But for some reason, Xik seems to think it’s for our own good. I don’t understand.”

  We stayed by the lakeside and tried to relax. It was a nice summer day, hot with a slight breeze, cooler in the shade.  If it wasn’t for the circumstances, it was otherwise an idyllic setting for the two of us, alone.
  However, it was somewhat difficult to enjoy with the 2 Martians acting as our overseers.
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Chapter 15:
Lakeside Limbo