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Chapter Thirteen

Earth

*The Creature From The Blue Lagoon*

It was earlier that day that Norman had been found waiting near the satellite shuttle by his Therapist, Elizabeth. She walked up to him and asked, "Heading to Mars? Are you sure you should be doing that?"

Norman was holding with him a briefcase, the maps and documents to help Chris find what he was looking for. Norman smiled warmly at the other canine, "I think some fresh air will help me."

Elizabeth nodded, "Sounds look a good idea."

"You could come with. Get out of this fake city for a couple days." Norman replied.

Elizabeth laughed, "This isn't just another excuse to do something reckless is it?"

"Only one way to find out." Norman winked, "You're assigned to me, right?"

Beth's face became serious, "You're really asking me to come with, aren't you?"

"Would be good for you." He paused a moment, "You said so yourself that it was a good idea."

She laughed to herself, "I can spend the day there. But nothing more."

"I'll have you back by sundown, my lady" Norman smiled as the shuttle doors opened, a few people exiting it, leaving it empty. Norman stepped into the shuttle, "Shall we?" Beth followed him and sat down across from him, looking a bit delighted.

Down on Mars, Chris Stone waiting by the visitor's center, awaiting the shuttle that Norman was taking down to the planet. There were a number of military men walking around this part of the Oasis. It was near the military base, and the richer part of the planet where most of the tourists were found. Chris never liked this part of town. It was boring and expensive, plus there was nowhere to park his ship. He would have to go through the U.P. Satellite to get there. As another shuttle landed, he hoped it was going to be Norman's.

After a few minutes of waiting, he saw Norman walking out of the building with a woman he didn't know. They were talking to each other casually. Chris feared she was going to be coming with. Chris walked up to the two and said, "Hey, Norman, what's up?"

"Good morning, did you wait long?" Norman replied.

"Not too long. Who's your friend?" Chris turned to Beth.

Beth greeted him, "I'm Elizabeth. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, so.. Want to head to my ship and discuss the uhm.. Stuff you left on Earth?" Chris started bouncing impatiently on his heels.

"Yes, was should get that out of the way now." Norman said, as Chris started to lead them to a small taxi cab. He threw a few bills at the driver and the small group entered the vehicle.

Beth whispered to Norman, "I thought you were just going here to relax?"

Norman shrugged, "I'm also helping the man that saved my life."

Beth sighed, "Tell me you're not going with him.."

Norman shook his head, "Earth is a dead planet, there's nothing that could go wrong."

Beth remained quiet for the remainder of the small trip around the Oasis.

The reached the docking station where Chris' ship, The Creature From the Blue Lagoon was parked, facing the sky. It was a large ship, a mid-sized fighter class ship, painted blue with it's name painted in red. They walked into a bright building that the ship was docked into. A mouse waved at Chris and said, "Ready to head out again, Mr. Stone?"

The ram nodded, "Yup, keep my spot empty 'til I get back."

Chris led them down a brightly lit hall with rows of elevator doors, leading to each ship. Theirs was the first one. The doors opened and Chris stepped in. It didn't take log for them to be aboard Chris' ship. They were soon in the heart of the ship, in the living quarters, where a table, some couches and a television were set up. It was clean, with the exception of a few soda and beer bottles scattered about. Beth sat at one of the couches while the other two sat at the table. Norman put the briefcase on the table, "I printed out a few maps and anything I could find about this crystal ball."

"Find anything interesting?" Chris replied.

"I found out that there was something the presidents of the United States of America would hand down to each other whenever someone left office."

Chris nodded, "And that is the map, right?"

"I read this from conspiracy theories, I can't confirm any of it."

Chris grinned, "That's the best kind of information!" He looked over some of the maps and asked, "Where were the presidents usually located?"

Norman shrugged, "I forget.."

Beth sighed, "You guys really don't know?"

The two men looked over at her and shook their heads.

"In the countries capitol city. That was near where your ship fell." She stood up, pointing it out on a map.

Chris smiled, "This is a good start. We should look into this first. We can grab your stuff and then look for the capitol building." He packed up the maps and papers back into the suitcase.

Beth shook her head, "You mean you weren't going alone?"

Chris shrugged, "I was going to, but this would go a bit faster if you guys were there to help me."

Beth looked over to Norman, "Norman, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Norman sighed as Chris took his new papers and left them alone in the room.

Beth sat down on the arm of a nearby couch, "Did you plan on this?"

Norman nodded, "I did."

"Then why did you want me to come with you?" Beth replied, sounding aggravated.

"Because I want to help you." He stood up, walking towards her, "If this map Chris is talking about can find anything, maybe you could use it to find your son."

Beth didn't reply. There was a silence for a few moments, Beth was lost in thought. She couldn't help but think that what they sought existed. After a while, she said, "What if this map doesn't exist?"

Norman shrugged, "Then we go back to our normal lives."

"How could I go back to my normal life when I could have found my son?"

Norman frowned, "How about this. We look for this map, if we don't find it, then we look for your son some other way. I'm sure there is some record of him, somewhere. I will help you however I can." He smiled reassuringly at her.

Beth nodded, "Maybe.. I.. I guess we could give it a try."

"Then it's settled! We're going to Earth." Norman grinned.

Beth sighed, "You know this is a bad idea, right?"

Norman smiled, "If history tells us anything it's that we are doomed to make the same mistakes. At least we can try to break the cycle and do something willingly, throw ourselves into something different. What's the worse that could happen?"

"Death." Beth pointed out, "Death is the worst thing that could happen."

Norman shrugged, "It's a dead planet with nothing left to offer but trash and mythological artifacts."

"Alright." Beth laughed, "Let's go for it. I had nothing to do this weekend, anyway."

Norman grinned, "Alright, that's better. I'll go tell Chris to get set to leave." With that, he left her alone on the couch in the Ram's ship. She sat in silence for a while, contemplating her choice in doing this. She shrugged to herself, she was somehow drawn to the idea of adventure. It was better than doing nothing all weekend on a military space station.

*Hector's Transports and Arms*

It was quiet as Patrick roamed the corridors of Hector's large ship. It looked like it was made for storing smaller ships. Most of the rooms were locked, which Patrick found annoying. He eventually found himself in a living area, where he sat down on a couch. The room was as big as any average living room. There were three doors, beside the one he came from, the others had signs above them. The one closer to the couch and television read, "Bridge." The other door read, "Kitchen" near this door there was a table bolted to the floor, with a dozen chairs circling around it, also bolted to the floor. He decided to make himself some coffee, hoping Hector wouldn't mind.

As he began turning the coffee maker on, a voice run out in the kitchen. It was Susan, she said, "Hey, kid. Put some on for me, I could go for coffee. Also, in case you were worried, Hank is fine. Hector will patch him up well enough."

Patrick looked around the kitchen for a camera or some kind of surveillance before saying, "How did you know I was here?"

Susan's voice rung out again, "Cameras in all the important rooms. Bring the coffee to the bridge."

Patrick went to work on the coffee, with Susan talking to him over the intercom, directing him around the kitchen. Before long he was in the bridge, handing a thermos to Susan, who was manning the helm. On one of the screens, Hank was passed out on a medical table, alone. Susan looked over at Patrick, "Hank is fine, just sleeping. Hector is heading up here now." She took a sip from her thermos, "We won't be around Earth for another few hours, if you want, you should get yourself situated somewhere. I don't doubt you'll be on this boat for a while, so you should find yourself some sleeping quarters." She pressed a few buttons on the computer screen, "Let's see." She paused, looking at the ship's schematics that were now floating in the air in a hologram above a table in the middle of the bridge. The ship was large, with four docking bays, like the one Susan's fighter was parked in, enough small bedrooms for the crew, back up crew and pilots. She pointed at a room near the living quarters, "If you wanna be close to the rest of us, you could sleep in one of these. They are close to the rest of us." She paused, "Um.. Are you and Hank um.. Sharing a bed?" She asked, nervously.

Patrick shook his head, "No, we're just business partners, really." He sighed, "I was just.. I needed to get away from Namiq."

Susan nodded and asked, "Why? What is that that you would risk your life for?"

"I'm an orphan." Patrick said, sitting down at one of the computers, "I was a stripper. I was getting to old for it, too. Not that I would ever want to work like that again." he sighed, trying to fight the urge to cry, "I tried the military, but they rejected me. I was running out of time and had no options for the future. I took what money I had and saved it, hoping I could buy my way out. Then my sponsor died."

Susan cut in, "Sponsor?" she asked.

"Yeah, a man or woman with money, usually pretty old buys a stripper and we are pretty much their permanent," Patrick paused and cringed, "Escort, I guess you could say. We don't get paid when sponsored, we get to spend whatever we want from our sponsor's account, though you can't take anything out of it, only spend it."

Susan looked over at Patrick, "So, what happens when your sponsor dies on you?"

Patrick shrugged, "You go back to work like nothing happened, spend what you can before your card gets canceled and hope you get someone else's attention. If you get too old.." He felt tears begin to roll down his cheeks, "You sell your body, or you end your life with what little pride you have left."

"Hey, at least you found something, right?" Susan asked.

Patrick nodded, lowering his head, "I was so close, though. I gave it my all at the club with the smallest tips I've had in years. I couldn't stand the thought of selling the only thing that hasn't been taken away from me." He was sobbing now. He had never talked to someone, opened up. He knew in his heart he was aching to break down. Susan felt awkward, though she still stood up and embraced the feline. In a way, she knew she was lucky her father's business partner took her in when her parents died. Hector was in most ways, her father. She was only a few years older than he was. All she could think to say was, "Don't worry, everything will be okay."

*Alex's Ship*

David Waters woke up in a small, dark room. He could feel his heart beginning to race. He shook his head violently, turning on a light beside the bed. "No!" He hissed to himself, "I'm aboard Alex's ship. We are heading to Earth." He held his head, trying to fight back the visions of his capture. He closed his eyes tight, forcing himself to remember his mission. He heard a door opened. He looked up to see the dog that defeathered him. Dressed in rags, grinning down at him, maliciously.

He heard a familiar voice call out to him, "David?" It was then David realized he hadn't yet opened his eyes. He found himself back to reality. The bull, Jacob stood in the small doorway, looking worried.

"David? Are you okay? I heard screams."

David shook his head, "I'm fine. Must have been a dream." He sat up and got out of bed, "We almost there?"

Jacob nodded, "We'll be there in an hour." He turned to leave, paused and said, "I made us some breakfast. I'll be in the dining quarters. Hurry up if you want it to still be warm when you get there" He then left David alone to get ready.

David's small room had a small door leading into an even smaller bathroom. They ship they were all on was a large fighting class ship. Meant to take on long distances, mostly used by explorers and scouts. It had bedrooms enough for a crew of five. A kitchen, living quarters and a bridge, where Alexandria was, as active captain. The ship was short-handed with only the three to manage it. The human on the bridge sighed into yet another cup of coffee, the once blue planet coming into view. They were almost there. Alexandria stretched and yawned before pressing a button on your computer console. She said aloud, "Hey guys, we're almost there. Get ready to land." She sat down, sipping her coffee.

Suddenly, the computer's voice chimed in, "A call for you, Alexandria."

She put her coffee down and said, "Who is it?"

"Chris Stone."

"How did he get this number?!" Alex nearly yelled, "Put him on then."

"I just can't seem to get rid of you. It must be destiny." The voice of Chris said through the computer.

Alex sighed, "What do you want?"

"What? A guy can't greet a fellow traveler entering the orbit of a dead planet? The world I grew up in is dead." He paused for a moment, "So like, What brings you to Earth?"

"None of your damn business. Go play in the dirt, we have some grown up things to do here."

Chris' voice chimed in again, "Ooh, grown-up stuff? Gimme a call if you need a heroic rescue. I just love a damsel in distress."

"Do you need something or what, Stone?!" Alex said, frustrated.

Chris' voice then replied, "Just saying hello." There was a pause, "Oh! Also.. Though you might like to know that you're being tailed by two small fighter ships. Just thought you would like to know. Y'know, just in case your ship isn't equipped with the advanced kinda radar."

"You mother fucker!" She yelled, "You can see cloaked ships?!"

Chris replied, "Well, not legally or anything."

Alex turned to another screen, pressing a switch, yelling into it, "Guys, need you up here. Cloakers, get the fuck up here, that's an order." She turned back to the monitor with Chris on it, "Come here and help us with this and I won't blast you out of the sky, okay?"

Chris' voice laughed, "Don't worry your pretty little head. I'm gonna sync your ship with mine so you can see what I see."

Within a few seconds, her screen lit up, messages and progress bars flooded the screen and disappeared as soon as they had come. One her radar, a half a dozen ships appeared. Alex looked over to the two stepping onto her bridge. She turned to them and spat out, "Battle Stations, now!"

Without a second glance, Jacob and David darted off in opposite directions. David reached his station first. Sitting himself in the chain, turning the whole thing on. The screen came to life, words filled the screen as the weapon systems were stirring from their sleep. In a matter of seconds the screen split into four and the panel under his talons lit up. Three camera views from the back weapons and a screen with the radar visible in front of him. The Sandman didn't need radar to see the cloakers. His eyes were more than enough. He was calm, in his element. These fighters wouldn't see it coming. His voice was soft, cold and callous, "Computer, give me the rail-gun view only, and get that radar out of view, it's distracting me." He concentrated, having only the one weapon to work with. He scanned the darkness of space for a moment, gripped the controls, looking for the slightest discrepancy in the stars. He had memorized the radar when it was up and knew there were six behind them. The rail-gun had only twice that in ammunition.

The first ship made moved. A flicker of a star was all it took to show where one was hiding. Light bends around them, giving a tell to their movement. David made his first shot. A stream of light shot from the back of the ship. A fighter ship appeared in the air, the cockpit breached, a canine at the controls with his head blown clean off, air and smoke burst from the hole in the clear think plastic of the front and from the exit wound from the other side of the ship. "Now flutter away. Show me where you are hiding.." David said under his breath.

That's when he saw it. The symbol on the dead man's jacket, the coat of arms on the side of the ship he had decimated. The colors that were etched into his mind deeper than anything dared to go. The symbols he had seen when he was captured. It all came back to him in a flurry of the mind. He had as much protection from himself as the men in the ships hiding on his screen. Adrenaline, fear and despair ripped David Waters from his psyche. He was now, only The Sandman, putting to sleep every last man in the cloakers. No shots fired missed, 5 more rails for five more attackers. It was only seconds before all six fighter ships were floating aimlessly in space, broken and powerless. The only survivor clutched the cross that hung around his neck for a fleeting moment before he too was asleep.

David couldn't breath, his heart was pounding in his throat. His mind was a blizzard of thought, with no relent. The voice of the man who took his wings rang in his head, "Where did you put it!" The dog yelled to him, "Tell me where you put the map!" He heard screams of agony, the ships on the screen looked to be tearing themselves apart, a red flashing light on the screen warned him to stop, but he was gone. He wanted to send a message, to tell him The Sandman was coming for him. There was the sound of a struggle couple with a pin prick to his neck. The world around him turned to a fuzzy blur before everything went black.