With that, he undressed and went to bed. “Things will be better tomorrow.” he said to himself before falling asleep and dreaming of the face of the Chokka’s father.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
“Everyone out!” The Cancellarrii saw the timer. There were only twenty seconds to evacuate – they weren’t going to make it.
The Cancellarrii actuated his body shield and turned to the Kaptajn; the Kaptajn had engaged his as well. He had just enough time to survey his men and saw that most of the Klopph were unprotected. He yelled out to them but was cut off. At that moment, the bomb detonated.
The Cancellarrii felt himself being propelled through the air. He felt something hit hard. Then, his world went white, and then black.
Brrrrrrr. Mmrrrrrrungggg.
He could hear sounds in the background. They were muffled.
Crrraaaaannng. Wwwwiiilllllllllddd.
There was only darkness.
Then, there was something. There was a long tunnel and at the end was a hazy light. He could not feel himself walking but the light slowly came forward. As it did, his world became clearer. The sounds in the background began to resemble words.
Almost blinding him, the light engulfed him. He felt a tingling sensation. He tried to reach out and touch the tingling but couldn’t muster his hands to work. The light penetrated his closed eyes and called to him. He tried to open his eyes and found he could not, at least not at first.
He tried several times to speak to whoever was in the outside world but words failed him. He felt his eyes blink. Then they opened.
There was a face in front of him. A black area of the face moved. Finally he understood that the black area was a mouth. He saw the face of an old friend.
Just like that, he was back in the world. He could see. He could hear and smell.
“Take it easy.” The Keeper’s words dripped of concern.
The Cancellarrii strained a slight smile and called his old friend by a name that had not been used in many years. “Where am I?”
“You are in a medical unit.” the Keeper answered placing his hand on the Cancellarrii’s chest. “You have been here two days.”
“Two days?” The Cancellarrii tried to sit up and found that he couldn’t.
“You have been in a coma. You came out about an hour ago. The physicians just left. They have your arms and legs strapped down so you don’t try to pull off the machinery.”
The Cancellarrii laid his head back. “What happened? I can barely remember.”
“There was an explosion. Your body shield saved your life.”
“What about the others?”
“Over three hundred Klopph lost their life.”
The Cancellarrii couldn’t believe it. He had walked his men into a trap. Now three hundred men were dead because of his failure. “What about the Kaptajn?”
“He is alive. I’m not sure how. But he won’t ever walk again.” The Keeper looked down at his oldest friend, his eyes deep with the same pain that the Cancellarrii felt. “There was nothing you could have done. You couldn’t have known. Men die in battle.”
There was anger in the Cancelllarrii’s eyes. “It is my responsibility to check everything. I led the men into that room without checking first. We just stormed in. Now those men are dead because of me.”
“I know you’re angry. I am, too. But this is war. Yes, men died. They aren’t the first and they won’t be the last. What matters now is that they have struck and stuck hard. You and I are the leaders of this world. The Klopph will be looking to us for leadership. We have to honor our men and move forward. If we don’t, we’ve already lost.”
The Cancellarrii was silent for several minutes as he weighed the Keeper’s words. He knew the Keeper was right. “Okay.” he said finally. “We will lead them.”
The Keeper nodded approvingly. “Good. Now let me catch you up. You will not be able to leave here for at least another day, I insist. Your will need some time to get your mobility and strength back. During that time, you and I will be working here.” The Keeper started to add something else when two of the nurses came in pushing a cart. “Well, that’s my cue. I’ll leave you to your tests.”
The Keeper patted the Cancellarrii on his shoulder and walked out of the room. From the corner of his eye, he saw the nurse pick up a syringe with a needle that resembled at long, thin nail.
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
“We’ve got company.” Rusk said running over to where the three men stood. Rusk had been a bully as a kid but Jims had taken him in and mentored him and he had become a man of strong integrity and character. He was now the Deputy Minister of Security, appointed by Jims.
“What do you mean?” Jims asked.
“The Klopph are all over this area. I don’t think they know how to gain entrance to the fortress but they definitely know something is here and they are searching.”
“How many?” Quentin asked.
“A battalion. Almost a thousand Klopph.”
“A thousand? I guess they’re serious.”
“They won’t find this place.” Babel said confidently.
“Are you sure?” Jims asked. “My boy Rusk here doesn’t get worked up about much but he seems pretty concerned right now.”
“They will not be able to access the stairway. Only my energy can open the stairway.”
None of the men spoke for a moment. Babel looked at them and started to speak when he noticed Quentin’s face. Quentin’s concern was exposed. “What is it?” Babel asked.
“The device that the Klopph have that detects the Chokka energy.”
“What about it? I’m wearing the device that displaces the
