10

So excited about the trip, it didn’t take me long to jump into my technically advanced all weather grunge gear, guaranteed to detour the most aggressive rapist. Didn’t I look totally desirable? Catlain was about to leave so she reminded me to be careful and not to forget about Twilla’s disappearance. I sat alone, awaiting my escort. Before long, I was on my way, in more ways than one. Lasiter met me at the elevator, quickly kissing me before whisking me off to an area which I had never been before. Was I to be the next to disappear, like Twilla? He spoke to the men about the requisition of a specific type of multi purpose utility vehicle. This vehicle had the capacity to travel both on land and short distances through inner space within the protected confines of the habitable perimeters. Outside of these, travel could only be accomplished via special craft, which were capable of dealing with the extremely harsh weather conditions that plagued the majority of the planet’s surface. The weather was not as extreme as it was currently, when the planet had first been colonized. There were stories that circulated about a terrible accident of some sort with another Celestial body. No one really knew the truth of why most of the surface was so inhospitable. Not many cared to know. It didn’t much matter as long as nothing could be done about it to change things. The atmosphere outside of the protective domes was so dense that it was extremely difficult for light to penetrate what appeared to be extremely heavy cloud cover.

Because of this, the surface was made brutally cold. Inside of the perimeters, climate was being synthetically produced through advanced technological processes. Similar in characteristics to a large invisible blanket stretched over the inhabited parts of the planet. What was wanted was kept in and what wasn’t, out. This was a standing monument, testimonial to a high tech existence. Pollution was the most abundant form of negative energy being channeled into the Outzone’s already hostile atmosphere. Inside, heat and light were manufactured to create a comfortable, more hospitable living area. It had taken close to two hours in flight time to reach the perimeter. Two men at the docking pad met us, If that is what you might call these dudes. Very strange acting to me from the moment they greeted us. Emotionless, never saying a word, they motioned for us to follow them. A little more than strange, I could sense something different with them. They gave me a creepy sensation. I asked Lasiter about them as we were walking through what felt like a foot or so of some sandy textured material, “what’s with these guys? Why are they are so rigid and precise in their movements?”

Wheels were turning hard and fast within Lasiter’s mind. Trying desperately to decide whether or not he should divulge such information, he pondered seriously. Had he ever thought me to be an actual threat, at any time? Knowing that I had been deceptive from the beginning, would I be a threat to the security of the Command if I knew the truth about anything that was happening. Apparently, the decision was determined as he proceeded to explain. “Those are not men. They look like men but they are what we refer to as androids. Capable of going places and doing things that an ordinary man is not. They can repair damaged machinery and retrieve escaped prisoners that would soon die from exposure to the elements.” It sounded like he was trying to sell me something or make excuses for their presence. I could tell that he was nervous about sharing this information. “Why does no one know about them, what’s the big secret?” I asked. He proceeded to tell me that there were very few of these androids in operation, at this time. Relatively new on the scene, all of the bugs had not been worked out with them yet. A huge cost to the Corps, it simply wasn’t the right time to bring this particular project to the attention of the general populace. Not until the glitches had been worked out, would anyone outside of the Command be told of their existence. The thought on my mind was, if these robots, androids as he called them, could be made why would they need to enslave the masses to do their dirty work? The more that I thought about it the more possibilities entered my mind. For one thing, androids are incapable of reproducing. With living beings a new work force would be available on a continuous basis without the huge cost of replacement parts. Little profit could be made from beings that had no desire or need to purchase creature comforts. There would be no one to peddle your wares to or anything else for that matter. The need to be governed would be of no concern to an android. Power itself would have no meaning whatsoever to such a being. There was only one way to exercise power over another, by control. Of course, an android could easily be controlled but where would be the fulfillment in exercising power over a being that had no capacity to make the choice to obey orders, or not? The profitability factor was close to non-existent. Not to mention the ego factor which is measured by the degree to which something can be manipulated.

What bothered me most was the secrecy that was involved. This was just one example. How many more were there being kept from the masses? My own deception had been weighing heavily on my conscience. Guilty myself of perpetuating the very acts that I despised of the Command. Had anyone been fair in his or her accusations? Was it right to use the same weaponry in retaliation as weapons seeking abolishment? Who decides when the game should be called off if everyone is cheating? I wanted so desperately to call off this game and start all over. Could you even call yourself a winner when it was all over if no one was playing fair? It never felt like anything was wrong while I was the perpetrator. As soon as someone else was the issuer it was obvious that they were wrong. Painfully clear to me by now was the truth that what you put into the drama is what you’ll get out of it. By sticking our nose into the business of others, we were actually pulled into their business. We had become what we imagined ourselves against, full of deception and manipulation. Only, the manipulation was to support our own needs and desires based entirely on our perception of what was indeed right or wrong.

There was a remarkable drop in the temperature, causing me to become chilled so I put on my jacket. We entered into a huge building, housing an array of different stones and minerals, walking slowly until reaching an area completely filled with Moldovite. What an awesome sight. I found myself mesmerized by the intense green beauty radiating about me. The effect was simply hypnotic, making me realize there was much more to this rock than it's appearance. “So, what do you think of these beauties,” questioned Lasiter, reaching deep into a large pile of the smaller processed gems, they filtered through his fingers. I responded immediately, “These are awesome, so much in one place. They must be used for something other than jewelry, there is just so much of the stuff” Lasiter quickly commented that I was too smart for my own good sometimes. For some reason the statement made me feel a little more than uncomfortable, so I asked him why he would say something like that to me? “From a security perspective dear Lyluth, you would be considered a risk to the Command Control’s operational procedures. You don’t look at things from a, protect and serve point of view as we do. It isn’t beneficial for people to know everything that goes on all of the time. It is our responsibility to keep every aspect of existence on this planet under control. The many things that are kept secret are often done so due to negative ramifications that occur when people are afraid of new ideas, concepts or technology. We need to know how certain information or new inventions will effect the people psychologically as well as physically.”

I understood these things but to what extent was information kept secret? Much more power can be held over people when they are ignorant to their own capabilities. As long as people are unaware of their potential they will remain easy prey to those who desire to control. If a child knew it possessed the potential to be and do everything that an adult was capable of doing, there would be great difficulty in the parent’s ability to control the child’s behavior. I could see the rationalization behind the action. However, I didn’t see parents killing their children or deliberately diverting their education so they don’t contaminate the other children in the family with their advanced knowledge. All of which were thoughts that I had better keep to myself. I dug through the enormous mass of chartreuse beauties, searching for those few perfect pieces to take back with me. After I had chosen them, or maybe they had chosen me, Lasiter led me to a smaller area where the stones were polished and fashioned. Inside, he asked me to choose a particular style that I would like. It would be made up for me as quickly as possible. Lasiter told me that he would take me to the top level of the perimeter wall and show me where one of the mines were located while we waited. As I looked over the desolate terrain, I could not believe the stark difference between the Outzone and the Innerzone. What a tremendously difficult task it must have been to create a safe environment on such a harsh system. The thought of living in this uninviting habitat would definitely be a deterrent to would be criminals. I myself could very well end up here, if not careful. I requested that we leave the area. It made me uncomfortable knowing there were people who had to endure such adverse conditions so that a few might have something beautiful and precious to look at or wear. Not to mention, what other uses there were for these crystals.

I couldn’t wait until these beings were replaced by an android work force. This way, the prisoners might have a better opportunity for rehabilitation instead of being slave labor. Lasiter put his arm around me. “My lovely Lyluth,” he said, ” you possess an overabundance of compassion, one of the qualities that I admire most about you. There are many places to exercise such emotions. However, it would not be beneficial for anyone in my particular line of work. Let us see if your pieces are finished yet. If they are, I will be happy to whisk you back to Command Control. The jewelry turned out, as I knew that it would, utterly flawless. I thanked the gentleman for such wonderful craftsmanship. As we were about to leave the area, I kissed Lasiter and told him how much that I appreciated the gift. We slowly exited the warehouse and headed toward the utility vehicle. Once we were airborne I questioned Lasiter if he was aware of the disappearance of one of the nurses at TRACS? He assured me that she had been staying with one of his officers. She had expressed the desire not to return to the TRACS unit, finding a more rewarding position elsewhere. It seemed that she had been discussing such a possibility with the Command for some time and did not want to make the other girls angry at her decision. Apparently, he knew I was about to ask why she had not told anyone as he quickly stated, "she felt badly about facing the group as she was consumed with guilt over her abandonment." He was sure that she intended to tell someone shortly of her plans. We had been so worried about her, not knowing anything at all. “I sure would like to speak with her and let her know that we wish only the best for her. Whatever makes her happy is all right with us. Would it be ok for me to tell her how we feel when we return?” I could tell that he was not thrilled by the idea but if he denied me, I would definitely be suspicious. He reluctantly agreed, asking that I be brief. He had plans for the day that he didn’t want to compromise. When we returned to the complex I couldn’t wait to show the girls my gifts as well as find out what was up with Twilla. It was the first time that Lasiter had allowed me free reign throughout the complex without the benefit of an escort. As soon as we had reached the docking area I jumped out of the vehicle waving behind me. “I promise, I’ll be right back as soon as I show off.”

When I got to the TRACS unit Millon was cleaning the area. “Great! I can tell you where one of the Moldovite mines are.” I quickly gave him coordinates to the area. Afterwards, I asked him what the information was being used for. He replied that there were prisoners that had wrongfully been sentenced to work the mines. A rescue attempt could now be implemented with this information. “There’s something else I think you should know Millon.” I said, “you just might be up against more than you bargained for. The Command has managed to create androids. I’m not sure how many there are but I thought you might like to know what you would be facing. I don’t know if these things are animated by an artificial intelligence or if they are another aspect of experimentation with people’s consciousness.” He thanked me, telling me that plans were being accelerated. There existed the possibility that we could be involved in a mass evacuation process. There was also strong evidence that Twilla had undergone extensive mind manipulation. It would be highly advisable to be extremely careful with what anyone said to her in the future. I thought about what he was saying, the word evacuation kept haunting me for some reason. “ What do you mean by evacuation? I mean, who and where, I worriedly asked him?" Millon explained that it would mean leaving the planet. There were too many things occurring that we were not prepared for. The best advice that he could offer is to keep a very open mind and be strong. Be ready for just about anything. "LEAVE THE PLANET HOW???? When will we know when this was to take place?” He replied that it would have to be accomplished with little advanced notice or warning, much too dangerous for us to know too many details of what might transpire. “For your own good Lyluth, don’t spend too much time away from the unit. It would be advisable to stay away from Lasiter as much as is possible, without him becoming suspicious. Now is definitely a time to be alert. Something monumental in scope is soon to occur, be assured of it. Above all else, be careful, please!” He quickly shuffled away so as not to draw attention to ourselves.

I proceeded to show off my new jewelry to the other girls, making a quick decision not to speak to Twilla. What was the use? If she had been brainwashed it would accomplish very little if anything to talk with her. It could turn out to be a dangerous situation. Catlain quickly informed me that Twilla was collecting her personal property and was leaving to enter a new training program. Somehow, we both knew she was being removed against her own wishes. Any one of us could very well be next. I knew that if I didn’t return quickly to Lasiter he would know something was up, so off I went. Unaware of the information he had already extracted from Twilla, neither was I aware of the plans he had to perform a questionable procedure on me later in the evening, to gain a greater insight into the plans of the resistance. He intended to learn about the dreams and what they meant. Unwittingly, I was to become one of Lasiter’s many experiments. I headed straight to his quarters where he had been waiting for me to arrive. A wonderful meal was to be prepared in my honor. Two women were busily creating an elaborate setting for the occasion as I greeted Lasiter. “Tell me, what did the girls have to say about your jewelry?” Lasiter asked me upon my return. “Of course they thought they were utterly fantastic.” “And what of Twilla?” he questioned. “I never got the opportunity to speak to her because she was busy and I was in a hurry to get back to you to see what other surprises you had in store for me.”

“Before we eat, I would like to present you with something. Stay here a moment and I will get It..” He slowly walked out of my view into another room. Sitting motionless in anticipation, awaiting his return, I tried my best to guess what it might be that he had for me. So childlike was I when it came to stuff like this. Apparently daydreaming when he walked into the room, he startled me so that I nearly jumped out of my seat. “Why so skittish dear? Did I catch you at something?” he questioned me with a sly smile on his face. “No, my mind was wondering. I must have drifted off, focusing on what your surprise might be. When you entered the room, I guess that it snapped me back into the moment.” I walked over to him to see what he had hidden behind his back. Extending his arm to me, he gently led me into a dimly lit room with beautifully soft music playing in the background. We sat down together on a cozy sofa as he reached behind his back pulling forth a package. “Here, open this one first,” he prodded. I slowly opened the package so as not to ruin the wrap. It was much too pretty to destroy. An annoying procedure to Lasiter, he reached out, grabbing a handful of paper and tore it away quickly. “You women have got to do everything so... so...” grasping for the appropriate words to use as example. I jumped right in with a sarcastic, “yeah, yeah, yeah. You men just can’t take your time with anything. You always have to be in a hurry to get something over with.”

I looked into the box. Inside was a sensuously slinky negligee. As I held it up I whispered to Lasiter, “I guess I can tell by this what is on your mind for this evening.” He smiled at me, those big blue eyes penetrating my entire being, causing me to melt all over him, having no control of myself whatsoever. He was in full charge over my body and who knows what else. “Wait, that’s not all, there’s more.” This time he reached into his pocket retrieving a small cubed shape box. He took my hand, laying it in his lap. Carefully, he opened the small box to reveal a ring. Lifting my hand, he slid the ring onto my finger. “Every time you look at this ring Lyluth, remember me and think about what we mean to each other. Think of the things we have shared and about those that we are about to.” Overwhelmed by the moment, I wasn’t thinking about the hidden meaning behind his words. I had slipped up earlier while explaining my daydreaming episode to him. I had no way of knowing that his interest in dreams was much more than the content. It was the whole concept altogether that interested him. I didn’t know that Luciferians did not speak of dreams. Most of all, I didn’t know that I was something other than Luciferian. It would soon prove to be to my benefit though. Looking at the ring on my finger, I noticed how it sparkled brilliantly in the darkened room. “Oh Lasiter, you are so wonderful. As much as I have tried not to, I just can’t help falling in love with you. I enjoy being near you so much.” Wonder if he thought that it was all an act since he knew about the resistance from all the information they were able to extract from Twilla. He knew we weren’t who we had claimed to be. He probably knew more about us than we knew ourselves. Luckily, he didn’t know everything, but neither did we. Did he really care about me or was he using me to get the information he so badly wanted? After all, nothing is kept secret from the all Seeing Eye of the C.C.C. At this particular moment, there was no reason to question his actions. To my knowledge he had done no wrong. My love and admiration were genuine and I wanted to stay with him forever. Doing all that was asked of me, I should have the right to decide what to do from now on.

Reaching up to put my arms around Lasiter’s neck, I kissed him passionately, thanking him again and again. “We will finish this later Lyluth, unfortunately our dinner awaits us and I for one am extremely hungry. You must be famished yourself?” He was absolutely right. Neither of us had eaten all day. “Shall we?” He led me into the dining area, which had been prepared for what looked to be a king’s feast. What a sight, everything was perfectly placed. It was as though the entire evening had been meticulously planned and choreographed to be nothing less than perfect. Lasiter showered me with romance and I could scarcely keep my hands off of him, wanting to make love to him all evening. It didn’t take much pressure from him before we found ourselves in the bedroom. Our intentions were pretty much the same at this point. Lasiter excused himself to pour us a drink and relieve his staff. Quickly slipping into the sexy nightie he had presented to me for the occasion, I made myself look and smell completely edible. Tonight, we would lose ourselves in each other. Content to stay in this space forever, I would never want for anything more. He returned to the room with a bottle and two glasses. “You look exceptionally tempting Lyluth.” He managed to force the words out with a sigh, totally laced with anticipation, there was no doubt, we were more than compatible physically. We were able to excite each other immensely. He poured the glasses almost to the top and placed the bottle on a small table beside him.

Offering me a glass, he proposed a toast. “To us, our mysterious past, our intense present, and our revealing future. May it always be full of surprises.” “Hear, hear!!”, I said, “ I’ll drink to that.” Before I knew it our bodies were wrapped tightly together and we were heavily involved in a session of wild lovemaking. It had been such a fulfilling experience that I fell fast asleep immediately afterwards. I did not know that Lasiter had drugged my drink, unaware that he was planning to invade my most private secrets, my thoughts and my dreams. He was compelled to find out what these dreams meant. There was no time wasted whatsoever. As soon as he was convinced that the drugs had taken hold of me he started his mind probing procedure. I’m not quite sure of the technology or how to explain the procedure he used on me. Somehow, he was able to enter my subconscious and retrieve images of thought forms, after which, he was able to view these on a small monitor. In essence, he was able to steal my dreams. Definite proof that nothing, absolutely NO-THING could be kept from the All Seeing Eye of the Luciferian Command Control Corps. I dreamt the same dream that I had been dreaming night after night. A dream that meant much more to Lasiter than it had to myself. My body was much different in the dream, somewhat light and airy with a translucent quality. I had the sensation of possessing a peaceful wisdom, which allowed me total freedom of movement, without restriction. Far different from the life I was experiencing on Lucifer. I was a crewmember aboard a huge space vessel, much more efficient than those that were in current use on the planet. Of course these was the craft that the general populace was aware of, anyway. Many of the girls from the TRACS unit were involved in the dream. Not surprising to Lasiter since he had learned of our intent to sabotage the program from Twilla. Who knows by what means he retrieved that particular information from her? Never the less, there was something of much more interest to him. There was a bigger fish in this sea of mystery and he was sure to be the one to catch it. Not only that, but I would wind up being the bait so to speak. The dream proceeded along as usual with me and Catlain playing some sort of game together. We were just being silly, no groundbreaking revelations or anything, at least none that I was aware of. None, until Captain Aton entered the picture. Lasiter couldn’t believe his eyes. He looked hard into the monitor at the figure on the screen, making sure he was not seeing things. He took in a huge breath.

As he exhaled, he muttered, “I don’t believe it, ATON. It is actually Aton who’s behind all of this.” Lasiter’s enthusiasm was short lived. The time had arrived that I would awaken from the dream, as usual. Shortly after the part where this Aton character would walk over to me and tell me that I would never, at any time be alone. Almost like clockwork, I started to move and began to awaken. Lasiter quickly switched the monitor off and made a few adjustments, disconnecting any of the gadgets that he had been using to probe my mind. Swiftly turning out the light, he lay down along side of me pretending to be asleep. When I opened my eyes I felt rather strange. It was almost as if I had drank much too much at some wild party or something. At the moment, I was experiencing the after effects of a major imbalance brought on by the drugs that Lasiter had so kindly slipped me earlier. Stumbling to the bathroom I looked into the mirror and noticed Lasiter fumbling with something behind me, through the reflection. Something sinister was occurring and I could sense everything wasn’t quite right. Better that I should play the entire thing off and climb back into bed, pretending to fall asleep. When Lasiter was convinced that I was out of it, he quietly slipped out of the bed and left the unit. Quickly, I searched the area to see what it was that he was trying to conceal from me. Inadvertently while searching for the control to the light panel, I turned on the monitor instead. I sat frozen, viewing on the screen the very dream that I had dreamt only moments before. What is this? How did he do this and why, what’s the purpose? Motionless and numb, how could Lasiter invade me like this. What a joke. In some respect I deserved it.

After all, I wasn’t being totally honest myself. I had trusted him explicitly all along because I wanted to believe in him so badly. Why didn’t I see through him? I should have known better. What could have been so interesting about my dreams? How much more did he know? At that moment I knew that I was no longer safe. There was much more that the man was up to that I knew nothing about. Switching off the monitor, I pulled the covers high up over my head. There were a million questions racing through my mind. It was overwhelming, the pain that was jetting through my heart. Tears were quickly welling up inside my eyes and before long they broke free and ran down my cheek. “Stop it, oh please make it stop.” I caught myself falling to pieces, dwelling on my wounded emotions. This was not a good space for me to be. Millon was absolutely right. He knew something was about to go down and that it was going to be soon. Lasiter had returned. I could hear him as he entered the unit. I turned to where my face was buried into the pillow allowing it to soak up my sorrow filled tears. I didn’t have time to straighten myself or pull my act together. As I lay there motionless, I heard another voice in the room talking to Lasiter. The topic of the conversation was this Aton character.

Lasiter was so pleased, he had been waiting for such a long time to find out his whereabouts. It seems that they had been at odds for quite a while. It had been because of Aton that Lasiter had been exiled from his home and people. A major confrontation had occurred between the two and Lasiter was not thrilled with the outcome. In Lasiter’s mind, it wasn’t finished by a long shot. I studied the voice that was in the background, determining it to be Llewellyn’s. Overhearing Lasiter telling Llewellyn that the resistance was planning an escape attempt, I felt myself shaking underneath the covers. He wasn’t sure when it was to happen but that was no matter because he had a plan of his own. He would allow us to leave. It had become almost impossible for me to make out the rest of the conversation as they walked into another room, beyond my range of hearing. If I had heard the rest, I still wouldn’t have been able to understand what was going on. There was to be a struggle where a few of us would be killed in the escape, just to make it look good. Lasiter had already planted a devise that would track our whereabouts. We would eventually lead him straight to Aton. This was much more important to him than for us to lose a few renegade resistance workers. In the end he would have them all anyway. Dead or alive, it didn’t make any difference to him. They spoke for a short while longer. Llewellyn left and Lasiter returned to bed.

It was so difficult for me to lay next to this man knowing that he was planning to kill us. It wasn’t long before Lasiter slipped off to sleep. There was no way that I could sleep. I lay there wide-awake, trying to figure out what we were going to do. It seemed an eternity before morning came. While Lasiter lay next to me I gently kissed him and told him that I would have to go back to my unit to get ready for work. Luckily, he was still very tired so he hugged me and told me he would see me later. I swiftly gathered my things and left. Of course, there was an escort standing sentinel on the other side of the door, waiting stiffly to take me to my destination. When I entered my unit it took everything to constrain myself from blurting out the events of the previous day and the terrible discoveries of the evening. Fortunately, I remembered the surveillance equipment within the unit and knew that we were being watched now, more than ever.

Quietly, I walked into Catlain’s room and sat on the edge of the bed. Leaning forward toward her, I whispered, “Wake up beautiful, I’ve got something to tell you” Positioning myself closely along side of her, I laid back. Throwing my arm around her, I pulled her close to me, whispering once more directly into her ear. “We are in serious trouble indeed. We have to get out of here fast!” “What are you talking about?” She responded in a rather, groggy voice. “Shh, we’re being watched so just listen to me and don’t say anything. Lasiter knows about us, he has plans to kill some of us. There is so much more to tell you but this isn’t the place.” She jumped up and we both got dressed as fast as possible and left the unit in search of Millon. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long to locate him. Lucky for us he was busy cleaning the reception area and the reception worker had not yet arrived. There was no one to overhear the topic of our conversation. I proceeded to tell Millon how they had used Twilla to get most of their information and we were in grave danger. I also told him about the dream and how Lasiter had captured it on the monitor. I spoke in a code language that is taught to all the resistance workers before they are sent out into the field to gather any information. It is one of the first lessons that must be mastered before being chosen for duty. Even if anyone were listening in, they would not be able to understand what we were talking about.

Millon became agitated as he listened intently to my ranting. A look of concern flooded the gentle man’s worn and tired face. Still baffled by the interest that everyone had been paying to the whole dream thing, I had to stop rambling long enough to question him. “What’s the big deal about our dreams Millon? Why is the subject so important to Lasiter?” ”Slow down a bit Lyluth, don’t get so emotional. We all have to keep our wits about us even though we are about to be put through some grueling situations. There are things that you will learn in time. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury. I can hardly explain or prepare you for what you’re about to experience. The very foundation of your belief structure will be rocked violently with what is soon to happen. The basic truth that I must express at this time is that you are much more than you have thought yourself to be. As such, you are also capable of feats that one would deem miraculous. No matter what happens, and I promise, things will be happening quickly, please keep an open mind and know beyond all else that you are not alone in all of this.

“Listen girls, the information that you provided about the whereabouts of the Moldovite mine was the key to the success of the evacuation process that is about to occur. Before you say anything, just listen carefully. There are many things that have been hidden or kept secret from you for your own benefit as well as the many poor souls on the planet that have been wrongfully manipulated against their wills. There is technology in existence that is beyond your wildest expectations. We have the ability to travel out of this particular system into the vast cosmos. Not only is this a reality for us, but the Command Control Corp itself possesses such technology. They have been keeping this information from the general populace for much different reasons than we have kept it from you. Their reasons are for power and suppression. There was always the possibility that in the event of a major upheaval, either planetary or revolutionary, those in power would have access to the means in which to escape. Our major concern at this time is how to get all of you and the rest of the resistance out of here, safely and quickly. We are currently evacuating many of the people as we speak.” What could we do to get out since Lasiter was apprised of our identity as well as some of our plans? The element of surprise was always the clincher in any given situation. It was evident that we needed a master plan and we needed it yesterday. There were arrays of ideas jumping through my head.

Suddenly, a brilliant light sparked in my brain. “I’ve got it!” I exclaimed. “I know what we could do to get us all together in the same place, at least. We could throw a surprise party for someone like... let’s say Lionel & Raith. They are due for an anniversary celebration wouldn’t you say?” “Great! That’s a wonderful idea you party animal, you. Just leave it to Lyluth to solve the largest of life’s problems with a party. Really, don’t get me wrong dear, I think your idea is brilliant.” Catlain seemed enthusiastic about the plan anyway. The question was what did Millon think? I watched the man's face as he contemplated the idea. It seemed an eternity before he responded with his answer. “Good, I like it, I like it a lot. You girls spread the word. Do it as convincingly as possible. Everyone will be being watched more than ever. You girls know more about what is going on than the others do. This will make it much easier for the two of you to coordinate this little event. The resistance will take care of the rest. Just make sure everyone will be prepared for practically anything. I wonder about your brilliant insights Lyluth. Unbeknownst to you, Lionel and Raith are the ultimate choice for this celebration because their dwelling unit is strategically located directly over an immense underground tunnel system. Enough for now though, we had better disperse and get busy before anyone gets suspicious.”

During the course of the day we were able to pass along the information to each of the other girls. The major emphasis was that this was a mandatory function in which everyone’s life depended on how capable they were at acting out the game. From all accounts it seemed as though the day was quite ordinary. Catlain and I had finished our shift and excitedly shuffled back to our unit. It wasn’t long before Lasiter was sending his usual message for me to meet him. Who knows how he would respond to my having to decline his invitation? The secretary listened attentively as I explained that I had been so excited by yesterday’s excursion that it completely slipped my mind about Lionel & Raith’s Anniversary party this evening. Would he be able to find it within his heart to forgive me? If the party didn’t last too terribly late, we might be able to get together afterwards. I stood there smiling at the woman on the other end of the screen. I had become such a great liar myself but I was not too proud of that fact. The secretary said she would relay the information on to Lasiter and would return shortly with a response.

Once again, my stomach was starting to knot up, as an overwhelming sadness swelled up inside of me. I knew that I would never see Lasiter again. Torn between the emotions of both love and betrayal, what could be worse? The part that hurt the most was that I had been genuine in my feelings toward Lasiter, no matter what I had agreed to do for the resistance. I separated the job from the personal involvement somehow. At the moment, I could not find it in my heart to wish harm upon him. It was extremely difficult for me to process the idea that he didn’t have a second thought about snuffing out my insignificant existence. How could he be so cold and callused? Surely he felt something for me, after all that we experienced together. Wishing that everything were changed wouldn’t alter the fact that he could be so indifferent to me at the drop of a hat.

Maybe Lasiter was incapable of truly feeling love for anything or anyone. Even if I had chosen to believe it, it didn’t stop the aching deep within my heart. It didn’t help to alleviate the pain, not that there was anything that could possibly be done to ease my emotional misery. I looked at Catlain and burst into tears, throwing my arms around her and laying my head upon her shoulder. “Thank goodness that I have you to love and you love me back. “ I sobbed uncontrollably,” what I would ever do without you and your friendship?” “Well, Lyluth, I guess you will never know what that might be like. I plan to be around to aggravate you unmercifully for a long time.” Catlain managed to giggle through all of my bawling. “Oh, you are so silly, probably right, but silly too. Listen Lyluth; there’s something that I have to tell you. I haven’t told Llewellyn yet because I wanted to wait until I could be honest with him. Hold on to your pants dear. If you think you’ve got problems, wait till I share this with ya. I’m going to have Llewellyn’s child.”

A smile crept across my face as I slowly pushed her away from me. Then, leaning toward her again, I whispered jokingly that Lasiter might be watching and he was a jealous man. I planted a small kiss across her cheek. Neither of us knowing how very true that my statement was. Indeed, Lasiter had been personally peeking in on us and in viewing our closeness came to a dangerous decision. As he watched how much love there was between us he became infuriated. For some reason known only to him he felt the need to make me suffer. In his twisted mind he devised his hurtful revenge. It just so happened that I would be the grand recipient of his most horrendous gift of all. Never once had he thought about Llewellyn’s feelings on hearing such a thing. He was soon to be a father to the child of a traitor. Llewellyn showed no emotion as he processed the information. Lasiter’s intent was to hurt me severely.

We had better get ready for the party. I prodded Catlain to get a move on. That was when I got the brilliant idea to take some sort of gift to the happy couple to make the whole process appear more realistic. What did we have that was readily available to be given? I looked around to see if something caught my eye. Sure enough, I found the perfect item. We would take an unopened bottle of the exquisite elixirs from on the bar. This particular bottle contained a fiery red liquid that neither Catlain or myself knew the effect. Not that it would matter anyway, as it was just for show. I guess that thinking about the drink somehow excited my tastebuds. My stomach was making a rather strange growling noise. Like a caged monster living deep within my body, making it’s presence known not only to myself, but anyone close to me in the room. This monster of mine was loudly protesting its dissatisfaction with its masters feeding habits. It was absolutely right. Catlain was busy readying herself for the party when I asked her if it was just me or was she hungry too? She indicated that she too was pretty well depleted of nourishment. It would be a good idea to stop long enough to get something to eat. After all, who knew how long it would be before we would be able to eat again? “Wouldn’t it be a good idea to secretly take a few emergency items, that might come in handy on our journey?” I thought out-loud, into the unknown. “ Who knows how long we might be in hiding or what strange and eerie places we would be headed to?”

Many questions were dancing round about in my tired and confused little mind. We were definitely kept in the dark about many things concerning our reality. We knew nothing of what we would be facing, once we left the compound. But, we knew it was time to leave. I felt my heart beating faster and faster with each passing, exaggerated moment. One last look was all I required, an internal photograph of the beautiful surroundings that we had grown so accustomed to. Looking about the area, I couldn’t help but think that it was beyond grand, while it lasted. From the look on Catlain’s face I could tell that she knew what I was thinking and that she felt quite the same. We were so close that it was easy to know what was on the others mind at any given time. Closing the door, we slowly walked towards the exit. Funny how our walk towards freedom was such a sad, gloomy event. It was hard to let go of what I had grown accustomed to. Especially since I was being asked to leave it all behind, to walk blindly into the unknown, unfamiliar territory. Freedom always had its price. We made our way hastily to Lionel & Raith’s home. By the time we arrived, more than half the other girls were there already. Everyone was nervous, not at all clear of the difficult task we were about to face. I kept feeling my stomach knot up again and again. There we were, sitting around waiting for the others to arrive. The place had been decorated just as if there were an actual party taking place. Nothing whatsoever was left to chance. Soon, everyone was accounted for except Twilla of course. None of the nurses outside of the resistance were invited. Many of us felt sorry for her and hoped that whatever she was going through, was not painful for her. As always, the all seeing, all knowing Command Control Corps was well aware that something big was soon to go down. They thought themselves to be more than ready for what ever that might be. Lasiter prided himself on the fact that he and his goons were always prepared for attack. It was his ardent desire to inflict tremendous pain upon his adversaries. Right now, we were on the top of his so-called hit list. He had given specific orders to shoot at least four nurses... eh hem... resistance workers during his assault. His target choice was not coincidental. They were hand picked for maximum effect upon his opponent. Right now, that opponent happened to be Aton. A man whom none of us had any knowledge of other than Millon and a few of the older resistance workers. At least, we weren’t aware of such a connection. Lasiter was extremely adamant about anyone other than those whom he specifically named to be injured in any way. He would just as easily kill one of his own men for disobeying an order as he would an enemy. And that, he had done before on many an occasion. He would soon be put to the task again.

The individuals whom he had chosen to be killed were targeted solely for effect. The Corps would appear to be trying desperately to stop the escape effort. Everything had been completely choreographed to the last detail, in the mind of a lunatic so that we would believe that we were actually beating him on his own territory. He was allowing us to leave, giving us a false sense of safe retreat. In fact, his plans were for a much grander battle, a battle in the heavens, where revenge weighed heavily on his heart of stone. The wait for such a confrontation had been long in coming and he had high hopes that we would lead him straight to Aton. Was this to be a clash between the forces of darkness and the forces of light? Lasiter would be ever so clever in the execution of his plan. He would have to be patient enough to allow Aton to return to his home so that he would be able to destroy him, all his people and us as well. After all, it had happened before. The conflict had been terrible in its scope and destruction. Lasiter had been cast out from his home and his people that time, but not this one. This time things had come full circle for him and he would avenge his great loss. Aton would be the one to suffer. He would be responsible for the pain and death soon to befall millions of his loved ones. If Aton had not interfered with Lasiter’s business, his people would not have suffered. Lasiter was thoroughly tickled by his luck.

Millon stood in the middle of the room explaining in code that we were about to be evacuated by space ships that had been able to remain undetected through a special technology involving the use of Moldovite. Until just yesterday, they were unable to manage this stealthing ability. He knew how bizarre that all of this was sounding to us by the looks on our faces. What else could we do but listen in disbelief? There really wasn’t much choice in the matter for us. Frankly, we were screwed because there was no where to hide. We would have to go along with whatever was being told to us. If we had learned anything at all, we had learned that Millon was genuinely interested in our well being. He was hiding an awful lot from us but his reasoning for doing so seemed sound. He continued on with, once we were on the ships we would be met by beings that were somewhat different in form than we were ourselves. They shouldn’t alarm us because there was absolutely nothing to fear. They were of an extremely high, spiritual nature. They were much more to us than there was time to explain. “I know that these things that I am telling you are difficult for many of you to accept. Many of you probably think that I’m a bit unstable. The whole idea of other species capable of unlimited space travel seems new and outrageous to you I am sure. Believe me when I tell you, these things are not new, they have just been kept from you for various reasons. You must trust me and do exactly as I tell you even if it doesn’t seem rational to you. Rational thinking can only be applied to those things, which are certain. Due to our extremely dense physical form, we will have to undergo a process of suspended animation. This will be temporary, until such a time that we are once again grounded.” We couldn’t believe what we were hearing. I felt queasy at the thought. If these things were true, where did we fit in? Who or what were we really? The words were unbelievable to my mind but in my heart I knew that they were true.

The time had come for us to move out. We would have to travel through an elaborate maze of underground tunnel systems for approximately three hours, until we would reach the perimeter. When we emerged, we would be on the outer fringes where we would be met and transported to safety. There had already been a process of mass evacuation that had begun as soon as the coordinates of the mines had been learned. At that time, some of the minerals were extracted and teleported aboard a huge mothership that had remained hidden outside of detection range. It was now possible for thousands of smaller transport ships to station themselves in strategic locations around the planet, without being seen. We would not have much time before the Command Control Corps would be hot on our trail. The all Seeing Eye of the good old boys of the Corps would interrupt the evacuation process. If everything went well, we would be the last to leave the planet. Millon continued to explain some of the details of the operation. The small rescue ships that would be retrieving us would later rendezvous with a larger mothership, as soon as our safety was assured.

We all filed through a secret hidden door, located in the basement of Lionel’s house. Once we had made our way through the door, we found ourselves walking through a musty smelling, darkened cave like structure until we happened upon a peculiar looking shuttle vehicle. There didn’t seem to be enough time to think about what we were doing before we were herded into another area. We climbed into the vehicle and sped swiftly away, beneath the inner cities. I managed to ask Catlain if it bothered her to leave Llewellyn and all the lovely possessions that we had back at the unit? What would she do about her pregnancy? She told me that she could get over leaving the things. They were only stuff and stuff was easily attainable. She would not get over Llewellyn so easily. She acknowledged the child to be a gift from Llewellyn, ultimately proving his love for her. Believing that Llewellyn had been genuine in his devotion. Leaving him was breaking her heart but what they had shared could never be taken from deep within her heart. She would remember her time spent with Llewellyn fondly and each time she would hold their child, she would be holding them both. She would soon get over the pain, to begin a new adventure. It wasn’t such a good idea to become too attached to physical things. They are temporal and keep you from being able to experience new possibilities. It’s difficult to make room for the new if you are clinging so desperately onto the old. Creating a traffic jam so to speak by not allowing the natural flow of things to occur.

It was almost more than I could accept, the thought of being rescued from a soon to be dying planet by a legion of space beings, totally alien to us. As I expressed my concerns to Catlain she responded jokingly that it was a good thing that we were so open minded. The most prevalent question on my mind was why were the people being evacuated when these advanced beings surely had the capabilities to conquer the C.C.C. everyone would be free from their dominance. Perhaps that would be their plan, to destroy the Command and then return those that they had taken to safety. What exactly was in store for Lucifer anyway? There was no doubt in my mind that whatever it was it would be drastic. It seemed that even Millon wasn’t privy to such information. The one thing that was obvious was that the entire situation was beyond our own capabilities, calling for outside intervention. It was wrong for the Command Control Corps to be imposing upon the sovereignty of the people. Many horrible experiments had been conducted that we were not aware of. We were not the only group that had been gathering information.

There were plenty of interested people who had done much to keep unspeakable horrors from devastating the population. Many things were learned and it wouldn’t be long before all of this was behind us. It was also wrong for us to fight deception with deception, putting us into the same category as the Command. Two wrongs can never make a right and our suffering was a product of our own making if the truth were to be known. We could play the blame game if we chose to but in actuality we brought all of this onto ourselves by either our fears or not wanting to accept our own responsibility in the making of our problems. As Catlain had pointed out, a new adventure would soon be on the horizon. Would we learn anything from what we had just experienced or would we manage to take our same unbalanced perspective into this new adventure. At least, we would be together. I found a feeling of satisfaction in the thought that we would experience these changes amongst friends. Finally reaching our destination, we began to unload from the shuttle. As we headed toward the surface I noticed the familiar drop in temperature that I experienced with Lasiter. Soon, it became unbearably cold to all of us. Millon walked over to a small room located at the foot of a gradual incline, leading to steps that headed towards the surface. Reaching inside, he pulled out a number of jackets made out of an unknown material. Supposedly, a new technology in capturing and retaining ones body heat inside. After putting on the jackets we climbed what seemed to be an endless number of unforgivably long steps. Piercing the surface and leaving behind the cave was almost symbolic in nature. The winds were treacherous, whipping us around like leaves that had fallen from a tree. The harsh conditions made it hard to keep our eyes open, let alone focus on anything. It was easy to see how one could not survive prolonged exposure. There we were, standing in a circle trying to stay together so that no one would be swept away, lost to the unforgiving winds. This is where we had been led to await transport. Had we been lambs being led to the slaughter?

A loud explosion rang through my ears like a thundering storm cloud. There was no way to see where it had come from or what had been the cause. Again and again the noise repeated itself, relentless in its repetition. I have never felt such an overwhelming feeling of confusion as what I was experiencing at that moment. Beyond the boundaries of communication, I am not capable of expressing in words what proceeded afterwards. I could hear Millon’s faint voice over the howling winds and ground shaking thunder. Chaos abounded everywhere. It was evident that he was screaming to the top of his voice, the words barely audible. “Stay where you are, stay where you are! No matter what happens do not move, you must remain exactly where you are!” At that very moment I noticed that we were being bathed in a brilliant light. It surrounded us as if it were a shield of protection. It was much too overwhelming, happening so quickly that I felt as if I had entered an altered state of consciousness. I was aware of holding firmly onto Catlain’s hand but it somehow managed to slip from out of my grip by someone breaking through, between us. Until being surrounded by the light, it was impossible for me to see what was happening, a good metaphor for those who pay attention.

As I stood in the tremendous warmth of this peaceful beam, I saw the horror of what had taken place in the last few moments. Catlain lay motionless at my feet with a horrendously lethal wound. Her forehead lay gaping open in front of my eyes; blood flowed steadily down her face creating an ever-expanding puddle beneath her head. I began to tremble uncontrollably, as I dropped to my knees; weak from the most terrible pain I had ever experienced. Like a knife plunged deeply into my heart so far that I could scarcely breathe. This just couldn’t be happening. Anything, anything else at all, I could deal with but this was more than I could take. I reached out to my dearest love, resting her head gently into my lap with my arms wrapped tightly around her frail, limp body. Pushing her blood soaked hair from out of her eyes, I could see that she had suffered extensive damage. My heart pumped so fiercely that I thought it would explode out of my body. I cried and cried oh how badly it hurt. My tears were like waterfalls cascading down my cheeks into a river of pain. Symbolic of the flood of grief that had enveloped me. Almost choking from the tears, there had never been a time that I had felt so alone. Neither had there been a time that I had felt so very close to my friend, as she lay dying in my arms. Her life sustaining blood pumping wastefully onto the ground.

A feeling of consummate helplessness overtook me as I screamed out loud for someone to help me. “Please, please, anyone, someone please help us, my friend is hurt.” I howled into the sky. The words were being projected from my lips but numbness slowly invaded by awareness until I was consumed by it. Rocking her back and forth like a child, as she lay helpless in my arms. While kissing her cheek, I begged her not to leave me. “You just can’t leave me like this do you hear me Catlain?” She slowly opened her eyes, staring directly into mine as she squeezed my hand. Softly she whispered,” I’m so sorry dear Lyluth; I really don’t want to leave you all alone. I do love you tremendously but I don’t think that I’m going to be able to stay awake much longer. There is something wrong with my head, it hurts so bad.” As she spoke, her eyes widened with wonder and her voice became somewhat excited. “Look, look Lyluth, we’re in heaven, we must be, It’s so beautiful. I knew he loved me Lyluth, he came to be with me. This is truly heaven.” As I looked down at her I saw a peaceful smile upon her pale, blood soaked face.

We were being bathed in a breathtakingly beautiful, soft golden light, imparting a soothing effect, as if it were caressing our bodies. Catlain reached up as if to touch someone as she barely whispered, “I love you.” An arm pierced through the brilliant light and clenched tight onto Catlain’s outstretched hand. Behind me came a familiar voice, “I love you too.” It couldn’t be true. How could it be Llewellyn, where were we? Surely, we had to be safely inside this vehicle. There would have to be someone near that could assist us. I caught myself yelling out for someone to please hurry and help us. It was evident by the urgency and panic of my voice that something was terribly wrong but still, no one came. “Hold on Catlain, It won’t be long, just hang in there and someone will be along soon to fix you all up as good as new. ”She seemed extremely concerned as she pulled me even closer than I had already been. “I need for you to promise me Lyluth. Promise that we will be friends always no matter what.” There was no need for her to be so urgent with such a request. How could we not? “I have loved you dearly Catlain for so long that I know not of a time that you weren’t my most beloved. I can scarcely think of experiencing a life where I didn’t have you to share my joys and sorrows. There’s no question, we’ll be friends through all eternity”

There was a huge lump in my throat as I formulated each word. Tears were quickly welling up in my eyes again no matter how hard I tried to keep them from coming. No matter how strong that I had tried to be for her, I was slowly falling to pieces, as I knew that her wound was far beyond fixing up just like new as I had told her. “I have one last request of you, my dearest friend.” She took the hand that reached from out of the light, pulling it forward until it was now holding mine, “please, love my Llewellyn for me because I won’t be able to.” He was real, I held his hand but I didn’t understand how it was possible. “I promise you Catlain, that I will share with Llewellyn all of the wonderful things that we have shared, and I will love him until you are able.” As soon as I had answered the question, which seemed so very important to her, she closed her eyes and never uttered another word. Indeed, Catlain had left me, left me with the most excruciating pain, felt to the very depths of my soul. Such a great loss for me to endure, a loss beyond all explanation or description. Unimaginable was the feelings of loneliness and grief that were invading my emotions. Someone reached out from behind me and pulled her gently from my embrace. Without knowing why, I wanted to hold on to her longer. It was as though the separation wasn’t real as long as I had hold of her. It felt like a dream, a very bad dream that I wanted to wake up from but couldn’t. Llewellyn’s sobs were all I could focus on. Had he known about the child? I felt the warmth of his body as he held me tightly. Surrogate for what had been lost, I could never compare. Wet, red oozed its way through Llewellyn’s shirt as my arms touched across his back. Trying to look up at him through the light was impossible so I staggered from the floor, pulling myself up to stand. My body, covered in blood that was not my own. Llewellyn had been injured also.