The 26th Century

Here is the opening dialogue to my story. I will post the story under this thread. Enjoy...

graylady
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"A New Begining"

By.. grayladyfalcon


Opening Dialogue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The time...about six months after Hawk had lost his beloved mate, Koori. The place... on board the Searcher. Still in the beginning stage of his punishment. Hawk had proven his abilities to the Admiral and almost everyone on the Searcher. He had become a good friend to the man who he fought with on the planet of Throm. Hawk, still missing his mate had gained new friends in some of the crew. One in particular, Dr. Goodfellow.

The good doctor would often visit Hawk in his living quarters and show him some of the archive pictures of the old planet Earth and his ancestors that came from there. They would talk for hours on end. Hawk never seemed to get tired of the kind and gentle man. His laugh, the way he looked directly in to Hawk's eyes when he spoke. Even his passion for Hawk's people whom he had never met. Occasionally Hawk would be ordered to the bridge. Though he didn't like being ordered around, he complied. Being escorted up by two security guards. The Admiral, being understanding of why Hawk attacked those humans before, tried hard to make him feel like part of the crew.

Hawk would enter the bridge and the first smiling face he would see was that of Wilma's. Every time he would see Wilma, he thought of how much she was like Koori. In his eyes he saw that Wilma had Koori's strength and compassion. He would turn away quickly if she gazed back to him.

Buck would be standing behind her. He would walk up to Hawk and extend his hand. Hawk always happy to see a friend would extend his hand in return. The Searcher had been given orders by the Galactic Council to proceed to a small planet only three light years away. It seemed that there was some disagreement going on. The Searcher was ordered to monitor and assist if needed.

"A New Beginning"

by grayladyfalcon

Chapter 1

"Admiral, what is the name of this planet? And why would anyone
attack them?" Buck asked.

"The planet's name is Osjewelco, it's located in the Macadon system.
They're the only agricultural planet in that system. We should
arrive there within twelve hours," the Admiral replied.

"What seems to be the trouble there sir?" Wilma asked.

"All I know is that there has been raids and some of the people are
missing. What started it is unknown at this time," Asimov replied.

"Sir, Hawk's ship has been sitting in landing bay 3 now since he
came on board. With your permission, would it be all right if he
took it out on patrol with me?" Buck asked glancing over at Hawk.

The Admiral turned and gazed at Hawk for a moment.
"On one condition... Hawk, if we think you are trying to make an
escape, we will destroy you and your ship." The Admiral hesitated
for a moment. "I'm hoping that you give us a chance to show you that
not all humans are murders," the Admiral said looking in to Hawk's
eyes.

"I understand Admiral. I will not try to run, you have my word,"
Hawk replied.

"Very well then. Hawk you will go out on patrol with Buck and the
other pilots. Be sure his ship is fueled and ready to go," the
Admiral ordered.

"Yes sir," Buck replied with a smile.

The Admiral ordered the security guards to release Hawk in to Buck's
custody. The guards backed away and Buck motioned for Hawk to follow
him. They made their way down to the landing bay hanger. As they
entered Hawk seen his ship for the first time since he was brought
on to the Searcher. He walked up to it and gently ran his fingers
over every inch of the hull.

"It's been repaired?" Hawk asked.

"Yes, shortly after the agreement was made, the Admiral ordered the
mechanics to repair your ship, just in case," Buck replied with a
smile.

Hawk turned to Buck and for the first time since he was brought on
to the Searcher, he smiled.

One of the mechanics walked over to Buck and Hawk. "Captain Rogers..
Hawk's ship will be fueled and ready with in the hour," the mechanic
said glancing over at Hawk.

"Good. We'll be back then," Buck replied as he and Hawk left the
hanger.

Hawk turned to Buck. "Why are you doing this?" Hawk asked.

"I figured you might want to fly it again. And the Admiral told me
you've been asking about your ship for over a month now. So I
figured maybe, the Admiral would allow you to fly it out on patrol
with me," Buck said.

An hour had passed, Buck and Hawk were on their way back to the
hanger. Hawk walked quickly over to his ship and climbed in. Sitting
in it again put a smile on his face that even the mechanics could
see. Buck climbed in to his fighter and started to run his check.

"Patrol one requesting permission to leave Searcher," Buck said.

"Searcher to patrol one, permission granted," the bridge replied.

With in moments Buck's fighter was in the launch tube and was on its
way out. Hawk followed then the other patrol fighters. Hawk was
amazed at the speed his ship was launched out of the launch tube.
He soon joined Buck and the other pilots. Buck started to head off
in front of the Searcher. Hawk followed close behind Buck.

"Hawk, why don't you open it up a little? It's been a while since
you flew it. She probably needs a good work out," Buck said glancing
over his left shoulder at Hawk.

Hawk hesitated. "I'm not sure if I should. I don't want the Admiral
to think I'm trying to run," Hawk replied.

"Rogers to Searcher."

"Searcher here, what is it Buck?" the Admiral asked.

"Sir, Hawk's ship has been sitting for a long time. Requesting
permission for Hawk to open it up a little. Just to get the dust
blown off of her," Buck said.

There was a hesitation. "Permission granted.. But Hawk.. remember
what I told you earlier. And Buck, stay with him at all times,"
Asimov replied.

"Yes sir," Buck said with a smile.

"Well, you heard the man. Open it up and get that dust off of your
ship," Buck said looking over at Hawk's ship.

Hawk smiled and leaned on the throttle. At first the War Hawk was a
little sluggish. Hawk leaned on the throttle a little more and left
Buck behind.

"How is it handling Hawk?" Buck asked as he caught up to Hawk's ship.

"At first, it was a little slow, but after I pushed it a little
harder it cleared right up," Hawk replied.

They continued their patrol. Finally their patrol was over and they
were returning to the Searcher. Buck entered first, followed closely
by Hawk, then the other pilots. They landed their ships with a
smooth landing. Buck was the first to climb out of his fighter. He
walked over to Hawk's ship and watched as Hawk sat in it for a few
moments longer. He opened the hatch and climbed out. Buck walked
over to him and smiled.

"Felt good, didn't it?" Buck asked.

Hawk nodded and smiled, then he began walking around his ship gently
running his hand over the hull.

"Hawk, what are you doing?" Buck asked.

"I always make a walk through when I come back from space. Just to
make sure there are no leaks or damage," Hawk replied.

"Come on, we have to report to the bridge for de-briefing," Buck
said smiling. He could see the joy Hawk had in his eyes.

Hawk turned and slowly started to walk behind Buck leaving the
hanger area. He'd glance back over his shoulder and looked at his
ship, the ship that he once flew over Throm to protect it from
raiders and intruders. They made their way back up to the bridge
where the Admiral was waiting for them to report. The bridge door
opened with a whoosh...Hawk and Buck walked on to the bridge and was
met by the Admiral who motioned for them to enter the bridge meeting
room. Buck and Hawk walked in and seated themselves in front of the
Admiral's desk.

"Well, how did it go?" he asked.

"No problems to report sir," Buck replied.

Asimov looked over at Hawk. "Hawk, I know you feel like a prisoner
here on this ship. I've made a call to the Galactic Council, and
they approved my request. You've proven yourself to be reliable when
you didn't run. You never caused any trouble or problems here on the
Searcher. I've requested that you be placed on probation on the
Searcher," Asimov said.

Hawk looked a little confused. "Probation Admiral? What do you mean
by probation?" Hawk asked.

The Admiral smiled. "It means Hawk that you will no longer be under
arrest and have to remain in your living quarters. You'll be able to
walk around the ship, go on patrols with Buck, come and go as you
please," Asimov replied.

Hawk smiled for a moment. "Does that mean I'll be able to return
home soon Admiral?" Hawk asked.

"I'm afraid not Hawk, not for a while anyways. The Galactic Council
has to be shown that what you did before will never happen again,"
Asimov replied.

"Sir, no disrespect to the Council, but how is it suppose to happen
again? Those humans slaughtered all of my people on Throm. Not one
of them survived, including my beloved mate, Koori," Hawk replied.

Buck hung his head. Deep down inside Buck knew it was mostly his
fault that Koori died. If he hadn't taken her that day from the cave,
she'd most likely be alive today.

"All I'm saying Hawk, is that you have to prove to the council that
it will never happen again...anywhere," Asimov said as he stood up.
"I know that's a lot to think about, I'm leaving it up to you,"
Asimov said as he walked towards the door.

Hawk and Buck stood and walked over to the door and stood in front
of the Admiral.

"I'll think about it," Hawk replied as he walked out of the meeting
room.

Chapter 2

Hawk left the bridge and headed down the corridor to his living quarters. He turned around and seen that there were no security guards following him. He watched the facial expressions of the crew members as they passed by. Some smiled and said hello while others walked past without even acknowledging him. "I'm still a prisoner, guards or no guards," he thought to himself. He placed his hand on the panel outside of his door and entered. He slowly walked over at gazed out the portal. "All I want is to return home. I know there is nothing left of my people, but it is still my home," he said to himself as he hung his head. He walked slowly into the sleeping area and sat on the edge of his bed. Hawk laid down and rested his head on his hands, looking up at the ceiling. What seemed like hours to Hawk was only a matter of minutes before he drifted off to sleep. A few hours later came a buzzing noise, Hawk opened his eyes and sat up. He knew there was someone at the door. He stood and walked slowly over to the door and opened it. Buck was standing there with a smile on his face.

"Hey, it's time to go down to this planet and see what’s going on. You ready to go?" Buck asked.

Hawk still not fully awake stood there for a moment. "I'm going?" Hawk asked.

"Yeah, the Admiral wanted a full crew, so I recommended you," Buck replied.
"Who else is going?" Hawk asked.

"It's just going to be you, Wilma and myself... for now. Murphy and Anderson will join us in town a few hours later. They're acting as back-up to us, just in case," Buck said.

Hawk nodded and left his quarters, walking along side Buck to the hanger. They entered and standing along side her fighter was Wilma. She greeted them with a smile, as she often did.

"Hawk, your ship is fueled and ready to go," Wilma said smiling.

"I thought I'd be going with Buck in his?" Hawk asked a little confused.

"No, the Admiral requested we take different ships down to the planet surface," Wilma replied.

Hawk smiled, walked over to his ship and climbed in.

Buck turned to Wilma. "Thanks Wilma. This means a lot to Hawk being able to fly his own ship," Buck said softly.

"He's a good pilot. I watched how he maneuvered his ship out on patrol with you earlier. He could be a great asset to the Searcher," Wilma replied.

"I know, if only he could feel more like part of the crew instead of a prisoner," Buck said glancing over at Hawk.

"Give it time Buck, nothing happens over night." Wilma glanced over at Hawk's ship as he ran a check on the ship's instrument panel. "You ready to go?" she asked turning her attention back to Buck.

Buck nodded and started for his fighter. They simultaneously climbed in and closed the hatch.

"Bridge.. this is Col. Deering.. requesting permission to launch," Wilma requested.

"Permission granted.... Searcher out."

Wilma was the first to be launched out of the launch tube, followed by Buck then Hawk. After exiting the Searcher, they joined up and descended down towards the planets surface. Not wanting to draw attention, they landed in a small clearing not far from a village. They climbed out of their fighters and assembled in front of them.

"Remember, we're only here to observe and report." Wilma turned and looks at Buck. "No fighting Buck, understood?" Wilma asked.

"Who me? I only fight when I have to," Buck replied.

Hawk smiled. "Which is about all the time," Hawk replied with a smile.

Buck turned to face Hawk. "Hey," Buck replied jokingly.

"Okay you two, lets check out that small village we seen coming in. Maybe someone there can tell us what's going on," Wilma said as she turned around and started to walk towards the village.

Buck and Hawk followed close behind. Just as they were about to emerge out of the forest line on the east side of the village. They heard what appeared to be weapons being fired, followed by women screaming and children crying. They quickened their pace. Wilma was the first to witness the murderous act that was taking place in the village. She saw a woman holding her young child close, soon a shot rang out. Wilma watched as the woman and child fell to the ground. Still horrified by what she had just seen, Wilma froze with her hands covering her mouth. Buck and Hawk turned to Wilma.

"Wilma?" Buck said softly seeing the look of horror on her face.

Hawk was getting more and more enraged. Watching these women and children being murdered. He knew he couldn't do anything until Wilma gave the order. Then all of a sudden, Wilma without saying a word drew her weapon from its holster, aimed it and started firing. Buck and Hawk took that as an order, so they too drew their weapons and started firing. They ran in to the village and split up going in different directions. The intruders seeing outsiders with weapons quickly left the village, leaving behind their fallen comrades. Buck, Wilma and Hawk joined up again in what appeared to them as a square. There a statue of an old human stood.

"Buck, Hawk... follow them, see where they go. I'm going to check on these woman and children, then I'll call for the medical team and back up," Wilma ordered with anger in her voice as she started down one of the small streets.

Buck and Hawk nodded and took off running in the direction the intruders left in. A little ways outside the village Buck and Hawk found one of the intruders laying on the side of the path under some foliage. Buck pushed the bush a side and seen that the intruder was dead. Hawk looking at the man could see that he was shot twice. Once in the leg, the other in the head.

"Maybe he couldn't keep up and they didn't want him to talk," Hawk said pointing out the wounds.

Buck nodded. "Could be...come on, we have to try to find out where they went," Buck said looking towards Hawk. Both stood up and started to follow the path again.

A short time later they came to a clearing. They stood for a moment looking out over the field. Not seeing any of the intruders they decided to start heading back to the small village to meet up with Wilma. Hawk soon noticed a slight movement in the bushes to his left. He drew his weapon, tapped Buck on his shoulder and pointed towards the bush. Buck, glanced over at Hawk seeing him with his weapon drawn, drew his own weapon. Hawk slowly and cautiously started to walk over towards the bush with Buck walking beside him. Hawk reached the bush a second before Buck did. He grabbed the bush and pulled it aside. There laying wounded was a female, holding her stomach. She was curled up on her side almost covered with branches and leaves. She was holding a small branch in her mouth. As much pain as she was in, she didn't utter a word. She glanced up and saw Buck and Hawk standing there. Her eyes grew big, but before she could scream, she clasped into unconsciousness. Buck crawled in under the bush and gently took the branch from her mouth and then carefully picked up the woman and handed her to Hawk.

"She's severely injured, we need to get back to the village to get her help," Buck said looking at the female.

Hawk stood there for a moment gazing at her. "She look like one of my people, but different," Hawk said with a puzzled expression on his face.
Buck watched as Hawk gazed at this female. "Hawk, we really need to go. She's hurt pretty bad," Buck said as he started to take her from Hawk's hands. Hawk turned away so Buck couldn't take her. All Hawk could see in his mind was Koori, her injuries and her death. Buck watched as Hawk's puzzled expression turned from confusion to concern. Buck tried to take the woman again, but again Hawk turned away.

"I'll wait here with her while you go get the fighter. She shouldn't be moved around that much," Hawk said placing her gently on the ground shielding her eyes from the sunlight.

Buck stood and started to back away. "I'll be back as soon as I can," Buck said as he turned and started running in the direction they came from. Buck ran as fast as he could to get to the village where Wilma was.

Hawk gently moved her around a little so the sun didn't shine directly in her eyes. He started to look over her injuries, but for some reason his eyes kept going back to her eyes and face.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? You're one on my people, but in a way you're not." Hawk hesitated for a moment. "You must have been biting on that branch for a sometime to keep from crying out from the pain," Hawk said softly still looking at her face.

Her head feathers were as black as night, they didn't wrap around her neck as Hawk's peoples did. They laid flat down the back of her neck. Her eyes, instead of a soft white eye feathers, hers were as black as her head feathers. Her clothing was the same. She wore the traditional cream white with beads embedded on it. Her skin was a light brown, compared to the cream white of his people. Hawk sat there looking over this strange bird-woman.

Buck finally made his way back to the village. Wilma was directing the medical teams to the most severe patients. She noticed Buck running towards her.

"Where's Hawk?" she asked looking past Buck.

Buck stopped and was trying to catch his breath.. "We found an injured woman, up the path a ways... She needs medical help right away. Hawk is with her," Buck said taking a deep breath.

"Buck, we have a lot of injured people here also. She'll have to wait until we can get to her," Wilma replied.

"Wilma.. she looks all most like Hawk. Except she has black feathers," Buck explained.

"Like Hawk?" Wilma asked.

Buck nodded as he grabbed Wilma by her arm and started to pull her towards the path.

"How bad is she?" Wilma asked as she pulled her arm back.

"Bad Wilma... really bad," Buck replied.

Wilma could see in Buck's eyes that this woman really needed help at that moment. She called over one of the medics and informed him that there was an injured woman outside of the village and that Buck would take him. Buck nodded in agreement.

"Wilma, it would be faster if we took one of the shuttles. She shouldn't be carried this far," Buck said.

Wilma nodded in agreement. "Take one of the shuttles, but hurry back. We need all the help we have here," Wilma replied.

Chapter 3

Close by an elderly woman sat being tended to by one of the medical crew, she slowly stood and hobbled over to Buck and Wilma.

"I heard you say you found a woman on the outside of town? Is she alive?" the elderly woman asked with concern in her voice.

"Yes, she's alive but badly injured," Buck replied.

"Please, you must care for her, she is the last of her kind," the old woman said before the medic gently pulled her back to him.

Buck walked back over to the old woman. "What do you mean she is the last of her kind?" Buck asked.

"Her people lived here in peace. They never came down to the city or villages until they needed supplies. They never harmed anyone and no-one ever wanted to harm them." The old woman hesitated with tears in her eyes. "Her mate and people were killed a while back. We found her just shortly after that. She's lived here with us since," the woman replied.

Buck gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of her," Buck said trying to reassure the old woman.

The old woman smiled and seated herself again as the medic worked on caring for her wounds.

"What is her name?" Buck asked.

The woman glanced up at Buck. "Her name is Lela," she replied.

Buck nodded, turned and walked away. He informed the medic that was going with him, the general direction they had to go. They entered the shuttle and before long was air born and heading in the direction which Buck told him.

Hawk sat with his weapon drawn. He had picked up the female and placed her a little further under the trees, to shield her from the bright sun. He sat watching the field with his hand gently on her arm. He soon felt her arm move slightly. He turned his attention back to her. She slowly started to move her body, but soon stopped from the pain. She started to open her eyes, accompanied with a soft moan. She rolled her head a little to gaze at this creature who she'd never seen before. Her eyes grew big again. Hawk saw the fear in her eyes.

"It's all right, I'm not going to do you any harm," Hawk said softly.

"Who are you?" she asked softly.

"I am Hawk. My friend and I found you under those bushes, do you remember?" Hawk asked softly.

"Your friend is human?" She asked with fear still in her eyes.

"Yes, his name is Buck Rogers. We're from the research vessel Searcher. We were ordered to come here and assist," Hawk said turning his gaze back out to the field as if still keeping watch. He turned his gaze back to the woman. "What is your name?" Hawk asked.

She tried to sit up but Hawk gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "No, you must lie still. You've been badly injured," he said.

She gently laid herself back down. Hawk turned his attention back out to the field. She laid there watching him, as if studying him.

"My name is Le..." Was all she said before falling once again into unconsciousness.

Hawk started to gently shake her. "I can't wait for Buck to get back. I must get you help right away," Hawk said. He stood up and gently picked the woman up and started to walk out from under the trees when he heard the shuttle. He walked out into the field and watched the shuttle come over the tree tops.

"There he is!" Buck said loudly pointing down towards Hawk.

The pilot nodded an acknowledgment and started the landing process not far from Hawk. After the shuttle was on the ground, the door opened, Buck and the medic exited. Hawk still walking towards the shuttle, stopped and placed the woman gently back down on the ground. The medic arrived and started taking her vitals and examining her wounds.

"We need to get her better medical help than I can give her. Has she been conscious at all?" he asked glancing up to Hawk.

"She came to for a few moments. Then she tried to sit up, I explained to her that she had to remain lying down. A moment later, she went unconscious," Hawk replied.

"That's not good," the medic replied as he stood and started running back to the shuttle. A moment later he emerged carrying a stretcher. Hawk and Buck gently picked the woman up and placed her on it. Together they lifted the stretcher and carried her back to the shuttle with the medic beside them. They entered the shuttle and strapped her down.

"Get us back to the village as fast as you can," the medic yelled out as he stayed by the woman's side.

The shuttle lifted off and headed back in the direction of the village. Wilma was assisting the medics in their job of caring for the wounded in the village. When she heard the shuttle she stopped and watched as it came over the tree tops and landed in the small field close to the village. She made her way over to it. The door opened and Buck and Hawk emerged, walking over to her in a fast pace.

"What's going on?" she asked with concern as she noticed the look on Buck and Hawk's face as they approached.

"The woman needs emergency care right away Wilma, she can't wait," Buck said glancing over towards Hawk who was standing by his side.

"How bad?" Wilma asked.

"Life threatening," Buck replied.

Wilma walked quickly into the shuttle followed closely by Buck and Hawk. She gazed at the woman who was still unconscious. She turned and faced the medic who was tending to the woman.

"Is it serious?" she asked.

"Yes. She needs better care than what I can give her. We need to transport her up to the Searcher right away," the medic replied.

Wilma nodded, she turned and walked up towards the front of the shuttle and called up to the Searcher.

"Col. Deering to Searcher.. we have a seriously injured woman that needs emergency care right away. Permission to transport her to the Searcher?" Wilma asked.

A few moments later.. "Searcher to Col. Deering.. permission granted. Will have medical team standing by awaiting your arrival.. Searcher out."

"Acknowledged Searcher.. Deering out."

Wilma turned and glanced back at the medic. "Take her up to the Searcher immediately. The medical team will be standing by." She turned and placed her hand on the pilots' shoulder. "Transport her immediately to the Searcher. After you've done that, return here," Wilma ordered. Wilma turned and looked at Hawk. "Do you want to go up with her?" she asked.

Hawk nodded and sat down across from the woman. Just as Wilma and Buck were about to leave the shuttle the old woman that had asked about the injured woman stood in the door way.

"Please.. may I go with her?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Hawk hearing the request stood and walked back to the door. "Col. it might be wise to have her come along. The woman was frightened enough when she saw Buck and myself. Could you imagine how scared she's going to be when she wakes and sees all those humans gathered around her?" Hawk said.

Wilma turned her attention back to the old woman. "I understand how much you want to be with her right now. But once she gets on our ship, the doctor will be busy examining her and tending to her wounds." Wilma lowered her head for a moment then raised it again and looked at the old woman. "I think it would be best if you waited here, at least until the doctor had time to care for her," Wilma said.

The woman stood there with tears pouring down her face. Wilma started to walk away when Hawk quickly walked up behind her.

"Wilma please, let the old woman go with her," Hawk pleaded.

Wilma turned to Hawk. "I'm sorry Hawk. But it would be best if she stayed here. At least for the time being," Wilma replied as she walked off.

Hawk hung his head and slowly turned towards the old woman. "I'm sorry," Hawk said as he walked back to the shuttle and climbed in. Buck not agreeing with Wilma's decision walked over to the pilot and made a call to the Searcher.

"Buck Rogers to Searcher."

"Go ahead Buck. What's the hold up on the injured woman?" Admiral Asimov asked.

"Admiral, the woman was very frightened when Hawk and I found her. There is a old woman here requesting permission to come on board the Searcher to help calm the injured woman when she awakens," Buck explained.

There was silence for a few moments. "Searcher to Buck Rogers.. permission granted... Searcher out."

"Thank you Admiral... Rogers out." Buck turned towards Hawk and smiled. Hawk didn't hesitate, he jumped up and ran out the door but he didn't have to go far. The old woman was just a few feet away from the shuttle. He stopped in front of the old woman and smiled.

"The Admiral granted you permission at come up to the Searcher. But, there's a chance you will not be allowed in the operating room while the doctor tends to her," Hawk said.

The old woman smiled and slowly turned around and headed for the shuttle. Wilma hearing what Hawk told the old woman walked back over and grabbed Hawk by his arm. "Who gave you permission?" she asked in a stern voice.

"The Admiral approved it Wilma," Buck replied walking up behind them.

"You went over my head?" Wilma asked.

"I'm sorry Wilma, but I think you made a wrong call on this one. That young woman is going to be scared to death when she wakes up. That old woman needs to be there to show her that we don't mean her any harm. Besides, if what that woman says is true. And that severely injured woman is the last of her kind. We have to do everything in our power to make sure she survives, right?" Buck asked.

Wilma nodded in agreement. She turned to Hawk. "I'm sorry Hawk. I'm just so mad right now at what happened here. Every person in this village is either a female or child. There's not one male here," Wilma replied looking around.

Hawk placed his hand on Wilma's shoulder and smiled. "Maybe the old woman could tell us why those humans attacked them," Hawk said.

Wilma smiled. "Maybe." She glanced over Hawk's shoulder then back to Hawk. "You better get going," Wilma said.

Hawk headed for the War Hawk. The door on the shuttle closed and the pilot started the engines. With in minutes, the shuttle was leaving the planet surface and heading for the Searcher, followed closely by Hawk.

Chapter 4

Buck walked slowly over to Wilma. "I hope she'll be all right,"
he said softly.

"So do I Buck. Did Hawk say where she might have come from?" Wilma
asked.

"No. The way he kept staring at her, I'd say he's never seen her kind
before. The old woman did say that her people lived here, but were
murdered by humans," Buck replied as he turned and walked away.

"Just like Hawks' people," Wilma said softly to herself as she turned
and followed Buck.

Hawk was about to approach the Searcher, followed by the shuttle.

"Hawk to Searcher."

"Go ahead Hawk.. this is Searcher."

"Searcher, requesting landing bay for shuttle," Hawk said.

"Shuttle, approach landing bay 1.. medical team is standing by,"
Searcher replied.

"Approach landing bay 1.. acknowledged Searcher," the pilot of the
shuttle replied.

"Searcher to Hawk.. War Hawk approach landing bay 2... Searcher out."

"Landing bay 2, acknowledged.. thank you Searcher," Hawk replied as
he started to guide his ship towards the landing strip.

Inside the Searcher, the shuttle had just landed and the medical team
was walking quickly over to it. The shuttle door opened and they
entered. A moment later Hawk landed his ship and was climbing out
when the medical team emerged from the shuttle with the mysterious
woman on a portable stretcher. The old woman was trying to stay with
the medical team but was left behind. Finally the old woman reached
the door that led into the interior of the Searcher. The door opened
and she exited the landing bay only to find herself alone. The
medical team was gone. She stood outside, frantically trying to find
out which way they had gone, asking anyone she saw. They shook their
heads and walked off. She leaned against the wall and started to weep
softly. A moment later Hawk exited the landing bay. Not seeing the
old woman at first, he heard the soft muffled cry. He walked towards
the sound and found her. He slowly walked up to her and gently
removed her hands from her tear stained face. She opened her eyes and
looked up at him.

"I can't find her," she said weeping.

"I'll take you to her," Hawk replied as he placed his arm gently
around her shoulder. He then placed his other hand under the elbow of
her other arm. They began walking. Before long they stopped at the
door to the sick bay. Her eyes fixed on the door that led into the
sick bay.

"Will she be all right?" she asked not taking her eyes off the door.

"The doctor is a good man. He'll do whatever it takes," Hawk replied
as he placed his hand on the control entry panel. The door opened
with a whoosh. Hawk escorted the old woman inside.

Inside the sick bay the nurses were rushing about. Off to the side
were three small exam rooms. Just as one nurse would leave one of the
exam rooms, another would enter. Hawk turned his attention back to
the old woman. He saw in her eyes the desire to be with the young
female, and also her fear of losing her. Hawk walked the old woman to
the corner, close to the exam room. He released her arm, and quickly
found a chair and placed it next to her and assisted her in sitting.
She kept a watchful eye on the exam room door.

"I'm going to talk to the doctor. I'll try to find out how she is and
how bad the injury is. I'll also let him know you are out here for
her," Hawk said as he started to turn towards the exam room.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Hawk walked over to the exam room door, only to be almost knocked
down by a nurse rushing out. The nurse placed his hand on Hawk's
shoulder.
"Sorry Hawk," he said as he continued over to the medical stand to
retrieve more medical supplies. Grabbing the supplies he needed, he
quickly walked past Hawk and back into the exam room. Hawk finally
got a chance to look inside. Standing around the exam bed, Dr.
Goodfellow and all the nurses were working frantically, yelling
orders to one another. Dr. Goodfellow glanced up and seen Hawk
standing in the doorway. He turned to the nurse standing next to him
and said something. He turned away from the exam bed, removed his
surgical gloves and walked quickly over to Hawk.

"How is she?" Hawk asked.

"Not good dear boy. I don't know how she survived an injury like that.
But, if she'd just hold on a little while longer, I'm sure we can
repair all the damages," Goodfellow replied.

"Doctor, this woman is like a family member to that young woman,"
Hawk said motioning towards the old woman.

The doctor turned around to see the old woman trying to stand. He
quickly walked over to her and assisted her.

"How is she?" the old woman asked looking into Dr. Goodfellows eyes.

"I'm not going to lie to you. Right now, we have her stabilized. But,
as severe as her wounds are she could go down very quickly,"
Goodfellow replied.

The old woman turned to Hawk, then back to Goodfellow. "Please! You
have to save her," she cried.

Goodfellow placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'll do the best I can,"
he said as he turned and walked quickly back into the exam room.

The old woman turned to Hawk. "What is your name?" she asked wiping
the tears from her eyes.

"I am Hawk from Throm. What is the woman’s name?" Hawk asked.

"Her name is Lela. She and her people came to Osjewelco from Falka
many years ago," she replied as she sat back down and turned her
attention back to the exam room door.

Hawk leaned against the wall next to the old woman. "Where is this
planet Falka?" Hawk asked.

"It's in the Omaca System, next to the planet Crunos," she replied.

Hawk stood there for a moment. He turned his head and looked at the
old woman. "Can you tell me what happened down there?" Hawk asked.

The old woman turned her gaze back onto Hawk. "It started several
years ago. You might have noticed that there were no men in our
village. Except for a few young boys and old men," the old woman said.

Hawk nodded. "I was wondering about that. Why did those humans attack
you?" Hawk asked.

"They know there's a bird person living among us, but they don't know
where. So about once a week they come in to the village and search
for her. Only this time they attacked us. That was the first time
they had ever done that," the old woman explained.

"Why do they want her?" Hawk asked.

"She is the last of her breed. You and her are a like in some ways.
You both Make-Make. Some of your people have the ability to
see into ones soul and talk by telepathy. But with some of her people
it's the ability to heal. She's a healer," the woman said.

"A healer? What do you mean?" Hawk asked.

"She has the ability to heal others," the old woman said turning her
attention back to the exam room door.

"But if she has these powers, why didn't she heal herself?" Hawk
asked.

"She can't do that. She might be able to mend herself partly, but as
for healing herself completely, no," the old woman replied.

Hawk watched as the old woman started to form tears in her eyes again.
"Please... they must help her," she said as she started to cry openly.

Hawk turned and embraced the old woman. "Dr. Goodfellow will do
everything in his power to help her," Hawk said softly.

Just then one of the nurses came running out of the exam room and
over to the medical tray, grabbing what looked to be a very large
hypodermic. Then running back in to the exam room, only this time
closing the door behind him.

The old woman looked up to Hawk with a scared expression on her face.
"What's wrong? What's happening?" she asked with fear in her voice.

"I do not know," Hawk replied releasing the old woman and walking
towards the exam room.

Just as Hawk got to the door, it opened and out walked Dr. Goodfellow.
He stopped and gazed at Hawk then turned his attention to the old
woman. "I'm sorry.." Was all the doctor could say before the old
woman doubled over in her chair, she cupped her hands over her eyes
and started to cry even harder.

"A New Beginning"
Chapter 5

The doctor walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I
was going to say, I'm sorry but you won't be able to see her today,
she's sleeping right now. She'll be fine, after a lot of rest. The
damage was so severe, that we had to insert a hypodermic needle into
her lungs to help her breath easier," Goodfellow said.

The old woman glanced up at Goodfellow. "You mean she's going to
live?" she asked sobbing.

Goodfellow smiled and nodded his head. "She is one remarkable young
woman. When I was doing the surgery I noticed that where the wounds
were the deepest, they had all ready started to heal," Goodfellow
said looking over at Hawk.

All Hawk could do was smile. Goodfellow looked back over to the old
woman. "I'm going to ask the Admiral for permission for you to stay
in one of the cabins across the hall. You'll be close by and I'll
send someone to get you if she starts waking up," Goodfellow said
watching the old woman's sobbing ease and a smile started to appear.

Goodfellow walked over to the ships intercom. "Sick bay to bridge,"
Goodfellow said glancing back at the old woman.

"Bridge here doctor. How is the young woman?" Asimov asked.

"She's going to make it. Admiral, the woman that came up with her is
here with me. I'd like to put her in one of the cabins across the
hall from the sick bay, in case the young woman wakes up early,"
Goodfellow asked.

"Permission granted. Doctor, is Hawk there with you?" Asimov asked.

Hawk walked over to the intercom. "Yes Admiral, I'm here," Hawk
replied.

"Hawk, I know you want to stay with the woman, but I need you down on
the planet with Buck and Wilma," Asimov said.

"On my way Admiral ... Hawk out," Hawk replied as he switched off the
intercom. He walked back over to the old woman and knelt down in
front of her. "The doctor will see you get anything you might need. I
must go back down to the planet," Hawk said as he stood back up and
started to walk towards the door.

"Thank you," the old woman said softly.

Hawk turned his head slightly, smiled and gave a quick nod of his
head then walked out the door.

"The nurse will show you to your cabin," Goodfellow said motioning
with his hand for one of the nurses. The old woman slowly stood and
started to walk towards the door. She stopped in front of the doctor
and smiled. "Hawk was right. You are a good healer," she said as she
started to leave behind the nurse who was waiting by the door.

Goodfellow could only smile. After the old woman had left, he walked
back into the exam room and kept a vigil eye on Lela. Hawk made his
way to the hanger bay, climbed into the War Hawk and started the
ignition.

"Hawk to Searcher."

"Go ahead Hawk."

"Requesting permission for launch," Hawk asked.

"Permission granted... bridge out."

"Thank you Searcher .. Hawk out."

With in moments Hawk's ship was speeding its way out of the launch
tube and out into space. Down on Osjewelco, Buck and Wilma were
overseeing medical treatment to some of the villagers. A couple of
the security guards were tending to digging graves for the ones that
had died.

"Did you or Hawk see where the intruders might have gone?" Wilma
asked as she wrapped the arm of one of the villagers.

"No, we only found that one, and he was dead. Then we found the woman
tucked under a bush in an open field. They could have gone in any
direction from there. Why do you think they attacked these people?"
Buck asked.

"I don't know Buck. The way these people look and live. I'd say they
don't have any kind of riches. I'd say they might have been looking
for something or someone." Wilma hung her head for a moment then
looked up at Buck again. "But why did they kill that woman and her
child?" she asked.

"I don't know Wilma. But if I know Hawk, he's going to want to find
out. Especially since one of them was his kind," Buck replied.

"We can't allow that Buck. You know what will happen if Hawk takes
matters into his own hands," Wilma said looking into Buck's eyes.

"I know, especially if she doesn't make it," Buck replied.

A few moments later, Buck and Wilma see the War Hawk approaching over
the ridge where they landed their ships. Hawk landed his ship and
shut down the engines.

Hawk climbed out and started to walk towards Buck and Wilma. Looking
at the injured women and children along the way. His mind kept
flashing back to his village. Seeing his friends and family lying on
the ground dead. Hawk stopped and looked at a young girl who was
crying over her mothers body. Hawk hung his head and shook it in
disbelief. "Why? Why these women and children?" Hawk asked himself
softly. Hawk could feel the rage building up inside him, he closed
his eyes, closed up his hands into fists and squeezed them tightly.
"They'll pay for this!" he said loudly.

Buck walked over to Hawk. Seeing the anger in his face, Buck placed
his hand on Hawk's shoulder. "We'll find who did this," Buck said.

Hawk looked at Buck with a gazed look in his eyes. "How could they do
this to women and children? Why?" Hawk asked glancing over at the
young girl with her dead mother.

"I don't know my friend. Come on, lets see if we can help anymore of
these people," Buck said as he started to walk towards Wilma who was
bandaging another women's leg.

Hawk reluctantly followed looking back over his shoulder watching the
burial detail gently lift the woman's body and carefully carried it
to the burial site, followed by her crying daughter.

"Hawk, how is the woman?" Wilma asked.

Hawk turned his attention back to Wilma and Buck.

"The doctor said she'll make it if she gets a lot of rest. The old
woman that came up with her is staying on board in case she wakes
up," Hawk replied as he turned to watch them place her body into the
grave. Hawk lowered his head and started praying in his ancestors
language.

"Hawk.. Hawk? Did the old woman say why they attacked them?" Wilma
asked.

Hawk raised his head and gave a light nod. "Yes, they were hunting
for her, for Lela. They want her because she's the last of her kind,
a healer," Hawk replied.

Buck and Wilma glanced at each other for a moment. "A healer?" Wilma
asked.

"In my people, some have the ability to see into ones soul. With her
people, there are healers. She has the ability to heal anyone that
may become ill or injured," Hawk replied.

"So that's why they attacked and started killing these women and
children? Because of her?" Wilma asked looking around at all the
damage.

"The old woman said that they come about once every seven days trying
to find her. She said that this was the first time they had ever
attacked. The people here will not give her to them. They would
rather die than betray her," Hawk replied.

"If they've been coming that long, why did they attack them this
time?" Wilma asked.

"I don't know," Hawk replied.

"Buck, Hawk, I want you to take your fighters and scout the area. See
if you can find where they went. Back track to where you found Lela
and go from there. If you have to, search the whole planet. They
couldn't have disappeared into thin air. They must be on this planet
somewhere," Wilma said. Buck and Hawk nodded towards each other and
headed for their fighters.

As they were about to climb in a injured young woman ran up to Hawk.

"Are you going to search for the Kalans?" she asked.

Hawk stepped down off of his fighter and approached the woman. "Is
that what you call them, the Kalans?" Hawk asked.

"Yes, I wanted to tell you to search in the west, by the coast.
There's a small city there. I've over heard them talking several
times about it," she replied.

Hawk placed his hand on the woman's should. "Thank you," he said as
he turned and walked quickly over to Buck. "That woman told me that
she's over heard the intruders talking about a place on the coast to
the west of here. Maybe we should check there first," Hawk said.

"Good idea, if these people are as devoted to Lela as much as the old
woman said they are. They should want to help. Did she say anything
else?" Buck asked.

"No," Hawk replied.

"Well, let’s go check this place out," Buck replied as he closed the
hatch to his fighter.

Hawk made his way back to the War Hawk and climbed in, closing the
hatch. With in a few moments Buck and Hawk were heading west.

Chapter 6

A short time later both fighters reached the coast. Surprised to find
that they didn't need clearance to land. Buck flew his fighter over
the main part of the city. Hawk, being a little more cautious flew
the War Hawk over the city at a higher altitude, casting a giant
shadow over the city in the form of a bird of prey. People in the
city gazed up to see what was casting the shadow, only to see the
outline of a giant bird. Buck was first to land in a small clearing
between the city and the coastline, followed by Hawk. They climbed
out of their fighters simultaneously and walked towards one another.

"This isn't going to be easy trying to find those men who attacked
that village in this large city. I guess we'll have to keep our eyes
and ears open," Buck said glancing over at Hawk.

"Keep our ears open?" Hawk asked looking a little puzzled.

Buck smiled and placed his hand on Hawk's shoulder. "It's a figure of
speech where I came from. It means, to listen carefully to
everything that's being said around us," Buck replied.

"Why can't you humans just say, listen to everything being said?"
Hawk asked shaking his head.

Buck smiled and pointed in the direction of the city. "Let's see what
we can find out," Buck said as they started to walk towards the city.

As they entered the outskirts of city, the first thing Hawk and Buck
noticed were that the people lived in small run down buildings with
little or no walls. It looked like half of the homes didn't even have
a roof on the buildings. Their clothes were torn and ragged. The
children played on a filth layered road. Almost all of them looked
malnourished. Buck and Hawk stopped and saw a small child walking
towards them pulling his little sister with him. The child stopped in
front of them.

"Do you want to buy my sister? She'll be a good worker when she gets
older. She'll work very hard for you," the boy said.

Hawk and Buck turned and faced one another with a shocked expression
on their face. They turned and looked at the boy again.

"Why do you want to sell your sister?" Hawk asked as he knelt down.

"Our mother and father said there are too many mouths to feed. So I
wanted to sell my sister so we can all eat," the boy replied.

"How old are you?" Buck asked.

"I'm eight years old. My sister here is five. Then my older brother
is twelve and my older sister is fifteen," the boy replied.

"And your parents want you to sell your little sister so they can
eat?" Hawk asked.

The boy shook his head in a negative manner. Buck and Hawk turned to
one another again and shook their heads.

"Where are your mother and father?" Buck asked looking around.

"They're at work, in the fields. They work all day. They won't be
home until about sunset," the boy replied.

"What do they do with the money they get for working?" Hawk asked.

"They buy as much food as they can. But, it's not enough for all of
us," the boy replied hanging his head.

"Do you really want to sell your sister?" Buck asked.

"No, I love my little sister," the boy replied.

"Where's your older brother and sister?" Hawk asked.

"They're working in the fields also. They go to work at sunrise and
come home about sunset," the boy said.

Buck smiled and patted the boy on his shoulder. "Who is in charge in
the city?" Buck asked.

"We don't really have anyone in charge. We have three guardians who
keep the peace here. One lives on that mountain in a cave." The boy
pointed towards a mountain to the south. "Then the others live in
caves up on their mountains to the north and east," the boy said.

"Why do they live up there in caves instead of in town?" Hawk asked.

"Haven't you ever seen our guardians?" the boy asked cocking his head
to one side.

"No, we're new here. Why? What do they look like?" Buck asked with a
curious look on his face.

"They kind of look like very large birds with a long tail and long
neck to me," the boy replied.

"Big birds?" Hawk asked.

"Yes, they're tall and have really big wings. They fly around our
planet and make sure no one is causing any trouble," the boy replied.

Buck placed his hand on the boy's back. "Take your sister home," Buck
said with an understanding smile.

Hawk stood and glanced over at Buck.

"A giant bird? What kind of creature would look like that?" Hawk
asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"I don't know my friend. Maybe we can find out more in town," Buck
replied.

As they turned and started to walk towards the city, a giant shadow
fell over them. They looked up and all they could see was an outline
of a creature that looked like a giant bird. They stood and watched
it glide effortlessly over head. Then with one more flap of its wings,
it was gone from sight.

"That must have been one of the guardians the boy was talking about.
In a way it looked like something from my old Earth. But, that can't
be possible. They died out millions of years ago," Buck said with a
puzzled expression on his face.

"What did it look like? That creature you were just talking about,"
Hawk asked.

"Never mind. It's impossible. Let's get to the city and see what we
can find out," Buck replied.

Buck and Hawk made their way in to town. Being surprised that no one
paid any attention to them as they walked about. They came up on an
older gentleman looking at some fruit at a stand, just outside of a
small store.

"Excuse me sir. Could you tell us where we might find some people
known only as the Kalans?" Buck asked politely.

The older gentleman turned and faced Buck and Hawk with a look of
fear on his face. "I don't want to get involved." Was all he said as
he turned and walked away.

Buck turned to Hawk. "He looked like he was too scared to tell us
anything. Maybe these Kalans have some pull in this city," Buck said.

Buck and Hawk walked through out the city asking about everyone they
came across. Some gave the same response, while others just walked
off quickly. But, they all had the same look on their faces, the look
of fear. When night fell, the city streets became completely
deserted. Buck and Hawk had just started to walk back to their
fighters when a young woman appeared in an alley-way.

"You are looking for the Kalans?" she whispered.

Buck and Hawk walked over to her. "Yes, do you know where we might
find them?" Buck asked.

"They are not from here. That is why the guardians can not find them.
Today in the square, you asked people where they were at. They ran
or were silent, right?" she asked.

"Yes. Why are your people so frightened of them?" Hawk asked.

"They came from the outside of the city to look for a woman. A
bird woman like yourself. They want her, for reasons not known to me.
They say if we turn over the woman, the attacks will stop," the woman
said.

"Earlier today, they attacked a village not far from here. They
killed some the woman and children there. We found the bird woman.
She's now up on our ship being tended to by the doctor," Hawk replied.

"She lives?" the woman asked with a sigh of relief in her voice.

"Yes, she's alive and doing well. Please if you can, tell us all you
know about these Kalans and these guardians," Hawk asked.

The woman looked around and motioned for them to follow. "I must not
be seen talking to you. If the Kalans find out, they will kill me."
She hesitated for a moment "Follow me, I know a safe place to talk,"
she said as she turned and started to walk down the alley.

Buck and Hawk followed the woman to a small shack at the other end of
the alley. She glanced around then opened the door, motioning for
them to enter. After they entered, she followed closing the door
behind her. She made her way over to a small old wooden table, pick
up and lit a candle, placing it back down on table. She then walked
around and closed all the ragged curtains.

"Now we may talk," she said.

"Why are you and these people afraid of the Kalans?" Buck asked.

"Many years ago, Lela and her people came to this planet. They never
did no harm to anyone. In fact, if any one here became ill or
injured, it was always one of them to come down off the mountain to
heal them. We never asked them for help. We never sent anyone up the
mountain to get them. They always knew. Then one day, the Kalans
came..." She hung her head and tears started to form.

"Please, tell us the rest," Hawk said softly.

The woman looked up at Hawk and Buck. "They started killing everyone
of them, for no reason," she said weeping.

Hawk and Buck glanced over at one another. "Just like on Throm," Hawk
said.

Buck nodded.

"Please continue," Buck said.

The woman glanced up at Buck. "That was when the guardians appeared.
We don't know where they came from. Or how long they've lived on this
planet. All I know is what the legend says. That the day evil comes
to Osjewelco the guardians will awaken and seek out the bringers of
death. We have seen the guardians shadows flying overhead looking for
the Kalans. But the Kalans disappear after each attack," the woman
replied.

"Who or what are these guardians we keep hearing about?" Buck asked.

The woman looked over at Buck. "They are just...guardians," she
replied.

"Have you ever seen these guardians? Can you tell us what they look
like?" Buck asked.

The woman shook her head. "No, I have not seen them. Only the shadow
they cast over the city when they fly over it," the woman replied.

"They? Are there more than one?" Hawk asked.

The woman turned and faced Hawk. "Yes, there are three of them," she
replied.

Buck and Hawk started to walk towards the door. "Thank you for your
help, we should go. We don't want anyone to know you helped us," Buck
said.

"You must climb the south mountain. The guardian there might be able
to help you," she said softly as they were about to open the door.

Buck and Hawk left quietly and quickly as to not draw attention to
the woman's home. As they headed for the outside of the city where
the fighters were hidden. Buck stopped and turned to Hawk.

"We'll start up the mountain in the morning. We have to get back to
the fighters and report in to the Searcher," Buck said.

Hawk nodded. They walked quietly back to the fighters and made camp.
Buck called up to the Searcher and informed the Admiral what they had
found out and about the guardians.

"Permission granted. But use caution. We don't know these guardians
and they do not know us. They might think of us as a threat," Asimov
said.

"Understood Admiral... Buck out."

The next morning Buck and Hawk started to climb the south side of the
mountain. Amazingly there was a small but narrow path leading almost
all the way to the top.

Chapter 7

As Hawk and Buck approached the top of the mountain, they came across
a large cave opening. They glanced over at one another and slowly
entered, stopping just inside to allow their eyes to adjust to the
darkness. They continued walking deeper into the cave. Up ahead they
could see a flickering of light. They slowly walked towards it. As
they got closer, a shadow darted past the opening. Buck and Hawk
stopped and drew their weapons for the first time on this planet.
Moving more cautiously, they continued walking towards the flickering
light. As they approached the chamber which the light was coming
from, they found it opened up into a much larger cavern. Lit torches
lined the walls about every ten feet. They walked into the center of
the cavern, and could see another large opening on the other side.
With weapons still drawn, Buck and Hawk started to walk towards it.

Then out from the darkness.

"Who has entered this dwelling?" a voice asked.

Buck and Hawk stopped cold and circled one another, searching the
cavern, trying to find where the voice came from.

"I ask again. Who enters this dwelling?" the voice asked again.

Buck and Hawk turned to the opening and saw a pair of yellow eyes
glowing in the dark.

"My name is Buck Rogers, this is Hawk. Someone in the city told us
that maybe the guardian who lives here might be able to help us,"
Buck replied.

"I am the one they call Ghost." The voice hesitated. "You are not
from here. What is it you want?" the voice asked.

Buck and Hawk stepped forward a few steps and placed their weapons
back into their holsters."We are looking for some people called the
Kalans. They attacked and murdered some women and children in a small
village not far from here. They were searching for a bird woman
named Lela," Buck explained.

"Lela? Is she alive?" the voice asked in a worried tone.

"She is," Hawk replied.

A moment later Ghost slowly came out from the dark. He stood straight
up and stretched out his wings. Buck stood there amazed at the site.
Ghost threw his head back and let out a roar. His wing span was about
eighteen feet in width, he stood about twelve feet tall from ground
to shoulders. On top of his head were two horns that looked about ten
inches long. Ghost folded his wings back down like a large bird and
started to walk towards them. Buck, not sure of what to make of it
backed up a few steps. Hawk stood his ground with a smile on his face.

"You, feathered one. You do not fear me?" Ghost asked walking up to
Hawk.

"No. I do not fear a brother," Hawk replied.

"Brother? I have not been called brother for a very long time. Why do
you call me brother?" Ghost asked looking Hawk in the eyes.

"We are the same, you and I," Hawk replied.

Ghost and Hawk stared into each others eyes for a long time. Finally
Ghost broke his eye contact with Hawk.

"You are a guardian, a protector as I am," Ghost said raising his
head up once again. Ghost looked over towards Buck. Who was still
amazed to see this creature that had been extinct on Earth millions
of years. "You are his brother, yet you do not look the same," Ghost
said.

"We are brothers not by blood, but by friendship," Hawk replied.

Ghost slowly turned and started walking back to the large opening.
"You are his brother, you are my brother also. Come," Ghost said as
he walked back in to the cavern.

Hawk and Buck glanced at one another then followed. Inside the other
cavern standing tall were the other guardians. Ghost walked over and
stood beside them. Hawk and Buck stood before them.

"These are our brothers. They too are hunting for the Kalans. Our
healer's village has been attacked and Lela has been injured," Ghost
announced.

"I am Nemna, is Lela well?" Nemna asked.

Hawk stepped forward. "She was badly injured, but she will live,"
Hawk replied.

"We knew of the attack on Lela's village. We have searched for these
attackers since it happened, with no prevail. Why do you seek them?"
Nemna asked.

Buck stepped forward a few steps. "We are from the Research Vessel
Searcher. We came to your planet only to investigate a report of a
disturbance. We came upon Lela's village as the Kalans were attacking.
We followed them to a clearing not far from the village, but lost
them. That is where Hawk and I found Lela," Buck replied.

The guardians glanced at one another. "What will you do with the
Kalans, if you find them?" the third guardian asked.

"That will be up to you or who ever is in charge of Osjewelco," Buck
replied.

Finally the third guardian came out from the dark. His skin was faded
grey and wrinkled.

"I am Mathayis, leader of the guardians. You may stay and assist in
finding the attackers. But, when and if you find them you must bring
them before us. Is that understood?" Mathayis asked.

"We understand and will do as you ask," Hawk replied.

"It is getting late. You are welcome to stay in the outer chamber, if
you like. It is time for us to feed," Mathayis said.

"Thank you," Hawk replied.

Ghost, Mathayis and Nemna took turns flapping their wings as each
left the cavern, with in moments all three were gone. Buck and Hawk
turned around and left the inner chamber.

"I can't believe what I just saw," Buck said.

Hawk turned his head and looked at Buck "What?" Hawk asked.

"The guardians.. they've been extinct on Earth for millions of years.
Now to find three of them here, alive and living on this planet. It's
amazing," Buck said with excitement in his voice.

Hawk stood looking at Buck. "Why does that surprise you?" Hawk asked.

Buck looked at Hawk. "They are not suppose to be alive." Buck
hesitated. "Hawk, these guardians and their kind lived on Earth
millions of years ago. They were considered myths by some and
ed by others," Buck said.

"You mean man didn't have a chance to kill them off?" Hawk asked with
a bitter tone in his voice.

Buck glanced over at Hawk with a surprised look on his face. But he
understood why Hawk said it. "Hawk, these guardians lived before and
at the beginning of man. They ruled the skies back in their time,"
Buck said.

Hawk walked over to the opening of the inner cavern and sat down
against the wall. "We should get some rest," Hawk said as he closed
his eyes.

Buck stood there for a moment then sat down on the other side of the
opening. "I can't believe they are still alive," Buck said softly to
himself. Shortly after, Buck drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Buck opened his eyes to see one of the guardians
standing before Hawk. He wasn't saying a word, just staring. Hawk in
return was staring back. Buck slowly stood and started to walk slowly
towards Hawk and the guardian. But before he got to them the
guardian raised his head and nodded towards Hawk.

"I will do as you ask," Hawk said.

The guardian turned and with one flap of his giant wings flew out of
the cavern. Buck walked closer to Hawk.

"What did you mean by, I'll do as you ask? I didn't hear a word from
the guardian," Buck asked.

Hawk stood and walked over to the opening of the cavern and looked
out. "I have to gather a few things. Then we'll head for the fighters.
I have to check on Lela for them," Hawk replied as he started to walk
down the small narrow path that lead them to the cavern the day
before.

Buck followed closely. Not sure of what went on between Hawk and the
guardian, he caught up with Hawk.

"What did the guardian ask you to do?" Buck asked.

Hawk glanced over at Buck, smiled and continued walking. They made
their way back to the beach where they had left their fighters the
day before and climbed into them. With in minutes, both were heading
back out into space.

"Buck to Searcher."

"This is Wilma... Buck are you okay? The Admiral has been worried
about you and Hawk. We haven't heard from you since yesterday. Is
everything all right?" Wilma asked.

"Yes, we're fine. We're returning to the Searcher. We have to talk to
the Admiral upon arrival," Buck replied.

"Understood. I'll inform him you're on your way back. Is there
anything else?" Wilma asked.

"Wilma, how is Lela?" Hawk asked.

"I haven't heard anything Hawk," Wilma replied.

"I'll talk to you soon Wilma .. Buck out."

Buck glanced over to Hawk's ship. "Hawk, what did the guardian asked
you to do?" Buck asked.

Hawk glanced over at Buck's fighter.
"Mathayis asked me to make something, that's all," Hawk replied.

"What did he ask you to make?" Buck asked out of curiosity.

"A harness," Hawk replied.

"A harness? Did he say why?" Buck asked.

"No," Hawk replied with a smile on his face. After a few more moments
the fighters arrived at the Searcher.

"Buck to Searcher.. Requesting landing bay."

"Searcher to Buck.. Land in landing bay 4 and 6.. Searcher out."

"Landing bays 4 and 6.. acknowledged.. Buck out."

Buck and Hawk landed in their assigned bay and exited the hanger.
They headed for the bridge to report to the Admiral about what they
had found. As they walked onto the bridge they headed directly to the
bridge meeting room.

"Well gentlemen, What happened down there?" the Admiral asked.

"When we arrived on the outside of a small village we heard weapons
being fired. We went in to the village to find it was being attacked
by some humans called the Kalans. On Wilma's orders, Hawk and I
followed the attackers to a field where we lost their tracks but came
across Lela, the woman in the sick bay. When we got into the city we
talked to a woman that said that the guardians might be able to
assist us in finding the Kalans. We went to up the mountain hoping to
talk to the guardians," Buck said.

"And did you find these guardians?" Asimov asked.

"Yes sir, we did," Hawk replied.

"Well, will they assist you in finding these attackers?" Asimov asked.

"Yes sir," Buck replied.

Buck and Hawk started to tell the Admiral about the guardians.

Down in sick bay, the old woman had gone to her quarters to get some
rest. Lela had started to stir. Dr. Goodfellow was sitting at his
desk when he heard her soft moan. He stood up and walked over to her
bed and watched as she started to open her eyes.
At first, her sight was a little blurry, but as her sight focused
more she say what looked like an outline of a human standing over her.
She gasped and screamed. She sat up so quickly that the nurses didn't
have time to grab hold of her to restrain her. She slid off the bed
and started to back up into a corner of the room. She saw what
appeared to be a small knife, she grabbed it and held it out as if
trying to protect herself. Goodfellow tried everything he could think
of to calm the scared woman down. Finally not having any luck he made
his way to the ship's intercom.

"Hawk, report to sick bay immediately," the doctor said loudly.

The nurses tried to calm Lela down. She stayed close to the corner
with the scalpel held out in front of her. Her eyes locked on the
doctor and the nurses. Just then the sick bay door opened and in
walked another nurse. Lela seeing where the door was, started to walk
slowly towards it holding the scalpel out in front of herself as a
warning to the doctor and nurses.
She had her back towards the door as she backed up. Just then the
door opened again and Hawk walked in. The doctor and nurse started to
back off. Lela thinking that it was safe lowered the scalpel a little
and started to turn around. As she did she came face to face with
Hawk.
Her eyes still filled with fear seem to soften at the sight of Hawk.
She lowered the scalpel completely. Hawk stood there for a moment
then reached his hand out to her. She glanced back at the doctor and
nurses then turned her gaze back to Hawk. She slowly raised the
scalpel and handed it to him.

"They will not harm you, Lela," Hawk said softly.

Lela stood there for a few moments. "You know my name?" she asked
quietly.

"Yes," Hawk replied.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Hawk. You were injured when the Kalans attacked your village.
Do you remember?" Hawk asked.

Lela closed her eyes for a moment then looked back up at Hawk.

"I remember my friends telling me to run towards the caves. I turned
and felt a burning sensation in my stomach. I started to run but then
my stomach was hurting so bad I found a small bush and crawled under
it. Then I covered myself up with leaves and twigs the best I could. I
remember I cried out in pain a couple of time. I picked up a branch
and bite down on it every time the pain got worse. I remember you and
a human finding me. That's all I remember," Lela said.

Doctor Goodfellow walked slowly over to Hawk and Lela. Lela still
frightened, backed up and stood next to Hawk as if wanting him to
protect her from this human.

"This is Dr. Goodfellow. He will not harm you. He's the one that has
been taking care of you since we brought you on board," Hawk informed
her.

"Hawk, maybe Lela would feel more comfortable if she had a friend of
hers with her," Goodfellow said glancing towards the door.

"Lela, a friend of yours came up here with you. I would like you to
sit on this bed while I go get her," Hawk said.

"A friend? Who?" Lela asked confused.

Hawk smiled, walked Lela over to her bed and helped her into it, he
turned and walked out the door. A moment later the door opened and
Hawk escorted in the old woman.

"Lela!" the old woman shouted as she walked over to Lela.

"Mayra!" Lela replied with excitement in her voice as they embraced
one another.

Chapter 8

Goodfellow walked over and stood next to Hawk.

"All right my dear, you must get back into bed and rest. I don't want
those wounds to open up." Goodfellow turned to Mayra. "You may stay
with her if you'd like. But she must stay in bed," Goodfellow said.

"You heard the doctor, you must rest," Mayra said trying to help Lela
back into bed.

Lela turned to Hawk. "You never did answer my question. How did you
know my name?" Lela asked.

"I told him," Mayra replied.

Just then the sick bay door opened and Buck entered. He slowly walked
over and stood next to Hawk.

"How is she doing?" Buck asked.

"She'll make a full recovery, if she does what the doctor says,"
Goodfellow said jokingly.

Lela smiled and slowly pulled her legs up onto the bed and covered up.
" You are the one called Buck?" Lela asked softly.

"Yes, how are you feeling?" Buck asked smiling.

"I feel much better, thank you. Hawk tells me it was you who also
found me," Lela said.

"It was Hawk who heard you under the bushes. So I guess you can say
it was him who actually found you," Buck said.

"But, you are the one that went for help, right?" Lela asked.

"Yes," Buck replied.

"All right you two. You have to leave so Lela can get some rest. You
can come back in a few hours to check on her, if you want,"
Goodfellow said.

"The doctor is right, you must get your rest. I'll be back later to
talk to you. I must go speak to the Admiral about something," Hawk
said as he turned and started heading towards the door.

"What do you have to speak to the Admiral about?" Buck asked,
following Hawk.

"About a few things I need from the supply room," Hawk replied.

Buck stood there for a moment with a confused expression on his face.
This was the first time Hawk didn't tell him what he was up to.

Hawk turned and smiled at Lela and Mayra. "I'll come back later. We
have many things to talk about," Hawk said.

Lela smiled back. "I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere," she replied
jokingly.

Hawk made his way up to the bridge. Upon entering, he was greeted by
Wilma and the Admiral.

"How is the woman doing? Has she woken up yet?" Asimov asked.

"Yes sir, she woke up a little while ago. She'll be fine as long as
she does what the doctor tells her to do and stays in bed," Hawk
replied.

"Have you got to talk to her about what happened?" Asimov asked.

"No sir, not yet." Hawk hesitated for a moment. "Sir, can I talk to
you in private?" Hawk asked.

Asimov glanced over at Hawk and could see by his expression that he
really needed to speak to him.

"Of course," Asimov replied as he started to walk towards the meeting
room. The door opened and they both entered. Asimov motioned for
Hawk to sit. Asimov walked around his desk and seated himself.

"What is it, Hawk?" the Admiral asked.

"Sir, I would like permission to get some supplies from the supply
room," Hawk said.

"What kind of supplies?" Asimov asked.

"Sir, while Buck and I were with the guardians, one of them asked me
to make two harnesses. One for myself and one for another pilot,"
Hawk replied.

"What do you want two harnesses for?" Asimov asked confused.

"They want to help us find the Kalans. It seems that the Kalans have
very good hearing and could hear our fighters coming from more than 2
miles away, which gives them time to hide. The guardian suggested I
make the harnesses, one for myself and one for another pilot. Then we
would ride on their backs to search for the Kalans. They make no
sound while in flight, therefore the Kalans would not hear them
coming. The guardians are determined to find the men that attacked
and injured Lela and killed more than half of the women and children
in her village. But they know they can't do it alone, they need an
extra set of eyes, sir," Hawk explained.

Asimov leaned back in his chair and studied Hawk's face for a moment.

"You mean they want you and another pilot to ride on their backs?"
the Admiral asked.

"Yes sir," Hawk replied.

"Who is the second pilot that you or the guardians requested?" Asimov
asked.

Hawk stood up and started to slowly pace the floor. "It has to be
someone that has experience in flying and who would feel comfortable
riding on the back of one of the guardians," Hawk replied.

"I can think of several people who have the experience in flying, but
feeling comfortable flying on the back of a dragon? That might take
some time," Asimov replied.

"Sir, I know of only one person who has the experience and that could
be trained quickly," Hawk replied looking towards the Admiral.

"Who?" the Admiral asked.

"Buck," Hawk replied.

"Buck? Are you sure he would go through with it? Let's say Buck
doesn't want to do it, who would be your next pick?" Asimov asked
leaning forward in his chair.

"I'd say that would be Wilma. She's an excellent pilot and she's
strong-willed and tough. I think she wouldn't have any fear at all
riding on the back of one of the guardians," Hawk replied.

Asimov leaned back again and rubbed his chin. "Do you want to ask
Buck?" the Admiral asked.

"Yes, sir. But first, I must get started on making those harnesses,"
Hawk replied.

"All right Hawk, go get the supplies you need," Asimov said standing
up and walking out from behind his desk.

"Thank you, Admiral," Hawk replied standing.

Hawk left the meeting room and headed for the supply room.

"Admiral, what did Hawk want to talk to you about?" Wilma asked.

The Admiral smiled and walked over to her. "Wilma, are you afraid of
trying anything new?" the Admiral asked.

"Sir?" Wilma replied with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Are you afraid of trying something new?" the Admiral repeated.

"No, sir, why?" Wilma asked.

"I'm sure Buck will refuse to do what Hawk is asking. He has chosen
you as an alternate," Asimov replied.

"An alternate for what sir?" Wilma asked.

Asimov smiled and walked back over to the control console. Hawk was
about to enter the supply room when Buck caught up to him.

"Where you going?" Buck asked.

"Inside, I have to get the supplies I need to make those harnesses,"
Hawk replied.

The door to the supply room opened and Hawk and Buck entered. Hawk
walked over to the small counter and waited for Henderson to walk
over.

"Hello Hawk. Do you need something?" he asked.

"Yes, I need you to cut me off two pieces of the Akenan leather about
six feet long each, four of the six inch "L" shaped steel rods,
about eight feet of your strongest two inch line and two of the
forty-eight inch steel rings," Hawk replied.

Henderson started to gather Hawk's order. Buck stood there with a
strange look on his face.

"What is all that stuff for?" Buck asked.

"It's for the two harnesses that I need to make," Hawk replied
looking towards Buck. "How do you feel about flying on the back of
one of the guardians?" Hawk asked.

Buck looked over at his friend with a shocked look on his face. "What
did you say?" Buck asked, wanting to make sure he heard Hawk right.

"How do you feel about riding on the back of one of the guardians?"
Hawk repeated.

"Are you serious?" Buck asked.

"Yes, dead serious," Hawk replied.

"Are we going to be looking for the people that attacked Lela's
village?" Buck asked.

"Yes. The fighters make too much noise. So Mathayis came up with this
idea. Have two riders on the back of two of the guardians as an extra
set of eyes. The attackers won't be able to hear the guardians flying
over-head, which will give us a better chance at finding them." Hawk
looked into Buck's eyes. "Are you up to it?" Hawk asked.

Buck thought for a moment. "When do we start?" Buck asked with a
smile.

Hawk smiled back. "As soon as I get these harnesses made, we can go
down and practice flying on their backs," Hawk replied.

"Why only two guardians? There are three of them. Wouldn't it be
better if we had three extra sets of eyes?" Buck asked.

"I think Mathayis might be too old to try to carry a person on his
back." Hawk thought for a moment. "But, maybe if that person as
smaller and lighter, he might be able to," Hawk said.

"Smaller and lighter? Like who?" Buck asked.

"Wilma.. if she's willing to do it," Hawk replied.

"Remember the way she looked when those attackers murdered those
innocent women and children? I have a feeling she'd do it in a heart
beat," Buck replied.

"Do me a favor, take these supplies to your quarters. I want to go
talk to the Admiral and Wilma about it and then go down and talk to
Mathayis," Hawk said as he turned and started to walk out of the
supply room.

He made his way back up to the bridge and found Wilma standing at her
post. The Admiral was busy ordering more scans of the planet.

"Admiral, may I speak to you and Wilma for a moment?" Hawk asked as
he walked over to Wilma.

The Admiral walked over and joined him and Wilma.

"Buck didn't want to do it huh?" Asimov asked.

"No sir, Buck wants to. But, he brought up the idea of having three
riders instead of two. One of the guardians is very old and can't
really carry to much weight. I was hoping with your and Wilma's
permission, having Wilma ride the third," Hawk said looking over
towards Wilma.

"Me? Ride what?" Wilma asked.

"On the back of one of the guardians," Hawk replied.

Wilma turned to face Hawk. "You mean, you want me to ride on one of
those dragons?" Wilma asked.

Hawk nodded.

With in moments Wilma had a smile on her face. "I'd really like to
help, Hawk, but I've never ridden on any thing like that before,"
Wilma replied blushing.

"Neither has Buck or myself. We'll go down to the planet and take
some lessons close to the ground at first, then we'll practice flying
higher." Hawk turned towards the Admiral. "That is, if it's all
right with you, Admiral?" Hawk asked.

Asimov turned towards Wilma. "Do you think you could handle something
new?" he asked.

Wilma turned towards the Admiral. "Yes sir, I think I can," Wilma
replied smiling.

"Admiral, I'd like to go talk to Mathayis about it first. I want to
make sure he'll be able to carry someone as small as Wilma," Hawk
said.

"Of course in fact, take Wilma with you so he could see her," Asimov
replied.

Hawk and Wilma left the bridge and headed for the hanger.

"We'll take the War Hawk," Hawk said.

They walked over to it; Hawk opened the hatch and assisted Wilma in.
Hawk climbed in and started the engine.

"Hawk to Searcher."

"Hawk, this is Asimov."

"Sir, requesting permission to launch."

"Permission granted. Searcher out."

With in seconds the lights in the launch tube lit up and thrust the
War Hawk out into space.

Chapter 9


Hawk and Wilma descended to the planet below.

"What are these guardians like?" Wilma asked.

Hawk smiled. "You'll have to see for yourself," he replied.

As they came over a small mountain ridge, Hawk noticed a small, flat
plateau on top of the mountain.

"We'll land there and walk down to the opening of the cave," Hawk
said, as he pointed to the plateau.

Hawk started the landing sequence and set the War Hawk down. He
opened the hatch and climbed out, then turned and assisted Wilma as
she exited his fighter. They started to walk across the plateau
towards the edge. Wilma stopped in her tracks when she heard a loud
roar and the ground beneath her feet started to shift. She grabbed a
hold of Hawk's arm to study herself. She looked over at Hawk.

"What was that?" she asked with a concerned expression on her face.

"That was one of the guardians," Hawk replied patting her hand in
reassurance.

"Hawk, I don't know if I can do this," Wilma said nervously.

Hawk turned and looked into Wilma's eyes. "Wilma, ever since I first
met you, I knew you were a strong and courageous woman. I saw the
expression on your face when you saw that woman and child being
murdered. I also saw the determination in your eyes to protect the
people in the village and seek out their attackers. These guardians
need our help as much as we need theirs to find the ones who did
that." Hawk turned his eyes to the skies for a moment, then turned
his attention back to Wilma. "Please Wilma, help us?" Hawk pleaded.

Wilma stood there looking into Hawk's pleading eyes. She glanced down
at the ground for only a moment then looked back into Hawk's eyes.
"Let's go talk to the guardians," Wilma said softly.

Hawk smiled and gave a light nod. Together they made their way down
to the opening of the cave. Hawk took the lead once they arrived just
outside of the outer cavern and they proceeded in. As they began to
enter the second cavern, he noticed that the torches were still lit
on the walls. Wilma stayed close behind Hawk.

"Who enters this dwelling?" a voice from the dark asked.

"It is Hawk. We've come to speak to Mathayis," Hawk replied.

"Welcome Hawk, enter," the voice said.

Hawk and Wilma started to enter the dark cavern. Once inside of the
second chamber, Wilma heard what appeared to be someone taking a
long, deep breath. Then all of a sudden a blast of fire shot out and
lit the center torch. There, standing on slightly raised ground stood
Mathayis and Nemna. Ghost walked over and stood next to them.

"Welcome Hawk." Mathayis glanced over at Wilma and started to walk
towards her. "Who is your companion?" Mathayis asked.

"This is Wilma, she's a protector, like us," Hawk replied.

"Welcome Wilma," Mathayis said.

"Thank you," Wilma replied smiling.

"Mathayis, Buck thought of something that might increase our chances
of finding the Kalans. But, I wanted to talk to you about it first,"
Hawk said.

Mathayis turned his attention back to Hawk. "What is it?" Mathayis
asked.

"It's about having three riders instead of two. Wilma is light and
has no fear of living flight. Maybe she could ride on your back?"
Hawk asked.

Mathayis turned and walked back to the others. "I'm afraid that would
be impossible. It's not that I wouldn't, it's just that I can't. My
strength is almost gone." Mathayis hung his head. "It's almost time
for me to die. But, there are two others," Mathayis said lifting his
head.

"Two others?" Hawk asked.

"Yes, one of them might be willing to carry Wilma," Mathayis replied.

"They? I thought you three were the only ones?" Hawk asked confused.

"No, there are two others. They will be the mates of Nemna and Ghost.
Our kind will live on through them," Mathayis replied.

"Do you think one of them would carry Wilma?" Hawk asked.

"That, I do not know. You must seek them out in the high mountains to
the south. You must ask them for help," Mathayis relied.

Wilma took a few steps forward. "How do we get there?" Wilma asked.

Mathayis looked over at Wilma. "You go south, across the seas. They
wait on an island. But, the mountains are too high for you to climb,"
Mathayis said.

"We'll find them," Wilma replied.

Mathayis turned to Hawk. "Did you complete the task I asked of you?"
Mathayis asked.

"No, not yet. We had to come and ask you that question first. When we
return to the Searcher, I will complete it," Hawk replied.

Mathayis hung his head. "How is Lela?" he asked.

"She will live. When I last saw her, she was sitting up in bed," Hawk
replied.

Wilma placed her hand on Hawk's shoulder. "Hawk, we must go find the
other dragons. We're running out of time," Wilma said softly.

"Wilma is right, you must hurry," Ghost replied stepping forward.

"Wilma, you and Hawk came down in a ship, right?" Ghost asked.

"Yes, it's up on top of your mountain," Wilma replied.

"You must go get your ship and follow me. I'll lead you to the island.
Hawk, though you have no harness ready, do you think you will be able
to ride on my back?" Ghost asked.

Hawk smiled. "I would be honored," Hawk replied lowering his head.

"You must remember, lean with me in flight. If you don't, you will
fall off," Ghost said.

"I will remember," Hawk replied.

Hawk turned to Wilma. "Wilma, do you think you can make it up the
mountain?" Hawk asked with some concern for Wilma's safety.

"I'll take her up," Nemna said.

Wilma turned to Nemna. "I don't have a harness or a saddle," Wilma
replied.

"I will be careful. It will take you a while to climb the mountain
and every minute counts. It would be faster this way," Nemna replied.

Wilma smiled. Ghost, Nemna, Hawk and Wilma walked out into the outer
cavern and then out into the sunlight on the ridge of the opening.
There Wilma was able to see the true size of the guardians. The
guardians lowered themselves. Hawk was the first to climb on to one
of the guardians shoulders. Wilma glanced over at Nemna with a
concerned expression on her face.

"Come Wilma, there is no reason to fear," Nemna reassured her.

Wilma walked over and placed her left foot on Nemna's front leg and
swung her right leg over his lower neck. She glanced over at Hawk.
Hawk smiled back and gave a light nod.

"See, it's not as bad as it seems," Hawk said smiling.

"Now Wilma, just like Ghost told Hawk, you must lean with me in
flight. I'll do my best to stay on a straight flight. But, there are
cross winds on top of this mountain, so if you must, hang on to my
neck," Nemna said as he stood up.

Wilma's eyes grew big when Nemna stood. "I didn't realize they were
this tall," she said looking down at the ground.

Ghost walked over to the edge and dived off, catching the wind
currents about twenty feet down, he glided back up with a single flap
of his wings.

"It's our turn Wilma. Are you ready?" Nemna asked.

"Yes, I think so," Wilma replied.

"Hang on," Nemna shouted.

Nemna walked towards the edge and dived off the edge. Wilma closed
her eyes at first, then felt Nemna's powerful wings open up and give
one flap. She opened her eyes and could see nothing but the blue sky
and the back of Nemna's head.

"This is wonderful." Wilma thought to herself. "Do I really have to take the
fighter and follow you?" Wilma asked.

"Do you think you can stay on all the way there?" Nemna asked.

"I'm sure I can," Wilma replied smiling.

"All right then, hang on," Nemna answered.

Nemna caught up with Ghost and Hawk. Hawk glanced over at saw that
Wilma was still on his back. "I thought you were going to bring the
fighter?" Hawk asked.

"I changed my mind. Besides, this is great practice in case one of
their mates is willing to let me ride on her back," Wilma replied.

Hawk smiled. As they traveled they looked around. They saw the ocean
below them and birds flying alongside.

"How long before we reach the mountain?" Hawk asked.

"We should be there before dark," Ghost replied.

"So we'll have to stay the night there?" Hawk asked.

"No, we can return after you talk to the female. Our sight is better
at night-time," Ghost replied.

Wilma shifted her weight slightly.

"Is there something wrong?" Nemna asked.

"No, I'm sorry. I had to shift my weight because my back side was
starting to hurt a little," Wilma replied blushing.

"I must apologize, I should have thought about my scales not being
smooth or soft for you on this long journey," Nemna said.

"No, you don't need to apologize Nemna. It was my idea to travel the
full journey on you," Wilma replied.

"It will be better after the harnesses are made. Maybe, Hawk will
make you a saddle as well," Nemna said.

"Nemna, may I ask you a question?" Wilma asked.

"Certainly, what is it?" Nemna replied.

"I was wondering how you've managed to survive all these years?"
Wilma asked.

"Let me explain. Every two hundred years or so, we mate with a female
that was born to another. Just before the young come into the world,
we the males die. There has always been two females to mate with.
And most often at least three to four males. Mathayis is old, he will
not mate with one of the females. That is up to Ghost and myself,"
Nemna explained.

"What are the female's names? Or do they have names?" Wilma asked.

"The one that lives on the north side of the mountain is called
Saphira, the other's name is Emerald. As you can see, we males are
usually a dark color. The females are always a brighter color.
Saphira is a blue dragon while Emerald is green," Nemna said.

Chapter 10

"They have beautiful names. Did they name themselves or did their
mother name them?" Wilma asked.

"We dragons choose our own names. But, some times the parent will see
something special in the offspring and give them a name to suit them.
Like Ghost, with his off color his mother gave him the name," Nemna
replied.

"Nemna, may I ask you another question?" Wilma asked.

"What do you want to know Wilma?" Nemna asked.

"Do you know why the attackers want Lela?" Wilma asked.

"We think they want her for her abilities. You do know she is a
healer, don't you?" Nemna asked.

"Yes, Hawk found out from an old woman who assisted her up to our
ship. Is she really the last of her kind?" Wilma asked.

"Yes, well at least on this planet. We have heard said that there are
others on different planets. But since we have no way of finding out,
we can only assume," Nemna replied.

Several hours later the island came into view.

"Is that the island where the females are located?" Hawk asked.

"Yes, we must circle the island first to show we mean no harm," Ghost
said.

"Where is Ghost and Hawk going?" Wilma asked as Ghost started to go
to the right of the island.

"We must circle the island first. We don't want them to attack us,"
Nemna replied as he too started to turn to the right.

They both started to circle the island. Up towards the top of the
mountain, Wilma could see what appeared to be one of the females
standing on a ledge outside of a cave. Her wings extended as if
sunning herself. Her head turned as they flew past.

"That one is Saphira, right?" Wilma asked.

"With the evening light hitting her the way it is, I'm not really
sure," Nemna replied.

They slowly approached the ledge where the female was standing. Ghost
landed a few feet away from her, laying down to allow Hawk to
dismount, then standing up again. A moment later, Nemna landed and
did the same for Wilma. The female was Saphira. Her hide glistening
in the evening light was a sky blue, her eyes a golden yellow. The
two horns on her head were only about 10 inches tall, showing she was
young. Wilma walked over to Hawk and stood next to him. Ghost and
Nemna approached Saphira with what seemed to be caution, lowering
their heads as they approached.

"Ghost, Nemna, what is it you want here?" Saphira asked.

"We have come to ask you for help," Ghost replied.

Saphira glanced over at Hawk and Wilma. "Who are they?" she asked.

"They are here to help find the Kalans. The Kalans attacked Lela's
village and have injured her. Their ships are much too noisy to find
the Kalans. Mathayis has asked us to allow them to ride on us, for
our flight is swift and silent. But, Mathayis is old and weak to
carry a person. He's asking you for your help," Ghost said.

"To ride on our backs? Why do these humans want to help?" Saphira
asked.

"We are from the research vessel Searcher. We were informed that some
of the people on this planet have been disappearing without a trace.
When we came down, we were told to observe and report back to our
commanding officer. But when we arrived on the outskirts of Lela's
village, we saw the Kalans attacking her village and killing the
women and children. We want to help find the attackers," Hawk replied.

Saphira slowly walked over to Hawk and smelled his head feathers.
"You are like Lela. What is your name?" she asked.

"I am Hawk, this is Wilma Deering," Hawk replied.

Saphira glanced over at Wilma. "You are human?" she asked.

Wilma stepped forward a few steps. "Yes," Wilma replied.

"And you want Emerald or myself to allow you to ride on our back so
you can find these Kalans, right?" Saphira asked.

"Yes, we need your help," Wilma said.

Saphire walked back towards the opening of the cave, threw her head
back and roared so loudly that Wilma had to cover her ears. After she
was done she lowered her head.

"I will talk to Emerald. We will let you know what we decide,"
Saphira said as she walked back into the cave.

Wilma turned to Hawk. "Is that it?" she asked.

"They will talk among themselves and let you know if they will help
or not," Nemna replied.

"What do we do until then?" Wilma asked.

"We wait," Hawk replied as he sat down on a large boulder close to
the opening of the cave.

Wilma sat down next to Hawk. She looked out towards the sky.

"Do you think they'll help us?" Wilma asked.

Hawk looked over at Wilma and smiled. "Yes, I think they will," he
replied.

Nemna and Ghost sat on each side of the ledge, looking out over the
island. Wilma stood and walked over to Nemna and gently placed her
hand on his scaly neck. He turned his head slightly and glanced down
at her.

"What happens to the females and the babies after they hatch?" Wilma
asked.

"The females die about two to five years after the eggs hatch. The
young males go into a deep hibernation until they are either
full-grown or are needed. The young females will fly off and
hibernate. They will wait until it's time to mate with a male later
on or if they are needed," Nemna replied.

Wilma glanced up and smiled. "May I ask you something else?" she
asked softly.

"I am 146 years old," he replied glancing back down at Wilma.

"How did you know what I was going to ask?" Wilma asked surprised.

"I saw the question in your eyes," Nemna replied turning his
attention back out over the island.

Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of a loud roar coming
from inside the cave.

"What was that?" Wilma asked glancing towards the opening of the cave.

"The females have made a decision," Ghost replied.

Hawk stood and walked out away from the opening. A moment later
Saphira and Emerald both appeared.

"We will help. My sister says we shouldn't trust you humans for what
they tried to do to her many years ago. But, I convinced her we
should, due to the one called Hawk. What is the one's name that will
ride on my shoulders?" Saphira asked.

Wilma walked forward. "I will," Wilma replied.

Saphira walked over to Wilma. "Let us go for a flight," Saphira said
as she lay down beside Wilma.

Wilma nervously climbed on. Saphira stood for a moment, then laid
back down. "You are with fear in your heart. I can not fly with you
on my shoulders," Saphira said.

"Then let her ride on my shoulders," Nemna said.

Wilma climbed down off Saphira's shoulders and stood before her.

"Wilma rode on my shoulders all the way from our home. She showed no
fear during the whole trip. She may ride on my shoulders, if she
would like," Nemna said looking at Wilma. Nemna lay down and looked
over at Wilma again. Wilma walked over and mounted his shoulders as
she had done before. Nemna stood, walked over to the edge of the
cliff.

"Are you ready?" Nemna asked.

"Yes," Wilma replied.

Nemna stretched out his massive wings and dove off the cliff. Saphira,
Emerald, Ghost and Hawk watched as Nemna and Wilma flew past them
climbing higher and higher into the sky above the cave.

"I knew you had no fear," Nemna said glancing back at Wilma.

"I was just a little nervous about flying with Saphira for the first
time," Wilma replied.

"That's what I thought. Do you want to try it again with Saphira? Or
would you like to ride on me?" Nemna asked.

Wilma gently lay down on the back of Nemna's neck. "I feel safer and
more relaxed with you," Wilma replied softly.

"So be it. The other rider may ride with Saphira," Nemna said.

Nemna started to head back to the cave where the others were waiting.
As they approached Nemna let out a loud roar, but it sounded
different this time. It was more like a rejoicing roar. The others
made room on the ledge outside of the cave.

"She has chosen Nemna," Saphira said.

"How can you tell?" Emerald asked.

"The tone, it was different, the sound of rejoicing," Saphira replied.

Nemna landed on the ledge and Wilma climbed off. Hawk walked over to
Saphira.

"Wilma has no fear in her heart. She was nervous about flying with
you for the first time," Hawk said looking up at Saphira.

"Maybe we were both a little nervous," Saphira replied glancing down
at Hawk.

Wilma walked over to Hawk with a smile on her face.

"Wilma, I was wrong about your fear. I would like it very much if we
could try it again. I think we are both a little nervous," Saphira
said.

"Go ahead Wilma," Nemna said.

"But, I .." Was all Wilma said before Saphira interrupted her.

"I know you have chosen Nemna to fly with. But, I would still like a
chance," Saphira replied.

Wilma smiled. Saphira lay back down again and Wilma climbed on with
no hesitation this time. Saphira stood and walked slowly over to the
edge of the cliff.

"Are you ready?" Saphira asked.

"Yes, I'm ready," Wilma replied.

With that Saphira opened up her wings and dove off the cliff. They
dropped down about fifty feet then leveled out.

"Are you alright?" Saphira asked.

"Yes," Wilma replied chuckling.

"You are light, I almost forgot you were up there," Saphira said.

Saphira flapped her giant wings once more and shot past the ledge
where Hawk and the others were standing and watching.

Hawk walked slowly over to Emerald. "What did Saphira mean by what
humans did to you a while back?" Hawk asked.

"Several years ago, my sister and I went out for a flight to hunt for
food. We found some deer in a field grazing on the tender green
grass. We each flew down and picked one up and then flew over to
another field not far from where we got them. As we were feeding on
our catch, some hunters came up. We never had any fear of them, or
they of us. So we ignored them and continued eating. Then, I felt a
sharp pain in my right side, just above and behind my right leg. The
hunter had cast a spear into my side." Emerald lowered her head.
"That was the first time I ever felt fear. I roared and Saphira saw
what the human had done to me. She roared and used her tail to knock
down some of the other hunters. But there were so many. If it wasn't
for Nemna, Ghost and Mathayis flying over at that time, I'm afraid my
sister or I would not be here," Emerald said.

"But you still live in peace with all those humans," Hawk replied.

"Yes, it is our destiny to protect them," Emerald replied looking out
over the sea.

"Tell me, why do these humans want to protect Lela?" Emerald asked.

Hawk turned to Emerald. "Because, it is their destiny as well," Hawk
replied.

Chapter 11

Back up on the Searcher, Lela's wounds were improving with every
passing moment. The only time Mayra left her side was when Dr.
Goodfellow ordered her to get some rest. When that happened, Buck
gladly sat with her. They talked for hours on end about her people,
the guardians and the Kalans.

"Lela, what can you tell me about them, the Kalans?" Buck asked.

Lela's eyes started to swell with tears as they always did when it
came to talking about the Kalans.

"You know what happened to my people. My father and grandfather use
to tell us stories about them and the guardians. How the Kalans use
to feed off the blood of my people many years ago. Myself and the
children always thought it was just a story to scare us to stay away
from the water. Years after the story was last told, everyone forgot
about it. Only a few still remember it," Lela said with tears in her
eyes.

"Lela, I know it hurts you to talk about it, but we need to find out
as much as we can about them. Where they live, what they look like,
anything that might help," Buck said.

Goodfellow noticed the tears on Lela's face. He slowly walked over
and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

"Are you all right, my dear?" Goodfellow asked in a soft voice.

Lela looked up at Goodfellow, gently nodded then turned her attention
back to Buck.

"You said that your father and grandfather always warned you not to
go near the water, why is that?" Buck asked.

"In the past, that's where most of my people disappeared from. Then
as time went by, they started to disappear from the fields and even
from their own homes," Lela replied.

Buck sat there for a moment in complete silence. "Lela, do you
remember when the Kalans first attacked or took any of your people?
The very first time?" Buck asked.

Lela thought for a moment. "The very first time it happened was about
two years ago," Lela replied with tears swelling in her eyes again.

"Where?" Buck asked.

"It was near the pond, not far from the village. A couple of families
were gathering herbs and vines. Their children were close to the
water's edge playing. There was a loud splash, like someone jumped
into the water. The parents turned to see who it was and..." Lela
cupped her hands over her face and started to cry.

"What happened?" Buck asked, leaning forward in his chair, gently
taking Lela's hands away from her face.

She looked up at Buck with tears pouring down her face. "All the
children were gone!" she cried.

Buck stood up and sat on the edge of Lela's bed. He wrapped his arms
around her to comfort her. Lela leaned against Buck's chest and cried.

"We'll find them, Lela. I swear, we will find them," Buck said softly.

Goodfellow ordered the nurse to go get Mayra. Within moments Mayra
was at Lela's side, holding her, comforting her in a rocking motion.
Buck stood, glanced over at Dr. Goodfellow. Goodfellow could see
Buck's eyes were also swelling with tears, but he also saw the rage
and anger in them.

"I'll be back," Buck said as he walked out of the sickbay. Buck
headed straight to the bridge.

"Buck, what's wrong? Is Lela all right?" the Admiral asked.

"Admiral, is there anyway to get a hold of Hawk or Wilma?" Buck asked
as he walked over to the communications console.

"Not right now. They're with the guardians on another island. Why?"
Asimov asked.

"From what Lela told me, our best bet on finding the Kalans would be
watching the bodies of water. The village is close to a pond, that
clearing where we found Lela is not far from a good-sized lake. And
then there's the coast next to the city," Buck replied.

"Are you telling me, the Kalans might be living in the water?" the
Admiral asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

Buck looked the Admiral straight in the eyes. "Yes sir, I believe
they do, every thing Lela said points to that," Buck replied in a
strong, sure voice.

"Our scanners can't penetrate below the water's surface," Asimov said.

"I know, that's why I was wondering where Hawk and Wilma were. Maybe,
together with the guardians, we can come up with something," Buck
replied.

"Buck, what makes you think they live in the water?" Asimov asked.

"Admiral, Lela told me the first time anyone disappeared was close to
the water's edge, several years ago. She also told me that for a
while that was the only place her people started to vanish from. Then
they started to vanish from the fields and then from their own
homes," Buck replied.

The Admiral, with a very concerned look on his face walked quickly
over to the control console. "Put the planet Osjewelco on the main
screen," Asimov ordered.

"Yes sir," Lt. Collins replied as he started to press some keys on
the console in front of him.

With in seconds, the planet was up on the main screen.

"Locate Col. Deering and Hawk's ships," the Admiral ordered.

Again, with in seconds the monitor located the ships.

"Now, enhance the entire area from the coast to Lela's village,"
Asimov ordered.

Again, with in seconds the area was enhanced. Showing every
waterway.

"Buck, do you see this?" the Admiral asked.

"Yes, sir, I sure do. The whole area is surrounded by water. It looks
like they're sitting on a small island," Buck replied.

"No wonder no one has been able to find them. They have all sorts of
places to hide," Asimov said.

"Admiral, I'd like permission to go down to the planet and locate
Hawk and Wilma," Buck requested.

"Permission granted. But, you probably won't find them if they're
still on that other island," the Admiral replied.

""Maybe not, but they'll return to the ships when they get back, and
I'll be waiting for them," Buck said as he quickly left the bridge .

Buck made his way quickly to the hanger, climbed into one of the
fighters and started the ignition.

"Searcher, requesting permission for launch."

"Permission granted, good luck, Buck," the Admiral said.

Moments later the lights in the launch tube began to glow and moments
after that Buck's fighter was launched into space. He flipped a few
switches and found on the scanner where Hawk and Wilma's ships were
and headed for them. As he about to land he saw something moving
rather quickly out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to
see what it was, but it had disappeared. He landed close to the other
fighters, then he shut down the engines. As he was climbing out of
his ship, he heard what sounded like water splashing. He walked
slowly over to a small stream that led to a pond. Buck stood by some
bushes on the bank watching, listening. His eyes scanned the water
surface for any movement or ripples. After not seeing anything he
turned and walked back to the ship. Climbing back into the ship, Buck
pulled out his sleeping gear and food. He walked a short way from
the ships and threw down his bed roll, then he began to build a fire
ring. After he got a fire started he sat down and started to think
about everything Lela had told him.

"That has to be it," Buck said softly to himself.

It was just about noon when Buck heard what he hoped was Hawk and
Wilma returning. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the noon
sun. All he could make out was a large shadow flying over him.

"That has to be them," Buck said.

A moment later Nemna and Ghost landed just in front of Buck. Hawk and
Wilma dismounted and walked quickly over to Buck.

"Buck, what's wrong? Is Lela all right?" Wilma asked.

"Lela is fine. She and I had a nice long talk this morning. She told
me about the first attack on her people and where it happened." Buck
walked over to Hawk. "Hawk, most of the attacks started by the water's
edge, then over time they moved further inland. The Admiral ordered
the planet up on to the screen on the Searcher. Guess what? This
whole area sits in the middle of a water system. There's lakes or
ponds everywhere. They live in the water, Hawk," Buck said.

"Are you sure?" Hawk asked.

"As sure as I am standing here," Buck replied.

Hawk turned and looked over the field. He then turned his attention
to Ghost and Nemna.

"We have to get ready as soon as possible. I must leave and get those
harnesses made," Hawk said, then he turned and ran towards his
fighter.

Wilma walked back over to Nemna and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It is you whom I want to ride with," Wilma said with a smile.

"So it shall be," Nemna replied.

Chapter 12

Nemna and Ghost leapt in to the air and with one flap of their
massive wings, were gone from sight. Hawk turned to Buck and noticed
that he had turned his attention to the small stream.

"What is it, Buck?" Hawk asked.

"While I was landing, I thought I saw something out of the corner of
my eye. Then shortly after that I heard a splash. Hawk, we have to
find the Kalans," Buck said.

"We will my friend," Hawk replied.

Hawk and Wilma headed back to their fighters, started their engines
and lifted off heading back up to the Searcher. Buck gathered his
gear, then made his way back to his fighter and climbed in. Starting
the engines, he lifted off and started to head out to join Hawk and
Wilma. He glanced down and saw what looked like a shadow in the water
swimming close to the top, then it seem to disappear. Buck leaned on
the throttle a little more and with in seconds had caught up to Hawk
and Wilma.

"Hawk, did the guardians say what the Kalans looked like?" Buck asked.

"No," Hawk replied.

"Did you talk to the guardians about riding on their backs?" Buck
asked.

"Yes, the female they call Saphira has agreed to allow you to ride on
her. Emerald was a little hesitant at first, but I could understand
why," Hawk replied.

"Why was she hesitant?" Buck asked.

"Some time ago, she and Saphira were eating and some humans
approached. They didn't think nothing of it, then all of a sudden one
of them pierced her hide with a spear, injuring her. Saphira used
her tail to knock some of them down, but there were too many. If it
wasn't for Nemna, Ghost and Mathayis flying over head at the time,
who knows what would have happened," Hawk replied.

"They attacked the dragons? I thought the humans liked and cared for
the dragons," Buck said with a confused expression on his face.

"Buck, you said when we first joined you that you thought you saw
something as you were landing. What did you see?" Hawk asked.

"I'm not sure. It moved rather quickly, then I heard that splash.
But, after I took off from the planet surface, I could have sworn I
saw something swimming in the water just below me. The it
disappeared," Buck replied.

"Do you remember what it looked like?" Wilma asked.

"I just saw the outline of it. But, the outline of it looked like the
old Earth crocodile. Which it can't be, can it?" Buck asked,
confused.

"Buck, you said earlier, that these guardians once exsisted on old
Earth, right? Well, why not these crocodiles?" Wilma asked.

Buck glanced over at Wilma's fighter. "Yeah, I did say that, didn't
I?" Buck asked, thinking of what he told Wilma earlier.

Suddenly he turned his fighter back to the planet.

"Buck, where are you going?" Wilma asked.

"I know of someone that might be able to shed some light on this.
I'll be back as soon as I can," Buck replied as he leaned harder on
the throttle.

Hawk glanced over at Wilma and Wilma glanced over at Hawk. With in
seconds they both turned their fighters around and started to follow
Buck back down to the planet surface. They caught up with Buck.

"What are you two doing here?" Buck asked.

"We're coming with you," Wilma replied.

"Buck, what do you have in mind?" Hawk asked.

"That woman we talked to that first night. I have another question
for her," Buck replied.

"What question?" Wilma asked.

"If there has been any humans that have disappeared," Buck replied.

They soon arrived at the coastline just outside of the small city.
They landed their fighters and started to enter the small run down
community on the outskirts of town. The little boy that approached
them the day before greeted them again.

"Have you seen my sister?" he asked with tears in his eyes.

"No, where did she go?" Buck asked as he knelt down beside the boy.

"I don't know. We were playing over there this morning." He pointed
towards a small stream that flowed in to the ocean. "I turned around
and she was gone. I thought she was playing hide and seek, so I
started to try to find her. But I couldn't find her anywhere," the
boy said as he started to cry.

"I want you to think really hard. Has any of the others disappeared
from the city or from here?" Buck asked.

"I heard a woman disappeared from the city a day or so ago," the boy
replied wiping the tears from his eyes.

"We'll try to find your sister. Stay away from that stream and the
ocean, okay?" Buck said.

The little boy nodded and ran off.

"This is not good," Buck said as he started to run towards the city.

"What's not good?" Wilma asked running alongside Buck.

"That little boy's sister disappearing. He talked to Hawk and myself
when we first arrived here. The next person we talked to was a woman
in the city," Buck replied running as fast as he could.

Hawk and Wilma stayed as close as possible to Buck. Buck headed for
the small alley-way that he and Hawk had used when the woman helped
them. He came to the small worn down house. He knocked, no answer. He
knocked again, still no answer. Buck slowly glanced around and
started to open the old wooden door. Buck, Hawk and Wilma slowly
entered. They could see that something had happened in the house.
What little furniture there was was turned upsidedown, the table
where they sat at was broken into pieces. Buck turned to Hawk.

"They did this!" Buck said as he ran back outside.

"Who did this, Buck?" Wilma asked.

"The Kalans, somehow they found out she helped us that night," Buck
replied looking up and down the small street.

Buck ran to the small house across the alley-way and knocked on the
door. An older woman answered.

"Can you tell me where that woman that lives across from you went?"
Buck asked.

The woman looked up and down the small alley-way, turned back to Buck
and smiled. "Mountains," she whispered as she closed the door.

Buck turned towards Hawk and Wilma. "We have to find her," Buck said
as he started to run back towards the coast.

Hawk and Wilma followed. Buck reached his fighter and within moments
was air-born and heading towards the mountains.

"Buck, there are a lot of mountain ranges here. How are you going to
find her?" Wilma asked.

"This woman is smart. She's staying away from all water ways. There
are natural springs in the mountains. She'll have plenty of drinking
water, and no Kalans," Buck replied. Buck thought for a moment.
"Where would be the safest mountain?" he asked.

Hawk thought for a moment. "The mountain of the guardians!" Hawk
replied.

"But we didn't see anyone on the mountain when we flew back across
it," Wilma said.

"There's some small caves towards the top. A perfect place to hide,"
Hawk replied.

"Of course, there's also a small pond on the top of the mountain. I
saw it when Nemna and I flew over it catching up with Hawk," Wilma
replied.

As they approached the mountain of the guardians, some movement
caught Wilma's attention.

"There, on the plateau! I saw some movement," Wilma shouted.

"Where?" Buck asked.

"In that small clearing, close to the edge," Wilma replied.

Buck and Hawk looked down at the clearing they thought Wilma was
talking about.

"I don't see anything, Wilma. Are you sure you saw something?" Buck
asked still scanning the clearing.

"I'm sure I saw something. It was there only for a moment before
disappearing in to the trees," Wilma replied.

"It has to be her," Hawk said.

"Lets hope so," Buck replied.

Moments later they set all three fighters down in the small clearing.
Buck, Hawk and Wilma climbed out of their fighters simultaneously
and started running towards the trees where Wilma saw the figure run
into. About fifty to one hundred yards in, Buck, Hawk and Wilma
stopped.

"Where did she go?" Wilma asked looking around.

"She's close by," Hawk said.

"But where?" Buck asked.

A moment later they heard a soft voice coming from alongside them.

"I'm here," the voice said softly.

Buck, Hawk and Wilma turned their heads towards the direction the
voice came from.

"Where are you?" Buck asked, walking towards some trees.

"Up here," the voice replied.

Buck looked up, and sitting on a large branch about eight feet up was
the woamn. She looked down at Buck and smiled. Hawk and Wilma walked
over to where Buck was standing.

"Do you remember me? We came to your home a few nights ago. You told
us to find the guardians," Buck said.

"I remember. I'm sorry I ran, but I was scared," the woman replied.

"Do you need help getting down?" Hawk asked, as he came in to the
woman's view under the tree.

She shook her head and slowly started climbing down. As she stepped
on the last tree branch, she sat down.

"I think you should move," she said, motioning for Hawk and Buck to
move.

Hawk and Buck took a few steps back and watched as the woman jumped
down. She stood up straight and started brushing herself off.

"How did you get up there so fast?" Wilma asked.

The woman looked over at Wilma. "If you're scared enough, you can do
anything," she replied with a smile.

Chapter 13

Wilma smiled and gently nodded. A few moments later, the woman calmed
down and turned toward Buck.

"What happened? Why did you leave your home and why was it torn
apart?" Buck asked.

"Shortly after you and your friend left. I heard some noise coming
from the alley. I blew out the candle and peeked outside. I saw three
men walking quickly towards my home. I didn't know who they were, so
I climbed out of the bedroom window and ran as fast as I could to a
friend's home down the street. She told me that the safest place
would be up on the mountain. I knew you'd probably come back, so I
had her tell my neighbor across from me to just say one word to you
if you came there. That word was "mountain" I didn't want to endanger
her either. I started to make my way up the mountain during the
middle of the night. I heard something behind me, so I tried to
climb even faster. I got about half way up when one of the guardians
flew over. I called out as loud as I could, but I didn't think it
heard me. I started to climb again, but then all of a sudden it was
standing in front of me. I told him what had happened and he told me
that I'd be safe here on the mountain," the woman said.

"Did you notice anything about those men that came to your home that
evening?" Buck asked.

"Yes, it's what scared me the most. Their eyes.. they were glowing,"
the woman replied.

"Glowing?" Hawk asked.

"Yes, at first I thought it might have been the way the light was
hitting them. But then when the light was not on them anymore, they
still glowed," the woman replied.

"Are you sure you'll be okay up here?" Wilma asked.

"Yes, I found a small cave in the side of the mountain, not
far from here," she replied.

"Good, stay there. Don't go down to the town for anything. When we
went through that small village on our way to your house, a small boy
said his baby sister was missing. She was close to the water's edge
when she disappeared. Do you know if any of the people in the city
disappeared?" Buck asked..

"A little girl?" The woman hung her head for a moment then looked up
at Buck and Hawk again. "I know of at least three maybe four people
who have disappeared the past few weeks," the woman replied.

"We have to go back up to our ship and get ready to help the
guardians," Hawk said placing his hand on the woman's shoulder.

"You found the guardians?" she asked with excitement in her voice.

"Yes, we've talked with them and we've come up with a plan to find
the Kalans," Buck replied.

"We have to leave for a while. We'll be back soon," Buck said, as he
turned and started to walk towards his fighter.

Hawk and Wilma smiled at the woman and gave a light nod. They ran to
catch up with Buck, who was already climbing in to his fighter.
Before long, all three fighters were on their way back up to the
Searcher.

"Hawk, how long will it take you to make those harnesses?" Buck asked.

"Not long, why?" Hawk asked.

"Every minute delays our search for the Kalans," Buck replied.

"Buck, Hawk and I could ride with out a harness. We've riden on their
backs for hours. Hawk's time has just been reduced to making only
one harness," Wilma said.

"That's true Buck. I can have your harness made with in two hours,"
Hawk replied.

Buck nodded his head. "Okay, lets do it." Buck thought for a moment.
"When we get back to the Searcher, we have to stop by the sick bay.
I have another question to ask Lela," Buck said.

As they approached the Searcher, there was a call. "Searcher to Buck."

"Buck to Searcher, go ahead."

"Buck, your landing pad is number two, Hawk, yours is pad three and
Col. Deering, yours is pad four."

"Buck's.. two, Hawk's.. three and Deering's.. 4. confirmed. Buck
out."

"Searcher out."

"Now that's service," Buck said chuckling.

Buck entered first, followed by Hawk, then Wilma. They landed in
their designated landing pad, shut down their engines and climbed out.
Buck walked over to the hanger chief. "We need all three ships
re-fueled and ready to go with in two hours," Buck ordered.

"All three? It'll take at least six hours," the hanger chief replied.

"Six hours? We need to get back down to the planet as soon as
possible!" Buck replied.

"Sorry Captain, but we have to let the ship's engines cool down
before we can re-fuel," the chief replied.

"How about if you only have to re-fuel one ship?" Hawk asked, walking
over to Buck and the hanger chief.

The hanger chief thought for a moment. "I can have one ship re-fueled
with in two hours. As long as it's Hawk's ship. His ship has a
strange cooling system on it, which cools the engine down with in
thirty minutes, where ours takes a good hour to cool," the hanger
chief replied.

"Do it," Hawk ordered.

Buck looked at Hawk. "Hawk, all three of us can't fit in to your
ship," Buck said.

"No, but there are other fighters in here that are fueled and ready
to go," Hawk replied, glancing around at the other fighters.

Buck looked around at all the fighters then turned his attention back
to Hawk. "Good idea," Buck said smiling.

Buck and Hawk turned and walked away. Wilma stood by the doors,
waiting.

"What was that about?" Wilma asked, as they approached.

"Just a little stratagy," Buck replied.

"You wanted to go sick bay and ask Lela something?" Wilma asked.

"Yeah, then go up and talk to the Admiral. That should give Hawk
plenty of time to make that harness," Buck replied.

They left the hanger and headed for sick bay. The door opened, and
they entered. Inside Lela was slowly walking around the room with
help from one of the nurses.

"Lela, I have another question I need to ask you," Buck said.

Lela smiled, the nurse slowly walked her back over to her bed.

"What is it, Buck?" she asked, as the nurse helped her into the bed
and covered her up with a small blanket.

"Lela, about what time of day did the disappearances occur?" Buck
asked.

Lela thought for a moment. "The ones that I know of, occured in the
early morning or late afternoon," Lela replied.

"Did any of them occur during late morning or early afternoon?" Buck
asked.

"No, never," Lela replied.

"Thank you Lela, that helps a lot," Buck said, as he turned and
walked out of the sick bay. Wilma and Hawk stood there for a moment,
both with a confused expression.

Buck headed for the computer room.

Chapter 14

Buck sat down at one of the computer tables and checked into the
planet's natural inhabitants. On the screen appeared, humans and some
non-dangerous creatures such as deer, rabbits, fish and birds. He
then typed in the word "Kalans" but nothing appeared. He typed in the
word crocodile. It showed a picture of the crocodiles on old Earth.
He noticed the outline was the same shape as the shadow he saw in the
water.

"How can that be?" he thought to himself. He started to read about
the crocodile.
================================

(Crocodile)

On Earth in the 20th century, there were 14common species of large
reptiles included in the family Crocodylidae (order Crocodylia) which
also included the alligators and the gavial. Like all crocodilians,
the crocodiles that remain are primarily distributed throughout the
tropical regions of the world. Species occur in both saltwater and
freshwater habitats. Crocodiles are generally omnivorous feeding on
invertebrates, fish, other reptiles and amphibians, birds, and
mammals-practically any animal they can overpower. A few, very
narrow-snouted species are believed to subsist primarily on fish.
Crocodiles are primarily aquatic and nocturnal, leaving the water
only to bask by day or to build their nests. Some species construct
burrows into the banks of rivers or lakes where they spend part of
their time.
These animals are powerful predators with large teeth and strong jaws.
Large adults of some species may exceed 20 ft (6 m) in length and are
capable of overpowering and eating large grazing mammals, even
occasionally humans. The webbed feet, flattened tail, and placement
of the nostrils, eyes, and ears on raised areas of the head are
adaptations for an aquatic existence. The raised nostrils, eyes, and
ears allow the animals to float almost completely submerged while
still monitoring their environment.
=====================================

Buck sat back in the chair and rubbed his hands through his hair.
"If this is what I saw, how did they go unnoticed here for so long?
If they really are crocodiles, why is it they're not listed in the
habitants?" Buck asked himself softly.

"What are you reading about Buck?" a voice said behind him.

He turned quickly to see Wilma and Hawk standing behind him.

"I was reading about crocodiles," Buck replied.

"What's a crocodile?" Hawk asked.

"I'll show you," Buck replied. He pulled up the main file on
crocodiles and clicked on the pictures. "This is what I believe I saw
when I was taking off from that field yesterday," Buck said,
pointing to the picture.

"Are you sure?" Wilma asked.

"I'm positive. It has the same outline I saw," Buck replied.

"What about the guardians?" Hawk asked.

Buck typed in "guardians" and nothing appeared.

"Maybe, guardians isn't listed because they don't want people coming
to Osjewelco to hunt them," Wilma said.

"That's a good possibility," Buck replied.

"Turn it back to the creatures," Hawk said.

"You mean the crocodiles?" Buck asked, as he clicked back to the
pictures of the crocodiles.

"Have you ever seen one of those up close?" Hawk asked, gazing at the
pictures.

"I've only seen them in captivity. But there were reports of
man-eating crocodilians in the Florida Everglades and in Australia,"
Buck replied.

"They must be huge to take down a full grown man," Hawk said.

"Not always, in some cases the crocodile might only be about 7 to 8
feet long and still have the ability to take down a deer or a human,"
Buck replied glancing up at Hawk.

"Do you really think this is what you saw?" Hawk asked.

"I'm pretty sure. It has the same outline and the same shape as the
thing I saw in the water," Buck replied.

"Buck, are you sure you're spelling Kalans right?" Wilma asked.

"I'm pretty sure. But language has changed so much the past five
hundred years, I could be wrong," Buck replied.

"Try spelling it, "K.a.a.l.a.n.s," Wilma said.

"I'll give it a try," Buck replied, as he started to type in Wilma's
spelling of Kaalans.

Within moments a file came up on the screen.

"I'll be, there is something about them. Great job Wilma," Buck said,
looking up at Wilma smiling.

Buck started to read the information on the "Kaalans."
"It says that the Kaalans come from a planet about two light years
away. Their own planet was ravaged by a disease, some of them were
able to leave, but most died. The planet was mostly water and some
land. It says that the Kaalans, are an amphibious creature that feed
mainly on fish, small animals and birds that came too close to the
water's edge." Buck glanced up at Hawk and Wilma. "Like old Earth
crocodiles." Buck turned his attention back to the screen and
continued reading. "The Kaalans consist of a green luminous cloud of
gas and are able to take the form of anything they come in contact
with, animal or human." Buck turned to Hawk and Wilma. "That's why
the woman saw the glowing eyes," he said as he clicked off the
computer.

"They're kind of like the shape-shifters we found on Aggon 3 a couple
of years ago," Wilma said.

"Yeah, but those shifters didn't eat people," Buck replied, as he
stood and faced Hawk. "How long did you say it would take you to make
that riding harness for me?" Buck asked with a concerned look on his
face.

"I'm on it right now," Hawk replied, and he turned and walked out of
the computer room.

"We need to let the Admiral know what we found out, then." Buck
hesitated for a moment. "Then I need to talk to Lela," Buck said.

"Why?" Wilma asked.

"I can't believe I'm going to ask her this, but it's our only real
chance of finding them," Buck replied hanging his head.

"Buck, you're not going to ask her to be the bait, are you?" Wilma
asked, shaking her head.

Buck looked up and gazed into Wilma's eyes. "Yes," he replied, as he
turned and started to walk out of the computer room.

Wilma quickly walked out behind him. She grabbed hold of Buck's arm
and turned him around to face her. "Do you think Hawk is going to let
you put a member of his people in danger?" Wilma asked.

"I told you, it's the only way to find them. She won't be in danger,
we'll be there to protect her," Buck replied, pulling his arm away
from Wilma's grip.

"Buck, there has to be another way!" Wilma said loudly.

Buck ingnored Wilma and started to walk towards the bridge.

Wilma watched as Buck didn't even look back. "I can't allow him to
put her in danger like that. I understand he wants to find them, but
there has to be a different way," she said softly to herself as she
turned and walked down the corridor in the opposite direction. She
found herself outside of Hawk's quarters. "I have to let him know
what Buck wants to do," Wilma said to herself. She knocked on the
door.

"Enter," Hawk replied.

The door opened and Wilma entered Hawk's quarters. "Hawk, Buck has an
idea on how to find the Kaalans," Wilma said.

"I know, he wants to use Lela as bait," Hawk replied.

"You knew?" she asked.

"Yes, I know Buck. I knew he'd want to use something that would
really draw them out of hiding," Hawk replied.

"So, you're okay with it?" Wilma asked.

"No, I'm not okay with it. I don't want Lela to be placed in any kind
of danger." Hawk hung his head for a moment then looked back up at
Wilma. "That's why I'm going to be the bait," Hawk said.

"Hawk, you can't!!" Wilma replied.

"Can you think of another bird person?" Hawk asked.

Wilma hung her head and shook it slowly. "No," she replied.