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Return to Thrae is an exhilarating action packed adventure and a sequel to The Last Immortal.

Following the Mitel armada’s failed mission to destroy Earth, Commanders Zan Liss and Ard Lindar head to Thrae in a reverse engineered Universal Speed Escape Pod (USEP) to join the resistance and attempt end the Mitel’s outer space Blockade.

Meanwhile, loyalist but self centered Commander Lon Rexx returns to Mitel in the armada’s last remaining space cruiser to face the brutally repressive Mitel Leadership’s wrath; all the while secretly plotting a rebellion of his own. Janus and Chad Stone return to Thrae in one of NASA’s reverse engineered USEPs to help protect their people from the relentless Mitel space fleet attacks. Wealthy weapons manufacturer Adrian Sidd searches persistently for the reclusive but technically advanced Nomas civilization’s underground city located deep in the inhospitable Mitel Stone Forest.

The Mitel Leadership keep a watchful eye on both Sidd and the Mitel resistance as they plot to tighten their grip on maintaining power and securing the secrets of immortality all for themselves. With new poignant characters, thrilling battle scenes, suspense and shocking twists, Return to Thrae is an exciting action filled journey. The wild ride continues!

Enjoy Sample Chapters Here

Return to Thrae picks right up where The Last Immortal left off. The wild ride continues!

RETURN TO THRAE

A NOVEL
KEITH W. MICHON

Copyright © 2019 by Keith W. Michon

All rights reserved. Published by CreateSpace.Approximately two hundred miles above Earth, Chad Stone’s small translucent blue enclosure circled the planet. Weeks earlier, just before he lost consciousness, Chad had wrapped himself in a thick protective plasma shield to protect his body from the enormous antimatter detonation that he had intentionally triggered. The annihilation event represented a desperate final attempt to stop the attacking Mitel space fleet. The formidable armada had followed Chad, his father Janus Stone and Janus’s lifelong friend Markus Kilmar, six hundred light years across the universe. Their goal: secure the secrets of immortality and human hybrid transformation technology for the ruthless, but aging, Mitel Leadership. After the Leadership discovered that Chad was both immortal and a human hybrid, they would do anything to capture him.
​Once Chad realized the Mitel space fleet was going to decimate Earth after his capture, he made the brave and difficult decision to self destruct his damaged human hybrid mechanical war machine. By increasing his plasma core to almost the speed of light, Chad caused high energy electrons to generate huge quantities of positrons. That initiated a scattering process which quickly produced significant quantities of antimatter. Chad was temporarily able to contain it with two spherical plasma shields and the enormous magnetic field being generated by the Mitel armada’s corkscrew gravity control beams.
​After Chad lost consciousness, the shields dissipated, releasing the antimatter. The instantaneous detonation was the largest the world had seen in over sixty-five million years, obliterating the Mitel outer space fleet along with all of Earth’s orbiting satellites.
​Fortunately, less than an hour before the detonation event, Chad had projected a temporary plasma shield around Earth to spare the world’s population from further harm. He also placed a very small shield around the International Space Station, ultimately protecting it.
​Chad’s blue translucent enclosure had retained and stored large quantities of oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen released during the final stages of Chad’s reverse transformation from his former human hybrid mechanical appearance. And now, a breathable mixture was slowly being discharged into the shield enclosure; while combining with the hydrogen to form small pockets of water for him to drink.
​As the plasma shelter circled the planet fifteen times a day — at over 17,000 miles per hour — it absorbed and attenuated the scorching heat of the sun; keeping Chad comfortable when temperatures plummeted to minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit during the nights.
​Down on Earth, Janus, working closely with NASA and several other organizations, scrambled to put together a rescue plan, but time was running out. Not only was Chad weak and exhausted, the enclosure’s orbit was starting to decay at an alarming rate. He was slowly falling toward Earth as he circled the planet. It was only a matter of time before the shield plummeted through Earth’s upper atmosphere. Chad, having transformed back to human form from his prior mechanical appearance, had very little chance of surviving re-entry.
​“We don’t have much time,” concluded Janus, glancing toward the sky, “and it appears that we only have one chance at this.” Janus stood an impressive six feet eight inches tall, with broad shoulders and hazel eyes, his short salt and pepper hair a stark contrast to his thick black eyebrows and eyelashes. For the first 1,201 years of his life, Janus had been immortal. Fifteen years ago, he transformed into a living hologram to accompany Chad across the universe in a small, cramped Universal Speed Escape Pod (USEP). He returned to human form during Chad’s instantaneous annihilation explosion which triggered the hologram transformation process in reverse; a process referred to by living holograms as the miracle of life event. Janus no longer knew whether he was still an immortal, but part of him no longer cared.
​“Understood,” nodded General Michael Talbot, a career military and family man who took equal pride in protecting his country and raising his four children. Talbot was 41 years of age, stood six feet three inches tall, with very short blond hair, hazel eyes and a muscularly lean and trim physique. Until recently, he had been in charge of investigating and covering up UFO incidents in the name of national security. Working out of the U.S. Naval Space Surveillance System Command headquarters in Dahlgren, Virginia, then Major Talbot and his support team raced around the Country in response to credible UFO incidents. The crash landing of Janus’s USEP in upstate New York fifteen years ago set in motion a chain reaction of events that changed his life forever. Now that Thraens were living on Earth, General Talbot was assigned to help and protect them. No more UFO cover-ups. And with a shared passion for the universe and outer space propulsion technology, Janus and General Talbot had become close friends.
​The two men stood side by side on the tarmac of the refurbished Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex. “Crews worked around the clock to attach a prototype USEP to the Falcon Heavy-lift launch vehicle. Hopefully all the hard work and dedication will enable us to bring Chad back to Earth.”
​“I hope so,” replied Janus. “I’m surprised his orbit decayed so rapidly. The Sun’s activity during Earth’s current eleven year solar cycle should not have caused the atmospheric density at Chad’s altitude to rise as much as it did. In doing so, it significantly increased the drag forces on his enclosure.”
​“Our scientists concluded that Chad’s annihilation event triggered an unprecedented spike in the Sun’s solar flare activity. While recent studies confirm the Sun’s solar flares contain antimatter, Chad’s sudden production of unprecedented levels of antimatter temporarily attracted increased quantities from the sun.”
​“In the form of increased solar activity . . .”
​“Correct. So even if Chad had been able to shield the world’s satellites with his plasma shield, we’d be having a tough time trying to keep all of them up in space. As it stands now, we are constantly adjusting the orbit of the International Space Station to compensate for the increased atmospheric density and drag.” General Talbot glanced at his watch. “Hey, it’s time to get ready for launch.”
​Janus’s orb, which had been circling the pad’s perimeter, suddenly appeared next to him.
​“Is your orb ready to go Janus?”
​“Yes. Hopefully it will perform as expected.”
​“We’re counting on it,” nodded General Talbot.
​After his own transformation back to human form, Janus realized he had retained control over his monitoring orb. He concluded that during his fifteen year long hologram state, some of his electrically charged brain particles, or even his brain patterns themselves, had become integrated into his monitoring orb during their cohabitation and back and forth data sharing.
​This ability was a key component in Chad’s rescue. Once the USEP reached Chad, the plan was to release the orb and instruct it to use its levitation feature to push Chad’s enclosure tightly against the USEP’s outer entry door. Janus would wait in the pod’s small entrance chamber and once the USEP’s outer door slid open, Chad would reach through the outwardly permeable shield allowing Janus to drag him safely into the chamber.
​As soon as the outer door closed and the inner door reopened, the accompanying astronauts would quickly pull Janus and Chad safely inside the spacecraft. Janus would then instruct the orb to release the shield and re-enter the chamber once it had been depressurized and the outer door reopened.
​Out in space, Chad’s orbit decay began to accelerate and he knew it.  He was now less than one hundred miles above the Earth’s surface.  At sixty-two miles above the planet, he would cross the Karman line, commonly known as the boundary between outer space and Earth’s atmosphere. Once there, things would begin to get very bumpy.
​C’mon guys, he thought.
​Denton reached out through the audio feed from Chad’s tiny emergency beacon installed behind his left ear. “Chad! I’m sure you’ve noticed that your orbit is starting to decay faster than expected. Hang in there. We’re on our way.”
​There was no response.
​“Are you getting nervous?”
​Although Chad was unable to respond directly, Denton had worked it out so that one flash meant yes, and two flashes meant no. Chad slowly reached for his emergency beacon. The beacon light flashed once.
​“I would be to. But don’t worry, Janus will get you. Just hang in there, OK?”
​The beacon light again flashed once.
​The International Space Station, or ISS, had intentionally allowed its own orbit to decay substantially to remain in close proximity to Chad’s orbiting shield. After Chad’s rescue, the USEP was going to rendezvous and dock with the ISS to evaluate Chad’s health. Chad’s accelerated orbiting decay had caused the ISS to cease its own decay for fear of getting too close to Earth’s upper atmosphere. A grim sense of urgency had descended upon the mission.
​A day earlier, NASA had rolled out the USEP and Falcon Heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Vehicle Assembly Building in front of record crowds. All pre-takeoff flight checks had successfully been completed. It was now or never.
​Janus was rushed over to the Medical Quarantine Facility to put on his launch and entry suit prior to being transported to Launch Pad 39A. When he arrived, he met the three astronauts who would be accompanying him into space.
​“It’s truly an honor to meet you Janus,” said Colonel David Lindsey while reaching out his hand.
​“Same here,” added Commander Peter Fossum and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kelly in unison.
​“Thank you gentlemen,” replied Janus. “Now let’s go get my son.”
​The group climbed into a silver shuttle bus. They were driven down to the Launch Pad via the three and a half mile long crawlerway, a one hundred and thirty foot double wide cement pathway. The Launch Pad was a large, circular fenced off cement and grass covered pad area surrounded by marshy wetlands. The pad itself, located only fifty feet above sea level, was located adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. As they drove along, Janus stared out his van window at the dense brush that covered the flat terrain.
​Some five billion people worldwide were expected to watch the launch online. When they arrived at Pad 39A, several technicians, referred to as pad rats, could be seen completing their final foreign debris check (FOD). The skies were mostly cloudy with rain and possible thunderstorms in the forecast.
​We can’t delay this launch, Janus thought as he stepped out of the shuttle bus.
​Due to the enormous plumes generated by the launch itself, the threat of a grounded lighting strike was a serious concern. Lightning hitting either the launch vehicle or USEP before migrating down the launch plume represented a potentially catastrophic situation that typically canceled a launch until the weather cleared.
​We’ve got to get up there quickly.
​The crew was rushed to the makeshift launch tower. An improvised elevator brought them one hundred and sixty feet up to a temporary spacecraft access arm.  They scrambled along the arm’s walkway to the USEP’s cabin door.
​Four USEPs had been painstakingly reverse engineered in three scaled versions from the wreckage discovered after Janus’s crash landing in upstate New York fifteen years ago. This particular pod, along with its twin, had been specifically designed to dock with the ISS.
​The silver and white wedge-shaped pod had a curved nose that expanded on either side toward the rear of the craft before transitioning into trapezoidal shaped wings. In the back, the pod contained a triangular vertical stabilizer on each corner and a propulsion slot that extended rearward, its opening located just beyond the rear surface of the wing tips. Stored tightly underneath the pod and wings beginning at its midpoint, sat four large quarter circle ring sections, curving rearwards, two on each side. The ring sections were arranged in an alternating pattern since they extended beyond the centerline of the pod, due to their size.  When deployed, the large cylindrical graphene ring spun furiously around the outside of the pod like a high-speed jump rope. As the ring spun at full speed, the USEP could bend both space and time by contracting space in front of the craft and expanding space behind it. Just before the pod accelerated at normal speed, four large ring components extended from underneath the pod via powerful positioning bars. The four curving cylindrical sections turned, rotated and locked together to form the ring itself.  At the same time, the ring drive shaft extended from each side of the pod’s midpoint before being clamped down on by two of the assembling ring sections. Once activated, the spinning ring would immediately cause the pod to accelerate faster than the speed of light.
​Using a series of hand and footholds, Janus and the three other astronauts climbed into the small, vertically mounted spacecraft and strapped themselves into their seats.  As Janus scanned the instrumentation panel inside the pod, his mind was flooded with memories of his years spent developing Thrae’s faster than speed of light travel program.
​Not bad, he thought. Not bad at all.
​“Welcome gentlemen,” said a voice over the command and control communications system.  We’ve completed all preflight checks and are preparing for launch.”
​“Roger that,” replied Commander Fossum.
​The inner and outer airlock doors automatically closed while the three astronauts quickly ran through a series of final flight checks. Colonel Lindsey turned to look at Janus.
​“Are you ready?” he asked.
​“Yes,” nodded Janus.
​Colonel Lindsey gave Janus the thumbs up signal before speaking.
​“Mission Control, pod systems fully functional and ready to go.”
​“Affirmative,” replied the voice. “The launch tower has been retracted from the pad; Commencing final launch sequence now; Prepare to launch.”
​“Roger Mission Control.”
​“T minus 2 minutes to launch . . .”
​Janus looked around the pod again.
​It doesn’t have our advanced materials, he thought. But given the scope of this mission, everything should be fine.
​Janus’s thoughts then drifted to Chad.
​He must be feeling vulnerable and alone. Hang in there my son.
​“T minus 1 minute to launch . . .”
​Thirty seconds before launch, the on-board computers assumed control of the launch sequence.
​“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six . . .”
​The Falcon’s main engines ignited, building up to more than 90 percent of their maximum thrust. The USEP begins to shake noticeably.
​“Five, four three, two, one . . .”
The Falcon Heavy-lift launch vehicle lifted off the pad and streaked towards the sky, its engines now at maximum throttle. Ten minutes later, having separated from the launch vehicle, the USEP entered a low Earth’s orbit.
Commander Fossum instructed the computer to scan for Chad.
Nothing.
He pushed the second of four propulsion buttons causing the USEP to shudder and lurch forward under the power of its twin high output plasma thrust engines. The small pod was now cruising over four hundred miles above the Planet. Commander Fossum instructed the computer to perform a second scan. A small object appeared on the three-dimensional display.
“We found him,” confirmed Commander Fossum.
“Where is he?” asked Janus.
“Just under ten thousand miles ahead at an altitude of ninety miles.”
“We need to get to him quickly.”
“Understood.”
Commander Fossum pushed the third button initiating maximum normal speed. The USEP lurched once again as it accelerated towards Chad and then gradually descended as it bore down on Chad’s enclosure. At eighty miles above the surface, Commander Fossum cut the engines, initiated the reverse thrusters, slowing the USEP to 18,000 miles per hour. Seconds later, Chad’s blue enclosure came into view.
“There he is,” confirmed Colonel Lindsey.
“He’s dropped down to 70 miles,” said Lieutenant Colonel Kelly.
Just then, the USEP began to vibrate noticeably.
“We’re starting to hit the upper atmosphere,” said Commander Fossum.
Janus knew the mission was in serious trouble.
“We can’t launch the orb under these conditions,” said Janus. “And we can’t risk Chad going through re-entry and a crash landing.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
Janus thought for a few seconds.
“The slip ring.”
“What?”
“Sixty five miles above the planet and dropping,” confirmed Lieutenant Colonel Kelly, the vibrations increasing dramatically.
Janus unbuckled himself and jumped from his seat. He quickly scanned the controls as he approached the console.
Looks the same, he thought.
From his enclosure, Chad watched anxiously as the USEP bore down on him. He was weak and exhausted and wanted to get out of his shield enclosure which was beginning to shudder considerably.
Come on Janus, he thought.
​Janus pushed the first propulsion button initiating the deployment of the slip ring cylinder components and driveshaft from either side of the USEP. He quickly hit another button activating a series of cameras imbedded into the lower surface of the pod. Janus then glanced at Commander Fossum.
​“Steer us over Chad’s enclosure,” he instructed.
​“But —“
​“Do as I ask.”
​Janus stared back and forth at the camera monitor and three-dimensional displays located just above the center console. He then started tapping the slip ring deployment button while holding down another button.
​“What are you doing?” asked Colonel Lindsey.
​“Over-riding the slip ring deployment . . .”
​Just then, the cameras caught Chad’s blue enclosure as the USEP slowly passed over it.
​“Slow us down to 17,400 miles per hour,” instructed Janus. “And bank a few degrees to the left.”
​By now the USEP was shaking severely.
​Chad’s pod suddenly reappeared on the middle of the screen.
​“OK,” said Janus tapping the slip ring deployment button repeatedly. “Increase our speed to 17,500 miles per hour, and lower us down gently.”
​Janus stared intently at the monitor as Chad’s enclosure grew larger and larger.  He then tapped the slip ring retraction button several times causing the slip ring to retract ever so slightly, pinching Chad’s enclosure against the bottom of the pod.
​“Got you.” said Janus. He turned toward Commander Fossum. “Get us above the outer atmosphere as quickly as possible. We’re almost out of time. From the looks of things, Chad’s enclosure is going to dissipate any moment.”
​Commander Fossum expertly guided the USEP to one hundred miles above the planet. By now, the vibrations had ceased.
​Janus quickly approached the pod door.
​“What’s the code?”
​“2247”
​Janus pushed the black button to the left of the inside door, entered the keypad security code, pressurizing the chamber. Seconds later, the inner door slid open. He instructed his orb to enter the Chamber. After closing the door and performing a manual depressurization, Janus opened the outer door. He then rushed back to the console.
​As Janus stared at the monitors, his shiny metallic orb appeared. Janus instructed it to activate its levitation beam while he tapped the slip ring deployment button several times, gently releasing the enclosure. The orb quickly directed Chad’s blue plasma shelter up to the pod’s outer door.
​Closing his eyes to concentrate, Janus confirmed that the shield enclosure was positioned tightly against the door. He hurried to the inner door and entered the code into the keypad, pressurizing the chamber before the door slid open.
​“When I give the word, open the outer door,” he instructed.
​Colonel Lindsey and Lieutenant Colonel Kelly quickly unbuckled themselves and jumped from their seats.
​“Janus, you need to put on your helmet,” instructed Colonel Lindsey.
​“There isn’t time,” replied Janus. “Just give me the portable headset.”
​After the inner door slid open he scrambled inside the chamber. The astronauts quickly entered the access code, closing the door behind him.
​This is it, Janus thought.
​“Open the outer door,” he instructed.
​As the door slid open, Chad’s blue shield enclosure was squeezed tightly up against the chamber, sparkling brightly. Janus knew what that meant. The shield was on the verge of dissipating.
​He could see Chad, in human form, lying in the enclosure. Janus reached towards Chad, only to be repelled by the enclosure wall.
​“Come on Chad,” he encouraged, “you can do it.”
​Chad tried to turn towards the door opening.
​“He’s very weak,” muttered Janus.
​Chad tried a second, and a third time, without success. The shield was now sparkling so brightly, Janus could no longer see into it.
​“Chad!” shouted Janus, his heart beating rapidly.
​Chad’s hand suddenly appeared through the shield. Janus grabbed it and pulled him into the chamber.
​“Close the outer door — now.”
​The door quickly slid closed. Soon thereafter, the orb confirmed that the enclosure had destabilized into a series of sparkling blue sections. Less than a minute later, it was gone altogether.
​Once the inner door slid open, the astronauts pulled Chad and Janus to safety. Lying on the USEP deck, Janus hugged Chad tightly.
​“Thanks Janus,” said Chad weakly. “Thank you all.”
​Colonel Lindsey closed the inner door and depressurized the chamber. Soon thereafter, the inner door to the re-pressurized chamber slid open and the monitoring orb sped into the cabin. By now, Janus was gently rubbing Chad’s head.
​“Thank you gentlemen,” said Janus.
​“How’d you know to do all of that?” asked Colonel Lindsey.
​“I directed the USEP development program on Thrae. I probably know this vehicle better than I know myself.”
​“Wow. I bet.”
​“Are we ready to rendezvous with the ISS?” grinned Commander Fossum.
​“That sounds awesome,” replied Chad wearily.

CHAPTER TWO — RETURN TO THRAE

​In two weeks, Zan Liss’s two multi-seat USEPs had raced back across deep space 600 light years along Earth’s spiral arm. The Mitel armada, sent to Earth in search of the young Thraen immortal hybrid, had failed. The fleet had been sent by the Mitel Leadership, a group of cunning and ruthless old men who ruled Mitel with an iron fist.

​Although the USEPs faster than light speed technology had been scaled up and applied to the much larger Mitel space fleet, the huge vessels simply could not attain the same speeds as their much smaller USEP counterpart. Distances that took the USEP weeks to travel, required several months for the Mitel fleet to traverse.

​At the end of the armada’s six month voyage to Earth, Zan made the decision to abandon his position as Mitel Emperor and did what he could to prevent genocide of countless men, women and children. He used his own Mitel space cruiser to disrupt the plans of the attacking outer space armada. He eventually abandoned his badly damaged cruiser and headed toward home. It was a decision he didn’t regret. He just wished he had made it sooner. Zan’s parents, both Mitel resistance commanders, were killed in front of him when he was only six years old by Mitel Embedded Special Forces. He was told at the time that his parents were nothing more than common thieves. Zan was raised on the Arman Matrix, Mitel’s largest military base, also referred to as the Hub. Zan was raised by a series of military foster parents, and in time, the vivid memories of his parents’ violent death faded. His insatiable curiosity led him to become an expert mechanic, computer troubleshooter, and eventually a pilot. He also displayed a keen interest in military strategy, technology, programs and innovation. Base personnel would often shake their heads and laugh, saying that Zan could run the entire base all by himself. At twenty-one, he was a Mitel cruiser commander. At thirty-three, he was appointed Emperor of Mitel by the Mitel Leadership. It wasn’t until after Zan was appointed Emperor that he learned the real truth about his parents. It was at that time that he began to plot his exit strategy.

​The USEPs were surrounded by a series of interconnected plasma shields to protect them. The pods were propelled to speeds in excess of twelve times the speed of light by the large cylindrical graphene ring. The pod’s plasma shields were designed to insulate the craft, occupants, and its contents by absorbing, attenuating, and filtering the tremendous g-forces generated by the high-speed travel. The plasma shields also temporarily stored kinetic energy which was used to power the craft’s slip ring drive, plasma shields and lower-than-light speed engines.             

​Once the USEP reached approximately twelve times the speed of light, its gravitational field caused the craft to resonate at the exact same frequency as deep space. This allowed the pod to slip through space for light years at a time in mere seconds, analogous to electric current running through a wire. The slip would then trigger the spinning cylindrical ring to slow down and decelerate the craft to less than the speed of light. Once the ring came back up to speed, the process would repeat. The instantaneous travel or slip speed would end when enough energy resistance caused the pod’s resonating frequency to change as compared to its natural surroundings.

​A few years earlier, Zan, with the aid of his top notch mechanics, had secretly reverse engineered one of the two small faster-than-speed-of-light pods he had confiscated from an old Thraen defense fortress. He gave the other pod to the Mitel Leadership to distract them from his questionable actions during his previous mission to Thrae. The Leadership had sent Zan to eradicate the Thraen resistance once and for all. After being captured in the old defense fortress, Zan made a deal with the resistance in exchange for his life. The gamble paid off. Instead of being punished, Zan was put in charge of the enormous task of reverse engineering the propulsion technology to boost the entire Mitel fleet. During the retrofitting program, Zan secretly had the back end of his own cruiser reconfigured to store and launch the two USEP pods. That contingency allowed Zan and several of his crew to escape Earth just before Chad’s annihilation event. Once the retrofit program had been successfully completed, Zan was appointed Emperor, and sent on the ill-fated mission in search of the young immortal.

​As Zan’s multi-seat USEP entered Thrae’s solar system, he disabled the slip departure mode, causing the spacecraft to return to maximum normal power. With a series of key strokes, the pod banked toward its final destination. The slip ring unlocked, retracted and rotated the four large curved sections into their storage location beneath the pod. Not far behind, the second USEP followed suit.

​Muscular and almost seven feet tall, Zan was an awe-inspiring individual even as Mitel soldiers go. He was completely bald, but had thick black eyebrows and a full mustache and goatee. Despite his imposing appearance, his best attributes were his intelligence, leadership and practical understanding of a wide range of Mitel military technologies and tactics.

​“Can’t wait to stretch my legs,” said Ard Lindar, Zan’s trusted best friend who had a love for history and was a deep thinker with a very quick wit. Like Zan, he was tall, but much leaner, with short brown hair and charcoal black eyes that helped him hide his emotions. Ard’s father had also been killed by Embedded Special Forces when he was a child. But unlike Zan, Ard was adopted by a Mitel Leadership member and eventually sent off to the prestigious Mitel Military Academy. Also a cruiser commander, Ard always questioned the circumstances surrounding his father’s death. Observing his stepfather growing up, he developed a healthy mistrust for the Mitel Leadership. When Zan told him the truth about his father, the news was not a surprise. 

​“It feels like forever since we walked on a planet surface and breathed fresh air,” pondered Ard.

​“It may not be that easy,” replied Zan.

​“I know. Hopefully the Mitel military has withdrawn its blockade.”

​“I wouldn’t count on it.”

​Zan let out a deep sigh before continuing.

​“It would’ve been so much easier had we gotten the high speed invisibility shields to work. We just couldn’t get them to operate effectively on the larger craft.” 

​The two pods propelled their way past the orbits of the four outermost planets in its solar system.

​“We’re quickly approaching Thrae,” announced Zan. “I’m reducing speed to minimum normal.”

​The pod slowed down as it quietly passed Thrae’s two moons. The group peered out of the forward facing trapezoidal windows. Directly in front of them was a large blue and green marble surrounded by a bluish-gray nebula, the blackness of space and countless stars. Small patches of white clouds dotted the planet high above the green interlocking land masses.

​“Now there’s a sight for sore eyes,” said Ard.

​Suddenly, the three-dimensional displays detected a large object approaching.

​“We’ve got company,” said Zan.

​“What is it?” asked Lia Saar, Zan’s former communications specialist. Standing a little over six feet tall with long curly brown hair and pale green eyes, Lia was stunningly beautiful.

​“A Mitel cruiser —“

​The communications light flashed. Zan reached over and pushed a button, activating the channel.

​“Do you register the approaching object?” asked Rad Aarden, Zan’s former Chief Medical Officer, from the second USEP. At eight feet four inches tall and almost four hundred pounds, Rad was a giant. The extensive black hair that covered most of his face and body made him look more animal than human. Although thought to be merely folklore, Rad was originally from the advanced but reclusive Nomas civilization located deep below the inhospitable Mitel Stone Forest. He was also one of a few Nomas who had ventured out into the world to try and make a difference.

​“Yes,” replied Zan. “A Mitel cruiser is closing in on us pretty fast.”

​“That’s not good,” replied Rad.

​“No, it isn’t.”

​“What are we going to do?”

​“Trying to figure that out now,” replied Zan, scanning the console data.

​“Why don’t I like that answer?” replied Ard.

​“I’m with him,” grunted Rad.

​“Picking up another, much larger object behind the cruiser,” confirmed Ard.

​“A Mitel Transport vessel,” Zan frowned.

​“Yes. And you know what that means.”

​“Mitel Strike fighters are in the area.”

​“Should we re-energize the slip rings and make a run for it?”

​“There isn’t time. Where would we go anyway?”

​“Maybe we could —“

​“The distress signal.”

​“What?”

​“These pods contain a Thraen emergency distress beacon. We uploaded it from the pods we found at the old defense fortress. With a little luck, maybe the Thraen resistance will send help.”

​“What do we do in the meantime?”

​“Try and outrun them,” replied Zan. He switched on the beacon. “Rad: tell Dru to follow our lead, OK?”

​“I heard you,” replied Dru Aldar, his lead mechanic, before signing off. Dru, short, stocky and bald with a gray goatee. He was the closest thing to a father Zan had ever known.

​In the Mitel cruiser’s Integrated Command Center, or ICC, the scanning specialist detected two small objects. He quickly ran a more detailed scan.

​“Commander! My scans show two small crafts headed towards the planet.”

​“From where?” asked the Commander.

​“Deep space. But it’s as if they appeared out of nowhere.”

​“What else do the scans show?”

​“The size and configuration of the crafts don’t match anything in our known database. Wait — they just sent out a Thraen distress signal.”

​“They’ve detected us. Navigator, intercept them. Accelerate this vessel to full closing speed!”

​“Yes Sir.”

​“Order the transport vessel to launch twenty strike fighters to assist in the intercept. We mustn’t let these craft get past our blockade.”

​“Doing it now,” replied the communications specialist.

​In the command center of a huge underground Thraen defense base — constructed under Lake Victoria, a large lake outside the old population center of Bagan — a hologram technician picked up the distress beacon.

​“Commander, you need to see this.”

​Thraen resistance Commander Arius Court made his way across the command center. A seasoned military man, Arius stood six feet five inches tall, with short gray hair, charcoal eyes and thick gray eyebrows.

​“What is it?” he asked.

​“I’m receiving an urgent distress signal from one of our craft beyond the outer atmosphere.”

​“Where?”

​“Space tracking antennae indicate they are above the old population center of Kotor. Wait – there are two of them.”

​“But we don’t have any craft out there.”

​“None that I’m aware of and Sir, there is something really odd about the distress signal,” frowned the technician.

​“What do you mean?”

​“We haven’t used that type of distress signal in almost twenty years. Wait. Tracking antennae now confirm two large objects are moving to intercept them.”

​Arius stiffened.

“A Mitel cruiser and Transport Vessel,” he opined.

“Yes,” nodded the technician.

Arias had a hunch there was something very unusual about the two craft.

“Send six of our new fighters to provide cover fire and safe escort back to the base,” he ordered.

​“Yes Sir!”

​In less than a minute, Thraen tactical fighters raced up underground flight ramps, exiting through heavily concealed access slots located on several of the lake’s larger islands, and streaked skyward. The forty-two foot long V shaped silver and black multi-purpose fighters had trapezoidal winglets and forward swept wings on each side; two angled vertical stabilizers in the rear above and forward of its large rectangular propulsion slot. Like their Mitel counterparts, the Thraen fighters contained thrust vectoring and gyroscopic directional systems allowing the agile and durable Fighters to operate effectively in both outer space and atmospheric conditions. With four inline high output plasma thrust engines, and six superheated high energy hydrogen plasma burst laser cannons, they represented the next generation multi-role fighter.

​“The cruiser just initiated a gravity control beam!” announced Ard.

​“Time for some evasive maneuvers,” replied Zan over the communication system.

​“We’ll follow your lead,” responded Dru.

​As the pods weaved to the left, the gravity control beam narrowly missed the second USEP.

​“Here comes another one,” confirmed Ard as the Mitel cruiser bore down on them.

​This time, Zan jerked his pod to the right.

​On the Mitel cruiser’s ICC, the scanning specialist tracked the progress of the gravity control beams.

​“They’re successfully evading our gravity beams Sir,” he announced.

​“What are those craft?” grumbled the Commander. “What difference does it make? Order the strike fighters to destroy them.”

​“Yes Sir.”

​“Twenty strike fighters bearing down on us,” said Ard anxiously.

​“Let’s see if we can put some distance between us at full speed,” said Zan. “Everybody hold on.”

​Zan pushed the third propulsion button causing the pod to lurch forward under maximum normal power. 

​“They’re opening fire!” confirmed Ard.

​The lead fighters unleashed a barrage of lethal high energy lasers at the pods. Zan zigzagged back and forth in a desperate attempt to avoid them, shadowed by the second USEP.

​It’s only a matter of time before they hit us, he thought.

​The lead Mitel strike fighter began to mimic the movement of the second USEP. Confirming a target lock the pilot prepared to squeeze the trigger before suddenly disintegrating.

“What the . . . !” shouted Ard.

“Reinforcements have arrived!” shouted Rad as the Thraen fighters streaked past them in the opposite direction. Their high energy plasma cannons made short work of the Mitel fighters before turning their attention towards the Mitel cruiser and Transport vessel.

“Whoo-hoo!” shouted Ard.

“OK,” Zan sighed with relief. “Let’s slow down and head for the surface.”

As the cruiser and transport vessel retreated deeper into space, the Thraen fighters quickly turned and headed back towards their base.

​Nearing the planet’s surface, the USEPs suddenly found themselves surrounded by the Thraen fighters. Two of them quickly pulled in front of Zan’s pod.

​“I think they want us to follow them,” said Ard.

​As the fighters descended directly at Lake Victoria, Zan became alarmed.

​“What are they doing?” he asked just before the first one disappeared into an island entrance slot, followed by the second fighter.

​“Hold on tight,” cautioned Zan as he approached the entrance. He grimaced slightly as the USEP entered a rectangular tunnel which curved downward. Bright white ceiling and side lights illuminated the passageway. Several seconds later, a repeating series of flashing yellow light strips along the bottom and sides of the tunnel caused Zan to slow his pod to minimum forward speed and deploy his landing gear. Rad’s pod followed suit.

​The tunnel opened up into an enormous underground cavern. Zan’s pod was instantly grabbed by a landing-assist gravity control beam which quickly decelerated and gently landed the spacecraft. Zan steered the USEP as it rolled to a stop behind the fighters. As he powered down the pod’s engines, Rad’s USEP stopped next to him.

​On the ICC, the commander walked over to the scanning specialist.

​“Where are the Thraen craft now?” he asked.

​The specialist stared at his computer screen before typing quickly. He then stared again.

​“Well?” asked the commander impatiently.

​“I can’t locate them. They’ve disappeared.”

​“They must have a large hidden base. We know from the last invasion that they have an extensive underground network. We must find it.”

​“Yes Sir.”

​“What was their last known location?”

​“Over a large lake . . . then they were gone.”

​“That makes no sense whatsoever. Useless scanners.”

​Zan and Ard stared out the pod’s trapezoidal windows. The underground base was a technical marvel. Exit tunnels could be seen in all directions. A large control center and several enormous air vents were located on the ceiling. Dozens of Thraen fighters were parked tightly around the perimeter and hundreds of interior windows were located along the vertical surfaces. Bright white lights were everywhere.

​“This is unbelievable,” whispered Ard.

​“I’ll say,” nodded Zan.

​They watched as several hover craft approached from all directions.

​“We have company,” said Ard.

​By now, the remaining Thraen fighters had landed behind them. As the hover craft touched down, hologram soldiers jumped onto the tarmac and pointed their electro laser long weapons directly at the pods.  A minute later, one final hover craft approached, landing ten feet behind the others. Led by Arius, several Thraen officers walked past the circle of soldiers. Approaching the pods, Arius motioned them to exit their spacecraft.

​Once the outside airlock doors opened, Zan and the others climbed down using a series of hand and footholds. As they gathered together between the two pods, Arius and his team cautiously approached.

​“Identify yourselves!” he ordered. Arius surveyed the Thraen markings on the surfaces of the pod.

​“My Name is Zan Liss.”

​“Emperor Liss?”

​“No, just Zan Liss now.”

​“I am Arius Court, Commander of the Thraen resistance. What about your armada and its mission?”

​“We believe the armada was destroyed. We may be all that’s left.”

​“That’s impossible.”

​“He’s telling you the truth,” replied Lia.

​“Who’s she?”

​“Lia Saar, Communications Specialist, and a member of the Mitel resistance. As are Dax Bann and Mat Wall,” explained Zan. “Without their help, I wouldn’t be alive. They hid their true allegiances until things started to get out of hand. They saved my life on the ICC. They are brave and dedicated.”

​At twenty-one, Dax had been an assistant navigator on Zan’s cruiser and a fourth-generation resistance fighter. Mat, only nineteen, was the cruiser’s assistant scanning specialist, and also a third generation Mitel resistance fighter.

​“They are so young,” nodded Arius respectfully.

​“They are. But in my opinion, they are the future of Mitel. And to my left is Ard Lindar, previously a top notch Mitel cruiser commander, not to mention a graduate with honors from the prestigious Mitel Military Academy.”

​Ard rolled his eyes at Zan before waving.

​“Standing next to him is Rad Aarden, Chief Medical Officer and his team.”

​“I must say you are the largest person I have ever met.”

​Rad nodded quietly.

​“To my right, Dru Aldar and his team of expert mechanics,” motioned Zan. “When it comes to space propulsion technology, he and his team are the best.”

​“Greetings to you all,” replied Arius. “But why did you come here?”

​“To help the Thraen resistance. We tried to stop the Mitel armada from committing genocide on a distant planet. We couldn’t go home, at least not yet. Our thought was if we can help you free your people, maybe Thrae would consider helping us free ours.”

​“We welcome any assistance from anyone loyal to our cause,” answered Arius. “We heard that you were the architect that upgraded the Mitel fleet. Unfortunately, those efforts have significantly hampered our resistance efforts. To this point, we have been unable to break the Mitel blockade. We have lost many good people trying.”

​“I am truly sorry,” replied Zan sincerely. “But I didn’t upgrade the Mitel fleet all by myself. My mechanics were the real brains behind our fleet’s transformation. If it’s any consolation, we can help Thrae at least achieve the same results and probably better.”

​“That is a very enticing offer Zan Liss,” nodded Arius, “but your armada, what happened to it?”

​“It was wiped out by a young Thraen Battle Sphere named Chad Stone who regrettably reversed his energy core.”

​“So it’s true then. We heard that your armada went looking for him. We had also heard that an infant Battle Sphere escaped our planet during the second Mitel invasion fifteen years ago.”

​“Yes he did. Along with his father.”

​“His father? Who?”

​“Janus Stone,” replied Ard. “But you may know him by another name.”

​“A name that is more famous than Janus Stone?”

​“Yes, Zebulon Park.”

​“What? The Battle Sphere that helped drive back the first Mitel Invasion? But Park is dead.”

​“Evidently not. He accompanied his son in hologram form,” replied Zan. “I presume he trained him to help defeat our fleet, along with the help of the Mitel resistance, that is,” he added.

​“The Mitel resistance? How?”

​“We successfully imbedded our people into the Mitel military,” smiled Lia proudly. “Our suicide bombers destroyed several of their craft during the armada’s long voyage through deep space.”

​“That was very courageous. But the boy — the young Battle Sphere — he is no more?”

​“He had the ability to project protective plasma shields. We sent him a last minute message to try to place one around himself. We never confirmed that he received it, but even if he had, the cosmic explosion was immense. I don’t know how anything could have survived.”

​“That is regrettable. We could certainly use him here.”

​“You mean to end the Mitel blockade?”

​“Well yes that, but more importantly, to oppose the young Mitel Battle Sphere.”

​“What?” Ard blurted.

​“It’s a long story,” Arius began. “However, suffice to say a young Thraen girl and her family were captured and taken prisoner a few years ago as part of a daring Mitel commando raid. Our intelligence received a tip from the medical community that she was exhibiting early transformation characteristics. A review of her medical records confirmed that her body possessed the classic indicators: abnormally high levels of titanium, aluminum, beryllium, cobalt, manganese and cadmium. We were waiting for her to grow older. We still don’t know how the Mitels found out about her and her whereabouts. At this point, we believe she is being trained to attack our planet, with the Mitel Leadership holding her family hostage to force her to do their bidding.”

​“That sounds like the Mitel Leadership,” grunted Ard. “And to think they sent an armada across the universe.”

​“We’re very disappointed she was taken from us but we’re also glad the Mitel Leadership didn’t send that armada here. If they’d done that, I don’t know if we’d be standing here now.”

​“You may be right,” replied Zan.

​“What’s the story behind the pods you arrived in?”

​“We recovered two smaller ones from inside your old defense fortress several years ago. They formed the basis of our fleet upgrade.”

​“You reverse engineered them?”

​“Correct.”

​“But how did you know where to find them?”

​“I was a young Mitel cruiser commander during the second invasion. We were patrolling around the planet and stumbled upon a small pod. Scans revealed that it contained an infant boy and a few monitoring orbs. Scans also confirmed that the boy was not just a Thraen hybrid, but a Battle Sphere. Before we could grab the pod with our gravity control beams, it escaped into deep space at incredible speeds. I eventually concluded someone was leading a secret development program. That someone was Janus Stone. We spoke briefly during the Mitel attack on Earth. He had no idea that Thrae survived the rolling energy wave.”

​“Understandable. Is he still alive?” asked Arius.

​“We don’t know,” replied Zan.

​“I see. We too located a few of the small pods in the old defense fortress, but with the Mitel blockade, there wasn’t much we could do with them.”

​“We must get rid of the blockade. That’s where Lia, Dax, Mat and the Mitel resistance can help.”

​“How?”

​“I’ll explain later.”

​“Here we go again,” grunted Ard

​“Well,” said Arius, “if the Mitel armada is no more, then the rest of the Mitel fleet could be vulnerable. Maybe there’s still hope.”

​“That’s our hope as well.”

​“I was told by Zi Liss,” said Lia, “Zan’s uncle and a Mitel resistance commander that things have a way of working out.”

​“Let’s hope he’s right for our sake. If the Mitel Battle Sphere returns to oppose us, I don’t see how we can prevail.”

​“It wouldn’t be easy,” said Zan. “But it sounds like we have some time. Before she arrives, we have a lot of work to do. First, we need to eliminate the blockade. Second, we need to start retrofitting your entire fleet. Then we’ll figure out a plan to deal with her.”

​“A plan to deal with a Battle Sphere?” grunted Arius. “With all due respect —“

​“I know what you’re going to say, but before the young Battle Sphere reversed his core and facilitated the annihilation, the Mitel armada almost captured it.”

​“Really? But how?”

​“Using the Mitel fleet’s upgraded corkscrew antigravity control beams in conjunction with swarming strike fighters. The fighters lured the Battle Sphere into outer space which allowed the cruisers and transport vessels to attach their gravity beams from all directions. The Battle Sphere was effectively incapacitated. ”

​“Those enhanced gravity beams,” groaned Arius.

​“I’m sorry about that too . . .”

​“Don’t tell me you were also behind that upgrade.”

​“Yes.”

​“You obviously possess many talents Zan Liss,” mused Arius. “But what if this Battle Sphere also reverses its core?”

​“Good question. My hunch is that she won’t know about that ability. Remember, she won’t have Zebulon Park there for training.”

​“True. Tell me then, are you currently a member of the Mitel resistance?”

​“In time I guess,” replied Zan. “But first, we would like to become members of the Thraen resistance. That is, if you’d have us. As I said, if we can help Thrae free itself from Mitel’s repression, maybe Thrae would consider helping us free our people from the oppressive Mitel Leadership.”

​“Deal,” smiled Arius. “From what you’re telling me, you and your crew would be of great assistance here.” He stepped forward and reached out his hand.

​“Great,” grinned Zan. The two men shook hands tightly. “I must say, this is an impressive underground facility.”

​“Thank you. It’s one of many.”

​“Many?”

​“Yes. It’s all part of our underground bunker system. After the first Mitel invasion, we took steps to protect ourselves in the event of another attack. The extensive underground shelters are one reason why so many people survived the rolling energy wave triggered during the second assault.”

​“I see.”

​“Yes, you will.”

​“What do you mean?”

​“I will give you a tour. We have two adjacent underground chambers larger than this. In each one, we are building three state of the art space cruisers. The timing of your arrival is perfect.”

​“Hey! Another development program for you to sink your teeth into Zan,” laughed Ard.

​“I welcome the opportunity,” smiled Zan.

​“Excellent,” replied Arius. “We’ll talk more. For now, you all must all be very tired. Come with us. We’ll see to it that you receive some well deserved rest and relaxation.”

​“That sounds like music to my ears,” clapped Ard.

​“Don’t get too comfortable Ard,” smiled Zan. “As I said, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”