Chapter 23 - Move It Out

Jet Dixon and his captive Queen Jara were making their way quietly through the halls of Archaeopolis. Word was spreading through the sky city that Her Royal Highness had been taken hostage by the wingless Earthman. Jet kept a tight grip around Jara's waist and the sword close to her throat. The various armed Wingwomen who came across their path backed away as they saw the deadly intent in Jet's eyes.

"Those drama classes at Princeton are sure coming in handy," Jet thought to himself. "They really think I might slit her throat, but I never could do that, not in cold blood."

Some of the Wingwomen started to fall in behind them thinking to make a surprise attack from the rear at some point.

Though Jet could not see his new tagalongs, he was wise to their presence. He brought the sword's edge a little close to Jara's neck. "Tell them to back off. I don't want anybody playing follow-the-leader."

"Withdraw!" Jara said with as much dignity as she could muster, given her predicament. The Wingwomen dutifully did as she commanded.

"Now you better be taking us on the fastest way to the energy plant. I don't want to be subjecting Dawn to any more of that horrible radiation."

"Why do you care for that flightless female?" Jara said through gritted teeth. "Am I not infinitely more desirable?"

"Sorry, but you're not my kind of chick," Jet replied.

In the energy plant, Dawn Revere was beginning to droop from the exposure. Some of her co-workers already had to be carried away. Dawn could not tell if they had simply collapsed or if they were dead. In either case, she felt sorry for them. She hoped that she would not be joining them, but that was looking more and more likely. Her strength had waned; even if she was presented with the opportunity for escape, she was too weak to do it on her own.

She continued to work, sending incompletely processed energy rocks down the line to be fed into the furnaces. Power was continuing to flicker throughout Archaeopolis.

The power problems were a major concern on the mind of Dr. Harkov. He had his fellow scientists scurrying all over the Laboratory in the hopes of tying in the ancient backup power system. If they failed, the Shield Generator might shut down. That would deactivate the aura that sustained life on the planet Atla. While shutting down the aura might accomplish the Earth trio's primary objective, it would mean that any recognition they might receive on Earth would have to come posthumously.

"All right," Harkov shouted over the din. "Let's bring up the backup power units, but slowly, very slowly."

The fearful scientists did as Harkov ordered. Some wished that the switches could be completely thrown. Then they would know immediately, one way or the other, if they were destined for salvation or destruction. Dr. Harkov's way only led them to insufferable anxiety.

Queen Jara's eyes burned with rage as she glowered at the sword Jet Dixon was pointing at her. "What is the meaning of this effrontery?!? Or is this some kind of mating ritual on your world?"

Jet smiled slyly. The disruption in power had darkened the lights momentarily which had allowed him to grab the sword. "It's no ritual. It's called acquiring a hostage. You're my ticket out of here, Your Highness."

The winged monarch of Archaeopolis began re-arranging her outfit to a more proper appearance. Her clothes had been adjusted to be a little more revealing as she had used her feminine wiles upon the Earthman. "You wouldn't dare! Doing so would only re

Jet motioned with the sword for her to rise to her feet. "That assumes that I fail in the attempt. I've got no plans for that." Once Jara was on her feet, Jet stepped behind her. He wrapped his left arm around her narrow waist while he put the edge

"Hmmph!" Jara sighed in disgust. "Now you don't mind being close to me!"

"It's nothing personal." Jet pushed her forward with pressure from his shoulder. "It's just business - the business of escape. "Now you're going to lead us to the energy plant and then the Science Laboratory. I'm not leaving without my friends."

In the energy plant, the guards were fearfully aware of the current situation. The power levels were dropping all over the sky city of Archaeopolis. It was their responsibility to make sure that the City in the Clouds, and more importantly, the Shield

Dawn Revere was beginning to tire from the exertion. The flow of rocks that came her way down the conveyor belt was increasing. There was no way that she could complete all of the refining processes without causing a pile-up. Making impure fuel had b

"The question is," Dawn though to herself, "is this going to give me a chance to escape. Even if it does, I'm so very tired. Maybe it will give Dr. Harkov an opportunity to do something."

Inside of the Science Laboratory, Dr. Abraham Harkov was very concerned about the power quality problem. The Shield Generator was a very complicated machine. The unreliability of the power supply could have catastrophic effects upon it. He had been m

"We need to stabilize the Shield Generator," Harkov shouted. "Are there any emergency protocols?"

"There are some backup generators," one of the Archaeopolitan scientists said nervously. "But they've never been used in our lifetime. They might not work."

"Show me where," Harkov ordered. "And you'd better pray to whatever gods you worship that they do, or else Atla will be destroyed."

SPACE SQUADROOM

Bob Gansler
07-Mar-01