For the second time, I was forcibly led towards the mountain.

The Satellite Lords had already carefully framed me for the murder of my captain, so there was no charade this time. No one smiled at me or saluted, there was no effort to pretend I was anything but an enemy.

My captor had been joined by a party of armed men, squashing any odds I might have had of making a break for it. I'd never seen so many rayguns pointed my way all at once!

Nobody held me up, in fact, they laughed and kicked at me as I was pushed onward. We did not make for the landing strip and the main entrance, but instead for an entrance in a lower rocky spot. It appeared that the devils had a garrison and foot patrols, just to prevent anyone doing what I'd just tried to do.

Once down the winding tunnel, we entered a chamber of smoothed dark stone, with electric torches mounted everywhere, trying to pierce the gloomy ether of the mountain. A group of men came towards us, one, a leader, wore more elaborate armor.

They forced me to my knees.

The bulky warrior who'd captured me spoke “He landed out of sight. He must have-”

“The report only just arrived,” the leader snapped, “yes, this Renford escaped the snare somehow.”

I glared up at the leader and said “Why are you framing me for Tando's murder? I don't see why you don't do your evil scheming without involving us?”

He kicked me in the stomach and then planted his metal booted foot on my chest, squeezing the breath from me “Why do you suppose I should tell you?”

I could not answer right away. He pulled his foot away the guardsmen hauled me up onto my knees.

“I can't hear you.”

I coughed and finally said “Because you didn't have me killed outright. Just maybe you aren't done with me yet.”

The leader laughed and the others joined him. “The Seleniumites sell this one short, the primate has some logic.”

“Heldo Xird is your spy, isn't he? He's going to do something and I am implicated to divert suspicion. That's it, isn't it?”

He ordered me dragged up to my feet now. The leader looked me in the face, the satisfied smile deepening on his bluish face. Back where I came from, a look like that would have got him punched, or maybe shot. Too bad he was right here. He asked “Just what makes you think we only have one spy on Selenium?”

My face fell. What indeed? I had other things that I wanted to ask, but they had no reason to tell me.

“That's enough talk, I think. We'll find you a place in the dungeon while we await orders. Don't be gloomy, though, Renford, we may even arrange for Selenium to rescue you someplace.”

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Gloomy is what I was.

A small group lead me town a tunnel, a lot like the one I'd gone down on the fateful day. This time I was not drugged, and could follow the way. Only two intersections lead to the winding stair which snaked inside the mountain. We passed a kind of window, an opening in the tunnel, obstructed by stalagmites, almost like iron bars, and the chamber beyond was a vast cavern with many workers marching back and forth. Only for a moment was I able to watch the scene, but I caught sight of workmen hauling gigantic pieces of metal machinery on wheels. More importantly, I saw that the cavern opened out onto the landing field. We continued down the way and the vision was lost, but that couple of seconds had me thinking of escape.

The two guns in my back meant that the attempt could not be done just then.

I would bide my time, and perhaps overpower a careless guard. Why should a guard take great care? His job is dismal!

That cavern must have something to do with whatever evil the Satellite Lords plotted. I had a duty to see about bringing it to a halt. More importantly, my Gnaro, Tando Var, was still a prisoner somewhere in this mountain.

The path wound to a deeper spot, and we arrived at a lighted opening crossed with bars. The turnkey came to the door and asked: “What’s the word?”

“Find someplace to keep this freak until the leader calls for him,” was the answer from one of my escorts.

The turnkey frowned “I wish you would be more specific, we’ve miles worth of cells below.”

“Then put him someplace deep and dark, the deeper and darker the better.”

The door was opened and the turnkey summoned another pair of guards to take me in hand, and so my journey continued.

I heard the bolt on the lock shut again and realized that any escape I tried would have plenty of obstacles.

The way was deeper and darker than what I had seen above. Lighted spaces opened off to one side or other that had rows of cells, many of which were empty. I guess nothing was just deep and dark enough yet, or maybe they wanted me confined someplace all alone.

By this point the lights only came every hundred feet or so, and the way always twisted, leaving lots of shadow.

We came to another gate like the one I’d been handed off at before, but this one had no light.

The guard called out, but no one answered.

We waited and I got a strange feeling.

The guard took an electric torch from his belt and shined it inside “We have a prisoner. Answer!”

His words just echoed off the stone walls.

He took a key from his belt and let himself in. We all passed inside.

The same desk and chair were here, but with no man at them, a small alcove on the facing side had a bench, also without anyone on it.

The second guard asked the first: “Shouldn’t we call it in?”

The first shook his head “No, I don’t want to linger down here.”

“We can’t even lock him up if the keeper isn’t here to turn him over to. This is a special prisoner.”

The light made the way ahead look very dismal and frightening to my eye. Perhaps if they were just a little more frightened than me I could make something of that.

“Keeper!” the guard shouted down the way, “come out! Special prisoner!”

The second man cried out “On the floor! Look at that, we need to go back now!”

The beam from the electric torch fell on two forms lying on the stone floor, two soldiers covered in their own blood, claw marks trailing from their throats.