“Now I’m counting on you to behave whilst I’m away, ok? No nonsense, and I want you to look after Wo’Trendsont.”

“Yeah, I will,” Ta’Balshén replied nodding.

“Good. Holt, Blane and Mindy have been looking forward to having you around and I think they have lots planned,” Do’Lânqwa continued.

“When will you be back?” the boy asked. Do’Lânqwa knocked on the triplet’s front door.

“I don't know, it all depends. But I’ll back for you both soon, ok?” Do’Lânqwa smiled warmly.

The triplets came into view through the windows on the front door and they were swung open.

“Boyyyys!” Blane enthusiastically sang. “You’re here!” He opened his arms and they both ran into them. “Let’s have a race to the pool,” he said leading the way. Ta’Balshen and two year old Wo’Trendsont were hot in pursuit.

“Bye then,” laughed Do’Lânqwa who remained on the doorstep with Holt and Mindy. “Thanks again for doing this. They’ve been really excited.”

“Our pleasure. I think it’s like what they call a 'vacation' here for them.”

“I'll be as quick as I can be.”

“Whatever it takes Do’Lânqwa. We got them,” assured Holt.

“How are you feeling about going back?” Mindy asked.

The last time Do’Lânqwa went back to Earthgrë it was to rescue his wife and child before all out war was declared on the planet. Tragically, in a scuffle with the authorities challenging his return, his wife was murdered and Do’Lânqwa could only save his son, Wo’Trendsont. As they fled the planet, the war had begun and on their return to Earthuu, the battle for London started.

“Let’s just say that I won’t be making a habit of going back there. This is for Terri. Kind of. I could also do with maintenance to my suit and Terri will need one for when she's fit and healthy. I'll get all the Krugreycium I can and get out and it will be my last time. Not that there will be a lot left there to keep going for,” Do’Lânqwa explained.

“Don’t you think?” Mindy asked.

“No no. We all saw the start of the attack as we left. Earthgrë had no defence systems. No military, and no chance.”

“But this trip is worth a shot though, Do’Lânqwa. We appreciate the effort you’re going to. I know Terri will be too,” Holt said.

“I’m going to see her later today so will let her know you’ve set off.”

“Thanks Mindy. But please, there’s no guarantee that there is going to be any Krugreycium left, so manage her expectations on that front. I best go anyway. Thanks again for looking after the boys.”

“Stop saying thanks! It’s all good. Go on, off you go, big guy. Take care.”

***

That was too easy, he thought, coming into Earthgrë’s orbit. There was no resistance to his presence in space. No Peacekeepers. No anything.

Earthgrë itself was a ruin. The smaller than Earthuu sized planet he called home just looked charred. The land masses were a sorry mix of blacks, browns and dark oranges. Singed. Even the seas were not as clear as they used to be. Do’Lânqwa sat miles above just taking in the scene. Earthgrë really didn’t stand a chance.

Who could have survived this? he wondered.

Time to find out.

He engaged the thrusters and narrowed in on familiar ground, although with no landmarks and everything looking the same shade of obliteration, he found it a bit trickier to know where exactly he was going.

Do’Lânqwa honed in on his home area, flying low and taking in the street he lived on. Houses didn’t look like houses anymore. Craters dotted the landscape like a giant dot to dot. Some parts were more devastated than others. He wondered though if this was the case across the whole planet.

They made their escape just in time it seemed. If they had have been any later, his wife and infant would have both died. And if they had have stayed on the planet any longer, they would have all died too.

Do’Lânqwa found an open area and set his jet down. He waited and watched for a few minutes to check his surroundings and make sure he hadn’t aroused any negative attention. He stood by the rear cargo door and activated his suit while the door lowered. Stepping out, he checked again.

He had found a spot in a commercial hub. There were charred and mangled remains of vehicles scattered around the vehicle lot he had landed in. Buildings that were once places for people to shop in were mere shells. Roofs collapsed in on themselves, walls caved in and windows smashed out. There was little to none vegetation left and the sky was a dark apocalyptic orange as opposed to the clear blue he remembered.

Do’Lânqwa went to check a nearby road junction but froze at what he saw. Three figures approached him, fanned out in formation with rifles pointed. He looked left. Two more. Looked right. One more.

“Stop!” shouted the middle guy approaching from straight in front of Do’Lânqwa. The people surrounding him were wearing regular looking yet shabby garments with an array of body armour over the top.

Two of the figures wore Peacekeeper vests and the other wore armour that looked military. Possibly from the invaders of Earthgrë as they didn’t have their own military forces.

“Who are you? Declare yourself now!” shouted another voice.

“It’s ok,” Do’Lânqwa reassured going to deactivate his suit which invoked anxiety in those confronting him. “I’m not doing anything, I’m just retracting my suit,” he said as he went through with deactivating his suit.

The suit retracted and Do’Lânqwa stood, allowing those in front of him to get a measure of him.

“I’m The Astral Sheriff.”

“Oh my?! Do’Lânqwa?! Is that you?” a voice cried out.

“Well, yeah… Ok, so that’s my actual name,” he mumbled, turning towards the female voice that came from his left. The girl had lowered her weapon and appeared visibly surprised and joyous to see him. Do’Lânqwa looked her over and dug deep in his memory to place her.

“It’s me, Su’Cloúvina. Mo’Lilvia’s daughter,” she announced seeing his uncertainty.

That’s right! he realised.

“I apologise, it’s been a while. My, how mature you appear now!” he said.

“It’s alright everyone. He worked with my father in Law Enforcement,” she explained to the others who then lowered their weapons, except one suspicious guy.

“You can really vouch for him? Where’s he been?” the cynic asked.

“He worked with my dad. You were partners right? And then you got promoted to Captain.”

Do’Lânqwa nodded in confirmation.

“But th… then you died?”

Do’Lânqwa frowned, and another person raised their weapon back up.

“He don’t look dead to me now.”

“That’s because I’m not dead. I... promise. What she said about working with her father, and my promotion is true, but I didn’t die. Who told you that?” Do’Lânqwa remembered that his wife had thought he was dead too, but he hadn’t had the time to establish from her why she thought that.

“Not here, it’s not safe. We have an encampment nearby. We’ll go there now and I can explain. And so can you,” Su’Cloúvina said.

“What about your ship?” the cynic one asked. Do’Lânqwa turned to it and to the group’s surprise, it disappeared from sight.

***

The group trudged the few miles it was to the encampment. Silently and stealthily in single file they went, through cemeteries of buildings and forests that once were. Obviously due to the confusion and questions over Do’Lânqwa’s mortality, he was in the middle of the procession so that he could be supervised.

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The encampment wasn’t anything spectacular or well established. It was within a building that was once an industrial storage facility but now consisted of two standing walls and half a roof. Sheets and coverings had been erected to provide cover and shelter from elemental conditions.

Wrecks of large and small vehicles were arranged around, perhaps to act as obstructions to potential hostiles or even to act as private sleeping cabins. A small fire was going and six people were sat around it when the travellers arrived back. They stood when they realised there was an extra person.

“It’s ok. He’s friendly,” reassured Su’Cloúvina, who was leading the pack. “I know him.”

The twelve inhabitants of the camp and Do’Lânqwa sat around the fire. Nightfall meant that the fire was the only safe source of light and warmth. Do’Lânqwa was keen to get some answers, as were his acquaintances no doubt.

“Can I ask,” Do’Lânqwa started, “where did the suggestion of my death come from?”

“We’ll ask the questions around here. You’re our guest and I want to know how you survived getting out of here,” the cynical leader from earlier asked. He hadn’t yet shared his name and Do’Lânqwa wasn’t in a rush to ask for it. He’d have to comply for the time being. “So how have you survived? People thought you’ve been dead long before the Wipe Out happened. Where had you been hiding?”

He was certain that if it wasn’t for Su’Cloúvina knowing him, these questions would have been asked whilst he was tied to a chair and not around the campfire sharing their food.

A lot of the encampment inhabitants had remained silent in apprehension of the stranger that Do’Lânqwa was to them.

He paused, thinking of the right words to explain his situation. “I wasn’t on this planet. Well, before the Wipe Out and since the Wipe Out.” His audience stirred and murmured between each other.

“Deceit. There’s no way!” called out the leader.

“It’s true. I was given a mission which took me to Earthuu where I’ve been based due to me having broken The Pact. I actually returned on the day of the Wipe Out to rescue my wife and son but then I had to go back to Earthuu. I’m ba-”

“Say again?” the leader interrupted.

“What bit?”

“You were here on the day of the Wipe Out to rescue your wife and son. You knew the Wipe Out was going to happen?” he quietly seethed.

Crap, thought Do’Lânqwa. “Ok, so at the very last minute. You see…” and Do’Lânqwa proceeded to explain everything about The 45th and The Power of Three, which must’ve begged so many additional questions, but they sat quietly, absorbing all the information and actually seemed to be reassured by it.

“So what are you back here for?” Su’Cloúvina asked when Do’Lânqwa had finished explaining.

“I’m here for Krugreycium and any equipment from the Scientific Research Plant to take back for upgrades to my kit and for a friend who is recovering from an injury.”

“Pah, good luck with that,” scoffed one of the other people around the fire.

“Why do you say that?” Do’Lânqwa asked him.

“I used to work there before the Wipe Out. Not on that military project you speak of, before you get all worked up over it. No, something different I was working on. But even though the building took some damage, considering, you’ll have trouble getting close.”

“How’s that?” asked Do’Lânqwa.

“There’s something… Someone... living there. Real dangerous it is. Killed a few of us in the early days.”

“Early days of?”

“This Resistance Group that we are," said Su’Cloúvina. "We banded together, when when the Wipe Out happened. To fight back. To survive. We’ve used whatever we could find as armour to defend ourselves. But we just can’t get the upper hand over this thing.”

“Well, will someone show me? I could help with this threat you face, and in return you help me get to the Krugreycium?” The Resistance exchanged glances with each other.

“You think you can really deal with our problem?” the leader asked.

“As long as you excuse my non-passivist methods.”

“Passivism is a thing of the past. This is a new era for Earthgrë and for all we know, we’re it. And passivism no longer means anything,” the leader continued.

“You’ll need my help,” the research plant worker said. “The Krugreycium is in the basement levels and is in the rawest of forms.”

“Then I would really appreciate your help. We’ll leave at first light,” said Do’Lânqwa. “Now, where am I going to sleep?”

***

Do’Lânqwa, Su’Cloúvina, the leader and the scientist set off early towards the Scientific Research Plant to deal with The Resistance’s threat and to get his hands on as much Krugreycium as he could take back.

Stalking the crumbled roads leading up to the Plant, the pack leader advised caution.

“We need to be extremely quiet,” he said crouching behind an upturned vehicle.

“How will we know if it’s nearby?”

“Oh, you’ll know. It’s the only thing with orange skin.”

“Excuse me?” Do’Lânqwa asked immediately.

“Orange skin. None of us have orange skin, so you’ll know when you see it.”

“It can’t be,” muttered a concerned Do’Lânqwa putting two and two together.

“What?” urged Su’Cloúvina.

“That thing I told you I fought with, that was created here at the plant is the thing that has killed some of your friends since the Wipe Out.”

“But you said you killed it!”

“We did. We thought we did. Come on, I need to see him.” Do’Lânqwa activated his suit and broke from the cover they were in and ran for the building. He could hear protests but he ignored them. He had to be certain.

He headed for a part where the external wall had broken away. He made his way over rotten grëhman remains and rubble, through random corridors. A noise caused him to pause. After a moment of listening, he headed towards it, down more corridors. At the direct end of the corridor were doors to a canteen.

Might be large enough of an area to live in, he guessed. A moving shadow through the glass of the canteen doors freaked Do’Lânqwa out. Was it coming his way? He looked for a hiding space and found a door to his left.

He ran for it and ducked in. It was partially open anyway due to structural damage, so Do’Lânqwa hid in the shadows with a view of the corridor.

The canteen doors opened by the sounds of it and footsteps walked up the corridor towards him. Do’Lânqwa would’ve been spotted had he not reacted so quickly. The footsteps got louder. Had Do’Lânqwa done enough?

Movement of a figure went past his hiding spot.

It was unmistakable.

But impossible… Surely?

Do’Lânqwa crawled out to try and catch a glimpse of The 45th before he disappeared down another corridor.

Yes, it’s really him.

***

“Do’Lânqwa! You’re back? I thought you were going to be away longer!” exclaimed Mindy upon opening the front door.

“I’m not. Well, of course I’m back, but I need you and your brothers to come back with me,” he said walking past Mindy into the house.

“Why? What about the little ones?”

“Blane! Holt!” Do’Lânqwa shouted, ignoring Mindy’s questions. The brothers came running through, both in nothing but swimming trunks.

“Do’Lânqwa? What are you doing here?” Holt asked.

“How was Earthgrë?” Blane asked.

“I need you three to come back with me.”

“What? Why?”

“Tell us already, Do’Lâ-”

“It’s The 45th.” The triplets frowned in confusion. “He’s not dead.”