The ride on the aircraft to the Sahara was very tedious to Milo. He got restless on long flights and he was very anxious about going to such a remote place. When the ride finally got to be excruciating, Milo turned on his tablet and opened an article he downloaded from The Daily Comet.
A Humanologist Look at the Eizen Election by Lina Hest, Chair of Royal Humanology Institute
"Humanologist?" Kayla sneered noticing the subtitle of the article and seeming galled at the very use of the word. "I guess there weren't any anthropologists available."
"Her writings are really pretty interesting."
"And she's not a human."
"You know how you say we tend to not notice our worst qualities and need someone else to point them out for us? Can't that be true on a collective level?"
"Sure, but humans are not the intended audience for that. The only subjects you'll see humans writing about in the Comet are music and processed foods."
"Why are you being so quarrelsome about this?" Milo asked.
"It's exactly the kind of disrespect that makes wars possible."
"Don't get so worried about it, Kayla. Right now there is just too much at stake for everyone for there to be another war. The war that will have no winners is the one that won't happen."
"Quoting Saint Vernon might not be the best way to make a point about peace" retorted Kayla.
"Well, it's true."
"There!" Kayla said pointing cutting the conversation off. "There's an aircraft over there!" pointing to a spot near them were an aircraft had clearly landed. Kayla steered their aircraft over to where she spotted the vehicle and landed nearby. The landscape in the area was sandy with small rocks and dunes around it, but there was more than enough room to land.
"One hundred and five degrees" Kayla said looking at her phone as they surveyed the landscape. There was no sign of anyone around. The two of them walked over towards the personal aircraft. As they got closer to it, Milo recognized the markings on it.
"It's a rental aircraft" Milo remarked. "Where is the signal coming from?" Kayla picked up her phone and peered at the screen.
"About 100 yards that way" she said pointing in a direction roughly perpendicular from where they came."
"CLYDE! ARE YOU THERE!" Milo shouted.
"SSSSSHHHH! Quiet Milo!" Kayla hissed in a loud, angry whisper. "We have no idea who is here!" They both stood still in their positions listening and looking around for anything. It was eerily silent. There was no wind or any wildlife that could be seen around. After a minute of listening, Kayla motioned for them to move towards where the signal was. As they approached the area where the signal was emanating, they still could hear nothing. As they were about 20 yards from where the signal was coming from, a raspy, high-pitched voice from behind them boomed.
"Hold it right there!" Both Kayla and Milo looked around but could not find anything or anyone. After a moment of not seeing or hearing anything else, they could hear a strange noise off to their left. A chill went down Milo's spine as two large, bipedal reptilians emerged from behind some big rocks on the ground. They were very physically imposing . Milo guessed one was about six foot and six inches, and the other about six feet eight inches. They both had long, lizard-like tails and long, alligator-like snouts Their arms were long and very strong-looking.
The larger reptilian was carrying what Milo recognized as a plasma rifle, the standard issue of the hoplites of the reptilian army. It was a very intimidating gun – much too heavy to be carried by any man or elf – and pretty much made the reptilian the most feared infantry in the known galaxy.
"Don't make any sudden movements." The larger reptilian said in a relatively calm voice. The voice did not seem overly angry, but that didn’t make Milo feel any better. "Kopbok, check them" the larger reptilian ordered the smaller one. The smaller reptilian walked over to where Milo and Kayla were standing. The reptilian walked up to Milo and used his long snout to sniff him around his head. Milo could hear air entering through the nostrils of the creature. He then walked over and sniffed Kayla near her hair.
The smaller reptilian turned around to face where the taller one was standing. "They're definitely human, Visler. They've been around a lot of different people recently, but not many."
"Can you smell any trace of HPP on them?" the larger reptilian asked. Milo immediately recognized HPP as helical poly-propylene, a synthetic material used to make uniforms in all branches of the union military.
"None, sir. Maybe these are just tourists that got lost." The smaller reptilian walked back over to where the larger reptilian was standing, who glared at both Milo and Kayla.
"What are you two doing out here?" the reptilian asked forcefully.
"We're looking for a friend who we tracked to this location. His name is Clyde" Kayla answered without a hint of fear. The larger reptilian lowered his gun and eyed them thoughtfully, as if still suspicious and having no intention of hiding it.
"Come with me" the reptilian said. And do not even think of disappearing from my sight." The reptilian turned around. Milo turned to look at Kayla as if seeking approval, who motioned for him to go. Kayla looked again at her phone and noticed that the signal from Clyde's phone was gone. The four of them walked for about three minutes. Milo still felt as if waiting for his heart to return to a normal rhythm when they reached the end of their walk. Milo recognized what was a reptilian-class minitransport.
"I hope for your sake and ours that that you're telling the truth" the reptilian said. "We aren't exactly welcome here and we'd like to remain undetected here at least a little longer." The reptilia walked inside of the ship and into one of the corridors. It was not much cooler inside the ship, but Milo was not expecting any different from a reptilian ship. The door was opened to the bridge and cockpit room of the ship.
"These two humans just landed here. They say they know you." Sure enough, Clyde was sitting inside the room. Clyde looked at both of them in a stunned silence.
"Well, these are some interesting friends you have here." Kayla said breaking the silence.
"What are you guys doing out here?" Clyde demanded. "Has Bohr got you following me around?"
"We came here without anyone knowing, Clyde. I entangled our phones and followed you here."
"Why would you that?" Clyde demanded.
"We were worried about you. Did you think you could run off to this remote, sweltering wasteland without us assuming the worst for you?" Kayla asked.
"Well, I appreciate your concern, but I didn't need you to come out here. As long as the two of you keep quiet until I can get back to outworld and get my affairs back in order. You could've risked giving away my position and the position of me or my friends here."
"Your friends? Who are these fellas, anyways?" Kayla said. She did not seem to be the least bit intimidated by the presence of the large reptilians in their midst.
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"I am Visler, chief of the Singed Leaf Clan, ma'am. And this is my assistant, Kopbok" The larger of the two reptilians said now sounding more warm and extended his hand to shake Kayla's. His hand felt rough and dry, exactly like touching the skin of common lizard.
"These guys are pretty much persona non grata in the Reptilian sector" Clyde said.
"Yes" Visler said cutting him off. "We are nomads wandering the Goddess' crescent and do not answer to Turraski or to any other Lord of the Clans."
"I've heard of you guys" Milo said. "You have been famous for remaining neutral in all the conflicts between the warrior and ecology clans."
"We do not like conflict and consider it a betrayal of the principles on which the Nal'Larak tribes were founded. Our unwillingness to get behind Turraski's push towards war with the hominids pretty much forced us from our homeworld."
"So you don't like putting the squeeze on the settlement of outworld?" Kayla asked. Visler paused for a moment. Milo could tell he was trying to think of how to best word his answer.
"We are alarmed by the callousness shown to the natural world all over this part of the galaxy by the elves and the apathy of the humans, I will not lie to you. But we do not favor the level of hostility that has occurred and that will probably continue on for a while."
"So you don't like the settlement of outworld, but you sure don't seem to have a problem doing business with outworlders" Kayla remarked. Visler stared at Kayla for a minute as if he was surprised by such a sharp tongue.
"I like your sassiness, humaness. Speaking your mind is a trait far too uncommon among your kind." Visler said laying his plasma gun up against the wall of the ship. "We believe in only taking from nature what we must to survive. The elves aren't going to help us – as far as they're concerned we're truculent savages no different from the Nal'Hirak – and we will not ask our own people for help. We only have enough ships to sustain ourselves and provide for a minimum amount of security."
"Do you think Turraski is responsible for all of the radiation sickness in outworld?" Milo asked changing the subject. Visler paused to look ahead of Milo on the wall of the opposite end of the room.
"I would suspect those of your own kind, first – rebels looking to pick a fight with royal marshals, or perhaps elven intelligence. But I can tell you this for sure, it is not beneath Turraski to do such a thing. He is a son of the Black Serpent Clan, the most ruthless and bellicose of all of the warrior clans. He was chief of the Black Serpent while Zaladore was the emperor. Zaladore was always leery of Turraski and that entire clan. And the viciousness of anyone who was too extreme for Zalidore has few boundaries."
"Ever do any kind of business with the Morian guild?" Kayla asked steering the conversation away from tribal conflicts.
"I knew Wally Gold, who was the captain of the ship and one of the leaders of that guild." Visler said after a pause seeming interested that Kayla mentioned the topic. "We did lawful business with them. He was a good man and it was tragic that he died in the fire on that frigate. "
"What do you know about him?" Kayla asked prying further.
"He had fascination with searching for gray artifacts. He was also was very preoccupied with human folklore about the ghost of Aura Madeen wandering around on Marzala." Milo was fairly sure Kayla was hoping Visler would casually mention Matthew Snedecor but that directly asking him about it might make him suspicious.
"I have a strong suspicion the two of you are here for more than to check on your friend" the reptile remarked.
"Visler" Clyde interrupted, "don't worry about them. You guys need to be going before long. We can't take the risk of being uncovered here. Kayla and Milo, come with me, I have something I want to give you." Milo knew that he was putting up a cover and that he just wanted to talk to the two of them alone.
Visler and Kopbok shook hands with both Milo and Kayla. "I give my best wishes to both of you humans. Do not be afraid to visit if you are ever around our turf. We are always looking to make new hominid friends." Kayla and Milo said their goodbyes exited the ship and walked back to the area where they both landed. They walked back silently through the sand back to where Milo and Kayla's aircraft was.
"You guys really shouldn't have followed me here." Clyde said as they had returned.
"We were worried about you, Clyde!" Kayla retorted. "You come to us telling us you have an item some coveted artifact, and then you're taking a journey out here without telling us? What did you expect us to think?"
"I can fend for myself, Kayla. I should be safe as long as I'm on Earth. I don’t want to get either of you in trouble with Bohr or any of your bosses and I don't want you to have to hold any secrets from him. I just need you to take me over to outworld for myself from there."
"Give us your complete trust and we will trust you, Clyde. Where did you really get the device that you have?" Clyde paused again. He knew that he had to be straight with Kayla.
"It's what I got from Visler. But I honestly and truthfully have no idea what it is or what it does and I didn't ask him. As I said all I'm doing is repaying him for what he has done for me. I promised him I would get whatever that thing is to Cubork and I will find a way to get there one way or another. I'm sorry for not being more up front with you, but I'm already neck-deep in trouble here, Kayla. I just do not want you or Milo to fall into my hole with me. Hope you understand." Milo said nothing. He had no qualms about bringing Clyde back but was just not interested in creating any drama with Kayla.
"We will take you, Clyde" Kayla said with a sigh. "Be at the Atlanta spaceport and ready to go with us in tomorrow. We can't wait for you if you aren't on time this time. And it goes without saying, but be as discreet as you can" she said sternly.
"Thank you." Clyde said in a truly sincere voice. "Being sneaky is something I've gotten to be pretty good at, don't worry."
"I hope you were a lot sneakier than you were with me and Milo!" Kayla quipped. Clyde looked as if he wanted to make a snarky retort, but suppressed it.
"Let's go, Milo." Kayla said. They climbed back into their aircraft. Clyde walked back toward his own aircraft.
Milo and Kayla strapped themselves in and they were off. They were both quiet as the aircraft took off and began its trek back to North America.
"You are all right with taking him with us, aren't you?" Kayla finally asked breaking their silence.
"Sure. I would've spoken up back there if I didn't."
"No, I'm actually not sure you would. You do not just need to acquiesce with this just for the purpose of getting along. You're also taking a risk here, Milo. You need to carefully weigh the risks here, too."
"You forget that I have actually known him longer than you have. I think he's kind of cocky and a magnet for trouble, but I consider him a friend. When I was at the academy he looked out for me when I felt completely lost and alone away from the orphanage. "
"He makes fun of you a lot. Not really mean-spirited things, but enough to really get on my nerves. He really does respect you, though. "
"I doubt he makes fun of me behind my back in any way he does to my face, though. Honestly, he is the one person that makes me actually feel like I blend in." Kayla turned her head to look at him with a disapproving look.
"You don't blend in and never will, Milo. You might as well embrace it. Most unhappy people out there are people who just won't come to terms with who they are and live accordingly."
"I have pretty much come to terms with it. That doesn't mean the discomfort ever disappears." A computerized voice came over the sound system of the cockpit.
"Preparing for low-pressure afterburners, prepare for acceleration."
"I'm serious, though, Milo. You do want to think over this carefully. We can just tell Clyde it's going to be much riskier than we envisioned if you don't want to go through with it."
All of the sudden a thought occurred to Milo. "Kayla! I have figured out where I have heard that name before!"
"What name are you talking about?" Kayla asked.
"The name of that guy that Visler mentioned that was the captain of the Morian. I know where I've heard it before. Wally Gold. He was an associate pastor under Father Toliver's ! Last I heard he moved to take over a parrish the Church of Saint Vernon on one of the Earth sector planets!"
"That pastor that said Saint Vernon was the greatest peacemaker since the end of the terrestrial age?" Kayla said scornfully.
"He's really quite a great man. He'll talk to me, since he trusts me. He seems to know people in the illegal outworld parishes."
"I guess we'd better get used to talking with outlaws and rogues and rebels for our mission" Kayla said heaving a sigh.
Their conversation ended and Milo picked up his tablet to read a science article he downloaded.
According to Elven technologists, the intellichines are a class of machines with mental capabilities indistinguishable from those of intelligent life. The intellichines possess the remarkable speed and processing abilities of computers while also possessing what is commonly referred to as conscious thought and reasoning of intelligent life. The technology to create intellichines is perhaps the most coveted secret of the grays that has yet to be cracked by either humans or elves. Attempts to understand the inner working of intellichines have proved futile and utterly befuddling so far. The elves replicated their software verbatim and their hardware down to almost the atomic level, but the result is a machine capable of very little.
The most infamous of these intellichines was Zardin, which actually became a part of the royal armada's honorary admitals. Zardin himself has claimed that he does not know the secret to creating intellichines, but some do not believe him and think he is programmed to protect the secrets of the scientific and technological secrets of the grays.
During the Human-Elf war, Zardin disappeared without a trace. Not long after the war ended, his body was found with the motherboard taken. To this day it is not known if Zardin has been rebuilt or if his motherboard is still out there.