In the center of the large circular room stood a tall metallic cylinder, its surface covered in blinking blue and red lights. In the middle of it, about chest high, there was a screen and keyboard. On the screen could be seen a blue/green planet with a target projected on it. Atop the cylinder sat a long translucent tube which extended into a hole cut out in the ceiling. The tube pulsed with a dull yellow light producing a low humming sound.

The walls of the room were rough-hewn stone which were partially hidden by nearly a dozen bulky metallic boxes connected by thick cables to the central cylinder. A single doorway was visible and by it stood two tall helmeted guards with blasters strapped to their waists. Each wore shiny black armor and only the occasional shifting showed them not to be statues. Another two guards stood on either side of the cylinder.

Hunched over the keyboard and glaring up at the screen as he slowly typed with two long boney fingers stood a shorter man, the light from the screen making his grey face look even more wrinkled. A green cape with a silver edge hung over his back. On his head he wore a silver crown with ragged points extending upward. Scraggly grey hair randomly poked out from underneath the crown.

In an open area of the room to one side of the cylinder stood a gold cage. It was four foot square and about eight feet high. Inside the cage stood a woman, her hands wrapped around the bars and a look of defiance on her face. She wore a white blouse and a blue skirt which reached down to her ankles. Her blond hair was messy and sat around her shoulders.

The man at the screen stood up and looked over at the woman with his small red eyes. He spoke in a guttural tone revealing a set of sharp teeth.

“Your president is a fool Miss Fulbright,” he spat. “If he doesn’t surrender in five minutes, my Magneto ray will drain Earth of all its power leaving it defenseless against my invasion fleet.”

“Will Power will stop you!” she shot back furiously. “We’ll never surrender!”

Emperor Krellion laughed and shook his head. “You poor deluded girl. Your Will Power is dead. No one could possibly survive my fiery pit of despair. If your world surrenders, I’ll be merciful. Not all need die, only those I have no use for.”

Suddenly there was the sound of buzzing and two flashes of light. The two guards standing by the cylinder fell to the floor. The sound of metal clashing against metal could now be heard as one of the guards by the door had grabbed the arm of the other and was trying to wrest a blaster from his hand.

As the two guards fought, the Emperor pressed a button on the cylinder and an alarm sounded.

The guard holding the blaster jumped backward causing the other guard to lose his balance. As soon as the blaster was free, he fired and his opponent crumpled to the ground. Turning quickly, he flipped a switch on the blaster and fired a focused beam around the door sealing it shut.

Turning to face the Emperor, he tore off his helmet revealing a handsome face topped by thick auburn hair.

“Will!” cried Gwen relief evident in her voice.

“But I saw you fall into the pit,” snarled Krellion.

Will Power pointed the blaster at him. “Perhaps you need a deeper pit. Now release Gwen,” he demanded gesturing towards the cage. The sound of pounding could now be heard on the door of the room.

The Emperor merely smiled. “I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands. Wouldn’t you agree Miss Fulbright?”

“Will?” called Gwen in a frightened voice.

Will looked over at the cage and to his horror saw that the top of it was slowly moving downward and was within a foot of Gwen’s head.

Krellion held up a hand holding a small box. “All I have to do is release this button and she’ll be crushed in seconds. Surrender and I promise no harm will come to her. I’ll take very good care of her.”

Will fought back his anger as he looked over at the cage. Gwen was crouching now as the cage grew even shorter. However, his attention wasn’t on Gwen as he was looking for anything that might save her. Finally, he lowered his blaster.

“Okay, Krellion. You win.”

“That’s better …” began the Emperor.

Will took off towards the cage bringing his blaster up and firing at one of the metal boxes which lined the walls. As it burst into flames, the cage stopped moving. The Emperor hurried over to the keyboard and began typing furiously. Flipping the blaster from carnage to doze, Will fired and the Emperor fell to the floor.

“Stand back,” ordered Will as he ran to the door of the cage. Gwen moved away from the door as Will fired. As he pulled the door open, Gwen rushed into his arms.

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“But, how …” she began.

“Just followed the cable,” he said pointing at the cable which ran along the floor from the cage.

He handed her his blaster. “Now we need to stop Krellion’s invasion fleet. If anyone gets through that door fire, got it.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Will rushed over to the Magneto Ray control panel and quickly scanned it. Fortunately, the controls were similar to the weapons system on his ship and he had soon changed the target coordinates from Earth to Krellion’s fleet of over a hundred space frigates. Lights and the glow of their engines could be clearly seen on the screen under which the word “Charging” was now blinking.

As Will worked, Gwen pulled out a small scanning device and began scanning the Magneto Ray, careful to not let him see what she was doing.

“The president will be pleased,” she muttered to herself when she finished.

As the ray powered up the light in the tube pointing out the ceiling grew brighter and it’s humming louder. When the message on the screen changed to “Ready,” Will pressed the enter key. The ground shook as the beam fired turning the night sky outside as bright as day. Within seconds, Krellion’s fleet on the screen was dark.

“Looks like Krellion won’t be bothering Earth for a while,” he said looking over at Gwen who was standing there pointing the blaster at the door which now had a several foot long glowing red cut along it.

“We need to go,” she answered, not taking her eyes off the door.

Will removed the armor he’d borrowed revealing his usual silver uniform. From his belt he removed a metal box pressed a button on it. In less than a minute it had expanded into a jetpack which he strapped on.

“Hurry,” urged Gwen as the gash in the door had extended another couple of feet.

Will rushed back to the control panel and set the target coordinates of the Magneto Ray to its own location and set a 30 second firing delay.

“Let’s go,” he said, picking up Gwen in his arms. The two of them slowly lifted off the floor and soared though the opening in the ceiling. It wasn’t long before there was a flash of light behind them followed by a blast wave which pushed them forward. Looking back, Will could see that the room which held the Magneto Ray had collapsed leaving a gaping hole in Krellion’s fortress. And except for the fire ranging in the destroyed control room, there wasn’t a single light in the entire complex.

They flew on for another half hour over the barren landscape of Rixinian until they reached the small valley where Will had hidden his spaceship. They flew in silence as the air rushing past them made it impossible to speak. Flying over the rise, the sleek silver ship came into view. Will smiled at the sight. For him, returning to his ship after a successful mission was something special. He never could understand why Gwen didn’t feel the same way. All she did was complain about how uncomfortable it was compared to newer ships. To him comfort didn’t matter, it felt like home.

Landing by the ship, he put Gwen down and activated the gantry which would take them to the control section at the top of the ship. It took only a minute or so to reach them, and it wasn’t long before they were strapping themselves their seats. A thrill went through Will as be began flipping the array of switches which activated the ship’s systems. “Initiating engine ignition,” he said as he flipped the last switch.

Gwen shook her head. “It isn’t necessary to announce it you know.”

He ignored her as the engines came up to full power causing a slight vibration in the ship. On the view screen he could see the ground slowly starting to fall away. Within minutes the sky had grown darker and the stars brighter as they reached outer space. He set course for Earth and activated the ship’s artificial gravity.

“How long until we reach Earth?”

Will looked at the trajectory read out. “Fifty-six hours.”

“I’m going to get some sleep then.”

Will merely nodded as she unstrapped herself and made her way down the ladder which led to the quarters below. He wasn’t necessarily sorry to see her leave.

It’d been two years since Earth’s president had insisted he bring Gwen along on his missions and he still had no idea why. All she seemed to do was wander off on her own and get captured. He couldn’t think of a single instance where she’d actually been a help to him. He’d tried to tell the president this, but that only seemed to make him angry.

What made it more confusing was that at times it seemed as if she had feelings for him, yet as soon as they completed an assignment she couldn’t wait to get away from him. Thinking about it only made his head hurt so he did what he always did when he was confused; practice evasive maneuvers. Soon the ship was rolling and swinging side to side as it flew through space.

Reaching her quarters, Gwen removed a suitcase from the closet and placed it on the small desk. On the side of the suitcase was a small oval indentation on which she placed her thumb. As she did so the latches on the case opened. Lifting the cover, she extended the antenna of the radio-like device inside. The device began to hum softly. Pulling out the scanner she used earlier, she slipped into a slot on the device. As it clicked into place a small red light came on and the humming grew slightly louder.

Lying down on the bed she closed her eyes and smiled.

Will spent most of the flight in the pilot seat occasionally activating the autopilot to catch a quick nap. There was a wide selection of freeze dried food to choose from when he got hungry. As usual, Gwen remained in her quarters. On past flights he’d gone to check on her, but all he got was an angry shout to let her sleep so he didn’t even bother anymore.

As they came into Earth orbit, Gwen joined Will for the landing. The spaceport was just outside of Earth’s capital city; Metropolis. As the ship broke through the clouds, the nearly mile high buildings of the capital complex gleamed in the sunlight. However, outside the complex the buildings were smaller and older. And it was in this section of the city that crowds had begun to gather to once again cheer for their hero.

Returning to Earth after an assignment was always a melancholy experience for Will. First there were the parades and an appearance with the president that he’d never been comfortable with. However, he knew that was part of the job so he did his best to put a good face on it. But beyond that was only boredom.

As soon as the spaceship touched down and the engines stopped firing, a crowd of reporters began gathering at the enclosure surrounding the landing pad. Even from the top of the gantry, he could hear the click of cameras as he and Gwen descended to the ground. Reaching the bottom, Gwen didn’t even say goodbye as she walked over to a waiting limousine which headed for the back gate of the enclosure away from the reporters.

Taking a deep breath, Will walked to the gate where the reporters were waiting. “I’ll take a fiery pit of despair over this any day,” he muttered as the gate opened and a burst of flash bulbs exploded in front of him.