“What’s going on?” asked Debra as Will closed the door.

“Gwen’s here,” he answered. “She was being matched down the hall by two armed guards.”

Debra was quiet for a moment. “I assume you want to go save her?”

“Well, of course.”

“Even after what she did?”

“Yes. There’s no telling what might happen to her if we don’t.”

She sighed. “I hate it when you’re right. Let’s go.”

They slipped out of the door and set off in the direction the guards had taken Gwen. It wasn’t hard to follow them with Gwen continuing to scream and the guards yelling at her to be quiet.

Turning a corner they saw the guards and Gwen heading towards a large wooden door at which stood another guard. He opened the door as they approached. “Come on,” muttered Will as he hurried to catch up to the guards. He and Debra had gotten to within four feet of them as they entered the doorway. The guard at the door barely looked at them as Will and Debra went through the door.

They entered a long room which was richly decorated with silk hangings and tapestries on the walls. A long golden carpet led from the door to a throne on which sat a young looking woman. Her long black hair cascaded down her arms. She wore a bright red dress which left little to the imagination. Sitting there with her legs crossed, she glared at Gwen as the guards marched her forward.

An older woman wearing a dour black dress stood beside the throne. She held a tablet in her hand and glanced down at it occasionally. A number of other guards were located around the room and Will led Debra to a spot where they would blend in.

The guards forced Gwen to her knees in front of the Queen. The woman in black bent down and whispered something to the Queen who nodded.

“Why are you here Earth woman?” harshly demanded Queen Ithan.

Gwen remained silent.

One of the guards raised a hand to slap her.

“Hold!” cried the Queen.

“You needn’t answer Miss Fulbright for we already know your plans,” began the Queen in a triumphant tone. “You and your partner have come to try and destroy the new ray cannon we’re building.”

The Queen smiled as a look of surprise came over Gwen’s face. “So it is true, but I’m confused. We pose no threat to your planet and yet you attack me. Why is that?”

Will and Debra looked at one another in surprise.

Gwen continued to remain silent.

The Queen shook her head. “You are a stubborn one my dear, but I do enjoy a challenge. Perhaps some time in the tower will loosen your tongue.”

“I don’t fear you,” answered Gwen defiantly. “Will Power will save me.”

Now Will and Debra were utterly confused.

The Queen began to laugh harshly. “Oh you poor deluded girl.” She snapped her fingers and a door at the side of the room opened. A man wearing the same armor as the guards was pushed through. He wore no helmet and his hands were manacled behind his back. His thick black hair was matted with blood and bruised covered his face. The guards brought him before the throne and put him on his knees beside Gwen. She couldn’t look at him.

“What’s going on?” whispered Debra.

“Looks like I’ve been replaced,” whispered back Will.

“Do you fear me now?” sneered the Queen. “Take them to the tower!”

Gwen and the man were yanked to their feet and matched out of the room by four guards. Will and Debra followed. Once clear of the room, they hung back and ducked around a corner.

“What’s the plan?” asked Debra.

“We follow them to the tower and wait for a chance to break them out.”

“What about the amulet? If an alarm is raised there’ll be no chance of getting it.”

Will wrestled with what to do. “Let’s see where they’re being taken. If they’re in no immediate danger, we’ll go for the amulet.”

Debra nodded. “Agreed.”

Will and Debra continued after the guards staying close enough to follow then without being noticed. They followed the guards for at least ten minutes before they had to pause as the guards headed down a long corridor which ended at a heavy wooden door. They peered around the corner. One of the guards grabbed a set of keys hanging by the door and unlocked it. The door creaked as it opened and revealed only blackness inside. The guards shoved the man through the door and pushed Gwen in after him.

Her cries of “Nooooo …” disappeared as the door was closed.

Two of the guards started back down the corridor and two remained by the door. Will and Debra hurried away so they wouldn’t be seen.

“Well?” said Debra once the guards had passed them.

“Let’s get the amulet.”

They had to backtrack to get to the stairs that would take them to the floor where the shaft entrance was located. They now walked through the corridors as if they belonged there, making no effort to hide if they passed anyone. No one seemed to pay any attention to them. Reaching the stairs, they made their way down.

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The floor where the shaft opening appeared to be deserted when they reached it. It seemed to mostly house kitchens and maintenance areas which weren’t in use at night. Will and Debra headed to the service corridor where the opening to the ventilation shaft was located. Reaching it they found it was covered be a heavy metal grate that was embedded into the stone wall.

“Looks like we’ll have to cut it out,” noted Debra pulling a laser torch out of her equipment belt. “Keep a lookout while I take care of this.”

Will nodded. “Got it.” He headed to the end of the corridor, but saw no one.

“Done,” softly called Debra after about five minutes.

Will came back and pulled off the grate as she got out of the armor revealing the black overalls underneath.

“There’s likely a grate on the other side too,” suggested Will. “Be sure to take the laser torch.”

Debra nodded as she slipped the small headset over her head and put the laser torch back in her belt. Will took out the winch assembly which would lower and raise Debra to and from the treasure room below. He extended the legs which would fit over the shaft opening once Debra was inside.

Once everything else was ready, Debra slipped the winch strap under her arms and across her chest and adjusted it until it was tight. Just before Debra backed into the shaft, Will attached the monofilament cable from the winch assembly to the winch strap.

“Here goes,” said Debra as she shimmied into the shaft. Within a minute her head had disappeared.

“You all right?” called Will peering into the shaft.

“Yes.”

Will mounted the winch assembly to the shaft and put on his headset.

“My feet are at the downward shaft,” said Debra’s voice over Will’s headset.

“Ready to winch you down,” he answered.

He set to motor on the winch to slowly let out the monofilament cable.

“Going down,” announced Debra.

Debra hung from the cable slowly moving into the darkness below. The small light mounted to her headset let he see the walls around her, but not much else. It almost felt as if she were flying as the air from the ventilation system pushed past her. Except for the sound of the air flow and her own breathing it was quiet in the shaft.

At last she felt her feet touch stone. “I’m down,” she radioed. “Heading for the treasure room.”

“Roger.”

To cut the grate in the treasure room, she’d have to go head first into the next shaft. It was going to be a tight fit. Getting down on her knees, she tried to bring the top of her body down to get into the shaft, but there wasn’t room. Finally, by shifting her knees back while moving her legs up the wall, she was able to squeeze her head into the shaft. Debra lay there panting for a minute.

“You okay?” radioed Will.

“Just dandy,” she gasped.

Finally she began moving forward again and soon reach the treasure room.

“At the treasure room,” she reported. “Preparing to cut the grate.”

She reached down to her belt and pulled out the laser torch and began cutting the grate. It took much longer that the other grate had because she had to do it while lying on her stomach with her arms extended. She had to stop multiple times as her arms kept cramping up.

“Almost there,” she panted.

As she started the final cut, she grabbed the grate with one hand so it wouldn’t fall to the floor. As the grate cane free, it nearly slipped from her hand, but she held on. Wiggling forward, she was at last able to lower the grate to the floor.

Climbing out of the grate, she unhooked the cable from the winch strap and just sat against the wall trying to catch her breath. “I’m in.”

Although the last thing she wanted to do was get up, Debra knew time was of the essence so she slowly got to her feet. She turned up the intensity of the light on her headset until she could see around the room. It was about twenty feet square and mostly filled with crates. However, in the middle of the room sat a small glass cabinet. Walking over, she should see a red splash of color as her light caught the gem in the Amulet of Hrytrin. It looked identical to the copy Lord Lestron had given them.

Debra pulled out her scanner. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake she had on Watelen Prime. She scanned the cabinet looking for any hidden traps or alarms. None showed up. She pulled the counterfeit amulet from the pouch on her belt as slowly opened the cabinet. Taking out the actual amulet, she placed the copy inside. Closing the cabinet door, she put the Amulet of Hrytrin in the pouch and headed for the shaft.

“Got it,” she radioed. “Heading out.”

“Good.”

She reattached the cable, ducked her head into the shaft and began crawling forward. She’d would have liked to have been able to put the grate back, but there’d be no way she could get into the vertical shaft going backwards. Reaching the vertical shaft, she squeezed through and got to her feet.

“Okay, winch me up.”

“Roger.”

Will activated the motor and Debra slowly began to move upward. Reaching the top, she pulled the lower part of her body up and quickly crawled towards the exit. As she did this, Will detached the winch assemble so she could get out. As soon as her shoulders were through, he pulled her out the rest of the way.

As Debra put on the armor taken from the guards back on, Will packed up their equipment. Then he placed the grate back on the wall and used the laser torch to tack in place in a few spots so it’d stay in place. As soon as Debra finished, they headed out.

“It’ll be morning in a few hours. That’s when the guards on the roof are relieved.” noted Will. “We have to hurry.”

Reaching the stairs they hurried up the three flight to where Gwen and her companion were being held. Only pausing to catch their breath for a moment, they continued on to the corridor which led to the tower.

“Stay behind me,” ordered Will. “Just in case.”

Debra had no time to complain as Will began marching down the corridor towards the guards. He stopped a few feet in front of them.

“We’ve had a report that the woman was using some sort of scanning device near the ray cannon.” He barked in an authoritative tone. “Have you searched her?”

“No sir,” answered one of the guards.

“Then search her now,” he said then adding, “thoroughly.”

Yes, sir,” answered the guards with more than a hint of glee in their voices.

As one unlocked the door, the other swiped there hand over a disk on the wall bathing the room behind the door in bright light. Gwen and the man with her sat on the floor trying to shield their eyes as the guards entered the room. They walked menacingly towards Gwen.

“We neglected to search you be …”

There two flashes of light and the guards fell to the floor.

“Free his hands,” ordered Will. “I’ll see to Gwen.”

Debra hurried over to the man, pulling out the laser torch. “Don’t move,” she said as she knelt down beside him. In a minute, she’d cut through the manacles.

He brought his arms forward and rubbed his wrists. “Thanks.”

Will knelt down in front of Gwen who was huddled against the wall. “It’s okay,” he said gently. “You’re safe now.”

She looked up, but it took another minute for her eyes to adjust to the light. “Will!” she cried throwing her arms around his neck.

At one time, he might’ve enjoyed it, but not now. He pushed her away and stood up. “Give me the scanner.”

“What scanner?” she asked in a cloyingly sweet voice.

“Give me the scanner or we leave you here and lock the door behind us,” demanded Will angrily.

“Okay,” she snarled and pulled the scanner out of her pocket and slapped it into his hand.”

Will slipped the scanner into his belt. “I suggest you two put on the armor from these guards and get out of here the way you came in.” He looked over at Debra, “Let’s go.”

However, Will stopped at the door and looked back at Gwen. “Give Grandle a couple of messages for me.” He gestured at the man who was still rubbing his wrists. “First, if he’s going to get someone to impersonate me, try getting someone a bit more competent.”

“Don’t worry about that,” grumbled Gwen.

“Second, tell him that if he ever tries invading another planet, I’ll personally make sure it never happens again.” Without another word, he turned and walked away.

Will and Debra had little trouble getting back to the roof and as the sun began to rise, they were jetting back to the ship.