Chapter 13
The White Witch
Landen, Triamber, Donovan, and the two security guards, Adams and Kurre, had been led by Miriam deep into the forest. She took them to the hut in which she lived. Upon entering the hut, the five tired men slumped onto the floor."This has been my home for almost six months," she said. "I move periodically in order to avoid Tragadomian patrols." "Where is your husband?" Landen asked."I haven't seen him for almost two years. Just a few weeks after we arrived on this planet, he went off in search of the Ruling Force.""The Ruling Force?" Triamber asked anxiously, believing that he might be close to discovering the answers to the questions that had puzzled him for most of his life."My husband sensed the hidden presence of a powerful being who ruled Noelm. Although less acutely than Adrian, I too could sense the presence of the Ruling Force.""What is the Ruling Force?" Triamber wanted to know."What manner of being is he?""I'm not sure," Miriam said. "My husband never returned. I had advised him not to go in search of this being, but Adrian wouldn't listen to me. He was confident that, if in danger, he could use his powers to escape from the Ruling Force. For several months, I believed that Adrian had been captured or killed. However, later I learned the truth from some Noelmians whose relatives worked as servants of the Tragadomian governing council. My husband had been corrupted and had become the chief captain of the Ruling Force.""Didn't your husband ever come for you?" Landen asked."He sent a Noelmian servant to me with a request that I join him at the palace. I refused to go, though, because I did not want to be corrupted like Adrian. After the Noelmian servant told my husband of my refusal, Adrian sent a Tragadomian patrol in order to try to bring me to him against my will. I used my magic to elude that patrol and all subsequent ones."Miriam made an herbal tea for the men. They conversed for a while longer before retiring for the night. It was a cool night, and everyone slept well-wrapped in light blankets that Miriam had provided.Early the next morning Donovan was awakened by the beeper in his communicator going off. Donovan sat up in surprise. Someone from the Emerald Warrior was trying to contact him, and that person had to be somewhere close by on the surface of the planet because the communicator had a maximum range of twenty miles.Donovan picked up the device and pressed the button to open the communication channel. "This is Lieutenant Linus Donovan," he said into the device."Hello, Donovan. This is Troy Roarke. I'm glad to hear your voice."Everyone in the hut had been awakened by the sound of the voices. Landen picked up his own communicator in order to speak with Roarke."Hello, Troy. This is Peter Landen. Why are you down on the planet? I expected your shuttle to return to the Emerald Warrior after your search for the Challenger had been completed."Roarke was quiet for a moment. "Don't you know, Peter? The Emerald Warrior has fallen to the Tragadomians." Everyone in the hut gasped. After several seconds of stunned silence, Landen asked,"What has happened to Captain Morley and the crew?" He paused and added, "And my wife?" "I don't know, Peter," Roarke replied. "My guess is that they've been transported down here as prisoners. When we saw the Emerald Warrior, it appeared to be undamaged, so there was no major space battle fought. Do you have any idea what happened?""No, Troy. The four members of my shuttle crew and I left a short while after you did. We came to the surface in an attempt to open negotiations with the Tragadomians, but they attacked us before we had a chance.""Let's join forces," Roarke said. "Give me your coordinates."The two men exchanged the coordinates of their locations. As it turned out, Roarke was only seven miles to the north of Landen. Landen agreed to come north with his party since his group was much smaller and thus stood a better chance of slipping past Tragadomian patrols.After signing off with Roarke, Landen spoke to Triamber. "Either of us could use our telepathic abilities to establish a mindlink with one of the Noelmians from the Emerald Warrior. I could even establish a telepathic bond with my wife even though she isn't a Noelmian. We would be able to find out what happened on the Emerald Warrior and where the crew is now.""I'd recommend that we delay in establishing a telepathic link," Triamber said. "The Ruling Force would hear everything that would be said. And Adrian Baalson is obviously very psychic. He might be capable of intercepting our telepathic communications."Landen nodded in agreement. "We could use more conventional means of trying to locate the crew before using telepathy. To a certain extent, I am always psychically bonded to my wife. I know that she is well, and I feel that she is not far away.""I, too, sense that the crew is close to us," Triamber said. "We will find them.""Soon, I hope," Landen said, looking out the window at the brightening forest.As the morning progressed, the men prepared for their long walk north. They went to a stream in order to fill containers with fresh water, and they picked berries. Miriam told them which berries were edible and which were poisonous. During their preparations, it occurred to Donovan that, except for Miriam and Adrian Baalson, the Emerald Warrior crew had been the first humans to set foot on Noelm. A terrible price had been paid to reach this point in the journey. In some small way, the arrival of humans on Noelm should be commemorated. From the inner pocket of his flight jacket, Donovan removed a folded cotton sheet and some colored pencils. Donovan was a fine artist and usually carried his tools with him so that, if he came upon an attractive scene, he could make a drawing of it.After unfolding the sheet, he placed it on a flat, smooth rock. In the center of the sheet, he used the colored pencils to draw a crown, a scepter, and a dove. These were enclosed in a bright circle of roses. Below the circle were written the words "To the Holy Family." Above the circle he wrote "God Reigns."Donovan attached the sheet to a staff-like branch, which he implanted in the ground. He smiled as a light breeze caused his flag to wave.Placing his hand on the flagstaff, Donovan said, "I consecrate this planet to the Lord of Light."As soon as he spoke the words, a deep voice cried out,"No! Mine! Mine! Mine!"Donovan was startled by the voice, which seemed almost hysterical. He quickly sought out the other members of the shuttle crew. They too had heard the voice."It was the same voice that we heard before the disappearance of the Challenger," Landen said. "It was the voice of the Ruling Force.""I'm convinced that the key to a successful mission is to discover the nature of the Ruling Force and what he seeks," Triamber said. "We must search for clues that will help us solve the mystery of this being."A short while later, the men began their march northward. They invited Miriam to come north with them, but she declined, saying that she felt safer remaining in the forest. She told the men that they were welcome to return at any time.All during the march, Donovan thought about how upset the Ruling Force had become by Donovan raising his flag. Donovan had intended it to be a simple act of devotion. He had never foreseen that his words could provoke such an emotional reaction, especially from a being of such awesome power as the Ruling Force. Never again would Donovan underestimate the significance of what he said or did; he knew that he would be held accountable for his every word and action. Every moment of his life was precious.It was late afternoon when the five men finally reached the hidden cove in which Roarke was camped. After exchanging many slaps on the back and handshakes, the shuttle crews settled down for a dinner that consisted of canned food from Roarke's shuttlecraft.The five men from Landen's destroyed shuttle were glad to see two shuttles in perfect condition. Once again they had a means to get off this planet or to travel rapidly from one section of Noelm to another section. While Rugert's shuttle lacked the power for intergalactic travel, Roarke's large shuttle was capable of flying all the way to earth. The voyage, though, would take almost a year in the shuttlecraft, which was not as fast as the Emerald Warrior. Landen was pleased to see that Rugert and his engineers had returned to the side of the Western Alliance. He knew that their talents could prove to be of great value in the days ahead.The three shuttle crews spent the evening discussing strategies for rescuing the crew of the Emerald Warrior and successfully completing their mission. Roarke agreed with Triamber's assertion that they needed to learn more about the Ruling Force.The majority of persons present had never heard the legend of Bokins, so Triamber told the group the story of the Noelmian shepherd, who lived a thousand years ago. The group listened with fascination as Triamber related the encounter between Bokins and the Ruling Force in the caves."Those caves are only three miles west of here," Triamber said. "I'd recommend that we explore them in order to search for clues about the Ruling Force."Roarke agreed. In the morning, the majority of the group headed west on foot. A dozen security personnel remained behind to guard the two shuttlecraft, which had been covered with branches and leaves in order to camouflage the shuttles from Tragadomian cruisers on patrol.An extensive labyrinth of caves covered the area. There were many entrances to the labyrinth. Neither Triamber nor any other Noelmian knew which entrance had been used by Bokins.The group trudged up a hill to a large opening to the caves. They entered a vast cavern that branched off into several tunnels. Although the cavern had sufficient natural light, the crew members who went into the tunnels needed to turn on their flashlights."I found a Dr. Pepper can," Adams joked as he returned to the main cavern from one of the tunnels.On the other side of the cavern, Donovan was examining an unusual rock formation. A man wearing the uniform of a British lieutenant appeared in front of Donovan. "Prepare to die, Irishman," the man said, aiming his rifle at Donovan.Donovan did a fast draw of his pistol at a speed comparable to the best of the old-time Western gunfighters. However, he did not fire because he sensed that the situation was not as it appeared."Who are you?" Donovan demanded. "I've never seen you before.""Are you talking to us?" asked one of the Americans in a group standing directly across the cavern from Donovan. "No, I'm speaking to this British officer who is pointing a rifle at me," Donovan replied."I don't see anyone else on your side of the cave," the American said.Donovan stared at the figure who remained glaring at him. The Irish lieutenant then realized that he was being manipulated into firing his gun. If he missed the figure, the Americans were directly in the line of fire. Suddenly, he intuitively knew that the figure in front of him was an illusion. As soon as that realization occurred to him, the figure disappeared.Donovan called over to the Americans and Noelmians and explained the incident to them. The Americans looked skeptical."I'm afraid that you're hallucinating," Kurre said. "You've been under a terrible lot of pressure lately. You'll feel better after you get some rest.""I wasn't hallucinating," Donovan insisted. "Some force in this cave placed the mirage into my mind. The force tried to trick me into firing my gun so that some Americans would be wounded or killed.""Linus is correct," Triamber said. "I can sense a subtle power at work here."Landen raised his eyebrows. "The Ruling Force?""So I would assume," Triamber said."But why should he be subtle? Why not attack us directly?""Perhaps he likes to play games," Triamber suggested. "We could be dealing with a mischievous personality.""But what sort of being is he?" Adams asked."As you might recall, that's what we came into these caves to discover," Kurre said."Unfortunately, you won't find your answer today," came a voice from deeper in the cave."Who said that?" Roarke asked.The men advanced still farther into the cave. All of them had their weapons ready to fire as they moved forward. "Hold it!" Roarke stopped the group as the beam of light from his flashlight revealed a large gap in the floor of the cavern.The hole was a perfect circle of about fifteen feet in diameter. The men crouched down beside the chasm, which they tried to probe with their lights. The hole was too deep, though, for them to see the bottom."What's that humming sound?" Adams asked."I don't know," Roarke said. "It could be machinery. Could the Tragadomians be operating an underground factory?" "Perhaps they've begun building their spaceships underground so that they're less vulnerable to attack," Landen suggested.The beams of their flashlights caught the first of the ascending swarm of giant locusts, each larger than a football. With shouts of panic, the group tried to retreat. Some men fired at the locusts, killing several of the creatures, but the swarm was so large that their numbers were not reduced by any appreciable amount.One man panicked as he fled from six locusts clawing at his head and upper body. He ran straight into the hole from which the creatures had emerged. The man screamed and vanished into the utter blackness.Remarkably, he was the only member of the party that was lost, although everyone was injured. The group quickly retreated from the caves, and the locusts did not follow them outdoors. Whether the locusts disliked the sunlight or whether they were recalled by some unseen intelligence, the group did not know.Once out of the caves, they half-stumbled, half-ran down the hill. At the bottom they slumped to the ground, where they nursed their wounds. Most of them had received cuts on their arms as a result of flailing away at the locusts."Why didn't the locusts follow us out?" Kurre asked."The Ruling Force recalled them," Triamber said. "For some unknown reason, he decided to spare us.""But he tried to trick me into firing my laser pistol at those American crewmen," Donovan said. "The Ruling Force surely knew that one or two of those men would have been killed if I had done so."Triamber shrugged. "I can only guess at the motivation for his actions. Perhaps he only wanted to kill Americans, not Noelmians. Or perhaps he planned to kill all of us, but changed his mind.""Will we ever solve the mystery of this Ruling Force?" Roarke wondered aloud."We must," Triamber said emphatically.The group did not have long to speculate about the mysterious being. Several hundred flying platforms, which rode on air cushions, came skimming over the hills. The Tragadomians had found them.The group leapt to their feet and opened fire at the Tragadomians. The front ranks of the Tragadomians were blasted off their platforms by laser beams.Although the flying platforms were highly effective in tracking down runaway Noelmian slaves, the platforms had open sides, making their riders vulnerable to gunfire. Runaway slaves seldom had weapons, so this vulnerability rarely caused the Tragadomians any problems. Today, though, the Tragadomians took heavy casualties from the heavily-armed intruders.Nevertheless, the Tragadomians greatly outnumbered their enemies and forced them into retreat. The group ran in the direction of their shuttlecraft, anxious to reach the vessels before the shuttles were seized by the Tragadomians.The Western Alliance soldiers fired over their shoulders as they ran. Several Americans were killed by Tragadomian fire, and several more were captured.As he ran, Landen noticed that the Tragadomians were now willing to take prisoners. This willingness was in sharp contrast to the Tragadomians' attitude on the previous day when they were determined to kill Landen's shuttle crew. Landen wondered whether the Tragadomians' orders had been changed. Had someone overruled the person who had given them their initial orders?Landen then saw Triamber stumble and fall. The Loremaster was remarkably agile for a man of his age, but the strain of an extended sprint had become too much for him. A Tragadomian pursuit platform quickly descended on the exhausted Loremaster.Three Tragadomian soldiers hauled Triamber onto their platform."Triamber!" Landen shouted, turning around and running toward his fallen teacher.The platform began to ascend. Only Landen's great speed enabled him to reach the platform before it was far above the ground. Landen grabbed one of the three soldiers on it, yanked the Tragadomian off the platform, and knocked him unconscious.The platform had risen to a height of twelve feet. Landen leapt into the air and caught hold of its edge with his right hand. As he tried to pull himself onto the platform, a second soldier smashed the butt of a laser rifle into Landen's hand.Landen grimaced with pain, but managed to hold on. With his left arm, he threw a knife-hand strike at the soldier's elbow, shattering the Tragadomian's powerful arm.The pilot suddenly veered the platform sharply to the southeast. The quick acceleration caused Landen's injured hand to lose its grip. He fell to the ground, landing on his feet like a cat.Triamber kicked the injured Tragadomian soldier off the platform. The soldier crashed hard on the ground next to Landen. The impact rendered the Tragadomian unconscious. Landen watched in exasperation as the flying platform disappeared over the trees. It was headed toward the plains in the southeast.The pilot glanced back at Triamber as the pilot steered the platform His two fellow soldiers had been thrown from the platform; the Tragadomian had no help in this confrontation with the Noelmian.Triamber crawled across the platform and grabbed the pilot, wrestling him away from the controls. The platform, which was traveling at top speed, veered wildly."You old fool!" the pilot screamed. "You'll kill us both!"For fifteen seconds, each struggled to overpower the other. Neither succeeded. The out-of-control platform made a crash landing into a mound of mud.Both men were thrown from the platform. Triamber was uninjured, except for some bruises. The dazed pilot, who had no weapon, wanted nothing further to do with this fanatical Noelmian. The Tragadomian ran toward the forest to the northwest. Triamber watched him for a few seconds, then turned to the south. The Loremaster began his long walk toward his hometown.
