Search Part II

The Galaxy Ranger base on Mars was right next door to the city of New Pigalis and the tent city that served as temporary housing for the displaced Walcams that were still on Mars. Several thousand Walcams had already been taken in by several other planets such as Kirwin, Andor, Brachia, Prairie, Nebraska and Maine. Others were traveling and petitioning to resettle on dozens of other planets such as Earth and Ozark. But there were still several thousand still forced to survive in barely tolerable conditions on Mars. Some were just waiting for official papers allowing them to immigrate. Others had decided to take off illegally and many had been caught, forcibly brought back to the encampment. Many of the Walcams stayed on Mars because they had no idea where else to go. Since the immigration quotas on the few worlds that did agree to accept the Walcams were filled many were trapped.

Some Walcams tried to find work in cities like New Pigalis which led to the citizens there to become a bit irritated at the newcomers. The economy on Mars was in a bit of a downturn and jobs were already scarce. Many original colonists weren't happy with competition. And when the strange attacks started many were all too quick to blame the Walcams.

Zachery, the two alien ambassadors and a team of rangers were already racing to where the latest skirmish was being right on the border of the city and the Walcam compound. They were headed toward the riot in two large Ranger transport vehicles when something hit them.

Suddenly a wave of pain, rage and nausea attacked everyone in the vehicle. Zachery couldn't see and could barely move. It was a combination of quick thinking and dumb luck that he was able to stop his vehicle without crashing into the other one.

And just as soon as the sensation happened, it disappeared. "What the hell was that?" Zachery groaned.

"It was some kind of psychic attack, no doubt about it," Waldo let out a breath. "A very formidable one."

"Good thing Niko taught us about shielding," Zozo moaned. "Even then…"

"Captain Foxx are you all right?" The second vehicle's driver spoke on the communicator.

"We're fine Ranger Twen," Zach groaned. "How about your people?"

"We've got a hell of a headache but no real problems," Ranger Twen spoke. "What was that?"

"Some kind of psychic attack," Zach let out a breath.

"You're kidding me?" Ranger Twen was stunned.

"No, but right now we need to stop the trouble up ahead," Zach said. "We'll figure it out later."

It turned out that there was already a lull in the fighting as they arrived. Two separate mobs of humans and aliens seemed to be in a daze with injured on both sides. However the New Pigalis mob seemed to have caught it's second wind and was preparing to attack again.

"That's enough!" Zach fired his blaster into the sky to get the attention of everyone. "I'm Galaxy Ranger Zachery Foxx and I'm ordering all of you to stand down! Now, what the devil is going on around here? Who started this?"

"It was those damn Badgers! They started it!" A human colonist shouted.

"We're not badgers! We're Walcam!" A Walcam woman bristled. "You're the ones who attacked us!"

"You're on our soil! We didn't go into the city to attack you!" Another Walcam shouted.

"That's not your soil! That's ours you alien trespasser!" A red alien with three arms yelled.

"Who are you calling an alien trespasser you…?" The Walcam woman yelled.

"ENOUGH! ONE AT A TIME!" Zach fired his blaster again. The crowd stopped. He turned to the Walcam. "Who's in charge here?"

"I am Ranger Foxx," Burba, the former mayor of Walcam's greatest city stepped forward.

"Burba can you tell me what happened here?" Zach asked.

"It figures!" A human male muttered to another. "Damn Rangers care more about aliens than their own kind."

Zach gave a warning look to the offender then turned to Burba. "Burba, what happened?"

"It was madness," Burba sighed. "One minute we were minding our own business and the next we were in the middle of a fight. No one knows how it started or why."

"Pretty much what happened here," Another human grunted.

"Did anyone see or hear anything unusual?" Zach called out.

Suddenly a timid hand raised. It belonged to a tiny Walcam girl in a ratty dress. "We saw something."

"All right," Zach said. "Come here and tell us what happened."

"Don't be afraid young ones," Burba said as the girl walked up with a slightly older boy Walcam. "Just tell the Galaxy Ranger the truth."

"How come they can remember but we can't?" Another human male shouted.

"Quiet and let them talk!" Zach barked.

"I'm Tal and this is my younger sister Talia," The Walcam boy said. "We…We have the Sight."

"The Sight?" Zach asked.

"What you would call psychic," Burba explained.

"I did not know there were any Walcams that possessed psychic abilities," Waldo said.

"The Queen got most of them a long time ago," Burba explained. "But there are a handful in our younger generation that seem to have the Sight."

"Our baby sister has it too but she's real little," Talia explained.

"Tell the Rangers what you saw children," Burba said gently.

"Well uh my brother and I…we were playing hide and go seek when all of the sudden we felt something strange," The girl said nervously. "Then all the grownups started to hit each other. Then we saw a lot of strangers run in. These people and everyone started to fight."

"Wait, are you telling me that you saw the adults fight among themselves before the fight?" Zozo asked. The girl nodded nervously.

"It's happened before," The boy told them. "Everybody else fights but us. I think our Sight protects us."

"Are we really supposed to believe this garbage?" Another human shouted.

"Walcam children never lie," Burba said defensively. "At least not about something as important as this!"

"I didn't imply they were," Zach told him. "We just want to make sure."

"There clearly was a psychic attack in this area," Waldo frowned. "We all felt it. And it sounds like that psychic interference caused this riot."

"Are you saying someone used mind control on everyone and made them fight each other?" Zach was stunned.

"That would explain why none of the victims remember what happened," Waldo frowned. "And we all felt a strong psychic presence trying to control us. And since that is the case, we now have a very strong lead."

"Okay so someone psychic is behind these attacks, how do we find them?" Zozo asked.

"I believe some Andorian technology may be the solution to this particular problem," Waldo said. "As well as some assistance from Talia and Tal."

"Why us?" Tal asked.

"You were immune to the psychic attack being psychics yourselves," Burba deducted.

"Or maybe they caused the attack in the first place!" A townsperson shouted. Several human colonists shouted in agreement.

"Are ye mad? Even if these children were that powerful, which they ain't, why would they do such a thing?" A Walcam man shouted.

"Because you aliens live to drive us insane!" A woman yelled. "That's why!"

"Hold on! What do you mean you aliens?" A green female alien shouted.

"ENOUGH!" Zachery powered up his thunderbolt and sent a blast into the sky. That stopped everyone. "All right. Rangers Twen and Karban you get as many statements as you can from everyone. Rangers Hola and Delacosta you take change of the injured. The rest of you perform crowd control. All civilians that aren't injured or have nothing to say return to your homes!"

No one dared to argue with Zachery. But there were plenty of angry murmurs and dirty looks on both sides. "Captain if we don't discover the cause of these attacks soon, things are going to get very dangerous on Mars," Waldo told him. "The next riot might not be a started by a psychic attack!"

"But by some jerks who want to start trouble," Zozo finished.

"We didn't do it!" Talia whimpered.

"I believe you, little one," Zach knelt down to comfort her. "I don't think you two had anything to do with this. But I think you can help us find out who did."

"And if we do the fighting will stop?" Talia asked.

"That's the plan," Zozo said.

"Waldo, you think you can get one of those psychic tracking devices?" Zach asked.

"The technology is already installed in our vehicles. They can already detect life readings and different kinds of pulses. I believe I can calibrate the instruments in one of them to track down psychic vibrations," Waldo said. "But I might need some help."

"I think we can do something," Tal said. "Ready Talia?" Both children held hands and focused.

"I see it! I see where the attack came from," Talia said. "It's not that far away…" An image of a large stone mesa shone in her mind.

Meanwhile Niko and Doc had entered a large building covered with flowers. Inside were three elderly people with long hair sitting comfortably on mats.

"These are the other elders of Demeter's Blessing," Lady Cassia introduced. "That's Elder Grey, Elder Rose and Elder Santana."

"Hello, I'm Ranger Niko and this is Ranger Hartford," Niko introduced.

"Hello Ranger Niko," Elder Grey, a thin man with a balding head but long hair growing on the sides wrapped in a ponytail spoke. "Ranger Hartford. We'd be glad to help you with your investigation any way we can."

"That's good to know," Doc let out a relieved breath as they were invited to sit down on cushions. "Some of your citizens feel a little different."

"We'll answer any questions you have," Elder Rose, a plump elderly woman with a kind face spoke. "It's the right thing to do."

"That and the fact we don't like anyone using our home as part of some kind of agenda," Elder Santana growled. He was a Hispanic man with long hair and a noble air to his being. "Make no mistake, the man who posed as Troy Dumas was not one of us! Our colony promotes peace."

"But not tolerance," Lady Cassia sighed.

"Not for lack of trying Cassia," Elder Rose said softly. She turned to Niko. "We heard about what happened on Earth. Despite our isolation, we do get Tri-D. You don't know what it meant to us to learn that Cheyenne Gooseman survived. She saved all of our lives when we were only children. She was our hero."

"I can't believe that Cheyenne is still alive," Lady Cassia shook her head. "I'd like to see her again."

"I think she'd like that," Doc said. "I'm sure we can arrange a meeting."

"Did you know my parents too?" Niko asked. "I barely remember them."

"Yes, I met your father a long time ago," Lady Cassia smiled. "He and others like him once lived in this colony for a short while after they fled Earth."

"Why didn't he stay?" Niko asked.

"Many people didn't feel safe even on Mars," Lady Cassia sighed as she showed her an image of her father. "And your father loved the stars so. It's almost impossible to see them under this dome. So he took a handful of brave souls and they set out to form their own colony. They wanted to live in peace…"

"But it didn't happen…" Niko said sadly.

"All because of that damned prophecy…" Elder Grey shook his head.

"You know about the prophecy?" Doc asked.

"I'm afraid we do," Lady Cassia sighed. "It was a psychic from this colony who told the Black Rose Society about it. That's why we were spared. I know…You were wondering weren't you? Why the Black Rose Society allowed us to live?"

"I thought I learned to keep my thoughts hidden pretty well," Doc shrugged.

"It's not Niko's teachings that failed you," Elder Grey said. "It's what anyone with half a brain would have thought."

"The truth is…" Lady Cassia sighed. "The truth is one of our psychics here had a gift for premonition. He told the prophecy to someone he shouldn't have…And that someone told the Black Rose Society in exchange for our colony to be spared."

"The harsh reality is the traitor lied and said that this psychic specifically would come from the Orion Colony when in reality no one knew exactly where this psychic would come from," Elder Rose said.

"And it turned out to be someone from Earth all along," Niko said. "So my colony was destroyed for no reason."

"Hate and ignorance are never good reasons to begin with," Lady Cassia sighed.

"So who did betray the Orion Colony?" Doc asked.

"It doesn't matter," Lady Cassia sighed. "He's been gone a long time."

"You said you could help us find the remaining survivors of the Orion Colony," Niko asked. "Do you know where they are?"

Lady Cassia sighed. "Keep in mind it's been years since we've been in contact but about forty miles of this place is a series of underground caves. They're hard to find but I can take you to them."

"So there are still members still alive," Doc frowned. "Do you think they'll listen to us? We don't want to fight them. We want to establish peaceful relations."

"I know, and I'll do what I can to help you," Lady Cassia said. "I have a private land skimmer we can take."

"Just don't get your hopes up too high," Elder Santana frowned. "Those few that are left have gone a little batty in the belfry."

"We have to try," Niko said. "There's already been too much needless bloodshed."

You don't have to do this, Elder Grey sent Lady Cassia a private telepathic message.

Yes I do, Lady Cassia told him. This is something I should have taken care of myself a long time ago. I just hope it's not too late.

Lady Cassia went with the Galaxy Rangers out the door. The other elders conversed with each other telepathically. Then sent out a summons.

"You wanted me Elders?" Mayor Holloway asked as he walked in.

"Mayor, we need you to round up a posse," Elder Grey said. "I'm afraid Lady Cassia is about to do something extremely rash."