8. Getting Weaker under the Pressure

Eras had gone by, creeping like tortoises forwards. Buzz sat phlegmatic in his metabolism aid machine. The famous space ranger had grown sad during the last 24 hours. Where was his team? Where was the help he had so keenly waited for all this time? He had no idea how long he had been tied into that chair, it felt like weeks... the sense of hours and minutes had been flushed down the refuge chute already on the first day. As if the whole time did not exist on Planet Z at all. At first the Captain had tried to keep some book of the regular visits of the brain-pods in his chamber. Between some hours, they came to control the functions of his chair, dosing then new liquids into the tubes and hoses. Nutrition and more sedatives, laced with who knows what. At least they did not do very good to the mental condition of Buzz.

 But where was his help? Where were the brave rangers that would come to rescue him? No voice, no sound. How eagerly he had been looking forward to see a head of a fellow peeking into his cabin, yelling in merry surprise and coming to get the heavy fetters off him. Where was that saviour? Booster, Mira Nova, XR... what had happened? It seemed now that the whole Universe had forgotten him... except Zurg. But... what if no one really knew where Lightyear was? That would make sense, why nobody had appeared to lighten up his pains. He had taken a 'holiday'... spied Mrs Darkmatter on the sly... was that no one had even noticed his absence in Star Command? No one making him an assurance call for to ask, how his semester had been? "No, it mustn't be like that... someone must know that I've been captured and brought here. At least they could have tracked me by the energy traces... But... I don't even know how long I've been here. They must..."

 Suddenly the door bars clacked and a black figure appeared to the entrance.

"Good evening, apprentice cadet. Well, well. We look a little tired, do we?" Zurg gave an impish laugh, then hovering to Buzz with his jet boots. He stuck his yellow loudspeaker straight in front of Lightyear's face.

"Tired of waiting for salvage from your pathetic team-mates?"

 Zurg could not have said anything worse. This one sentence really slashed the confidence of Buzz. What else had he just been thinking than the non-attendance of his collaborators...?

"They... will... come... to me", he lisped with the last rays of his sense.

"I do not believe so, Lightyear. Why would they come to you? What would they benefit of that? Moreover... I truly believe they have... how would I put this politely... lost their interest in you during the previous moments... maybe they find you rather irritating at times and are quite relieved to see you once gone", Zurg started his brain-washing.

"They... are not... rangers because of benefits... they do it because... of righteousness... and they will... come to me", was the blurry answer. Beyond Buzz' widened pupils, the sparkles of anger boosted his words.

"Righteousness? Muhahhahaaahh! Righteousness! I shall tell you something, my young future apprentice. You are a pest for the most people in Star Command. They are jealous because of all the 'heroic deeds' you have done. They are happy to get rid of you, indeed. That explains perfectly why no one has holloed after you. But..." the Emperor walked a circle around the floor and then clacked his fingers together, "I think you see soon that it is far much better in here, for you to live. Here you shall find your future... as being my loyal henchman. What I am offering you, is myriads and again myriads more magnificent than you ever could get as working under Star Command... that living turkey."

"You're... lying... everything you... ever have said... is a lie..." Buzz put up a defence.

"Jim-kraken-dandy! What do you know when I am lying? Maybe I am not lying this time! Of course, spreading baseless rumours is one of my evil virtues, but maybe I can break that law of the dark side sometimes..." Zurg grinned sarcastically.

"Don't try... to turn my mind... to believe you... I serve only... the goodness", Buzz huffed.

"Oo, goodness? I think you have been somewhat mislead. Have I told you about the goodness and kindness of the dark side? It is a powerful ally... and it never leaves you in trouble, since you let it in. It shall be better for you here, to serve the goodness of ME!" Zurg smoothed. Next the Emperor turned around to hear a grub whining in the entrance. "Your mighty lowliness, we are serving you a very evil dinner. Black octopus from the ocean of Graargh, gruesome gravy, potatoes of punishment, some oolated squiggs and for dessert, sinister cherry pie with very loathsome liqueur."

"Oo! How naughty!" Zurg sniggered confident and turned to Lightyear before leaving him alone, "You remember what I said, Lightyear. They have forgotten you, indeed. Only there is me, who remembers that you still exist! Obey me and I will treat you like a father would treat his son."

 Buzz glowered long after the vanished Emperor. His words had hurt him into a very sore spot. "What if it was true, what the malevolent tyrant had just said? No, it could not be so. But... what if he's right...? Well, in any case, you go to eat, you droid of deception... wait... droids don't eat. Oh my goodness... he's a being."

------------

 The Emperor planed silently towards his private chambers of Zurg Tower. The dinner, as usually, was supplied on a serving carriage, outside his main hall door. The grubs and brain-pods were strictly prohibited to enter further than the lobby, with the penalty of death. Zurg still could remember the day when that one unlucky lackey had invaded his bedroom and seen him... in his real appearance. That servant had never been caught, there were so many of them looking like the same as he. It was the mercy of that beetle, because knowing his master he would be a carcass, now.

Zurg pushed the carriage forward, opening the door of his dining parlour. After setting the dishes on the table, he vanished into his dressing room.

"That is for playing a robot, for today... quasars, this outfit is suffocating!" he cursed and began to tinker with his gloves. He detached some electric wires that were connected to the side parts of the gauntlets he had, then pulled the alloy-soldered gear away from his hands. Under there, were just normal five fingers of a human and a back of the hand that was covered with black hair. Then he loosened the tight belt he had, undressed the cloak, pulled the separate chest plate over his head, then ready to take the helmet off.

"Ahh... finally some fresh air!" he inhaled, throwing the loose mask carelessly to the table. Next Zurg was done with taking the whole purple robe off, revealing a tank top with dark-violet trousers from under it. The buckle of his belt, however, told about his obsession to izzards.

"I need to shave..." he skimmed his upper lip in front of a mirror, a red lamp crystal letting its eerie light glow upon him. Dark-brown, sharp eyes stared him back from the reflection, framed with thick, black brows.

"Lightyear... his mind is getting weaker... I could see it very well today. He is beginning to believe what I say. His eyes were telling me that. He is stronger than I thought, but it will take only a few days more... and then he is ready to call me his Teacher."

"Oh... these boots..." he lastly snarled to his shoes, getting again to work with cords that he detached from around his knees. He had quite extraordinary footwear. They resembled normal boots, but had in-built crystallic fusion cylinders that allowed the energy to the jet engines. Zurg's whole uniform was a complex structure of alloys, electric circuits and cloth. The devices in his gauntlets allowed him to send laser beams straight from his fingers, alike he could send them from the eye lens structures of the helmet. So, from outside, he looked like a droid, but inside that all disguise was a normal human. Although... no one was aware of that. Not even Warp Darkmatter had understood that overlord being nothing but mechanics.

 Soon the tall, middle-aged man trotted into his dining room to get his fork into the delicacies. But, somehow, the meal did not appeal to him. The Emperor was too much in his own thoughts, the issue of Captain Lightyear spinning around his mind from hour to hour. Yet, now he fingered his chin beard in malevolent satisfaction when he remembered for some time ago hearing about the passing of former Agent Z. "That is it... no one can leave the dark side that easily, it shall have its revenge... at least from my hands. Jim-kraken-dandy."

He stuck his fork into the food and swallowed a couple of bites washing them down with claret.

"...from the core of my Empire I have watched Lightyear grow, get skilful in his Star Command career... Why was I in such thoughts that this person would never be anything but a blue-collar minion of some Trade World enterprise? But now... be patient, Zurg. Yes... let us do to him some better brainwashing tomorrow. When the time shall be mature, I give him such tasks where his talents are canalized into their right grooves. In addition, once he has learned to obey me, I shall steel his mind so that he will never leave my side; never leave his Master until I will be dust in the wind. Well... maybe I still have another 50 years time. Moreover, after that, he will build my Empire even more magnificent. The darkness shall rule the whole Milky Way, and maybe, maybe one day some other galaxies, too! I know he would be capable to extend this mighty reign to Andromeda and farther, if he ever wants to do that. To infinity and beyond... hehe."

--------Zeta Quadrant, an undetermined place-----------

"Skip-rope jumping black holes! We shoul've been there, already!" Warp cursed at the control console of his ship. He sat in the main pilot chair, Zarah beside him, while the extra members of the crew jutted in miscellaneous seats in the rear of the cockpit. The male Darkmatter was after long pause dressed into his Agent Z-gear, which seemed to be the best possible space suit for him, although it seemed to be somewhat taut because of the extra pounds he had gained recently. His lady had a black-silver Xanedian space costume on. The rangers had their normal uniforms. 

But now, Mira and XR eyed Darkmatter with very bothered regards, when the 'boss' attempted to get some logics in the directions. Two days they had been straying lost in space.

"If you would have asked us even a bit help, we would have given you the advise that before Tnacsuroc System you should have activated the jump gate and taken the wormhole towards Dan-Toiiné System." Mira spat disappointed.

"Yea, yea, Princess Pride, we're just checking the situation, here", Warp snorted back.

"Tsut tsut, Darkie. Remember, we need co-operation", Zarah knocked his shoulder form the beside seat.

"Now, I thought there was this shortcut that I used a lot when I was under the command of that Izzard..."

"The shortest way to Planet Z would have been the one that I mentioned!" Mira snapped.

"Lisn' Your Worshipfulness..." Warp began, but got interrupted by Choi.

"I think I got a clue, where we are." She pushed the holo-map activator button and a colourful 3D-image spread in front of the windshield.

"Lookie, here. We're in Zeta Quadrant, but maybe not so badly astray from the core. See, this system here is Zoinks and that one behind it is SG-1, then there's Narf. I believe we're in the middle of the triangle they form. This is the periphery of Zurgean Empire, which explains the absence of guard hornets." A smile lifted up the corners of her mouth because the problem would finally be solved.

Warp's heart melted. He extended his flesh hand to cuddle his Lady. "Aww... li'l babe... your Master is veeery pleased with ya..."

She tittered back and chirruped, "I'll do anything for my big, strong Huggy Bear..."

Warp leaned over the gear sticks to give her a kiss. Yet, he could not realise his intention because of XR's shortcutting bleat. "Would you two stop for a while? We've seen your lovey-dovey scene a bazillion times. Would you now steer the ship to Planet Z? You can coo as much as you ever wish when the mission is over!"

"...if we ever can survive this..." Booster whimpered from his corner. He had been quite silent during the route this far. Deep concern about Buzz filled his mind. Well, Captain Lightyear was his greatest exemplar, so naturally the news of his disappearance had been a shock to him. And just like Mira, he felt that there was something very dark oppressing the future of the galaxy, if they would not succeed in their journey.

 After a couple hours of travelling in hyperspace, the ship jumped back into the Einsteinian world. For their sudden fright, Team Darkmatter (that was Warp's modestly egoistic new name given to the troop) found themselves almost in the atmosphere of the target planet. Its deadly red clouds delineated in the horizon, surrounded by the three artificial moons.

"Quick! Put the shield generator on!" Warp shouted, getting scans of Zurg's security device activations.

Zarah fumbled the buttons and pulled the levers in total haste.

"Did you observe the energy readings right at all when you de-activated the warp, Mister Darkmatter? We were not supposed to dive up from the ether right in front of Zurg's nose!" Mira shrieked in panic, giving then a notice that a patrol of hyper-hornets was getting nearer. The interferator shield had not yet been loaded, so for their ill fortune, a nearby scouting pack of robots had gotten a track. "Quickly! Put the darned cover on!"

"In a few seconds it should be on!"

Indeed, there were some Zurg's metal lackeys approaching them in the near space. One of them diverged from its group, obviously wondering what that object was that had popped there from the emptiness. Its radar devices began to search for indications and get some kind of an X-ray picture of the vessel. Not very long would pass before it would send the data straight to the control centre of Zurg Tower.

"Why won't the freakin' shield load?" XR bawled in the middle of the bustle.

"Three seconds!" Zarah blurted. "One, two..."

...

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.....To be continued.........