"What? How did you know that I'm the pilot of the Big Guy?" Dwayne wondered. "Even better, how long have you known?"
"We have known for a few years Lieutenant but now we have failed our mission for the necklace is lost. Tera cannot return to the city," Jennifer told him.
Dwayne thought about the last time he was in the cave and remembered what Tera had told him. He glanced over at the pterodactyl.
"That's right. Is there anything I can do?" Dwayne asked. "Maybe I can take her back with the Big Guy to the..."
"Not possible. She won't have any protection," Justin said.
"What do you think we're going to do with her? Attack her? Leave her out in open where she can be easily seen? We would give her a cabin to stay in during her stay," Dwayne retorted.
"That's what we're afraid of, Lieutenant. You see, there's one aspect about Tera that she hadn't told you. Something dealing with that necklace she wears. Without it, she has no control over the changes between a human and pterodactyl," Jennifer explained.
"Wait! I do remember her saying that from the last time I was here. I already know that," Dwayne snickered.
"But did she tell you that the changes only occur directly in the light of the sun and the moon?" Justin wondered.
Dwayne was more than surprised as he twirled his head to look at the reptile, who was curled up into a ball.
"That part, I missed," Dwayne finally admitted.
"So you see, if she goes with you, her identity will be exposed to many of your men when she would travel below decks, out of sight from the sky. We do not want that. We know how few know your secret Lieutenant, even fewer know Tera's," Jennifer replied.
Dwayne sighed before glancing over at Tera, who remained in the same spot. The lieutenant could tell that she wanted help but didn't want her secret to be known just yet. He thought about the situation for a moment before coming up with an idea.
"Wait! I may have come up with something if you trust me enough. Listen to what I have to say," Dwayne told them.
00000
Doctor Slate walked around the area, looking for the necklace. She had seen it fall to the ground and was determined to find it.
"It means something to Tera so I should try and find it before Hapar does. I know it fell around here somewhere but where could it have gone to. I just hope they hadn't come back and found it ," Slate quietly said.
She continued to look before something caught her eye in the distance. When she walked closer, she found that it was indeed the necklace. She picked it up and glanced around the area, seeing if anyone had possibly seen her. She sighed once she saw no one was around.
"Now to get back to Qwark to examine this. I would like to know more about this," she quietly said.
She hurried back to the tower before being spotted by anyone.
00000
"And what idea did you happen to think of now?" wondered Jennifer.
"Allow me to take her to the Dark Horse. She can be safe there!" Dwayne started.
"Didn't we already talk about this? We already told you no, " sighed Justin.
"But we didn't discuss the possibilty of the hallways being emptied of people so I can get her to a cabin unnoticed," Dwayne said.
"Still too risky. Someone might come out of their room just as you pass," Jennifer replied.
"I can get the general to order them to stay in their rooms. If you'll just let me try - " Dwayne began.
The two cats glanced at each other. They walked a few steps away from the lieutenant and whispered to each other.
"Should we trust him enough to for him to do this?" wondered Jennifer.
"Maybe the one we should ask is Tera," Justin replied.
Dwayne watched as the two walked over to Tera and talked with her about what the lieutenant had hoped to do. He patiently waited to get an answer from them before Justin walked over to Dwayne.
"She will allow you to take her to your base of operations and for that, we will permit you to do so if you're allowed but only if we go with you. Contact your general and fill him in on what you have planned," Justin told him.
Dwayne gave a small smile before he climbed up to the cockpit. Thorton's face soon appeared on one of the overhead screens.
"What is it Lieutenant?" demanded Thorton.
"It's Tera, sir. She needs help and I need permission to bring her back to the base," Dwayne replied.
"No can do. Security reasons. Not even Tera and the cats can find out about you," Thorton immediately replied.
"They already know about me General Thorton. They have known for years now and there's no sense in trying to hide it from them," Dwaynereplied..
The general raised an eyebrow to the news, indicating his surprise but remained quiet. He thought about the news
"Fine then, bring her here but she's your responsibility," the general finally replied.
"But I need one big favour from you General," Dwayne quickly said.
"What's that now?" the general said in an exasperated voice.
"I need you to clear the decks and hallways of the Dark Horse. Tera's lost her necklace and without it, she's incapable of controlling the changes between her human and pterodactyl forms. If she would get below decks, she would be vunerable to eyes that shouldn't know," Dwayne replied.
Thorton raised an eyebrow at him yet again, still wondering why he should do that for someone he barely knew.
"Let me put it this way General, would you want me to walk the halls or streets and tell everyone that I am Big Guy's pilot?" Dwayne asked him.
"No, of course not. I'll do what I can," the general replied.
The general's face disappeared from the screen and Dwayne climbed out of the cockpit.
"All right, let's get moving!" Dwayne called out.
The two cats scrambled to get ready the few things they needed as Dwayne began to help Tera towards the Big Guy.
"Thank you Lieutenant. I realize I was nervous when you first arrived here but I was frightened," she quietly told him.
"It's no trouble. After all, you helped me several weeks ago. It's the least I can do," Dwayne replied.
Jennifer and Justin soon had everything they needed and climbed onto Big Guy's back once Dwayne had climbed back inside. He gently picked up Tera with Big Guy's hands, allowing Justin enough time to cover her with a blanket, before they headed towards the Dark Horse.
00000
"Move it people! We need to get the hallways as empty as possible. General's orders!" cried Jo.
"Come on! Let's go, let's go!" urged Garth.
The general watched from a nearby room. He was anxious for the lieutenant to return with Tera. He never expected her to actually give permission to be taken someplace that could be considered 'unsafe'.
"So we finally get to meet this creature face to face," Thorton quietly said.
The Pit Crew arrived at the door, awaiting for whatever was next.
"Head for your quarters Crew. No sense in everyone waiting for him," Thorton told them.
The three turned to the general is absolute shock.
"Shouldn't we be here in case the Big Guy is damaged or something like that?" Jo wondered.
"Trust me on this. Lieutenant Hunter requested that the hallways be clear and that includes the three of you. I'm including myself," Thorton told them.
Mack, Garth and Jo were all surprised by this request. Their hearts dropped but they all eventually complied. Thorton soon closed the door to the room and hoped that the lieutenant knew exactly what he was doing.
00000
Big Guy soon arrived at the Dark Horse and made his way inside. Dwayne looked around the area to find that no one was around.
"Looks like the general managed to get everyone into their cabins," Dwayne quietly said.
Justin and Jennifer climbed off of Big Guy as he lowered Tera to the deck. Tera slowly climbed to her feet as Dwayne walked over to the nearby platform and climbed out. He watched as the two cats put the blanket more over Tera's head.
"Now where can we go to stay? Please take us there and quickly," Jennifer requested.
Dwayne nodded before leading them down a corridor, with the three following close behind. He was hoping that no one would decide to come out of their room at any time. He continually glanced back and noticed that Tera was slowly changing back to a human again.
'Well, I've always wanted to find out who she was as a human. I just didn't want to find out like this,' he thought to himself.
He made his way to his own cabin and opened up the door, allowing the trio to step inside.
"I hope this'll do until I can find an empty one nearby. I honesty don't remember which ones are occupied and which ones aren't anymore. Besides, I thought it would safer than an empty one anyway," Dwayne told them.
"This will do. With an empty room, someone might still come inside and see us. At least while we're in here, only you come inside. Any others will knock," Jennifer replied.
Dwayne nodded before heading out to tell the general he was back. The three watched them leave before Tera knelt on the floor.
"Looks like it is beginning," Tera murmured.
"Yes, it is. I didn't realize it at first but yes, it is," agreed Justin.
00000
Slate looked over the necklace, amazed at its intricate design.
"I have no idea what purpose it serves Tera. All I really know about it is that I've never seen her without it until now," she mused.
Rusty walked into the room to find Slate staring at the necklace.
"Ooh, pretty necklace. Is it yours?" he asked.
"No, it's not. It belongs to Tera. She lost it during the recent battle with Jewel and Hapar," Slate explained to him.
Rusty appeared slightly confused as he placed a hand up to his chin.
"Then why don't we give it back to her?" he wondered.
"I would Rusty but I have no idea where she is right now. She could be anywhere. If I'm not mistaken, Big Guy's looking for her right now. I brought it here for safe keeping," Slate explained.
Rusty gave a small smile as he walked over to the other room and started to play his game. Slate watched him and gave a small sigh.
'I'm just glad he didn't want to know more about it,' Slate thought. 'Maybe we should go out to the Dark Horse and give the Big Guy a visit. Rusty's been itching to go see him and I should talk to Lieutenant Hunter and the others about this.'
00000
General Thorton looked over the papers before him when he heard a knock come to the door. He was slightly surprised by this action for he wasn't expecting anyone to be out and about.
"Come in," he called out.
Dwyane walked into the room and Thorton gave a small smile.
"Welcome back soldier. So how's our visitor?" he asked.
"I think she'll be fine. Right now, she's in my quarters with Justin and Jennifer. I thought it was best if she stayed there for now," Dwayne replied.
Thorton watched the lieutenant as he sat down in the nearby chair.
"So how did they find out about you and when?" Thorton asked.
"I don't know sir. They haven't told me yet. I suppose I'll ask once this is all over," Dwayne replied.
"It's up to you to find out whatever you can Lieutenant. They know about you and we know nothing about them so we need some answers and soon. You're dismissed," Thorton told him
Dwayne raised an eyebrow when he heard the general say that. He nodded his head before standing back up. He started out of the room when Thorton called after him.
"Lieutenant, one more thing," came the general's voice.
"Yes General?" wondered Dwayne.
"Tell them that if anyone should discover Tera's secret, I'll make certain they stay quiet," General Thorton told him.
Dwayne smiled and gave a small nod before heading out the door. Thorton watched him leave before giving word that everything was clear.
00000
Hapar watched the small plane head out over the water. He knew exactly who was inside and what they carried. Jewel stood beside him, a wing on her beak.
"Should we do something about her?" she asked.
"Not yet. I would like to see where she's going first. I have a feeling that she's going to lead us straight to Justin, Jennifer and Tera. Then we can kill them all at once," Hapar replied.
Jewel gave a small smile at what he said before looking back out onto the water.
"I can only imagine the looks on their faces when we find them," Jewel mused.
"I can't wait to see their reactions when they realize they can't do anything to stop me," Hapar said.
00000
Justin and Jennifer sat next to the bed, watching their charge. Tera had now fully changed back to a human and was now hiding underneath the covers.
"This brings a whole new light to the situation. I hope you understand that we can no longer hide from the world and we realize this now. Do you want to rely on the necklace all your life?" Justin asked her.
"No but I guess it's just the idea of it. I haven't told anyone and you know it," came a voice from underneath the covers.
"We didn't want you to tell, remember?" Justin reminded. "Now get some rest. You need it for you need to heal."
The sound of a door caught their attention and the two cats turned to see the lieutenant walking into the room. They gave a sigh of relief as he walked over to them.
"So what do we do now?" wondered Dwayne.
"We wait," Jennifer replied. "But there is something we would like to tell you Lieutenant Hunter."
"Okay," Dwayne replied.
He sat down in a nearby chair, eagerly waiting for whatever the cats wanted to say.
"As you know, Tera needs help. There are two people who can help her but we don't want to force them to help her because of what she is," Justin said.
"Hapar did this to her and to other beings on countless other planets. Magic was involved in each transformation and then there's the prophecy," Jennifer started.
"Prophecy?" Dwayne asked, confused.
"Believe it or not, a prophecy is created for each of his victims. In the unlikely event it should happen to come true, then the person would not be bound by the confines it had before. In Tera's case, if hers should come true, she would be able to go out in sunlight and moonlight without the need of the necklace to prevent the changes," Justin continued.
"What's the prophecy?" wondered Dwayne.
"That we cannot tell for things can be forced but I can assure you, the time is near. It has nearly come to pass. Only one more thing has to happen before it is complete," Jennifer explained.
They were interrupted when Tera gave a cry of surprise. The three looked in her direction to see her pull the cover off her head.
"It's near!" she gasped. "The necklace is near!"
Justin and Jennifer's ears perked up and they soon nodded in agreement.
"Someone has found it and is now here. I have to wonder if Hapar found it first?" Justin said.
Dwayne was surprised for he recognized the voice. His suspicions were confirmed when the figure in the bed turned around to reveal Czarina.
TBC...