Chapter 14

Even though the town of Port Kennedy had been long abandoned, being alone on Keriri Island was far more preferable to being under the control of Neville Sage. Even so, the three men who now made up the islands only current inhabitants, still worried about their immediate futures.

"How are you doing Captain?" Professor Adisa asked.

"I'll be alright" Reed Branson replied "Our situation may not be perfect, but I'm just glad to be out of that bilge soaked brig."

"I'm going bring the supplies up from the beach" Henry Dias offered "I want to see if they left us a medical pack; in his condition, Reed could really use a vitamin shot."

Adisa, Dias and Branson had all been given an important role to play, ever since they had first been captured by the late Prime Governor Redding. As the former Head of Operations at the Railgun Complex, Professor Linton Adisa had been just a novelty for Redding to gloat over, but for Neville Sage the elderly Jamaican scholar was the key to forcing Doctor Sarah Spencer to co-operate. Sage had not wanted to release Adisa too soon, just in case any show of kindness would be taken by those around him as nothing more than weakness; so leaving the Professor stranded on an island, gave Sage the way to still keep some small measure of control over him.

Doctor Henry Dias's role was somewhat more complex. For many years he had been a trusted ally of Professor Adisa and indeed they were good friends, but the good Doctor had held a long kept secret. Like so many other people involved with the Mars Project, Henry would have done almost anything to get his young son Luis on the list of Mars colonists. The only problem was, every government official, every high ranking project manager and every person with the influence of wealth, were all under extreme scrutiny to avoid the risk of nepotism when the colonists were chosen. To this end, Henry was helped to fake his own death so his connection with Luis would not be found out. And so after adopting the name Henry Deming, the late Henry Dias spent many years hiding in plain sight and helping to raise his own grandson Blue Dias while the Railgun Complex was in lockdown.

Once his deception had been revealed, Henry Dias had spent his time trying to ride the edge of remaining loyal to Professor Adisa, while still being accepted into Sages inner circle. He had hoped he would be able to keep everyone safe by insisting to Sage they were more valuable as living hostages rather than dead martyrs, but he had only been partially successful. In order to keep the both Professor and Henry Dias in line, Sage had reverted to the age old method of using Reed Branson as a hostage among hostages and convenient whipping boy.

At first the treatment meted out to Captain Branson was positively brutal. After being exposed as an ally of Professor Adisa who had helped to smuggle information out of Prime Governor Redding's bunker, Branson had being beaten and kept in chains under heavy guard before being used as a bargaining chip to keep Professor Adisa in line. Even though there had been no more physical violence, Reed had spent the entire journey across the Pacific confined to the brig and was grossly underfed. So now this once healthy and strong man had become a mere shadow of his former self.

"Here you go Captain; I know it's rather dry and tasteless, but it does have the protein you so badly need" Linton said as he handed Reed a food bar.

"There is some good stuff here, but only a very basic medical kit" Henry noted as he searched through one of the Survival Packs.

"Looks like the food will only last about a week, and only if we ration it" Linton said as he looked over what had been unpacked.

"The real question is, how long will it take till Sarah finds out and sends someone to rescue us?" Henry wondered.

While lying back on the dry sand under a shady tree, a weak but contented Reed Branson thought about the problem at hand before answering.

"Well assuming Sage allows Sarah to send someone to fetch us as soon as she finds out, I would say between eight to ten days."

Henry sighed despondently at the thought of possibly waiting for help that may never come, not noticing the wide smile on Linton Adisa's face

"Although I think your calculation is correct Captain, it really doesn't matter anymore; look out there."

The others followed the Professor's gaze out to sea and were surprised to see the mast of a yacht slowly rising up out of the sea.

"What the..." Reed gasped.

As they continued to stare into the distance, the surface of the water began to bulge and was soon flowing off of the Star Runner's superstructure and deck.

"Hey... that's Linwoods boat" Branson realised.

"And it looks like Sarah and the gang have been doing some modifications to it" Professor Adisa could not help but smile wider.

"But... but... they turned it into a submarine?" Reed Branson could still not quite believe his eyes.

"I suppose since it is not as big as the One and All, they realised it was too small for hidden deck guns and decided to go for something more... shall we say... stealthy?" Adisa wondered.

"I'd say sneaky" Henry Dias suggested.

'

'

Although he still had a mild cough and his sinuses felt a little sore, Blue's cold had greatly improved over the last few days and he had started moving about the lower deck of the Bull Ant to help regain his strength; as well as some sense of balance. The sun was getting low in the sky but the batteries still held enough power to keep the massive vehicle moving for a few more hours. And so Blue was more than just a little surprised when DeGroot brought it to a slow halt; therefore he decided to investigate.

"Anything wrong?" he asked as climbed the stairs to the upper deck.

"We've made it to the coast at last" Maximilian DeGroot answered.

"Wonderful" Blue smiled as he made his way to the front window.

They had come through the mountains at the precise place they had been aiming for. Down below them about ten kilometres away, a good sized town sat near a cliff overlooking where the North Atlantic Ocean met the Labrador Sea.

"I'm not sure if we would make it there today, but I'm sure we could close the distance considerably before night falls" DeGroot suggested.

Blue thought for a while before coming to an important decision.

"No... I think we'd be better off leaving the Bull Ant hidden up here in the forest."

"Really... um... why?" DeGroot wondered.

"If we drive down to the town, and then manage to get passage across the Atlantic, when we eventually get back here you can be sure the Bull Ant would have been stolen, stripped or just claimed by someone else. I realise I can't guarantee it will be safe up here either, but at least there's a chance it will still be around if we ever need it again. Drive onto a side track and we'll hide it in the forest, then we'll grab some supplies and walk to the town. We should get there just after dark" Blue decided.

"All righty then" DeGroot nodded as he carried out Blue's instructions.

'

'

Far to the west, Abigail and Calla sat forlornly in a small wooden cabin and waited somewhat impatiently to learn about their immediate fate.

"You people have no gratitude" Calla huffed.

"Just... shut up."

The two women charged with keeping an eye on the accused girls had very mixed feelings. They could understand Calla's point of view but the argument put forward by Gran and her inner circle of close followers, seemed to make sense too.

A few days had passed since the people digging from the outside and those digging from within, finally met up and freed all the townsfolk trapped underground. The mood back then was more one of relief rather than celebration, with a liberal amount of melancholy thrown in as a funeral was held for the late Nancy Clark. Calla and Abigail had not been permitted to attend the service, held in a small clear space behind the rear buildings, so they never did get the chance to say goodbye to one of the few friends they had in this place.

As soon as Gran had exited the tunnel, she had given the order for the young ladies to be put under arrest until their trial. It seemed spending more than a week digging dirt, breaking rocks and chopping logs, was a good deed that certainly would not go unpunished. The trial was short, and now they waited with their guards in the infirmary for the verdict; their wrists bound with light rope, and shackles binding their ankles. A long heavy chain running through a ring on the back of the shackles kept the two girls firmly attached to the legs of the bench they sat on.

"If I had a time machine, I'd go back to a time when people were more considerate and merciful" Calla mumbled "Like the Middle Ages... or the last years Roman Empire."

"Hmm..." Abigail thought "Burnt as a witch, thrown to the lions, or Gran's Kangaroo Court? Yeah it is hard to decide."

They were both still giggling when the door opened and Stanley stepped inside.

"The jury had returned from its deliberations and they're ready to give their verdict" he said emotionlessly as he undid the chain.

"I assume the hanging rope is prepared, and the mob are all waving their flaming torches" Calla smirked.

"Just get outside" Stan sighed as he shoved them through the open door.

The girls were led out into the cold air where the entire community were gathered to see and hear the proceedings. Everything had been put together in a very hap hazard way the day before, and the trial had begun as soon as the outdoor court had been prepared. Calla had immediately objected to Gran being the one to act as judge, but her protest had fallen on deaf ears as their fate was to be determined not by Gran, but by a supposed jury of their peers. Abigail took great pains to point out that she and Calla had no peers in this place, but nobody took her seriously either. One interesting thing to come from the trial was when they finally learned Gran's real name.

"All rise in court for the continuation of the trial of Calla Donia Linwood and Abigail Susan Dias; Judge Phyllis Joyce Lindstrom presiding" the badly dressed clerk announced.

"I still can't believe they're actually doing this" Calla shook her head as close to a hundred people stood to their feet.

As soon as Gran had taken her seat, everyone else followed suit and sat too. Gran pick up the top sheet of paper from the pile on the table and read from it.

"The defendants have been charged with wilful disobedience resulting in the death of Nancy Clark."

Much to everyones surprise, Abigail bent down and picked up a small rock in the fingers of her still bound hands, raised her arms over her head and threw it at the Judge. Considering the power she had put into the throw, it was fortunate for Gran that she missed, but the rock did hit the table and ricocheted close to Gran's head.

"I WARNED YOU!" the young Martian girl screamed.

And indeed she had. Abigail had become quite frustrated at constantly being blamed for the Nancy's death, and had taken to hurling any missile close at hand at whoever dare to suggest it. This was the main reason why their wrists had been bound.

"Will someone please keep that girl under some semblance of control?" Gran ordered, her heart still racing from the near miss.

"Scared much Phyllis?" Calla smirked.

After she had first tried to annoy Gran by referring to her by her first name, Calla noticed how effective it had been and so adopted the practice at every opportunity.

"When will you two finally realise that your lives would be so much easier, if you would only settle down and accept our hospitality" Gran scowled but Calla just scoffed back at her.

"Don't be ridiculous Phyllis, you know it is the duty of any Prisoner of War to escape captivity and return to their allies."

"Prisoners of... What the hell are you talking about? We're not at war with anyone!" Gran protested.

"So you say; but as far as I am concerned, keeping us here against our will is an act of war!" Calla stated firmly.

"Against who?" Gran smirked derisively.

"For kidnapping Blue, his people in West Sumatra, for me there is the refugee fleet currently allied with Blues people; and worst of all because you have Abby, all the forces of Mars."

Calla hoped the last part of her statement would be a real cause of concern for everyone present; and it was.

"You seriously think the people of Mars are going to return to Earth?" Gran laughed.

At first Gran's words brought a mild sense of peace over the worried crowd, until Abigail made them think again.

"Well... I did" she stated bluntly.

A two second silence was followed by the hum of the whole crowd whispering to each other. Calla could see their plan was having some effect on everyone present so she nodded for Abigail to continue.

"Those of you old enough to remember may recall the Mars Transfer Vehicle used to take people and equipment to Mars; well it is still out there and my father is its commander and pilot. As you may know, I was born on Mars and based on what I've seen, a dozen members of our Security Force could over run and subdue this place in less than fifteen minutes if they wanted to; none of you would stand a chance."

The whispering turned to mumbling as the crowd began to wonder if their days were numbered. No one had considered the possibility that these children could have such powerful allies; if it were true of couse and Gran was far from convinced.

"EVERYONE... PLEASE, CALM DOWN" she begged "please remember, I worked on the Mars project, and what this... child... is telling you, is nothing but lies and fabrications. Mars Base One does not have a huge Security Force; they don't have ray guns or any kind of futuristic weapons. Even if they wanted to, there is nowhere for them to land an attack group for over two hundred miles."

"Abby and me landed in northern California... and we got here with no real trouble" Calla noted.

"And how long has it been since you were involved with the Mars Project? Twenty years...twenty five... maybe more? A lot has changed since then" Abigail smiled a very disturbing smile.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Gran burst out.

All went quiet as the murmuring stopped and the accused girls stood silently.

"I don't want to hear any more of this; foreman, give us your verdict" Gran ordered now she had everyones attention.

The jury foreman looked to the other members of the jury nervously. She wanted to believe what Gran said about a possible conflict being nothing more than a distraction by the girls, but deep down inside she just wasn't sure.

"Um... sorry but... could we go back and deliberate a bit more?" she asked.

The look of confusion on Gran's face was plain to see.

"What? I thought you'd reached a decision."

"Uh... well... we had but..."

"If you've reached a decision then there will be no more deliberation! Please tell the court; how do you find the accused?"

"They don't have to find us, we're right here" Calla smirked and most of the crowd failed to stop themselves from giggling a little.

Gran took the age old step of calling for order before repeating her question to the jury foreman. Although she continued to look very worried, the jury foreman took a deep breath and finally delivered the verdict.

"On the first charge of wilful disobedience, we find the defendants... guilty."

As could be expected, a dull murmur filled the air but the foreman did not stop.

"On the second charge, the manslaughter of Nancy Clark..." the foreman did a quick check to see if Abigail was about to throw something, but the young girl just stood perfectly still "...we find the defendants... Not guilty."

There was an audible sigh of relief amongst the crowd. For Calla and Abigail the verdicts were meaningless, as they would not have been set free, no matter what conclusion the jury had come to. But for the people of the mountain settlement, the threat of war with superior forces had made many people think things would turn out better for them in the long run, if the girls were treated well.

Later that evening, when they were back inside their locked room deep in the tunnel system, Calla and Abigail considered the sentence Gran had enforced upon them.

"Not bad really" Calla thought out loud "Pretty much the way things were before, but now instead of just being supervised all day, we have actual prison guards following us."

"Plus we have to spend more time in here" Abigail added then she lowered the tone of her voice as deep as she could "When not working, they shall be kept in constant confinement!"

Calla could not help but laugh. The impersonation of Gran did not sound real, but the mocking tone was just what she needed to make her feel better.

"Do you think it was a good idea, making up that stuff about them being at war with us?" Abigail wondered.

"It made them think twice about what they were doing, and that's a good thing" Calla decided "I must admit, I loved it when Gran said you don't have ray guns on Mars, and you were all 'Times have changed.' When that settled into their tiny brains, no one was really sure what you said was real, and what was a bluff."

As she lay back on the bed, Calla continued to run over the day's events until curiosity finally got the better of her, and she had to ask the question that had been bothering her all afternoon.

"Do you have ray guns?"

"No Calla, we don't."

"... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... pity."

'

'

The air was cold, but the sun shone through the scattered clouds and the small dragon was making the most of the fine weather by doing some more detailed exploration of his new island home. In many places he found more signs of past human presence, but still could not make sense of anything, having never seen a human before.

The place he considered to be the best find of the day, was a wide sinkhole with mostly sheer sides. At the floor of this natural depression was a small fresh water lake with a few fish swimming inside. The dragon did not try catch any yet, deciding to keep them in reserve for those days when the sea was far too rough for him to go fishing in.

Definitely a good day by any definition.

'

'

Bleah... I've got a cold too... what are the odds. I first wrote this chapter months ago little knowing that when it came time to publish it, I would be in the same boat at the main character. If I was a superstitious person, I would make sure nothing bad ever happened to him again just in case it happened to me too, but I'm not supersticious. And besides, this story is not even half over and there should be a third book after this. So it would be pretty boring if everything worked out for Blue time and time again.

My timing was perfect though because there is a two week break for schools on now so there is very little work for bus drivers like me. This means I have been able to spend a few days resting at home while I get over this cold. Playing computer games, writing, watching the Steven Universe Movie again... and again, singing along to the music and ignoring the weird looks I am getting from Boo the Cat; what fun.

I've hit double figures with this story at last with a whole ten readers (yay). A bit different from the thousands who read How to Survive on Dragon Island but don't worry, I won't stop writing; I don't write for numbers but because I enjoy being creative (even if I am a bit amateurish). That said, I really do appreciate you guys and girls for taking the time to read this. You make it so worthwhile (happy face).

Six more chapters to go for Act One and chapter fifteen should be out in about a week.

Bye for now, Marty ;D