CHAPTER 2

THE REUNION

As they reached their destination Jimmy stopped. While he looked around noticing that it seemed that nothing had changed in five years. This was the house he was born in, grew up in, and he still knew where everything is supposed to be. Both he and Nanook then walked up to the house, all the while looking around at everything.

Jimmy then lead Nanook over to a barn and opened the double doors. As the sun light came into the barn it revealed a large object with a tarp covering it. After a long moment of silence Nanook asked "What is under the tarp Captain Wolf?" After another long moment Jimmy replied with "Something that I hope I will get to drive with my mother." He then closed the barn doors and they walked back to the house.

Standing on the front porch, Jimmy reached up and knocked on the door as if he were a complete stranger. After a moment of silence he knocked again. When there was no response the second time he said "I have a strange feeling. I don't know what it is but something does not feel right." Nanook nodded and stated "Try the door." Jimmy grabbed the handle and it did not turn.

The two of them stepped off the porch and Jimmy thought that he heard something. As he listened the hair on Nanook's back stood up and he gave a low growl. Jimmy reached down patted the wolf on his side and said "Relax Nanook. I'll handle this." Nanook stopped in his tracks but did not relax. He was ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Jimmy first took off his swords then he removed his leather jacket. He then put the jacket on the porch and put his swords back on. As he stood there motionless, Nanook could see that Jimmy stood six foot tall and with the almost skin tight uniform he wore Jimmy was very muscular. He then proceeded to walk out around the corner of the house.

As he cleared the side of the house Jimmy spotted someone dressed all in red about twenty feet away. He continued to walk until he was ten feet away from the house. Jimmy saw that the person was wearing a red skin tight uniform with a flawless muscular body. There was no hiding the fact that the person was female. She was also wearing a mask so Jimmy could not make out who she was.

To his knowledge the only women left that wore this uniform were not on Earth. This left Jimmy feeling uneasy because he did not know what to think of the person he was looking at. For all he knew this lady had to be a fake. Although still this was an Elite Warriors uniform so he knew that he could not let his guard down.

As Jimmy looked over his adversary he noticed she was wearing some certain items that he knew quite well. Around her waist there were two lazar pistols as well as on her back she had a sword. The strangest thing that Jimmy noticed was the fact that she had a total of four bravery bracelets. She had one on each arm and one on each leg. To his knowledge the most one woman had ever received was two. This told Jimmy if this person was for real she might know more about fighting than he does.

It did seem a little strange to him that the woman just stood there and was not in a defensive posture. So in good faith Jimmy did not take one. Right now he was more curious about who she was and why she was here. There was a long pause as he looked over the woman a little longer. Jimmy then had the feeling that someone was watching him from behind. Even though he had the feeling he did not take his attention away from the woman.

Just then Nanook came into view and was ready to strike at the woman. "If your wolf comes any closer he dies." The woman stated raising her right hand to one of her pistols. Jimmy tried to place the voice but couldn't so he raised a hand stopping Nanook's advance and said "Nanook I can handle this there is someone watching from behind me. Watch the person and if necessary stop them from harming me or this woman." Nanook gave a low growl to the woman then turned to watch the watcher.

"Who are you? Show your face!" Jimmy demanded. "In due time but not now." The woman replied. Within the time it took to blink an eye the woman drew and fired both of her weapons at Jimmy. He did not move or even flinch as two red laser beams passed on both sides of his head. Knowing that she did not miss by accident Jimmy reached for one of his pistols, but before he could remove it he had to quickly dodges four more laser blasts.

He was able to dodge the first two easily. The third one caught him off guard and he had to flip backwards to avoid it. This left Jimmy on the ground on one knee when the fourth laser blast came in. With nowhere to go Jimmy could only think of one thing to do. He quickly extracted one of his two swords, and stabbed it into the ground with the edge away from him. As the laser beam hit the sword it split the beam in two. By doing this the laser beam went to the sides of him in two different angles.

Right after Jimmy stood up pulling his sword from the ground and looked at it. Where the beam had hit the edge there was a slight glow of red but quickly dissipated. He then looked at the woman once again and could not help but think that she was one of the Elite Women Warriors, although Jimmy still had no idea who this person was.

He watched the woman closely for a moment remaining totally still. The woman lowered her weapons, put them away and stated "Very nicely done, but I'm not finished yet." As she reached up and slowly extracted her sword Jimmy stated "I hope you're as skilled with that sword as you are with the laser pistol." "I guess you will find out now won't you?" The woman stated. Jimmy nodded and they approached each other.

When they were only a few feet away from each other they started to circle each other. The woman was the first to strike but Jimmy was able to easily deflect the sword. The two of them began a deadly dance with the striking of swords. It was as if the two had been sword fighting together their whole life. All the blows were deflected neither of them could get a good hit in.

As the dance intensified the hits got stronger and harder. Every time the swords came together sparks would fly off them. Even with the speed that the swords were moving neither of them had the upper hand. They were an equal match for each other. The only way for either of them to win this battle was for one of them to make a drastic mistake.

The two of them continued in the dead lock battle for almost ten minutes. Then Jimmy gave a powerful strike that seemed to end the fight. As the two swords connected the woman's sword shattered. Jimmy then went in for the killing blow, but just as the sword reached her neck Jimmy stopped it. For a moment he just stared at the woman. He then lowered his weapon and stepped back.

Knowing that the fight was over Jimmy knew that he could just demand that she reveals who she was. Although something told him that this was not the way to win the fight. The woman stood there looking at her shattered sword not saying anything she then looked up at him but remained silent. Jimmy was amazed at the fact that her sword had shattered he had never seen anything like that before. Finally Jimmy decided that the fight was not over yet

Still staring at the woman Jimmy extracted his second sword and said "With you defeated like this there is no honor in my win." Jimmy finished his statement by turning the second sword around and handed it to the woman hilt first. The woman hesitated at first then she nodded and reached out and took the weapon. She then said "Honor is everything in a battle if you do not have it you would have lost the battle before it has started." After hearing those words Jimmy realized who it was that he was fighting, but he kept that information to himself.

With the new sword now in her hand Jimmy once again took a fighting stance. Without moving he watched the woman, noticing that she did not take a stance. In fact she just stood there holding the weapon point down. As he watched her Jimmy realized that the fight was over and he lowered his weapon once again. Even though the sword was lowered Jimmy remained ready to use it if necessary.

The woman looked at both swords in her hands one intact and one shattered and lowered her head with a sigh. She then said "You are a man of honor Captain Jim Wolf. There is only a select few men that have the true honor to wear the black uniform of the Protector and the beads of an Elite. I'm sorry I had to make sure you were one of them." The woman finished her statement and went to hand the sword back to him.

Jimmy raised a hand stopping her and then said "Keep it. What is a warrior without a sword? Besides the sword is not what I want from you. What I want is to know who you are." He then put his sword away already knowing the answer. Nanook walked over and said "I do not think it was a good idea to have lowered your guard." Without looking away from the woman Jimmy just held a finger up to Nanook silencing him.

The woman looked over at Nanook, smiled, stabbed the sword into the ground and said "Your wolf is right it was not a good idea to lower your guard, but I am a person of honor as well and would not take advantage of the situation." "How can she hear me?" Nanook stated with a cock of his head. Jimmy looked at him and said "I'm not sure."

Jimmy was looking at the woman as she reached up and started to remove her mask. As the mask slowly came off a solid braid of blond and silver waist length hair dropped out. When the mask fully came off both Jimmy and Nanook saw the woman's face for the first time. She looked to be in her mid to late 50s and the only flaw on her face was a scar on the right side of her face. The scar went from her ear to her nose.

After a few moments of silence Jimmy said "Hello mother." A tear ran down the woman's face and she embraced Jimmy in a long hug. "It is so good to see you. I have missed you so much." She stated as Jimmy returned the embrace. When the hug was over Jimmy's mother said "We should go inside and talk. I know I have some questions and I'm sure you have some too." When Jimmy nodded she pulled the sword from the ground and the three of them went in the house. On the way into the house he picked his jacket up from the porch.

As Jimmy picked up his jacket he looked over at Nanook and asked "Did you find out who was watching me?" Nanook looked up to him nodded and replied "Yes it was that same boy that has been following us. I did not do anything about him because he did not seem to be a threat to us." Jimmy gave a nod and then started to walk again.

Jimmy's mother then turned around and asked "Who is this boy that is following you? Do you think he could be dangerous to us?" Jimmy smiled at her and said "I think that we will be safe from that boy. The three of us are a formidable force." "More so then you realize Captain Wolf." Nanook stated. Jimmy's mother then stated "This is weird listening to a voice in my head." Jimmy just smiled at her and then motioned for them to enter the house.

As they walked into the house Jimmy looked around, and it seemed to him that nothing had changed in five years. "I will be right back. I need to change clothes." Jimmy's mother said and motioned for them to sit down. As she went into the other room Jimmy removed his sword and sat down on the couch. When he sat down it felt weird to him to be back in the house he was raised in after being gone all these years.

While he looked around a lot of memories and feelings came up to the surface that Jimmy had suppressed over the years. These feelings in his line of work could get someone killed. Jimmy made the decision to bury them once again, maybe another time he could let them show, but not for now. Although it was extremely hard for him to do and Nanook noticed.

"I know this is hard for you Captain Wolf but remember your training and you will get through it." Nanook stated as he moved closer to him. Jimmy looked at the wolf and then replied with "Sitting here in this house again makes me question my decision to return to the town." "Never question why you do something. You make a decision and then you deal with the consequences weather it is right or wrong." Nanook stated. Jimmy looked at him and just nodded.

A few minutes went by and his mother came back out of the room. She was dressed in normal clothes and was carrying the uniform and weapons. As she came into the room she smiled at Jimmy and walked over to a wall just to the left of the fire place. When she stopped Jimmy got up and walked over to her to see what she was doing.

As he stepped beside his mother she put her right hand on the wall. A red light scanned her hand and a moment later a key pad flipped out of the wall. She then pushed a series of numbers finally when she pushed enter the key pad flipped shut again. Jimmy could hear the sound of air hissing and gears turning. Nanook quickly jumped to his feet ready to strike with a growl.

While he stood there listening Jimmy saw the wall push inward about four inches, and then it slid to the right behind the fire place. With the wall open it revealed a false wall with several items hanging on the wall. The main things that caught Jimmy's attention were three uniforms hanging there. As well as there were several weapons hanging on the wall that he had never seen before. Nanook gave a low growl when he saw the weapons on the wall.

Jimmy looked at the weapons and asked "Mother where did you get these weapons and what are they?" His mother looked at him and said "I have collected them over the years. Most of them are not functional and a lot of them I do not even know where they came from." He then saw a sword hanging and said "That is a beautiful weapon." She smiled and stated "I had to hold that weapon by the blade to hang it. I could not lift it by the hilt." Jimmy just gave her a nod.

As he looked at the sword Jimmy knew where it was originally from. Jimmy's wife has one just like it and it had been handed down through the years from her family members. He chose to keep the information to himself about where the sword had come from for now. There were several other weapons he had no idea where they came from. He then saw a laser rifle with a monitor on it. Jimmy was about to ask to see the weapon but he chose to wait.

His mother then hung her red uniform up and placed her weapons in certain spots. She then pushed another button and the wall closed up again like it was never there. Jimmy's mother looked at him and said "So Jimmy you are going to introduce me to the wolf? Because I know that is not Nanook." Jimmy looked at his mother then at Nanook and back at his mother again. It took a moment for him to understand what she had said.

"We should probably should sit down this might be a little hard for you to believe." Jimmy said motioning for his mother sit. As he and his mother sat down on the couch Jimmy looked at Nanook. A moment later Nanook said "Go ahead and tell her." "Ok enough with the games!" She demanded. A slight smile came on Jimmy's face and he said "Alright mother. Mother this is Rayfin. Rayfin this is my mother Jean Wolf. Rayfin is from another dimension."

Jean's face went blank and with no expression in her voice she asked "Rayfin what is your last name?" The wolf looked at her then turned his head away. When he did not answer Jean went back to the wall again and reopened it. She then returned to the couch holding a small octagon box. Jean placed it on the table, pushed a button at its base and asked "Is this you?"

Jimmy leaned forward to get a better look at the device. As he watched it there was a light that came out about two feet from the base of the device. A moment later there was a hologram of a man standing on top of the device. The hologram spun in a circle then dissipated back into the device. Jimmy looked at his mother in puzzlement. He had no idea what he was looking at.

Rayfin looked at her and said "No Jean that was not me but I do know who he is. My last name is Wolf. The man in the hologram is named Siferdeem Reece. Yes Jean I know that your maiden name is Reece." Jean just sat there staring at the wolf not saying anything. Jimmy looked at his mother and then at the wolf trying to comprehend what was going on.

After a few minutes of silence Jimmy spoke up and ask "What kind of device is that and who was that man?" He finished his question looking back and forth from his mother and the wolf. Finally Rayfin spoke "The device is called a hollow cam and it is over seven hundred years old. As well as the image of the man you saw Siferdeem Reece, he is your Grandfather on your mother's side six times over and I'm the same on your father's side."

Both Jean and Jimmy looked at each other for a moment. Then Jean asked "How is that possible? Yes I know that this device has been in my family for that long, but how could it be the man you say it is and how can you be who you say you are?" "For now the best thing I can tell you is to search your history and you will find some answers. Maybe not all, but you will find some. I cannot go into any more detail right now because there are more pressing things the two of you need to discuss." Rayfin stated and stood up.

Rayfin turned his head back to look at them then stated "I have to leave now, but when I return we will have to go to town. Trust me when I say you are running out of time. As well as when I return it would be better if you both just call me Nanook." Both Jimmy and Jean nodded and the wolf left the house. When he was outside he ran off into the woods.

After Nanook left Jimmy pulled his sword out of the sheath and looked it over. He saw several nicks in the blade from the battle with his mother. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out a black stone and started to run it over the edge of the blade. Jimmy looked up from what he was doing and said "I have a lot to tell you mother, but at this time we do not have a lot of time so let me finish what I have to tell you before you ask any questions." She smiled, nodded and then Jimmy started his story.

…..

When I left the town five years ago some of the people of the town tried to stop me from leaving. In truth I had no idea where I was going, but I felt that I would know when I got there. Carlson and two other people stopped the town's people from trying to follow me. Then he told me to go to his home and he would explain some things to me when I got there.

I walked through the fog to get to Carlson's house. It was as if someone or something was leading me to my destination. As I got there I saw a man dressed in the same kind of uniform I'm in now, and a woman dressed in the same kind of uniform you wore mother. It seemed strange to me that I felt completely comfortable around them.

Carlson told me that he had heard what had happened in town and to go with these people. He said they will take care of my problem. With the fact that Carlson had never lied to me I left Nanook in his care and left with the two people. I went with them into their ship not even knowing their names. I guess I just never asked.

When we left Earth and made the jump to light speed I started asking questions about where we were going. I was amazed that the two people answered every one of my questions to where I understood them. It was almost as if I had known them for years and we had just met. They asked me what had happened in the town and I told them. The one thing that I liked was that they did think I was wrong in what I did.

The lady offered to sword fight with me and I accepted her challenge. I thought that I was good but I was a little cocky and started to swirl my sword around. She smiled at me and said that I was going to lose if I remained cocky. I did not listen and if I had been in a real fight I think that I would have died. After that I stopped being cocky when it came to using any weapon.

On the way to Izainia the both of them honed my skills with several different weapons. I thought that I was doing really well and thought they taught me well. The way they taught me is the same way that I teach people today. Find someone's strong points and their weak points, and then work them together to make them the best they can be.

After two days of travel we landed on the planet Izainia and I was taken to a processing area. That was where the problems started. There were twelve other boys there and all of them seemed to have a problem with me. At that time I had no idea what their problem was. In truth I really didn't care what their problem was. I was not there to worry about how kids should act.

I was doing my best not to show my temper, but it was rather hard with the fact that I could not leave the room. I tried to ignore them but for some reason the kids would not leave me alone. One of them went as far as walking up to me and hit me in the face. At that point I could not control my temper any longer and I started to fight this boy.

Before I knew what was going on I was in the middle of them. Then one of the boys threw a punch at me. As I blocked that one the rest of them started in. I do not know how many times I got hit but I stood my ground. The fight only lasted for a couple of minutes before eleven of the twelve were lying on the floor. Every one of them where unconscious on the floor and then I stared at the last one standing. Although I was in a great deal of pain from the fight I did not take my eyes off the last boy.

The last boy drew out a knife that had a six inch blade and started to come towards me. I grabbed the boy by the wrist and threw him to the floor several times. Although he kept getting back up I seemed to be unable to get him to release the blade he had. When he came at me again I slammed him into the floor with all my strength, but he just got back up.

I watched every move the boy made blocking most of his attacks, but he did get one in. The knife sliced across my chest I had only felt that kind of pain once before. As blood ran down my chest the boy came in once more. This time I did not try to block him instead I grabbed his arm and flipped him to the floor again. Once he was on the floor I was able to get the knife away from him and did not allow him to get back up by putting my knee hard into his chest.

Even to this day I do not know why I did what I did. I grabbed the boy by the shirt with one hand, pulled him up and slammed him against the wall. I then took the knife and stabbed the boy threw his left shoulder. I did this with so much power that the knife stuck into the wall leaving him hanging there. I then yelled "For what you have done I should have killed you! But I will let you live in shame knowing that the twelve of you could not beat one person. That is really pathetic."

The door to the room I was in quickly opened and two more guys ran in. Both of them were wearing gray uniforms. One was wearing a laser pistol, one was not. They both had metal rods in their hands and they quickly came at me. I was able to grab the first one and slammed him against the wall. He slid to the floor, but the second guy swung the rod and hit me in the back knocking me to the ground.

When I hit the ground I noticed that the guy that was on ground had the pistol. I then grabbed it and shot the one that was coming at me again. I quickly got to my feet as his body fell lifelessly to the ground. Then the other man started to get up and without thinking about it first I lowered the weapon and shot him as well. At that moment all I could think about was what the hell is going on here.

As I stood there motionless trying to figure out what was happening, a third man appeared in the door way. He slowly entered the room and closed the door behind him. This man was in a solid black uniform from head to foot. He was wearing two laser pistols and a sword on his back. As well as he had a black metal case he was carrying.

When he turned towards me after closing the door I raised my weapon pointing right at his chest and said "Whoever you are my advice is that you do not come any closer." "I'm not here to fight. If I were you would be dead already. I'm here to help and to give you some things." The man stated then set the case on the floor and opened it. During this time I still had not lowered my weapon.

After he opened the case he pulled out a tube that had silver looking liquid in it. He then pulled out a spray bottle and a towel. The man stood back up and walked over to me all the while I was pointing the weapon at him. When he was within arm's reach of me he stopped and said "You have lost a lot of blood. In this bottle is something to keep you from getting an infection. The stuff in this tube will seal that wound."

I looked at the man and stated "I want to see your face before anything happens." "That's fair enough. Here hold this." The man replied and handed me the small tube. He then removed his mask. When I saw his face somehow I knew he was telling me the truth, so I lowered my weapon and I allowed him to continue. "This is going to hurt a lot." The man said.

He started to clean the wound and then he said "My name is Frank Wallas." I told him mine and tried not to show the pain that I was in. While he cleaned my wound he said to me "That is one hell of a scar you have." I told him that it was from a bear attack and his eyes widened. He said that I was lucky to have survived the attack. I smiled at him and nodded.

When he finished he said "There is one more thing that I need you to let me do." I looked at Frank and asked "What's that?" He walked back over to the case and pulled out a syringe. "You need a shot so your body will produce more blood. Without it you will feel weak for a long while and you don't have the time to be weak." Frank stated.

I stared at him for a moment and then said "Ok I'll let you give me the shot." I was gripping the laser pistol in my hand tightly. Frank came back over to me and before he did anything he said "I should at least let you know that the weapon that you are holding will not do you much good. It is only for stunning someone. You are not the first one to get a hold of a weapon." I gave a little snicker and tossed that weapon to the floor.

I held my arm out for the shot and asked "So Frank what was this all about some kind of test?" He smiled at me, finished giving me the shot and said "No this was not a test. Although if it were I think that you would have passed it. You handled yourself quite well against twelve other men. That takes a lot of skill. These kids think that they harass anyone that is different than they are." "I see. Well I guess they will think next time before they try that again." I stated with a smile.

I was then lead out of the room given another shirt and introduced to a lot of people. Finally I was lead to Frank's home where I met his wife Gale. The two of them welcomed me into their home and taught me a lot of the skills I have today. I also learned that you, dad, Frank, and Gale all grew up together and were very close friends. As well as when I got there they had a ten year old boy. They named him Quincy.

The first month that I was there I was shot in the head by Quincy. Thankfully the weapon was on stun but left me unconscious for three days, and I was blind for a week. When I was able to see again my eyes were solid black like they are now. No one understood why they changed to black. Several of the doctors that checked me out said that there was no way that I should have lived after the accident. At the time I did not know how I could live through something like that, but I soon found out something about myself.

The incident was blamed on an accidental discharge. I chose to accept the findings even though I knew the truth. For some reason Quincy did not want me there and he thought that the stun to the head at close range would kill me. He was ten years old at the time so he could not be held accountable for his actions. According to Izainian law once a child reaches the age of twelve they can be held accountable for their actions, but at the time he was ten.

For the first six months I trained with Frank and Gale night and day. They taught me how to use my mind as a weapon as well as different hand weapons. I learned to distinguish the difference between an Izainian and a Zaxian. There is not much difference between the two. I have found that I have more Zaxian traits than Izainian. At that time I kept that information to myself.

When I was introduced to the Fleet Marshal she took me to meet another lady that wore the Elite uniform. This lady was in her nineties, but one would not know it by the way she lived. She told me that she could teach me all I need to know about honor and fighting, but because I was male I could never become one of the Elite. At the time I did not understand but I agreed and at the end of her training I had surpassed her knowledge.

She was amazed that I could learn so quickly. It took me less than a year of her training before the elder said that she could not teach me anything more. In a way I was proud that I learned all I could learn from her but in a way I felt that I needed to know more. The elder honored me by giving me these red glass beads that I have on my holsters and sheath. It was the closest thing she could give me to being an Elite Warrior. I wear the beads with pride because there is no other man that has them.

I also know that this lady does not train anyone any more. She claims that she is too old to train but I think that she could if she wanted to. Before she trained me the last person she trained was the Fleet Marshal. I was told that the Fleet Marshal trained you as well mother, but I never knew that you had become an Elite Warrior. I never understood why when I was growing up you trained me to use the sword, but it came in useful in my training.

In the five years that I have been gone I have risen in rank quite quickly. I am now a Captain in the Izainian military. I am also one of the few remaining protectors for the Fleet Marshal. There may not be a rank higher than Fleet Marshal but if I give the Marshal an order they have to follow it. It is the same with the other eleven protectors. The nice part is the others cannot give me an order because I am a higher rank than they are. There are also eleven other protectors I trained on a top secret mission.

For the last two years I have been involved in a top secret mission that unfortunately I can't discuss right now. What I can tell you that while I have been doing this mission I have learned something interesting. I have found out that this planet was used as a prison planet for the Izainian Government. As well as over the years we have been supplying the people of Earth with small amounts of our technology. Sadly that is what mostly caused the destruction eighty years ago.

I also learned that there is going to be an attack on this planet. That is why I'm back. I had to get you off this planet before the attack could happen. As well as I have been asked to have you return to active duty. Mother you were the Head Fleet Admiral just under the Fleet Marshal and she wants you back. You will be given your same rank when we return.

The Feet Marshal told me that if I left to get you I also had to extend the chance to leave to the whole town. If I refused I would not get the clearance to get you. In truth I would have left without clearance if I had to, but I agreed even though I did not want to. There is a chance that we won't be able to stop the attack. The chance is small, but I did not want to take that chance.

There are some other things I need to tell you, but at this time I can't. Because a lot of it is classified and until you return to Izainia you don't have the clearance. I cannot take the risk that things will get to the high command. I will say this much there is at least one person on Izainia that wants to see you. Also I'm married but that a long story as well.

…...

As Jimmy finished his story he checked the blade of his sword one final time making sure all the nicks were gone and put it away. He sat back to see what his mother had to say. Jean looked at him and said "That's quite a story." She then got up and moved around. "The whole thing is true mother." Jimmy stated. "I believe it to be all true. The hard part for me to believe is Earth being a prison planet." She replied.

Jean looked at him and said "I'll accept that for now. I always knew that someday I would be called back to duty. Although I never thought that they would let me keep my rank." She came back to the couch and sat down again, but she could not look Jimmy in the eye. "What is the wrong mother?" He asked. She took a deep breath and said "When your father and I came here we said we would never go back." Jimmy just gave her a nod.

Jean remained silent for a moment, she then looked right at Jimmy and stated "After all these years I have decided that I do want to go back. I miss the action and the danger." Jean smiled at him and Jimmy replied with "That is what I wanted to hear. We don't have a lot of time and I have to extend the invitation to leave to the people of the town." "You will have to bring it to the Mayor first it is up to him to call a town meeting." Jean stated.

He looked at his mother and said "It would be easier just to make the statement to the town and not go through the Mayor." Jean shook her head and stated "You're forgetting about Izainian law. Jimmy you have to go through the proper channels or it is not legal." "I'm not forgetting the law I just think that it would be easier my way." Jimmy replied. His mother just smiled and shook her head at his statement.

Jimmy quickly turned his head towards the door listening closely. A moment later he said "Brace yourself mother, company is coming." Jimmy got up and walked to the door. His mother followed him and as she got to the door a streak of red light shot across the sky, followed by a loud roar of thunder. They both watched as a red light circled back toward the house. Jean saw the ship and knew right away that it was not Izainian it did look familiar to her, but she could not place it.

The ship came in close to the house and hovered about twenty feet off the ground. As it hovered Jimmy noticed that it was unstable. The ship started to descend to fast and did not put its landing struts down. When it was about five feet from the ground Jimmy pushed his mother back into the house and onto the floor. A moment later the ship slammed into the ground throwing a dust cloud into the air that covered the house.

As the dust cleared, both Jimmy and his mother got up off the floor. Jimmy quickly confirmed that his mother was alright and Jean asked "What happened to that ship? Why did she slam into the ground?" Looking out the door Jimmy replied with "I'm not sure, but something had to have happened to the pilot. Wait here I will check to see if it is safe to proceed."

Before Jimmy could head out of the house Jean took him by the arm and said "This is my home and I will not hide inside of it while you put yourself into danger Jimmy." He stared at her for a moment then took a deep breath and stated with a nod "Be careful mother." When Jean gave him a nod Jimmy took out one of his laser pistols and handed it to his mother.

When Jean took the weapon Jimmy stated "Mom the weapon is set to kill. Please do not use it unless there is no other choice." Jean cocked her head looking at him and then with Jimmy looking at her she flipped the switch from kill to stun. Jimmy just smiled at her and then turned for the door. Jean followed close behind him.

As they stepped outside the house the two of them saw a man lying on the ground next to the ship. The man was dressed all in black and it appeared that he walked out of the ship then fell to the ground. Realizing who the man was Jimmy yelled "Rawool!" He then ran over to the man. As Jimmy got to the man lying on the ground he was relieved to see that he had just passed out.

Jimmy checked Rawool over and realized that he had lost a lot of blood. He then lifted Rawool's shirt revealing a new scar across his stomach. The one thing Rawool had going for himself was that he had sealed the wound. Shaking his head Jimmy stated "You don't know how lucky you are to be alive right now Rawool."

He then looked at his mother and said "I have to get him inside." Jean nodded to him and then Jimmy picked Rawool's lifeless body up and carried him into the house. Jean watched and was amazed that Jimmy had the strength to pick the other man up. She thought by looking at Rawool that he weighed almost two hundred pounds, and Jimmy picked him up without straining at all.

Once back in the house Jimmy placed him on the couch. He then turned to his mother and said "I saw in your storage a blood accelerant syringe I need it." Jean quickly went over retrieved the syringe and brought it back to him. Realizing that the man on the couch was not Izainian she said "Jimmy I know what you're trying to do but he is a Zax and the accelerant will not work on him." Without looking up from what he was doing Jimmy pulled a small vile out of his belt. Handing the vile to his mother he said "I know you will have to add this to the accelerant."

Jean took the vile unscrewed the back of the syringe and poured the contents from the vial into it. "This looks and smells like blood Jimmy." She stated. Jimmy smiled and said "That is because it is. It is a very concentrated amount of my own blood. I will explain later how it works." Jean nodded sealed the syringe again and handed it to him. Once he had the syringe Jimmy shook it up and injected the contents into Rawool's arm.

"He should be fine in about ten minutes. Please keep an eye on him I have to check the ship to see if she can still fly." Jimmy said to his mother and she nodded in reply. "Be careful he may be confused when he wakes up, and remember he is not your enemy mother." Jimmy stated. She looked at Jimmy and stated "Zaxian's have not been my enemy for a long time now." Jimmy nodded and went to check on Rawool's ship.

Jean sat next to Rawool and looked at his face. There was a patch over his right eye, and a scar that went down the right side of his face from his hair line to his chin. Other than that Rawool's face was flawlessly perfect. As well as he had an extremely muscular build under his skin tight uniform. Even though Zaxian's always seem to have a youthful appearance, Jean thought that he could not be as old as Jimmy is.

As she lifted his shirt to look at his wound to make sure that it was still sealed, Rawool opened his one eye and asked "How is it?" Jean looked up at him then back at the wound and said "It's not going to be pretty but your wound will heal." "It seems to be the story of my life." Rawool stated and tried to get up. Jean put a hand on his chest and said "You need to relax for now, whatever you need to do can wait for five minutes."

Rawool stared at her for a moment then he asked "Who are you and what makes you think you can stop me from getting up?" "It would not be hard to stop you from getting up. At this point you are in no shape to do anything to stop me." Jean replied. Rawool tried to get up once more and Jean placed her hand on his wound. She then pressed lightly on it causing great pain to Rawool until he relaxed again. She then stated "See what I mean? Now relax until I say otherwise. To answer your other question my name is Jean."

As he relaxed on the couch Jean removed her hand and said "I'm sorry I had to do that but you seem to be as hard headed as Jimmy." "Yes I hear that a lot. You are Jimmy's mother aren't you?" He asked. Jean nodded and smiled. Rawool gave a small smile in return then stated "Jimmy talks a lot about you. I like it when he talks about you because I lost my mother when I was very young." "I'm sad to hear that you lost your mother. It is nice to know that Jimmy talks about me to you." Jean replied.

Rawool looked at her and said "I am four years older than Jimmy and was brought up to be a leader, but even though he is younger than me I respect him." Jean gave a slight smile and asked "How long have you known Jimmy?" "I met him almost four years ago and he has taught me a lot about honor." Jean nodded and then remained silent for a while.

While Jean sat with him she said "If you don't mind me asking what happened to your face?" Rawool gave a smirk and replied "Someone I thought was the enemy and now I call him a brother. I attacked him and he gave me this but in turn he allowed me to live. At the time I did not understand why, but now I do." He finished his statement pointing towards his ship. Jean nodded realizing that it was Jimmy who had done it.

Jean got up from the couch and looked out the window, just in time to hear Jimmy power up the ship in the yard. There was a whine and a loud roar from the engines as the ship lifted from the ground. It hovered about ten feet in the air and then she saw the landing struts deploy. The ship then gently landed again. Once on the ground again it powered down Jimmy got out of the ship.

Now with the ship back on the ground Jean got a good look at it. The ship looked to be a little over one hundred meters long and its height and width was equal in mass to its size. From the way the ship looked it seemed like it had more engine and weaponry then it should. Although that was the way Zaxian's made their ships fast and powerful.

The ship looked almost oval in shape with a flat bottom. There were what appeared to be wings that were on the sides of the ship that came out to about six feet on both sides. The engines looked to be four tubes connected to the back side of the ship and looked like they could be detached. The ship had eight laser cannons on rotators. To someone the ship would look like a well-armed cargo ship.

When Jimmy stepped out of the ship once again he was shaking his head. Watching from the door Jean asked "Is she able to fly?" Still shaking his head Jimmy responded with "It would appear that there is nothing wrong with the ship. There is not even a haul breach or any other kind of damage that I can find on her." "That is Zaxian engineering." Jean replied with a smile.

As Jimmy walked back into the house he looked at Rawool and said "I'm surprised that you're sitting up already. I thought that you would be still lying down." Jean gave Rawool a glare and stated "I said not to move until I said you could. Don't make me put you over my knee young man and don't think I can't." Jimmy gave a big smile and said "I believe that she would be able to even if you were at full strength." "I'm not going anywhere yet Jean I just had to sit up." Rawool replied. She nodded with his compliance.

While he sat on the couch pointed at the mirror and said "We have a visitor." Noticing that with where Rawool sat he could see outside through the reflection in the mirror, Jimmy and Jean both looked out the door. "I cannot see anything." Jean stated. "I can." Jimmy replied pointing to the tree line just outside of the yard. "It's the young boy that has been following me since I left Carlson's house." He stated.

Jean looked in the area that Jimmy was pointing and saw the boy. She then scanned the area around him and said "He's not alone." Jimmy quickly looked the area over smiled and then said "I see what you mean. Nanook is watching him and I do not think the boy knows." Both of them walked back over to the couch and sat down next to Rawool.

"You landed the ship pretty hard. I checked her out and she is intact. I was actually surprised that there was no damage done to the ship." Jimmy said. Rawool looked at him and stated "I don't remember landing." "That does not surprise me. You had lost a lot of blood. What happened and why are you here?" Jimmy replied. Rawool shook his head and his face saddened then went emotionless.

Without showing any pain he stood up and moved away from the couch. Jean tried to stop him but Rawool shook his head and she stopped. He then turned around and stated "The fleet Marshal is missing and all her protectors are dead." He paused clenched his fists and continued "My father is dead as well as his protectors are too except me."

Jimmy's heart was filled with sadness and anger with what he heard. Still sitting on the couch he took a deep breath and asked "How can twenty one protectors be killed?" When no answer came he stood up, looked at Rawool and asked "Is Kameri ok?" "Yes she is fine. She is with –." Rawool started to say and was cut off by a glance from Jimmy. He then nodded and said "I understand."

Jean looked at Jimmy and said "I figure that Kameri is your wife. Why do you not want me to know who she is with?" Jimmy shook his head and stated "I will explain in time but now is not the time. I'm sorry." "I do not like secrets Jimmy. They always end up hurting someone in the long run." Jean said sternly. "I know mother but I'm going to keep this one for now." He replied. She stared at him for a moment and said "Fine."

Jimmy looked at his mother for another moment with a sad look on his face. He really wanted to tell her who his wife was with, but he thought that it would be better not to. He then turned back to Rawool and asked "Are the renegades still planning their attack?" Rawool nodded and said "Yes they are, but their numbers have increased to double from the time you have left." "Sad things are happening. Both our great powers want peace but there are always a few that don't." Jimmy said

Jimmy then said "Rawool return to Izainia, don't worry about the Fleet Marshal I know where she is. What I want you to do is get to Gulyith and ready the rest of the fleet. I will be there in two days to take command." "I understand and we will be ready for you." Rawool said and started out the door. "One more thing Rawool, your father is not dead." Jimmy stated.

Rawool stopped dead in his tracks looked at him and said "I watched him get shot Jimmy." "No Rawool your father is on Zaxia and is safe. I sent him home and put a decoy in his place because I could not trust anyone. For now continue to play off the fact that you think your father is dead. It would be safer for him." Rawool nodded to him and then got into his ship.

Standing on the loading ramp Rawool turned and said "Thank you Jimmy for not trusting anyone." Jimmy nodded and then stated "Trust has to be earned not just bestowed on someone." Rawool smiled and then replied with "That it does. Goodbye Jean I will see you soon." She gave Rawool a smile and a nod as he closed the loading ramp behind him.

As the ship started to power up Jean asked "What's the Gulyith?" "That's the top secret mission I have been working on. The Gulyith is a very powerful ship that was built in secret with the Izainian and the Zaxian governments. For the most part our two planets have been at peace for the last two years, but like with all peace there are a few on both sides that don't want it." "Yes I know that's true we tried it many years ago and it fell apart." Jean replied.

He looked at his mother for a while and then said "I know. I have read about that time it was a very volatile time between Izainia and Zaxia." Jean stared at him for a moment and then asked "How could you have read about that time?" "I know that that information was classified. I will explain it later to you mother." Jean just gave him a nod.

They both watched as the ship ascended from the ground and high into the sky. He then said "Both this ship and the Gulyith have a new kind of engine that will allow the fastest travel possible. It will take us two days to get to Izainia but Rawool will get there in twelve hours." "How is that possible?" Jean asked. Jimmy looked at her and something in the back of his mind told him that she already knew. He then stated "At this time I don't think I could explain it all too good." Jean nodded and smiled at him.

When the ship was completely out of sight Nanook walked out of the woods. He then said "The boy is gone he left as the ship took off." Jimmy nodded and Jean said "I really wonder who he is. I know I have seen him before." "Well for now let us not worry about that, we need to head to town." Jimmy stated and the three of them headed in the direction of the town.