by Becky Wheelock
"Are you sure this going to work, Tank?" asked Jak, the grumpy, brown-eyed mechanic.
"Sure, I'm sure," Tanker answered with confidence. She twirled one long sand- colored ponytail around her finger. " All you have to do is hotwire the main couplings that go to the tractor beam. "
"I know how to do it," Jak snapped. Tanker gripped her flight helmet tightly. She cursed herself silently for making herself look stupid in front of Jak. She had been trying to get on the mechanic's good side, to no avail.
Jak rolled herself out from under the Crimson, Tanker's shuttle. She grunted. "Done," she announced. Tanker smiled to herself. It looked like her plan to take an after-hours run in her shuttle would work after all.
Tanker was a first- year student at the Trimoon Flight Academy, a school aboard a space station in deep space. It was called Trimoon because of the three moons in the three star systems encompassed in its territory. The students were not allowed to take their ships out after instruction hours, but Tanker was bored and feeling adventurous that night. She was an excellent pilot, one of the best at the academy. After pleading with the irritable mechanic, she was finally able to convince Jak to remove the tractor beam holding her ship in place.
Jak was a mysterious character. A second- year student, not many at the academy had seen much of her. She kept to herself, hanging around Trimoon�s hangar most of her days fixing ships.
Tanker boarded the Crimson, glancing around furtively. She fired the Crimson's main engines, hoping the tractor beam holding the ship in place had actually been disengaged. Just as she was lifting off, a loud THUMP sounded above her head. She jumped in surprise as Jak fell into the cockpit.
"How did you get aboard?!?" she demanded angrily. " I thought I sealed the hatch!"
"Looks like I hotwired that, too," Jak said with a smirk. Tanker's eyes narrowed.
"Why did you follow me?" she asked.
"I think I know what you're doing," Jak replied. "And I'm coming with you."
"Mother?" Jenda asked anxiously. "When are we landing?"
"Soon, love," Jenda's mother answered. She smoothed Jenda's wavy red hair.
"As soon as we make it through Grodian's territory," her father said. Jenda's twin brother, Tobian, sat silently in a far corner of their ship, keeping to himself.
Suddenly, violent laser fire shook the Cabria's hull. Jenda turned white. Someone's trying to destroy us, she realized.
"That's a Galactica cruiser," Jenda's father reported. There was fear behind that voice.
They've found us, Jenda knew. They're tracking us. The Cabria shook violently under the unrelenting laser blasts.
"Whoever's in that cruiser wants us dead," Tobian observed from his corner. The twins looked helplessly at one another, able to do nothing. Jenda's green eyes flickered. This may be my last moment alive, she thought sadly as she realized their ship was crashing onto the planet below.
"Don't fire at them, Dad!" Eighteen- year- old Derrinak pleaded. "That's just an just an innocent passenger ship!"
"Be quiet, son," Keon Grodian ordered. "They may be smugglers, or others trying to take over this system." Derrinak's father, Grodian, was the leader of Galactica, a swiftly- growing empire that had conquered three star systems. He and Derrinak were on his private shuttle, the Sirrinnol, exploring an unihabited star system.
The Sirrinnol fired its lasers again and again upon the small passenger ship until it dove, flaming, into the atmosphere of the planet below. Derrinak closed his eyes. He hated his father's actions and loyalty to Galactica, despite being raised in the middle of it all.
Derrinak knew better than to stand up to his father, though. A day would come when he would speak out against his father and his empire. But that day was far off, he knew. He sighed and ran his fingers through the long black hair that fell past his shoulders. If only dad could see how much pain he was causing so many innocent people. . .
"If I wanted to rat on you," Jak said cooly, "I would've stayed behind."
"Then why did you follow me?" Tanker asked.
"I wanted to escape from Trimoon," Jak explained, mentioning the space academy that both girls attended. "I never did fit in there. With your face under a ship all day in the hangar, you don't exactly get to meet many people."
Only seventeen years old, Jak was a loner. She was tall and slender, with curly black hair cut short at the nape of her neck. She had shed her bulky, grease- covered jumpsuit to reveal a tight- fitting, maroon-colored outfit underneath. She shot Tanker an arrogant look and stalked off to the hold.
I wonder why she's always so grouchy, Tanker wondered to herself. She started to set the coordinates for a hyperspace jump. She wasn't even halfway through before Jak reappeared, dragging a tall blonde girl by the shoulders.
"Look what I found," she announced.
"Sprite?" Tanker asked incredulously. "How did you get here?"
"You know her?" Jak's mouth hung open wide.
"I was studying in the back room of the Crimson for some peace and quiet," Sprite started to explain, "When I felt the ship lift off." She shrugged her narrow shoulders. "I guess you're stuck with me for the trip."
Tanker frowned in frustration. "Now my plans are definitely ruined!" Then something out of the small sheild window caught her eye. "Look at that!" Her blue eyes went wide with fear. "Someone's shooting at that innocent passenger ship!"
"I'm going to follow that ship down to the surface, to see that no one gets offplanet, "Grodian announced. Derrinak was furious now. His father had no right to do this to innocent people! Smugglers or not, they didn't deserve to be anhailated just like that!
Derrinak raced into the cockpit just in time to see the flaming ship fall through Nemset's atmosphere, pursued by the Sirrinnol. They'll never survive the impact, he thought. He knew that was exactly what his father was thinking.
The Cabria landed in a ball of flame, on Nemset's surface. Tobian was thrown against a wall with enough force to break every bone in his body. Jenda looked at her mother and father. Their bodies were slumped against the front console, blood- covered. In an instant, she knew that they had died on impact.
Congratulations, whoever you are, she thought bitterly. She turned and saw Tobian slumped against the wall, blood trickling from his forehead. She rushed over to him, hoping he wasn't also dead. Upon hearing a faint heartbeat, she picked her twin up and gently carried him out through a breach in the hull of her burning ship.
Outside, Jenda lay Tobian's unconscious body down on the cool grass of the forest. She bent down and wiped the blood off his face. She tore off her own blood- covered flight suit as she stood up to take a look at their surroundings.
Tobian's eyelids fluttered and he moaned softly. Please, Jenda begged silently. Don't let Tobian find out that Mother and Dad are dead. Their parents were renegades aginst Galactica. They had taught the twins from birth that they were living on borrowed time and would eventually becaught and killed. They had told them both to be strong and not to cry. She knew that her brother would find that out sooner or later, though. He was smart enough to see the obvious. Poor Tobian would be crushed when he did.
Tobian was a small, painfully shy boy, the same fifteen years as Jenda. He had straight, red- brown hair and deep dark, sad blue eyes. His delicate features looked nothing like his sister's strong ones, for she was two inches taller and a born leader. He seldom spoke, but when he did his words were well-chosen and thoughtful. Jenda considered it her duty to protect her twin, and they were always side by side.
Tobian tossed his head. "What happened?" he moaned.
"We were shot down by a Galactica cruiser," Jenda said.
"Where are Mom and Dad?"
"They're dead," she managed to answer. Her voice choked. "They died in the crash." Tears filled Tobian's eyes and Jenda hugged him for comfort.
"What happened to the ship?" he asked.
"Destroyed." Jenda pointed to the burning wreckage.
"It looks like we're stranded," Tobian said, gazing at the night sky. He had spoken the words that Jenda could not.
"Another ship approaching," Derrinak reported. "Maybe it's another cruiser." He hoped it was. Then he could go home and forget the whole thing.
"No, this ship is smaller," Grodian said as it came closer. "This is interesting. It's a Trimoon Academy ship!" He pushed several buttons on his console. "I've put a power block on that ship. That should teach those Trimoon Academy brats a lesson!"
Trimoon Academy was Galactica's biggest competitor for territory. The two were constantly at each other's throats. All of Derrinak's friends had gone to Galactica�s deep space Academy, and soon he would join them.
"Don't destroy them," he pleaded.
"I'm not going to , son," Grodian answered. "I've just sent them on a little trip, Derrinak. Down to that planet down there, with no hope of return." He said it so calmly that Derrinak wondered if his father had lost every shred of morality in him.
"But they'll be stranded!" he protested.
"Exactly," replied Grodian. He sent his son off to the hold. Derrinak sighed. He felt powerless against his father.
"That looks like a Galactica cruiser," Jak sneered.
"And that's not all," Sprite continued. "See that number? That number belongs to all the ships in Grodian's fleet."
"How do you know these things?" Jak asked.
Sprite shrugged. "I study."
Sprite could've very well been the smartest of the three girls, always with her nose in a book. There was never a minute when she wasn�t studying for some test. It irritated Tanker, her best friend and roomate at Trimoon. She was nearly as tall as Jak, and wore her blonde hair in a long braid down her back. Her face looked much older than her seventeen years. Her self- confidence and ease seemed to rub off on everyone around her.
Tanker smiled at her friend's comment, but her smile didn't last for long. "I've lost control!" she cried suddenly.
"What do you mean, you've lost control?" Jak demanded.
"I was all ready to make the jump to hyperspace, then suddenly the Crimson's navicomp locked itself on course for Nemset all by itself!"
"Is there anything you can do?" Sprite asked. Tanker bit her lip.
"'Fraid not. Our power's been drained, and the navicomp's not responding to my override commands."
"So what do we do now?" Jak asked.
"We have to land," Tanker answered. "There's no other choice."
"Stranded," Jenda repeated the word. It seemed unbelievable. In the blink of an eye, almost all that she and Tobian had known had been lost. At least Tobian and I aren't dead, she thought. But what good is being alive when you're stranded with no hope of escape? Jenda pushed the thought from her mind as she helped Tobian to his feet. The two of them began gathering sticks to make a fire.
"I think the name of this planet is Nemset," Tobian said, sitting beside the campfire the two of them had created.
"There must be a city or a safe port somewhere," Jenda said hopefully.
"I doubt it," Tobian replied. "Nemset's a reject planet. They send political prisoners and dangerous criminals here."
"That means that there's an outpost somewhere," Jenda said. "If we could get there, we would be able to get off this planet!"
"But where would we go?" Tobian pointed out. As usual, he didn't hide the raw truth. Jenda frowned.
"Either way, we've got to try," Jenda concluded. "We've got to find this place!"
"If it even exists," Tobian said.
"Tomorrow, Tobi. I'm tired." Jenda lay down in the leaves.
"Tomorrow," Tobian agreed, and fell asleep himself.
"Tank, are you sure you can make a landing in this thing?" Jak asked skeptically.
"Of course. It's my shuttle," she replied.
"Without getting us all killed?"
"You better hope so." Tanker concentrated on bringing the Crimson to a soft landing. She was short for a sixteen- year-old, a first-year student at Trimoon. She wore a brown jumpsuit with many pockets and had waist-length brown hair, which she wore in two ponytails perched on top of her head. She was an easygoing, confident, and sometimes reckless tomboy.
"I'm making a landing," she reported. Jak and Sprite sighed with relief.
"Now all we've go to do is repair this baby and get outta here," Jak said. She made a motion with her hand. Just then, the Crimson shook violently.
"I hate to say this, but this ship's going to need a lot of repair," Sprite said.
"And you're going to help me," Jak pointed a finger at Sprite.
"Tanker, are we okay?" Sprite asked, ignoring Jak.
"I hope so," Taker answered, sounding braver than she felt.
"We're landing, Derrinak," Grodian announced. Derrinak reluctantly got up from where he was sitting and followed. Grodian handed Derrinak a chargegun. "Shoot at anything that moves," he instructed.
"I don't like this," Derrinak protested as they stepped out of the ship.
"I don't like this anymore than you do, son, but we have to go to all extremes to protect Galactica," Grodian replied, lying through his teeth. "We can't let anything penetrate our security."
Derrinak listened to his father go on and on about Galactica, wishing he were someplace else. He thought of his friends back home, disappearing one by one to go to Galactica Academy. Derrinak resented the fact that soon, he would have to go there too. After all, his father was Keon Grodian, head of the organization.
Thoughts filled Derrinak's mind as he followed his father through the thick foliage. He didn't hate his father, really. He couldn't bring himself to do that. He just hated what had become of him since he had become leader of Galactica.
The fact that Derrinak looked just like his father was an additional burden for him to bear. He and his father shared the same brown eyes, black silky hair, and tall frame. Derrinak wore his long hair in a ponytail, and wore a bright yellow shirt and black pants identical to his father's.
He walked nimbly through the pitch-black forest, dodging roots and stones that would've tripped anyone else up. "Why did you disable that ship?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"It was a Trimoon shuttle," his father answered. Derrinak was puzzled. Trimoon was just another competitor, not a threat. "My life would be so much easier if that whole place were taken out of my sight," he muttered.
That scared Derrinak. Once his father got an idea in his head, there was no stopping him. The sudden realization made him feel sick. My father's going to destroy Trimoon.
A laser bolt from his father�s chargegun suddenly ripped through the forest, snapping Derrinak out of his daze. He jumped in surprise. Grodian took off running after something, leaving his son alone in the middle of the forest in a blanket of darkness.
"Where are we?" asked Sprite. She turned a full circle to see miles of trees in every direction. Dawn was breaking as she spoke.
"Nemset," Tanker answered, crawling out of the hatch of the Crimson.
"How do you know?" Jak asked. "We're in the middle of a bunch of trees."
"Because it's the only inhabited planet in this system," she said. "C'mon, you guys, was I the only one who paid attention in planetary science?" Sprite turned red. Jak rolled her eyes.
"They send political prisoners and dangerous criminals here," Tanker continued. Sprite and Jak raised their eyebrows.
"We were disabled by a BH-1 type power lock beam coming from another ship," Jak said. "So there must be another ship somewhere that followed us down, or else the Crimson would've started working once we landed."
"Can't you fix the Crimson, or hotwire it or something?" Sprite asked hopefully.
"Number one, I don't have the right tools to do that kind of thing, and number two, we'd have to find the other ship to turn off the power lock," Jak replied.
"So let's find the other ship," Tanker offered. "How hard can that be?"
"It's not going to be easy," Sprite said. "Whoever disabled our ship is probably out looking for us too, because they landed. And the ship came from Grodian's fleet, so they could easily have a fleet here in two days. on top of that, they probably want to kill us."
"In that case, I say we go for it," Jak interjected. "I'm not staying on this rock forever."
Two hours of walking later, the girls were exhausted and had gotten nowhere.
"I thought you said the ship was this way," Jak said.
"I did," Tanker said. "We just haven't gotten there yet."
"I think we should take a break," Sprite said. She seated herself on a large moss- covered rock. Tanker sat down beside her. Jak remained standing.
"I'm going to look for food, " She announced. Sprite nodded.
"Don't get lost," she warned. Jak grinned.
"Hey. It's me you�re dealing with."
Sprite rolled her eyes. That's what I'm afraid of, she thought. After Jak was out of sight, she turned to Tanker. "Did you hear something?" she asked suddenly.
"Not a thing," Tanker replied. "Why?"
"Nothing. I just thought I heard-"
Rrrripppppp!
"Chargeguns."
"I heard it this time," Tanker said. Sprite started to climb up a nearby tree. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Sprite countered, shimmying farther up the slim trunk. "Hiding!"
"I get the hint," Tanker said, following her friend.
"Sprite?" Jak yelled from below. "Tanker?" she looked confused. "I could've sworn. . ."
"Up here!" Tanker shouted. She smiled and waved from the treetop.
"What the devil are you two doing in a tree?"
"We heard chargegun fire," Sprite explained. "I figured it was someone looking for us." She raised her eyebrows. Jak began to laugh.
"Chargeguns? That's silly! You guys are just para-"
Rrrripppppp!
"Hold on, I'll be right up!"
"Here they come," Jak whispered. Tanker spotted two people walking through the forest. As they got closer, she could see that they were just two scared- looking kids, with no lasers at all.
"They don't look like they have any wepons to me," Sprite said.
"They're probably concealed," Jak replied.
"They're just two kids!" Sprite countered. "They couldn't possibly be after us!"
"Then who was the one firing the shots?" Tanker hissed.
"I don't know," Jak replied.
"Those kids look innocent enough to me," Sprite said. The kids were directly under them now.
"Maybe they can help us," Jak reasoned. "I'm going down there."
"No, Jak, don't!" Sprite started to protest. but Jak was already halfway down the tree trunk. The kids looked like they were ready to run. Sprite made a face. "Leave it to Jak to shoot at anything."
"And everything," Tanker agreed. "Do you think they could be escaped prisoners?"
"Two kids?!?"
Tanker just shrugged.
Tobian shivered as he and Jenda walked through the early morning dew. "This planet gives me the creeps," he said.
"Don't worry, Tobi," Jenda reassured him. "There's no one around here who could hurt us anyway."
"I�m not so sure about that," Tobian replied.
This planet gives me the creeps too, Jenda thought. The sooner we find civilization, the better. Right now it looked as if the twins were far, far away from their goal.
Suddenly, Jak jumped down from her tree, landing right in front of Tobian. He let out a scream and she clamped a hand over his mouth. She cocked her chargegun and put it at the end of Tobian's nose.
"Who. . . are. . . you?" she demanded in a low voice. Tobian fainted.
"Who are you?" Jenda demanded of Jak. "Scaring my brother like that?" She knelt beside Tobian. "Who do you think you are, anyway?" Jenda was furious.
"I'm sorry I scared your brother, Kid," Jak apologized. She set her gun down in the grass. "My friends and I heard laser fire, and 'cause we figure someone's after us, we upped a tree." She gestured for Sprite and Tanker to climb down.
"Why do you think someone's after you?" Jenda asked, standing up.
"Our shuttle was disabled by a BH-1 type power lock, which could only have come from a ship bigger and more powerful than ours." She shrugged. "So the way was figure it, someone high and mighty is on a quest for our hides." Sprite and Tanker appeared at the base of the tree. "We're looking for their ship so we can unhook that power lock and get out of here." Jak pointed to her friends. "This is Sprite, and Tanker," she said. "And I'm Jak."
"I'm Jenda," Jenda introduced herself. "And on the ground is my twin brother, Tobian." She extended her hand and Jak shook it. "I guess you knocked my brother out pretty well."
"Sorry 'bout that," Jak said, smiling sheepishly.
"S'okay," Jenda replied. Tobian began to stir and mumble nonsense. Jenda bent over him. "You okay, Tobi?"
"Huh?" he moaned. He sat up, shaking his head, as if to wake up from a bad dream. He looked wide- eyed at Jak.
"Hi there, Kid," she greeted him with a smirk. Tobian just stared.
My father's planning to destroy Trimoon. Dad's gonna destroy Trimoon. Derrinak's mind repeated the phrase over and over involuntarily, torturing him. He couldn't bear the thought of his own father doing something so vile, so evil. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He trudged through the woods, back to where the Sirrinnol was docked. He sat down on a log to sort out his thoughts. He held his head in his hands and sighed deeply, knowing his own despair. The sun came out on the abandoned planet, bathing it in brilliant light. The stars hid themselves, and Derrinak looked at the tall treetops, realizing how beautiful this planet truly was. He lay on his back in the dew- covered leaves, hands tucked behind his head. Someday, he thought, Someday I'll break free of Galactica. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Later that morning, Derrinak awoke to the chirping of birds he had never heard in trees that were unfamiliar to him. He stretched, and wished he could start a campfire, but knew the leaves were still wet from the dew. Now what to do? he wondered. He got up and wandered towards the mouth of a cave he hadn't seen when they had docked. He switched on his emergency pocket lamp to light his way.
Derrinak aimed the beam at the ceiling of the cave, revealing stalactites and other rock formations. He jumped over a stream and ventured deeper into the cavern. So caught up in looking at the interior of the fascinating cave, Derrinak didn't realize he was already lost.
"How did you get here?" Tanker asked as she caught up to walk beside Jenda.
"Our ship was nearly destroyed by a Galactica cruiser," Jenda said. "My parents had to make an emergency landing and we crashed. They died in the crash."
"I'm sorry, "Tanker said solemnly. Tobian walked behind them, looking sullenly at the ground and kicking rocks. "He doesn't say much," she commented.
"No, he doesn't," Jenda answered. "He's very shy, but we've never had a fight in our lives. We�re really close."
"I guess opposites do attract," Tanker mused.
"That may be true, but I'm still not going anywhere near that Jak friend of yours," Jenda said, raising her eyebrows. Tanker frowned.
"I didn't even ask for her to be here," she said. "I was taking a quick run in my shuttle, and all of a sudden , there she was! She hotwired the hatch and followed me in!"
"And Sprite?" Jenda asked. "How did she get aboard?"
"She was in the back room studying when we lifted off. I didn't even know she was there until Jak found her."
"Hey, you guys!" Jak yelled. "Come look at this!" She pointed to the mouth of a huge cave south of them.
"I don't think we should go inside," Sprite cautioned.
"I've never seen anything like it," Tanker marveled. She switched on her lamp and followed Jak inside. "C'mon!"
"Tanker," Sprite warned. "You don't know what's in there!"
"Hey, it might lead us to that ship we're looking for!" she insisted. Sprite sighed and reluctantly followed. One by one, they entered the black yawning void.
Derrinak pressed farther and farther into the vast cave. He had been walking for hours, it seemed. He sat cross- legged on the hard rock floor. There must be another opening somewhere, he thought. He had explored tons of caves on his home planet. Maybe I should turn back, his conscience reminded him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and noticed the power cell on his lamp running low. Then he began to get worried.
"Wow!"
"What a cave!"
"I've never even seen rock like this on Trianda!"
I must be hearing things, Derrinak thought. His mind clouded over as he strained to hear. The voices started getting louder. "Is it just me, or is there a light coming from over there?"
Light? Derrinak knew he was nowhere near the North end of the cave. Suddenly he realized what the voices meant. My light! They see my lamp! Renewed with energy, he ran as fast as he could toward the sound of the voices.
"Is it just me, or is there a light coming from over there?" Sprite asked, breaking the awed silence that had settled over the group.
"Could be a reflection," Tanker suggested. The girls turned off their lamps.
"That's a light, all right," Jak assured.
"Just checking," Sprite said nervously.
"If there's a light there, it means we've found the other end of the cave!" Jenda shouted.
"That's not natural light," Sprite said. "It means there's someone else in the cave, coming toward us."
"And I have a feeling I know who it is," Jak said, grabbing her chargegun. Tobian squeezed his sister�s hand.
"I think we should get out of here," he said, speaking for the first time since they had met. Everyone turned and looked at him in surprise.
"I agree with Tobian," Sprite confessed.
"Hold on," Jak said. "The light's getting stronger." She pointed at the beam steadily coming toward them. "Wait here," she instructed.
"But Jak-" Tanker protested.
"Don't worry about me," she interrupted. She waved her laser. "I've got it set on kill." Jak went ahead of the group. She took a deep breath. Show yourself, she silently challenged the intruder. She tip- toed toward the far-off glow. Suddenly, the far- off glow was a piercing light shining right in her eyes.
"Hey! What gives?" she protested, shielding her eyes from the piercing glare. She blindly aimed her laser. "Don't make me shoot you," she threatened.
"Hello?" A voice said. A boy's voice. The mysterious person holding the lamp pointed it away from Jak's eyes. He took a few trembling steps toward her. "Don't shoot me," he pleaded. He held up his hands in surrender.
Jak put her laser gun back in its holster She narrowed her eyes. "Who are you? Did you come with the twins?"
"Huh?" he said. "M-my name is D-Derrinak," he said. "Wh-who are you?"
"I'm Jak," Jak said. "Now that we've made polite introductions, you can tell me what you're doing in this cave."
"Is it your cave?" Derrinak was confused. This girl looked younger than him, yet she was quite threatening. He decided not to push his luck. "I got lost in this cave," he said truthfully.
Jak considered his response. If he'd come to kill her, she reasoned, then he would've done it by now. And her didn't even have his chargegun turned on, much less pointing at her face. She hadn't given him the chance to do that. And he hadn't attempted to take her prisoner, either. But he could still be a threat, now that he knew who she was and that she was there.
"I think you'd better come with me," Jak said in her usual take- charge voice. She grabbed Derrinak's arm and led him back to where her friends were waiting.
I should've run the other way, Derrinak thought to himself. I don't like this girl.
"I think I found our assailant," Jak announced upon retuning to the group.
"He doesn't look so dangerous to me," Sprite said. She eyed Derrinak�s muscular frame. "In fact, I think he's kinda cute."
"This is more introductions than I care to make in a day," Tanker said, "But who are you?"
"I'm Derrinak," he said.
"And you're not out to kill us or anything?" she asked skeptically.
"Why would I do that?" he responded. "I got lost in this cave."
"If you're not out to get us, and neither are Tobian and Jenda, then who is?" she wondered aloud. Derrinak wondered what they were all talking about. They were just paranoid. After all, this planet was pretty creepy. Then it dawned on him. These are the people that my dad is looking for. These are the survivors of that crash! He was overjoyed that they seemed to have survived the crash unhurt, but this now endangered their lives. He gasped.
"My father," he answered. "My father is the one you're talking about. He's the one that's trying to kill you all. You see, my name is Derrinak Grodian."
Sprite's eyes looked wide. "Grodian? Grodian's got kids?" She had to keep herself from laughing. "I hate to tell you, kid, but your dad was the one who disabled our ship, and destroyed theirs." She pointed to Jenda. Jenda's eyes were ablaze.
"It was you!" she accused. "It was your father that shot my family's ship to shreds and killed my parents! She was shouting now, and her face was as red as her hair. "You stranded us here!" Tears stung her eyes. "You nearly killed Tobian, too!" She fell to her knees. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" She wrung her fists and sobbed.
Derrinak hesitated, then knelt down beside her. "I tried to stop my father from shooting at you," he said quietly. He put his arm around Jenda's shoulders. She did not resist his gentle touch. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and let her tears soak into the fabric of his shirt. "What's your name?" he whispered.
"Jenda."
"Well, Jenda," Derrinak began. "I'll have you know that I oppose my father's leadership of Galactica, and I do everything in my power to stop him from making innocent people suffer."
"How can I believe you?" she asked, raising her head.
"Believe this," he said, and gently kissed her tear- stained face. He lifted her chin. Tanker, Jak, and Sprite just stared. Tobian looked ready to collapse again. In the blink of an eye, their supposed enemy had turned into their ally.
"This is Sprite, Jenda's brother Tobian, and Jak, and I'm Tanker," Tanker said. Jak made a face at another round of introductions.
"We're trying to find the ship that disabled our navcomputer and sent us down here," Sprite explained. "So we can unhook the power lock, which will allow our ship to leave." She paced the forest floor outside the cave. "Will you help us, Derrinak?" She looked at him sternly, like a General.
"It's probably the same ship that shot down and destroyed Tobian and Jenda's ship," Tanker pointed out.
"Which means it belongs to my father," Derrinak said. "I'd be glad to help." He smiled. "Anything that hurts Galactica is good enough for me. Besides, how can I abandon my friends?" He looked at Jenda and she blushed.
"Friends?" Tanker said skeptically.
"We're in this together, right?" Sprite asked. She put her hand in the middle of the group.
"Friends?" Jenda asked. She put her hand on top of Sprite's. Tobian smiled shyly.
"I've never had friends before," he said. His hand joined his sister's.
"Friends," Tanker said confidently. Her hand went in on top of Tobian's.
"Whatever," Jak said grumpily, and stuck her hand in.
"Friends," Derrinak confirmed. His strong hand lay on the very top.
"Then let's go find this ship!" Tanker shouted.
"Yeah!" all yelled, including Tobian.
"My dad's cruiser, the Sirrinnol, is docked just outside the other end of that cave," Derrinak said.
"So all we have to do is find the other end," Tanker said. She switched on her lamp. "Doesn't sound too hard."
Jak moaned.
"I'm going in," Tanker announced. The others followed her lead.
"It's dark in here," Tobian said.
"So turn on your lamp," Jak snapped at him.
"Don't have one," he answered. He could hear Jak sigh in annoyance.
"So get a little closer to someone who does," she suggested icily.
"Don't let Jak scare you, Tobi," Jenda whispered to him.
"My lamp's running low," Derrinak said. "I have to turn it off to recharge it."
Jenda bit her lip. One less light to guide us, she thought with dismay.
"Be careful of potholes and streams," Derrinak warned. "You never know how deep they can be."
After walking for a long time under the dim light from the girls' lamps, Jenda sat down on a rock shelf embedded in the cave's wall.
"I need a rest," she declared. Derrinak nodded and sat down beside her.
Tobian and the others seated themselves along the opposite wall, glad for a break.
"It's really beautiful in here," Tanker said, awed by the shimmering pearl-colored rock.
"Yes, it is," Sprite agreed. "Just think! These shelves we're sitting on were made be millions of years of dripping water!"
"Enough, bookworm," Jak stuck out her tongue. "We're not in school, you know."
"But there's so much to learn about here!" Sprite protested. "Everything on this planet is so new to us!"
"And it'll be old news, given we get off this rock," Jak replied sourly.
"We will," Jenda said. She looked at Derrinak. "Won't we?"
"Yes," Derrinak answered confidently. He thought of the enormous responsibility suddenly heaped on his shoulders. The others were counting on him to lead them to safety.
Tanker got up to look at one of the streams Derrinak had seen on his way into the cave. She bent down to take a drink. The rushing water splashed her face, coming from a nearby waterfall.
"The mineral content in that water is probably enough to kill you," Jak commented dryly. Tanker turned and made a face at her.
Tobian almost saw the accident before it happened.
"Tanker, be careful!" he warned.
"Tobian, I know what I'm doing-" she suddenly lost her balance and fell headfirst into the raging water. Tobian dove after her.
"Tanker!" he cried. But she was nowhere to be seen. "Tanker!" he yelled again. She's probably been carried away from the current by now, he thought grimly. Suddenly, Tanker's arm appeared above the surface. Tobian grabbed it to keep her from going under again.
"H-help!" she yelled, barely audible above the noise of the water, her head above the surface. "Tobian, help me!"
"I'm trying!" he answered.
"I think my foot's stuck!" she shouted.
"How deep is it?" Tobian asked.
"About six feet!" she cried. Tobian held both her arms tightly, and she struggled to keep her head above the water.
"Can you get your foot loose?" he asked.
"No," she answered. Her face held a terrified look.
"Try pulling it to the left," Tobian suggested.
"Owwww!" she wailed.
"Okay, try pulling it to the right!"
"Almost- there-" Tanker grunted. She looked frantic.
"You can do it," Tobian assured himself as well as Tanker. He gripped her hands all the tighter.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" she screamed as her foot came loose and she slipped from Tobian's grasp. Water filled her lungs, and she realized she was drowning. Despair came over her and a terrified scream filled her mind as she lost consciousness.
Tobian caught Tanker's arm just in time, before the water could carry her away. With all his strength, he pulled her to the bank of the stream. He pulled her to safety, far away from the rushing water.
Tanker lay unconscious in Tobian's arms. He tried to revive her while the others gathered around nervously.
"Wake up," he muttered. "Come on, come on!" he shook her for several minutes. Finally, her face turned from gray to pink and she coughed up water, rolling over into Tobian's lap. She slowly opened her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked her anxiously. She nodded. The others breathed a sigh of relief and backed off. Derrinak motioned to give them some room.
When they were alone, Tobian asked her again. "Are you okay?" Tanker shook her head.
"I was so scared, Tobian," she whispered, shaking. "I thought for sure I was gonna drown."
"It's okay now," he assured, holding out his hand. She squeezed it tightly. "You saved my life, Tobian. Thank you."
Tobian looked away. He held her in his arms and waited for her to recover.
The others watched Tanker and Tobian from a distance.
"Your brother is one brave kid," Jak said sincerely to Jenda.
"Yeah, he saved her life," Derrinak continued.
"He's so gentle," Sprite said. She turned to Jenda. "He�s an incredible person."
Jenda felt choked. Tobian, shy as he was, had finally been accepted by the group.
"How's your foot?" Tobian asked.
"I'll live," Tanker replied, gritting her teeth as she limped. Tobian followed her walked over to the group.
"It seems we have a slight problem," Derrinak said as soon as they returned.
"What's that?" Sprite asked.
"We have to find the Sirrinnol before my dad decides to lift off."
"Won't he wait for you?" Jenda asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "If he knows the crew of the ship that went down are dead, then he'll wait."
"That's us," Jenda said. "And we're alive."
"Yes, " Derrinak answered. "And he doesn't even know the other ship even landed. That's you three." he pointed to the girls. "The trick is to sneak aboard before my dad gets back, so he doesn't know that you're alive."
"And what if he's already there?" Sprite asked.
"I don't know."
Sprite nodded. "I hope this'll work," she said.
"It better," Jak said.
"Let's go!" Tanker said wholeheartedly. Tobian smiled at her usual response to everything. The six fugitives made their way as fast as they could, hoping for the best.
"We're almost there," Derrinak reported. He had recharged his lamp, and it had taken the place of Tanker's, which had been lost in her plunge into the stream. "I remember seeing those stalactites."
"How much farther?" Tanker asked.
"About five more minutes," Derrinak answered.
"Good. I can't wait to get out of this creepy cave," Jak put in. Light spilled in from the mouth of the cave.
"Finally," Sprite grumbled. "I was getting sick of hearing dripping water."
"I smell trouble," Jenda commented.
"I have a very bad feeling about this," Sprite continued. Indeed, trouble was waiting for them. And his name was Grodian.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Grodian said with menacing tone. "Derrinak!" The boy stood at attention. "I Thought I told you to stay with me!"
"Yes, sir," he mumbled.
"Who are these friends of yours, Derrinak?" he asked. "Your prisoners, perhaps?" Derrinak remained silent. "Where are your manners, boy?"
Time seemed to freeze as Derrinak was put under the spotlight. Jak sneakily drew her chargegun from its holster.
"Uhhh. . . "
Suddenly, Jak fired a shot that left Grodian sprawled on the forest floor.
"You killed my father!" Derrinak screamed.
"No, I didn't," Jak explained. "I switched the setting on my gun to stun after I met you." She jogged over to the Sirrinnol, and had the power lock taken off- line in seconds.
"Let's go!" Tanker said. "We've got to get a head start back to the Crimson before this guy wakes up!"
"There's no time to get back to the Crimson!" Jak yelled above the roar of the engines. "Grodian knows we're here, and he'll call a fleet in and kill us in no time! We've got to take the Sirrinnol!"
Tanker looked dismayed at having to leave her shuttle, but climbed aboard with the others as quickly as she could.
"Just a thought," Derrinak said. "Who's going to fly this thing?"
"I am," Tanker answered, breezing past.
"Are you sure you can fly it?" he asked nervously.
"Are you kidding?" Jak came to Tanker's defense. "She can fly anything!"
"Okay then," Derrinak said. "Fly it!"
"Lifting off," Tanker reported.
"Wait!" Derrinak yelled. "What about my dad?"
"Are you crazy?" Jak yelled back. "We're not taking him with us!"
"He'd take us all prisoner!" Sprite added.
"But if we leave him here, I'll never see him again!"
"I destroyed the power lock command," Jak said, realizing her mistake.
"He'll be back."
"Who's hungry?" Derrinak asked, carrying a tray of greasy food. Six hands reached for it. "Whoa! he cried. "Cool it!" They were safely in hyperspace, on their way back to Trimoon. Tanker and Tobian sat side by side, arm in arm.
"Don't they look cute together?" Jak whispered in Jenda's ear.
"They say crisis brings people together," Jenda whispered back. "I guess whoever said that was right."
"Then opposites do attract," Jak replied.
"Shhh," Jenda whispered. "They're looking at us." She and Jak tried hard to keep from giggling. Then the conversation turned serious. Derrinak took a deep breath.
"I've decided to start a rebellion against Galactica," he announced.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Jenda asked. She looked scared.
"Extremely," Derrinak answered. "And I can't do it alone. I'll need some help."
"I'm in," Jak volunteered immediately.
"So am I," Jenda said. "Tobian and I don't have anyplace else to go."
"I will," Tobian volunteered.
"Me, too," Sprite agreed.
"You in, Tank?" Jak asked.
"You bet I am," She replied with a wide smile. Six hands went in the middle of the group, sealing the pact.
For Kathleen. You inspired this by just listening. Rock on, girl!