that I was not going to be able to lose him so I might as well listen to what he had to say. “Go on then,” I replied. “You talked me into it.” I gestured for him to take a seat.
“My name is Kronos,” he said. “I am here on behalf of the Solaran Commonwealth and their Hellertron allies who are locked in a vicious war with the Kaytons.”
After what Kev had told me previously, I was prepared to listen and believe anything. “Yes, but what has all this got to do with me?” I asked.
“It has everything to do with you,” Kronos replied. “The Hellertrons have recently suffered a massive strategical defeat and are in full retreat. The Solarans were in the process of sending reinforcements to bolster them and form a screening line to cover their retreat. Now to do this, the Solarans have had to shorten their front line by evacuating a number of salients to create a reserve.”
“Can they win?” I enquired, “Or at least draw even?”
“No, John. It is only a matter of months; now a tipping point has been passed, defeat is inevitable—”
“But you never know,” I interrupted. “Some unexpected turn of events or a secret weapon could yet turn the course of the war. You have got to keep hoping for eventual victory. At least you have those few months to play with.”
“I suppose that is possible, but still very unlikely. The problem is, John, that Earth does not have a few months. Earth lies in one of those salients which is being evacuated as we speak.”
All went deadly quiet as I suddenly realised the full significance of what he was saying. I began to sweat profusely and shake with fear, feeling sick in the pit of my stomach and having to summon all my remaining composure to reply to Kronos.
“How long has Earth got?” I put to him.
“A Kayton battle squadron is already heading towards this solar system. We estimate that, at its current Translight speed, it will reach Earth a week today.”
I stood up, took the belt off and tossed it across the table. “Here, you take it. I never wanted the damned thing anyway. You cannot put all this on me – why don’t you go and talk to the United Nations?”
“I’m afraid that would be futile, John. All it would do is cause mass panic.”
“But surely you must have Transport ships that you could use to evacuate Earth’s population before the Kaytons arrive?”
“Yes, that is correct, John. But they are all at full stretch supplying the Solaran Army’s needs and even if they were all brought to bear they would at best be able to evacuate no more than half of Earth’s population in the time available. I think it would be a futile exercise and as I said before, that sort of action would also cause a mass panic.”
“So what are you proposing, then?” I asked in a sullen, dejected manner.
“Now John,” Kronos replied “the Kaytons do have one potential weakness in that seventy percent of their armed forces is made up of human Drones. That is, people from conquered planets who have been forced to fight for them using mind control technology. Essentially the Kaytons maintain control by a signal being transmitted from a beacon in the Citadel on their home planet of Tyros. No one has been able to replicate what they have done. The signal cannot be jammed; the Solarans have tried unsuccessfully on numerous occasions, all attempts ending in abject failure. If the signal could be killed at source the Drones would revert back to normal and turn on their former masters, starting a rebellion. The Solarans and Hellertrons could take full advantage by hitting them with everything they have to hand. Hopefully, the end would be quick. We already have an agent on Tyros… one of our best, Adema. He has regular access to the Citadel where the Kayton Supreme Council is located, along with all their command and control assets including the Drone command bunker.”
“So what has all this got to do with me? If your man has access to the Citadel, why is he not able to knock out the signal transmitter himself?”
“Good question, John. The problem is that two Drone guards have to accompany every maintenance worker in the Citadel for security.”
“What about trying to get two more agents in to make up the numbers?” I replied. “The problem would then be solved.”
“The trouble is, it took years to get an agent on Tyros and it would take years to get another one on, never mind two, the security screening procedures are so effective.”
It then began to dawn on me where the direction of this conversation was leading.
“Oh no,” I said, “you are not thinking what I am thinking, are you? That you and I Transport ourselves to Tyros and take the place of the two Drone guards? You can forget that for a game of soldiers. The answer is a definite no. Cheeky beggar, coming here and shouting the odds, trying to con me into what sounds to all intents and purposes like a suicide mission.”
“I’m afraid, John, there is no other alternative. The Guardianships are not transferable and according to the ancient Kultarn texts, only two have been created, although God only knows why it chose you to be the Guardian. All you have done so far is disgrace the Kultarn legacy with your actions. I can only assume the Guardianship has been lying dormant for so long its judgment has become impaired.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I replied. “You certainly know how to cheer a guy up.”
“I have to tell it to you as it is,” Kronos said. “Now listen, John. Adema has been on Tyros for three years. He has formulated a workable plan and is confident he can get us into not only the Citadel, but also the Drone command bunker without getting into a fire fight. All we will have to do then is kill the technicians in the transmitting room and then plant the explosive charges to sever the link to the control beacon which transmits the signal throughout the Kayton Empire. We should then be able to sit it out, letting the rebellion take its course.”
“You make it all sound so easy. Things could still go wrong, especially with a novice like me weighing you down with my lack of experience.”
“All missions are dangerous, John. I should know, I have been on enough of them. But we would train you up in the short time available to get you at least to a minimum standard. If I thought you were not ready I would not ask you to go. It is as simple as that. There is just one other piece of information I need to tell you. The Kaytons have set up a massive energy field completely enveloping Tyros. They call it the Transdamping barrier. It consumes a third of the power generated on Tyros and it was constructed to stop me Transporting myself to Tyros. Up until now it was thought to be impenetrable by the scientific community of both the Kaytons and Solarans. But we have a brilliant young scientist on Sontral, the Solarans’ home planet. He thinks he has found a way to combine our two Guardianship portals into one and breakthrough the Transdamping barrier, Transporting us both undetected to the surface of Tyros.”
“You certainly have an answer for everything,” I told him, “but it is all too much for me to understand. I need time to think and take it all in.”
“Understandable, but I cannot give you too long. I will meet you here in exactly twenty-four hours. We cannot delay any longer than that; we need as much time as possible to get you trained up for the mission.”
“Just one more thing,” I said, “how on earth did you manage to find me and follow me at the same time?”
“Well, John, I am a very crafty fellow. You can only see me where I have been or where I am going to be, but never actually where I am. But then again, I do tell a lot of porky pies. No, I am not that good.” Kronos gave a cheeky grin as he continued, “As soon as your Guardianship became active it notified me, telling me your every move as you made it. If you had bothered to ask your Guardianship, it would have told you about me.”
“I wish I had never set eyes on it,” I moaned, “putting me in this intolerable position. Why, oh why do they say you get punished in your next life for the sins you committed in your last life? All I can say is I must have been a bad sod in my last life.”
“I am afraid what is past is past and what has happened has happene
d and cannot be changed. You just have to accept the situation you find yourself in now and make the best of it. In the end, only you can make the final decision whether to come back with me to Sontral.”
“You have certainly given me a lot to contemplate,” I replied as I bade Kronos goodbye.”
“I will meet you here in exactly twenty four hours.” Kronos activated his Guardianship, slipping away into the depths of space as quickly and as quietly as he had arrived, leaving me to my fate. I remember thinking if I agreed and travelled with him to Sontral to undertake this enterprise, who would be the biggest fool? The fool himself or the fool who follows him?
I then proceeded to take my frustration out on Kev. I grabbed the belt from the top of the table where it had lain since I had tried to give it to Kronos earlier. I threw it down on the floor in front of me as hard as my limited strength would allow me. Next, I kicked it three or four times across the floor, swearing all the time as I did so. I turned around, walked a few paces away, then turned back again and proceeded to kick the belt another three or four times until it ended up underneath the television stand, after which I cursed it in no uncertain terms for conning me and being responsible for all my troubles. Calming down a little, I then sat down on the bed for a few minutes, just staring aimlessly straight ahead with