Picture if you will. . .

Edward Solomon

Well, it leaves fewer guards to investigate the REAL carpets when they land near what is left of the dungeon entrance . . .

"That won't last much longer," I mutter, ears quirked up slightly in surprise that it had worked so well, period. With realms of sufficiently advanced magic (like say Terra Prime), I've learned that the "multiple mirror image" illusion would only be effective for a few seconds before being either dispelled or otherwise seen through by competent mages. Within the realms of sufficiently advanced science (something on par with Kirk's Star Fleet tech), one quick tricorder (or equivalent) scan and these lunatics who are taking potshots at us would know we're no longer in the skies or perhaps at one of the decoy landing locations!

"Kill the illusions," Artizza says softly. "Maybe if we're lucky the guards out there will be more likely to feel that this incident was just some kind of diversion by whoever has attacked this city and make them all the less likely to stumble upon us."

Can see in her face that she doesn't give that much hope, though.

If we'd been lucky: we wouldn't have stumbled across a war zone where the nearest concentration of what we need to get our ship up and running again, wouldn't have to replace the ship's crystal in the first, place.

IF we'd been lucky, we'd be back on Earth and done! Ravenmane the centauress would have the treatment she so desperately wanted and needed to fix her memory problem.

But no, nothing doing.

. . .

But let's just go and get this done! If the natives here had been less hostile I would be more inclined to have be sympathetic. We could have negotiated something. Offered to buy but . . . while they might be just frightened (maybe justifiably so given what's happened to this city) they're too hostile for us to play nice and ask. Liable to get a blaster bolt (or whatever) for our troubles.

"Let's get this over with," I mutter, pulling out the tricorder to get another fix on . . .

. . .

"Uh, the targets moved since last reading," I say blankly. "Either it's being carried by someone or it's alive, somewhere underneath this rubble in front of us."

Oh, don't look at me like that! It's a different universe and what is to say that our target isn't like the Horta (a silicon based lifeform) of my universe?!

"Time to get digging . . . but quickly!" Artizza says, pulling out and setting her phasor to disintegrate.

Good point. Oh, we don't need to dally when we've already seen that the guards around here are a bit trigger happy! Phasors will make a LOT of noise with their screaming, but with a little bit of engineering insight on where to phasor (or not) and we will be in and out before they track us down!

As for a moral question about right and wrong about us taking the target without permission . . . I'm more worried about the war we've landed in here. Best be away (and uninvolved as possible).

You know, the Prime Directive thing. Might not be a Star Fleet officer anymore, but still . . . Something tells me that this is a mess I don't want to be involved in here.

. . . .

I'll leave some valuables (gold disks, not coins) behind to cover the costs for the natives to replace what we've borrowed. Salves conscious if nothing else.

. . .

Yeah, the others are right. I guess I am something of an idealist . . .

So, moral questions aside we start digging quickly (matter of seconds with phasors) disintegrate enough of a space to get down (by floating though holes in the ground made by phasors) and . . .

"Who's the girl?" Arthur blinks, pointing at a human looking young woman below who has some keys in her hand. At her feet lay . . .what looks to be a very dead body . . .

She looks up at us, surprised (and more than a little bit scared). Might have run away . . . if there was a place to do that.

You know, I could almost swear that at first she was understanding what Arthur had asked . . . only to have it suddenly turn into gibberish to her ears.

Note: the young woman we would call "you" if this was Game 3 Addventure DID understand the beginning of what Arthur's question. Understood English. But being then it disappears (excised like so many other things with her reincarnation), leaving only her "native" Martian tongue. With either babel Fish or universal translator, the others will be able to understand her tongue, but only the universal translator will make the Champions be able to speak with her.

1. Strange or not, the tricorder's saying that our target is somewhere on her body!!

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