XXXII - Followed

Kamon paddled furiously with his bare hands. The shore was only minutes away. He glanced around yet again. Still nothing from their pursuers. First Commander Agon had landed a long time ago. Surely, she and her women were armed. And they had had more than sufficient time to move into position. Why did they not fire?! He and Jasmine were easy targets.

"Get down, Jasmine!" Kamon ordered yet again.

On the opposite side of the life raft, Jasmine paddled as vigorously as Kamon. "I will not cower in the bottom of a raft while you are fully exposed, Kamon!"

"I'm not asking you to cower!" Kamon argued in return. "Just be smart! Why should both of us present a prime target when it is not necessary?"

"Then you lie down!" Jasmine suggested.

Kamon vented his frustration on the water. He was not about to lie down.

"With both of us paddling," Jasmine continued after the pause, "we are much closer to shore than we otherwise would have been. It makes sense."

A short time later, Kamon slid from the raft into waist high water. Jasmine followed suit and the pair quickly pulled the raft into the tall grass on shore.

"We made it!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"We were lucky," a perturbed Kamon countered. "We should have been shot. I still don't why we weren't. They're out there! I saw them land! I don't like to rely on luck," he concluded. Luck had a way of changing....for the worse, he thought to himself. Kamon took Jasmine by the hand. "Follow me." Then they plunged into the thickets and tall grass skirting the lake.

"They will take off again." Jasmine stated the obvious.

"I know," Kamon said. "I have to ground that craft. I can't have it popping up and down chasing us. They can start dropping women around us; they might eventually corner us."

"We also might elude them," Jasmine said. "You're the veteran here. This is your turf."

"And I might not," Kamon countered. "I prefer a bit more certainty."

"How can you ground a military craft such as this one?" Jasmine asked. "One man against a mighty machine, a difficult task."

"I thought you knew everything," Kamon remarked. He glanced at Jasmine. She did not reply immediately so he continued. "Actually, I have a pretty good chance if I can just lure them in. Unfortunately, we'll have to be the bait. I'm afraid they won't go for it unless they see both of us. Does that bother you?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Jasmine replied.

Fifteen minutes later, after pushing and stepping their way through bushes and grass taller than either of them, Kamon and Jasmine emerged into a clearing. The grass was much shorter here, only knee high. It was also dotted with shades of a soft yellow hue.

"How are you doing?" Kamon examined Jasmine's face even as he asked the question. "Scratches," he observed. "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing," she responded. "We're doing well." She paused, then spoke. "I hear them!" She pointed upward. "There!"

Kamon nodded. The craft was high in the sky. "We're going to let them get closer, much closer. The X-49 really isn't designed for quick takeoffs and landings. It's meant for speed in flight and its weaponry. It needs to gain considerable altitude just so it can maneuver to a new spot and come back down again."

"And it needs a firm surface for its repulsion units to achieve liftoff," Jasmine added.

"That's right," Kamon said as he watched the craft above drift downward. Agon hadn't sighted them yet. She would soon. Kamon would make sure of that. "You seem to know a lot about a secret military craft."

"I get around a lot," Jasmine said.

Kamon glanced at her. "Yeah." He looked up. "I suppose you also know what I have in mind."

"You haven't told me anything," Jasmine said noncommittally.

"I don't tell you a lot of things yet you seem to know most everything," Kamon commented. He waited another moment, then announced, "Okay, it's time. Follow me. Move quickly but step precisely where I step. I do want it to look like we're running naturally, however, like we're in flight. But watch my feet and don't misstep. Understand?"

"Clearly," Jasmine nodded.

Kamon paused momentarily, then, "Let's go!"

The pair took off at a slightly odd run. Kamon's feet set down only on the yellow grass among the expanse of green. Jasmine was right behind, carefully following suit.

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"There they are!" First Commander Agon exclaimed excitedly. She saw two tiny figures through the cockpit windows. "Running across that meadow! Set down, captain! Set down now!"

"With all due respects, commander," Captain Pescus displayed her misgivings, "we're not sure of the terrain. The X-49 can't set down just anywhere."

"I heard the same gibberish from you when I asked you to land near the lake!" Agon snapped. "Are you going to follow my orders or not?!"

"I always follow orders, commander." Captains Pescus attempted to be patient. "I also have a duty to give you my informed judgement in matters involving the nature and capabilities of this vessel. With that in mind, I am questioning the desirability of this location for a landing."

"The man and woman we are pursuing are right below us!" Agon was practically in Pescus' face. "They are running through a meadow! Solid ground!! If you do not land this vessel immediately, I will relieve you of command and place your co-pilot in charge! I trust that First Lieutenant Cemsus will not be so lethargic in carrying out one of my orders!"

"No need for that, commander," was Captain Pescus' tight-lipped response. "Lieutenant," she addressed her co-pilot, "we're going down."

"Yes, captain." Lieutenant Cemsus had no desire to embroil herself in this clash. She was intent on speaking only when spoken to.

The X-49 craft slowly drifted downward. Captain Pescus tried to carefully scan the surface below for some hint of trouble. If she was to abort this landing, she must be certain it was necessary, else she would have to endure the wrath of First Commander Agon. On the other hand, if the landing site was unsuitable and she waited too long to make that determination, they could be stuck here. There was a point of no return. She hated this! Agon was being bull-headed!

Three hundred feet up and the X-49's repulsion dial still displayed a healthy 200. Maybe everything would be alright after all, Captain Pescus thought to herself.

Two hundred feet and the repulsion dial had dropped to 175. Perhaps reason to wonder but certainly not sufficient cause to be alarmed.

At one hundred feet the repulsion dial suddenly dived. Within a second it fell under 100 and kept plunging. Captain Pescus moved swiftly, immediately attempting to engage full repulsion power, but to no avail. The dial steadied for no more than a fraction of a second before continuing its descent. Pescus swore softly to herself and glanced at her co-pilot. They didn't have to speak; they knew.

The X-49 slapped on the ground rather unceremoniously, jarring its passengers. First Commander Agon was already at the door. She staggered a bit at the moment of impact but quickly righted herself. As far as she was concerned everything was fine....except for the fact that Pescus was a somewhat incompetent pilot.

"Open it!" Agon ordered Ensign Notus. She turned to her women. "Audia, Selibro, Epira, Denata," she spoke to them in order, "I want you four to pursue the councilman and Jasmine. Corner them, stop them, shoot them -- do whatever it takes to bring them down! The rest of us will go airborne again and watch in case they elude you! Understood?"

All heads nodded crisply.

The door fell open, though it slapped onto the surface at a strange angle, one that was almost parallel to the rest of the vessel. The X-49 craft had clearly landed on a soft surface, one that was permitting the vessel to sink.

"Go!!" Agon commanded.

The four women leaped from the craft. Audia slipped through the green grass and plunged into a thick gooey mass. She found herself waist deep in a bed of mud and sinking slowly. The grass was now up to her face. Alarmed, Audia's hands frantically searched for some solid object but found none. Her hands were soon covered with a slimy, green-black mud. She finally stopped struggling and reached out to grab some grass and simply hold on. She stopped sinking.

Selibro and Epira were experiencing similar difficulties. Denata, however, was in an even worse predicament. Her left foot had landed on the yellow grass, finding a solid surface. Her right foot, however, slipped through the green grass and into the same slimy mud as the others had encountered. Denata toppled into the gooey mass, her head slipping beneath the surface. Kicking and slapping, she managed to bring her head above the mud, coughing and wheezing, her sight impaired. "Help!" she croaked.

Audia reached over and attempted to aid Denata. Her hand slipped from Denata's slimy head several times before she finally issued a command. "Don't move, Denata! Just stay still and you won't sink any further...I think!"

First Commander Agon watched in horror from the craft. "Get out of there, you fools!! Get after them!!"

Selibro and Epira made a half-hearted attempt to move but quickly abandoned the effort. Audia was occupied with keeping Denata's head above the surface of the mud. None of them addressed their commanding officer.

Agon turned to Ensign Notus. "Notus, get a rope!! Throw it out to them!! Get those women back in here!!" The first commander sighted Captain Pescus standing nearby, watching. "Get back in the cockpit, captain!!" Agon screamed. "I want to take off as soon as those women are back on board!!"

"We're not going anywhere, commander," Captain Pescus stated. Her voice was half triumphant, half dejected. First Commander Agon's judgement had proved faulty.....but Pescus' prized vessel was crippled.

"Don't argue with me, captain!!" Agon bellowed. "I gave you a direct order!!"

"I'm not arguing with you, commander," Pescus responded calmly. "I'm simply telling you a fact. We can't take off."

"Why not?!" Agon growled.

"Because we have insufficient repulsion force. The repulsion dial reads 5 at the moment. We need a reading of at least 100 to gain sufficient repulsion force to achieve liftoff with the X-49." Captain Pescus directed her gaze out the door. "It's this swamp or whatever we've landed in. The ground isn't firm enough here." Her last statement was pointed and an indictment of First Commander's Agon order to land.

"Well, can't you think of something?!" Agon groused. She was responsible for their predicament. There was no need to admit it; they both knew it. Agon hated this.

"I can't change the laws of physics, commander," Captain Pescus said. "We're grounded. We'll need some serious help, probably a transport hovercraft carrying a crane and a winch."

First Commander Agon swore openly. What a mess!

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Kamon and Jasmine heard the X-49's approach and landing. Although he glanced backward a couple of time, Kamon did not stop and turn until they reached the edge of the swamp. The sight that greeted him was most pleasant. The X-49 was clearly grounded in the mud and slime. It would not be going anywhere soon. Kamon was very relieved. He had won a major battle.

"So what is the yellow grass?" Jasmine asked.

"They're cassell plants," Kamon answered. "They grow in this muddy swamp. The wide base forms firm roots below the mud and comes up to the surface. Then this yellow grass grows out of the base above the mud. The base of the cassell plant is strong enough to support a person. The green grass is not. It's unusual also. It grows out of the mud, masking the slimy surface beneath it."

"It was a clever plan, Kamon," Jasmine complimented him.

"I'm simply grateful," he responded. "I was hoping First Commander Agon would throw caution to the wind if she got us in her sights. Those folks at the Marmot State Security Agency are a different breed. They see a conspiracy around every corner. I think Agon wants us pretty bad," Kamon concluded. He turned and stepped out of the swamp onto solid ground. The grass was very tall again. "Come on. I have one more obstacle course for them to run." To further discourage them, he thought to himself. He had taken away their vessel. Now he wanted to sap their spirit. This fight wasn't over yet.

Meanwhile, on a distant hill, First Commander Lanhart of the Muhoj viewed the scene through her binoculars. She saw three women still floundering in the mud. A fourth woman was just emerging from the swamp. A rope was tied about her; someone from inside the X-49 craft was pulling her in. It looked like an arduous task. The woman was covered with thick, green-black mud. A broad smile came to Lanhart.

"What do you see, commander?" Lieutenant Deceto asked.

Lanhart lowered her binoculars. Her smile remained wide. "It would seem, lieutenant, that the councilman is a most worthy opponent for the Marmot State Security Agency."

END OF CHAPTER