Stellar Collision

Chapter 30

"Why did you bring me out here?" Dayle wondered, trying to keep the Zygon talking while she tested out the bindings on her wrists, seeing if there was any chance of wiggling free. Her heart sank. Her hands were tied in front of her and the cord was knotted tightly. Of course Arc of the six fingers is an expert at tying knots somehow, she thought irately.

"This is where I crash landed when I came to be in this universe." Arc explained in his awful voice. "And do you know why?"

Dayle shrugged, unable to contain her inner smartass. "You suck at flying spaceships?"

Arc actually laughed at this. "Dayle Moss, you are in the presence of a Zygon Warlord. My kind is bred for battle. And that includes expertly handling any type of craft..." A slight rustling in the woods caught his attention and he looked off in that direction momentarily. "The ship I was flying was a Tregannon vessel. The reason I ended up here, the reason I came to this place was that once I hit earth's atmosphere, a psionic field drew me to these woods and I had no control."

At that, lightning suddenly slashed the sky directly above them, the trees began to sway though Dayle could detect no wind. She couldn't really say for sure why, but she got the distinct impression there was some type of electrical disturbance happening all around them. The air was charged and smelled slightly of ozone. She looked deep into the woods and swore she saw movement there.

"Why these woods?" Dayle asked, her voice shaking slightly. Now she really wanted to know, she wasn't merely interested in buying time. Something's wrong. "What brought you here?"

A hysterical cackle seemed to echo all around them. Fog had drifted in and was steadily spreading across the ground. Dayle's heart was now hammering in her chest. Something's coming.

Arc seemed pleased, like he knew just what was happening and had been hoping for such an eventuality.

"Tell me Dayle, what do you know of the Tregannon?" He demanded.

Dayle struggled once more against her bindings. Something was definitely coming. Now she was feeling a strange tickle at the back of her mind. A psychic energy was permeating all around them.

"They're little goblin creatures with telepathy a-a-and telekinesis and they derive their power from minerals found only in their part of the solar system."

"Very good." The Zygon commended her like this was some important lesson on alien species and she had passed the test. "The stones and alloy that originate in the Spulion System are the cornerstone of their technology and their abilities. Did you know that the Tregannon cannot even physically manifest themselves without their own Focusing Amplifiers." He paused meaningfully. "But just because you can't see a Tregannon, it doesn't mean one isn't around." Arc let that sink in for a moment.

Dayle was looking everywhere at once. In her mind, she felt and heard a familiar crackling. And then a strange, screechy voice breathed her name. Daaaayyyle. She shivered.

"Who's there?" she shouted, her voice now quaking with fear. Somehow, this unseen entity, this disembodied being felt more of a threat than the red shape shifting war criminal that stood before her.

"That? That is my dear friend Sarcrayle. Sarcrayle and I met three years ago in these woods. He has been stuck on this planet, stranded in these woods for ten thousand years. Stranded like I am. And on that day we made a deal. If I will return his Focusing Amplifier to him so that he can physically manifest himself and recall his own ship, he will give me a lift to Zygor. You see, I've discovered that in this universe, Zygor was never destroyed. The Zygons still have a home planet. And I will get back there. With your help of course." He grinned chillingly once more.