He refrained from reminding them that in war time,

bloodshed was a necessary evil. Instead, he tapped his cane on the

ground, which succeeded in gaining their attention.

“Your enemy is now weak. It is time to capture them,” he

calmly said.

“But if they are weak, won‟t they leave?” Dour wondered,

slowly coming out of his shock.

“For a species that prides itself on knowledge, you missed

how insistent Palers can be when properly motivated to action. I

assure you that they will not let the destruction of their ship go

unnoticed. They will want their revenge.”

“We should have talked to them.” Dour sighed. “Maybe

they would have understood. Maybe we-”

“Could have peacefully resolved this conflict?” the man

finished. He shook his head. “As amusing as I find your faith in

others, it is unfortunate that you easily dismiss the fact that they

came with weapons which they would have used to destroy all of

you.”

Dour shifted from one foot to the other.

The man placed his hand on Dour‟s shoulder. “You have

a childlike faith that only sees the good in everything. Reality is a

cold monster that you must confront.”

“You don‟t know the ugliness I have experienced. All of

us have lived through hell.”

“I‟m sure you think watching your loved ones suffer and
die was a horrible thing. I am not dismissing your pain. I am only

telling you that there are more things to fear than a powerful

virus.”

There was something in the way the man spoke that made

the Nicals shiver. They reasoned among themselves that he had to

know what he was talking about. He was like a father to them. He

was wiser and smarter. They would be foolish to ignore his

warning.

Amanda Winters

54

Dour glanced at his companions who nodded their

consent for him to listen to the mysterious man who, until

recently, had been a stranger to them. “Very well. We will follow

your advice.”

The man hid his satisfaction over their decision. Instead,

he turned his attention to the most expedient way to render the

Palers and Razians helpless.

“There are four of them,” he thoughtfully considered as

he paced back and forth. “They will have weapons on them. Raz‟s

Queen has magic to protect herself. If she is competent in her

abilities, then she will know how to access that magic. She is the

first one you will want to render inoperative. Fortunately, I have

just the devise to do that.” He reached in his pocket and pulled

out a clear crystal. It was no bigger than an inch and was circular.

“Place this on her forehead and it will perform the task for you.
He threw it over to Dour who caught it.

“Next, you will take the guns from the Palers,” he

continued. “This shouldn‟t be too hard to do with this special

rope.” Pulling out a sticky net, he handed it to Xan. “If it reminds

you of a spider‟s web, then you are very perceptive because that is

how I made it. This is an easy tool. Throw it at their guns and it

will reach out and snatch them.” He paused. “Are any of you

familiar with guns?”

They shook their heads.

He groaned. “What weapons are you familiar with?”

“We are not knowledgeable in the art of warfare,” Dour

reluctantly admitted. “This is the first time we have had visitors on

our world.”

The man forced aside his annoyance. “How did you

develop the technology to go to Olympia?”

“We have had a spaceship for a thousand years. We used it

a few times, but we used it in pursuit of learning about other

species.”