Trial by Ordeal

by Philip R Benge

Chapter Nine

  Tyler Burrows, Television Celebrity

  Day157 Helionia Calendar

  Marot Pallas was very relieved when he got the message from Tyler, relieved that he was alive and that he was returning to Helionia to answer the charges levelled against the two of them. Why he wanted this publicised he wasn`t sure, but publicise it he did, and loudly.

  Cimon and Argo were not so pleased to be left out of the fun and said so. They had just come up to ask Tyler to go along to the children`s sleeping quarters and see his children as they wouldn`t go to sleep until he did so.

  “Tyler our wives will give us gip for returning home without the three of you, not to mention Hera and Fleur, why not allow us to come down with you to watch out for any sneak attacks, you know that there might be an attempt to kill you while you are on that planet?” Cimon said, protesting about being left behind.

  “He is right Tyler take these two men also to ensure that you all return safely.” Caroline said in support of Cimon and Argo. “Or my sleep will be full of nightmares about Ares Fortuna killing you all.”

  “We could probably find a use for them as door stops Tyler.” Appolon suggested by way of also agreeing with the suggestion. Tyler looked at the people around him and finally agreed.

  “Ok then there will be six of us to go then, because I will take Data along as well, he at least will be of some use to me.” Tyler agreed smiling at his friends.

  The Freedom had already slipped through the wormhole following the destruction of the communications satellite by the Helionian starship Shield, and it entered into Helionian controlled space unnoticed by the Shield`s sensors. Dave Reynolds had decided to move further into Helionian controlled space under cover of his cloaking device, and had timed his exit of the wormhole perfectly so that the Helionian starship never saw so much of a whisker of the Freedom`s array of sensors. Therefore, it was only two hours later when the Freedom pulled alongside the Orion Defender, unnoticed.

  The short wave radio by Tyler`s side suddenly sprang into life. “Hi Tyler, did you want me?” Dave Reynolds voice filled the bridge of the Orion Defender and made everyone jump.

  The Freedom had already begun to approach the area near to the dark nebula in a semi-cloaked condition. This was so that they didn`t run into the Orion Defender, They had detected the message from Captain Lysenko coming up from the satellite orbiting Helionia, and realised that it was being received by a cloaked ship ahead of them, and the only other cloaked ship in the quadrant was the Orion Defender. The Freedom`s computer gave them the exact coordinates of the ship receiving the transmission. Dave decided to have some fun, mind you, it took a lot of skill for the helmsman to pull alongside a cloaked ship without hitting it, but when moving slowly you could just make out the faint outline of the two ships against the stars, if you knew that the ship was there in the first place that is.

  “Dave what took you so long?” Tyler asked his friend.

  “Sorry we stopped off for a meal on the way, a little restaurant just off the Milky Way, I`m glad to see you all made it back, can we now go home?” Dave Reynolds asked.

  “No I`m sorry another problem has occurred, beam over here with someone who can inject a tracer into six arms, the sort of tracer that your Matter Transporter will be able to lock on to Dave, when you get here I promise to tell you all about it. I`ll turn our cloak off now so that you don`t beam into outer space.”

  “I`d be obliged if you would Tyler, we will be with you in a couple of minutes.” Dave Reynolds replied.

  Dave Reynolds beamed over to the Orion Defender with his medical officer, and while Dave listened to the latest transmission from Captain Lysenko, the medical officer got busy injecting Tyler and his friends with a tracer.

  “So after everything that you have been through, you still have to go back to Helionia and face up to the rage of a planet full of psychos.” Dave said after he had finished reading the transmission, not realising for the moment the affect his words were having on Caroline.

  “It will all go smoothly if we are careful, Dave you park your ship in orbit around Helionia and keep a watch on developments. If things look to be getting dangerous you can beam us out of there, I will leave our short wave radio turned on at all times so that you can listen in to everything that is said. The Orion Defender will head back to Orion to ensure that the children are safe as soon as the rest of us have transferred to the Helionian ship, Swiftsure. We can use it to transport down to the planet. This should also give us an edge, as they will not know that another starship is in orbit above their planet, there solely to ensure our safety.” Tyler explained.

  “We will do just that Tyler, Caroline do not fret, for we will allow nothing to harm these guys.” Dave Reynolds promised.

  “I know you will watch over them Dave, we will see you when you all return safely to Orion.” Caroline said smiling at the young starship captain but wishing that she could accompany Tyler down to the planet`s surface to watch over him herself.

  With that Captain Dave Reynolds and his medical officer returned to his ship and Tyler and Caroline went down to see their children and tell them some more stories of ancient times. Unfortunately, Apollo sensed that all was not well and asked directly the question neither of his parents wanted to have to answer.

  “Are we all going home now daddy, back to the village of the red plains?”

  Tyler looked at Caroline and then back to his three children who were all staring up at him from their beds.

  “You are all going back on the Defender to our village, and when you wake up tomorrow you will already have reached the wormhole. Your mother is going with you, but your four uncles and I must stay for just a little while longer.” The tears were already threatening to flow down their young faces as he hurried on.

  “There is no reason to worry, Dave Reynolds is here now in the Freedom, and you all know that the Freedom class of space cruisers are the most powerful starships in the galaxy, I just have to knock a few heads together and then I will be joining you back on Orion.” His three children were holding back the tears but Perseus wasn`t satisfied with the answer.

  “If Uncle Dave is here why can`t we all move over to the Freedom with him, where we will be safe daddy?”

  Caroline looked from her youngest son and then at her husband, and the silent question that she threw at him was that she too wanted to know the answer to the question.

  Tyler just didn`t know how to answer the question but he tried his best to convince them without admitting that there was still some danger for him on Helionia.

  “I need for you all to go with Uncle Ray and Auntie Jean so that the Helionians think that your uncles and I are all alone without anyone to call on. They don`t know that the Freedom is here because it came through the wormhole cloaked, and it is going to stay that way until we are safely back through the wormhole.” Tyler said to three very worried children and one equally worried wife.

  Caroline stepped in now because she could see that the situation could only get worse as their bright children came up with yet more reasons why they should be allowed to stay with their daddy.

  “Ok children you have tortured your poor father enough for one day, now it is time for you all to go to sleep.” Tyler and Caroline kissed each one good night and hurriedly left the room. Outside of the bedroom, Tyler stopped to whisper to his wife.

  “Thank you darling, I really was in trouble with our kids, I thought that they were going to suggest that the Defender stayed behind as well to protect me.” Tyler whispered to his wife.

  “Never mind our children; I was thinking that too, why does it have to take us away from you Tyler?” Caroline complained quietly so as not to worry their children.

  “Because my darling this could easily turn into a shooting match between the two Helionian parties, and a war zone is no place for children, come on darling you know that I am right.” Tyler argued, however, Caroline’s face clearly showed that she was not fully convinced.

  Day
158 Helionia Calendar

  Tyler contacted Marot Pallas to inform him that the Orion Defender would soon be in orbit above Helionia, and could he despatch the Swiftsure to rendezvous with them so that his party could come aboard. The Defender would be leaving for Orion immediately after to ensure the children`s safety. Marot was very happy to do so, and they found the Swiftsure waiting in orbit for them when they arrived. Using its Matter Transporter the five men and the android were transported over to the Helionian starship allowing the very worried Orionists left aboard the Orion Defender to make their return journey home to Orion. It carried with it Caroline, three children and many prayers for the ones that they had left behind, the children most of all were distressed to be without their father once again. This was all because of the people of Helionia, ‘we hate them more than anyone else in the whole galaxy’, or so they said to their mother.

  Tyler, his four friends, and of course Data, materialised within the large garden that surrounded the home of Marot Pallas, who was there to greet them, and then show them to the rooms that they would be using while they were on Helionia. As soon as they had settled in, he approached Tyler with a suggestion.

  “Tyler I believe that the best way to convince the people of Helionia that you are not the ogre pictured by Ares Fortuna is to meet him in a televised debate, so that the truth will be self-evident to all, what do you think?”

  “I think that as a politician he will run rings round me Marot.” Tyler replied.

  “You are wrong my friend, you are more than capable of taking on any politician, just ask President Michaels and he will confirm it.” Appolon said. He had just arrived in the large sitting room of the house, and looking around chose one of the comfortable chairs placed around the room to sit in.

  “I think so too Tyler.” Marot Pallas said smiling at Appolon. “Ares Fortuna is not a politician in any case, he is a general of the space fleet, and more than capable on the bridge of his starship, but in a real debate he will flounder before the true facts of the matter.” Marot Pallas was sure of that.

  “He looked comfortable enough in that television interview that we saw recently.” Tyler said smiling at Marot, who now butted in before Tyler could say anything else.

  “Yes but that was a speech written out for him beforehand by one of his party, in a debate he will be easy meat for you. I know this for I have recently been on television with him, and he was ok when he only had to make his speech, but he wasn`t able to come back at me later, he simply said his piece. Even one of the politicians from one of the minor parties was able to embarrass him, and then he left the television studio on a down note, no true politician would have done such a thing.” Marot Pallas insisted.

  “Unless he knew that his argument was built on very shaky ground that is?” Tyler said by more a way of a question.

  “Yes exactly so, he made his speech and then he ran for the hills, just so that I didn`t get the chance to make him look any more silly than he was beginning to look.” Marot Pallas replied.

  “The only other piece of advice that I can give you Tyler is not to get angry, stay calm or else you may reveal that which you would rather keep hidden, but if you can enrage him then you are half way to winning the debate. A debate that will be watched by most of the planets population, and to win in front of so many of our people will solve all of our problems.” Marot Pallas advised.

  It was later that night that Tyler heard more about his televised debate. It was in two days’ time at nine in the evening, when most of the population would be home to watch the debate. For the next two days the debate was advertised constantly on the television as the chance for a leader of the Helionian people to have his and the nation`s voice heard, and for one of its enemy to plead his case as best he could.

  Tyler kept in contact with Caroline and the children during his time on Helionia via a new satellite laid by Ray Connors, one that he had borrowed from the starship Freedom; he assured them that he was perfectly safe and that the debate was going ahead as planned, and that there had been no problems as regards to their security.

  During the next two days Marot had various important statesmen over to his house, for he forbid Tyler to leave it in case Ares Fortuna engineered some trouble, to meet and talk with Tyler. All of them went away satisfied that he, Tyler, was not the monster painted by Ares Fortuna, but a sane reasonable man who had defended the natives of Orion against a pirate, hell bent on enslaving his people and killing anyone who stood in his way. As for Richard Jameson, the inventor of the time machine, Tyler also managed to convince his visitors that he was a great scientist who had had the misfortune to run up against powerful people, ones much like Ares Fortuna.

  Day 161 Helionia Calendar

  On the morning of the debate, a large number of Helionian citizens arrived before the gates to the Pallas estate to rage about Marot Pallas. Allowing such a man as the mass murderer Tyler Burrows to stay as his houseguest was a crime against Helionia. He would soon know how the people felt about his shameful actions, when the count was made to decide who would be the planet`s next president. The scene at the gates got so bad that Captain Lysenko had to have a police guard mounted outside of the gates, to prevent the violence from escalating. The television news was full of the scene, this in turn gave Ares Fortuna`s chances of winning over the majority of the planet`s population to his side a large boost. Captain Lysenko took the opportunity to speak with the Orionist, Tyler Burrows.

  “Mr Burrows, I need you to confirm for me whether or not Patina Pallas kidnapped your family and forced them to enter into the dark domain, or whether you are such a vile man as to take your family through for perverted reasons of your own. Please tell me now, or I will arrest you for endangering the lives of your children, and you can have the television debate from your prison cell.” Lysenko demanded.

  Data was there to translate the questions put to Tyler, but Captain Lysenko had been given an earpiece so that everything said by Tyler was heard by him in the language of the Helionians, as it was translated and sent to the earpiece by Data.

  This was an unexpected turn of events, for the police captain had been thought as acting for the good of everyone on the planet, but here he was now threatening to destroy any chance they might have had to come through it all victorious. Marot Pallas protested, but Lysenko once again demanded an answer to his question. Patina Pallas was in such a state that she had to be led away before she fainted. Appolon and the other Orionists wanted to string Lysenko up from the nearest tree, but Tyler took the time during the uproar to clear his mind.

  “Quiet everyone please, Captain Lysenko is right to ask the question, in fact had he not I would have wondered if anyone on this planet cared about what happened to my family, apart from Marot that is.” Tyler turned to look at Lysenko.

  “Answer these two questions first Captain. Firstly, in the short time that I have known your people it seems to me that Helionia believes whole heartedly in a spirit world that exists alongside the normal world of the living, do you also believe in this spirit world?”

  “Yes of course I do Tyler Burrows; it is not only what has brought centuries upon centuries of peace to Helionia, but it is something that I myself have witnessed many times.” Captain Lysenko said proudly.

  “Then tell me next just what is most important to you, the peace of the galaxy or imprisoning a young woman, and before you answer that question let me finish my question with some facts that may be unknown to you. First of all there is the fact that Patina Pallas went through into the dark domain without any real control over her mind or her actions.” Tyler now brought Tryon forward to introduce his brave friend to the police captain.

  “Due to my friend here, she left the dark domain spiritually baptised, with a new future ahead of her, for Tryon trained from a young age as a mystic on Orion and was able to journey into the spirit world. He and Patina were able to defeat an evil mystic there, who has orchestrated this whole affair and controlled every move made by Patina
Pallas. Tryon was able to bring back a young innocent woman who is now fully in control of all of her actions. You only have to spend a few minutes with her to see how much the experience has changed her.”

  Lysenko had looked directly into Tyler`s eyes the whole time that Tyler had spoken, it was if he were attempting to gauge the sort of man he was by looking through his eyes and into his soul. Captain Lysenko now turned to Tryon.

  “You are trained as a mystic?” He asked Tryon, his eyes once again looking directly into the man`s eyes that he was questioning.

  “I started my training when I was only four years of age, my grandfather was a mystic and he trained me himself.” Tryon replied honestly.

  Marot Pallas smiled to himself, glad that Tryon hadn`t lied to the police captain, who Marot liked to think of as a good man. True he had not answered the question put to him by Captain Lysenko, but instead had made a statement that had seemed to be an answer to the question. Thankfully, Captain Lysenko had not realised this, or he had decided not to pursue that line of questioning, which of these it was Marot could not decide. Lysenko turned once more to Tyler.

  “Mr Burrows, I wanted to see whether you were a man or a monster, but I now see my friend that you are a true leader on the side of the light, and I am glad to have met you. Should you require any help that I can provide then you only need to ask it and you will get it. Goodbye for the moment, I shall probably see you again tonight, for I will be there with my men to prevent any scenes occurring such as we saw this morning.”

  With that, Lysenko turned and left the house, the rabble at the gate had been either arrested or moved on, but Lysenko left his men to guard the front gate of the estate and he also sent some more to keep a watch on the sides and the rear of the large estate belonging to the Pallas family.

  Marot Pallas looked at the five Orionists who were now sitting down in his library.

  “I have been studying you all during the time that we have spent together, and I have reached an opinion about you all. You Tyler are most certainly the chosen one of the gods, chosen to help Orion when it was needed most, and chosen to help us in our hour of need. You Tryon are truly a mystic, even if you do not know it yourself, you were also chosen by the gods to assist your friend Tyler when he too needed you most. Appolon, Cimon and Argo were also chosen by the gods to befriend Tyler, again when he needed it most, for it was at a time when he was dragged from his orderly world and into your own world, a world that was soon to be at war with so many different, unscrupulous and vicious enemies. I thank you all for saving my life, the life and freedom of my wife and hopefully the peace of Helionia. Come my friends let us have drink a toast to friendship and forget about tonight for just a moment.” Marot then went to his drinks cabinet and poured six glasses of his favourite alcoholic spirit from an elegant looking bottle, for a little while they could forget about the future.