Planet of the Titans

Chapter 18

Nolan had an uneasy feeling in his stomach as he left Zima's dorm with Adonis, but he hoped for the best as Zima closed her door behind him.

"I want to take a walk with you and have a private conversation with you," said Adonis.

"That's what Zima told me," said Nolan, "So what's on your mind?"

Adonis kept quiet until they were some distance from the dormitories. When he felt nobody was nearby, he spoke up.

"I want to start off by saying I can't kill you, because Zima already told me she will have nothing to do with me if I hurt you in any way."

That's good to know!" said Nolan. "I was kind of stressed about that."

"I know Zima is in love with you, and you're in love with her," said Adonis. "Before you arrived, there was a delicate balance in our relationship. Her parents and my parents arranged our marriage when we were children. I know what Zima and I have isn't true love, but it's good enough for me. I want you to return to your own world so Zima and I can be married!"

"Return to Earth?" said Nolan. "From what I've been told, that's never happened before, in the five-thousand year history of Thanatar!"

"That's true, but if you agree to leave, I will help you get back to Earth." said Adonis.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Nolan asked.

"I can refuel the Thunderbolt for you, Darian still has it in the lab!" said Adonis.

"Who's going to open up a space warp so we can get back?" Nolan asked.

"Leo Tanner, the pilot of the Thunderbolt, has managed to access mind control technology in Darian's lab. He knows how to operate the space warp cannon. He will have to stay behind, of course, but you and your sister Natalie and the others will be able to return to Earth! All you need to do is leave behind an object from your world, so the space warp cannon can lock onto the quantum signature of your reality!"

"What kind of object?" Nolan asked.

"It can be anything, a lighter, keys, something that came from your world. That's the only way the space warp cannon can lock onto your home reality."

"I'm not sure if I want to do that," said Nolan. "I've got a good thing going with Zima, and you yourself said that she's in love with me! You're like a loser at a blackjack table trying to tell the guy with the most chips to cash in!"

"What are you, like 40?" Adonis asked.

"I'm 39!" said Nolan. "I was born in 1990!"

"I'm 21," said Adonis, "doesn't it seem better for someone closer to Zima's age being married to her?"

"My dad told me something a long time ago," said Nolan, "as long as the chick is eighteen or older, the age difference doesn't matter!"

"Well consider this," said Nolan, "My people conquer your people and use them as game pieces on Arcadia, then we swallow them and digest them! Do you really want to be married to a woman who cannibalizes your own race?"

"Actually, that's the reason I want to marry Zima!" said Nolan. "She's like a goddess to me!"

"I could be sent to prison for conspiracy if anyone finds out that I made this offer to you!" said Adonis. "So I'm only going to make this offer one more time, then I'll never ask you again. So keep this in mind: your sister Natalie would love to return to Earth. I'm willing to make that happen. I want a response from you right now, because I won't make this offer again! I want an answer now!"

Adonis wanted an immediate response from Nolan, but in that moment Nolan considered his options. He knew that if he agreed to let Adonis help him his sister would be able to return home, and it wasn't a guarantee that he would end up with Zima if he couldn't make a sacrifice for her, as she demanded. If he stayed on Thanatar and Adonis somehow made a greater sacrifice than he was able to, then he would end up becoming Zima's meal. His choice was to remain loyal to his family, or remaining loyal to Zima. In a second of time, he gave Adonis his answer.

"You've got a deal!" said Nolan, as he shook Adonis's hand.

"I was hoping you'd be sensible!" said Adonis. "I've got everything planned. I'm going to get the combination of the lab from Zima so I can refuel the Thunderbolt, but I can't do it today, because it would arouse the suspicions of Zima and Darian so soon after I spoke with you. Word on the street has it that your buddy Leo was won by a woman named Morgan, a member of the resistance, and they're trying to get him home. I am in contact with her. I need you to have Zima shrink you and return you to the habitation module. Just tell her you want to see your sister again."

"What's your plan?" Nolan asked.

"I'm going to have Darian gamble with Mason, the race car driver, against Logan. But I need you to tell Mason to throw the race! Can you do that?"

"Yeah," said Nolan, "so you want Mason to be owned by the resistance along with Logan?"

"Yes," said Adonis, "because Mason will have to pilot the Thunderbolt back to Earth while Logan operates the space warp cannon!"

"Okay, I'll do it!" said Nolan.

"You can't breathe a word of this to Zima or Darian!" said Adonis. "And you can't tell anyone else, either! Not your sister, or the other captives back in Darian's lab, or Brody and those other captives back in Zima's dorm!"

"I just figured something out," said Nolan. "by following through with this plan, you're making a sacrifice for Zima because you're risking prison time by doing this, aren't you? Is this how you hope to win the contest Zima has between the two of us?"

"If you return to your home-world, hopefully there won't need to be a contest anymore because you'll be out of the picture!"

"I guess you're right!" said Nolan.

"Now I want you to return to Zima's dorm and follow through with your part of the plan," said Adonis. "I'm in touch with Morgan, the woman who won Leo. I'll convince Darian to gamble Mason against him today on Arcadia, just remember to tell Mason to throw the race so Logan will win!"

"If you want me to keep all of this a secret, how do you expect me to tell Mason to throw the race?" Nolan asked.

"That's something for you to figure out on your own!" said Adonis as he turned and walked away.

Nolan returned to Zima's dorm and knocked on the door. Within seconds, the door slid open and Zima stood there smiling.

"Can you shrink me and return me to the habitation module at Darian's lab?" Nolan asked. "I miss my sister and want to see her again."

"Sure!" said Zima. "I thought you couldn't live without me!"

"I can't, but I want to spend some time alone with my sister for a while."

"Get back up on my dresser!" said Zima as she fingered her shrink-ray pistol.

Nolan climbed up and stood there, and Zima pulled the trigger and was instantly reduced to his normal size, which to the titans of Thanatar was around one inch tall. Zima snatched him up and carried him out of her dorm and headed back to the lab. She entered her combination in the keypad and the door opened, and she went to the habitation module and set Nolan down. She took the dome off and set Nolan inside, then replaced the dome and left the lab. Mason, Tyler, Carmen, and Natalie were there. When Nolan was sure Zima was gone, he approached Mason.

"If we get taken to Arcadia today and you race against Logan, you have to throw the race!" said Nolan.

"Throw a race?" said Mason. "That's crazy! I'm not throwing a race!"

"You have to!" said Nolan. "Leo is now owned by the resistance, and if you lose to him, you'll belong to the resistance, too!"

"How did you come by this knowledge?" Mason asked.

"Someone who knows Zima is working with the resistance, but I can't tell you who!" said Nolan. "You have to trust me on this! He's going to refuel the Thunderbolt, and then you can pilot it back to Earth while Logan works the space warp cannon!"

"You should trust him, Mason!" said Natalie. "What do we have to lose? If we do nothing, we'll stay trapped on this world of titans! Nolan has been enlarged by Zima, so he's privy to knowledge that isn't available to us!"

"Okay, I'll do it!" said Mason. "But if you're lying to me Nolan, I'll kick your ass!"

"I'm not lying!" said Nolan. "I found a way to get us back to Earth, but Leo will have to stay behind to operate the space warp cannon. It's crucial that you lose the race to Logan for the cards to fall in our favor."

Later that day, just as Nolan had predicted, Darian arrived and informed Mason that he would be racing against Logan; apparently, Darian wanted to win Logan back from the woman who had won him from her.

"Nolan, you belong to Zima now. Do you want to come with us and watch the race, or do you want me to leave you with Zima?"

"I'd like to watch the race!" said Nolan.

Darian carried the habitation module to her shuttle cruiser and locked the lab. She flew to Arcadia, and found a seat in one of the hover car racing arenas. Morgan was there, and she had Logan. She knew of Adonis's plan, and was prepared to turn both Mason and Logan over to the resistance for the right price. The only thing Adonis had been wrong about was that Morgan didn't actually work for the resistance, as he had thought. She was a middle man who sold specific captives back to the resistance, but would never double-cross the resistance, because this was her livelihood. Adonis had actually paid her to gamble with Leo against Darian's captive Logan. The price had been right, and she agreed and had contacted Darian without Darian knowing Adonis was behind the whole thing.

Mason was issued hover car 58, and Leo was in car 76. There were numerous other drivers, but Mason only paid attention to the car Leo was getting into. When the race started, Mason took an early lead, just to put on a show; then Leo came up behind him, and Mason maneuvered so Leo could pass him. Once Leo took the lead, Mason stayed behind him and blocked other cars from getting ahead of the two of them. When the prescribed number of laps had been completed and Leo won the race, Darian slammed her fist down on the table in front of her.

"Damn!" said Darian. "I lost one of my best game pieces!"

Meanwhile, Morgan was happy as she collected all the race car drivers and put them in her containment unit. While Darian got up to leave, Morgan still had a plan. The next race was being financed entirely by the resistance, and Leo quickly explained this to Mason, as he had been instructed to do.

"In the next race, we have to lose!" said Leo. "No matter who wins, as long as it's not one of us, we'll end up with the underground resistance!"

Mason agreed to throw the race, because he trusted Leo. When the race started, they tried to make it look good by driving fast, but as the end of the race drew near, Leo and Mason made sure they were behind some of the other drivers. When the race was over, Mason and Leo lost, but all of the losing captives ended up with a blonde woman who was familiar to Leo; she had originally given him the device that helped him to learn how to use the technology in Darian's lab. The woman collected the captives and put them in a containment unit similar to Morgan's, and took them with her to her shuttle cruiser. The other men in the containment unit introduced themselves to Leo and Mason.

"I'm Nick! The woman who is caring for us works for the resistance! Her name is Melissa! Shes says you two have a space plane back on Thanatar, and Melissa is going to help you get it up and running so you can get back to your home world!"

"Don't you want to get back to your home world?" Mason asked. "Why are you so motivated to help us out?"

"Nobody has ever escaped Thanatar!" said Nick. "If you are able to get home, it would give hope to others!"

"I'm down for that!" said Mason. "Maybe we'll be the first of many!"