Rescue: Civil War II Chapter Sixteen

They had made it to the other side of the compound, and the spaceport, with only one interruption, and Sutek had taken care of him with a Vulcan neck-pinch. But still, Brogan had that nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Something was not quite right. Everything had been too easy.

They soon arrived at their transport to see Podley and Castle waiting for them. Podley was anxious to get away.

"Come on!" he shouted. "We haven't got all day!"

They were soon aboard, and Castle and Brogan began to start the engines.

"I hope we got clearance from control," remarked Haldane.

"We don't need clearance for a prison break!" snapped Podley. "Now get us out of here, Brogan!"

The engines soon roared to life as the police transport got off the ground. Moments later, they were thousands of feet in the air, and still, no one tried to stop them.

"Something's wrong here," said Castle.

"I know what you mean," said Brogan. "It was too easy, as if someone or something was helping us."

"I for one am glad to be out of there," said Watt. "Where to now?"

"The Time of Legends as fast as we can, Captain," said Podley.

 

Pendragon was the first to see it. Every room resembled a prison cell, with bars lining all the doors. Perhaps when this colony was first set up, this was where the prisoners were kept. Pendragon came to the conclusion that this was the Place of Novices.

Maris soon joined him, holding her tri-corder out in front of her.

"They're just around this next corner," she said.

They were soon around that next corner. Pendragon smiled as he soon saw an old and familiar face, Lom.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here!" he said. "The food here is terrible!"

Pendragon looked into the cell. They were all there: Lom, Tompkins, O'Rourke, Trospheo, and Ro Laren.

"What are you doing here?" asked Pendragon.

"You can thank the Terra Nostra for my being here," Ro replied. "So are you going to get us out of here, or are you just going to look at us?"

Pendragon reached into his coat and took out his small hand-phaser, aiming it at the lock. Soon the lock melted away, and the door swung open.

"Where are the others?" asked Pendragon.

"A few hundred yards down the corridor," said Tompkins. "I hope they're all right."

"So do I," said Pendragon. "Sevrina, Winthorn, you go get them. We'll meet you back at the rendezvous point in ten minutes. As soon as you're all together, beam up to the Scotsman. Archer, you take the others."

"What are you going to do?" asked Greenleaf.

"I'm going to look for Magus and Leacock. If we're not back in twenty, then get the hell out of here."

One thought entered the mind of Phineas Magus: where the hell was Vargas getting all of this power from? Time after time during their long battle, Vargas had displayed extraordinary power, the sort of power he couldn't have gotten from Leacock. Something else had happened to Vargas, and Magus wasn't sure what it was. Once again, Magus was slumped against a wall, having taken another of Vargas' powerful energy blasts.

Slowly, Vargas began to approach him.

"You Istarians really are fools, aren't you?" he said. "You believe that you can put right all that is wrong with the universe, but you'll never succeed. Your brother will see to that!"

"All Istarians are my brothers!" said Magus.

"I'm not talking about those old fools Gandalf and Merlin! I'm talking about the one true Istarian, Damian Darkmagus! With his help, I will gain great power in this galaxy, and men like you will cower before me, just like your son did before you! You see, Phineas, Thomas didn't consider you a father. Before I had to deal with him, he said I was more like a father to him than you ever were! He wished he had met me four hundred years ago, but then again, that wouldn't have been possible, would it? How odd that Thomas should turn his back on you, his mentor for all these years, and consider me his true father-figure!"

Magus had heard enough. The anger was building up inside of him as he slowly got to his feet. Vargas' taunts were getting too much for him. Extending his arms in front of him, Magus unleashed the full extent of his power upon Vargas, showering him in a massive amount of mystical energy. The glow was so bright it would have burned out the eyes of a normal humanoid.

The force of the blast sent Vargas crashing against the wall, and Magus continued the blast for a number of minutes, far longer than was needed. In the end, his anger finally coming under control, he stopped his attack and looked down at what remained of Vargas. There wasn't much left, just a few charred remains. For the first time in centuries, Magus had taken a life. Magus kneeled down next to the body and looked at it.

A few moments later, Pendragon rushed into the room, phaser in hand. He was shocked and surprised by what he saw.

"Is that Vargas?" he asked.

"What's left of him," Magus replied. "He's dead. I killed him."

Pendragon did not know how to reply. He had known Magus for most of his life, and he had never known him to take such drastic action before. Magus was soon on his feet as he turned to face Pendragon.

"I'll get Thomas and meet you at the rendezvous point in five minutes."

"Okay, Doctor."

Pendragon decided that it was best not to go into what had just happened. He left him alone to retrieve his son.