"I know we're all anxious to go and save our families and friends from the hands of the chancellor, but we can't leave until we find out if this is a trap." Warring said, "Ask him why he is here." Everyone in the room is quiet and tense. The Chancellor stands there with his hands on the hilt of his sword, two of his officers securely hold the two pirates from the Boomerang III.
Warring and the Kaiser walk slowly up to the chancellor. "What is the meaning of this, Chancellor? The pirate ship was destroyed this morning in bloody battle. We found one officer hanging by his neck in the main hatch of her ship. And now there are two others. They're dead, or about to be." The Kaiser said.
"Ah, forgive me, General. My men took care of the pirate fleet. Now the true enemy of the chancellor is on his way to send his army to fight for the great chancellor himself. He also has with him the pirate, donatello, whom we captured during the battle. And, of course, the pirate as you know is you."
"Vigilance was in the right place at the right time. I see you have captured your pirate." The Kaiser said.
"Yes, and he got away."
"I see. Where have you been hiding these last few days?"
"We have been trapped on a small rock back. It's on the other side of this outpost, where you couldn't have reached it by now. We survive by selling slaves to passing cargo ships. I'm here to seek refuge from the chancellor's wrath."
"Well, you've found it. As long as we let you pass through here without a fight, you'll be one on your way. For now I'll be keeping the prisoners with me. You're welcome to stay here as our guest. Go bunker down in the bar." The Kaiser said.
"Yes, of course." said the chancellor. Then he walked off to the bar with his men.
"Make sure we've kept our part of the bargain," the Kaiser said to the two guards by the door.
"Yes, Sire," they said. Then they walked out to guard the chancellor and his men.
"Well, men, I think we're going to have to fight after all."
"But sir?" One man said.
"I don't think the chancellor is planning to let us go back to our homes alive. Something seems wrong. The chancellor and his ship left the outpost in a hurry before the pirate attack. They were never here. We've kept our part of the bargain, and he's not leaving us alive so we can fight. We've got to fight now."
"Yes, sir."
It goes without saying that there were at least five, probably more, armed and ready for battle.
"Well, it looks like we've got a fight. It seems that rogue planeteers have joined forces against the chancellor. What are your orders, sir?" The Kaiser asked.
"I have one more battle to fight first. When I do, that is what I want you to be doing. We can't let them leave us. It's got to be a full on offensive, with everything we've got." He looked around at his men, all ready to go home any moment now that their battle was over.
"Well, I think we're ready to fight as well. I know we've been through a lot, but it seems that things are about to get worse."
"Yes, sir."
"Well, I'm going to take these prisoners back with me to my headquarters. Make sure they're well guarded. I don't want the chancellor to find these men here. I want them to get captured by the chancellor if they try to get away. In the meantime, you might as well have some fun. We're not far from the gymnasium. I think I'll take them there for the time being. They can sit in my office until the voyage to the rogue planeteers."
"Yes, Sire." The Kaiser said.
Just then the phone rings. It's the captain of the Boomerang III that Warring, himself, captured on Earth. It turns out he is the chancellor's second in command, and that was the first place the chancellor went after leaving Earth. He came to the Boomerang III and the planetkickers captured him.
"Lt. Marx, good to hear from you." The chancellor said. "Now I know that you are not my friend in any way. You must give me that information. I need to know what they are planning to do to stop me. They have somewhere else to go before they reach us, so I must be moving soon. They are on their way. They are less than a week away. I have already been informed of their movements by their ships and the pirates they have captured. You are going to help me stop them. You will give me all the information you can about the planeteers. We can't let them get away. The chancellor wants no quarter. We're going to follow them and finish the fight. Your help is needed. You may be able to get some out to me. I want to know where you are. I need something against my enemy. Once we are finished here, we will be going to finish the planeteers on another planet. We'll need your help."
The chancellor and the planetkickers stand and listen to hear all of Marx's responses.
"Let's just say that I'm still alive, and the planeteers still haven't seen me. I'm still on the ship. That's all I've been able to tell you."
"Good, then they still don't know I'm here. I didn't realize you were still alive. You are quite useless to them. You went to the planetkickers rather than to me. The chancellor let you go so that you could report back to the planetkickers and help them with what they're going to do."