Queen Elcyra has arrived! She opens her first official dialogue with a Zozian vessel by mocking the Zozians. Diplomacy isn’t important to a tyrant!

James Anchor gives a polite response with a stoney expression. Zik isn’t impressed either, but for him things are already personal – after all, Elcyra just killed a bunch of his new friends!

Elcyra introduces herself with the grandiose titles she has bestowed upon herself and tells the Zozians that they can have the honor of escorting her to meet with their leaders.

Zik and James look at each other with bemused expressions. Did she really just say “Take me to your leader” to a ship full of people with no rulers? The situation is too ludicrous for words, and everyone on the bridge cracks up laughing!

James Anchor formally welcomes his guests to the Kodiak, but as Vera’s lung cancer acts up, he realizes that they need a check-up to make sure his crew isn’t in any danger. After all, there’s a thousand years of colds and flus that have had a divergent evolutionary path! The Kodiak’s medic Fiona is tasked with checking them over in the infirmary. But no time for chit-chat, the captain is needed on the bridge!

Zik and James head up to the command bridge and get a report from tactical officer Emma. A huge ship is inbound! There’s only one person that could be! Gerald, the pilot currently manning the weapons systems while Jason finishes stowing the shuttle, is ordered to ready all weapons systems.

Sure enough, Queen Elcyra arrives in her capital ship, mighty pleased with herself for catching the Zozians before they can leave!

Zik starts his ship and gives Seamus access to monitor the systems to keep an eye on the damaged engines. Meanwhile, Amelia has a million questions about the ship and how it works! Zik promises to teach her to fly when they get back home to Zoz. Speaking of heading home, it’s time to start that journey! The small fleet of ships takes off, heading for orbit, while the Zernabian prison factory burns in the distance. They have to travel carefully, trimming the use of the main engines once the ship gets high enough to go the rest of the way on the auxiliary maneuvering thrusters. They approach the Kodiak, which is drifting in orbit waiting for them, surrounded by the wreckage of some more Zernabian patrol ships! It seems the pilot, Gerald, has been busy!

Zik and Amelia deposit the unconscious Trent a safe distance from the factory, and Zik announces his intention to go back inside to stop the riot. But as he opens the door, he makes a chilling discovery: the Clonoid super soldier survived its electrocution! It’s back to create more havoc for the prisoners! Meanwhile, as she hurtles through space towards the prison planet, Queen Elcyra receives the news that the Clonoid cybernetic network can no longer detect the super soldier; communications with it has been severed. Also, the other Clonoids have reported that Zik is escaping. Elcyra has had enough, it’s time to level the building!

Queen Elcyra gets a status report on Zik. His abilities are still unknown to her, and she didn’t scheme her way to dominate Zernabia by being reckless! Rather than stay idle while she speeds to the prison planet, she instructs her Clonoids to prepare the demolition charges that are in the factory! If Zik tries to escape, she’s going to level the place!

Several light years away, Queen Elcyra is racing to the prison planet to see to the prisoner uprising personally! She gets a status report, and it seems that the massive Clonoid soldier has tipped the balance in the fighting firmly onto her side; there are only fifty-six prisoners left alive! This pleases her, but she wants to know specifically about Zik. Will he still pose a threat to her?

Queen Elcyra is pretty confident that she’s got things under control! After all, she has an army of Clonoid drones and soldiers at her command. And as we’ve seen, she has a secret weapon that no one knows about yet! Can Zik prevail?

James Anchor has arrived in the system where Zik is, and he’s wisely hiding near the north pole of a gas giant, hoping its massive magnetic field will hide him from scanners.
Aurorae are very huge things on gas giants! Take a look at this one on Jupiter! Keep in mind that Jupiter is 11.2 times bigger than earth. That’s a huge aurora!

James Anchor is addressing his crew, but who is this mysterious Tanaka? And who or what are the Chadee? Are they mighty warriors? Maybe James has a secret weapon in case Queen Elcyra decides to attack! Stay tuned, faithful readers, because there’s a lot of excitement and action coming this year!

Allow me to introduce Zik’s buddy James Anchor! James is the brain-child of my seven year-old son Vincent (hence the cute pet mouse on the shoulder of a seasoned warrior). His ship, the Kodiak, was a collaborative effort we did with Lego, the prototype for which I will see if I can find a picture of and post in the Members Area. With that kind of firepower, will he be able to give Queen Elcyra a run for her money?