“You know who I am?” Chris Alan asked as he sheathed his own Starblade.

“Who doesn’t?” Cody replied matter-of-factly. Susan rolled her eyes, a fact which didn’t escape Cody’s notice. “But it’s always good to make sure. Only *one* can wield *that* blade.”

“Why didn’t you ask your tiger friend who we were?”

“I like doing *some* things myself…which is something I know you appreciate.”

“Fair enough.” Chris Alan nodded earnestly. “Bakbuk’s been captured – and *we* are going to rescue him. The Lord of the Realms sent me to get you for this mission.”

“O.K., I’ll come along for the ride.” Cody’s response surprised Chris Alan; he expected more resistance. Then again, with people of Cody’s type it was difficult to tell what was going on in their heads, even for a Protector – this side of Prophecy at Need, which wasn’t kicking in to help Chris Alan at the moment.

Cody removed his hood to show a White Tribe male only three years older than Chris Alan, with jet-black hair that covered his left eye. “I’m getting tired of this place anyway. Ezekiel, Rest Mode, please.” The tiger transitioned to a black sphere hovering over Cody’s left shoulder.

“What *was* that?” Joe shouted.

“You mean the tiger?” Cody smiled. “Delta Mode. The Lord installed it two days ago; I found out about it by accident.”

Chris Alan knew better; Cody probably had intuition equal to his own. Was it a “lucky guess”, or was he just more connected to his Guardian so as to notice a difference? Chris Alan suspected the latter –if anybody naturally understood his own symbolic thinking (and that of his Guardian) better than a Protector, it was a Scientist – but he also knew that Cody would never tell.

“So what are we waiting for?” Cody looked pointedly at Chris Alan’s crew.

“Yes, we have to go.” Chris Alan confirmed.

Cody paused at the door and gave the “cows” a glance. “You be good now. You wouldn’t want the Lord to send me back here – *understand*?” They all nodded.

* * * * *

“I assume that your prisoner was this planet’s Archon?” Chris Alan asked.

“That’s right: the archetype for the whole species.” Cody shrugged. “His name’s Aldeberan. He was getting uppity: started calling himself the Bull of Heaven.”

Chris Alan nodded; these were old, old names, dating all the way back to the First Realm. “The last thing we need is *another* Hostile Elemental turning his subjects bitter.” Cody nodded his agreement in turn. “Do you need someone to come and fetch him?”

“Ezekiel’s already taken care of that. The Fleet’s sending a *Seraph*-class ship to get him. He’ll be tried at the nearest Sky Island, and I expect executed. We’ll hear who gets assigned to take his place, I hope.”

“Why did you scare them like that?” Faith came up to walk next to Cody; she was upset.

“It’s what they understand. They *are* bovines, you know.”

“The Lord is about love and mercy,” she argued.

“True, but He is also a Lord of justice.”

“Let me guess: are *you* the executor?”

Cody stopped and turned to her, and without emotion replied, “Exactly.”

“Leave him be for now, Faith,” Chris Alan warned. He knew people of this type better than most; his father was one. While in their *moods*, they could be a handful.

“Well, *I’m* not scared of you,” Susan shouted after Cody.

Cody stopped and turned, scanned her with his right eye, and pulled a small durin knife and threw it at her. Susan side-stepped and the knife flew past to hit a tree behind her. The others turned and saw that the knife had killed some small insect on the tree. Cody recomposed himself and pulled his hood over his head.

“You *should* be,” he replied as he went to retrieve his knife.