Katija told him that they had managed to avoid death in a prearranged shuttle disaster and now they had been hiding in Cormion, an abandoned region of planet Daharra. They were trying to reach the Lake, were a secret rebellion base had been established.They hoped to be picked up and transported into some safe, secluded place. However first, they had to elude the Tarrans. From what Katija had told him, he understood they were numerous and ruthless. Groups, or rather bands, of them must have already been scattered throughout the area to pursue them. Luckily, they didn't know the location of the base. The pair of outcasts had a difficult task, it seemed. They had to reach the base and get rid of their enemies.

Kurt was just trying to make himself as comfortable as possible for the night, when he heard some distant explosions. He sat up, immediately alert.

'Did you hear that?' He asked his companion.

Katija got up, already listening intently.

'The Tarrans!' She said. 'We've got to run, pack up!'

Kurt was already on his feet, gathering their belongings.

'You were supposed to tell me more about them, remember? Are they human or aliens? Why are they so adamant to get us?' He snapped his questions one after another while still fussing about to make sure there were no traces of their being there. 'Maybe they could be bribed or something? Do we have anything of value to them?'

'Not now, for Dei's sake!' Katija finally exclaimed, tossing him the heavy bag. 'They're quicker than you think!'

She was moving very fast herself. Kurt had to admire her slim body in a silver catsuit. He had no idea how she was managing to keep it virtually spotless with all this dust under their feet. He sweat a lot under the merciless sun. Even the caves were hot and airless. *What a hell of a planet,* he thought.

'Come on!' She said, already geared up to leave.

'Don't move!' They heard suddenly from behind. 'Drop your bags slowly and put away the blasters!'

They looked at each other without a word. Slowly, they both slid their baggage down onto the dirty floor. Kurt saw a blink in Katija's eye. Still bent down, he reached for the large gun he had stuck on his belt. Katija showed him the direction with her eyes.

Ten seconds later, he was lying on the floor, trying to see through the thick smoke.

'That wasn't very wise, Kurt,' the voice that scolded him wasn't female.

'Where is Katija?' He asked.

'All in good time, my friend,' the voice replied. 'All in good time.'

4)

'Where is Katija?' Kurt repeated half an hour later, when he was picked up from the ground and seated next to the wall, cuffed. The people who attacked them looked human all right. There were six or seven of them – he wasn't sure. They were heavily armed and looked preoccupied with something. The group scattered around, apparently searching the surroundings. All of the men looked like trained soldiers and they certainly knew how to do their job. The one standing in front of him now had some kind of uniform Kurt couldn't recognize. Then again, there were extremely few things he could recognize at the moment.

'Why are you so worried about this little creature?' The man eyed Kurt curiously. 'Did she tell you anything?'

Kurt shook his head, "She told me enough to make me worried.'

The man laughed, 'I bet she did. Here,' he added, handing him a mug. Kurt reached for it with his tied hands and drank greedily.

'Thanks,' he murmured, giving the mug back. 'You Tarrans are not completely inhuman.'

The man bent over him, "Tarrans? She told you we're Tarrans?' He asked with sincere curiosity.

Kurt looked at him. The sun had set at least an hour ago but it was still extremely hot. The only light they had came from the torches on the walls of the cave. He had to strain his eyes to see. His guard had blond hair and fair eyes, standing out from his rather dirty, unshaved face. *Definitely human,* Kurt decided.

'Who are you?' He asked finally. 'Why were you chasing us?'

'Okay,' the man sighed and sat down next to Kurt, at some distance, still training his large gun on him. 'Before Tarn returns, I think I can tell you something.'

'Do I believe you?' Kurt asked rhetorically. All this was so strange he couldn't make heads and tails of it at the moment. To say that he was confused would be a monstrous understatement. The man shrugged his shoulders.

'Did you believe her?'

Kurt rubbed his chin. 'I don't remember anything myself,' he replied slowly. 'I don't see any reason not to hear your version of the story.'

*This is getting interesting,* he thought, having no idea just how interesting the whole thing was in fact going to be.

'Well, your name is Kurt Bovis and you are a member of the State Government.'

Kurt nodded. So far everything was plausible.

'The creature you are referring to as Katija, abducted you and wiped your memory clean.'

'What?!'

The man shook his head. 'I bet she told you a different story. You see, there's been a war with aliens. We were winning…'

'We?' Kurt looked at the man suspiciously.

'Humans,' he replied. 'You thought we're not human?'

'I don't know what to think!' Kurt was desperate.

'This must be tough for you,' the man said sympathetically. 'Maybe I should have waited for Tarn…'

'Who is Tarn? And why do you think he can explain things better than you?'

The man laughed. In the course of their conversation his attention never wavered. He still had his finger on the trigger and Kurt was wondering whether there was any chance he could put him off guard for a moment. He had assessed his chances and had already begun working on his ties. There was no way he could break the metal rings around his wrists but with a little luck he might be able to use them to stun his opponent. Fortunately, his hand's weren't tied at the back.

'Because I have the means to restore your own memory. Partially at least,' he heard a new voice suddenly, from behind.