Jon made the final carving on his new short bow. He made sure it was the maximum size allowed by the king. Only his guards and soldiers were allowed longbows. The kingdom of Exdom needed meat for its people, so the king allowed short bows. 

Not everyone was allowed to hunt for small game with the short bows, just those so chosen in the Assigning. The Assigning was done for all youth on the Assigning date after they turned 16. Formal schooling was stopped at age 16, no matter what date their birthday was. For Jon, his 16th birthday was in a week and was also the annual Assigning Day. It was the day he would become JonMo.

The very worst assignment was Latrine Patrol, known as LP. Every house had a privy with a holding tank. LP would come by once a week to drain holding tanks at each home.  Houses were all six feet above ground so the LP tank would fit under the holding tank. Spillage was frowned upon and LP workers would have their food allowances docked a specific amount for each offense. In this kingdom of lean people, no one wanted to be docked. 

When full, the LP wagons, pulled by 4 mules, would go to the Putrid Pond and dump their load. The Putrid Pond was a series of ponds managed by an eccentric woman named EliMa. She had found an ancient recipe in the Old Library that allowed her to treat the effluent and make excellent and safe fertilizer. They had a lot of fertilizer. EliMa was considered the last person in the kingdom to have done something original and out of the ordinary. Most of the old records in the Old Library were now off limits by order of the king anyway.

Being on the LP team was exactly what Jon was trying to avoid. He loved being out in nature. Hunting small game was the only assignment that allowed that other than logging, which was very hard work. His nemesis was BubuMo, a strongly built jerk. He worked for his father, Baron BusmanNo. 

Jon's father FonMo was a processor of small herd animals and small game. That's all there was in Kingdom Exdom. All was communal. FonMo sent all processed meats to Baron BusmanNo. He in turn distributed meats as well as bread, oil, and vegetables to all households in his district, each according to the complicated formula that had been developed over generations. Curiously, he was a non-lean person, though he wore baggy clothes to obscure that.

Bubu had become BubuMo a few months before on his 16th birthday. All assumed he would be officially assigned to work with his father on Assignment Day. Secure in his self-importance, he would harass Jon at every opportunity. 

Jon liked being out in and near the Great Forest that was all along the foothills of the Great Mountains. Here is where he hid his bows among the trees. His latest one was by far the best one. He could hit targets with great accuracy, even when 30 paces away. He practiced with moving targets that he devised by using gravity and an angled rope. With a long string, he would trip the targets and try to hit them as they wobbled down the rope. He was getting very good at this as well. Jon was the second person in a very long time to think outside of the box.

BubuMo took every opportunity to harass Jon by loudly announcing that Jon would be on Latrine Patrol come Assignment Day. Jon, with fire in his gut, wanted to be a small game hunter and had taken the risk of making his own bows and practicing every chance he could get. 

Assignment Day was looming, just two days away. There were many assignments, such as apprenticeships for wheel makers, vegetable farming, fire fighting, clothing creation, or candle making. Most of these over generations were acquired by children of the tradesmen and tradeswomen. Jon had no connections except to his father FonMo's meat processing. He found this very boring and frankly disgusting. He had always admired the women and men hunters who brought in the small game. They never gave him the time of day though, so he determined on long odds to break out of the channel of mediocrity into a profession he desired. That meant he would have to be very accurate with the Assignment-day provided bows through a series of challenges.

A small family celebration, including bread with honey butter--a rare treat, was held early in Jon's home. He loved his family, including his beloved older brother ManMo, his wife FanicoMa, and their infant son Mano. The oldest sibling, DranMa lived a day's journey away. She and her husband and one teenage son were assigned to a large vegetable garden in the few places in the kingdom that had arable land. It was harvest season and they could not come. DranMa had knitted some mittens and sent them as a present though. After laughing and talking for about an hour, Jon left his home as JonMo. He had reached 16 that day and per societal rules, his name changed. He walked with confidence to the Assignment. No family members were allowed, just a small number of 16-year-olds who somberly made their way to be assigned a vocation that marked them as adults.

As usual, BubuMo took the opportunity to call out to him as Latrine Boy. BubuMo thought a lot of himself and knew his assignment was secure. His father Baron BusmanNo had trained him in math and business management required for meat and other foodstuffs distribution. The Assignment test was trivial for him and he marched confidently to the robed official who tested for knowledge in his area. JonMo was glad BubuMo's attention was elsewhere. He wanted peaceful concentration for this bow test. 

One thing in JonMo's favor was the hunter families in his district had only one 16-year-old in the Assignment. People needed meat and at least two could be assigned. That 16-year-old was a shoo-in. His cousin, from a blacksmith family, also was trying out the bow. More than likely his cousin had given him archery lessons. Only those who had previously been assigned as hunters could have short bows and arrows. This would put, as their smugness so indicated, JonMo at a distinct disadvantage. Yet JonMo was an undetected outlaw; the outcome of this contest was not yet decided. JonMo was the final contestant. In a kingdom with great order built on the foundation of mediocrity, JonMo was unknowingly embarking on a change far beyond his current ambitions.

His turn at the contest was now before him. He knew this had to be a great performance. Both of the two previous hunter-wannabes had hit the target with four of the five arrows allotted. The target was a painted pheasant of the most common variety in the kingdom. This target had seen many Assignment days and it was full of holes. A bale of straw was behind it. 

JonMo was given a bow and five arrows by the official, who was a very old hunter who was unable to follow his profession anymore. Becoming an Assignment day official had gladdened his heart and he was a humble and fair man. JonMo inspected the equipment and was impressed by the good quality of it. The old official knew his business and JonMo smiled at him. 

BubuMo took this opportunity to harass him, loudly proclaiming that JonMo could not hit a pheasant even if he was stepping on it. The old official quietly told BubuMo he could be the new official target if he did not go away and shut up. BubuMo steamed but kept his mouth shut as he walked off. In the Assignment, the official's word was law.

JonMo composed himself and shot his first arrow. It flew through a hole in the pheasant target and buried itself

in the straw bale, out of view. The other contestants said, "You missed completely."  The old official held up his hand to JonMo to prevent further shots while he went and inspected the target. It was 20 paces away. "Hit, it is buried in the straw behind the hole it went through!", he proclaimed and then limped back to his station. He nodded at JonMo to continue the test. 

Three arrows later there were four arrows in the target. JonMo had equaled the two other contestants. They had both hit four out of five. If he did not do better than them, they would fill the two open spots. They were of or were connected to hunter families and JonMo knew this was the rule. A quiet fell on those assembled in the Assignment Hall. They somehow sensed some drama here and their whispers ceased before JonMo took his last shot.  This last arrow thudded solidly in the target. The sour-faced cousin knew he would now have to take the blacksmith test. If he failed there, he would be on Latrine Patrol for the rest of his life. The cousin was determined now more than ever to succeed at the blacksmith test despite his stunning loss to a nobody. 

If the old official wondered how JonMo had done so well, he kept that to himself. He finished his duty by handing first to JonMo and then to the hunter family contestant the prize. It was a new short bow, a quiver of arrows, and a rock with engravings. Writing on the rock was the official declaration that he was a hunter. It also contained a statement of his weekly quota of small game.

It was about two months later that King EdianaPo had been interrupted by his chief Scribe, Baron LonbabaPo. LonbabaPo, moving as fast as his old self could muster, waved a scrap of what seemed to be dusty leather. Breathlessly, he gave the scrap to the king to read. The king read these words: "Seven men in crisp uniforms exited the prominent hill in the southeast of the common land. This is near the Great Forest. The men went into the forest and shortly thereafter a mighty flying ship leaped into the sky. It moved very quickly into the heavens and disappeared. We have watched the hill for many days since and have seen no further activity. Our Prime Judge had us call off the surveillance as help was needed to prepare for the coming winter."

"Where did you find this?", demanded the king. Baron LonbabaPo, with great assumed dignity, said, "In the bottom of a very old chest that was far in the back of the attic of the archives." "Was there anything else?", the king further demanded. "No.", was the reply, and we and my assistant scribes have searched every scrap of the writings in the whole archive, as you commanded." "That scrap of leather predates the kingdom, reaching back almost 3000 years when Judges ruled the land instead of kings", the old man added.

King EdianaPo considered what he had read. He could not comprehend what it meant, but if there were mysteries contained in that hill in the southeast of the land, he would have them. "Have the Chief Captain report to me immediately!", he shouted to a page. Off the boy want in a rush.  Soon Captain MadaPo came running in. He was a young and ambitious man who had a lofty title. No wars had been fought for centuries and he was in reality the Chief Policeman. "What is it sire?", the captain said as he bowed.

The king responded without hesitation, "Put a daily watch on the prominent hill in the southeast of the kingdom near the Great Forest. Make sure one excellent bowman is there to prevent this sacred hill from any trespass. Shoot any who does!" The king continued, "Whatever name this hill held in the past will no longer be used. It shall be known now and forever as King's Hill." The king did not know what threat this hill could contain, but he felt deep within himself that this hill threatened him.

Meanwhile, JonMo was having success bringing in his weekly quota. He worked in his assigned area. It was marked by a faded yellow post on the edge of the Great Forest. There were 10 faded yellow posts marking 10 designated hunting areas, and his was the most southeast. There were two other older small-game hunters in his assignment area. They worked the grasslands between the settlements to a mile from the Great Forest. Both of these, a man and a woman, were happy to let JonMo have near and in the forests. Both would not admit it, but they shared a fear of the forest. JonMo had no such fear and their reticence allowed him to sneak off undetected to the forest to practice before Assignment day.

The game was more scarce in the Great Forest, yet JonMo was more quick and agile than the older hunters. He was getting better every day in finding signs of animal movement and getting his quota was no problem.

He had worked his way from his yellow post to nearly the end of his range. The day before he had seen the strange and the only hill in front of the Great Forest. It was about 500 meters from the forest and had many trees on it. The trees on the hill were of the type that seemed ever to be springing up, even in the populated areas. It was as if the Great Forest was reclaiming the land, one tree at a time. These types of trees never sprang up in cultivated areas. Lovely bushes always grew in the vicinity of them. Their flowers always gladdened hearts. 

The next morning, JonMo’s mind was not on the flowers. It was on the small wild pig he was stalking. It seemed to dart about with uncanny speed. It headed towards the solitary hill that was now dominating his view. The pig quickly scrambled up the slope. JonMo wanted this pig to fulfill his daily quota and he readied his short bow even as he ran to the hill. 

Meanwhile, ArnoMo, the best archer in the King’s Guard, had just arrived back at his watch post over the recently-named King’s Hill. He was the first to have this assignment and had just completed a circuit around the hill. His lunch and rain gear were stored in an oiled leather pouch at his watch post. He kept one eye on the hill while he ate his lunch. The cooked meat on his sandwich had come from his allotment of the game JonMo had recently brought in.

He dropped his sandwich when he saw JonMo climbing the hill as fast as he could. ArnoMo was not a bad man, yet he knew his life would be forfeit if he allowed trespass on the King’s Hill. The king was adamant, or at least that was what Captain MadaPo had strongly impressed on him.

He grabbed his bow and crouched low so his head was not above the tall grasses. He moved as quickly as he could to a place where he could get a good shot. It was by one of those trees that seemed to be ever popping up. He hid behind it and nocked an arrow on his longbow. Meanwhile, JonMo was nocking an arrow on his short bow. He was oblivious to the king's new prohibition on the King's Hill. It had come down after he left for his morning hunt. He just wanted that pig! 

Just as JonMo released his arrow, several things happened. ArnoMo was startled by another pig that bumped into him. It was just as he released his deadly shot at JonMo. JonMo was startled by that arrow as it nicked his right ear. Then his world was upended when the bottom fell out and he dropped about six feet into an instant hole in the hill. ArnoMo did not see him drop out of sight as he was distracted by the pig that ran squealing as fast as it could. Meanwhile, the pig that JonMo tried to shoot had avoided his arrow as if it knew just how far to instantly move.

ArnoMo was startled again as the pig came back at him using an erratic path and just missed him. That gave the other pig that JonMo missed time to go to the trap door that swallowed JonMo. It danced all over it scattering the leaves and dirt. Very soon there was no evidence of the door except for the one leaf with ArnoMo's blood on it. It was the leaf that a very confused and shaken ArnoMo found a short time later. The pig that harassed him had suddenly disappeared and had not returned. JonMo had also disappeared and this was a great puzzlement to ArnoMo. He did spot the leaf with the blood on it and took it as his only evidence of the whole event. 

Captain MadaPo relaid ArnoMo's report to the king, who did not take it well. He fumed and then started making decrees. JonMo's parents were to be stripped of their game processing assignment and moved immediately to the Latrine Patrol. The son of the neighboring district's game processor would now take over FonMo's processing shop. FonMo and his wife CwanMa were given the decree. They were devastated because they thought JonMo was dead and their meager but comfortable living was ripped from them. They knew they would be mocked severely in their Latrine Patrol assignment. They trudged off to their new and bewildering assignment at dawn the next day. 

In reality, it was only BubuMo who razzed them. The people of Kingdom Exdom were mostly good folks who did not glory in the misfortune of others. A group of them called out to BubuMo and told him to shut up. He skulked off with a sour disposition on his face. 

FonMo and CwanMa resolved to their fate and went from house to elevated house loading sewage into the tank on the cart. The tank was like a big barrel with double staves to prevent leaking. They even named the four mules who pulled the cart. 

JonMo woke up on a narrow table under bright lights. His wrists and ankles were restrained. Some kind of bandage was on his nicked ear. Into his vision walked the strangest being he had ever seen. It was about six feet tall and appeared to be a mechanical man. Its metallic oval head had two eyes, two simple ears, a nose slot, and a small rectangle for a mouth. He wore a blue jumpsuit and his hands were like a man’s, only metallic. He had walked up as a man. 

"I am B127MZ, a humanoid robot. You are restrained to prevent panic reactions, as I know this is all very new to you. I have been here for 3000 years. I mean you no harm, but you must remain calm." At that, the restraints withdrew and JonMo sat up, not daring to move further. All around him was a large room. He noticed that three little pigs were sitting on their haunches, all as still as stone. Tables and cabinets lined the walls where there were no doors, although lights and screens dominated one side of the room. He could see the outside on one of the large screens. ArnoMo was walking away, scratching his head."

"First, I will give you some history," B127MZ said. "I came here 3000 years ago with seven human explorers. We chose this land because of its strategic position and natural protection. A large uninhabited land is on the other side of the Great Mountains. This kingdom, originally a democratic government ruled by elected judges, is 237 miles long and an average of 23 miles wide from the raging sea to the edge of the Great Forest. The raging sea is caused by the pull of the tides from three nearby planets over a long shallow shelf where the sea meets the land. The daily winds also amplify the waves. I have been alone here for 2700 years. The seven explorers were called home for some emergency, and I assume they have their problems and have forgotten about this planet. Communication to be the home planet requires equipment I do not have here, I can only receive messages, and there have not been any. The seven explorers’ space ship had two-way comm technology, but I don't" 

JonMo started to speak, but B127MZ stalled him saying, "Hold your questions to the end as I may answer some with what I say. The trees you have seen that keep springing up are not exactly natural. They are organic, but their leaves can gather energy from the sun. They have done much better than expected here, and each one is connected to all the rest. They have extensive deep root networks that carry energy which is called electricity. I have had to upgrade the junction box here several times as the amount of energy keeps growing. Over the years I have built machines using that massive amount of power. I have even built a small space ship and it sits in a room behind this one."

B127MZ continued, "You may wonder why the seven Explorers of Centerhome, as I call it, lived so long. 120 years is the average years lived by your people. They live about 500 years as longevity is something they worked on and mostly perfected. Know that the people of this kingdom came here with these explorers 3000 years ago. They volunteered and agreed to go back to basic living and did not pass on much of anything about their past to their children. It was a great experiment to populate this remote planet. Because of the location and the crowded space of three close planets, it is very hard to get to. It was thought that basic living off the land was more sustainable as there are few natural resources in this protected area."

JonMo asked, "Why have you stayed secret all of these years? You could have helped us a lot with your knowledge." B127MZ responded, "I kept and keep watch on your people and have intervened a few times. I have technology that allows me to make myself invisible. That has allowed me to prevent some disasters without being detected. I was charged by the seven to not make myself known. The longer I've been here I have realized that this commandment was wise. Now your people are subject to superstition of and an unreasonable fear of the unknown.

     You are exceptional in that you seem to learn astonishing information without being bewildered or panicking. If I showed up among your people they would not understand and would likely try to destroy me. Yet, I have intervened in preserving your life, JonMo. There is a work here for you to do.”

B127MZ asked, "Can you read?" JonMo said, "No, it is forbidden and only the king and his barons are allowed to read. My mother did teach me the alphabet and numbers when I was young. We kept that secret. I don't know how she knew that stuff." "Well, JonMo", B127MZ stated, "This is going to be the first order of business. I will teach you to read and and a give you basic understanding of technology. The king has put a bounty on capturing you, and he must not learn of me or this place anymore than he knows or suspects. Your parents have been put on Latrine Patrol, but are doing reasonably well considering that. Your brother ManMo and sister DranMa and their families have not been punished. They continue as they were. They all miss you and think you are dead. Until you are ready, you need to stay here and become educated"  

So the time passed. JonMo was tired when the sun went down every day. B127MZ taught him reading, writing , math, and physics in the morning. After lunch, B127MZ quizzed him about what he had learned that morning and reviewed previous lessons where his knowledge was weak. JonMo applied himself to learning and made great progress. In the later afternoon, B127MZ would spar with him, teaching martial techniques mostly for defense, but also adequate for offense as well. An hour before his supper was dedicated to learning the outpost's technology, including how to listen to almost anywhere in the kingdom. Along with the solar energy-gathering trees, there were bushes with organic listening technology. All of these bushes connected to the energy trees underground and the trees relaid the sounds the bushes picked up. B127MZ had alerts that he set up to catch information that indicated problems, news, deaths as well as births of children. 

Meanwhile, FonMo and CwanMa, being the good people they were, submitted cheerfully to their difficult task of gathering sewage. The mules even seemed happier as they were treated with appreciation. When BusmanNo, FonMo's former supervisor, saw them it made him more grumpy. Gluttony had soured his disposition and he thought that no one should be happier than he was.  He mused, "If they are so happy as latrine subjects, they can do with less food rations. The rations of meat, bread, and vegetables were fixed by a strict formula and it was a large offense to alter that. Yet BusmanNo thought himself safe as people knew it was not productive to cross him. His mean-spirited vengeance was well-known and feared. That kept people from complaining. 

Yet he went overboard with FonMo and CwanMa. Their rations were cut by a quarter. As they still went about cheerfully, he cut it again to half of what they were allowed. They did not complain, but they did start to droop in their daily work. They had a mandatory number of houses to empty of sewage, so they doggedly carried on. 

B127MZ became aware of their plight and took action. He baked some well-balanced cakes that were high in protein as well as carbs and other nutrients. B127MZ had dedicated part of the outpost to hydroponic gardening. He would also go out at night to gather protein from the small game that JonMo used to hunt. This was processed into very nutritious cakes. 

JonMo, tired from another full day of learning and physical exercise, went to bed early. B127MZ left the outpost using his technology that turned him invisible. He made his way very quietly to the house of CwanMa and FonMo. He entered the home very quietly and noticed them sitting together over a very meager meal. He held her hand tenderly and gave more of his portion to her. She protested, but he just smiled. B127MZ's disembodied and commanding voice spoke, "Do not be alarmed, and do not speak." JonMo's parents were startled and afraid and feared that death was coming. They did keep silent as they shivered in fright. Then B127MZ had them close their eyes, and they obeyed. He then put two of his nutritious cakes in front of them and commanded them to open their eyes. "You must tell no one, repeat no one of these cakes. They will sustain your health. Eat all of them at night and do not save for the next day as you may be discovered. Hide this bag containing a month’s supply. The bag will keep them fresh. Eat only one per night. Neither the king nor anyone else can know of this. Agreed?" CwanMa and FonMo nodded their heads affirmatively. B127MZ added one more thing. "JonMo is alive and in hiding. Tell no one." He then left as silently as he came in. 

FonMo and CwanMa let joy fill their hearts and shed many tears. After they ate the cakes, they tidied the kitchen, hid the bag in the top of a small closet, and went to bed full for the first time in months. They faced the next morning with vigor and happiness, which put BusmanNo in a powerful snit. He was determined to break them. 

B127MZ monitored this situation. He also focused on the king, who had sent men to dig on his "sacred hill". The Outpost was at least 10 feet below the hill surface with a lot of rock above. This meant the king's diggers did not get far before hitting the rock. This caused them a whole lot of work for very little progress. The night after their first foray into digging the hill was a busy one for B127MZ. Hid did not need to sleep, and he used the night to fill in the entrance that JonMo had originally been lured to by a robot pig. He could not allow the diggers to discover that entrance, so he removed the apparatus and backfilled it with rock and dirt. After covering it with leaves, it was not detectable. This king was becoming a nuisance and B127MZ decided that it was time for JonMo to go on a mission.

B127MZ informed JonMo the next night. It was after a long day of training. "JonMo, your education and skills have progressed very nicely. It is time for you to take on a mission. The king continues to have an insatiable desire to discover the secrets of this outpost. He cannot be allowed to do that. He needs a fright. You will go to him in the night and deliver a message and an ultimatum. I have a device you will wear to make you invisible. This device is contained in a belt you wear. You will also have a pistol that can shock and stun an assailant, but not harm them permanently. Use this on King EdianaPo. Queen NanavakPa is not in the king's chambers as she is visiting their daughter and grandson. Just go in there and blast him. He will wake up and not be able to speak. Deliver the message that I will give to you." JonMo, who had plenty of reason to dislike the king, took on this challenge with relish. 

That very night he put on the invisibility belt and had his stun gun in a holster. B127MZ took him through a tunnel that he had constructed right after the seven explorers left, 2700 years before. This tunnel allowed B127MZ to make many trips into the land without ever being detected. It ended within the Great Forest.

They went up a ladder, B127MZ first. The robot used a portable device to check the listening bushes for a mile out. Nothing but small wild animals were detected. The leafy-topped trap door opened and they both stepped out in the cool night air. "Mark this location well," B127MZ stated. "I will know when you are coming back and will be here to let you in. If for whatever reason you are in danger, just cry for help and I will come quickly. The bushes are always listening."

JonMo activated the invisibility device as B127MZ went back down the ladder and the leafy-topped trap door closed quietly. JonMo thought that B127MZ thought of everything. 

It took him two hours to hike to the king's castle. He walked past the sentries at the castle's front gate using the quietness skills B127MZ had taught him over and over. He carefully walked on the stone path to not leave footprints. B127MZ had given him the layout of the castle. He went right to King EdianaPo's room. It was unlocked. He quietly slipped and in the dim light saw the sleeping king. He heard his snores first. JonMo pointed the pistol and fired. The king's body thrashed and went still. His eyes got big and he tried to speak and move, and could not. "King EdianaPo. This is your only warning. You must pay attention to being good and fair to all of your people and forget about what you call the King's Hill. If you do not do as told, there will be serious repercussions." With that, JonMo went to the king and threw the blanket over his head. Before he left, he shot the king again. Thrashing was reduced by his previous temporary paralysis, but JonMo knew the effect was just as shocking. He quietly slipped out the door and went back back a different path to the Great Forest. He found B127MZ near the spot he left from. The humanoid robot pushed a button on a handheld device and the leafy-topped trap door swung open. They both descended into the tunnel. 

B127MZ asked him how it went. JonMo replied, "I shot him twice as you told me, and between those I gave him the message. The look in the king’s eyes was total hatred, so I don't know if he will do as he was told." B127MZ said, "He was warned." Then they walked back to the Outpost.

The next day the king was apoplectic. He screamed, spittle flying from his mouth, to Chief Captain MadaPo, "Get three of you best archers! They are to be in my sleeping chamber all night. I had a terrible visitor last night who warned me against digging in my hill! The archers are to shoot towards the voice of the visitor and above me as I will stay low in the bed. Three of your archers will be on this watch every night until we kill that visitor."

A week went by with three bored archers watching the king snore. No visitor had come and they strove to stay awake. If one did, another would smack him. Once a sleepy soldier’s yelling woke the king. They all had to do 100 pushups; they learned to take the smack quietly.

The digging did not stop on the King's Hill. He was even more obsessed with discovering its secrets. B127MZ had a plan though. "You must make another visit to the king tonight. Three of the best archers of the king's soldiers will try to shoot you as soon as you speak. Therefore, you must wait until you hear they are distracted, for I will provide a distraction that they will have difficulty ignoring. Shoot him as you last did, but five times. He will be incapacitated for three days. Warn him that anyone trespassing on this hill will be similarly dealt with." With these words of B127MZ still fresh in his mind, JonMo left through the tunnel to go on this mission.

He made his way as he did before, taking a little different route. The gate guards looked bored and one was sleeping. Shortly, he was outside the king's room. Next came three loud wails of shock and dismay from the soldiers. The powerful laxative that B127MZ had put in their food had taken effect right on time. Their wails woke the king and he was shouting at them to stay put despite the unbearable smell and discomfort of the soldiers. King EdianaPo got on his feet and was erratically dancing and yelling. Carefully JonMo entered the room, but not careful enough to not bump a chair. The king screamed, "Shoot you fools, He is here!!" JonMo ducked as arrows whizzed. In the dark and confusion, one struck the king in his heart, and he silently fell dead. JonMo left the room as fast as he quietly could. Servants came running and found the very sorry state of affairs. After much explaining while still in their dripping stink, the three were sent to clean up. The Queen NanavakPa spared their lives, but they were put on the night guard duty shift in addition to their daily shift. It was rugged.

When JonMo got back to the Outpost, he was out of breath. B127MZ had some knowledge but he let JonMo tell the whole story. He said, "This is an unexpected turn of events. The king has no sons. Though it was not this way in the beginning, now only men were allowed to lead. The kingdom will now go to his oldest grandson who is presently four years old. We will have to see how things shake out, for a steward must be assigned. The male leadership rule is allowed to be altered briefly, for the mother of the new king gets to choose the steward.

While the kingdom was in mourning, Baron BusmanNo had been busy. He had been to the home of the king's daughter three times. He wanted to be chosen as the steward. His most ingratiating conduct was offensive to the dead king’s daughter. He had been summarily thrown out on this third try. As he made his way back to his home mumbling and swearing, he saw FonMo and CwanMa talking and laughing as they made the rounds with their cart. Good judgment completely left him and he swore he would make them pay. These subordinate people did not have the right to be happy while he suffered. 

He called his sons BuMo and BubuMo to him. They were aware of their father's irrational hatred of FonMo and CwanMa and were eager to share in it. His smarter son, BubuMo, was given an assignment. Tonight, in the vacuum of kingly power that he  perceived, Baron BusmanNo sent his evil son to burn down the house of CwanMo and FonMo. This was a very serious offense as fire in one home could harm many others. The Baron did not care. 

B127MZ had paid close attention to the Baron and his family. He suspected something and had used a bush close to their secret conversation to discover their intent. He quickly sent JonMo out to prevent this tragedy. JonMo was in a panic to get his gear ready, including his invisibility belt and a device B127MZ had given him to disguise his voice. JonMo had practiced with it and chose the dark and menacing voice setting.

He ran most of the way, turning a two-hour walk into a one-hour run. He went back to a quiet walk as he entered the town. The guards on watch seemed to be jittery, so he was extra quiet as he went by them. He imagined that they were now extra careful about what they ate. As he arrived near his home, he was shocked to see BubuMo entering his home with a bucket in hand. 

BubuMo poured oil from his bucket on the floor in front of the hearth. To his surprise and horror, some of the oil had fallen into the fire and there was immediate combustion. He had to get out of there fast!

JonMo saw the fire blazing in the background of one window and knew he was too late. Then he saw a panicked BubuMo almost exiting the door. He went into action and punched BuboMo hard in the nose. This surprise punch had thrown BubuMo back into the house. He tried to exit and was whacked by a stout stick that JonMo had picked up. In his sinister voice he commanded, "BubuMo, if you do not confess, you will burn!" BubuMo tried to run out again, but a vicious crack on the head again moved him closer to the encroaching flames. A small crowd had now gathered and was mesmerized by the scene.

In a complete mindless panic, BubuMo shouted, "I set this house on fire! My dad made me do it! He cheats on food rations all the time, that is why he is so fat." The crowd heard it all. BubuMo staggered out of the burning house and was taken into the custody of the king's guards who had shown up and heard it all too. JonMo had exited the scene as quietly and as fast as he safely could. He had to dodge people running to the spectacle. The fire brigade with their six-horse team came pulling a water tank wagon.

Judgment was swift. Many witnesses at the burning house of FonMo and others who had been shorted or otherwise mistreated by Baron BusmanNo came forward to complain of shady dealings. 

The queen and her young grandson were the judges. No steward had been chosen yet, so the law allowed this. The judgment had to come from the mouth of the young king and his grandmother made sure the four-year-old had the words when judgement time came.

Baron BusmanNo complained of how happy FonMo and CwanMa were in their lowly station and how they had no right. It was a stupid thing to do. 

In crisp words, the final judgment came down after a recess and a conference between the queen and her grandson. 

      The little king had been taught to read and this was the judgement. Baron BusmanNo would be stripped of his title and become BusmanMo. He also lost his house and previous job. He and his sons would now take FonMo's and CwanMa's place on the district's Latrine Patrol. There they could seek the happiness that they saw in FonMo and CwanMa. Even disparaging words in the future toward CwanMa or FonMo would result in a sudden trip off a cliff into the raging sea. They would now be on 80% rations. They, if they did their Latrine Patrol job very well without complaining, would get to 90% after the first year and 100% after the second. 

FonMo became Baron FonNo and took over the distribution of food rations. One of the king’s scribes was assigned to teach them to read and to do basic math. FonNo and CwanMa were given BusmanMo's home and BusmanMo and his sons were given a small vacant home near the Putrid Pond. The people of the district were very willing to watch them and report any faults. After a few warnings and some abuse from the king's guards, they gave up and settled into a routine of outwardly cheerful work on the Latrine Patrol. 

JonMo was back at the Outpost. He and B127MZ reviewed what had happened. JonMo was particularly pleased with the turn of events that got his parents into a much better state of affairs. He wondered what he should do next and that was answered by B127MZ. More studies, weight training, and martial arts. It was time to lie low and let his legend grow, which it did. 

The people could not talk enough about the strange happenings that had upended BusmanMo and not all of them could be explained. This of course led to much speculation. The Queen and her grandson had also stopped all surveillance and digging on the King's Hill. They had even decreed that the name be reverted to Hill. The Queen had impressed the all-male advisors and she had been declared the Steward of the Realm. It was unusual, yet the advisors did not want to cross the Queen or have her look too sharply into their doings. They quietly went about making amends for their actions that were not above board. 

So several months passed with a general improvement hovering over the kingdom. The people were happier and everyone seemed to feel prosperous. Even the blacksmith’s son was happier as he was reassigned to be a small- game hunter.

Things had changed at the Outpost. After 2700 years of silence, the interstellar receive-only communications rig that B127MZ kept in top shape came to life. The message was straightforward, startling, and abrupt, "Go immediately to stealth mode. There is a ship from unknown origins coming to investigate planet Nebza and no communication was to be made with this ship."

B127MZ went to work immediately to power down or put in standby mode all of the equipment he had carefully tended over millennia. The ship he had built was already on standby. He held up a meter that detects outgoing signals and found several more pieces of equipment that were soon shut down. The interstellar communications rig was put in a passive listening mode and only set to receive on the same frequency that the recent message come in on. Finally, when all was silent and much darker, B127MZ broke out some battery-operated lanterns to relieve the darkness for JonMo. 

B127MZ said, "Because of the very difficult gravitational forces and fierce high atmospheric weather, it will be difficult for the incoming ship to navigate safely. It is overcast here today across the kingdom. That will hopefully prevent this ship from noticing this kingdom. It is unlikely that the kingdom's primitive technology would be recognized on their scanners. This lends hope that we will escape notice. The electric trees and listening bushes are all organic technology. Unless they have the same, they should not notice them either.

"We need more information about this ship and its passengers. For now, I will call them the Intruders", B127MZ said. He continued, "Once you have completed some training, I want to send you on a reconnaissance mission. It will require you to do something no one else has done. No one has had the equipment that I will provide. You will need to cross the Great Mountains. Once you find the Intruders and know who they are and have an idea of what they are about, return here. Do not engage them as they could question you and this kingdom would be exposed. Remember your stealth tactics."

Mountaineering was added to his training regimen. He and B127MZ went to the mountains in the early morning and did not return until after dark. Mountain training was every other day with days between used for other training and preparations. Also, one day was reserved for rest. They found a canyon where JonMo could practice ascents out of sight of anyone who would pass by. Over the days he learned to use ropes and anchors to ascend steep sections. He found he enjoyed climbing after getting over the initial fright of being up so high. B127MZ had outfitted him with ropes, a helmet, cold weather gear, laser-drilling rock anchors, and belay equipment. It was basic, but it worked. 

JonMo also got used to the rations that would sustain him as he crossed the Great Mountains. It would not be a fast trip, so he had to balance the weight of the rations with all the strength and stamina he could muster.

On the days he was not mountaineering or resting, he trained in martial combat. Strength training with weights and running was included in his training regimen. He also learned about hard sciences and technology. In addition, B127MZ had him practice stealth. This was difficult to do at B127MZ standards. The robot would stand in the woods and make JonMo try to sneak up on him. B127MZ's audio sensors were excellent and the robot would call out when he had detected JonMo. The closest he had gotten was 10 meters from the robot. JonMo began to see every stick, branch, root, and rock as well as any shadowed place to hide. Finally, he got to within five meters without the robot's notice. B127MZ reduced this part of his training regimen after that and mountaineering got more emphasis.

B127MZ had JonMo keep climbing higher each time they went to the same canyon. The rock anchors had a tiny laser drill on their tips which allowed JonMo to quietly set safe anchors for his ropes. He would climb enough to set anchors and then belay down to the canyon floor to have lunch. After lunch, he was back at it. The ascents got higher and higher and his rest breaks became more and more welcome. B127MZ would not let him rest much. Carrying the weight of all the gear he would need for the ascent made climbing much harder. B127MZ told him to put his gear on a separate rope. He gave JonMo a pulley block system he could use for mechanical advantage to pull up the equivalent weight of food and gear he would need, including weapons. He was told to find a safe ledge to employ this lift. Sometimes that was hard to find and a lot of rope was needed. Still, it was better than carrying the whole load on his back.

He began to have his lunch high in the Great Mountains and belay down just before dark. He had a couple of frights when his anchors had failed. He had set them in rock with fractures. He became more careful setting anchors which prevented the sudden fall and yank on his harness. One day when he had placed an anchor at about halfway up the mountains B127MZ called a halt to this training. "You were instructed to leave your supplies on the highest safe ledge today. That is because the actual supplies for the ascent plus a month after were put in there. In two days you will begin your mission. Now go home to the Outpost and rest." 

JonMo was lean and fit and capable of climbing a rope for 40 meters just with his hands. He was ready. From now on he would not have to take extra water except for the ascent to where his supplies were. The following ascent would quickly reach areas with pockets of snow. He had a solar-activated container that would warm and purify the snow or ice. It was to hang on his belt and be always charging in the daytime. That meant he would not be long without water. What was on the other side of the Great Mountains was another story. He did not know how far away the Intruders were. He hoped he could spy them from the top of the mountains. He hoped what B127MZ had packed would help him complete this arduous mission.

Rested and ready was JonMo. He and B127MZ stood at the base of the mountain where he would begin the reconnaissance mission. "Remember your instructions as they will help keep you safe. Do not engage the Intruders under any circumstance, B127MZ warned. These were parting words and JonMo began to climb. Slowly and carefully he made his way up to the halfway point. It was a ledge he could walk on, but not very far. He arrived without wearing himself out, a product of the regimen B127MZ had put him through. The old robot was full of wisdom which he had freely shared with JonMo. He could now read and write and understand math. He also had studied the very advanced technology the Outpost afforded. 

JonMo pulled up the stores B127MZ had packed for him once he settled on the halfway ledge. He also pulled up the rope he had used for the climb to not leave evidence for someone to wander into. The sun was down when he took out the tent shelter and secured it on the ledge. The light-blocking fabric of the tent allowed him to turn on the portable generator. It was a light and a heater as well as a charger for other devices and weapons. He knew it was a nuclear fusion device and had a rudimentary understanding of it. Mostly he knew it was handy. It could also put out heat but was calibrated to be no more than the heat signature of a small game animal. Another precaution of B127MZ. His heat signature was masked by his clothes and the sleeping bag. He sat upright in the bag to inventory the items provided in the pack he had pulled up. 

There was an ice axe as well as ice spikes that clamped on the bottom of his boots. Laser tipped ice anchors were also there. They were longer than the rock anchors. There was also gear to camouflage him. A shell coat was reversible to match dry mountains on one side and ice and snow on the other. Also, there was food he could warm with a portable generator. It had to be rehydrated and was mildly tasty, but it was food. There was an invisibility belt, laser burst rifle, and pistol, all items of last resort. A compass and binoculars could be used as they were passive technology. His bow and arrows were his most comfortable weapon, though he had yet had a chance to use them. He had a larger bow now that the laws of the kingdom had no hold on him. There were night vision glasses and his solar water purifier. A knife and headlamp completed his list of supplies. 

He began the ascent early the following morning. He took with him climbing tools, food, a knife, a laser burst pistol, a small light-blocking tarp, and his headlamp. It was slow going at first as he learned to climb ice. He was extra careful with the ice anchors; he double-tested them before moving on. He was very tired at the end of the day. He had found no ledge. He could only go about 20 meters higher before the limit of the rope to pull up the supplies pack was reached. He spent an uncomfortable night hanging next to the ice. He arranged the tarp to both cover him as well as shield him somewhat from the seeping cold of the ice. 

The sun woke him from a fitful night's sleep. He ate the food that he brought which were little round cakes that sustained him. He had put ice into the purifier bottle last evening and now it was refreshing water. Finding a ledge was very important now. 

When he had climbed about 15 meters, he spied a dark opening above him. When he got level with it, he found it was a shallow cave. He shined his headlamp into the cave and found it was empty. Relief washed over him. After resting for a bit, he pulled up the supplies pack. He barely got food prepared and eaten before he fell soundly asleep.

He used the portable generator to slowly warm his breakfast after he had put in a little water to hydrate it. B127MZ, of course, had prepared the freeze-dried food. He knew a lot about nutrition but his notion of taste was lacking. He ate breakfast and then organized his supplies for the next accent. Then he stood on the lip of the cave to survey above him. He looked for the best way to ascend and found two likely ways. In the end, he decided on the right-hand one and began his climb. 

He pushed on until he found a crevice that also had a ledge. The sun was going down and he pulled up his supplies in the dark. From this high vantage point, he could see small lights from the kingdom far below. The ever-raging ocean and coastline were visible due to one of the closer planet's reflected sunlight. He loved this place, yet was anxious to see what lies beyond the Great Mountains. 

He added another layer of clothing before going to sleep. In the morning he decided to keep the extra layer. It was cold and windy. The conditions above included some bare slopes and some ice. He chose to avoid the ice even though it would take him longer. He got back at it. He followed B127MZ's advice to drink water as it would help prevent altitude sickness. Another grueling day of very careful climbing was before him. 

It was long into the night when he finally found a ledge. He had just a little rope length left attached to his supplies below. He knew he had to pull them up in the dark, but it was a very weary job to do that work. Finally, the supplies were on the narrow ledge. He ate a simple meal cold and went soundly to sleep.

When he surveyed above him for the next ascent, he was pleasantly surprised to see he could make it with just one more try. His muscles were sore, but he went on after breakfast. 

Some very difficult climbing slowed him down, yet he made it to the top by the middle afternoon. Clouds obscured the far side, so he would have to wait to get an idea of what lay beyond the Great Mountains. He carefully scouted the mountaintop until he found a somewhat level and shielded place. After it got dark he winched up the supplies. The unknown pressed heavily on him as he ate a cold supper and tried to sleep. Finally, he slept until bright sunlight hit his shelter early in the morning. It was still windy and cold.

He ate a cold breakfast as he was too impatient to wait on the portable generator to warm it. After donning his warmest gear, he stepped out of the shelter and carefully peered over the ledge. He was amazed to see rolling hills all covered by trees. It stretched like this to the far horizon. It was not the barren wasteland that he expected from the legends he grew up with. He could also see a river at the bottom of the mountains. He strained to see any indication of the Intruders, but none was visible. There was nothing for it. He had to find the Intruders. He risked a long look at the mountain below him. It was sheer and impassable. He needed to find a way down, but first, he would sleep in the daytime and move along the ridge line at night. B127MZ had cautioned him to not be visible during the day when he was at the mountaintop and beyond. He was to move only during the night, but B127MZ had provided some eyeglasses that gathered light. It was passive technology that would not alert the Intruders but would allow a measure of safety when traversing the mountain tops in darkness. He hoped the traverse would provide an advantage to spot the Intruders. He set the portable generator to the slow task of warming his food. It was cold and blustery with snow falling and a good day to hunker down in his shelter, stay warm, and sleep.

He woke up with a start, realizing it was now past midnight. After a cold meal, he decided to put most of the remaining food and supplies in his large backpack. His weapons, survival and climbing gear, and lots of rope made for a heavy pack, but that was better than using ropes to move gear down the mountain. He lashed the climbing ropes on the outside of the pack. He needed to keep moving and find the Intruders.

It was slow going with the weight of the pack bearing on him. B127MZ had put him through rough conditioning workouts and that was paying off now. He carefully judged the terrain using the night vision glasses and moved up and down on the ridge line in the direction of the sea. It was not far and he wanted to check the coast first. At about an hour before sunup, he came to where the mountains intercepted the coastline. The mountains continued out to sea for about a kilometer before ending in a sheer face to the sea. He could faintly hear the waves crashing far below as he scouted for a location to hide out during the day. He found a marginally flat indentation and set up his camp shelter. The portable generator warmed his food and he ate well from his freeze-dried stash of foodstuffs. 

He was awake about an hour before sundown. He used his binoculars to scan the curving coastline. In the far distance, he could see the setting sun glinting on something shiny. He would need a closer look. He resolved to backtrack to a location that afforded a descent that was at least in the realm of possibility. He used the scant daylight still available to look down the slope of the mountains. He noticed that not far away there was an area where the mountain was formed into a canyon at the bottom. That seemed feasible and he went to bed to rest up for the great descent. 

It was fully dark the next night when JonMo put on his pack and secured it. Another handy thing B127MZ had supplied him with was a few remote devices that would secure his descending rope at the top. A push of a button in a certain sequence would release the remote device above. The device was lightweight and would fall with the rope. This allowed JonMo to reuse the ropes for his descent.

It took him three nights to descend to the bottom of the mountain. He found a stopping point towards the end of the night to release the rope and set up camp for the day. The resting spot was sketchy, but he made the best of it. He made sure to anchor himself to prevent a sleepy rollover to a fatal drop. He could only go as far as his ropes allowed. He descended fairly quickly and had plenty of time to rest up for the next night's descent.

His heart filled with gratitude when he made it down to the lower foothills of the mountains. He made a stash of his supplies that were not necessary for a short trip. He settled down to wait for the next night to trek to the shiny object. First, he had to find a way to cross the river.

JonMo packed up a couple of days of supplies as well as his weapons and the invisibility belt. He then made his way down to the river. Not far from where he was, the river widened out into a narrow bay. This is where the current of the river met the rambunctious ocean. The waves were somewhat moderated in strength by the resistance of the river current. He walked down and inspected the water there; it was too deep.

He was 4 kilometers up the river before he found some rocks in a shallower part. The river was wider here and the current was a little less strong. The tide was about to change and JonMo figured that the incoming tide would further slow the river, so he waited a few hours for that. 

Meanwhile, he lashed together several short logs to form a raft for his pack. He scouted the water as best he could and figured he would hold onto the raft and kick across. He could not swim and thought this was the safest way. The only lake in the kingdom was far north and he had never seen it. Certainly, the ocean never invited one to swim. 

It was still chilly, but with shorts on and everything else on the raft, he set out. His starting point was a few meters upstream from where he hoped the current would take him on the other side. He shivered as he moved into the cold water, braced himself in the river behind his raft, and kicked for all he was worth. Slow was his progress, but he made it to the other side without mishap, except he was several meters farther downstream than he hoped to be. He pushed the raft upstream along the bank until there was access to scramble up. He had to throw his pack and clothes up on the bank and then move up the muddy bank. He was dirty and thankful to be out of the water when he got up the bank. He took out a cloth from his pack, tied a rope on it, and threw it in the river. It took several dips of the cloth to wash all of the mud and grime off of him, but with one more toss to wash out the cloth, he was ready to get dressed and get warm. He soon had that accomplished. Then he dismantled the raft and ruffed up the ground to remove obvious tracks before shouldering his pack and moving upstream to where this far side of the river met the ocean.

When he got there, he used his binoculars to check for the shiny glint about two kilometers sorth of his present position. It was still there. He moved back into the woods a few meters and began his trek within the woods to the object. 

He carefully moved in the shadow of the trees. Some of the trees were very tall and unfamiliar to him. He appreciated their beauty but kept his focus on the way ahead. Every few meters he would stop and listen and check behind and to the sides. He saw some tracks that were pig hoof prints and savored the thought of a fresh meal. He could not risk a fire with a roasting pig though, so he doggedly went forward. 

The afternoon was waning when he came to the location where the shiny object was. He carefully made his way to the edge of the tree line to peer with his binoculars at the object. It was a ship! It was 50 or so meters away and just barely on the sand. Waves battered it from behind. It looked derelict, but he did not want to rush forward without scouting around. In the remaining light, he made a circuit 300 meters into the woods, then arced farther south back to the beach, then diagonally to a 300-meter spot before moving back north to the beach. He then went diagonally back to the edge of the woods where the object was lying. Nothing out of the ordinary was found on his circuit and no camp of the Intruders was close to where he was. No evidence of a camp either. He had periodically used his binoculars to sweep through the trees without finding anything interesting. Tired of being stealthy and moving around, he went into the now-dark woods to find a tree he could climb that was away from the beach. He soon found one and threw a rope to the lowest strong branch, secured it, and then pulled himself up. His pack came next. He climbed higher and found a location to set up his hammock, ate a cold meal, and went to sleep. 

Before the sun was up, he was back at the edge of the woods observing. Nothing but the ship being slammed by the waves. Somehow, the ship looked familiar. He decided to creep up in the remaining darkness and have a look.

JonMo was as silent as a little crab on the beach as he carefully crept up to the bouncing ship. Just as he got to it, the clouds moved and let moonlight bathe it. He quickly got himself flat on the ground. He was sure now that this was a ship he had seen in the material B127MZ had shown him. Why was it here? He got up without brushing off the sand and approached the hatch of the ship. Maybe he could get inside and see what the story was. It was difficult with the waves crashing on the rear of the ship. He timed the waves in his mind and ran to the ship when there was a slight lull. As he got near the hatch, it abruptly opened and a mechanical arm reached out, grabbed his left arm, and pulled him in.

He was roughly put into a seat and commanded, "Buckle up, we are on the move!" JonMo quickly buckled in and looked at the robot, an apparent duplicate of B127MZ. The ship elevated a little and then moved out to sea before diving into the water. When they were what seemed a few kilometers from shore and in very deep water, the robot spoke again. "We are now at the stationary point that I was commanded to remain at 2700 years ago. After a few hundred years I began to send up little probes to test the area north of where the mountains meet the sea. Many, many probes went up and back with no new information until you were spotted climbing down the mountain. The probe scanned you and found you carried technology consistent with what my fellow travelers had before they abruptly left. I did not know what to make of you, so I came to the surface and beached this craft. You took the bait and here you are! Speak!"

JonMo looked around and said, "This place is a mess. Junk is lying everywhere. And what is your name?"

The robot responded, "I am called M237B9, continue." JonMo said, "I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Exdom, which is on the other side of the mountains. I was rescued by B127MZ at the Nebza Outpost hill. He educated and helped me with my family and preparation for this journey over the Great Mountains. We received a short message from Centerhome to be aware and go technology-passive. I was prepared and sent on a mission to cross the mountains that no one had crossed before. I am to find the Invaders and see what they are up to without engaging them in any way. 

M237B9 busied himself cleaning the ship and grumbling under his breath, "What would it look like if you had been here 2700 years with no contact? A site messier and probably leaking! No thanks for keeping this ship marginally operational, harump! Then he spoke up, "I received the same message from Centerhome when I surfaced on the beach. No interstellar messaging is accessible underwater. I am not stupid!"

JonMo said, "No offense, I am just used to B127MZ and you seem somewhat different." M237B9 retorted, "Well, I am different. I am an advanced model with extra capabilities for surveillance and fighting, not to mention my superior intellect for all other functions." JonMo was perplexed by this robot's attitude, but he went on in a conciliatory way, "OK, pardon my ignorance. Would it be allowable to discuss the mission I was sent on?" M237B9 replied, "Speak."

JonMo missed B127MZ, but he focused on the mission and asked, "Can this ship do passive sensing to not alert the Intruders?" 

       M237B9 then said, “It will take some modifications to the probes which I am very capable of doing. I suppose you mean long-range sensing, but that is problematic with the present equipment. The small probes that I sent up were in passive or receive-only mode. They did go past passive to scan you on the mountainside but at very low power. I will begin to make the modifications for longer range passive sensing.” 

       B237B9 continued, “You should also retrieve your gear. We can glide a little ways into the river so we do not deal with the waves. This ship must now stay under the water unless there is a pressing need to surface. There are water suits the Centerhome explorers used under water, but not at these depths. I will take us up the river a little and you will exit an airlock that is a level below at the back. I will give you a bag that will allow you to keep your gear dry. Come back to the ship under water to the airlock and unload your gear from the foothills. Then go back to the place where you found me and pick up your other gear. There is no reason to take chances and let the Intruders find your gear. Obscure your tracks as best you can. It will rain later this evening and that will obscure them further."

JonMo just went down to the lower level and looked in the back for the water suit. He found one and it looked to be in good condition. As he put it on he could feel the motion of the ship. He went up to the observation deck and just looked out of the front view screen. There were no windows, but the outside was projected on a large screen as if it were a window. The scene under the water was beautiful. He had no understanding of the sea other than crashing waves. Plants and these saltwater fish were new to him. 

Soon they were approaching the river. The robot said, "The tide is still coming in. These near planets make for complex tide patterns. I have sorted them out and if you swim with all your might, the current will not take you too far upstream. Get ready to leave as the river quickly gets too shallow for this ship.” JonMo did as advised and quickly made his way down to the airlock. He locked the helmet in place and started to breathe evenly. This was another new experience that he never expected to have...as so many others had been. Well, there was nothing for it. He stepped into  the airlock and pushed a button to have the door shut. Once it did, he began to feel the pressure change and soon water was rushing into the airlock. He maneuvered out of the lock and was gratified that the water suit also kept him relatively warm. He felt the current moving him upstream and struck to his left using his arms and legs to propel him forward. He found the north side of the mountainside bank and started to climb out. He took off his helmet and started making his way up the foothill to where his gear was concealed. 

Going uphill was not too strenuous near sea level and he quickly made his way to the stash. It was undisturbed and he put his gear into the dry bag M237B9 had given him. Now he realized a minor flaw in the project. He did not know where the ship was. He carried the bag down the hill and then went back to obscure his tracks. Sure enough, dark clouds were coming in from the sea. He maybe had an hour before it started to rain. He had to be quick. 

He ran with the bag on grassy surfaces until he got near the mouth of the river. Then he entered the water with the bag. He quickly realized the bag was full of air and would be near impossible to submerge, so got out and unsealed it. After wrestling with it to remove as much air as possible, he resealed it and went back into the water after he tied a short rope to it. This allowed him to get under the water and again be moved upstream. He almost bumped into the ship before he saw it. With careful maneuvering, he made his way to the airlock. He could not let go of the ship because the current would quickly move him upstream. He got the airlock to open and then moved in. It took a lot of might to pull the bag into the airlock. When there, he pushed another button and let the water pump out. When dry, he opened the airlock door. M237B9's voice immediately commanded, "Unload the bag and get back out as quickly as you can. The tide will shortly change. "Okay, will do,'' JonMo responded. Soon he had the dry bag on the other side of the river. He made his way again through the woods to where his pack was hidden. It too was undisturbed. Soon he was back at the river with the dry bag containing the minimal amount of air. Sure enough, the current was now changing to move downstream. It was gaining speed as the outgoing movement of the tide with the natural current of the river was faster than an incoming tide. He moved upstream to where he could get down into the water and made his way in. Before he found the ship he noticed with some alarm that he was actually in the sea. He saw above where the waves were crashing and managed to get the bag through the turbulence.

That is when he found out that the water suit had an intercom. "You missed the ship. Were you not looking? I am coming to find you." JonMo chose not to respond to the robot. Soon M237B9 had the ship under him and he made his way to the airlock. The wrestle to get the bag in was not as hard and soon he was inside the ship and removing the water suit. 

Once he was again dressed, he went up to the observation deck. M237B9 addressed him, "Now we go to find the Intruders. It is raining very hard and your tracks will certainly be obscured. The Intruders may never come this way, but taking unnecessary chances could lead to disaster. I have modified some of the sensors and we can use them to detect the Intruders. 

Soon a pattern set in. They went south along the coast about a kilometer out. The range of the probes in passive receive mode was about five kilometers. They sent one up to scout at that range. The first probe sent out picked up something new. The Intruders were very close to the river.

JonMo said, “Wow, that was fast. They must be farther inland though.” M237B9 replied, “I am analyzing the signal we got from this first probe. It is faint, but a crashing sound like trees falling is repeating. I am going to recall that probe and send out a special one that I have been saving."                  

M237B9 brought out what looked like a bird and said,  "That first probe was kept the at the treetops to keep it from visual recognition. This new probe behaves and appears as one of the native birds. It also has a longer range. I will send it farther inland towards the sound that standard probe just found."

They waited while the new bird probe went out on its discovery mission. It had a real-time visual of what the bird probe saw, but this was disabled to prevent a signal from being intercepted. So they had to wait. After about an hour the probe returned and dove into the ocean as this copied what the species does when feeding. Then its body folded back and the feet started to spin as propellers. It was soon at the probe airlock and M237MZ retrieved it.

"Well?", said JonMo. "Patience, young soldier. I am setting up the video on the front screen now." What the bird probe had captured was a view from about 100 meters as it circled the Intruder's site. They were cutting down trees with a large laser cutter and a crane-type machine picked up the trees and dumped them in a big grinding hopper. The hopper was attached to another machine that transformed the trees' raw material extruded beams. Buildings were already built and more were being constructed with the extruded materials. The large machinery suddenly changed to  side panels and those started spitting out regularly. They assumed it could also do roofing panels.

Some large predators on Nebza did not live in the Kingdom of Exdom. One large cat's habitat must have been disturbed and it came at one of the large robots that was  watching the machines. The large cat lunged at a robot, and before it could sink its teeth, the big robot grabbed it by the neck and threw it in the hopper with the tree material. The cat's anguished howl was brief as it too became raw material. 

"Those are nasty robots. They have a singular focus on the work of building that nothing is allowed to impede. It appears that all of the Intruders are these large robots. Maybe they are preparing for their masters to come at a later time. They have no regard for any life on this planet”  M237MZ continued, "JonMo, are you up to a reconnaissance mission? There are a few things we need to know about the Intruders. This is what I propose. Set fire to one of their structures and we will see how easy they are to burn.  We need to know their weaknesses. Secondly, we need to find out if they are scanning for signals. A very small device that outputs five different signal types, one at a time, and then pauses for a reaction, should do it. There is a nearby pond with a small island in the middle of it that the bird probe picked up. That seems to be the best place to locate the device. It has a timer to set a delay time to allow you to be far from it when it starts to send. It also has a burrowing feature. It can go down about a meter every 10 seconds. I will set it to stop at a meter and emit a chemical that will dissolve it. It's a lot of effort to find out their sensing capabilities. We can judge from their reactions. We will see how fast they approach the island. Hopefully, they are lumberingly slow. You must not leave footprints around the pond or on the island. I will send a probe out to discover the best way to approach the pond and island. How do you suggest we set fire to one of their lodges."

      JonMo responded, "There is a thunderstorm approaching. What if we install something that will draw lightning? That will allow us to not tip them off that it was sabotage." M237B9 said, "You will have to get close enough to install such a device. That may be tough for you. The device must also be consumed in the lightning blast to not leave any trace. I will have to work on that. I concede that is a good plan." JonMo responded, "I have been trained in stealth tactics and I believe I can place it without being noticed." "OK", responded M237B9. "If you are seen it will also give us an indication of their optical sensors and speed at which they come to apprehend you." JonMo retorted, "We shall see, but maybe we should do this together. If I am in a jam you can use your fast thinking to help I hope." M237M9 said, "First wise thing you have said. I'll construct the lightning magnet and we'll get going. You may want to eat something now as we could be out for an indeterminate amount of time." With that, they both got to work, one preparing a warm meal and the robot working very fast at his workbench.

It was an hour later when they exited through the airlock. The robot wore no water suit but JonMo did not ask. He figured the robot knew what he was doing. The ship was anchored at a depth of 20 meters. They swam towards the shore. M237B9 communicated to JonMo's helmet, "Follow my lead as I get through the waves." JonMo did and was surprised that the waves did not crash on him, though it took fast footwork to copy M237B9. They were soon on the beach. It was dark, still, JonMo marked in his mind a reference to the trees so he could find his way back to the ship.

They made their way to the pond first. M237B9 said, "Let me place the signaling device. I can get to the little island without leaving footprints." With that, the robot lightly hopped from rock to rock before taking a large leap into the water. Soon he was at the island and placing the sensor. When it was to his satisfaction, M237B9 returned as he had come. JonMo saw him lightly hopping from rock to rock back to his hiding place in the trees. "The storm is almost here, let's get that lightning magnet installed as quickly as we can," M237B9 said.

JonMo used all of his stealth tactics as he and the robot, who was very stealthy, made their way to the first structure built by the Intruder robots. When they were about 130 meters away M237B9 raised his left hand to signal a halt. "I will go 10 meters at a time. I will use my internal passive sensors to check if they have any alarms or traps along the way. I will return when I have scouted the way." JonMo waited anxiously for seven minutes before the robot returned. M237B9 said, "I have detected no alarms or sensors. Let us proceed to the structure and set the lightning attractor device. The material will vaporize with the violence of the lightning strike, so no evidence will be left. You will set the device while I watch for any movement our way by the Intruders. I will guide you as to when to set the device. 

They proceeded cautiously as before and were shortly in the trees by the rear of the structure. M237B9 left to go up to the front of the building to watch out. Soon he used a thumbs up to signal to JonMo to get to work. JonMo went on his belly in the cleared area around the building and moved slowly towards the back of it. The Intruder robots were about a kilometer ahead, but they were not visible due to a slight hill between his and B237B9's position. When he was fully behind the structure he arose quietly and climbed up to just under the roof. He placed the device, which had a thin rod that extended out of it towards the sky. He quickly and quietly came down and made his way back to their close hiding place. M237B9 was there and said, "Let's get out of here as the storm is very close." They retreated to their 130-meter location and waited. 

And waited. It was not until about 45 minutes later that a very wet and somewhat patient JonMo saw a brilliant flash of lightning and heard a corner of the building explode and the massive thunder a split second behind it. Orange and yellow flames erupted above the trees. Soon the back of the building was raging on fire. They both went prostrate behind some bushes as M237B9 strained his sensitive hearing to capture what was happening. "They just arrived. It has been 335 seconds or just under three meters per second. We both could outrun them if that is their fastest speed. I of course could more than double your speed JonMo, but we are in this together", said M237B9. Before JonMo could respond, they heard a resounding boom from an explosion. 

"They are not fighting the fire. They are blasting the building to pieces. I think they are coming this way. We cannot outrun their blasters and we don't want to be seen. Let us climb this tree as fast and as quietly as we can. Hopefully, we can get hidden up in the branches before they get here. With that, they both scrambled up the tree. First M237B9 jumped lightly up to the lowest stout branch and then grabbed JonMo's extended arms to pull him up. They soon were up in the leafy branches and out of sight. It was not long until one of the Intruder robots arrived. JonMo and M237B9 remained very quiet with JonMo holding his breath when the menacing robot came to their tree. The big Intruder robot stopped to inspect the tree but then moved on. At that moment, the sending unit on the little island in the pond started broadcasting. The robot turned quickly toward the source of the broadcast and moved toward it at a three-meter-per-second pace. When the Intruder was out of sight, M237B9 said, "It responded to the second signal of five, which was radio frequency static. Let's take a chance and get out of here quickly. They listened for a few seconds and then quickly moved down the tree. M237B9 stood on two rocks and motioned JonMo to jump down. M237B9 easily caught him. M237B9 checked was satisfied that they did not leave any tracks. 

They made it back to the ship under the water using M237B9's infallible sense of direction. It was a very high tide, so they were exposed on the beach for a brief time. M237B9 used his far-reaching passive sensors to inspect both ways before they bolted into the crashing waves.  

They got back to the ship in short order. Once they got through the airlock, M237B9 said, “I am going back out to check on the broadcast device. I suspect that they did not find it, but I want to be sure. Those robots likely leave heavy tracks. I will move the ship a bit south first to get farther from their position before I exit the ship.

M237B9 took the ship to a point where the seashore curved enough to have a direct sightline down to the Intruder’s area. Then he exited the ship and made it quickly to shore. It was now dark, but his optical sensors adapted to that and he went quickly and quietly through the woods with his auditory sensors on high alert. When he arrived at the pond, all was quiet. Still, he was cautious. An Intruder robot could be setting an ambush. He decided to throw a rock into the pond and see what happened. He got as near to the pond as possible while still staying in the trees. Then he caused the color of his right hand and arm to turn black as the night. With a very quick motion, his right arm came from behind the tree and a small rock was thrown in the water. He moved back quickly and quietly. Nothing happened. He then decided to scout around the perimeter of the pond for robot footprints. 

It was not until he was about 50 meters from the pond that he found incoming and then retreating footprints of one Intruder robot. Its heavy prints were very visible in the ground that had been softened by the rains. 

He then went back to the pond and under water to the little island. In short order, he had retrieved the little broadcast device. It had not buried itself. That meant that it had not sensed any approach within the broadcast timing window. The robots had not found it. Back to the ship he went as cautiously as he had come.

When he returned M237B9 said, “This is what we have learned as I see it. The Intruder robots are not overly fast, but they contain substantial firepower. They only accept what is valuable to their mission and anything that inhibits that is destroyed as the big cat and the building on fire. They only responded to one of the signals from the little broadcast device I left on the island. Consequently, when that signal stopped, their search stopped. Only the low-power radio signal was received by them, and only by one robot, it seems. More than one robot should have been enough to triangulate the signal location, but that did not happen. So, they must have limited sensing abilities.”

M237B9 continued, “I am going to send out a little robotic pig like the one that you told me about in your story of how you blundered into the Outpost. This one I have onboard could plant listening bushes. I will have it plant a good many to get their roots to connect at least two kilometers away from the Intruder area. It will take about two months, but we need intel on what they are up to. The pig robot will go out tonight. It has advanced abilities to passively sense its surroundings and I will program it to stay out of sight of the Intruders. I will have it place the first bush about three kilometers away in the direct path that the Intruders are working towards. I estimate that at the pace they are working the Intruders will arrive near the first listening bush in two months. The pig will angle back through the woods to place plants in random locations that still will have their roots able to connect. I will program the plants to be very similar to a common bush there to not arouse suspicion.”

JonMo thought that two months was a long time to wait, but they needed both information and extreme caution. He would try to get M237B9 to go with him to see B127MZ in the meantime. Maybe there would be extra resources at the Outpost that would help them to defeat the robots. 

Under cover of darkness, the robotic pig made its way from the waves to the woods. Just as it was programmed, it put down small plants that would grow into listening posts. The little plants began immediately to put down roots that would search out and connect to the nearest neighbor plant. The little pig robot, under cover of darkness and first checking for Intruders, left the woods and entered the waves. Soon, it was back on board the ship and stored for two months. Then it would be sent out to gather information from the plants it had planted.

M237B9 said, "Let us go to the kingdom of Exdom and the Outpost. We will enter under cover of darkness far away from settlements and as close to the Outpost as possible. We'll see what B127MZ has to say." Their ship moved to their chosen location near the Outpost.

JonMo and M237B9 came through the raging waves with JonMo again following the robot. It was still a battering, but they made it through. It was a cloudy night and JonMo was dressed in black while M237B9 just changed his skin color to black. No one noticed them because no one was around. The Outpost was about two hours away, and they got underway at a fast pace. It was a half hour before the sun rose when they were 50 meters from the Outpost. After scouting a perimeter, they made their way to the entrance that was tucked away in the woods near the Outpost. They were surprised to see B127MZ standing by the open entrance when they got there. "Welcome JonMo, good to see you have come safely back. I also see that you brought my bossy counterpart with you", said B127MZ. 

B127MZ ushered them into the Outpost and closed the camouflaged entrance. They were all silent as they walked the tunnel to the hidden Outpost. When they were there B127MZ said, "Tell me all that has happened." JonMo looked at M237B9 and then decided to speak. "Well, I got across the mountains alive and investigated a shiny object on the beach. That's where M237B9's ship was anchored underwater about 120 meters out to sea." Then JonMo filled him in on their finding and what they had learned from the Intruders. 

B127MZ's opinion was sobering. "We can assume that Intruder robots are formidable. They have serious firepower in their robot bodies. We can assume that their ship has a lot more firepower. It seems that the Centerhome people are very concerned about them due to the only message we received to beware of the Intruders. They no doubt sent a single cryptic message as a longer message may have allowed the Intruders to trace their message back to the source. All in all, I believe we have a very formidable enemy that we still know very little about."

M237B9 said, "I concur with your assessment, B127MZ. We must wait a little less than two months to gain more intelligence on the Intruders. This is your Outpost B127MZ and despite your assertion of my bossiness, I have learned restraint in my long isolation under the sea and now defer to you to suggest a plan. "B127MZ responded, "Well, the best thing I can suggest is that we convert the ship I have here in the Outpost to an amphibious vessel like yours, M237B9. We will have to get it into the sea under passive power, meaning it will roll into the sea if we push it. Underwater, it seems that our ships are undetectable. We can go far away from the Intruders on this planet and try to discover resources that may help us with this massive problem."

The next few weeks went by quickly as all three focused their efforts on converting the Outpost's spaceship to have the additional ability to work under the sea safely. The ship was already capable of being in space and as such was sealed. It did need a protective coat to prevent any corrosion from being in salt water. The coating also added protection from any sea creature attaching to the ship. 

With the coating completed, they focused on adding underwater propulsion. It had to be quiet and cause minimal turbulence to keep it undetectable. Short wings were added to allow lift and maneuvering with surfaces on the back of the wings. They soon had it done as the robots understood it completely and JonMo was always a willing helper. He learned much during this process and became more able to do complex tasks. He took charge of the added controls for underwater maneuvering. M237B9 did check his work carefully and only a couple of small changes were needed. It took a little over three weeks to complete the changes with the robots working around the clock. 

B127MZ and M237B9 were happy with the results, so JonMo knew all was completed. It was time to put the ship out to sea. They waited two more nights until a darker night. A robot pig was sent out to scout the area for any members of the Kingdom of Exdom. There were a couple of hunters, so they waited until it was two hours after dark when the hunters would surely be headed home. The pig confirmed they had left the area. The move was on. 

A large rear hatch was opened. It was impressive as it weighed a lot with dirt, plants, and rocks as its exterior. Wheels had been fitted to a carriage underneath the ship. It took all their effort to get it out of the Outpost. It was slightly uphill. They got it turned and pointed towards the ocean and it got easier to push as it was slightly downhill. They took a route that avoided trees and that made the route longer. Finally, they reached the sand of the beach and they halted. JonMo got into the ship and the robots got it moving as fast as they could until it crashed into the waves. The momentum of the ship kept it going until the ship was completely underwater. JonMo immediately added a very small amount of thrust to keep the ship from hitting the bottom. 

B127MZ and M237B9 got very busy restoring the land where the wheel tracks and footprints were. The undercarriage had been pushed back and placed within the Outpost, with their quick work, that was soon completed. Then they rushed to the sea and dived under the crashing waves. Soon they were aboard the ship with JonMo and all headed out to M237B9's ship.

As M237B9's ship was not far away, they made it to it quickly. Before they separated, B127MZ said, "Why don't we head south for 500 kilometers and then go to land to see what we can see? The Centerhome explorers did not go that far in the initial investigation of this planet. Maybe we will find resources, but if not, we can go another 100 kilometers and try that area. What we need is metal and focusing crystals to enhance the ship's weapons and also create powerful handheld weapons that can take out the robots. We will need a coordinated attack with ships and ground assault to take out their ship and robots at the same time."

All agreed this was a good starting plan. M237B9 left for his ship and both ships headed south. They figured that 500 kilometers would put them safely far enough away from the Intruders. Both ships went farther out to sea so they could travel at a deeper depth. This further prevented detection while they were closer to the Intruders. 

JonMo busied himself by continuing his studies of the sciences and weapons development. He also did what exercises he could within the confines of the ship. He appreciated the thoroughness of the two robots in making B127MZ's ship capable at the depths where the pressure was stronger. There was a library of entertainment videos left by the Centerhome explorers. Sometimes he watched those. Most were of space exploration and battles with little on the Centerhome worlds. It was something else to do to pass the time, so he watched a few of them. 

They finally arrived at the 500-kilometer mark and made their way to a location about 240 meters from the shore. Here a robot pig was sent out at night to scout the location. When the pig reported back the following night, it brought a video of another mountain range that was close by. That boded well for finding raw materials. The pig reported no threats except for some large cats that it had some trouble avoiding. There were only a few of them seen, so they figured they could avoid them if they stayed in the foothills of the mountains. 

The next night B127MZ and JonMo took sensors, digging equipment, and weapons to the shore. JonMo again watched the robot time the waves to not get too battered exiting them. They made their way to the ever-present woods and climbed high up in a tree to get away from any roaming predators. 

JonMo scouted the area with his binoculars before they went down to the forest floor. No danger could be seen. They then made their way to the foothills to begin their search for raw materials. They both had sensors that would find metals and crystals depending on the setting. 

They searched low and higher in the mountains. They were successful in finding some large raw rubies embedded about a half meter in the rock. They used a handheld laser digging device to slice away the rock until they got to the raw rubies. It was a substantial find and they extracted all they thought they would need. When B127MZ said it was enough, JonMo did not argue. 

They had only found trace amounts of metals and that was copper. They needed the high strength allowed by steel and that meant iron and other metals used for alloying. It was time to move on to see what they could find. Time was still on their side as the listening bushes still needed time to establish their root network.

Back to the ships they went and moved back to deep water. As planned, they moved 100 more kilometers south and repeated the process of sending the robot pig to scout the area. When all was deemed safe enough, they went to the land to use their sensors. This was a land of many lakes but not much metal of any kind, so back to the ships. 

They went 700 more kilometers before they found any usable metals. There were mountains and rivers in that area and it looked promising. JonMo and the two robots spread out and took their sensors to see what they could find. M237B9 was successful at first.

He had found gold and silver as well as a small deposit of nickel. JonMo was encouraged and went higher in his search and began to see the indicator on his sensor feebly light up. He was getting something. It turned out to be iron ore in abundance when he got closer to it. He used a laser cutter to remove the rock and dirt to expose the ore and soon had enough for their purposes loaded up. He’d need the robots to help carry it. It would take several trips. He looked around behind and was surprised to see a large cat sitting and looking at him. He slowly reached for his laser burst pistol when the big cat shook its head from side to side. Just then B127MZ walked up and motioned for JonMo to be silent. B127MZ turned to the big cat and directed a query, "What do you want." The big male cat talked back in a rough and deep voice. When both JonMo and B1127MZ did not respond and JonMo looked perplexed, the big cat used one claw on its massive right front foot to make a drawing on the ground. The drawing showed rough figures of JonMo and B127MZ and a line under the two figures. Then the cat drew two crude figures of the Intruder robots. He then drew an angry slash through the two Intruder robots and growled. He then pointed back to the figures of JonMo and B127MZ and emitted a deep purr. 

        B127MZ said, "I think he means us no harm and that we have a common enemy." B127MZ proceeded to draw the cat with a line underneath. Then he drew two Intruder robots and growled as he slashed through them. He then pointed back at the cat he drew and sounded a purring sound. 

JonMo was quite relieved at the progress of these negotiations and proceeded to draw figures of him and the two robots. He was sure the cats were aware of M237B9 as well. He then drew a mountainside and showed material coming out of the mountain. He then drew a line from the material to a cylinder with a burst coming from the cylinder. Next, he drew an Intruder robot being blasted with its feet coming out from under it. The big cat studied this briefly and emitted that deep purr again. Then the cat withdrew and left them to their work. It was a strange interchange, but JonMo began to think about how this new ally could help in the upcoming battle with the Intruders. It had to be in a way that did not get them killed. 

The cats had their plan. Soon the big cat who had communicated with them was back. He cleared a space on the dusty ground to make a drawing surface. He then proceeded to draw three big cats like himself. Each had a cylinder strapped to its back. Lines were drawn to show blasts coming from the cat-mounted laser cannons. The target of the blasts was the Intruder robots. 

B127MZ absorbed the communication and then drew the cat, JonMo, and himself. Then he drew the Intruder camp a distance away. The cat got the question. He drew cats with wavy lines connecting between their heads. They were telepathic. This is how they communicated and this cat, far from the Intruders, had information on them. These cats saw the Intruders as a clear threat and were willing to join the fight. They wanted weapons that would compete with the firepower of the Intruders. 

It took a few hours, but JonMo and B127MZ finally got a plan communicated to the cat's approval. They would fabricate the weapons for the cats and meet them at the mountain base where JonMo had descended much earlier. The ground was covered with drawings. Then the big leader cat came and sat on its haunches before JonMo. JonMo looked into the big eyes of the leader cat. An image of a cave on the north side of the Great Mountains came into his mind. There they would finalize plans to outfit the cats with weapons. 

It would take a while to go back north to where they could gain intelligence on the Intruders. By the time they got there two months will have passed. They had acquired all of the materials needed to create more weapons. Each ship had a tool shop with advanced manufacturing equipment. It would take some modifications by B127MZ and M237B9 to adapt some equipment to deal with raw materials, but they knew how to accomplish it. 

M237B9 had joined them with the bounty of raw material he had found. JonMo focused on the group of cats that had come to say farewell to them. JonMo let his mind fill with thanks to the cats. As one, they all inclined their heads in acknowledgment. It was time now to exit to the ocean and the ships. They had work to do.

JonMo donned his water suit and into the ocean they went. It was always bumpy, but they made it with JonMo following the robots. They each had a waterproof sack with raw material that was quite heavy. Each bag was less heavy in the water, yet they made slow progress dragging the heavy bags behind them. Each bag had a pocket of air that helped to keep them from being dragged down to the bottom. The robots thought of everything. It took several trips to bring all the ore.

At last they made it to the respective airlocks of the ships and had the materials stored and were on their way to deeper water.  Next they turned north. They had several hundred kilometers to go and that would give them time to manufacture the weapons and outfit them on the ships by coming up to about 50 meters below the ocean surface. That was later though. The ships were on autopilot and M237B9 worked feverishly in the tool shop of his ship. JonMo and B127MZ were just as busy on their ship. B127MZ had gotten measurements of the cats and also worked on the harnesses and firing mechanisms for the laser cannons that would be mounted on these majestic cats. They first had to complete the upgrades to their ships. This included powerful laser cannons and advanced rail guns that would fire a slug at very high speed. Missile launchers were also prepared with missiles that had warheads of tiny fusion reactions. The missiles were small in diameter, but they packed a strong punch. Creating the hand-held laser cannons took a lot of effort with the power supply being the biggest issue. Yet, they got it done by collaborating between the two ships. Their ideas  became solutions with hard work.

When all was ready they coordinated a move to a location far out to sea. Then they moved to 50 meters below the ocean surface and got to work. JonMo was ready in his water suit. He and the robots exited their ships through the airlocks first with the laser cannons. They had already installed the inner mechanisms and receivers for all three types of the new weapons. Now they had to cut small sections of the ship's hulls to accept the laser cannon focus devices. These outward devices could also be aimed by moving the focus direction from inside the ship. Once these devices were welded in place they went back for the rail gun turrets. These were not as easy to aim so a gimbal was part of the exterior mechanism. It took up more room inside as well. Once the mechanisms were clicked in and secured to the internal parts, the exterior perimeter of the rail gun mechanism was welded into its place. The missile launch exterior tubes were short and a lot easier to install. The missiles were self-guided and only required a straight tube that started inside and extended for a short distance outside. Two of these per ship were installed.

The final part of their journey north was soon accomplished. They came as close to the shore as they could on the north side of the Great Mountains. B127MZ sent out a robot pig to scout the area when it was fully dark. 

The robot pig scouted the area as programmed and also gathered intelligence from the now fully connected listening bushes. The pig, with its scouting and intelligence gathering done, moved under the cover of darkness towards the sea. As it got close to the water, a powerful laser blast violently removed its back legs. With a squeal of fright, the pig used its two front legs to pull itself into the water. There it swam with all its two-legged might towards the ships. It was not good enough though. 

The big Intruder robot had followed it into the water and was catching up quickly. B127MZ had been alerted when the first laser blast had hit the pig. He began to pull encrypted data from the pig and had most of it when the Intruder robot clamped onto it. B127MZ sent a self-destruct and the pig exploded and decimated the claw arm of the robot. While the Intruder absorbed that, B127MZ and M237B9 high-tailed it out to sea. They went as deep as they could as fast as they could and hoped the Intruder robot did not see them. They assumed that it did.  

Things were somber on the ship. JonMo said, "That was too close. The Intruders are more watchful than we expected." B127MZ responded, "Yes, but that is why we send a pig first. I did get some data and also something else valuable. The ship's passive sensors picked up a signal from the Intruder robot when it was in the water." Just then, they heard the airlock open. It was M237B9. 

M2237B9 said, "I come over as we need to do some planning. Our rendezvous place with the big cats has been compromised. One of us should likely go back south to let them know of our new plan once we have it."

"Yes, I agree.", said B127MZ. He continued, "I was just telling JonMo that I picked up a signal from the Intruder robot. It was very faint. I can create a sensor that will search for that signal and amplify it a little. That may give us a small advantage and we should set the cats up with it. We should outfit the cats with their laser cannons and train them back at their base many hundreds of kilometers south. I will get to work on that sensor as soon as we finalize plans."

JonMo said, "We also need to decipher what we can from the poor pig's data." They all agreed and got to work on that. Several hours later they met together to finalize new plans. B127MZ explained the pig's preliminary data, "There seems to be little audible information exchanged between the Intruders. The pig did get a look though. There seems to be many more barracks created and large plots of fields have been cleared. This seems to point to one thing. Robots do not need the barracks, so they must plan to put humans in them. They must be aware of the humans in the Kingdom of Exdom and plan to enslave them to work in a large number of fields. That would infer that there are masters of these Intruder robots who are coming and they are the ones who would benefit from the food and slave labor. That would make them very nasty people indeed. If true, This does not bode well and modifies my thinking. I need to further decipher what information the poor pig gathered before it was destroyed.

B127MZ got back to work on the pig's data. The visuals were easy to interpret, yet the little communication between the Intruder robots took a while. In the end, B127MZ's hypothesis was correct. The Intruders were preparing to come capture and enslave the able people of the Kingdom of Exdom. Those not able would be terminated. The people in the kingdom are unaware that they were easy targets. 

Once they discussed this a new plan was formulated. JonMo and B127MZ would go to the Kingdom of Exdom and somehow convince them to move north as fast as possible. They would need to be provided with weapons to defend themselves. The plan was to hide them in the north near the mountains and the trees, but not all in one place. Their weapons would need to be ones of last resort as B127MZ, M237B9, and JonMo would need to put up the primary defense. JonMo said, "When the Intruders come, we need to be in the kingdom to give them a nasty welcome." They had not considered the big Intruder ship enough though.

M237B9 suggested that the big cats also come to the north of the kingdom to get outfitted with weapons and sensors. That was agreed upon as long as the cats could cross the Great Mountains. Hopefully, they knew a way. M237B9 bid them farewell and headed back to his ship to warn the cats and outfit them with the new Intruder-finding sensors. The timing was going to be tricky. JonMo and B127MZ made plans on how to get to the kingdom and convince the people of their danger.

M237B9 said, "I have a holo-projector back at the Outpost that might come in useful. We have aerial views of the Intruder operations that we could use with the projector to convince the Queen and her young grandson, the King, of their danger. You will need to tell them about how you found the Intruders, JonMo. Taking your climbing gear may help convince them of what they now deem impossible, crossing the Great Mountains as you did." JonMo agreed with the old robot and said, "We will need to enter the kingdom with some warning of any Intruders that have come there. If we could send out a scout other than a pig with the Intruder detection sensor onboard, that may make it safer to go on shore." B127MZ said, "I will add the sensor to one of the bird robots and make it as passive as possible to reduce detection. If we could send the bird out to connect with similar live birds in flight, that may throw off detection." 

Again, they got busy with technology. They modified a bird robot to appear as the common sea birds of the area. They also outfitted it with one of the new Intruder detection sensors. B127MZ also modified another bird robot to appear as a fish. Its job was to let them know when sea birds were near so the sea bird robot could appear and join them. When all was ready, they went 50 meters below the surface of the ocean and came within five kilometers of the shore that was nearest the Outpost. 

The fish robot saw the birds at a distance and quickly swam down to the bird where it waited at three meters down. The robot fish bumped the robot bird, giving it the expected signal, and the bird was soon in the sky next to a loose group of similar real sea birds. To not arouse the Intruders, the robot bird only gathered information and video passively. If something reached its audio, video, or Intruder detection sensors, it recorded it. The sea birds reached land and flew along the shoreline. Fortunately, they wheeled back out to sea after going back and forth. When they landed on calmer waters out to sea to rest, the robot bird dived below the surface and made its way to the ship. Once it was through the airlock, B127MZ took it and plugged in a short cable to download the information that it had gathered. The news was not good. The Intruders were already in the Kingdom of Exdom and they were rounding up some citizens and moving them toward their ship. There was now no need to convince the Queen of their danger. The danger was upon them. All their plans were now useless.

B127MZ said, "Their base may be unguarded and vulnerable. Let us first go back there and send up the same robotic seabird to scout it." JonMo agreed and soon they were back at depth and moving south at top ocean speed. When they got there, the robotic seabird was sent up on a reconnaissance mission. In about an hour, the bird was back on the ship, and data was downloaded. One Intruder robot appeared to be roaming the base perimeter on sentry duty. All else looked quiet. Maybe it was time to test their firepower on one Intruder robot.  "JonMo, man the slug thrower and laser cannon. I will fly the ship and direct the missiles.", shouted B127MZ. He continued, "The seabird data also showed a tower in the middle of their base. You start shooting the Intruder robot and I will direct a missile at that tower, which no doubt has communication and sensors."

B127MZ frantically fed the tower targeting data into a missile while JonMo readied himself. When they erupted out of the water, the missile shot out of the ship and flew an erratic but directed path toward the base of the tower. B127MZ pushed the ship to match the speed of the missile. He kept the ship at the treetops and soon they were over the Intruder base. JonMo fired two slugs at the menacing robot. It was bringing his arms up to fire laser cannons when one slug flew close. It turned its head to look and just then the second slug slammed into it with such force that it took off one of its massive arms. JonMo fired laser cannons immediately after firing the slugs. This caused the Intruder robot to seek cover, but one laser cannon blast tore into it and it exploded. 

Meanwhile, the missile hit the base of the com tower and it fell on top of one of the buildings, doing great damage. "Target their machines JonMo. We've got ten seconds before their big ship will arrive and this is a hit and run." JonMo did not speak but sent laser cannon blasts into their machines in rapid succession. The three that were nearby went up in explosive flames. "Time to go!" said B127MZ and he turned the ship towards the sea as fast as it could go. The big Intruder ship had just crested the Great Mountains and it started firing. 

B127MZ dove towards the water as soon as he could as very powerful laser cannon blasts boiled the water just in front of the ship. The robot's extra fast reflexes saved them as they turned away from the blast and dove into the water. B127MZ immediately turned north and dove deeper. Searing hot blasts hit the water all around them making boiling tunnels. Fortunately, they were soon below the blasts and their northerly direction was not expected by the Intruders. That told JonMo and B127MZ that the Intruders could not detect their ship.

JonMo turned to B127MZ and said, "That ship is our biggest threat. With their communications tower down and equipment destroyed, it will take them a while to regroup. In the meantime, we need to consider the plight of the citizens of the Kingdom of Exdom. We also need a plan to destroy their ship." B127MZ replied, "You are correct in your assumptions. We also need to rejoin M237B9 and the big cats. If we are not all highly coordinated in our assault, we will surely be defeated." 

JonMo further said, "I agree. I want some very powerful explosives that I can sneak up and attach to the Intruder's ship. It would be nice to have some backup from the Big Cats outfitted with laser cannons and Intruder sensors. If they could go into action at the proper time after I get the explosives attached, it would allow me to get out of the blast zone. The cats need to hit and run to prevent them from getting blasted."

  B127MZ said, "That is a very risky plan, but I do believe it has merit. They are much more vulnerable without their big ship. Let's go find M237B9 and see what we can plan again now that previous plans are meaningless."

B127MZ turned the ship towards the north and went at maximum speed and near maximum depth. Time passed and they arrived at the southern border of the Kingdom of Exdom. Cautiously, B127MZ raised their ship to about 100 meters below the surface. Again the bird robot was sent out to gather information. Soon it was back and the good news it brought was that M237B9 and the Big Cats were helping the refugees who had streamed to the north to hide deep in the woods next to the mountains. The people quickly decided to trust the Big Cats. Soon JonMo was in his water suit and headed for the shore. He took some battering going through the waves but made it out on the land just after sunset. He then made the long trek to where the woods became thick and angled his way back north. Soon, he met up with a lot of scared people who were making their way into the woods under the veil of darkness. He found one of the Big Cats, or better said, the cat found him. After sniffing and identifying him, the cat sent a telepathic message of inquiry to him. JonMo pictured M237B9 in his mind and focused on the Big Cat. The cat just turned about and looked over his shoulder to make sure JonMo was following. 

The Big Cat led him directly to M237B9 and then the cat turned back to go help the people where he had met JonMo. JonMo greeted the robot, "B127MZ is waiting out a little to sea. He wants us to meet together and form a strategy to defeat the Intruders." "That is a huge and difficult task.", said M237B9, "But we need to try. I will go with you right away after I instruct the Big Cats."

It was not long before M237B9 and JonMo were angling through the waves to avoid their massive power as much as possible. They both ducked under and made their way to the ship where B127MZ was waiting. Once through the airlock, JonMo removed his water suit and came into the section of the ship where there was a table. At it sat both of the robots. A third chair was there for JonMo. A serious discussion ensued. 

They discussed the plan that JonMo and B127MZ had initialized. It still sounded risky, but they were sure that a direct assault with their two ships was riskier. The Intruder ship just had too much firepower. They decided to go with the plan to have JonMo sneak up on the Intruder ship and plant explosives. It was going to take some surveillance to find an opportune time to advance on the Intruder ship for this job, but not too much time as just being around the Intruder area was risky. M237B9 would go with three Big Cats fitted with laser cannons and Intruder sensors. A robotic bird would watch from a hidden place on a tree. It will rise in the air when it notices that JonMo is done planting explosives. That will be a signal for the Big Cats to come in from 100 meters out to do hit-and-run attacks on the Intruder robots.

The timing for the plan was to have the big Intruder ship explode just after dawn in three days. A robotic bird would take a high flight to discover the movements of the Intruders. M237B9, B127MZ, and JonMo would get prepared for the assault, but they would also help with the evacuation and defense preparation for the many people in Exdom who were moving north to hide in the mountains.

The robots got very busy building some shielding technology that would make JonMo and the fusion bomb he would carry no more electronically visible than a tree. B127MZ and M237B9 considered this extremely important and worked furiously on it as only robots could do. JonMo worked on his camouflage suit. It was the warmer season and he knew he would sweat in it, but there was nothing for it. It was essential as well. They worked through the night. JonMo finished the camo suit and got two hours of sleep. The non-sleeping robots finished the stealth shielding tech before dawn. B127MZ left the ship and took the shielding tech in a dry bag to the land. There he activated it while M237B9 came briefly to the surface and tried to find B127MZ with all available sensors. Nothing! Their work was a success. 

B127MZ came back to the ship with the tech and read the data from the robot bird. The Intruders were working hard to rebuild the communications tower and were making rounds regularly around the perimeter. It looked like it would take them a few days to rebuild the comm tower, but they could not rely on speculation. They needed to help in the evacuation of the citizens of Exdom, but their assault had to go off on schedule. 

B127MZ woke JonMo. "You must rise.", he said and continued, "Too much is at stake. Let us go help the citizens in the big evacuation to a safer place. They must not all be in one place as that would make it too easy for the Intruders to find them and round them up."

It was back to the land, leaving their ships at 50 meters below the surface of the ocean. Before they left they did send out a robotic bird to scout for Intruder activity. This bird was newly disguised as one of the larger predator types that were more commonly seen higher in the air. If the Intruder ship moved, it would break silence and warn them. All was clear.

They walked for a few kilometers before they came to the gathering and staging area for the refugees. The Big Cats were communicating via telepathy to a young woman with long brown hair. JonMo was immediately curious about her. He had never seen her before. They walked up to her to ask how they could help; she appeared to be in charge. One of the big cats sent him an image of the young woman holding hands with him, which startled him quite a bit. She received the same image and laughed at him. She said her name was Lana and she had discovered that she was receiving telepathic messages from the Big Cats who were directing the refugees. 

      The big cats had been drawing arrows in the dirt and carefully watching the number of refugees assigned to each location. Big cats were also stationed at strategic points to further direct groups of refugees. 

That had changed when Lana confidently first communicated with the big cats. The Big Cats were delighted and started relaying instructions through her. Some of the refugees were even getting their questions answered. They had to move along quickly though as there were a lot of refugees and when the Intruders would come back was only an educated guess. JonMo and the robots split up, each going with a group of refugees as the big cats directed. 

It took over an hour to reach the foot of the mountains. The big cats had scouted out canyons and caves and this refugee group was directed into a winding canyon. A big cat was ahead of the group and JonMo took the rear. There was a creek cascading further below. They were on a new trail on the left side of the creek. The going was slow as each of the refugees was carrying supplies. Water was available from the creek and water filters had been distributed to each refugee group. 

It took two more hours to reach the location the big cats had scouted. The canyon split and they all went on the right branch a ways back to where the creek had created a large sandy beach. Large trees had created a shady canopy that would keep them hidden from aerial inspections of the Intruders. JonMo appreciated the thoroughness of the big cats in finding such a hospitable location for a large group. The leader big cat came to JonMo and flashed an image into his mind of two big cats on sentry duty in hidden locations behind them in the canyon. They each had laser cannons mounted on their backs with the business end above their heads. The Intruder sensors were on the side of the laser cannon harness. JonMo sent back a strong thought of appreciation. The big cat sent another image of the danger of campfires. JonMo took time to find a leader among the refugees. He picked an older lady who had a strong look of confidence and instructed her on the danger of campfires. They would have to eat their food cold. Smoke from fires would give off their location and that was way too dangerous in their current situation. Once he felt that she understood, he thanked her and she walked away. 

She walked toward two big and strong men and began to give them instructions. They said, "Yes, mama." JonMo saw this and his fears of campfire smoke vanished. A big cat came over and motioned with his big head. JonMo and he began to walk out of the canyon. The big cat, whose name was StraVach, fed him images of the seven other locations where refugees were hidden. JonMo was getting better at this telepathic communication. He relayed as best he could the plan to blow up the Intruder's big ship. He detailed the big cats' part in this risky plan. StraVatch relayed that he would assign four big cats, equipped with laser cannons and sensors to this coming assault. JonMo was grateful to have their help. He now wanted to meet up with the Outpost robots and finalize plans. After that, he could give final details to the big cats.
 

JonMo took leave of StraVatch and made his way out of the canyon and then through the woods. He arrived at the refugee gathering spot to find only four Big Cats and B127MZ. All refugees were safely hiding in canyons or caves. No doubt the Intruders could eventually find them, but it would take time. B127MZ said, "Welcome JonMo. M237B9 is a few minutes out and will soon join us. These are the four Big Cats that will join us in the assault on the Intruders. One of the Big Cats flashed to JonMo an image of Lana back in a deep canyon quieting fearful children. JonMo turned a little red but then refocused on the task at hand. M237B9 could now be seen striding up to them.

Now a conference of war started for the seven participants. JonMo said, "I will need a distraction when I escape from planting the bomb on the Intruder ship. This distraction should not be one where anyone gets wounded or killed, but a solid hit and run only." M237B9 said, "JonMo, I see that you are relaying our planning via telepathy to the Big Cats. Please have them relay their understanding back to you to make sure we are all understanding the same plan. I plan to be with the Big Cats about 130 meters from JonMo's position. Of course, that position will be on the north of the Intruder stronghold. From there, we will await the signal for hit-and-run attacks. When we see the robotic bird fly towards us, we will get into action. The very agile Big Cats will sprint to prearranged positions along the nearest perimeter of the Intruder camp. They will all have the Intruder sensor activated in passive mode. The one closest to an Intruder will duck out and draw attention and then duck back into the trees. He will sprint towards a hidden Big Cat and the hopefully the Intruder who follows will arrive to be ambushed by this second Big Cat. It is a risky plan, but the Big Cats should also improvise as conditions are sure to be dynamic." B127MZ added, "I will be near JonMo providing backup in case the Intruders close in.  I will have the same laser cannon that the Big Cats will use. We should all be in position 15 minutes before dawn and be primed for action. Do not take unnecessary risks as there are enough of us to back each other up. I will also have the robotic bird programmed and in position. M237B9 will also have a laser cannon and will be in position on the other side of the Intruder camp.” JonMo relayed the plan to the Big Cats and patiently waited for them to relay it back to him. Any misconceptions were cleared up. Everyone now had the plan and individual assignments.

It would take two days for the four Big Cats, EvNat, a large female, NaVatch, a brother of StraVatch, MoTac, and LoSat. They were all helped with the fit of the laser cannons and Intruder sensors. This was the easiest way to carry their gear and it made them ready. It would take two days for them to use their mountain paths to make it to the gathering spot at the foot of the mountains south of the Kingdom of Exdom and north of the Intruder camp. Due to possible Intruder patrols, the Big Cats would not set a fixed location for rendezvous. EvNat was particularly strong with telepathy and would contact JonMo once all were in the general vicinity. Now that they had a rendezvous plan, JonMo and the robots made their way up the beach to be across from the submerged ship of B127MZ. JonMo donned his water suit and soon they were through the waves and down 50 meters to the ship. 

B127MZ said, "We will now go to the ship of M237B9 which is close by. We will need all the firepower of both ships ready and available to meet very changeable conditions."

Soon they were at the nearby ship. JonMo and M237B9 exited through the airlock. He and M237B9 were going to meet with the four Big Cats on the south side of the mountains and JonMo was there to help to find them. JonMo would return to the ship of B127MZ once they met up with the Big Cats.

JonMo again tried hard to time the big crashing waves so he could navigate un-battered to shore. He mostly succeeded. They came to land in the dark of night in the lee of the mountains. It was tricky to walk among the rocks where the mountains met the sea. JonMo followed M237B9 as they avoided the rushing waters and sharp rocks. M237B9 had better night vision than JonMo and he methodically moved forward until they came around to the south face of the Great Mountains. Here next to the mountains they found shelter by the banks of a creek and under thick cover of trees. In this place they would wait during the day before continuing their travel. M237B9 kept watch with his sensors all day. JonMo rested while there was time.

When night came, they crossed the creek and again traveled east along the foothills of the mountains. They each had passive sensors that would detect an Intruder. So far the sensors had detected nothing. Still, they proceeded as quietly as they could. At times, M237B9 would stop and use his strong audio sensors. Usually, a small animal would be the source of the noise. They made their way to the canyon which JonMo had first descended after his epic climb up from the Kingdom of Exdom. They went up the canyon about 75 meters where it turned. This provided cover during the daylight which was soon at hand. The next night would be when the Big Cats were due to arrive there on the south side of the Great Mountains. 

JonMo ate some cold rations and then slept while M237B9 stood silent watch. When he woke it was almost again night. After more rations and water, he opened his mind to the Big Cats. NaVatch was instantly in his mind. They were close. JonMo relayed a location and soon the four Big Cats were padding up. It was amazing how silent they were. After greeting them, JonMo said his goodbyes. They would meet again on the battlefield. JonMo headed back to meet B127MZ. He needed to hurry as timing was a critical part of their battle strategy.

It was still tricky to navigate the rugged landscape at the foot of the mountains. JonMo had the advantage of recently going across the ground. The disadvantage was that M237B9 was not there to guide him, yet the night was not as dark due to one of the nearby planets reflecting the sun's light. It was beautiful and a little more dangerous. JonMo had to rely more on his sensors. He also decided to use the night vision goggles that he had brought with him. They admitted a little radiation, but it was worth the risk. He made good time until he saw the sun just begin to rise. He found shelter behind a rock and waited for the night to come again. Thankfully his Intruder sensor did not alarm. He again had some rations and water before dozing off to sleep.

He was awakened by a robotic bird pecking on his hand. He almost shot it before he realized what it was. Then the bird repeated a message from B127MZ, "There is an Intruder robot patrolling the shore. It is likely out of range of your sensor. Timing is critical, so you must reach the water and this ship tonight before midnight. Advise that you immediately go as high as you can in the mountains that will allow traversing toward the shore. As a last resort, I will come out of the water to distract or blast that Intruder. Please be clever and don't make me have to do that as it will jeopardize the mission. Good luck. 

JonMo immediately packed up and began to make his way toward the mountains. They were just a short distance away. Then he had another thought. What if he used leaves and small branches from the nearby trees to camouflage himself? Then he could stay in the trees on the foothills and make better time. He proceeded to do just that and pretty soon looked like a walking bush. It was uncomfortable, but he would stick it out until the Intruder came within range of the sensor. He would climb up into the mountains then if that presented the best option. 

He made his way westward as quickly as a walking bush could. Before it got dark his sensor began to warn him. The sensor gave a small pulse against his wrist that was stronger if the big Intruder robot was nearer. He verified that it was moving up and down the beach. Another idea came to him and he immediately began to search for a slender tree that he could make a serviceable bow from. His good bow was on the ship and he had to improvise. He quickly cut down a slender hardwood tree that he knew from experience would make a good bow. Soon he had it fashioned into a serviceable bow. He added a thin piece of rope from his pack as the bowstring. Now he needed an arrow. He searched the ground until he found a triangular flat stone. It was a stone that was layered in flakes. He used his knife to make it thinner. He found a straight and thin branch that would do as an arrow. It took too long to find a feather, but he did find one and it soon became the arrow’s fletching. He lashed the fashioned stone as the arrowhead after he wedged it into a cut in the top of the arrow. Now he was ready. 

In his leaf and branch disguise, he stealthily made his way as near to the shore as he dared. He stayed as close to the mountains as he could. He now could see the big Intruder robot patrolling the shore. When it turned and headed down the beach the other way, he moved to where the mountains and a few trees met the ocean. Using all the quiet movement that B127MZ had taught him, he moved as close as he could to that spot. He still needed some tree cover to use the bow, so he positioned himself about seven meters from the beginning of the shore. He then pulled the bowstring back as far as it would allow and loosed the arrow to a spot about 30 meters away from the shore in a wooded spot. It was very bad luck for a small wild pig in the arrow’s trajectory but excellent luck for JonMo. The arrow hit a pig above the left back leg and it let out a very loud squeal and took off as fast as it could, dragging the arrow.

The Intruder robot went at a fast pace towards the sound of the retreating pig and JonMo went towards the ocean while staying near the trees. The Intruder robot was still chasing the pig when JonMo slipped into the water with his new bow with him. He took a battering from the waves but his water suit mask was on his head and he made it through. He swam as fast as he could with the branches and bow dragging on him. Then B127MZ was in his view and grabbed his left arm to pull him faster through the water. They soon reached the ship and were through the airlock. JonMo thanked B127MZ as he took branches off of himself after he had set aside the bow. He told B127MZ of his good fortune to hit the pig that distracted the Intruder robot. B127MZ listened while he directed the ship lower and  south towards the location where they would attack the Intruders. 

Meanwhile, M237B9 was working with the four Big Cats who were getting ready to help with the attack. He carefully reviewed the plan by drawing in the dirt. They needed to be in position before dawn the following day. The robot bird would alert them to go into action. Their main objective was to draw the attention of Intruder robots after JonMo had placed the explosive under their big ship. They were to take no unnecessary risks but hit and run as fast as they could. Some traps were being set up to blast a robot when they were chasing one of the Big Cats. That would be their most tricky maneuver. They had practiced it many times to work out the timing. A clear shot from a distance was important as that allowed both Big Cats to escape. They all hoped for a chance to blast the Intruders. 

M237B9 had them also practice the activation of their laser canons. Each cannon was set to test without actually firing. All of the four cannons were checked out. Next, they tested their Intruder sensors as much as it were possible without approaching the big robots. All seemed in good order. 

It was time. It was two hours before dawn. They started moving as stealthily as possible to their attack positions. Each would do a final check of their Intruder sensors once they were in position.

The robot bird would alert EvNat, the big female Big Cat. When the signal was received, EvNat would go into action. M237B9 now took a risk. He would trust EvNat to do her part in coordinating the attack. He had decided to head back to his ship. If the attack succeeded, that meant the Intruders' big ship would be disabled. His ship would then be the strongest force to attack the Intruder robots. He faced the Big Cats and saluted as the Explorers had done 3000 years before when they left in a hurry. Now M237B9 left in a hurry. He travelled north away from the Big Cats and back to the coast. The big Intruder robot was no longer patrolling the coast. The first light of dawn showed on the horizon when he got back into his ship and checked the weapons.

On the other side of the Intruder area JonMo and B127MZ were approaching the area where the big Intruder ship was located. They had gone two kilometers south of the Intruders location before JonMo put on his water suit and pulled behind him a waterproof bag with a bomb and weapons. B127MZ also pulled a bag with his portable laser cannon and a little device that he had been working on. He also had a robotic bird in the bag. They had previously used a bird with an Intruder sensor to do reconnaissance before they disembarked. All was clear, so they braved the battering waves to once again come to shore in the dark of night. They had left enough time to walk up into the woods and then make their way towards the Intruder ship. Just as the Big Cats, they were targeting the time of an hour before dawn for the attack. They had to be in position before that and that required a lot of stealth. 

JonMo and B127MZ made their way on an angle towards the point of the attack on the Intruder ship. This was an anxious time for JonMo and he rehearsed over and over in his mind the plan for the attack. It certainly depended on the Big Cats creating the diversion after he planted the bomb. He had to run as fast as he could after planting it. During that time the Intruder robots needed to be looking elsewhere. 

The bomb had to be big enough to rip into the armor plating of the big ship. That meant JonMo had to be far away from the ship when the bomb went off. It would be set on a timer for three minutes. They wanted the Intruder robots to not discover the bomb in that period and have enough time to remove it. They had also done all they could to make the bomb impossible to defuse. It was now the real deal. Now it was time to get it in place.

The Intruder robots had been working around the clock to rebuild the large communications tower. They knew that their masters depended on this communication and they were determined to get it back into working order. It was no small task as the previous attack on it was devastating and they had to fabricate many new parts. They also had to scavenge parts from their big ship and that was precarious. Still, it had to be done. There were six of these big Intruder robots and they had alternated sending one of them out on patrols. They were behind schedule and could only spare one at a time. Now that they were close to finishing, all six of them were doing the final touches. 

Two of them would man their big ship when the comm tower went back online the next morning. They would be ready just after dawn for any attack from the ship that had ambushed them the last time.

JonMo and B127MZ crept up as close as they dared to the big Intruder ship. It was yet dark and a half hour before dawn. B127MZ led the way there with his excellent night vision. They got as close as they prudently could and hid behind a small hill in the trees. B127MZ pointed to the pack JonMo was carrying and JonMo knew what he meant. JonMo carefully removed to pack and took out the bomb that had been carefully prepared by B127MZ. It was a micro fusion bomb that had to be oriented such that the blast went upwards. Nothing else could likely damage the Intruder ship. 

Meanwhile, the six Intruder robots were in a group to confer and issue assignments. Two would patrol the perimeter, three would do the final work on the transmitter and one would guard their ship. It was a half hour before dawn and their assignments would begin shortly. 

NaVatch, MoTac, and LoSat were getting their final briefing from the female Big Cat EvNat. She was a cat of many talents including strong telepathy, superior athleticism, and a clever strategist. They were poised for action as soon as the robot bird made an appearance. 

Meanwhile, M237B9 waited underwater in his ship. He knew that it was a risk to engage the fighting power of his ship at the wrong time. He also knew what time the robot bird was to take flight and had worked out his plan. A lot depended on another robotic fowl that he had set floating on the surface. It was listening for the roar of JonMo's bomb blast and M237B9 was waiting for that robotic bird to dive. That was his signal!

JonMo carefully took the micro fusion bomb up to the edge of the tree line, where the trees met the Intruder's territory. He did it with the utmost quiet and care to not make a sound. His Intruder sensor was beginning to alert him through a silent tactile touch on his wrist. He had to start his approach to the big Intruder ship in five minutes. His Intruder alert intensified then began to wane. This indicated to him that an Intruder robot was patrolling the perimeter. He would have to wait until the alert stopped.  This would indicate that the nasty robot was out of range. It did go out of range and he was beginning to move another alert began. Either that Intruder robot was doubling back or another one was on the same perimeter duty. It was difficult to determine the direction of the alert, but with patient focus, JonMo knew that this was Intruder robot number two. Time was running out. He turned and looked back the way he had come and made a small hand movement. 

B127MZ caught that movement of JonMo's hand. He immediately moved south away from the Intruder's territory and behind the small hill. There he took out the robot bird that would notify the Big Cats in the trees on the north side of the Intruder's land. He released the robotic bird and it moved silently further south and then took flight. It reached the natural flying altitude of the native birds it was emulating and arced to the north. 

B127MZ silently went back to his waiting position. JonMo was gone. He picked up this laser cannon and moved to a position where he could see things unfold. He was ready to go as fast as possible to JonMo's position if JonMo was in danger. His Intruder sensor had given him the same warnings and information as JonMo's. He knew that JonMo was taking a big risk by starting his approach to the big Intruder ship, but time was running out. He needed a distraction and the robotic bird was just about to land at the feet of EvNat.

EvNat took one brief look at the bird. Its appearance was the signal. She turned to her three Big Cat warriors and nodded her head. Action was on the way. They had to draw the Intruder robots away from their big ship to give JonMo the best chance to plant to bomb.  He then had to leave quickly to not be killed by the blast. MoTac headed east with LoSat while NaVatch and EvNat went west. 

EvNat's Intruder sensor was alerting as she arrived at the edge of the trees. She went out into the Intruder territory and faced the big Intruder robot who began quickly making its way to her. It paused when it recognized the laser cannon on her back and that is when she fired. The blast slammed into the left shoulder of the Intruder and spun it around. The left arm was now missing. EvNat quickly bounded back into the trees and the incensed Intruder robot followed. The Intruder came in range of NaVatch who made a perfect shot into the hole that EvNat had made when she blasted off its arm. NaVatch's laser cannon bolt went into the inner parts of the Intruder robot and it toppled unmoving onto its face. 

All heck now broke loose across the Intruder territory. With maximum defenses alerted, the remaining five Intruder robots made their way to the place where their fellow robot met its demise. EvNat and NaVatch had gone a bit north and had then turned west toward the beach of the raging sea. They ran at the speed and quiet that these Big Cats could run. When they reached the beach they turned south. EvNat wanted to get into a position to protect JonMo.

JonMo had begun to creep and crawl as much as he could silently manage toward the big Intruder ship. It was about seven meters away and he knew any sound would alert the Intruder robots. He had begun this knowing that the Intruders were patrolling nearby and a third Intruder robot was making its way to their big ship. The sun's light was just barely showing over the eastern horizon. He moved as fast as silence would allow with his only real hope of survival depending upon a successful distraction to draw the Intruder robots away from him. Then he heard a laser cannon blast and then another. The Intruder sensor alerts indicated the retreat of the Intruders from his position. They were moving fast and he quickly reasoned that this was his best chance. The shadow of the night was quickly being lost. His black clothing camouflaged him and he started crawling as fast as he could as his Intruder sensor alerts became weaker and weaker. He made it to the big Intruder ship and though it was a tight squeeze to get under it, he made it to the middle of the ship. He set the fusion bomb facing so the blast would be toward the bottom of the ship and set the timer for four minutes. Then, as fast as he could, he made his way to the edge of the big Intruder ship where his Intruder alert suddenly became active. He looked for a place to hide and made his way under the boarding ramp. He would die there in the blast in three minutes. 

Then he heard a mighty roar. It was EvNat running around the big ship. JonMo exited from under the boarding ramp and ran for the trees. EvNat raced toward the quickly approaching Intruder robot. As the big Intruder raised its right arm to blast EvNat, she leaped into the air. The robot's blast went under her. Her leap was tremendous in a backward flip that brought her laser cannon level with the Intruder robot's ugly head. That's when she triggered her laser cannon blast and the robot's head was no more. Its body fell to the dirt and EvNot hit the ground and kept running. B127MZ was just out of the trees and was aiming at this Intruder when he witnessed the amazing maneuver of EvNat. He saw JonMo coming towards him and turned and ran with him as fast as they could. They made it behind a hill and JonMo covered his ears with his hands as a mighty roaring blast split the air. 

The big Intruder ship lifted three meters when the blast erupted. The micro fusion bomb blast did its job spectacularly and tore a five-meter hole completely through the ship. Shrapnel flew up high in the air and began raining down close to the ship. Some of it clanked onto the lifeless metal body of the headless Intruder robot. EvNat was not harmed as she was 100 meters away when the bomb went off. She had crouched down with her big paws covering her ears. 

The four remaining Intruder robots all began to converge on their newly repaired communications tower. One was being dragged by one of its fellow robots. It had lost a leg from an ambush that MoTac and LoSat had set. The robots' last chance was to get a message off to call for reinforcements from their home planet many light-years away. That is when M237B9's ship made an appearance. 

M237B9's ship had popped out of the water and went at maximum thrust to the enemy territory. When he got over it, he saw three Intruder robots with one being dragged. They were setting up a defense at their repaired com tower. One of them was moving fast to a gun placement on the com tower. M237B9 sent a guided micro-fusion missile directly at it. The missile reached to gun placement just as the Intruder got to it. The explosion was spectacular and the tower began to lean. JonMo, B127B9, and the Big Cats all gave the com tower plenty of room as they figured M237B9 had this. He did. With the big Intruder ship disabled, M237B9 knew the odds were in his favor.

He came around to face the three remaining Intruders as they were sending laser cannon blasts as fast as they could. M237B9 juked and dodged and sent his ship's more powerful laser cannon blasts directly at the three robots. Before they could run for cover, the blasts vaporized them. The com tower structure, weakened by the micro fusion missile, made a slow crash to the ground. M237B9 radioed B127MZ to request that he disable the com equipment on the tower but not destroy it. He then saw JonMo and B127MZ along with the four Big Cats converge on the fallen tower. 

M239B9 landed his ship in front of the downed com tower. When he got out of his ship he saw the four Big Cats roaring with joy and dancing about. He imagined that they were telling and retelling their exploits that helped bring down the Intruders. They were ecstatic that gone were the ones who had so casually murdered one of their own. 

JonMo and B127MZ had appropriated an antigrav sled from the tower. It was now loaded with all sorts of electronic equipment. B127MZ said, "M237B9 and I will sort through this equipment to see if we can find out more about the Intruders and their mission here. He asked if any of the Intruder robots were intact enough to hook up to equipment that could pull information from them. JonMo got from EvNat that they had destroyed the innards below the head of one and JonMo knew of the one EvNat had blown the head off of. Between the two they might have enough to put together one Intruder. They would first have to find out how to do that safely.

They decided to check into the Intruder's equipment and the robots to determine the threat level before informing the Kingdom of Exdom of their miraculous victory. JonMo and M237B9 took M237B9's ship to gather up what was left of the two fallen Intruder robots. B127MZ took off at a run to go get his ship from the raging sea. It was not too far, just a bit south of the boundary the Intruders had set up. 

By evening both ships were set down near the fallen com tower. B127MZ took the Intruder's com equipment to analyze in his ship while M237B9 took what was left of two Intruder robots into his ship to see what information he could extract from them. Meanwhile, the four Big Cats were anxious to get back with their fellows to share the news and their exploits. JonMo convinced them to wait until the next day to leave. B127MZ and M237B9 would work all night analyzing the Intruder data. JonMo and the Big Cats decided to go check out the several structures the Intruders had built. Maybe something useful was there. 

The next morning JonMo had a nice breakfast of roast pig and fried bird eggs, both found by NaVatch. Then they all met to discuss their findings. B127MZ went first, "The Intruder's interstellar communications equipment is quite primitive to what the Centerhome Explorers used over 3000 years ago. It will work but must be above the tree line to have an unobstructed view to work. It is quite weak but will connect over many light years with a limited data send rate. The address of the planet they were trying to connect to is 17 light years away and nowhere near the Centerhome group of planets. I assume that the Intruders are a race that has had faster-than-light technology for a short time. There is not much more information as point-to-point communications was the com tower's purpose."

M237B9 then spoke, "The electronics brain of the robot that EvNat and NaVatch dispatched was still intact but was inert due to not having power. The body of the robot by the ship taken out by EvNat had a working power supply, which I connected to the Intruder robot's head and electronic brain. It immediately went into a convulsive state trying to send out commands to its body that did not exist. After it settled down, I was able with much tinkering and effort to connect to the head's data port. Connecting to the data port made the brain electronics quiet and subject to inquiry. The patterns in the data that I extracted helped me decipher its language. This is what I found out."

M237B9 revealed, "There seemed to be much concern by all of the Intruders that it was imperative to be successful in their mission here. The population of their planet had declined over the centuries due to fear of scarcity and government policies had limited childbirth to an unobtainable goal of zero growth. The last 100 or so years there were devoted to gaining faster-than-light drive so they could conquer another planet and use its population to rebuild theirs. All their wealth and resources went into this effort. Yet, it would have failed because they planned to enslave the population to grow abundant food and strongly encourage slaves to have children. Schemes like these may work in the short run, but these ruling men would also enslave all future children of the slaves. Breakdown and rebellion would be inevitable." M2327B9 continued, "This is the good news. Their big ship, now inoperable, was their only one. If the Intruders had had success, some of them would go back to bring the ruling class of men to this planet. The Intruder robots found this planet but were never able to reveal its position in space to their masters. Their big ship had no interstellar communications and that is why the com tower was so important to them."  

JonMo said, "We can now report to the Kingdom of Exdom and all of the Big Cats that this planet is free from the oppression of the Intruders. Over the next years, we should gain what we can by using their technology and ours to build a defense in case others arrive here. It seems unlikely, but somehow the Intruders found us." M237B9 said, "I think they did that by following the communications of the Centerhome Explorers. Looking back at records, it seems that they have been trying to contact us for about a year using a newer technology. It was not until they went back to an old technology that we were able to get their warning."

JonMo had related the information to the four warrior Big Cats. They knew that the Intruders would have hunted them down and killed them. All were profoundly grateful for their deliverance. 

The Big Cats related to JonMo what they had found in the structures left by the Intruders. Most were group sleeping barracks and there was one medical building that would serve their slaves. Also, there was a supply of foodstuffs which must have been very precious to the Intruders. This was starter food to keep the population going until the first crops came in. They would need a contingent from the Kingdom of Exdom to clean out the buildings and see what could be reused. 

They all, JonMo, B127MZ, M327B9, and the four Big Cats, decided to meet in three days at the open ground in front of the castle in the Kingdom of Exdom. The Big Cats had the task of breaking the news to the citizens of the kingdom who were hiding in the foothills. They, of course, would also break the news with much fanfare to their fellow Big Cats. 

It was the morning of the third day since the Big Cats, JonMo, B127MZ, and M237B9 had parted from the former territory of the Intruders. Both B127MZ's and M237B9's ships were parked in front of the Kingdom of Exdom's castle. JonMo, B127MZ, and M237B9 stood facing the castle with 50 Big Cats on either side of them. NaVatch and MoTac were immediately at their left while EvNat and LoSat were at their right. These four Big Cats had their laser cannons on their backs.

On a telepathic signal from JonMo, these four blasted their laser cannons at a high angle over the large crowd of citizens gathered in front of them. Then all 100 Big Cats roared in unison. The citizens shouted and clapped with delight. Their heroes were before them. Then the crowd parted.

Queen NanavakPa and her four-year-old grandson King EdmoPo made their way to the front of the crowd. The little king nodded to his grandmother and the Queen began to speak to the crowd and the gathered heroes, "The debt of gratitude for the valiant ones who have preserved our liberty is to be engraved in a new monument that will be placed in front of the castle. Furthermore, the Big Cats are forever protected and sure friends of the Kingdom. Their lands will never be encroached upon without their permission. StraVatch has volunteered to be a Captain in the army of the Kingdom of Exdom. His responsibility is to be the chief liaison for the Big Cats with the King's Army. EvNat has been named the Captain of the Big Cats. A contingent of 100 Big Cats, led by EvNat, will be outfitted with laser cannons and EvNat will train them in their usage."

The Queen continued, "The Outpost of B127MZ and M237B9 in what was formally known as the King's Hill is now the sole property of these two robots. No one may enter there without their express permission. B127MZ has also agreed to work with scholars in the Kingdom to upgrade the schools such that basic skills of reading, writing, and math may be understood by all. Adult classes will also be made available. In addition, M237B9 has agreed to be the first president of the College of Exdom. Advanced topics will be taught there as well as trades in the technology of the ships owned by the two robots. We need more ships and jobs will be plentiful. We will no longer restrict which profession our youth can apply for. Growth is needed and regulation is to be minimal, yet we want to preserve the beauty and grandeur of our land. Lana has been chosen as the Kingdom liaison to the Big Cats. Their interests will be heard in a monthly meeting of the captains. Captain ArnoMo will become head of the King's Army and has strict orders to cooperate with the Big Cats, B127MZ, M237B9, and JonMo.

Queen NanavakPa concluded, "Last of all, JonMo has been named as Captain of the Raging Sea. He has an interest in getting vessels on the sea to traverse the waters. A pier will be built out into the Raging Sea under JonMo's direction with the help of the robots. Another pier will be installed at the river near the former Intruder's camp. He will go to the former Intruder's camp to set up a permanent base and catalog their technology. The goal will be to use their technology wisely. I know much has been announced and there is much work to do to set these things in motion. Everyone is needed, but please stay in your previous professions while we sort this all out. Thank you, my good people."

With everyone milling around and talking excitedly about the announcements, JonMo made his way to where Lana was communicating with the Big Cats. These great beings had been told everything that the Queen had said via telepathy. JonMo casually walked up to Lana and she casually looked at him. "Will you be my date for the grand celebration ball to be held tonight?" She paused and thought and said, "Only if you come with me now and practice the dances." She held out her hand and JonMo took it. Off they went to practice. 

JonMo was a busy man. The first pier was taking shape on the land. He had studied the engineering principles needed under B127MZ's tutelage. The pier had to be very sturdy to withstand the beating of the Raging Sea. JonMo had put on his water suit and braved the surf to find the best location for the pier. He mapped the depth and slope of that area and used these calculations for the slope of the bottom of the pier. Nice round roller logs were put under the pier while it was under construction. A team of 10 men and women had been assigned to help JonMo build the pier. Another 10 had been assigned to cut the logs needed from the trees in the Great Forest. They were instructed to plant new trees in the areas where they cut down ones to be used in building the pier. Seven additional citizens from the transport sector were tasked with bringing the logs to the beach construction area. 

It was quite the construction as the pier had to be long enough to get past the rough surf into the relatively quieter waters. A boat with a sail, very foreign and of much interest to the citizens, was constructed as well. The design came from the records of B127MZ's ship. He had to dig deep to find them, but he did and JonMo used them to direct the building of the first boat of the Kingdom of Exdom. 

A trolley track was put on the top of the pier to allow carrying the sailboat to the end of it. There was a ramp on both ends of the pier to allow the loading and launching of the boat. A place to dock the boat after it was launched was constructed on the far side of the pier. 

At last, the day came to place the large pier into the Raging Sea. There was a box lined with slats of strong timbers the length of the pier. Four teams of six mules each were tethered to each side of the seaward part of the pier. Mule drivers had practiced the maneuvers to get the pier into the sea without sending the mules into the raging surf. 

The command from JonMo came and the mules started pulling the land-bound pier toward the Raging Sea. The roller logs were placed underneath and in front of the pier. At first, it went slowly, then momentum took over. The mules ran pulling until a line marked in the sand. Pins were sequentially pulled to release the mules as the pier hit the last rollers and then pounded into the sea. The big crowd, including the Queen and her grandson, were there to watch the event. The 107-meter pier slid out into the ocean until some large ropes snapped taut and stopped its forward motion. Then the workers, all ten fitted with new water suits, started taking rocks down the box in the bottom of the pier to lay them along the length. This anchored the pier and that work took 12 hours to complete. The rocks that had been stacked nearby helped in the process. 

Many wanted to begin walking out onto the newly installed pier to the calmer waters past the surf. Not everyone would do this as this was a very foreign action. Many did, and it was an exhilarating experience for them. The pier had been under construction for nine months. During that time JonMo and Lana were often seen together around the kingdom at social activities.

The following week was the first time in history for a boat to be launched into the Raging Sea. JonMo's eleven-meter sailboat had been built upon a trolley. It was now pulled up to the front ramp of the pier by two sets of four-mule teams. Wooden rails had been made for the dolly to guide it as well as make it roll more easily over the sand and up the ramp. The mule teams strained harder to pull the sailboat up the ramp onto the pier. A large rope was attached to the back of the boat so it stopped once it was on top of the pier.  Four strong men then controlled the trolley roll on top of the pier. The sailboat-laden trolley stopped when its wheels bumped into a board that was laid across the trolley tracks. Then another strong rope was attached to the trolley. The rope was just long enough to allow the trolley to go down the pier's seaward ramp and allow the sailboat to float. A line was also attached to the sailboat so it would not float away. 

JonMo gave the command and the board was removed. With a push from the four strong men, the trolley rolled down the ramp. With a jerk, the trolley stopped when its wheels were mostly submerged in the water. The sailboat shot out into the sea until the attached line became taught. The men then helped JonMo bring the boat to the side of the pier. There was a ladder there and JonMo, joined by B127MZ, climbed down and got into the boat. The Royal Band, newly constituted, came to the end of the pier and played a fanfare. Lana was there too and blew a kiss to JonMo as he and B127MZ pushed off and raised sail. 

JonMo and B127MZ sailed south. A stiff oncoming shore breeze moved the sailboat right along. JonMo was amazed that he enjoyed this so much. They were sailing down to where a river met the sea. This river was three kilometers from the southern end of the Intruder's former territory. They planned to sail up the river as the river's flow blocked the intensity of the waves where it intersected the Raging Sea. They would sail far enough up the river to find a location where a docking pier could be built. Hopefully, that was not too far upriver as sailing upriver was challenging.

After tacking back and forth to get upriver, JonMo spied a small bluff that should make a good location for a docking pier. Workers and materials would need to be transported here. They maneuvered the boat near the bluff and B127MZ sprang lightly onto the shore with a rope in his hand. The boat was tugged by the river's current, but B127MZ had the rope cinched to a tree and the sailboat came alongside the bluff with a slight bump. JonMo was then able to lower the sails and stow them before going ashore himself. 

They scouted the land as they walked up to the former Intruder's territory. JonMo was tired of referring to it as the "former Intruder's territory", so he suggested the name "Opportunity" for this land. B127MZ said that was about as good as any and said they could present that to the Queen. They noticed that the land was fairly level between where the sailboat was docked and the Land of Opportunity. It would minimize the difficulty of moving materials. There was also a forest bordering the land of Opportunity. They would first need to clear the trees to make a passage to the Land of Opportunity and those trees could be used for the docking pier. Satisfied with this knowledge, they walked back to the boat.

They sailed back toward the home pier in strong winds and some rain. JonMo had a queasy stomach when they finally landed by the dock on the home pier. Of course, B127MZ had no problem and climbed nimbly to the top of the pier. He gave JonMo a hand up as he looked a little unsteady. 

Several days later a new excitement surrounded the pier. Loved ones and curious citizens had come to see 10 men and three women who were preparing to embark with JonMo and B127MZ. Their task was to build a sail barge, and as this vessel would be too big to launch on the home pier, they were going to the Land of Opportunity to build it. A husband and wife team were assigned to be the cooks for the group. Two more teams of a man and woman were going with large bolts of heavy fabric. They were the sailmakers. They had the most experience of all the citizens and had been directed by B127MZ to make the sails for JonMo's first sailboat. The balance of the seven men plus JonMo and B127MZ would construct the sail barge. Again, Lana was there to send JonMo off. This time he got a real kiss.

They all crowded onto JonMo's eleven-meter sailboat into assigned positions. B127MZ had synthesized a medicine to help with sea sickness. No one appreciated that more than JonMo. B127MZ had also created some laser saws that could be recharged by a portable nuclear charging device. There was even one to cut down trees and saw them into boards. It was quite an adventure to get all of these people, food, and materials food to the Land of Opportunity.  They had necessarily waited for a calmer sunny day before launching. They pushed off and raised sail. The onshore winds moved the boat up to a slow speed toward their destination. 

They arrived without mishap at the river dock and unloaded their materials. The first order was to cut down the trees in the path to the Land of Opportunity. These were cut into boards and brought back to a drying rack they had constructed from limbs. B127MZ had directed the seven construction men to build a shed around the drying rack with two big doors in the front. He then installed a portable heater in the shed to bake the moisture out of the wood. The first dry boards were used to build work tables. 

Even with the laser cutting tools, it took four months to build the sail barge. Thankfully the cooks were excellent and the team loved the time they had to sit at a big table and enjoy conversation and good food. They all ate together. After the evening meal one of the construction men would play music on a stringed instrument had had made long ago. He was not an assigned musician in the old system and had kept it hidden. Now it delighted the whole group and they would sing and laugh. 

The sail barge took shape as a wide sailboat with a large keel to keep it upright under load. It was thirty meters long and eight meters at its widest point. They had to build a large cradle to hold it while it was under construction. Roller logs were put under the cradle. Several big cats had visited them to watch the construction. They were fascinated by the process. Two of them took on the task of going back to the Kingdom of Exdom to round up several teams of mules. That solved a weighty issue for JonMo as he was not looking forward to bringing reluctant and sometimes ornery animals onto his sailboat to transport to the Land of Opportunity. They focused on getting the job done and in the four months, it was. 

The Big Cats arrived with 24 mules and four men to drive the teams. No one knew the way through or around the mountains like the Big Cats. Still, the Big Cats needed two and a half months to do the job. Four six-mule teams were harnessed to the back of the cradle of the sail barge and with great effort and strain it began to move. When the cradle reached 10 meters over the river, they were stopped. Every support of the cradle had previously been greased. The mule teams were attached to the stern of the sail barge. Two men with laser saws had cut away the part of the cradle that hung over the river. The rest of them had staked down the cradle so it could not move. A thick rope was attached to the stern and tied to a tree. 

The mule teams again began to strain mightily. The big sail barge began to move slowly out into the river. The cradle had been pointed a few degrees toward the flow of the river or westward while still allowing room for the mule teams. That was the original design. Pins were pulled to prevent the mule teams from being pulled into the river as the sail barge crashed into it. It rolled over to an alarming degree before the big keel righted it. It was exciting. The stern rope was attached to a tree near the river. It went tight and the big sail barge crashed into the bluff. B127MZ had directed the placement of lots of springy branches and leaves along the bluff. This is what the sail barge crashed into. There it sat on the water, upright with its three large masts shining in the sun. 

Two men and two women, the sailmakers, the seven construction crew, the two cooks, plus JonMo and B127MZ took to the big sail barge the following day. This boat had a galley and the cooks excelled at cooking duties. The big sail barge arrived at the home pier two days later. M237B9 had directed the construction of a larger dock on the other side of the pier from the smaller dock. It was in place with large cushions M237B9 had made for the barge to rest against when it was tied to the dock. B127MZ advised when to drop the two big sails and just use the jib sails for the last little bit to pull them into the large dock of the pier. Men on the barge had thrown down lines and the barge, with a large bump, was secured to the dock. The first graduating students from the School of Construction at the College of Exdom had built the new dock.

Now the work began to load the sail barge with materials for living in the Land of Opportunity. The Queen and her grandson had approved the name. M327B9 had been busy as the President of the College of Exdom. He also became the first professor of the School of Electronics and the School of Shipbuilding. Practical projects to build tools to find metals and mine them had been a priority for school projects. Learning by doing was the preferred method in this growth period for the Kingdom. 

The sail barge would make many trips taking workers and materials back and forth from the Land of Opportunity. JonMo did not go on the first trip. Those on this trip had as their first task to build a house by the river with a large fence around it. As the new airships were to be built in the Land of Opportunity, they also had many materials and equipment to start this years-long project. This first loaded barge did not sail until a magnificent event took place at the palace. 

All of JonMo's and Lana's family were there to witness their marriage along with many friends and nobles. It was presided over by the delighted Queen and her grandson the King. The marriage was a splendid event with much cheering from the crowd as they kissed. JonMo and his new wife LanaMa were celebrated at a large feast for all who wanted to come that evening. 

THE END