He fired a beam of pure psychic energy, which his enemy easily dodged. Enraged, Damon increased his speed. Abruptly, Victor flattened his field into a... upright disc with a fist-shaped projection in the back. The abrupt loss of speed was too quick for Damon, who hit it head on. He felt several bones in his face break, but he merely healed himself, and stopped his fall before he could splat on the pavement below."I can see the monster they put in your mind." Victor said. The words brought a brief. A war we cannot possibly win.”“Zealot Boge assured us that our fleet is superior to the Imperial fleet.”“The man is a fool. I remind you that this is their Twelfth Fleet. They currently have eighteen fleets in active service, plus allies. They have also recently fought several wars and are battle hardened.”“We cannot just give up our sovereignty!” one of the women stated.“We ensured that it would happen when we kidnapped a Cure and then permitted him to escape. Even then, reporting one killed. "Exploration vehicles are considered nearly sacred. It is unusual for an indigenous species to attack and destroy one, but it has happened. There has seldom been a good outcome." Great," Caleb breathed. "So we have a madman after us on earth, and angry aliens coming for us from space. Any idea how long we have, or how to handle the situation when they get here?"The image that was Al shrugged, before saying, "I have no idea as far as the time goes. That depends on how close the nearest ship is.. . thank you very much for the information. Good night." Bonne nuit, M'sieu'."Paul walked slowly back to his car. Perhaps, he thought, I'm doing Leduc a great injustice... but then, there were the things that Hans Friestag had mentioned about the Palais de Plaisir and the Grande Chambre... and the fact that the old man had spoken of a nefarious Count Leduc... Dear Jesus! Was it possible that the Doctor was more than just a physician... and had somehow placed his own Janet in this fantastic.