After they had all rested, Denise spoke first,

"We have to go back and find out more about that thing if we are going to do anything about the Syndicate and it's army of cyborgs." She looked at the group thinking how did these normal every day people get into this situation, and why do they stay with it? Pogo interrupted her thoughts.

"We know what is at stake. The whole Verge could be thrown into chaos, and after that it could spread into space. We know this needs to be done and we are the only ones who can do this, so let's go see what we can find out about that gate." The rest of the group smiled at Pogo's little speech. Then they all broke out in laughter.

When everything had calmed down they all made for their e-suits. They got them on and Denise grabbed a bag from her locker. They slowly made their way back to the dig site. Once again they had to make their way around the guards, but it was not difficult. At the dig site Denise called the group together.

"I have a few toys here. I need to get up close to their camp. These will allow us to monitor what they are talking about. So I need you all to stay here except for Pogo. We should be back in less than half an hour. Connor, if anything goes wrong, get everyone out of here and back to the ship. Go and find Beighur and let him know everything."

Connor was about to object until he looked into Denise's helmet and saw the determination in her eyes. He gave in and said,

"Yes, but we will wait as long as we can."

She smiled before saying "thank you."

The two of them then walked off towards camp. It was not far and took only a couple of minutes. They found some cover and Denise watched while Pogo used his mind to scan for anyone in the area. Within a few minutes they had a good idea of where everyone was. From Pogo's scanning they also had a good idea as to which dome was the digs headquarters. Pogo pointed to a dome off to their right and said,

"That is the one you want, but there is a problem. There is someone being held against their will in there. Maybe we should help them?"

Denise thought about that for a moment then said,

"We will see on the way out."

Pogo nodded that he understood. Denise then moved up to the dome and found a sheltered area from any preying eyes. She then set up a remote sensor and transmitter. This will allow them to see and hear what goes on in the dome. At that moment she got a mental command to get down. She crouched down as much as possible and waited. It did not take long until a guard walked by. He was about ten feet away, but kept going and was gone in a minute. Then came the feeling in her head again and Pogo said `all clear'. She moved to Pogo. Then they both moved back to the rest of the group.

When they were all together again they made their way to the air lock. In the tunnel they knew what was down the tunnel to the cyborg beds, so they went down one of the others. There was no lights so they had to use flash lights. This tunnel went on for a bout a half a kilometer and ended very suddenly. They then tried another. This one ended in a large room that was full of supplies for the dig but nothing of use. They kept looking but only found one other room that had walls similar to the ones in the gate room. This room was fascinating. It had blocks jutting up from the floor and out of the walls. The room was very plain until the group was in the middle of the room. Then they noticed there were small flickers of light coming through the rock. It looked almost like a golden light being pumped through the stone.

At that moment they heard voices coming down the hall. The group scattered and each found a hiding place. They watched as three people moved into the room. There were two humans and a Mechalus. The Mechalus obviously did not want to be there as he was being pulled along by the other two. Pogo looked at Denise and whispered,

"That is the one I sensed in the dome outside."

Denise nodded and turned to watch.

The one man said,

"OK, Mech, hook yourself up and do what ever it is that you do. We need to know how to change to other places, and if you don't find out soon you will be of no use to us. Do you get the point?

The young male Mechalus nodded and moved to one of the jutting rocks. From there he could see Denise, so she quickly put her finger to her mouth to keep him quiet. Denise then signaled Pogo to use his mind powers to get rid of the guards. Pogo put a hand to his head and closed his eyes to concentrate. He then started to implant a suggestion in their minds. The two men now saw the young Mechalus slowly hooking himself up to the rock. The golden light started to pulse brighter and faster. It seemed to glow brighter around the young man to the point where all they could see was a dark shape that seemed to slowly dissolve into the golden light. Then the light started to expand outward towards the two men. At that point the two men ran from the room and did not come back. The young Mechalus then turned to Denise and spoke,

"Query/question. Why have you helped/assisted me?"

Denise looked at him and said,

"Well, maybe because I figured you could help us. We know the Syndicate is behind this operation, but they must not be allowed to have this technology."

"Opinion: I agree/concur about the Syndicate. They are evil/bad and must be stopped."

Denise then said,

"All right. People, let's get out of here and back to the ATV." Then, turning to the Mechalus said,

"What is your name?"

"Statement: Identification/name is Aleerin. I was given/bestowed the name of our people from historic/ancient times."

"Well, Aleerin, let's get out of here. Where is your e-suit?"

"Statement: It is deposited/left in the airlock."

They then started back to the airlock, but about halfway to the door they heard voices coming towards them. They ducked down another corridor and listened. It was the two guards and they were telling their story to two other people. They moved quickly past and Pogo said,

"We should get out of here as quickly as possible." They did just that. They made their way safely back to the ATV in no time.