"Tell me what's different!" Council Leader Vorik ordered. He wasn't sure of what Dan was seeing. He wasn't sure he could trust Dan either.

Dan peered at the group again, studying each face. "Those are the others who were angry with Travis for trying to serve them that deranged stew. They were disgusted by what they were given. They might be trying to escape. They know if Travis catches them, they're as good as dead."

From behind, Merrick growled to himself, "If that's true, then we may have to fight the other group while trying to get this group inside the dome." He knew that things could get ugly if they had to deal with both gates at the same time.

"Why would they be coming from the North?" Council Leader Vorik shot at Dan. He couldn't think of a reason why they would be coming from some place other than the east. The camp was in the east. It was a straight shot from there to the dome. It didn't make sense to him.

Dan, unfazed, explained. "When I came here, I had to go north first before going back on course to find the east gate. There's a cluster of vegetation that easily conceals if trying to hide from the camp. I had to stay hidden for a while before it was safe enough not to be seen by Travis. I had to wait there, myself, for a while, so he wouldn't see me before I could head this way. Travis will shoot deserters. If he had seen them leave, he would have found them and would have shot to kill."

Council Leader Vorik turned to the sentry. "If...or I should say, when they arrive, make them wait at the gate. Do not let them in. We don't really know why they're here. Don't fight them unless they attack."

"Yes, Sir," came the reply from the sentry, before he turned and watched the group of humans make their way toward the north gate.

Vorik turned and headed for the transport, pulling Dan roughly with him. He was in a rush and needed to get back to the other gate where the real danger was. Once at the transport, Council Leader Vorik shoved Dan inside the passenger seat before getting in himself. "Go back to the east gate," he ordered Merrick.

Merrick, without saying anything, headed for the east gate. Dan looked around at the people watching. Several of them looked like they could be the spies. He didn't know, though. He made sure they could see his bindings. If a spy were among them, it would make them think he wasn't on the alien's side or sympathetic to them. In reality, he had seen a lot. His entire opinion had changed in the short time he had been inside the dome. The fact that their leader was risking so much to protect those who had attacked him earlier. The way he and his mate were. All the mated pairs, really. They weren't what he had expected.

Once they arrived at the East gate, Council Leader Vorik pulled Dan out of the transport and roughly led him up to the sentry station. Taking the binoculars from the sentry, he looked through. Travis's group had gotten closer. They would be in the trap in only moments. The problem was that they were too spread out. Only about one-third of them would be inside the trap.

Dan stared at the approaching group. "I can help. I can bring them closer to me. I can go to the middle of the trap and let them come to me. When there are as many of them as possible inside, set the trap."

Council Leader Vorik looked at him in shock, not expecting him to volunteer to die. It was a given that they would kill him as soon as they realized who he was. "You would sacrifice yourself? Why?" Disbelief was written all over his face.

"The only other person who could draw him that close is Hope. I'm not willing to let her do it, so I will," he explained. "I can't think of any other way to draw them closer, can you?"

They thought about it for a moment. Before anyone could agree, a transport pulled up. The Walker sisters, Seeran and Hope, had just arrived.

"Sir," the sentry started. "We have as many as will be in the trap. Any longer, and it will be less," he warned. Everyone knew that they needed as many of the group inside the trap as possible.

"Activate the trap," Council Leader Vorik ordered, watching the approaching group.

Seeran was lifting Hope out of the transport and carrying her up to the gatehouse. He didn't want her to walk since she was so fragile at the moment. They both watched in the distance as the sentry activated the trap.

Plasma shot from the earth surrounding the group. The loud hiss of electrical current shot through the barrier, forcing the group to stop in their tracks.

Those who watched could only see the flash of the light of the plasma as it burst from the ground, then, if looking closer, surrounding the approaching group was a plasma field enhanced by an electrical current. It was barely visible. The portion of the militia trapped within the barrier was Travis and his military arsenal. Those who escaped the barrier had only handheld weapons. Although the trap didn't get all of them, it caught the most important ones.

Stopped short by the barrier, Travis cursed in anger as he paced back and forth like a caged animal and gave orders to his men. None of them wanted to obey. Fear washed through Travis's men as one of them got closer and, after touching the barrier, was thrown back several feet. He lay unconscious from the impact, his body singed and blackened by the electrical current.

Hope watched her brother, his anger rising with each moment trapped in the electrified plasma barrier.

"Take me to him," she stated. "He's trapped. He can't hurt me. It will tell us his plans for me if I confront him. By what he tells me when he sees me, that will tell you what he plans."

Council Leader Vorik looked at her, sympathy in his eyes. Panic was in Dan's.

"Not all of them are trapped. Your brother will try to kill you, Hope. I know he will," Dan blurted before Vorik could speak. He worried for Hope's life and didn't want to do anything that could put her in danger.

"I don't care. Maybe in his mind, he will kill me, but not if he actually sees me. I have to try," she pleaded. "Maybe after he sees me, he'll change his mind about hurting anyone else."

Seeran's face paled. Worry in his eyes. He didn't want her to go, nor did he want to force her to stay. He had no choice if she chose to go or not. "There has to be another way. I don't want you to put yourself in danger." His voice was pleading, fearful for her safety. It was on the verge of panic.

Hope looked at her mate. "There are spies here. The only way to make them obsolete is to confront him now. I want to. This is my decision. I'm sorry. I have to try," she said with determination. There was no way anyone could change her mind. Her mind was made up.

"You can barely walk right now, Hope," Dan cut in, trying to make excuses why she couldn't go out there. "You can't go out there alone."

"Show me how to drive one of the transports. I can take myself in one of those," she countered, Determination in her eyes.

With a resigned expression on his face, Seeran stepped forward. "I'll take you myself. If you insist on going, you will not go without me."

"No," she blurted. "He will see me as a captive of you, and that's not how it is. I will go alone."

"Then I'll go with you," Dan stated. "I doubt I can protect you, but it will stall him long enough for someone to intervene if he tries something. He is more inclined to kill me first rather than you."

Niki and Aleigha walked up the walkway. It was obvious they had heard everything they had been arguing about. "Take a comm link and keep it open so that we can hear what's going on. That way, if we hear that something is wrong, we can try to stop it." It was Niki who spoke. She wasn't going to try to change Hope's mind. It was clear it was already set and would not change. They just needed to find a way to get her out there and back safely.

Council Leader Vorik nodded. "That's a good idea. If you take an open comm link and we hear something that doesn't sound right, we can go in and get you out of there."

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