Council Leader Vorik rushed to the North Gate. He had to deal with the group of humans that Dan believed were running from Travis. Dan had told him that after the stew was served, he had seen many of those who witnessed what was in the stew looked like they wanted to leave.

Dan had admitted that he didn't stay long enough to find out how many there were or who was angry about Travis's stew. He had explained that after seeing what was in the stew, he had set his bowl down, gone to his tent, grabbed his belongings, and left.

Council Leader Vorik wouldn't know for sure why the group was actually there until he spoke with them. Even then, he could be letting the enemy inside the dome if he felt that Dan was correct in his theory, yet he could be wrong. Knowing for sure, only time could tell.

Arriving at the gate, Council Leader Vorik studied the group and noted that they all kept looking around them. There was fear in their eyes as they scanned the area. Their focus wasn't on the dome; it was behind them, and on either side of them. Looking closely at the group, he noticed that they were also heavily armed: All of them. Even the elders and those who looked frail in the group had weapons strapped to them.

Stopping at the gate entrance, Vorik scanned the crowd, looking for who might be the one leading them. "Why have you come here?" he asked loudly, ensuring that the entire group heard him.

A man, who appeared to be their leader, stepped forward. Many of the others continued to survey behind and around them, fear and dread in their eyes. It was obvious they were worried about something. Vorik guessed they were either afraid of zombies or being followed by Travis's men.

"We came here for sanctuary," the man stated nervously. His gaze kept going behind him. "We left our group to get away from Travis. We all want to join you. We have nowhere left to go," he admitted.

"You're heavily armed," Vorik pointed out, eyeing the man skeptically. "All of you, in fact, are heavily armed."

"Zombies keep attacking, and Travis is probably chasing us," he stated. His voice shook in fear as he looked behind him again. "He doesn't like deserters. He kills anyone who tries. We left late last night, trying to leave before he noticed."

"Travis is not following you," Vorik stated, watching the man trying to gauge his reaction.

The man looked at him in disbelief. "He threatened us. He said that he would find us and kill all of us if any of us left. He has always killed anyone who tries to leave."

Council Leader Vorik folded his arms over his chest, staring at the man for a few moments before speaking. "Travis is at the East Gate behind an electrified plasma barrier. We trapped the bulk of his men. A small number of his men are surrounding it, who are not trapped with him. Travis ordered those not trapped to shoot and kill his best friend, Dan Wilson, whom I know you know, and his own little sister, Hope. Both are in the med clinic. We do not know if either will survive."

As Vorik spoke, he watched the man's reaction. When he mentioned they trapped Travis, there was relief in his features. It was as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As soon as he mentioned Dan and Hope, his face paled. Vorik knew right then that Dan was right; they were running from Travis. They were fearful of being followed and killed by Travis for being deserters.

"If I let you inside this dome, we have a procedure to follow. You will all be stripped of your clothing and weapons and put into a holding facility until we determine if you can be trusted. We will give you a clean set of clothing, and you will receive a meal. We are in the middle of a crisis. Because of this, we will take you inside the dome one by one and not all at once," he warned them. "Will you agree to cooperate with this procedure?"

Council Leader Vorik watched as the man turned and faced the rest of his group, who had been listening. They all nodded to him, showing they would agree to the terms. The man turned back to Vorik. "We will agree, and we understand."

Vorik motioned for four guards to come for the first one. The man's gaze swept through his group, then pointed to an older female. "You go first," he told her. She nodded, handed him her weapons, and walked up to the entrance. The four guards bound her hands and escorted her away.

The man watched her disappear. His features showed that he was worried for the woman who had just left his protection. It was clear he worried about her safety.

"No one will harm her," Vorik told the man, seeing the way he looked at the older woman with worry.

The man just nodded, then scanned his group, choosing another to go next. This time, he chose another one of his group who was older. Vorik realized that the man was getting the weaker of the group into the dome first. He showed compassion, choosing the oldest and weakest first before those who were strong and could handle themselves. As they waited for the four guards to return, the man turned and looked at Vorik, his features calm. The fear and worry had left his eyes.

"My name is Julian Cooper," he stated politely, introducing himself.

Vorik studied Julian for a moment before telling him who he was. "I am Vorik," he stated, not telling him that he was the leader of the people here. He wanted to see if he already knew the name.

Julian's eyes grew wide, telling him he knew exactly who he was standing in front of. He gulped hard, his face turning pale. Fear started to seep into his wide eyes.

The four guards returned to the gate, ready to take the next one in. The one who was chosen moved up to the front, giving his weapons to Julian, then held his hands out to be bound. So far, there had been no resistance from any of them. Vorik had a feeling that there wouldn't be any.

Once bound, the guards disappeared with him, and they waited for them to return for another.

Julian quickly chose the next one, looking uncomfortable about who he was in the presence of. He didn't expect it to be the alien leader. Julian continued to choose the weakest of the group to go first; they were taken inside the dome one at a time. It took a long time for the alien escort to transport the group one person at a time. Julian was last. He wanted to get his people inside first. When the guards returned for him to be taken, he tossed his weapons on the ground and held his hands up. They quickly bound him and escorted him to the clinic.

Since Julian was the only one left, Vorik walked with them. They walked in silence as Julian was taken to the clinic. Vorik subtly scanned the area for anyone watching that appeared to take special interest in who they were escorting. They were still looking for spies. There was no one suspicious.

When they entered the clinic, the medic pointed to the private exam room. They all entered. They had set up a room for the group to be stripped and scanned. There was a stack of gowns for the females and karate-type Gis for the males sitting on a table.

The medic pulled out a karate-type Gi from a stack of them and ordered Julian to remove his clothing after the guards took his bindings off.

Quickly stripping, trying not to think about all those watching him, he tossed his clothing aside and put on the Gi, then the medic pulled a scanner and scanned him. Julian flinched, not knowing what was happening. He had never seen a scanner and didn't know what it was or what it did. Noticing him flinching, the medic explained.

"This is a scanner. I'm scanning you for internal infection or injuries," the medic explained. "You are healthy, with no sign of infections or injuries."

Julian nodded. "Thank you." Then, turning to Vorik. "Now what?"

"You will be taken to the rest of your people until our crisis is over. Travis is at the East gate. We need to figure out what to do with him before we can get the rest of you settled. He has spies in the dome. He ordered one of them to make sure his sister and friend did not survive when we brought them injured into the med bay. We are sure there are more of them. He may have one of his spies come after one of you." Vorik warned Julian before they escorted him to the dorm, where the rest of his group was waiting.

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