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As the Australian Air Express, on which Xuuok and I were prisoners, sped southward, this swarm of battle craft fell upon it from a clear sky. The alarm was radioed to every part of the huge ship.
The fighting was fierce and violent, but the crew of the liner was so shocked that it was easily conquered.
With low-powered flying belts and some provisions, the crew was thrown overboard. Xuuok and I were immediately released from our chains.
"That was good work, Gleos!" said Xuuok. "Now, set your course at once for the volcano!"
We neared a mountain that rose sheer out of the ocean.
Straight down into the sulphurous smoke the ship drifted.
I was shocked. But suddenly I cried, "Why, Zoo! There's no smoke around us now!"
"Correct," he agreed. "We're below the artificial smoke flares now. That's how we keep our base here secret! From the outside it looks like an active volcano."
The big ship came to rest on solid ground and we disembarked.
"From now on, Nick Cosmos assumes supreme command," he told them. We planned our campaign with great care.
One day Xuuok brought me important news. "A message from one of our spies on Easter Island!" he announced. "The full force of the enemy has flown northward on a raiding expedition, seeking native savages as slaves."
This was our chance! We soared away from our volcano to pounce on Easter Island.
"We'll blast that place before they know what happened," I determined.
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