Crystals were transported to the spot nine minutes ago.

  The trap was ready—Si was waiting.

  The moon was evacuated; animals were gathered at locations far from the planned fighting scene. Only plants remained, to be restored later, if needed.

  They weren’t sure it would work. The attackers, would they show up?

  Those destructive energy forms had recently reappeared, destroyed the space of a small island, and disappeared again. As there were few people here, everybody was still too scared to move back in, so casualties were not severe.

  Shadows hid their energies as instructed and waited on the edge of the designated fighting spot. The OFF’s Abilitiers couldn’t join here; their energy would collide with all the Crystals.

  Lukai decided to be present; he created additional shields for himself, and Taj also did something around them—as he said—to prevent the collision. Si wasn’t sure what Taj had done, the same as Lukai. They could only observe him doing it. Taj didn’t answer questions.

  “Not trusting us, not yet,” Si said to himself.

  Ten minutes.

  Luna was nearby, but not too close. She was brave.

  Si had to admit that he felt embarrassed by how it all was communicated. It looked like she had done something shameful, which was completely untrue. Yet, she was calm and composed.

  She needed to be here if Taj was to help them. There was no way she would leave his Crystal in any hands besides her own. At least Si suspected it was like this.

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  Taj’s projection was not blurry; he had charged himself earlier. He said that not fully, but enough for the event. Si didn’t comment; as his mother had said, Taj would say everything at the right moment.

  Si somehow felt better knowing that Taj was with them.

  Eleven minutes.

  The action was planned to be recorded. They desperately needed data. The trap idea was not widely known, of course. Regarding the details, only Shadows Lord and Shadows Lady—and the warriors included in the plan—knew them. From the OFF, only Lukai. From Unio, only Domini.

  They didn’t involve even one Crystaler. Too risky. But Domini funded all the Crystals; definitely, the cost was huge and difficult to explain to the families. Well, Domini should have a budget; Si at least hoped he had one.

  Evacuation had been done under the cover of this event—the protests. About the energy forms’ reappearance, there was no official news. Whoever published anything, it was cleared.

  Everything looked as if nothing were suspicious. No one had any questions. The trap idea remained undiscovered.

  Si waited in the center of the spot they had chosen earlier. Close to the Gate, hoping to observe if the forms indeed used the Gates net.

  Taj’s idea fit perfectly. Si couldn’t think of another way for them to reach planets or moons. But it needed to be confirmed; they needed to track it down.

  The spot where Si was located was surrounded by about one thousand Crystals, each with the power to support a town of one hundred thousand people. It should be enough to attract attention.

  Twelve minutes.

  The main problem with the trap was that they already suspected Yura of being involved in the attacks. Lukai confirmed that Yura was not informed, but the chances that he could find out about their movements were high. Would he show up? No one was sure. And no one knew the extent of Yura’s involvement.

  Crystals they gathered should attract attention. But if the attacks were controlled by someone who played politics, would they use their weapon today? If they somehow got to know the trap idea, would they attack to show the power of their weapon? Was the energy used for the attacks easy to control?

  Si had many questions and few answers.

  If today’s action did not attract the attackers, they would need to figure it out differently and find another plan. So, there was nothing to lose.

  Si was calm. Thirteen minutes. And then Taj made a sign.