I must admit, I'm actually kinda anxious about John and Dejah.
I also have to wonder about the rules about, say, Dejah killing Sab Than. Or Kantos Kan.
- "I couldn't kill you, Sab Than, and lose my love forever. Kantos Kan, kill him."
A brief bout of Roofhopping later, and he's explaining the situation to Kantos Kan. He reacts with almost as much horror as John. The whole "I'd rather not kill Sab Than" thing gives away his love. Kantos seems to approve of the match, fortunately, and he vows to strike down Sab Than.
Kantos Kan knows of a secret passage that is often used by Sab Than, and John dashes off to the flyer garage, telling Kantos Kan to meet him on the roof of his apartment.
The garage is one of the tallest buildings in Zodanga, but fortunately, Barsoomian architechture is very ornate; lots of hand and foot holds. He has to use a grappling hook (standard issue to the Zodanga air force, interestingly enough; for repairs and such) to swing over the twenty foot lip of the roof.
A sentry confronts him, but he manages to bluff and subdue him. Without killing, actually. He gags him and hangs him over the edge of the roof; hope he's not afraid of heights.
One grand theft plane later, he and Kantos are discussing their plans; Kantos will assassinate Sab while John flees for Helium. Kantos sets the compass on John's flyer, which now points to helium. GPS, huh?
Kantos Kan is badass. It's night, they're overflying the palace when a tower spots them and fires, and Kantos Kan just jumps off the plane. No mention of a parachute.
- He's like...the James Bond of Helium. Again, it's like John is running into the main characters over other stories. It's some kind of Crossover...
John, meanwhile, has to deal with the pursuit force. Kantos Kan (again!) showed him a Helium trick to gearing his flyer to get some extra speed, but there are still a lot of pursuers. More Dakka eventually takes his toll, tagging his craft once, but it's not all bad; they land to look for a crash as he regains control and keeps flying.
Unfortunately, it's still bad; his compass and speedometer are shot, literally, and he's lost, looking for Helium. His only directions are "Southwest, a thousand miles.", nice and vague. There are cities, here and there, but none match Helium's description; the only 'double city' on Barsoom, there are two circular city walls, and two mile high towers.
- SpaceElevators? One can only hope. Probably not, unfortunately.
