Kiah and Rilla waited. It was hot and Kiah began to feel thirsty.

Kiah and Rilla walked to the gate. About ten guards stood in front of the gate. Across the road, a train waited.

"But I talked to the Commander yesterday," Rilla said. "He wanted to see us at four-thirty."

"Let me call the Commander's office," the guard said.

The guard came back. "I'm sorry," he said. "The Commander can't see you."

"Wait for us here," Kiah said to the taxi driver.

On Friday, after three weeks in space, Kiah and Rilla finished work and left Ship OM-45 on a space plane to Kisangani. Kiah phoned Adai and Rilla phoned Commander Zadak in Australia. The next morning they took an aeroplane to Sydney. A taxi took them from the airport to Commander Zadak's office, some kilometres north of Sydney.

"No!" the guard shouted. "Get out of here!"

"The Commander is leaving on the train in three minutes," the guard said.

"Rilla, OM-45," Rilla said. "To see Commander Zadak at four-thirty."

Kiah and Rilla walked back to the taxi.

"Can we wait and see him here?" Kiah asked.

"There he is!" Rilla cried. "Commander!" And she began to run along the road to him.

Kiah ran to the taxi and jumped in. Then he drove the taxi fast down the road. The taxi driver saw him and ran after him. The train began to move faster. Suddenly, Kiah drove the taxi off the road. He drove in front of the train and stopped.

"Where's the driver?" Kiah asked.

Just then, Commander Zadak came out of the gate. He was a very tall, big man with blue eyes and a lot of white hair. Two guards marched in front of him, and two guards marched behind him. They all carried guns.

"Look! He's sitting under that tree," Rilla said.

"Commander Zadak did not stop. A guard opened the door of the train and the Commander got in. Slowly, the train began to move."

"Put up your hands!" the guards shouted.

The train came nearer. And then the train stopped, very near the taxi, and some guards jumped off. Kiah opened the door and got out of the taxi.

Two of the guards began to hit Kiah.

"Stop that!" someone shouted. "Bring him over here!" It was Commander Zadak.

Kiah stood in front of the Commander. Just then, Rilla arrived.

"Oh, it's you!" commander Zadak said. He did not smile. "Rilla, your father's going to be angry."

"We want to talk to you, Commander," Rilla said. "It's very important."

"Very well. I'm listening."

He gave his book to Commander Zadak and the Commander looked at the numbers.

"You stopped my train because of this?" commander Zadak asked. "Two years ago Adai talked to me about the AOL. Then he talked to Earth Commander, and what happened? Where is Adai now? Is the Moon colony helping the AOL?"

"We know about Adai, Commander," Rilla said. "But someone needs to talk to Earth Commander again."

Kiah began to talk. "Two years ago, Adai told you about the holes in the AOL. Now they're worse. The AOL is breaking up over Europe. Please look at these numbers and this satellite picture."

"I'm going to talk to Gog about rain, I can tell you that. Earth needs rain: there was no rain last winter. Half of Australia has no water and my trees here are dying. Without rain, many people are going to die. Is Gog going to understand that? I don't know!"

"It's important, Commander," Kiah said. "In ten years Earth is going to die."

Some guards moved the taxi back to the road and then they jumped on to the train again. The train began to move.

Commander Zadak began to walk back to his train. "Move that taxi!" he called to his guards.

"OK," the taxi driver shouted. "What are you going to do next? Drive my taxi into the river?"

Kiah smiled. He took some money from his pocket and gave it to the taxi driver.

The taxi driver looked at the money. "OK, OK," he said. "Where now? Back to the airport?"

Kiah took Rilla's hand,"Yes," he said. "Let's get back to Kisangani. We can phone Adai again tomorrow."