by Mary Herdman
The Star Travelers
Mary Herdman
Copyright 2013 by Mary Herdman
Episode 2 - The Girl In The Towel
____________________________
“So who's our guest?” Alice asked her boss. They had landed on Sirius III, and were loading some of the boxes on a borrowed grav-lift for Sam, Info, and Tinny to fence.
Sam dropped his box onto the lift. “Some fed,” he answered, “Ferris' new deputy, in fact.”
“Another one?” she looked up at an indistinct part of the ship. “Why do you have it in for the deputies?” Hearing an inaudible answer that Sam could only guess at, Alice shrugged and turned back to the work. “Oh well. The last one was fun enough. How long's this one staying?”
“Don't get attached, Al,” Sam warned, heaving another box up with a grunt, “He's shut up with Joe 'til we get to the next planet. No one else is to see him.”
“Why does Joe get to see him?”
Sam dropped his box onto the lift. “Because Joe is grounded. Trust me, he's not having fun.”
Alice effortlessly picked up the next box. “Aw, Sam, c'mon!! It's so rare to get new faces on board!!”
“Alice,” Sam said with a glare, “I'm serious. Off-limits.” Alice didn't respond, and finished loading the boxes in silence. She didn't even say good-bye when the boys left with the goods.
“Oh please,” she muttered rebelliously once they pulled out of sight, “Like anything on my ship is off limits to me.” She sat down on the edge of the parked ship and closed her eyes, concentrating hard.
Alissana Namdreh was a Telxiian, born and bred for the specific purpose of being psychically linked to the Fluster. She was small and, by human standards, unnaturally thin, but had the power to observe anything that happened on board the ship from anywhere. She could even tell what anyone on board was thinking, to an extent. Right then she was looking in on Joe's quarters to catch a glimpse of Deputy Payne, if only her head would stop hurting.
Which was probably why she didn't notice the bright light that flashed in front of her, or the human girl that appeared out of nowhere, until a loud voice shouted, “What the hell?!”
Alice's eyes snapped open, startled out of her psychic eavesdropping by a brunette creating a scene. The girl was wrapped only in a towel, and seemed to have just come out of the shower. She also seemed shocked by her sudden appearance in the middle of a dusty square almost ten light-years away from her shower, and more importantly her closet.
“Uh-oh,” Alice grimaced, moving over to the panicked girl, “Sam's gonna kill me.”
* * * * * * * *
Leah Roberts was twenty years old. She had reddish-brown hair, hazel eyes, and naturally red lips. Her skin was nicely tanned from the summer, having gone to the beach twice a month with her friends and boyfriend. Leah was fairly muscular, taking three dance classes at the local community college while she earned an associates degree. She worked two jobs to pay for both school and her apartment.
Her boyfriend left something to be desired, but all in all she couldn't really complain. Aaron was “Mr. Right Now,” not someone she'd envisioned as permanent material, and the relationship was just about over in any case. They were trying to hold it together as long as possible, but they both knew that the other was just waiting for the next slip to end it.
It was late afternoon, and Leah was getting ready for a movie date with Aaron. She had long since stopped bothering with make-up for him, but she had just come from dance class. The least she could do was take a shower beforehand.
Leah stepped into the shower, leaving her towel on the bar behind her. She turned on the hot water, letting it soak her aching muscles for a second before cleaning up. The shower lasted all of ten minutes, and she felt so much better for it.
With water in her eyes, she blindly reached her arm behind her to grab the towel. She dried her face, arms, and legs as best she could, then wrapped the towel around her torso. Stepping out of the shower, eyes still unfocused, she felt a sudden jolt, as if her heart had skipped a beat.
She stepped out onto what should have been her plastic bath mat.
Her feet hit dirt.
* * * * * * * *
Leah opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of a strange city. If she had to describe it she would have said it looked sort of like a town in the old west, though it was much bigger than any that she had seen in the movies. “What the hell is going on?!” she cried, thinking she might have fallen asleep and this was just a dream. Being naked (save for the towel) in the middle of a crowded city certainly felt like a dream to her. But usually she couldn't feel the ground under her feet in dreams, or feel soaking wet with dirt sticking to her from the wind.
As for the enormous spaceship in front of her... well, she wouldn't think about it just yet.
A small girl stood in the entrance to the ship. “Uh-oh,” she grimaced, moving over to the panicked Leah, “Sam's gonna kill me.”
“What the hell?” Leah asked angrily, “Where am I?” She clutched the towel tighter in around her, trying to look in all directions at once.
The girl moved over to her. “Come on, get in the ship,” she invited. When Leah hesitated, Alice paused, considering. “Unless you like being out here with only a towel.”
“Hell no!!” Leah clutched the towel even tighter, if it was possible.
“Alright, alright,” the girl said, “I don't know where you're from. For all I know, that could be the fashion.”
Leah stared at her. “Fashion?!” she exclaimed, “Who would wear a towel out in public?”
The girls were in the storeroom of the ship, moving up the stairs. Leah was still refusing to acknowledge the ship itself, but felt a bit better now that she was out of view of the square.
“So,” her companion said conversationally as she led her down the ship's corridor, “Where are you from?”
“McLean,” Leah replied, hoping this girl could give her some directions. And some clothes.
“Where's that?”
“Fairfax County.”
“Which is...?”
“Northern Virginia?”
“Uh...”
“Don't tell me I'm not even in America anymore?”
The girl only looked at her, and Leah noticed for the first time that her eyes were completely blacked out. The only color on them came from where the pupils should have been; those were star-specked, as though the girl's eyes were windows into the universe. Suddenly, Leah got the idea that she wasn't on Earth.
It finally hit her. She was on a spaceship. On an alien planet. And this girl, who was being so nice and polite, was an alien.
The only thought going through her head was, I am going to be so late for the movie.
* * * * * * * *
The girl, who introduced herself as Alice, managed to lend her some clothes (although the girl herself was much smaller than Leah; maybe she had an older sister?). The t-shirt and overalls were snug, but fortunately fit well enough to be comfortable. As Leah got dressed, Alice bowed out of the room to check something. A little while later, she came back holding a small mechanical part.
“Here's the issue. The transport got fried in the fight; that's also must be why the fed got here. Poor Fluster, Sam's really goin' hard on you, ain't he?” Alice muttered to herself as she came in the room. Seeing Leah she stopped for a second. “Well,” she broke into a big grin, “Don't that look better?”
“Thanks for the clothes,” Leah started, but Alice cut her off.
“Don't thank me, thank Lane. She left a few clothes on board.” Alice
set the broken part down on the floor by the bed, and sat down. “Sorry about this. I didn't mean to grab you like that.”
Leah couldn't understand half of what this girl was saying. “Grab me?” she asked; Alice hadn't touched her.
“From Earth,” she looked at Leah questioningly. “You are from Earth, right?”
“Yeah.” Leah sat down on the bed next to her. “So that was you?”
Alice looked guilty, like a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. “I didn't mean to,” she explained, “We have... another guest on board. I was trying to see him, but the part was broken. The headache should have given me a clue, but I wasn't listening. I just wanted to see a new face...” she trailed off, as Leah started to laugh.
“You got a new face alright,” Leah said, wiping tears from her eyes as her manic laughter died. “But seriously, you can send me home, right?”
Alice looked incredulously at her. “You're human?”
“Yep.”
Alice shrugged, looking concerned. “You're across the universe from home, and you don't even want to do some sight-seeing?”
Leah held up a hand. “I've decided that this is a dream for now. Please don't disillusion me.”
“'Kay.” Alice left it alone for the time being. “As for getting you home, I don't know. I don't even know how I picked you up, since the port's broke. We'll have to take you back to earth the old-fashioned way, but it'll take some time and I've gotta convince the Captain.”
“Well, I guess I have to get back there somehow. How long do you think it'll take?” Leah asked.
Alice shrugged. “Dunno. Without the 'port, I guess a month or two.”
Leah just sat there with her mouth open in shock. She still wasn't over the shock of finding herself halfway across the galaxy to begin with, and she was starting to think she would never see Earth again.
She was saved response, however, by Alice pricking up her ears. “The boys are back,” she said, “Captain's with 'em. I'll go ask him about you.” She looked Leah over quickly, then added, “It might be best if you stay here. Sam... well, he's still not over Lane.”
“Wait a second,” Leah said as Alice left, “Who's Lane? I want to thank her...” the door closed, leaving the rest of the sentence, “for the clothes,” hanging in the air.
* * * * * * * *
“Hey Sam!!” Alice bounced up, unnaturally perky even for her. Info and Tinny got out of the cart after Sam, lifting off crates of supplies they bought in town. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
Sam sighed. “First the fed, then hagglers all day, now what?” he muttered, taking a crate off the lift. “Alright, Al, let's get the bad news over with.”
“'Port's broke,” she answered simply. “We have to travel the long way if we want to get anywhere.”
Sam groaned. “And how long 'til it's fixed?” he asked.
“It'll be awhile,” she evaded, “it got busted up when we were hit.”
“How long?” he repeated.
Alice shifted her feet. “Truth is, I ain't sure it can be fixed. We gotta get a new one.”
“Let me guess: more bad news.”
“The only place we can get one,” she finally answered, “is the Timen homeworld.”
Sam put his hand on his forehead. “We're gonna have to do without for awhile, then,” he told her. “You said there was good news?” Alice looked down at her feet, as though she was really interested in their positioning on the floor. “Alice?” he asked again, “Don't tell me you spied on the prisoner.”
“Um, yeah. The good news is that I followed orders and didn't spy on the deputy.” She still looked shifty, as though she knew that what she considered good news wouldn't sound so good to him.
Seeing this, Sam abruptly set his crate down and moved in front of her. Cupping her chin in his hand, he made her meet his eyes and asked, “What aren't you telling me?”
Alice closed her eyes in defeat. “We have another guest.”
Sam took a deep breath, as though trying not to shout. When he had his anger under control, he asked, “Why, Alice?”
“Like I said, 'port's broke. I kinda picked her up by accident.” Alice opened her large eyes and gave him an innocent look.
He let her go and backed off. Picking up another box to keep himself from punching a wall, he asked, “And we didn't let her go on her merry way because...?”
“She's from Earth.”
Sam snapped his head back over to stare at her. “What?” he cried, dropping the box in the middle of the cargo bay.
“I don't know how it happened!!” Alice protested, opening her eyes to look at him, “I've never grabbed someone from that distance before, even when the 'port was new. Best I can figure, the emergency port grabbed her.”
The Captain rubbed his temples, trying to fix the headache that was now threatening to become permanent. “Where is she now?”
“My quarters.”
“Keep her there for the time being,” he said, “We'll take her to Earth. We've got to drop off our other passenger, and we got ourselves a job, but when we're done we'll take her home.” Alice smiled, not hiding her pleasure at getting a passenger. Sam gave her a stern look, adding, “but she's your responsibility, Alice. You need to feed her, and you clear it with me before she leaves your room for anything.”
Alice hugged him, then ran off to tell her new friend the news. Sam watched her go, shaking his head, as he took the last crate off the grav-lift and told Than to take off. Between Alice and Joe, it was a wonder he got any peace on the ship.
* * * * * * * *
“I'm back!!” Alice cried, letting her door slide open as she carried food in for Leah. The girl was still sitting on the bed, trying not to touch anything; there were a dozen wires strewn about the floor, and she didn't want to stand up for fear of tripping over them. When Alice walked in, however, she navigated around the room like a professional, bringing the nutrient bars over to Leah. “Looks like we're roommates for the time being,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.
Leah attempted a smile, but only came up with a strained grimace. “Thanks... um, I don't think we've actually been introduced,” she held out her hand. “My name's Leah Roberts, from Earth.”
“Alissana Namdreh,” Alice replied, “Telxiian from the Timen homeworld. My friends call me Alice.”
“So this is a spaceship, huh?” Leah asked. She breathed a big sigh, as though she had become resigned to the fact that her life had been turned upside-down. Alice looked puzzled for a second before explaining.
“Fluster is a T-class, best ship in the Galaxy. Unfortunately, Captain's been a bit rough on her lately, so she's only held together by patch jobs and, well...” she picked up the broken part again and shrugged.
Leah plucked nervously at the clothes she had been loaned. “So, uh, who's this Lane? I want to thank her for the clothes.”
“Oh. Her.” Alice had suddenly become sad. If she had a tail, it would be between her legs, Leah thought. The alien girl certainly reminded her of an energetic puppy.
“I thought I could at least thank her, see if I could do anything in return...” Leah trailed off, realizing that she had touched upon a sore topic.
Alice smiled at her, though her eyes were still sad. “Lane was a deputy in the Sheriff's office,” she explained, “She died about five months back, while saving Fluster from the war. Sam, the captain, sort of had a thing for her, so it might be best if you laid low for a bit while you're wearing her clothes.”
“Ah,” Leah wasn't sure of what else she could say. “Well, I'll certainly try to stay out of the way – ”
“I heard there was a girl in here – ” a rough voice came from the doorway as the door swung open. A man stood there, in his mid-forties. He was completely bald, but had a small mustache and beard around his mouth. A fresh scar ran over one of his eyes, and a tattoo peeked out from under his sleeveless shirt.
He had an unwashed appearance, and his leer revealed that he was missing one of his front teeth.
“Get out of here, Joe.” Alice raised a hand and the door shut on its own. Leah raised an eyebrow as Joe continued to talk through the door.
“Word is, there was a girl who appeared out of nowhere in nothing but a towel, and Sam says you took her in. Was that her?”
“Don't you have a prisoner to look after?” Alice said back. She whispered to Leah, “That was Joe. He's rough around the edges, and he likes being mean, so don't let him get to you.”
Leah, who worked part-time at a bar and was used to dealing with rough men, just laughed. Her laughter was cut short, however, as a golden retriever materialized out of the wall. it said. It never moved its mouth, but Leah was still certain that it was the one that had spoken.
“Info, this is Leah,” Alice quickly introduced, “Leah, Info's a hologram. He likes being a dog.”
Info's tail wagged a little as he replied, He turned back to Alice, saying,
“You can tell him I'm coming. And I'm bringing Joe so he don't bother her no more.” Alice opened the door with a slam, knocking Joe back a couple steps as she left the room. Grabbing his arm, Alice marched him away.
Leah gave another nervous laugh, hearing his protests echo down the corridor. Info disappeared back into the wall, and she was left alone again to panic in peace.
* * * * * * * *
“Come on, Alice,” Joe whined, “The girl falls in on us in nothing but a towel, and you go and hide her before I get a good look?”
“Stuff it, Joe,” Alice said as she dragged him to the bridge. Sam was waiting there for her, a scowl on his face. “Besides,” she asked, as much to ward off Sam's anger as from curiosity, “What happened to the deputy?”
Joe scowled. “Still here. Tinny's with him now. We're goin' to march him out soon as Sam says to.”
“And I say to right now,” Sam interjected, “Then we're marching that girl straight back to Earth, where she can live in peace, and my ship will finally be back to normal. Alice, I need you to prep the ship for launch, while Joe and I go grab the prisoner. And next chance we get, I'm adding a brig.”
