“I don’t think you should have done that, he has a right to be upset. As a matter of fact, why aren’t you?”
Boomer barked a few more times and growled before walking to Kalliopy and raising his back leg.
“No!!” Ziron both screamed and hissed at the same time.
But Boomer relieved himself on Kalliopy’s leg, and she didn’t even try to move away. Boomer then gave the princess an intense look before leaving the bridge.
“I—I’m so sorry about that, your highness. We’ll have your dress cleaned.”
Kalliopy’s eyes were watery again, and she shook her head.
“Have you even looked at it? This dress was already a goner, and the dog had every right to express his emotions the way he did. Kevin risked his life to save me, and I probably sent him to his death. If I could trade my life for his, I would, but it—it’s not that simple.”
“What do you mean? Why did you give Kevin to the Kregan then?”
“They…they have my sister.”
Ziron meowed loudly. “I’m sorry to hear that. But what insurance do you have that they’ll release her?”
“Only their word.”
“I wouldn’t put much faith in that, no offense.”
“None taken. We need to make sure we get her back; I don’t trust Xonax one bit. As a matter of fact, he’ll probably double-cross me again and again.”
“That’s all well and good, but what about Kevin?”
“We’ll try and get him back too. He’s a resourceful young man and will find a way to bide his time.”
“That he is, a little impulsive and too trusting, evidently, but he’s not the kind of person to easily give up.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“Should we try to track this Xonax person then? Get Kevin back and rescue your sister?”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that. We’ll have to rescue Athala first, or Xonax will use her against me over and over. In fact, there’s no telling what he’d do if we got Kevin back now.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Kalliopy walked toward the viewport and looked at the stars outside. “So do I, Ziron, so do I.”
1
Kevin blinked his eyes open. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a dark and damp room. The second thing he noticed, almost at the same time, was the splitting headache pounding against his skull. To make matters worse, he couldn’t move. He was being restrained, floating a few centimeters above the ground by levitating devices holding his hands and feet.
What the hell had happened? Kevin remembered seeing Kalliopy cry and tell him she was sorry. Obviously, she was responsible for his predicament, at least partly. That made him both sad and resentful. After everything he’d been through to get her back from the Kregan, had she just sold him out to them?
Why though? Kevin tried to think what would compel her to do such a horrible thing. But perhaps he had overestimated her gratitude for saving the Arcadian Confederate. Perhaps gratitude meant piss off in this galaxy. No matter the reason, it didn’t bode well for Kevin.
Perhaps this is all a bad dream, and I’m going to wake up.
Kevin closed his eyes and concentrated hard on trying to wake himself. No dice.
“Ahhh, crap. Not a bad dream.”
“No such luck,” said a teeny, tiny female voice. “More like a nightmare. This place is cold, and the people around aren’t very nice.”
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
“Don’t you see me already?”
“No, where?”
“Look on your shoulder.”
Kevin looked at his right shoulder.
“The other one,” said the voice.
When Kevin looked at his left shoulder, he couldn’t help but yelp. A tarantula-sized yellow spider was sitting on it. A sensation of itchiness and fear overwhelmed him. Kevin instinctively screamed while he tried to shimmy his shoulder up and down to make the spider fall, but the hovering devices were keeping him steadily in place.
“Help! Get this thing off of me!”
“What thing?” said the spider.
Kevin blinked multiple times.
“You—you speak?”
“So do you, I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“So…basically…everything speaks in this galaxy?”
“I’m afraid I’ve never been outside this ship. What’s a galaxy? Is it a pretty place?”
Kevin raised an eyebrow. “Never mind. Would you mind getting off of my shoulder—please?”
“Certainly, but first let me know what you wanted to be taken off of you? Maybe I can help.”
“You’re not very bright, are you? It’s you! I want you off of me.”
“Oh…” the spider said as it walked along Kevin’s arm, making his skin crawl.
The spider stopped halfway and turned, provoking a shiver in Kevin, and not in a good way.
“Do you mind if I ask why?”
“I don’t like spiders,” he said, shaking like a leaf. “No offense.”
The spider resumed her walk and stopped near where the hovering device was securing Kevin’s left wrist.
“None taken, but why don’t you like spiders? Are the spiders mean where you come from?”
You have got to be kidding me. I’m actually talking with a spider, of all things.
At least the universal translator implant in his brain was working properly.
Kevin sighed. “I don’t know, I guess it depends. Some species are highly venomous and can kill my kind with a single bite. Others, not so much.”
The spider ran back up, stopping at a point that was much too close for Kevin’s comfort.
“Then maybe we could be friends? I’m a nice spider.”
Kevin shrugged and trembled at the same time and couldn’t help but let a noise escape. “Uuuhhgg.”
“I don’t know what that means, is that your name? My name is—” but then some high-pitched noises, barely perceptible sounds, reached Kevin’s ears.
“So much for the universal translator.”
“I don’t understand,” said the spider, taking two more steps toward Kevin’s face.
Kevin held his head back as far to the right as he could. “Can you please not do that?”
“Do what?”
“Stand so near? I told you, I’m afraid of…well, spiders. Since you fall into that category, can you please, please get off of me?”
The spider drooped its head and slowly turned around, walking away, but then it stopped once more.
Oh for the love of god! Now what?
“But a moment earlier you said you didn’t like my kind, now you say you’re afraid?”
“So?”
“I’m confused, that’s all. Which is it?”
“A little of both, I guess. Keep walking.”
“Okay, in a second, but will you be my friend?”
“Why would you like to be my fr—” but then he stopped as the spider started licking his forearm.
“What are you doing!? Don’t—don’t bite me!”
“I’m just licking your wound.”
That sent a cascade of shudders traveling down Kevin’s spine.
“I can see that, can you please…GET OFF!”
The spider jumped a few centimeters and ran off of Kevin’s arm and stood on the hovering device. The spider shook and cried.
Nah…I must be dreaming. I’m gonna wake up any minute now, comfortably lying in bed, in the middle of a Netflix binge-watching session.
Kevin looked at his wound and realized it was gone.
Huh.
“Look,” said Kevin. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But I’m really uncomfortable with bugs crawling on my skin. It’s nothing against you, you seem like a perfectly nice spider. By the way, what’s your name?”
The spider made a high-pitched alien sound that made Kevin’s ears hurt. One he couldn’t translate to syllables even if he wanted to.
“Ye
ah, that’s not gonna work for me, no offense. If it’s okay, I’ll give you a name of my own, one I can pronounce.”
The spider stopped shaking and looked back at Kevin with its multiples eyes, they grew and Kevin was forced to admit that made the spider look cuter.
“Okay. What will you call me?”
“Let’s see. Obviously, we’ll avoid Charlotte, too cliché.”
“What’s a cliché?”
“Something we don’t want to use, let’s just leave it at that.”
“O—kay!”
Okay, indeed.
“Itsy…What do you think of Itsy?”
The spider shook its tiny head. “I don’t like it.”
“Okay, what about Bitsy?”
“Same thing.”
“Well…I guess they sound similar, don’t they?”
The spider nodded enthusiastically.
“Okay, then what about Spidey?”
“It’s cute but too generic.”
Of course, it is. You gotta be kidding me.
“Are you venomous?” asked Kevin.
“I can bite and people tend to sleep for a very long time afterward. Does that count?”
“I would say so. What about Venom then?”
“It sounds scary. I’d rather not sound like a scary friend.”
No matter what I call you, you’re a talking spider, and I think you’ll always scare the crap out of me on some level.
As Kevin had that thought, he had to admit that the more he talked with the furry yellow thing, the less he was afraid of it. He wondered if perhaps them not being able to communicate was part of why most humans had a phobia of spiders.
Kevin chuckled out of the blue.
“What is it?” asked the spider.
“I just thought of a funny name.”
“Let me hear it.”
“Leg’olas.”
The spider fell on her back four legs and waved her front legs in the air.
“What are you doing?” Kevin asked.
“I’m happy. I like it. From now on, I shall be called Leg’olas.”
“I’m glad we’ve settled that. Now, what else can you do?”
Leg’olas lifted a leg. “I can run,” then she lifted another. “I can jump,” and she kept going on like this for each of her abilities. “I can bite, I can lick, I can make a web, and I can talk.”
“Good thing you don’t have more abilities; I don’t think you’d still be standing if you did.”
Leg’olas looked at her two back legs still connecting with the hovering device and laughed. Then she ran back right in front of Kevin’s face.
I guess I’ll have to get used to Leg’olas crawling all over me.
“So, we’re friends?” she asked.
“Yes, we’re friends. I’m Kevin. Nice to meet you.”
But Leg’olas looked to the side and started shaking, and before Kevin could ask, Leg’olas jumped away from his arm.
“Where did you go? What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s coming.”
“And?”
“And you’re not the only one who doesn’t like spiders around here.”
“Ah…”
The ship rocked and woke Lacuna from her sleep.
“What? Who’s there?”
But no one answered. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.
It took Lacuna a few moments to remember where she was, but the smell of her own body odor did a very good job of reminding her.
If I get my hands on Kevin…
Lacuna knew that her anger was misplaced. After what she had pulled, she couldn’t blame him if he had executed her in cold blood. And she had had plenty of time with her own thoughts to think about it too.
What she had perceived as weakness and naiveté might actually have been qualities of someone with a good heart and principles. But in this galaxy, principles could get you killed, so she hoped he would toughen up a little.
Still, right now she needed to return to Omicronia before someone without principles took her place. Kevin had effectively destroyed most of her security on his way up to the seven-hundredth floor. If there was one place that didn’t lack opportunistic vultures, it was Omicronia, and being one herself, she knew that very well.
The ship rocked once more, and something on the other side of the ship bleeped.
Was that an incoming transmission? If it were, she wasn’t in a position to do anything about it. Not unless she risked disconnecting her feeding tube from her arm. But then if that failed, she’s die of dehydration before reaching Omicronia.
Kevin had not bluffed, the intravenous feeding tube was barely attached to her skin and would fall if she moved ever so slightly, unlike her bindings that seemed unbreakable.
She looked around like she had done a thousand times in the last three days, hoping to find something, anything, that could help her get out of her restraints. But, no luck. The ship was cleaner than a Rasolian temple and seeing as it belonged to a Sphynx, it was no surprise. The furry creatures were obsessed with cleanliness. Well, except for the now strong pee smell around her chair.
She sighed in frustration when an idea crossed her mind.
What do I have to lose exactly?
She started screaming. “Anybody out there? Please HELP! HELP!”
She kept screaming until her voice gave out and her throat was raw.
So much for that plan. Oh well, it was worth a try.
The ship’s controls bleeped and the engine died off.
“What the heck?” she said aloud. “Hmm…interesting, maybe shouting wasn’t as dumb an idea as it sounded.”
A tractor beam grabbed the ship, and she could tell from the distant viewport in the cockpit that it was being brought to the side of another ship. A metallic thunk followed; someone was attaching to the docking port.
The question now was, was it a friend or a foe. Not that she was in any position to do anything about the latter anyway.
She strongly hoped that whatever happened next was better than two more weeks stuck to a chair in a room that would keep smelling more and more like excrement as time passed.
She heard air fill on the other side of the bulkhead. Pressurization, so at least it had to be an oxygen-breathing species. But that didn’t necessarily mean it was good news; it could very well be a bounty hunter with her name on their warrant. The thought made her stress levels jump through the roof in a heartbeat.
Stay positive…
She swallowed hard as she heard increasingly louder footsteps.
Yeah, I’m gonna take a leap of faith and say that whatever is about to enter here is better than being stuck sitting atop a pool of my own bodily fluids.
Truth be told, she was only half convinced, but on the flip side, she’d soon know whether or not she had damaged, at least temporarily, her beautiful vocal cords.
Her heartbeat pounded against her chest like a Mandochukan drum parade. She looked at the manual release wheel with anticipation when she heard a strange noise.
Was someone trying to cut a hole on a perfectly working door? There was only one person she knew of that was that stupid. But how could he know she was here?
“Darmak? Is that you?”
“Bothhh?” echoed a dumb voice. “Ithhh dat yuu?”
If she had free hands, now would be a perfect time to face-palm. But it would have to wait.
“Yes, it’s me! Are you trying to cut through the door?”
“Yethhh, I’ll have yu out in no teime, hang on.”
Darmak was a very loyal employee but not the brightest. He had never really mastered speaking to begin with, let alone deep-space rescue. But at least he was here, so all in all: silver lining.
“Stop trying to cut through the damn door. Use the manual release valve, you du—”
She stopped herself. He didn’t like being called names, and right now was not the time to anger him. Not if she wanted to hold on to her hope of a nice sonic shower and change of clothes.
/> “Whut?” said Darmak.
“You see that round thing sticking out of the door?”
“Eeeeh. Yeeeeah. What about it?”
Lacuna took a long, deep breath and had to expend a large amount of positive energy to try and stay zen.
“Turn it to open the door.”
She heard some muffled growling and panting.
“It no work.”
“Yeah, yeah, now try turning it to the other side.”
“Okaaay.”
The door finally opened and the massive pink-skinned Domdori entered the ship, but not before hitting the top of his elongated cranium against the top of the doorframe. His head made a hollow sound.
Figures…
“Boy, am I happy to see you!” she exclaimed.
Darmak was holding his bumped head as he came next to her.
“Me toooo, bothhh.”
“Boss.”
“Dat wut I say, bothhh.”
“So much for the enunciation lessons.”
“Wut?”
“Never mind, get me out of my bindings, will you?”
He raised the torch he was holding in his other hand. “Huh?”
She blinked twice before answering. “No, not with that.”
2
The cell door opened and bright light bathed Kevin’s face. It took a few moments and several blinks for his sight to adjust from the otherwise dark place.
“Don’t tell them I’m here,” whispered Leg’olas.
“You got it,” answered Kevin in kind.
Two shadows were silhouetted against the light. They looked humanoid, which Kevin decided was a good sign.
“Oh, finally. I’d like a Big Mac value meal, and king size it, with fries and a Coke,” said Kevin with a smile.
“Huh?” said one of the men, scratching his head.
“Ignore the boy,” the other voice said. “He’s taunting us. He hasn’t learned his lesson yet.”
“And what lesson would that be?” asked Kevin.
“Show him,” said the lead man.
The bigger of the two approached Kevin and punched him in the gut. Kevin wasn’t prepared for it, which made the blow that much more painful.
“Son of a bitch,” moaned Kevin. “You’ll regret that. Mark my words.”
Kevin spat some blood on the floor.
Make it So! Page 2
