by J. Naomi Ay
Unfortunately, just like Woofbert did with the people of Andorus II, Monrat got screwed. Woofbert pointed the gun in his former assistant's chest, which then splattered one of Monrat's hearts in pieces upon the wall.
Not far away from them, Katie and Pym heard the sound of a shot echoing through the pipes, which were dripping rusty, cold water upon their heads.
"What was that?" Pym cried, her voice bouncing off the walls.
"Shut up," Katie hissed. "I'm trying to listen."
A second shot sounded, which was Woofbert's backup, just in case Monrat had somehow survived with only one heart. He didn't, and his second heart splattered, as well, leaving a hideous purple mess upon the metal wall.
"It sounds like my Glock," Katie told Pym in whisper. "It has a distinctive recoil spring that makes a tiny pinging noise when the bullet is released."
"How can you tell?"
"It's my gun! I know how it sounds," Katie insisted and began to run in the direction from which the shots had come.
Luckily, it wasn't far away. In fact, it was right around the corner, and three pipes to the left by another door. Katie pulled up short in front of Woofbert who was waving the gun in her face. Pym arrived a moment later, bumping into the Empress's back.
"It's him!" Pym gasped loudly, pointing her finger as she recognized Woofbert Wangdog. "He's the evil man who is ruining Andorus II."
"I know who it is," Katie snapped. "Put that gun down, right this minute, before I make you sorry you ever picked it up."
Woofbert studied the Human in the dim light, as well as the ugly old Andorian hiding behind her back.
"You," he ordered Pym. "Come here and hold my beard."
"Do you know who this is?" Pym responded, pointing at Katie. "This is the Empress. You had better obey her every word."
"I don't have to obey anyone," Woofbert replied, raising his nose so high in the air, it caught the water dripping from the pipes.
"One more time, friend," Katie threatened. "Put down my gun and raise your hands in the air. Your days as president of Andorus II are over. If you want to live, you'll do as I command."
"I don't think so." Woofbert pointed the gun at Katie's head. It had been so easy to pull the trigger when it came to Monrat Morfel. Woofbert never realized how killing could be such a power trip. It was fun having that kind of control. In his hand, he held the gift of life or death, which was even more amusing than dictating laws.
"Please," Pym begged upon her knees, even though the floor was hard and wet cement. "Don’t shoot the Empress. Shoot me instead. I give you my life instead of hers."
"I'll shoot both of you," Woofbert decided. "Who wants to be first?"
While Woofbert waited for Katie or Pym to volunteer, Katie took the opportunity to kick him in the head. It was a marginal kick and not very strong, as Katie hadn't practiced her round-houses for a number of years. However, it served its purpose, which was to knock him down, as well as dislodge the gun from his hand. The gold-plated Glock went skidding across the floor, which sent old Pym scrambling after it. Woofbert howled in distress, although Katie's foot had only impacted his jaw and split his lip.
"Give me the gun, Pym," Katie snapped, reaching for her Glock. Now, it was Katie's turn to point it at Woofbert's head.
"How dare you assassinate me?" he cried. "I'm Woofbert Wangdog."
"I won't." Katie responded, trying to control the urge. As much as she wanted to, Katie was never the one to do the deed.
"Yes, do it," Pym urged. "He's a really bad man and I hate him very much. All the people of Andorus II will rejoice when he is dead. They will cherish you, our beloved Queen even more than now."
"No, I won't kill him," Katie insisted, lowering her gun to Woofbert's knee. "You'll resign immediately, or you'll never play Worf again."
This was a difficult choice for Woofbert to make, Worf or being president for life? Hmm. He hesitated until a sound rang out.
"Woofbert!" Delores's voice echoed against the metal walls, so loudly, Katie was forced to cover her ears. "What do you think you're doing, Woofbert? Three messages later and you finally pick up the phone. You had better not be eating jellied Lump Worm hearts, or I'll sock you in the head. By the way, I expect you to bring some back for me."
"No, dear," Woofbert mumbled, holding his cell. "I mean, yes dear, I bought a container for you."
"Good," Delores replied. "And Cascadian baby jelly fish slime. Three jars for me and two more for my mother."
"Yes, dear." Woofbert covered the cell and appealed to Katie. "Would you mind shooting my wife instead of me?"
"No." Katie set the gun down on the floor. Her foot was aching and there was no point in killing this fool. With a wife like that, he'd suffer more just by staying alive. However, as soon as she got back, she'd insist Senya remove him from office.
Pym did not see things the same way. While Katie was rubbing her foot, Pym once again picked up the gun.
"I kill you for Andorus II," she declared. "And, all the patriots who believe everyone should be free. Go to hell, Woofbert Wangdog, and take your Worf stick with you."
Katie jumped back as the gun shot echoed against the walls. For several minutes afterward, it rebounded in her ears.
"Good Lord! What did you do, Pym?"
"I killed him. You can arrest me now. I did it for my people, and I'm proud of it."
"You didn't kill him," Katie snapped, kneeling next to Woofbert, who had taken a bullet in the head, but was still awake and blinking his eyes.
Although the shot was nearly point-blank, Pym's aim wasn't all that great, since she had never before held a gun or pulled a trigger. Pym had succeeded in a searing off the crown of the Woofbert's hair which had caused him to fall back and bang his head on the cement.
Although neither woman knew this while they awaited the paramedics, Andorians limbs were controlled by a bundle of nerves in the brain branch on the top of their heads. In Woofbert's case, this had been burned and then, smashed beyond recognition when Pym's misplaced shot caused him to fall back upon the floor. This left Woofbert in an infantile state, paralyzed in all limbs and requiring round the clock care for life.
"Ha ha, Delores!" Pym cackled as she was cuffed and hauled away by the spacebase's police who accompanied the medical team. "Delores will have to suffer. No more Disneyplanet on the taxpayer's dime. No more Cascadian Baby Jelly Fish slime dinners for you. You'll be back to your mud hut, sitting on a rock, while you spoon feed your idiot husband his mashed mixed meat and gruel."
Katie started to follow the paramedics and the cops, thinking how tired and sick she was of this vacation. It wasn’t any fun, at least not for her. She was thinking that when she got back upstairs, she would tell Senya, it was time to go. After all, since he created it that dust storm, he could also make it disappear.
It was then that Katie realized she was all alone in the conduit. Somehow, she had gotten lost when the others turned a corner far ahead. Katie wasn't entirely sure which way to go, as the pipes branched off in several directions. For a moment she spun in place trying to decide right, left, or front.
Suddenly, Katie spied a door with a large sign flashing the word, "Exit" in Mishnese. It had appeared out of nowhere, but that didn’t bother her.
“Great!” she proclaimed instead, stepping into a narrow staircase which was illuminated by strange silver light, she climbed upward to a destination beyond the roof.
Chapter 21
Rent and Trudy stepped out into the busy spacebase terminal to discover that both of their cells were ringing. Rent had nine messages on his, while Trudy had fourteen on hers, all from their boss's number back at SdK Aerospace.
"Hello?" Rent said, finally answering his phone, while Trudy went to read the message board overhead. Her glasses made her near sighted, but when she took them off her vision was fine.
As she got closer to the board, Trudy saw that the spacebase was still in lockdown due to an emergency a short distance away. A Dariun Starlines spaceplane en route from D
arius II to Earth had called in a May Day and tried to detour. Tragically, it had exploded before it could dock, even though it had been only minutes from a safe arrival.
"Golden, your vacation time is canceled," Rent heard his boss yell, while Trudy ran across the terminal to see the plane's debris. The windows were crowded with onlookers chattering in hushed and frightened tones, pointing outside at what was left of a destroyed spaceplane.
"Get back here immediately! Everyone must return to their desks," Rent's boss continued.
"Why?" Rent watched as Trudy covered her mouth.
The dust storm had cleared, and outer space was filled with stars, as well as the blown out fuselage and ruptured engine of the damaged ship. Dariun Starlines was scrawled across the side, and that familiar SdK logo was printed on the tail along with the inscription, "878."
"Space Authority wants a full examination of that plane, every nut, every bolt, every one and zero. An all-hands meeting has been called for tomorrow. I expect all hands to be here unless you're dead. Let me tell you, Golden, if you don't show up, I'll personally come there and kill you."
"But, we can't," Rent insisted, "If all flights are stopped, how are we going to fly out?"
"That's no excuse," His boss declared. "You figure a way. You managed to get yourself on vacation. Now, you get yourself home and back to your desk. I expect you bright and early analyzing all the data from every engine fault. Before we walk into that meeting with Mattson, I want to know the reason that spaceplane blew apart."
"Okay," Rent mumbled, clicking off his cell. He supposed he could ask his dad. Probably, his dad even knew why the spaceplane had been destroyed.
"A lot of people got killed." A Luminerian guy was telling Trudy who was holding his frontal hand while he wiped his eyes. "It could have been any of us. It could have happened on any of our flights."
"But, it didn't," Trudy replied. "We're all still here. Accidents like this are exceptionally rare, and nobody knows exactly why things like this take place. Bad things happen to good people, no matter what we seem to do. Time has to happen in the way it's supposed to be, and we can't change that."
"Wow," Rent gasped as he came alongside. "That's really deep."
Trudy shrugged. "I heard it somewhere before."
"Hey dude!" Steve called to Rent, while running across the terminal to where they were gathered. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I've ordered us an Imperial plane."
"Hey," the Luminarian guy looked up. "Are you the guy that hosts that game show which takes place on that island on the vid?"
"No," Steve patted the guy's back, "I'm Shika, the Imperial Prince, and this dude, is my Imperial Brother, Revak."
"Sure," the Luminerian scoffed and walked away. "Everybody is either a philosopher or a clown."
"Sometimes, people just can't handle the truth," Steve shrugged, "So, bro, you want a ride back to Mishnah? I'm taking Sara home, and then, Joanne and I are going to Talas to bury Sam's body."
"What about our vacation on Rozari?" Rent asked, as Trudy stared awestruck at Steve. He was gorgeous, especially his eyes, although, come to think of it, Rent was too.
"Ach, who wants to go on vacation with Mom and Dad? It's better they go off by themselves and leave us alone. Dad is too busy killing all their friends, and Mom complains that we don't call her enough. Considering we all live right next door, I have never understood why.
Anyway, I've had some new pilots sent with the Imperial plane so Mom won't be allowed to drive even if she wanted to. It's your opportunity to escape, dude. You and your girl can go have some fun. Furthermore, you and I need to work on syncing our powers, so we can take this act on the road. What do you think, should we wear capes? I want to try out some telekinetic stuff next.”
“Whatever, Steve,” Rent replied. “Trudy and I have to get back to our office. We've got a meeting tomorrow with the boss, so the only superpower I'm going to work on is being an Engineer.”
Pym Pingbon was sitting in the spacebase's police station waiting to be released. She had given her statement about the unfortunate incident, while only omitting a few of the important facts
She had described how Woofbert Wangdog had killed Monrat Morfel by picking up the gun. Then, she explained how the mysterious Human woman had kicked it from his hand.
Pym had then picked up the gun herself and fabricated a story about Wangdog charging at her. She had shot him in self-defense, a fact disputed by no one else since Wangdog was now effectively incommunicado. The Human had disappeared without a trace, or at least as far as Pym's description went.
"She had bright red hair," the Andorian had insisted. "And, she couldn’t have been more than four feet tall. Her skin was dark, and her eyes were a deep emerald green."
"Human?" The officers had nodded and closed the case, happy to put it rest. Probably, she was more like a Rogarian Conduit Dweller who lived in the bowels of the spacebase and ate the trash. At any rate, they let Pym go with a reprimand and a small fine for shooting a firearm that had no license or registration.
As Pym departed the precinct with the gold-plated Glock, which was given to her for lack of anyone else, she overheard some officers discussing the murder-suicide at the Holiday Inn. The Duke and Duchess of Kalika-hahr were found in dead in their hotel bed, their blood alcohol levels off the chart. The Duchess had taken a shot through her mouth while the Duke had one in the center of his forehead. The gun was found right next to him, which meant he had pulled the trigger. However, there were no fingerprints from either Duke or Duchess anywhere.
Pym returned to her convenience store and Laundromat. Considering the circumstances, she went on with her life as best as she could.
Pym watched the news on the vid, and was pleased to see the election of a new Andorian president. He was a good man, she thought, and she hoped he would improve the economy. As for the gold-plated Glock, Pym kept it as a treasured gift. Every night she would touch the cold metal and make a wish. Sometimes, she prayed for peace, while other times, she merely wished for froyo with Cascadian Baby Jelly Fish sauce.
As for the Centipedian tourists who were living in her laundry machines, Pym never bothered to inform them that the spacebase had reopened. They were very comfortable inside, so she let them stay until they were gone. In fact, their presence was to Pym's benefit.
For twenty nights, she never had to wonder what to eat for dinner. Neither did she go out to the grocery store. Pym merely went into her Laundromat and turned a washer on hot, or a dryer on heat. An hour later, she ate a boiled or a baked Centipedian over rice.
Chapter 22
As Katie climbed up the metal grated steps, her hand holding onto the cold railing, water dripped from the pipes overhead. Somewhere, steam hissed, and shadows danced in the dark, reminding Katie of nightmares from her childhood.
When Katie was seven or eight, she'd have these awful reoccurring dreams in which she would be climbing up a staircase just like this. When she arrived at the top, she'd meet a set of doors and never know which one she ought to open.
Sometimes, in these dreams, Katie would go through the one on the left just to find another staircase exactly the same. Other times, she'd select the door on the right, and wake up screaming from the monster hidden within. Always, her father would come running to her rescue.
Manny would hold her until screaming calmed, her tears dried and her shivering ceased. Then, he'd fluff her pillow and lay her back in bed. After which, he would tuck her blankets in very tight. Katie always felt safe in her daddy's arms and safe in her tight bed after he kissed her.
"If that monster comes back," Manny would say as he turned off the light, "You knock him dead, Katie Anne. You shoot him with your gun."
"I will, Daddy," Katie would reply, hugging her pillow to her chest, safe in the knowledge that she had the power to destroy evil.
Over the years, Katie had shot at monsters and killed a few of them. Others she had let go in hopes that they would reform. Some did, and some
didn't. Sometimes, Katie lost her faith in her fellow man when she came across monsters like Woofbert Wangdog and his cronies.
Although, Wangdog looked innocent and could speak well, although he smiled with an amazing star appeal, he was the worst kind of evil. His purpose was insidious, while dressed in a false cloak of good. His goal was to enslave free people, while they didn't know it. Who would stop these monsters when Senya was no longer around, for his inattention to Andorus II was just the beginning. Could the people manage on their own or would it take another MaKennah, another savior, another king whose goal was only the liberty of the people?
Katie was thinking all this as she climbed the stair. Her old bones ached, and her muscles groaned. Katie's breath came short in her chest as she cursed herself for being so out of shape. Still, she had a long way to go until she reached the top of this long trek, where a tiny glimmer of light shone from a landing.
The room was hot from all the warm water pipes lining the walls, yet Katie felt cold and her feet were growing numb. The tips of her fingers were slightly blue, although she couldn't see them in the dark, so Katie tried to think of happy thoughts, and warm places.
Katie imagined a beautiful beach lit by a golden sun. It was calm, and the water was pink like at their home in Takira-hahr. Katie remembered the first time Senya had brought her there, the warm water that washed all her space aches away, and the soft white sand that warmed her feet and toes.
Katie recalled the feel of the Rozarian ocean as it caressed her skin. She imagined how she had lain upon her back and let the warm sun dry the water droplets. Then, she had turned and looked back at the beach at the man who was lying there in the grass. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, and he was waiting there, waiting for her.
How Katie's heart had swelled with love that day, and every day since, she had only loved him more. He had promised her happily ever after, give or take a few moments of absolute hell, and he delivered, more or less. Yes. He had delivered.
