He spotted Calph in the nearby open kitchen, standing in front of a stovetop grill. Wearing a long white apron, one claw held a formidable-sized spatula. Jackie got up from the table and, moving to Calph’s side, took the spatula from him. “You’ve almost got it right. We’ll let them cook just a tad longer. She waited a few seconds then used the spatula to pry up, and peek beneath, one of the still-cooking pancakes. “Perfect!” She flipped the pancake over and, sure enough, it was a delightful golden-brown in color. Glancing over at Cuddy, she said, “Grab a plate, sleepy head. Bacon and jamma-rounds are on the counter.”
“Jamma-rounds?”
Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph replied, “What you humans call breakfast. The Howsh refer to it…roughly translated…as morning-gorge. Jamma-rounds are served at every morning-gorge.” He gestured with the spatula he retrieved from Jackie. “Take several…I made them myself.”
Cuddy was handed an empty plate by an alien standing nearby. One of the largest Howsh he’d ever laid eyes on, he was easily eight feet tall. “Thanks,” he said, eying the bacon strips and Jamma-rounds, which looked like some kind of gooey-eggy concoction. No sooner did he start filling his plate, when Jackie grabbed it away. Handing it to Calph, he slapped three still-sizzling pancakes onto it.
“Syrup’s on the table,” Jackie said. “You can take my seat…I’m through eating.”
Cuddy eyed the open space, then wedged his body between a Howsh crewmember he remembered seeing the day before and Haffan. With a mouth full of food, she asked, “Who were you talking to in your cabin last night?”
Cuddy remembered her asking him the same question earlier that morning, before Jackie scooted her from his quarters. “I was speaking with Tow.”
From across the table, he got Kyle and Tony’s attention.
“Does Tow look like me?” Haffan asked.
“Uh huh. He is Pashier, like you. He asked about you and told me to look out for you. Said you were very important.” Cuddy took his first bite of the jamma-rounds.
Haffan watched him chew. Cuddy noticed Jackie and Calph watching him eat too.
“It’s kinda like quiche,” he said. Jackie made it for them several times back on the Evermore. If he was honest with himself, he liked these jamma-rounds a whole lot better. “Wow…this is really good!”
Cuddy caught Calph’s triumphant expression then heard him utter a few self-satisfied growls.
Jackie, now behind him, leaned her weight into him. Her lips brushed his ear as she whispered, “Should we be talking about Tow, you know, around the Howsh? They are the enemy…”
Cuddy didn’t answer her right away. The longer she pressed into him, the better. He breathed in the fragrance of her strawberry shampoo, while pretending to need extra time to chew his food, and then whispered back, “Tow thinks they’re okay…but yeah, I’ll watch what I say.”
She gave a squeeze to his shoulder before pushing herself away.
“When will I get to meet Tow? Where will I live when I get to Primara? With you and Jackie? Haffan asked.
Tony rolled his eyes in Cuddy’s direction. “Non-stop…kid never comes up for air.”
“That’s not nice,” she responded.
Cuddy studied Haffan. “You know…you speak near-perfect English, Haffan. Probably better than I do.”
She nodded as though it were no big deal. “I can speak Howsh pretty well too,” and then spoke the alien language with apparent ease. Cuddy already knew the Pashier were exceptionally intelligent, far more intelligent than humans. Since she’d only been onboard the Howsh ship a few waking hours, it seemed impossible she could be so language gifted. Her smart-ass smile reminded him he’d be smart not to underestimate the Pashier seven-year-old.
Talk around the table quieted when the tall robot awkwardly crept into the dining area. Spilor wore a somewhat inappropriate facial projection this time—jovial, but teetering more on the side of creepy than happy. The robot momentarily glanced in Cuddy’s direction and then at Haffan, who didn’t return his smile. As Spilor made his way past them into the kitchen area, she said, “I like Bob better.”
Kyle said, “That could be a character from a scary movie…”
Calph now stood at the head of the table. Somewhere along the line, he’d removed the apron and once again looked like the ship’s commander. “We are approaching Darriall…I must take my place on the bridge.”
“Thank you for morning-gorge…and your delicious jamma-rounds,” Jackie said.
Others’ appreciation too erupted from around the table. Calph responded by giving a slight bow of his large head, as Spilor handed him his staff. Before turning away, he looked at Cuddy, and said, “When you are done, Cuddy Perkins, would you please join me on the bridge? Please bring the young sprout…”
“We’ll be there directly,” Cuddy said.
“I’m coming too,” Jackie said.
“So am I,” Brian said, from the far end of the table. The female Howsh, no longer sitting by his side, was seated on his lap. For the second time that morning, Cuddy’s face flushed red.
Chapter 25
By the time they arrived, Darriall dominated the dark cosmos from the bridge. Cuddy wasn’t sure what he expected the planet to look like, but it sure wasn’t what he was now viewing. Bright pumpkin orange, its north and south poles were nearly as black as the deep space surrounding it, giving the planet—at least upon first glance—a strange fractured look. Like some giant being had taken massive bites out of the top and bottom.
Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph, standing by the red railing at the center of the compartment, partially turned around as they approached. Cuddy and the others made their way onto the bridge, including Kyle and Tony, who didn’t want to be excluded should something important occur. Cuddy noticed three Howsh crewmembers, situated in perimeter stations, giving no obvious indication their arrival was even noticed.
Calph seemed somewhat amused, noticing Cuddy’s teammates, then gestured with the top of his staff at the Jack O’ Lantern world out the forward window. “We have arrived at Darriall,” he said. “Before we proceed farther, there are precautions which need to be discussed. This is an automated world. Not much in the way of indigenous life, still there are security bots in various states of disrepair.”
“Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph, I’ve already gone over much of that with my team,” Cuddy said.
“You’ve been to Darriall prior to this trip?” Calph asked, appearing confused.
“No…but I’ve been recently briefed.”
Calph slowly nodded to himself. “That makes sense…you’ve been in contact with the Pashier Master.”
Cuddy hadn’t heard Tow referred to as a master before, but the truth was, the term certainly fit. Who else, among the Pashier, had done the same things he had; even traveled to the other side of Rah…whatever that was.
“The important thing is to get in and out as quickly, and as efficiently, as possible. Normally, I would not support a team this size to undertake such a mission, but each of you has a definite purpose…individually singled out, in the ancient writings, in one form or another.”
“No shit!” Tony exclaimed. “Someone’s written something about me?”
“That doesn’t mean it was anything good,” Brian retorted.
Looking out the forward window, Haffan walked toward the front of the bridge. With her back to everyone, she softly spoke, “I’ve had dreams about this place.”
“Dreams…or your inner nudges?” Jackie asked.
Haffan turned around, seeming to mull over her question. “Both,” she replied, gazing directly at the grisly-looking Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph. Raising an arm, she pointed at him, then said, “You…you will kill someone today.”
Cuddy exchanged a quick glance with his brother.
Kyle said, “Considering what was just said…about no one living down there, do you mean one of us? How accurate are your…nudges…anyway?”
Haffan didn’t answer, momentarily lookin
g lost in thought.
At some point, Spilor, on joining Calph’s side, spoke to him in low tones. Cuddy could hear most of what the robot said. Apparently, another vessel was just detected in the area.
Calph turned to a Howsh crewmember, sitting at the tactical station.
The tactical officer said, “Long-range sensors have matched the vessel’s unique characteristics…it is the Dubon, Supreme Eminence.”
Considering what Spilor just said to Calph, Cuddy briefly wondered how the robot could possibly know that.
“That is Lorgue Sub Eminence Langer’s ship. I shouldn’t be surprised, although that certainly will complicate matters. How much time do we have before the Dubon arrives at Darriall?”
The tactical officer gave Calph the approximate time. Cuddy mentally converted the Howsh timeframe—two and a half hours.
* * *
Calph led the way out of the ship’s airlock and into bright daylight, where a strong wind billowed his long robe and whipped tufts of matted white fur. Using his staff purposefully, he took long strides toward the closest building.
All in all, there were eleven, counting Spilor, including a defensive team of three well-armed Howsh. One was the ginormous, eight-foot-tall Howsh Cuddy met earlier that morning, named Marzon.
The Farlight was presently docked on one of five empty circular landing pads within the cloverleaf-shaped formation, in the city of Calirah. Ten other elevated, cloverleaf-landing configurations, within the sprawling complex, were unoccupied; an indication this once was a bustling center of activity, but now was like an airport, minus all departing or arriving traffic. Studying the area, it became apparent the transportation hub’s best days were far in the past.
Cuddy walked alongside Haffan, in the middle of the others. As usual, Haffan held tightly to his hand, staying close by his side.
“Why is it so windy here?” Haffan yelled into the gusts swirling and encircling them.
Jackie, walking on the child’s other side, said, “We’ll be inside shortly.”
Cuddy looked back and saw the trailing behind, waif-like Spilor struggling to remain upright on both robotic feet. Come another big blast of wind and the robot might very well be swept over the edge of the superstructure. Since no one else had seemed to notice, Cuddy found he didn’t care that much either. He suddenly was aware Brian was communicating with him—telepathically.
Don’t answer me back, Cuddy…you don’t know how to keep your damn thoughts private…
Cuddy did not t answer, for—as annoying as Brian’s request was—it was true.
Look up, man.
Cuddy did as told. There were about thirty sentry bots rapidly descending down upon them from above. They looked similar to Bob, but these bots were larger. Each was armed with weaponry—multiple barrels extended out from metallic, octagonal-shaped structuring.
It might be up to us to fend them off…I have zero confidence that our armed fur-ball friends can protect us.
Hearing the high-pitch sound of multiple motors, Haffan looked up. With eyes large as saucers, she pointed upward.
They’d all reached the front of a multi-story, all-glass building that offered no indication how to get inside. No entrance door was visible as the security bots dropped into a semi-circle, surrounding them, and hovered there. Nervously, the three-armed Howsh raised their weapons.
Calph raised his staff in the air, perhaps attempting to bring attention to himself. Stepping up to the closest bot, he announced, “We mean you no harm. We are simple researchers…our only desire is to view the records.”
Cuddy didn’t like the security bots’ presence around them one tiny bit. Calph should have anticipated them. Now, looking down the barrels of their multiple energy weapons, the seriousness of their situation was brought to hand. Brian was right to warn him, and he mentally agreed it was perhaps time they put their TK abilities to use then and there. Cuddy gazed down at Haffan and attempted to give her a reassuring smile.
“I don’t think they believe you,” Tony told Calph.
Calph made an angry-looking grimace.
A distorted, scratchy-sounding voice blared from the bot hovering closest to Calph. “Access to the records on Calirah is no longer permitted. Vandalism. Destruction. Theft. Return to your vessel, immediately!”
“I assure you, our arrival has been anticipated,” Calph said. “I am Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph. Check your database. Check who has clearance to proceed.”
That seemed to make some sort of impact as a series of small panels slid opened along the underside of the close security bot. Four wire-thin articulating arms appeared—each sporting a three-digit claw. The claw moved with a jerky motion, remarkably similar to the way Spilor moved. And now Spilor was at Calph’s side, raising-up two spidery-thin appendages. The security bot’s four claws moved, then repositioned, as if to make contact with Spilor’s somewhat hand-like appendages. Cuddy, watching, thought maybe they’d engage in some kind of robotic fist-bump, but Spilor would have none of that. Almost angrily, the robot flicked away the security bot’s claws—as if slapping away a child’s bothersome hands—and proceeded to insert both mechanical hands inside one of the open panels on the security bot.
“There’s something just wrong about that,” Tony said.
Cuddy watched Spilor cycle through a series of varied facial projections, before settling on one that looked contemplative. With a virtual eyebrow raised, the robot continued doing something up inside the innards of the security bot.
Cuddy felt a tug on his hand.
Haffan asked, “What’s happening? Are we just going to stand around all day?”
“What exactly is going on here, Eminence Calph?” Cuddy asked.
“An attempt to neutralize this bot, and the other security bots. Configuration adjustments. You may have noticed a…similarity…between the two robotic technologies. This is Spilor’s home world…once was a supervisor here, similar to what you would call a librarian. If anyone, anything, can alter the programming of this bot, and the other bots—”
Calph’s words were cut short by a sudden movement when Spilor apparently touched something sensitive inside the bot. The security bot jerked hard, first one way, then another, and Spilor was momentarily pulled off both spindly feet and lifted into the air. The bot frantically tried to free itself from Spilor’s arms, still inside it. As frenzied wrenching motions continued, Spilor was flung this way and that like a limp rag doll. Cuddy, feeling sick to his stomach, raised a hand—enough was enough.
“No! Do not intervene, human,” Calph ordered, staring at Cuddy then at Brian. Continuing, he added, “The other bots have not intervened yet. Spilor still may be able to—”
“Do something! Help Spilor!” Jackie yelled.
As much as Cuddy didn’t care for Spilor, he couldn’t idly stand by and watch any longer. Using TK, he mentally grabbed ahold of the still-gyrating security bot and could feel the unbridled power of the thing. The more it tried to wrench itself free, the more irritated Cuddy became. Just stop…let the robot go, Cuddy demanded, as the security bot began to twist. Spilor’s spindly legs spun around and around. Enough! With one definitive TK execution, Cuddy ripped the bot’s metal body into two separate halves. Spilor, along with more than a few bot spare parts, fell—scattering on the ground.
Then, the first security bot of many began to fire off its energy weapons…
Chapter 26
The first to go down was one of the three-armed Howsh. Cuddy was momentarily startled by the explosive effect of the energy blast—how flammable his Howsh fur apparently was. Immediately, Cuddy used his TK ability to mentally bat several security bots into the sky, sending them as far off as he could.
He then reached out telepathically to Brian. Are you helping out at all?
No answer.
Calph, using his staff, along with seemingly excellent telekinesis proficiency, watched as three bots exploded—Bam! Bam! Bam! The concussive blasts successfully wiped out two other n
earby bots in the process.
An energy bolt struck Cuddy in the upper arm. Intensely hot, somehow it left little more than a scorch mark on his shirt. Apparently, the lack of maintenance on the old bots carried over to and affected their weaponry.
Cuddy positioned himself in front of Haffan and Jackie, now crouched on the ground. Several new energy strikes struck his body—although two were inconsequential, the one hitting his abdomen was more serious.
Marzon, using his energy rifle, wasn’t having much luck targeting. The bots were fast—almost intuitive—in avoiding all incoming fire from Marzon, and the other armed Howsh.
Two of the bots that Cuddy sent high up into the sky were now descending. Damn! Trying to fend off the attacks, coming from every direction, he snuck a glance at Brian. Down on the ground, he lay motionless. Tony and Kyle were nowhere in sight.
Lorgue Supreme Eminence Calph was tiring. His earlier persistence in using his staff was now far more tempered. Cuddy, unsure how the old Howsh leader was faring, knew the ongoing battle was obviously taking a toll on him. Although the right sleeve of Calph’s robe was on fire, he fought on—seeming to give it no notice.
Fewer than ten security bots remained aloft. Continuing to dart into position, they’d fire off a volley of energy bolts then spin away. Somewhere along the way, Cuddy had figured out how to deflect much of their incoming fire. But, like Calph, he too was tiring. Checking on Haffan and Jackie, he found them both still crouched on the ground—only now, Jackie was holding one of the fallen Howsh’s rifles. He hoped she would quickly figure out how to use it. Kyle and Tony were still MIA, though Brian appeared to be coming around.
“We could use your help, Brian,” Cuddy yelled, just as two searing energy bolts struck him, hitting his upper thighs. He dropped to his knees, hoping the pain would quickly dissipate like it had before…
The Simpleton QUEST Page 12
