“Something’s happening!” M. Hoyvil shouted telepathically.
“Eeeepps!” shouted Antaska.
Potat stopped in mid air and snarled. She floated over in the zero g to hover between Antaska and M. Hoyvil.
Wawuul kept the mental image going. It followed the two Eeeepps into the rickety building. In the dim-lit hallway, small creatures scurried out of the way of their large, clawed feet. They entered the open doorway to a small room. The old Woogah man still sat there staring into space with vacant eyes. His faded dark cloak hung loose on his bony body.
The two Eeeepps stopped and stood in front of Nestgorm. Their large yellow reptilian eyes stared into his eyes. His round, bulbous cloud-covered eyes stared back. Lipless mouths in snout-like faces moved as if they were speaking out loud. But the watchers in the Integer had no audio. Then Nestgorm’s thin lips moved too.
“He’s speaking?” said Antaska. “I thought he was in some kind of a trance.”
“They could be telling him to say something,” said M. Hoyvil. “We’ll see what happens next.”
Potat felt useless. If one of them would speak telepathically, she could hear it, but they only spoke out loud.
I could read their minds, but that would be so vile and disgusting, Potat mused. I really don’t want to do that unless there’s an emergency. Besides Antaska made me promise not to.
She floated over to perch on M. Hoyvil’s shoulder and dug her claws in to hold on. He reached up a big green hand to smooth down her fur.
Then something new happened in Wawuul’s telepathic view. The Eeeepps stepped back, and Nestgorm stood up from the edge of the small, uncomfortable-looking bed. He walked to door, and the Eeeepps followed him down the hall and outside the building.
Now the watchers could see what was happening outside by using the Integer’s own view screens. Wawuul stopped displaying the picture in their minds.
In the bare, sandy courtyard, Nestgorm and the two Eeeepps walked over to an old metal land vehicle. It looked like a hard-used truck from ancient Earth’s past. Nestgorm opened a side door and leaned into the truck. The watchers in the Integer could see his fingers typing on a panel in front of the truck’s seat for a few moments. Then he leaned back out and closed the door.
“That’s the same truck Nestgorm drove when he picked me up from Marroo’s place,” said Antaska.
“Do you think he’s going to get another kidnapped female?” M. Hoyvil asked. “Should we follow him?”
“He might be,” said Antaska. “But I think we should wait here. Wawuul checked the whole area, and he didn’t find anyone else. But something could still happen, and we’d miss it. Wherever he’s going, he’ll be back.”
“OK. I’ll agree with that,” said M. Hoyvil. “Does everyone else.”
Potat noticed that M. Hoyvil was being careful to include everyone in all the decisions. She leaned over and rubbed the side of her head against his neck to show her approval.
“Yes, I agree,” said Antaska.
“Uh huh,” said Wawuul.
It must be tough to be a cat and have such a limited vocabulary, Potat thought.
Out in the courtyard, Nestgorm left the truck and walked to the door of the big building. He went inside, and the two Eeeepps followed him in. Wawuul displayed his telepathic image again.
Nestgorm walked to a control panel not far from the doorway. He reached out a bony hand and pressed a few buttons.
“Look at that!” said Antaska.
She pointed at one of the Integer’s view screens. The bubble-like orange glow representing the work plant’s force field was gone.
“He’s turned off the force field so he can leave without triggering it,” said M. Hoyvil. “I wonder if they’ll turn it back on right away or leave it off till he gets back.”
“That would give us a chance for someone to sneak in,” said Antaska.
“Um. I don’t know about that. But let’s not get back into that argument right now,” said M. Hoyvil.
“OK,” Antaska agreed. “Now what’s happening?”
Wawuul’s view showed the Eeeepps walking away into the hall of the high-tech plant. But Nestgorm went back outside.
“Let’s watch Nestgorm,” said Antaska.
Wawuul dropped his telepathic image from their minds. They all looked at the Integer’s view screen again. Potat floated over next to it to get a closer look, but there wasn’t that much to see.
Nestgorm walked straight to the truck and got in. Again, he pressed buttons on the flat control panel directly in front of the driver’s seat. Then he put his arms down by his side and stared blankly in front of him.
There was no steering wheel or foot petals in the truck. Without Nestgorm doing anything else, it started moving backward. It turned around and drove out of the plant’s courtyard and away. There was only one narrow, barely paved road leading from the work plant through the Woogah planet’s desert.
The truck got on the road and headed away from the factory. Low shrubby plants and a few cacti were all that could be seen in the far distance. Flowered plants spotted the barren, blue-tinged emptiness with small hints of red, orange, and yellow color. Nestgorm’s truck became a small dot on a line drawn through the desert scenery. And then it was gone.
“If he’s going to get a female from the same slaver who took Antaska, he should be back by late tonight,” said M. Hoyvil. “When we followed him in the Jalapeno from Marroo’s place back here, it took about four hours. Do you remember, Potat?”
“Yes, I remember,” said Potat.
Antaska didn’t say anything, but Potat knew she probably couldn’t remember it very well since she was under Marroo’s hypnotic spell at the time.
Even though Antaska said all this wasn’t bothering her anymore, Potat knew it still was. She floated over to Antaska’s side and rubbed her black cat face against Antaska’s face.
“Thank you, kitty,” said Antaska.
A cat’s work is never done, thought Potat.
Chapter 28
Pweet sat next to Marroo in his small dining room eating the lunch he’d prepared. Her new, stronger body was ravenous, and the food was delicious. But she knew what was coming next.
At least I didn’t have to find out if I’m strong enough now to fight him off, she thought.
Then Marroo told her what she’d been expecting to hear.
“Pweet, something’s come up,” Marroo began. “I just received word that I’m needed on a special mission to outer space.”
“That sounds exciting,” said Pweet. “So we’re going on a mission somewhere?”
She kept up her pretense of believing him, but Pweet knew what his real plans for her were.
“Well, actually, I can’t take you this time,” said Marroo. “It’s too dangerous for you.”
“But you said we’d be traveling together,” Pweet said. “That’s what you got me for. Besides, I’m not afraid of danger.”
“Ah! I know you’re brave, Pweet,” said Marroo. “But you’re precious to me, and I need you to be safe.”
“Then what will I do when you’re gone?” asked Pweet. “Stay here by myself?”
“No, you won’t have to do that,” said Marroo. “I’ve made arrangements with a friend of mine. You’ll be staying with him until I get back. He’s got a big place out in the desert. You’ll like it there.”
“Are you sure?” said Pweet. “I expected to go to space. I don’t want to be planet bound. I could have stayed on Earth for that. I’ll be bored if I don’t have anything to do.”
She pouted.
“Yes, you’ll love it there,” Marroo answered. “You’ll have lots to do. And you’ll have lots of company. There are many, many alien females from all over the galaxy living there. They help my friend Nestgorm with…umm…some work he does. You can help too. You’ll be very busy.”
“Well, if you say so,” said Pweet.
“It will be fine,” said Marroo. “I’ll be back before you know it. Anyway, Ne
stgorm’s on his way here. He’ll be here any minute. Are you done eating lunch?”
A chime sounded in the dining room.
“There he is now!” said Marroo. “I’ll be right back.”
Marroo went into his living room. He returned a few moments later.
“Nestgorm is here,” he told Pweet. “He’s walking in from my parking garage. Come out to the living room now and put your cloak on. It’s chilly outside.”
Pweet got up and did as she was told. Marroo led her down a hallway to the small entranceway in his residence. They both stood waiting near the door.
Will things get better? Or will they get worse? Pweet wondered.
Another small chime sounded, and Marroo pressed his hand against a spot on the wall. The door slid up to reveal an elderly Woogah man standing behind it. His cloudy Woogah eyes were fixed on a spot straight ahead of him. His dark cloak hung loose from stiff bony shoulders.
“Greetings, Nestgorm!” said Marroo out loud. “Come in, come in.”
But the old man didn’t move.
“Get the Earth female. Bring her back,” said Nestgorm out loud.
Pweet heard Marroo speak telepathically to Nestgorm.
“Fine. If you don’t want to come in, that’s your business. Anyway, here she is. I’ll just need your thumbprint to transfer the payment for her.”
Marroo pulled a small electronic device from his pocket. He tapped the screen and then held it out to Nestgorm. The older man reached out a bony blue hand and placed his thumb on the device. Then his arm dropped back down to his side.
“Get the Earth female. Bring her back,” Nestgorm said again out loud.
Could this guy be even weirder than Marroo? Pweet wondered.
“Thank you,” said Marroo, again telepathically. “At least I got something out of all this.”
I don’t know where I’m going, but I really want to get away from this man, thought Pweet.
“Goodbye then,” Pweet said to Marroo.
She walked out the door and joined Nestgorm in the hallway.
“Bye Pweet,” said Marroo. “Have fun at Nestgorm’s place. I’ll see you soon.”
Right. You’ll see me running the other direction, Pweet thought but didn’t say out loud or telepathically.
The door to Marroo’s residence slid closed. Without saying anything else, the old man turned and walked away down the tunnel-like hallway. Pweet followed behind him. She tried to stay positive in a situation where that wasn’t easy.
So far, nothing terrible, she thought.
The hallway curved around and up. Then, at last, it widened into a large cave-like room. A decrepit vehicle sat next to Marroo’s sleek space shuttle. Pweet had seen trucks like that in ancient Earth videos.
We’re riding in that thing? she wondered. What will his place be like? I bet it’s not exactly the lap of luxury. Well, I guess that doesn’t matter. The important thing is how soon can I get away from him.
Still without looking at Pweet or saying anything to her, the old man went to one side of the truck, opened the door, and got in. Pweet got in on the other side. She sat on a cushioned seat that was far more comfortable than she’d expected.
The inside of the truck looked nothing like an ancient Earth vehicle. There were no controls other than a panel in front of Nestgorm. His fingers pressed some odd-shaped symbols, and the truck moved toward a wall. The wall lifted up to reveal a dim, empty desert land.
Nestgorm sat as unmoving as a skeleton on his side of the seat. He looked out the truck’s front window with a blank stare. Pweet looked out too. The truck headed out into the vast desert.
Nestgorm sat stiff and silent on the controller’s side of his truck. The Eeeepp’s hypnotic trance still held power over him. He couldn’t say or do anything unless it was by their orders. But unknown to the Eeeepps, he was able to feel and think again in some fashion. His thoughts were dark and bitter.
How long must I be insulted and abused by these low creatures! Nestgorm thought as he had so many times. Yet another insufferable insult added to the many I must bear! Now to have this slave woman sitting next to me in my own truck! The place for this slave is in the back of the truck, not sitting next to me as if she were my equal! And she has the nerve to speak to me!
“So where are we headed to?” Pweet asked him out loud.
Nestgorm didn’t answer.
That sneaky slaver has palmed an un-hypnotized slave on me! Nestgorm’s angry musing continued. Or on my captors. Those fools! Will they even notice? Is she even telepathic? Will they even care? They are ruining my work plant. Running it into the ground. I must find a way to regain control!
Even though Nestgorm didn’t answer her, couldn’t answer her, the lowly female riding next to him kept up an ongoing one-sided conversation.
“It’s kind of weird that you never speak,” she said. “Are you always like that? Just one more weird thing in all this weirdness, I guess. At least I got away from Marroo, but am I getting into something worse? It might help if you would say something—anything.”
Nestgorm wanted to speak, but it was impossible. He couldn’t even speak telepathically.
But could I set some kind of trance on her now? he wondered. It feels like my hypnotic powers are at least partially back.
The Earthling kept talking.
“You know,” she said. “I made a big mistake getting onto Marroo’s space ship, but I still blame the Verdantes for a lot of this.”
Nestgorm sensed her anger at the Verdantes. His species’ telepathic powers involved reading others’ feelings.
“It was completely unfair that they blacklisted me from going to space,” the female continued. “I reported my space school teachers for doing something wrong to me, and then I became the bad person. Of course, the Verdantes just took the instructors’ word for it. Why did they have signs all over to place saying to report harassment and abuse if they didn’t really want us to report it?”
Now the female’s anger was red hot. Nestgorm thought about how he could use that anger if only she were looking into his eyes. The problem was that he was facing forward, and he had no control over his body’s movements.
Wait! There was a mirror in the truck. And he could see her face in the mirror. Another classic beauty. Stunningly beautiful really. Long silver hair flowed against her shapely body. But Nestgorm put no value on that. A female’s value was in how hard she would work for him. And beautiful women like this one were always vain.
Yes, he thought. This one must suffer from that flaw so common in females. As soon as she notices the mirror, she’ll fall under the spell of her own vanity. And when that happens, I’ll have my chance. I just have to wait.
So Nestgorm kept his eyes focused on the mirror waiting for Pweet to look into it. But for a long time, she didn’t look in the mirror. She looked at Nestgorm and kept talking to him.
“Do you have any music in this truck? Or videos?” the female asked after a while. “This long drive is kind of boring.”
Of course, Nestgorm didn’t answer. He stared at the mirror. Waiting. Waiting.
Then, of all the nerve! The insolent slave reached a shapely hand toward the truck’s control console in front of Nestgorm!
“Do any of these buttons play music?” she asked him.
Will this foolish female change our course or stop the truck in the middle of the desert? Nestgorm wondered. That would be a disaster. In the condition I’m in, I wouldn’t be able to set the controls to get back to the plant.
Luckily, she seemed to reach the same conclusion.
“Maybe I shouldn’t press any of these, or I might end up stuck out in the desert with a silent zombie man,” she said. “Hmm. Where else might the radio controls be?”
Nestgorm’s resentment bubbled inside him, but it had no outlet—yet.
This female will regret her behavior if I ever get the chance, Nestgorm thought.
The beautiful annoying woman looked all around the truck. At last, she sa
w the mirror! She looked into it and saw Nestgorm looking back at her.
“Have you been staring at me this whole time?” she asked. “Ew!”
She shuddered and started to look away, but Nestgorm held her in his gaze. He put all the intensity he could muster into his stare. The hypnotic clouds that covered his eyes swirled.
I still have the power! Nestgorm thought.
Looking into the female’s eyes, he searched for her anger. The hate she felt toward the Verdantes. Yes! There is was. He used her anger as the pathway for his hypnotic suggestion.
“Kill the Verdantes. You hate them. Kill them,” Nestgorm commanded.
He sent the hypnotic suggestion down into a deep, hidden place in the Earth female’s mind. She wouldn’t even know that he had given her the command. Until it was time for her to act.
Nestgorm would have preferred to put her in a full hypnotic trance. And a command to kill those reptilian humanoids would have been even better. But this was the best he could do in the current situation.
His energy was spent, and the clouds in Nestgorm’s eyes stopped spinning. The woman looked away from the mirror.
“That was creepy,” she said. “Stop looking at me and don’t ever look at me like that again!”
Nestgorm felt like chuckling inside. As if she were the one to be giving me orders! he thought.
Chapter 29
M. Mort sat strapped in his chair as the stealth-cloaked Jalapeno followed Nestgorm’s truck across the desert. The rest of the crew were strapped in as well, busy flying the invisible ship at slow speed and low altitude.
Murrie perched on M. Mort’s shoulder. He dug his claws into M. Mort’s jacket to keep from floating away in zero g. M. Mort couldn’t shake his feelings of guilt about Pweet, but he felt comforted by Murrie’s presence.
Once they were in a cruising pattern, Captain Kamphone turned around and spoke to M. Mort and Murrie.
“Well privates, I didn’t want to say anything back there, but things could have gone a lot worse. I know we’ve still got a lot to accomplish here, but I’ve got a feeling something’s different this time. Captains know stuff too, you know,” he said with a wink at Murrie.
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