by Drayton Alan
“Quibbler ain’t no friend. He’s a swindler and a cheat,” Nigel said. “He sold me out to the Lactarians and sold you out to Procurator Fresland. I wished you’d said something about him putting that thing in ya, boy. They can teleport it out of you, if its done in the first few days, no problem. But now, it’s too late, it’s had time to grow and your body’s dependin on the drug it makes. You have to be weaned off it. It takes months of bed rest, vomiting, dizziness, withdrawals… I just hope you can survive.” Nigel frowned for how bad he felt, putting his friend at risk.
“If this is some elaborate gag, it’s not funny,” Kale said.
“Kale!” Belle was upset. “This is no joke; think hard about it! I realize you made a mistake. It’s okay, I forgive you, but you need to grow up and take this seriously.”
Kale’s feelings were hurt. So, in his own defense he said, “Forgive me! Why are you blaming me? It’s not like any one of you ever said, ‘Hey Kale, don’t get a Situational Transition Decoder they’re dangerous.’ You didn’t even warn me about Quibbler.”
“Kale,” Belle said, “The device isn’t a Situational Transition Decoder. There’s no such thing. It's called a Subdermal Transmission Device. It transmits your location and your conversations over subspace to anyone with its code and frequency. But it’s worse than that. Like I said, it makes a powerful drug that gives heightened mental awareness and sharpens your senses, but also shortens your life by decades. Quibbler has been recording everything you’ve done and said for the last three months and he’s using the information to hurt us and make money. It will kill you!”
“I’m fine,” Kale insisted. “You guys are so critical, why don’t you leave me alone.” Kale’s stomach was feeling tight, and he was getting angry, but he didn’t know why.
“Newbers just settle down some. We’re tryin to help ya. We gotta shut it off.” Nigel brought out another strange device and removed its packaging.
“Why are you treating me like this?” Kale was on the verge of tears. “I’m the victim here. This was done to me, I was violated, and now you’re condemning me!”
“It’s not like that, Kale, we aren’t blaming you,” Belle said. “That’s the drug talking, you're addicted to it, and it controls you.”
“I’m fine. Just leave me alone. Ten minutes ago, this wasn’t an issue.”
“That’s childish! You can’t leave it in, it’s dangerous. You aren’t you when it's inside you. It’s as if you’re running someone else’s program; they control your feelings and influence your thoughts. Like a zombie or robot.” Belle was trying to be patient.
“Oh sure, I’m the robot. I’m supposed to accept you with your… limitations.” He looked down at her artificial legs. “But you can’t accept me as I am? How does that make any sense?” Kale instantly regretted the words. Why had he said them? What was making him feel so threatened? He wanted to apologize but his hurt feelings wouldn’t let him.
Belle got more upset. “That was it all along, you can’t get past my handicap. I’m not sure I like where this is going. I’m done here. Come look me up when you grow up. I don’t have time to babysit you all the time, Kale!” Belle stood to leave.
“Remember it’s the STD talking not him, Belle,” Nigel said, wondering if having Belle here had been a good idea after all.
“Sure, but it uses what’s already there. Good to know how you really feel.” Belle walked out of the break room, tears forming in her eyes.
Kale’s heart fell. He wanted to call after her, to say something, but he couldn’t. His relationship was in tatters. His reputation had been destroyed, he’d been betrayed, and now Belle had abandoned him. When the others were in trouble, everyone was ready to rescue them. He’d risked his life! But now when he needed help, it felt like everyone was abandoning him. For the first time in his life, suicidal thoughts flooded his mind; this was not like him at all.
Nigel gave him a serious look. “Belle will come round, ventually. She ain’t happy to see you suffer. I’m here for ya, but I’m gonna hafta get that thing off you now. We can’t leave it be. This part won’t take long.”
“Just go away!” Kale shouted. He screamed about wanting to die. Kale didn’t want help; an overwhelming irrational desire to die swept over him. “Why am I feeling this way? I want it removed, don’t I?” Kale was still yelling.
“That’s what I was afraid of. Quibbler’s heard what we’re doin’ and he’s turning up the level of the drug remotely. He’s tryin’ to kill ya, he’s a spiteful man! I have to do this, no choice now. This will make it easier.” Nigel pulled out the device he’d unwrapped.
“What is it? What are you doing?” Kale asked.
Without warning, Nigel slapped the device on Kale’s arm, it stuck to him like glue. Kale tried to pull it off but couldn’t. Suddenly, Kale’s legs went weak and his mind clouded. Nigel guided him to a chair.
The device Nigel had used was a jammer; it kept Quibbler out of Kales head. But it was only the first step in a long process. As soon as the STD lost signal, it began a slow self-destruct sequence, if it wasn’t removed now it would kill him in hours. Nigel put a medic tag on Kale and he was teleported to sickbay. Nigel had already alerted them and they were prepared. The surgery took several hours. The surgeons had to scan him for the long thin tendrils the device sprouted permeating his body. If they missed even a tiny piece of one, it could travel to his brain or heart and kill him.
The weeks that followed were agonizing. The recovery process from the STD was arduous and painful. Kale was nauseous and weak the entire time. The body produced toxins in the absence of the drug. Weaning a person from it was tricky. They had to substitute injections of the drug and slowly decrease dosage. Go too quickly and it stopped your heart, go to slowly and all progress would be lost.
The hardest part for Kale was the effect it had on his memory and mind. He believed his friends all hated and blamed him. He kept repeating he was the victim, Quibbler was the bad guy.
Belle came every day to check on him, but she became more distant each day. She tried to talk to him about how she felt but eventually it turned into an argument and it reignited every time Belle visited.
She knew he was being affected by the drug withdrawals but it was more than that. She had lost whatever feeling she’d mistaken for love and felt guilty for continuing the relationship. She feared it would ultimately do more harm for her to stay.
She even spoke to the doctors, who suggested she visit less frequently. Kale couldn’t become dependent on her and then have her give up on him. After a few weeks, she didn’t come to visit anymore.
***
More weeks passed, Kale’s symptoms slowly eased and one day he finally felt almost normal. The nausea stopped and his thinking was clear. Only the weakness remained, but the doctors were now certain he would recover. It had been close. He sat alone in his room staring into the faces of the orphans on the poster on the wall across from him. They seemed to be judging him. Maybe he should give them some money, he wondered. He went to the RSWOF.com website and ordered a tee-shirt.
Nigel had also been visiting him often. So had the other custodians. He was a good friend. But soon the day came and he and Glendena had to leave; it was time for him to spend his six months as prince of Lactosia. They had put it off as long as they could. Still Nigel checked on Kale every day. He was even able to get the situation with the Procurator cleared up. It seems they had sent him a selection of cheeses and the man was so impressed by them he graciously offered to drop the price on Kale’s head and transfer it to Quibbler, as long as the Lactarians supplied his table with cheese at reasonable prices.
Belle had gone away; she’d taken a position with Tark industries, heading up their new cybernetics division back on Earth, and Idonna now ran the robotics department on the ship. Belle never told Kale why she’d left, but he knew why. Their love had been a product of circumstances forced from his foolish infatuation and Belle’s insecurities. Still, his mind was burdened, won
dering and worrying about her.
One day Idonna came to visit him in his hospital room. She sat down next to Kale and delivered a handwritten letter from Belle.
Dear Kale,
I’m sorry things turned out like they did. But for now, I think it’s best. I need time to think, life on the ship was becoming a burden for me. I felt I needed to get away.
I apologize I lead you on, I didn’t mean to, but things happened too fast. I’m sorry, it was too soon for us. I wasn’t ready and you still have a lot of growing up to do. Perhaps, when I get past these feelings and you’ve had time to grow... I need to re-examine my feelings. I’m so sorry for hurting you and I am glad to hear reports you’re getting better.
Belle
Kale took it hard. Despite already knowing all of this, it didn’t make it easier to accept.
“Kale you got to understand a few dings about our girl Belle,” Idonna said. “She’s been t’rough a lot in her short life and she don’t make friends easy, and she don’t know how to keep dem. Even I didn’t believe her at first, but she’s not ready for a man, dat for sure. Now you don’t get feeling so bad ’bout her. You’ll find a young girl dat can love you for who you really are someday. You just get better now.”
“Thanks, Idonna. You’ve been a good friend. Physically I am feeling a lot better. Just a few more weeks of physical therapy and I’ll be back at it.”
Lieutenant Lou entered Kale’s room and sat down near Idonna giving Kale a smile.
“What’s up, Lou?” Kale asked.
“Just some bad news about the captain. They thought he was recovered enough to go back to tending his plants. Figured it would be good therapy. I guess the doctors didn’t realize the types of plants the captain raised…”
“Oh, no!” Idonna exclaimed.
Lou just shook his head. “I figured you deserved to hear it in person, Kale, since you’d helped him with his project. On a happier note, it seems the incident has prompted the Coalition to do a test planting of the razor bushes to guard one of its distant outposts.”
“It’s a fine legacy for the captain, he would have liked that,” Kale said.
“I know you had your heart set on going to the academy and I want you to know, that if you still want to go, I will recommend you. You’re a fine young man and we all make mistakes. Perhaps if you’d had better training, this wouldn’t have happened. So as soon as you’re ready I will send it off. Okay?”
“Thanks, Lou, that’s kind of you. But I’m not sure what I want. After all that’s happened, I’m not convinced being an officer is the right path for me.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Kale.”
“It was my dream for so long it blinded me. Being an officer doesn’t make me any better than others on the ship. A lot of them end up being jerks, present company excepted, sir. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be happy.”
“No offense taken. If I didn’t need the retirement, I would have quit years ago. In fact…” Lou stopped himself from beginning another of his political rants. “Sorry, guys, I’m trying to break that habit. So, what will you do, Kale?”
“Well, I kinda like being a custodian, if that’s okay?”
“I’d love to keep you on. I do, in fact, need you. I got some new guys haven’t even learned the meaning of custodiodics.”
Just then, Chopi ran into Kale’s room all excited. “They are here for the choosing. I told you. I told you, you are chosen!”
“Who is here?” Kale asked, “Chosen for what?”
Just then, a group of three more Xuesi men, similar to Chopi but much taller and dressed in fine clothing, entered Kale’s hospital room. One man addressed Kale. “Are you Kale Butterly, the human that Chopi has been going on about so much?”
“I’m Kale. Who are you?”
“We are from the selection committee. Did Chopi tell you he submitted an application for you to be considered for our award?”
“He said something about it, I think.”
“Chosen you may be!” Chopi exclaimed. He was bubbling over with excitement.
“It’s okay Chopi, settle down,” one of the men said to him.
“Selection committee? I don’t understand.”
“We of the Xuesi, Chopi’s people, are the greatest custodians in the known universe. The Custodian’s of the Cosmos, if you like, and you have been selected, provided you pass two tests, to receive our highest honor.” The man was holding a device with a needle on one end.
“Tests?” Kale wondered what Chopi had gotten him into. “You don’t inject me with a chip or anything, right?”
“No, nothing like that. First, we test your blood to see if you qualify. May we?” The man held a standard blood-testing device.
“Sure, what’s the second test?” Kale asked.
“Oh, it’s a simple income eligibility form, more of a formality. The finger prick is the big one.”
The man prodded Kale’s finger and a display on the device counted down.
“So, excited! I am helping get chosen one,” Chopi said.
The device beeped and the man reading it was astonished, showing the results to the other men.
“Very high levels. Yes, he will do nicely,” one of the other men said.
“Very high levels of what?” the lieutenant asked.
“To gain entrance to the Xuesi Academy of Cosmic Custodians you are required to have been born with a certain substance in your blood. We call them melted-chlorines; they determine a person’s natural aptitude for cleaning. The kind of instinctual response to filth that the Xuesi have, it cannot be taught to anyone. In other races, it is rare but our training is only available to those gifted with the melted-chlorines. Kale, yours are high for a human, thus you are chosen. We would like to begin your instruction soon. You must come with us and learn the secrets of the universe.”
“What kind of secrets of the universe?” Kale asked.
“Well, for example, how to approach filth unseen, how to move dust without detection, and how not to leave a nasty film on glass. The sacred Xuesi secrets!”
“You want me to become a custodian Ninja, like Chopi?” Kale asked.
“Yes, a dirt assassin, if you like. But not like Chopi; Chopi is special. You know the short bus kind of special,” The man gave Kale a wink and smiled at the simple-minded Chopi.
Kale looked at Chopi and realized what he had taken as enigmatic wisdom was in fact the rambling comments of a simpleton.
“We all love Chopi. That’s why when he sent us your application we didn’t discard it. But he was right, you have the right stuff. The skills we teach you will serve you and your future well. Are you willing?”
Kale looked at Lou, who was grinning. “It’s your call, kid. If you want to come back here when you’re done, I would be glad to have you. Can’t have too many dirt assassins on the crew.” Lou laughed.
“How long is the training? Does it take years with a master, do I have to travel to exotic places and experience a deep spiritual understanding of dirt?” Kale asked.
“Not really, you start with a three-week orientation and after that it’s a correspondence course. You can do it in the evenings after work.”
“Okay then, I’ll do it!” Kale exclaimed.
Chopi squealed with delight, and Kale was handed the income eligibility form.
<<<<>>>>
Thanks to my Kickstarter Backers
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If you enjoyed this book, try my other series.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
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br /> Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
