He didn't know if androids had feelings, but if not, Giga certainly gave a convincing show of joy. Her eyes widened and she grinned. She took the toy gingerly, and her eyes even dampened. She leaped onto Riff and embraced him.
"Arigato!" she whispered. "I love it."
Her scent of jasmine tickled his nostrils, and suddenly she seemed so human that Riff was sure Piston had lied to him, that Giga was not an android after all. With a smile, she darted toward the dashboard and placed the bulldog beside her second bobblehead, the swaying hula dancer.
"They are friends," she said.
Riff glanced over to Nova. The ashai gladiator stood at his side, clutching the handle of her whip. All the softness was gone from her face, and her eyes narrowed, green and burning, as they scrutinized Giga.
Was there something about Giga they didn't know? Something Piston hid, something Nova suspected? Riff looked at the android; she was leaning forward, tapping the bulldog's head, and bobbing her own head with it.
Instead of a bob, Riff shook his head to banish the thought. He had bigger things to worry about now. He sat in his captain's seat, sinking into the plush suede.
"Giga," he said, "take us off this rock."
The android turned toward him and tilted her head. "Rock? Does not compute."
"Off this asteroid. Back into space."
She nodded and a smile spread across her face. "Happy to comply!"
Nova sat in another seat, and Giga took the third chair. The android closed her eyes, and clicking sounds rose from inside her. The HMS Dragon Huntress began to move.
The starship rolled across the hangar, navigating between the other ships, heading toward the doors. Beyond spread the stars. As Giga hummed and clicked, the Dragon Huntress rolled out of the hangar, through a towering airlock, and out into the vacuum of space.
"Take us a hundred kilometers away from the asteroid," Riff said. "We'll make the jump to hyperspace from there."
Giga nodded and Riff leaned forward in his seat, watching the asteroid grow smaller in the distance. Soon all Pyrite City was only a glimmer in the darkness.
"Ready to engage hyperdrive, sir," said Giga.
Riff gulped. He had only flown in hyperdrive twice before—once when heading to Planet Ashmar for his first interplanetary blues show, then again when traveling back to Earth with Nova. He had hated both trips.
Normal engines were too slow to reach the stars, of course. They were good for traveling within the solar system, but not for crossing the great distances between the stars. At least, not unless you wanted to grow old on the journey. Traveling with normal engine power, Riff would be an old geezer by the time they reached Planet Cirona in the Vega system.
Hyperdrive worked a bit differently. Its engines warped spacetime itself, forming a bubble of strange physics around the ship, allowing you to travel far faster than the speed of light. Riff didn't pretend to understand half of how it worked. He only knew that the two times he had traveled through hyperspace, he had felt as queasy as the time he'd eaten Old Bat Brown's clam stew.
But I need to reach Cirona. I need to find answers. The Cosmians, the skelkrins, my dad . . . all want Midnight. A woman who can destroy the universe. I have to find her.
He took a deep breath. "Giga, we're ready. Engage hyperdrive engines."
Her smile and chipper "Happy to comply!" denoted that androids, at least, did not get nauseous when bending the laws of physics.
The Dragon Huntress began to rumble.
New engines roared to life.
The hula dancer swayed, and the bulldog vigorously bobbed his head.
With a flash of light and a whoosh, the starship shot into hyperdrive.
The stars stretched out into long, gleaming strands like the tails of comets. They streamed by across the dashboard in a dizzying pattern of light. Globs of purple, pink, and deep blue floated between the strands. A hum rose from outside, and the walls of the ship rattled. The whole thing felt wrong somehow, as if Riff were somewhere between wakefulness and a dream. He needed a drink, even one of Bat Brown's concoctions.
"We are now fully in hyperspace, sir." Giga smiled from her seat. "Estimated time of arrival at the Vega system: four days, thirteen hours, and thirty-two seconds. Would you like me to run a countdown?"
He shook his head. "Just let me know a day before we get there so I can wash my hair."
Nova rose from her seat and leaned against the windshield, staring outside at the lightshow. The lights gleamed against her armor, pale skin, and bright hair, turning her into a statue of gold. The ashai princess turned toward the android.
"Giga, do you ever sleep?"
Giga nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'm programmed to go into sleep mode when all is functioning properly."
Nova nodded. "Then take a nap."
"Happy to comply!" Giga's eyes closed and she slumped back in her seat.
Riff raised an eyebrow. "She's an android, Nova. She was doing android stuff. You didn't have to put her to sleep."
The ashai glowered at him, hands on her hips. "An android who hugged you after you gave her a gift. An android who has feelings for you."
Riff rolled his eyes. "Nova! For pity's sake. She's a piece of hardware. She doesn't have feelings." He tilted his head. "Wait a minute . . . are you jealous of a robot, Nova?"
She groaned. "First of all, I'm not jealous. Second of all, being jealous would imply that I still have feelings for you. The only thing I feel toward you is contempt." She stepped toward him and jabbed a finger against his chest. "First you drag me off Ashmar, my home planet. Then you drag me off Earth, the planet where you dumped me."
"Hey, wait a moment!" He rose from his seat. "You dumped me. I was happy living with you on Earth."
She snorted. Suddenly her eyes were damp. "Living in a dump. Living in a tiny bedroom above a blues bar. Watching you squander your money on booze—the little money you did earn, which wasn't much." She shoved him back into his seat. "I was a princess of a planet! I could have ruled an entire world. And I left it, Riff. I left all that for you. But you fooled me. You told me you were a famous musician."
He bristled. "I am!"
"Don't make me slap you." Her voice shook with rage, and tears flowed down her cheeks. "You lied to me. You promised me a good life on Earth. And look what happened." She turned around and covered her eyes. "Frag this."
Riff sat in his chair, watching her. Obviously, this had been boiling inside her for years.
He rose to his feet and approached her. "I thought we did have a good life." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It was the perfect life for me, Nova. Playing my music. Living with you. I was happy."
She spun back toward him. A tear dangled off the tip of her nose. "You were happy. A perfect life for you. But what about what I wanted? You never cared about that."
"I cared," he whispered. "I just didn't know how to make you happy."
"That much is obvious."
A loose strand of her hair fell across her face. Riff tucked it back behind one of those long, pointy ears he used to love kissing. "I'm sorry, Nova. What else can I say? I messed up. I know it. For two years since you left me, I was sorry, and I missed you, and I prayed that we'd somehow get back together. I never stopped loving you. Even now, after all this time, I love you."
She lowered her head, but she did not push him away. "And I hate you," she whispered. "I hate you so much. For what you did to my life. For what you still do to me." She looked up at him, and her lips trembled. "For making me love you even now."
He kissed her. The lights of hyperspace streamed around them, and she kissed him back. Their bodies pressed together, and he placed his arms around her waist. She slung her arms around his shoulders. They kissed deeply, and it felt like old times. Like their first kiss long ago on a distant world. And Riff had never loved her more.
He reached his hands down and began to unbuckle her armor. Nova moaned into his kiss, and her hands reached down to his belt.
"Cannot comp
ute! Cannot compute!"
Riff jumped and tore away from Nova's kiss. He turned to see Giga standing beside him, staring at them.
"Damn it, Giga!" Nova said. "I told you to go to sleep."
Giga bobbed her head. "Captain, Captain! Cannot compute fridge cooling system. Fridge door open. Romy eating supplies."
From across the ship, Riff could just make out the sound of Romy feasting while Steel demanded that the evil beast return to her lair.
Nova groaned and tugged her hair. "I'll go take care of this." She blew out her breath, spun around, and marched off the bridge. She slammed the door behind her.
Riff remained on the bridge, alone with Giga.
The android smiled in relief. "Fridge closed. Situation under control." She placed a hand on Riff's shoulder, leaned forward, and kissed his cheek.
As the android returned to her seat and closed her eyes, a small smile played on her lips. If Riff didn't know any better, he could have sworn two things: Nova was jealous of the android . . . and the android was jealous of Nova.
He really, really hated hyperspace.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:
METAL AND FIRE
Sir Steel Starfire stood in the main deck of the HMS Dragon Huntress, staring out the porthole at the streaming lights of hyperspace, and it seemed like the weight of the cosmos hung across his shoulders.
I am farther from my home than I've ever been, he thought as the lights flowed. A lone knight on a quest to save a damsel. A lone man without a castle. Without a brotherhood. He lowered his head and placed a hand on his breastplate. Without a coat of arms.
He wanted to go lie down. He was tired. He had hardly slept for days. The rest of the crew members were all sleeping in their quarters. But how could Steel sleep while the others needed him? He had vowed to defend this ship from the evil infesting it. He stared up at the locked hatch in the ceiling. Beyond lay the demon of Hell, the creature he had vowed to keep at bay.
"Why are you so sad, sir knight?"
The voice rose from behind him.
Steel spun around and gasped. The demon stood there!
He drew Solflare, his ancient blade. "Stand back, foul creature!"
Romy waved at him, and her tail wagged. Her pitchfork gleamed. Her fangs and claws shone in the lights from the window. Her hair was a pyre of hellfire. Her wings stretched out, curtains of the abyss.
"I'm bored," she said. "Do you want to play counter-squares? Do you want to wrestle? Do you want to look for poodles? Do—"
He pointed his sword at her. "Do not speak, evil one!" He glanced up at the hatch; it was still locked. He returned his eyes to the demon. "How do you keep escaping?"
Romy grinned. "It's easy! The ship is full of heating vents, cooling vents, pipes, shafts, sneaky passageways. I can sometimes squeeze in them, when I haven't eaten too much." She glanced over her shoulder at her backside. "It's getting a bit harder to fit through. All that fatty fuel goes right into my bum. I really would prefer to eat poodles, if Piston ever agreed to buy any."
Steel blinked. His voice dropped to a shocked whisper. "Do not speak of such things!"
"What, of bums? Or of eating poodles?" Her eyes softened. "Is that why you're sad? Because there are no poodles here to eat?"
Steel spun away from her and faced the porthole again. "I do not understand all these things of which you speak."
Romy nodded thoughtfully. She came to stand beside him and gazed out the window with him. "People say that to me all the time." She leaned against the glass. "It's pretty out there. I like how the lights get all flowy in hyperspace. They remind me of fire, only softer."
Steel found himself agreeing. His voice softened. "They are pretty."
Romy turned toward him. "You didn't answer me, sir knight. Why are you so sad? Your eyes, they . . . they're like a hound dog's eyes. Why?"
Steel turned away from her. He stepped away from the window. "I would not share these things with a creature of evil such as yourself."
Romy reached around him, holding up her teddy bear. "You can tell Mister Floofie!" She moved the puppet around, mimicking its voice. "Hello, sir knight! Tell me why—whoa!"
Steel shoved the doll aside. "I am no child!"
"Neither am I." Romy raised her chin. "I'm over five thousand years old, you know. I'm a big girl!" She wagged her tail proudly.
"Yet you have the mind of a child, it would seem."
Romy flopped down onto the couch. "Fine, don't tell me. I know the answer anyway. I can see it on your heart." She pointed at his breastplate. "There was a symbol there once. It's all scratched out. You were part of a brotherhood once. A knighthood! And . . . now you're not. Your coat of arms was scratched off." She lowered her head. "They banished you. Why?"
Her words cut deep. Truly, this was a creature of evil. A demon and mind reader. He wanted to slay her. He knew it was his duty to slay demons.
Yet it's also my duty to slay dragons, and now I fly within one's belly.
He sighed and sat down on the couch beside her.
"Not all knights are honorable," he said, staring at the wall.
"You are." Romy reached out to touch his shoulder. "I can tell. I know these things."
He nodded. "I have dedicated my life to honor, to chivalry, to righteousness. Thus, when I saw the corruption within my order, I had to speak up. My honor demanded it. I confronted the head of my order, Lord of the Knights of Sol. I told him that I knew. That I knew of his dealings with the Cosmians, a band of skelkrin worshippers who would see Earth destroyed." Steel squared his jaw, and his eyes stung. "I gave him a chance to redeem himself. He repaid me with banishment." He clenched his fist. "I don't know why I'm telling you this, demon."
Romy shrugged. "Maybe because I'm the first person who's not afraid to ask." She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry you were banished, Steel. I was banished too once. Long ago. From Hell. I was a torturer. Really! It was my job to torture the dead souls of sinners. So I tortured them. I told them bad puns. I made them smell my stinky socks. I even gave them wet willies." She sighed. "They thought I was a horrible torturer, so they banished me from Hell, and I ended up here."
Steel groaned. "You tell fibs."
"Uh-uh!" She shook her head wildly, spraying sparks. "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." She patted his knee. "We're two outcasts. Two relics of an older time."
Romy reached across the table and picked up one of the ship's badges. The words "Alien Hunters" appeared there, written in gold. She placed the badge upon Steel's chest; it snapped onto the armor.
"You have new friends now, Steel Starfire." Romy nodded. "A new group of heroes. The Alien Hunters."
Steel smiled wanly. "A group of heroes? More like a group of misfits."
Romy grinned. "Good. I like misfits. Sometimes they're the most fun."
"Fun," Steel whispered.
She tilted her head. "Haven't you ever had fun?"
He stiffened. "A knight cares for honor, for chivalry, for—"
Romy groaned. "Yeah, yeah. But you need fun too!" She reached toward the table and pulled over the counter-squares board. "Let's play a game. Look, there's even a knight piece." She pointed. "You can play with that one. And there's a dragon piece too, like our ship. Here, let me show you how they all move."
She spent long moments speaking, moving pieces about, grinning and laughing at her jokes. Her tail wagged. Steel understood little of it, but he found himself enjoying her company, the light in her eyes, the brightness of her smile.
They began to play. Romy kept laughing as she won round after round. And for the first time in many years, Steel felt some of his old pain melt. For the first time in many years, he had fun.
Finally Romy fell asleep on the couch. She leaned against Steel, snoring, and drool dripped down her chin. Her hair of fire crackled near Steel's head, but he found that it was only slightly warm. When he dared reach his fingers toward the flames, they did not burn him. He found himself stroking her hair as she slept agai
nst him.
"But mom!" Romy mumbled in her sleep, leg twitching. "All the other kids have ponies. Can't I eat one too?"
Steel sighed. A blanket lay crumpled up at the corner of the couch. Gently, careful not to rouse her, Steel pulled the blanket over Romy. He sat beside her as she slept, letting her lean against him, letting her feel safe.
He was, after all, a knight. And Romy was a damsel to protect.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
BARRACUDA
The SS Barracuda charged through space like its namesake—a beast of teeth, scales, eternal hunger.
Inside the silvery starship, Grotter sat alone at the bridge, gazing out into the darkness.
"You're out there, Starfire." The cyborg's bionic eye narrowed, scanning the vastness of space. "You are like me. A fighter. A man on a quest. But you will learn, Starfire, that this is a game you cannot win."
Grotter had left his small, weak starjets back on Earth. On his own, Riff—a slovenly ne'er-do-well—had posed no threat. But now the sluggard flew with an ashai gladiator, with a trained Knight of Sol, and with a horde of other unwashed mercenaries. Now Riff Starfire flew in a dragon warship that could blast plasma like dragonfire. And so Grotter too had upped his game. His Barracuda was massive, the largest warship in the Cosmian fleet. The great fish charged across the solar system, its metal teeth stretching out, its scales shimmering silver. It was a ship to dwarf the Dragon Huntress, to crush Starfire, to crush anyone in Grotter's way.
"I will find you, Starfire. And then you will know true pain."
Grotter looked away from the stars that shone outside the window. He turned toward the framed photograph that stood at his side between the control panels. He took this picture frame with him on every flight. He would take it to his grave. He reached out his bionic hand, the clattering claw of metal, and caressed the picture frame's glass.
"You are always with me, Kira," he whispered.
She smiled back at him from the photograph. A beautiful woman, yet sad. Her smile full of light, yet wistful. The only woman Grotter had ever loved. The woman who had married another man. The woman who had spoken against him, had picketed against the Cosmian Order.
Alien Hunters - Discover Sci-Fi Special Edition Page 12
