“Why not?” Adam asked.
“There are tremendous levels of radiation at the galactic core,” Fur explained. “Our force field is keeping them at bay for the moment but that won’t last. The first thing this level of radiation burns is the optic nerves.”
“Can we make a hyperjump so close to all these stars?” Watch asked.
Fur was grim. “We have no choice. But it could tear us apart.”
“We will go out in a blaze of glory,” Watch said, still staring at the stars.
“What glory?” Adam asked. “We failed in our quest. We weren’t able to destroy the records on Tallas Four. Our debts will last forever. We will never be free of them.”
“Isn’t there a saying on your world?” Fur asked as he worked the controls. “ ‘It ain’t over till it’s over’? That’s my motto. Hold on, we’re going to make another jump, and I can guarantee this one will be rough.”
They leapt into hyperspace, and the jump was different from the others. Not really rough, but it seemed as if the period of blackness lasted forever. During that time Adam wondered if they wouldn’t be trapped for eternity outside of normal space and time. But finally the stars reappeared and Fur quickly checked his navigation computer.
“I know where we are!” he exclaimed.
“Where?” Adam asked.
“In the Beta quadrant—not far from Amacron Thirty-seven.” He paused. “Are you sure you still want to go there? We’ll never get through their force fields. Slave planets are strictly off-limits.”
“We have to try,” Adam said.
“But we can always try later,” Watch said. “Watch!” Adam complained. “I’m disappointed in you.”
“I would rather live with your disappointment than die in a Kaster force field,” Watch replied. But then he paused and gave it some thought. “But I suppose we might succeed in the end. We usually do.” He nodded to Fur. “Plot a hyperjump for Amacron Thirty-seven.”
“And may the Force be with us,” Adam said.
“Star Wars,” Fur quipped. “Great movie.”
A few minutes later they were again flying through hyperspace.
When Sally ran from Teeh’s office, she immediately saw that her plan had worked. The robot guards were all immobilized. Yet her plan had its limits, as Cindy had pointed out. There was nowhere to go except into the desert.
Cindy and Hironee came out of the work warehouse as Sally ran over. The other slaves were still inside, casting hesitant looks in their direction. They had nothing else to do now that the power was off all over the compound.
“What’s happened?” Hironee asked.
“I disabled the computer,” Sally said. “That means the force field is down for the time being. We have to get out of here before it comes back online.”
“But what happened to Teeh?” Cindy asked.
“He’s taking a nap,” Sally said.
“A nap?” Hironee asked, puzzled.
“With an electric toothpick up his nose. Look, we can talk about this once we’re deep in the desert and clear of the force field.”
Cindy nodded. “I’ll get us water bottles and pack some supplies.” She dashed off to collect the stuff. For the moment Sally was left alone with Hironee and a robot that stood perfectly still nearby, caught in midstride by the drop in power. Sally was surprised that Hironee wasn’t excited and asked her what the problem was. The green girl answered with her head down.
“We can’t go into the desert,” she said softly. “Charles went into the desert and he died.”
Sally put a hand on her shoulder. “Charles didn’t knock out the robots like we have. They were the ones who hunted him down and killed him. Also, Charles was alone. In the desert we can help each other.” Sally paused. “Something else is bothering you.”
Hironee nodded weakly. “I hate this place. I’ve told you how much I hate it. But I’ve been here half my life. It’s home to me now. I know that sounds silly but I’m afraid to leave it.” She stopped and Sally saw the tears in her eyes. “You and Cindy had better leave without me.”
“Nonsense. We’ll never do that.” Sally gave her a hug and then gestured to the barren landscape. “This is no home for a person like you. Try to remember what Zanath was like—the blue water, the green islands, the warm yellow sun in the clear sky. That’s your home, Hironee, and if you come with us you might see it again soon. I’m not promising you will. Maybe you will die in the desert like Charles—that’s a definite possibility. But you have to know deep inside that it’s better to die free than to live as a slave.”
Hironee smiled. “You never told me, Sally, that you were a motivational speaker.”
Sally laughed. “My talents are endless.” She turned toward the building where Cindy had disappeared. “Let’s take what supplies we can carry and get out of here before Lizard Breath wakes up.”
They came out of hyperspace much closer to Amacron 37 than they had been to the other worlds when they had finished making their jumps. Fur explained that he had intentionally cut it close so that the Kasters would have less time to spot them.
“But we can circle around the planet until they shoot us down if we’re hoping to get into their-slave compounds,” he said gloomily as they raced toward the desert planet, a purple sun hanging in the sky off to their right.
“Are the force fields just around the slave compounds?” Watch asked.
“Usually,” Fur said. “There’s no point in protecting all of a planet like this. It’s mostly dust and sand. The Kasters usually concentrate their energy where it’s needed most. But that allows them to erect an even stronger force field. Don’t fool yourself, this place is more protected than Tallas Four was.”
“Where we were far from a huge success,” Watch observed.
“Is there no way to get through the force fields?” Adam asked, frustrated.
“We can try,” Fur said. “We can turn Watch’s generator up to full power and try to smash through. But there is an excellent chance we’ll explode.”
“Better not risk it,” Watch said, having second thoughts.
“We have to give it a try,” Adam said.
Fur stared at him. “These two girls must be pretty special.”
“One of them is,” Watch said. “The other is just unusual.”
“They are our friends,” Adam said. “That’s what matters.”
Fur was wistful. “I wish I had friends as loyal as you two.” He added, “Or at least as loyal as you, Adam.” Something on the control panel caught his eye. He pushed a couple of buttons, seemingly rechecking his readings. “This is odd.”
“What is it?” Adam asked.
“The southernmost compound on Amacron Thirty-seven—its force field is shut down. Not only that, there are three life forms heading away from the compound, heading into the deep desert.”
“It must be the girls!” Adam exclaimed.
“I thought there were only two of them,” Fur said.
“They make friends fast,” Watch said. “At least Cindy does.”
Something else on the control panel caught Fur’s eye. But rather than try to ascertain what it was with his instruments, he leaned back and stared up at the window on the ceiling of the control room. Adam and Watch did the same just in time to see a fleet of warships materialize in normal space. Clearly the ships had just completed a jump through hyperspace. They were gray in color, long and sleek, with red fins and smoldering weapons ports.
“The Kasters,” Fur said softly, stunned. “They must have followed us here from Tallas Four.”
“They could trace us through hyperspace?” Watch asked.
Fur shook his head. “No. But they didn’t have to. They figured we were coming here because we were trying to erase records related to Amacron Thirty-seven.”
“Do we have to surrender?” Adam asked.
Fur was grim. “The Kasters do not take prisoners in a situation like this.”
“Then we must try to jump into hyperspace a
gain,” Watch said.
“No,” Adam said. “We have to get the girls first.”
“If we land, we will be completely helpless,” Fur said. “They will destroy us at their leisure. I agree with Watch. We must try to escape.” Fur started to push the button that would launch them into hyperspace. But Adam stopped him by putting a hand on his arm.
“The girls have knocked out the Amacron Thirty-seven force field when you said that was impossible,” Adam said. “They are out in the desert, fighting for their lives, for freedom. How can we just abandon them when they have fought so hard and we are so close to them?”
Watch spoke up. “Adam has a point. Even I would feel guilty leaving them at this point.”
Fur studied his instruments. “They are not alone in the desert. A force of robots is now following them.” He looked at them. “If we land we will have enemies on all sides.”
Adam didn’t hesitate. “Land. We either save them or we all die together.”
Watch patted Fur on the back and tried to reassure the trader. “We’re all from Spooksville. We have an excellent track record in hopeless situations.”
Fur sighed. “I don’t.”
11
Hironee saw the Fruitfly first. They were trudging around a massive sand dune when the ship appeared in the sky above them, burning with the flames of reentry, heading straight for them like a meteor shot from a cannon.
“Look!” Hironee shouted.
Sally and Cindy almost fell over when they saw the ship.
“Is it a Raster vessel?” Sally asked, fully expecting the answer to be yes.
Hironee squinted. “No, I don’t think so. It looks more like a trader ship.”
Sally looked at Cindy. “It could be Adam and Watch.”
Cindy nodded anxiously. “Hope so.”
But then abruptly all hope faded because the fleet of Raster warships—chasing the trader vessel—became visible at the same time Teeh and his robots rounded the sand dune behind the girls. The Raster warships had torpedo tubes on both sides that glowed a wicked red. Teeh had a small fleet of powerful ground vehicles that resembled open-air tanks. Both Raster groups seemed to be ready to take aim, yet perhaps Teeh, seeing the ships overhead, warned his robots off. The slimy boss probably didn’t want to get blasted with the humans. Overhead the ships suddenly veered off. Yet they didn’t fly away, but rather, began to swoop in at a low altitude.
In the meantime the trader ship landed.
Adam and Watch and a ghost character with a bald head and a cigar jumped out. The girls ran to the boys and embraced them.
“Are we glad to see you!” Cindy exclaimed, giving Adam a big hug.
“We’re happy to see you, too!” Adam said, hugging her back.
“I was the one who disabled the Kaster force field,” Sally said quickly.
“I was the one who blew up part of the Kaster house,” Fur said, watching both the approaching land army and the hovering warships. “But it looks like we both managed to anger the wrong people.”
“And who may I ask are you?” Sally asked suspiciously.
Fur bowed. “I am Fur and I am here to rescue you.” He glanced at Watch. “This must be the unusual one.”
“I knew you would spot her immediately,” Watch said.
“I will have you know that it was I who said you were on your way here to rescue us,” Sally said. “While Cindy here was ready to bury you, as usual, I might add.”
Fur gestured to the approaching armored car, which carried several robots and the grand master of slobberers himself—Kaster boss, Teeh. His snout looked swollen and sore. He held a black laser rifle in his two stubby arms.
“I think we might all be buried in a few minutes,” Fur said.
Teeh parked a few feet away and his group of robots immediately jumped from the armored vehicle and surrounded the other five. Mean-looking lasers were pointed at their heads. Teeh also approached. Although he carried a weapon, his free hand kept moving to his bruised snout. He went straight to Sally and glared at her.
“I am going to peel you alive!” he swore. “I will swallow your flesh before your very eyes! You will die with your own screams in your ears!”
Sally spoke sweetly. “Did the Treeboards hurt your nose, Mr. Teeh?”
Teeh growled. “There are no Treeboards!”
“Of course there are,” Watch said. “All boards come from trees.”
“I know that!” Teeh said. “Do I look stupid or something? I—”
“You do look stupid,” Cindy interrupted, surprising them all. She just shrugged when they stared at her. “He looks like a stupid crocodile from a dirty swamp. What can I say?”
Teeh was not amused. “You will pay for that!”
Sally snorted. “I told you, we’re through paying. If you’re going to kill us, kill us now and get it over with. We’re not afraid to die.”
“I would like to mention that Sally does not speak for all of us,” Watch said.
“I would like to second that,” Fur said.
Just then one of the Kaster warships settled to the ground behind the Fruitfly. The vessel was massive, powerful; it cast a steaming shadow over the entire area. An official-looking Kaster captain with a host of lizard guards approached, making a mess of the sand dune with their swishing tails. The captain clearly outranked Teeh, who quickly bowed to the commander of the warship.
“Captain Thorath,” Teeh said. “A pleasure. What brings you to Amacron Thirty-seven?”
Captain Thorath pointed a scaly finger at Fur. “This trader invaded Tallas Four and tried to wipe out several debt records from our computer files. I am here to arrest him and bring him back to Tallas Four for immediate trial and execution.”
“At least you get a trial,” Watch said to Fur.
“I may have trouble finding an impartial jury, though,” Fur said.
“What about these other two humans?” Teeh asked Captain Thorath, pointing to Adam and Watch. Captain Thorath did not answer immediately. He seemed to be caught off guard by the question. He studied Adam and Watch, seemingly trying to figure out a problem that was bothering him.
“Which one of you is Adam?” he asked finally.
“I am,” Adam said.
“Tell him what a slob he is,” Sally said in his ear. “Don’t let him intimidate you.”
“Shh,” Adam cautioned.
Captain Thorath stepped closer to Adam. The commander appeared to be still puzzled over what to do next, what to say. “You made an unusual wish with one of our stones,” he said finally.
“I wished for galactic peace,” Adam said.
“You did?” Fur said with interest.
“Yes,” Adam said sadly. He gestured to the warships and the armed robots that continued to point at them with their weapons. “But it doesn’t look like my wish will be granted anytime soon.”
“But it must be granted,” Fur said with excitement in his tone.
Captain Thorath quickly held up a scaly hand. “We need not go into that right now,” he said.
Fur stepped forward. “But you know the rules, Commander. The whole galaxy knows them.” Fur turned back to Adam. “Tell me, was your wish on the same order as the others?”
“This is nonsense,” Teeh interrupted, speaking to the warship commander. “Let’s kill them all now and eat their skins.”
“His wish was on the same order,” Sally said to Fur. “The Collector stated that fact.”
Fur smiled and turned to Captain Thorath. “Then you cannot collect on any of their wishes. Not until every wish on the order has been granted. Those are your own rules written by your own senate.”
“We don’t grant the wishes until the debts have been paid off,” Teeh said bitterly.
Fur shook his head. “Your commander knows better. You grant the wishes, then collect the debts, then give the stuff back when the debts have been paid off.” He added with bitterness, “Of course you never really have to give anything back. All your slaves die
before they have a chance to collect.”
“As well they should,” Teeh said. “Do we look like we’re stupid? We—”
“Shut up, Teeh,” Captain Thorath told the slave boss. He spoke to the gang. “It is true what your trader friend says. We cannot legally collect on your debts until all the wishes on the same order have been granted. But, Adam, because your wish is so unusual, we doubt if we will ever be able to grant it.” He paused. “For that reason we would prefer you make another wish. Something simple, easy to make in a factory.”
“But if I do that then we will all end up as slaves,” Adam said.
Captain Thorath sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that.” He spread his hands. “Then what should we do? I am open to suggestions.”
Fur spoke to the gang. “Don’t do anything. Let the wish for galactic peace remain. Then the Kasters will be obligated to fulfill it before they can come after you again. And that wish will never be granted, especially by the Kasters. They are always at war with somebody.”
“But we can’t let these humans go!” Teeh broke in. “This one here electrocuted my snout!”
“Good for her,” Captain Thorath muttered, thinking, his gaze far away. Finally he turned back to the gang. “Very well, a rule is a rule, and we shouldn’t be breaking our own if we expect others to listen to them.” He drew in a deep breath. “You are not obligated to pay your debts until all the wishes on your order have been fulfilled.”
“Which in practice means you won’t have to ever pay them,” Fur said.
“Do we get to keep the things we wished for?” Sally asked.
Captain Thorath hesitated. “Yes.”
Sally squealed with delight. “I knew what I was doing all along! I’m rich!”
But Captain Thorath pointed at Fur and Hironee. “But this trader is coming back to Tallas Four with me, to be tried and executed. And, Teeh, you can do what you wish with this disobedient slave.”
“I will eat her flesh in front of her eyes!” Teeh exclaimed.
Hironee cowered. “No.”
“Get over the flesh thing already,” Sally muttered. She put her arm around Hironee’s shoulders and spoke to the commander. “You can’t hurt our friend. We won’t let you.”