Wanted

Lemmy silently collapsed back onto the exam table and passed out again. Cherry hastily ran the diagnostic equipment over her. After a few minutes, the machine beeped to let him know it had finished its check. Cherry scanned the readout.

  He said, "We'll have to do something different. She needs some minerals and vitamins, particularly vitamin D, that aren't in our food. I think she needs a shot of sunshine. That spacesuit has blocked her body's use of it for a long time."

  "Is that all? Why did she drop?"

  "The gravity put a strain on her heart and lungs in her weakened condition. I didn't even think about her being here for over a year when I turned it on. We have no idea what her own spaceship had the gravity set at either. It might have been years since she stood in normal gravity. I only set it to ¼ of our normal."

  Cherry touched the machine, "The healer says she'll be fine with a little rest though. Uggh, these bare spots look like bed sores. We're going to have to get her a new spacesuit and then get her to get out of it on a regular basis."

  Josh frowned, "Where are we going to get the vitamins and minerals she needs? I saw some spacesuits the first time I went into the city, but I don't remember anything about vitamins. Maybe I can find a suit more her size."

  "We won't need it today. We've got more important things to do right now."

  "I think taking care of a crew member is pretty important."

  Cherry snorted, "She's not a crew member. She's someone we've rescued and who's helping us get a ship ready to fly. Come on, we need to get that load of air you found in the ship."

  "How are we going to get out of here? This room has air, but the rest of the ship doesn't. She doesn't have a spacesuit on."

  Naca said, "The passageway has air. Once you step out into it, I'll bleed it off just like an airlock."

  Josh said, "Once we leave, don't let her out. I'm taking this spacesuit with me so she won't be tempted. She needs to rest for now. We need to get a section of this ship livable with breathable air."

  Naca said, "I'll set internal shields to act as airlocks. I need air to set up an atmosphere in here."

  Josh said, "I have a big chunk of frozen air. I think it either came from the city or was residue from the planet. What do we do about viruses or other harmful elements?"

  Cherry said, "You'd hope that years of being frozen would stop a lot, but we can set up a shield generator and set it to only let the atoms of gas through that we want. That way Naca can set the right balance of oxygen to the other elements."

  The two moved outside to set the equipment up and soon had frozen air heating. As it vaporized, Naca drew it inside. Cherry went back to the cockpit to continue his work while Josh went for another load of the frozen air.

  Late in the afternoon, Naca announced that she had the bottom level habitable. She said she had robots cleaning quarters for each of them and only needed some furniture to be livable.

  Josh went to the old hulk to transfer their food to Belle. He inventoried everything as he loaded it onto a sled. His unease rose with each armful. Their food stores had dropped drastically since Lemmy had come into their lives. One look at the measly pile told him they had less than ten days' worth of food.

  As he pushed the sled to the rear, the flyer he had picked up with the food replicator caught his eye in the workroom. He moved in to pick it up. The translator helped him read the print 'Make your own delicious food. Use any protein available to make meat or vegetable dishes. Add the amount of minerals and vitamins for the proper nutrition for your body.'

  Josh muttered, "Just what we need and I dropped it. Can't imagine why."

  After he unloaded the sled in Belle's galley, he went to the cockpit to find Cherry. He said, "Cherry, we have a problem. We'll be out of food in less than ten days."

  "Cut off little fur ball and we'd have enough for three weeks."

  "Will Belle be ready to fly by then?"

  "Ah – umm no. It'll take at least another month if fuzzy gets those robots working again. Maybe even longer if we have any problems."

  Josh crossed his arms over his chest, "Then I have to go back into the city to get that food replicator. I just looked at the flyer I picked up with it. They say it will make food and you can add vitamins and minerals to get the proper nutrition."

  "What about your wiggly friends in there?"

  "I guess I'm going to have to take the fliter with a shield on it. I can get a spacesuit for Lemmy at the same time."

  "You're going to risk your life for her? I thought you said those snakes give you nightmares – even when you're awake."

  "They do but we need her functioning at full capacity. I want off this rock and, if I can't get back to our own time, I want to meet Ron, Gus and Tik."

  "We may not be able to. What if it upsets the timeline?"

  Josh frowned, "Then I guess you and I go poof. Can you think of any other way to get five hundred years in the future? Maybe sit on a nuke?"

  "Even if we did, we don't know which way it would throw us. Right now, I haven't been thinking about the distant future. I'm like you. I want to get this bird flying. I can worry about other things later."

  "Then it's settled. I have to go into the city tomorrow."

  "I don't see any other choice. We have to have the food. I'll go with —"

  "No. You need to keep on this. We can't waste a minute. This ship has to fly as soon as possible. Who knows what other problems we'll run into before we get out of here."

  Cherry went back to work while Josh headed to the medical bay to check on Lemmy. When he stepped in the door, she yelled, "Where's my spacesuit? How can you leave a woman lying naked on a table?"

  "I – uhh – ahh didn't think about it. You're covered with fur. I'll get you some clothes."

  "Quit gawking at me. It's embarrassing enough. Don't let Demmy see me like this." She broke into quiet sobs.

  Josh shifted from one foot to another as his face turned red. He said, "I won't. Good news. We have this level sealed and filled with breathable atmosphere."

  "I don't care. Quit looking at me!"

  Josh whirled around. He said, "I'll go see if I can find anything for you to wear."

  "Get my spacesuit. I can wear it."

  "You have to leave it off for awhile to let your body heal. Cherry scanned —"

  "What! Did he take pictures, too? Where are they going to show up? Every planet we land on?"

  Josh didn't say anything. He just rushed out the door. Outside in the passageway, he called Naca to find out where the quarters were. She gave him directions and he quickly moved toward them.

  Rushing from room to room, he opened closets and storage areas. In one room, he found a shirt. It looked like it might fit someone Cherry's size. On Lemmy it would drag the floor. Another ragged shirt lay on the floor of the closet. He cut a two-inch wide strip off the bottom.

  When he reached the medical bay, he knocked on the door. Easing it open a crack, he stuck the shirt and strip in. He said, "This is all I could find. I'm going to the galley. I'll fix something for you to eat."

  "What is this thing? Is this a joke? I can't…"

  Josh didn't hear any more. He turned and rapidly walked away as soon as she grabbed the shirt. In the galley he started to make a large meal. He hesitated for a minute not knowing if Lemmy would come to eat or not.

  He muttered to himself, "If she doesn't come, I'll take her some. I'll tell her Cherry told me not to bring it. She'll eat it for spite."

  Cherry stepped in the galley, "Are you going to introduce me to your friend there? I heard you talking to him – ah – her."

  "No imaginary friend for me. It's Lemmy. She's enough to drive you crazy though."

  "What'd she do this time?"

  "Seems like she's upset because we saw her naked."

  Cherry snorted, "Naked! She's covered with fur."

  The sound of the galley door opening made both of them tu
rn to look. Lemmy marched in with the shirt wrapped around her. The edge tucked under her left arm and reached around her back. The hem lapped two inches on the floor. Josh didn't know how she walked without tripping.

  She announced, "That's right and I hear you took pictures of me. I want every one of them or else."

  Cherry's head snapped around. He snarled, "Or else what? You ungrateful little fur ball. We saved your life. And I did not take a single picture of you."

  "Oh, now I'm not good enough for you to take pictures of."

  Josh tried to get Cherry's attention but failed. Cherry blurted out, "If I had pictures, what would I do with them? Scare away the Nagini? Those suit sores are enough to turn even their stomachs."

  Josh said, "Hold it, you two. Supper's ready. I won't let either of you have a thing if you're going to carry on like this."

  Both of them glared at him but kept their mouths shut. They all sat down at the table and silently started eating. Lemmy had rolled the sleeves up but still had to push them out of the way after each bite.

  Josh said, "I'm going into the city tomorrow. Lemmy, do you need anything?"

  "Just a weapon to protect myself from perverts."

  Cherry snorted and his skin turned almost black. The lights blazed a bright red. Josh said, "Besides that? I'm planning on seeing if I can find another spacesuit for you that might fit a little better."

  "My other one is fine —"

  Cherry said, "We saw. You can store food and other garbage inside. It only makes a few suit sores —"

  Josh firmly said, "Enough! Both of you! Lemmy, we need your help to get this ship flying. When we reach that planet in this solar system, you can stay there."

  Lemmy's ears flattened against her head. Big tears welled in her eyes. She sniffled, "I don't want to be stuck on a planet. I want to be in space. Me and Demmy have lived our whole lives there."

  Josh said, "I don't mean we're going to dump you. I just thought you wanted away."

  She sniffed again, "Just away from Twinkles. He's so nasty —"

  Cherry shouted, "I'll nasty, you. I'll —"

  Josh yelled, "Enough! This ship is big enough for the two of you to stay separated. Lemmy, you eat the early shift. Cherry, you eat later. Both of you find quarters well away from each other."

  Cherry muttered, "Why me? What'd I do?"

  Josh just glared at him. He said, "Tomorrow, you can get back to work."

  Lemmy said, "How do I do that without a spacesuit? Do you have an atmosphere in the cargo bay?"

  "No, but we can set up a remote sensor you can direct. It will relay your orders to the robots so you can keep going from right in your quarters."

  "I need to be there to see —"

  "You won't be until those suit sores heal. Get used to it. It may not be the best, but it's all you've got for now."

  Lemmy crossed her arms over her chest, "Then I won't work."

  Josh said, "Fine. Since you're not working, you won't need to eat. We're running out of rations, so that will make them last a little longer. After I get back from the city, I'll start running the robots in the cargo bay."

  "No, you won't. That's my bailiwick. I'll do it. Just get me a good sensor."

  Cherry said, "I'll set one up now. Find your quarters and tell Naca – I mean Belle. I'll set the controls to go to your room."

  Lemmy stood up, stuck her nose in the air and tried to stalk off. Her foot caught in the hem of the shirt, ruining the effect. She caught her balance and moved out of the galley. Cherry rolled his eyes at Josh, then left to set up the sensor.

  Josh silently picked up dishes and leftovers. His jaw clenched and unclenched like he was eating but his mouth was empty. When he had the galley clean, he went to find quarters for himself.

  The next morning, Josh left before the other two were up. He ordered a robot on the fliter and took off. His mood hadn't improved from last night. Spotting the food replicator he had started with, he stopped to pick it up. Other than a few scratches and a ding, it looked no worse for the wear.

  He flipped on the lights mounted on the back of the fliter because he felt like hitting something and a Nagini would work as well as anything. Five miles from the entrance he spotted a spacesuit store.

  Landing just outside, he soon had the door open. As he walked through the store, he didn't see the size of spacesuit Lemmy would need. In the back, he found more sizes. He picked out four different ones and had the robot carry them to the fliter.

  The next store he stopped at held clothing. He found something he thought would be close to her size and scooped up that section of the clothing on the rack. The robot hauled it to the fliter as he wandered the store looking for different styles. At every rack, he grabbed the entire section close to Lemmy's size.

  A shoe shop was his next stop. He had no idea what size she might be so he called Belle. "Belle, ask Lemmy what size shoe she wears. Also, ask her if she wears socks and what type of underwear."

  In a few seconds, Lemmy yelled at him, "What kind of pervert are you? Asking what kind of underwear I wear? I should —"

  "If you don't tell me, tomorrow you can come back here with the Nagini and shop for yourself."

  After a long hesitation, she told him what he needed to know. He stormed into the shoe store and cleared racks of shoes in her size. As he went back to the fliter, movement in the darkness caught his eye. Climbing back aboard the pilot's seat, he saw Nagini coming to the light.

  As he lifted off, they swirled around him but didn't attack. A few of the smaller ones nudged him, but all of them kept their mouths shut. A twelve-footer dropped on the shield and lay there. Josh nudged the throttle and moved out.

  The Nagini wiggled a little but stayed in place. The others escorted him as he looked for the other things he needed for Lemmy and for himself. At each store the Nagini would pull away a few feet when he landed and swim around slowly in the vacuum.

  Josh had over half the fliter loaded with goods when he reached the food replicator store. Going inside he picked out two more replicators in case the one he had dropped was broken. In the back he found boxes and bags of protein, vitamins and minerals. He kept the robot busy loading.

  When they finished, he pulled the sides of the shield in to help hold the goods in place. As he lifted off, he had to compensate for the extra weight at the rear of the fliter. The Nagini dashed ahead then came back to swirl around the fliter. Josh marveled at their agility.

  About a mile from the entrance the snakes stopped. Josh glanced over his shoulder to see the mass at the edge of his lights. Back at Belle, he found another robot to help haul the goods inside. When they carried the first load into Lemmy's room, she let out a squeal and had to touch everything. Josh thought she looked like a kid in a toy store.

  After everything had been piled in her quarters, she had to thank and thank Josh. He backed out to let her try them on. Going to the workroom, he charged all three food replicators. The robots carried them to the galley. Josh gathered up the instructions for them and followed.

  Cherry came in once to see how things had gone in the city, but Josh had his nose buried in the instructions. He found an empty counter to set them on, secured them in place, then filled them with protein, vitamins and minerals.

  Josh spent the next four hours experimenting with the machines. His face twisted into a grimace at the first concoctions he made. Throwing the results back in the machine, he recycled them. Nothing came out looking like the pictures.

  By the end of the afternoon, the results looked better but didn't taste like he thought they should. Lemmy wandered in wearing some of her new clothes. She had on a pair of boots that came halfway up her legs.

  Josh whistled and she jumped into a defensive stance. Josh laughed, "That's just an Earth habit to say humans think you look good."

  She sniffed, "I don't see how I can. These clothes are soooo outdated. I'm surprise
d the fabric and thread is still good. Are you sure you didn't find them in a second hand store?"

  "I'm sorry. You can go with me tomorrow and find your own. I know the Nagini who followed me today would be happy with your company."

  Shock showed on her face, "They followed you? Did they attack? What did you do?"

  "Nothing. I just kept shopping. They were kind of funny to watch."

  "Not me. They give me the willies."

  "Here, try some of this. It has a bigger dose of the minerals and vitamins that the healer unit says you need."

  Lemmy sat down and stuck a fork in the food. She lifted it close to her mouth. Josh saw her nose twitching like she was smelling it. When she took a small bite, her nose wrinkled. Josh put his hand over his face to cover his grin at her expression.

  Pushing the plate away, she said, "You can save that for Twinkles. I'll have some of the real food."

  "Not for long. We only have a few days of it left. Besides, you'll have to eat some of this to get well. If you don't like the taste, I'll show you how to work the machines. Maybe you'll have better luck than me."

  "I don't see how it could be any worse – I'm sorry. I know you're trying. I haven't been very grateful, have I? I'll try to do better."

  "We're in survival mode. We'll just have to make do."

  "Can I ask one favor? I won't put it back on, but I really need my old spacesuit. It has some personal things in it I'll need."

  "I'll get it for you later. You'd better find something to eat now."

  "Thanks, Josh. I really do appreciate what you've done for me."

  "You're welcome. I think I'll try to make something I can eat. Got to keep up our strength, don't we?"

  Chapter 15