Wanted

Cherry yelled, "Where did that thing come from? Are you reading any comm signals?"

  Josh said, "I don't have anything coming from it. Do you think that thing owns that spaceship? That's where it's headed."

  "Stay out of there, you little bugger. I'm about to get it figured out. I don't need any interference."

  As they watched, the figure headed to the spaceship. It didn't even look around to see Naca. Josh asked, "Do you think that's the ship's owner?"

  Cherry snarled, "Not even close. Look at the way that thing shuffles along. If I yelled boo, all you'd see is a blur of brown as it heads back to the rock it slithered out from under."

  "Maybe it controls those monsters in the city. No, that thing is too small. I wonder if it knows about the snakes, though. It doesn't seem too concerned about them."

  "That thing won't fit the furniture on the ship. What is it? Four and a half feet tall? Everything in there is for someone over six feet tall. We don't even know if it breathes oxygen. All we know is that it needs some sort of atmosphere. That spacesuit doesn't look too comfortable, does it?"

  Josh studied the slow small steps the creature made. He said, "No, it's pretty crude. I wonder if that's a crewman. He might not fly the ship, just work in the cargo bay."

  "He? What gives you a clue to its sexual gender? I might agree with a crewman. What are we going to do? That thing can't be too bright. How could it have missed seeing Naca?"

  "I don't know how it missed us, but I think we need to grab it. We need some questions answered."

  Cherry said, "You stay here. I don't need you tearing up your fractures again. I'll go see if that thing recognizes a blaster."

  "Cherry, be easy on it. We need some answers and a ride off this rock. That thing might be the key."

  "Yeah, if we can understand its language."

  "I brought back some translators. They just need to be charged up."

  "I charged them. They didn't help with the ad. I couldn't get anything to work for our language."

  "For now, you'd better get out there. If that thing has been in that spaceship before, it should see what you've done in there. It might take off or be ready for you and be tougher to convince to come in here for a visit than you think."

  Cherry rushed to the rear of the ship to get into his breather. Grabbing a blaster, he made his way outside. Josh advised him by closed channel where the visitor was. As soon as the small creature rounded the back of the other ship, Cherry bounded across the open space between them.

  Josh moved the sensor to follow the drama. The small figure went to the airlock at the rear. Cherry made it to the old spaceship in four bounds. Josh strained as he tried to help him stop. As Cherry slipped to the rear, Josh moved the sensor again so he could see both of them better.

  When the android stepped around the corner of the spaceship, Josh's mouth dropped open in shock. The creature leaped a hundred feet in the air. A blast of something on its back sent it speeding back toward the entrance to the asteroid. Only Cherry's mechanically fast reflexes allowed him to catch the visitor before it escaped.

  As soon as Cherry had it in his grasp, the little figure ceased all resistance and curled up in the fetal position. The second Cherry's feet touched back down on the asteroid, he quickly carried the little ball to Naca. When he stepped through the shield, Josh set the sensor to scan the surrounding area for any other life.

  Seeing nothing, Josh dragged himself out of bed. A small groan escaped his lips. Grabbing the blaster beside his bed, he checked the charge. It showed three quarters full. Pulling his body along so he didn't have to walk, Josh made his way to the rear of Naca.

  Looking through the inside shield, Josh saw why the spacesuit looked so odd. It had been meant for someone much larger than the creature lying there. Material had been bunched up and tied in place with lengths of electrical wire. Cherry nudged the figure and Josh got his first look at its head.

  Through the clear helmet, he saw a small skull. The eyelids were scrunched tightly shut but Josh could still see that the eyes would cover half the face. A pointed snout which ended in a blunted black nose wrinkled with the intensity of the creature keeping its eyes closed. Gray fur covered its entire face. Josh could see ears set toward the top of the head but they were plastered tightly against the skull, so he had no idea how big they were.

  Cherry said, "As fast as this thing moved, I'll just keep it on this side of the shield. You can see what's going on, but it won't be able to reach you. I don't think you're up to fighting par yet."

  "No, I'm not. That sounds like a good plan to me. Did you hurt it? Why is it keeping its eyes closed like that?"

  "All I did was grab it. Maybe this is its way of coping with danger."

  "Doesn't seem like a very good way to cope. It would be almost to the tail if one of those snake things had been after it. Even a small one could get it down."

  They stood watching to see what the small figure would do. After ten minutes, they saw one eyelid move a tiny bit. Neither of Naca's crew moved. They hoped the little critter would open its eyes and try to communicate.

  Soon, the other eyelid opened a smidgen. Josh smiled at it. Both eyelids closed tightly. Cherry asked, "What did you do?"

  "I didn't do anything. I just smiled at it."

  "It must have thought you were baring your teeth to eat it."

  "I don't eat sentient species."

  "That thing doesn't know that. Give me the healer unit. I want to try to check this thing out."

  As Cherry touched the creature with the healer unit, it grimaced even more. Cherry said, "I can't get a very good reading through the spacesuit, but from what I see, it's malnourished and a little dehydrated."

  Josh saw a slit appear in the eyelids again. He didn't smile this time, just stood observing. Cherry said, "Why don't you go get it something to eat and drink."

  Josh sarcastically said, "And just what would you suggest? Fruit, veggies, some flowers or maybe a slab of raw meat? What about drink?"

  "Get some fresh fruit and vegetables. For now, just bring some water. Put some in a container so you can pour it into two glasses. You'll have to show Shorty here it's safe."

  "What if it isn't? Did the healer tell you what that thing can safely ingest? What does it breathe?"

  "I'll do some more tests while you go."

  Josh moved to the galley. Once there, he grabbed the things Cherry had suggested. He set them on the table. When he had everything, he realized he couldn't walk back carrying all the items. Finding a tray, he stacked them on it.

  Gently pushing the tray along the floor, he pulled himself along behind. When he heard the sound of the sliding tray, Cherry turned to say, "I'm sorry, Josh. I forgot about your disability."

  "I may have broken my legs, but I didn't break my brain. I can still think."

  "Neither of us thought this through. You can't pour water. It will take all day to get to the glass."

  "Not if I put the jug right on the glass. I might spill a little but the air recycler should take care of it."

  Josh slid over so he could sit on the floor and be a little more comfortable. Inquisitively looking, he saw the slits were a little wider on their furry friend. As he poured some water, he asked, "What did you find out? Does it breathe oxygen?"

  "It is an oxygen breathing mammal. I still don't know what it will eat, but it should be able to drink the water. I didn't find any viruses or other bugs that will give you problems. We'll have to watch to see what your bugs do to it."

  Taking an exaggerated swig of the water, Josh watched the eyes. Setting his lidded glass down, he poured another. He said, "Cherry, set the shield so I can slide this through. Just make sure Shorty can't get to me."

  Cherry plugged his finger into a port and said, "OK. You can push it through now."

  Gingerly sliding the glass through, Josh watched the creature closely. The ears came forward forming h
alf circle cups. Soft pink showed on the inside. Then the eyelids opened more, showing golden irises. Josh sloshed the water around a little then pulled his hand back.

  Picking up his glass, he drank some more of the water. He took a bite of a grape-like fruit, then slid the plate through the shield. The alien's eyes opened wider. Its legs straightened as did its arms. The snout started moving like it was trying to sniff the food.

  Suddenly, a hand reached for the plate. The being pulled it closer. Josh almost smiled as he saw a problem coming. The hand grabbed the cluster of grape-like fruit and started to lift it to the creature's mouth. A clear helmet stopped it.

  To Josh and Cherry's surprise, an opening appeared on the right arm. A little furry hand reached out to pull the cluster inside. The opening disappeared followed by the head sinking into the spacesuit.

  A fold of the fabric straightened out and soon the two bounty hunters heard, "Mmmmm. Mmmm."

  Cherry softly said, "I can't imagine what the inside of that suit looks like if Shorty eats in there."

  The head popped back up in the helmet. Josh could see pink stains from the fruit around the snout. The opening appeared again and the hand grabbed more items from the plate. Once again the head disappeared and appreciative noises came from the body of the spacesuit.

  Josh and Cherry grinned at each other. The opening in the arm appeared, followed by the hand clutching one of the vegetables. The hand tossed it to the critter's left then felt around for the plate. When the fingers touched it, they picked up more vegetables before disappearing.

  After a few minutes, the head burst into view. Juices and bits of the items on the plate now flecked the snout of the little creature. A long tongue whipped out to lick away every vestige of the meal. The hand came out and cleaned all but one item off the plate. It pushed the plate to the left. One of the folds grew some extra bulges.

  Cherry said, "That's even worse. Storing food in your suit. I need to check again to make certain there's no insects or other vermin in there."

  "Maybe the suit is self-cleaning. Don't rush to judgment. Just because you're overly obsessed with neatness doesn't mean that everyone else is a slob."

  They heard a muffle burp as the hand snaked out to grab the water. Head and hand disappeared. A short time later, the glass came out with half the liquid gone. The hand slid the glass to the left. Josh frowned a question at Cherry. Cherry shrugged.

  When the head came into view again, the tongue came out to lick moisture off the black nose. The alien sat up and shifted its head back and forth between Josh and Cherry. Josh said, "Feeling better now? That's quite a pile of food you put away."

  Cherry said, "Not counting all the crumbs and pieces left inside the suit."

  "Drop it. We need to see if we can communicate. I want off this rock."

  "So do I. I'll get the translators. We'll see if they work any better with spoken words."

  In a few minutes, he came back with all the translators. Trying them one at a time, he tried to initiate a conversation with the small alien. It looked back and forth between the two bounty hunters but didn't utter a sound.

  Josh said, "Either those things don't work or Shorty there can't speak."

  "Maybe they work, but that thing doesn't have the intellect to converse. It might just make a few noises to communicate with its own kind."

  Josh watched as the little creature picked up one of the translators and studied it. The alien turned it over and over, then pushed some of the buttons on the front. Cherry said, "You think you can fix that? I'd be glad if you could."

  The creature picked up the others one at a time and fiddled with them. It turned to the almost empty plate and glass. A stream of words came out. After a pause during which the little being twisted its head like it was listening, more words came out of it.

  Josh asked, "Now what do you say? That sounds like more than noises between a species. Sounds like a language to me."

  "I don't know. There are some birds that 'parrot' what you say. They have no clue what the noises they mimic means."

  "I don't think that applies in this case. I think our guest there knows something about those translators. If it knows about them, it has to have more than a bird's worth of intelligence."

  "Don't get your hopes up. I think we just added a mouth. If there's more than this one, we can't feed them. We won't have enough food to see us through until we can get off of here."

  Josh watched the creature tinkering with the translators. He said, "Cherry, I took more translators from that store. Where are the others?"

  "Two of them were dead. They wouldn't take a charge."

  "That leaves three that aren't accounted for. Hmmm, let me see. I think the ones missing were the used ones that were kept in the locked display case. Where are they?"

  "That's all I found in your bag."

  "I know. I stuck those three in my spacesuit. In the left pocket."

  Cherry turned to get the translators. He carried them to the workshop. The little alien climbed to its feet and followed him. Cherry talked for Josh's benefit, "Shorty seems to be getting excited about these. I can't find any power cords to recharge them. Hey, get away from there. I'll do it. I'm going to bust your fingers if you don't quit."

  Josh asked, "What's it doing, Cherry?"

  "It grabbed three of the cords and is cutting them apart. Now it's splicing them together. What are you up to now, you little bugger?"

  "What's it doing? Cherry?"

  "Well, I'll be. That one is charging. Here let me adjust —"

  A different voice said, "I can do it just fine. Keep your fingers back."

  Josh yelled, "Who is that? What's going on? Never mind, I'm coming."

  Cherry said, "Josh, wait. We'll —"

  Josh didn't wait. He pushed through the shield and gave a shove with his arm. He sailed to the door of the shop. Inside, he saw Shorty with both arms out of the slits in the suit. Its hands were working the translator lying on the bench. In a few seconds, it unhooked the cable from the translator and connected it to another.

  Cherry's skin swirled with angry colors and the sparkles within it pulsed with red light. He said, "What do you think you're going to do with that? That belongs to us."

  The creature said, "I'm using it for now. I'm sure these other two will work just fine. Give me a few minutes to get them charged."

  "I'll give you something. It won't be —"

  Josh said, "Cherry." When Cherry turned to him, he frowned at him.

  "Who are you and where did you come from? How do you know so much about those translators?"

  When the being didn't answer, Josh said, "I'm talking to you in the spacesuit."

  After it finished checking the charging translator, the little alien said, "Watch it. Don't step on Demmy. Are all of you funny aliens so clumsy?"

  Josh jerked to the side looking for Demmy. He said, "I asked a question."

  "My name is Lemmy Felafel. That's my partner Demmy Deladel. The cretins on our spaceship were going to stuff us out of an airlock. We managed to grab a spacesuit and get to an escape pod before they could. Just as we ejected, the Nagini attacked."

  Cherry asked, "Who are the Nagini?"

  Lemmy shivered, "Monsters who live in the vacuum around this exploded planet."

  Pushing his finger in a slot, Cherry brought up a picture of the small snake-like creature which had swallowed the sensor. He asked, "Is this one?"

  "A very small one. The ones that attacked our ship were much larger."

  Josh asked, "What happened to your ship? Why didn't they attack you?"

  Lemmy looked at him with eyes that grew larger, "I'm not sure. They tried to get up enough speed to reach hyperspace, but I don't know if they made it. The Nagini ignored us because we were so small and the spaceship was so much bigger."

  Cherry asked, "How do those things live in a vacuum? What do they eat? Do the
y breathe?"

  Lemmy shrugged his shoulders. He said, "Anyone who might answer that question unfortunately isn't around anymore. The Nagini ate them."

  Unhooking the cable from the second translator, Lemmy handed it to Josh. He plugged in the last one and began adjusting it. Cherry frowned. He said, "Hey, why did you hand that to him?"

  "He is a good man. You, I'm not so sure of. Your hatred of me is covering your true spirit."

  Cherry snorted, "I'll bet this is why the people on that spaceship were going to stuff you out an airlock."

  Josh interrupted, "How do you know so much about these translators? Why do these work and those don't?"

  "I was an engineer on many spaceships —"

  Cherry snapped, "Yeah, I'll bet most of them tried to stuff you out of an airlock —"

  Josh said, "Cherry, cool it. We need to know about this."

  Lemmy wrinkled his snout, "Yeah, Cherry, cool it."

  Cherry's colors swirled as his lights turned into red hot cherry glows. Lemmy continued, "Like I was saying, I was – still am an engineer. I can fix almost anything. These are Alcantaran translators. No one knows how they work, but they are the best that have ever been made. All the Alcantaran stuff is better than anything we've seen around here, including that spaceship out there."

  Josh asked, "How did you get here? How long have you been here?"

  "When the Nagini attacked, we looked for a place to hide. The debris here looked like the only place we could make it before those five monsters could catch us. A dozen or so of the smaller ones chased us and we ducked under the land bridge there. When I saw the opening, I flew in."

  Cherry asked, "Didn't you realize you were flying right into a den of those things?"

  Lemmy's ears wiggled in distress, "Not at the time. I got the escape pod to the rear of the big cavern. There was a big steel door there. I tried to shut them but couldn't move them. I used the pod to shove them closed. There's a small walk door that I go in and out of."

  Josh asked, "How long have you been here?"

  "I don't know. You can't see the sun or anything from back there. I do know that we had a year's worth of food and water on board. It's gone. I rationed it for the last quarter of my ordeal."

  Cherry said, "So you must have been here for over a year. Did you see the Nagini again?"

  "Yes, I tried to get out into that big cavern. It's some sort of repair depot. I thought maybe I could get a ship ready to fly or even transmit a signal asking for help. The Nagini have taken all the energy from just about everything."

  Josh said, "Wait a minute. You said there were five of those monsters. How big were they?"

  "About a hundred feet long, I think. I have no way to know how big around. I know they could swallow me and Demmy and our pod whole."

  Cherry asked, "Have you seen them around here?"

  "Yes, they come into the cavern and float back to our safe room. A couple of times I thought they had me, but somehow I escaped."

  Josh asked, "Are they here now? Would they attack our ship?"

  "I don't think they are. Yes, they would be on you like a quiviling on a bumba."

  Cherry said, "A what on a what?"

  "A flying reptile on an insect."

  "Oh. How long do these things stay away? What are they looking for?"

  Lemmy's ears flattened to his head, "I think they go out to look for food. I know when they come back, there is a big frenzy and then all of the Nagini are quiet for several days. One must have come back yesterday. I felt the frenzy and haven't seen too many of them around since."

  Josh looked at Cherry before he said, "So you think the big ones might be coming back at any time? Do they fly into the cavern or on the other side to the city?"

  "What city? I've never been on the other side. Too many Nagini in there."

  Josh said, "Where do the big ones go?"

  "Anywhere they want. Nothing stops them. I need to check out some things on that other ship and get back to my safe room. The big ones could be here at any time —"

  The sound of a proximity alarm caused Lemmy to duck inside his spacesuit. Josh and Cherry heard him say, "Quick, Demmy, get under cover. They're back."

  Chapter 9