ALTERNATE TALES OF THE STAR FORCE
STAR BLAZERS---RETURN TO THE GREAT MAGELLENIC CLOUD
Being the seventh part of THE RIKASHA INCIDENT--- BY: Frederick P. Kopetz
ACT TWO-- WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO SATURDAY NIGHT?
I. NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Captain's Quarters
Space Battleship Argo
Saturday, February 6,
2202
0232 Hours Spacetime
Captain Derek Wildstar
yawned. He had been having some trouble sleeping, so he had pulled down an
access panel that could cover the bookcase near the bunk he shared with Nova. A
screen for his video player was built into that panel. Nova wasn't there to
help him get to sleep by giving him a warm drink, reading to him, or performing
other, more private activities. She was on the bridge tonight for a watch as
Officer of the Deck, so he had to get himself to sleep. He had tried watching a
very boring movie (a boring and stupid political drama made in 2172) and it was
starting to do the trick.
Derek yawned again drew the
covers up over his bare chest, and just remembered to turn the movie off with
his remote. Can't have Nova getting in here at 0410 finding me asleep with a
movie on; she never likes that, he thought as he began to fall asleep. We're
still stuck in this stupid storm, so she'll probably be really tired and grumpy
when she gets up here, having nothing to do all night but watch the ready crew
and those dials...eerrrggg.
Captain Wildstar was asleep
two minutes later. For a long time, he didn't dream anything...but, then, the
dreams started.
"Nice onsen,"
he murmured, referring to a Japanese hot spring. Derek was dreaming of Great
Island, and Nova was in the dream with him. Both of them were snuggled up like
spoons in a hot spring, watching snow fall lazily from the clouds into the
water.
"Did you and your
parents always do this?" asked Nova, who was wearing nothing but a crystal
necklace.
He nodded, snuggling up to
Nova in only his skin. Their abandoned kimono and wooden geta sat
on a rock outcropping near the hot spring, near thick towels. Part of one of
the outbuildings of the Buddhist healing shrine they were at stood off in the
distance behind one of the snowy trees. "That last winter I was together
with my parents, we came here around Christmas. It's amazing how they've
rebuilt the place."
"It's beautiful,"
sighed Nova. She gave Derek a little smile, and stuck out her tongue.
"There you go,
catching snowflakes on your tongue again," said Derek with his eyes
rolling up a little. Nova giggled a bit at that.
"If you like that,
have a look at what else I can do," she said with a smile. She stuck her
foot up out of the steaming water, and caught a snowflake daintily on her big
toe about a second later. "I never did that before. My parents tended to
discourage my running around barefoot in the snow."
"Ever do it?"
"Oh, they've got some old
pictures of me running out into the snow in nothing," giggled Nova.
"I was about two at the time. I don't remember it, but I remember being
embarrassed by those pictures of me in the snow with my tush showing. Your
parents ever have any pictures like that of you?"
"Plenty of pictures
with me in the bath as a toddler," laughed Derek. "Alex was holding
me in quite a few of those pictures."
"That's nice,"
sighed Nova as she put her head back. "I wonder what your mother was
like?"
In the oddball logic of dreams,
Derek found himself at a picnic in front of his old family home a while later.
He recognized the house...it was rebuilt...or maybe it had never been
destroyed?
Part of him felt an odd
chill when he noticed his mother there in the dream, kneeling in the grass in a
mid-length skirt and white blouse without shoes. She was passing his father a
hot dog that she had just put relish on.
"Arigato,"
said his father, who was in a golf shirt and shorts. He smiled, raising a glass
to him and Alex.
To Derek's mild surprise,
Alex was there beside him in the dream. Both he and Alex wore their EDF
uniforms with their boots off, and they were eating sushi out of obento
boxes.
"So, how's she
doing?" asked Derek.
"Fine," said Alex
with a smile. Derek smiled to himself as he noticed his brother hugging Queen
Starsha, who was there in jeans and a sleeveless top. The picnic gathering,
Derek noticed, was filled out when he noticed Nova, in a short little white and
pink sundress, pouring his mother some sake. A pair of summer shoes sat
beside her in the grass
"So tell me,"
said Derek's father, Theodore Wildstar. "How did you decide to get Starsha
to come here and visit at last?"
"We got her nice and
drunk," giggled Nova. "When she woke up, she was on the ship, and we
had made three warps, and I had dressed her in my clothes."
"So, what did you
think?" asked Angelica Aikiko Wildstar, Derek's mother.
"I was very
insulted," laughed Starsha. "Then, after Nova explained why I had
been kidnapped by you, her, and Alex, I agreed to the trip. I have to be back
on Iscandar in a month for a meeting, though."
"With whom?"
asked Nova.
"The kids," she
said.
"Okay, when are you
two going to have children?" laughed Derek's father as he looked right at
him and Nova.
"Oooo...now I'm
getting it from both sides of the family," said Nova in mock pique.
"You're as bad as my mother!"
"Honey, please don't
insult your in-laws," laughed Derek's mother.
"All right, I'm
sorry," said Nova. She got up, strapped her sandals on, and said,
"Don't you need me to come with you to the bus stop?"
Derek's eyebrows went up. There's
something weird about that, he thought. But what is it?
"Yes, we have to greet
my brother Kazuo," said the elder Wildstar. "Derek, you, Alex, and
Starsha man the picnic. Nova and I will be back with your mother in a few
minutes?"
"Why are you going,
Nova?" asked Derek.
"Your mother said she
wanted to show me the oak tree under which she proposed to your father,"
said Nova. "It's a short walk; I'll be back in a few minutes, silly. You
can live without me for that long, can't you?"
"Guess so," said
Derek glumly in the dream as Nova kissed him.
As an observer, Derek saw
Nova leaning against the tree while his mother showed her where she had carved
her initials and her father's initials years ago. They were carved inside a
heart.
"See?" said
Derek's mother. "Like that?'
"How romantic,"
said Nova. Her eyes brightened as she got an idea.
"Mr. Wildstar,"
asked Nova. "Do you have a penknife?"
"Yes, I do. Can I ask
why you need it?"
"I'm going to surprise
Derek in a few minutes after that bus comes," said Nova with a smile. She
opened the knife and began to carve Derek's initials in the bark, followed by a
'&' sign followed by her own.
Derek then saw his parents
frantically gesturing towards Nova, who was lost in her little world carving a
heart into the tree. His parents both screamed and grabbed each other, with his
father grabbing Nova as a surprised afterthought.
Nova looked up at the sky
and murmured, "oh...my God!"
She stood there with his
parents watching the massive, ugly planet bomb blow in.
The bomb hit, and Derek
watched in agony as all three of them were obliterated in a flash of light.
A while later, Derek
stumbled alone up the hill. The sky was black, and he was looking at the ruins
of the bus stop.
He fell to the ground,
clutching at the scrap of his mother's torn, carbonized skirt as he had done in
real life and in his dreams a thousand times beforehand. He picked it up, and
some black dust fell out of it. All that's left of her, he thought. Just
like in real life.
But, then, his hand felt
something else. He dug a half-burned ladies' thong-front sandal out of the
ground a moment later. It was of a delicate designer style...the sort usually
worn by a rather young woman. A small bit of black dust fell out of it a moment
later, along with a scrap of semi-burned hair.
The hair was honey-blonde.
Then Derek Wildstar
screamed, clutching at the last mortal remains of both Nova and his mother....
He was still screaming when
the lights came on a moment later. Half-asleep, Derek heard the hatch slamming
to loudly behind him.
Nova, looking almost as startled as Bambi, stood
beside their bed in full uniform, looking down at him with shock and concern in
her eyes.
"You're alive,"
muttered Derek. "Thank God."
"What were you
dreaming this time?" asked Nova with concern in her eyes as she sat
down beside him on the bunk. She was learning how to deal with this, being no
stranger to her husband's vivid nightmares.
"My parents...the
bomb...and you," he said. "In this dream, you were obliterated along
with my parents. It was horrible!" he yelled. "Why am I always
dreaming about death?" he said as he slammed his fist into the
pillow.
"Everyone has
nightmares," said Nova soothingly. "You have a right to have yours,
unfortunately. You've had a terrible past. I still remember, on the way to
Iscandar, how you told me about your nightmares in the middle of the night once
on the observation deck."
"I feel
horrible," he said. "Especially when I wake up flailing at you like
that in my sleep..."
"My dreams get pretty
weird, too," said Nova as she walked over to her locker and began to
undress for bed after dimming the lights again. "I've had this recurring
one lately..." she said as she slipped out of her uniform, starting with
the boots, then her top, then the leggings.
"Go ahead."
"I'm on a table, in
that nightdress that Doctor Sane put me in when I had that coma after working
the Cosmo-DNA," said Nova in a very soft voice that Derek had to strain to
hear since she was across the room hanging up things in her locker. As she
undid her bra, she said, "But in this dream, I woke up on that table under
a sheet, like I was dead or something. Had a hard time breathing...couldn't
move...and it was very, very cold," said Nova as she kicked her locker
shut with a bare foot while clutching her arms around her body. In the dim
light, Derek saw his unclad wife shivering for a moment before she came over
and slipped under the covers with him. "You tell me what that one
meant. Wasn't I in a coma then?"
"That's what Doctor
Sane told me," mused Derek. "Dead people usually don't come back like
that," he said as she cuddled against his chest. "Death. That's what
we've both been dreaming about. Death."
"I'd ask you to change
position and celebrate life a bit, except you look exhausted," muttered
Nova.
"You look bushed too.
How was it on the bridge tonight?"
"Plenty of nothing
going on except the storm," said Nova. "Now they're taking bets
as to when it's gonna end."
"You bet
anything?"
"Lost my allowance in
that poker game two nights ago," yawned Nova. "Good thing they didn't
get the idea to play strip poker or I might've been sitting in the messhall in
my underwear....if I had gone along with it. I wouldn't, of course. I do
have some self-respect."
"I'll loan ya some
credits," said Derek.
"Thanks. I need my
dainties from out of the machines during these long days. “
"Naaah. Hey. If I have
a nightmare again...?"
"I'll snuggle up
against you and assure you I'm alive. I'm a little hard to miss like
this."
"Thanks.
Night..."
"Nitey-nite,
Derek," muttered Nova. She yawned and put her head on his chest.
Nova was out like a light
in four minutes. For Derek, it took quite a bit longer. Finally, at some point,
he went back to sleep.
He had no more nightmares
that night.
In the meantime, Becky
Voorhees, of the Living Group, was awake herself. She and her husband Todd had
just had an intimate moment, but it was hard for her to get back to sleep.
"Can you tell me
what's on your mind, Becky?" asked Todd.
"How's life on the
second bridge?" she asked with a yawn.
"So far, we still
haven't found a way out of this mess. We take scans every day, and we have the
brass from bridge number one down there to assist every day, too. Just finished
a shift on bridge number one at the helm, nothing happened. How's your world?
"Well, your Education
Officer just read two interesting papers. One was from Mister Hemsford on
"Nietzsche and the Superman", the other was from Mrs. Wildstar
on "Holy War in World Religions." Damn good papers. When do
those two find the time to write stuff?"
"All we have right now
is time, Becky," said Todd as he punched the pillow. "With this new
wave motion engine, it should take a week, maybe a week and a half, for us to
get to the Sanzar System. We can warp about 40,000 lightyears a day if we do
two warps of 20,000 lightyears each. We've got the reserve and the power to get
there faster, but we're stuck. Do you see why Navigation Group is the most
hated Group on this ship right now, hon? Everyone is blaming us for getting
stuck here."
Becky cuddled up to Todd's
bare chest. "Yeah. Amazing we were even able to...make love...tonight. I'm
so tense!"
"Want to snuggle some
more?" asked Todd.
Becky giggled. "Silly
question. We have no nightclothes; all we have to keep warm with is each
other..."
"How did you forget
our pajamas?" laughed Todd.
"I don't know?"
said Becky as she pulled Todd up to her bare chest. "Design, maybe?"
"You would do
that..."
Becky stuck her tongue out
at her husband and laughed.
Holly Parsons sat on the
deck in the ship's hydroponic garden, lazily playing with a flower. It'll
make a mess, but what the heck, she said to herself. Can't sleep
anyway...that's why I'm wandering the ship.
She began to pluck at the
flower she had picked; a daisy. "He loves me, he loves me not. Mark loves
me, Mark loves me not."
"Mark loves..."
"Hey...finally found
you. I thought you'd be up now," said Commander Venture.
"Hi, Mark," said
Holly listlessly. "What's up?"
"I...uh...err...umm...wanted
to ask you something?"
"Which is?"
"I don't know how else
to say this, Holly. Would you go out with me?"
Holly laughed. "He finally
asks," she said with a grin. "Loves me not," she said picking at
the daisy. "Loves me," she said, pulling off the last petal.
"Well, given that this ship isn't the most romantic place in the universe,
where would you like to go?"
"How's about the
holography room?" asked Venture. "We can go almost anywhere
there."
"If you don't mind me
wearing a dress and we can get a hologram of a Paris cafe, we can do it,"
said Holly. "When do you want to do it?"
"After our watches
tomorrow?" he asked. "After all, Saturday night is supposed to be
date night," said Venture.
"You try to arrange
the time?" asked Holly.
"I'll talk with Nova
later today. She's in charge of that sort of thing. I think she could arrange
it."
"Cool," said
Holly. She gave Mark a hug and a quick kiss. "That's for later,
Mark."
Mark returned the kiss.
"Hope we can make a go of this."
"Oh, I'm sure it'll
work out," said Parsons.
II. RECON REVISITED
Deep Space
Around the Octopus Star
Storm
Saturday, February 6,
2202
0914 Hours Spacetime
Tatiana Lubyanska was
flying patrol with her squadron. She had two new wingmen; a pair of pilots
named Dave Fox and Tranh Nguyen. Fox was a young man with blond hair; Nguyen
was a little older.
"So, what have you observed
out here?"
"Nothing," said
Fox. "The storm's unchanged, space is as quiet as the grave."
"Nguyen?"
"Nothing here,
either," he said.
Sakamoto's voice came over Lubyanska's headphones a
moment later. "We've just gotten out here and I'm starting to feel more
solar wind, as well as gasses. My wingman, McCloskey, says he's having trouble
keeping her on course."
"Doesn't sound
good," said Lubyanska. "Bell? What's with your flight? Bell?"
Tatiana waited one
moment...two moments.
"Anyone know where
Bell and his flight are? Over..." said Lubyanska.
There came only silence.
"Sakamoto?" asked
Lubyanska.
"They went off my
scope about a minute ago," he said.
"Damnit, we're already
short three pilots!" said Lubyanska. "Dash, request permission to
return to the ship and abort patrol flight," she said over the radio.
"What's the
problem?" asked the Argo's Combat Group Leader.
"We've lost touch with
Bell's flight. He was out the farthest."
"How's the
storm?" asked Dash.
"Getting worse. We're
having problems keeping a navigational fix on the ship," said Lubyanska,
whose transmission was breaking up.
"Continue your
search," said Dash a moment later.
"Belay that
order!" snapped Captain Wildstar a moment later. "Lubyanska, get back
in here. We can't afford to lose six more planes looking for three."
"Wildstar!"
snapped Venture. "You're not just leaving them out there, are
you?"
"No...we're carrying on this search by other
means," replied Derek as sweat ran down his face. He looked extremely
unhappy. "Homer, put out a general hail on all frequencies; automated
hail! Nova, you and Parsons begin scanning the ship for anything moving out
there other than the planes of fourth squadron that we've accounted for.
Lubyanska, get your planes in ASAP so we can conduct this search without
interference from your squadron."
"Roger," said
Tatiana in a rather disappointed voice. She understood the Captain's logic, but
nothing said she had to like it. "We're coming back in now."
A voice came in a moment
later on the radio. "Argo. This is Miyama."
"Go ahead," said
Homer as Wildstar, Venture, and Parsons ran over ran over. Miyama was one of
the missing pilots.
"Wind pulled apart our
whole flight. Bell smacked straight into some asteroid sucked up by the vortex;
he's a goner. Compass isn't working for love nor money. What's your heading,
guys...over?"
We'll have to talk him
in, thought
Parsons. She grabbed the headset off of Homer and said, "This is Holly
Parsons, Navigation, first bridge. Our heading is RPX-345 by XT-43. Can you
follow that? Over."
"I can home in on the
radio direction finder. Just about the only damn thing I have working. Got your
heading...trying to keep her on course. Not easy..."
"Stay on my voice
beam," said Parsons as Homer gave her a very dirty look. "Heading's
still the same. What's your thirty...over?"
"Don't know...coming
in by sound..."
"I have him on
radar!" cried Nova from her post. "He's a megameter out...at RPX-205
by XR-82. Have him swing upwards on your beam."
Venture took the headset
from Parsons. "Miyama. Follow my voice. Home in on this signal we'll be
putting out. Homer, can you get a 500 MHz tone up on this?"
"I would if you and
Parsons would quit leaning over me!"
"Homer, a man's life
may count on your cooperation," said Venture. "Get that tone up
now!"
"Aye, aye,
Venture!" he replied in a sarcastic tone of voice. He worked some controls
and said, "500 MHz tone is up and on."
"Nova. Did you get the
other plane on radar yet?" asked Derek.
"Negative. No sign of
Ensign Rigby's ship at all," said Nova in a very doleful voice.
"Miyama's now just 4200 kilometers away from the ship."
"Got that tone?"
asked Captain Wildstar.
"Got it," said
Miyama a moment later. "Got you guys on visual now. Wind's really bad.
Going to be hard getting into the upper landing tube."
"Consider this an
emergency," said Derek. "Land in the lower bay; we can work around
this later on."
"Roger."
Wildstar took the headset and
gave it back to Homer. "Keep that tone up in case Rigby's still out there.
And keep listening."
"Right," said
Homer, with an angry glance at Venture.
"Still no sign of
Rigby," said Nova. "Miyama's on final approach."
"Dash, have Flight
Maintenance stand by with firefighting equipment in case he crashes on the way
in."
"Right. What about the
squadron on Alert-15?"
"Tell Hardy to cancel
that flight. All flight ops are suspended until further notice. The storm's
just too bad now," said Derek.
"Got it," said
Dash.
Later that evening, Holly
and Mark stood in the empty holography room while Nova fiddled with the
playback unit.
"Can you get that
Paris tape up?" said Venture.
"I can, I think,"
said Nova. "I was in Sickbay all day tending to people." she said.
"Did they ever find Rigby?"
Mark shook his head,
thinking: What does it matter to us...run that damn tape, Nova... while
Holly's eyes filled up with tears. When he noticed her reaction, he felt like a
heel for thinking that...
"Oh...I'm so sorry,"
said Nova softly. "He was a nice guy, too. We've been losing too many
people on this cruise."
IQ-9 came through the hatch
a minute later.
"Hi, Nova," he
said.
"IQ, were you messing
around with the computer down here again?" said Nova.
"She's having trouble
getting up Paris," said Holly.
"What's the
problem?" said Venture.
"Artifacts of Hawaii
are stuck in the program," grumbled Nova. "Not bad if you want to see
hula girls going down the Champs-Elysees in front of your roadside
cafe." She bent over the unit, pushing buttons.
IQ turned his dome towards
Nova, with the lights going off like crazy. Then, he turned his dome towards
Venture and Holly.
"IQ-9...don't you
dare," snapped Venture.
"Don't you dare
what?" cried Nova. She looked back at IQ-9 and saw he had his hand towards
her backside. Nova flipped around just in time before IQ-9 could do anything
else. "ARRGH! I swear...I can't take you anywhere!"
Venture just shook his head
while Holly snapped. "Good thing I'm not wearing a skirt
today."
Nova finished the
reprogramming and said. "Okay, guys, now you've got Paris. Push the green
button on this when you're ready, you two."
"Take me there,
Nova," said IQ-9 "Get us a reservation. Leave Wildstar behind. He's
not a genius like me!"
"Ohhh...You need a new
set of chips!" snapped Nova.
"Do not. I'm smarter
than you, Nova. I am a hyper-genius. You have an IQ of 140. Mine is over
250!"
"I know enough not to
molest people in public!" huffed Nova as she and the robot left the
holography room, still bickering.
"I'm glad IQ-9 isn't
bothering me," said Parsons after they left. "You wouldn't put up
with that, would you, Mark?"
Venture shook his head.
"Okay. Here comes Paris," said Venture as he hit the green button.
A roadside cafe appeared
all around them a moment later. They pulled up two small shipboard chairs near
a simulation of a round sidewalk table. A man in a beret played a
romantic-sounding concertina just as a mime went down the sidewalk in the
background.
An elegant-looking girl
went down the sidewalk past them while Mark held Holly's hand. "I wish
this place was real right now."
"Yeah...me, too,"
she said. "Wish I had a dress on instead of my uniform."
"You know that's a
hazard on this ship now with IQ-9," laughed Mark.
"I'll take the risk to
keep your eyes on me," giggled Holly.
"Your eyes," said
Mark after a long pause. "They really look nice...you know that?"
"Thanks," she
said softly.
A simulated waiter brought
a bottle of champagne. It wasn't real, but Mark motioned for it to be put down.
"Oui, M'sieur"
said the waiter.
"So, what do you want
to do?" asked Holly.
"Do a toast to
us...even though it's fake."
"You're cute,"
laughed Holly as she pretended to hold up a wine glass.
"Yeah...thanks,"
said Mark. He suddenly went quiet...with his mind going back towards...
Telezart, he thought. Our time there in
her castle. Trelaina. Oh, God, can't I ever get you out of my mind?
"Mark?" asked
Holly. "Mark? What's wrong?" she asked as she looked at his shadowed
face.
"Nothing. Let's...make
our toast..."
III. MORE CABIN FEVER
Deep Space
Around the Octopus Star
Storm
Monday, February 8, 2202
1925 Hours Spacetime
"So, what do you think
of the environment on the ship lately?" asked Captain Wildstar as he lay
on a weight table in the gym doing a series of repititions with free weights.
He had no shirt on, and his sweaty, muscular chest rippled as he worked.
"Well, given that the
Marines had to break up three fights today, they're going crazy," said
Nova as she twirled on her toes in a one-piece swimsuit. She tensed, and then
kicked a workout bag hard with her right foot. "Yaaaah!" she
yelled.
"Not bad," said
Derek with a smile. "I see you're adding more judo to your Aikido
moves."
"I remember that
stupid Sparks overpowering me with his clammy hands," snapped Nova as she stood
up on her toes and kicked at the bag again. "After everything that
happened on Diamond Island, I swore to myself I'd rather go out fighting than
let myself get attacked by a bunch of yahoos. Speaking of Yahoos, there's IQ-9.
Remember the wedding rehearsal?"
"He pulled that
again?" said Derek.
Nova said, "Almost. I
got around just in time. I really let him have it, though. Next time he does
that, I swear, I should knock him on his little metal behind. That's one reason
I'm practicing," said Nova as she screamed again and kicked at the bag.
"Left a deeper dent in it this time. Good. Very good," she said with
a winning smile.
"What's the other
reason you're practicing?" said Derek as he grunted at his weights.
"Same reason you've
got your weights, Derek. I'm bored," said Nova. "Wanna spar with me?
I promise not to make it hurt."
"Not in your swimsuit,
hon," said Derek. "You're too unprotected in that."
"Yeah, you're
right," sighed Nova as she looked down at herself. The swimsuit was meant
for the ship's sunroom; it was a conservative racing suit, but it did
fit her like a second skin. Even though she was covered, a good bit of her
slender figure showed through the material.
"Nova, where is your gi,
anyway?"
"My martial arts
uniform is in the wash," giggled Nova. "After this, I'm going to the
sunroom. Want to join me? You can go like that...bare-chested."
"Whyzzat?"
"You'd be cool, and I like
looking at you like that," said Nova as, off in the corner, two Space
Marines dressed in only their green and black uniform pants went "Wooooooo."
"Button your lips,
gentlemen! This officer is taken!" snapped Derek, who noticed, with
some annoyance, that Hemsford wasn't around to control his bunch. The Marine
Group was well-disciplined when he was around, but, now and then, some members
of the Group could be a bit undisciplined.
"Yessir," they
said in unison. Nova noticed that they were whispering among themselves a
moment later. To make a point, she screamed again and kicked the bag with both
feet, landing gracefully on the mat in a somersault.
"Not bad for a lady
fighter," said one of the marines. "The Marines could use new blood,
ma'am."
"No thanks," said
Nova briskly. "I like sleeping in a bed, not in a hole someplace. Derek,
let's go."
"Okay," he said
as he threw a towel over his shoulders and picked up his shirt.
A little while later, Nova
was kneeling on top of Derek as he lay on his stomach in the sunroom, in his
uniform pants, skivvies, and nothing else. His boots and shirt sat abandoned in
a pile near the sandals Nova had kicked on for her walk to this compartment.
"You're using more
suntan lotion than usual," said Derek as he shut his eyes. Nova was busy
rubbing his bare back.
"You need plenty of
lotion and a massage," she replied cheerfully. "You've got so much
tension in your muscles!"
"About that party you
mentioned," sighed Derek. "It's a good idea...but I'm not so sure of
the timing. We don't need as much in the way of supplies as we did on our first
mission to Iscandar, so we're okay from the supply viewpoint, but..."
"Yes?"
"Didn't you and
Royster say we needed to watch the storm more carefully? Didn't you say it
seemed to be picking up this morning?"
"Last we checked it,
it had gone back down again. It is very unpredictable and more violent..."
The hatch whizzed open, and
Doctor Sane came in, in his geta and a kimono. He was followed by IQ-9,
who was himself wearing a swimsuit.
"IQ, what's the big
idea?" said Nova.
"I need my sun,
too," he said. "I need my light for my diurnal cycles, and the
ultraviolet so I can produce vitamin D."
"You're a robot, you
don't need that stuff," huffed Nova. "And what's with the swimsuit?"
"I just made it. I
just found out I can't sunbathe nude on this ship like I used to. Ha ha!"
said IQ-9 as Sane stripped off his kimono to reveal his skivvies.
Nova looked at her husband
and rolled up her eyes.
"Yeah," muttered
Derek. "IQ's definitely ninety degrees eccentric."
"IQ-9, you don't need
clothes," huffed Nova. "It's a waste of material."
"So's your swimsuit,
Nova," retorted IQ-9.
"What?" cried
Nova. "IQ...I need something on to cover myself when I catch
ultraviolet on this ship."
IQ's dome flashed like
crazy. It was obvious he was considering something in his circuits. "I
have a retort on the tip of my speaker, but I won't say it."
"Good," huffed
Nova. "Now would you let me finish my husband's back before he
burns?"
IQ's dome flashed again.
"Right. You married. Him. I'm sorry."
All of his lights went
dark.
"What's with
him?" said Derek.
"I think he shut
himself down until after you two leave," said Sane. "Nova, I think he
again realized what your wedding band means."
Nova looked at her finger.
"I think so, too. Derek, maybe we should forgive him. He's still healing,
so to speak."
"If he does that
again...don't know what I'll do," said Wildstar. Both he and his wife
shrugged.
"Derek, let's
go," said Nova. "They've got some great food in the messhall tonight.
I recommend the yakisoba."
"Why?"
"I helped Cookies make
it," she said with a smile. "We do have to go up our cabin and dress
for dinner, I believe."
"Well, let's go,"
said Derek.
He and Nova left
arm-in-arm.
Dr. Sane tapped on IQ-9's
dome. "IQ. Hey, you! They're gone. Are you reading me?"
The robot's lights came
back on as he came up out of his "sleep" mode.
"I put myself to
sleep," said IQ-9. "I can't bear to watch it when Mrs. Wildstar and
the Captain get all cuddly."
"Why not?"
"Nova and the Captain
are human beings and married. I am a...robot....I'd rather not discuss this
with you, Doctor Sane. Goodbye."
On that note, IQ-9 left.
"Wot's with him,
Doc?" asked a particularly moronic Space Marine.
"I think he's
suffering from a broken heart," said Sane thoughtfully.
"He don't have no
heart ta break," said the beetle-browed Marine, who looked like he wasn't
particularly bright as he scratched his freckled, whey-skinned cheek.
"Uh...does he?"
"The dame broke his
heart, I think, Lenny," said the other Marine. "I know one Marine who
survived the previous mission. The robot had it bad for that dame for ages, I
heard."
"I think he still
does," said Sane in a sad voice as he wiped his glasses.
TO BE CONTINUED WITH ACT THREE-"We've Gotta Get
Outta This Place..."
THERE ARE NOW 108 DAYS TO THE ARRIVAL OF EKOGARU IN EARTH'S
SOLAR SYSTEM
To return to the Introduction to the Rikasha Incident please click here