COSMIC TALES 11: STAR CHILD
By
Richard C. Parr
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PUBLISHED BY
Cosmic Tales 11: Star Child
Copyright (C) 2015 by Richard C. Parr
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This particular copy of the eBook series Cosmic Tales is licensed for the enjoyment of everyone. It may be freely distributed to others without conditions. Thank you for supporting the author by downloading and reading this story.
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Star Child
Thin lime green reeds swayed in the temperate warm breeze of the summer afternoon. As beetles, flying ants and segments of petal flew apart in random directions and moved in waves with the leaning shoots, a hand carrying a scanning device hovered in a semi-circle over the top of the grass. The human legs lifted and rose high as they trudged in a non-specific pattern over the dense terrain, treading down shoots and flattening their way through the seemingly infinite growth. The scanner bleeped, then a free hand dug down and immersed itself into the thick grass, emerging with a palm full of dried, crumbling soil and no discovery. In the distance, a man lay on a towel wearing shades with a full mop of hair shielded by a top hat. He was reading a brewery magazine describing the perfect way to take over a brewery and the processes involved in making beer. He used the magazine to shield his face from the sun.
"Have you found it yet, Elwood?"
The human searching in the knee high grass stopped the scanner and turned to face the ship, the set of deck chairs and the man hard at work sunbathing on the flattened grass.
"No, but I found something more interesting, Phoenix. Come and take a look."
Wingclipper rose to his feet and made imprints in the long grass, carefully trying not to stamp on any stinging insects or suspicious looking species of creepy-crawlies. He looked over Elwood's shoulder and Elwood bent down, scooping a heavy light brown pile with a glove. Wingclipper raised his eyebrows and sunglasses, then squinted while getting a closer view of the mushy pungent pile.
"What is it?" he said, and Elwood slapped the steaming putrid brown remains into Wingclipper's open palm, removed the glove, threw it into the field and started to walk away. Wingclipper sniffed the brown remains to confirm his suspicions and wretched.
"I'm going for a nap," said Elwood, peeved at his fruitless search. "You can work hard for a while."
"Thanks a heap!" Wingclipper called out, raising a browned hand and waving to his friend. He picked up the scanner and switched it on, roaming around the grass and waiting for the humming noise to change to a series of bleeps for detection of material. If the rumours were true, the planet was scattered with the remains of ancient coins ever since a money ship blew up in the planet's stratosphere, sending coins over a wide area. Wingclipper was determined to be the first to salvage most of the coins, to trade the Chromium Bullet in for a Golden Viper and to bag himself that abandoned brewery. He licked his lips as he searched through the long grass, and then, just as he was about to give up after a vigorous twenty seconds of searching, he got the signal he had been waiting patiently for. The scanner vibrated and gave out ten consecutive bleeps that could be heard from all the way inside the ship. Wingclipper cheered and dropped to his knees, tearing reeds from their roots and covering himself in mud as he became determined to find the treasure.
Inside the ship, Elwood passed 234 in the engine room on his way down the corridor.
"Mr. Elwood, I have finished preparing the ship for takeoff."
"We're not going anywhere yet, 234. Your lunatic captain wants to dig up the planet so he can have extra coins for a game of cards. Now it would be best to make it look as if you've been working hard."
"Understood, Mr. Elwood."
"Have you seen Rodeena?"
"I believe she is practising her martial art, but it would be best not to disturb her."
Elwood continued along the corridor and pushed the button to slide open the doors to Rodeena's quarter. He walked inside to a room devoid of life, taking in the shelves, the desk and the made bed.
"Ro? Are you there?"
Elwood noticed a light coming from the bathroom and walked tentatively towards it.
"Ro?"
He waited for a few seconds and then pushed the door slightly so it opened in creaking intervals, until the bathroom came into full view. He saw Rodeena with half of her body swallowed inside the ceiling air vent with her tail lashing and nearly striking him in the face.
"Hello!"
Elwood's sudden increase in volume caused her to retreat and drop to the ground. Instead of her usual benevolent greeting, Rodeena's face was riddled with anxiety.
"Elwood...in there...take a look..." she said, grabbing his arm as she retreated.
"What's wrong? It's not like you to get completely spooked out. It's probably a rodent or a large bug."
Elwood stood on the chair and constricted his body, fitting through the vent with both arms and carrying a tiny torch. He shone the torch left, right, up and down and came to the conclusion that the shaft was empty.
"Silly girl," he said quietly. "Nothing more than a trick of the light."
As his final word came out, Elwood felt a hairy limb tap the back of his head, and instinctively, he let out a little squeal and slipped out of the vent into the bathroom. He grabbed Rodeena's arm. They looked at each other in wide-eyed horror.
"Why don't you go back up?" said Elwood.
"Me? You're the one with the weaponry. You get rid of it! What's wrong? Are you scared?"
"No. Are you?"
"...of course not."
Elwood removed his pistol and climbed on to the chair, then slowly raised his body through the hole and into the vent. With the miniature torch connected to his pistol, he aimed along the darkness of the tunnel and flicked on the power. He drew a sharp intake of breath when a creature in the distance covered its face with a hairy hand. Then, decreasing the brightness, Elwood caught the first glimpses of a creature no bigger than a child, with caked fur, worn trousers and pink ears sticking out of its teeming thick mane. An oversized pair of brown eyes squinted at the torch light and the creature showed its teeth, elongated and razor sharp at the edges. Elwood retracted back through the hole and stared at Rodeena.
"What is it? Has it gone?"
"It's still there. I'm not sure what it is. Draw your pistol. We have to be careful, or -"
A pair of hairy feet fell and landed on Elwood's shoulders and Rodeena fired as Elwood rotated quickly, trying to fend off the critter. Shots of red flew around the bathroom and singed the walls, causing smoke to rise and pollute the cabin. They coughed and spluttered, and amidst the cloud of mist, two pointy pink ears poked through from the toilet seat.
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