Alibi Jones

by Mike Luoma

Chapter Eight

  "The Eldred?" Doctor Krishnavurti asks, curious after Alibi and Kit relate their tale. "How very interesting," the old scientist says. "Yes. Very interesting indeed." He turns and leaves Piccolo, Kit and Alibi standing alone in his cluttered living room. They look back and forth at each other, wondering if they are supposed to follow him into the next room. Alibi shrugs and then begins to follow. He nearly crashes into Krish as the doctor reemerges with a large hunk of metal in his hands.

  "Yes, very interesting," the old man says in his somewhat high-pitched, accented voice. He seems excited. "You see this?" He holds up the hunk of metal. "From an Eldred ship. Or, it would seem to be part of an Eldred ship. But it's not the right age! There is a problem with the age of the material."

  "The age of it?" Alibi asks. "I thought the Eldred were, well... old?"

  "Indeed. A million years old," Krish confirms. "That is the problem. This," he brandishes the metallic hunk in his hands, "is almost brand new."

  Alibi grins.

  "I told her the Eldred were back," he says with victory in his voice.

  "Her?" Krish asks.

  "Aunt Anita," Alibi explains. "We told her we'd seen the Eldred."

  "And?" Krish asks, cocking an eyebrow.

  "She didn't believe us. She insisted they were all long dead. But we saw them, Krish. The Eldred are alive. That hunk of metal proves it!"

  "Not so fast," Krish cautions. "Not so fast. We cannot be sure that the Eldred made this. We only know that this would appear to be from a ship such as they used to use. Perhaps another race has found an old Eldred shipyard and somehow managed to start it back up again."

  Alibi's grin fades.

  "Oh."

  "Excuse me," Kit says, cutting in. "But an Eldred Shipyard? The Eldred were not known for new ships. They would simply repair their old ones, again and again."

  "Hmmph!" Krish says dismissively. "Mr Kit, what do you suppose they used to make those repairs? New Material! And where do you presume they made these repairs, eh?" he asks, like a professor teaching a remedial class. "Shipyards!"

  "Where did you get this?" Alibi asks the "professor." "I thought you didn't go out anymore?"

  "I have people who find these sort of things and bring them to me. Merchants I know. Explorers. Friends. When they find something they think might interest me, they acquire it and bring it to me, and I pay them for it. I have many such arrangements in place which work out well for both sides, given my limited mobility. My scavengers are recovering old Eldred tech all the time."

  "I see. So... where was this found for you?"

  "In Tek'Tah space," Krish says.

  Alibi gets excited all over again.

  "Tek'Tah space!" Alibi exclaims.

  "How is this leading to my sister?" Piccolo asks. He's been quiet, taking it all in, but finally airs his concerns. Alibi is annoyed, but turns to the man to spell it out.

  "If we can find the source of this Eldred wreckage, we could be able to pick up the trail of the ones who now have your sister," Alibi explains to him. He turns back to Krish, "It is the Eldred, isn't it?!

  "Well, Occam's Razor would cut that way," Krish says. "The simplest explanation is that the Eldred have, indeed, returned. But the simplest explanation is not always the true explanation, especially when there are so many unknowns... and contradictory evidence."

  "Such as?" Alibi asks.

  "Such as the fact the Eldred died off at the end of the war," Krish says. "We all saw it happen. World after world filled with millions of corpses, left dead save for old defense systems run amok due to lack of supervision, or plagues and sicknesses perhaps loosed and left to spread by vengeful, dying Eldred. You remember this?"

  "I heard all about it," Alibi says. "You can't grow up with Aunt Anita and not hear all about the Eldred."

  "Yes, that does make sense. You know, Alibi, you are starting to look a little more like him," Krish says to Alibi, changing the subject.

  "Him? Him who?"

  "Your father. BC," Krish explains.

  Great. Now I'm starting to look like the guy?How would I know?

  "Never knew him," Alibi cracks. "Don't think I would've liked him much."

  "I think you are wrong," Krish disagrees. "He was a very likable man. For an assassin."

  "An assassin?" Kit says, finally piping up. Even Piccolo looks interested.

  "Long story," Alibi says to Kit and Piccolo. "Tell you 'bout it some other time." He looks Kit in the eye. "Maybe after you tell me what you really did to piss off the Tek'Tah."

  Kit freezes. He stares at Alibi. Alibi tries to read Kit's furry face but can't really fathom what's going on inside his alien mind. Piccolo looks at the floor.

  "Some other time, then," Kit says, finally, after a long silence. Piccolo tries to disappear, fading away from the tension between Alibi and the cat man.

  "Yes," Alibi agrees.

  "Jeesh!" Krish lets out with a sigh of exasperation. "Didn't realize you were all so sensitive!"

  "Sorry," Alibi apologizes. "I've heard too much about 'BC' recently."

  "I see," Krish says. "Well, then, I am sorry if I have brought up a sore subject with you. Let us get back to the subject at hand. You saw Eldred on Junzias?"

  "Yesss," Kit answers him. "And a very large Eldred ship."

  "So you said, so you said," Krish confirms. "Interesting."

  "And that," Alibi points at the hunk of metal, "was found in Tek'Tah space?"

  "It was part of a ship that crashed into a planetoid in Tek'Tah space. It was unmistakably Eldred, but also unmistakably new!"

  "When did you get this? Recently?" Alibi asks.

  "Yes!"

  Alibi has a sudden flash of panic, wondering if it was their ship that crashed. The look on Piccolo's face shows he realizes what could have happened as well.

  "How recently?" Alibi says with some sense of anxiety.

  "I don't know," Krish answers. "Three, four weeks ago?"

  Alibi breathes again. Piccolo looks relieved.

  Too long ago for it to be our ship.

  "Can I look at it?" Alibi asks Krish.

  "Sure. Here," he says, handing it over. Alibi reaches for the piece of debris. As he takes it in his hands, it feels heavy. At the touch of the metal, impressions flood into Alibi's mind.

  There's something here. A presence, almost, inside of the metal, imbued in its making. Someone worked with this recently. But was it the Eldred? I can't sense that. Where was it made? I can kind of see that... an airless planet. Bright green and yellow nebula in the sky. Almost brighter than the dim yellow disc of the sun... Is that the Helix Nebula? Helix... why do I know that?

  "Alibi?"

  Alibi hears his name being called and snaps out of the slight daze he'd fallen into. He shakes off the vision.

  "Alibi, are you alright?" Krish asks with some concern.

  "I'm fine."

  I hope I am! Whoa... what just happened?

  "That was freaky," Piccolo chimes in. "Looked like you might pass out or something."

  "I just got... I don't know what to call it... kind of a flash of mental energy or something just from touching this," Alibi says. He holds up the piece of metal wreckage. He turns to Kit. "Do you know of any inhabited planets in Tek'Tah space where the Helix Nebula is visible?"

  "Several," Kit says. Alibi realizes that isn't exactly what he's looking for.

  "How about in Eldred space?"

  "I would not know," Kit admits.

  "He didn't know the Eldred had shipyards," Krish points out. "You're asking the wrong person!"

  "Why? Do you know, Krish?" Alibi asks him.

  "I can find out," he tells him. Krish retreats around the corner. "Come on!" he calls from the next room. Kit, Piccolo and Alibi walk into an area just big enough for them to fit. A tri-table dominates the space, its display hovering in the air over the table. The Helix Nebula sits in the center of the display like an elongated eye, surrounded by stars and star systems. Krish is just
barely visible on the other side of the display. As they watch, the nebula slides to one side.

  "The Eldred had several systems in this area. I'm calling up their old charts," Krish says, and part of the display lights up red. A handful of star systems glow red. "We can eliminate the closer ones. It wouldn't look like a nebula in the sky if it's too close... let's see... well, that is interesting."

  "What? Did you find something?" Alibi asks.

  "No. Even better. I found nothing," Krish answers.

  "How is that better?" Kit asks the doctor.

  "See here?" A highlighted green cube appears on the display. There's nothing in the cube.

  "I see an empty light green cube," Alibi says with a hint of disappointment.

  "Wait a second," Krish says. Suddenly, five stars appear in the box. "Depends on whose charts we use. I loaded Eldred charts. These stars weren't on them. Classic attempt to hide something. If we were using only their charts, we might be fooled. But, Jeesh, who would do that? We use charts from The Flaze, the Domo, our own charts... they'd be better off just leaving them on their charts. Was there a star nearby, in your vision? Or just the nebula?"

  "I saw a yellow sun... I think," Alibi says. But the details are beginning to fade from his memory like a dream after waking.

  "Yellow sun. Yellow sun... let's see," Krish says, talking to himself. Two of the stars in the cube vanish from the display. "It's probably one of these three systems. How big was the 'sun' you saw?"

  "Jeesh, I don't know, about this big, I think?" Alibi holds up his hand, his thumb and index finger making a small circle. Glowing yellow rings appear around each of the remaining stars.

  "Hold on," Krish says. The display blips off and the old man comes back around the table with a memstick in his hand. "Those yellow rings are the probable orbits for the location you 'saw' when you grabbed that piece of Eldred debris. Here are the charts," he says, handing Alibi the memstick and forcing the two men and the Dakhur to back out of the compact space. "Can't guarantee it, but the place you 'saw' is probably around one of those three stars."

  "I do not understand," Kit says, puzzled. "You believe what he 'saw' in his mind is real?"

  "I hesitate to bring him up again," Krish says with an apologetic look Alibi's way, "but I knew Alibi's father," Krish explains to the alien. "BC had a knack for this sort of thing. It makes sense to me that his son would, too."

  "A 'knack' for what sort of thing?" Kit asks.

  "Knowing what people are thinking, feelings that turn out to be right, visions of things, impressions, that sort of thing. Psionic sensitivity. BC insisted Dolomay had the ability, too. The Eldred finally admitted that the Ancient Enemy had highly developed mental abilities. It only makes sense that some semblance of these abilities would start to develop in the human race. I don't know why he could see anything," Krish admits, "but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt."

  "What?" Piccolo says to Alibi, in disbelief. "Now you're supposed to be some kind of psychic?"

  Alibi shrugs.

  "Not psychic," Krish corrects. "Telepathic."

  "There's a difference?" Piccolo asks.

  "I guess," Alibi shrugs again.

  "I see," Kit says, but it doesn't sound like he believes either Krish or Alibi.

  "I'm going to take the Cruiser out and check out these systems," Alibi tells the other three. He turns to Kit and Piccolo. "I can tell you guys don't really believe in this. I'm not even sure I do. I'll be glad to drop you off somewhere before I go out there."

  Kit looks from Krish to Alibi. Piccolo stares at the ground.

  "I am curious to see what is going on with the Tek'Tah and these Eldred," Kit says slowly, deliberately. "So, as far-fetched as this seems to me, I think I will continue to go with you, to see where this leads."

  "So, you're with me?"

  "Yes. I am with you," the Dakhur says.

  "So am I. Gotta find my sister," Piccolo says, looking up.

  "Alright! Let's go, then!" Alibi says triumphantly. "Thank you, Krish!"

  "You're welcome," the old man says with a smile. "Glad I could help."

  "You could come with us," Alibi offers Krish. "Might do you good to get out of the house."

  "Out of the house, maybe. But off the planet? I don't thinks so," Krish demurs. "No, I'm very happy right here, thank you very much!"

  "What would it take to get you back out into space, Krish?" Alibi asks him.

  "Hmmm," Krish considers. "If it turns out the Eldred really are back around, I might have to see that for myself," he says. "And if there's even more going on? Well, then... I would want to know what was happening..."

  "You ever need a ride, be sure to let me know," Alibi kids the old man. "I'll come pick you up."

  "Ha! Thank you, Alibi," Krish says.

  Alibi, Piccolo and Kit start to leave. Piccolo and Kit make it out the door, but Krish grabs Alibi by the sleeve before he can exit.

  "Your friend there says he's curious," Krish says in a whisper. "Don't tell him what curiosity did to the cat, eh?"

  Alibi's eyes widen.

  "Don't jinx us, Krish."

  "I'm not! The other one there? How did you end up working with that one?"

  "We met in a Tek'Tah jail," Alibi tells him. "He's looking for his sister."

  Krish squints out the doorway after the man. "Is that what he says? I don't know... I don't think you should trust him."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "It is just a feeling I have. I'm sorry. Could be nothing," he says, shaking his head. He brightens, and drops Alibi's sleeve. "Good luck," Krish tells him. "Tell your Aunt Anita I say hello!"

  "I will," Alibi says. "You could go visit her some time, you know. Just call my Wand and let me know you want to go..."

  "Get out of here!" Krish says with a laugh.

  Alibi chuckles as he turns and follows Kit and Piccolo out the door.