by Sarah Noffke
When he’d passed through a thicket of trees, Verdok slipped into his original form, enjoying the feel of his own skin. His scales were green and camouflaged into the forest nicely. Once he’d traveled into the cave he’d made his temporary home base, Verdok’s mouth began to salivate. He’d hardly been able to tolerate the charred meat that the females of the Scowotz had offered him. The animal, whatever it was, had been roasted over a hot fire for too long, and the meat had no flavor. He needed something fresh. Something with its blood still flowing.
When Verdok slipped into the cave, the familiar smell of prey filled his nostrils. The firelight danced across the cave walls, but Verdok ignored the nuisance. As a shapeshifter, Verdok adapted easily to his environment, even when not taking on the appearance of another. The Petigrens were warm-blooded animals and needed the fire to survive, especially in this cold region.
Three Petigrens scurried around the open cave, as Verdok slithered into the area and coiled his long tail around his body. They looked up startled, moving backward before correcting themselves and bowing low. Their instinct told them to fear him, but it was their law that told the Petigrens to serve Verdok. A law that the Saverus had created.
“Master! Master!” the Petigrens said in unison between clucking noises. They scurried around, picking up rocks and then dropping them. Digging into satchels while looking around bewildered. The Petigrens were the size of small men, but they had the ears, whiskers and facial features of a mouse. Tufts of hair grew in random places on their faces and body.
“Were you successful?” the first Petigren asked, bringing forward a bowl of fresh water.
Verdok ignored the offering and instead appraised the Petigren. The three had traveled with him for a week now, although when he had set out, he’d had twice the number. He might need more Petigrens soon.
“I was not, unless determining where the boy has not been is considered progress,” Verdok said.
Another Petigren rushed forward, sliding down to his knees and bowing his head. “Are you hungry, master? It would be my honor to gather food for you.”
Verdok considered the offer. The Petigrens weren’t horrible hunters, but usually what they came back with was small and unfulfilling.
“I’ll eat in a moment,” he said, feeling dirty after his short stint with the disgusting tribe.
“I ventured into the town at the bottom of the mountain,” the third Petigren said nonchalantly. Verdok spun around, his yellow eyes widening. “You did what? I told you not to leave the cave.”
“I realize that, but I figured I could be of use to you,” the Petigren stated, kneeling beside the fire, scratching at the dirt and kindling as though trying to make a bed out of the stuff.
“How did you have such a mistaken notion?” Verdok asked, swaying back and forth, his form stretching tall. Across the cave wall, the shadow of Verdok danced.
The Petigren hiccupped. “I simply went to the village and asked for help.”
“You what?” Verdok nearly exploded.
“I said that I needed a safe place, the safest,” the Petigren stuttered. The other two were now huddled together by the far wall.
Verdok didn’t say anything, instead he watched the Petigren shuffle nervously.
“As a vulnerable race, they didn’t question my requests for safety,” the Petigren explained, continuing. “And you said that the boy was sent to a safe place.”
“I did,” Verdok said, revolving to face the other two, who seemed to wet themselves from the eye contact. “Apparently, you don’t have a pea-sized brain like your brothers.”
“I assure you, we can think when allowed,” the rebellious Petigren said, regaining Verdok’s attention.
“What did you learn? Or did you only attract unnecessary attention to yourself?” Verdok asked.
The Petigren hiccupped and scuttled forward on all fours before rising to stand in front of Verdok. “I learned that there are many safe places on Nexus. The planet is considered mostly peaceful.”
Verdok’s forked tongue slipped from his mouth. “That’s not helpful. I’ve garnered that much information over the last several days.”
“But I heard rumor of a place considered safer than all the rest,” the Petigren stammered, visibly shaking, but still holding his chin upright.
“Go on,” Verdok demanded.
“The people in the village said that, for those who pose no threat, the inhabitants of Sunex welcome them into their borders,” the Petigren stated, hiccupping still. “They don’t allow savages, like those in Scowotz, or other bullies or predator types. However, they will protect those who can’t protect themselves. The people are supposed to be very peaceful, and the land absent of any dangers.”
Verdok mused on the idea. That does seem like the safest place on Nexus. Can it possibly be where the hologram sent the kid with the Tangle Thief?
“Did I do well, Master?” the Petigren asked, not at all cowering now. “Did I prove my worth to you?”
So that was what this Petigren was after? He was trying to prove he was more than a pile of bait or a servant to the Saverus.
Verdok swiveled to face the other Petigren, cowering in the corner. Even shivering in fear, they looked interested to see how this bold behavior would be interpreted. Verdok had to set a precedent. This Petigren’s behavior could have far reaching effects. He’d made himself useful by finding valuable information.
Verdok whipped around in a blur and struck the rebellious Petigren, sinking his razor-sharp fangs into the middle of its body. The rat-like man froze, his entire form rigid with fear and adrenaline. He began to convulse in Verdok’s wide jaws, which clenched his body tightly, not allowing him to move.
From Verdok’s peripheral, he spotted the usual fear from the other Petigrens as they watched one of their kind being struck. But this death served a purpose. The Petigrens were allowed to be mildly useful. They were allowed to sacrifice themselves in battle for the Saverus or to feed the greater species. But they served the Saverus. They did as they were told. What they didn’t do was go off on their own and find valuable information that would in turn make them more powerful.
Verdok’s body wound tighter around the stiff Petigren, constricting until it was in the perfect position. Then Verdok released his fangs, but kept his jaw wide as he slipped his mouth over the Petigren’s head, swallowing it whole.
Chapter Two
Brig, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System
Eddie paced back and forth in front of the bars of the cell. They’d had this area of the brig cleared out of any other prisoners, knowing that was for the best. On the other side of the metal bars, his partner, Commander Julianna Fregin, stared back at him, a doleful expression in her eyes.
“Eddie, how much longer are you going to keep me in here?” Julianna said, her tone seeking to cut him. “I love you, and you’ve locked me away. What? Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid of my love?”
Unable to control himself, Eddie launched his fist into the wall as he strode the other way. The metal of the ship crunched, caving in from the assault.
“I realize you’re angry, but I’m not trying to hurt you,” Julianna pleaded.
“Dammit! Shut up!” Eddie yelled, heat rushing to his head.
Julianna covered her face, weeping from behind the cold, metal bars. “Why are you so hostile? All I seem to do is disappoint you. No matter what I do, it doesn’t matter.”
Eddie gritted his teeth together, pressed his fingers into his palms. I am stronger than this, he told himself.
“Tell me what I want to know!” Eddie yelled, his breath hot, spilling over his lips.
Julianna pulled her hands away from her eyes, tears streaming down her red cheeks. She grabbed the bars on either side of her face. “I love you, Eddie. I love you.”
Eddie let out a guttural scream, feeling the metal deck reverberate under his feet.
The door to the brig shot open, and Julianna, the real one, stepped through. She halted at the sight of
her doppelganger behind the bars, her eyes narrowed. She halted beside Eddie, shaking her head.
“She’s fucking crying,” Julianna stated. “Please tell me you’re not falling for that bullshit.”
Eddie pressed his hand to his forehead, shaking his head back and forth. “It’s hard not to. It gets into your mind, and you forget what’s real and what isn’t. This isn’t something easy to compute.”
Julianna pulled her pistol from her holster and aimed it directly at the Saverus on the other side of the bars.
The monster held up its hands, real fear in its eyes. “You wouldn’t shoot yourself, would you?” the Saverus asked.
“Wouldn’t I?” Julianna asked matter-of-factly. “You may look like me, but you don’t know shit about what I’m capable of.”
The Saverus morphed again. It was like looking at a watercolor painting while on LSD. It took on the form of Eddie.
The imposter blinked back at them, hands up in surrender. “Hey, now. Julianna, you should shoot me. I’m not a bad guy, but I’m definitely not a good one.”
Julianna lowered her weapon, sighing.
“It’s a mindfuck game, Jules,” Eddie said, trying to console her. He’d been interrogating the Saverus for an hour and had gotten nowhere. The giant snake kept morphing into different humans it had encountered since being taken aboard Ricky Bobby. He and Julianna had really thought that, on the other side of the bars, they could resist the ploy, but it was incredibly tough to look at your partner crying and demand they answer your questions.
Looking as defeated as he felt, Julianna swiveled around to face him. “Maybe we have to give this up for a while.”
“Maybe we give it up entirely and throw this monster out the airlock,” Eddie said.
The Saverus morphed into the dog figure of Harley, looking up at them with large, brown, begging eyes.
“Fuck, when did it see Harley?” Eddie asked, throwing an arm at the thing.
Julianna let out a weighted sigh. “He was with me when I delivered its food.” She pointed to the uneaten tray of roasted chicken and boiled vegetables.
“That’s it,” Eddie declared. “Only you or I come in or out of here from now on. We don’t need it cataloguing others on the ship it can impersonate.”
The Saverus shifted into the form of Lars, the only other person it had met, when it woke up on the Q-Ship, before being sedated. “I’m not an ‘it’. I’m a ‘she’,” the Saverus said, using Lars’s voice, which made the whole thing even creepier.
“She. Oh, right,” Eddie said. “Because I want to ensure that I get your gender correct, you fucking snake.”
“As you should,” the Saverus said, an entitled tone in her voice that sounded all wrong in Lars’s usually humble tongue. “And while you’re at it, you should know that I prefer my meat uncooked. And no vegetables.”
Now that did sound like Lars, Eddie thought.
“How about we feed you when you start talking? Tell us why the Saverus want the Tangle Thief,” Julianna said blankly.
The Saverus shifted into the form of Eddie again. The imposter gripped the bars, pressing Eddie’s face between the metal. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, Jules. Anything. But I can’t tell you that. Don’t you get it? I can’t talk. I’m bound by an oath older than you or me.”
The real Eddie laughed. “Apparently you don’t know how old Jules really is.”
“Wait,” Julianna stated, staring at the replica of Eddie. “What did you say about an oath? What does that mean?”
Eddie shook his head. “Nothing that imposter says is real. What’s the point?”
Julianna didn’t look deterred, though. “She slipped up,” she said to Eddie before turning her attention back to the Saverus. “You’re bound by an oath, is that right? That’s why you can’t talk?”
“Well, and because she’s the fucking enemy,” Eddie stated at Julianna’s side.
Ignoring him, Julianna said to the Saverus, “Your kind, what they are trying to do, will have horribly devastating effects on our galaxy. If they get ahold of the Tangle Thief, then—”
“When they get it,” the Saverus said, cutting her off.
“You’re not listening,” Julianna stated, shaking her head at the form of Eddie.
Julianna turned to the real Eddie. “We need to know more about the Saverus. This is getting us nowhere. There’s something preventing this one from telling us anything.”
Eddie agreed with a nod. There was something strange about this species, and more than the fact that it could become anything at will. “Maybe Marilla will know.”
Julianna turned for the exit, Eddie at her heels. At the door, he turned around and cast a last look at the species that had created more headaches for him than all the alcohol he’d drank in his lifetime. “Just so you know, we will let you rot here. You can’t manipulate us. We will figure out how to make you talk.”
The Saverus morphed into a version of Julianna and then collapsed. She extended her hands through the bars, sputtering out a cough. “I don’t have much longer, Edward,” the Saverus said using Julianna’s voice, her tone hoarse. “Save me. Please. Don’t allow me to die.”
Eddie shook his head at the attempt to manipulate his emotions. Although he felt chill wrap around his insides, he pursed his lips.
“Ricky Bobby, you might be the only one safe from this monster,” Eddie said to the AI.
“I’ll keep a watch on the prisoner, and I’m more than happy to interrogate her when you have new questions,” Ricky Bobby said overhead.
This produced a deep scowl on the Saverus’s face. An expression he’d never seen so prevalent on the actual Julianna’s face.
“That’s a good idea, RB,” Eddie said, firing his finger at the ceiling. “Thanks.”
Chapter Three
Hatch’s Lab, Ricky Bobby, Tangki System
“Do you want to work on the DeLorean?” Hatch asked Knox.
The kid looked up from the shelves where he’d been reorganizing loose parts continuously over the last few days. He shrugged, his green eyes full of indifference. “If you want me to.”
“Damn it, Gunner,” Hatch said, holding a blowtorch in one tentacle and the helmet specifically made to fit his Londil face in another. “The DeLorean isn’t like that and you know it. That was supposed to be our project. Something we did away from all the demands of Ghost Squadron.”
Knox’s gaze drifted over to the far corner, where his father had set up a small workstation. “Maybe my dad will want to help you with the project.”
Hatch had the urge to throw the blowtorch, but he knew that was a dangerous impulse that he must quell. “Cheng isn’t a mechanic, and you damn well know it. He’s a scientist.”
Knox dropped a bolt into one of the container units and shrugged apathetically. “You used to work together, though.”
“Yes, and he took care of the science end of projects while I handled mechanics,” Hatch explained.
“So?” Knox’s voice sounded so unlike him, all of his normal respect absent.
“So, with you, I’m able to focus on the science, because your mind is naturally wired for mechanics.” Hatch paused, waiting for Knox’s defeated expression to disappear. When it didn’t, he added, “It’s a nice balance. Better than what Cheng and I had, and look at what we were able to accomplish.”
“Yeah, you created a device that tears the universe apart, and I lost it,” Knox said, his voice sounding dead. “Like I said, you need a different apprentice.”
Hatch suppressed the urge to scream. He couldn’t fault the boy, not really. It was tough when someone you cared about was going through a major loss. Hatch wanted to tell him that things would get better and that experience told him that these things would pass. Instead he said, “And I don’t need a new apprentice. I’m not allowing you to quit on me, Gunner.”
“Fine, but I don’t think you should allow me on the current project,” Knox stated.
He isn’t looking for sympa
thy, it occurred to Hatch. He fears himself.
Knox didn’t scare Hatch, though. He respected the hell out of the kid. Somehow, at the young age of ten, Knox had operated the Tangle Thief, which was impressive in itself. However, he had the sense to hide the dangerous device, figuring that bad guys were after it; unfortunately, he hid it so well that no one could find it, not even him.
“You aren’t getting out of working on the Saverus goggles,” Hatch said, shaking his head before he fitted his helmet into place. “Now hand me that damn blood sample and quit sulking.”
Knox’s eyes shot to the vial of blood from the Saverus they had imprisoned in the brig, which Julianna had delivered to them.
“I don’t have all damn day, kid!”
Hatch didn’t like having to yell at Gunner, but someone had to shake him up and tell him to stop being a baby. That’s what he’d told his own kids growing up. Now they were off on their own and doing great things, hopefully because Hatch didn’t coddle them.
Knox handed over the blood sample, a bit of interest in his gaze. “You’re using an aluminum alloy for the goggles?”
Hatch’s eyes glanced at the goggles on his workstation, the prototype he’d created that would hopefully spot a shapeshifted Saverus. “Yeah, what of it?”
Knox shrugged, a gesture he was doing a lot lately. “No reason.”
“Oh, you asked, but have zero reason for the question. Yeah, that makes sense,” Hatch said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Well, I get that the aluminum is lightweight, but due to the chemistry of the goggles, I’d think that something like a titanium alloy would be better.” Again the kid shrugged. “But what do I know?”
Hatch peered at the prototype, his mind sifting through all the relevant data. Then he picked up the goggles and dropped them in the garbage.
“Gunner, you know a hell of a lot more than you give yourself credit for. That’s why I need your help, but you’re going to have to get your head back in this game.”