Keith recalled when they had left Star Screamer, there had been restrooms near the exit. It wasn't much, and it was likely to be crowded, but it was semi-secluded and in shadows. And frankly, it was all he could think of.
He raced over to Niklas and Davy. "Round these four up and head for the bathrooms off Star Screamer. Now!" he whispered to both of them. Niklas and Davy ran for the aliens and hauled them out of the area. Keith grabbed Martin and Arion, who had been furthest from the other three.
The crowd easily parted for the strange group, and as they entered the bathrooms near Star Screamer, that was pretty much more than enough to suggest to anyone in there that they would be better off seeking relief elsewhere.
"I'll chew you out about your track record on inventions later." said Keith. "We need to get out of here. Now!"
Jahv withdrew his teleportation device. "That may be a problem."
Keith just lowered his head. "Lemme guess. They're REALLY not waterproof."
"I had thought that they were." said Jahv. "But apparently not against such a soaking. They'll work — eventually — but they'll need time to dry off."
"How long?" asked Niklas.
"I can't imagine it would take more than an hour." replied Jahv.
"An hour?!" exclaimed Keith. "We can't stay in here for an hour! And somebody is going to get his wits about him and report what he saw."
"And this place is reaaaally good on security, from what I hear." added Davy.
Keith was thinking, not really looking at any of the others. "Jahv, you brought your backpack with you, right?"
"Of course."
"You still got that gizmo that made you, me, Davy, and Martin invisible that day in the Mall last summer?"
"Yes, but there's no way it can handle all eight of us." answered Jahv.
"Can it handle the four of you?" asked Keith. "Then the four of us can cover for you, and hopefully no one will pester us — too much, anyway."
"That's — possible. But there is a problem."
"Which is?" asked Keith, turning and suddenly noticing that Kahv was not wearing the backpack.
"I left the pack out by the fountains."
Keith bit his lip, realizing that letting loose a scream the likes of which he would have wished to right then would have only complicated matters. He sighed, and said, "Okay. Everybody wait here. I'll get the backpack and whatever else we left out there."
"What if you get caught?" said Martin.
"Then getting to the backpack won't make much difference, because they'll be on to all of us. But it's our best shot."
Keith stuck his head out of the restroom. It looked more or less safe. People had gotten off Star Screamer who clearly didn't know what was in the bathroom. Keith figured they'd probably gotten lucky that no one else had had to use it since they'd dashed into it. He saw no immediate sign of security. A few people milling around had looked a little unnerved, but no one seemed to be paying too much attention to the bathroom.
Maybe they figure it was some sort of park stunt, thought Keith. Good. Let 'em.
There was an arcade next to Star Screamer, attached to a souvenir shop. Keith decided to cut through these on his way to the Galactic Waves instead of plow right through the open area. The arcade and certainly the souvenir shop were busier, and Keith figured he was more likely to go undetected.
No one's going to figure a kid is smart enough to take a detour, thought Keith.
When he peeked out of the souvenir shop in the direction of the fountains, he spotted Jahv's backpack. It was off to the side, and no one was paying any attention to it. Unfortunately, no one was in the fountains, either. The cast members who'd been around before had shut down the fountains. Given the sparks Jahv and the others had thrown off when their holo-disguises had malfunctioned, they were probably making sure no one was getting electrocuted around there.
This had an advantage and a disadvantage as far as Keith was concerned. There were a lot less people milling around — but it was also obvious that something in the area wasn't quite right, and that was making people suspicious.
Still, they couldn't hide in that restroom forever. Keith hoped he could get to the backpack, conceal the four aliens, and maybe find someplace to hide until the discs dried off enough to use to get them out of the area. He hoped Davy knew of someplace they could do that. Big as Keisner Park was, there had to be someplace.
He walked over as nonchalantly as possible in the direction of Jahv's backpack. One of the straps was facing up, and Keith hoped he could loop it over his foot as he walked by and keep going. He'd pick it up and carry it as soon as possible.
He'd just gotten to the pack when two Keisner Park security guards in blue uniforms and a Keisner Park Lord-knows-what in a dark suit and sunglasses seemed to pop out of nowhere. "We'd like to have a few words with you, son — and with your friends. Where are they?"
Busted at Keisner Park. Now just how bad could a day get?
* * *
Davy was recalling everything he could think about Keisner Park. He'd read up on the place, hoping one day he'd be able to visit. He'd never figured that he'd be using that information to keep from getting caught. "Okay, if we can get out of here, there's a few places we can hide until the discs work again. There's a remote restaurant with a big lower level at the far corner of Western Realm. No one'll be there at this time of day, and it's dark and secluded."
"I am so sorry about this." said Jahv, sounding miserable. "I thought I had insulated these well enough."
"Regrets later." barked Arion. "Concern yourself with the present."
"Indeed." came a new voice. The boys turned to see the two guards and the man in the suit, standing with a miserable-looking Keith. The man in the suit continued. "You boys need to all come with us. Now."
Niklas thought of one desperate ploy. "Our parents are expecting us to meet them on Gateway Avenue in a few minutes."
"Your parents aren't here, boy." said one of the guards. "We know that as much as you know it."
The boys were taken out of the restroom and through a nearby "Security Only" door. Martin looked like he was ready to either throw up or wet himself. Keith put an arm around his shoulder. Niklas and Davy looked frightened, and so did Jahv and Keyro. Morik looked downright petrified, and Arion frankly looked like he was spoiling for a fight. If he thought the odds would have allowed it, Keith might have joined him. But both he and Arion seemed to realize that would accomplish nothing.
They eventually reached an outdoor behind-the-scenes area, and were led into a van. The back area had no windows, and no way for the boys to ascertain where they were being taken. When the van finally stopped, not long after, they were near the entrance of an office building. They were taken inside, and led to one of the larger offices. All eight were taken inside, and left alone with whoever was seated at the desk.
The large chair at the desk turned around, and a smiling man perhaps somewhere in his late 40's was seated in the chair. From the pictures Davy had seen in some books he had read, this was Paul Keisner himself. "Well, this is interesting. Two Botarans in the park."
The entire group was shocked. Jahv finally stammered. "You — you know what we are?"
The man rose and walked over to the group, looking at Arion. "And this one would be from Korras. Royalty, I'd guess, based on the arrogant expression."
Arion just scowled as hard as he could.
"And you," said the man, looking at Morik, "are either from some species that I have never encountered before, with an astounding resemblance to another, or you're absolutely the scruffiest-looking Dorrian in the long and recently-tragic history of that race."
"So who precisely are you?" asked Jahv, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
"As you've probably guessed, I'm a Botaran." said Keisner, returning to his seat behind the desk. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out an ornate pen. He twisted it and his face was transformed into that of a Botaran. Most of the facial features remained
the same, although the eyes got slightly larger, his hair turned white, his skin turned orange, and antennae appeared on his head even as his ears vanished. "My real name is Pol, son of Keis, son of Neros — etc, etc. It wasn't too hard to translate that into something a little more human-sounding."
"So how did you get here?" asked Keyro.
"Who's running this session, hmm?" asked Pol. "How did you get here?"
Keyro remained silent. Jahv wasn't sure what to say. He figured the truth was probably the best means. Granted, what he and Keyro had done, running away from home, was not looked upon very favorably by Botarans. But Pol himself had to be here pretty unofficially himself, so there wasn't much he could do about it. "We ran away from home."
Pol raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "And these other two?"
"Encountered on a later exploration." said Jahv.
"And the humans?" asked Pol.
"Friends from the start of our arrival here." finished Jahv. "Now what about you?"
Pol stood and looked out the window of his office. "I crash landed here about six years ago after running my ship through a wormhole. I landed in the desert, with no one around. Enough of the instrumentation and supplies were left intact that I was able to determine where I was, and use a teleporter to get out of the area. But I also realized that my supplies were limited and that I would somehow need to become part of human society. After a period of study and observation, I realized that my skills as a tech-developer could best be put to use in the one industry where unusual technology would not be overly suspect — the amusement park business. I was able to present some blueprints and demonstration models to some financial backers, and built this park."
"Cripes, Jahv was right." said Davy. "The place is too advanced for current technology on this planet!"
Pol smiled. "Observant, aren't you, boy?" He directed his comment at Jahv. "Of course the place was never meant to fool other Botarans. Just humans."
"And no one suspects you of being anything other than human." said Arion.
"Of course not." said Pol. "I am viewed as a brilliant genius, but something of a recluse. No real social life. So be it. After a day in this holographic disguise, my antennae start buzzing. And of course I am a sufficiently important individual within this business circle to warrant the finest security — that also knows enough to mind its own business and give me privacy from themselves even as they keep other people out."
"So why drag us here?" asked Jahv. "Why not just have us tossed out after our disguises failed?"
"Two reasons." said Pol. "I can sympathize with your plight. You're not as well off as I am. As children, you're less able to mingle with the people of this world and find a place for yourselves. I wanted to rescue you from possible further suspicion and capture by the wrong people."
"And saving the rep of your own park and making sure that none'a that 'suspicion' comes down on your head wouldn't have anything to do with it, right?" snapped Keith.
"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't something of a consideration." said Pol. "But from that basis, you're hardly the first — situation — I've had to deal with quietly around here. You're certainly the first involving people of my own race — or other offworlders. Keisner Park has a superb, almost flawless safety record."
"Almost." said Davy.
"There's always some idiot who thinks he can stand up on a roller coaster, or climb over a safety railing, or get out of a moving vehicle, and he's not going to get hurt." said Pol. "Such matters are tended to with the utmost of compassion — and the utmost of efficiency."
"You said two reasons." stated Jahv.
"I have no idea of what your existence is like on this world," said Pol. "But how would you like to stay here, with me? Work for me. Your own holographic disguises and your portable transmat units are quite impressive. And I could guarantee your safety."
"Does that include Morik and me?" asked Arion harshly.
"Of course. The Dorrian penchant for ornamentation would be a valuable asset to this park. And I've seen the architecture of your world. We could use design elements of that here."
"I'm not sure about this…" said Jahv. "These others are our friends. We don't even know you."
"I understand your hesitancy." replied Pol. "Look, why don't you all step into this other room?" Pol waved to a second doorway along a side wall of his office. "There's something to see in there that I believe will convince you to remain."
Jahv whipped out his backpack. "You don't mind if I run a sensor scan, do you?"
"Of course not." said Pol, smiling.
Jahv pulled out his scanner. "Reads as a large holographic grid. Like a holocron room. Should be safe enough."
"It could be interesting." said Keyro.
Pol walked over to the doorway, and opened it. "It's perfectly safe. Please, I think you'll be impressed."
The eight boys looked at each other. Arion and Keith clearly weren't convinced, but they all seemed to realize that there wasn't much alternative. If it would settle this entire issue and get them either out of this office and out of the park — or at least have the matter resolved — then so be it. They cautiously entered the massive room.
And Pol slammed the door behind them and sealed them in.
Keith let loose with the worst string of expletives he'd ever let fly with in his life. Arion was doing likewise in his own language, sounding like a really pissed-off hawk.
Pol's face appeared hovering above the youngsters in the darkened room. "Idiot children. I knew who you were the instant you set foot in the park. The entire place is lined with sensors to detect advanced technology. Nice landing in the men's room by the way. I suppose it could've been worse. You could've ended up in the ladies room."
Jahv cut loose with a burst of native language static that sounded no more polite than what Keith and Arion had said. "What do you mean to do with us!"
"I mean to use you to get myself off of this pathetic, backward mudball of a planet once and for all!" said Pol. "I know who you are, Jahv and Keyro. Runaways. That's a serious crime and you know it. And I have connections with one of our world's magistrates. He knows I'm here and has been prepared to keep that knowledge a secret."
"What!?" exploded Jahv. "A Botaran magistrate keeping secrets!? That's unheard of!"
"Not when it's in his best interests." said Pol. "True, I should be hauled off this world and arrested for passing along technology to a primitive culture myself, but that doesn't have the same — social relevance as dealing with a couple of well-publicized runaways. That, by the way, will be added to the charges against you. Those four humans have no business having transmat discs. Which, by the way, won't work in that shielded room, so spare yourselves the effort."
"How could you make a deal with a magistrate!?" yelled Jahv.
"When he's my brother, that's how." said Pol. "He wants to advance in his profession, and I want to return to mine and stop playing games here. Trying a couple of runaway tech-trading traitors should be just the thing for his career, and I will be the hero who after struggling to survive for years on a backwater planet was the one that found you and brought you in, along with the local natives you consorted with. That won't be too far from the truth."
"This has got to be a bluff!" snapped Arion. "How's this — " Arion made a rude noise in his throat "-expect to get the lot of us to your homeworld!?"
"I won't have to." said Pol. "My brother is stationed on a traveling trial ship. All I have to do is summon him to the proper location."
"Yeah, right." said Keyro. "Summon him to an off-limits world."
"Hardly." said Pol. "Summon him to where we'll be appearing."
The face of Pol faded, and the floor beneath the boys began to glow. "I don't believe this!"
said Jahv. "The entire floor is a transmat pad!"
"Pol!" screamed Keyro. "At least let our friends from this world go!"
But it was far too late for that.
Part 11
REVIEW: Jahv h
ad invented a portable transmat device that would allow the user to teleport anywhere on the planet. He, Keyro, Morik, and Arion, along with Niklas, Keith, Martin, and Davy, used the transmat discs to travel to Keisner Park, which had gained a reputation in a very short period of operation of being the most sophisticated, advanced theme-amusement park in the world. Holographic disguises kept the four aliens' true identities from being revealed, until the group decided to play in some nearby fountains, which disrupted the holographic disguises and kept the transmat discs from functioning. The group sought refuge in a nearby restroom until the discs could be dried enough for use. Unfortunately, Jahv had left his precious backpack out at the fountains, and Keith was caught by park security trying to retrieve it. The other youngsters were taken in shortly thereafter. They were taken to the office of the creator of Keisner Park, a man named Paul Keisner, who revealed himself to the youngsters to be of the same alien race as Jahv and Keyro, a Botaran tech-designer named Pol. Initially seeming to be friendly, he soon captured the eight children and locked them in a room that was actually one immense transmat device with interstellar range. Pol wanted to rejoin Botaran society, but realizing that he had spent a great deal of time on an «off-limits» world, needed a way back. Turning in the two runaways Jahv and Keyro and bringing them up on charges of treason by sharing their technology with the local «primitives» would be a good way to do that — especially if the Botaran Magistrate he delivered the youngsters to on board a traveling Botaran Judicial Vessel happened to be Pol's own older brother who was looking to advance his own career with a particularly spectacular case — such as two runaways who could also be charged with a particularly heinous crime by Botaran standards…
My Friend is an Alien (niklas and friends) Page 20