The Search for Cleo

by Aaron J. Ethridge

  “I have to go pull an engine out of the bowels of this ship,” he explained. “As much as I love you, I'd rather have his help doing it. He's stronger than you are.”

  “We could use the gravity...” she began.

  “Yes,” he interjected, “we could. Or we could us the MCB to cut it into pieces and spend days putting it back together. Or we could cut a hole in the wreck the size of The Morgan-mobile and fly down to pick it up. Or you could be reasonable and let each of the four of us do the job we're best suited to, so that we can get out of here, finish saving the universe, get married, and live happily ever after. Now, which is it going to be?”

  “Maybe if you hadn't lied to me less than an hour ago, I'd feel more like I could trust you.”

  “What's going to happen, Cleo? We're on a benign planet where nature never produced a predator that's any danger to us, we're armed to the teeth, and we're collecting junk. What are you worried about?”

  “Whatever you're trying to hide,” she explained.

  “I realize this is all my own fault,” he nodded, “but, it's still very annoying.”

  “Alright, fine, Rob,” she replied with a sigh. “Once again, we'll do it your way. But, you'd better not be lying to me for a second time today.”

  “I'm not,” he lied.

  “You two are going to check in with us every hour on the hour,” she demanded. “If you don't, we're going to come looking for you.”

  “That's perfectly reasonable,” he nodded. “Let's go Morgan.”

  The two young men parted ways with their female companions and lowered themselves once again into the derelict.

  “So,” Morgan said, as they passed through a rather wide hallway, “what were you lying about?”

  “What makes you think I was lying about anything?”

  “Can we skip the banter?”

  “I didn't exactly lie,” he explained. “Although, Cleo certainly wouldn't see it that way. This ship wasn't just an exploration vessel, it was a research vessel. When I said that none of the native life here was dangerous, I was absolutely telling the truth. The lifeforms that were native to this planet were all innocuous bacteria...”

  “But the research vessel changed all that?” Morgan speculated.

  “Several of them did,” Robert replied. “During a rather prolonged break in the ion storms, the Farlinic Empire started working to terraform this planet. They introduced a number of plants, then herbivores...”

  “Then predators.”

  “That's what the ship was on its way to do when it crashed.”

  “What were the predators, and did any of them survive?”

  “The only ones we need to worry about are called dramoor,” the traveler explained, “and, I have no idea if any of them survived.”

  “What are dramoor?”

  “Imagine a spider that's about five feet in diameter with a crab-like shell and a shark's mouth.”

  “What kind of shark?”

  “Goblin.”

  “We don't really need another engine, Rob.”

  “Yes, we do.”

  Less than two minutes later, the pair stepped into a chamber that was filled with webbing and that had what appeared to be the entrance to a cavern in one of its walls.

  “No way, bro,” Morgan said, shaking his head. “We ain't going in that cave.”

  “No,” Robert agreed. “No, we're not... I wonder if the ship smashed into some natural cavern, or if something dug that out.”

  “You see these webs, right?”

  “I see them. They could be ancient.”

  “They could be brand new.”

  “I don't see any dramoor,” Robert replied, glancing over his shoulder. “Do you?”

  “I don't want to see any.”

  “Keep your light up. If one of them sees you, you'll definitely want to have seen them first.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” Morgan replied with a salute. “On a more serious note, though; let's get out of here.”

  “Agreed,” Robert replied, heading deeper into the ship.

  This quickly led the pair into another chamber that was – if possible – filled with even more webbing. Shining in the darkness ahead, Morgan thought he could make out countless insectoid eyes reflected in the gleam of his flashlight.

  “Maybe we should go back...” Robert said slowly. “There's probably more than one way to reach...”

  That was as far as he got before they were charged by innumerable giant-spider-crab-goblin-sharks. Both of them screamed involuntarily as they began retracing their steps as quickly as they could and sending bursts of nine-hundred-rounds-per-minute at the oncoming hoard of death.

  To say that Morgan was terrified would be untrue. He was far beyond terrified. In fact, he found himself hoping that, before this was over with, he wasn't going to need any of the extra underwear they didn't have on board their current ship.

  He and Robert were facing creatures of nightmare without shields, without cloth-armor, and with weapons that had relatively finite amounts ammunition. What concerned him even more than this, however, was the fact that they seemed to be surrounded. He had momentarily turned his back to the wave of death that was chasing them in order to make certain that their road to retreat was clear. It wasn't. Behind them was another pack of salivating, giant arachnoids.

  “We ain't gonna make it, bro!” Morgan cried, spinning around and doing his best to cut a road of escape for he and his companion.

  “I know,” Robert cried. “We don't have enough ammo. I really messed up major this time. Sorry, man.”

  “No problem,” Morgan replied, throwing down his empty bullpup and drawing his three-fifty-seven. “It's all been worth it.”

  At that moment, the sound of additional automatic-weapons' fire echoed through the hull of the ship. A short distance ahead, Morgan could make out the blazing barrels of the girls' guns. By some twist of fate that he would always be grateful for, Cleo had seen through Robert's ruse and she and Azure had set out behind them mere moments after they had left.

  With this additional firepower, escape became possible, if not simple. Robert fell back, taking the still-loaded weapon from Cleo's hands as soon as he reached her and ordering her to stay behind him. The four companions fought valiantly together (the girls having brought even more “extra weapons” than the boys had) until they reached one of the hallways that still had a functioning door. Morgan cranked this closed as his three companions used very nearly the last of their ammunition keeping the army of monstrosities at bay.

  “Cleo, love,” Robert said, taking her in his arms as he spoke. “I have never been so glad that you completely disregarded my express wishes.”

  “I'm glad you feel that way about it,” she replied with a smile. “You realize, of course, that I'm going to slap your teeth out when we get back to the ship.”

  “I do,” he nodded. “You have every right to.”

  “I know,” she agreed. “I'm so upset right now that I feel like I'm about to throw up. You're going to have to pay for this, Robert. I don't know exactly what it's going to take to teach you not to do things like this, but I'm going to have to do whatever it is – no matter how extreme.”

  “Why did you two lie to us?” Azure asked, her own voice not filled with its normal pleasant tones.

  “Morgan didn't,” Robert instantly explained. “He had no more idea that I was lying than you two did. Which is to say; although he suspected it, he wasn't sure.”

  “Let's go!” Cleo said with a touch of maniacal excitement. “I'm feeling very... I don't know... at the moment, and if I don't let the pressure off soon, I'm sure I'm just going to end up shooting Robert in the thigh or something.”

  Having said this, the green maiden laughed. It was an eerie, almost terrifying, laugh. Especially when one was trapped with her in a ghost ship filled with spider-sharks. The four companions quickly headed back toward The Morgan-mobile.

  The moment they reached the vessel, Cleo ripped off her helmet
(her hands shaking as she did so) before helping Robert remove his. As soon as his face was free, she drew back her arm intending, no doubt, to slap him to the floor. Instantly, he sprang on her, grabbing her by both wrists and twisting both her arms behind her back, while at the same time turning his waist so that her flying knee struck him in the hip rather than the groin. He then pulled her body up against his, and lowered his mouth to hers.

  For several seconds, she struggled against this, doing her best to scream at him. (Robert later confessed to Morgan that, at first, he was afraid she would bite him but that, when she didn't, he knew that he 'had her'.) At last, the caress of her perfect-mate's mouth began to calm her. She stopped struggling and instead began to express the joy she felt that her fiancé was still alive – even if it was entirely due to her own forethought – and in spite of his stupidity.

  “I am so sorry!” Robert cried the moment he released her. “I was completely wrong and I honestly never intend to risk my life again – no matter how slim a risk I think it may be – without discussing it with you first. Please, forgive me, dear.”

  “I forgive you,” she smiled, before taking a deep breath, letting it out in a contented sigh, and then slapping him to the floor. “I forgive you completely. But, please don't ever do that to me again. Next time, I'm afraid I'm actually going to have to shoot you. I'm just not sure how else to get through to you, Robert. I can't keep hitting you like that. I may have broken my hand.”

  “I see where you're coming from,” he replied from where he lay.

  “I'm still alive, too,” Morgan pointed out.

  “That had occurred to me,” Azure replied with a coy smile.

  “I didn't lie to either of you.”

  “I've been told.”

  “So, I can't see any reason why I would deserve to be slapped,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “Although, I think we probably should celebrate my survival.”

  “We certainly should,” she replied, raising her mouth to his.

  “Come on,” Robert said, grabbing Morgan by the shoulder after roughly a minute's worth of celebration. “We still have work to do.”

  “Like what?” the young man asked, slowly releasing his maiden.

  “Like pulling an engine.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Morgan asserted.

  “We've got to have one, Morgan,” Robert shrugged. “That's why we're here.”

  “I ain't fightin' no more dramoor, Rob.”

  “There are dramoor here?” Vox asked with an almost shocked tone.

  “Are you kidding?” Morgan chuckled. “We've got a whole derelict full of 'em.”

  Chapter 12: On the Road Again

  “The derelict isn't full of dramoor,” Robert asserted. “There couldn't have been more than...”

  This statement was interrupted by Cleo slapping him in the face again.

  “I realize I deserved that, but...” he began.

  “I'm sorry,” she almost lied, shaking her stinging hand. “For some reason, I'm having a little trouble controlling myself.”

  “Robert,” Doc said, “under the circumstances, total honesty might be best.”

  “The place is crawling with them,” the traveler replied. “If it hadn't been for the girls, we'd be dead right now.”

  Again, she slapped him.

  “That was the absolute truth,” he said, staring at her in disbelief.

  “I know,” she nodded, holding one of her hands in the other. “That time was an accident. Doc, I think I may have literally broken something.”

  “Yeah,” Robert agreed, rubbing his very red face, “like, my jaw.”

  Doc quickly inspected the maiden's hand. It wasn't broken. She had, however, busted several blood vessels.

  “Cleo, my dear,” he said, smiling at her. “I believe that Robert has once again managed to drive you to the very brink of your sanity. I want you to go lay down and do your very best to get a nap.”

  “Alright,” she replied, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Robert, if you put your life at risk while I'm not with you – in any way at all – I'm going to kill you in your sleep. I don't intend to spend the rest of my life agonizing over whether or not you're safe.”

  “I completely understand,” he smiled before leaning over to give her a quick kiss. “I absolutely promise not to do anything even moderately dangerous until after your nap.”

  Again, she slapped him.

  “I'm sorry, dear!” she exclaimed. “I think it's just something about your voice at the moment.”

  In reply, he simply nodded in silence and waved her to the door.

  “What's with her?” Morgan asked the moment she was out of earshot.

  “I've told you before,” Robert replied, “Escargotians have incredibly powerful emotions. On top of which, Cleo is really emotional – even for one of them.”

  “Plus, of course,” Azure added, “you almost got both of you killed. If Cleo hadn't slapped you, I would have.”

  “And, if neither of you girls had stepped up,” Celeste said, “I'd have done it myself.”

  “It would have been well deserved,” Robert ceded. “I'm sorry, Mama. Azure, I apologize. Can we move on now?”

  “I'm sure we can,” Vox nodded. “Dramoor, boss?”

  “Dramoor,” he admitted.

  “How did they get here?”

  “They were on the ship,” Morgan explained. “The Farlinic Empire was trying to terraform this planet.”

  “And dramoor were the predators they picked?” Vox asked.

  “I know,” Robert chuckled. “You have to admit, though, they're resilient.”

  “Why do you guys know about dramoor,” Morgan mused aloud, “when you still have no idea what those two-headed brontosauruses are called?”

  “Were there great white sharks near where you grew up?” Vox asked.

  “No. Why?”

  “You knew what they were, though?”

  “Of course,” he nodded. “Everyone on Earth knows what they are.”

  “Everyone in the galaxy knows what dramoor are,” Robert explained.

  “As well as, Kalasks,” Vox added. “Either way, what are we going to do about them, Rob?”

  “They hate the light,” he replied. “We'll just have to find a way to take enough of it with us to keep them at bay. After Cleo gets up, obviously. I don't think she'd actually kill me, but I don't see any reason to take chances at this point.”

  “So, you weren't worried about dramoor,” Morgan said, “but, you're scared of Cleo?”

  “She's far more dangerous than they are.”

  “I wonder if we could flood the engine room with sunlight,” Vox said, rubbing his chin.

  “How would we do that?” Robert asked.

  “The way the ship crashed,” Vox replied, “the engine room has just about got to be above ground. We may be able to find an access panel on the hull leading to one of the maintenance shafts. If we can, we'll be able to configure a set of holo-mirrors to get the light where we want it.”

  “Once we've driven the dramoor out,” Robert nodded, “it would just be a matter of sealing the right doors to keep them out. It's a great plan, Vox. I should have thought of it myself.”

  “Yes,” Azure agreed, “you should have. Especially considering that you had close to three weeks to come up with it.”

  “I had other things on my mind,” he replied with a wink. “Let's go find us an access panel.”

  Just over an hour later, Robert, Morgan, and Azure had discovered what they were in search of, and Vox had moved the ship to it's very edge. He then carefully extended the shields the few feet it would require for them to be able to get it opened without having to deal with spacesuits. Just before they got the panel pulled loose, Cleo walked into the room, pulled Robert up from where he was crouched working away, and slapped him in the face.

  “That's for the nightmares,” she explained before turning her attention to the access panel.

&n
bsp; After Vox told her exactly what they were doing, she slapped Robert again.

  “That's for not taking two-minutes to come up with this plan before you almost got yourself killed.”

  “I've got the feeling this is going to be a long day,” the traveler observed aloud.

  He was right. For one thing, they had a lot of work to do. For another, Cleo kept getting micro-furious at him, slapping him randomly, forgiving him (supposedly 'completely'), and insisting on sticking by his side whenever he was off the ship.

  Before they opened the panel, Vox got the holo-emitter rigged up to reflect the light of the system's star directly into the derelict ship. As luck would have it, the maintenance shaft they selected turned out to be completely empty. After a little more configuration and preparation, they opened the door to the drive-room; flooding it instantly with light. It contained nothing but engines, as it had been cut off from the rest of the ship during the crash by piles of shattered stone.

  When Cleo realized that Robert couldn't have reached the chamber, even if he had somehow managed to fight his way through the dramoor, she would have slapped him again. Fortunately for his face, they were wearing spacesuits at the moment. Unfortunately for it, she had a good memory.

  “I don't like the look of this,” Robert said, gazing down at one of the engines.

  “What do you mean?” Morgan asked. “They look brand new.”

  “They do,” the traveler nodded. “They're in perfect condition. In fact, they're still running.”

  “They're also almost out of fuel,” Azure added, glancing down at one of the panels on the drive they were inspecting.

  “Which is what I don't like,” Robert sighed.

  “They've been running for forty years?” Morgan asked.

  “So it would seem.”

  “Why doesn't the ship have any power?”

  “The ship's generators are right there,” Robert replied, pointing at a nearby pile of rubble.

  “So, they've been running all this time, doing nothing?”

  “Nothing but burning up their fuel supplies,” Azure said.

  “Then, all of this has been pointless?”

  “Not pointless,” Robert asserted, stepping over to another of the engines. “We got some spacesuits out of it, we'll be able to collect a few more bits of this and that, and, if we shut the drives down now, there may be enough fuel left between all four of them to get us to somewhere we want to go.”