“W...what?” Cory snatched up a piece of orange fungus before qe could stop her, and bit into it. “Oh... wow... pumpkin pie!”
“Do you really have time for all this?” Scorpa muttered, rolling his eyes. He'd decided that their name for him wasn’t so bad; might as well discard “Cel,” his last designation, for that wasn’t him any longer. Then he looked sharply at the qild. “The Crater mind is gone, right? Too bad, kid.”
“Time?” Cory straightened and looked over at the man. “Why... is something going to happen?”
The energy entity just stared at the girl in disbelief.
*
What to say to these kiddies? Scorpa mused, glancing down at the children.The qild had stiffened in receiving his menttrans— and obviously wasn't ready to respond. I saved them for some reason, but even I don't know what that is! “Well, it's this. Do you really think your people are going to sit idly by once they've discovered that you two are gone? And are you still not aware that I'm the only one who can probably identify the minds of the telepaths on your father's starship? I was on the Andromedea in the Gozgazel System. If your dragonfly buddies here are going to look back in Alpha for your folks, you might need my help with that. If that doesn't happen soon, well, maybe they'll all be giving up on finding you—”
“Bapa would never give up!” Cory snarled, on her feet, but her qother's arm shot out to bar her from launching herself at the incarnation.
“We'll talk about Prater later,” Story replied to Scorpa, then murmured to qer sister, “He's right, we'll need him. Easy, Cory!”
Cory pushed her qother away, but plopped back down on her stool, glaring. “You're just a stowaway! What can you do? Aren't you pretty useless now?”
“Cory...” Story waved a hand in apology at the man, who looked amused.
“You don't know everything,” Scorpa murmured. “You don't know about the Eye, for one thing. And you don't know that the Defender Andromedea appeared in Hendor. Well, that's what you’ve been calling Gamma Universe, the one your father's starship uses for travel. That's why Slimy suddenly sent you into this dimension. To save you, I mattported you to Vriesia.”
Are they buying this? he wondered to himself, amused to be interacting with these small Humans instead of merely paralyzing them. He also wondered why he was bothering.
“The Andromedea was in Hendor? Gamma?” Cory asked, blanching. “Bapa!”
“You mean our father had come back for us but Slimy was going to kill us—” Story gasped.
“No, no, it's not like that!” Scorpa held up his hands in a gesture of negation. “I told you I know the minds that were on the Andromedea. Two were missing. Your father and a woman.”
“Ohhhh, right. Remember that Bapa was staying behind?” Story reminded qer sister. “And the woman... it was Major Aurand. General Cenntl told us that. I guess they're still in the Gozgazel System, after all. But if the Andromedea came to Hendor, that means they were looking for us after all... I hope.”
“What's the Eye? You mentioned that before,” Cory wanted to know.
“Hmmm, good question,” Scorpa said, but waved it away. “I have no idea. It caused all nontelepaths to blank out. Which made my job easier.”
“And what was that?” Story asked, suspicious.
The man tugged on his black leather hat, pulling it down further. And here we are... “Ah, well, Slimy had these crazy dreams of galactic conquest or something, thinking he could use an Imperial Taree Khagan to ally with him to take over your United Star Communities. Quite impossible, of course. Your Starguards would slap them down before they could do much mischief, I'm sure. It's all quite amusing.”
“I'm not amused,” Cory snapped. Then she paled, remembering something he'd said. “You mean the Andromedea is in Hendor NOW?”
“Well, probably not NOW,” Scorpa muttered, sighing. “There's nothing for them to find there now, right? I expect they've gone back to Alpha.”
“But they were in Hendor!” Story exclaimed. “I mean, Gamma! And you chose not to tell us until now?”
The man shrugged again. “What for?”
“We could have looked in that universe — we ought to do that anyway,” the Xandee spoke up. “If there's a chance they could still be there—”
“NOW?” the twins chorused together.
“I will have to signal for assistance,” Dr. Xiel murmured, once again removing the diamond shape from his sash.
While he communicated with his subordinates, the twins hastily polished off the last of the food, Story generously sharing the last of the lavender fungi. Scorpa sat hunched over, watching them — thinking.
I won't have Curhef to shield me from the Andromedea High telepaths, he mused, considering his next movements. He didn't like to think about the differences between himself and the other energy creature. Curhef possessed the ability to cross universes which he did not. Before, when he chose, he merely hid his presence from the others. In their system of measurement, I would be a Level 8 for some powers, I guess. Not that it matters; there would be differences between our species. They are consistently incarnate, for one thing, which I am not. My ability to mattmorph would be superior, while I think their ability to teleport large distances is way beyond mine. Merging I might be better. It was a simple matter to merge those few seconds with the twins and of course with low and nontelepaths.
He considered the opportunity of hanging around the Dracons longer. It might be a good idea to just lay low for a while, disappear into their society. I can't go back... but will Slimy leave me alone? I betrayed him. Well, damn! Will the Andromedea telepaths help me against him when they learn I saved the kids? It may be my best hope.
“Hey, twins,” he murmured.
Story glanced past him. “Did something creepy just say something?”
“Nah, just trash in here,” Cory muttered, glowering at the man.
“I saved your lives, remember?” Scorpa reminded them, swallowing with difficulty. Forgot that they're brats!
“Saved your hide, you mean, oh, wait, you don't really have one,” Cory replied sarcastically. “Was that supposed to erase all the bad you've done?”
“I did what I had to do. I've been a victim of Slimy, too, you know.” Scorpa pushed up the hat to see them better.
“We're all set,” the Xandee doctor spoke up abruptly. “We need to go to another laboratory, if you'll follow me?”
“This conversation isn't over,” Cory snapped at Scorpa, giving him a wide berth as she followed her twin and the Xandee.
14: Scorpa
This new “laboratory” featured only five large reclining couches. These were arranged in a semi-circle and apparently designed specifically to cradle the bodies of the Xandee so they did not have to rely on their legs to support their bodies. Perching was fine for short periods, they were told, but not for the purpose of using their exceptional perception to look into other universes. The semi-circle faced a wall which held what appeared to be a large display screen.
Zanil — they could identify him by the decorations on his sash — and another Xandee entered the laboratory behind them and immediately went to the cradles. “This is another of our associates, Qindo-xurad-el,” Dr. Xiel introduced the newcomer. He paused for a moment, then added, “She is of the gender you would call female, I suppose.”
Qindo made a gesture that resembled a wave. The twins noted that her abdomen section was noticeably shorter than in the two males. And there were — differences — in the parts at the end of the long segmented abdomen. The decorations on her sash were a little different from Zanil's. She, too, perched upon a cradle then fitted herself into it.
“Let me explain what will happen,” Dr. Xiel went on, also settling on a cradle. “Please, I know it will be awkward sitting on one of our... let's call it an envelope, I suppose. This could take time, so make yourself as comfortable as possible. We use the envelopes so we can focus entirely on our task of perception.”
>
The twins climbed up on the farthest unoccupied envelope, sitting with their legs dangling over the side. Scorpa, however, settled on the floor by the door.
As the observers watched, the Xandee all finished fitting their bodies into the envelopes, then drew a flimsy substance around them as if to form a cocoon. Dr. Xiel did not close his so he could continue to speak. “This blanket is a sensory barrier. It will keep out exterior sounds and odor. I will use a communication device to speak with you, however. Now, before us is a screen. There you will be able to see a bit of the image we will see.”
“We'll be able to see what you see? You're telepathic, then?” Story asked, eyes wide.
“No, not like you are,” the scientist was quick to explain. “Our powers extend only to interdimensional sight. In the envelope, a connection is made to our vision centers which will translate into an image on the wall screen.”
Now the twins turned their attention to the display, which was glistening around the edges. Story menttransed to qer sister, “So the 'envelope' isn't merely something to hold their bodies, They're pretty sophisticated with technology, too.”
“Mind you, it won't be a great image; we have a lot more work to do on that,” Dr. Xiel added. “Without this technology... well, I'll just say that powers in our society did not believe we even had such abilities without proof. There are still suspicions, but for now, we're allowed to work on our studies here without interference.”
“Cory, I get the feeling that this group of Xandee has been in trouble with those who don't have this ability,” Story added to qer twin.
“Yeah,” Cory replied succinctly. “I think there's a lot we don't know yet. But we have to trust them for now. And hope nothing interferes.”
“So you're basically rebels, too,” Scorpa muttered to himself.
Everyone froze. After a long pause, the Xandee scientist said, “You are correct. There are indeed elements in our society who hate us and suspect us of fraud.”
“Shut up, Scorpa,” Cory snarled. “We don't have time for that now! They have to find the Andromedea. Haven't we wasted enough time because you didn't tell us about them?”
Scorpa looked away and did not answer.
“We will answer any more questions you have about us later,” Dr. Xiel murmured. “But Velcor is right; we need to focus on finding the Andromedea now. Excuse me.” And with that, he drew the blanket up over his head, shutting out sound and sight.
Nothing happened for the next several minutes. Even though they knew the blankets would block out any sound from the Xandee, the twins were reluctant to talk aloud, not wanting to disturb them. Scorpa thought it best to shut up.
Fifteen minutes passed, and the twins felt antsy. Cory was just about to say something when suddenly there was an agitated movement under the blanket over Zanil's cradle and a crackle from a communication device. “We can't get through! But there is—”
They saw the flash of an image on the screen — and nothing more. Both twins were on their feet. “What is it?” Cory cried, hands folding into fists.
Then Dr. Xiel emerged from under his blanket, bending up out of the cradle a little, his first appendages freed. “It's recorded, so we'll show it again. There was tremendous interference! We only got a glimpse, but it was not the Andromedea. I'm afraid we'll have to rest before we can make another attempt at seeing more.”
Dismayed, the twins noted the other two Xandee emerging as well. “There was only a tiny ship, not the bigger starship,” Qindo explained, making some breathy sounds that they guessed were due to stress.
“If it were occupied, I'd say it might only hold one person,” Zanil added, also breathing heavily. “We could only see a little way inside.”
“Bapa?” Story burst out, wild with hope.
Dr. Xiel made a gesture of negation. “We've seen this man before on the Andromedea. He is very tall—”
“Bapa's tall!” Cory insisted.
“Bapa isn't supposed to be there,” Story reminded her, sagging as qe remembered.
“—with straight black hair.”
“I know who it is,” Scorpa interjected.
“What?” Cory asked, scowling at him.
“Ship's navigator. Can we see the image?” Scorpa sighed, waving at the screen.
After a moment, a fuzzy image appeared. There was a small ship, and then a quick phasing into the interior, showing the occupant.
Story exchanged glances with Cory. “Did we meet this guy? I think we met this guy.”
Before Cory could reply, Scorpa shifted position and said, “Major Stander Kvaan, a Dracon, Level 8 High telepath. Chief Navigator. He has a reputation among the crew for being rather colorless in appearance and personality. They call him the Fish.” He shrugged.
“Then Bapa sent him! I bet he's looking for us... but what's that ship?” Story murmured.
Scorpa flicked a finger at the screen. “The Elektra. A Nebulae-class starcraft used solely in the Perseus Guard, isn't it?”
The twins scowled at the man, irritated that he knew about the Guard at all. “You have been studying our people, then, haven't you?” Cory accused.
“I was bored so I looked around. So what? I’m a damn sponge. Survival mechanism.” Scorpa muttered and picked himself up off the floor to lean on the wall by the door instead, folding his arms over his chest, the fake leather cracking. “So it's a Guard craft. You know what that means, right?”
The twins didn't. “Yeah.” Scorpa sighed. “All right, so it means that a Starguard is on the Andromedea. Jaime Cenntl.”
“Jaime Cenntl is on the Andromedea?” Story asked, startled. “What?”
“Jaime!” Cory exclaimed, excitedly. “But why didn't Jaime come himself? He and Bapa are best friends. Wouldn't he be the one Bapa would send to us? We don't even know this Major Kvaan.”
“You know Jaime Cenntl... ah.” Scorpa flicked his fingers in the air in a gesture of dismissal. “Your father was Guard, wasn't he? Thought I'd heard something like that.”
Dr. Xiel waited patiently while the Humans discussed the situation. “Is the Perseus Guard some sort of government?” he asked.
“Oh, no, it's a...” Story grinned suddenly. “Well, it's a group of High telepaths who troubleshoot bad stuff happening around the USC, I guess you could say. Our father was one of them once. And Jaime Cenntl is his best friend. I guess he was helping the Andromedea out at Gozgazel.” Qer smile faded. “I really thought Bapa would have rather sent Jaime.”
“And this Kvaan has his ship,” Cory added, frowning. “Why? We gotta find out more. How soon before you can look again?”
A few gestures were exchanged between the Xandee, then Dr. Xiel responded. “I'm afraid it will be a little while. I'll see if I can contact a few others to look in the meantime. It's a holiday today, so they may not be close by. Many go to the city to see family members. Is there anything you need while we wait?”
Cory yawned abruptly. “I think we could take a nap,” Story murmured, then qe, too, yawned. “Is there somewhere we could lie down?”
“I don't think I could sleep.” Cory muttered.
But after Qindo escorted them to a room where they could make a nest of pillows on the floor to sleep upon, they did just that.
*
After the children were gone, and the other being had gone off somewhere, the three Xandee gathered in the first laboratory. Zanil addressed the others, his front appendages swiftly moving in the air in their signed language: (“I can't believe even Gon-druxa-el would disturb our peace on a holiday! What kind of a man is he?”)
The Director made a calming gesture, then replied in same, (“A disturbed one. And he believes us to be a disturbance in our society. You know he believes our research to be a threat to what he calls the Strength of Xanda.”)
“You mean the Isolation of Xanda,”) Qindo corrected.
Scorpa, who had unmanifested, had followed the Xandee to their other laboratory, ea
sily reading their surface thoughts so he could eavesdrop. Someone's got to find out what's really going on here, he considered to himself.
(“Oh, he is partially right,”) Dr. Xiel continued smoothly. (“Who knows what ideas even the little wingless ones might introduce which could bring harm?”)
(“Really!”) Zanil complained. (“They're only children!”)
(“They're aliens,”) the Director reminded him. (“As we are to them. That's the only way Druxa-el would see it.”)
(“Then we must never allow Druxa-el to know of them,”), Qindo vowed
Political unrest? How much danger are the brats in, being here? Scorpa wondered. How marginalized are these extra-perceptive Xandee? How much contact do they have with this Druxa person, anyway? It doesn't sound like a “live and let live” situation after all.
(“It may be hard to do that,”) Dr. Xiel signed. (“If the children do not have any way to return to their own dimension, they will have to stay here with us.”)
Zanil submitted, (“We could send them to the Ruena. They're somewhat similar to the Wingless Ones.”)
Oh, ho, more than one sentient species on the planet? Scorpa thought with glee. He hadn't as yet cast his perception around beyond their immediate vicinity. Or maybe on a nearby planet. This just keeps getting interesting!
(“Never!”) The Director gestured with sharp, firm signs. (“I imagine the Ruena would be as antagonistic to the children's home society as they are to our own. Gon-druxa-el, if he were to see the children, might even think they were Ruena.”)
(“Then we must prevent that at all costs,”) Qindo maintained grimly.
Dr. Xiel made a noise that their observer thought was something of a sigh. (“If we can.”)
What to do? Scorpa wondered, thinking he might have to manifest again. Bottom line: I can't go anywhere without the kids because they're my only hope to get back to their home universe. So I've got to help them. I don't see that these bugs have any space travel except insystem, so that's a dead end for me. I've got to check into these Ruena, I think... and that Druxa dude...
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