Jackie said, “Stop! I know where it is. I’ve been to the ship. I’ll tell you if you stop!”
The tension on Cuddy’s arm grew steadily—its radius and ulna bones beginning to bow and flex. Cuddy screamed out in agony.
Captain Holg, his interest now piqued, turned his head back toward Jackie, silently waiting for her to continue. But with the passing of every second—every microsecond—Cuddy’s pain level steadily multiplied. His screams filled the compartment, his arm on the verge of breaking in two. Through Cuddy’s tear-filled eyes, Captain Holg’s furry form was barely a blur, as was the hovering black object that suddenly appeared next to his head. Cuddy, fast blinking away tears, could now see the glowing blue light at the object’s center. Its two clawed, articulating arms, on either side of the large football-shaped construction, left little doubt that the AI orb had indeed returned.
Mere inches away, the orb’s point-blank firing of its arms’ plasma weapons eviscerated the Howsh captain’s head. Even before his lifeless body dropped to the deck, the orb was moving about, firing on the two robots.
While the tension and pain in Cuddy’s arm abated some, the orb and both robots battled on. Though they’d previously seemed somewhat meandering and clumsy in their movements, the robots now moved with the same lightning speed as the orb. Armed with their own integrated plasma weaponry, they were firing indiscriminately—red energy bolts coursed through the air. Cuddy heard Jackie scream out something. She was no longer in his field of vision, but he knew she’d been hit. He flinched as a series of plasma fire whizzed by him, inches from his own face.
The two robots, effectively working together, maneuvered the AI orb into the far back corner of the compartment. Managing as well as it could—dodging this way and that—the orb was clearly losing the battle. Never designed or intended for war, it was clearly outmatched.
In the short period of time Cuddy and the orb had interacted, he’d formed a bond of sorts with it. Now, for the second time, he helplessly watched as the orb selflessly fought on in his, and the others’, behalf. It wouldn’t be long now.
Chapter 30
The AI orb had been driven down—now hovering close to the deck. Less and less it was firing back and the two Howsh robots moved in closer for the kill.
Cuddy wanted to look away. Didn’t want to watch as the inevitable ensued.
When Tow entered the compartment, it took Cuddy several moments for the realization to set in that he was actually there. He moved slowly but with purpose. For a moment Cuddy wondered if being a pacifist carried over to such things as fighting robots. But the question was quickly moot.
Tow used his two hands to direct his kinetic energy. Still firing, one of the robots rose up from the deck and hovered there a moment—then it was careening across the compartment while picking up more and more speed along its trajectory. By the time it careened into the farthest bulkhead, it was a blur of motion. It hit with enough force to shake the entire ship—enough inertia for the robot’s mechanical limbs to separate from its torso. For all of its intelligent processes to forever be quelled.
Tow brought his attention back to the other robot who, seeming distracted by the demise of his brethren bot, had stopped firing on the AI orb. With his hands raised higher now—fingers outstretched—Tow quickly pulled his arms apart in separate directions. The robot dismantled into a thousand pieces—like junkyard scrap metal—components pulled away—to eventually fall harmlessly to the deck.
Tow slumped down to one knee, clearly drained to the point of exhaustion.
“What the hell did I just see?” Tony Bone said.
Cuddy continued to stare at Tow. Miraculously, he’d rescued them. Saved their lives. But now he was terribly weak—was struggling. He tried to reach for him to somehow comfort his ailing friend. He felt so useless. Cuddy’s thoughts turned to Jackie … He’d heard her scream. Desperately, now able to use his arms, he swung his body around until her hanging form came into view. She was alive. Alive and rubbing a blackened scorch mark on her upper shoulder. With a furrowed brow, she gave an I’ll live … smile.
* * *
Surprisingly, the AI orb, with the exception of numerous plasma blast marks, was still fully operational. Cuddy had been the first to be freed. He made the process go faster with the others by lifting them up and relieving the tension of the chain so the orb could undo the attaching clasps.
Jackie was attending Tow. He hadn’t gotten up from where he’d faced off with the two Howsh robots. He looked up as Cuddy approached.
“Please … help me to return to the Evermore. You and I have much to accomplish in a short amount of time.”
“Accomplish?”
“I had wondered about it … hoped for it … with the introduction of Pashier genetics into your physiology. That you’d posses kinetic abilities.”
Cuddy still didn’t know what Tow was talking about.
“I am aware of what you did to the Howsh … to the one who was attacking your mother. Cuddy … your mind … it can be trained.”
“Is it important … now?”
“How do you think I made it this far … on a spacecraft without weapons? The power of the mind is formidable … but it must be properly trained.”
Cuddy shook his head. “Only if there is time.”
Tow continued to stare blank-faced up at him. Cuddy saw that his body had nearly lost all of its glow.
The others moved in around them—Jackie and Kyle—and Tony Bone, who was doing his best to support the weight of his father, the sheriff—and Officer Plumkin, with his stained trousers.
Cuddy felt the weight of what he said next. “That will have to wait, Tow. I’m sorry.” Cuddy gestured to the surrounding space with his hands. “We have this ship. A ship with weapons. It can be used to fend of the other two Howsh vessels … the ones currently attacking Earth … yes?”
Tow, obviously not used to thinking in terms of inflicting violence onto others, slowly nodded. He said, “But I cannot be the one to …”
“You can show me … show us all?”
Tow said, “I do not have much time … I’m sorry, Cuddy … but yes, I will do what I can.”
Cuddy turned to the others. “I don’t know if we are the best ones to do this … especially me. But we’re here, now.”
“What are you talking about?” Tony said. “And why are you suddenly talking like you have a brain?”
Jackie said, “He’s talking about us taking this ship to fight the other two … the ones destroying cities all around the globe. And maybe it’s just you’re getting stupider.”
“Us? Are you crazy? That’s a job for the fricken military … or NASA or anyone else that knows a hell of a lot more about that sort of stuff.”
Jackie said, “In the time that it would take to get them here … the agencies you just spoke of … how many more thousands of people will die? And what about Tow here? What do you think they’ll do to him? And remember … he’s the one who just saved all of our lives.”
The sheriff cleared his throat and tried to say something. He tried again, his voice barely audible. “She’s right. We’re here …” he looked over to Tow still crouched on the deck. “If he and the flying robot can show us … we can fight.” The sheriff looked at his son. “Stop being such a pansy … stop complaining so much and help.” He coughed and dropped his head. His eyes shut and fluttered.
Tony staggered on the dead weight of his unconscious father. Cuddy saw that the sheriff’s chest continued to expand and contract with slow, shallow, breaths.
“I still think it’s crazy,” Tony said. “But I guess so is me standing here looking at a naked alien.”
* * *
With the help of Officer Plumkin and Tony, the sheriff was escorted to the lower deck and then outside. Tow was fairly certain the older human would perish soon if not given the proper medical attention. The plan was for them to borrow Momma’s automobile and drive to the hospital after Kyle first checked on his mother.
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br /> En route to the alien bridge, Tow, who’d often wondered before what the interior of the Howsh vessels looked like, was appalled. The foul space was an appropriate match for these barbaric aliens. He gazed at his surroundings, at the greasy bulkheads around them. Tuffs of errant strands of fur clung to them, as if somehow they were alive. Beneath his feet, the widely spaced grate decking had been used for bodily waste, even though more conventional waste facilities were provided on each deck. The humans had eagerly made use of those.
At present, Cuddy walked beside Tow, his arm around him adding support. “You’re going to have to tell me where to head next, Tow. So many passageways … I’m already getting lost.”
Tow knew the Howsh ship’s layout almost as well as he did the Evermore’s, since her sensors provided him with a schematic layout on the bridge viewscape display. He knew they were approaching another stairway and wondered if he had the strength to climb them. He said, “Keep going the way we’re going, Cuddy. We need to climb those stairs up ahead.”
Jackie, closely following them, was never more than several paces behind. She asked, “Are you up to piloting this ship … well enough for that, Tow?”
Tow, musing on that same issue himself, knew the answer was no. He belonged on the Evermore, along with the heritage pod. “I will show you and Cuddy the basics. Just know … even on board the Evermore … the AI orb does most of the piloting. You will have the orb with you … to assist you.”
On the landing below the stairway, Cuddy gathered Tow into his arms. Tow felt grateful to the young human that he didn’t have to ask him for help. Halfway up the stairway, Tow heard the sound of running footsteps coming from below. Kyle and Tony had returned. Cuddy, pleasantly surprised, found Rufus again at his side. He probably came back with Kyle. A moment later, the AI orb hovered near the group, then continued moving past.
Cuddy asked over his shoulder, “Kyle … how’s Momma?”
“She was struggling with one of the dead Howsh … trying to drag it outside. Tony and I helped her. Then we threw both Howsh bodies into the barn. To answer your question, she’s fine. Carries one of those alien rifles around with her … never lets go of it.”
Tow, listening to the conversation, was amazed that violence came so easily to their species. He then pointed to the right. “Turn here, Cuddy. We’re almost there.”
Jackie said, “Tony, you didn’t want to go with your father … to the hospital.”
“I thought about it. Then thought maybe I’d be of more use here … with you guys. Plus, he’s got Plumkin with him.”
Tow, only half-listening to them, strove to make a mental connection with the AI orb, something that once had been second nature. He was disheartened. His battle with the two robots had so thoroughly drained him he now, apparently, had lost that ability.
* * *
Cuddy gazed down at the frail alien in his arms, a shell of the being he’d encountered only days before. How quickly his health was declining. They climbed two more sets of stairs.
“We have reached the top level,” Tow said.
Cuddy had already come to that same conclusion.
The AI orb, hovering by the wide entrance into the compartment, said, “Cuddy Perkins, you have arrived at the bridge.”
Cuddy entered the bridge and took it all in. Somewhat larger than the bridge on the Evermore, it too seemed, like the rest of the ship, to smell awful—beyond disgusting. The overall seating was metal and the technology appeared archaic.
Tony Bone said, “So Tow, those alien assholes defeated you, huh? No offense, but nothing here looks, um, all that sophisticated.”
Tow said, “Whatever technology there is on board was pilfered from other races … other worlds. What the Howsh are most proficient at is the destruction of other civilizations. Killing off divergent life forms. For the Howsh, the mere existence of other species within the universe is an insult to their God …”
Cuddy set Tow down on one of the metal seats at the most prominent set of consoles.
“Permission, Cuddy Perkins, to activate the ship’s core systems,” the AI orb then requested.
Tony, giving Cuddy a sideways glance, queried, “Why ask him for permission?”
Jackie answered, “Because Tow is sick, as you can see. He’s handed the command of the AI orb over to Cuddy. And before you make another smartass remark, know that Cuddy’s been … transformed. He’s probably smarter than all of us, at this point.”
Cuddy wasn’t at all sure he’d agree with that assessment, though over the last few hours he was conscious of experiencing improved mental acuity. He looked warily across at Tony, still wearing two, quite dirty, white strips of tape across his damaged nose.
“Thank you, Jackie … let’s all take a seat. Tow is very tired so we only get this one chance to listen to his instructions regarding the piloting of this ship. So let’s listen up. Tow …?”
* * *
It took Tow a full hour to explain the five major systems aboard the Howsh vessel: Navigation, Environmental, Propulsion, Tactical/Weaponry, and Intelligence. In that regard, Cuddy knew their systems were similar to the Evermore, although weaponry was not part of the mix on the other ship. Quickly tiring, Tow had referred to the hovering AI orb to provide most of the more in-depth explanations, only adding a few pertinent details along the way.
Reviewing first the overwhelming amount of information thus far provided, the orb next took and answered questions. Cuddy gestured toward the various consoles around the compartment, then toward the strange-looking colorless screens. He asked, “Is there a way to change all the screen prompts over to English? And also for the ship’s AI to speak in English?”
“That has already been addressed, Cuddy Perkins.”
Tony asked, “Is there a way for you to stop saying both his first and last name every time you speak to him? I mean, if he’s now the captain … call him that. Just saying …”
“How about you just call me Cuddy, orb. You can call me captain when I’ve earned it.”
Jackie said, “Shouldn’t we go. Every minute we waste … the destruction—”
“I am sorry, but it is now time for me to leave,” Tow said. “I will need some help returning to the Evermore.”
“I’ll help you, Tow,” Cuddy said, and looking at the AI orb, added, “Do what needs to be done to ready this ship, then come join us on the Evermore.”
Chapter 31
Cuddy again picked up Tow, carrying him in his arms as they made their way back to the Evermore. Few words were spoken along the way. The wind had picked up as they left the ranch and entered the wooded pine forest. The tall evergreens violently shook and rustled around them, as if in the midst of throwing a rebellious tantrum.
The others elected to follow along, not wishing to breathe the rank air in the Howsh spacecraft any longer than necessary. Out of consideration to Tow, his failing health, they kept well back, fully aware his time was short and inappropriate for idle conversation. As they approached the Evermore, the AI orb, now joining them, drew close. Cuddy nodded to it in the direction of the ship. Immediately, the hatchway began to open, the gangway to descend.
Halfway up the ramp, Cuddy felt Tow’s gentle touch on his face. He looked down, surprised to see Tow’s arms hadn’t moved—were still down at his side.
“Thank you for this … Cuddy. You can take me below.”
“Below?” Cuddy looked at his friend and noticed he was smiling.
“It is time now … you too possess the knowledge. Knowledge that Soweng passed on to you.”
“But why now?” Cuddy asked. “Please … not quite yet, Tow, I’m not ready for you to go …”
“Now is a good time, Cuddy.”
“I’ve forgotten what to do! No … it’s best you wait.”
“Do not worry, all you need to know will come to you when the time is right. All Pashier instinctively know the Shain ritual of the rejoining.”
Cuddy hesitated at the open hatch and looked back as Ja
ckie, Kyle and Tony entered the clearing. “Would it be all right if Jackie came with us?”
“Yes. That would be fine. They all should come …”
* * *
Jackie wasn’t really sure what to expect. And, if she was honest with herself, she was more than a little freaked out. What she did know was Cuddy wanted her there and for now that would be enough. The last one to climb down to the sub-level of the Evermore, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the near-darkness. After several moments, she recognized the dark silhouettes of the others nearby. Cuddy—tall and broad—was walking toward her, with Rufus close by his side.
He said, “I’m glad you’re here, Jackie. For you to see this … be a part of it.”
When she heard the emotion in his voice, it made her want to reach out, but she held back and instead hugged herself. Cuddy, now at her side, turned to face the center of the room and gestured toward a hovering blue light in the near distance. Jackie realized it was the AI orb. Tow now lay flat on the deck and the two were conversing in low tones.
“I’m sorry … Cuddy. I don’t really know what’s going on, but I can tell you’re hurting deep inside.”
He shook his head. “I just wish I’d had more time with him. Maybe … someday.”
Now Jackie was totally confused, but she held her tongue. She reached a tentative hand out and placed it on his upper arm. He didn’t acknowledge it—his eyes steadily locked on Tow and the orb. Then, taking in a deep breath, he sighed, “It’s time.”
Jackie watched Cuddy slowly walk in the direction of the AI orb and the still faintly glowing alien. She moved closer to Kyle and Tony, and even though she couldn’t quite make out their faces in the dark, she could faintly see the two bands of white over Tony’s healing nose.
When Tony leaned in to ask Kyle, “What’s with this crazy shit?” he answered back, “Maybe if you keep quiet long enough, you’ll find out.” Jackie, thinking somewhat along Tony’s line of thought, suddenly felt it—a soft breeze lightly stirring within the space. A series of sounds—pretty musical tones—suddenly became audible around them. Placing her palms over her heart, she felt its beat—so emotionally charged that it just might burst within her chest. Then, a large, organic object appeared in the middle of the compartment, becoming fully visible. So that’s the heritage pod, she thought in solemn awe.
The Simpleton: An Alien Encounter Page 16