The Voyages of the Penelope and the Yydryl

~*~ Grief ~*~

Skipping along the ‘wet’ garden paths dotted with ponds and deep blue pools swimming with species of water plants collected from one end of the galaxy to the other Silo looked for Adam. Passing farther into the ‘dry’ rooms exploding with color from every type of wildflower under the rainbow she spied her friend amongst the blossoms and smiled. ‘Hey Doc! What’s up? Ship said you wanted to see me?’

Adam didn’t lift his eyes from the daisies springing up from their raised beds.

‘When ye lost yer Swarg, woot did ye do lass?’

Feeling like she’d been punched in the gut Silo stood shell shocked watching Adam’s hands shake while reaching for another bloom.

‘...An when the vera breath was sucked right outta yer lungs?’ Tenderly he picked another daisy, ‘...when yer own heart, that great fat silly muscle was too stoopid ta know it was dead in yer chest and went right on a’beating and would‘na quit? Woot...did ye do?’

Tears gathered in her dark purple eyes to roll unchecked down her face. Wrapping her arms around her chest and clasping her upper arms Silo’s shoulders caved in with pain. She couldn’t answer him, she didn’t know how.

‘...An when ye knew ya’d nere hear his voice again or feel his sweet warm breath on yer skin?’ Pinching at a thin small flower Silo’d long forgotten the name of she watched transfixed as Adam separated another bud from their nest of dirt leaving the long green bareheaded stems behind.

‘Adam, please, what’s wrong?’ Even whispering her voice sounded unnaturally harsh and loud in this room filled with life, death and something so dark it began to choke her.

‘What did ya do when ye was so tired yer eyes betrayed ye? Closing against yer wishes so ye dreamed of yer Swarg only ta betray ye again in opening, taking ye from the dream ya wished ta stay put in? Then what did ye do?’

Crossing around to the other side of the flowerbed Silo raised her hand to touch his shoulder but his words stopped her cold.

‘Touch me and I’ll kill ye...’ Said so matter of fact the fine hairs stood up on the back of her neck sending shivers of nerves bolting down her arms leaving the tips of her fingers stinging.

‘Adam what is it?’ But she already knew. She didn’t need him to tell her the details she just...knew. It was Dag.

‘Oh my Creator, Adam...I’m so, so...’ Her head snapped up and she checked herself without putting a finish to the platitude. Hadn’t she hated each and every person who’d told her they were ‘sorry’? Hadn’t she wanted to wipe the sad smiles from the faces of those who promised ‘time would heal the pain’? Hadn’t she wanted to scratch the very eyes out of her friends who stood by mimicking the mourning and grief that consumed her?

‘Now there’s a good lass. Ya dinna say it. Saved me snapping yer wee bony neck.’ He whispered to the flower who’s neck he did snap placing the blossom in amongst it’s dead fellows in the growing bunch clutched tenderly in his hand.

Her eyes grown round in fear Silo realized just how grave was her danger when hearing Newman call from the doorway. ‘Silo...listen to me carefully. You need to come out of there...’ Newman crooned, ‘Don’t turn your back on him, just back away and leave him be.’

‘Do as the man says lass.’ Adam’s hand closed crushing the little daisy he’d just plucked, ‘Do as he says an leave me be.’

‘Adam, I can’t,’ she cried, ‘you need help...you need...’

‘I NEED NOTHING!’ He roared and was on her in a flash. A rain of yellow white and green flashed before her eyes the flowers spinning in space as his large hand closed around her throat cutting off all breath her eyes bulging and dimming at once. Holding her off the floor by the neck as easily as if she were a kitten on the way to a drowning bucket Adam jerked her face to within a hairsbreadth of his own.

And then she saw his eyes. He’d gone mad.

‘I...need...nothing...’ He repeated - this time his breath whispered across her lips as his tongue snaked out to lick the spittle from the corners of his mouth. ‘Now ye stuborn wench you’re gonna do woot the good mon says...and go.’ Lowering her gently to her feet his grip on her neck relaxed enough for her to breath, ‘and yer not gon’ta come back ta me ‘til ye can tell me woot I must know.’

Dropping to her feet as if she’d already gone Adam picked at the torn and scattered flowers one by one. The deep growing moan rising up from his soul increasing with each crushed flower he gathered. ‘Ya poor lass... Ya poor wee Dag...’

The hands that grabbed her from behind caught Silo just before she fell. Newman swept her up in his arms ducking behind Chumley who moved to stand between the pair and the tortured U-Man on his knees gathering broken flowers.

‘Adam...’ Chumley’s voice low and reassuring nerveless held firm command, ‘Need you in Recovery Doc. You come with me now.’

Adam sprang to his feet but his shoulders remained hunched his fingers forming claws. More spittle gathered at the corners of his lips pulled back in thin vicious snarl.

‘I’m not daft you great dumb beast!’ He roared, ‘Jest shoot me you blathering lummox and be DONE WITH IT!’ Adam launched himself at Chumley who didn’t move, didn’t raise his tentacles to ward off the blows. The only sign the Regalian gave of being under attack - His eyestalks shrinking and winking down into his head like a salted slug.

Newman and Silo watched from the doorway as Adam took out his rage on Chumley battering the Regalian with his hands and feet, his head and fingernails while slavering and screaming profanities as the attack grew even more ferocious. Only when Adam staggered completely spent did Chumley wrap his bleeding and bruised tentacles around the Doctor cradling him to his massive green chest while exiting the garden rooms on the way to the Recovery Bay.

‘We've got to help him.’ Silo cried so shocked by the raging bloodbath she didn’t seem to notice she was still in Newman’s arms.

‘Silo. There’s nothing we can do. He’s gone mad.’ Feeling her body tense Newman let her slip to the ground before she could turn on him.

‘We've got to do something...we can’t just leave him like...that.‘ Moving off to follow the tormented man Silo hesitated before crossing over the hundreds of daisies littering the floor. The sickening sounds of Adam’s grief and renewed rage echoing back along Ship’s corridors stopped her in her tracks. There was no helping him. None.

In silence Silo bent and joined Newman gathering the fallen daisies into bunches all the while knowing it was too late - they were all past saving.

~*~ Crazy Dayz ~*~

A lump formed in her throat to match the heaviness in her heart. The room was cold white, padded, just like the ‘cells’ Silo had learned of on her memory discs - the only anomaly being a large seamless window providing the occupant with a view of the beyond. She couldn’t imagine locking Adam into such a place - but what were they to do with him? A U-Man gone irretrievably mad?

‘When will you bring him here Chumley?’ Silo asked of the Regalian standing just off the door his tentacles crossed over his chest refusing to even look into the sterile room.

‘I no bring him here. I refuse. Adam no need dis place. Adam needs be free.’ In his frustration the Regalian was loosing the little language skills he had.

Scrunching her eyes closed Silo wondered for a moment if he wasn’t right. Then she remembered the look in the madman's’ eyes. In Adam’s eyes, she corrected. With her hand dwarfed against the cool green of Chumley’s tentacle Silo tried to calm his fears as well as her own. ‘Chum, we can’t just let him go. He might hurt himself or he might...well, I don’t know but we can’t let him hurt himself.’

Bending at the waist Chumley snarled right in her face. ‘An you tink dat place no hurt Adam? That place KILL Adam!‘ Flinching as he brushed her hand off his skin and slammed the door to the ‘crazy pen’ - as he called it - Silo nearly burst into tears watching Chumley retreat, She knew he was right. But what were they to do! Jeni and the Girls were at a loss for ideas, Margo couldn’t get past her tears for the U-Man to make much sense - and Newman? He’d stormed off much like Chumley when learning they’d prepared a ’room’ for Adam. As for Ship? She was no help at all.

Heading back in the direction of the Recovery Bay Chumley mumbled obscenities under his breath.

‘Chumley wait!’ Trotting after him Silo tried ‘please’ but her friend didn't slow.

‘Why? You babble. You done think!’ He bellowed over his shoulder.

‘What do you want me to do then!’ She screamed at his retreating back unable to take his censure atop of everything else.

Spinning in place wasn’t easy for the huge Regalian especially in these smaller halls. Silo jumped back nimbly as his tail arched through the air only to thump to the ground like ballast tossed in opposite of his forward motion.

‘I wants you to fights for Adam like he fight for you! Like he fight for me!’ The corridors began to reek with the sickening stench of Chumley’s frustration. Silo couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen the Regalian so upset - or smelled him so.

‘Chumley, please...’ Latching onto his tentacle with a dogsjaw grip Silo let herself be pulled along tripping and nearly falling when he stormed off yet again. Her ankle twisting cruelly against his forward motion caused her to cry out. Finally the Regalian paused.

‘Ok! I stop. You talk. Make dis fast.’ Chumley’s eyes rolled on the top of their stalks giving him his own crazy look.

‘Chumley, I don’t want to lock Adam up any more than you do but we can’t keep him tied down! We can’t keep him drugged!’ Anger seeped into her words against her will, ‘You don‘t like it? Well neither do I! So how about you tell us what to do huh?‘ Having fretted beyond her own tether Silo lost hold.

‘Chumley not know!’ He roared again the force of his breath blew her hair back from her face, ‘But Chumley know NOT to use dat crazy pen room!’ Ashamed at being so ineffectual his stench was becoming unbearable.

‘I repeat! Then what do we do!‘ She screamed right back sending his eye stalks bobbling.

Chumley nearly collapsed in on himself with a groan. ‘Chumley done know, done know...‘ Gathering himself up with a valiant effort the Regalian tried again, ‘I mean. I don’t know.’ Silo did burst into tears then throwing herself against his chest holding him close as her arms could hold until the screams coming from the beyond the Recovery Bay door broke their misery.

Later, after Chumley had manhandled Adam back into submission? (Somehow he’d gotten beyond the girls defenses and righted himself from the drugs to attack). After Silo and Jeni had tended to the Twins (Tera’s broken arm, Sara’s torn and bleeding face). After they’d all stood by helpless witnessing Adam in convulsions of his private horror tear off his own eyelids then chew off his own lips? Only after did they agree as a united unit to keep the U-Man in a drug induced coma until Neno and BIAD and the others could return to Ship or until Ship had confirmation from those on the surface of the planet to leave them behind.

But the question remained. Leave the others to go where? Where could they take Adam to heal? They just didn’t know.

Nenothtu's earpiece crackled and Margo's voice came across fairly clearly after the crackling settled down establishing the connection and decoding the encryption routines. "Starwolf to neno - are you there? Got your ears on?"

Neno rolled his eyes, but decided that it would do, since the connection was encrypted anyhow, protocols didn't matter as much. The woman WAS trying, anyhow. "Nenothtu here - go right ahead Starwolf". 'Go right ahead' came out rapid and somewhat slurred together, sounding more like 'gorda head'. Margo ignored it - she was by now able to to decipher his speech fairly accurately, all things considered.

"There's been an incident aboard Yydryl. They've just reported it, and seem to be at a loss as to what to do about it."

Neno considered that while chewing his lower lip. "What SORT of incident?" He was concerned that something had gone wrong with Sslar's recovery in the medical bay, and thought that was the only reason they would have to report anything to him.

"It's Adam. He seems to have gone crazy. There have been injuries."

"Injuries?" neno queried. "What SORT of injuries? What's he done to Sslar?"

There was a pause. "Nothing about Sslar. Adam's attacked the girls, and... damaged... a couple of them as well as himself."

"What's that to do with me? If Sslar ain't involved, I've got no dog in that fight. we might need to transport her off of there if they're going all nuts on us, though."

Another pause. "There's more..."

Nenothtu sighed, and began chewing his lower lip again. "Spit it out." he said.

"Sslar isn't aboard Yydryl any more. Dag, Ben, and some of the others kidnapped her and brought her to the surface."

"They WHAT?" neno roared.

Margo went on as if he'd said nothing. "Dag is dead. that's what drove Adam over the edge, it appears. He attacked the girls, damaged a couple of them, and... neno... the man pulled his own eyelids off, and gnawed his own lips off! He sounds to have gone completely bonkers!"

Neno suddenly realized he was still gnawing on HIS own lower lip, and stopped that. "Information overload, with insufficient information, Margo. If Sslar ain't aboard Yydryl any more, then I've got no say in what they do there. I'm not their captain, or even an officer. Is Sslar there with you? How did Dag get killed?"

"No... they're not here" Margo replied. They've landed elsewhere. somewhere near another ruined city, and Dag fell into a booby trap. Some sort of underground thing - I'm not clear on all the details, but it sounded pretty horrendous."

"How did they miss our coordinates?" neno asked.

"They didn't" Margot responded. They went there on purpose."

Nenothtu huffed out a gust of breath in exasperation. This was like pulling teeth out of a chicken. "WHAT purpose?"

"They were searching out the source of a beam fired into space."

"Why?" neno asked.

"We'll never know, I suppose" Margot responded. "It was apparently Dag's idea, and she won't be explaining it."

"Alrighty, then. Get hold of the other party on the planet, and tell them to retrieve Dag's body and get on over here with Sslar - "

Margo interrupted him saying "There's nothing to retrieve. She was apparently.... dissolved... "

Neno gritted his teeth, and through them said "I TOLD y'all this was a damned dangerous place! OK then. See if you can get ahold of them and tell them to get Sslar here where we are. One big bunch has a better chance of surviving than two little bunches."

"Will do," was Margo's response, before adding "but what about Adam?"

"What ABOUT him?" neno replied. "Yydryl has her own command structure to make decisions like that. I'm not her captain - hell, I'm just as civilian as you or BIAD or Tibbs now. I've got no authority atall. Jus' between you and me, though, I'd shoot him right between the eyes at this point, an' put him outta his misery. The kinda damage he's done to himself, he ain't never gonna be right agin, anyhow. It'd be a kindness to him. Besides, what he's already done, there ain't no telling what else he might do afore they decide to pull the plug on him iffen they don' do it now. Glad it ain't MY decision to hafta make, or it'd already be done."

"Uh, neno... ?"

"What ELSE?" nenothtu said, rolling his eyes for the fortieth time in the last 5 minutes.

"Mutt is on it's way down, zeroing in on my coordinates."

"BLAST AND DAMNATION!" neno roared. "Warm up the Starwolf's guns! Start tracking Mutt with weapons, and trying to raise it on the comm. If it's Adam on his way to you, make his molecules One with the sky! Seal the boat, and don't let anyone aboard that might have chewed off most of his own face lately."

"You showed me how to use the comms, and I might be able to fly her - on a milk run - but I've no idea how to operate the guns or track incoming, neno."

Neno muttered several epithets under his breath dealing with the dubious parentage of a few ancient Norse gods, and disparaging the amorous prowess and equipment of one or two in particular before reaching a decision. He and Tibbs had been waiting on BIAD to reappear for perhaps a bit too long now, and there was work to be done elsewhere, so setting the plaque would have to wait "Aiight. I'll be back shortly Hold on to yer knickers till I get there."

"What knickers?" Margo innocently replied.

Neno looked skyward for answers - a gesture entirely lost to Margo, given the radio communications in play - and said "You pick the damnedest time to whisper sweet nothings, woman! Hold on to yer hat till I get back, then!"

"What hat?" was Margo's response to that.

"Nenothtu out and en-route" he said, cutting of communications. Then he turned to Tibbs. "I gotta git. Margo has company coming, and evidently ain't got a thing to wear. You coming, or staying and waiting some more?"

Tibbs looked at the shadowy surrounding jungle and said "I think I'll accompany you. What is it your people used to say? 'ya dance with the one that brung ye' or something to that effect. I'll stick with you rather than wait around here."

"Well let's git then. We can set the plaque another time." He picked up the little man and set Tibbs on his shoulders so he could move off at a trot. Tibbs thought better of protesting this most undignified means of transportation.

The wolves whined as neno and Tibbs trotted off into the gloom.

~*~ The Plan ~*~

‘Chumley would you just stop! You...you can’t do this!’ Silo moaned in disbelief when the Regalian went right on ignoring her. She nearly slapped her own forehead. Chumley was in his ‘making plans’ mode - there was no stopping him.

Watching as her friend tied a dark strip of cloth around his pointy forehead Silo regretted - again - Newman’s loaning the Regalian his antique collection of American sitcoms slash action movies on memory disc. Between Rambo’s perpetual oozing of testosterone and some guy named ‘Mr. T’ and the A-Team? Chumley’d gotten ideas planted in his little green pea brain which had no business being there. And to top it off he was calling everyone ‘Sucker’ and dropping his ‘r’s! She wanted to scream.

‘Ok enough! This is ridiculous big guy, you can’t...’ Silo swallowed hard when he turned his bulk on her in open mouthed agitation. One slip and the big guy could swallow her whole.

‘You say dat ‘can’t’ ones more time and I break ya arm sucka!’ Chumley stuffed another tentacle full of ammo into his already bulging backpack.

‘Yeah right,‘ Silo snorted with trained bravado, ‘you’re no more gonna break my arm than you’re gonna sprout one. Come on Chum just listen.’

Chumley‘s lips fattened thick with pout. ‘Time for talkin’ be ova! I gonna save dat Adam! You? You gonna help or you gonna stow it!’ Chumley completely dropped ‘sucka’ this time but painfully it still popped into Silo’s head as he went back to plundering the weapons lockers.

‘Jeez Chum! Would you watch what you’re doing!’ She jumped forward to catch a silencer that slipped from his grip, ’Deson would have a snit fit if he saw the mess you’re making!’ She complained trying to right the disaster in the wake of his rummaged his way through the Armory. She had to admit she really liked his choices though she though watching an incredible beautiful nickel-plated Colt 45 and one oil-slick blue H&K P7 M13 vanish hard on the butt of their matching ammunition into his backpack.

‘Deson don’t care Deson be dead. So be Adam if I done hurry. Da decoy almost touchdown to surface with da droids in U-Man suits? Soon someone know dey be U-Man suits not da real deal and den someone tell Ship.’ He grumbled and rolled his eyes. Newman warned him not to tell Silo that last part.

‘A WHAT!’ She bleated. ‘How did you get away with that! Ship grounded all outgoing vehicles over an hour ago!‘ Her eyes narrowing when Chumley didn’t answer Silo figured it out by herself. Moriah.

‘You’ve got Moriah flying a generic transport rig don’t you!’ She cried in disbelief. Chumley was going too far on all frontiers.

‘She wanna help! Dat gurl tinks it be her fault Dag be dead. Her faulty den for Adam.’ Chumley shrugged and went right on packing.

Silo cut the air with a slice of her hand. ‘That’s absolutely rubbish and you know it! Dag’s death is no more Moriah’s fault than it is yours or mine!’

Chumley turned slowly to face her head on. ‘Dat not da issue,‘ he spoke low and slow while ducking his eyestalks in order to glare directly into her purple orbs with his great dark green ones. ’I leave Ship wid Adam. I no leave dat sucka in da crazy pen. You wanna stop me den you shoots me.’ Chumley waited - his eyeballs didn’t so much as bob.

Throwing her hands in the air released her pent up exasperation. ‘Ok then where you taking him?’ Silo sighed giving in.

‘Where we take him.’ Chumley’s right eyeball closed then opened dramatically in a Chumley version of a wink. She’d capitulated ’with a fight’ just like Newman had told him she would.

‘We?’ Silo squeaked as Newman joined them.

‘Yes we. I’m going too.’ He replied. Newman - who at least had the decency to blush removed a shotgun an a flamethrower from a locker thinking twice about the flamethrower before returning it to it’s perch.

‘So you’re in on this?’ Or are you the protagonist Silo thought hands on hips before realizing how ridiculous she must look dropping her arms to her sides.

‘Yes.’ He smiled making her insides melt but not answering her, ’And you’re in on it too.’

Silo praised her quick reflexes in catching the shotgun Newman tossed her way. Exploding with pride and a sense of right Silo reached for a sling of shells. They were taking her. To save Adam. How? She didn’t know. Where they were going to take him? She didn’t know. But she was going!

Facing her two friends Silo did a little dance and slapped her palm against Chumley’s tentacle in their habitual ’high five’ her mouth spreading wide in a grin waiting to see if Chumley would include Newman in their little ritual. As if on queue Chumley raised his tentacle - Newman palmed him back a stinging slap.

‘I love dis when da plan goes together.’ Chumley chortled.

‘Comes together mate, it‘s when a plan ‘comes together.’ Newman corrected his eyes twinkling.

‘Oh Jenovah, not you too.‘ Silo groaned and reached for her own .45.

.............~~**Ominously Outfitted**~~…………….

In the wake of the toxic flush, the above-ground group stood speechless. The cloud of steam emitted from the manhole had early scattered them, all running for fresher air. It had been Wild who first approached the open hole, this time wearing a gas mask that she'd seemingly conjured up out of nowhere.

Ben was the first to come back to the alley, and Wild waved him away and shook her head, no, gravely pointing first to her head, then to a door nearby, back the direction he had come. He held up his hands and backed away. The event had been so gruesome and horrid; he had no real urge to go closer, even out of reverence for their lost friend, lest bits of Dag emerged like feathers from an exploded pillow and danced up out of the hole, buoyed by her own broth's vapors.

He turned toward the door she'd indicated and looked around, then saw Mucklebones' head leaning around the edge of the jamb. He went to her rather than return to his own hidey-hole.

"Where'n tarnation'd she git that mask?" he muttered to her. Without waiting for a response, he continued, "Ah'm thinkin' this mission was a mistake from the git go. We need ta git Sslar to neno, 's all, and then we kin leave him to his planet. Ah shore ain't gettin' in line for no citizenship, thanks very much and how's yer mother!" He started to stomp off.

"Where ya goin'?" Muckles cackled at the back of his head. "There's equipment in here!"

"To Cecilia," he said, "and outta here. Ye kin come, er not, makes no never mind ta me, but Ah'm too old to have to put up with bein' turned in ta Satan's soup. My pal neno wants his kitty -- or rather, she wants him, so Ah'm takin' her to him."

"But you don't know how to pilot Cecilia," said Muckles. She was trotting behind him, her dirty poncho flapping in the breeze. Behind her were Gert and Brittle, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Both looked a bit green, and were clearly in shock. Ben turned to look at her, and saw them.

"Aw, no. No, no. This here seems a right decent prison fer you two, and I'm thinkin' I'll jess leave ya to it. Good luck. That gal kin look after ye's."

It was Brittle who spoke next. "Sslar's not on board," he said. This stopped Ben in his tracks once again. He turned to him.

"What?!" he demanded.

Brittle continued, "I saw her, in one of the scanners. She jumped off before the ramp was all the way down."

Ben looked at Mucklbones then. "You let 'er git away?! She was near comatose, then up and about, and now she's gone?! How'd she slip past ye, witch?"

Brittle said, "She was wearing her monocle and not paying attention." Mucklebones turned and glared at him. "What," he said, spreading his hands. "You were!"

Ben barked, "Dagnab it 'n' Ah'll be go straight ta hell, which way'd she go?" To this, Brittle just shrugged.

"Er, my thinkin' is, we orta go and git us some o' that 'quipment," said Muckles. Much as she hated technology, she valued being able to breathe more, and she knew in her little grey heart that the monocle had brought her some comfort. "An' then go lookin' fer the cat," she continued. "We oughta not leave anyone behind, ye know. Bad enough about Dag...she was jess gettin' to know herself. But she'd not want us to fail the mission now, would she?"

Ben stopped and took a deep breath. "Fine!" he barked again and started back toward the warehouse. The rest followed, and into the depths of the clanking rusted building they went.

A lone gas lamp illuminated a shelf near the door, and on it was a pile of gas masks of different sorts. They each began sorting, looking for one that fit.

Mucklebones, with evident distaste, pushed aside one after another, using only one finger (and that from inside her poncho) as if the things had cooties, but then an audible gasp escaped her. Ben looked at her as she picked up from the pile a mask that was made differently than the others (which were all clearly for human heads )
"Looks almost like someone were expectin' us," she croaked with an ominous tone as she held it up for them to see. She placed it over her face, and sure enough, it was a perfect fit. So she pulled the strap around the back of her head and looked about the warehouse. The rest couldn't see her mouth hanging open, but it was.

Gert smiled with an insider's satisfaction, but said nothing.

"Hrmph," said Ben. "Just, everybody find one, eh? C'mon…" so he and Brittle and Gert continued to inspect them, and as luck would have it, each found a unit that fit them perfectly as well, as if they'd been made from casts of their very skulls.

The mask seemingly tailor-made to Brittle's face was identical to the one Wild was wearing, and he felt a spontaneous surge of joy, akin to what a young boy would feel if a pretty girl in class was assigned to be his lab partner, or his assigned "buddy" on an excursion.
Gert's was less elaborate...
And Ben's was equipped with an earcom which just happened to be "on" and picking up a signal.

And so, all outfitted, their voices muffled, they looked one another up and down. Ben said "What about the cat?" and Mucklebones lifted from under her poncho (as though embarrassed to have taken a second helping of technology) a custom-made cat-muzzle shaped mask. The rag-tag, mismatched team emerged from the warehouse then, and looked over to where Wild had been when they'd left. But she was gone.

~*~ Up Up and... ~*~

Jeni took a deep breath and leaned into the Personal Communicator Relay System built into the wall of the surgical unit. She hated the voice activated machine but the info she had to relay wasn’t for Ship’s notice. If anything she and her friends were doing their best to keep the information from Ship thus baring Jeni from using the Yydryl’s voice to voice ‘live’ intercom.

TO ATS NEWMAN: ‘Newman - We’re just wrapping up things here on our end. Luckily the wins found an invaluable step-by-step manual. A couple a tries later and we...um...succeeded in growing and reattaching those new ahhh... parts...you requested. Not a perfect job mind you but it’ll do under the circumstances. So, what’s next? Jeni out. SEND‘

Barking the ‘send’ command Jeni wondered if Newman would hear just how upset she really was.

TO STAFF - JENI: ‘Good timing Jen - we just finished up with out own preparations. All we need is ready and loaded but the... (Here he broke off not sure what to call Adam without using his name or words like ‘patient’ and/or ‘madman‘), ‘Um, well, anyway, how much time you need to package that ‘item’ for shipping? Please reply to Pip who’s waiting for your go-ahead. Newman out. SEND’

‘So we’re down to the wire.’ Newman thought leaning against the cargo bay backhanding a very annoying bead of sweat from his brow before it could dribble down into his eyes.

TO STAFF - PIP: ‘Hey Pipsqueak! All’s set and ready for a pick up ASAP. What’s your ETA? Jeni out. SEND.‘

Jumping into action Pip almost saluted the Communicator buried in the wall beside his head - He’d been waiting for this moment for what seemed like hours.

TO STAFF - JENI: ‘Be there in 6 or less. If your item’s ready to go ETA to the...um...the next destination should be just under 12. Let ATS Newman know I’m on the way. Pip out. Errr...Oh yeah...SEND!’

Rolling his eyes Pip cringed at his mistake and the cloud that hung over him all day darkened. He didn’t want to be left behind on Ship, simple, but he had no time to feel sorry for himself. Revving the engine of the Wally and kicking it into overdrive Pip sped off down the Yydryl's halls wanting to shave a minute or three off his ETA. If he was going to do the job he’d do it well no matter how bad he felt.

TO ATS NEWMAN: ‘ETA of your item - in 12. I wish I was going too. (She didn’t add). Good luck! (She did add) Jeni out. SEND.‘

To STAFF JENI: ‘Anything else we need to know? Newman out. SEND.’

Apprehension fluttered in Newman’s chest. He had no idea where Adam wanted to go but wherever it was meant he, Newman, would be leaving Ship. Again. Against her explicit wishes. Breaking his word. ‘What the hell am I doing!’

The ’beep’ of another incoming message interrupted his thoughts...

To ATS NEWMAN: ‘I’m sending your final destination with Pip at the insistence of the, um...the ‘item‘. Transport’s just arrived and...’ (Inaudible voices speaking in the background), ‘Ok, that’s it! Heads up Newman your package is on the way! Jeni out. SEND.‘

This was it. He was leaving, she thought. It was really happening.

Moving to stand before the huge window stationed between the surgical pod that had just disgorged Adam into the Mini-Wally driven by Pip and the cargo door they’d just exited on their way to Newman Jeni wiped a tear (she blamed on stress) from here eye and stared off into space her hands clasped behind her back.

Frowning sadly, her head shaking slightly from side to side Jeni repeated the word Adam whispered like a mantra over and over even under sedation...

‘Scotland‘

Who’d a thought?‘ Jeni added with another sigh the tears in her eyes doubling the already countless stars twinkling back at her from the forever night of space.

............................~You Took Your Time, Didn't You?~...............................

Tumbler II felt the hatch-door open and subdued the alarm, Mutt's camera's scanned the
crouching Man/Girl looking out across the vast area of high cloud cover. The action was
unusual for a passenger and yet, Mutt believed that this particular individual wouldn't
struggle with the rarefied air.



"Do you require a Drop-Down?" Mutt asked, the amplified voice fought the roaring rush
of the vehicle's descent and noted the slight shake of the head from Boy In A Dress, the
smiling occupant seemed preoccupied with the breathtaking scenery below them.
The Caliburn sword skidded across the Tumbler's floor and as if a magical hand had placed
it there, BIAD trialed his long nails across it's ornate quillion.
As Tumbler II checked his sensors for the location of Nenothtu and Tibbs, BIAD holding
the lethal blade of the ages -stepped out of the hatchway door.

To date, The Yydryl's use of 'computer-speak' is still in doubt, but we'll accept that the Main
Ship never taught her smaller-craft to use the more 'descriptive' humanoid colloquialisms.
"Oh crap!" Mutt called and left his programmed-course to save Boy In A Dress.

"From morn -To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve..." the voice said as the hermaphrodite
felt Khalamzadar IV's gravity tugged oddly at him, his plummet seemed stuttered and unsure.
'Maybe this planet doesn't want me?' BIAD thought mildly and waited for that comforting
voice to continue.

"... A morning star that apes the Wormwood across a forgotten sky. The head-tilted watcher
will wonder behind sleepy eyes at what terrible deed this ousted Angel performed within
those marvelous gates"

Tumbler II swooped passed and stretched his massive claws to the Being in the short dress.
Mutt cursed to himself as his left -pincer missed by a couple of inches, leaving for a better
opportunity at saving his falling passenger, Mutt notified Ship of the incident.

"Isn't this a little dramatic?" BIAD whistled through his teeth, his arms were wide -as if to
accept the eventual bone-breaking impact and yet, the imaginary 'watcher' would see a
humanoid grinning in a assumingly-suicidal attempt.
The tree canopy was glimpsed through the cold-touch clouds.
"I'm on a roll, Boy In A Dress and this is the best part" the kind voice snickered and the
host of the unknown advisor resigned himself to listen.

"They wrote that a great Red Dragon would appear and one must allow that this rejected
Angel and the scaled-creature are the same, would you not agree?" the voice asked lightly.
BIAD noticed the burned area of jungle where the Starwolf had come down and wondered
whether to mention it. "Oh yes, I would agree" he said off-handledly and eyed the distant
skin-rending branches.

"Then you must be the true Devil that pious-scribes etched on their parchments, you must
be the awful-thing that treasured free-will like squealing children holding their teeth-jarring
candies before them as they run through a Halloween night?" the voice stated logically and
yet, BIAD thought the tone was mocking.

"So I'M the bad-guy?" the Man/Girl shouted and glanced to his left, Mutt had passed... and
missed again at regaining it's passenger, The Tumbler was truly tumbling in it's endeavours.
BIAD waved a 'don't bother'-wave at the vehicle and guessed it would ignore it.

"You are Boy In A Dress, the Fool of the Tarot Cards, the candle of hope in the dark and your
powers are great. Let the humans scrawl in the limited prison of 'Good' and 'Bad' but let the
universe judge you by your path"

BIAD offered a weak smile as he spotted Tumbler II coming in on a steep dive, both claws
were at the ready, the swinging bio-hydraulic pipes that gave the huge pincers their power
were only fingertip-distance away.

BIAD grabbed at them with his sword-free hand and pulled himself close to Mutt, the odd
-feeling of a fall-cum-float left him as he adjusted his position and looked at the jutting black
spire nearby. "Welcome back-aboard" Mutt muttered lazily and eased back on his thrusters.



(Continued Below)

(Continued from Above)

"Why Boy In A Dress...? you are no longer falling, do you wish this self-flagulation of your
psyche to stop?" the mocking in the voice was obvious now and yet, there didn't seem to
be anything deceptive in the tone "Could it be that you are making a stand against your
destiny?" the old-man-rumble asked.

BIAD breathed in a gulp of air and shouted out to the sky around him "I am no longer the
one who is to be the Devil... I give up the destiny that requires me to bow to the post and
I freely acknowledge that I am now merely Boy In A Dress"

The nearing tree cover gave no indication of the dangling-being's exclamation and continued
to gather sunlight and water. However, the large animal in the swampy-waters neaby did stir
at the noise from above.

"Tumbler II...? I will no longer need your services now" the Man/Girl said softly and with that,
BIAD dropped away again, but this time the reaching foliage caught him and slowed his fall.
Boy In A Dress hit the jungle floor and watched as the Caliburn followed him, burying itself
four inches into the soft soil between BIAD's splayed-legs, the hermaphrodite reminded
himself to be more-careful with the magical blade.



The gloom of the forest and the quietness seemed to roar with it's silence, an occasional
animal would cry out, but this world seemed to belong to the lonely.
The voice came again.

"...And will you smile, Boy In A Dress...? will you lift your face from the view of those
pretty scarlet shoes and grin your grin at the cruel shades that spit at the path you walk?

If you recall the Tree Of Woe that allowed you to see the naked-man pass, the gnarled and
ancient life that held your body like the many nests among it's branches and offered you a
new trail for the search of your Father's murderers.

That tree is still there, the bark where your sweat-soaked body lay against still bears the
mark of your suspension, when fearing-folk placed you like a raggedy scarecrow upon it's
massive trunk and whispered mantras for your demise.

But as you asked those unanswered questions within that strange mane about your life and
where your place is in this vast thing we call reality, the naked-man passed your way.

Do you not see the path he treads through those nodding ferns and clinging vines? Do you
not hear the confident footfalls on the dried pine needles and dusty bracken-pods?
There is your way, beside your friends and loved-ones... it always has been.

Do you know of the White Whale, Boy In A Dress? Have you not heard the yarn of Moby Dick?
The Captain of The Pequod sought the Leviathan for his own dark reasons and he drove his
ship and crew headlong towards their deaths, lets hope you belay the urging of your
particular tiller.
But watch for the circling birds, Boy In A Dress -they will show your quest's spoor.

The trail to where you will place those rose-red shoes has always been close, you have been
tricked by those who call and whistle from the shadows. Stay true -Boy In A Dress, see with
your heart and smile the smile that lambents those shadows. Those who hoot and cat-call
will shrivel and wane like the manhoods they clutch nervously among the shrouding
shrubbery and all will be well again.

Destiny has stepped from the highway and now tarries in the back-roads that meander
through time, let's hope that this trail finds you peace"

Boy In A Dress placed his hands behind his back and waited humbly for the ghost-voice to
finish, the timbre and tone were like stroking satin or wearing silk underwear, it made one
purr.
"Now I must leave, but if I may be so bold... may I visit from time-to-time?" the voice asked,
BIAD lifted the heavy Caliburn again and held it before him. A grinning maniac roiled across
the smooth surface of the blade and among the etched rune-marks, BIAD nodded that he
would be happy to speak to the unknown voice again.



"Go on your way Boy in A Dress, you are no longer the Daemon of The Dark" and that was it,
the jungle had quietened and the Man/Girl felt all alone, but he did relish these moments.
The cold feel of something creeping sopped that elation away as BIAD turned around.

....."There were giants"......

Ben led the way as the small group headed back to Cecilia. They didn't see Wild anywhere, despite having numerous pairs of eyes seeking her. Brittle walked next to Ben. About 100 meters from Dag's final breathing place, Ben removed his mask. The others, seeing he did not sprout growths, evaporate, or swoon with toxic vapors, followed suit.

"What do you make of the girl?" Brittle asked the older man, who was by proxy now their leader.

"She seems vaguely familiar," answered Ben. "You?"

"Same here," he said, "but I'm not sure why."

"Hmmm," said Ben. "Izzat right." He walked for a few more steps, then looked at Brittle. "Well, if'n Ah didn't know you ain't all 'man' – so ta speak – Ah'd think she seems familiar to an old flame of your'n. But if that ain't the case…it's prolly just a resemb-----"

He stopped in his tracks. Cecilia was no longer cloaked. She was fully visible, and running. "Holy hell!" yelled Ben, and he ran toward the Tumbler, not sure what he would do – or could do – to keep her from departing without them. "Dammit!"

His rifle loaded, he cocked it, though Cecilia's shell was impermeable to small munitions. So was her viewing screen, but whoever was in her did not know that, and what else was he to do? He walked into view of the cockpit and peered up using his goggly eye, the other trained on his crosshairs. He saw two figures in behind the control panel. One of them was Wild, and she had a side-arm trained on the other one, who stood with hands in the air, back to the screen.

Over the shoulder of the antagonist she saw Ben and waved him aboard, not taking her eyes off of her captive. Ben went to the hatch and found it was unlocked. He turned the latch and lowered it manually, and climbed in, finger on the trigger.

"Now!" he heard Wild order. Then two boots appeared on the top rung of the ladder leading into the cargo bay. "You got him covered?" she called down to Ben from above the interloper.

"Aye," said Ben. And then he knew where he recognized her from. He grinned to himself. It would be fun explaining it to Brittle, but at the moment it was time to act.

It was a male form coming down the ladder; a very, very tall humanoid with gleaming copper hair and beard. A giant! he thought to himself, remembering the words from the first book, Genesis, of the ancient Holy Bible of Earth: There were giants in the Earth in those days…

In fact, the figure's head was still in the cockpit when his boots hit the floor of the cargo bay, and he had to stoop nearly doubled over to bring his head below as well. Ben's mouth fell open.

"Don't even think about it, old man!" Wild barked.

"Think about what?" Ben said.

"He's up to his usual. No good!" said Wild. The giant was crouched on the floor of the bay now, Ben's rifle aimed at his ear, and Wild descended the ladder.

"Who is he?" asked Ben.

"My father," said Wild. "And he's not a 'good guy'."

"Your father?" Ben repeated.

"My original father," she clarified, "to whose consort I was once again born, summoned back from the ether after my last physical death on Earth. And I've been his hostage here on this dump of a planet for years now. It was he who was firing at the ship that blew up. I tried to stop him, but, obviously, he's too strong for me to subdue."

Ben glared at the giant, then looked back at Wild. "Does he speak?"

"Rarely," said Wild. "And half of what he says is gibberish. But he says now that the One is on the planet, and that he's going to have to kill him."

"The 'One' bein' who?" asked Ben.

"How should I know?!" Wild said. "You're here. Is it you? Is it that other fellow with you? And by the way, you both seem familiar to me, and that's very strange."

"We both think so, too, but Ah kin answer that'n for ya. Later," said Ben. "Whatcha wanna do wid 'im?"

"I want to get the hell away from him, is what I want to do," said Wild.

"So, where's yer ma? Cain't she keep him under control? Or does she wanna keep ye here, too?"

"She's dead," said Wild. "In childbirth. I was the last of their daughters, and am now the only surviving one." This she hissed through gritted teeth. Her hatred of the giant was clear. He was growling, snarling and drooling, and his eyes were blank…lacking pupils or irises.

"He's blind?"

"No," said Wild. "He just pretends he is, he puts those stupid eggwhites in every morning. Says it keeps the tenas away from him. When he talks at all, but he hasn't spoken to me in weeks. I caught him loping over here while you all were in the warehouse. He'd have taken your ship."

"But you stopped him," said Ben.

"Yes," she said. "Like father, like dauther." She looked at Ben to see his reaction to her next comment. "We're pirates."

Ben smiled knowingly and nodded. Then he said simply, "Again."

.........................................~Over There And Over Here~.......................................

The huge reptilian creature slithered closer to it's unmoving prey and the Uktena drew on
all it's senses to make sure he hadn't alerted the Boy In A Dress. The mutated three-tongues
caught the forest scents and yet, no information came from the Being with the wicked-
looking sword.

That weapon was worth keeping an eye on -the Uktena pondered in it's animal-way of
thinking and raised it's grotesque head to capture it's late-afternoon meal.

....................................................

"How many here are afraid of the thing...?" said the balding-man loudly "...How long do we
have to endure these nightly visits from something that the Government can't even explain?"
Professor Shaw glanced dubiously over to where Dr. James Anton sat and saw that he too,
felt that the Moderator of this meeting was being a little too-dramatic.

It was England -1964 and a cold December day, Professor Shaw and some colleagues had been
lecturing at the nearby University of Bristol. The newspapers that were folded neatly in a
white-wired magazine-stand in the hallway of the Bed-&-Breakfast proclaimed that in their
typical British stand-offish way that something evil had come to the nearby-town of
Warminster.
The Press also agreed with what Arthur Salmon was saying now... the Government couldn't
help.

Charles Shaw sat back on the wooden-backed chair, a chair that wouldn't look out of place
in a classroom he thought and sighed at the chap in the dark ill-fitting suit attempt to whip
the usually-reserved crowd into a frenzied mob.

"I can tell you now, that I have been on the telephone -this morning to No.10 Downing Street
and asked to speak to Mr. Wilson about what's going on here..." Mr. Salmon said in a low,
ominous tone, it seemed to Shaw that this sort of public-speaking wasn't unusual to the
chubby-face man that held sway.

The crowd's interests had seemed to have picked up when the Prime Minister's name was
mentioned.
"...Mr. Wilson's Secretary told me that parties were looking into it and an announcement will
be issued shortly" he said and let his features of cynicism stay on his sweat-sheened face for
a few moments longer than Professor Shaw thought Elmer Gantry would of advised.

"May I say something?" a lady with a shock of white hair asked and urged her hefty-frame
from the small school chair. Arthur Salmon seemed to be a man who wasn't used to having
his 'flow' interupted, but still, he nodded and sat back down.
Doris Milburn told her tale.

....................................................

Boy In A Dress breathed in deeply and turned to face the monster of the swamps. The
Uktena's eyes glittered with a malevolent evil and it was only the size of the deadly fangs
that caused the victim to look away from that devilish gaze.

"Really...?" BIAD hissed and watched the blood-red-rimmed jaws widen even more, the
Uktena was fully focused on this 'snack-sized' prey before him.

The searing pain and the odd sight of the tri-tipped tongue writhing on the ground brought
both parties out of the hypnotic moment, the Caliburn went back to resting at BIAD's side
and the Man/Girl's posture changed to fight-ready.



....................................................

"The alien told me she was from a planet called Doogwa and it was a place where they tested
captive humans" Doris announced and turned to let the folks at the rear of the Village Hall
see who was talking.

The woman folded her arms across her heavy busom and waited for the customary 'oooh'
of approval. The thirty-or-so people of Warminster looked back blankly.

"Well, she had no eyes and bared huge fangs and wore one of those short dresses that they
sell in London" Mrs. Milburn added haughtily and Charles Shaw felt the room subconciously
vote that the lady in the bad cardigan was a loony.

"Shall we leave?" Dr. Anton whispered and leaned to pick up the files from beneath his
chair, his briefcase was sitting on a bench in the cloakroom along with Professor Shaw's.

He had come along at the behest of Charles because of the headlines and the fact that
the cosy Public House known as The Killing Joke Tavern in Warminster was reknown to
visiting academia as a place where a fine ale can be purchased.
A beer sounded good right now.

(Continued Below)

(From Above... not unlike BIAD's charm!)

The slaying of the Uktena with ambush on it's mind took approximately three minutes and
though BIAD had thought about Nenothtu's dealings with these creatures when he was
marooned here, it was the distant memory of his visit with his Father to England, that he
pondered on as he crushed the life out of the massive beast.

"They said I was a monster..." BIAD hissed through smiling teeth "... they called me a
'thing from space' The Uktena's huge head shook and it's body attempted to coil around
this prey-come-attacker that slashed and gouged at the underside of it's scaly belly.

....................................................

"She said I was her space-partner..." Boy In A Dress called from the bathroom "...the
woman even tried to touch my, you know... my chests" Professor Shaw looked up from
his lecture notes and peered at the closed door of where BIAD had spent the last twenty
minutes. He shouldn't have left the young Man/Girl alone.



The toilet flushed and the sound of high-heel shoes clip-clopping told Charles that the
red-dressed creature that he had become a surrogate parent to, had finished his ablutions.
BIAD appeared through a cloud of steam as he opened the door.

"There... all ready for a supper" the hermaphrodite beamed and finishing his glass of Scotch,
Professor nodded and handed BIAD the large sunglasses.

....................................................

It was the assumed-victim's size that the Uktena failed to appreciate, a small meal struggles
to escape, that is the rule, but this dirvish with the swinging sword and the lashing claws had
seemed to have skipped class when that rule was given out.

BIAD ploughed on, blood and gore spattered around the swampy area and no matter how
much the big snake-thing tried to clamp those awful-looking fangs into the fast-moving
humanoid, the Uktena was losing this battle.



"I'm gonna kill yer'..." BIAD gasped has he ripped the plated-chest area, his voice was almost
as raspy as Neno's was in full-battle flight "...ah'm gonna make yer' rue tha day yer' crossed
ole' BIADY-BIAD!" he growled with a light 'limey' tone and plunged the Caliburn deep into the
exposed flesh.

....................................................

"Excuse me?" the plump lady in the washed-out cardigan said as she tapped Professor
Shaw on the shoulder. They were enjoying a meal in The Killing Joke's snug, a room that the
Landlord -a giant of a man who combed the last of his hair from left-to-right over his sweaty
pate, had decided would double as a dining area for his American visitors.

The Steak and Mushroom pie was hot and so was the customary mashed potatoes, the gravy
was thick enough to be used as a lubricant on one of the rockets that Dr. Anton was working
on. In fact, he had mentioned it twice.

The two other patrons of the snug sat staring at their half-pints of beer, flat caps and a 'keep
yer'self-to-yer'self' look on their faces. Occasionally, they relit their unfiltered cigarettes in
unison.

"I couldn't help but notice that you were at the meeting tonight... are you from the
Government?" Doris Milburn said softly. Charles Shaw ignored the weight of the lady's
big breast on his shoulder and steeled himself not to turn around, he knew his resigned
-looking face would disappear in that ample flesh.

Mrs. Milburn smiled with her her best dentures over the table at James looking up from his
steaming pile of pie and mash, her white hair looked as if it was made from the insulation
that packed the walls of the rocket that the good-Doctor was working on back at Dugway.

"No Ma'am, we're just tourists resting in your quaint town" Dr. Anton said with a winning
grin, the young girl in the red dress between him and his male companion sat stock-still and
showed no emotion.

Doris surveyed the table and then added "Do you believe in the Warminster Thing?" She
relieved Charles of the heavy burden and stood up, it wasn't seemly to get too close to
American men -she been told.

Doris' mother had always warned her about 'the Yanks' -as she put it. "They came over here
during the war with their chocolate and nylons, many a girl was swept of their feet by those
devil-may-care Americans" she had warned.
So Doris had always took care, took care enough to never marry and never even have a
boyfriend, they're all the same -she guessed.

It was Shaw who answered the wide-hipped woman's question.

(And One-more Time... Below!)

(From Above and I'm glad you made it this far!!)

To see the fleeting passing of a green and black-striped Xang Cat can make most residents
of any planet gulp and show a face-full of shock, BIAD grinned at the glimpse and jammed
the sword deep into the back of the Uktena's head.



The beast's breathing became hitched and the twitching tail slowed to an occasional spasm,
the brute was dying. BIAD quickly clambered from it's horny neck and stepped around to
where the hideous jaws lay wide and bloody, it was one of the man-high fangs he was after.

In the shadows of a over-hanging bush, the Man/Girl did his clandestine act.
For good or bad, BIAD broke the tooth off and began his task.



....................................................

"If I may..." Professor Shaw said and offered kind eyes over the thick-rims of his spectacles
"...I think you'll find that all of this so-called 'flying dish-thing' is just wild talk about some
aircraft the Military nearby are testing" his tone was light, but his eyes showed that he was
backing up his statement with a intelligence.
Doris Milburn snorted.

"Your sowing Dragon's teeth..." she sneered and pulled the ill-fitting cardigan around her.
"... False information that'll one day come back on yer'... you can't trick ole' Dorisy-Doris"
With that, she waddled from the snug and left the seated trio staring at each other.

Later, Brian the Landord appeared with the desserts and apologised for the woman's
interruption. With a sweep of his hand to make sure the final strands of his hair were in
place, he said in a low-voice "Er, sorry about that... Doris is looked on as the village idiot,
the one we have to tolerate" and showed a weak smile.

The three bowls of apple crumble and custard steamed away as he took the half-eaten
plates of meat and potatoes away and it was only as he set down the bill -that Jim asked why
the young lassie was wearing sunglasses.

"It's hayfever... her eyes become really sensitive" Charles said curtly and the three guests
set about the hot puddings.

....................................................

The tracks were sparse, but BIAD knew that Sslar was deliberately leaving only enough of
a trail so that he could follow. With the heavy sword on his shoulder, he set off to find his
friends. The shards of the monster's fangs lay wrapped in hair on the nape of the Man/Girl's
neck.

~*~ Not quite yet... ~*~

‘Chumley? Could you come on in here a sec?’ Ship called from deep inside her quarters just as he tried to slip by the open doors undetected.

His attempt at stealth having failed miserably, the only thing left to do - he snorted squaring his shoulders dwarfing the corridor - was to stand up and be a Regalian. And if Ship happened to ask where he was going? What he was up to? He’d reach down low, pull himself up by his shorties and...lie. His shoulders dropped. Prevaricating. The thought sent his skin shriveling around the most tender parts of his anatomy.

‘Chumley?’

‘Yes Mam? He croaked from the lip of the hall still unwilling to enter her rooms directly.

‘I’m waiting...‘ She started her words diluted by the sound of rushing water before continuing, ‘And Chumley, this isn’t an official interview, no not really, I just need your opinion on...something.’ Her voice, a soft and silky cat purr enticed him over the threshold. Behind him the door slid closed with a soft hiss.

‘Yes...um...Mam...Ship,’ He stuttered eyestalks crunched close to his head not daring to look round the room. Everyone knew Silo’s healing pod had been removed her room only to be replaced by a huge bathing tub since Ship had taken over her rooms. The air, redolent of perfumed oil, water and bubbles? Well, he didn’t have to lick her skin to know she was bathing now did he? Chumley nearly backhanded himself with a tentacle. Sometimes his extraordinary ability to ‘taste’ knowledge got him more then a little tongue tied.

‘Oh, and before we continue my - personal matters - could you help me to understand something?‘ Ship was sure she heard him groan. She smiled and rushed the point. ‘You see Chum, it’s come to my attention our Adam has suffered a...breakdown of sorts.’ Her voice pattered softly through the air like rain in duo with the running water.

‘Yez Mam, er, Ship, yes, um, Adam? Yes, he haz dis liddle one,’ Chumley held up his tentacle tips as an example the bright green ends squeezed down to emulate a miniscule fraction, ‘You knowz, jus a liddle break. But Adam much better now, much better.’ ‘Better’ came out like ‘bed-her’ as he twisted his tail in a knot listening to Ship wringing a piece of washing linen free of water.

‘So you’ll not be confining Adam to that...room anymore?’ Even Ship had a hard time naming the padded cell just off the small psycho ward in back of the Recover Bay.

‘Noooooo Mam, we no need ta do dat now. No to Adam.’ He bit his tongue hard after delivering this half lie then chewed it nearly in two struggling not to look in the direction of her voice when a gush of liquid sluicing over something soft and round spoke volumes to his imagination.

When she began to hum a soft sweet tune Chumley caved. One eyestalk swiveled towards the bath followed in kind by it’s twin but whoever that was crooning to her luffa-sponge as it seethed a thick white foam - made him look a lotttt closer. It wasn’t Ship sitting in her tub, washing with her water, scrubbing at her two plump round melon like...

‘Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!’ Chumley’s attack howl shot through her chambers like a muted canon. In one terrific leap he covered the space between the door and tub landing full atop something large, muscled but also exquisitely soft and giving. Something female. Something wet, Regalian and female. Chumley opened his eyes and it was as if each of those great green beauties gracing the pages of the magazines he stuffed under his mattress each night had come to life in this one gorgeous Regalian girl. But this Regalian was alive and and and shouldn’t be lying wet and warm swathed in mists of warm fragrant steam...and the Chief Security Officer of the Yydryl!

The tub was huge but not so huge to contain the tsunami of water exploding over the rim of the bathing vessel as he reared back to take a closer look at the ‘girl’ his eyestalks narrowing to slits. Ship responded to his scrutiny with a laugh deep and satisfied. Her body shook with it sending rivulets of water over the side that filled one of his uniform boots.

‘WHO BE YOU!’ Chumley bellowed into her face giving her a moment of exquisite spine-tingling fear while showering her with a whole lot of Regalian spit she’d have to wash off as soon as he left her bath.

‘It’s me for real - I’m Ship.’ She returned shyly waiting for him to move off her but in no hurry to have him do so. Squashing her more than ample figure to his chest Ship wrapped her arms around her Chief Security Officer in order to keep from going under what little water was left in the tub.

Ship! Horrified Chumley did the only thing any self respecting Regalian could do under the circumstances. RETREAT trumpeting through his brain he exited the tub immediately slipping and falling with another huge splash in the puddles of soapy water pooling and spreading over the floor. Nevertheless he succeeded in one thing on his way down. With a quick elastic snap of his right tentacle he’d snatched the nearest bath linen hanging from a particularly beautiful wire stand nestled close to the tub and covered ‘Ship’ from his traitorous view.

‘Ship?‘ Chumley sputtered from below more than a little waterlogged and blinking furiously wishing he hadn‘t covered her quiet so well, ‘How you do all...dis?’ He made an hourglass figure with the tips of his tentacles wondering if he should bite them off when her eyebrows rose to her hairline.

‘Yes, I’m Ship,’ She laughed, ’And I’ll show you how I did all this - later.‘ Sliding up from the water the luscious green giant wrapped herself in the damp towel, extended her foot and right before his nose five of the most delightful toes he’d ever seen touched down on the sopping wet rug followed by a long expanse of green flesh beaded with water. The sight filled Chumley’s soap stung eyes until they nearly popped. The room flooded with the smell of sweet dark chocolate.

Smiling down Ship extended a long lithe muscular arm waiting for him to take her hand that replaced the status quo Regalian tentacle. Frowning Chumley felt himself pulled upright with a strength that nearly matched his own. Her power was intoxicating as her...form...he chose his words carefully even in the privacy of his own mind.

Moving behind him Ship whispered huskily just below his left ear while extending her limbs under his tentacle-pits playing the soft skin of her inner arms along the shelf of his ribs until her front - met his back.

‘See these?‘ Wiggling her fingers in front of his face she let her laugh ripple against his shoulder, ‘I chose to keep the fingers and lose the tentacles...’ She breathed a smile against the nape of his neck when he shivered and like a snake on warm slid around him until they came face to face, nearly eye to eye. ’I opted out of eyestalks too.’ Her pair of deep-sea green U-man like eyes crinkled at the corners in her square Regalian face and stared unblinkingly into his.

‘So you see Chum? Now I’m the best of both - Regalian and U-Man,’ she winked and stepped back allowing her towel fall to the floor.

‘So tell me Chum... From one Regalian to a...modified Regalian?’ She broke into a huge grin, ’Whad’a ya think?’

............................................~The Big Boys~.........................................

Mr. Jordan watched the strange-looking humanoid in the short attire clamber over the
fallen tree and greet the waiting large-green Xang cat, the Pilgrim-dressed Vithian couldn't
stop himself from smiling at the genuine happiness that glowed between Boy In A Dress
and Sslar.

Without a thought, the Man/Girl dropped the Caliburn sword and ran to the wise-eyed-
looking animal in front of a large growth of swaying ferns.
The disregard of the important weapon when laid against greeting a friend made Mr. Jordan
raise an eyebrow and it seemed the information on this so-called 'Devil Of The Cosmos'
was correct, he held true noble values.

They had walked for twelve earth-miles, the swamps and fallen away to lush jungle and firm
ground. Twice, BIAD had passed tall-spired buildings and yet, he felt no inclination to
investigate them, Sslar hadn't and so he shouldn't -he'd thought.

"How did you get here...?" BIAD whispered into Sslar's furry ear, he was hugging the thick
-maned cat that sat undeterred on her haunches. "... I mean, you were injured and still on
The Yyrdyl" the Man/Girl mumbled as he realised the rear-view he was offering as he bent
down may not be deemed as beneficial to a passing forest dweller.
He stood up and pulled on the dress, Mr. Jordan saw this has his cue and stepped from the
shadows.

"I don't wish to startle you... I come in peace" Mr. Jordan said softly and held his hands high
to show he meant no harm. BIAD whirled at the sudden intrusion and felt his permo-wig
begin to lengthen, Sslar just sat and pondered the Being that she had sensed had been
watching them for several minutes.

"Your green-furred friend knew I was here and I think you would agree, if I was hostile then I
would not be in such a peaceful condition" Mr. Jordan said with a note of kind-humour,
the strange-black hair relaxed from it's wriggling and lengthening.

BIAD liked the hat. The stranger that had interacted with the Tumblers, the tall Vithian that
was on observer-duty for The Committee, was now introducing himself to one of the crew
of The Yydryl.
And that meant the next step in Nenothtu's destiny was underway.

Boy In A Dress still liked the hat, tall and with a shiny buckle and gave the wearer a standing
of discipline and seriousness, the plain-black coat and pants added to the impression.
"I am Mr. Jordan and I am from the same place as your friend, the one you know as Tibbs" he
said and closed the space between them.

BIAD picked up the Caliburn and slung it across his shoulders, he made sure that the act
wasn't seen as aggressive "You're a Vithian?" he said easily and looked around for any more
intruders.
Sslar yawned and lay down on the soft vegetation, 'these 'outward-talks' tend to take awhile'
she thought to herself.



"I am and I have been monitoring my fellow-Vithian's actions with concern... it seems Tibbs is
tarrying too long on the matter of your friend Nenothtu..." Mr. Jordan agreed and slowly
folded his arms "...It may be time to assist him"

Boy In A Dress slowly reached into his cleavage and produced The Green Man, the amulet
that was used to pass between time and realities. The Man/Girl watched for any hidden
feelings on the features of the 'Pilgrim' before him. "Do you recognise this?" BIAD asked
softly and received a small-smile from Mr. Jordan.

The Vithian who had outgrown his compatriots in height -as well as intellect, stepped closer
to the grinning humanoid with the big sword. " The Green Man from Carimono's pocket... yes,
I know of it" he said with a whisper and his eyes indicated that somewhere in his mind, he
ticked off a list.

A welcoming breeze wafted through the jungle grove and this caused Mr. Jordan to look
around at the waving foliage "they're here" he announced and held the brim of his hat.
Boy In A Dress slowly turned his head and saw that Sslar had lifted his, something was
about to happen.

"Who's here?" he hissed and gripped the Caliburn's handle firmly.
"Why, the Committee of course" said the smiling Pilgrim and that's when the lightshow
began.

.....~~Not Funny, Not Funny at All~~......

"I see you are trained to use fire-arms, again, as well," Ben said, and winked at her. He grinned, remembering a scene on Earth, in the 1630s. His name had been Hilario then, and he'd been the captain of a merchant vessel that carried goods to and fro between England and the New World.

He had taken on two "passengers" who were exiled convicts, a young couple. The girl -- who was Wild in a former lifetime -- had called herself Viola. He had come to know her on the journey, and over the course of several weeks had watched her grow from a timid, abused wife into a skilled crew member -- and eventually -- a skilled pirate. Her jackass of a husband was a conniving, silver-tongued womanizer, and he certainly had deserved to be exiled, but she was innocent.

Hilario -- Ben -- had become fond of her, and when one night she was in his cabin visiting, at his request, he'd had to leave her alone for a moment, and had come back just in time to discover her husband -- who was Brittle in that former lifetime, known as John -- trying to rape her....

he'd put a stop to it and thoroughly humiliated John (a scene which he still hoped to show Brittle in the holodeck one day, if they ever got back to the Yydryl), and Viola had been Hilario's ever since, heart, body and soul. Once John had been deposited in the New World, Viola had chosen to stay with Hilario, and eventually had saved his life during a pirate siege.

Ben was glad she had retained her grit and her skills with combat, and although the age difference between them now precluded them resuming the love affair they'd never gotten to conclude, his spirit soared that at last she had recycled -- they used to call it reincarnation -- back into his life once again. Apparently there was more for them to do together.

He took a look at her "father", and with his rifle aimed at the expansive forehead told the Giant, "Take out the eggwhites, and quit yer snarlin'. I ain't skeered of ya, and if this little lady wants away from ye, by Jenovah I'll take 'er away from ye."

"Stay out of his reach," said Wild, "but cover me." She walked over to Redbeard, her own pistol aimed at him, and after he'd done Ben's bidding, she swung her pistol at him in a gesture that he clearly understood. He clasped his huge hands behind him, and with a wire-tie she'd produced out of a pocket, she quickly lashed them together.

"There," she said with a sigh. "Now he's not a danger, 'til he gets that thing off, but by then we'll be long gone."

"How's he 'not a danger,' exactly?" asked Ben, looking the behemoth up and down. All it would have required was for the giant to sit on Ben, and it'd be all over.

"His hands are his only weapon," said Wild. "When they are tied, he can't balance to walk or lope, or hardly even move, nor can he inflict his particular form of torture on anyone."

"Ah," said Ben. "Good to know! And what's his 'puttickeler' form of torture?"

Wild laughed out loud. "You just came up with the best way of sayin' it!" She mimicked Ben's pronunciation. "Puttickeler. Perfect. He tickles people."

"He tickles people?" Ben said, his brows moving closer together. "That's a game for parents with their kids, and for lovers, to enjoy one another. Ain't never heard o' no one usin' it as a chosen form of torture."

"It is if you keep it up until they can't breathe for laughing, and then their heart stops," said Wild. "That's how he sired my sisters and me, by tickling my mother until she begged for the raping instead."

Ben frowned, appalled. "Brutal," he said. "It never occurred to none of us when we was kids to use it to kill anyone! What sorta freaky sick brain would do such a thing?"

"Yes, it's sick, I know. It's very ancient. The Chinese of the Han Dynasty on earth used it as a severe punishment for nobles, because it was invisible, left no mark, and was quickly recovered from if they stopped before cardiac failure from the pulmonary seizure. The Japanese called it "kusuguri-zeme" -- merciless tickling -- and it was "alternative" or 'shikei', a 'private punishment' used for infractions outside of the criminal code. He was the zeme-master, and he's apparently going to be one forever. Lifetime after lifetime, he doesn't seem capable of growing past it."

"He a demon, then? A fallen one?" asked Ben.

Wild shrugged, "Yeah, I guess that's what happened. Stunted spiritually, almost as if his physical size is growing instead of his inner spirit."

"But he ain't killed you doin' it?"

"I'm not ticklish. That's how I have survived this long," said Wild. "Are you?"

Ben looked at her, rather surprised. "Not since I's about five, I don't think. No," he said. "But I'll take yer word fer it. Let's get outta here then. Climb on in, Missy, I'll fetch the others, and we'll leave him to his own skills."

Wild disappeared back into Cecilia, feeling safer than she had in a long while.

.............................................The Arrival.....................................................

"He's quite a sight, heh Gentlemen?" the far-one on the left said proudly and shuffled closer
to the group of the supposed-Council 767 Committee. Boy In A Dress watched the dancing
orbs that had accompanied the arrival of the strangers and wondered if these small 'cassock-
adorned' Beings were going to attack.

"Greetings and good times..." Mr. Jordan said with a beaming smile "...may I introduce to
The Committee to the one-and-only Boy In A Dress?" The taller Vithian bowed slightly
towards the Man/Girl and BIAD noticed that the group of faceless Beings copied the action,
the confused humanoid in the short dress curtsied apprehensively back.

It had been quite an arrival, Sslar had rose from his relaxed state and wandered forward,
the breeze had increased and then moments later, the portal had appeared.

Blue and white... blue and white light so intense that for most Beings, the stain of such a
incandescent blaze would stay on their retinas for hours to come.
Of course, BIAD had no retinas.

The seven figures that stepped through the assumed 'worm-hole' came through together,
not indian-fashion or single-file, but as one. Such is the way of The Committee.

"May your quest benefit you and all who walk with you" a voice came from beneath the
hood of one the Committee and Mr. Jordan answered with a second bow, BIAD continued
to watch the floating balls.

The orbs had come through -along with the green streaks of wavy light, but those ghostly
mists had swam away into the jungle's gloomy surroundings. The spherical ones now danced
in the branches and near the feet of the waist-high group of Viths.

The Being that BIAD would find out later that was called Croll Mavison then fell on his knees
and held his arms wide, the sudden act made the Man/Girl think he was about to worship
him, but it was Sslar who answered the query.

The big animal raced to where the kneeling cloaked-figure was and thrust his massive head into
the waiting arms, the others quickly gathered around Croll and began to fuss over the Xang
Cat.

"You've grown so much..." came one voice -this from Jarv IV and BIAD couldn't mistake the
genuine happiness that emanated from the group, all stroked the green fur with affection.
"...Look at those teeth, it's certain now that she can protect the Neo" whispered Verr Temp
and patted a gloved-hand on the shoulder of the figure next to him.

This figure was Chairman Toyme, the 'accepted' leader of the group, he placed a hand into
the long neck-fur of Sslar, but his hidden-eyes were on BIAD. "You have come a long way
and may I commend you on your manner in which you've carried yourself" Toyme said
evenly.

This comment made all of the visiting Vithians look up from their caressing of the purring
feline and stare at the hermaphrodite.
BIAD slowly placed the Caliburn sword down at his feet and nodded that everything was
okay, the action made the crouching Committee stand erect.

Mr. Jordan stepped close to Boy In A Dress and tentatively touched his forearm "We believe
it is time to show you the truth" he said softly and offered kindly-eyes.

The group gathered together and after some private mutterings, they all faced BIAD and
Mr. Jordan. Sslar stepped away -as if knowing what was to happen next.

Has anybody here seen Boy In A Dress dance...? It's okay, it's just that it is quite a sight to
see and later, BIAD guessed that Mr. Jordan's touch had a lot to do with it.



(Continued Below)

(From Above)

...................................

The Ceremony:
The Vithian Committee stood in a line facing Boy In A Dress.
As Mr. Jordan stepped further back and came alongside Sslar, the line of robed-figures
became to mutter some sort of chant.
The shadowed area where their faces presumably resided -started to glow.



The orbs settled around the jungle-clearing ground and became lumps or growths on
the scrubbed surroundings.
Croll Mavison began to speak loudly.
"We are here to show this fellow the path that he must take. He has been hindered by
those who seek to thwart the coming of The Neo, but his spirit has remained true"

...................................

BIAD felt the glowing faces soaking into his skin, the sudden images that he saw in his
mind made him tick and stumble slightly.
"The one known as Boy In A Dress is an important facet in the bringing about of his friend's
future-position..." Croll went on "...we are grateful that such a being assists us in the
endeavour"
BIAD began to dance as the chanting became louder.



It's quite a sight to see, the bare-thighs and the waving arms can make one smirk behind
their hand, but the crazy Man/Girl did attempt a rhythm, so I suppose one should give him
a little grace.

BIAD's Prancing Music...

Chairman Toyme took up the speech.
"Many here and including myself, have had doubts on our Brother Tibbs' beliefs that this
universe-changing attempt to bring The Neo into service. Our friend -here, knows that this
work has been alone and now, we see that Tibbs was correct all along"
BIAD danced on and saw past-events of his life unfold.

"And so we ask our red-dressed friend to go further, to push on and help our Vithian
comrade... he has relinquished his title as The Fallen One and with the natural force that
seeps through this dimesion, we hope he will be victorious in bringing the human called
Nenothtu to his rightful position"
BIAD wiggled his hips and resigned himself to enjoy the cavorting.

He saw glimpses of the testings, he saw the old photograph of when Professor Shaw had
the Utah Police force lock him in one their so-called 'inescapable' prison cells.









The Man/Girl relived the anger that he felt at discovering his Creator's body in the broken
-down railway carraige and he also saw a face of someone he had never met before.
The killer of Professor Charles Shaw.

"It is shown that Boy In A Dress is the guardian of The Sword Of Truth and will carry it to
it's final resting-place to The Neo's side. We are grateful" Croll announced loudly and the
entourage of Vithians repeated the thanks in unison.

Then the glowing surroundings faded and the dirvish-like BIAD slumped to the soft forest-
floor, the manic-grinning Man/Girl was spent. Verr Temp scuttled over to where he lay
and pulled the hem of his dress down to save his dignity.
"The Splitter hasn't deserted you..." he whispered into the tangle of hair "...he's watching
and waiting" and then patted the black mane.


Sslar twitched in his sleep and this woke Boy In A Dress his slumber, the jungle was quite
and BIAD's hand touching the handle of the Caliburn brought a sense of relief.
The big cat had snuggled against the hermaphrodite's side and it would seem to a passer-by
that the pair had merely rested for a short time.

"We better get-going and meet back up with Neno and Tibbs" BIAD mumbled as he stood
to his full height and stretched, the scraped markings in soil caught his attention.
"It'll come to me" he said to himself and felt a faint-memory of using the odd-signs that
lay around them.

They set off Northwards.

..................~Just 'Cos I Own It, Doesn't Mean I'm The Zookeeper~......................

The man was running fast, even with the smaller male on his shoulders. BIAD and Sslar
smiled at each other in their attempts to catch up and pressed on. The sight of Nenothtu
and Tibbs slipping past neck-jarring vines and ankle-breaking roots in their journey was
quite a feat in itself and Boy In A Dress knew from experience that it was skill acquired
from living in this type of enviroment... Rootak enviroment -to be exact.

"Yeah, ah can hear yer' behind me... now catch up!" Neno growled over his shoulder
as he ducked his passenger under a foot-thick bough. BIAD's grin widened and with his
high-heels flicking dried leaves and mud-clogged sticks, he increased his pace.
Sslar took on the acceleration without thought.

"Are the wolves following...?" Tibbs hiccup-called with the effects of his Neno's twistings
and turnings, the poor old man was happy know the Man/Girl was back and with vain
attempts, he tried to look backwards.

"Sslar is with me" BIAD shouted and that drew Neno to a halt, the damned-Cat ran like
it walked and the Vandal had been unable to pick up it's tread.
But his faux-annoyance didn't show on his face as he knelt, slid the Vithian from his
shoulders and began to greet his pet.

Sslar nine-pinned her Master in her happiness and both BIAD and Tibbs looked on at the
cavorting friends grappling in the leave-littered dirt.

"I know who I am now..." Boy In A Dress said faintly to the little Time-traveller "...and I
know what I have to do" Tibbs looked up into the blind-manic face of BIAD and nodded
sagely "Then I am at your side in your quest, my son" he said with tear-welled eyes.

The faint scent of the wolves wafted into the small area where the three 'two-legs' and
the one 'big-pawed' stood and it was Sslar who mimiced BIAD with his head-tilting.
"Craps...! I forgot about the dawgs" Neno rasped and stood up from his frolicing.
The six glowing eyes that waited in the darkness of the shrubbery blinked on and off in
their watchfulness, Neno strode confidently towards them and slipped away into that
darkness.

"You should've seen it BIAD... Neno made those-things sit at his command" Tibbs whispered
with reverence, the strained face behind the long-white beard was a welcome sight to the
Man/Girl. BIAD simply nodded and watched the shadows where his friend had gone, the
familair-feel of the big Cat's fur on his thigh told him Sslar was watching too.

"Okay... let's git-going back to Margot" came the Gunslinger's voice and without further a-do,
set off along a well-worn animal trail. Tibbs grabbed two handfuls of the Xang-Cat's fur and
swung a skinny leg over Sslar's back "Hope you don't mind?" he cooed into the massive ear.
The heavy paws reached forward and with a single bound, Tibbs and his mount were gone.

Boy In A Dress flicked back his permo-wig in a dramatic fashion and then, took off after his
companions, it was good to be back to normal.

"Normal...?" whispered the faint-voice in his head "you're a long way from normal" it chided.

…..~~Pirates Will Be Pirates~~……

Ben instructed Wild to lock the hatch and stay in the cargo bay, and then went to round up the others. They had scattered again and taken cover in the brush surrounding Cecilia, and as soon as he began tracking them, he heard Redbeard begin to snarl behind him. This stopped Ben, as he suddenly realized he had no real reason to believe what their new 'teammate' had told him, despite her sincerity. She was a pirate, after all, along with her so-called 'sire.'

"Aww, DAMMIT!" he said, and turned back, but it was too late. As soon as he came back out of the brush on the small animal track, he saw Wild cutting the lashes that the giant was wearing. The hatch to Cecilia was open, and Wild was glancing furtively toward the woods as she worked. The giant stood upright and entered the hatch, and just as his hand came down to assist Wild back into Cecilia, he heard Ben's rifle-shot, and then felt the searing pain.

Wild screamed as the huge hand seemed to explode and dropped to her feet... "Just, get in, climb up, I'll pull myself in!" Blood was spattered on her, and the stump of Redbeard's arm disappeared above her.

"Like Hades on fire you will!" roared Ben, and his rifle cocked again. Just as Wild reached up to grab a handhold, her own hand burst like an explosive, and she screamed again, this time in pain rather than surprise. Reflexively she pulled her hand down to her chest, breathing heavily and visibly shaking as she inspected the damage. Ben had severed her trigger finger at the first knuckle. The only thing left was a pulpy mess of cartilage and a few splinters of bone, with blood everywhere.

Ben was running toward her, and she looked up, her mouth and eyes in O shapes. "Bitch!" yelled Ben. "You lying, scheming, traitorous bitch! You cheated!" She met his gaze head on, turned green, then white, as just as Ben walked menacingly closer, she said in nearly a whisper, "Pirate," as though in explanation, and then fainted into his arms. He let her drop to the ground, but she had already bought enough time for the giant to pull up the hatch, and now Cecilia was once again fired up.

"Mucklebones," Ben roared into the woods. "Mucklebones!! Get the others and come now!"

Muckles had been peering into her monocle (as she did every chance she got), and was quite wrapped up in watching the jumping scenery and the top of Neno's hat as he ran Tibbs through the woods and toward the Starwolf. It wasn't until Ben's second summons that she snapped to attention, aware of her immediate surroundings once again. "Ah ain't knowin' where they're at," she muttered. Muckles was uncomfortable enough, what with being alone with the two 'prisoners' that were now her seeming 'posse', but now, having been given a task, she was really rattled. She began calling, "Gert! Boy! We gotta go! C'mon!"

She was thankful to see the two Earthlings emerge from fairly close by, and the three of them began to make their way back out of the woods. The sound of jet engines met them as it echoed through the tree canopy before they cleared the massive trunks, though, and then Cecilia rose up above them, darkening the sky above, and lifted higher and sped off. Then a couple of reports of Ben's rifle were heard, as he shot at the Tumbler. Muckles, Gert, and Brittle began to run, but it was too late.

They emerged from the woods to find Ben there, shaking with rage, his boot resting on Wild's chest, though she appeared to be inanimate at best, or dead. Panting, the trio came to Ben's side.

They all stood watching as Cecilia lifted off without them, and then all looked down at Wild, who was still unconscious. "What happened?" asked Muckles.

"I got pirated," said Ben. "C'mon, we gotta go find the cannon that those beams came from." He nudged at Wild with his toe but got no response.

"Just shoot 'er," croaked Gert.

"Ah cain't just 'shoot'er', ye daft old witch. She's tha only one knows her way round this dump of a city. We gotta haul her with us." Without ceremony, he grabbed her damaged arm at the wrist and began pulling her limp body behind him. "Brittle," he said.

"Sir?"

"Grab a ceegar 'n' fire outa me pocket," he said gruffly. To himself he added, "Blast this place to hell, cursed planet. Ain't no mystery why everyone's gone!"

As he stomped ahead of the group making their way back toward the city, hostage in tow, Margot was on the comm system in the Starwolf. "Starwolf to Cecilia," she said, "Starwolf, hailing Cecilia, do you copy?" She activated the radar and saw the blip that said the Tumbler III was airborne, but no response came. "Cecilia, what is your flight plan?" she asked, and then Nenothtu's voice was in her ear. "Git dressed, woman, we're there in one minute. Did you raise the Cecilia yet?"

"No," Margot spoke into the mike, but as she flicked it off and rose from the chair she murmured, "but Cecilia has risen."

~*~ The Wait... ~*~

‘But I still don’t understand! About Ship and Chumley!’ Silo clarified as if Newman didn’t know what she was going on about. Patience, he reminded himself pointing briefly to the ceiling pledge-like as they walked Ship’s corridors.

‘I mean come onnnnnn! Chumley was the one soooo intent on keeping the whole Adam thing a secret from Ship!’ Her eyes rolled over a voice dripping sarcasm, ‘Right?’ She added and he didn’t bother to answer, ’And wasn’t it Chum’s plan to get Adam outta here pronto? Silo caught her breath waiting for Newman’s ‘Yes I’m listening and of course you’re right dear’ required nod before she continued.

Nod provided she babbled on, ’See! There ya go! That’s just what I thought too!’ She snorted, ’But noooooo, now for whatever reason Chum and Ship are all closed up in my, errr, I mean her room and us? We’re on hold! Left in the dark! Out in the cold! We’re...well...I dunno just what we are but what we are not is getting Adam outta here!‘ Silo ended in triumph then sniffed with exasperation. ‘I mean there we were waiting around on the Big Guy and what happens?‘

‘What happened was Chumley messaged us with one of the few commands I can ever remember Ship issuing and that was simply to...wait.’ Newman filled in as the end of his patience rope began to fray. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t matter. As soon as Ship says go, we’ll go.’ Newman felt more than a little relief their plans had developed the unexpected delay, glad he wasn’t leaving Ship - again - without her permission. Breaking promises came as hard to him - as hard as lying did to Chumley. Feeling free from the weight of conscience Newman ducked through the door into the Garden Rooms pulling Silo in behind him.

‘Sooo, what is it we’re doing here again?’ Still miffed Silo crossed her arms over her chest not wanting to let go of her anger - which was pretty hard to do with Newman being so patient. Looking around her arms dropped and her eyes went round as eggplants. The Garden’s rooms were a cornucopia of colors bursting with produce! Glorious red peppers! Carrots topped in their fine lacey hats. Blood red beet tops bulging through the soil begging to be picked. Silo’s shook her head in amazement.

‘Pretty cool huh?‘ Newman chuckled knowing she’d like the place and smiling wider when she nodded. ‘And to answer your question little Miss not-so-indifferent we’re here to get something to eat. Something nice.‘ Newman added sotto voice as the pair were approached by a tall beanpole thin working droid dressed in old Earth clothes with buckles clipped to the sharp angles of his metal shoulders.

‘Hello Shears. Nice day we’re having isn’t it?‘ Newman tipped his head as if he wore a hat while squeezing Silo’s hand into a compliant silence.

‘Itza one nice’a day Meester Newman! You bet!‘ Shears offered Newman his right droid pincher and the two exchanged a handshake of sorts.‘ Nowz what can I be getting for you and za nice lady here?‘ The droids accent was thick and smooth as cream leaking from both ends of a cannoli.

‘Shears my good friend, we’re here to pick our own if it’s all the same to you.‘ Newman’s smile grew so radiant it put the miles of sun-lights strung overhead to shame. Silo rolled her eyes but held her tongue.

‘Anyone’a but you an I tell them - go ‘way!‘ Shears chuckled while his pincers twirled sprigs of course black hair pasted above his audio hole in a grotesque but fairly accurate imitation of a handlebar mustachio. ’Yez, you my’a fine’a friend! You knowz just how to do da gentle squeezing wiz za leedle fresh beauties dont‘a yoz!’ His big metal eye winked and Silo’s narrowed when Shears and Newman both gave her a leering grin.

’So youz take your lady friend’a here and you goez and be picking your pranzo,‘ he finished, ‘I has za work to do! It iz never done!’ Reaching down behind some shelving Shears produced a bundle that looked like a run over ginger cat. ’Here! You take za bag!‘ Thrusting the beigey-hairy thing into Silo’s arms she squeaked and nearly threw it away before Newman snatched it from her with a glare.

‘So youz get youz going now Meester Newman. Shears tells you iz ok? Iz ok!‘ Chuckling and back to playing with his faux facial hair Shears trundled off to work.

Watching the droid move away Newman made a mental note to talk with Pip. He recognized the boy’s tattered overalls covering Shears metal frame and if his guess was right one of Pip’s ponies from the Center was minus an inch of tail. Pip needed a good reminder Ship’s working droids had souls too. Then again maybe that’s just why Pip had given Shears his cast off clothes and snips of horse tail Newman thought - and smiled.

‘So,‘ Silo grumbled untangling the course hemp sack from his grasp poking around in it’s depths, ‘Now what?‘ She blinked disappointed at finding nothing in the bag.

‘I told you. We’re gathering ingredients for something nice to eat. Something special.’ He slipped the wide strap of the bag over her shoulder barely resisting smoothing out a stray wrinkle where it lay over her chest.

’You know what jalapenos are?’ To his relief she nodded. ’Good. Then start hunting some up. I’ll go for the tomatoes.’ This time Newman didn’t resist. The flat of his hand smacked the round of her behind in an affectionate slap.

Shear's bawdy laughter echoed through the massive Garden rooms of the Yydryl.