The Forgotten Planet
Chapter 20 – Of Boys and Men

“When we find Paul, we’re going to tell him who we are, and then Adan’s going to kill him,” I said, after wiping my eyes. Veezil was standing next to me, and I realized she was holding my hand. I wasn’t sure how long that had been going on, but I appreciated it. When I looked at her, she gave me a sweet smile. Adan was sitting on the ground with his arm around Poochy. The dog had his head nuzzled up in my brother’s chest and was getting a head massage.

“This was all about a protection scheme I assume?” Max asked. I nodded.

“Well, damn,” Russell said. “No wonder you want the bastard dead. I’m fine with making a stop at Richi.”

Maxine raised her eyebrows, then sighed and nodded.

I felt Veesil’s breath on my ear, and I almost melted into a puddle. “Tiger, can you show me to my quarters?” she whispered. “I need to get out of these clothes.”

That sounded like a grand idea to me, but I was pretty sure she didn’t mean it quite the way it sounded. “Adan,” I said, “I’m going to show Veesil to her room. After that I’ll need your help tying Betty into the sensor array.”

“I have to finish installing the nav system, and after that I’m pretty sure I’ll be helping Max,” he answered while studying her legs.

“I can fly just fine without being ogled,” Max said, trying and mostly succeeding in keeping her face neutral. Veesil made an exaggerated “O” with her lips before covering her mouth with a hand and giggling.

“A foot massage then?” He asked her. “I’m excellent at it.”

“You know, my feet are killing me,” Russell said. “Can I get one too?” That set Maxine and Veesil off laughing. And just like that, the mood was officially lightened.

Adan looked at me and said, “Apparently I’m free, bro.”

“Should I just fly towards the first star on the left until morning, or do we have some actual coordinates?” Maxine asked.

“Uh, well, I do have coordinates,” I said, “but it’s not exactly that simple.”

“If you say we have to fly through a black hole or pop into another dimension, I’m seriously going to jump out the closest airlock,” Maxine answered.

“No, nothing like that, exactly…” I answered. Her eyes narrowed and I spoke faster so I wouldn’t lose my nerve, “It’s just an uncapped, wild hole.”

Max looked back at me opened her mouth, waited a beat, and then closed it again. Then she looked at Russ, and they did that thing again, where the just looked at each other and seemed to speak with their eyes. Finally, Max said, “Fine kid, if you want me to fly this museum piece through an uncapped wormhole, who am I to argue.”

“Do they have junk museums?” Vee asked, straight-faced, and I couldn’t tell if she was clowning us or just naive. Then she smiled and said, “Why don’t you show me where I’m sleeping.” For some reason the statement made me blush.

“Take your time,” Adan said. “I can always start installing Betty without you.” That made my blush even deeper.

I’d finally had my fill of whatever secrets Russ and Max we’re keeping from us, so on the way out the door, I activated a new little piece of tech I’d recently developed, and innocuously left it behind on the doorframe. Freed of its dummy coin-form, the little listening device finished its transformation into a black beetle and began to crawl up the wall towards the roof. I’d know soon enough if I was being paranoid.

There were four sleeping compartments on the ship, two on each side of the central living area that hours prior had been an unofficial episode of Gladiator Challenge. After grabbing Veesil’s bags from where she had dropped it in the aft entrance, I brought her to the only room that wasn’t spoken for. Adan and Max weren’t even pretending that they needed separate rooms.

The sleeping quarters came furnished with a small bed, a desk with a chair that slid on a rail, and a closet with a hanging rod and shelves. The bed and desk sprouted out of the floor of the ship, a safety feature designed to keep them in place in case of an emergency situation. Each room had private toilet facilities molded in a stark-white marbeloid. Thankfully, the facilities had been cleaned and serviced before we purchased the ship.

The décor was Spartan, and all the plassteel and titanium floors and walls were a bland grey. At least the floors were a contrasting darker hue of grey than the walls. Newer vessels have virtual reality walls that can project all Pablo Picasso’s art or a seaside view in three-dimensional realism, but this old barge had nothing to distinguish the walls other than the occasional patch-welded panel or colorful graffiti that showed through under the newest coat of paint.

A bank of windows was spaced along the left wall of the room. Looking out, it appeared like we were engulfed in a sea of diffuse white light, which meant we were traveling by A-Drive. Due to the Doppler Effect, the microwave background radiation that permeated the universe shifted into the visible spectrum as we surfed along a rolling bubble of space-time. The aluminum windows in even the oldest vessels such as this automatically tinted. Otherwise, the light would have been blinding.

“It feels like you were able to fit your entire brick collection in here,” I joked as I dropped the luggage on the bed.

“You’re silly,” she said, hitting me lightly on the arm. “I stuffed all the collectables and vintage clothes I could fit in here. I wasn’t about to leave them behind.”

I squinted and asked, “Collectables?”

“Yeah, old Earth knick-knacks and my Harajuku outfits. I’m sort of a fangirl. Wanna see?”

“Absolutely?” I didn’t mean for it to come out a question, but it still did.

She gave me side-eye as she unzipped the bag. “Ah, here’s my boy,” she said, pulling out a brown stuffed item that couldn’t possibly have been a representation of a real-life animal. It was a squarish brown figure with thick, unarticulated arms and legs, black marble eyes and an open mouth full of saw-tooth teeth. I didn’t know what to say or do so I just smiled numbly and nodded my head.

“It’s a Domo-kun,” she said as she held the strange toy out to me.

I touched its fuzzy brown head, and it didn’t do anything. It appeared to be just a stuffed toy.

“Uh-hu,” I answered uncertainly. “What’s it do?”

“Besides look dope?” She asked. “Nothing, silly – but he’s great, right?”

I nodded dumbly again, and Vee rolled her eyes. She put the toy on the bed and pulled a small, white cat statue out of the bag. It was a cartoonish representation of a cat anyways, with a little paw that waved.

“This is called a Maneki-neko. It brings good luck.”

“I think it worked,” I said, before I could stop myself. My cheeks had settled into a perpetual pink by this point.

“Silly boy,” she said. She went back into the bag and rummaged around. “Okay, you’ll love this.” She looked at me over her shoulder. “Turn around.”

I did as I was told, and I heard her rustling with her clothes.

“No peeking.” I fought the overwhelming urge to do just that.

“Let me know if you need any help,” I asked hopefully.

“Very funny.” Then after a little more rustling she said, “Okay, I’m ready.”

I turned around. “Wow,” was all I could say. I felt was a mixture attraction, confusion and surprise.

“I know, right? I picked it up the other day. I wish I could have dressed like this when I went to school.”

She was now wearing a white, short-sleeved button-up blouse under a blue and white plaid jumper. The skirt was hemmed to a height that would have possibly been appropriate at a school for exotic dancers. Vee’s long blue tale twitched back and forth with an apparent mind of its own. Fun fact! The leg hair on Servine females was very, very short.

“I wish I could have gone with you to that school.” Of course I wouldn’t have actually learned anything there… from the books I mean.

“Aww, you’re sweet,” she said. “There something we really need to figure out, but first I want to see your bug’s recording.”

I tried to decode the first part of her sentence while thinking whether or not I should play dumb about the second. I quickly realized with playing dumb would definitely hurt the odds of what I was hoping our future plans entailed.

“Let me link to your wrister,” I said.

Vee spoke a few commands and once I had access, I linked the Bugeye’s® feed to her screen. It started with Adan, Maxine and Russell working on separate components in the cockpit. I jumped ahead a bit until Adan finished the nav instillation and left the room. That’s when things got good.

On the screen, Maxine and Russell shared a look. Then Maxine went to the hallway and looked to see if anyone was out there. Satisfied there wasn’t, she sealed the door and locked it.

Vee and I looked at each other. “Ohh, secret time,” Vee said, and I nodded. We looked back at the screen.

“All right,” Maxine said, hands on her hips. “Spill it.”

“Spill what?” Russell answered without looking up.

“Don’t play games with me Russ. I’ve known you all my life, and I know when you’re up to something.”

“Is that so?” He looked up from his workstation, then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. Now, I’m no body-language expert, but the vibe he was putting off wasn’t exactly inviting. Still, Max pressed on.

“It sure is. There’s no treasure waiting for us, and you know it. If Earth and its colonies are alive and well, I doubt they’ll welcome us. And if they’re gone, we’re not going to find some cache of lost technology.”

“Maybe I’m just feeling nostalgic,” he said, the corners of his lips upturning slightly.

“Right, and maybe I’m a Salarian fighter pilot.” That made Russell snort. “I would buy that nostalgic excuse from Vee or Galen. Adan… well, he loves his brother and doesn’t mind a little adventure. But you, Russ? This isn’t your thing. Why are you even going along with this?”

“You first.”

She sighed and plopped down in a chair. “Adan’s fun, and no matter what we find, the trip itself is bound to be a blast.”

“Now who’s pulling whose leg,” he said with a smirk.

“Ok, fine so that’s not the only reason. You know why my parents died?” There was an accusation in that last line.

“I know what a traumatized and terrified eight year old girl told me. That doesn’t mean I have to believe it.”

“But what if it’s true, Russ?” she said, her voice cracking slightly.

“It’s just a constructed memory, Max.” He sighed and his tone softened. “Listen, you trust me, right?”

The lines on Max’s face smoothed and she let out a breath slowly. She stepped closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. The bug repositioned itself to get a better angle on their faces. “You know I trust you, Russ. What kind of question is that?”

“Then let’s just say a have a plan, and the kid’s little side-trip to Richi basically served it up on a silver platter.” Then the movement of the bug seemed to catch his eye. “Damn, I thought the ship had been fumigated,” he said as he strode towards my Bugeye®. It took flight, and the last thing transmitted was the blur of Russell’s hand. The resulting splatter left on his palm would be indistinguishable from the assorted viscera of a real beetle.

“Well, that was informative,” Veezil said as she sat down on the bed. “We’ll have to keep an eye on those two.” Then she patted the spot on the bed beside her. “Come sit next to me so we can see if we’re comparable. Oh, lock the door first.”

’Why not try it all,

If you only remember it once...’

This time when the music came back on unbidden, I just smiled.

…

So, it turns out we were totally compatible – in every possible meaning of the word. When Vee and I stepped out of our quarters, her furry blue hand in mine, I had a smile on my face that felt like it was a permanent new fixture. The sun was shining, and the birds were singing – maybe not here in deep space, but in my soul anyways.

“Do Servine women usually initiate, uh…” Doing it was one thing. Talking about it afterwards was quite another. Usually, I use my ’Seven to calm my Vagus nerve in my anxious moments, but for some reason, in this particular moment, I didn’t want to. Vee turned and regarded me with those stunning jade eyes and a half-smile on her thin black lips. I let out my breath and said, “you know, physical relations?”

She stopped and held my gaze for a moment, her head cocked to one side and her lips pursed.

“Not that I’m complaining,” I quickly added.

She stepped really close to me and said, “I have a personal motto. When I want something, I take it.” She put her hands on my chest and pressed me up against the bulkhead and then leaned in on tiptoes and lightly bit my right earlobe. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant.

She pulled back a few inches and said casually, “Oh I forgot to tell you – it’s customary for a female Servine to mark the leg of her mate.”

I smiled nervously, but the look on her face remained neutral. After a few uncomfortable beats, I said, “Oh, you’re serious?”

“Are you disparaging my culture right now?” Vee asked, but before I could stutter an answer, she covered her mouth and giggled. “Oh, you are so fun to tease.” Then her face turned serious, and she said, “Is it getting cold in here?”

While my mood may have been sunny and bright, I realized that the ship was actually getting chilly and a bit stuffy. Well, stuffier. The long-sleeved shirt I was wearing was starting to feel a bit thin, and the air smelled more strongly of old cheese than it usually did.

After a little searching, we found Adan in the engineering compartment, elbow’s deep in a wall of leaking pipes, control boards and wires wrapped in black electrical tape. The room had a small workstation with an old-fashioned interface console and a chair, but most of the usable space was crammed with access points along the floor and walls allowing for maintenance to multiple systems in one central location. A few islands of raised metal here and there contained systems that were added aftermarket and hardwired in. Betty sat unboxed in the middle of the room, waiting to be tied into the ship’s sensor array.

“Hey bro,” I asked, “any idea why it’s so cold in here?”

“Yeah, about that...” Adan answered, as he extracted himself from the ship’s guts. Then he looked at me, and the expression on his face reminded me of how Pop used to look at me when I’d bring home a report card. “Galen Antonio Castell. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were absolutely glowing.” I may have grinned a little. “And that outfit, Vee?” She had put the schoolgirl uniform back on when she got dressed.

“Yes?” she asked hopefully.

He shook his head and smiled in disbelief. “Fantastic.”

“Why thank you,” she said with a satisfied grin and a little curtsy.

“When I saw the door was closed, I knew better than to start knocking.”

“Probably a good idea,” I answered.

“We were doing trust building activities,” Vee added unnecessarily.

“That’a girl,” Adan answered.

They bumped fists and then did their own versions of wildly inappropriate, suggestive dances. When it dragged on a bit, I attempted to get them to stop with a few “Hey, guys,” and a “hello?” And finally, a half-shouted “Hey! Can we be serious for a minute?” That finally got their attention.

“He’s shy,” Adan said.

“I know,” Vee answered. “It’s cute, isn’t it?”

Adan made a face and asked, “Is it though?” Then he smiled and added, “Ok, broheim, no more teasing. We’ve actually kind of got a problem.”

“Is that why it feels like a freezer in here?” I asked.

“Yeah, about that,” Adan said. He ran a greasy hand through his hair before continuing, “The systems in this ship are a little wonky. I may have, kind of, broken the life support when I tried to bypass some of the secondary systems.”

“Can you get this working again,” I asked. “Cause, otherwise, we’re probably all going to freeze to death.”

“We might die of carbon dioxide poisoning first,” Vee added helpfully.

“I can totally fix it,” Adan said, with more confidence than I felt he should have in this situation. He stood back and surveyed the damage. After a few moments he said, “Yeah, almost definitely I can fix this. I might need a little of your help though.”

An hour later, we realized that the life support issues were just a symptom of a ship-wide problem. Systems had been bypassed, cannibalized, replaced, decommissioned and rebuilt more times than I cared to guess at. This was technically an Earth vessel from a city called Detroit, but the current parts were from more worlds than I was interested in counting. Power was wired up in nonsensical ways and with seemingly no regard for safety or efficiency. Basically, we had been sold a lemon.

Adan slapped his hands together and said, “Good as new,” when the life support sputtered back to life. All I could do was shake my head at his boundless enthusiasm.

“Didn’t you and Russ inspect the systems before you bought this boat?”

“I left that up to big-n-grouchy,” Adan replied. “I was in charge of bed and bathroom quality.” He looked at Vee and said, “The beds are nice right?”

“Just the right amount of firmness for nighttime dexterity,” Vee agreed. That got my cheeks burning once again.

“Great minds think alike,” Adan agreed.

Russell peeked his massive noggin in as we were putting the panel back on and asked, “You notice it’s getting colder?” He was still in just denim pants and a t-shirt, so he couldn’t have been that cold. He glanced at Vee, and then did a double-take. “What the hell are you wearing?”

“You like? It’s vintage Kogyaru,” Veesil stated proudly.

The way his face scrunched up conveyed that he, in fact, didn’t like, but Russell kept those thoughts, at least verbally, to himself. He tried to smile that looked like indigestion before giving up with a shake of his head. “Anyway, I spoke with an old acquaintance who has some pull in the pirating community, and he guaranteed us safe passage to Lyonel. I’m going to meet with him while you’re dealing with the...” he paused thoughtfully for a moment and chose his next word carefully, “errand on Richi. Philip says he may have a proposition for us.”

“What kind of proposition?” Adan asked, “Because I can guarantee you he’s not my type.”

“He was vague,” Russell said with a shrug. “It’s possible you’ll have to take one for the team, slick.”

Adan’s eye twitched and Russell smirked. Russell turned his attention to me and asked, “You having any luck tying the generator into the ship’s systems?”

There was no sugar-coating the answer to that one. “Um, we kind of have a problem,” I started shakily, before remembering that our situation was Russ’s fault. “This ship needs to be gutted and rebuilt from the ground up. Frankly, I’m surprised we didn’t die the second we left the dock,” I exaggerated that last bit, but only slightly. “There’s no way this ship can handle the power surge Betty will cause as soon as we fire her up.”

If this news bothered Russell, he didn’t let on. While that was surprising, his answer was even more so.

“That may not turn out to be a problem either. Philip basically has his own fleet, and he likely wouldn’t even notice the loss of one small ship.”

“Wow, that’s some acquaintance,” Adan said drolly. “I’d love to see what actual friends give you.”

“Like I said, he’s got a proposition,” Russel answered. “I’m more worried about how we’ll get the magical particles at this point.”

He smirked when he said magical, but this time I refused to take the bait. Lousy troll. I didn’t really have an answer for that one yet. I was hoping inspiration would come to me in my sleep, because so far it hadn’t arrived in my waking hours.

“Could Philip get us a few suits of Salarian Battle Armor?” Veesil asked.

“Possibly,” Russell answered carefully. “What for?”

“Well, I’ve got a plan, and I think it could be a lot of fun,” Vee said. Her tone of voice alone was making me a little nervous.

Russell sighed. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to agree?”

I was pretty sure he was being honest about that without having to secretly record him.

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