THE CHEE CHRONICLES: CHAPTER SIX: FINALLY
Camis and I spent the next weeks bouncing between Dalmshun's home, and the Arbor of Celebrations. Life was more exciting than ever, and I felt like a lucky little android. Surely this was my ticket to being a great space explorer. If I could befriend these aliens, maybe they would take Camis and I to their homeworld. We could write about them and educate the others...
Big dreams for such a young 'droid, wouldn't you agree?
I can't help it.
This was the most exciting thing that had happened in all my memory. No one from my world had made contact in decades, maybe centuries. I never knew for sure.
So when the leader of the Pemalites and Chee asked Niomee and Dach to help him greet the aliens, you can imagine how Camis, Lubis, and I reacted.
"Please, please, please, Mama? Pleeeease? I love you."
"Dear, my dear Dach, my sweet wife, and the other half of my heart...?"
"Niomee?" I begged. "Please, may I meet the aliens with you? I beg, Niomee, I grovel..."
I glanced back to where Camis and Lubis were working Dach. Camis was the original master of the puppy dog eyes, and he was getting real reactions out of his mother. She was wincing, and cringing and really close to giving in. I turned back to Niomee, ready to give her all I had...
"Don't even try it, wonder-droid." She smiled the weird-metal smile she smiled. "You are not stealing my glory."
"Ni-o-meeeeeeee..."
"No, it's final," Dach said, in a very parental, motherly voice. She dragged her eyes away from her child to focus on her husband. Lubis wasn't nearly as cute as Camis. He was easier to resist. "No. The Great Dane might not appreciate having the whole family there. He asked me, so that would be best."
"Awwwww."
"Lubis, love, give it a rest."
-----------------------------------------------
The estimated Day of Arrival dawned with both suns dancing happily. The entire community was bursting with excitement. Every pair of eyes shone with anticipation.
Our home was probably the brightest of all. Niomee was shining herself, and Rolee was oiling her. Dach was fluffing her fur. Camis was attempting to 'upgrade' me, but I was having none of it. Last time he tried, I couldn't walk for a week.
Poodel's family had been in charge of decorating the Arbor of Celebrations. And as much as I hated to admit, it looked lovely. The Joii trees were edged with a lurid pink crepe paper. The pink Pahhy flowers all had gentle green spotlights shining on them, reflecting the sweet morning dew.
By the way, Poodel's favorite colors are pink and green.
The Pemalite leader and his Chee companion greeted Dach and Niomee when we made it to the Arbor.
"Welcome, Chee-Niomee and Pemalite-Dach," the Great Dane said. "I thank you most sincerely for helping me to welcome our friends."
"It is our great honor," Dach murmured. The Dane offered her his paw, and she took it gracefully. Winking at a pouting Lubis, she allowed the Dane to escort her to the center of the Arbor, where a landing surface had been erected by Bermez.
Niomee hung back for a second, shooting a glance at Rolee. "You all..." She frowned, suddenly, her blank eyes would have widened, I expect, if they could. "Stay here, okay? You, too, Camis and Sendo."
"Sure, Niomee," Camis grinned. "Until their children come out, and then I'm convincing them to take me to their homeworld! Right, Sendo?"
"They'll take me first," I said smartly. "Because I'm advanced technology, and you're just a dull old biological. But maybe if you're nice to me, you can come, too."
"Sendo, you're meeeeeeeeeeeeeeean..."
Rolee shook his head at us. "Go, Niomee, and enjoy your spotlight. I'll keep an eye on them."
"Thanks, Ro."
-----------------------------------------
We waited in the Arbor for I'm not sure how long. It felt like hours, but Onanee said I was exaggerating. I had a few games and books stored on me, and we passed time by playing around with them. I was amazing the biologicals around me by reading and comprehending every single one of the five hundred eighty-six "Pemalite Space Encounters" advanced chapter books when it happened.
"I see them! I see them!" Dalmshun cried. "Fully and completely without my telescope, may I add!"
"She's right!" Coli screeched. "There they are!"
Onanee gripped my paw. "Oh my goodness, Sendo," she murmured.
"Nothing but goodness," I whispered back.
A large, black space ship was descending from the heavens. It almost looked heaven—sent, in that glorious moment. It was circular, something like a Skrit Na ship. A tall cone shape, with the point at the bottom, fixed to the circle's center, protruded from the middle. On the base of the cone, high in the air, what appeared to be an antenna extended. A bright red light blinked merrily from the point of the antenna.
Everyone in the crowd was excited. Everyone was talking about the friends they would make, and what they would learn. We were certain these aliens could teach us something, a game at the least, and the secrets of the future at the most.
We were certain these aliens would change our world, and better our lives. And forever in our hearts, the beautiful memories we would make with them would shine and comfort. Especially for us Chee, who could never forget.
Oh, how I would love to go back in time to that one moment, that last moment of my childhood innocence! How I long for the sweet anticipation I remember so clearly...
The strangely beautiful spacecraft descended where we had prepared for them. Onanee and I were holding on to each other's hands. I could hear Malon snickering, and planning to tease us for all our days, but I really could not care less.
The bottom of the cone, which was technically the top of the ship, if you recall, lifted to allow the aliens access to our world. A sort of luminescent gangplank extended from there, down to where Dach, Niomee and our leaders stood. Dach looked radiant in that moment, the sun shining off of her fur... and newly polished Niomee, I thought was going to fall over in anticipation.
Finally, the aliens appeared. Eight of them.
Their skin was like molten lava, mostly black with thick veins of red peering through. They were very vaguely humanoid. Very vaguely. I couldn't see their paws clearly, but I saw something else strange: it appeared their torsos could revolve around independently of their hind legs.
Lastly, and most strange of all, they were each graced with two large eyes. Beautiful blue eyes, a delicious gerre's-egg blue. And purely blue. No sign of pupil, iris or white. Just... blue.
Or emotion. Blank, blank, unseeing, unfeeling blue. Their eyes were duller and creepier than my own.
Camis shivered next to me. "Their eyes..."
"I know. Hush."
If the bluer-than-blue, blanker-than-blank eyes of these strange creatures frightened our Great Dane and Dach, they didn't show it. Rather, they approached the aliens, armed with language translators.
"Greetings, my friends," the Dane began. "Welcome to the Pemalite homeworld. I am the Pemalite leader, and by extension, the leader of the android race here, the Chee."
"We are Howlers," the speaker of the band said, shockingly in our own language. He leveled that unfeeling gaze onto the Great Dane, and held up something that looked like a primitive Skrit Na device called a 'weapon.'
He held the 'weapon' level with the Great Dane's heart, and pulled a primitive part of the 'weapon' that created a catalyst to work it, called a trigger.
"Now die."
------------------------------------- Um, don't kill me? And go hug Acey Dearest. She sat with me on MSNIM as I wrote this, keeping me on track. She also made me feel guilty, one day when we got to discussing fics that are left unfinished.
Next part? Feel free to nag me. I need a good kick to keep me going. My e- mail address is in my profile.
Camis and I spent the next weeks bouncing between Dalmshun's home, and the Arbor of Celebrations. Life was more exciting than ever, and I felt like a lucky little android. Surely this was my ticket to being a great space explorer. If I could befriend these aliens, maybe they would take Camis and I to their homeworld. We could write about them and educate the others...
Big dreams for such a young 'droid, wouldn't you agree?
I can't help it.
This was the most exciting thing that had happened in all my memory. No one from my world had made contact in decades, maybe centuries. I never knew for sure.
So when the leader of the Pemalites and Chee asked Niomee and Dach to help him greet the aliens, you can imagine how Camis, Lubis, and I reacted.
"Please, please, please, Mama? Pleeeease? I love you."
"Dear, my dear Dach, my sweet wife, and the other half of my heart...?"
"Niomee?" I begged. "Please, may I meet the aliens with you? I beg, Niomee, I grovel..."
I glanced back to where Camis and Lubis were working Dach. Camis was the original master of the puppy dog eyes, and he was getting real reactions out of his mother. She was wincing, and cringing and really close to giving in. I turned back to Niomee, ready to give her all I had...
"Don't even try it, wonder-droid." She smiled the weird-metal smile she smiled. "You are not stealing my glory."
"Ni-o-meeeeeeee..."
"No, it's final," Dach said, in a very parental, motherly voice. She dragged her eyes away from her child to focus on her husband. Lubis wasn't nearly as cute as Camis. He was easier to resist. "No. The Great Dane might not appreciate having the whole family there. He asked me, so that would be best."
"Awwwww."
"Lubis, love, give it a rest."
-----------------------------------------------
The estimated Day of Arrival dawned with both suns dancing happily. The entire community was bursting with excitement. Every pair of eyes shone with anticipation.
Our home was probably the brightest of all. Niomee was shining herself, and Rolee was oiling her. Dach was fluffing her fur. Camis was attempting to 'upgrade' me, but I was having none of it. Last time he tried, I couldn't walk for a week.
Poodel's family had been in charge of decorating the Arbor of Celebrations. And as much as I hated to admit, it looked lovely. The Joii trees were edged with a lurid pink crepe paper. The pink Pahhy flowers all had gentle green spotlights shining on them, reflecting the sweet morning dew.
By the way, Poodel's favorite colors are pink and green.
The Pemalite leader and his Chee companion greeted Dach and Niomee when we made it to the Arbor.
"Welcome, Chee-Niomee and Pemalite-Dach," the Great Dane said. "I thank you most sincerely for helping me to welcome our friends."
"It is our great honor," Dach murmured. The Dane offered her his paw, and she took it gracefully. Winking at a pouting Lubis, she allowed the Dane to escort her to the center of the Arbor, where a landing surface had been erected by Bermez.
Niomee hung back for a second, shooting a glance at Rolee. "You all..." She frowned, suddenly, her blank eyes would have widened, I expect, if they could. "Stay here, okay? You, too, Camis and Sendo."
"Sure, Niomee," Camis grinned. "Until their children come out, and then I'm convincing them to take me to their homeworld! Right, Sendo?"
"They'll take me first," I said smartly. "Because I'm advanced technology, and you're just a dull old biological. But maybe if you're nice to me, you can come, too."
"Sendo, you're meeeeeeeeeeeeeeean..."
Rolee shook his head at us. "Go, Niomee, and enjoy your spotlight. I'll keep an eye on them."
"Thanks, Ro."
-----------------------------------------
We waited in the Arbor for I'm not sure how long. It felt like hours, but Onanee said I was exaggerating. I had a few games and books stored on me, and we passed time by playing around with them. I was amazing the biologicals around me by reading and comprehending every single one of the five hundred eighty-six "Pemalite Space Encounters" advanced chapter books when it happened.
"I see them! I see them!" Dalmshun cried. "Fully and completely without my telescope, may I add!"
"She's right!" Coli screeched. "There they are!"
Onanee gripped my paw. "Oh my goodness, Sendo," she murmured.
"Nothing but goodness," I whispered back.
A large, black space ship was descending from the heavens. It almost looked heaven—sent, in that glorious moment. It was circular, something like a Skrit Na ship. A tall cone shape, with the point at the bottom, fixed to the circle's center, protruded from the middle. On the base of the cone, high in the air, what appeared to be an antenna extended. A bright red light blinked merrily from the point of the antenna.
Everyone in the crowd was excited. Everyone was talking about the friends they would make, and what they would learn. We were certain these aliens could teach us something, a game at the least, and the secrets of the future at the most.
We were certain these aliens would change our world, and better our lives. And forever in our hearts, the beautiful memories we would make with them would shine and comfort. Especially for us Chee, who could never forget.
Oh, how I would love to go back in time to that one moment, that last moment of my childhood innocence! How I long for the sweet anticipation I remember so clearly...
The strangely beautiful spacecraft descended where we had prepared for them. Onanee and I were holding on to each other's hands. I could hear Malon snickering, and planning to tease us for all our days, but I really could not care less.
The bottom of the cone, which was technically the top of the ship, if you recall, lifted to allow the aliens access to our world. A sort of luminescent gangplank extended from there, down to where Dach, Niomee and our leaders stood. Dach looked radiant in that moment, the sun shining off of her fur... and newly polished Niomee, I thought was going to fall over in anticipation.
Finally, the aliens appeared. Eight of them.
Their skin was like molten lava, mostly black with thick veins of red peering through. They were very vaguely humanoid. Very vaguely. I couldn't see their paws clearly, but I saw something else strange: it appeared their torsos could revolve around independently of their hind legs.
Lastly, and most strange of all, they were each graced with two large eyes. Beautiful blue eyes, a delicious gerre's-egg blue. And purely blue. No sign of pupil, iris or white. Just... blue.
Or emotion. Blank, blank, unseeing, unfeeling blue. Their eyes were duller and creepier than my own.
Camis shivered next to me. "Their eyes..."
"I know. Hush."
If the bluer-than-blue, blanker-than-blank eyes of these strange creatures frightened our Great Dane and Dach, they didn't show it. Rather, they approached the aliens, armed with language translators.
"Greetings, my friends," the Dane began. "Welcome to the Pemalite homeworld. I am the Pemalite leader, and by extension, the leader of the android race here, the Chee."
"We are Howlers," the speaker of the band said, shockingly in our own language. He leveled that unfeeling gaze onto the Great Dane, and held up something that looked like a primitive Skrit Na device called a 'weapon.'
He held the 'weapon' level with the Great Dane's heart, and pulled a primitive part of the 'weapon' that created a catalyst to work it, called a trigger.
"Now die."
------------------------------------- Um, don't kill me? And go hug Acey Dearest. She sat with me on MSNIM as I wrote this, keeping me on track. She also made me feel guilty, one day when we got to discussing fics that are left unfinished.
Next part? Feel free to nag me. I need a good kick to keep me going. My e- mail address is in my profile.