Simon's Experiments II
By Alius111
Chapter Thirteen
Why Are You Running?
By now the B.R.B 9000 was a scorched pile of scrap metal floating aimlessly throughout the empty void of space. I had no choice; I had to destroy the ship. I couldn't risk taking it with me. Let's face it: A colossal Federation Class Flagship isn't exactly what I would call inconspicuous. So, I had to blow it up. I activated the self destruct sequence and transformed that giant hunk of scrap metal and sent it screaming into oblivion. At least it went out with a bang. I hope the Grand Councilwomen had insurance.
Besides wanting to remain as ethereal as possible, I had other reasons for discarding the ship. After just escaping from prison I had to throw the Federation off my trail. The Grand Councilwomen would have her agents combing the farthest reaches of space, searching with a ravenous hunger until they found me. I had to remain elusive, and the very ship they have been searching for provided me with the perfect method.
The B.R.B 9000 had roughly ten thousand escape pods, each with its own homing beacon installed. Now, the computer built into each pod is programmed to return to Planet Turo, but a little reprogramming and a little imagination took care of that that feature. After that, my plan was simple. I jettisoned every escape pod but one, and sent them all to different sectors in the galaxy. The federation would have no choice but to track them all down if they wanted to have any chance of capturing me. It would take them months to find them all. Essentially I sent the Federation on a wild goose chase. Then after I set the ship to self destruct, I escaped to a nearby planet in the final pod–making sure to jettison its homing beacon sending it into a black hole(I have no idea where that one is going to end up) and landing safely on the planet to gather supplies and a new ship capable of transporting me to Earth. A small escape pod didn't have enough fuel to make such a taxing flight.
My plan was fool proof. The most likely place for me to go would be Earth, and no doubt the federation would check there. But their forces would be spread across space so thin as a result of tracking down the escape pods; who knows how long it would be before they were able to search Earth. Besides, a fugitive running back to his home planet is too obvious a choice. The Grand Councilwomen wouldn't expect me to be so bold. That gave me an advantage. I had time on my side. The conditions were perfect. I had already managed to slip through her fingers twice. I could only hope that my luck lasted just a little longer. I was going to need it if I was going to land on a strange planet and expect to get out safely.
XXXX
I landed the pod at the end of a dark alleyway, right in the dead center of a vast city. It was a clumsy landing as I was unfamiliar with the controls, but at least I made it out in one piece. Like so many planets controlled by the Federation; this planet's flora and fauna had been paved over to make way for inevitable urbanization and endless conurbation. And as I walked down the pod's ramp, and onto the strange world; I recoiled in disgust and shielded my nose. The air was foul. It had the industrial and mechanical smell of car exhaust and sulfur. There must have been a factory nearby. How anything could live here and not die from suffocation was beyond my understanding.
"Chubi chipa," I said, squinting my watering eyes. "What a stench."
"Who's there?"
I gasped and accidentally sucked in a lungful of the foul smelling air. Coughing, I jumped to the ground and hid behind a pile of discarded boxes just as a short toad-like man, determined to see who had caused the disturbance no matter how long it took, came strolling down the alley. The Toad Man was short. He was about my height and had roughly the same width. His skin was green and his eyes were bulbous, he wore a tattered, tan colored trench coat tailored for someone of his–and my diminutive size.
This one interests me.
Silently, I watched from behind a box as Toad Man approached my escape pod. A look of greed and desire came over his face. No doubt he was visualizing how much the pod would fetch him on the Black Market. This must have been his lucky day. A federation escape pod without anyone to claim it, and all his for the taking. But this time, my toad like friend was in for the surprise of a lifetime.
"Ooh, you a right down beauty you are." The Toad man said, running his hand along the pod's hull. "You'll fetch a fine price." He moved to go up the ramp, but I stepped from behind the boxes, aiming my blaster at his head.
"Hold it," I said.
The Toad man let out a terrified whelp and spun around, lost his footing and fell to the ground with a loud "Ooph."
Quickly I walked over to where he lay, making sure to keep my gun aimed at his head. I had to be cautiouse. You never know how these people will react once cornered.
"What'ya want!?" The Toad Man squealed. "Just take my money, but please don't be hurtin' me."
"I'm not going to hurt you," I said flatly. "I need to know where I can get a ship with hyperspace capabilities."
A green gel-like substances began leaking from his eyes and the Toad Man began sobbing. I cringed. It was a pitiful sight, and I was beginning to lose patience.
"Please," He begged. "Please, please, please, please–"
"Tell me where I can find a ship!" I finally yelled.
The man flinched and pulled himself together long enough to speak.
"D-down by the market," Toad Man cried. "Please don't hurt me. I-I have a wife and children."
Sadly, I frowned and lowered my weapon as guilt began to build up in my chest.
"You have a wife and kids?" I asked.
Nervously the Toad Man's eyes darted back and forth. "Well . . . no, not really," He admitted. "But someday I might."
I rolled my eyes and began to walk away. I was just about to leave the alley when I heard Toad Man's voice call me back.
"H-hey . . . your the man from the wanted sign,"Toad Man hollered. "I-I'm calling the federation."
I stopped dead in my tracks and whirled around. "Wanted sign?" I asked. But before he could answer, I lunged forward and bashed the back of Toad Man's head with the but of my blaster. Eyes widening, he let out a quick rush of air and collapsed.
That should knock him out for a few hours. I was about to turn and leave when I noticed the tattered, tan trench coat Toad Man was wearing. Even though it was old and little mistreated, it was a nice coat, and in my size.
"Hmm," I tapped the bottom of my chin in thought. "It is a nice coat," I said. "Ah, what the hell." Resting my blaster on the ground, I dropped to my knees, and with a great huff, rolled Toad Man onto his back and pulled off his trench coat.
For a moment I held it up, observing the stitching before finally nodding and slipping my arms into the sleeves and pulling up the collar. It was a perfect fit, it looked good on me, and as an added bonus: the material didn't make my fur itch. Curiously, I searched the pockets and just my luck, I found a couple thousand credits and a small knife.
Smiling, I looked down at Toad Man and nudged his unconscious body with my foot. "Thanks for the coat," I said. "You can keep the pod." He of course didn't answer. Grinning, I turned around, grabbed my blaster, stowed it in my pocket, and walked casually down the alleyway. My heart had been hammering the whole time . . .I just mugged a man.
When I emerged from the dark void of the alleyway, I was greeted by the usual hustle and bustle associated with a large city. It was daytime, but the suns were snuffed out by a bleak and cheerless blanket of grey clouds that cloaked the sky. The city itself was a vast metropolis. The Buildings were tall, some even tall enough to reach the sky; they were windowless and seemed to be made up of some strange black steel, and surprisingly the streets were paved with what appeared to be common asphalt.
The atmosphere was wet and damp, but terribly humid. I could already feel myself sweating under my trench coat. It looked like global warming hit this planet with a vengeance.
I looked up into the air, noticing with mild interest the large televisions attached only to the tallest buildings, all with the scowling face of the Grand Councilwomen shining vividly on their screens. Her loud, booming voice resounded throughout the city as she recited the laws of the Galactic Order.
"The galaxy wide curfew will be in effect in precisely, three hours, fifteen minutes, and eight seconds," She said. "All citizens found out after hours will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
I growled and watched the screen, angrily clenching my tiny fists. No matter where I went there she was. She was everywhere, and of course she would want to have her face barking orders on every planet. I wondered how the citizens were taking this. I looked around the bustling metropolis, and regarded the people. Citizens of a million different races marched steadily down the streets, but it didn't look to me as if they were walking. They all seemed to be fallowing an invisible flow, or a current. It was almost as if they were drifting. It was strangely eerie in its own way.
I could see their faces. Everyone of them all different shapes and sizes, but all wearing the same expression. They all looked so sad. Their faces were tired and their collective eyes looked dead. It was like watching a herd of zombies shuffle lazily down the street. I could only imagine what these people have gone through under the rule of the Grand Councilwomen. What harsh laws have these poor unfortunate bystanders been forced to swallow and obey? These people didn't deserve this. Their only crime was living. They didn't control who ran their government. I felt for these people . . . I really did. I knew what it was like to crumble underneath the Grand Councilwoman's radical authority, and what it was to be crushed underneath her conquering feet. She was a menace and had to be stopped.
This coming from the experiment who just mugged a toad man for his tench coat and money. I thought glumly.
"I'm sure he had it coming,"I said sourly, as if it justified my actions.
"Who are you talking to? A man who had been sitting quietly against the side of a building asked in a rough, grizzly tone.
"Uh . . .nothing," I said uneasily. "I was just thinking out loud." I went to leave but the man dived forward and grabbed my forearm. "H-hey! What are you do–"
"You look familiar," He said studying my features. Just then realization came over his face."Hey ya, your the guy from the wanted poster." The man smiled greedily and his grip tightened on my arm. "Ya, Ya, your him–your the guy!" His voice began to escalate and he was starting to attract some unwanted attention. People were starting to stare, and I was beginning to feel nervous.
"Let go idiot," I said trying to pull my arm free. But he wouldn't let me go.
"Na, I'm turning you in, I'm getting the reward, I'm gonna be rich!"
He's obviously not going to see reason
Growling, I slashed the man across the face, drawing thin lines of blood. He let out a great bellow and collapsed against the wall, wildly clutching his face.
I backed away but immediately regretted my actions. He was just a desperate man on the end of his luck. I tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't stop screaming. He was drawing far too much attention, he left me with no choice. As the man continued to scream, I removed my blaster from my pocket and bashed him hard on the knee. He screamed and fell to the ground.
"Sorry." I gave him a rough bash to the head and his screams cut short.
Sighing, I turned away from the unconscious man only to see an entire crowd of people gawking at me.
I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. I had to come up with something fast.
"Uhh," I said looking back and forth. "Please excuse my friend . . . he is very drunk, so I had to," I made a swinging motion with my arm. "You know . . .knock him out."
The people watching me laughed and went on their way and I let out a sigh of relief. Thank God they didn't recognize me. Apparently my face was well known in these parts. I can't see how. I failed to see any wanted post–and that's when I spotted it.
My eyes widened and I ran across the street, forcing my way through the crowd and dodging a few vehicles as they zoomed by.
This is not good, this can't be happening. But there it was, black and white and clear as crystal. There, on the other side of the street was a circular, metal disk hovering a few feet above the ground, projecting 3-D holograms of advertisements and. . .WANTED POSTERS!
As I saw a hologram of Fletcher, Leroy, and myself floating above head I felt my stomach tighten. I got a good look at the hologram of myself and was a little disappointed. It was a image of me while I was staying in the infirmary. My face was thin, and my eyes were wild with an almost cannibalistic madness. Not one of my most flattering photographs. I could see why the federation chose this picture; I looked absolutely terrifying. The wanted poster was offering an award of Ten Million credits for my capture. That was quite a bounty. I suddenly felt very exposed. Nervously, I looked around at the nameless faces as they walked by and I pulled on my collar, trying to hide my face from their prying eyes. What was I doing walking out in the middle of a crowded street with such a large price on my head? Someone was going to see me. I had instincts, and they were telling me to hide myself–
"Blimey, what a disgusting creature."
I looked to my right and saw a another short, toad like man but this one was wearing a black business suit. He looked at my wanted poster with both interest and disgust.
"What a revolting and ugly image," He declared.
"Hey," I said defensively. "It's a mug shot. After weeks of starvation I bet you wouldn't look so good either."
Offended, the Business Man turned towards me, intending to give me the tongue lashing of a lifetime, when he suddenly stopped right in the middle of saying "Now look here" as he got a look at my face. Eyes nearly bulging from his skull, his hand flew up to his mouth and he started forward.
"M-My word," He said. "Your the ghastly thing from the hologram."
Without thinking, I pulled my blaster from my pocket and used it to smash the business man across the head. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground, unconscious. After all the people I had hit in the head, my blaster was beginning to get a small dent on its side.
"I better get out of here before I knock any more people unconscious." I said, turning around and vanishing into the crowd. It wouldn't be long before someone found the three people I introduced to the receiving end of my blaster. And when they did, Toad Man, Quiet Man, and Business Suit Man were going to tell them who had accosted them: 'a small, black and grey monster armed with a blaster,' they would say. I was running out of time. By landing here I had put myself in danger. I had to find a ship fast.
XXXX
My wearisome and seemingly unsuccessful search for a working spacecraft led me to the market and to an underground bunker. I was first drawn to the bunker by a loud pinging sound that reminded me of the gently chime of a triangle. It turned out it was just the sound of a woman using a hammer to pound away on a bent piece of pipe. The gentle chime of a triangle had now become the loud booming of a gong.
Frowning, I observed the bunker. It was a large rectangular room. It reminded me of one of those parking structures from my home planet. Thousands of ships of all shapes and designs were lined, row by row. I had obviously come to the right place.
I kept my hand in my pocket,and my fingers wrapped tightly around my blaster's handle. I might have to use it anytime. I felt it was best to not make my presence known so I stayed in the shadows, and silently regarded the rows of ships.
As I walked past, the woman who had been pounding on the piece of pipe looked up and dropped her hammer. I came to an abrupt stop and for a moment we stared at each other. She didn't seem afraid, just . . .cautious.
"H-Hello," She said uncertainly. "Can I help you?"
"Yes," I replied. "I'm looking for a ship."
A smile came over her face and her initial uncertainty was thrown to the wind.
"Yes of course," She said. "Just give me sec."
I watched with a cold expression as she climbed out if her overalls and let her hair down. I quirked an eyebrow. Despite a light coating of grease, she was actually very attractive. The woman was tall, thin, and had a similar appearance with the humans of Earth. The only difference I could find was that instead of five fingers, she had only four.
"So," The Woman said, walking towards me. "If you need a good ship at a low price then you've come to the right place." She sighed and wiped the seat from her brow with the back of her hand. "So, are you just going to stand there, lurking in the shadows or do you want to fallow me and find a ship?"
I didn't like how close she was getting. I hitched up my collar, but it didn't help much. If she was going to recognize me a collar certainly wouldn't stop her. I would hate to have to shoot her and steal one of these ships. I may be a little more lenient when it comes to the prospect of taking another life, but I would only kill when all other resources were exhausted and I absolutely had no other choice.
Initially I found her optimism a little uncomfortable. But meeting a woman who didn't want to kill you or chop off your gonads was actually quite refreshing. Unfortunately, my years spent in prison had killed any charm or gentlemanly features I might have once had. Now I only had my cold disposition. I must have come off quite cold. But she didn't seem to notice, or at least pretended not to.
Cautiously, I walked into the light expecting the worst. She didn't seem to recognize me–which good thing, but she did find my ragged and rough appearance a little unsettling. I bet that hologram of me was beginning to look pretty good now.
"Oh my God," She said scrunching her face. "You look like reheated death. Your skin and bones!"
I frowned. "Thank you," I said glumly. "What a nice way to break the ice. I bet you say that to everyone you meet."
"Oh I'm sorry," She said guilty. "Sometimes I say things before thinking about them first . . . would you like something to eat? You looked starved an inch from death."
I shook my head. "No, I just want a ship. I'm on a tight schedule and I don't have time to eat with strange women."
"Alright, you don't have to bite my head off." She waved me over and accompanied me along the rows of spacecrafts.
"I only have a few thousand credits." I told her as we passed ship after ship. None of them caught my fancy.
She laughed and shook her head. "That's okay. We'll find you a ship that matches your...um . . .different personality.
I growled but let the comment slide. Every moment I spent talking with this women was another moment wasted.
For the next fifteen minutes, I was led pointlessly through row after row of spacecrafts without results. Some of the were nice but they weren't me. Some were too bulky and some were too flashy. I needed something sleek and fast. And none of these crafts fit my criteria. It wasn't about finding a ship. It was about finding the right ship. It had to make a statement.
"What about his one?" She suggested. I looked to where she was pointing and my face soured. She had picked out a rust bucket who's wings and thrusters were held on by what appeared to be tape.
I gave her annoyed look and shook my head.
"Alright, do you have anything special in mind?"
I gave it some thought. "Yes," I said. "I want something small, inconspicuous, and do you have something in a black and grey? I have a weird fetish for the combination of those two colors."
"Hmm, maybe it's because your fur is black and grey," She said looking me up and down.
I scowled.
"Congratulations," I said monotonously. "You've cracked the case. Now can we get a move on? I don't have all day."
"Okay, I think I have the right ship for you."
My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. The ship she showed me was . . . in a word perfect. It had attitude, it had flair, and it was sleek. The frame reminded me of a small fighter jet. The ship had a cockpit large enough for one person, and two rectangular thrusters protruding from the back. Although faded, the ships hull was a velvety black with a grey stripe running down its center. I was rendered speechless.
"I think it's love at first sight," She said, smiling at my shocked expression. "Lets have a look inside her."
When I climbed into the cockpit, it felt right. The seat was a little moth eaten but it was comfortable. The throttle and all the switches were in reach. It was capable of reaching hyperspace and its weapon system was more than formidable. Now this ship made a statement. Literally, there was a sticker on the left side of the hull that read in big red letters: 'If you can read this then I'm probably up your ass.'
I smiled and ran my hands along the joystick. It was almost as if this ship was built for me and was waiting for me to come along and find it.
"How does it feel?" She asked.
"Wonderful." I tapped pressed a few buttons and was delighted when they lit up. "It's big and it's mine."
"So you want it then?"
I nodded and threw her the credits. "That's all I got."
She took a moment to count the credits, and then nodded. "Okay, she's all yours." Turing around, she walked away and headed for the other end of the bunker.
At the press of a button, the cockpit closed and the engines powered up. These thrusters were much more quieter when compared to the B.R.B. I wasn't complaining. I actually preferred it that way. I pulled back on the throttle and the spacecraft lifted a few feet of the ground. I could feel the power of the ship. It was small but it was powerful. But I had enough of this planet and it was time for me to leave.
Laughing, I thrust the joystick forward and the ship took off; the other ships were nothing more than a blur of color as I sped past. That's when I came up with the perfect name for my ship. I was going to call it 'the Valkyrie.'
I pulled back on the throttle and bright blue flames exploded from the thrusters, sending me rocketing out the bunker's front entrance and into the atmosphere. At the rate I was going I would clear the planets gravitational pull in a mere ten seconds.
"Computer, activate the Hyperdrive."
No response. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the on board computer was on the fritz.
"I'll have to fix that when I get back to Earth." I grabbed hold of a lever protruding from the dashboard, pulled it, and twisted its handle.
"HYPERDRIVE ACTIVATED. SYTEM CHARGING"
"Well, at least the voice works." I slammed the lever back into the dashboard and the Valkyrie sped into Hyperdrive, exceeding light speed, and bringing me ever closer to my final destination: Earth. I would arrive in three days. But until then, I was going to get some rest. I had a lot to do when I finally returned home.
Frowning, I looked through the cockpit and into space as it zoomed by in an dazzling spiral of colors and light. "So much to do," I whispered.
Alius111: I felt that this chapter was a little weak and a little rushed in the end. But I just wanted to get this one out of the way so Simon could finally get back to Earth, which will be happening in the next chapter! How will the Simon react when he is reunited with his family? How will the Ohana react to Simon's surprise visit? You'll have to wait for the next chapter. But until then, Please Review.