Matt's jaw made a cracking sound as it opened, as if rusted from neglect. He drooled in anticipation as the morsel entered his mouth, then his tastebuds flooded with the flavor of petroleum, dried sardines, and dehydrated potato salad. He chewed and swallowed.
It's crazy, he thought. But that was actually pretty good.
His eyes moistened with tears. I'm so weak. Why do I have to be such a baby? Why couldn't I hold off eating a few days?
Letting out an unhappy chuckle, Matt drove his teeth deep into the hunk of bread in his hand, tears pouring out of his eyes as he chewed a big mouthful. He swallowed, gave a prayer of thanks, then devoured the entire loaf. He felt no ill effects, only less hungry.
Quana seemed less sad, but Matt could still detect some worriment in her expression. He drank some water. "What do you call that stuff I just ate?"
"Muloyi. You want to try something else?"
Matt shook his head. "I only ate this stuff out of necessity. I'm not going to mix poisons."
"It's a start. Want some more?"
He thought for a moment. "Yes, please."
When she left to get it, he bowed his head and wept.
I have no willpower, he thought. Now I'll die and never see anyone from Earth again. He laughed bitterly, waiting for more food.
Quana returned with a tray stacked with several large pieces of Muloyi, and Matt filled his stomach.
"I asked someone about the Kugfiks. They said they're a constant nuisance. They protected the crops and the kitchen with Burble extract, but they haven't been as careful around the Cilaft."
Matt frowned. "Got anything fun to do here? Board games?"
Quana shrugged. "It's a Takofuea. All we have are books."
Matt sighed, staring at the barren walls. "What time is it?"
"It's...about time for the midday worship service. You were unconscious for a long time."
"I'm pathetic." Matt gazed at her sadly. "Are you going?"
She shook her head. "We can worship God in spirit and in truth. Together."
And so they had a little worship service at the bedside. Matt fell asleep during the prayers, and when he awoke, he found a group of males and females singing church hymns around his bed. This cheered him so much that he taught them a few more.
The doctor, seeming to notice his improved health and mood, removed the IV tubes and let him get out of bed. Matt managed to make it to the restroom and back with only a mild sensation of dizziness.
As he continued to rest in bed, a large group of monks came to visit, asking Matt for copies of the bible, English lessons, and all sorts of advice. He answered them the best he could, and he and Quana ended up promising them they'd have a Wava version of the bible ready as soon as possible. But when they had left, Matt said, "How are we going to translate all that material in a week? Some people have taken years to translate the bible."
"Did those people have computers?"
He laughed. "I guess not."
"I've heard about some excellent auto translation systems. They don't do English, of course, but we could program it in, and with a little proofreading, we could have some semblance of a Wava bible."
"Still, I think, to do a better job, we'd need a Hebrew and Greek bible."
"Didn't your translators have rough copies sometimes?"
"Sometimes. I guess the Latin Vulgate wasn't very good." Matt paused. "So, do you have this magical software handy?"
Quana shook her head. "We have to buy it from a place in Bencap."
"When do you want to go?"
"Let's wait until you're fully recovered."
"I've been in bed a long time already."
"Dinner's in a few hours. They should be serving Muloyi. Maybe Shojoji will let you eat in the Bindif with the others."
"Sounds good."
"It seems you've digested the food okay. You don't look at all sick. In fact, I think you look better."
"Yeah, I feel okay. And for a minute, I thought it would kill me." Matt rested.
At dinner, as Matt sat down with the males, watching the leader stroll in with the ceremonial Frisbee, Azbori muttering something in the male's ear, and the two had a hushed discussion for a few minutes.
The leader locking eyes with Matt, hissing and waving his tail.
Matt pointed to himself, and the monk nodded impatiently.
Trembling with nervousness, Matt marched up to him.
To his utter shock, Matt found a silver disk being pressed into his hands. His mouth fell open in surprise as the male slapped him on the back, pushing him in front of the assembly.
With a sheepish grin, Matt turned the heavy disk over in his hands, but his smile faded when he saw everyone in the room staring at him. He felt like he were in speech class again.
Nervously lifting the disk, he prayed the Protestant common table prayer, causing a mixture of indignant murmurs, amens and indifferent shrugs. Some ate, but others looked at him with suspicion, not touching their food.
Quana jumped up from her seat, snatching the disk from Matt's hands. There were a few offended murmurs, but after she said a Wava prayer, they calmed down.
The repast consisted of Muloyi, the pollen stuff, Wusu, and something new, Zux Leem. Matt took some of the bread, but passed the rest on, chuckling as he noticed the expressions of surprise on the faces of his dining companions.
At the end of the meal, Quana brought Matt a piece of Zux Leem. "Did you try one of these? They're really good."
"No thanks. I told you I didn't want to mix poisons."
"Oh c'mon. If the Muloyi didn't kill you, what makes you think Zux Leem will?"
"There's still a lot I don't know about Abreya physiology. What if it's like mixing ammonia and bleach?"
"You already ate Muloyi, and your body seems to accept it just fine. Why wouldn't Zux Leem be okay, too? And it's so delicious."
Matt took the splotchy thing and stared at it. I guess if I'm already poisoned, another one won't matter. I'm still miles away from a real doctor. Plus the Muloyi really didn't hurt me. I could be making a big deal out of nothing.
Matt opened his mouth, biting into the soft, fleshy outer layer, and his tongue was reminded of steak, turnip and tomato soup. The flavor changed.
"Now it tastes like blueberry pie and ice cream now. Am I going to turn into a giant blueberry?"
Quana rolled her eyes.
He took another bite, then stuck out his tongue in disgust. "Now it tastes like that cherry junk they put in those foam mouthpieces at the dentist's."
"It just tastes like Zux Leem to me."
Matt made a face, handing the fruit back to her. "Yuck! The aftertaste is worse!" He rinsed his mouth, but it didn't help.
With a shrug, Quana ate the rest of the fruit. "Another Cufajha session should be starting shortly. You can come along if you want."
With a nod, Matt followed her down to the choir area, listening to the choir rehearse until he felt he could sleep sitting up.
"I'm going to go dance again," Quana said to him at the end of practice.
"You still do that?"
She nodded. "Gleenpach is a beautiful way of expressing my thanks to Ponai. Now that I know my Kipom, I have much to thank him for."
"Okay. Have fun doing the Hammer Dance."
She giggled. "Have a good rest."
"Eyap mez."
However, when Matt got to bed, he just laid on the blob, staring at the cracks and spots in the ceiling while every part of his body itched. He rolled over, staring at the wall.
I guess it makes sense, he thought. I was in bed for roughly two days. It's no surprise that I can't sleep now. He scratched his neck. These bed bugs don't help.
Matt turned on the light and sat up, watching a giant blue cockroach dash across the stone floor.
Sighing, Matt crawled to the dining hall, scratching himself as he stared at the tapestries.
Quana's going to be doing that dance thing for hours. What do I do in the meantime? Matt shook his head and sighed.
The sensation of itchiness traveled through every inch of his skin like he had been skinny dipping in a mosquito colony. He scratched his arm until the flesh peeled off, exposing a layer of gray skin.
Matt swallowed. Aren't sunburns and rashes supposed to be red?...Maybe I'm going to die after all.
He scratched his other arm, uncovering more and more gray skin. What's going on? Did the food or the IV do something to my melanin?
Wrapping himself in layers of alien blankets, he strolled out to the cliff, watching Nessie bobbing across the ocean.
Matt felt strangely warm. Thinking it to be a change of weather, he took off one alien `blanket', then another, and another, until he was down to his robe. It must be summer, he thought. You think it'd be cooler at night...
A sharp stab of pain to the backside interrupted his train of thought. Frustrated with his discomfort, he returned to the dining hall, slowly pacing the floor.
Quana climbed out of the hole in the floor with a dejected look on her face. Letting out a choking sound, she knelt down and wept.
Matt put his arm around her shoulder. "What happened?"
"It's Shali," she sobbed. "She became an atheist. It's all my fault! She got so confused and upset that she left the Takofuea!"
"Who's Shali?"
"Just a friend I met." She swallowed her tears. "This Qawdar named Tovia told her lies and she believed them."
Matt took a deep breath. "It's not your fault, Quana. It happens."
"I know. But it still feels like I did something wrong."
"Quana, you did your job. You shared the message. All we can do now is wait and pray for the Holy Spirit to work in her heart."
"I guess you're right," she sniffed. "Tovia makes me so mad. I want to hurt her."
"I feel the same way about people sometimes, but that's now how you save souls."
Quana wiped her eyes. "Couldn't sleep?"
He shook his head. "I think I slept too much. I'll probably start feeling it tomorrow."
Dista brought in a bible, and they had another study.
As they delved into the book of Corinthians, Matt found himself scratching every other minute. "Quana, do Abreyas get fleas?"
"Sometimes we get Hayajvis, but I haven't heard anything about it here lately. Why?"
"I'm itching."
"I did notice you scratching a lot. I guess we can check your bed." Then she crawled out of the room.
Another sharp pain shot through Matt's backside. And what's that about? Maybe I spoke too soon about the food not affecting me.
Trying hard to ignore such annoyances, he led Dista through some more passages.
A few minutes later, Quana returned to the room with a bewildered look on her face. "I told someone about it. They said they'll check." She gave him a kindly smile. "You feeling sleepy yet, human?"
"No, it's...weird. I feel wide awake. So what do we do now?"
"Normally I occupy myself with chores until morning worship." She shrugged. "We could leave tonight, but I haven't said goodbye to everyone."
"So now I can leave. Now that I ate your food and my skin's peeling off and who knows what else."
"At least you're not fainting and hitting your head on rocks."
He sighed.
With an annoyed snap of her tail, Quana said, "We can leave in the morning. What do you want to do until then?"
"I guess if we had a ball, and you didn't mind me cracking my head, we could play football."
She suddenly looked excited. "There's an idea! All three of us could play. There's even a ball in the Treivanox!" And so they walked hand in hand in that direction.
Quana stopped, staring at Matt's palms. "Your hand isn't smooth anymore."
"Calluses?"
She turned his hand over. "I don't think so."
"I noticed that. I think it's from the washer in the bathroom."
With a shrug, she clutched it again, and they walked that way until Dista made it awkward by holding Matt's other hand.
Once at the building, Quana took the ball outside, and the three of them played a non-regulation football game between a group of statues.
Matt tried to go easy at first, but when Dista and Quana got the hang of it, he was the one being tackled painfully to the ground. Quana ended up assigning Dista to Matt's side to make the game fair.
After another round, the green Abreya saw them playing and joined in, making the game more evenly matched.
They played a long time, stopping only when they heard the digeridoos.
"That must be the call to morning worship."
"Already?"
Quana nodded.
Matt sniffed himself. "I should probably hit the showers. I mean, the equivalent."
Quana looked puzzled for a moment, but then she scrunched up her nose. "You need to hit something!"
After a bath, Matt crawled out to the worship plaza to find a scene of such hostility that he wanted to crawl back in.
A riot had broken out between two crowds of males and females, leaving a wake of broken statuary, smashed tables, and a gaggle of Hoyroq running wild around a spreading bonfire.
On one side, a giant mob shouted and waved their fists threateningly, looming closer and closer to a pitiful gathering of fifteen monks led by Quana.
Matt suddenly noticed Quana clearing a path, waving to him with her tail.
Gee, thanks for inviting me to the mincemeat party! Matt thought, running up to her. He narrowly avoided a flying dirt clod hurled in his direction. "What happened?"
"Kodo tried to drive out the Carnricks! Now they're trying to make us leave!"
Matt shrugged. "We were planning to go anyway."
"Not like this! They don't ever want us to come back!"
"They want us to leave right now?"
"Yes, Matt. No stopping."
"But I have stuff in my room!"
Quana shook her head. "It can't be helped."
Matt frowned at the rioting Abreyas. He didn't have that much in his room, but he did want to retrieve it...and now couldn't.
"Quana, I want to come with you and learn about Jesus," Kodo said in Wava.
"Me too," said Chaz.
"Quana, I believe in you," said Azbori.
"Don't believe in me," said Quana. "Believe in Jesus."
"Okay. I believe in Jesus."
Bonbon, a female with a speckled green face, also wanted to come along.
Goksar waved at five others. "We all want to come with you."
Quana nodded. "Fine, but you all risk imprisonment. My mother the queen of Bencap wants to marry me to an unbeliever and put my friend in a zoo."
"We'll protect you, Quana," said Spak.
"I'll defend you to the death!" said Kodo.
"Please. Protect me peacefully."
The Wusu farmer clenched his fists. "I will kill anyone who tries to capture you!"
"Azbori! Love your enemy!"
"Oh." With a frown of disappointment, the male walked away from the group, only turning around when his friend Giladl grabbed him and gave him a talk. "I will...love my enemy?"
Quana nodded.
They crawled up to the Cilaft.
"Does everyone have a Grunkiahu?"
"We are only allowed to take our own," said the speckled female. "We have only three, counting yours."
"Why are there not more of them?"
The female shrugged. "Many of us sold our Grunkiahus to buy salvation contracts."
"There are a few more here," said Kodo. "But they belong to the Takofuea."
"Are the same as the ones you sold?"
"No, they're different."
"Then not all of you can come."
The monks sighed and muttered.
"I came here by Shoktar," said Dista. "Anyone that's left can follow me."
More murmuring.
"It's as good as we can do on such short notice."
"What's a Shoktar?" said Matt.
Quana threw the saddle over Nubsa's back. "Something that you ride."
As he leaned on the wing of the great bird, watching her buckle the saddle in place, Quana frowned at him. "I'm sorry, Matt. I can't let you ride with me. It's for your own protection."
"But how will I find you? How will I get home?"
"You'll have to go with Dista."
He stared at the servant. "Can she be trusted?"
"She loves Jesus now. She wouldn't mistreat God's messenger."
The skepticism was plain on his face. "But I'm not that good at Wava. What if something happens?"
"Come on, Matt. You know the language. Just keep doing what you're doing."
"What about the stuff I had in the saddle?"
"Honestly, there's not much there. It was only a lot of food and a dull knife."
"All right. Give me my knife."
With a shake of her head, she handed it to him.
"Can I have yours, too?"
"No. You're too dangerous with that thing." Matt opened his mouth to protest, but she added, "I think I might need it again."
He sighed. "At least let me call mom."
Quana handed him the communicator.
He got answered by shouts, banging, and a baying hound.
"Trixie!" his mother shouted at her dog, then, "Hello?"
"Hello? Mom?"
"Get out of those cookies!" He heard scuffling sounds, then a door slamming. "That dog..." Camille sighed. "How are you? How is the mission down in...Cape Canaveral?"
Matt frowned. "It's fine, mom." He swallowed. "Mom, things are getting really crazy down here. I really don't know when I'll be back again. I, I'll try my best to get back as soon as I can, but..." He trailed off.
"I can just barely hear you. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's just..." He heard the line fall silent. "Mom?"
Nothing.
Quana stared at the device. "It could be a solar storm or something. Want to try it again?"
"No," Matt sighed. "That's probably good." He called Keith, but nobody was there, so he left a voicemail.
Quana spoke with her servant for a minute.
"Dista says she'd be honored to accompany you. She thinks you're cute."
Matt chuckled, but didn't feel happy.
"You're better off with her. There's less a chance of someone will recognizing you."
"Speaking of which..." He dug the fake fur out of the saddle. "Can you fix this before you go?"
Quana frowned. "I don't have my Domakfi. Maybe Dista can get you a Hegaljo or something."
Matt wrapped the fur around his neck, but he couldn't get it to stay on without showing his bare skin or falling off, so he threw it away with a sigh.
At Quana's prompting, someone fitted him with a hooded cowl and a scarf that covered most his face.
Quana faced her flock. "Everyone, let's meet back together at the Coly-Myxcin." Then she and Bonbon mounted the Grunk.
Tapping Nubsa with the control rod, she leaned over the saddle, giving Matt a sorrowful gaze. "Goodbye, my dear boyfriend. Until we meet again."
She rode out the gate, taking to the air.
Matt frowned at Dista. "How do we get to where we're going?' he asked in Wava.
"There's a trail to the south."
Skirting the angry mob, Matt followed Quana's servant down a long trail lined with alien totem poles and toadstools the size of trees, stepped around rows of alien cabbages with red shelled eggs in their centers. Large pitcher plants with eyes stared at them as they walked past.
Feeling something wet and spongy touching his skin, Matt looked down and found himself to be standing in a mass of soft acorn barnacle things. Seeing them wiggle beneath his bare feet, he shuddered in disgust and looked away.
They crossed a steep rocky hill scattered with bits broken toadstool trees and five to six foot tall conical plants covered in giant thorns, tromped down a narrow dusty pass to a wide meadow full of flowering, squirming plants that resembled Limidae mollusks without the shell.
Up ahead, a herd of saurian creatures grazed on squirmy grass, sticking their long stiff tails in the air as they dug for choice roots in the soil, pausing occasionally to scratch their floppy ears with wicked looking toe claws.
Shushing her companions, Dista blew on an ocarina, causing the creatures' ears to stick straight up.
A muscular beast with stripes along its back clomped up to her, bowed, then licked her face with its huge tongue. She giggled, petting it on the head and scratching it under the ears, making soft clicks and purring noises until the creature knelt before her.
Dista locked eyes with Matt, gesturing to the creature with her tail.
With a nervous shrug, Matt crept nearer to the reptile, but it backed away in fright, rearing up on its hind legs.
In attempts to calm it down, he offered his hand to smell, but the reptile only jerked its head back.
"Go like this." She put her arms behind her back and bowed. "Now you."
Matt mirrored the gesture, and the reptile bowed back, stomping close enough for him to pet it.
As he slid his hand around its snout and stroked its forehead, the reptile tilted its head in puzzlement, then licked Matt in the face.
Dista made clicking sounds, which the reptile responded to by kneeling. She then gestured for Matt to climb on its back. He complied. Scooting into a somewhat comfortable position, he wrapped his legs around the creature's muscular neck, watching the other monks climb aboard their scaly steeds.
The palace servant hopped up, and to his dismay, Matt felt her body pressing up against him, her soft warm breath cascading down his neck as she reached across his legs to grab the creature's floppy ears.
She kicked the creature's sides, and it broke into a brisk forward jog. She kicked again, and the creature hurtled through the forest, speeding past immense morel mushrooms and ground growing pine cones the size of dog houses.
"So you are human from Earth planet," the palace servant's monotone voice purred in Matt's ear.
"Guep."
Seeming to notice Matt's tense posture, she asked, "Am I making you nervous? Uncomfortable?"
"Guep."
"I'm sorry. I don't know how else to do this."
"That's all right," he sighed.
They rode through a clearing to a marsh filled with long tubular plants that swelled with fat bubbles periodically erupting in clouds of spores that blew across their path with a moldy bread smell. Matt cringed as the flecks landed on his face and hair, sometimes landing on his lips and getting into his nostrils, tingling and bubbling in a most unpleasant way, hoped he wouldn't get sick.
The reptiles sped onward through the marsh with surprising ease, their clawed feet somehow immune to the suction and change in soil integrity.
The marsh continued for at least a mile before giving way to large pockets of algae filled water.
A big purple lake loomed beyond, but nobody slowed.
"Stop!" Matt cried in English. "Slow down! Kulwad! Yok!"
Dista muttered something, and the others only laughed. Matt could only watch in horror as the reptiles carelessly dashed out across the water.
To his surprise, they didn't sink. Like giant Jesus lizards, the reptiles skated across the water, using their toe claws to create pockets of air to tread upon. When one pocket collapsed, they hopped to another, and another, until they rode over dry ground on the opposite shore. And it all took a fraction of a second.
Matt sighed in relief as he looked down and saw solid ground once more.
Dista giggled. "You've never ridden on a Shoktar before, have you?"
He shook his head.
"Cejmiega," she chuckled. Her tone indicated the word meant something derogatory, like `gringo.'
They crossed a wide field, entering a forest of trees larger than the Sears Tower. Futuristic buildings appeared in the branches, and several homes and businesses cropped up along the ground, which had now turned into a sort of spongy concrete.
Arriving at a massive silo shaped building, they dismounted, stepping into a large room with plant couches and video equipment. Dista twisted a cone shaped object on the wall, and Matt felt his stomach and insides shifting.
Good grief! he thought. This is an elevator! Feeling unsteady on his feet, he staggered across the room, plopping into an empty plant couch.
A moment later, he found Dista sitting next to him, smiling as she wrapped her tail around his waist. "You're the one who told Quana about Jesus, yes?"
Matt nodded with discomfort.
Dista grinned. "Quana told me about how you two met. You are a very good witness."
He blushed. "Not really. But the Lord does use me occasionally."
"Humility." She grinned. "That is the mark of a true Quaceb. I must be on the right track. Are you married?"
Matt blushed deeper. "Yok."
"Have you and Quana mated?'
He cringed. "Why are you even asking me that?"
"I was curious."
Matt's ears were burning. She was, after all, not exactly unattractive. "No, I believe in waiting until after marriage for...mating. Besides, we're not even the same species."
"She didn't want to mate because you're not the same species? Because you're a hairless, tailless Abreya like Jesus?"
"She didn't want to marry because we're not the same species," he corrected her.
Dista chuckled. "What if I told you that I don't find anything wrong with m-marrying your species?"
Matt got away from the couch. If his heart didn't belong to Quana, he probably would have stayed there. "What's wrong with you? We've just barely met!"
"We are not strangers...we met before..."
"That wasn't enough time for me to properly get acquainted."
"Then let's get acquainted."
"I...I don't want to get acquainted that way."
Dista frowned. "Quana told me a lot about you. I think she's being too picky. I don't think she understands what a good thing she has."
"I think she understands a lot more than you do."
She sighed and slumped her shoulders. "You're both hopeless."
Matt sat down next to Chaz. What's Dista's problem? he thought. Feeling an itch, Matt gave his arm a thorough scratch, then the itch moved to his leg, his neck, and he was scratching everything in between.
Alien parasites. Great. Matt's nails scratched a patch of gray skin on his wrist, and it peeled off, exposing thick clumps of fine brown hair. He scratched his forearm and more hair sprouted out.
Good heavens. I'm a werewolf.
He tried to stop, but the itching sensation persisted until he scratched again, and hair popped up all over. Stop! Stop! Stop!
Matt dug his nails into the chair, fighting the urge to itch. The others stared and murmured to each other.
Noticing Matt's bare feet, a big male across from him handed Matt his pair of glove-like moccasins.
Matt tried them on, but they turned out to be a bit loose. Chaz offered his, but the thumb sockets hurt Matt's big toe, so he kept the other ones. While loose and clunky, Matt was glad to have foot protection and a disguise.
After staring at a small monitor attached to her couch for a few minutes, Dista pushed a button, and a hologram of Quana appeared in the room. Security footage of a suited figure running down a tunnel with a storage robot.
The image changed, and Matt saw the princess being carried down a hallway in a cocoon.
"They caught her. They're taking her back to the palace."
"What can we do?" Matt asked. "I know what I want to do, but it's unwise." He scratched more flesh away, causing another eruption of fuzz.
Dista cleared her throat. "We need to go prevent this marriage with Nabal."
He stared at her in disbelief. "You actually want to help?"
She nodded, though she had an expression on her face implying it was an unwanted chore.
"What about me? They want to throw me in a zoo!"
"I'll...hide you at a friend's house near Yagduz. She doesn't trust the government any more than we do."
"But you are the government!"
"Not...anymore."
Dista stood up. "Gniz!" she said in Wava. "We're going to the palace to share the gospel with Queen Tama, Prince Nabal, and anyone else we can find. Anyone who fears arrest may leave, or hide in Yagduz with Mot. Who is leaving?"
No one said anything.
"Good. We will arrange for a Wamzik transport at the Snaral. Until we get Mot safely to my friend's house, we must keep watch and hide him from the Didronal."
The elevator stopped, and everyone got to their feet.
Matt pulled down his cowl, wrapping the scarf around his face. I am now a Jawa, he thought.
He followed the monks out onto a massive treetop market scattered with pumpkin shaped buildings, banners and flashy signs. A mob of males and females meandered around the platform, visiting the shops and carrying around goods, this, that and the other one bumping into Matt every couple steps. He followed the gray and sepia tone outfits of his group through a crowd of shoppers in bright garishly patterned clothing, staring in amazement as more strangers glided down from ultramodern gourd shaped buildings high in the treetops.
Nearly losing himself in the crowd, Matt stumbled after a gray robe, passing through a row of market stalls.
With unease, he watched as the alien Christians commenced preaching to every stranger they met, growing more and more impatient as they escaped his sight, the crowd pushing him in an unwanted direction.
Once Dista got the group back on track (Matt was beginning to appreciate her common sense), he followed her to a narrow bridge.
The thing resembled a balance beam, with only about a foot of flooring on each side, surrounded by a rail that stopped below his kneecaps. He saw no safety nets or protective devices, only a hard unyielding landscape hundreds of feet below.
Wonderful, Matt thought. Fire the codes administrator.
He sucked in his breath as he watched Dista casually stroll across, supported only by the railing and her tail.
Someone hooked a sort of cane with wheels onto the rail for Matt, and he cautiously followed, keeping his eyes away from the ground as much as possible.
They passed through an area lined with shops and offices, arriving at a massive nautilus shaped structure packed with Abreyas.
He followed Dista into a line behind a fat female and her screaming children. "What's this place?"
"It's the Snaral. This is where we'll board the Wamzik, to get to the palace."
When Dista shuffled ahead, he stepped aside, trying to get other monks to stand between him and the palace servant, but she pulled him back to her side, asking him all kinds of questions about his family and his faith.
The building's interior looked like the underside of a snake skeleton with melted silverware stuck to it, its bones curving around busy shops, eating establishments and egg shaped communication booths. Figures in dresses danced and battled each other on posters while bikini clad holograms tossed a button ball at each other.
As Matt stared at the pedestrians, wondering if the males wore skirts on account of their tails or a fashion statement, he found himself being asked a lot of embarrassing questions about his love life, making Matt wish he could get away from his tour guide.
At last they arrived at a check in desk manned by a pair of males in Nehru jackets and dresses, watching as one with a face blacker than an oil slick scanned everyone's hands.
Matt stared at his palms, and a sudden wave of dread washed over him. "The queen scanned me. I'm in their computer, aren't I?"
Dista gasped. "They'll find you for sure! We'll have to find another way to the palace!"
Before he could get away from the desk, a male with a face like an owl with leopard spots aimed a sort of gun at Matt, and the machine made an angry beeping sound.
"Mot...Gano," said Owl Face.
"You are wanted by the palace authority," said Oil Slick. "Wait here." He spoke into a communicator.
"Quick!" Dista shouted. "Let's get out of here!"
But as she was dragging Matt away, Owl Face lunged across the counter, grabbing hold of his cowl. The robe nearly came off before Chaz forced the stranger back.
Shoving their way through the crowd, Matt and Dista came within a few yards of the entrance before a group of figures in alien gorilla suits stepped in front of them with their weapons raised, barking orders through bug-like masks.
Matt's friends jumped in front of him, forming a wall between him and the gorillas.
"Stand aside!" a muffled voice shouted.
"Yok!" Dista shouted. "He's not some animal you can just shut up in a cage!"
Matt saw a brilliant flash of light, then Spak fell to the ground, convulsing from electrical shock.
Dista shoved Matt backwards. "Run!"
In a panic, he bolted away from the hunters, pushing his way through the mob of unfamiliar faces.
Matt heard a scream and saw a bright flash, but when he looked back, he could see nothing through the crowd. He kept running.
"Layd!" A child in a black dress yelled, pointing to Matt. "Layd ge'lib!"
"Shut up!"
Matt rammed his way through a line of customers and jumped over a railing, ripping his robe on a plant holder as he dodged a crowd on a lower landing.
As he navigated his way between chairs in a waiting area, he tripped on someone's bag, fell to the floor.
Clank, clank.
Matt looked up just in time to see a purple suited figure pointing a weapon. Something flashed.
