"WHAT? Plock's DEAD? What happened?" asked Violet.
"The letter doesn't say. Here," said Rainbow. She was shaking so badly she could hardly hold it. She sat down, and cried.
Taking the printout, Shy Violet read:
Rainbow Brite:
On ending of my life force, my ship's computer is programmed to send you this message.
I am hereby giving you title and ownership of all my possessions. The ship will go to the small asteroid I own (coordinates below), and wait there for you. (The deed to the planetoid in in the ship)
Disposal of my effects is entirely up to you, but I suggest you examine them carefully before doing anything irreversable. Don't worry about my body, it will be taken care of.
Don't Take Any Wooden Color Crystals!
Plock
Asteroid 223563 Galactic Coordinates 1425789461/41245215621/45986
Violet sat down and cried with Rainbow. Their old friend was gone.
He had brought Violet things to study from across the stars, and indeed had brought all of them things they now treasured. A few minutes later, they dried their eyes and composed themselves.
Violet reread the letter. "At the risk of sounding callous," she said through the tears that suddenly sprang up again, "I'd say you got your wish."
"Yes, and I'm going to leave right after lunch," said Rainbow. "Now lets go and tell the others."
After lunch found Rainbow standing outside the Castle, checking the contents of her knapsack.
Plock had been a friend for a long time, and each of the Kids had given her an item to leave at the memorial, which was a custom of her culture.
She made sure the Color Belt was fully charged, and hooked an extra pouch of Starsprinkles on it.
Looking at the letter once more, she studied the coordinates carefully, and got a mental 'ACKNOWLEDGED' from the Color Belt. It had read her desire to go to those coordinates, and programmed itself. She touched the star and the rainbow formed under her feet, stretching upwards to infinity.
Of all the Kids, only Buddy, Indigo, and Violet were there to see her off. More proof they didn't need her any more, she thought as she waved goodbye. They returned the gesture, and watched as she willed herself upwards.
Within moments Rainbow found herself in space, Rainbowland rapidly growing smaller below.
Ahead, a warp portal opened, the rainbow leading into it. Passing through a flash of bright light, she found her rainbow approaching a nondescript asteroid, orbiting a blueish star. It was some five kilometers in radius, pocked with craters from hits by other asteroids in the far past.
The Belt's navigation equipment picked up the asteroid's radio beacon, and guided the rainbow unerringly to the airlock. A combination lock keypad awaited the code for entry. Rainbow knew she could force her way in, but to do so was against her nature. She thought for a moment, then smiled. She entered: DTAWCC, and the outer door slid aside.
"It figures," she thought, "'Don't Take Any Wooden Color Crystals' indeed."
Cycling through the airlock, she found herself in a space suit changing room. A comm panel on the far wall was flashing for attention. She pressed the blinking button, and immediately felt a small jolt of electricity.
"Transfer of ownership complete. Welcome home, Mistress Rainbow Brite!" said the computer. The door opened.
"Thank you," she replied, stepping through into a tastefully furnished, spotless living room, complete with the standard computer and entertainment console.
"Computer, status report?" she said.
"Except for an anomaly I can't pin down, all systems nominal. Plock's ship arrived three hours ago, and is in the garage"
"Explain the anomaly," she instructed.
"I can't. My sensors keep picking up...something...in different parts of the house, but cannot analyse it. It appeared soon after word of Plock's death arrived here."
"Is it still here?"
"No, it was, but vanished when you received ownership."
"Very well, inform me if it returns."
"Acknowledged, mistress."
"Am I the only living being here?" she asked.
"Yes. I have clear instructions that no one was to enter until you did," was the reply.
"Do you know how Plock died?"
No, mistress. I received a message I know could not be faked, but details of what happened were not given."
"Computer, do you have a name?"
"Yes, I am called Doris. I am programmed with the voice and some personality of Plock's wife."
"I never knew he was married!" Rainbow said in surprise.
"For twenty-seven years. She died of Muskatt's Disease over forty years ago."
"I'm sorry," said Rainbow. A pause, then "Show me a schematic of this place."
Immediately on the screen appeared a 3D cutaway view of the asteroid, with lables pointing out features. There was the garage and ship, a laboratory, a library, a warehouse, infirmary... quite a home.There was room enough for thirty people to live comfortably, and the place was designed for further expansion.
"Doris, how long will it take a message to get to Rainbowland?"
"Twenty-two hours, nine minutes, mistress," was the reply.
"Please send this:
Open message to the Color Kids:
Have arrived on Plock's asteroid. Will be settling his personal affairs, and doing other necessary things. If needful, contact me the usual way. Otherwise, reply to these coordinates. No idea yet what happened to him. I will let you know if I do have any news.
Rainbow Brite
Append the necessary codes and send."
"Done. Any other orders?"
"Give me a guide stripe to the garage, please."
Immediately a red stripe appeared on the floor, leading to another door from the living room. The elevator took her down several floors, and there was Plock's ship.
She had wondered why it was designed to look like a horse-drawn wagon, similar to what the cartoon had shown, until some research showed it was based on a peddler's wagon on Earth a century and more ago.
In the wagon she found the deed to the asteroid, and several important-looking papers written in an alphabet she didn't recognize.
She went to the study, and slid them into the scanner. A moment later translated copies were printed. She took them and began to read. The papers made cryptic references to 'goods to be delivered' at a rendezvous point on a planet she'd never heard of.
Somewhat later, she ate dinner, and thought. "There's a mystery here, and I think Plock was giving me a hint about solving it."
"Doris, please give me a financial report"
On the screen appeared numbers and information. One thing was very clear almost instantly; Plock had been very wealthy. He had parleyed his trading activities into large amounts of money, and owned eight chains of used bookstores and ten chains of curio shops on sixty-seven planets.
She was gratified to see that there was nothing shady in his dealings--all up front and above board. He had been careful not to anger the local governments. "Doris, are there deliveries made here?"
"Yes, occasionally. We are self-sufficient as far as life support and general materials are concerned, but deliveries from the curio chains and book chains are made."
"Why?"
"There were clients he wanted to deliver the item to himself. The things stored in the warehouse are of that nature. Sometimes there are books delivered for his private collection, and are taken to the library."
"Give me a guide stripe to the library"
A brown stripe appeared, leading to a corridor.
The library proved to be vast, but well organized. There were several large tables at the front of the room, each with several comfortable chairs. One of the computer consoles was on one wall.
There was a case filled with hundreds of computer tiles sitting beside it. A quick glace showed them to be well-organized. The topics were seemingly unlimited. Plock had been interested in many different things, to judge by the contents. History was a large subject, divided into subcategories as Galactic, Planetary, Regional, Myths and Legends. Technology was another large category, and one bookcase held books on minerology and geology. On the bottom shelf of that section she found a small selection of books on Color Crystal.
Suddenly she yawned, and realized she'd been up for two days.
"I need a bath and some sleep, Doris. Please give me a stripe to a bedroom."
"Here, mistress."
Twenty minutes later she snuggled in, warm, safe, and cozy, and unafraid, if lonely. She missed the Color Kids and her pets. She was the only living being here, and didn't even have Twink to talk to. Doris was very nice, and had done her best to make Rainbow feel at home, but she wanted someone she knew nearby. That was probably a forlorn hope, though. The Color Kids were doing just fine without her. Why would they come, since her leadership wasn't needed any more?
She dozed off, tiredness overcoming her thoughts.
Outside, in the Universe, forces were stirring that would upset the sleep of many innocent beings.