Episode 5: The Advent of the Dogstar
Dusk swiftly approached as the light pouring in through the bars of my cell rapidly subsided, leaving me with no light but that of the lamp on Booker's desk. While Copper busied himself on the phone in the other room, I listened to the steady drip of water from the leaky pipe in the corner of my cell and the pleas of my friends in the other room.
"Why are you doing this?" That was Rei's voice. "Edgar was trying to save us!"
"I don't know him very well, but he's really proven himself." I guessed that to be Tom.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything! Please stop, there's really nothing I can do." That was definitely Booker.
"But this doesn't make any sense!" Rei snapped. Shaking my head, I stood up and walked to the edge of my cell. "Let it go, guys," I shouted from that point. "Thanks for coming, but I'm going to cooperate with them. We'll settle this peacefully." Fatigue caused me to slouch and I said, my voice more subdued, "I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding." as if I were trying to reassure myself more than them.
"Keep it down in there!" Copper shouted from the other room, ending the conversation more effectively than I did. I heard a frustrated sigh and then two sets of footsteps growing gradually lighter.
Slam. I withdrew from the bars and laid down on the hard cot, trying to ignore the incessant drip and get some sleep. Between the drip, the chirp of crickets, and a constant paper shuffle from the other room, it took four hours, or about twenty thousand sheep.
Twenty thousand
one...twenty thousand two...twenty thousa...
I had an awesome dream before I woke up. I dreamt K.K. Slider, the K.K. Slider, was standing over my bed and telling me to get up. When I opened my eyes, there was a K.K. Slider impersonator in front of me. Wait a minute...
"K-K-K-K.K..."
"Yo." He bowed his head slightly and flashed a smile, exposing a full mouth of perfectly white teeth. I rubbed crust out of my eyes, so I could see him better, and caught a glimpse of his famous guitar behind him. "Edgar, is it? Nice to meet you, bro."
"I...I..." I felt my face go white as I struggled to think of anything to say to my favorite idol. "I have one of your ringtones."
"Cool, man. Cool." K.K smiled again. Copper and Booker entered the cell and stood behind him. "Listen, I gotta give you the lowdown about that thing you brought up. Word on the street is you're a cool cat, but with times like this, you just never know."
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." K.K. sighed as if he were deflating. "What would you say if I told you I wasn't from this rock?" I stopped and scratched my chin where stubble was beginning to form.
"Normally," I replied, "I'd faint. But I'm from SPOOK, and we get paid good Bells to expect the unexpected." K.K. and I shared a laugh. "You, of all people, though...I do have to admit I'm pretty surprised."
"That's what everyone said when I told them," K.K. said, shrugging. "Anyway, I come from a planet in the Sirius cluster. Dogstar Two, to be precise. You ever met anyone from Dogstar, Edgar?"
"Can't say I have. The farthest we've ever communicated is Mars. We still get nasty phone calls from those Martians we inadvertently woke up."
"Yeah, those Martians can be cranky. I got chased out of a bar there for messing up a riff." K.K. shook his head. "Anyway, be glad you never met a Dogstar soldier. They're strong, cranky, and have puffed-up egos. Of course, if I controlled a quarter of the galaxy and were insanely rich, I would have the ego part, too..."
"They control the galaxy?" I asked, looking out the window at the morning sky.
"Dogstars started out as your run-of-the-mill space pirates, but they became something much greater." I noticed Copper and Booker stiffen. "Once they got enough treasure, they realized it would be more profitable to annex nearby systems and demand tribute from them. With more money, came more ships, more power...anyway, it's gotten pretty insane." K.K. jerked a thumb back at Copper and Booker. "These two know; they were lieutenants. I only made private before I shipped out."
"It was terrible!" Booker burst out, "I mean...just terrible. Sorry, so sorry..."
"So what's that statue have to do with it?" I asked, casting a sympathetic glance at Booker.
"It's a statue of the great General McFido, hero of the First Galactic War," Copper answered, crossing his arms. "Literally, it's just a trinket, but in the heart and minds of every Dogstar soldier it inspires the greatest amount of faith and courage conceivable. It's their rallying point."
"Rallying point?" I stopped, recalling the surge of power I felt when I touched it. "If it's so important to them, how'd it end up here?"
"When the Galactic Nations censured the Dogstar for amassing too much power, they took the Idol as punishment. My guess is they dropped it off here because they felt this planet was backwater enough that it would never be found." K.K. rolled his eyes. "Big mistake, if you ask me. They just threw you guys into the line of fire."
"Wonderful," I said, rolling my eyes. "So what can I do?"
K.K. looked back at Copper and Booker and the two of them shrugged. "This may be hard to swallow," K.K. said, turning back, "but we think it's best if you avoid all contact with your superiors at SPOOK."
Not that avoiding my superiors has ever been a problem, I thought to myself, but straightened my face before I could laugh. "So you think they've been penetrated?"
"We're not certain," Copper interjected, "but we can't take any risk. It's critical that we keep the Dogstar from reclaiming the Idol."
I nodded. "So, we find a place to keep it safe, and keep a lookout for anyone who might be checking in on it. Is that it? Am I free to go now? 'Cause this cot is killing my back..."
"You seem like a cool cat, Edgar," K.K. said, leaning in close to me, "but keep a close eye on everyone, okay? This really is big, man." Shrinking away, I nodded.
"You're free to go, then," Copper said, and he and Booker led me out of the station. As I left the damp cell, I thought I heard a rustling outside, but decided it was nothing.
When I got to my house, Rei and Tom were waiting outside. Both had changed clothing since last night; Tom wore a green sweater over his white fur, while Rei wore a checkered skirt with a white blouse. As they came up to me, I felt slightly flattered at the thought of Rei being so dressed up just for me.
"Finally," Tom said, shaking my hand with a strong grip, "I thought you might be in there awhile."
"Oh, no," I said nonchalantly, taking back my hand, "it was just a misunderstanding."
"It seems these Fluffytown police have a lot of those," Tom shot back with a stern look. "Anyway, what was the deal with that thing?"
"That thing? Oh, just a trinket," I said without missing a beat. "Some old antique. Copper's out looking for its true owner as we speak."
Tom nodded slowly. "Well, that's good news," he said finally, then turned back to Rei. "Meet you back at your place?"
Rei nodded and smiled, then turned to me. "We're having lunch," she said, looking down at the ground. I cast quick glances between the two of them and, despite myself, felt my spirits darken a bit.
"See you later, Edgar!" Tom shouted, waving. "Glad to see you're okay!" He walked away. Rei watched him go, leaning up on her tiptoes to make sure he was gone, and then closed the distance between us.
"Edgar..." she said softly, "that thing was the Dogstar idol, wasn't it?" With that, all the cool I'd kept with Tom melted in an instant and Rei didn't have to read my face to know I'd blown my cover.
"I'm not stupid," she said in a low voice. "I know all about the Dogstar. This means they're coming, doesn't it?"
"Rei..."
"It is hopeless, isn't it?" Her shoulders sagged, and I was tempted to reach out and hug her except for the aura in the air which suggested that I shouldn't. "I just wanted to help my friends...but there is no helping them, is there?"
"Yes, there is," I said with an edge in my voice that surprised even me. "There's always something that can be done. We just have to keep trying..." I reached out, despite the aura, and laid my hand on her shoulder. She shirked it off gently and looked away.
"I should be going," she said, her voice on the verge of breaking. "Perhaps it's best that I be going, anyway..." She ran off. I watched her go and then sat on the ground by the brook, scaring off a ladybug as I nearly trampled a patch of flowers with my rump.
It's just an assignment, I repeated to myself, looking down at the water. Just some backwater town...right? I twisted my lips into different positions, trying to find an expression that didn't look pathetic in my reflection on the water. Nothing succeeded.
Nothing to get upset over...right?
"There you are!" I looked behind and saw a white cat that was slightly taller than Olivia with a more mature look on her face. "Certainly you wouldn't be rude to one of Olivia's sisters?"
"R-rude?"
"Of course not, darling. We've been waiting for you." She reached out and jerked me onto my feet with a pull that looked effortless to her. "That is, me and my sisters. I'm Monique, by the way. You look like quite the charmer. I'm not surprised Olivia wanted you over for lunch."
"Lunch?" I said as Monique pulled me along. To be honest, food didn't sound so bad...
Interlude Two: The Nature of the Game
Lord Nefarious sits in his comfortable office chair, looking out over the skyline of Capitaltown as the moon rises. What a pitiful sight, he thinks to himself. The view from Dogstar Three is far superior.
He notices a presence in the room. He spins himself around in the chair to face it.
"You again?" he asks, surprised. "I thought I ordered you to go crush Fluffytown!"
"Yes, well, about that..." The servant takes a few ginger steps forward. "I thought we'd agreed that the information was good enough for the trade. I didn't expect to actually have to get the idol..."
"No, of course you didn't." Lord Nefarious stands up straight, bringing his full height to bear on the cowering figure. "You never expect to actually get your hands dirty, do you? It's always a play on the sidelines for you, isn't it? Call the resistance with the information and then bring it to me, thinking I'll play the fool and fall right into your hands. That's the nature of your little game, isn't it...Rover?"
The blue cat tries to retrace his steps backward and instead falls, clutching the ground with his shaking arms, his eyes so wide they threaten to burst from his sockets. Lord Nefarious regards this pathetic display with a burst of laughter.
"You could never pass yourself off as a dog in our military screenings," Nefarious begins, "so you wanted our special cybernetic enhancements so you could make something of yourself. You sold us out to the resistance thinking you could be a hero at the same time." Nefarious crosses the desk and stands over Rover. "I suppose you forgot, somewhere along the way, that ambition is like a burning star. The brighter it burns..." Nefarious closes his fist. "The shorter it lives."
Rover's breathing is erratic as he scrambles away from Lord Nefarious.
"Oh, no, my little turncoat," Nefarious says, baring his teeth, "there's no getting away from this. You will go to Fluffytown now, and no less than absolute success will bring you what you desire. If even that." Nefarious' uncovered eye blazes with total fury. "Get out of my sight."
"Y-Y-yes, Lord Nefarious," Rover cries, scampering from the room. Nefarious taps his comlink.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Ensure that Rover receives everything he needs for his little Fluffytown excursion."
"Yes, my lord."
"Oh, and can I order a pizza? Pepperoni and anchovy, maybe?"
