Episode Six: Escape

Murray watched the planet Crag shrink to a sickly green marble against the velvet black of space. She sighed and would have let her shoulders settle had there been enough room in the compartment to move at all.

“Nicely done,” Zora commented from directly behind her. “The robot can fly after all.”

“Could you possibly lean back a little,” Murray asked. “Your hair is in my face.” She blew sideways at the tickle against her cheek.

“There’s not enough room,” Zora said. “At least you have a chair.”

“I believe we are away safely,” Rook said. He sat to Murray’s left, both silver hands
working at the control panel. “Life support systems are working at maximum capacity, but they
seem to be sufficient for our needs.”

“Neep.” The pink mass of gelatinous space slug filled the remainder of the compartment.
The creature’s eyestalks bent forward, pressed by the low ceiling, until they drooped like long
puppy dog ears—ears that terminated in huge globular cat’s eyes.

“My back hurts,” Zora complained. She shifted position and jabbed an elbow into the
back of Murray’s head.

“Stop moving.” Murray tried to rub the injury, but her arm was pinned between her chair
and Rook’s cool side. “You had to bring that thing along.”

“Neep.”

“Neela probably saved our lives.”

“Zora, it’s too big.”

“She’s mine, Mur. Let it go.”

“She’s sticky.”

Zora opened her mouth to protest, but closed it rapidly when a trail of slime drizzled from
the eyestalk above her head. There was no denying the goo factor of her new pet. The walls
inside the passenger compartment shimmered with sluggy evidence.

“Doctor Murray?” Rook leaned to one side and dodged a droplet from the other eyestalk.
“Would you like me to program a trajectory?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Have you selected a destination?”

“Just find the closest jump gate and get us back to reality.”

“There’s a nexus in this sector.” Rook touched the controls again and the panorama on the
view screen vanished. A sector map replaced it, the jump lines and nexus gates weaving across
the panel like a neon spider’s web.

“Um,” Zora said.

“Not now, Zor.”

“I believe we can reach this one in a less than six hours,” Rook said. “We have
sufficient…”

“Um,” Zora said. “Mur?”

“What is it?”

“Why don’t we try that other one?” Zora’s arm snaked past Murray’s ear to pinpoint
another nexus.

“It’s twice as far,” Murray said.

“I believe the closer nexus would be the wisest choice considering…”

“Listen stud,” Zora said. “I think we should try the other one.”

“I thought your back hurt?” Murray asked. Suspicion pushed her forehead into a crinkle.
“Are you going to sleep standing up?”

“If I have to.”

Murray twisted her neck and tried to get a glimpse of her sister’s face. She sounded
serious, and a serious Zora was never a good thing. “What have you done now?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“Spill it.”

Zora’s sigh blew another strand of hair into Murray’s proximity. “Crantok’s brother runs
things in this sector, see?” she said. “Enough of the scaly patrol back there saw us vaporize Cran
that I’m not really into a visit with the inlaws, you know?”

“I’m not sure it’s wise to deviate…”

“She’s right,” Murray said. How she hated to admit it. “We’re flying a stolen ship with ‘property of Crantok the four-armed fiancé’ written all over it.”

“We’ll be stretching our fuel supply,” Rook said.

“Can we make it?” Murray asked.

“I believe we can, but…”

“Do it, then.” She sighed and watched the sector map vanish again. The curve of her chair
pressed painfully against the back of her knees, and her neck pinched sharply when she looked to either side. “We’ll just have to make the best of it.”



“Neep.”

“Zora, can’t you keep that thing quiet?” Murray yawned and shifted to the side that wasn’t numb yet.

“Neep, neep neep.”

“I think she’s hungry.”

“What the hell does it eat?”

“Mmmm. Doctor Murray?” She could hear Rook shift in his pilot’s chair, and the running
lights brightened, illuminating his silhouette at the controls.

“Was he sleeping?” Zora asked.

“Androids don’t sleep, Zor. What is it?”

“We’re approaching the nexus system.”

“Neep.”

“Thank god.” Murray sat forward and eased the kinks out of her neck. “My spine is
permanently twisted.”

“Hah, we shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes from the spaceport.”

“Did he just laugh?”

“Zora, lean back. You’re dripping slime on my jacket.” Murray twisted to the right, her
spine complaining against the dodge. Androids definitely didn’t laugh. She snuck a sidelong
glance at their pilot. He was a custom job, could have been programmed to simulate humor.
“Dammit, Zora, your hair!” She swatted at the tickle near her shoulder, but her hand smacked
something solid.

“Ouch! What the hell?”

“Ooops.”

“You hit me.”

“I didn’t…ow!” Zora’s elbow dug into the top of her shoulder. Murray reached wildly
and grabbed a hank of either hair or veil. She gave it a good sharp yank.

Zora howled and twisted the elbow deeper into Murray’s muscle. “My hair, Mur? You
fight like a girl.”

“That’s it!” Murray tightened her grip and pulled Zora’s head down and forward. Zora
slapped repeatedly at the back of Murray’s head, but most of the blows grazed away to either
side. “You got me into this Zora,” Murray growled.

“Wasn’t my fault,” Zora whimpered. Her voice trembled. “You’re really hurting me.”

Murray had pulled her forward so that she bent over. Her head pressed between the two
seats, a handful of red tresses entangled in Murray’s fist. Her rear end hovered in the air behind
them, supported, Murray supposed, by the sea of space slug. Murray’s temper faded. There
wasn’t enough room to breathe in the cabin, and it had been a long journey. She flexed her
fingers and released the hank of hair.

“Ha!” Zora shouted. She sprang upward and rammed a fist into Murray’s left arm.
Murray stood up, forgetting the space, and tried to punch backwards. Zora ducked and
pushed her shoulder into Murray’s spine.

“Agh!” She shouted and fell forward. Her arms flailed to either side, but failed to stop
her from crashing face first into the controls. Her head spun, and little circles of pain pressed
against her cheeks. Far away, an alarm screamed.

“Doctor Murray?” Rook’s voice sounded a little closer. “Doctor Murray, it is
imperative…”

“What? Rook?” She pushed away from the hard surface. “What’s imperative?”

“Get off the controls!” Zora screamed. The alarm squealed through the passenger
compartment. It continued to howl after Zora closed her mouth. Red lights above the viewscreen flashed in a very demanding manner.

Murray sat up. She tried to steady herself, but the room seemed to be lurching this way
and that. She needed to sit before she threw up, but the chair kept dodging. She focused on it,
but the alarm and the lights kept distracting her. I have a head injury, she thought. And nobody
is lifting a finger to help… She looked around the cabin.

Rook and Zora stared at the viewscreen. Neither flicked so much as a peek in her
direction. Even the bloody slug was ignoring her. She considered this, and a whisper of fear
stirred behind her indignation. She focused on the alarm…alarm, red flashing lights, everyone
staring at the view…

Murray looked back to the screen. The swirly orange surface of a planet filled two thirds
of it. That’s pretty close, she thought. She sat down in the chair. The room still tilted sharply to
the right.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“What’s happening?” The hysteria in Zora’s voice seemed genuine. “We’re crashing!”

Murray looked at Rook. His hands snatched at the buttons, lifted panels, and seemed to
pull levers at random. “Rook?” she asked. The chiseled head only nodded confirmation. They
were crashing.

“Well, Zora,” Murray sat back in the chair and watched the swirls morph into continents,
seas, mountains. “You’ve killed us for sure this time.”

Next Episode ◦

Episode Six: Escape

Episode Five: The Groom

Doctor Murray slid into a crouch behind a grav-sled piled with crates. Her custom android already hunkered behind it. His back flashed in the sparse light as he twisted to see the platform beyond their position. We really should get him some clothes, she thought. Soon. Her sister waited with that thing behind the rock spire she’d just left. She could hear Zora fidgeting, but nothing else broke the heavy quiet.

“I think we may have lost them,” she told Rook.

“We’ve bought some time at least,” he said.

The mammoth rocket cast the yard around them into deep shadow. Murray pressed in closer to the grav sled and prayed their reptilian pursuers had trouble seeing in the dark. When Rook turned back to her, his metal body gleaming even in the low light, she held her breath and listened for the shouts that would indicate they'd been detected. Instead, she heard quick footsteps as Zora joined them.

"Tell me your metal man can fly that thing," Zora whispered close to Murray's shoulder.

"It's a standard model," Rook said. "But the passenger compartment is rather small." He looked past Murray, and his metal features creased into an angular frown.

"I'm not leaving Neela here," Zora said. The defiance in her voice was unmistakable. Murray turned to fire off a retort, but the words choked in her throat.

"Ahhhhhg!" She stumbled backwards into Rook, who wrapped on steely arm around
her waist, balancing her and preventing a sprawl.

"Isn't she huge?" Zora said proudly. Behind her, and looming over her shoulder, a towering pink blob blinked cannon-ball eyes that waved back and forth at the tip of its eye stalks. The thing stretched behind Zora in a slimy cascade ending in a glistening point seven feet away. A wide mouth gaped below two yellow, frond-like nostrils.

"Neep," it said.

"Hawagh?" Murray managed. She leaned into Rook.

"I don't think we can..." Rook started, but Zora's hands flew to her hips. Murray new that stance. She twitched in irritation.

"She's coming with us," Zora demanded. Her bottom lip slid out, and one foot tapped a rhythm against the paving. Murray found her voice.

"You can't keep that thing," she said.

"Yes, I can."

"Can't."

"Can too."

"Excuse me." Something about Rook's voice insisted on silence. He possessed an aura of authority that Murray had never encountered in an A.I.before. Definitely a custom job, and an expensive one at that. "Doctor Murray," he continued, and the tone softened into a standard, subservient program. "I think our priority should be the ship."

"Can we steal it?" Murray looked away from the monster shadowing her sister. The android still held one arm around her. She slipped out of it's grip and smoothed her lab coat.

"It may be advisable, considering our present situation," he said.

"Right, but can you fly it? What about security codes?"

"Neela's coming with us!"

"Shut up, Zora."

"I suspect, I can handle any encryption," Rook said. "If Crantok is involved."

"So we're stealing the ship, great," Zora said. "Let's get to it." She flipped a cascade of hair and veil back over her shoulder and walked around the grav sled. The space slug heaved after her like a giant, squishy puppy.

"Is that thing still growing?" Murray asked her android.

"I'm not entirely certain."

"Great."

They followed in Zora's wake. Murray cringed at each step across the open platform. Even in the ship's shadow, she felt exposed and vulnerable. Any minute now, she thought, and there will be shouting. Any second, we could be surrounded, captured, and shot. She could hear the faint clicks of Rook stepping along behind her; anyone could hear it. The pink planetoid sliding along in front of her wasn't exactly covert. She felt certain that they would be discovered, but somehow, her heart still jolted in shock when they were.

"HALT!" A chorus of voices chimed around them.

"Neep?"

The sound of many weapons charging drove Murray's feet to perfect stillness. Her heart kept trying to stall on her. When the alien stepped out in front of them, she nearly fainted.

"Where do you think you're going?" It said.

"We're getting the hell out of here!" Zora shouted back at it.

"We have a date, remember? The minister is charging me overtime."

Murray leaned around the slug's bulk and stared. The creature facing off with her sister--had she said handsome? "That's Crantok?" Murray asked.

"Later, Mur."

"But he's...."

"Come on Zora," Crantok bellowed. He stood in front of the rocket's causeway, all six hands resting on his hips. The resemblance between stances almost made Murray smile. "Don't make me do anything painful to your friends," he said.

"Piss off, Cran." Zora said too quickly for Murray's taste.

"Neep," the slug echoed.

One of Crantok's arms waved a signal, and an arc of armed reptiles stepped out of shadow. The laser rifles all riveted on their position. Murray had seen laser burns. She held her breath.

"You're coming with me," Crantok said. He took two long steps forward and grabbed for Zora's arm. She took a swing at him.

"Neep."

The guards stepped closer, and Murray started praying.

"Neep."

Crantok grabbed a handful of veil, tugging Zora's head back. He wrapped two think limbs around her waist and pinned her against him. Zora screamed and kicked both legs frantically in the air.

"Neep?"

"We have to do something," Rook whispered next to Murray.

"I know, but..." Murray eyed the ring of guards. They still held the weapons, steady and pointed at the party, but a few had taken steps backward and the arc gaped in a ragged line. She turned to where Crantok struggled with a still-kicking Zora. "He has four arms."

"Help!" Zora squealed between kicks.

"NEEP!"

Both Zora and Crantok froze, staring together at the giant slug. Murray caught the flutter of movement as the ring of guards turned and fled back into the shadows. In slow motion, she too swung her gaze around onto the pink behemoth.

Its body shook. Convulsions rippled from the thick tail to the tip of the broad nose. The eye stalks danced above the yellow fronds, and the huge eyes narrowed. Rook's arm came around Murray's waist again. She gave in to his pull, and they backed away together, but her eyes stayed on the slug. She saw the ripples quicken just before the eyes closed and the creature went suddenly still.

It took Murray seconds to realize that the hissing sound didn't come from the creature. When she tore her gaze from it, she caught the blur of Zora diving away from her captor. Crantok's mouth hung open, a forked tongue that Murray didn't even want to think about, hung from his slack lips. The hiss erupted from his mouth like a siren. The fire started from his fingertips. All six hands burst into flames that engulfed his entire figure within a heartbeat. When the smoke cleared, nothing stood between them and the ship's ramp. Silence settled over the platform.

Murray stood leaning against something solid--Rook, with both metal arms supporting her this time. She pushed away gently and stared at the slug.Its eyes opened.

"Neep?"

"Mmmmmnn." Zora sat up and brushed at her hair with both hands. "What the hell was that?"

"Neep."

"Mur?"

"Over here." Murray walked forward, making a wide circle around the slug whose body had reverted to a normal, squishy ambiguity.

"Where's Crantok?" Murray pointed at the charred mark on the pavement. "Seriously?"

"He had four arms," Murray said.

"Um, yeah." Zora shrugged and stood up. She looked around the empty platform and then sauntered around Murray to pat the slug at a point around shoulder height. "Good girl, Neela," she said. "Let's get a move on."

"You can't keep..."

"You gonna tell her she can't come?" Zora asked.

Murray shook her head. She watched Zora turn and start up the ramp, followed by her deadly, pink mollusk. Rook stepped up beside her, shrugged and headed for the ramp as well. She stared after all of them--the slug, the android, and her harlot sister. She looked down, to the black mark that had been the groom, and then back up to see the tail end of Neela disappear into the ship they were about to steal. He had four arms, she thought.

"Doctor Murray?" Rook called from the ramp. He waited, like some shining Greek statue come to life, and waved down to her. She shrugged and started toward him. After all, she thought. After today, what else could possibly go wrong?

Next Episode ◦

Episode Five: The Groom