wouldnât work forever.
And our oxygen supplies wouldnât last forever either.
âGet the spawn on their feet,â said Krnk-ni-Plik, all business again.
âSpawn?â echoed Josephine indignantly.
Still, we had no choice but to stagger to our feet and let them lead all of us to a wide gold disc in the middle of the floor. This proved to be an elevator,without any walls or handrails, which I suppose wasnât surprising, as the Krakkiluks did not seem like Health and Safety kind of people. So we went whooshing up into the ceiling, flanked by Krnk-ni-Plik and Tlag-li-Glig. As we got farther and farther from our own ship and deeper into theirs, we felt particularly bad.
âGood-bye, Helen,â said Noel forlornly, waving the hand that wasnât clutching Carlâs.
âGood-bye,â Helen called back, looking strangely small there, all alone in the red depths of the great ship.
We rose through deck after deck, glimpsing vaults of red and gold, and dizzying numbers of Krakkiluks doing things like exercising and mending things and practicing with their weapons. On one deck they were enjoying some kind of couplesâ dance.
âSo,â said Dr. Muldoon, revealing that the utility belt on her suit contained a tiny notepad and a pencil. âThe married couple thing, itâs always pairs of two, is it? I noticed your translators are using the words âheâ and âshe,â is that right?â
âOf course it is right,â said Tlag-li-Glig brusquely.
Scared as they were, Th saaa went pitying and contemptuous colors, which I hoped the Krakkiluks couldnât understand.
âThey seem a lot like humans,â they whispered.
âShut upâthey do not ,â Carl retorted.
âKeep the spawn quiet!â thundered Krnk-ni-Plik.
We emerged, suddenly, into a wide red chamber that for an instant made me think throne room before I thought command deck. It had the same waspy quality of the shipâs exteriorâribs of gold against blackâbut there were roundels between the bands of gold painted with scenes the Krakkiluks presumably found encouraging: Krakkiluks fighting, Krakkiluks subduing what must have been other species, and plenty of Krakkiluks in love. The chamber was flooded with dazzling blue sunlight from great round windows, but I couldnât see the golden planet weâd glimpsed before. There wasnât a lot of furniture, so I got the impression Krakkiluks were like horses and didnât really do sitting down. The crew stood at horseshoe-shaped control stations, no two decorated alike.
And there was a grand ramp up to a dais below a pointed arch, and on the platform stood a large Krakkiluk person who was entirely covered in gold. The effect was even more blinding than Tlag-li-Gligâs diamonds; this person must have been wearing some kind of gold paint in addition to the gilding on their exoskeleton and was golden up to their pink eyes. Atthis distance it was easier to get a better look at their faces, though compared to humans or Morrors they didnât have much of a face; just egg-shaped pink eyes on short, flexible stalks, above a set of large, bony mouth parts that made me glad I hadnât seen the Krakkiluks eating anything.
âYou will answer for your actions to Lady Sklat-kli-Sklak,â said Tlag-li-Glig.
âWhat have you to say?â rumbled the huge golden person.
âSo whereâs your husband?â asked Dr. Muldoon sourly.
There was an immediate clatter of shocked disapproval from all the Krakkiluks, and Lady Sklat-kli-Sklak shot Dr. Muldoon with some sort of small, remote-control type of thing.
âIâm all right,â wheezed Dr. Muldoon, after we all yelled in horror. âJust, you know, canât stand up or anything.â
âHow dare you dishonor the memory of Lord Prilk-wu-Stlik!â cried Krnk-ni-Plik, the spiky one.
âI suggest a group policy of no more sarcasm,
And our oxygen supplies wouldnât last forever either.
âGet the spawn on their feet,â said Krnk-ni-Plik, all business again.
âSpawn?â echoed Josephine indignantly.
Still, we had no choice but to stagger to our feet and let them lead all of us to a wide gold disc in the middle of the floor. This proved to be an elevator,without any walls or handrails, which I suppose wasnât surprising, as the Krakkiluks did not seem like Health and Safety kind of people. So we went whooshing up into the ceiling, flanked by Krnk-ni-Plik and Tlag-li-Glig. As we got farther and farther from our own ship and deeper into theirs, we felt particularly bad.
âGood-bye, Helen,â said Noel forlornly, waving the hand that wasnât clutching Carlâs.
âGood-bye,â Helen called back, looking strangely small there, all alone in the red depths of the great ship.
We rose through deck after deck, glimpsing vaults of red and gold, and dizzying numbers of Krakkiluks doing things like exercising and mending things and practicing with their weapons. On one deck they were enjoying some kind of couplesâ dance.
âSo,â said Dr. Muldoon, revealing that the utility belt on her suit contained a tiny notepad and a pencil. âThe married couple thing, itâs always pairs of two, is it? I noticed your translators are using the words âheâ and âshe,â is that right?â
âOf course it is right,â said Tlag-li-Glig brusquely.
Scared as they were, Th saaa went pitying and contemptuous colors, which I hoped the Krakkiluks couldnât understand.
âThey seem a lot like humans,â they whispered.
âShut upâthey do not ,â Carl retorted.
âKeep the spawn quiet!â thundered Krnk-ni-Plik.
We emerged, suddenly, into a wide red chamber that for an instant made me think throne room before I thought command deck. It had the same waspy quality of the shipâs exteriorâribs of gold against blackâbut there were roundels between the bands of gold painted with scenes the Krakkiluks presumably found encouraging: Krakkiluks fighting, Krakkiluks subduing what must have been other species, and plenty of Krakkiluks in love. The chamber was flooded with dazzling blue sunlight from great round windows, but I couldnât see the golden planet weâd glimpsed before. There wasnât a lot of furniture, so I got the impression Krakkiluks were like horses and didnât really do sitting down. The crew stood at horseshoe-shaped control stations, no two decorated alike.
And there was a grand ramp up to a dais below a pointed arch, and on the platform stood a large Krakkiluk person who was entirely covered in gold. The effect was even more blinding than Tlag-li-Gligâs diamonds; this person must have been wearing some kind of gold paint in addition to the gilding on their exoskeleton and was golden up to their pink eyes. Atthis distance it was easier to get a better look at their faces, though compared to humans or Morrors they didnât have much of a face; just egg-shaped pink eyes on short, flexible stalks, above a set of large, bony mouth parts that made me glad I hadnât seen the Krakkiluks eating anything.
âYou will answer for your actions to Lady Sklat-kli-Sklak,â said Tlag-li-Glig.
âWhat have you to say?â rumbled the huge golden person.
âSo whereâs your husband?â asked Dr. Muldoon sourly.
There was an immediate clatter of shocked disapproval from all the Krakkiluks, and Lady Sklat-kli-Sklak shot Dr. Muldoon with some sort of small, remote-control type of thing.
âIâm all right,â wheezed Dr. Muldoon, after we all yelled in horror. âJust, you know, canât stand up or anything.â
âHow dare you dishonor the memory of Lord Prilk-wu-Stlik!â cried Krnk-ni-Plik, the spiky one.
âI suggest a group policy of no more sarcasm,
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