hours, sir, I will endeavor to apply what I have learned from this mission.” He then spat something that slapped onto the floor.
“What was that?” Hadrian demanded. “That brown stream you just spat?”
“Chaw, sir.”
“Good grief. What’s the interior of the combat cupola looking like right now?”
“Brownish.”
Hadrian swung his attention to Buck. The chief engineer was slumped in his chains, trying to keep his half foot off the floor. The exoskin had closed up around the damage. “Now now, Buck, it could be worse. Of course we’ll get out of this, don’t worry.”
The man lifted his head, squinted across at Hadrian. “Sir, I want to resign my commission.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Sure, your last ship exploded and almost everybody died, and now here you are, chained to a wall in a cave. So I get it. Deployment’s never easy, not for any of us—well, for me, I suppose it is. But I was born to this. It’s in my blood, in my bones. It’s what I live for. A starship. A galaxy to explore, invade, pound into submission. Aliens? See above.”
“Speaking of which,” said Galk, “the door’s opened a crack, and there’s an alien peeking in on us.”
“Pay it no mind,” Hadrian said. “This is all about being cute.”
“Well, sir, it does seem to be focused on you.”
“Finally,” Buck said, “being butt-ugly’s paying off! Hahahah! She wants you, Captain! Hahaha!”
“Snap out of it, Buck! A little decorum, please!”
“One of them ate my foot!”
“Only half of it,” Hadrian said.
“And then,” added Galk, “I blew its head off.”
“And my foot with it!”
The door swung wide. The biggest alien yet crept into the chamber, cautiously approaching Hadrian.
Beside the captain, the tiny hambil or gerbster strained at its chains, making growling sounds that came from two new slits, one to either side of its eyes, which still blinked owlishly.
The praying mantis made a strange gesture with one forelimb. A heretofore invisible door opened in one wall. Then it strode up to Hadrian, unlocked his shackles, collected him up, and hurried to the side door.
“Hahahaha!” sang Buck DeFrank.
The alien shut the door behind them. They were in a smaller room, one corner filled with the husks of exoskeletal remains that had been split open.
“Now, then,” said Hadrian as the alien held him up to study him with its five bulbous, honeycomb eyes. “As powerful as my imagination happens to be, I admit to seeing the list of possibilities fast diminishing here. So, darling—ow! No, not there—ow, don’t do that! If you just—ow! No, really, here, this … no, move that, here, no, there. No, not that! Stop, ow! If you’d just—no, that, this one here. Ah, ah, no, not—aaaaaggghhhh!”
When consciousness returned, Hadrian found himself once more chained to the wall. He groaned, struggled upright.
“Captain,” said Galk. “Good to have you with us again. How do you feel?”
“I hurt in orifices I never knew I had,” Hadrian said.
“That was some screaming, sir,” the Varekan continued. “I had no idea that the human vocal cords were even capable of some of the sounds you made. And it went on and on. And on. Needless to say, sir, when I tried to think of what might be making you scream like that—”
“Oh shut up already, will you?”
From the other side of the chamber, Buck cackled.
Galk said, “Regarding your chief engineer, sir, I believe—”
“Yeah, whatever,” Hadrian cut in. “Hey! Did you hear that?”
Deep reverberating sounds reached them, thundering, making dust drift down from the high, unlit ceiling. The floor trembled.
“Maybe that alien that took you, sir, has a bigger sister.”
Hadrian flinched. “Tammy! You there? Tammy!”
Lieutenant Polaski’s voice echoed thinly in Hadrian’s skull. “This is the Willful Child . Reading you loud and clear, Captain. Tammy is presently indisposed, but we are getting operations back on line. Expect
“What was that?” Hadrian demanded. “That brown stream you just spat?”
“Chaw, sir.”
“Good grief. What’s the interior of the combat cupola looking like right now?”
“Brownish.”
Hadrian swung his attention to Buck. The chief engineer was slumped in his chains, trying to keep his half foot off the floor. The exoskin had closed up around the damage. “Now now, Buck, it could be worse. Of course we’ll get out of this, don’t worry.”
The man lifted his head, squinted across at Hadrian. “Sir, I want to resign my commission.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Sure, your last ship exploded and almost everybody died, and now here you are, chained to a wall in a cave. So I get it. Deployment’s never easy, not for any of us—well, for me, I suppose it is. But I was born to this. It’s in my blood, in my bones. It’s what I live for. A starship. A galaxy to explore, invade, pound into submission. Aliens? See above.”
“Speaking of which,” said Galk, “the door’s opened a crack, and there’s an alien peeking in on us.”
“Pay it no mind,” Hadrian said. “This is all about being cute.”
“Well, sir, it does seem to be focused on you.”
“Finally,” Buck said, “being butt-ugly’s paying off! Hahahah! She wants you, Captain! Hahaha!”
“Snap out of it, Buck! A little decorum, please!”
“One of them ate my foot!”
“Only half of it,” Hadrian said.
“And then,” added Galk, “I blew its head off.”
“And my foot with it!”
The door swung wide. The biggest alien yet crept into the chamber, cautiously approaching Hadrian.
Beside the captain, the tiny hambil or gerbster strained at its chains, making growling sounds that came from two new slits, one to either side of its eyes, which still blinked owlishly.
The praying mantis made a strange gesture with one forelimb. A heretofore invisible door opened in one wall. Then it strode up to Hadrian, unlocked his shackles, collected him up, and hurried to the side door.
“Hahahaha!” sang Buck DeFrank.
The alien shut the door behind them. They were in a smaller room, one corner filled with the husks of exoskeletal remains that had been split open.
“Now, then,” said Hadrian as the alien held him up to study him with its five bulbous, honeycomb eyes. “As powerful as my imagination happens to be, I admit to seeing the list of possibilities fast diminishing here. So, darling—ow! No, not there—ow, don’t do that! If you just—ow! No, really, here, this … no, move that, here, no, there. No, not that! Stop, ow! If you’d just—no, that, this one here. Ah, ah, no, not—aaaaaggghhhh!”
When consciousness returned, Hadrian found himself once more chained to the wall. He groaned, struggled upright.
“Captain,” said Galk. “Good to have you with us again. How do you feel?”
“I hurt in orifices I never knew I had,” Hadrian said.
“That was some screaming, sir,” the Varekan continued. “I had no idea that the human vocal cords were even capable of some of the sounds you made. And it went on and on. And on. Needless to say, sir, when I tried to think of what might be making you scream like that—”
“Oh shut up already, will you?”
From the other side of the chamber, Buck cackled.
Galk said, “Regarding your chief engineer, sir, I believe—”
“Yeah, whatever,” Hadrian cut in. “Hey! Did you hear that?”
Deep reverberating sounds reached them, thundering, making dust drift down from the high, unlit ceiling. The floor trembled.
“Maybe that alien that took you, sir, has a bigger sister.”
Hadrian flinched. “Tammy! You there? Tammy!”
Lieutenant Polaski’s voice echoed thinly in Hadrian’s skull. “This is the Willful Child . Reading you loud and clear, Captain. Tammy is presently indisposed, but we are getting operations back on line. Expect
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