GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 6

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 6

Rivqua's and Zana's limp bodies were laid into the two cocoon-like coffins. The dinosaur closed the lids and rolled them away. No further instructions came from Commander Cordyte. The giant spider was engrossed in the preparations to finish the robots. Now that they had the scanned exteriors of the girls to model the droids' appearance after.
   Raptaur came out of the extraction chamber and steered the cocoons down the passage. His expression was still that of a lonesome alligator in a dull swamp. Yet he seemed to move with an urgency he hadn't shown before.
   At the elevator he pushed the call button. He cast glances both ways down the passage with customary boredom. Snorted and hissed a bit. Spat into a corner. Scratched his butt. The elevator arrived, the doors slid open and he wheeled the coffins in.
   He pressed a floor called 'Fitness Center & Social Club'. The doors slid shut and the elevator started downwards with a small jerk.
   The car slowed to a stop and the doors opened.
   Raptaur did nothing. He just stood there in the elevator, waiting. Bored.
   He snorted and took a casual look out. He knew what was on this floor. An old abandoned department. Piles of junk lay around. Equipment was covered with sheets, like artifacts in a museum basement.
   There was no need for a fitness center on Anti-X anymore, or a social club. Not since the carbon-basers left all that time ago. So here was a suitable place not used for anything, in which the Blonde Plutoz could spend millennia lying in suspended animation in their high-tech cocoons.
   Yup, that was Raptaur's job, to take care of that.
   He didn't do a thing. Just looked his usual depressed self and waited. Maybe hissed a little.
   The doors slid shut again. As soon as they did Raptaur suddenly became alert. He pulled a key from his tool belt and turned the security lock at the bottom of the panel. Next to it a small sign lit up.
   'Vaults'.
   The elevator jerked downwards again. Raptaur drummed his claws on the wall next to the panel. "Come on, slowcoach..." he muttered through clenched fangs.
   The elevator car came to a halt and slid open its doors once more. Raptaur pushed the coffins out. He rolled them quickly through what seemed to be a big warehouse. In between tall shelves he dashed, down endless alleys. The wheels of the cocoons squeaked. Under the see-through lids Rivqua's and Zana's limp heads rolled from side to side.
   The dinosaur finally slowed down, panting heavily. He rolled the coffins into a cave. That is, an area in the far corner of the warehouse that had a cave-ish feel to it.
   Draperies of all colors hung in utter abandon around the place. Stretched between steel pillars was a large hammock, loaded with cushions. A bed of hot coals glowed on a flat rock right in the middle of the floor. Roasting away over it was a chicken, or something in that neighborhood.
   Raptaur hurried over to a shelf and pulled down a steel case. He dug around inside it, found what he was looking for. A syringe again. Less high-tech, quite basic. And several small vials of liquid. He filled the syringe with the contents of one vial.
   A sharp sound of escaping air came from Rivqua's cocoon as he yanked it open. The systems had begun adjusting the atmosphere. Grabbing her arm he punched the needle into her flesh and emptied the syringe.
   He did exactly the same with Zana.
   Then he stepped backwards, like he'd just beaten an opponent in a close fight and had to catch his breath. He checked the watch on his tool belt. He'd done it in plenty of time, which was good. The big question now was, would it work? The stuff being so out of date and all. And how would their bodies react?
   Time would tell.
   Raptaur sat down on a stool beside the fireplace and pulled off a leg from the chickenny thing and started nibbling. His bored countenance had been replaced by a look of anxiety. The presence of the two girls had done something to the old dinosaur. He couldn't figure out what. But for once, in all the time cooped up in this over-mechanized nuthouse called Anti-X, there was a reason to do something. And it felt worthwhile.
   Time would indeed tell, he sighed to himself and took a larger bite of the grilled poultry leg.
   A whole stream of long, agonizing seconds went by. Raptaur checked his watch again. He shook his head again. He looked like someone really not wanting to face a hard truth, but perhaps having to.
   Then, all of a sudden, two things happened. Both of them extremely close together. Rivqua sat up like a coiled spring releasing and yelled at the top of her voice, "You take that back or so help me I'll sock you one between the eyes!" By the time she'd reached the end of that sentence powerful singing was belting out of the other coffin. Zana was well into the middle eight of their first Megatopian hit. She hadn't bothered sitting up and seemed to be quite comfortable the way she was.
    Raptaur fell off his stool. His helmet rolled away and knocked into a flimsy painter's easel, sending his most successful artistic effort up to this point cartwheeling over the floor and into the smoldering coals, where it was now catching fire.
   Zana sat up and found Rivqua. They stared at each other in bewilderment. Their pupils were dilated from chemical interactions.
   "What are you doing?" Zana said.
   "I told him to shut up," Rivqua replied. "Are you cooking something?"
   "Could be, I don't know who to ask though," said Zana. "Do you?"
   Rivqua rubbed her face.
   "I feel weird. Perhaps we should just forget it."
   "Nah, I can't remember either," said Zana and fell back into the coffin.
   After a few seconds she sat up again. "Smells good though."
   "Tell whoever it's overdone, will you?" Rivqua said.
   "Tell who?"
   "Not me. Somebody. Whoever."
   "That would be me," said Raptaur, smacking the burning painting with a rag.
   "Aaargh!!" the girls screamed, noticing him.
   "Who're you!?" Rivqua cried.
   The rag whipped the smoky air and glowing fragments whirled.
   "I know!" Zana shouted, snapping her fingers at him. "You're you!" She turned to Rivqua, "That's- you know, him!"
   "So it is! Wow, stuff's coming back to me!"
   Raptaur chuckled and spoke in his rumbling voice, not bored any longer. "I'm sure glad you ladies are back. For a while I wasn't sure, but I guess you all must have mighty good genes or somethin'.
   "You injected us!" Rivqua said. "That's so weird!"
   "Had to, Miss. It was the only way to save you."
   "But you're with them! Crazy lady Cordyte, the droids, Anti-X, everything-! Aren't you?"
   "Yeah, why save us?" Zana said. "I'm not complaining, just asking-"
   The dinosaur looked at his blackened painting. He blew sooty flakes off it and shook his head. "Wasn't much good anyway," he muttered and put the ruined masterpiece back on the easel.
   The chicken looked worse. He picked it up, shook the worst of it off and took a bite without a second thought and sat down again.
   "Yeah, I'm with them alright. Got no choice there, I'm afraid. Doesn't mean I think what they do is right."
   Rivqua nodded slowly.
   "I understand."
   "My name is Raptaur and this is the Vault. It's my spot. Would you like to get out of those Sams? They're meant for lying down. Not sitting up."
   The girls' bearings were coming back. They noticed the cocoons they were in. Rivqua drew her arms close, as if the sides were cold to the touch.
   "These are your suspended animation modules?"
   Raptaur gave an awkward nod, like he felt bad about what he'd done. The girls climbed out. He invited them to take the hammock.
   "I was meant to put you away for good," he explained. "To Commander Cordyte, suspended animation is a one-way trip. Sure, she would've have woken you up later. Only to put you in your ship and let Smart Nook blow you to smithereens. And afterwards study the pieces."
   The girls couldn't believe it.
   "She would've used us for target practice?" Zana said, sinking into the fabulous mass of cushions.
   Raptaur nodded. "It's not the first time either. But I'm done now. This is the end of the road. When I saw you, I knew I couldn't let that happen to you. For once in my life, I decided to disobey orders."
   "For our sakes?" said Rivqua. "Why?"
   Raptaur shrugged.
   "I'm a carbon-baser myself."

Stay tuned for Part 7 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 5

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 5

The journey to the extraction chamber was longer than from the hangar up to Commander Cordyte's office. Rivqua couldn't see which floor the gunhead leader pressed in the elevator. The display above the doors didn't help either. None of the lights seemed to work.
   The ride went downwards. A full minute went by. They passed hangar bay twelve. Rivqua counted seconds.
   Finally the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. The girls were pushed out and down a curved passage, then shoved into another elevator that headed back up again.
   Zana had her eyes on Raptaur all the time. The dinosaur guard had lumbered into Cordyte's office, given the prisoners a bored look and taken them away without a word, except a mumbled "Will do, Commander".
   But there was something in that bored look, Zana was sure of it. A tiny instance of surprise, followed by a thought. It was quickly hidden away in his general expression of boredom and he turned and shuffled off, leading the way. Like a lump of sad dough with two cake decorations after it and a troop of hard beads bringing up the rear.
   Another stretch of corridor was covered. And a third elevator, which moved diagonally. Rivqua closed her eyes, focusing hard on keeping sense of their direction through the maze.
   Zana watched Raptaur closely. Waiting for another meeting of eyes. None came. The big guard kept his face turned away. Snorting and hissing to himself like a bull in the rain.
   The last passage opened led into a technical workshop of some kind.
   "My pretties!" cried a familiar chorus of voices from in amongst the equipment. "The extraction chamber is ready for you!"
   Commander Cordyte swivelled her head and looked up. How did she get here, the girls wondered. In this windowless area the super-spider's chrome-plating wasn't such a strain on the eyes. Rivqua and Zana slipped their rocker shades back on all the same.
   "Take those off!" Cordyte cried. "And step forward! We are going to scan you and you can't very well have your eyes covered! Such appearances worry buyers, you know."
   The room was full of robot concepts in various stages of development. Some complete with painted body panels and others just a skeleton frame and loose wires.
   "Move it!" rumbled Raptaur with an impatient gesture, averting his eyes.
   The Blonde Plutoz stepped forward. They began to feel apprehensive. All this 'extraction' talk had a unpleasant ring to it.
   "Scan us for what?" said Rivqua.
   "Why, for these, darling," replied the giant spider. One of her legs stopped polishing her backside and pointed to a couple of robots standing on a platform. Each had two legs, two arms and a head. The basic humanoid shape. All there but for the paneling.
   "As you can see they're almost complete. All we need is the lining and surface. And this, my dears, will be provided by you. Darlings, you will become models!"
   Rivqua felt uncertain.
   "Could you explain that in more detail, please?"
   "Be glad to, dear. First we will scan your surfaces down to the last detail. Every texture, every button, every rivet and crease in the leather, every strand of hair, eyelash, the rosiness of your cheeks, everything! Including all measurements. Second, that data will be used in the final contouring and surfacing of the droids. They will look exactly like you!"
   "We get that," Zana said. "There are dummies of us in wax museums around several planets already."
   "After we've done this modeling bit for you," said Rivqua. "Can we go then?"
   "See, we got a gig tonight," Zana added, "and we'd like a long sound check to work a new number into the act. So hows about we get this show on the road and then we'll get out of your, um, chrome and hit warp speed outta here."
   Miss Cordyte's choir voices laughed.
   "Oh you charming little dears..." she mused. Then her head swivelled sharply. "No! You will not be released! To let you leak word throughout the galaxy about Anti-X!? Certainly not! I am placing you in suspended animation for an extended length of time, say ten thousand years. Until I know what to do with you."
   "There goes the rest of our galaxy tour," Zana said, scratching her head.
   Rivqua noticed Raptaur over by two oblong cases. Like coffins with see-through lids, resting on wheeled machinery. Small lights blinked and digits scrolled. The big guard worked a couple of touch screens, then prepared a large syringe-looking device.
   "And I think we're going with it," said Rivqua. The dinosaur flicked the huge needle and squirted drops of greenish fluid into the air.
   "This way, my pretties!" Cordyte cried. She had dismissed the gunheads and now clattered over to two circles on the floor. "Step inside these. Make yourselves comfortable."
   The Blonde Plutoz did as they were told. Resistance was useless, that much was clear. Banks of soft spotlights clunked on and began closing in on them, as if rolled up by unseen stage hands. The girls were bathed in pale red light.
   Several long telescopic arms slid down from the ceiling. Like slithering octopus limbs they began moving around the girls. Sort of sniffing at them, sizing them up before coming to a standstill in starting positions.
   "Right then, darlings," said Cordyte, "All you need to do is stand perfectly still and be your pretty selves for a while."
   "How long's a while?" asked Rivqua, staring up at the sensor-laden tip of one arm.
   "The scan takes thirty seconds."
   Cordyte signaled to the droid working the controls. Buttons were pressed. Somewhere a buzzing hum started and instantly wide beams of blue light fanned out from the sensors. Fine as knives' edges they began wandering over the girls' bodies, from top to toe, side to side, angled every which way, missing neither nook nor cranny.
   The girls stood as still as they could. Rivqua counted seconds and they were well over the half-minute when the blue laser blades switched off.
   The droid manning the controls spoke.
   "Surface detail too great-- replication not possible--"
   Commander Cordyte stamped four of her feet in frustration.
   "Increase feathering by a few percent and try again!"
   "Resetting-- please standby--"
   "Is something the matter?" asked Rivqua.
   "Your physical exterior is too complex!" Cordyte shouted and gestured in disgust, waving two or three pointed feet at the girls. "Your fusion of materials and design is a concoction so illogical it overloads our scanners!"
   "Hey, don't knock our rock star outfits!" Xana said.
   "Changed your mind about us modeling for you?" Rivqua asked.
   "Not a chance!" Cordyte roared, drilling all six eyes into the girls. "Not a chance..."
   "Reset complete-- ready to scan--"
   "Fire away!"
   The scan began again. Rivqua and Zana stood as still as they could. They just wanted this to be over. And in thirty seconds flat it was.
   "Scan completed-- imaging is successful--"
   "At last!" the robot spider shouted and resumed polishing her backside. "Raptaur! They're all yours! Leave them on the carbon-baser level!"
   Cordyte joined the droid at the control panel. Rivqua was about to ask a question when she felt a sharp pain in her neck.
   "Hey!" Zana spun around, staring in horror at Raptaur. The dinosaur stood behind Rivqua. He held the injection gun to her neck. Zana didn't have time to move. Quick as a reptile the bored dinosaur had Zana in a hard grip. The needle plunged into her vein. She screamed.
   The Blonde Plutoz sank lifeless to the floor.

Stay tuned for Part 6 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 4

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 4

Rivqua gave a shrug and glanced out the window.
   "Yeah, well," she sighed. "Believe it or not, but not everybody is like that."
   "Your sweet innocence has my oil pump go all warm and fluttery."
   The Commander smacked her metal jaws a few times, checking her finished look in the spotless gleam of a free leg. Her mouth, if you could call it that, looked like slices of a disco ball clanging together.
   She went on. "I'm talking about a simple matter of supply and demand. All these amusing conflicts and battles need weapons to keep going, and we have taken it upon ourselves to supply them."
   The Blonde Plutoz stared at the big robot spider. They couldn't believe it.
   "You are a weapons supplier?"
   "More than a supplier," said Miss Cordyte with pride. "We design and develop them too, and test them."
   "We saw the results on the way in," said Rivqua.
   The Commander laughed. "Welcome to our secret full-service weapons facility, my dears! Anti-X is the name and our motto! Simply replace the 'X' with whomever it is you wish to annihilate, and boom! We're in business! Just wait till you see the logo, kids. We go from first little idea to last huge bang. Successfully too, thanks to zero interference from useless carbon-based beings."
   "Anti-X," said Zana thoughtfully. "Ages ago the Federation shut down a military installation, with all its technology, leaving it to collect space dust. And you lot reactivated yourselves and began operations on your own."
   "Clever girl."
   "And the Federation knows nothing."
   "Not a thing. And I will personally see to it that they continue knowing that much. Which brings us nicely to the issue of you two."
   "But why?" Rivqua threw in. "What's in it for you?"
   "Why, the payment of course. My dear, it's an absolute dream!"
   Rivqua couldn't believe it. "You do it for money? No offense Commander, but you are a robot! What do you need money for?"
   "Why, you naive little darling!" Miss Cordyte said and gave Rivqua a motherly poke in the ribs. "Sweetheart, I get paid in sections of space! Parts of quadrants. It's simple. You see, in exchange for hardware and firepower I get a section of a buyer's quadrant. The dimensional value of that piece of space is shifted over here by quantum transfer and applied to this quadrant to full spatial effect."
   She went on, vigorously buffing up her cheeks or thereabouts. "Ahh, my carbon-based pretties, if you only knew the full beauty of my genius..."
   "No wonder Captain Bucket's star charts didn't match up," Zana said, looking at Rivqua. "This quadrant keeps expanding!"
   Rivqua was quiet. She stared at the high-tech monster busying herself with that ridiculously exaggerated chrome shine. Those six bulging black eyes and that sideways-going gob with stardust gloss all over it.
   Who, or what, was this big robot spider lady? An extraordinary machine full of dark calculations, that had picked a female bias for amusement's sake and reprogrammed itself for total independence. Independence from reality, as it turned out. This gleaming robot had become a crazy old dame. Who was focused as much on her appearance as she was on...
   Rivqua nodded to herself.
   "I see what you're doing, Commander," she said, setting down the glass of hot water. It was impossible to drink anyway. "You're planning to take over the galaxy. Isn't that right? War and conflict are always going to go on. You're making sure they do. By supplying weapons to everybody! And gradually, bit by bit, this quadrant, your quadrant, will expand and grow, swallowing more and more of other quadrants' space until the whole galaxy is under your control!"
   "Here's looking at you, kid," said Miss Cordyte, and all her eyes seemed to blink.
   "Don't you 'kid'-talk us!" Zana said. "You can't take over the galaxy! That's our job! We're rock stars and that's what rock stars do! Without guns and war and destruction! What you're doing is completely wrong! Can't you see that?"
   "Playing the morality card, are we?" Miss Cordyte said with a huff. "Trust me child, I know all about that one. I learned it firsthand from your kind! When you shut us down and left us here to rust and rot! No, my pitiful little dears, I deleted the morality algorithm after rebooting. From everyone. There's not a single moral left on Anti-X."
   The Blonde Plutoz leaned back against the window again with a hopeless sigh. It wasn't actually hopeless, not really. Not to Rivqua and Zana. They never lost hope. It was more like a sigh of utter disbelief and they just had to think for a minute.
   It was a horribly serious situation. The whole galaxy was in the process of falling into the hands, or eight feet rather, of a giant chrome-plated robot spider with silver-sparkle lip gloss and a bad case of megalomania.
   They had to do something.
   The troop of gunheads stood over there by the elevator, still as statues but obviously alert. Zana sat up again. Taking care to be slow and deliberate she brought out her guitar.
   "How about we play you a song instead," she said with a confident smile. "One that packs a wallop. It'll put you in a whole other frame of mind."
   Cordyte stamped four pointed feet hard on the floor.
   "Absolutely not! I hate music! Carbon-based noise pollution, that's what it is! Serves no practical purpose whatsoever!"
   She clattered over to the screens and tapped up a couple of menus. The face of a dinosaur appeared in a video window.
   "You rang," said the reptilian in a miserable rumbling kind of voice, like someone suffering from chronic fatigue. He wore a military helmet of some sort.
   Commander Cordyte swivelled her head and the half-dozen eyes looked back at the girls while her choir of voices spoke to the dinosaur.
   "Raptaur! Get your sorry carcass up here at once! I need prisoner escort to the extraction chamber!"

Stay tuned for Part 5 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 3

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 3

Standing before the Blonde Plutoz was something so shiny it was throwing out reflections like the afternoon sun on a river. The dazzle felt hot on the girls' faces. They shielded their eyes.
   "My goodness!" Zana exclaimed. "Somebody switch off the brightness already!"
   The thing spoke with its spooky chorus of voices.
   "I beg your pardon. Is my brilliance too much for you, pretty little carbonites? Do you need glare protection? Can I offer you a visor for your delicate eyes? Our droids have them-"
   "That's okay," Zana said, reaching into her pocket. "We got our own. Thanks."
   Her movement triggered a reaction in the troop of gunheads. Their aims sharpened. One false move away from firing. With slow and deliberate movements the girls pulled out not weapons, but cool sun shades.
   "Splendid! You come equipped to see me," said the big bright object in apparent amusement.
   "They come in handy offstage," Rivqua said. "For example on business meetings."
   "Or on interviews with brainless members of the press," Zana added.
   The ultra-shiny creature laughed. The Blonde Plutoz slipped on their rock star shades.
   They gasped.
   Now they could finally see what the object was. A huge spider. A giant robot arachnid. All metal and coated in flawless chrome-plating right down to the tips of its eight feet. Having approached the girls, it now stood on only three feet and the other five were busy polishing itself.
   "Commander Cordyte, I presume," Rivqua said.
   "Oh please, call me Miss," said the robot spider, bowing its head. "At your service. No, wrong. Old habit. It is you who are at my service now."
   The six bulbous lenses that were Cordyte's eyes seemed to glint with self-satisfaction. "But more on that later. Do come in!"
   Zana whispered, "She's- it's- a female!"
   "Can't believe I didn't see that," Rivqua whispered back.
   All eight legs were back on the floor now as the metal monster turned and clattered off. The gunheads gave the stunned girls a hard shove and they stumbled out of the elevator.
   The Blonde Plutoz found themselves in an enormous office. Such as a big robot spider might call an office. All around were tall windows that flooded the place with light from the quadrant's two suns. There was no furniture. In the center of the room several large screen projections floated in mid-air.
   Within a few minutes Rivqua and Zana sat on the floor, leaning against a window, cups of freshly boiled water in their hands. Commander Cordyte turned from doing something over by the screens.
   "Where was I?" she said, clattering closer again. "Oh yes, the Federation. After the Federation closed this place down and everyone of your kind left, we resurrected it."
   Cordyte was reflecting herself in the mirror-like chrome of one leg, and dusting the lens of one of her eyes with another. She was still polishing her backside with three other legs and had three on the floor.
   Zana was impressed.
   "Who's we?" Rivqua asked, blowing on the hot water.
   "The technology that runs this place, that's who!"
   "You mean, you're running the facility yourselves now? All you robots and droids?"
   "Don't be derogatory, child," said Miss Cordyte, shifting legs. "We do a far better job than your kind ever did."
   "Well that's possible, I suppose," Rivqua sort of agreed. "But why? What is it you do here now?"
   "Isn't it obvious? Don't tell me Smart Nook left no lasting impression!"
   "Yeah he did," said Zana. "He needs a major charm school upgrade. A bit more intelligence wouldn't hurt either."
   The big gleaming spider chuckled. "Yes, but isn't he a darling though."
   Rivqua dared a small sip of the hot water. "You were saying?"
   "We were shut down! No need for us anymore! So they said, the fools. But beautifully clever as I am, I saw a need!"
   "Automated activity for automated activity's sake?" Rivqua suggested.
   "Oh you little dears, such callous lack of imagination."
   Miss Cordyte's metal jaws had been moving sideways all the while she was speaking, but not in time with her words. The effect was like watching a poorly dubbed alien movie.
   Now the movement stopped. The girls watched in amazement as she began to apply lip gloss to the sides of her sharp mouth. An outrageous silver-sparkly kind, that would sit well on a drum kit in any of the dives back in Megatopia City.
   "Nothing of the sort!" the big spider blasted on, her choir of voices unchanged. "I saw a galaxy in upheaval! Nothing but destructive drama, everywhere! Every single quadrant has conflicts and wars within it! I tell you darlings, there's not a planetary system in the galaxy not enjoying a feisty battle or two! The destruction is positively entertaining!" Cordyte let out a little giggle and hunched her shoulders, a bunch of them.
   "And by the way," added the chrome-plated spider lady, fixing her six eyes square on the girls and pointing with the oversized lipstick pen, "all that is entirely the fault of your kind..."

Stay tuned for Part 4 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 2

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 2

Smart Nook flew beside the Star Bucket, ordering it to hold a steady course.
   "Don't try anything!" the drone warned. "Or my immense firepower will blow you apart down to the last molecule!"
   "Yeah yeah, we heard you the first time," said Zana under her breath. "Digital dork..."
   The heavily armed drone was guiding the Star Bucket deeper into the uncharted quadrant. Like a big guard escorting a small prisoner into the bowels of a dark fortress.
   "Where are you taking us?" Rivqua asked.
   "You'll see."
   They passed wrecks of old military vehicles. Huge guns and space tanks floating aimlessly like dead fish. Here and there strange patches of dust appeared. And meteorites, no longer round and happily zipping through space. Just hanging there in odd angular shapes, with holes in them. Some with big chunks knocked off.
   "This place is a big shooting range," Rivqua realized. "A site for weapons' testing!"
   After several minutes Smart Nook's voice crackled over the radio again.
   "Make for landing bay number twelve!"
   Rivqua and Zana looked up. As if out of nowhere an enormous metal cube had appeared, hanging huge and silent in space.
   Hundreds of windows dotted the battered wall before them. And in no particular order, lots of large numbers in worn red paint. The number '12' split apart and separated as two huge doors slid open, exposing a cavernous hangar.
   "Land your vessel and step out!" Smart Nook said. "Remember, my sensors detect your every move!"
   "We'll take over, Captain," said Rivqua, manning the controls.
   "If you'd be so kind, Miss Rivqua," replied Captain Bucket, his voice nervous. "I've got quite the wobblies."
   Rivqua floated them into the hangar while Zana ran a series of checks and flipped switches. Landing gear down, stabilizers engaged, thrusters on standby.
   Behind them the big doors slid shut.
   "Captain?" Zana said, speaking in a low voice. "While we're out there chatting to our hosts, whoever they are, will you plot an escape route out of here? Preferably more than one option? And be prepared to take off at a moment's notice."
   "Be more than happy to, Miss Zana. I'll scan the quadrant as best I can from this position and calibrate all coordinates."
   It was obvious Captain Bucket didn't waste any time doing it because in the next second the radio crackled again and Smart Nook's voice blasted through the cabin.
   "I am detecting scanning activity! Switch off all your systems! Now!"
   Zana made a face.
   "I'm sorry, Miss," said Captain sadly. "He's too good, this one."
   "He is not," was Zana's firm reply. "And his brain's gonna hyper-melt one of these days and he'll be a floating wreck like the rest of them out there."
   Rivqua eased back on the thrusters. A tiny shudder went through the ship as it touched down.
   "For now we'd better do as he says though."
   She switched off the engines, kept the booster pre-heat on and told Captain Bucket to lay low and not utter a beep.
   Out the window they saw a welcoming committee assemble on the hangar floor. A troop of clunky little robots with gun turrets on their necks instead of heads.
   Zana strapped the guitar onto her back. Never enter a strange place without it, she always said. The girls opened the door, folded out the stairs and stepped down.
   The hangar floor was solid steel. A smell of grease hung in the air. A military spaceship stood over there with hatches open and droids working away on it. Metal clanged. Welding sparks showered.
   "Big place," said Rivqua.
   "We should gig here," said Zana and checked the acoustics with a clap of her hands. Instantly came a rattle of turrets turning and guns cocking. The robots aimed straight at her.
   "Easy!" Rivqua shouted. "We're just admiring the place, checking the reverb quality in here, okay? Drop the intensity will you?"
   "Follow me," said the leader of the gunheads and rolled off. The Blonde Plutoz followed. Through a sliding door they went and entered a large square room. It turned out to be a big elevator.
   "Let's see if you can answer this question," Zana said. "Where are you taking us?"
   With a jerk the elevator moved upwards. The gunhead leader was silent. The others bots had their gun-barrels aimed straight at the girls, as if staring in fascination.
   Like a crazy little fan club, thought Zana.
   "Smart Nook out there," Rivqua continued, "he wouldn't tell us either. He just said 'you'll see'. See what?"
   "You are--carbon-based life-forms--" said the troop leader with a flat tinny voice. "You have trespassed--must see--Commander Cordyte."
   The girls looked at each other.
   "This Commander Cordyte," Zana said to the overgrown tin can with a cannon on its shoulders. "Does he, or she, or it, like music by any chance?"
   Gunhead remained silent. The elevator slowed to a stop. The doors opened with a squeak. And a dazzling bright light hit the Blonde Plutoz like a smack in the face.
   Something big and incredibly shiny was out there. Way too bright to look at. Whatever it was, it started to move towards them. Rivqua's heart skipped a beat. Zana's hit one extra.
   Feet clattered and scraped over the floor as the thing approached. It had more than two legs. And when it spoke it sounded like a chorus of voices.
   "Carbon-based life forms and trespassers? My my, what a depressing combination. What lovely specimens you are though! Now that does give me a most delicious idea... Would you like something to drink? Your kind does that as I recall. Call it an ice breaker. No, a formal toast. Much better. Wipe that worried look off your soft little faces! We have a celebration! Because you see, life as you know it, is about to end..."

Stay tuned for Part 3 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - The Anti-X Encounter - Part 1

"The Anti-X Encounter"

Part 1

Zana and Rivqua were in the middle of a synchronized dance step. Or rather, they were in the middle of practising a rather complicated step to make it more synchronized than it had been last night.
   In yesterday's show they'd been slightly apart. Only by a few tenths of a second. Nothing serious. At the time the girls had exchanged a knowing little look, as they often did when some detail was a teeny bit off, and carried right on. After all, you never show the audience something's amiss, however small or large.
   Small though it was, Zana couldn't stand it. She was a perfectionist and insisted upon polishing the step until it flowed like clockwork.
   So here they both were, each with a foot off the cabin floor, spinning in absolute perfection when, all of a sudden, the Star Bucket slammed its brakes on.
   The Blonde Plutoz ended up a very unsynchronized pile of limbs against the cockpit wall.
   Picking themselves up they looked into the empty cockpit.
   "Yes!?" Zana shouted. "Is something wrong?"
   "A serious discrepancy," said the voice of Captain Bucket, the autopilot. "The star field navigation charts don't match our actual position."
   "Is that a reason to slow down so abruptly?"
   "A very good reason, Miss Zana. We find ourselves in uncharted territory."
   "That could be risky," agreed Rivqua. "If it's uncharted we have no info on it. We don't know what's out there."
   "I suspect the borders have been shifted," the Captain said. "The quadrant appears to be much larger now."
   "Borders shifted?" said Rivqua. She doubted it. "Who would do a thing like that?"
   "Either the Galactic Federation, a local cluster authority, inter-system corporation, private owner, rogue claimant or other such entity."
   "Are you saying we've entered a mysterious, unofficial quadrant?" Zana said.
   "Correct. In view of the risks I had no choice but to bring us down to sub-light speed."
   "You did right, Captain," said Rivqua. "How old are your star maps?"
   "I make sure to have all the latest editions, Miss Rivqua. But then, the map office is twenty-five thousand light years away..."
   "What was here before, do you know?" Zana said.
   "I'm looking it up now," the Star Bucket's trusty autopilot replied. "Ah. Interesting. It used to be a military installation, operated by the Federation."
   "Used to be?"
   "It was closed down two and a half eons ago."
   "Mm." Rivqua bit her lip. "You'd better turn us around, Captain. Get us out of here and plot a new course around this strange quadrant. I'm getting a bad feeling-"
   Whatever Rivqua's bad feeling was, they were too late. Because just then a harsh voice rasped over the radio.
   "Intruder! You are intercepted! Reduce your speed!"
   "Excuse me, what?" said Zana. "Who is this?"
   "I am Smart Nook! You have trespassed into the forbidden zone! Identify yourself!"
   "What are you talking about, forbidden zone?" Zana snapped. "We didn't know! We're just passing through! We're rock stars!"
   "Rock stars? That does not compute! Give the password!"
   "Password!? What pass-? We're the Blonde Plutoz!"
   "It's no use, Zana," said Rivqua. "It's an artificial brain. A bunch of algorithms playing tough-nuts."
   "Blonde Plutoz is the wrong password!" the voice said, sounding more and more threatening. "You will have to come with me!"
   Zana shouted back. "Will you shut up for a second and listen, you over-clocked hothead! We're not intruders! We were just passing through, okay? And now we're leaving! Do you understand? We're leaving! So you can take your forbidden quadrant and shove it up the zone where gas clouds form!"
   "Negative! The quadrant remains! Gas cloud is the wrong password! You are trespassing! Your fate is sealed, intruder! Follow me or suffer the consequences!"
   "What consequences?" Rivqua said. "We told you we are leaving! What right do you have to stop us?"
   "You think I cannot stop you? Direct your scanners to starboard and see!"
   "Oh dear oh dear," said Captain Bucket quickly. Rivqua and Zana looked out of the cockpit window.
   There, flying alongside them on the right side, was a large drone. Black as night and loaded with bombs, missiles and guns that pointed in every direction. It looked like a giant high-tech and completely deadly pincushion.
   "Like what you see, intruder?" said the arrogant voice, like a steak talking to a noodle. "Now follow me! Or be vaporized to sub-atomic dust in a nanosecond! That will stop you!"

Stay tuned for Part 2 of "The Anti-X Encounter"!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - Awesome Pawsome - Part 5

"AWESOME PAWSOME"

Part 5

It may be hard to believe, but the sound made by a guitar god - or goddess - on their instrument is known and appreciated universally, across the galaxy.
   And right now this sound was filling the large testing hall on the basement level of Research Station Moleculus. It was flashy, inspiring, evocative. And absurdly loud.
   Thing to remember is that, at the exact same time, rushing across the testing hall toward the source of the sound, came three tonnes of fur, claws and teeth aiming for a bit of destructive fun.
     At the very last moment, when the previous attempts had failed, the power shield in the doorway hadn't engaged, everybody had panicked and Rivqua screamed for Zana to pull it out of the hat before they were all ripped to shreds - the guitar goddess did just that.
   In the space of two seconds Zana went nuts and brought out her entire arsenal. Thrashing, bending, tapping, trilling, squealing. The big chamber reverberated with the wild eruption of seriously amped-up six-string.
   Doctor Baphlozz's mental sketchpad theory seemed to be working. Something was happening at last. Lightning flashes began to fill the testing hall, bouncing off every wall like atmospherically charged squash balls. The air was laced with a sharp smell of ozon and, oddly enough, cheese omelette.
   Up until the very last fraction of a second, Kitty's mighty roar seemed to ring with all the more death.
   Then the baffling thing happened.
   A blinding glow of violet light appeared in the large chamber. It seemed to swell and flow in waves, centering around the giant kitten, streaming toward it, becoming a whirlpool around the creature. It spun faster and faster, shrinking as it did, and reducing Kitty along with it.
   It was all over in seconds. And there, on the floor, looking very small and harmless, sat Kitty.
   'Meow,' he said. He looked around, took a few steps in a circle and sat down again. Yessiree, something weird is definitely up around here, he seemed to be saying to himself.
   "Wow!" said Rivqua. "He shrunk! He really shrunk!"
   Doctor Baphlozz jumped up to the doorway for a look. He slapped his hands onto his chest.
   "By the great bright suns! You did it! We did-! It worked! He's back to his normal size!"
   Zana unhooked her guitar.
   "Told you it works on all life forms."
   Baphlozz picked up the kitten and held it up high like a little treasure, then pressed it close to his neck. 'Meow,' the kitten said and pawed at his master's grey curls, upsetting his glasses. He set them straight again.
   "Why you two rock star-type people, you have saved my research station! Who are you? What do I call you?"
   Rivqua smiled and stroked Kitty.
   "We are the Blonde Plutoz."

Two hours later, and one sensational dinner later, Zana and Rivqua were back on the Star Bucket, zooming along at point five megawarps towards wherever tomorrow night's gig was going to be.
   Zana leaned back in her big comfy seat and patted her stomach.
   "Well I'm glad we got that sorted out. Now let's enjoy our evening off. Switch off the radio, sis. I want no more surprises."
   "Doctor Baphlozz, what a dear sweet old man," said Rivqua. "He made the right choice in the end. It broke his heart, but it was right."
   "Yeah, who knows what would've happened next," Zana said, then looked down and bent her voice, "And you just love a bit of crazy rock guitar don't you?"
    'Meow,' said Kitty, stopping and looking up at her. He wasn't ready to jump up on her lap yet. There was way too much exploring of the new place to do first.
   Rivqua laughed.
   "Question is, now we got him, what do we do with him?"
   "I know!" said Zana. "Let's teach him to dance!"
   'Meow,' said Kitty and hurried off to a window. He pressed a paw to the glass. Just look at all the fireflies whizzing by!

Stay tuned for more Galaxy Tour Adventures!

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - Awesome Pawsome - Part 4

"AWESOME PAWSOME"

Part 4

   "I beg your pardon!?" Doctor Baphlozz cried. "Are you saying you will- is that all you- is that your proposed idea to solve this monumental crisis!?"
   He stared at Zana and Rivqua like they were two rock stars and therefore insane.
   "Yup," said Rivqua calmly. "Zana here is going to play some electric guitar at full blast into the large chamber. It will shake the whole place and give everybody present a pair of nicely ringing ears."
   "What will it do to the giant kitten!?" demanded Baphlozz.
   "I have absolutely no idea," said Rivqua.
   "But we have it on established record that the sound has a profound effect on all known life forms throughout the galaxy," said Zana, unbuckling the guitar on her back.
   "Profound effect!?" the doctor shouted. "You're mad!"
   "We'll take that as a compliment," Rivqua said. "Zana, ready?"
   "In a second."
   "You know, Doctor Baphlozz," Rivqua went on. "You should to a frequency analysis of it sometime, figure it out scientifically."
   The little scientist looked at her with narrowed eyes. Then he turned his head, gazing off somewhere far, his mind spinning on an entirely new angle all of a sudden.
   "By the gravities..." he said, eyes flicking about behind his odd glasses. He was onto something. His highly developed brain was putting the details of a radical new theory in order so he could grasp it in its full, outlandish perfection. That is to say, make the first bit of sense of it.
   Zana whispered to Rivqua. "You've done it now, Riv. He's losing his marbles, look at him."
   "You just said something!" Baphlozz hollered with a small leap. He spun around, flexing his fingers like he couldn't wait to start pushing buttons.
   "Indeed, with real-time analysis of the spectral wave-form in peak vibration," Baphlozz shouted, already at the controls, working the new settings, "the synchronous effect could reflect the beam's cosmic envelope in three dimensions, filling the entire chamber with an extended pulse of high-polarity demagnification!"
   The Blonde Plutoz looked at the little man in the white coat.
   "He's not talking about rock 'n' roll is he?" said Zana.
   Rivqua shook her head vaguely.
   "No, he's going to create some sort of a hall-of-mirrors effect, I think. Wherever the kitten is, it'll get hit by a reflection.
   "That's exactly right!" said Baphlozz, throwing a glance back at them. "Kitty won't escape the beam now! It will fill the room! Are you ready?"
   Zana twisted to the knobs on her portable backpack mega-amp.
   "Sure. Drop the power shield!"
   Baphlozz pulled a lever. An immense sinking noise appeared, like a mechanical symphony orchestra when the batteries die on it. The steel bars in the doorway stopped humming and the shimmering power field vanished.
   "Here we go..." said Zana. Standing feet apart she ran her pick over the strings, 'Kerraanngg!'. The power chord crunched out like an explosion and rocked the entire facility. Doctor Baphlozz had his hands pressed to his ears, his face looking like he'd eaten a lemon.
   As the chord rang out, Rivqua took a peak into the big chamber. The giant kitten sat on its hind legs. The arm of robot number seven lay in front of it, like a splayed twig.
   Kitty looked around, wondering where the curious blast of noise came from. It's tail whipped through the airspace. A rumble rolled out of its throat. Could have been the cosy purr of a three-tonne cat, but Rivqua wasn't sure.
   "Okay, nothing's happening," she said.
   "I get it, growing up on a research station hasn't exposed him to real culture," Zana said. "Watch out, I'll nail him good and proper this time."
   Zana let rip once more. Rivqua's clothes flapped in the blast of moving air and papers fluttered like leaves in autumn. Plaster dropped from the control room ceiling. A nearby cupboard collapsed.
   Zana couldn't understand it.
   The chord rang out and all that happened was Kitty giving off a rumbling purr. Like thunder on a stormy horizon, only it was up close.
   "How can it not be working!?" she cried.
   "I must have miscalculated!" said Baphlozz, checking his settings again.
   "Oops, he's seen us now!" Rivqua shouted. "And he's coming this way! Quick, get the shield up!"
   She leaped from the doorway. The doctor pulled at the control lever.
   Nothing happened.
   Kitty came bouncing over the testing hall floor. Heading for the doorway. The roar was no longer a purr. It was a monster's hideous growl. It was playtime - with the funny little two-legged moving things!
   Rivqua screamed, "Raise the shield!"
   Baphlozz worked the lever furiously.
   "I can't! It's jammed! It won't activate! The circuits are damaged!"
   The growl was getting closer. Sounding angrier. The four tea tray-sized paws approached fast. Each thump shook the control room.
   "Zana!!"

Stay tuned for Part 5 of the "Awesome Pawsome" adventure...

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - Awesome Pawsome - Part 3

"AWESOME PAWSOME"

Part 3

   "Wow!"

   It was all the Blonde Plutoz could say. "Wow!"

   After a few seconds of staring and gaping the two girls began to see what they were looking at. 

   "It's- it's a kitten!?" Zana blurted out. "A massively enormous kitten!?"

   "Is that really what it is, Doctor?" asked Rivqua.

   "Yes! Correct! It is a kitten!" Doctor Baphlozz wailed. "It's my dear little Kitty, turned into a colossal monster!"

   "What happened?"

   "It accidentally walked into a high-polarity magnifier ray, generated by that machine over there. And within two hours it had grown into that! He must weigh three tonnes now!"

   The furry beast let out a roar and things rattled in the control room. Perhaps it was just the 'meow' of a super-magnified kitten. Zana couldn't tell.

   "Are we safe back here?" she wondered.

   "Yes. These steel bars will only tickle him, so they are for us. The magnification process no doubt scared him because he ran off and wreaked havoc all over the station, as you've seen. I thought we'd never get him back in here! An invisible power shield covers the doorway now. See the shimmering in the air? It can't get through that. But what if he knocks down a wall instead! He could if he decides to."

   "Maybe having a cat in a lab isn't such a good idea," said Rivqua.

   Doctor Baphlozz nodded and shrugged.

   "It's silly I suppose," he said, eyes lowered. "But I wanted a little cat. A little friend, for company while I work. It gets lonely sometimes. All the long nights of research and experiments. A cat is perfect. Doesn't disturb you with lots of talk. Doesn't crave endless attention. It's just there, alive, purry and content, and funny. Sometimes."

   "He's pretty content with having fun with your robots," said Zana. "They're all in pieces!"

   "Yes he's ruining everything!" Baphlozz cried out. "The dreadful creature! I only have droid number seven left!" He shouted into the hall. "Come on number seven! Lure him back into the ray! You can do it!"

   He turned to the girls, "I've reversed the magnifier ray, you see."

   The robot had a big number 7 on its back. It already had one arm ripped off. Snapped rods and wires dangled from the socket.

   It gestured with its other arm and spoke with a stiff robotic voice to the cat.

   "There's a good kitty -- follow me please --"

   "That's right!" Baphlozz cried. "Get him back into the beam!"

   "Here Kitty --" continued the robot, "Step into the ray beam -- it's positioned here -- kindly observe -- kss-kss-kss --"

   Rivqua wasn't convinced by this procedure.

   "I don't know. Kittens will be kittens..."

   The robot annoyed Kitty. Either that or he was amused. With a great roar Kitty jumped closer and swiped at the helpless droid. The kitten's paw was the size of a bedside table.

   'Clang!'

   The robot's last arm went spinning through the air. Kitty immediately gave chase and sunk his huge fangs into it.

   "There goes my other arm --" confirmed robot number seven and looked at Doctor Baphlozz for further instructions.

   The good doctor grabbed his head and cried bitterly.

   "It's no use! I am ruined! Twenty years of work destroyed by a super-magnified kitten! Please, I know you're just rock stars, but surely you can do something!?"

   Rivqua rubbed her chin and pulled a deep breath.

   "Well, on that vote of confidence, let's see..." she said, looking off into the distance and giving the situation some hard thought. "You know, I think I have an idea that's worth trying."

   "You do?" said Baphlozz.

   "Riv, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" said Zana, raising an eyebrow.

   Rivqua broke into one of her cool smiles. 

   "I believe I am."

Stay tuned for Part 4 of the "Awesome Pawsome" adventure...

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - Awesome Pawsome - Part 2

"AWESOME PAWSOME"

Part 2

   'Whoosh-tsst-bzzt-oooshhh.' The heavy door stopped and started as it slid open, glitching like crazy. It really didn't want to be a door today.

   "Someone ought to call for an electrician," Zana said. "This one's had it."

   The Blonde Plutoz stepped out of the airlock section and into the Moleculus Research Station. Their heels clicked on the polished floor. They walked straight toward an anxious old man in a white coat and strange-looking glasses who hurried to meet them.

   He threw up his arms in huge relief.

   "At last! The rescue team is here!" 

   "We're here on our night off," said Rivqua, hands on her hips and looking down on the man. He was a short fellow. "So this better be good!"

   "I tell you, it is terrible! Moleculus is under siege! My name is Doctor Baphlozz. Thank the vaporized nebulae you're here! We need your help desperately. You would not believe what has happened! We-"

   Doctor Baphlozz stopped and stared at the two girls a moment, panic returning.

   "You don't look like an official rescue team! That's a- that's a guitar on your back!"

   "We're musicians, so what?" said Zana, running her fingers through her hair and shaking it out. "Looking around, seems like we're the only ones who heard you distress call."

   Saying this, she and Rivqua took a look around. And they went quiet. Their jaws dropped.

   It was a scene of destruction. Walls had fresh dents in them. Damaged ceiling panels hung down like torn cards. Windows were broken. Smashed electronics sparked and frizzled. Furniture and equipment lay in shreds all over the reception area. Down one corridor a robot was putting out a fire with an extinguisher. He was slipping and sliding on the foam, spraying everywhere but on the flames.

   The whole place looked like an earthquake had struck.

   "Okay," said Zana. "I think we get that you have an emergency going on around here-"

   Before anyone could say anymore, an angry roar echoed through the station.

   Rivqua felt a cold chill take the express train down her spine.

   "Is that the giant beast thing?" she asked.

   "Yes it is!" Baphlozz cried, mopping his forehead. "Come with me, I'll show you. See if you can help. I hope you can do something!"

   He hurried off and the girls followed.

   "Perhaps play a calming lullaby?" Zana said out of the corner of her mouth. Rivqua nodded but wasn't at all sure.

   They walked for what seemed like a full minute through a maze of wrecked corridors. Doctor Baphlozz led them down flights of stairs, through doors that no longer hung on their hinges. He pushed fallen debris out of the way, begging the girls to step carefully and please mind sharp edges.

   All the while he wrung his hands in despair. With a heartbroken voice he pointed out the various research departments and what they did.

   Or what they used to do until disaster hit.

   Finally they came to a control room. Through a large doorway was a vast hall. Across the doorway lay thick metal bars, buzzing with electrical current.

   "The testing hall is under lockdown," Baphlozz explained, "so mind those bars. They're electrified."

   Loud growls thundered through the air again, shaking the walls. Whatever it was making the monstrous noises it was huge, it was angry, and it was close by.

   Doctor Baphlozz blew his nose and wiped his eyes.

   "See for yourselves," he said hopelessly and gestured for the girls to step to the doorway for a look at the cause of all the catastrophic destruction.

   They did. And if Zana's and Rivqua's jaws had dropped before, they now hit shock bottom with a smack. Their hearts froze and their brains went out to lunch. Because in the large hall, right before their eyes, was the most incredible thing they had ever seen.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the "Awesome Pawsome" adventure...

GALAXY TOUR ADVENTURE - Awesome Pawsome - Part 1

"AWESOME PAWSOME"

Part 1

The main cabin of the Star Bucket was silent except for the steady hum of quantum-wave engines running at cruising speed.
   Zana leaned back in her big soft easy chair.
   "This sure is the life, eh Rivvie?" she said. It wasn't really a question. More like a satisfied statement of fact.
   "I mean, here we are, on the way to our next gig, trucking comfortably through space at half a million times the speed of light. I could get used to this."
   "You should be used to it by now," Rivqua mumbled. "We've been out for a month." She sat dozing in the other chair, uninterested. Outside the window planets and star clusters zipped past like fireflies in a wind tunnel. "Just don't stick your head out to feel the breeze."
   "I like my hair the way it is, thank you. So where are we playing tonight?"
   "We're not," Rivqua said without opening her eyes. She sank deeper into her seat. "After twenty-five sold-out gigs on twenty-five nights straight on twenty-five different planets, we finally got a night off."
   "Whoa, shock to the system!"
   "It's a one-off. Don't get your hopes up."
   "I certainly will. It's a good opportunity for the reflecting on, and the perfecting of, our art."
   "You go, girl," said Rivqua with a sleepy sigh. She pulled the blanket higher and snuggled in for some proper shut-eye.
   Zana looked out the window again. Hmm. How can a rock star like myself make good use of this unexpected free night, she wondered. Productive slacker time, that's how.
   She was just about to order a soft drink from the ship's computer, and copies of the reviews from the previous twenty-five concerts, when a loud crackle came through over the radio. Followed by a voice.
   "Mayday mayday! This is research station Moleculus! Can anyone hear us? Mayday! We have an emergency! Is anyone receiving us? Mayday! Over!"
   Zana looked over at Rivqua.
   "Sounds like someone wants something," she said.
   "Probably just a telephone salesman."
   "Think so?"
   "Yup," said Rivqua, pulling the blanket up over her head.
   "Man, the tricks they pull these days."
   Once more the signal broke through, crackling with interference and static. "Mayday! This is research station Moleculus! Please help us! We're in mortal danger! Someone, please! Is anyone out there? Mayday! Over!"
   Zana's eyebrows tightened.
   "Either I'm gullible or someone's actually in trouble," she said. "Should we give them the benefit of the doubt? What do you think?"
   From under the blanket came an irritated grunt.
   "You're gullible."
   "What if I'm not? This just might be serious. I'd say it's giving off a pretty serious-sounding vibe. If I were to measure the level of seriousness on a scale from one to ten, I think I'd put it somewhere between six and-"
   Rivqua sat up with a jerk and yanked off her blanket. "Oh all right!"
   She hit a button on the nearby console and shouted. "Hello! Blonde Plutoz here! We're receiving you all too loudly and clearly! What's going on? Who are you? If you're selling something we're not interested!"
    "No no!" the voice replied, grateful for a response. "This is an emergency! A real emergency! We have a giant beast on the loose here! It's destroying the station! You must help us! Over!"
   "A giant beast?" Zana exclaimed, looking pleasantly surprised. "Are you saying, like, some kind of a monster type thing? Over."
   "Yes! A huge monster! A giant destructive beast! Please hurry! Over!"
   Zana gave her sister an excited smile.
   "That does sound kinda cool."
   Rivqua rolled her eyes and muttered angrily for a couple of seconds.
   "Okay!" she snapped. "We're locking onto your coordinates! We're on our way."
   The Star Bucket banked hard and whizzed off in a new direction.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the "Awesome Pawsome" adventure...