Tony, Kyle, and Plumkin answered at the same time, “No, he’s not.”
Kyle watched as the Howsh continued to focus his attention on Jackie. He groped her breasts and snorted. She screamed, “Stop! Get the fuck away from me!”
Cuddy felt useless—pathetic—then remembered what he’d done to the Howsh who was attacking Momma. How do I do that again? How do I use my mind that way? He’d had the help of the AI orb and wondered where the orb was now. Cuddy mentally called out to it and listened for a response. Nothing. Swaying his body back and forth, he craned his neck around until he could see the entrance into the compartment. Something shiny lay on the deck—one of the AI orb’s clawed arms—and the rest lay hidden in the passageway. Has the orb been completely destroyed? Cuddy wondered.
Suddenly, Cuddy’s body was swung back in the opposite direction and the alien’s face was mere inches from his own. His rank breath made Cuddy want to throw up. The snarl was back as he looked into Cuddy’s eyes, then asked him in broken English, “Where is Pashier ship?”
Cuddy stared back at the angry furry face. “Um… who are you?” Cuddy asked.
Growling in annoyance, he answered, “I am captain of ship. I am Holg. Now tell… where is Pashier ship?”
Cuddy stared back at him, confused. How could he not know? The Evermore was less than a mile’s distance away. Then he thought of something Tow had mentioned—that once both drives were operational, well synchronized, he could turn on some kind of additional shielding device, camouflaging the Evermore from being spotted from above or picked up by their sensors. Is that what happened? Had the Howsh gotten so close then lost track of the Evermore at the last moment?
“Tell him what he wants to know, Cuddy,” Tony said. “He’s asked that same question over and over again… He beats us. He’ll kill us, like he did the others here.”
Cuddy heard his brother ask, “Do you even know where it is?”
Holg, listening intently to their conversation, was watching his face so perhaps he should just tell him. He didn’t want anyone to die because of him. Especially Kyle and Jackie. But then he thought of Tow and his promise to him. Thought of the heritage pod. That no one would be left to return it to Primara. Cuddy didn’t know what to do. He’d been so concerned with Tow and his incredible mission to save his kind that he’d almost lost track of the fact that his own kind… his own family may pay the price. Maybe he should tell this foul-smelling best what he wants to know… and just maybe he would let them all go.
Jackie said, “Don’t you do it, Cuddy. The only reason we’re still breathing is because he doesn’t have what he’s looking for yet.”
The alien’s eyes flared with anger. He bared his teeth and roared over his shoulder in Jackie’s direction, then spun back again. “You are called Cuddy… tell me, Cuddy, do you not want to go free? All go free? Do you, Cuddy?” Then, using a clawed furry hand, he scratched himself on the neck and Cuddy momentarily caught movement that looked like small insects scurrying around in the matted fur.
Holg then brought the same extended claw forward to rest on Cuddy’s cheek, and as he applied increased downward pressure, Cuddy felt his face begin to bleed.
Chapter 28
The orb arrived outside the ship ten minutes earlier. Apparently, one of its articulating arms was still somewhat operational. Enough so, that it was capable of dragging itself around. The Evermore’s proximity alarm twirped twice—letting Tow know that there was outer movement, of some sort, approaching. Checking the bridge viewscape display, he saw the AI orb, lying outside the ship.
Opening the hatch and finding the orb there, obviously struggling, Tow felt both relief and deep concern. He hurried. Lifting the orb into his arms, he carried it back inside the ship. Earlier, he had feared the worst, witnessing the dreaded arrival of the Howsh spaceship. Soon after that, he lost mental contact with the orb and had to struggle with the prospect that the AI orb had been destroyed. Also, more than likely, the human, Cuddy, had been killed as well. And with that, all hope for his kind—the Pashier—would be forever gone. In the end, Tow’s presence on Earth had only brought catastrophe.
Now, with a glimmer of hope rekindled, Tow carried the AI orb directly to a small, lower deck workshop, setting it down carefully on the bench. As much as the orb had become an annoyance over past months—years—he was surprised at the sadness he felt. For such a long time now, there’d only been the two of them, and he instinctively knew he wouldn’t have made it this far all alone.
Tow took in the orb’s multiple blackened scorch marks, resulting from Howsh plasma fire. Opening the small access panel on the underside of the orb, Tow noted there was little he’d be able to do since it was clearly evident much of the orb’s mechanical functionality was severely damaged. Damaged, he could see, beyond repair. He exhaled a long breath. Moving slowly, and coughing continuously, Tow—leaving the orb lying on the bench—left the small workshop area. He moved aft and entered the second of two hold compartments. He knew exactly where to go; knew where everything on the ship could be found. His eyes scanned the many rows of deck-to-ceiling shelving, before he turned down and walked between the sixth and seventh set of shelves. Halfway down the row on the left, at eye level, he found exactly what he was seeking—twelve new, pristine, AI orb units. Each had two articulating arms—folded up and strapped down for optimal storage. Tow arbitrarily selected one. Pulling it off the shelf, he studied the inanimate object now lying in his hands.
Back again in his small workshop, Tow set the new AI orb unit next to the battered older one. He was somewhat familiar with the mechanics of transferring one orb’s set of dynamic-gel-tabs—brains and memory plus a complete set of system interface components—into another unit. Typically, that type of technical work would be assigned to an orb to perform, but that was no longer an option. The trick was to ensure that the old gel-tabs didn’t get compromised during the procedure’s transfer. Gel-tabs, highly sensitive, were, in a sense, living organisms, possessing trillions upon trillions of firing synapses and active neurotransmitters. Much like those found in an actual organic brain—but with far more speed and capacity. It also explained why these hovering AI units took on, to some degree, a personality of their own. Tow wasn’t at all sure that was a good thing. He briefly wondered if the older unit’s gel-tabs were still salvageable… worth the trouble. There were new, unused ones, still back in the storage hold. No… he would try to salvage these.
He clipped off the shipping straps and unbound the AI orb’s folded-in arms. He then flipped the orb over and opened its access panel. He knew already that new units were stored brainless, without functioning, dynamic gel-tabs.
Tow looked for, then found, zero-sensory calipers mounted up on the wall between numerous other complex tools and devices. He placed his thumb and forefinger into the end with two scissor-like openings then watched as the other end—which had a set of three, independent prongs—came alive. They were now in search mode—looking… searching. Tow, shifting his position before the bench, brought the calipers down—close to the damaged orb’s access panel. As he lowered the calipers, the prongs continued to both move and work together, like animated worms. They constantly readjusted, in respect to the other, and to what lay within the open panel. Tow steadily lowered the prongs deeper and deeper into the AI orb’s center cavity. They intrinsically knew what to look for. The same procedure could not be done by hand, as gel-tabs were far too sensitive to be touched by an organic being.