>Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot
>Chapter 4
WAI!
>The sound of static reminded Iria of someone crinkling an
>empty candy
>wrapper into a ball right before they tossed it in a
>nearby garbage can. The
>noise awakened her from the half-dream state she had
>drifted off to, one she
>had not remembered entering. It took a moment for the
>return of full
>cognizance, and the understanding that the crackling
>sound was that of a
>transmission over the intercom. She sat upright in the
>pilot's seat, going
>over the communications panel of the 'Creeper V,' and
>hitting the transmit
>button. "What was that?" All she had caught was something
>about coming over
>to the 'Lovely Angel.'
Hmmm... smells like a missed major opportunity.
>Complete static was all that met her in response.
>Concerned, she got out of
>her seat and went to the corridor that now connected the
>two ships and made
>her way over to the much larger 3WA transport. Pausing in
>the connection
>corridor, she watched as the stars flashed by, trailing
>long streamers of
>light as the ships avoided the conventional laws of the
>universe by passing
>through hyperspace. For a moment, Iria was struck by a
>sensation similar to
>vertigo, but the feeling passed by quickly and the
>universe returned to
>normal for her.
>
>"Weird," she murmured as she punched the code in the
>control pad that opened
>the Lovely Angel's airlock and proceeded to enter the
>ship. A momentary whim
>caused her to make a quick stop by Kei's quarters. There
>was nothing there,
>save a mess that reminded Iria that no matter now much
>Kei grew up, there
>were still some things that never changed.
:)
>Deciding it would be best to discover the reason for the strange
>transmission and the lack of communication afterwards,
>Iria made her way to
>the cockpit of the ship. Nothing appeared out of the
>ordinary on her way
>there. The door opened with its expected hiss, and from
>where Iria stood in
>the doorway, she saw from behind that both pilot and
>co-pilot seats were
>occupied, the mass of black and red hair each respective
>women possessed
>sticking up over the tops of the headrests.
>
>"Why did you want me to come over to the ship?" She
>proceeded forward,
>wanting to talk to the women face-to-face. Upon moving
>next to the chairs,
>Iria noted that would prove to be a difficult task,
>considering that there
>was nothing but a mangled mess of blood, bone and gore
>where their faces had
>been but hours before.
O_O
>Curiously, Iria's only reaction was a feeling of detached
>revulsion rather
>than the outright loss of all bodily functions, horror,
>and complete
>psychological breakdown that she would have predicted
>upon something like
>this happening.
[snip]
>The mining outpost on Asteroid K12 had been one of the
>more economical
>versions of such an operation, as was so often the case
>when the minerals
>that were being mined were useful, but not particularly
>valuable. The small
>base was almost completely subterranean, buried within
>the largest asteroid
>that would afford them the most protection from the
>occasional collisions
>that they suffered from the other asteroids within the
>belt they were
>mining.
>
>The only obvious point of entry to the operation was the
>ship's docking bay.
>It was nestled within a depression of the three kilometer
>diameter piece of
>rock where the workers
workers'
>mining ships, as well as supply
>vessels, would emerge
>and land as they brought in their cargoes. A forcefield
>and emergency
>titanium door effectively protected the bay from the
>possible collisions
>with some of the smaller asteroids and possible decompression.
[snip]
>Despite agreeing with the plan, Yuri silently vowed this
>matter wasn't over.
>So far, Iria had gotten her way every time something came
>up, even when Yuri
>disagreed with her and they ended up with nothing to show
>for it. The
>troubleshooter would play along for a while longer, but
>if things didn't
>turn around soon, she'd start calling the shots. No
>matter what Iria's
>feelings on the matter were. Yuri was a veteran
>troubleshooter with years of
>experience, after all. She had just as much a right to
>run things as the
>older woman did.
Great characterizations in the foregoing passages, DB. Kudos. It's
building tension among the character interactions as well as the
ongoing plot. Nicely done.
[snip]
>For a moment, Kei contemplated pursuing, then
>reconsidered. Iria was too
>much like her and hated being confronted. A showdown now,
>especially when it
>was obvious Iria was emotionally and physically
>exhausted, would get nothing
>accomplished. Instead, more subtle tactics were needed to
>get the bounty
>hunter to open up. A smile blossomed on Kei's face as she
>knew exactly what
>to do. Past experience let her know it was prefect.
perfect.
>She'd
>have Iria eating
>out of her hand before the next few days were out, then
>everything could go
>back to normal. Or whatever passed for normal concerning
>the three of them.
>
>xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>The Ship
ship
>dropped out of hyperspace less than five minutes
>after the Creeper
>V and Lovely Angel had departed the system by entering
>it. The Ship was jet
>black, an obsidian shade projected against the eternal
>night of deep space.
>The surface absorbed even the faint starlight that
>traveled the distance to
>the asteroid belt.
>
>The Ship
Oh, you're capping all instances. I see.
>was large, almost half again the size of the
>Lovely Angel, but it
>flowed through the eternal silence like a breeze flowing
>through the air.
>The Ship's shape was similar to an oblong discus, but
>with a number or
>projections along its surface and a pointed shape that
>marked that part as
>the front.
[snip]
>It wasn't as though Yuri had a lack of faith in her
>partner's culinary
>abilities... actually, that was precisely it. Yuri knew
>damn well Kei rarely
>made food for herself, usually opting to eat out or buy
>instant varieties of
>food that needed all of twenty seconds of microwave
>radiation to prepare.
>There had to be a reason for that, and Yuri's detective
>skills informed her
>that it probably wasn't a good one. That the redheaded
>troubleshooter would
>suddenly feel some need to prepare a formal meal for
>everyone was cause for
>alarm. No, for borderline panic.
>
>If only they would receive an alarm that Zeiram was
>attacking a colony
>somewhere. That would definitely save the day. But there
>was no cry of
>klaxons, at least, not yet.
Hehehehehe.
>Looking across the table and seeing Iria appear as
>completely mystified as
>her, Yuri felt herself become more uneasy. Perhaps this
>was Kei's way of
>bringing them closer together. True, there had been some
>tension between
>Yuri and Iria in the last couple of days since the visit
>to K12. Yuri had
>even caught Kei moping around a bit at the perceived
>friction. But there
>wasn't much to do. Iria didn't seem interested in
>clearing the air, and
>without at least a little show of encouragement, Yuri did
>not feel a need to
>make the effort either. It wasn't the sort of tension
>that would lead to a
>fight, but it could conceivably affect them in the middle of tight
>situation. On an intellectual level, Yuri knew she should
>try something to
>ease the tension, but she just couldn't seem to motivate
>herself to make the
>first gesture. So perhaps Kei had decided to do it.
>
>Kei the Peacemaker: an oxymoron if ever there was one.
>
>The redheaded troubleshooter was certainly up to
>something. Yuri noted that
>Kei had made them stop by a remote world and for a couple
>of hours and went
>down to the surface in a shuttle on a private errand.
>Having no leads on
>Zeiram, there was no reason not to do it. After Kei
>returned, Yuri had
>noticed that among the items she had picked up, there was
>some kind of
>squiggly pet that reminded the raven-haired
>troubleshooter of the 'Many
>Limbed Tentacle Monsters of Phallus Five'.
O_O O_O O_O
>Now there had
>been an 'adventure'
>to be certain.
No doubt... :)
>Yuri hadn't been able to sit down for a week after
>encountering one of the more 'mighty' members of that
>particular species...
HAHAHAHAHA!!!
>"Oh dear god, tell me she didn't buy it for that," Yuri murmured.
>
>"What was that?" Iria asked.
>
>"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Ha, ha," Yuri blurted out
>with forced
>laughter. She knew Kei had been feeling lonely, but
>surely she wasn't THAT
>lonely.
^_^
[snip]
>The dangerous glare Kei shot Yuri let it be known that
>further attempts to
>escape would be dealt with even more harshly. Yuri
>considered leaving
>anyway, but then decided to give Kei the benefit of the
>doubt. Besides, they
>had a full complement of stomach medicines that could
>take care of any
>indigestion problems brought on by whatever concoction
>Kei had prepared for
>them.
>
>Seeing what happened,
Seeing what *had* happened,
>and having some definite suspicions
>as to what was
>lying underneath the silver lid, Iria considered making a
>run for it too.
>But then she remembered how enthusiastic Kei was about
>cooking. And more
>importantly, that Kei was a better shot than her, as well
>as being damn
>quick on the draw.
>
>Yuri did not feel any more reassured when she saw Iria's
>shoulders slump
>forward in an outward sign of obvious defeat.
>
>Muhgi, resigned to the inevitable, just pinched his nose shut.
>
>Seemingly unaware, or at least unconcerned, with the
>reactions of the dinner
>guests, Kei placed the covered dish in the center of the
>table. She stood up
>straight, appearing very formal despite her garb, cleared
>her throat, then
>began speaking. "As a gesture of goodwill in our new
>partnership, and in the
>hopes of running into Zeiram and punching his ticket real
>soon, I have
>decided to celebrate our future success by preparing for
>everyone a culinary
>masterpiece of delectable delight. Iria knows firsthand
>what I'm talking
>about, as I used to make it for her all the time."
>
>Oh, Kei. You shouldn't have," Iria said, sounding on the
>verge of tears."
>You really, really shouldn't have."
LOL!
>"Times like this I'm glad I don't have a stomach
>anymore," Bob said from the
>unit on her wrist.
Must be nice to be nothing but electrons for other reasons, as well.
:)
>Yuri heard the exchange and cringed. This was going to be bad.
>
>Kei continued on, helplessly lost in the depths of her
>previously thought
>out, 'Tension Breaking Speech'.
out 'Tension Breaking Speech'. (The comma doesn't really work with
the grouped together noun.)
>"I confess, I haven't
>made this since I left
>home and set out to carve myself a place in the universe.
>But once I got
>started, I knew I hadn't lost my touch. Don't be
>surprised to see this pop
>up again in the near future."
>
>And without any further pomp and circumstance, Kei lifted
>the lid and
>allowed the others to bask in the sight of the culinary
>masterpiece before
>them.
>
>It rested in a bed of deep green lettuce, surrounded by a
>variety of longer,
>stringy steamed vegetables that touched upon every color
>of the spectrum.
>Several turnip shaped spheres surrounded the main dish in
>the center,
>obviously intricately cut and made to be ascetically
>pleasing as well as
>functional. A creamy white liquid with tiny fuchsia
>colored berries rested
>in a small bowl along the edge, obviously meant to be
>used as a sauce for
>the dish.
>
>And in the center was the main course: a multi-tentacled
>octopus-like
>creature. It bore at least a dozen eyes, surrounding the
>body, that looked
>in all directions at once. There was also a set of huge,
>misshapen tongues
>that emerged from two mouths located on different parts
>of the lump in the
>middle. Pustules dotted along irregular intervals along
>its length, and
>everywhere a series of sickly-looking veins covered the
>entire body of the
>puss green colored life-like creature.
puss green-colored, lifelike creature.
>For a moment Yuri
>thought she could
>see them throb as though the creature was still alive.
Oog. Where's my Pepto?
>"I knew it: boiled Klatuu Beast," Iria's grimaced
Beast," Iria grimaced. (possessive taken out and period added.)
> "What's a Klatuu Beast?" Yuri nearly whimpered as the
>full scent of it hit
>her, causing her to recoil.
>
>Kei was delighted to answer as she cooed over her
>triumph. "A rare dish
>created by an alien race called the Zyngmotoivich. It's a
>delicacy of
>theirs."
>
>That didn't bode well. It was Yuri's understanding that
>the Zyngmotoivich
>possessed one of the dullest senses of taste in the
>universe and their
>digestive system was tough enough to consume any form of
>organic matter
>without a problem.
Heh.
>Kei continued. "It's said it takes most master chefs a
>decade to perfect
>creating it. I learned it when I was a kid growing up
>with Iria. One of
>Iria's Zyngmotoivich friends, a bounty hunter named
[snip]
>The limb moved.
>
>"It's still alive!" Yuri blurted out in panic, backing
>her chair away from
>the table and going for her sidearm.
>
>Kei pushed her back to the table. "It's just a reflex.
>Klatuu Beasts have
>funky nervous systems. Sometimes they twitch even after
>they've been chewed
>up, so if it feels like something is trying to climb out
>of your throat
>after you've eaten it, don't worry, that's perfectly normal."
Oh, kami! Bleah! :)
after you've eaten it, *so* don't worry. That's perfectly normal."
>Yuri felt like hitting her head in
on
>the table. Kei
>couldn't make her eat if
>she was unconscious.
>
>Muhgi,
no comma
>took one look at the thing on his plate, then
>viciously attacked it.
>He knocked the serving of Klatuu Beast off the table with
>a swipe of his
>claws, then jumped to the floor and began batting it
>around as though it
>were a giant rodent. That it almost appeared as though
>the Beast was
>fighting back as its tentacles waved in the air with each
>swipe of Muhgi's
>paws only added to the effect.
>
>"Damn it, Muhgi! Quit playing with your food!" Kei rose
>angrily and put the
>food back on the plate, forcing a reluctant Muhgi to sit
>down once again at
>the dinner table.
>
>Satisfied everyone had finally relaxed themselves enough
>to sit down and
>eat, Kei dug in heartily, cutting a large piece for her
>serving and eating
>it down with the gusto that was normally reserved for
>when she hadn't eaten
>in several days.
>
>Yuri, now quite beyond frightened and settling into
>something akin to
>battlefield shellshock, looked in twisted fascination as
>Kei sucked down a
>huge portion of tentacle, the ropy appendage waving back
>in forth in the air
>as though it were trying to get out of Kei's mouth before
>it was too late.
HAHAHAHAH!!!
>In a deeper state of shock, Yuri looked across the table
>at Iria, no longer
>irritated in the least by the bounty hunter's previous
>behavior. It appeared
>that Kei's attempt at them resolving their issues
>peacefully had worked,
>though not in the way the redhead had expected. What
>truly drew Iria and
>Yuri closer together was not that they were breaking
>bread, but that they
>were being forced to suffer through a mutual horrible
>experience together.
>
>But at least it got the job done.
Point. ^_^
>Two servings (and one upset stomach that felt like it had
>been thrown into
>the middle of a solar storm) later, Iria excused herself
>from the dinner
>table and headed back to the safety her ship. A variety
>of stomach remedies
>awaited her there. She had forgotten just how unsettling
>even a half-serving
>of Klatuu beast could be, and she had been forced to consume two.
Just out of curiosity, are you avoiding the "Klaatu" spelling from
"The Day the Earth Stood Still?" That old black-and-white scifi
classic?
[snip]
>"Damn," Iria said under her breath as they drew nearer
>the moon which had
>officially been dubbed, "Yanki's Beautiful Haven.' A
>typical unimaginative
>title some corporate executive in charge of the
>terraforming operation had
>no doubt named after himself. There were plenty of worlds
>like that.
>'Gorney's Relaxing Spot.' 'Mica's Rich Ore Planetoid.'
>'Disneysystem.' All
>of them stupid.
^_-
[snip]
>"Kei, tell me that's not a plasma ejector barrel pointing
>out of his chest."
>
>"It's not."
>
>"Thank goodness," Yuri moaned.
>
>"It's a duon particle beam cannon. It's got about five
>times the kick of a
>plasma ejector."
>
>The two looked at each other, then came to an unspoken,
>immediate, and
>mutual decision.
>
>"Strategic withdrawal!" The cried as one as they ran for it.
Heh.
[snip]
>Zeiram reacted as it had with every other creature it had
>ever encountered:
>it said nothing. Without a hint of wasted motion, it
>moved until it was
>directly above Iria. It then bent over, looking directly
>into her eyes with
>both the red horizontal slit in its trunk and the glowing
>red embers that
>rested in its white face. The white facade hissed and
>emerged from the brim
>of the 'hat' reaching forward until it was poised above
>Iria's face.
>
>And then, lighting fast, the face descended.
>
>
>Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>Definitely a good place to end this one. ^_^
ARGH!!! Heh. Good cliffhanger, man!
As always, a roller-coaster ride, DB. Great fic!
Yours,
Dave
*******************************************
D.F. Roeder
FanFiction - http://home.flash.net/~dfroeder/index.html