Light My Roamin' Candle, Charlie Boone! - 1. Part 1

"Just a matter of minutes now," Murcha said, as the watermelon ship approached Engris, the ancient world hidden within the vastness of the mysterious Cooee.

Charlie Boone leaned back against his pylon seat within the Moth-built starship and watched the central viewing globe intently. He was feeling just a hint of nerves, which was keeping him from being completely relaxed. I should be overjoyed to be back out here, he thought, frowning. Instead of worried over what it's all about.

At the other pylon seats circling the viewing globe, his boyfriend, Kippy Lawson, and their friends, Ricky Travers and Adrian Whitacre, also watched their progress, seeing the exact same view as Charlie, despite their different positions. Their faces were a mix of emotions, plainly showing the inevitable excitement at returning to the ancient world, along with a healthy dose of wonder at the secrets it held. A hint of worry was there, too, at just what kind of trouble had prompted their Aussie friend Mike to summon them back to Engris. Mike's call for assistance had been unexpected, and lacking in detail, but its urgency had seemed plain. The boys had called for Murcha to come and get them, and had left Earth almost immediately.

"I hope we're in time," Ricky said, eying the view. "We don't even know what kind of trouble we're coming into."

"Mike didn't say there was trouble," Kippy countered. "He just said he needed us, and to come quickly."

Ricky frowned. "You don't think that sounds like trouble?"

"He could have just been lonely," Kippy returned, trying to look unconcerned, though Charlie could plainly see the worry in his boyfriend's eyes. None of them thought that Mike would have called for them for any reason but a dire one.

Adrian sighed, and laid his chin on his hand, staring at the image before him. "At least Engris looks okay. I halfway expected it to be under attack or something."

"Nobody can take on Engris," Kippy returned assuredly, staring at the growing, shadowy image of the wandering planet. "This place was here before humans even walked the Earth. It's an old hand at looking out for itself."

Charlie nodded in agreement. No one knew who had built Engris. It's origins were lost in the mists of time. But it was known that, like a bright candle set out in the night, the artificial world was a lure for the spirits of the dead of the many intelligent races that populated the galaxy. It was within one of the domes of an eternal city of this world that Charlie and the others had not only spoken with the spirits of their friends, Billy and Will, but picked them up and included them in a recent adventure. Engris was like a doorway, a meeting point between the world of the living and the world of those passed on, and the ancient and impenetrable technology incorporated in the spirit domes was unduplicated anywhere else in known space. Engris was unique, in more ways than one.

That the mystery world also moved about on its own within the no-time of the Cooee - the otherspace through which the starships of many races took shortcuts between the stars of the normal universe - and that the planet seemed selective about who it allowed to land there, only lent to its mythology as a world of true wonders, ancient secrets, and intolerance for those that would misuse its purpose for their own ends.

At one time or another all the great space powers had tried to take Engris for their own, in part because those in residence in the no-time of the Cooee had what amounted to eternal lives. And the technology of Engris was like no other currently in existence, its secrets coveted by those for whom power and prestige were linked to having the best technology available. But the ancient world could defend itself, and had simply shunted those vast, would-be conquering fleets to other parts of the Cooee, and had never allowed them to find Engris again. One had to wish to find Engris, and to have a purpose that was not counter to the world's seemingly inbuilt ethic of peace and goodwill, in order to land there. And that act only happened because Engris found the seeker.

Direction and distance had different meanings here in the Cooee, and only the advanced artificial minds that directed starships could find their way from star to star. But Engris was even unique within the Cooee, seeming to be all places at all times. One could point his ship to any direction within the Cooee in the hope to find Engris, and if that world willed it, it would be found. And it had been found, by many.

Engris was now home to a broad selection of refugees from every quarter of known space. As a sanctuary, Engris was without peer. Those fleeing troubled places and troubled times could find refuge there, as long as they were of a nature that did not conflict with the purpose of the world. Engris was about peace, and in that peace, a sharing of life...and death. The settlements of the Galactics who had come to Engris looking for a peaceful home tended to be built away from the original cities of the world's founders, with the faint notion that those cities were haunted by the spirits of the builders enough to keep most people away. Behind that wariness was a respect, both for the creators of this world, and for the original purpose of its construction. No one wished to interfere with the ancient cities, though they were not off limits, and Charlie and the others had found their previous visits to the dark world both exciting and wondrous.

Much of the trade that went on between the Galactics on Engris was blatantly illegal. The grand bazaar near the spaceport was home to vendors from all over the galaxy, whose wares were often of dubious origin, to say the least. The galaxy was old, and races had arisen, thrived, and then passed into the pages of history, leaving behind the far-flung clues of their passing, in everything from lost space stations and ships to entire worlds covered in moldering cities. The laws of the various star empires forbade the looting of such discoveries, and made them the property of whichever race ruled the section of space in which they were found. Many such artifacts wound up in museums, certainly; but just as much of the trove, if not more, found places in the collections of rulers and wealthy robber-barons, or in the technology labs of their many enterprises. Competition between the star empires was fierce, and every bit of ancient technology and wealth that was found was added to the effort to keep the balance of power as even as possible.

This strict oversight of lost antiquities left the solo entrepreneur somewhat out in the cold, and until the discovery of Engris, there had been no place to sell such found treasures without almost certain discovery and prosecution to follow. But since the ancient world had become a new home to so many of the galaxy's distressed, dissatisfied, or dispossessed, the trade in ancient and 'borrowed' goods from all over known space had blossomed into something that was the envy of every star nation in the galaxy. Here was a trade that could not be followed, could not be interdicted, and could not be halted. Engris was the one oasis where the power of the galactic nations simply could not reach.

Here could be sold the plundered treasures of lost civilizations, without the little worry of the law to interfere. Here could be sold the loot of outright thievery, so long as the heart of the seller was at peace. The planet itself seemed unconcerned about the merchandise that changed hands in the many stalls and shops, so long as those sales were accomplished without harm to other visitors. Only one spaceport served the entire planet, and ships of space were unable to land anywhere else, held at bay by another of the world's mysterious technologies. Those allowed to live upon and use Engris were compelled to do so in peace, and without malice in their hearts, or face being expelled, and banned forever from returning again. This requirement had led to the establishment of a self-organized, self-policed culture, where any threatened by another could count on the entire population coming to his or her aid. Violence was unheard of on Engris, though there were those that did act up now and then - mostly new visitors - who were warned one time only, and then promptly expelled for a second offense. And those warned off this dark and ancient world would simply never be able to find it again.

Engris existed in peace, and always would, for time held no grip upon her soil.

Across the globe from Charlie, in another of the pylon support seats, Max, their elfin friend, opened his eyes and gave out a great sigh. "Man, this place smells good! I can't get over it!"

Charlie laughed. "We're not even there yet."

"Doesn't matter. It's like my kitchen at home, when the missus is cooking up something special. Good aromas travel far!"

The other boys grinned, and Charlie welcomed the break in the subtle tension they were all feeling. Having Max along was always an ace card, the elf's magical abilities beyond even that of the galaxy's chief power users, the Moth. In any confrontation with danger, having Max along could mean the difference between success and failure. It was due to his powers that they had this ship for their own, and the mind that ran it freed from its enslavement to the Moth, and now a friend.

Charlie gave a little sigh. "I'm so glad you could come with us. Mike didn't say what the problem was, only that he needed our help, and that he had to see us as quickly as possible. I know you're busy, and that you have a lot to do for Nicholaas."

The elf smiled. "What busy? It's July, Charlie. The shop is running along just fine, and we're well ahead of schedule on the next Christmas." He looked about the ship, his smile widening. "I wouldn't have wanted to miss this trip for anything. I needed a little vacation, and there's a lot of great stuff out here to see and do."

"And you get to see Pacha'ka again, too," Kippy reminded, smiling.

Max nodded, his eyes twinkling. "There's that, no doubt about it. Always fun to trade pokes with that fella."

The boys laughed.

"I'd like to know how you kept Frit and Pip from coming," Adrian wondered aloud, throwing a quick smile in Charlie's direction. "We left so quickly I didn't get a chance to ask you. I'll bet they raised a real ruckus at being left behind!"

"I wouldn't want to have been the guy that told them they couldn't come along," Ricky added. "I'd never hear the end of it."

"Well...it was, um, easy, actually," Max returned, looking a little bit guilty. "I just didn't tell 'em where I was going!"

Kippy gasped, and looked faintly indignant. He was fond of the two younger elves, and often protective of their exuberant attention to anything interesting. That Frit and Pip found just about everything interesting, and that they could become a little too boisterous about it at times - which sometimes caused them to get themselves into trouble - seemed never to bother Kip. The two elves were friends, and that was all that mattered to him.

"No you didn't!"

"Sure I did. The Big Guy is always sending me someplace on business. I just said I was off again, and they wasn't even interested." He sighed, noting Kip's disapproval. "Those two woulda been into everything, like they were last time we brought them along! Besides, if we need 'em, I can get 'em here quick enough."

Charlie stared a moment, and then scratched his chin curiously. "You have another starship parked somewhere up north, back home?"

"Naw. I'd just bring 'em along the normal route we elves use to get around. Now that I've been here, and know the way, it'd be a piece of cake."

Kippy blinked in surprise. "You mean you could have brought us all out here without the ship?"

"Sure. But where would be the fun in that?" Max waved a hand around the spare control room. "We wouldn't have been able to hang out with Murcha, for one thing. And if we needed to go someplace I've never been, we'd be stuck. The guidebook knows every place on earth back home, but out here? Jeez, there's places I've never been, just everywhere!" The elf laughed. "And, it's just more fun for us to all be together, ain't it? We needed the ship."

Charlie shook his head. "Wait, wait...the guidebook?"

Max nodded. "Sure thing. Every elf has it memorized by the time he or she is eight years old. It tells you how to get every place on Earth, and to all the surrounding places in the off-side dimensions."

Charlie and Kippy exchanged grins, and Kippy shook his head. "I won't even ask about the off-side dimensions."

Max looked patient. "You've been to some of them. The shop exists in one, and that restful place by the waterfall that you met with the Big Guy that time the malaise got you down, that's another one. Off-side dimensions are all over the place."

Adrian smiled. "Of course they are."

Ricky nodded. "Well, I'm happy we came in the ship. It's cool as hell to zip around in one of these things, and Murcha is a great tour guide."

"I am certainly glad that you called me to take you," Murcha put in. The ship's artificial mind sounded pleased. "I was growing weary of ferrying Bazorki colonists to their new moon. Those people never seem to stop asking questions!"

Kippy laughed at the odd-sounding alien name. "They have a new moon? How'd that happen?"

"Yes. They are a rather prolific people, and their home system is somewhat overcrowded. They have taken to moving the largest asteroids in their system into orbits about their three habitable planets, terraforming them and adjusting the gravity, and then filling them up with their people. A ship can earn some substantial credit as a ferry during these mass migrations."

Charlie frowned at that. "And no one ever asks you where the crew is?"

"No, Charlie. Out here, many ships operate without the need for crews. The ship owner normally receives the credits for work performed, but in this case I am my own master, so what I earn goes into the credit account that Pacha helped me to create. Indirectly, those funds will always be at your disposal, as other than maintenance and upgrades, I have little need for cash."

Kippy grinned. "I could use a new MP3 player. The dog chewed up my old one."

"I am not familiar with the technology you have named, but I'm sure that if you can find it here on Engris, we can get it for you."

Charlie grunted, and rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. "He's kidding you, Murcha. But thanks for the offer."

Kippy gave out a little sigh and looked innocent. "I'm just playing. What do you expect me to do, now that you've yanked me away from our July Fourth preparations?"

Ricky hooted. "What preparations? We were deciding if we we were having Irving's pizza again, and where on Myer's Hill we would sit to watch the fireworks."

Kippy pouted. "Those are important considerations. I like my fireworks to be perfect."

Charlie reached over and patted his boyfriend's shoulder. "Relax, Kip. We know how you feel. But Mike needed our help. We couldn't just refuse to come."

Kippy looked aghast. "Oh, Charlie, I didn't mean that! Of course we had to come. But I'm still hoping we get back in time to see the fireworks." He gave a little wince. "Holidays are special."

Charlie smiled, and squeezed Kippy's arm. "I know they are. And we'll be back in time, I'm sure. Max said he'd jiggle the hands on the clock for us, just like he did before. Besides, while we're here in the Cooee, no time is passing at home at all."

"Sure," Max put in quickly. "I'll just finagle stuff a little and we'll get back not long after we left. Don't sweat it, Kip."

Kippy looked mollified, and then smiled. He leaned closer to Charlie and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry. It's just that I love to sit under the rocket's red glare with you, Charlie."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, me, too." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Though being just about anywhere is fine by me, as long as I'm with you."

Kippy sighed, his expression going dreamy. "Oh, Charlie. You say the nicest things!"

Adrian reached across his armrest and poked his own boyfriend. "Watch and learn, Rick. That's how two people in love talk to each other."

Charlie and Kippy both smiled at the look of annoyance that crawled across Ricky's face. "Uh...yeah. I know how to do it."

Adrian quickly hid a smile of his own. Ricky was more than romantic down deep, but he could be wary of displaying too much affection in public, and Adrian was often gently teasing him about it. Ricky had grown used to being fond of his boyfriend under the accepting gazes of Charlie and Kip, but he was still a little wary of doing it in front of others.

"Yeah?" Adrian prodded. "Say something romantic to me."

Ricky's annoyance changed to discomfort. "In front of...everyone?" he whispered, sounding slightly uneasy. He cast a quick glance at Max, who was obviously trying to look disinterested in the whole conversation. The elf was sometimes embarrassed by the antics the boys got up to in pursuit of affection, and Ricky was sensitive about saying or doing too much in front of him.

Adrian gave out an exaggerated sigh. "Do you love me any less in front of other people?"

Ricky stared at him a moment, and Charlie grinned at seeing his friend's defenses slowly break down. Ricky sighed, and his frown softened into a smile. "Nope. I love you tons all the time. Even with spectators."

Adrian looked surprised, and then looked pleased. "I'll take what I can get." He leaned across the armrest of his pylon and puckered up, and Ricky leaned over as far as he could, and kissed him.

Kippy brought his hands together in soft applause. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Ricky wrinkled his nose at him. "I'm just being respectful of Max. He isn't comfortable with us doing that stuff in front of him."

The elf looked surprised, but then laughed. "Aw, geez, I'm used to it now. Go ahead and make happy, guys."

They were saved from further discourse on the subject by Murcha. "I have a message from Illia, the shipmind on Mike's vessel. They are requesting our ETA. I have explained that we are approaching orbit, and will be down at the port momentarily."

Charlie smiled at the faint note of excitement that he detected in the shipmind's voice. Murcha and Illia were friends, and visiting together something that Murcha enjoyed. Despite artificial minds not having a true gender, they were cast in a certain mold, it seemed, and Murcha was a male pattern, while Illia's pattern was obvious female. Whatever subtle magic defined the attractions for such things, it seemed to work just as well if the mind was electronic in nature, instead of organic.

Ah, romance! Even artificial minds were not immune to it, it seemed.

"That's fine," Charlie said, his eyes going back to the view displayed in the central globe.

"I wish Mike had been more specific about what was wrong," Kippy said, watching the view. "It's a little scary not knowing what's up."

Charlie agreed. Mike had definitely sounded less than his normal confident self when he had contacted them on the little communicator they'd been supplied with, and had acted as if maybe even their communications were not private. He had just asked them to come, and to hurry, and that had been enough for Charlie and the others. Even Max had frowned at the barren nature of the request, and had made up his mind immediately to accompany them. The elf had great instincts, and Charlie had seen traces of worry even in Max's experienced eyes.

They were low enough now to see the lights of the settlements, and the strange, soft glow that the forests of Engris seemed to exhale into the very air. A world without a sun, in a place without a single star to light the sky, the surface of Engris should have been pitch black away from the artificial lights of the Galactic's habitations. Yet, no matter where you went upon the planet you could see, the landscape painted in light equivalent to that from a bright, starry night back on Earth. Charlie had found it very eerie on their first visit, and then eminently practical on their second. Engris was a place that had been well thought out, the ancients combining utility with beauty at every turn.

Their empty cities sprawled about in this eerie light, scattered uniformly about the planet, the tall towers of residences clustered around a dozen or more spirit domes within each city. It was supposed that the cities had once been lit, though there was no certainty about that, and Charlie's imagination failed when faced with picturing an eternal life spent with each day shrouded in perpetual shadows. No representations of the ancient race had survived, and any ideas on what they had looked like could only be assumed from the practical considerations of their architecture. But that they were a supremely confident and able people seemed certain, just judging from the things they had left behind.

The Moth ship rounded the curve of the planet below and continued to descend, and the lights of the port city soon grew and spread out beneath them. The great paved circle about the city came into view - the landing field - peppered with the grounded shapes of star-traveling vessels from every corner of the five great star empires. Charlie's eyes roamed among them as the ship settled, looking for one ship in particular, the blue, soap-bubble globe of Pach'ka's Kifta vessel.

He smiled as he finally spotted it, and sighed as Murcha dropped them onto an open stretch of pavement nearby. It would be good to see their friends again.

"I did not observe a single Moth ship ported here," Murcha announced, as their own vessel settled onto it's landing legs with the smallest of bumps.

"You're unique," Kippy said, reaching out and patting the surface of the viewing globe. "The Moth aren't welcome here, but you passed the test on your own."

"Yeah, you're one of the good guys," Adrian added, grinning. "Glad to have you with us."

"I am quite pleased to be here, believe me. Ah. It would appear that company is coming."

Charlie grinned at the run-together feel of the ship mind's sentences. Murcha was very practical, and sometimes changed subjects without so much as a pause.

They heard the soft, whirr-purr of the boarding tube descending, and Charlie turned back to the viewing globe, which now displayed the pavement between their own vessel and the Kifta globe. A single figure was hurrying across towards their ship, a young man dressed in a simple gray ship suit. But even from a distance they could recognize Mike.

"He's lost the Commander Comet uniform, at least," Kippy said, smiling at the image. "Although he was quite handsome in it, no matter how silly it looked."

Charlie laughed, recalling the outrageous TV space opera uniform that Mike had had made at one of the custom clothing booths at the pirate market. He'd been remembering a TV show from his youth, and the nostalgia had apparently swept him away a bit. They had surprised Mike wearing the uniform on their last visit, and Kippy, for one, had had some fun with it.

"He probably didn't dare wear it again, after last time," Charlie said. "I don't think he liked us laughing."

Kippy gave a small huff of disapproval. "We weren't laughing at him, Charlie. We were, um..."

"Laughing at him," Adrian finished, smiling.

Kippy looked annoyed, but nodded. "Okay, okay. But we weren't being mean about it!"

Charlie smiled, and stood away from his pylon and walked to the entry to the control room of the Moth ship. Inside the boarding tube, a soft light lit, and a faint, slightly eerie chime announced that someone was rising to the control room. Mike came into view, smiling upwards at Charlie as the modified gravity field carried him up to the control room.

And then Mike was stepping out of the tube, and Charlie was grabbing the other boy into a hug.

"It's so good to see you, mate!" Mike said softly, hugging Charlie fiercely.

Charlie immediately sensed more going on with Mike than just pleasure at seeing a friend, and pulled back as soon as he could to examine the other.

He was shocked by what he saw. Mike's face looked drawn, shadowed with lines of worry and weariness. His smile looked stamped upon his face, with only the warmth in his eyes to show that he really meant it.

"What's the matter?" Charlie immediately whispered, sensing the others coming up behind him.

"Can I have a turn?" Kippy asked, tapping Charlie on the shoulder.

Mike gave a little shake of his head, and released Charlie, and stepped around him and grabbed Kippy into a hug. Kippy giggled, and Charlie gave a small smile at the expression of delight on his boyfriend's face. But he couldn't get past the way Mike looked, and knew that something grave was troubling the other boy.

Kippy finally released Mike and let the others have a chance at a hug. Even Max stepped up and claimed one; but the smile on his face was spread beneath concerned eyes, as if he, too, had seen something troubling in the way that Mike looked.

Mike seemed especially happy to see Max, although the two had only shared an adventure once before. Mike gave out a big sigh, and hugged Max fiercely, and Charlie could see the relief on the Aussie boy's face.

"Good to see you," Mike said, as Max released him. "Good to see you all."

Max looked at the boarding tube, and shook his head. "Pacha didn't come with you?"

Mike winced, and the look of grief was so plain on his face that Charlie immediately stepped up to the other boy and took him by the arm. "Come over here and we'll sit. Max, can you get us some seating?"

The elf nodded, and waved a hand, and two long, overstuffed sofas appeared in the open area to one side of the control room, arranged so that they faced each other. Charlie pulled Mike over and pushed him down onto the cushions of one, and then dropped to be seated next to him. Suddenly, everyone seemed to be aware of the way Mike looked and acted, and the boys were all silent as they sat down. Max positioned himself on the armrest near Mike, and extended an arm and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Pacha'ka?" Max asked, quietly.

Mike looked around at the faces, and swallowed hard. And then he seemed to sag, and Charlie tightened his grip on the other boy's arm.

"He's missing," Mike said, his voice breaking. "I've lost him, and I don't know what to do about it. I really need your help!"

 

* * * * * * *

 

Murcha provided them with drinks and something to eat, which arrived via a large conveyance on six padded wheels, replete with arms and eye lenses and all sorts of fascinating tools and doodads, that whipped up their snacks right on the spot. The Moth apparently ate standing up, too, as there was nothing like a table in the ship's central chamber, and Max called up a low one, complete with white linen tablecloth, and placed it between the two sofas. The ingredients of the food were apparently mostly raw molecules, deftly combined, and heated and flavored right before their eyes, and the results laid out on square plates on the tabletop by a surprisingly mobile mechanical arm.

"Now that we're all comfortable," Max said to Mike, smiling encouragingly, "tell us what happened."

Mike took a deep breath, let it sigh out, and nodded. "Well, you guys know that Pach and I wanted to do a little exploring after we left you the last time. We decided to wing it, to just head out and see where in space we wound up. We both needed to let off some steam, and relax a little."

Kippy smiled. "I'll bet you can get quite steamy, too, if you set your mind to it."

Mike blinked at him, looked surprised, and then smiled, himself. "You're just what I need right now, Kipper. Thanks." He settled himself more comfortably on the sofa, and reached for one of the tiny golden cakes that covered a square plate on the table.

"Well, even though we were supposed to just be flyin' about sort of random, you know how Pacha is. He has more little things he knows about than you can shake a stick at. We wound up in an area of space that interested him, some place called Tura-Buyah, which is a Trichani term that means 'dead suns'. It's an area of space that is especially dark, because the gas wasn't thick enough or something there, and instead of suns they got brown dwarfs all over the place. It's a good-sized area, and it also marks a section of the border between Trichani space and Moth space."

Charlie shook his head. "Sounds like there's nothing much there. Why would Pacha want to go to that particular place?"

Mike shook his head. "Because there is something there. Roorapynta is there."

Max gave out a soft grunt. "And what is that?"

For a moment, Mike looked enchanted, and the weariness and worry faded from his face. "Oh, it's an amazin' place! You bucks would love it. Roorapynta is a huge disc, a hundred miles across and about two miles thick. There's a city on top of it, and a spaceport, and mountains, and forest --"

"Sounds like a planet," Adrian said.

Mike nodded. "Might as well be, 'cept it's small, and is a made thing. Got its own gravity like a planet, and a field that keeps the atmosphere contained. Some people now long gone from that part of space built it, but no one now knows who, exactly. The Trichani own it now, and they use it as a sort of trading post - they say - though the Moth think it's a listening post meant to spy on them."

Kippy sighed. "That sounds like the Moth!"

Mike nodded. "They visit the place, but just as customers, more or less. Because there's mostly nothing in that area of space to attract interest, the Tura-Buyah is uncontested between empires, and so makes a perfect border. Roorapynta makes a great waystation, too, because there aren't any habitable planets for a hundred light years in any direction. So everyone uses the discworld as a point of trade, and it's kind of a real frontier place. 'Course, the Trichani, being Trichani, run the place like it's part of their empire, except that they're a little looser about a lot of stuff. Especially the auction."

Charlie frowned. "Auction?"

Mike gave out a soft whistle. "Oh, man." He shook his head. "Guys, you know what an auction is. A place where they sell stuff, and people bid on it. Top bidder wins." Mike blew a little breath between his lips. "Except at Roorapynta, you can buy just about anything you can imagine, stuff from all over the five empires."

Kippy smiled. "Oh, I don't know about that." He turned and gave Charlie a fond poke. "Charlie has a hell of an imagination."

Charlie rolled his eyes, and leaned against Kip in a silent oh, shut up! Kippy just laughed, and tilted his head onto Charlie's shoulder.

Mike nodded. "Well, it isn't just buying or selling stuff, either. Not everyone accepts the universal form of credit out there. So there's bartering, where you can trade one thing for another, or offer a service in exchange for the thing you want, or even choose to fight the owner for it."

"Fight for it!" Ricky laughed out loud. "Sounds more like an arena than an auction."

The Aussie boy looked serious. "It's pretty dangerous stuff, actually. You're safe as long as you don't bid, or don't offer anything for sale. But if you decide to bid or sell, you open yourself to more than just the act of spending or making money. The owner of what you're bidding on can decide to take your credit or not. If not, then you have to put up something valuable enough to cover your bid, and it has to be something the owner will agree to take. You can also offer a service; but again, it has to be something the owner wants. If you don't agree on something, your bid gets disqualified."

"That's all?" Charlie asked. "You just can't bid?"

"That's all," Mike agreed.

"What about the fighting part?" Ricky asked, absently fingering the hilt of the ornate dagger he wore at his belt. Both he and Adrian had brought along the treasures they'd purchased at the pirate market on Engris - Ricky his vibratory blade, and Adrian his Beltracian star map. Both boys had considered that the items might be of use in their new travels, although they had also brought them along on the last trip to space, only to find no use for them.

Kippy had considered bringing along the odd ring he had purchased; but he could conceive of no need for it just yet, and it was a considerable lump to carry around in the pocket of his jeans. Charlie's treasure was a copper-looking plate, that displayed a three-dimensional, live image of the home of anyone that held it. He also could see no use in bringing it along, and Kippy and Charlie both had left their treasures at home.

Mike sighed. "You can put up a challenge to ownership, and fight, but you'd better know what you're doing, because some of these blokes out this way are meaner than a box of snakes. And, even if you do have something the owner will take in trade for the item, you have to watch out for the other bidders, too. Anyone else bidding can elect to challenge you. You then have to fight for the right to keep bidding, if that's what you want to do. I've heard tales of blokes eliminating every single one of the competition through challenges."

Ricky's jaw dropped. "So if you're challenged, you have to fight?"

"Oh, no. You can choose to drop out, but then you lose your right to bid on that item."

"How charming," Kippy said, a little acidly. "What delight will these aliens think of next?"

Max gave Mike's shoulder a squeeze. "And Pacha?"

Mike grimaced, and nodded. "Pach and I were at the auction. Just watchin', we were. The kind of stuff that was comin' up for bids was just amazing. Pach had to tell me what some of it was, and other stuff, even he didn't know. But it was plain to see that some of what was being argued over and sold off was some really valuable stuff."

Mike closed his eyes a moment, as if remembering. "And then...Pach turned and looked off into the crowd, like he was watching something, but when I looked, all I could see were throngs of people movin' about. But Pach senses things, you know? He doesn't have to see stuff to know it's there. He looked off for a while, then he looked at me, and said he'd be right back, and then he went off into the crowd."

Kippy's jaw dropped. "As little as he is? And you let him?"

Mike shook his head. "Come on, Kipper, you know that size doesn't mean much, especially with someone like Pacha. He can hold his own with anybody." Mike dropped his eyes. "Or so I thought."

"What happened after that?" Max asked quietly.

Mike just shrugged. "That was it. That was the last time I saw him."

For a moment no one said anything. Charlie stared at the Aussie boy, finding it hard to believe that Pacha could just walk off and then fail to return. "You weren't worried about him going alone?"

For a moment, Mike looked angry. He pointed at Max, and then glared at Charlie. "Would you worry about Max, if he stepped off by himself for a mo? Pacha is a Ka, and there hasn't been a lad born that can take a Ka by surprise." He looked back at the elf. "Wouldn't you say so, Max?"

Max frowned, but nodded. "It wouldn't be no easy job, that's for sure."

Ricky reached over and patted Mike's knee. "Relax, man. You're with friends."

Mike bit his lip, but took a deep breath, and nodded.

"When did you start to worry?" Adrian asked.

"Well...it wasn't that long, really. Pacha has different ideas about time than I do. When he says he'll be right back, it can mean a minute, or an hour. But where we were, I wasn't so easy about him being off on his own. After about ten minutes I called him on the com, but he didn't answer, and Illia said she couldn't pinpoint exactly where he was. That got me anxious, but I still wasn't that worried. I mean, any guy that can put seven Arpies on the ground isn't someone you really worry about being in trouble, you know?"

"So you waited?" Kippy asked.

"Yeah. But not for long. He was gone about fifteen minutes when I decided to go and look for him. If he was doing something important, I didn't want to queer the deal, so I just did a kind of casual walkabout, looking. I went in the same direction he did, but didn't see him anywhere. That doesn't always mean anything, either, because Pach is a polymorph and can look like whatever he wants, you know? As long as it's about the same mass, anyway. There's all sorts of folk walking around Roorapynta that are close to the same size as Pacha, but I couldn't see him changing into one and then just standing there as I walked by looking for him."

"You looked for a length of time?" Charlie asked.

"The whole stinkin' rest of the day!" Mike returned. "I went back to where we'd been standing three times, and he wasn't there. I covered the whole square a couple of times, and had Illia looking with those tiny fliers that she uses to scope stuff out. And I called him, over and over, on the com. Nothing."

By now Charlie was able to see the true depth of worry and despair that Mike had reached, and felt only sympathy. That the boy was blaming himself for Pacha's disappearance was obvious. "So...what did you do next?"

"I went back to the ship. I mean, that's where he'd have to come back to eventually, right? I waited a whole day, and he didn't come back. That's when I called you fellas."

"You didn't alert the authorities?" Kippy asked.

Mike gave a contemptuous snort. "What authorities? Roorapynta is run by the Trichani, and it operates under galactic law. But it's also marked as an open city, and when the Trichani say open, they mean wide open. The place is posted like crazy, too. That means that you land there at your own risk." He let his eyes move among the other boys. "Almost anything goes there, short of murder. As long as you aren't killing people, or trying to sell some plundered ancient artifacts or something like that, the kind of wheeling and dealing that goes on there isn't too closely watched. The local government isn't quick to get involved in anything that happens there short of an obvious murder, because they never know if they might be stepping into some power player's big deal. The Trichani respect trade like it's art, and they're some of the toughest traders you'll ever want to meet."

Max's expression grew distasteful. "People that don't set up clear and plain rules is askin' for trouble."

Mike nodded. "It's different out here. Most planets are pretty well-run, Max. But...there are exceptions." He considered that, and then shook his head. "No, even Roorapynta is well-run. The rules are just different, and there's a lot fewer of them. But a place like that wouldn't survive without all the people that go there going along with the set up."

Mike closed his eyes then, and just looked tired, and Charlie leaned closer to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "I know you're worried. This is not your fault, Mike. I'd be more concerned about Ricky and Adrian driving off in a tank to explore some alien city than I would Pacha going off on foot."

"Yeah," Ricky put in quickly, nodding. "Especially as I don't know the first thing about driving a tank."

Adrian grinned, rolled his eyes, and then rubbed his cheek fondly against his boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm sure you would learn in a hurry."

Charlie sighed, but nodded. "I just mean, I'd have every confidence in Pacha's ability to fend for himself." He leaned a little harder against Mike's shoulder. "I would not have done anything differently than you did."

Mike pressed back against him a moment, and then pulled away a little and smiled at him. "Thanks, mate. But it won't stop me from worrying."

Kippy reached across Charlie's lap and patted the Aussie boy's arm. "We don't expect it to. We're just saying we're here now, and we're going to help find Pacha."

Max slid off the armrest and stretched. "Yeah. We'll have to go there, I guess. This Roorapynta place." He frowned, and looked around the control room. "Murcha?"

"Yes, Max?"

"You're stuffed full of offensive and defensive doodads, right?"

"I am equipped with the best weaponry and defenses that Moth technology has to offer."

The elf nodded. "Better than Pacha's ship?"

The artificial mind made a gentle sound, as if politely clearing its throat. "The Kifta technology is excellent, but they are a peaceful people, and it shows in their spacefaring sciences. I am fond of Illia and her ship, but in a fight...there would be no question that this vessel would prevail."

Mike smiled at that. "Without Pacha aboard ours, maybe."

"Um...yes. Without taking into consideration the added potential of the Ka's power-using abilities, that is."

Max nodded. "I figured that. Pacha's people can be dangerous if you work 'em up and put their back to the wall, but most times they're the nicest people you'll ever wanna meet."

Charlie also stood, and looked at the elf. "Is there a reason for that question?"

"Sure. If we're goin' there, we should take the ship with the best doodads for defense, and also be able to kick some butt if we have to." Max lifted a hand, and rubbed gently at his jaw. "It's just that this Roorapynta is over by Moth space, and there's liable to be Moth there, and we don't want them getting all curious about us when a buncha humans land in one of their ships. Might not be good for Murcha, you know?"

Kippy jumped up. "Oh! They'd think we stole this ship!"

"I am with you willingly," Murcha countered. "There is no question of theft involved."

Kippy sighed dramatically. "I know that, and you know that, but any Moth we meet won't know that. If this ship lands and we come out of it, they'll think we have you by some sort of force, since normally no one else can use one of their ships, right?"

"Well...yes."

"So what do we do?" Ricky asked. He and Adrian also got to their feet, leaving Mike the only one still seated. That boy looked up at them tiredly, but with a faint smile on his face now, as if he knew that the results of the current brainstorming session could only be good.

"I have no suggestions," Murcha admitted. "Much of this is still new to me. Subterfuge is a talent that must be exercised to become viable."

"We need to disguise you somehow," Max said, grinning around at the bulkheads. "Just the outside, for the present. The watermelon shape of this ship ain't like any of the others I've ever seen out here."

"Moth technology is somewhat distinctive in appearance," Murcha agreed.

"You mean ugly," Kippy said, not unkindly. "Not you, personally, Murcha. But this ship stands out like a big, nasty-looking bulldog in a pack of pretty poodles. It's got more junk on the outside of the hull that looks like it was designed to bite than any other ship at this port."

"The Moth believe in making their presence count, wherever they happen to be," Murcha agreed.

"We need to change that," Max said. "Make you look less, um...aggressive. And less Moth-like, too."

Kippy clasped his hands together then, looking delighted. "Oh! I love makeovers!"

Max turned to the table and waved his hand. The plates of food slid slowly to one end of the table, leaving a cleared spot on the table cloth. He waved his hand again, and a two-foot tall representation of their Moth vessel now occupied the vacant linen. "Any ideas?"

Adrian looked uncertain. "Can you actually change the way the ship looks?"

Max shrugged. "We can't physically change her hull without messin' up her doodads, but we can put stuff over the hull that will disguise the true shape of the ship." He looked around at the boys. "The better we hide her, the less chance someone will take notice."

Charlie considered that, and then frowned. "But if we make the ship look like one no one has ever seen before, won't that attract attention, too?"

The elf scratched the back of his head. "Well, maybe. That we can deal with. We just can't be a bunch of aliens no one knows, rolling around the galaxy in a stolen Moth spacer. The Moth won't like it, and anyone else that sees us will be dying to know how we did it. Better to be strangers than miracle-working thieves."

Kippy patted his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we could start by changing the color." He winked at Charlie. "Black is so uncompromising. So grim. Pink would be much nicer, don't you think?"

"Aw, geez!" Max groaned.

Ricky coughed out a laugh, his eyes going wide. "You're kidding!"

Kippy nodded. "Yeah. But we do need to change the color."

Max gave a soft sigh, and motioned for them to gather around the little mock-up of their ship. "Come on, then. Let's see what we can come up with!"

 

* * * * * * *

 

"I like it," Kippy said, delightedly, not twenty minutes later. "Now it doesn't look like a giant fungus, or a bomb of some kind."

Charlie grinned, and nodded in agreement at the small image of their ship on the table. It certainly did not resemble the Moth ship they'd been traveling in thus far. The upright, black watermelon shape, it's outer surface studded with bulges and deadly-looking protuberances of every kind, had been remade. Even though their vessel was small by Moth standards - hardly more than a scout ship, and often carried by a much larger vessel as a landing or exploratory craft - the Moth did not believe that size made a difference in purpose. All of their ships would be termed warships by any other space-going power, because all of their vessels were armed to the teeth, and quite deadly, no matter their size.

But the ship now standing on the table before them hardly looked Moth in origin. Each of the boys had let their imaginations aid them, and had worked together to make changes, and Max had simply smiled at most of the suggestions, and then waved his hand, adding them to the image. The results looked like no ship any of them had ever seen before.

The hull was now perfectly smooth, and a regal gold in color. The distinctive watermelon shape had fattened down low, until the ship looked like an egg standing on its broad end. A large, protruding ring now ran about the waist of the craft, and two thinner rings ran about the height of the vessel, ninety degrees apart, meeting at the cap and base of the egg. The result looked a little like the classical image of an atom, the rings being the orbits of the electrons in the shell, except an atom that had been gently squeezed, and slightly deformed.

The golden skin of the vessel now bore a large logo, that of the upper curve of a blue planet with a sun rising above the limb of the arc, and a line of flowing blue script beneath it in letters that the boys had made up on the spot. It actually said nothing at all, but that didn't matter to anyone, so long as any observers thought that it did. The made-up letters could not be found in any language known in any of the five empires, thus cementing the appearance of the vessel as a visitor from some unknown quarter of the galaxy.

Charlie had to smile at the utter transformation. Gone was the slightly ugly and definitely threatening-looking black Moth warship. The new vessel looked like the space-going yacht of some pampered playboy, beautiful, yet scarcely deadly.

Adrian sighed, smiling at the image. "It's cute now. But how much work will it take to make our real ship look like this?"

"It already does," Max said, matter-of-factly. "Every change we made to the miniature was made to the real ship."

Charlie gaped, astonished. "But...how?"

Max shrugged. "I used krafph." At Charlie's blank look, he laughed. "Um...it's like solidified smoke. You put it where you want it, then make it solid."

Ricky shook his head. "Will that work? I mean...what if we have to shoot at someone? Won't it blow this crap stuff away?"

"Krafph," Max corrected, patiently. "Like I said, it's like solidified smoke. It'll stay right where it is, but anything we want to do, like shooting, will pass through it like it ain't there. It's good stuff, so don't worry."

"I don't feel any changes," Murcha said.

"You won't. There ain't nothing actually attached to you. It's like a costume that don't touch the body. So relax."

"How long will it stay that way?" Charlie asked.

Max looked thoughtful. "Forever, I guess. Or until I take it off."

"I like the change," Murcha said then, sounding happy. " I am pleasing looking now. If you don't mind, we'll leave this facade in place."

The elf grinned. "Okay by me."

Kippy sighed happily, and patted the elf's shoulder. "Love you, Max."

Charlie tried not to laugh as Max's face gently reddened. "Uh...yeah, Kip. Me, too."

Mike, who had stood by and mostly watched the proceedings, now nodded. "They sure won't recognize this ship at Roorapynta now." He turned his gaze to Charlie. "Um...if we're ready to go, I really should bring lllia over to go with us. She's as worried as I am."

Charlie nodded, and smiled at the request. In the past, the Aussie boy had butted heads aplenty with the shipmind that ran the Kifta spacer. But it looked like their shared hunt for the missing Pacha had done much to cement their relationship into a more peaceful one.

"Sure. Tell her to come on over, and we can get going."

Mike grinned, and pulled out his communicator and made the call. Illia must have been waiting for it, for in moments the ship's boarding tube lowered with a soft whirr-purr, and then the little blue globe of the Kifta shipmind was among them.

"What on Kift did you do to this ship?" she asked, first thing. "It remade itself before my very sensors."

"Only for you," Max said, smiling. "For everyone else on the ground here, we still look like a Moth scout. I'll drop that veil once we get goin', and then everybody will see the new us."

"Do you like it, Illia?" Murcha asked, sounding hopeful.

"Oh, yes. It's exotic, and doesn't look like anything in my catalog of galactic vessels. I'm envious. This makes you truly unique."

"Thank you, Illia."

"Not that you were not unique before, Murcha," Illia returned, happily. "Can I come and visit with you?"

In answer, a drawer slid out of the base of the central globe, revealing a compact storage compartment with four small, cylindrical depressions arranged in a square inside. One such depression was occupied by a shiny black cylinder with rounded ends, that fit its niche perfectly. That was Murcha. The other three compartments were all empty. But even as they watched, one compartment shivered, and then flowed into a perfectly circular depression that looked just right to accept Illia. The blue shipmind whisked over to settle into the depression, and the drawer slid closed with a soft click.

Kippy gave a little sigh, and blew Charlie a kiss. Charlie smiled, and made a show out of snatching it out of the air and holding it close to his heart. Kippy was a sucker for sweet emotion, and he could obviously hear the delight in Murcha's voice at his new appearance. Charlie could hear it, too, but it wouldn't do to make too much of a show of it. Shipminds might be able to be embarrassed, too.

"Last call for anything you wanna take along," Max said, looking at Mike. "Then we should get going."

"Our ship is locked up, and I have security in place," Illia responded. "Not that it's much needed here. No one will bother our ship, even if it sits here for a century."

Mike grinned. "Engris might pick it up and sweep under it, but that's about it."

The boys laughed, getting the joke about how clean the ancient planet stayed, even when no one ever saw anyone or anything cleaning up the place. Just more of the fabulous ancient technology of the builders of Engris, as unknowable as the mysterious domes that served as doorways to the spirits of those passed on. Engris was as clean as it was enigmatic, a not undesirable trait in the least.

Max nodded. "Murcha? You know how to get us to this Roorapynta place?"

"Yes, Max. It's a considerable distance, and will take us about three days of subjective time to reach."

"You mean wristwatch time?" Ricky asked, glancing down at his own.

"Correct."

"Then let's a get a move on," Max said, cheerily. "Nothing left to do here."

Kippy gave a sigh, and looked momentarily towards the retracted boarding tube. "It would have been nice to see Billy and Will."

"We can do that on the way home, if you want," Max offered. "I wouldn't mind seeing them fellas again, either."

The deck shuddered almost imperceptibly, and there was a faint rumble beneath their feet as powerful machines awoke in the spaces below them. They all found pylon seats around the center globe, and watched as the surface of Engris retreated, at first slowly, and then with a rush that was breathtaking. Soon the mysterious planet was once again lost within the vast, dark depths of the Cooee.

They were on their way.

Charlie turned to Mike. "While we're traveling, how about filling us in on everything you know about Roorapynta and the Trichani?"

"I only know so much, myself," the Aussie lad admitted. "Pach and I were only there a few hours before he disappeared."

"I can be of assistance in this area," Murcha spoke up. "I have fairly extensive intelligence files on all the galactic powers."

Kippy sighed. "More Moth spying!"

"It is a fact of life out here," Murcha agreed. "But very handy, when you have need of it." The ship mind gave out one of its slightly sinister laughs. "I can project the information in the central viewing globe, and will be happy to narrate for you."

Max nodded, and smiled at the boys. "Get comfortable, guys. We're off to school!"