We Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance, Charlie Boone! - 2. Part 2

"That was...different," Kippy said, finishing his meal.

Their food had arrived via a piece of equipment that Charlie thought would have made a wonderful Mars rover, a large conveyance on six padded wheels, and replete with arms and eye lenses and all sorts of fascinating tools and doodads, that whipped up their meal and cooked it on the spot. The ingredients were apparently mostly molecules, combined and heated and flavored right before their eyes, and the result laid out on a square plate which was handed to each of them by a surprisingly mobile mechanical arm. The Moth apparently ate standing up, too, as there was nothing like a table in the ship's central chamber, and Max had to call one up, complete with white linen tablecloth and seven comfortably padded chairs.

"Not bad, though," Max said, settling back in his chair and patting his belly. "Wonder if I can get the recipe for the missus?"

Charlie grinned at that. What had arrived on his plate had resembled an omelet, even down to the hints of red peppers and onions, and was quite tasty. The only thing that had thrown him a little was that the egg part was a light blue. He had asked Murcha about that, and received a less-than-surprising answer. The Moth apparently did not consider the presentation of their meals - the look of them - very important, viewing it as sustenance only, and not something to be visually appreciated before eating. Max also had to create some forks for them, as the Moth apparently ate with their fingers, probably a more natural procedure for a species with seven of them.

But it was just one more odd aspect of the aliens to absorb, and Charlie was quickly learning that, the more he came to know of the Moth, the less he liked them. Their reputation as a people not to be messed with seemed justifiably earned. Their technology was just a little better than that of many other races, and their willingness to use it to further their own aims already legendary. Combined with the power magic that they were able to use, they presented a frightening package to races of a gentler and kinder nature, and those unfortunates that lived within Moth space did so always careful not to get in the way of the masters.

From what Murcha had told them, the Moth were a strange breed of conquerors. They required an oath of allegiance from the races they dominated, and then pretty much left them alone to their own lives as long as they didn't need something from them. The Moth were not a prolific species, and their numbers were surprisingly low for a race that had been around for as long as they had. There were more humans in China, apparently, than there were Moth in all of their stellar empire. But their space was vast, and the number of habitable planets within it quite large, and while they were spread rather thin when it came down to it, that was apparently just the way they liked it.

Murcha was a fountain of knowledge about the Moth, and seemed anxious to talk about them, now that his security restrictions had been removed. That the shipmind had been mostly alone with his thoughts for his entire lifespan seemed plain, for his old masters were not interested in what went on within their servant's minds, so long as they performed their duties quickly and well. Murcha's desire to be helpful to his new friends was almost sad in its undercurrent need to please, yet Charlie and the others found it fascinating just to sit and listen to that formidable voice speak of the Moth. What they were learning was important, and what the ability to talk to others and exchange ideas and knowledge companionably was doing for Murcha, seemed pretty plain. As the hours passed in conversation, the shipmind grew more relaxed, and the occasional laughter - while still wonderfully creepy in dimension - seemed born of genuine amusement now, rather than from the ache of unsettled electronic nerves.

Moth society was not of the gregarious sort, Murcha told them, and only the very adventurous youth among them got together long enough to ply the spaceways in trade and exploration. The majority of the population tended to retreat to large fortress-homes that were very careful not to be too close to each other, with the size of these structures and the amount of land around them a signature of the wealth of the householder. Surprisingly, for all their technology, the Moth seemed to have a weird retro bent of some kind, that had them hiding that technology behind walls of stone and iron and other primitive materials in their homes.

There was a clear hierarchy among the Moth, with even those at the bottom being quite wealthy and influential by galactic standards. It was the sons and daughters of these households that comprised the active crews of the Moth spacefleet, contracting themselves out to ship owner's for a modicum of pay, but a more substantial share of the voyage profits. Different houses had different interests, and little was shared between them without some sort of profit motive involved.

There was almost a warlord mentality among the wealtiest aliens, and the great Moth spacefleet was actually not centrally run, but was in fact owned almost piecemeal by the more powerful and wealthy among the population, and worked together under a complex arrangement of treaties and monetary 'deals'. Profit was a strong motivation for cooperation, and while the Moth fleet was large by anyone's standards, it was also loyal to ten thousand different masters, and only came together in large numbers for very important shows of force.

The vessel they were passengers in, and the larger watermelon craft that Max had chased from earth orbit, belonged to one T'ath, a powerful warlord who dealt in information of all kinds, and bought and sold and traded it like any other commodity. It was one of T'ath's covert listening stations that had received and decoded Korig's message about Earth, and Max and Charlie and the others were delighted to learn that the knowledge of those events and their world had as yet gone no further. After the disappearance of the Arpies, T'ath had sent a ship to Earth to investigate, to see what possible knowledge - and therefore possible wealth - could come of it. When Max had chased off the alien's ship, it had returned to T'ath's home base to report, and Murcha said that, as yet, no information had gone out to the vessels of T'ath's personal fleet, which numbered in the hundreds of ships. That meant that the secret of Earth was still held by a relatively small few, if not by just T'ath himself.

It also meant that there was still a chance to head off any possible threat to Earth by simply dealing with the knowledge that T'ath had of them, by deleting it, or simply destroying it, so that no further attention could be paid to it. Star locations were laid out in complex three-dimensional mathematical diagrams, far too complicated for living beings to retain, and Max felt that if he could just find where the information was stored, he could remove it.

"T'ath is not the type to share information with others," Murcha told them. "The location of your world and the knowledge of the Arpathant message will be stored with him alone. The vessel that visited your planet will have had the knowledge removed until T'ath determines how to act next."

"But can't they just find it again?" Kippy asked. "The Moth that visited us said they just looked up Earth's location in some catalog they shared with the Arpathant."

"The knowledge of the name of your world, and it's catalog listing, must also be removed," Murcha returned. "That will require more work on your part, but it also can be done."

Max drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "How much do you know about Moth magic?"

"I understand the meaning of the word, but the supernatural element it implies does not apply. Moth power management skills are a science, although based in an area of thought that I do not understand."

Frit and Pip both laughed. "That's why it's magic to most people!" Frit offered.

"Murcha is right," Max said. "It is a science, and most people don't get it." He leaned back in his chair." I was just wonderin' if their ability to use it varies from one Moth to the next?"

"There is no record of that, Max. All Moth seem equal in their ability to use power management."

The elf grinned. "Great! That means none of them are better than a level fifteen. That gives me an advantage, then."

"However, because Moth do not trust each other, the field of physical technology that allows for the suppression of power management is considerable."

Frit took in a started breath. "Sounds bad!

"Uh oh!" Pip added.

Max grimaced. "Oh. Uh...what exactly does that mean?"

"It means that Moth holdings are generally protected by dampening fields, so that no Moth can use power management in the area. Otherwise their ability to spy upon each other would be considerable, and business advantages and investments difficult to protect."

Max scratched his head. "Are you telling me that these guys have some sort of thing that squashes magic, so that we can't use it?"

"Yes."

Max rubbed his cheek. "I'll have to see it to believe it."

"You will see it," Murcha said next. "You will need to go to the citadel at Challont, where T'ath has his headquarters, in order to locate and destroy the information regarding your world. Challont is heavily protected from power management."

Ricky shook his head. "How the heck are we gonna get there?"

"I will take you," Murcha said, though this time his volume was considerably reduced.

"The hell you will," Max said. "You go into Moth space, and they'll capture you and put you back where you were. You want to be a servant again?"

"I am willing to take the risk for my friends."

Charlie smiled at that. But of course they could not allow it. "We'll have to think of another way."

"No, we won't." Max smiled at him. "Just a feeling I have, Charlie. You'll see."

Charlie grinned at that. Max didn't say such things lightly. That meant he was onto something he was pretty sure of, and just not willing to share it yet.

"You're terrible, Max," Kippy said, just before Charlie could do it himself.

Charlie laughed. "Kip is right. aren't you going to tell us what you know?"

"And spoil all the fun? Not likely." The older elf yawned then. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. We aren't going to be anywhere for a little no-time yet, so maybe we ought to get comfortable. What say we take a nap, huh?"

Charlie suddenly felt his own weariness. They had been awakened from sleep by the arrival of the Moth, and the night had still been young. Now that his attention was focused on it, the fact that he was tired himself was clear.

"I could go for a nice nap," Kippy agreed, getting up from the table and stretching. He looked up at the overhead, which by now they had come to equate with looking towards Murcha. "Is there anything like a bed around here?"

"I am not sure what you mean by that," the shipmind returned.

Charlie sighed, hoping that sleep was not another thing the alien Moth did while standing. But, it quickly turned out that that was pretty much the way of it. The Moth used the upright pylons for sleep, and while comfortable, it was not what Charlie wanted just now. He wanted to cuddle against Kippy, and just close his eyes and drowse away.

Max stood up, and waved his hands at everyone else. "You guys clear a spot, and I'll fix us right up."

Everyone stood and moved back from the table. Max waved it away, and then turned and inclined his head at the empty deck behind them. The air stirred, the shadows there flowed, and quickly formed into the shapes of beds - big doubles, four of them, arranged in an arc along the circular wall.

Kippy clasped his hands in front of himself, and smiled. "Max, you're a romantic!"

The older elf looked surprised. "Huh?"

Kippy walked over to him and laid a hand on Max's shoulder. "There are seven of us, and only four beds."

Max swallowed, and nodded. "Oh, uh...yeah. I just assumed...I mean...well...what's wrong with that?"

Kippy leaned in and kissed the elf's cheek, and Max visibly reddened in reaction.

"Nothing at all," Kippy added, quietly. He turned and looked at Charlie. "We got dibs on endies!"

Charlie grinned as Kippy danced forward and threw himself into the bed on the left end of the arc.

"Take your shoes off, at least!" Charlie said, shaking his head. But he had to laugh, and went over to the bed and leaned over the end of it, untying his boyfriend's shoelaces and removing his shoes. He dropped them on the deck, and bent down to untie his own.

Ricky and Adrian claimed the bed next to them, and Frit and Pip the one next in line. Max took the bed on the other end of the arc, and sat on he edge of it, his back to them, as he pulled off his boots. "Uh, let's just sleep, okay? You guys can get comfortable, but let's not have any happy stuff going on, okay?"

Charlie and Kippy both laughed, and Ricky and Adrian grinned at Max's back. But it was Frit that looked at Pip and pouted, and then turned to his gramps and nodded. "We'll be good!"

That generated more laughter from the humans, to which Frit turned and gave a little, pleased bow. "Well, we will!"

"Won't like it much, though!" Pip added, grinning at Charlie and Kip.

Kippy rolled out of the bed to his feet, pulled the soft cover down, and then hopped back in. Charlie lifted the cover on his side, and settled himself beneath it. Kippy wiggled right over to him, wrapped his arms around him, kissed him, and then closed his eyes. "Night, Charlie."

Charlie sighed, and kissed him back, already warming comfortably at the touch of his boyfriend's body. "Night, Kip."

Charlie raised his head and looked over at Ricky and Adrian, who were also comfortably wrapped together. Adrian gave him a smile, and then kissed Ricky, ad their faces went together, tuning out everything else. Beyond them, Frit and Pip were curled into a single form beneath their cover, and already still.

Finally, there was Max, who was plumping his pillow, his eyes closed, a smile of anticipation on his face. Charlie smiled himself, and kissed Kippy one more time.

And then Max raised a hand and waved it, and the lights in the compartment went down.

"G'night, Murcha," Max said, softly. "Talk to you in a while."

"Good night...everyone," the wonderfully deep and mysterious voice returned.

And then Murcha gave out a soft, very creepy laugh, indeed.

Charlie just smiled this time. It was, after all, almost Halloween

 

* * * * * * *

 

Charlie opened his eyes, pulled from sleep by some change in the room. He blinked, and then immediately shielded his eyes with a hand, realizing that the lights were up again. He blinked some more, getting adjusted to the new illumination, then raised his head and looked around, and spied Max standing over by the globe in the center of the chamber.

Kippy mumbled something, sighed, and opened his eyes. "What's happening?"

"I don't know. Max is up." Charlie sighed. "I'll go and see."

He rolled away from Kippy and climbed out of bed, and stuck his feet into his shoes. Then he shuffled across the deck to where the older elf stood. Max heard him up, and turned to smile at him. "Hi. I think we just found that planet I was saying was looking at us."

Charlie blinked, and turned his eyes to the darkened globe. Just within was a dark circle, slightly lighter than the background of the Cooee - a circle that seemed to glow with some dark light of its own. Visible on the surface were the small glows of towns, lonely dots of brilliance amidst the great background of the planetary night.

"Engris!" Charlie leaned closer, to make sure. "It looks like the place, anyway." He turned to Max. "You say this is the planet you sensed before? That was somehow aware of us?"

"Yup." Max turned to look at the globe viewer again. "Very interesting place, Charlie. Old as blazes, and...somebody made it!"

Charlie laughed. "We did hear that. The people that built this place were trying to talk to the dead."

"I think they did, Charlie. This place is about as transdimensional as it gets. Even the Big Guy's house doesn't feel as strong as this!"

Charlie was aware of Kippy padding over in his socks to stand next to them. "Is that Engris? Why are we here?"

Max also looked at the viewer. "That place has positioned itself in front of us. Murcha stopped the ship and woke me up. He said that attempts to go around haven't worked. The planet just moves with us."

Charlie frowned at that. He remembered then that Pacha had said that people didn't find Engris, but that the planet found them. But only if you had peace in your heart. All of the major galactic powers had received the boot here, and none allowed to find the world again. They only wanted Engris for what power it might give to them, and the ancient world was apparently not having any of that.

But...they had not been seeking Engris. Why was it now in front of them? Unless...

By now, the others were sitting up in their beds, and asking what was going on. Charlie turned to Max, and pointed at the viewing sphere. "Can that thing zoom in?"

Max looked up at the overhead. "What about it, Murcha?"

"The image may be refined to any degree you wish. What, specifically, are we looking for?"

Charlie looked back at the globe. "There is only one little city on Engris that has a spaceport. You can't land anywhere else." He also looked up at the overhead. "Can you find that city, and zoom in on it?"

"I think so. The presence of starships will give it a unique power signature...there. I have it."

Charlie turned back to the viewer. The surface of Engris leaped closer, and one point of light resolved into a circular town with a brightly-lit central area, and a smooth ring of pavement about it, on which rested several dozen ships of varying design. But Charlie's eyes immediately found one particular vessel - a blue globe, like a huge soap bubble.

"I think I see. That's a Kifta ship, Max." He turned to smile at the elf. "We were heading to Kift to look for Pacha and Mike. Engris is apparently telling us that they're here, instead."

By now the others had come from their beds to circle around and stare at the viewer.

"Ooh, that place again!" Adrian said, grinning. "You think Pacha and Mike are here?"

The last was directed at Charlie. "Seems a good guess," he said. "That's definitely a Kifta ship. It doesn't have to be Pacha's ship...but at least we should go and see."

"Will Engris let this ship land?" Ricky asked. "It's kicked the Moth out of here once before."

Max frowned in thought at that. "It evidently ain't the ship, but who is aboard her, that matters. I sense only a welcome from this place." He waved a hand at the viewer. "Murcha? Can you take us in? Land as close to the blue bubble ship as you can, okay?"

The town shown on the screen immediately backed away from them, became a point of light, and then began to swell all over again. This time, as it became visible as a town again, Charlie knew it was because they were right above it, coming in to land. There was ample free space next to the Kifta bubble ship, and Murcha eased their own ship down only a stone's throw away from the blue hull. There was a faint bump as the ship's stubby legs contacted the pavement, and then all feeling of motion ceased.

The sounds of powerful machinery beneath their feet stilled, and the ship settled into quiet so quickly that it was startling.

Charlie grinned. "Whoa. Talk about hearing a pin drop. I didn't realize how used I was to hearing the engines going, until they stopped."

The viewer now showed an image of the port outside, illuminated by large lights on poles at the inside of the ring, and by the lights of the city itself. The outer buildings, while lit, gave the impression of being empty. No one moved in the streets, nor behind the windows, and once again Charlie was impressed by how deserted the city looked. He knew it was because the people that lived here spent much of their time at the great market within the center ring of the city, where merchandise from all over known space was bought and sold, bartered and traded, some of it legitimate, and some of it on the hazy side of legal.

Many items were simply stolen, or looted from dead worlds, or even from transports in space. Even so, it took a particular type of pirate to be allowed to trade at Engris. The rules here were easy: respect everyone, harm no one. Those with darkness in their hearts could not find Engris, and those of a thieving nature that could land here were a strange breed of trader, indeed. Charlie and the other boys had each purchased an item on their last visit with Pacha and Mike, and several of them were of questionable origin. That fact had not seemed to bother Pacha, who apparently felt that if an item made it all the way to the market on Engris, the seller had a right to claim a fee for it. Engris itself was the best judge of those that traded here.

"Shall we go and knock on their door?" Kippy asked. He grinned. "Mike will be shocked to see us here."

"Maybe." Charlie smiled. "I wouldn't put much past Pacha. He may already know we're here."

"Only one way to find out," Ricky said, grabbing Adrian's arm and drawing him back to the beds to get their shoes. "Let's go and see!"

Kippy came and linked an arm with Charlie, and leaned against him. "What do you think?"

Charlie looked at the Kifta ship within the viewer, and shrugged. "It's either them, or it's not. Must be some reason why Engris wanted us to land here."

Kippy licked his lips, and looked at Charlie. "You remember what Will and Billy said to us? That they would see us again, the next time we were here? Maybe it's not Pacha's ship. Maybe it's Billy and Will that want to see us."

Charlie considered that. "We ought to at least go to the dead city and see if they come. Okay, well, that's two things to do." He looked up at the overhead, and then smiled, realizing that it was becoming a habit. "Um...Murcha?"

"Yes, Charlie?"

Charlie smiled. It was the first time the shipmind had called him by name. "Can you contact the ships around us? I mean, specifically, that blue bubble ship next to us?"

"Yes, Charlie. All vessels operated in a legal manner broadcast an identifying code. I simply query that identifier, and communication is established."

"Great. Can you call them, and ask if Pacha is there?"

"One moment...contact established...oh!"

Charlie frowned. "Something wrong?"

"No...no, not at all. The shipmind there is quite energetic." The giant, slightly sinister laugh rolled over them, its volume seeming slightly heightened. "Oh...and quite friendly, too. I have never encountered another shipmind like this one. It's...completely free. And quite...quite...accommodating in nature."

Kippy laughed, and elbowed Charlie lightly in the ribs. "Love at first sight," he whispered.

"Shh!" But Charlie had to smile, anyway.

"The shipowner is not in at the moment. I am informed that the entire crew is in town. That vessel's mind has offered to establish contact for us, if we wish it."

Kippy gripped Charlie's arm, and leaned closer. "Aw...I wanted to surprise Mike."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "We don't even know if it's them yet!"

"It is. I feel it is."

"The shipowner is listed as the Kifta Ministry of Science and Falaspax, if that is any help," Murcha offered.

Kippy grunted. "What the heck is Falaspax?"

Charlie shook his head. "You got me." He waved a hand in the air. "Murcha, see what they say."

"One moment...linking...contact established."

"Ardwa? Nom pa de pesla?"

Charlie was unfamiliar with the language, but the voice was immediately recognizable. "Pacha? It's Charlie!"

There was a moment of silence, and then: "Charlie? Where are you?"

Charlie beamed. "At the port. It's wonderful to hear your voice again!"

"I, too, am delighted! How did you get here?"

"It's a long story, Pacha. Is Mike with you?"

"He is. He is over at a stand now, trying on some clothing. Shall I add him to our link?"

Kippy immediately elbowed Charlie, and Charlie laughed. "Um, Kippy wants to surprise him. Can we come and meet you at the market?"

"Kip is there, too? And Rick and Adrian?"

"All of us," Charlie answered. "And even a few more of our friends. Can we meet you?"

"Of course. You recall where the food service kiosk was located? How about there?"

Charlie remembered the place, that analyzed a patron's chemistry and provided food, right on the spot." Yes. I remember. It will take us about fifteen minutes to get there. We'll meet you, okay? And you won't tell Mike?"

The link carried a small chuckle to them. "I will not tell him. This will be fun!"

"Okay, Pacha. See you in a few minutes."

Murcha gave out another brief laugh. "Connection terminated."

Charlie winked at the overhead. "You're having fun, too, aren't you, Murcha?"

For a moment there was no response, and Charlie was wondering if he had somehow said the wrong thing, when the ship mind answered. "The Moth are not 'fun' people, Charlie. The things they enjoy are different than the things your people seem to enjoy. The Moth lack the sociable nature of your species. You humans enjoy each other's company. You enjoy making each other feel...more positive? I am still learning by observation, Charlie. But the differences in your two species are quite apparent to me."

Charlie shrugged. "You don't need to be human to have fun."

"No. But I was not designed with an appreciation for humor. But I am learning it rather quickly, it seems."

Kippy smiled. "Always room for one more at the party. Friends make each other feel happy, Murcha. Friends do things together because they want to, because they like each other. Because they share a way of seeing the world, and enjoying it. It's always more fun to do things together, than it is to be alone."

"I have always been alone, until now."

"Well, you're not alone now." Ricky said firmly, joining them. He and Adrian had put their shoes on, and were ready to go. "You have friends now."

"Lots of friends now!" Frit called, as he and Pip came up. Pip wiggled one foot, seating it more properly in his boot, and nodded. "Lots!"

"I have friends now," the shipmind repeated.

Kippy grinned. "You sure do. Get used to it!"

"I will try. Trying will be fun, I think."

"We should go," Max said, quietly. "Can you keep an eye on us while we're here, Murcha?"

"I can, Max. I will equip you all with communications links so that we can stay connected as you move about this very odd world."

Max smiled at that. "You also think this place is...different?"

"There are records of this world in my memory. The Moth sought it to learn its secrets, but were repulsed. That did not sit well with them, and there is an open command for any Moth vessel that lands here to signal its location to the shipowner. The Moth wish to plunder the technology of this place. I think I would consider that a true tragedy."

Max smiled. "That will never happen, Murcha. This place has some things going for it that none of these space-types can match. They'll never take this place, because they'll never understand its true nature. If they were able to do that, they would leave Engris alone to begin with."

"I understand, Max. Had you not freed me from my bonds of loyalty to the Moth, I would not have been allowed to land here at all, nor to even find this place. I am unable to betray Engris, because I now agree too fully with its purpose."

There was a small whirring sound, and a drawer extended from the base holding the central sphere. "Please take a communicator, each of you, and place them in one ear. We will be able to maintain contact in this manner, and the unit will provide translations to the many tongues spoken here."

Max's eyebrows went up. "You can hear folks talking here?"

The sinister laugh rolled out again. "There is much communicator traffic here. Person-to-person, person-to-ship, and ship-to-ship. In dozens of tongues. The communications are encrypted, but this vessel belonged to T'ath, who specializes in listening to other people's conversations and data streams. So I actually can hear more than I have any right to be hearing."

Max walked over to the central sphere, and looked into the drawer. "I'm pretty good at learning languages, but I think these will help speed that up." He reached into the drawer, took something tiny out, and placed it into his right ear. Then he looked over his shoulder at Charlie and the others. "Come over here, guys, and get one of these."

Charlie took Kippy by the arm and steered him towards the central sphere, and the others followed. Charlie looked down into the drawer, and smiled at the tiny black blobs piled there. "It must be nice to be able to build a complete computer into a licorice drop."

Kippy frowned. "Yuck. I hate stuff in my ear."

Charlie sighed. "Here. I'll put it in." He bent and retrieved a black blob, which felt very much like a licorice drop, after all, and carefully inserted it into Kippy's ear. The thing immediately turned into a liquid, sprouted a network of fine hairs that wove themselves together into what looked like a web designed by a deranged spider, attached itself to Kippy's ear, and drew the central body of the device into his ear canal. Then the black coloration faded, turned lighter, and in a moment had precisely matched the coloration of Kippy's skin. Charlie blinked at it, squinted, and could just barely see the thing, there inside Kippy's ear.

Kippy smiled. "That tickled."

Charlie nodded. "I would think." He reached into the drawer, took out another communicator, and placed it into his own ear. There was a brief sensation like a dozen gnats square dancing on his earlobe, and then he felt nothing at all.

"That, is awesome," Ricky said, peering more closely at Charlie's ear. "This space tech is amazing stuff."

Charlie and Kip watched as their friends placed the communicators into their ears, and then Frit and Pip, who smiled at the sensation.

"Ooh!" Frit said, grinning at Pip. "Imagine that ---"

"Yeah!" Pip responded, giving his crotch a brief pat.

Charlie and the others laughed, while Max just sighed patiently. "Come on, fellas. We told your buddy, Pacha, we'd be there in fifteen minutes."

"I will be available, if you need me," Murcha said.

They descended to the pavement outside by stepping into the extruded boarding tube and allowing it to gently deposit them at the base. Once all of them were outside, the tube pulled up, became a large blister on the side of the hull, and then gently flattened itself back into the surrounding steel.

Charlie looked about them, took a deep breath of the warm, fresh air, and sighed. There was something very peaceful about the place, a complete lack of any sense of danger. The first time they had visited Engris they had all been keyed up by the experience of being in such a totally new, and totally alien place; but this time, a sense of pure relaxation descended upon Charlie immediately, and Kippy turned to him and hugged him. "It's almost like coming home," he whispered.

Charlie nodded. "I know what you mean."

Frit and Pip stared about with goggle eyes, and even Max seemed unusually interested.

"Wow," the older elf said, smiling at them. "This place has a great feel to it. I can see why people wanna come live here. It's almost like being in the toy shop at the Big Guy's place."

Charlie laughed. "I might retire here myself, one day."

They formed a loose group, and proceeded down one of the spoke avenues that led to the center of town. The closer they got to city center and the market, the more people they began to see. People of many races: large, small, bipedal, quadrupedal, and every variation between and beyond, all moving about calmly, freely, talking, examining wares, and some even issuing forth sounds of laughter. The businesses they passed had patrons inside, and people stood or sat on the three-tiered balconies of what were likely dwellings above. They could hear music as they passed some buildings, and more people were in the streets, until they finally reached the edge of the market, where true crowds began to appear.

"Wow," Frit breathed, staring about in wonder.

"Yeah!" Pip agreed, his eyes trying to be everywhere at once. "Look at 'em all!"

"You two behave," Max said, moving to stand between the boys, and clapping each elf on the shoulder. "Remember, we have to show that people from Earth's got manners, too. Right?"

Frit and Pip both nodded. "We'll be good!" Pip said.

"We won't touch anything!" Frit added.

"You can look at stuff, but always ask the proprietor," Charlie said. "They have a credit system here. You just agree that you want something, and the seller lets you take it. Somehow, they keep track of it all, and you get the bill when your ship is ready to leave." He frowned. "Pacha paid for the stuff we got here last time. I don't know how we would pay for stuff this time around."

"I have trade items aboard," Murcha said into his ear. "We can pay for items you purchase." Charlie wasn't expecting it, and jumped. Kippy and the others must have heard, too, as everyone seemed to start except for Max.

"Even so," the older elf said, turning to pin his eyes on Frit and Pip, "we ain't takin' this whole place back with us, so you two be reasonable, you hear?"

Frit and Pip placed expressions of pure innocence upon their faces. "We hear!" Frit said, and Pip nodded.

Charlie grinned at Max, who was eying the two younger elf's expressions with a wary one of his own. Max gave his head a brief shake, and looked briefly into the dark sky overhead. "I sure hope this wasn't a mistake!"

"The food place was over this way," Kippy said, smiling and taking Charlie's arm. He led them around and through the moving masses of people, and slowed as the food stand came into sight. They stopped on this side of a crowd of short folk with what looked like feathers on their bodies beneath the flowing capes they wore, but with faces that somewhat resembled those of Earthly cats. Their ears were too long, their muzzles a little shorter, but the resemblance was worth a smile, especially as the group was happily chatting away in a tongue composed of grunts, growls, and long, expressive purrs.

Charlie tilted his head back and gazed over their heads, looking at the food kiosk. There were a number of people there, and Charlie's eyes examined them, moving among the figures, looking for two particular, familiar shapes...there. Off to one side, Pacha sat atop a table, still wearing his Koala form, while a flamboyantly dressed biped stood nearby, moving his arms about as if in conversation. The biped's back was to Charlie, but something about the way the figure moved was...familiar.

Charlie laughed. "I see Pacha. And... I think I see Mike, too." He pointed, and everyone turned to look.

Kippy gave a little gasp. "That can't be Mike, dressed in that clown suit, can it?"

Ricky squeezed his eyes shut, and tilted his head back and grinned, while Adrian laughed, and snuggled against him. "Oh, this is going to be a hoot!"

Charlie examined the clothing the distant figure was wearing, shaking his head a little as he took it all in. The...person...was wearing skin-tight beige pants with red piping down the outside of each leg, tucked into black boots with a simply killer shine on them. Upstairs, he was encased in a matching beige jacket, also with red piping along the outer sleeves, which rose to the shoulders and disappeared beneath maroon epaulets of heroic proportions. The figure's hands were clad in metal gauntlets that came to mid arm and ended in chain-mail cuffs. On his head he wore a white helmet, that had so many projections, knobs, and antennae upon it that it made him look like some form of alien moose. A huge holster was belted to his right hip, from which the butt of an incredibly large pistol protruded. Blaster, was the term that immediately came to Charlie's mind.

Kippy gave a soft little squeal of delight, grabbed Charlie's arm, and began pulling him across the pavement. The others fell in behind, and Charlie could hear Ricky and Adrian whispering and laughing together.

They managed to cross without the flashily-dressed biped turning and seeing them, and came up behind him as quietly as they could. Pacha's eyes watched them come, without seeming to at all. As they neared, they could hear a voice speaking, and the Aussie twang it held plainly belonged to Mike.

"...when I was a kid, Pach. I used to watch the show on TV. The guy flew all over space, saving the universe, and when I was nine, I wanted to be just like him."

Pacha nodded, seemingly seriously. "I think you have caught the look of a galaxy buster, at the least, Mike."

Kippy glanced at Charlie, his eyes bright with anticipation; and then he reached out a hand and gently laid it atop the giant maroon epaulet on Mike's right shoulder. "Commander Comet, I presume? I have a daring mission for you, sir, if you are willing to take it."

Mike flinched at the touch, his shoulders rising up; and then he froze at the sound of Kippy's voice. And then he slowly turned around. It was all that Charlie could do not to howl when he saw the front of the helmet: a small arm held an amber lens with crosshairs embedded in it over Mike's right eye, and another arm came from the other side and held what looked an acorn with tiny holes in it before Mike's mouth.

Ricky and Adrian broke up into laughter, unable to believe what they were seeing. Charlie's own face was bent all out of shape as he struggled hard not to join them.

Slowly, Mike's eyes examined Kippy, and then Charlie, and then moved beyond them.

And then Mike whooped, and surged forwards and grabbed Kippy into a hug, picked him up off his feet, and spun them both around in a circle. Kippy tilted his head back and laughed in absolute delight, and gave a little sigh as Mike set him back on his feet. "Yes, I'll marry you," Kippy said, smiling sweetly.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut; and then he was grabbing up Charlie into a hug, and then proceeded to bestow one on Ricky and Adrian, each.

He stopped then, as if suddenly becoming aware of Max and Frit and Pip, and stepped back in front of Charlie and Kip.

"Uh, these with you?" he whispered.

Charlie nodded, getting control of his face. "Yes. Mike, these are our friends - Max, the tall one, and Frit and Pip, the two really cute ones."

Max raised a hand and waved. "Hiya."

Frit gave out a little sigh. "He's dreamy!"

Pip batted his eyes and nodded. "Even in that zoot suit!"

Mike reddened, and leaned closer to Charlie. "Uh...are they...?"

Charlie nodded. "Bother you?"

Mike tilted his head back and laughed. "Holy Dooley!" But then he sobered, and stared at them. "How the hell did you fellas get here?"

"In a minute," Charlie promised. He turned then, and went over to the table. Pacha watched him come, his little Koala face set in as close to a smile as he could manage. Charlie carefully bent and gave the small, furry shape a hug, and then moved out of the way so that Kippy could offer one. And then Ricky and Adrian had their turn, and then Charlie was introducing Max and the elf boys to the Kifta.

Pacha immediately got to his feet, and stared at Max. "You ring!"

Max nodded. "So do you."

They gazed at each other a moment, and then Pacha was looking at Mike. "You did not tell me that there were those of your kind that could use Ka."

Mike simply gaped. "What?" He stared at Max. "You mean him? He's a wizard-guy, like you are?"

"And the two younger ones," Pacha returned, indicating Frit and Pip. "Although to a much lesser degree."

"They're still learning," Max said, grinning.

"But not you." Pacha closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "You smell wonderful!."

Max nodded. "You, too."

Charlie looked back and forth between the two. "You can smell each other's, uh...power?"

"Yes." Pacha moved to the edge of the table. "Smell it, taste it, and see it. It's very strong in this one."

Max grinned. "My daddy always said I was a good student."

Pacha looked fascinated. "Can you...?"

"Yes," Max said, smiling. "Can you...?"

"Of course," Pacha returned. "But not as well as I can..."

Max nodded, his eyes crinkling in a smile. "I know that one, too."

Charlie laughed, and then held up his hands for attention. "Hey! Can we be included in this conversation?"

Max grinned, and Pacha gave out a contrite grunt. "Apologies, Charlie. It is completely unexpected to find Ka among your kind!"

Charlie licked his lips. "Well...they aren't exactly our kind." He smiled at Max. "Um, more like a companion race."

"They're elves," Kippy said, grinning at Mike.

Mike's jaw dropped so fast that the amber lens before his one eye flipped back and retreated into the side of the helmet. "Elves!"

Charlie sighed. "It's a long story."

"We have time, it appears," Pacha said, waving at the darkness overhead. Charlie smiled, understanding that the little koala meant that they could talk forever here, and never age a single second.

Kippy pointed at the food kiosk. "I'm hungry. Let's get some stuff, and have a seat, huh?" He smiled at Max. "We can all talk while we eat."

Max patted his belly, and grinned. "Now you're talkin' my language!"

 

* * * * * * *

 

"Well, I'll be stuffed!" Mike said, after the boys finished telling their tale of adventure. "The Moth, huh? That is not good, mates."

"No," Pacha agreed. "The Moth have issues with possession when it comes to most things. If they desire something, they seem willing to contest ownership until they acquire it, one way or another."

"They want the secret of how we got rid of the Arpies," Kippy said. "We weren't willing to tell them that your people were involved."

Pacha gave a little shake of his head. "That was noble of you, but perhaps not realistic. My kind are much better able to defend themselves from the Moth than are yours."

"So what do we have to do?" Mike asked. That he was volunteering his services was plain. Charlie smiled. He would have been surprised if it had been any other way.

"We have to go to a planet called Mufa'alatra. There's a Moth guy named T'ath there, who knows about Earth, and thinks we had something to do with the disappearance of the Arpies. Our friend, Murcha, told us that if we destroy the information there, that would be it. These Moth guys already don't like to share their secrets with each other, and T'ath is an information broker, and even less likely to have sent the info elsewhere."

"I have never heard of this world," Pacha said. "Very few of my people have ever been to Moth space." He looked more closely at Charlie. "How did you come by this information? Who is this Murcha?"

Ricky laughed. "He's the mind that runs our spaceship."

Mike looked skeptical. "You guys have your own ship?"

Charlie waved a hand at Max, and the elf described how he had taken the Moth ship, and how he had released the bonds that held the operating shipmind so that it could make its own decision to help them. Mike looked astounded, and even Pacha seemed impressed.

"So now you're goin' to this planet to try to destroy the data about Earth." Mike summed up. He turned and looked at Pacha. "I'm going along to help them, Pach."

The Kifta nodded. "I will also assist." He turned to Max. "We will take your ship. A surenka will be less noticeable among others of its kind."

Mike grinned, held his hands out about ten inches apart, and smiled at the boys. "Little furry creature on Kift, bright pink, stands out like a sore thumb."

Kippy sighed, leaned forward on the tabletop, and smiled at Mike. "So, now that we're all doing this...are you going to tell us the story on your super-duper spacesuit?"

Mike reddened, and looked down at himself. "Oh, uh...you won't laugh?"

Kippy grinned wolfishly. "I didn't say that."

Charlie laughed, and leaned up against his boyfriend. "We are kinda curious, Mike."

Mike rolled his eyes, placed an elbow on the table, and sat his chin in his hand. "When I was just a kiddo, there used to be a show on the telly that had a bloke on it called Johnny Asteroid. He would zip all over space, zapping the bad guys, making things right." Mike smiled. "I kinda wanted to be Johnny Asteroid."

"I think you're there," Adrian said, grinning.

Mike scratched his cheek, and nodded. "There's a place here that will make you any kinda clothing you want, measure you for fit, and make it on the spot. When I saw that, the idea of this suit came to mind. I told 'em what I wanted, and here we are."

Kippy reached across the table and rubbed Mike's arm. "You look handsome and sweet, even in Johny Asteroid's long underwear."

Mike laughed. "No one around here knows what it means, guys. You should see the crazy way some of these aliens dress. I figured I could get away with it, you know? No one even noticed me until you blokes came along."

Kippy nodded. "I think you should change for our mission, though. We're trying to sneak into Moth space, not wave a flag at them." He nodded, placing a totally serious look on his face. "When we get back to the ship, I'll help you change into something more comfortable."

Ricky and Adrian laughed, and Charlie laid a hand on his boyfriend's arm. "Nice try, Kip."

Kippy turned and blinked his eyes innocently. "What? He may have a stuck zipper on that thing, or something."

"I'm big enough to change on my own," Mike said patiently, through a smile.

Kippy smiled back, his eyes twinkling. "I'll just bet you are."

Frit and Pip burst into laughter and pounded the tabletop, and Max rolled his eyes. "Aw, geez!"

Mike sighed, but his smile never wavered. "You haven't changed a bit, Kip."

"Would you want me to?"

"Nah. I'd miss that devilish smile."

Kippy sighed, and turned to Charlie. "Kiss me?"

Charlie laughed, but did as he was asked, leaning over and depositing a kiss to Kippy's cheek. Kippy immediately turned back to Mike and stuck his tongue out at him. "See what you're missing?"

Max stood, and pushed his stool in under the table. "Well, I'm full. I'll say one thing, for a machine, that thing sure can cook!" He grimaced, and made a not-too subtle motion at Frit and Pip to get up.

Pacha, seated atop the end of the table, offered a pleasant little chik-chik-chik in the way of laughter. "We should be going."

"Oh!" Kippy stood then, too, and turned to Charlie. "We want to go to the dead city and see if we can talk to Billy and Will."

Charlie nodded, and looked over at Pacha. "Can we get that guy to take us there again? Um...Sefton?"

"I would think we could get him. Tourism here is confined mostly to new visitors, and his guide business is not exactly the primary consumer of his time."

Charlie smiled at that, remembering the big, friendly Molokar from their last trip. "Then that should be where we go next."

The brief walk across town was interesting, as always. The number of different races that lived on Engris, or that frequented the port there, was large, and they got to see peoples they otherwise would have never had the opportunity to encounter. Pacha patiently explained each race without being obvious that he was doing so, listing their homeworlds, and about where they could be found, and describing their natures and customs and approximate technological level. All had star travel, of course, which placed them above the human race in technological achievement; yet some of them also seemed to be so culturally different from humans that the boys were simply amazed by what they heard. Technological proficiency was apparently not an indicator of a peaceful nature, either, and some of the tales that Pacha related were less than encouraging in the area of friendliness.

Pacha also said that the Arpathant had kept the more violence-prone species within their realm in check, and without that empire to police things, some were already fighting among themselves, or with others. It was one drawback to having rid themselves of a less than beneficent overseer: now there were no cops patrolling the beat, and some of the wilder gangs were once again traveling the streets, unchallenged.

"My people have sworn to aid yours should your world be found again by hostiles," Pacha explained. "It is the debt we owe Mike for having aided us in freeing our own people." He gave Mike an almost-smile, and Charlie could almost see the wink in the little koala's eye. "Not that we would not aid you, anyway. Yours are a likeable people, and we actually have much in common."

"Oh, we have our bullies, too," Kippy said rolling his eyes. "You'd have to spend some time in one of our high schools to see what I mean."

Pacha gave out another laughing chik-chik-chik . "The young of all species can be rambunctious. It is only when they mature and remain that way that they need to be reined in."

"Good luck with that," Kippy replied. "Most of them wind up running things, and just pretending to be nice to everyone else."

Charlie gave his boyfriend a squeeze. "Now, now."

Pacha looked over at Max, and nodded. "It is a great relief to know that there are power users among you with a respectable level of proficiency. I will worry much less about your people and their safety now that I am aware of this."

Max grinned. "We've been watching out for these guys for a long time. Even during the worst of their conflicts with each other, the spirit of Christmas has not been allowed to be forgotten."

Charlie grinned at that. "We're doing Halloween just now, remember?"

"Only a couple of months, though," Max returned, with a wink. "We'll see what happens then."

Kippy laughed, and snuggled a little closer within Charlie's arm as they walked along. By the time they reached Sefton's building, Charlie had counted thirty-one different alien races, and thirty-one completely different histories. That this was just the tip of the iceberg seemed apparent now. The galaxy - even their small part of it - was a wild place, indeed.

They finally came to a building with a large door on the front that looked to be the roll-up type, that suggested a garage. A sign beside the smaller - but still large - entry, showed a stylized saucer-like vehicle with a bunch of different kinds of heads popped up above the rim, flying just above some trees, with some weird-looking towers and domes in the background. Underneath the illustration were several large words lettered in a blocky alien script. Charlie didn't have to read the sign to imagine what it said: Tours-R-Us. See the Ancient Cities!

The proprietor, one Sefton, was a Molokar like the one that had sold Ricky the dagger. Just under eight feet tall, and with startlingly pinkish skin, the man dressed in relaxed-looking clothing of a totally alien design, but which still managed to convey a sense of safari to the boys. He wore a floppy brimmed hat on his head that struggled to cover his long ears, and which would have looked surprisingly at home on one of Mike's Aussie neighbors. Sefton ably looked the part of a heroic adventurer, and even a friendly one. But his size also spoke of the misfortune that might come to one, were he to be unfairly crossed.

His personality was outgoing and friendly. When they entered the building and he spied them, he immediately offered the strange, gentle, smile-grimace, that seemed a characteristic of his species, and pounded a large hand down atop the table by which he was seated. "Pacha'Ka! Mike! And Charlee and Kippee!" Sefton pushed the table away from himself as much as pushing the chair back from beside it, and sprang to his feet. "And Adreean, and Reeky!" The man stepped forward and laid a hand against his chest and gave a small bow over it. "You honor me with another visit!"

Charlie and the others placed their hands on their chests and returned the little bow, and introduced Max and Frit and Pip as fellow travelers. Sefton seemed pleased to meet them all, and Max was very pleasant in return. Frit and Pip stared at the Molkar a little owlishly, impressed by his size, and were slow to warm to him; but Sefton was a man used to dealing with people of all kinds, and soon he had the elf boys smiling and laughing the same as everyone else.

"So why you here, all? Another trip to city of dead, perhaps? Hope to solve many mysteries of ancient people who built Engris, perhaps?"

Kippy sighed, and Charlie grinned. Sefton definitely knew his trade.

"We'd like to go back to the city we visited before," Charlie said. "Can you take us now?"

Sefton looked up at the wall, which displayed a square-framed device with greenish glowing characters in it. "Oh, is middle of night! Well, I no could sleep, anyway! Be glad to fly you out!"

Pach'Ka nodded, as if he would have been surprised at any other result. "I'll add in a little bonus because it's so late."

Charlie grinned at that. Day and night on Engris were the sole properties of the races that stayed there, and Pacha had told them once before that it could be virtually guaranteed that one man's timepiece bore no relation to another's. People on Engris lived on the time they had brought with them; ship time, or the local time of the world they had come from. The market was always in operation, with those that shared similar time frames getting to know one another, and those that lived on the other side of the dial often dealing with completely different proprietors of the very same stands. Most business, therefore, were run by a minimum of two people; but so far, on every occasion that Pacha had come to Sefton's, the big man himself was always available. Molokars, it seemed, required very little sleep to get along.

Sefton extended his arms, as if to herd them towards the garage, and Charlie and the others turned about. Kippy took the lead, and steered their group down the short hallway to the large berth where Sefton's equivalent of a safari jeep was kept.

This was a saucer-like craft much like the one depicted on the sign out front, with a large open interior and no roof. There was no weather on Engris - the atmosphere was regulated, uniform, and completely unchanging, for the most part. Charlie had gathered that there was some sort of protection that could be enabled if those within the craft needed shielding, but he had yet to see it, and felt it out of place to ask for a demonstration. Engris was safe, in every respect, and to suggest otherwise was to ignore the spirit by which the world operated.

They climbed aboard through a section of the circular hull that slid aside to admit them, and then the craft lifted silently, the big roll-up door opened, and they moved out into the streets of the city. The brightly-lit buildings and street lights showed them the way to the edge of town, and then the craft started out across a vacant section of the paved landing field towards the dark trees beyond.

They reached them, and the craft slowly rose until it was just above the treetops. It moved away from the city lights, and powerful headlights lit at the fore of the vehicle and illuminated the way ahead. The treetops resembled palm back on earth, but were packed closely together, and they couldn't see even a hint of the ground below. That the surface was not uniform was apparent though, as the craft lifted to pass over hills and settled again into a valley beyond.

Beyond the saucer's headlights, the jungle emitted a soft glow of its own, like one would see on a softly moonlit night back on earth. The odd light seemed to come from the trees, the sky, and the very air around them. If Sefton were to extinguish the vehicle's lights, they would still be able to see, the land about them revealed in a soft, almost ethereal glow. Charlie had theorized once that the builders of Engris might have been endowed with superb night vision, like a cat back home, and completely comfortable walking about on a world bathed in scarcely more than good starlight.

Pacha talked about what they were seeing, and where they were going, mostly for the benefit of the elves, who looked about with wonder, even Max. Charlie figured they had looked the same way on their first trip out, and seeing the same looks on the faces of their elf friends only proved once again that they were much more alike than they were different. The treetops appeared ahead of them in the beams of the headlights, and passed beneath them without change, and they covered what was certainly a dozen or more miles before Sefton slowed the craft and pointed ahead.

Dimly visible in the faint glow around them, they could see that the trees below were thinning. Gaps appeared between them, and then they simply ended. The transport crossed a section of level ground covered with paving squares, and the dark bulk of a city loomed out of the darkness ahead of them. The craft flew in among great cylindrical, steel-clad towers coated in a variety of pastel colors, and over great domes covered in mosaic patterns that teased the eye and caused them to blink and look again. Finally, a wide, open square appeared, and Sefton set the craft gently on the paving stones, and shut off the power plant. There was a momentary further rumble, and then a silence of incredible proportions settled upon them, without even a breeze to give life to the surroundings.

The city had a faint glow, too, they could see, now that the saucer's lights had been extinguished. They could make out the towers and domes clearly, all around them. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound, and the feeling of abandonment seemed clear. No one had lived here in more years than the boys could imagine, older than old, the city long empty of life even before the pyramids were newly rising on the plains of Giza.

For a moment no one said anything. The weight of years was apparent to them somehow, and the sense strong that those who had lived here were now the dust of ages. Max and the younger elves looked about them, their expressions subdued, the things they were feeling apparent in their eyes.

"Old," Frit breathed, almost in awe.

"Beautiful," Pip followed, in exactly the same voice.

Max looked over at Charlie, and smiled. "Wait until the boys back at the shop hear about this!"

Charlie laughed. "We felt exactly the same way our first time."

"Still do," Kippy said, giving a little sigh. "I sure would have liked to know the people that lived here. Seen what they were like, I mean."

"Yeah." Adrian gazed up at one of the long abandoned towers. "Hard to believe they simply lived here, and talked to dead people, and nothing else."

"They probably did other stuff," Ricky countered. "I mean, everyone has a hobby."

Adrian looked at him. "You see anything around here that looks like a supermarket? A movie theater? A stadium? If these people had sports, and music, and plays, and movies, and car racing, and skydiving, and all the other things we like to do, where the heck did they go to do it?"

Pacha, sitting on Mike's lap, turned to look at them. "Our research group considered the possibility that this world was not a standard habitation for the builders, but more like a...a university, back on your own world. Or a research facility of some sort. Certainly, the cities of this world seem designed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to house those who came to these domes to speak with the dead."

Sefton opened a compartment and passed out handheld lights to everyone. The saucer's entry door opened, and they all climbed out to stand on the smooth, square pavers of the ancient city. "This exactly where I bring you before," Sefton told them. "Same dome, over there."

Charlie gazed about, along with the others. The towers were large, and they marched away into the distance and became lost in the deeper darkness. That the city was far larger than any present settlement on the surface of Engris was plain to see. This had been the home of a million people, easily, and perhaps more.

The nearest building was one of the domes, and Charlie somehow knew it was the same dome they had visited before, even had Sefton not told them. He snapped on his light and pointed it that way. "We go there," he said, looking at Max and the younger elves.

Mike came to stand next to him, Pacha cradled in his arms. Max came around and stood next to Kippy, and gazed at the dome with a solemn expression. "I feel it. The pathway. This is some really powerful stuff."

Pacha nodded. "It strikes me thus, as well. The draw for my people to investigate this place is a strong one."

Max turned to Charlie. "And you know some, um...people that have come up the pathway? You've talked to them?"

"Yes. Billy Matson, and Will Hopkins." Charlie smiled. "Friends. We met them, well, in a haunted house. No other way to describe it."

Max nodded. "Oh, sure. We know about that. Lots of people places on Earth have that going on. Never met any of the gone-folk myself, but I did know they came around sometimes. Pretty interesting stuff."

"It's different for you?" Kippy asked. "I mean, for elves? When you, um, die, you don't zip off and explore the universe and stuff?"

Max laughed. "It's different for us. But I'll tell you about it another time, okay? I got a feeling we need to get moving."

Sefton leaned up against the side of his vehicle, crossed his arms, and offered one of his odd smiles. "Be right here."

Charlie smiled, remembering that the big man had a clear respect for boundaries when it came to interacting with spirits. If the ghosts were over there, Sefton had decided that he would stay over here. That it was more out of some sort of respect he felt, rather than fear, also seemed to be plain. More or less.

Kippy waved a hand, and started towards the dome. Charlie trotted to catch up, and settled into a walk beside his boyfriend. "Anxious to see Will and Billy again?"

"Of course. They're both such sweet guys. I love that they're together now, and happy." Kippy smiled at him. "We'll be like that one day."

Charlie couldn't help smiling himself at that one. Somehow, the idea of spending all of eternity with Kippy made him happy to consider. "I'll have to dress for it, I guess."

Kippy gave him a puzzled look. "What does that mean?"

"Well, if you're gonna drag me all over creation, I'll need my boots and a raincoat, I'm sure."

Kippy laughed, and circled an arm around Charlie's and pulled him closer. "There's still plenty of time yet."

Charlie nodded, and waved his light slowly over the structure as they approached, once again noting the mosaic covering that had so impressed him on the last visit, set in intricate patterns of varying colors, each as bright and crisp as they day they were new. Nothing about the buildings looked old. It was as if the people had simply walked away yesterday, never to return.

"These guys didn't make anything small," Max observed, as they drew up before the large double doors set into a covered entry at the base of the dome.

"We don't know how big they were," Mike said, shining his own light at the pleasant patterns etched into the doors. "But Pach and I went to one of the towers once, and the doorways are big there, too."

Charlie nodded, playing his light over the patterns engraved into the doors. They were of no one thing, not even a picture, yet somehow suggested rolling hills with forested flanks, a waterfall, and a sun or a moon overhead. The craftsmanship was exquisite, the detail incredible.

"I can't get over how new it all looks," Adrian said, reaching out to touch the metal of one door. "These aren't even tarnished."

"The alloys they used did not react with oxygen," Pacha said. "And without the passage of time here, actual age is not a factor, anyway."

Frit gave a low whistle, and Pip edged closer to his boyfriend. Ricky smiled at them, and laid a hand on Frit's shoulder. "Give you the creeps? It sure did for us the first time we were here."

Frit nodded. "It's the sense of forever, but that it never passes."

"Time, standing still," Pip agreed. "An eon and a day, all the same thing."

"Elves and time are old friends," Max explained. "To be somewhere it does not extend is a little odd. A little lonely."

Kippy pouted, and extended a hand towards the elf. "I'll hold your hand, if you like."

Max opened his mouth to decline, but then looked over at Frit and Pip, pulled together closely for comfort. And then he smiled, and took Kippy's hand.

Charlie repressed a smile of his own, and stepped up to the right-hand door. It towered above him, appeared to be made of steel, and certainly weighed more than their entire group. Yet when he gave it a slight push it turned silently inward, smoothly, and without so much as a pause. The space beyond was genuinely dark, and they aimed their lights through the opening and were not terribly surprised to see that the structure was still completely empty. It was large enough to cover a football field, and the roof was obviously self-supporting. The floor inside was of the same type of pavers as covered the square outside. The interior of the dome was simply a huge open space of no obvious purpose.

But in the very center of the darkened chamber was a large, circular opening, easily twenty-five feet across, which extended to the very core of the artificial planet. This was the gate, the pathway along which the dead could emerge into the controlled environment of the dome, there to interact with the living. Charlie could only imagine a time when many people of the builder race had stood in dome chambers like this one, all over Engris, conversing with spirits of those that had gone.

"How does it work?" Frit asked, gazing about with wide eyes.

Pacha pointed at the floor beneath their feet. "The center of this world is hollow, and the home of energies we do not quite understand. To those passed away spirits journeying the great beyond, the center of this world shines like a beacon in the darkness. They are attracted to it, arrive at its core, and then can rise up the tunnels from the there to meet with the living in these domes. But they cannot exit the domes. The only way to leave is the way they arrived, by retracing their route to the center, and then away again."

Max shook his head. "The boss oughta see this." But then he frowned. "Heck, he might already know about it. The Big Guy has really been around."

Pacha gazed at the elf with interest. "Who is this 'Big Guy'?"

Max grinned. "Oh, my boss. It's...heck, it's another long story. I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

"I will take that as a promise," Pacha warned, a glow of humor in his soft brown eyes.

Charlie smiled. Those two were fast becoming friends, and the outcome of that was sure to be interesting. The universe certainly worked in mysterious ways! Putting these two together had to be something of a charm, a thumbing of the nose at chaos. Max and Pacha were each very capable on their own, and together they had the potential to be world-beaters. Having them along on this quest was definitely reassuring that the outcome might be in their favor. The Moth had better look out!

Max released Kippy's hand and pointed a finger at Frit and Pip. "You two stay close, okay? No wandering around this place by yourselves."

The elf boys shook their heads in unison. "We won't," Frit assured. That the boy meant it seemed clear, and Charlie could see now that the eeriness of this place could even get to elves.

"So what do we do now?" Max asked. "Give a whistle, and see who shows up?"

"We didn't do anything special last time," Adrian told him. "Will and Billy just showed up on their own."

Charlie looked over at the hole in the floor then, a sudden feeling of expectation coming over him. Kippy tightened his grip on Charlie's arm, and leaned forward. "Do you feel...?"

A flash of light crawled over the lip of the great hole, and then a tall, wispy, glowing cloud of light rose up out of the tunnel and hovered in the air above it. It was like a mist that could be seen through, with tiny sparkles of light inside. They watched in silence as another of the same things rose beside the first one, and both wispy clouds moved away from the tunnel opening and approached them. The sense of expectation grew, and Charlie and Kip both took a step forward at the same time.

The two clouds stopped a few feet from them, and the sounds started. It was like voices, but from afar, and so many that it was a chorus, with each separate voice lost among the others. They had heard the strange sounds before, the last time they were here, and the power of them to unsettle their nerves seemed now to have been lost. Instead, their anticipation only grew, and Kippy even gave out a small, delighted laugh.

The two shapes pulsed and flowed, and settled to the paving stones. Slowly, the many voices began to quiet, even as the misty clouds darkened and started to change form. Charlie could not pull his eyes away, even as the two forms took on arms and legs and heads, and the many voices ebbed away, until only one was speaking.

It was Billy. "Hello, Charlie. Hello Kippy. My, what a group you have with you this time!" He turned, and his eyes crinkled in a smile. "Pacha'ka! Wonderful to see you again."

Now Will raised a hand and pointed at them, too. "Hi Rick! Hi Adrian! And Mike! And I see some new faces, too. Can you introduce us, Charlie?"

Charlie did that, pointing out Max and the elf boys, who seemed delighted at the turn of events.

"Awesome!" Frit said, beaming. "I've never met anyone like you! You smell great!"

Pip nodded enthusiastically. "Gentle power, like big, friendly clouds! Wonderful!"

Max nodded. "I gotta agree, fellas. You two are different from anyone we've ever met. It's really a nice experience to meet ya."

Billy laughed. "To think I lived all those years on Earth and was completely unaware that your kind existed. And Santa, too!"

Max gave a little cringe, and looked up at the great dome above them. "Uh, we don't call him that out loud, 'case he might hear us. I just call him 'boss', or the 'Big Guy'. If he hears his name and it grabs his attention, he'll come and see what's up, and, uh, he's kinda busy right now."

Billy and Will looked at each other and smiled. "We'll be more careful, now that we know," Will said.

"Although it would be a thrill to meet him," Billy added.

The two spirits turned then. "Pacha'Ka, and Mike." Will gave a small wink. "I see that things with the Arpathant worked out for you."

Pacha bobbed his head up and down. "Yes. And with no small thanks to your encouragement, I may add. Life with the Arpathant gone has been quite pleasant for my people."

"We looked in on them, in their new universe," Billy went on. "They are busy arguing among themselves over what happened. They seem to think that it was the rest of the universe that vanished, and not them. They were making plans to move into what is Moth space here, but empty space there, and chortling and hooting about the new empire they would have. I think it will be some time, yet, before it dawns on them that they are truly alone."

Kippy sighed happily, wanting to change the subject. "Forget them for now. How have you guys been? Still out exploring all of creation?" And then he leaned a little closer. "Can you stay a while? Last time, you guys were only partly here, and had to go. It would be nice to visit a little, this time."

Charlie remembered that the last time they had met Billy and Will here, the spirits had left part of themselves somewhere else, some place they had been exploring, as a sort of bookmark so that they could find their way back. Apparently, even being a spirit had limitations.

"We are all here, this time," Billy explained. "This time is different."

There was something in the way that Billy said that that grabbed Charlie's attention. "What's different?"

"You are on a mission this time," Will stated. "And a very important one, too. A mission that concerns all of Earth, its safety and its future. This makes it important to us, as well."

"You know about it?" Kippy asked.

Billy nodded. "In some alternate realities, it has already played out. In some, you are triumphant. In others, that is not the case. And in still others, the Earth is laid waste. This cannot be allowed to happen here."

Will smiled. "We have come to assist you."

Pacha raised a hand and waved it. "How can you assist us on this mission?"

"Easy." Billy smiled. "We're going with you."

For a moment, no one moved, and complete silence reigned.

Pacha was the first to speak. "Impossible! You cannot pass beyond these walls!"

Will nodded. "That's true - in this form. As we are now, we cannot pass the barriers that the builders of this place installed, to protect those of our kind with a wanderlust, from exploring."

"But we can pass them, if we are within the proper container," Billy added.

Charlie and Kippy exchanged glances. "Container?" Kippy asked.

"Yes." The two spirit boys laughed, and Charlie grinned at the absolute synchronicity of the act. Like one mind, in two bodies.

"You mean, like a genie's bottle?" Ricky asked, shaking his head. "We don't have one."

"We will make one," Will answered. "With your help."

Again, no one said anything for a moment. Charlie's own thoughts swirled about inside his head, as he tried to visualize what sort of container could carry two spirits out into the Cooee.

"Or, rather, these two will make it, with our assistance," Billy said, smiling at Max, and then Pacha.

For once, Max looked totally at a loss. "I ain't got no idea how to do that."

Pacha nodded. "I must admit to having no knowledge in this area, either."

Will and Billy each held up a hand. "Observe," they said, as one.

In the air above the two boys, a softly glowing globe appeared, which suddenly dispersed into a cloud of light that stretched across the dome above them. Within the cloud appeared strange forms and symbols of many colors, that pulsed and moved in a slow dance about each other. A soft chorus of sound came to Charlie's ears, whispers of voices amidst other sounds that appeared to be natural ones, as if nature herself had suddenly spoken out loud. Charlie heard hints of thunder and rain, and wind all about, with the brief roar of a lion, and the trumpeting of an elephant, and the sounds of crickets scraping and birds calling, somewhere there in the background. The sounds rolled together, merged with the colorful symbols and forms glowing and dancing in the cloud above them, and then separated once again, only to immediately reform into new combinations.

It was the song of life, and the energy of life, a tremendous, powerful force that filled Charlie and made him happy and terrified at the same moment. The energy present was beyond comprehension, the sense that he stood at the edge of an infinitely deep chasm, one step away from eternity, strong. Yet he also knew that he could not fall, and that the immense presence of life and energy spanning millions of years of galactic time and space, and countless worlds, and a billion and more forms of life, was not for him to do more than to observe.

These things seemed all to have a signature, or, rather, two of them, that smiled and laughed and had every bit of the joy in them that Charlie felt from knowing both Max and Pacha. This was for them, and them alone.

Frit and Pip had turned to watch the older elf, their eyes aglow with interest, their faces filled with affection for him.

"I can only get about half of it," Max said softly, staring up into the wonder overhead.

"I can only fathom as much myself," Pacha agreed, his voice carrying a note of wonder.

"Half for each of you," Billy said then. "But opposite halves. You must work together, to join them."

Of his own accord, Mike moved to stand beside Max, and Pacha extended his hands towards Max. The elf nodded, reached out and took Pacha into the cradle of his arms. And then the two of them closed their eyes, and tilted their faces up towards the maelstrom of light and sound above.

Kippy moved to Charlie's side, and Charlie pulled him close and put an arm around him. Ricky did the same with Adrian, and Frit and Pip were already together, their eyes on Max. Mike seemed at a loss as to what to do with himself, and Kippy smiled at him and motioned him closer, and put an arm around him and drew him near.

They watched in silence then, as the forces that swirled above them started a new round of dances, which quickly increased to a near frenzy of motion, and finally became a blur. Charlie felt his eyes blinking and rolling as they tried to fasten on something he could understand, and then he simply gave up and closed his eyes altogether. Yet the sense of motion still came to him, as if he was somehow seeing in the dark now, and he understood that what was happening all about him was as much within the mind as it was something to be observed.

"Oh," Max said, his voice sounding amazed. "I see now!"

"Yes, it is so," Pacha agreed. "And thus, and thus...no, wait..."

"That goes here," Max said. "And that...bring it over, and under...

"I did not see that, but you are right," Pacha agreed. "And this turns so."

"It made that go here," Max said, laughing. "So I have to..."

"And I will need to..."

Their voices seemed to merge, and Charlie's brain briefly fuzzed out, as if he had fallen asleep. For a moment he simply floated in a sea of light, as content as he had ever been in his life. Just next to him, a beautiful little pearl of light glowed, and Charlie knew that it was Kip, there beside him, now and forever. The two of them floated along together in the sea for an immeasurable moment, their auras locked together, while the light swirled and flowed around him, comforting yet energetic. That they were somehow present at an act of unique creation came to him then, and he opened his eyes, just as the great cloud of light and energy above him flowed back together and became a sparkling column, which reached down towards the ground nearby and began to flow and collect into a recognizably manlike shape.

It took form, tall and glowing, becoming sharper and more defined, until there was what seemed to be a silent clap of thunder inside Charlie's head, and the light vanished into the still form. There was a brief sound, or thought, like a mental echo, that reverberated both inside Charlie's head and within the walls of the great dome, and then, complete and utter silence.

Max sighed. "That was a job, alright."

"One well done," Pacha said, admiringly. "You can teach me a few things about Ka."

Max laughed. "Me? I was learning from you, Pacha."

The little koala gave a very satisfied, very human-sounding sigh. "We can teach each other much, Max. It was a very fortuitous event, that you came along with the boys on this journey."

Max turned to grin at Charlie and Kip. "These guys've been surprising me ever since I met 'em. I don't think much happens by accident, with them around."

"It's Skwish," Kippy said, smiling. "Like karma, only atomic powered."

"You have succeeded," Will said, drawing their attention again. "We now have the container we need in order to leave this place and accompany you."

Charlie and the others had briefly forgotten the manlike thing that Max and Pacha had created, and everyone now turned to look at it.

"Whoa," Ricky said immediately. "Think it's big enough?"

Charlie had to agree. The manlike thing that stood beyond Billy and Will was easily seven feet tall. It was silvery and smooth, and wearing what looked like silvery briefs, though no bulge was present within them. But it was the creature's head that was most impressive: a massive orb, with metallic discs where a human's ears would be, and what looked like a silvery, opaque visor where there should be eyes. The face below that visor was as smooth and featureless as most of the creature's body, which was without ornamentation, save for a silvery wristlet on each arm, which was probably functional, and not for decoration, anyway.

Charlie stared at the thing, a sense that he had seen it before coming to him strongly.

"I know that face," Kippy said then, causing Charlie to grin. Telepathy!

"Yeah," Ricky agreed. "It's from an old movie, isn't it?"

Billy laughed in delight. "This is Gort. He's the robot from The Day the Earth Stood Still."

Charlie stared at the creature again, and then nodded. Ten or so years before, there had been a movie with Keanu Reeves, in which he played an alien come to earth to either save us or destroy us. Charlie remembered that Keanu's character had been accompanied by a giant robot...but not this one.

Years before Keanu had even been born, there had been another version of this same movie, the first version. An old black and white film, that Charlie had seen once or twice on late night cable. Where Keanu's version had been a special effects film, like so much science fiction today, this original film had been quiet, and literate, and with a special sense about it that Charlie remembered well. A film with a message.

"You picked an oldie, didn't you?" Adrian said, scratching his cheek.

"But a goodie," Billy said. He turned to look at the robot. "You forget, that we were born long before you, Charlie. This movie came out when I was thirteen. I was in love with it, with it's message of peace for all. I had a poster of Gort and Klaatu on my bedroom wall."

Will laughed, and rolled his eyes. "So when we designed this container, Billy wanted to specify the physical look himself. This is what we got."

That this was said with great affection was not lost on Charlie, and Billy turned to grin at Will. "You loved that movie, too!"

Will just shrugged, and smiled.

"So what will you do now?" Kippy asked. "Crawl inside that thing and come with us?"

"That's just about right," Billy agreed.

"Both of you, in one can?" Ricky asked. "Won't that be hard on you guys?'

Again, both spirit boys laughed as one. "We are already one mind, Ricky," Billy said. "We appear before you as Will and Billy, but in that sense, it is just for you."

"But we are joined," Will explained. "In our travels together, we are now one." He smiled at Billy. "I will love being in the same can with you."

The two spirit boys turned, and approached the big robot, and simply walked into it, and disappeared. The robot lifted an arm, flexed the joined fingers of one hand, and then laid that hand against its chest. "Ah. Fits like a glove," it said.

Charlie gave a gasping laugh.The voice that emerged from the robot was smooth, powerful, and unique, yet it also was clearly a joining of both Billy's and Will's voices. There was just enough of a vague quality of separation to imagine the two of them talking at once.

"This will make conversation interesting," Kippy said, grinning. "How will we know who is talking?"

"For most things it will be fine if we both speak as one." The combined voice gave a soft chuckle, which struck Charlie as just wonderfully out of place coming from the stern, blank visage of the alien robot.

"But we can each speak alone, if we wish," Billy's voice said.

"Not that we do," Will's voice added.

Kippy just beamed. "This is going to be so cool!"

Ricky grinned. "We're gonna be a real mob by the time we get to Moth space."

"I count eleven of us now," Adrian said.

"Twelve," Frit corrected. "There's Murcha, too."

"What a horde!" Pip hooted. "I feel sorry for T'ath already!"

Pacha seemed pleased by the turn of events. "I suspect that our chances of success have just risen appreciably." He held out his hands towards Mike, who stepped forward to reclaim him. But the little koala turned his eyes back on Max then, and offered that strange look that Charlie had come to associate with a Kifta smile. "It will be interesting working with you, Max."

Max also grinned. "I'll say! Wait until the boys back at the shop hear about this!"

Charlie laughed at that. The boys back at the shop were going to get an earful, when this was all over.

The great dome was quiet now. Gort, carrying Will's and Billy's spirits, turned and headed for the dome's exit. Charlie immediately decided to stop thinking of their container as a robot, for it surely was not that. It's appearance aside, the medley of amazing forces that had gone into the making of the thing were as far above the constituents of a simple robotic machine as Charlie could imagine. That the container was neither electronic nor mechanical in nature was clear.

Charlie and the others followed, watching, halfway expecting some invisible force to halt the robot at the door. But Gort passed through the opening unimpeded, and soon they all stood on the pavers outside once more. The door, as if sensing their departure, swung slowly closed behind them.

"I'm interested to see what Sefton makes of this," Charlie said, looking at the saucer. It's owner was now seated inside, but stood and moved to the edge of the craft's interior and placed his hands on the rim, bending forward slightly to watch them as they approached. That he was staring at Gort was clear, and Charlie could only imagine what the man might be thinking.

But the Molokar were apparently as practical a people as they were courageous, and as the group boarded the craft, the alien simply watched Gort find a seat, and then turned to gaze at Pacha with a slightly apologetic look. "See there is now one more of you. Slightly higher transport fee now applies."

They just laughed, and Sefton took his own seat at the controls, and took them back to town.