The Zeek Files - Escape from Exkerbjann
By Mandi M. Lynch
After some fancy maneuvering, Zeek managed to park his hovercraft in the last spot, marked ECONOMY, but flanked by two very large HSVs[‡]. He shook his head as he slid down the side of the machine and onto the ground. As his feet touched, he left a perfect set of boot prints in the dust and bounced three feet into the air. He sighed, and bounced back into the craft for his weight belt. Why couldn't the gravity rate be posted in the travel kartredges?
Thinking sixty kilos ought to be enough, he slid down the craft testing his theory. No bounce, although he still felt lighter than he did on his own planet. He removed the thrust module from the engine and stuck it into the pocket of his travel vest - one could never be too careful in this galaxy.
Near the front of the lot, four pods beckoned to him, and he instantly recognized the interplanetary symbols for sleep and food, although he wasn't sure exactly what constituted food on the planet Exzkerbjann. The fourth building seemed to be a tacky souvenir shop. There's one on every planet, Zeek thought, shaking his head.
One of the two food joints looked too night club for Zeek's taste, so he went into the other one. As soon as he did, he knew he picked wrong. No more than three steps in the building, Zeek realized everybody in the room was decked head to toe in the grey suits of the SSAKD[§]. Sacked is right, he thought. Turning quickly, he hoped to get out undetected.
Suddenly, nine fingers wrapped around his left arm. He sucked in his breath, barely daring to breathe. "Cold feet, Vladmero? Have you lost the courage to come to us?"
Zeek had no idea who or what Vladmero was, but he was certain that this could not end well for him. He gulped, waiting for the sticky saliva fluid to slide through his two esophagi and into his stomach. He tried to talk, but no sound came out.
The SSAKD representative turned to the other members and said something in a language that Zeek had never before heard spoken. It sent a chill all over his body. Before he could say anything a fiery red SSAKD, obviously still in his costume from the planet Zorbon, reached out a sticky ropelike feeler and yanked Zeek halfway across the room into a chair that rose up from the floor to greet him. As soon as the weight of his body hit the seat, a white substance engulfed him, cocooning everything but his head.
The SSAKD agent approached him. "Tell us, Vladmero, what you did with the money."
"I...what money?" Zeek knew playing stupid with the SSAKD wasn't the best option, but he was hoping they would be fooled enough into giving him information to work with.
"The money we gave you for research, you fool!" The SSAKD closest to him took a swing, slapping him clear across the face. Millions of tiny metal-like particles stung at his skin from the swipe.
"Haven't we had a conversation about the money, yet?"
"Don't play this trick, Vlad. You know what happened to your brother Svenklo."
"Do I?" Does anybody really know what happened to Svenklo?" Zeek didn't know where these words were coming from, but certainly the act of defiance was out of character - and stupid. He wanted out alive, not to be murdered by the SSAKD, and he certainly didn't want them to find out he wasn't this Vladmero character.
"We gave you the money for your research, Vladmero. A year, we waited as you promised, and then nothing. So we killed your brother. Quit acting like you're too stupid to understand this."
He said, "eh, research!" as nonchalantly as he could. Suddenly, his head snapped back. The SSAKD closest to him had reached out, slapping at his forehead with nails, not fingers. As much as he tried not to, he screamed in agony.
"Eh, research, you say?" The SSAKD sneered at him. "We need your piece of technology! We need the power! And we need it now! We're tired of waiting for you!"
Technology? Power? Zeek suddenly flashed to the thrust module in his pocket. Certainly the SSAKD wouldn't be fooled by that for long, but perhaps for long enough that he could escape? Attached to the module was a custom made rocket booster. It would be a long trip back to JuJutsa without it, but he'd be alive for it.
"If you can let me go, I can provide that for you."
The chair suddenly released him, retracting into the floor. He fell into a heap. Around him, he could hear the SSAKD snicker. Digging through his pocket, he quickly removed the booster from the rest of the module before pulling it out. "I present you with this." He tossed it through the air to one of the SSAKD who wasn't paying that much attention. It clamored to the floor.
"YOU IDIOT!!! YOU COULD HAVE BROKEN THAT!!!" one of them screeched.
"Quick! Get it before it explodes!!" Zeek dropped his weight belt, jumping high into the air and well over the heads of two of the smaller SSAKD that charged the general area of his thrust booster. He landed quickly, making large jumps across the room and out the door before anyone had noticed his escape.
It took a mere minute to reattach the thrust module to his hovercraft, and he almost somersaulted himself into the cockpit. The closest planet to him was Frydarak, and he could be there in a few hours time, even without the extra speed. Zeek set the controls so fast that he figured he broke the speed record for three fingered creatures setting controls, and lifted into the air.
He was a full kilometer off the ground before he looked down again. The SSAKD were spilling out of the building in a ground search effort. He piddled away in his little pink craft, knowing that they'd never look for him there.
[‡] HSV – Hover Space Vehicle
[§] SSAKD -secret space alliance to kill and destroy - the SSAKD are a special race of alien bred for secret KGB type purposes. All look identical, down to their jaundiced eyes and tuft of jet black hair. They have four arms, each hand containing nine fingers. They serve as very harsh interplanetary secret police.
- - -
Mandi M. Lynch typed her first story on a manual typewriter at the age of six and illustrated it in crayon. The illustrations have improved, but the spelling has not. She lives in Nashville, TN, with three cats, none of which write due to lack of thumbs.
By Mandi M. Lynch
After some fancy maneuvering, Zeek managed to park his hovercraft in the last spot, marked ECONOMY, but flanked by two very large HSVs[‡]. He shook his head as he slid down the side of the machine and onto the ground. As his feet touched, he left a perfect set of boot prints in the dust and bounced three feet into the air. He sighed, and bounced back into the craft for his weight belt. Why couldn't the gravity rate be posted in the travel kartredges?
Thinking sixty kilos ought to be enough, he slid down the craft testing his theory. No bounce, although he still felt lighter than he did on his own planet. He removed the thrust module from the engine and stuck it into the pocket of his travel vest - one could never be too careful in this galaxy.
Near the front of the lot, four pods beckoned to him, and he instantly recognized the interplanetary symbols for sleep and food, although he wasn't sure exactly what constituted food on the planet Exzkerbjann. The fourth building seemed to be a tacky souvenir shop. There's one on every planet, Zeek thought, shaking his head.
One of the two food joints looked too night club for Zeek's taste, so he went into the other one. As soon as he did, he knew he picked wrong. No more than three steps in the building, Zeek realized everybody in the room was decked head to toe in the grey suits of the SSAKD[§]. Sacked is right, he thought. Turning quickly, he hoped to get out undetected.
Suddenly, nine fingers wrapped around his left arm. He sucked in his breath, barely daring to breathe. "Cold feet, Vladmero? Have you lost the courage to come to us?"
Zeek had no idea who or what Vladmero was, but he was certain that this could not end well for him. He gulped, waiting for the sticky saliva fluid to slide through his two esophagi and into his stomach. He tried to talk, but no sound came out.
The SSAKD representative turned to the other members and said something in a language that Zeek had never before heard spoken. It sent a chill all over his body. Before he could say anything a fiery red SSAKD, obviously still in his costume from the planet Zorbon, reached out a sticky ropelike feeler and yanked Zeek halfway across the room into a chair that rose up from the floor to greet him. As soon as the weight of his body hit the seat, a white substance engulfed him, cocooning everything but his head.
The SSAKD agent approached him. "Tell us, Vladmero, what you did with the money."
"I...what money?" Zeek knew playing stupid with the SSAKD wasn't the best option, but he was hoping they would be fooled enough into giving him information to work with.
"The money we gave you for research, you fool!" The SSAKD closest to him took a swing, slapping him clear across the face. Millions of tiny metal-like particles stung at his skin from the swipe.
"Haven't we had a conversation about the money, yet?"
"Don't play this trick, Vlad. You know what happened to your brother Svenklo."
"Do I?" Does anybody really know what happened to Svenklo?" Zeek didn't know where these words were coming from, but certainly the act of defiance was out of character - and stupid. He wanted out alive, not to be murdered by the SSAKD, and he certainly didn't want them to find out he wasn't this Vladmero character.
"We gave you the money for your research, Vladmero. A year, we waited as you promised, and then nothing. So we killed your brother. Quit acting like you're too stupid to understand this."
He said, "eh, research!" as nonchalantly as he could. Suddenly, his head snapped back. The SSAKD closest to him had reached out, slapping at his forehead with nails, not fingers. As much as he tried not to, he screamed in agony.
"Eh, research, you say?" The SSAKD sneered at him. "We need your piece of technology! We need the power! And we need it now! We're tired of waiting for you!"
Technology? Power? Zeek suddenly flashed to the thrust module in his pocket. Certainly the SSAKD wouldn't be fooled by that for long, but perhaps for long enough that he could escape? Attached to the module was a custom made rocket booster. It would be a long trip back to JuJutsa without it, but he'd be alive for it.
"If you can let me go, I can provide that for you."
The chair suddenly released him, retracting into the floor. He fell into a heap. Around him, he could hear the SSAKD snicker. Digging through his pocket, he quickly removed the booster from the rest of the module before pulling it out. "I present you with this." He tossed it through the air to one of the SSAKD who wasn't paying that much attention. It clamored to the floor.
"YOU IDIOT!!! YOU COULD HAVE BROKEN THAT!!!" one of them screeched.
"Quick! Get it before it explodes!!" Zeek dropped his weight belt, jumping high into the air and well over the heads of two of the smaller SSAKD that charged the general area of his thrust booster. He landed quickly, making large jumps across the room and out the door before anyone had noticed his escape.
It took a mere minute to reattach the thrust module to his hovercraft, and he almost somersaulted himself into the cockpit. The closest planet to him was Frydarak, and he could be there in a few hours time, even without the extra speed. Zeek set the controls so fast that he figured he broke the speed record for three fingered creatures setting controls, and lifted into the air.
He was a full kilometer off the ground before he looked down again. The SSAKD were spilling out of the building in a ground search effort. He piddled away in his little pink craft, knowing that they'd never look for him there.
[‡] HSV – Hover Space Vehicle
[§] SSAKD -secret space alliance to kill and destroy - the SSAKD are a special race of alien bred for secret KGB type purposes. All look identical, down to their jaundiced eyes and tuft of jet black hair. They have four arms, each hand containing nine fingers. They serve as very harsh interplanetary secret police.
- - -
Mandi M. Lynch typed her first story on a manual typewriter at the age of six and illustrated it in crayon. The illustrations have improved, but the spelling has not. She lives in Nashville, TN, with three cats, none of which write due to lack of thumbs.
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