Starbounders (16 page)

“Where can we find this Doveling?” Zachary asked.

“She was last located on Kibarat, a farming planetoid. We can check the Kepler cartograph to see how to get there.”

Zachary and Ryic nodded in agreement. They turned around to see Hartwell sitting as before.

“So, what do you plan on doing with me?” he asked.

“Well, for starters, this,” Zachary said.

He grabbed a stun ball off the wall, set it for maximum effect, and threw it at Hartwell's chest. Upon contact, Hartwell was instantly paralyzed. Even his mousy upper lip was frozen in place.

Zachary and Ryic followed Kaylee to the flight deck, where she began setting waypoints to their destination. Zachary had watched carefully as Skold and Wilcox had flown the other ships and, while it was hardly adequate preparation, he thought that together with the week of flight simulation he had experienced on Indigo 8, he could probably figure out his way around the controls.

With their captive immobile in the cabin, they buckled themselves into the flight-deck chairs, and Zachary guided the ship toward the next fold.

“W
ow,” Zachary said.

The sight of Kibarat soaring beside them was breathtaking. The front end of the planetoid had a giant glass dome built over it, with bright green and yellow fields of grass and small farmhouses inside. The back half of the planetoid was uninhabited gray rock, shedding dust particles millions of miles back into the cosmos.

“Hey, Earth to Zachary,” Kaylee said. “I asked you a question.”

“I'm sorry. What was that?”

“Would you rather lick the floor of a New York City subway car or the armpit of an unshowered stranger?”

They had been passing the time until they reached Kibarat by playing the kinds of games that Zachary remembered from family road trips. Would you rather? was always Danielle's favorite.

“Eww. Gross. Neither,” he said.

“Not an option,” Ryic said. “You have to pick one.”

“And say why,” Kaylee added.

“Oh, man, I don't know,” Zachary said. “I guess I'd say a stranger's armpit. It's just one person's germs, not thousands'.”

“Have you factored in armpit hair and BO?” Kaylee asked.

“I hadn't,” Zachary said. “But I am now.”

Out the window, they watched as the ship neared an arrival tube on the domed side of the planetoid. Zachary looked over his shoulder to make sure that Hartwell was still incapacitated. He could see by the rigid expression on his face that he was.

The buckler flew into the long clear tube and came out inside the dome. Immediately Zachary realized why Kibarat's fields remained fertile even in the darkest reaches of space. The entire enclosed space radiated heat and light, as brightly as a summer day.

The ship landed in a field of berry shrubs. The engines came to a quiet stop, and after the doors opened, the departure ramp extended to the ground. Zachary, Ryic, and Kaylee armed themselves with sonic crossbows, then exited, leaving Hartwell behind, still stunned and shockled.

“We'll come back for him as soon as we find Doveling,” Kaylee said. They reached the bottom of the ramp and Zachary stepped onto the soft grass. He breathed in the air, and the smell of wheat and berries tickled his nostrils. It reminded Zachary very much of home, and that was a comforting feeling. If it weren't for the glass dome high above him, he would have forgotten that they were hurtling through space on a ball of rock.

“Do you know where to find her?” Zachary asked Kaylee.

“No, but these communes are close-knit groups. Someone should be able to tell us where she is.”

There was a farmhouse about a mile away. It seemed like as good a place as any to start.

They walked through a field of tall plants that resembled corn, but their crimson tint exposed them as something not of Earth. Ryic pulled a leaf off one of the stalks and began chewing on it.

“Not as tasty as when the barracks' cook stews them,” Ryic said. The leaf was already dyeing his teeth red.

A rustling came from beyond the husks, and a bison-sized beast emerged just a few feet away. Zachary, Kaylee, and Ryic all drew their weapons.

The beast tilted back its huge horned head and let out a trumpeting roar. Zachary put a finger to his ear to try to mute the deafening sound. But there was nothing he could do to avoid getting sprayed by the creature's warm, moist breath.

“We better hope it can't smell what you ate back at Fringg,” Ryic said.

“Don't worry, the greebock won't bother you,” a friendly voice called out. It belonged to a muscular, olive-skinned alien with four arms who was riding up on a horse with an unusually long body and eight legs. “I saw you fly in. What brings you to Kibarat?”

“Actually, we're looking for someone,” Kaylee said. “Goes by the name Doveling. You don't happen to know where we can find her, do you?”

“Of course,” the alien replied. “She teaches all of the commune's neophytes out of her stables. If you'd like, I can take you there.”

He pointed to the multiple saddles on the horse's back and helped the young Starbounders mount. Zachary had to stretch his legs out extra wide to remain steady atop the rough-furred steed. The alien waited until the three had all settled before giving his horse a swift kick.

“Have you come to study with Doveling?” the alien asked. “Her teachings are wise and inspiring. I can hardly remember what my life was like before my first encounter with her.”

A teacher who inspired people? Based on what Kaylee had said, these weren't the characteristics of any extractor Zachary was expecting.

They galloped across the fields, past herds of greebocks and several farmhouses. Zachary had gone horseback riding before, but this was much smoother and faster. He looked down and saw a blur of hooves. The clip-clopping was so fast it sounded like a train rattling over wooden tracks.

The horse slowed once they reached a small cluster of stables that made up the center of the space commune. Aliens of all different sizes and colors worked side by side, constructing a new building, with the help of only a few robots.

“This is it,” the olive-skinned alien said, stopping the horse before one of the stables. “Perhaps I'll see you again.”

Zachary, Kaylee, and Ryic climbed down from the horse.

“Thanks for the ride,” Zachary said.

“My pleasure,” the alien said. Giving his steed a gentle tap, he departed.

The three approached the stable doors.

“Seems like an odd place to be conducting interrogations,” Ryic said.

“These extractors have to blend in,” Kaylee said. “Sounds to me as if she's created a perfect cover.”

They walked in through the open doors and stood at the back of the stable. Doveling sat cross-legged in a circle with two dozen young aliens, leading them in song. Her pointy ears and delicate features made her look like a fairy without wings.

All Zachary heard was a series of clicks, beeps, and foreign languages, but he could see by the students' smiles and hand-holding that they were probably singing about harmony and togetherness. Once the song was complete, all of the neophytes stood and began leaving the stable.

Zachary, Ryic, and Kaylee walked past them, approaching Doveling.

“Welcome,” she said. “Can I help you?”

“Look,” Kaylee said, cutting to the chase. “I know what you do.”

“I'm sorry?” Doveling asked.

“We don't want to get you in any kind of trouble,” Kaylee said. “We just need you to get us some information.”

“You must have me confused with someone else. I'm a teacher.”

“I know that's not true,” Kaylee said. “My father is Liam Swanson. I know all about the high-commission court and the charges brought against him. And although he was exonerated, I know he did business with you.”

“Come with me,” Doveling said. “We should talk in private.”

The stables were empty save for Doveling and a couple of the eight-legged steeds. Still, Doveling led them to one of the old horse stalls and pushed away a pile of hay to reveal a door in the floor. She pulled it open and began to descend a staircase. Kaylee, Zachary, and Ryic followed. Not knowing where this stranger was taking them, Zachary made sure that his finger never hovered far from the trigger of his sonic crossbow.

At the bottom of the steps they entered some kind of underground lab. At its center sat two metal chairs with arm and leg restraints. Lining the shelves were glass jars filled with long, slender needles that looked like the kind used for acupuncture.

“You have it all wrong. He never told you the truth, did he?” Doveling asked.

“What's there to tell? He doesn't care who he sells contracts to as long as he gets his precious promotions,” Kaylee replied.

Zachary had seen Kaylee bristly before, but never quite like this.

“Is that what you think?” Doveling shook her head. “Your father was my handler. He was an IPDL agent assigned to utilize my skills in extracting valuable information from outerverse threats.”

“No. You're thinking of the wrong guy,” Kaylee said. “My dad's a contractor. The only thing he's ever done for the IPDL is get them a good deal on building supplies.”

“That's his cover,” Doveling said. “Trust me. I've seen him in action. He's the greatest fighter against injustice I have ever met.”

“Why would he lie to me?” she asked.

“Perhaps to protect you and to keep you from fearing for his safety every time he leaves you,” Doveling said.

Kaylee went quiet. Zachary could see that she was trying to process all Doveling had said about her father.

“So, what kind of information do you need help retrieving?” Doveling pointed to Ryic. “Is it from this one? Because I'll pick his brain clean in an hour, tops.”

“What? No!” Ryic cried. “I'm with them.”

“Someone wants us dead,” Zachary said, jumping in. “And we'd like you to go into the mind of the man who tried to kill us.”

“For a child of Liam, anything,” Doveling said. “Bring him to me.”

“He's in our ship,” Zachary said.

“Go,” Doveling said. “I'll get my needles ready.”

When they returned to the buckler, Zachary and Ryic found Hartwell rummaging through one of the underbins, the effects of the stun ball having worn off. He seemed to be looking for a way to set himself free from the shockles. Zachary used another stun ball to immobilize Hartwell, then he and Ryic carried him to a wheelbarrow, tying a cloth around his eyes and hiding him under some blankets.

They rolled him all the way back to Doveling's stable and carried him down to the secret underground lab. Doveling strapped him into one of the metal chairs, shaved his head bald, and removed the blindfold. Soon he regained his muscular functions.

“Where am I?” Hartwell demanded.

“Relax,” Doveling said. “It makes the extraction far quicker.”

“This is a violation of my rights!” he shouted.

Zachary was unmoved. “How do you think I felt with your sonic crossbow pointed at my chest?” he said.

Doveling removed a long, thin needle from one of the jars, as fine as a strand of hair, and brought it toward Hartwell's naked skull. She located a precise spot and inserted the tip into his flesh. Though it looked gruesome, Hartwell didn't flinch. He certainly wasn't in pain, and perhaps didn't feel it at all. Doveling extracted the needle and placed it in a new, empty jar.

“What are you doing to me?” Hartwell's temples were beading with sweat.

“Extracting memories,” Doveling replied. “There won't be any permanent damage, though.”

Hartwell relaxed for the first time.

“Of course, I might rearrange a few things in there,” Doveling added. “Do something about those violent tendencies of yours.”

She inserted another needle, then removed it. This continued for quite some time, until the empty jar was filled with more than a hundred needles, each with an extracted memory on its tip. It was only after she was finished that Doveling placed a fume mask over Hartwell's nose and mouth, causing him to fall asleep.

“Now the memories need to be read,” Doveling said.

Zachary didn't see any microscopes or computers around. In fact, there was no lab equipment of any kind.

“Which one of you wants to be the receptacle?” she asked.

“What?” Zachary exclaimed. “How exactly does this work?”

“I need to insert the needles into one of your frontal lobes. Then the memories will appear in your head as if they were your own.”

“You want to stick those needles into our scalps,” Ryic said. “Not me. No way.”

“Actually, they're slipped into the tiny openings of your tear duct,” Doveling said. “With the numbing agent, I've been told it's relatively painless.”

“So why don't you do it yourself?” Kaylee asked.