“Some kinda job, makin’ up alla ‘is inferior decoration,” noted Louba. “Does ya hasta go ta school fer years ta learn it?”
The refugees were easing along a narrow bridge stretched high above a cage holding animals no one recognized. There were dozens of them: long, muscular animals with big brown eyes, huge brown noses, and long white feathers. They could fly a little, and they barked a lot. Half leaping and half flying, they lunged up at the escapees, but not one came within yards of the bottom of the bridge. Burt each leap sent feathers and dust sailing into the atmosphere.
“Choo!” Louba wiped her nose. “Anybody else fer a glass of lema-aide?”
The others waited until the bridge stopped shaking from the sneeze. Another of the creatures flew up, a Klamathan body length too low, yipping complaints. Eye-fogging, lung-clotting fragments swirled from its topknot.
“Hates animules,”growled Bassada, drawing a dagger from inside her coat.
Chlorda, walking nearest to her, frowned. “Where did you find that playpretty?”
Bassada looked down at it. “Oh, offen one o’ ‘em boys.” She jerked her head back toward the snow-filled room they’d just left, and started to slide the weapon away again.
“Look out! Something on the handle!” Stretching past Chlorda, Bott snatched the dagger from her hand and smacked the ornamental hilt hard against the edge of the walkway, hoping this didn’t tip them all down.
With a metallic clink, a black circle dropped from the ornamental hilt. Bassada reached for it, but Louba, behind her, had longer arms. Holding Bassada back with one massive palm, she studied it lying in the other.
“Huh!” She leaned forward to show Chlorda, not quite pushing the blue Klamathan off the bridge in the movement.
Chlorda nodded. “This must be that homing beacon they spoke of.”
“Got a microphony on it, too.” Louba flipped it over. “See?”
“Well, now.” Bassada rubbed her chin. “What would pigfaces like ‘em want wi’….”
“They wouldn’t.” Bott folded his arms. “But you’ve had it at least since that room where you almost drowned. “I found it when I was looking for…that rope.”
“How ‘bout it?” Louba folded her own arms. “Mean I was bein’ frisked, Cap’m, and never knew it? Musta been a real fine trance!”
“Not fair fer him ta be searchin’ us and no….” Bassada looked to Chlorda for support, and didn’t see any. She swallowed.
“Choosit!” Chlorda managed to make the sneeze an opinion, and turned to move again along the bridge.
“Hang on a smidge!” Bassada waved both hands in the air. She struggled to maintain her balance as Louba pushed past her, and, with her back to the blue Klamathan, followed Chlorda.
“Yez don’t tink…..” She extended her hands to Bott. Hands and face were purple with some strong emotion. “Gots dirty socks fer brain, both’em! A pirate’ll unnerstan’….”
Bott turned away as well, suppressing a sneeze. This was not just to maintain a dignified silence, but also because the creatures below barked louder in response to sneezes. Was it his imagination, or were they jumping higher as well?
“Ayapfalapf!” Louba exclaimed. It was the most violent sneeze yet, and everyone had to hold still as the bridge wobbled. Bott noticed that not every section of the walkway was riveted in place. Some simply overlapped.
“Keep yer ears on!” Bassada cried. “Yez gots big enough ears! It’s all a misconstrual!”
Bott glanced at her; she was more purple than ever, and her lower lip stuck way out. “C’mon! Yez could at leas’ call me sumpm!”
“Pchiff!” Bott replied, the sneeze louder for having been held back. The animals yelped below. Or were they sneezing as well?
“Awright awright!” Bassada wailed. “You’da done it, too! Made a deal wit’ …ayapfalleapfl!…cap’n…not OUR cap’m here…cap’n of ‘is slave ship when we was dragged aboard. He said ‘at Empra wanted ta test his game floor here, an’ was gonna let us bust out an’….”
“Let us?” demanded Chlorda. “That was a perfectly planned prison break!”
Encouraged, Bassada moved right up behind the rest, skipping sideways to watch everyone’s face. “Wasn’t sposed ta happen ‘til old Empra was right here like he is now. Figgered it was real, when we accident’ly broke out. Turns out…ah-akshepsoonga! …cap’m here had took charge. “at other cap’n was all done, but….”
“Ayaka…chaparot!” Chklorda ran one hand daintily below a golden nose. “And what did you do for His Imperial Wormface? Besides helping him track us?”
“Jus’ feed him whatever might be useful.” She angled so Bott was between her and the other two. “Lady Chlorda’s head frequency and ‘at way good Loubba here goes fer red silk pants.”
“Gave out my frequency? Hatshepsoop1” Between outrage and sneezing, Chlorda could neither speak nor move for a moment. “And what,” she went on when she could, her voice ice, “Were you supposed to be paid? Your own sleek Imperial police ship?”
Bassada shook her head violently. “No no! Cap’n…’at nudder cap’n…said he’d get me a job s Imperial pet exerciser. Full-time!”
“An’ here’s you, jus’ hatin’ animules,” said Loubs, who had begun to pound one green fist into one green palm.
“I do!” Blue hands spread out flat as a blue chin stuck out. “But I figgers, see, if I gets a job walkin’ his poodle er whatever ‘at gets me close enough ta kill him. I…ayakh-hakh-hakh!…I knewed yez wouldn’ mind gittin’ killed a little in such a good cause!”
“Easy as tossin’ ice cubes at a duck.” Louba jabbed a thick index finger in Bassada’s direction. “Any chance anybody’d let ya keep a knife once we was gone? Or any chance ya wouln’nt justa dropped it an’ cut yer own toe off?”
“Sure!” Bassada looked down at her hands. “We c’d still do it, y’know. If yez’d surrenda, I c’d still get me chance ta off ‘at ol’ batbait.” She looked up and swallowed again, but went on, “Anyways, yez don’t tink a slave ship’s really gonna help yez get to annuder ship what ain’t probly even around any more!”
Bott had to admit she was possibly correct about that, at least. Chlorda’s face showed a touch of doubt as well. “There’s no point….” he started to say.
“Ah…hia…ha…hoompf!”
He would not have bet money on the idea Louva had been holding back her sneezes, but this one broke loose with a force that sent her backward three paces, sitting down on the gangway with a ringing “Splang!”
The animals, he decided, bouncing with the bridge, were not sneezing but starving. He grabbed for the nearest support column but it was nowhere near enough, so he settled for a grip on the walkway. His fingers slid across the metal surface before finally finding a hold at the very brink. One of his feet kicked a feathered head, sending the animal down and a plume of dust into the air.
He intended to catch his breath before trying to climb back up, but found his wrists enveloped by a great green grip. “Gotcha, Cap’m,” Louba said, easing her weight back inch by inch so as not to tip the bridge further. “An’ I don’t play as rough as you.”
“Let go of my toes!” Chlorda ordered.
Bott turned as he was hauled to safety, and found both the gold and blue Klamathans had found the same precarious stopping point he had. Chlorda was closer; after he and Louba had helped her up onto the walkway, he slid toward Bassada.
He was alone. Looking up, he found the rest of his crew had pulled away, and wer starting to struggle upright. “’Mon, Cap’m!” his rescuer called. “Places ta go, rememba?”
“Are you going to leave her?” he demanded, as she kicked at a creature with a tooth-hold in her coat.
Louba looked down, and then over at the gold aristocrat. “Don’t bother me none iffen it don’t nother you none. Bother you?”
“None,” said Chlorda, with a nod.
But neither turned away. Bott realized they were waiting for him to issue some captainly decree.
“Ah, fergit it, Cap’m,” said the blue as the hem of her coat dropped away in the jaws of one of the attackers. “Mebbe I’ll like ‘ese critters better ‘n I like ‘em guys.”
Bott rose to his haunches, prepared to point out what Bassada had done to get them this far, and how, in spite of her treachery, she had faced the same dangers they had. But one more look at the green and gold faces made him drop that idea among the dust and feathers.
“Why let the Emperor have his way and give the slave ship a victory? We could punish her ourselves when we have time.”
Louba let her tongue lap at her upper lip. “Kinda wanted ta see if any of ‘em chewed her up er just spit her out.”
“This is an order.” Bott said, using his firmest tone. “Whoever hauls her up gets first choice of an appropriate penalty once we’re clear.”
Chlorda dove to reach for the blue wrists, nearly turning the bridge sideways with the impact. She, in her turn, was kicked to the side.
“No, ya don’t,” Louba told her. “It’s MY duty ta save her!”
Chlorda gave the green rebel a shove that nearly toppled her. “MY duty!”
“Gotta good mind ta let go instead o’ lettin’ ya do yer duty all over me,” But Bassada clung to all the arms offered her until she was on the bridge again.
“Achapf!” she said, by way of thanks.
“She’s back, Cap’m.,” Louba set big fists on big hips. “Not trustin’ her, alla same.”
Bott looked to Bassada, who tore off her coat and let it drop over the edge. Snarls and barks and the sound of tearing cloth greeted the gift.
“Not hidin’ much from yez now, am I?” Bassada demanded.
“I still don’t trust her.” Chlorda stuck her tongue deep inside her left cheek. “I say we search her.”
“Gotcha!” cried Louba. “Dibs on….”
“No time,” said Bott. “Better…achappff!…keep moving.”
They set off down the bridge, Bassada doing her best to keep to the Bottward side of the path. An iron gate lay open at the end of the gangway. Bott disliked the flickering red light he saw beyond it.
“Yihah!” Louba tore off her turban and threw it up into the blinking but cleaner air of the new chamber. Bott recognized the fabric, with one tiny [portion of his mind, as the flag of the gold Klamathans who were in revolt. But his main brain was on the landscape before them.
At the peak of a mountain with blazing slopes sat a BBB-44. It looked familiar.
Blogsy Babbles 