My Friend is an Alien - Edlund Niklas - Страница 33

"Yeah, they get to see what things look like off-planet." affirmed Davy.

Finally close enough to Earth to attempt contact, Jahv activated the commlink and said, "This is shuttle Alpha-Jahv to central control. Anyone there?"

"Yep! You guys finally on the way back?" The voice was Jason's.

"Jason!" said Jahv. "Is that you? Where are Martin and Keyro?"

There was a slight laugh at the other end. "Where d'you think? They're out mudwrestling. I think they got bored waiting, so me, Sniv, and Fabian have been taking turns. It's my shift now."

"Has anyone missed us?" asked Jahv, suddenly concerned.

"Nah. Everybody thinks your hanging around the pond or Davy's treehouse." replied Jason. "So, you bringing anything back from the galaxy for us?"

"How about two more aliens?" asked Jahv. There was a faint thud in the background.

Niklas giggled. "I think he fainted."

"Darn it, I knew we forgot something." said Davy. "Souvenirs!"

"From that place!?" exclaimed Keith. "I'll take you to the city dump later. You can get something that looks better and doesn't smell as bad."

Jahv activated the cloaking device for the shuttle once they were in Earth's atmosphere, and it coasted silently into the tent dome hangar. Jason, looking somewhat stunned, watched the group emerge. Davy and Niklas emerged first. Jahv was next, followed by Keith, and then Morik and Arion. Jason just shook his head, more stunned than ever. "I thought this was going to be a short trip out and back somewhere!"

"So did we." muttered Keith.

"Where are Martin and Keyro?" asked Jahv. "I would've thought you would've called them back.

"I did. They're just outside." replied Jason. "I wasn't sure you'd want them loose in here."

Jahv cut through the crowd, as did Keith and Niklas, while Davy tried to give the newcomers a tour around what would be their new home. Morik seemed pleased, but nervous, and Arion wanted to get outside, feeling rather confined.

Standing just outside were two thoroughly mud-covered boys — which was also ALL that was covering them. Keith, Jahv, and Niklas started to giggle. "Sheesh, which one is which?" asked Niklas.

"I think mine's the one with the two antennae." said Jahv.

Arion emerged, much to the surprise of both Martin and Keyro, and much to everyone's surprise, shot into the air like he was wearing rockets.

"Holy cow!" sputtered Niklas.

"Ohhhh, wow." said Davy, who had come outside with Morik just as Arion had taken off. "That is so incredible."

"Yeah, unless someone sees him!" said Keith.

"Who'd believe it?" stated Niklas.

Although so high into the sky that he barely looked like a speck, the boys could see Arion just well enough to see him performing stunts that would have put any flying thing on this planet — bird or aircraft — to utter shame. Finally he shot down into a dive that had Niklas and the others wondering how much ground he was going to plow up when he hit. But somehow, the young Prince managed to stop himself short and came to an impossibly gentle landing.

"That was incredible!" proclaimed Davy. "Do you take passengers?" Arion raised an eyebrow. "I suppose I could — sometime." Then he noticed Martin and Keyro. "Provided it's not those two, unless those are not their natural states."

"I hope you took your clothes off BEFORE going into the mud and didn't LOSE them out there, Martin." said Keith.

"I think these guys deserve a big hug for getting back safely, don't you?" asked Keyro, looking at Martin.

"Absolutely!" replied Martin, and the two boys surged forward.

Arion shot into the sky again, almost panicked. Jahv, Niklas, Morik and Keith managed to keep the two from falling back into the nearby tent, but not from getting muddy themselves. Seconds later, after some standing wrestling, all five either dove or fell into the nearby pond, except Morik, who ran off inexplicably in another direction. The rest finally surfaced, and Arion gradually came back down, but maintained a cautious distance. "You lot have the strangest customs. Is this normal behavior for your kind?"

Davy laughed. "Define normal."

"Oh, I see." said Arion, looking somewhat concerned. "May I assume by the rather isolated location and the concealed appearance of this nearby structure, as well as the fact that I've never heard of this planet, that there aren't many offworlders here?"

"Just you four, that we know of." said Niklas.

"Which means watch where you fly." added Keith. "You don't want to attract attention."

"I see." said Arion. "I trust, at least, that I haven't just traded one prison for another?"

"Would the Soluans have treated you as a friend?" asked Davy.

"Hardly." replied Arion. "The Soluans barely tolerate each other."

"There's the difference." said Niklas. "To us, you're a friend. Sort of a secret friend."

Arion pondered this remark. "I suspect I can live with that. Thank you."

"Hey, where's the other one you brought back with you?" asked Martin. "The one with the camouflage skin?"

"Did he go into the lake with the rest of us?" asked Davy, suddenly concerned. "We know he can swim!"

"I saw him head off in that direction when I took off." indicated Arion, pointing down a short path, that a now thoroughly mud-covered Morik was now returning upon.

"Morik, what the heck —?!" questioned Niklas.

Morik shrugged. "Seeing what you look like, I wondered what I would look like if I were just one color instead of many."

"This is a weird kid." said Keith. "You can take the kid out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the kid…"

"Hold it." said Jahv, his antennae and nose suddenly twitching. "Does anyone smell something weird?"

A comment like that would normally invite a lot of bad jokes, but everybody else picked up on the aroma, as well. Something like burning metal and ozone. "The shuttle!" screeched Jahv, dashing back into the dome-tent, with the others quickly behind.

They entered the dome-tent, and Jason was frantic. "Something's really wrong back there, but I swear I didn't touch anything!" The group headed to the hangar. Sure enough, the shuttle's engines had experienced a major malfunction. They hadn't exploded or caught fire, but they were giving off weird bursts of energy spheres. Jahv was working a nearby control console. "Maximum containment field!" he commented. A shimmering half-dome appeared around the shuttle. Seconds later, the energy spheres built in intensity, and one last impossibly bright burst filled the entire containment dome. When it finally dissipated, the shuttle was gone.

Jahv was instantly downcast, almost in tears. "All that work…"

"What happened?" asked Niklas.

Jahv shook his head. "I–I'm honestly not sure. Maybe something in the repairs. Maybe something even in the initial design, or something we missed when we built it."

"Maybe you shouldn't build another one until you find out what did happen." suggested Keith, but without any hostility. Inwardly, he was too thankful that whatever had happened hadn't happened while they were still on it.

"Jahv, don't beat yourself up about it." urged Davy. "Hey, you got to take three of us out there once, and a lot further than anyone from this planet has ever been. That's something we'll all remember!"

"Definitely!" agreed Niklas, who then eyed Keith.

Keith tried not to groan. "Okay, so it was — interesting. Still glad I'm back."

"And you rescued both me and Arion." added Morik. "I'd still be alone without you."

"And I would prefer to not even think about where I would be." said Arion. "So the ship is gone. Perhaps, in time, another can be built. But this one clearly served noble purposes."

"Guess you're right." said Jahv.

"Hey, guys," said Jason, looking at his watch, "it's getting kind of late. We should all be heading home."