CHAPTER ONE
| AKKI: A STELLAR TAIL CHAPTER ONE |
"Akki, come look at this!" I looked up from the lump of sludge on my plate that Kyrene had just set down before me and called my dinner. Fantastic, I thought, at least I won't have to look at this any longer. I peered up at Kyrene, now sitting rapt in front of the forward viewport. She never grew tired of space. But then, she got to pilot the spaceship. That did make a difference. She rarely noticed the cramped quarters and musty stale smell of the recycled air. I did, however, and this Achate would be singularly happy to be groundside for a change. We'd been spacebound for weeks now and I was sick of it. I'd already read everything of interest in Marie's library. Marie is the quaint name of the computer that runs the Swift. All that remained unread by me in her library were some volumes of physics, which I detested, and some books of poorly written fiction by an author named Massery. I cringed at the memory of those ghastly Massery novels, which seemed to occupy an inordinate amount of memory in our library. It was at times like these (and only at times like these) that I wished that I, too, could pilot a spaceship. If only to alleviate the copious quantities of boredom that seemed to permeate the place. But then I couldn't, and therefore didn't. So I spent much of my time staring into scoops of brown sludge that Kyrene called dinner. "Akki, hurry. You'll miss it." Kyrene flicked her brown curly head at me in annoyance. With dignity, I rose slowly to my feet and ambled over. I then proceeded to trip over my own front paws. "Oh, you bumbler," Kyrene cried. "Come on." Inwardly fuming, I trotted over to the console and lifted my body so that I was standing on my hind legs, forepaws delicately placed on the command panel. I took a bored look outside. Then I stared. For a long time. Below us Thalir spun, the day side lit like an amethyst and jade amulet lying in deep velvet, illuminated by our sun Gaea, the Life Giver. Pale white clouds, delicate as an artist's brushstroke, misted and plumed along the equator and beyond, swirling with lavender and green. As we watched, the terminus drew closer, like a swath of black smoke pouring over the brightly lit surface. Soon it had taken over and Thalir's nightside filled the viewport. Sighing, Kyrene reached over and switched the screen back to navigation coordinates. Dazed, I sunk back to the floor. Thalir was by far the most beautiful planet I had ever seen. She won the exotic luster contest without a skirmish. Her oceans stretched endlessly in all directions, alternating in hue from darkest violet near the poles to morning green at her waist. Only one thing bothered me. (But there's no land,) I pointed out. (Where are we going to put down?) Landing on actual land was, after all, my primary concern. The Swift, for all her good points, was not a sea-going vessel. We needed firma grounda to rest this baby. Besides which, I absolutely despised getting wet. "All the land is on the nightside now, except for some small island chains. Didn't you read the books on Thalir, Akki?" (I didn't know there were any,) I retorted. She was kidding, of course. I had read all of the available material on this ship. Never would I have missed such an important item as a treatise on a planet to which we were going. "Yes, we do. They're by a man named Massery…What's the matter? Your ears just went all funny." I suddenly felt ill. Those Massery books, of which I now admit I only cracked open slightly -- in figurative terms since with the computer all tactile reading is passe -- were not fiction at all, but documents on Thalir. My tail sank and I slowly lifted my head, weakly feigning bravado. (I see. Well, I'll just have to read those before we land.) I comforted myself with the idea that at least I would be able to remedy my ignorance. "You won't have time. We're going down now." Kyrene adjusted her seat straps. "And unless you want to be smashed up against the control panel, you'd better strap in." There is no justice. To show my displeasure, I sniffed loudly and stalked stiffly to my landing cot. Once there I lay in the prescribed position, belly down, paws folded neatly, and allowed the automatic belts to snake out of their little containers by my side and latch onto the other little snaking belts that emerged from the opposite side. In short order I was shackled like a common lunatic and unable to move more than a centimeter either way. Needless to say, I did not find the landing cot to be my favorite place to lie down. (Are we there, yet?) I asked. As I expected, Kyrene acted as though she hadn't heard me. But then perhaps she hadn't. Her head was bent eagerly over the controls like a fervent musician at her keyboard, and I knew she was probably into what I called the "Pilot's Ecstasy", a particularly entrancing state where she very nearly became one with the Swift -- a state I found most distasteful, but on which Kyrene seemed to thrive. Don't misunderstand me. The reason for my distaste had nothing at all to do with the somewhat racist view that machines and humans should never get that close. Quite the contrary. In fact, I disagreed with it for the starkly logical reason that she could very easily let dear old Swift take us down all on her own. Our ship was quite capable and Kyrene had spent enough money on Swift to ensure that she was equipped with most of the newer gizmos. A self-thinking auto-pilot was one of them. Supralight was another. In any event, there sat Kyrene engrossed in vectors and coordinates, at one with her ship. Dreadfully romantic. Leaving me trussed up like someone's dinner with nothing to do but watch. "Hey. Watch it, Space Garbage," Kyrene shouted, pressing madly at the console. I looked up to query as to whether she had applied that disgusting epithet to me, when suddenly the Swift dove sharply to the right and excessive G's pressed me flat against the cot. The air flew out of my lungs like birds escaping from a cage and I found myself not worrying about what she called me. I was too busy gasping for breath. After what seemed an interminable period of careening, the Swift righted herself and I again felt my stomach becoming a separate unit from my backbone. Kyrene sat up abruptly and rattled off several instructions into the computer, finishing with, "and get his identification. I'm going to nail him." "That, Akki, was another ship trying to turn us into space dust." I sighed and said casually, (Another ship? But how in Gaea did it get past Swift's sensors?) I already knew the answer, but a little prodding never hurt. Kyrene looked down at her hands. "I, uh, turned them off. I wanted to do the whole thing myself." Just like I thought. But I didn't say another word, because it never paid to gloat too much. Ruined the effect. "I know what you're thinking," she said then, making me wonder if perhaps I had lost my touch at mindshielding. "You were thinking that I'm not a good pilot, weren't you?" Whew, I hadn't lost it. Mindshield firmly in place, I countered, (No I wasn't, Kyrene. You know better than that. If I didn't think you were a good pilot I wouldn't be here. I'm not particularly trusting of space travel, you know.) The corners of her lips tugged upward and she said, "Even though you are my Achate and sworn to be with me no matter what?" (Don't get technical.) I sniffed again, but with telepathy it doesn't have quite the same impact, I'm sorry to report. I'd have to come up with something better. (I see some people still have to learn how to take a compliment,) I added huffily. "Sorry. Thanks. But maybe I should use more of Swift's capabilities, like the sensor system and maybe even some more of the auto-pilot..." Her voice trailed off in deep thought and I secretly congratulated myself. I would get her to allow Marie to pilot this ship yet. "No, just the sensor will be enough," she finished. Well, it takes a scratch to become a canyon. I squirmed in the landing cot and Kyrene bent once more to her coordinates. Soon we were taxiing into Ursula Central, the primary spaceport of the capital city of Thalir. It was dark out there. And raining. Lovely.