“Hixxx, I’m the leader of our people,” Jeff said, Commander Voice on Full. “I apologize for our killing one of yours.”
“It was in self-defense,” Hixxx said. “We thought you were like them,” he nodded his head toward Dopey and Grumpy, “here to harm us. But after hearing your distress about how we have been treated, we realized that you are not. I would speak with your leader.” Jeff took a step forward. Hixxx laughed. It was pretty hissy, but not as bad as it could have been. “I mean her,” he nodded toward me, “your mate. It is clear who wears the scales.”
“I love that term! And I’m Kitty.” Took Jeff’s hand. “But we do try to do it together.”
“As you will. I must submerge and will be right back.”
“Thanks, baby,” Jeff said. “I’m not even feeling emasculated. Much.”
“Any time,” I said, as we went over to where we’d just escaped from only a few minutes earlier. “And you’re still the hottest thing on two legs, Jeff, and, trust me, also the most male, so no worries.”
He grinned. “Good to know.”
CHAPTER 41
WE REACHED THE EDGE. There was black water all the way up to the land now, and I couldn’t spot any of the Habitrail. Not that I was trying too hard to look. Most of me wanted to run away. But I didn’t, even though Hixxx was, for me, a giant version of my biggest pathological fear. I went because Hixxx was sentient and that’s what you did—you met with the sentient beings and tried to work things out, regardless of what they looked like.
Oh, sure, I had a death grip on Jeff’s hand, but that was to be expected. Even managed not to scream when Hixxx re-emerged, to “King of the Night Time World” by Kiss. Algar was clearly on his soundtrack portion of the festivities. Oh well, at least he was enjoying himself. Someone should be.
“You say you can fix the animals?” Jeff asked, once Hixxx’s head was fully out of the water.
“Yes. We have a healing area deep in our waters that can return the wounded to how they were prior. It cannot work on mortal wounds, but the animals still have their insides intact, they are just in the wrong places. By doing this, however, they will become one with our planet, and will not be able to return to yours. But it is the only way to save them from what has been done.”
“I don’t know how they’d survive on Earth, after what was done to them,” I said. “Will your water affect us negatively?”
“Not to our knowledge. It might make you stronger in any telepathic gifts you possess, as it did with him.” He looked at SuperBun, who I was still holding in my free arm. “But it will not harm any living thing. That is why the other animals, the ones so distorted, still live—they have our water sustaining them.”
“Well, that’s good to know. And, by the way, something to probably not share with the cosmos at large.” Resolved to ensure that we put some kind of protection on this planet, so others couldn’t come and steal the black water and the sea serpents, or worse. “But then, why does the water affect machinery negatively?”
“We are not sure. The supposition is that the water contains the remains of all of my people within it. We think that we must possess something within us that negatively affects nonorganic things that move, versus nonorganic things that do not move. Beyond that, we have had no time for study, due to those.” He nodded his head toward Dopey and Grumpy.
“Our shuttle’s toast then,” I told Jeff. “It got drenched.” Still didn’t see it anywhere, but maybe that meant it had dissolved or something.
“No,” Hixxx said. “For whatever reason, we have found that we do not affect ships that fly. Again, we have had too few examples and no time for study. Now that we are freed, however, and know of the greater galaxy around us, we will begin that study in earnest.”
“Did Dopey teach you?” This seemed unlikely though possible.
Hixxx did his hissy laugh. “No. You did. Your arrival, all that you all spoke of. We understood you and understood there was much out there that we have no knowledge of. The few visitors we have had now make sense to us, as does all that has happened. We are unlikely to reach other planets, seeing as we must breathe our water to survive. But the knowledge that they are there is . . . quite wonderful, really.”
“Don’t bet on not going. We have friends who’ve figured out how to help their very large underwater friends to travel on land and through space. I’m sure they could help your people to do so, too.”
“We will welcome any friends of yours, and take their assistance gladly,” Hixxx said.
“And we’ll ensure we have safeguards so you can be sure they’re really our friends, too.” Once I was home, in addition to ensuring that Chuckie created a really great sign, countersign, counter-counter sign, and special secret handshake for this planet, I was going to make an official Galactic Decree that said that this planet was under Earth and Alpha Four’s protection. And then ensure we had a lot of Alpha Four battlecruisers hanging about in their solar space, whether or not that annoyed their not-so-helpful Nebula Neighbors. If, you know, we ever got home.
“We might be able to determine what’s in the water that causes only some machines to malfunction, too,” Jeff said. “But it would take time and require that you allow people from outside your world to be here and study you.”
“Which they’d have to do in order to help you travel out of the water, anyway.”
“We are likely to agree,” Hixxx said. “Now that we know there is a greater galaxy out there, we would like to become a part of it.”
My music changed to “Forest for the Trees” by Huey Lewis & the News. Nice to know Algar wanted to be sure I wasn’t forgetting something. “What about the tree people?”
“I do not know who you mean,” Hixxx said.
“They’re originally from your sister planet,” Jeff said. “It would be the celestial body you see the most easily, after your sun.”
Realized that while we were all okay, these other beings weren’t. “Hixxx, we need to determine what happened to them—another indigenous people that Dopey and Grumpy affected, most likely negatively.”
“I understand. I must submerge again. Go deal with that, I will return shortly.”
Jeff and I used hyperspeed to get back to the others. Noted that most of our away team wasn’t here, which was kind of a relief—someone had listened to us, potentially for the first time ever, telling them to get out of here. However and in a total Shocker Alert Moment, Tim, Reader, and Chuckie had ignored those orders and were now with Christopher, Siler, Wruck, and the Sick Santa Duo. Once we were back, the Poofs went small and all piled into my purse. Didn’t feel any heavier.
“Everyone else is back on the ship,” Reader said. “We wanted to be sure we had people up there ready to shoot or fly down, as needed. Or just hang out and ensure that the ship’s repaired sooner as opposed to later.”