PYRA AND THE TEKTITES

by Rebecca Melanie Sunquist

Part 13: A New Adventure

...in the previous episode, thanks to the sacrifice of the morrikaru, Pyra was rescued from the depths of Europa by Flanagan. Afterwards, in the canteen of the Institute for XenoCultural Studies, over little boxes containing pellets of freeze-dried ice cream, two of the Institute scientists debriefed Pyra. One of them was the woman, Doctor Mairead O'Rourke, who had helped rescue her by operating the winch...

The ice cream came in three flavors, of which Pyra selected only the brown and the pink. Each pellet made her mouth tingle, and she made faces at the tastes as she answered the questions.

"Seals?" asked Doctor O'Rourke. No longer wearing the outsuit in the sealed environment of the canteen, she looked as if she were on her way to a workout in the zero-gee gym.

Pyra nodded. "That's what they looked like to me. I've seen them in the holos." She punctuated this with a nibble of strawberry.

"What about the other creatures?" asked O'Rourke. "The ones that ate the seals."

"Urrglu. They're like sharks, I think."

O'Rourke's green eyes went round. A tangle of orange hair fell across them, and she swept it aside. "Wait, wait...urrglu? Pyra, how do you know what they are called? Did these seals tell you?"

Across the table from her, Flanagan shook his head minutely. But it was already too late.

"Minna," said Pyra. "My friend. She saved me."

"But they talked to you? They are intelligent? Pyra, this is incredible! Unbelievable!"

"They called me Pyra of the Over. And they didn't talk to me, not exactly. Is there any more of the chocolate flavor?"

O'Rourke continued to bubble. "You can't mean they're telepathic." She turned to Flanagan and added, "We'll have to run some ESP tests on your daughter, to find out what she might be capable of. But do you understand what this means? Possible intelligent life on Europa? It's...it's incredible. We had no idea..."

"Niece," said Flanagan. "Pyra is my niece. And I think both of us would like to rest up for a while before we conduct extensive debriefings. We've had a long day."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course." O'Rourke's eyes lost some of their twinkle. "Please forgive me. And yes, of course, go rest up. We have things to prepare here as it is. And plans to make, to see if we can establish contact with the...with the..."

"Morrikaru," said Pyra, between bites.

Doctor Alvan Collier finally spoke up. He looked like a Dickens accountant, with his thinning brown hair and wire-rimmed spectacles. Unlike O'Rourke, he was dressed in laboratory white. "They would be these seals? And you referred to this 'Minna' as female. How do you know that?"

Pyra shrugged. "It just felt right."

Flanagan stood up. "If it's okay with you, we'll stay aboard the Ventussa and get ourselves cleaned up, and catch some rest. And meet you back here in, say, six hours?"

"I'll come along, too," said O'Rourke. "There are a couple more things I'm curious about. Alvan, you can set everything up for recording and debriefing. I'll be back in an hour to assist."

Over Collier's mild protests, they donned outsuits and hop-shuffled to the docksite, where the Ventussa berthed with her hatch open. Once aboard, Flanagan sealed the hatch and brought the pressure up, so that they could remove the outsuits. Pyra and O'Rourke went into the stateroom while Flanagan waited on the bridge.

"It's my stateroom for now," explained Pyra, sitting down on the lower berth. "Flanagan sleeps in the starboard hold."

"But you don't call him Uncle anything," said O'Rourke. In the light gravity she drifted around the stateroom, as if on tour, pausing at the clothes locker, the shower stall, the storage bins. "Just Flanagan." She unhooked the pull-down table top and lowered it until the braces snapped into place. "What does he use this for?"

"I don't know."

"He's not your uncle, Pyra, is he?"

"He is so!"

"What's his name?"

"Everyone calls him Flanagan."

O'Rourke moved to the berth and sat down beside her. "They say your father is very worried, Pyra. He's looking for you everywhere."

"Oh." Pyra's heart raced. There had been a few moments when she thought about returning. But too much had happened. First Sam, and then Minna. She was making strange friends. And Flanagan had come to her rescue time after time. She was not ready to leave, not now. "Did my father send you?" she asked.

O'Rourke smiled. "How would I have known where to look? No, Pyra, I saw you on the holonews. I don't think Doctor Collier saw you, or he might already have reported you."

The Ventussa trembled slightly. "Oh, we're lifting off," cried Pyra.

She and O'Rourke hastened to the bridge, where Flanagan was already strapped into the captain's chair. "This is irregular," O'Rourke protested. "Redock at once and release me."

And a voice behind them said, "He can't do that." Pyra spun around. It was Taggart, the man with the iron nose. His blue eye squinted at them, though the bridge was well-lit. He held a Sizzler aimed in their general direction. "The Stone is aboard somewhere, or you wouldn't be leaving. So kick this bucket of bolts in the butt, Flanagan, and get us out of here."

Flanagan flashed a smile at O'Rourke. "Sorry, Doc. Looks like you're with us. What course, Taggart?"

"The Leeward Shepherd Moons, of course. Pirate's Cay." He leaned against a bulkhead and motioned for O'Rourke to strap herself in on the other captain's chair. "Might be some ransom in this as well. The Institute ought to pay to get its Doctor back. Maybe something for the girl. Doubt I'll get much for you, though, Flanagan. Besides, it's I who owes you something. Time to collect."

In the Videx, the disk of Europa slipped from view, and was replaced by the vast inkblot of space. Pyra looked to Flanagan for guidance, but he told her nothing, and would not even look at her. She was on her own. What to do, what to do? Doctor O'Rourke seemed calm on the outside, but she was sitting rigidly, on edge--no help there. Pyra's heart thumped. If she was going to be rescued, she would have to do it herself.

And Taggart said, "Just so you all understand...I'm the only one who has to reach Pirate's Cay alive. So if you all behave, we should arrive safely in about two hours. If not..." And he hefted the Sizzler to emphasize his deadly meaning.

Don’t Miss PYRA AND THE TEKTITES, PART 14: 'SHEPHERD MOONS' appearing on this site on 15 July 2003.

PYRA AND THE TEKTITES appears EXCLUSIVELY in KISSES FOR KIDS courtesy of prize-winning writer Rebecca Melanie Sunquist.