The Adventures of Deacon Coombs (35 page)

In a burst, they were inside, Gem starting the engines and Jim fending off unwanted curious Owlers. As Deacon ascended to his personal deck, he was confronted by a mass of computer printouts situated in front of a small computer and a multitude of discs and logs piled high in a spew of sloppiness. To his amazement, he found Lyanna squatting behind the mess. “You will need all this data,” she said. She planted a kiss on his cheek and then hastily pranced down the stairs and disappeared before he could speak and say his good-byes. Drowning in disappointment again, he stood there absorbing what had just transpired.

Soon a voice behind him said, “Permission to board, sir?” He looked down the stairs. It was Lyanna. “I have completed my work here on Brebouillis. I understand from speaking to the Owlers earlier that this ship travels to Earth. I can be of more use to you if I am with you than I can here on Brebouillis without you. I have missed Earth. I missed you. I’m not letting you get away without me this time. I want to go with you, and you won’t be disappointed in my research efforts. That will be my role—senior research analyst. Quobit has already agreed.”

Quobit sheepishly nodded an affirmation and said, “I think this new mate will not easily be discouraged.”

Deacon felt warm all over. “I have a very specific mission on Earth. It could be dangerous, perhaps even fatal.”

“Permission to board, sir?” she said again, standing at attention.

Jim yelled from below. “Please help her locate the seatbelt, sire. We are blasting off for the Vesper station!”

“Permission granted,” said Deacon. “Please come closer.” He extended his hand to help her climb the last few stairs. He then led her to a seat beside his, the one that Travers had formerly occupied. The
Heritage
jerked, and they were unable to maintain their balance. In the process, they tumbled to the floor, laughing; Lyanna ended up on top. Sheepishly Deacon said, “I must say, you took my advice to come closer literally.”

Quobit grabbed her under her waist and hoisted her up and into her seat. Deacon helped himself.

“Seatbelts, please,” Quobit insisted.

“This could be dangerous. I wasn’t kidding,” said Deacon.

“I am due for a bout of excitement,” Lyanna replied. “Schlegar’s erratic behavior frightened me. He really is like a second father to me, though. I think he’s scared of the unknown. That’s exactly what you presented him with—the unknown.”

The
Heritage
bypassed local traffic to jump into the basin to prepare for Vespering. Jim appeared with the liquid remedies to lessen the demolecularization. In his usual humorous way, he added, “Aperitifs, anyone?”

Lyanna showed the initiative to hold hands with Deacon during the Vespering process. The ship dematerialized while they held on to each other tightly. At the Vesper station near Earth, the
Heritage
reatomized to produce a chain of events. The recognition of the craft prompted engineers at the station to alert the Alliance as to her arrival, and Landrew personally sent greetings and informed them of his anticipation to meet them soon. Deacon, however, had other ideas.

The
Heritage
rose higher and higher as Deacon leaned forward in his seat. Gradually, the lovely blue colors of planet Earth became visible. Lyanna smiled at Quobit and Deacon in turn as she said, “Earth.”

Gem appeared and presented the welcome from Landrew.

“They won’t find us,” Deacon said.

“What plan have you hatched?” asked Quobit.

“To find Chubby Eaves and Urzel.”

“Here? On Earth?”

“Affirmative. Here on Earth. We must follow the only clues that we possess. Travers, in his dying words, whispered to me to find Chubby Eaves, for he knows the identity of the villain. Our Aralian friend I’obo informed us that Chubby Eaves is here on Earth, where he has secretly been since we left Aralia for Nix. So we will follow him. More importantly, he is in Asianda, in the port of Ketapongo, awaiting a new mission. Please excuse me, for I have sleuthing to do in the next hour as we journey. In the meantime”—he spied Lyanna’s mess of papers in the middle of the room—“good housekeeping rules may help when we disembark. The
Heritage
has served us well, but we must take the shuttle to Ketapongo because that way we can activate and enter this port of call undetected.”

As Jim and Gem were engaged in conversation with authorities to land the
Heritage
in Liberty City, Deacon pulled Gem aside. “You and Jim must arrange to jettison us in the shuttle before the
Heritage
lands. Activate the signal disruption field so we can avoid detection, and then program the
Heritage
to land in Liberty City on autopilot. Make sure you create signals on the
Heritage
that account for two Owlers and three humans.”

“Yes, Master, the computer can navigate and then dock the ship successfully. Jim and I will ensure readings disguise our absence. We five, plus the baggage and the computers, will fit in the shuttle snugly to land in Ketapongo.”

“You are positive that we can land undetected?”

“On such a small shuttle craft, it would be easy to place a shield around the craft to make us invisible until docking. Then we would need the assistance of controllers on the ground to not report us to Liberty once we land.”

“Does the authority of Bothwen override any necessary reports? And do we require identifications to land?”

“We have many identities for the shuttle, you, Quobit, and Lyanna. Jim and I will arrange secure passage.”

“We need to buy time to perform some perfunctory investigations on our own. Program the ship to take the longest route to Liberty City by adding an extra day. Construct a tape that cites mechanical docking problems as an excuse to circle the globe. Pass over Asianda on the initial entry route so we can make an early escape in the shuttle.”

“Yes, Master. What if officials on Earth want to speak to you or communicate by computer?”

“Tell them I am deathly ill, hoarse with a bronchial infection, and resting to get my strength back.”

Lyanna came down to the lower level after prettying herself; she had combed her long brown hair to remove any messy threads. Upon her return, Quobit sparked a new round of questions. “Deacon, I think that Schlegar suffers from Travers’s death more than he cares to admit. However, share with Lyanna and me what we hope to find in Ketapongo.”

“The evidence that Gem and I gathered on Nix indicates that an Asiandan has visited Nix recently. Thus, on Earth, in Ketapongo, we seek Kam Chuen, a peer, a fellow detective. From all the accounts that Gem and Jim amassed on Brebouillis and Earth, he is the only Earthman to venture to Medulla more than once in the past twenty years. Look.” He pointed to a log that fingered Chuen. “Four times in two years. Plus, he is Asiandan, plus he lives in the same city Chubby Eaves visits, Ketapongo. But here is the startling evidence. Chuen is the only Earthman ever to be allowed to land on the planet’s surface, which is contrary to Medullan laws. And why would an Earthman venture to such hostile conditions on Medulla four times?”

Quobit then spoke up. “I understand that Medulla’s atmosphere has a soupy stench that is quite repulsive to anyone. It causes severe depression to alien minds after even short exposures. No one from Jabu is permitted to land there, since the Medullans themselves are physically repulsive creatures. So, venturing four times in two years, I agree, is anomalous and worth investigating. But are there any other leads?”

“A few; however, the hairs that Gem and I found tempt me to find this human first.”

“What if this lead is a dead end?”

“Then, Quobit, I’ll turn over the investigation to Alliance Special Forces. We buy only a day, maybe two, before Landrew’s security team catches up to us. We only have time to investigate one lead, and that is Kam Chuen.”

“You seem so sure about Chuen.”

Deacon smiled. “I’obo informed Gem that Chubby Eaves landed in Ketapongo only days after I visited him in the hills of Glagn and has not departed yet. His mission to leave has been delayed three times by orders of the trade union. That represents too much of a coincidence, with Chubby and Kam Chuen both in Ketapongo at the same time. Agree?”

“You are the sleuth.”

“I must warn you that this will be a dangerous mission. Urzel made a fatal mistake on Nix: he did not kill me. He made a second mistake in flight, for he missed exterminating me a second time. And he sent Morris Mydloan in his place to exterminate me in the library in Liberty and failed. So I think he revealed to me, inadvertently, that he fears me. I know not how, or why, but he does fear me, and I have to discover why.”

“How does Chubby fit into this?” asked Lyanna.

“Travers begged me with his dying words to find Chubby Eaves, and I will. Until I do so, I will be unable to focus on any other candidates from the information we have.”

“Do you think that Chubby also knows of Chuen’s visits to Medulla?”

“Yes. Not difficult for a space trader to uncover.”

“Deacon, I don’t get it. Why would Urzel send Morris to Earth to exterminate you while it is highly possible that Urzel himself journeyed to Aralia, and then Globiana, to kill Como and Geor?”

“I wish I could answer your question, Lyanna. There is something more pressing that gnaws at me, but I won’t tell you what until my meeting with Chubby.” In his mind, Deacon had to live with a terrifying thought of what monster might be awaiting them on Earth.

The Search
for Urzel

Free fall

“Chubby Eaves departed to Ketapongo soon after we left for Nix. According to Quobit, who has been monitoring his activity through I’obo’s intelligence, his trade ship has been delayed there, and he and the ship have remained in Ketapongo since. I think that Chubby was bluffing in his requests to accompany Travers and me to Nix. I think he knew all along that I would not permit him to accompany us. His argument with me was a diversion for me to worry about rather than trace his whereabouts after we departed. He pitched a great piece of acting to me. His intention all along was for me to worry that he followed us while he went to Ketapongo on a clandestine mission.” Deacon smiled as he recalled how he had been taken in by Chubby’s performance.

He continued to address the four of them. “Most of all, the traders’ union would never let their most valuable piece of property, Travers, travel to a most dangerous location, possibly never to return, unless it served a valuable purpose. A hero deserves a better fate than to go to Bogeyland and die. I now know that Chubby Eaves needed more time to complete his own investigation for the Union of Space Traders; he needed to buy time. So I served a greater twofold purpose. I went to find Urzel with Travers, and I led the Alliance away from Earth, while Chubby Eaves traveled to Earth to investigate the best lead in this case. How clever he was.”

Quobit spoke up. “I have created this travel log on Chubby with I’obo’s assistance.” She opened it on the table and displayed it. “Look, he commands the Aralian trade ship
C’oulbaa
to Earth and arrives here, and since his landing, the
C’oulbaa
has conveniently developed engine problems. Chubby has ordered skeleton staff to remain on board. I’obo also informed me that the next destination of the
C’oulbaa
is unidentified. The evidence speaks for itself, as the ship is disabled and its next mission unknown.”

Lyanna asked, “Deacon, how can you be so sure that Chubby searches for this Kam Chuen?”

“I can only guess that Chubby knows what we know—that Urzel is an Earthling, that Kam Chuen has journeyed to Medulla an unusual number of times, and that Ketapongo is the residence of Kam Chuen.”

“How does Chubby know that Urzel is an Earthling? You seemed to state that conclusion boldly.”

“I have a theory… thanks to you, Lyanna.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You taught me how to penetrate people’s minds and read them more effectively. On Aralia, when Chubby recited Travers’s tale, he did so with genuine fear in his voice and in his thoughts. I invaded his mind, and when I opened it up, guess what?”

“You felt genuine fear! You think that Chubby was recounting his tale—that he and Travers both witnessed the devil.”

“Exactly. The horror in his mind overwhelmed me. At first I thought it to be Travers’s mind. But it wasn’t. It was the thoughts and fears of Chubby Eaves, and when he realized that I was tapping him, he disturbed me in the cave by shaking me to break the communication. Twice he did this! I have a hunch that Chubby has met Urzel in a former life.”

Jim offered another idea. “There was also a discrepancy about the number of patients at Brebouillis and the number of occupants that traveled on the
Sleigher
when it arrived at the Aralian Vesper disc. I think Deacon is also saying that Chubby accounts for the discrepancy.”

Lyanna then spoke. “You think that Travers was willing to potentially sacrifice himself if needed and venture with you to Nix to keep, as we say, the scent away from Chubby Eaves.”

“Yes. I believe, my dear, that Chubby Eaves is hunting Urzel! And we had better catch up to him soon, for he has a significant head start on us. He may require our assistance.”

“Deacon, I am always inquisitive,” Quobit said. “If Chubby knows of Urzel’s powers, why is Chubby undertaking this manhunt himself?”

“I don’t know. However, I will affirmatively state that Chubby Eaves knows a great deal more about this creature than he has led me to believe. He and Travers tried to throw me off the scent by telling me some far-fetched Aralian legend of a monster named Crawnshee returning from hell at this time.”

“Deacon,” Lyanna asked, totally mystified, “how can Urzel’s trail be on Earth when you saw him on Nix? Also, you described a creature whose disguise will not be possible on Earth.”

“Questions, questions, questions. I don’t have answers yet.”

Gem interrupted to announce that all the plans were set to depart. “Master, the ship will automatically dock in Liberty City in two days while we have clearance to land in Ketapongo in secret immediately. You three humans should rest now, for when we dock, we will have to travel secretly over land out of the Ketapongo port area. There is a busy schedule to look forward to.”

Deacon leaned over to Lyanna and said, “When we land in Ketapongo, I’ll promise that I will confide in you and answer that last question.”

Gem issued doses of relaxants and the Owler stood over them until they were unconscious. Given that Deacon was hyper about the upcoming mission, he welcomed the serum to shift his mind into soothing dreams. Mother Earth provided some security; so did Lyanna’s presence, so did Quobit as security, and so did the hope of seeing Moonbeam again. The fact that Chubby was here was encouraging to Deacon, for he felt that they could construct an alliance with him—but it would not be easy.

While Deacon slept, Jim and Gem continued to load the shuttle and prepare for their descent into Asianda. Jim was also in haste to recheck the data gathered on Brebouillis to refine the list of potential candidates who could give rise to Urzel. Such criteria in the screening included trips to outer space, parentage, Uscher zone tests, age, and a diagnosis of insanity with brilliance. Jim had earlier tried to tell Deacon that the candidate Chuen really wasn’t a match at all except for two of the eight criteria: his voyages to Medulla and the permission for him to land on the planet’s surface.

When Lyanna awoke, Deacon was on the floor reading, his back to her. As she rose, he turned and thought how lovely she looked. Her form was strikingly beautiful in the dim rosy lights. She smiled. “I’m flattered.”

Deacon had left his mind unguarded for that moment as he admired her. “I’m so embarrassed. I keep forgetting.”

“Why are you embarrassed?”

“I never had… a chance to say such things before… to express my feelings… you know, to a lady.”

“Say it aloud to me. Right now.”

“I’m busy scanning tapes—”

Lyanna cut him off. “And what will your excuse be tomorrow?”

He blushed. “Now? Lyanna, we land soon. And Quobit might overhear.”

“Just pretend I am not here,” Quobit said.

“Deacon, I want to be your friend. Treat me like your friend and express your feelings to me. Flatter me.”

“What do you want me to say?’

“The truth. Whatever feelings you have about me.”

“It’s difficult. I’ve never had the chance to converse about these matters.”

“I’ll help you.” She plummeted beside him, turned his face, and kissed him hard on the lips. “Encouraged?” Deacon blushed; she giggled.

“You are so beautiful to me,” said Deacon. “My confidence level rises because you’re near.” His voice reached a crescendo. “You give me a strength that I have never known.”

“I am flattered, for you, Deacon Coombs, are an excitement in my life that has been missing. You are handsome, intelligent, and so brave.”

“Me? I’m ordinary.”

“No. You are exciting.”

“I’m a bore.”

“Stop it! You are exciting and adventurous. I didn’t see Landrew venture to Nix to risk his life for the safety of all mankind, or Schlegar. You are courageous, Deacon Coombs, and Quobit informed me of your bravery during the fight in the cave on Nix.”

“I hide fear well.”

“Deacon! You need to learn to accept a compliment. If we are to be friends, good friends, then I want to hear you accept my compliments. It makes me feel good.”

Sheepishly, he lowered his head. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Perhaps, as you have done before, you can teach me.”

“Okay. And in return you will allow me to traipse around Earth with you.”

“Only to an extent, Lyanna, for I wouldn’t want any harm to come to you.”

“I accompany you on this mission or you are on your own in love.”

He bowed his head to think about what she had said. “You and I, we are complementary, Deacon. You have been hiding behind fame all your life, just waiting for someone like me to come along. I am a bold and confident woman here to win you over.”

“Just who
is
someone like you?”

“I am the one who is going to accept all the feelings that are locked inside you. I’m the one who is going to teach you how to unlock them. You have always been a curio, a hero, a legendary detective of our times, and never a lover. Well, here’s your chance.”

They rose, and Deacon raised his head. “Will you be my little spy?” he asked.

Grinning from ear to ear, Lyanna stood in front of him, her body swaying to and fro with extreme exaggeration, and placed her arms around his neck. “Welcome,” she replied. She kissed him, and then sleekly strolling backward, she said, “I’m honored. I’d better finish packing up our notes.”

“So should I,” Deacon replied.

Lyanna danced across the room toward her friend Quobit, realizing that this detective of high ego had just melted in front of her. Standing in the portal, she watched him go about his business.

Jim was animated as he approached Deacon. “Master, please come below immediately and observe this synthesis you asked us to perform.” Deacon followed, and as he did so, he caught Lyanna eyeing him from her recess, so he winked at her as he left the deck and descended.

On the lower deck, Jim had images strewn over all over the monitors. “Master, all the beings born on Earth who have very abnormal powers of the Uscher zone are summated here on these pages. But as you can clearly see, there are two problems.” Jim supported the specifics by pointing to three large screens.

“None of these humans have the abilities that you and Gem witnessed on Nix—that is, to reach out and utilize the power over thousands of people not in close proximity. Most disturbing is the fact that all of these individuals can be accounted for on Earth when Urzel was witnessed on Nix, and can also be accounted for on Earth or elsewhere when Geor and Como died. Kam Chuen possesses none of these extreme mental abilities.”

“My conclusion, Jim, is that someone has wiped clean the records of our suspect.”

“The files have not been tampered with,” said Jim.

“How do you know that?”

“These records of the Uscher zone results have an input that does not allow an erasure of records. There exists no overriding code. Plus, even if it was manually erased, according to the commands Gem and I found, it would default to a security file that we have access to. Not even Schlegar and Landrew can manipulate that file and erase the data.”

“Here”—he pointed to an example—“is the only copy of a manually terminated file, which defaulted to the top-security files.”

Deacon noted that this was the file of Morris Mydloan, rehabilitated—an experiment gone awry. “Thank you, Jim. I would like to peruse the Uscher zone file myself just to see if I recognize any names or patterns.” He spent the next hour examining the top-security file, absorbing each detail, but there were no surprises and he gleaned no new information. Later he summoned Jim back.

“Did you absolutely confirm the whereabouts of Kam Chuen when Como and Geor were killed?”

“Yes, Deacon, he was on Earth when Como was killed. Chuen was on Earth for Geor’s murder and on Earth while we were on Nix.”

“Depressing! I feel that the demon’s name is right here in front of us. But where, Jim? He must be an offspring of past generations born off Earth.”

“There is no record of two parents bearing such a child of mental superiority.”

“Gem, as I inspected these profiles of heartbeats that you recorded on Nix, something peculiar occurred to me during my last examination.”

“Yes, Master.”

Deacon displayed the data on the screen. “I compared these heartbeat patterns with those of myself and other Earthmen. Look at this strong, infrequent double beat. Here and here and here.” Digging into his journal, he checked his previous notes and recited them to Gem. “It occurs in a regular pattern, every thirtieth heartbeat, in no relationship to the normalized Earth heartbeat and the background beats. This pattern you recorded could conceivably be decoupled into two separate profiles. Any thoughts on this matter? Or am I force-fitting the data?”

“I shall investigate further for you, Master. I applaud your observations, but I have already cross-checked this heartbeat against all other races in our galaxy, and nothing comes close to this profile, whether it be one profile or two or three. This being has the biochemistry of an Earthman.”

Deacon was deflated. “Well, check again.”

“I will, Master.”

“When we land, make sure that we bring the heartbeat recorder with us so we can use it to locate Chubby Eaves.”

“Master, I will do so. I just want to remind you that Ketapongo is the second-busiest interplanetary port on Earth and that at any one time there are thousands of Aralians in the city of Ketapongo.”

“I didn’t infer that it would be easy. I know that Aralians have identical or nearly identical heartbeats. It is just one device we will need to employ. Besides, if and when we locate this Kam Chuen, I will be very interested in his heart’s profile.”

When Lyanna and Quobit joined them in the shuttle, Deacon revealed the plan to them. Jim would accompany him to the docks, where they would commence to track Chubby’s whereabouts, discover the status of the
C’oulbaa
, and in particular ask about Chubby’s next flight plans. Deacon would use his Bothwen identity. They would take the voice verification machine with them. Deacon asked Quobit to accompany Gem to the municipal offices to determine the current whereabouts and residence of Kam Chuen. “Conduct a criminal and civil background check on Chuen,” he said. “Try to verify the times of the trips to Medulla. See if there are any discrepancies between the database on Brebouillis and the flight plans on record. Construct a dossier on his character and determine his habits.”