The Adventures of Deacon Coombs (55 page)

Rodan sifted through his notes. “As I said before, these chambers on the
H’vington
need manual operation to open after docking and Vespering. Indeed, we will have to board quickly even if Chubby delays security procedures for us. The slightest change in docking procedures could arouse Urzel’s interest.”

Xudur interrupted. “Is there any chance that the chamber has automatic opening controls?”

Chubby sighed, as did Rodan. “Yes, Xudur, there may be controls that Urzel can use to escape.” Rodan beamed at Chubby. “That is why, my goosh, we need you, Chubby, on board the
H’vington
.”

“When you board the
H’vington
, Chubby,” said Deacon, “you will have to locate the chamber, verify that Urzel is indeed inside”—Chubby’s eyes were wide—“by checking each control panel”—Chubby swallowed hard—“and then disengage the security controls just before the
H’vington
Vespers.”

The Zentaurian placed her arm around Chubby. “A very large courageous feat for a little man. I trust you will complete your task.”

Rodan advised the group further. “We must also set up our own force field to contain him so he cannot escape out of the chamber while the
H’vington
is still in the Vesper disc. We must not rely on any force field within the ship.”

Deacon was in agreement so far. “Let me explain what should happen next. We have captured Urzel inside a force field in a temporary compressed state inside the Vesper basin. Then we insert the bait, Nedilli, next to Urzel. Nedilli will be transported to our destination in a compressional chamber to control her stress levels, under the same controls as Urzel. However, we have to release Urzel to kill him. Correct, Toad?”

Rodan nodded to signify his agreement.

“Just where do we intend to release him?” Xudur asked.

“We will remain on board the
H’vington
, as I said, and then be routed to the most remote Vesper station in the Alliance. There the force field will be released to allow Urzel to escape from his confines. The very first thing that Urzel will see will be Nedilli, his mother.”

We will have to count on the sight of Nedilli to distract Urzel, as Nedilli will talk of happier times with the child. Nedilli will lure Urzel outside the ship. Meanwhile, the marksman, enclosed inside Nedilli’s molecules, undetected by Urzel, will take aim. Then she will thin her molecules to permit the marksman to take one shot into the center of Urzel with the photon-neutrino device. Force fields around Nedilli will be automated upon firing. The ship will have to make a rapid escape from their proximity. It will be difficult.”

“You, Deacon,” shouted Xudur with conviction, “seem to be demanding a great deal from a Medullan who just informed us that she will not cooperate.”

“I know what it will take to convince Nedilli.”

Xudur’s demeanor was unyielding. “I demand to know.”

“No, Xudur, it is a private matter.”

“Because I would not approve. No doubt some emotional compromise.”

“Xudur, you must trust me to make the best deal to save billions of lives.”

“Sounds like a conspiracy between you and the Medullans. I shall talk to Landrew privately about this. I demand to know what you will offer the Medullans.”

“Listen to me, Xudur. I will divulge to you the deal after it is consummated. If you disagree, we shall talk to Landrew privately to gain support.”

“Cocky Earthman. However, you have surprised me so far with your skills and your tenacity, so I will consult with you on this matter later. We all know that time grows scarce. I don’t know what you offer the Medullans, but if they take too long to agree to it, then I will assume command of this mission and seek permission from Landrew to take Nedilli forcibly to Earth’s Vesper station. I promise.”

“I believe you, Xudur, but that will not be necessary.”

Xudur puffed out her chest. “Now we should speak of the marksman. We discussed this on Earth. Why hide it? You meant markswoman? Right?”

“It is too early to decide who the bearer is.”

“Bearer? What game do you play? Assassin! Say it! Say it is an assassin! I want to hear that word from you!”

“Xudur, it is too early to say.” Deacon then uttered the words that he desperately did not want to say. “Urzel will detect any living form inside Nedilli’s molecules. Sadly, it will be Gem or Jim—most likely the Owler Gem, based on the specs required.” He looked at Gem.
Wires,
steel,
transistors,
computer.
No.
More
than
that.
He remembered that night in the library when Gem saved his life. He recalled the icy touch of Mydloan’s wire on his throat and thought that to be the end. He recalled the rescue on Nix. Xudur thought that when the time came he would not have the courage to order Urzel’s death. Xudur was wrong. It would take all his courage to send Gem to perform this deed, which would lead to the Owler’s end. Gem’s blue eyes stared back at him.

Xudur was not satisfied. She barked at Rodan for not supporting her position. Chubby ignored her and pretended to gather papers from the floor. Rodan approached Deacon. “When you said marksman, just what weapon did you have in mind?”

“Toad, I was just suggesting a plan whose intent has to be commonly adopted. I did not mean to ignore you. I only assumed that the gravity bomb would have to be fired into Urzel since we have ruled both the photo-neutrino device and the compressional device too risky for reasons previously discussed, although the photo-neutron device is the most certain to be effective.”

Toad whispered to him. “The average life span of a spiritual Medullan, ignoring the dissipation of mass and soul, is five hundred and forty thousand equivalent Earth years. I haven’t told anyone, my goosh, of this. We can’t count on new generations to store this creature.”

Deacon and Xudur replied simultaneously to Rodan: “We won’t.”

“Unless you were referring to a suicide mission, how do you plan to protect Nedilli and the assassin from the blow?” Schlegar asked.

“I was counting on our esteemed physicist, Toad, to design the force field that will save them.”

“There is only one risky way, my chooch. The device is fired into the being. One one-hundredth of a second later, a timing mechanism, my goosh, will trigger a small energy field reaching only yards in front of Nedilli. This field will have enough size and strength to protect Nedilli as a gas, since any forces on the gas will cause expansion at no risk. The marksman may not be so lucky, because solids are at risk. There is another problem.”

“Which is?” asked Xudur.

“The ideal place to conduct an instantaneous explosion to dispose of the monster is in open space, not in a ship or in any confined area. Therefore, there are two ways to save Nedilli and the shooter. One is to have them adrift in space far from impact of the explosions.”

“What is the other?” Xudur asked impatiently.

“The best shot will be to expose the marksman just before implantation of the device.”

“It is as we stated before,” said Deacon. “We need a sacrificial lamb. You said it, Toad, Nedilli in gaseous state can survive the traumatic shock wave; the marksman cannot.” He glanced with forlorn at Gem as he spoke.

“Can’t we launch this device from afar with a heat-seeking device attached?”

“No, Chubby, the only way to ensure success, my goosh, is to keep close to the target. Also, we can’t fire through Nedilli, so she has to thin her molecules and expose the marksman from close range.”

Xudur was curious. “I thought Medullans in the gaseous state were transparent. Won’t Urzel see the assassin inside?”

“Good question. I found on the moon some files about the arousal of Medullans and their ability to take on an opaque appearance in the gaseous state. We will have to ask Nedilli to achieve this state and color her molecules to hide the Owler.”

“How much space do we need to execute the weapon?”

“About twenty square miles to be sure. Everything in that area will be jostled, hurled, and damaged. However, my calculations are theoretical. I do know that close range is needed for the shot.” As Rodan talked, he performed calculations on his hand calculator.

“What about the photo-neutron bomb, Toad?”

“Well, I have new thoughts on that. Any ship releasing Nedilli and the shooter will have to speed a thousand miles away to avoid damage. Both Nedilli and the shooter will perish, even with a force field around them. Any inhabitants of the
G’uillger
are also at risk from the shock wave.”

“The bargain I strike with Nedilli involves her living.”

“Just as I thought, Coombs,” said Xudur. “Your sympathies will be the death of all of us. Remember that. There is always me, who could sacrifice herself for the many.”

“You can’t, Xudur. Urzel will detect your body pulse, sense something odd on the metabolism. The assassin must be an Owler.” Both Jim and Gem stood at attention, as they had from the beginning of this assignment, awaiting instructions from the master, as always.

“You are not the High Council, Coombs.” The princess stormed out of the room with Schlegar in tow as Jim and Gem remained attentive in the corner.

Rodan motioned to Deacon to come closer and sit directly in front of him. Chubby joined them after he locked the door. Deacon sensed a mood of secrecy. “There is a serious problem with my calculations, Deacon, that can’t be explained. You see, I have calculated the radius of the maximum effects of the current gravity field on Medulla. In order for the Medullans to escape these effects, they must transform further into gases with certain electron orbitals. As I calculated this threshold, oh my goosh, as I calculated the outer effects of the gravity field from planet Medulla, as I… oh my goosh, something is very wrong.”

Deacon sat up straight and turned to check their privacy. “Which is?”

“Well, the volume and space that the Medullans currently occupy is so great that it… ah, ah… now exceeds the forces that contain these spirits to the planet.”

“I don’t comprehend what you say.”

“Well, the point is, Deacon, that there exists the high probability that a Medullan can come into our dimensions on a planet anywhere in our worlds and exist as this superior spirit in that world right now. Maybe even dwell on the planet as mass but without the shivering and the quaking right now. They just don’t know it.”

“So the Medullans have already reached the far exterior and can move into our spaces elsewhere.”

Chubby was anxious. “For sure the comfortable way to travel in outer space for Urzel is the chambers on the
H’vington
. Earlier, when I told you that Urzel departed on the
H’vington
from Globiana and Aralia just after the deaths of Geor and Como, I omitted in front of Schlegar and Xudur to inform you that the
H’vington
departed each planet after an event, but in the case of Geor’s death, the
H’vington
arrived after Geor’s death to retrieve Urzel.”

“You are telling me that Urzel found another way to get to Globiana.”

“Precisely, my chooch, and I think that he has discovered that he can travel through this new dimension to get to wherever he wants to go. He’s found out that the Medullans on Medulla are outside the natural force fields and can use this to travel down paths to… travel anywhere.”

“So,” Deacon said, “there exists the possibility that any Medullan can invade our privacy right now. Urzel is the first to venture beyond, using the dimensions of their space to propel him to us! The Medullans don’t know it, but they can at least visit us as spirits anytime they want.” His cheeks were riddled with goose bumps as he spoke these last few words.

Chubby was uneasy. “Do you think that they suspect this by observing Urzel?”

“Urzel knows. That’s trouble enough.”

Rodan explained further. “I have seen wondrous things before in physics. But never have I seen electron orbitals with spins that defy nature and thus occupy space that we can’t measure or physically see. These pathways could indeed provide portholes to new horizons, possibly new universes.

“Deacon, this is all new to me. I need time to digest it. All I know is that Urzel doesn’t have to take the
H’vington
to ride around the galaxy. I postulate though that it must be inconvenient or painful in this dimension, because Chubby and I were able to confirm that he does travel in the
H’vington
frequently.”

“Let us three keep this to ourselves until another time. Agreed?” Chubby and Rodan consented.

“Chubby, you must depart soon to lay your plans to join the
H’vington
.”

“My comrades seek the
H’vington,
and Jim has refueled and readied the
Heritage
to depart at a moment’s notice. I am uneasy that my fellows have not alerted me to the ship’s whereabouts. If it turns out to be Earth, then I suspect we will all be riding on the
Heritage
.”

“If the
H’vington
is not on Jabu, then where is it?” asked Deacon. “It could mean that Urzel has Jabu stabilized under his control and is ready to attack his next target. Toad, I need you to investigate if there are any other means to eliminate Urzel without sacrificing lives.”

“I think I have exhausted them, but I know your worry. You think that the Medullans will not approve Nedilli to participate unless we guarantee her safety. In any death scene for Urzel, that will be difficult to do.”

“Exactly, and I don’t think that I can convince Nedilli to enclose her son with her molecules and terminate them both. I might be able to convince her to hide the marksman and save herself. I need to seek out Schlegar and converse with him.”

Deacon left Rodan and Chubby behind as he went to search for the doctor. He soon located him in his quarters with Gem, where he noticed the whiteness in his face. “Deacon, wait until you view the footage that Gem acquired on the planet. What hideous creatures, these Medullans. They change shape, color; they look like a mass of open sores and jelly thrown together with discolored moles. They hover, crater, expand, contract, and dart, all with terrible, sickly appearances. To think that this is mankind’s greatest achievement in evolution. Disgusting. Thank heavens for the protective visors we wore.” He waved his head of hair.