The Adventures of Deacon Coombs (60 page)

Straight ahead, Jim appeared to break a faint smile. In an instant, Deacon caved at the knees and felt his stomach acid churn into his mouth as they plummeted into the disc, the landscape outside nothing more than a purple blur as they reached the
H’vington
instantly. Outside he witnessed the miracle of Vespering as a shimmering white mass gradually took the shape of a spaceship with vaguely discernible outlines of figures inside.

The signal to disembark sounded. A small, narrow chute extended and connected them to the main deck of the
H’vington
, where life forms were still assembling. As they filed out, they appeared to walk into thin, misty air ahead. Their intrusion obviously indicated that Chubby had manually and successfully disabled the security system, but security patrols would soon be alerted to the presence of the unauthorized visitors.

The noise was deafening as materializing Owlers and crew alike questioned the presence of Alliance forces, with one being asking for the identity of the leader, demanding explanations for this seizure. Nedilli’s chamber glided to the elevator bank through the chaos, with Xudur and Jim’s help, and was soon gone. The last image that Deacon saw of Xudur, she had her laser gun extracted, ready to disarm or fire into any dissenter.

Deacon took charge on the bridge, continuing to oversee the roundup of the
H’vington
’s crew by Alliance security. Meanwhile, Gem moved to the command center and reprogrammed the
H’vington
’s next route. No time to unload the crewmen. They were taken to an assembly area on a lower deck to be subdued during the next leg of Vespering.

“What is the meaning of this?” The captain shouted at Deacon, his loud voice penetrating the din.

“All you need to know is that, by the power vested in me, the Tetrad Alliance has seized your ship to perform a mercy mission of utmost urgency, and that this ship will be returned to you at its conclusion. Your cooperation is commanded. Perhaps you recognized the Zentaurian, Princess Xudur, from the High Council. Sit down, Captain; there is no time for other explanations. Consume your potion now. We are Vespering immediately.”

There were a few dissenters being subdued by Alliance Owlers in the far corner. Unless they consumed the liquid medicine to lessen the shock of Vespering, they would incur severe space sickness upon rematerializing. “I suggest you talk to those three crewmen to point out the situation, or we will have to stun them.” The captain complied and strode dutifully to converse with his men. Now Alliance forces had complete control.

Deacon positioned himself beside Gem, his clammy palms sticking to the console, his brow beading, his voice unsteady as he yelled to Rodan. “Don’t forget your potion, Toad. We are Vespering any moment.”

“Oh my chooch! This is so exciting.”

Deacon thought of other adjectives to describe the fear upwelling into his esophagus. The Vesper station crew indicated a clear path as the lights around the circumference of the disc started to blaze. Deacon anxiously awaited Xudur’s signal. It seemed to be taking forever. Was something amiss down on the deck?

Then the confirmation came in the form of the previously agreed-upon code on the dashboard. Gem initiated the Vesper process from inside the ship with the contact of engineers in the control center above. Dials twirled in front of the Owler; buttons were pressed. Deacon sat back, closed his eyes, and felt nauseated. The sweat on his back bonded his shirt to the chair.

The countdown began as he pulled his buckle tighter. Through his moist eyelids, he spied the counter. Then he heard that screech that made his blood curdle as Vespering commenced, the sound of the energy particles engulfing and abrading the outside of the ship. Soon those particles would be here. The computer verified thirty seconds just as he turned to see Rodan, his eyes filled with terror as the sound became deafening.

He extended his hand to Rodan’s as the little physicist shook. Rodan’s oval face was bleached.

“Twenty-three… twenty-two…”

“Toad! It’s okay.” Rodan was trembling. His thick lips were limp and pouty as he tried desperately to spit out words to Deacon.

“Eighteen… seventeen…”

“Toad! What’s wrong?” He looked like he might be having a seizure. Now Deacon was concerned.

Deacon was petrified as Rodan’s eyes protruded from their sockets. “Don’t Vesper!” Deacon leaned over to Gem. “Can we halt Vespering?”

“Twelve… eleven…”

Toad squeezed Deacon’s hand. “Stop it! Stop it! Look!”

Deacon’s heart palpitated and his knees trembled as he shared Toad’s concern. The dials on chamber fifteen on the screen were registering zero pressure and normal temperature. Urzel was not in the chamber.

Deacon unstrapped himself and yelled to Gem, saying, “Stop the Vespering! Gem! I order you!”

“Four… three…”

Deacon jumped a rail and reached a communication device; he summoned Xudur and screamed at Gem. “Urzel’s escaped. He’s not in the chamber! Stop the Vespering.”

“One…”

Deacon swallowed hard as objects became mere forms, the desk in front of him hollow but miraculously holding his weight. He expected to awaken, feeling the post-travel effects of Vespering, with those omnipresent associated aches. It didn’t happen. They were still in dock. The console was coming back into focus. The bridge was buzzing as Xudur dispatched orders to the Owler patrol. He ran to Rodan to settle him down, made a confirming note of the temperatures and pressures in chamber fifteen, and then descended in the lift with a dozen Owlers to find the activity below chaotic.

As he followed the Owlers down the aisle, he bumped into Xudur coming the opposite way. “Xudur, we have to shut off the force field around the container to absolutely confirm if Urzel is really not inside. We have no choice. We can’t waste time by beaming if Urzel is here on the moon or loose on this ship. Where’s Chubby?”

“He’s okay. I met him on this deck just as I arrived to initiate the field. That Aralian swore to me that Urzel was in that chamber, and according to the readings that Toad gave me, he was still there when we arrived and activated the force field around it.”

Xudur drew her weapon, as did Jim and the other Owlers. Jim disengaged the force field, and it whirred to a silence. Deacon’s heart jumped as a noise stirred from within the chamber. He grabbed hold of himself to approach and read the dials. He only needed a second to realize that Urzel was not inside.

Jim said, “Xudur, Master, I read a being inside.” Just as he said this, the portal to the vat opened automatically, and Deacon’s chest heaved as the fingers of a hand grabbed the side for leverage.

The battered face of Chubby emerged into view. Deacon held his head in his hands. The monster was on the loose.

Moonlight
Summons the Devil

Surprise

The scene on the bridge was utter chaos. While the engineers in the tower requested directions, Xudur vehemently chastised Chubby for allowing their plan to creep into Urzel’s mind, where Urzel unraveled it to now outmaneuver them. “You have failed your assignment, Aralian. To think that Urzel Lok planted the physical form of you to dupe me when I first entered the deck. I thought I saw Chubby Eaves walking toward me, but it was him. He was within our grasp for ten seconds. His mental tricks shall not fool me again.”

Schlegar tried to calm a panic-stricken Rodan while the backgound noises intensified as Nedilli’s chamber was lugged through the deck for an exit with Jim. Meanwhile, the captain and his crew screamed over the turmoil in the
H’vington
, demanding a meeting with Deacon and Xudur to determine what this seizure was all about.

Slumping in his seat, attempting to clear his head, Deacon felt a blanket of depression over him, so heavy that he couldn’t lift himself. Chubby appeared at his side. “Deacon, he was in chamber fifteen as you boarded. I am so sorry that I had a mental letdown that allowed him to read my thoughts. He took control of me at the last second and then locked me in the chamber just before Xudur arrived.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Chubby. His mind is extremely powerful.”

Deacon gazed out into space and back to the blue ball of Earth as Xudur stood beside him and Chubby to say, “This Aralian has exhibited his faults again.”

Deacon prevented further arguing. “Xudur, this is no time for disagreements. We have to make for Asianda immediately. We have to make decisions based only on the facts as they present themselves now. If he has escaped to planet Earth, he is definitely in Asianda. We need a new battle plan.”

Xudur, Schlegar, Chubby, Rodan, and Gem stood in front of him. He had never been in the position of summoning this much courage before, but this was that moment, and he had to share it with them. “My friends, I have known from my first encounter with Urzel that in the end it could be me who will have to confront him.” Xudur growled, but Deacon went nose-to-nose with her. “Don’t interrupt me, Xudur. Time is of the essence.

“He fears me, and on this ship as he escaped—to Asianda, I fear—he again had the upper hand against me and let me pass. I am afraid, but this much is known. I know he goes to Asianda to visit his dying other half. That is where Nedilli must be transported; that is where we must go. That is where the death scene must play out.”

“To do what?” Xudur asked.

“Xudur, the Owlers will command that shuttle belonging to the
H’vington
. You, I, Jim, and Gem will journey there with Nedilli in the chamber. Toad, you and Schlegar return to Liberty City. Xudur, before we leave, instruct these security Owlers and police to detain all the crewmen until they can be questioned as to their allegiance to Urzel. I don’t want any of these beings to leave this ship until our task is completed; I want Urzel isolated from any allies. Chubby, you remain here to assist the interrogation.”

Chubby said, “Yes, I have some criminal charges to levy against the captain, and the credentials of some of these traders to check.”

“Xudur, before we depart, use your position on the High Council to place the
H’vington
under strict quarantine twenty-four hours a day until all crew are cleared or charged and our business completed. It’s going nowhere soon.”

Chubby took Xudur and Deacon aside. “I know you want me to remain here, and I agreed. I just had a thought. I have flown one of these exact trader shuttles through space many times, Deacon, and landed in rougher terrains than the hills of Ketapongo. I know you count on Owler navigation, but you will need an experienced captain to put her down as close to Goharn Lok’s residence as possible. You will need Nedilli as bait still, and you can’t transport that heavy chamber through the rugged, populated streets of Ketapongo. I am that navigator who can land you close by in a pocket of jungle clearing, the clearing below Lok’s hut. I think the head of Alliance security quite competent to interrogate all the crew while I journey with you.” In this moment of crisis, Xudur agreed.

Deacon did not want to argue as time passed to initiate the action plan. “Okay, Chubby, we haven’t a moment to lose. Gem, issue new departure orders and clearance to Ketapongo to the tower. Load both devices, two force fields, and an extra pressure chamber if we need it. We’ll talk further on the ship. And load the gravity bomb.”

Before Schlegar exited, Deacon pulled him aside. “Unfortunately, Schlegar, I’m not sure what will transpire. You must contact Landrew immediately and inform him to quietly evacuate the hills where Goharn resides as a precaution immediately! You must also tell Landrew to place the entire Earth security forces on alert, for if we fail… I don’t know what our plan is, except to find Urzel and try to execute the gravity device.”

Rodan’s face was long; Schlegar’s eyes sorrowful. “Good luck.”

“Hug Lyanna for me,” said Deacon. With that, he left them.

The loading was automatic, and they departed in the tiny, cramped shuttle, making use of the double-thrust engines to hurdle them at top speed toward the hills of Ketapongo. “It will get warm in these cozy quarters when we enter the atmosphere,” Chubby said. “This shuttle doesn’t have the high-tech ventilation system of a new model.” Gem assisted Chubby while Jim was positioned next to the cylinder containing Nedilli.

Deacon spoke to the group. “Toad has advised me that Urzel can take one of three forms here on Earth, given Earth’s pressures and temperatures. Since he has enormous mental powers, he can supplant the idea into our minds that he is someone else, as he probably did to you, Xudur, on the
H’vington
, when he planted Chubby’s image. That is why we must have Gem and Jim close at all times, since they cannot be influenced by the changeling. We must constantly check with them for verification.”

“Perhaps Jim should verify us right now,” Xudur said.

“If you are really Urzel Lok, Xudur, then I dare you to strike me down.”

“Ha, Urzel will not harm you, detective. I will see to that personally. Neither will he possess me. I will die before I allow him to.”

“Business, please. Next, he could be in the phase of a transparent gas, in which case he can surround us at any time. But gases have mass, and we need to equip ourselves with these detectors provided by Toad to measure the atmospheric changes in the density of gas in our proximities, since Toad advised me that Urzel’s density is more than the density of air on Earth.” Gem distributed the hand-size devices.

Gem explained. “There is one device for each of you. It fits around your wrist, and the dangling screen can be fitted just around your lower arm. Once on Asianda, you will need to take readings frequently to detect his presence. Keep it exposed. Constantly sweep the area. We are looking for an increase in the density reading—a significant, erratic increase.”

“For that reason, I will bear the implosive device and turn it on as soon as he surrounds me,” a pompous Xudur said.

“You jeopardize innocent lives by doing that, Xudur,” said Deacon. “The gravity device remains in the possession of Gem until we assess the circumstances. We must have Nedilli close to Urzel, with her force field activated, to stab at him.

“Lastly, he may, in order to throw us off our balance severely, pose in his natural state—as the ugly life form of a Medullan, with those glowing red eyes. Therefore, we should have these visors at hand. Remember, Toad said that it was the uneven natural forces that cause the ugly quivers of Medullans on their own planet. Earth’s forces are more conducive to the stability of Urzel, and he can survive much longer under these conditions than on Medulla. Still, his form will be a quaking sight.”

All was quiet except for the purring of the engines as each thought about what Deacon had just postulated. Deacon excused himself and motioned to Xudur to follow to the other side of the shuttle, where they stood in front of Nedilli’s chamber with their backs to the wall, across from Jim.

“Greetings, Master.”

“Jim, we must converse with Nedilli. Decrease the pressure and increase the temperature slowly.” Xudur and Deacon adjusted their visors to shelter themselves from her appearance. The chamber door was unlocked, and Jim stood aside.

“Deacon, what has gone wrong?” Nedilli asked.

“Nedilli, we journey to Earth, to the home of Goharn Lok. Urzel escaped the trap that we laid for him on the
H’vington
in the Vesper disc.”

“We travel to Asianda? Now?”

“We are already en route in a shuttle. We will have to agree on a new plan. Nedilli, you will have a brief time to reason with him. Then we must lure him into a chamber where we can transport him elsewhere, or energize a force field around him to constrict his movements, or ask you to… help us terminate him by sheltering Gem. Xudur, can we create a dual force field by melding the two fields that we have?”

Xudur’s crest on her head waved as she consented. “Yes, that is an excellent idea. That would hold him until we could get an even more powerful field delivered from the security forces in Ketapongo.”

“Contact them immediately. Have them meet us in the clearing below Goharn’s hut.”

Nedilli said, “I will not be the holder of any instrument of destruction.”

“That is a last resort. We will try to lure Urzel into the dual force field first. If your talks fail, then you shall retrieve Gem from ground level and hide the Owler to make a strike. Gem will hide inside your molecules. Let your screen down when it is required for the Owler to fire a gravity bomb. Xudur will activate the force field after impact.”

Xudur returned. “The authorities have been alerted to our needs,” she said. She then asked Deacon to leave. “Xudur, I think that Nedilli’s request was that I should stay by her side.” Xudur smiled at Deacon.

“I don’t think you understand, Deacon. Consider this a mother-to-mother talk, Coombs. I have children too. Please. I want to talk to Nedilli as a female and a mother.” Their conversation could be replayed through Jim later, so he granted their solitude, but as he walked away and turned, he saw that Xudur was staring back with a grin.
So
unlike
her
, he thought. Deacon returned to the group just as Gem informed them of entry into the atmosphere.

“We have high cloud cover on a warm evening in Ketapongo. Chubby will take the controls for the last leg of our journey and set us in a clearing near the base of Goharn’s home.” Chubby positioned himself in the command seat and shifted the controls into manual landing mode.

The ship permeated the atmosphere with a roar and a bump. Deacon and Gem sat quietly as Chubby adeptly navigated the shuttle toward the island. In one hour he was leveling the craft over thick forests as the thrusters positioned the ship horizontally. Deacon was concerned that Xudur had not returned from Nedilli.

Deacon spied Chubby examining the yellow, red, and gray images on the screen, selecting their location in a convenient flat meadow on the side of the hill below Goharn’s dwelling, nearby the same clearing that Jim and he had passed through before. Quietly, the engines were muted to a hiss. The craft tilted and swerved and tilted and dove and leveled as they finally touched down with a thud that jolted Deacon’s spine. Chubby turned to say, “Touchdown, as you say on Earth.” It would be an arduous uphill hike from here with Nedilli’s chamber, but there was less of a chance to signal their arrival that way.

Deacon disembarked to feel the warmth of the evening settling into his bones. Gem cited the time as twenty minutes before eight. The sun was low on the horizon with minutes of daylight remaining at most. Stark gray hues outlined wispy clouds overhead as humidity hung in the air. How could such a beautiful sight precede a bloody encounter? Deacon prayed that nearby inhabitants had been evacuated. He prayed for the safety of their troop. He felt the warmth of Xudur’s breath on his neck as she stood behind him. Without turning to face her, he said, “I hope your conversation with Nedilli was not unsettling to her.”

“I understand Nedilli’s agony more than you do, Coombs. I couldn’t imagine abetting the murderer of any of my own children.”

Gem took bearings and motioned to the team. “This way.” The Owler led Deacon and Chubby, traversing into thick jungle broken by a sole path. Gem lugged the weapon and the two force field instruments. Up and up they climbed for twenty minutes, until Deacon recognized the familiar clearing at the base of Goharn Lok’s below them. After checking his proximity for increased gaseous densities and confirming with Gem the absence of more than two beings, Deacon signaled back to the shuttle for Jim and Xudur to commence the trek of carting Nedilli closer. They sat down and waited in silence.

Finally Xudur and Jim appeared, shifted the chamber upright, and made their way to Deacon while Gem departed to plant the ray emitters of a potential force field around the edge of the clearing and likewise deposited the weapon of destruction in an accessible hollow trunk. Patiently, Deacon planted his instructions. “Xudur, you, Gem, and Nedilli remain here. Jim and I will circle around the edge of the clearing and climb the hill to alert Goharn Lok of what might be happening here tonight. Gem, are you sure that you do not register the presence of Urzel?”