Kwaide (The Ammonite Galaxy Series, Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter 23

SIX RAISED HIS head wearily from his arms, and regarded the bubble.

“Another hour and I might have been dead,” he grumbled. “What took you so long?”

“You have enough air and supplies for several weeks,” pointed out Arcan mildly.

“I would have died of boredom!” explained Six. “You should try spending some time in a broken-down space trader!”

“I am never bored. I have too much intelligence. An intelligent organism can always find something to do.”

Six gazed at the orthogel entity with repulsion. “You sounded just like the matron at the birth shelter then,” he accused. “And, if you don’t mind me saying, that is a load of vaniven excrement!”

“Perhaps you do not have sufficient intelligence?”

“And a jolly good thing too, if you ask me!”

“It must be very hard to be a lesser being.”

“All the running around that we do is what keeps us sane. I mean – you were sitting around in the same lake for thirty thousand years! No wonder you don’t get bored any more. A rock falling into the lake must have been a major occasion. I expect you would celebrate the day for evermore. Just think – the second of whatever – the day the rock fell into the lake. You could give it a cake and candles. Happy rockday!”

“I believe your injury may be worse than it looks, Six. You should see a doctor. You appear to be delirious.”

“No sense of humour, is your problem!”

“I find your need for enjoyment rather baffling, I admit.”

“I’m telling you! That is what comes from sitting around for thousands of years with nothing better to do than think. It’s enough to evaporate the fun out of anyone.” Six shook his head.

“I am still young,” Arcan told him. 

“Young? You have a very strange idea of what young is. I would hate to see you when you are old if you call this being a bundle of fun.” The Kwaidian shook his head sadly, then decided to drop the teasing and get to the point. “What happened to you? You suddenly let go of me in mid air. I was lucky not to have been dropped in outer space and deep frozen into a crisp!”

Arcan told him about the weapon the Sellites had developed, and of its effects.

“It has taken me two days to get back to normal,” he told Six, “and I am still finding it … hard … to transport.”

“What about the missiles?” Six checked his console. “The Sellites are very nearly within range of Kwaide. We have to do something NOW!”

The bubble representing Arcan nodded. “I just need a little more time. I will move all the missiles as soon as I am able to. The orange flash knocked out the orthotubes and lifts too.”

A shadow crossed Six’s face. “What about Diva and Grace? Are they all right?”

“I have signed to Grace, and she and Diva are waiting on the ground floor of the 256th skyrise. She signed back that they have accomplished their tasks, and that she will tell me about it when I fully recover.”

Six breathed out again. “Fine,” he said. “Then you have to concentrate on getting all your abilities back. We will have to investigate this orange flash. If the Sellites have developed a weapon which is effective against you then we need to find out exactly what it is.”

“Did you have any problems while I was … err … unavailable?”

“Nah. Problems? Do you think that we can’t manage perfectly well without you? As if!”