Outcasts of Gideon

The Aion : Part 3

"Whoa there!" said Mister Lackey. He raised himself toward Bobby, his arms extended.

"Where are we? I have to get to Earth!" Bobby shouted.

"Settle down. We're on our way."

"Where's my bag? Where's the artifact?"

In his haste, Bobby had pushed the messenger pouch across the room. Dawn launched herself toward it. When she'd retrieved it, she put the alien object back in and tossed it to him. It arrived at his chest. He embraced it like a beloved pet.

"Well, now that you're awake, I'm having deja vu," said Mister Lackey. "Can we cut out the part where we wrestle?"

"Where are we?"

"On the way to Titan."

"Titan? But we have to go to Earth."

"Yeah, we might not even make it to Titan."

Bobby's eyes bulged. "Why is it so hot in here?" Without waiting for a response, he began tearing at his shirt. The messenger pouch floated away again. He ripped at his clothes, his eyes darting from face to face. Within seconds, he'd pulled his shirt off, exposing his frail, emaciated torso. His skin was pale and taut around exposed ribs.

He grabbed at the belt keeping his trousers up. Mister Lackey launched himself toward him, grabbing him roughly. The big man's arms were wrapped around Bobby's chest before the smaller man could remove his trousers. The two of them floated toward the wall, rolling and struggling before they bounced off.

"Let go of me goddammit!"

"Not until you calm down!"

They floated toward Dawn. As they did, she reached out and took Bobby's face in her hands. He calmed down again, his writhing stopped. "What is going on with you?" she asked.

Mister Lackey held firmly until Dawn looked his way. He released and pushed himself away with the back of the seats. Near the wall, he retrieved Bobby's messenger pouch and tossed it toward her. She handed it to Bobby.

The pale man's breathing slowed. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us. You've been sleeping."

"I didn't dream."

"I guess not."

"And we're going to Earth?"

"We're all goin' to look like you before that happens," said Dewey.

"That's not helping, Dewey." Dawn shot him a look. "Yes, we're trying to get to Earth. But we're out of fuel and millions of klicks from anything."

Bobby closed his eyes and tilted his head back. After a few moments, he opened them, staring into the space above him. "I found this thing, this metal thing. It was laying there in the dust. You know how Phaethon is. It was almost like it was calling me."

"Just laying on the ground? What were you doing? Where were you?" asked Dawn.

"I'd found an abandoned camp. Wandered away from a transit tube and there it was."

"You were looking for ore?"

"No. First I was hiding. I saw something I wasn't supposed to see. Don't ask. Anyway, I ended up wandering in Tanamara, trying not to be found."

"That's one place to be if you don't want to be found," said Mister Lackey. He eased himself toward the far end of the seats. "It's also an easy place to die if you don't have supplies."

"The camp was abandoned. There was a shelter with some oxygen and a recycler that worked. Sometimes, anyway."

"What about the metal thing?"

Bobby stared off into the distance. "I was planning a transit back to Pyroeis when I kicked this thing. You know, there aren't many rocks on Phaethon. It surprised me."

"So you picked it up."

"I assumed it fell off some equipment. But I kept it. When I got back to the capsule, I studied it."

"That's when you saw them," said Dawn.

"You saw them too."

"Yes, I saw them. Who are they?"

Bobby shook his head from side to side. He looked again to that distant point only he could see.

Dawn put her hand on his arm. "Any idea what they want?"

"I started to dream about them, but I could never understand it. The same dream, over and over, and I never understood."

"But they told you to go to Earth."

"No, they never told me anything. At least, nothing I understood. I just realized it. It was like someone slapped me on the back of the head and it was obvious. I have to go to Earth."

"Wait," said Grant. "They didn't tell you to go to Earth? Then what the hell are we doing here?"

"I'm going to Earth. I don't know why you're here."

Dawn squeezed Bobby's arm. "What else can you tell us about them? How many are there? What do they look like?"

"There are only a few of them. Three or four. I can't be sure."

"That's what I thought, maybe three or four. When I shouted at them, they stopped."

Bobby's eyes lit up. "You spoke to them?"

"Well, I shouted. It was loud in there. I asked them if they were talking to me."

"Where was I?"

"In a puddle of your own drool," said Dewey.

Dawn snapped her head toward Dewey. He melted into his seat. She turned back toward Bobby. "You were convulsing. We figured it was because of the artifact."

"Yeah, I stopped touching it weeks ago. It made me forget things, like time. I'd wake up and find days gone."

"So you couldn't sleep, because you'd have the dream, but touching it made you have visions."

"I guess it caused some kind of seizure. I didn't even know about that."

"None of this is getting us closer to Titan," said Dewey.

Bobby's face contorted. He looked at Grant. "I thought you had something with you. Something that could get us there. In your bag. You have something powerful."

"We pulled it out while you were asleep. We have no idea what it is."

Dewey grabbed the satchel and tossed it toward them.

Grant snatched it and removed the bright light. They all shielded their eyes from it as he held it up. "If it is something that could get us to Earth, or Titan, or wherever, none of us knows how to do that."

"Bobby, how did you know he had that?" asked Dawn.

"I don't know."

Grant placed the bright light into the bag and sealed it. He tossed the satchel toward Dewey, but Bobby intercepted it. He removed the bright light, holding it up to his face. He studied it through slits, the light too bright to stare at. "It's phaethonium."

"No it's not," said Grant. "I've seen phaethonium. It doesn't look anything like that. It's also not deuterium. We went round and round on that while you were asleep."

"No, you're right. It's not phaethonium. But it's like phaethonium. I don't know exactly how, but there's something similar." Bobby placed the bright light back into the bag. Reaching for his messenger pouch, he pulled the cloth-covered device from it. Allowing the satchel to float aside, he lifted the object and studied it.

Raising his other hand, he touched the end of the device with his fingers.

"What are you doing?" shouted Dawn.

Bobby smiled at her. The contact did not affect him. He pressed more fingers to the metal. Finally, he wrapped his entire hand around it. Nothing happened. He held the object high above his head, appearing triumphant.

"That's new," said Grant.

"Yeah, weird." Bobby lowered the object closer to his face, his eyes alive like those of a child.