NEW SCI-FI THRILLER NOVEL "SEAGORA" - SLICE 16

 Escapo pays a surprise visit to Setarcos.

“Surprise!” Escapo forced excitement. Caro’s lips turned down.  “Escapo, what are you doing here?”

“Great to see you again, too!”

“I mean, so early? We thought you were back landside.”  

Cidel had a similar reaction.  “Not that it’s not great to see you.  Come on in.”

Escapo stepped in and took a couple shots of hot sauce from his trusty gunmetal flask.  “I’m here early because I have an announcement to make!” 

His thick arms flung wide, “I’m retiring from smuggling!” After a sliver of a pause, “I mean, um, you know, transporting goods from one place to another, despite other people’s opinions.”

Caro’s face became a contorted medley.  Cidel clapped his hands together awkwardly, “That’s great!” He turned to Caro, “Isn’t that great?”

“This doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing you more, does it?”

“Oh, don’t flatter me so much!” he mocked. There was an awkward, palpable silence.  Cidel shattered it, “We’ve got great news, too!”

“Really?”

Caro raised a hand, “Let Setarcos tell him.”

“You’re right.  Setarcos should do it.”

“Oh, come on, don’t keep me in suspense! Where is that brilliant, bashful brain, anyway?”

“Working on a project with Masher and Symphy.”

“Aw, that’s too bad.  I’d really like the whole gang here.  I was thinking to treat you all to dinner!”

“Oh, that sounds good.  What restaurant?”

“Actually, I thought I’d cook for you here! I make some mean jambalaya!”

She grimaced. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I love to cook!”

“You do?” she said nervously.    

“Yes, I cook whenever I have the chance.  And now that I’m retired, I have all the time in the world!”

Setarcos came bursting onto the scene.  “Escapo! Back so soon?”

“Yes, my boy! I heard you have big news!”

“My experiment worked!” he beamed.    

Escapo tried his best to look overjoyed, but ended up giving what barely passed for a thin smile.  “Mind if I sit?”

“You sure you’re ok?”

He flopped into an puffy easy chair.  “Yes, it’s just such stunning news! I’m literally taken aback! That’s really great, really.”

“We’re kinda keeping it a secret, though.  Only a few other people know.” Caro put her arm around her dear boy and tried to keep a poker face.  “So Escapo here is going to cook us dinner!”

“Are you serious?” Setarcos said with a belly laugh.  “The last time he tried to cook, he almost burnt the place down! And that’s hard to do, living underwater, ya know. Not only that, but the food tasted like a nightmare sandwich.”

Cidel pondered what a nightmare sandwich might taste like.  Escapo said defensively, “I’ve come a long way since then.”

Caro sighed, “I can cook.  I’ll cook.  You stay away from our kitchen, and I’ll happily cook, ok?”

“Well, if you insist.”

After having a chatty and pleasant dinner, Escapo boisterously invited Setarcos out to hit the poker tables.  

“I’m kinda tired.”

“Tired? You’re fifteen! I didn’t sleep a wink at that age! I’ll even spot you!”

“And I get to keep the winnings?” Setarcos asked skeptically.

“Of course! It’s my congratulatory gift to you!”   

Masher appeared as a card-flinging joker and said, “I would love to join you!”

“NO!” Escapo burst.  Everyone took a curious glance at Escapo.  He wrung his hands and said, “I mean, they don’t let shape-shifters like you play, you know?”

“Well, I don’t have to play.  I’d be happy to just watch.”

Escapo grumbled, “Well, by all means, if it makes a machine happy, then how can I say no?”

On the way to the casino, Escapo’s heart was racing.  He hadn’t planned for Masher to be a problem, and now he had to come up with a modified scheme on the fly.  Not only that, but a shape-shifting A.I. presented a much more formidable obstacle than a few humans did.    

They grabbed a centrally located table, and the sparkling floor was buzzing with activity more than normal.  Masher assumed the form of a drone and hovered nearby.  After losing a few hands and taking a few shots of hot sauce, Escapo excused himself and went to the restroom.  He locked himself in a stall, and after a split-second of thinking the flower dome ceiling above him was a bit much, he pulled out a small tablet and contacted his ship.  After giving a set of instructions, he want back to the table and found his young poker player was having tough luck.

“You’re losing?”

“Can’t win em all, right?” Setarcos said somewhat glumly.

“I’ve got something that might cheer you up.  It’s something I picked up landside.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Masher descended and took the form of an old bitty with hands on hips, “What kind of surprise?”

“Mind your own business. Isn’t that one of the favorite phrases of you voluntaryists?”

Masher just stared with spectacles facing downward and looking impatient.    

“If you must know, it’s a book.  A real, paper book.  And quite old, I might add.”

Setarcos lit up.  Escapo continued, “I’m docked just around the corner from the casino entrance.”

The old bitty relented, “All right, but I’m coming with you.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

They entered the stylish T-class sub unit and, just after passing through the main cabin, Escapo threw his arms up and whined, “Oh, what a terrible configuration! Computer, try the splits design we talked about earlier today.”

“Yes, Escapo.  On your command.”

Escapo turned to Masher and asked, “Masher, would you be a dear and grab a couple of glasses from behind the bar, please?”

“All the service bots you have around here, and you ask me?”

Escapo said sarcastically, “You should be honored.”

Masher changed into a victorian-era barkeep and went behind the bar.

“Now!” Escapo shrieked.    

Within an instant, a force field went up in the middle of the room.  The ship began to split into two segments, while the field kept Masher trapped on one half.  The half that Escapo and Setarcos were on dislodged from the dock and started lifting towards the surface.  Masher could be seen shrieking and pounding helplessly at the force field.    

Setarcos was shocked and confused.  “What’s happening?”

“I’m so sorry, but I have to do this.  You can sleep until we get there, if you want. That might be easier.”

“Go where? I don’t want to go anywhere! And what about Masher?”

Escapo could feel tears welling up.  He was torn between his feelings for his son and his adopted nephew, this gifted one called Setarcos.  “Computer, help the boy sleep, please,” he struggled to order.    

An electro-frequency was shot into Setarcos’s head, and an antique sofa moved to catch him as he fell limp.    

Masher didn’t give up.  It made attempts to call for help, but all frequencies were blocked by the ship.  While attempting to hack its temporary prison’s communication security block, it frantically looked for a physical escape route so that it might pursue Escapo itself.  It found a route through the ship’s water filtration system, and once located, Masher dissolved into a stream of nano-dust.  Simultaneously, it got through the ship’s security block and sent a distress signal to nearby ships.    But it was all for not.  It was too little, too late.  Escapo’s ship was quite advanced and had too much of a head start for Masher or anyone else from the SeAgora to catch up.    

Slice 17 Coming Soon!

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