High Noon on Jefferson (scifi story): Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Talk about awkward.

As we walked back to the cottage, we, the ever rambunctious Merry Pranksters, were silent. The talk with Dad and Khiara was too jarring. Too...incriminating.

For us.

Perhaps had we been adults and a touch more seasoned, we would not have shared what we knew in such a clumsy manner. Or we could have hidden our knowledge of the repticulates and ro-bats.

Give us a break! We're not exactly trained interstellar spies here! Sheesh!

We ended up confessing everything. It didn't come tumbling out, like a flash flood after a rain in dry lands, but being pulled out of us, painfully, slowly. However, in the end, between the tag teaming of Dad and Khiara, we confessed everything. How we found the first repticulate. How we thought they were the culprits. How I had hacked the farm's systems: well, I didn't say how I had though. Maybe there's hope for me and spying yet???

And then all the rest, too.

Dad and Khiara were shocked and even horrified. Repticulates, here?!

Khiara was also horrified we thought they could be the source. Dad found it amusing after a moment. He found amusement in some of the most inappropriate moments. He used to comment: he laughed lest he cry.

Dad's amusement subsided and he came out to firmly state they had to report the problem to the Shadwell Sheriff, if the Bureau of Interplanetary Investigation. Khiara agreed so vehemently the entirety of the Merry Panksters were taken aback. Khiara wanted whomever was creating the biomass ingesting robots to be caught and thrown into jail. While we were shocked she got up and turned to file a formal report to the Sheriff. However, Rosa stopped her.

Rosa pointed out, Dad and Khiara couldn't report the repticulates. Nor could I. Or probably any of the Merry Pranksters. It was likely the Sheriff or the BII (Bees) would come to the farm and they would find what Dad and Khiara had been doing. They were doing illegal things, too, and it would get them both in trouble, possibly jail, if they were caught.

Of course, Tom had to chip in his two measly cents: "Follow this path they did, doomed they were. Yesss. "

Dang it, Tom!

To say Dad and Khiara were chagrined was an understatement.

Cue me! Go me! Woo!

I leapt! I told them they needed to clean up what they were doing and asked how long to clean up their act. They were experimenting waaaay, waaay, waaaaaaay further ahead of what FDA protocol allowed. They had to do a thorough clean up of that. Then a clean up of the clean up. Then a clean up of that. Then they could call in the find.

Khiara and Dad looked at each other. They needed two weeks. Three to be sure.

We all agreed we would report the ro-bats and repticulates then. We decided it would be better to let Dad and Khiara were to report the illegal robots because if the Merry pranksters did the deed, given our history, more red flags would be set off. Everyone was in agreement. We left the house Dad and Khiara looking concerned and hugging each other. The rest of us walked quietly. Not even tinking.

What we were thinking didn't need tinking: we had three weeks to solve what was happening.

We'd set ourselves a deadline.

And one that was wildly ambitious.

And Dad and Khiara had no idea we were going to still look into the illegal robots.

Hoo boy.

Or hoo girl.

snirk.