Captive - Cheryl Brooks Page 0,90
of flight.”
Moe knew what it was like to zoom through space, and he’d had plenty of experience piloting a variety of smaller, atmospheric-based aircraft, but he had to admit, this version had its charm. “Oh, yeah. The wind in your hair, the bugs in your face. No, wait. You don’t have hair.” He took a moment to study the creature Nexbit had become and found it a tad repulsive. “Kinda ugly, too.”
“Not my first choice of birds, but the leathery wings are easier to duplicate than feathers. Tried it once. Total disaster.”
To his surprise, given their current predicament, Moe burst out laughing. Then again, they were free. Even if Pelarus got clean away, what had once been his domain would be far better off.
Unless some other tyrant moved in. “Any idea who should take over and run this place?”
“I’m thinking a democratically elected government with representatives from each region. Might take a while to organize, but it would be the best solution for everyone. That Yirland lady would be my first choice for whatever they call the leader around here.”
“Until recently, it was ‘Master.’” Which was a word that made Moe want to vomit. His father had been a slave, and although his mother had purchased Cat and subsequently freed him, being only one generation away from slavery was enough to make “master” a dirty word in Moe’s lexicon.
A significant clearing of his throat prefaced Nexbit’s next comment. “I figure they’ll change that.”
“Probably so. We can only hope the transition will be swift and peaceful.” With so many Nedwuts on the loose, a dissolution into anarchy wouldn’t be pleasant, whether the guards had crossed over to the other side or not.
After all the years of Moe’s kind being hunted down by Nedwuts, any form of mutual cooperation would be something of an oddity. Then again, never having developed an acquaintance with any of them, how the hell would he know? They might be naturally peace-loving puppy dogs.
Yeah, right. More like dogs that love chasing cats.
And money. Klara’s experiences with those who had hunted her were proof that any Nedwut could be bought off. Maybe if they were given their own country…
“Are there any other livable areas on this planet? Somewhere the Nedwuts could relocate?”
“Not that I know of,” Nexbit replied. “I’ve heard there are other Haedusian villages, but conditions are pretty harsh all over. From what I understand, this is the best place to be, mainly because of the traffic through the spaceport.”
Moe nodded. If the entire planet was as barren as Srekatoa, most of the indigenous people had probably died out. Recalling Velkma’s description of the world when she was young, a massive die-off must have occurred within a relatively short span of time. With that in mind, letting Pelarus escape with the loot simply wasn’t an option.
“Pelarus is gonna have to pay for what he’s done to this world.”
“He couldn’t be the only one responsible,” Nexbit reasoned. “Probably had help, don’t you think?”
“Maybe. But he’s the one we’re chasing.” Even though Moe had kept his eyes glued to Pelarus’s diminishing figure, he now appeared to have vanished. “Speaking of which, I can’t see him anymore. Can you?”
“Nope. But I know where the spaceport is. We’ll get him or die trying.”
Nexbit redoubled his efforts, but when, moments later, they suddenly began losing altitude, the latter possibility seemed the most probable. “Can’t keep this up much longer,” he gasped. “You might have to run the rest of the way.”
“I can do that,” Moe said. “Just set me down somewhere. Gently. Then you can rest up and come after me.”
Their rapid descent made further conversation impossible. Nexbit lost his kradjet form several meters above the ground, which made the landing far from gentle. Moe was ready. Leaping from Nexbit’s back, he hit the ground rolling and was on his feet and running in seconds. Nexbit’s help had been invaluable in allowing Moe to rest and conserve his energy.
He hoped it was enough.
After following Harlex through a dizzying maze of steep stairs and dimly lit passageways, Klara was completely disoriented. “Where did you say we were going?”
The Nedwut glanced back over his shoulder. “It’s a shortcut to one of the lesser-known exits. There’s a speeder there.” He paused, catching his breath after jogging down one of the longer flights of steps. “At least there should be. With the whole city going to hell in a hand basket, it might’ve been stolen already.”
“Great.” Klara didn’t relish running all the way to the spaceport