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himself in the heart-tugging category of an abandoned pup.
A little cry of sympathy issued from SpinDrift. "I don't know about you, but I am not leaving
him!"
Hook. Line. And sinker. Lucky wanted to give in too. Shoot, Wildcat would kill her. Her
brother still hadn't gotten over SpinDrift. And that was ten years ago!
The android gave her a big grin of pearly whites. "You will be most pleased with this
decision, mistress."
"Look, I appreciate your need for new experiences if I had to do what you do, I'd go nutzoid
too. But. You belong to the Slide Corporation. It wouldn't be right to take you with us. I'm
sorry."
He stared deeply into her eyes. He spoke beguilingly."You would leave me to languish here
forever?"
Lucky swallowed. Why did she feel for this machine? She was getting dewy-eyed over a
blender. She was hopeless.
"Well& I& "
Sensing that she was weakening, Kerreth honed in on the finish. "I would be invaluable to
you on your ship. I can do many things for you. I can learn. You must need help with
something on your ship?" His eyes actually became moist. It was a terrific touch.
Lucky's lips parted. "Well& "
"Flickerin' finishes, Lucky! Let him come with us! I can't take anymore!" SpinDrift sobbed out
loud, wiping his eyes with a scraggly feather he plucked out of his side.
And that was how Kerreth vos Volent got aboard the Sugarbabe.
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EPISODE FOUR:
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST
The Sugarbabe
He was not going to get his own cabin.
Or any cabin for that matter.
Apparently androids did not warrant accommodations. Even legendary Masterstroke
6000's.
Once Kerreth got on board their ship, it hadn't taken him long to realize that the Sugarbabe
was a ragtag clunker of a scow glued together with various piles of scrap parts from the
asterheap junkyards.
He hoped it was space-worthy.
They had a long trip ahead of them and there were few way stations along the journey. None
of them safe.
Travellers in this sector of the galaxy were known for passing stranded ships and leaving
those inside to rely on the kindness of the next stranger to come by.
Most times, that next stranger would rob the marooned vessel.
It was premature for him to worry about the ship's operations; he had to scout out the interior
first. Not having a designated place to sleep could be a problem, but nothing he couldn't
work around.
It wasn't like he hadn't stowed away on ships before. Sometimes it turned out good.
Sometimes& real, real bad.
This job, however, was imbuing him with optimism. He was sure he was 'this close' to
claiming that sweet slice of miadne. A little creative scheduling& a hidden corner for
sleeping& a mid shift sneak into the showers and galley he'd work it out.
In their haste to depart Slide to examine whatever they had found in the vase, the redheaded
woman and the Floop had abandoned him in the cargo bay and dashed up to the bridge.
Temporarily left to his own devices, it hadn't taken long for Kerreth to run into the ship's
engineer.
The big, square Kelvinator was monitoring the engine's readouts, completely uninterested in
the newcomer. He did not even turn from his console to acknowledge Kerreth's presence.
Kelvinators usually greeted strangers by offering them the cold shoulder. It was their way of
saying 'how-do!' Unfortunately, no one really understood that.
Kerreth was no exception.
"Thanks for the warm welcome, friend," he muttered under his breath.
"Ur." came the disinterested reply.
Kerreth rolled his eyes and exited the cargo bay.
"So, what do you all think it is?"
Lucky bent over SpinDrift's bony shoulder to gaze at the monitor. They had literally fed the
chip to Minmei who had coughed it back up at first, then dutifully swallowed it and
displayed it for them on the ship's screens.
"Maybe it's some kind of message& ?" SpinDrift cocked his head to the side as he viewed
the blurry object.
Minmei continually rotated the item, as if that would help them decipher it.
"I have no idea." Lucky scratched the back of her head.
"Urrrrrrrrr." Clugot was obviously on the fence too.
Minmei yawned rather loudly. Apparently it was not easy being a computer with a short
attention span.
Exasperated, Lucky threw up her arms. "Doesn't anyone have a clue as to what it is?"
She felt something rigid press into her thigh.
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