Consider Pegasus, page 16
part #1 of Starship Teapot #3 Series
The bees replied, ‘We permitted you extra time yesterday to deal with the unexpected defection of the surgeon. As such, it can only be fair to permit this. I’m sorry – but your objections are denied. The witness will join us. Please bring her in.’
Zippy turned around and whispered ‘I’m so sorry’ in Storm and Bexley’s direction. We all looked back as the courtroom door slid open. A tall chestnut blond equidae walked in. She looked so much like Bexley it would have been impossible to miss the connection. Everyone in the room gasped – except Bexley, who whimpered softly.
‘Daddy?’
The room filled with the susurrus of dozens of whispered conversations. Once again, I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying.
‘Silence,’ said Fern. ‘If the members of the audience will not be calm, they will be ordered to leave.’
A hush fell over the room as the light brown equidae took the stand. She faced the room with a warm, charismatic smile. ‘Good afternoon. I am [no frame of reference] and I’m the owner of Firefly, the engine manufacturing company.’ Ah. That dad. ‘The parent at the heart of this case is one of my ex-spouses. The child she’s carrying now is not mine. But we do have three children together. Most people don’t know this but…’ She looked away into the distance for a moment before continuing. ‘One of my children – one of the ones I share with Storm – suffers from the disorder.’
My hand shot up to my mouth. For a second, I thought I might be sick again but I held it in. The whispers around the room picked up again and multiple people started tapping away on their phones or tablets. A sharp look from Fern stilled everyone. Several of the hovering cameras flashed.
Bexley stared at the floor. Storm, Jean, and Peggy all crowded around her, holding her and hiding her from the cameras. I slid my hand into a narrow gap between Peggy and Jean and rested my hand on Bexley’s fur. Spock wedged her way into the group and lay her head on Bexley’s lap.
‘We were living away from Hwin for a period when our middle child began exhibiting signs of the disorder.’ The interpreted words were spoken directly into my right ear via the earbud I wore. In my left ear, I could hear Bexley quietly sobbing. ‘It was a very trying time for our family. Storm suggested we not transfer her to a comfort resort. She thought we should try to manage her at home – as if the six of us could somehow magic up the skills to cope with her needs. We had two other children to think of.’
She tossed her head, her blond mane flowing gracefully. ‘It was a stressful time for the whole family. So stressful. In the end, we couldn’t agree on what to do. We ended up going our separate ways. Three of us stayed together and our other two children remained with us. We maintained a good relationship with two of our former spouses. But one’ – she gestured at Storm – ‘took our child and disappeared. In the middle of the night, she just … left. I haven’t spoken to Storm since.’
The courtroom was silent – except for Bexley’s sobs.
After a few moments, Bexley’s parent continued. ‘As for my special needs child, of course I still love her – we all do. But, well, she’s a handful. She shows up every few months or she calls, always needing our help. The last time she called it was with some wild story about having been kidnapped. She wanted me to buy her a ship. From what I gather, she’s found some people to take care of her. I suppose they must be better equipped to manage her needs than we are.’
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue before continuing. ‘I love my child. But she’d be better off in a comfort resort. I have no doubt about that. They’d be able to deal with her outbursts and her inability to cope with things. Storm, her pouchy-parent, has always been too indulgent. She means well – just like I’m sure she means well with this newest child of hers. But she’s too soft. She never did have the heart to say no. To stand up and do what’s right for her children.’
Bexley burst from the room, bawling. The rest of us ran after her. Her other parents and Spock and me, that is. The last thing I caught as the door slid shut behind us was Bexley’s horrible dad pointing at us and saying, ‘You see what I mean? She always has to cause a scene.’
Outside, Storm called out, ‘Bexley!’
Bexley paused but didn’t turn around. ‘What?’ Her voice was soft and low.
Jean put her arms around her spouses. ‘Do you want us to come with you?’
Bexley’s shoulders fell. ‘Yes. No. I don’t… Thank you. I think I’m just going to go back to the hotel.’ She clasped my hand.
Her parents tapped their hooves in the air. ‘Okay,’ said Storm. ‘We’ll be at the flat if you want to come by later.’
I started to follow Bexley, then thought of something. ‘Spock, can you walk Storm and her spouses home, please?’ Storm wasn’t supposed to go anywhere without protection until the hearing was finished.
‘Spock protect.’ She wagged her tail and headed off with Bexley’s parents.
‘Come on, you.’ I put my arm around Bexley as we set out down the road. ‘Let’s get you back to the hotel. We can order drinks and watch a stupid film.’
Bexley snorted. ‘I’m sorry you have to miss the rest of today’s hearing because of me.’ She reached up and touched the base of her missing horn. ‘I really am useless.’
‘No, you’re definitely—’ But then something hit me and I died.
17 This is getting to be a habit
Okay, so I wasn’t dead – but I was warm and uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but I didn’t feel refreshed. And was there something pinning me down? My face was smushed against a damp, hard surface. Either I’d been drooling or… Or something.
I’d been going somewhere, I thought. With someone. Everything was fuzzy though.
I tried to sit up but there was something on my back. Craning my neck, I tried to see what it was. ‘Ow.’ All I succeeded in was making myself dizzy. Instead, I reached around to feel what it was. ‘Bexley? Are you sitting on me?’
She made some noises in response, but nothing Holly could translate into English.
I looked around the … bridge? Were we back on the Teapot? Hadn’t we been … somewhere else?
‘Bexley, what’s happening?’ My voice sounded muddled and raw.
‘Gimme the salad,’ muttered Bexley. ‘On a plate.’
I thumped the heel of my hand into my forehead and tried to force this situation to make sense. I failed.
Bexley’s weight lifted off my back with a sound that was probably a sharp intake of breath. Words tumbled out of her even faster than normal. ‘What are we doing? How did we get here? Why are we on the bridge? Have we been kidnapped again? Who’s taken us? Where are we going? Can someone get me something to eat – I’m absolutely famished.’ She ran in circles around the bridge.
Without her weight pinning me in place, I sat up and looked around. We were indeed on the bridge of the Teapot. Specifically, on the floor of the bridge.
‘Hem-hem. I was wondering when you two would wake up.’ It took me a second to place the voice. Joker.
She was sitting at the pilot’s station – at Henry’s station. Her mane was loosely plaited and she wore the same mint green jerkin she’d worn at the hearing that day. ‘The hearing,’ I said.
Joker waved a hoof dismissively. ‘Yes, we’ll be missing the end of that. But it’s been clear to me since almost the start that it was all a sham. You’re obviously in collusion with the magistrates. The whole thing is a fraud. A farce. You make a mockery of our laws, our society, our history. Even science itself. Everything.’
I should’ve said something then but my mind was still fuzzy from the knockout drugs.
She snorted out a laugh. ‘Why am I even telling you this? It’s obviously not the pair of you organising anything. A unicorn and an animatronic tree? You couldn’t even organise a sandwich.’
Joker stopped and looked Bexley straight in the eye. ‘Oh, that’s right. I know what you are. I know all about you. I’ve had my suspicions for a while but your parent’s testimony today… Now that’s a good parent. You should be thankful for her.’
I expected Bexley to fight back, to argue, to something… But she had her knees curled up to her chest and she stared at the floor.
‘How dare you.’ My brain was finally kicking back into gear. Kicking through treacle. But at least it was moving. ‘You don’t know her. You don’t know us. A parent who betrays her child’s trust doesn’t deserve the name parent. Bexley is the smartest, strongest, best person I know. She’s kind and generous and brave and loyal. Her parent lied on the stand. Or she doesn’t know her at all. One or the other.’
Joker addressed Bexley. ‘Leave it to a unicorn to develop an unnatural relationship with a tree. You disgust me. It pretends to love you. But you … you’re nothing but a worthless unicorn. If you were my child, I wouldn’t have taken you to a comfort resort – I’d have dropped you off a cliff. The resorts are too good for the likes of you.’
Her venom caught me by surprise. It shouldn’t have, but it did. The thin veneer of kindness and reasonableness of people like her invariably hid a heart full of hate. ‘Where are you taking us?’
In the time-honoured tradition of unpleasant people everywhere, she spoke to me slowly and loudly with lots of odd pauses. ‘We’ – she waved her hoof between the three of us – ‘are going’ – flying away gesture – ‘away from that perverse, godforsaken moon – that haven for groomers and child abusers.’
I rubbed my head. ‘That’s why we’re leaving. I asked where we’re’ – I paused to make a walking gesture with my fingers – ‘going to.’ Two could play at that game.
Joker’s grin was wide and more than a bit manic looking. ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter where we’re going.’ She continued the ‘English tourist on holiday’ routine in the way she spoke to me.
I needed to check on Bexley. Why wasn’t she talking? Keeping my eyes on Joker, I scuttled on my bum across the floor to where Bexley had settled. Brushing her forelock from her face, I looked her in the eye. ‘Are you okay?’
She swung her head away, refusing to look me in the eye.
‘No, of course you’re not all right. Obviously. But I mean, did she hurt you? Physically.’
She wouldn’t answer or look at me. Being outed against her will was her worst nightmare. But to her childhood hero… That had to add a whole extra layer of pain. Not to mention what she went through with her horrible dad this afternoon.
I dropped down next to her – close enough to touch but letting her guide how much contact she was comfortable with at that moment.
Joker walked over and looked at us, a beatific smile spreading across her face. ‘This closeness… The pair of you. It would be touching … if it weren’t so perverse. You’re disgusting.’ Smile like an angel – sting like a prick.
I looked up at her. The last of the drug-induced haze had faded. The only thing coursing through my blood was venom and rage. ‘I’ll ask again,’ I said through gritted teeth. ‘Where are you taking us?’
Joker turned the smile down a notch. ‘I wasn’t joking. It really doesn’t matter where we’re going.’ The blood drained from my face as I realised the implication of that statement. She sneered. ‘I’m only doing what needs to be done in order to preserve the natural order of things. I’m not a monster. Surely you can see that.’
I felt like I was going to be sick. ‘What?’
‘Look, I’m being very reasonable,’ she said, being entirely unreasonable. ‘You clearly come from a scienceless people, so it’s probably no surprise that you’re finding this difficult to grasp.’
My breathing sped up. I had to slow it down. Two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen. Bexley needed me. And for that, I had to retain my wits. Seventeen, nineteen, twenty-three, twenty-nine, thirty-one, thirty-seven. ‘All this because you’re ashamed of your wings?’
The mask of sweetness fell away from her face for a second. But only for a second. ‘I’ve no idea what you’re referring to.’
‘You.’ I held out a hand, gesturing at her. ‘You’re the one that surgeon was talking about – the one whose wings keep growing back. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. You don’t have to wear that waistcoat. You could own your uniqueness. You’re a pegasus. Just go with it.’ My imminent death had apparently emboldened me.
Joker breathed forcibly out through her nose. For several heartbeats, she stood there, glaring at me. Then she walked closer and squatted down in front of us, fixing her eyes squarely on Bexley. ‘I care about you, Bexley. That’s probably difficult for you to see right now. Well’ – she tossed her braided mane over her shoulder – ‘people like you find many things hard to comprehend. But especially right now in this moment. You may not see it but I’m doing this for your own good.’
A chill ran through me and something snapped. ‘You literally just finished telling us you’re going to kill us before we get where we’re going.’
Joker stopped and studied me like I was a particularly recalcitrant puppy. ‘Of course I’m not going to kill you, you strange person. What do you take me for?’
I took her for a cruel person driven to rid the galaxy of difference. But right then I was mainly just confused. ‘But… What?’
‘Time’s almost up.’ She smiled sweetly … and punched herself in the face. Her lip split, leaking purple blood down onto her chest and gilet.
I screamed. Scrambling to get Bexley and me away from her, I demanded, ‘What are you doing?’
‘Only what’s strictly necessary.’ She grabbed her mane and yanked a chunk out. Ripped it right out of her skin.
As I gawped at her, she grasped her jerkin in her hooves and tore it. I screamed. And then she repeated the process, adding a second smaller tear on the other side. With each movement, I flinched and jerked.
‘What? Why? What are you doing? Stop!’ My hands shot up to my face.
I elbowed Bexley. ‘Look!’ But she still wouldn’t engage.
Joker bashed her elbow on the pilot’s station, emitting a horrible crunching sound. ‘Oh, don’t worry, dear. I’d never hurt you. I’m not a monster.’ My stomach turned as blood smeared and sprayed and flowed.
The room spun around me – though I was pretty sure that this time it wasn’t the sedatives.
With a screeching crash and the sound of tearing metal, I was thrown forwards, slamming my head on the floor. I hadn’t felt anything like that since … since… ‘Holly, what the holy hell just happened?’
‘The Teapot has been forcibly docked with in flight,’ it replied.
‘By whom?’
But I knew the answer even before it said anything. ‘The Hat.’
‘Bastards.’
Something clicked in Bexley. She leapt up and ran for the lift. Joker and I followed, squeezing in before the door slid shut.
‘Hwin vessel the Hat to the criminals aboard the starship Teapot,’ announced an unfamiliar voice. ‘Stand down and prepare to be boarded. Release your hostage now and you will not be harmed.’
I looked at Joker, who smiled cloyingly through bleeding lips. One of her teeth hung at an odd angle. The door slid back open on the docking bay level.
An eerie silence blanketed the ship as we marched towards the docking bay door – where eight cops awaited us.
‘I’m Bexley, captain of the Teapot, and this is our Director of Operations. We’re unharmed. I’m hopeful that—’
‘Resistance is futile,’ one of the cops shouted – the same person who’d spoken while we were on the lift. ‘Set your weapons down, Teapot crew.’
‘What?’ I blinked. ‘We haven’t got any weapons.’
‘Aren’t you here to rescue us?’ Bexley asked.
‘Oh, thank heavens you’re here,’ cried Joker, running past us. ‘I’ve been ever so worried. It was so frightening. It’s only dumb luck they didn’t think to remove my communicator with its tracking device.’ She positioned herself behind one of her officers.
‘Your captors?’ cried both Bexley and I in unison.
Bexley held her hooves up in front of herself. ‘I don’t know what’s happening here but I’m sure we can get it all sorted out once we’re back on Lagash.’
‘Oh, you won’t be going back to Lagash,’ said the lead cop. ‘Assault and kidnapping of a Hwin law enforcement officer is—’
Joker peered around the cop’s shoulder and grinned at us. ‘Save your breath, Detective Inspector. She’s a unicorn, you know. Strong as an ox but not very bright. I suspect the one who looks like a cactus organised the crime – not that she’s much smarter than her co-conspirator. Hence why you were able to catch them so easily.’
Bexley raised her hooves in a sort of placating gesture. ‘We didn’t kidnap anyone – I swear. Joker kidnapped us. Shot us with knockout drugs when we were—’
‘She speaks really well.’ The Detective Inspector looked at Joker, presumably her boss.
‘I’m right here.’ Bexley’s voice croaked on the last word.
‘I wonder who trained her,’ the DI said. ‘Do you think she understands what she’s saying?’
‘Er, hi.’ I bent at the waist and tried to get the attention of the cops. ‘We didn’t kidnap Joker. She kidnapped us. If you’re going to arrest us, don’t we have rights? Like, a lawyer maybe? Because I want to talk to Bungle right now.’
‘The alien will be silent,’ barked the DI. ‘Prisoners’ rights will be accommodated once we arrive back on Hwin.’
‘We did not kidnap or injure anyone.’ Bexley spoke slowly and enunciated each syllable.
‘Hold it right there and prepare to be boarded,’ came a new voice, one with a thick Scottish brogue.
We must have stopped moving because instead of a screeching, tearing crash, I felt the usual dull thud of docking.
Moments later, Robocop’s voice filled my ear again. ‘Who’s in charge here?’
A second after that, a black and russet blur flew through the air and into my arms. ‘Lem! Lem safe!’ Spock covered my face in sloppy kisses. At thirty-six kilograms, she was a lot for me to carry though, so I did my best to control her slide back to the floor.
