Rattle The Stars

Chapter Three: The Cyborg

A whiff of something both sharp and stale assaulted Alice’s nose as she approached the strange, floating airship the aliens called home. She took in its jagged spires, its maroon flags, and its small, central, golden hub-- and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

“Not as nice as what y’ve got back home, lass, but you’ll be home soon enough.” Bones gave her a gentle push on board and swept off his captain’s hat. That strange smell grew stronger as she stepped in through the circular hatch. In the dim interior light, rusty pipes traced endless paths around the cabin’s rounded walls. Raucous laughter and calls from what she presumed had to be the world’s tiniest kitchen greeted her as she followed the cabin’s curve to the left. The other four or five aliens were there, gathered around a small and well-abused wooden table, mugs already in hand.

“Oy! Some tea for the lass.” Bones’ command silenced the crew. “And min’ yer manners.”

“Yes, cap’n.” The frog-faced alien stood and slammed a dented kettle down onto a single burner behind the table, pouring water from an earthenware jug into it.

Alice thought the kitchen was very dirty, but they were doing their best to behave.
She took the tiny, stained stool they offered her and sat as far away from either side of the two aliens she found herself between as she could possibly get.

“Some ale, cap’n?” The fox-faced alien raised a mug.

“No, not fer me. I’ll have some tea, same as our guest.”

This statement was met with several bug-eyed stares, but the aliens didn’t dare question him.

“Tell us about yerself, missie.”

Those bug-eyed stares turned on Alice, and her face darkened under their gazes.
“Well, I…I…”

“What’s it like, living on Montressor?” Fox-Face spoke.

“Yeah. You got any friends there?”

“What d’you do?”

“Oh…well.” Alice dropped her gaze to the table. “I mostly just go to school.”

The aliens laughed.
“Why d’you do that?” Frog-Face asked.

“My sister makes me.” Alice frowned. “I don’t mind it. It’s just that she wants me to be a well-bred lady, and I want to be…”

“Yeah?” Bones smiled, urging her to continue.

“I want to be an artist.”

This sent the aliens into a frenzy, just as the tea kettle began to whistle.

“You c’n draw? Could you draw me?”
“How ‘bout me?”
Their eager faces bobbed before her, coming closer and closer.

She stood, her heart racing. “I’ll—I’ll get the tea.”

“Quiet!” Bones settled the crew. “Yer scarin’ the poor lass.” He stood, pushing Alice back onto the stool. “Never you mind that. I won’t have the guest serving herself.” He shuffled off to get the kettle, and though Alice could feel the curious stares of the aliens around her, they didn’t dare start up their ruckus again.

“Now, then, lass.” Bones plunked a mug down in front of her, pouring hot water over the metal contraption holding the tea bags inside. “We ain’t got any milk or sugar, so you’ll have to pardon the taste.” He poured his own mug and downed it in two huge gulps.

“Thank you, I’m sure it will do just fine,” Alice said, sipping her own brew. Though it was very strong, she quite liked the taste. It wasn’t anything like Sister’s lavender tea, which she hated. It had a rich, dark color and a bold fragrance.

“I think she likes it, cap’n,” said Frog-Face, grinning as he watched Alice.

“I do, very much, thank you,” Alice said.

Bones fixed her with a twinkling grin. “There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye, young lass.”

Alice gave half a smile back, not sure whether to take it as a compliment.


*


Over the next several days, Alice mostly watched out the window as Bones set his coordinates for Montressor. She wasn’t even sure where that was, or if she’d find her way home by going there. But she apparently looked like the people from this place, so there was a chance, she supposed.

The airship sped them through miles and miles of empty space, punctuated here and there by a comet or meteor in the distance. But growing ever closer, day by day, a shape that looked like the crescent moon loomed larger.

“Is that the moon?” Alice wondered aloud. “It hasn’t changed its phase.”

Bones laughed, clapping her shoulder. “That’s the spaceport for Montressor, lass. I would have thought you’d know that, being from there and all.”

Alice sighed. “I don’t know if this is my home or not. You call it Montressor. I would call it England.”

“EEN-gland?” Bones sounded out the word, tapping his nearly-invisible turtle chin. “Dunno what that is, lass. Though I can’t say as I’ve been especially knowledgeable about Montressor. Could be a city there.”

“Boss!” Fox-Face leapt into the room, startling Alice. “We’re being followed.”

Bones’ expression turned swiftly serious. “’S’cuse me, lass. I’ll need to be sure it’s not an enemy ship.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “What if it is?”

Bones didn’t answer. He stormed through the little ship, barking commands. As Alice watched, each crew member leapt into action, manning the weapons, peering through periscopes, and tapping in coordinates at the helm.

“I feel I should be doing something,” Alice cried over the hubbub, running to keep pace with Bones.

“Nonsense,” Bones said. “I said I would get you safely to Montressor. Now you keep yourself out of harms’ way while we sort this out.”

Alice paused, then headed back to her own tiny quarters, settling in on her knees on the worn chair and peering out her little porthole window. But she couldn’t see anything besides a greasy coating of brown dust. She wiped the grime off with a handkerchief, then peered out again, just as one of the crew screeched out a warning.
“Take cover!”
Alice gasped, seeing the blazing comet headed right for their ship, and barely got down in time. She dove under the desk, covering her head with a book, as the tiny ship reeled. Objects flew to one side of the room, then the other, and Alice screeched.

“Lass!” Bones fought his way into the room, hauling Alice up by her arms. “Quick. To the helm! You’ll be safer there.”

“What’s happening?” Alice demanded.

Bones drug her down the cramped corridor and tucked her under the console.
“It’s the cyborg, lass,” Bones said, his features dark and mysterious.

“The…cyborg? What is that?”

“Our primary enemy,” Bones said, frantically punching something in on the console. “He’s after me map. He wants the treasure.”

“Treasure? What treasure?”

Bones ducked down, then tucked something into Alice’s hand. It was a small, golden orb, with dozens of crevices running through it.
“Keep this safe. In case this ship goes down. It’s vitally important, lass.” He fixed her with an earnest, pleading gaze. “Don’t let anybody take it from you.”

“But…but…” Alice protested.

“If we go down, I’m getting you and that map out,” Bones said, shaking her shoulders gently. “I stay with me crew til the bitter end. So it’s up to you.”

The ship was rocked with another explosion, and something began beeping erratically on the console. Bones leapt up, cursing enough to make Alice blush.
“Blasted cannons! I’ve lost most of my fuel.”

“Cap’n! We’re going down!” Came the cry from the crew.

Alice felt as if the breath had left her. So it was true. They were being shot right out of the sky.

Bones grasped at the steering wheel, his eyes focused on a target.

“Brace yourself, lass!” He cried out.

Alice grabbed hold of the sides of the console, clenching her eyes shut.
The sound of metal splitting and grating pierced Alice’s ears, and her head roughly collided with the top of the console. Her vision blurred, then blackened.


AlyCatAuthor