Jack Strong and the Red Giant

Chapter Ten: Trapped

The small asteroid crumpled into a million tiny fragments.

"Will you please stop firing the weapons, Xylem? There could be life on those asteroids."

Xylem looked at Vyleria, his lips curled-up into a snarl. "Why should I? You're not the captain."

"No, I'm not," she said, walking right up to his face. "But it's the right thing to do. First of all, it's dangerous. The ship could get damaged by all the exploding debris. Second, the life down there doesn't deserve to be target practice for a numbskull like you."

"What life?" he hissed, pincers twitching.

"Bacteria! Algae!"

Xylem let out a few throaty clicks and whistles. He seemed to be laughing at her. "Bacteria cannot think. Not intelligent. No pain. Not alive."

"What's that got to do with it?"

"Inferior."

"Oh yeah, and who's the judge of that, YOU? How would you like it if someone stuck you in a jar or blasted your home to pieces?"

"It would never happen," wheezed Xylem. "We are too ssstrong. We would resissst!"

"Well, maybe that's what you think on your planet, but on mine we have different ideas about 'strength' and what constitutes 'life'. Like love, understanding, compassion, creativity, intelligence, science. It doesn't take much of a brain to press the trigger, but it sure does not to."

Xylem made several more clicking sounds. He was laughing at her again. "You sssound weak. Our armiesss would crush you."

"Oh yeah," she said, stepping so close to him that she could smell his foul breath. "Try it! Now are you going to stop firing that gun or do I have to stop you?"

Xylem glared at her with a face full of teethy rage. Vyleria wondered whether he was considering using the gun on her, but after a few seconds he stepped away from the space cannon, a huge smirk crossing his thin lips. "No need," he hissed. "Want to be alliesss, yesss."

Vyleria didn't trust him one bit. He shifted more than the sands of the Great Kalamarahi desert. Since discovering how to pilot the spaceship they had also discovered more weapons, as well as a 3-D map of the solar system and the rest of the galaxy. Somehow she suspected that Xylem had discovered these eons ago but had neglected to tell them. He was also probably the reason why she and Ros hadn't appeared in the control room in the first place. She would have to keep a close watch on him that was for sure.

"Hey, where's Jack?" asked Ros, tapping away at one of the consoles.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's vanished. I can't find him anywhere."

"He can't have just disappeared. Are you sure you're using that thing properly?"

"Of course I am. We discovered the ship's on-board scanner at the same time, remember? I've checked every room and every floor. Grunt's the only one on board."

"Well, where else could he be?" asked Vyleria.

"I don't know."

"Hang on, what if..."

"Yes?"

"What if he's not on the ship at all, what if he's found his way off it. Could you scan for life forms in space?"