Do you like space adventure? Do you like alien creatures? Do you like jokes?
Well, you have come to the right place!
The 'Oh No!' Anthology is a collection of short stories written by great authors of this orange world based on the same theme. In th...
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I knew Tek-El had not yet grasped the rules of poker, but he was so keen on playing after we watched vintage re-runs of Poker Stars on the plasma screen. I mean, why not? We were hurling through outer space at ninety-thousand giganots, headed straight for nowhere. What else was there to do?
Tek and I sat at the round table in the sitting area. I had my feet on the table’s top, the spurs of my cowboy boots made silvery sounds every time they touched the steel surface. I leaned back, kept the brim of an over-sized Stetson low to shadow my eyes. I had a ridiculous poker face but I doubt it would have made much of a difference.
“Poker!” Tek nearly fell over when he dropped two aces, two kings and one nine on the table top. Slimy lil’ bugger was slightly larger than the cards. He had large frog-like hands and a tail that reminded me of a miniature T-Rex’s. Tek-El was green, not normal green but a bright emerald that turned neon every time he got happy, excited, hungry, or had to pee. His head was twice the size of his lil’ body (I reckon that’s why he needed the T-Rex tail, to balance, or else he’d end up face down every time he took a step). He had funny lil’ fox ears that rotated like satellites. Tek’s eyes were blue, luckily he only had two or else when I found him on my ship I may have freaked out. Tek was a stray. Some folks end up housing stray cats or dogs. I end up taking care of a teeny tiny alien called Tek-El Shamron.
When I first found him on-board, I thought he was someone’s lost pet. He was quick to correct me in telling me he was a runaway who was seeking adventure. He also ensured me he was no pet.
“I’m a pretty dull sort,” I told him. But he simply said he always wanted to fly aboard the Star Ship Enterprise.
“Do I look like James T Kirk?” I huffed, not wanting to be compared to a character that had been popular three centuries ago.
Ever since that day, Tek has called me James. I call him Dumby sometimes because my real name is Sally and I don’t look like no James.
I looked at him from beyond the shadow on my face and shook my head. “You don’t say pokerwhen you have a good hand. Besides, it ain’t even your turn.” I fiddled with my betting chips. There were days I thought about telling Tek we should play for something real, maybe the deed to his house, or a kidney, not just for fun. Tek never wins at poker, never till now. Glad all we were bettin’ were blue and red chips I’d picked up at a thrift shop last time I was on Earth.
I remember him telling me about the planet he’d run away from. It was one I had visited not too long ago. A nice lil’ place called Romulet Five where everything smelled of lavender and the sky was a remarkable shade of purple. When I asked him why he had stowed away on my ship, he simply shrugged and told me was seeking adventure (that was what he’d say every single time I asked him why he ditched his planet to hide away on a spacecraft with no set compass).
“You take too long, James.” Tek tapped his cards. “I decided to play twice.”
I rolled my eyes wishing I still drunk. I think that after a few shots of good ol’ whiskey, I would have been able to handle Tek’s madness easier. Dang you, sobriety.
