Gravity ~~~ Book Three | Blix's Bond

Chapter Five - Damion the Shuttle Repair Man

Bastet retrieved his rifle from the wreck of our Shuttle, then tossed me my duffel bag. I fished around inside it while he tried to contact the Knights.
"Alec? Alec, if you hear me, please respond! Alec!" Nothing but static. Bastet kicked the nearest object, a piece of scrap metal, into the trees. I remembered the muzzle that had fallen somewhere inside the Shuttle. I scrambled up into the wreckage.
"Kat, what are you-" Bastet stopped suddenly. There was music, bad music, coming from where Bastet had kicked the chunk of metal. I found my muzzle and attached it to my project. We walked through the trees cautiously, Bastet with his rifle, me with a tiny pistol. We emerged from the trees into...
"Welcome to Damion's Shuttle Repair Shop! I noticed your Shuttle crashing over there, and I was about to come find you to help you! Come in, come in, we just brewed another batch of Banshee..." The man, who I assumed was Damion, started walking toward his shop. I glanced at Bastet.
"He gives me an uneasy feeling."
Bastet nodded, "Safest thing would be to kill him," He leveled his rifle with Damion's head and placed his finger on the trigger.
"Wait!"
Damion turned just after Bastet tucked his rifle away.
"Hmm?"
"Nothing. Our Shuttle's that way."
Damion nodded and went to inspect the wreckage. I turned to Bastet.
"Maybe you're right. Can your Panel detect any of the weird rules of this universe?"
Bastet shook his head, "Considering how seizure-y the sky is, I'd say it's one of those party worlds. Antigravity, more water, less oxygen. We should get out of here as soon as possible. I feel like-" The Shuttle soared over the trees and would've severed my head if Bastet hadn't tackled me. Damion emerged from the forest.
"Sorry!" He shouted.
Bastet growled.
"You say you repair Shuttles?"
"Mhm."
"What dimension is this?"
"Dimension A52408, but we just call it Damion's Repair World."
"Really? Does anyone else live here?"
"Just my daughter, Anne, and I. We made this place to help people who get attacked by that horrible Multibeast."
Bastet stood up and brushed himself off, "How much will it be to repair our Shuttle?"
"We repair for free here."
"What's your native dimension?"
Damion thought for a moment, "Been so long I can hardly remember. Believe it was M602."
"Then you're a Kalimutant?"
Damion glanced at me, "Will it scare the young one?"
"She can handle it. She's been through...a lot."
Damion pressed his arms to his neck for a moment and the grease-covered Apron fell. He picked it up with two of his arms. That's right, I said two. Damion, this friendly Shuttle repairman, had four arms. He stretched the two that had been concealed.
"Feels good to stretch them out. They tend to scare travelers. Now, you wanted your Shuttle fixed up?"
Bastet nodded. Damion picked up the Shuttle and carried it over to the garage. He then brought out two chairs, a small table, and a bottle of Banshee.
"Enjoy!"
We sat down and Bastet poured the drink into the two cups that had been left.
"So, uh...what exactly is a Kalimutant?" I questioned.
"Natives of Dimension M602. I've encountered quite a few, and you handled your first meeting with them better than I did. I mean, I freaked out and splattered the man's brain cells against the wall. They've usually got four arms, two legs, one head, and five hearts. Quite a nice race, once you get over the whole four-arms thing."
I took a drink from my glass.
"Bastet, can I ask you something?"
He nodded.
"What was my father like when he was with the Knights?"
Bastet was suddenly interested in his glass of Banshee.
"Katherine, he was a great man. A damn great man. But he was...impulsive. He charged into battles too quickly. Even at our headquarters, he would be the first one to ask a question when one of the scientists would try to explain something."
I looked up toward the flashing sky.
"Where were you planning to take me, anyway?"
"Dimension 6. One of the only safe dimensions for Knights," He stopped suddenly, as if something had bitten him.
Damion walked over to us and spoke, "You're all set. Wasn't that bad, the engine was fried and was spewing smoke."
Bastet thanked him and we got back in the Shuttle. Bastet punched in the coordinates for Dimension 6, and we were on our way.

This time, I actually paid attention to the colors outside the Shuttle. According to Bastet, we were in a part of the Multiverse called the Absence, the space between all the different dimension entrances. I turned back to my project. The rifle was almost finished.
I started humming to myself.
"What're you singing?" Bastet's voice startled me.
"Just a song that my dad used to sing to me."
"How's it go?"
I thought for a minute, "Later. Let me focus."