The Curse of the Topsy-Turvy | ONC 2020 Honourable Mention

5 - Lost in space

The wistful image of my cosy sleeping tank evaporated in the harsh glare of Aalyxh's discovery. "Intruders? Can you locate them?"

"It's vague, just a sensation, similar to a sentient being asleep and dreaming. Definitely not the brainwave pattern of one of the crew, though." She swayed back and forth in her seat with closed eyes.

I'd always had a hard time to imagine how Aalyxh's telepathy worked. My friend's ability had freaked me out as a kid, and it took ages to get used to it. Even after sailing the backwaters of the galaxy together, I shied away from allowing her access to my own brainstems.  "Any idea where they are sleeping?"

"No, the snippet was too faint and disappeared before I could tag it. Is it possible someone sneaked aboard on Tyrin?"

Someone, not something. Aalyxh was very clear with her beliefs and semantics. If something was able to think, they had a right to be called someone.

"You heard Hijac, they cleaned up after Ben and me. Do you want me to call them?"

I hated to keep my crew from their well-earned rest, but Hrrovr thumbed the comm. "All hands'ss to the bridge."

It didn't take long for Hijac and Ben to return. The latter wore the sleeves of his coverall knotted around his waist and showed off a breast covered by a thin growth of curly hair, too sparse to qualify as a pelt. "Cap, what's the emergency?"  He scratched a tangle of his chest curls.

"Aalyxh receives foreign brainwaves. Guess we must search the ship for an intruder."

A hint of sour doubt engulfed me. "I sterilised the cargo bay and the entrance hatch after loading the freight. And I incinerated your suits and face masks."

I didn't doubt Hijac's thoroughness, but neither had I reason to mistrust Aalyxh's gift. "I know. Is it possible someone entered undetected during or after the loading?"

"Hardly. But we better check now, before we run into trouble." With this, the karjkan snatched a scanner and left the bridge, headed for the cargo hold.

Ben wrestled his arms into the sleeves of his garment while staggering back and forth to compensate for the Topsy's wild movements. As soon as he succeeded, he braced himself against the nav console, ran a hand through his head pelt, and addressed the pilot. "Any suggestions concerning the intruder's species? Can you give us an estimation of their size at least?"

The jingling of Hrrovr's scales supported Ben's question. But Aalyxh only opened one eye halfway to stare at her male colleagues. "Don't you figure I'd have told you if I had more information? Besides, brainwaves don't correlate with body size. Otherwise, the two of you would have to be considered intelligent."

"Hum." Ben ignored the jibe. "Nothing like a wild comet chase for breakfast. Let me repeat: We're searching for active, intelligent brain cells, probably in a body, while our ship plays rollercoaster in a storm of magnitude eight. Easy peasy."

"Yes. Though I'm not sure about the body or about intelligence. I'd call it more a sentient awareness." Aalyxh massaged her temples. "I'll inform you if I establish a stable mind contact."

Hrrovr and Ben exchanged desperate glances before they left the bridge, fighting against the Topsy's unpredictable motions. As bad as I felt for them, I was glad I could stay in my chair, bolted securely to the deck.

We gave up two hundred clicks later. The search had been in vain, Aalyxh had lost the contact with the ghostly intruder, and Ben the contents of his stomach. Hijac smelled like a candy store, an unmistakable statement he had enough of being expected to clean up after his crewmates just because he was octopedal and surefooted.