Chapter 11: Vuud With Us, Part 1

Merkury log:146 Days out from Marble

We-Vuud and I stared into the Darkstream keeping our back to Carnage and did not mention it or the possibility that they could still visit destruction upon us.

Vuud sat in the crew seat seeming quite at home.From subtle automatic movements I was aware that he could probably operate the flute at least competently with only a little more familiarity. He watched silently except for a rare question. He readily complied if I asked for assistance. A faint smell came from his folds-a not unpleasant combination of, I think, leather and mushroom.

We entered the Darkstream . Now we had to maneuver to acquire the Strand which is most closely associated with our destination : Wentworth. Screech! Shudder! What the hell is that? Abrupt and horrifying sounds from our vessel! I glance quickly at Vuud, the only thing different in Merkury. He turns slowly and looks at me.

We manage to align ourselveswith our strand but with another very slightbut still puzzling and nerve wracking tremor in the flute's motion. This has never happened before. I don't know what to do.

That night we log off our controls and manual navtools.I show Vuud our food and share a meal with him. We are quiet. I show Vuud his sleepnet. "Vuud, I'm sorry to treat you like a prisoner, but I feel I must lock your net-at least till I know you better." He nods and looks deeply at me, but almost with a suggestion of a smile.

I toss feverishly around in my net. Normally I have no trouble sleeping, but between the recent experience of Carnage, having the unknown Vuud aboard, and the odd behavior of my wonderful flute, I writhe around for hours off and on. At some point, I feel there is someone next to me. In the half light I see the muffled form of my passenger. I feel him staring at me from under his hood. I don't really feel threatened even though he should be locked in, but I do flick open the digit razor. He touches my shoulder through the net and I am flooded with a sweet sense of peace. I sleep through the rest of the night wonderfully.

I woke up to another shiver from the flute; I bounded from my net and made my way to the viewscreen and controls. Everything looked normal, but from somewhere I heard a small ticking or creaking sound.I tensed as the sound of a throat reminds me I'm not alone. I go to Vuud's bunk and there he is of course, locked up tight. I release him.

"Good morning Mica, did you sleep well?"

"Good morning. Yes I did thanks to you, very well."

"I noticed something odd in the flute's working yesterday as I'm sure you did."

"Yes, it has never done anything like this before."

"That means it is caused either by your new passenger-me, or by those beasts we left behind on Carnage," choking on that last word.

"I don't know why they would release you to me and then destroy all of us."

"I assure you Mica, I have no wanting to be a part of the destruction of the flute containing us."

"Please explain why the casual killers would not want to dispose of you there but want to kill you out here in the Darkstream."

"It's not easy to grasp with the mind, except that they fear me on Carnage, and they should. I would murder many of them in cold blood, that is, I think I would, well I probably wouldn't. But for them I have no liking. They know this but---there have been occasions when relatives of people who sought to hurt me have suddenly died-a number of such occasions.They have become—"

Suddenly, Merkury jerked and groaned all through her being in a very frightening way. I held my breath.

"Vuud we need to act now. I'm going to check all the operating systems, frame and all stem to stern."

"Understood; if I might check the mind of the boat, how do you say, information control electronics? I have some experience in that."

I stared at Vuud. He could do anything he wanted with the infosettings, change the navigation, the electronics, oxygen, fuel, everything. But somehow I trusted him.

"Vuud----go ahead. See what you can find."

"Yes."

To the accompaniment of various wrenches and whines and shrieks from our Merkury whose thin metal/fiber skin was all that separated us from Eternity we worked.

I popped open bulkheads, pried up deck plates, unscrewed the overheads. Every time I heard one of those anguished noises which were increasing in frequency, I would rush to where the sound seemed to come from. To no avail. Sometimes something seemed too hot or perhaps a line appeared kinked but as I looked closer-nothing. I was soaked in sweat. I had a rip in my slickskin and a bad bloodblister where my thumb was pinched in the temp locker.

Suddenly there was one more shudder followed by- nothing. I waited, breathless. Still nothing Merkury glided as usual, moving with the Darkstream. A shiny thin yellow shaft almost like a light beam, I supposed.

I ran to the control room, hitting my head on an overhead panel still hanging down. There was Vuud peering at a series of columns of numeric controls.

"Did you find something?"

Vuud regarded me in an odd detached way. "You've hurt yourself." He said emerging from his trance.

"Yes, but did you find something?"

"You note these pieces of information here? They don't match anything else. I believe they make to work the craft's attitude controls and if badly misadjusted, as these are, would soon cause distortion of -What the boat's name?"

"Merkury."

"Yes Merkury's frame would be bent and the attitude motors destroyed, likely fire occurring and so forth. I tried negating the scripts and the anomalies diminished-so I think I will finish getting rid of these codes left behind by our would be executioners."

"Vuud, you are wonderful"

"Yes, well. By the way, is there anyone else aboard Merkury?"

"Well yes, Ronnie is a member of our crew too. I haven't seen him since I was captured by the marauders. He is a master of disguise."