That weird girl Qelimara was now sitting in a smallish car. I must be insane, I thought as I sat down in the passenger seat. At least I get to keep Lum. I won't let anyone hurt my baby dolly.
"So, we're out of the house," I said. "Now what?"
"We go," Qelimara replied, throwing the car into gear.
"Oh." I had no idea how to make small talk with this… no-eyed stranger? Was she even human? I wasn't sure I wanted to know, so I remained silent as she drove us to a basin just past the outskirts of town.
As we got out, I asked, "So are you finally going to explain the situation to me?"
"We're almost there, promise," Qelimara said. So I followed her to the center of the basin, with Lum sitting on my shoulders.
Qelimara looked up at the sky for a second, then tapped on a communicator. "Position IU-01-71, correction sixty-six degrees northeastnorth, Wellton, Yylinovia, Galacti," she said.
Before I could ask what she was talking about, the air above us started to ripple and twist in a strange pattern. Then a large orb thing suddenly appeared above us, four meters in diameter. As it descended, I realized that its gleaming surface was an ugly, splotchy brownish color.
Lum tugged on my ear. "What is it?" I asked.
"Tarvalen wells. Spacing bowls," she whispered.
"Wow, look at you, baby dolly! That was almost a full sentence," I excitedly said. "Actually, that didn't make too much sense. What's a tarvalen?"
"I believe that would be me," a new voice said. I looked over to its source: a vaguely familiar-looking man wearing a white hood. Right, I had seen him at school!
"You! You're Tarvalen? I recognize that weird-looking hood," I pointed. "Why were you at ESU? What were you too late for?"
"Er, the androids," he replied, looking self-conscious. "My hood isn't that weird, is it?"
"It's very you," Qelimara assured him.
"Yeah, you get me. By the way, my sensors didn't detect those androids coming in, so we're clear for now," Tarvalen said. "Once you're ready, let's get on my ship."
"I'll only be a minute," Qelimara replied.
"Ship?" I gave it a quick once-over. "Looks like a turd ball."
"Huh." Tarvalen gave me a funky look. "That's a new one."
"Sorry, sorry. First thing that came to mind, don't listen to me," I sheepishly said. "So, er, what is it exactly?"
"It's, ah… called the Shell, and it can get you halfway across the galaxy in a millionth of the time. I designed it myself," he explained. Then he looked back at it. "It only looks bad, okay? I had to do the finish myself, and brown was the cheapest color they had…"
"I told you, don't worry about it," I replied. "As long as it works, right? Point A to point B, just think of it that way. Seriously, I didn't mean it."
"Sure, sure." He still looked forlorn. The image of a rapidly-melting snowflake suddenly popped into my mind.
In an effort to lift his spirits, I tried to change the subject. "Halfway across the galaxy in a millionth of the time, huh? That's, uhm, wild to think about," I said. "What about relativity? Doesn't time, like, dilate a bunch the faster you go?"
"If you only relied on speed, maybe," he shrugged. "That's the beauty of it."
"Alright, car's buried," Qelimara said as she approached us. Was that where she had gone? "You two acquainted now? Let's get this show on the road."
Wait, buried? She said buried. Why would she–?
Whiff! The Shell's door opened, and the three of us filed in. I mean, four of us. Three and a half, maybe?
"Gooding move," Lum said, then slid into my backpack.
Inside the vessel, six sterile-looking seats sat arranged in a circle around a shiny silver orb in the center. As I settled in one, Lum hopped into the seat next to mine.
After the other two got in, Tarvalen touched the orb. "Let's see here… position IU-08-07, correction four degrees north… Aanvil, Minnelind, Konjico."
Huh, sounds like what Qelimara said to bring it here. Coordinates, maybe?
My thoughts were cut short as the ship went sideways, upside down and backwards all at the same time, somehow squeezing me and stretching me apart without moving – or wait, I was moving, but not really—??
*
Just as quickly as it started, it stopped. It had only been a second or so, right? I felt like I had been journeying for days.
"We're here," Tarvalen called, pushing open the hatch. As it unfolded onto the ground, a cold wind blew in. "Just, ah, give me a minute to get in touch with our client."
"Whoa," I murmured as I stepped out of the ship. We had landed in a town, but it was very different from what I was familiar with.
The sky was pale green instead of purple, for starters. The puffy clouds on the horizon looked the same though.
The town's buildings were the same colors as the rocks surrounding them, flowing with people going about their lives. As we walked across the hard-packed earth, I noticed floating vehicles of various sizes zooming by.
This… is a different planet. I'm on a different planet!
"Enjoying the view?" Qelimara nudged me. "I've always wanted to show you around here. Konjico is one of my favorite worlds."
"Konjico," I breathed. "I'm an alien here."
"Uhm… I guess you aren't wrong." She sounded off-put, for some reason. "Third rule of interstellar travel, Kendel: aliens are people too, so just call them people. Though I recommend not trying to socialize; I doubt you know Kathlantic."
"Uh, sure," I nodded, still agape. Another group of hovering vehicles zoomed by. "Hey, how did they figure out how to mass-produce hover technology? Or, better question – does anything here have wheels?"
"Second rule of interstellar travel: each world has its own laws," Qelimara stated. "In Konjico's case, electromagnetic repulsion is easier to maintain here than wheels and fuel, especially for long-distance travel."
"What, so like the entire planet is a magnet? That's absurd," I replied.
"Maybe to you. First rule of interstellar travel: Have an open mind," Qelimara said, then pointed at the ground. "This world's unique geodynamics gives its entire terrestrial surface a powerful electromagnetic charge." Then she pointed up at the verdant sky. "Konjico also has two sets of rings – one formed by its gravity, the other formed by its electromagnetic field. And yes, the latter is way bigger."
"Huh." I rubbed my chin. "Good thing my phone is dead."
"Yeah, foreign tech typically reacts poorly to this environment," Qelimara nodded. "Once Tarvalen's finished with his client, I can show you around some more. Aanvil is practically my home away from home."
"Uhm…" I rubbed my neck.
"Oh, sorry." Qelimara withdrew, now embarrassed. "Here I am, talking like we're still… nothing. Sorry."
The silence that followed felt almost torturous. Should I say something, or…?
"Hey, Qelimara, Kendel. Got some, uh, news for ya." Tarvalen nervously pocketed his communicator. Oh, thank goodness. You wonderful wet blanket. Free me!
Qelimara looked at him. "What's with that apologetic tone?"
"Well, in short, my client changed its terms. Not normally an issue, but… you probably aren't gonna like this."
"Get to the point!"
"Of course! Ahem. They want me to determine the variant's value as a weapon. To that end, they want an in-depth examination and observation log," Tarvalen half-muttered. "If it's up to the client's desired specifications, they'll take the variant. If not, they just said to… uh, eliminate it."
"WHAT," Qelimara and I both yelled. I take back everything nice I thought about you. No one touches my therapy baby!
"Hey, relax. You two aren't technically part of this contract, so you won't get in trouble if things go south."
"Things have already gone south! Why'd you let them change up the deal like that? Better question, why are your clients so shady to begin with?" Qelimara gave an exasperated groan.
"They seemed chill, okay? And, ah, they offered the most, too," Tarvalen replied. "I'm… still paying off some debts, you know how it goes."
"I thought you got the sky tower as a gift. Or was it another sussy loan?"
"No, no! Just the contractors I worked with. They're tired of waiting, is all."
"Contractors… the ones you commissioned for the Shell!? You've had it for decades!!"
"Haha… I sure have…"
As Qelimara began yelling at him some more, Lum tugged on my sleeve.
"What is it, baby dolly? I'll protect you, promise," I whispered.
After making her way onto my arm, Lum pointed at the Shell.
"Hmm," I grinned.