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OMEGA DAYS (INCOMPLETE DRAFT) BY STEPHEN V. NICKOLAS 5-JAN-2003

The Orb Universal.  It was a spaceship the size of a small house, completely
round, black and shiny.  On its bridge were three people: the rough young
man Wanderer from the planet Anthron; the beautiful young blonde Princess
Avatar Patricia of Omegadom-3; and the ship's captain, a large, scruffy man
who was known only as the Space Case.

The Space Case sat at the console on his bridge, keying away, piloting the
craft through space.

A crackle came over the ship's intercom, transforming into the voice of
the Avatar.  "This is Patty," she said.

"Yes, I know," said Space Case.

"Look, Spacey," said Patty, "I hope you've got the right coordinates set
this time.  I've asked you ten times before to bring us back down to
Omegadom.  I'm getting restless out here in space - I haven't been home in
five years!"

"Patience, miss," Space Case said in a low, ominous voice.

"You keep saying that!  I'm sick of this - I'm coming out and setting a new
course right now, and you're not going to stop me."

Space Case turned toward a hall on his left, to see a door slamming and
Patty stomping in his direction.  Her unadorned hair flowed behind her in
waves.  The blazing anger in her eyes seemed hardly suited to her
appearance.  She stormed up to Spacey and pushed him out of his seat.  "I'm
sick and tired of you screwing around day after day.  I want to go home, and
I mean now.  And when I say now..."  She sat in Spacey's seat herself, and
proceeded to hammer away at the console, quite certain of herself.  "The
ship's under my command, Spacey.  Get used to it."

With a groan, Space Case stalked away, as Wanderer came out of his room
toward the bridge.  They encountered each other, and Wanderer grabbed Spacey
by the shoulders.  "Sorry, man.  I don't really care for your style of
command either.  You're gone.  From now on, this ship belongs to Patty and
Wandy."

"Why?" said Space Case.  "What the hell did I do to you?  Or Patty, what the
hell's she got against me?"

"Let's put it this way," retorted Wandy.  "You promised her three years ago
you'd make a landing on her planet.  You were almost right there, and you
passed right by.  Not to forget that your own base is right on the moon
above her planet.  Sorry, but if you're that much of a spacecase, it's all
over.  Got it?  O-SHI-MA-I."

Space Case stomped away.  Wandy continued toward the bridge, and met up
with Patty, who had been watching the entire incident from afar.  She turned
to face him.  "He took that rather well," she said, sarcastically.

"I'm surprised.  Back then he tried to kill me.  What about you?  You know
how to get home?"

"Sure," said Patty.  "I haven't sat around and watched Spacey these five
years for nothing.  Now Wandy, let's go.  Take this seat."  She pulled out a
chair next to her, and Wandy sat down in it.  Patty continued to type away
on the keyboard.  "Know where the moon base is?" she asked.  "I	live right
down there on the planet."

On the monitor, a blue planet came into sight.  The ship descended toward
the planet.

Meanwhile, Space Case paced furiously around his room.  He was talking to
himself out loud.  "If I can't have this ship, she can't either!  I'm not
giving this ship to a GIRL.  For-GET it."  He looked at a plant on his
dresser.  "She won't even give me my dinner anymore.  I'm starving!"  He
tore a leaf off the plant and took a bite of it.  "Mmm, not bad," he
remarked.  He ate more of the plant.

                                    * * *

The Orb Universal set down on Omegadom-3 near the edge of a forest, in a
meadow that stretched out as far as the eye could see.  A pause; then a door
opened in the side and out went Space Case.  He went into the forest, nearly
fainting from hunger, and found some berries on a vine.  He ripped them from
the vine and ate them.

Not one hour later, he went back into the ship.  Six gnome dwarfs watched as
the door closed, and a few minutes later, they saw the door open and a small
robot eject Wandy.  Then the robot retreated into the spaceship and the door
closed; and the ship took off into space.

Wandy awoke with a headache and two thoughts at the top of his mind:  Where
am I?  Who am I?  He saw nothing in sight anywhere he looked but to one
direction.  He guessed it was mid-morning, and observed the sun rising above
the infinite meadow.  The forest was to his west, he calculated, and he
headed in that direction, to see what or who he could find there.

The six gnomes - five men, Kamiodo, Lumasoto, Adoramo, Eredaso and Walgo;
and one woman, Liliota - came upon Wandy.

"Was art du?  Telen mi dyn namen!" Liliota shouted at Wandy.

Wandy could only emit a confused "Huh?"

"Telen uns dyn namen!" insisted Liliota.

"W...what are you saying?" stammered Wandy.

The other gnomes turned to Liliota as she turned to face them.  They started
jabbering in their own tongue, then Liliota turned back to face Wandy.

"Vot is you nam?" Liliota asked.

"I...I'm not sure," stumbled Wandy.  "I can't remember anything."

"You knowen princess?  Like princess you speaken, no?  Avatar?" she said.

"Why," said Wandy to himself, "does that name sound familiar?"

Liliota turned back to the other gnomes "Dis man de printzesseen vitten."
She turned back to Wandy, and procured a small black device with a single
button.  "We find dis in the cave," she said.  "You know dis?"  She held it
out to Wandy.  He looked at it in puzzlement, then took it, examined it, and
hit the button on top.  A roar of engines, and the Orb Universal landed in
the meadow again.  Puzzled, he walked toward the ship.  All of a sudden, it
hit him.  "Stay back," he said to the gnomes.  "This could get messy."  He
went up into the ship and found the lifeless body of Space Case on the
bridge.  Then he heard a voice from the walls.  "Help me!"  It was Patty.
He examined the console, and saw an arm across the screen.  It moved
downward, and he saw Patty's face.  "The monitor...touch the back of the
monitor!"  He did, and felt a tremendous shock that sent him flying
backwards.  With a grand display of lightning flashing throughout the wall
displays, Patty rematerialized on the floor.  She struggled to move at
first, but then picked herself up.  Then she went over to Spacey's corpse
and examined it.  "He's dead...those grobles will drive you insane and then
kill you.  Everyone on Omegadom-3 knows that.  Come, we shall see to his
burial."

They left the spaceship, hauling Space Case's corpse with them.  The gnomes,
watching from outside, shrunk back with fright, then cautiously approached
the two.  "You Avatar?"  Liliota asked.

"Yes, Lili, that's me," Patty replied.

"I not see you been five year, you not being here been our doom, no?" said
Liliota.  "I not see you people but dead, we just finish this fortnight the
last of what we find, and there not much to eat."

"I must find my parents and see how they are," said Patty.  "Do you want to
come along?  You and your friends?"

"We come with Princess," said Liliota.

"Wandy, you too," said Patty.

                                    * * *

The group walked through the forest until they reached a large clearing.  In
the clearing was a great and glorious castle, the Castle Epsill.  They
entered the castle hand in hand, Patty leading.

Patty and Wanderer went into a room by themselves, as the gnomes examined
the dining hall.  Wanderer spotted two skeletons lying on the floor, showing
signs of decay.  He beckoned Patty over.  When she saw the skeletons, she
fell to the ground in tears.  For these were not merely skeletons: they were
both wearing crowns.

"Mommy...Daddy...I'm all alone," she sobbed.

"No, Patty," said Wandy.  "I'm here.  I'm with you."  He reached out to her,
and she took him in her arms, and they remained locked together, weeping.
"Life is short," Wandy said, "but we can make the most of it.  You are the
Queen."

"I guess..." she sobbed.

"Now come, let's look around the palace.  Bring your friends along, maybe
they can cheer you up.  Ne?"

She began to perk up.  "I shall bring Lili in, and her friends, and we shall
be crowned with their witness," she said.  "As there is no one else to name,
I shall wed you, and you shall be my King, is that alright?"

Wandy did a double-take.  "Me?  King?  Well...why not, eh?"

Lili walked into the room, with the other gnomes behind her.  When she saw
Patty and Wandy holding each other, she let out a short yell.  "Aaah!  Vot
you do zat for?"

"Lili," said Patty, "do you see those skeletons?"  She pointed to her
parents.  Lili nodded slowly.

"You are zen now queen?"  asked Lili.

"I am now queen.  And I want you to witness as I make Wandy my king."  She
turned to Wandy.  "You've seen, I hope, enough to know how the Omegadom
wedding rituals are performed?"

"I think so," said Wandy.  "But this is so sudden.  And you're a princess.
Ahem, queen."

"Yes, queen, and the queen can bend the rules if she must," replied Patty.
"Have you seen, back a few years ago, the wedding of Moulay Andenoid, the
pop diva, and Lybeq Orgmat?  That was a fairly traditional Omegadom wedding
and it was televised for the whole known universe to see.  After all, Moulay
was my fifth cousin."  She took the queen's crown and put it on her head;
then she took the king's crown in her hands.

"Oh, yeah!  But I didn't know you then.  Wait, I caught another one later,
between Lanzy Ramanta and that one guy from planet Delphi..."

"Lanzy got married?"  remarked Patty.  "She seemed to shun the sight of
men.  Where did they get married?"

"Ciucussu," Wandy replied.

"Oh!  I knew Ciucussu well...but from the looks of it, it's gone.  It was an
hour's walk east from here.  Well, any wedding performed on Omega soil would
have been fairly traditional, with us being a traditional society...I broke
tradition by leaving my family and running off to space with you-know-who,
and I met you.  It was love at first sight, but I was not allowed to express
my feelings because you were (by your own admission) a commoner from a
backwater planet, and princesses have to marry princes, you know that...but
now, it's just you and me."

"So...shall we go to it?" asked Wandy.

"Not quite yet," Patty replied.  "I want to go back to the Orb and roll
camera for the record.  Lili, you come with me.  If the rest of you would
like to take care of my parents?"

Patty, Wandy and Lili walked off together, as the other gnomes hauled off
the skeletons.

                                    * * *

Back at the Orb Universal, Patty rummaged through her room for a videocam,
and finding one, she came out.  "Lili," she said, "I need you to hold the
camera, and look into it.  Here" -- she flipped a few switches on the panel
and handed it to Lili -- "take this and point it at us.  Can you see us?"

"I see you," said Lili.

"Okay then."  Patty turned to Wandy.  "I'll bring the crown out to you at
the end."

"I think, didn't it, something like...fountain..."  Wandy stumbled.

"Yes, you're getting it."

"My bride is a garden enclosed, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed," Wandy
recited.

Patty nodded at him.  "I am a fountain in the garden," she continued, "a
wellspring of lifewater."

She stretched out her hand.  Paused.  Wandy was a bit uncertain of himself.
She took a quick glance at Lili to make sure she was doing alright, then
turned back toward Wandy.  She waved her hand toward him.  He got it: he
stooped down and kissed her hand.  She drew it back.  "Now you," she
whispered.  He stretched out his hand, and she kissed it.  "I belong to
my lover, and he to me," she continued.  She took Wandy's hands, and stood
there staring at him while his eyes darted about nervously.  A few minutes
later she slowly let go, and walked over to Lili.  She examined the camera,
and seeing it had done its job, took it back, turned it off, and went into
the ship once again, coming out with the crown in her hand.  She then laid
the crown on Wandy's head.  "A bit abbreviated," she said, "but that will
suffice."

The other gnomes came over.

"This is the entire population of Omegadom?" asked Wandy.

Patty nodded.

Wandy looked to the east and observed the land of dearth.  "And this is all
there is...we should do something about it.  On the many planets that
support human life, there has to be enough plant life, enough human life, to
bring back your planet as it was when I met you."

"Always the idealist," Patty grinned.  "Well, anything is worth a try."

"Well," said Wandy, "where should we go?"

"Why don't we go to Spacey's planet?" she asked.

"Yes.  Yes!"

"Okay, let's do it.  I'll take my best friend Lili with me, but I hate to
rip these...people from their homes, so it's up to them if they want to come
along."

She then translated herself for the gnomes.  The gnomes shrugged, and walked
away, except for Lili.  Lili, Patty and Wandy went up into the Orb Universal
and shut the door.

                                    * * *

Patty went up to the console on the bridge, flipped some switches, hit some
keys.  Then she turned to Lili.  "You are about to go somewhere," she said,
"that you've never been before."

"I like what new," Lili replied.

The spaceship began to lift off the ground; they left the pull of the planet
and went off toward the edges of their solar system.

"Wait," Patty said, as she changed the ship's course.  They headed toward
Omegadom-3's moon, and landed.  She took off her crown and left it in her
room.

"Ah yes," said Wandy, "we want to gather our stash from Spacey's base, don't
we."

They left the Orb and descended into a cave.  Whatever they could find they
carried into the ship; when only an oxygen machine remained, they went on
board and took off again.

"Course?" asked Wandy.

"Omicron," said Patty.

"Oh - Spacey's planet.  Are you sure we can make it on our fuel cells?"

"No," she replied. "But at least there's a service station not too far away
we can stop at - and we can replenish our fuel cells there.  Oh - and maybe
get a bite to eat while we're at it."

"Good move, I guess," said Wandy.

In a few hours they came to an orbital station - it was a parking lot
sitting on an asteroid, with a convenience store built on top of it.  Patty
put on her princess tiara, and brought Wandy and Lili inside.

There they met a strange sight.

Behind the counter was a woman at the cash register, wearing a glove on her
left hand, with a dark plastic section in the middle of her palm.  She held
the hand up, so that the plastic section faced the register.

A man walked up to the woman and said, "What are you doing with that glove
on? People will think you're a crook or something."

"Not at all," said the woman.  "I've worked here for five years and no one
has really asked me about it."

"Take it off," the man shot back.

"I don't care if you're my boss, or if you're God," she retorted.  "I am not
taking my glove off."

"What if I told you you'd be fired?"

Reluctantly, she pulled her glove off.  He looked at her as if she had three
eyes.  Well, in a way she did - right in the palm of her hand, dead center,
there was an eye!  He freaked out. "I...I...I c...can't let this get out!
W...what would p...people th...think?  I'd b...be ruined!" he stammered.
Finally he said, "You'll have to go."

After a little argument, she slunk away.  Patty called out to her, "Ma'am?"

Sobbing, the woman walked over to Patty.  "Now what do I do?  I'm ruined!"

"What's your name, ma'am?" asked Patty.

"My name is Luz," said the woman.  "I've always had to wear this glove
because this is my only real eye.  Otherwise I'm patch-blind."

"Ruined?  What do you mean 'ruined' anyways?"

"Well, I rent my apartment.  It's pretty spare, but it's home."

"And so," said Patty, "you're without a job and you'll be without a home.
That's no problem - look."  She pointed to her tiara.  "Come with us."

"Can I get my stuff from home first?"

"Yes, if you want.  We'll be here when you get back."

"I need a hand," said Luz.  "It's a little difficult to move when I can't
see around the furniture."

"What's your home planet?" asked Patty.

"Orbis," Luz replied; "that's about three hours' flight at the top speed of
my craft."

"Alright," said Patty.  "Wandy, you go with her.  I don't really want to
send you with her alone, but there's really no option.  I'll give you twelve
hours - that should be enough."  She placed a tiny device on Wandy's chest.
"I will track you down if you do not return by then."

Luz led Wandy to her small craft, and they entered it.  Luz turned on the
craft and they took off.

Patty boarded the Orb Universal, and from the bridge she searched the
Intergalactic Planetary Database.  She had not been to Omicron before, but
she knew it supported human life; she wanted to find how far it was to
Omicron.  At the top speed of the Orb, she determined, she could pilot to
Omicron in three days.

                                    * * *

Luz piloted her two-seater through space until she arrived at a planet with
an orange-red sky.  Not a very bright planet - a lot of the buildings were
black and dark colors.  She landed on the Orbena landing strip, and moved
the little ship out of the way.  The two dismounted.  As they walked toward
a maintenance shed, Wandy saw a sign posted, and his eyes were drawn to it.
It was very ornamental, although it was basic in its colors of blue and
gold.

                        BY ORDER OF THE ORBENA COUNCIL
                       THIS LANDING STRIP WAS DEDICATED
                         BY KAJAN ROMESKYAVO MAYOR OF
                           ORBENA - CAPITAL CITY OF
                                    ORBIS.

                                  5322 05 24

The door on the maintenance shed was locked, but Luz took out a key and
opened it.  The two people went in.  They came to an elevator, and Luz
pressed the "down" button.  A rumbling, and then the door opened; Luz went
in, Wandy following.  Luz rummaged through her purse and found a flashlight;
she turned it on, then looked at the buttons, pressing one that read "B2".
The elevator began to rumble, then descend.  A minute and a half later, the
elevator door opened upon a dark hallway.  The hallway was so dark that it
was difficult for Wandy and Luz to see each other - even though Luz held a
flashlight.

After walking through the twisted passages for about fifteen minutes, they
encountered a door.  Luz opened it onto a small mud room.  "Stay here for
a few minutes," she said, "while I toss everything into my dresser.  We'll
be able to lug it much easier, considering how far we have to take it."

Luz opened her door and went into her dark apartment, closing the door again
behind her.  There was a bit of banging, then the door re-opened and she
beckoned Wandy in.  Together, they dragged Luz's large, heavy dresser
through the tunnel to the elevator.  Since the dresser was too large, they
had to haul it up the stairs nearby.  In another fifteen minutes, they made
it to her spacecraft, and loaded it in the back.  "I left my other
furniture," said Luz.  "I won't need it anymore."  They got in and took off.
It was a little difficult at first, but once they were free of the pull of
Orbis gravity, they were in for smooth sailing the rest of the way back to
the convenience store.

                                    * * *

They arrived safely on the asteroid.  Wandy and Lili helped load the dresser
into the Orb Universal; then they all boarded.  Luz waved good-bye to her
personal spacecraft, and closed the door behind her.  Patty pushed some
buttons on the console, and they took off into the void of space once again.

"We are heading for the planet Omicron," said Patty.  "I speculate we shall
arrive in seventy hours.  Make yourselves at home.  Once I have stabilized
the course, I will show Luz to her room."  She continued to program the
console.  About five minutes later she got up from her chair and headed for
Luz.  "This ship is meant to provide domicile for three, as built.  But we
never use the den, so you can take it."

Wandy and Luz moved the dresser into the den, and Lili opened the sofa up
into a bed.  It was mostly made, and Lili rearranged the sheets.  "This
you bed," said Lili.  "Here sleep you the night."

Patty went into the ship's kitchen to fix some dinner for the crew.  At
least there was still plenty of food here, although that was partially the
result of Patty shopping while Wandy was away.  She went over to an
apparatus mounted on the wall, and hit a button.  A circle in the middle
began to burn.  She took a flat piece of metal, and put it on a rack about
an inch above the flames, then went to a small closet that felt ice-cold
inside and took out a bunch of green pods, a few things that looked like
tiny trees, and a number of strips of something she hadn't seen since she
had been a child on her home planet.  She took a bottle of a yellowish
liquid and poured a little of it on the metal surface, spreading it out with
a spatula, then threw the various items on top, proceeding to toss them
about with the spatula.  She then took a few spices off shelves, and a
bottle of a dark brown liquid, and added a little of each into the mixture.

A few minutes later, she turned off the flame, shoveled the mixture onto
four smaller flat sheets of metal, and carried one at a time into the ship's
dining room.  She then went back to the kitchen to tap some water from the
faucet, and took four glasses out to the table.  From a drawer she produced
four two-tined forks and four flat-edged spoons, and carried them with her.
She then crossed the ship to the bridge, and to the individual cabins, and
fetched the rest of the gang.

Wandy looked at his platter and stuck his fork in tentatively, then popped
one of the strips into his mouth.  "Mm, not bad," he remarked.  He then
proceeded to shovel the remainder of the repast down his throat as well as
he could, despite the rather unfamiliar form of the utensils.

Lili looked at her plate, unsure what to make of it.  Patty showed her how
to hold the fork in one hand, the spoon in the other, and use the spoon to
push the food onto her fork.  Once she got the hang of it, no problem.  Luz
and Patty pecked daintily at the mixture, Luz more tentatively than Patty,
as Patty was familiar with the dish.  "What is this called?" asked Luz.  "I
don't recall as I've had anything like this before."

"It's called poyvershuffle," she said.  "It's something we had every once in
a while when I was a child.  Vegetables were a staple food back there
because we were all fairly health-conscious.  That's why the people lived
such long lives.  Until some strange disease wiped out all the plants that
produced food, leaving only the grobles which were unfit for human
consumption..."

"It's a little bit different," said Wandy, "but we had something similar on
Anthron called mukupan.  I don't think it had the same ingredients though.
I never really cared for mukupan because I never liked the vegetables we
had on Anthron.  But I do remember once tasting Omicrian cuisine, which was
very similar again to Anthrian although it was a lot spicier.  Damn, I long
for that.  Well, aren't we going to Omicron?"

"That's right, Wandy," Patty replied, "and we'll be there in no time.  I
think we shouldn't have any problems getting Omicrian vegetables, and we can
plant them in the Infinite Meadow.  Food a-plenty, ne?"

They finished their meal, and departed their separate ways.  Patty went to
clean up, Luz went to look around the ship, Lili went to her cabin, and
Wandy went to examine the bridge.

Luz found the shower, went in with a robe, and came out wearing the robe and
carrying her uniform over her shoulder.

Later that night, Patty activated a monitor on the bridge, and the four
watched a newscast from Omicron.

                                    * * *

"Wake up!  We're here!"  Wandy came rushing into the cabins from the bridge.
"It's pretty dead, it seems to be about nineteen hundred hours local time,
but this is it - Omicronia City.  I've taken the liberty of touching us down
in docking bay ninety-four."

Patty awoke, put on a white dress, and reached out to get her crown.  Wandy
came into her room with a device, which he turned on.  She donned her crown,
then turned to Wandy.  "What is it?"

"You still have your tiara, right?" asked Wandy.  "I want to put something
on it so you'll always remember me."

Patty fished her tiara out of the dresser beside her bed.  Wandy engraved
a message in the Anthrian script on the inside.  Patty went to read it.
"Beloved Queen, thou art mine forever.  Wandy."  She turned to Wandy and
planted a kiss on his cheek, then went to check on Lili.

Luz came out, wearing a simple gray jumpsuit.  "No incidents?  I thought
most of these planets would have required identification from all of us."

"No problem," grinned Wandy.  "I hacked the ship's registration so that it
was up-to-date.  This ship is owned by the Royal Family of Omegadom-3.  They
saw the data on the registration.  When they contacted me, I had the radio
just low enough to hear.  All they asked me was my name, and I told them
Wanderer Domian."

"Is that your name?"

"Not quite, but who cares.  Patty's name is Avatar Domian.  I knew the name
Domian would be associated with the Royal Family, so I gave it to them.
They were like, 'Oh, Domian, sure, come on down' and didn't ask me anything
more.  I'm really Wanderer Landleit."

Patty and Lili came out of the den.  Lili was wearing a white dress similar
to Patty's which was a little too large for her, and feeling a little
embarrassed at wearing such bizarre apparel.

"Okay," said Patty, "this is how it's going to be.  Lili, you are my
bodyguard.  Luz, you are my ambassador.  Ready?"

They left the Orb, and entered the streets of Omicronia.

"Hmm," said Patty.  "I've never seen Omicron this dead before."

"Curfew," said Wandy.  "I did a little research while you were sleeping, and
found that five months ago they established a curfew because a few old folks
complained about adolescents loitering in the streets.  Obviously there's a
lot of grumpy old geezers out there.  After dark, no one's allowed on the
streets.  But I radioed ground and they said, 'You're royalty - you're
exempt from curfew.'"

The group exited the Orb: Wandy and Patty in front, followed by Luz, and
Lili behind.

"How far to the city limits?" asked Patty.

"I'm not sure," said Wandy.  "But without transit we'd have to walk."  A
thought struck him.  "Or not.  Let me see."  He took a device out of his
jumpsuit pocket, and looked at the various numbers on the keypad.  He
punched a few keys, and heard a low beeping.

A male voice came through the device.  "This is the Blue House."

"Sir, I am Wandy Landleit, a member of the Domian royal family of Omegadom.
We're looking for transport out of the city."

"Domian...well, usually we don't have transportation after dusk, but we'll
make an exception.  Police Chief Lubac will meet you with transport.  Your
location?"

"Near Kanjian Spaceport," replied Wandy.  "We're parked in bay ninety-four,
but we've walked a few blocks already."

"Street?"

Wandy turned to Luz.  "Can you shine a light on the street signs?"

Luz nodded, fished out her flashlight, and shone it on the signs.  Wandy
looked at the signs.  "Mugex and Seventieth," he said to the man on the
phone.

"Stay there," came the voice.  "We will pick you up in a few minutes."

While they waited, Wandy fiddled with a portable radio in his pocket.  He
listened to the static, and eventually found a clear signal.  A newscast.
He heard a voice say, "...grettably informing, next planet Yumagra
conquered, the word of the emperor Renzip."  Then another voice came over
the speaker.  "I shall make every attempt to integrate the population of
Yumagra into my empire, omne destrukera."

"Oof," said Wandy.  "You notice he spoke Roganian there?  I bet not a soul
in or around Yumagra knows Roganian.  So he's clever - he used Roganian so
that no one would know his true plan.  Or so he thought."

"What does it mean?" asked Patty.  "I flunked Roganian in school."

"It means 'I shall destroy all,'" Wandy translated.  "I think he plans to
kill off the native population of Yumagra."

"Where did you learn Roganian?" asked Luz.

"Before I met Patty," replied Wandy, "Spacey and I did a little stint on
Rogania.  We left just before Renzip ascended the throne, but we kept tabs
on Rogania...the planet went all to hell after Renzip took command.  Then he
went imperialist.  Need I say more?"

"Now, don't get any funny ideas," said Patty.  "As long as we stay away from
Renzip, we have nothing to worry about, so don't get all idealistic on me."

"I wasn't thinking about it," Wandy said.

A police hovercraft came into sight and slowed down near the group.  It was
large enough to seat seven, including the two police officers in front.  The
policeman on the left maintained his hold on the hovercraft's steering
control while the policeman on the right opened his window and stuck his
head out.  "I assume you can prove your identity?" he said.

"You have a bar code scanner, don't you?" said Wandy.

"Err..."

"Hold it out," said Patty.

The policeman took out a scanner, and Patty took off her crown and held it
out.  The scanner beeped, and the policeman read the display.  "Omegadom-3
queen," he said.  "Mu, it's authentic.  Come on in."

The four sat in the back of the hovercraft.  "Mu," said the policeman on the
right, "you don't look like a king were it not for the crown...Landleit?"

"Yes, my name is Wanderer Landleit," replied Wandy.  "I married into the
throne after Avatar found she was the only survivor.  But she was already a
princess."

They approached the outskirts of the city.  "What are you looking for?" the
driver policeman asked.

"A farm, any farm," said Patty quickly.  "We've got a deal for someone, but
we can't tell you now.  Diplomacy, you know."

"Closest one, I'll take you," said the driver, "but you might be sleeping in
the road tonight."

He drove the hovercraft until they reached a field, from which grew an
enormous amount of a tall, wide grain Patty identified as grona.  "Here you
go," he said.  The travelers disembarked.

"Oof," said Wandy.  "You even see the house?  I can barely see anything but
that grona stuff."

"I see nothing," said Luz.

"I no see," said Lili.

"Yeah, I see it," said Patty, "but it's a walk through the grona.  Come."

                                    * * *

It took some time walking through the standing grona, but by twenty-one
hundred hours the travelers came to the front door of the large farmhouse.
Patty knocked on the door.  A woman with gap teeth and ragged hair, wearing
a thin plaid dress, opened the door.  "Who are you?" she said brusquely.

"My name is Avatar Patricia Domian-Landleit, Queen of the planet
Omegadom-3," Patty replied.  "We would like to purchase crops to plant in
our fields, and we do not know where to get them."

The gap-toothed woman turned her head into the house.  "Hey, Joe!  A queen
has come to see us!"

Joe, a ragged-looking yokel, came to the door.  "Yeah, what is it?" he said,
in an impatient tone of voice.

"This here girl wants to buy our stuff," said the woman.

"Well, Betsy," said Joe, "if they have the money, we'll sell it to them,
eh?"  He turned to Patsy.  "Ever since the government started supporting us,
we've had trouble supporting ourselves.  If we can't get enough money to pay
our property taxes, we're hosed."

"Would you like to grow your crops on another planet?" asked Wandy.  "One,
perhaps, where you were exempted from tax?  We can give you that."

"Do we have enough room?" asked Luz.

"Never underestimate," said Wandy, "the size of our cargo bay.  Tomorrow
morning we can start to move you."

Wandy took the remote control device out of his jumpsuit pocket and pressed
the button.  The Orb took off and landed in a fallow section of the
farmland.  "It might take a couple trips," said Wandy, "but we can certainly
move you, if you want.  And remember - no tax."

The couple thought about it for a second, and Betsy said, "Alright, you all
gots yourselves a deal.  Tomorrow morning it is."

The next morning, Wandy and the others began the arduous process of tearing
up the farmland and packing the grain - and some of the dirt - in the cargo
bay of the Orb Universal.  They took about a tenth of it down to the planet,
along with the dismantled planks of the house, and rebuilt the house on the
edge of the forest on Omegadom-3, with the field behind it.  Over the next
month, Wandy and Lili would make trips to Omicron to gather the remainder of
the farm and move it down to its new home.  The farm did well, and Patty
helped Joe and Betsy sell their various grains and the output of their
low-maintenance vegetable plants around the galaxy.  Other people started to
flock to the planet, hoping for a share of the good fortune that Joe and
Betsy had achieved, and within a year, Omegadom-3 was a bustling community.

                                    * * *

From his palace on Yumagra, Renzip heard of the famous duo of Patty and
Wandy Landleit.  The first thing he said to himself was, "How I would like
to be Wandy."  Then he said, "Why does that name Landleit sound so
familiar?"

He called in a clerk.  "Look up the name Landleit, tell me from what planet
it originates."  The clerk left.  In a few minutes he returned with the
answer: "Anthron."

"I have my answer," muttered Renzip.  "Omegadom, you are mine."

The next morning, Renzip had his flagship, the Matando, prepared for a
voyage across the galaxy.  He decided that he only needed one ship and its
full crew to take the planet.

They slowly crossed the galaxy, approaching the Omega system in a month.
Their landing was well-timed to coincide with noon on the planet, so they
were undetected.  "Stay back," said Renzip as he left the Matando.  "I don't
want any of you to get involved if I can do this myself."

A group of Omegadomians escorted Renzip into Domian Castle, and led him to
Patty and Wandy.

As soon as Renzip saw Patty and Wandy, conversing with each other, he
boomed, "SILENCE!"

They ignored him.

"I said silence!" he screamed.  "Landleit, WHAT are you doing with a
queen?!"

"I am her husband," said Wandy.

"You are no such thing!" shot Renzip.  "You are a COMMONER!  You have no
right to be married to a queen.  And more importantly, you belong my
empire's slave class."

"By accepting the throne of Omegadom," said Wandy calmly, "I renounced my
citizenship of Anthron."

"You can do nothing," said Renzip.  "All your property are belong to the
Roganian Empire.  I hereby annul your marriage to Avatar Domian, and take
her as my bride.  And Landleit - get your affairs in order, for you shall be
executed tomorrow at dawn."

"But -" Wandy started.

"Executed tomorrow at dawn!" Renzip repeated.  "You and those midgets living
on this planet, I'll destroy you all!"  He knocked the crown off Wandy's
head.

Wandy skulked off.  Then Renzip proceeded to remove Patty's crown and
disrobe her, and violated her.

Wandy heard the screams as he tore through his closet for the most important
items in his collection.  Then he snuck through the caverns under the castle
and found the gnomes - and a few more gnomes that had apparently been hiding
even deeper in the cave.  Lili saw the distress on Wandy's face.  "What have
you wrong?" she asked him.

"It's Renzip," said Wandy.  "He's landed, taken over the planet, and
condemned us all to death.  You too."

"What we shall do?" asked Lili.

"We find the Jumo," said Wandy.  "It's our only hope.  Patty says it's been
buried in a hole for ten years.  She and I are the only ones who know where
it is - and I, only because she gave me precise directions in a moment of
insanity.  It's smaller than the Orb Universal, but we can get most of you
gnomes - traveling capacity is fifteen."

"But there twenty," said Lili.

Kamiodo, Lumasoto, Adoramo, Eredaso and Walgo all offered to stay behind and
face their doom.

"Are you sure?" said Wandy.  "You won't survive!"

Walgo muttered something to Lili.  "He say he want to dare to his face,"
Lili translated.  The others nodded.

"Come, you who will," said Wandy, moving away.  "I've found the remote to
the Jumo, but we must be cautious.  We leave in two hours."  He picked up
his communicator and dialed.

After a long tone, Luz's voice came over the phone.  "Yes?"

"Meet me at forty-six fifty by sixty-one thirty-nine," said Wandy.  "We have
to get off the planet or meet our doom.  Two hours."

"I will meet you there," said Luz.

Two hours later, a group of gnomes led by Wandy and Lili reached an area of
meadow that had been untouched.  Wandy stepped on an era of grass, and a
circular patch crumbled, revealing a medium-sized spacecraft.  "The Jumo,"
said Wandy.  "It'll be a bit cramped, but we can get away.  In the daylight
no one can spot our ship flying in the sky."  Wandy took out a remote and
pressed a button.  The top lifted, and the group piled in.  The top closed,
and Wandy took a seat at the rather primitive ship controls.  Flipped a few
switches.  "This ship predates the tracking systems, so we should be able to
get off undetected."  Pulled a lever, twisted it, and pulled it again.  The
Jumo lifted off.

                                    * * *

"This was designed," said Wandy, "to make a quick escape possible in the
case of an emergency on the planet.  Well, it's an emergency.  I have done
some research on Renzip - there is one place we can hide and not get hit by
him.  He's actually got a death sentence on Orbis."

Luz perked up.

"That's right, I said Orbis.  He tried to kill Mayor Romeskyavo about twenty
years ago, and killed his bodyguard instead."

"I remember," said Luz.  "It was the biggest story of the year."

"Well, we're headed to Orbis.  When we're at Planet Delphi-5, we'll call the
Orbian Consulate and request asylum.  Since you're already a citizen, Luz,
there shouldn't be a problem."

Wandy accelerated the craft to top speed, and easily went ten times as fast
as other craft flying along the same routes, passing them like they were
standing still.  But Wandy only followed the major routes as much as he had
to, since after all the Jumo was unregistered and hadn't had a valid
inspection in decades.

After a day, he came into sight of the planet Delphi.  He landed during the
night in a vacant field somewhere outside civilization, and contacted ground
for the time.  It was twenty-three fifty.  He led the group out of the Jumo
and toward the distant lights of Oraculis.

At two thirty, the group finally reached the city limits.  Fifteen people,
thirteen of them gnomes, walked into Kendori Park along the limits and
crowded on a park bench.

Five hours later, they went looking for an irreputable spaceship distributor
in the city, and found one in Vassu's Junkpit.  Wandy knocked on the front
door, and a creature with thick, brown, wrinkled skin and large but sunken
eyes opened the door.  The creature spoke with a low, throaty voice.
"Greetings, humans.  I am Vassu.  How may I help you?"

"We have a ship parked in a field about three hours' walk from here we'd
like to trade for some junker," said Wandy. "I will take you to it, if you
have a working transport.  It was the emergency escape ship of the Domians.
And by the way, I am a Domian."

"The Domians, is it," said Vassu.  "What happened to you people, that you're
out here?"

"Well," said Wandy, "I'll tell you later - long story.  Luz, if there's not
enough room for the others, you stay with them here."

"I will take you," said Vassu.  "Come with me."

Vassu led Wandy to his transport, and they went out of the city to where
Wandy had stashed the Jumo.  Vassu gave it a cursory inspection, and
grinned.  "A lost relic of an older generation," said Vassu.  "Why must you
trade it?"

"My kingdom was usurped by Renzip the Roganian," said Wandy, "and I cannot
have him find me, since I am marked for death in the Roganian Empire."

"Ah," said Vassu.  "Say no more - I am from Yumagra.  I became a naturalized
citizen of Delphi just days before Renzip took our planet."

"Small galaxy," said Wandy.  "I am from Anthron, and haven't been there
since Fifty.  Renzip came to power in Sixty-four, so he's been the ruler
there for twenty years."

"Fifty-three eighty-seven it is," said Vassu.  "Yes, about twenty.  Given
your crew size, and say, how big a place this ship holds in history, I will
give you the Neenloga.  Pilot it and land in my parking lot."

Wandy went back to the Jumo and hovered low over the planet, following
behind Vassu.  When they arrived back at the Junkpit, Vassu went and found
a craft easily big enough to house fifteen, although still far smaller than
the Orb Universal, since it had no cargo bay.  "Take it and begone with
you!" he said.  "And tell nobody of your time here."

The group reassembled and entered the Neenloga.  Wandy studied the rather
bizarre console arrangement, then activated the ship, lifting it up off the
planet.

"How longer?" asked Lili.

"We are making a direct route from Delphi to Orbis," said Wandy, "non-stop
and without following a set spaceway."

The ship accelerated into the great black unknown.

                                    * * *

Luz took a deep breath as she disembarked from the Neenloga.  Home at last.
The group walked through the city, past all the tall black towers, to a
small building.  The sign was written in a script Wandy was unfamiliar with,
but Luz could read it.  "It says 'City Hall'," she said.  "But the script is
so old - no one uses Orbian script anymore."

They walked into the building.  It looked like security through obscurity -
no one was anywhere, until they came to a door labeled in the Orbian script.
Luz read the sign.  "'Office of the Mayor'," she said.  "I think if anything
is in here, it's the other side of this door."

They opened the door.  A youngish woman with long black hair and fair skin,
wearing a shiny mauve short-sleeved dress, sat at a desk.  "Can I help you?"
she asked, as she fiddled with some papers.

"My, papers," said Luz.  "How antiquated.  May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Kandi Romeskyavo, mayor of Orbena," said the woman.  "Can I help
you?"

"Romeskyavo?" repeated Luz.  "Last I knew, there was a man in charge.  I am
Orbenian.  My name is Luz Terranea."

"Man...do you mean Lon Rumak?" replied Kandi.  "I ran against him last year
and he dropped out of the election - didn't want to run against a
Romeskyavo, I suppose.  My grandfather Kajan was arguably the greatest mayor
Orbena has ever known.  So, Miss Terranea, can we help you?"

"We're fleeing from Renzip the Roganian," said Wandy.

"Oh, him," said Kandi.  "He fears us."

"I know," said Wandy.  "Would you be able to take us to the consulate so we
can request political asylum?"

"We shall see," she replied.  "I cannot guarantee anything, even if one of
your party comes from this city.  But I may be able to expedite matters."
She picked a receiver up off her desk and dialed.  Pause.  "Yes, I have a
group of...fifteen or so people here requesting political asylum from the
Roganians, one of them is a citizen of Orbena and one of them claims to
belong to the Domian Dynasty of Omegadom."  She turned to Wandy.  "I don't
suppose you can prove you belong to the Domians."

Wandy drew out a small piece of paper written in a flowery script and handed
it to Kandi.  "'This is to certify the marriage of Wanderer Landleit to
Avatar Patricia Domian Queen of Omegadom-3.  Signed, A. Pat D.' Well," said
Kandi, "I guess that's official if it has the Queen's signature, but..."

"Renzip annulled the marriage," said Wandy, "but that's beside the point."

"Yes," said Kandi, "I think if Renzip annulled it, we could still recognize
it in your case.  She returned to the phone.  "He has a quickly written
marriage certificate that appears to be authentic," she continued, "signed
by the Domian Queen."  She turned over the certificate and saw a seal on it.
"And sealed, but not apparently for placement in an envelope."  She handed
the paper back to Wandy.  "Mm-hmm, well, I'll take them over to you.  You do
what you want with them."  Pause.  She hung up the receiver.

"Mu, I don't know," whispered Wandy apprehensively.

Kandi stood up.  "Come with me," she said.  "And Miss Terranea, you stand up
front, as a citizen of Orbis."

                                    * * *

"What?!" roared Renzip.  "Tear this planet apart!  Find him!"

Knights, servants, policemen, anyone who was available was called upon to
locate Wandy.  "Bring him back, dead or alive!" Renzip screamed.  "Better
alive, so I can kill him myself!"

Patty ran off sobbing.  "Gar, she still loves him," said Renzip.  "I must
fix that."

Meanwhile on Anthron, a throng of ten thousand or so people ganged up on the
national mansion and rammed the doors until they collapsed, then ran in to
find the building completely empty.  A video broadcast in one room showed
the planet Omegadom-3, and Renzip's face superimposed over it.  When they
saw the name of the planet - in Anthrian script - flash over the screen, the
gang turned back, all but a few men.

The leader, a sandy-haired muscleman, turned to his friends.  "If we must do
it, we must do it now."

The others nodded.  One of them, a large man with dark skin and black hair,
said, "Well, Derkseidh, what is 'it'?"

"'It', Lamburuz," said Derkseidh, "is the total and complete annihilation of
the Roganian Empire and all things Renzip.  We raid the Space Force and
escape with stolen ships."

"How are we to get in?" said an older man with gray hair.  "Won't there be
security forces?"

"In unity strength," said Derkseidh.  "Don't worry, Tongren, we'll get in no
problem.  Fellows!" he yelled.  "Friends, Anthrians and countrymen, lend me
your ears."

A similar event was taking place on Macavelia, where there were two types of
people - the police and the civilians.  The civilians swooped down on the
police and killed them, then raided the armory, swiping a number of small
spacecraft.

Back on Anthron, Derkseidh heard a ringing in his pocket.  He drew out his
communicator and picked up.  "Macavelia," came a voice.  "The bird has
flown."

He turned the comm off and returned it to his pocket.  "Excellent.  The
Macavelian militia is heading our way to join in the fight.  But they won't
be here for a couple weeks, since their planet is on the outer edges of
civilized space.  We can overtake the planet by then, are you with me?"

"Yes!" shouted the masses.

"Tongren, Lamburuz, you are my second and third in command.  If anything
should happen to me, you are in charge.  Understood?"

"Yes, Derkseidh," said Tongren.

"I will do all in my power," said Lamburuz.

Several police hovercraft pulled up in the streets around the gathered
multitude.  When the policemen, with their laser rifles, got out of their
cars, hundreds of people ganged on twenty hapless men and mauled them to
death.

"You can't have a police state," said Derkseidh, "without police."

"Now!" called Lamburuz.  "On to the Space Force!"

"I," said Derkseidh, "shall take emergency command of the planet, while I
maintain command of the Macavelian invasion.  Maybe while I'm at it, I will
incite rebellion on other planets."

Lamburuz led the mob on through the city.

Back on Omegadom-3, the last soldiers in the search party returned to
Renzip.  "We found no sign of Landleit," said one.  "However, we found a
crater in the ground, which we do not believe to be natural in origin."

"However he must have taken off the planet," said Renzip.  "Some spacecraft
buried underground.  I should have known better and had the entire ground
scanned with metal detectors.  Well, better luck next planet.  Get your
crews ready - you're on a mission into space.  Find him and kill him!"

The soldiers bowed and left.

                                    * * *

The lowly planet Giwok, the only Renzip-run state of the ten planets in the
Kenturo system.  It was a hotbed of political insurrection, always a threat
to Renzip's domination.  Then, it was his second planet - the first was
Rogania.  He never really got a firm hold on Giwok.

Forces from Emorp, Wigpan and Tamagot, other planets in the Kenturo system,
were kept at bay in the past by Renzip's army, but he had pulled the entire
army out to Omegadom-3 in order to keep the people there at his command, so
it was not difficult for anarchy to ensue.

But anarchy was not the aim of the people of Giwok this time.  The people
were allied in their support for a democratic republic, and rallied around
one man, Elo Magarap.

Magarap was a charismatic man, tall and dark-complected.  He was unlike the
rulers or would-be rulers of other planets; he honestly believed that what
he was doing was for the greater good of all, rather than for his own good.

The throng gathered around their hero.  Although many of the starfighters
were gone, taken to Omegadom-3, a few junkers remained; the few, the proud
took to them and shot off to get some help from the Tamagotti.  Upon hearing
the news, Prince Skallu of Emorp and Prince Giu of Wigpan sent aid in the
form of two hundred starfighters and pilots, a hospital frigate and food
supplies.  Unmanned starfighters were shipped from Kenturo-7 for the Giwoki.

Magarap gladly accepted the aid.  He was the de facto ruler of the
opposition movement on Giwok, and if his nation were to survive, he needed
all the help he could get.

Kandi led Luz and her friends to the Orbis Congress Hall.  She went in ahead
of them.  The leader of the Orbian Senate, Mer Tannalon, met her at the
front door.  "We're about to begin session," he said.  "I'm sorry."

"It's important," said Kandi, "no, urgent that we be allowed to speak."

"Say on, but make it fast," replied Mer.

"We seek asylum for a group of Omegadomian refugees.  You know, the Omegadom
that was recently annexed by the Roganian empire.  There are fifteen of them
and most of them are marked for death under the Renzip regime."

"Renzip, is it..." mused Mer.  "Very well, we shall consider your case on
the Senate floor.  All of you, present yourselves before the Orbian Senate,
and we shall decide your situation."

                                    * * *

The group came out of the hall drained, but smiling.  "Well, that went
better than I expected," said Luz.  "They'll let you stay, and of course I'm
no problem, being Orbian by birth.  But since I've lost my apartment, we're
out of luck for housing.  And without Patty around, we can't afford to live
in a hotel.  I don't, myself, have the money to rent another apartment."

"I'd offer you my place," said Kandi, "but it's not nearly large enough,
unless only Luz and the Domian what's-his-name were to stay."

"We stay in Neenloga," said Lili.

"Are you sure?" asked Wandy.  "It's not a place to call home, really."

"I sure," replied Lili.

"Okay, suit yourself," said Wandy.  "I accept."

Kandi walked the group back toward City Hall, and to her house directly
behind it.  The three went in, and Luz and Wandy set up on a sofa in Kandi's
living room.

Derkseidh picked up his communicator.  "Yes?"

"This is Elo," came Magarap's voice.  "We have a displaced former king of
Omegadom on our other line.  He's on Orbis, he's heard of our takeover of
Giwok and the army we've raised, and he wants to join."

"Oh my!" said Derkseidh.  "Omegadom's out there - that's why we can be
fairly safe in our plot to take down the Renzipine Empire.  Forget Roganian,
we know he's not Roganian.  And not even the Macavelians - his own people -
support him now.  But a king from his latest conquest - we've got something
big and we'd better take it."

"I agree.  Do you want to talk to him?"

"Sure, but give him my number and have him call directly.  I don't want to
tie up your commlink."

"Very well," said Magarap.

Derkseidh turned off his communicator.  Ten seconds later, it rang again.
He turned it on again.  "Yes?"

"Are you Thoy Derkseidh, leader of the Roganian rebellion on Anthron?" asked
Wandy.

"This is he," Derkseidh replied.  "And you are?"

"I am Wanderer Landleit of the Domian house," said Wandy.  "Renzip stole my
wife and my planet, and marked me for death.  I would like to offer myself
as an ally of your movement.  After all, I am Anthronian by birth."

"Can you fight in space?" asked Derkseidh.  "We have some Mugian starfighter
craft that Elo has offered."

"Mugian!" remarked Wandy.  "I think Spacey used to fly Mugex A-2 fighters
before he built the Orb Universal.  Me, I cut my teeth on the A-5D.  What
class are they?"

"They are CX-29, I think," said Derkseidh.  "A little different from the A
series, but you shouldn't have any problem if you're good enough.  I'll send
a convoy your way to see you safely to the rendezvous point on Ninum, if you
are still interested in joining us."

"Do so," said Wandy, "and tow along a ship if you can.  Mine's the temporary
residence of thirteen displaced Omegadomians."

"Will do," said Derkseidh.  "You are on Orbis?"

"Yes," Wandy replied.

"Okay, it'll take thirty-six hours to route a small convoy down to the
planet for you.  Get ready, and we will meet you at Kenturo Park, I think
that's the name of the park just outside the capital city."

"Yes, I'll be there," said Wandy as he turned off his comm.

                                    * * *

"Thirty-six hours," said Luz.  "I may never see you again.  Please give me
one last thing before you go."

"Yes?" replied Wandy.

"I want to always have a reminder of you...a child to be my Wandy when there
is no more Wandy."

"Mu," said Wandy, "I shall see my Patty again, if events shall be in my
favor, and I do not wish to be destroyed first--"

"Please," said Luz, "I'm begging you."  She got down on one knee.  "I have
never begged in my entire life.  Just once, and I will never ask you again."

"Oh, alright," said Wandy.

Luz threw herself around Wandy, and before he could react, they were on the
couch.

Renzip sat on the throne, with Patty prone at his feet.  A soldier came in.
"Your Majesty!" he said.  "I believe we've found a lead on Landleit."

"Yes?" said Renzip, in a low, ominous voice.

"He's leaving Orbis to join a paramilitary group on Giwok," said the
soldier.  "Word comes from a spy on Anthron."

"Interesting," said Renzip.  "Send the entire Space Force toward Giwok.  As
for this rebellion, if it's just a planet or two, no problem.  Focus on
Landleit first.  Then when he's gone, go destroy the others.  Infern-1 has
no fury like a king dethroned."

Luz lay naked on the couch, breathing heavily.  "It took a lot out of me,"
she said.  "I haven't seen him for a week, but I haven't been able to move
that whole time, I've been so exhausted."

Kandi came into the room.  "Are you alright, Miss Terranea?" she asked.

"I think so...but we should probably check to see first."

"I'll call Orbena General and have you checked out," said Kandi.

"Yeah, please," said Luz weakly.

Luz sat on the cot in the doctor's office, stripped down to a single piece
of clothing, which covered her from her chest to the top of her legs.  The
doctor, a tall, slender Orbian, took out a needle.  "Now," he said, "we are
going to have to do a little test, and this may hurt a little."

"Yeah," said Luz, somewhat hoarsely.  "Can we just do it and get it over
with?"

"Well, yeah..." said the doctor.  He swabbed a sterilizing solution on the
back of her elbow, and inserted the needle.  A small connected tube began to
fill with a dark red fluid.  He then inserted the needle into a computer by
the door, and the tube emptied.  A display scrolled across the computer's
display.  He turned to Luz.  "There's two things I need to tell you."

"Yes?" said Luz.

"By analyzing your blood," said the doctor, "I have been able to determine
that you had a mild heart attack."

Luz gasped.

"Careful there," he continued.  "And, you appear to be pregnant."

"Success," she said.

"Not long enough," he went on, "to tell boy or girl - but nonetheless."

About an hour later, Luz and Kandi walked out of the office, and Kandi
turned to Luz.  "You were trying to have a child?"

"Yes," said Luz.

"Well, obviously less than a week, you can't tell anything more than
pregnant or not pregnant, but there's a first step.  Wandy's the father?"

Luz nodded.

The fleet was gathering at the Ninum rendezvous.  Derkseidh had proclaimed
Wandy the leader of the forces.  The best of the best from all over the
Roganian Empire had come together in one place.  Wandy was the leader, but
there were two squadrons, led by Tongren and Lamburuz - those two were the
true leaders.

All of a sudden, the entire Roganian Space Force appeared from nowhere.  An
ambush!  Fifteen hundred spacefighters materialized in the surrounding space
and began to close in on the rebels.

They seemed to ignore most of the rebels and target one craft.  Although the
Ninum fleet collected itself fast, and was beginning to shoot down the
simpler Rumach R-9 fighters Renzip's forces used, there were more of the
R-9s than there were of the CX fighters used by the rebellion.  The Rumach
fighters targeted the leader of the group, and Tongren's fighters swarmed to
protect the craft, but a thousand to one is simply not good odds.  The ship
was pummeled to space dust, and Wandy was blown to pieces.  About half of
his head landed on a large R-39 craft.  The hatch opened, and the bloody
piece of bone and flesh was taken into the ship.

"Quick!" called Lamburuz.  "Retreat!  We're outnumbered!"

"Now, now," said Tongren.  "We're men, and we'll stay here and fight to the
end."

"You stay, Tongren," said Lamburuz.  "Squad L, we're going!  Maximum speed!"

Half the fleet turned and fled from battle.  The remainder continued
assaulting the Renzipines, and took out about three hundred fighters.  But
in the end, Tongren's entire group went out like a candle.

"What now?" said Renzip impatiently, as he sat on his throne.  A soldier
came in, carrying the piece of Wandy's head.  Patty took notice immediately,
and got up.

"Where are you going, my pet?" said Renzip.

"Pet nothing!" screamed Patty.  "I need some time to think, alone, without
you around."  She stormed off.

In one hour, the servants would begin to prepare Renzip's dinner.  Patty
snuck off to an apothecary shop.

The man at the counter eyed the queen.  "Your Majesty!  What do you here
alone?"

"I'm here to buy a poison," said Patty icily.  "Something I can hide in
someone's food."  She produced a piece of rare Endyptium metal, which had a
shine brighter than gold and a pure white color.  "I will pay with this."

The apothecary's eyes lit up.  He went through his chemicals, found a blue
one, a red one and a green one, and poured a few drops of each into a vial.
The mixture began to foam, then glow, then expand, and it filled the vial
with a faintly pink, almost clear liquid.  He corked the vial, and exchanged
it for the piece of Endyptium.

Patty returned to the castle through the dungeon.  As the servants began to
prepare dinner for Renzip - since his meal was always prepared separately
from everyone else's - Patty dumped the vial into a pot of noodles.

The cook preparing the noodles gasped.  "What are you doing?!"

"O-chef," said Patty, "pretend I didn't do anything.  I am going to bring an
end to the menace of the Throne Taker.  This is my throne, not Renzip's, and
he will feel my cold rage."

Renzip took one taste of the noodles, and began to choke and gasp for air as
the poison hit his throat.  Three minutes later, he was keeled over on the
floor, dead.

Servants flooded the throne room.  Patty, with crown on head, held Renzip's
crown high.  "Renzip is dead!" she said.  "Terror has passed on to the next
life!"

"Your Majesty," said one of the servants.  "Do you claim the empire of
Rogania?"

"No," said Patty, "I have no interest in empire-building.  But I am willing
to work with the Roganians to develop stable governments."

[+++As they were talking, a representative from the Republic of Planets
entered the throne room, and announced herself.  "I am Kro Korban," she
said.  "I have been sent to proclaim that with the death of Renzip, the
Roganian Empire has passed into the control of the Republic of Planets
headquartered at Murogak.  Your reign over Omegadom has ended."

"I'm sorry," said Patty, "but I never accepted that Omegadom was part of the
Roganian Empire, as you called it.  I considered myself to be married to
Wanderer Landleit, not to this Renzip guy.  He was illegally manipulating my
planet."

"Unfortunately," said Kro, "we cannot take your word.  The fact is, Renzip
ran the planet in the name of the Roganian Empire; therefore, the planet was
part of the Roganian Empire.  I have been sent as the regional governor for
Omegadom."

"I do not accept," said Patty.

"Wife of Renzip," said Kro, "if you do not accept our government, we may be
forced to incarcerate you.  You have three options: accept our control of
the planet, move to a planet outside the Republic, or be jailed for
conspiring against the Republic.  It's up to you."

"I'm taking everything I own," said Patty, "and I will leave.  Perhaps they
will accept me on Orbis."

"Be gone then," said Kro.  "And stay gone."

It took a week for Patty to pack all her goods and locate the Orb Universal.
She took her ship and left her planet for the final time, never looking back
as she piloted off into the great beyond.]

                                    * * *

                     DELPHI-5 (DELPHI SYSTEM, PLANET 5)
                     INDEPENDENT PLANET
                     GOVERNMENT: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
                     HEAD OF STATE: PRESIDENT BIVAN KAMBI

Patty read the summary of Delphi's government, as she approached the planet.
She landed on a burned spot in a vacant field, and began the long trek into
the city of Oraculis.

Vassu heard a knock, and flitted over to his front door.  When he opened it,
he caught sight of Patty.  "Yes, human?" he said.

"I'm Patricia Domian," said Patty.  "I'd like to look through your parts to
upgrade my craft, the Orb Universal."

"Domian?!" Vassu was taken aback.  "Are you related to that man who was
slaughtered by the Roganians?"

"He was my husband," said Patty.

"Oh!" replied Vassu.  "What about your planet?"

"My planet, I wish," she said.  "I have been exiled."

"Exiled?!"

"I think the Republic believed I worked with Renzip, since he occupied my
throne.  But I never considered him the ruler of Omegadom; he just waltzed
right in and basically took me hostage, and claimed he was the king."

"Oh my," said Vassu.

"Well, let's see what you've got; is that okay?"

"Go ahead, Domian," said Vassu.

She looked through the heaps of trashed spacecraft in the back lot, and
found two Kortech engines, which she retrofitted the Orb with.  Then she
remodeled Spacey's old room, which was back against the cargo bay, by
tearing the whole thing down and walling it up.

The project took a while - about a month - but it was worth it when Patty
paid Vassu and took to flight.  The ship felt faster as she navigated toward
the planet Orbis.

As she approached the outer edge of the Delphi system, however, a police
craft came into sight and stopped her.  She turned on her comm, and saw a
man in uniform.  "Can I help you, officer?" she asked.

"Are you running from something?" said the policeman.

"I don't understand," said Patty.

"Speed limit in these parts is twenty-five.  You are going thirty."

"Hard to gauge your speed," Patty commented, "when your speedometer doesn't
work right.  I just installed a new engine and the speedo is not calibrated."

"I see," said the policeman.  "I will need you to flash me your spacecraft
registration and your license."

Patty took out her license and flashed it over the commlink.  "Very good,"
said the policeman.  "Now your registration."

She took out a piece of paper and flashed it.  The officer inspected it, and
a puzzled look crossed his face.  "This ship belongs to Wanderer and Avatar
Landleit," he said.  "Your name is Avatar Domian."

"Landleit was a married name," said Patty.

"I'm afraid you are going to have to explain that to the judge," said the
officer.  "For you see, we have had several cases of identity theft in the
past few months, and we cannot allow the possibility that you are taking
someone else's vehicle and passing yourself off as that person."

"Look," said Patty, "it's really quite simple.  Find Avatar Landleit's
persocode number, and tell me if it's 93445-2994-623871."

The officer keyed the number in the computer, and read his screen.
"'Assigned to Avatar Patricia Domian.  Other names: Avatar Patricia
Landleit, Avatar Patricia Roug.'  Well, I guess you're off the hook for
driving without a license, but there's still the matter of speeding."

"If it's a ticket," said Patty, "tell me how much and I will pay."

"I'm sorry," said the officer, "but police in the Delphi system do not take
bribes.  You will have to have your license disabled for ninety days."

"Look, sir," replied Patty, "I cannot have a suspension on my license.  If I
am forced to fight in court, I will.  I am going to fetch a videocorder, and
I am going to get your word on tape."

She went off, and came back with a little device which she pointed at the
screen.

"Now tell me what I did wrong," she demanded.

"You were going fifty in a twenty-five," said the officer.

"Now there you go changing your story," said Patty.  "Show me your speed
detector, because you told me before I was going thirty."

The officer went to look at his box.  "Hmm...No, I'm not going to show you."

"I insist," said Patty.  "Too many people these days have terrorized me and
I am not going to let anyone add to that.  Now show me the box."

"No."

Patty twiddled some dials on her console, and zoomed in the picture on the
box, seeing that it read "22".  She zoomed the console back out.

"I'm going to ask you one last time," said Patty, "and then I'm going to
leave, and I am well within my rights."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" said the officer.

"Look, you know interplanetary law as well as I do, I'm sure - I'm a former
royal and you're an officer of the law.  Now show me the box."

He went to the box, fiddled with it, and brought it over into sight.  It
read "63".

"Now I have proof you were messing with that box," said Patty.  "I can prove
in court that you did it, too - I snuck a peek at your box and it said 22."

"Huh?" said the officer.

"I am going to make sure no one else, no other helpless bystander, gets
terrorized by you," replied Patty.  "I will return to the planet, and I will
take my videodisc to the courts, and they will be obliged to hear my case."

She switched the comm off, and examined the side of the ship, taking down
the number.  "4AC5:9FFA," she read aloud.  She then went back to Delphi and
walked into Oraculis.

Suddenly, she had a strange feeling she was being followed.  She turned
around just in time to see the same policeman holding a blowdart gun and
shooting.  She ducked, then charged the man and took him down.
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