Orn and the M.W.G.D. officers scampered off in different directions with none of them going inside the captain's quarters. They didn't want to disturb him.
"Don't run away. It's only us," said Logan. "We were using our power of invisibility. It was Fern's idea."
"Logan!" snapped Fern.
"Rinquin would be very displeased with you if he knew what you were doing," scolded Orn.
"How did you know we were following you?" Fern stammered with amazement.
"I thought you might try something like this," Orn began smugly. "Your powers may make you invisible and inaudible, but I have other senses that I can use. As great as your powers may be, they’re not perfect. I'd advise you to remember that in the future. Now go while I'm still in a forgiving mood."
Fern and Logan slowly walked away occasionally muttering something inaudible. Orn waited until they were out of sight before opening the door to the captain's quarters.
"Maybe now we can continue undisturbed," muttered Orn.
Drake, Captain of the Marrot V, was busy talking to Corteja and several passengers when they entered. Under normal circumstances, Drake wouldn't have let them interrupt such an important conversation. However, Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa had really helped Drake when he was forced to take over as captain after the murder of Vohanna and he felt obligated to return the favor. "Welcome to the Marrot V,11 he smiled. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"What is M.W.G.D. doing here?" asked Corteja. "Shouldn't they be fighting the Ruler?"
"Rinquin requested that they come," explained Drake. "He thinks someone is after the secret of hypo-psycotic powers again and we don't want another series of murders before the culprit is revealed. We need to learn from our mistakes."
"Learning from our mistakes is important," agreed Corteja. "It's the only way we can improve on anything."
"I'm sorry," Drake said to the passengers. "Something has come up unexpectedly, but I promise to get back to you at the first opportunity. 11 The passengers complained about being shoved aside, but agreed to wait until he was through talking to the M.W.G.D. ' officers. They told Drake that they would be back in five minutes if he was through talking to them or not.!! "I've been trying to get rid of them for about an hour," gasped Drake. "They have some sort of scientific experiment set up in the lower levels and they feel we don't have enough security to protect it."
"I have at least one security guard guarding it around the clock," declared Orn. "What else am I supposed to do?"
"That will be enough," Drake told him. "Sometimes the passengers forget that the members of the crew, including me, are only human beings. We can't do everything."
"What kind of experiments are they doing?" inquired Linda.
"Theylr6 working on a machine that will prevent nightmares," answered Corteja. "I'm helping them with the experiment. If they're successful, we'll never have to worry about bad dreams again. Their experiments are of vital importance."
"I know that," responded Drake. "but we only have three security guards, four if you count Orn. We can only be in so many places at once."
"We can help with security while we're here," volunteered Peter.
"You've done so much for us already," insisted Drake. "I can't possibly ask you to do anymore. You need a chance to relax."
"Guarding their experiment might give us the chance we need to explore the lower levels," reasoned Peter. "We need to know if someone might be hiding down there. Someone could stay down there for years without ever being discovered."
"Don't try to do too much," warned Drake. "Give yourself a chance to rest."
"We'll rest before the conference," promised Peter. "or at least I will.11 "You'll be staying in the same rooms you stayed in last year," continued Drake. "Orn will show you the way."
Orn helped the M.W.G.D. officers with their belonging then gave them a brief tour of the ship. When the tour was over, they returned to their respective.-rooms. Peter and Hank were on one side of the hall and Linda, Lisa, and Detrina were on the other. The room wasn't designed for three people, but they made due with what they had. "We'd better get all the rest we can," advised Hank. "Things are only going to get worse."
TIME: 8:00 P.M. (20:00)
PLACE: The main conference room
"Marnia, will you please call this meeting to order?" asked Drake.
"Certainly," Marnia began. "This meeting is being held to respond to the growing concern that someone on board is after the secret of hypo-psycotic powers. In attendance are Captain Drake, Fist Officer Marnia, Science Officer Corteja, Engineering Officer Grendlin, Security Officer Orn, Navigation Officer Wentar, Medical Officer Strillan, Security Guards Yalton and Quatocanya, and nine guests. The guests are as follows : Peter, Hank, Linda, Lisa, Detrina, Rinquin, Kara, Fern, and Logan. Security Guard Nindous 1,s-;uiiabl(il-,~tbl--~att(bnd'because he has to guard an experiment in nightmare suppression. I'd recommend starting out with suggestions on what to do about our potential crisis."
"I agree," said Drake, as captain he, had the last word on everything. "The table is now open for discussion. Who wants to begin?"
"I'd like to begin," stated Peter after a few seconds of silence. "Is the Ruler or someone else involved, or is it just one person working independently?"
"It seems too complicated to be the work of just an individual," Rinquin commented. "I wouldn't be surprised if more than one person on board is involved.,, "We have over six thousand people on board," Wentar reminded them. "That makes over six thousand suspects."
"I'm sure we can narrow it down," considered Orn. "Most people don't even bother to go down to the lower levels and when they do they go in group. All we need to do is keep track of who goes down to the lower levels and when and we can reduce our suspects considerably."
"From now on I'll ask everyone to sign a sheet before and after visiting the lower levels," declared Drake.
"Wentar and I just got through exploring the lower levels," remarked Grendlin. "We didn't see anyone else. All the cargo is where it's suppose to be. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary."
"I'm beginning to wonder if there is a crisis," pondered Corteja. "The only evidence we have is Fern and Logan's word that the hypo-psycotic powers amplifying machine has been tampered with. Most of us don't even know where the machine is. One of them could have bumped the controls easily and not realized it."
"I carefully check the controls every time I leave it," retaliated Logan. "If I had bumped the controls, I.,would have corrected them."
"We're all very careful with the machine," added Fern. "This is totally unlike any mistake we might make."
"Why won't you tell us where the machine is located?" interjected Yalton. "How are supposed to protect the machine if we don't know where it is?"
"Last time a member of the crew was responsible for multiple deaths," explained Rinquin. "I wanted to make sure such a situation didn't happen again. I moved the machine again last night. If Drake asks where it is, IT11 tell him, but I'm not telling anybody else."
"I'll keep that in mind fdr the future," noted Drake.' "but I see no reason to ask about the machine as long as it's safe."
"Would you take us to the machine?” wondered Hank.
"Certainly," agreed Rinquin. "Fern and Logan can take you there tonight, but no one is to follow them."
"Drake is captain of this ship, not you!" snapped Quatocanya.
"I may be captain of the Marrot V, but Rinquin is the sole owner of the hypo-psycotic power amplifying machine," countered Drake. "His people built the original Marrot ships. He is the last of his kind. The ship is my responsibility, but Rinquin can do whatever he wants with his machine as long as it doesn't hurt the rest of the ship.,'
"I don't like the idea of somebody having something that's too secret,." attacked Orn. "If he can't trust security, why does he even bother to stay on this ship."
"He is the only surviving descendant of the original crew of the Marrot I," repeated Drake. "Their original mission was to make contact with us and eventually return to the Quadnestine. They accomplished half of their mission. It is up to us to complete it for them. Rinquin can't do it all by himself." "Rinquin is staying because he is the only one who can interpret the original Quadnestine texts and when he is gone it will be up to Fern and Logan to take his place. Rinquin and his family are staying because they're the only ones who can help us with the original mission." "Are you planning to go to the Quadnestine?" wondered Lisa.
"Eventually," answered Drake. "First we're going to gather common objects from all parts of the Milky Way so we can have something to take back with us."
They continued to talk and argue with each other for over an hour, but they were making - very little progress. Finally, when all ideas were exhausted, Drake adjourned the meeting. Most of them didn't want to stay any longer than they had to and left almost immediately. In less than a minute, the M.W.G.D. officers, Fern, and Logan were the only ones left in the room. "We'll take you to the machine," said Fern. "Follow us."
"I'd like to see the machine," started Peter. "but there's something else I'd like to see on the way. I'm curious about that experiment to suppress nightmares that has to be constantly guards. It seems to be getting as much attention as your machine."
"I'm curious about it myself." admitted Logan. "It shouldn't be to far out of the way. We can go to both places."
TIME: 9:30 P.M. (21:30)
PLACE: The lower levels
The lower levels were just as dark and silent as Peter had remembered them. Every sound they made echoed in all directions making it hard to tell which direction the noise was coming from. All the lower levels looked the same, but Fern and Logan were able to notice slight differences in the cargo stored in each part of each level. Finally they came to a place where a guard was sitting down looking board.
"Hi. my name is Nindous," greeted the guard. "How was the meeting?"
"Not very good," frowned Fern. "Most of the time was spent arguing with each other."
"Sounds normal.11'smirked DTIndous. "Not much is happening here, but then again not much ever happens here."
"We'd like to look at the experiment you're guarding." requested Peter.
"It might be related to what's happening on the Marrot V,11 added Lisa.
"I-guess it will be alright as long as I can keep an eye on you." Nindous speculated. "You can look, but don't touch anything. I don't even know what the stuff does so I won't be able to fix it."
The M.W.G.D. officers look at the various pieces of machinery until they found a large machine that was an odd color, especially with its dull surroundings.
"What color would you call that?" pondered Peter. "Blui.~h-gray?ll "It looks more like a bluish-green," guessed Detrina. "At least we agree on the blue part. It almost glows in the dark."
"Could it be some type of radiation?" speculated Linda.
"If it is, it's nothing harmful." Nindous assured them. "Regulations wouldn't allow it."
Peter took a closer look at the machine keeping his hands behind his back so we wouldn't be tempted to touch anything. The machine was definitely glowing faintly. He thought of many reasons why it might be glowing, but none of them seemed to be right.
"It could be the paint that's glowing?" suggested Peter.
He didn't believe it, but he wanted to find out what the others were thinking.
"It can't be the paint." remarked LL§an "I can see the inside and it's glowing too."
"This machine looks vaguely familiar." noted Logan.
"Now that you mention it, it does look sort of familiar." agreed Fern. "I can't quite put my finger on it."
"Maybe you'll think of it later." sympathized Peter. "Let's go."
They thanked Nindous for his time and trouble and headed to a place no one else bothered to go. Fern and Logan removed some boxes revealing the hypo-psycotic power amplifying machine underneath. It was a simple looking machine considering what it could do.
"Many people have died trying to learn the secrets of this machine," remarked Logan.
Peter examined the machine closely noticing how closely it resembled the machine they had just left. The only major difference was this machine wasn't glowing.
"This looks a lot like the other machine," declared Peter. "They must have based -their machine on yours."
"They couldn't have based their machine on ours," countered Logan. "They don't even know what our machine ... looks ... like."
Logan cut himself short. Suddenly he realized why their machine had looked so familiar.
"They're not building a machine that stops bad dreams!" he cried. "They're building -. another hypo-psycotic power amplifying machine! We might be forced to fight an entire army, all of them with hypo-psycotic powers!"
Copyright MCMXCV, MM
