Dasce's Dead Star

Star King by Jack Vance
cover by David Russell

In my previous blog post, Wendy Larsen completed her mission on the Planet Alphanor, having discovered the secret identity of Demon Prince Attel Malagate. One of Malagate's henchmen is Hildemar Dasce, who abducted Nova Prekus from Alphanor and is now holding her prisoner at his hideout in the Beyond, a place called Thumbnail Gulch.

Below is part 4 of Wendy's adventure inside the AR Simulator (part 1).

Change Challenge.

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I'm going to label my short fan fiction story called "Thumbnail Gulch" (see below) as my annual Change Challenge blog post. In the past, I've used these Change Challenge blog posts to:
2018 - write a book review.
2017 - In 2017, I tried to write a mystery story.
2016 - I made an effort to start moving away from my preference for loooong format story writing towards writing shorter stories.
2015 - I tried to write a fantasy story.

Here, for 2019, I made an effort to confront one of my own personal demons: my dislike for horror stories. "Thumbnail Gulch" has more gritty violence than anything I have previously written. I'm tempted to give "Thumbnail Gulch" an "R" rating. My advice: don't read "Thumbnail Gulch" unless you are in the mood taking revenge on the evil Hildemar Dasce.

Note: the following story is fan-fiction. You should read Star King by Jack Vance before trying to read about Wendy's adventures in the Asimov Reality.

Thumbnail Gulch

on Dasce's secret planet

Grean adjusted the Omniviewer so as to provide Wendy with several images of Dasce's secret hideout. "Now, a word about your new disguise. Before I send you back into the Simulator, I'm going to morph you into the physical form of IPCC Special Agent Pallis Atwrode."

Wendy felt herself morphing and saw her body change shape. She felt the features of her face with her finger tips and used her nanite probes to provide herself with an external view of her new body form. Wendy asked Grean, "As an IPCC agent, will I be safe on a lawless world of the Beyond?"

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Grean suggested, "Well, don't flaunt your connections to the IPCC. People like Dasce and Malagate don't need to know anything about you beyond the fact that you are a space traveler. However, remember... Gersen knows Pallis and he will recognize who you are and he will treat you as if you are an IPCC Special Agent, even if you have concealed that fact from Dasce."

Wendy asked, "Will Gersen remember the things that I did on Alphanor when I was playing the role of Ryjyl?"

"No. I've reset the Simulator. Any changes that your presence on Alphanor may have caused have been erased. Nobody except you and I remember your time spent on Alphanor. However, the real Ryjyl had very similar interactions with Gersen when she met him on Alphanor." Grean gestured towards the Omniviewer, inviting Wendy to once again enter the Simulation. "Good luck!"

"Wait. What exactly do you expect me to accomplish?"

Grean seemed reluctant to share any more information with Wendy. "If I knew exactly then I would not need to send you on this mission. Just keep your eyes open and learn as much as possible about the real Pallis Atwrode and the fate of Hildemar Dasce. I'll insert you into the Simulation shortly before the real Agent Atwrode arrives at Thumbnail Gulch."

Wendy's first visit to Smade' Tavern (source)

Wendy asked Grean, "Thumbnail Gulch?"

"Wendy, you really should take the time to read Vance's stories about the Demon Princes." Grean explained, "Due to the geography around Dasce's hideout and the nearby landmarks, he thinks of its location as Thumbnail Gulch. Oh, and one more thing. When you complete your mission at Thumbnail Gulch, I will send you directly to Smade's Planet."

Wendy could not imagine why she should return to Smade's Planet. "Why bother sending me to the Tavern again? We now know Malagate's identity as Provost Gale Warpweave."

Weirdlands

Grean nodded. "True, but you have not yet had the opportunity to actually speak to Malagate. You will get your chance to chat with Malagate when you return to Smade's Tavern. Try to learn what you can about Malagate's interest in telepathy. And have fun."

Wendy complained, "I must say, I'm starting to feel that my missions into the AR Simulator are more fun for you than they are for me."

Grean laughed and placed an arm around Wendy's shoulders. "My dear girl, you must learn to gracefully take the good with the bad. Think of your second visit to the Tavern as being part two of your vacation... just don't waste all your time playing erotic games with Úna. That was an integral part of your previous mission to Smade's Planet, but Úna can only be a distraction for you this time, so I've severed your special telepathic link to her. Be careful: push at Úna too hard and she might kill you again."

Úna at Smade's Tavern (source)

Fortunately, Grean had erased Wendy's memory of having previously been killed by Úna. Wendy sarcastically muttered, "Delightful."

"Oh, and one more small point." Grean grinned mischievously. "This time when you appear on Smade's Planet, you will be wounded. Your injury will generate sympathy from Smade and distract him from entertaining his usual suspicions."

"Wait." Wendy put her hands on her hips. "I'm going to be injured while visiting Thumbnail Gulch?"

Grean replied, "Yes. This is a particularly dangerous mission for you, so I've looked into the future. Don't worry, it will only be a wound to your arm."

Wendy had grown accustomed to returning to Grean's workshop after each of her experiences inside the AR Simulator. "Why not bring me back here so that I can repair the damage to my arm before you send me on to Smade's?"

"No, your injury will actually help you accomplish your next mission at Smade's Tavern... provide you with a kind of cover-story."

Wendy wondered, "What about Úna and her suspicions? Isn't she Smade's head of security and a deep cover IPCC agent? If I arrive injured, she'll be more suspicious than ever."

"In a sense, yes, your wound will provoke Úna to greater vigilance. However, if Smade is hovering over you then Úna won't bother you."

"How can you be so sure that Úna won't kill me a second time?" Wendy pointed towards the time travel machine in Grean's workshop that could be used to view the future. Have you also already observed the outcome of my second visit to the Tavern?"

"No, I did not bother to look ahead at that mini-mission. It will not be nearly as dangerous as your visit to Thumbnail Gulch. When you get to Smade's Tavern, relax and enjoy yourself.  Let Smade treat your wound and take care of you. If anything goes wrong we will make adjustments and try again, but I'm not expecting any difficulties for you on Smade's Planet. You will only be at the Tavern for a few hours this time."

Wendy complained, "That's more than enough time for Úna to kill me."

Grean sighed. "Well, I did not want to tell you this, but as an IPX agent, every six months Úna receives updated files listing all the active IPCC agents in the Beyond. She will quickly recognize Pallis as an IPCC agent. Really, Wendy, you should not worry about all of these details."

Wendy looked carefully at the image being shown by the Omniviewer. In the dim light of a red dwarf star, she could see the lights of Dasce's hideout shining in the distance. "The resolution of these images seems better now."

Grean nodded. "The images that I previously showed you were extrapolations based on orbital observation of the crater area. Things have changed. Remember, while on Alphanor, you planted tracking probes on both Gersen and Agent Atwrode. These better images of Dasce's hideout were generated when Gersen and Pallis subsequently visited Dasce's Planet."

Nova (left) and Kate (right)
at their home on Alphanor.

With long experience working with Grean, Wendy was comfortable with making use of information obtained from the 'future', in this case a point in time within the Asimov Reality that Wendy had not yet visited. "Didn't you learn everything you want to know from those nanite probes?"

Grean explained, "Sadly no. Neither Gersen or Atwrode get to witness Dasce's Death. I need you to be a witness at Thumbnail Gulch and report back to me how Dasce dies."

"What about Nova?"

Grean had the Omniviewer project an image of Nova Prekus. "Sadly, Nova is a special case. She may be the most adept human telepath living in Gersen's era. If I tried to have you plant a nanite probe inside Nova's body, she would notice what was happening. She can literally see inside people's bodies and detect foreign objects, even nanoscopic ones."

Wendy asked, "And what about Dasce? Why did he abduct Nova? Do you think Dasce has telepathic abilities, too?"

Grean speculated, "Dasce may have some telepathic sensitivity. Many successful criminal can sense danger. While at Thumbnail Gulch you can observe Dasce and then give me your report and assessment after you return here." Grean switched the Omniviewer back to an image of the crater at Thumbnail Gulch.

After one last glance at Grean's smiling face, Wendy stepped into the Asimov Reality Simulation.

Wendy arrived inside the crater that was the personal prison facility of Hildemar Dasce. The light level was annoying low and Wendy felt her olfactory sensors assaulted by a flood of sulfurous odors. She wished she could adjust upwards her visual system's light sensitivity and turn off her olfactory subsystem, but here inside the AR Simulator she lacked her usual ability to control the nanite components of her artificial body. While in the Simulator, she was essentially human with all of the sorry limitations that humans ordinarily dealt with. She looked upwards and could see a faintly glowing arched dome that covered the entire central flat part of the crater and held in the air.

For a moment, Wendy contemplated the possibility of rupturing the dome and letting the air escape. Ordinarily, she did not need to breath, so it might be possible to incapacitate Dasce by starving him of oxygen. However, she was now a simulated Wendy, and it was not obvious that she could survive inside this simulation without breathable air. Wendy decided that her job was to observe, not take action to subdue Dasce.

Wendy wondered where Dasce's spaceship was hidden. She looked around the perimeter of the airdome, but saw no ship. There was little level ground outside the perimeter of the airdome. Possibly Dasce had landed his ship outside the crater.

Wendy was distracted by an annoying sound. To Wendy's left, a persistent, growling noise came from a dark hole in the crater rim. Rather than walk towards the lights at the far end of the crater, Wendy stayed in the shadows and moved along the darker perimeter of the airdome, moving towards the machine-generated noise. Grean had dressed Wendy in the traditional gray of the space traveler, but now Wendy was feeling very warm. The red dwarf star's light was very feeble, but the ground itself seemed to be hot. Wendy began to sweat and she found that she could not use her nanites to control her body temperature. She pulled off her shirt and wiped her brow. The gray of her pants and her pale skin would glow brightly in the artificial lights of Dasce's compound if she approached the center of the crater.

Drawing close to the cave entrance from which the growling machine noises emanated, Wendy scrambled over low, irregular heaps of mining tailings. She concluded that Dasce used an automated tunneling and mining device to obtain needed mineral resources, possibly including the air and water molecules that were needed to support human life. Continuing past the cave entrance, Wendy passed three large sythglass tanks labeled OXYGEN, NITROGEN and WATER. A pipe ran along the crater floor from the water tank towards the center of the crater.

Having departed from the mine and then gone one quarter of the way around the dome's perimeter, Wendy came to an airlock with a standard thumb print reader that controlled the opening and closing of the airlock doors. Now with the lit airlock behind her, she decided that it was no longer necessary to follow along the edge of the airdome. At the center of the crater was a cage with black metal bars. Now feeling exposed, Wendy walked slowly towards the cage. She tried to deploy a nanite reconnaissance probe, but discovered that none of her nanite programs had been included by the AR Simulator. For the rest of this mission, she would be limited to the normal human biological capacity of Agent Atwrode's body. Silently cursing Grean, Wendy trudged forward.

Wendy approached and stopped a few feet from the bars of the cage. To her right was a device that was connected to the water pipe. When loaded with prepackaged nutrient concentrates, this machine could run for six months, automatically synthesizing a daily ration of food pellets every day and also squirt water through the spigot of a little fountain. Several of the dry pellets could be seen in the output tray, inside the cage. Excess water trickled from a pipe on the ground, with that run-off feeding a small warm pond that was surrounded by a few stunted palm trees and some tangled weeds.

To Wendy's left was a Jarnell Waste Processor. Across the cage, some 20 feet away was a dilapidated sofa, its seating area obscured by shadow. Speaking quietly but loud enough to be heard over the endlessly rumbling mining equipment, Wendy said, "Rampold! Robin Rampold!"

A minute passed. Wendy spoke again: "Nova! Nova Prekus!"

Now a rasping voice emerged from the sofa, "Quiet, please. I don't allow hallucinations to speak."

"Rampold? Listen to me; I'm no hallucination. My name is Pallis Atwrode."

Rampold sat up and his head was backlit by the lights from Dasce's dwelling. "There are two of you?"

For a moment, Wendy wondered if the real Pallis had already arrived. Then she realized that Rampold must have only recently seen the arrival of Nova. Wendy wondered: would Dasce put Nova in this cage along with Rampold? Wendy asked Rampold, "Is Nova there with you?"

"Is that her name?"

Wendy wondered if Rampold had lost his sanity after years of being held captive by Dasce. Each word that Rampold uttered seemed to cause him pain. Wendy kept trying to get some useful information from Rampold. "So, you have not met Nova Prekus?"

Rampold stood up and walked across his cage to stand a few feet in front of Pallis. There was a restraining cord attached to his right leg; except for that, his body was naked. "Nova. Is that the name of the poor girl? For hours I listened to her screams." Rampold turned and looked towards the low habitation dome at the lit end of the crater. "Mercifully, she is now quiet. Is she dead? I know nothing."

Wendy tried not to think about the horrific experiences of Nova as Dasce's prisoner. She looked at the jagged features of Rampold's face. He did not look healthy. Despite the heat, Wendy put her shirt back on and asked, "How have you survived here for so long?"

Rampold giggled. "Time has no meaning here. One day. One year. It is all the same." He walked over to the Waste Processor and urinated into it.

Wendy said, "I will set you free. How can I open this cage?"

Rampold replied, "It was not designed to open. For my first few years here, a chain held me to a post. Later, Hildemar built this cage over me. The metal bars extend down into the crater floor. I once tried to tunnel my way out, but had no luck. You will have to use your blaster to melt the metal bars. Be quiet while you blast or Dasce will hear you."

"I have no blaster."

"Who are you?"

Wendy was tempted to tell Rampold that she was an IPCC agent, but she said, "I'm from beyond this Simulation. I'm here to collect information about a past Reality."

Rampold muttered, "So that is how it is." Rampold walked back to the sofa, took one last glance at Wendy and said, "I am insane." He laid back down.

Wendy tried again. "I will help you if I can. Tell me, where is Nova?" No reply. "I assume she is with Dasce in that little habitation dome. What is the layout in there?

Rampold replied, "I have never been in there. Only Dasce's girl friends receive that honor. You will be next."

"No. Help me, and I will deal with Dasce. I will rescue you and the girl. Tell me what you know of his habits. Where is his spaceship?"

"He leaves his ship somewhere beyond the crater rim." Rampold again sat up. "What do you expect me to tell you? I can't help you. Where is your ship? You should not have come here alone, without weapons. Best that you leave while you can. Stop teasing me with your talk of rescue."

Wendy felt like she was wasting her time talking to Rampold, but she did not want to confront Dasce. She wondered why Grean had not provided her with a means of defense. She told Rampold, "I am really only an observer. I did not come here to kill Dasce, but I assure you... he will soon die."

Rampold asked, "You are going to observe me? So that is Hildemar's plan."

Wendy asked, "What plan?"

"You are another kitten." Rampold stated that as a fact.

Again, Wendy could not make sense of Rampold's words. "Look at me, Rampold. I'm a woman."

"Yes. Dasce wants you to tempt me... entice me. It will not work. I will ignore you." He sank back down on the sofa.

"Don't ignore me. Rampold! Why do you call me a kitten?"

"It is Hidemar's favorite game. He brings me gifts then, after I become interested, he takes pleasure in destroying the gifts. He wants me to become interested in you, then... well, he will not destroy you. Eventually you will choose to destroy yourself, after you have received enough of his attention."

Just then, an alarm sounded and Dasce emerged from his hut. He threw a switch and the entire crater interior was lit up by additional lights. Instantly he saw Wendy and began walking towards the cage. Wendy turned and ran towards the mine shaft. Dasce followed. Wendy entered the mining tunnel and covered her ears with her hands, trying to protect her inner ears from the noise of the mining equipment. She hid in the dark behind an old piece of ore processing equipment. The lights came on and the machinery fell silent. Dasce entered the tunnel and called out, "Show yourself. Don't waste my time. That was the air pressure alarm that went off. I need to fix the leak in the airdome."

Wendy suddenly realized that she had left tracks on the dusty floor of the tunnel. Dasce came around the ore processor, pointing a blaster at her. "How did you get inside the airdome? Did you cut a hole in the dome?" He fired the blaster, hitting Wendy in the arm.

Never before had she experienced such pain. She leapt at Dasce, trying to knock the blaster out of his hand. He bashed her face with the blaster and she fell to the floor. He clamped a restraint bracelet on Wendy's uninjured arm and then kicked her. "Get up. Show me where you made the hole in the airdome."

After three more savage kicks, Dasce gave up. "You are too pretty to kill." He tied the metal cord of the restraint to the ore processor then used his blaster to weld the cord in place. Dasce exited from the tunnel and turned off the lights. The mining machinery again began to fill the tunnel with loud grinding noises. Wendy lay bleeding from the blaster wound to her arm. The pain was excruciating, but most of the blood vessels had been fused shut by the heat of the blast. Wendy tried to detach herself from the ore processing equipment, but she could not break the weld that held her restraint cord attached to the heavy machine.

Later, the lights came back on. Dasce had returned. Dasce shouted at Wendy above the noise of the tunneling machinery: "I captured your bumbling partner. If it was your job to distract me, you failed. Now you are both my prisoners. Get up, and give me no trouble." He blasted the restrain cord off of the ore processor and pulled Wendy to her feet and out of the tunnel.

They walked to Rampold's cage and now Wendy could see the unconscious form of Kirth Gersen, on the ground near the cage. He was attached to the cage by another restraining cord. Inside the cage, Rampold stood, watching events. Never in 17 years had he seen so much activity in the crater.

Dasce kicked Gersen in the ribs. "Get up." Gersen did not move. Wendy could see a small puddle of blood under his head. Dasce turned to Wendy and asked, "Who are you? IPCC? Do you work with Gersen?"

Wendy's ears were still buzzing from being in the noisy tunnel. She replied, "Face it Dasce, the secret location of your little resort is no longer a secret. Let me go, along with the rest of your prisoners, and I'll do my best to get you a reduced sentence."

Dasce laughed. "What did you do? Plant a tracking device on my spaceship so that you could follow me here?" Wendy said no more. "Well, it does not matter. You were fools to try to defeat me." He looked at the blast damage that he had inflicted on Wendy's arm. "Come with me, I will bandage that arm."

Rampold told Dasce, "Free us, Hildemar. You have reached the end. Justice is creeping up on you."

Dasce told Rampold, "Be quiet. When Gersen wakes up, find out what his plans were." Dasce pushed Wendy towards the hut. "I'll be busy entertaining our new guest."

Once inside the hut, Wendy needed a moment for her eyes to adjust to the brighter light. The roof sloped down from the center, creating a round space some 10 feet high in the middle, lower around the edges. Dasce went to the back room and said, "Get up, Nova. I need your help." Dasce then attached Wendy's restraining cord to a metal locking device that was built into the floor at the center of the room.

Nova Prekus came out of the back room. She stood staring at Wendy. Like Rampold, Nova was naked. Sets of ugly bruises adorned her body. Dasce reached into a half-height closet at the far end of the hut and pulled out a plastic case. Returning to the center the room, he handed the medkit to Nova and said, "Bandage her arm."

Trailing her own restraint cord from an ankle, Nova approached Wendy who sat down in a chair and allowed Wendy to bandage her blasted arm. Soon the pain began to lessen and Wendy could again begin to think. Dasce went outside to check on Gersen. Wendy asked Nova, "Are you alright?"

Nova replied, "No. Dasce is a madman. Who are you?"

"Tell me... how can Dasce be distracted?"

Nova shook her head. "He seems interested in only one thing. You'll experience that first hand, soon enough." Nova applied an ointment to the bruises on Wendy's face where she had been struck by Dasce.

Wendy said, "I'm going to fight Dasce. I'd prefer that he kill me."

Nova said, "You are brave." She began to re-pack the medkit. She asked Wendy, "What are you? I have the ability to look into people's minds, but you are different... I can see nothing inside of you."

"I'm not alone. A man, Kirth Gersen, is out there beside Rampold's cage. If we all resist..." Wendy pointed to a set of metal surgical tools that was inside the medkit.

Nova asked, "What is to be gained? If you resist you will end up like Rampold, a sorry collection of broken bones and lacerated skin." Just then Dasce returned and said to Nova, "Go bandage Gersen's head. He's lying by Rampold's cage." Taking a key from his pocket, he released the steel band from her ankle. Nova took a roll of bandaging material and some first aid ointment out of the medkit and with one last glance at Wendy she went outside.

Dasce examined Wendy's bandaged arm then grabbed the tattered sleeve at her shoulder and ripped off the rest of her clothing with two powerful jerks. Wendy kicked Dasce in the crotch and picked up the chair that she had been sitting on. Dasce grabbed the chair as she tried to strike him with it and pushed Wendy backwards into the adjoining kitchen area of the hut. Wendy reached the end of her restraining cord and stumbled to the floor. Dasce was holding on to her injured arm, which he now twisted mercilessly.

A shriek of pain escaped from Wendy. She had intended to show Dasce no signs of pain, but now she was splayed out on the floor, writhing in pain. She tried to kick Dasce but she could generate no significant force. He twisted her arm again. He laughed and asked, "Do you enjoy pain?"

Wendy did not trust herself to speak. She glared at Dasce and thought of Grean. If Grean had seen these events by viewing the future, or if Grean was watching now, using the Omniviewer, why didn't she end the Simulation? Wendy felt faint.

After one last twist, Dasce let go of Wendy's arm and got to his feet. He went to one of the cabinets in the kitchen, turning his back to Wendy. She forced herself to stand, grabbed the medkit and went into the back room. Wendy flung open the case and pulled out a set of steel bone shears. She tried to cut the metallic cord that was attached to the steal band around her wrist. She could not generate enough hand force to cut the cord, but she saw that she had crimped the cord.

Dasce entered the back room, which held a large bed. He kicked Wendy in the back of the head and she went sprawling across the medkit. Wendy lost consciousness.

Wendy regained consciousness and found herself on the bed, now held in place by two taught restraining cords, one on her wrist and the other at her ankle. Her head and blasted arm both throbbed with pain. She saw a motion in the doorway that connected to the front room. It was Nova. The girl turned and disappeared. A few seconds later, Dasce came into the bedroom. "So, you are a fighter. That won't last very long." He took off his pants and got on the bed with Wendy. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hildemar. Tell me your name."

Wendy said nothing. Dasce moved closer. She tried to kick his ugly genitals with her free leg, but Dasce laughed and grabbed her foot, which he now twisted until her ankle cracked loudly. "Stop fighting me or I'll punish Nova."

Wendy was prepared to fight Dasce and accept the blows he would inflict in revenge, but she had not imagined that he would punish Nova. She relaxed the muscles in her limbs, but now she felt obliged to speak, "You are a miserable coward. Let's make a deal. Leave the girl alone."

Dasce moved on top of Wendy. "You are in no position to make deals."

Wendy flexed her free leg and her knee slammed into Dasce's scrotum. He cried out and rolled off the bed. He staggered from the room then returned with Nova. He threw Nova on the bed and stalked out. Wendy asked, "Where is the medkit?"

Nova looked to the side of the bed and saw the steel bone shears on the floor. Dasce returned, carrying two lengths of zirkad pipe. He grabbed Nova's arm and flung her over. "On your knees, like I taught you."

Nova got to her hands and knees, staring into Wendy's eyes, her slim bottom pointed at Dasce. He put the two pipes between her legs and told Wendy, "Each time you resist me, it will be worse for Nova. This time I'll be kind and only use two pipes."

Wendy wondered: why doesn't Nova resist? She decided that much of her own courage came from knowing that this was all a Simulation. Wendy told Nova, "Fight." Nova gave her head a quick shake, but the girl said nothing.

Dasce said, "Nova and I have been together for a few days now." He told Wendy, "I've trained her to relax and enjoy herself. Too bad she must be punished for your bad behavior."

A loud sound came from above; the sounds of a descending spaceship.

Dasce dropped the pipes, pulled on his pants, turned and ran from the hut. He looked up and saw a small spaceship falling out of the sky. He returned inside and used his key to open a cabinet. After grabbing a blaster and locking the cabinet, he opened another cabinet and pulled out an airsuit. Carrying his helmet, he ran back outside.

Inside the hut, Nova picked up the pair of shears and attached a section of the zirkad pipe to each handle. Nova was a tall girl with long powerful arms. Now with the extra leverage of the pipes, she was able to cut one of Wendy's two restraining cords after just two tries. Wendy said, "Now our ankles!" Nova cut the cord attached to Wendy's ankle then Wendy took the shears and set Nova free.

Wendy retrieved the scalpel from the medkit and then went to the front door of the hut and looked outside. Gersen, laying near Rampold's cage, was the only person she could see. Wendy turned towards Nova and asked, "Where is Dasce's spaceship?"

"We landed beside the crater."

"Show me the direction."

Nova pointed north. "That's also where the second ship has landed and that is where Dasce went. He is armed."

Wendy ran to the airlock, but it was locked and coded to open only to Dasce's thumb print. She then used the scalpel to puncture the airdome. Air began to whistle out through the small cut. Wendy worked to enlarge the hole, but the scalpel was quickly becoming dull. Nova arrived with a knife from the kitchen and together they enlarged the hole. Nova told Wendy, "There is a tunnel through the rim of the crater that leads to the landing area, but you can't go out there without a suit. There is not any oxygen in the atmosphere of this world."

Wendy said, "I don't need oxygen." However, Wendy was not really sure that the Simulator would actually allow her to go without breathing. There was one way to find out.

Soon the hole in the airdome seemed big enough and Wendy put her head through and then with a struggle pulled the rest of her body through the gap. She ran towards the rim of the crater, up a slope of small rocks and then down again. She took her first breath of the planet's atmosphere. It tasted like metal. There was the tunnel opening. Wendy stepped inside. The tunnel was about a quarter of a mile long, lit by a long chain of LEDs. Wendy ran through the tunnel. By the time she reached the other end of the tunnel, she felt certain that inside the Simulator she did not actually need oxygen for her artificial body, but strangely she could not stop herself from inhaling and exhaling.

But where was Dasce?

Wendy looked outside and saw Dasce carrying the real Pallis Atwrode slung over his shoulder and returning towards the tunnel, making his way up the slope from the flat landing area beyond. Just inside the tunnel entrance, looming in the shadows, was a broken piece of tunneling equipment. Wendy still held the scalpel. Now she used it to open a cover panel on the machine. Inside was a large motor and a complex cooling system. Again using the scalpel, she pried out a short piece of thin zirkad pipe. Then using that pipe, she began trying to dislodge a larger, thicker pipe. Dasce had arrived at the mouth of the tunnel. He set down Agent Atrode on the ground and for a minute stood there, panting and catching his breath, adjusting the flow from his oxygen tank. Wendy popped the restraining clamps off of the thicker pipe. One end was attached to a soft plastic hose. She repeatedly bent the other end of the pipe back and forth and finally the fatigued zirkad snapped. Dasce stood gazing out towards the two spaceships the rested side-by-side on the landing field. This was Wendy's chance! She rushed towards Dasce, raising the pipe above her head.

At the sound of her footfalls, Dasce turned and flung up his arms. Twisting to the side, he let Wendy tumble out the mouth of the tunnel. He pulled his blaster out of its holster and fired. Once more, Wendy's arm flared with pain. She tried to pick herself up off the ground, but something struck her head and consciousness winked out.

When Wendy regained consciousness, she was back in the hut. The lights were dim. She was lying on the big bed in the back room. She was sweating, but the bed itself felt cool and dry. Perhaps, she thought, the bed is cooled. She turned her head and saw Nova there, sleeping quietly beside her. Wendy reached out and touched Nova's hair, gently stroking the girl's head.

Nova awoke and smiled at Wendy. Again she asked, "What are you? You don't need oxygen?"

Wendy sat up. There was a tender lump on the back of her head. Her blasted arm was stiff and throbbed with a cruel deep pain. She examined the fresh bandages on her injured arm. Nova said, "Shot twice in the same arm. I tried to sew you back together, but some pieces were missing this time. You need regeneration."

Wendy asked, "Where is Dasce?"

Nova replied, "He is gone."

Wendy rolled off the bed and walked to the front room. Agent Atwrode and Gersen lay there, on the floor, side by side. Nova brightened the lights. Blood seeped from the bandages that were wrapped around Gersen's head and his chest rose and fell with each breath. Agent Atwrode was motionless, her body mostly covered by a bloody sheet. Wendy tugged at the sheet, pulling it to hide the pale, stiff face of Agent Atwrode then she sank into a chair and looked at Nova. The girl bent over Gersen, took his pulse and then sat beside him on the floor, holding a sheet from the bed close around herself. She pointed at the body of the real Pallis and said to Wendy, "Hildemar thought you two must be twins, but unlike you, I could see into her mind."

Wendy asked, "How did she die?"

Nova replied, "After he found her IPCC identification papers, Dasce tortured Pallis until she wanted to die. I wasn't there, but I could sense the agony in her mind. She never cried out." Nova smiled grimly. "I was busy. Dasce had tied me up outside, near Gersen, shackled by my arm. Gersen carried a small knife... inside his body. Dasce had missed that when he captured and searched Gersen, but I knew it was hidden there... inside him... I can see things like that with my extra-sensory abilities."

Wendy said, "Inside? Hidden in his..."

"Yes. I took out that knife and did what needed to be done." Letting the sheet fall from her shoulders, Nova held up her left arm, and Wendy saw that it ended in a bandaged stump.

Wendy asked in a horrified whisper, "You cut off your own hand?"

Nova nodded. "The knife was small and my bones are hard. Rampold helped. He snapped my arm bones against a bar of the cage."

Wendy looked around the room and then asked, "Where is Rampold?"

"Rampold called to Dasce, creating a distraction. When Dasce asked how I had escaped, all Rampold did was point to my severed hand there on the ground. By then, I'd come in here through the back door and found Pallis. She was mostly dead by then. There was nothing I could do to help her. She asked me for the knife and she cut her own throat."

Wendy starred with amazement. She asked, "Rampold? Dasce?"

Nova seemed to be finished talking. She got up off the floor and went to the kitchen area. She asked Wendy, "Do you eat? Drink?"

Wendy got up and went into the kitchen area. They got into Dasce's supply of alcohol and Nova cooked herself an omelette using powdered eggs. Nova looked at Wendy over the rim of her whiskey glass then said, "It was not supposed to end this way."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was a little girl, the stars called to me. I knew that I was needed... out here. In the Beyond. Of course, at first I just wanted to leave home and travel to any other world. I won a scholarship to go to school on Alphanor. When I met Kate, I believed that was it. My calling. We got married and we were happy. Then Gersen showed up."

For a minute they sat in silence, thinking about Kate and how she had been murdered. Nova spoke on: "I could see deep into Dasce's mind. When I got over the shock of that -his was the first truly evil mind of my experience- I knew that I could defeat him. I just had to be patient. I can usually make people like me, and even Dasce grew to like me." Nova laughed, rather hysterically. "Well... maybe he was incapable of liking anyone, but he no longer wanted to hurt me. That was his downfall. In the end, he let me get close... one last time. Gersen's little stiletto was long enough to pierce Dasce's heart."

Wendy asked, "Where is his body?"

"Gone. I vaporized him with his own blaster. When Rampold would not tell Dasce where I had gone, he got out his blaster and killed Rampold. I wont tell you how many blaster shots that process took. Rampold had ample opportunity to talk, but he held his tongue."

Wendy looked at Nova with amazement and could think of nothing to say.

Nova finished eating then said to Wendy, "No... it was not supposed to end this way. You should not have been here."

Wendy said, "So you can see into my mind."

"No, you are completely opaque. It seems to me that you have no mind, none that I can sense."

"I have a mind. I'm just not from your Reality. I'm from beyond the world that you experience. I came here to observe and find out what happened here on this awful world."

Nova shook her head. "No. If you had not been here then everything would have been different. By being here, by your act of observing, you altered the Reality that you wanted to study. All you accomplished was getting yourself shot... twice."

With sudden insight, Wendy realized that Nova might be correct. "Ya, maybe that is all Grean really wanted. And to force me to experience true pain."

Nova asked, "Who is Grean?"

"An alien. She sent me here."

"A Star King?"

"No. Grean the Kac'hin."

Just then, Gersen began coughing and then he sat up. Nova had gone to his side. She handed him a cup of water. Gersen drank the cup dry and then a second and a third cup. Finally he said, "Where is Dasce?"

Wendy replied, "Dead. How does your head feel?"

Gersen struggled to his feet and stood there swaying, then put an arm around Nova so that he could keep from sinking to the floor." Nova put her long arms around Gersen and told him, "You lost a lot of blood. Don't try to walk."

"How long was I unconscious?"

"A few hours."

"I have to call my ship. Is there a radio here?"

"No. Where is your ship?"

"Not too far away. I hope it is still here. Where is my airsuit? I have to get to my flyer."

Nova said, "Relax, Mr. Gersen. Your ship is not going anywhere. Your travel companions are waiting for you. Even the Star King."

Wendy told Gersen, "Nova is a telepath."

Gersen asked, "Can you tell them that I'm alright?"

"Sorry." Nova shook her head. "I can look into minds, but I can't send my thoughts into people's heads."

Gersen was now sweating. He took off his shirt and asked for more water. After he drank again, he handed the cup back to Wendy and, thinking she was the real Pallis, asked her, "What happened? I'm glad you followed me. It was almost as if Dasce knew I was coming." He looked at Nova and asked, "Did you warn Dasce of my arrival?"

"Of course not. But she messed everything up." Nova pointed at Wendy. "When she appeared, Dasce was put on his guard."

Gersen said, "I know I'm dizzy, but nothing you say is making sense." He asked Wendy, "How did you get here before me?" Wendy glanced at the body of Pallis Atwrode and Gersen followed her eyes to the corpse. "Who is that?"

Wendy stepped over and pulled the sheet off of Agent Atwrode's face. Gersen looked back and forth between Pallis and Wendy. "A double? Or... you are twins?"

Wendy explained, "I was given the bodily form of Agent Atwrode, but my name is Wendy Larsen."

"You are an IPCC agent?"

Wendy laughed. "No, I'm just here to observe. I'm not a part of this Reality. I'm from outside your universe."

"I don't know what that means, but I can't allow myself to be distracted by mysteries. I still must go to the Planet of the Dryads." Gersen let go of Nova, no longer using her to keep himself steady on his feet and staggered towards the door. He leaned against the door frame and looked outside. "I need an airsuit."

Nova went to one of the storage cabinets and pulled out Gersen's airsuit. With the help of Wendy and Nova, Gersen got into the suit and strapped on an oxygen tank.

Nova opened another cabinet and took out her pants. She put on the pants and stepped into the kitchen area. She opened the cooler and called to Gersen, "Do you want another drink before you go?" Wendy was sweating, but Gersen seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes off of her breasts. She put on Nova's shirt and let the long tails hang low.

Gersen took one last cool, drink, politely thanked Nova, picked up his helmet and went outside.

Wendy and Nova followed Gersen outside. Nova pointed and said, "Use the airlock." At the airlock door, Nova reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a little plastic bag that held Dasce's thumb. She pressed it against the thumb print reader and the airlock cycle started. Gersen entered the airlock, turned and said, "You two will be okay?"

Wendy did not hear his words. She was looking off towards the dark end of the crater. Now she could see lights there, flickering in the distance. Suddenly she recognized the pattern of the lights: it was the pattern that she knew as the tall glowing windows of Smade's Tavern. She ran towards the lights, and as quickly as she had appeared in Thumbnail Gulch, she now disappeared.

Next: Wendy returns to Smade's Tavern.

Related Reading: 2020 Change Challenge.

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