Page 79 of Game on Askole

I gave myself a mental head thump. A lot of the high-ranking Coletti warriors did. “Flying is my life, Squadron Commander.”

“Do you want me to tell the Overlord you refuse to obey his orders?”

Oh, hell no. I had a big enough bull’s-eye on my back. “No, sir. I apologize for my outburst.”

“Wise decision. We have two hours before the freighters are loaded. I suggest you take the time to adjust your attitude.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cedras teleported away.

“Boy, do I need a drink.” I headed for the spaceport tavern and linked with Aunt Tess.“I’ve been grounded.”

“Why? What happened?”

I gave her the 411.

“I think Zarek made the right decision. That’s a lot of money. Every bounty hunter and criminal will be trying to kill you.”

“I have to admit, it got pretty hairy today.”

“Tihar make another appearance?”

I kicked an empty bottle.“No.”

“You gotta let him go, hon.”Aunt Tess hugged me psychically.“He’s not worth the tears.”

“I know, but he owes me an apology, and dammit, he needs to fix my DNA.”

“He does and he will. Willingly or not.”

I caught a fleeting mental glimpse of Rho stalking toward my aunt and grinned.“What did you do this time?”

“I trained the ducks to follow him around. Gotta go.”Aunt Tess broke the link.

Blast doors slid open at my approach. The tavern was called The Tipsy Gorum, and surprise, surprise, a Gorum ran it. It reminded me of an old English pub with an alien twist. Wooden beams ran across the white ceiling. I adored the huge fireplace and the long red-tiled bar. Behind the bar was a mythical creature right out of the Old West called a jackalope. A jackrabbit with antelope antlers. There was no such critter. An old prospector with too much time on his hands had stuffed a dead jackrabbit and glued horns on it. It was a big hit with tourists and now the Gorum.

Adan, the owner, loved anything to do with Earth. I talked Uncle Saul into shipping him a jukebox, Vegas slot machines, and arcade games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. They were a big hit. Not such a hit was the Gorum version of art. It was a big glass container filled with what looked like fleas on crack.

Spacers mingled with a motley collection of life forms. Loud country-western music vied with the jabber of a dozen languages. Claws, paws, and hands were wrapped around a variety of drink containers. Due to the drunken brawls that occurred daily, the metal tables and chairs were bolted to the stone floor.

All of Adan’s waitresses were Hus Ping. They resembled five-hundred-pound teddy bears with sharp teeth and humongous boobs. Males, no matter what the species, found them fascinating. Adan’s bouncer was a half-blind Askole named Knock-Knock. Only a fool challenged Knock-Knock. He was one mean sonovabitch.

I climbed on a barstool. A holographic order screen appeared. Hmm. Did I want a beer or a shot of whiskey?

Adan slithered over to me. His long white tubular body reminded me of a mutated snake. Around his head were wormy growths that never ceased twisting with a peculiar life of their own. Instead of eyes, Adan had two eyestalks with bright yellow orbs.“The rocky road ice cream came in, along with more salsa and chips.”

My stomach grumbled.“I’ll take a bowl of each and a beer.”

The wormy growths stretched into tentacles as Adan quickly fixed my order. He plunked down a bowl of ice cream covered with salsa and chips in front of me. A few seconds later, another tentacle plunked a bottle of beer down.

“Uh. I usually eat them separately.”

“Taste better this way,”Adan responded, his yellow orbs fixed expectantly on my face.

I scooped up some salsa-covered ice cream with a chip and took a bite. Hmm. Not too bad.“Very yummy, Adan.”

A fat, hairy male with horns, pointy ears, and scraggly white hair took the stool next me.“I will eat what the female is eating.”

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