New to Space Traveler Fargone? Start at the beginning.
The following morning, I was eating a bowl of Donut Bites cereal when Em walked in, put her hands on her hips, and said, “Well?”
“Well, what?” I asked.
“You know what. Are you going to ask Flow to join us?”
“I haven’t made up my mind. Flow could be useful to have around, but we don’t know much about her or the Metallums. Anyway, we need to visit more of the station before we leave. Let’s use that time to learn more about Flow.”
“Fine,” Em said with a huff to her voice. She looked at my cereal and asked, “What is that? It looks disgusting.”
“It’s Donut Bites. The best cereal in the Universe.”
“Gross,” Em said and wrinkled her nose. “Where is the fruit?”
“Good question.”
After we both finished eating breakfast, Em and I returned to the common area and found Flow patiently waiting.
“Good morning, Flow,” I said.
“Good morning, Fargone and Emma,” Flow replied.
“Good morning,” Em added to the obligatory Human ritual.
“Flow, I was wondering if you would be available to take us to meet another species today?” I asked.
“I am afraid that is not possible. The Nanmons did considerable damage to the station, and everyone will be busy with repairs for quite some time. It is not an appropriate time for visiting.”
“Ah, I hadn’t thought about that. You are absolutely right.”
“You both are welcome to stay here in Metallum as long as you like,” Flow said. “But I suspect you are eager to be on your way, considering your meager Human lifespan.”
Was that a joke? I wondered if Metallums had a sense of humor.
“How do you know about our lifespan?” I asked.
“I did a search on Spoogle. Humans are quite fascinating. A species driven by emotion is unusual. I would enjoy spending time with you and learning more.”
Em grabbed me by the arm, pulled me a few feet away, and whispered, “You heard her. She wants to spend time with us. You need to ask her.”
“I need to run it by Huckster first,” I whispered back.
“Fine. Do it.”
We walked back over to Flow.
“Is there a problem?” Flow asked.
“Not at all. But we have something we need to attend to. We will return in a little while, and I will be happy to answer any questions you have about Humans.”
“Of course. I shall be waiting.”
Em and I returned to Rustbucket and called Huckster.
“Fargone and Emma! How is it going? Do you have some new video for me?”
“Yeah, I will send it soon,” Em replied. “We discovered an enormous space station inhabited by 4000 different species. The first one we encountered was an inorganic species made out of metal. They are sentient, and one of them has been acting as our guide.”
“Whoa! That’s great. This is working out better than I thought. Fargone, make sure you include all the details in your splog.”
“You got it. Listen, Cal. We have a question for you,” I said.
“Shoot.”
“Em thinks we should invite our Metallum guide to join us on our space explorations.” Em jumped in with, “She is a shapeshifter, so she would be a useful addition to the crew. And she won’t require any extra supplies.”
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Are you kidding me? A new species of life that can shape shift. Yes, yes, yes! Do it! Ask her,” Huckster replied.
“Don’t you need to run it by the lawyers first? What if she turns out to be a psycho killer?” I asked.
“Don’t worry. We have both of you and your ship insured to the max. If you die, TGS will be flush with cash.”
“How comforting,” I said.
“Seriously, it is an excellent idea. Do you think she will agree?” Huckster asked. He sounded excited and desperate at the same time.
“I don’t know. It is hard to read Metallums. They don’t show emotion.”
“If you can make this happen, I will push for a big bonus for both of you.”
“All I can do is ask,” I said.
“Let me know as soon as possible. This could be huge!”
“All right. Talk to you later.”
“Don’t keep me waiting.”
“Bye,” Em said as I shut off the call.
“Well, you heard the man. Let’s go recruit a Metallum,” I said.
“Yes!” Em said excitedly.