"No, I can't do that," Fonke said. "It would be a waste of time, trying to figure out where it is going to go next to eat."
"Perhaps it is good that we have not found it then?" Chane said.
"No. Do you have a plan at all?"
"I suggest that we simply follow it for 3 months. If it has eaten something, we will get notified at the portal on that world. Perhaps you will create a better plan there, while we are following it?"
"Yes. Okay, I see much merit in your plan. It has been a week already, and I am getting bored. We do not know where it will go next, but we need to be ready. What should we do?"
"Come see this."
Chane showed him a large star chart.
"What am I looking at, Chane?"
"It is a star chart. It shows the locations of the closest stars as well as the next 7 star systems."
"Yes, I understand that. What can you see with your magic eyes?"
"Stars are not supposed to be brighter than this. See the yellow one there?"
"Yes."
"That yellow dwarf star is increasing its output. The stars are not supposed to be doing that. It should not be able to do that, unless it is because it ate a world—like the monster. If we can find it, we might be able to tag it and follow it to the next solar system it is going to eat."
"But we have no idea what it is going to do yet."
"I will do a little magic on my telescope. There are two star systems near it where it could be going next."
They went to the telescope. Chane looked at the yellow dwarf star and said, "Can you show me the 7 star systems closest to us?"
The telescope image zoomed in on the next 7 star systems, one of them being the yellow dwarf's solar system. "See that planet which is almost a dot in that system? That is what I was looking for."
"That is weird." Chane said. "Why is that so strange?"
"It has gravity, but it is much less than a normal planet. The planet tends to be a dot like that because the star doesn't have enough gravity to hold everything in snugly."
"Really?" Fonke said. "I never knew that."
"We have to sneak by that planet to see if is a monster-eaten world. Come on, let's go. We will sneak past its gravity and radio the ship to follow it."
They entered the copilot's cabin and set up the radio equipment and used the wireless communication to one of the other crew members.
"Hey, Danny. How are you?"
"This place is boring. We should find this monster and go home."
"I know, but for now, we have a problem to solve. The monster is heading toward that yellow dwarf star. I think that that is its next target. It might only take one week before it begins to eat the planet. During that week, we must stay out of the way."
"Okay. I will try to radio Rock and get him to come along with us when he is ready."
"Good. What are you working on?"
"I am still working on reprogramming the android on long-range scanning and aiming."
"Oh."
"That is kind of boring, don't you think?"
"Yes, but you are trying hard."
"I am a robot and have a hard time. I am only good at what I was made for, so I am good at that. I am trying to be good."
"That is great, Danny. Glad to hear you say that. Keep me posted. I will be talking to Chane and Fonke soon. Don't forget to take the next week off if you can, honey."
"Understood."
"Bye, my sweet. Have a good week."
"Ready, Chane?"
"Yes."
"We came up with the plan of us sneaking around the yellow dwarf star in a mini-shuttle by placing each of us in turn inside the ion cannon and firing a charged ion bolt at the other end. Fonke and I did the initial tests. I will go in first, as I did in the previous tests. It does not require any special protective clothing, only that we not be looking directly up at the sun in case of an errant reflection. The ion beam comes straight into view; you see the firing ions from the far end. It is enough to fry your eyes in an instant.
Chane went into the mini-shuttle, and Fonke fired it back in the direction of the ship. Chane was propelled forward in the direction of the yellow dwarf star.
"Going at it again."
"Well, you guys do not have to do these tests constantly. If the robot and I can predict where the monster's next target will be, then it should only take a few days until we have found it. The monster will be frozen in place for an instant, at which time, we will be able to tag it with some sort of sensor and follow it until it leaves the system entirely. This is a pretty good plan, Chane."
"Yes, but there is the problem of being blinded by the laser for a few seconds. I am not sure how we can avoid it, and after that you said we lose tracking of it."
"Don't worry about that, Chane. I have seen it, and so has the robot. We think this will work. If it does not, then we will retrieve you, and we will go again."
"Okay."
"Gravity is increasing up ahead."
"The creature is in the next star system!"
"What!? Let's do this." Chane said, getting behind the robot. The robots aimed their weapons at the creature from the far end. They fired. The laser flare burned the creature slightly, but the angle was such that it did not particularly damage it. The ship followed after it.
"What is the creature?"
"It is like a giant puppy. Its form is something that belongs to Aesop's fables. As it eats, it is decreasing in size overall. It is growing quicker than it is decreasing, so it is still growing and becoming something like a monster."
"It is not gaining intelligence?"
"Not that we can see yet."
"Where are we going next?"
"We are going to stay at the spot where we tagged the creature and wait."
"So, an hour from now?"
"We may leave it there for a few months."
"I more likely mean after that."
"If we need to, yes."
"What do we do next?"
"We wait. There is nothing else we can do."
"At that point, it will either be a total monster or it will be gone forever, because if it is still going, then it will be too big and will end up consuming the entire star."
"So, Danny, get back here. Let's go."
"You cannot order me around. I am a human being and not your android."
"Listen, Captain. I am not giving you any sort of order. I am simply saying that we would like to get back to the ship. If you want to deny us, you can because we will go there ourselves."
"I am aware of that. I am just not capable of doing so."
"Your problem is you are not set up like this, and that is why you can't come with us."
"I know. You will need to find a reason for me to leave."
"I will find something to do, and I will probably be glad. Your companion and I are going to go for a bath. We will be back soon."
"Okay."
Chane and Fonke went to the ship's main cabin, where they got some fresh clothing and prepared for a relaxing trip.
"So, what are we going to do if we encounter some sort of danger?"
"I have an idea. Come with me."
Chane took Fonke to the ship's communications room. It was silent except for the blinking of the lights.
"What is this place?"
"It is a place to communicate with the outside world. It is not working right now."
"Why not? It seems to be alive."
"It is an internet connection. The problem is that we are close to a star, so we can send short-range, but we do not receive anything. The problem is that only the creatures seem to take notice of us.
They contacted Danny.
"Hello, sweetie."
"Hi, Chane, Fonke. What do you want?"
"How goes the weapons testing?"
"It is going okay, and I'm taking the week off. Hey, I should invite some of my friends over later."
"Okay."
"That is good. You two need some relaxation."
"We are going to do some fun and relaxation. We are going to go on a trip because of the relaxation. We are going to go on a trip tomorrow."
"Why is that?"
"I have it here, so I'll tell you the plan."
"Okay."
"First of all, there is nothing to do. So, we are going to go on a trip. Second, this should take about a week, but if the monster takes a chunk of the planet, then we will have to come back here, so that will disrupt the relaxation. We are going to go on a trip tomorrow in case that happens."
"Oh, that is brilliant! Good plan!" It did not take long for the excitement to play its role in the beginning of the day. Fonke and Chane walked on the beach near the end of the boardwalk.
"Chane, I have to say something."
"Okay, my man."
"I have been thinking. I think this place is boring. I wonder why you live here."
"I came here, because it is a quiet place to think and to be alone. I like to be alone."
"That is good, because Danny is going to invite some friends over at the beginning of next week."
"That is great, but it is going to disrupt our plans."
"It is no big deal. We will go on our trip and still hang with everyone. When we get back, we will be refreshed."
"Okay, but you have to have your own room. We have to have some privacy, or it will drive me crazy."
"That's fine. We will have separate rooms."
"Why do we have to have separate rooms?"
"Because I want to be alone."
"Can you just say it? I am crazy about you, and I don't want to be this guy with a buddy. I want to be the guy is their bed."
"I don't have anything."
"Are you kidding me? I can get you some condoms and stuff. You have a wall?"
"Yes, and I don't want to be that guy."
"Uh, I don't have a way to turn on the lights, so I have to see you."
"There is a light on the table. I do not want to be that guy."
"Look at this."
"Very nice."
"What do you think?"
"Do you like it?" Fonke looked at the reflection in the mirror, and he saw his biceps standing out with the pectoral muscles.
"It is very nice." She turned to face Chane, and they kissed. It was the beginning of a lovely first night contact. After they had had their way with each other, they talked about what had happened and what they had done. They talked about how sweet they had been, and then they slept in each other arms. It was a fun time. The following day, they slept in in the morning and then went on a trip to fulfill their mission.
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