I

Enter Mordgar, the Cool

"Yesterday we were safe and warm. We had fun. We had a future. We had friends. we had money. Well it was the friends woh had the money but that's the same thing you know."

Suzanne leaned heavely on her shovel resing her chin on its handle.

"your complaining won't bring tham back." she pauded to heave a mound of the green slime surounding the two workers over her shoulder. "It's not like you to complain. Things must be really bad."

"the silence was driving me absolutly batty.:

"Oh? So, there is some good in this? Do tell me Mr. Pesimist."

"We still have each other," Suzanne sighed heavely and choked on the thick air. "and I'm sure the others are working on fixing things right now.

"And you're out of touch with reality as always." A tear rolled down her cheek. "you sounded just like Burton just hen." The first tear was followed by more.

"Don't cry! Please, I can't stand it, Suzanne." Chris moved to hug her but the thick grime that engulfed his legs gave him no leave. To do little more than wriggle.

"You're not much help bringing up the others like that. They're not comingo to get us ther's just no way. Why can't you just ex cept when thangs are bad? Rescue is imposible. Life sucks! (cough, cough) Get used to it."

"We're still alive. As long aw we're both alive ther is still hope." Chris mumbled moving slower than before.

Suzanne's tears turned to growls of frustarion and anger. "I don't want to live like thais! Living doesn't do me any good if I don't want to be alive. At least not like this."

"Suzanne! Please don't talk like that. Please."

"(Sigh cough cough) Don't worry. I'm not going any where. Who would take care of you if I didn't?"

"I can take care of myself. I would be just fine." she let out a little laugh

"Yeah, maybe people will take pitty on your oh so cute world view."

"I don't need pitty."

The goo said "slerp sloosh sploosh slerp" as it moved from the floor to the shoot in the wall.

"You are not with me because you pitty me are you?"

"slerp sloosh"

"In the past yes but not anymore."

"slerp sploosh"

"Why do you stay with me now then?"

"sleeerp splash"

"I guess I do because I love you."

"You guess? That's a bit upsetting."

"It's hard to explain…"

"slerp sploosh"

"I am sure that I love you."

"Oh, I know I love you … I just think there is a little more to all of it than that. (slerp sploosh) People who just koo ' I love you' to each other and think it'll solve all there differences and problems are so nieve."

"sploosh"

"I don't do that do I?"

"No, we wouldn't be together if you did."

"sleerpity"

"Well that makes sence."

"Yeah"

"Slerp, splash, slosh, sploosh slerp"

Nothing notable happened till three hours later. And that was only barely so. What happended was a creaqture who's six foot hight was also his width. That is if he could be called a he at all. He will be called such here for the sake of simplicity and keeping the current pain free stait ofht the auther's brain. The creature's skin, which matched in color the goo defining the room, hung in many great folds loosly over a pair of latex pink overalls, a barbed pole, like a trident, in the left most of his five limbs and a golden colar which would have made a better crown if only hie hed was any wider than the spot he called his neck though it wasn't the common notion of one at all. Chris and Suzanne both stiffened and simotaniously relaxed at his presence. He called out to them in a voice that sounded like rocks grinding together under whater. The best estimation of what he said the author could come up with was; "Hey you two tiny clean vermin of slaves, get to your sleep holes. Your shift is over." He attempted to wave his crude weapon menisingly but only managed a slow circle with its tip. The "tiny clean vermin" followed him out of the space as closely as they could stand.

---

About three million light years galactic North of sixty three degrees of two hundred and three new standard astronomical units (NSAUs) Atlantian East of our favoriter planet Angorn's sun who's name the author forgets at the moment (She'll look it up later.) sat an unbelievably slim medium, (Who is a Teplorian goat sheep milk maid on Tuesdays and Fridays.) and the table that held the christal ball of her trade in which she lazely stared with an air of pretending she was indeffrent to its contence by suppressing a great amount of suspicios curiosity and sly intrest. The image in the chrystal ball displayed the interior of the famous ship, "Silver Speed," more spacificly the interior of its engine room. Tiles from the walls, ceiling and floor had been removed and rested in the corners of the circular space. The very mechanisms of the ship had been drawn form there homes and mingled with assorted tools all over the floor. Burton sat with his back against the central pillar playing with a tool that spun and huming "Iron Man." Fredrica was laying on her back with her head, torso and some of ther legs in the inards of the ship.

"Burton, hand me the ipnaplasiantit please," she said. Burton looked up egerly

"Did you just ask for a tit?!"

"No, you stupid pervert, I asked for the ipnaplasiantit."

"Oh," He looked down disappointed. "Ah, what is an ipnaplasiantit?"

"It is a ratchet with a long bent plastic bit at the end." He studied the tools at his feet for a time. He picked one up and examed it.

"What is a ratchet?"

"It is an Earth tool. You should know that one!"

"I am sorry. I am n t much help am I?"

"I have an idea," she sighed, "Go get the label maker out of the second drawer from the bottom on the left of my desk."

"Alright, I can do that." He jumped up and out the door. Fredrica crawled into the open, retreaved the tool Burton had been playing with only moments earlier before crawling into the same position she had been in origionaly.

"What the heck is this doing here?!" A rubber mouse favorable for play by felines shot out of a hole in the wall.

"Meow!" said Bob in an unwonted screech.

"Shut up!"

"I apolojize. I did not think it would hurt anything," said a voice not much unlike that of a man and was as deap as an ocean and as clear as glass.

"Who the, ouch!" The ouch came from Fredrica hitting her head on a metal bar when she jumped up starteled by the unfamiliar and unexpected voice.

"I apologize again. Did I startle you?"

"Well, of corse you did," Fredrica said angrily as she slid out to confront the intruder. All she saw besided the affore mentioned tools, tiles, and electronics, was a fuzzy blue green light two feet around hovering four feet off the floor. She glared at it sternly and crossed her arms.

"…and you would be…?"

"I am Mordgar the cool, son of Abden, son of Fleckdine, of the Tripten clan, of The Great Old Planet Mirdor."

"That tells me beans."

"Excuse me? I do not believe I mentionded any beans of any sort in any way."

"What I ment to say was 'That does not mean anything to me.'"

"I apoligise a third time. I momentarily forgot that the kingdom of The Great Atlantian Empire does not eknowledge my race's existence. So, I should not expect you should know." She rolled her eyes bored by his overly fancy speech.

"I do not care about all of that. What I want to know is; what are you doing on my ship?"

"Your ship? I am fairly sure this is your mother, Queen Ashleak of The Kingdom of the Great Atlantion Empire's ship." Fredrica rolled her eyes again.

"Not anymore he is not. He is mine and nothing you can do can change it and that is that."

"True 'dat sista'!" Bob chimed in.

"Shut up! And I am not your 'sista'' so don't call me such."

"I apoligise a fourth time."

"You had better apoligise and you had better explain yourself and what you are doing on my ship let alone challenging my right to call him such."

"I apoligise for a fifth time." Fredrica sighed. This creature sure does enjoy showing of its ability to count and keep track of things. "A … good friend of mine and I took an intrest in your exploration. On our planet it is perfectly acceptable to join a group unannounced as I see it is not the case on yours."

"Right, on MYplanet you need permissiond and then forms expressing that permission and other information processed weeks ahead of time."

"I apoligise a sixth time. I was not aware." Burton came back in with the woosh of the door rather unnessisarily fancy gold trimed lable maker in hand.

"Uhhh…" He stared ad Mordgar with his mouth hanging slightly open. "Is this also normal?" He looked quizitivly at Fredrica.

"Actually for once No, this time it is not."

"Hello Burton," said the stowaway, "I am Mordgar the cool, son of Abden, son of Fleckdine, of the Tripten clan, of The Great Old Planet Mirdor."

"Uhhh…" Burton felt rather overwhelmed. Only a little bit more overwhelmed than usual. "Can I just call you Morry for short? It will make everything much easier for everyone I believe." The bobbing light looked like he was thinking about as absolutely much as a bobbing light can look like he's thinking.

"If that is what you would prefer," he finally desided.

"Alright then 'Morry,'" said Fredrica her eritation obviously mounting. "Can you give me even one GOOD reason as to why I should alow you to join us? Be sure it includes some sort of payment for our trouble if you can."

"Yes I can. I can fix this …" He seemed to jesture around him but that was quite arguable. "'your' ship, the Silver Speed."

"So can I." Fredrica's skeptical expression could be identified by even the most nieve person.

"Yes, you can, but I can have it running just like new or even better in under an hour." Her eyebrows shot up in unbelieving surprise.

"Oh? I would really like to see that. Bob, what time do you have it as?"

"Two twenty three" he responded automaticly.

"I will see you right here at exactly Three twenty three on the dot then." And with that she dropped her ipnaplasiantit and marched out the door with a snootyness that only a rebelios Atlantian princess can acuratly portray, which was amusingly contrasted by the flustered Burton skurring after her on her heels.

"Fredrica?" he said as soon as the door had sealed. She nodded then cocked her head to show that she was listening to him. "You probably know already that I am about to ask this but what the heck just happened?"

"Yeah, I did figure you would. The answer I have for you is as follows: We deffinatly have one, according to 'Morry', possibly two, stowaways aboard The Silver Speed with us as we speak. He offered to fix Bob up for us so I made a bargin with him that if he can, by three twenty three on the dot, complete that task I have desided to let him stay. He is very polite and quite a bit peculular … in an interesting sort of way. Besides, it might just pruve to be a very helpful learning experience for all of us, since we are getting Suzanne and Christopher back you know."

"Do you think he can fix it … in a hour?" Fredrica shrughed and with it her furry seemed to be melted away.

"Maybe he will. Maybe he wount. I guess we will jusat have to wait and see for ourselves now wount we?"

"I guess so yeah. … So … what now?"

"I do not know. I Had not thought that far ahead. Who would imagine (besides the author of coarse and even she didn't know) we would suddenly have a full hour to kill? What do you want to do?"

"I do not even know where to start. What are my choices."

"To many to count. Hhhmmm, do you want to go get a bite to eat somewhere?"

"Do you mean to go down to like a resturaunt, the two of us?"

"Sure, what is so odd about that. You can even pick which one we go to."

"Wow, this is awesome. To bad I do not even have an idea. I have only been to two restaraunts since I was introduced in this series. I have nothing to go on. You pick."

"I really do not have a clue myself. Well, why do not we go down to the surface and check it out? Shall we?"

"Sure sounds like a pretty good plan to me."

"Hey, Bob!"

"Yeah Freddy? What is going down?"

"Burton and I are going down to the surface in just a minute. You are not to let anyone and when I say anyone I mean ANYONE, in. And/or move till we get back. Did you get that? I do not want to loose you to a lollypop selling goast from my past again." They approached the airlock holding the skeet and were welcomed in with the familiar woosh. "Oh and, if we are not back by four just shut down and lock every thing down. Got it, Bob?"

"Yuppers Freddy! Have fun you two ya' hear!"

"Shut up!" The skeet, easely bearing its crew of two, flew smoothly down and away as if the clouds were alive and had swallowed it whole.

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