Akiko on the Planet Smoo (11 page)

“Thanks, Poog,” I said, staring into his big shiny eyes. “I'm not sure what you did back there, but I'm glad you did it.”

Poog just smiled and nodded.

Finally we arrived
at a big domed building that looked like it was some kind of government office or something. They carried us through a wide gate guarded by dozens of heavily armed men.

“This must be Zagshir Corbott's place,” Spuckler said. “He's the Master of the Sky Cove. Rules the place with an iron fist.”

“Is there any
other
way to rule a horrid place such as this?” Mr. Beeba responded with a grimace.

“Why do you think they're taking us to see him?” I asked.

“Well, I imagine old Corbott's gonna try to smooth things over, seein' as you're Alia Rellapor.”

“But I'm
not
Ali—”

“Hush there, girl. He doesn't
know
that, an' believe you me that's gonna work to our advantage.”

After passing through a very grand doorway we were brought into a big circular room lit by torches on the walls and oil lamps on the floor. The four men carefully lowered us to the ground and invited us to sit on some big fluffy cushions in the middle of the room. Spuckler and Mr. Beeba told me sit on the biggest, fluffiest cushion of them all and to “act important.” I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to do that, but I tried my best anyway by sitting up straight and squinting a little.

A moment later Zagshir Corbott entered the room. He was a lot shorter than I'd thought he'd be, but he was certainly tough looking. He had a long white beard, and a large spiked helmet on his head. He was dressed in fancy military armor and had decorative iron bands on his thick, muscular arms. He came in and sat down on a cushion across from us.

He was careful to avoid looking directly into my eyes, but instead bowed very deeply until his nose nearly touched the floor. I started to bow to him in return but Spuckler signaled me not to. I think he figured we'd be better off if I acted like I was very angry.

Zagshir Corbott whispered a few words in that strange hissing language, bowed again, and then whispered a few more words. I looked over at Spuckler, wondering what to do, and he signaled me to not do anything. Later on Spuckler told me that even though he couldn't understand what Zagshir Corbott had said, he could tell that it was some kind of apology.

After rising to his feet, Zagshir Corbott bowed one final time and left the room. Before I had time to ask what was going on, the four men directed us to our chairs and carried the platform back out of the room.

“Where are they taking us now?” I asked Spuckler.

“ 'Round these parts an apology always comes with some gifts,” he replied with a grin. “If we're lucky, ol' Corbott's gonna set us up with some pretty good loot!”

The men took us back to a lot behind the building that was filled with different kinds of spaceships. There were round ones and square ones; shiny, clean, metallic ones; and bright-red spherical ones that looked like children's toys. They led us to the end of a long pier that stuck right out into midair. If you looked over the edge you could see all the way down to the Moonguzzit Sea, hundreds of feet below. There at the end of the pier sat Zagshir Corbott's gift: a beautiful new spaceship!

It was a very interesting little vessel. It looked sort of like an old-fashioned yacht, only it had a couple of rocket boosters in the back. There was a rope hanging off it that was tied to a thick wooden post on the dock, just like you'd see in a harbor by the sea. There was a narrow walkway leading from the dock to the deck of the ship. Spuckler was the first one to jump on and check the thing out.

“Hot dang!” he said, and gave a little whistle. “She's a real
beaut
, ain't she?” He trotted around from one end to the other, inspecting every detail of the unusual ship.

“Well, I doubt its maneuverability compares with our first ship,” Mr. Beeba said, “but we're in no position to get picky, I suppose.”

“Any ship that gets us out of this place is good enough for me,” I said, glancing back at the dark, dirty buildings of the Sky Cove.

“Hey, look!” Spuckler shouted. “This here compartment's filled with
food
!”

“Really?” Mr. Beeba said, running over to have a look. “Anything good?”

One by one, Spuckler pulled out the little packages he'd discovered and passed them around to us for our inspection. I didn't know what any of it was, but by that point I was so hungry that I didn't really care.

“First things first,” Mr. Beeba said, placing the food back in the storage compartment. “Let's save this until after we've left the Sky Cove.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “I won't feel
really
safe until we're way far away from this place.”

The four men untied the ship and allowed it to drift into the air like a balloon. They all stood on the dock, bowing deeply like we were all kings and queens or something.

“Does anyone know how to steer this thing?” I asked.

“ 'Course not!” Spuckler said with a chuckle. “I aim t' figure it out, though!”

There was a big wheel in the front like you'd see on an old steamer or something, and Spuckler was already turning it back and forth, trying to see how it worked.

“Not so fast, Spuckler,” Mr. Beeba said as he jumped to his feet. “Your ace piloting is what got us
into
this mess! I'll handle the controls this time.”

Spuckler stared angrily at Mr. Beeba for a moment, then sighed and stepped back.

“Maybe you're right,” he said with an embarrassed look. “I
did
almost get us all killed, didn't I?” He looked so sad all of a sudden that I really felt sorry for him.

“Yeah, that's true, Spuckler,” I told him. “But it was kind of fun, actually.”

“Akiko,” Spuckler replied with a wink, “you and me are gonna get along just fine!”

And so, with
Mr. Beeba at the wheel, we slowly floated out of the Sky Cove. I turned around to get one last look at the place, watching as it got smaller and smaller in the sky behind us, until finally it was just a little black speck on the horizon. Before long even that tiny speck disappeared into the clouds, and everything was as peaceful as it had been before we met up with the Sky Pirates. Actually it was even
more
peaceful, because the new ship was roomier and much quieter than the one we'd started out with.

Of course, we all knew that our mission was far from over. We were still quite lost and would somehow have to find our way to Alia Rellapor's castle without the benefit of Mr. Beeba's maps. There was a lot of work left to do and a great number of dangers to face before we could even
think
about rescuing the Prince. But for the time being I think we all just wanted to relax a little and forget about the mission for a while.

“All right, gang,” Spuckler said, spreading the packages of food all over the deck. “It's chow time!”

Mr. Beeba got the ship pointed in the direction he thought best and then joined us for the feast. It was as if we'd forgotten how hungry we'd been all day and then suddenly remembered again. We all took bites of one another's food, passing things around and choosing favorites. There were little sausages and soft pieces of bread, and jars filled with delicious little vegetables that looked like pickles. There were also dozens of brightly colored bottles filled with different kinds of juice to drink. And sweet cakes for dessert!

Spuckler, Mr. Beeba, and I ate and ate until we couldn't take another bite. Spuckler ended up on his back, staring up at the clouds, and Mr. Beeba lay on his back too, with his eyes closed. Even Poog and Gax, who hadn't eaten anything (I guess they didn't
need
to), looked very happy and contented.

“I say, Akiko,” Mr. Beeba said, opening his eyes, “is it
really
true that you're not a rescue expert?”

“That's right,” I said. “In fact, this is the first time I've ever agreed to be in charge of something in my whole life. I'm not much of a leader, really.” I suddenly remembered Melissa in my bedroom trying to convince me to be in charge of the safety patrol. It seemed like something that had happened a very long time ago.

“I've got a friend back at home named Melissa,” I told them. “She's a
real
leader. She'd have been better at all this stuff than I am.”

“Oh, I strongly doubt that, Akiko,” Mr. Beeba said. “I must admit I had my doubts about you when this mission began. But now I can see that you're a born leader: courageous, selfless, and highly resourceful during moments of crisis. Mistake or no mistake, I am quite sure that King Froptoppit did the right thing when he put you in charge of this mission.”

“Thanks, Mr. Beeba,” I replied with a smile. “I don't blame you for having doubts about me, though. I'm sort of learning all this as I go along.”

“Another sign of a good leader, Akiko,” Mr. Beeba declared confidently. By that time I was in a good enough mood that I actually half believed him. Who knows? Maybe I had it in me to be a decent leader after all.

“To Akiko,” Spuckler said, raising a glass of juice in the air as if it were champagne. “The bravest girl in the whole dang universe!”

“Hear! Hear!” Mr. Beeba agreed.

The clouds drifted by and a warm breeze blew across the deck, and Mr. Beeba rolled over and went to sleep. Even Poog took a nap, closing his eyes and just floating there in midair as always.

“
DON'T WORRY, MA'AM,
” Gax said to me, “
I'LL KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR ALL OF US.
”

“Thank you, Gax,” I said, yawning. “I could probably use some rest, actually.”

“
I'M SURE IT WOULD DO YOU A WORLD OF GOOD, MA'AM.
”

I leaned over on one arm and thought a little more about all the crazy stuff that had happened since I'd come to Smoo. As I looked around at Spuckler, Mr. Beeba, Poog, and Gax, I had the strange and wonderful feeling that I'd known them for a very long time. It was like we'd all grown up together or something and had known each other for years, even though we'd only just met. Suddenly all the things that had been so scary didn't seem so bad. And for the first time I didn't feel quite as homesick anymore.