Oredome was supposed to be just one of many planets me and Agnus charted and explored for our star map, but it turned out to be the whole key to my rescue. Little Flash, our pet rock, had a way of talkin' to SID, the BIG orange metal eatin' cloud, who apparently knew all there was to know about this particular galaxy. It was not only a friendly cloud, but a grateful one, for all the high iron and funky rock handouts LaDy had no stomach for. SID had grown weak over the centuries from eatin' particles too small to sustain its shape and thrust. Don't ask me about the biophysics of it all. I dunno?

Anyhow, it only took Agnus and Flash seventy-four straight hours to recreate their basic language of color. After all, LaDy's communications system was expected to decipher such things as foreign dialects on-the-fly, so I wasn't too surprised by her speedy success. I'd have had a tough time with it if Agnus hadn't showed up the way she did. Ma would've said it was fate for sure. When she finally explained it all to me I was impressed. The whole thing was easy enough even for me to figure out. They had an alphabet of thirty letter colors and six compound sets of letters that appeared as fused bands of color. Each letter was represented by a different color but then the individual shades of that color would determine their meaning or usage. There was no need to fuss over pronunciation since the language was visual and not audible, which was a huge relief to me!

I typed in a brief greeting to SID on the keypad Agnus set up for us: "hello, how are you?" The letter "H" was always bright yellow; the soft "E" was pale green; the two "L's" were light brown; the "O" was dark red, and so on. SID's reply came quickly: "good" was all he said. It was enough to make me jump up and down hootin' and hollerin' over our dumb luck (or fate) to have made contact with a gaseous cloud. Heck a child could've done it.

"This is a first," I cried out. "SID really spoke to us."

Agnus was also elated with the results of her and Flash's work together. "I have so many questions for them both, Shaula. I do not know where to begin."

"Well, why don't we give'em first crack at speakin' to each other? Then it'll be our turn."

Agnus admired my patience and typed "what would like to say to Shaula, SID?" on the color-coded keypad that was linked to a small projector outside the ship.

SID came close, but not too close so as to damage LaDy's hull integrity. Its colors were recorded on a receiver, and the translated message was typed out in English on a monitor. "I have never been given a name that I am aware of -- SID is good. I saw your little ship arrive here through the Loomus Void. The void was created a long time ago by an enormous asteroid named Loomus, which destroyed a planet in its pathway. I went after it and devoured most of its form before it could do further harm here, but the gaping wound between our worlds never healed. I have guarded the opening ever since then from any more such calamities. I followed you as you drifted timidly through my galaxy. I ate the rocks your ship discarded. The ore is called nursium, and it contains the nutrients I need most. I have never been able to get concentrated amounts of it before now. Your ship processes its food in a way I cannot. I thank you. The little rock you rescued from the mining station is a cousin of mine. It cannot achieve self-propulsion in space as I do, but we speak the same language. Flash, as you call it, is an orphan now that all the other rocks of its kind have been stripped from their home land. I scared off the miners as you have guessed. I did not kill anyone, but I arrived too late to save my kin. You will take Flash home with you, yes?"

I was amazed at how well SID could speak to us, but Agnus had projected our own alphabet to it and brought it up to fifth-grade level reading comprehension skills before handin' the keypad over to me. Flash sat on the console the whole time and learned English right alongside SID. It made its own comments while SID spoke to us, like "my family....where?" and "home now?" or "hungry for ore." Agnus had scraped out the dust pan underneath LaDy's intakes in order to feed junior. Flash needed the powdered particles sprinkled right on top of him since he couldn't move on his own. I fed him myself for awhile like a proud papa. I swear he grew a smidge since we took him in. His color improved at least. Agnus warned me against over feeding the tike. LaDy would have a steady supply of waste material to offer him, and she'd see to it that he got some of the good stuff, too.

"Others have also come here through the void," SID said, "but they perished before they learned how to get back. I will help you to get home."

"Are you serious?" I typed. I was really goin' home?!

"Yes," SID replied. "But I want you to finish your star chart first. I will help you there as well. This galaxy has a tale to tell. You should learn it before you leave, so that you have a more complete understanding of the space you have had the good fortune to visit. And I believe your people will appreciate the discovery all the more once they have heard it fully."

Agnus was clearly intrigued while I was just eager and anxious as heck to git back home. "I'd be happy to hear your tale," I replied, "and to finish the chart. But let's call it a day, since I require sleep. We'll start fresh in the mornin' if that's all right with you."

"As you wish, Shaula. Then in eight of your hours we will continue work on your chart and I will tell you all about our worlds."

I laid back with Agnus nestled under one arm. We stared out at the colorful stars as SID backed away from LaDy. We knew there was planets here with some funny life forms livin' on'em. We managed to meet a few on our own and they was all friendly enough folk. Suddenly I didn't feel an urgent need to git back to the other Star Pilots as I once did. I trusted SID to lead the way when the time came to say good-bye. Ma would be there waitin' for me, the homecomin' hero, and I'd have a lot more to say than "I miss ya" or "it's good to be home." I was given the task of tellin' a tale, SID's tale, a tale of a strange galaxy just to the left of nowheres.

Flash settled in for the evenin' with a soft orange glow, which I figured meant "I'm happy" in rock talk. Agnus held off her enthusiasm for our new acquaintances and the promise of an in-depth study in order to sleep with me, although she didn't actually need rest. "Have an orange night," she whispered to me as I pulled up the covers. I laughed at how color was becomin' a second language to us already. For instance, I found out that magenta stood for joy. "Can't wait to tell ma she was growin' and sellin' joyful lawns all them years," I told Agnus. We both smiled at the thought of them meetin' for the first time. "She'll love ya straight away. Our marriage will be televised all over the world, like a royal weddin' or somethin' big. You're what we'd call a special limited edition girl. We'll be famous--that's for sure."

Shaula Randolf, Star Pilot: 3rd Class, Agnus, Flash & SID

pilot

thinking more
than usual?
near-night blue

pilot