“Captain!” said Sushi, now plainly visible through the opening. “What are you doing here? Or maybe I should ask, if you’re here, who’s that back at the camp?”
“I haven’t the vaguest idea what you’re talking about,” said Phule. He and Beeker scrambled quickly out of their prison. They found themselves in the shade of a small hill, just outside a sort of cave dug into the sandy soil. In front of them were Sushi, Flight Leftenant Qual, and a group of other legionnaires. But as glad as they were to see their comrades, Phule and Beeker’s gaze inevitably turned to the other figure standing there.
Phule’s first impression was that he was seeing a mechanical man born of an illicit union between a hoverjeep and a portable computer…with a very bad hangover thrown on top of it.
On second impression, the thing looked even more like the offspring of an illicit union between a hoverjeep and a portable computer-although it had a curious shimmer about it, as if it were a badly focused holo. But he had a strong suspicion he’d have plenty of other things to worry about, and for the moment he was enjoying just being out of his cell.
Harsh reality would undoubtedly assert itself before he got too comfortable.
Chapter 15
Journal #580
Unpleasant as our confinement had been, my employer and I had never entirely lost confidence in our eventual rescue. Still, when we learned the amount of time that had actually passed, we were surprised at how short it had been. Time inside a closed space, without clues to events in the exteral world, goes much more slowly than outside. This might account for the unusual trepidation with which even hardened criminals regard solitary confinement. In fact, even with each other as companions, my employer and I were quite relieved to learn that our captivity was at an end.