“Yeah, right,” she muttered despondently. “I was real good back there. If you two hadn’t come along, I’d be crab cake, or whatever it had in mind for me.” She shuddered, right on cue.
Low eyed Brink meaningfully. “That’s right. We two.”
She perked up. Low doubted that Maggie Robbins could remain down for very long, no matter how unpleasant the circumstances. It simply wasn’t part of her mental or emotional makeup.
“Of course, one of the reasons that I’ve been so ‘lucky’ over the years is that I always travel in the company of the best people. Anyway, before something else happens, I just want to say thank you.”
So she kissed him. It didn’t linger or probe, but it was no wispy peck on the cheek either. As he stood momentarily stunned, his powers of review temporarily on hold, she did the same to Brink.
“Hey, c’mon,” she chided them when she’d finished. “Maybe saving my life wasn’t a big deal to you two, but it had real meaning for me. You ought to be pleased, Ludger. It gave you the opportunity to study another alien life-form.” Before he could reply, she turned to Low. “As for you, Commander, I know it’s just part of your job description. But thanks anyway.”
“You’re welcome. You can thank me again if you like.”
She wavered, then broke out into a wide smile. “Why, Commander Low, you do have a sense of humor! You just need to take it off your utility belt once in a while.”
“I know. It’s just that I haven’t seen much to laugh about lately.”
She moved closer to him, her voice dropping. “You don’t get it, do you? That’s when you have to laugh the most.”
Brink moved to block their path. “And now, if you please, Commander, the life crystals?”
Low regarded the other man. “Listen, Ludger, why don’t you let me hang on to them for you? You can have a couple to cuddle and sleep with if you want. It’d be better for you, take my word for it.”
Robbins’s uncertain gaze shifted from scientist to pilot. “Boston, Ludger; what’s going on here?” They ignored her.
Brink had begun to tremble. For a moment Low thought the other man was going to jump him again, futile as the effort would be. The scientist ought to have learned better from their earlier run-in. Were the crystals, or their absence from his possession, still affecting his judgment?
“That was not our agreement, Commander.” Clearly the other man was restraining himself with an effort.
“All right, Ludger. But I think you’re making a big mistake.”
“Am I?” Brink nodded in the direction of the green glow that pervaded Low’s pockets. “One of these gave me back my life. What folly could there be in keeping them close to me?”
“Don’t you see that they’ve become an obsession? Are you so far gone that you don’t realize what they’re doing to you?”
“Obsession? Far gone?” Robbins’s confusion deepened. “Will somebody please tell me what this is all about?”
Brink held up both hands. “Our bargain, Commander. I assure you I have not gone off what you would call the deep end. I have simply developed an affection for the crystals, not an affectation. I am in complete control of all my faculties, physical as well as mental.”
“Sure you are.” Low’s tone belied his words. But he’d given his word, and he wasn’t in the mood for another fight.
Scooping crystals from his pockets, he handed them over to the scientist, who eagerly slipped them back into his own pants and shirt pockets.
“Just make sure you keep control over these things, and not vice versa.”
“I cannot envision myself acting otherwise.” Brink’s eyes gleamed as he accepted the return of the emerald bounty.
“Thank you, Commander,” he said quietly when Low was finished. “I will take these back to the room where we found them. That is where they belong.” As he turned to leave, a faint greenish efflorescence rising from Low’s right pants pocket caught his eye. He gestured. “Those?”
“Sorry. You’ve got most of them back. That’s what you wanted.” He patted his pocket. “I’m hanging on to these for a while.”
For an instant Brink seemed torn. Then he drew himself up. “You see, Commander, my ‘addiction,’ as you call it, is not so very powerful as you seem to think. It is not necessary for me to possess them all.” With that he turned and strode off across the wide, expansive floor, angling toward the storeroom.
Fingers gripped his arm questioningly. “Okay, now, will you please tell me what’s going on here before I jump to all the wrong conclusions?”
Low ruminated before replying. “When we were trying to free you back down in that tunnel, do you remember remarking that Ludger was supposed to be dead?”
“I don’t remember everything that happened down there, but I do remember saying that. Yeah, so?”
“I found a peculiar green crystal in the museum spire. You know that some of the exhibit cases will play back explanatory projections. Well, this one showed the crystal, or one like it, performing all kinds of amazing feats, including reviving the badly injured and the deceased. Ludger being the latter, I didn’t think it could do much harm to try the crystal on him. Suffice it to say that it worked. Later we found a small hoard of them in a side storeroom.” He gestured in the direction Brink had taken. “Down that way.”
“So one of those little green slivers you were handing over brought him back to life?”
Low nodded. “Ever since we found them, he’s developed a passion for the damn things. Doesn’t feel comfortable unless he’s close to them. There’s even a machine in the storeroom that he believes is capable of manufacturing more. It’s as if he wants to drown himself in the stuff. I know he sounds and acts normal, but if you leave him alone with them for too long, he loses all drive and motivation. Doesn’t want to do anything except lie around and soak up the green.
“The only way I could get him to help me rescue you was to take them away from him and promise to return them when we got back. He was pretty reluctant. The first thing he did was try to fight me.”
Her eyes widened. “Ludger? He attacked you? Over a bunch of crystals?”
Low nodded again. “I know how to take care of myself, Maggie, and I’m in a lot better shape than he is. Only after he saw that jumping me wouldn’t do any good did he agree to help.” He gazed in the direction the scientist had taken. “Which, I have to admit, he did effectively.”
She was still skeptical. “I just don’t see Ludger taking a swing at you.”
“I was pretty surprised myself. It shows the hold the life crystals have on him.” They were both silent for a while.
“I’d never have guessed,” she finally murmured. “He seems so normal. For Ludger, that is.”
“I know, but you didn’t see him the way I did, sprawled out on the floor with the crystals lined up around him like a bunch of jade dominoes, looking like some old Chinese opium eater. His eyes were glazed.”
She was still reluctant to condemn the other man. “Hell, I’ve seen people get that way on coffee and chocolate.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m overreacting.”
“So what do we do now?”
“When we first got here, Ludger and I found another one of those plates like the kind that were used to activate the asteroidship. At least, it looks similar. I’d still like to find three more and try them on the control mound.” He was apologetic. “I can’t think of anything else to do.”
She blinked as she remembered something. “You know, I think I’ve seen one.”
His gaze narrowed. “You’re kidding. No, you’re not kidding. Where?”
Her eyes dropped. “In the museum spire. But that thing is in there!”
“We’ll be careful. Ludger and I wandered around inside for quite a while without any trouble. Besides, I bet the creature is still preoccupied with drying out its nest. You game? If not, you can stay here, and no recriminations.”
“Game? You have a funny way of putting things sometimes, Boston Low.” She gazed across the wide floor. “Think Ludger will come with us?”
“Not a chance. I suppose he’s earned his moment of respite. We’ll let him lie among his precious crystals for a while. Can you remember where you saw the plate?”
She smiled and nodded. “I think so. It wasn’t far from the entrance.”
“So much the better. Let’s have a look.”
The plate was indeed located where Maggie had remembered seeing it—not in a case, but on a stand next to half a dozen deeply engraved slabs whose function remained an enigma to them. Were they designed to activate other devices? He made a mental note of their location for future reference. Next time they might find a control mound dimpled with square depressions instead of round ones.