Summon the Thunder

The Zakdorn—Armnoj, presumably—waved away the suggestion. “I’ve known you were coming for three days. Ganz’s people contacted me and sent me a complete file on you.” His eyes narrowing as he regarded Pe

“I’m his caddy,” the journalist replied, making no effort to hide his mounting a

The pilot nodded. “Absolutely.” Turning his attention back to the Zakdorn, he said, “Mr. Armnoj—if that’s who you are—we need to be going. Ganz wants you and your accounting records in front of him before the end of the week.” He shrugged. “Of course, you could always just transmit the files to him over subspace. You know, save us all a lot of heartache.”

Armnoj released a boorish grunt. “That would hardly be helpful. All of my files are encoded with a multi-quad encryption algorithm capable of thwarting any attempts at unauthorized access. I designed the software myself, including a self-regenerating cipher that allows for unparalleled data security.”

“Wonderful,” Qui

hell-you-call-them need to get packed. We’re a bit pressed for time, here.”

Shaking his head, the Zakdorn affected an expression of disapproval. “You’ll have to come back later. I’m on my way to the sauna.”

Pe

Armnoj sniffed the air with evident disdain. “Very well, but you’ll just have to wait while I change into traveling attire and pack a few things.” Eyeing them both, he added, “You may come in, but kindly refrain from sitting on my furniture.” He turned and walked back into the house, muttering something Pe

Alone on the porch, Qui

“Nice guy,” Qui

“She was that ugly?” Pe

“That, and talking to her for two minutes was usually enough to make me want to launch her out a photon torpedo tube.”

Stepping through the door after Qui

Being a crime lord’s bookkeeper definitely has its advantages.

“You live here alone?” Pe

“Of course,” the Zakdorn replied from what Pe

“Yeah,” Qui

“Never happened before,” Armnoj replied. “Besides, I have Sniffy.”

Exchanging looks with Qui

“Guy doesn’t get out much, does he?” Qui

As if in response to the conversation, Pe

“Sniffy, I presume,” Qui

Frowning as he regarded the animal, which appeared harmless, Pe

Armnoj emerged from his bedroom, dressed in a colorful silken shirt and matching trousers. “Why, he’s a slijm,”the Zakdorn said, “and a fine one, too. Pedigreed.”

Uh-oh,Pe

As if reading his mind, Qui

“Out of the question,” Armnoj declared. “He’s hardly been out of my care his entire life. He means everything to me. I can’t leave him.”

Rolling his eyes, Pe

Armnoj crossed his arms, saying nothing.

“I don’t have any room on my ship, anyway,” Qui

“Spaceport?” the Zakdorn repeated, his eyes wide with anxiety as he shook his head rapidly. “That simply won’t do. I don’t fly suborbital. You’ll have to fetch yourself a suitable ship and come back.”

“’Fraid that’s not going to happen, either,” Qui

“I can’t fly, I tell you. I can’t!” The accountant attempted to wrest himself from Qui

“Calm down, will you?” Qui

“Stop it, Qui

Armnoj cried out in what seemed like dire pain, the tone and pitch of his voice so loud and piercing that Pe

Throwing his arm up as a cloud of yellow-green mucus flew from the animal’s nose, Pe

“Bloody hell!” he cried as he wiped his hand on his shirt, an action that only seemed to heighten the sensation. “Oww!”

“That’s a boy, Sniffy,” Armnoj said, leering in Pe

“Good boy, my ass,” Qui

“I’m fine,” the journalist replied, his eyes widening upon seeing the weapon in Qui

Figures.

“Yeah? Well, so does this,” Qui