Page 43 of Arresting the Warlord

A giggle sounded in my mind.“Me Oola.”

“And where’s Oola hiding?”

“On ceiling.”

I looked up.

A furry baby tarantula dropped down on a thin thread of silk and landed on the table.“Me warrior.”

Oh my God, Oola was a Tabor. I had never been a big fan of spiders but who wouldn’t be fascinated by a race of telepathic arachnids.“A very sneaky warrior.”

Eight little eyes peered up at me.“Me hungry.”

I ran a finger over the little cutie’s golden fur.“What are you hungry for?”

“Mealie bugs.”

“Okay. I’ll get you some.”Hopefully, the food replicator was programmed for Tabors too. I walked over and typed in mealie bugs. A minute later a bowl of bugs appeared. I picked it up. Huh? Kinda reminded me of gray termites. I turned around and groaned. Oola was covered in chocolate.“Bad baby. Chocolate isn’t good for Tabors.”

Oola spat out a mouthful of liquefied cake.“Tastes bad.”She jumped in my glass of milk.

“Oh no, no, no!” Was she in her terrible twos? Fishing Oola out, I dried her off with a napkin and said sternly,“No eat human food. Oola eats these.”I placed the bowl of bugs in front of her.

The baby Tabor climbed in and chowed down.

“Where’s your mama?”

“She lost,”Oola replied.

“Is she on this ship?”

“Mama is.”Oola jumped out of the bowl.“Me exploring.

“Are you now?”I bet Shrek would know where her mother was. I held out my hand.“How would you like to meet an ogre called Shrek?”

Oola climbed up my arm and perched on my shoulder.“What ogre?”

“A magical creature that heals people.”

“Me like.”

A glittering blue light suddenly engulfed me. It felt like my molecules were being torn apart.

“No like. Make stop,”Oola cried.

“Jake, I know you’re super busy with important man stuff, but someone just grabbed me with a transporter beam, and I need to know how to stop it,”I said tartly. My molecules abruptly stopped whizzing about. The light faded and I was standing on a raised platform. An Askole warrior stood at a control console. Assuming my bad ass cop’s demeanor, I snarled,“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The Askole warrior totally ignored me and Jake did too.

I yelled at the warrior. “Hey! I’m talking to you.”Before I could step off the platform the blue light blossomed around me again.

Oola clung to my braid.“Want my mama.”

“Where are you CeeCee,”Jake demanded.

“Oh, now you’re talking to me. I think I was on an Askole ship and now my molecules are being spread to God knows where.The transporter beam vanished, and I was standing next to East Mitten Butte.“Oh, wait. Monument Valley.”

Jake growled,“What are you doing in Monument Valley?”

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