After two long days he had reached his final destination.
He couldn't believe it. He was standing on the moon.
"Wait here," said one of the two robot crewmembers who had been his only
company on the long voyage, "I'll go find the Base Commander."
The other mechanical crewman hurried over to the other side of the large
freighter, performing his post-landing check.
Marillion set down the three large duffel bags that held all of the
personal belongings he bothered to take with him and tried to take in the
atmosphere of the Moonbase. Most of the people who milled by were Techno
Sapiens like himself, seven-foot tall, silver-skinned humanoid robots with
artificial hair and antennae where ears would be.
Then he saw the occasional organic, which disturbed him. Marillion hoped
to see as few of the flesh-and-blood humans as possible.
He continued to watch the endless stream of traffic through the base. He
reassured himself that the organics shouldn't be much of a problem. The
Techno Sapiens had built almost the entire base and remained firmly in
control of it.
Marillion waited patiently. A half-hour had passed with surprising
speed, according to his perception, not his system clock. He leaned up
against the ship, and ran his metal fingers through his shoulder-length amber
hair. Another robot was watching him. Marillion stared back. This guy didn't
look like a Base Commander. Finally, he approached. He had dark brown hair
with a blond stripe down the middle and was wearing an ornate Indian-style
shirt with beach-patterned Jams. At least the colors matched.
"Hi there. You new to our little home in the sky?"
Marillion nodded.
"I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Kita Kaybee."
Kita held out his hand for the traditional shake. Marillion responded in
kind, but instead of actually shaking Marillion's hand, Kita jerked his hand
away and firmly tapped the side of Marillion's face, directly on his right
antenna mounting.
"What's the matter, man? Weren't you built with any reflexes? You
shoulda caught that."
The pain stung, but only a tenth as much as Kita's metal smirk. He had
already been through all this crap as an organic in high school. He wasn't
about to start over from scratch.
Marillion dove at Kita with enough force to slam them both against the
far wall. He backed off for a second to take in Kita's reaction. His orange
eyes were brightened and his jaw lowered in surprise. They always looked
that way when they discovered that the skinny boy wasn't taking it any more.
He swung at the other robot, who turned and ducked out of the way,
easily breaking what was left of Marillion's hold.
Marillion charged after him. Kita was quick and agile, used to the lunar
gravity. This would be a challenge, Marillion thought, but as a Techno
Sapien, he felt he could handle it.
"Look, man, I don't wanna fight you."
Marillion faked a swing. Kita went to duck. Marillion kicked him in the
knee. The uppercut that followed was only half-blocked by Kita's arm.
The other robot quickly regained his balance, seemingly undamaged.
A mixed crowd had assembled. Kita slowed his run.
"He's a psycho. I don't wanna fight no psycho," he tried to explain.
Marillion grabbed him. They wrestled in an open contest of balance and
skill in using their immense strength.
"Hey man, don't blow a fuse! I was only joking! Now will you leave me
alone?"
Marillion smirked. He had the idiot now.
He turned his head up enough to see another robot breaking through the
crowd. This one looked more imposing, gold headband, light brown short hair
with streaks of red, red eyes to match, golden lightning bolts painted on
his upper arms.
"Alright guys, break it up, break it up!!"
Marillion wasn't about to give in.
The new robot stepped in and pushed them apart.
"Lower your voltages already! Enough is enough!"
Kita danced back, arms in the air. Marillion charged after him again.
This time he was shoved back against the wall by the new robot.
Marillion had had it. He went after the new guy. He saw it coming and
sprung into the air, catching Marillion with a leaping side kick to the face.
Marillion got up, shook off the pain and went after him again. The
newcomer caught Marillion's fist as it flew and kneed him to the midsection.
A left cross sent Marillion back down against the wall.
The new robot was ready, watching him. Marillion reset his systems and
tried one more time, at the very least proving his toughness.
Moving like the lightning bolts painted on his arms, the newcomer ducked
Marillion's kick, directing his right foot to Marillion's left ankle. While
Marillion stumbled for balance, a perfectly executed back round kick sent
him down again.
He lay there on the floor, with all the hopes he had. That he would fit
in, and never be put on like he was. That the Techno Sapiens on the Moonbase
were like a big family without the fascism that characterized his organic
family. Marak, his caseworker, said there would be no more tormenting. He
lied.
"Marak said 'no more'! He said!"
"Calm down. Your head should clear in a few seconds. I didn't hit you
that hard. You didn't leave me much of a choice."
"Marak lied to me. He said there would be no more," Marillion tried to
sound if he weren't sobbing. It was a good thing he had eyes that didn't
tear.
"Look, we'll try to get everything straightened out. In the meantime
let's start over right. What's your name?"
"Marillion."
"Very good. I'm Gyro Souvlaki, Base Commander."
Marillion had that sinking feeling.
© 1998 rayden@erols.com