Free Endgame by Dafydd Ab Hugh

the Newbie, weapons at the ready. The snake or worm or whatever it was pressed up against the Newbie’s stomach, bulging out the flesh; Arlene and I backed up a step, thank God—when the belly burst, blue-gray Newbie blood or fluid sprayed across the sickbay, splashing the wall and even spotting my uniform slightly.
    A gray serpent slithered through the opening . . . but the true horror was that the serpent had six heads! Then I blinked, and the scene abruptly changed: it wasn’t a six-headed serpent; it was a tentacle with six prongs, or “fingers,” at the end. It lashed about uncontrolled for a few minutes, falling limp at last.
    The Newbie opened his eyes. “Are you finished considering our information?” He seemed not at all perturbed by the new addition to his anatomy; in fact, he didn’t even remark on it.
    I tried to think of a subtle way of asking what the hell was going on, but Arlene beat me to the line, demanding, “How the hell did you grow a tentacle out of your gut?”
    The Newbie looked down in obvious surprise. “We aren’t sure what event has stimulated this growth.”
    â€œIt’ll come to you, I’m sure,” I muttered, “but we’re not quite finished considering your information. Please excuse us.”
    The Newbie became rigid again, and its vital signs dropped away to zero. I stepped back and spoke for Arlene’s ears only—presuming that the Newbie hadn’t evolved super-sensitive hearing in the last five minutes. “We are in deep, deep kimchee, kiddo.”
    She looked up and down. “Oh, come on; we can still take it.” Her red brows furrowed, then raised. “Oh! You mean we Earthlings? Yeep, I hadn’t even thought of that. Damn.”
    Newbies, hundreds of millions of Newbies, scouring the galaxy looking for races to “fix,” evolving so rapidly that they were a whole different species from one battle to the next. Newbies with a violent streak sufficient to wipe the Freds from the face of their home planet. Newbies discovering the embryonic human race, just beginning to poke our noses into the intergalactic fray—these were frightening thoughts. Arlene grimaced and absently tugged at her ear, following her own agitated turn of thought.
    â€œFly, we have to find them. We have to find out which way they’re headed and warn Earth.”
    â€œWhat is Earth by now? Maybe we deserve wiping out . . . who knows?”
    Now she turned the brunt of her blue-eyed, icy anger on me. “I don’t think I follow you—Sergeant.”
    â€œJust thinking out loud; don’t pay any attention. Course we’re going to warn the country, or what’s left of it, whoever’s in charge. I just wonder; it’s been two hundred odd years back home; it’ll have been another two centuries before we can get back, maybe longer, depending on where the Newbies lead us. I just wonder whether there’s still anything left worth warning.”
    I didn’t know how much of the conversation Sears and Roebuck had heard—little, I hoped. I stepped forward and spoke aloud, rousing the Newbie. “Newbies, attention please. Take us to your—to the rest of you, please. Can you do that?”
    It opened its eyes and spoke but did not otherwise move. “We can take you to us if we have not changed our plan for exploration. We are going to [unintelligible], but we do not know where we will go from there.”
    â€œIf we leave now,” Arlene whispered in my ear, “we’ll still arrive about forty years after the Newbies arrived, no matter where it is.”
    â€œCan you give—ah, the Klave bearing and distance to your location?”
    The Newbie turned to Sears and Roebuck and spoke in a different language. And the latter responded in the same tongue! Arlene and I stared at each other; when had the Newbie learned to speak Klavish? Then she rolled her