Free Kraken Mare by Jason Cordova, Christopher L. Smith Page A

I had been warned by Gerry about his fondness for practical jokes. He was constantly making the odd comment which bordered that line between inappropriate and hilarious, which made ample opportunity for the prankster to continue his merry little villainous ways.
    The evilest trick (or would that be the best prank?) he had done to date was to swap out the records for one of the female guards with Gerry’s. Our boss was undoubtedly surprised to be informed that he had missed his yearly pap smear from the automated insurance call from headquarters and he needed to get it done if he wanted to avoid a lapse in medical coverage, thank you for choosing Bell Life Insurance. Even Gerry, once things had been cleared up, had found it hilarious.
    Johnny had still been forced to pull night shifts for a week, though, so it was arguable who had the last laugh. Plus, April had been less than amused when asked about scheduling a proctology appointment by said insurance company.
    Efficiency at its best.
    “We’ll take it from here, John,” Joseph said. “Bigfoot, you’re on tonight? Good. Hey Manning, aren’t you supposed to be off?”
    “Yeah, just learning the ropes.” I glanced at Lockhart pointedly. “We good?”
    He nodded, and I followed him out into the main room. Dr. Marillac was waiting for me.
    “John, you’re off now, right?”
    I suppressed a heavy sigh. I’d completely forgotten about my earlier promise in the excitement of learning something new for the job. “Yeah, I am.” I faked a smile. “Gallery?”
    “I’ll tell the others.”
    The elevator ride was again, quiet. Lockhart clapped me on the shoulder and threw me a sympathetic look as he exited at Central, but did nothing to help me out of the current situation. That rat bastard.
    The Gallery was much busier this time — it seemed like any xenobiologist scientist type that wasn’t eating or sleeping had gotten the word I’d be there. Unfortunately, the kraken hadn’t seemed to have gotten the memo. As I walked in, everyone in the room turned, expectant looks on their faces. I gave a half-hearted wave.
    “Hey everyone…” I guess I expected some sort of answer, a “Hi John!” or something. Something besides the sound of about ten people tapping on their PDAs at once. It was disconcerting to hear nothing but heavy breathing and incessant tapping. Dirty, even.
    “Everyone ready?” Dr. Marillac asked the group. Ten heads nodded simultaneously. It was extremely unnerving, like watching a group of cats watching a mouse. “Excellent. John, please call the Kraken.”
    Jeez, Doc, way to put a guy on the spot . I felt my face flush as I moved closer to the plasteel. I looked out but I couldn’t see any of the kraken about. Of course, there was always the possibility that they were out hiding in the shadows. The doc did say that they liked to play a lot.
    “Okay guys,” I muttered. “Anytime you want to come by, that would be great.” I felt all eyes on me, and gave everyone a sheepish grin. “Heeeerrreee alien fishy things.” Not a chuckle. I swore I heard crickets chirping. All that was missing was a stray tumbleweed rolling through the room. The scientists were not a humorous lot. “Uhm… I really don’t try to call them, they just kind of show up when I’m around. Usually.”
    “Well,” Dr. Marillac said with a barely concealed glare, “I guess we’ll have to just make ourselves comfortable and wait.”
    I sighed. It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Six
     
    Dreaming or awake, we perceive only events that have meaning to us.
    – Jane Roberts
     
    I found night time at the station to be my favorite time while on duty. The scientists usually quit their research projects and disappeared into their own quarters just before dinner, rarely coming out into the common area to mingle with the guards and the maintenance crew. Most of my fellow coworkers tended to spend the majority of their downtime in that area, which left the remaining