Free Socket 3 - The Legend of Socket Greeny by Tony Bertauski Page A

word. I couldn’t help but smile
as they folded their legs and settled their minds. Soon, our
breathing was synchronized and we blended with the surrounding
sounds and scents.
    The silence was shattered by an earthshaking
tremor. Despite the unnatural interruption, none of us broke from
our sitting. We remained motionless, but I could feel the thoughts
of concern rumble through the office. Finally, Spindle stepped
inside. He paused at the entrance and folded his hands in front of
his belly. He waited until I looked his way.
    “Your escort has arrived, Master Socket.”
    We sat a few moments longer. The kids didn’t
move until I gave a short bow. I was sluggish to get off the
ground, loosening my joints like my blood had turned to syrup. I
gave the kids encouragement to keep up the schedule, that Spindle
would be taking care of them, and I’d see them soon. The girls gave
me hugs. I held my hand out to shake Ben’s hand, but he pulled me
in for a hug, patting my back.
    “Hugging ain’t just for chicks,” he said.
    I had to laugh and hugged the rest of them.
I’d gone on trips before. This felt like a long goodbye. Did they
sense the heaviness weighing inside me, sharing my agitation while
we sat?
    “Tagghet when you get back,” Aiesha said.
“Don’t turn rusty on me, old man.”
    I was five years older than them, and I was
the old man. I was certainly walking like one. I informed Spindle
to take them to the tagghet field and I’d meet him down at the
launch.
    I put on my official space travel outfit. It
was dark blue and fitted with numerous pockets and built-in
communication modules, thermal-conditioning adjustments to keep my
body temperature adequate under extreme conditions, armor-imbedded
material to resist impact. Even had a back door to drop a load. I
doubled-checked the backpack that contained everything needed for
surviving extended periods in the middle of nowhere.
    When the office was quiet, I called for the
walls to dim the tagghet field projection so I could rest in the
darkness for a while. There was just enough light to see the desk.
I straightened up some papers, activated messages for anyone
contacting me while I was gone and checked over my schedule one
more time.
    It was too dark to see to the other side of
the office. Like my future. I was tempted to call Chute and
Streeter one last time, but I’d already said my goodbyes. Instead,
I called up Chute’s room. Her bed appeared. The covers were thrown
back and the pillow dented. She was already about her day.
    I needed to do the same.
     
     
Showtime
    Paladins were lined up in the parking garage.
Most just nodded as I passed, some shook my hand, patted me on the
shoulder. Servys were hovering in lines behind them. All seemed
present and accounted for. The floor was vibrating with the hum of
something powerful, pulsing through the bottom of my feet; I could
feel it in my teeth. I stepped through the wall to the other side
where the ship would be waiting in the boulder field.
    I stopped immediately. I’d seen images of
these deep space cruisers in my studies, knew what they looked
like, but in person it was just… daunting. It was black, oval and
smooth, like a skipping stone. And it took up the entire field,
almost 300 yards across. There were no windows, none visible at
least. The air around it trembled like it was fiercely hot, but it
seemed to have more to do with the color, a black totally void of
light. The ship seemed to be eating the space around it.
    The Commander was standing to the side,
letting me take it all in. He nodded at me as if to say, take
your time.
    The vibrations I felt inside the parking
garage emanated from the ship, quivering through the ground with a
low frequency that penetrated solid granite. They intensified for a
moment, like it sensed I was staring. Like it was saying, yeah,
this shit’s for real, son.
    “I had no idea it would be this…” I trailed
off. I didn’t know what I meant. I just had no idea.