Bombardment of Ska Jaktar was in full progress. Lots of massive asteroids were moving quickly towards the orb-shaped station and then crashing while causing significant damage to the structure of the station. The huge blue beam fired swiftly and vaporized some of the asteroids but there were simply too many of them to be swept away by a single gun, no matter how powerful it was.
Fnordie was marching there and back in the cabin of Rick's new Whale Freighter and it was quite a funny view. His eyes were closed but still he didn't walk into anything as if he was using some kind of a 6th sense. Rick was sitting in his seat and amazingly watched the fascinating scenery. He wasn't sure about this Fnordie's idea but Rick couldn't imagine resisting Fnordie in any way.
A massive explosion returned him from his thoughts to the reality. One of the asteroids probably hit some more vital part of the station and the explosion tore off a large peace of the station as if it was made of paper leaving a huge hole in the orb's surface. The beam stopped firing and Rick saw the whole station turned slightly. Rick looked at the huge gun and realized it was aiming in their direction. Wrinkles on his forehead turned into deep canyons and he quickly moved to the control panel to engage cruise cruise engines.
~ Rick, don't do it, stay calm and trust me! ~
In past few days Rick got used to Fnordie's "voice". The chance of escaping the beam by dodging with the Whale was too low anyway so he just sat back and waited for what happens next. All lights on station dimmed. It was obvious the gun was charging to full strength. Rick was sure that was last minute of his life but still there was a tiny possibility that Fnordie somehow could "handle" it and save them from the consequences of their brave but silly act.
The blue beam appeared. Rick tried to close his eyes but he was too stunned and he couldn't move. Everything was moving so slowly. A squared semi-transparent plane appeared in front of their ship. The beam hit it and was diverted back to the station as if reflected by a mirror. Some parts of the station disappeared immediately, some disappeared later, other parts exploded. No sound could be heard...
***
The dawn on Grand Canaria was in full progress, birds were starting their lovely song, blossoms were opening, trees were whispering. Rick and Fnordie were ones of the last guests who haven't left after Shamus' wake yet. Rick finally had some time to enjoy the peace he first came to Veranda for.
Reggie was on his daily observation walk at Uli Rouge. Fnordie was joking about his obsession with that place as he was doing these walks very frequently. But this time it came in handy. Rick and Fnordie slipped to the kitchen quietly, they didn't want to be caught in the act by Kate and Spike. They locked all the kitchen bots in the pantry after they took everythinq they needed from there. They worked hard and the result of their pain was a huge pie, equipped with 23 apples, 5 plums, 4 diamonds, 5 cherries and 23 nuts and it was strewn with sugar and cinnamon. Reggie had a special anniversary next day and they decided to surprise him.
But Rick felt they were bothering Reggie with their presence long enough so he decided they should go. They left their gift with a message on the table in the dining room, packed their things and left Veranda heading to the entrance. After few steps, Rick stopped and looked back. Lots of memories will remain after this visit. And the last dream he had, a weird one. He knew Reggie would love to hear that one during their evening conversations but Rick wasn't certain about reactions of the 'foot-stamping' lady he once pointed gun at when he first came here...
"Good bye, old fellow. Hope we'll meet again one day." he said quietly.
With a smile on his face he took out a tennis ball, looked at Fnordie who was standing there and looking back at him.
~ Show me how good you are, like in the old days.. ~ he let that thought out towards Fnordie, and then pitched the ball far away. Many of baseball players wouldn't be ashamed by that throw. But Fnordie didn't run for it as he always used to. He sat down and watched the ball which made a curve and started to fly back as if it was a boomerang. The ball slowed down when it came closer and Fnordie grabbed it in his teeth quite easily.
"You are cheating... you..!", Rick shouted. He tried to jump forward and steal the ball back but Fnordie was already running towards their ship. Rick followed him with loud laughter...
