COLONISTS
By; Gerald A. Polley
Part Two
As he continued to talk to the Commander he opened the
droid's chest and began to remove components. "Commander, I do
not want to be unfair. I will mention your proposal to my first
child but 500 is totally unacceptable. I will accept 100. That
should not create an imbalance. And your immortal souls would be just
as good as any of ours. I am sure they would produce very fine
citizens for one of our colonies! " The Ancient One pulled
something out of the droid's chest and the Commander took two steps
backwards. "I need somebody with a welding torch," The Ancient
One snapped, "and a strip of choronium."
The Commander pointed to one of the overall clad individuals who disappeared
for a few moments and returned with the desired items. The
Ancient One handed the part to the Commander. "Hold this!" he
snapped. He took the piece of choronium and bent it up as the two
Imperials watched in total awe. Then he took the part back,
pushed it together and held the choronium in place. "Weld that
down!" he snapped. The Imperial in the coveralls came forward but
the Commander snatched the welder away and quickly began to work.
"No offense," he remarked to his crew mate, "but I don't want to be
dust blowing out that door!" In a few moments he finished the weld and
handed the unit back to his men. "There!" The Ancient One
snapped, "When you do get to qualified assistance they'll probably say
'why replace the unit? It's better than new now!' Return to your
duties."
The robot bowed and snapped "By your Imperial Command!"
"Why do you get that look on your face," the Commander asked, "every time we say that?"
"It's nothing," The Ancient One answered, "something from our fiction
entertainment. Well, what do you say, commander?"
The Imperial sighed. "Your majesty is very frustrating!" he
answered, "But we respect his desires and understand why he wants this
race to learn to fend for itself. I will carry your proposal back
to The Emperor of The Home World who sends his deepest regards, by the
way, and demands that you find some way of visiting your son before
your duties make it impossible."
The Ancient One
smiled and nodded. "Now, I got other things to do!" he
snapped. "By the way, have all your droids checked. See if
any more of those parts are faulty. Very sloppy manufacture!"
The Imperial started to say something,
then stopped. "Yes, Your Majesty!" he answered, "I agree! Thank you for
your courtesy!"
The droid came back. "Your Majesty," he remarked, "is this an unmarked burial ground?"
"What?" The Ancient One asked, again solidifying as he had begun to dematerialize.
"I took a refuse container out that door," the droid answered, "there are several fresh burial places."
"Not good!" The Imperial Commander snapped.
"Not good at all!" The Ancient One agreed. "I'll let the local
authorities know. I'm sure your security guards will
cooperate."
"Absolutely!" the Commander
answered. "It would had to have been somebody making deliveries
here. "
The Ancient One nodded again and dematerialized. He had places to go.