Here There Be Monsters by Keith R. A. Decandido

Author:Keith R. A. Decandido [DeCandido, Keith R. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780743428774
Google: RNF1rNfpMMsC
Amazon: 0743428773
Goodreads: 3943216
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2001-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

I should’ve been a bird, Kieran Duffy thought giddily as he flew through the air.

In his life, both as a kid growing up and taking apart the family replicator, and later as a Starfleet engineer, Kieran had encountered all manner of technological devices, but his favorites were always the gravity boots his uncle got him for his sixteenth birthday.

The six months that followed that birthday were among the happiest of Kieran’s life— and among the unhappiest of his parents’, as they were convinced that he was going to break his neck crashing into something. Or several somethings. He wore the boots so much that Dad was convinced his feet had atrophied.

Unfortunately, where the pleas of his parents and the endless safety lectures from his uncle failed to curb his enthusiasm, biology succeeded. Kieran hit his growth spurt midway through his seventeenth year, and soon the boots no longer fit. And there was no way in hell his parents were going to let him have another pair.

Then came Starfleet Academy and one of the happiest days of his life: when they issued him gravity boots as part of an exercise. After being denied his favorite toy for three years, someone willingly gave them to him.

He quickly amazed Professor Hsu with his prowess, and he was instantly recruited for the 3D polo team. He was captain of the team by senior year, and led the Academy to the championships twice.

But all of that was secondary to the sheer joy of being able to fly through the air unfettered like this. No encumbrances, no ship’s walls surrounding you, nothing holding you in place. Being able to tell the wind was shifting just by listening to it. And the view was just spectacular.

Kieran particularly appreciated being able to take in Maeglin this way. The last time they were here, he had been too busy dealing with Overseer Biron and his Androssi goons to truly appreciate the natural beauty here. He could see what the Tellarites who founded the colony a century ago saw in it. Growing up in the heavily technological Earth of the twenty-fourth century, getting to see something as magnificently pastoral as Maeglin was a rare treat. Now he wished he’d ordered up more blue gravity boots so the rest of the crew could see what he was seeing.

“Lieutenant Commander Duffy, come in, dammit!”

“Yes, Mom!” Kieran said instinctively. “Uh, I mean, sorry, Commander.”

“I’ve been calling you for a full minute.” Sonnie sounded rather peeved.

“Sorry,” he repeated. “I’ve been, uh, distracted.”

“I’ll bet. Well, get your head out of the clouds—”

Kieran couldn’t resist. “That’s gonna be hard up here.”

A pause. “I walked into that, didn’t I?”

“With both feet, your eyes wide open, and a bull’s eye on your face.”

“You know, Kieran, between that and the ‘Mom’ line, you’re cruising for a serious bruising when you come back down to earth.”

“Yes, sir. Anyhow,” he added quickly before Sonnie could reply, “any sign of the big guy?”

“Unfortunately, the duonetic field has kicked in, so we’re not picking up anything.

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