Overdue (Patreon)

I'm making some headway on part three of Executioner's Gambit! Here's a scene for when Troykintrassa doesn't return home on time.

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Sutzir scanned the screen, then pointed with an outstretched arm. “Wait a second! You said they stopped making Cruncheroos!”

Daskatoma scowled and tried to manage a sheepish smile, but the effect was unconvincing at best. He reached for the communicator lying on the counter, but the environment suited ringel was already clicking a link to pull up related products.

Sutzir gasped and looked slowly up from the display beneath his paws. “Cruncheroos with added marshmallow bits?” The krakun averted his eyes, and his little friend stood with gloved paws on hips. “You said these don’t exist!”

The black reptile sighed so slowly that Sutzir thought the noise would continue forever. Daskatoma leaned an elbow on the counter and rested his face on his palm. “Those things are garbage, Sutz. I’m not buying them for you. It’s all carbs.”

The ringel hopped anxiously in place and gestured excitedly at the screen beneath him. “They’re fortified … with vitamins and whatever that word is there!”

“Adding some vitamins in isn’t going to make them any healthier,” groaned his owner. “They’re just sugar. I can’t afford—”

Sutzir stomped his paw. “You said I can spend up to a gold and a half, but these cost only—”

“I can’t afford to send you guys to a vet when you get sick,” amended the krakun. “If I bought those, the whole village would live off of them until your teeth rotted out and your—”

Not that anyone could see them with his helmet on, Sutzir lowered his ears in anger. “You have no idea how much self control—”

“Actually, yes, I do,” said Daskatoma without giving the little mammal a chance to talk. “I know for a fact that the ringel are the most hedonistic race my people have ever encountered, and that you guys get so focused on what makes you happy now, that you don’t worry about the repercussions. You force me to watch out for you guys because I can’t trust you to do it yourselves.”

“That’s low, Dask. Really low,” sighed the slave. “But worse … that you would lie to my face—”

The communicator beneath his paws rang. The screen blanked and the breakfast cereal’s nutritional facts were replaced with a green krakun’s photo. Argument forgotten, Sutzir said, “It’s your mom calling,” up at his best friend. He stomped on the button to accept the call. With a wave, he shouted, “Hi Mom!” at the video beneath his paws.

“Yes, I can see it’s my mom,” grumbled the black krakun. “And she’s my mom, not yours.” He snatched the device up from the counter and dumped the suited creature into his palm so he wouldn’t land on the hard counter.

Putting the shiny rectangle to the side of his head, Daskatoma said with a smile, “Hey ma! What’s—”

Sutzir sat in his owner’s claw, resting one palm to either side of his hips. He tilted his head, listening to the krakun’s halting attempts to talk. “Dinner? That was hours— No, I haven’t heard from— Well, how would I—? But if he’s not picking up— Okay, okay! I’ll see what I can do. Yeah, okay. Love you too.”

Hanging up, the krakun set the communicator back down on the counter, but he continued to stare at the blank face.

“Hey Dask? Buddy?” Sutzir asked, getting up on his knees. “Everything okay?”

“My uncle’s overdue,” he said quietly before taking a moment to chew his lower lip in thought. He was supposed to be back from work for dinner. My aunt’s frantic because he’s not answering her calls.”

“Maybe he’s lost…” said the ringel with a smile. “Been so long since he’s gone in…”

The krakun glanced his way for just a moment before going back to stare at the comm.

“You don’t suppose he crashed…” Sutzir’s words tapered, and he worried for Troykintrassa. He knelt in silence a moment before managing, “Did you ever get that shuttle tuned up?”

“He’s the one with access to the company account,” huffed the gigantic reptile. “Not sure what he was expecting me to do. Front him the cash at a shop and expect him to pay me back?”

Setting Sutzir gently down, Daskatoma pulled his uncle’s entry from his contact list. But instead of ringing through, the screen displayed an error code.

The ringel stared at the message for a moment before turning back to his boss. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know that I can do…” he said quietly, more to himself than as a reply. After a moment’s hesitation, he tapped the screen a number of times and pulled up a long report. “Actually, I prepared all the notes for today’s inspections. I know which ships he was going to visit and in which order. I could call the ships and see if he arrived on schedule.”

“Yeah, okay, that sounds great.” Sutzir stared at the screen for a moment, waiting, then looked back at his friend. “Well? Call them.”

“I can’t…” muttered Daskatoma. “Not from here, at least. I could radio them from my uncle’s office.”

“Uh huh. And how do you get there when your uncle’s got the shuttle?”

The krakun paused for only a moment before winking at Sutzir. “Well, if my aunt really is that upset, she can call me a cab.”

“Gotcha. I’ll warn the crew,” Sutzir said as he headed for the ladder back down to the apartment’s floor. “Gimme a call when you’ve got news, so we won’t worry.”

“Hey, Sutzir?” asked Daskatoma suddenly. “How much charge you got?”

That brought the ringel up short. He tapped the side of his helmet to pull up the status on his heads-up display. “My suit’s batteries are half full. Why?”

“Go swap them out,” said the krakun with a grin. “I’ll show you my office—well, my uncle’s office. It’ll be an adventure!”

“All right!” Sutzir shouted, and with an excited bounce in his stride, the little mammal rushed to the ladder at the counter’s edge.

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Reviewer's link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sgh0uX_tjFrrSYcYxzEPyXMWd_OeimFSAl9Z9vhnwEI/edit?usp=sharing

Thoughts?