Meanwhile, Dr. Azmeck paced back and forth in his apartment. He was nervous, awaiting Crysilis' return. The Gateway of Time, he thought. If in fact it did exist, it was said that the Zar of Time resided there-that he could stop and manipulate motion. And if Crysilis could somehow be granted limited temporary powers from him, that alone would be sufficient to defeat Vecto.

Of course, he had had no logical proof that such a Gateway existed, even though he himself had created a time machine over a decade ago, and even though the A.S. of old claimed to have traveled to the Gateway. The notion that some "being" controlled time was simply an illusion, a man-made legend, Azmeck concluded. The same was true for alien races, he thought. Only the Asterites and Zarlians, human in form, were still a mystery to him. If they truly were aliens, why were they humanoid beings?

Azmeck tossed theories in his mind, a usual practice of his to ease his nerves. He strolled to his bed, then back to his inventions, then repeated his motions as he constantly rubbed his hands as if washing them.

"Why so anxious?" a voice said.

Azmeck jolted and spun around to see Crysilis tossing an orb in the air. "My, my, my, what have I told you about sneaking up on-wait, is that Vecto?"

Crysilis tossed the orb to Azmeck, and the doctor fumbled to grab hold. He scrutinized the glowing device, nodding to confirm it was indeed Vecto's Flummox Capacitor. "That's amazing. How did you-"

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"We'll leave it to legends," Crysilis said, cutting him off. "So, do you think you can fix him?"

"Perhaps. I would need to do some tests to pinpoint the malfunction. However, it would be too suspicious for me work on him here. There is no telling when Acaterran cops will search this room."

"Where else can we take him?"

"Well . . ." Azmeck thought about it. "It may be wise to leave the planet entirely. The only lab capable of the technology we need is Vic's."

"You mean the midget Dinishman who created him? Don't forget he disowned Vecto."

"Hmm, you may very well be right." Azmeck tossed other ideas in his head. "Wait, I got it! Oh, how stupid of me. The Corona! Of course! I have VIP access and my very own lab on that ship. I can take Vecto aboard and work on him there."

"And how do you suppose we sneak him aboard?"

"Hmm. Good question."

"Besides, it may be months before the Corona makes a stop here."

Azmeck stroked his gray beard, laid Vecto down, and ruffled through his messy desk. He took hold of a microdisk and lifted it in the air in triumph. "Ah ha! Now, let's see."

Crysilis crossed his arms, wondering what the scientist was up to.

Azmeck touched the device, and a Nexus screen popped up. With his finger, he scrolled through the options until he came to the Corona's boarding schedule with Acaterra. It had changed. It was set to arrive in three days. "Splendid!" Azmeck said, shaking the device in front of Crysilis' face. "Only three days. See! We'll take Vecto there and make our journey across the omniverse. See! It's even stopping on Cubix, if, say, we need Vic's assistance."

Azmeck was shoving it in his face, and Crysilis stepped back. He bumped into a nonfunctional robot and stumbled away. The bulky robot rocked in place as Crysilis looked over it. He wouldn't let Vecto be abandoned like this one.

"Azmeck," Crysilis said, devising a plan. "Can we fix this robot first?"

Azmeck's eyebrow rose in perplexity.

"I have an idea," Crysilis assured him.