Orphan Star

The merchant glared down at the slim, olive-skinned youth and made a show of readjusting his barely rumpled clothing.

' Your pardon, noble sir, ' the youngster replied politely. ' I did not see you in the press of the crowd. ' This was at once truth and lie. Flinx hadn ' t seen the overbearing entrepreneur, but he had sensed the man ' s belligerence seconds before the latter had swerved intentionally to cause the collision.

Although his still poorly understood talents had been immensely enriched several months ago by his encounter with the Krang ' that awesome semisentient weapon of the now-vanished masters of the galaxy, the Tar-Aiym ' they were as inconsistent as ever. The experience of acting as an organic catalyst for the colossal device had almost killed both him and Pip. But they had survived and he, at least, had been changed in ways as yet uncomprehended.

Lately he had found that at one moment he could detect the thoughts of the King himself off in Drallar ' s palace, while in the next even the minds of those standing in close proximity stayed shut tight as a miser ' s purse. This made for numerous uncertainties, and oftentimes Flinx found himself cursing the gift, as its capriciousness kept him in a constant state of mental imbalance. He was like a child clinging desperately to the mane of a rampaging devilope, struggling to hang on at the same time he was fighting to master the bucking mount.

He shifted to go around the lavishly clad bulk, but the man moved to block his path. ' Children need to learn how to mind their betters, ' he smirked, obviously unwilling, like Flinx, to let the incident pass.