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“They’re fine,” I said.
“Good. And the food? The quirlatch is a favorite of mine.”
He motioned to his tray sitting to one side, all the green colors had been eaten, leaving the reds untouched.
“I always liked the green flavors most,” he said. “Not the red ones. If you want to live to a ripe old age like me, you want to make sure to steer clear of any red food.”
Stari rolled her eyes.
“It’s good for you, Grandpa,” she said in the tone of someone who’d repeated the same thing a million times.
She picked up the tray and extended it to him. He curled up his nose and shook his head.
“I refuse!” he said.
He reminded me of the people in the old folks’ home where my grandparents lived. They never liked doing what was good for them either. They had their habits and beliefs. They’d gotten them this far, so why should they change now?
“Grandchildren always think they know what’s best,” Grandpa said. “And yes, maybe this generation actually does with their warrior ways. But not when it comes to nutrition!”
Stari swallowed one of the red jellies.
“See?” she said. “It’s not going to kill you.”
“Maybe not today,” Grandpa said. “Now, has my granddaughter explained to you what we need your help with?”
“You want to find the location of the Changeling’s TV control room,” I said.
“That’s right!” he said. “If only we still had our engineers. Then we could have learned its location years ago. They killed our smartest people. They believed them to be their greatest threat.”
“I already told her our history, Grandpa,” Stari said.
“For a long time, they were right,” Grandpa said, continuing as if Stari hadn’t said a word. “But they were also wrong. Every creature with a mind to be free is a threat to them. Smart or stupid, like old Grandpa. We’re ready to give them a fight they won’t soon forget. I can promise you, that once we have retaken our planet, I will ensure you return home safely, no matter what it takes.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I hope I won’t let you down.”
“You won’t, my dear,” he said, placing his hand on mine. “I know a good egg when I see one and I don’t think they come much gooder than you.”
I was touched he thought so but there was something I didn’t understand.
“How will you take the Changelings down when I find what you need?” I said.
“We’ll attack with everything we have,” Grandpa said. “We’ll breach the earth and descend upon them with our ships and our weapons and destroy the Control Room. Once we do that, it’ll be like severing a link in a chain. The other Control Rooms will fall one after the other. Then the other sections will be free to attack.”
That took me by surprise.
“Other sections?” I said. “There are more of you out there?”
“Oh yes,” Grandpa said. “Many more.”
“Every section is as well prepared as you are here?” I said.
Grandpa’s long bushy eyebrows drooped.
“In all honesty, we don’t know,” he said. “We couldn’t risk them discovering us, so we stopped communicating a long time ago. If they find one of us, they could find all of us. We can’t allow that to happen.”
Stari stepped forward.
“So you see,” she said. “We need you. Find their control room and we’ll do the rest. Only then will we have the resources to send you home.”
