New to Space Traveler Fargone? Start at the beginning.
After my stimulating conversation with Emma, I went to see my mechanic buddy in Hanger 10.
“Hey, Doug.”
“Hey, Fargone. I just heard about your new job. That’s epic.”
“Thanks. It was a shocker. But I am excited to get my own ship. Listen, I need a small favor.”
“Name it.”
“The marketing geniuses picked a horrible name for my ship, TGS Splogger. There is no way I am going to fly around the universe on a ship named Splogger. I want you to remove it and put a new name on it.”
“Easy. What did you have in mind?”
“I want something to honor my days as a freighter pilot. Plus, the ship is so new; I think it needs a little character. I am thinking Rustbucket.”
“Ha, ha. Perfect. You got it. I’ll make it look gnarly.”
“Great. Thanks, Doug. I owe you a box of Farismitron donuts.”
“Looking forward to it.”
The following morning, I did my walk-around and boarded Rustbucket. I found Emma already sitting on the flight deck. She was pale as a ghost.
“Good morning, Far,” Emma said, trying to hide her anxiety.
“Good morning, Em.”
“Don’t call me Em. My parents do that.”
“Don’t call me Far. It sounds dumb.”
“I told you, it’s one of my things.”
“It’s one of my things now, also,” I replied.
“You’re annoying.”
“You’re scared.”
“Am not.”
“Have you ever left Earth?”
“Of course not. Why would I?”
“Because your uncle made you?”
“Shut up.”
“Listen, Em. We are going to be spending a lot of time together. Why don’t we try to get along?”
“Alright. Just stop being so annoying.”
“No promises.”
I figured I might as well start teaching Em how to operate the ship.
“This panel is the navigation panel. Or nav panel. Right now, it is showing the known universe. All you have to do is tap the screen, and it will zoom in on a region. Double-tap to zoom out. You can also speak in a location after touching the microphone icon. Try it.”
Em tapped the screen a few times and let a tiny smile slip out. Then she realized she was smiling and put her spoiled face back on. Maybe there was hope, I thought.
“Where are we going?” Em asked.
“Well, the boss wants us to visit new planets and report what we find. So let’s find an uncharted planet.”
“How do we do that?”
“We pick a blank area on the nav panel and fly there. Then we scan for signs of breathable atmosphere. If we find a suitable planet, we go.”
“So we are just going to cruise around in empty space until we find a planet we can breathe on?”
“Yup.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”
“I’m not much of a planner. You ready?”
“You’re sure this is safe?”
I laughed and said, “It’s anything but safe. If you are not up to it, you can leave now. I will have no problem finding another co-pilot.”
“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“I’m not leaving. Let’s go before I change my mind.”
I smiled and taxied out to the launch area, fired up the engine, and took us into space. The ship shook as we broke through Earth’s atmosphere. Em nearly fainted.
This might be fun, after all.
“Is it always like that?” Em asked.
“No. I only used 25% power. It’s usually worse.”
Em looked sick.
“It’s not as bad in space. Only when leaving a planet with strong gravity,” I said.
“I am going to need drugs next time.”
I laughed. “You will get used to it.”
“I doubt it.”
I asked Em to choose an empty vector in space. When we arrived, I started scanning for suitable planets and found one close by. As we approached, I watched Em’s eyes grow big. The planet was purple and blue. We dropped to a low orbit and started scanning for signs of life. The scans showed abundant life. The real question was whether it was plant or animal life. Either one could be dangerous, but animals were more often the predators. Even worse, there could be “intelligent” lifeforms like humans, which are entirely unpredictable.
We found several vast open plains that looked like suitable landing places, so we landed and prepared to do some exploring. The air was breathable, and the gravity was close to Earth’s. It would be no problem to leave the ship and take a look around.
I looked at Em and noticed that her hands were shaking.
“Are you going to be alright?”
“I hope so.”
“You can stay inside the ship. I will go out and take a look around. Then I’ll come get you if I feel it’s safe.”
“You’re not leaving me here alone.”
She was obviously scared.
“All right. Just stay beside me and do exactly as I say.”
I handed Em a laser pistol.
“I’m not taking that,” she said.
“What if an animal charges you?”
“You’re not making this any easier.”
“Don’t worry. It will be fine.”
We left the ship and looked around. The vegetation that covered the ground was mostly purple. There were groves of bamboo-like plants with purple leaves. Except they were twice as tall as Earth Bamboo. After a few minutes, Em seemed to calm down, and she started taking photos.
“Look! There are glowing purple balls on the ground,” Em said.
She reached down and picked one up.
“Wait!” I said.