New to Space Traveler Fargone? Start at the beginning.
The next morning, I drove up to hanger 15 at the TGS Space Port. Hanger 15 is the big boss’s hanger, where they keep his private ship, The Hindenburg II.
Sure, the boss’s name is Wilfred Hindenburg, but come on.
Today, hanger 15 housed my new ship.
Cal Huckster was waiting outside of the hanger wearing one of his patented fake smiles. Or maybe it was real. My splog was going to give TGS a lot of publicity, and Cal knew it.
“Fargone, so good to see you. Are you excited to see your new ship?”
“Like a teenager who just won free pizza for a year.”
Huckster laughed and said, “Let’s go in and take a look.”
We walked into the hangar, and there it was. A Vecton Infinity 5 series. The ship that laughs at the space-time continuum and turns light-years into light-days. The ship capable of 48X Speed Of Light travel. It was one sleek spaceship with nearly invisible seams. I couldn’t believe I would be flying this beast. The Universe was now my meal ticket, and with this ship, I would never be late for dinner.
“Go on in and take a look around,” Huckster said. We boarded the ship and looked at the cargo hold. Then checked out the crew quarters and the mess. Finally, we made our way to the flight deck. To my surprise, a young woman was sitting in the co-pilot seat.
I recognized her instantly. She was Hindenburg’s niece.
“Fargone, I want you to meet your new co-pilot. Emma Nettle.”
I just stared for a couple of seconds, trying to comprehend what Huckster was saying.
“Let’s step outside for a minute,” I said to Huckster.
Once we were out of the ship, I let him have it.
“You gotta be kidding me. The boss’s niece?”
“It wasn’t my idea. This came right from the top. Mr. Hindenburg, himself.”
“I’m sure it did. Look, everyone knows she has failed at every job she tried. You can’t send her to space with me. Can she even fly?”
“Well, no. But the ship flies itself. You just have to tell it where to go. And we were hoping you would teach her.”
“Absolutely not. I have no intention of babysitting the boss’s niece so he can get her out of his hair.”
“Well, we can’t force you. I am sure you can find a job piloting a freighter at another company.”
I dropped my head in realization. If I wanted this cushy gig, I was stuck with the boss’s niece.
“She’s not that bad. She’s just been pampered her whole life. Hindenburg thinks this experience will do her good,” Huckster said.
“Yeah. Or kill me.”
“You’re tough. You can handle it.”
“This stinks.”
“Yup. A brand new ship. Your salary doubled. Nothing to do but explore space and report what you find. It’s awful. Now get back in there and make nice. You are flying out tomorrow.”
I turned toward the ship.
Huckster called out, “Fargone. One more thing. The boss wants you to do your splogs as videos. Emma can help you. She has extensive experience making social media videos.”
I sulked back to the flight deck and plopped down in the captain’s seat.
“I’m Fargone.”
“Don’t you have a first name?” Emma asked.
“Sure, but no one uses it.”
“What is it?”
“If I’m ever bleeding out and sure to die, I’ll tell you. Until then, don’t bother asking.”
“I can check your employee files.”
“And I can check the airlock doors while you’re sleeping.”
“Fine. Nice to meet you, Fargone. I’ll be calling you Far.”
“That extra syllable too much to handle?”
“I abbreviate everyone’s name. It’s one of my things.”
“Great. How many things do you have?”
“Enough. How old are you?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
“You look a lot older.”
“Thanks. I blame it on my co-pilots. How old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
“You look seventeen.”
“Thanks.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
As expected, things were off to a fabulous start.