Park Planet
Space Traveler Fargone • Episode 23
New to Space Traveler Fargone? Start at the beginning.
We decided to orbit Mallentia for a day so Leonard and Harold could see their home planet and get used to being in space. It also gave me time to start writing my Mall Planet splog. Em did video interviews with Leonard and Harold, and Flow decided she would try her hand at cooking. A skill she didn’t need as a non-eater, but one she thought would give her a role during meals. Then we all got some sleep, except for Flow, who doesn’t sleep.
After our much-needed rest, it was time to venture to a new planet. I gave Leonard a quick tutorial on the nav panel and let him pick our next destination. Rustbucket obliged.
We dropped into the sector Leonard chose and started a habitable scan. It quickly found four possible planets.
“Harold, why don’t you pick one?” I said.
“Really? Can this tell if there are donuts on a planet?”
“I wish!”
“Just pick one, Hank,” Leonard said sharply.
“All right. Don’t give yourself a heart attack.”
Harold chose one, and off we went.
As we approached the planet, it appeared Harold had chosen wisely. The planet was blue and green. It reminded me of Earth, except it was about half Earth’s size.
“Looks like you picked a winner, Harold,” Em said.
“Hopefully. But we need to expect anything. There could be dangerous wildlife or defensive inhabitants. A pretty face doesn’t always mean a pretty heart,” I replied.
“Are you referring to someone in particular?’ Em asked with an edge to her voice.
“Nope. I’m just saying it may not be as ideal as it looks.”
“Killjoy.”
Looking for a landing place was easy. What wasn’t Great Lake-sized bodies of water was covered in green grass and orderly rows of trees or tiny forests growing in perfect circles. We picked an open field and set Rustbucket down.
The atmosphere was like Earth’s, except it was far cleaner, so we didn’t need spacesuits. The gravity was less than Earth’s, so we all had a little spring in our step.
“You feel that, Lenny?” Harold asked.
“You mean my hip not hurting?”
“Yeah. My knee doesn’t hurt at all.”
“It is probably the reduced gravity. Your joints aren’t as stressed as they were on Mallentia,” Flow replied.
I looked around and saw hilly plains of grass in every direction, with a circular forest of birch-like trees to my left.
“This place looks like a park. Let’s climb this hill and see what we can see,” I said.
When we reached the top of the hill, we saw a small town in the distance. There was also the beginning of a paved path that ran toward the town.
“Well, that was easy. Let’s follow the path and see who lives here.”
“I would rather not try to disguise my appearance this time,” Flow said.
“Yeah, that was a mistake,” Em said.
“I agree. We shall meet the inhabitants as we are. Space travelers. Besides, humans might be the unusual ones here.”
“We should find out soon enough,” Flow said.
As we walked, we passed park benches and water fountains at regular intervals. We stopped at one of the benches so Leonard and Harold could rest. As they sat, a couple of tiny white animals hopped up on the bench and cuddled up against Leonard and Harold.
They both jumped up.
“What are those?” Harold asked.
Em smiled widely. “They’re bunnies!”
She sat down, and both bunnies cuddled up against her legs as she began to pet them.
“They sure are friendly,” Em said. “Hey, little guys, what are you doing out here?”
“They seem like domesticated animals,” Flow said.
“We have them on Earth. Some are wild, and some are kept as pets,” Em replied.
“Let’s keep going,” I said.
“Bye, bunnies,” Em said as she got up and we started walking again.
As we got closer to town, we passed picnic tables, sandboxes, swing sets, and people. If I didn’t know better, I would say they were human.
“Hey, neighbors,” one man said as he walked past us.
“Good day,” I replied.
A couple sitting on a blanket having a picnic lunch waved at us. We waved back.
Eventually, we reached town. It was a short street with about a dozen buildings. None were more than two stories tall. They all looked like ancient Earth buildings, but they didn’t appear old. They were in good condition. Suddenly, Harold stopped in his tracks and pointed down the street. “Look.”
We all looked and immediately saw what attracted Harold’s attention. One of the buildings had a sign that read Friendly Donuts.
So funny! But you might want to use the word "small" less. Just sayin'