Read Dar's Adventures in Space 1: Space Crazy for Free Online

larger crew to make sure she can safely get through space.”
    “If I may ask, how big is this vessel?”
    Tregis slid into the seat and immediately started inputting the coordinates. “She’s about a mile long…The forward cargo bay can hold a straight load of just over half a mile…The aft is divided into eight sections for smaller shipments…And the engine room and shuttle bay, of course.”
    “How fast is she?” Dar almost felt like his brain couldn’t suck up the information quick enough. But he was going to make a concerted effort.
    “Well, all that cargo carrying capacity comes at a cost. She can do warp six on a good day with a solar wind at her backside,” he said with a chuckle. “Captain, course laid in for Skrinnis.”
    “Aye,” Gwog replied from his chair on the bridge. “Helm, take us out.”
    “Aye, captain,” Vikkis called. He’d “changed hats” and was now at the helm controls. In the short time Dar’d been aboard, he noticed most of the crew had more than one job. He wondered what his jobs would be. He was fairly confident once he learned all the tools, he’d be filling some sort of navigational function. And with Gwog’s praise of his Erotin sage root float, he figured the kitchen would be the other. But, from the captain’s talk earlier, he’d be getting experience in every part of the ship. He couldn’t wait.

5

    Skrinnis loomed in the front window of the Cunik’s bridge. It was a reddish planet with a few swirls of white clouds and the occasional splotch of blue-green water. Dar didn’t think it looked terribly habitable, but evidently, there were life forms there.
    “Welcome to Skrinnis,” Tregis joked. They’d been in transit for ten days and finally arrived. Since there was no “day” or “night” in space, the crew of the Cunik established their own work/rest cycle. Clocks on the ship were set to one time, and everyone kept to a schedule. Even though most times Dar wasn’t tired, he was sent to bed, and then awoken at the appointed time. He knew this would take some getting used to.
    “Ah,” Dar replied with a yawn, still fuzzy-headed after his strange sleep schedule. “There’s life-forms down there?”
    “Skrinnians tend to be a subterranean species. You won’t see much on the surface except a space port or two.”
    He peered out the window as the planet drew closer. “Are we gonna land?”
    “Far easier to off load three thousand crates of Jamaraian rum if you do,” Tregis kidded.
    Gwog strolled onto the bridge from his cabin just off to the side. “Good morning, little one; ready to explore a new planet?”
    Dar turned, a smile beaming on his face. “Yes, sir!”
    “Have you had breakfast?”
    “Yes, sir,” he replied. Meal times, he was quickly discovering, were the best. As a new crew member, all the old-timers felt the sudden urge to recount stories of their travels in space. Dar could have listened to them all night, but Vikkis would send him to bed. They were amazing and fantastic stories of distant planets and species; some ended in tales of exotic joinings on pleasure barges. As of yet, no mention of his sexual prowess (or lack thereof) had been made, and Dar hoped it stayed that way.
    “Come here, little one.” Gwog motioned him to the helm control console. “Watch as Vikkis lands us on the surface.”
    “Yes, sir.” Dar stood behind Vikkis and observed as they slowly descended.
    “Now, see these?” Vikkis indicated to a double row of eight buttons that ran down the left side of the console. “These are the ventral thrusters…You can fire each one individually. Or…” He brought his hand to the bottom where two more buttons were. “…You simply push these two and have full control of all.”
    “The Cunik needs all those thrusters to land?”
    He chuckled. “At nearly a mile long, I’m surprised she doesn’t have more…But she’s got very powerful ones, and they can land a full load just as soft as a game fowl feather