Four years. Four long years since the crash. Since he had been stranded on this strange planet, far from his own.
At first it had been hell. What was he going to do here? In a place where there were no solar surfers, no cyborgs and not even any coffee machines.
But as time went by, he got used to it. Sure, it was dull. But he adjusted. He became a sailor, the Earth equivalent of a Spacer, and had some pretty interesting stories to tell by the time the first year on Earth had passed.
But what James Pleiades Hawkins didn't realise was that the biggest adventure of his life was yet to unfold.
"Mermaids?"
Jim put down his mug at stared at the man before him.
"Mermaids" Prince Eric nodded. "Don't look so surprised, Jimmy, our kingdom is well known for our peace agreement with King Triton"
Jim raised an eyebrow, shrugging off the fleeting annoyance and homesickness he felt at hearing his old nickname (which he had always hated).
"Come on!" Eric grinned. "Someone must have told you about the Mer, right?"
"Nope. It never really came up"
"Well, I'm glad I mentioned it. It really puts a sailors mind at ease knowing that someone is looking out for them in case they fall into the ocean and need to be rescued"
"Yeah… my mind's at ease"
Eric clapped him on the back. "Come on, it's nearly time for the ship to depart. Don't worry, if Grimsby's prediction is right, then we've got nothing to worry about tonight"
"You do know that it's bad luck to say something like that?"
"Lighten up Jim. It's my birthday!"
