25. To Space We go!

Planet Mori,

Rimor's pov

Rimor ran as fast as he could, the wind stung his eyes and jumped over stray logs and roots of the trees. His bare feet crunched the dry leaves on the ground as he ran across the forest. From the corner of his eye, he could see a black blur parallel to him if not a little ahead of him.

"Not this time," he murmured and took off with a greater speed leaving dust in his wake.

The black figure moved quicker too and for a while, they were moving on the speed. They moved out of the tree's shade and into a clearing. The grass was brown and covered in sand and shells. They raced to the single tree in that clearing. A willow.

For a while, Rimor had gained the lead but suddenly, his foot stuck on a smooth object embedded deep in the ground and his face came crashing down to meet the sand and wilted grass. He could hear soft chuckling from far away in his mind.

It seems I win again Pai. The voice chuckles in amusement.

Rimor doesn't even attempt to get up from his place on the ground and only rolls to face the sky. Mori had one of the most beautiful skies he had seen yet. "Ha-ha, laugh it up. A race of a tigress against a human is very fair," he grumbled.

His face was suddenly licked by a sloppy tongue. He looked up to meet violet eyes and dark fur. Aww, is the little human upset?

He pouted and mumbled," No, I am not upset. I'm just agitated."

Whatever. She then lifted his collar up by her teeth and started dragging him back into the forest not caring when his legs hit numerous obstacles. "Ow ow ow ow, you let go now. I can walk by myself now."

As soon as he said that his head hit a hard rock. "Ow, what'd you do that for, Skia?" He rubbed his wounded head and looked up at the black tigress who looked quite amused to see him in pain.

See, somehow bringing Skia to Mori affected her growth and she grew a lot faster than is normal for tigers. That is, she grew to an adult tigress in a year only. She also got a few abilities he didn't think were possible. She speaks in his mind and can teleport from one place to another. She can also grow her claws and teeth when she hunts or is in a fight. They even learned to fight together. Not that they can do it much since he is supposed to an explorer with less to no knowledge of fighting.

Oh, and she can also turn into a tattoo on his bicep so that no one notices her. Most of the time though, she likes to be outdoors more often.

He slowly got up, dusted himself, and walked with her to their house. The house was the same since he redecorated except for the new room for Skia. He entered the house and sat comfortably on the couch while Skia yawned and rested on the carpet.

He grabbed the V-pad from the desk and scrolled over the news section. There was nothing interesting, just the usual. A wanted criminal being found, a planetary fire, planets declaring war, a new species of cats until he came upon an interesting article.

Earlier this week, a minor Planet Ferora was attacked by some unknown forces. The entirety of the planet has been wiped out. The planet had a population of one million citizens according to their last census. This planet was on the edge of the border that crossed into the sector of the lost ones. The ferorians were known to non-aggressive and placating in their approach to other planets. None of the planets held a harbouring grudge. Was this massacre a planned attack or are these new creatures invading the planet for a new home? The latter seems to be unlikely as a passer-by space traveller reported a picture of a large spaceship with a peculiar symbol on it. Who are these murderers and where did they go? The agents of Order are investigating the attack at Ferora at this very moment.

He looked at the picture of the symbol below the article and felt like Deja vu. He knew that symbol but from where? He could almost recall it but the memory just won't come to him. 'Where have I see this?' he wondered.

He shook his head and decided to investigate a little later. He scrolled down the merchandise section to see if there was something interesting and within his budget, he could browse. A few minutes later, he did come upon an interesting offer.

Second-hand M-class spaceship for sale on Yu Tah. This spaceship is in good condition, second hand for the price of 73 Drachmas, 44 Nuckels, and 6 Soods by Sared Dishaw found in The Whopping Taeler.
NO BARGAINING!

Technically with the compass teleporter ad Skia, he didn't really need a spaceship but he always was fascinated by space and how the planets would look from above. Besides the spaceship wasn't even that expensive. Maybe he could make it his second base in space. M-class spaceships are obviously big enough for at least two people to stay in.

"Hey Ski," he called. Yes, Pai?

"I am going to go on a shopping expedition. You want to come?" he asked the sleepy tigress.

'Hmm...I'd rather not this time,' she hummed.

"Okay then, guess this is a solo mission," he muttered to himself. He packed his bag with the money and other necessary things and slung it across his shoulder.

He put in the coordinates in the compass teleporter and flashed to the Planet Yu Tah.

Yu Tah in spite of its odd name was a very developed and technological planet. The buildings rose sky high and the sky was pink. It was a very fast planet like New York except Yu Tah is not polluted and is way more advanced.

The people who live here also have genius minds you could say. A lot of tourists also came here to shop for electronics and other gadgets and gizmos. He has heard a few rumours about them developing a simulation where people can have perfect vacations. Another interesting detail about them would be that almost half the population are robots.

I walk up to a cleaning robot and say, "Hello. Do you know where I can find the Whopping Taeler?"

The robot stopped mid-sweeping and said monotonously," The whopping Taeler can be found in the next town, Wimadon. Take the red Tah train in the underground railway station."

"Thanks," he called and waved to the robot before heading off to find the underground railway station.

He found the underground railway station easily enough. It full of people yet not crowded. He did not understand how that worked. He quickly saw three lines for the ticket counters, one yellow, one red, and one pink. He remembered the robot's advice and purchased a ticket for Wimadon on the red Tah train.

The train came fifteen minutes after he got the ticket and got on. There was an empty place beside a guy with pink hair and a pale face who looked to be his age. By his age, he means the age he looks like - eighteen. and another between a hyperactive girl and a giant man.

He sat on the seat beside the pink-haired guy. It was no choice really. The pink-haired dude turned to face him as soon as he sat down. "You don't look like you're from here," he stated.

"I am a visitor. What's your name?" Rimor asked curiously. The pink-haired guy was obviously local. "My name is Iro," he introduced himself extending his hand.

Rimor grinned and accepted the handshake. "I'm Rimor. Nice to meet you."

"So, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Rimor asks looking shocked.

"The tourists do not use the underground railway station much. Even less to go to the rundown place called Wimadon," he explained.

Rimor frowned but nodded, "I guess so. I am looking for a place called the Whopping Taeler in Wimadon."

He looked surprised for a second but then covered it up with a confident smile," Well that's a coincidence. I'm heading there to meet my father. Maybe I could show you the way."

Rimor nodded gratefully and thanked him.

"So, what's a tourist like you going to do in the Whopping Taeler?" Iro asked curiously.

Rimor showed the ad for a spaceship on his V-pad. "I always wanted a way to see space on my own and this one fits perfectly in my budget."

Iro looked thoughtful, "Wait, how did come here if you don't have a spaceship already?"

"I came through the PP," he lied. PP stood for Planet Portals. They were on most planets for a way to connect friendly neighbouring planets. Sometimes, if you the resilience, you can travel long distances through the PP.

Iro nodded satisfied by that answer. They chatted some more until the train came to a screeching halt. Iro got up and gestured for Rimor to follow him. "Come on this is our stop."

He followed Iro out of the station and into a less advanced looking town. It looked almost like New York. Almost.

"So, where do you live? Since you're visiting your father you obviously don't live with him," he asked.

"I live in the main city with my mentor. Thought I should say hello to my father before..." Iro trailed off.

"Before?" he urged.

"Before I leave this planet," Iro said vaguely. Rimor wanted to ask more but he saw that Iro did not want to talk about it so he let it be and said nothing, only hummed in acknowledgment.

They walked in comfortable silence with Iro leading the way since Rimor did not know where he was going. Iro was the first to break the silence. "So, what do you do?"

Rimor only raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You know, what do you do every day. Do you work or something?" You see, Iro was hesitant to ask as some of the planets don't let the children work till their twenty-five of age or something. Others make the kids work from the age of ten. Nothing to be outraged about each planet has its own customs they have been following for centuries.

Rimor had a small smile playing on his lips looking at Iro in amusement. "Yeah, I work. You see I am a treasure hunter, explorer of sorts. I find rare treasures all over the universe and sell or keep them for myself." He left out the part that whenever he was on a planet, hunting for treasure, he would also adorn his assassin alias Aleixo and protect the planet against monsters, raiders, or even their own government.

"So, a spaceship will help you a lot since you must be using the PP to go everywhere," Iro concluded.

"Yes, it will," he agreed.

They reached a building soon. It looked like a mixture between modern and cultural. A huge sign on top of it read 'The Whopping Taeler'. Crowds of people were entering and exiting the building. He turned to Iro only to find him missing. 'Oh well,' he shrugged and made his way through the crowd.

He saw that this a pub of sorts. People were dancing and drinking and having inventing contests. He made his way over to an older employee whose name read 'Ross'.

"Um, excuse me," he said to Ross. Ross turned to him, "Yes sir?"

"Could you tell me where I can find Sared Dishaw?" he asked politely.

"The second floor," he grunted and pointed towards a door he had not noticed before.

Rimor quickly thanked the man and left for the door. He saw that there were stairs going up, so he went up. At the end of the stairs was a steel door, so he pushed it open hoping that this was the second floor. He did not expect what he saw next.

It was a workshop. There were screws, bolts, circuits, glass, and other mechanical things everywhere. He glanced around the room hoping to find someone but he came up empty.

"Mr. Dishaw? Is Anyone here?" he called, the walls echoing his voice. This was stupid there was obviously no one here. Just then he heard a 'POOF' and coughing coming from a door on the right side of the workshop. The door opened and a man with pink hair and a dusty face stepped out.

"Uh hello. Can I help you, young traveller?" the man asked.

"Yes, are you Sared Dishaw?"

"Indeed, I am. Do you need something of me?"

Rimor once again brought out his V-pad and showed him the ad. "I am here to purchase the spaceship if nobody has beaten me to it?"

Sared's eyes lit up and he shook his head vigorously. "Oh no no, if you have the correct amount of money, you can take it right now."

"Will you show it to me before I make the decision?" he asked. He had decided that he was going to buy it but something about the way the old man was too excited to get rid of the ship made him wary.

"Um is it necessary? It is in good condition mind you. I think we should do the transaction of money before I give you the ship. It is an M-class after all and it cheaper than regular. You should re-" he ranted nervously.

Rimor cut him off, "Please, I won't buy it until I see it with my own two eyes."

"Are you su-"

"Lead the way, Mr. Dishaw."

Seeing no way out, Sared lead him to the door on the left which lead to a garage with an incredibly large spaceship. A classic M-class. The problem was the condition it was in. It was very much roughed up and will need sprucing up and a couple of upgrades since it seems to be an older version. His brain started forming ideas on how to improve it but he stopped himself and turned to Sared.

"Mr. Dishaw, this is not a good condition. In fact, it is in a very very bad condition."

"I am sure that it is not that-"

"If you want me to buy it, you will have to take down at least a dozen drachmas."

"A'a dozen d-drachmas, b-but-," he ignored Sared's stuttering ad observed the room, it wasn't much. Actually, the whole place wasn't much. Even the clothes Sared wore were old and worse for wear. Looks like he's poor but that still doesn't make him able to go cheating him out of his money. After all, he doesn't have an endless supply of it either.

He raised his hand to make Sared stop talking. "I'll buy it for the money on the ad if and only if I get to use whatever supplies I want from your workshop to spruce up the spaceship right here."

Sared opened his mouth but seeing Rimor's glare, all arguments left him. He nodded and said that if he needed anything he would be on the opposite door and to look out for his son. Rimor gave him less than half the money and promised to give the rest when he was finished.

When he was gone, Rimor observed the spaceship and sighed. 'This is going to take a long time.'

"Do you need help?" a familiar voice from behind him asked. Rimor spun around instantly to see Iro leaning casually against the doorway. "Iro, what are you doing here?" he exclaimed.

Just then he remembered something Sared had said. "Wait, you are Sared's son, aren't you?" he asked accusingly.

Iro smirked and placed his hand where his heart looking mournful, "Ah, you caught me. Any way you want help sprucing that up?" He looked pointedly at the M-class spaceship.

"Do you know mechanics?" Rimor asked doubtfully.

"Of course, I do. I am my father's son after all aren't I?" He gestured to the workshop and spun a wrench in his hand.

"Alright then, let's do this," he decided. 'This is going to take a lot of time', he thought in the back of his mind.