A Teenager's Guide to Life in the Uncharted Territories Chapter 1 The Beginning

"Mom!" Okay, I'm going to kill Rygel. The sneaky little frell has been in my room. again. "What, Rayne?" Mom's voice crackled over comms. "Can I shove Rygel out an airlock?" I ask, very, very sincerely. I'm also currently holding on to one ear of the little thief. "No. Now let him go. And Rygel, leave her alone or next time I might let her." His eyes widened and as soon as I let go, I discovered exactly how fast that throne sled of his could really move. Might I add, it goes pretty damn fast. Having nothing else to do to occupy time (What does everybody do around here all day anyway?) I head to the training room. That'll be fun. Okay, the sarcasm was just dripping out of that one. Well, it beats seeing how long Rygel will run from me or getting roped into fixing something. Actually, I'd really like to know how long Sparky'll run from me. Only downside is, Mom might shove me out the airlock then. So much for that. Reaching the training room, I start working on the techniques Mom's taught me. I'm actually getting pretty good at this. I can whip Dad's ass easily now and I almost beat Mom once. Keywords there; almost and once. Something else Mom has taught me is only to use fighting for self defense. That's saying a lot considering she's and ex- Peacekeeper. Dad's had a huge influence on her. She doesn't hit him for his 'frelling Erp sayings' anymore, and I think I heard her use one the other day. Impressive. When I was about three, Dad discovered the key element he had been missing about wormholes, now we visit Earth every so often. I've got some stuff from there, you know, typical (Earth) teenager stuff. CD player, CD's, clothes, a few books, etc. You should have seen the look on Mom's face when she heard some of these songs for the first time. I thought she was going to kill me. "Rayne, your presence is requested by your father in command." Damn. I have to study. Dad thinks I should get an Earth education. I'm still not quite sure why, but if it's that big of a deal, why not. "Rayne?" Dren. Forgot to respond. "On my way."

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Oh god. That was possibly the worst lesson he's ever given. Mom was in command, so he was only half focused on what he was teaching. That's something else I forgot to mention about life out here. They never stop staring at each other or kissing. It's highly disturbing. What fourteen- year/cycle old wants to see her parents making out? There some things you just don't want to know about your parents. Anyway, after about half an arn of half his attention, I told them to get a room and left. I think they actually laughed. I still hope they don't take me seriously. Besides, Mom's supposed to give me another lesson in flying her prowler. Speaking of. "Hey Pilot. How long until we're past the commerce planet?" "I'm not sure, but I'll let you know." "Thanks."

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It's been two miserable solar days. Mom, Dad, and D'Argo are all still on the planet. Have been since about three arns after I so eloquently ended my lesson. I'm assuming Dad pissed off the wrong person per usual and they're trying to find another source to procure food and such. He has a really bad habit about that. Mom keeps comming me every few arns to check on me. That's a new one. I'm bored again and my undirectional walking leads me to command. Just as I'm about to go in, I hear Chiana talking to Mom on the comms. This can't be good. I hear her say something about Scorpius and a wanted beacon. I leave command with some damn good questions for her when she gets back. Like who is this Scorpius and why are they so concerned about a wanted beacon? Mom comms me again. Looks like I can ask her sooner than I thought. They're on their way back right now. And Pilot has been ordered to starburst as soon as they've boarded. Dad must have really pissed someone off.or does it have to do with Scorpius?

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