Ch. 3 – Revelation
Soon the two boarded a passenger ship in order to get to Felis, the next planet over. Felis was known for its exemplary food, and Jim and Ale were more than ready for a good meal. They figured that they could splurge a little, in celebration of both of them receiving crew assignments.
With leather folders still in hand, Jim and Ale scoured the ship for a place to sit. Finally Ale noted an older man sitting alone toward the back, and they decided to see if the seats beside him were free.
"Excuse me, sir?" she asked.
The man, who had been staring out the window, looked up at her. His eyes were a light shade of blue, and looked rather weary and sad as they glanced from Ale to Jim… and then back to Ale.
"Is anybody sitting in these seats?" she finished.
The man shook his head and remained silent.
"Well, may we sit here?" Ale spoke up.
"Sure," the man replied in a raspy voice, and then returned to staring out the window.
Ale and Jim took the two seats next to the man. Jim couldn't help but be fascinated by this gentleman, for he could not tell his age. He looked sad and sounded sick, but he had a beard and almost a full head of light brown hair, with only a few gray streaks. But his hands, as Jim noticed, were scarred. He looked worn… as if time was just eating away at him.
"I forgot to call my parents," Ale suddenly remarked. "I was just so shocked about this that I completely forgot."
"Yeah, my mom will be thrilled," Jim said. "And I'm sure Amelia and the Doc will be too. And the kids B.E.N…" he sighed, wishing that his father could be there to be proud of him too. "We can call them when we get to Felis. I really do wish that my father could see this. Then again, he probably wouldn't care."
"I have this strange feeling that he would be proud of you. I don't know why, but it's a gut feeling."
"But he was never there…"
"And you should never underestimate the impossible. It could happen!"
They fell silent. Jim inwardly rolled his eyes. This was one thing that Ale could never understand…
"Sir, are you also going to Felis?" Ale turned to the man, breaking the silence. He looked over at her with piercing eyes. "I'm sorry," she quickly said. "I'm out of my place. I didn't mean to be rude."
"No," the man finally spoke. "I'm just being rude. No, young lady, I'm not going to Felis."
The ship began to pull away from the Academy stop.
"Well then, where are you headed?" Jim asked.
"Anywhere the wind takes me, son. I've been traveling around for a while now." He looked back out the window at Interstellar Academy. "You two're from that place, I presume. Wearin' outfits like that…"
"Yes, sir," Jim answered. "We're Senior Cadets, and graduating this coming weekend."
"That's an honor. Protecting the citizens of the Etherium with your lives… I once thought of being a cadet in the Navy. But that was a long time ago."
"I'm sorry if this is prying, sir, but what stopped you?" Ale cut in. Jim was just as curious to know as well.
"Well, missy, life happened," his eyes grew distant.
"Life happened?" the two cadets said simultaneously and looked at one another before looking back at the man once again.
"You know… I got married, went to work, had a kid. Had responsibilities that didn't allow me to be what I truly wanted to be. It's hard to be a father when your heart isn't in it."
"Well then, why did you have a child if you weren't ready for one?" Jim asked.
"Life happens."
"But that's just not fair to the child, sir. My father left when I was a boy and I don't think my mom and I have recovered yet. And it's been years. Our family was turned upside down because of it!"
"I'm sorry to hear that, but sometimes a man just can't bear the responsibility of being a father."
"So you left your family… to do what? And what happened?" Ale interjected.
"I left my family to travel the Etherium. To learn about myself. I wanted to return to them, but I couldn't bring myself to. I felt so ashamed for treating them how I had, but I was too much of a coward to go back. So I tried to move forward. I went from one meaningless job to another, trying to fill the gap in my heart that was my family. I never realized how good things were… until they weren't. So now I'm traveling the Etherium once again, looking for a new job and a new purpose. You youngsters don't know how hard it is. I was like you once, with the entire Etherium at my fingertips…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but would you guys excuse me? Nature calls," Ale stood. "Sorry, I'll be back!"
The man watched her go before focusing on Jim again.
He shrugged, "We were just in a ceremony for the past few hours. It was Ship Assignment Day at the Interstellar Academy. When you gotta go… you gotta go, I guess."
The man nodded. "I get it. You look like you've got a lot of potential in you, son. I've heard of this so-called Ship Assignment Day. It's a real honor, isn't it?"
"Yes, sir."
"And I'm assuming that you and your friends received assignments, from the looks of those folders."
"We're not supposed to talk much about it, but I am to be part of the crew of the RLS Candor. I didn't think it would happen, but it did. And now I can't wait to graduate and get out there!"
"Patience, son. It's not always best to jump into things, you know. May I see your folder?"
"Of course!" Jim handed the folder to the man, and watched as he opened it carefully. The man's expression changed from soft to cold and then back to soft again as he gingerly traced the letters on the certificate with callused fingers. Then he reached into his pocket and drew from it a worn piece of paper… an old photograph.
"James Hawkins, part of the crew of the RLS Candor… Congratulations, son." The man looked up at him and winked.
Son… SON?
Then Jim saw the photo.
It couldn't be…
Suddenly everything fell into place and it all began to made sense.
"Daddy, I've finally found you…"
*****
And the plot thickens! But what will happen to our braaaaaave heroes? (wait, wrong story) Hehe – stay tuned for Chapter 4!
