Chapter 2 - A look into the Cosmos

It was morning, but this time Rex was able to wake himself up, instead of having some annoying voice do it for him. He yawned and smacked his jaws, crawling out of the tent slowly. He didn't feel sluggish or lazy to get up, he got up and jumped out of his tent, landing in a roll that he used the momentum of to launch to his feet. He took a deep breath, and exhaled peacefully as the morning breeze lightly slid across his face. He then decided to do something that he honestly didn't think would work. "Hey, disembodied voice?" Rex said, in an attempt to summon it. "Hello? No? Nothing?" He waiting a bit for a reply that never came. "Right… go figure."

The morning was beautiful. Well, at least, what he could see of it, regarding the fact that most of his view was dominated by the trees. It must've rained a bit yesterday, Rex assumed, seeing how small droplets of water kept rubbing against his bare feet as he stepped. The trees, however, took advantage of this, shining bright and beautifully as the sun's rays reflected off of the small bits of water that hid on the surface of the leaves belonging to the towers of wood. This scene put Rex into a bit of a thinking mood, the main question being what was he going to do now? He was on an unknown planet filled with things that wanted him dead with no way of even defending himself. And if there are other creatures such as the Hylotl out here, Rex didn't expect them to be just as kind as Liax or Maria, which was just a feeling, but a strong one that he felt was true. If that were the case, Rex may have to just simply stay on the mountain that he currently tread on. Food, any sort of nourishment, would be a task too. Not knowing which plant is delicious, edible, even poisonous! He would have no way of telling! This train of thought was stopped abruptly, however, as a voice called out to him from behind.

"Morning Rex." Maria said cheerfully as she skipped past him.

Rex tried to reply back with a 'good morning' of his own, but she was already at the other side of the mountain, beyond the reach she could hear him from. He was about to walk back to his tent, when he glimpsed the Avian girl turn around and skip back the way she had just come from. Rex supposed that Maria did this to pass the time in the mornings while waiting for Liax to get out of bed, or something. As she passed by a second time, Rex replied to the good-morning's greeting that she gave Rex the first time she passed him. "Mornin' Maria." He said as she passed him by again.

This time, when Maria turned around and came back, she stopped by Rex and looked up at him, looking sort of apologetic. "Sorry about that thing I said about how Liax should've burnt you, Rex." She said, sheepishly.

"Fogettaboutit." Rex replied, far more sluggishly than he had intended. This was rewarded by a giggle from the Avian girl. "Is this what you do each morning while waiting for Liax to get up? Skip back and forth between two points?"

"Well, if it's possible, of course. Sometimes were on an astroid field, so we have to stay indoors with the breathable air filters. Other times we don't have a small house and we're on a cold planet, I can't wander too far from the setup location, unless I want to freeze to death. There's never really much else to do around here in the mornings since Liax takes FOREVER to get up. old man… But I'm also kinda excited, cause we're blasting off to another planet today. We've been gathering a mass of minerals for, what seems like ages now, but now we have enough coal for a full tank of fuel and a LOT left over."

"I envy you space travelers. Maybe I'll get a ship one day, and I can explore the cosmos too."

"Well, we might be able to help with that." A familiar voice said.

Rex and Maria turned around to see Liax standing there, holding some sort of device with two buttons on it.

"What do you mean by that, Liax?" Rex asked.

"Maria? Could you pack up the gear we placed while I talk to Rex?"

"Yes sir!" Maria replied, smiling. She took out her yellow tool, similar to the one Liax used to place the tent last night, and get to work with re-collecting the tents and the such.

"Now, not to long ago during our travels, we flew over a planet with an Apex ship on it. After some investigation, it seemed that the ship was in perfect condition, with 1000 fuel in it. We found a note in the ship, stating that the owner of the ship had been picked up by another ship, leaving that one behind. If you want to, we can take you to that planet, since it's not out of the way, and drop you off there. Then you can use that ship. What do ya say?"

Rex stood there in a bit of a paralyzed state. "M-my own ship? To travel the stars in?" Rex asked, not believing what he was hearing.

Liax nodded. "I'll even write a little notebook of things to get you started. If the story you told us last night is true, which I believe it is, then you need to get by to your friends and family in your world. Of course, you should also explore this galaxy, since you seem to have a sense for danger."

Again, Rex stood there paralyzed. "R-really? We just met yesterday and you're already trying to help me out?"

"Yeah. You seem like a fantastic guy, and I didn't have to be near you that long to figure that out. Besides, it isn't out of the way. So it's no inconvenience to us, whatsoever. You'll keep the sword, we'll give you a tent and a flashlight, and you should be good to go."

"Th-thanks! Ugh, I'm freaking out. Then again, having my very own spaceship… That would be so cool! Really, I owe you guys one. If we ever meet somewhere again, and you need anything, you're gonna let me know, got it?"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Liax laughed.

Rex couldn't help but to join in.

Maria walked up, holding a capsule with a flashlight in it and another with a tent in it. "Here you go, Rex." She said as she handed the two items to him, which he proceeded to put in his inventory.

"I'll write the guide on the way." Liax said, as he pulled out a pen and a notebook. "Is everything ready, Maria?" He asked, still writing in the notebook.

"Yeah, everything's set to go, Liax." She replied.

"Excellent!" He said as he motioned for the two to get closer with his pen.

When they were all elbow to elbow, Liax pulled out the remote from before and pressed the single button that was on it. In a flash of light, everything in Rex's vision turned red, the white, and it was just him in a blank, empty expanse, floating around in nowhere. His vision became red again, then he could see. Maria and Liax casually walked into the main part of the ship while Rex looked around the room rapidly, questioning what had just happened and wondering where they were.

"We're in the ship." Maria said, walking back over to where Rex was and dragging him across the ground to the cockpit of the ship. She lifted him back up when they go to the cockpit with the glass window that could be seen out of to look at the cosmos.

"Wwwooaaahhh…." Rex whispered, breathlessly, as he looked out of the cockpit's window to observe the vast, star and solar-system littered galaxy that was laid out before him.

"What's it like, Rex?" Liax asked. "You're taking a look into the cosmos. The infinite expanse of space, laid out in front of you. I don't know about you, but whenever I see this, I suddenly get a feeling of adventure that could be on any planet. You never know until you explore it yourself."

Rex turned around to see Liax handing him the notebook.

"That should get you started, and it should have a few tips and the such on what you might want to do if you plan on getting anywhere in the galaxy. Since we'll be beaming you down to the planet as we pass it, we should probably get out good-bye's in now." Liax said.

"Right…" Rex agreed, feeling almost completely overwhelmed with what was happening, not to mention what was going to happen. He was in a ship! He looked at space! Heck he was going to GET HIS OWN SHIP! He was almost on the verge of just fainting, but that wouldn't do at all. Well, at least until he was in his ship, orbiting a planet from a same distance. He sighed, smiling. "Well, this is goodbye then. Thank you two, so very much for what you've done. I know that a simple 'thank you' won't suffice, but thank you anyways. Don't forget that I feel this is going under unpaid debts that I WILL one day repay."

"We'll keep that in mind. It was a interesting encounter, Rex." Liax said, smiling warmly. Rex offered a high five, but Liax disregarded that and hugged him instead, which very much surprised him. He then walked into the cockpit room to begin their travel to the two's next destination, and Rex's sub-destination.

Maria came in and hugged Rex too, squeezing kinda tightly. "Bye Rex!" She said, obviously getting enjoyment out of taking away all of Rex's air. He managed to pat her on the head, which made her let go. She looked up at rex, smiling. "Well, go on. Get to the teleporter room and get ready to teleport!" She commanded.

"Okay, okay." Rex surrendered. "I'm going." As he walked in the direction of the teleporter room, he looked back at Maria. "Bye, Maria." He said, before continuing his advancement to the portal room.

She could only smile then.

"Okay, Rex. Get ready to press the button in 3…" Liax counted. Rex tensed a bit, feeling a bit overwhelmed with excitement. "..2.." This was it. This is where it begins. "…1…Now!"

He pressed the button, and the same thing that happened the first time with the teleporter happened again. Red, shifted to white, shifted to red, and then he could see again. He looked around at the new landscape, which appeared to be a forest that was not as nearly populated with trees as the last planet he was on. He saw the ship that Liax described, and entered it. Sure enough, there was the note saying that the ship was up for grabs since the previous owner left it for another one. He went into the cockpit and got out his book that Liax gave him. It had detailed instructions about how to set the ship to orbit the planet. It had whole sections on crafting materials and weapons, as well as what he needed to explore the Cosmos to the fullest. At the very back was a small drawing of Liax and Maria, waving. Rex opened the screen that he could use to set the ship in orbit, and pressed the button that did so.

The ship hissed and the door automatically closed as the space ship slowly began it's rise to the cosmos. The world below became smaller, and smaller, and smaller, until, before he knew it, he was orbiting the planet, and no features could be made out, like mountains or villages. The excitement! The adventure! Rex saw all of these possibilities stretch out before him. But before he got carried away, he did what he mentally told himself to do. He took the notebook, put it in his back, smiled, and passed out.

And so your journey begins, doesn't it, little wolf-human?

May it be a successful one…

I'll always keep watch...

...