Author's Note:
Now who ordered one intense action sequence? That'd be me!
"Mary, mother of God…" John cursed under his breath. The young man quickly leapt over the railing onto the main deck. "Jimbo, get us outta the path of those meteors, an' quick!"
"Aye, Aye!" Jim struggled against the tension on the wheel as the ship banked out of the way of the dangerous meteors.
The largest of the asteroids nearly missed the tip of the bowsprit as the group of asteroids hurtled past the starboard side of the Aurora.
"All hands teh stations!" John called out to his crew that was below deck. "All able bodies teh the main deck!"
The crew hurried out from below deck, taking their stations and waiting for orders from one of their commanders.
Rebecca rushed up to the helm of the ship, keeping herself out of the way of the crew on the main deck. She looked at the control panel below her and began to recognize some of the mathematical readings from her private school education.
"Huge asteroid off the port bow!" Juanita called from her position in the crow's nest.
Everyone looked up, seeing that Juanita's words were poorly chosen. The asteroid coming within collision of the ship wasn't huge… it was enormous!
"The ship's not banking!" Jim called out as he tried all of his strength against the wheel, "we're gonna crash!"
Rebecca looked at the screens of the control panel and then back at the colossal asteroid. She turned to Jim, "Drop the starboard kedge anchor!" She shouted.
"What? But then we'll-" Jim quickly caught on and then shouted, "Kedge the starboard anchor!"
"Aye! Aye!"
The anchor off the starboard bow was dropped into the Etherium, where it snagged onto one of the larger asteroids. The HMS Aurora groaned from the sudden tension. Jim released his hold on the wheel, allowing it to spin freely. The ship then banked out of the path of the rocky threat.
The stern of the ship cracked against the side of the asteroid, jarring those on deck, until finally the ship floated away from the asteroid.
Rebecca let out a long sigh of relief, releasing her iron hold of the control panel as plopped down on the ground. "I think that's enough adventure for one day, personally…" She groaned, leaning against the control panel.
Jim chuckled knowingly, but his smile disappeared when he looked at the control panel. The screens were flashing a deadly red, which was no good sign.
"Oh no." Jim hurried to the control panel and scanned the ships status. He sighed when he located the problem. "This has got to be a mistake!" He smashed his fist angrily against the control panel.
"What is it?" Rebecca enquired, looking up at the first mate.
Jim hurried to the far end of the helm and looked over the railing at the stern of the ship. "Bloody Mary!" He cursed and then sighed. "Johnny's not gonna like this…"
Rebecca hurried to the stern and looked over it, seeing substantial damage done to the lower thrusters of the ship. "Oh dear…" She murmured under her breath. She looked out into the Etherium, watching the colossal asteroid float away and then back at the agitated James Silver.
Jim pushed his hands through his dark brown hair, sighed and then hurried to the railing of the aft. "Captain!" He called out to his older brother.
John turned and looked up at Jim. "What is it?"
"Our thrusters are damaged." Jim explained. "We're gonna have to land somewhere before they fall off the ship."
"Perhaps if I had a quick look at them?" Jarred offered.
"They're beyond repair at this point, Jarred…" Jim stated. "We're gonna need some new parts."
John sighed and then looked to his navigator. "Where's the nearest planet?"
"Not an hour's sailing, captain…" Henry explained, looking through his pocket telescope. "It's the planet Shikari."
Jarred and Juanita simultaneously stifled whimpers at the mention of the planet. Martin looked over the blue-skinned aliens.
"Isn't Shikari your home planet?" The squirrel humanoid enquired.
"Used to be…" Juanita and Jarred stated.
Rebecca paused, looking over the two Shikarans. "Wait a moment… who do you mean, 'used to be'?" She looked at Juanita then Jarred.
Jarred sighed. "I suppose you should explain it this time, Juan…" He looked at the main deck.
Juanita nodded and then sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "Jarred and I are both exiles from Shikari." She stated, "We were commanded to never return to our home, or we'd be killed on the spot."
"Why?" Jim asked. "And by whom?"
"For defying the principles." Jarred intervened. He stuffed his hands into his trousers' pockets and sighed. "Shikari is ruled by a religious power… so those who go against the principles of the religion, are considered to be outsiders… and traitors."
"The planet is governed by a system of specific needs," Juanita added, "you're assigned to a particular job, you're to marry at a certain age to a certain set of people…"
"The list goes on…" Jarred stated.
Juanita looked at her companions; "I declined every arranged marriage until I was considered too old for my class of person, to wed." She sighed, "That's why I'm considered a traitor…"
"And traitors are killed on the spot." Jarred pointed out.
"What exactly did you do that marked you as a traitor, 'Red?" Jim asked.
Jarred sighed. "I helped Juanita escape execution." He stated.
There was a pause and then John spoke. "Well I'm afraid that this ship is in dire need of parts… so we're gonna dock at the nearest planet in the galaxy, which is Shikari."
"But we can't be seen!" Juanita hollered.
"Then yeh won't be seen!" John retorted. "Yeh 'ave me word…"
"There's no way in the Etherium that we'll be able to pull this off…" Jarred complained. He had been outfitted in heavy desert robes -similar to those worn by the locals of Los Terrano- as a means of disguising his self. Juanita had been given one of Rebecca's dresses and had both a wide brimmed hat and a black lace veil concealing her identity.
"Stop bellyaching an' yeh won't draw attention teh yourselves…" John stated sternly. He, Scroop, Rebecca and the two disguised Shikarans had gone to find a shop with ship parts in stock while the rest of the crew remained in port with the Aurora, getting it checked by the local customs officers.
"Let's try in here…" Rebecca pointed to a rustic shop on the corner of the street. The sign read, Mr. Oliver's Ship Parts and Repairs.
Silver nodded curtly, pushing the door opened to the shop and entering. Rebecca and Scroop entered after the young man, followed by Juanita.
"There's no way that this is going to work…" Jarred murmured under his breath; entering the shop after his companions.
"Oliver's Parts and Repairs, how can I help you?" the Shikaran at the front desk introduced without looking up from his work on a small engine. He had short silver hair that was spiked up as if from an electrical shock and he wore a dark boiler room suit with a pair of tinted welding goggles strapped to his forehead.
"We're in need of ship parts…" John began, "two core crystals for some small-scale stern thrusters and about a yard of wiring."
The man gave a descending whistle. "Core crystals cost a pretty penny, good sir…" he looked up at John with his bright green eyes and smiled genuinely, "but I should be able to find some in stock." He lifted his self up from behind his desk and walked into the back room of the shop.
John glanced at Rebecca, who was busy looking over a row of peculiar-looking astrolabes. A feeling stirred inside of him as he forced himself to looked away.
'She's a lady yeh dunderhead…' John mentally scolded his self. 'She wouldn't want anything teh do with yeh, an' yeh are lucky enough that she considers yeh teh be her friend…' He eased his fingers through his hair.
"Here they are..." the Shikaran presented two fist-sized core crystals and a yard of coiled wire.
John paid for the ship parts with the money that Rebecca had given to him –no matter how much he declined- to pay for the parts. He then pocketed the items.
The Shikaran pulled out an inventory list, crossed off the purchased items and then looked back at John. "Now, will you be installing these on your own, sir, or can I offer some local mechanics that will be able to install the products for a nominal charge?" He asked.
"That won't be necessary." John stated. "We've got ourselves mechanic on board, but thank yeh for offering."
The goggle-wearing Shikaran nodded curtly and smiled. "Enjoy your voyage, sir."
John, Scroop, Jarred, Rebecca and Juanita then exited the shop and decided to lay low in the port town until the security check of their ship had been completed.
Author's Note:
Nothing like a new planet to spice up the story!
MG#6