Dar's Adventures in Space 1: Space Crazy (6 page)

“Umm…”

“Come here.”

Dar went over and stood just to the left of Gwog’s chair. The big alien reached out and put his hand on Dar’s forehead. “Mmm, a bit warm.” He looked him over. “Itchy?”

“Yes, sir.”

He grabbed Dar’s shirt collar and pulled it down, revealing a red rash. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I think you got Skrinnian fever.”

“What? What’s that?” Dar asked, now becoming alarmed.

“Get to your quarters and stay put…Whatever you do, don’t scratch.”

“Is it bad?”

Gwog rubbed his face. “I don’t know how it’ll affect you, since you’re half Earthling. But Jartis caught it a few years ago and it nearly killed him.” He shooed him off. “Go, and I’ll send Karnis around to care for you.”

As much as Dar wanted to see if a battle would ensue, he couldn’t disobey his captain’s orders. Heading down to the crew quarters, he began to feel light headed. About twenty feet from his door, the first explosion rocked the ship. The Cunik jolted sideways, knocking Dar off his feet. He collapsed to the metal grated catwalk, in no position to get up. His body felt weak, skin burning like it was on fire.

The next thing he remembered, he woke up and saw Karnis standing over him. He was in his bunk, the covers pulled high to his chin. His whole body felt hot, cold, and intensely itchy all in the same moment.

“Ah, you’re awake,” Karnis said. He tapped a small white tablet from a bottle, picked up a glass of water, and offered it to Dar. “Take this.”

Dar wiggled his arms free of the covers, took the water and tossed back the tablet. His whole body was now a sea of blisters. “What was that?” he asked.

“Curion Mind Blow.”

His eyes widened. “That stuff’s illegal!”

“Youngling, at this point in time, you’re not in much position to argue…Skrinnian fever is serious shit. If you don’t die from the initial fever, then you stand a good chance from dying if you scratch even just
one
of those blisters…The Mind Blow will take the edge off and help you stay calm.”

“Is there a cure for this?”

Karnis shook his head. “Tincture of time. It’s a nasty virus, there’s no cure. If it doesn’t kill you, you’ll have immunity the rest of your life.”

Dar writhed around. “I feel like I did when I messed with that hive of Erotin Ember ants.”

“Yeah? Bet your mother warned you about screwing with ’em, didn’t she?”

“Uh huh. But this wasn’t my fault.”

“No, I know. It’s one of the dangers of space travel. The more planets you go to, the more chances you have of getting a sickness.” He poured another glass of water and gave it to Dar. “Most of the illnesses out there aren’t fatal. Unfortunately, this one happens to have a rather high fatality rate.”

“Just my luck.”

Karnis turned for the door. “You’re young, so you stand a pretty good chance. Get some sleep, I’ll come check on you in a couple of hours.”

“Karnis?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened with the pirates?”

“Oh, Gwog ran ’em off as usual.”

Dar snuggled back under the covers. “Where are we?”

“About half way to Iddris.”

“Thanks,” he said softly and closed his eyes. The Mind Blow seemed to be going to work. His body felt rather numb, and for some reason, he felt like he could do anything at that moment. Thinking hard, he remembered in school they said the drug gave you the feeling of invincibility, but of course, it was all in your mind. They also said it was quite addictive. Dar didn’t want that to happen, he needed his hard earned drig to buy some fancy Catarin hide clothes.

6

Four days later, Dar emerged from his quarters; his whole body covered with peeling blisters, and he still felt wrung out. This wasn’t the way he envisioned his first few days in space to be. No, it was supposed to be exciting; instead, he spent most of it drugged out of his mind. Clearly his new life wasn’t going according to plan.

He’d survived Skrinnian fever thanks to Karnis and his generous offerings of Mind Blow; and Gwog, who came and visited before bedtime, bringing a bottle of Malikin port from Gardinis. Dar argued he wasn’t old enough to drink, but Gwog insisted, saying it would make him sleep better. After getting past the initial burn of the alcohol, and the heady buzz he got, Dar discovered port had a rather nice flavor. In fact, he liked it.

Together, Gwog and Karnis nursed him through the worst of it. Dar figured if his mother ever got wind of what those two did, she wouldn’t be happy. They probably saved his life, because, had he scratched and popped the blisters, they would have gotten infected and he might have died.

Dar wandered into the galley and sat down at the table. He yawned loudly and stretched.

Karnis was busy in the kitchen making lunch. “Ah, he’s alive!” he joked, poking his head through the service window.

“Wondering if I really wanna be,” Dar replied.

“Oh, the rest of the blisters will peel off in a couple of days, and you’ll be fine. Are you hungry?”

“Yes, very.”

“How’s a bovidis shoulder sandwich sound?”

Dar licked his lips. “Sounds fantastic.” He could feel the ragged shreds of skin on his lips and it was driving him crazy. He hoped soon he’d be looking normal again.

“All right, gimme a few minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Gwog came in, hoping to grab a bite of something before lunch was served. His stomach growled and he really didn’t want to wait. “Hello, little one. Good to see you up.”

“Good to be up—as opposed to the other option.”

He sat down across from him. “I didn’t wanna make a trip back to Erotis, bringing you home to your mother wrapped in a shroud.” He picked at his nails. “And I like you, you’re good to have around.”

Dar smiled. “Thanks.”

“Are you to ready to come back to the bridge?”

“I think so. Just a little tired still.”

Gwog got up and stuck his head through the kitchen window. “Karnis? How about some food? We’re starving out here!”

“Hang on, hang on!” he barked. The sound of dishes clattered in the kitchen. “Why can’t you two wait til lunch?”

“We’re hungry now,” Gwog grumbled.

The communications panel on the wall beeped. “Captain, we’re picking up some traffic headed toward us.”

Gwog got up and answered. “What sort of traffic?”

“Looks like the pirates are gonna try again.”

Dar sat up. “Pirates!” He was excited, since he’d missed the last battle.

“I don’t believe this. Those Soothians are idiots. Don’t they know we’ve dropped our shipment of gold and are empty?”

“Are we gonna fight ’em?” Dar pestered.

“Oh, I dunno, little one. Usually I tell them I’m empty and they leave…But for some reason they seem to have it in for me lately.” He leaned in the window. “Karnis, where’s the food? Come now, we have a battle to fight and I hate fighting on an empty stomach.”

“All right, all right, I’m going as fast as I can,” Karnis barked.

Dar got up and went to the window. “Will I have any job in the battle?”

“Yes, little one, you job is to stay out of the way!”

“Yes, sir,” he replied lowly.

“I know you’re dying for some adventure; and you nearly did die not that long ago. But until I teach you how to fight, you’re of little use to me.”

He straightened up. “I can fight. I fought nearly every day in my life.” Dar brandished his trusty knife. “I fought Krodus and took this from him.”

Gwog realized it was time to give the youngling a little humble pie. In one swift movement, he grabbed Dar’s wrist, turned it forcefully, and watched the knife fall. Then he stepped closer, caught Dar by the back of his shirt, and with minimal effort, flipped him onto the floor. He looked down at him. “So, you know how to fight, eh?”

Dar lay there, not in any hurry to get up. Yes, once again his mouth got his body into more trouble. At least Gwog wasn’t out to kill him; rather he was making a statement. Dar understood he had much to learn in his new life, and being smart enough, he knew that whatever skills Gwog wanted to teach, he needed to learn. And maybe it would keep him from getting his ass kicked in future conflicts, he hoped.

“Come on, little one, your time will come.” Gwog reached down, offering his hand. “Once you feel better, I’ll teach you how to fight…For now, stay with Vikkis and learn targeting and weapons.”

“Yes, sir,” Dar replied, taking Gwog’s hand. He got to his feet, reached down, and picked up his knife, sliding it back in the sheath.

“Fighting in school and fighting in space are two different things, little one.” Gwog reached over and touched Dar’s right ear. “A fight in space is usually to the death; if you don’t have the mind set for it, you’re gonna die.” He turned to leave. “Your mother said you were quite the scrapper as a youngling; good, I like tenacity in my crew…Come on, let’s go teach the pirates a lesson.”

“Hey!” Karnis called. “Your sandwiches!”

“I’ll get ’em,” Dar said as he waited for Karnis.

On the bridge, Dar stood behind Vikkis, watching. Ahead, six Soothian pirate ships formed a line in front of them four or five miles away. Gwog groaned at the spectacle. “I’m so sick of ’em, can’t they leave well enough alone?”

Dar turned around. “Sir? Why haven’t all the freighter captains banded together and put an end to them?”

“Because each captain is in this business for himself; banding together would imply some sort of alliance—not happening, little one.”

“Isn’t there an intergalactic security force or something?”

There were a few chuckles on the bridge. “Little one, this galaxy is pretty lawless. I’m not sure what rules you grew up with on Erotis, but there are few in the depths of space,” Gwog said, poking the communications button on the arm of his chair. “This is Gwog of the Cunik to Nekis.”

“Hello, Gwog,” the gravelly voice came over the loud speakers on the bridge. “What do you have for me today?”

“I’m empty. We dropped our shipment of gold off yesterday.”

“You are, huh? And where are you headed now?”

“None of your business, Nekis.”

“On the contrary, it
is
my business.”

Gwog was tiring of the conversation. “Vikkis, bring the cannons on line.”

“Yes, sir,” Vikkis replied, pushing a couple of buttons. Dar saw some lights on the control console come on. “Cannons at your ready, sir.”

“Nekis, I have my cannons pointed in your direction. Are you gonna leave me alone, or will I have to send a salvo your way? I’m letting you make the decision.”

There was a long silence before Nekis replied. “Be on your way.” A collective sigh went through the bridge. While most of the crew relished a good fight, they tried to avoid them at all cost. The Cunik was a solidly built ship, but it could still sustain damage in battle. Gwog hated putting in for repairs, it cost time and money.

Dar was a little depressed that no battle came of the confrontation. He felt confident Gwog saw his displeasure in his body language. “Come here, little one,” he said.

He went over to Gwog. “Yes, sir?”

“Rule number one of being a freighter captain: don’t unnecessarily endanger your ship, your crew, or yourself…Understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, get with Tregis and lay in a course to Iddris, and then on to Gamma 3 space station. We need supplies, and I’m sure everyone would like some entertainment. Then it’s on to Jamarais; we have another shipment of rum to pick up.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And plot a follow-on course to Newrillis.”

“Newrillis? Also in the dark side?”

“Yes. There’s a shipment of arms that’ll be going to the Sirrixians—along with the rum.”

“Yes, sir.” Dar was excited to be seeing more of the galaxy. He wondered if he’d be allowed to go into the space station. There was a pleasure barge, but he figured he wouldn’t have enough drig to do much. But that was okay, being the new one on the crew, he didn’t expect much.

The Cunik had picked up a load of beans on Iddris and headed to Gamma 3. As Dar got ready for bed, Jartis came by his bunk. “I hear we’re going to Gamma 3,” Jartis said.

“Yes, Gwog said we needed supplies.”

“Yeah, supplies and some entertainment for the crew.” He sat down on Dar’s bunk. “I’m sure you’ve never been to a pleasure barge.”

“No, never been anywhere,” Dar replied softly.

“Ever
done
anything?”

He sighed deeply. “I was the only half breed around. The purebred females wouldn’t give me the time of day. It was like I had Skrinnian fever or something.”

Jartis chuckled. “So, you’ve never joined?”

Dar shook his head. He didn’t feel like announcing to the whole ship that he’d never been with a female, although, they probably knew.

“It’s okay. I was the same way.”

“How long have you been part of Gwog’s crew?”

Jartis pondered, scratching his head. “Oh, near enough twenty years…Gwog hired me not long after he got out of the military.”

“He was in the military?”

“Oh, yes, part of the Ouzinic Special Command…He did dirty little deeds for a planet that really didn’t accept him because he was a half breed.”

“How long was he in?” Dar asked.

“Mmm, I think he said over twenty years.”

“Geez! How old is Gwog?”

Jartis chuckled. “Don’t really know. Ouzins live a pretty long time.”

“I guess.”

“So, are you planning on going to the pleasure barge?”

Dar slid back on his bunk, resting against the wall. “I dunno. I figured that I’d be left behind to watch the ship.”

“Oh, no, the twins do that. They don’t find pleasure in quite the way we do.”

“Really? At any rate, I probably won’t have the drig for it.”

“You will. Gwog pays well.”

“Enough to have a good time?”

“Sure,” Jartis replied. “You pay attention in love class?”

“Yes, of course. But it’s different when it’s really you.”

“I know. And since you’ve never experienced the Satiren blush, it’ll be a rather strange experience.”

“What does it feel like?”

Jartis smiled broadly. “It’s magic!” He held his hands up. “We’re probably the most special species in the galaxy. No others can do what we can.”

“Someone said it feels like jolts of power going through your body.”

“Yes, yes, highly
pleasurable
jolts. And you share them with your partner.”

“I saw that on a vidograph we were watching in school,” Dar said, “Your whole body gets this rosy aura.”

He ran his fingers through his green hair and back over his white hair. “Well, there may or may not be a Satiren at Gamma 3. If there is, I’d suggest trying to get a joining with her.”

“Just so I know what it’s like?”

Jartis nodded. “Yeah. If not, see if there’s an Elemenel, they’re quite fun.”

“I like their pretty blue skin; and their tendrils fascinate me.”

He laughed. “Those tendrils can be a source for stimulation.”

Dar cocked his head. “Really? They didn’t teach us that in class.”

“Oh, four years of love class barely scratches the surface with all the species in our galaxy.”

“I kept my tablet, just in case I wanted to do some reading up.”