by Simon Haynes
"It might be air," said his dad. "We really need to help them."
"Let them hold their breath," muttered Hal.
"Son --"
"They kidnapped mum and stole all her research!"
"Yes, but --"
At that moment the commset rang. Hal reacted first, snatching it up. "Yes?"
"The crew agree to your terms," said the ship's computer. "They surrender."
"We want the data back. And we want Bignew delivered in handcuffs."
"Agreed."
"And money. They have to pay for the damage."
"I'm sure that can be arranged. Now, I believe the atmosphere is getting a little thin, so if you don't mind ..."
"Go ahead and dock. We'll be waiting for you."
Hal passed the commset to his dad, who made a couple of calls to arrange a welcoming committee and fix up a temporary boarding tunnel.
"I want to watch them coming back," said Hal.
"I don't think that's wise," said his dad. "These are dangerous people, Hal."
"Dangerous? We shot them down with a filing cabinet!"
A Tour of the Tiger
It was a week later and Hal felt flat after all the excitement. Sure, Teacher had let him off an assignment he'd forgotten to do, and his parents had been a bit more attentive than usual, but despite the odd perk Hal's life was pretty much back to normal. He'd half-expected a ceremony, a party, or even a medal pinned to his chest by Captain Spacejock himself, but it was almost as though everyone had forgotten the whole mess. Worst of all, saving the space station had cost him his precious watch. His dad had confiscated it, saying the broken glass screen was too dangerous.
Hal sighed, then started as Teacher turned a beady eye on him.
"Hal Junior, I trust you're not sleeping in class?"
"Not me, Teacher. Never."
"How would you like to run an errand for me?"
Hal saw there was still twenty minutes to go. With a bit of luck he could drag this errand out and not have to come back. "Sure thing."
"I want you to deliver a message to the Tiger's flight deck." Teacher held out a note. "Do you know where the access corridor is?"
Did Hal know or what? Over the past week he'd been past that entrance two dozen times, gazing longingly into the airlock and wishing he could go aboard the ship. Now was his chance! He hurried to the front of the class to collect the note, ignoring the envious looks from the other students.
"You may as well take your things with you," said Teacher, passing Hal the plastic chip. "There's no need to come back."
Several kids scowled so fiercely their eyes disappeared under their eyebrows. Hal gave them a cheeky wink as he strolled by. Once outside he took off like a blazing nozzlejet, holding both hands out as he pretended to steer his ship along the corridors. He tried a few sound effects before settling on an ear-wrenching "Neeeoouuuwww!" which echoed through the entire section. He toned the noise down as he approached the new airlock. The last thing he wanted was for some bossy adult to take Teacher's note and ban him from the ship.
Once he passed through the airlock he stopped. He'd expected to see the flight deck in front of him, but this was the lower airlock where he'd come aboard using the spacesuit. He could tell because there were fragments from his shattered helmet on the floor. Hal smiled to himself when he realised what this meant: he had to make his way to the flight deck, level by level, and on the way he could explore the whole ship!
The elevator stood open, and Hal pressed the button for the next deck. There was a brief ride, and when the doors opened he was startled to see his mum waiting in the corridor. "Mum! What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question," said his mum. "Weren't you going to the flight deck?"
Hal thought quickly. "I, er, must have pressed the wrong button."
"Never mind. The note was for me anyway." His mum put her hand out for the note, which she tucked into her pocket. "Now, back to class."
Hal's face fell. "But Teacher said ..."
"All right, all right. Just this once." Hal's mum hesitated. "Would you like a tour of the ship?"
"Really?"
"Sure. I'll show you what we're up to."
They set off along the corridor, and Hal's mum explained that the damaged ship had been given to the space station. "It was pretty old, and your guided missile banged it up pretty well. The hull was on its last legs too, worn down by space dust. In the end it wasn't worth repairing, but we might be able to sell off the engines and a few other bits and pieces."
"How's it going to fly if you do that?"
"It won't. The ship has become part of the station. It's our new E-Section."
Hal frowned. "What about the computer? Won't it get bored being stuck in one place?"
"We were going to wipe it and sell the hardware, but the computer was really helpful. As a reward we ordered in a huge digital library from Gyris."
Hal nodded to himself, pleased they'd spared it. Then he glanced at the overhead speaker. "How come it's not talking? Have you switched it off?"
The speaker crackled. "I'm right here, Hal. I didn't want to interrupt."
"Maybe you could teach Hal that trick," said Hal's mum.
Hal frowned. "Computer, are you happy about being stuck here?"
"At the moment I'm watching three movies and reading five books, and I assure you I'm feeling very happy. Of course, if you want a game of chess ..."
"Maybe later, when I've practised a bit."
"Excellent. I look forward to it."
Meanwhile, Hal's mum had stopped at a closed door. "I want to show you this place," she said, touching a hand to the controls.
The Big Surprise
The door opened to reveal one of the ship's cabins, and Hal was surprised to see his dad sitting on the neat bunk. "Wagging school, son?"
Hal shook his head. "Mum said I could look around."
"Be my guest."
Apart from the bunk there was a comfy chair and a desk with a modern-looking terminal. The screen was showing external views of the space station, including a close-up of the docking bay. Hal was still staring at the image when his dad touched a control, opening a pair of curtains across the end of the bunk. Beyond, where the wall should have been, there was a big domed porthole. It was cleverly designed so the mattress and pillows extended right outside the spaceship's hull.
"Wow, look at that!" exclaimed Hal.
"Why not try it?" said his mum.
Hal lay down on the bed, his head almost touching the thick perspex. Looking up he could see stars scattered across the inky black sky, and he shielded his eyes to find The Snot. His mum turned the light out, and Hal saw the rich starfield like never before. At that moment he realised what it must be like to live aboard a real ship, to sleep in a bunk like this every night. Some people had all the luck!
"There are drawers in the desk too," said his dad.
Hal couldn't care less about drawers. He wanted to stay right where he was.
Click! The cabin filled with light. "Come and see."
Sighing, Hal clambered off the bed and opened the desk drawer. There was a flash of silver and he frowned at the chunky watch lying inside. He looked closer and realised it was his watch. Spirits soaring, Hal grabbed it and inspected it closely. The case gleamed like new, and the screen was covered in fancy read-outs: atmospheric pressure, gravity, oxygen content and many more. When he turned the watch over he discovered a fresh engraving: For Hal Junior, The Saviour of Space Station Oberon. "But Tina ... busy ... too much work." For once Hal was speechless.
"She said you deserved it." His mum smiled. "In fact, we all thought so. Look!" She gestured at the terminal, which now showed a feed from Hal's classroom. All his friends were gathered around Teacher, and at the back he could see Tina and Commander Linten and every scientist from the lab. Stinky was right in the front, grinning like mad, and when he saw Hal he gave him a big thumbs up.
"Come on everyone," shouted Linten. "Three cheers for Hal Junio
r!"
The cheering and applause seemed to go on forever, and Hal didn't know where to look. Even the ship's computer joined in, flashing the cabin light and making a sound like a dozen party blowers.
When the cheering finally died down, Hal's mum attracted his attention. "Do you remember I said we were moving to C-section?"
Hal nodded.
"I'm afraid there's been a change of plan."
With a sinking feeling, Hal thought of their dingy old quarters. "We're not moving?"
"Oh, we're moving all right." Hal's dad patted the bunk. "Check underneath."
Hal spotted a row of cupboards under the bed. He opened the nearest door and a collection of junk fell out. There was an old truck with three wheels, a toy raygun covered in orange safety stickers and ... wait a minute! It wasn't junk, it was all his stuff! Confused, Hal turned to his parents, and when he saw their grins he finally twigged. They were moving to the Tiger, the new E-Section, and this amazing cabin was his!
Without warning Hal leapt up and wrapped his arms around his mum, squeezing her with a huge hug.
For once he didn't care if everyone saw.
* * *
Late that night, long after lights out, Hal was lying on his back staring at the incredible stars. It was so late he could hardly keep his eyes open, but he didn't want to fall asleep in case he woke up in the morning to discover the wonderful happy ending was just a dream. It was almost too perfect -- an exciting new home, his fabulous watch, living aboard a real spaceship ... if only it would never end!
Hal closed his eyes and pictured his hero, Captain Spacejock of the Intergalactic Peace Force. They flew the galaxy side by side in their gleaming ships, and he imagined their exciting missions, daring rescues and thrilling adventures until he fell asleep.
Alongside him, nestled on the pillow, his precious watch gleamed in the darkness.