“I can’t believe your Pops gave you Donkey,” Marta said. “I mean, he just gave it to you? No strings?”
Gen nodded. “Yeah. Well, there’s always strings. I had to promise to keep him informed as to my location at all times, to always carry a gun when I leave ship, and to be back within a year.”
“Well. That’s not too bad. We can live with that. But still - he just gave it to you?”
“Yeah. Well, he said it was really my ship. Somehow - I don’t know how - it just showed up one day, in orbit. When they went up to check on it, they found a note from my father - I mean, my real father, Jim Carter. Pops said it was him, even though he signed the note as ‘Nemo’. Anyway, the note said this was a gift from him to me. So - according to my Pops - this is my ship.”
“But…it used to make regular runs to Niasa and back. For what, at least ten years? Before it got mothballed?”
“Yeah, well, how do you think I got the ten thousand? When I was still underage, Pops leased it out and put the profits in my account. But it’s a small ship - an old packet boat, Pops says. It got to be too small for the Niasa shuttle. As soon as they could build a bigger boat, they replaced it. It’s been in storage for about five years now. That’s why it’s so dusty in the cabins.”
“Well. Bad for them, good for us. It’s perfect for two people.”
Gen nodded, turned, and walked out of the galley. She walked forward down a short corridor to the cockpit, entered, and sat in the pilot’s seat on the left side. Marta followed her into the cockpit and sat on the right.
Although the overhead lights were reasonably bright and cheerful, a shiver ran down Gen’s back. She looked over at Marta.
“Do you realize my father sat here when he was still biological? Before he converted? He sat in this very chair.”
Marta nodded. “Yeah, that’s what my Dad said. And he said your mother was on board too. So both of your biological parents spent time on this ship. That’s probably why your real Dad gave it to you.”
Gen leaned forward, dimming the overhead lights so they could see better out the VR windows. They looked out at Phoenix, moving rapidly below them as the old packet boat orbited the planet.
“It’s beautiful,” Marta said. “Blue and brown and beautiful.”
“They say Earth had more green in it. Before,” said Gen.
“I’d like to see it someday,” Marta said wistfully. “Maybe we can go.”
Gen shrugged. “Maybe. But not right now. Pops says it’s still pretty much a dirty white cocoon. Nothing to see yet. It needs another twenty-five or fifty years to clean itself up. Besides, I want to go toward the Core. That’s where the action is.”
Marta grinned slyly. “Yeah. Good idea. Hey, listen…”
Gen looked over at her. “Yeah?”
“You know…”
Gen waited patiently. She knew Marta well enough to know she would get to it eventually.
“There won’t be many Humans out there in the Core,” said Marta. “It could get to be a bit…lonely, if you know what I mean.”
“So?”
“Well, we could take our own companionship. I know Colin would go with us.”
“Colin? That jerk?”
“He’s not a jerk,” Marta said defensively. “He’s just full of energy and likes to play practical jokes.”
“I don’t like practical jokes.”
“Well, he’s hung like a horse. Take that into account.”
Gen sniffed. “Well, that’s true. The man can hardly walk.”
“So…can we take him along?”
Gen shook her head. “I don’t think so. This isn’t a pleasure cruise. I’m looking for my parents. That’s going to be dangerous. Colin may be good in bed, but I think he’d be useless in a fight. And just an unnecessary distraction.”
Marta sighed. “OK. If you say so. But that means I’ll have to bring along a good stock of…well, you know…helpers.”
Gen wrinkled up her brow and chuckled. “You mean the electronic kind, I take it. I thought you already had a good stock.”
Marta nodded. “I do. But it’s going to be a long trip. I might wear a few out.”
Gen shook her head. “I swear, Marta. Do you ever think about anything else?”
Shrugging, Marta lifted her hands. “Not really.”
Rising from the pilot’s seat, Gen nodded toward the rear of the ship. “Right. Well, let’s get started cleaning the cabins. Maybe that’ll take some of the edge off you.”
The Veiled God – Broken Galaxy Book Six – will be released in late 2021. To stay informed and receive periodic free book giveaways and other freebies, join Phil’s newsletter here:
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About the Author
Like Huckleberry Finn, Phil Huddleston grew up barefoot and outdoors, catching mudbugs by the creek, chasing rabbits through the fields, and forgetting to come home for dinner. Then he discovered books. Thereafter, he read everything he could get his hands on, including reading the Encyclopedia Britannica and Funk & Wagnalls from A-to-Z multiple times. He served in the U.S. Marines for four years, returned to college and completed his degree on the GI Bill. Since that time, he built computer systems, worked in cybersecurity, played in a band, flew a bush plane from Alaska to Texas, rode a motorcycle around a good bit of America, and watched in amazement as his wife raised two wonderful daughters. And would like to do it all again. Except maybe without so much yelling.
Remnants: Broken Galaxy Book Five Page 31