Devon Blake and the Starship Crash

by Douglas Warren

  to the dining deck.”

  Jacinda clapped in excitement. “We could have a real picnic.” She had never had a

  chance to have one before, growing up in the mining colony. Even the botanical deck seemed

  huge to her.

  “That sounds good. I’ll take care of it.” Devon tapped a code into his WristVid.

  “Lunchtime, Sammy,” he said into it. “Traditional twentieth century American picnic for three.

  Track this signal for delivery.” The WristVid beeped in assent. “It shouldn’t be too long now.

  How about a dip in that pond over there while we wait?”

  “Zonk! What a great idea!” Flim exclaimed.

  Jacinda shook her head. “Not me,” she hesitated. “I don’t have anything to change into.

  But you go ahead. I’ll just wait here.” Devon felt bad that he had not thought of that. His own outfit could easily convert into a

  swim suit. Obviously, Jacinda could not afford anything that fancy.

  “Oh, never mind. It was a dumb idea.” Devon waved the thought away. “Anyway, lunch

  will be here before we know it.”

  “No, you go swimming,” Jacinda said. “I’ll be fine. I don’t like swimming anyway.”

  She hoped that the boys did not figure out that not having a swim suit was not the real reason she

  did not want to go. She did not know how to swim and it embarrassed her. She just had never

  had a chance to learn.

  Devon hesitated, reluctant to leave Jacinda out of the fun. He peered over at Flim, who

  had somehow already changed into a snug swim suit. He looked back at Jacinda, who nodded

  and waved, letting him know that she did not mind.

  “Last one in is a Jovian Puffball,” Flim shouted as he raced toward the pond. Casting one

  last glance at Jacinda, Devon followed with a whoop.

  The boys ran full speed toward the pond. Devon, being a very strong runner, made up the

  distance between he and Flim. They reached the edge of the pond at the same time and leapt

  forward toward the water. They both landed with surprised grunts as they discovered that the

  pond was only a foot deep. Deep enough to keep them from hurting themselves, but not deep

  enough to hide their embarrassment.

  Jacinda laughed out loud, her voice carrying all the way to the boys. “I give it a ten out

  of ten,” she called to Devon and Flim. All three began to laugh. Devon flopped on his back and

  pretended to do the backstroke. He merely succeeded in splashing water all over Flim. This

  only caused them all to laugh even harder. Devon and Flim played in the shallow pool, chasing each other around and pushing each

  other over when they were caught. They were startled when they were suddenly splashed from

  behind. Jacinda had taken off her jumpsuit and wore only a short-sleeved unitard. She was

  splashing them furiously, emitting a high-pitched giggle.

  “Take that, boys,” she shouted as she splashed them. Flim took cover but Devon strode

  imperiously toward the girl, causing her to scream in delight. “No, stop!”

  “It’s a bit late for that,” Devon barked in mock anger. “You mess with us and you get

  wet too. Get ready for the big bath, Missy.”

  Jacinda tried to dodge away from Devon but he leapt at her, catching her by the ankle.

  With a laugh she splashed down into the water, sending all three friends into another fit of

  laughter.

  A shrill chirp interrupted their play. When they looked up, Sammy, Devon’s automatic

  luggage, was standing next to the pond. Devon jumped to his feet.

  “Okay, Sammy, we’ll eat over there by that tree,” Devon instructed, pointing out a large,

  majestic Oak.

  Jacinda stared, “That is Sammy? I thought you were calling your steward or something,

  not a walking suitcase.”

  “I’ve had Sammy as long as I can remember. My parents had him specially made for me.

  The techs put in voice recognition and added some limited service routines to his programming.”

  Devon scratched his head self consciously, suddenly uncomfortable. “He is more like a robot

  than luggage. Sometimes he is the only one I have to talk to…so I probably talk to him too

  much.” Devon rubbed his hands together, embarrassed by his attachment to Sammy. “It’s okay,” Jacinda answered, seeing how much it bothered Devon to admit his

  loneliness. “I just wish I had something so cool.”

  The three friends watched Sammy trundle over to the tree and begin setting up the picnic.

  A compartment opened in his side and a red blanket popped out at the end of a slender

  mechanical arm. The arm unrolled the blanket and smoothed it out under the tree. Sammy then

  trundled a few feet from the blanket and set himself down. Once settled, Sammy opened,

  converting into a short table. The table was set with an assortment of delicious food. The smell

  of fried chicken filled the air. The table also held slices of sweet looking watermelon. Next to

  the melon were a plate of sandwiches and a bowl of macaroni salad.

  The food seemed strange to Jacinda. On the small asteroid that her mining colony

  occupied, fresh food was nearly impossible to obtain. It was quite expensive and usually

  reserved for special occasions. Needless to say, Jacinda and her family usually settled for

  prepackaged foods brought to the colony on the various ships that delivered supplies and then

  picked up the ore processed by the colony. She had expected fancy food at the reception last

  night but was surprised that it was so readily available. She guessed that people as wealthy as

  Devon simply took this kind of luxury for granted. She did not fault Devon. It was simply what

  he was used to having.

  Devon and Flim piled food on to plastic plates that had popped out Sammy and then fell

  upon their lunch like hungry dogs. Jacinda hesitated for a moment longer then filled a plate as

  well. At that moment she made a promise to herself to simply enjoy the trip rather than worry

  about what it would be like to return to the mining colony were luxuries would be almost

  impossible to come by. The food was delicious. They all sat eating, silent except for the occasional murmur of

  delight at the food. Flim seemed to like the chicken the most. He ate four pieces before Jacinda

  gave him one of those looks that girls give boys when they are acting badly. Flim took the hint

  and raided the sandwich plate next.

  They finished the meal by each taking a slice of watermelon over to the pond and spitting

  the seeds as far into the water as they could. Jacinda found that she had a knack for it. She beat

  the boys handily and giggled as they tried to beat her longest spit.

  “What’s wrong, boys? Are going to let a girl beat you?” Jacinda was enjoying the good

  natured ribbing. Flim and Devon redoubled their efforts. Unfortunately, the harder they tried,

  the more futile it became. Finally, they ran out of ammunition when they finished the last of the

  watermelon.

  “Wow, that was fun,” Flim said, wiping juice from his chin.

  “Thanks for lunch, Devon,” Jacinda said.

  Devon nodded, “It was my pleasure.” He was happy to see that for the first time Jacinda

  did not seem self conscious about accepting his hospitality. He could not imagine how he would

  feel if their positions were reversed. Devon had always had everything he wanted, except for

  time with his parents. Jacinda, on the other hand, had little more than her family. He could not

  help feel
that in many ways, she was much luckier than he was.

  The meal acted like a sedative on the children. They lay back on the blanket near

  Sammy, who was no longer a table. There was no sign of the dishes or food anywhere. During

  the spitting contest, Sammy had cleared away everything and hidden it away somewhere,

  probably nestled somewhere inside. The blanket felt so soft under their backs. All three friends fell into a gentle slumber,

  shaded from the artificial sunlight by the huge Oak. Sammy dutifully stood watch over the three

  as they napped. It was silly to think that Sammy could be protective of Devon. After all, he was only a piece of luggage, but anyone watching would have sworn that he was guarding the boy.

  Chapter 6

  “Beep, beep, beep,” Devon’s datapad chirped. It immediately woke Devon, Flim and

  Jacinda. Devon wiped his eyes, yawning.

  “What time is it?” He asked no one in particular. The datapad chirped again.

  “Check your pad. Did you set the alarm?” Flim said

  Devon picked up the pad and scanned the readout.

  “It’s 3 o’clock. The preliminary partner list has been posted.” Devon accessed the list.

  “It’s official Flim, we are partners.”

  “Have they assigned me a partner yet?” Jacinda asked expectantly. Devon fiddled with

  the datapad. He frowned in concern.

  “Yes, they did.”

  “Well, who is it?” Jacinda asked, her voice filled with concern.

  “You’re not going to like it.” Devon shook his head. Flim jumped to his feet and peered

  over Devon’s shoulder. He immediately began to snicker.

  “Who is it?” Jacinda insisted, anger creeping into her voice.

  Devon looked straight at Jacinda. “It could be worse.”

  Jacinda finally had enough. She reached out and snatched the datapad out of Devon’s

  hand. Right there in black and white it sealed her fate. Merrell Gustav, the datapad showed. She had been paired with one of Terry Jameson’s

  toadies. He was the youngest, and the biggest.

  “I guess it could be worse,” Jacinda said in a resigned voice. It could have been worse.

  Merrell had been the only one of the brothers that had not been angry at being sprayed with

  fizzup. Also, at least she had not been paired with Terry. That would have been the worst

  outcome of all.

  “Maybe you can ask Deke to switch you,” Flim suggested. He had stopped snickering

  when he realized how much the news had upset Jacinda. Although he had not been there when it

  happened, Flim had heard about Jacinda’s run-in with Terry and the Gustav Brothers. It had

  sounded really funny at the time, but he was not so sure anymore.

  “I won’t do that,” Jacinda replied. “If I complain it will just give them something else to

  tease me about.” Putting on a determined face, she nodded, as if making a silent agreement with

  herself and checked her unitard. It had dried during their nap so she began to put her coveralls

  back on.

  “You are nicer than I am,” Flim commented. “I would be screaming, if I were you.”

  Devon and Jacinda both glanced over at the alien boy when he spoke. They did a double-take

  when they saw that he had already dressed. They wondered how he could have gotten dressed so

  quickly without them seeing him do it.

  “What?” he asked when he saw their confusion.

  Devon started to speak, “How in the world did….? Oh, never mind. We had better start

  getting ready for dinner tonight. We all need to review the information Mr. Jacobs uploaded to

  our datapads.” Flim immediately retrieved his datapad from the bag he usually wore over his shoulder

  and sat under the tree, reading the information on Forrestal. After dressing, Devon and Jacinda

  joined him under the tree. They wore serious faces as they studied, intent on learning everything they could about the alien planet they would soon be exploring.

  Chapter 7

  The ship’s bell chimed six times with a metallic “BONG.” All of the students waited at

  the entrance to the forward mess. During the coming meal, Deke Jacobs would finalize the

  planet-side partner assignments. Anyone who cared to check already knew their assignment, but

  a few held their breath, enjoying the anticipation of a surprise. As the ship’s bell finished

  chiming the doors slid open. They were all greeted with the smell of grilling meat. The mess

  hall had been transformed into a wilderness fort. The ceiling panels had been programmed to

  look like a cloudy night sky. The staff was dressed as mountain men or Native Americans from

  Earth. What looked like a side of beef was roasting on a spit in the middle of the hall. Fiddle

  and fife music accompanied the sounds of the excited children. Deke stood in front of the fire,

  greeting everyone. He was dressed in buckskins and looked every inch the frontiersman.

  “This is awesome,” Flim shouted as they entered. Devon and Jacinda hurried to keep up

  with him. The staff was handing out large, wooden platters to all of the children. Everyone

  began piling food onto their plates. Hunks of meat were sliced right off the roasting beef and

  served to everyone who wanted some. Corn muffins, smoked turkey, roasted potatoes, and other

  delectables accompanied the beef. In addition various pies and pastries were provided for

  dessert and apple cider to wash it down.

  The three friends found an empty table that looked like rough hewn wood and sat down

  to enjoy their meal. “Wow, these people sure go all out,” Jacinda said.

  “This is definitely one of the best cruises I have been on,” Devon commented.

  “Good food,” Flim mumbled emphatically around bites of food.

  “Can I join you?” asked a voice from behind them. They turned as one to see who

  belonged to the voice. Jacinda nearly choked when she realized who it was. Merrell Gustav

  stood there, looking at the three sheepishly.

  Flim was the first to recover his composure. “Sure, I’m sure that Jacinda won’t mind.

  You two need to get to know each other better anyway.”

  Merrell set down his plate and cup and sat down in an empty chair.

  “Yes, now that we are partners.” Merrell looked straight at Jacinda. H blushed and then

  continued. “I hope it was okay that I signed us up as partners.”

  “You did that?” Jacinda asked in surprise. “Why?”

  “Well, I felt really bad about how we…I mean, how I acted. It was so mean.” Merrell

  nervously played with his food. “I wanted to make it up to you. I figured that if we were

  partners, I could keep anyone else from bothering you.”

  Jacinda was flabbergasted, “I did not…but you…won’t you?” She could not get out a

  whole sentence because of her surprise. The boys sat there, watching her, especially Merrell. He

  looked as if his mortal fate depended on what she was going to say. She stopped trying to speak

  and took a moment to compose herself.

  “Thank you, Merrell. It would be really cool to be your partner,” she finally answered.

  “It was very sweet to do this for me. Maybe I was wrong about you.”

  “You weren’t wrong, at least not then.” Merrell sighed with regret. “Terry and my

  brothers always give people a hard time. But, something about you made me think about what I was doing. You are one of the first people that every stood up to us.” He looked up into

  Jacinda’s eyes, smiling when their eyes met. “It made Terry and the others plain mad, but it just
/>   showed me how ridiculous we were acting.”

  Jacinda reached out, putting her hand on top of Merrell’s. ”It’s okay, you are sure

  making up for it now.” She paused for a moment, searching the room to see if she could see

  Terry. “Won’t your brothers be angry about this?”

  “So what? They’ll get over it.”

  Flim laughed. “I have seven brothers and eight sisters and none of them would ever

  forgive me for doing something like that.” Flim stood up and gave Merrell a mock salute. “I

  salute you.” Everyone at the table laughed at the exaggerated gesture.

  Devon picked up his mug, lifting it toward his friends. “To a great expedition.” Jacinda,

  Flim, and even Merrell joined in the impromptu toast.

  “And to lots of fun and mischief,” Flim added. This made everyone laugh again.

  Their revelry was disturbed by the loud call of a horn. Everyone in the mess hall turned

  toward the sound.

  Deke Jacobs stood in the doorway, holding a stubby bugle.

  “That’s good people. That is exactly what you should do if you hear the bugle. Stop,

  look, and listen. Now that I have your attention, I’d like to make some announcements. First,

  we are on schedule to arrive in orbit above Forrestal at 0300 hours, the day after tomorrow. That

  is 3 am for all you planet huggers. We will be boarding the drop ship tomorrow night so that we

  can drop into the atmosphere as soon as we arrive. That gives you all day tomorrow to get any

  foolishness out of your system. As of 2100 hours tomorrow night, it is all serious business.” A few murmurs of complaint ran through the crowd of children. Boarding the drop ship

  tomorrow night meant that they would have to sleep there until they departed.

  “Second,” Deke’s loud voice cut the complaints short, “I know none of us is looking

  forward to sleeping on the drop ship, but that is probably the toughest thing you will have to

  endure on this trip, so I don’t want to hear any gripes.”

  “Third,” he continued, “I was happy to see that almost everyone found a partner and

  made my job easier. Unfortunately, we had one member of our expedition drop out at the last

  minute, so we have an uneven number of explorers this trip. That means that one of you gets to