Chapter 10

Connie

‘Edge of the Milky Way Galaxy’

“So, the options are: go left for the next three months through open space, with nothing to see, but at the end we’ll be at a planet with dinosaurs.

“Go right to watch a star explode or go straight ahead for sixteen months to the Five Kingdoms of the Vara King,” I summarized, gaping at a hologram of the universe.

Billy and Bob waited patiently for my decision. They made it clear that they had seen all of this already, so the decision was mine.

“I want to do it all. I’ve always loved dinosaurs, and to see living ones would be amazing. But watching a supernova happen in front of my eyes would be incredible.

“The kingdom sounds interesting. It would be so awesome to meet a bunch of new people, and to experience life outside of my home like that.”

I bit my lip as I thought about it. “Well, the most immediate thing is the supernova,” I replied.

“That’s happening in a week, you said, so we could go there first, then to the kingdom, and on the way back home we could stop to see the T. rex,” I suggested.

Billy quickly tapped on his screen, and Bob gave me the sideways look.

“T. rex is a species of dinosaur on my planet,” I explained. I didn’t need to see their faces to see the “uh-huh” expressions.

“That is a reasonable path to take. I commend your logic, Connie,” Bob said.

I had finally gotten them to use my name, rather than just “you.”

“Why thank you, good sir,” I smiled.

“Connie, what are you feeling?” Bob asked.

“Excitement, wonder. Joy. A little nervous as well. I can’t wait to go exploring with you guys. Everything will be new to me, and that makes me so happy.”

Bob returned to his place next to Billy, and I went to a new station created just for me and sat down.

My panel didn’t have anything on it, and my new friends explained that as I learned about each system on this ship, the controls will appear on my panel.

For now, I knew we were going to watch a sun explode and create a black hole.

Although we’d be millions of miles away from it, it would still be the closest and best view any human ever had.

The white glow around the ship grew brighter, and the tumbling in my stomach started.

Billy explained to me that this side effect would get easier the more jumps we made, but I still readied myself to run for the bathroom, just in case.

We pulled through the wormhole, and I sat still, waiting to see if I would be chugging up my lunch again. My gut flipped, but it settled without any disgusting disasters.

“Okay. I think my stomach is getting used…” I threw up all over the floor. Billy and Bob looked at the mess, and then at me, and for the first time I heard them laugh.

“Yeah, haha, very funny. Hey, ship, fancy doing your magic again for me?” I asked, looking at the mess at my feet.

The chunky, watery mess was absorbed into the floor, and a few seconds later, it vanished.

Bob came over to me and reached his hand out to my head.

I jerked away from him. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“Releasing you of your pain,” he said.

“I don’t feel any pain.” He dropped his hand and glided back to his post.

~Weird.~

“So, you can take the pain away by touching someone?”

Bob turned to face me. “Yes. We possess the ability to absorb pain from another being. This is not a pleasant experience for us, but one that can be done.”

I nodded.

“Cool,” I said, not sure how else to respond to that.

“So, what are we waiting for now?” I asked, looking out at the blackness of nothing outside.

“The ship must convert enough energy from the Raxelium in our engines to open another wormhole. This process will take twenty-one of your hours.”

Despite puking all over the floor only a few minutes ago, I felt hungry. Billy and Bob had told me that the ship would replicate all the consumable stuff I had in my house before I left.

My only thought was, ~Thank goodness I went shopping on Saturday morning before my disastrous date.~

“Where do I get food?” I asked.

“In your room. The ship will make you anything you ask for,” Bob said. I stood and made my way back to my room.

The ship was rather dull and boring. Nothing but empty halls, plain white walls, and floors. The only decorative item I had seen so far was the giant window in the room I had just left.

I entered my room and sat at the table, placing my hand on the surface. “Okay, ship, how does this work? Do you have a menu, or do I just tell you what I’m in the mood for?”

A metallic voice spoke in the room. “What is your request?”

I thought about it for a moment and said, “A fresh salad, with chicken and feta. Extra dressing.”

I waited, looking around to see if anything happened. I didn’t see anything, and there were no sounds in the room.

But when I turned back to the table, a large white bowl stood in front of me, with a fresh green salad. I smiled wide and picked up the silver fork next to it.