Junior decelerated as the shiny red Fire Truck floated toward Onohuedint. The vehicle skimmed along the rings and slowly descended on a trajectory to a large blue rock which was the size of a sports arena and made of ice and iron. Junior flew over the top, landing on the planet-facing side.
Tyler sensed a dull thump on the bottom of his feet, which ran up through his chair.
“We have successfully deployed the landing gear and we are adhered to the surface,” Junior announced.
Tyler looked at Ethan, confused.
“We’re hooked into the rock so we don’t float away,” Ethan explained.
“Okay, got it. Yeah, we don’t want to float away.”
“Well, now we wait for Ralph to arrive, then on to Ganrea.”
The boys stood up and Ethan remembered his manners. “Tyler would you like something to eat or drink?”
Although still full from breakfast, Tyler realized he needed hydration. “May I have a glass of water please?”
“Sure thing, follow me. Very important to drink lots of water. Travel, especially space travel, dehydrates you.”
Tyler followed Ethan to the kitchen area and spoke into a bump in the wall. “Two cool glasses of water please.”
Their order slid out of an opening, and Tyler grabbed a tall glass, and took a long drink. Ethan did the same as the boys grabbed a seat at the table.
“Guess what I brought?” Ethan asked, as he dug in his backpack.
Tyler smiled and shrugged. “Bey Blades! Prepare to battle!”
“Three, two, one let it rip!” the friends said in unison.
Hooper stared but didn’t understand the game. “Why do you keep doing this over and over again?”
“For fun! Playing is fun Hooper!” Tyler responded with a winded laugh.
Hooper flew back to the pilot area with a shrug.
Ethan and Tyler enjoyed several more games. They completely lost track of time until they heard Junior’s announcement.
“Ralph has entered the solar system.”
Ethan quickly packed up his toys before the excited young travelers scurried to the pilot chairs to scan the skies for the approaching ship. Out of the corona of the star popped the glint of a polished saucer, shooting at bullet speed toward them. The craft stopped in a flash hovering over the Fire Truck.
A smooth swaggering voice, not unlike a well-known American humorist, sounded over the PA system, “Hey fellas, your chariot awaits. Let’s get on the good foot and make this happen cap'in’!”
Tyler let out a snicker nose laugh which turned into a piglet snort as he stared back at Ethan with a goofy smile.
“Yeah, Ralph studied Earth culture and loves American comedic slang so he uses it whenever possible,” Ethan said. “Try to laugh with him and not at him. Ralph is just trying to fit in.”
Tyler nodded and sat up in his seat. “Now what?”
Ethan tilted his head back as if to talk to the ceiling. “Hi Ralph! Good to hear your voice again. My Dad says ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ for taking care of me. He says he owes you one.”
Ralph responded by coughing a snarky chuckle. “The pleasure is all mine, my capricious friend. Happy to help.”
Ethan turned to Tyler and threw him a bug eyed smile as if holding back a laugh. “Thanks Ralph. What do you need us to do?”
“Have Junior release his eagle claw grasp of this chunk of iron and I’ll guide him in.”
“Okay Ralph,” Junior responded in a crackling voice. “I have released the landing clamps and we are free floating. Ready for your guidance.”
Junior snapped into a conveyor belt trajectory toward Ralph’s ship, which had a classic saucer design—like the flying saucer image from every bad science fiction movie. The ship had metallic skin with a glowing dome in the center.
Junior, heading to Ralph’s hangar, looked like a cliché. The Fire Truck was sucked up into the ship with a bright white tractor beam. Junior faced upward and traveled to the saucer entrance. The Fire Truck cleared the opening and closed like a shutter lens, leaving one tiny beam of light for a few seconds before quickly slamming shut. Once inside, Junior gently landed next to a sliding door.
Tyler’s stomach instantly sank when he realized he would be in the care of an Unu double agent, who sounded like standup comedian Dennis Miller. He peered out the window anticipating his first glimpse of an Unu, still fretting about Ralph’s appearance. Would he be a giant gecko? Would he be a big hairy monster with huge fangs? Would he smell like a rolling pile of poo? Or what if he looked like bad guy from a super hero movie! These thoughts pinged around Tyler’s mind until he shook it off.
The sliding door opened with a swish to expose a wash of warm yellow glow and the silhouette of a tall slender figure emerging from the light. The opening zipped shut, cutting off the blaze to reveal Ralph. He didn’t look like a monster or poo or a lizard or anything scary or weird.
Ralph stood over six feet tall and was, by Earth standard, quite handsome. He had bright blue eyes, wavy black hair and a tanned complexion with a small goatee. His all-white outfit had bits of silver here and there, and would be best described as a racing drivers’ fire suit. The only thing missing from the race uniform were the sponsor logos and helmet. Ralph tilted his head slightly to one side, cracked a warm smile and held out his arms as if about to receive a warm embrace.
“Gentlemen, welcome aboard.”
Ethan whipped on his backpack as he scurried out the door and ran toward Ralph, crashing into him and giving him a huge hug. “Hi Ralph!”
“Hey Sport! Been a long time my young friend. Good to see you!”
Ethan turned just as Tyler exited the Fire Truck, looking around cautiously. He waved, gesturing him to join the two old friends. “Come on over Tyler. Don’t be shy. Ralph is one of my Dad’s best friends.”
Tyler kept his slow determined pace and walked up next to his friend.
“Great to meet you Tyler, my name is Hurly Blowinchunks but you may call me Ralph for short.” He extended his right hand.
“Very nice to meet you sir,” responded Tyler in his best polite voice.
“Sir?” Is my dad here? Because he’s the only Sir I know! But I truly appreciate your manners. Please, Tyler, call me Ralph. Any friend of Ethan’s is a friend of mine and friends don’t call each other Sir.”
“Okay then, very nice to meet you Ralph.” Tyler guffawed.
“You see, we’re pals already.”
Ralph turned on his heels and briskly started for the door, making a circle in the air with his finger as if swinging a lasso. “Let’s roll, gentlemen!”
The two young lads followed in line behind Ralph like ducklings following mother duck.
Hooper shot out of the Fire Truck swooping up behind Tyler.
“Sorry for almost leaving you behind, Hooper,” Tyler whispered, looking over his shoulder. “I totally understand. I used to get scared when left alone in a room, even for a minute so I know. Just stick close by and you’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Tyler,” Hooper responded, relieved. “Please don’t tell the others I am scared to be alone.”
“I promise Hooper. Your secret’s safe with me.” He performed a zip-lock-and-throw-away-the-key gesture.
The procession eventually reached the bridge following a series of curvy corridors.
“Welcome to the bridge, my brothers,” Ralph announced with a burst of pride. He turned to Tyler and Ethan to show them their seats and motioned to sit. “We’re in a bit of a rush, so if you wouldn’t mind parking your posteriors in the Lazy Boys behind you, we can get underway.”
The passengers sat down and buckled themselves manually. Ethan smiled and gave Ralph a ‘thumbs up’.
Ralph’s vessel was very different from Ethan’s ship. Bob had a sleek and clean design, while Ralph’s bridge had all the controls visible. The countertop circled the spherical room with as many blinking lights as Times Square in New York City. Lots of beeps and clicks, which sounded in sync with the flashing instruments.
Although the space was round like Bob’s bridge, there was obviously an opaque ceiling. The roof had a hard edge that ran along the seam at the window. The slanted windshield went around the circumference. This was a ship designed for working rather than comfort.
“Twenty three oh six, you copy?” Ralph shouted as he sat down in the pilot’s seat.
Out of the air floated the sweetest female voice Tyler had ever heard (next to his Mom’s, of course). It wasn’t matronly like Bob but silky-sounding, and it made Tyler blush and giggle under his breath.
“Hey Ralph, I’m here and ready for the pre-trip. Say when...” said the voice.
“Okay, I've punched in the pre-trip sequence and we’re good to go. Let’s light this candle and get some real estate behind us,” said Ralph, in a well-rehearsed chant.
Suddenly the pulsing loud round sound of a stringed instrument blasted.
Duh, duh duh, da di da, da dadi da, di duh duhduhhh thumped the fat music line over and over.
“Stanley Clarke’s School Days my friends. Seemed apropos considering the company. Love this cat. Killer chops.”
Ralph bobbed his head up and down in rhythm with the tune and reached down to crank the volume even more. “Oh yeah! Always need some good theme music when you begin a new adventure!” he yelled, as Tyler started tapping along with the song.
The soft voice returned, momentarily cutting off the music. “Hang on gentlemen, here we go.”
Whammo! The volume surged to a blaring din. For the first time, Tyler sensed the kick of inertia slamming him into his seat.
A low rumble vibrated the saucer and Ralph yelled “Yes!” as his voice shook from the turbulence.
Ethan smiled, dropped his head a bit and giggled.
Tyler caught this and smiled. “What?” he mouthed.
“Later…” Ethan mouthed back.
Tyler turned to catch a glimpse of Hooper floating perfectly still in the middle of the room simply looking around as if window-shopping. The passengers, other than Hooper, were tossed side to side and up and down as the craft made its way out of the rings of Onohuedint.
As soon as they cleared the rings, the saucer stopped rumbling and shaking. The volume of the music began to decrescendo to a normal level. Tyler no longer had the inertia of the ship’s movement jarring him.
Ralph spun around in his chair and addressed his passengers. “Most cats won’t blast off without gravity buffers in place. No sir, not me! I dig the rush of take off! Gotta feel like you’re alive. Know what I mean, fellas?”
“So you did that on purpose?” Tyler asked with a laugh.
“Well of course, my precocious friend. Life can be too antiseptic at times. Ya gotta mix it up a bit to get your heart pumpin’!”
“Ralph you’re a pretty cool guy. I’m glad we’re rolling with you.”
“Me too, Tyler. Me too.”
“Ralph what’s your ship’s name?”
“Twenty Three, Oh Six,” said Ralph.
“This ship is a number, not a name?” Tyler inquired.
“It’s an Unu thing I can’t seem to shake. My ships need to be numbered. I think it must be in the DNA. I gave my ship a swanky voice and malleable disposition in hopes I’d be compelled to name it but alas, this is a part of my Unu blood that will not subside. Hope you’re okay with a number ’cause that’s all I got.”
“Works for me,” replied Tyler.