Chapter 7 Traveling without a Broken Heart?

An excerpt from The Starlover Series Book 1: Project Earth

Fred was back on board his spaceship. He yawned.

“Oh, good you’re back.”

“Oh, hi. I’m sleepy. I need to go to bed.”

“I found my sleeping alcove in my room.”

“Good.”

“So, is the guy coming?”

“Yeah. I just have tell him how much it costs. I’m too tired right now to think about that part.”

“You mean as in he has to pay you some money for coming along with us?”

“Yes. He wants to go to Orcus. I told him I needed to test the ship first. Oh, you can help me with that after I sleep.”

“Okay. I can remind you about the fee you want to charge the guy.”

“Oh, his name is Dello.”

“Dello wants to go to Orcus. Okay, got it. Goodnight, Fred.”

“Goodnight, Starfire.”

“Have pleasant dreams. I’ll do some more exploring quietly so you can sleep.”

“Okay.”

Fred walked to his quarters. He stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed. Starfire watched him go to bed and then she resumed her exploration. It didn’t take her long to find all the consoles throughout the ship. She and Starlover were starting to communicate wirelessly. It was all just a matter of hardware and learning.

She was fascinated by how Fred had built his ship. She had schematics of other spaceships in her files. She had all the current information on the four different faster than light speed drives installed on the ship. She also knew how to do the repair work if Fred needed help or if he couldn’t fix the ship for whatever reason. She also knew Hal’s secret. That was part of the reason she knew she had to stay hidden from anyone but Fred. And Hal of course.

She smiled to herself. She and Hal had a special way they could send messages back and forth to each other. In her start up files, he left a secret message that she could contact him if she needed help doing her job. She never told Fred she could contact Hal.

She was exploring the kitchen when Fred walked in. He yawned. He prepared some coffee for himself as she watched him.

“Good morning, Fred.”

“Oh, morning,” he mumbled. “You’re not tired?”

“No, my batteries are still fairly well charged.”

“Oh.” He got a mug and filled it with coffee. He sat down at the table. “I need to finish this coffee before I’ll be ready to do any work today.”

“Okay.” She sat down next to him. She waited for him to wake up fully. She blinked.

He took his time drinking his coffee. But finish it, he did. “Okay. Do you know how much fuel will cost us?”

“I don’t know how much it sells for.”

“Oh, that could be a problem. Uh, we’ll have to look up the nearest station.”

“Will you have to get some fuel to the ship?”

“Probably.”

Starlover spoke throughout the ship with a pleasant female voice, “Incoming call for Fred from Hal.”

Fred blinked. “Oh? This is early.”

“Fred, do you want me to put him on the speakers? He said he doesn’t need to see you,” Starlover continued.

“Uh, yeah, put him on the speakers.”

“Good morning, Fred.”

“Good morning, Hal. I wasn’t aware that Starlover could take voice commands.”

“Oh, she must have learned from Starfire.”

“What?”

“Yeah, Starfire and Starlover both have wireless hardware. Sorry, I thought you knew.”

“Oh, wow. That certainly makes things easier.” Fred paused. “So why are you calling me so early?”

“It’s late morning.”

Fred chuckled.

“I thought you’d like some fuel for Starlover. I got some this morning. We just need to fill the tank.”

“How did you know how much fuel to get?”

“I asked Starlover.”

Fred laughed. “And of course she would know how much she needs. Thanks, Hal. You’re a genius.”

Hal laughed. “Okay, you caught me. I did give Starlover some programming as well. I had a feeling that you’d need some help. I didn’t think you ever had a spaceship in your life before.”

“You’re right. I haven’t. I’ve just been on shuttles. Which, by the way, Dave is keeping.”

“Oh?”

“It doesn’t matter. I told him it was okay. He’s got a wife. I think he’ll need it more than I will. I’m leaving the planet soon.”

“Yes, you are. So you coming out here so we can give Starlover some fuel?”

“Yeah, give me fifteen minutes. I need a shower and a shave.”

“Okay, I can wait.”

Starlover spoke again. “Hal has disconnected.”

“Thanks, Starlover.”

“You’re welcome, Fred.”

Fred stood up. Put his coffee mug in the sink. He walked to the bathroom. Starfire followed him.

“You may not want to keep following me all over the ship. You can be independent of me.”

“Okay.” She stood in the hallway as he went into the bathroom by himself.

Soon he had his shower. He came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He went into his bedroom and found some clean clothes. He put on his shoes and combed his hair. He looked at Starfire.

“I hope you stay on the ship while Hal and I fill up the tank.”

“I will. I can watch on one of the screens.”

“Okay. That’s fine.”

Fred left the ship to meet Hal. Starfire found a console and watched them on the screen. She could hear them talking through the spaceship’s speakers.

“Ah, there you are.” Hal smiled.

“Yeah, I know. I just got up not that long ago.”

“Another late night?”

“Oh, not like that. I have a passenger to take. I need to figure out what to charge him and test the ship.”

“Sounds like a busy day.”

“Yeah, it will be.”

Hal set up the hose and connected it to the ship. Soon the fuel was transferred from the temporary tank to the ship.

“So why go to all this trouble?”

“I wanted to help.”

“That’s nice of you.”

“Dr. Asimov knows I’ve helped you out.”

“Yeah, what does he think about that?”

“He said it was fine. I know he’s curious about what you’re doing and hopes you’ll do well.”

“Perhaps I should say goodbye to him before I leave.”

“He’d like that.”

“Okay.”

They finished up and Hal left. Fred went back on the ship. Starfire was in a corridor standing in front of a console.

“Alright, now we need to figure out what to charge for passage to Orcus.”

He looked at the screen and saw some figures. He looked more closely. “Oh! You were working on that while I was outside. That figure looks reasonable considering how much fuel and food cost. Let me send that to him.”

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“Starfire?” Fred looked around, but he couldn’t see her.

“Yes, Fred,” she answered through the speakers.

“Where are you?”

“I’m studying the bathroom.”

“Oh. I’m meeting with Dello once more. I’ll be out for a while.”

“Okay.”

“He’s already paid me, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be back.”

“I’ll stay on the ship.”

Fred smiled and left for his meeting. They met in a bar and it went well. An hour later Fred was walking back to his ship. Once he was back on board, he called, “Starfire?”

“Yes, Fred.” She appeared at his side.

“Dello will be here tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. As soon as he’s near, I’ll make sure I’m in my room.”

“Good. I think we will travel to Venus first to make sure everything is good with the drives. Then we’ll fly to Orcus.”

“Okay. Got it.”

“Have you finished studying the ship?”

“Yes. You have some interesting and different designs.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve made notes so I know what to do differently than what my original files state.”

“I’m used to improvising.”

“Noted. Will you take suggestions?”

“I’m always open to suggestions. I still have a lot to learn as you do.”

She nodded. “Is it your bedtime again?”

He yawned. “Yes. I’ll see you in the morning.”

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The next morning Fred got up. “Starfire?”

“Yes, Fred,” she answered through the speakers.

“I’m going to say goodbye to Dr. Asimov and Hal. I want to do that before Dello arrives.”

“I’ll let you know when he arrives.”

“I’ll be watching as well. I shouldn’t be that far from the ship.”

“Okay. Noted.”

Fred took a shower and then got dressed. He left the ship for Dr. Asimov’s house. Fred didn’t have to knock. Both Dr. Asimov and Hal stepped out and greeted him.

“I hope this isn’t the last that we hear of you,” said Dr. Asimov.

“No, it doesn’t have to be. We can keep in touch.”

“Good. I look forward to hearing about your adventures.”

“Oh, it looks like my passenger is coming. I need to meet him. Goodbye, Dr. Asimov, Hal. Thanks for all your help.”

“Goodbye,” both Dr. Asimov and Hal said at the same time.

Fred walked back to his ship to greet Dello.

“Good morning, Dello.”

“Good morning, Fred. This is all I have left.”

“That’s fine. You’ll have a whole room to yourself. But we have to share the bathroom.”

“Okay. It looks bigger than I thought it would.”

“Oh, it has four faster than light speed drives and comfortable living space. There’s even a medical bay.”

“Wow, you really thought it out.”

“I’ve been building things for years. This was just one more challenge for me to take on.”

Dello smiled. “Well, I’m ready for takeoff whenever you say.”

“Good.” Fred turned when he saw his brother and sister-in-law.

Hand in hand Raelina and Dave approached Fred. They watched him standing with someone next to his spaceship. Raelina smiled.

“Fred, it’s beautiful. Does it have a name?”

“Yes, her name is Starlover.”

“That’s a good name,” she said.

“Bro, you know you’re welcome to visit us.”

“Yes, I know. But now I want to see the solar system.”

“Oh, who’s with you?” she asked.

“This is Dello. My brother Dave and his wife Raelina. Dello is my passenger.”

“Oh, wow. So you’ll be earning some money with this spaceship?” Dave smiled.

“Yeah. We’re going to head to Orcus for a bit. I don’t know where after that.”

“Well, goodbye and keep in touch, Fred.” Raelina hugged him.

He hugged her back. Dave and Fred hugged. Fred watched his brother and sister-in-law walk away. He turned to Dello and they boarded Starlover. After Dello set his bag down in his room, they went to the bridge. Fred raised the ship and soon they were in outer space. It was quite a sight for both of them.

Fred decided to fly towards Venus. Starlover was doing well.

“Just as beautiful as your reputation claims, Lady Venus. I’ll be back to spend some time with you.” Fred smiled. “Okay, now it’s time for Orcus.”

“Sounds good to me. I may end up staying there.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want.”

Fred plotted the new flight path with Starlover and Starfire.