Chapter 10 Notes from the Kuiper Belt

An excerpt from The Starlover Series Book 1: Project Earth

As they were nearing Orcus, Starlover gave them a few different angles to view the planet. They were a long way from the sun. Dello was sitting next to Fred. Dello watched the screens and did nothing else. Fred watched the screen and checked the instruments. It was his first spaceship landing. But not the first landing he had ever done. He had landed shuttles plenty of times. This was just a larger vehicle. It required more space.

But they had that on Orcus. Fred landed the ship safely. He and Dello walked to the airlock. Through the window they could see two people extending a tunnel from the biodome to the spaceship. Once the tunnel was connected, Fred opened the airlock. The two people walked back a little ways down the tunnel to stand with the rest of the welcoming committee.

Della smiled. “Welcome to Orcus, boys.”

Fred smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ladies.” He bowed and saw Teo. “Oh! and good to see you too, kind sir.”

Teo chuckled.

Dello smiled. “Hello, everyone.”

They all walked back to the square with Della leading the way. Once they got there, Lila set Kim down. Kim ran around and danced. The adults laughed. Della soon introduced everyone. Fred saw Dello say something privately to Della.

Soon everyone was chatting and getting to know the first visitors. Their reputations were scrutinized, but appreciated by the twins and Della. The others just shook their heads. The twins didn’t waste time making plans with Fred. Dello didn’t want to join. He said he had already made plans. The twins took Fred by the hand and led him away from the square.

They took him inside their personal house. He saw the huge bed in the center of the room. He smiled. It was the first time he had enjoyed a pair of twins.

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“Dello!”

“Hi, Fred.”

“So, you sticking around?”

“Yes. You can go. Thanks for the lift. I just need to get my stuff.”

“Sure, no problem. It was great having you aboard.”

“I enjoyed my trip. You’re a good host.”

“But I bet Della was even better.”

Dello laughed. “Well, there’s no competition there.”

They boarded the ship. Dello grabbed his already packed bag.

“You staying long?”

“No, I think I want to go exploring the solar system now.”

“You should say goodbye to everyone.”

“Alright, I’ll do that. Let’s go.”

They left the ship and walked back to the main square of the capital. The amazons were standing around. Even the children were out playing together. Della smiled at both Dello and Fred.

“Are you staying or leaving, boys?” asked Della.

“I’m staying, if you don’t mind,” said Dello.

“Good. I want you to stay. Fred?”

“I’ll be taking my leave of you all. It’s been fun. I’m impressed by the work you’ve done to build this colony.”

“Thank you. We all worked hard.”

“Joeni and Jaena, that was great. We might have to have a repeat if we see each other again.”

The twins smiled and blew him kisses as they waved goodbye. Fred bowed to everyone present and said goodbye. He turned and walked through the tunnel to his ship. He closed the airlock. He waited for two people to detach the tunnel and take it back to their biodome. He waved to them. Turned and went to the bridge.

“Time for takeoff, ladies.”

“Acknowledged,” both Starfire and Starlover said at the same time.

“Where to, Fred?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Let’s just fly around the Kuiper Belt. I’m sure we can handle being in space for quite some time.”

Starlover said, “Of course we can. I also turn on the artificial gravity just for you so you don’t have to float everywhere.”

“I never thought about that…”

“There are a lot of things you don’t think about. But you’re still new to this. You have me and Starfire to help you out.”

“Yes, I do.” He strapped himself in. “Are we ready for takeoff?”

“Yes.” Starlover counted down.

The ship lifted up in the sky. Soon a field of black full of stars filled the viewscreen. Fred smiled. He had looked forward to sights like these for quite some time. He didn’t engage any of the faster than light speed drives. He just wanted to fly for a bit and look at the stars. He saw Orcus get smaller. It seemed to take forever for it to completely disappear.

He spent hours just sitting in the pilot’s seat flying aimlessly. He knew Starlover and Starfire would take over if they thought there was any danger. But for now, he could just fly the ship wherever and be fine. The view was spectacular. He kept at it for hours. Until he was hungry. Then he let Starlover take over the controls so he could go eat in his kitchen.