“I think that gnome just blue himself,” Scomatch commented as he pressed his face against the port hole on Deck 1 of the Space Ghost.
“Let me be seeing,” Kildo said and peered through. Outside of the ship was indeed a blue, skin-colored gnome. He was hovering slightly off the ground next to one of the legs. Kai and Guo Gan had gone into the remains of Ova to see if they could find or help any survivors leaving them with the ship, just in case a hasty retreat was needed.
“Oi, Silas, do ye be knowing what this blueberry thing be out there,” Kildo asked as he pointed to the gnome.
Peeking, the hippo-like Silas shrugged his shoulder.
‘Knock, knock, knock’. “Is anyone there?”
“We better see what he wants and get rid of him,” Scomatch said.
Kildo and Silas followed the halfling through Deck 2 to Deck 3 and climbed the latter to the hatch. Opening it, they peered over and saw the blue gnome raise his hand to shield the sun.
“Oi, what do you want?” Kildo called out.
“Greetings, gentlemen! My name is Ganthet! How are you? Welcome to the planet!”
“What planet is this?” Scomatch asked.
“Why, planet Earth. How long have you been spell jamming?”
“Many, many years,” Scomatch replied. “What are you doing here?”
“The Loheb Consortium made a breakthrough here. There were hundreds of them and we were cleaning them up,” Ganthet answered.
“How did you let them get through?” Scomatch questioned.
“I didn’t. There are always temporary openings when a god needs replacing,” Ganthet explained. “However, as fortunes have it and since you are experienced spell jammers, we can use your assistance. The Loheb Consortium blew up the Iron Tower and I need help to reactivate some of the defenses.”
Extending the ladder down to the ground, Kildo descended, bringing the chart with the various spheres. “Aye, we could be helping ye, but first, I need to be knowing where we be on this map.”
Ganthet’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Where you are? I thought you had been spell jamming for several years.”
“I be new to navigating da ship,” Kildo stammered as the dwarf could feel nervous sweat drop from his armpits. He didn’t like lying. He was no good at it. He always considered it dishonorable, but he needed information and this blueberry had the answers.
“So, you’re saying you were hired to pilot the ship but don’t know where you are or how to read the map?” Ganthet inquired.
Clearing his throat, Scomatch said, “What the dwarf is trying to say is that we could probably do that, but some of our friends are on an away mission. However, if we help, is it possible that one of your ‘ilk’ could help run this ship.”
“I don’t have the time, but after the defenses are back together, you are always welcome to try and recruit anyone you like, as long as you don’t disclose any spell jamming technology to them,” Ganthet replied and continued. “But coming back, I thought you had been spell jamming for quite some time.”
Nudging Silas, Scomatch said, “Tell this smurf that they have done great and powerful deeds for the past several years.”
“They have done great and powerful deeds for the past several years,” Silas mimicked in a monotone voice.
Stammering, Ganthet said as he floated backward, “Well, I’m going to be leaving. I was looking for a spell jamming crew and clearly, you are not it, so I’m just going to back away slowly and go.”
“Useless,” Scomatch bemoaned at Silas. “You know he’s just going to go get an army of smurfs and come take the ship.”
“Aye, I’ll prep the Space Ghost for takeoff. We be leaving as soon as Kai and Guo Gan return,” Kildo said, watching the blue gnome as he sped away.
* * *
“I really, really, really messed up,” Kildo said as he explained the encounter with the blue gnome, Ganthet to Kai and Guo Gan when they returned.
“Let me tell you something about being a pirate. It’s 5% action and 95% perception. For example, you don’t have to cut the tongue out of every enemy you come across,” Kai explained.
“Eww!” Guo Gan moaned.
“You only have to do it once and then as word gets out, everyone will assume you’ll cut out their tongue,” Kai explained. “That said, I don’t think we’ll want to stick around for this Ganthet and his blue buddies to return. Prep the ship for takeoff.”
The Space Ghost’s wings hummed at a blinding rate as the craft lifted off and shot toward the sky. The ground raced away and everything shrank in size. They passed through clouds, like haze and condensation appeared on the windows. There didn’t seem to be any boundary between the planet and the expanse of space. Everything was bright and blue, then became starry and black. The incomprehensible concept of an infinite expanse was before them. A boundless void for them to explore.
“Captain, any thoughts on where we should go?” Kai asked.
Kildo strapped in the captain’s chair marveled at the cosmos before him. There were likely wonders, as well as threats out there. They would have to maneuver through them carefully, otherwise, space could be dangerous, brutal, and short. There were several loose strings behind them. A missing captain, a missing crew, and possibly still an absent god. All would have to wait as they were just four beings in the universe.
Breathing deeply, Kildo said as he stared at the view before him, “That way.”
As the planet behind them became smaller and smaller, the light from the sun began to shine on a rotating boulder before them in the distance. Kildo commanded the Space Ghost to turn to intercept the object.
Going into orbit around it, it was large enough to hold the remains of a castle. The field was littered with destruction. There were four towers with a square wall connecting them. A massive pile of rubble in the middle, possibly once a great keep. The outer walls had holes, as if possibly breached. It appeared as if some great battle was fought, but there were no signs of the two armies that must have fought each other for supremacy. It was unclear who won, as no dead or wounded were visible. The toll on the structure was devastating.
“What do you know about that thing?” Guo Gan asked Silas.
“Unknown. It’s an asteroid that had a fort, but it’s been clearly destroyed. It’s not unusual in the inner parts of the sphere. People even live on these things here.”
“All right, Kai, Guo Gan, Scomatch, 9 of 5 will be part of the away team. Let’s go be exploring this strange new world.”
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