Skyrocket
4th January 2005, 08:12 AM
Hey,
Author's Note: This is set before the first episode of
the series.
Also, I'm had some problems with apostrphies turning
into gibberish when I post stories to this list. If
that happens let me know and I'll try and find some
way around that and repost the story.
Stars My Destination
The ship left a long graceful tail of exhaust as it
roared off the launch pad and into the sky. The ship
flew higher and high into the blue sky and within
minutes it vanished from view, off into the great
black of space.
“Bon voyage, buddy,” said Gene Starwind from his
position on the top of a hill that offered a
spectacular view of launches from West Virginia
Spaceport. His back against a tree and his hands
behind his head, the young outlaw sat and starred at
the point in the sky where he’d lost sight of the
ship. After a few more moments of looking at empty sky
Gene turned his gaze back to the spaceport and began
to check to see if any other ships looked as if they
were preparing to launch.
“Ah ha! I figured this is where you are. I’ve been
trying to get ahold of you for over an hour!” came an
irritated voice suddenly.
Gene turned to see his friend and partner in Starwind
& Hawking Enterprises, Jim Hawking, trudging up the
hill. In addition to looking slightly winded Jim had a
grumpy look on his face. From experience Gene knew
meant the boy was in the mood to give him a good
chewing out.
“Hey, Jim. What’s up?”
“What’s up is that I’ve been trying to get in touch
with you about a job we’ve been offered but you’ve
been nowhere to be found,” informed Jim, testily.
“Oh, is that all?” replied Gene with exaggerated
casualness. “I must have, uh, accidentally turned my
communicator off.”
“Again,” glared Jim who was only getting more annoyed
by Gene’s blasé attitude. This, of course, was exactly
what Gene was trying to do. Grating on the Type A side
of his friend’s personality was a favorite pastime of
Gene’s.
“So how did you know to find me here?” asked the
redhead.
At that Jim flashed a brief, self-congratulating
smirk. “It’s too early for the bars and the brothels
to be open. There’s nothing big going on in terms of
gambling so it was a safe bet you weren’t at the
casinos. I knew you weren’t at the shop so that pretty
much just left here in terms of places you hang out.”
“Wow, give the kid detective a prize. Maybe I should
get you a magnifying glass and a deerstalker hat for
your next birthday, Sherlock Hawking,” replied Gene
with a smirk of his own.
“Save the jokes, Gene,” grumbled Jim. “This is a rush
job and the guy’s willing to pay extra to have this
done ASAFP.”
“Fine, fine. So what’s the job this time?”
“Some kinda glitch down at Kingpins has all the
machines act--”
“Whoa, hold up!” interrupted Gene. “By Kingpins you
don’t mean that bowling ally do you?
“Yeah, that’s the place,” confirmed Jim. “The pin
setting machines have gone haywire and the guy that
owns the place is pretty frantic since there’s some
big bowling shindig happening this evening. He said if
the machines are still broken by then he’ll loose a
truckload of money.”
“God, why the hell are people playing an ancient game
like bowling in this day and age?” grumbled Gene. “And
why is a smart, dashing and all around cool guy like
myself stuck being called in to fix pin setting
machines? There’s gotta be something better out there
than this.”
“If you’ve figured out a way to hit the Sentinel III
lottery or something I’d love to hear it. But in the
meantime we need money so we can have food and
electricity and right now this gig is all we’ve got,”
said Jim. “The client is at the bank getting some
money now and wants us to meet him at Kingpins no
later than three o’clock. If we can get the machines
working by five he said he’d even sweeten the deal a
little more.”
“He wants us there at three? That’s more than two
hours from now. We should just take it easy until
then.”
The look of irritation on Jim’s face grew. “I was
planning on getting on the net and trying to find some
info on how these machines work. If we have some idea
of what we’re dealing with it’ll save us a lot of
hassle and time and make easier to get that bonus.
Gene made an amused noise. “Since when does ‘Genius’
Jim Hawking worry about blueprints or whatever? I
thought you could fix anything you put your mind to.”
“I can,” huffed Jim. “If I have enough time. But when
I’m on a deadline I make sure to get all the info I
can before I start job. That’s part of being a
genius.”
“I’m honored to be allowed to bask in your brilliance,
Prof. Hawking,” replied Gene with exaggerated
politeness. “What are you going to teach us today?
Will it be on the test?”
Jim gave Gene an acid glare. “If you wanna try being
funny why don’t you go to the open mic night down at
the comedy club on Roparzh Street? In the meantime how
about you stop being an ass and he--”
“Christ, Jim, unclench already,” snapped Gene. “I
swear, if you had any idea how much I am going to get
you laid once you finally hit puberty you wouldn’t
give me half the amount of crap you do.”
At that Jim blushed a rather interesting shade of red.
“First of all, I might still be a kid but the ladies
always roll out the red carpet when I come around. So
when I decide I want girlfriend I’m not going to need
you help.”
Having had a moment to regain his composure Jim
again brought a confidence smirk to his face.
“Besides, if hitting puberty means turning into a
perverted horndog like you’d rather stay a kid
forever.”
Gene cocked an eyebrow at his friend. “You spend most
of your time acting like an adult and now you want to
be Peter Pan? Interesting contradiction.”
“Me be Peter Pan?” said Jim with a chuckle. “If anyone
around here is Peter Pan it’s you, Gene.”
“Whadda ya mean by that? I’m an outlaw not a Lost Boy,
thank you very much,” replied Gene with no small
amount of indignation. “Believe me; I can give you a
nice long list of ladies here in town who can testify
about how much of man I really am.”
“You’re just proving my point,” countered Jim. “You
talk big about being all grown up but you run around
after women, get into brawls, booze it up and can’t
hold onto money to save your life. Sounds pretty
immature to me.”
At that Gene grinned widely. “If not doing stuff like
that is what being a grownup means then screw growing
up. I’ll be happy to stay a ‘kid’ forever. Congrats,
Jim, I guess you win this argument.”
“Well, bully for me,” said Jim without enthusiasm.
There was then a short, silent moment.
“You know…” began Gene.
“Yeah?”
The outlaw was silent a moment longer before
continuing. “My dad…He really liked the story of Peter
Pan. I hadn’t thought of that story for years until
just now. But now I remember that sometimes he’d read
Peter Pan to me as a bedtime story when I was little.
Thinking back…I always loved that story.”
Gene rarely spoke of his father so Jim pushed thoughts
of work aside and sat down on the grass near his
friend. Again there was silence and Jim took a minute
to look over at the ships at the spaceport.
“It was my mom for me,” said Jim simply after a while.
“Your mom?” replied Gene.
Jim nodded. “She was always the one who read me
stories as kid. Including Peter Pan. My memory is a
little hazy but I’m pretty sure she liked the story a
lot. I did to.”
“I bet that’s a nice memory.”
The boy game a little smile and nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
Again there was silence for a time.
“My dad was really big on all those classic kids’
stories,” continued Gene. “He read them to me as
bedtimes when I was a kid and used ‘em to help me
learn how to read when I got older.
“Dad was a huge Jack London fan. He loved stories like
White Fang and Call of the Wild. Hell, I think that
fact that London had such an adventurous life is part
of the reason he decided to come all the way out here
to the frontier to try and make it big.”
“So your dad was a Jack London buff and you’re Peter
Pan,” said Jim. “Gotta say, I never imagined books
being a big part of your childhood. The only stuff you
ever read these days always has pictures of naked
ladies in them.”
“I’ll be nice and ignore that last comment,” snorted
Gene. “But if I’m Peter Pan then I guess that would
make you…” Gene paused for a moment to scratch his
chin in thought. “Ah! I got it! You’re the kid from
Treasure Island!”
“I’ve never heard of Treasure Island,” said Jim.
“What’s it about and how does it fit me?”
“Well, it’s been forever since I read the story but I
do remember that the main character was a kid by name
of Jim Hawkins.”
Jim gave his friend a withering stare. “My name is
Hawking, not Hawkins.”
Gene waved his hand in dismissal of his friend’s
complaint. “It’s a one letter difference. Big freakin’
deal. Anyway, basically this Jim Hawkins kid is living
a boring life in some little town in England. Then one
day he fids this treasure map. That sends him off on
this big adventure where he gets to sail the seas,
meet pirates like Long John Silver and all sorts of
other cool stuff.”
“I’ll pass on the pirates, thanks. Messing with them
is a good way to end up dead.”
“You’ve no spirit of adventure, Jim,” chided Gene.
“Heck, Peter Pan himself even said ‘To doe would be a
great adventure’.”
Jim let out a hearty laugh at his friend’s words.
“Wow, Gene Starwind quoting a book! They must be
breaking out the ice skates in hell right about now.”
Gene muttered a short curse under his breath and went
back to starring at the sky. “So what if I’m not the
most ‘mature’ guy around? If not being able to live
however I want is what it means to grow up then I’ll
pass. Flying around all over the place, getting into
all sorts of trouble with some good pals, fighting
pirates, going on adventures and having a cute girl to
protect…Yeah, Peter Pan knew how to live.”
“Maybe so but Peter Pan is just a story,” said Jim
with a shrug. “You and me have to live here in the
real world. In the real world adventures like that are
about as rare as pixie dust.”
Gene stood and stretched but continued to look out
over the spaceport. “Maybe so. But that doesn’t mean
I’m gonna stop dreaming about getting off this rock,
getting a ship of my own, having some cool adventures
and making it big some day.”
As if in response to Gene’s words a ship suddenly took
off and within seconds was soaring away as the two
friends watched.
“Where do you think they’re headed off to?” asked Jim,
quietly.
Gene gave a little smile. “Second start to the right,
straight on till morning.”
Jim gave a chuckle and smiled as well. “The way to get
to Neverland. You’re in a bit of a weird mood today,
you know that?”
“Yeah, maybe I am,” said Gene with a nod. “Come on,
buddy. Let’s go fix some pin setting machines. We
gotta keep a roof over our heads until our ship comes
in, right?”
“Right,” said Jim, enthusiastically.
With that the two quietly left the hilltop.
^^^^
Later that evening Gene sat near one of the windows
back at home watching the sun slowly fade away. It had
been hard work but he and Jim had managed to get the
pin setting machines at Kingpins in working order
before five. The owner had kept his word about an
early completion bonus so for the moment Starwind &
Hawking Enterprises was in the black.
Since they’d been paid in cash (all the better to
avoid the taxman) Jim had headed off to pick up some
parts for his car and a few other items they’d needed
but had been too broke to afford.
Gene, on the other hand, had used the small bit of the
payment he’d managed to squeeze out of Jim to order a
large pizza for dinner and pick up a case of his
favorite beer. The pizza had been washed down with two
of the beers and a third was keeping Gene company as
he watched the sun finally sink below the horizon.
“Yo! I’m home!” called Jim as he came in the front
door with two shopping bags in hand.
“Your half of dinner is staying warm in the oven,”
informed Gene. “Did you get everything we need?”
“Yeah. I was even able to haggle the guy down on a few
things,” said Jim as he started to dig for something
in one of the bags. “Oh, and on the way back I made a
little detour and picked us both up a little somethin’
special.”
“Is it booze?”
“No!”
“Is it porn?”
“NO!”
“Well, I’m stumped,” mumbled Gene as he took another
swig of beer.
Looking slightly irritated Jim climbed up the steps to
landing where Gene sat. Under the boy’s arm were two
books.
Gene raised a questioning eyebrow. “Stop by the
library on the way home?”
“A used bookstore actually,” informed Jim. “They’re a
little beat up but I was able to get these at a good
price.”
Jim then offered one of the books to the red-haired
outlaw with a small smile. “Here, check it out.”
Gene took the book, glanced at the cover and smiled.
It was a copy of Peter Pan.
“Thanks, Jim. This was really nice of you,” said Gene,
earnestly.
“It’s cool,” assured Jim with a dismissive wave of his
hand. “I got something for myself too.” Gene wasn’t
the least bit surprised when his friend held up a copy
of Treasure Island.
“After what you said today I figured it couldn’t hurt
to give the book a shot,” Jim said with a small shrug.
“I knew there was the heart for adventure in there
somewhere,” teased Gene. “But really, Jim, I think
you’ll like that book a lot.”
“Only one way to find out,” replied Jim as he turned
and headed back downstairs. “I’m gonna go grab some of
that pizza before I crack this baby open.”
As his friend headed off to the kitchen Gene looked
out the window he noticed a single star in the now
dark sky.
“Star light, star bright…” he whispered to himself.
Gene couldn’t bring himself to say the rest of the
children’s rhyme out load. “I wish…I wish that someday
I could have some cool adventures.” Gene allowed
himself a little chuckle. “Just like Peter Pan. Oh,
and my own ship would be nice to.”
Feeling slightly foolish Gene drained the rest of his
beer in a long chug. He then looked out the window
again. Several stars were visible now.
The outlaw reached out and put a hand against the
window. “Second star to the right, straight on till
morning.”
Gene allowed himself another small smile before he
opened the book and began to read.
The End
=====
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
-Carl Sagan
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Author's Note: This is set before the first episode of
the series.
Also, I'm had some problems with apostrphies turning
into gibberish when I post stories to this list. If
that happens let me know and I'll try and find some
way around that and repost the story.
Stars My Destination
The ship left a long graceful tail of exhaust as it
roared off the launch pad and into the sky. The ship
flew higher and high into the blue sky and within
minutes it vanished from view, off into the great
black of space.
“Bon voyage, buddy,” said Gene Starwind from his
position on the top of a hill that offered a
spectacular view of launches from West Virginia
Spaceport. His back against a tree and his hands
behind his head, the young outlaw sat and starred at
the point in the sky where he’d lost sight of the
ship. After a few more moments of looking at empty sky
Gene turned his gaze back to the spaceport and began
to check to see if any other ships looked as if they
were preparing to launch.
“Ah ha! I figured this is where you are. I’ve been
trying to get ahold of you for over an hour!” came an
irritated voice suddenly.
Gene turned to see his friend and partner in Starwind
& Hawking Enterprises, Jim Hawking, trudging up the
hill. In addition to looking slightly winded Jim had a
grumpy look on his face. From experience Gene knew
meant the boy was in the mood to give him a good
chewing out.
“Hey, Jim. What’s up?”
“What’s up is that I’ve been trying to get in touch
with you about a job we’ve been offered but you’ve
been nowhere to be found,” informed Jim, testily.
“Oh, is that all?” replied Gene with exaggerated
casualness. “I must have, uh, accidentally turned my
communicator off.”
“Again,” glared Jim who was only getting more annoyed
by Gene’s blasé attitude. This, of course, was exactly
what Gene was trying to do. Grating on the Type A side
of his friend’s personality was a favorite pastime of
Gene’s.
“So how did you know to find me here?” asked the
redhead.
At that Jim flashed a brief, self-congratulating
smirk. “It’s too early for the bars and the brothels
to be open. There’s nothing big going on in terms of
gambling so it was a safe bet you weren’t at the
casinos. I knew you weren’t at the shop so that pretty
much just left here in terms of places you hang out.”
“Wow, give the kid detective a prize. Maybe I should
get you a magnifying glass and a deerstalker hat for
your next birthday, Sherlock Hawking,” replied Gene
with a smirk of his own.
“Save the jokes, Gene,” grumbled Jim. “This is a rush
job and the guy’s willing to pay extra to have this
done ASAFP.”
“Fine, fine. So what’s the job this time?”
“Some kinda glitch down at Kingpins has all the
machines act--”
“Whoa, hold up!” interrupted Gene. “By Kingpins you
don’t mean that bowling ally do you?
“Yeah, that’s the place,” confirmed Jim. “The pin
setting machines have gone haywire and the guy that
owns the place is pretty frantic since there’s some
big bowling shindig happening this evening. He said if
the machines are still broken by then he’ll loose a
truckload of money.”
“God, why the hell are people playing an ancient game
like bowling in this day and age?” grumbled Gene. “And
why is a smart, dashing and all around cool guy like
myself stuck being called in to fix pin setting
machines? There’s gotta be something better out there
than this.”
“If you’ve figured out a way to hit the Sentinel III
lottery or something I’d love to hear it. But in the
meantime we need money so we can have food and
electricity and right now this gig is all we’ve got,”
said Jim. “The client is at the bank getting some
money now and wants us to meet him at Kingpins no
later than three o’clock. If we can get the machines
working by five he said he’d even sweeten the deal a
little more.”
“He wants us there at three? That’s more than two
hours from now. We should just take it easy until
then.”
The look of irritation on Jim’s face grew. “I was
planning on getting on the net and trying to find some
info on how these machines work. If we have some idea
of what we’re dealing with it’ll save us a lot of
hassle and time and make easier to get that bonus.
Gene made an amused noise. “Since when does ‘Genius’
Jim Hawking worry about blueprints or whatever? I
thought you could fix anything you put your mind to.”
“I can,” huffed Jim. “If I have enough time. But when
I’m on a deadline I make sure to get all the info I
can before I start job. That’s part of being a
genius.”
“I’m honored to be allowed to bask in your brilliance,
Prof. Hawking,” replied Gene with exaggerated
politeness. “What are you going to teach us today?
Will it be on the test?”
Jim gave Gene an acid glare. “If you wanna try being
funny why don’t you go to the open mic night down at
the comedy club on Roparzh Street? In the meantime how
about you stop being an ass and he--”
“Christ, Jim, unclench already,” snapped Gene. “I
swear, if you had any idea how much I am going to get
you laid once you finally hit puberty you wouldn’t
give me half the amount of crap you do.”
At that Jim blushed a rather interesting shade of red.
“First of all, I might still be a kid but the ladies
always roll out the red carpet when I come around. So
when I decide I want girlfriend I’m not going to need
you help.”
Having had a moment to regain his composure Jim
again brought a confidence smirk to his face.
“Besides, if hitting puberty means turning into a
perverted horndog like you’d rather stay a kid
forever.”
Gene cocked an eyebrow at his friend. “You spend most
of your time acting like an adult and now you want to
be Peter Pan? Interesting contradiction.”
“Me be Peter Pan?” said Jim with a chuckle. “If anyone
around here is Peter Pan it’s you, Gene.”
“Whadda ya mean by that? I’m an outlaw not a Lost Boy,
thank you very much,” replied Gene with no small
amount of indignation. “Believe me; I can give you a
nice long list of ladies here in town who can testify
about how much of man I really am.”
“You’re just proving my point,” countered Jim. “You
talk big about being all grown up but you run around
after women, get into brawls, booze it up and can’t
hold onto money to save your life. Sounds pretty
immature to me.”
At that Gene grinned widely. “If not doing stuff like
that is what being a grownup means then screw growing
up. I’ll be happy to stay a ‘kid’ forever. Congrats,
Jim, I guess you win this argument.”
“Well, bully for me,” said Jim without enthusiasm.
There was then a short, silent moment.
“You know…” began Gene.
“Yeah?”
The outlaw was silent a moment longer before
continuing. “My dad…He really liked the story of Peter
Pan. I hadn’t thought of that story for years until
just now. But now I remember that sometimes he’d read
Peter Pan to me as a bedtime story when I was little.
Thinking back…I always loved that story.”
Gene rarely spoke of his father so Jim pushed thoughts
of work aside and sat down on the grass near his
friend. Again there was silence and Jim took a minute
to look over at the ships at the spaceport.
“It was my mom for me,” said Jim simply after a while.
“Your mom?” replied Gene.
Jim nodded. “She was always the one who read me
stories as kid. Including Peter Pan. My memory is a
little hazy but I’m pretty sure she liked the story a
lot. I did to.”
“I bet that’s a nice memory.”
The boy game a little smile and nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
Again there was silence for a time.
“My dad was really big on all those classic kids’
stories,” continued Gene. “He read them to me as
bedtimes when I was a kid and used ‘em to help me
learn how to read when I got older.
“Dad was a huge Jack London fan. He loved stories like
White Fang and Call of the Wild. Hell, I think that
fact that London had such an adventurous life is part
of the reason he decided to come all the way out here
to the frontier to try and make it big.”
“So your dad was a Jack London buff and you’re Peter
Pan,” said Jim. “Gotta say, I never imagined books
being a big part of your childhood. The only stuff you
ever read these days always has pictures of naked
ladies in them.”
“I’ll be nice and ignore that last comment,” snorted
Gene. “But if I’m Peter Pan then I guess that would
make you…” Gene paused for a moment to scratch his
chin in thought. “Ah! I got it! You’re the kid from
Treasure Island!”
“I’ve never heard of Treasure Island,” said Jim.
“What’s it about and how does it fit me?”
“Well, it’s been forever since I read the story but I
do remember that the main character was a kid by name
of Jim Hawkins.”
Jim gave his friend a withering stare. “My name is
Hawking, not Hawkins.”
Gene waved his hand in dismissal of his friend’s
complaint. “It’s a one letter difference. Big freakin’
deal. Anyway, basically this Jim Hawkins kid is living
a boring life in some little town in England. Then one
day he fids this treasure map. That sends him off on
this big adventure where he gets to sail the seas,
meet pirates like Long John Silver and all sorts of
other cool stuff.”
“I’ll pass on the pirates, thanks. Messing with them
is a good way to end up dead.”
“You’ve no spirit of adventure, Jim,” chided Gene.
“Heck, Peter Pan himself even said ‘To doe would be a
great adventure’.”
Jim let out a hearty laugh at his friend’s words.
“Wow, Gene Starwind quoting a book! They must be
breaking out the ice skates in hell right about now.”
Gene muttered a short curse under his breath and went
back to starring at the sky. “So what if I’m not the
most ‘mature’ guy around? If not being able to live
however I want is what it means to grow up then I’ll
pass. Flying around all over the place, getting into
all sorts of trouble with some good pals, fighting
pirates, going on adventures and having a cute girl to
protect…Yeah, Peter Pan knew how to live.”
“Maybe so but Peter Pan is just a story,” said Jim
with a shrug. “You and me have to live here in the
real world. In the real world adventures like that are
about as rare as pixie dust.”
Gene stood and stretched but continued to look out
over the spaceport. “Maybe so. But that doesn’t mean
I’m gonna stop dreaming about getting off this rock,
getting a ship of my own, having some cool adventures
and making it big some day.”
As if in response to Gene’s words a ship suddenly took
off and within seconds was soaring away as the two
friends watched.
“Where do you think they’re headed off to?” asked Jim,
quietly.
Gene gave a little smile. “Second start to the right,
straight on till morning.”
Jim gave a chuckle and smiled as well. “The way to get
to Neverland. You’re in a bit of a weird mood today,
you know that?”
“Yeah, maybe I am,” said Gene with a nod. “Come on,
buddy. Let’s go fix some pin setting machines. We
gotta keep a roof over our heads until our ship comes
in, right?”
“Right,” said Jim, enthusiastically.
With that the two quietly left the hilltop.
^^^^
Later that evening Gene sat near one of the windows
back at home watching the sun slowly fade away. It had
been hard work but he and Jim had managed to get the
pin setting machines at Kingpins in working order
before five. The owner had kept his word about an
early completion bonus so for the moment Starwind &
Hawking Enterprises was in the black.
Since they’d been paid in cash (all the better to
avoid the taxman) Jim had headed off to pick up some
parts for his car and a few other items they’d needed
but had been too broke to afford.
Gene, on the other hand, had used the small bit of the
payment he’d managed to squeeze out of Jim to order a
large pizza for dinner and pick up a case of his
favorite beer. The pizza had been washed down with two
of the beers and a third was keeping Gene company as
he watched the sun finally sink below the horizon.
“Yo! I’m home!” called Jim as he came in the front
door with two shopping bags in hand.
“Your half of dinner is staying warm in the oven,”
informed Gene. “Did you get everything we need?”
“Yeah. I was even able to haggle the guy down on a few
things,” said Jim as he started to dig for something
in one of the bags. “Oh, and on the way back I made a
little detour and picked us both up a little somethin’
special.”
“Is it booze?”
“No!”
“Is it porn?”
“NO!”
“Well, I’m stumped,” mumbled Gene as he took another
swig of beer.
Looking slightly irritated Jim climbed up the steps to
landing where Gene sat. Under the boy’s arm were two
books.
Gene raised a questioning eyebrow. “Stop by the
library on the way home?”
“A used bookstore actually,” informed Jim. “They’re a
little beat up but I was able to get these at a good
price.”
Jim then offered one of the books to the red-haired
outlaw with a small smile. “Here, check it out.”
Gene took the book, glanced at the cover and smiled.
It was a copy of Peter Pan.
“Thanks, Jim. This was really nice of you,” said Gene,
earnestly.
“It’s cool,” assured Jim with a dismissive wave of his
hand. “I got something for myself too.” Gene wasn’t
the least bit surprised when his friend held up a copy
of Treasure Island.
“After what you said today I figured it couldn’t hurt
to give the book a shot,” Jim said with a small shrug.
“I knew there was the heart for adventure in there
somewhere,” teased Gene. “But really, Jim, I think
you’ll like that book a lot.”
“Only one way to find out,” replied Jim as he turned
and headed back downstairs. “I’m gonna go grab some of
that pizza before I crack this baby open.”
As his friend headed off to the kitchen Gene looked
out the window he noticed a single star in the now
dark sky.
“Star light, star bright…” he whispered to himself.
Gene couldn’t bring himself to say the rest of the
children’s rhyme out load. “I wish…I wish that someday
I could have some cool adventures.” Gene allowed
himself a little chuckle. “Just like Peter Pan. Oh,
and my own ship would be nice to.”
Feeling slightly foolish Gene drained the rest of his
beer in a long chug. He then looked out the window
again. Several stars were visible now.
The outlaw reached out and put a hand against the
window. “Second star to the right, straight on till
morning.”
Gene allowed himself another small smile before he
opened the book and began to read.
The End
=====
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."
-Carl Sagan
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