window, Dar began to feel itchy. Something in his throat tickled, and he coughed a few times. Reaching up, he went to scratch his neck, something was there: a small blister-like bubble. He coughed more.
“Are you okay, little one?” Gwog asked.
“Umm…”
“Come here.”
Dar went over and stood just to the left of Gwog’s chair. The big alien reached out and put his hand on Dar’s forehead. “Mmm, a bit warm.” He looked him over. “Itchy?”
“Yes, sir.”
He grabbed Dar’s shirt collar and pulled it down, revealing a red rash. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I think you got Skrinnian fever.”
“What? What’s that?” Dar asked, now becoming alarmed.
“Get to your quarters and stay put…Whatever you do, don’t scratch.”
“Is it bad?”
Gwog rubbed his face. “I don’t know how it’ll affect you, since you’re half Earthling. But Jartis caught it a few years ago and it nearly killed him.” He shooed him off. “Go, and I’ll send Karnis around to care for you.”
As much as Dar wanted to see if a battle would ensue, he couldn’t disobey his captain’s orders. Heading down to the crew quarters, he began to feel light headed. About twenty feet from his door, the first explosion rocked the ship. The Cunik jolted sideways, knocking Dar off his feet. He collapsed to the metal grated catwalk, in no position to get up. His body felt weak, skin burning like it was on fire.
The next thing he remembered, he woke up and saw Karnis standing over him. He was in his bunk, the covers pulled high to his chin. His whole body felt hot, cold, and intensely itchy all in the same moment.
“Ah, you’re awake,” Karnis said. He tapped a small white tablet from a bottle, picked up a glass of water, and offered it to Dar. “Take this.”
Dar wiggled his arms free of the covers, took the water and tossed back the tablet. His whole body was now a sea of blisters. “What was that?” he asked.
“Curion Mind Blow.”
His eyes widened. “That stuff’s illegal!”
“Youngling, at this point in time, you’re not in much position to argue…Skrinnian fever is serious shit. If you don’t die from the initial fever, then you stand a good chance from dying if you scratch even just one of those blisters…The Mind Blow will take the edge off and help you stay calm.”
“Is there a cure for this?”
Karnis shook his head. “Tincture of time. It’s a nasty virus, there’s no cure. If it doesn’t kill you, you’ll have immunity the rest of your life.”
Dar writhed around. “I feel like I did when I messed with that hive of Erotin Ember ants.”
“Yeah? Bet your mother warned you about screwing with ’em, didn’t she?”
“Uh huh. But this wasn’t my fault.”
“No, I know. It’s one of the dangers of space travel. The more planets you go to, the more chances you have of getting a sickness.” He poured another glass of water and gave it to Dar. “Most of the illnesses out there aren’t fatal. Unfortunately, this one happens to have a rather high fatality rate.”
“Just my luck.”
Karnis turned for the door. “You’re young, so you stand a pretty good chance. Get some sleep, I’ll come check on you in a couple of hours.”
“Karnis?”
“Yeah?”
“What happened with the pirates?”
“Oh, Gwog ran ’em off as usual.”
Dar snuggled back under the covers. “Where are we?”
“About half way to Iddris.”
“Thanks,” he said softly and closed his eyes. The Mind Blow seemed to be going to work. His body felt rather numb, and for some reason, he felt like he could do anything at that moment. Thinking hard, he remembered in school they said the drug gave you the feeling of invincibility, but of course, it was all in your mind. They also said it was quite addictive. Dar didn’t want that to happen, he needed his hard earned drig to buy some fancy Catarin hide clothes.
6
Four days later, Dar emerged from his quarters; his whole body covered with peeling blisters, and he still felt wrung out. This wasn’t the way he envisioned his first few days in space to be. No, it was supposed to be exciting; instead, he spent most of it drugged out of his mind. Clearly his new life wasn’t going according to plan.
He’d survived Skrinnian fever thanks to Karnis and his generous offerings of Mind Blow; and Gwog, who came and visited before bedtime, bringing a bottle of Malikin port from Gardinis. Dar argued he wasn’t old enough to drink, but Gwog insisted, saying it would make him sleep better. After getting past the initial burn of the alcohol, and the heady buzz he got, Dar discovered port had a rather nice flavor. In fact, he liked it.
Together, Gwog and Karnis nursed him through the worst of it. Dar figured if his mother ever got wind of what those two did, she wouldn’t be happy. They probably saved his life, because, had he scratched and popped the blisters, they would have gotten infected and he might have died.
Dar wandered into the galley and sat down at the table. He yawned loudly and stretched.
Karnis was busy in the kitchen making lunch. “Ah, he’s alive!” he joked, poking his head through the service window.
“Wondering if I really wanna be,” Dar replied.
“Oh, the rest of the blisters will peel off in a couple of days, and you’ll be fine. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, very.”
“How’s a bovidis shoulder sandwich sound?”
Dar licked his lips. “Sounds fantastic.” He could feel the ragged shreds of skin on his lips and it was driving him crazy. He hoped soon he’d be looking normal again.
“All right, gimme a few minutes.”
“Thank you.”
Gwog came in, hoping to grab a bite of something before lunch was served. His stomach growled and he really didn’t want to wait. “Hello, little one. Good to see you up.”
“Good to be up—as opposed to the other option.”
He sat down across from him. “I didn’t wanna make a trip back to Erotis, bringing you home to your mother wrapped in a shroud.” He picked at his nails. “And I like you, you’re good to have around.”
Dar smiled. “Thanks.”
“Are you to ready to come back to the bridge?”
“I think so. Just a little tired still.”
Gwog got up and stuck his head through the kitchen window. “Karnis? How about some food? We’re starving out here!”
“Hang on, hang on!” he barked. The sound of dishes clattered in the kitchen. “Why can’t you two wait til lunch?”
“We’re hungry now,” Gwog grumbled.
The communications panel on the wall beeped. “Captain, we’re picking up some traffic headed toward us.”
Gwog got up and answered. “What sort of traffic?”
“Looks like the pirates are gonna try again.”
Dar sat up. “Pirates!” He was excited, since he’d missed the last battle.
“I don’t believe this. Those Soothians are idiots. Don’t they know we’ve dropped our shipment of gold and are empty?”
“Are we gonna fight ’em?” Dar pestered.
“Oh, I dunno, little one. Usually I tell them I’m empty and they leave…But for some reason they seem to have it in for me lately.” He leaned in the window. “Karnis, where’s the food? Come now, we have a battle to fight and I hate fighting on an empty stomach.”
“All right, all right, I’m going as fast as I can,” Karnis barked.
Dar got up and went to the window. “Will I have any job in the battle?”
“Yes, little one, you job is to stay out of the way!”
“Yes, sir,” he replied lowly.
“I know you’re dying for some adventure; and you nearly did die not that long ago. But until I teach you how to fight, you’re of little use to me.”
He straightened up. “I can fight. I fought nearly every day in my life.” Dar brandished his trusty knife.
“I fought Krodus and took this from him.”
Gwog realized it was time to give the youngling a little humble pie. In one swift movement, he grabbed Dar’s wrist, turned it forcefully, and watched the knife fall. Then he stepped closer, caught Dar by the back of his shirt, and with minimal effort, flipped him onto the floor. He looked down at him. “So, you know how to fight, eh?”
Dar lay there, not in any hurry to get up. Yes, once again his mouth got his body into more trouble. At least Gwog wasn’t out to kill him; rather he was making a statement. Dar understood he had much to learn in his new life, and being smart enough, he knew that whatever skills Gwog wanted to teach, he needed to learn. And maybe it would keep him from getting his ass kicked in future conflicts, he hoped.
“Come on, little one, your time will come.” Gwog reached down, offering his hand. “Once you feel better, I’ll teach you how to fight…For now, stay with Vikkis and learn targeting and weapons.”
“Yes, sir,” Dar replied, taking Gwog’s hand. He got to his feet, reached down, and picked up his knife, sliding it back in the sheath.
“Fighting in school and fighting in space are two different things, little one.” Gwog reached over and touched Dar’s right ear. “A fight in space is usually to the death; if you don’t have the mind set for it, you’re gonna die.” He turned to leave. “Your mother said you were quite the scrapper as a youngling; good, I like tenacity in my crew…Come on, let’s go teach the pirates a lesson.”
“Hey!” Karnis called. “Your sandwiches!”
“I’ll get ’em,” Dar said as he waited for Karnis.
On the bridge, Dar stood behind Vikkis, watching. Ahead, six Soothian pirate ships formed a line in front of them four or five miles away. Gwog groaned at