They were led down a winding set of covered metal stairs that twisted around the landing platform support like a great steel snake. Their boots continuously hammered loudly on the steps as they descended and they winced slightly as every metallic boom rang in their ears. The atmosphere there caused sounds to be significantly louder than they were accustomed to, and their human ears were not used to such sounds, although their helmets did dampen some of the noise. They reached the bottom of the stairway and stepped out onto a balcony overlooking the crashing waves of the sea below. Jeff, ever the daring type peered dangerously over the railing that surrounded the balcony and felt an uneasy dizziness in his head as he gazed down at the turbulent waters.

''Careful Jeff,'' Hal called. I'm not really in the mood to get even wetter than I already am. Plus you forgot your armbands so there's not really much point in going for a swim today, maybe we can come back tomorrow.''

''I was thirsty.'' Jeff answered as he stepped back over to Hal and their host. So I hope you don't mind me asking, but I am curious. What should we call your species? Hollans? Hollasatians? Hollites?''

Their blue companion stared at him with curiosity. ''We species do not have a name that can be easily said in English, friend.'' It turned its bulbous head and looked at Hal. ''However if you should find it easier to name us, then we would be pleasant if you use whatever name you prefer.'' It turned back to Jeff.

''Hollites it is, then!'' Jeff announced cheerfully and took off his helmet to get a good view of the striking surroundings. By now the clouds had cleared and the dazzling light from above began to shine onto the surface, bathing the whole area in a luminous green glow. The puddles took on an otherworldly emerald hue. Even the sea below them took on a remarkable verdant shine of almost mystical quality. Jeff gazed in wonder at the landscape surrounding them. Towering mountains formed a wide, rocky border around the land, their ever reaching peaks piercing the far off clouds that blanketed the sky. Many hills and valleys could be spotted in the surroundings, teeming with plants and wildlife that could not be easily seen at a distance but was no doubt present. Jeff wondered to himself how much of it was edible.

Hal was also struck by what he saw. Though he had been to many different worlds it never failed to amaze him when he stood on a new planet and saw the stunning or dreadful visuals that the planet had to offer. He always told stories of his experiences to his family back at Peace Station, and he was making a mental note of what he saw so he could tell them all about the lush green planet when he next visited them. His musing was cut short however, when Jeff removed his helmet.''What do you think you're doing?'' He growled angrily at Jeff. ''We don't even know if the air is breathable to us and you're already going ahead and taking off your helmet! Oh don't mind me, you may as well just go and strip off.''

''Someone's keen,'' Jeff smirked then looked at their blue host. ''What did you say your name was? I didn't catch it the first time.

The alien stared at him blankly. ''I didn't tell you any time. What you heard was me sneezing.'' He made a sneezing motion with his hands and head. ''Like my species, my name is difficult to say in English. What would be pleasing for you?''

''Well I can think of a couple of things, actually...'' and with a warning glance from Hal, Jeff quickly got back on topic. ''Well to keep the naming thing consistent, I think we'd prefer something similar to what we call your people, so how about we call you Hollo?'' He looked at Hal who was quiet for a few moments then nodded and also removed his helmet.

''I still don't agree with your lack of precaution,'' Hal said reprovingly. ''But since you haven't turned purple and started choking yet then I guess it's safe to breathe.'' He looked at their host and smiled politely. ''Hollo it is then.''

They clipped their helmets to their belts and began to walk down the winding green path that led to the village. Hollo led the crew across makeshift bridges that provided passage across great chasms that dropped as far as their eyes could see, and through pools formed by the rainwater that had fallen and remained in the craters that dotted their path. On more than one occasion Jeff tripped over a rock or gnarled root and fell face first into a murky puddle, getting drenched with the dreary water and messing up his blonde lock. ''I'm sure there's a mirror and a styling kit in the village, you'll be fine!'' Hal told Jeff as he helped him to his feet for the fourth time. ''How long till we get there, Hollo?'' He asked. ''Jeff probably needs a lie down.''

''Not far now.'' Hollo told them without turning to face them. ''We just need to pass the Swamp of Large Depth and then take the road straight to the village.'' He stopped and pointed forward with a thin, jelly-like finger. ''The swamp is not far. As long as you are with me it isn't dangerous so stay close. We have lost many visitors to its waters.'' He resumed his pace.

''They sure are good with names,'' Jeff whispered to Hal. ''The Swamp of Large Depth? What's next, The Mountains of Tall Height? The Sea of Wet Water?''

Hal looked at him without smiling. ''He already told us they have trouble naming things in English, you dolt. Besides, I don't mind the way they name the places. It lets us know exactly just what to expect from wherever we're going. Unless I'm mistaken, the Swamp is going to be large and have lots of depth.''

''It is true that our simple way of naming things in English extends to the environment,'' Hollo said as they made their way to the swamp. ''We find it best to not make things too difficult when visitors need help.''

They continued down the path until they reached the edge of the gloomy swamp. ''I don't think there's any point whispering here,'' Jeff muttered to Hal. ''Remember everything is louder here.'' He stood by the water's edge and peered down at the foggy, rust coloured water that sloshed around his boots. He raised his gaze to look curiously across the swamp. ''So what, are we going to take a canoe, fly over it in a pondskipper jet?'' He looked at Hollo expectantly.

The swamp was not unlike the ones on other planets, with tiny flies buzzing through the air and the sonorous croaking of nearby frogs permeating the atmosphere. ''Long ago this swamp was a village that was home to old people that lived in peace with the others on the planet,'' Hollo explained, his high and dreamy voice taking on an unusually sombre tone. Not seeming to hear Jeff's question, he continued. ''But then the Sky People came in their big machines from the burning sky and brought the poisonous water down on the whole place. Everything was gone.'' He gazed up at the brightly lit sky, and his usually expressionless face almost looked resentful as it shone brilliantly in the radiant light. ''Now the poison has long since left but the village is still gone. Our people cannot even recall what the place or its inhabitants even looked like...''

Jeff opened his mouth to speak but Hal raised his hand to stop him. They would ask and find out more later, if there was time but for now they had to concentrate on making their way through the swamp. Hollo was silent for a few moments then began to speak again. ''We are going to swim,'' he announced, regaining his usual tone. ''Though I do believe you humans call it 'wading' if I do remember so correct.'' He stepped into the water and seemed to shrink lower and lower until he was barely above the surface. His face seemed to melt into the rippling surface of the water, which oddly pulsed in time with his speech. ''My species mainly lives in and around water,'' he explained. ''Due to the way our bodies are structured, we can become one with the motions of the sea and let it guide us on our way. In a way of speaking, we become the water.'''

''I think I understand,'' Jeff said. ''Kind of like Fruity Roots.''

''I'm sorry, I do not know.'' Hollo replied with a tone of slight confusion in his high voice.

''Hair product.'' Jeff answered, pointing to his head. ''My stepmother used it a lot. Apparently it was supposed to make your hair smell like fresh apples but to me it just smelled like dead feet.''

He shrivelled his nose as he took in the scent of the swamp. ''No offense but this place brings back memories of the stuff.''

Hal cut in before Jeff could continue. ''I'm sure we'd all love to hear this very interesting tale of yours but where are you going with this? This isn't a day trip to the lake, we've got work to do so get to the point.''

''I used to wait until my stepmother wasn't around then pour it in the bath when the water was running. It was really goopy in my hand but when it went into the water it seemed to almost bond with it and swirled around with the flow of the water.'' Jeff made a twirling motion with his fingers. ''It went around and around until eventually it all went down the plug hole and she got mad at me.'' He paused and looked at his two companions, evidently waiting for a response but all he got in return was silence. ''I guess what I'm really wondering is, would you do the same thing?''

''You are asking if I would get mad at you?'' Hollo asked curiously.

''No I mean would you spin round and round and go down the plug hole if I stuck you in a bath? I'm not saying I'm going to do it but it's an important point to consider.'' He was not able to continue speaking as Hal picked up a nearby frog and forcefully stuffed it into Jeff's mouth.

''Unless the next two words out of your mouth are 'ribbit ribbit', keep it shut'' he told Jeff sternly as he spat out the slimy amphibian which dove into the murky water and out of sight. ''Lead the way, Hollo.''

Jeff quickened his pace to wade ahead of Hal. ''Hey I was just trying to lighten the mood,'' he said sadly. ''The guy seemed down, I thought I could cheer him up, get him to warm up to us a little.''

''Not everyone appreciates your sense of humor, Jeff.'' Hal told him in a tired voice. ''Remember that crap you pulled at that kid's birthday party at the station? The kid had to be sent to the medical ward for two-week therapy. I'm sure his parents found it hilarious.'' He began to wade faster, past Jeff who stood still in the water, looking defeated.

Jeff had always found it difficult to fit in with others. While it was true that he was adept at dealing with people through dry wit and sarcasm, he lacked conversational skills on more serious matters and often responded in ways that most people would deem inappropriate. This issue had been with him since his early days, and not many understood his problem, simply passing it off as ignorance or lack of tact. He did not mean to cause upset or hostility, it was simply the only way he knew to act.

He was born on board a shuttle that had embarked on an exploratory mission to a moon within the vicinity of Peace Station. The Star Corps had long been established as the main force of the galaxy and his parents had both worked for it, though in different divisions. His father a pilot named Phillip and his mother a botanist named Elizabeth, they had met many years before Jeff was even born, while they studied at the Stardust academy, the training grounds for new recruits into the Star Corps. Though he had only briefly met his mother before she passed away, he knew a lot about his parents' time together from the video recordings his father kept in his study at their home.

They had been dispatched to the moon to survey it and fill out a report regarding the sustainability of the surface. His mother was heavily pregnant and she could have sat the mission out and remained in the hospital but she decided against this as she did not trust her husband to be alone with the plant life on the planet in fear that he would do something silly. Of course another botanist could have gone with him, but everybody knew they worked better as a team and so she had accompanied him, barely squeezing into her seatbelt, on board the shuttle. As they reached the moon and began to descend into the atmosphere, the dull silence inside the cabin was pierced by an ear-splitting scream as a look of intense horror fell upon Phillip's face as he realized what was happening. Jeff always looked away at the section of the recording that played during these moments as it made him feel sick, but he knew pretty well what was going on.

After the messy business was over and the shuttle touched down on the moon's surface, they began their survey, bringing along the new crew member with them in an equipment cart that had been repurposed as a buggy. Judging by the footage, baby Jeff was a bit of a whiner, though his parents didn't seem to mind. Their moment of joy was cut short however, when tragedy struck.

They were just a few feet away from Jeff when the ground beneath them started to shake and with an almighty crack, the earth beneath Jeff's trolley began to split. To save her son from falling into the crevice below, Elizabeth hurriedly ran to the child and picked him up but it was already too late. The small piece of ground that they were stranded on had begun to sink into the already gaping hole and they were being swallowed up by the very moon they had been sent to work on. It was then that Elizabeth took a risk and called for Phillip, who was standing on the edge of the cliff above, desperately reaching in vain to try and grab them, to get ready. Using all the strength she could muster she tossed baby Jeff high into the air, where he was caught by his father's outreaching hands. Tears glistening in her deep blue eyes, Elizabeth gazed longingly up at her husband and son and almost choked on her words before she managed to call out ''I love you both so much! Be sure to look-'' her words were tragically cut short as the piece of ground she was standing on gave way and she was plunged into the pitch black chasm below.

Jeff's father didn't like talking about it. Though he loved his son, he found it incredibly difficult to look at him without seeing Elizabeth staring back at him. Jeff so much resembled his mother. He took care of him, fed hid him, tucked him into bed at night, but he didn't spend time with him. He didn't want to neglect his son but he felt inadequate for the task without his wife. Not knowing what else to do, he left his son in front of the television while he was busy. He made sure to not leave him there for too long as he did not want to ruin his eyesight or start him on the destructive path of a couch potato. He made sure to give him regular breaks and feed him at lunch time but apart from that Jeff was alone with the box for most of the day.

Jeff didn't get out much, he was practically glued to the television. He was a big fan of the adventure shows, with the suave, daring hero and his colorful cast of sidekicks fighting the bad guys. He also enjoyed the documentaries, though the only ones that really caught his interest were the ones that taught him about the vast, endless ocean of space. While most of the other children at the station played tag or pin the tail on the Wabbajub, Jeff was sitting on his carpet, eyes fixated on the television that was relaying slide after slide of amazing images of planets, stars and asteroids that filled his brain to the brim with wonder. Jeff was a dreamer. Some day, he hoped, he would get to be a superhero and fight the bad guys. Some day he was going to walk among the stars. 

The party continued to wade through the endless swamp, which brought an odd sense of nostalgia to Hal's mind. ''This sure brings back memories,'' he mused. ''Remember that time the bathroom flooded and we had to wade through about three feet of muck just to get to the drainage station? What a fun day that was.''

''Oh yeah, totally.'' Jeff responded sarcastically. ''How did it happen again? I forget.''

''You should know, you were the one who started it.'' Hal stopped to wipe off the remains of the brave swamp fly that had decided to fly straight at his face in a bizarre last act of heroic sacrifice. ''If you had just eaten that steak I cooked you then none of that mess would have even happened.''

Jeff took on a defensive tone. ''Well I wasn't too fond of the taste, and I didn't feel like making myself throw up so I needed to get rid of it without you noticing''

''By flushing it down the toilet?'' Hal tried to sound serious but he could barely hide his smirk at the silliness of the whole situation. It was times like these that made him glad he had Jeff around, because despite all the misfortune that befell them they still managed to sometimes have fun.

''I didn't want to hurt your feelings,'' Jeff said with mock sympathy. He grimaced with horror as his boot plunged straight down into a deep mudpit on the swamp floor, causing him to emit a most vulgar phrase. After struggling for what seemed like 8 days to retrieve his boot, Jeff started to lose his cool. ''At this point I don't even care if Iose my boot, my helmet, my toaster, whatever. I just want to get out of this damn swamp!'' He gave one last, mighty push and to his amazement and gratitude, he managed to finally rescue his foot, boot and all, from the dastardly clutches of the floor.

'Ha!'' He yelled triumphantly, a look of intense smug pride was glowing on his mud-spattered face. ''That mud was no match for me! Did you see that, Hal? That mud tried taking my shoe! The cheek of it.''

Hal looked at Jeff with raised eyebrows in disbelief. Hollo, who possessed no such eyebrows simply looked at him from the surface of the water, his red eyes resting on the ripples like bubbles. ''I loosened the mud surrounding your foot, letting you escape. I'm glad of your safety."

''Like I said, I helped.'' Jeff said. ''How long until we get out of this swamp anyway? It's starting to put me off soup.''

''We are nearly out of the swamp.'' Hollo gurgled, for he had dropped beneath the surface. ''Then we will soon be at my village.'' He floated on while Hal walked cautiously, doing his best to avoid falling into a mud puddle, as he knew that was something only idiots did. Hal looked ahead and through the lime coloured mist he could see that a large slope was emerging through the swamp, which he assumed was their exit. They waded on, thankfully avoiding any more holes in the floor and eventually reached the slope. It was actually a large, smooth tree root that stretched out of the mud and came to rest on a raised mound above the swamp. Hollo got out of the water first, rising from the surface, his body regaining its humanoid, jelly like form. Hal and Jeff followed, their suits damp and grimy from the trek through the dismal swamp.

They climbed the root with surprising ease. It appeared to have been flattened over years with use and the path was embedded with various footprints from many different types of feet. Some Jeff recognized as human, while Hal noticed that others resembled the footprints of various species he had encountered. They continued their ascent for a short while before they arrived at the top, and Jeff gave a sigh of relief as what he assumed to be the village came into view.

A circle of medium sized huts sat in a wide circle, with a tall, dark object in the centre. From where they were standing they could see small shapes skittering about the place, going in and out of the huts and gathering around the object. ''It is a day of celebration,'' Hollo explained as they made their way towards the village. ''Today is the day many years ago that the Great Hero came from the sky and saved our village from the beasts.''

They arrived at the village after crossing a narrow bridge that hung precariously over a dark, strangely thin chasm. Jeff had taken great care to not fall in, as he at least wanted to have breakfast before plummeting down another hole. The moving shapes that they had viewed from their lookout point were revealed to be more Hollites, of all different shapes and sizes. Some were tall and lanky, others small and plump. They were all gathered in unison around the tall object, which upon further inspection, was a large stone statue, constructed in the likeness of a man Jeff didn't recognize. Hal studied it with a frown, creasing his bushy black eyebrows. It was posed in an elegant way that gave off the impression that he was a great hero, judging by his outreaching arm and powerful stance. The face had eroded away, leaving a weird, featureless somewhat potato-like shape on the head. It was curious because the rest of the figure appeared to be in good condition, save for the few limbs where bits of stone had chipped off.

Hollo led them to a space in the circle where he asked them to kneel with him. ''The ceremony won't take long. When it's over I will take you to the hut we have prepared for you.'' He began to let out a high, ominous humming sound, which was reciprocated by the other Hollites within the circle. Soon all their voices joined as one continuous sound which they held for about thirty seconds before it slowly dropped to a low pitch that chilled Jeff and Hal to the bone. They couldn't quite put into cohesive words what it sounded like, the only thing they could describe was that it made them feel... sad. The atmosphere around the statue became extremely sombre and dreary, similar to that of a funeral. An aura of perpetual sadness lingered in the air as the Hollites began to sway their heads and continue with the humming. The two were unsure of what to do in that moment so they simply kept silent and bowed their heads, trying to silently process what was even going on. The sky darkened and Jeff looked up as he felt a drop of water land on his head, which was followed by another, and another and soon they became drenched in a downpour of heavy rain, to their dismay but not at all surprise. They were still damp from their trip to the swamp so the extra shower didn't really make much of a difference. The humming grew louder and louder as the rainfall grew in intensity, echoing throughout the entire village and strangely, also echoing around the sky above them, as if some grand celestial being among the clouds was humming down its own tune in answer.

The circle of Hollites then began to slowly sink down into the rainwater that had settled on the ground in perfect unison, while still humming. As their bodies melded with the water the humming noise began to quieten until only one voice remained, Hollo. His single hum was the most haunting thing of all. It seemed unlike anything Jeff and Hal had ever heard and it was almost hypnotizing to them. Then something amazing happened. Hollo stopped humming, and the rain stopped. It didn't stop like it's supposed to, with the rain simply ceasing to fall, but the raindrops themselves actually froze in the air, as if somebody had just hit the pause button on the entire village. Jeff wanted to speak but found that he could conjure up nothing at all to remark on the bizarrely enthralling situation that was playing out right in front of him.

Hollo rose gracefully out of the water and tilted his bulbous head backwards and stared at the sky, his shining red eyes glowing harshly. He held his gaze at the heavens as every frozen raindrop began to glow a brilliant red, the same colour as his eyes. He lowered his head back down and rotated it all the way around his body to inspect the drops which began to pulse, their red color getting brighter with every beat. After what seemed like hours, Hollo let out a final, sound, an eerie gurgling noise that reminded Jeff of flushing something down the sink, and the frozen raindrops all shot away in all different directions, vanishing into the night. The rest of the Hollites silently rose from the water and returned to their huts. Hollo turned to explain to Jeff and Hal, who had so many questions but were unable to actually get any of them out. ''That was the Seeding Ceremony. We all join together and bond with the water souls.'' Hollo paused as if to llet Jeff and Hal process the information. ''When we have reached the highest frequency of water energy, the rain descends from the sky, carrying new life. As the chief of this village it is my duty to make the final sound and breathe the pulse into the new forms that were contained inside the raindrops. Then they are spread out into the distance, where they will land in other bodies of water and eventually grow into new members of our species.''

''This seems familiar, I think I saw something similar on the televison once'' Jeff said. ''But I doubt it's really appropriate to talk about so I'll just just say good job on the ceremony, that was terrific. I particularly loved the part when you froze the rain.'' Jeff made a mental note to learn how to do that himself one day, but in the meantime he was incredibly hungry. He reached into his supply pouch and took out all the essentials; two chocolate bars, a packet of crisps and a bottle of lemonade. Hal looked at the barely adequate meal and rolled his eyes. Jeff saw this and protested with indignance. ''I'm a growing boy, I need food to make me big and strong!'' He flexed his skinny arms. ''So Hollo,'' he said as he unscrewed the cap of his lemonade, ''what would happen if you dropped into lemonade? Would you explode or start vibrating through the bottle or something? Not saying I'm going to chuck you in my drink but it's always good to know.''

Hollo was observing the clear bottle of lemonade as Jeff began to gulp it down. He found the way the bubbles fizzed inside the drink fascinating. ''I cannot say, I have no experience in that because the only liquid on this planet is water. I have no idea what it would be like.''

Hal began to unpack his own food from his pouch, a modest helping of whiskey bread he had found in the ventilation shaft while cleaning on board the Maria. What the bread was doing in a ventilation shaft he had no idea of, but he suspected Jeff to have some sort of involvement with it. Regardless, it was the best food he'd had in days, despite the few hairs that were sprouting from the crust. It was only then that he realized what Jeff had brought in his pouch, and he confronted his partner about his mysterious meal.

''So where'd you get all this? Did you pop to the shop while I was asleep? Did you get a nice little magazine too, one that comes with a little toy?''

''Actually yeah,'' Jeff answered with surprising honesty. ''I found some spare change and took the shuttle to the comet store. Picked up some bits and bobs, got some milk to put in the fridge. Picked up a great magazine too, Space Splatter. Thought we could read it in the bathroom in case you get a bit bored. It came with a little toy water pistol.''

''This spare change you found... where did you find it?'' Hal asked suspiciously.

''Oh under your pillow,'' Jef revealed. ''You were asleep so didn't think you really needed it. It's okay though, I put it to good use. I got you some of those cakes you like, they're in the cupboard.'' He took another swig of lemonade before tucking into his chocolate bar.

''The ones with the chocolate powder on top?'' Hal said as he bit into his whiskey bread, the stale taste of crust mixed with diluted fruit juice filling his mouth. It was named whiskey bread due to the original recipe using actual whiskey mixed in with the dough, but since then any drink mixed with the bread was known as whiskey bread.

'Yeah that's the one!'' Jeff exclaimed with pretend enthusiasm as he tore open his crisps. He began to munch on them and took out his info pad, washing his hand in a nearby puddle then drying it on his portable rag before touching the screen. Updating the Hollas entry of the diary log with the events of the day, Jeff rubbed his eyes as he tried his best to concentrate on the small screen, which was proving to be quite the task as he was feeling tired. ''Where are we sleeping?'' He asked Hollo with a yawn.

''The hut behind you.'' Hollo raised a thin arm and pointed to the small hut behind them. ''I hope you don't mind, but I am putting you in my own hut. You will be sharing with my son. I do not need sleep tonight so I will stay awake.''

Jeff nodded and widened his mouth in a large yawn. ''Well, I'm off to bed. I've had a traumatic day and I need my sleep. Night all, love you, Rocketman,'' he chuckled to himself. He stood up and stretched his arms with another yawn, then made his way back to the hut, trying to avoid any surprise puddles or holes on the way.

Hal, though he was feeling tired, didn't feel like going to bed just yet. Instead he wandered around the dark village before finding a reasonably comfy-looking rock to sit on, away from the hub of tents. He sat there, leaning his elbows on his knees as he rubbed his head and sighed. He took out a small pouch from his belt and fumbled with the clip in his fingers before managing to open it with a quiet click. He reached into the pouch and took out a short, stubby object which he brought to his lips. He held it between his lips and was about to reach into his tool pouch until he heard a rustling sound ahead of him, and Hollo emerged from the darkness. Hal took the object from his lips and rolled it around in his fingers as he sighed again.

''I noticed you hadn't gone to sleep,'' Hollo said thoughtfully. ''I did not know where you had gone so I thought of coming to the spot where he sat long ago, and here I find you.'' He walked into a medium sized puddle that sat on the ground in front of the rock and and settled down in it, sinking into the puddle until only his shoulders and neck were visible above the water. ''Is something troubling you, friend?''

Hal looked up, his expression unreadable. ''Mind if I have a smoke?'' He asked in a low voice as he brought his hand up, still rolling it around in his fingers. ''Just thought I'd make sure since I don't know how your bodies work, plus the atmosphere here is a bit different.'' He rubbed his eyes with his other hand.

''It should be acceptable,'' Hollo replied. ''Humans have done it here in the past and they didn't experience many side effects.'' He bobbed up and down in the water, splashing small droplets of water on to Hal's grimy boots.

Hal put the cigarette back between his lips and reached into his tool pouch. He took out a small, metallic cylindrical object and brought it up to his face. He flicked a small switch on the inside of the tool pouch and a small, bright flame flickered into life inside of the device and emerged from the outlet on the side. The flame slightly illuminated the darkened area they were sitting in, bathing them both in a faint orange glow. Hal brought the device close to the cigarette and held it there for a few seconds until the flame caught the end of the cigarette and it began to emit faint trails of smoke that rose into the air and disappeared.

''That statue that your ceremony was gathered around,'' Hal said after a puff of the cigarette. ''who was it? The face was eroded so I wasn't quite sure.'' He had a faint idea of who he was and a lingering feeling of resentment and sorrow was toiling in his stomach as he stared blankly at the ground.

Hollo stared at the sky. ''The great hero. Years ago he saved our village from a great terrible beast that had been menacing the area. He stayed on the planet for a while, though he often went into the wildlands for days and we didn't see him. When he returned to us he would tell us all stories about the planets he had visited and the amazing adventures he had been on.'' Hollo lowered his gaze and looked at Hal. ''He was a great man.''

Moonlight began to shine down on the area, illuminating the pool that Hollo was sitting in, giving him a ghostly blue shine. The glow of Hal's cigarette began to dim, until the only light came from the reflection of the puddle.

Hal flicked ash from the end of his cigarette, catching it in his hand. The heat of the ash didn't bother him, he had held worse, less pleasant things in his lifetime. He poured the ashes into the cigarette pouch, which he would later clean back on the ship or nearest station. ''Yeah, sure was a great guy.'' He turned his head towards the direction of the village, and though it was too dark to see, he was looking at where he knew the statue of his old friend stood.

''You know him?'' Hollo asked, his head rising slightly from the pool.

''Oh I knew him alright,'' Hal muttered. ''He was Jeff's father.'' He looked at Hollo sadly, his eyes shining in the moonlight. ''And my best friend.''

Hollo was silent, listening intently. Hal seemed to bear some tone of resentment in his voice, but he chose not to speak until he knew what had happened.

''Jeff is my crewmate, by the way. We actually made codenames for security reasons but I don't really see the point any more. My name is Hal.''

''Way back before Jeff was even born, I knew his parents. Well I say I knew them, they were actually my best friends. We all went to the Stardust Academy together, different specializations though. He was a pilot, and she was a skilled botanist. I was just a security guard but we got along pretty well.'' He paused to take another cigarette from his pouch but just sighed and put it back. ''Back before I joined the academy I used to be a real piece of work. Even ran my own street gang, 'The Grinders'. We were the meanest mothers on the Core Station, nobody messed with us. Eventually I got tired of that life and actually wanted to go somewhere so I signed up for the academy and got put on the security team. Sure my old cohorts weren't too pleased about me ditching them but they got over it. Having underground contacts saved my ass more than once."

"After we graduated they decided to get married, and they even decided to make me the best man. For a few years it was great, we were really going somewhere. Phillip became known as an amazing pilot, stories of his escapades across the galaxy spread far and wide. They were all exaggerated of course, he used to tell me over drinks that he let the stories grow because it gave people hope, kept the morale up.''

Hal put out the cigarette on his leg and placed it in the pouch, then climbed off the rock, sitting down on the ground next to Hollo. ''Elizabeth was a highly skilled botanist,'' he said as he stared at the sky. ''She was fantastic, a lot of the medical advances we've had were all thanks to her and the research she did. It's a damn shame we lost her. Everything after that just fell apart, complete mess. And that's just putting it lightly.''

''May I ask, what happened?'' Hollo asked.

Hal looked at Hollo sadly. ''We lost her, Hollo. She died.'' His voice was hoarse now. ''Her and Phillip were sent to a nearby moon to do some surveying for the Star Corps. She had just given birth too, feisty little devil that kid was. While they were at work on the surface there was some kind of earthquake and she fell right in. Managed to save the kid, though. Poor little guy, barely even got to know his mother...'' Hal choked on his last few words as tears began to form in his eyes, glinting in the blue shimmer of the moonlight. He sniffed and continued, not bothering to wipe away the watery tears that had begun to stream down his face. ''Before they left,'' he said, his voice shaking, ''she asked me if I wanted to be Jeff's godfather. I said I'd give them my answer when they returned. By the time the ship returned, Phillip was clutching baby Jeff wrapped in his coat, and they were both crying. I got worried when Elizabeth didn't follow them off the ship, and I tried asking Phillip what happened but he just ignored me and everyone else, walking to his room with Phillip. It wasn't until a few days later that I actually found out what happened, official reports said that Elizabeth had lost her life in a freak natural disaster and Phillip and his son were the only ones to make it out alive.''

''I'm sorry,'' Hollo said. ''That's awful. I know what it feels like to lose a loved one.'' He sank under the surface of the puddle completely. Hal wasn't sure if he would still be able to hear him but he kept talking anyway, struggling to put together his words.

''Phillip became really distant for a while. He took it upon himself to look after Jeff, but I was worried about him. On the occasion that I did see him, he looked about ten years older and rarely spoke, preferring to sit alone or grab whatever he needed and leave. I don't know what he was doing with that kid, Jeff never talks about it. Must have been lonely though, I never saw him playing with other kids or even going outside at all for that matter. That went on for about ten years. When he wasn't taking care of Jeff, Phillip was off on missions, and to my relief he actually started to talk to me again. While he wasn't the same energetic, excitable man he used to be it was still good to actually talk to him again. He told me that since Elizabeth died he felt lost, but him and Jeff were doing just fine. He didn't explain why Jeff never went out, but I just put it down to him being paranoid about losing his son too.''

He wiped the tears from his eyes. ''We didn't speak all that much, but it was good to have my friend back. He asked me if I wanted to come on a mission with him and I accepted. It was going to be like the good old days, minus Elizabeth and we would of course have a good chat while we were there. Nothing to me seemed suspicious at all. He gulped and took a deep breath. ''He didn't tell me much about the mission, just that there was a wanted criminal hiding out at a mining station and we were going to bag him and tag him. The target was armed to the teeth so Phillip advised me to bring as many guns as I could carry, it was going to get rough and we would probably need to hunker down somewhere and try and take him down.''

''We boarded a shuttle, though I found it strange that we weren't taking a Phalanx, which was the standard shuttle cruiser model the Star Corps used for off world missions. This looked a lot rougher, painted in a moldy green color, with modified parts that clearly weren't part of the ship's original design. Phillip wasn't wearing his uniform either. I asked him about it and he explained that if we fly towards the mining station in full SC gear, we may as well be painting 'SHOOT US DOWN' on the ship. I agreed, it did make sense. We took off and made our way to the facility, taking a route that was not on the star maps.''

''By this point, alarm bells should have been going off in my head but I took no notice. I wasn't going to let this moment be ruined too easily. 'It's so they don't track us, they know the Star Corps routes,' Phillip told me. 'Relax Hal, you'll be safely back in bed before you know it.'' Sounded simple enough, just another capture mission. ''Been working on this thing a while,' Phillip said casually. ''It doesn't look pretty but she's got it where it counts.' It didn't take us long to reach the mining station, we went in low and found a deserted hangar to land in. We prepared to exit the shuttle, checking our gear and making sure we had enough oxygen in our packs, just in case the filters on the station malfunctioned. We left the shuttle, scanning the hangar with my thermonoculars before moving on. The station was weirdly quiet. For such a dangerous criminal, this guy sure was light on security. Phillip took the lead and we searched every room for our target. We had no luck in the loading bays or engineering deck so we moved to the centre of the facility, the command room. I thought it seemed fitting for such a devious mastermind to choose his base of operations in the heart of the complex, and unfortunately for me, I wasn't that far off.''

By now the moon had disappeared behind the dark clouds that covered the sky above, and Hal and Hollo sat together in the pitch black, surrounded by a vast empty void of nothing.

''As he opened the door to the command room, Phillip turned to me and looked me dead in the eye. His eyes looked a yellowish-orange color, I think it was the emergency lights of the corridor that were flashing as he opened the door. 'I miss her Hal, I really do. I'm sorry.' I knew he was referring to Elizabeth, but I didn't know what he was sorry about. By this point I wasn't buying into this whole thing at all, but since we were there I wanted to see what was inside anyway. He entered the room ahead of me and the lights went off. The whole room went dark and I couldn't see a thing, but I went in after him anyway. I couldn't see so I brought out my thermonoculars, but I couldn't see his heat signature anywhere. I fumbled about in the dark until I bumped into something. I had no idea what it was but felt like it was made of metal. Then the lights came back on, and I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the light.''

''The room was full of barrels, they were piled right up to the ceiling. There was barely room to walk around in there, so I had no idea where Phillip had gone. I checked behind me to see if he had left via the door, but nothing. Then the door started closing, and I didn't make it to them in time to try and stop them. I tried bashing the door in with my gun, but nothing happened, except my gun getting a slight dent where it had it the door. I considered using a grenade but since the room was full of barrels of I have no idea what, I decided not to. I was stuck in that room for days. I checked the whole room top to bottom as best as I could but no luck, I was locked in and they probably threw away the key. I tried going through it all over and over again in my head, why would Phillip lead me here and lock me in? What's he playing at? We were friends. As days began to pass, I still had hope. I had my info pad on me-with a limited battery and some snacks in my pouch. I thought he would come back for me, but he didn't. Eventually my info pad's battery ran out and I was left alone to wallow in my own pity.''

''After what felt like weeks, I got woken up from a rough sleep by a kick to the ribs and a blinding light stinging my eyes. I was dazed for a while, but another kick brought me to my senses. My vision began to clear and I saw three guys standing over me, armed with those laser bayonets the Star Corps uses. They stood aside and another guy walked up and looked at me. Judging by his decorated uniform I guessed he was their commander and he looked at me the same way some other guy might look at a dog mess. He told me that I was an idiot, that my plan was doomed to fail and something else about spending the rest of my days rotting in a cell. I don't remember much of what he said, he gave me a headache and I couldn't concentrate. The only thing on my mind that I could think of was Phillip, and why the hell he got me into this.''

It was so dark and Hal had been talking so long that he didn't even notice that Hollo had left the water and was sitting next to him, listening to his story. "Sorry I'm not really much of a storyteller," Hal said. "This was a long ass time ago and I still remember all the important stuff but the smaller details take some time to come to mind.''

"I understand," Hollo said. "Please continue, if you feel comfortable with telling me."

"Well you already know our real names and half my life story, so I guess it's fine. I mean it's not fine, it's the worst thing that ever happened to me, but it's fine. So anyway, the soldiers and the commander led me back to the hangar, the same one we landed in. That was when I realized that these really were members of the Star Corps, because I saw the Phalanx sitting in the landing zone. Phillip's ship was still there and for that brief moment, I had hope again. I thought that maybe Phillip was still there, trying to find a way to rescue me but all that went down the toilet when the commander told me that he was amazed that I had flown there in that pile of junk. I tried telling him that it was Phillip that had flown us here but he didn't believe me at all, babbling on about how the 'great Phillip Saturn' would never fraternize with 'dirty terrorists.' I was still trying to piece together the whole situation as one of the soldiers shackled me with handcuffs and escorted me on board the shuttle. They made me sit in a passenger chair and a soldier sat in the space next to me as a guard, though there wasn't really much point because I was weak and hungry from my little vacation at the mine. He set me up, Hollo. I still don't know why but he set me up like a damn fool."

"You are here right now, alive and well. You made it this far. You are no damn fool." Hollo put emphasis on those last two words, as if to strengthen his words of encouragement to Hal.

Hal smiled slightly. ''Yeah I'm alive but I'm still a fool. I played right into his little plot and got locked up for it. And look at me, here I am traipsing around the galaxy with the offspring of the guy who screwed me over and left me in a cell, scraping the bottom of the barrel for supplies. Oh yeah, I'd say I'm doing perfectly well."

"You say you hate the father so much, yet you work with his son? Why is that?" Hollo asked curiously. "I find it strange."

Hal turned his head and looked off into the direction that he thought Jeff's hut was. "Yeah. It is strange. But technically speaking I'm still his godfather so he's my responsibility, whether I like it or not. I think it's what Elizabeth would have wanted. She knew what she was doing when she asked me." He yawned and looked at his info pad. It was late, or early in the morning depending on how you look at it. "I think I'm going to head off to bed now, should probably get some rest. Night, Hollo," he said and started to walk away, back towards the hut, using the small flame of his lighter for a light source.

"Does he know?" Hollo asked, following him. "Does he know what his father did?"

"Not yet. I'm waiting for a good time to tell him. As far as he knows, his father just upped and vanished somewhere. I'd like to keep it that way too and tell him when the time is right. Preferably somewhere safe where he won't try to throw me out of the airlock or drown me in a river of goo."

Hollo stopped. Hal noticed that he wasn't following and stopped too, though he didn't turn around. "It's not good to keep secrets from the ones you love. You don't know if they'll find out somewhere else, and you will wish that you had been the one to tell them yourself.'' He crept past Hal, who was standing still. "Goodnight Hal," he said and made his way back to his own hut, not needing a light source.

Hal resumed his walk back to his tent, thoughts buzzing around his mind like flies. He knew he should tell Jeff about what a terrible man his father was, but truthfully he was afraid of how he would react. Jeff wasn't a particularly violent or aggressive person, but from his experience as both a gang leader and a security officer that people's moods can change at the slightest breeze. As he took off his environment suit and laid down on his blanket in between his snoring crewmate and a small tank that contained the sleeping shape of Hollo's son, he hoped that when the time came, that breeze would blow in the right direction.

  Since his Dad left when Jeff was ten, he had left him in the care of his neighbour, a kindly old woman named Delia Winters on board the Happiness Station. Though she was not actually related to him in any way, Jeff took to referring to her as his ‘stepmother’, a term he had picked up from watching The Real Boosters, a soap opera show that he used to watch while waiting for his science and action programmes. Though she was a nice and kind lady, she was rather strict and her rules regarding watching television and not doing chores were far less relaxed than Phillip’s had been. She allowed Jeff to sit there and watch his shows, provided he finished his chores first. He was allowed to watch it for five hours a day, and when his time expired he had to find something else to do. As she was an elderly person she didn’t have much to do in the way of fun so she tried to get Jeff to partake in such exciting activities like knitting and crochet, as old people are known to do. Jeff actually wasn’t too bad at it but after a while it began to get increasingly boring so he wanted to find something else to do. He tried his hand at cooking but that didn’t last long for reasons he conveniently forgot.    

  Eventually he found something both creative and productive to do; drawing. While he wasn’t the best artist in the galaxy, he tried his best. He would sit there for hours doodling his own characters on bits of scrap paper and scribbling speech bubbles next to them, making his own little stories. Delia noticed that small stacks of mismatched, scribbled on paper were building up in the living room so she decided to buy him a sketchbook, which he immediately began to fill with all sorts of drawings from his imagination. He had always loved science fiction and over the top action, stemming from the shows he watched religiously and it greatly influenced his drawings. Eventually he started to develop his own character and story. It was a bit of a mish mash of all the things he loved and learned from the programmes and he spent hours upon hours developing it. Many a time Delia had come into his room to find him slumped in his chair with his face flat on the page, sleeping peacefully, babbling about ‘saving the comet princess’ and ‘saving the moon children’. Of course nobody else knew what he was talking about but that didn’t matter, he had it all planned out in his head.

  He began to write stories with the character and even finished his own mini-novel, which took him months of late nights to finish. Since his life was relatively bland without much adventure, the tale was his own way of projecting himself into a far more exciting alter ego. He based the main character on what he hoped to be when he grew up, though he knew pretty well it would be very unlikely. He never gave up though, and continued to funnel his creative hopes and dreams into his space epic. His story, The Adventures of Captain Stardust proved to be a hit at the local hair salon, where little Jeff would read out excerpts to Delia and her friends while they were having their hair done. A swashbuckling tale, featuring the indomitable, titular Captain Stardust and his lovable crew of friendly aliens as they travelled the universe in their spaceship, the Starry Skipper. Jeff had hoped that one day his book would become a big hit and people would praise him, though sadly it never happened. He didn’t give up on writing and drawing and as the years went by he continued to add more and more to the Captain Stardust mythos. His drawing skills barely improved but his story became more fleshed out as he added new heroes and villains alongside daring new escapades across space.
 
  When Jeff was seventeen he started to go out more and explore. Because he had been reclusive as a child he found it difficult to interact with other people on board the station. The only knowledge he had of dealing with real people came from the comedy shows he sometimes watched, which he thought represented actual life pretty well. So when it came to talking to people around the station he often responded with sarcasm and snarkiness, and as to be expected this rarely ended well and he usually went home with a black eye or a bruise on his body. Delia did her best to teach him that he can’t go round talking to people the same way they do on his television shows, which worked to some extent, though more often than not when the conversation went on for long enough he would resort to his sarcastic barbs. He also unfortunately began to enjoy the reactions that he would get, so he purposely annoyed others for his own amusement. Not to be nasty and cause harm, he never went that far, but

 A few months passed and Jeff took his pilot’s test and somehow managed to pass, despite nearly knocking over a dozen innocent bystanders who were trying to carry a large suitcase into the airlock. His instructor, a six-eyed creature named Krem very nearly failed him but Jeff managed to sweet talk his way into Krem’s good books, promising him a year’s supply of Plasma Buds. Plasma Buds were small objects that were inserted into the ears of the user, and the plasma contained within would stimulate the inside of the ears, giving the user feelings of intense emotions, with varying levels of pleasure. They also didn’t exist. Jeff, however was excellent at selling the idea to Krem, thanks to years of late night viewings of the shopping channel and he promised Krem that he would receive them in a month’s time, provided he still allowed him to hold a license. Krem agreed and passed Jeff with top marks.

  With his new license in hand, Jeff decided that he wanted to take Delia’s Atmospeeder and go for a spin around the outside of the station. After convincing her to let him borrow it and to be back by tea time he took off in the small red single-seater ship from the garden heliport. The ship he had used during his test had a different control setup but it didn’t take Jeff long to get the hang of flying the Atmospeeder.

  As he left the station and began flying through the darkness of space he felt like listening to some tunes so he keyed in the radio code on the dashboard’s info pad and began to flick through the stations. The first station he came across was a classic rock station, playing a band the announcer called The Afterburners. Jeff thought it sounded like ‘old man guitar’ music so he kept switching stations, not paying full attention to the cockpit window in front of him. A rumbling sensation brought him back to his senses as he saw a large black object directly ahead of his speeder and he pulled down the control stick hard to avoid colliding with it. After a lengthy battle with the controls, Jeff managed to pull away from the object and rolled the ship off to the side, out of the way. He turned his head to look in the rear cockpit window and saw that the mysterious structure wasn’t moving, and it was shaped like a giant letter ‘T’, though no features could be discerned on its surface. Throughout all that excitement Jeff had been unable to change the radio station, and the dramatic events had been accompanied by an irritating, high pitched pop song that was currently topping the charts, no doubt to the great satisfaction of twelve year olds everywhere. Jeff frowned and turned the radio off. He welcomed the silence.

  He flew around the area for a few hours, as the Atmospeeder didn’t have enough fuel for long distance journeys. It was a domestic shuttle, meant for transport around the station but it hadn’t been used in a long time and had enough juice to zip around in space for a while. Jeff obviously loved being out there in the vast openness of space, gazing at the distant stars, wondering to himself what sort of stories and adventures were to be had there. He gazed longingly at them for a good while before he decided that it was high time he got back, Delia would be preparing food soon and he was really looking forward to tonight’s eggy bread. He thumbed the controls and the ship began to descend back into range of the station’s artificial gravity field.

  As he engaged the landing gear the ship’s info pad began to flicker with a blue light and a voice began to crackle through the speaker. “Attention citizen Saturn, you are hereby under arrest for the murder of Delia Winters and the attempted destruction of Happiness Station. Please exit your ship with your hands above your head and step towards the containment cube.”

  Jeff couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Delia? Murdered? A chill went up his spine. How had this happened? When he had left her she’d been fine, and he couldn’t think of anyone on the station who had a grudge against her. He felt scared. Scared and alone. Since his father left, Delia had been the only friend he had, family even. Thinking of that kind, supportive old woman lying dead made Jeff feel sick. He wanted to throw up in the cockpit but he found he could barely even open his mouth.

  The voice crackled through the radio again. “I repeat, step out of the ship with your hands above your head and make your way to the containment cube. I will not ask again.”

  Jeff sat still for a few moments before opening the cockpit hatch and climbing out. He was surrounded by uniformed guards, all wearing shiny white full body hazard suits, their faces covered by gas masks, a cylindrical can was attached to each cheek to provide oxygen. “Right this way, Saturn.” One of the guards said in a muffled voice. He guided Jeff to a metal square frame that was laying flat on the ground. Jeff stood inside the square, still feeling sick. The guard brought out a device from his belt and keyed in a code, each press emitting a small buzzing noise. Walls of fuzzy purple energy began to emerge from the square, encasing Jeff in a box-shaped inescapable force field. Before the walls reached the height of his chest, Jeff’s stomach finally gave in and he vomited in a spectacular arc, splattering his captor’s mask with slimy chunks. The guard would have grabbed Jeff by the scruff of his neck had the box then not fully formed, and Jeff was hidden from view as the containment cube’s walls began to strengthen and the fuzzy static surface of the energy rippled in small waves.
 
  After a few moments the energy settled and the walls became translucent, enabling Jeff to peer out sadly. He wondered what the hell was going on, and why the guards were wearing gas masks and hazard suits. He guessed that some kind of chemical spill had occurred and they were taking preventative measures against it, but he didn’t have much time to think about it as the cube was filled with suppression gas and he slumped against the wall, knocked out.

  About three hours later, Jeff was woken up by a sharp stinging sensation. A uniformed, gaunt looking man holding a clipboard was looking at Jeff through a pair of enhanced hazard goggles as he scribbled away nonchalantly. “Mr Saturn, are you aware of where you are right now? This is the Eclipse Detention Center. You were brought in an hour ago but we kept you sedated to inspect your systems. You were involved in a mass chemical dispersal attack so we’ve been doing some tests on you to make sure you were suitable for containment. The good news is, you’re clean. No signs of chemical contamination. The bad news is you’re going to be spending a long time in here.”

  Jeff looked down and saw that he was sitting, strapped to a mobility chair. Reinforced leather straps bound his body tight to the back of the chair, with his hands encased in mini containment cubes on each arm. He was still feeling lightheaded after his sedation and was unable to form full coherent sentences so the best he could do was mumble and nod his head.

  With a nod from the doctor, the chair began to automatically wheel down the long hallway. Jeff’s temporarily impaired eyesight made it difficult to see properly but to him it looked like an odd, sterile environment that was devoid of any discernible features. As Jeff’s vision began to focus and he was able to see more clearly, he saw that the corridor he was in was a sterile white environment devoid of any discernible features. As he rolled down the hallway a shape came into view at the far end, and as he got closer he saw that it was a single black door. It opened silently and Jeff crossed the threshold into a large, equally white room.

  It was a cavernous, circular room with a single desk on a raised platform in the middle. An elderly man sat behind the desk, watching Jeff fixedly as he was wheeled in. He had a face that looked like it had been carved from stone,adorned with a bushy white beard that reminded Jeff somewhat of his neighbour’s fat fluffy white cat. He continued to watch Jeff closely then spoke in a strangely soft voice. “Jeff Saturn, you have been sentenced with the murder of Delia Winters, the theft of her Atmospeeder and the dispersal of Class-D Chemical Systems at Happiness Station. Your sentence has already been carried out so you don’t get any chance of appeal yet and you will be transferred to your cell block when this is over. Do you have any questions?”

  Jeffs was still confused by the whole situation so he needed some things cleared up. “Why am I in here? I don’t remember committing any crimes. I don’t remember that much at all, actually.”

  “Official report is that you were found at the scene of the crime with Delia Winters’ body lying on the ground in front of you. You then detonated the chemical bomb which led to the contamination of the whole station. A squad of Star Corps enforcers were sent to neutralize the threat and bring you in. And here you are, a convicted murderer and chem-terrorist. I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but you’ll fit right in here. I’m sure you’ll become fast friends with the other inmates. Now leave, the habitation officer is waiting for you.”

  Jeff didn’t quite know how to react. His memory was extremely fuzzy and he could barely remember a thing. The last memory he could conjure up was waking up and making beans on toast for his breakfast, but that was it. It was almost as if somebody had wiped his mind, but that would be silly, that was the kind of bizarre twist that could only occur on one of Jeff’s television shows. He guessed that it was a side effect of the suppression gas and hoped his memory would return as soon as possible. He struggled to think of any motives he would have of killing the woman who had looked after him for half his life. He didn’t have it in him at all, but yet apparently he had ended her life in cold blood. Not only that, but he had launched a chemical attack on the entire station… It was like something out of a nightmare. Just hours ago Jeff had been crunching down on his breakfast and now he was in this strange, imposing white environment with no foreseeable means of escape.

  Jeff’s first day at the Eclipse Detention Center felt strangely like a first day at school. Jeff had never been to school of course, but he had seen it plenty of times on television. Being shown around the place, meeting new people and learning all about life at the facility. It was pretty much the same thing except the people he met were all twisted, insane lunatics- as Habitation Officer Lane called them, as he led Jeff around on his ‘tour’. A tall, lanky red-headed man with a pock-marked face and a crooked nose, Lane was a man of little mirth and gave Jeff a menacing glare every time he made the mistake of asking a question.

  The first place he took Jeff was the canteen, a large spacious room with mirrored walls and a spotless, shiny floor. Tables were arranged in orderly rows that stretched from wall to wall with gaps every few feet to allow space to move between them. Like the floor they stood on, the tables were also completely clean. There was no light source in the room, the only illumination came from the strange white sheen that the floor and roof were adorned with. “Why is this place so clean? You could swear this place only opened about five minutes ago by the looks of it! Who cleans it all?”

  “People who ask too many questions.” Lane answered as he looked at Jeff with an expression of loathing that clearly suggested he was already tired of his very presence. “All inmates are required to clean the room they are in before leaving. It keeps the place looking pretty and it wears them out enough so they will be too tired to cause any trouble. Of course occasionally you get the odd screw who thinks he’s a tough guy and kicks up a fuss, but we have Brandi to deal with that kind of nuisance”.

  Jeff, who knew that Lane was getting sick of all the questions couldn’t resist but to pester him further. His memory was hazy but his personality remained and he took every chance he could to annoy Lane. “Who’s Brandi, the maid? I bet he’s nice.”

  “Big Brandi. She’s big. She’s the muscle around here. Anyone who’s got a problem with the prison has to take it to her first, and she’s a great listener. You done asking questions yet?” Lane looked at Jeff impatiently.

  “Nearly, can I just get your name? I think you’d better write it down so I can remember and send you a birthday card.” Jeff winked at Lane. Lane didn’t wink back.

They entered the cell block and walked down the catwalk, which was silent. In fact, the whole room was oddly silent, considering it was a prison holding the worst of the worst, most of whom would no doubt have lots to say, Jeff thought. The room was exceedingly tall, the walls stretched as far as Jeff could see and the blinding whiteness of it all made it seem like the whole place just continued endlessly into oblivion. Each cell consisted of a small, white square room with a blue force field at the front. There were many, many cells packed along the walls, and when viewed at a distance it looked as if the entire wall was aglow with a faint blue light, given off by the force fields in unison. Lane led Jeff to his cell, past row after row of sleeping inmates. Occasionally they would pass a cell with an inmate that was awake, and what Jeff saw unnerved him. The inmates that were awake all seemed to be in a state of panic or frenzy, and were banging their heads on the walls, babbling incoherently or convulsing on the floor. “The hell is up with those guys?” Jeff asked as he quickened his pace to get as far away from them as possible. “They defective?”

 Lane actually smirked, which startled Jeff. “They didn’t take their medicine. There’s a reason this prison has a reputation of no riots or breakouts at all. I don’t want to bore you with the details, though even if I did you wouldn’t understand anyway. Put simply, at the end of the day they take their meds and have a nice long sleep, maybe have some nice dreams about a life they’ll never have. If they don’t take the medicine, well… let’s just say they’ll be a bit restless. You haven’t felt it yet but the air here is pumped with aerosolized psyche gas at bedtime. Helps keep the naughty ones in check. See, if you want to avoid having your head feel like it’s having hot metal clamped over it, then you can just take the pills and go to sleep nice and easy.”

  Jeff was shocked. “That’s horrible! I guess it keeps the maniacs in check though.” He then remembered sadly that he was now counted among the ‘maniacs’ who inhabited the prison, even though he still couldn’t remember doing anything.

  “Bingo.” Lane chuckled. “Besides, if they somehow make it past the party time without passing out, we just get Brandi to tuck them in.” He reached into his pocket and took out a small tray, with seven closed compartments. He handed it to Jeff who gave him a fake smile of gratitude in return. “Here’s your meds.”

  They arrived at Jeff’s cell. The glowing blue force field stood silently before them, and Jeff sighed sadly to himself. There was nothing in the cell except a small hole in the corner that he assumed was his toilet and a sink in the other corner with a single tap. He laid down on the floor, which was surprisingly comfortable considering it was a floor, and took a pill from the tray Lane had given him. He swallowed it with difficulty and nearly gagged due to the taste, but it made him feel drowsy. This was his new home, where he would no doubt spend the rest of his days. Nothing good would ever happen again, and there would be no stories to tell. For a while, at least.

The next day a transport shuttle carrying some rather intriguing characters landed at the processing bay, as Jeff sat in the canteen eating his green bread. He had no idea of what his food was made of and he didn’t want to either. He reluctantly munched down on the delicious, crunchy slice, blissfully unaware of the new prisoners that were being marched solemnly down the hallway towards the habitation office. Prisoners that would no doubt be extremely polite and well spoken people that would all want to be Jeff’s best friend.

Jeff woke up feeling dizzy. He sat up slowly and looked all around him, wondering where he was. He had a splitting headache, and his face was oddly damp. Hal was lying on the floor next to him, snoring peacefully, somehow comfortable on the cold, damp floor. He couldn’t make out where he was, and he had to squint to see properly, before once again his vision was filled with something horrifying and blue, right in his face.

  “Mister Jeff, are you all right? You’ve been asleep for a few hours.” It was Hollo, dear sweet Hollo. “I’ve been trying to wake you for a few hours but I could not get you to respond.”

  Jeff groaned and clutched his head. “What happened? I remember something about a beach… And burgers. There were burgers.”

  “You were experiencing the phenomena you call hallucinating,” Hollo explained. “That water you and Mister Hal both drank contained small doses of excretal substances. It’s not produced for human consumption, it causes you to see and think of things that aren’t there.”

    “Wait wait wait, you mean… we drank your poo?” Jeff was disgusted. “That’s great, Hollo. Yeah that was definitely on my to-do list, right between getting impregnated by an alien and being replaced by an android.”

  “It was not mine, Mister Jeff. Where did you get the water?”

  “I just filled up my water bottle in… oh.” Jeff creased his brow with his fingers. “Don’t tell your kid, okay? I don’t want him to think I’m some kind of weirdo.”

  A voice answered, and it wasn’t Hollo’s. “Well you did already punch him in the face, I’m sure eating his crap will hardly make him love you any more,” Hal moaned as he sat up.

  “Hello, Mister Hal,” Hollo said warmly. “I was worried you and Mister Jeff would not wake up.”

  “I was having the strangest dream. Anyways, I’m awake now, shall we be off? No time for breakfast, we’ve got a job to do!” He stood up quickly and moaned quietly as the dizziness hit him. “Ugh, that was a crazy night. How far is the beach?”

  “There is no beach here, Mister Hal,” Hollo answered. “You and Mister Jeff both just stood still on the spot and muttered strange sounds to yourself. Mister Jeff even picked up a bloatshroom and started eating it. It was quite disgusting, I think.”

  “But I vaguely remember eating a burg...oh.” Jeff tipped his bottle of ‘delicious’ water on the floor sadly. “Okay, no more poop water for me.”

  “Hal whipped out his info pad, and cursed under his breath when the screen briefly flickered to life then faded away, due to the dead battery. “Well that’s just great. Fantastic. Well, let’s get on with it then.”

  They resumed their journey, looking high and low for any trace of the missing Hollites. After an hour of searching an overgrown  root trail, Jeff spotted something curious out of the corner of his eye.”Hey Hal, I think I’ve found something. Come look at this.”

  “Better not be another burger,” Hal muttered. “Oh. Oh my.”

  It was a small, spherical object of about two feet wide, resting in the undergrowth of a large tree. Its rough metallic surface was dented and cracked, rusted with age and neglect. Jeff nudged it gently with his foot and rolled it over to examine the other side. The side that had been face-down was caked with a thick layer of soil, so he grabbed some nearby leaves and scrunched them up in his hand and began to wipe away the dirt. Unlike the other side of the object, this side was clear and Jeff could see through into the interior of the strange sphere. The clear side was still pretty grimy with specks of dirt but Jeff could just about make out rows of small arranged metal rods that criss-crossed about the interior, with a tangled maze of wires curling around them.

  “What do you suppose it is?” Hal wondered. “Looks like some kind of weird TV to me. Old model maybe?”

  “Yeah I’m sure this planet has a wide range on offer,” Jeff replied sarcastically. “I’m a big fan of the psychedelic dramas they broadcast here.” He picked up Hollo’s bottle from Hal’s pouch, hoping he would shed some light on the find. “Don’t suppose you know what this is, do you?”

  “I am not aware of this technology, however it is possible that the Sky People may have left behind some old relics from when they came here.” He paused for a moment of thought. “We should check this area to see if there are other similar objects.”

  Hal nodded and made his way around the area, searching for more pieces. They didn’t find much save for a few rusty metal panels sticking out of the ground here and there. “Well it’s not that this isn’t interesting, there’s just not really a lot here. Want to move on?”

  Jeff didn’t reply. He was crouched over something in the corner, carefully examining it. It was a large rectangular object that had a scratched, dirty surface covered with strange symbols Jeff didn’t recognize. He swiped his hand across it gently, clearing lines away from the layer of dust and dirt, trying to figure out what it was. It seemed oddly familiar to him, as if he had seen it before but he had no memory of ever coming into contact with him. He poked it hard with his finger, and suddenly it began to glow with a luminous blue light that glared into his eyes and made them water.

  Hal didn’t see the glow immediately, it caught his attention as he turned around to ask Jeff where he thought would be a good place to go to the toilet. “Glowing blue lights are always a good sign,” he said as he approached. “Usually means my info pad is fully charged. Oh what have we here?”

  The object itself had stopped glowing, the only light coming from the rows of symbols that were now lit. Jeff, ever the curious type, began pressing the symbols at random, hoping they would actually do something. A sonorous metallic scraping sound filled the air and Jeff and Hal looked at each other curiously. The sound was coming from behind them, so they turned around and saw that one of the large trees appeared to be moving. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t the tree itself that was moving, but a rectangular space was opening from within the trunk, like a strange root-door.

  “Well we may as well pop down there and see where it goes,” Hal said with his hands on his hips. “After you, Jeff.”

  Jeff cautiously stepped into the tree root, taking care not to trip. It was pitch black inside and Jeff could only see a few feet in front of him, but there appeared to be a set of stairs descending into the darkness so Jeff began to climb down with Hal not far behind. Every few steps the passage was lit up by the same blue light that they had seen previously. They continued further down and down until the they hit solid ground and found themselves in a large, cavernous room that seemed to stretch off into ever expanding depths indefinitely. Dark green moss was sprouting from the floor and walls and the air was full of dust, as they could see by the tiny particles swirling around in the areas that were lit up by the blue beams of light.

  It was immediately clear that the place had not been in use for quite some time. Broken and discarded pieces of rusting equipment were lying scattered all over the place, shimmering in the glow of the light above. Resting against a wall was a set of panels, emblazoned with the same cryptic symbols as the object they had activated above ground. Since they had come this far, Jeff thought it wise to approach the panels and see if he could activate them by touching the symbols in the same manner as the ones above.

   While standing in front of the wall he could see further into the room, where rows upon rows of grimy tables sat. Atop each table was a large glass tube containing a murky green liquid that sat still, bubbling slightly ever so often. Jeff tapped the glass curiously, but to no avail. Some of the tubes had cracked, while others had smashed completely, the green substance leaking onto the surface of the table where it had remained and turned rather sticky. “So that’s what the inside of my nose looks like,” Jeff said to himself quietly as he peered inside a tube again.

  Returning to the panels, Jeff began poking each symbol with a hard jab of his finger. Sure enough, they began to glow and the whole room slowly became bathed in a dim blue light. “Why is everything so blue?” He thought to himself. Shapes began to flicker into existence in the middle of the room, misshapen forms and fuzzy lines that twisted and contorted sporadically. It reminded Jeff of the way a TV would sometimes need to be tuned, with the picture being blurry and out of shape before finally becoming clear. The shapes and lines eventually formed strange figures, almost humanoid looking but difficult to make out due to the low quality of the recording. No features could be discerned on the figures, so it was impossible to know just who they were. They darted around the room, moving at a fast pace, seemingly busy at a task that had long since ended. A large number of the figures were gathered around the test tubes, appearing to interact with and study their contents, though what they were was anyone’s guess.

  The technology appeared to be a holographic projection similar to the type that the Star Corps used for relaying messages, but the recording that was currently playing seemed to function differently. It was older, though somehow far more advanced. The systems that the Star Corps used were not yet advanced enough to allow for full bodied-projection, the best they could produce were half-size, a few feet tall. Hal made a mental note to do some serious research when he got back, this was potentially something big.

  Hal lifted Hollo’s bottle out of his pouch and placed it on the table carefully, making sure to not put him too close to the edge. “Recognize any of this, little buddy?” He asked, kneeling down so his face was level with Hollo. “This seems like a pretty good lead on where your missing people went.”

  “I believe I know exactly where they went. In fact, they are right here.” Hollo said.

  “What, really?” Jeff asked as he walked back over to them, walking straight through a hologram that flickered wildly as he passed through it. “Great, our work is nearly done then. Point us in the right direction, Hollo!”

  “You are standing right next to them, Mister Jeff. They are in these tubes.”

  Hal was confused. “What, you mean these tubes here? This place hasn’t been used in a long ass time Hollo, I doubt your friends were here recently.”

  “I never said they were here recently. I told you they had gone missing, Mister Hal, and that was the truth. I wanted your help finding them because I wanted to know what happened.”

  Jeff scratched his head and looked around the room, then back at Hollo. “So… when exactly did they go missing? Usually when we get requests to locate something, the item in question only disappeared recently.”

 Hal lifted Hollo’s bottle and spoke softly. “I’m guessing there’s something you’re not telling us. Anything we should know before we get ambushed my face-melting aliens?”

  Hollo’s voice was quiet and low as he spoke. “They disappeared about five years ago. I’m afraid there are things I have not told you, because I didn’t think it was needed. I asked for help finding my missing people, and you said you would help.”

  “That’s alright, we’re used to being kept in the dark about things,” Hal said as he gently placed Hollo’s bottle back down on the table.

  “Quite literally too, remember that time our torches died when we were going down that mine shaft?” Jeff put in.  He hoisted himself up and sat on the table next to Hollo, pushing the bottle slightly to the side so he would have more room to sit.

  “Thank you for helping me find my people. I am grateful that I now know of their fate. It is highly regrettable that it came to this.” Hollo’s voice quivered slightly as he spoke. It was almost as if he was close to tears, if his species even possessed the ability to cry. “I have been alive for a very long time. I have seen travellers come and travellers go. They use this planet for their own needs, and don’t bother to speak or look at us. You two are the only humans I have ever met who even took the time to talk to me about something other than the location of food or natural resources.”

  Hal felt a pinch of guilt as Hollo shifted one eye to look directly at him while he spoke about them being the only talkative humans he’d met. He was silently thankful for Hollo not mentioning Phillip, but it still gnawed away at the back of his mind. The holograms still continued to play all around them, silent and unaware.

  “I told you that the Swamp of Great Depth was made long ago by The Sky People. This facility here is also a remnant from the time they spent on this planet, and there are most likely spots that also contain old technology elsewhere.”  Hollo floated to the top of his bottle and unscrewed the lid himself, his head poking out of the gap. “I feel that I should tell you the truth about our people. Remember when I mentioned that The Sky People created the swamp by bringing down poisonous water onto a village, a long time ago?”

  “I remember,” Hal said, trying to see where this was going. Unlike Jeff he chose to stand up straight, his arms folded as he listened.

  Hollo rose even further out of the bottle, his arms now extending. “My people haven’t always lived on this planet, Mister Hal. The reason we know so little about the primitive history is that we were brought here, by the Sky People. The poisonous water that they brought with them contained a chemical that was created to bond with different types of liquid, to create life. I am unaware of what the purpose of our creation was, but the knowledge has remained within my mind since I was born. In a simple way of explaining it, we were planted like seeds. The water gave us life.”

  Jeff was unsure about how to react. Dealing with this sort of thing was usually Hal’s field so he kept his mouth shut.

  “My companions were also unaware of their purpose as the Sky People quickly left the planet before we discovered what we were created to do. Though as time passed they began to turn… aggressive. They began to question why they were here and made plans to take action. “ Hollo’s red pulse was glowing brighter than ever before. “I was curious about my origin, but over time I began to settle into my new home here, I had even began to raise my own family. The others didn’t like that at all, they said I should be aiding them in their efforts. They even threatened my mate with violence. As the population grew more and more restless I knew I had to do something.”

  Hal spoke slowly with caution. “What did you do, Hollo?”

  Hollo’s voice rose in pitch as the whole bottle began to turn a vibrant red that pulsed with his words. “I killed them, Mister Hal. I killed them all. I still regret it to this day, but I believe it was the right choice. Even my mate… I couldn’t risk leaving anyone that would find out.”

  “Jesus, Hollo,” Hal sighed as he rubbed his temple with his fingers. “Genocide is usually frowned upon, but I guess you had your reasons. So what happened next? Where did your new village come from?”

  “I was alone for a very long time. I wandered the planet endlessly until I found some odd structures very similar to the one we are standing in right now. I did not know what it was, but I came to the conclusion that it was created by the Sky People. I studied the technology and somehow managed to access the data files, where I learned more about my species, though much  of the data had been wiped. I did learn some interesting things such as other methods of reproduction, and the structure of our bodies, however,.” Hal sank back into the confines of the bottle, returning to his usual shade of blue. “I started my own population, near the location we first arrived. I once again had family and friends. Though I was closer to knowing the truth behind my creation, I chose not to relay the information to my new people. Instead I told them that we had been created by great spirits that lived in the sky, and we were to be peaceful and create no conflict amongst ourselves or potential visitors. The Seeding Ceremony was created as a way to keep the people believing, unaware of their true origins. It may be seen as selfish to keep the truth from them but I did it to keep us all safe.”
  Jeff finally spoke. “So you’re keeping them happy by telling them there’s some kind of sky god that watches over them and gives them life,” he said mildly. “That’s kind of messed up, but it’s not really my place to say, is it?”

  Hal considered telling Hollo that his people had the right to know, but stopped himself as he realized how hypocritical that would be. “Well they seem content with it, anyway. If that keeps them from killing each other then so be it,” he said with a hint of slight uncertainty in his voice. He considered asking Hollo about Phillip’s statue and how he fit into all this but he chose not to, out of fear that Jeff would get suspicious.

They remained there quietly for a while, until Hal broke the silence. “So your missing people, where are they?”

  “My people are in these tubes,” Hollo replied, indicating the tubes of green liquid that sat upon the desks. “Or rather, what remains of them.”

  Jeff gazed down at his shoes. “Oh...I get it. Sorry, little buddy.” He swung his legs over the table and climbed down from the other side. “So what’s the plan now? Shall we take these back with us, so you can give them a funeral? Not sure how you deal with things like that.”

  “There’s still the matter of finding out how they got here and what they are doing in these tubes, but I will handle the matter myself. These are my people, after all.” Hollo rose out of the water, most of his body emerging from the bottle. “Thank you, Mister Hal and Mister Jeff. I am glad you helped me. Now I think it is time we should return, and I must ask you to not tell the villagers about what you have seen today. I will give them a plausible reason about the disappearances.”

  The journey back was a quiet and subdued walk, with nobody speaking all that much. Occasionally Jeff would pipe up and comment on something out of the blue, but went silent again when nobody really responded. Hal was racking his brain over Phillip’s involvement and how he should tell Jeff about it.

  The trio returned to the village at dusk, the last rays of daylight slowly fading away into the far distance. The villagers were once again gathered around the statue of Phillip, prostrating on the ground in small puddles. “The Great Hero that saved our village was a messenger from the Gods,” Hollo explained quietly as they made their way to the tent. “It reinforces their belief that there really is someone up there, watching them.”

  Hal scowled at the bare-faced figure that towered over them. “Yeah,” he growled. “A real heavenly saint.”

  They entered the tent, where they found their things on the floor, and Hollo’s son asleep in his tank, bubbles rising to the surface as he slept. They packed all their belongings up and slung their environment suits over their shoulders, ready to go. They were about to exit through the front gap when Hollo spoke up loudly. “Please, take my son,” he asked. “I wish for him to see the galaxy, and learn all he can. I know it’s a lot to task and I understand if you would say no, but please consider it.”

  Jeff and Hal both turned around to stare at Hollo in unison. Jeff opened his mouth to speak but Hal quickly interjected. “Well Jeff’s not really the greatest childminder in the galaxy, but I don’t see why not. We can keep him in a tank like the one here, yeah?”

  “That should be fine,” Hollo said happily. He dipped his hand into his son’s tank and began to wave it around, causing small bubbles and ripples to form around the surface. A faint blue light began to glow and something stirred within the tank. With a small plop sound, Hollo’s son jumped from the water and landed in front of the three, causing a small puddle of water to form at his feet. “Great,” Hal said with a polite smile. “Welcome aboard.”

His piercing blue eyes stared directly into hers, his quivering lips just barely out of reach of the mouth that so desperately wanted to kiss them. She gazed at him longingly, waiting for him to lean in closer and take her in his passionate, welcoming embrace. He bit his lip playfully, daring her to lean towards him but he pushed her back gently every time. He was a teasing, playful lover that took pleasure in making his lady grow hungry with each bated breath. They lay together on the soft fabric of the bed, the soft droplets of rain making gentle tapping sounds as they hit the window, trickling slowly down the steamy pane. He finally leaned in close to her and she could feel his hot, minty breath bearing down on her skin, driving her wild with lust. She grabbed him tight and forcefully rolled him onto his back, placing a single finger on his lips and giving him a mischievous wink. She began to kiss his forehead gently, slowly making her way down his inviting body. She was about to- Hal was unable to read the rest, due to a large chunk of the page having been unevenly cut out by Jeff.
  Turning the page over to the other side, he could see that there had been a competition on the page that Jeff had no doubt entered, and probably lost. Above the missing area of page, there was a large piece of text that announced a fabulous competition to win a brand new ‘Roaster Toaster, for all your crispy, crunchy and crusty needs!’ What Jeff needed a new toaster for, Hal had no clue. They had a perfectly good toaster in the ship’s kitchen, albeit without the amazing ‘roast’ function.
   Grumbling, he turned over to the next page, where the readers’ letters were published, most of which were completely made up. There wasn’t much to read on board the Maria, the only books they had owned were the instruction manuals, which Jeff had sold weeks ago. The only reading material that was currently on board happened to be a small pile of women’s magazines that Jeff had taken from the waiting room of the hospital station, while Hal was having his monthly check up. The content of the magazines wasn’t too much of a stimulating experience in the way of literature, but it was better than nothing. The fan-written stories and letters could often be quite an interesting read, in moments when there was nothing else to do.
  Hal rose from his pilot chair, stretching his arms as he did so. He had been wedged comfortably there for a few hours, trying to pass the time until they arrived at Joy Station. The ship was in drift mode, sailing automatically towards the station on a pre-selected course that Hal had activated.     Jeff and Hollo’s child were both asleep but Hal had trouble with it sometimes. There were nights where he just couldn’t rest, so he had to find ways to occupy himself until he hopefully eventually got tired. Usually he just listened to his music, but since meeting the lead singer of The Afterburners during a bizarre hallucination he had decided to give it a break. He had searched the ship for something to do, checking to see if all the systems were working fine, and nothing needed doing. There were repairs needed of course, but nothing he could do out in space alone. He had settled on the women’s magazines, and he had burned through about four of them before he decided to get up and go for a walk. The low hum of the engines was comforting, total silence probably would have driven him insane.
  He stopped at the engine room, deciding that the whirring sound of the mini-turbines would be soothing to his restless mind. A large pile of empty cardboard boxes were stacked in the corner of the room, perfect for a temporary seat. The pile of boxes was vast, so Hal simply lowered himself on to them instead of taking one or two to use as a makeshift chair. The mini box-lounge was actually extremely comfortable, and coupled with the almost hypnotic sound of the turbines, Hal found himself drifting into a comfortable sleep.

  Jeff rose from his bed with a great yawn, stretching his arms widely. He checked the time on his info pad, and yawned again. It was just past midnight, and he really had to use the bathroom. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed and into his patterned blue slippers, he grabbed his lilac dressing gown and made his way to the ship’s bathroom. All was still, the only movement coming from the small bubbles in Holly’s tank as Jeff passed by. They had decided to name Hollo’s son Holly for consistency’s sake. He was young and curious, always eager to learn more about the galaxy, and Jeff did the best he could do teach him all he knew. Recently he had been learning all about the wonders of television, and the amazing number of shows that were all waiting to be seen. Scratching under his armpit and blinking sleepily, Jeff continued on his quest, reaching the bathroom at the end of the hallway. He sat down very slowly, as the toilet seat was chilly due to the lack of heating on the ship. Lowering himself cautiously on to the seat, he grabbed a nearby magazine and began to do his business.
  About five minutes later, Jeff was finished. He reached out to grab the toilet roll, but his effort was in vain. The roll was empty. Gone. Kaput. A wave of intense dread swept over Jeff as he desperately tried to think of a solution. He did not want to ruin his dressing gown, and his hand was out of the question. Remembering that there was a large stack of boxes containing toilet paper in the engine room, Jeff clambered off the toilet seat and began to waddle down the corridor to the room where his soft, tear-resistant saviour was waiting for him. It was a perilous journey, Jeff had to make sure to walk with his legs apart to avoid spreading the mess, and it was an almost comical sight. He almost looked like something out of an old Western, doing that strange walk the cowboys did, though this was no made up cowboy movie, this was very real and very serious.
  He entered the engine room and waddled over to where the lightswitch was, almost tripping over a small box that was left on the floor. Flicking the switch, Jeff breathed a sigh of grateful relief as he spotted the tremendous heap of boxes, some of which were open with the welcoming rolls of toilet paper peeking out of the top. They were stacked quite high though, so Jeff would have to grab one of the rolls from the bottom. As his eyes travelled down the pile, he noticed the sleeping body of Hal, snoring away, almost in tune with the sound of the turbines. It would have been a pleasant sight, if not for the fact that Hal was fast asleep on the very resource that Jeff currently needed most in this world.
  Not wanting to wake him from his beauty sleep, Jeff began to climb over Hal to reach one of the higher up boxes. Jeff wasn’t the brightest star in the galaxy, and he failed to take into account the fact that he had yet to actually use the toilet paper, and he was only wearing a dressing gown. Stumbling slightly as he climbed, he bumped into Hal, their bodies making contact in a moment of severe unpleasantness, and yet Hal still slept. Jeff successfully managed to grab a toilet roll from the box and climbed back down carefully, taking great care not to wake Hal.
   He was almost safely out out of the engine room until his info pad beeped loudly, announcing its low battery level. Hal stirred, mumbling sleepily as he lifted his head and squinted at Jeff, who was frozen to the spot, legs spread apart with toilet paper in hand. “Please tell me I’m still asleep,” Hal yawned, “because I feel like I’m having some kind of messed up nightmare.”

  Jeff pulled his dressing gown even further to hide his embarrassment. “I just needed toilet paper, okay? I didn’t wanna wake you. Just go back to sleep, this is all in your mind,” he said with a mysterious-sounding voice.

  “Okay, I’m going to go back to sleep and hopefully you’ll be go away. And don’t come anywhere near me with that mess.” Hal lay back down and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

  Jeff retreated back to the bathroom hastily, finally finishing up. The paper didn’t feel as nice and soft as he’d hoped. He climbed back into bed and hoped that this was all just a bad dream.

  Joy Station’s numerous green signal lights illuminated the underside of the Maria as Hal gently brought her down onto the wide circular landing platform. The ship’s landing joints touched down on the smooth gray surface with a slight bump and Hal zipped up his jacket as he rose from the pilot’s chair. Performing the shutdown routine and locking all the consoles, he made his way to his cabin where his supplies sat packed, ready to be taken. He opened his slate-gray backpack and did a final provisions check, making sure his credits and empty bottles were safely stored within. Exiting his room, he bumped into Jeff who was carrying his own backpack in his arms. Before Hal could comment, Jeff interjected with an explanation. “The straps broke,” he said wearily. “Guess I’ve gotta carry it with me.”

  “What’s in there anyway?” Hal asked. “It shouldn’t be too heavy, we don’t even need that much.”
 
 “Oh you know, just bits and bobs really.” Jeff undid the buckle and opened the top of the bag to show Hal the contents. “Got my water pistol, my cereal and my spork. All my survivalist needs.”

  “Yeah, you’re ready for anything,” Hal grinned as Jeff re-fastened the buckle and they made their way to the ship’s door. “Right, we’re here for a week. I’ll take care of Holly, but I expect you to do your fair share of child-minding too, got it?” Holly was fast asleep in in a sealed plastic tankard within Hal’s backpack. “Right, let’s go,” he said brightly as Jeff nodded in agreement while opening the door.

  Joy station was a large, hexagonal construction that floated high in orbit above the small planet Jakut. It consisted of a large outer frame that spread around the entire station, with the main hub sitting in the centre, connected by a series of long, retractable steel tubes. In between the centre and the outer frame sat a myriad of connector bridges and structures, linking the whole structure together like a giant, metal spider web.

  They stepped out of the ship and onto the platform, the artificial oxygen of the station filling their lungs as a large, clear glass dome rose up around them, encasing the entire platform. A scratched metal post with a dented panel attached to it was standing near the ship, and Hal swiped his pilot’s license into the panel’s slot and typed in his code, causing the machine to emit a series of beeps and spit out a receipt which Hal promptly scrunched up and put in his pocket. A loud scraping sound began to come from down below their feet, and a few moments later the platform itself began to sink into the station, rotating as it began its descent down into the storage space. Jeff called out loudly as they spiralled down into the depths of the facility, his voice echoing sonorously off the paneled metal walls. They reached the bottom and hopped off the platform, giving the Maria one last glance before she and  the platform were whisked away into the endless labyrinth of shelves and compartments that was the storage space.
  “Right, first things first, let’s drop our stuff off,” Hal said as they made their way to the transport lounge. “I’m sure Morgan’s made our beds all nice and tidy.” The transport lounge was a long, low-ceilinged room with automatic transport carts waiting at a multitude of different gates, depending on where it was on the station you wanted to go. In the centre of the room was a large row of chairs, where passengers could wait in relative comfort while they waited for a transport to become available. Jeff and Hal placed their things on the ground in front of a pair of chairs on the end of the row, sighing contentedly. Hal checked the transport application on his info pad, the next transport would be there in twenty minutes. He had enough time to go and grab a quick coffee from the machine at the other end of the room, so he trusted Jeff with his belongings and set off to get his Comet Coffee.
  Jeff began to whistle to himself out of boredom, he had not brought the magazines and his info pad had run out of battery due to him playing games on it all morning and neglecting to charge it. Continuing to whistle, Jeff looked all around the room, trying to think of a way to keep himself occupied. The quiet atmosphere of the room was occasionally interrupted by a monotone female voice that came through the speaker system, announcing transport arrival and departure times. Twenty minutes can seem like hours if you’re bored. He spotted a fellow benchwarmer sitting a few seats down from him that was reading a newspaper so he shuffled along the bench, right alongside his new companion. He was a tall, stocky creature with pale orange skin that was covered here and there with a series of pimples and pock marks. His head was somewhat triangular shaped, reaching a pointed peak at the top, with a single tuft of hair poking out of the tip. His three deep green eyes watched Jeff closely as he moved in. Not wanting to make idle chit chat with Jeff, he raised his newspaper higher and examined it closely in an attempt to ignore the irrepressible human.
  “Hey there friend,” Jeff greeted his neighbour earnestly. “Watcha reading there?” He lowered his head to get a better look at the front of the newspaper. The alien didn’t reply, preferring to continue reading rather than respond.
  “You catch the game last night? Was good wasn’t it, I didn’t see it because I hate Waveball but you look like the type of guy who enjoys it.” Jeff didn’t let up in his attempts at conversation, undaunted by his companion’s lack of response. “You wanna get a bite to eat? I know a great place on Lane 6, they make simply the best Turkey Twisters. I mean you’ll probably get a bad stomach after but what’s life without a bit of risk eh?” He nudged him during that last part.
  The physical contact seemed to finally get the alien around to talking, as he lowered the newspaper and breathed deeply. “Look, I don’t care about you, your favorite sport, food, movies, or any of that crap. I’m just trying to read my newspaper while I wait for the transport to take me home, where I can tuck my kids in and then climb into bed and fall asleep with the comforting knowledge that I’m as far away from you as possible.”
  “What did you say your name was? I didn’t quite hear it the first time, some of your spit went in my ear,” Jeff said as he dug into his ear with his finger and wiggled around. “And speaking of beds, I’m knackered. Hope this transport arrives soon, I think I need a nap.” He held his hand out, a cheeky smile on his face. “I’m Jeff, by the way.”
  The alien just blinked at him blankly, not bothering to return the gesture. “I’m leaving,” he said gruffly as he tucked the newspaper into his coat and strode off, muttering to himself. Jeff resumed his whistling, raising his legs to rest across the now empty seat.
  Hal returned a short while later, carrying two steaming plastic cups of hot Comet Coffee. He nudged Jeff’s legs off the seat with his knee and sat down, handing Jeff one of the cups. Sipping the hot, frothy mixture he sighed contentedly to himself, loving the taste as the coffee washed its way down his throat. “Mmm, that’s good stuff right there,” Hal said dreamily. “I’m guessing you made a new friend just now.”
  Jeff was waiting for his coffee to cool down before drinking it, holding it steadily in his hands. “So now you’re psychic as well as a terrible cook,” he joked.
  Hal showed no sign of offense. He truthfully wasn’t too culinarily inclined. “Some dude joined me at the coffee machine, seemed to be in a bit of a huff.” He paused to take another long sip of his coffee. “Kept muttering to himself about today’s youth and something about irresponsible parents. I asked him what was up and he just looked at me as if I’d just told him he’d been fired, poor guy looked broken.”
  “Poor lad,” Jeff agreed before beginning his own coffee. “I just asked him if he knew what time the transport was going to arrive, and he got all hissy with me. Not my fault he hates his life.”
  “We all get those days. Anyway, it’s gonna be here in about ten minutes. Didn’t you bring your info pad with you? There’s a timetable on there.”
  Jeff pulled out his info pad to show Hal the blank screen. “Well yeah I did, but I sort of used up all the battery playing Aerial Flush. It’s great, you should try it. Anyway, I forgot my charger so I guess you’ll have to be my guide for this trip, Mr Morrow.”
  They sat in silence for a few minutes, until the rumbling sound of the approaching transport came within earshot. Hal and Jeff stood up, picking up their packs and tucking their empty coffee cups into their pockets. The long, box-shaped metallic grey transport hissed to a halt at the buffering stop, and the female voice announced that the transport to Lane 8 had arrived, and travellers should board as quickly and orderly as possible. Hal stepped forward and scanned his card into the scanner, which beeped three times in acceptance. The automatic doors opened quickly and they stepped into the slightly cramped interior of the transport. The transport was brightly lit with a sickly pale coloured light that occasionally flickered momentarily, and the walls were lined with uncomfortable metal benches that were torn here and there.
 
 Cryptic graffiti was scrawled erratically over the walls and the air was permeated by a strange pungent odour, giving the interior the claustrophobic atmosphere of a dingy backstreet alleyway. The transport was empty save for a few wizened elderly travellers who probably had no clue where they were, and a couple of robed Krastic monks who sat motionless in silence, their heads bowed in constant prayer. The Krastic were an odd sort, choosing a life of silence and piety that not many people seemed to understand. Jeff and Hal had heard stories and the odd offhand comment about them, but nothing too substantial. Not paying too much attention, Jeff watched the blank screens on the wall opposite him that flickered to life as the transport began to trundle along to the next station. The transport followed a gravity rail system, that confined it to a set path programmed by the Locomotion Board that was kept in place by long tracks of small gravity repulsors that held the transport just above ground and allowed it to move in whatever direction was programmed.
 
 The gravity rail stretched long through the connecting tunnels of Joy Station, making its way around the narrows and bends like water travelling down a pipe. Because it was confined to a closed space, television screens had been fitted to the interior of the transport in place of windows, to give the impression of a great outdoor journey instead of a dimly lit, industrial backdrop. The televisions could be switched over to a multitude of different backgrounds for variety, and on this occasion a wide expanse of lush green meadows were displayed, atop which herds of colourful cows could be seen, frolicking and grazing on the finely trimmed grass that shimmered in the early rays of the morning sun. Even Jeff thought that was an amazing sight, and he never usually took notice of such things. The cows were making him hungry though, something he felt a slight pinch of guilt for but he couldn’t help it.

  Hal plugged his earphones into his Info pad and began to listen to ‘Love is like a Burning Skyline’ by The Grim Twistys, bopping his head in tune with the music while gazing contentedly out at the magnificent (though entirely artificial) view.