Mike and Aaron were up front watching the stars go by with Tallion and Brial, while Dacota and Sheldon were sitting at the table with their TokenZ cards.
"Hey, this one looks like that mean guy Kron," stated Dacota.
"And this one looks like Tallion's dad," Sheldon added.
"And these two look like Tallion and Brial," said Dacota. "When we get back home, we should make our own card game with Dad. We can tell him about all the aliens we met and make cards of them."
"Solid Dacota, that's really solid," he said. "And we can put the dog in there also, he's an alien."
"Yeah we can. Hey we don't even know his name," said Dacota. "Let's ask Tallion."
They both got up and walked to the front, and joined the others.
"Tallion," Dacota said. "What is the dog's name?"
Tallion thought for a moment.
"He doesn't have a name," he answered. "Do you want to give him one?"
Dacota and Sheldon looked at each other.
"Yeah, can we name him anything we want?" Sheldon asked.
"Sure."
"Hey, let's call him Stars," Sheldon said excitedly.
"That sounds good," said Aaron. "And why don't you spell it with a z like TokenZ."
"Awesome," said Dacota. "And we will put that on his card, too."
"We are coming up on Bruubak," said Brial. "We can make repairs at Mor Uuria."
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They were approaching a small dark planet. Bruubak was about the size of Earth's moon and was covered with heavy forests and jungles. It also had a moon that orbited close by. Mor Uuria was the lone major city on Bruubak. It was used as a hub for nearby planets. People stopped here for fuel, food and repairs as they traveled. The moon was used for mining tribythium. Miners would catch transports from Mor Uuria to the moon and work for several days and then return.
The city was safe, but the jungles were extremely dangerous. You didn't go into the jungles unless you were heavily armed, and even that didn't always help. Tallion explained that to the kids and told them to always stay together.
Brial located Mor Uuria and radioed for landing permission. He was granted to land at one of the ports on the outskirts of the city.
From the sky Mor Uuria was awesome. The kids watched spaceships come and go. They even saw one of the mining transports leave for the moon. They were just overwhelmed by their first adventure to a new planet.
"Wow!" exclaimed Mike. "Check out that ship. I bet it really flies!"
"Duh, it's flying right now," stated Dacota.
"I mean I bet it really hauls," he rephrased.
"Hauls what?" Aaron asked. "Food?"
Mike turned and punched Aaron in the arm.
"Shut up Aaron," he stated angrily. "You know what I mean."
Brial eased the Scorpium down first and released the hooking cables. He then landed the Emerald Sun next to it.
"Ok everyone. Be sure to stay together," stated Tallion. "This is a really busy place and you can get turned around and lost in a hurry."
"Hey, everyone still has their tracking chips don't they?" asked Aaron. "Let's grab a couple of Dinolocs from the Scorpium and take them with us."
"Good idea Aaron," Tallion replied.
"I'll get them," Mike said.
Mike hurried over to the Scorpium and opened the door. When he stepped inside he was overcome with apprehension about the Professor and Dad being the same person. Here they were on a
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strange planet, and he didn't know if he would ever see either one of them again.
He grabbed two Dinolocs and quickly ran back to the others. He checked to make sure both of them worked and then handed one to Tallion.
"Here, you take one, and I will take the other one."
"Mike, can I get on your shoulders?" Sheldon asked.
"Sure buddy let's go."
Mike helped Sheldon up and they started off with the others.
"Where are we going?" asked Aaron.
"The port master said I could find someone to help us at the mechanical depot," Brial said. "He said it was just around the corner."
The boys followed closely behind Tallion and Brial, as they made their way through the city. They passed all kinds of aliens along the way. Most of them looked just like humans though. So the boys seemed to fit right in.
"Hey, did you see that guy Mike?" Aaron asked. "He looked just like Principal Conroy, except he had blue skin and three antenna things coming out of his head."
"And more hair," chuckled Mike.
"Yeah, you're right."
"Hey, look a frog!" Sheldon shouted from atop Mike's shoulders.
"Oh great," Mike sighed. "Here we go again."
"Where!" shouted Dacota.
"Right there, by the wall," he said pointing to a small green creature on the ground.
Dacota saw it, and went to try and pick it up.
"I don't think that's a frog Dacota," Mike said.
"Yes it is," said Dacota as he reached down.
Suddenly the small creature reared up on its hind legs, and stretched out its front limbs, exposing long claws. It then opened its mouth and hissed, revealing long fang-like teeth.
Dacota jumped up and screamed. He then ran and jumped on Aaron's back almost knocking them both to the ground. Mike laughed as Sheldon sat on his shoulders with his hands on his head and his mouth wide open.
"Let's get out of here!" Sheldon yelled.
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Mike looked up and saw Tallion and Brial just ahead, and started to run.
"Come on Aaron and Dacota," he said.
They all hurried to catch up.
"I told you that wasn't a frog Dacota."
"Well it looked like a frog," he replied.
"Remember, this is not Earth," Mike said. "So don't go picking up things cause it looks like a frog or something that won't hurt you. Ok everyone?"
Everyone agreed, as they entered through a door with Tallion and Brial. Inside there were people moving about everywhere. Shops and eateries lined the halls, as people made their way from place to place. It was similar to a mall back home.
"I'm getting hungry," Sheldon said.
"Me too," said Mike.
"That's a shock," Aaron stated sarcastically.
"I'm not eating anything," said Dacota. "I only eat food from Earth."
"Tallion, can we get some food?" Mike asked.
"I want chicken nuggets!" Sheldon added.
"Yes, I will get us food, while Brial finds someone to help us."
Brial agreed and said that he would meet them back at the ships shortly. Mike turned on the Dinoloc and watched as one of the blips slowly moved away from the others.
Tallion walked over to a booth and had everyone sit down.
"You guys stay here," he said. "I will be right back with something to eat."
The four boys sat down and watched the crowds walk by while they all waited for food.
"Wow look at those two," said Mike. "If they went to the zoo, I bet someone would try and feed them."
Aaron laughed.
"There's a lot of bald aliens," Dacota said. "Dad would like it here."
Sheldon laughed, but Mike and Aaron didn't. They knew Dad and the Professor were one and the same, and he was on his way to Kartravia to be reprogrammed and lost forever.
Tallion brought back a tray full of food. There was fruit and bread, and something that looked like chicken to the boys.
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Everyone dug into the fruit and bread, but left the other stuff alone. Mike eventually asked Tallion what it was.
"What is that stuff?" he asked.
"That's Bruug legs," he replied. "They are good. Try one Mike."
"Does it taste like chicken?" he asked.
"I have never had chicken."
Mike hesitated and then decided to try one. The others watched closely as Mike grabbed the Bruug leg and slowly placed it in his mouth. Aaron cringed as Mike took a bite. Sheldon and Dacota both covered their mouths as they watched.
"Well, what do you think Mike?" Tallion asked.
"It.. tastes? like chicken," he slowly replied. "It's good! Try some Aaron."
Everyone decided to give it a try and grabbed a leg. They all agreed that it tasted like chicken and continued to chow down.
"What's a Bruug Tallion," Mike asked, his mouth full of food.
"They're little green creatures with big hind legs. If you spook them, they will rise up and hiss at you, and show off their large fangs."
"Oh yeah, we saw one of them," Mike said. "Dacota thought it was a frog."
Aaron, Dacota and Sheldon all dropped their Bruug legs on the table. Dacota and Sheldon spit out their food and grabbed for something to drink. Aaron secretly spit his food into his hand and then dropped it under the table. He then grabbed for a drink himself. Mike continued to eat. It was good food and he didn't care what the creature looked like before he ate it.
Mike looked at Aaron and pointed at the other Bruug legs.
"You gonna eat that Aaron?" he asked with his mouth still full of food.
"No, go ahead Mike," he replied. "The Scorpium still has food. I will just wait until we get back to eat any more."
"Yeah me too," added Dacota.
"Same here," Sheldon said.
Mike and Tallion finished eating, and then they all headed back to the ships. They went to the Scorpium first so Aaron, Dacota and Sheldon could eat. They wanted food that they were familiar with, like milk and cereal.
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After eating, they all waited around for Brial to return.
Brial was walking down one of the large corridors when he heard someone call his name.
"Brial, Brial is that you?" the voice said.
Brial stopped and turned to look. He saw a man sitting in a booth with a drink in his hand. It was another Atlantean and Brial recognized him.
"Drabin? Drabin Falas?" he asked.
"Brial, my old friend," he said.
Drabin stood up and greeted him. Drabin was a friend of Brial and Tallion from childhood back home on Atlantia. He was off planet when the war erupted, and was unsure of what happened to most of his friends. He was really happy to see Brial, and Brial was really happy to see him.
They sat and talked about old times for awhile. Brial finally told him the situation that they were in now, and asked for his help. Drabin agreed. He knew someone that could fix their ship, and someone else who could get them maps of Kartoov. He then asked Brial if he could join them. He was an Atlantean, and knew the importance of recovering the Emerald Eye. Brial welcomed him aboard and they headed back to the ships.
Mike was up front watching the monitor.
"Hey, here comes Brial," he stated.
Tallion looked out the front window and saw Brial and a friend walking towards them through the crowd.
"Drabin, Drabin Falas," he said.
"Who's Drabin?" asked Mike.
"He's an old friend from Atlantia," he replied. "He was gone before the war. It has been a long time since we have seen each other."
"Is he gonna help us?" Aaron asked.
"Yes, he is a good friend," he said. "Like the Professor."
Tallion opened the door and walked outside to meet them. The four boys and the dog followed.
"Drabin my friend," he said. "How are you?"
"Tallion, it is good to see you."
They exchanged greetings, and then Tallion introduced the boys.
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"Drabin, these four young warriors are Mike, Aaron, Dacota and Sheldon. Their elder companion was taken prisoner along with my father and sister, and the Emerald Eye. They had come to help us, and now it is our turn to help them. They call their elder companion the Professor. He is a very brave and smart man."
"Yeah, he built the Scorpium," stated Sheldon. "It has a Gamecube and the floor moves up and down."
Everyone smiled, as Dacota nudged him to keep quiet.
"Well, I have friends here that can repair the Emerald Sun," he said. "I will have them come pick up the ships. While they work on the ships, we can go see Tentuu. He will have maps of Kartoov."
"Do you guys need anything off the Scorpium?" Tallion asked.
The four boys thought for a moment, but couldn't think of anything.
"No, I don't," said Mike.
"Me neither," replied Aaron.
"Wait!" Dacota shouted as he took off inside the Scorpium.
A few seconds later, he emerged from the Scorpium with his Gameboy.
"I had to get my Gameboy," he stated.
"I might as well grab my hover board then," Aaron said.
He headed into the Scorpium.
"What about us Mike?" Sheldon asked. "Do you want me to grab my frog catcher?"
"NO!" he said emphatically, as he held both hands out in a stop position. "Remember the frog with fangs?"
Aaron emerged with a backpack carrying his hover board, and shut the door. Drabin had just got off his radio and then motioned for everyone to follow.
They headed down a busy street full of aliens and strange vehicles. Everyone kept close as the three men talked and led the way. Mike had to constantly tell Dacota to stay close. He was more occupied with his game than what was going on around them.
"Hey look!" shouted Sheldon. "That thing floats like the Scorpium."
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Mike and Aaron looked over. There were several vehicles that hovered liked the Scorpium. Mike watched them go by and was picking out ones that he wanted. Aaron was doing the same.
"Oh man," he said. "Check that one out Aaron. Would that be cool to drive around or what?"
"Awesome!" he replied. "I like that one right there."
Mike was so amazed, that he continued to walk without watching were he was going.
"Wow! Check that..."
"Boink!!"
Mike walked straight into a pole and hit the ground.
Dacota, with his head down playing his game, stepped right over him and kept walking.
"Pole Mike," Aaron said as he and Sheldon helped him up.
"Man, why does that always have to happen to me?" he said angrily, as he got back to his feet and shook it off.
Drabin had stopped at the entrance to a shop and told everyone to come inside.
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