J Space River Adventures

By Tom Hughes

While on a currier mission to deliver information about the Slj war craft capacity, Ranko and Bo, Station Agents, are caught up in a running battle with a Slj Scout. To save themselves, they activate the prototype J Space drive against the wishes of PK, a newly installed talking computer with a tendency to use John Wayne and English butler dialects. Bo, Ranko and PK save Waj, the First to the Slj queen, by bringing her aboard. They all hold on as they are buffeted and tossed about in the unknown J Space currents. Tossed onto a planet of Daisy like creatures, Waj defeats the Kings warrior in battle and unites the Prims and Gijinues. They build the Woblip Sword, captained by Waj, and head off to find Wajs home planet. The first book ends with Waj introducing the crew to her mother the Slj queen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483614267

Tom Hughes

Tom is an entrepreneur and enjoys working on new projects one of which is becoming a professional writer…starting with the kind of stories that he likes to read such as the J Space River Adventures

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by Tom Hughes.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4836-1425-0

                Ebook            978-1-4836-1426-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 03/22/2013

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Contents

Chapter 1 Jumping Into the J Space River

Chapter 2 Waj the Slj Joins Our Crew

Chapter 3 Meeting the Daisies

Chapter 4 How Bo and I Met

Chapter 5 In the Land of the Prims

Chapter 6 Escape From the Prims Into the Land of the Gijinues

Chapter 7 Meeting the Gijinue King

Chapter 8 Building the Woblip Sword Starship

Chapter 9 Heading Home

Chapter 10 Exploring High Grass Island

Chapter 11 Last Stop

Chapter 1

Jumping Into the J Space River

I awoke to the green-blue colors of a ship in G drive. My head was still muzzy and was fighting off a dim headache. I looked over at Bo and could see that she was holding a slender hand to her head and shaking it.

One of these days, I’m grabbing that Gi Staff and instructing Mandy Mandy in a few lessons she needs to learn, mumbled Bo as she shakily stood up and walked over to the main console.

I could tell we were on a Station courier ship and we were ripping through the star fields.

Looks like we’re somewhere in the Graveyard. She looked up from the console and stared at me. How’s your astronavigation Ranko? She held up her hand at my next obvious rejoinder that obviously the computer did that job and we were only passengers. From what I can tell, the nav comp has been disabled. She turned to look down again at the console. Naturally they would do that huh?

For the first time Bo really looked at me. Her gray-green eyes pinned my senses. Her night-black hair swept away from her wide forehead by a silver band, she stared her question.

Naturally, I agreed. "Of course the Slj have a lot of proxy bad guys working for them and any one of them would be happy to intercept us.

Can you access the computer? It’s still driving the ship you know.

You bet ahm a driving us and don’t yuh forgit it! came the deep-barrel voice out nowhere.

Bo and I jumped a few feet and assumed combat modes, swiveling our heads like crazy marionettes.

Hey youse joiks, I’m over here. The console lights started to flash and we suddenly realized that it was our computer talking to us.

Yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking. We never had a talking computer before and so on and so on right? Well, I am the new fresh-off-the-drawing-board and oh-so-ready-for-action Personal Kit 1023—ngp-gazk. You can call me PK for short. I have orders to deliver you and the prototype J Grav to HQ.

Bo and I were speechless. What other tricks had Mandy Mandy left for us to discover?

What is a J Grav? I asked, knowing that I probably would not like the answer. It is a recently developed grav wave projector with unknown ramifications, considered to be an amazing breakthrough in G space astrophysics, responded PK in a clipped English butler-type of accent.

I say there old chaps, would you care to know where we are?

I sure as hell would, said Bo as she started to rub her left arm up and down while looking pointedly at me.

Waal pilgrims, we’re out in hostile territory, ah can tell yuh that, PK intoned in a deep drawl.

PK! Would you please choose one dialect and just stay with it? I yelled while rubbing my left arm up and down and quietly cursing Mandy Mandy.

Which would you prefer, Sir? came the tone of an English butler.

I was about to yell back when suddenly all the alarms went off.

We canted wildly to the right at a 60-degree angle and Bo and I were plastered up against the wall.

We are under attack. I can maintain a steady deck for 22 seconds. Please use that time to reach the control chairs. We righted to a level plane and Bo and I ran to the flight chairs and buckled in.

Attacker identified as a Slj scout! shouted out Bo as she viewed the incoming data on the screen.

The Slj always attack first and then ask questions, if you happen to survive. We were still in the Graveyard according to navigation, and technically in neutral space, but tell that to a Slj.

Compensating for J grav!

I glanced over at Bo and could see her biting her lip as she played the weapons console.

I would advise against that Madam, said PK still in his butler mode. The J grav is still in a testing mode and the Station has tasked me to ensure the safe arrival of the prototype weapon at the base.

Well that Slj is about to make us vapor! I yelled as I jinked us left and right and down and up, but still the scout was drawing closer. They always liked to be as near as possible when making a kill… something about their ancestral ways when they were still wild and primitive, living in the swamps.

The J Grav has many unknowns, such as field warp fluctuations and…

Bo cut PK off in its recitation with a savage punch to the weapon.

Well let’s see!

There was a loud SNAP! My vision became blurred and then coruscating colors passed through me. I became part of the colors.

I vaguely remember shouting and watching rainbow colors flow from my mouth and then SNAP! The mind warping hues were gone and we were still whole.

When I saw the nav screen I could not believe it. I had to ask.

PK, what do your sensors show? I was able to barely croak out.

There was a pause. Nothing. I detect nothing. No star fields, no energy no planets. Nothing. PK this time was talking in the standard computerese monotone that I was used to hearing. I guess if you could say a computer could be shocked… this is what happened to PK.

This time I heard and felt and smelled and saw the third SNAP! as the Slj scout popped up right next to us.