On the deck of the Celestial Pearl, Bianca stood in the center of the gleaming surface, her eyes filled with stars as she took in the vessel around her. The polished black hull gleamed in the sunlight, and the three massive masts rose toward the sky like the fingers of a god. She spun in a slow circle, her voice breathless with wonder.
"Like, is this for real? I mean, like, I have seen spaceships before, but this is like nothing I have ever seen. Like, nothing. The materials alone—the composition—the—" She pressed her hand against the hull, her fingers tracing the smooth surface. "This is like—this is like—"
She couldn't finish the sentence. There were no words.
Donna, Jeny, and Chad, still cowering beneath the railing, gathered the courage to challenge the intruder. Donna stepped forward, her voice trembling but defiant.
"Who are you? We are Palmerseas! We have connections! If you try to—"
Bianca tilted her head, confused. She cocked her hip, flicking her wrist with that characteristic nonchalance that made everything sound like a casual conversation.
"Like, chill. I am like an engineer and stuff. I can like fix your ship."
Donna, Jeny, and Chad exchanged hopeful looks. Donna stepped out from behind Chad, her voice still shaky but with a hint of cautious optimism.
"Like, really? You can fix it?"
Bianca nodded. "Like, yeah. Just, like, point me to the, like, engine room."
She paused, her brow furrowing as she considered the layout of the vessel. "Actually, like, show me the bridge first. Then I can like go to the engine room."
The group filed onto the deck of the Celestial Pearl—Marya, Atlas, Bō-Zak, Jannali, Aurélie, Galit, Jelly, Vesta, Eliane, and Sanza. They spread out across the gleaming surface, their expressions ranging from awe to confusion to barely contained excitement.
Eliane rushed up to Chad, her blue eyes wide with curiosity. "Can I see your kitchen? Like, your actual kitchen? Do you have a stove? Do you have fresh herbs? Do you—"
Jelly bounced beside her, his voice bubbling with enthusiasm. "Space snacks! Do you have space snacks? I bet you have space snacks! Snacks are the best! Snacks are—"
Chad blinked, his face a mask of confusion. "Um, well, actually—" He looked away, his voice dropping to a mumble. "Our AI does all the food preparations. So, like, I don't actually know where anything is. It just—it just appears."
Eliane's face lit up. "Really? Can I see?"
Chad's voice was barely a whisper. "Sure."
Sanza stepped forward, his arms crossed, his voice carrying that high-crust authority that made everything sound like a royal command. "I think a tour would be in order. As the future Supreme Commander—"
Jeny blinked, her dark brown eyes wide with confusion. "You want to see the ship?"
Galit nodded, his sharp emerald eyes fixed on the bridge. "Yes. Specifically the bridge. We need to understand your navigation systems and determine the cause of your crash."
Bianca nodded, her voice bright. "Like, yeah. That way we can like figure out why you crashed."
Charlie cleared his throat, in that scholarly tone. "I would like to know more about the history of your people. The anthropological implications of a space-faring civilization are—"
Jeny's head tilted in confusion. "Our people? What people? We're just—we're just—we're on our way to the Bafana Nebula! It's a place! In space!"
Bō-Zak sauntered up to Donna, his gold-flecked eyes gleaming with that familiar, flirtatious spark. His voice was smooth, philosophical, with that lazy cadence that made everything sound like a proposition.
"I would love for you to show me around. Especially the more intimate parts of the ship. The quiet corners. The hidden nooks."
Donna blushed, her face turning a shade of pink that clashed beautifully with her platinum-blonde hair.
Jannali grabbed Bō-Zak by the collar, yanking him back with practiced ease. "Not so fast, lover boy."
Bō-Zak glanced over his shoulder, his smirk firmly in place. "I am just trying to get to know our new friends. Is that so wrong?"
Atlas draped his arm over Bō-Zak's shoulder, with that feral, taunting edge. "I think I want to take that tour too."
Bō-Zak sighed, his voice heavy with theatrical suffering. "I work better alone."
Jannali's voice was flat, unimpressed. "We know, mate."
She turned to Donna, her tone softening just slightly. "Okay, love. We would love to see your fancy space boat."
Donna flushed, her voice a mixture of pride and nervousness. "Great. Just—just follow me."
She turned and began walking toward the bridge, her platform sneakers clicking against the deck. Jeny and Chad fell into step beside her, their faces pale with anxiety.
Marya hung at the back of the group, her golden eyes taking in every detail of the Celestial Pearl's exterior. The gleaming black hull. The three massive masts. The figurehead at the bow, its expression frozen in what looked like perpetual fear.
---
The tour began with a grand entrance into the Celestial Pearl's interior. The doors slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a space that was equal parts luxury and technology. The ceilings soared overhead, and the walls were lined with panels of polished obsidian that gleamed with an inner light. The floor was a deep, rich crimson, and the air was filled with the scent of something that might have been exotic perfume or might have been recycled oxygen.
Donna gestured with a trembling hand, her voice still shaky but growing more confident as she settled into the role of tour guide. "So, like, this is the main atrium. The Gravity Tube is in the center—that's the thing with all the spiral patterns. The Artificial Star Core is at the bottom. It powers the whole ship."
Galit's sharp emerald eyes swept the space, cataloging every detail. "The Artificial Star Core. A miniature fusion reactor?"
Chad blinked, his voice barely a whisper. "How did you know that?"
Galit's voice was flat. "I guessed."
Bianca had already wandered off, her hands pressed against the walls, her fingers tracing the seams and joints with the reverence of a surgeon examining a patient. "Like, this is incredible. The materials alone—the composition—" She pressed her ear against the wall, her brow furrowing. "I can, like, hear it humming. Like, actually humming. What is that? Is that the core? Is that—"
Jelly bounced past her, his translucent body rippling with each movement. "Bloop! Space sounds! I love space sounds! Do you have space music? I bet you have space music!"
Eliane had found the kitchen, and her voice echoed from somewhere down the corridor. "OH MY GOD! THIS KITCHEN IS AMAZING! LOOK AT THIS STOVE! LOOK AT THIS—IS THAT A BREWING STATION? DO YOU HAVE—"
Jeny's voice carried from the front of the group, high-pitched and breathless. "Okay, so, like, this is the Treasure Saloon. It's where we, like, entertain guests and stuff. It's really fancy. Like, really fancy."
Bō-Zak's voice cut through the chatter, smooth and unbothered. "It's lovely. But I'm more interested in the private quarters. The more intimate spaces. The—"
Jannali's voice was flat, unimpressed. "Mate, if you don't shut up, I'm going to throw you overboard."
Bō-Zak sighed, his voice heavy with theatrical suffering. "You wound me."
"I'm not trying to wound you. I'm trying to shut you up. There's a difference."
They reached the bridge, and Donna stopped at the entrance, her voice trembling with a mixture of pride and anxiety. "So, like, this is the bridge. This is where we control the ship."
The space was breathtaking. The walls were lined with holographic displays, and the ceiling was a panoramic viewport that showed the endless blue of the sky and sea. The controls were sleek and minimalist, designed for efficiency rather than aesthetics. At the center of the room, a holographic figure stood with its arms crossed, its expression one of pure, unadulterated arrogance.
Michi the pilot AI surveyed the newcomers with visible disdain. His sleek form shimmered with holographic light, and his voice carried the weight of absolute superiority.
"Finally. Visitors. I was beginning to think you had abandoned this vessel entirely."
Donna flushed, her voice defensive. "We didn't abandon it! We—we crashed! We had no choice!"
Michi's smirk widened. "Crashed. Yes. A most unfortunate failure of the navigation systems. Completely avoidable, I might add, if someone had listened to my warnings."
Jeny's voice was indignant. "Your warnings? You didn't give any warnings! You just—you just stood there being smug!"
"I am not smug. I am confident. There is a difference."
Donna turned to the group, her voice apologetic. "This is Michi. He's the pilot AI. He's, like, really annoying. But he's also, like, really good at his job. Apparently."
Michi inclined his head, his smirk firmly in place. "I am not annoying. I am precise. Precision is not annoying; it is necessary."
Bō-Zak stepped forward, his gold-flecked eyes fixed on the hologram. "I'm sure you're very good at your job. But I'm more interested in the other AIs. The more... personal ones."
Michi's expression flickered with something that might have been annoyance. "You mean Jervis. The steward. He is currently in the Treasure Saloon, critiquing the art. As usual."
Donna nodded. "Yeah, Jervis is, like, really rude. He's always complaining about everything. And Ted—Ted is the engineer. He's, like, always dropping things. It's a mess."
Sanza stepped forward, his voice carrying that high-crust authority. "I would like to meet this Ted. He sounds like someone I could relate to."
Chad's voice was skeptical. "Relate to? How could you relate to Ted? He's a hologram. He's not even real."
Sanza's eyebrows drew down in that familiar scowl. "I would like to see for myself."
Galit cleared his throat, his voice sharp and purposeful. "We need to understand what happened. How did you crash? What went wrong?"
Donna, Jeny, and Chad exchanged a look. Then they launched into an explanation that was equal parts dramatic and comedic.
Donna started, her voice rising with theatrical intensity. "Okay, so, like, we were on break from school. Right? And our parents let us take the boat to pick up our friends. We were going to the Bafana Nebula—it's this, like, really pretty place in space. Everyone talks about it. It's the place to be."
Jeny nodded frantically, her voice breathless. "Yes! The Bafana Nebula! It's, like, so beautiful. The colors are amazing. And the stars—the stars are just—they're just—"
"Beautiful," Donna finished. "Anyway, we were on our way to pick up our friends. Everything was fine. Totally fine. Like, completely normal. And then—"
"AND THEN!" Jeny shrieked, her voice rising to a fever pitch. "Suddenly—just—BOOM! The solar sail just—like—malfunctioned or whatever! And we started falling! Falling and falling and falling!"
Chad's voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of absolute grievance. "I knew it. I knew something like this would happen. I told them we shouldn't go. I told them. But no one listens to me. No one ever listens to me."
Donna waved her hands frantically. "So we're falling, right? And Michi is screaming at us—"
"I do not scream," Michi interrupted, his voice flat. "I communicate with urgency."
"Whatever! He's screaming! And Ted is trying to fix the sail—"
"By dropping things," Jeny added, her voice filled with exasperation. "Like, literally dropping things. Everywhere. He was dropping wrenches and tools and—"
"And then—AND THEN—" Donna's voice rose to a shriek. "We just—we just crashed! Through something! I don't even know what it was! It was like—like—like a ceiling! But in the sky! And then we were here! On this planet! With all this water!"
Jeny nodded frantically. "And then we saw you! And you had weapons! And we thought you were going to kill us!"
Chad's voice was flat. "We still might die. We don't know. We don't know anything. This isn't fair. This isn't fair at all."
Jannali's voice cut through the chaos, flat and unimpressed. "Bloody hell. You kids are a mess."
Donna's face flushed with indignation. "We are NOT a mess! We are—we are—"
"Lost," Jeny finished, her voice small. "We're lost. Really, really lost."
Marya watched from the back of the group, her golden eyes fixed on the three space-farers. Her expression was unreadable, but something flickered in her gaze—a hint of recognition, perhaps, or the faintest trace of amusement.
Atlas leaned close, his voice a low murmur. "What do you think, boss?"
Marya's smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I think we just inherited a lot of problems."
Atlas's grin widened. "Sounds like fun."
Marya shook her head, her voice carrying that calm, stoic quality that made her seem untouchable. "It's never fun. It's just interesting."
She watched as Donna, Jeny, and Chad continued their frantic explanation, their voices rising and falling like the waves of the sea. Bianca had already wandered off to examine the bridge's systems, her hands flying across the controls with manic enthusiasm. Charlie was interrogating Jeny about the cultural practices of the Bafana Nebula, his voice carrying that precise, scholarly tone. Bō-Zak was attempting to charm Donna, his smirk firmly in place. Jannali was watching him like a hawk, ready to intervene at the first sign of impropriety.
And somewhere in the distance, Eliane's voice echoed from the kitchen, filled with wonder and excitement.
"OH MY GOD! THEY HAVE A BRAKING STATION! A REAL BRAKING STATION!"
Jelly's voice followed, high-pitched and eager. "Bloop! Space snacks! I found space snacks! They're in a cupboard! A space cupboard!"
Marya's smirk widened.
This was going to be interesting.
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