Shanghaied to the Moon Read Free Page B

kid?”
    â€œHave you ?” Why should I give a straight answer if he doesn’t?
    He draws a tight circle in the air with the bottle. “Done a few loops.”
    â€œThat jacket looks Salvation Army to me.”
    â€œBecause of this?” He pulls at a few threads. “Did that myself.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œThat’s a long story, and I’m in no mood to tell it.” He reaches deep into the left pocket, looks surprised to find something in there. He brings out a fistful of insignias. “Want ’em?”
    He opens his hand. I snag the biggest one as the rest flutter to the ground. My fingers trace rich textured weaving that forms the letters TE. Never heard of an outfit with those call letters.
    â€œWhat’s TE?” I pick up the rest. Tuck them in my pocket.
    â€œBefore your time, kid.” He takes another drink, then, twisting carefully around, points with the bottle. “You know that ship? In the center?”
    â€œSure! That’s the Lance Ramjet. I just saw the remake of Venus: Inferno Below the Clouds. Have you seen it?”
    â€œYeah. The original.”
    â€œYou have to see the remake. They really improved the sense-o-rama. Your teeth chatter when the Lance Ramjet hits the clouds!”
    â€œChatter?” He makes a disgusted face. “That’s nothing, kid. Those engines. Kick your butt between your eyeballs.”
    â€œSomeday I’ll feel that. Someday, I’m going to Pluto.”
    â€œPluto, huh? No one’s dared since the Valadium Thruster failed.”
    â€œI’m not afraid to try again … only … I might never get the chance. I can’t do AstroNav.”
    â€œBigger problem, kid. No ship.”
    â€œSomeone could build another Valadium Thruster. I’d take it out there.”
    â€œWhy would you want to do that? She … didn’t make it.” He tips the bottle back, squeezes long and hard.
    â€œI’ve studied the design. Got some ideas of what might have gone wrong.”
    He’s about to take another drink. Stops himself. “Gimme a for instance.”
    Is he baiting me? The other kids love to get me talking about the Valadium Thruster, then poke fun at me for caring so much about a ship that fell into the sun. But he’s waiting with an interested look.
    â€œMy best guess: Something went wrong with the impulsor engines during the Whip maneuver. Maybe …” He’ll laugh now, if he’s going to. “Maybe even caused a transdimensional shift.”
    â€œInteresting.” He rotates the bottle in his palm. For a few long moments, he seems to be hypnotized by the way the sunlight winks off the faceted surface. “And if that’s really what went wrong, you could fix it?”
    â€œWith the right team, yeah. If only Val hadn’t lost it in …” It’s too painful to say out loud. The image from the 3-Vid Pluto: A Star too Far comes harshly into my mind. The beautiful Valadium Thruster melting to lava as it plunges toward the sun.
    â€œSomething to dream about, anyway.”
    â€œYou sound like my dad. I don’t want to dream. I want to do it!”
    â€œI can make that happen for you.” He looks straight at me. His eyes are the pale blue of a morning sky. The irises are as dark as space.
    I don’t look away. My determination is mirrored in that darkness. “How?”
    â€œHow tall are you?”
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œTall, you know, feet, inches.”
    This guy changes the subject as often as the Counselor.
    â€œWhy do you want to know that?”
    â€œTo qualify.” He looks away, suddenly sounding indifferent. “No point in telling you any more if you don’t.”
    Whatever this guy wants, it isn’t going to be me. I’m always too short. But I make myself answer. “I’m four three and nine sixteenths.”
    He breathes in deep, lets it go slow. His head nods the slightest bit down,