Dar's Adventures in Space 1: Space Crazy by K. Rowe Read Free Book Online

it after a while.”
    He sat down, grabbed a napkin, and wiped his face and shirt. “Umm, no thanks.”
    “I’ll give you credit, little one,” he chuckled. “You gave it a try.”
    Dar took another piece of bread and drizzled some Gardinian beegud honey on it. Taking a bite, he was surprised that he could taste anything after that. The honey was sweet and sticky on his tongue, better than the sting of the curry.
     

    The Cunik pulled away from the planet Guonis with five hundred million drig in gold. Gwog, by his virtue of being an upstanding and reliable freighter captain, had secured a license by the Ontarrin Bank to transport Guonin gold to various planets throughout the galaxy. Part of getting the license meant his ship had to be highly resilient to pirates. It didn’t mean the pirates still didn’t try.
    Far in the Psi sector were two planets, referred to as twin planets due to their close proximity. Soothis and Renthis housed the dregs of the galaxy. The Soothians were experts in piracy, while their reasonably close relatives, the Renthids, were adept at taking over planets and pillaging to fill their coffers. Neither of the species was particularly bright, but the Renthids were far more brutal than their Soothian brethren. But they did know how to make weapons.
    Tregis was at the navigations console, monitoring the sensors. “Captain, I have six contacts closing rapidly just off our port beam.”
    “Gee, anyone wanna bet it’s Nekis thinking he can liberate our shipment of gold?” Gwog joked.
    Dar turned around. “Who is Nekis?”
    “The leader of the Soothian pirates.”
    “Ah.” He was worried, but he wasn’t going to let on to the others. As he watched out the big window, Dar began to feel itchy. Something in his throat tickled, and he coughed a few times. Reaching up, he went to scratch his neck, something was there: a small blister-like bubble. He coughed more.
    “Are you okay, little one?” Gwog asked.
    “Umm…”
    “Come here.”
    Dar went over and stood just to the left of Gwog’s chair. The big alien reached out and put his hand on Dar’s forehead. “Mmm, a bit warm.” He looked him over. “Itchy?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    He grabbed Dar’s shirt collar and pulled it down, revealing a red rash. “Shit.”
    “What?”
    “I think you got Skrinnian fever.”
    “What? What’s that?” Dar asked, now becoming alarmed.
    “Get to your quarters and stay put…Whatever you do, don’t scratch.”
    “Is it bad?”
    Gwog rubbed his face. “I don’t know how it’ll affect you, since you’re half Earthling. But Jartis caught it a few years ago and it nearly killed him.” He shooed him off. “Go, and I’ll send Karnis around to care for you.”
    As much as Dar wanted to see if a battle would ensue, he couldn’t disobey his captain’s orders. Heading down to the crew quarters, he began to feel light headed. About twenty feet from his door, the first explosion rocked the ship. The Cunik jolted sideways, knocking Dar off his feet. He collapsed to the metal grated catwalk, in no position to get up. His body felt weak, skin burning like it was on fire.
     

    The next thing he remembered, he woke up and saw Karnis standing over him. He was in his bunk, the covers pulled high to his chin. His whole body felt hot, cold, and intensely itchy all in the same moment.
    “Ah, you’re awake,” Karnis said. He tapped a small white tablet from a bottle, picked up a glass of water, and offered it to Dar. “Take this.”
    Dar wiggled his arms free of the covers, took the water and tossed back the tablet. His whole body was now a sea of blisters. “What was that?” he asked.
    “Curion Mind Blow.”
    His eyes widened. “That stuff’s illegal!”
    “Youngling, at this point in time, you’re not in much position to argue…Skrinnian fever is serious shit. If you don’t die from the initial fever, then you stand a good chance from dying if you scratch even just one of those blisters…The Mind