Navigator 2

The base

1. on the way

The silence was perfect. No humming propulsion, no beeping consoles could be heard. There was a soft gurgling in the walls as air bubbles rose in the salt water tubes. The boy yawned, stretched comfortably, then lay still again. He loved waking up and listening to the morning silence. Soon things would get more hectic again: His pilot would appear in the tube behind the transparent wall to read him the previous night's report, then he would prepare a glass of warm milk from water and concentrate in the tiny galley and take it down to the control room; finally, there he would sit at his console and study the day's schedule while sipping his milk. He and his pilot would fly the prescribed maneuvers throughout the day, going over their drills and gradually approaching their destination in this manner.

your next stage.

His last shore leave was already twenty days ago, and he was looking forward to setting foot on solid ground again, to feeling the wind in his face and the sun on his skin. The memory of the last adventure brought a smile to his face. He had restored the reputation of his ancestral family, reclaimed his hereditary lands, and prevented an armed confrontation - very likely even an uprising. He had made new friends. Too bad he had to leave them again. But he wasn't out here solely for pleasure; thi