The Solar Array
In the year 3021 Earth was getting crowded so Jack and Isla were chosen to venture into the solar system to find a new world to live on. Why they picked two children is unknown…
Part 1
On board Jack and Isla were looking around. They were already in the air; the rocket full of fuel powering them along was above their heads connected by ropes a metre thick. Isla blinked her sky-blue eyes, Black, her very much white wolf friend, was beside her and Jack’s long figure was climbing the rigging to watch their world shrink to the size of a beach-ball as they got further and further away.
Jack felt a jerk and thought that they were just nearing Mars (which has three times the amount of gravity as Earth) but a moment later Isla came into the gallery; where Jack was attempting to cook, with a troubled look on her face ”Are these aliens good or bad?”
She grabbed Jack by the wrist and with surprising strength, pulled him to the outer deck. There were silver saucers with green silhouettes at the windows. He had read the book of Space Identification and knew Isla had been flicking the pages pretending to read it but had actually been listening to music with her headphones on. Jack recognized the symbol these were the Algedar aliens, they were notorious for pillaging ships and space travel (they had been to Earth once). The jerk he had felt earlier was the metal line coming from the largest of the ships, and without thinking he detached the walking line from the spaceship. He ran to the control room and checked the cameras; one of the saucers was right beside the fuel hatch to the rocket, he could make out green hands reaching for the handle and he watched in horror as the fuel drained out. But hang on a moment was that Isla climbing the ropes? It was, but even stranger, Black was on her back. Isla shut the hatch and Black fought the aliens.
But the loss of fuel could not be helped. As Isla came into the control room Jack steered them towards the nearest planet that did not actually show up on the radar. It was a crash landing as in the last ten metres the fuel really did run out. As they ran out, they were so dazed that they forgot to put their breathable masks on. They had found a new world, and as they were unable to contact Earth (the radio transmitter had broken in the crash) this strange but breathable world would be their new home…
Part 2
As they came back to consciousness, Isla and Jack realized that this new world, or at least this part of it was very much like a tropical rainforest that you could find on Earth. A few months back Isla had been to the Amazon rainforest, and she remembered that there the air was thick and her sweat made her shirt cling, though here the air was easy to breathe, and if anything she was slightly cold. When Jack looked at the still slightly smoldering sky ship a look of despair planted itself on his face. Isla caught his expression and she no longer wanted to look at the sky ship but she had to.
Black was the one who nudged her to look at the sky ship, she studied it carefully, the satellite dish was smashed, some of the iron had crumpled even though it was half a metre thick, the engine was unfixable at least for her and Jack, the tracker was in shards but worst of all there wasn’t even a drop of fuel. The only upsides were that they could access food and water in the pantry, and they could still access their cabins.
Jack grabbed the translator from his pocket and tugged at Isla’s hand, he explained his plan to Isla that they would go into the forest to look for the Alpokka tribe of aliens that travelled the solar system non-stop. Isla agreed as Jack explained that they were traders that would surely help them if they showed the aliens the ruby’s they had in case they had to bribe themselves out of trouble (which was pretty much what they needed).Isla had the idea to leave a rope trail behind them so they would be able to get back. So they set off with a plan. Half an hour later, after they had walked a mile or two, they reached the camp of the Alpokka aliens and were greeted with curiosity and interest. Midway through conversation they all heard a loud bang! Smoke filled the air…
Part 3
A sticklike figure was crawling through the smoke, they recognized the figure as Barnaby Stuart. He was spoiled and since he had been turned down for being part of the crew of the Solar Array, he had been even more desperate to find the new world, so he got his parents to buy him a sky ship, though it was smaller than the average and didn’t have enough fuel to even get to Venus. He was injured and Isla knew how to heal people, though Jack had to convince her to heal him, as she had still not forgiven Barnaby for being so mean to them. Among the many books Jack had read, The Book of Convincing was among them and even though his deep brown eyes were not at all like a puppy’s he had mastered it.
By now the Alpokka aliens were confused, Isla’s fury had showed; her dark brow furrowed stubbornly, and her hot cheeks had practically glowed. As her eyes returned to their normal natural blue, they realized that during this episode her eyes had gone a fiery red. Deciding that Isla was some sort of threat they bowed down to her, hoping that she would not harm them. At this peculiar action Isla said “We mean no harm’’ though it was Black who had put it into Isla’s mind. They could read each other’s thoughts! They all went to bed, safe.
Part 4
Isla had awoken from a nightmare; she was drenched in sweat. She tossed, turned, and tried to get back to sleep; but she was wide awake. Black was still asleep peacefully, so Isla walked out of the tent, out of the camp and followed the rope back to the skyship. As she reached it, the door was off its hinges, but she didn’t think too much about it. She went in. A hand was clamped over her mouth. She looked up at the face of the mysterious person. Phew it was Jack! But at that moment the door slammed shut!
In the half light of Isla’s torch, they knew that they were in the emergency room, they also knew that they were trapped as the bolt rattled. A wave of tiredness hit Isla as she sunk to the ground. The rain trickled in through the door and gave Isla an idea. She grabbed a pickaxe from the shelf and tried to hack through the iron, though it was still too strong. As she slumped back into the clothes behind her, the spacesuits fell away revealing a backup control panel.
No one had told them about this. Seeing it, Jack barged past; he knew how to control the ship. Isla indignant from being pushed aside, looked at the cameras. The Alpokka aliens were filling the rocket with fuel having ‘successfully captured’ herself and Jack. In a while they had steered the ship to Earth, where the air-force would deal with the evil aliens. They knew that they would easily be able to go back and find Black and Barnaby now that they had navigated the route to the new world and an exciting future of exploration lay before them.
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