The Astronites II: Avast Voyage

Chapter Eleven: The Whipping Waves

Natalie returned to her bedroom, tenderly awoke Ador from his rest, and fed him some kibble. As he ate, Natalie used her earpiece to call Ranger.

"Starspeed deceleration is in fifteen minutes. General Pacbull wants us all on the bridge."

"Fine," was all Ranger said before abruptly hanging up.

Natalie then retrieved her makeup kit, courteously provided by the UEF, and met Yona in front of Jake's door. His loud snoring reached the volume of an erupting volcano.

Try to stay quiet, Natalie natalized to Ador.

Ador cocked his head to the side. What's going on?

You'll see, Natalie giggled. She held out her hand, and with a bit of Imagnium, unlocked the door. She tiptoed behind Yona into the dark room and found Jake sprawled out on his bed like a starfish. A nightcap snuggly fit over his head to protect the wall from being dented, and a mouthguard protruded through his lips to protect himself from grinding his teeth into sand.

"Now we'll see who gets the last snore," Yona whispered, peering over Jake like a cat studying its prey.

She opened the makeup kit and set it on the bed. Moisturizer, primer, blush, foundation, concealer, powder, eyebrow makeup, shadow, liner, mascara, lipstick, and lip gloss were all at her disposal. Jake never so much as flinched while he was painted, powdered, and primped until he looked like a flirty debutante. When Yona was finished, she turned off Jake's bedside clock. They had seven minutes left before they had to be on the bridge.

"Do it," she told Natalie, who stood across the room guarding the light switch. Natalie turned on all the room lights to full brightness. Yona shook Jake with the wrath of a tornado.

"JAKE! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" they both shouted.

Jake jolted out of his slumber with his blue-shaded eyes aflutter. "WHAT?! WHAT?!" he blabbered with his mouthguard tucked behind his glossy red lips.

"You were supposed to be on the bridge fifteen minutes ago!" Yona yelled at him. "General Pacbull's looking for you! Everyone's waiting!"

"Wh-what?!" Jake stuttered. He tried to look at his bedside clock, but Yona pushed him out of bed.

"There's no time!" she shrieked. "We have to go! NOW!"

Jake pulled out his mouthguard and took off his nightcap. He was still dressed in his battlesuit.

"Wh-why didn't my alarm go off?" He blinked with his curly black eyelashes.

Natalie had to turn away from Jake the closer he came to her. He reminded her of a pampered seventeenth-century French king. All he was missing was a bountiful wig, thin mustache, red-heeled shoes, and a flowing silk dress.

"Why don't we use the pennar?" Jake asked.

"We can't!" Yona vehemently rejected. "We . . . uhh—"

"General Pacbull wants us to take the hallways!" Natalie improvised. "He wants us to be familiar with Indy's geography. His words, not ours."

Jake shook his head with disappointment. "Darn it. He would say something like that."

The bridge was a short five-minute run. While Jake tried to concentrate on making up for his lateness, he couldn't help but notice that all the UEF soldiers he passed stared at him like he was stark naked. They inexplicably blew kisses his way and puckered their lips. Jake assumed the displays of affection were meant for Natalie and Yona.

The four of them stormed onto the bridge and came to a squeaking halt in front of General Pacbull, Admiral Everlast, and Ranger. Every UEF official, from the lowest-ranking aide to the highest general, stopped writing, talking, or typing.