Number One Fan

Chapter 14: Ablaze

"System shut down initiated. Please stand by to switch over to backup systems." D1 alerted all decks, sections, and stations. Before she started winding down, every display where she could be accessed manually was replaced with basic controls that specified that the ship was in manual operation. 

The intercom did its pleasant chime, a universal noise on airplanes, hovercars, spaceships, and now city ships. Captain Kai's voice came over. "All hands, this is the captain. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties—D1 will be unavailable until further notice. The senior staff and I up here in the conning tower understand that this may inconvenience you all. Please be patient...but in the meantime..." There was a dramatic pause as the class two wormhole eagerly entered the viewports of all cabins, recreational facilities, and workspaces on the starboard side. It was gorgeous, bursts of green, pink, and some yellow. All swelled into a sinkhole that flowed into pitch-black darkness. It was difficult to believe that no one knew where these things went; after all the probes and the advances in space travel, things like a sinkhole in space still maintained their illusion of mystery. Some of the people on board had been waiting days to see this. "Please turn your attention to the wormhole on the starboard side—as an explorer, I'll be the first to tell you that this phenomenon is rare, so we should all take the opportunity to enjoy it while we're here. Have a good night. Captain Kai, signing off." The comm disconnected.

Happy looked up toward the speakers, his frown evident. He sighed. He paced back and forth, and he was shaking. Kai didn't say one word about Tommy. Not. One. They still weren't able to find who tried to hurt Tommy because the one who hurt him was right there—pacing back and forth. He thought it would've been all over the COS by now; it happened five hours ago, but if it wasn't, then something awful must've happened to Tommy. Happy wasn't prepared for this...he didn't mean for it to happen this way. He wanted so badly to be included in Tommy's circle. He thought a little prank would've been appreciated, but he took it too far. Happy wasn't good with computers at all—he just drunkenly stumbled through D1's code. He was too confident, too arrogant, hoping to do something...he did it all right. He tapped into the sickbay computer and learned that Tommy ended up in sickbay because his blood was half frozen. Thanks to him. Once they found out it was him, he was definitely going to go to jail for longer than a day.

With no time to waste, he packed a duffle bag. The essentials: his favorite blanket for the cold, a picture of his father, a picture of Tommy from his shrine(his favorite one, of course,) and a tablet. As an Omeocoon, he was lucky—no food, water, or other items like that—just the minimum. He was not going to prison. 

"Hap—" Riley suddenly appeared behind Happy as he was pacing, twiddling his thumbs, twitching, refusing to sit still. He'd also removed his mitts...very naughty. He only lasted five hours. Happy only got this scared when there were thunderstorms and tsunamis back when they were on Omeocoon. He was like a puppy; he'd hide under the covers; he was so sensitive, and sure enough, when Riley arrived—tapped his shoulder and called his name, it was almost exactly how Happy would react when he heard thunder cracking in the sky. But there was no rain in space, so what made him nervous?

"Ah!" Happy shrieked as his father tried to get his attention. He jumped so high into the air that if Pop hadn't stopped him, he would've turned into a projectile and shot right through the hull. 

Riley grabbed Happy by his shoulders, forcing him to stop. "Woah...it's just me. Relax." Riley chuckled at Happy's reaction. Riley looked toward Happy's duffle bag. "Planning to go somewhere, bud?" 

Happy squirmed out of his father's grip, acting like he'd seen a ghost. "Pop...I did something bad." Happy confessed as he slipped the duffel bag on. 

Riley blinked, arching an eyebrow in concern. "How bad?" Riley sighed. "Like...bad you forgot to mop the floor-bad? Or...bad—bad."