Deep Space Adventures - 3. DSA Chapter 3

With the accommodation having limited space available, Huan the younger boy would share a room with their mother, while Isnyl and I would share a room, which consists of two single beds, a table, a chair and two small bedside drawers.

Since I am sharing clothes with Isnyl, there was no need my one drawer. “Here are some fresh clothes for you, and you can take the first evening wash,” Sinyl said to me, as he handed me some fresh clothes, which I gratefully accepted.

I was not what I expected, and I had a feeling that this place to wash was not what I am used to. In the small room, was a metal oval shaped king of device that stands about one foot length off the ground, with a small lid, which I resumes was for body movement waste, and nearby was another oval shaped device that was twice as big and high, and it has fresh water in it.

At one end was a large type of brush and a fresh white cloth, so I stripped off my clothes and using the cloth I washed myself all over, and using the brush I scrubbed my back, shoulders and back of my legs, before rinsing off with the cloth. A larger cloth, that was soft I used to dry off before getting changed into the fresh clothes.

After a very delicious meal, we retired to bed, and I was soon fast asleep, and for the first time in a while, I was dreaming of a faraway place, but I could not work out where it was. There was a large building, warm sunshine, crystal clear blue waters, white beaches and lots of trees…

I was confused, there is nothing like that in space, and certainly not on this planet… planet called… Ganymede, I am on Ganymede and I had a fall. I woke up and bolted upright into a sitting position in bed. “Are you alright my friend, you were mumbling in your sleep, then you shouted out something in another language, it sounded like the Earth language, that my father was teaching me when I was younger,” Isnyl said to me.

“Oh, sorry if I woke you, I had a dream, that I was in a strange place… Tell me, are we on the planet Ganymede, near Jupiter?” I asked, “Yes we are, you remember, is there anything else that you remember?” Isnyl replied, “Yes, I had a fall, from a roof, I was running away from something, but I am not sure what,” I replied.

“Well, that is a good start my friend, let’s get some sleep, we still have a long journey tomorrow,” Isnyl said to me, as he settled back in his bed, and was soon back asleep. “I thought about the dream some more, trying really hard to remember more about it, but I couldn’t, so I tried to sleep again, which only came in short bursts, waking up again when the same dream appeared.

I was still very tired from a restless night, when we set off once again, after a short morning meal with our hosts, and during the trip Isnyl encouraged me to try and remember if there was anything else in the dream. “What dream, did you remember something?” Isnyl’s mother asked.

“Yes, Mrs Ottremyn, I had a dream of a strange place, where there was plenty of water, beach sand, trees, and a warm sunny day,” I replied. “That sounds like Earth, I have been there once with my husband, some places there are very beautiful. So, you think you are from there?” Mrs Ottremyn responded, “I do not know, it is all just a confusing muddle for me,” I said in reply.

“My husband was from Earth, he was part of a group of explorers who came to our homeworld many years back, and decided to stay. Eventually we decided to become a settle in the other solar system, and we chose Ganymede,” Isnyl’s mother said to me.

“Really, I think one of my parent’s is from the home world and the other is from Earth too, but I am not certain about that, it is just a feeling I have,” I said. “You called out something that sounded like an earth word when you were dreaming last night,” Isnyl announced, “Really? Do you remember what it was?” Mrs Ottremyn asked.

“No, I don’t, I only remember parts of the dream,” I replied, “I think he said something like Bamundia, or something like that,” Isnyl said. “Bamundia? Bamud… Could it have been Bermuda that he called out?’ Mrs Ottremyn asked her son.

“Yes, that was it, where is this place?” Isnyl said excitedly. “It is a very beautiful group of islands, in the middle of the ocean, where there are plenty of palm trees, white beaches, blue water and nice sunny days,
Mrs Ottremyn replied. “Sounds incredible, all I have seen are lots of rocks, and lots of stars at night,” Houny said, breaking his silence since the start of the journey today.

When we arrived at the Ottremyn home, which consisted of three domes linked together, once the airlock was closed, I helped to unload the luggage, before carrying them inside, while Mrs Ottremyn drove to town to buy some supplies, now that she has an extra mouth to feed.

Houny and Isnyl have their own separate bedrooms, and Isnyl had a spare mattress for me to sleep on beside his bed on the floor. Once he had made up a bed for me, Isnyl went through is belongings and gave me a selection of clothes and footwear to wear, since I had nothing of my own, apart from some basic footwear, as my trousers and shirt were too badly torn to be of any use.

After putting my clothes in a separate drawer, Isnyl gave me a tour of their home, before heading next door to the farm, where all of their crops are grown. “We grow very little produce from our home world, as most people prefer the food that comes from Earth, so we go grains called oats, rice and wheat, plus we grow nuts called peanuts, cashews and almonds, which we sell at the markets, after keeping some of it for ourselves and we also grow Earth fruits and vegetables for us,” Isnyl explained.

“Yes, some of those sound familiar,” replied, as I watched my new friend tend to the crops. Once all the chores had been completed, we returned to their home, and I looked at the pictures that are on one of the walls in the main living area.

The one picture that caught my attention was a group of people who were standing next to a strange looking vessel, which had the name ‘Star Voyager’ on the side, which seemed familiar, I was sure that I had sent his picture before, and not just once either. I was staring at the picture when Mrs Ottremyn walked into the home, and she came up to me.

“Does that look familiar to you?” she asked quietly, “Yes, it does, for some reason, this man here looks very familiar,” I replied pointing out one of the men. “That is Quinn Lenegan, Science Officer and Co-Pilot for that mission, the man to his right is my late husband, Karl Otterman, who was a junior scientist on that expedition,” Mrs Ottremyn said to me.

“Otterman, did you just say Karl Otterman?” I asked this time in English as my memory came flooding back to me, “Yes dear, he is my husband, I am from the homeworld, but my husband was from Earth, a country called New Zealand, in the Southern Hemisphere to be exact,” she replied also in English.

“Mum, why are you speaking in that Earth language?” Isnyl asked from across the room, “Because dear that is the language your father spoke, when he first came to the homeworld, and it appears to be the language of this young man as well,” Mrs Otterman responded.

“Yes Ma’am, it is, and my memory is finally back, I know who I am and where I am from. I was born on the home world, but my home now is Earth, which is where my father comes from,” I replied. “Are… are you Quinn Lenegan’s son?”

Mrs Otterman asked nervously, and I knew why, as I smiled and nodded my head yes. Straight away Mrs Otterman dipped down into a curtsey, with her head bowed down. “Mum, what is going on, why are you doing that?” Isnyl asked as he approached.

“Because dear son, you are in the presence of Royalty, we have been taking care of the Crown Prince,” Mrs Otterman replied, and Isnyl looked at me in confusion and I just smiled and nodded to confirm what she has said. “Your Royal Highness, it is a great honour to be serving you,” Mrs Otterman said to me.

“Come now Mrs Otterman, you have been taking great care of me for a week now, how about we make this less formal, I will be getting enough of that when I return to the capital. No more bowing or curtseying please. My name is Maenyl, but at home I am known as Mason,” I said in the Drol language so Isnyl and Houny could understand.

“Wow, a real prince here in our home,” Houny said and I just smiled, “Yes indeed, you can call me Mason,” I responded, “I think not, Prince Mason is more appropriate I think,” Mrs Otterman stated, with a frown at her boys, “She is your mother, so I guess you better do as she says,” I responded.

“What now Sire, do you wish to contact your people to come and collect you?” Mrs Otterman asked, “No I thought I may stay at least one night here, if I may, before going into town to make arrangements to get back to the capital,” I replied, “Very well sire, we are most humbled by your presence with us,” Mrs Otterman said to me.

“I thank you for the opportunity to be able to stay on your farm and learn about your life here, as it will help me to inform my uncle of what life is like out this way, in hope that he will make changes to make life easier for you and your neighbours and townsfolk” I responded.

When we sat down for dinner, Houny looked at me for a moment, then down at his meal, then at me again. “What is it that you want to ask me Houny?” I asked, “Well… if you are a real Prince, do you have a princess girlfriend?” he asked me shyly.