Not so Wonderful

A Starship Blunder story by Beth Martin

Standing among the small crowd of humans and aliens, Commander Rex Sterling admired the Conglomeracy’s newest commission. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” he remarked. Although the starship was on the smaller side for a military vessel and had been pieced together using whatever parts were handy, she was new, and she was shiny. Blindingly shiny.

“You can’t have her. She’s mine,” Commander Sarah Hawkins volleyed back. She gave the tall and painfully handsome Commander of the Starship Prime a wink before breaking away from the crowd and walking up to the podium next to the new craft to give her speech.

“Thank you all for coming here today,” Sarah began. Her dress uniform adorned with medals and pins almost made her look regal. The garish shade of bright purple complimented her dark brown skin and black curly hair. Around her neck, she wore a diamond-covered metal hung on a neon green ribbon. It was a token of gratitude for taking on the mission that had gotten her promoted to Commander—the mission where she had successfully rescued a pop musician’s pampered Proximarian Pomeranian pup. That mission also happened to be the one that destroyed her previous starship, Starship Blunder.

“Although some viewed the former Starship Blunder crew as a group of has-beens, hapless misfits, and underqualified hooligans,” she continued, “the Conglomeracy recognized the potential of such a unique collection of souls. Therefore, they’ve commissioned this new vessel with the mission to provide every enlist, no matter their reputation, with the opportunity to serve. It is with great pride that I present the brand-new Starship Wonder! Man our starship and bring her to life!”

A few former Starship Blunder crew, along with numerous new faces, came forward from the crowd and began boarding the ship. Sarah watched them file up the landing stairs and pass through the open airlock with a grin on her face. However, when she saw Chef Bluebottle, her smile melted. She left the podium and yanked his chef jacket to get his attention.

“What?” he yelped.

“Bluebottle! You’re supposed to be wearing your uniform!” she scolded.

He looked down at his dirty jacket and checkered pants. “This is my uniform.”

“No, you’re Starship Wonder uniform,” she specified. “Check out the rest of the crew. Doesn’t everyone look nice in their matching purple duds?”

He glanced over at the line of humans and aliens shuffling onto the new ship. None of them seemed happy. “Not really, no.”

“You’re lucky it’s too late to change,” she hissed. “Consider this a warning. Now get on the starship!”

“Yes, Commander,” the chef said before joining the rest of the crew filing onto the vessel. Hearing him address her as “commander” returned a smile to her face.

Even Xylo looks sharp in his uniform, she thought. The purple color cast an odd hue on his silvery-blue skin that made him appear ill, while the tailoring accentuated his tall, slender form, so he looked emaciated. The alien head mechanic hung back after the rest of the crew had boarded the ship. “Commander Hawkins, could I do the honor of christening the Wonder?”

“Of course, Xylo,” she responded before grabbing the bottle of Champagne hidden under the podium. “I’m surprised you want to participate in the ceremony since you seemed so keen on getting a promotion to a different starship. I thought you hated this new ship.”

“Oh, I do,” he confirmed as he accepted the glass bottle. “I don’t trust fancy chrome plating. Impaling the hull with a dense object like this bottle of cider will be a great test of the exterior’s durability.”

Sarah barely finished sighing in frustration before Xylo hurtled the bottle of Champagne with impressive strength at the front of the starship. The whole crowd gasped and shouted as the bottle exploded on impact, sending a spray of glass shards and foamy spirits at the gathered group.

“Excellent!” the alien said, seeming pleased with the results of his test. His joy, however, was short-lived. His spots began to glow blue as he stepped closer and examined the area now covered in expensive liquor. “Wait, did that stuff have alcohol in it?”

Sarah joined Xylo next to the ship to survey the damage. “Of course it did. I swapped out the bottle of cheap sparkling cider Bluebottle procured with actual Champagne. The festivity of the occasion demanded the real stuff.”

Xylo ran a finger through the liquid mess to reveal the orange paint used to emblazon the hull with the words “Starship Wonder” transferred off. “I knew it! The builders used shitty alcohol-based paint. Your Champagne has dissolved it.”

“Oh no! What do we do?”

“Does anybody have a towel?” Xylo yelled at the now unsettled crowd.

Commander Sterling sprinted up to Sarah and Xylo, towel in hand. He immediately began dabbing the wet surface of the hull, and Xylo stepped in to help. Before anyone could question how the Prime commander procured a towel so quickly, Sterling announced, “I’m always prepared for anything!” He stepped back, beaming with pride, but his face quickly fell as he looked from the starship to his orange-stained towel. “Oh, oops.”

“Starship nder,” Xylo said, reading off the remaining letters from the hull.

“Xylo!” Sarah scolded. “You got paint all over your uniform! You look disgraceful. Just… get on the ship and change. We’ll fix this later.”

“Yes, Commander.” He hung his head and boarded the starship.

She smiled again. “Getting called commander never gets old,” Sterling said as he gave her a pat on the back. “Good luck on your mission, Commander Hawkins.”

“Thanks, Commander Sterling!” She stood a little taller, excited to embark on her first official mission as the Commander of the Starship Wonder.

The awkward jostling of the crowd next to the ship reminded her that she needed to wrap up the ceremony. “Party’s over!” she announced. “You can all go now.” The gathered people and aliens quickly dispersed as Sarah joined her crew aboard their brand-new starship, trying not to let the initial mishap get to her.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Instead of going directly to the daycare center, Miss Luna Knight went straight to her quarters to get changed. “I hate wearing color!” she exclaimed as she threw the uniform into a heap on the floor. Her distaste for bold hues, however, did not extend to the tattoos adorning her body. She had finished covering her pale arms in colorful artwork, and her newest piece, an alien that resembled a pink furry snowman holding up a brilliant blue gem, was still healing on her right calf.

She opened the wardrobe, dug through her collection of black dresses, selected her favorite one, and then slipped it on. Next, she pulled on a pair of black leggings. “I’ll show off my new ink later,” she promised herself. “Now, to take care of this uniform.”

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Nothing could have prepared Commander Sarah Hawkins for the sight that greeted her as she entered the conservatory, a new feature that the old Starship Blunder did not have. She hadn’t meant to enter the plant-growing room, yet somehow ended up here while trying to find the bridge.

A grid of raised plant beds containing freshly planted seedlings filled the octagonal room. Five of the eight walls contained double doors leading to, well, Sarah wasn’t sure where any of the halls in the new starship led. Above, the exposed pipes and air ducts gave the room an industrial look, while large full-spectrum lights flooded the room with a warm glow.

Also flooding the room was the sprinkler system. Initially, Sarah assumed the water raining onto the plants and floor was due to a robust irrigation system, but she quickly realized her misconception when she noticed the flames leaping from a charred pile of purple fabric in the center of the room. Luna stood next to the fire, her black hair dripping and mascara running down her face, laughing maniacally, while the chef stood nearby with his pants down.

“What the heck is going on here!” Sarah shouted. “Luna! Is that your uniform? Bluebottle, tell me you’re not peeing on it!”

“I’m helping put the fire out,” Bluebottle clarified before pulling his pants back up.

“It didn’t work,” Luna stated, instantly composed and somber after her exuberant outburst.

Before Sarah could question Luna, Xylo came running into the conservatory wearing his usual gray coveralls and brandishing a fire extinguisher. He was poised to put out the flames but relaxed instead. “Oh, it’s just a uniform. I thought that was the pilot for a second.”

Sarah had no idea how the head mechanic would mistake a small heap of clothing for a crew member.

“Actually,” he added, “that’s not a half-bad idea. Let me go get my uniform and add it to the pile.”

“You most certainly will not!” Sarah shouted. “Xylo, put out this fire right now!”

He pointed the extinguisher at the flames and shot enough foam to reduce it to a melted polyester mass. He clicked his tongue and then said, “I don’t think anyone will be wearing that again,” before leaving.

With the fire taken care of, the sprinklers miraculously shut off. Sarah shook her head before covering her face with her hands. “Luna… why?”

Luna squeezed water out of her hair as she explained, “It’s not my fault you’re the only crew member who doesn’t look like poop in that color.”

“Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?” Sarah asked.

Luna simply shrugged in response before leaving the conservatory through one of the set of doors. “I gotta go find the daycare,” she called back.

Sarah sighed before turning her attention to the last crew member left in the room. “Why are you here, Bluebottle?”

He tipped his head down, and the water that had collected on his chef’s hat poured down in front of him, splashing onto the tile floor. “I… uh… I got lost.”

She didn’t have time for this; she needed to get to the bridge. She pushed past Bluebottle and exited through the doors on the opposite wall from where she had entered. As she strode through the corridors, a shrill beep demanded her attention. She tapped the device strapped to her wrist to accept the incoming communication.

“How’s your first day as commander going, Commander Hawkins?”

“Rex, I’ve been acting commander before. I know what I’m doing,” Sarah insisted. She didn’t like the idea of the Starship Prime commander checking up on her.

“Yes, Sarah, but now it’s official! How’s it feel, embarking on your innagural mission as commander?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t taken off yet.”

“What? Why not? As commander, you should know everything that’s—”

“I’m looking into it!” she hissed. She took a deep breath, trying to regain composure as she entered the elevator. “I’m headed to the bridge right now. I got held up putting out fires.”

“Hopefully not literal fires—”

She disconnected the communication as she exited the elevator on the correct level. Finally finding her bearings, she strode through the observation deck and onto the bridge. “Where’s the pilot?”

“The commander’s here!” a squeaky voice announced as the pilot chair pivoted toward Sarah. In the chair sat a diminutive alien who couldn’t have been more than half a meter tall. His uniform resembled dolls’ clothing and clashed jarringly with his orangish-pink skin.

He looks horrible in that color. Maybe Luna had a point.

“My apologies, Commander,” the pink alien continued, unaware of Sarah’s rude thoughts. “I wanted to see the instrument panel but couldn’t reach. Mr. Xylo said he’d find something to give me a boost.”

Sarah gave him an odd look. Surely at his height, he was familiar with adjusting seats. She reached under the chair and pulled a lever, causing the seat to quickly ascend to its max height, which allowed him to see over the controls.

“Well, look at that!” he proclaimed. “Many thanks, Commander!”

Xylo strode into the bridge holding a large rectangular object and announced, “This should give you the boost you need. Bluebottle gave it to me. He said it’s called a phone book, but it doesn’t look like any phone I’ve seen before.” He stopped and looked from Sarah to the alien in the pilot’s chair. “Oh! You fixed the seat!”

She furrowed her brows. “Fixed it? It’s brand new. It was never broken. Now, let’s get this mission underway! Pilot, run the pre-flight check.”

“Really?! Aye, aye, Commander!” the tiny alien squeaked. “Uh, what’s our destination?”

“The planet Karennox,” Sarah declared, standing tall in an attempt to appear more commanding. “Our mission is to deliver emergency medical supplies.”

“Oh, was that the pumpkin spice extract you told me to load?” Xylo asked as he slapped the phone book down onto one of the control panels.

“That’s correct, Xylo,” she affirmed, trying not to let her annoyance show. Clearly, her crew hadn’t read the mission brief ahead of time. “PS extract is the only known cure for acidiopox. There’s an outbreak of the disease on Karennox, and it’s decimating their population. The sooner we get there, the better.” She smiled uncomfortably, her confident facade starting to crack.

“How are the Karens doing?” Xylo asked as he drummed his fingers against the phone book, making an annoying sound that broke Sarah’s last nerve.

“They’re called Karenians!” she snapped. “And how do you think they’re doing? They’re dying from acidiopox!” She whipped around to face the pilot and yelled, “Why haven’t we taken off yet?!”

The little alien trembled under her glare. “Oh, uh, I… I can’t quite reach the thruster ignition button.”

She clenched her teeth and hissed, “Just move.” The small alien hopped up, and she took his vacated seat. Within seconds, Sarah adjusted the chair height, engaged the launch thrusters, and steered the Starship Wonder away from the Terminus Star Port and into outer space.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

“Xylo, this is an emergency!” Luna wined into her wrist comm.

“But you said nothing is broken,” the alien responded.

“Yet,” she said in a threatening tone. I have a hammer somewhere, she thought.

“Look—a fire started in the galley when Chef Bluebottle made lunch. I guess he’s not used to cooktops this powerful. I’m busy dealing with the damage and can’t fix your non-issue in the daycare right now. Please, just don’t break anything. Sarah is already super mad, and she’ll have my head if anything else goes wrong with the new ship.”

“No promises.” Luna cut the communication and then looked back at the new daycare center.

One of the kids sat up from his sleeping mat and rubbed his eyes. “Miss Luna, when is naptime over? We’ve been napping all day.”

“It’s only been six hours,” she clarified. “And not yet. If you’re not sleepy, try imagining a cave full of bats.”

The boy pouted. “I did that already.”

“Try it again,” she insisted before patrolling the room to make sure all the children were still at least pretending to be asleep. As long as it was naptime, the computer kept the lights dim.

Initially, she found the new daycare center absolutely thrilling. State-of-the-art educational toys filled the toy boxes, and every wall held a smart board that interacted with the touch of a finger instead of requiring messy chalk or markers.

But when she went to turn down the lights, they refused to dim even a little below hospital-at-midday bright. Consulting the computers confirmed that this was a safety feature for the children, and the lights would only go down—and only to fifty percent—for naptime. Therefore, the entire day would have to be naptime until she could get the issue fixed.

What if I just cover the lights? she thought. She whispered, “I’ll be right back,” before ducking to the main classroom area and rummaging through the closets to find art supplies. There were mess-free markers that only drew on special art tablets, instantly disintegrating glitter, school glue, and clear tape.

Where are the paints or supplies that could block the light? Perhaps there’s playdough or slime with the sensory toys. After checking a few more closets, she discovered that all the daycare supplies were mess-free and incapable of customizing the space.

The little boy who had been unable to sleep pulled at the bottom of her dress, and she turned to acknowledge the kid.

“Is it craft time?” he asked, his eyes large.

An idea sprung to her head. “Yes, let’s all do a craft!”

The lights quickly illuminated to full supernova power as the small children and young aliens fled the quiet room to the main classroom area. Luna grabbed her purse from the top of a tall bookshelf and rummaged through. She pulled out every cosmetic item she could find: black lipstick, black liquid eyeliner pen, black eyeshadow smudge stick. These will be perfect.

She placed the makeup in the center of one of the tables, along with a stack of blank paper. “Today’s craft is called black-out. Take a piece of paper and cover it with black using these fun new supplies!”

Initially, the children seemed unsure of the “art” supplies. However, their desire to do anything other than nap fueled a frenzy of creative, scribbled pages. Once black makeup covered all the papers, the students turned to each other, drawing lines and swooshes all over their skin.

“Great job, everyone,” Luna declared, admiring the blackened paper and small children. “I’m so proud of you that I’m going to display your new art in the daycare.” The children all cheered and bounced with joy. 

Using a roll of clear tape from the art supply closet, Luna strategically hung the new artwork over all the lights in the classroom. Once done, the area was significantly darker. Luna crossed her arms and nodded her head. Perfect!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Sarah stood confidently on the bridge, smiling. The mission so far had been going okay. After the lunch mishap, Chef Bluebottle outdid himself for dinner, making the tastiest meal she had ever eaten. She was a bit concerned, though, that the old man kept getting lost. I hope he's not suffering from some form of dementia.

With a brand new ship, fewer things seemed to be breaking, leaving Xylo plenty of time to focus on putting out fires. Most recently, the computer increased the daycare lights intensity to compensate for the black papers blocking them, thereby overheating the igniting the “artwork.” At least Luna and the children had evacuated safely.

A short beep interrupted her thoughts. She tapped her wrist comm and instructed, “Transfer to main Bridge display.” The large window in front of the pilot turned opaque and then projected video feed of the Starship Prime commander.

“Commander Sterling,” she greeted. She couldn’t ignore military communications, but this was his sixth call that day, and she wished she could put him on ignore. “What can I do for you?”

“More like, what can I do for you?” A megawatt grin spread across his face. “If I’m not mistaken, you should arrive at your destination, Karennox, soon. Starship Prime has visited the planet a few times in the past, and I wanted to warn you that the gravitational pull can suddenly become quite intense, making for a tricky approach.”

“I know how to land a starship!” Sarah insisted.

Rex nodded, a sparkle of light catching his eyes. “Of course you do, but you're not the pilot anymore, Commander.” The communication ended, and the window became translucent again to show the void of space outside.

“He is so nice!” a shrill voice exclaimed. The back of the pilot seat completely hid the small alien from view, and she had forgotten he was there.

“You heard what Commander Sterling said. Prepare for a tricky landing.”

“Aye, aye, Commander!”

The landing was so tricky, in fact, that the pilot completely bumbled the approach, smashing the brand-new starship into the planet's surface. Beyond that, they missed the Karennox Central Star Port by a few kilometers. Before Sarah could organize a team to rendezvous with the planet leadership and apologize for the large crater in the Target parking lot, the computer alerted that someone was knocking on the hatch to the starboard airlock.

“I know you’re in there,” a muffled voice shrieked from outside the starship.

Sarah took a quick breath, telling herself, You can do this! She pressed her wrist comm and said, “Connect to starboard hatch feed.” The bridge window displayed the source of the voice and banging outside. A Karenian alien with orange skin and stylish hair cut into an a-line bob, wearing a pristine button-up blouse, slammed her fist with all her might against the hatch.

As Sarah tried to respond, the Karenian alien cut her off. “What the heck do you think you’re doing, landing in the middle of a shopping center? Who taught you how to fly? You’re going to pay to fix this! I demand to speak with your supervisor!”

Sarah had to interrupt to get a word in. “Hello, this is Commander Sarah Hawkins with the Starship Wonder. I am dreadfully sorry about the damage to the parking lot and promise we will make sure Target gets compensated—”

“I don’t care who you are! That doesn’t give you the right to destroy MY PLANET!”

The Karenian kept talking, but Sarah tapped the mute button on a wall control panel. She clearly doesn’t want to have an actual conversation. Perhaps she’ll wear herself out in a bit. Meanwhile, Sarah pinged the head mechanic.

“Hey, Xylo.” She spoke into her comm while keeping an eye on the bridge display, which still showed the belligerent orange alien outside, trying to kick down the hatch. “The inhabitants here seem less-than-friendly, so we need to hand over the medical supplies quickly and depart. Go get the PS extract and deliver it to the airlock.”

As soon as she disconnected the communication, the sound on the primary display switched back on. “Any final words before I call the police?” the Karenian demanded.

Sarah sighed. “We’re getting the emergency medical relief package to you as we speak.”

“That’s not—” 

Sarah tapped the mute button again. They had traveled across several systems to provide aid; she didn’t need to listen to this ungrateful alien’s tirade. “I’m going to grab a glass of water,” she announced before leaving the bridge.

She could have sworn the mess hall was just down the corridor and to the left, but she must have missed a turn. The narrow hallway she traversed ended in a staircase, and the only direction to go was up. If she could find the galley, that would connect to the mess hall below, but even that eluded her. Eventually, she came to a set of doors that quickly opened, revealing the conservatory. To her surprise, Chef Bluebottle and Xylo were inside.

“Xylo, where are the medical supplies?” she asked as she stepped through the threshold into the humid plant room. She could tell something wasn’t right by the intense blue glow coming from the alien’s spots.

“I… uh… I’ve got some bad news. You know the box that you told me to load and I definitely did as you asked? Well, I… uh… assumed it was food supplies because it was clearly labeled pumpkin spice extract, and I put it in the galley. And Chef Bluebottle—”

Chef Bluebottle placed his fists on his hips. “Hey! Don’t blame this mess on me! All items in the galley are fair game.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “That’s why dinner tasted so good! Thankfully, we brought a three-month supply. There should be plenty left to give to the Karenians.”

“Nope! All used up.” Bluebottle crossed his arms and gave the commander a challenging glare.

Luna stumbled into the conservatory, interrupting the growing tension. “How did I end in here again?” she groaned. She looked around and noticed the other three in the room. “Wait, why are you here?”

“I got lost,” all three said in unison.

“What are we going to do?” Sarah pressed, not letting her crew distract her from the mission at hand.

“Get the heck out of here,” Bluebottle suggested. “Those Karenians can be nasty creatures!”

“That sounds like an excellent plan, Chef.” Sarah tapped her wrist device. “Communication to Bridge. Pilot: get us the heck off of this planet.”

“Aye, aye—” She quickly closed the communication before she had to hear more of that awful, high-pitched voice.

However, instead of a smooth takeoff, the conservatory shook violently. A moment later, the ship settled as red lights began flashing and the emergency alarm blared. All four clasped their hands over their ears and attempted to yell at each other. Sarah couldn’t hear a thing over the alarm.

Luna left the muggy garden room first, and the three other crew members followed her through the corridors to the daycare center. Sarah hadn’t seen youngster facilities yet and was shocked by the black char marks all around the walls and ceilings. At least the fire had compromised the alarm in this area of the ship.

Only after scrutinizing the damage did Sarah notice a small alien hunched in a corner, covering her head with her hands. “Luna, did you leave the children unattended?”

“No, of course not!” Luna insisted. “It’s just a long game of hide and seek. Kara! I found you! Round over. Everyone can come out!”

As the children emerged from their hiding places, Sarah’s comm beeped. She tapped it and hissed, “Rex, now’s not a great time!”

“I just wanted to do a friendly check-in—no need to be rude. Let me know if you need any help—”

“I’m fine!” Sarah asserted. “Being a commander is awesome. Everything is fantastic.”

“Sounds like you’ve acclimated to this leadership gig. I’ll stop distracting from your mission.”

“Wait!” She let out a long sigh. “I could use your help. We’re in a bit of a pickle.”

“Say no more! Starship Prime is actually already in the planetary system. We’ll be there in a sec.” The communication ended, leaving Sarah both relieved and confused. Has Rex been following us the whole mission?

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

True to his word, Commander Rex Sterling and the Starship Prime landed gracefully next to Starship Wonder at the Target parking lot mere moments later. They shot a lifeline to the Wonder, then took off right away, towing the impaired starship behind them.

Instead of dragging the disabled vessel the whole way back to Neptune, they made a pit stop at the nearby friendly planet, Springball. There, the head mechanic from Starship Prime could witness the destruction Xylo’s “little upgrade” to the warp drive had made when it exploded.

Taking a moment to unwind, Sarah relaxed into one of the lounge chairs next to the small dirty pool for the extended stay hotel. The Starship Wonder crew were all staying there as their ship underwent repairs, including painting the entire daycare center black to hide the fire damage. Rex yawned loudly from the adjacent lounge chair.

“You know, Sarah, you are allowed to wear something other than your uniform.”

She smiled. “I’ve been told I look good in this color. And you’re still wearing yours.”

“I’m on duty. Speaking of—” he tapped his wrist comm “—this is Commander Sterling.”

A voice came from the device, saying, “Hey, Commander. We got the Starship Blunder all fixed up. Can you let her commander know she’s ready?”

Rex furrowed his brow. “You mean Wonder, right?”

“Uh… you’ll see when you get here.”

As he got up from his chair, Rex said, “Welp, Sarah, your ship is ready. Let’s head on over.” He held out a hand and helped her up from her seat. “You know,” he added as the pair walked to the space yard, “even though everything went to shit and the acidiopox outbreak has killed all the Karenians, I gotta say, you did an okay job as commander.”

Sarah huffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah? How so?”

“You asked for help when you needed it. Although, maybe ask a little sooner next time.” He flashed her his megawatt grin, and she couldn’t help but smile back, at least until she saw her starship’s paint job.

“Xylo!” She shouted.

Caught red-handed, the alien dropped his paintbrush and bucket of red paint before sprinting away. Still wet, the letters “BLU” were placed where the “WO” had dissolved away from the Champagne.

“I thought all the Starship Blunder nonsense was behind me!” she yelled, shouting at no one in particular.

Rex shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I mean, it’s kind of fitting. On her first mission, the starship had a fire in the conservatory, galley, daycare, warp drive, restrooms—”

“Okay, okay!” she interrupted, raising her hands in defeat. “Maybe the first mission was a bit of a mess. We’ll do better next time.”

“That’s the spirit!” Rex said before leaving Sarah to her starship and crew.

Luna, followed by her group of students, approached the craft and laughed once she saw Xylo’s paint job.

Sarah looked around, realizing that a key crew member was nowhere to be found. “Wait, where’s our pilot? What was his name?”

Luna frowned slightly. “Brick Nadshaw? He caught acidiopox. I thought you’ve been flying.”

“I’m the commander, not the…” Sarah trailed off as she caught a glimpse of a pinkish-orange alien wearing purple peeking out from behind Luna’s legs. “There you are,” she declared, pointing at the short alien.

“No,” Luna corrected, “This is Timmy, one of my new students.”

Sarah gripped fistfuls of her hair. “I’ve been letting a child fly my starship?”

Luna tried to stifle another laugh.

Sarah scoffed. “Fine. I’ll fly.” She tapped her wrist comm. “Communication to all crew: This is your commander, Sarah Hawkins. Please report to the Starship Blunder immediately.”