This unfinished tale takes place after the events of Up from the Ashes and The Easter Bunny.

FROM: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

TO: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jerad,

            This is the first opportunity I’ve had to write to you since coming on board the Argonautia. This is the largest ship I’ve ever seen the bowels of before, and I can tell you it is easy to get lost in the access passages, not to mention the regular corridors of the upper decks. I’ve gotten disoriented six times already and have had to be rescued twice. I assume it will take me a while before I know my way around this vessel, so I’ve taken to carrying a datapak loaded with all the diagrams for each level of the ship.

            I’m feeling better than I have in years, but I’ve also had to watch my temper around here. There are some pretty touchy folk working on this crew that are stressed to the point where they want to fight over the least thing. (And everyone on board the Blue Horizon thought my disposition was less than sunny!)  I suspect a lot of these people are from Brandt or Nalirra. It seems to be surly lot.  Due to this, I really haven’t made any real friends as yet, with the exception of the cute little squirrel who cleans the crew galley. She and I haven’t actually had any conversations, but she does give a smile to whomever she sees, and after spending all day in the Dungeon (what the employees call the Engine Room) looking at sour faces, it’s been nice to see her for a few moments.

            The Argonautia is currently on its way to Earth, where the bulk of the passengers will disembark someplace called Sidney. I don’t get to visit the upper decks very often, as the engineering crew I’m on tends to stay below. I’ve only been to the bridge once, when some fool up there ran into the shield generator controls with a cleaning cart and damaged it beyond use. The ship’s view ports were pelted with microasteroids for three hours before I could get it operational again.

            My quarters here are just as small as they were on the Blue Horizon. You would think that a luxury liner would have the room to board their crew in larger cabins, but that isn’t the case. All the available room has been given to the passengers. At least I can get some satisfaction that the price of the cabins and the voyage for the passengers costs an arm and a leg (and three toes). Despite the extreme cost of even the most basic cruise package, the Argonautia is full. I wasn’t aware there were so many rich folk in the Planetary Alignment.

            I am fortunate, however. There is a smoking lounge on the aft end where the atmospheric mixture is set so that a burning ember won’t spark off the regular oxygen-rich air. We have to go through two airlocks to get into the lounge, and the smoke is vented through its own recycling unit so it isn’t spread throughout the rest of the ship.

            I can’t wait until we land next week. I’ve been bored without my musical instruments, and I know of a couple of good shops on Earth where I can pick up a few of the more inexpensive ones. Most of this first paycheck is going toward creditors, but the pay is well enough that already I can see where I’ll have a cushion of extra credits each time.

            That’s about all I have right now, brother. Tell me how things are going on the Blue Horizon. I may not be there anymore, but I would still like to be kept abreast of what goes on there. I would imagine you’re having a grand time discovering things with your new ship. Tell me about it, okay?

--Jasper

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

TO: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jasper,

            Happy you’re doing well for yourself.

--Jerad

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

TO: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jerad,

            I know you’re still mad at me for leaving the Blue Horizon, but it would have been nice had you actually written a reply telling me how things are on board the new ship.

--Jasper

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

TO: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jasper,

            Things are just peachy. We’re having a ball without you.

--Jerad

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

TO: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jerad,

            I thought I was supposed to be the grumpy twin.

--Jasper

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

TO: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jasper,

            What makes you think I’m grumpy? Just because you jumped ship at the first chance you saw and left us doesn’t mean I’m grumpy. When Merlin told us all that he was having trouble with the finances due to the loss of the ship, you didn’t even hesitate to snatch up your references to look for another job. If you hadn’t have been all fired up to leave us as soon as possible and had waited one stinkin’ hour, you might still be here with me. What do I have to be upset about?

--Jerad

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

TO: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jerad,

            You make it seem like I was ready to resign as soon as the Blue Horizon crashed on Crescentis. We were on Pomen for three months before Captain Sinclair gave us leave to go! He wasn’t able to pay us anymore and I had creditors after me to make payments on my debts.  As far as I knew, we would be on Pomen another three months, with the Captain unable to give us a paycheck. That’s why I left, brother, and it wasn’t a sudden decision. The Captain didn’t seem too surprised when I took my reference disk and told him I was going to take his recommendation to look elsewhere for work, and he didn’t seem very upset after he got his new ship and then found out I had already contracted out on another job.

            If you ask me, he probably already knew about the new ship and just wanted to see who would leave if given the chance. How many new people did he hire after I left to bring in new blood to the crew?

--Jasper

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

TO: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jasper,

            Nobody asked you, and you know good and well that he didn’t go to meet with Prince Kal until after he gave us our references. He didn’t know about the new ship anymore than you did.

            As for our crew, he only hired two people. One to do the cooking and one to assume Taro’s responsibilities. He didn’t hire anyone to take your place.

--Jerad

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

TO: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jerad,

            Captain Sinclair hired someone to do the cooking?  What happened to Max? I thought he was doing a good job.

--Jasper

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

TO: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

BEGIN MESSAGE

Jasper,

            Max is training under me to be a ship’s mechanic now. He’s never worked with tools, schematics or anything else to do with maintenance before, but he seems interested in learning. He’s still rough, and a little clumsy with some things, but it shouldn’t take him long to get the hang of things. This Blue Horizon is so new that nothing has broken down yet, so I’ve been training him on general preventive maintenance.

            The kid was getting too stressed trying to keep up with everyone’s tastes and eating habits, so he asked Merlin if he could be taken off that duty.  He seems a lot happier now that he’s down in the engine room.

            Our new cook is a young rabbit named Lorelei. She’s a bit of a brain-fizz, but she’s a darn good cook. She’s not a gourmet like Sparky, but she’s kept everyone fed quite happily. She’s cuddly, too – she has the softest fur I think I’ve ever felt.

--Pockets

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

TO: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

BEGIN MESSAGE

Pockets,

            Lorelei is cuddly, eh?  Sounds like my brother has finally gotten lucky.  How long has it been?

--Patch

END MESSAGE

FROM: Jerad Porter. SS Blue Horizon. Okami-class freighter. MSG ID: PA1138

TO: Jasper Porter. SS Argonautia. Paladin-class cruiser. MSG ID: PA10425

BEGIN MESSAGE

Patch,

            How long?  None of your nosey business!  Seriously, though, I think the last time I had a real date was that disastrous night Jiro set me up with that little coon in his hometown on Kantus. I guess that makes it nearly two years – unless you count my near-miss with Captain Natasha.

--Pockets

END MESSAGE

(unfinished)

(Original Project Synopsis) Nothing more than a sequence of message exchanges between Patch and Pockets, as the twins are truly apart from one another after having spent all their lives together.