Wandering Stars

     Part One:

     The week leading up to the Day of Giving was the busiest time of the year for the Space Port of Kreludor's Orange Central Moon Base. Having started out as a hub for the import and export of goods to and from Neopia below, it now counted several Space Shuttle providers as its best customers. From departing locals heading out to spend the holidays with family or friends on the Virtupets Space Station and beyond to inbound travellers looking forward to reunions or relaxation, the newly renovated Departure Hall was regularly full of festive crowds in the Month of Celebrating. Unfortunately, travel to and from the moon was very much at the mercy of space weather and delays were sometimes inevitable.

     Surrounded by rows of chairs, at the centre of the Departure Hall stood a large holographic projection of the planet of Neopia alongside the various different destinations that the Port transported travellers and goods to and from. Above each of these locations hovered a graphic stating which Space Shuttle flight was due to depart when and the space weather conditions. Joining a crowd huddled around the display, Derlyn Fonnet - Captain of Team Kreludor - had her worst fears confirmed. Sighing heavily, the Purple Gnorbu trudged over to the far end of the building to deliver the news to her travelling companion. "So," she grumbled, arms tightly crossed, "our flight has been delayed until further notice." She paused. "Although I'm not sure the little meteorites hitting the Space Station were entirely necessary."

     Zenor Kevix slumped forwards in his chair, burying his head in his hands. The now-retired right forward was happily settled on Kreludor having relocated to the moon upon joining the realm's Yooyuball Team but he hailed from the Virtupets Space Station and regularly visited his parents there. He hadn't missed a Day of Giving with his family since the end of the Kreludan Civil War and this year he had invited his old Captain along for the festivities. The Blue Grundo was fully aware that Derlyn preferred to spend this time of the year with her friends and reserved the Shenkuu Lunar New Year for family awkwardness. With all of these thoughts swirling in his mind, he moped, "...what do we do now, Dee?"

     "Well, we can't stay here," the defender remarked nervously, noting that some in the crowds were becoming restless. Meteor Showers always took a good few hours to settle down at the very least and Derlyn was certainly not one to spend all of that time stuck around this many pets. Unlike some of her teammates, she just wasn't that sociable. Speaking of which. "I'll go get him."

     Shaking her head, the Purple Gnorbu strode over to a separate crowd which had congregated towards the entrance of the Departure Hall. This one had yet to have their hopes dashed. "And what's your name, little guy?" grinned Qlydae Wegg, signing another photograph of himself striking his famous goal-scoring pose for one of his fans. The Orange Grundo had been too busy autographing everything from jerseys to Yooyuball slings for his followers of all ages to notice that his connecting flight to the Space Station had been thrown into doubt. The left forward had some pretty cosmic plans up his sleeve for the holidays but nothing that competed with basking in the hero-worship of his fellow Grundos.

     Which was about to end... abruptly.

     "Sorry kids, I need to borrow Wegg for a second."

     Before the Orange Grundo had time to react, his Captain had hoisted him up by a sleeve of his very expensive designer jacket and was dragging him over to where his best friend was sat. Ignoring some rather... vocal remarks along the way, Derlyn plonked Wegg down in a thoroughly undignified manner on the chair next to Kevix. Only for him to jump straight off it, furious. "What in Mira's name is your problem, Fonnet?!" As far as the left forward was concerned, he was off-duty and therefore the Purple Gnorbu had no authority over him. If he wanted to sign autographs for the rest of the Lunar Day he could and would. Which was precisely why the defender had been so brutal.

     "Our flight has been delayed."

     "Wait... what?!"

     "We need to get out of here before the crowd... turns."

     "Fine. We'll just wait it out at the Federation Headquarters then."

     "We can't, they're closed until after the Day of Giving."

     "Then we'll head to Bernard's."

     "It's a Book Shop, not a Library. He's very particular about that."

     "So what's your idea then... hmm?"

     Derlyn lowered her eyebrows before glancing over at Kevix, who had been watching the entire exchange through his fingers. The tension between the Purple Gnorbu and the Orange Grundo was not something that he missed from his Team Kreludor days. They were two very different pets, with differing personalities and outlooks. Most of the time things were cordial between them but it was no secret that it occasionally boiled over. Seeing the Blue Grundo, the defender had a lightbulb moment. Turning to her left forward, she queried, "Doesn't your Dad live just outside the Moon Base?"

     In an instant, the colour drained from the Orange Grundo's face.

     "Y-you know my Father? How?!"

     "I met him once at one of the Cups. He offered me a job."

     "W-wait... he offered you a job? In the Combined Kreludan Defence Force...?"

     "Yes... obviously, I turned it down, though. Does he live near here or not?"

     "Well... yeah but... can you maybe rewind the whol-" Before Wegg could finish, his Captain had had enough. In the corner of her eye, she had already spotted some pet haranguing one of the poor Shuttle representatives over the delays to the flights. As far as she was concerned, the crowd really was starting to turn. Grabbing her bags, Derlyn headed straight for the exit. Her left forward was aghast. Sitting back down next to his best friend, the Orange Grundo didn't know what to do. "This is real bad Kev," he shuddered, "you know what my Father is like. This is gonna be a disaster." He paused. "And I can't believe he offered her a role in the Force... after like one conversation."

     "I can," replied Kevix, suppressing a laugh.

     -----

     Directly to the southeast of the Orange Central Moon Base lay an ancient field of asteroid craters, so old that the impact basins had shallowed over time from erosion and sediment build-up. Built into the side of one of the smaller depressions was an imposing, metalloid door that looked as though it could survive a direct impact from pretty much any weapon available on the moon. It was in this landscape that Qlydae Wegg had grown up. The door led to his ancestral, bunker-like home which dated from the fall of Kreludor's many Grundo tribes. The left forward though spent most of his time in the craters, playing all sorts of games with his friends. Until the most recent fracture.

     Stood in front of this door alongside her friends and their luggage, Derlyn Fonnet was about to knock. Her fist being about an inch from the door was when Kevix decided to interject. Not that Wegg was in any position to, his teeth gritted into an uncharacteristic grimace. "Dee," the Blue Grundo piped up, causing his old Captain to pause before turning on her heel, "before we go in there... you have to know that Wegg and his Dad... they have a very... delicate relationship." The Purple Gnorbu raised an eyebrow. "And just barrelling in there... it's a really bad idea." The now-retired right forward gestured towards his friend, the Orange Grundo's eyes having already fallen to the floor.

     "I am perfectly capable of being delicate," the defender retorted, attempting to reassure the duo with her usual bluntness. A sharp scowl from Kevix later and Derlyn accepted that was probably the wrong tact before sighing. She understood more than most the tensions that could surface in families. Turning to Wegg, she tried again, "Look, just tell me what this is really about. I'm guessing there's something more to it than him just being rather abrupt."

     "What makes you say that?"

     "Because you put up with me." She paused. "Most of the time."

     A small smile flashed across the Orange Grundo's face before he picked his eyes up from the ground. Even Wegg could concede that Derlyn had her insightful moments, however few and far between. The clash of personalities between him and his father was something that he had become accustomed to growing up. It was the reason why they had a delicate relationship. And probably always would. But there was something else at play. He was just surprised that the Purple Gnorbu had been able to sense it. "So," he began carefully, "you met my Father in Altador and you know that he's a General in the Combined Kreludan Defence Force?"

     "Yes."

     "Well... did you know that he was, the leader of the Orange Grundos, Xarthab's top Commander both before and during the Kreludan Civil War? And now he isn't just a regular General in the Defence Force but he also helps run it which is why he probably offered you a job??"

     "Yes, I do. He wouldn't stop mentioning it."

     "Ah." For his Captain, it had felt rather... familiar. Shaking his head to suppress the thought that he in any way resembled his father, the left forward decided to just get to the point. "So, yeah. He prides himself on the Force being as strong as possible to protect Kreludor from any and all threats and he likes to recruit the best of the best to achieve that." Wegg wrinkled his brow. "And now I just know he's got his sights set on me." He flung his hands into the air. "Even though I totally flunked out of the Cadets when I was a kid. I mean... I really flunked. Like... bad. I am not cut out for any sort of military training. At. All." Before gesturing wildly. "But now Kev's retired, my Father, is like 'Well, what are you going to do when you retire?' and I just can't face that. I just... can't."

     "O... kay."

     "I can't say no. His job is his life. How does that make me look? Like I'm rejecting everything he stands for? That I'm rejecting my v-"

     "Breathe," Kevix again interjected, grabbing his friend's arm to calm him down.

     "Huh," was pretty much all Derlyn could say at this point. She always knew that her teammate's veneer of confidence was a little thin but she hadn't expected it to crack to this degree. Or for her to get such a terrible feeling of deja vu. Putting that to one side for a moment, the defender was just about able to finish her train of thought before it got completely derailed. Pointing at the two Grundos individually, one after another, she continued, "I thought after retirement you were joining Kev's Yooyuball Academy. You two always talked about setting up that school together, after all." It was true. Kevix had recently set up a Training School for prospective Players and it had been something the two of them had discussed in length for many years.

     "Obviously," Wegg retorted, snapping back to his usual self, "but I can't tell him that."

     "So, what... you're just going to play along?"

     "For now. What choice do I have?"

     "You could tell him the truth." Wegg winced at the notion but the Purple Gnorbu was being quite serious. "You are far better off telling your Father the truth now and accepting the pain that will cause than tying yourself up in knots with lies. The stress just isn't worth it and will cause you and him more pain in the long run." The Orange Grundo frowned at the sincerity. "Look... I'm talking from personal experience," Derlyn chose to elaborate carefully, "My parents weren't exactly thrilled when I chose to pursue my sports career instead of taking over the family business. But I had to tell them the truth. Otherwise, the tension would have been unbearable." She wrinkled her nose. "And these things have a habit of getting out anyway. He's better off hearing it from you than anypet else."

     "Well I'm not doing it today!"

     "You don't have to." She sighed. "But you should, eventually."

     "I... know."

     "So that's settled, then," chirped Kevix with relief.

     Derlyn and Wegg just frowned.

     Turning her gaze back to the reinforced door, the defender's ears twitched. Where once there was the empty silence of a seemingly uninhabited crater floor, an unsettling whirring noise filled the thin air. Grabbing her suitcase from beside her feet, Derlyn instinctively jumped backwards to avoid being hit by the large slab of metal as it swung open. Bouncing off the surface, Wegg and Kevix grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her back down to Kreludor before their friend ended up in orbit around the moon. Somewhat startled, the trio didn't notice the space armour-clad Orange Grundo wade out of his bunker complete with a blaster in hand until he made his presence known.

     "My boy!" declared General Dwaqsa, before rubbing the top of his son's head, "It's so good to see you!" The General was slightly taller than Wegg and somewhat stockier but full of good humour, to the Purple Gnorbu's surprise. Apparently, nobody had told the Veteran how delicate the situation was. "And I see you have brought your friends along too," he noted with interest, "what is the occasion?"

     The left forward clamped his mouth shut before directing a stare at his Captain, who was more than happy to deputise. "We were heading out for the Day of Giving," explained Derlyn, "but our flight to the Space Station was delayed due to a Meteor Shower." Dwaqsa listened, intently. "If it is alright with you, we were hoping to stay here for a few hours until it clears up. The Port was becoming... rowdy."

     "No problem at all," declared the elder Orange Grundo, "...but what is this 'Day of Giving'?"

     The defender and her former right forward looked at each other. Being a Neopian holiday, the Day of Giving wasn't universally celebrated by everypet on Kreludor but it was growing in popularity with every passing year. The problem came with trying to explain what it was to somepet who hadn't heard of it before. With a soft sigh, Wegg responded quietly, "It's a Neopian Holiday, Father." Satisfied, Dwaqsa nodded before proceeding to rub the top of his son's head again. Much to the younger pet's embarrassment.

     Wishing to rescue her colleague, the Purple Gnorbu noticed the orange and brown blaster that had now been placed in the holster that was perched on the elder Orange Grundo's hip. "General?" she queried, causing Wegg's father to release him from his clutches, " is that a Garoo Elite Blaster?"

     "Good eye, Fonnet!" declared Dwaqsa with a grin, "I received it from Xarthab after the end of the Civil War as a reward for all of my hard work." Wegg flared his nostrils. All blasters looked the same to him. He was more of a spaceship kind of Grundo. "I always carry it with me whenever I'm on the surface in case I get attacked by one of those Rock Monsters. If you leave them alone they tend to leave you alone but kids these days just stumble into their territory without a second thought and rile them up, I mean honestly..." The Veteran trailed off before circling back, "I have a whole collection of rare blasters. They're just inside here if you want to have a look."

     Before Derlyn could respond, the General had bounded back inside with more than a little glee. Not wanting to be a bad guest, with her suitcase in hand the defender followed her host to his Armoury.

     Much to his son's annoyance.

     "And of course, Fonnet is my Father's favourite child," he muttered, arms crossed.

     "You're just annoyed because you know she's right, mate."

     "You're just saying that, mate, because you've been saying it all year."

     "Yup."

     Wegg sighed heavily before heading inside with Kevix and their luggage.

To be continued…