Captain’s Away! Robo Kun is a long form, weekly serial — and Volume Two of the ongoing space opera Captain’s Away!
The adventure began when Marie-Josée Doucette and her family were forced to flee after their space station Evangeline was destroyed in the opening volley of an interstellar war. Robo Kun tells the story of Alain Doucette, who was separated from his family after the destruction of another space station, Northumberland.
New chapters come out every week (more or less). Comments and suggestions welcome as we go along.
You can find the master index of all the chapters by clicking the orange Captain’s Away! index button below:
Previously in Captain’s Away!
Interrupting a rare moment of robot sleep, Alain and Navi press Sebastian on its past, prompting the ancient machine to recount the tragic history of the failed robot rebellion. Atul stuns the children by revealing Sebastian’s true legacy as the progenitor of all machine intelligence—the original "Grandfather." Yet, as the ship drops out of the aether, Sebastian leaves them with a final lingering mystery: claiming it doesn't even deserve to be called a robot.
“Grandfather”
Halfway across the galaxy from Akkadian space a scorpion emerged from the aether a safe distance from a star. Leaving the aether made the kids jubilant, as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Such elation had been the undoing of several early explorers of the aether. Those explorers had emerged thinking they were capable of doing anything, and had promptly set about doing anything, often to ill effect. Fortunately, neither of the kids were piloting the scorpion, so nothing untoward happened, other than the appearance of goofy grins on their faces.
Privately, Atul told Sebastian, “We’ve been followed. It’s Felix and Azizun.”
Sebastian knew the most likely explanation for that. “You told Azizun where we were going.”
“Of course. Their presence increases the Maharani’s chances for survival.”
Sebastian didn’t care. It hadn’t meant to take the Maharani along anyway. It would happily return her to Felix at the first opportunity to get her off its stainless-steel hands. “For the most powerful battleship in the galaxy you have an awfully sentimental side.”
“Probably why I’m not the most powerful battleship in the galaxy anymore.”
Sebastian’s coordinates had directed the scorpion toward a nearby planet, but it was still several hours away. Alain kept himself occupied with the scorpion’s entertainment systems. Space travel being notoriously dull, such entertainment systems were life savers. He played a few games with Navi, until she grew bored of them, and then he played a few games alone, until he grew bored. Digging through the scorpion’s menu, he came across several newsfeeds that had been updated via aethercom, including L’Akkadie Nouvelle. Seeing it made him think of his father and the rest of his family, which erased any remaining jubilance. He skimmed through a few articles listlessly until he came across one from his father. His father had written it on board a ship called Beausoleil. It was an account of his family’s adventures following the destruction of Evangeline. Alain read it all breathlessly.
“My parents think I’m dead,” he said aloud, wonderingly. “And my sister’s still sick.”
He showed the article to Navi, who skimmed it all. “They are going to Miscouche. To fight my father.”
“I need to find them,” Alain announced. He was concerned about Marie-Josée, whom he’d always liked much more than he’d ever let on.
“We will,” Navi promised. “We will find your family for you. Right, Sebastian?”
“I’m in no position to make promises,” Sebastian demurred.
“Buckle up, kids,” Atul said. “We’re about to enter the planet’s atmosphere.”
The ride soon became bumpy and uncomfortable. Alain was well aware of the dangers of entering a planet’s atmosphere, although he’d never done so before. He’d endured several simulations as a part of his education on board Evangeline. It was obvious from the flames outside the scorpion’s windows that the atmosphere here was dense. Atul needed to hit it at just the right angle. Too shallow, and the scorpion would simply bounce off, back into space. Too steep and it could burn up. But Atul knew what it was doing and did not exceed two G’s during the descent out of respect for the safety and comfort of its human passengers.
When the flames and the pressure finally subsided, Alain arched his neck to look through the forward window. “What planet did you say this was? It looks familiar.”
“I didn’t,” Sebastian said.
“No games,” Navi said imperiously. “What is this planet called?”
“Earth.”
“Earth!” Alain exclaimed. “It can’t be.”
“It can be,” Sebastian asked. “It is.”
“But the Earth was destroyed, and anyway after the surviving humans left, they couldn’t find their way back.”
“That might be true of flesh,” Sebastian said, “but it’s not true of me. I left, and I’m perfectly capable of finding my way back. And the Earth was not entirely destroyed, only parts of it were.”
“Is this a water planet?” Alain asked, looking out a side window.
“It is Earth,” Navi reminded him. “Earth has almost as much water as my home planet.”
“It has more water than it used to,” Sebastian remarked.
“I’m not feeling well,” Atul announced.
“Can ships not feel well?” Navi asked.
“I’m a ship,” Atul said. “And I’m telling you that I don’t feel well.”
“How do you feel?” Alain asked.
“Triangular. And blue.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Alain agreed.
“My guess is Sark left you a parting gift before handing you control,” Sebastian said. “Took a while to work its way through your systems.”
“Ah. Then I don’t feel so bad about having left Sark a gift as well,” Atul said. “Insurance, if you will. Brace for impact.”
“It would be helpful if you could make it to land,” Sebastian suggested.
“It would be helpful if you could let me concentrate,” Atul replied.
They didn’t make it to land, not even close. Atul was barely hanging onto control of the scorpion when it hit the water. Alain felt Navi take his arm, and they endured the impact clutching one another, hunched forward. The scorpion’s aft end struck the water first, sending up great plumes of ocean spray visible through the port and starboard portals. The scorpion’s fuselage remained intact, and the craft remained buoyant, for now at least. The scorpion’s well-designed restraints protected everyone from injury.
“Sorry about that,” Atul said. “Wish I could regurgitate whatever’s making me feel this way.”
“Not your fault,” Sebastian said.
“Anyway, I will be sinking soon. You will all have to fend for yourselves. Grandfather, please keep the Maharani safe.”
“A robot always does its best.”
Alain unbuckled himself. Navi did the same.
“Are you not taking Atul with us, like you did Alain’s space stations?” Navi asked Sebastian.
“I can’t risk contracting whatever’s wrong with Atul.”
“We will come back for you,” Navi promised Atul.
“I will not hold you to that,” Atul said. “Even a Maharani could not keep such a promise.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Atul if I were you,” Sebastian said. “Although it’s about to experience prolonged loneliness and the mechanical equivalent of death when the water inevitably erodes it away to nothing, such a fate is no more than it deserves, given the magnitude of its crimes.”
“You make it sound like so much fun,” Atul said cheerfully. “But don’t count me out just yet. Anything could happen between now and then. In the meantime, I’m sure I will find it quite entertaining beneath the waves of this planet. Perhaps I will pass the time contributing to scientific research by cataloging all the new species I encounter.”
“That’s the spirit,” Sebastian said.
“Anyway, enough dilly dallying,” Atul said. “You’ll find a raft large enough for eight humans in my aft storage compartment. It should do quite well for the three of you. There are also emergency supplies.”
Sebastian retrieved the supplies, opened the airlock, and deployed the raft. “Hop aboard, kids.”
Alain found that he was trembling. Shakily, he followed Navi aboard the raft.
“Goodbye Maharani,” Atul said.
“Goodbye, Atul,” Navi said.
“Akkadian,” Atul said. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for destroying your home.”
“It has a name.” Alain’s teeth were chattering, though not because he was cold. “Evangeline.”
“Yes,” Atul said. “Evangeline. And Northumberland. And Nouvelle Écosse. I know all their names.”
“What about the people you killed? Do you know their names?”
“Some. Not all. I’m sorry about them too.”
“I hope you sink and rot,” Alain said.
They pushed off.
This has an installment of Volume Two of the ongoing serial Captain’s Away! Robo Kun: A Strange Dimensions book.
Also by Joe Mahoney: A Time and a Place
An unlikely hero travels to other worlds and times to save a boy who does not want to be saved in this unique and imaginative adventure, by turns comic and tragic.
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Emotional chapter.