We began the journey unloading the spaceship (van) on the planet Newkirk II (my parents' driveway - my father being Frank Newkirk II) and started off beyond the abandoned outpost (my parents and sister were gone to some ball game). As we walked down the hill past a nearby settlement, I handed Sebastian a small walking stick appropriate for his size and readied my machete (don't leave home... or the solar system... without it ;)
We took off into the unknown. I led the way, followed by Sebastian, with Vanessa guarding our flank. I cut through under and overgrowth, tearing dead branches from our path every few steps. We wandered back and around the old paths that me and my sisters frequented when we were children. While some of the more memorable landmarks (the cove and the marshes) were vastly different now, we managed to find our way about.
I commented about what a good explorer Sebastian was. He agreed, noting that he was also a good "Slipper" (having several times lost his footing traversing the tiny mounds that peppered our path). Vanessa and I laughed. I asked Sebastian what created the paths that we walked on and we discovered space deer tracks. He noted that space spiders and bats were preferrable travel companions to deer.
As the journey wore on, we upgraded his little, one-handed walking stick to a two-handed, massive (but appropriately weighted) wooden mace (wielded as a sword) and Vanessa was given the task of squire to hold his walking stick.
We pressed on, exploring each path to its end before going back to find other paths. I found him sufficiently dead and brittle foliage that he could "defend" us from with his weapon. We saw spaceships (airplanes from the Salem Airport) fly overhead several times and passed a deep ravine.
When at last we reached the end, across the way, we saw the wintery mountains of Rokk (the quarry stockpiles behind the woods) and turned around. By this time the sun had retreated and begun to leave shadows in its stead. The space wolves would be out with the failing of the day's light. We had time enough to make it back, so long as we returned at a determined pace.
Pressed for time, we wound our way back through the woods and Vanessa managed a few great pictures of Sebastian whacking his way through the greenery. We came across familiar landmarks and, at last, exited the space forest. We then returned to the outpost and availed ourselves of some drinks and merriment before hopping in our spaceship and heading home.
Our exploration of Newkirk II was a success... today. Who knows what adventures await us on our next expedition!
