Jack sat in the ready room at the top of the Hangar. He had a bottle of conjured soda


    and some donuts that he had put together on a plate. He leaned in his chair so that it


    rested against the wall.


    The gate alarm sounded. He smiled quietly. Beatrice walked by. He waved at her but


    she didn’t see him. He watched as she went to the elevator to go downstairs.


    He went back to munching on his donuts and waiting. He was glad that Bea had made


    it home without problem. That meant Caroline and Emily were in the guest rooms on


    the other side of the gate.


    The carnival had been fun for a walkaround, but he really wanted one with a ferris


    wheel, or a roller coaster. He wondered how hard it would be to build one of those


    things.


    He thought it should be easy enough after all the things he had built. The Enterprise


    was one of the more complicated things in existence. What was a roller coaster


    compared to that?


    The roof opened. He leaned forward in his chair. He smiled as Josie came down the


    steps in her red and gold dress. She pushed her short hair back from her face as she


    descended down to the quinjet bay.


    Aviras rode on her shoulder, glowing a gentle blue in the bay lights. He had his wings


    tucked down against his back.


    She closed the roof door and passed the ready room on the way to the elevator. She


    didn’t see Jack either.


    “Do you want a donut?,” he asked. He grinned as she jumped. She turned with an


    angry face as he held up the plate of pastries. The dragon on her shoulder stifled a


    burst of flame.


    “What are you doing?,” asked Josie. She entered the ready room. She didn’t bother


    with the spare chair. She loomed over the table.


    “Eating donuts,” said Jack. “Want one?”


    “I guess,” said Josie. She took one of the pastries and chewed on it.


    “Everyone is tucked in bed,” said Jack. “Bea got home just a few minutes ago. I saw


    her heading downstairs.”


    “So you just happened to be midnight snacking where I would have to pass instead


    of in the general quarters which I would have skirted around to get to my room,” said


    Josie. “What do you want?”


    “To eat donuts with my adopted sister,” said Jack. He grinned at her expression.


    “What?,” said Josie.


    “What?,” said Aviras in a slightly higher tone of voice. “Could you break me off


    some pieces to chew on.”


    “According to Angelica, we’re siblings under the law,” said Jack. He quickly tore a


    donut into pieces and put it on a napkin for Aviras. “Who knew, sis?”


    “Wait,” said Josie. She held up a hand. “How does Angelica know anything like


    that?”


    “Apparently she asked Matilda to do the research,” said Jack. “So we’re siblings, and


    the Ducklings are considered my cousins.”


    “You’re messing with me,” said Josie.


    “And Elaine will be your in-law when we get married,” said Jack. “Would you like


    some soda to go with your donut?”


    “I don’t think I want familial ties with you,” said Josie. “I don’t want to inherit your


    dementia.”


    “How did your date go?,” asked Jack. He munched on one of the donuts. He sipped


    his soda between chews.


    “The dinner was fine, but we had to split up for the play,” said Josie. “Bea and


    Caroline were trying to get some time alone without chaperones.”


    “I was not happy with the subject matter of the play,” said Aviras. “Markus said there


    are multiple stories about what happened, and no one knows what the truth is any


    more.”


    “You like him?,” asked Jack.


    “He seemed steady enough,” said the dragon. He swallowed one of the pieces of


    sugar bread in front of him.


    “But he doesn’t want to date,” said Josie.


    “Doesn’t want to date women, or you specifically?,” asked Jack.


    “He doesn’t want to date women in general,” said Josie. “He is willing to give me a


    tryout period. I thought we might do some traveling. I don’t know right now.”


    “And I thought Case was impulsive,” said Jack. “What kind of traveling are we


    talking about here?”


    “We haven’t worked that out yet,” said Josie. “I thought we might get a boat and do


    some sailing, or something. Right now, I have to get the goblin tree victims on their


    feet, and sorted. That means I am going to have to go by the Exchange to check on


    that other building we want.”


    “My girl is growing up,” said Jack. “I can’t wait for the wedding.”


    “No wedding,” said Josie. “We aren’t even along to having our first kiss yet.”


    “That is true,” said Aviras. “But Markus did agree to see another show and have


    dinner.”


    “Are you going to do that?,” asked Jack.


    “I don’t know,” said Josie. “It’s been a long time since I have been on the scene. I


    don’t think I would make a good girlfriend.”


    “I think you are overthinking things,” said Jack. He smiled. He frowned at the last


    donut. He split it into thirds, kept one part, tore up a part for Aviras, and passed the


    plate to Josie for her to grab the last part. “You could be a great girlfriend. You could


    take your guy to places he has never been, do things that are for adults only, and


    change his life for the better. You’re just scared.”


    “Really?,” said Josie. She squinted at him as she picked up the last donut piece and


    chewed it.


    “It’s okay to be scared,” said Jack. “I don’t remember the last time you talked about


    a boyfriend, or doing something for yourself, or just coming home naked. I think this


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Markus could be someone to change things around for you.”


    “I’m good,” said Josie. She wiped her hands together. She leaned over and grabbed


    both sides of his face with her sticky fingers. She rested her forehead against his.


    “Thank you for being concerned, but I have a handle on things. I don’t want to chase


    a guy around, and I don’t need one to be happy. I will see you in the morning, and


    we’ll talk about what we want to do with the Shemmarians on the Enterprise.”


    “I think we’re going to have quests soon,” said Jack. He leaned into the headbutt.


    “Then we’ll really be working.”


    “That’s fine,” said Josie. “That’s what I want.”


    “What is the meaning of the head contact?,” asked Aviras as he worked his way


    through the donut pieces in front of him.


    “I’m asserting my dominance,” said Josie. “I’m going to bed. Stay out of trouble.


    Don’t get Aviras into trouble.”


    “I would never get my best bud into trouble,” said Jack. He grinned at her.


    “We both know better than that,” said Josie. She straightened. “Don’t set anything on


    fire before the sun comes up if you please.”


    “Did you know that Nitro works like your Human Bomb?,” asked Jack.


    “Not until you said it,” said Josie. “And I don’t want to hear about what you did while


    I was on my date.”


    She quoted date in the air with her fingers.


    “Have a good night’s sleep,” said Jack. He leaned back in his chair. “Aviras and I will


    work on how we can improve the quinjet, and stuff like that until I get tired.”


    “Avoiding another call from the Society?,” Josie said.


    “Naw,” said Jack. “I have a lot of things in my head. I thought about setting up a base


    on the moon. The girls would probably hate it since there is nothing there for them.”


    “It might be something we can do as an extension of this,” said Josie. “After all, the


    League has had a satellite and a moon base for years.”


    “I know,” said Jack. “The Inhumans had that place near the Watcher’s outpost for


    years too. That’s where the Jean Grey Phoenix killed herself the first time before she


    came back as part of X-Factor.”


    “Keep a secret base on the moon as a card up your sleeve in case we have to leave


    Hawk Ridge,” said Josie. “The people aren’t going to keep being unaware of us if we


    keep rocking the boat.”


    “I know,” said Jack. “Maybe we can install a cannon to shoot things here from there.”


    “I think the Society prefers a hands on approach to exterminating targets from space,”


    said Josie. “You know, to keep the collateral damage down.”


    “One beam from a particle thrower is worth a million words,” said Jack.


    “And that is why you keep getting asked to tone things down,” said Josie. “Good


    night.”


    “Good night, Jo-jo,” said Jack.


    He leaned back in his chair as she walked away. The dragon squinted at him with his


    sapphire eyes.


    “Are you really thinking about a base on the moon?,” asked Aviras.


    “Yep,” said Jack. He picked up a napkin and started rubbing the sides of his face.


    “It’s on my list.”


    “You have a list?,” asked Aviras.


    “Doesn’t everyone?,” asked Jack.


    “I don’t think so,” said Aviras. He made a gesture with a forepaw. “At least not about


    living space on the moon.”


    “I figure that Josie and I, mostly me,” said Jack. “Will help this planet out of this


    stasis that it is in. When we do, space travel and exploration will follow. I want to be


    ahead of the game.”


    “It will be a long walk from horses to flying ships, and an even longer walk from that


    to travel between planets,” said Aviras.


    “Right now,” said Jack. “The people here don’t even have the ability to build gliders


    to fly. I want to change that.”


    “I think you should leave well enough alone,” said Aviras. “People will advance at


    their own rate. Your task as I see it is to protect them as they do so.”


    “I want my kids to be the first commanders of Star Command,” said Jack. “I want


    them to give Buzz Lightyear a run for his money.”


    “I think you have to have children before they can be experts in something like space


    travel and community building,” said Aviras.


    “Don’t rain on my parade,” said Jack. “How did the date go?”


    “I don’t think I should talk to you about that,” said Aviras. “Josie doesn’t want you


    harassing her to get married and have a thousand kids when she has so much to do


    with her responsibilities and the Ducklings.”


    “Does this Markus have a chance in hell?,” asked Jack.


    “I think the fact that he is calm and ready is a good sign of a good companion,” said


    Aviras. “He might be a good restraint on Josie’s temper, just as Elaine is a good


    restraint on you.”


    “Elaine is fairly good for me,” said Jack. “I don’t have a good history with women,


    but maybe this one piece of luck is just what I needed.”


    “Leave Josie alone about Markus, and let her make up her own mind,” said Aviras.


    “Do better than her mother.”


    “I guess you’re right about that,” said Jack. “It’s hard sometimes. I really like to do


    things.”


    “Concentrate on birthing your own thousand children,” said Aviras.


    “I did, but Elaine said I had to spread the trying out instead of trying to do it all in one


    night,” said Jack.


    Aviras opened his mouth to say something. He paused to consider. Then he picked


    up one of the last pieces of pastry in front of him and chewed on that instead.


    When he was done, he said, “What are your ideas for a moon base? I assume magic


    is involved.”


    “I want to do something like the Inhumans and create a livable space where people


    can build their own homes in the border,” said Jack. “Maybe we can set up some kind


    of launcher to shoot people to the outer planets.”


    “And there are other planets above the sky?,” said Aviras.


    “Yep,” said Jack. “I visited one of the moons already, and took a spot check on the


    system while I was up there. The Enterprise had time to take scans while I was doing


    my business.”


    “So travel to other planets is feasible,” said Aviras.


    “Yep,” said Jack. “But we don’t know how big the universe is here. I didn’t take the


    time to have the Enterprise take pictures of everything. We might have to deal with


    chtonic entities like Hellboy once we are actively roaming out there.”


    “I can see where that would be bad,” said Aviras.


    “And Star Trek itself was full of super powers posing as gods to destroy the


    universe,” said Jack. “That might also be something our proto-Federation might have


    to deal with once we have more than one Enterprise out there looking around.”


    “So Star Trek is full of dangers?,” asked Aviras.


    “Yeah,” said Jack. “And most of them control energy and matter to do what they


    want. Doctor Who is the same way with less explanations.”


    “And you want to uplift the humans here to fight the gods there?,” said Aviras.


    “I wouldn’t say that,” said Jack, grinning. “I want the humans here to defend


    themselves from all comers.”


    “I can see where your Society might have a problem with this,” said Aviras.


    “They’re not the boss of me,” declared Jack.


    “They literally are your boss,” said Aviras. “You are just a bad employee.”


    “All right,” said Jack. “That’s a low blow but fair.”


    “We’re getting away from the point of this conversation,” said Aviras. “You are


    proposing an insane scheme to send people who have never seen a flying craft into


    space to face unknown dangers without any of the necessary skills. Maybe you should


    work on teaching them how to do things without just summoning the extra


    infrastructure.”


    “You are taking the fun out of this,” said Jack.


    “You are being lazy,” said Aviras. “Shall we start with the basic premise? We want


    people to leave this planet and move out into the solar system, and then the galaxy


    beyond. What do they need to do that without magic doing most of the work for them


    since most people can’t seem to work spells here.”


    “We are going to need to improve the metal working skills of blacksmiths, introduce


    an alchemical process to make fuel, build ways to make life support systems to keep


    the crew alive as they go about their day,” said Jack.


    “There are probably thousands of other things that we would have to build to make


    your dream come to life,” said Aviras. “But this seems to be a good start for you.”


    “Just building computers would be huge,” said Jack. “I mean they do a lot of the


    calculations in real spacecraft to come home after being out beyond the sky.”


    “I saw how the Enterprise worked,” said Aviras.


    “The Enterprise is towards the middle of things,” said Jack. “The startup would have


    to be smaller and possibly unable to fly under its own power in an atmosphere.”


    “Really?,” asked Aviras. He flapped his wings as he settled in to listen to his human


    cohort.


    “Sure,” said Jack. “A writer named Jules Verne came up with an idea that was


    thought about and discarded and then reconsidered and made to work by later


    engineers, chemists, and physicists. Basically, you build a big enough cannon and


    shoot at the moon with a single use rocket.”


    “You are joking,” said Aviras.


    “Nope,” said Jack. “All of Earth’s space conquest comes from a book where the main


    character built a big gun and fired himself in a shell at the moon and actually hit it.


    Don’t ask me how he got back to Earth. I don’t remember.”


    “The humans on your Earth are insane,” said Aviras.