Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic by Armand Baltazar

Author:Armand Baltazar [Baltazar, Armand]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

Diego spied a picture frame lying on the desk. A photo of a beautiful young woman in a maroon dress, standing next to a much younger Boleslavich. He was trim, wearing a dark naval officer’s uniform. There was no gray in his hair or mustache. The woman’s pregnant belly pressed out against her dress. There was a handwritten inscription at the bottom:

My Elana & Ahi

December 14, 2213

The captain was an Elder. Elana was his wife, and Ahi . . . the sculpture. His daughter, Natalia?

Diego noticed now that the nearest desk drawer was open. Maybe that would be a good place to put this carving until the captain sobered up. He slid the drawer open a little more. There were more photos inside, a stack of unframed snapshots. Diego wondered if he could risk taking a closer look—

The captain’s hand shot out and gripped his wrist like a steel trap.

“Ow!” Diego yelped. The grip was so tight that he dropped the carving, right into the mashed potatoes on the plate he’d brought up.

“Who gave you permission to come in here?” The captain peered at Diego with half-closed, bloodshot eyes.

“Nobody, we just—I thought you might be hungry, so I—”

“Leave at once!” he roared, lurching back in his chair.

“Yes, Captain.” Diego stumbled and hurried out of the room. As he closed the door, he heard crashing sounds from behind him.

Diego rushed down the deck. He never should have gone in there. Maybe Paige was right. Maybe he was reckless. The captain was going to maroon him for sure.

As he neared the galley door, a peal of laughter caught Diego’s attention. He stopped and peered through a porthole.

The rest of the crew had gathered around the old boiler fireplace, even Daphne. Petey stood at the center of the group, doing an impression of a vicious creature, maybe a dinosaur. Everyone was cracking up, Ajax laughing in singular, cannon-like bursts that shook the porthole glass.

Diego watched them, feeling more alone than ever. Go join them, he thought. But other than by Petey, and maybe Daphne . . . he knew he wouldn’t be welcome.

He slipped away from the porthole. He went back to their cabin, but he didn’t want to stay there either. So he grabbed the old computer tablet from the desk, along with a small set of tools, and shoved them into his backpack. He lit a lantern and headed back out into the dark.

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