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Chapter 9 Part 1
Coach, Rake, and Stretch led them to the simulator, which sounded like a high-tech batting cage. The path through the ship was a jumble of hallways that all looked the same: white and silver metal with a ton of doors. Since they hadn't been on the tour yet, Jessie had no idea how big the ship actually was. Sure he'd seen it from the bottom, but how accurate was that memory? Not only had he been scared, but it all happened so fast.
They stopped at a door that looked like all the rest. "In here," Coach said.
"How can you tell?" Ryder asked. Good, Jessie wasn't the only one feeling a bit disoriented.
This brought a chuckle from all three aliens. "It's our home," Rake said. "We know the doors the same as you know those in your house."
"Yeah, but our houses don't have anywhere near this many doors. What's in all of them?"
"Most are false portals," Stretch said. "They're built to confuse space pirates."
"Space pirates?" Jessie asked. A ball of dread formed in his stomach, threatening to burn him alive.
"A threat on the other side of the wormhole," Coach said. "The Interplanetary Police keep them from getting to your side, but we always have to be on guard over there."
"When they board us," Stretch said, "if they can't find anything of importance quickly enough, they'll leave. With all of these doors, it fools them so they get out without taking anything. Our pilot hits an emergency beacon, and we hide. They know the authorities are on the way, so they can't take the time to try every door."
"But space is so big," Ryder said. "Doesn't it take a long time for the police to get there?"
The door to the simulator room slid open, revealing Mickey Martell on the other side. "Ships are fast, kid. The pirates never know how long they have. Why not just move onto greener pastures, right?"
Ryder looked up at Mickey Martell with a goofy grin on his face and nodded. Jessie felt a lump in his own throat. How had a real major leaguer, maybe the best player ever, gotten mixed up in this? He wished he could blurt out the question, but he couldn't just talk to Mickey Martell. Not unless he was directly addressed, and he hadn't been. And truth be told, he wasn't sure he could get words out even then.
"I'm done with my batting practice, Coach, so get these kids set." He looked at Jessie, then Ryder, and then back to Jessie before addressing Coach again. "You really think this will get him up to speed? He's supposed to be the difference maker."
"Practice, practice, and practice some more," Coach said. "As you always remind us."
Mickey Martell grunted and stepped past them into the hallway.
"You don't want to stick around to see what they're made of?" Rake asked.
"You guys pay me to knock in runs and play solid defense." Mickey Martell pointed to Coach. "It's his job to get them up to where they need to be." With that, he turned and headed down the hallway. All five watched him until he exited through the door at the end.
Coach grunted. "As he said, he's here to play. Let's get you two started."
As they walked in, Jessie thought about the brief conversation. Were they really worried Ryder wouldn't be able to hit? Against a pitcher that had to throw him strikes, Ryder might be as good as anyone. Maybe home runs, or even triples, were a bit much to ask, but Jessie had no doubt he'd be ripping plenty of singles and doubles.
Ryder leaned over and whispered in Jessie's ear. "That was him. It was really him."
"Yeah, you saw him last night. Did you think he was an optical illusion?"
"I don't know, but he was right here, and he's really on our team. I wish we could have watched him hit."
Jessie looked around the room, wondering where the simulator was. He didn't know what he expected--an actual batting cage, or maybe one of those screens that made it look like a real person was pitching to you--but he hadn't expected a room with nothing in it. He supposed this could just be the front room, but he didn't see another doorway.
"You two ready?" Coach asked.
"Where is it?" Ryder asked.
"The simulator? You're standing in it."
Both Jessie and Ryder looked around. Nope, still an empty room. Stretch pressed his hand against a panel in the wall, and a rack of bats rose from the ground in the corner. Coach looked them both over from head to toe, then picked up two bats and handed them each one. "Tell me what you notice about those."
Ryder took a few steps back, got into his batting stance, and took a couple of practice cuts. Jessie, on the other hand, focused on the bat itself. He ran his hands from the handle up to the barrel. It felt like a regular aluminum bat, though he had no idea what it was actually made of. Who knew what sort of metals they had out here in space? He was about to take a few swings of his own when his fingers ran across something rubbery on the barrel, right in the sweet spot.
"What is that?" He murmured to himself. It was an elastic round bit of rubber the size of a baseball. He pushed down on it and didn't feel anything solid under it. He looked up at Coach. "If you hit the ball just right, it might never stop."
"And if that ever does happen to you, kid," Rake said, "it's the sweetest feeling in the world."
"You'll think you swung and missed," Stretch said, "only to look up and see the ball sailing over the fence."
Ryder had stopped and was now examining his bat. "But what happens if you just miss? If part of the ball hits the trampoline, but not all of it?"
"When a round ball hits a round bat, kid, it's unpredictable enough," Rake said. "But when that happens, who knows? Your ground out might turn into a solid single, or your home run becomes a lazy fly out."
"I think it's time to get started," Coach said. "Ryder, you're up first."
Click here to read Chapter 9 Part 2
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