Kevin and the Space Travelers: Dark Galaxy

By Michael HH Warren

Kevin Gofod-Teithwyr, a young teenager, has just bought himself a new mobile phone. But the Cosmos Galactica is no ordinary piece of technology―it has untold powers that evil forces from the Dark Galaxy are after. Before they know it, Kevin and his friends are uprooted from their comfortable suburban lifestyles and catapulted into a quest to save humanity and all life in the universe from The Dark Master. Join Kevin, Iain and Lisa and their strange group of oddball misfits as they transverse galaxies, enter new worlds and discover adventures they could only previously have dreamt about.

Dark Galaxy follows the young group and their allies through their inter-galactic travels as they meet with alien and unknown creatures and have their ability to hold together as a group tested.

In Book 2 of the series (expected late 2017), Kevin and his space travelling friends encounter yet more dark forces from another dimension.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael HH Warren
• Release date: Feb 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370693528

Michael HH Warren

Michael HH Warren began writing about his life during the South African winter of 2009. Driven by a strong desire to tell his story, what began as a creative outlet would eventually become his first book, In The Name Of God. The writing bug has bitten, and Michael has since published several novels. A far cry from his memoir, these books are aimed at teens/young adults who represent Generation Z (GenZ). Still having a passion for the world of non-fiction, Michael has several ideas presently evolving into draft manuscripts. He lives with his wife, two children and three Jack Russells.

Book preview

Kevin and the

Space Travelers

Dark Galaxy

(Time Trials Book 1)

Michael HH Warren

© Michael ‘Double-H’ Warren 2017

www.michaelhhwarren.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the author. Brief excerpts may be cited in book reviews, provided the narrative quoted is verbatim and due credit is given by way of the book title and name of author.

This is without doubt a full-blown work of fiction, very much a spoof on an amalgam of popular latter day genres, with little basis in fact or certainty in present day reality. For this reason kindly accept that no apologies will be forthcoming for any offended sensitivities.

Names, characters, places, incidents and events are products of the Author’s imagination and therefore used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or having the seemingly impossible likelihood of imitating any actual incident or event, is purely coincidental. Should any artifact, business, event, incident, institution, name or place be found to be evident and occurring in public domain source documents and resource repositories, then accept that they are true to life and therefore factual.

Cover design by Michael HH Warren and Konrad Schaffner

Book design by Leila Summers

Edited by Fred Felton

Contents

Author's Note

Chapter One: The Cosmos Galactica

Chapter Two: Worlds Apart

Chapter Three: A Race Against Time

Chapter Four: Different Dimensions

Chapter Five: A Dark Future

Chapter Six: The Millennial Battle

Acknowledgments

Thank You

Dedication

For Kelly, Caden and Generation Z.

Michael HH Warren

February 2017

Author’s Note

Kevin and the Space Travelers: Dark Galaxy (Time Trials Book 1) is a fast-paced novel that gives Generation Z the space to be fully autonomous and independent in a constantly changing world.

Having been born into the era of technology, GenZ is street-wise, savvy and competent. Today’s young people are intelligent and quick thinking. They are also adventurous and brave.

Dark Galaxy is what happens when GenZ is given the space and time to become fully immersed in the world of technology that is now at its fingertips. Things like Wi-Fi, The Internet, Mobile Phones, Virtual Reality and Social Media are quite normal to them. For many older generations, like myself, connecting to the nearest Wi-Fi network is an ongoing struggle.

Dark Galaxy follows Kevin, Iain and Lisa through their inter-galactic travels, their meetings with alien and unknown creatures, and their ability to hold together as a group.

Michael HH Warren

February 2017

Chapter One

The Cosmos Galactica

The queue had already snaked its way around the outside corner of the store, but Kevin Gofod-Teithwyr was adamant nonetheless that the first mobile phone was going to be his.

He was first in line and no number of pleading requests would sway him.

Kevin had learnt from his father that their surname was quite special, and when he asked why, his father said, It is ancient Welsh for ‘Space Traveler’.

Kevin bore a surname that may have been interesting, even odd, but that didn’t stop a number of tormentors at school from using it to belittle him. But the surname bullying he suffered was far from his mind as he waited in the queue.

The first new Cosmos Galactica device was going to be his. It was his time. The doors to the shop opened in slow motion and, for a second, time stood still.

Months of publicity had resulted in wide scale pandemonium as people had scrambled to be the lucky person to get the first model.

Cosmos had made sure everyone knew what this phone could do. It was a glorified mini-computer with BIS―it could email, SMS or Text, chat―you name it this phone could do it. Mobile Wi-Fi, Hotspot for your friends, the hype was in place.

Kevin had seen the adverts, all 10 of them. He made sure he was already first in line early the day before and now as the doors opened he was going to get that first model.

Ten minutes later he walked out holding the box in the air triumphantly. TV crews jostled for position to interview him. For those proverbial 15 minutes he was a star, doing interviews on TV and radio with an ear-to-ear grin on this face.

When he got home he ran upstairs to his room, screaming past his mother who shouted, I saw you on TV.

He entered his room, shut the door and locked it. He took the phone out of the box―it looked like any other mobile device, except this model was the very last of the mobile push-button phones. Cosmos would be moving into the touchscreen environment along with every other mobile phone company, but not before the release of this technological masterpiece.

Kevin read the instructions and was disappointed to find that it needed to charge first. For three hours. He sighed―three more hours he would have to wait. He plugged the phone into the wall socket and waited. He decided to read the instruction manual while he waited.

Suddenly the phone beeped. A red light at the top of the screen glowed. Then a message appeared on the screen:

Sector One

He looked again and it was gone.

That was odd. Maybe he had imagined it.

He turned back to the instruction manual and read up on what the phone could do. He was quite amazed that technology had evolved from computers that occupied entire rooms to this small device that could fit into the palm of his hand. He could do everything on this device that he could on his computer.

His old mobile phone rang. It was his best friend Iain Mochrie, affectionately called Ginger by his mother due to his unruly mop of curly ginger hair.

He answered immediately, the cameras on both their phones revealing their images to one another.

Yo, what’s up?

Did you get it? asked Iain.

Damn straight I did, said Kevin.

What’s it like? asked Iain.

It’s awesome dude. It’s like a mini-computer, you can do stuff you do on your computer on this phone, said Kevin.

No way! exclaimed Iain.

Way, confirmed Kevin.

So like what can it do? asked Iain.

Well let’s see―emails, web browser, Wi-Fi, games, front and back camera, Bluetooth, USB and 1 terabyte hard drive.

What? said Iain, I don’t even have 1 terabyte on my notebook.

Exactly, said Kevin.

Iain battled to hide his disappointment, whilst they were chatting live, on screen.

By his own admission he was more of a geek than Kevin and he could think of at least a hundred cool experiments to do with the device. He just hadn’t been able to save up the ridiculous retail price it had commanded.

Kevin’s parents were not well-off. However, Kevin received a bigger weekly allowance than Iain, but more importantly, Kevin had a knack of saving his money from the chores and odd jobs he did, when other kids spent theirs.

Even though the boys had been best friends since First Grade, Iain had always felt as though he lived in Kevin’s shadow.

They both fell asleep, still chatting away about the features of the phone and how it would entertain them in the coming months. The mobile phone was still charging in its holder.

Neither of the boys noticed how the camera switched on and began to rotate, as it looked around the room.

***

Light years away, in an outer galaxy, known as the Dark Galaxy, on Planet Darkoid, The Dark Master monitored them through the camera. Remote access to the Galactica’s camera, advanced satellite technology and sophisticated auto-hacking enabled him to tap into their existing phones and pan the boys’ bedrooms, showing him the contents and occupants of both bedrooms.

He was dressed in blood red today, unlike his usual dark grey and black attire. A huge scar ran down his face but nobody had ever dared to ask how he got it. Standing eight feet tall he always dwarfed everyone else in the room. The monitor zoomed in on Kevin’s room as his staff rotated the camera for him.

Move it to the left, boomed The Dark Master, I want to see more of what I am dealing with.

Do you have a fix on his location yet? he demanded.

The question was directed at his technician who was moving his hands over a table. It was a computer far more advanced than human technology had been able to produce.

It appears to be close to our system, Sir. A planet called Earth.

Earth? What kind of name is that? asked The Dark Master.

Uh, it comes from an Old English word and means ‘ground, dry land, dirt’, said the technician.

Dirt? The Dark Master pulled a face.

I have a fix on the planet, Sir. He appears to be in the country of America, in a place called Los Angeles. I believe the loose translation is City of Angels, said the technician.

He’ll need an Angel when I am finished with him, said The Dark Master.

The camera rotated around the room showing pictures of celebrities and zombies plastered over the boys’ bedroom walls.

What are those? asked The Dark Master pointing at the zombies on Kevin’s walls.

Perhaps his family, guessed the technician.

‘Strange family, said The Dark Master.

The technician nodded in hasty agreement.

Get me The Protocol, said The Dark Master.

***

The Protocol was the Dark Master’s most trusted assassin. He had served him for many years. He started out as the Dark Master’s student and then started consulting for a number of different villains. However, he handled all the dirty work for The Dark Master, no questions asked.

He was always dressed in black and almost as tall as The Dark Master. His favorite weapons were knives. It was rumored that he had the biggest collection of knives on Planet Darkoid. He had accumulated them over many years of