From College To Cradle - A Toddler’s Want For Intergalactic Exploration

by: Stacey Ayodele | Story In Progress | Last updated Sep 22, 2022


Chapter 2
Adjustments & Expansion


Chapter Description: I’ve been on Planet Ayodele Prime for 2 days now. After adjusting to my base and life here, I have a chat with Overseer Drogra. Time for an adventure of expansion!


Date: 06:10 34th Cycle (06:10 Hours/27:00 Hours, Cycle 34 of 368, Planet Ayodele Standard Time)

Location: Ayodele Prime Imperial Base Alpha, Planet Ayodele Prime, Ayodele Alpha System

My eyes snap open and I sit up in my bed, causing my purple T-shirt to flutter and my ATC Cruisers diaper to crinkle. I dart my eyes around my bedroom spot Drogra sitting on the couch across from my bed, “Overseer Drogra, where’s Brian?”

Drogra rises from the couch and bows to me with his palms clasp together in a praying motion. When he rises from his reverence, he lowers his arms and smiles at me, “He’s outside refueling Shadow of Equity. He asked me what was on tap for today.” Drogra walks over to my bed and sits down at the foot, “And well you told me that you were going to search for a Pra'Elia Weapons Master for the Weapons Terminal you built yesterday.”

I yawn and rub my eyes as I scoot back and jump to my feet atop my bed, “I see.” I dart my eyes up and down at the Faenus scanning me, “Overseer Drogra? Did Brian teach you the needs for caring for me in his absence?”

Drogra nods and kneels in front of the foot of my bed to open my diaper bag, “Yes, Stacey. Brian told me about your diapers and what not. I researched everything further on my own time.” Drogra rises to me with a fresh diaper and baby wipes in his right hand, while baby powder rests in his left. “I stand ready.”

I lie down in the middle of my bed and rub my eyes, “Thanks, Drogra.”

Drogra chuckles as he sets the changing supplies down to my left and unfastens my wet diaper, “It’s nothing to thank me about, Stacey. You saved me from a mundane existence on that Space Station.” Drogra smiles as he works to get me dry whilst tossing the old wipes into the old diaper now resting to my right.

I rub my eyes as Drogra tosses the last wipe into my old diaper and lowers my legs so he can roll the old diaper into a ball, “So, what of the Alvus? He’s been doing well since he was disconnected from the Convergence?”

Drogra nods as he flicks a fresh ATC Cruisers diaper open and lifts my legs to slide it under my bottom, “Uzlovsk is doing fine.” Drogra grabs the baby powder with his right hand and holds my legs with his left so he can powder my uplifted bottom, “I do believe we’ll all make a great family here on Ayodele Prime.”

I smile toward Drogra as he sets the baby powder down and lowers me onto the soft padding of the ATC Cruisers diaper, “Yeah…” I turn toward the doorway and spot Brian walking past the living room table, “Brian’s back.”

“That’s good.” Drogra waves at Brian as he brings the green circled shell up to my belly, “How am I doing, Brian?”

Brian smiles as he rubs the back of his head while Drogra brings the left-hand diaper tape toward the picture strip and secures it, “You did well.” He darts his eyes toward the open wipes, baby powder, and rolled up diaper to my right, “Just one thing.”

Brian walks over to my bed and shuts the baby powder and wipes while Drogra pauses with the right tape in his hand, “Make sure you close the other supplies when you finish.” Brian turns to Drogra and smiles as the Faenus resumes taping the diaper snug around my waist.

Drogra nods, “Alright then.” and turns to me to pat the front of my diaper. “Diaper change complete, Stacey.”

I sit up on my bed and kick my legs allowing my fresh ATC Cruisers to crinkle, “Thanks for the change, Drogra.”

Drogra ruffles my hair, “No problem, Stacey.” He grabs the changing supplies and returns them to my diaper bag. He tosses my rolled up diaper upward for it to be caught and converted into carbon molecules in midair before travelling to the base storage container. He pulls out the hand sanitizer and sprays it liberally on both hands. “Now the sanitizing.”

I jump down from my bed and nod, “Yeppers.” I watch the Faenus sanitize his hands and once he’s done, he sets the sanitizer back in my diaper bag. “Thank you, Overseer Drogra. You may return to your post.”

Drogra bows, “As you wish, Stacey.” and heads back down the hallway toward the Maintenance Room of the base.

I turn toward Brian with a smile, “Ready to head to Ayodele Alpha System Space Station Omega?”

Brian nods and scoops me into his arms, “Ready as I’ll ever be.” He turns toward the rear of our bedroom and walks down the hallway toward the landing pad, “I have to admit sometimes I get lost in the base with the two different paths to get to our bedroom. Although, I’m glad that once I see the living room table, I know I’m close.”

I giggle and snuggle close to Brian as he stops in front of Shadow of Equity, “I know. I put lots of work into this base and made it a lot easier than my Freighter is designed. If I had a hand in designing that,” I squirm in Brian’s arms and smile when he opens the cockpit so I can climb into the pilot’s seat. “Thankies…I would have designed it a little better.”

Brian nods as he sits down to my right and swallows when the ship jumps into the air off the launchpad, “Man…that’s so weird. It still takes me by surprise.”

I giggle as I adjust the starship for an upward climb and push the throttle along with the boost, “Yeah, it took me a while too. Don’t worry, Brian.”

  1. ……

Date: 06:10 34th Cycle (06:33 Hours/27:00 Hours, Cycle 34 of 368, Planet Ayodele Standard Time)

Location: 1 Hour Away From Ayodele Alpha System Space Station Omega, Ayodele Alpha System

I smile as I scan all the stars surrounding our planetary system. I turn to the front of the ship and spot both Planet Ayodele II to the right and Ayodele Alpha System Space Station Omega to the left, “This is so cool, Brian!”

Brian nods in awe at the star filled space surrounding the space station, the other planet, and the starship, “This…is amazing. I’ve…I’ve never been in space before.” Brian turns to the left and spots the rings surrounding Planet Ayodele Prime that we’re leaving behind for the orange spherical space station up ahead that’s now fast approaching.

Brian turns to the front of the ship and notices the stars flying past at super speed, “Whoa…”

I giggle as Ayodele Alpha System Space Station Omega moves closer, “Yeppers, Pulse Engine Space I guess I’d call it since we use our Pulse Engine drives to get to faster than light travel.”

Brian nods as the ship slows down and the space station’s size nearly envelops the entirety of the ship’s cockpit, “WOW!”

……

Date: 06:44 34th Cycle (06:44 Hours/27:00 Hours, Cycle 34 of 368, Planet Ayodele Standard Time)

Location: Ayodele Alpha System Space Station Omega, Ayodele Alpha System

I jump out of my spaceship and turn to see Brian jumping out behind me, “Here we are.”

Brian’s eyes widen as he darts eyes across the vast gray walls and floors of the space station. To our left and right rest staircases that lead to four booths and a single door to their right. Directly toward the rear of the space station, a giant glowing sphere of light encased in a metallic sphere upon which wires can be seen jutting out everywhere to power the station itself. This place is amazing! Brian walks toward the left-hand staircase, “Is this the staircase?”

I nod and waddle-run after Brian, “Wait for me!”

Brian chuckles as he stops at the booth that has a rotating digital sign the watch around his wrist hovering on the table. He notices another Alvus sitting behind the booth and waves. Before he can even talk, he walks toward the next booth where he spots another Alvus, but the digital sign is a picture of the multi-tool, “This is amazing.”

I grab Brian’s hand and waddle-run toward the circular door, “Come on, Brian!”

Brian chuckles as he’s dragged toward the door which opens automatically, “I’m right here, Stacinator.” He smiles when the second circular door opens to reveal a white walled room with a table and chairs in the center. Standing at the table is another Alvus, while at the seat to the right of the table is a gray skinned boar-like humanoid with twin tusks protruding from the lower half of his mouth. This boar-like humanoid wears a gray suit similar to the one the Alvus back our base wears.

Brian turns to me, “Is he who we are looking for?”

I smile toward Brian with a nod, “Yeppers!” and waddle-run toward the entity, “Pra'Elia sir? Are you a weapons specialist?”

The Pra'Elia turns and glances down to the toddler that called out to him via his race instead of his name. He kneels, “Hello Toddler-Traveler. My name is Goolang. I’m an PlanaCraft Specialist and Tech-Priest.”

I sigh and turn to Brian, “I need a Weapons Master.” I turn back to the Pra'Elia, “Do you know where we can find one?”

Goolang turns toward the table and taps at it resulting in a star map of the galaxy appearing before us, “In any Pra'Elia system you’ll find Weapons Masters.” Goolang turns back to me, “Do let me know if you’ll ever need an PlanaCraft Specialist and Tech-Priest.”

I smile and offer him my right hand, “Will do. I’ll see you later.”

Goolang shakes my hand, “Thank you, Toddler-Traveler.”

Once he breaks free of the hand shake, I turn and waddle back toward my ship. I sigh as I jump into the cockpit and pull a baby bottle of Happy Fruit Tree juice from the hologram selector on my watch. I drain the bottle to half and smile toward Brian as I continue sucking down my breakfast.

“So,” Brian hops into the ship and grabs one of the baby bottles, “I take it we’re heading to a Pra'Elia system then?” He takes the top off and tosses it into the air resulting in it vanishing as he drains the sweet juice.

I nod as I activate the ship’s thrusters and the space station’s auto launch sequence sends us flying back into outer space. I sigh as I scan Planet Ayodele Prime hovering in front of us and finish off my bottle. I rest my left hand on the starship’s braking lever and sigh as my bottle vanishes in a puff of carbon atoms, “I didn’t expect to have to travel to a Pra'Elia system, but yeah, looks like it.”

I open the Galaxy Map and dart my eyes around the systems next to Ayodele Alpha, “AH HA! The Dihuanqi System. I’ve visited there before.”

Brian scratches his head, “You’ve visited a lot of systems, Little Bro.”

I giggle as I select the system and press the Warp button. The stars immediately speed past us and a rainbow of smooth color speeds around the starship, “Yeppers, I love exploring this galaxy, but I always come home to Ayodele Alpha.”

……

Date: 07:10 34th Cycle (07:10 Hours/27:00 Hours, Cycle 34 of 368, Planet Ayodele Standard Time)

Location: 2 Minutes Away From Dihuanqi Space Station Omega, Dihuanqi System

I smile at the multi triangular, square shaped, golden structure hovering two minutes away from us and dart my eyes to the lone rust colored planet to my right and the fleet of ships hovering above the space station to my left, “Well, at least it’s peaceful for now. Even though the Conflict Meter is at Fractious.”

Brian swallows at the word, “What?”

“Pirates.” I chuckle as I press the Summon Freighter and Starships button on my starship control panel and straightaway a flat, gray, giant triangular ship and three starships appear out of Pulse Engine space in front of me, “They wouldn’t dare come now would they?”

Brian’s eyes widen at the ships, “Wha..those…those are your ships?”

I giggle and swing my legs allowing my ATC Cruisers diaper to crinkle, “Yeppers! Heehee…” I turn my eyes to the space station,

……

Date: 07:16 34th Cycle (07:10 Hours/27:00 Hours, Cycle 34 of 368, Planet Ayodele Standard Time)

Location: Dihuanqi Space Station Omega, Dihuanqi System

“Let’s go!” I engage my boost drive and within seconds we’re cruising inside the space station. I smile when the ship lands and the space station is a spitting image of the one back in my home system, “I think all space stations are designed by the same people.”

Brian chuckles as he hops out of the starship and stands beside me, “Yeah, I think I can say the same.”

“Come on!” I waddle-run toward the left-hand stairwell and stop the circular doors.

Brian smiles and walks toward the doors, “Alrighty, let’s go.”

“Yay!” I turn toward the doors and both sets open, allowing me to waddle-run into the room and scan the Faenus to my left and the two Pra'Elia sitting around the table. I rub my chin and waddle toward the table where the Pra'Elia in the blue armor and silver helmet is standing with an iPad-like device, “Hello, I’m Stacey, Toddler-Traveler. And you are?”

The Pra'Elia glances down to me as he lowers his pad onto the table, “Pra'Elia Warrior Owle dislike pathetic, weak-minded coward species. Toddler-Interloper…almost acceptable.”

I turn back to Brian and giggle, “I’ve dealt with this before.

Brian nods, “I see.”

I turn back to the Pra'Elia Warrior, “I take it you’re not a Weapons Master then?”

Pra'Elia Warrior Owle shakes his head, “I am a warrior! Not a weaponsmith. Maybe friend next to me be of help to you.”

“Hee…thanks.” I turn to the golden armored Pra'Elia and take note of their smoother face, lack of fangs, and eyes on the sides of their heads. Maybe they’ll be of help. “Excuse me, I’m Toddler-Interloper Stacey Ayodele? And you are?”

The Pra'Elia smiles as they scan their holopad and turns back to me, “I am Officer Rixoisa, Toddler-Interloper. I administer the building and upgrading of PlanaCraft.”

I facepalm and turn to Brian with a frown, “AGAIN! Traveled almost 10 Light Years and NOTHING!”

Brian kneels and pulls me into a hug while alternating between rubbing my back and patting my diapered bottom, “Calm down, Stacey. We’ll find a Weapons Master soon enough. We just have to be patient.” Brian pulls me out of the hug five minutes later and smiles at me, “Better?”

I smile toward Brian and nod, “Yush.” I turn toward Pra'Elia Officer Rixoisa and my smile fades to a neutral gaze, “Thanks for your offer, but I’m not requiring that as of yet.”

Rixoisa nods, “I’ll be here if you need me, Toddler-Interloper.”

I sigh as I dart my eyes around the room, “What to do now?” I waddle through the double doors while Brian follows behind me. I stop in the center of the booths and dart my eyes between all the Pra'Elia and one Alvus that are walking through the area. I turn toward the blue circular Space Terminus and back toward the Pra'Elia, “Let’s just ask. Brian?”

Brian pats my shoulder, “Yeah, Stacinator?”

“I can handle this. Can you sit at that table for now?” I point toward the brown circular table with six empty seats to our right, “This might take a while.”

Brian walks over to the table and sits down with his phone, “Alrighty, I’ll be waiting.”

……

Date: 11:46 34th Cycle (11:46 Hours/27:00 Hours, Cycle 34 of 368, Planet Ayodele Standard Time)

Location: Dihuanqi Space Station Omega, Dihuanqi System

I sigh as I scan the space station left section, “I’ve talked to everyone here.” I turn to my right and spot a lone, blue armored, turquoise helmet wearing Pra'Elia standing next to some boxes, “Except him.” I waddle over to him, oblivious to the hissing carrying the bottles I’ve drank during my chats with the other Pra'Elia out of my body.

I smile toward him as the hissing dies down and leaves my ATC Cruisers’ diaper’s wetness indicator yellow-green, “Hi, I’m Toddler-Interloper Stacey Ayodele.” It is at this point I notice this Pra'Elia’s horns are sticking out either side of his face than normally through his lower lips. I guess all Pra'Elia are different like this…more different than humans from Earth for sure. I giggle and smile, “You can call me Stacey or Toddler-Interloper Stacey.”

The Pra'Elia nods, “You’re Faenus servant told me you were coming, Toddler-Interloper. It is an honour to meet one whose bloodlust exceeds even my own!” He chuckles as he kneels down to me, “Even one who is but as small as a Pra'Elia toddler as well. Grah! We shall kill together for the glory of Hirk and our ancestors! I am Ensign Hapoton.”

I giggle and smile when he pokes my nose, “Hey…”

Ensign Hapoton smiles, “Sorry, Toddler-Interloper. I’m just surprised is all. When a Faenus told me that a leader of a base on a newly colonized Ayodele Prime was coming to visit this system, I didn’t expect a toddler.”

I cross my arms and pout, “Well I am one! I expect you to respect me as much as my other crew members do. Follow me.”

Ensign Hapoton nods and withholds a chuckle as he watches me waddle over to the table where my brother Brian is sitting. Ah so another Interloper is with him. This Interloper is taller though, he must be his older brother. Ensign Hapoton waves at Brian, “Hello Interloper, I am Ensign Hapoton. It is nice to meet you and Toddler-Interloper Stacey of the Ayodele Alpha System.”

Brian nods, “Nice to meet you as well.” and turns to me. “So, this is who you were looking for?”

I yawn and nod, “Yeah.”

Ensign Hapoton walks over to me and kneels, “Toddler-Interloper, I see you are sleepy. May I carry you?”

I turn to Ensign Hapoton with a nod, “Yeah. Just go to the Space Terminus over there.” I point to the silver circular device standing a few yards away from us glowing blue, “It can take us back to our base at home.”

Ensign Hapoton scoops me into his arms and sets me on his shoulders, “I’ve got experience with toddlers, Toddler-Interloper.” He holds onto my legs, “You have no worries.”

Brian chuckles, “It would seem that most of the people my little brother has met so far has had experience with toddlers like him.”

I rub my eyes and smile toward Ensign Hopton as he and Brian walk toward the Space Terminus, “I can’t wait to get back home.”

“It’s customary for those going into space to have a well-rounded toolbox from which to pull, Brian. We all start with watching over toddlers in daycare when we decide to become space faring. Once we can deal with kids, we move on to harder things like ships, fighting, and planet-side harvesting.” Ensign Hapoton stops in front of the terminus and presses the warp button. His eyes widen at the selection of bases and glances down to me, “Which one, Toddler-Interloper?”

I poke the center of Ensign Hopton’s helmet, “Ayodele Imperial Base Alpha, Planet Ayodele Prime.”

Ensign Hapoton nods and selects the base, “Alrighty, let’s head on in.”

I turn to Brian and point to his left hand with my right index finger, “We hold hands so we don’t get lost.”

Brian nods and grabs my right hand, “Alright. Ensign Hapoton, you got Stacey’s legs?”

Ensign Hapoton nods, “I do.” and steps into the portal allowing blue light to surround us.

……

Date: 12:00 34th Cycle (12:00 Hours/27:00 Hours, Cycle 34 of 368, Planet Ayodele Standard Time)

Location: Ayodele Prime Imperial Base Alpha, Planet Ayodele Prime, Ayodele Alpha System

Ensign Hapoton smiles at the Faenus standing to his right and the Alvus to his left, “It would seem Toddler-Interloper has one of each of us here.” Ensign Hapoton turns to Brian who’s walking down the hallway directly in front of him and stopping to sit on the couch. “I take it Brian’s tired?”

I nod and point Ensign Hapoton to the hallway on the right, “This next hallway is the Secondary Maintenance Wing of the base.”

Ensign Hapoton nods as he walks down the short hallway and stops at the room where a Weapons Terminal sits on the left-hand side and a couch on the right-hand side with a drawer underneath, “Ah so this is my station?”

I nod and glance down to the floor, “Yep. You can put me down now.”

Ensign Hapoton lifts me into the air and sets me on my feet in the middle of the Secondary Maintenance Wing, “Thank you, Toddler-Interloper.” He chuckles when his ears pick up Brian’s gentle breathing, “The other Interloper is asleep.”

“Uh huh.” I rub my eyes and smile at Ensign Hapoton, “Travelling across star systems via a Space Terminus can do that to you.” I dart my eyes around the room and back to Ensign Hapoton, “I take it you’re ready to assume your assigned duties?”

Ensign Hapoton scoops me up and walks over to the couch, “First you need a change, Toddler-Interloper. I noticed when you came up to me, but I didn’t wish to interrupt our conversation.”

I chuckle and rub the back of my head as Ensign Hapoton stops at the couch, “Oh…” I giggle when he tickles my left foot and lays me down on the couch, “So, Ensign, tell me more about yourself.”

Ensign Hapoton chuckles as he grabs a fresh ATC Cruisers diaper, wipes, and powder from the drawer under the couch, “Well I’ve been all over Pra'Elia controlled space hunting Sentinels and protecting people.” Ensign Hapoton lays the supplies down to my left and unfastens my wet diaper. He lifts my legs to slide it away and grabs the baby wipes, “I figured I’d help someone new. See new faces.”

“I see.” I rub my eyes as I watch Ensign Hapoton lower my legs and toss the last wipe into my old diaper. I stop rubbing my eyes while he rolls my old diaper into a ball and it vanishes in a puff of carbon molecules that drift upward toward the storage container, “So you decided to help me when my Faenus Overseer sent out the help calls?”

Ensign Hapoton shuts the baby wipes and returns them to the open drawer, “Correct, Toddler-Interloper.” He grabs the fresh diaper and lifts my legs to slide it under my bottom, “I wanted to do something different. I’m older now, I’ve got lots of experience.” He holds my legs with his left hand and grabs the baby powder with his right hand so he can powder my uplifted bottom, “And when that Faenus Overseer called me about a new base needing assistance, I jumped at the chance.”

“You don’t mind being told what to do by a toddler?” I smile at the sweet smell of the baby powder wafting toward my nose.

Ensign Hapoton shakes his head and shuts the powder, “No. I’m beyond those things. I’m all for helping a toddler run a planetary base and getting him changed when the need arises.” Ensign Hapoton brings the green circle decorated shell up to my belly and secures the diaper snug around my waist, “There you are, Toddler-Interloper, all dry.”

I giggle when he pats my diaper and I kick my legs allowing my ATC Cruisers diaper to crinkle, “Thanks, Ensign Hapoton.” I stop kicking my legs and sit up on the couch while he puts away the used supplies.

I jump down from the couch and waddle over to him seconds after he sanitizes his hands, "So what weapons are you familiar with?" I yawn and rub my eyes as he sets the sanitizer down at his desk.

Ensign Hapoton lifts me into his arms and walks down the hallway toward the Primary Maintenance Wing, “I can tell you more after you have a nap. I don’t think it’ll do well to explain anything if you fall asleep half way through.”

I yawn and nod as Ensign Hapoton walks through the living room and stops at my shared bedroom, “Yeah, you’re right.” I rub my chin as I’m set on my feet in front of my bed, “Do you think I should expand the Secondary Maintenance Wing with just one wing dedicated to beds and such?”

I yawn and my eyes droop within seconds of laying down, “I probably should have done that instead of add another couch to the living room for Overseer Drogra and Scientist Uzlovsk to sleep on at night. What do you think, Ensign Hapoton?”

Ensign Hapoton nods and ruffles my hair, “I think a dedicated sleeping area is a good idea instead of having couches a few units away from your workspace. You can work on that when you get up though. Have a good nap, Toddler-Interloper.”

I yawn and smile toward Ensign Hapoton as I fall asleep. Looks like this turned out quite well.

 


 

End Chapter 2

From College To Cradle - A Toddler’s Want For Intergalactic Exploration

by: Stacey Ayodele | Story In Progress | Last updated Sep 22, 2022

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