Yesterday evening, I got a message from Max that he was able to procure everything we needed for a little test trip. I met he and Nayla in the place we hid the ship after the purchase. Max showed us this old soldier trick, you can use a tractor beam to cover your ship in snow or dirt or what have you, as a means of camouflage.
Max walked me through the liftoff procedure. He let me hold the controls, but he was right behind me the entire time just in case. Then he showed me how to put the ship into an orbital course. Once we were settled in a stable course, we enabled the autopilot and headed to the lounge.
The lounge is sorta like a galley, except more cozy, with a big couch, a holo screen, and something that resembles a bar. Nayla brought some of those old Earth movies she likes, Max brought some of his good stash.
I can't ever really understand what's happening in the old Earth movies, I don't understand the language, but Nayla does, and sometimes she translates for us. My favorites usually have ground car chases or spaceship battles.
The Earth people ("humans") in the movies are bipedal, with forward facing eyes, developed speech, opposable thumbs, and other such features. We have those too, but we look more like the animals in the movies, the scurrying little quadrupeds they keep as pets. The Plutonian Doctrine teaches that we were descended from the animals, but I think it's more likely we came from the humans. It just doesn't make any sense otherwise. How could a bunch of different kinds of creatures, who can't even speak or hold tools or do math, suddenly gain the capacity to learn in excess, and instantly evolve into rational, thinking beings? We aren't supposed to talk about it, but I think Nayla and Max agree. I'm not even sure we're supposed to have the movies.
Nobody I've ever known on Plutonia has ever seen a human before, except Maxwell. He says they don't smell great, but they're as sapient as any Plutonian, and as dependable too. I believe him. I think I'd like to meet humans someday.