Contents

1. The Legend of Starfall Hunters. Forgotten Old
2. Prologue
3. I. The Fire
4. II. The Captain
5. III. The Time Has Come

To my son Sasha and everyone dealing with hardships in life

Prologue

Somewhere beyond the Solar System, several hundred light-years from Earth, you can find a wonderful green planet called Fauna-1. Planets like this one are called Earth-like because they have water, air, and life. An interesting feature of Fauna-1 is that star showers are much more frequent here than on Earth.

On one of the continents of Fauna-1 is the cozy small town of Newfaunaland: it lies in a valley surrounded by high spiky mountains that rise to the clouds and huge trees that look like Australian baobabs. This is a wonderful town, although earth dwellers would probably find it quite peculiar. Most houses were built near the river but some are high in the trees, with flowering vines climbing around the branches. To protect themselves from the falling stars, local residents fortified their houses as much as they could, which has left their dwellings looking quite odd but still practical. The metal walls and roofs are well-crafted, and, for extra strength, some of them are coated with a special layer of metal made from the fallen stars. The houses have unusually shaped chimneys, windows are generally small, round, and shuttered, and forged lanterns hang near the formidable doors. On the outside, many buildings have special tubes that allow their inhabitants to quickly descend from the upper floors or visit their neighbors, and some even have mechanisms that can move the house to a new place. All houses use pneumatic tubes for mail powered by water mills, which allows a message or small parcel to quickly reach its recipient. Near the river quay is a metal submarine that looks like a huge fish because of its shape and tail fin. Periscopes poke out of the submarine, and there are large propeller wheels on the sides.

The town’s residents look very much like the animals you see on earth, but with a few peculiarities: they all speak the same language, walk mainly on two feet and wear work clothes, just like people do. They each have their own occupation and role in society. The town is very busy: townsfolk love making all sorts of household devices, and someone even invented a flying car. These cars are usually quite small and can fit several passengers and some luggage. Because the design requires star metal, they are quite rare.

There is a tall metal castle in the middle of the town, but it doesn’t have a royal look because its odd shape is much like the shape of all the other buildings. One part of the castle contains an assembly hall for dignitaries and the mayor, and the other is the mayor’s residence, and the two sections are connected by a large tube. The castle also has several watchtowers with dome-like roofs covered with sparkling star metal and tiny circular windows like those on the houses. A landing platform for business flights is next to the roof. A dirigible is moored nearby. It is almost entirely made of light but extremely durable star metal, preventing damage from falling stars. Despite its large size, the dirigible is fast and easy to maneuver and also has quite a spacious freight section.

The town’s mayor at that time was Richard, who looked very much like a capuchin monkey. He had long fur, which was completely gray and shone in the dark, which gained Richard a lot of respect. He walked barefoot and his attire resembled a kimono embroidered with stars. Richard was old, and his memory wasn’t the best, but he remained a wise and just ruler.

In the tallest tree was an observatory belonging to the stargazer Albert and his grandson Philip. The observatory had a large dome with a special opening for a huge telescope for observing the stars and with lots of chimneys around it. The observatory’s interior was inside a tree trunk, where there was a bedroom with two hammocks, a good pantry and a library with Albert’s study.

Albert looked like a big and slightly scruffy snowy owl, and his wise yellow eyes were framed by gray and bushy eyebrows. He spent a lot of time on his experiments, so he usually wore simple work clothes and a watch around his neck. He once invented a marvelous machine that transformed the fallen stars into star metal as well as a number of useful parts for flying cars and other devices. Whenever the machine was working, colorful smoke could be seen coming out of the observatory’s chimneys, and there was a large pipe that went all the way down to the roots of the tree and was used for sending the metal bars into the town.

I. The Fire

That evening Albert seemed more anxious than usual. He was fussing about with his papers, then took a huge dusty book from the library, and laid it out on the table. The book was written in a strange language, and what’s more, the letters started to light up as Albert wiped the dust from the pages. He grabbed a special decoder and began to study it. It was so captivating that Philip even opened his beak in excitement.

“There’s something very important I need to tell you, Phil… Where is that thing?… Ah, here it is! The ancient book of stargazer owls says that once every thousand years there is a massive star shower above the valley that lasts for many many years! They used to call it The Great Starfall.”

“Wow! Is it true?” Philip jumped with joy.

Albert gave him a look of disapproval and sighed:

“It is, unfortunately… And if my calculations are correct, it’s going to happen very soon. Stars have been falling much more recently…”

“What shall we do?” Philip looked puzzled as he realized he shouldn’t have sounded happy.

Albert looked at the decoder and the ancient scrolls again.

“It says that only a team of brave and agile starfall hunters can save us, if they navigate a starship and catch the falling stars before they turn the city to ruins!”

To get his point across, Albert started to jump around the room with a ladle, imitating the hunters catching the stars.

“But that’s just the theory…” he added pensively.

Then, Albert told his small grandson that the council of dignitaries had approved using the dirigible for star hunting, but they now had to make the necessary adjustments to it and choose a captain.

That evening, a rusty piece of roofing fell off the house belonging to the fox Marilyn and her daughter Sylvia. Sylvia ran outside to see what had happened, and that’s when she saw a falling star flying right toward the town. The star crashed onto the school building and started a huge fire. The little fox was scared and ran back into the house to tell her mom about the disaster. Right after she had come in, the door was flung open, and the infuriated lynx Rihanna and tiger Jack entered. Rihanna was a tax collector who conspired with Jack, the chief police inspector, to get hold of all the fallen stars and make money by selling the valuable star metal to residents who wanted to fortify their houses.

“If you don’t pay off your debt for the star metal, Marilyn, next time I’ll leave you penniless!” Rihanna hissed in anger.

Marilyn was startled and did not utter a word in response but just hugged Sylvia tighter.

“Take their sewing machine Jack and let her think about her behavior,” she added scornfully.

Jack put the sewing machine into a big sack, and they left the house slamming the door shut with such force that a lamp fell off the table and broke into pieces. The room turned dark and scary, with the only light coming through the window from the flames of the burning school.

A flying car suddenly approached the school at full speed, broke hard, and the strong red fox named Max stepped out.

“Are you sure Daddy?” cried little Marty as his father ran into the burning building.

It seemed as if time had stopped, and Marty was starting to get really worried, but then he saw some figures through the smoke. All of a sudden, the large clock hanging above the door caught fire and started to fall.

Max had just enough time to rescue the old watchman, raccoon Charlie, before the clock fell down.

“Thank you so much, Max! What would the simple folk of Newfaunaland do without you?” Charlie struggled to speak as he was still trembling.

Max said goodbye to the watchman and flew back home with Marty, leaving behind the approaching fire brigade to take care of the emergency.

Max moored the flying car near their house. The aviator and mechanic Max and his son Marty lived in a cozy house in the same tree as the observatory, just a branch lower, which was connected to the observatory by a large metal tube. Max was a big and strong red fox who looked a bit like a pirate, perhaps because of his hat. He was actually very kind and always rushed to rescue anyone who was in trouble. Marty did his best to help his father. Although he was still a bit unworldly, he was a very bold and funny little fox. Some parts of his fur were quite scraggy and dusty, but he was almost entirely white, except for a stripe of red fur going down his nose. He was wearing a dirty pair of work overalls, and a wrench was sticking out of his pocket.

The two entered the house, and Max started to unpack.

“You make some vine flower tea while I get the fireplace going,” Max said to his son.

“Hey, Dad, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Why do you help everyone and never ask for anything in return? We could be earning a lot of money and buy so many things!”

Max looked at him with a cunning smile in his eyes and said:

“You know what, Marty, a while ago I noticed that when you are kind to people in times of need, you get that positive energy back, but multiplied by a hundred. It warms my heart, and that’s worth a lot. You will feel it too, one day… And now it’s time to stop talking, I need to fill up the flying car and go to see Albert. Oh, by the way. I managed to get hold of a star today,” Max winked at his son.

II. The Captain

The following morning, Richard was walking in circles around the audience room and having a serious conversation with his safety advisor and chief police inspector, tiger Jack:

“What was destroyed this time?” asked Richard in a very sad voice.

“The school building… We’re lucky it was a weekend,” answered Jack pretending to show pity.

“Seems like it’s started… We’ve got to do something… Something… We’ve got to put an end to it! We have the dirigible, we have the radars, so let’s start catching them at last! We know we can’t fortify all the buildings well enough — there isn’t enough star material. This may turn out to be the only important decision I’ve made during my rule,” said Richard.

Richard was upset and decided it was time to appoint a starfall hunter to stop the stars from destroying Newfaunaland. But it had been so long since the last Great Starfall that no one remembered how to choose a starship captain or how to make the dirigible suitable for catching the stars. The mastery of the starfall hunters had been forgotten.

“I propose Rihanna — she’s been doing a great job for a long time now,” lied Jack for his own benefit.

Tax collector Rihanna lived in an angular metal house on top of a mountain. Rihanna was graceful and beautiful, but extremely sly. As soon as her relative Jack was appointed chief police officer, Rihanna started selling star metal illegally, and that metal had always been the most precious material in the area. Jack and his team helped Rihanna collect the fallen stars and made sure no one else got their hands on them. She also sold anything she confiscated from the locals for their debts, as the locals always needed star metal to fortify their houses. The poor townsfolk were helpless: the mayor had become really old lately and could not see the injustice going on behind his back, while Rihanna and Jack were threatening everyone and forced them to stay quiet.

“Rihanna?.. Hmm… Fine, sure, I’ll give it some thought… Listen, there was something I wanted to say, but it slipped my mind… Ah, yes, we need to figure out how we’re actually going to do it,” said Richard.

“Do what?”

“You know, catch them… Go get the stargazer, he has a knack for inventions. Perhaps his old scrolls say something about how they used to choose starfall hunters.”

Jack went off reluctantly.

Albert had never liked Rihanna, although he had no idea about what she was really up to. He instantly disapproved of Jack’s choice. Unfortunately, with regard to starfall hunters, the papers only said that “the stars will give a sign when the time comes”, so it was still unclear how to choose the captain. They argued for a long time, and Richard started to have doubts about Rihanna, because he still remembered the merits of his friend Albert who had never let him down.

“Okay, Albert, who do you suggest?”

“I believe we need a more experienced aviator than Rihanna; someone who is willing to perform feats and sacrifices for the town. I think Max could be the one!” concluded Albert.

Richard did entirely not trust Max, as the latter was a fox, but just as he was about to make his point they saw a falling star crashing right onto the roof of Max’s house.

“It’s a sign!” Albert cried out.

After a minute’s silence, Richard scratched his head and said:

“Alright, fine, have it your way, but you’ll be responsible for equipping the starship with radar and processing the stars. By the way, how are we going to catch them?”

“Erm… Well… We’ll try ladles first,” answered Albert without thinking, and then added to make himself sound more serious, “made of star metal, of course.”

Jack was hiding behind the large door of the assembly hall, listening to their conversation. The moment he heard that Max was to be appointed starfall hunter, he rushed in his flying car to Rihanna’s house.

“They… Chose… Max… Starfall hunter!” breathlessly announced Jack standing at Rihanna’s door.

“What? How dare they!” screamed Rihanna in anger and fired her revolver at a target right above Jack’s head.

Jack cowered in fear but decided to step inside anyway.

“They must not get their paws on the stars! That red-haired rogue stole my star at the school building yesterday! We have to make everyone see that he’s not good enough! And how are they going to catch them?” furiously screamed the lynx.

“They’ve set up a radar on the dirigible, and they’re going to make ladles out of star metal,” replied Jack.

“I see, so we need to make it impossible for them to do it! To the observatory! We need to get ahead of that crazy oldster!”

She wanted to prevent Albert from making high-quality ladles, so before his return Rihanna and Jack sneaked into his study and started to break open the chest with the stars. Philip was at home. He heard the noise, grabbed a frying pan, and went toward the study, trembling with fear. Rihanna saw Philip in the doorway and pointed her revolver at him, but then she heard Albert enter the house.

“You can say goodbye to your life if you utter a single word to the oldster, you chicken!” she hissed.

They grabbed the sack full of stars and climbed out through the window, while Philip went upstairs to meet his grandfather, full of sorrow.

The Great Starfall was approaching.

“How are we doing for star material, Phil?” the stargazer eagerly asked his grandson as he stepped back into the observatory and started to study the papers with old starship drawings.

“There’s only enough for a couple items of cutlery…”

“That’s so strange, I must have been mistaken, but I was convinced we had enough… I guess we’ll have to make the ladles out of copper,” said Albert with concern.

They started to make the ladles with nets for catching stars when Max entered the observatory. But he wasn’t empty-pawed: Max had brought two stars — the one that had crashed down on the school building and the one that had fallen on his roof.

“I’ve got these…” Max started to explain.

“Wow, Max! These will come in handy! We’ll be able to make the ladles a bit stronger,” said Albert happily. “I’ve got news for you!”

“Another lucky star?” smiled Max.

“Not yet, but it seems that the most powerful Great Starfall in history is about to start, and you’ve been appointed the main starfall hunter. Tonight, you’ll get on the star dirigible to catch the stars with these ladles. Congratulations!”

Max was so surprised that he dropped the stars he had brought with him on the floor.

“I was planning on fixing my roof,” said Max thoughtfully.

“If you refuse to do it, they’ll give the job to Rihanna!” insisted Albert.

“Okay, so I need to save everyone one more time.”

III. The Time Has Come

In the evening, the star dirigible landed near Max’s house, and Richard stepped out of it onto the terrace. He approached Max in a ceremonious manner and presented him with a paper scroll and the keys to the starship.

“I grant you this certificate to confirm that from now on you are appointed the captain of the star dirigible! Please, save us!”

Max and Marty immediately started loading the starship with everything they needed and attached the ladles and the nets to the ship’s body. When everything was in place, the new starfall hunter Max and his son Marty, who had been appointed his apprentice, took off and started their journey. The weather was clear, and the sky above the town was incredibly beautiful, with colorful northern lights and no signs of the upcoming disaster. The first star fell right into the ladle, and the starship only tilted a little. Max steered skillfully and did not go off course.

The dirigible was flying above the dressmaker’s house when little Sylvia noticed light coming from the upper shelf of the cupboard. Her mother was asleep, so Sylvia grabbed the jewel box from the shelf and found her grandmother’s charm shining inside the box. It was a clear sphere with a star-shaped hollow, and right now it was sparkling and gleaming with different colors. When Sylvia took it in her paw, it shone even brighter. Still holding the charm, Sylvia went over to the window and saw the star dirigible in the sky above. There was a glimpse of hope for a better life in her beautiful blue eyes.

The weather was getting worse, and it began to rain heavily. Max managed to catch another star, but the third one was so hot that it melted the net of the ladle. However, it changed its trajectory and crashed down in the mountains. The very first flight was already putting the starfall hunters to the test. When it was time to refuel, Max gave the steering wheel to Marty, but the young fox lost control of the ship. At the same time, Max noticed a star flying right toward the town just as the fierce storm began. With a special scoop designed for removing the stars from the nets, Max managed to throw the star away from the houses.

He then took back control of the dirigible, but just then another star hit the side of the ship, right by the hatch. The starship tilted a lot, and little Marty almost fell out, but he managed to grab onto the side.

“Dad!” he screamed.

“Hold onto the scoop!”

Max managed to drag him inside, but the storm was now pushing the starship into the mountains.

“Run over to the speed station and put the engine up to the maximum while I get us back on track!” shouted Max to his son.

It was a pure miracle that allowed the starfall hunters to rescue the ship and return to the observatory with their trophies. Max was soaked to the bone, but he smiled at his old friend and said:

“Not the best weather today…”

“You should see what you look like, guys,” said Albert shaking his head.

Albert took on a serious look as he sorted the stars by size, throwing them one by one into the machine’s corresponding sections, while little owl Philip, the stargazer’s grandson, jumped clumsily around in front of his grandpa trying to see how a star is broken down.

“Let me, let me throw one in!” he begged.

Everybody laughed and instantly felt calmer and more relaxed.

By the next morning, they had made a number of good and sturdy ladles with star material, and there was also a new metal patch on Max’s roof. They were all very tired and fell asleep right in Albert’s observatory.

Shortly after, someone knocked on the door. Albert, in his nightcap, got off the hammock, grabbed a night light, and went to the door. It was Richard, the mayor.

“Time to get up, sleepyheads, I want to shake the paw of our captain,” he said as he saw Max and Marty sleeping near Albert’s machine.

They all sprang to their feet in surprise and went over to Richard.

“We’re very glad to see you, Richard,” said Max as he shook his paw.

“I’ve got a surprise for you!” Richard pointed to a large box of fruit near the door. “And another one, follow me to the terrace.”

Everyone went out to the terrace and saw all the townsfolk gathered around the castle. They were so happy that none of the buildings had been destroyed during the night that they started a celebration first thing in the morning. They decorated the town center with flowers and arranged a carnival with circus performances.

When Max and Marty reached the town center on their flying car, the locals expressed their gratitude to the captain who had given them hope that they no longer had to live in fear of a massive star shower.

And all together they sang the favorite song of the locals:

This was their first but incredibly important victory.