Archibald was very excited. There was something floating nearby and he got the distinct impression it was edible. Archibald was quite fond of edible things, mostly because they tasted good. When you’re a hamster most things taste good, especially when you’re floating through the void of space. This is not to say that opportunities to eat occurred very regularly whilst alone in the black vastness of the galaxy, but this was the main reason for Archibald’s excitement. He’d been floating for now for almost 15 minutes, but this is a very long time when you’re a hamster.

Archibald flapped his hamster arms gently in the direction of the galactic cake. It certainly looked appetizing. It was spongy and creamy. It could very well be a cream sponge, but such things aren’t important to hamsters, only stuffing your cheek pouches really mattered this far from home. Archibald found himself just within chomping range and went to take a big hamster bite from the cake. He closed his eyes and as his mouth slammed shut, Archibald was surprised to find he couldn’t taste anything. He felt around in his mouth with his tongue and discovered no cake. He opened his eyes again to see the smear of cream over his visor and the cake further away having bounced off of his space suit. He swam toward it and grabbed hold of it between his little hamster paws.

“He’s got it!” Shouted Tooli “Pull him in!”

Sam wound in the fishing reel as Archibald, several hundred meters away, suddenly felt the pull of food in a different way than he was used to. He sped in toward the ship and was on the inside before he even knew what was happening.

Home and safe in the warmth of the spaceship, Archibald raised his helmet visor and took a big bite out of the cake and grinned through the cream and sponge.

Ing’t Alndo the Griffnor was standing in the corner looking even more timid than usual. “I’m sorry” He burbled, “I didn’t mean to do it.”

“That’s ok, Ing’t.” Sam said with a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “You didn’t mean it.”

Ing’t shuffled his feet and looked at the ground.

Archibald had been playing a game of table tennis with Ing’t in the back of the ship 20 minutes earlier, even though they didn’t have a table. Archibald couldn’t really hold a bat because of his size, but he’d been furiously bouncing around between the walls trying to knock the ball back to Ing’t, but it had mostly been a one sided game. Ing’t would hit the ball, Archibald would careen off of the wall trying to meet the ball in mid-air. The ball would sail past Archibald, bounce against the wall and back to Ing’t as Archibald tried to stop himself before hitting the opposite wall – mostly unsuccessfully.

Ing’t had just hit 4 in a row and was getting quite into the swing of the game as Archibald ricocheted off of the ceiling and down into the path of the ball. The ball hit Archibald squarely in the chest and knocked him back into the wall. The ball arrived neatly back at Ing’t’s bat for his fifth strike and he got so excited a small plume of smoke escaped his nostrils. The ball zoomed off again, this time hitting a small red button with the legend “Airlock” written above it. Ing’t was so busy jumping up and down with the excitement of the game, and so surrounded by dragon smoke, that he didn’t even see that the ball that flew his way next was slightly larger and more hamster-like than the one he had hit before.

Archibald’s eyes grew wide as he saw the ship receeding and the stars zipping past him on his spinning flight into space through the now open airlock. As the ship disappeared from view, it occurred to Archibald that he should have packed a snack.

THE END