Enoch Diggs
On a small, unmarked planetoid, you'll find prospector Enoch Diggs and his Burrobot, Hee Haw. A dotty and forgetful fellow, Diggs isn't quite sure what he's prospecting for, but he'll know it when he sees it.
Diggs is an old space hound thanks to the 38 years he put in with the Confederation Astro Patrol. The things he does still remember about his time as mess boy and chief engineer may have a life-altering outcome for Planet Terry.
Fiction
Diggs spent 38 years in the Confederation Astro Patrol. A Clue In the late stages of his career, he was posted on board the Confederation Cosmos Cruiser the Space Warp, where he held the positions of mess boy and chief engineer. Some Answers
The Space Warp's captain was expecting his first child, and Diggs was tasked by the ship's doctor with finding a sterile environment to put the baby. Diggs' solution was the life ship, which was sealed in glass only to be broken in an emergency. When the baby was born, the captain was summoned to the life ship. His caffeine-fuelled overstimulation mixed with his elation at the birth of his son, and he accidentally struck the life ship's emergency glass, causing it to automatically evacuate the ship, taking Terry with it. Diggs and the other crew members frowned at the captain, but his only response was "oops!". The infant Terry was assumed lost forever. Some Answers
After the boy known as Planet Terry and his friend Robota were forced into an emergency landing on Diggs' planetoid home, the old space hound applauded the boy's emergency landing. Diggs introduced himself and Hee Haw, and learned about Terry's mission to find his parents. Diggs offered to take a look at Terry's ship's engine, but as he boarded, he recognised the life ship Terry had grown up in, kept by the boy as a memento. Shakily, Diggs asked if Terry was wearing a wrist bracelet with his name on it, which confirmed his suspicions that he knew who Terry's parents were. A Clue
At Terry's insistence, Diggs tried to remember what he knew about Terry's parents. He told the boy the story of his birth on the Space Warp, as well as the emergency evacuation of the life ship. He reasoned that the life support systems on the capsule must have protected and raised Terry, and was pleased that the boy had become a fount of knowledge. Unfortunately, Diggs' memory of Terry's parents was hazy, but he encouraged Terry to fly to the Milk Toast Malt Shop on Asteroid 43KX, where he should be able to find Squink, the Space Warp's retired radioman. After Diggs fixed up the ship's engine, he bid Terry and Robota farewell and good luck... privately confiding to Hee Haw that they'd need luck at the Milk Toast Malt Shop. Some Answers
