Saturday, November 6, 2010

18. Space, The Final Something Something... (Nano Excerpt)

“Sir, sir, I have exciting news!” Ensign Tyl came hurtling onto the bridge in a fervor. He was practically bouncing with energy.

Captain Vuk had dozed off. Again. Fifth time today. OR was it sixth. He was losing track more and more with each passing day. Since they had left their home world of Breck in search of strange new worlds and new civilizations and all that rot blah blah blah, time had slowed to a crawl. They have thus far found no intelligent life. No civilizations. Just empty rocks, stars, gas clouds and boring.

He shook his head a little to clear the dust, and turned to Tyl. He tried to keep the weary tone out of his voice, but it was just too insistent, and managed to squeak through anyway. “What is it, ensign?

“The boys in the lab have been working on an experimental new warp drive for the ship, sir, and they say it’s ready for testing. They’ve asked me to fetch you, sir so they can get your permission for their first test.”

Vuk wasn’t sure if he should be excited for the change of pace, or terrified. The boys in the lab were hit and miss. One day they might come up with a break through that alters the course of Breckan history, and the next they might cause a ship-wide red alert and nearly kill everyone in one fell swoop.

Just six weeks ago they came up with what was supposed to be a way to revolutionize food production, and save them on precious fuel. The new process turned out to be less than perfect and Vuk had ended up with a case of diarrhea he wouldn’t have wished on his worst enemies. Not even bubbly, insufferable Tyl deserved to go through that. What would today’s discovery bring, he wondered.

“All right, Tyl. Let’s go see what new horror they’ve cooked up down there. He lifted his bulbous green rump off his seat at the center of the bridge, stretched and yawned, and ambled his way over to the ship’s central lift that would take them to the lab.

For Ensign Tyl, nothing was more breath-taking and exciting than a ride in the lift. The creator of this particular ship was part mad artist, part scientific genius, and both halves of his psyche showed in the design. Every corridor, every doorway, and indeed, even the hyper-lift shaft itself were made with both function and form in perfect harmony. The lift shaft itself purposely ran along the outside of the hull of the ship, and it was made of six foot thick, crystal clear glass, and surrounded by an energy shield, just for redundant protection. This design allowed passengers on the lift to feel submerged and surrounded by the breath-taking views afforded from the center of the void of deep space.

Ensign Tyl relished these moments, and reveled in the beauty around him. All Vuk saw was more damn space to putt around in. To him it all just represented more aimless wandering, and more time spent away from home. His tour was already 2 solar cycles in, and 3 more to go. He couldn’t wait to sprawl on the effervescent shore near his sea-side house and enjoy the warm thrumming of the twin suns of Breck.

Tyl’s ability to enjoy the little things and indeed his enthusiasm for every day on this ship annoyed Vuk. It simultaneously reminded him how surrounded he was by young idiots and how old he himself had become.

Tyl heaved the sigh of the awe-filled, his eyes roaming all over the starscape around them, while Vuk matched it with his own sigh filled with an equal measure of exasperation and rolled his eyes. Then Vuk remembered something that brought a smile to his lips.

“Tyl, I nearly forgot, there was a hyper-message from Base for you this morning.”

“Oh yes? What was the message sir?” All recruits, no matter how thrilled to be on this mission, still missed home and longed for news of their loved ones.

“It was a letter from your mother. She said your dog died.” The lift doors opened, and Vuk strode through with a bounce in his step. He didn’t even have to look back at Tyl to know. He could practically taste the crestfallen edge in the air. Nothing brought a smile to Vuk’s face like sucking the wind out of the sails of the over-eager. Today was shaping up to be a good day after all. He straightened his rumpled uniform and walked into the lab with his head held high.

1 comment:

  1. Makes me want to read more. Although you should know, I associate Breck with shampoo and their advertising campaign with Breck girls. Do they even still make Breck anymore?

    ReplyDelete