by Joe Crouch
“How are you, Sean?” Yumie asked in his usual upbeat tone, he wore a tight navy coloured uniform that hugged his small, skinny body, he was taller than Sean by a few inches and had a thick crop of long, red scraggly hair. “Sorry it took me so long to return, my body died about a year before we met so my genome was still recovering from the cloning process.”
“They made you a red head?” Sean quizzed, “How the hell did that happen?”
“As I said, my genome was still recovering so I guess that part of the data hadn’t fully reformed yet, I guess they drew my hair colour and style out of a proverbial hat,” he shrugged, “It doesn’t bother me.”
“It’s good to see you again, Yumie,” Taris smiled, “Can’t say it was my favourite day seeing what happened to you, do you remember it all?”
“Some of it, sure,” he said, recoiling at the line of questioning, “It’s all in the past now. So… look at you two,” he said, pointing towards them, “I never knew you were mating.”
“How could you tell?” Sean asked, looking Taris in the eye.
“It’s obvious, look at how you two stand when beside one another, only a close, intimate bond would allow that invasion of personal space,” he laughed. “But it truly is good to see everyone again, I believe Fez has some interesting news and briefings for you two.”
“I do,” Fez replied, “It’s why we’re in this room, take a seat,” he said while waving for them to sit. With a small handheld tablet, he turned the central holographic device on, the blue light flickered into life to display an image of a continental world orbiting a single star. As the colours aligned themselves it revealed a surface almost exclusively dominated by a thick jungle that sprawled across the world. Panning over the display focussed on a seemingly empty area of space, only a blue sphere sat waiting for interaction and with a click of a button Fez brought up its relevant information. “This is the errant signal we’ve been observing from afar,” Fez said while sitting forwards, “It is of unknown origin and of great interest to the High Council.”
“Do you not have any idea what it could be?” Sean asked whilst trying to make sense of the technical details that scrolled down the hologram.
“A ship?” Fez shrugged, “That’s my best guess, but the power readings for it are greater than anything we would imagine fitting into a ship of the size we estimate.” The room glanced around at each other, curious of the wonders that this opportunity would bring. “But we couldn’t get close enough to fully observe it, we had to retreat and come back another time, and that time is now.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Sean asked, standing to prepare for the mission ahead, Fez waved him to sit back down.
“I brought you and Taris up here because I know your expertise and bravery are unmatched, but this will be a very long trip and you will be gone from your world and home for a long time, does this bother you?” Fez asked.
“Bother me?” Sean scoffed, “I cannot wait, that planet is nothing but hell for me now, the sooner I get away the better… If that’s what you want, Tar?” he said, looking over at her with his puppy dog eyes.
“I can’t deny I’ll miss the place – A lot,” she sighed, “But some real action would be good to kick off the rust I’ve gathered.” Sean clasped his hands together and smiled towards the captain, who could only nod in reply.
“Well then,” Fez beamed, standing, “I guess the crew has been reformed, after final checks, we will be off, a data pad with all relevant information will be sent to your quarters, which I assume the two of you will be sharing?”
“Got some earplugs?” Taris sighed.
“I don’t snore that loudly… Do I?” he gasped.
Chapter 4
Preparations had been finalised across the Mar’Ell with final checks reporting the status of their respective systems back to the bridge. The ship was a hive of activity as workers darted about in a rush to get to their stations and prepare for slip-space travel, they had a long journey ahead so the sooner they left the better. Sean was apprehensive as he made his way to the bridge. He stepped over the thick bulkhead of the command centre and was surprised by the wave of noise that hit him as he walked in. He wasn’t sure if his memory was clouded but the barking of orders and the flurry of beeps that came from the terminals was something he couldn’t remember. Fez sat centrally in the oval room; he lorded over the rest of the crew who sat below him in a semi-circle shaped trench which wrapped around the front of the ship. In front of the captain was a large, deep blue holographic display which displayed various reports from around the vessel, switching between those and detailed graphs of the systems aboard made him appear busy, almost overwhelmed.
Sean strolled over to one of the free computer banks which lined the rear side of the bridge, he sat down and soaked in the atmosphere for a moment, it was refreshing to listen to the chattering of commands being typed into terminals with Fez dishing out tasks to his officers. There was an oddly sweet almond-like aroma in the air as he took in a deep breath, but before he could turn to investigate his eyes were covered by two smooth-skinned hands, he knew who it was instantly. “How’s it feel to be back?” Taris asked whilst she spun his chair around to face her. The sight of her back in proper attire made him smile, the dark blue trousers and shirt with the clunky black boots were a far cry from the fashion she so enjoyed back on Earth.
“Looking sharp,” he laughed, as he leant back a loud squeak came from the chair, “I feel good,” he added, “It’s just a matter of getting back into the flow of things, ‘ya know, I’ll get there eventually.”
“I’m sure you will,” she smiled, “Have you seen the upgrades they’ve made to the ship?”
“No,” he admitted, “What did they do?”
“The mess hall has Earth food on the menus, I came here right away… After eating a bowl of slightly cardboard tasting vanilla ice-cream.”
“What is it with the Ioutions and the taste of cardboard,” he wondered sarcastically, “Your race is hundreds of thousands of years old as a civilisation and you still haven’t mastered the roasting of meats or preparing of tasty food.” Waving him away she slumped down into a chair beside him and brought up a display on the terminal and watched as the holographic image flashed into life with a buzz. Her hands darted over the screen as she input commands, he couldn’t keep up or even begin to understand what she was doing, but it soon became apparent. A map of the galaxy formed in front of them, slowing rotating it zoomed into a region on the outskirts of the galactic body, the deep yellows and oranges of the area made it seem beautiful, almost tranquil when viewing it.
“This is the rough area we’re heading to,” she said as she waved her hand over the area which was highlighted a translucent white, “And this…” the computer beeped as she punched in commands, “Is our predicted route.” A line zig-zagged out from their ship’s representation, there were brief areas where they flew in a straight line but they were few and far between.
“Why the convoluted route?”
“There will be a few stops along the way,” an image of the first planet they would visit snapped into view, “These new engines are thirsty, as you would say, and need to be refuelled constantly, this is a planet called Emeio, it’s under Theran control but we shouldn’t have any trouble with stopping there for a few hours.”
“Theran?” he questioned, “I’ve never heard of those before, what do they even look like?”
“I won’t spoil the surprise,” she said as a self-inflicted chill ran down her spine, “They’re an… interesting species, let’s put it that way.” Sean nodded and turned to face Fez who had calmed. The captain sat back and scrolled through notes on a small data pad, he switched between the pad and his terminal as he transcribed information between them. Sean pushed himself out of his chair and strolled over towards him. He looked over the busy Ioution’s shoulder and observed everything he was doing.
“So, the Theran…” Sean said, to which Fez shook violently and snapped h
is head around in a panic.
“You idiot,” he shouted, “You almost scared me to death, do not sneak up on a working person like that.” The captain took a few moments to compose himself, he put his datapad down and turned to fully face Sean. “The Theran are fascinating, we will be making a stop there sometime later to refuel, why do you ask?”
“Taris said she wouldn’t ruin the ‘surprise’ for me by letting me know what they’re like.”
“Then I think we will leave it at that then, I’ll also lock you out from accessing their database on the ship’s systems,” Fez smiled. With a huff, Sean turned away and sat back at his terminal, he put his feet up across Taris’ legs which she rested on the terminal. The two sat in silence, listening to the deep oscillating hum that came from the walls as power flowed through the ship.
“What do you think we’ll find?” Sean asked as he leant his head back and stared at the strips of lights which ran along the brilliantly white ceiling.
“I’m actually not sure,” she replied, “It could be anything, a new alien race, a ship, an undocumented colony of a race we already know, hell, it could even just be an anomaly on the sensors, it’s exciting, though, isn’t it,” she wondered while deep in thought.
“It is,” he admitted, “I’m glad we get to experience it together, I want to learn more about this wide, open galaxy we as a race are a part of and I can’t think of anyone better to do it with.”
“Aww, you big fat softie,” she laughed, slapping his legs off from her own as she pushed herself up out from the chair and stood. “I’m going to go hang out in our quarters, we’ll be in slip space soon and if I haven’t travelled like that in a while I always feel nauseous.”
“Alright, I’ll probably join you later anyway,” he replied as she turned and walked off the bridge. The ship was almost at full power for slip flight, the noise on the bridge lessened as people waited for orders from their captain, the wait was short as he instructed for all departments to ensure any loose objects were secure and that everyone was ready for flight. A round of affirmative responses came over the comms, the order was given to position the ship on course for Emeio. The hulking cruiser lumbered about, its mass restricted its free movement at low speeds but the grav drive allowed for relatively tight turning maneuverers compared with conventional Terran chemical thrust. He grew excited as he watched the overhead display, their visual representation arced around until it was aligned with their projected course.
“Helm, prepare for half-slip-speeds at first, powering up later on my orders, understood?” Fez ordered.
“Affirmative, captain, half-speed building, safe slip-travel in under fifteen seconds,” the helmsman replied nonchalantly, it was all routine to the officers, routines they had endured and practised a thousand times before if they didn’t have company he was sure they would do it with minimal chatter. The air felt different, almost heavier as the charge built throughout the ship. A countdown from five started on the overhead display, time seemed to slow as he held onto his armrests for no reason other than to comfort himself, he knew there was no risk of being thrown around, better safe than sorry he always thought. “… One… Slip active,” came the final call from the helmsman. Gawping out the front simulated window, he watched as the space around them seemed to stretch and contort, as if being pushed and pulled at the same time and with a final low boom they were thrown into slip space. The blue waves they ‘surfed’ on always amazed him, they skipped from peak to peak travelling well past the speed-of-light across the galaxy, he would love to see the ship from the outside and watch as the bright shades of blue washed over the hull.
“Readings are normal, captain,” came an upbeat voice, he stood to see who it was and noticed Yumie now worked at operations instead of the helm. Now that they had successfully transitioned into slip space, he decided it was the right time to try the ‘new’ cuisine aboard the Mar’Ell. With a nod to Fez, the captain rose and followed him out from the now almost fully automated bridge.
“I wanna try this new food system you have in place, Taris tried it and she said it’s actually edible, how much I believe that I’m not so sure, but I’ll give it a go,” Sean said whilst he dragged his hand along the cold metallic railing that ran down the bleak, uninspired hallway.
“She isn’t wrong,” agreed Fez as he unbuttoned the top of his officer’s uniform for a more casual look, “There have been several small improvements all over the ship, actually, the mess hall is just one of them.”
“Oh?” he questioned, “Are teleporters a thing yet? I could really use one to just zap about the ship.”
“Teleporters,” Fez scoffed, “The quantum mechanics behind that are far off, even for us, the tunnelling effect quantum particles exhibit is a step in the right…”
“Don’t,” he interrupted with his hands held aloft, “It’ll go right over my head, you just wake me up when it’s built, alright?” Fez let out a defeated sigh and smiled, science in the Ioution school system was the core subject, physicists and chemists were respected and needed more than musicians or theologians. The atmosphere aboard was one of excitement, every person they passed had a glint in their eye about the prospect of discovering something huge, with the Ioution mapping of the Galaxy there was little exploration left to be done so errant signals like these were huge news.
It didn’t take them long to reach the mess hall. It looked exactly as he had left it, rows of benches were lined up alongside long, metallic tables, he hadn’t been in school for a long time now, but this reminded him of his lunchtimes back then. As they took a seat beside the automatic door, he recoiled at the freezing cold temperature the benches were kept at, “What the hell?” he shouted, “They’re almost frozen.” With a single hand the Ioution captain pushed him down into his seat and sat down himself, within moments a robotic servitude walked up, it’s form was more Human than Ioution but its body was covered in a layer that gave it a reflective, metallic sheen.
“What do you desire?” it asked in a stern voice, it locked eyes with Sean who hesitated for the briefest of moments, “What do you desire?” it asked again, seemingly impatient at his indecision. He shook his head and passed his turn over to the captain who promptly ordered one of the new meals on the menu, he agreed to have the same so the droid walked away in a stiff, rocking motion that reminded him of Sci-Fi films he watched back on Earth. While they sat waiting for their food, an awkward silence descended upon them, they fiddled with the golden buttons that adorned their uniforms before Sean sat back and spoke up.
“So, Yumie,” he began, unsure if he should ask any questions regarding the clone, “Why did it take so long for him to be brought back? You remade me in an instant but he took weeks or months, it’s strange to me.”
“It’s quite simple really, with you, we had your original base DNA from your corpse, having the original makes the clones better and the replications easier. For Yumie we didn’t have his genetic code aboard, the original had been lost and remaking a clone from one who had already been replicated so many times is difficult, he should be in permanence, really,” replied Fez.
“Permanence?” he asked, “What’s that?”
“It’s when we cannot make another copy of you and you’re lost, redead I suppose.”
“Redead, I’m sure the translator malfunctioned there, so Yumie should be in permanence, right? It was almost a miracle that he’s back,” he kept his focus on Fez as he grabbed the plate of food the servitude bot held out.
“Yes,” he said between mouthfuls of a sponge-like meat block that was covered in a dark green sauce, “It wasn’t a miracle, though, it was just good science, he’s lucky, one more death and he will not be coming back, that’s certain.” Nodding, Sean picked up his utensil and took a chunk out from the horrid meal that graced his plate, with a shaky, nervous hand he took a bite and to his surprise it reminded him of a stale meatloaf, it wasn’t great, but it would do. They ate their food with little small talk and watched as others came and wen
t with meals they took back to their workstations, as he finished his meal he slid the plate to the edge of the table, within moments a droid walked up, grabbed his rubbish and threw it in the recycler.
“How long until we reach Emeio?” Sean asked.
“Not too long,” replied Fez, “Fourteen to sixteen hours, probably, why?”
“I might go get some rest, pass the time until we arrive, Taris said it can be a rough area, is that true?”
“It can be,” Fez nodded, “It’s a stop we need to make, though, after that the stops will be further apart, we spent fuel coming back and then to Earth, so anything you need to pick up, get it on Emeio.” With a nod, Sean stood and made his way out from the mess hall, the hallways were new to him again, but his mind soon began to click into place as he navigated through the winding corridors towards his quarters. With a wave of his hand over the terminal to his shared room, a single beep preceded the doors as they split in two and allowed his entry. Taris sat at the oak desk and looked out the window at the slip bubble that washed over the ship. He didn’t say anything as he slipped his shoes off and laid on the bed, the soothing background noise of the oscillating wump that ran through the ship calmed him. With his eyelids heavy he allowed them to close, sending him off into a deep sleep.
* * *
Sean awoke to an empty room, although strange, he paid no attention to it and stepped into the sonic shower, I get to meet new a species today he thought, excited at the prospect. Sat on the edge of the bed he slipped his heavy black boots on. The shipwide comms buzzed into existence as a voice boomed through the loudspeakers, “Ambassador Sean Maguire to the bridge,” came Yumie’s distinctive high voice which brought a wry smile to his face. He pushed up off the bed and made his way out from his quarters, the brief walk gave him a moment to ensure he was fully awake and alert for the upcoming day.
The bridge was electric, people rushed about preparing for their first stop at what was almost certainly a backwater world that even their government had forgotten about. He knew nothing about the planet apart from that it was ruled by a race called the Theran and that it wasn’t a place you stopped unless you needed to. If Earth had finished their refuelling station that the Ioutions demanded the Mar’Ell wouldn’t need to stop here he sighed inwardly. Taris leant over a terminal, the bright light of its surface bathed her face in a light blue as she zipped through hundreds of files in search of something. “Hey there,” he said, the chair beside her squealed as he threw himself down into it, “Anything interesting?”
