A/N: Takes place after the story "Matter of Perspective".
Vacation to Remember
Fred Kwan laid down in the quarters assigned to him and his wife Laliari. Unlike the prop beds from the first show which were nothing more than plywood with a fabric covering, these were very comfortable and good firm cushioning. He and Laliari were planning on taking a vacation anyway after wrapping up the filming for the season; when he and the rest of the cast from the show were 'borrowed' to help the Thermians in their troubles with the Harmites, he took the opportunity to stay behind for a week to relax afterward.
"I want to get away from it all" he told Laliari, who smiled and then frowned. Metaphors were something she was still getting used to, and although Fred was patient in explaining them to her there seemed to be a lot in usage. Even after explanation, some were just too odd to be fully understood.
"Although you cannot get away from it all without leaving your corporeal being, I believe you mean just leaving Earth" she surmised, proud of her parsing skills.
Fred didn't mean Earth necessarily, but he didn't want to take away from Laliari's efforts either. "That's right, leaving Earth is getting away from it all." He returned her smile.
"I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to spend time with my people" she said. "I was unaware how much I missed them. I have been so busy trying to assimilate your culture I forgot how good it was to be able to let down my ytrishbu again."
"I bet it is; last time you let down your ytrishbu Mrs. Harris next door called Emergency Services because she though she was having a breakdown."
"Yes, curtains...that is the word?...are a good thing."
Just then Quellek walked in. "Tech Sergeant Chen, I have a question for you" the Thermian asked.
Uh oh, thought Fred. They still don't understand that we are actors, not real crew members of a starship. And that meant that he wasn't really an engineer, no matter how much technobabble he threw at them. "Yes?" he asked weakly.
Now it was Quellek's turn to look a little uneasy. "As you know, we have modeled our ship after yours from the historical documents. As such, all of the technology is really yours."
Fred didn't like where this was going, but Quellek continued. "We have come up with something of our own design. And..." he paused.
"And?"
"...and we would be honored if you were to be present to observe while we tested it" he finished.
"Observe? Me?" Time for some flattery. "The honor would be all mine, Quellek."
The Thermian almost shook apart from happiness. "Good. Please come with me to the engineering department."
"Lead on, McDuff" Fred answered as he swung off the bed and followed Quellek out the door.
As they entered the engineering section, Quellek had gained enough confidence so that he was explaining their idea. "During our battles with the Harmites, it became apparent that we needed to develop a way to safely escape an encounter if it became too dangerous."
"Right, you're talking about evasive maneuvers" Fred followed along. "You have to dodge enemy fire but put distance between you and the other ship. That's what a helmsman does, with headings given by the captain" Fred added. Anyone who watched space shows knew that.
"You understand, that is good. The idea was to change course rapidly without the delay of making decisions and relaying those orders, in order to facilitate a successful escape. We searched other historical records and came up with an idea that we are testing today called the Space Flume. If you will step over to the large monitor, you can watch the viewscreen as we activate it."
"Sounds good. Do I need a ticket for the show?" he joked. Quellek's questioning look told him to forget it. As he walked to the front of the screen, he noticed the engineering team switched their appearances to plaid shirts and rough corduroy pants with boots. "All set, let 'er rip. Eh, initiate."
Quellek gave a subtle signal and the ship lurched slightly as it blasted in a direction toward a planet. Fred gripped the edges of the console tightly as the view swerved to one side at the last second away from the rapidly growing planet. The ship vibrated for a few moments before it lurched in yet another direction.
"We haven't solved the microscopic particle turbulence problem yet" Quellek noted. The ship lurched again in another direction as the engineering team leaned in unison without leaving the spots where they stood as if their feet were glued to the deck. "It is programmed to avoid objects larger than half a meter in diameter" he explained.
"What about objects that are just under that size?" Fred questioned, his query almost cut off by a thud that resonated through the hull.
"We think the ship will tolerate several such impacts. Theoretically" Quellek added, looking around as if seeking assurance from the intact walls and ceiling. The ship lurched again. "The direction and duration of each leg is mostly random, within certain parameters so you don't double back on the enemy." At last the course changes stopped and the ship came to a stop. Fred turned from the monitor and stared at Quellek for a full minute blankly. The Thermian waited anxiously for the human's opinion.
Fred broke into a broad grin. "Great! Can we do it again?" he asked.
The team broke into applause, although it looked more like a group of seals flapping their fins for a treat, at the successful conclusion of the test. "We have succeeded, despite the arguments of some of our mathematicians" the Thermian smiled.
"I hope they weren't very good mathematicians. But I have to ask...where did you get the idea for the new device?" Fred asked.
"As I said, we have studied other historical documents for inspiration. We came across the brave, resourceful Bolt family living in what your people call Seattle."
The Bolt family, thought Fred to himself. Hey, I tried out for that show and failed! "You got the idea from 'Here Come The Brides'? Their wagons don't travel like that!"
"Well," said Quellek "we looked at the show from the log's point of view."
The End
A/N: Yes, 'Brides' is an old show but it would fit in with the time period of when the original Galaxy Quest series was supposed to have run. Naturally, you didn't think the Thermians only studied space dramas...
In conversation with a friend the word 'flume' came up, and I was instantly seized with the idea of using the word in a story somewhere; this is the result.