-Hey everyone, I´m back with Space Oddity. As I said, I can´t let it end with Dudley´s death... also this wasn´t planned. Well, before I annoy you too much here is the chapter.-
Everyday life. That sounds somehow awful, doesn´t it? That sounds like monotony, boredom. Like the repeating of a really bad song. And you are forced to listen to that. Every day. Until you´re dead. But the really nasty thing about this routine is that it gets you sooner or later no matter how hard you try to avoid it.
I remember back then, as this all began, I was in this treadmill too. I had the disgusting taste of routine in my mouth which I couldn´t got rid of by brushing my teeth.
It was 8am I think, even if I´m not sure because it´s hard to identify the correct time onboard a spaceship, and I woke up on my desk in my quarter after a night that was just too short.
I lifted my heavy head up and saw that I sobbed on all my papers again. It was interesting that my body could lose so much fluid without dehydrating. Cursing I scratched the mixture of paper and spit of the table and threw it on the ground. The cleaning bots would remove that. And I was right.
Not a second later small bug-like creatures, approximately as big as a cockroach, crawled out of an opening in the wall and pounced on spit-papier-mâché. It took them less than a second to eat the trash on the ground and go back to the place they came from. Always a nice view, even if it led to a quite stupid trend. Everybody threw their garbage on the ground.
Usually I tried to counteract against this trend by using the little garbage can beside my desk but today I was in the mood to see these little bugs again. I slept bad and I somehow felt that this day wouldn't get any better. So I fought down the uprising depressing thoughts I stood up from my chair and stretched a little before I called to the ceiling "Computer, time."
A protracted sigh came as return from above before a computer voice snarled back. "Seriously Isaac, would it kill you to say please? Or at least say my name right? The society is really perishing slowly, do you know why? Because the humans forgot how to be polite…"
Desperately I laid my hands on my face and tried to fade out the speech of the computer. Always the same and somehow also part of my everyday life. Even if avoiding this speech would be so easy. I´d just had to say 'Mike, what´s the time?' But I didn´t, and a voice inside of me slowly asked why as the length of the computers speech became longer. "…but for you I´m just a better calculator, right? Just a machine, no soul, no feelings. So nothing you have to treat with respect…"
"Are you done, Mike?" I asked bored.
"NO I´M NOT DONE…"
"Computer, deactivate emotion routine beta four!"
"No you won´t d…" Mike´s voice suddenly became dull and mechanical. "Routine beta four deactivate."
"Finally" I thought and repeated. "Computer, time."
"It´s 6am, Doctor."
"Thank you." I said contentedly and left my room. It was 6am, time to show my face on the bridge so that the people on board don´t think that I´m just sitting lazy in my quarter.
Even if it was just what I did. But how should I work without any scientific significant data? Exactly, that´s impossible. Even if we reached a singularity on that day which we wanted to analyze, the actual purpose of this journey, I didn´t expect much of it.
We already seen ten of them and discovered nothing special. If someone told me back then that eleven was my lucky number I had definitely laughed this person down. Or, in a retrospective on the mood I was in on that day, slapped that person. But that´s unimportant right now.
I made my way to the bridge slowly, mainly because I gave everyone I met on my way a long angry stare. I really wondered back then why most people didn´t like me. Now I know, that doing things like that was one reason. But on this day I didn´t really care about that anyway.
I finally stood after about ten minutes I spend staring on the flawlessly white shining hallways on the bridge. A wide room in which especially two colors dominated. The shining white color, that was already present on the hallway, and a soft blue which came from all the devices.
What also strikes you when you enter the bridge for the first time is the shape of the room itself. A big white oval dome. Imagine a boiled egg, cut it in half and then you have the exact shape of that room. On the floor of the room you would probably recognize the four round holes which were arranged like a star.
One in the middle and the other three around that. In these holes the bridge staff was sitting in front of all sorts of panels, displays and devices. From these holes by the way came the blue light.
Every member of the command personal had his own hole they called cockpits.
The captain of the ship sat in the one in the middle. In front of him sat the navigator, the one who steered the ship. On the captain´s left side sat the security officer, responsible for everything concerning security and weaponry. And last but not least the cockpit of the scientific advisor, my job.
A job with responsibilities, especially when the ships on an explorative mission. I´m in charge for the whole mission, decide where we go and I´m also allowed to give the captain a direct order, but just if it´s concerning the mission. But to be honest, usually I just sit around and wait until something happens.
With the inner certainty that this would happen today I jumped into my cockpit. Immediately as I sat down a window on the holographic screen popped up and I looked into the angular face of the captain.
"So you finally honor us with your presence here?" he and opened his big jaw to laugh loudly.
"Good morning Powers." I said as friendly as I could with my bad mood. In a contrary to most of the other people on this ship I liked Captain Powers.
He was the only one who was willing to participate in this mission as I presented the council my plans. He even offered me using his ship, the Leviathan. An offer I´ve accepted, of course. The Leviathan wasn´t any ship and it was a great honor to be part of its crew.
The adventures that this ship had were legendary. This ship was there as the Cekirge-epidemic broke out. An incident that still threatens the whole universe. The Leviathan led the shock troop that was responsible for the victory in the Antigone sector against the League. Pushed the Union back on their conquering expedition and many other things. Of course Captain Sly Powers wasn´t alone, he had much help. To quote him 'I would be nothing without my crew.'
That was true, especially three members of his crew were important for what he has achieved. Meliha his chief engineer. A tech-geek who already repaired plasma cannons in the age of six. Alexandra Casey a dishonorable discharged ex-union agent with an itchy trigger finger.
And his navigator, John Meternagel. Who 'isn´t describable with words and not bearable without alcohol.' To quote the captain again.
"Good morning Isaac." Replied Powers now sounding more sternly. "Just to give you a backup, we´ll reach the singularity soon…"
Another window suddenly popped up next to the one in which I saw powers face with the smooth long face of Meternagel in it. "Fifteen minutes to be precisely."
"GOD DAMMIT METERNAGEL I HAVEN`T ASKED YOU!" screamed Powers so loud that I was able to hear it without the help of the speakers.
Meternagel shook his head so hard because of laughter that even his black short hair shook along. "Hehehe, Like I´m waiting for your permission Captain." And like the window popped up it disappeared again.
"Oh god I need Whiskey… or pure ethanol."
"That could be your death." I giggled amused by this little example for a standard conversation between them.
"And he will be my death… I can live with the subjunctive." Powers sight exhausted. "Anyway, as you just heard we are almost there get ready."
"I hope we will find something there."
"You don´t sound very hopeful." He referred to my despondent tone of voice.
"Well, I am slowly losing hope. You have to know if my theory is right we had to find the parts of the probes in at least one of the first singularities."
"Hmm… Let´s see." Meant Powers encouraging me. "Maybe eleven is your lucky number."
"Maybe…" I mumbled as the window with powers face closed again.
I finally started to work. Lost in my dark thoughts I hacked on the panel in front of me.
The procedure was just a succession of trivial standard commands. Just a tachyon-mater-carrier-wave, nothing special. Bored I pushed the button that fired the concentrated ray of particles into the anomaly we have reached. The computer received the data, calculate for a moment and provided me exactly with the result foresaw. Nothing.
Angry I pushed myself away from the panel and began to punch with my fist on the white wall next to me. Again and again. Until warm blood dropped down from my ravaged hand.
"Damn… damn damn da…" I was about to ill-treat my other hand the same way as I almost oversaw a small flashing exclamation mark in the lower left corner of my screen.
That couldn´t be true. My heart stopped while my finger glided slowly towards the icon. My mouth became dry, my sight blurry, my ears numb. It felt for a short moment like I was going to die. But as the massage popped up in its full length on the screen the life shot back into my body. More than that, it felt like the time moved faster around me.
Well, it had to be like that because the Captain suddenly appeared on the screen and asked. "Hey, Doc. I haven´t heard anything of you for an hour, everything alright?"
"Y..Y..Yes. Yes! Please, Captain, gather all officers in the officer´s mess. I have important news."
"So you found something? Okay, I meet you there." Power´s voice fell silent again.
And I stared still unbelieving at the data in front of me. I didn´t knew what it was, but definitely not one of our probes. It was something strange, something else, something what we have never seen before. I entered a few last commands into the computer then I left my cockpit and made my way fast to the officer´s mess.
It seemed that I have stared at the data a pretty long time after powers called me, because all officers were already gathered in there. Also Doctor Ryan, the ship´s doctor, who was actually the scientific advisor. The fact that I occupied his position, even if it was just temporary, didn´t make him liking me.
"So, Issac?" Powers tapped impatiently with his finger on the big table in the center of the room.
"Okay first of all." I began with a big smile. "We received scientific significant data out of the singularity." I expected that the crew around me would begin to cheer or applaud or at least change their expressions from angry to a pleased one. But that didn´t happen. No one reacted. Well, no one except Meternagel. The Navigator pulled a sparkler out of his uniform and began to wave it while he sang "We did it YEAAAAH! In your face science! In your face! In your …"
Fortunately the distressed gaze that he received from his captain cut him short. "Meternagel… what´s wrong with you?" Powers shook his head a bit worried and a bit in disbelieve.
"Uhm… come on Captain. If you have something to celebrate you have to celebrate it as long as you´re able to celebrate it."
Sly looked like he wanted reply to that but instead of risking an hour long debate with a madman he just sighed and turned back to me.
"Okaaay…" I meant also a bit confused. "Anyway… as I said, I received data. But not the data we were supposed to receive. I received something completely different. Something I have never seen before."
"Don´t keep us on tenterhooks! Spit it out!" Called Doctor Ryan annoyed in.
"Okay, okay… Geez, the people are so impatient." I mumbled quietly.
"Isaac, I´m sick of waiting too. Spit it out!" consented the captain with the doctor.
"Fine, whatever you want. Where was I? Yes, something different. Instead of the matter signature of one of the probes I found this…" I turned around and pushed on a file on the big screen behind me. "An unknown spaceship."
Now the officers and the captain in front of me reacted like I expected them to react a few minutes earlier. Everyone stared shocked at the data on the screen and at the animation of the arrow head shaped ship.
"Wow…" gasped Powers which was the only thing I heard after a five minute long break which was filled with complete silence.
"Could… Could it not just one of our ships which was dragged into the singularity a long time ago?" asked Meternagel who still had problems to close his mouth.
"I thought so too first. But I know no ship that looks like that. Even if I still compare the data of it with every other ship in our database, I think we have to do with something different."
"That´s all well and good but have you already reconstructed the matter or have you just gathered us with a computer animation?" growled Ryan.
"Of course not. The matter reconstruct procedure had already begun. I also ordered a group of research assistant down to cargo hold B. They will examine the ship there." I turned my back to my audience and search on the screen for the buttons to activate the video link between us and the cargo hold.
"Hey… captain, I just realized that there are no cameras in the cargo hold… Why are there no cameras?!"
But instead of the Captain answered Meternagel my question. "What happens in the cargo hold stays in the cargo hold. That´s why."
I must stared pretty confused at Meternagel for quite a time because after a while Powers said. "Don´t look like that, that´s really the reason."
"But that is… that is" I took a deep breath and tried not to start a pointless conversation about that.
"Anyway, then this is going to be a radio play." I activated the voice communication and called "Science team can you hear me?"
"Yes." It return fast from the speakers which were spread all over the officer´s mess. "We´re entering the cargo hold right now."
"Good tells us what you see." I ordered.
"Well there is a small ship, I think it could be a one person fighting ship… Wait no. I can´t see any weapons so forget it… The ship itself looks pretty much like a big triangle. Also the hull seemed to be heavily damaged. Seems like little projectiles hit it… Give us a sec, Doc, we´re searching for an entrance."
What followed was babble of voices and the sound of fists that knocked against metal. Until the noise of a hydraulic ramp, what was probably the sound of the entrance hatch, was heard.
"Doc, we found it. Entering now… Okay… we are in some kind of ante-room or something… As already mentioned the ship is damaged, the inner is no exception… Okay, we can go left to the Cockpit or right to the engine room. Doc, where should we go?"
I thought for a second and called then. "Go left and tap the computer of the ship. We need the data."
"Alright… we´re opening the door…" Suddenly it became really quiet. First I thought they would just need the time to understand the computer system and to extract the data. But you would at least her something then. What came from the speakers was total silence.
"Guys?" I meant worried.
"There is someone…"
"What?!" I asked perplex.
"Yeah… it..it looks like a big dog… I´ve never seen something like that… Dammit… Poor thing. It´s wounded... It looks like it is dead."
"A big dog?! What are you talking about?!" I thought they either tried to pull my leg or that they were on a drug trip.
"Oh my god, Doctor… Doctor!" the leader of the team suddenly screamed.
"What?!"
"It´s breathing! It´s alive!"
-That was the first chapter. And as you realized we see our old friend/fiend Isaac again (You can also call him Sam or Advisor if you want). The story will also be a about the universe before the anthropomorphic animal universe. Anyway, I hope you liked it. If you liked it, leave me a review. And I try to publish the next as soon as possible.-