Shelled.
~~*~~ =Will bracket Memories
~~*~~
It was merely patrol. Nothing fancy, we were at about the third orbit out. Everyone else was in the games room, excepting those on duty. Patrol duty may be safe, but it is extremely boring. I was staring out at Earth, as usual. It started with a tiny flare. I thought perhaps it was the supply ship. We were overdue for some fresh food. Don't get me wrong, you can live on that concentrate junk for practically eternity, but fresh is nice. The flare blossomed. Then another, and another. Before I could react there was a nice big cloud of red and black boiling in the atmosphere. We found out later one of the nations got lucky…………
A nuclear missile, outdated but still in use due to the long term effects, had managed to hit another nations store house of "nukes". It cascaded from there. Almost it seemed as if a giant monster was released from a centuries long sleep. Red and black with streaks of what could only be lightning. Even now I'm haunted with images of a demon forming out of those clouds.
It wasn't over yet. The immense burst of radiation caught along the magnetosphere. Our ships are built to resist some radiation but the amount that swept towards us, towards the poles, was far to great. They don't know what the results will be from the two forces mixing… Our ship, The Crater, was thrown off orbit. We started to drift off towards Mars before anyone became conscious again. There may be no weight you can feel in space but you still have mass. And hitting a metal bulkhead is not pleasant no matter how you look at it.
~~*~~
I was broken of my reverie yet again by the clanging of the bell. Mechanically I pulled the restraints across my body. I shook my head minutely. Even in the smoothest landing they would probably break. A loud obnoxious voice decided echoed off the sterile walls.
"I told ya already! I'm not a passenger!! I don't have a bunk here!" Barely bighting back a groan I unbuckled my safety restraints. 'fat lot of help they'll be' and climbed down avoiding the sprawling hand of the passenger below me. Sliding silently down the hall I listened to the rapidly growing argument.
With a turn of a corner I landed upon the scene of the argument. A man, more of a boy really, dressed in black was arguing with two "stewards". They didn't serve any real function in a ship this size except to keep the passengers where they belonged. My eyes flickered over them, rapidly and correctly analyzing their personalities before training my eye on the boy. What he wore was similar to a priests outfit of several centuries ago. His violet seeming eyes were alight with the fires of anger and the braid that hung down his back was tousled as if he had just finished some type of work. For some reason I couldn't place him quite so easily as I did the first two. Something just didn't fit.
"Excuse me." My calm voice rang out over their argument without being overly loud. I myself was surprised by the almost velvety sound it held. It was so different than the voice I used when I was thinking. I hadn't seen the need for words in such a long time that I had forgotten what my own voice sounded like. The arguers fell silent and studied me, the newcomer.
"Mister. Please tell them I'm not a passenger! I don't have a bunk up here. If these buffoons would let me go back to my deck I'd gladly lay down for landing but ya know they won't let me. I mean if I was a passenger surely ya'd have noticed me! Right?" I blinked at his overly long speech and nodded. It was true that I now knew ever passenger by sight at least. And a braid that long is not easy to forget or overlook.
"The boy is correct. He is not a passenger. However if it would reassure your minds he will share my bunk." Just as the words left my mouth I realized how foolish I must sound. Surely I couldn't be much older than the other boy. Even with my uniform on and a megaphone I was not the most commanding presence in the world. I was more built to blend in. One of the stewards looked at me and nodded at his companion.
"Of course, Sir. Pleasant journeying and uh…have a nice landing." A smirk. Something defiantly out of the ordinary here. The two left us alone while my senses were still on high alert. Answers would be forth coming.
"Hey, thanks man. I owe ya one!" He waited for me to respond. I just leaned against the wall and stared at him. "Ah ok……guess ya don't talk much. My name's Duo. I may run and hide, but I don't tell a lie!" He grinned waiting for this to sink in. All he got was a blink in return. "Err…I'll just go to my bunk now. See ya around!"
With that he turned to leave and almost immediately felt my hand on his shoulder. He twisted around to look at my face. Impassive as always I knew. "What?" With a gentle yet firm push I set him against the wall.
"Answers." A single word is often all that's needed to get your meaning across. It often leads to the mistake that I didn't know proper Basic. And that leads to the idea that I'm not particularly bright. Its saves a lot of effort.
"Answers? Answers to what? Ya haven't even asked me a question yet. I mean ya seem like a pretty bright guy. Surely ya'd know that ya have to ask a question to get an answer. Or did ya want to know about our little encounter back there. Cause that's simple enough. I'm an engineer, got a nice little bunk down with the engines." Duo shrugged a pause in his nonstop talking. "Ain't exactly the best but its mine. Now can I please go?"
I shook my head and propelled him back to my bunk. "Awww man. I really do have a bunk. Ya don't have to share."
I paused and gave him a look. "I'm not."
Duo spun around to glare at me. "If I have to stay in a bunk you do too. 'sides you're a passenger. Don't wanna get sick on the way down. Landing can be pretty rough ya know."
"Third Wing," was my only reply. For some small reason I enjoyed watching Duo's mouth drop open as he gaped at me. For several more moments he stared at me in shock. He shut his mouth and climbed up to my bunk still in speechless shock. I heard the sound of the restraints being pulled over a body, which seemed to shake Duo out of his trance-like shock.
"WHAT?!!? How in space is this supposed to be any help!?" I sighed and slide down the opposite wall to a sitting position. This landing would be easy compared to some I'd been through. I tuned out Duo's rather incessant ramblings and waited to arrive.
~~*~~ =Will bracket Memories
~~*~~
It was merely patrol. Nothing fancy, we were at about the third orbit out. Everyone else was in the games room, excepting those on duty. Patrol duty may be safe, but it is extremely boring. I was staring out at Earth, as usual. It started with a tiny flare. I thought perhaps it was the supply ship. We were overdue for some fresh food. Don't get me wrong, you can live on that concentrate junk for practically eternity, but fresh is nice. The flare blossomed. Then another, and another. Before I could react there was a nice big cloud of red and black boiling in the atmosphere. We found out later one of the nations got lucky…………
A nuclear missile, outdated but still in use due to the long term effects, had managed to hit another nations store house of "nukes". It cascaded from there. Almost it seemed as if a giant monster was released from a centuries long sleep. Red and black with streaks of what could only be lightning. Even now I'm haunted with images of a demon forming out of those clouds.
It wasn't over yet. The immense burst of radiation caught along the magnetosphere. Our ships are built to resist some radiation but the amount that swept towards us, towards the poles, was far to great. They don't know what the results will be from the two forces mixing… Our ship, The Crater, was thrown off orbit. We started to drift off towards Mars before anyone became conscious again. There may be no weight you can feel in space but you still have mass. And hitting a metal bulkhead is not pleasant no matter how you look at it.
~~*~~
I was broken of my reverie yet again by the clanging of the bell. Mechanically I pulled the restraints across my body. I shook my head minutely. Even in the smoothest landing they would probably break. A loud obnoxious voice decided echoed off the sterile walls.
"I told ya already! I'm not a passenger!! I don't have a bunk here!" Barely bighting back a groan I unbuckled my safety restraints. 'fat lot of help they'll be' and climbed down avoiding the sprawling hand of the passenger below me. Sliding silently down the hall I listened to the rapidly growing argument.
With a turn of a corner I landed upon the scene of the argument. A man, more of a boy really, dressed in black was arguing with two "stewards". They didn't serve any real function in a ship this size except to keep the passengers where they belonged. My eyes flickered over them, rapidly and correctly analyzing their personalities before training my eye on the boy. What he wore was similar to a priests outfit of several centuries ago. His violet seeming eyes were alight with the fires of anger and the braid that hung down his back was tousled as if he had just finished some type of work. For some reason I couldn't place him quite so easily as I did the first two. Something just didn't fit.
"Excuse me." My calm voice rang out over their argument without being overly loud. I myself was surprised by the almost velvety sound it held. It was so different than the voice I used when I was thinking. I hadn't seen the need for words in such a long time that I had forgotten what my own voice sounded like. The arguers fell silent and studied me, the newcomer.
"Mister. Please tell them I'm not a passenger! I don't have a bunk up here. If these buffoons would let me go back to my deck I'd gladly lay down for landing but ya know they won't let me. I mean if I was a passenger surely ya'd have noticed me! Right?" I blinked at his overly long speech and nodded. It was true that I now knew ever passenger by sight at least. And a braid that long is not easy to forget or overlook.
"The boy is correct. He is not a passenger. However if it would reassure your minds he will share my bunk." Just as the words left my mouth I realized how foolish I must sound. Surely I couldn't be much older than the other boy. Even with my uniform on and a megaphone I was not the most commanding presence in the world. I was more built to blend in. One of the stewards looked at me and nodded at his companion.
"Of course, Sir. Pleasant journeying and uh…have a nice landing." A smirk. Something defiantly out of the ordinary here. The two left us alone while my senses were still on high alert. Answers would be forth coming.
"Hey, thanks man. I owe ya one!" He waited for me to respond. I just leaned against the wall and stared at him. "Ah ok……guess ya don't talk much. My name's Duo. I may run and hide, but I don't tell a lie!" He grinned waiting for this to sink in. All he got was a blink in return. "Err…I'll just go to my bunk now. See ya around!"
With that he turned to leave and almost immediately felt my hand on his shoulder. He twisted around to look at my face. Impassive as always I knew. "What?" With a gentle yet firm push I set him against the wall.
"Answers." A single word is often all that's needed to get your meaning across. It often leads to the mistake that I didn't know proper Basic. And that leads to the idea that I'm not particularly bright. Its saves a lot of effort.
"Answers? Answers to what? Ya haven't even asked me a question yet. I mean ya seem like a pretty bright guy. Surely ya'd know that ya have to ask a question to get an answer. Or did ya want to know about our little encounter back there. Cause that's simple enough. I'm an engineer, got a nice little bunk down with the engines." Duo shrugged a pause in his nonstop talking. "Ain't exactly the best but its mine. Now can I please go?"
I shook my head and propelled him back to my bunk. "Awww man. I really do have a bunk. Ya don't have to share."
I paused and gave him a look. "I'm not."
Duo spun around to glare at me. "If I have to stay in a bunk you do too. 'sides you're a passenger. Don't wanna get sick on the way down. Landing can be pretty rough ya know."
"Third Wing," was my only reply. For some small reason I enjoyed watching Duo's mouth drop open as he gaped at me. For several more moments he stared at me in shock. He shut his mouth and climbed up to my bunk still in speechless shock. I heard the sound of the restraints being pulled over a body, which seemed to shake Duo out of his trance-like shock.
"WHAT?!!? How in space is this supposed to be any help!?" I sighed and slide down the opposite wall to a sitting position. This landing would be easy compared to some I'd been through. I tuned out Duo's rather incessant ramblings and waited to arrive.
