"Who's got a bucket?"
Chapter Three
"Surrender yor vessel... or you will be destroyed...." The gaunt man's eyes gleamed with malice.
"You know something.... I'm getting' mighty tired of you chasin' after me!" Freya was starting to get angry.
"Freya... you know this guy?" Harlan was noting that she looked at him with an "if looks could incinerate" glare.
"Yeah... I know him... he's an asshole who won't take no for an answer!", she growled. She was gripping the console with her hands, her knuckles white.
"Well... do you know how to disable him, then?" Goddard was now starting to think clearly. He ran a hand through his short-cropped graying hair. It was a new style for him. It was spiky when his hand went through, instead of laid back.
"Yes.. I do... Well.... okay sort of.... but not with this stuff....I'ld have to help modify yer weapons systems to compensate." She was busy rerouting energy to the forward weapons and making the lasers phase slightly.
Bova started as he saw the weapons systems on his console start to change. "Um.. sir...there's something weird going on with the forward weapons sys--"
Freya interrupted him. "I'm doing nothing more than helping ya'll...okay... I'm done!"
Bova stared at the console wide eyed. "Whoa...."
Radu heard something that made him start. He tried to focus the noise and find where it came from, but he couldn't. "What the--", he muttered.
He then felt a surge of some sort and realized why. He looked over at Freya and she fell backward. She was still connected to the computer console. He ran over and helped her up as well as Bova, who was closer.
Then, the ship shuddered from the impact of another weapon hitting the Christa. Radu pulled Freya up and turned to Bova. "Get back to your console!"
"Bova! Can you fire?!", bellowed Goddard.
Bova reached his console and read the readout. "Yes Commander!"
"Fire..."
The forward lasers hit the Shekra vessel numerous times. It shuddered from the impacts and then it was silent. The ship didn't do anything. "Maybe he's biding his time....", muttered Harlan. He looked over at Radu who was lightly slapping Freya's cheek with his gloved hand. "Is she alright?"
Freya opened her eyes and caught Radu's hand in one deft move. "I'm fine." She let go of his hand and started to get up and then wobbled slightly. "Whoa!" She caught the console and brought herself back up. "That was a rush..."
"What happened, Freya..." Goddard was regarding her.
"Nothing much.... Christa getting used to me is all... " She smiled cheerily. "I think....."
"You think!?" Goddard was getting nervous from the thought that something had really happened. The last thing he needed was the only other person on board that could help them against the ship before them on the screen to get hurt.
Freya put her hand to the wire connecting her to the console and unplugged herself. She walked around the console and then started to stare into space, like in a trance.
"Man... what are you anyway..." Harlan stared at her incredulously.
"She's an implant..."
Everyone turned to Goddard who was staring at the ship. "Or something like one....a cybernetic implant...." He took his eyes from the screen and then turned to everyone. "Meaning... she can plug into a computer and send and receive any information from it."
"Which is why I can do that!" Freya was suddenly very cheery. She giggled lightly at everyone.
"Freya... can you tell us why that guy is after you?" Harlan asked her as he stared at her. She had changed mannerisms entirely.
"Well....I can't really remember why.... Maybe it's because I can do this!" She suddenly turned into water on the floor and expanded to be ankle deep in the command post, but it didn't go into the hallway. Then, the water shrank into a tiny puddle and started to form into Freya. She smiled. She started to walk forward, but tripped on something and landed on Bova. "OOPS! Sorry!"
"What is going on here.... She wasn't like this before..." Harlan speculated as Freya got off of a surprised Bova.
"I'll say.... I may not be able to get up... you'll have to scrape me off the floor now.." Bova said as he got himself up. "She's heavier than she looks!"
"Bova! That wasn't nice!" giggled Rosie.
"OH! I'm so Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! You poor thing!" She clutched Bova around the shoulders and started to cry.
"I-it's alright...just get off of me...." Bova stammered out as he released himself from Freya.
Everyone stared at Freya now as she wiped her eyes. She looked around and giggled nervously as she played with the device on the nape of her neck. "Why are ya'll staring at me like that?"
"THELMA....?", Goddard stammered out just as THELMA appeared behind him. He almost jumped to the next deck. "GAH!"
"Yes, Commander Goddard...."
"Did you know about the device on Freya?"
THELMA walked over to Freya who was looking blankly at her. "Yes, I did."
"Then why didn't you tell us!" Goddard was getting frustrated.
"You never asked."
Goddard now felt like hitting his head on something very hard. He sighed. "Could you check it to see if it is functioning?"
"Does she even know what to do to it? How to fix it?" Harlan said as he stared at Goddard.
"I just think it's on vacation.", drawled Bova.
"It seems to have shorted out somewhat.", exacted THELMA.
"So... what does that mean?" Radu asked.
"It means that--"
"It means that the line between ditz and intelligent will be crossed back and forth on a regular basis." Suzee came in and looked a bit perturbed at the whole situation.
"Oh yeah... That's right.... Hmmm.... I wonder how long this will last..." Freya looked up at the ceiling and looked as if she was thinking. "Oh well! Ya'll have wonderful me right now as I am!"
"Has anyone noticed that the way she talks is similar to a Texas drawl?" Harlan asked as he finished his plate of "food".
"I've never heard one before so I couldn't tell you." Radu said as he too finished eating. He stood up and walked over to the sink.
"I have and it sounds a bit like how she talks. Although the one I heard was a bit heavier than hers." Said Rosie cheerily.
"Where is she anyway.." Bova said as he stuffed a large sandwich into his mouth.
"She's plugged into the engine room computer. She's helping Suzee with the engines and weapons." Radu informed them as he continued to clean his plate and glass.
Harlan grinned at him. "So you've been keeping tabs on her?"
Radu blushed and turned back to the dishes. He was scrubbing very meticulously at one spot on the glass. Harlan's grin got even wider. "Wouldn't Elmira get jealous?"
"So what about what you said about her weight, Bova?" Rosie asked.
"Like I said... she's heavier than she looks!" He said as he gulped down more food.
"So... she must be like Radu then, huh?"
"It's probably because she's made of water. Water when made to fit into a smaller shape gets really dense and heavy." Said Radu.
"True... I guess that could be one way of looking at it. Then that would make her just as strong as you, Radu.." Rosie smiled.
"That's just what we need.... another danger aboard the ship." Goddard had walked in looking rather grim.
Freya tinkered with the implant device on her neck with some kind of screwdriver. She was plugged into the computer so she could know what she was doing. "Let's see...um... hmmmm...."
"These schematics are great! We have more power to our engines!" Suzee was getting excited as she looked through everything.
"You ought to recalibrate yer shields as well....I saw small fissures through out the ship earlier...." Freya informed as she tweaked another part of the device. She jumped slightly and then giggled. "OOPS!"
Suzee shook her head and sighed. "Hard to believe that you helped do this."
"Oh really...?" Freya gave Suzee an evil smile and turned back to the screw driver.
"Why is it that you sound like your IQ dropped twenty points when you talk.....?" Suzee said with a smirk.
Freya flashed her an evil grin and walked away stopping at the door. "You want to break for lunch?"
Suzee raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "Um... sure!"
They got into the hallway when Freya stopped. She put her hand behind her head and her eyes went red. "Damn it! They're getting bigger!"
"What are."
"The fissures. We'll have to boost the Christa's healing system in order to fix them."
"Are you sure?"
Freya ran back into the Engine Room and plugged herself in. "Come on... it'll be fun!"
"Uh.... Harlan.... There seems to be more of them coming...", Rosie said from her station.
"Oh shit...." Harlan jumped to his console and started trying to make the crystals move.
"Harlan get us out of here now!" Goddard barked.
The Christa's newfound engine power started up and she flew off.
"Admiral Chen....please come in..."
Admiral Chen woke up from his coma and looked around his ship. It was damaged from the fight, but not severely. He tapped the comm button and sat up in his chair. "Yes..."
"We got yor distress signal sir... Are you badly damaged..."
Chen looked himself over and then the readout of the ship. "No.."
"Did you succeed in attaining the target..."
Chen sighed as he slumped in his seat. "No..."
"Hang on.... We're teleporting you on board...."
Then, he didn't see his ship any more. He stood in the command room of the other ship. An officer stood and bowed to him. "Admiral Chen..."
"At ease..."
"Sir... The ship known as the Christa has flown out of our sightings.... Should we pursue...." Said another officer.
"Engage...."
Chapter Three
"Surrender yor vessel... or you will be destroyed...." The gaunt man's eyes gleamed with malice.
"You know something.... I'm getting' mighty tired of you chasin' after me!" Freya was starting to get angry.
"Freya... you know this guy?" Harlan was noting that she looked at him with an "if looks could incinerate" glare.
"Yeah... I know him... he's an asshole who won't take no for an answer!", she growled. She was gripping the console with her hands, her knuckles white.
"Well... do you know how to disable him, then?" Goddard was now starting to think clearly. He ran a hand through his short-cropped graying hair. It was a new style for him. It was spiky when his hand went through, instead of laid back.
"Yes.. I do... Well.... okay sort of.... but not with this stuff....I'ld have to help modify yer weapons systems to compensate." She was busy rerouting energy to the forward weapons and making the lasers phase slightly.
Bova started as he saw the weapons systems on his console start to change. "Um.. sir...there's something weird going on with the forward weapons sys--"
Freya interrupted him. "I'm doing nothing more than helping ya'll...okay... I'm done!"
Bova stared at the console wide eyed. "Whoa...."
Radu heard something that made him start. He tried to focus the noise and find where it came from, but he couldn't. "What the--", he muttered.
He then felt a surge of some sort and realized why. He looked over at Freya and she fell backward. She was still connected to the computer console. He ran over and helped her up as well as Bova, who was closer.
Then, the ship shuddered from the impact of another weapon hitting the Christa. Radu pulled Freya up and turned to Bova. "Get back to your console!"
"Bova! Can you fire?!", bellowed Goddard.
Bova reached his console and read the readout. "Yes Commander!"
"Fire..."
The forward lasers hit the Shekra vessel numerous times. It shuddered from the impacts and then it was silent. The ship didn't do anything. "Maybe he's biding his time....", muttered Harlan. He looked over at Radu who was lightly slapping Freya's cheek with his gloved hand. "Is she alright?"
Freya opened her eyes and caught Radu's hand in one deft move. "I'm fine." She let go of his hand and started to get up and then wobbled slightly. "Whoa!" She caught the console and brought herself back up. "That was a rush..."
"What happened, Freya..." Goddard was regarding her.
"Nothing much.... Christa getting used to me is all... " She smiled cheerily. "I think....."
"You think!?" Goddard was getting nervous from the thought that something had really happened. The last thing he needed was the only other person on board that could help them against the ship before them on the screen to get hurt.
Freya put her hand to the wire connecting her to the console and unplugged herself. She walked around the console and then started to stare into space, like in a trance.
"Man... what are you anyway..." Harlan stared at her incredulously.
"She's an implant..."
Everyone turned to Goddard who was staring at the ship. "Or something like one....a cybernetic implant...." He took his eyes from the screen and then turned to everyone. "Meaning... she can plug into a computer and send and receive any information from it."
"Which is why I can do that!" Freya was suddenly very cheery. She giggled lightly at everyone.
"Freya... can you tell us why that guy is after you?" Harlan asked her as he stared at her. She had changed mannerisms entirely.
"Well....I can't really remember why.... Maybe it's because I can do this!" She suddenly turned into water on the floor and expanded to be ankle deep in the command post, but it didn't go into the hallway. Then, the water shrank into a tiny puddle and started to form into Freya. She smiled. She started to walk forward, but tripped on something and landed on Bova. "OOPS! Sorry!"
"What is going on here.... She wasn't like this before..." Harlan speculated as Freya got off of a surprised Bova.
"I'll say.... I may not be able to get up... you'll have to scrape me off the floor now.." Bova said as he got himself up. "She's heavier than she looks!"
"Bova! That wasn't nice!" giggled Rosie.
"OH! I'm so Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! You poor thing!" She clutched Bova around the shoulders and started to cry.
"I-it's alright...just get off of me...." Bova stammered out as he released himself from Freya.
Everyone stared at Freya now as she wiped her eyes. She looked around and giggled nervously as she played with the device on the nape of her neck. "Why are ya'll staring at me like that?"
"THELMA....?", Goddard stammered out just as THELMA appeared behind him. He almost jumped to the next deck. "GAH!"
"Yes, Commander Goddard...."
"Did you know about the device on Freya?"
THELMA walked over to Freya who was looking blankly at her. "Yes, I did."
"Then why didn't you tell us!" Goddard was getting frustrated.
"You never asked."
Goddard now felt like hitting his head on something very hard. He sighed. "Could you check it to see if it is functioning?"
"Does she even know what to do to it? How to fix it?" Harlan said as he stared at Goddard.
"I just think it's on vacation.", drawled Bova.
"It seems to have shorted out somewhat.", exacted THELMA.
"So... what does that mean?" Radu asked.
"It means that--"
"It means that the line between ditz and intelligent will be crossed back and forth on a regular basis." Suzee came in and looked a bit perturbed at the whole situation.
"Oh yeah... That's right.... Hmmm.... I wonder how long this will last..." Freya looked up at the ceiling and looked as if she was thinking. "Oh well! Ya'll have wonderful me right now as I am!"
"Has anyone noticed that the way she talks is similar to a Texas drawl?" Harlan asked as he finished his plate of "food".
"I've never heard one before so I couldn't tell you." Radu said as he too finished eating. He stood up and walked over to the sink.
"I have and it sounds a bit like how she talks. Although the one I heard was a bit heavier than hers." Said Rosie cheerily.
"Where is she anyway.." Bova said as he stuffed a large sandwich into his mouth.
"She's plugged into the engine room computer. She's helping Suzee with the engines and weapons." Radu informed them as he continued to clean his plate and glass.
Harlan grinned at him. "So you've been keeping tabs on her?"
Radu blushed and turned back to the dishes. He was scrubbing very meticulously at one spot on the glass. Harlan's grin got even wider. "Wouldn't Elmira get jealous?"
"So what about what you said about her weight, Bova?" Rosie asked.
"Like I said... she's heavier than she looks!" He said as he gulped down more food.
"So... she must be like Radu then, huh?"
"It's probably because she's made of water. Water when made to fit into a smaller shape gets really dense and heavy." Said Radu.
"True... I guess that could be one way of looking at it. Then that would make her just as strong as you, Radu.." Rosie smiled.
"That's just what we need.... another danger aboard the ship." Goddard had walked in looking rather grim.
Freya tinkered with the implant device on her neck with some kind of screwdriver. She was plugged into the computer so she could know what she was doing. "Let's see...um... hmmmm...."
"These schematics are great! We have more power to our engines!" Suzee was getting excited as she looked through everything.
"You ought to recalibrate yer shields as well....I saw small fissures through out the ship earlier...." Freya informed as she tweaked another part of the device. She jumped slightly and then giggled. "OOPS!"
Suzee shook her head and sighed. "Hard to believe that you helped do this."
"Oh really...?" Freya gave Suzee an evil smile and turned back to the screw driver.
"Why is it that you sound like your IQ dropped twenty points when you talk.....?" Suzee said with a smirk.
Freya flashed her an evil grin and walked away stopping at the door. "You want to break for lunch?"
Suzee raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "Um... sure!"
They got into the hallway when Freya stopped. She put her hand behind her head and her eyes went red. "Damn it! They're getting bigger!"
"What are."
"The fissures. We'll have to boost the Christa's healing system in order to fix them."
"Are you sure?"
Freya ran back into the Engine Room and plugged herself in. "Come on... it'll be fun!"
"Uh.... Harlan.... There seems to be more of them coming...", Rosie said from her station.
"Oh shit...." Harlan jumped to his console and started trying to make the crystals move.
"Harlan get us out of here now!" Goddard barked.
The Christa's newfound engine power started up and she flew off.
"Admiral Chen....please come in..."
Admiral Chen woke up from his coma and looked around his ship. It was damaged from the fight, but not severely. He tapped the comm button and sat up in his chair. "Yes..."
"We got yor distress signal sir... Are you badly damaged..."
Chen looked himself over and then the readout of the ship. "No.."
"Did you succeed in attaining the target..."
Chen sighed as he slumped in his seat. "No..."
"Hang on.... We're teleporting you on board...."
Then, he didn't see his ship any more. He stood in the command room of the other ship. An officer stood and bowed to him. "Admiral Chen..."
"At ease..."
"Sir... The ship known as the Christa has flown out of our sightings.... Should we pursue...." Said another officer.
"Engage...."