TITLE: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)
AUTHOR: ArcherofDarkness
SUMMARY:
RATING: PG-13
WHY: language, violence, and cuz I want it to be!
DISCLAIMERS: I own all of the vocabulary words and Xyra
PLUS! Special thanks to my reviewers! Jackie99 and Go Jandalz! tee! it makes me happy!
The next day I got up later, and we still hadn't passed out of the shadow of the blasted planet. I had brunch with the Captain after my first watch, eggs and toasted bread and a glass of purp juice. She was in a much better mood than the day before and invited me back for tea later on in the day.
The sails were let out at eleven hundred hours, eleven o'clock, and that's when I had the most fun that I'd had in a long time. We were flying smooth since Jim hadscraped the barnacles off of the hull yesterday; today he was swabbing the deck.
During one of my breaks, I climbed up the mizzen and watched as we passed the DeLancy system; it was beautiful. The star, Knight, is a beautiful red giant, and the Planets Jovax seven, eight, and nine are beautiful gas giants, each a different hue of blue. Jovax seven is deep lavender and is mined for Ilk gas and frozen Nedrati crystals. Jovax Eight has beautiful aqua coloration and is home to the rare Locus, a culinary delicacy throughout the galaxy. Jovax nine is the most beautiful, for it is the true shade of blue, and was once the subject for the famous artist, Miguello DaFarnic; not to mention its moon Sphlyn is made of Nox Crystal, which is very common but also very beautiful.
I brought my sketch pad up with me and drew the layout of the deck with all of the parts labeled in Pardillon, the ancient language of planet Pardil. My eyes took in all of the crew, and I focused my attention on Silver, who was supervising Jim. Flipping a page, I began to sketch the old cook.
Being a cyborg, he was bound to have tons of machinery tricks up his sleeve; the most common surprises were some type of photon cannon, a saber, and I had already seen the arsenal of cooking supplies, which included a flame thrower. I was woken from my deep thoughts by the beeping of my chronometer, my second watch was about to begin and I had a crew to keep in order.
With my blade beneath my belt, none of the crew dared to shoot me a dirty look, not even Silver, who seemed to be readily changing Jim's attitude so that he was more can-do than sarcastic. I cracked my knuckles and neck and began to shout orders as I saw the crew begin to slack off.
later...
"Mmmm, this is delicious tea Captain."
"Why yes, it is. I got it on the planet Malkiar, very primal but they do have a way with food." Amelia breathed in the aroma of the tea and then drank it up. The small biscuits(cookies) were delicious, flaky and sweet. It was getting late, and my third watch was soon to start. I was about to leave to prepare when Amelia stopped me. "Ms. Robethian, do you know what this voyage truly is about?"
With a shrug, I lied, "No Ma'am."
Amelia dropped her voice, "I tell you this only because I trust you. We are on a mission to recover Captain Flint's Loot of a Thousand Worlds. I just wanted to let you know what you were getting into without going into shock when we arrive. It seems somehow the crew knows about it also, I blame that blunder of a doctor. I will need your help in a dire situation and want to have you by my side until the bitter end." She held out a gloved hand, "Comrades?"
I shook, "Comrades, and now I must be going, my watch starts soon. Thank you for the tea ma'am.
That night, we passed out of the reach of Knight and traveled through the dust streams of the Jovinal Planes. It was beautiful, with the bright stars in the distance, the steady solar wind that brought the soft smell of the Rodentian Mines, a distinct salty scent.
The doctor finally came out of his cabin and attempted to get the captain to dance, but with no luck. Jim was climbing on the Jib boom and nearly fell off once or twice. Silver seemed to always be looking at me, studying me for a weakness and not giving me hardly a moment's rest.
My only sanctuary was my room, where no one dared disturb me without knocking, I worked hard on the new Solar Surfer; I modified the engine and electric input, I would test it out another day, but for now it was time to sleep, because tomorrow was another day.
"And now it's time to DDR!" The music started, a fast paced tune that I recognized as Butterfly, I couldn't see the screen, the music played and I guessed blindly at where to jump, the sounds of booing came from the game. I was going to fail.
I awoke with a jolt, breathing heavily with an odd smell on my tongue. It was dismissed as the essence of rotting purp, which must have somehow gotten in the bilges and started decomposing. But there was something else…irony and sweet, blood. I must have bitten my lip during that dream of…I forgot it quite quickly, as I do with most dreams.
Today I had slept in a bit, which meant there wouldn't be time for drawing or working on my Solar Surfer, but at least there was time to eat. I couldn't have purps, my appetite for them was ruined for the remainder of the voyage; I settled for a light breakfast of sweetened hardtack (great for exercising your jaws) and pocky eggs.
My coffee was gulped down minutes before my watch started; I had to help with the reparations of the engine, which had been damaged during the night by a stray space rock; it's a normal occurrence that takes a short time to fix. So by ten, we were traveling at full power again.
Again that day, Silver had Jim scrubbing the deck…well, exfoliating it to be more precise. When you scrub the surface with Pumice, the wood gets so soft and smooth that it's like walking on silk, but it's devilish hard on your hands, leaves them raw and red for a few days.
The captain was ever more paranoid about the crew, though she trusted me the most right after Arrow, who really is a good chap once you get to know him. When my first watch ended, Doctor Dopplar invited me for tea. I politely declined, but he insisted that I join him. I finally gave in.
"So…Doctor, I assume you like science?"
"Well yes my dear," the Doctor smiled while eyeing me warily, "Or are you just being sarcastic?"
"A little of both," I leaned back in my chair and sucked up most of my small serving of tea. Madulia Honey-flower. It's a delicious flavor, tastes like pure honeysuckle but no caffeine and therefore not a good pick-me-up. "Are you enjoying the trip so far?"
"Yes actually, but I don't know you as well as the other crew, because you see I hired the rest of the crew and the Captain hired you. So I want to know, what's in it for you?"
I scratched my chin, this man…dog guy might be able to keep a secret, but he was horrible at giving hints at when he was hiding, it wouldn't have taken much effort or time to figure out what the exploration was for. "Oh I dunno, thirteen Kricts, get to see a part of the galaxy, be promoted and get to go to school again?"
"Perhaps," the doctor lapped at his own tea, "But how has it come that you are already being promoted to lieutenant at the mere age of…?"
I held back a growl, "It is none of your business how old I am, and perhaps if you don't think I'm doing a good enough job, you can consult with the Captain." I finished my tea and stormed off.
So…whatcha think? even a "ok" or "I didnt like it", but if it moved too fast, I'll try to slow down the next chappie...THANKS!