Asclepheus chapter 2: The Researcher
Human year: 2180
Location: Earth
"Daddy are we alone?" a little girl asked her father
"What was that Norma?" her father asked
"Are we alone?"
"….well there isn't anyone else here sweetie" her father said looking around the lake
"I mean in the universe, as in aliens and stuff"
"You know the answer to that sweetie" the father said a little bit disturbed at how his 8 year old daughter acted and spoke like someone twice her age
Norma was a little human girl with brown hair in a ponytail, her father had taken her fishing and it was getting very late, what caused her to ask the question was the fact that it was clear night sky out and the stars were shining like jewels in the night's sky. Norma was indeed a strange little girl, while many girls her age were playing with dolls she was making volatile chemicals with her chemistry set.
Norma's father was single due to the fact Norma's mother died during childbirth, just because Norma was smarter than most girls her age didn't mean she wasn't as emotional as other girls, Norma loved her father and he loved her.
"Got a bite yet sweetie?" her father asked
"No I haven't got anything yet" Norma pouted as she hadn't had any luck
"Really? Not even a little yank?"
"Nothing"
"….wait….did you remember to put the bait on the line?" her father asked only to have her face go bright red, her father grin and put down his fishing rod, he then got up and sat beside her.
"Here let me fix that for you dear" Norma's father said as he took her fishing rod and began to fiddle with the bait.
"Daddy I don't think the bait will work"
"Why is that honey?"
"Because the average trout's diet consists of shrimps, mealworms and fish a third of their size, i don't think pieces of chicken fillet will attract them" Norma said without missing a beat
Norma's father sighed and finished fixing the bait on the hook of the rod; he then threw the hook into the water and held onto the rod as did his daughter.
"There's more to life than statistics and facts Norma, sometimes you just have to go with your gut"
Norma simply sat silent until she felt something pull the line; she immediately reacted and gripped the rod tight as the surface of the water began splashing wildly, her father gripped the rod as well and began reeling in the line, leaving pauses in order to properly reel in the thrashing fish.
"Hold on tight honey, he's a big one!" her father laughed
Norma began laughing as they reeled the fish in closer until it was hanging in front of them while still thrashing around splashing water all over them.
"Whoa you caught a pike!" her father exclaimed, it was indeed a very big fish and was thrashing back and forth with the hook in its mouth.
"See honey, you got to go with your gut" her father said
The Pike then bit down on the fishing line and snapped it falling back into the lake causing water to splash on Norma and her father soaking the both of them, Norma and her father then burst out laughing as Norma's father hugged her from behind.
Norma and her father were now back on land and were sitting side by side in the back of their truck on a nearby hilltop, Norma had a towel wrapped around her, her father was hugging her from behind while the both of them watched the city in the distance as ships flew around as bright lights shone from the mega city's sky scrapers, these sky scrapers made the buildings of the 21st century look like straw huts due their size and grandeur.
"Daddy can I ask you something?" Norma asked her father
"You can ask me anything sweetie" her father said
"Do you think I'll be able to go out there?" Norma asked pointing at the stars, nowadays the only people who left into space where either space truckers, rich, colonists or soldiers so hoping to see the universe wasn't impossible it was just extremely unlikely for people like Norma who were born on earth.
"I won't lie to you Norma, but the only way you are going to get up there is if you work to the best of your ability and use your gifts"
"What are my gifts daddy?"
"Norma my girl, you are the smartest 8 year old I have ever met, given time you could very well become one of the smartest people on the planet, hell maybe even the smartest human in the galaxy" he thought he was over stretching there but to be honest he could have very well been right, though what parent wouldn't fill their child's head with hope?
"Really daddy?" Norma asked with hope evident in her eyes
"I'm sure of it sweetheart, but you have to promise me one thing"
"What daddy?"
"Promise me that if you end up going out there in space, you won't just think with this" her father put a finger on her forehead "but with this as well" he placed his finger on her chest where her heart was.
"Your acting cheesy again daddy" Norma said earning a chuckle from her father
"Come here you!" her father said as he began tickling her causing her to laugh uncontrollably as the two rolled around in the back of the truck underneath the night sky.
TIMESKIP: 17 YEARS LATER
HUMAN YEAR: 2197
I had been 10 years since the Asclepheus ship had begun to undergo reconstruction and it was now complete and ready for its long mission in space, the crew of engineers had already boarded the colossal ship and began to ready its main systems. The entire human race was abuzz with the christening of the ship to be broadcasted to not just earth but all the major colonies as well; indeed it was a good day to be a human.
"Professor! Professor Wait!" a young blonde woman with an American accent shouted as she ran through the hallway of the laboratory.
The young woman stopped as she caught up to another woman, this woman was a little taller than her and her hair was brown with blonde streaks in a ponytail, she was also wearing a lab coat and a set of high heels.
"What is it Sophie?" the taller woman asked in a British accent
"Professor Rockwell, the shuttle will be leaving soon" Sophie panted as she clutched a folder to her chest.
"I know that Sophie, but I'm not leaving without Dexter" the taller woman said as she opened the door to her room, she stepped in and before turning the lights on she turned to Sophie.
"And I've told you to stop with the whole professor Rockwell thing, there isn't any need to act so formal with me" the woman said as she turned on the lights in her room and began looking around the place
Sophie sighed and rubbed her temples "Norma the shuttle will leave very soon, we don't have time to be looking for your pet" Sophie said
"We are going to be stuck in space for god knows how long with no one but marines, engineers and aliens for company, I'm not leaving without Dexter" as if on cue something leapt out from under the covers of a bed and clung to Sophie's face causing her to drop her folder and scream.
Norma immediately turned and saw Dexter clinging to Sophie's face without any signs of letting go; Norma patiently walked over and put her hands on her hips.
"Ahem" she spoke out
Dexter immediately leapt from Sophie's face into Norma's arms, Dexter was a bio-pet, a genetically engineered hybrid of two of Norma's favourite earth animals, Bio-pets were very popular nowadays and were more popular than most of the traditional earth pets. Dexter was a hybrid of a capuchin monkey and a parrot, he was basically like one of the winged monkeys from the wizard of Oz which coincidently was one of Norma's favourite movies, Norma was going to be dammed if Dexter wasn't coming with her, she loved her baby to pieces, Sophie on the other hand wasn't a big fan.
"For god's sake I hate it when he does that!" Sophie pointed at the evil primate
"Don't blame Dexter, you scared him" Norma stroked her winged monkey as he let out a few quit screeches.
"I scared him!? That filthy little monkey almost gave me a heart attack!" Sophie shouted before picking up her folder and dusting it off.
"You both scared each other so let's leave it at that ok?" Norma said calmly as she let Dexter perch himself on her shoulder.
"Now you said we have a shuttle to get to, I say we get going" Norma sad just as calmly as she walked past Sophie, but as she walked past Sophie, Dexter stuck his tongue out at her to which Sophie replied by giving him the finger.
After plenty of running they finally came to the docking bay where there were still a few shuttles that hadn't left yet, one of which was Norma and Sophie's and at the door a brown haired man who looked like he was in his late 40's was waiting.
Norma made eye contact with this man and immediately ran up and threw her arms around him hugging him tightly.
"Dad, you came!" she exclaimed
"Well I had to see you off didn't I? Plus you will be in space for the next few years so this will be my last time seeing you for a while sweetie" her father hugged her back gently
Dexter then gave out a little screech gaining Norma's father's attention; he smiled and rubbed the monkey's head.
"You take care of her out there Dex"
"Hello Mr Rockwell" Sophie said as she walked up to Norma's father
"It's good to see you Sophie" Mr Rockwell held out his hand which Sophie shook.
"Professor Ro….Norma we have to get on board now" Sophie said as she began walking up the shuttle ramp.
"Ok dad I guess this is it….goodbye" Norma said as she turned to the ramp
"Norma wait" Mr Rockwell called his daughter
"Yes dad?"
"I have something to give you" he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace
"This was your mother's…..she would want you to have it" he tied the necklace around her neck, Norma held the necklace in her hands, attached to the necklace was a ring, it was her mother wedding ring and it was identical to her father's.
"Dad I…I don't know what…what to say" Norma said
"I love you would suffice" her father smiled, Norma threw her arms around her father and hugged him tightly.
"I love you dad" she said before letting go and turning to go up the ramp to the shuttle, when she got in the shuttle she got a seat next to a window and waved her father goodbye as the shuttle took off.
"Goodbye Norma…..stay safe" Norma's father said as he waved at the shuttle flying into the sky.
The shuttle flew through the air alongside many others on its way to the Asclepheus; there were at least 20-30 shuttles soaring through the vacuum of space, it was evident by this that the Asclepheus was going to be a ship of enormous scale due to the sheer amount of shuttles needed to transport the crew.
As the shuttles made their way across mars the Asclepheus came into view and needless to say it was a sight to behold, the ship obviously had traits of both human design and alien design as during the reconstruction the alien parts were better suited than the human parts that were simply replacements for missing segments, the ship was massive and its length was at least three halves worth of the moon.
The ship's streamlined appearance gave a sense that it was meant for deep space exploration as the largest of humanity's ships went by the same standards, the thrusters of the ship were massive to say the least and it wasn't a surprise as it would take immense power to get the ship moving.
Both the USS Quatermaine and the USS Newton were by both sides of the ship and were dwarfed by its immense size, though the human made battleships weren't even a quarter of the Asclepheus' size even when combined they still had enough fire power to defend the ship against many different threats.
"All systems operational captain" said one of the Quatermaine's pilots spoke out as he tapped controls into the screen in front of him. Behind him in the captains seat was a man with an Englishman of African descent in his mid-50's, though he still commanded a powerful presence along with a broad frame. This was captain Nathanial Grey, the captain of the USS Quatermaine and veteran of the yautja wars. one of the captains key defining traits was his eyes, his natural left eye was brown while his right was blue with a glowing tint along with the scar running across his right eye socket, in the yautja wars he lost an eye in a fight against a Yautja Elder who took it out with a swipe of his glaive, he may of lost an eye but he managed to take off said Elders left arm in return, his right eye was now cybernetic and to be honest his vision couldn't be better.
"Very good, Captain Azarov do you copy?" Captain grey said into his comlink
"I copy Captain Grey, all systems on the Newton are operational as well" Captain Azarov said with a Russian accent.
Cynthia Azarov was a woman in her mid-20's and was considered somewhat of a prodigy, becoming the captain of a human battleship and sent on a mission of this importance was something to be admired and for a woman of her age and background was a great achievement. She was at least 5 foot and had short blond hair; her pretty appearance didn't do anything to undermine her commanding presence among her troops and in fact her troops would follow her to the end.
Norma had just entered her living quarters for the next few years, it was a fairly roomy bedroom with a large bed and a monkey cage for Dexter, obviously the rooms had been tailored to the requirements of the crew especially the researchers. For Norma this was true to the fullest as she was probably one of the most important people on board, being one of the chief researchers was going to be tough on this project, mind you she was exited for the task of caring and studying all the alien life they would pick up on this mission.
"Well Dex I guess this is the first step in our new life" Norma smiled earning a happy screech from Dex as he jumped up and down on the spot.
Indeed it the start of a new life…a new and very eventful, strange life. Norma just didn't know how strange and new things were going to get…yet.
Phew that was one difficult chapter to write, I don't think I'm very good writing for female characters so I would appreciate it if I got some feedback soon, what did you guys think I could improve? What would you like to see in this story?
Next chapter will be the introduction of the Myrmidons and the next protagonist of the story.
I will need some feedback eventually people, be it positive or negative I need some to get me motivated to keep writing especially since I'm back at college and am managing my time between this and studying. So Please be sure to leave a review or simply a comment or two as long as it is civil, that means NO TROLL'S!
Next time – chapter 3: We are lions among men.
