6
Chapter 35
Ed took a nice long whiff of his coffee; the aroma penetrated his nostrils.
He took a small sip…savoring the taste…and gauging the heat.
He experienced a slight burning sensation; he winced and set the cup down.
Ed looked off into the distance…watching the screen of stars flash by…like tiny sparkles of light.
He rarely took the time to enjoy anything small like that…he always had his hands full.
But for some reason…for the last few days…he'd felt more comfortable taking a few minutes here and there to relax.
The door in the background swooshed; Ed paid no attention…nor to the collection of voices.
Ed sat back in his chair…setting his hands over his stomach.
"Can I join you?"
Ed slowly glanced over; it was David.
"Sure,"
David took a seat and set his cup in front of him. He peered at Ed for a moment.
Ed met his stare…and sighed.
"Yeah…"
David scratched the side of his face.
"So…"
Ed sat up and took another sip of his coffee.
"Can we just…"
"No…"
Ed glanced down at his hands.
"Look…I…"
"Yeah?" David replied immediately. Ed's head snapped upward.
"Okay…that was really strange the other day…"
"Yup,"
"…as I was going to say…I just thought that I would…"
"Cut the crap, Ed. What's really going on?"
Ed glanced around the room…then back at David.
"Okay…okay…I figured you thought I would be mad so I put on a show of being mad,"
"What?"
"See…it sounds really fucking weird and crazy,"
David sat back in his chair with a look of confusion.
"Sooooo…you're not really mad?"
"No," Ed lied…taking a sip of his coffee.
"Okay…"
The two sat there for awhile in uncomfortable silence. David looked off into the distance…while Ed examined his hands.
After about ten minutes…David rose to his feet.
"Well…this was fun,"
"David…wait,"
David paused…looking Ed straight in the eyes.
"Its good to see you,"
David softened a bit.
"Its good to see you too."
David was about to sit back down…when the intercom rang.
"This is the Captain: all senior officers report to the bridge!"
Sensing something…the pair glanced towards the window.
Sure enough…they'd dropped out of warp.
David exited the turbo lift to find a large mass on the viewscreen.
It was beautiful…a large swirling funnel of yellows, light greens and blues.
He stood there for a moment…his eyes fixated on it.
"Commander…take your station," the Captain grumbled.
"What is it?" David asked…moving towards the weapons station.
"Were not certain yet," said the science officer. "It appears to be some sort of wormhole…but there's no record of any natural occurring wormholes in this sector."
David cocked his head around.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," Dickie growled next to him. "That this is thing is artificial, dumbass."
David glared at Dickie.
"So somebody is creating it?"
"No, shit,"
"Well…why?"
"Mr. Moore…Mr. Stern. May I have my bridge back please?"
The two of them looked at the Captain sheepishly; David stuck his tongue out at Dickie.
"Mr. Theuma…what can you tell us from the scans…"
"Captain…look!"
Out of the funnel appeared a small spacecraft…almost in the shape of a star.
It stopped just at the mouth of anomaly…like it was waiting.
"Hail them!"
The sound of buttons being pressed filled the room.
"No response,"
"Try again!"
"Captain…they may not even be able to understand anything we're saying,"
The Captain swiveled in the direction of the science officer.
"Mr. Theuma…what can you tell me from those scans,"
Theuma's fingers danced over his console.
"Its composed of a material our database doesn't recognize…from what I can gather though…they appear to be dead in the water,"
The Captain mulled it over for a moment…biting his lower lip.
He swiveled in his chair in the direction of Roberts.
"Commander…I want you to take a shuttle over. Find out what's going on…or if we can render any aid."
"Aye, Captain!"
David rose from his seat.
"Now…wait a minute. This is crazy. You can't just send him over like that!"
"Commander…you will mind your place!"
David took a step forward.
"This is asinine…we know literally nothing. At least send me!"
The captain and Roberts exchanged glances. The Captain shook his head.
"You're needed here,"
David started laughing.
"For what? Sit on my ass and do nothing…"
The Captain rose from his seat…fury in his eyes.
"YOU WILL MIND YOUR PLACE, COMMANDER! YOU WILL OBEY MY COMMANDS!"
David returned to his seat…a glare on his face and feeling dejected.
"This is stupid," he muttered.
Dickie silently pointed at him and taunted him.
The Captain nodded to Roberts…and he quickly headed for the turbo
lift.
"Man your stations, people!"