10/29 #2
A story for your entertainment:
KA WUMPH!!! Ssssssssss...
"Damn it O'Reiley, this pile of junk you call a space ship is going to be settin' us all adrift!"
“To start things out, Lieutenant Sean Flannery, I happen to be the Captain of this ship and I will be spoken to as the Chief Executive officer. I fully realize that bunch of hooligans you call an engine crew is real chummy, but I will have the respect that is my due! Now report!"
Sean gave out his usual sigh when listening to this fairy's bureaucratic bull and stabbed at the intercom once more. "O.K. Captain O'Reiley. Your precious bucket of organics is gonna kill us all!"
O'Reiley sat up straight in his pilot chair, wanting to fire the cheeky bastich. He knew Flannery was the best engines officer he'd seen in years, but it galled him that the whole Chaun race seemed to lack respect for authority. He tried to take some of the anger out of his voice, but still boomed, "Cut the crap and give me the facts! That last explosion rocked us all the way up here in the bridge. You're in charge of Engineering, so tell me exactly what's going on back there."
"Hell!" blurted Flannery. "Half the main drivers have just blown and the rest are marginal. We gotta drop this tub down to sub-light so I can hold it together, but even I cannot fix it out here in deep space. This thing requires the facilities of a major spaceport. "
"All right, Flannery, calm down and come forward. I'll be wantin' a full staff briefing. "
Captain O'Reiley shifted uneasily in his chair, ignored most of the wildly flashing warning lights on the console and punched up a computer-simulated view of the local stars. He banged a couple sticky keys on the console, then slapped the intercom button again, "Sick Bay! Is the good doctor available?"
Click. "Doctor still in deep sleep, Captain." The voice was that of the central computer; a little tinnier than newer models, but adequate. Maybe when they delivered the cargo, he'd be able to afford a computer with a real voice.
"Defrost Sullivan and have him wake the rest of the execs. Please inform him that I want all staff officers on the bridge in two hours. "
O'Reiley flicked off the intercom and stared at the stars again. They'd been churning hyperspace near the fringes of the galaxy, far from regular traffic lanes. But then they had good reason to stay away from patrolled areas. Good reason... and now it might well cost them dearly, for there wasn't a repair base for nearly five light years.
"Humph!" he mumbled. We couldn't risk a fleet station even if there was one near. Not with
this cargo. "Damn, damn, and double damn!"
...to be continued, if you want...
Maybe they could order the books for you?
