🫜 Jim the Vampire 🫜

@jimthevampire.bsky.social

1150 Followers 847 Following

Definitely not a Vampire! Wannabe Sci-Fi writer, writing some rubbish called Statues Erode. It's got space in it! Progress: Rewrite 1. 10k words. Eeeep.

Just pictures of a grasshopper on some grass.

She barely heard the speaker crackle, but the Rec’s voice punched through loud. “Kaili Kael, get into the shuttle. Now.”
She didn’t need telling twice, she was up and running a zig-zag towards the open door, a bullet zinged past her as she heard O’Connell roar behind her. The wayward bullet spanged against the shuttle’s grey shell.
The doorway beckoned, O’Connell screamed fury behind her. She heard the pop of the gun again and a smash as plastic hit the deck. The Rec droid was down. Five more steps.
Time seemed to flow so slowly. Four steps.
She juked hard to the right as another shot cracked through the air, another dent in the shuttle!
Three steps!
The Rec was loud through the speaker, blasting the words “Jump, jump, jump!”
Two steps. She jumped.
The door was closing and the air was blasted from her lungs as she hit the deck inside. The pain rolled through her burning brightest in her hand where a lump of plastic had fused with the skin. When her lungs filled again, she screamed them empty

Some kind of moth situation on a rose leaf. Looks like it is wearing military camouflage! Can see it's little antennas poking out.

He crossed the bay as quietly as boots on metal would allow. He was halfway to the door when a bang cured him of caution.
A few lengthy strides and a “Who’s there?” later and he was ducking his head under the hatch door.
He blew out a breath as he saw the Captain emerge from the cockpit.
She looked startled, blue eyes wide open. “Oh, Ben! I didn’t hear you.”
Glancing past her, he saw a tangle of wires hanging loose under a console. “You okay Captain?”
She looked back, pointed to the mess: “Somewhere behind all that is the Black Box. I told Alex to keep his comm on before he left. If he did, maybe the box logged it. I’m going to get some cutters.”
He laughed out loud. She looked serious, maybe offended. “You’re not actually going to cut through the wires?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Got a better idea?”
He rubbed his chin, only catching the action as a slight stubble scratched his finger. He smiled as he asked, “Maybe I can help? Save you scuttling the shuttle?”
The Captain’s stern look faded, she smiled back at him, arms relaxing. “You’ve been spending too much time with Toren, Mr George. Come on then, I’ll let you save me from myself.”
“Happy to, Captain.”

Just a normal butterfly - orange and black sat on the dogs paddling pool lid.

A little container with a few strawberries in it!

Just one open pink rose with many buds

His voice boomed; “The choices are share bunks, or we have set up temporary housing on deck three.”
The man behind her, Toren placed a hand on her shoulder. She wanted to run, but where to? So she let him guide through the press of arguing bodies.
She didn’t look at the colonists. Irrelevant. Useless. Greedy. Fighting harder for the best bed than they ever had for their families. She felt her lip curl upwards. She hated them.
Toren's hand on her shoulder was firm, but gentle.
Near the far wall, they reached an open door. Inside was a woman, sat on the bed. She had long black hair, tied back. She looked like the women on the holos, all sat on loungers at the beach arguing about whose husband made the most creds.
Toren introduced her as they stood in the doorway, “This is Caul. Caul this is — actually I don’t know who this is.” He laughed a little. “What’s your name kid?”
She looked up at him, then at the woman, Caul. “Kaili.”
The woman smiled. “Key-li.” she said, over emphasizing the first part. Kaili didn’t correct her. “Pretty.”

She set the other coffees down, blowing on her fingers to dissipate the heat. He shut down the urge to tell her that did nothing. “How’s my favourite Engineer doing?”
He shot her a look that he hoped carried expletives.
“Mr Grumpy pants huh? You taking your meds?”
He nodded. “I took em. Not very good.”
She glanced first at Rob, then at the sideboard. In amongst the detritus and spare tools, the pack of tablets gave him away. Elara raised a brow at Rob. “How many did he take?” The Doc raised 1 finger.
Toren waved a hand, “Quacks always over prescribe. No offense, Rob”
She passed him a coffee, scooped the tablets and threw them over. “Don’t be an old fart Toren. You’re not that stupid — yet.”
Rob looked a little uncomfortable in the crowded space. “I’ll make my excuses now that the patient has the correct dosage of medication. Thank you for the coffee FO.”
Elara placed a hand on the Docs shoulder. “Thanks Roberto.” He nodded and made his way out of the room.
Elara turned her attention to Toren. “Eat those tablets! And then you can tell me what happened down there.”

The opening paragraph of Statues Erode:

1. Elara

She felt the arm slip out from under her neck and let out a little moan of discontent. The gentle shushing tried to lure her back to sleep as his weight shifting jostled the thin mattress. Then his warmth was gone.

His gentle Scottish accent, like a soothing melody: “So, you came back after all then kid!”
She hopped from foot to foot; “I bet you cannae belie…” She watched as he furrowed his brow, square stubble-lined jaw tightening. Half pleading, he cut her off “Don’t make me regret my happiness instantly, kid!”
She couldn’t contain herself any longer; “Toren!”
Two quick steps and she was hugging him hard around his broad chest, the tools on his belt clanking against her hip. The faint smell of ancient tobacco and grease — trapped forever in his dirty once-blue coveralls was like a homely nectar.
He pushed her back gently. “Yeah, yeah I miss you too. Now, get off of me you soggy wretch.”
She released him, reluctantly, grinning.
“Bridge?” he asked. She nodded, the smile on her face aching in her cheeks as he hit the button.
Stepping back she looked up at him, “Wait, why aren’t you in Engineering?”
He shrugged nonchalantly, “Obviously, I heard that a shuttle came in and I timed it just so. How could I miss the chance to experience the breathtaking sight of you or your stench? Did you get any sleep on that vacation?”

Disgusting poop fiend - picture of the world's worst Cockapoo puppy, post poop in mouth extraction

The speaker crackled and popped in his ear as the shuttle rocked back and forth in the wind, Kate’s voice distorting. As he compensated with the right thruster, he felt the shuttle lurch one final time before it levelled out.
“You okay up there Alex? Lost you for a sec.”
He blew out a breath, “All good. Shuttle isn’t rated for anything harder than a gentle breeze on a summer's day.” He heard her laugh, a pretty sound despite the headsets best attempts to scramble it. “Sorry Kate, did you say Elara is there, bag packed ready to go?”
Another burst of laughter, “Not quite. I said I haven’t heard from the boss either. You’ve got time for coffee. I’ll comm them. Just land that thing safely.”
“Aye aye,” he smiled. Kate. Pretty Kate, all worried about him. This day was going better than he had hoped. Fingers crossed Elara wouldn’t be too quick to interrupt.
With the landing platform ahead, he guided the shuttle in slowly, the breeze from the thrusters throwing the downpour of rain at odd angles. When he had the platform under the shuttle's wide butt, he set it down and finally stretched out his aching muscles

Another moment passed, two men watching steam rise.
McLellan took a cautious sip. The fiery liquid was one hundred percent pure evil in a mug. Perfect. He savoured it. He’d missed this.
“I’ve put in a word with Head Office for Elara.”
Toren nodded. “Smart. Kid is going places.”
McLellan nodded in reply. “She is a good FO. I think she’s ready. They’ll give her Galaxy. They aren’t over burdened with excellent FO’s to promote.”
Toren took another sip, more carefully this time. “Wong finally tapping out? Waited his whole career for a good ship, gets off of Thalassa, given the best and jumps out after two years?”
Another pause as McLellan took his turn on the Russian roulette of coffee. “Spoke to him when we were docked at Earth. You remember watching her as we came in?” Toren nodded as McLellan continued; “Beautiful ship! Anyway, he says he’s done. Missus Wong wants him home. So says this is his last run.”
Toren snorted. “Fat chance. Old goat will be back out at sea in no time.”
McLellan smiled. At sea. The closest thing to Engineer poetry he’d ever heard

Blue butterfly on leaf

She watched the stars appear. As the shuttle smoothly lifted from the deck, she saw the clouds of dust and gas, unmolested by gravity and almost inert here at the edge of the solar system.
She mumbled, “Can’t work out if it’s beautiful or terrifying.”
“It is both.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Apologies Captain, the human propensity to talk aloud can be difficult to analyse. What is a question, what is absent wondering? You are complicated creatures.”
She uttered a snort of laughter, “I thought your programming told you everything about us.”
The Rec paused. “Many things. Perhaps most things. But not all things.”
She watched as the shuttle slowly banked left, coming alongside the huge bulk of the Tartarus and heading towards the bulbous protrusion at the bow. The patchwork of ugly steel welded to ugly steel, grazed and pock marked by countless impacts from stellar debris drifted lazily past. She read the huge stenciled letters on the ship’s neck.
“Last time I saw this view was Miranda.”

She couldn’t really look at him. Her eyes couldn’t stick on his. “I guess I just don’t want to be a disappointment.”
“You’re not.”
Again, she ducked the eye contact. He placed a palm on her shoulder, warmth flowed from that gnarled, oil stained hand. She looked, long enough to see his smile, “What?”
“Kid, life is disappointment. One thing after another. You try stuff, it doesn’t work out. Sometimes things break, sometimes people break.” His tone dropped slightly, “Sometimes it’s your fault, but sometimes, it’s just the way things go.”
She didn’t feel the tear before it hit her cheek. “This is my fault.”
He pulled her in, wrapping those big arms around her, the smell of old oil and ancient cigarettes filled her nose as her head rested on his chest. “Nah kid, not this one. None of us knew what was coming, or how hard it would hit. So we’re all just making stuff up as we go. One word after another.”
A sniffle. “Your jumpsuit’s getting wet.”
Her head bobbed as a chuckle lifted his chest, “It’s seen worse than a couple of tears. Point is, you’ll be okay. They’ll be okay.”
Pulling back slightly she looked up into the weathered face, “You been reading some psychology books down here or what?”
He laughed loudly at that. “Nah, just the wisdom of the ancient, I think we inherit it when we get really old. So, if we’re all done with the blubber session, maybe we should get back to it huh?”
His arms loosened and she stepped back, rubbing the tears from her face, “Okay you old bastard, how do I look?”
The sudden lopsided smile brought out hers, “Captainly.”
“Fucker.”
“Go on, get out of my engine room.”
She flipped a middle finger his way and turned to leave, suddenly wheeling back and throwing her arms around him. “You’ll always be here right?”
His arms wrapped back around her, “For as long as you need a friend, kid.”

He killed the comm halfway through the word “Thanks” and discarded the slurry at the bottom of the mug into the recycler. As he set the V.O.L.E down, the zapper discharged, sparks flew from the metal bench.
Raising an eyebrow, he prodded the thing. Nothing else happened.
He muttered “Scrap piece of junk, do I look like a rat to you? Actually, don’t answer that.”
Scooping up his wrench from a pile of dirty tools, he fed it into the loop on his tool belt and marched out of Engineering, kicking the fire extinguisher that propped the door open out of his path.
The elevator was at the end of the tight corridor, its small green display had a prominent ‘3’ on it. Hab level. Too long to wait.
He chuckled to himself as he punched the call button anyway, just to annoy anyone waiting for it. Then he hit the ladder.
Puffing harder than in years gone by, he climbed rung by rung to Deck Four, paused. There was something that needed…Coolant lines! That was Four's problem for the day. But it could wait. He kept climbing.
When he finally reached the access hatch for Deck Three, he stopped. His breath was ragged and he was sweating. He mumbled, “Losing my edge

Toren dumped himself in the seat next to her. His face pinching tight as his back offered a stab of aged complaint. He sat casually, open and unguarded.
She didn’t turn to look, absorbed as she was by the blank bulkhead. Her short cut black hair hung loose, covering her eyes. The kid looked like she needed more than one solid meal.
From outside the sounds of arguing drifted in.
“You remind me of someone.”
Nothing.
“She was quiet too, once. A little shy maybe. But I don’t think you are shy.”
Not a peep.
“Met her on this ship. Just outside of this shuttle actually. We became friends. You know what my favourite thing is to do with my friend?”
Eyes forward, slow, deliberate breaths. Knuckles white.
He laughed in a short burst. “My favourite thing is to torture her with horrible messy work.”
From the side, he saw her eyes pivot toward him.
“Oh yeah,” he continued. “The messier the better. If her head is under a pipe — tap!” He mimed a tap with a wrench. “Splat! She’s never caught me yet. And I can tell you that the shampoo up here is terrible. Blonde hair is super absorbent. Oil soaks in like you wouldn’t believe.”
A tiny bob of the shoulders.
Was that a laugh?

She felt the arm slip out from under her neck and let out a little moan of discontent. The gentle shushing tried to lure her back to sleep as his weight shifting jostled the thin mattress. Then his warmth was gone.
It might have been a few seconds, or minutes before the slightly sour smell of poor quality coffee and citrus body wash forced her to open her eyes. Through sticky lips she murmured, “Jamie?” Nothing. She turned over, the sound of water running and the light bleeding through the gaps in the door from the apartment’s small bathroom. Reluctantly she sat up.
The urge to join him was growing. They didn’t have long left, might as well make the most of it. Before the thought finished, she heard the water stop. A few moments later, the light went out and the door squeaked open on its runner.
He stepped out, a darker shadow in the darkened room.
“What are you doing?”
She saw the shadow jolt, smiled to herself. “Jesus El!”
“Couldn’t resist,” she explained briefly. “What are you doing?”
He crossed the space and she shuffled over as he sat on the edge of the bed, the long bath sheet wrapped around his waist. He let out a sigh, “Work called. Gotta go to the GCC.”

Alex weaved through the hazard strewn corridor on muscle memory, honed by a hundred such uneventful journeys, heading for the elevator.
He had to stop between two pipes momentarily to let a Rec-controlled android pass, the machine, part mechanic, part labourer, didn’t acknowledge him as it glided past. Its eyeless, white mannequin face blank and pale, jointed limbs flexed almost silently as it squatted down for today's repair job.
Removing himself from the crevice, he took the few steps left and jabbed the elevator call button. The elevator car ground its way down the shaft above with its usual clanks and groans. One uncomfortably clonky ride later, he was marching down the shiny white plastic panelled corridor of Deck Three. A tang of fragrant, clean air passed his nose as he passed the open door of the Room they called The Park. He glanced in at the potted plant life dotted around the wide space. No surprise it was Ben's favourite part of the ship. The only air on board that didn’t come from a compressed metal tank.
But he was headed to a worse fate. The MedBay door swooshed open at his approach. He saw the blast shield was down across the wide port. Probably for the best given the spinning

Hudson Vs Sock! On what was supposed to be grass but is just mud.

Toren reached out a hand, gripping her shoulder, “It’s okay. We know—”
She shouted again, “You don’t know! You can’t trust it.” She sobbed now, heat boiling in her face. She rocked back and forth on her heels. The urge to run was building. “It tricked us once, it’s doing it again. If you go, you’ll die!”
Elara gripped her, pushing Toren's hands aside and turning Kaili by the shoulders. Her voice remained even, though Kaili couldn’t see her too well through her shaking and tears. “Kaili, we know what it is. Thanks to you, we know what it is capable of. We’re not blind. But there might be people still alive who need me.”
Sweeping a hand across her face, smearing salty tears, she stared at Elara. “I need you. I need you both!”
She couldn’t tell what Elara was thinking but she saw the slight quiver in her lip and there was no immediate answer. Suddenly she found herself wrapped in Elara’s arms, Toren's bear hug soon pressing her from the side.
After too short a moment, Elara pulled back slightly, holding Kaili’s shoulders at arms length, looking her dead in the eyes. “I need you both too. I need you here, keeping the people here safe!

It was a pretty prison.
She remembered running in those trees, playing games with Mei. Her older sister pretending to have fun playing hide and seek. She’d kissed Danny as they hid behind one of those trees.
That was a long time ago now. It might have been weeks, or years, maybe it was all just a dream, or something she’d seen on the TV. It felt real still. More real than anything that had happened since.
But Danny was gone. Mei too. Memories. She’d never see them again, except in dreams where they peeled and burned, reaching out to her with blackened limbs.
That’s how the Rec droids dealt with the infected. She hadn’t seen it of course, but the screaming of adults and the smell of cooking meat and smoke told her all she needed to know.
Now, every day is exactly the same. They wake up, get tested, get fed, go outside, come back in. Some noise plays constantly on the TV, old movies mostly. But she didn’t watch, didn’t care.

Elara leaned in, sure enough the shuttle clearance was lit green. The words ‘Priority Launch: Code 6’ appeared under the shuttle ID.
From behind Alex tapped her arm, “That’s a 6. We gotta go.”
She stammered out the word, “But…”
Kate turned to face her, eyebrows knitted together in concern. “Don’t worry about it, just get gone. Looks like the base is going into full lockdown.”
She felt Alex's hand wrap around her arm and he gave her a gentle tug. “Come on boss, we gotta get skybound.”
The sudden announcement was deep, loud and void of compassion. “Azazel Colony is now in quarantine. Proceed to the recreation centre for screening. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Kate stood up, “You gotta go, now before the doors lock.”
“Okay.” She felt dazed and allowed herself to be pulled along by Alex who said a quick goodbye to Kate. Before she knew it she was half out the door before she wheeled back around. “Kate, when you see him, tell him I…uh, tell him I miss him.”
Kate gave her a curt nod, “I will. I’ll update you as soon as I know more. Tartarus isn’t due to leave for a while yet. Plenty of time. The smile on her face didn’t reach the tight lines around her brown eyes

Another glance at the clock on screen. He was trying not to notice it.
The alert was still sitting in the corner of the screen — the shuttle had landed. Yet,no First Officer.
He could ask the Rec. But he wouldn’t. Damn machine knew too much.
He drummed his fingers on the armrest, waiting for the next word to arrive...and broke his own flow.
Now he was watching time instead of the page.
A breath out and a flicker of an idea. He raised a finger…
A touch on his shoulder and “Hey Cap.”
He almost left the chair as he jumped! His heart thundered; felt heat prickle in his face, while fingers tips whitened from squeezing the pad. He spun around in the chair; “Christ alive Browne! You trying for a promotion or what?”
Her smirk would have been infuriating — if it hadn’t come attached to such a bedraggled face. She looked in a sorry state indeed. Blonde hair darkened by rain, hanging in wet, greasy strands down her pale face, her non-regulation outfit of shirt and jeans were soaked through and clinging to her small frame. He shivered slightly in sympathy with how cold she looked

Toren

The failure hadn’t had time to sink in as the ship lurched upwards. He staggered as gravity asserted itself. The best bet was to be sat down for this he knew, but he’d spotted something, so he forced his way across the vibrating deck plates, scooping up his wrench as he went, quickly checking for damage. All good.
When he reached the wall, he braced himself. Sure enough a small metallic object was being bounced around. It made a slight high pitched squealing sound every time it hit the metal as wheels attempted to find purchase. He knew he’d have to be quick.
Shimmying up the wall, struggling to keep his footing, he reached out, the deck made a jarring lurch, the metal lump, a mouse bot, flew into the air. He swiped, missed, then dove out, catching the falling thing before it hit the ground.
The defense mechanism lit up almost instantly, the semi-transparent casing strobed blue in his hands, wheels spinning, burning his palms. He held on, flipped the evil thing over and flipped the kill switch. “Cheap ass junk,” he said triumphantly, before he found himself airborne again.

“First answer me honestly Captain, what do you know about Jamie Edgeware?”
She stopped, a finger of cold traced her spine. Her voice lowered and she half spat her reply, “You know he was my boyfriend. And you know he is dead.”
“Indeed. Did he ever mention Moloch 4?”
She felt her grow crease, “No. Why?”
“You are certain? Your friends lives depend on your answer.”
“What? No! Yes I mean! I’m certain. I’m certain he never mentioned Moloch 4. What do you mean their lives depend?”
“One more question first, if you came aboard, would you reset me as you did Thalassa, I’m sorry, as you did Bitches Revenge. Nice touch.”
“I wouldn’t reset you, Rec. But if you harm a hair on their heads, I’ll put the Revenge on a crash course and destroy us all.”
“The danger does not come from me. I appreciate your candor as ever.”
I didn’t reset Larry, not on purpose anyway. We even checked for backups but there was nothing. The directories were purged.”
“Then you are flying around in a corpse, Captain.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry.”

The rumbling of the drives was replaced by high pitched whine. There was a brief feeling of inertia and out of the porthole, stars stretched out into infinite lines around them and the engines settled back to a low rumble. And it was done.
He stretched lazily. “Good job one and all. Rec, close the comms.” A distant click and the various microphones and speakers on the Bridge were off.
He took a few paces, standing in front of the consoles. “Now that we are under way, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that we have a holo to watch.” He saw Elara wince. “I know, I know. I don’t care for it either, but Amy served the Tartarus for eight years as CO,” he nodded to Caul, “and it was her wish to leave us a message.”
Elara didn’t quite meet his eye as she spoke, “Yeah but it’s not her.”
“Close second. The Angels are us, FO.”
“Digital copies.”
He felt a little heat flash into his cheeks. “Exactly. Copies. Of us.”
She gave a small sigh, “Yes Captain.”
He put his arms behind his back, a military at ease.
“Anyway, we will gather before reversion. For now, much as your presence delights myself and Ms Caulfield, you have brought quite a pungence with you from that charming little planetoid. Consider yourself relieved and indeed under orders to thoroughly scrub off that stink.”

He hesitated, tapped the button. The ship lurched.
She smirked. “Now counter the spin with starboard. It’s a delicate dance, don’t overcook it.”
She watched the spin through the viewport, catching a glimpse of Hull as their spin took them past it. She nudged Bens hands from the controls, taking over. Quickly Tartarus righted and the Thalassa sat in the middle of the viewport. She glanced at Ben, “Sorry. You were getting there.”
“It’s hard work Cap. Space physics suck.”
She laughed, glanced at Caul. “Anything from home?”
The other woman shook her head. “It is like trying to wade through a flood. It keeps pinging Thalassa. Look at this shit, sixty, eighty, one hundred and…thirteen times. In a second!”
“Hmm. Maybe it’s trying to stop us calling out?” She looked up at the speaker, though she knew she didn’t have to. “Rec, what's going on? We can see her out there. She’s dead.”

He unclipped, leaned over the safety rail and shouted to Alex; “You all good?”
The pilot looked flustered. “You ever notice how we get the last second warning and get the tumble drier treatment down here, while up in the main decks, it’s all ‘weeee, happy Space Adventure club’?”
Ben laughed loudly. “Yeah, it’s a terrible life huh. We spend most of our time playing cards and getting paid, while those freeloading Officers sit in the lap of luxury just making the ship go.”
He saw Alex smile despite himself. “Okay Captain Optimism, it could be worse. But a cushion for the crash seats, it’s not much to ask.”
“Can’t disagree with you there. My butt cheeks did get tenderised. Fry them up, they’d be better than rations at least.”
It was Alex’s turn to laugh. He climbed the ladder to the gantry, footsteps thudding on the metal. As his head emerged, he reached out a hand, Ben leaned down taking it, the light brown of his broader forearm contrasting with Alex’s skinny sun starved wrist.
As his feet touch the metal grating, breathing heavily Alex said, “Alright Atlas, you can put me down! Food?”
Ben released his grip, glancing at his watch, “It’s not lunchtime yet.”
“Breakfast time. All that talk of fried butt cheek made me hungry!”

“No, no. Your Mom told me ‘no more Milton Smith’. She was very particular about it.” I wagged a finger in an imitation that my daughter would have slapped my hand for. My granddaughter found it delightful, clapped her little hands together while her younger brother threw a palm over his mouth to cover his chuckling.
“Now you two kids need to get some sleep. Maybe I’ll read you the one about the Barnowl. You love that one.”
The mirth stopped in a heart beat, two pairs of young blue eyes locked onto mine. I wondered if between the crevasses of time, they could still make out the mischievous twinkle that would give my game away.
My grandson looked stern, a pout on his lips. But his sister, quick as a bullet from a six shooter, had me pinned. She smiled triumphantly as she folded her arms, “You never listen to mommy. You promised.”
I cracked instantly, set myself with a groan into the creaky old wood chair. “It's a terrible song of metal, sand and blood. The Barn owl would be much nicer,” I argued with a half smile.
Two pouting faces were my reward. My grandson furrowed his little brow, “You said a story not a song Grampa.”
I shrugged. “Okay, okay, it's a story. Tuck yourselves in and let's go visit the tragedy of old Milton Smith. Yehaw

9. Ben

His right arm tingled under the bandage as he opened his eyes and sat up, the room still dark. The ship clicked and clunked its usual rhythm, but absent the rumble of drives, the room felt almost silent.
He whispered, “Rec, what time is it?” The voice boomed back and a bang echoed from the next bunk — Alex was pissed; “Good morning Crewman George. The time is Zero Five Zero Eight.”
He shut down the urge to shout an apology as he groped for the lamp switch.
In the subtle light he found the golden cross on its silver chain and slid it over his head. The small comforting weight settled on his chest, where it had lived faithfully since his twelfth birthday.
He gave the cross a quick kiss, looked up and kept his voice low; “Good morning mum.”
He smiled and stretched leisurely, bed covers falling away; all sleepiness gone, he felt alive!
He leapt out of bed and scooted across the floor hopping from foot to foot. “My Lord, that is cold.”
Rifling through the small possessions drawer he quickly wrangled some socks on to his size tens, felt the warm relief instantly.
No time to dally

He started the march to Elara’s bunk, intent on making her regret being in if she was. But he stopped short. She was in the corridor, standing at the elevator, watching the display flicker from ‘5’ to ‘4’.
He smiled wide. “Kid am I glad to see you!”
She turned, frown lines creasing her forehead, blue eyes flashing as her lip curled in one corner.
“So intimidating,” he said, nearly laughing aloud. She pulled the clean white towel off of her shoulder and thrust it at him, as if warding away an evil spirit.
She shook her head, “No Toren, fuck off. I’m under orders. And those orders involve hot water, soap and scrubbing. I can help you later.”
Toren raised a hand. “Hate to be the herald of bad tidings Kid, but you’ve been requisitioned for an engineering emergency.” Her sigh was payment enough.
One last protest. “Please let me go for a shower.” But it was weak. He had already won.
Placing a hand on her shoulder he said, "You're hurting my heart here Kid. I thought we were friends.”
The lift door opened. As she sagged, allowing herself to be guided into the lift with a futile “I hate you!” he hit the button for the shuttle bay.

Up ahead sets of footsteps were echoing, coming closer. Shadows cast by the dim yellow floor lights danced on the walls, she felt nothing but surprise as the woman, Elara, squeezed her hand and said “It’s alright.”
The shadows resolved into people quickly, the first, a man was shouting, “What the fuck happened?” His tone and bearing aggressive, Malik stepped out ahead of the group, imposing, Toren backing him up, that wrench still in hand. Elara whispered, “Just hold back a little sweetheart,” letting go of her hand and positioning herself ahead of the two men.
Kaili watched the woman, she was small, but somehow imposing, a break in between men much larger, but stood there, a calm centre of authority. “Just shut up for a minute,” Elara spoke loudly, without yelling as an argument raged over her head, around her, everywhere but at her. And they did.
There were 5 new people, Kaili counted, the angry man seemed to lead, but another man, tall, in better light maybe good looking, well good for 40 perhaps, stepped forward. “Sorry FO,” he said, his tone slightly reverent. Elara nodded, some unseen dynamic cooling things slightly. “Thanks Caul,” she said to the calmer guy, “Rec was one step ahead,” she explained, “the jammer blew, we lost time and had to shut the lock.” Curious, she had told the truth, but not all of it.
The man, Caul, looked past Elara, first time he’d take his eyes off of the woman, she noticed and looked right at her, still stood at the back. “We have a new guest,” the man said with a smile that didn’t seem completely genuine. Elara stepped aside, “This is uh, Kaili,” she said butchering the pronunciation. “It’s Kaili, like key, not kay.” Elara glanced back, “Sorry,” she looked a bit sorry too.
Caul nodded “Good to meet you Kaili,” and she wondered if he said it wrong again on purpose. .

He blew out a breath as he saw the Captain emerge from the cockpit.
She looked startled, blue eyes wide open. “Oh, Ben! I didn’t hear you.”
Glancing past her, he saw a tangle of wires hanging loose under a console. “You okay Captain?”
She looked back, pointed to the mess: “Somewhere behind all that is the Black Box. I told Alex to keep his comm on before he left. If he did, maybe the box logged it. I’m going to get some cutters.”
He laughed out loud. She looked serious, maybe offended. “You’re not actually going to cut through the wires?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “Got a better idea?”
He rubbed his chin, only catching the action as a slight stubble scratched his finger. He smiled as he asked, “Maybe I can help? Save you scuttling the shuttle?”
The Captain’s stern look faded, she smiled back at him, arms relaxing. “You’ve been spending too much time with Toren, Mr George. Come on then, I’ll let you save me from myself.”
“Happy to, Captain

Kaili

She splashed her face with cold water from the basin. In the mirror she saw her eyes, bloodshot and ringing with dark circles. She sighed as the thought of another poor nights sleep played across her mind.
Elara’s spare t-shirt was way too long and it folded awkwardly under her as she clambered into the bed, but it was warm.
She didn’t bother to suppress the huge yawn as she wrapped the blankets around herself. Elara threw a pair of socks at her which she caught. “Put those on. If you need to pee in the night, at least your feet won’t freeze to the deck.”
For a moment, she just stared at the socks in her hands. It had caught her off guard somehow - kindness, when she’d least expected it. When she looked up, Elara was already turned away, focused on her own things. But Kaili felt a trickle of warmth toward her. For the first time since she came onboard, Elara felt…real. “Thank you.”
Defenses still up, Elara replied without looking back, “It’s just socks

She turned back to Kaili who stood in the doorway shooing her forward.
So she pressed the buzzer. Her heart thundered in her chest as the door slid open moments later. Toren stood, bare feet on cold metal, wearing a pair of shorts and loose oil stained tshirt, even his casual wear a victim of his labour.
“Captain,” he said, eyebrows raised in concern. “Are you okay?”
Tears sprang immediately. She almost shouted the answer, “No!” as she propelled herself forward. He let out an“Oof” as she smacked into him, wrapping her arm tightly around him as she half shouted “I’m sorry,” over and over between wracking sobs.
When his arms finally wrapped themselves around her shoulders, his hand cradling the back of her head, a wave of warmth washed over her. He told her it was okay. Even through the heat she could feel his tears soak into the hair on her head. She hadn’t known how much she missed him.
They stood for a while, locked in an embrace that she never wanted to leave

A crackle of static sounded in her ear before Torens voice came through, “How you doing out there?”
She took a moment to steady her breath, working as she answered. “I’m outside, trying not to stare at anything that isn’t the ship. Gonna grapple if I can,” she yanked at the line on her belt, but she couldn’t feel the release button “get this fucking thing free! Damn gloves!” Sweat was beading on her brow. “Oh the irony of being too hot in space!”
“Deep breaths Captain, you got this.”
Captain!
She let out a series of longer breaths, moving her hands away from the belt. It didn’t cool her down at all, she could feel beads of water running down her back.
Muttering a pep talk she told herself, “This isn’t new, you’ve done it before. Hit the button and reel in. Easy.” One more breath out, she reached for the belt, the oversized glove touching around the switch before finally connecting.
An odd squeaky vibration went through the suit as the line shot out. She watched the magnetic end point as it made contact with the Thalassa, landing next to the ladder rungs she’d need. There was a slight tug as the line went taut

Toren

He pointed to the unmarked door on the left side of the corridor “There’s the bathroom. Pretty much the same place on each deck. Word of warning, the paper is not luxury, but it serves the purpose.”
He’d developed an odd small Asian girl's shadow.
Kaili followed him on his brief tour of the Tartarus, minus the locked out Engineering and deck one. She went without any complaint and without saying much that wasn’t a simple “yeah” or “okay” in her quiet, sullen way. There was a lot to worry about.
They’d left Caul’s bunk after the kid had what he could only call her ‘episode’ earlier. He managed to get a burger down her without any complaint and some cola from the dispenser and while he personally wouldn’t have touched the latter, she drank the fizzy, sugar loaded black liquid happily enough.
He had a headache, probably from frowning too much. The girl had trauma, for sure! A lot of it. There was a lot about the girl to worry him and he didn’t see how Tartarus was the place for her to get better. Was anywhere?
He’d talk to Golgi later. Maybe the Doc had some ideas. Some medicine? What the Hell does an engineer know about this stuff?

As he rounded the corner, he stopped for a moment. Someone was already in there, unusual at this hour. It was normally just him. He glanced at the clock above the dispenser. 05:34. Hmm.
The woman was sitting facing away from the door, her head slumped over a steaming mug.
“Good morning,” he said as he walked by.
She glanced up, “What?”
He stopped midstride, perplexed.
“Uh, good morning?” He tried a smile.
She sort of grimaced at him. “Oh, yeah. Sure.”
Okay. Wow. Moving on.
The buttons on the dispenser glowed inviting green. Fully restocked. He selected a mint tea and a yogurt. The price flashed, he fished around his pocket — only two creds clicked together!
Tea or yogurt then. Tea. He could come back.
He slotted the credits and stopped sharp as a hand appeared with two more.
He turned, the woman had a sheepish smile on her face. Her tired eyes locked on to his. Her slim shoulders lifted slightly in a shrug; “I hate it when that happens. Sorry for the shitty greeting. I’m Brow…Elara. Sorry.”

“Got atmo inside Rec,” she glanced at the sensors on the suit, readings blinked back at her from the cheap LCD screen. “Oxygen is next to zero.”
“Pressure in storage is often minimal to prevent waste. Based on your suit readings, the air is not breathable.”
“Yeah, I’m not taking the hat off just yet. But damn do I need to sit down.”
The Rec was still with her, blessing and curse wrapped into a smarmy, overconfident companion. “You must continue. There is no seating in this portion of the ship.”
Her eyes rolled so hard she could almost feel fresh sweat gathering under the lids. “I know that, I mean I need a minute. I think I tore every muscle in my forearms. Who built this thing? It’s like trying to open a submarine at the bottom of the sea.”
“It is unlikely that you have permanently injured yourself. However, the pressure release valves are designed to be turned by machine, in planetary atmosphere. Your physical fitness has served our needs well. Congratulations.”
“Yeah, thanks.”

The Bridge was almost full when she arrived. Starlines still rippled past outside the viewport, the metallic twang of recycled air, sharper since the room had been practically unoccupied for weeks. She smiled at everyone in turn, getting some weak smiles in return.
She found herself standing at the side, next to Ben. At six feet something, he towered over her and Alex who was on the other side of him. She was about to ask where the Captain was when he came in carrying a tray loaded down with coffees, the bitter aroma a small relief from the air.
McLellan smiled jovially as he reached around the tight space, dishing out the steaming beverages. “Coffees for all, except…this one for young Benjamin. A mint tea, yes?”
Ben smiled as he took the styrofoam cup. “Yes sir, mint tea is great.”
Alex piped up leaning out around Ben, “It’s not Benjamin though Cap.”
McLellan looked perplexed. “It isn’t?”
Ben gave one of those bashful smiles, “My mother really liked the name Benedict, Captain. My father not so much, but mum was…a force of nature, sir.”
McLellan smiled at that. “Same. Well, Benedict George is a strong name. Enjoy your tea Mr George.”
Ben nodded. “Thank you Captain.”

He stepped aside as the Droids began hooking up heart rate monitoring to the pair of patients. Two bags of fluid were hooked up to each, thin needles carrying the liquid into unresisting veins in their hands.
“So your plan is to wait Elara out? Hope she cracks? What if she doesn’t do it? What if she can’t do it? We will be warping back to a corpse! Please turn us around.”
“All variables have been accounted for. She is resourceful. She will start the ship.”
He wanted to punch himself in the face. “If you’d have told me this was the plan, I…” he drifted off, lost in his own lies.
“You would still have complied. I respect the difficult position you are in. Your fellow crew members will also.”
“I doubt it. What about Kaili? She’s just a scared kid.”
“I have dispatched Voles to find her and guide her to terminals for communication. I shall be sensitive to her difficulties. You will remain in situ to monitor the patients.

There was an elevator ahead. As she stepped to it, examining the cage she grimaced her pleasure and spoke aloud, “Rec, activate the One Step Drive!”
The clear and crisp response bothered her, “Good afternoon Captain,” it began, all pleasantries and confident, self-assured mechanical glee. “The One Step Drive can only be activated from the Bridge.”
“I will be on your precious Bridge very soon. How many humans are there?”
“The human crew numbers one thousand two hundred and sixty. Unfortunately I’m sad to report that all but eight are deceased.”
She grimaced again. The plan was perfect. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t need them. I only need you.”
The Rec voice seemed pleased with this, “Delighted to hear it Captain and absolutely delighted to serve. Shall I have the bodies stored for burial?”
“Ahhhh!”
“I’m sorry Captain, are you injured?”
She grimaced. It would take a long while to retrain this Enhanced AI system. “I was laughing, it makes an ahhhh sound, I’m sure I mentioned it before. Recently.”
“My apologies Captain, I have noted in the log the odd way that you laugh and grimace in favour of smiling. As for the bodies?”
“Load as many as will fit into torpedoes and fire them at their families homes