Journey of the Wayward Explorer: R & R
22 Jul 2020Moses8uno
Date: The wee hours between 19 and 20JulLocation: The Spirit of Lykos, in Taygeta system
Current Tasking: R&R
“So, like I was saying, Suzanne came barreling by on the tether at over a 100 m/s and I grabbed her out of space and snatched her and the other CMDR inside without breaking a sweat. Easy peasy.” As Dom continued his story, albeit somewhat embellished, I can’t help but think of the event of yesterday and how…gnarly it was! I mean, the whole concept of it was, is, unprecedented. Would I do it again? Well, it saved CMDR Jordanna’s life and its not every day you read about something like that in the Galnet, so yes, I would. But, I think my crew needs to start prepping for something like that, maybe have some tools that would be useful for a situation like that. Would the tools we had been sufficient if the plant hadn’t gone critical and we actually had to extract her from the cockpit? What if we hadn’t……
“Cap’n.” I jump. Hard. I was so deep in thought I hadn’t realized James had come up next me in the back of the bar. Not so bad here, amongst friends, but out in the black……
“Yes James, what is it?” “I found her.” “Found who?” “Suzi…Suzanne.” Arched eyebrow. “Where is she?” “She’s…..let me take you there.”
So I follow him out the bar. I motion Yeshabell to be on standby in case her Hospitality services are required. Not only does she provide it to guests onboard, but she provides her services as Hospitality lead to all crew members as well. I like to think of her as our resident psychiatrist and she does her job very well. As James leads me through the corridors of the Spirit of Lykos, I am reminded of the absolute magnificence of the Fleet Carriers. It appears James is leading back aft and down to the lower decks, where I have quite a few observation rooms located. I specifically purchased the Nautilus class because of this capability. To remind people that we aren’t cooped up in a can, to remind them why we are out here, to go before where….
“Sir?” We stand outside of Observation Room 43, James with a quizzical look on his face. “Where do you go?” “Sorry James, lot on my mind these days.” “Ok, want me to stick around?” “Sure” I say “That may be good.”
As I approach Suzanne, she seems to be in a trance, just staring out the window in front of her. She’s near the window, sitting upright in a reclining chair. Once within a few paces of her, she says “You know sir, its always after something terrible happens that we decide to do what we should have done. Or think about what we should have done. But then, its too late.” I take a seat next to her without responding. “She sent out invites, once she got her appointment to the Echo Wing of the AXDF, for any family members to come out and celebrate with her. I didn’t go, for several reasons. I’ve always been a bit distant from the family. Not that the family didn’t love me or vice versa. But I was ready to strike out on my own from my teenage years. I also didn’t go because of my fear, hatred, repulsion of the Thargoids. And now, there is no more seeing her.” She pauses.
“I always respected her, even looked up to her, for doing what most wouldn’t. For putting aside petty politics in the Bubble to fight the bigger war, the one for our survival. I understand what you fight for and even support the Corporations you support. But what are we really struggling for? Fighting for? Space? Planets? Resources? Why can’t we come together, fight together? I’m not saying I don’t agree with you and your vision, but have you thought about that? Like, really thought about it?” She pauses again.
“Sir, I would like to….” “Suzanne, before you finish that statement, please do me one favor. Take some days off, paid leave, go back to the Bubble. Go visit your family, remember what you admired her for, why you did. Bring that to a focus, make that a drive, your motivation. Grief her loss, then come back. Let’s talk then. Deal?” She stares out the window for a bit, then looks me dead in the eye. “Deal. But I would like an escort.” I thought as much. I signal to James to join us. As he approaches “I’ll have James go with you, on paid leave as well.” They both give me a surprised look. “Its ok, its bound to happen, given our living situation. I’ve suspected for some time, but your use of her short name earlier combined with the fact that you knew where to find her told me that you two are closer than is publicly known. Can Dom do your job sufficiently enough in your absence?” “Uh yea, I think so.” “Ok, in any case, James make sure you’re near a communicator; Suzanne, you don’t worry about that. Take this time and do some self-care. James, do a thorough turnover with Dom in the morning and then you both check out with me. Fair?” They nodded earnestly in agreement. “Great, now lets get back to the party so the hero can be reminded that we are here because of her. Because of her, we are celebrating life today and the hopeful soon renewal of it.”
Later, after the festivities and the partying has ceased, after the barkeep has put away all their glasses, I still can’t sleep. I wander the decks aimlessly, letting my mind drift where it chooses. In doing so, I run into Onnalee, my Captain of the Bridge Crew for the Spirit of Lykos. She is well on her way to her morning workout prior to taking her watch on the Bridge, takes one look at me and tells me to join her. While I might have hired her, that technicality stays exactly where it needs to,….on paper. In every aspect important to me, she is my equal. As such, I go get changed and join her on the track, where she is stretching for a warm-up jog before the weight room. And by ‘jog’, I mean practical sprint. It never ceases to amaze me that someone so short (a touch under 1.5 meters) can run so quick for so long. I’m about 2 meters and I consider her warm up a workout before the workout. Nevertheless, I join her around the track for 2 miles, not a word spoken. For the better I say, makes it easier to breath and lets me do a bit of thinking. Once we finish there, we head to the G Gym. The G is short for ‘gravity’. This isn’t just a normal gym, this one has its own gravity field generator, allowing you to modify the gravity felt from 0.01 G to nearly 10 G. There is an obstacle course, rock climbing wall, 2 full size simulation arenas as well as your traditional weight area. James is currently working on a bypass to allow even higher gravity felt, with my authorization only. He’s been struggling with the electronics of it, so he’s teamed up with Mr. Clean, my FC resident mechanic. Even so, for any gravity higher than 4.5, a medic is required to be on site for anyone that falls and can’t get up.
As we walk in, I see Dom off to the side of the weight area, stretching out, almost like he was waiting on us….. Onnalee grabs me by the arm and stops me. Just then, Dom finishes stretching and approaches. “What is this, an intervention?” I ask, half joking, half knowing the answer. “Of sorts” Dom replies. “We can see you’ve had a lot on your mind, especially as of late. You don’t have to bear this alone. We are a family, right?” I go to respond and then pause, thinking to myself, yea, we are a family. They each have their talents, otherwise they wouldn’t be on this team. Why am I acting like this then? So I explain whats been going through my mind lately as we workout together under 1.5 G. Starting with what Suzanne asked me, it leads me to the question, why are we out here? Sure, we just got back a little bit ago from a good gallop around the galaxy, visiting various nebula. But that was under contract for scouting for a Nebula tour. We didn’t really explore, did we? When’s the last time we struck out into the black, just to find something new? Its been awhile, hasn’t it? So here’s what we’ll do….
By the time we have finished our workout, I’ve fully briefed Onnalee and Dom on my plan for the foreseeable future. We wipe down the equipment and power down the gravity field after securing the weights. My body is sore, a good sore. And my mind is a bit clearer now, which feels good in itself. As we are walking out, my sister Morghana catches me. “I was just headed to your Stateroom” glances at her watch “You’re up early.” “Haven’t been to bed actually, had a lot on the cranium.” “Well, I got something else for you to chew, hope it isn’t too much.” “Never that, lets walk.”