by S. W. Gunn
Playing with her watch a holo-projection of a screen popped up with a flashing red light on a map. He recognized it as the main promenade.
“Dang it.” She said angrily before turning to face him and declare, “Exercise is over, follow me.”
She turned and jogged out the main entrance of the bay. Johnathan followed after her. He was quite curious what was going on. They jogged to the elevator and after a brief wait got on.
“What’s going on?” He asked as she took his hand.
Blowing hair through her lips she stated, “Jans.”
“Huh?”
“Jans Johansson. He starts fights with random other people every few weeks.”
“Odd.”
“The good news for you is you’ll be avoiding the rest of our workout. I’ve got the feeling dealing with Jans is going to make me late for the menu board meeting.”
“Menu board?”
“Yes every 30 days we review the efficiency of the hydroponics bay, the protein processor, and then evaluate the upcoming menu for all of the cafeterias. It is dreadfully boring and usually I rotate the meeting with the First Officer. Sadly it’s my turn.”
Johnathan nodded at her. The elevator doors opened and she let go of his hand and straightened her shoulders before heading out. He followed closely behind her. They walked down the main thoroughfare before coming up on a large crowd. Standing in a tight circle in the center of the crowd was several security members. The crowd parted as Rose approached. Everyone around them had a very serious look on their faces. Once they got to the center of the crowd Johnathan saw two very large security officers holding a man with a cut and bruise on the side of his face. He had short cropped blonde hair, blue eyes, and had a stubbly blonde beard. He was wearing a lightly bloodied gray tunic, brown trousers, and a pair of old looking black boots.
Turning towards one of the guards Rose asked, “What happened?”
“Jans here got into a tussle with Taylor Smith.”
“The barber?” Rose asked.
Jans interjected, “He screwed up my hair!”
Rose frowned. Johnathan did not see attacking someone as a valid response to a bad haircut.
“Jans, how many times have I had to deal with you starting fights?” Rose asked.
Her voice sounded quite upset.
“I don’t know Commander.” He replied.
“Well I grow tired of you wasting my time.”
Jans grinned wickedly at her before saying, “I like wasting your time Commander, especially when you’re dressed like that.”
Johnathan flushed with anger. Something inside him made him want to lash out at the man. He took a step forward but before he could move anymore Rose turned to him and shook her head. He stopped. Rose lifted her arm and played with her watch. The holo-projector flickered and an image of the First Officer, who looked like he was in the middle of his fitness program, appeared.
“Yes Commander,”
“First Officer I need you to come to the main promenade.”
“Yes ma’am.”
The holo-projector flickered and shut down. Rose folded her arms behind her back and stood there in silence glaring at Jans. Johnathan knew that she was quite unhappy. The crowd did not dissipate and everyone stood quietly until the First Officer appeared. He was still wearing his workout clothing. Following behind him were his two friends and Sandra, all of which were wearing workout outfits.
“I apologize for the delay Commander I came as fast as I could.” He stated.
“You were very efficient as usual First Officer.” She said before instructing the security officers, “Release him.”
Jans huffily pulled his arms away from the two security officers.
“You like to fight so much well I’ve got a way break you of this habit.”
He laughed in response before stating, “Ha! I doubt it.”
Rose turned towards the First Officer and asked, “First Officer who is the most skilled physical combatant on the vessel?”
“Not to brag Commander but that would be me.” He replied.
She nodded at him before saying, “Indeed. Jans since you want to fight so much, fight the First Officer.”
With a puzzled look on his face the First Officer asked, “Ma’am?”
“That was an order.” She stated firmly.
Jans laughed before wildly charging at the First Officer. Johnathan was shocked with the speed and brutality of the First Officer’s response. He grabbed the man’s flailing arms and used his weight to send him sprawling behind them into an open space.
Rose then said angrily, “First Officer.”
“Yes Ma’am?”
“Knock him out.”
“Are you sure Commander?”
“Yes and spare no effort in your violence.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Jans pulled himself off of the ground as the First Officer turned to face him. He moved forward much slower and right as he swung wildly the First Officer blocked his blow. The echoing sound of his jaw rattling rung in Johnathan’s ears as the First Officer punched violently upwards and into Jans’ jaw. He fell backwards and collapsed. Johnathan saw fresh blood starting to ooze from the man’s mouth. A pair of medics approached the fallen man and examined him.
After a few minutes one of them turned towards Rose and stated, “He’s unconscious but he is living Commander.”
“Wake him.” She instructed.
“Yes Ma’am.” The medic replied before bringing a small tool up to Jans’ forehead.
Jans’ eyes flickered open. Johnathan could tell he was in pain as he grimaced while the medics helped him to sit up.
With what sounded like viciousness in her voice Rose said, “Every time you start a fight I’m going to have the First Officer beat you senseless and the next time you comment about my clothing he’ll break your arm.”
Rose spun around and marched away. Johnathan jogged lightly to catch up with her. He maintained a professional distance. She stopped at the elevator and activated controls. After a few moments the doors open and she stepped in. He followed after her and the doors closed behind him.
“I hate that man.” She stated as she pushed the activation computer of the elevator.
Johnathan nodded at her. She shivered slightly before reaching out and grabbing his hand.
“I’m going to be in quite a hurry so after a shower I’ll need to head out. Could you be a sweetheart and bring me some breakfast? I’ll be in the main conference hall on the bridge deck.”
“Sure.” He answered before asking, “Why does he start fights? I can’t see a bad haircut as a reason to fight anyone.”
Rose solemnly nodded before answering, “He’s struggling with our reality.”
“Reality?” Johnathan was confused by what she meant.
She looked at him and raised an eyebrow before stating, “Oh. I guess you wouldn’t know it either.”
“Know what?” He was very confused.
She patted him on the shoulder before saying, “Humankind has evolved along a certain path. We started off in the wilds of Earth as an animal like the others around us. Our lives were violent and short rarely making it past the first twenty to thirty years. As we evolved our life spans grew. At the time of the launching of the ‘Skybound’ humans lived up to around ninety to one hundred years. With the shortness of our lives we’ve pushed ourselves harder, faster, and outside the boundaries of what we thought we ever could. The launching of the ‘Skybound’ only expresses that. Since the incident the reality of life has been permanently changed for us. We’ve gone from living at best a bit over one hundred years to now our scientists estimate that each of us should be able to live thousands of years. Not even just the thousand and a half years our trip should take but they estimate up to thirty thousand years or more.”
Johnathan nodded. That was a long time to live.
“Think about it John. Life for us has lost its meaning. There is no push when you’ve got eons. Most of us
plod along not thinking about the change in our reality. Others like Jans have realized the futility and repetition of our lives so they act out in some way or another. We’ve got a few who have taken to things like stealing, lying, and prancing about hurting others feelings to try and feel alive but Jans is the only one who has taken it to a physical level. I fear as we slowly age others will begin to imitate that habit, maybe even to the point of killing each other.”
The doors of the elevator opened and they walked out. He had not really thought about what she was talking about at all. He just plugged along doing his job.
“I just hope that he’s finally learned his lesson.”
“Are you really going to have the First Officer break his arm?”
“Yes. I cannot have people disrespecting me like that. Remember when I mentioned how we were just animals at one time?”
He nodded at her as they continued walking down the hallway to her quarters.
“We still are. Thousands of years of biology still burn within each of us. Jans is flustered by the feelings of his inner animal and he lashes out because of it. Even you, a generally timid person, still responds at times with their animal instincts.”
“How so?”
She grinned at him before saying, “Our first time was your first time having sex and yet you seemed to handle yourself just fine.”
He blushed at her.
“Also when Jans said something inappropriate about me you reacted physically.”
“Sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”
“Your animal nature John. I’m yours and to have another man insult me angered you. You responded to the anger by moving to lash out against the source of your anger. It’s as a human of a response as anyone would have.”
As they approached the door, which she opened, he nodded at her. He guessed that she was right. He just did not like listening to the man degrade her like that. After taking off his shoes he followed her into the restroom. She started the shower and began to strip off her exercise clothing. He watched her closely because she looked great.
Reaching out with a finger she poked his chest before saying, “Don’t even think about it. I’m already going to be late and your stamina has gotten too good for me to make it to the meeting in a reasonable time.”
He could only laugh as he stripped off his work out clothing and got into the shower with her.
She watched him enter before saying, “I think the fitness program is starting to work. I can’t wait to see what you’re going to look like in two weeks.”
Johnathan shifted so he could get some of the water from the shower to splash on him. Rose moved and rubbed up against him. He thought it was intentional so he reached out to wrap his arms around her waist.
“Don’t even think about it mister.” She said sternly.
Pulling his hand away he chuckled. Tapping the soap dispenser to get some soap he then rubbed some soap on himself. Rose again brushed into him. He really was beginning to believe that she was purposely messing with him. He shifted away from her to give her a little more space and as he lathered his chest she again brushed against him. There was no doubt when she pushed into him that she was trying to get him to move into action. Ignoring her earlier statement he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around before pulling her close. She giggled in response as he passionately kissed her.
* * * * *
As Johnathan got dressed Rose instructed him, “When you bring up breakfast remember to maintain professionalism okay?”
Giving her a nod he said, “Of course.”
She slipped on her boots before giving him a kiss and quickly leaving the room.
When Johnathan pulled the door closed Mark’s podium wheeled out into the living room and he said, “Good morning Johnathan. I hope you had a good night’s sleep.”
“Not really but I’ll be fine. How was your night?”
“It was good. I decided to expand my horizons like you have recently. I have taken up attempting to write my own sonata.”
Johnathan was surprised. Usually Mark focused on studying Earth’s culture. He was quite excited to see that Mark was now trying to participate in the culture as well.
“When Rosemary returns from work I was wondering if you could play it for me. I still have some work to do on it but I should have a good amount of it done.”
Giving Mark a grin Johnathan said, “I’d like that. Let me get some breakfast and then bring Rose something to eat and we’ll get to work on the rear sensor array. I want to finish it up and have it fully functioning before the end of my shift.”
“Alright Johnathan.”
“Let me go grab breakfast and take something to Rose. I’ll meet you at the rear sensor array alright?”
“Okay.”
Packing the smaller parts for the array into his tool bag, Johnathan headed out. He ate a quick breakfast and then got something in a container for Rose. Walking quickly he went to the elevator and up to the bridge deck. As he entered the conference hall everyone the room turned to look at him. They turned back towards her and continued talking about the hydroponics bays. Rose gave him a light smile as he walked up and set the container down next to her. He nodded at her and walked away. It took him a few minutes to work his way back down to the rear sensory array. Mark’s podium was already there.
“Welcome back Johnathan. I’ve rerouted all of the wiring around the bay so when we run the tests it will not interfere with the rest of the vessel’s functions.”
“Good call.” Johnathan said before setting down his tool bag and started to dig out the various parts he had crafted for the array.
Working slowly he put together the array, making sure to be very careful with the small processor pieces and delicate wiring. He had to put it together perfectly so it would work and last for a long time. Once he had everything in place he ran a few tests. Everything appeared to work perfectly. His watch beeped to let him know he received a message. It was Rose thanking him and asking him to meet her for lunch at the primary cafeteria. He messaged back affirmative before starting to put together the initial connection wiring. First he would have to set up all of the wiring of the sensor before he could insert it into place.
It took him some time working at the wiring before Mark said, “I believe it is time for you to meet Rosemary for lunch.”
Setting down his tool Johnathan glanced at his watch. It was 1145. He stored his tools in his satchel before securing the array.
“I’ll be back after lunch. It’s ready for installation, I finished the testing and everything looks perfect.”
“Alright Johnathan. I am going to work on my sonata.”
Giving Mark a nod Johnathan headed out. He stopped at a public restroom to utilize the facilities and wash his hands before continuing on to the primary cafeteria. He was not surprised to see Rose already sitting at the usual table with the other members of the command staff. Their eyes met and she waved at him. He got himself something to eat before moving over to her and sitting down beside her.
“How is the sensor coming along?” She asked him.
“Very well Commander. I’ve got it prepped and ready for testing. If everything goes smoothly I should have it running before the end of the shift.”
“Excellent. I’m expecting to see some positive results from your work.”
“Yes ma’am.” He told her with a grin.
Johnathan ate in silence as Rose and the Command staff talked about crew rotations. He found their conversation more than a little boring but they seemed quite passionate as they negotiated which person should work which shift. Generally the crew would rotate shifts every few months to give others the opportunity to work with different people. Johnathan never had to worry about this because he and Gregory were the only computer technicians with the skill level to work with Mark’s systems. He was however excited about the two young students who were coming up through the education center. Both showed very high levels of talent with computer programmin
g and hardware. Once they finished their education they would join Johnathan’s team. His only concern was dealing with managing people; Gregory was as self-managed as Johnathan was. Shrugging it off Johnathan went back to eating. It was still a year or so before they would finish their training anyway. He felt Rose’s leg bump into him and as he glanced over at her she smiled broadly.
She stood up and announced, “I have to return to work. We’ve got to sort out the new crew rotations. Will I see you again at 1600?”
Johnathan frowned. If she wanted to see him at 1600 that meant she was planning to abuse him with the weights again.
Laughing at his response she leaned closer before whispering, “You didn’t think you’d dodge personal abuse time with me did you?”
“I was hoping.” He whispered back.
She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before shifting away from him and stating, “Not happening. I’ll see you at 1600.”
With a wave she spun on her heel and strolled out of the cafeteria. Johnathan stood up and put his tray away before leaving the cafeteria himself. He took the main elevator back down to the lowest level of the ‘Skybound’ and walked to the back of the vessel. Mark was still there.
“I hope your lunch was good.” He commented as Johnathan came into view.
“Yes thank you. Sadly it appears that Rose plans to continue torturing me with physical fitness.”
Mark laughed before saying, “It is good for you.”
Grunting at him Johnathan just moved over to the sensor array and began fiddling with the wiring, which he had pinned down before lunch. After an adjustment he set the sensor relay into place and bolted the final connections down. It was ready for testing.
“Alright let’s fire up the sensor and begin the testing phases.”
Johnathan began playing with the computer terminal as Mark powered up the sensors. It was virtually instant in the sensor responses. He had to run several tests on the system itself before experimenting with the sensor relays. He spent the next hour running all of the tests and was confident that everything was exactly how it should be to work perfectly.