King of the Tyrant Lizards
The silver ship Baptistina dropped out of warp high above the planet Earth and automatically achieved orbit seconds later. This process was totally automated, but on the command deck of the ship the four people there were mostly busy running checks, then counter checks on all systems to make sure all was well. On the large view screen in front of them the planet revolved, filling the screen entirely, growing larger and larger as their descent began.
“Engaging gravitational dampeners!” barked Glotis. His role of science officer was the most crucial at this stage of the journey. If the ship computer mis-calculated even by a fraction the descent to the planet could get very messy indeed. Sweat speckled his brow, a frown creasing his features through concentration. All four of them switched their view between their personal consoles and the view screen before them, as the planet grew in size.
“Confirmed” responded Savarex, running a precautionary second check on their descent. This was not standard procedure and Glotis glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, clearly irritated and not making much of an attempt to hide it.
Commander Trevix sat in his seat, his entire being screaming calm, his view set firmly on the view screen, studying the planet as the raw blue, brown and green slowly began to form clearer images before them.
“Trajectory?” he enquired casually. Glotis ran a series of commands on his board without looking around to where the commander sat. “Confirmed Normal” he said. Trevix nodded almost to himself and turned to Savarex who was also running a series of commands.
“Heat shields?” he enquired, almost politely. Savarex paused and switched to yet another sequence on her board. “All normal” she said, and returned to the original key sequence she was running.
The command deck now had a noticeable tremor to it as gravity began to take hold of the ship during its descent. Trevix knew the gravitational dampeners would take care of the majority of this but nevertheless there was no such thing as either a quiet or a safe descent.
“Computer” he enquired, “descent ETA?” The computer pinged and relayed the answer via the speakers concealed in the fascia of the command deck. The voice was calm, male and the response instantaneous. “ETA 45 minutes local time in line with current speed and heading.” Trevix nodded and studied the view screen once more.
Savarex this time. “All systems running in compliance with safety requirements.” Glotis nodded solemnly, his twin antennae swaying in time with his movement. “Deceleration parameters correct.” Trevix stood from his chair, moving behind it and turning to face the view screen once more. “Excellent.” “well done all”
“We’re not down yet” snarled Glotis through clenched teeth, the tension now more than apparent on his features. Savarex turned to Glotis and threw a glance at Trevix, but thought better of whatever she was about to say and turned back to her board, her fingers running lightly but rapidly across it. Numbers flew across the visual display in response.
“I am aware of that, Glotis” announced Trevix, smiling. “Hold her steady old friend. I have every faith in you.”
Glotis briefly smiled at this, and then continued to pull up screen after screen of data on his display. Savarex seemed to visibly relax. Trevix smiled and returned to his seat. Ahead of him the planet continued to grow, now only a large swirling mass of colours filling the large display. Turning slowly to the console to his right he noticed the fourth member of the crew who was obviously completely unaware that the commander was looking at him.
“Colin” he said. “What are you doing?”
Colin blushed a little, the colour flooding his cheeks. He would, unfortunately, never see the other side of twenty stone again, and the same statement would be equally true of the likelihood of him ever managing to catch a glimpse of his feet either. At the moment he was starting to glow as much as heat shield presumably was on the outside of the ship as it skipped into the atmosphere like a small stone skimmed across a pool of water. Trevix could not help but notice that at this moment in time Colin was almost visibly squirming. He would not be at all surprised if he started to suck his thumb.
“Erm... dusting, commander” he almost whispered, and the squirming increased by about one hundred per cent.
Other
Excerpts
The Road from Ballylaneen to Skellig Michael
(Excerpt)
As dawn broke on one of the roads that may, or may not have led from Ballylaneen to Skellig Michael Fionn put his best foot forward and began the next stage of his journey. From the top of the hill he could see for miles and miles. Winding down through the lush green valley ahead he saw that the road turned eventually, before disappearing behind a large earth mound in the distance. Before it did it so however, it marched idly across the green fields laid out like a table cover before him. It was going to be a beautiful day, for already the sun was warm and bright.
“Travel neither by horse nor cart.” They had said to him sternly before he had set out. “Only on foot.” They had provided him with several other warnings, or possibly rules too. “Sleep under the moon on your way.” They had said. “Neither roof nor barn must shelter you. Eat and drink only what you can find on your way.” So far he had stuck to the rules, though he had not found it hard. Yet as he strode along the road he found his steps were light, his pace swift. It seemed as if he was almost dancing, and he thought that his good spirits would undoubtedly ensure he made quick and steady progress.
He knew that the narrow lane ran for miles, yet he did not pass anyone on his way, nor did anyone see him. The grass verges on each side of the path were green and dew soaked when he first set out, but as the morning proceeded and the sun rose higher in the sky the dew began to disappear, until as mid-morning approached it was all but gone, burnt off by the heat of the sun. The sky harboured a few wisps of cloud, but apart from that was a deep shade of blue. Fionn began to loosen his shirt, as it was by now becoming quite warm.
A little while later a small rabbit jumped across the path in front of him, and he stopped to look at it, but it moved too quickly for him. The rabbit jumped away into the verge and finding a small hole in the rock wall vanished into the field beyond. Disappointed as he was for missing the rabbit, he was none the less pleased to find that he had reached the turn in the road that he had noticed from his much higher vantage point earlier that morning. He saw that the road was slowly beginning to ascend up the side of the hill that he had seen earlier in the morning. Still, his spirits were high and despite the incline and the hot sunny weather he began to follow the road upwards, his pace hardly slowing at all.
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Bob the Balloon, Al Capone and the Two Bob Bouncer Page 4