--- /dev/null
+$-- Copyright (C) 2019 Jason Self <j@jxself.org>
+$-- SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+
+Beings on Geptok harvest a liquid from deep in the planet's core. This
+unknown element only became known on Earth when it made its way across
+the galaxy on the back of a meteorite. Scientists were able to analyze
+the trajectory it came from, but no communication has been established
+with these beings yet. Due to its far distance attempts to use deep
+space telescopes to examine the planet have not revealed much.
+
+The Geptokians were well aware of the meteorite splitting apart from a
+nearby moon. In fact, they pulled the meteor toward their planet, and
+in order to prevent the demise of another planet, they sent this
+element on a ride to Earth.
+
+Even though creatures from Geptok were able to get this element on to
+the meteorite, they're not technologically evolved enough to have deep
+space ships that they could pilot to Earth. Their resources aren't
+enough to deliver the rare element directly; they merely saw the
+opportunity to send it toward Earth, so they seized their chance. They
+will certainly be surprised to find out a ship is on its way to
+retrieve more of the cure for Earth's toxic atmospheric conditions.
+Yet when we last left the ship sent to Geptok, the crew was spinning
+on their own without any idea of which way to go.
+
+When we last left the crew aboard The Star-splinter, Tomás Alves had
+finally admitted to flipping switches that he didn't understand. It's
+a miracle that the elements in our universe balance each other out in
+a naturally occurring way, but it's even more bizarre that Tomás Alves
+passed through the space academy to begin with. In fact, somehow he
+was at the top of his class.
+
+"You're lucky I don't report your frivolous behavior," Bxnak torts at
+Tomás. The Ujuian flips switches while searching through the ship's
+manual. "Why would you think this ship has a record player on it
+anyway?"
+
+"Well, my dad told me they hadn't made many changes to it since he was
+in the academy," says Tomás. "He was always talking about vinyl
+records keeping him from being bored on long flights."
+
+Captain Alves hasn't been playing much music since his wife left the
+space station, but with his son gone he thought he would dust off the
+old sound system. When The Star-splinter left, Captain Alves sat alone
+the first night with the record player playing softly as he looked out
+into the sky. However, when The Star-splinter finally responds to his
+transmission, he's so relieved that he invites the entire crew of
+Sierra One to a party in the Fleet Training Room.
+
+"Sorry about causing so much panic back home," Tomás tells his father
+over the radio communicator. "Deep space comes with consequences. One
+of those is temporary space madness."
+
+"It's okay, son," says the captain. "You've got a ways to go before
+you reach Geptok. Try to remain calm and rely on your training when
+you find yourself in distress."
+
+"What training are you talking about, sirs?" asks Bxnak. "If it wasn't
+for my quick thinking---"
+
+"What is that shrill sound?" asks the captain.
+
+"You'd be out in the vacuum," says Bxnak, "Your son woulda been as
+tiny as a grape by now."
+
+"That's B you're hearing," says Tomás. "Are you there? Hello? Dad?"
+
+"I had to get away from the receiver," says the captain. "I forgot how
+horrible B's voice was."
+
+"Yeah," Tomás agrees. "It's pretty bad. You should taste his cooking!"
+
+"Hey," Bxnak says, and he tosses his frilly yellow apron on the
+ground. He stamps on the apron with all three of his hoofed feet. "You
+know, if you're not nicer to me, you can do your own cooking from now
+on."
+
+"Hey," says the captain, "his voice is much worse over the
+communicator. I'm going to have to get off of here. Giving me a
+headache."
+
+"Okay," says Tomás. "We'll call if we need anything."
+
+"Sure," says the captain. "Call when you reach Geptok. Fly straight,
+son. Just like I taught you."
+
+After the communicator closes, Tomás eats dinner. He cuts into the
+eggs benedict, but the green, gooey yolk makes him queasy. "I'm going
+to have to scrap this," he says to himself. He takes his plate to the
+evacuation chamber. He has the ship express the eggs from the particle
+release chamber. Green gooey yolks float like oil on water, as the
+ship moves steadily towards Geptok.
+
+He goes to find the Ujuian sulking in the study. "You're not mad at
+me, are you?" Tomás asks Bxnak. "We were kidding about your voice, you
+know."
+
+Bxnak clears his throat before saying, "I know how I sound. My people
+might not be the best singers, we might not be able to smell soured
+milk when it gets chunky, but we have our good qualities."
+
+"I'm sure you do," says Tomás.
+
+"Can't you say anything nice?" says Bxnak.
+
+"I mean it," says Tomás. "There's something nobody knows about me, B.
+Not my dad, or any of the politicians who put together this mission. I
+only made it through the academy because you were there. I woulda
+never passed the academy if it wasn't for you."
+
+"What do you mean?" asks Bxnak.
+
+"I knew you were smart," says Tomás. "So I stole my dad's keys, and I
+went in to switch our answers around before our exams were graded."
+
+"Really?" says Bxnak. "I knew it! All Earthlings are lying cheats."
+
+"Hey," says Tomás, "I think you're missing the point. I was trying to
+cheer you up."
+
+"Wait until I get back to Sierra One," says Bxnak. "You're going to be
+mopping up the floors when I tell them what I know!"
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projects / sierraone.git / commitdiff