Play Time
A Science Fiction in High Speed
Part 2
Each crew member filed into their position. Mara took her place behind the navigation panels, Jeremy behind the piloting controls desk, Gwen by the life support interface, and Henson at the security desk. Terry always sat at the cafeteria interface. Engineers didn’t have a spot on the bridge, but the child needed to fill seats. Once the child entered the room, sluggishly and without any sense of authority, they each stood and saluted. It felt sacrilegious, but this would hopefully be the last time. At last, the child sat in the captain’s chair.
“At ease,” it ordered. The crew gave each other nervous but determined looks and sat down.
This was ending today.
“Captain, we’re roughly five hours from—” Mara said but was interrupted by a great flash of light from the window.
“What was that?” the child asked excitedly, as if someone just handed it a new toy.
“A supernova I believe, Captain,” Terry responds. “Seeing as we haven’t received any supernova reports from headquarters, it must be pretty close for us to be able to see it.”
“I wanna go there! Take us there! It’s beautiful! It’s petrichorful!” it giddied, rushing to the window, pressing its face to the glass.
Mara, wiping her brow, replied, “Sure, we can do that.” She nodded to Jeremy, and he adjusted for the general direction of the supernova. Then he adjusted his own pants which had grown uncomfortable in his sweat. He realized what this meant and turned to Mara, his eyes wide with fear and excitement. She had what was almost a smile on her face, and something foreign in her eyes.
Hope.
The child stayed pressed against the glass for a long while while the heat rose, fascinated by the dazzling light still emitting in the black nothingness. The crew appreciated the distraction, otherwise it surely would have noticed the temperature rise by now. They sure did.
Mara turned to face Gwen. How hot now? she mouthed, careful not to alert the child.
Forty, Gwen mouthed back.
What is that in Fahrenheit? he asked, also mouthing his words.
Gwen offered a confused look in return and tilted her head to offer him her ear.
“What is that in Fahrenheit?” Jeremy asked again, this time escalating to a whisper.
Gwen turned to her monitor, pressed a few buttons, then back to Jeremy. One hundred four, she mouthed.
“What?” Jeremy whispered back.
“One hundred four,” she responded, raising her voice to meet his volume.
“Hundred forty?”
Rather than respond verbally, Gwen held up her fingers. First her index, then a closed fist, then every finger except her thumb. Jeremy responded with a thumbs up. She closed the conversation with just one finger.
“Rude,” Jeremy muttered, turning back to his piloting controls.
“What?” the child said, its head turned much like an owl’s. “What did you say?” it asked the pilot.
“Nothing, Captain,” Jeremy said. He began to rub the gauze on his neck in fear.
“No, I heard you say something. What was it?” The child approached Jeremy once again.
“Um. Nearing target, Captain. That’s all.”
“I don’t believe you.” The child crooked its head to double check the bridge window. “We’re still pretty far away. Now what did you say, pilot?”
Jeremy was paralyzed with fear. He tried, but couldn’t find another word. Almost. “Gwen flipped me the bird so I called her rude!”
“Asshole!” Gwen yelled.
At this point, the child was confused, frustrated, and entirely undistracted.
“What is ‘the bird’? And why is it so hot in here? Did the bird do this? Turn the temperature down. And find that bird!”
“Bird found, Captain!” Mara announced, desperately trying to stall for time as the heat rose even more. “Enemy combatant off the starboard side, captain!”
“Evasive maneuvers!” the child yelled. “Get us away from that bird!”
“They haven’t even engaged yet,” Mara said under her breath, surprised the child could still find new ways to disappoint her.
Before the child could respond to her underhanded comment, it was thrown to the side of the ship as Jeremy began his so-called evasive maneuvers. Unsure of how to avoid the imaginary enemy, though, his piloting resembled less of a starship in battle and more of a car swerving on ice. He rocked the ship side to side haphazardly as everyone fought just to stay in their seats. The child began to hobble back and forth across the bridge.
“I’m gonna be sick!” Henson yelled across the bridge.
“Eighty!” Gwen announced.
“Eighty?” Jeremy asked, still rocking the ship.
Terry tried to get to his feet only to be thrown back into his seat. Most everyone looked sick and panicked, only the child seemed to be having any fun. Mara met Terry’s eyes and saw he was downright terrified, though. He broke eye contact and threw his arms up to the side to try shield himself. The child laughed as it rocked back and forth with the ship like a pendulum. Its swing was only getting wider with each rock of the ship, and soon Terry would be caught in its path.
“Jeremy! Jeremy, you have to stop!” Mara pleaded.
“Don’t stop, pilot! More evasive maneuvers! They’re gaining on us!”
Jeremy, still panicking and fighting just to stay conscious in the extreme heat, continued his pattern.
With the next turn of the ship, the laughing child slammed into Terry, crushing him against the bridge’s wall. His eyes met Mara’s again.
His arm dangled at his side, broken, his face burned from the cold. His eyes were mostly blank, and what little life was left in them was begging for help.
Upon the next turn, the child slammed Terry back into the same wall, harder this time. He found eye contact with Mara again. Really, she found his eyes, as there was no life left behind his. His shoulder was broken enough that his broken arm was no longer visible to Mara, hidden behind his slightly concave torso.
He fell over, and a moment after Mara collapsed as well, traumatized by the sight of Terry and succumbing to the heatstroke.
“95!” Gwen yelled as best she could. Her screen was flashing red, warning her of the extreme heat. Henson swayed in his seat and fought to stay conscious, until finally the rocking stopped. He looked up and saw Jeremy had fallen out of his seat. His unconscious body slid port side along the floor of the bridge, leaving the ship veering that direction and the room slightly angled as a result.
“Officer, I said turn that heat down!” the child yelled, now seemingly suffering from the heat as well.
“100!” Gwen yelled.
The child began slowly charging at her. “I said stop it!”
“Gwen, start cooling it down!” Henson ordered. He lunged to intercept the creature.
Gwen hit a few clicks on her panel. “Done,” she said. Henson crashed into the child and planted his feet to start pushing it away from Gwen.
“Gwen, get out,” he said through his teeth. He struggled to move the child, but found its icy touch was somewhat soothing now, even through the pain.
Gwen didn’t question him. She looked towards Jeremy, who the child and Henson had just stepped over, then to Mara. Without any hesitation, she hobbled to Mara, grabbed her under her arms, and dragged her towards the door.
Henson nearly had the child against the bridge window now. The room began to cool, and they both found some of their strength again. The child, though, had a lot more to find. With a shove, it knocked Henson backwards.
Gwen had only just reached the other side of the bridge door with Mara in hand when she saw Henson fall on his back. Her heart sunk for a moment. They had lost.
Henson, with a primal yell, lunged off his feet and into the child, knocking it back into the window. Between the extreme heat variations and the child’s size, the glass gave way, sending both Henson and the child hurtling into the vacuum. Gwen quickly closed the air-sealed door.
For a moment she cheered, then she wept, and finally she laid next to Mara and slept.