(January '18) Prompt #1 - "Countdown." [Archive]

ArtisticVicu

01-12-2018, 02:57 AM

Their breaths curled before their faces as they entered through the portal, the only light granted to them coming from the event horizon they had just entered through. Metal glistened all around them. It seemed even time could not tarnish the interior structure of the vessel. Their footfall echoes in the expansive space but, instead of being haunting as it had once been, all present found comfort in a sound they never believed they would hear again.

A single body broke away from the group, crossing towards one of two podiums at the opposite end of the room. Their breath curled before their face as shaky as the breath itself had been. The figure glanced up to sweep a gaze over the growing crowd before focusing on the podium before them.

It was a console of sorts angled to keep the glare of the portal from obscuring the screen that filled the majority of the surface. Buttons were on either side but the figure didn’t touch a single one. Instead, they pressed their hand carefully to the screen, fingers splayed across the freezing cold surface. “Audio command input, login code delta-omega-1-4-5-7-2-6. Activate protocol 1-7-5-alpha-romeo-0-india-papa.”

The screen came to life as a voice echoed through the room. The figure removed their hand from the screen. “Audio command inputs recognized. Initializing atmosphere control,” there was the sound of rushing air as the lights came on, “and returning power to all designated systems. Welcome back on board.”

“Thank you, Ode,” the figure replied softly, watching as the console started filling with information.

“I never thought I would ever appreciate Ode’s heating system till just this minute,” a voice called from the crowd. There was a spattering of chuckles as people filled the space; some sat against the walls or on crates while others stood about as the rest of their community came through the portal. All were chatting away happily, working as one cohesive group to make sure everyone arrived without a problem.

“Anything to be concerned about?”

The figure looked up to the two men approaching, focusing on the one that spoke. “Thankfully no. All systems are operational and the work we’ve done has held out. The ship’s in no worse for wear.”

“Good,” the man replied, looking to his companion. “Any particular place you want to hit first?”

“Our rooms would be nice,” the other commented, the hint of an almost abolished accent curling the words. The slight curl to the man’s lips spoke of the humor the line had been spoken out of. “I feel like a pack mule.”

The first laughed, the sound low, rich, and carrying with ease. “True.” The man looked back at the figure. “You know where to find us.”

The figure nodded, verifying as the men started to walk away, “I’m clear to start getting people to work as needed?”

“Just make sure they have a chance to stop by their rooms,” the man confirmed, limping alongside his companion.

A solid collided with the figure’s hip and leg as a new person approached. “Easy, Luca,” the approaching male chastised even with a smile on their face. “No need to go barreling into him.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” the figure countered pleasantly, reaching down and hefting the pre-teen up onto their hip. “Got my attention, didn’t it?”

The child’s string of giggles gained a few amused and joyous glances and the figure smiled. “Yeah,” the child squeaked between giggles.

The male sighed, though the amusement had yet to leave their face. Stepping closer, the male curled their hand around the back of the figure’s head, gently pressing their foreheads together. “We made it home,” the male sighed.

“That we did,” the figure agreed, leaning into the touch as long as it lasted, the child’s head resting against their neck. The figure pulled away and transferred the child to the male, neither voicing complaint. “Which means that there’s work to be done. Go see if there’s space enough for the school.”

A brief kiss and the pair was walking away. The figured watched till they were out of sight before turning back to those that still resided in the space. “Alright. Go ahead and drop off personal belongings. If you don’t have a room, coordinate with Ellen to find one. When that’s done, if you remember what your role was when we were here last, pick that up again. Old ranks still apply. Those that were not with us or cannot remember stay in the communal area. We’ll find a place for you.”

The silence was almost deafening as the figure took a breath. “This is just like our last home. There are always tasks to do and everyone helping makes light work of every task. But back here means that certain skills need to be touched upon once more and a large number of us are rusty, myself included.” There was a round of chuckles. “And don’t any of you worry. This is still our home. We’ll settle right back into it. It’ll just take time.”

The crowd started to move about, the figure’s words done. Over the buzz of conversation, the figure shot off a quick order. “Anything for the store rooms can either be left here or taken to the proper store room. If you don’t know what that is, don’t move it. Place items for a given store room outside the door. We’ll be about to catalogue how much of what is going where.”

Several crates and containers got shuffled around but a majority got left in place. A few personnel approached the figure and things were set into motion.

An hour later, the portal closed and what counted as normalcy for a spacecraft was slowly returning to those familiar with the vessel’s workings.

The figure entered the bridge, finding a few people already there.

“Everything going well?”

The figure’s gaze landed on the male duo that had first approached the console, specifically on the one that had the limp. “Store rooms are being catalogued and filled as we speak. Mechanics are bustling about running checks on the kitchen and living quarters. Engineers are looking over what we had done last to see how the repairs had lasted as well as locations we had previously marked. They’re set to giving me a prioritized list of what sections need focus in the coming days.”

“Good.”

The other man stepped forward. “And the Ode’s databases?”

“Untouched, as is the data that you had requested for Ode to gather in our absence.” The figure smiled softly. “We’ve got quite the work ahead of us, Doc. We were gone quite some time.”

The man nodded, eyes bright in anticipation. “That we were. She’s seem to have handled our absence well, though.”

“That she has.” The figured focused on the first man. “There’s a survey crew out right now checking the hull. We’ll be clear to move when they return.”

The man nodded. “Keep me in the loop.”

It wasn’t till another two hours had passed till a pleasant chime rang through the common areas, a voice following shortly after. “Countdown to jump initiated. T. minus 5 minutes.”

The figure looked up to stare at the ceiling briefly before actually standing. “I’m going to go take Luca to the observation deck, Doc. Let the Colonel know so that he doesn’t fret when I don’t arrive.”

There was a noncommittal hum from the lead scientist and the figure chuckled, taking the moment to send a message to the lead scientist’s companion before turning his console off. The figure found the preteen with the same male on the observation deck. It was a bit crowded, what with so many looking to see the first jump to occur after so long planet side. The figure scooped up the child, gaining a screech that quickly shattered into giggles and laughter. Several other children were running about making a ruckus so such a friendly assault went without complaint from others.

Settling the child on a hip, the figure reached out for the male, quickly gaining the other’s hand. With fingers intertwined, the figure settled the child on the railing, making sure to keep an arm looped around the child’s waist. “Ready to see this for the first time, Luca?” the figure asked, pressing a kiss to soft hair.

The child nodded, the movement subdued as large eyes focused on the window. “How much longer?”

“T. minus 10 seconds.”

A hush settled over the room as people shifted to allow those that had never seen this occur before to move closer to the railing. Children clambered all over the railing with parental units within reaching distance. All eyes shifted to the window as the last few seconds went unspoken in the room.

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