time Conner and Dawn left the shuttle bay, the ship had begun its departure from Earth’s orbit. She was carrying her helmet with her as they followed the corridor to the section of the ship that the AI had recommended.
“Why are you seriously here, Doctor?” Conner asked.
“I already told you,” she replied, “And stop calling me Doctor. Dawn is just fine.”
“Well, I don’t believe you’re here just because you want to place all your chips on that off-chance that we’ll actually find a habitable planet,” he said.
“You don’t think we will?” she asked, turning to him.
“No, honestly I really doubt it,” he replied, “How many planets would happen to have the right mixture of oxygen, liquid water, ozone, tolerable gravity, and a star that’s in the right stage of its life? That’s not to mention the fact that it would need to have fertile soil so we could at least plant some food.”
“So this is a suicide mission for you,” she stated.
“Pretty much,” he replied, “What did you think my chances would have been even if we did find a new planet? I’m an alien amidst millions of those creatures in the cargo hold. And keep in mind that I’m on their ship – not the other way around.”
“I can’t believe you, Steele,” she said.
“I told you not to stay, Dawn,” he said, “And please, call me Conner.”
“Well, I’ll have you know that this isn’t a suicide mission for me. I intend to learn their language with the help of the AI. Then, I will learn everything I can about them through whatever I discover on this ship. Then when they all wake up, I will tell them what happened and ask to be welcome among them as we work together to survive on a new planet,” she said, “And I was hoping you’d join me on this little adventure. After all, aren’t you the one who told me it hurts to be alone?”
He stopped in the corridor and looked at her. She turned to him with her hand on her hip.
“That’s why you stayed,” he said, “And you really have it all plotted out.”
“I do,” she said, “Now are you with me or not?”
“I’m with you, Doctor Dawn Crossway,” the AI interjected, “I will teach you the language that you wish to learn.”
Conner chuckled, shaking his head.
“Apparently there’s no privacy on this ship,” he said, scratching his head, “Yes, Dawn, we’ll do things your way.”
. . . .
They spent the rest of that day discovering the small carpeted section of the ship dedicated to the comfort of a fairly small crew. It was quickly evident that this ship was meant to support only a minimal staff of non-sleeping crewmates, as there were only ten berthings that surrounded a central dining or meeting room. The two bathrooms were unusual, but it didn’t take them very long to figure those out.
The AI directed them to the smaller of the four food storage rooms. This particular storage room was meant to supply the crew that was meant to inhabit the carpeted section since it was situated nearby and didn’t contain an extreme abundance of food. The AI informed them that there were no refrigerated or frozen foods available to them because those were kept in a different storeroom and even so, they were only frozen versions of the food they currently had access to.
The aliens didn’t rely on a wide variety of foods. There were on ly four kinds of food available on the whole ship. One of the foods was something that reminded them of the green pellets that rabbits and guinea pigs would eat. They were also equally as crunchy. Neither Conner or Dawn found them very tasty.
Another of the foods was something like a square cookie, except it didn’t seem to contain any sugar. It was less painful on the teeth than the rabbit pellets, but equally as flavorless. The third kind of food was a powder-coated ball of taffy, or at least that was the consistency it had. As far as flavor however, the taffy followed along the lines of the other foods.
The fourth and most
“Why are you seriously here, Doctor?” Conner asked.
“I already told you,” she replied, “And stop calling me Doctor. Dawn is just fine.”
“Well, I don’t believe you’re here just because you want to place all your chips on that off-chance that we’ll actually find a habitable planet,” he said.
“You don’t think we will?” she asked, turning to him.
“No, honestly I really doubt it,” he replied, “How many planets would happen to have the right mixture of oxygen, liquid water, ozone, tolerable gravity, and a star that’s in the right stage of its life? That’s not to mention the fact that it would need to have fertile soil so we could at least plant some food.”
“So this is a suicide mission for you,” she stated.
“Pretty much,” he replied, “What did you think my chances would have been even if we did find a new planet? I’m an alien amidst millions of those creatures in the cargo hold. And keep in mind that I’m on their ship – not the other way around.”
“I can’t believe you, Steele,” she said.
“I told you not to stay, Dawn,” he said, “And please, call me Conner.”
“Well, I’ll have you know that this isn’t a suicide mission for me. I intend to learn their language with the help of the AI. Then, I will learn everything I can about them through whatever I discover on this ship. Then when they all wake up, I will tell them what happened and ask to be welcome among them as we work together to survive on a new planet,” she said, “And I was hoping you’d join me on this little adventure. After all, aren’t you the one who told me it hurts to be alone?”
He stopped in the corridor and looked at her. She turned to him with her hand on her hip.
“That’s why you stayed,” he said, “And you really have it all plotted out.”
“I do,” she said, “Now are you with me or not?”
“I’m with you, Doctor Dawn Crossway,” the AI interjected, “I will teach you the language that you wish to learn.”
Conner chuckled, shaking his head.
“Apparently there’s no privacy on this ship,” he said, scratching his head, “Yes, Dawn, we’ll do things your way.”
. . . .
They spent the rest of that day discovering the small carpeted section of the ship dedicated to the comfort of a fairly small crew. It was quickly evident that this ship was meant to support only a minimal staff of non-sleeping crewmates, as there were only ten berthings that surrounded a central dining or meeting room. The two bathrooms were unusual, but it didn’t take them very long to figure those out.
The AI directed them to the smaller of the four food storage rooms. This particular storage room was meant to supply the crew that was meant to inhabit the carpeted section since it was situated nearby and didn’t contain an extreme abundance of food. The AI informed them that there were no refrigerated or frozen foods available to them because those were kept in a different storeroom and even so, they were only frozen versions of the food they currently had access to.
The aliens didn’t rely on a wide variety of foods. There were on ly four kinds of food available on the whole ship. One of the foods was something that reminded them of the green pellets that rabbits and guinea pigs would eat. They were also equally as crunchy. Neither Conner or Dawn found them very tasty.
Another of the foods was something like a square cookie, except it didn’t seem to contain any sugar. It was less painful on the teeth than the rabbit pellets, but equally as flavorless. The third kind of food was a powder-coated ball of taffy, or at least that was the consistency it had. As far as flavor however, the taffy followed along the lines of the other foods.
The fourth and most
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