| Subject: The vow |
Author:
Yan
|
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Date Posted: 14:46:22 04/01/02 Mon
In reply to:
Cpt. J. Altoo
's message, "A classic." on 15:32:04 02/28/02 Thu
Just before the wall's molecules melted back together completely, Yan reached out and pushed them apart, then impulsively stepped through. She had to see what was inside! She found herself in a small dark room, lit only by a few red lightbulbs along the top of the wall, and some kind of control panel and the back. Stepping closer, she realized it was a lit map of the ship as well as the surrounding area. There were yellow and green dots in some of the rooms. One room seemed particularly full. Suddenly, a voice said, "Welcome to the Surrepsar. I was wondering when someone would discover it."
"I'm sorry," said Yan in confusion, "I don't think we've been introduced." Always be polite, especially when you don't have a clue as to what's going on.
"I'm the Starfire's Surrepsar system," said the voice, "part of the A.I. I'm just one of the many surprises the builders included for you!"
"So there are other secret rooms." This should be interesting, Yan thought. Let's see how many more I can find!
"Yes. You can find some of them by rearranging the wall molecules, but others are harder to discover. Between you and me, I'm probably the most useful of them all. I can transport you to anywhere on that map instantly! Just tell me where you want to go."
"I'm assuming these little dots are people."
"Yes."
"I guess the different colors have some significance," Yan prompted.
This time, the Surrepsar waited a few seconds before answering---shocking for a computer. Finally, it said, "No, the technicians just did it that way."
This only tempted Yan's curiosity more, but she decided not to press it. For some reason, the Surrepsar didn't want to tell her. She would just have to figure it out herself.
"Most of the crew members are attending the christening," the Surrepsar said helpfully. "You might want to join them."
"Oh no, it's started already!" Hurriedly, Yan smoothed her white uniform. "All right, let's go."
"Step onto that platform." Yan stepped up. A hole yawned open in the wall in front of her, and she stepped through.
Going through the hole was like being blown around in a sandstorm. She felt as if she had been stretched out and twisted like taffy. Suddenly, her feet slammed into the ground. Seconds later, her body snapped down to its normal height, and she found herself standing at the back of an auditorium.
Someone was onstage. From his uniform, Yan inferred it was the captain. In the audience, someone in a first officer's uniform was standing up, saluting. "Yes, I am prepared to take over in case you fall to Hkkss'thrai," he was saying. A hush fell over the audience. Hkkss'thrai. Yan thought she could remember reading that word in her intergalactic studies class, but she couldn't recall what it meant. Whatever it was, apparently it was something serious. The audience was staring at the captain and the first officer in awe, even fear. She noticed a few birdlike creatures nearby scowling at the captain. "This is the price they pay when they make a Tiarin captain," one whispered disdainfully. "Endangering the whole mission with their foolishness."
Yan was sure "they" knew what they were doing. She wouldn't trust anyone rude enough to whisper during the captain's speech.
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