Stories, thoughts, and essays by C. L. Who
Renad Rich stood on top of an apartment building, looking up at the glassteal sky, six kilometers above him, drinking his morning coffee, thinking of what he had to do that day. His skin was brown, his black curly hair was ear length, and he had a hawk nose. He looked at the distant Mount... Continue Reading →
Data drive connected. Analyzing data… No data pattern found, possible encrypted data. Evaluating encryption… … … Algorithm found, decrypting… 1 file found: “Mnas log”. Accessing. 07.08.31.06.11.12 I’ve arrived at Yarro’e. It took all my life savings and was almost a six month trip but I’m here. It is a barely habitable terraformed planet orbiting a... Continue Reading →
Captain Davida Black floated to the pilot seat of the Moray, her red hair was tied into a ponytail, her skin was tan, eyes brown, she wore a red coat, and brown-red pants. Her expression was calm and determined. Old Red, a light skinned man with a long red beard, bald head, wearing a white shirt and red vest, was piloting the ship. Old Red eyes darted between multiple round screens. “How much longer?” The Captain asked Old Red, putting her right hand on the back of the chair, stopping her. “Moving at supper luminal speed is not like it’s not like picking a direction and going.” Old Red replied, “Minor changes can send us off course, and everything is moving. It is an art that can’t be rushed.” Old Red spoke with a northern Balsk accent, pronouncing ‘ing’ as ‘in’, dropping starting i’s and pronouncing his r’s with a soft d. “I know but we are on the clock.” Captain Davida took her com from hip pocket, checked the time on it. “We’ll be there in time, Captain. We’ll have plenty of time.” Captain Devida put her com away. She looked out the forward view port. “It is a mistake to look into the abyss, they say it could take your sanity.” “So I’ve heard.” Pause, “Just get us there.” “Aye, Captain.” Captain Davida pushed away. She floated through the metal corridors of the ship, with pipes running along the walls. She made her way to engineering. Most of the pipes converged on either side of engendering. Engineer Karn, a bald dark skinned man, wearing a white shirt, red pants and a red vest, stared at a console, a page in his left hand, two others floating next to him. “How are the engines?” Captain Divida asked Karn, grabbing a handrail to stop her momentum. Karn looked at The Captain. “The port generator on it’s last leg, there is a crack in the main-” “Anything new?” Davida interrupted, sternly. “There’s a vibration in the FTL engines.” He pointed a gauge on the console. She looked at the gauge, “Will it hold up?” back at Karn Karn looked at his page. “Conservatively,” he looked at the Captain, “I have no idea, it could go in a day or in the next minute. If it does, we’d be stuck in the void.” Captain Davida took out her com, looked at the time. She sighed, “And if we don’t make this-” she began to say in a low voice. Davida looked at Karn, “Keep it running until we get there.” “I’ll do my best, Captain.” “I know of no one better.” The Captain floated away, towards the quarters. In the corridor she passed Mackey, a young brown haired, tan skinned man, the newest member of the crew. “Captain,” he greeted as he passed the Captain, “Mackey.” she responded. She made sure to know all of her crew’s names, though it had been easy as the Moray was smaller than her previous ship. After entering her quarters her stern determined expression melted away revealing the desperation she had been feeling. She looked at the right wall, decorated with the trophies she attained throughout her career, the scale of a Sacarlath, as big as her torso, a peace of the Night Terrors hall, the vacuum desiccated head of the Night Terrors captain, an unopened bottle of Rena Wine, a blue coat with a bullet hole, stained with her blood. She looked at the left wall, a metal desk folded up against the wall, magnetic paper weights holding invoices, damage reports, repair reports, and maintenance reports. She sighted, floated to the wall opposite of the door, to a bed folded against the wall, with buckles to hold the sleeping Captain on it. She turned, bumped into the bed. Davida took out a photo of a young man and teenage girl from her coat. “We promised each other we’d be rich, that we’d never go the way our parents did. But you’re dead and I’m on this lowly leaky tube.” She felt tears in her eyes. “You were always the optimistic one, you always knew what to say. I wish you were here today.” The Captains com buzzed. Davida wiped her eyes, closed them, inhaled, exhaled, and put on her captain’s face. She answered her com with a calm “yes?” “We’re approaching Igneous Colony,” Old Red told her. “We’ll be there in fifteen.” “Good. I’ll be on the bridge before then.” The Captain replied. “We are approaching Igneous Colony,” She announced to the crew over ships coms, “Prepare for shift into gravity.” On the bridge Captain Davida looked at the window at Igneous Colony as they approached with feelings of relief and dread. Both she kept hidden behind a calm and determined expression. Igneous Colony was a hollowed out, vaguely trapezoid shaped piece of the crust of a planet that got too close to a wandering gas giant. It was half gray brown and half gray, lights shined from surface habitats, and a passage surrounded by blinking lights was getting closer. The Moray entered the colony, passing through a continuous air lock. “One minute until shift into gravity.” Davida informed the crew. Davida held onto a handrail. Her dread increased as she felt the deceleration and her increasing weight. A mile into the planetary remnant the ship entered a 0.2 gravity area. The Moray stopped, it slowly fell onto a landing platform, hitting the platform with a small shutter. The platform began moving, taking the Moray to the main cargo port. Davida summoned the crew to the Morays cargo hold. “Everyone, listen up!” she ordered, “You know who we’re working for here, you’ve heard the stories, and if you haven’t, at this point you don’t want to hear them. Do not unload the cargo until I tell you to, and if I give you the signal, get the hell out of here and get at least three sectors away.” “Aye, Caption.” The crew replied. Davida looked at Old Red and Karn. “Return and stay at your posts.” “Aye, Caption.” They replied. Davida looked at Mackey. “Stay at the door controls, be prepared to close them in an instant.” “Aye, Caption.” He replied in a Shaky voice. “Be ready, either way.” She ordered the crew.
I hate space habitats, the idea that the air I’m breathing is being held in by the walls of the habitat scares me. I’d much prefer being on a planet with an atmosphere held in by large and natural gravity well. The fact that the wall were almost a mile thick helped, not by much.... Continue Reading →
C.L. Who Writes 