Would you like to time skip after my next post?
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- Irell Starling 11 yrs ago
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"Metaphores" by Sylvia Plath
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It happens. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.
Ryen scanned her eyes down the page of the replicator’s manual until she found a choice that sounded decent. The small description underneath claimed that it was a favored dish of the Ocspone people. It had medium marks in sweet and savory and low marks in spicy and sour. At first, Ryen been tempted to dial up her usual breakfast choice- a bread, meat, and cheese platter, but at the last moment decided to be adventurous. The door of the replicator slid open to reveal a large bright pink fruit with a teal rind covered in a pale sauce resting on bed of white fish fillets.
”And what’s that?” Gunther announced as she slid into the same seat she’d occupied yesterday. Ryen barley heard his question, she was too enthralled by the captain’s choice of breakfast. Resting on his plate was a cube-shaped object. The violet surface of the thing seemed almost iridescent. As she set her plate down on the table, the whole thing started to ungulate, large and small cube pieces all alike.
Realizing she was staring, Ryen turned her attention back to her own plate. ”Hmm? Oh, I’m not sure what it’s called. I’ve never had before. It’s number 8088..57.” Ryen grabbed her fork and picked up a slice of the fruit. The pale sauce, as she’d hoped, was sweet with just a tiny bit of lemon-like zing. The outside skin of the fruit was almost tasteless, but the inner flesh was sweet and mushy, like yams. ”But it’s pretty good.” Ryen added after she swallowed her first bite.
She took a few more bites before an idea struck her. She wanted to ask Ellie, but Quincy was still occupying almost of the technician’s attention. ”Hey, Gunther,” Ryen said, ”Do you know a lot about the planets around here.”
”A little.” the solider said, his demeanor cordial if not a little apprehensive.
”So I’m working on this puzzle and I can’t figure out this word. It’s a planet name the started with “BE” and is,” Ryen paused to pull up the scrawled symbols in her mind. ”nine or ten letters long.”
”A puzzle, huh, like a crossword.” Ryen nodded trying not to feel guilty about her lie. It was a puzzle and is was kind of, sort of like a crossword. ”B…E… Betrion? No. That’s too short.” He paused to think. ”Becrakaras maybe?”
”That’s what I was thinking too. But it doesn’t fit with the other words.” Ryen said. Her eyes had traveled back to the thing on Lazlo’s plate. As he ate, small pieces fell off and formed into tiny cubes. The rest of the table grew quiet they either ate or tried to figure out the missing word.
”Bethyaunos?” Quiny tried, finally satisfied with the answers Ellie supplied him. Ryen shook her head no and began going after the buttery fillets, now tinted pink from the fruit.
”BE? Ten letters? Beclaeobus? Maybe?” This was supplied by Ellie.
”That could be it.” Ryen replied between bites. If nothing else it fit with the other letter’s she’d decoded. ”I’ve never heard of it before. What is it known for?” A few members around the table grew tense. Ellie wouldn’t meet her eyes but instead lost herself in the tablet screen. Quincy and Gunther shrugged and Ryen knew better than to seek help from Lazlo’s quarter. Well one way or another she’d figure it out. Ryen was itching to get back and see if the planet name fit, and if so, what other secrets the symbols might help her unlock. She was about to get up and do that when it caught her eye again, it’s movement and geometrical perfection drawing her in.
”Could I have some?” Ryen said indicating the tantalizing blob on Lazlo’s plate. ”Please?”
”And what’s that?” Gunther announced as she slid into the same seat she’d occupied yesterday. Ryen barley heard his question, she was too enthralled by the captain’s choice of breakfast. Resting on his plate was a cube-shaped object. The violet surface of the thing seemed almost iridescent. As she set her plate down on the table, the whole thing started to ungulate, large and small cube pieces all alike.
Realizing she was staring, Ryen turned her attention back to her own plate. ”Hmm? Oh, I’m not sure what it’s called. I’ve never had before. It’s number 8088..57.” Ryen grabbed her fork and picked up a slice of the fruit. The pale sauce, as she’d hoped, was sweet with just a tiny bit of lemon-like zing. The outside skin of the fruit was almost tasteless, but the inner flesh was sweet and mushy, like yams. ”But it’s pretty good.” Ryen added after she swallowed her first bite.
She took a few more bites before an idea struck her. She wanted to ask Ellie, but Quincy was still occupying almost of the technician’s attention. ”Hey, Gunther,” Ryen said, ”Do you know a lot about the planets around here.”
”A little.” the solider said, his demeanor cordial if not a little apprehensive.
”So I’m working on this puzzle and I can’t figure out this word. It’s a planet name the started with “BE” and is,” Ryen paused to pull up the scrawled symbols in her mind. ”nine or ten letters long.”
”A puzzle, huh, like a crossword.” Ryen nodded trying not to feel guilty about her lie. It was a puzzle and is was kind of, sort of like a crossword. ”B…E… Betrion? No. That’s too short.” He paused to think. ”Becrakaras maybe?”
”That’s what I was thinking too. But it doesn’t fit with the other words.” Ryen said. Her eyes had traveled back to the thing on Lazlo’s plate. As he ate, small pieces fell off and formed into tiny cubes. The rest of the table grew quiet they either ate or tried to figure out the missing word.
”Bethyaunos?” Quiny tried, finally satisfied with the answers Ellie supplied him. Ryen shook her head no and began going after the buttery fillets, now tinted pink from the fruit.
”BE? Ten letters? Beclaeobus? Maybe?” This was supplied by Ellie.
”That could be it.” Ryen replied between bites. If nothing else it fit with the other letter’s she’d decoded. ”I’ve never heard of it before. What is it known for?” A few members around the table grew tense. Ellie wouldn’t meet her eyes but instead lost herself in the tablet screen. Quincy and Gunther shrugged and Ryen knew better than to seek help from Lazlo’s quarter. Well one way or another she’d figure it out. Ryen was itching to get back and see if the planet name fit, and if so, what other secrets the symbols might help her unlock. She was about to get up and do that when it caught her eye again, it’s movement and geometrical perfection drawing her in.
”Could I have some?” Ryen said indicating the tantalizing blob on Lazlo’s plate. ”Please?”
Oh. I assumed you just wanted to skip to the next morning. Huh, well then. Give me a moment to think about how to salvage this snafu.
Is there anywhere in particular you want to be going with this?
”What were you thinking just then.” Dagna asked.
Kaitlyn had turned briefly around to see the White Spire rising up among the rest of Val Royeaux. The setting sun had caught in one of the upper windows, creating a shaft of light that trickled through the bright, weather worn stone, creating a halo like effect as if the Maker himself were blessing the tower. Then just as suddenly, the stream of sunlight was gone. The Templar shivered and pulled the dull grey woolen cape that had been draped around her shoulders tighter.
”It’s nothing.” Kaitlyn said. Her voice was low, and even the effort of talking was draining her again. She wished she could have said more. Expressed how much of a waste it all been. They’d only just gotten to the White Tower a few hours back and now they were turning around and leaving again. Wendell had given his life trying to safely escort Thea, and here Kaitlyn was, dying from the taint she’d received for the exact same reason. And for what? So that as soon as they’d arrived Thea could surrender her life over to the Grey Wardens? Kaitlyn had joined up with the group because she hadn’t have an option. Thea could have had a good life at the Circle or at least a much long one.
She hadn’t said anything to the mage since Thea had volunteered to join. It wasn’t completely out of custom, very few seemed to want to talk in their group. There were only three other conscripted souls besides Kaitlyn and herself as well as three actual Grey Wardens and everyone seemed grim as they headed into the growing darkness of the wilderness around them.
”We’ll be at our camp soon.” The words were deep- Roan’s. The tall, burley Grey Warden who was leading their group down a winding goat path. The first time Kaitlyn had seen him waiting outside the White Tower’s gate, she’d wondered why he wasn’t cold with the amount of bare skin he was showing. Perhaps it was due to the amount of shaggy black hair that covered his over muscled body?
”Then all we have to do is catch us a dark spawn and get to it.” This came from the somewhat smaller man at his side. Johanas was everything Roan was not: pale, lithe, and a practical joker. Kaitlyn had caught a rumor that one of the three had originally been part of the Circle at the White Spiral. Since Johanas was the only one with the staff, it had to be him. ”Shouldn’t be so hard.”
”You mean, just like that?” This voice came from a young male mage. ”There’s no ceremony? No formalities?”
”You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” The voice belonged to Dagna.
”Corse not.” Johanas said and clapped the young man on the shoulder. ”Tell you what, let’s celebrate afterwards? Maybe we can even convince Roan to share some of that wine we all know he’s been stashing.”
Roan let out a disgruntled noise but his feet never missed a beat.
”Why do we need to go looking for darkspawn? We practically got one right here.” Kaitlyn didn’t have to turn around to know that the other Templar conscript was referring to her.
”That’s just the way things are.” Dagna said. Ever since leaving the White Spire, Dagna’s mood had turned sour. The female dwarf had been brusque before, especially when Kaitlyn had waited for Thea to finish her Harrowing, but the other female seemed to be completing with the rocks for hardness. If she had more energy, it might have given Kaitlyn a great deal to worry about, but right now all her mental efforts were in keeping herself upright and seating in her saddle.
The other Templar didn’t seem to be phased by the dwarf’s sour mood. ”So I hear the tower mage’s weren’t good enough for you…”
Voices Kailtyn couldn’t track anymore raced back and forth across her mind. She tried to reach out and grasp at the words, but their meanings slipped past. Then she wasn’t moving anymore. Had they stopped? Rough hands grabbed her as she slid from the saddle.
Kaitlyn had turned briefly around to see the White Spire rising up among the rest of Val Royeaux. The setting sun had caught in one of the upper windows, creating a shaft of light that trickled through the bright, weather worn stone, creating a halo like effect as if the Maker himself were blessing the tower. Then just as suddenly, the stream of sunlight was gone. The Templar shivered and pulled the dull grey woolen cape that had been draped around her shoulders tighter.
”It’s nothing.” Kaitlyn said. Her voice was low, and even the effort of talking was draining her again. She wished she could have said more. Expressed how much of a waste it all been. They’d only just gotten to the White Tower a few hours back and now they were turning around and leaving again. Wendell had given his life trying to safely escort Thea, and here Kaitlyn was, dying from the taint she’d received for the exact same reason. And for what? So that as soon as they’d arrived Thea could surrender her life over to the Grey Wardens? Kaitlyn had joined up with the group because she hadn’t have an option. Thea could have had a good life at the Circle or at least a much long one.
She hadn’t said anything to the mage since Thea had volunteered to join. It wasn’t completely out of custom, very few seemed to want to talk in their group. There were only three other conscripted souls besides Kaitlyn and herself as well as three actual Grey Wardens and everyone seemed grim as they headed into the growing darkness of the wilderness around them.
”We’ll be at our camp soon.” The words were deep- Roan’s. The tall, burley Grey Warden who was leading their group down a winding goat path. The first time Kaitlyn had seen him waiting outside the White Tower’s gate, she’d wondered why he wasn’t cold with the amount of bare skin he was showing. Perhaps it was due to the amount of shaggy black hair that covered his over muscled body?
”Then all we have to do is catch us a dark spawn and get to it.” This came from the somewhat smaller man at his side. Johanas was everything Roan was not: pale, lithe, and a practical joker. Kaitlyn had caught a rumor that one of the three had originally been part of the Circle at the White Spiral. Since Johanas was the only one with the staff, it had to be him. ”Shouldn’t be so hard.”
”You mean, just like that?” This voice came from a young male mage. ”There’s no ceremony? No formalities?”
”You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” The voice belonged to Dagna.
”Corse not.” Johanas said and clapped the young man on the shoulder. ”Tell you what, let’s celebrate afterwards? Maybe we can even convince Roan to share some of that wine we all know he’s been stashing.”
Roan let out a disgruntled noise but his feet never missed a beat.
”Why do we need to go looking for darkspawn? We practically got one right here.” Kaitlyn didn’t have to turn around to know that the other Templar conscript was referring to her.
”That’s just the way things are.” Dagna said. Ever since leaving the White Spire, Dagna’s mood had turned sour. The female dwarf had been brusque before, especially when Kaitlyn had waited for Thea to finish her Harrowing, but the other female seemed to be completing with the rocks for hardness. If she had more energy, it might have given Kaitlyn a great deal to worry about, but right now all her mental efforts were in keeping herself upright and seating in her saddle.
The other Templar didn’t seem to be phased by the dwarf’s sour mood. ”So I hear the tower mage’s weren’t good enough for you…”
Voices Kailtyn couldn’t track anymore raced back and forth across her mind. She tried to reach out and grasp at the words, but their meanings slipped past. Then she wasn’t moving anymore. Had they stopped? Rough hands grabbed her as she slid from the saddle.
Ryen’s eyes flickered open. Dim, blue lights lit up the surroundings. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was. Sitting up stiffly in bed caused the lights to slowly brighten, giving her eyes time to adjust. Soon enough her cabin looked just like she’d left it, bright white, cold, and sterile. The only contents marker it her own was the pack thrown in the corner.
A pang in her stomach informed why she was awake. When was the last time she’d eaten something? A picture of the lox and crackers flashed before her eyes but she struggles to remember what she’d had before that. Already she was beginning to feel a little light headed, a sure sign that her blood sugar was low. A high metabolism was one of the few side-effects of her ‘condition’.
”Maria” Ryen said, her voice barely raised above a whisper, ”What time is it?”
”Two o’seven PT. Fifty nine point eight FST.” The AI replied over the cabin’s intercom.
Ryen couldn’t remember dimming the room’s lights or even going to sleep. Either way, hours had passed since she’d last been in the mess hall. ”Is anyone else up and about?”
”No one has been in the common areas in the last hour.”
Ryen nodded and pushed out of her bed. Pressing the inside panel, her room door slowly opened revealing a hallway dimly lit with blue lights from the floor panels. Shuffling down the hallway, she entered the mess hall and made herself a grilled cheese sandwich and strawberry milkshake using the replicator. The sandwich didn’t taste quiet like the ones her mother used to make but it was good enough. Ryen scarfed the meal down partially because of how hungry she was and partially because she didn’t want to run into anyone, especially after she caught her reflection in the replicator’s glass.
Quickly returning to her room she washed up and since she was still wide awake, began to unpack her bag. It didn’t take more than thirty minutes to put everything away. She was however, a bit annoyed to find that in her haste she’d only packed seven stockings and the top half of a swimsuit. Meanwhile, her teal mascara and Havtaniana hair pins were nowhere to be seen. They were easy enough to replace assuming their next shop sold such items and assuming she could get to her credits. Ryen bit on her lower lip. Money shouldn’t be a problem assuming she could get to her accounts and assuming Lazlo was paying her. [i]”He is paying me… isn’t he?”[/b] Well, she could worry about it later.
The last item she pulled out of the bottom of her bag was her father’s worn leather journal. The one she promised she would destroy if anything happened to him. A deep seeded guilt filled her stomach but Ryen tried to push it away by telling herself that she could simply destroy the journal away at a later date.
The paper inside was soft and leather. Neat characters were printed horizontal and vertical across the page. The symbols weren’t from Common Tongue or the other two languages her father had taught her. Looking up the original language would be easy enough especially with her personal computer with its integral intergalactic transmitter. It was an expensive and Farley hard to come by piece of equipment on Syrae. Her father had given it to her, as a gift, the first time she’d ventured into space. Unfortunately it was lying on the far right hand side of her work space back at the lab. Now she would simply have to wait until she was planet-side and try to find a public computer system or beg that tablet off Ellie. Ryen studied the symbols on the page a little more before delving deeper into the journal, hoping to find some clue. Inch by inch she scrolled over the cramped handwriting looking for something out of place. Around page twenty she finally hit on it. The symbols were still the same in the patterns but the way they were grouped in to form words weren’t. After flipping through a few more pages, it finally hit her. The journal wasn’t in a foreign language at all but was written in code, a code her father periodically changed.
This time when Ryen woke up, she was lying on the floor, her father’s journal crumpled underneath her. Her room was no longer pristine. Strange, light blue symbols were scrawled across every inch of useable stainless steel wall and crowded onto the floor. Underneath, a few were common words “the” “a” “is” or “and” as well as a few complex ones like “planet”, “research”, “brain”. Pushing herself up off the floor, Ryen felt the tell-tale sign of hunger. It didn’t take her long to wash up and change. She debated briefly about erasing the ‘artwork’ she’d penned over the room but decided against it. Instead she made sure the lock the adjourning washroom from her side and slip out into the hallway. As she did, she almost slammed into Quincy who was making his way presumably to the mess hall.
”Sorry,” Ryen said as he moved out of the way, just in time.
”Is this a form of greeting in, Syrae?” the doctor joked, ”Remind me to avoid you in the morning.”
Ryen was about to ask him just how long he had spent on the planet when he lifted her chin and rotated her head. ”You’re looking pale.” he said as he used one and to further open her right eye. ”Cardiovascular dystrophy? Ionic palo-pigmentation?” Ryen’s brain pulled up her conversation with Lazlo yesterday about the doctor’s excitement when it came to the newly equip medical bay.
”Neither,” she practically squeaked, ”I didn’t sleep well last night and I’m feeling a bit… peckish.”
Quincy’s left eyebrow shot up suspiciously but he gently let go of her chin. ”Did something happen yesterday? I never saw you after I came out of surgery.”
”There was a few things I had to check on.” Ryen was certain he didn’t believe her explanation. They started walking toward the mess hall again. He didn’t say anything. Hopefully Quincy would drop the subject, filing it under some sort of post-traumatic stress after her father’s death.
The glass door of the mess hall slid open. Ryen briefly surveyed the room. He was there. He would be. He was the captain after all. ”Good morning,” she said, echoing the doctor’s greeting. Ryen wanted to ask Ellie how she was doing after her surgery but the other woman appeared to be fine and Ryen didn’t want to embarrass her by directing attention her way. Quincy, on the other hand, had no qualms and began battering the technician with questions.
While waiting for Lazlo to finish up at the replicator, she went over and began to scan the breakfast portion of the menu, avoiding any contact with the captain’s eyes.
Sorry for being slow. I've been working on my final which consists of running an experiment, performing data analysis, and writing a paper. It's taking me a bit...
I'm going to do a time skip, if that's okay.
1) That section was referring to the part of the post where Quincy had come in before Lazlo had carried Ellie out. The spoken words are present tense but Ryen is reflecting on the scene she just witnessed.
2) The next morning is fine. Ryen will stay in her room (missing diner or the evening meal) until then.
2) The next morning is fine. Ryen will stay in her room (missing diner or the evening meal) until then.
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