Justric

The Last Kings of Orion

"Yes, b'y," Jack replied a little inanely, "this here's the place! Your place, dat is. Where you sleep an' such."

The Newfoundland actually cleared his throat in a slightly nervous gesture, the first real sigh of embarrassment or shyness he'd displayed since before even meeting Penny. Giving her hands a squeeze, he leaned in for another light kiss upon her lips before straightening again. His grin was lopsided but honest as he looked at her. "Time of my life, Penny. Guaranteed, oh yes! Hearing you talk an' seen' your face an' holding' your hand, it's been... Well..."

His smirk became a full fledged smile, and Jack suddenly laughed out loud at himself. "Look here at me, trying to find words what I ain't got! Some stunned, I am! By now you're t'inkin' I'm an angishore of a lubber, no doubt, standing' here with me gob hangin' open! Late as it is, me having to get up early to me work, an' still runnin' off at the mouth!" Shaking his head, he looked at her ruefully. "So t'marrow, den? I'll be by after your shift and mine, an' we'll take another stroll about, eh? For the now, I just wants to say it's been a date like no other an' dat your some company, you is, Penny."

Having said his peace, Jack still stood there. The grin on his face was goofy in infatuation, and he couldn't quite find the wherewithal to let go of her hands while fearing all the while his palms might be sweating on her. For several more moments he could only look upon her as his own special sort of goddess before chuckling again and shaking his head at his own silliness. When Jack finally did let go of Penny's hands and began to retreat down the hallway, it was not without a number of glances back over his shoulder as though to reassure himself that she was still there. Even after he had turned the corner and the red haired baker was out of sight, the man was tempted to turn back around that corner to see if she might still be there. He refrained, however, not wanting to seem too desperate to her. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the last of the cookies she had made for him. All the way back to his own quarters, he chewed slowly and thoughtfully.

There were those who thought the end of the world was the end of life, he pondered. More fools they!

Never Lose Your Hat!

Jötz grimaced and raised an eyebrow. Here was a turn of events he was not expecting, to say the least. “Vait, vait, vait,” he pleaded as he sat down on the desk’s rickety chair. To his surprise, it held his weight. “So chou ist tellink me dat dis guy had da hots fur chou great grandma-maa? Und because of dat, ve can’t kill him?! Not to mention he ist already dead, so I gots to figure out how to make him deader dan he ist now! Oooh, boy.”

Reaching up with one clawed hand, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Vhy ist nuttink easy mit chou?” After a moment, the Jaeger was on his feet and gesticulating towards the door. “So he had a ting fur her?! So vhat?! Chou ist not her, und he knows nuttink ‘bout chou, Ivy! Not to mention dat he tinks chou ist a Heterodyne now! How to explain dat?! Und vhat vas dat about offerink him de Kestle Heterodyne?! De Kestle might have someting to say about dhat! Not to mention Baron Wulfenbach und de rest of de Jaegerkin! Ve should chust get him a body und go somevhere vhere ve gets chou arm fixed up good, ja? After all, like my own vatter said to me vonce -“

A sudden disturbing thought struck Jötz then, and before he quite knew what he was saying he drawled out, “Ivy, if dhat picture ist oft chou great-great-great-great-great-und-den-some grandma-ma… und if dhat picture ist here on his boat… und ift she vere his sveetheart…”

He looked at the young Spark full in the eye. “Vhat if he ist chou great-great-great-great-great-und-den-some grandpa-pa?! Not all Sparks have great relations mit der relations! Not like da Heterodynes! If Ludd ist like de ancestors oft any oft da Fifty Families, chou could be in fur a vorld of disappointment come da next family reunion!”

The Last Kings of Orion

Some thoughts on diseases and disorders the crew of the Copernicus might have to face...

http://io9.com/10-diseases-that-might-afflict-us-in-the-future-1666688319?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

The Last Kings of Orion

A young man full of confidence and light-hearted joy, Jack had no such troubling thoughts while kissing Penny. He devoted himself to that moment and that moment alone. If any troubling thought had come anywhere near the Newfoundlander, it would have been much around whether or not she owned a "Kiss The Cook" apron. Beyond that, he had an armful of Penny. That was all that was important.

He led them back towards her quarters by the most meandering route he could devilishly devise, drawling out their time together as they talked on what they had seen in the ship's center. Hand in hand, the two were oblivious to the comparative chaos that they passed: a security detail hurrying someplace, a trio of older teenagers who so much resembled (and giggled) like one another that they had to be related, a couple of astro-navigation officers comparing notes as they headed for the bridge, another lost scientist (or was it the same one), and a powerfully built man whose head nearly scraped the ceiling grumbling about how his kids were going to be the death of him and when he found the three of them... It was nothing to Jack and Penny, however. They had each other in that moment, and it was a moment that Jack truly did not wish to see the end of any time soon!

When Penny brought up the still, he grimaced a little. "A speakeasy? Don't know it'll be all that grand. Leastwise not at the start of it. Just a bit to wet our whistles, though in time we might make enough to bring some cheer an' and leave folks stunned. Needs more than just screech, though. Maybe... maybe whiskey. Wine, too. Come ta t'ink on it, wine might be easier! Make wine outta any old t'ing, in a gumboot, even! Just needs some yeast and juice! Maybe you is on to sumpt'in, Penny, m'duck!" The grimace gave way to something else, a narrowing of the eyes and a wrinkling of the brow as Jack thought more on it. "A little place fer folks to unwind a bit, take der ease, b'y. I t'inks I knows just the place for it, too..."

Glancing at Penny sidelong, he squeezed her hand. "For the rum, still needs a slut. Big kettle wit a lid, like one a' dem pressure cooker chummy-jiggers. Gots plenty a tubing an' a condenser, right near a good source of heat, down in Environmental Control. Gonna needs bottles, though. Whatever we kin scrounge up. Take some doing', but doin's what a Pumphrey's best at!"

They were closer to her quarters now, close enough that Jack actually began to feel anxious about the date ending! It was one of the those times a person gets only couple of chances at in life, and being an insightful man Jack had gleaned that this just might be one of those times. He had no intention of spoiling it by forcing himself upon her. His only real hope was that she would agree to a second date... and perhaps another kiss, should he be so lucky. In reluctance for letting things end so soon, he stopped and took up both of her hands in his so he might look into her full and wonderful face.

"Penny, you given me an idear, no mistake, an' it's a grand one at dat, one you should be part of. So here's what I'm t'inking. I'm t'inking dat either tomorrah or day next after, you an' me go out again after work an' I'll show you where it's at I have a mind for a speakeasy of a sorts." Jack squeezed her hands together gently. "If you don't t'ink it's a good place for a screechin'-in, den we finds some utter place. Either way, I get to spend more time wit you an' you wit me an' I kin only hopes dat's to your likin'. How says you, duck?"

The Last Kings of Orion

My apologies for my own delays! I got called into work three times last night to deal with wind damage. With luck (and a large mug of hot cocoa) I should post tonight for Jack.

The Last Kings of Orion

Be about another day before I can post anything. Making it a bit of a family day now that we can get out and about a bit.

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Looking forward to it, Heroes!

The Last Kings of Orion

Hob's remained shut while the nurse punched the code that would slide his body up into the darkness of the recess, cutting him off from light and any sound other than the faint hum of the machinery about him. The mask was secure about his face. The scent of the rubber mixed with the cold ness of the oxygen mix as it began to supply him with the only air he'd have while he was inside. He didn't want to watch the darkness creep over his body as his bed was slid into the socket nor watch the hatch close tight at his feet. Instead he tried to focus on the seconds it would take before he was uploaded. If he focused on what awaited him right now, it took some of the anxiety out of all the 'what-ifs' should something go wrong.

But his eyes snapped open wide at the sound of Devika's words whispered into his ear. That was the first time anyone in charge of the NI-techs had said anything of the sort to them, ever. Moreover, the feel of her warm breath upon his ear and neck was an intimate contact he hadn't expected, and much like the reassuring pressure of her fingers as she squeezed his hand it shocked Hob. He didn't look at the petite nurse at all, simply stared straight upwards as his feelings reeled. What good was righteous indignation and a hatred of the system when a representative of that very system... apologized? Hob wondered how much of his anger had blinded him to the humanity of the people he'd learned to loath. Not that most of them did not deserve his disgust! Only could all of them be so horrendously callous? Couldn't at least a few of them have some spark of conscience? In his experiences, it seemed to much to hope for!

He closed his eyes in the final moments before it all went dark, forcing himself to relax as he awaited the final three clicks that would tell him the airtight hatch was now completely shut.

With a buzz and a flash that stunned all of his sense, Hob convulsed once-

- and found himself standing at Stonehenge. His avatar flickered briefly. Instead of a three-piece suit that looked as though it was created from the upholstery of a Volkswagen Beetle, Hob wore long white trousers and high collared dress shirt; a straw boater hat settled about his brown hair just as he donned a red and white striped boater jacket. The bright blue bow tie and white cotton cloves completed the outfit. Hob paused to admire himself, brushing imaginary dirt from the sleeves while murmuring, "Dyke van Dyke, eat your heart out."

Foregoing the cane, he strode the rest of the way up the hill towards where the other Watch was waiting for him to relieve them. Annette was dressed elegantly in red, her face painted up like a calavera. Singh was still wearing his gold Baliwood suit, while Tyson was just... Tyson- jeans and a Steeler's jersey. The boy made Hob want to shake his head in disgust. Even Yuriko added a slight anime-manga cast thing to her features, but Tyson simply remained himself to the core. It made the Watch leader wonder if that took more or less imagination in such a place.

Jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards where he had materialized, Hob shook his head and began to say, "You guys will not believe what just-" The looks on their faces brought him up short. Something was wrong. It was clear by their expressions that something disturbing had occurred while he was logged out, and whatever it was had to be far more important than a nurse whispering an apology. "What? What happened?"

"We found Sung Pak," Annette announced in a voice stricken with grief. "He's down by the links to the back-up server, just... frozen. God, Hob, he's... trapped between one moment and the next. Stuck in time. Like a program that locks up and doesn't respond."

Singh spoke up then, his rich voice rolling with emotion. "You'll forgive me if I am in no hurry to press Control-Alt-Delete for a force quit."

Annette was crying, tears starting to run down her cheeks. "I don't know if he's aware of anything or not, Hob. There's no way to tell! We contacted Engineering, and they don't know what to do. No one knew this was even possible, everyone just thought it was his brain or something." Angrily, she choked back a sob as her face contorted with rage. "I wished I'd never fucking volunteered for this."

The new rocked Hob. He hadn't known such a thing was possible either! To be trapped like that for eternity was a terrifying idea, and if it really was Sung-Pak's soul... spirit... whatever... that was caught up in some sort of never ending logic loop, then it brought a whole new set of disturbing questions to bear. "Have you told Medical?"

Further questions revealed that only Engineering and Central Command had been notified so far. As the rest of the Starboard Watch arrived and were filled in, Hob's mind raced to figure out which tasks to handle first. "Look," he finally said, "There's some weird changes going on on the outside. Harris has got this new assistant, Naomi something or other, said she's going to look into making things more comfortable for us: protein shakes, meals waiting for us, small shit like that. And there's this nurse, a Major." Hob went into detail about what had happened, leaving out how her breath had tickled the hairs pleasantly on his neck. "i don't know whether to trust this sudden change of heart or not. Not after recruitment, surgery, and training. Damn sure First and Second Shift would have mentioned if things had changed. Keep your eyes open when you log out. Seems like we're not the only guinea pigs on board, too. Ran into this blue haired kid works the mining pods, mentioned oh-so-casually about the chances of someone dicking around with his skull. And there's this Latino chick, Deli, a real live wire. Came across her while she was leaving Brock's office, and she mentioned something about having her brain scanned, too."

There was a quiet moment between the six of them as they all absorbed the possible significance of Hob's encounters. Their background thoughts were still there, hushed whispered just out of each other's range of comprehension.

A few more things were covered, mostly administrative, and then the other Watch dematerialized as they were logged out. Hob brought up the job list and they reviewed what had to be done. They split up the duties equally and by mutual agreement and compromise, Hob managing to swing troubleshooting duty for himself so he could track down the Ghost issue Connor had reported. Unsaid, it would also give him time to assist OLGA. When the trio split up to cover their chosen tasks, Hob lingered only for a moment before conjuring an elevator in the middle of the central stones. Inside, a button flashed "OLGA". Without even looking, Hob slapped the button and let the contrived conveyance shift him to wherever the AI was lurking.

All the while, he tried not think about the warm feeling of Devika's hand upon his own...

The Last Kings of Orion

i don't mind.

But I do want my wallet back!

The Last Kings of Orion

I'll be working on Hob shortly. In the meantime, if anyone knows where the heck I put my wallet, I'd be much obliged!