pabs

Jiff Stardazzle, explorer extraordinaire, shepherd of space, ace of the abyss, slept, his hands behind his head, his eyes moving back and forth rapidly. The cylindrical tube around him seemed to pan back and forth in a strange pattern, its glass changing from green to red to blue. He snored, turning over in bed. A quiet lullaby played itself out beyond the steel bearings of the glass leader, every third beat pumping slightly louder. Presently, the snores synchronized with the beats, one, two, three, four, and again

Two more measures and the song stopped. With a snort, Stardazzle snapped up. He looked about, his murky, blue eyes panning about in a strange way, examining the tube he sat in. He sneezed, spewing strange germs and bacterium across the glass. A holographic screen appeared suddenly before him. The Cumpyewturr did its best impression of an “Ah-hem.”

With a thump and a small cough of air, the glass of the tube detached itself from the metal floor and allowed the air to flow in. Stardazzle shook his head and breathed heavily. This was the first natural air he had inhaled in…He glanced up at the atomic clock…fifty years.

The computer screen blinked, forming the reflective surface of a mirror. Stardazzle gazed into it. Turning his head to the side, he felt his beard. He had not aged a day! His square-like face was dominated by deep black hair. Not a single gray hair spoiled his head. A slight blemish had appeared on his left cheek. He eyed it carefully in the mirror, scratching away at.

“That’ll only make it more red, dear,” the Cumpyewturr warned in its softest tone.

“Thanks Cump,” Stardazzle said exasperatedly.

There was a loud crash. The holographic screen disappeared, sighing again. Rat stumbled from behind a small stack of boxes, blithering inaudible phrases. Stardazzle massaged his own forehead. If Rat’s rate of hyperactivity increased with the amount of hours he slept, the Captain would want to avoid him for several days.

“Cap’n, so glad I f-found you!” Rat roared in a drunken tone.

The Cumpyewturr beeped ominously. Stardazzle smiled. Good old Cump would always keep Rat in place. Rat grimaced, sticking out his white tongue. Stardazzle lifted himself from the steel bed on which he rested and clapped Rat’s shoulder.

“Good to see you again buddy,” he said with a smiled.

They quickly embraced each other. Rat’s body was cool, as was his own. The freezing cold temperatures of the Cryo-Stasis “Snooze” tubes had lowered their body temperatures significantly.

Drawing back, Stardazzle began to shiver. His vision began to clear. There was something odd about Rat. He looked down. His eyes went wide.

“Good lord, are you naked?” the Captain exclaimed.

Rat shrugged. “I don’ much likesleepin’ in m’ clothes.”

“Well get some on,” Stardazzle ordered, looking away. “Just hope Cump didn’t see…”

There was a great, mechanical roar. “Naked, in this freezing place? You must be kidding me! Are you insane? Get clothing on immediately! Didn’t I raise you better than that?” The Cumpyewturr said, using its usual guilt-inflicting punisher line.

Rat answered in his own usual fashion. “Yeh didn’ raise me.”

Stardazzle made his way out of the room, trying to ignore the storming voice of the Cumpyewturr. They had this argument once…twice daily, Rat and Cump. Even he could vouch for Rat on this issue. Cump held some kind of maternity complex that could prove to be quite annoying.

The Captain moved down the twisted hallways like a boy on his way to the candy jar. He knew the path like an animal his own hunting ground. Of course, there were the enormous red arrows that said “Bridge.” But that is only paint. Nothing could compare to instinct.

With a cry, Stardazzle fell to the floor. He looked up, feeling for his nose, which, to his relief, was still attached to his face. He could have sworn there was a door in this hallway, right in that exact location. But, to his dismay, and to that of his nose, there was no door.

He stood and looked about. No one had seen. Wait; there were only three people to see besides himself. His vanity still lingered from his time as a model. Damn, why did he have to think about that? Would the narrator write it down? Maybe he would forget. There was that vanity again.

Stardazzle breathed in slowly and carried on, his arms now tracing the arrows on the walls, his eyes affixed on the hall before him. He took a sharp left, turning to face an enormous double-door. It slid open easily, revealing the cool, white Bridge for the first time in 50 years. A wisp of air escaped from its half-decade long confinement, like fish out of the water.

Stardazzle took a step upon the command platform of the Bridge and stared into the observation window. Through the hatch he could see space in all its abyssal blackness. He had conquered space; he had traveled it for many years; he had broken its boundaries and pushed its limits; yet, he still felt so helpless in its clutches, and so in awe.

The star fields created an unorganized pattern across the blanket of broken darkness. They sparkled like the lights of a holiday season, sending their luminance light-years across the galaxy. Galaxies.

It occurred to Stardazzle, for the first time in many years, how far from home he now was. The stars about him shone with an alien kind of light; one not of Earth. Not one of them was his own sun. No, that one was long gone, in a distant galaxy; in a parallel dimension.

Finally, that for which he had come came into view. Four enormous entities of space loomed before him, suspended in the blackness like the Xplowrur itself. One of them was a great star, its yellow light identifying it as one much like Stardazzle’s own. Before this great space-lantern sat a smaller shape; this one was Planet 11002. Its seas were red, its sands purple. This was a planet of mystery and uncertainty. Beyond that lay a magnificent sphere of green forest, gray desert, and blue sky, fiery volcanoes dotting its surface; this was Fantasya. And finally, his eyes fell on the spectacle he had come for; a goliath of water, wind, and earth, it hung like an idol decoration. It brought color to the darkness of space, and shape to its shapelessness. Most of all, it brought familiarity.

Utherworld.

Stardazzle sighed. Now, all he had to do was stop the ship from heading into the sun. The problem? He had no idea how to pilot the wreck.

“Cump, get Frizz up here,” Stardazzle said idly.

“I can’t captain,” the Cumpyewturr responded.

“And…why not?”

“He’s still sleeping. We can’t wake him up,” Cump said sadly.

Stardazzle’s jaw dropped. He hadn’t realized just how close the star was until the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand.

Angry Asian Advisor

Your protagonist, Stardazzle, is one of those characters who is enough to keep me reading. I like how whenever he is around, we can see the uniqueness in your other characters. The read was great fun. I think this is mostly due to the fast-pace and wit of it all.

Angry Asian Advisor

Your protagonist, Stardazzle, is one of those characters who is enough to keep me reading. I like how whenever he is around, we can see the uniqueness in your other characters. The read was great fun. I think this is mostly due to the fast-pace and wit of it all.

pabs

Glad you liked Stardazzle. I was hoping that would be his effect. Hope you do keep up the reading! Thanks

pabs

does this work?