Lucid Waking

            “Damn I need a cup of tea,” Sarah said rolling out of bed as the alarm went off for her to get ready for her shift and head to the cockpit.
            She heard a laugh over the intercom as her coworker came onto the speakers to fill her in for her shift. “That’s very un-American of you. Very British,” he said in a thick Scottish accent.
            “Just because I don’t like coffee,” she said smiling, “doesn’t make me un-American.”
            “Right,” he said, “just like I don’t like whiskey, my friends think I’m un-Scottish. But that doesn’t matter, now. We seem to have a little Whisperer on our tails and she’s been flitting in and out of our radar. I don’t like it, but the captain said to leave it alone.”
            “Why is that not surprising?” Sarah said rolling her eyes.
            “Hey now, you don’t have a right to complain about Captain Banks. I’m not going to say that I like him and his leadership, but you gave up the position. I don’t have a choice and you don’t see me complaining.”
            “Is that all?” she said clipping on her tool belt.
            “I think that’s it. We’ve got little more than a day’s fuel so we’ve got to stop for refreshments at the next station.”
            “Alright, check and over, Sean. I’m on my way.”
            The intercom crackled off and she headed down the dimly lit corridor of the resident rooms where people were still sleeping. Getting night shift had its advantages: the captain was asleep for most of it so she didn’t have to deal with him. She also got to skip his after meal speeches twice a day where he ordered the crew around. But she had to deal with him breathing down her neck after her shift when he was awake enough to notice she wasn’t working. Several times when she was caught, she was sent to triple check that the system was working or help the cleaning bots with various manual things.
            She reached the brightly lit control station and sat down in her seat next to Sean. She took the output cord where she had left it the night before and plugged it into the input behind her ear. There was a click as the ships data quickly filed into her brain. The controls flashed under her fingers in a blue light and she could see the radar screen in her left field of vision. It would flash red occasionally when a small dot appeared on the very edge of the radar, but went green again when the dot disappeared. She heard Sean pull the plug out of his input and place it on the manual controls. He stood up and walked over to her, bending down so his mouth was level with her other ear.
            “Good luck,” he whispered and patted her on the shoulder before walking off the way she came to go to sleep. She watched him go through the various computer maps and controls before losing sight of him and watching the blank sky ahead of her.
            The clock at the bottom of the screen ran at the universal twenty-four hour system and when it said it was four twenty three, she buzzed into the nearest headquarters.
            “Titan Base IV,” a woman’s voice came on, “reading ship 46571, the Diana.”
            Sarah sighed at the woman’s use of the article but continued, “Diana requesting landing for fuel. Stay for three hours in our own docking point.”
            “Access granted. Your code is being sent and downloaded now. Present this to the guard computers when asked. If I may ask,” the woman added after a pause, “if I’m speaking with the famed Sarah Meluski?”
            “Yes you are, Carla.”
            The woman laughed. “You’ve always been so good at guessing. Anyway, security is heightened since that incident at Betelgeuse VII. The earth federation is going haywire over that psychologist Cindy coming back with evidence of the supplementary mafia, but what are you going to do?”
            “Oh so that’s what this war is about. I try to keep myself out of politics. To me, this is a shooting game like I played with my brothers. Keeps me detached and has kept me alive.”
            “I know,” Carla said. “Look if they’re monitoring our conversation, I’m in big trouble.”
            “Same here.”
            “I’d better go. Say hello to Sean for me. I miss him so much.”
            “Will do. Just get me in with no trouble and I’ll send him over to you.”
            She laughed. “I wish I could see him. Anyway, I have to go.”
            “Wait,” Sarah said quickly glancing at the red radar in the corner of her screen, “I’ve got a Whisperer on my tail just floating out of my sight. You might want to have Security check it out when I get closer or at least get them in on the fact that I’ve got a leech following me.”
            “I’m putting that request in right now. We’ll see what we can do.”
            “Thanks.”
            “No problem, bye.”
            Sarah laughed at her sister’s demeanor as soon as she knew she was off of their speaker. There was bustling behind her in the kitchen as soon as they pulled up into the station. She turned on the intercom over the ship and cleared her throat gently.
            “Good morning crew of Diana,” she said in her best announcer voice. “We’re coming into port at Titan Base IV on the Earth Federation. We’ll be stopping for fuel but we have our own private dock and a three-hour lease to it. If you would like breakfast on this ship, you’re welcome to eat provided you come to an agreement with the chef. Otherwise, I suggest you wait until we land,” she shut off the intercom and smiled. She watched the clock in the corner of the screen click off seconds until she heard her captain’s footsteps coming down into the cockpit, exactly as she had expected.
            “Who gave you permission to access a three hour lease to port, let alone to land?” he said calmly. She shivered; his calm demeanor was not what she expected and was harder to deal with than his screaming. It must be too early, she thought.
            “I thought we could do with a small break. Besides, we’ll be under protection of the Earth Federation and we’ve got a whisperer on our tails. I needed to get us in and approved so they could help us if the leech decided to take over.”
            He yawned. Yep, definitely too early, she said relaxing, saved by it being morning. “Fine,” he said. “I’m getting breakfast.”
            She wondered if he even heard a thing she said, but she was thankful that he wasn’t grumpier the earlier in the morning it was. As the base came into site, Sean ran down and sat in the chair next to her.
            “Need help landing?” he asked as he plugged himself into the console.
            “Not really.”
            He shrugged. “My wife’s in charge of this base, I just want to hear her voice.”
            Sarah smiled. “I know.”
            “Titan Base VI calling Diana. State your business,” a man’s voice said. Sarah saw Sean lean back annoyed in her peripheral vision.
            “I was given this code,” Sarah said pressing a blue key to transmit the data.
            “Your code was processed and acceptable. Welcome to Titan Base IV and enjoy your stay.”
            “Sorry,” Sarah said turning to Sean.
            “It doesn’t matter,” he said unplugging himself from the console. She steered the ship into the small port door, which shut quickly behind her and glided neatly to the floor. She unplugged herself from the console and shut off the ship, taking out the activation key. She turned to Sean who had stayed in his seat and smiled.
            “Welcome to Titan Base IV.”

Filed under: Science Fiction by Bri
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            It was winter. It was one of those winter days where you sit at home and watch the roses wilting on your newly polished dining room table with your back to the snow. I was hungry, but I dared not eat, my stomach could last just a little bit longer. I remember that my gaze had moved from the wilting roses on the dining room table to the ballet slippers on the piano when the phone rang. Like I was walking through jell-o I reached the phone and listened.
            “Look, Misaki, I’m sorry,” he said through the static of his cell phone.
            I had waited for that call. I knew the entire situation was my fault, but had been too proud to admit it. That Saturday was a difficult one. The university had called to cancel my foreign exchange and my parents were suing to get me back. The Thursday before I found out I was betrothed and that Friday I was sent plane tickets from my parents with a note saying that they would cancel my registration with the academy, bring me home, and marry me off. I was numb and so numb in fact, that I hadn’t watched my language in regards to the people I held close. I broke up with my American boyfriend without a word on the matter and had prepared myself for my descent back to the traditions I fought so hard to avoid.
            “Why?” I asked. It was the only word I could manage to get out. I knew I was using up his phone minutes and after he was out of those, he was out of luck. There was nothing to do in Michigan in winter with five feet of snow and if I used up his lifeline out of the house, I would have destroyed him for sure. I know it sounds superficial that he would rely so much on a cell phone, but he was stuck in the house as they couldn’t open the door for the snow and their phone lines were down because of the blizzard; this was his key to talking to someone other than his immediate family up there. He was already staying there for longer than he had originally expected.
            He didn’t wait for more on my end. “I just heard you were leaving. I’m sorry for whatever I did to get you angry.”
            “Jack,” I slammed my fist on the table to get my courage back. It was an odd habit, but for some reason, it cleared my head enough to continue. “It’s not your fault. It’s been a rough week. I find out my parents have pulled me out of school in order to be married to someone I’ve never met. I had to let you go free and I thought that if I took the first step, it would be easier for both of us.”
            There was silence and I felt the tension between us slowly tick away with the minutes.
            “Just tell me next time,” he said.
            “I’m sorry,” I said, obviously cutting him off. I loved him, but I didn’t want to talk to him. I had no choice but to let go and I didn’t want to prolong the pain.
            “If things get rough, don’t be afraid to talk to me. And if you come back, you’ll always have a place to stay. I understand you’ll be a married woman and it might be too hard to talk to your ex-boyfriend. You made quite an impression on my parents, Misaki. Don’t be afraid to ask for their help if you can’t stand talking to me.” There was a pause when neither one of us dared to speak. “I miss you already.”
            I bit my lip to choke back tears. “I’ve missed you since you left for Michigan,” I joked. “But this is going to be a lot harder. I’m afraid he’s going to abuse me like Dad abuses Mom.”
            Jack took in a sharp intake of breath and his phone crackled again slicing his next words. I didn’t care to have him repeat it, though at this point I would have done anything to continue our phone conversation. I knew I couldn’t call him again and I might not get away with contacting him for years. I choked back tears and listened to his voice ebb in and out of the static. If there was one thing I had to say before leaving, now was the time to do it. I prayed his phone would be clear enough just this once to get it out.
            “You know how to find me,” he said once the static cleared.
            I took a deep breath. “I love you,” I stammered. It was strange; in the two years of our relationship we had never said those three words to each other. I suppose we implied without words through flowers and smiles and various longing glance. Even though you can’t say everything, and in the art of conversation, there is much that isn’t said but understood anyway, there are some things that you have to say. And this was one of them.
            “I love you, too,” he said without missing a beat. My heart snapped and my tears rolled down my cheeks in great waves. I knew he meant it and I knew I was losing the one man who would love me forever. It was genuine, I felt it, and it tore me to shreds.
            “Bye,” he said. I could hear him crying on the other end.
            “Good bye.”

Filed under: Paradise Lost, Realistic Fiction by Bri
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