Chapter 1
Minor Updates: 16 November 2004
'Last year I went away for a month and when I got back I found that everything had changed'. Nis couldn't remember where she'd read that, but she was beginning to understand.
Life at home had been rolling right along without them. For most of the people on board the Questor, just over six years had passed. For the folks back home, though, it had been more than 24. Undoubtedly, things had changed more at home than they had here. Then again, they had all changed a lot in that time.
60 people had seemed like a lot when they first came onboard. They had quickly discovered just how few it really was. 'It'll be like summer camp', somebody had suggested.
'Or boarding school'...
'Maybe it'll be kind of like living in res back in university'.
It was similar, in a way, and yet so completely different. All they had was each other. That was it. 60 people in a big tin can flying through space. They were down to 59 now. It seemed like less than three years ago — but in reality was closer to twelve — two people had died in an accident on the surface of a planet farther away from home than anybody had ever been before. Two months ago a baby had been born.
Relle and Taren had stayed awake all throughout the last year. They hadn't experienced any problems with the suspended animation so far, but nobody had ever tried it with an unborn child before. Parik, the chief medical officer, had said he was 99 per cent sure it would work out all right, but that just wasn't enough.
Nis leaned back in the chair and looked around the room. The lounge was definitely the most comfortable room on the ship. It had plush couches and soft lighting. There was a stereo system with a very broad musical selection. (They’d all been encouraged to add their own choices.) The walls and flat surfaces had gradually been covered with various works of art. Occasionally a few people got together and performed music of one sort or another. Sometimes these things were planned, sometimes spontaneous.
Shelves lined with hundreds and hundreds of books ran along one entire wall. Nis had long since read all of them that she cared to. She'd even read a few she never would have thought — well, space was boring sometimes.
Cheers of laughter jilted her from her reverie. She peered through the open door into the movie room. They had brought so many movies with them. Maybe somebody had found one they hadn't seen before. Probably not.
Smells began wafting towards her, reminding her that it was nearing dinner-time. She stood up and walked through a second open doorway.
Taren looked up at her and smiled. 'Hey, Nis, we're just making some stew. Care to join us?' Relle, holding the baby, and several others looked at her. Some nodded. Some greeted her. Everybody smiled.
'Sure, Taren. Thanks. Want me to throw together a salad?' But Keeler had already done just that. He had just harvested the vegetables from his garden that afternoon. Ziv was setting places at a big round table. Since there wasn't much more she could do, she sat down and talked with Relle and Ziv, while the guys finished with the food.
Unlike most of the crew, she would miss this place. It felt like home. She belonged here. It seemed like she had gone most of her life without really knowing anybody. Here, everybody knew everybody. People knew more than just her name and a few basic scraps of info, and they accepted her anyway. When she passed somebody in the hallways, they smiled. When she walked into a room, people included her in their conversations.
Everybody seemed to be in a friendly mood these days. The exploration was done. All the information had been gathered and catalogued. It was up to the scientists back home to study it and dissect every detail. They were on their way home. Within the next year, they'd be able to receive messages from home. They'd be time-delayed at first, but even that was better than nothing. People at home would surely be anxious to see them too.
Dinner dragged on for a few hours. Nobody had much to do. People were getting too excited to work too much anyway. After dinner the group, which had grown to 10, moved back into the lounge for drinks and dessert.
Eventually people began to yawn. The crown began to disperse. Nis rose and walked back to the quarters she shared with Tor. That was something else new to her. She'd never had a serious relationship before. She'd never let anybody get close enough. Here, though, it just didn't work like that. About three months into their first shift together it became obvious that __________. [Sorry, I'm stuck on this sentence.] They both knew how hard it was for people to co-exist once things went sour. They were cautious, but they went ahead with it.
On the surface of the planet they'd been sent to explore, they had asked Taren to marry them. The whole team had attended the wedding.
She still had trouble believing it was real sometimes. Nis had shared quarters with Ziv until then. It felt strange, in the beginning, living with anybody. A husband, though — who'd have guessed? She wondered, not for the first time, what would happen to them when they got back home. He tried to reassure her that everything would work out, but she had been born a sceptic, and would in all probability die a sceptic.
As one of the ship's pilots, Tor was one of the few people with much work still to be done. Nis had some work to keep her busy, but not too busy. Taren and Relle would be staying awake through the next shift as well, but the'd be taking some time off to spend with their new son. Even so, there wasn't much for a first officer — or even a captain — to do at this point.
Tor was asleep when she entered the cabin. He had been working late tonight. He had probably gone straight to bed when he finished up, she thought. She got ready for bed as quietly as she could, and kept the lights to a minimum, so as not to wake him. She carefully lifted the covers and climbed into bed as gingerly as she could manage.
A hand reached out and grabbed her. She screamed. Then she laughed. 'I thought you were asleep'.
'I was just drifting off when I heard the door open', Tor replied. He was laughing now, too. He loved to laugh and he did so often. More importantly, though, he loved to see her laugh. She had never laughed so much in her entire life as she had since meeting him. Well, it made sense; she'd never been so happy.
Nis curled up in his arms and waited for sleep to take her. Contentedly.
'Last year I went away for a month and when I got back I found that everything had changed'. Nis couldn't remember where she'd read that, but she was beginning to understand.
Life at home had been rolling right along without them. For most of the people on board the Questor, just over six years had passed. For the folks back home, though, it had been more than 24. Undoubtedly, things had changed more at home than they had here. Then again, they had all changed a lot in that time.
60 people had seemed like a lot when they first came onboard. They had quickly discovered just how few it really was. 'It'll be like summer camp', somebody had suggested.
'Or boarding school'...
'Maybe it'll be kind of like living in res back in university'.
It was similar, in a way, and yet so completely different. All they had was each other. That was it. 60 people in a big tin can flying through space. They were down to 59 now. It seemed like less than three years ago — but in reality was closer to twelve — two people had died in an accident on the surface of a planet farther away from home than anybody had ever been before. Two months ago a baby had been born.
Relle and Taren had stayed awake all throughout the last year. They hadn't experienced any problems with the suspended animation so far, but nobody had ever tried it with an unborn child before. Parik, the chief medical officer, had said he was 99 per cent sure it would work out all right, but that just wasn't enough.
Nis leaned back in the chair and looked around the room. The lounge was definitely the most comfortable room on the ship. It had plush couches and soft lighting. There was a stereo system with a very broad musical selection. (They’d all been encouraged to add their own choices.) The walls and flat surfaces had gradually been covered with various works of art. Occasionally a few people got together and performed music of one sort or another. Sometimes these things were planned, sometimes spontaneous.
Shelves lined with hundreds and hundreds of books ran along one entire wall. Nis had long since read all of them that she cared to. She'd even read a few she never would have thought — well, space was boring sometimes.
Cheers of laughter jilted her from her reverie. She peered through the open door into the movie room. They had brought so many movies with them. Maybe somebody had found one they hadn't seen before. Probably not.
Smells began wafting towards her, reminding her that it was nearing dinner-time. She stood up and walked through a second open doorway.
Taren looked up at her and smiled. 'Hey, Nis, we're just making some stew. Care to join us?' Relle, holding the baby, and several others looked at her. Some nodded. Some greeted her. Everybody smiled.
'Sure, Taren. Thanks. Want me to throw together a salad?' But Keeler had already done just that. He had just harvested the vegetables from his garden that afternoon. Ziv was setting places at a big round table. Since there wasn't much more she could do, she sat down and talked with Relle and Ziv, while the guys finished with the food.
Unlike most of the crew, she would miss this place. It felt like home. She belonged here. It seemed like she had gone most of her life without really knowing anybody. Here, everybody knew everybody. People knew more than just her name and a few basic scraps of info, and they accepted her anyway. When she passed somebody in the hallways, they smiled. When she walked into a room, people included her in their conversations.
Everybody seemed to be in a friendly mood these days. The exploration was done. All the information had been gathered and catalogued. It was up to the scientists back home to study it and dissect every detail. They were on their way home. Within the next year, they'd be able to receive messages from home. They'd be time-delayed at first, but even that was better than nothing. People at home would surely be anxious to see them too.
Dinner dragged on for a few hours. Nobody had much to do. People were getting too excited to work too much anyway. After dinner the group, which had grown to 10, moved back into the lounge for drinks and dessert.
Eventually people began to yawn. The crown began to disperse. Nis rose and walked back to the quarters she shared with Tor. That was something else new to her. She'd never had a serious relationship before. She'd never let anybody get close enough. Here, though, it just didn't work like that. About three months into their first shift together it became obvious that __________. [Sorry, I'm stuck on this sentence.] They both knew how hard it was for people to co-exist once things went sour. They were cautious, but they went ahead with it.
On the surface of the planet they'd been sent to explore, they had asked Taren to marry them. The whole team had attended the wedding.
She still had trouble believing it was real sometimes. Nis had shared quarters with Ziv until then. It felt strange, in the beginning, living with anybody. A husband, though — who'd have guessed? She wondered, not for the first time, what would happen to them when they got back home. He tried to reassure her that everything would work out, but she had been born a sceptic, and would in all probability die a sceptic.
As one of the ship's pilots, Tor was one of the few people with much work still to be done. Nis had some work to keep her busy, but not too busy. Taren and Relle would be staying awake through the next shift as well, but the'd be taking some time off to spend with their new son. Even so, there wasn't much for a first officer — or even a captain — to do at this point.
Tor was asleep when she entered the cabin. He had been working late tonight. He had probably gone straight to bed when he finished up, she thought. She got ready for bed as quietly as she could, and kept the lights to a minimum, so as not to wake him. She carefully lifted the covers and climbed into bed as gingerly as she could manage.
A hand reached out and grabbed her. She screamed. Then she laughed. 'I thought you were asleep'.
'I was just drifting off when I heard the door open', Tor replied. He was laughing now, too. He loved to laugh and he did so often. More importantly, though, he loved to see her laugh. She had never laughed so much in her entire life as she had since meeting him. Well, it made sense; she'd never been so happy.
Nis curled up in his arms and waited for sleep to take her. Contentedly.
posted by sic at 13:31
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