Eric's Journey

I remember walking onto the Morningstar from the HermesLift and already feeling a sense of relief. I hadn’t been away from home in so long and while I was happy there for the most part, it was starting to feel like a prison. This Morningstar voyage got my blood boiling again! I was anticipating all kinds of new trouble that I could get into. Also, I didn’t have my mother over my shoulder always wanting to know what I was doing and where I had been. I did miss her though…

The ship was huge. Most people carried around the Protégé CGPA model 11, which allowed them to instantly view a holographic projection of the ship once the file was downloaded. I had to use the guidance panel on the wall though since I had given up mobile devices years ago. I actually hate them. I had about an hour to get settled in and then I was to meet Jake in some restaurant called the Firepit in the Sunny Broke Mall. Yes, the ship actually had a mall unlike some city vessels. The place felt more like a huge town than a starship. The ground was concrete; not carpet like I expected and there were actually trees, flowers, and phytozoans in the lobby. Most likely the phytozoans were placed in the ground to make the Chatina alien passengers feel at home. They were always so colorful too. I’d be working with such organisms eventually. In addition to these things, I also saw a few squirrels running across the concrete and there were cracks and signs of moisture damage in the ground too. For some odd reason, this put a huge smile on my face. There’s no doubt that the crew could fix such imperfections, but why would they do that? This place felt like an actual planet. Even the time of day was synched with Earth’s using a high-hanging magnilamp.

The place smelled like fresh-cut grass, which is to be expected since the grass surrounding the trees had just been cut. There were lots of people getting off of the HermesLift from Earth so it was a bit crowded. Is it always like this? I could see a short Amonian man with pale blue skin gathering some of the disembarked for a tour guide of sorts but I wanted no part of that. Exploring this place on my own was going to be half the fun.

I walked over to the nearest guidance panel, which was about 20 feet from the lift exit point. “Ship Display” I said. A 2-D image of the ship appeared with my current position and section highlighted on the map. There were 15 sections of the ship, 5 of which were off-limits to the passengers. The other 10 sections were named by color such as Ambertown section 1, Greensville section 2, and Crimsonglade section 3. The ship was shaped like an old Medieval weapon with a ball, chain, and handle. The engines were located in the upper part of the handle which was the middle of the ship. The “chain” section was actually a corridor from the handle to the spiked ball section, which is where most of the passengers were including myself. The bridge, not surprisingly, was located near the lower handle of the front of the ship. The ship had wings of sort emanated from the upper handle section near the engines. Probably just for show…

“May I help you?” I heard a voice ask from my left. I looked over and saw a blue-skinned human male smiling at me. He was wearing the standard white uniforms of the crew.

“Sure…I’m looking for section 3. It’s an apartment complex near the farming sector. Um…Crimsonglade.”

“I’m very familiar with that area, sir. Not a bad spot to be for such a long voyage. Just find any pod and tell it to take you to number 3 or Crimsonglade. You’ll be transported to a pod exit point as close as it can take you.”

“Thanks”, I said. Say…I’m just curious.”

He looked down at me with big brown eyes in a peculiar manner. As if preparing for an unusual question.

“Since this voyage is so long, do you all work here the entire time as crew members?”

He chuckles a bit and shakes his head. “Only the ones desperate for money.” I work for a few months and then take a vacation right here. In fact, I haven’t left the ship in over 3 years.”

“No way! Don’t you want to see other places?” Explore the galaxy?” Doesn’t it get boring on the same ship?”

His posture changed from one of duty that was one of more relaxation.

“Not with this ship, my friend. It’s so huge and there’s so much to do that there isn’t much incentive to leave. After a few months on this vessel, you might not want to go either. Besides…we do go to some interesting places. Technically, I do leave the ship but only for a few hours after we stop at an interesting location like our current destination. Trust me, you won’t want to leave after being on board the Morningstar.”

“Don’t count on it. I’ve been in prison long enough.”

“Funny…you don’t seem like an ex-con.”

“Looks can be deceiving.” I laugh. “I like meeting new people.”

“So do I, in fact, I just met you, didn’t I? People travel from one star system to the next always looking for adventure, excitement, women…” He paused for a second and winked at me…”and, of course, the occasional vacation. What brings you here Mister…

“Call me, Eric.”

“I’m luther.” He extended his hand and we had a friendly shake. He was on the short side; about 5’2”.

“Nice meeting you, man. You from Amon?”

“Everyone asks that. I was actually born on Earth, mom was from Amon though. Listen, John…I’d love to talk but my shift isn’t over.”

“Oh…how rude. Sorry, man…”

“It’s cool. Hey there’s a place near the shopping mall called Danby’s Grille. Some friends and I chill there after hours sometimes.”

“Great. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Alright. Take care, man.”

A new friend perhaps? A person that could give me a grand tour at the very least I imagine. I could always use someone my own age to talk to as well.