Fragments Gallery
Observations
Imagine, just for a moment, that you close your eyes and when those heavy lids open once more you find yourself far in the future. You are lounging in a luxurious leather chair in the astral deck of a space ship. Around you the full wall windows reveal the endless space surrounding the ship. Those windows fully surround you; even the ceiling of this room has portals showing outside the ship. The single entry to the deck is set into the floor, down a flight of stairs, so as to not interfere with the view.
Out in that great black you can see the distant gleam of stars as they brightly burn so far away. Idly you search for familiar shapes among those lights but of course you find none. You are too far from earth for that.
From far below you can faintly hear the ships engines roar to life as the systems are reset. Somehow you know the sound of those engines is a good sign; it means you will soon be on your way. The roar dies away leaving behind only the faint thrumming of the ventilation system in its wake.
Smoothly the ship, after remaining stationary for so long, begins to move again. The sudden movement isn't something you can feel or hear; instead it is something that you can see. The moment the ship began to move you were able to see the telltale warping of space around the hull caused by the propulsion system.
Your eyes drift shut as you imagine how the ship's motion would have felt with less efficient inertia dampeners. That would have certainly made it a much bumpier ride.
The soft scent of the leather fills your nostrils; the ship isn't yet old enough for the seats to have lost that smell entirely. It mixes with the mint aroma coming from the life support system creating an interesting and unique musk only found on this deck in the ship.
Your musings are interrupted by a sharp, precise, knock on the door.
"Enter," you say briskly and immediately the door opens and footsteps sound on the stairs.
"Lieutenant Johnson would like your assistance on the bridge captain," says a crewman the moment he steps off of the final step.
"Very well," you respond, "I'll be down in a moment."
The crewman nods in response, salutes, and returns to his duties elsewhere in the ship.
You rise from your soft chair, cast one more searching look into the black of space and then depart the deck.