One Way to Create a New Tradition

One Way to Create a New Tradition

     A spaceship sailed through Space. Within that ship loud noises could be heard. It sounded like a party was going on within it.

     Humans danced around in a circle. The second one had his hands on the hips of the female leader. She lifted her right leg out to her side. Then brought it back. Then did the same thing with her left leg. Whatever leg she extended the other twenty holding hips behind her did the same thing.

     Commander Jillium watched the party going on from the Main Monitor in Command Central. “It sure does look like everyone is having a good time.”

     “Not everyone is, Commander.” Commander Jillium sat in a chair hovering above Command Central in the center of it. Standing next to him on either side were his two Co-Captains Vivican and Deonna.

     “I know,” said Commander Jillium. “Most of our people are still in a Deep Sleep.”

     “That’s not who Vivican was talking about.” Deonna pushed a button on the arm of the chair on the side she’s on. An image of a young girl, about twelve, huddled in a corner of a room bawling her little eyes out, appeared where the party used to be.

     “Who is that?” Commander Jillium asked.

     “There are a lot of children all over the ship that are acting just like her,” said Vivican. “They are doing it because they don’t think we are going to be getting to our new home in time for the holiday festivities.”

     “We aren’t,” said Commander Jillium. “That’s why I authorized this End of a Year holiday celebration.”

     “The Adults, and Near Adults, appreciate the holiday party too – but the children don’t.” Deonna pushed another button, and a different child appeared. That time it’s a boy, around ten, with his head face down on his Sleeper. He’s flooding his Sleeper with his tears.

     “Bring up everyone who’s not celebrating,” said Commander Jillium. “I want to see just how bad this problem is.”

     Vivican and Deonna sat in chairs near the Commander. They started hitting buttons on Control Panels. A few second later about two hundred small images of children appeared on the Main Monitor. Commander Jillium gasped. “There’s that many. I didn’t realize we had woken up so many children from their Deep Sleep.

     Commander Jillium got up to get a closer look at the images. “I don’t know what I am going to do – yet, but I will do something. Everyone should be celebrating the holidays – especially the children.”

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     “Something is wrong with my systems,” said the female voice of Data. Data echoed throughout the small room where it almost completely filled hovering a few feet off the deck. It’s so big there’s barely enough room for someone to walk in there alone. More than one couldn’t do it. “I have no choice but to awaken the Crew.”

     The lights suddenly came on in a room filled with Final Death boxes. There’s only about twenty-five in that room, but on small Wall Monitors covering up the walls it showed other rooms like that one – with several billion boxes within them total. Those boxes all began to melt to reveal naked humans within them. The boxes melted out of existence, but there wasn’t any liquid drowning the individuals within them.

     Commander Jillium awoke first. He sat up. After a few minutes he started looking at all the other individuals in that room as he got to his feet. The light above had been flickering on and off every few seconds with a light red color ever since they came back on. “I don’t think we are at Stollan Two. Something must have happened.”

     An empty Command Central got filled up quickly. Commander Jillium entered first, and he went directly to his chair. So did everyone else who came in after him. “I want an update as soon as you can give it to me.”

     The first thing that came back on, except the lights that came on seconds after they started entering that room, being the Main Monitor. It showed small to large rocks floating around that spaceship.

     “It’s a Rock Field. We have flown into a huge rock Field,” said Commander Jillium. “Ever since I had been awoken I have heard banging again this ship. Now I know why.”

     “According to Data there are no Rock Fields in our path to our final destination.” Vivican sat in a nearby chair, but he turned to face Commander Jillium before he spoke.

     “There are supposed to be nine planets, and a Sun, in this part of Space though,” said Deonna who sat on the other side of Commander Jillium. “It looks like they have all been destroyed. By what, and how long ago, is impossible to know.”

     “Give me a damage report,” said Commander Jillium. “I want to know what else is wrong with this ship.”

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     Commander Jillium returned to his chair. He looked at each individual in Command Central. Then back up at the children on the Main Monitor. “Out of five thousand there are two hundred children on this ship. All the children are unhappy about our situation. Are there any Adults, or Near Adults, saddened by all this too?”

     A few minutes later Commander Jillium got his answer. Another two hundred and seventy-eight images appeared on the Main Monitor. “I didn’t know so many of you were miserable about our holiday celebration. It’s going to be another month or so until we can get to our new home. I’ve decided that I’m going to the extend this party until we get home.”

     “That happened six hundred years ago, and it’s a tradition that had been passed down with each generation ever since then. Each year that story had been told to children, and adults or near adults, all over the planet…” A father addressed his spouse next to him and their six children who sat on the floor in front of him.