Stowaway

Captain Ryan Benjamin was acting like a baby. He knew it and he knew his Second, Lieutenant Patricia Parker knew it, but he couldn’t and wouldn’t remove the pout from his face.

“It’s time, Captain,” Lieutenant. Parker admonished. He ignored her frustrated sigh and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Satellite imaging shows we’re near the Star of Celestia. Our new home planet is mere months away. Every crew member must—”

“Be out of stasis sleep,” Captain Ryan interrupted, his voice mimicking Parker’s Scottish accent. He quickly dropped the mocking tone at Parker’s raised eyebrow. “I know. But would it really be breaking protocol to leave her in the chamber until we land on New Earth?”

“Do you want me to answer that honestly, sir?”

Ryan groaned and threw himself back in his chair. One of the wheels gave an objectionable squeak as he turned away to face the blank, metal wall of his office. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing again that the ship had been fitted with a window so he could stare broodingly into the darkness of space.

“I’ll meet you in the stasis room momentarily, Lieutenant.” He hated himself for the whine mingled with the command.

“I understand, sir.”

He knew she did. Parker understood more than anyone how much he loathed being partnered with the one woman on Old Earth who grated on his nerves.

“Emilee.” Even her name made his teeth clench. For the millionth time he wondered how he would bare being stuck with her on New Earth for the rest of his days. His elation at being promoted to captain and his assignment to the Starship Glory was tainted when he discovered his nemesis was chosen to be the wife and mother of his future children. Genetics, the scientists said with such smug smirks that he had to refrain from punching them in the face. Genetics dictated the best matches for the best possible outcome of populating New Earth and every member of the crew had been carefully selected.

Ryan opened his eyes and rubbed his stubbled chin. He would bet his spacesuit that Emilee had pulled some strings with her rich daddy, saddling her with him, just so she could provoke him for the rest of her days. She would relish being married to the leader of the new outpost and the power it would bring her over the colony. He squirmed and bounced from his seat. No use putting it off any longer. One big breath to calm his soul and the doors of his office whisked open, allowing him to exit.

His mind wandered as he slowly meandered down the metal hallway toward deck two, where the stasis room ominously waited. He had considered refusing the honor of the promotion and staying on Old Earth, knowing Emilee as his bride-to-be was an impossible pill to swallow. Yet, the call for adventure was too much. He eventually decided to endure the bitterness of the woman for the sweetness of being one of the first settlers on an untouched planet.

His boots clanged against the shiny floor with each step he took, pressing on towards the inevitable. Despite dragging his heels, time kept on ticking and he found himself standing next to Parker in the stasis room, one last chamber ready to open.

“Are you ready to wake her, sir?”

“Just...give me a second. One last moment before I have to listen to her grating voice in my ear.” Ryan fought away the panic surging in his chest and finally nodded. Parker reached to push the red button that would end the stasis sleep but Ryan’s hand was faster.

The chamber door swung open, releasing a plum of misty fog. Ryan waved it away irritably. It would take a few minutes for Emilee to fully awaken. He knew, from his own experience, that it would take a day to fully gain strength in the muscles and —

“Sir?” Parker’s voice sounded confused. Ryan squinted at the woman in the chamber. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again.

“Lieutenant, who the hell is that?” Ryan barked.

Parker’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, obviously at a loss for words. He leaned closer to the stasis chamber just as the woman opened her eyes. His heart lurched at the stellar baby-blues that fixed on his face. Her forehead suddenly scrunched in confusion and then her body shook as she lurched forward. The scream that tore from her throat had Ryan jumping back in surprise.

“Don’t!” the woman gasped at the end of the shriek. “Don’t hurt me! I need to get back to my kids. Whatever you want, my husband will pay! I promise! Please don’t put me in the —”

Ryan reached out to steady her as she slipped from the chamber. Her trim body, snugly wrapped in the blue bio-suits they had each worn for stasis sleep, crashed to the floor. She kicked out at his helping hand and howled in panic.

“Sir, I think this woman was kidnapped.” Parker’s matter-of-fact conclusion was full of dread.

“That’s impossible,” Ryan said, watching as the “impossible” awkwardly scooted across the room and cowered against the wall. “Only authorized and trained crew members were to be on this mission. There’s no way she could have been—” he held out a helpless hand at the crying woman.

“Aye, sir. And yet, it appears she has somehow been switched with Emilee.”

Ryan felt a moment of glee at the thought of Emilee stuck on Old Earth. “She said she has a husband. Kids…”

Parker shook her head. “Two hundred years ago she had a husband and kids. Now she only has—”

“Me,” Ryan murmured, appalled. He froze as the woman flopped towards the door. “Get the medic,” he ordered. “Have her sedated and secured before she hurts herself. Let me know when she wakes. It seems we all are going to need answers that only she can provide…”


The Final Frontier ▼

993 words
Written For: The Writer's Cramp
Prompt: Use the words stellar, spacesuit, star, satellite. Sci-fi as one of the genre's