Back so soon

Posted on Fri Aug 16th, 2019 @ 5:49am by Lieutenant Commander S'hib

Mission: Mission 2: Heaven On Earth
Location: London Intergalactic - Earth
Timeline: Shoreleave
2158 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

The short flight to the earth's surface was as uneventful as it could be, Light clouds mired the almost perfectly blue sky of the Eurosphere spaceport.

It was a welcome surprise however as the usual drab weather always made S'hib lethargic as a young colt.

"It's so busy today." S'hib mumbled to himself as he leaned against the glass catwalk parapet, Unlike everyone else he was in no hurry at all. He was just content with watching the bustle of the crowd below, barely a glimpse of the white alabaster floor was visible as everyone went about their day.

"It's always like this", Justin said, who had also hung back on account of not being able to walk as fast as most of the others yet. "The more people you put on a planet, the more in a hurry everyone is."

S'hib was a little surprised to hear somebody talking to him, turning around slightly to see who it was he was even more surprised to see a member of the Elysium. "Oh, Lieutenant." S'hib said while standing up straight. "I didn't expect anyone else to land in London." He said, feeling a little flustered.

"Why not?" Justin asked. "It's the place to be, no? I'm off to the British Museum, once this bustle clears. I could spend weeks in there."

"They have a new exhibit apparently, Prehistoric creatures from all over the federation." S'hib replied as he adjusted his uniform and turned to look back at the crowd below. "My mother was telling me about it while we were still on our last mission."

"I'm especially intrigued about parallel evolution", Justin said. "I mean, it stands to reason that similar challenges lead to similar adaptations, but some of these resemblances are particularly uncanny, and I don't buy the explanation that the Preservers or Professor Galen's ancestral race, whatever they called themselves... first ones? I don't see seeing DNA across a few thousand worlds leading to still having that many similarities after hundreds of millions of years. Has to be some other factor at play that we haven't discovered yet." He gave S'hib an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I'm rambling again, ain't I?"

“I would assume they hardcoded specific instructions into the DNA so that we would end up somewhat similar to our supposed creators, that way we would be able to understand not only each other but the recordings they left behind.” S’hib replied with his own smile. “Aside from the Caitians, my species and few others the majority of the galaxy are remarkably similar.” He added looking back at the crowd below. “From up here, you could be forgiven for assuming nearly everyone was human.”

"And there are species on Earth, and on many other worlds, that are remarkably similar to you, and to the Caitians", Justin said. "And what you say may be true, but wouldn't you think our molecular biologists should have found something to that effect?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm no biologist." S'hib said as he analyzed the crowd with more interest. "But perhaps it's staring them right in the face while they're looking for something small and stealthily hidden." He added with a short pause as he tilted his head slightly in thought. "Or maybe it's all random, with specific keys that unlock and disappear once something hits that point." S'hib said waving his hoofed digits at over the crowd below. "Then there would be no way to trace anything back to a source, you'd just have thousands of the same result, all done with different equations.

"How terribly frustrating, if what you say is true, to have a mystery out there and no way of ever finding an answer", Justin remarked. With the rush over, and before the next transport would arrive, Justin said, "Let's go."

An announcement could be heard over the speakers, saying "When you exit the underground, please be sure to lower your head and watch your step." The Underground was a major London tourist attraction. The announcement continued, "If you miss your step and hit your head, please lower your voice and watch your language."

"How's the leg holding up?" S'hib said walking in pace as he followed.

"I'm getting used to it", Justin said. "The leg's perfectly alright. I just have to practice control because it's not the same neurons as before, as the doc explained. They can't put it back together this perfectly yet." He was only using his cane to maintain balance when his weight was shifted on his new leg.

"Luckily for me it's mostly just skin and bone below the knee, a lot easier to replace if something was to happen while defending the Elysium." He replied, turning his face around fully to look at Justin. "You could go on lighter duties for a while, nobody would hold it against you."

"I've been doing bridge duty exclusively", Justin said. "That's a sitting-down position, and there's no reason I can't do that just as well as before."

"Fair point." S'hib replied, twisting his snout to the strange smells that filled his nostril as they walked by somebody eating.

"Only thing that's bothering me is that I can't have my soda on the bridge", Justin remarked. "But there's always some ups and downs to everything life throws at you, isn't there?"

"You mean to tell me we can travel faster than light, but we still haven't got around to installing cup holders on the bridge?" S'hib snorted sarcastically.

"Well, it took until 2379 before we all got seat belts for emergencies", Justin smirked. Not that they needed them, usually. Inertial dampeners were sufficient, and when they failed there was no seatbelt that could save their lives. Hull breaches and emergency forcefield failures were quite another story, however.

"This is precisely why I don't go swimming on a starship, I'm too paranoid the gravity generators will turn off." S'hib grimaced, the morbid thought of being stuck within a huge sphere of water making his ears twitch, his anxiety making them survey his surroundings as if it was about to happen.

Justin laughed, taking his statement for a joke. "So, where are you off to from here?"

"I was going to wait until a bit later before catching a hyperloop down south to see my family, help on their farm until shore leave is over." S'hib said absentmindedly. "What about yourself?" He added, looking over at Justin.

"You, sir, should read Jonathan Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels' sometime, if you haven't already", Justin smiled.

S’hib paused for a moment as he thought on Justin's comment, He didn't recognise the book in question, he did however recognise that smile, he was being teased again. “I don’t suppose it has anything to do with hoorhses.” He replied, making sure to say the last word without the help of the universal translator, the word coming out in deep gruff snort.

"In a sense, it does", Justin says. "It has a passage that tells the reader about how horses are the better people. They're called something unpronounceable, and they're a bit more humanoid-like, kind of like you are. By contrast, humans are called yahoos, brutish creatures who relish in violence more than in culture. It's a satire of contemporary society, but still very relevant in many ways."

“Interesting, I’ll see if I can find a copy while I'm here on earth.” S’hib replied thoughtfully before letting out a slight chuckle that sounded more like a neigh than anything human. “You just reminded me of when I was young, I remember seeing an earth horse for the first time and being incredibly confused.” He added with a slight smile to his muzzle. “We both just stared at each other for the longest time.”

"I think that's what the first humans did when they encountered the Vulcans", Justin said. "They expected anything except someone who's basically just like us."

"You ever had a similar experience on a first encounter?" S'hib queried, he was always curious how others viewed other species since he felt far more out of place than other humanoids.

Justin shook his head. "Not like that, no", he said. "I mean, we've had great apes on Earth that looked sort of like us but weren't as intelligent, but they went extinct in the early twenty-first century. I suppose we humans have always been great at over-estimating our own intelligence."

"I think that's true for all of us supposed higher beings, not even the Vulcans are infallible." S'hib mused as he stopped next to a hovering food cart, practically kneeling to get under its old fashioned fabric roof. "You want anything?" S'hib asked Justin as the startled food server collected his thoughts, staring up at the horse-like creature.

"Since you grew up here, you tell me what I should be getting in this part of the world?" Justin said. "I've only ever spent time in museums here, and museum food is, well... it's okay, but no better than replicated."

"You know I eat things your kind consider floral arrangements, right?" S'hib said with a stupid grin, pointing out to the server what he would like to be wrapped up inside a thick wheat roll. "I don't think I'd be able to suggest anything you'd like." He added with a shrug.

"No, a salad in a roll of bread with some sauce, that's not too bad", Justin said. "I have to watch what I eat until I'm fully mobile again."

“Nonsense! We’re on shore leave.” S’hib protested. “The odd treat isn't going to make your leg fall off.” He added, nudging into Justin, Slightly forgetting about his own size and the fact Justin’s leg was still healing.

Justin almost fell over to the side but was able to steady himself with his hands on the food stand. "Whoa, chill, brother!"

"Sorry." S'hib blurted out through an awkward laugh. "I'll pay for the food." He added hastily with a nervous snort, standing up and almost taking the food carts roof with him.

Justin caught himself, going back to more appropriate language. "Just don't destroy more stuff, please." He caught a flying meatball and popped it in his mouth.

Falling into a nervous silence S'hib simply swiped his card over the payment machine and retreated with his food neatly wrapped in paper towels. ~Don't freak out, just eat.~ He thought to himself as he eagerly nibbled the side of his roll.

"I understand", Justin said as he followed. "The world isn't built for tall people. Must be worse for you. Me, might get better on that front. Anje Brett was a good boss but now I might not have to adjust the furniture so often."

"I might have to put in a request to increase the height of the turbolifts." S'hib said sarcastically, still busy chewing away and trying to contain his anxiety.

"There was a concept floating around Starfleet headquarters to build ships suitable for species of different sizes and environmental needs", Justin mused. "They wanted to build one specifically for aquatic species, for example. I guess that's only fair, but a long way off."

"Yeah, I don't think sensitive starship equipment functions well submerged in water." S'hib said through the rustle of his leafy food, His mind wondering about the logistics of it all. "Hopefully they'll be able to figure it out though." He added, stopping at a crossing while waiting for the lights to change. Elegant glass cars and large transport vehicles hovering above the smooth grey roadway of London, the museum off in the distance.

Justin figured walking there wasn't a bad idea, it gave him some much needed exercise, and the fresh air in London was a welcome change from the recycled starship interior. He didn't want to imagine what it might have been like hundreds of years ago, but now the slightly foggy air was nice. "Oh, that's not so hard to do. You'll just have to build components slightly differently, and switch off devices when you replace parts."

"Of course, I'm sure we are oversimplifying it." S'hib said as his brain calmed down and focused on the incredibly curious subject. "Keeping all that water oxygenated and clean must be a nightmare, not to mention disease control." He added as the lights finally turned green, a gentle beeping emitted from the crossing ushering the small crowd to cross.

"I've always enjoyed tinkering", Justin said. "I hope to become chief engineer aboard a starship sometime. I thought going through the operations track was a good route." He knew some people did that via piloting, but that was just a hobby.

"With enough hard work, I'm sure you will." S'hib said as they finished crossing the street. "Just remember, you gotta break some legs to make an omelet." He said with a straight face, cracking up into laughter a moment later at his own ridiculous joke.

OFF:

Ensign S'hib
Security

Lieutenant JG Justin Case
Operations Officer