Chapter 2

I was unprepared for the buzzing sound near my head the next morning.

At least I guessed that it was morning, as I was somewhat refreshed upon awakening. Of particular note my senses drew me to an amazing discovery. It was the steaming mug which smelled like coffee sitting within a dispenser of some sort.

A recessed enclosure in the bulkhead had opened to become a desk unit with an arm folded open providing seating. Next, I realized that the room was no longer dimly lit. The desk area and ceiling were clearly illuminated by recessed lighting fixtures.

The wall opposite my berth had become an office of some sort.

I wildly searched my surroundings, but saw no one else in my room. The display screen on the desk monitor displayed a deep space image with a few document and folder icons aligned with the left edge of the screen.

The blinking cursor icon rested on the first line of an open document entitled ‘Ship’s Log’ with the date time group (DTG) for what I had been schooled to know was today’s date flashing the seconds, a few characters ahead of the blinking cursor.

The steaming mug was my immediate focus. How did it get there? Who was responsible for it? Why did someone make me anything on this supposedly derelict ship? These were the foremost questions that I was asking myself. But no answer was forthcoming, if I didn’t ask.

“Who is here?” I spoke but only silence followed in answer. “What is going on?” Again silence, but the display screen still blinked with the passing of each second until the minute display incremented to the next higher digit.

My hunger won out. I pulled on my worn clothing from yesterday, before seating myself at the desk chair that extended from the wall below the opened desk.

Reaching for the mug, I smelled the aroma in wonder. Coffee, certainly, it can’t be real. It had been ages since I had ever tasted it, and even then, it was the cheap instant synthesized variety. But this stuff sure looked and smelled like the real thing. I noticed a ration bar packaged right alongside it, in what was obviously a food dispenser of some sort.

The package was labelled, “Ration Unit, Meal Ready to Eat, Breakfast, dehydrated. Consume with 0.6 litre of liquid drink, or more.” I opened the package finding some biscuit like wafers and what looked like some dehydrated banana chips. They certainly tasted like banana, as I crunched them pleasantly in my mouth.

The biscuit wafers tasted nutty and had some dried blueberry bits in the cookie part, too. Probably not real fruit, but the tart was crunchy and the taste was the only things that mattered to me. The coffee was something else, hot and full-bodied without any bitter aftertaste. Never had I enjoyed anything even remotely approaching its flavour. I spent the next several minutes lost in appreciation of the simple meal which I feasted upon.

After finishing my last sip of coffee, I noted the keyboard and trackball on the desk in front of me. I spoke, “Thank You, for this wonderful meal.” Just as I spoke those words, the text on the screen changed to reflect the words that I had just spoken. “Ah, voice to text recognition and data entry, just like those tablets back in school.” I continued talking. “The numbers... _____2686 flashed on the screen after I paused my spoken words. I said,

‘I wonder what these other icons represent?’ I asked myself.

Pressing the track ball, I opened the first document icon. The screen displayed a title page detailing the “Ship’s Current Operational Status”

Imperial Battleship Leviathan IBL 44 Status as of this IBL Inactive – Decommissioned – in 2900, as obsolete and in excess of the needs of the service.

Weapons – Plasma Beam Cannon – Removed at Orbital Depot

Particle Beam Cannons – Removed at Orbital Depot

Attack Missiles – Magazines Emptied - Templates available in stores

Close-In Defensive Rail Guns – Removed - Magazines Emptied -

Templates available in stores Close in Defensive Lasers – Removed – Templates available in stores

Crew served Weapons – Armory Emptied - Templates available in stores

Individual Weapons – Armory Emptied - Templates available in stores

Propulsion - Fusion Drive - De-Energized after being re-built in 2826.

Minimum of eight days required to bring on-line. Warp Drive capable to Warp 6 sustained, with limited emergency capability of Warp 8.6

Deuterium fuel source serves as heavy water neutron shielding surrounding reactor containment field, 100 percent of capacity filled.

Fusion Reactor – Stand-by power source is functioning to support automated maintenance requirements.

Pre-launch power available within 24 hours of any projected launch DTG Booster Fuel - 80 percent of chemical propellant capacity stored in cryogenic stasis.

Distillation from current atmospheric sources - ongoing Full replenishment expected within 24 hours of any projected launch DTG.

Inert gasses - 100 percent of launch capacity stored in cryogenic stasis. Solid Fuel Boosters – Eight stored locally in explosives bunker at nearby planetary launch facility.