BANG!
Jack grumbled and rubbed his head. It seemed like every time he came down here, he always managed to bump something. He'd stubbed more than his fair share of toes among the pipes, and his knees were littered with bruises.
"You okay down there?" Lily called down.
He muttered an unenthusiastic response and kept walking. The Pathfinder was, by necessity, located at the heart of the ship, right next to the engines. It was easy enough to locate, shimmering brightly in the near darkness.
He stumbled over another pipe and cursed under his breath as he approached it. It was wedged up into the electrical work, courtesy of his last visit. The bright golden glow seemed entirely unnatural to him -- as did the pyramidal shape. It seemed like something that belonged in some Indiana Jones movie, an Egyptian treasure or something.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Can't tell. Hang on a second." With a grunt, Jack yanked the peculiar object from its cozy nest. He turned it over in his hands, but it all seemed normal. Well, considering what it was. Those Vagonal's sure had a funny method of transportation.
Upon closer inspection, he quickly identified the problem. One of the tips had come slightly undone, revealing the glowing inside. The light seemed to originate from the wood itself, as the object appeared hollow.
He sighed. Hopefully it wasn't broken. They only had one more jump to make, if Howard could be believed. Would be a real shame if it was busted. NASA had only spent a few hundred billion dollars getting them this far.
"Jack? Is something wrong?" Lily's voice did little to hide her concern.
"Nah, it's fine." Like the last few times something had gone wrong, he just lied through his teeth. Inspiration had struck him before. He just had to hope it would hit again.
He slumped against the pipe behind him, eyeing the toyish device. Nobody back home had cracked exactly how it worked -- or even what powered it. It had taken a miracle to figure out how to get it functioning in the first place. It was alien tech, but if he was being honest, it worked way too much like magic for Jack's liking.
A thought occurred to him, and he sighed. As usual, it didn't make any sense, but he had discovered early on in the voyage that his first instinct, however stupid, was usually correct. It had been a moment of sheer desperation when he had stuck it in the heating vent when it shut down the first time. It had been his first rather stupid idea, and he wouldn't have done it if he had had no other options. Given the crew a real panic at first.
Dipping his mouth over the leaking end, he let some saliva leak out and drip into the wood. After eyeing it for a moment, he tried again. Still, there was no reaction from the wood.
Sighing, he grabbed the sides of it and squeezed, forcing the wood to close again. The scientists back home would have a
fit
if they saw how he was treating their ticket to intersystem travel.
It came as only a small surprise when the wood stayed closed. Shaking his head, he reached up and wedged it back into its place. "Alright, give it a shot."
He faintly heard Lily call out for Howard to try again. Jack offered a satisfied grin only when he heard Lily sigh.
"Well, whatever you did worked. Unbelievable."
Jack made his way back to the exit. His grin only faded as he banged his head on the same stinking pipe. He bit back a curse as he heaved himself back on deck.
Lily was there, shaking her head. "You know, I just lost a full two bucks on a bet. I hope you're happy."
Jack smirked. "What can I say? I just knew Klingler needed the money more than you."
Lily rolled her eyes. She had short brown hair that only reached her shoulders. She stood fairly short, just above five feet. Her Indian heritage showed through her dark eyes and skin. They had been working on the same crew -- the
Diana 400
-- for around 3 years before they got transferred to the
Nike
.
Before she could offer a retort, the intercom buzzed. "This is Captain Howard speaking. Please report to the pilot deck before we exit tunneling. We need to have a chat. Yes, Jack, even you."
Lily snorted and bumped Jack's arm. "Let's go,
astronaut
."
Jack chuckled as they made their way to the head of the ship. The
Nike
was a small vessel, built mostly for cost-effective wormhole tunneling. It had taken only a few years for NASA to get enough funding for it, especially after news about the First Contact had gone public.
When they arrived in the cramped cockpit, Jack noticed they were the last to arrive. A small vehicle meant that it could carry only a skeleton crew. Other than him and Lily, only three other individuals had been permitted to board the vessel.
Most noticeably was their diplomat, Sara McKonnelly. With long red hair and pale skin, she stood out amongst the darker tones of the rest of the crew. To have the privilege of interplanetary diplomacy, she had had to be interviewed by every national leader. From what Jack heard, she was their unanimous decision.
And no wonder. She was positively magnetic. He had only been in the same room with her a handful of times, and each time his hands got sweaty. Absentmindedly, he wiped them on his pants. She was very pretty, even without makeup, and her quiet demeanor did nothing to take away from her charm. If it had been anyone else, he might've suspected plastic surgery.
Then there was Klingler, their very own Vagonal expert. He had a degree in Sociology from somewhere (Jack wasn't really sure but it was probably somewhere big) and he knew more than anyone about the aliens and their customs. He was grinning in excitement, his curly brown hair and energetic smile emphasizing his sociality.
Howard cleared his throat. Officially nominated as General of the EGD (Earth's Global Defense), he was quick to dismiss the title. He stood on the shorter and stouter side, with his graying hair and rigid posture making up for it.
More than ever, right now he seemed serious. "Everyone, we have begun our final jump. This is thanks, in part, to our engineer, Jack."
Jack shifted uncomfortably at the light applause. If they knew how little ACTUAL engineering went on, they probably wouldn't be at all impressed.
"However," Howard continued, cutting the congratulations short, "I wanted to go over our plan for the First Visit. We've been on this craft for months now. I shouldn't have to tell any of you that we cannot afford ANY slip ups."
"This will be a social call, nothing more. After our initial contact, we'll all return to the ship and get our checkups from Lily. Should we get sick or otherwise impaired, expect a few years of quarantine back home."
Howard held up his hand to quiet the groans. "You all knew what you were signing up for here. It is a privilege to be one of the first ever to meet an alien species, face to face."
Klingler raised his hand. "I thought we were wearing the space suits, boss?"
Howard glared. "I meant figuratively, Klingler. We all go down with the spacesuits. Remember, do NOT remove them without Lily's go ahead."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "All of us? I thought I was just gonna stay with the ship."
Howard folded his arms. "
All
