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    Aboard the Universe
    Aboard the Universe
    Aboard the Universe
    Ebook189 pages2 hours

    Aboard the Universe

    By Linda Jordan

    ()

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    About this ebook

    What if you could go on a cruise ship in space? Sailing through the multiverse in style. With a crew of aliens and humans, a cabin that accommodated your every need. Shore excursions on exotic planets. Fellow passengers from across the spectrum of sentient organisms. You could even live on the ship permanently if you wanted.

    That’s the Universe. Where it’s always fun and glamorous.

    Unless you’re the crew. Trying to keep every demanding life form happy. There’s always a crisis brewing. The stories range from light and fluffy comedy to a wrestling match with profound questions.

    Includes the stories: ‘The Memory of Water’, ‘The Emotions of the Non-Living’, ‘The Greening of the Universe’, ‘The Dilemma of Unrequited Love’ and ‘Ghost Hunting in the Galley’.

    By the author of ‘Falling Into Flight’ and ‘Paradiso Stories’.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMetamorphosis Press
    Release dateOct 8, 2015
    ISBN9781310985980
    Aboard the Universe
    Author

    Linda Jordan

    Linda Jordan writes fascinating characters, visionary worlds, and imaginative fiction. She creates both long and short fiction, serious and silly. She believes in the power of healing and transformation, and many of her stories follow those themes.In a previous lifetime, Linda coordinated the Clarion West Writers’ Workshop as well as the Reading Series. She spent four years as Chair of the Board of Directors during Clarion West’s formative period. She’s also worked as a travel agent, a baker, and a pond plant/fish sales person, you know, the sort of things one does as a writer.Currently, she’s the Programming Director for the Writers Cooperative of the Pacific Northwest.Linda now lives in the rainy wilds of Washington state with her husband, daughter, four cats, a cluster of Koi and an infinite number of slugs and snails.

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      Book preview

      Aboard the Universe - Linda Jordan

      Aboard the Universe

      by

      Linda Jordan

      Copyright 2015 by Linda Jordan

      Published by Metamorphosis Press

      Cover photo by Mik3812345

      Contents

      ~The Dilemma of Unrequited Love

      ~The Memory of Water

      ~The Emotions of the Non-Living

      ~The Greening of the Universe

      ~Ghost Hunting in the Galley

      ~About the Author

      The Dilemma of Unrequited Love

      Aurora sat in her dimly lit office. She pulled her long bronze colored dress down a bit. The silky material never stayed where it was supposed to, but it looked stunning on her. Not that he’d noticed.

      The room wrapped around her like a blanket, making her feel more whole. Four yellow ochre colored walls, plush faux leather chairs and walls hung with warm colored tapestries from Eoch 27. Black pottery bowls sat on a nearby shelf. On the coffee table in the center of the rust colored chairs sat a large circular brass tray. It was filled with stones from every planet that the Universe had stopped at for excursions. A real candle flickered in its glass container and cedar needles burned in a large oyster shell, leaving a comforting scent.

      She sniffed the cedar smoke and tried to breathe in gratitude and breathe out despair. To let go of the hopelessness she felt about her own life.

      Aurora tried to meditate for half an hour. Finally, she stood and blew the candle out.

      Lights to six, she said.

      The lights brightened.

      She paced around the room. When would the transfer come through? She had to get off this ship. She just couldn’t live like this any longer.

      The waiting room door buzzed.

      She wasn’t expecting anyone.

      Aurora opened the door to the waiting room and walked through it to the door to the hallway.

      Who is it? she asked.

      Captain Jonnia Assan, said the gravelly voice.

      She opened the door and said, I wasn’t expecting you.

      Well, you bloody well should have been. Can I come in?

      Of course, she said.

      She closed the door after the tall Pecma. He walked into her office, his spiny tail dragging along behind. He pulled an ottoman from one corner and placed it among the circle of chairs, then sat on it. The human chairs didn’t leave room for his tail.

      Sit, he said.

      Are you in a hurry? she asked.

      Not particularly, he said.

      Would you like some tea?

      Yes, Jonnia said. I haven’t been here in a while. I forgot that you love ritual.

      Yes, I do. It exists for a reason. It makes it easier for people to speak what needs to be spoken.

      Good. Truth is what I need today. He scratched his scaly forehead.

      As Aurora poured hot water into the cups, the soothing scent of mint rose, filling the air. While the tea was steeping, she lit the candle again.

      She should have known he’d come. She’d been so wrapped up in her own emotions, she hadn’t really considered what anyone else’s reaction would be.

      Aurora removed the tea bag, slipping it down the conduit for the ship’s compost system and brought the mugs to the table, setting one in front of him.

      She sat in an adjoining chair, smoothing her dress down again.

      The stoneware mug in her hands, she gazed at the mandala which appeared only when the cup held heated liquid. As the tea cooled, the design would disappear.

      Why? Tell me why you want to leave my ship. asked Jonnia.

      I just think I need new surroundings.

      After you’ve spent years refining this? he asked, gesturing at her womblike room. I don’t believe that. And you asked to be transferred to another ship. Which would be just like this one. It’s not that you’ve decided to stay in one place and are dropping onto some planet to live. So why? He held his tail completely still, which indicated to her how upset he was.

      She took a deep breath. She could hide this from many people. But not from him. Pecma were relentless in their search for truth. Jonnia wasn’t as hard as one of his bodymates, Babarre, but he wouldn’t give up.

      Several years ago, I foolishly fell in love with a man I worked with. He barely knew I existed. I mean, really, I’m a mutant. I knew it wouldn’t work. But I loved him. I studied hard and worked hard, began my own therapy practice and transferred out of that department and that job. Hoping to create enough distance and a new life. It worked to some extent. But I still love him. I run into him several times a week, not intentionally, it just happens. No matter how much I change my schedule or which cafe I eat at. I can’t live with it anymore.

      So, he’s in Medical.

      Stop. Stop trying to guess who he is.

      Does he know how you feel?

      I hope he has no idea.

      Why don’t you tell him? asked Jonnia.

      He’s not interested in a relationship. He never sees a woman more than once. I can’t believe I even love him. And I’m a mutant, she said, pointing to her eyes, which always gave her genetic anomalies away.

      You are a very beautiful Rarity. But that narrows it down. Danny Bloom. Dr. Luv, as I believe he’s commonly known, said Jonnia.

      Aurora ran her fingers through her fuchsia, purple and orange shoulder length hair and hid her face behind the curtain it made.

      You have nothing to be ashamed of, my dear, said Jonnia.

      I feel stupid. How could I be foolish enough to fall in love with a man who could never want me for longer than one day? she asked.

      He nodded. How often have you told me that feelings aren’t within most humanoid’s control? They rise from the depths, surface and pop like bubbles. To just let them go. Act on the ones that are important. Let the others go.

      She laughed and said, Obviously, I’m not good at taking my own advice.

      This is clearly a battle that you’ve been fighting for years. I don’t believe the solution is to run away. I cannot put this transfer through, you know.

      I can’t continue to live like this, she said. As a Rarity, I’m not like other humans. I feel more. I feel everything. And I can no longer do this.

      There must be another solution. We will find it, he said, putting his scaly hand on her soft tan one. You are my friend and confidant. If not for you, none of us, Barbarre, Etan or I, would still be sane.

      She nodded, acknowledging the truth of what he said. Pecma were the strangest beings she’d ever met. Each one lived with multiple entities in one body. The Captain contained two others, all Captains. Each one took turns while the others rested. They shared knowledge and some consciousness, but each was an individual and had a unique reaction to the world. Barbarre was ruthless and overly protective. He was the one whom Jonnia and sometimes Etan came to her about. They had a difficult time living with his actions. He scared her sometimes, even though she knew his goals were always to protect his ship, crew and passengers. No one ever found out what happened to that murderous stowaway… She hadn’t been brave enough to ask Barbarre and he hadn’t told the others.

      Aurora sipped the mint tea. It was strong, she’d let the tea sit in the water for too long. But the aroma woke up her senses, loosening something deep inside, just a bit.

      Okay, I’ll wait a little longer. But I’ve run out of different approaches to this problem, she said, tears leaking from her eyes. She brushed them away.

      Well, I haven’t even begun to work on it. Please be patient, I’ve got a crisis going on and my time is not my own.

      What crisis.

      We have a thief or thieves, turned murderer on board.

      A murderer?

      He nodded.

      Stealing what exactly? she asked.

      Jewelry, small antiques, like wrist watches, trinkets, small things that they can get off the ship easily.

      And you’ve no idea who’s doing it?

      None. A passenger must have walked in on them yesterday, she was killed.

      That’s awful.

      Yes, it is. But we’ll catch them. In the meantime, my time is limited, but I need to reduce my stress level. Meet me on the Course tomorrow at 0600. We can talk some more. And I can wipe you off the climbing wall.

      In your dreams. Last week it was me passing you up.

      Ah, but I’ve been training. You’ve not.

      She ignored the jab. She hadn’t worked out all week. And hadn’t done much for the last month.

      You’re on, she said.

      He finished his tea and said, Well, we’ve got a few other multiverse ending crisis to go off and fix. In our youth, we had the silly notion that being Captain meant driving a space ship. The reality is, I spend most of my time mediating and solving other people’s problems. You’d make a better Captain than I.

      She followed him towards the door.

      Ah, but I can barely navigate my way around the ship. And I have trouble programming my cabin.

      Well, we do have a navigator and the bridge is filled with tech people, you’d probably do better than you think. I’ll see you in the morning, he waved at her, having adopted the human gesture for his human crew and passengers.

      Okay, she said.

      She closed the door behind him and blew the candle out again, watching the smoke curl up to the ceiling. The smell of the smoke lingered in the room. She rinsed the mugs and put them in the sterilizer.

      Lights out in office, level 1 in waiting room, she said. And went out the door to the elevator and her cabin.

      She decided to have a light dinner in her room and get to bed early. Or Jonnia really would thrash her on the climbing wall.

      The next day she had an egg and cup of black tea. And one fresh strawberry, which came from the ship’s gardens.

      Aurora braided her naturally streaked hair and pulled on black leggings and a bra top over her lanky body. She slipped short black socks on and her racy black workout shoes, fastening them up to the perfect tightness. She pulled on a hot pink T-shirt and left her cabin.

      On Deck 8 lay the Course. Four miles of track, climbing wall, hurdles, obstacles with things to go under and around, a climbing frame, a water obstacle and high jumps. It was a brutal course. Tougher than the regulation ones.

      As she left the elevator, twenty sweaty bodies stood waiting, ready to get on. Security used the Course a couple times a week. Their staff had to pass the Course in order to keep their jobs. She tried not to breathe in the stench as she walked past them.

      Jonnia was in the warm up area. Stretching. Pecma weren’t terribly flexible.

      Aurora pulled the T-shirt off and hung it on a hook. She grabbed a water pouch from the upright cooler and clipped it to her bra top, pulling the straw out and pushing it back in, to make sure it worked. The heat had been turned up a bit today. 30.5C. She’d need the water.

      She stretched a small amount, she’d do more farther down the track.

      So are we doing the whole thing or just a section? she asked Jonnia.

      Do you think you can handle the whole thing?

      Well, I’ve taken a week off from working out. I can do the whole thing, but I’m not at my peak.

      He smiled and said, Let’s try for the whole thing then, but not pushing for speed.

      She nodded. They started out running the mile track, warming up. She always ran faster than he did. Pecma had shorter legs and longer torsos than most humans. And she had long, long legs. She was way ahead of him when they got to the hurdles. Again something she was good at, so she was far ahead when the water obstacle came. She lost time jumping over the fence and into the water to swim across it. She kicked hard, but her shoes created a drag on her speed and she had always been a clumsy swimmer. As she climbed out on shore, she knew he was catching up. She ran to the next one and did the same. And out.

      She didn’t even hear him enter the second water obstacle. Pecma were just that smooth. He was out and onto the next mile before she could get started. She caught up and passed him though. At the under and around obstacle she dropped to a crawling position and tried to ignore him as he slithered beneath and around, passing her. Her breath came quickly now. The swimming always put her behind.

      Time seemed to stand still, but finally she made it through. Ahead of her loomed the climbing wall. She slipped out of her wet shoes and fastened them to a strap of her top, flinging them over her shoulder. And drank some water from the straw.

      Jonnia was a third of the way up the wall. Not his strong point. It wasn’t hers either, but she wasn’t horrible at it either.

      She glanced at her wristband. twenty two minutes, 43 seconds. Not bad. She grabbed a handhold and was on her way.

      Halfway up, she caught him. Still, she could feel the effects of a lost week of working out. She wasn’t as strong as usual. As she climbed to the heights, Danny’s face came to her. How could she have let moping about him tear her apart so much? She’d been doing this for years. Getting depressed about him, losing her sense of self, stopping taking care of herself. Then recovering and doing healthy self care. Then starting the cycle all over again. Where was the stability

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