[Original: Drabble] "It Gave Great Light" [G]
Title: It Gave Great Light
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 650
Prompt: (very late) christmas present for bobdeloyd
Fandom: original
Pairing(s): none
Summary: The captain of the Lorraine takes a job at Christmas.
Note(s): the prompt for this was almost an outline- I hope I did the story justice (also, sorry this is so late…)
It Gave Great Light
I should have known this job would go bad.
Not because there was anything wrong with the deal- in fact, it was the most legit thing I’d done in years- but because of my own rotten luck. I should have known it right from the moment Father Abernathy approached me in the spaceport. He probably wouldn’t have, but I was apparently the only captain willing to go out during the holiday, especially for the small amount St. Isador’s was able to pay.
But my Lorraine needed a new fuel stabilizer, and they were willing to advance me that much, so I took the job. It seemed easy enough- take a few cargo containers, which hardly weighed anything at all, and deliver them to the colony in Tau Ceti.
I loaded the cargo, got my departure clearance, and set out. An hour in, I was contemplating a nap when my proximity alarms started blaring.
It was raiders- cobbled-together ships that often attacked ships like mine. Both were larger and better armed than Lorraine, but my girl held her own. She rocked, hard, with every hit, but she took no damage to her hull. I’d never been much of a shot, but with two against one, I was more likely to get lucky. And I was, landing a hit to the engines of the slightly smaller ship. She banked away, trailing smoke. The second came around again, scoring several strikes on Lorraine, but I got lucky again with another solid hit.
I whooped in victory as I watched both ships vanish from my scanners.
Until all the lights went out.
The dim emergency lights snapped on almost immediately, which let me know just how screwed I was. The raiders must have gotten some lucky shots in, too- all of Lorraine’s primary systems were down, and most of her secondary ones, as well. Even if I could get enough of them working again, I had maybe enough power to get me another light-year, and it was much farther than that to Tau Ceti.
I was stranded.
Suddenly, I had an overwhelming need to know what, exactly, I was hauling. I headed for the cargo hold, pulled open the first crate I reached, and froze. It was full of toys. With a jolt, I realized that tomorrow, on Earth, it would be Christmas Eve. Tau Ceti was hosting refugees from a farther-out colony that had failed, and these were intended for the children there.
I scrambled back to the bridge. If I shut down everything but propulsion and life support, I might be able to…but, no, my nav-array refused to come online. Without it, Lorraine could go, but I’d never know which heading to take.
Suddenly, a light flared in the distance. A navigation beacon! After a moment, I was able to calculate our distance as just under eight light-years.
Still too far for me to make it.
But I’d never know until I tried. I shunted power from every system I could even temporarily spare, pouring it all into my engines. The low-power alarms blared, but I kept going. The air began getting thin, and for a moment I thought there were two navigational beacons- then I could see the planet, dead ahead.
Only one light-year, my system had said. Ha!
Another preacher met me at the landing zone, introducing himself as Father Linwood, of St. Andrew’s, the man Father Abernathy had said would meet me there.
“It’s a little late,” I told him. “But I might not have made it at all if you didn’t have such a powerful nav-beacon.”
Father Linwood frowned at me. “But, captain, our navigational beacon has been inoperative for the last three days. It was reactivated just as you came into orbit.”
I froze. It couldn’t be… could it?
The reverend smiled. “God works in mysterious ways, as I think you now know. Merry Christmas, my child.”
THE END
Current Mood:
creative
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 650
Prompt: (very late) christmas present for bobdeloyd
Fandom: original
Pairing(s): none
Summary: The captain of the Lorraine takes a job at Christmas.
Note(s): the prompt for this was almost an outline- I hope I did the story justice (also, sorry this is so late…)
It Gave Great Light
I should have known this job would go bad.
Not because there was anything wrong with the deal- in fact, it was the most legit thing I’d done in years- but because of my own rotten luck. I should have known it right from the moment Father Abernathy approached me in the spaceport. He probably wouldn’t have, but I was apparently the only captain willing to go out during the holiday, especially for the small amount St. Isador’s was able to pay.
But my Lorraine needed a new fuel stabilizer, and they were willing to advance me that much, so I took the job. It seemed easy enough- take a few cargo containers, which hardly weighed anything at all, and deliver them to the colony in Tau Ceti.
I loaded the cargo, got my departure clearance, and set out. An hour in, I was contemplating a nap when my proximity alarms started blaring.
It was raiders- cobbled-together ships that often attacked ships like mine. Both were larger and better armed than Lorraine, but my girl held her own. She rocked, hard, with every hit, but she took no damage to her hull. I’d never been much of a shot, but with two against one, I was more likely to get lucky. And I was, landing a hit to the engines of the slightly smaller ship. She banked away, trailing smoke. The second came around again, scoring several strikes on Lorraine, but I got lucky again with another solid hit.
I whooped in victory as I watched both ships vanish from my scanners.
Until all the lights went out.
The dim emergency lights snapped on almost immediately, which let me know just how screwed I was. The raiders must have gotten some lucky shots in, too- all of Lorraine’s primary systems were down, and most of her secondary ones, as well. Even if I could get enough of them working again, I had maybe enough power to get me another light-year, and it was much farther than that to Tau Ceti.
I was stranded.
Suddenly, I had an overwhelming need to know what, exactly, I was hauling. I headed for the cargo hold, pulled open the first crate I reached, and froze. It was full of toys. With a jolt, I realized that tomorrow, on Earth, it would be Christmas Eve. Tau Ceti was hosting refugees from a farther-out colony that had failed, and these were intended for the children there.
I scrambled back to the bridge. If I shut down everything but propulsion and life support, I might be able to…but, no, my nav-array refused to come online. Without it, Lorraine could go, but I’d never know which heading to take.
Suddenly, a light flared in the distance. A navigation beacon! After a moment, I was able to calculate our distance as just under eight light-years.
Still too far for me to make it.
But I’d never know until I tried. I shunted power from every system I could even temporarily spare, pouring it all into my engines. The low-power alarms blared, but I kept going. The air began getting thin, and for a moment I thought there were two navigational beacons- then I could see the planet, dead ahead.
Only one light-year, my system had said. Ha!
Another preacher met me at the landing zone, introducing himself as Father Linwood, of St. Andrew’s, the man Father Abernathy had said would meet me there.
“It’s a little late,” I told him. “But I might not have made it at all if you didn’t have such a powerful nav-beacon.”
Father Linwood frowned at me. “But, captain, our navigational beacon has been inoperative for the last three days. It was reactivated just as you came into orbit.”
I froze. It couldn’t be… could it?
The reverend smiled. “God works in mysterious ways, as I think you now know. Merry Christmas, my child.”
THE END
Current Mood:
creative