Author Topic: Space dog  (Read 972 times)

xetog

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Space dog
« on: Nov 28, 2015, 04:20:25 PM »
I can't seem to find 'living solo' by FB.  I  do hope it will turn up later.  Meanwhile, I thought another, different genre of jotting might be fun.

Mike

Since childhood Jack had harboured an ambition to go into space and when he won the Euro Lottery, he decided that his moment had come.  The win was huge and frankly he had no idea what he should do with it. Without doubt it was a lot of money.  He was still young, so he quit his shelf stacking job in the Chin Food Superstore (formerly Tesco) and paid a cool 1/2 mil for a trip to the orbiting hotel complex Concorde lll.

He would stay in the Hilton-Maggie Thatcher 4* space hostel.  Although he would have preferred the 5* Fawlty Towers gaming complex, the owners Betway had said they were booked up solid for 70 years, so although the Maggie Thatcher had a no returns policy, he paid cash.  The shuttle launched from the Newquay spaceport. The port complex had been built by VirgChin Orbital that also owned the shuttles.

Seated on his launch couch, dressed in a bright red G suit topped out by a helmet that reminded him of a cheap goldfish bowl he felt exhilarated.  Once the attendant had run through the safety card they were off to the launch pad and catapulted into space. He thought they could have provided a free drink but the flight was operated by Ryanairspace so no surprise there.

The view from the portal was magnificent and before he knew it they were docking at an airlock, but not before he had been obliged to buy a selection of charity cards supporting Homes for Itinerant Astronauts with his loose change.  He could see a number of craft, orbital and interplanetary lined up at the station and presumed the far side would be similarly full.  Soon port security was satisfied and he was free to roam the pleasure halls and bars of New Scarborough.

The choice of pleasures of which one could partake seemed endless and the things that the bar hostesses could get up to in freefall were just out of this world.  Gambling soon lost its gloss and Jack spent most of his days on the 80m telescope looking out into the galaxies marvelling at their vastness and beauty.

By day 4 he was bored and purchased the additional package of a trip to the asteroid belt.  It meant extending his break and altering his travel plans, but it was worth it.  The 21 day cruise on Costa Space-Concordia was accomplished in the most luxurious circumstances.  The food and staff were excellent and his cabin (well suite really) came with a butler to ensure that his every wish was accommodated.  He spent his time in the astrodome with a completely unobstructed view of the stars.  This is where he belonged. His favourite restaurant was the Ramsey Freefall where fine dining was served under conditions of weightlessness.  It meant taking a shower immediately afterwards, but the dessert course was particularly entertaining.

 He spent one whole day with a telescope focussed on Mars.  For a time he could swear that he could see Marsport, that Launchpad to the outer planets and the stars.  He could certainly see some of the giant space freighters that plied the interplanetary ether in orbit.

Days passed and as they closed on the asteroids the giant rocks assumed menacing proportions, many massive hunks of interplanetary detritus whirled through space on indeterminate orbits, frankly Jack felt uneasy moving this close to danger.  He was assured by his butler that the Captain was a skilled space mariner who had been roaming the asteroids for years before joining Costa-Space Cruises and had many friends in the mining communities on the larger asteroids.

On the second morning Jack was making his way to breakfast in the Jupiter Garden café when he was thrown forcefully off his feet and slid rapidly along the corridor mixed in with other unfortunate passengers many of whom were screaming in terror and some who had clearly broken bones.

“COLLISION, COLLISION.” Shreiked a disembodied voice from the tannoy.  Followed by seven short blasts and one long on the ships siren, the signal for “Abandon ship”.  The tannoy again:
“Don’t panic, evacuation systems are in progress, please follow the green lights set in the floor to your nearest escape pod.”

 Jack was to hear later that the ship had collided with an uncharted asteroid because the captain had decided to swing too close to the mining post on HD3223228. Another sudden lurch and the artificial gravity failed followed by the illumination.

Rapidly, emergency lights came up.  Luckily Jack was unhurt and because of the Freefall café unworried by the lack of gravity.   That did not apply to many of his fellow passengers.  Helping those he could, he decided to make his way along the pattern of green lights.  Shortly he reached the branch corridor that led to the escape pods and squeezing his way to the head of the queue found no crew members to control the flow of bodies into each ten seater craft.  Some had already departed, but Jack resisted the urge to jump on board the next deciding to help those less able.

After restoring some discipline he spent the next few hours controlling the flow of evacuees and helping the shaken passengers into their seats.  Time escaped him, but eventually he came to the end of the queue and packed the last of the folk into pod, No 20V.  Unfortunately, once that pod was dispatched no other took its place.  It looked like he was left alone without a life raft.  He noticed a shortness of breath, the hull must have been breached and the air was failing.
 
Behind him a row of red lights, but could he hear a faint sound?  He smiled, obviously suffering from oxygen deprivation, he seemed to be able to hear a dog barking.  With no other exit Jack retraced his steps against the red lights to the main corridor junction.  Now the lights on the left were green.  Weightlessness helped him drag his ever-weakening body along the trail of lights always following the barking.  He came to another life pod branch.  It was deserted. Arriving at an empty pod with 20W printed on the side he climbed in.  The last pod on this branch.  Somewhere over the last few metres the barking had stopped.  He sank exhausted into a seat.  After a few seconds nobody followed and the hatch closed with a loud hiss whilst oxygen filled the cabin.

Squeezed into his seat by the sudden automatic expulsion from the ship Jack thanked his lucky stars and closed his eyes for a few moments.  Hearing a scratching sound and he turned to see a small dog emerging from behind a seat.  White with black and brown splotches to its coat, the dog seemed to smile and moved forward, placing its head in his lap.

“Who are you boy and how did you get here?” exclaimed Jack.  Dog simply licked his hand, clearly pleased to see him.

 “Do you realised that you saved my life?” said Jack.

 More licking and enthusiastic tail wagging. Feeling rather than seeing the collar around the dog’s neck, attached by a metal ring was a worn, oval plastic tag.  Jack could just make out his name, JACK, roughly scratched out and the name Betty scribed with a sharp point. Jack laughed, “Not a boy then”.

Out of the front screen he could see dozens of similar pods clustered around. Jack smiled and looking Betty in the eye said “It looks like we saved one another, so it’s you and me from now on Betty, you and me”.


If you want to control peoples thoughts, first control their words.

zoony

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Re: Space dog
« Reply #1 on: Nov 28, 2015, 07:44:41 PM »
Well done Xetog, nice story. Scrumpy will be pleased. ;D
"Listen to the wind, it cleans the mind."

"Never use money to measure wealth, son"

                                           cowboy wisdom.

Citizen68

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Re: Space dog
« Reply #2 on: Nov 29, 2015, 04:40:08 PM »
xetog, another good one. Isn't everyone getting literary?

xetog

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Re: Space dog
« Reply #3 on: Nov 29, 2015, 04:50:39 PM »
I wish more would try their hand, it seems like zoony and me are hogging the corner at the moment.

Mike
If you want to control peoples thoughts, first control their words.

zoony

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Re: Space dog
« Reply #4 on: Nov 29, 2015, 04:52:17 PM »
I feel the same way as 'im.
"Listen to the wind, it cleans the mind."

"Never use money to measure wealth, son"

                                           cowboy wisdom.

Scrumpy

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Re: Space dog
« Reply #5 on: Nov 29, 2015, 05:42:12 PM »
..Aww!   It's Betty!!.... She's not alone anymore... Hip hip hooray..
Everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, its not the end.

zoony

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Re: Space dog
« Reply #6 on: Nov 29, 2015, 05:43:20 PM »
Knew you'd be pleased about that. 8)
"Listen to the wind, it cleans the mind."

"Never use money to measure wealth, son"

                                           cowboy wisdom.

xetog

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Re: Space dog
« Reply #7 on: Dec 02, 2015, 09:31:09 AM »
The Jack bit was clumsy, but carried over from the previous story.  I have been playing around with a sequel, but the idea isn't quite there yet.  I have some pictures in my mind, but need more thought.  I have an idea of a children's story and a time travelling dog (Ancient Mariner, not Dr Who), but every time I begin to type, I loose enthusiasm for the idea.

Mike
If you want to control peoples thoughts, first control their words.