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"Pen to Paper"
Rating: PG Ten-Hut (4) Ensign Jacob Parker reached up and pulled down on the handle, holding it in position while Ensign Amanda Johnson entered information on the monitor. Nearby Sisyl, one of the eleven Jit, was purging the previous months compactor schedule and reprogramming a new one. All three had earpieces dangling from their uniforms, attached with a clip at the shoulder, but only Sisyl had his earpiece in. “And then?” Amanda asked Jacob. “Well, then I said, ‘You’d better watch it. You might tip over.’” Amanda smiled. “And her come back?” “A typical blonde come back. Silence.” “Blonde hair makes a difference?” Sisyl asked Jacob. The two looked back at Sisyl. “Humans have joked that blondes are stupid, but that’s not really true. Sisyl smiled. “What did you tell her then?” “I told her that if her tits got any larger, she’d tip over and roll down the street.” Jacob reached back, tapping Sisyl’s shoulder. The Jit looked back at him. Jacob started rolling his arm up and down like he was taking it up and down hills. “In San Francisco, this is how most of our streets are. They’re hilly and have steep inclines. So imagine this woman with these huge boobs rolling down the streets in San Francisco.” Sisyl laughed. “I see the humor now.” Jacob patted his shoulder, looking back at the lever. “You’ll get this humor stuff yet, Sisyl.” “Almost got it,” Amanda told Jacob. “Yeah. Yeah. You women are all slow.” Jacob reached out and poked her in the side. She batted his hand away with a grin. “Lieutenant McNielson is calling for you,” Sisyl said, looking back at Jacob. Jacob slid his earpiece back in his ear and adjusted the microphone. “Ensign Parker here, sir.” “How far has Mandy gotten on the program. We’re waiting with trash up here.” Above them a vent released steam and for a few minutes they couldn’t hear anything else over it. Jacob pushed his earpiece in. “Eh. A minute, maybe two. She’s hustlin’, sir.” “Tell her to hustle a little faster. Captain wanted this done before we went to warp. He’s chompin’ at the bit, kids.” “Wouldn’t want him doing that, sir. Tell him to give us another three minutes and then we can be on our way, sir. Parker out.” He pulled the earpiece off. “You’re holding up the show here, Manda. And when did we become kids down here?” “When we were born and never grew up,” Amanda laughed. “Incinerator is ready to ignite.” Sisyl looked back at them. “Get her warmed up. Come on Manda. You’re holdin’ up the dogs and ponies here!” “I’m working on it!” Amanda cried, smiling at him. Sisyl turned, leaning on the console. He wiped sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. “It get so hot down here,” Sisyl commented. “It’s the only place on the ship that has no temperature controls. The incinerator over there,” Jacob pointed at it. “Kept blowing out the sensors so they stopped trying.” “Nice place for a sauna though.” Amanda smiled up at Jacob. “What is a sauna?” Sisyl asked. “You’ve never been in a sauna?” Jacob asked. Sisyl shook his head. Jacob put his earpiece back on. “Parker to Lieutenant McNielson.” “McNielson here.” “Sir, when we get done with this, permission to take a twenty minute break. Sisyl’s never been to Ten-Hut.” “Really?” Lieutenant McNielson asked. “Really, sir.” “How far behind are we?” “Sisyl, pull up the duty roster.” Sisyl turned and pulled it up. “Tell me how many jobs ahead of this one we have?” “Clean the tanks and routine maintenance on hydraulics.” “Did you catch that, sir?” Jacob asked. “Yeah. We can put that on tomorrow’s list. Finish this and cut your day short. See you guys tomorrow.” “Will do sir. Hey Mandy, guess what?” Jacob dropped his earpiece off his ear again, making a clicking noise. “We get outta school early?” Amanda smiled at Jacob. “I love our boss,” Jacob said. “We’ll show you the sauna today, okay?” Sisyl nodded. “Now, this sauna thing is the reclamation team’s secret. You can’t go telling anyone, not even the other Jit. Hell, the captain doesn’t even know about it. It has to stay that way, got it?” Sisyl nodded. “Okay. Put all systems except the compactor on automatic for the night.” Sisyl turned back to the console and started down the systems. Jacob let the hand go. “Programming done and running,” Amanda looked slyly at Jacob. “Because I am a programming goddess!” “Uh-oh, Sisyl. Miss Amanda Jones’s ego is starting to inflate.” “Amanda Jones?” Sisyl looked back at Jacob. “I thought her last name was Johnson.” Amanda and Jacob both laughed. “It is. It’s an old joke.” Amanda explained to Sisyl. “Oh. Someday I might actually understand your jokes, Jacob.” “Until then, my friend, just go with the flow. Put the compactor on automatic.” Sisyl did and turned back to Jacob. “Okay. You got any civilian clothes?” “Yes.” “Go change and put some shorts on underneath. Tuck a towel under your shirt so no one sees it and then meet us back here in ten minutes. Hurry.” Sisyl obeyed. # Sisyl stared though the door Jacob was holding open. Inside Amanda was sitting in a tank top and shorts and reading a book. Beside her another reclamation officer, Manny Franklin, was laying on a bench dressed only in a pair of knee length and brightly colored shorts. “Come on,” Jacob urged. “Why is it steamy in there?” “We take the steam off the water boilers behind the kitchen and pipe it in here,” Jacob explained. “It’s safe. We built it ourselves. Right after the junkyard wars back on the Ilterian moon. We smuggled the parts up here and put it together. We call it Ten-Hut.” Sisyl slowly stepped into the room, looking around. There were two tiers of wide wooden benches around the circle room. From a vent above hot steam blew into the room and was vented through three smaller vents along the top of the room. Jacob hopped up onto the top bench and sat back against the wall. “This is a sauna?” Sisyl asked. “Close,” Amanda answered. “More like a steam bath, but we call it a sauna.” The door opened and Lieutenant McNielson came in and sat down. “How was your day, Mikeal?” Manny asked. “I am ready for an hour of this,” Mikeal said. “I hate staff meetings.” “Remind me never to be a Lieutenant,” Amanda said from behind her book. “You have to do too much for my taste.” The four chuckled. Sisyl sat down on a bench, leaning back against the wall. He let out a soft breath, listening to his crewmates talk about their day and ship gossip. He closed his eyes drifting into a light doze as his body relaxed in the heat. “Sisyl.” Sisyl opened his eyes. The three were staring at him. “What?” Sisyl asked. Amanda leaned forward, gripping the bench. “What animal is your DNA?” “It is called Opatha.” “What is that?” “It was a cat many Varlikon kept as pets. It was one of the first five created.” “Okay, this is going to take some getting used to.” Amanda leaned back. “What?” Sisyl asked. Manny looked at Sisyl. “You were purring, my friend. But you know, I kinda liked it. I was about asleep until loose lips here,” Manny motioned to Amanda, “started gabbing.” “Yeah. Stop gabbing, Amanda. I was enjoying it too.” Mikeal reached out and batted her arm. Sisyl smiled. “It’s okay?” “Yeah. It’s good. Go back to sleep or whatever.” Mikeal closed his eyes. “Did anyone set the timer?” “On the way in,” Jacob said. The room was silent again. Sisyl closed his eyes, drifting back into a doze and starting to purr again. |
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