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    © 2004 Andrew Dormeier
Pete was a small mammal with white and grey fur, long ears, and strong hind legs: a rabbit. As Artemus entered the corner of the small atrium where Pete was working, he glanced up and tilted his left ear back slightly, which was his sign of greeting.
"How are things in the lab?" Artemus inquired. Pete's disembodied voice played out of the wall speakers, which picked up their signal from the small device tucked behind his right ear. He had built the invention to pick up and translate his thoughts. "Nothing seems broken. Some of my more delicate experiments will need to be recalibrated or restarted, but that is the price we pay, isn't it?" "Better than being spaced or turned into fried rantang." "How true. I apologize for not being on the bridge to have rendered assistance in the battle." "Quite alright. The battle came on fast and was over just as quickly." Artemus circled the table covered with small gadgets, picking one up turning it over in his hands, "We've managed to outwit several ships and hide in a dense nebula. The ship is badly damaged. I'm heading to go gather the parts we'll need for repairs. A good deal of the work must be done on the outer hull though, which means suiting up and going out there." "That fog will make things difficult." "It can't be helped." Sol replied just as Falinor's voice hijacked the wall speakers from Pete. "Artemus, the ghost drive will need two type-A power relay hubs and one type-C." Artemus spoke to the air, "I'll get them and be up there in five minutes. Sol out." Falinor dropped from the horizontal hatch opening to the metal grating and landed perfectly balanced. A clanging sound came from above along with a muffled curse. Artemus fell headlong onto the deck, his forehead breaking the fall. He lay there for several seconds with spare wire tangled around his feet. Falinor looked on in amusement. Eventually, Sol moaned and rolled onto his back so that he could free his feet from the web of cables. The right side of his face was covered in a black film. "Ugh. Why did I design those access areas so small? It's ridiculous. And why can't I ever land on my feet like you? And what is this black felk on my face? We don't use lubrication. We run on fusion. It makes no sense, no sense." Falinor reached up and shut the access hatch. "The areas are small to conserve space. I'm elven, you are not. And. actually I have no idea what that black substance is." |
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