[Bridge]
Henri walked onto the pristine bridge 5 minutes late for his shift in a drunken haze. Not a word of reprimand or welcome met his ears. He sauntered to the empty ops station and sat in the cold, industrial seat with a grimace. ~So too is life~ he thought to himself ~Cold and unwelcoming. ~ Henri let out a pitiable laugh and began his belated duties. ~Why the hell am I an Ops officer? I always knew I was good at that philosophy crap. ~ Russo looked around the bridge at all of the blank faces. The entire bridge crew was absorbed by their work except for Russo.
The muted gray tones of the bridge cast an ashen hue on Henri’s face as he surveyed the sterile room. The high ceiling of the room made it even more impersonal. If the bridge was a person, it would be without a pulse. Officers stood at the wall-mounted computer consoles and did their duty unflinchingly and unwaveringly. They were the kind of people who could be counted on in a crisis situation. They would keep the shit from hitting the fan. Henri wasn’t one of those officers.
He tapped at the console in a detached nature. He didn't care about his work, he didn't care what might happen if he neglected his duties, he didn't care about the crew, he didn't care about himself. To Henri, Life just didn't seem to be worth all that much.
It had been 10 minutes since he had arrived, late, but Henri turned to face the man sitting in the captain's chair and asked robotically, "I am not feeling well sir. May I please visit sickbay."
The nameless Lieutenant Commander nodded unemphatically and returned his gaze back to the view screen, on which stars whizzed by in the empty blackness of space.
Henri rose from his chair surveyed the dead silence of the bridge. Not a word of sympathy or goodbye met his ears. He sauntered to the empty turbolift and entered the bland, confined cylinder with a grimace. ~So too is life...~
part 3 next monday. It is a bit longer than this one. I hope you like how it all comes out.
~Mike
_\\//
1 comment:
Liking this still, good developments, and interesting characters.
The only small thing that bothers me is the word "Crap". I've always found that it looks cheap in literature. Something about it bugs me, it almost seems like some stupid 12 year old avoiding the word "shit". Maybe it's just me, but I don't like it, and I find that that is the only reason I find this part of the story unproffesional.
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