The Marillion (in progress)

Chapter Eleven ⋆ ★

Illion

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4:37am

The harsh flashing of my watch sears the numbers into my eyes. I turn it off before the light wakes Aurelia too.

I don't have time to be sleeping. Not while there's an infestation of cybernetics.

Quietly, I slide out of bed, pull the covers over Aurelia, and sneak to the door, feeling for the handle in the dim light.

I find it, and ease it open, tip-toing into the empty hall.

"Captain on intercom one." My watch glows at the activation phrase, "contact Miith."

A yellow symbol of a planet flashes on my wrist, and a robotic voice responds: "dialling Miith."

She doesn't pick up. Not the first time, nor the second. By the time she does, I'm in the elevator, tapping my foot impatiently.

There's a flash of green, and then her raspy voice crackles through the intercom, "Captain, respectfully, why are you calling me at four thirty in the morning?"

"Cybernetic infestation. Not sure how many, approximation is between two to three hundred, rapidly multiplying."

"Since when?!"

"Yesterday." I check the time, "2am. Duste-V-Peggle expelled forty nests from the upper floors, but they're still off limits. We need to fix that before departure – once people sober up from last night, they're not going to be happy about the compromised living arrangements."

"Right, right." I can hear her cursing under her breath, "I'll get a team together. Please tell me Lolli-N's not going to be there."

"No. She's resting, like the good android she is. I'll meet you in the engine rooms." With that, I end the call, just as the elevator reaches the top floor.

***

Three hours in, and we scraped about twenty nests off the insides of the engine room. That's twenty nests out the airlock, floating happily in space as they slowly freeze into cute little balls of wires. Ah, what a productive morning.

"Captain, wake up call in three minutes." Miith's voice calls from the metal balcony overhead. I see her massive eyes staring straight at me, the pink iris drilling into my soul. "And main engine starts up in two."

"Right, right." I shove the emergency axe back the glass case and follow after her.

We speed walk across the balcony, just as the reactor growls to life, sending vibrations through the floor.

"Find Duste will you? He's on milkshake duty this morning." I have to yell over the noise of the engines, but I see her nodding.

Out of the engine room, into the side halls, along a narrow pathway winding around and around the 'brain stem', until we're standing in the bridge, in front of the cerebral computer.

"Captain on deck!" Announces Miith, and the crew jumps to attention.

I wave them to sit down, "yes, yes, your favourite Captain is here. Let's get to work."

I fall into my Captain's seat, "right, open the announcement channel, we have a bunch of hungover guests to surprise."

"Announcement channel open."

"Initiating signal."

Miith hands me a microphone.

"Well, good morning my lovely passengers!" I pause; let them wake up a second before I continue. "I hope you all had a wonderful time last night, especially with the alcohol. I saw a few of you were really going for it...anyway, it's a big day today! Departure from Osticara is in fifteen minutes, and we don't want any of you to miss it. So, once you hear this message, get out of your beds, and calmly make your way to the nearest observation point; the homebots will guide you."