тнє ℓαѕт qυєєи // тнє ∂σ¢тσя

Midnight

The shuttle shakes a bit, "For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth classics." Dropdown screens show a pop video of some woman. "Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein." Something holographic, "Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat. The Animation Archives." A projection of Betty Boop onto a screen in front of the drivers cabin door. "Four hours of fun time. Enjoy." That is why she hands out earplugs. Sky looks up from her book, very unhappy. Theta powers up his sonic screwdriver and suddenly it goes quiet. The screens return to their docks, "Well, that's a mercy." I smirked towards Theta who shot me a wink in return. "I do apologise, ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We seem to had a failure of the Entertainment System."

"Oh."

"But what do we do?"

"We've got four hours of this? Four hours of just sitting here?"

"Tell you what. We'll have to talk to each other instead."

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98 kliks later....Everyone is listening to Val and Biff's stories, except for Kate who is passed out in The Doctor's lap. Occasionally he would look down to check on her before moving his attention back to the stories. He knew she needed rest, she usually got up with Fay even though he made it clear that he would for her. She insisted that he needed the sleep, not that they actually needed it.

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251 kliks later... I had woken up to Theta joining me in the seats, "Your awake." He hummed gently as he pulled me back into his lap. "What did I miss?" I muttered lowly, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Nothing. Just bored without you to entertain me." I nodded with a smile as I watched Professor Hobbes give an illustrated lecture. Even Jethro is interested, "So, this is Midnight, do you see, bombarded by the sun. Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide. It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see, the history is fascinating. Because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing."

"But how do you know? I mean, if no one can go outside." Jethro questioned making a series point. "Oh, his imagination. Here we go." Jethro's mom spoke up with a small scoff, "He's got a point, though." I pointed out, the other finally noticing I was awake. "Exactly. We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it." There was a loud crunch as the small shuttle came to a stop. "We've stopped. Have we stopped?" Jethro's mother panicked, I looked towards Theta who was already frowning himself. "Are we there?" This time it was Jethro's father, "We can't be, it's too soon." Dee Dee frowned as she looked towards Hobbes who shook his head. "They don't stop. Crusader vehicles never stop." He insisted with a slightly frightened look. "If you could just return to your seats. It's just a small delay." The hostess goes to the intercom phone.

"Maybe just a pit stop." The father asked with a shrug as we watched the hostess speak lowly into the comms. "There's no pit to stop in. I've been on this expedition fourteen times. They never stop." Hobbes explained with determination, "Well, evidently we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it." The blonde woman in the black suit stated with an eye roll. Theta probably knew everyone's names but I had been asleep so I was still clueless. "We've broken down." Jethro stated as he moved to the seat behind Theta and I. "Thanks, Jethro." His mother glared in annoyance, "In the middle of nowhere." Jethro spoke back with a smirk causing me to snort lightly. "That's enough. Now stop it." His father glared, "Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We're just experiencing a short delay. The driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats."