Starship Armstrong - Season 3

Part 64 - Old Habits (VII)

The shuttle continued through the night sky before it finally arrived at what would only be described as a flying Starship. It was exactly as the outsiders had said. As the shuttle approached the impossible ship it slid through a glimmering wall and into the Starship Armstrong itself.

The shuttle landed inside a wide open area that contained several other shuttles. The door hissed open and everyone got out.

Mupallidat-Tiamat looked around. It was a Starship alright. The interior didn't seem nearly as grand or ornate as that of the Starship Iannusu but it was unmistakably of the same kind.

"You really weren't lying," she said. "You really are from a flying Starship."

"I think you'll find that all starships fly my dear," said Dr. Kang. "What you live in is a crash site."

"Kang!" snapped Lieutenant-Commander.

"What were you planning on trying to keep that from her? These people have a right to know they're post-apocalyptic savages living in the ruins of a vehicle."

"We're not savages," said Mupallidat-Tiamat.

"That's right," said Lieutenant-Commander. "Kang is the savage."

"Yes pointing out the truth, how uncivilized of me. I'm off to my lab to go feel just terrible about what I've said."

Dr. Kang began to walk away across the massive Shuttle Room.

"Terrible!" he repeated.

Wagner and McAfree followed after him.

"Come with me," said Lieutenant-Commander. "I'll show you the bridge."

* * *

The Bridge was of a very similar design to the one on the Iannusu, only the layout was different. As expected the Captain of Captains was centrally located sitting on a command throne. She rose when Mupallidat-Tiamat and Lieutenant-Commander entered.

"Lieutenant-Commander," said the Captain, in greeting. "This must be the guest you told me about."

"I am called Mupallidat-Tiamat."

"Babylonian then," said the Captain.

"That was Dr. Kang's guess," said Mitzner.

"I'm sure this has been an interesting experience for you so far," said the Captain.

"That is true. Very true," agreed Mupallidat-Tiamat.

"Well I bet I can top it," said the Captain. "Ensign Marceaux, pull up Ea on the main screen," she turned to Mupallidat-Tiamat. "That's what your world is called on our charts by the way, I don't know if you have your own name for it."

"The whole world?" asked Mupallidat-Tiamat. "We just call it the world."

The Captain of Captains had been right; this was very interesting.

A blue marble appeared outside the giant window at the front of the room out of thin air.

"That's Ea," said the Captain. "The whole world."

"It can't be," said Mupallidat-Tiamat.

"Zoom in to the Iannusu," said the Captain.

"How am I supposed to lock onto it?" asked the one apparently called Ensign Marceaux.

"Adjust the sensitivity of your energy sensors," said Lieutenant-Commander. "They're generating a decent-sized shield out there it's just at a super low power draw. Lower than tech that sophisticated would usually read as."

Mupallidat-Tiamat wasn't following any of this.

"Okay, got it," said Ensign Marceaux.

Lieutenant-Commander nudged Mupallidat-Tiamat and nodded to the window.

The blue marble began to grow bigger and bigger until it filled the entire screen. We must be falling towards it. Mupallidat-Tiamat screamed.

"Everything's fine," said Lieutenant-Commander. "It's just an image."

Mupallidat-Tiamat looked around. No one seemed bothered by their descent. She decided Lieutenant-Commander must be speaking the truth. She turned back to the window.

Clouds appeared, then the ship seemed to come crashing down through them. It was like taking the shuttle up in reverse. Finally the Starship Iannusu came into view from above. Moments later people could be seem. The image stopped there, with her entire village captured in a single view.

"By all the gods," was all she could think to say.

"As I was saying that's your world," said the Captain. "There are many like it. Almost everyone in this room is from a different one. As best as we can figure your Starship the Iannusu crashed on this world years ago. Generations. Your people are descended from starfarers like us."

Crashed. Fell from the sky. Build by more advanced people many many years ago. Built by the ancestors. It all made sense. Her people had been trying to understand their own distant past by peering through a lock and now here someone had opened the door.

"This is so important," said Mupallidat-Tiamat. "I'm just an Operations-caste I'm not trained for this."

"You quickly understood a concept that a lot of people have trouble with," said the Captain. "I doubt very much there is anyone on your planet with training for something like this. I think you're eminently qualified. In fact I hope you can help us try to explain this to your people."

"It's not within the scope of my caste," said Mupallidat-Tiamat. She didn't know why they didn't understand.

"They have a caste system?" asked the Captain.

"It appears so," said Lieutenant-Commander. "Based on Starship departments."

"Makes sense," said the Captain. "With a small population like that you'd want to make sure to preserve expertise down the generations."

"Do I understand you, do you not have castes?" asked Mupallidat-Tiamat.

"That's right," said Lieutenant-Commander. "Our system is more of a meritocracy. People do what they're good at."

"How do you know what you're good at?" asked Mupallidat-Tiamat.

"You try different things," said Lieutenant-Commander, with a shrug.

This was even more outrageous than the business about flying Starships.