Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 402(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 268(@300wpm)
I stop thinking about my family. I can’t risk doing that now. I have to focus on the insane thing I am currently doing. I want to change my loading overalls for a maintenance uniform. I need to be able to blend in, or I’m going to get caught literally almost immediately.
Fortunately for me, the loading overalls also came with a ship schematic in the pocket. I am not very far from maintenance now.
I slip down the hall. There are a lot of people on this ship, but there’s even more ship than people. That means a lot of empty passages for a stowaway to sneak down.
It’s as easy to get a maintenance uniform as it was to get the overalls. To be honest, there’s basically no security here whatsoever. I don’t think they ever thought anybody would do what I’ve done. It’s fun to be the first to an outrageous notion.
I have to turn the cuffs of the maintenance suit up at the wrists and ankles. I wonder if that’s why they rejected me out of hand. I don’t fit the clothing. That’s going to be the least of my problems. Now I have to convince everyone else on this ship that I belong here with them.
Over the next few days, I slowly ingratiate my way into the fabric of the ship. I glide between locations, never really doing anything. Carrying a sonic mop makes me pretty much invisible to most people. I don’t attend anything where specific units are required, or where I might be obviously ID’d. So far, so good. Most of the people on this ship are far too busy settling in themselves and becoming accustomed to their roles. Occasionally someone will give me an order, and I will follow it. It’s not hard to clean up after people.
I do end up getting introduced to some of the maintenance team, but I am careful to also stay away from supervisors, or anyone who might be doing rosters. I am a ghost in the machine, and I am getting quite a great deal of satisfaction out of it.
I stay in the loop by listening in on other people’s conversations. So much information is passed loosely around this ship. It’s like there’s no such thing as a secret. I love it.
“Have they fixed the thousand glitch?” one person says to another. I think they might be in the geological survey, but I am not sure.
“No. It’s stubborn. They’re looking at reformatting some of the drives, but it’s risky. It could mean we lose capacity for some time, and there’s indications that we’re moving through hostile space.”
I love it when they refer to me as a glitch, but this story starts getting even more interesting in very quick order.
“What kind of hostile forces? Alien?”
The person being question shakes his head.
“Vikar.”
I hear the word being whispered by various people. It’s not a word I ever thought I would hear in my lifetime. It’s like hearing a nightmare from a children’s tale being spoken about as if it’s suddenly real.
Vikar are a whole other kind of human. They are a tribe of our kind who, according to legend, left Earth long ago to roam the stars. They are raiders, berserkers, pirates. They are hostile to everyone and everything.
If we have run into Vikar, then this ship is about to go on a battle footing.
The notion excites me. I’ve always found our society a little too boring, and a lot too orderly. The Vikar might suit me better. If they board our ship and take over, they won’t care that I am a stowaway, so that would be cool. I hope I get to experience some true adventure before too long.
For now, my plan is to keep fitting in, no matter where in the universe I end up.
CHAPTER 5
About a week into the journey, I am starting to assume that everything is going to work out. I’m even thinking about borrowing someone’s login so I can send a message back home. I don’t want my sisters freaking out too much, though they are used to me being away for long periods of time, and obviously they’ve probably gotten my message and know I’m living my dream. Still, it would be nice to send them something, and maybe even nice to get something back, though I’d have to be careful about that. It seems like a very easy way to get caught.
Encoded messages are sent once a day in data packets that pulse through space. It’s quite magic, all that can be achieved lightyears away from our world.
I’m thinking about this while walking down a hall, when a small group of large guys comes the other way. Under these circumstances, I usually avoid eye contact. By fixing my eyes on the floor, I become practically invisible to anyone with rank or status.