Steven Farrell!

Throwhatch!

! The one-man bridge of the ship lit up in pearlescent blues and soft, pulsating greens. All was calm on the merchant ship Clawdius. Small scraps of metal and rocks lightly scratched the surface of the frame as it drifted forward. The ship was built small, room for only one, two, maybe three men. It was a simple Spearnum model X200 with an improved chassis for only a slightly stronger defense. The warm solar sun glinted brightly off go the modified solar panels that were loosely and unskillfully attached. Throwhatch looked out the window, past the spotted curtains he had put up over it.!! “My God man, why go putting up curtains on yer windows, eh? It aint gonna see a stoppin' to any Rindian missile no sir!” Curchuk laughed as he poured his coffee into a tin canister that almost resembled a mug.!! “What, you don’t like the tablecloth? That last ship had a wonderful spread. I don’t aim to sail in a steel coffin, Chuk.”!! “Can’t blame ye for that.” Curchuk said as he took a deep, refreshing gulp of coffee. “But spots? Red spots on the white curtains? It aint exactly pretty, Hatch. Why if I had me own window… Oh! I’d cover it all up in the great, the glorious, ever-proud, and always kind hearted white and gold of Brenback’s Hold!”!! “You’re spilling coffee on my ship.”!! “Oi! Damn damn damn damn! Ahh for shame! That’s the expensive stuff…”!! “At least it smells nice. It’ll be a nice break from your usual stench,” Throwhatch said as he spun the cockpit’s seat around and climbed in. Grabbing the throttle and keeping an eye on his batteries, Throwhatch gently eased the ship back into their course.!! “Blasted debris. Servin’ me no good on the outside of my hold.” Reaching over to a control panel to cycle the batteries, Throwhatch noticed a bright shimmer in the debris field. Cycling the switches without removing his eyes from the glint he powered up the scanner system. The ship’s top mounted scanner began filling a ‘rigged screen with various materials. Throwhatch scrolled through them with an old dial that clicked past each description.!! “Oi! You scanning shomethin’ out here? In the old Imperium fields? Are we… Are we in Imperium fields actually? Where are we again?”!! Throwhatch eased the ship to a stop and flicked a metal switch that was jury-rigged to the panel, killing the lights.!! “I… I’m really sorry about the coffee, boss. I’ll clean it up as best me can, I swear.”!! “It’s not the coffee, Curchuk. Come take a look at this.” Throwhatch angled Clawdius so the glint was less severe. “What shimmers like that in a field of dead metal?”!! “Hoh… Well maybe it’s,”! ! “It’s 98% sylvium.”!! “No… Oi, cells out here? Who would miss ‘em like that?”!! “May I remind you where we are?”!! “Oh yes. Hmm… well I guess I never really did straighten that bit out…”!! “Imperium-S215. You’re little trick worked with the batteries. I swear, for every crazy idea you’ve had, this one worked. Hey, finish the coffee will ya? Going to need you on the tractor beam. Three minutes.”!! “Can’t shoot straight without me coffee, sir.” Curchuk said as he guzzled down the last draught of his coffee and hummed a tune down the corridor.!!