Lost at L3: A Sci-Fi Comedy Adventure by Douglas Phillips & Bryant Phillips

Author:Douglas Phillips & Bryant Phillips [Phillips, Douglas & Phillips, Bryant]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2022-04-07T22:00:00+00:00

15

DATE NIGHT AT L3

Prisha couldn’t help but giggle as Chase struggled upside down, his feet squirming while his head and shoulders were deep inside an electronics compartment behind the spaceplane’s control panel.

“Lots of components here we could salvage,” Chase called out. His voice was muffled.

They had returned to the spaceplane to see what might be useful for their new life on L3. With Razor’s super-efficient AbSolOrb, they already had more than enough electricity to power a small village, so Chase declared he’d rig a recharging station for their phones and add Wi-Fi to boot. He’d even pried one of the control panel’s multifunction displays that might serve as a TV. Entertainment was within their grasp.

Content of every variety was available on the spaceplane’s ten-zettabyte data server, which Chase had already ripped out from its cabinet. It was one of those Big Bob units that came preloaded with the sum total of all knowledge when they’d left Earth. They’d have access to medical procedures, engineering specs, and scientific knowledge, but also the homey touches like recipes and entertainment. The server’s archive included every book ever written, every song ever recorded, and every movie ever produced. Luckily, Prisha remembered her Big Bob password.

Chase surfaced and held up a metal box with cables dangling out the back. “Audio amplifier for the public address system. Once I pull out the overhead speakers in the cabin, this baby is going to give us surround sound!”

Baby, he’d said. Prisha’s thoughts returned to the uncomfortable ending to their fish fry on Razor’s deck three nights before. Since then, she’d spoken less than twenty words to Chase, though he’d gone out of his way to be cordial, including a very specific invite to spend the afternoon rummaging through the spaceplane. Prisha only; he hadn’t asked anyone else to come.

She had agreed. She did know something about spaceplane components. She was, after all, still wearing a pilot’s uniform, slightly wrinkled these days but washed clean once a week in Razor’s new combination washing machine and clothes dryer that he’d constructed at the edge of the creek.

But there was another reason to join Chase on a scavenger hunt. “Did you really want me to have your babies?” L3 was a small place, and clearing away the cloud that hung between them was the adult thing to do.

Chase set the component aside. He became pensive with eyes cast down. “Sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

“You did. I was.”

“It was a clumsy attempt to think ahead, that’s all. I’ve been told by past girlfriends I think too linearly and sometimes come across like a calculating robot.” He paused. “Actually, all of them said that.”

“Well, we might not be able to fly off this rock, but I’m not giving up yet.”

“Me neither. But… we have to be realistic. Our chances of survival are pretty good, but the chance of rescue is near zero. Nobody knows we’re here. Nobody even knows what ‘here’ is.”

“Rescue might be a long shot, but that doesn’t mean we need to start producing children next week.

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