Ideal Comics
Everything Great About Comics
Space, 1951 - An Odyssey (Chapter 8)
09 February, 2010 by chris
Another chapter! W00t!
Space, 1951 - An Odyssey
by Chris Lawton and Mathew D. Rhys
"Who wants a cupcake?"
Golden Rapid swings his head in the direction of his flying companion, who is standing in the doorway, with a tray of steaming pastries.
"What?" he asks, quizzically.
"Cupcakes," Kim answers. "When I was a kid, and my family got stressed out, my mom would always bake cupcakes. Do you want one?"
He opens his mouth to say no, but remembers how much he hurt her, the last time. He smiles instead, nodding. "Sure, why not," he says. "I don't eat cupcakes, but I'll be happy to keep you company."
It feels good for him to get away from the instrument panels, if only for a minute. The ship has been flying straight on course, at full tilt, for a couple of days now and they are nearing Aquarius. He is almost home.
It feels good to laugh with Kim again. This entire trip has been much more stressful than he had wanted it to be. But, he is so happy she came along. Without her, he doesn't think he could have made it.
And she feels the same way. She continues to fight her inner-feelings when she looks at Mar-shades of romanticism and heartache-but, it is getting easier. She knows that he'll probably never feel for her, not the way she feels for him; and she has to be okay with that. For the time being, no matter how painful it is, she is happy to have him as a friend.
"So, how much longer will it take to get there?" She asks.
"Hmm, should be a couple of days, provided we don't run into trouble."
"That's good," she says, and she means it. "So, the ship is running okay?"
"Better than okay," he says, standing. "It's running perfectly. Thank you for this diversion, Kim. It was a much needed break. But, now I've got to get back to the bridge."
"Hmmfhmmdff," she replies, her mouth full of cupcake. She smiles, and he returns the sentiment.
On the bridge, the machines continue to function better than Golden Rapid could have hoped for. They hum and beep in rhythm as the Progressive Gradient Drive calculates and recalculates its course.
He feels a chill in the air, long before he actually experiences anything. If he would have had hair on the back of his neck, he's sure it would be standing on end. He spins around, his eyes darting around the room, for the source of the chill.
He sees it, but at the same time he doesn't. A form shimmers and appears, then disappears, returning as a translucent shape. It approaches him, with the form of a limb outstretched.
"Hello, Mar Yam-Llyr," the being says. "I am a space wraith."
As the limb gets closer, the chill and feeling increases and Golden Rapid tenses his muscles, ready to dash out of the way. But, his legs no longer work. The limb connects with his chest and Golden Rapid feels an explosion within his body, as all of his muscles collapse and his body falls to the ground.