Request by User: Eric_River

"how about a romance / sci fi, set in a space ship

a long and boring mission looking for a space-time rip

two crew members, one half robot, bored but getting by

then they find the portal and kiss normalcy goodbye "

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    The ship continued through the infinite void, quiet, and calm. Long had the days been for the two, alone with one another's company. Had it not been for that, they might have given up long ago. One small temporal anomaly was hard to find in the darkness. Still, Emma smiled softly as she watched the read outs of the machine.

    It was an old tale, in many aspects. Two left together for many years alone either grow close or apart. Robert was not a man of science, gruff and coarse. Yet she found comfort in him where few others would even want to be. Carefully she ran hand over the metal of her arm. Seeing the scars that were there. Even science held it's dangers, she had learned.

    Robert himself sat at the controls that set the ship in motion, his head tilted as he dozed there. He hadn't shaved in a while, but she didn't mind. He didn't need to be perfect, much like herself. With a sigh, the woman turned and walked over to the window, staring out at the stars.

    They'd have to stop at a nearby station eventually. The report was always the same, but supplies were getting a bit low. That, and the planetary scan data needed to be shipped off. While they never found their primary objective, there were still plenty of small side jobs to do. Emma momentarily caught a glimpse of her face and grimaced at it. Only so much medicine could do.

    Robert roused from his nap with a snort and looked over at her. He stretched lazily and looked down at the controls of the vessel. Shrugging, he asked, "Nothing?"

    Snapping back to reality, Emma smiled at him, saying, "Not a single thing."

    The man rolled his neck and scratched his upper arm. With that, he stood and walked over to her. Gently he put his hands on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, we'll get it eventually. Want some coffee?"

    Emma sighed softly and leaned back against him, asking, "We even got any left?"

    Robert frowned for a moment, unable to actually answer that question. He then asked, as if it was the normal next step, "Scotch?"

    She let out a soft laugh, turned, and lightly smacked his chest. He smiled as she moved back to her screens, saying, "There's not a chance we have any of that."

    Shrugging, he walked into the living area of the ship. In truth there was no separation outside of the small bathroom to any other part beyond the curtain that Emma insisted on being floral patterned. He grabbed up a cup that read "Number 1 Pilot," and poured water into it from the sink. It wasn't much, but this was their home.

    Robert walked back to the front of the ship, glancing at the screens Emma stared at. She muttered, "Maybe..."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    She turned and said, "Think I might have something. Could you turn the ship to the right?"

    He took a drink from the cup and said, "Something like we are looking for all this time or a freighter doing spins again?"

    Emma pouted her lips and said, "Listen, that only happened once."

    In a bored tone, Robert said, "I'd love to see it again honestly. The look on that guy's face when we hailed him was priceless."

    She merely motioned at the pilot seat with her hand and he rolled his eyes, saying, "Fine fine. You know it was funny, though."

    Casually, he sat down and grabbed the stick on the left side of the panel. Slowly the ship began to shift slightly. Emma intently stared at the screen, suddenly saying, "Stop, there."

    He pushed the stick slightly in the other direction and then back upright. He continued sipping the water as he listened to her tap away and the screens made various little noises. He watched her, one of the corners of his mouth slowly rising. There was something absolutely charming to him about that face she made when she concentrated so hard on work. Even if he didn't understand a word of the stuff she ever said, he'd just smile and nod.

    Emma suddenly stopped and her eyes widened. Robert leaned back in the chair a bit, as if to hear her better despite the lack of talking. Her eyes raced over the screen and she suddenly said, excited, "Ten light years ahead of us, there is something."

    She looked up at him, carefully moved over, and said it again in a whisper, "We have something, Robert."

    He glanced at her work station and asked, "What kind of something?"

    Emma said, faking a frown, "The right kind of something. If it's not, then it's something that will pay well."

    With that, Robert downed his cup of water, held it out to her, and said, "Neat. Put this away and I'll start warming up the engine."

    After a moment he asked, "Please?"

    Emma sighed and shook her head, hiding a smile, as she took the cup. After a few minutes, she sat down in the other seat, as Robert asked, "Safe distance?"

    She thought for a moment, tapping her metal hand. FInally she said, "Ten out, jump five and I'll scan it again."

    He ran a finger along a screen slowly, flipped a switch, and pressed a button. The ship shuttered and the stars faded into lines and then disappeared as the great machine shook. Outside the window, there was nothing but black for a few moments. Then slowly the ship's shuttering slowed and the lines appeared and turned back into the galaxies and the stars.

    Emma stood and walked over to her screens again and began to scan again. This time, Robert looked out the window, but didn't see anything. That was a disappointment. He had hoped to see some neat colors. So, crossing his arms, he went back to enjoying her work. Instead, her hands stopped and were shaking. She said, "This is..."

    Robert frowned and asked, "What?"

    She quickly began tapping and muttering over and over, "No. no no no."

    Robert went to stand but he held out her hand, saying, "Stay there. We might need to move."

    He began to warm the engine, saying, "Better not be-"

    There was then a loud noise and the ship shuttered. He stared as Emma's hands stopped moving again and slowly failed. Robert quickly tried to turn the ship, but the controls seemed to move too slow. His brow furrowed and he heard her say, "It...It moved..."

    He slowly watched as the controls moved on their own, back and forth. The stars outside began to disappear and reappear. Standing up, he stepped back, only to see a shadow of himself there in the seat still. Emma walked over and took hold of his hand, saying, "Sorry...I-"

    Robert put a finger over her lips as he looked at the shades of themselves moving around the ship, forward and reserversing. He said, "We'll figure something out."

    Emma looked up to the man she had spent years with. His face shifted from and changed, growing old and returning to the one she knew all too well. Was he mad or was it that he would be, or was long ago. How long had they stood there together? A thousand years and a moment seemed to pass and relapse. One mistake was all it took, it seemed. Glancing out the window, she saw stars born and die in an instant, only to reverse and it again.

    Rober looked down at Emma, she cried, smiled, grew old, returned to young, again and again. He didn't understand, but all he knew was that there was time. He slowly leaned forward, placing his lips against hers. About them their shades moved, thousands of conversations happened.

    There was nothing but time and the two.