The commander had stayed on the shuttle, instructing Viv to head to the cockpit to introduce themself to the ship.
The cramped hallways were dark. After a few moments a panel down the way lit up with the distant whiter-than-white glow of halo light. Viv walked towards it and another flickered into life beyond.
They followed the path of light, winding into the depths of the ship towards the control centre.
Viv emerged onto the bridge to find one last panel lit up in the centre. There, the captain’s chair hung suspended in a column of heavenly illumination.
“Thanks for the directions.” Viv said to the empty ship.
They took a deep breath and sat down in the chair. The light was cool on their skin.
With a hiss, a mechanism at the top of the chair released and the communion circlet lowered slowly down towards Viv. It hovered an inch away from the crown of their head, waiting.
Viv placed the circled on their head. Immediately, they felt a thousand thousand nerves of data fire up around them. Viv’s skin was a mile-long sheet of metal, alive with sensors that drank in the void. And something in their heart burned with the starfire of creation.
“This is very invasive.” The voice was in Viv’s head, but it wasn’t Viv’s. It was feather-light, a graceful cursive written in sparks.
“Yeah. Sorry about that.” Viv said out loud, wincing slightly at how clumsy the vibrations sounded in comparison. “You’re not normally *inside someone* for your first meeting.”
“Was that … was that innuendo?”
The voice sounded startled. It also sounded like the idea of a song that a composer dreamed about but could never recreate. The mixture created a weird vibe, to be honest..
“Not intentional! Sorry - I fully didn’t realise what that would sound like until I said it.”
“Well, at least you apologised…” The voice paused and Viv marvelled at how they could feel the ellipsis draw itself electric across their synapses. Dot. Dot. Dot. “...so, have you come to give me the pitch?”
Viv thought about this for a moment.
“No pitch.” They said. “I think I’d just like to get to know you.”
“Okay, but what if I *don’t* want that?”
“Then we’re in an awkward situation.” Another pause. “I’m Viv, if that helps at all. Do you have a name?”
The next pause was longer. Viv could feel the tension, the anxiety wound so tight at least three different system checks started giving yellow warning lights.
Finally, Viv felt a vessel-wide system reset and it was like the ship had given the biggest sigh.
“Okay, Viv. Why do *you* want to be my pilot? I have to warn you, I’m not very fierce. Or much fun, if I’m honest.”
“I think I want what anyone wants when they volunteer for the Abyss sector. To be a light in the dark.” Viv’s face lit up in a half grin and they felt the ship’s viewscreen flicker to match them. “Or, I guess, a ‘flight’ in the dark, if you think about it.”
“Hmmm. The other pilots they sent didn’t make puns.”
“Is that a positive or a negative?”
“Okay,” Said the ship. “I have a name, but it’s embarrassing.”
“I don’t think it’ll be-”
“It will be embarrassing.” Interjected the ship. “But that’s okay. Literally everything is.”
And then The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Flown told the pilot its name.
andulkaphoto
jbbartram-illu
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina
pixelskylines
vaporwave
