Categories > Original > Sci-Fi
Captain Marx went through the start-up sequence as soon as the technicians left the area. After he got the 'all clear' signal from the ground crew, the hangar bay doors opened, and the engines were started. The ship rose into the air. After reaching a safe altitude, the impulse engines were powered up to full speed, and the ship rapidly slipped away from the Earth's gravity. When they had reached a safe distance Earth, the warp drive was started, and the ship reached warp speed instantly. Within a few hours, they were hundreds of light-years from Earth. Simply getting away from Earth was called the 'free corridor', it was only an officially approved route for leaving the Earth's vicinity. Oscar Marx asked, "Where to, now?" Admiral Kozaren said, " Plot a course for the planet Vulcanox."
After turning the Fusion towards Vulcanox, the Captain sat in silence, thinking about the Vulcanians. The planet Vulcanox was inhabited by a race of people called the Vulcanians. The Vulcanians were notorious for the their logical way of life. Logical thought was at the core of their culture. Logic was like their religion, it was their ideology, it was their philosophy, their children were taught the ways of logic when they were in school. They frowned upon humans and other races as 'illogical'. Finally, after a long silence, Captain Marx asked the Admiral why they were going to Vulcanox. The Admiral said, "To pick up a crew member. His name is Joseph Compo. He had applied for a position at Star Force, and he received high marks in the Star Force Academy. He will become a crew member, and he'll serve on board the Fusion."
Captain Marx asked, "What rank?" The Admiral said, "First Officer. He will be your first officer, so he will work with your closely." Captain Marx said, "Well, that should be interesting. There aren't many Vulcanians in Star Force. In fact, I've never actually met one before." Admiral Kozaren said, "I'm sure you'll get along fine." When they were approaching the planet Vulcanox, the Admiral said, "Captain, I want to re-shape the ship, before we get to Vulcanox. Let's go the the control panel." The Admiral and the Captain went to the shape-shifting control panel and the Admiral explained it. It had a means for re-shaping the ship, in common shapes, which were called 'standard configurations' as well as a means for programming the ship so it could be re-shaped into unusual shapes. There was also a 'panic button'. If you pressed the panic button, the ship would instantly return to it's normal shape. Admiral Kozaren said, 'I'm going to re-shape the Fusion so it looks just like a Vulcanian space cruiser."
The Admiral pushed a few buttons, and said, "The change of shape is activated. It will take about sixty seconds for the ship to be completely re-shaped." Suddenly, Captain Marx noticed the walls of the control room were moving. He mentioned this to Kozaren, who said, "It's perfectly normal. When we change the shape of the outside of the ship, the inside may also have to change shape, too. Sometimes the hallways, rooms, and walls inside the ship have to change shape to accommodate the changes in the shape of the exterior." In an minute, the Fusion had been completely reshaped, so the outside of the ship looked exactly like a Vulcanian space cruiser. As they approached the planet Vulcanox, the Captain opened a hailing channel and said he wanted to talk to whoever was in charge. He said, "I am Captain Oscar Marx, I am Captain of the star ship Fusion, I have an Admiral on board, he would like to contact the Vulcanian high command, security level ten." The face of a Vulcanian appeared on the view screen to answer the hail. Marx noticed that the Vulcanians had pointed ears. The Vulcanian on the screen said, "I will connect you to Mister Joseph Compo, he has been expecting you."
The image of another Vulcanian appeared on the screen. He identified himself as Joseph Compo. He said, "Greetings. I welcome you to the planet Vulcanox. I was under the impression that you were coming in one of your own ships, but I see that you are flying on one of our ships, can you explain?" Admiral Kozaren burst out laughing. He spoke to Joseph Compo, and said, "Mister Compo, tell me, what do you see on your view screen?" Compo replied, "I see the ship you arrived in. It is a class five Vulcanian space cruiser, and it is in the standard parking orbit." Admiral Kozaren laughed again. He said, "Appearances can be deceiving, Mister Compo! Have you ever heard of shape-shifting materials?" Joseph Compo paused for a moment and said, "I've heard of some experiments related to shape-shifting materials. As far as I know, they are still in the experimental stage."
Admiral Kozaren said, "The ship I'm flying in is made of shape-shifting materials. It's basically a large mass of shape-shifting material with a warp drive in it. We can change our shape, any time we want. We can disguise ourselves as another type of space ship. Did we fool you?" Joseph Compo said, "I admit I was deceived, Admiral, I thought you were in a Vulcanian space cruiser." Admiral Kozaren said, "Wacth this, Mister Compo, Keep your eyes on your view screen." The Admiral pushed the 'panic button' and the Fusion reverted to it's normal shape. Joseph Compo said, "Fascinating!" Admiral Kozaren said, "How soon can you beam aboard, Mister Compo?" Joseph Compo said he could beam up immediately.
After Joseph Compo beamed up to the star ship Fusion, he was eager to meet with the Admiral. As the Admiral greeted him, he said, "I am very impressed with the Fusion's shape-shifting capabilities. When I saw this ship on my view screen for the first time, I thought I was looking at a Vulcanian cruiser, and I was fascinated when I saw the Fusion change into it's normal shape." Admiral Kozaren said "It is truly a great day for Star Force. This new shape-shifting technology will usher in a new age of space travel. I would like you to meet the Captain." Admiral Kozaren introduced Captain Marx, saying, "This is Oscar Marx, your captain. You will be serving as his first officer." Joseph Compo said, "Yes, I have heard about him. He has an exceptional record of service as a Star Force officer. He was a logical choice." Marx found that a little troubling. He said, "You've heard of me?" Compo said dryly, "Yes."
After turning the Fusion towards Vulcanox, the Captain sat in silence, thinking about the Vulcanians. The planet Vulcanox was inhabited by a race of people called the Vulcanians. The Vulcanians were notorious for the their logical way of life. Logical thought was at the core of their culture. Logic was like their religion, it was their ideology, it was their philosophy, their children were taught the ways of logic when they were in school. They frowned upon humans and other races as 'illogical'. Finally, after a long silence, Captain Marx asked the Admiral why they were going to Vulcanox. The Admiral said, "To pick up a crew member. His name is Joseph Compo. He had applied for a position at Star Force, and he received high marks in the Star Force Academy. He will become a crew member, and he'll serve on board the Fusion."
Captain Marx asked, "What rank?" The Admiral said, "First Officer. He will be your first officer, so he will work with your closely." Captain Marx said, "Well, that should be interesting. There aren't many Vulcanians in Star Force. In fact, I've never actually met one before." Admiral Kozaren said, "I'm sure you'll get along fine." When they were approaching the planet Vulcanox, the Admiral said, "Captain, I want to re-shape the ship, before we get to Vulcanox. Let's go the the control panel." The Admiral and the Captain went to the shape-shifting control panel and the Admiral explained it. It had a means for re-shaping the ship, in common shapes, which were called 'standard configurations' as well as a means for programming the ship so it could be re-shaped into unusual shapes. There was also a 'panic button'. If you pressed the panic button, the ship would instantly return to it's normal shape. Admiral Kozaren said, 'I'm going to re-shape the Fusion so it looks just like a Vulcanian space cruiser."
The Admiral pushed a few buttons, and said, "The change of shape is activated. It will take about sixty seconds for the ship to be completely re-shaped." Suddenly, Captain Marx noticed the walls of the control room were moving. He mentioned this to Kozaren, who said, "It's perfectly normal. When we change the shape of the outside of the ship, the inside may also have to change shape, too. Sometimes the hallways, rooms, and walls inside the ship have to change shape to accommodate the changes in the shape of the exterior." In an minute, the Fusion had been completely reshaped, so the outside of the ship looked exactly like a Vulcanian space cruiser. As they approached the planet Vulcanox, the Captain opened a hailing channel and said he wanted to talk to whoever was in charge. He said, "I am Captain Oscar Marx, I am Captain of the star ship Fusion, I have an Admiral on board, he would like to contact the Vulcanian high command, security level ten." The face of a Vulcanian appeared on the view screen to answer the hail. Marx noticed that the Vulcanians had pointed ears. The Vulcanian on the screen said, "I will connect you to Mister Joseph Compo, he has been expecting you."
The image of another Vulcanian appeared on the screen. He identified himself as Joseph Compo. He said, "Greetings. I welcome you to the planet Vulcanox. I was under the impression that you were coming in one of your own ships, but I see that you are flying on one of our ships, can you explain?" Admiral Kozaren burst out laughing. He spoke to Joseph Compo, and said, "Mister Compo, tell me, what do you see on your view screen?" Compo replied, "I see the ship you arrived in. It is a class five Vulcanian space cruiser, and it is in the standard parking orbit." Admiral Kozaren laughed again. He said, "Appearances can be deceiving, Mister Compo! Have you ever heard of shape-shifting materials?" Joseph Compo paused for a moment and said, "I've heard of some experiments related to shape-shifting materials. As far as I know, they are still in the experimental stage."
Admiral Kozaren said, "The ship I'm flying in is made of shape-shifting materials. It's basically a large mass of shape-shifting material with a warp drive in it. We can change our shape, any time we want. We can disguise ourselves as another type of space ship. Did we fool you?" Joseph Compo said, "I admit I was deceived, Admiral, I thought you were in a Vulcanian space cruiser." Admiral Kozaren said, "Wacth this, Mister Compo, Keep your eyes on your view screen." The Admiral pushed the 'panic button' and the Fusion reverted to it's normal shape. Joseph Compo said, "Fascinating!" Admiral Kozaren said, "How soon can you beam aboard, Mister Compo?" Joseph Compo said he could beam up immediately.
After Joseph Compo beamed up to the star ship Fusion, he was eager to meet with the Admiral. As the Admiral greeted him, he said, "I am very impressed with the Fusion's shape-shifting capabilities. When I saw this ship on my view screen for the first time, I thought I was looking at a Vulcanian cruiser, and I was fascinated when I saw the Fusion change into it's normal shape." Admiral Kozaren said "It is truly a great day for Star Force. This new shape-shifting technology will usher in a new age of space travel. I would like you to meet the Captain." Admiral Kozaren introduced Captain Marx, saying, "This is Oscar Marx, your captain. You will be serving as his first officer." Joseph Compo said, "Yes, I have heard about him. He has an exceptional record of service as a Star Force officer. He was a logical choice." Marx found that a little troubling. He said, "You've heard of me?" Compo said dryly, "Yes."
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