Chapter Text
The Star Beagle Adventures
Episode 12: Close to the Edge Part I - The Solid Time of Change
Scene 2: Gollum Juice
12.2
Gollum Juice
Captain Rhonda Carter had been summoned to the bridge by her first officer. When she arrived, she found a continuous, wrap-around, transparent screen had been mounted above the command chair. A new control added to the left arm panel allowed her to, once seated, lower this screen so that it was interposed into her field of vision between her and the bridge. No matter where she turned, she was viewing the bridge through this screen and her officers were viewing her face through it.
When Lt. Cmdr. Zizira Gross, standing behind the command chair, offered her comments, the screen displayed a small avatar that clearly identified the bolian first officer and displayed her words in real time with large, friendly, easy to read lettering:
“The Escort needs her captain back,” Gross said, her words displayed almost the instant she uttered them.
“It’s brilliant,” Carter replied, and was instantly amused to see her own words displayed on the wrap-around monitor, along with a little, blue-haired avatar representing herself. And further amused that the words and avatar followed her head movement as she turned to look at her first officer, so that they remained in the same relative position within her field of view.
“Really brilliant,” she croaked, looking through the screen at Gross. “But there has to be a delay that will slow my reaction time…”
“Captain, I know I speak for all of us,” Gross started. “Even with a full second delay, there is no one any of us would rather have in that chair in an emergency. I only ask one thing…”
Carter fixed an aggressive, blue-eyed glare on her blue-skinned first officer. “There is a condition?”
Unlike her response while in Carter’s quarters, Gross was not about to be intimidated. “You have to stop screaming. You can’t hear us, but we need to be able to hear you.”
“I don’t know…” Carter mused, her voice still weak and ragged.
“I have put together a list of crew members who are willing to come to your quarters and scream at you, if you really think that’s necessary…”
Carter immediately started laughing, alternating with clutching at her throat while making feeble “oww” noises. The laughter hurt.
Chief Kara Garrity brought the captain a lidded cup with a built-in straw. “Try this, sir. I found it while looking for remedies for damaged vocal cords.”
Carter took the proffered drink, sucked some through the straw and shuddered. “Oh god… This is really disgusting… What is it?”
“Something called Gollum Juice. Actors use it.”
Carter took another swig. “Ugh… What’s in it?”
Garrity consulted a pad: “Ginger root, lemon, cloves, honey, molasses… And dark rum…”
Carter took another swig. “Hmmm, you know… I think I could get used to this stuff…”
A tiny avatar of Master Chief Bill Waller, the chief of the boat, popped up on Rhonda Carter’s new wrap-around screen. If her hearing had not been damaged, she probably would not have heard him muttering under his breath. But the computer did, and provided her a transcription: “Mmph, that’s weird… Crud…”
Carter turned to face the veteran NCO, who was currently seated at the “eyes” station, monitoring the Escort’s long-range sensor array. “What is it, Bill?”
“It’s those holy warriors. I’m picking up a number of smaller ships converging on them.” Waller reported without turning from his displays. “At least I think they’re ships. The readings are really strange. The holy landers are changing course to evade. And the… well, I guess 23 counts as a swarm against 2… The swarm is giving chase…”
12.2