Update

Posted on 28 Feb 2016 @ 6:25am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Greg Mitchell

651 words; about a 3 minute read

INITIATE PRIVATE LOG:

".....less I didn't pack it. But that can't be right. Come on!" Greg complained as he ruffled through his bag, before throwing it down in anger. "Terrific. I had a perfectly good copy of The War of The Worlds and now I can't find it. My first sci fi book and I can't...."

"ATTENTION, PRIVATE LOG IS ACTIVE!", warned the computer.

"What? Oh, damn it, I forgot I turned that on. Ok, private log update. Chief Warrant Officer Greg Mitchell reporting." He said in a half don't-care tone, "I apologize if I seem pre-occupied, but this happens every friggen time I have to pack. I had a book that I got when I was a kid at a school book fair. It was one of the first, non-children books I've ever read. H.G Wells' The War of The Worlds...."

"THAT BOOK IS IN THE LCARS DATABASE. IF YOU WOULD PREFER, IT CAN BE DOWNLOADED ONTO A PADD."

"It isn't the story so much that I care about, computer." Greg explained, "I've seen both the 1953 and the 2005 films. I've played the RTS game, heard the 1938 radio broadcast, and listened to the entire Jeff Wayne album. I am well aware of how it goes. But it was a physical book. A real book that you never see anymore...."

"THE REPLICATOR IS CAPABLE OF..."

"It was passed down from generation to generation. My family got it back when books were actually printed. I cannot believe it isn't here." Greg sat down on the side of his bunk. "I mean, every time I pack, something gets lost. I don't know if it's me in a hurry or what...." He paused, "T-shirts!" he snapped his fingers before going to his drawer. "I packed it in with my whites so it would be more cushioned. I didn't want to risk anything bad happening to it."

"REMINDER, PRIVATE LOG IS ACTIVE. YOU MAY WISH TO LOOK AFTER....."

"Yah yah, quit riding me on that, you nag worse then my ex. Look, I've only been here a few weeks alright. What do you want me to say? The Symposium went well...I guess. I don't know. I'm not a scientist." Greg mumbled while placing his whites on the bed. "I enjoyed working with the guys again, doing security. It gave me something to do at least. What else?" He rummaged through his t-shirts. "Tackled a few guys. Got shot at by a few others. But that's a story for another time. Actually, nothing big has actually happened ON the ship. Which is surprising considering the amount of crap I've heard they...AH HAH!"

Greg pulled out the book. It wasn't an original, but a copy made during the mid 2000's with a green cover and a flying saucer on the front...misleading considering the aliens use Tripods and the only flying ship is briefly mentioned. "I knew I'd find it here. Last thing I would want to do is poke around the station, pissing off whoever has taken my quarters since then...."

REMINDER, PRIVATE LOG IS.....

"Oh, put a cork in it." Greg rolled his eyes, "Geeze, sometimes I wish you had emotions. That way you would know what it's like to have attachments." He placed the book on his shelf. "Alright, it's...a few hours before I have to work. I'm just going to rest my eyes for a bit. Computer, play my music."

Music began to play in the background.

LCARS SCAN CONFIRMED
MUSIC IDENTIFIED: "A Kind of Magic" By Queen, A Kind of Magic Album, 1986.

Greg hopped up on the bed, laying up with his arm crossed over his head. "I'll update more when stuff happens. But from the looks of it, I think this may hopefully be a nice, pleasant deployment for once. Computer, end log."

END PERSONAL LOG

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