Waiting for Rescue (Otherwise Untitled)
#36 of Short Stories
A rabbit waits for rescue aboard a stranded ship in space.
~ Brrrrzph. Doop. Doop.
~ A few seconds of silence.
~ Brrrrzph. Doop. Doop.
~ Additional seconds of silence.
~ Brrrrzph. Doop. Doop.
~ The alarm becomes louder.
~ Brrrrzph. Doop. Doop.
~ A hand groped haphazardly about the controls on the wall, until the alarm was suppressed. The bunny let out a frustrated groan within moments, sliding out from amongst the blankets and out of bed.
~ A loud yawn.
~ Fump. "One." Clap.
~ The soft thumping sound, of the morning's jumping jacks to a soft rhythm.
~ Fump. "Twenty-four." Clap.
~ Fump. "Twenty-five." Clap. "All hands to station."
~ With a glance at the previous days' cloths still tossed out onto the chair next to bed, the bunny shrugged. She could get dressed later, heading out to her rounds.
~ "Recyc station, good. Air continues to.. be air. Heated and clean." She tapped some controls on her datapad, logging the system check before heading to the next. Fump. Fump. "Synth gravity stable, lights green." Tapping a check onto the pad.
~ Fump fump. Fump fump. Already becoming bored with the days' checks, Sarah resorted to running between them. She was impatient for the final check of the day, though not enough to skip the preceeding ones. "Power reactor at seventeen percent fuel. Consumption stable." Another green checkmark for today's date on the pad. Fump fump. Fump fump. "Food storage.. stores food. It's cold in there. Out of class three and six rations. Plenty of class two and five. Saving the last class one and nine." An amber dot for the day's entry.
~ Fump fump. Fump fump. Water reserve pressure was normal, though there was no place to log this. She kept running on past the gauge.
~ Fump fump.
~ Fump fump. Silence, outside of a door. A sigh. The soft sound of the door slotting open.
~ A few taps at the console, and the rabbit has verified her suspicion. No replies to the distress beacon, yet. No ships detected within a day's travel.
~ Slinking back towards breakfast, the bunny consoles herself, "Another day without the need for pants."