Chapter V of Lands Beyond

     A mellow light flickered on, amply illuminating the space before me. I was amazed at the difference. Where there had once been merely a couple chairs and a bench, there was now an entire living area. A comfortable sofa sat where the bench had been, with two arm chairs across from it with a low table between them.

     On the other side sat a small dining table with a few stools shoved underneath it. Next to it was a small cooling unit, a sink, cupboards, and a stove. At least, it sure looked like one and probably worked about the same way.

     A ladder next to me caught my eye and I climbed up it. I could almost stand upright in this new cargo space. A door stood partially open at the other end and I crossed over and pushed it open the rest of the way. This was the bedroom. It even had a small bathroom connected to it, which was quite a blessing.

     I climbed back down and went to investigate the cockpit.

     It looked much the same, but I could tell that the level of sophistication had been raised astonishingly high. I sat down in the pilot’s seat and pulled up the schematics of the shuttle. As I had suspected, quite a bit had been changed. The computer helpfully pulled up before and after design sheets of the operating systems. Surprised, I stammered out a thank you.

     “You are welcome.” The computer replied.

     I was soon engrossed in my study and did not notice the arrival of the commander. I was firing questions at the computer when I heard him clear his throat behind me. I spun around and stared up at him. He was frowning, as usual. He growled something and jerked his head towards the outer door.

     “He said, ‘Come on.’” The computer supplied.

     I folded my arms. “I don’t think so, buster. Not until you have told me what you did to my ship.”

     The computer translated this to him. From the surprised look that he shot towards the control panel, I figured that he had not known about this ability that the computer had somehow acquired.

     “Your systems were extremely outdated.” He said slowly.

     I nodded. “I know that. I had limited resources and little real knowledge of what I was doing.”

     He quirked an eyebrow, but made no comment. “We were… curious, and decided to take a closer look. We could understand very little of it, however. I wanted to see how you felt towards this creation of yours. I must admit that you surprised me with the depth of your feelings.

     “I instructed my mechanics to put it back together and improve it if they could. They finished it yesterday. I did not know what had been done until this morning when they told me of this defense mechanism.”

     “You mean the force-field?” I asked.

     “Yes. I assumed that you had set something in place and that is why I was so upset with you.”

     “No offense, but you seem to be upset with me all of the time.”

     His only response to this was a grunt. I continued. “Furthermore, while my ship does hold great sentimental value to me, my main concern was being able to find my way back to where I came from. I do not know what has been done to this shuttle, and I do not know why it has these new capabilities. I am just relieved to know that there is now a way that we can communicate with each other, although I would like to learn your language.”

     At first, it seemed as if he would not reply, and then he turned to me. “Brunhilda. Is that your name?”

     “Yes, it is.”

     “Ah, I see. Well then, I suppose it is only right that I give you my name in return. I am Leuven Rhys Makkedah, commander of the Burning Starlight.”

     I smiled and held out my hand. “It is a pleasure to formally meet you, Commander Makkedah.”

     We shook hands and he rose to go, mentioning that I could stay as long as I liked. I thanked him, waiting until he was gone before I went back to learning more about the upgrades on the ship.