The Spacetime
Nav
The ore freighter,
Andromeda 4, moved silently through deep space.
‘Continue at heading
1456.98. Wormhole at 0.05 parsecs,’ said the
voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
‘Why did you program
the Spacetime Nav to speak with that accent?’
asked Kestrel.
‘It’s from a 20th
Century science fiction film,’ replied Wark,
slightly adjusting the helm controls to conform
to the recommended heading. ‘I think that's
rather fun.’
‘I have to admit,’
continued Kestrel, ‘that automatic, spoken
advice in pinpointing wormholes has made
navigation so much easier - particularly
in finding routes between the alpha and beta
quadrants.'
‘Wormhole ten thousand
kilometres ahead,’ interrupted Obi-Wan.
Kestrel looked out towards
the swirling vortex that marked the entrance to
the wormhole. ‘It’s rather small,
isn’t it?’ she observed. ‘I’m
sure we went through a bigger one, coming the
other way.’
‘Obi,’ said Wark,
addressing the Spacetime Nav, ‘is this route
suitable for a class D freighter?’
‘Continue ahead,’
replied Obi-Wan, as if dismissing this trivial
challenge to its judgement.
The freighter vibrated
violently as it entered the wormhole.
‘We’re hitting
turbulence at the edge of the wormhole,’
Kestrel noted. ‘Can’t you fly nearer to
the centre?’
‘There’s no room,’
replied Wark. ‘It’s only just wide
enough for the ship.’
The vibrations increased,
and the speed of the freighter slowed.
‘Shit, we’re
jammed,’ Wark finally concluded.
A voice came from the deep
space communicator, ‘Hello Freighter
Andromeda 4. Can you hear me?’
Kestrel tapped the
communicator panel. ‘This is Freighter
Andromeda 4, on route from the alpha to the beta
quadrant.’
‘This is the inter-quadrant
shuttle, Aquarius,' came the response. 'We are
one thousand kilometres in front of you,
travelling towards you. Or, at least, we were. We
can't get past. Are you jammed in the wormhole?’
‘We are
currently stuck,’ Wark conceded.
‘You’re the fifth
one this year,’ continued the pilot of the
Aquarius. ‘You should have used the wormhole
at 1657.43. This one’s not big enough for
anything but small spacecraft.’
There was a long pause.
Finally, the pilot of the
Aquarius broke the silence, ‘You’re
using one of those bloody Spacetime Navs,
aren’t you?’
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