Come and Discover - Chapter 1
Califf, Jennifer (jcaliff@nsai-petro.com)
Wed, 24 Mar 1999 19:32:28 -0600
FYI, I don't know much about military rank, so I minimize my use of them
in the story. C&C appreciated. This hasn't been spell-checked; this
computer's spell-check doesn't work right now. Additional notes at the
end.
Enjoy!
JLC
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Come and Discover (working title, might change) - Chapter 1
A Legend of the Galactic Heroes/Teddy Ruxpin crossover (not a parody!)
by Jennifer Califf
The rights to these series are held by their respective owners; I'm sure
they'd be just thrilled to read this story. ^_-
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"Hurry up, Gimmick!" Grubby the Octopede called from below, "I can't
hold this thing up all day, ya know." On the roof of his house, Newton
Gimmick tightened the bolts holding his latest invention, a large metal
dish-like object.
"Okay, err, uhh, Grubby, just one more adjustment and . . . THERE! I,
err, did it!" Gimmick stood up on the roof and stepped back, admiring
his handiwork.
"Thank goodness," Grubby said, and released the large metal plate that
he'd been holding above his head. No sooner did he let go, than a loud
*CRACK* made him look up.
"Uh, Gimmick," Grubby said, backing away from the hanging dish while
watching it nervously.
"Well, that didn't sound quite, err, right," Gimmick said doubtfully,
"but according to my, uh, calculations, the bolts should be strong
enough to support a, err, dish twice as large as this one."
"Yeah, well, are you sure the roof is strong enough?"
"Oh, uh, well, that is, I didn't think about, uh, that." Just at that
moment, Teddy Ruxpin, an Illiop, walked out of the house holding a
plate.
"Would anyone like some freshly baked cookies?" Teddy asked. Without
further warning, the dish right above Teddy's head broke free, bringing
with it a large section of the roof.
"TEDDY, LOOK OUT!!" Grubby yelled.
"WHOA!" Teddy yelled, dropping the cookies as he dove out of the way.
The dish crashed to the ground, creating a small crater where it fell.
"Heavans to Grundo! Are you ,uh, all right, Teddy?"
"I think so," Teddy said unsteadily as Grubby helped him up. "What
happened?"
"One of Gimmick's inventions," Grubby replied.
"Oh, I see," said Teddy, knowingly. Gimmick climbed down a ladder from
the remains of his roof to join his friends on the ground.
"Oh, err, dear," Gimmick remarked, "I certainly didn't foresee this."
He examined the ruined roof with a critical eye, "I hope it doesn't, uh,
rain tonight." As if to mock his words, a clap of thunder sounded in
the distance.
"That's just great," said Grubby, sarcastically, "now we're all gonna
get wet."
"Now Grubby, it was an honest mistake," Teddy soothed. He could see
that Gimmick was upset enough, and he didn't want Grubby to make things
any worse than they already were. "Let's get something to cover the
hole in the roof, and then clean up this mess before the rain gets
here." Grubby grumbled, but went inside to find a tarp. Gimmick,
meanwhile, was bent over examining the dish embedded in the ground.
"So what kind of invention were you creating this time?" asked Teddy,
walking over to Gimmick's side.
"Oh, this?" Gimmick gestured to the dish, "It was going to be a, uh,
uh, solar energy collector. You see, this dish is designed to uh,
reflect the suns light like a, err, mirror. But this mirror is bent so
that all the light will be reflected at an angle, concentrating the
light at a single point."
"That sounds facinating," Teddy remarked, "but what do you do with the
light after you've collected it?"
"Yeah," Grubby added, coming back outside, "it's not like you can put it
in a basket and take it with you . . .uhh, can you?"
"Well, err, light creates heat, and I was going to use mirrors to
reflect the light into the house where it could be used to, err, uh,
heat the stove or keep the house warm when it gets cold outside,"
Gimmick explained, "That way we wouldn't have to use as much wood."
"That's a wonderful idea, Gimmick!" Teddy exclaimed.
"But what do you do when it's dark out, like at night or when it's
raining outside?" Grubby asked. Again thunder crashed in the distance,
as the sky started to darken with the approaching storm.
"I think we'd better hurry," Teddy said, and the three friends quickly
pulled the tarp over the roof and collected as much of the garbage off
the ground as they could.
"I don't think we can, err, get the solar collector out of the gound in
time," Gimmick yelled as the wind picked up.
"Leave it!" Teddy yelled in return, "We'll get it later. It's too heavy
to blow away." The three companions closed the door behind them, but
the sounds of the approaching storm could still be heard through the
damaged roof.
"It's going to be a long night," Teddy said to himself as the storm hit.
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Captain Wootenhoffer was trying very hard to ignore the sounds coming
from his stomach. It had been almost 2 weeks since they had escaped
from the battle near Iserlohn, and over a week since they'd somehow lost
sight of the other ships they had been following. Their small ship
wasn't designed to carry many supplies, relying on what was usually
provided by the fleet. Water could be recycled, but food was in short
supply.
Since they'd left the safe navigational corridor near Iserlohn, his
chief navigation officer, Schmidt, had had to rely on the positions of
the stars for guidance. Schmidt was a 30 year old veteran with 15
years' experience. While some called it "flying blind", he seemed to
relish this opportunity to "sail by the stars", having often been heard
to say that the human race had become too reliant on modern technology.
Schmidt had assured the captain that they were headed toward Phezzan,
but Wootenhoffer couldn't help having some doubts.
Nonetheless, they needed to find an inhabited planet. Wootenhoffer's
goal was to go to Phezzan, a neutral safe-haven, and then any members of
his crew who wished could return to the Empire. He knew that he himself
could never return to his home. There are some things that simply
aren't done, and directly disobeying an order and running from battle
was one of them. He'd be *lucky* to be court-martialed. However, based
on Schmidt's information, the closest inhabited planet was within the
Empire. Wootenhoffer could hear the mutterings of discontent among his
crew, and he knew that he didn't have much choice.
"Mr. Stein," Wootenhoffer began, "set a new course. Mr. Schmidt,
provide the coordinates to the nearest planet."
"Captain," Schmidt ventured, "there is another star between here and
Phezzan. It's not supposed to have any satellites, but according to my
calculations there is a significant variation in its gravitational field
that can not be accounted for by any other conventional means."
"If there's a star out there, then why doesn't the Empire use it as a
navigational beacon, like Phezzan or Iserlohn?" Wootenhoffer asked,
perplexed.
"I don't know, sir," Schmidt continued, "but if there is a planetary
system orbiting that star, then it would behoove us to investigate. If
not, then we'll only be an extra day or two at most out of our way. We
could then continue back to the Empire. It will take us approximately 4
days from our present position to reach the Empire."
"Mr. Braun, what is the status of our supplies?" asked the captain.
"Even at maximum velocity we have enough feul to travel for the next 3
weeks. If we restrict rations, we should have enough food for
approximately 8 days," answered the young crewman. Wootenhoffer wieghed
his options. It would be a close call. Even if there were a planetary
system around the mysterious star, that didn't necessarily mean there
would be food, or even a planet capable of sustaining life. But if
Schmidt was right, they should at least investigate.
"I'll give us 36 hours to reach that star. If we can't get there, then
we turn around and head for the Empire. Mr. Schmidt, provide the
coordinates; Mr. Stein, set a course. Second star on the right,
straight ahead 'til morning."
"Sir?" Stein asked confusedly, while Schmidt chuckled.
"Never mind, Mr. Stein. Just plot the course." Wootenhoffer sighed; he
suddenly felt very old.
"It's going to be a long night," he said to himself.
End chapter 1
So should I continue? I knew there had to be SOME way to combine my two
favorite series. I think some people have probably figured out where
I'm going with this. I'm enjoying writing it right now, so I'll
probably write at least another chapter or two before I move on to one
of the other stories I'm currently still working on. That seems to be
how these things go with me. Let me know what you think. That is, if
you can get past the concept itself.
Jennifer
jcaliff@nsai-petro.com http://www.topher.net/~jcaliff/iserlohn.htm
Broken mirror, a million shades of light
The old echo fades away
But just you and I can find the answer and then
We can run to the end of the world
-"Small of Two Pieces" lyrics by Masato Kato, end theme of Xenogears
