Unbreakable

Brainpower

 "The brain! The brain!" Maria Hernandez, Chief Scientist of the Space Cruiser Unbreakable, ran and screamed from the top of her lungs. Her beautiful red hair fluttered as she rushed through the hallways of the ship, not paying any attention; her face convulsed in a grimace of fear and disgust.

"Maria, please stop. What is wrong?" Captain Gerald Bostaph asked as the Chief Scientist almost ran him over.

"This is horrible! We're all going to die!" Hernandez proclaimed in a very high-pitched tone, rolling her eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"Murder! Maniacs! They will kill and dismember us all!"

"What murder? Can you please explain?"

"You don't understand. We need to run; it might be too late!"

Captain took the Chief Scientist by the shoulders and shook her. She looked at him as if she saw a ghost. He repeated. Eventually, Hernandez calmed down a little and was able to explain what had happened to her.

Unbreakable was in the middle of the regular delivery service flight, destination Leaga Papala 3-1. The journey had been uneventful so far. This region of the Milky Way had been explored very well. It contained several main transportation arteries connecting the worlds colonized by humans. Hernandez had been working in the Science Lab when she had heard a loud thump behind her back. She had turned around and, to her utmost surprise and horror, observed a human brain on the table. Hernandez had immediately experienced a panic attack and ran away, thinking a crew member had been butchered. This was as much as she remembered.

"Well, okay. Let's go to the Bridge and call in the crew. Then, if someone is missing, we will at least know whose brain it is. Did you ask, by the way?"

"Ask who?"

"The brain, of course."

"No, I didn't. There was no head, just the brain, so...."

"Right."

When they arrived at the Bridge, Navigator Leslie Maynard was already there. Hernandez jumped as she saw the Navigator, hugged her, and screamed how happy she was to find Maynard alive. The Captain had to explain the whole story to the Navigator and then called the rest of the crew to the Bridge.

One by one, they showed up: Senior Engineer Chen, Lieutenant Zuma, Doctor Kim, Chef Stroganov, and, finally, First Maid Rade Lukic. He had been recently demoted from the position of the First Mate by the Captain. It was a punishment for his misadventure at the Exchanges of Zach Zeel, the biggest marketplace of the Milky Way. Lukic had been fooled by some thugs and had traded the cargo full of precious metals for pumpkin seeds. This had given Doctor Kim a new responsibility of growing pumpkins at the Infirmary, while Chef Stroganov had gotten a chance to unleash his creativity in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the loss of precious cargo had pushed back the Captain's retirement indefinitely, and the Unbreakable had to enlist into the delivery business to pay the bills and support the crew.

"Is this everyone?" Captain asked.

"Are you looking for someone else? I don't recall hiring any new crew members," Zuma shrugged.

"Right. Then the question is, what is wrong with our scientist?" Captain looked at Hernandez angrily.

"Nothing is wrong, I swear, I saw it, it was terrible...." Hernandez protested and started to cry.

"I am sure whatever you saw was real," Lukic touched Maria's hand. "This ship is full of miracles...the other day, I found a half-eaten pumpkin near the Battery Unit...there might be some hideous beasts on board...please tell us what has frightened you so much."