Cuddles' Journey!

Chapter 2: Public Address

The intercom chimed, and every non-critical display panel was automatically tuned to frequency Epsilon-One—the Chancellor's address. Cuddles' face was becoming familiar to the entire ship; that big yellow four-armed bunny was more the Chancellor than Bodi was. Of course, he made sure no one forgot that he was acting on the Chancellor's orders, and this was temporary. All of the addresses were delivered electronically and lasted five minutes exactly. Cuddles addressed not only the Omeocoon but also the Panthorians. Cuddles cleared his throat. "Good morning; it is 0615 hours, the interior ambient temperature is 21 degrees Celsius, humidity 34%. This marks the beginning of day number 183 in our journey through space. I will begin by saying that the environmental controls on decks 49 through 61, sections alpha through omega, are still in a state of flux. Please refrain from contacting the engineering department about the issue. They have already stated that he will address it promptly."

"In other news, if you have yet to take your placement exam, please register with Cal in the educational department as soon as possible. Your duty is the anchor; in chaos, it holds us steady." Cuddles quoted. That was quickly becoming a motivational motto around here. It was best not to stop it now. "Do your due diligence on this ship, and this ship will take care of you. We require more engineers, helpers in the galley, tactical officers, and medical staff. Those with experience are encouraged to apply for those positions directly with those department heads. If you do not know your place, take the aforementioned exam so that we can find it for you. The Chancellor wishes you...a fine...Omeocoon...day." That last part was a bit forced, and those with visual perception on their monitors could see Cuddles' smile twitch and break down before the announcement ended. Cuddles groaned loudly before shrinking back into his normal, straight face. He exited the Chancellor's office and walked out into the corridor filled with an audience of both Omeocoon and Panthorians. They were bombarding him with nonsensical questions. Cuddles hissed at them and told them to go away before he pushed them into the elevator and pressed the button to cast them to the deck below this one. Cuddles wrinkled his nose and then lifted his sleeved arm to his mouth, "Reminder, restrict executive levels to authorized personnel only."

He about-faced and then took a brief walk to the bridge. When he entered, he was not surprised to see that it was more bustling with activity than ever. Kai and Tommy were giving a 'command' course to those who sought to be pilots or command crew in the absence of the ship's CO and XO. Some of them were just trying to be yeomen and training under Howie. No one batted an eye when they saw the big yellow creature coming on the bridge. Of course, at first, it took them a few days to get used to seeing Cuddles in the absence of Bodi, but once they understood that he was acting not of his own volition but of that of the Chancellor's, they didn't mind him being here. They had no choice but not to mind. He was the only two-way messenger between Bodi and the rest of the staff, as were all prior Chancellor-Panthorian aides.

He approached Kai and floated over him like a second shadow as he waited for him to finish the sentence he was telling the trainees. Kai told them to leave and familiarize themselves with the bridge further before he'd find them later to give them a one-on-one walk-through of some system Cuddles had already forgotten the name of. "What is the ship's current course?" Cuddles demanded.

"Yes. Good morning. I'm doing well. How are you?" Kai retorted condescendingly before he floated over to the main nav table in the center of the room. 

Cuddles sighed and growled like an angry house cat before following Kai. "Do you have prejudice against Panthorians?" Cuddles asked patiently. 

Kai paid him no attention, refusing to make eye contact with nothing but the holographic map of the region ahead of them. "Only Panthorians that think they're better than everyone else."

"I'm am 'better than everyone else,' I'm the royal panthorian. I am simply carrying out the orders of the Chancellor; stop interfering, Kai."

"I haven't seen my brother in almost three days. We were supposed to play cards yesterday, but he stood me up. What exactly are the 'Chancellor's orders?' Do you think that maybe he would be generous enough to talk to his brother and the entire population of civilization he's supposed to be governing?"

"The Chancellor's business is of no importance to you, captain. He will run this vessel from wherever he pleases. Report the ship's course." Cuddles insisted, and the people on the bridge stared at them. 

 Kai narrowed his eyes at Cuddles, facing him through the teal/greenwash of the holo-map. He flipped a switch, and the map sunk into the tabletop, providing a clear view of Cuddles on the other end of the table. "Why do you constantly ask me that dumb question? For the past six months, that's all you've come up here for. Did you know that we have a voice in the walls of the ship that can answer most questions pertaining to this vessel's operations, and all the system terminals can monitor the ship's status, the days of sitting behind a console and looking at a little display on the bridge are over." Kai was frustrated now. He wasn't sure what Cuddles' position was on the ship. Was he leading Omeocoon..? He was quiet one moment, then back talking you the next. Kai watched him when he moved around the ship; he rummaged through the garbage receptacles but wiped his feet at the door before entering the Chancellor's cabin..? He hisses and roars like a gree-cat, then sounds like some kind of intellectual when he wants to. He made no sense! It confused the hell out of Kai—it thwarted him. 

"Captain?" Cuddles prompted.

 Kai blinked and shook his head as he was brought back to reality. See? That dammed question always left his mind in one specific, uninterrupted setting. "Fine! Fine!" Kai snarled as he poked at the display panel, "Bearing 139 mark 7. There, you happy?" 

Cuddles said nothing else. He was satisfied.

 "Oh, and please tell Bodi to stop being a sad sack and come up here. We'll be rendezvousing with the Slugaxians in three hours. It's best for trade relations if we start off by greeting a new species with the Chancellor instead of his pet." Kai remarked.

 Cuddles turned to leave; now it would be to engineering to ask Kipp the current core temperature, then to Russell about Panthorian guard training; Oscar would be asked about the garden and Maxion, the ship's morale status. And then so on, this was the way.