Number One Fan

Chapter 13: Practical Joke

Of course, now that he was under house arrest, Happy couldn't just come and go as he pleased, which was precisely what Tommy wanted. His quarters would never be the same. No one crazed fan had ever come that close to him before...he was a little shaken up, but he walked it off; Russell wanted to insist on 24-hour security, but Tommy refused. He would not allow Happy to uproot his life and the lives of his partners—no matter how much the kid creeped him out. 

'Stay away from me.' Tommy continuously reinforced the imaginary Happy every time he manifested in the back of his mind; it was almost like Happy was some poltergeist...haunting him and bugging him. On his rounds, Tommy never deviated from his usual path; as the ship's XO, he was responsible for everyone and everything that happened on this giant, unruly starship. He was only months into the job, and he was already weary...of everything. He was not trained as an officer. He was meant to be a superhero! Stupid ship, stupid Kieran for putting him here. 

There wasn't much space for such a large vessel; she might've been very long, but she was also narrow; in the beginning, things were fine; there were only some 1500 souls aboard. But as they began cutting into the ship, allocating which spaces would be dedicated to what—things shrunk. Sure, they had many quarters, but they were all like shoeboxes, which meant annoying neighbors and more complaints. Not even his own small excuse for 'executive' quarters was safe from the constant barrages of requests from his people, wondering where the ship was going, if the blackouts would stop, if the nuclear generators were safe to be around—things that one might've considered trivial, but Tommy did not. He actually felt as though he needed to help everything and everyone, and he tried, which left him exhausted most days. His office was the only space that was truly his, and as much as he loved his people, he hadn't had a break from them in nearly three years. His attitude certainly changed. He was 'green' when he first started, but from being tortured by Kallum, forced to merge with his brother in a convoluted plan to continue destroying their planet, to Happy's intrusions, he wasn't sure if 'nice Tommy' was ever coming back.  But he liked his roughness around the edges, 'survivor side.' It's what kept him alive. Tommy entered his office, and the lighting came up as he wandered further. 

"Good afternoon, Tommy. The interior temperature is set to 25 degrees Celsius, lighting at standard level. Just the way you like it." D1 alerted, as she usually did. Now that she functioned as the ship's interface. She was no longer just Tommy's droid, but she'd always be one of his primary companions. He was the one who set her free, after all. However, D1 being at the heart of the Kori's computer meant that she alleviated some of the crew's stress by operating larger parts of the ship, like the nuclear power plants and FTL propulsion systems, along with charting the course, among other things.

Tommy was about to say hello back but was immediately shrouded in temperatures well below freezing. He hugged himself to maintain his body heat. But that did not do much; he lifted his feet off the ground, alternating between them, trying to maintain his body heat. He was shivering within seconds, and his eyes were watering. Omeocoons were not meant to exist in cold weather; their internal bodies were fluid. "D1!? What the hell?! Why is it so cold in here?" Tommy's teeth were chattering. He'd never existed in a space so cold in his entire life. Not even his Patrol stress tests were reduced to levels as low as this: 25 degrees Celcius? Yeah right! His little windbreaker was like tissue paper when put up against this bombardment.

"My apologies; I am registering the internal temperature at 25 degrees Celsius—the standard. Are you feeling alright, Tommy?" D1 asked. Of course, she was quite confused. 

"No! This is like...negative 25 degrees Celsius! I gotta get out of here." Tommy turned to leave the room, but the door refused to open. "D1, open this door," Tommy demanded.