Final Entry

A Bad Day

Lieutenant Purves strode down the long corridor towards Commander Tirian's office. He was in a hurry. For the absolutely very first time in their long, long voyage, the lieutenant was in a hurry. He was not looking forward to this, oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. He wished that he could go back to his own office. Go back there and lock the door and never come out again.

Of course, he couldn't do that. He was First Lieutenant, second in command aboard the Archive, coming to the end of the most important mission in history. Not since the days of Columbus, centuries before, had a mission had so much significance. He didn't really have a lot of choice.

But today of all days! If there had to be a problem, any other problem that was, then today had to be the worst day possible. This problem, however, had to be the worst problem possible. Purves could imagine some serious mishaps indeed, and, in the 3000 years since this journey's start, quite a few of them had actually happened. But this? Oh...

And so, he was in a hurry.

He reached the commander's office and stood with his hand ready to knock. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. It didn't work. Commander Tirian was, to be honest, a nice guy. 3000 years together had made the crew fairly informal towards each other. Nevertheless, he was the Commander. Lieutenant Purves was very respectful in his fear.

A couple more deep breaths failed to settle him, so he knocked.

"Enter," Tirian's voice boomed.

The door shooshed open, and Purves stepped inside.

Apart from various personal effects, the commander's office and quarters were identical to everyone else's. It had been decided at the outset that there should be no distinctions between rank quarters. The mission would last for so long that it was thought prudent to keep any possible points of friction to a minimum. For the most part, this had worked. There had been minor skirmishes now and again, but that was to be expected. Mainly, though, it had been a peaceful and relaxing voyage. Boredom had been the biggest problem, but the crew had been specifically chosen for their temperament. To be honest, they didn't have that much to do, especially between galaxies. The splendour of the universe from the viewports lost its novelty after a couple of hundred years, and an entire library of epics had been written and read by various crew members. Still, they had managed to keep from going brain dead somehow.

"Morning," Commander Tirian beamed. He was in such a good mood today, oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Today was the day. The end. The finish. The return. Oh, but he was in a good mood.

"Commander," Purves saluted.

Tirian returned the salute, a little puzzled by the lieutenant's abruptness. "Didn't you sleep too well, Purves? I'm not surprised really. Exciting, isn't it?"

Purves paused before answering. Should he lie and not mention what had happened? That way they could all go home, happy and content in the knowledge of a mission (THE mission) well done. He could do, he supposed. It would be fairly easy, really. He was sure the other crew members who knew would keep quiet. But no. He didn't really have it in him. He couldn't just leave it, that would make a mockery of the entire mission. He had to tell Tirian, there was no other way.

"Not really," he said.

Tirian frowned. What was up with the man? "What do you mean?" he asked. "You didn't sleep, or it's not exciting?"

"Erm..." It was no use. He had to report it. There was no other way than to just come out with it. "We have something of a problem, sir," he said.

"Problem? Problem? What sort of a problem?" Not today, please not today. They were supposed to be going home. They couldn't have a problem today.