Unbreakable

Symphony of Destruction

It was the end of the third week since Unbreakable had left the unhospitable star system Rho Cassiopeiae, and First Mate Lukic started to sing. His voice was not especially pleasant, he took wrong notes, was too loud, but First Mate liked to sing. The whole crew hated these vocal exercises. He knew that but could not help himself. And this time it was pretty bad.

Lukic was running around the ship whistling, humming, and singing the same melody. All the time.

"Ta-da-di, ta-da-di, di-daah-da-dooh..." It was a strange melody, starting like a waltz but ending on a really low note, which gave it an anxious and disturbing feeling.

"First Mate, do you see where you're going? Are you alright? I almost knocked you over!" Lieutenant Zuma exclaimed, bumping into Lukic in a hallway.

"Oh, I am sorry, Lieutenant!" First Mate apologized. "It is that damn melody again, it is stuck in my head and I can't remember where I heard it."

"You seem distracted and lost. Have you seen the Doctor recently?"

"Yes, I did. She says I am perfectly healthy and should get back to work. Doctor Kim is great! She even gave me her approval to use this new supplement I got from the market on Vega-12."

"What supplement?"

"You don't know? Highly recommended! It targets specific skeletomuscular zones to grow and become incredibly strong."

"First time I hear about this. What zones are you targeting?"

"You see, I spend a lot of time at the Track & Field Unit, trying to improve my javelin hurling skills. I really wanted to hit that edge of the universe we discovered recently but had no luck. Need to get better. The supplement helps me to develop specific areas of my body to excel at throwing the javelin."

"Well, good luck with that! I want to see your progress – please keep me up to date."

First Mate nodded and kept going down the hallway. Zuma shook his head and decided to talk to Doctor Hyun Kim, master of medicine and good health. The Infirmary was nearby.

"Hey, Doc, have a minute?"

"Of course, Lieutenant! What is it? Are you taking the medicine I prescribed?"

"Yes, Doc, thank you very much!"

"Is it helpful? Are those nightmares still troubling you? What was it – space unicorns, if I remember correctly?"

"Yes, yes! Glittering unicorns orbiting planets, neighing devilishly, kicking space dust with their hooves...I'd wake up sweating all over, terribly frightened, trembling with fear...this is the worst kind of nightmare I've ever had! I can't imagine how we are going to fight these monsters when we meet them for real!"

Doctor Kim looked at Lieutenant Zuma and patted him on the shoulder. "I am happy these nightmares stopped. And I am sure you will figure out how to fight these horrible beasts!"

"Thinking about it night and day, Doc. But I am here for a different reason!" He snapped his fingers. "First Mate! Is everything alright with him? I've just run into Lukic, he keeps humming that disgusting song and does not seem to notice what is happening around."

"Yes, First Mate, of course...I talked to him and took some tests, everything is within the norm...that is, within the norm for him, if you know what I mean."

"Yes, Doc. First Mate could be a little extravagant sometimes, but his behavior these days is very unusual."

"I agree. At first, I thought the issue was his obsession with javelin exercises and the supplements he asked me to approve. In addition to being distracted, Lukic experienced some problems walking and orienting in space. He said something is 'giving him gentle pushes'.