Here was my prompt: The story starts when your protagonist goes on a cruise. Another character is a courier who can see the future.

Please enjoy my conception of The Cruise

Courier First Class Mark DeWolfe moved to the far right of the space liner’s 1st Class passenger corridor. Kait Gilman, Earth’s Cultural Attache to the Magellan cluster aliens, the Codon, was a procession of two, dictating a message to her assistant at full volume. May Todar scurried behind her, tapping her electronic pad and saying “Yes, Ma’am,” every few feet.

Mark asked about Miss Todar the first day out from Earth. Seated at Attache Gilman’s dinner table she caught his eye. Her hair was like burnished copper and she was obviously interested in everything going on around her. “Forget it,” his table companions ribbed him. “The Attache isn’t going to let that young woman out of her sight.”

The following week he found it true. The Attache kept May Todar hopping every second of the day and night. He nodded as she passed but it was May who acknowledged his presence. He gave her a wink.

He caught a brief grin just before his head exploded with pain. He grabbed the wall and held the side of his head. Sinking to one knee, the vision burst. Spacecraft exploded in space, human colony worlds destroyed, Earth under attack, and Kait Gilman at a table, dismayed as Codon left the room. As soon as it began, it was over. Mark shook with the emotional impact of the vision.

He stood, headache receding. Not every Courier First Class received visions, but those that did were highly qualified to act on their own. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He decided to see the Captain.

“Captain Takai, thank you for seeing me.” Mark stood in front of the Captain’s desk in a cramped space filled with books on navigation, Space Maritime law and Psychology.

“No problem, Courier. What can I do for you?”

“I need an appointment with the Attache, sir.”

The Captain drummed his fingers on his desk. “An unusual request, may I ask why?”

Mark knew that Liner Captains were briefed on Governmental Couriers. “I’ve had a vision, sir. I need to discuss it with Attache Gilman.”

He rubbed his chin. “I suppose this is time sensitive?”

“I believe so, Captain.”

“I’ll send a message. She’s in with the Codon ambassador now.”

Mark swallowed; a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was it already too late? “Soonest, Captain.”

Captain Takai stared. “I’ll break in, Courier.”

Mark nodded and left the office.

He hurried to the meeting room. Everyone on board knew the Codon and the Attache were meeting in 1st Class. Security stopped him at the open end of the meeting room corridor. There were gilt-edged chairs located against the wall, facing the corridor. He sat. Shortly, the Codon Ambassador, Praranab, and two of her assistants lumbered out of the meeting room. The Security guards stepped aside and bowed as the aliens passed by.

Mark heard the guard’s pad chime. They scanned the screen and motioned to him. He hustled down the corridor and entered the room. May Todar stood in the left corner of the opposite wall as she watched her boss raging back and forth across the room at the end of the table. “Can you believe the Captain interrupted our meeting? This had better be important.”

She whirled around as Mark entered the room. “I suppose you’re the reason my meeting was ended?”

“I’m Courier First Class Mark deWolfe. Yes Ma’am, I’m the reason.”

She glared. “Well, spit it out. We were in the middle of discussions on Human/Codon access to educational systems. Delicate, Courier deWolfe. Very delicate.”

He bowed, “My apologies Attache.” He glanced at May. “My information is highly sensitive.”

Mark saw May’s eyes widen.

Kait Gilman huffed, “My assistant has the same clearances I do, Mr. deWolfe.” She jerked the hem of her brocade tunic down.

“No offense meant.” He bowed to May. “I had a vision, Attache. Of war between the humans and the Codon.” He paused to let the information sink in.

Kait sank into the chair next to her. “A war? Are you sure?”

“As I can be, Attache. May I ask exactly what you were discussing with the Ambassador?”

The Attache waved at May, who stepped up to the table. “The specific discussion was concerning juveniles secondary schooling. We were having trouble understanding their reluctance to tell us a specific age their children would be able to attend school.”

“Have you had trouble like this before?”

Kait shook her head. “We know they live longer than we do. They’ve never shared how much longer.”

May spoke. “Madame Attache, I’ve been thinking, as you were involved with the discussions, that the Codon may have a transitional period. Like a pupa before it becomes a butterfly.”

Kait’s eyebrows rose. “Why do you think that?”

“In all of our discussions, Ma’am, they refer to their youth as The Unformed. At first I thought it was a figure of speech or a translation error. But over the last hour of conversation it occurred to me their youth might actually be a different form than the adults.” She looked between her boss and Mark. “From that perspective, the Ambassador’s reaction to our suggestion of co-located or joint schools makes sense. Their children are too vulnerable and unable to interact with human children.”

Kait sighed. “Now it makes sense. They may see that stage of their lives as a weakness. We’re too new to them for them to feel comfortable talking about it.”

She slapped the table softly. “We’ll drop that part of the discussion, at least for the foreseeable future.” Kait stood up and walked to the courier, hand extended.

“Thank you. I appreciate your information.”

He shook her hand. “My pleasure, Attache Gilman.”  He looked past her to May. “Would you mind if I invite Miss Todar to dinner this evening?”

She patted his hand, a twinkle in her eye. “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Don’t you, May?” She looked over her shoulder.

May blushed.

The End

996 Words

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