Draft of New Short Story: Time Traveling Mad Man.

Chapter I

Chris ran the controls on the Mainframe, fluxing the Singularity, while the ship wobbled through Space, trying to crack through Time. The hull was like a coal powered steam boat, but just with more heat, and, instead of coal ,Quantum Mechanics was at play. The bronze walls grumbled a eerie sound through the hull, making note that it did not like what was going on. In fact, what was going on, Chris had no idea. He had done this a million times, and it had never did this before. It was like mothernature was punishing him for just running around the universe like a Mad Man, but with more finesse.

“Damn. Damn. Damn.” Christ put his white gloves to his forehead, wiping off the beads of sweat dripping down on the base of his nose. Pressing a button on his chest, “Look, Puff. Do you have any idea how we might get out of this?”

“Hello, Sir! Thank you so much for letting me help with your decision! I know how important your time is right now, so I won't take it up by praising you, if that's alright!” Artificial intelligence was not even scratching the surface on Puff, so let's just say, He's an awesome Robotic Being. “Read outs say that the Quantum entanglement generator isn't aligned, sir. It must have happened when we had to speed out of Sector One Hundred and Four, sir!”

“Puff, you do realize if I go anywhere near there, I may be Zapped to the far reaches of the Universe, and never returned.”

“I do realize that, sir! Thank you so much for pointing that out! I'll have Lenny come do it for you!” Where to start on Lenny? He was a Tool....A Simpleton that didn't understand anything going on, only that it was pretty amazing.

With a broad shift, the door to the Hull opened, and Lenny appeared. “Uh, Hey Captain.” Pointing upstairs, “I was beeped that you needed help moving something?”

“Yes, Lenny.” Taking him by the shoulders. “You see that big pipe hanging down there? The one that's seems a little off then the rest of them? “Uh, huh.” “Well, I need you to go right over there, into the sealed room, and give it a push. I would, but I'm not as strong as you are, might break something.”

“I see, sir. I'll see what I can do.” The dim witted man stepped into the unknown, straching his head, and then pressing up on the beam. As he did that, an explosion erupted, and reality flashed, their consciousness leaving. Then, like popping back into a chair hard, everything become whole once more.

“Lenny! Where are you Lenny! Are you alright!” Chris banged on the door, then slide down it, with tears in his eyes. “You big buffoon.....”

The door opened, “Yes, sir? Did you call for me?” Lenny, whom had once slumped in appearance, and walked like he was drunk; was now upright, with hands around his back. “I feel odd, sir. I must attend to my duties on this vessel, are you done with me, sir?”

Grabbing him and looking at him up and down. “Wow, Lenny! Lenny 2.0! I like it!” Hugging him, “I'm so sorry I risked your life for mine, you're a great friend.”

“Oh......I actually had no idea that my life was in any kind of danger.”

cough “Well, then back to work. We have important things to do.” Chris patted him on the back and went back up the command room. “Damn, Puff. How could you let me risk Lenny like that?”

Puff looked at him, and ran his protocol. “Do you wish me to rewrite protocol for that, sir? Protocol dictates that your life is priority, but I can rewrite it so we're all equals.”

Chris looks around, “Well, uh, Good work, Puff. Keep it up.”

“Protocol stays in place. Thank you so much, sir! Is there anything else I can help you with!” Puff stands there, awaiting his orders.

“Sometimes I wish you were a Organic Life form that understood the concept that our lifespans only last the tiniest bit of time.”

“I wish I could compute that, sir! That would be incredibly depressing, and I do not wish to disturb you, sir!” Puff turns around and goes back to work at his command station. “If there's nothing else, then I suggest you looking at your charts!”

“Why?” Chris runs to his interface, and pulls out the captains utilities. “Everything seems alright........” His stomach swells. “We're going back way to fast, is there anything that we can do?”

“I suggest sending Lenny to the Hull to risk his life again!”

“What do you have against Lenny?”

“Well, if I must say, he's a bit of a let down, also I do not wish to get your life involved in this!”
Chris thinks for a moment, seeing time pass in great quantities, knowing if he doesn't do something now, They'll travel back to the beginning of the universe. Pressing his intercom button, “Hey, Lenny! Could you go down to the hull, and turn off the Quantum Generator?”

“.....can't you do it? I'm busy.” A sadness he'd never heard in his voice.

Chris stands there in amazement, covering his microphone. “Do we have any other options?”

“I could always try to do it in my mainframe, but manually would be much faster, sir!” Puff's robotic arms start moving at a inhuman rate, his arms seems to flicker as he assesses the generator. “Almost there, it's trying to configure, sir.”

“Fuck it.” Chris runs down the hallway like a wild bull, the ship waving in and out, as if this ship was in the ocean. He bursts through the hull down and bangs his left arm on the manual controls to the generator. “This should do it.” He pulls it down and there's another flash, and he's thrown back on the floor, his head hitting hard against the floor.

“Sir? Are you alright, sir?”

Shaking his head, Chris feels the back of his head, and feels blood, as he fights in and out of consciousness. “I will be. Did that do the trick?”

“Yes, but we've landed in a world which hasn't been documented.”

Christ gets up on one knee, and injects himself with medicine that heals his head, and brings everything back. “Damn it. We need to get out of here, the Guild will come and kill us all.”

“Of, course sir. Reading tells me we only have to wait a few days for the Generator to regain power.”

“Any other options?” Chris goes through his Quantum Pouch, getting out medicine to heal his bleeding head.

“No, sir. I see no other options that would keep us out of danger.” The intercom flickers, and Christ jams the needle into his leg, with a grunt.

He stands up and walks to his quarters, jumping on his bed. “Since I'm going to be here, I might as well explore the area. Do a scan of the planet.”