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tamingthemuseTitle: The Mission
Fandom: None, original
Prompt: 97 – Cubic
Word Count: 611
Warnings: None
Rating: G
Summary: A man embarks on a quest that will land him the ultimate prize: love. Continued from the previous week (You can find it here)
Author’s Notes: Thanks to Mr. Floo! For reading this, offering criticism and praise, and encouraging me.
The mess hall was noisy and cramped. Derrick tried to arrive first thing in order to get a table in the corner, slightly away from rambunctious crowd. It was a small victory, to eat surrounded by marginally less noise than another table would have afforded. He would take it.
After three days underwater, Derrick hadn’t made any friends—not that he had expected to. He was given a wide berth and generally left alone. When they needed him, they would summon him. Mages and other magical beings were at worst feared, at the least, mistrusted and misunderstood. It was understandable; there had been far too many incidents involving mages abusing their gift and taking advantage of humans. Now, for the most part, the races kept to themselves, only interacting when the benefits outweighed the risks.
Derrick was part of the Cubic Sect, one of the most trusted magical societies, though this did not guarantee him work by any means. Many people who hired mages did so for unscrupulous purposes, and therefore he, and the entire Cubic Sect, was overlooked. On the other hand, those who wanted someone honest also wanted someone with an impeccable background, which Derrick could not claim.
Another two days remained until they reached the underwater colony of Oceana II, the largest, most settled of the underwater world, a few hundred miles off the coast of Antarctica. From there, they would stock the ship with food and supplies to last them for the journey.
While much of the ocean floor had been mapped and certain areas settled, there were still places where the water was so deep, the pressure so great, that life—human life, anyway—couldn’t be sustained. It was in one of these deep crevices that the captain of both the ship and the mission, Joseph Trout, believed Atlantis to be. His theory was that an undersea earthquake had opened the chasm either directly beneath or very near the city, and it had plunged to its doom.
Though countless people had attempted to find the lost city, none had gone to the extremes Trout had to ensure success. The ship, and most importantly all the shuttles, had been outfitted with a thick layer of pressure-dispersing material, designed to absorb the immense force of the water above it and channel it into useful energy.
Additionally, Trout had secured a device that would slowly but safely create a shield-bubble once they reached the city. Landing parties would shuttle to the city, then set up the device. After an hour, a dome-shaped bubble, able to contain four men at a time, would be ready. The city could be explored for two hours at a time by those four men, and longer with fewer people. It was Trout’s aim to build a small, permanent shelter in the city, and he had brought the equipment and personnel necessary for this task.
Derrick’s purpose would be, in part, to protect the groups from dangerous sea creatures, both native and alien, present around the sunken city. He would also be helpful in locating what, if any, treasure was to be found amongst the ruins.
“Oiy! Koston!”
Derrick looked up from his half-eaten soup to see a member of the crew looking at him from the doorway. The rest of the mess room had gone quiet, everyone staring and waiting.
“Captain wants to speak with you!” the crewman called.
Derrick nodded and stood, following the young man from the room. They were only a few steps out of the door when he heard the room return to its previous level of activity, and he wondered just how many of them were talking about him.
Fandom: None, original
Prompt: 97 – Cubic
Word Count: 611
Warnings: None
Rating: G
Summary: A man embarks on a quest that will land him the ultimate prize: love. Continued from the previous week (You can find it here)
Author’s Notes: Thanks to Mr. Floo! For reading this, offering criticism and praise, and encouraging me.
The mess hall was noisy and cramped. Derrick tried to arrive first thing in order to get a table in the corner, slightly away from rambunctious crowd. It was a small victory, to eat surrounded by marginally less noise than another table would have afforded. He would take it.
After three days underwater, Derrick hadn’t made any friends—not that he had expected to. He was given a wide berth and generally left alone. When they needed him, they would summon him. Mages and other magical beings were at worst feared, at the least, mistrusted and misunderstood. It was understandable; there had been far too many incidents involving mages abusing their gift and taking advantage of humans. Now, for the most part, the races kept to themselves, only interacting when the benefits outweighed the risks.
Derrick was part of the Cubic Sect, one of the most trusted magical societies, though this did not guarantee him work by any means. Many people who hired mages did so for unscrupulous purposes, and therefore he, and the entire Cubic Sect, was overlooked. On the other hand, those who wanted someone honest also wanted someone with an impeccable background, which Derrick could not claim.
Another two days remained until they reached the underwater colony of Oceana II, the largest, most settled of the underwater world, a few hundred miles off the coast of Antarctica. From there, they would stock the ship with food and supplies to last them for the journey.
While much of the ocean floor had been mapped and certain areas settled, there were still places where the water was so deep, the pressure so great, that life—human life, anyway—couldn’t be sustained. It was in one of these deep crevices that the captain of both the ship and the mission, Joseph Trout, believed Atlantis to be. His theory was that an undersea earthquake had opened the chasm either directly beneath or very near the city, and it had plunged to its doom.
Though countless people had attempted to find the lost city, none had gone to the extremes Trout had to ensure success. The ship, and most importantly all the shuttles, had been outfitted with a thick layer of pressure-dispersing material, designed to absorb the immense force of the water above it and channel it into useful energy.
Additionally, Trout had secured a device that would slowly but safely create a shield-bubble once they reached the city. Landing parties would shuttle to the city, then set up the device. After an hour, a dome-shaped bubble, able to contain four men at a time, would be ready. The city could be explored for two hours at a time by those four men, and longer with fewer people. It was Trout’s aim to build a small, permanent shelter in the city, and he had brought the equipment and personnel necessary for this task.
Derrick’s purpose would be, in part, to protect the groups from dangerous sea creatures, both native and alien, present around the sunken city. He would also be helpful in locating what, if any, treasure was to be found amongst the ruins.
“Oiy! Koston!”
Derrick looked up from his half-eaten soup to see a member of the crew looking at him from the doorway. The rest of the mess room had gone quiet, everyone staring and waiting.
“Captain wants to speak with you!” the crewman called.
Derrick nodded and stood, following the young man from the room. They were only a few steps out of the door when he heard the room return to its previous level of activity, and he wondered just how many of them were talking about him.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-08 09:54 am (UTC)Derrick's loneliness is touching, but his determination is sustaining him and that feels real.
I have visuals from those 60s movies of Jules Verne stories in my head as I read.
Very nice.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-08 02:18 pm (UTC)It's much appreciated!