Ready to Explode - Part II
Posted on Sun Aug 16th, 2015 @ 9:53am by Commander Jordan Gunning & Commander Titus Livius Drusus PhD
Mission:
By Dawn's Early Light
Location: Enola Gay [Holodeck 12, Deck 44]
Timeline: Immediately After "Ready To Explode - Part I"
Gunning looked up in awe at the sheer size of the gates which greeted them as they reached the little town of Enola Gay. They towered up into the air and were held together with the same makeshift parts as the rest of the town's defensive wall, only the gates were also held in place by giant cables and pulleys, clearly designed to give purchase to the counterweights which opened them.
It all seemed a bit much for just two men to pass through. He heard a clank and a tiny door opened off to their right. A man stepped out, removing a huge hat with a wide brim and - like everything in this wasteland - a thick layer of grime. "Gentlemen." He spoke with a long, drawn Southern drawl which was thicker than honey and ten times as smooth. "What brings you to Enola Gay?" The last syllable of the sentence seemed to hang in the air, caught on the warm breeze which stroked across their faces.
"We're travellers, sir. Looking for somewhere to rest up for a few days until we move on to Eureka." Gunning looked at the perplexed face of his colleague, who was clearly still trying to decipher the other man's accent. "Hopefully we'll be able to contribute something during our stay."
"Well, now." The man replaced his hat and extended a hand toward them in turn. "My name's Lucas, Sheriff Dewitt Lucas. You boys are quite welcome, but make sure you don't run into any trouble, y'hear?"
Drusus furrowed his brow, focusing so he could keep up with what the sheriff was saying. It was clearly Federation Standard, but the accent made it difficult. He got the gist of it, though, and shrugged at Gunning after the sheriff's warning. "Loud and clear, Sheriff," he replied, purposely enunciating each word carefully.
They followed the man, stout and in his mid-forties, through the smaller gate and found themselves in a bustling little street. It was laid out like a three-pronged fork, or so Sheriff Lucas - who seemed bent on giving them the guided tour - told them. Houses lay on the right hand street for people who lived in the town, shops and places of work down the middle street, and amenities, communal showers, pumping stations and the town's rudimentary electricity supply station were down the left prong.
At the end, they were informed, lay the town hall, the hotel, the saloon, ominously named the Bockscar sat in a semi-circle surrounding the town's quirkiest resident; an unexploded nuclear bomb which the townspeople kept as a monument to those they had lost in the war.
"Did he just say a nuclear bomb?" Gunning asked as soon as Lucas was out of earshot. "An unexploded nuclear bomb?" Even with the holodeck's safety protocols, that didn't sound particularly safe.
Drusus began to understand the kind of program Gunning was running; he tended to favour similar kinds of absurd plot devices in the holonovels he ran as well. A wry smile crossed his face as he realised he and the first officer had something in common after all. He had time, he decided to get into the spirit of the story. "He certainly did," the Magna Roman replied as he looked around at the townsfolk going about their day to day activities. "It doesn't seem to faze them at all. They must be confident that it will stay unexploded."
"That's for sure. Why don't we drop by the bar - that's usually the best place to find out what's going on in a town." He smiled. "They might even have something cold on tap."
As they walked, Jordan noted the unconcerned faces of the citizens. Just like Drusus had said, they didn't seem bothered by the possibility of being blown to smithereens at any moment.
This was a weird little town.
Commander Jordan Gunning
Executive Officer
Commander Titus Drusus
Chief Science Officer
[TAG]
