A Thread of Time: Firesetter, Book 1 Read Online Free Page A

but that moment was one of those times when my mouth
randomly chose not to work.  In fact, instead of talking I went into a
coma-like state.
    “Ah well, you’re here now and we’ll have
to deal with it.”  The doc sighed, doing his best to return me to
consciousness. 
    When I was alive again, but just barely,
the doc summoned a nurse to my side. 
    “Nurse Moosy, this spaceman is your sole
responsibility.  Consider him your personal patient.  See that he’s well taken
care of, and maybe, he’ll survive so we can kick him out of SpaceForce.”
    Nurse Moosy nearly killed me, while at the
same time, she was the only reason I was determined to make it through.  This
was because each morning, I awoke to the vision of her three, blue-skinned
boobs hovering over my face. 
    She didn’t do this on purpose, or so I
thought.  It was just the way she adjusted my meds, or took the readings from
the monitor over my head.  Each morning this alone caused my reluctant heart to
jolt into action, which was followed only minutes later by a full cardiac
arrest.
    My heart wasn’t the only organ that
enjoyed her attention.  When she changed my bedding or adjusted my catheter,
other dormant parts of my body rose from the dead. 
    Nurse Moosy would giggle and blush, her
pale blue face turning a shade of lavender with scattered lilac splotches,
something I found incredibly attractive.
    “Naughty spaceman,” she’d say and waggle a
finger in my direction.
    “Mrr murf hamum,” or something like that,
I’d usually respond.
    After several weeks in a nearly vegetative
state, enjoying Nurse Moosy’s attention from only inside my head, my body began
to awaken and recover.
    “Marry me,” I declared to Nurse Moosy as
she studied my blood pressure on the first morning when I could speak.
    “Silly spaceman,” she replied.  “I don’t
know you well enough yet.”
    “You know every inch of my body and then
some.”
    “I will go on a date when you are no
longer my patient.”
    “Mrr murf hamum,” or something like that,
I mumbled, as she had stuck a probe in my mouth.
     
    I reported back to duty and returned to my
quarters, a tiny bunk in an even tinier cabin shared with three other guys. 
Borf was an enormous Andorian, who took up twice as much space as my other
roommates, Wen and Noodnick.  Noodnick definitely wasn't human, but what he
was, I hadn’t a clue, and frankly, wasn’t too keen on finding out. 
    “You’re back,” Wen proclaimed, greeting me
with a sort-of hug, even though I had met him only once before on the day I had
come aboard.  Wen had said he was human, and granted he looked like it, but
there was something off about him, too, something that made me think he was
also something else.  “You are recovered, Lancelot?”
    “It’s just Lance, and yes, thanks for
asking.”
    “Shut up!” Borf roared.  “I’m trying to
sleep.”
    Noodnick didn’t say anything, which I
guess was par for the course.  According to Wen, the dude never spoke, or if he
did, it wasn’t audible to our ears.
     
    My first day back on duty, I was assigned
to a place we affectionately referred to as the engineering dungeon.  There, I
was given a console to monitor.  Basically, I was to stand for eight hours and
look at lights and gauges: oil pressure, water temperature, voltage, hydraulic
pressure, engine temperature, hynautic pressure, and about forty other dials. 
If any one of them turned red, if a claxon sounded, or if I smelled smoke, I
was to push another set of buttons and immediately inform the bridge.
    “Why isn’t this automated?” I asked my
sergeant.  “Don’t we have a computer that can monitor this?  Not that I’m complaining. 
I’ll do my job.  I was just wondering.  You know…”
    The guy glared at me and told me to shut
up.
    “It’s because of the old Empire,” Wen
informed me later when he met me for a burger in the ship’s cafeteria.  “They
used to supply the parts for our ships and