Futurama

The Longest Journey Home, part 2
By Farnsworth38

Legal stuff: this text is a continuation of Part 1, and is covered by the legal statement included as part of that document.

[Apologies for the delay, but other things always get in the way... Thanks to everyone who sent feedback and helpful comments on Part 1; Gregoriev for his edits on Part 2, and Venus258 for proofreading the final draft. I hope this episode doesn't disappoint, though I don't think it's quite up to the standard of Part 1. And I know there are some passing similarities with Wonderbee31's No More Fun And Games 2, but the first draft was already done and nothing has been knowingly ripped, honest.]

Part 2: Revelations

Leela woke to the sounds of showering from the next cabin. Remembering where she was, it dawned on her that Fry, for once, was going to be 'at work' before her. As she threw back the covers and moved to get out of bed, she suddenly realised with embarrassment that she'd had a very realistic dream in the night. 'Could it really be like that with him? Oh why do I feel this way about the dumb jerk?'

She ran to the shower, and as the warm water cleansed her body it also cleared the moisture from her eye. Pulling herself together, she dried off, put her hair into the usual ponytail, and took some new clothes from the locker. They were the duplicates of her usual outfit, not the alternatives she'd made.

{'Coward.'}

'Am not!'

{'So what about the dream?'}

'It was just how I imagined it might have happened, that's all.'

{'But you can't face finding out?'}

'Okay, so I don't believe it would be like that. This is Fry we're thinking about: he's not exactly subtle.'

{'So why not find out for sure just how pathetic he is and then forget about him?'}

'You know why! I don't want him to be pathetic. And I don't want to forget him. I just want him to be...'

{'You just want him, period. Admit it.'}

'Go away! I'm not thinking to you anymore!'

{'Your loss...'}

The mental argument with herself over, Leela dressed and left her cabin.

As she had expected, the others were already in the mess. Pete and Fry were both in coveralls, and Sian was wearing a jumpsuit that was a little kinder to Fry than the previous day's outfit. "Hi everyone. Sorry I'm late."

"No problem," replied Sian. "But be on the bridge within the hour: we've got the radio check-in coming up and I want you there for it." She took her coffee and the remains of a sandwich and headed for the bridge.

Pete smiled and nodded a greeting as he left in the direction of the landing bay.

Fry greeted her with a rather unenthusiastic "Hi Leela".

She collected a strong coffee and a reconstituted sandwich from the dispensers and sat down opposite him. "Hey," she replied, surprised to see him apparently dressed for some serious work: "What's with the mechanic's gear?"

Fry looked up from his food. "Pete's gonna take a look at the ship. I've helped Amy before, and I thought maybe we could fix enough stuff to get us out of here..."

Leela gave him a sympathetic look. "Fry, you saw the state the ship's in: we won't be going anywhere for a while. I know this isn't an ideal situation, but we've been in worse."

Fry just gave a sullen grunt. He pushed his plate away and stood. "Pete'll be waiting to get started. Later."

"Later..." responded Leela, as he walked out the door.

'Great. Last night I started fantasizing about him, and today he gets all moody. I should have known something like this would happen: the idea of sharing our last moments was a big mistake.'

{'You think? Or was the mistake not going through with it?'}

Thinking about intimacy with Fry triggered something in her brain, and she suddenly remembered a conversation she'd had with Bender a few days earlier, but had forgotten in her anger at the robot's comments:

The Planet Express building: Leela was sitting at the conference table reading a form Hermes had given her to complete.

'Form 3486b; Notification of Non-taxable Fuel Use. Box 1.1: Description of non-taxable fuel (include chemical composition if known). Oh please! Just how am I supposed to explain that we power the ship using the contents of my pet's litter tray?!'

At that point Bender walked in and interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey, eyeball: we've gotta talk."

Leela turned and glared at the robot.

"Don't get steamed, it's an accurate description. You organisms are way too sensitive..."

"What do you want, Bender? I'm busy."

"Isn't it about time you and the skintube from the ice factory started interfacing or somethin'? He's getting to be a real pain in the hard-drive."

"That's none of your damn business!"

"Like robot hell it ain't! He just comes back from work and crashes out in the closet. He hasn't told me to haul ass to the saucy puppet show for weeks. And I've met this cute little cleaning unit: she's got great suction, if you get my drift... How can we exchange binary with Fry always in the next room? He might catch us in the middle of downloading a file. I do have standards..." He took a swig of Old Fortran and belched flame.

Leela dismissed the suggestion. "He probably goes out when you're off-line."

"You think I don't set my watchdog circuit? Every time I power-up again it's the same: Unexpected Interrupts, zero. It ain't natural: he's programmed for that reproduction thing you guys do, but now he's bypassing the subroutine. I mean, are you allergic to his DNA or somethin'? Or do you really prefer shape-shifting insects?"

Leela snarled and moved menacingly towards Bender.

"Hey, geroff! Where ya goin' with my arms? Aw no, not the dumpster again..."

Leela's attention returned to the present. 'No, that would be impossible... wouldn't it? He must still be having his one-night stands.'

{'But what if he has stopped? It would explain his behaviour...'}

She started to nibble half-heartedly at her food. 'Oh Fry, you're really starting to mess with my mind.'

Fry walked through the corridors of the freighter in a dark mood. It had been ages since he'd had one of his flings, and Leela hadn't even noticed. The day before the delivery he'd decided that nothing he could do would ever make him good enough for her, and he would end his period of self-imposed celibacy. The explosion had thwarted his plans, but for a while he thought he was going to achieve his greater goal, only for Leela to go and reaffirm her ambivalence towards him.

'What have I done to deserve this? Tonight I was going to be at The Hip Joint; after all, I got lucky there before... but no, I'm stranded here with Captains Ice Maiden and Centrefold. And there's no way out...'

As Fry entered the landing bay, he kicked out at a nearby workbench in frustration. The bench wasn't particularly worried by his actions, which was more than could be said for Fry: "Owww! My toes..."

Pete looked on in mild amusement. "If you've finished trying to rearrange the furniture, we need to get into the engine room and check the damage. Have you ever flown a hover-cycle?"

Fry walked over, limping slightly. "Yeah. And I use a hover-dolly on deliveries."

"Fine. You'll find these plates handle more like a cycle, but without the speed." Pete hefted the plasma cutter onto one of the hovers. Pausing in thought for a moment, he looked sideways at Fry. "Instead of kicking benches, you might want to spend some time in the gym: it can help take your mind off things."

Fry was doubtful. "I've never really been into that stuff..."

"And it shows," replied Pete. "Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're going to help around here it wouldn't hurt if you toned up. And it would probably improve your chances with a certain cyclops..."

"Her name's Leela, and she doesn't like people making an issue of her eye," replied Fry rather tersely.

"Hey, no prejudice practiced here," Pete reassured him. "I understand your feelings: my own partner's a bit different as well, if you recall."

Fry sighed. "Yeah, but it doesn't matter how I feel about Leela: I'm just not good enough for her. We'll never be a couple."

Pete loaded a toolkit onto a second hover, and turned back to Fry. "Don't be so sure: sometimes you just need to let things happen. Sian and I were really close in school, but I couldn't bring myself to make the big move on her; and she had emotional problems from home. We just drifted apart when we got jobs. But when we met up again, she told me I was the only man she'd ever trusted. So I told her she was the only one that'd stood by me when things got rough." He smiled broadly: "Within hours we were making up for lost time, if you get my meaning."

"But you're bright," stated Fry, as if it explained everything: and to him, it did.

Pete knew when to stop pushing. He stepped onto the hover with the cutter rig, and gestured for Fry to take the one with the toolkit. "Come on, let's go find out if the engines are in one piece."

After finally downing her meal, Leela set off toward the bridge. She arrived in a foul mood, angry with Fry, herself, and life in general. Sian seemed busy, so she sat at what appeared to be the engineer's station and forced herself to calm down.

After about five minutes Sian broke the silence, turning her head to look back at Leela. "Relaxed a bit, have we?"

"Huh?"

"You stomped in like you were crushing 'roaches. We'll be making radio contact soon: just play it cool, and when

you send your message keep it short and professional. Once I report our situation, the boss will be listening in and he's a total git. Don't react to any comments, okay?"

"I guess. Sounds like you expect a chewing out."

"Sister, if I couldn't take the flak I wouldn't be sitting here."

There was a short silence: when Sian spoke again, she'd dropped her captain's persona. "Leela, I know I was out of order yesterday, and I'm sorry. But when I see people tiptoeing around a relationship and avoiding commitment, it reminds me of my own past. I just hate to see it all happening again."

"I have my reasons..." said Leela, defensively.

"Yeah, I know girl: we all do. But I almost lost everything before it had even begun, and yesterday so did you. I've been given a second chance at life, and this time I'm living it my way. If the rest of the world has a problem with that, it can go take a running jump. Think about what you really want girl, before it's too late."

Before Leela could respond, Sian's command panel beeped. "Ah, incoming signal: it's show time," she announced, back in her role as captain.

The comms speaker came to life: "Geroznik base to Ruskin, radio check. Report my signal."

Sian replied: "Ruskin to Geroznik, I read you strength five. We are ten to the four clicks short of projected position. Be advised: we are running heavy, and I'm reporting a code twelve."

There was a slight delay while the signal made the round trip. When the voice responded, its tone had become more businesslike. "Ruskin, I copy you running heavy; I copy your code twelve. Be advised: controller Hughes is in the loop, and the recording of this conversation will be retained. Please advise your heavy, and report on your rescue and salvage."

Sian sighed as if she knew she was dropping herself in it, and started to speak. "We are heavy two human crew and approximately 60% of a Sprinter class equivalent. No injury to crew but the recovered vessel is unspaceworthy. No drive field detected during recovery; crew unarmed and benign. Request you relay a message to Earth advising crew status."

After another delay: "Message relay has been authorized. Be aware that the message will be examined by the Company censor. Send when ready."

Sian gestured to Leela, who spoke into the comms at the engineer's station. "From Captain Turanga Leela to the Planet Express Delivery Company, New New York, Earth. Ship disabled by cargo explosion, crew unharmed. On board freighter in transit to repair facility: ETA twenty-seven days. Duration of repairs unknown: damage extensive. Will provide more information on arrival. Message ends."

Sian gave her a thumbs-up, and turned back to her console. "Transmitting image file of salvaged vessel. Request attachment to message."

"Copy receipt of both." The voice hesitated before continuing. "Be advised: controller Hughes indicates Ruskin crew will be suspended from duty on arrival at Geroznik, pending an investigation into breaches of exclusion zone protocol. Transmission ends."

Sian scowled and made a very unladylike finger gesture at the comms. Leela started to protest. "They can't do that! You were responding to a mayday..."

"Hughes can, and he just did. I was expecting it: he's been after an excuse to suspend me for ages. And I know exactly what the scumbag wants in return for dropping the enquiry." Sian gave a wry smile. "You know, with a bit of luck I might be able to give him a heart-attack while we're doing it..."

"NO!" Leela stood, gripping the edge of the console, anger burning in her eye. "No woman is going to give her body to some creep because of me! There has to be another way!"

"Hey, relax..." Sian saw the look of hate on Leela's face. "Oh crap. It's happened to you hasn't it? I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"Don't go there. He won't leave it at that. He'll keep turning up, looking for more..."

Sian rose, walked over to Leela, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Get your gym gear on: we both need to work off some aggression."

Leela couldn't argue with that suggestion. She returned to her cabin and changed into the standard two-piece she'd made the day before. 'I can't see her in one of these', she thought as she left.

Sian was waiting in the corridor: sure enough, she was wearing a rather scanty leopard-print leotard that belonged on the catwalk, not in the gym.

"Not very practical..." observed Leela. Sian grinned.

"I usually work out with Pete. In those circumstances it's extremely practical." She turned her back on Leela and touched her toes.

"Point taken: I can see how that would get results," conceded Leela, a little icily. Sian straightened up and tossed her incredible blonde mane back into place. They began walking towards the gym.

"Works every time. I know you think I'm a slut or something, but it's just that Pete and I have a very healthy love-life. We don't usually have guests on these trips, so we tend to indulge ourselves. But by principle I'm monogamous: I've no desire to get in the sack with that prat Hughes, believe me."

"If you do, you'll regret it. I made one stupid mistake, and the bastard hasn't left me alone since." Leela's hatred of Brannigan came to the surface again. "I hope you have a strong punchbag..."

Sian laughed. "You seemed a bit shaken up yesterday, but I knew there was a kick-ass babe in there somewhere. Do your worst, girl: get it out of your system."

They arrived at the gym, and both started doing stretches. Leela, being younger, warmed up first. Walking calmly to the punchbag, she suddenly lashed out with a vicious spin-kick. As the bag swung away, she repositioned for another attack, this time with both feet. 'Impact, drop to the floor, roll out, spring up, ready for the next strike...'

After a while her anger began to dissipate: she saw the swinging punchbag as a reeling Zapp, blood running from his nose, split lip, and the cut above his eye. A final mule kick sent him tumbling into the airlock to be ejected from the ship... The vision faded and Leela walked over to a bench and picked up a towel. Her skin glistened with a thin film of perspiration from her exertion: she sat and began dabbing herself dry.

Sian had been watching Leela, and as she walked over to the bag she commented: "Nice moves. You've got the speed I had at your age, and more muscle. But I can still hold my own in a rumble."

It was Leela's turn to watch as Sian assaulted the punchbag. The length and volume of her hair restricted her range of moves, but Leela admitted to herself that she would be happy to have the captain at her side in a bar room brawl.

Sian rounded off her session by swiftly raising her knee, an obvious suggestion of what she wanted to do to her lecherous boss. She walked over to join Leela on the bench, catching the towel the cyclops threw her on the way; she used it to mop at her brow and the trickles of perspiration in her cleavage.

"Feeling less stressed?" she asked as she sat down.

"Yes, I needed that. You know, you're good: better than I expected..."

"As a kid I had problems at home; it gave me something of an attitude. If any guy got on my tits, he'd be wearing my boot-print. I got a reputation as being too hot to handle, and ended up lonely and depressed. The only person I didn't get mad at was the shyest, quietest boy in college. It turned out each of us were just what the other needed."

"Pete?" ventured Leela: Sian nodded. "I suppose you have been doing most of the talking... but shy?"

"We've both come a long way since then. You mustn't underestimate the effect someone can have on you, or you on them. You've just got to give it a chance: dreams don't always arrive gift-wrapped."

Leela sighed. "At times I wonder if I do expect too much. I know Fry cares about me, and he is kind of cute... but he's just so childish."

"Has anyone ever given him a reason to act otherwise? A serious relationship can breed responsibility, while constant rejection drives many to take comfort in their childhood."

"I guess, but the past holds no comfort for me..."

Sian swung her feet up onto the bench and hugged her knees to her chest. "If you want to talk about it, the ship's perfectly capable of flying itself for a while longer."

"You wouldn't understand. Growing up in an orphanarium stinks."

Sian looked pained. "Some of us would have preferred not knowing our parents. I can probably relate to you more than you think. But this is supposed to be your story..." She listened while Leela described her life and disastrous relationships.

"So it seems I only attract total weirdoes. But with just one eye I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"Rubbish. All you need is a few good experiences with someone who really cares, and you'll soon loose your hang-ups."

"Maybe, but don't you have a problem we should be addressing?" asked Leela, in an attempt to change the direction of the conversation.

Sian grinned. "I think I may have come up with a solution. I still need to flesh it out a bit, but it should work. I'll run it past Pete later. A more immediate issue is what you two newbies are going to do for the rest of the journey. For your part, if you'd like to learn the ropes on something a bit bigger than that delivery van, I could use a temporary first officer for this eighteen-wheeler. I know I called you a passenger yesterday, but it can be hard losing your command; at least this way you'd keep some of your authority."

Leela was surprised by the offer: she knew Sian didn't have to make this gesture of respect for a fellow captain. "I

suppose it would be something different... but isn't flying this crate rather boring?"

Sian shrugged. "Most of the time it's just making sure everything's running smoothly, but now and then we get some excitement. And it beats sitting in your cabin contemplating your navel all day." She stood, and threw her towel into the laundry chute. "When you've finished here and changed, come back to the bridge and we'll run through the basics." She walked out, leaving Leela with the impression that there was something she'd missed.

Fry left the med-bay and headed towards the gym, feeling depressed. Leela had been right: the PE ship was going nowhere any time soon. But Pete had just checked him over and given him the go-ahead to work out, so at least he could take some of his frustration out on the weights. 'But what else can I do? No TV, no holophonor, and Leela's only interested if it's the last thing she's ever going to do in her life.'

Turning a corner, Fry saw Sian leave the gym and walk away from him in the direction of the cabins, wearing something that just about passed as clothing. 'Oh crud. Why couldn't her hair be just a bit longer? I really don't need to see all that right now.'

Sian disappeared from view, and Fry entered the gym. Unfortunately he was still looking along the corridor, and he walked straight into Leela, who was on her way out.

"Fry! Look where you're going..."

"Uh, sorry..."

"Well, seeing as you're here... there's something we need to talk about. Come and sit down." They walked over to the bench.

"I don't quite know how to put this, so I'll just say it: Fry, are you abstaining from sexual activity?"

"Like I've a choice?"

"I meant before we got into this situation: Bender said you were staying in a lot."

Fry grimaced. "It all started when something reminded me of Proctor. I couldn't believe I'd been so desperate that I'd, well, with her. I thought I'd try waiting for someone I really cared about: but they didn't seem to notice, and I've just ended up desperate again." There was no bitterness in his words, just acceptance that another of his ideas had failed.

It was obvious to Leela that she was the one he'd been holding out for. As usual, she felt torn between anger at the stupid futility of his actions, and sympathetic affection for the guy that would do such a thing to impress her. "But Fry, it's not like we were dating or anything..."

"I know," Fry looked down at his feet in resignation. "It was stupid, just like all the other things I've done to get your attention." He paused, summoning up the courage to say the words. "Leela, I know I'm not good enough for you: so I'll stop interfering in your life. What's it to me if you sleep with another guy? And why would you be upset if I picked someone up at The Hip Joint? As soon as we get home I'm going back to the old routine."

'Yeah: meet someone, spend a meaningless night together, and get dumped in the morning. Great life you've got, looser.'

Leela was shocked. 'He's backing off. And if he meets someone like Umbriel, but with all the equipment... You idiot, Fry! You can't give up on us now, not after the way you made me feel last night!'

{'Right: as if he knows what happens in your dreams! Besides, you don't think he's capable of such sophistication.'}

'Maybe not now, but he has to grow up one day...'

Leela had gone very quiet. Fry got the wrong impression: 'Damn. She thinks I'm hanging a guilt trip on her. She's sulking, and then she'll get mad at me.' He stood and shouldered his way out of the coveralls - he was wearing a pair of shorts underneath, but hadn't felt the need for a T-shirt. He walked over to the multi-gym and started trying to figure out how to set it up for pull-downs, while waiting for the inevitable putdown from Leela.

Leela watched him in silence. 'He needs to shape up, but if he makes the effort he could have a good body. He's so nearly what I want; otherwise I wouldn't have fallen for him that time when the worms made him smarter. He can't just walk away, not now...'

{'If you want him to stick around, you know what to do...'}

Leela remembered the previous day's moments of intimacy. 'I guess one night together wouldn't hurt: if we'd been rescued a little later it would've happened already. Oh, I'm going to do something really impulsive...' She walked over to join Fry, who had worked out the cable links and was ready to start exercising. As he turned to sit on the multi-gym's bench, she stepped in front of him and placed her hand on his chest.

"Fry, I meant the things I said on the ship yesterday," she said softly. "You don't have to wait until we return to Earth to get a date. Let's just take a few days to get settled in here, and then we'll see if we can arrange something. But don't get the wrong idea: I'm not saying this is the start of a relationship. It's just a date. But... I want to finish what we started yesterday as much as you do," she finally confessed, running her fingers down his chest.

Fry just gazed back at her, stunned into silence.

'Yeah, I know the feeling' she thought to herself: 'I can't believe I just said that either.' Before Fry could recover the power of speech and ax something awkward, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hurriedly left for her cabin.

Fry was experiencing a mixture of joy, disbelief and concern. 'This is what I've always wanted: but is she just feeling sorry for me? She went with Brannigan because the so-called 'big hero' burst into tears; I want us to be together for a better reason than that. For once in my life, I want it to actually mean something.' He sat astride the bench and began his workout, still confused by Leela's sudden change of heart.

Leela entered her cabin and peeled off her gym kit. Turning to reach for her regular clothes, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror and paused. 'He's about the only person who's ever considered my difference to be attractive. Is it because of his low IQ, or is he really that open-minded?' She began to dress, wondering if she had made another foolish mistake.

A little later, as she walked back to the bridge, Leela put all thoughts of Fry out of her mind: what had been said had been said, and she had several days to prepare for their encounter. Meanwhile, learning the controls of a new ship was just the distraction she needed. She arrived at her destination, and as the door to the bridge opened she was greeted by music: a song that she didn't know, though she thought she'd heard something similar at the Wongs' barbeque on Mars.

I come out shootin' when trouble comes knockin'
I greet bad news by sending it walkin'
Happy or just crazy
Relaxed or lazy
I'm gonna keep my vision hazy
And the dream's lost on me ⁽¹⁾

The music faded out: she'd obviously just caught the end. 'I suppose that fits with her view on life,' Leela thought. 'But if they have some of the stuff Fry likes, it would help him pass the time.'

"Do you have much twentieth century music?" she asked Sian, taking her position at the engineer's station. "Fry might be interested if you do; that rock or whatever is almost a substitute for TV with him."

The captain stood and wandered over to Leela. "We've got quite a bit, though I think most of it's probably rather early for him. But you can get access from the terminals in your cabins, so you're both welcome to listen to anything you like. I'll get Pete to add your names to the computer so you can log on: you'll just have access to the entertainment files though." She perched against the edge of the console. "So, do you want to find out how this crate compares with your flash runabout?"

"Why not?" Leela raised a point that had been bothering her ever since she'd come aboard: "To start, why are there two Hi-G seats forward of the pilot station? This thing couldn't accelerate hard if it tried."

"Escape system," Sian responded. They drop into a pod that gets ejected in an emergency."

"Looks very sophisticated for an escape system..."

Sian seemed to get defensive: "You'll see why when we cover it. But for the moment I think it's safe to assume that Pete can keep the engine cores contained, and we won't need to leave in a hurry. Let's start with the flight controls..."

By lunchtime Leela had a fair idea of the major differences between the two ships. As she sat down at the table in the mess, she wondered what Fry would be doing while she was on bridge duty. Just at that moment, Pete and Fry entered to join the girls for lunch. The state of Fry's coveralls hinted that he'd been his usual careless self since leaving the gym: but he didn't seem to have many cuts or scrapes, and Pete was still talking to him, so he must have done reasonably well. And he seemed to have brightened up after their conversation, which wasn't surprising: he gave her a warm smile as he sat down beside her. Leela hoped the one she gave in return didn't reveal her nervousness about what she'd committed herself to.

When Pete returned from the food dispenser and sat down, he reported on the condition of the PE ship. "We can fit bracing and temporary hull plates so you can make the hop to space-dock when we arrive, but it needs a total refit before you try going inter-system or entering an atmosphere. Fortunately the engines shut down before they overloaded, so you still have a propulsion unit."

"Good," said Sian. "But the radio check didn't go so well..."

Pete seemed to have been expecting bad news:

"Suspended?"

"Yep."

"Oh well, crap happens. It's just Hughes acting like a prat. If they hold an enquiry, we'll be cleared."

"Yeah, but we'll miss the return run. It'll mean six months leave on subsistence pay."

Pete shrugged. "I'm sure we'd come up with something. I've got plenty of memory cards for my camera; if we could hitch a lift to Paradise 4, what do you say to another location shoot? The last one paid well, and you've still got what it takes babe."

Sian smiled at him. "Flattery will get you everywhere; but I know I won't cut it for much longer. So yeah, I'm game. But I have a plan I'd like to try first."

Pete looked unsure: "Does this plan involve Hughes and a bed? If so, we need to talk."

"Actually, it's intended to avoid that." Sian threw a worried look at Fry and Leela, but the cyclops seemed lost in thought, while Fry was too busy eating to notice. "But we'll get to the details another time."

Just as Sian was about to resume eating, the gadget clipped to her belt started emitting an annoying trill. "Oh, like I need another problem right now!" She flipped it open, revealing a display on the top half and a touch pad below. "Contact on long-range sensors." She tapped at the pad with a stylus. "Passive contact, no energy signature: it's a rock. But it's coming this way, and it's big enough to do us some damage." She flipped the remote closed again.

"Can we avoid it?" asked Leela.

"Oh yeah, no problem. But we'd definitely arrive in plus-time if we make another course correction, and that's something this crew doesn't do. Besides, this is a good excuse for a systems functionality check on some of the auxiliary equipment. Pete, this one's yours."

"On my way," he responded, standing to leave. Sian also rose, but turned back to Fry and Leela. "Come with, people: you should find this interesting."

Pete hesitated in the doorway: "Are you sure...?"

"We've already been handed a suspension, so why not? And I see potential..." Sian looked Leela in the eye. Pete shrugged, and they all headed for the bridge.

"You're going to find out more about the acceleration seats than I planned," Sian said as they walked. "Lifeboat is the secondary function of the craft they belong to: its main use is for defence."

They walked onto the bridge and Sian took the pilot's station. Pete moved towards a locker by the door and tapped in a code on the keypad. The locker opened, and Pete took out one of four helmets on the top shelf. Fry and Leela exchanged glances: the rest of the interior was filled with body armour, pulse-rifles and laser-pistols.

"Get one for Fry too," suggested Sian. "Fry, I assume you're the one that sits in the turret on your ship when the need arises?"

"Yeah, that'd be me..."

"Then go ride shotgun with Pete: he's a typical male pilot, so it won't be a dull experience."

Pete just gave a knowing grin, handed one of the other helmets to Fry, and closed the locker. Walking towards the left-hand Hi-G seat, he gestured for Fry to take the other. As he passed Sian he paused, and they both made fists and knocked knuckles: "With you..." she began, "...Always" he finished, and winked at her.

The two men took their seats. "Lid on and strap in, this could get bumpy" Pete warned, donning his helmet and pulling the seat's harness tight. Fry did as instructed: Pete glanced over to be sure, then gave a thumbs-up over his shoulder. "Good to go," he called.

"Express to the flight deck, going down," said Sian.

Guardrails rose from the deck to surround the two seats, which then dropped from sight: a replacement floor section flipped up to close the gap, and the rails retracted again.

Leela's eye narrowed. "Beam generators, state-of-the-art weapons, and your own rapid-launch fighter escort; none of that belongs on a rusting heap like this. An explanation would be nice..."

"Priorities girl. Let's shove this boulder out of the road before we bump, and then I'll enlighten you. But let's just say that The Company likes these ships to go unnoticed."

[End of Part 2. Thanks for reading it: still okay, or going off the tracks? As before, any comments are welcome: to Farnsworth38@aol.com please. Now to respond to that citation for public nudity...]

Acknowledgements

(1) Extract from The Dream's Lost On Me by Blondie. Lyrics by Deborah Harry, Romy Ashby, Chris Stein. Track appears on the album No Exit.