Bounce!

Posted on 07 Mar 2025 @ 6:52pm by Crewman Apprentice Unknown 'Weirdo' & Lieutenant JG Zhivise Silatuyok

2,801 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Miranda

"No… no, get back here! You little-" The sound came floating through the corridor, accompanied by what could only be described as a series of pounces, interpuncted by a soft, bouncy, springing sound. Then a small object flitted past, bounced against the floor, ceiling and one wall before shooting off into another corridor at the intersection. A moment later a man of indeterminate age, with wild curly hair and sea-coloured eyes appeared with another jump. He scanned the corridors, but stopped abruptly when he saw Zhivise. "Hi!" he said with a sudden, cheerful grin. "You wouldn't happen to have seen a small, uh, thingie, about ye big-" he indicated the size with one hand, index finger and thumb held a distance apart, "dashing by?"

{...so this must be what a chaos demon is,} Zhiv thought remembering what her auntie had told her about chaos demons roaming the universe, and that at some points Zhiv was one, "...um, I, unh what?" She asked, sounding very confused as her mind was still recovering from the tactical simulation she had run with the commander.

"A thingie. Thingamajig. The technical name would be FATS – Fully Autonomous Target System, though the name is a work in progress, I've never been very good with names. It's gone a bit too autonomous, though, even though I promised I wouldn't shoot at it and others would only use light beams or stun setting at most, and then it dashed off just as someone else opened the door and njoooom it went. Did you see where it went?" The man said all this with barely a breath in between. A tool he'd been using while working on the device was stuck absentmindedly behind one ear.

"Maybe I saw something, and I think it went that way," Zhiv said, pointing down the corridor she had just come from. "Can't you just use the internal sensors to find it, or a tricorder?"

"I haven't had the chance to recalibrate the internal sensors to display it, though that would be a good idea. Tricorder would work if I had one at hand and had the time to recalibrate it-" He sighed and shook his head, making the curls dance. "Who am I kidding? The thing is probably in the Jeffries tubes or the turbolift system. Ah well, maybe I can sell it to the rest of security as a rabbit hunt and make it look deliberate?" With that, the grin returned.

"You mean command or security didn't know you were testing this?" Zhiv asked, looking and sounding a bit concerned. And aren't you worried that someone might get hurt with that thing bouncing around like that?"

"Well, they might know that I was testing it, not what the test results are…" the man said cheerfully, giving a casual wave of his hand. "But nope. I built the thing to evade objects, whether people or other things. Well, aside from walls and floor and ceiling, of course. That part, at least, works perfectly."

"I mean, that is good. But, aren't you worried that with all its bouncing, it'll damage something?" Zhiv said as she followed the man, finding him a bit odd. Yeah, odd. It was like he was vibrating, or maybe his aura, and energy was just so high-frequency, and that was what she was picking up on.

"What, like floor-walls-ceiling? Listen, if that breaks then Engineering has done a sloppy job maintaining that section and should've been replaced before something comes down when someone walks there and causes injuries." He explained as if it was perfectly logical – which, to him, it was. He suddenly spun to face Zhiv. "Tricorder! You wouldn't happen to have one with you? Maybe I can improvise something." He whipped the tool from behind his ear, then produced a different one seemingly out of thin air and juggled the two with one hand.

"I don't think," Zhiv said, stopping to realize he most likely didn't care. Well, no, I don't. I am a helms officer, so I don't think I'll be using a tricorder soon," she said, looking around. Don't they have some along corridors just in case something needs to be fixed?

"What, you don't think?!" The man sounded shocked for a moment. "On the contrary, I feel you sometimes overthink. Don't you?" The sea-coloured eyes made direct contact with her own, and they suddenly seemed too old for that ageless face, layered, green over grey over a dark, deep blue. It lasted a second and a lifetime. "Would've been easier if you had one with you, but since you haven't…" He spun around, one of the tools in his outstretched hand (and just precisely where had the other one gone to?), stopped and dashed to the side of the corridor his hand pointed at. "Yes!" he said enthusiastically as he opened a panel.

Zhiv couldn't explain it, but all of a sudden all she could feel was anxiety, and a level of anxiety she has never felt, "...I I um, I need to get out...," she stammered as she took a few steps back, she could feel herself sweating as her vision started to tunnel, "I I need to sit," she muttered as she tripped and landed on her bottom.

He moved back to her surprisingly fast, almost as if he had begun moving before she began to fall. He caught her neatly and guided her down so she sat gently instead of landing full-force on the ground. "What's wrong?" The levity had disappeared from his voice; all at once, it was gentle and full of concern.

"I don't know; I just felt extremely overwhelmed," Zhiv muttered. She still did, but it seemed to subside. In the academy, she did have a few panic attacks, but with counseling, she had learned how to deal with them. But this was different. It was like everything in the known universe all came at her simultaneously.

"Do you need me to bring you to sickbay, have the doctor look you over?" He sat down on the floor beside her with ease and studied her. "You do look pale and tired… When is the last time you ate?"

"This morning," {or was it last night,} she thought, "and no I don't think I need sickbay, I think you are right, I probably just need some water and food," she muttered now feeling a bit embarrassed. Still, at the same time, she couldn't shake the feeling that it came from this 'weirdo', not deliberately, it was just something that came from him or around him.

"Alright. Hang on, I'll get you something. Human, right? Not always easy to tell, but you smell human." He jumped back up, unfolding like a coiled spring and landing lightly on his feet, ready to bounce off.

"Um, yes, Hum..." but before she could finish, he was already on his feet. " Actually, if you can help me to my feet, my quarters are just around the corner," Zhiv said. Well, hoping they were, there was a very good chance she got turned around or even got off on the wrong deck.

"Err… no, they're not," the strange man said, looking slightly sheepish. "Sorry about that. I memorized the personnel files as they came in, and the new crew was included. You're Zhivise Silatuyok, right?" He pronounced her name correctly. "Two corridors down, as a matter of fact, I think you must've taken a left when you meant to take a right a few intersections back." He bent over and lifted her quickly, adding: "I'd rather not have you try to stand at the moment, chances are you'd faint again before we've reached your quarters. Done many carrying people before, so don't worry, I won't let you fall."

"Oh, um, yeah, I, thanks," she stammered as she took a deep breath. There were many of them, but there was also something very calming about them. "Thank you, I un," Zhiv had no idea what to say when she was picked up, as this had never happened to her before.

Then, she could see the small thing again, floating near the ceiling, behind the strange man's back. It followed them at a distance as he carried her through the corridors towards her quarters. He continued to talk, but in that much calmer, gentler manner. "I haven't introduced myself yet, I know. I don't really have a name, though the good people here had to fill in something on the form, so according to the files, my name is Tychon. But feel free to pick a name for me if you fancy doing so. I'm quite curious about how large a collection I can get."

"Shh..., sorry but that thing you are looking for is now following us," Zhiv said, keeping an eye on it, "Tychon, I can see that fitting, but...hmm, but it isn't right for me, if that makes sense?" Zhiv said keeping the conversation going.

"Really? Is it, now?" The man laughed, softly but delightedly – almost childlike, yet there was that strange layer underneath, the very core of his being, that wasn't childlike. "I did program it well, then – must've concluded I wasn't following it anymore and came back to check." He turned his head as he turned around the corner and came to rest in front of Zhiv's quarters. "Don't worry, little one, the chase will continue soon enough."

The tiny device—it looked like a small, silverish ball with tiny spikes—dipped once or twice, as if it nodded, then zoomed around the corner again.

"So which name do you think would be right for me?" he asked lightly as he carried her inside and set her down on a chair.

"Thanks," Zhiv said softly. Her quarters were still cold, as she hadn't spent much time in them. Mmm, I think Wit. It's a bit odd, but it fits," Zhiv said.

He bowed to her, a strangely archaic and formal gesture, and smiled again. "Then to you I shall be Wit, milady. Now, what can I get you?" he asked, turning to the replicator.

"Water for right now," Zhiv said giving him a polite smile, "...so you don't know your name, do you know where you are from?" Zhiv asked as she felt goosebumps forming on her arms, as something else her auntie told her came into her mind.

He returned a few moments later with a glass of water and a small plate containing light snacks. "No idea," he said cheerfully. "The crew found me adrift in an escape pod of some kind and took me on board. When they opened the pod, they saw a bright light at first, then it dimmed, and they saw me. There's no indication how long I've been out there, nothing in the databases that matches the pod, so…" he shrugged and smiled.

"How can you be so optimistic? I mean, not knowing your name or story. Isn't there an emptiness within you?" Zhiv asked, not realizing how accusatory that sounded.

Wit didn't realise either – or if he did, it certainly didn't show. He pulled up a chair, turned it around and sat down, leaning his arms on the back rest. "Well, yes. Of course there is. There's a hole in me where other people have a history and memories. Sometimes there are… glimpses, fragments, almost like memories of memories, but before I can grasp it they elude me again and are gone." For a moment his mood seemed to dampen, the sea-coloured eyes became slightly darker, or maybe it was a trick of the light, the way he held his head.

Then he smiled again, and with that his eyes resumed the colour of the shallows near the shore. "So I can either be frustrated about it, dwell on it and stay stuck in a past I do not know, or look around at the universe and see how much there is to explore, discover, and embrace it like a grand adventure. Look at this ship alone, with its diverse crew working together as a solid team, bravely going out into the unknown. Isn't that a marvel in itself?"

Zhiv slowly sipped the water. There was just something about their eyes—not unsettling, well, yes, they were uneasy, but not in a bad way, just different. "It is, and you are right, it is a marvelous thing, but our past is also what makes us, our memories are just that they form our future," Zhiv said softly.

Wit shrugged, still smiling. "Well, I have no idea what my past made me. And with the future still ahead of me, that leaves the present to live in. That's good enough for me."

Zhiv just smiled, "I am glad, I wish I could do that sometimes, but...., harder than you would think," Zhiv said with a chuckle.

"Why is that?" the man asked, looking at her. He always seemed to listen with his whole attention.

"....I don't want to sound rude, or...I am not sure, but I guess knowing where you come from, who your parents are, who their parents were. What they went through, they went through so that you could have a better life, or at least a different life," Zhiv said, trying to make sense of it as she spoke, and she was probably doing a poor job at that.

The man nods, "So, if I understand you correctly, the past which shaped you is an anchor at the same time, you can't live fully in the here and now because the past is always a part of you and provides the framework through which you perceive life?" He leans his head on his arms. For a moment his eyes roved around her quarters, not searching for anything, just taking in his environment before focusing on her again.

Zhiv started up a nervous tick again, which was scratching at her cuticles, mostly her pointer finger scratching the cuticle of her thumb. "...um, yeah, um shit that was way more elegant then how I put it," Zhiv said chuckling, "but, I have realized that it is not a bad thing, nor is what and how you view things, just different," she added.

There was that radiant smile again. "Absolutely! That's one of the things I like: meeting others, learning their perspectives, the way they see themselves and the universe around them. One of the reasons why the universe is such a fascinating place. So many races, life forms, different forms of existence. You could live ten lifetimes and not even discover a fraction of a fraction of it all." His eyes shone bright like stars.

Finishing her water after having a few bites of snacks made her feel better, but there was still something behind Wit's eyes that was unsettling but not in a bad way, just something unexplainable. "...can I ask you something personal, or is it might not be," Zhiv blurted out before realizing she did.

"Of course." This time, Wit looked briefly puzzled. His smile dimmed but never entirely vanished. "I cannot guarantee I can answer, but I'll try."

"Um..., your eyes," Zhiv started, slowing down and wording this just right. Your eyes are intriguing, alluring, and puzzling, like anxiety-ridden, puzzling, and simultaneously captivating. I think that made me feel light-headed," she finally stammered.

He blinked. "Alright… that's a new one. I don't know if others have ever felt the same way or noticed anything, but at least they didn't mention that to me. Ah… would it help you if I look away? Or… I can get some sunglasses from the replicator if you like?" He gestured into the direction of the device.

"No, no, no need for that. It is just something..." Zhiv started wanting to make sure they understood it wasn't their fault and that it wasn't always going to happen. I mean, it could just as easily be from me not eating or drinking enough water," Zhiv added.

"Or some weirdness in you, or some weirdness in me, or both…" He smiled again – but he did keep his gaze averted. "Anyway, it's probably best I let you have your rest either way. After all, a thingy still wants to be caught, so I better find it. We'll have to see if this will happen again when we meet next." He bounced to his feet, turned the chair quickly back in its usual position, and gave her an elegant bow.

Zhiv returned the smile, "...thanks again, and yes, til next time," Zhiv said watching them leave, finding all of this odd and weird.

A quick wave to her just before the door closed, and his voice came floating through the quickly shrinking gap: "Come out, come out, wherever you are…" And with that, he resumed the hunt.

 

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