The Impossible Dram

(incomplete chapter)

The throne room was richly decorated for the entertainment of the king and queen. A jester juggled before them, delighting the court with his antics. The candles gave the room a mysterious shine and eerie, haunting music played in the background.

Catalina stared around her in joyous amazement as she entered the room. Two ladies approached her, dancing with the stately grace of the noble class. The king and queen applauded the jester as he bowed and moved off to one side, allowing the ladies to walk through. The jester made his way to where Catalina watched and offered her the balls. In one corner, two knights dueled ferociously for the ladies' honour.

Catalina threw the balls up in the air and tried to juggle them as the jester watched. All three balls fell to the ground and suddenly, everyone in the throne room was staring at her. The jester began to laugh and the noise was soon echoed throughout the room as Catalina became the focal point of their amusement.

One of the two ladies halted in her laughter enough to creep forward, calling Catalina's name.

*****

"Catalina . . . " she called. "Catalina . . . "
Catalina came awake as Thelma shook her shoulder gently. She sat up and looked around, taking a moment to realize where she was. The girl's bunkroom came into focus around her. A large book lay in front of her, right where she had left it and Thelma was standing beside her.

"Oh," Cat said. "I think I was dreaming."

"You sound unsure," Thelma remarked.

"Saturnians don't dream all that much," Catalina told her. "And I almost never do."

"Why not?" Thelma asked.

"I just . . . don't," Catalina replied, rising from her seat.

Thelma blinked as she processed the answer.

"And of all the things to dream about," Catalina continued. "A reading assignment from Ms Davenport. I can't even get away from schoolwork in my sleep!"

Thelma bent over and picked up the book.

"Earth: The Middle Ages," Thelma read. "It's about growing old."

Catalina laughed. "No. It's about a time in Earth history that had knights in armor, castles, crusades . . "

As Catalina talked, Thelma opened the book and read a few pages. "Oh. Those Middle Ages," she said, thrusting the book into Catalina's arms.. "The time of the bubonic plague, the Black Death, smallpox!"

Catalina put the book back onto the table. "It was a time of adventure, Thelma, of chivalry. Old Earth was an interesting place."

Catalina picked up three juggling balls and tried to catch them. They all fell to the ground with a thud. She looked sheepishly at Thelma. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"Speaking about missing things," Thelma said, suddenly remembering why she was sent here, "Rosie's in the team room wondering - "
Catalina gasped at her forgetfulness. "I was supposed to meet her there for a game of Minbar chess! Thanks for reminding me, Thelma. You're a pal."

Catalina smiled and gave Thelma a thumbs up. The android smiled back and imitated Catalina's action, although somewhat stiffly. Cat laughed and stifled a yawn as she walked over to the jumptubes. She pushed a crystal and sat in the tube.

"You punched in the wrong code," Thelma tried to warn her. "That won't take you to the -" Cat disappeared down the tube, " - team room."

*****

Outside the Christa, a small ship was sailing through space. It suddenly altered it's course to intercept the Lumanian ship and slid easily into the open airlock.

*****

Catalina came out of the tubes into the corridor outside the landing bay. She yawned again and looked around.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Suzee, isn't this the entrance to the landing bay?" She threw up her arms in frustration and crossed them in front of her. "This crazy jump tube system! I can't even find the - "

The sound of the landing bay doors opening made her stop in mid sentence. She stared straight at the door, her eyes wide with surprise. As it slid open, the silhouette of a man appeared, holding what appeared to be a slim sword. The man turned his head to look at her and pointed his sword.

"Danger!" he warned. "All around and there are none to save you."

The man was very old and dressed in armor. His sword point grazed passed Catalina's arm without touching it but close enough for her skin to prick. She inhaled sharply in fear as the man stopped directly in front of her.

*****

"You're positive someone came in through the landing bay," Commander Goddard asked.

"That's what the indicator said on the control console," Harlan told him as they walked down the corridor.

As they rounded the corner, they saw an old man kneeling in front of Catalina. She was looking down at him, smiling. Harlan put his hands on his hips and watched the scene.

"Danger at every turn," the old man said. "I shall protect you, my dear, now that we are reunited."

"What's going on here?" Goddard demanded. "Who are you?"

The old man rose to his feet, drawing his sword. Catalina raised her hands, trying to calm the man and the commander at the same time.

"Take care, varlets, or I will smite you!" the man said.

Catalina put down her hands, and sighed to herself.

"You'll smite me?!" the Commander repeated.

"He smite," Harlan joked. "Or he smite not."

The old man freed his sword from the scabbard and charged the two newcomers.

"Wait!" Catalina yelled as Harlan and Goddard dodged out of the way. "Commander!"

The old man passed between the two of them. Catalina came running up behind them.

"Band, stay back!" Goddard commanded. He pointed at the old man. "Put that down, that's a direct order. Band, stay back!"

As Harlan fought to disarm the old man, Catalina grabbed onto Commander Goddard's arms and held him back.

"Cat, let go! Can't anyone here follow an order?" Goddard asked.

"Commander, I had it under control!" Cat cried.

Harlan continued to wrestle with the old man when suddenly, the man stopped. He smiled and pointed to Harlan as recognition flooded into his eyes.

"Can it be you?" the old man asked. "My old squire! Basanio?"

Harlan seemed confused as Catalina came to the rescue.

"Yeah," Catalina said. "That's Basanio, just like I'm - "
"Mirabella, my beloved daughter," the old man finished, releasing Harlan, yet leaving one hand on his shoulder.

" - your daughter," Cat agreed.

She grimaced and turned to face the wall, expecting Goddard to start to yell.

"Cat," Goddard muttered, his eyes never leaving the old man, "what are you doing?"

"Ignore him, Mirabella, he thinks you're a cat!" the old man laughed.

Goddard was taken aback. "Oh, so speaks the man who thinks he's a knight!"

The old man straightened. "I am Dram, Knight of Cervantes and I have come to protect you from the deadliest dangers."

"No," Catalina said. "These guys aren't dangerous!"

"I speak of the monster that walks among you," Dram clarified. "You must search this place, find it, and destroy it!"

*****

Ms Davenport entered the command post carrying a compupad. She was surprised to find it deserted, except for one student who was keeping watch.

"Radu, where is everyone?" she asked.

"An unauthorized ship docked in the landing bay," Radu told her.

The view screen lit up and revealed a small pod sitting in the landing bay.

"To whom does it belong?" Ms Davenport asked.

"According to the Commander, a man who thinks he's a knight from Old Earth.

Ms Davenport stifled a laugh. "Thelma!" she called.

The android appeared beside her in a few seconds, startling the school teacher.

"Yes, Ms Davenport?" she said.

"Who let an unauthorized vessel into the landing bay?" Ms Davenport asked.

"The Christa did," Thelma answered.

"The Christa did," Ms Davenport repeated.

Thelma nodded.

"You're telling me the ship made that decision," Ms Davenport seemed amused by the entire conversation.

"Oh yes," Thelma answered. "Do not worry. The Christa is an excellent judge of character."

"And how do you know that?" Ms Davenport asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"It let you in," Thelma replied.

Ms Davenport closed her mouth. Radu nodded, seeing the android's logic.

*****

Bova ran through the corridors of the ship and into the team room, chased by Dram.

"Have at thee!" Dram shouted, cornering Bova behind the table.

Harlan and Catalina were right behind him, trying to calm him down.

"And now, Bug Creature, you who serve the mighty monster, prepare for my fearsome charge," Dram yelled.

Bova let loose a bolt of electricity and zapped the knight where he stood. Catalina's expression turned to one of outrage as she and Harlan rushed over to see if Dram was okay.

"Bova!" Catalina exclaimed. "How could you have hurt him?"

"I should have just let him stab me," Bova retorted. "What was I thinking?"

Dram leaned on Harlan and Catalina for support as he glared at the Uranusian from across the room.

"The Bug Creature is a friend of yours, Mirabella?" Dram asked.

Catalina nodded. Dram bowed to Bova.

"My apologies, Bug Creature," he said. "I took you to be working for the great monster whom I truly seek."

Bova stood, hands on hips, and nodded in acceptance of the apology.

"What great monster?" Harlan asked.

Dram sheathed his sword and turned to face his 'squire'.

"An ancient and evil monster that leeches away your energy and will to live like a soul sucking vampire. I must find it before it finds - "

Rosie and Goddard walked into the team room.

"Hi," Rosie greeted them. "What's all the excitement?"

"Zounds!" Dram shouted, drawing his sword. "A talking Radish Monster!"

Harlan and Catalina stopped him before he could fully draw his sword. Goddard walked towards them, pointing at Dram. Rosie stood by the door, confused at what was happening.

"That's it!" Goddard snapped. "Outside."

Harlan and Catalina led Dram outside, followed by Goddard.

"A Radish Monster?" Rosie asked.

"At least you're not a bug," Bova replied.

*****

"Unhand me, Basanio!" Dram demanded.

The four of them stood out in the corridor as Goddard prepared to settle this matter once and for all.

"Give me the sword, Don Quixote," Goddard said.

"This oaf is harassing me again!" Dram told Harlan. "Who are you to relieve a knight errant of his weapon?"

Goddard stood tall and stared at his uninvited guest.

"He's the Commander of the ship," Catalina said.

"The Lord of this majestic vessel?" Dram asked.

"Yeah, the Lord of this vessel, fine," Goddard agreed. "Now just hand - "

"The King of this realm?" Dram said. "My humblest apologies, sir. Of course I should have realized your regal bearing, that noble brow, what else could you be but a King?"

Goddard smiled to himself as Dram poured on the compliments. Catalina and Harlan giggled. Goddard snapped out of his reverie and turned his attention back to Dram.

"So here's a royal order," he said. "Give me the sword."

Dram took the scabbard off his shoulder and held it out for Goddard to take.

"Treat it well," he said.

Goddard bowed his head and Dram walked passed him and back into the team room. Harlan and Catalina approached Goddard and bowed to him. Giggling, they walked by him and into the teamroom.

*****

The picture of Dram's vessel remained on the view screen in the ComPost.

"It's definitely some sort of one man escape pod," Ms Davenport said. "But it's much too small a vessel to have a faster than light drive."

"It could be a cryo-pod," Thelma suggested.

Radu looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "You mean for suspended animation?"

Thelma nodded once.

Ms Davenport turned around to face the two other people on the bridge. "A cryonic suspension pod, jettisoned from a large ship in an emergency. Yes, it makes sense. I just wish we knew more about him."

"Thelma," Radu asked, "could the escape pod have some sort of ship's log or data crystal on it?"

"Yes," Thelma replied. "But such escape pods sometimes come equipped with booby traps to protect their passengers. Entering it could be extremely hazardous."

Ms Davenport began to pace as she thought of a way to free the data crystal from the escape pod. She stopped and leaned against the control console.

"I wonder who should go in after it," Thelma added.

Ms Davenport and Radu slowly turned their heads to look at Thelma.

"I wonder why I asked," Thelma finished.

*****

Dram walked around the engine, inspecting it from every vantage point. Harlan and Catalina followed him.

"I sense it," Dram said. "It's nearby, it's - " he paused and looked around. "No. No, I thought I did."

He turned to look at Harlan and Catalina.

"Forgive me, Mirabella," he continued. "At my age, it's easy to become confused sometimes."

*****

Radu paced back and forth in front of the landing bay entrance. Ms Davenport leaned against the wall as the two of them waited for Thelma to come out.

"Thelma, are you okay in there?" Radu called.

"She'll be fine," Ms Davenport assured him. "It's just a precaution. I'm sure she's not in any real danger."

From behind the closed doors, sounds of electrical shorts came followed by an explosion and a thud. Radu and Ms Davenport winced at the sounds. The door slid open and Thelma came out.

Smoke flowed out of the open doors silhouetting form of Thelma. She was blackened and standing unsteadily. She held out a large object.

"This data crystal was in the escape pod," she reported. "It might be of st-some use."

Ms Davenport took it hesitantly from the grinning android.

"Good work, Thelma," she said.

"Are you okay?" Radu asked

Thelma sputtered out some strange sounds and began to chatter. She turned and walked into the wall. Her head held her body back and so, she kept moving her feet although the rest of her did not move at all. She straightened, turned in a complete circle and walked back into the wall again. Radu and Ms Davenport winced.

*****

In the boy's bunkroom, Bova was mixing two solutions together. One turned pink and he put both beakers down in frustration. The door slid open and Harlan came in, followed by Dram.

"Bova," he said. "Are you still working on that same experiment?"

"Not anymore," Bova sighed. "This was my last try at it. You guys were right. It was impossible."

"What was your intention?" Dram asked.

"To create an artificial oxygen formula," Bova answered.

Dram reached across the table to pick up Bova's formula.

"The idea was that you could drink it and then breath in a vacuum. We tried to tell him that it was - "

"Impossible, yes," Dram finished. He wafted some of the solution to his nose, smelling the mixture. "Ridiculous even. What were you thinking of, Bug Creature?"

"I don't know," Bova sighed, completely discouraged.

"You put in three parts dichlorite?" Dram asked. Bova nodded. "Try two next time."

Harlan and Bova exchanged confused looks as Dram left the room. Harlan hurried after him and Bova yawned. Suddenly, he looked sharply to the left, thinking he had heard something. When he saw that nothing was there, he went back to his work.

Dram and Harlan entered the girl's bunkroom where Catalina and Rosie were waiting.

"Ah, Mirabella, my dear," Dram said.

"Good, we were waiting - " Catalina began.

Dram turned his head, listening to something. Catalina looked concerned as her 'father' searched the room with his eyes and ears.

"It's here," Dram whispered.

"Not the monster thing again," Harlan said.

"Again, I am mistaken," Dram said.

"Gee, there's a shock," Harlan replied.

Dram gave him a sidelong look of reproach.

"Harlan," Catalina said disapprovingly.

Harlan shrugged and left the room. Dram turned to look at Catalina, who smiled pleasantly at him.

Harlan walked down the corridor, yawning. He turned sharply to look behind him, half expecting Dram's monster to be behind him. When he saw that nothing was there, he relaxed his stance and kept walking.

"It's getting to me," Harlan muttered to himself as he headed to the jumptubes.

"You people beat me to it," Goddard said, holding up the data crystal. "Checking out his craft for clues was the next thing I was going to do. Good initiative."

Ms Davenport stood beside him, beaming with pride.

"It was Mr. Radu's suggestion," she said. "Two brownie points, Mr. Radu."

Thelma smiled, her face still blackened from the booby trapped escape pod. Radu nodded appreciatively.

"Uh, we couldn't have done it without Thelma," Radu said.

"Well done, Thelma," Goddard said. He yawned. "Oh, excuse me. Let's check out this data crystal, shall we?"

"Excellent idea, Pierre," Thelma said. "The gray muffins look scrumptious today."

She leaned forward and fell to the ground. Ms Davenport and Commander Goddard moved out of the way as she fell.

"After we fix Thelma," Goddard amended.

Dram walked around the girl's bunkroom.

"Tell me, Mirabella," he said, "what do you dream of?"

Catalina laughed. "Nothing, really."

"My child," Dram said. "I don't believe that for a moment. A child of mine with no dreams. That would be a worse ordeal than any monster I might hope to encounter."

He raised his eyes sharply as the door slid open.

"The monster!" he gasped, searching for the sword that wasn't there.

"Holy grozit! It's hideous!" Catalina exclaimed.

Commander Goddard looked behind him as he entered the bunkroom. "Very funny," he said.

Catalina laughed and Dram looked embarrassed.

"My humblest apologies, sir," he said. "I leapt before I looked."

"Ladies, a moment please," Goddard asked, motioning for Rosie and Catalina to step outside.

The girls followed him, leaving Dram inside the bunkroom.

In the hall, Catalina put her hands on her hips as she waited for Commander Goddard to speak.

"We have to talk about Dram," he said seriously.

"He seems nice enough, Commander," Rosie laughed.

"Yeah, maybe he could stay awhile," Cat added.

"Cat, that's not possible," Goddard said.

"Commander," Catalina said. "Just because he's a little weird, what's the harm?"

"Cat," Goddard said gently. "He's dying."

In the ComPost, Ms Davenport, Commander Goddard, Radu, and Catalina had gathered together to discuss their visitor.

"Is Dram really . . . ?" Catalina asked.

"He's very ill, Catalina," Ms Davenport told her.

"It's all in the data crystal in his cryo-pod," Goddard said. "There were medical records, file footage, . . "

"He comes from one of the outer rim colonies," Ms Davenport said. "He was very rich, very, very respected. The illness effected his mind first, gave him this delusion about being a knight. Screen on."

The view screen showed them a scene from the data crystal. It showed Dram dueling with an imaginary foe and his real daughter coming to his rescue and taking the sword away from him.

"His behaviour became more and more irrational until his daughter, Mira, decided she couldn't take care of him any longer. She had to send him to a medical facility, the closest one being at Tau Ceti to be cared for until he - "

"Passed on," Goddard finished. He yawned again. "Excuse me."

"We think his transport ship was attacked, possibly by the Spung," Radu continued. "Both the ships were destroyed, apparently. But - but Dram was put into suspended animation in an escape pod and ejected before that happened. He'd been floating in space for several years before the pod's automatic systems latched onto us."

"Could we put him back into the pod? Into suspended animation?" Catalina asked, her eyes filling with tears. "He'd be asleep, but alive."

"No," Ms Davenport said gently. "The seal's broken, Catalina."

"Well, then how about - how about if we - " Cat stammered.

"There's nothing we can do," Goddard said. "I'm sorry."

Bova sat in the boy's bunkroom, preparing to add the final ingredient to his mixture. He had followed Dram's advice and hoped that this would work.

"Oxygen experiment, day 32," Bova said, recording it into his log. "Okay. I took Dram's suggestion."

He poured the solution into the beaker and it turned pink again. He yawned and fell asleep, falling off his chair and to the floor. His mixture began to glow and shimmer.

In the team room, Harlan was doing handstands for Dram. The knight was obviously impressed as Harlan smiled at him.

"It's not a noble thing to admit, Basanio, but I envy you," Dram said. "I have an old body with a young soul. We seem so different, but the only thing that separates the young from the old is time's passage. But we're running out of time, good squire. We must go to the foe!"

Harlan sighed. "But we've searched the ship."

"We must look again," Dram insisted.

"Dram, Dram, look," Harlan said, rubbing his face with his hands. "There's no - " he yawned. "No monsters on the ship."

"You see?" Dram asked. "It fatigues you. It influences me, too, but I fight it. So must you, otherwise how can we protect Mirabella?"

Catalina came sliding out of the jump tubes in time to hear the last sentence Dram spoke.

"I can protect myself," Cat insisted, looking sadly at Dram. "Especially since there's nothing there."

"If you believe there to be nothing, how can you know to protect yourself?" Dram asked. "Demons think to take you away and when they threaten to take away those who are dear to me, they shall pay dearly in return."

"Wait here," Cat said suddenly, "okay?"

She walked out the door, followed by Harlan.

"Where do you think you're going?" Harlan asked as they walked down the hall.

"To do something," Cat replied. "Maybe we can stage a quest. Create a holographic monster that he can find - "

"Cat, what is it with you and this crazy old guy?" Harlan demanded.

"It's none of your business," Cat said sadly. "Look. He's decent and proud, and he deserves a lot better than to be called a crazy old guy. He deserves to be a knight, fighting for whatever knights fight for.