Starquake Book 2, or Vignette
File date: March 24, 2021 11:37 PM
This is a short character sketch, not yet in the main story, and may be used after the battle is over (but before the Second Thanksgiving big feast) just as a vignette somewhere or maybe in the beginning of Book Two as a way to introduce these characters. Here we find Rocky, a 9-foot tall genetically modified Bear and, Juno, a freed pirate wolverine just hanging out in the lounge talking … about food!
Triceratops for Lunch
Juno was playing with a personal device, playing a game with a yellow bird that he was trying to make fly through a small window—it was very difficult—when Rocky said, “Hey, you know what I was thinking?”
“Hm?”
“In nature? You know? Nature?”
Silence.
“Well in nature, we’re like …” he paused for Juno to say, ‘Like what?’ but he didn’t say anything, so Rocky just continued, “Well, we’re like competitors.”
“I thought you were going to say brothers.” So he WAS listening!
“No … not at all … not in nature. But it’s just that we’re from the same background, kinda.”
“I’m from a tourism. And pirates. My dad was from a forest the pirates found in a tourism.”
“A tourist ship, you mean … ‘tourism’ isn’t a thing. I mean it is, but it’s not a thing. And no you weren’t from the cruise ship biosphere habitat, not originally. You were from Earth, from a forest in Canada I think.”
“Not me. I came from the tourism pirates.”
“No, but I mean your kind. Wolverines. Animals come from nature. Not pirates or spaceships, or anything. And a ‘tourism’ isn’t—it’s not called a tourism …”
“If you say so,” and Juno shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah, anyway, so I was thinking that we’re originally from the same part of the same place on Earth—I mean part of us was. I don’t know where the human stuff came from, but most of my, or part of my bear part came from Canada too.”
“If that means something to you … Ok. I guess.”
Rocky tried to be more exact. “You’re a wolverine. They only come from Canada—I think. Maybe?—oh, but also I am part Asian bear. That’s why I have this chest hair.” He showed his chest hair moon.
Juno didn’t look up, but said, “‘K.” Not 100 percent disinterested, but pretty close. “Are you going to eat that?” When Juno did look over he did a double-take and saw Rocky’s half-finished tenderloin roast sitting in a state of utter neglect on the table in front of him!!
“And well, forget that part, and the human part, but the other part is like we’re both from the same place. This?” pointing to the roast, “Yes …. But it means that we’re kind of …”
“Don’t say …”
“Yeah, like we’re kinda like—”
And they both said at the same time, “—Brothers,” only one was excited saying it and the other would have sounded annoyed if he cared enough to … well, care.
Rocky paused and then slapped Juno on the chest with the back of his enormous paw, to include him in his new discovery, and said again, “We’re like brothers, dude!”
“Are you going to finish that?”
“Um, yes.”
“I’m hungry. Where do they keep all your food? You eat like ten times more than anyone else does. Why are you so big? Are you going to finish that?”
“Seriously? I never thought about it. And yes, I’m going to finish that. I’m just … bigger. That’s all. So where we both come from, we’re like competitors, but now since we don’t need to fight over eating the same deer or salmon or caribou or whatever it was we can be friends. Like we don’t have to—HEY PUT THAT BACK! I said I was going to eat it!”
“Hey, isn’t that Fenix over there?”
“Where?”—but when Rocky looked around he realized it was just a trick to distract him so Juno could finish his meal—and he did!—“HEY! Stop!! I’m not done eating that yet!”
“This is really good. What is it? Is this from Maybeth? Why is Maybeth always giving you extra food? This is REALLY good!”
“She’s not, I was just—wow, you were hungry. You ate the whole thing!”
“Only the half you didn’t eat—Will she feed me if I go see her too? Where is she now?”
“I dunno. Maybe in the … thing …” Rocky said sounding unsure, but he knew exactly where to find her … he just didn’t want JUNO to find out! Or she’d probably end up giving half of the food she was now sharing with Rocky to Juno! It was unfair! Rocky tried to distract Juno this time. “You know, the new Mustang upgrades are REALLY sweet.”
“She’s not staying in their Vardo anymore; I think she’s in the old Governor’s Mansion with Papa Morgan …”
“I don’t … know … what … but hey, we can take one of the 777-landships and go explore for gold or platinum or even rubies. They found rubies in a huge vein way on the opposite side of the—Hey, where are you going?” Juno had gotten up but paused, and said, thinking out loud:
“Maybeth is probably in the Mansion. I’ll go see if I can find her. CJ?” He asked the mainframe for help.
“Yes, kind sir? How may I help you today?” CJ said sounding like a store clerk.
“Hey, YOU CAN’T ASK CJ to find Maybeth for—”
“Where is Maybeth? I’m hungry.”
“She’s in the Governor’s Mansion as you guessed. She’s making a special menu for—”
“CJ! STOP! You can’t just tell him where she is! What if she wants her privacy and—”
“Thanks CJ,” and Juno slid through the side doorway just as it was closing and took the short-cut straight through the HQ, a squeeze that Rocky at 9 feet, or 2.7 meters tall couldn’t fit through—
“Hey wait! Wait for me!!” But Rocky was so big he had to go way around by the fish pool administration area. Juno was already at the steps of the Mansion when Rocky caught up to him. And by then he was not a happy bear. “Just wait a second! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Eating. Maybeth. Food!”
“But her experimental dishes are for ME! I’m ten times bigger than you!”
“Then you should have no trouble sharing a little with me. I’m small!”
“Sharing! It’s not sharing taking someone’s food away!”
“You weren’t eating it.”
“I was going to!”
“When?”
“Later.”
And just then but who should come walking down the corridor!? “MAYBETH!!!”
“Hi guys! Hi Juno!”
“ARGGH!!”
“How are you?”
“I’m hungry and I heard you are an amazing chef!”
“Oh, pfff! I’m just a glorified short-order cook really. Do you want to try one of my new dishes—”
“AHHHHGGGGHH!”
“Rocky here has tried a lot and says they’re OK.” She said ‘OK’ sounding a little insulted like he didn’t like her cooking.
“Ok?! I said they’re GREAT!”
“You didn’t like the ratatouille.”
“Oh that! It was … well … not what I expected. There wasn’t any meat in it at all! I thought it was going to be like the Stroganoff.”
“Not all food is MEAT!”
“Really?” said Juno, thoughtfully. “Oh, right. But are you making meat in your special dish now?”
“Sure am. It’s a herb infused glaze on dinosaur.”
“Dinosaur sounds BIG!”
“You never gave ME dinosaur!”
“It’s triceratops. It’s …” she began laughing and said, “it tastes a lot like chicken, only more sweet, and oily. More flavorful.”
“Oh, I like oily—AND flavorful!”
“Well, come over at 2. Do you know where I cook?”
“It’s my first time in the Mansion actually,” he said this looking around, and whistled, <Wheeeew>.
“There’s a well-appointed kitchen on the 2nd sub-level. Just tell them …” then she grunted, sounding frustrated and just looked to the wall panel and said, “CJ?”
“Yeees, madam?”
“Make sure they let Juno in, ok?”
“Okie dokie!”
“The Police and Safety guys take their job quite too seriously!”
“Oh, OK. I’ll be careful!”
“But what about me?” Rocky pouted, “Can’t I also try some … triceratops?”
“Well, I only have two kilos. It’s not enough really. It’s just a sample from Berkins Meats. If I like it they are asking for an exclusive—”
“But two kilos is enough!”
“Not for a BEAR! I have to give samples to seven taste-testers, and only have enough … well to feed Juno one serving.”
“I’m so grateful. I’ve been looking forward to trying triceratops for a long time—”
“You never even heard of triceratops before two minutes ago.”
“And I’ve been waiting ever since!”
“Well, I hope you like it. It’s a rather sweet meat, juicy, and oily, so the flavor is very strong.”
“But can’t I have just a taste?”
“Maybe next time, Rock. I have to go. See you at 2, Juno!”
“Not unless I see you first!” Juno said sounding playful.
“Haha, so cute!” And she walked away with a bounce in her step.
“So cute? You TOOK my meal.”
“It’s not a big deal. You have extra. Plus I’m small. You won’t miss ONE human-sized serving of whatever she’s making.”
“Triceratops. It’s been extinct for over 65 million years.”
“Well, today it’s what’s for lunch!”
“Not for ME it isn’t.”
“You’ll get over it … and so what were we talking about a few minutes ago? In the lounge? I forget what you were saying. About the … thing ….”
“That we’re practically like brothers,” but this time Rocky said it with gravel in his voice.
“Yeah, and not like competitors. Good thing, too! Better to get along than have to fight over things, right? What were they fighting over? Caves? Girls?”
“FOOD!”
“Really? Why?”
“Hmmmppfff!!”
Baby Jumpee Doll
Princess Tower had a crying Baby Jumpee doll, the kind that comes with a baby bottle, or a binky or a dummy or pacifier or whatever you call that rubber sucky thing but they lost it a year ago on Quantux Planar, where they always have that massive consumer goods expo, and they were there helping an exhibitor. Well, the problem with the Baby Jumpee Doll is only that it was the one with a nuclear diamond battery-powered IC chip, the kind that runs down … but only after 30,000 years! And it cries for Momma! Momma! Momma! until you put that baby thing in its mouth, which they lost, otherwise it WON’T STOP CRYING …. for 30,000 years! Who made this abominable toy, anyway!?
The old fashioned kind of acid batteries that would die after a few hours were the ideal technological developmental state–the ideal state of this consumer product. The crying baby doll development cycle peaked like 100 years ago! Now it was simply a torment from Beyond!