BoTH Chpt 4

==Blood on the Horizon - Chapter 4 -==
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===Bring Out the Dead===
"Is there a proper way to do a space burial for Muslims?" I asked myself as I floated through one of the main cargo areas. "I know there's one for burials at sea."
 
Busy, that was what I wanted to be. Busy, because if I was busy I didn't have time to dwell on anything. If I were doing something then I wasn't thinking about what was missing.
 
So I started working on the one thing I knew I needed to do first. If I wanted to be able to get anything done, I was going to need to move the dead away from where I was going to be living and working until I knew what I was doing.
 
Sighing heavily, a weight settling onto my shoulders, I eased open the empty storage container and slowly maneuvered the body bags in, the weightlessness giving everything an eerie sensation to them as I stacked them on top of each other.
 
"Another group down," I said as I looked at the sheet of paper detailing the crew members. "A lot more to go," I sighed.
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===Final Farewell===
"Well, Captain," I said as I looked over the last body. "I'm sorry that we weren't able to meet while you were alive. It seems like you were a good man, and I'd have loved to know someone like you. I'll do my best to honor your last wish. And I hope that you've found peace."
 
I zipped up the body bag and attached the tether to my belt, using the handholds to move out of the cabin and down the passageway.
 
As I moved through the ship, music filled my mind, drowning out the noise of my mind and filling me with a sense of deep sadness.
 
Somber strings and horns resonated as my mind recreated the music, the notes driving me forward to finish this.
 
"Captain Cromwell," I opened the door. "You will never be forgotten, you and your crew will be remembered."
 
For a minute, it felt like I could almost see the crew. My spirit filled in their faces as they saluted me and said their farewells. The spirits of the dead were at peace now that they wouldn't be forgotten.
 
"Godspeed, Captain," I returned the salute. "I'll see you again in paradise."
 
I closed the door and paused for a minute, a small prayer leaving my lips as I closed my eyes.
 
"Amen," I pushed off from the container and shifted to move to the grav deck. I needed to return to gravity for a bit before I continued work on the rest of the ship.
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===Keeping up ones Strength===
"I think these are still good," I muttered as I grabbed the MRE and hot sauce that I had managed to snag from the mess hall. "Not like I have any other options."
 
I followed the instructions and waited as the meal started to heat up, the consistency making my stomach roil at first as I pulled the meal out of the packaging.
 
"Nope," I cringed and grabbed the hot sauce, opening the bottle and drowning the food in it. "If it's hot enough, you don't have to worry about the taste."
 
Digging in, I chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "You know, it's not that bad when it's covered in spices."
 
Continuing to eat, I enjoyed the feeling of a full belly for a minute before turning to the next part of my meal.
 
"Blessings abound," I grinned as I opened up the bag of coffee beans that I had taken from Captain Cromwell's cabin and began scooping them into the grinder next to me.
 
The heavenly scent of freshly ground coffee wafted up to my nose and a grin sprang to my face unprompted.
 
"It's the little things," I said as I worked the odd coffee machine, some of the tension leaving my shoulders.
 
Taking the silvery mug I had found, I filled it up with freshly brewed liquid gold as I sat down with a stack of books from the engineers.
 
"I guess I finally get to finish college," I shrugged to myself. "Better late than never."
 
Opening the first book, I began reading before closing the book. I knew nothing of the subject he was writing about.
 
Opening the rest of the books, I skimmed through them, hoping that there would be something I could understand.
 
"Fuck me," I laid my head down on the table for a minute. "I don't even know where to start."
 
The cold surface of the metal table helped me process, there was a lot to learn, but I had all the time in the universe to learn what I needed to operate the Manassas. Supplies that were meant to last a crew of hundreds stretched a long way when you were alone.
 
"Okay, let's start with the basics," I picked my head up off of the table. "I need to find the foundations for what I have here." I stacked the books up on a corner of the table. "But I can't afford to slack off on my physical needs either." I looked over at the gym area of the grav deck. "So I need a schedule," I started writing notes on a notepad I had in my backpack. "Lastly, any spare moment when I'm not doing something else I need to be in the simulators."
 
Making a small block of times, I looked at the communicator that I had taken from Cromwell's wrist, taking note of the time listed and writing it down.
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===Taking Stock on What Supplies Remains===
I wish that I could claim to be some sort of superhuman machine that was capable of understanding all of the complex math and science that I needed to learn. But I struggled. I was never bad at math, but it wasn't something that I had wanted to focus on.
 
So, the days of hard studying, working out, and hitting the simulators had now turned into weeks. And yet, I still only understood a fraction of what I needed to.
 
So I took a break, and leaving my notes behind, I moved to the cargo bay, it was time to see what kind of loot had been left behind on the Manassas.
 
"And so, like Robinson Crusoe, he went to take inventory of what was available to fend off the wilds that lay before him."
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Chapter 4