Thirsty Work


The recovery crew finally managed to remove the large slab of rock which had been blocking their access; it had taken many hours over many weeks, sometimes chipping away at the dense surface just to make a small hole that gave their power drills something to work into instead of merely slipping across the surface. Rather than heading straight into the newly created cavern, Astor, the team leader, suggested they return to their ship to take a break, get a drink; they were only half-way through the operation.

When back on board, Kolni pondered the drinks menu on the vender on the mess deck, unaware that Astor stood behind her.

โ€œYou always go for the Zingy Lime Shocker, Kolni, why change the habit of a…โ€ย  Astor laughed when the machine poured the green fluid straight into its drip tray, failing to provide a cup, before finishing โ€œ…lifetime?โ€

โ€œThis damned machine has been doing this for weeks,โ€ Kolni complained as she slapped the side of the machine firmly with the palm of her hand, before shaking her wrist with a painful โ€œow.โ€

โ€œTake it easy, that machine will hurt you more than you it,โ€ Astor said as he pressed the maintenance button on the side, before walking Kolni away from the vender; โ€œUse the other machine over there and let the automated maintenance program fix this one without knocking it to pieces… thereโ€™s no point getting stressed about anything now weโ€™ve found the Nova Luna.โ€

Posted for Six Sentence Stories, where the prompt word this week is โ€˜Fluidโ€™.

We last visited Nova Luna here.

24 responses to “Thirsty Work”

  1. larry trasciatti avatar

    Even on an outer space mission they can still enjoy such a nice droll earthbound drink

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom avatar

      It’s a must, Larry!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Chris Hall avatar

    Sudden flashback to ‘Red Dwarf’!! Hooray for sci-fi series ๐Ÿ™‚

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom avatar

      Do you know, Chris, when I wrote this, Astor’s name seemed very familiar to me, but I didn’t know why… I think you’ve nailed it with Red Dwarf; Lister! ๐Ÿ˜€
      Not that the Nova line has anything to do with RD… ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Chris Hall avatar

        It was the drinks machine that did it for me, Tom. I can imagine the two ships colliding (gently, hopefully).

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Tom avatar

          Ah, I see.
          I don’t think the ships will collide in this version of their reality, but you never know… things have a tendency to shift quite rapidly, don’t they? ๐Ÿ™‚

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Chris Hall avatar

            Maybe in an parallel universe… ๐Ÿ˜‰

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Tom avatar

              Well, everything’s possible there!

              Liked by 1 person

  3. Sue Dreamwalker avatar

    I have known many a machine get a good kick… It was lucky it only had a slap!… ๐Ÿ™‚ Good to know they dish out smoothies.. with zingy lime.:-)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom avatar

      When the machine’s working properly they do, Sue! Occasionally they can get sludge! ๐Ÿคฃ I’ve had vending machine sludge before, and it isn’t the best! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sue Dreamwalker avatar

        Me too Tom… Years working in a factory environment with only vendors in the canteen.. Sucks..

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Tom avatar

          Yikes! (Sorry, Sue… that’s not to you, I’m just having major commenting/replying issues at present Closed down and trying again!๐Ÿคช)
          Now, where were we? Ah yes. Same with me (although not exactly the factory environment)… soup flavoured coffee, anyone? ๐Ÿคฃ

          Like

          1. Sue Dreamwalker avatar

            Yes know that taste lol

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Tom avatar

              ๐Ÿคฃ

              Like

  4. europasicewolf avatar

    Ah ha…the behaviour of the drinks machine is quite usual…happens all time at my workplace drinks machines…what I didn’t realise was that they are also inside a ship now…in outer space I presume!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom avatar

      Oh yes… they crop up all over the place now… some of them actually work! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Liked by 1 person

      1. europasicewolf avatar

        That makes them gold dust doesn’t it?!๐Ÿ˜ƒ

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Tom avatar

          And the gold dust will also account for the gritty bits often found in some of the drinks…

          Like

  5. Frank Hubeny avatar

    Nice name for the drink: “Zingy Lime Shocker” Something about green fluids as beverages makes he want to push the black coffee button. Looking forward to more about Nova Luna.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Tom avatar

      I have a feeling we’ll probably be hearing more soon, Frank… ๐Ÿ™‚

      Liked by 1 person

  6. clark avatar

    …have to mention this drink to a certain Bartender.
    !*

    *ayyieee… you’re correct. I retract this Comment. Reality is not meant to be totally superfluous or…porous or whatever the word for chaos contagion is….currently

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Tom avatar

      Reality is just what it is right now! And sometimes that now seems to be ever changing!

      Liked by 1 person

  7. GirlieOnTheEdge avatar

    Coming off a job power drilling, chipping away at a hard surface (space sledge hammer, anyone?!) and break time is to get a Zingy Lime Shocker? No getting around the fact it’s…. green….fluid…
    I’m with Frank, Tom, just give me a coffee, lol

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom avatar

      Ah, but, Denise… once tried, there’s no going back! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Like

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