This will be a collection of contest entries for the Writing Prompt Contests I've decided to hold here once a month. I apologize we haven't had any contests here at the Saloon for awhile but now that I know there is an interest I have a simple idea...
The young Captain paused in front of the door, took a breath, gave a short rap and entered.
"General, sir. We have a situation with Colonel Duff."
The General clapped his forehead. "What now?"
"Sir, he's holding an interview with the new cadets."
"An interview, Captain?"
"Yes, sir. He's uh-- he's recruiting them for a mission to NewEden, Sir."
"What! NewEden? We finished with that folly twenty-seven years ago!" The General stood from his desk, tugged his jacket straight, touched his tie knot, jammed his cap under his arm and ushered the Captain out of the office ahead of him.
"Where is he doing this interview?"
"In the project simulation studio, Sir."
"Dear God, don't tell me he's using that mock-up space station? Why didn't you assert yourself and just put a stop to it?"
"Sir, he's locked the doors to the studio . . ."
The pair paused in front of the entrance while the General put on his cap, squared his shoulders and issued an ear-splitting command to the Colonel that he open the doors immediately.
"I'm sorry, General," the reply came back, "we are in countdown mode."
"Countdown! Is the man insane? Get me a visual inside that room, Captain."
"I already have it on my Visiscreen, Sir, but I don't think you--"
"Give me the damn thing."
The General snatch the screen from his Captain and stared, confused then startled then panicky. His transformation caused the Captain to retreat a few paces.
"He's-- he's connected the warp bubble propulsion to that model!" The General chewed his knuckle and staggered back, holding the screen toward his captain.
"That's horse and buggy technology, Colonel Duff is trying to sell as revolutionary. That's like putting lipstick on a pig, Sir. It'll never work." The Captain steadied his commander and led him to a bench to sit. "Still, we should get security down here in case of fire or accident."
**********
"I am pleased to report General Gower is in stable condition. The explosion resulting from the lift off of the space station was limited in distribution by the reinforced structure of the project studio."
The room filled with military and scientific personnel reverberated with the mumble of voices in response.
"Captain Bigalow, would you refresh the council's memory about the facts surrounding NewEden, please."
"Officers, Gentlemen. NewEden, or Earth as it was originally called became extremely unstable due to climate change, pollution and war among the seven odd billion inhabitants. Science made huge strides in arresting those first two problems, hence the renaming to NewEden. But by the early twenty-first century, war had risen to apocalyptic levels and
the planet was evacuated. That was around 2300."
Several surreptitious coughs could be heard among the sounds of shuffling feet.
"Colonel Duff always believed we left too soon and returning became his obsession. Uhm . . . as unlikely as it seems, he uh, managed to initiate a successful launch using an old warp bubble system of propulsion in a studio mock-up of a space ship and our Watchtower satellite chain has found absolutely no sign of him since."
"I expect the old warhorse was vaporized in the explosion." The lead council suggested. "At any rate, we won't be having to worry about the Folly Colony anymore." He grinned widely at his joke and dismissed the meeting.
**********
"Hey, Mason, am I going nuts? Take a look at this.
"It's a signal. It's a signal in English! Look! It's sourced NewEden from a Colonel Duff!"
"What's the message?"
"It reads, Touchdown 2398. All survived. Established base camp Florida.
No contact with any inhabitants. Tropical paradise. Regards to General Gower.
"Who?"
"No idea but look at the year! That's 165 years ago!"
Just log it and forget it, I've got plans for the weekend. I don't want to be tied up with some ancient blather from someplace nobody ever heard of."
