Under the Rim (Verses 121 to 140)
Under the Rim. An epic galactic romp.
Intro and verses 1-20
Verses 21-40
Verses 41-60
Verses 61-80
Verses 81-100
Verses 101-120
Verses 121-130
But why, you might ask, was this happening to
A space-cruiser of normal construction
Surely they're tough and'll certainly handle
A simple and common obstruction?
Ah yes, you are right, the standard-type model
Could take such a thing in its stride
But th'Undaunted weren't standard – her designer had pandered
To the original owner's pride
This guy was a daredevil – lucky were he
To escape with his life very often
He once spun her round then flew low on the ground
And hit a bridge. But he died laughin'
From that day to this there was still a small fault
Which no-one had tried to correct
'Twas only a minor slip of the designer
Who'd guess that they'd nearly be wrecked?
The Undaunted was valiantly battling back
At least some of the crew had some spunk
The rest were agog at a sign in the log
That the Cap'n and Callest' done a bunk
How would they escape from this terrible vortex?
They really knew nothing about
Evasive manoevres in outer-space Hoovers
It looked like the end with no doubt
Let us turn now to the nasty Grey Fleet
Which was in a green dwarf's vicinity
How, you might ask, and it's no easy task
Does a dwarf star develop greenity?
IT'S THE SLIME as you guessed, that terrible gunge
Had consumed the whole life of the system
And now the green muck with indomitable pluck
Was after the fleet before it missed 'em
The Overlord noticed the scavenging filth
As it reached out a tent'cle toward 'em
Observing his plight he took cowardly flight
Before the green lava could board 'em
In a flash they were gone, that accursed star
Was left far behind in their wake
But what of the slime? Whereabouts in this rhyme
Will its progress again we up take?
Verses 131-140
Was it all left behind to forever remain
Surrounding that little green oasis?
Or will it escape to once again rape
All and sundry it comes on and faces?
That little green speck on the back of one member
Of th'Overlord's ravaging pack
Was it copper oxide? Had the slime hitched a ride
To prepare for its evil attack?
Let us return to th'Undaunted which was
In that whirlpool with death coming near
The crew were hard trying to get out of dying
Though manfully not showing their fear
Then one of them noticed a calm spot nearby
A sort of celestial hiatus
“Head for it,” said he, with not undue glee
“Let not this giant spinner frustrate us!”
They reached the calm spot and were very surprised
For it moved as in it they did fall
But their problem was solved for it counter-revolved
And soon they weren't spinning at all
Once this was accomplished their troubles were over
The hyperspin drive was rebuilt
And they got away quick as some clever dick
Pushed the lever right up to the hilt
They emerged once again into everyday space
You know, the usual, none of your Einstein
No weird dimensions or warps will we mention
No space-hops not even some time-flyin'
The crew was now wondering where was their Cap'n
They were hoping he'd just reappear
They knew he'd gone out for a brief gad about
But not coming back was most queer
So they used a detector the Cap'n had on him
A kinda portable red beacon
It showed as a blip in the bowels of the ship
On a screen with a lil red streak on
He were moving, the Cap'n, at a very good lick
On a totally opposite vector
What they didn't know was the source of the glow
Was Callest', but they didn't expect her
Image: Pixabay
