Road Trip

In today's story, Road Trip, Captain Mae Pauly agrees to a new journey

Today's prompt was inspired by the warm weather and an urge to hit the open road. If you have a suggestion for a writing prompt, please let us know! 

More about Susan Quilty

Susan Quilty mainly writes novels, including two standalone novels and her YA series: The Psychic Traveler Society.  Susan's short stories for Freely Written are created during quick writing breaks and shared as a way to let go of perfection and encourage writing for fun.

Website:  SusanQuilty.com
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Transcript

Below is the transcript for Season 1, Episode 163 of Freely Written, a podcast by author Susan Quilty:

Welcome to Freely Written, where a simple prompt leads to a little unplanned fiction. 

[Light piano music]

Hi, friends! I’m Susan Quilty, and today’s prompt is Road Trip

When it comes to travel, I am not a fan of flying. Beyond the usual issues of cramped seats and possible turbulence, the pressure changes tend to trigger migraines, making me miserable for the flight and the first day of my adventure. Instead, I love a good road trip. 

On a road trip, you can bring your own snacks and entertainment. Music, podcasts, audiobooks. If you have company, you can enjoy long conversations or quietly watch the scenery roll by. If there’s someone else to share the driving, you can even doze off for a while, waking up miles from where you fell asleep.

Luckily, I live in an area with so many great destinations within a 3 or 4-hour drive, even more if you push that to 6 or 7 hours. Cities, mountains, beaches.

Now that the weather is warming up, it seems like a good time to make Road Trip a writing prompt. As always, I’m following my Freely Written process, where I sit down with a prompt and write whatever might come to mind, with no planning and very little editing. Then, I record the story and share it with you. 

Here’s our story today:

Road Trip

The captain sat alone on the bridge. The rest of the crew were asleep in their bunks while the ship’s navigational computer continued their flight. Captain Mae Pauly had a bad feeling about this voyage. She hadn’t told anyone about her concerns—and wouldn’t have been able to name them if she tried—but something was keeping her awake, looking out at the inky black. 

They’d been hired for this job by a regular customer. It wasn’t quite a milk run, since it was outside of their usual route, but the client, Gellison Reede had called it a road trip. A jaunt. A simple job to take her and some friends to the Festival of Color on Iridian Four. 

Pleasure trips were unusual in Captain Mae’s world. She was an independent shipping contractor. Her ship generally hauled goods, not people. It was easier that way, despite how Gellison had talked up this so-called road trip. 

Mae had warned Gellison that her ship’s bunks were Spartan and the galley was a simple kitchen. There were no fancy lounge areas, clubs, or restaurants. Gellison waved those concerns away, claiming the ship was perfect for their needs. 

“We’re glamping!” she had declared gleefully. It was an old-world term that she had to explain to Mae. “It’s where you travel with rough conditions but spruce them up in your own way. It’s all the rage with our set. I’ll take care of everything!”

While Mae hadn’t liked the sound of that, the price was too good to pass up. She stood back as Gellison’s team bolted plush couches and wide beds into the cargo hold. Swaths of fabric and strings of lights were hung from every available rafter or catwalk. Gellison’s people brought in bar carts to carry food and drinks, and servers to see to her guests’ needs. 

The servers slept in the ship’s guest quarters, while Gellison and her friends camped—or glamped—in the opulent beds that now ringed the cargo hold. They had stayed up late every night, dancing to music piped through the ship’s sound system. Music Gellison had brought for their journey. 

Mae and her crew stayed back, mostly keeping to the kitchen or their own bunks. Yet they couldn’t help but see the festivities when they crossed the catwalks above the cargo hold. Their passengers had brought a joyful, relaxed energy to the voyage. The crew smiled more and worked less. It felt like they were all on vacation, and that worried Mae. 

Now, as she sat up alone on the bridge, Mae reviewed their course to Iridian Four. It was a small planet near the core. One that was known for its tourism, though Mae had never been there herself. The images she’d seen were of cerulean seas and glittering beaches. The iridescent sand had inspired the planet’s name, as its small continents offered plentiful coastlines. 

Deeper inland, Mae had heard there were lush forests and a few open plains. Yet it was the impressive beaches that drew the most visitors. 

“You’re still up?” 

Mae turned to see Gellison hesitating near the door to the bridge and waved her toward an open chair. 

“Is everything all right?”

“Oh, yes,” Mae answered, swiping the screen to close the highlighted route. “We’ll be there in about thirty-two hours. Right on schedule.”

Now that the journey was nearing its end, Mae had been surprised to see that Gellison’s guests were still in good spirits. She had expected them to become bored and impatient long before now. Given that there were much faster passenger ships that could have cut their travel time in half. 

“I hope we haven’t put you out,” Gellison offered with a question in her tone. 

“No, you’ve been no trouble. One of our easier jobs, a, uh, road trip, like you said.”

Still, Mae seemed disconcerted as she continued to gaze at the quiet control panel before her. Something was bothering her, despite the uneventful progress they had made.

“I thought you might join us,” Gellison ventured softly. “You and the crew. You’re welcome to share in our food and drinks, dance with us…”

Mae shifted in her seat. When the crew showed interest in their passengers, Mae had been quick to shut it down. She’d admonished them to keep a professional distance. Friendly, but professional. 

“Oh, come on, Mae,” Gellison urged with a teasing smile. “Surely you don’t think it would be… improper to mingle with your passengers?”

“Well, I…” Mae considered the question before saying, “I’m not used to having passengers. Not like this.”

“But we’ve known each other for so long!” Gellison exclaimed. “I wanted my friends to have a fun road trip, and by now, I consider you a friend. You and your crew.”

Shifting her gaze toward Gellison, Mae saw a free spirit. A woman dressed in a flowing tunic with ribbons woven through her long, dark curls. Bracelets laddered one wrist, and three necklaces ringed her slim throat. Long ribbons wound up her calves, holding her thin sandals in place. 

In contrast, Mae wore a khaki jumpsuit, her red hair skimmed back in a secure bun. She wore no jewelry, seeing it as a needless distraction. Her boots were solid leather, laced well above her ankles. Her many pockets were filled with tools and gadgets to handle any situation.

“We are friends,” Mae agreed uncertainly. “I guess… But you’re also a client, here with your guests. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“Intrude, please,” Gellison insisted, leaning forward to rest a hand on Mae’s forearm. They both looked at her hand, feeling Mae’s arm tense before Gellison gently eased away.

“I’ll tell you what,” Gellison said, deciding on a plan. “We’ll host a party tomorrow. Dinner time. Or whenever you all have a break in your work. You can tell the crew you’ve all been formally invited. Is that better?”

“Well, I guess…” Mae hesitated and Gellison laughed gaily. 

“Mae, you are the captain of your own spaceship. You work for yourself. Take your own jobs. Fly anywhere, any time. Can’t you let down your hair and enjoy the journey?”

With a sheepish smile, Mae slowly lifted one hand to the back of her head. 

“Let down my hair?” She pulled out a two-pronged pin, shaking her hair free to tumble around her shoulders. “I know how to let down my hair.”

They laughed together, and there was a glint in Gellison’s eye as she said, “Now this is shaping up to be a road trip!”

Mae smiled indulgently before gathering her hair into a smooth column down her back. 

“Tomorrow,” she agreed, looking forward to the next thirty-two hours and starting to consider an extended break for Iridian’s Festival of Color. 

The End 

Thanks for listening. When I have an obvious prompt like road trip, I often try to start it in a less obvious way. Hence, starting the story on a spaceship and letting it unfold from there. This was pretty fun to write, and, in hindsight, I think my brain was tapping into the recent news about a possible Firefly animated series. I’m a huge Firefly fan and really hope the new show will find a home and bring us more adventures. 

If you’re enjoying Freely Written, please share it with your friends. It would also mean a lot to me if you’d check out my novels and other books. Learn more by visiting my website, SusanQuilty.com, or by searching for “Susan Quilty” wherever you buy books. There are also links in the show notes. 

Until next time, try a little free writing of your own. Let go of any planning and see where your imagination takes you. 

[Light piano music]