'Twas the Starflight Before Xmas...

 

'Twas the starflight before Xmas and all through the ship,

All systems ran silent, there was barely a blip;
Barkley was nestled in the hypersleep bays;
While a bio-bed monitor counted the days;
And I in my sleepsuit on the bridge all alone,
Set the coordinates for our long warp jump home.

Suddenly on the outer hull there arose such a clatter,
I was sure we'd been struck by debris or space matter.
Away to the main screen fighting off shock,
I pressed buttons and touchscreens for a clear sensor lock.

.
And what to my intricate scans should appear,
But a sleigh-like spacecraft with tractor beam gear!
The next thing I knew the computer alerted,
That several security seals were inverted,

An airlock was accessed and that wasn't great,

So I picked up a blaster before it was too late. 

I crept down a corridor, the lighting was dim,

Chances of a peaceful encounter seemed slim.
When I entered the large crew lounge I was taken aback.

As we clearly weren't under attack.
In the room was a lifeform who seemed rather Human,

His smile was infectious, his laughter was booming!

His helmet transparent, his spacesuit all red,
White hair and beard surrounded his head.
He adjusted some gadget he wore on his arm,

As he considered and smiled I felt no alarm. 

It was than that he saw me and gave me a wink,
I honestly didn't know what I should think.

He pressed something down on the gauntlet he wore, 
And I wondered just what the man had in store.
Suddenly stars rained down from the ceiling,
With a brightness so powerful it near sent me reeling!

I covered my eyes to ward off the glow,

White sparks and gold lightning danced to and fro.

When I looked up again, the lounge was quite changed,

Presents and sweets and a tree were arranged,

The strange entity was nowhere to be seen,

What had just happened and what did it mean?

The entire chamber was holiday decorated,

And I found a note on a pad on a table that stated;

'To you and to Barkley, my best to you both,

Returning next year to fulfill your oath,

To engage, entertain, and write as you feel,

Seeing humor in life and yet keeping it real.

Peace and prosperity through this epic starflight

Merry Xmas to all and to all a good night!'

From Barkley and myself and all those who help keep The Barking Alien blog going, a very Happy Holidays and we'll see you soon!

Peace and love,

AD

Barking Alien