One in Twelve Thousandth Percent

Chapter 5:

March 28, 2516

06:00. That damn alarm goes off again. I shut it off and open my eyes.

I need to get up or I'll be late for work. I get up, stretch, brush my hair and head over to get dressed. I walk out of my room and head to the kitchen while fluffing my hair. I sit down. "Hey mom, can I get a coffee? I must still be tired from yesterday."

"Sure, honey." A minute later, my coffee and bowl, oatmeal with blueberries, are placed in front of me. But the hands that put them down aren't my mom's. I look over. Misaki, with a smile and everything.

"Hey sunshine."

"Oh, um... hey." She sits down next to me with her own coffee while I start eating. Shit shit shit shit. Don't panic, just eat and breathe. Eat and breathe. She looks up from her drink. "So, what do you think we'll be working on today?"

I shrug. "Could be anything knowing this station."

My mom comes in with a datapad. "Hey girls, did you hear about the intergalactic cruiser that's supposed to be departing within the next day or two?"

I smile. "Yeah, we were talking about it with Belle and Kaz yesterday. Where are they planning to go?"

"Well, anywhere. But since we haven't figured out how to travel much faster and the FTL drive is only a prototype, they need to prepare for a long trip."

"Hmm... cool." I finished my oatmeal. Misaki nudges me. "Wouldn't it be cool to go and work on that today?"

I nod. "Yeah, actually. Something different from our usual." Suddenly a beep comes from somewhere. I find out it's coming from Misaki's arm. It's an alarm. "Shit, we're gonna be late, come on!" She puts her cup down, grabs my arm and drags me out the door. I barely have time to put my own cup down. "Thanks mom!"

"Thanks, Mrs. C."

"Good luck girls!"

We're soon to find out just how right Misaki really was.

We got to work at a decent time today. Hikari is glaring daggers at us. I just smile and wave.

Mai comes in. "Ok, listen up engineers. We've got quite a day today." She looks over the room in a quick attendance glance. "Ok, looks like most of you are here. Alright, in Bay 3 are two carts. I need four supply members to push those down to Transport Bay 4 immediately. That's where the Intergalactic Cruiser is parked." She points to Hikari and three others. They nod and head off.

She then starts walking around handing out datapads. "Here are your jobs for today." She stops at us, handing us our datapads. "Misaki and Kaylin, you two have a special assignment. Normally for something like this, we would send one the Lieutenant Engineers because of their levels of experience. Normally. But First Officer Parker is leading this cruiser and after yesterday, asked for you both by name."

We looked at each other. "Uh... thank you, Ma'am." I say to Mai.

"Get your gear and report to Transport Bay 4 right away."

"Ma'am!" We head out. Misaki squeals as soon as we're out of earshot. I smile. "Something different from our usual, right?" I elbow her. She squeals again and wraps her arms around me in a hug.

Blueberries again. Is it just coincidence or does she know that this is my favorite flavor? Calm down, Kay. Calm down.

We grab our gear and head down. About halfway down, the lift stops, and Annabelle and two other science officers get on. "Oh, hey girls! Heading to the cruiser?"

I nod. "Yup. We were asked for by name." Annabelle lets out a low whistle. The other two nod to each other, impressed.

"Cool, this means for the next few days, we'll be working side by side." Annabelle puts her fist out.