The initial wonder of hurtling through the cosmos had faded. Days aboard the Venture had become indistinguishable, each one a recycled breath of air punctuated by the Luster-drive's monotonous hum. The vastness of space, once awe-inspiring, now felt like the walls of a cell closing in.
Starstruck, her usually irrepressible social media presence reduced to a trickle of pre-approved posts, paced the biodome's perimeter. Her Vance-issued tablet, once a portal to adoration, now felt like a shackle. The #StarstruckSquad, bless their hearts, still sent messages, but the delay between each digital exchange was a gulf she couldn't bridge. The immediacy of likes, the instant validation of the online world, were luxuries she hadn't fully grasped until they were gone, leaving a raw, unsettling vulnerability in their wake.
She forced a smile for the camera, a pale shadow of her usual megawatt grin, and launched into an update about the biodome's latest harvest. "Space salad again, #StarstruckSquad! This time, with extra Luster-grown lettuce! Because everything's better with a little... Yeah, you get it."
The words tasted flat, even to her. The spontaneity, the genuine connection that fueled her online persona, seemed to have vanished somewhere between Earth and... Wherever the hell they were now.
Jax, ever attuned to even the subtlest shift in the emotional atmosphere, materialized at her side. The soft click of his magnetic-soled boots against the deck was her only warning.
"You know," he remarked, his voice a balm against the silence, "Kapoor once told me staring into the abyss for too long can scramble your brain. Not sure if that applies to hydroponic lettuce, but I wouldn't risk it."
Starstruck shot him a look that, in her former life, would have sent lesser mortals running for cover. Now, it landed with the impact of a feather in zero-g. "Some of us, Riley, are trying to maintain a semblance of sanity in the face of the great unknown."
Jax chuckled, the sound echoing oddly in the biodome's artificial atmosphere. "Sanity? Darling, we're rocketing through space in a tin can fueled by an element that makes plutonium look stable. We left 'sanity' back at the launchpad."
He leaned closer, his voice a conspiratorial murmur. "Besides, I'm bored out of my skull. Even zero-g pranks lose their appeal after a while."
. . .
The Venture's recreation deck, a spartan space dominated by a holographic projector, was Jax's current stage. He'd somehow convinced Zee to indulge in another round of zero-g chess. The crystal pieces, their movements governed by voice commands and magnetic fields, shimmered as they hovered between them.
"Checkmate," Zee said, her voice flat, her gaze fixed on the holographic board.
Jax slumped back against a Luster-foam cushion, feigning despair. "You know, Zee, for someone who claims to find these little strategy sessions a waste of time, you clean up pretty well."Zee's fingers hovered over a crystal knight.
"Strategic thinking is essential for a commander, Riley. Even when the opponent is... Predictable."
Jax clutched his chest in mock outrage. "Predictable? My dear Zee, my moves are anything but. I'm like a Luster storm, Kapoor once said – chaotic, brilliant, and potentially lethal."
Zee's lips twitched, the closest she came to a smile when Javier wasn't around. "I believe her exact words were, 'Riley's thought process is about as structured as a dying star.'"
Jax grinned. "See, you wound me." He gestured towards the holographic display where a 3D model of the K0B3 asteroid rotated. "Speaking of chaotic and potentially lethal, any theories on what Vance is really after out there? Don't give me the 'harnessing Luster's potential' spiel. I've read enough of his corporate drivel to last several lifetimes."
YOU ARE READING
The Price of Luster
خيال علميIn the near future, the promise of an untapped resource known as Luster sends the crew of The Venture deep into the cosmos on what should have been a routine extraction mission. But as they approach the remote asteroid K0B3, what they unearth could...
