INDIGO ; Stray Kids

I. INDIGO

He clicked his tongue and hummed in concentration as he tried his best to get it perfect. One more screw to go, and he'd be awarded the Junior Space Engineer title. He'd been studying hard, memorizing all probable points of the written exam. He'd spent so many hours in the practice room, having Anya, the virtual assistant, come up with all and any problems he may be faced in the practical exam, and have him perform the actions to solve them.

He'd been working hard. So when the last test was over, and he'd passed with a hundred percent of efficacy, he felt his eyes water. He'd finally be able to bring home something special. He was finally something special.

After signing his name in the Engineer Book, he went pages and pages back, to the first page. There, the name of his long lost great great grandfather. He'd been Seo Changbin, too. The first Seo Changbin to be an Engineer for the spaceship. Now, in the present, Changbin got to live his legacy.

"Congrats, man", Felix greeted him at the botanical garden. His best friend was a Botanical Engineer. Literally worked with plants to make sure Indigo, the spaceship, had enough food and supplies like oxygen and water. He was a genius, having solved the problem of not having enough fuel, but Changbin would never admit to that.

"Thanks", he took a seat next to a giant microscope, and watched as Felix washed his hands before taking off his labcoat and signaled him to walk together. "I'm excited to start working at the lounge".

"I'm sure you'll have fun, seeing you are a big, big nerd".

"Ha-ha", he laughed ironically, but a smile still managed to creep on his lips. "Anyways, lunch?"

"Sure. Do you think hyung is free?"

"He never is", Changbin replied. "But we can manage to get him to eat something. I'm worried, he's been obsessing over this problem for a week now".

"Well, he's in the medical crew. Having so many people coming down with the flu must be very alarming", Felix shrugged. "I never have any other human interaction than you and the lunch ladies, but he's constantly working with sick people".

"True", he replied. "Anyways, what's for lunch?"

"I think it's pizza", Felix's eyes lit up. "Did I tell you about the new breed of wheat I'm working on?"

Changbin shook his head, happy to be around Felix. They were both orphans, as in their parents had been in the same accident that opened a door to outer space and they were sucked into nothingness, not wearing suits or anything appropriate for the occasion. So they died, suffocated and cold.

Changbin's parents were a nurse and a Space Engineer, and Felix's parents were both Botanical Engineers. That faithful accident had set new boundaries and safety rules, and since then, there hadn't been any non-natural-caused deaths.

"And they are also capable of clearing the air in a 37% faster way than usual weeds", Felix had gone on a plant rant. Changbin nodded, totally not understanding the concepts his best friend was babbling about. They were from totally different worlds, one being a plant carer and the other one a machine engineer.

"Oh! Hyung is here!", as they entered the lunch lounge, both guys waved towards the doctor. Minho took a while to see them, as he was sitting with a sandwich in his hands but his eyes long lost inside his mind. When he noticed them, he smiled and signed to them that they come sit next to him. "Good to see you out of the hospital wing".

Minho grunted.

"I'm scared we're facing a resistant bug", he mumbled. "And it seems to only be attacking kids from two to eleven years old", he added. "If it's not contained, our population will decline and it's going to be more than difficult to repopulate, and also to get back to Earth".

"Back to Earth?", Changbin asked.

"Yeah, apparently there's a rise in the oxygen levels that could make it habitable, according to Juniper's last log".

"How do you know that?", Felix aerived back from the counter with two sliced of pizza just as Minho commented on Earth's station. "Isn't it confidential information?"

"Rory", Changbin and Minho said at the same time.

"Oooh, Rory", Felix passed one of the plates to Changbin. "You guys would look good together. As in a couple".

"She's not interested in me".

"But are you? Interested in her?"

Minho shrugged.

"That's totally a yes".

"It doesn't matter anyways. I will soon be old enough to be matched to another woman and procreate".

"Not if you fall in love and get married".

Minho didn't reply.

Suddenly, all the lights went off and the three boys just looked at each other as the emergency lights turned on. A special alarm went off, one they had never heard before.

"What the hell", Felix said what the other two were thinking about. "What's going on?"

"Lee Minho, Lee Felix, Seo Changbin, Rory Austin, Piper Young and Yang Jeongin, come to the commander's office immediately. Repeating message–"

The three boys looked at each other and stood from the table, curious. Not knowing their lives were about to take a turn so impredictable, so utterly fantastic, that they would never, ever, be the same.