The Scapegoat: a Capricorn Adventure

Venus Part 1

Peyton and Doran had been hanging out together for some weeks, as part of a foursome with Ivan and Yohanna. The latter two were a committed couple. Doran, who was an optimistic Sagittarius, hoped he and Peyton would also become a couple. Until the night he drunkenly tried to kiss her. She pushed him away with unexpected fierceness.

"Quit it."

"I thought that was where we were heading." Doran was mildly hurt.

"Well, it wasn't. I'm off all men."

Peyton reflected an honest relationship was impossible while she had to hide her Capricorn nature. Although - having adopted her cousin's birth sign, she was thinking and acting more like a Pisces every day. She was in some sort of transition and no longer herself. Another good reason to avoid entanglements.

"Are you into women?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Peyton's bond with Yohanna had always been unusually strong. But that was as cousins. Cousins as close as sisters, like twins even. And she did find herself jealous of Yohanna's new bond with Ivan. She didn't want to be part of a couple, but the relationship was taking Yohanna's time and attention away.

She had looked forward to sharing accommodation during her visit to the Moon Colony, and they barley saw each other. Yohanna was so often in Ivan's cabin. All her off-duty time was consumed by her new love. There wasn't much room for her old relationships. Especially a co-dependent cousin who relied on borrowing her I.D. In order to survive the purges.

Peyton knew the affection was still there, and always would be, just not the presence. Yohanna had other priorities. "I think it's time to move on."

"To be honest, I've been thinking the same."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've made enquiries about Venus."

Venus was a new station. The environment was so hostile, the colony wasn't even based on the planet, just orbiting in the upper atmosphere, which was slightly more habitable. Not for the unprotected human body of course.

"Venus sounds interesting..."

"You are unusually adventurous for a Pisces."

Doran often skirted around the fringes of her identity. Sometimes Peyton could swear he suspected something. But she trusted him. That's why she tolerated his ongoing presence.

"Well, you've know me since I left Mars."

"Indeed I have."

"So shall we sign up?"

"What do we have to lose?"

"Our lives."

Both pilots laughed. Life was held lightly in the space colonies. Experience was valued more than stability. As the stations became more established, a few people put down roots, and committed to their new environment. The larger settlements were becoming more home-like and even developing their own national culture. But the individuals with the pioneering spirit, who had helped pilot them out there, generally move along. To the newer and less established colonies, where novelty was like a drug. 

(Sci-fi illustration generated using AI Photo Editor v.4.0 (ChatGPT-based creative tool from OpenAI), with creative direction by the author.)