Emerald

In the operations centre, Andrej already freed himself of the safety net and sits at his console. His blue eyes sparkle in anticipation and he smiles at Mil and Dray as they enter the room.

"Hello, girls. Good to see you up and shining." With his blond and unruly shock of curls, the experienced astrophysicist looks like a boisterous boy despite his age. Mil suspects even Dray has a secret weakness for the scientist and his dry sense of humour.

She is always surprised anew by Andrej's special gift to dispel tensions in the crew with an understanding nod and a few lighthearted words. Maybe this is the benefit of his seniority. He is over ten years older than the rest of them, Koshi included. Besides, he is the only crew-member qualifying as a space veteran and looks back on multiple long-distance voyages.

Mil isn't really surprised that he already completed his medical control scan. Absentmindedly, she enters the necessary confirmation while looking for the Captain. "Where is Koshi?"

"Carlos called him down to the engine room." Andrej shrugs. "Seems we have a minor malfunction."

Mil's stomach constricts and turns into a knot at his remark. If there is one thing that gives her nightmares, it's a malfunction of the engine. She can't hide her immediate distress from the always observant Andrej.

"No reason to worry, Mil." The physicist sends her a warm smile. For her, it looks too cheerful to be genuine. "You know Carlos. If not every single nut and bolt of his engine sparkles and shines, he is afraid the ship is one step away from breaking apart."

The exaggeration elicits a reluctant smile. She tries to relax and remind herself she has seen enough of Carlos' perfectionism to know Andrej is right. Nevertheless, the mention of the word malfunction will always rise goosebumps and make her shiver.

To take her mind off the topic, she checks for Dray. The pilot seated herself at the navigation desk. With her left hand, she enters commands into the touch screen while the fingers of her right flit over the guidance for the nav sensors. Andrej follows Mil's gaze and winks at her before he addresses the blonde pilot, all business now.

"The exterior sensors are all checked and working. I finished the test run, transmission of optical data is now possible. You should be able to call up visuals of the scenery any moment."

Dray nods, a frown marring her forehead, and continues working her screen with powerful stabs. "Damn the delay of the sensors. I hate arriving blindfolded and deaf in an uncharted system."

"Everyone hates being blind, except for some cave worms." Andrej's answer is placid. "Have patience, Dray. Don't forget our little ship is a gentle old lady and deserves to be treated with respect."

Mil anticipates a cynical response, but it is prevented by the sound of steps approaching the hatch. The fast rhythm suggests it is the Captain who is about to enter ops. She turns to check if her guess was right.

Koshi emits his usual aura of crisp efficiency. The Asian is not as tall as Mil, with a slight frame but almost palpable mental energy telling everyone this man is born to command—to command a spaceship, in his case.

"All awake and well?" Koshi's gaze wanders from one crew member to the next. "Great. Carlos observed a fluctuation of the Harris-values during our exit of the transfer. Whatever the cause, now, everything seems fine. He initiates a complete check to ensure we didn't overlook a latent problem." While he looks at the main screen, a fold forms on his forehead "Why don't we have external visuals yet?"

Dray mumbles something incomprehensible. Mil is sure she overhears some hefty curses, but they are lost in the rustle of Andrej's coverall as he stands up and answers in place of the pilot.

"The sensors are up, Captain. But like the crew, they need time to shake the transfer hangover." A mischievous smile plays on the physicist's lips. "Shall we open a hatch to have a look around?"

Only Andrej's jokes stand a chance to elicit a smile from Koshi. But today, the Captain withstands the ruse. Mil is almost sure his lips twitch, but he keeps himself under control. Dray receives a vicious glance while he reaches over her shoulder to enter a code into her keypad.

"What exactly did they teach you in that training centre?" His words are clipped, a sign his patience wears thin. "To reactivate the sensors after the exit of subspace transfer you have to enter a validated bio-code. That's been mandatory since the AI incident decades before you were born."

Dray's lips are pressed into a thin line, betraying her anger and embarrassment, while Andrej powers up the main screen. Mil wonders if he knew all along and let Dray run into the trap. It wouldn't be beyond him. Then the pixelated picture on the screen sharpens, becomes readable, and she forgets her surroundings and the banter.

Wide-eyed and with bated breath, she stares at the screen, registering only out of the corner of an eye that Carlos enters the room and stops beside her, arms crossed.

In front of the ship lies their destination, a mysterious, beautiful marble hanging in space, lit by a yellow sun. The planet shimmers like a precious jewel in countless shades of green, from turquoise to emerald.

Carlos's whisper is reverent. "Esmeralda."