Starbound

8 - Memories

Zach

'If you could please all turn your attention this way,' one of the leaders said, jarring me out of my daydreams. The image of my mother looking up at one of the ships she designed was imprinted into my mind. A memory I'd long forgotten, until I spotted Charlotte admiring the Starbound. They looked nothing alike, my mother had brown, wavy hair like mine and beautiful green eyes, while Charlotte had dark blond hair and eyes as blue as the ocean, or at least what the ocean looked like a millennia ago. But the expression on their faces were exactly the same, wonder and admiration. As I joined the group who'd already assembled themselves around the leader, I realised I'd lost Charlotte, but two seconds later she was beside me once again.

'Now that you have all been assigned a starship and had the opportunity to look at it, you will begin the next stage of preparation for your departure from Earth,' the man says. 'From tomorrow you will begin packing your transporters with the remainder of your supplies ready to take up with you when you leave Earth. Seventy-five percent of your supplies have already been placed in your starship but you will need to bring the rest up with you. We will depart for lunch now and you have been given the rest of the day off to do as you please. I would like to remind you to stay with your Pair at all times, especially during your free time to allow you to bond better.'

I mentally shake my head at his words, we have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. I'm pretty sure that running away is not part of the "whatever you want" scale. Either way, I didn't want to run now, if I disappeared today they would have time to search for me and I knew I wouldn't be able to hide in time. Instead, when he started to walk out of the virtual hangar I slipped away from Charlotte and behind a small virtual ship. After the sounds of shuffling feet disappeared I risked a glance towards the exit and found no one around.

Trying my best to be quick, I found my way back to the hologram of the Starbound. Looking around, I spot the panel that Charlotte was fiddling with and make my way towards it. Buttons of every shape and size litter the surface of the metal, maybe even a switch or two. I look up at the hologram, which is still displaying the layout of the ship. The ships were said to be customised so the Pair that lives in the ship have things to do while in space. That theory was, from now on, confirmed. There was a pool, lounge and even a farm, probably because if I weren't part of a Pair I would've been an agricultural farmer.

I map out every detail of the starship in my mind, even though I know I will refuse to go in. But if they end up kidnapping me and dragging me onto the Starbound, I would know what to do. As I stare at the ship, the thought of living in it crosses my mind. The Starbound is a beautiful ship, not even I can deny that. And the thought of abandoning this ship is upsetting, but it is something I must do.

Having had enough of the Starbound, I wander around looking at the other starships. They're all different shapes and sizes but they all seemed smaller than the Starbound. I ignore it at first but as I wander around I start to realise how much bigger and more advanced the ship is. Compared to the others, the Starbound is a luxury ship, something that would be at the head of a fleet.

Turning to glance at my assigned ship, it looks familiar as if I've seen a ship of that model when I was younger. Maybe I saw the design amongst my mother's things once, she'd always had drawings of ships lying around. Shaking my head, I turn back around. It can't be her design, any ship of her would have been sold off years ago as a personal ship to the highest members of the LOE.

A thought crosses my mind but I don't linger on it. 

I look at the time and see that I've been in here a few minutes. I've got to leave, before someone realises that I've been away from the main group for too long. The last thing I need right now is people watching me; I can't have eyes on me when I make my escape. 

Exiting the room, I put my best "lost puppy" face on and make my way towards the dining hall.