King of Stars Volume 1 (An interstellar ATEEZ Hongjoong fanfiction)

Part One: In Which 10-24 Learns Failure

5:00 a.m. Start up.

5:15 a.m. Attend strategy meeting.

7:00 a.m. Supervised breakfast.

8:00 a.m. Receive scheduled maintenance.

10:30 a.m. Download new software updates.

12:00 p.m. Reboot system.

1:00 p.m. Supervised lunch.

2:00 p.m. Perform daily tasks.

3:30 p.m. Special training.

6:30 p.m. Supervised dinner.

7:30 p.m. Scan for viruses.

9:00 p.m. Enter stand by mode.

My new schedule flashes behind my closed eyelids as I pull my issued shirt on over my head. I brush my dark hair until not one is out of place. I flick an errant bit of dust from my pant leg and observe myself in a mirror. My appearance is satisfactory. I check my watch and notice I have three minutes and ten seconds before I have to leave to join Master Commander Arcturus. Gazing around my sterile white room I note nothing out of place. There is a single bed in the center of the room with standard white cotton bedding. A sleek white dresser containing exactly sixteen neatly folded outfits is to the right. There is a small mirror mounted on the wall to the left of the bed. I decide to sit on the bed and count down the time on my watch until I have to leave.

Every day is very much the same with only slight variations depending upon my needs and the needs of the crew. My life works like a well maintained machine in which I am a compliant part.

I go through the motions with no complaint.

I always make it to my appointments on time.

I complete what is expected of me.

Since the day of my creation I've never stepped out of line. I do not feel elated by this fact. I do not feel resentful of the strict expectations of me. Any emotion deemed unnecessary is not programmed in. I peek at my watch. One minute eight seconds left. I stand and walk to the door. I raise my hand to the sensory pad and wait there in the dark until my remaining fifty eight seconds are up.

Once I'm out in the brightly lit hallways of the sleeping quarters I walk my scheduled path to my destination. It will take me three minutes fifty seconds if there are no unforeseen obstacles. I walk at my set pace and keep my eyes straight ahead. I notice there are more soldiers than usual patrolling the hallways. Some of them seem on edge. Gripping their weapons firmly. Pupils dilated. Increased heart rate.

I was not informed of any immediate threat.

I continued my walk undisturbed.

I rounded a corner and found myself near the showers and lavatories. A soldier is leaving the designated men's showers with a towel wrapped around his waist when he spots me approaching. He does not speak to me but appraises me with his eyes while I pass by him. I feel his eyes on me even as I walk to the elevator. I note that his heart rate is also increased.

Once I enter the elevator I tap the button for the main deck and the doors shut silently. Since it will not impede on my progress I allow myself to look out of the windows on the opposite side of the doors. It seems we are approaching the constellation Coma Berenices which contains the Black Eye galaxy.

The Evil Eye galaxy.

I think of how ominous it sounds and wonder if that is the reason for the soldiers heightened state of alarm. I conclude that humans, even soldiers, are still susceptible to primitive fears like superstition. I also conclude that The Evil Eye galaxy is actually quite beautiful. In the dark velvet of space it comes into view with it's orbiting clouds of purple and pink. It spins lazily in a glittering sideways spiral. I blink and avert my eyes.