CHASING THE STARS - CHAPTER ONE
The silence was deafening. It slunk around the ship like a cat, almost always nocturnal in nature. But the silence's reign was short and sweet. Replaced by the tinny sound of a printer, spitting out coloured acetate toward the metallic floor. Awoken, the inhabitant of the room threw her duvet back. Pushing herself up, she sat upright and began to speak aloud.
She sighed as she looked through the porthole – stars and planets stared back at her but through a thin watery film. It saturated the window pane thoroughly, coating it in a thin film of condensation. Sighing, she stood up and used the sleeve of her pyjamas to wipe a huge streak through it; gazing at the space beyond. From space, the stars glimmered brighter in thanks, now clearer and gently rotating with the ship's orbit. Sighing, she turned to face the camera.
“Sys, I thought I told you to shut down the mineral scanner in sleeping hours. Also, why aren't the dehumidifiers on?”
“Of course, Copper,” spoke Sys, the system's onboard computer “I will now rectify this mistake. I believe it was a simple transcribing error in my code. However, I cannot control the dehumidifiers as they have manual resets that only the crew can operate.”
“Thanks Sys. Set me a reminder then, next time I'm about to sleep. Oh, and check for structural integrity. You know what moisture does.”
With a small beep of acknowledgement, Copper smiled at the small red camera. Brushing her head aside, Copper stood on her feet and stifled a yawn. She walked toward the printer and knelt on the floor, grimacing as her bare knees touched the cool metal. Kneeling, she held up the acetate to the ship's portholes, whilst slowly straightening her body.
As she looked through, the gentle twinkling of stars in the background. They winked at her as she read, knowingly watching as her eyes widened in shock. Copper's eyes raced through the text at breakneck speed, eventually halting at the end of one sentence. The full stop was the ball of anxiety in her chest that began unwinding; eventually becoming an infectious smile.
“Sys, get the rest of the crew up. Oh, and start the full cooked breakfast protocol – it's a special occasion!”
Grabbing a holoclip from the holder, she slid the sheet in-between the two clips. Leaving it on a table near her shower, she entered and took a quick shower. Copper listened to the morning systems powering up, the whirring of the cogs and clanking of the heavy machinery. She dressed herself in overalls and strapped her mechanics belt around her waist.
Copper walked out of her door and down the hallway. Her crew were already up, and in the mess hall, eating their breakfast. Clutching the holoclip, she hurried down the corridor and began to speak.
“Hey, you rabble. We have a big haul to catch.”
The first to respond was a large, burly man sat at the breakfast table. “What's so important that you have to wake us at 2am?”
Copper sighed and put on hand on her hip. “I know Ake, you like your sleep. But look at the holoclip and maybe you'll change your mind.”
Walking forward into the centre of the table, she slammed down the holoclip and called the other two people to the table. Ake was the first to look, holding the clip to the light above his head. He grinned and nodded, gesturing to the two others at the table.
YOU ARE READING
Chasing the Stars
Macera[UPDATED ON WEDNESDAYS] Copper enters into a national tournament for racing in an attempt to win some money. With her only experience in racing being driving normally, it's a wild ride to learning to race competitively. Especially when you're racing...
