Space Crisis

Chapter One

Every generation looks towards a nebulous “future” with hopes and dreams. Even the term “future” holds a certain kind of romantic undertone that strikes many in a particular way. The future is where things will be better, society will have figured itself out, politics and wars will be easy and smooth. Everything will be washed in a fresh coat of glimmering white paint. Depending on the era one was born in, the nebulous future looked very different.

In the early parts of the twentieth century the future showed the average citizen wearing ostentatious clothes and boarding air-cars and flying to work where electronics typewriters would generate their reports for them. Time marched on, and those air cars and typewriters became something different entirely.

The concept of a vehicle for transport was replaced by dreams of personal jetpacks to fly to the office where conveyor belts would courier you to your desk where you could write your reports in peace. Food was in pill form and swallowed for efficiency sake. Glass domes capped soaring towers and people looked to the stars, thinking that out there among the inky dark and the shimmering stars was humanity's future.

As the twenty-first century rolled into place, the stars were still in our eyes. It was slow at first, the crawl towards space, but humanity never stopped. Slowly, for certain, at times when short sighted politicians and the meddling wealth of billionaires yanked our heads down to earth, but it was always there, always a goal to leave this planet and see what was out there.

Future generations would never be quite sure what finally did it. Some would speculate that we, as a species, finally did it. Finally brought our planet to its knees and could only look upward as a means of escape. Others would claim that it was all a misunderstanding, yes things got bad but that's when we united, buried the hatchet, and started to fly. In reality, it was somewhere in the middle. Earth, as a planet, was drying up. Ages of abuse and uncaring had left it crippled and if we stayed then the whole ecosystem would collapse, and the human race with it.

The human race had done damage to the planet, and the ecology was harmed to the point that it would never recover to the state it was in before. But that isn’t how environments work, and as time marched forward, plants evolved. Soil that was toxic became the perfect home for new and changing plants. By then, though, humanity had realized what they had done and the race was on.

The mentality of “scatter” was on everyone’s mind. Get off of this planet as soon as we can, because time is officially up!

It wasn’t though. People fled the planet in droves, those with money first and then those who could realistically be of use for the future of mankind, and anyone without deep enough pockets were left behind. Which, as it turned out, wasn’t so bad.

Earth recovered, in time. It was hard, and harsh, but it happened. New flowers bloomed where others would have died. Life swelled and humanity continued onward as it always did. Other planets had opened up with the advent of new technologies. Near light speed travel was looming on the horizon, but until we got there, high performance engines were fitted to starships. Artificial intelligence grew and matured into an ever faithful companion rather than the harbinger of doomsday. The coat of white paint was there, dingey in places, and showing signs of wear and tear, but it was there.

New planets offered hope as well. New resources and minerals ripe for extraction and use. Their unearthly properties may very well hold the keys to a brighter future for everyone. Centuries passed along and the discovery of new resources was always the driving factor. There was and always would be, a need for more. Along with it, came the need for someone to do the work to harvest it.

The wealthy need not dirty their unworked hands with such labors. Their hands were trained only to flick dollar bills at those who had the sturdy constitution to do an honest day's work. The conundrum was that none of those kinds of people lived on the shining planet spanning cities of far flung planets. They lived on Earth, or Dorma, or Curtis3, or any number of other planets that the human race had begun to settle on.

The cycle was always the same. Astronomers would sight a planet that could sustain life, and probes were sent out to confirm those suspicions. Was there an atmosphere? Was the gravity earth like? How was the soil? If everything looked to be within the habitable zone, then expedition teams were sent to confirm what the data indicated.

Expeditions were the job of a lifetime, if you qualified to be on a team. It wasn’t as simple as passing a few job interviews and flashing a bright smile. The future was placed squarely on the shoulders of expedition teams. They needed to be strong, self reliant, smart, and resourceful. They needed to know what to look for, how to find it, how to recognize and analyze it. Even then, they would drop onto the planet with practically nothing and survive there until it could be either confirmed or denied that the planet was viable.

Teams were made up of a few dozen members, the best and the brightest, and then they were loaded into a ship and sent off. Leaving behind human civilization in favor of a planet where they would inevitably be at the bottom of the food chain.

It had worked though. So many planets were discovered and colonized by cells of humans, led by a handful of people who landed and conquered the land. Nature itself bent to the will and the hands of accomplished explorers. Once a planet was marked safe, then the industrial complex would arrive. Great ships loaded with machines and tools and experts. Cities were built and seemed to rise out of the ground like some undead thing clawing its way out of the ground. They were something wholly alien to the planet and they clung to the ground they were nestled on like a leech.

Once a human city was there, it was never going away. Then the drills came out and dug even deeper into the ground. Sapping the planet for resources and building more. Human’s were the ultimate self replicating organism on any planet.

Bleak though the practice seemed in a vacuum, it was how life happened. A flower's entire purpose is to grow, produce its fruit, and spread its seed far afield. Fruit looked bright and succulent so that animals would eat it and transport the seeds away, letting them grow in a new place where the parent plant wouldn’t be deprived of the resources. Likewise, viruses swept into the body, not with a mission to destroy the host, but rather to simply continue its own existence. The host was merely a vessel, chalked full of resources.

Human expansion was every bit as natural as the blooming flowers or the sailing virus, riding on a mote of fluid in the air.

Trent and Monica’s home on Curtis3 was in a state of elated chaos. There was a roil of joy and delight in the air. The kind of raw happiness that comes with a once in a lifetime event that will invariably change someone’s life, forever.

Trent’s hands were shaking as if he were chilled to his very core, but his body felt hot all at once. He had only read the first line of the letter from the Inter Galactic Coalition of Human Exploration. The Coalition, as it was more colloquially known, was the governing organization that had oversight into vetting and organizing a team of deep space explorers. When a new planet was found, The Coalition was the body that investigated and analyzed it.

They were the organization that Trent had served, faithfully, for ages. He had passed his preliminary examinations, performed well in his physical and mental evaluations, and with the final submission of his psychological evaluation, all he had been doing was waiting. Waiting for the test results, waiting for a planet to be discovered, waiting for his life to finally fly into the stars. He was waiting on his future, and here it was, in his hands.

“Trenton Almay.” He read to his wife, beaming at him from their kitchen table. “It is our great pleasure to extend to you the honor of joining surveillance team three three seven nine bound for the planetary body blah blah blah.”

He looked up, the grin on his face was unmistakable. This was it, they had made it. The somewhat small house they had lived in for the last two years would be sold back to The Coalition and they would be off of the planet. His eyes drifted back down to the page.

“Due to the nature of the planetoid we will require you…make this expedition..without your family…”

He looked up from the page and met Monica’s eyes. She looked just as shocked as he felt.

“We- You don’t have to take this assignment..” She trailed off. She knew. They did need it, and he would take it.

“I’d be out there for almost five years without you and the kids.” He said.

“Yeah..”

“But-”

“But it’s worth it.” She finished his thought for him. He wasn’t going to be able to say it out loud anyway.

Five years. Jeff would be out of schooling, depending on the timing Aria would be too, though only barely. Melody would be in her early twenties. It was a long time, but..it was worth it. Monica looked up at her husband and nodded.

“We’ll make it work. Don’t worry, we’ll get out to you once things are settled.” Monica said, and stood from the table and stepped into a hug with her husband.

They had been through so much already, and this would just be one more thing. Not that there was any regret there, it was just another notch in the belt. Trent had been there for her, when she was sick, through the doctors appointments, through the remission, through the resurfacing and treatments. The very least she could do is sit and wait patiently until she could rejoin him. The kids would understand too, maybe not like it, but it would be alright. Interstellar communications were getting more and more reliable, so they could send messages and hear back from him in a shorter time.

They held one another for a long time, neither wanted to be the first to separate. It was Monica though that gently squeezed into her husband and separated. Her mouth pressed into a hard line. She looked at him, nodded once and turned back to the kitchen table. Her purse was there, ready and waiting for her. She was only a minute or two away from leaving when the mail had arrived, and now it was time to go.

Melody, her eldest daughter, appeared by the front door. She was dressed fairly blandly. A pair of simple jeans, shin high boots and a somewhat elegant looking button up blouse. Her fiery red hair still holding strong at her shoulders. She seemed to like it trimmed and held there. She argued that it looked nice and framed her face, but Monica suspected it was to emphasize the black choker she had started wearing around her throat.

Despite the all-knowing teenager act that she normally put forth, she was clearly nervous today. Her hands fidgeted a bit and then eventually thrust themselves into her pockets while she waited for her mother. Monica strode towards her, a smile that attempted to exude some measure of comfort and confidence on her face.

Melody was only sixteen, the same age Monica was when she went to the doctor for similar symptoms. She prayed to whatever was out there in the cosmos that whatever Melody was experiencing was just a fluke illness, or allergies to the strange plant life on Curtis3, or anything..anything else…

Trent and Monica lay in bed. Trent wore a pair of boxers and nothing else. Monica opted for a silky night gown that left nothing to imagination. Nothing would be happening tonight, neither would be in the mood.

“The same genetic markers?” Trent confirmed. Monica nodded as she lay on her back, staring at the ceiling.

“It will manifest more and more as she goes on. The doctors suspect by the time she’s in her early twenties that it will be inoperable.” Monica closed her eyes, pressing them together hard, as if that might squeeze the genetic anomaly out of Melody. “With my history, they are recommending the same treatment.”

“Isn’t she a little..young..for that?” Trents concern was unmistakable. No, it wasn’t concern, it was terror.

“She is too young, she can’t consent to it yet, and the doctors said there might be a small chance that it could clear itself up.”

“But you just said-”

“I know-” Monica interrupted. “But she was reacting a little differently than I did to the medication. It’s come a long way in the years since I had my treatment.”

Trent nodded. His eyes turned to look at his wife. She still looked so young and vibrant. Her treatment had worked well for her, he couldn’t imagine having to put little Melody through it.

“Maybe she’ll get through it.” Monica commented, opening her eyes and turning to meet Trent’s gaze.

“Maybe.” He said, nodding. “Maybe.”

Trent hated that he wouldn’t be there for Monica, or Melody, as they worked through the medications and treatments. She would be a different person by the time he got to see her again. All of them would be. He slung his pack over his shoulder and looked at the family he was leaving behind. Melody and Monica, looking more and more like one another every single day. His son, Jeff, just barely fourteen, now the man of the house. Scruffy looking hair and a body that was gangly and still growing. He would be fully a man in five years when Trent got to see him again. Little Aria too, thirteen and starting to grow into that rebellious streak that Melody was just leaving. She looked cute, and bored. She didn’t want her daddy to leave, but understood why he had to. She thought that maybe not looking at him would make it easier, or maybe it was because she didn’t want him to see her crying.

He kissed Monica one last time, hugged his children, and then he was gone. Out the door and towards the waiting transport there. It glimmered in the sun, smeared in white paint. There wasn’t even a layer of dust on it. It was either new or unused. Trent could have rambled about its construction for ages. He always did have a good mind for machines and electronics, it had served him well. It was his technical skills that had won him a ticket onto the exploration team in the end. There was enough technology and on the fly repairs that needed to be done on a fresh planet that every team needed as much technical know-how as possible.

The family of five split into a family of one, and a family of four that day. Trent raised a single hand to wave, and then the transport was off. Whining as the propulsion engines whisked him away from the little house he had called home. Leaving Monica to manage everything until they too got their letter that it was time to board their own star ship and rejoin him.

There was a definitive emptiness in the house. It started when Trent had left, and it lingered. It was in the air, in the walls. It could easily be felt at all times. Monica seemed to be the most capable of shoving it from her mind, and stepped up to be the pillar her children clung to. Particularly Melody.

She was so young, but acting so mature. There were more and more visits to the clinic that the pair went through, at least for another year. On Melody’s eighteenth birthday she was eligible for the same treatment regimen that her mother had been forced to undergo. A choice she was assured she still had plenty of time to decide on, though for a still young woman it weighed heavily on her shoulders. Still, even she put on a brave face for the sake of her younger siblings.

Jeff and Aria, a few years younger than Melody, seemed to be taking the absence of their father in stride. Aria, the youngest, soon began the same kind of haughty rebellious streak that resulted in so many self-expressive ways. Monica squashed the ones that might morph into anything destructive, and let slide those that seemed like a simple act to try and thumb her nose at her one remaining parent. The result was a short bob style haircut, much like Melody had worn when their father left, though she insisted on dying it a wild lavender color.

Monica could only smirk to herself. If that was the worst that Aria could muster to try and get under her mother’s skin, then everything would be perfectly fine.

Jeff, like most boys hurtling into the end of their teenage years, secluded himself most of the time. Choosing to spend his time in his room, tinkering idly with the small amount of technology his father had left for him. He was no savant, but he managed to disassemble and successfully reassemble some of the old equipment that had been left behind. Moreover, he managed to get it working again..after a few failed attempts.

Jeff was old enough to know what was coming though. Aria might still live in a small amount of blissful ignorance, but Jeff was well aware that once the communication came through that the new planet had been bent to humanity's will, that they would be packing up their small home here and moving. Not just to a new neighborhood or even a new land mass, but leaving the planet. Friends, familiar faces, the comfort of the place he had grown up, all of it would be gone in the flames of a rocket taking their ship to orbit.

“But you get to go to space!” His friends said in vain attempts to cheer him up. Their small holographic avatars pacing around or sitting on a non-existent floor.

Jeff lay on his bed, his own camera mounted to a computer and pointed at him while a flurry of light beams recreated his friend's avatars.

“And we can still send one another vid-coms.” another one said.

“Cool, I can't wait to get a vid-com of my friends six days after they sent it.” Jeff lamented.

Despite wild advancements in communications technology, there was little science could do to overcome the sheer distance between planets. Light only traveled so fast and so far in a single measurement of time. Jeff knew as much, and he knew his friends also knew it. They were every bit as disappointed as Jeff was, but his father was going to be on the team that colonized a new planet and that was something worth bragging about.

Jeff didn’t feel like bragging. He felt like sulking. He remained on the vid-com for a little while longer, idly chatting with his friends, but it soon became clear that he had disengaged from the conversation. Within half an hour he had bid them farewell and lay on his bed.

It was quiet now, the day already mostly over, and his sisters were in their rooms, his mother in hers. Jeff was certain that he was the only soul in the house who was awake at the moment, a revelation that only hammered home how lonely he was. With a sigh he grabbed his blanket and pulled it tighter around him and drifted slowly off to sleep.

Five and a half years had passed. Monica’s little family had grown into a healthy and beautiful collection of adults. Monica had changed little in that time, looking youthful as always and keeping a perpetual smile on her face. It was that same smile that had helped keep the family together in both good times and bad. Darkness seemed to shy away from that radiant display.

Jeff, now nineteen and Melody, into her early twenties, sat side by side in the uncomfortable chairs in the amphitheater. They were made from wood, a rare commodity in an era where plastics and synthetics made up every little thing. If it didn’t have some scrap of technology or polymer in it, then it was considered “classic” or “retro”. So the wooden creak of all natural material below Jeff sounded, somehow, out of place.

Aria’s school graduation was a small affair. Her private school accepted only a few members of society, generally those who had parents that did something for the betterment of the community, or who had enough money. Trent’s acceptance into the exploration league had landed Aria in a great school, an offer that neither Jeff nor Melody had been able to benefit from.

Two dozen or so parents and families were arrayed around the small stage, also constructed of wood, and waited as names were called one after the other. Aria wasn’t difficult to pick out of the crowd. She had decided to keep her bright lavender hair and every time it grew out enough to show her roots it was immediately re-colored to match. It was more than fitting, her bright hair matched her equally bright personality. The joke among family and friends was that Aria’s favorite activity was smiling.

Jeff had had his time to be dour and depressed. Into his early adulthood now though, he seemed to be dragging himself out of that. There were still those times when darkness would swirl up and consume his mind, but they were less often and lasted a day or two instead of weeks or months. Likewise, it had been almost two years since Melody had begun her treatment, and the happy news that it was working well was more than enough to help Jeff in those times.

The thought of losing another family member had been a real concern to Jeff. Melody and Monica had both assured him that the treatment she would undergo had improved by leaps and bounds since Monica had undergone it. Medical reports were promising, and her body was taking to the treatment well. The genetic scourge that was in her seemed to be shrinking away and disappearing piece by piece. Only a few months ago Melody had been given a clean bill of health and she had been deemed free of the disease. Though, all eyes now turned to Aria.

Regular check ups had, thus far, turned up nothing at all. By Monica and Melody’s eighteenth birthday they had already been showing more than enough genetic markers to be diagnosed, and Aria, now eighteen as well, was showing none. Perhaps there was some hope yet.

The ceremony ended, Aria smiled as always and accepted her graduation papers. The groaning of a sea of wooden chairs filled the air and a round of applause for the newly graduated class filled the outdoor amphitheater. Aria made her way towards her family, wading through a sea of other families and their graduates. No one noticed the two men standing at the edge of the ceremony, just waiting, silently. Dressed formally, they fit into the crowd of onlookers.

Once the ceremony had ended though, and families clumped together, hugged, and congratulated one another, the two men made their move. Walking casually down the grassy hill that led to the rounded amphitheater. Soon they stood before Monica and her family. There didn’t need to be any words passed between them, the manilla envelope they held was enough.

It was an odd thing. In an age of incredible technological advancements, paper was a rarity. Real paper, made from soaked and pressed wood fibers. It was a luxurious item. It was the kind of thing that only something important was printed on. Vid-com’s were cheap and as soon as the message was heard, it was gone a day or two later, lost to the automated processes that cleansed the stored messages from servers and infrastructure.

Paper, though. Paper lasted. Paper couldn’t just be deleted from a server somewhere. You could hold it in your hand and look at it tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or next decade.

“Congratulations.” One of the two men said. He knew what was in the envelope. He nodded to Monica, turned and left.

“Mom?” Aria asked.

Monica had opened the envelope and her eyes were rapidly scanning over the words. She wasn’t crying or letting a solemn tear roll down her cheek. That was enough to help put her children’s fears at ease. Their father wasn’t dead, and this wasn’t some condolences letter from the Coalition. It was something else.

With a sigh Monica folded up the paper, carefully sliding it back into the envelope and smiling. Not the kind of smile she had been wearing. It didn’t speak of a need to be strong, or encouragement to persevere. This was a genuine smile, it was joyful and pleasant. It radiated the kind of contained sunshine that Aria had.

“It’s from your father.” Monica said. “The colony is ready for the first wave of settlers.”

Despite the peals of joy from around the amphitheater a small bubble of silence settled over the family. It was time. They were going to space.

Chapter Two

In the past, selling your house would have been a hassle. You had to have some place to go once an offer was made, and timing became a shuffle of one family leaving and another moving in. There was paperwork, on actual paper, and stress. Monica and her family had only to box up their possessions, point the moving drones at their crated possessions, and walk away. The government handled the rest of the transactions from there.

Jeff wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of leaving his home planet for another one. Though, the idea that this would be the last time he needed to move was an encouragement. He was young still, and friendships came easier. Particularly in the smaller community they would settle in. The romanticized idea of a frontier town flitted through his mind, conjuring up images of ancient cowboys on beasts, fighting off natives and living a hard but satisfying life under the stars.

In reality, Jeff had a city to look forward to. The automated construction drones and machines that had been brought to the new planet made for a much faster, much easier, construction project. Human oversight was needed, certainly, but the robots would do the hardest of the labors. Stomping mechanically around, tirelessly welding structured framework in place and erecting buildings with the kind of speed and precision a human could only barely comprehend.

That was why Jeff’s father had been there. The machines needed someone competent there to keep them running. When a drone broke down or finally blew out some critical component, Trent would be there to activate a new one and drag the old one back to his shop for repair or disposal.

Jeff slid a pile of his own books into a box, recalling evenings with his father in their home work shop. Both of their faces illuminated by the gentle glow of a tablet computer as Trent tried desperately to impart some of his knowledge into his son. Jeff had paid attention, at least as much attention that a child could have. Some of it had stuck in his brain, somewhere. He could at very least identify most of the basic components on a circuit board, read wiring schematics, and even understand some of them. Not that he knew what to do with any of it, but he at least was familiar with them.

Jeff had, almost intentionally, procrastinated deciding on a firm field of study. Why bother, he knew they would be rocketing off of the planet for a new home and the small amount of specialized education he could have learned would surely not mature into anything on the ‘frontier’. He shoved another book into the box.

“Not too many books in one box.” Monica chided from where she leaned against his door jamb. “The pickup drone won't be able to lift it.”

Jeff sighed and pulled out one of the heavier textbooks he was packing and tossed it up onto the bed. Monica’s eyes scanned over the book, it was an old but still relevant databook on the basics of mechanical engineering and repair. It was Trent’s.

“Do you want any help sweetheart?” she asked.

“No, I’m fine.” Jeff said, trying in vain to hide the sadness in his voice.

Monica lingered, stoic as always, in the door jamb for a moment before slipping away, maybe Melody needed some help.

Jeff sat still, he heard his mom leave, even with her trying to soften her retreating footsteps. He didn’t so much sigh as simply let the lungful of air seep out from between his teeth. He hated everything that was happening here. He didn’t want to leave, but he was too young to simply stay. Maybe if he had a nice, cushy job working for The Coalition, or in some work share that offered supplementary housing. But he was only nineteen, barely out of his schooling and just beginning to pad out his resume with smaller jobs.

Even if he could sustain himself alone here on Curtis3, would he want to? His friends were here, but how long until they too left. There were other continents here, or more advanced schooling. They would leave, and Jeff would stay. Then what? No friends and no family. He would be more alone than if he boarded that star ship with his family. He blew a small puff of exhaled air out of his nose. ‘Somehow’ he realized, ‘the dark void of space is less lonely than being alone in a house on his home planet.’

The realization didn’t soften the blow of having to leave, but it surely made the idea of a voyage across the stars a little more palpable.

Packing came much easier to him after that. It wasn’t quite enjoyable, but it didn’t hurt him as much any more. When Aria appeared in the hall outside his door, bright as the early morning, he even tossed her a smirk.

“Don’t worry too much about it.” She said, “packing sucks, but unpacking is going to be like Christmas with your own stuff. It’ll be pretty great.”

Jeff never could figure out if she was trying to cheer him up or convince herself that it would be ok. The subtle, slight streak in her makeup just below the eye told him that Aria had been crying, recently. Regardless of that, her perpetual sunshine was always welcome.

It was truly shocking how quickly a whole house could be packed up and made ready when you really devoted time to it. What had taken years to accumulate was boxed up, labeled, and ready for transport within four or five days. Their instructions were to simply place the boxes on the massive pad that had been delivered to their house, once all their belongings were on it, they would be weighed, scanned, and pickup drones would arrive to courier them to the star port, and from there, to their ship.

A strange feeling settled on the house on their last night in it. The house was empty and had a certain feeling of finality to it. Like the last sentence in the chapter of a book. There was something new on the next page, your eyes could see it coming, but you still needed to read through the words you had in front of you.

Large empty spaces dominated the house now. Jeff, Melody, and Aria had reserved a single premeasured box for personal belongings to have delivered to their quarters on the ship. They could pack into it whatever they wanted. Jeff’s packed with books, his personal computer, some small knick knacks, and things to do. The challenge was putting in belongings that you would want to access for the next six months, and nothing else. How much entertainment could you consume in a six month space flight?

Melody and Monica packed similarly. Ongoing treatment for their condition meant that they required machines to help them. Administering and infusing ongoing medical treatment was what they kept telling Jeff and Aria when asked why they weren’t packing their crate with books or movies or other things. Aria, on the other hand, packed lightly. Sketchbooks, art supplies, a few books, and little else.

“We’re going to be in space! What more could I possibly want?”

Jeff had smirked and snorted once at the response, even as he slid another book into his crate, wedging it between a few other things. His was packed to the brim and even though he got the lid to snap onto it, he still wondered if he could empty it and rearrange things to allow for just a little more space.

The beds they slept on, the linens they used, and the morning’s dishes were the last to be placed on the pad. Everyone in the house seemed to wake up early enough, their bodies declaring in unison that there was no more use in delaying. It was time.

Breakfast was rushed and the house was suddenly thrust into some flurried chaos. Jeff and Aria managed to eat quickly, feeling guilty that Melody and Monica had turned down the food in favor of hauling beds and boxes to the transport pad. There would be plenty of time for food later, for now though they needed to get things packed up.

By the time breakfast was done, the two older women had moved most of the remaining goods in the house to the pad, leaving very little for Jeff and Aria to take care of. Still, there were a few things left, and with those last few things placed, it was done. Their house was empty, the only home they had now was on a planet across the galaxy, and it was occupied only by one man. And he was there alone, waiting for his family. The thought put a bit of rush into everyone’s steps.

Every one of them took a few minutes to take off their pajamas and stuff them into their personal crates. Flight suits had been provided for them and were required when undergoing interstellar travel. They were specially crafted from a very form fitting material that would keep blood from pooling in any one area should a g-force crisis occur. The reactive material was laced with electronics as well, each and every part of it would monitor the wearer's pulse and vitals, reacting as needed.

They were stark white with light blue streaks on it, and a Coalition logo plastered across the left breast. They weren’t comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, but they were required. Had Jeff not just spent a day packing his personal belongings, clothes included, into his crate he would have at least put a pair of cargo pants on over it. At least the rest of his family looked the same. Tight white fabrics stretched over the bare skin, and hiding very little. The cluster of white made it obvious where they were heading.

People of all walks of life bustled around the star port. It was a vast change from the somewhat small town feel that Jeff was used to. Their home had been nestled in something of a suburb, and even then it was on the fringes of the settlement. A short walk would land you on the edges of an open field with forests waiting to be logged beyond.

This, though, was wildly different. Every white wall was splashed with strategically placed colors and advertisements. There were video feeds on most walls soothing travelers and giving directions to the launch gates. Others welcomed newcomers to Curtis3 and bid them platitudes about their visit. Monica led her family through the port, seemingly knowing where she was going without too much issue, and eventually presented their launch schedule to a ticket counter. From there, they were directed to stand in line for a health and security scan.

The outbound line was, mercifully, shorter than the line of inbound passengers who would also need to be scanned. The very real danger of transporting diseases, invasive species, or simple plant life that was not native to the environment was very real. The Coalition did everything in its power to quash those kinds of incidents.

As they approached the line of scanners and staff Jeff noticed that there was a separation. Passengers would scan the data card they had been handed as a boarding pass, and would then be directed to another line. Some passengers would be directed to another line, even though there were clearly other empty queues available. It was a mystery that he hoped might be cleared up once he and his family reached the terminal.

Monica went first, modelling exactly what needed to be done so her children could have a ready example to follow. She placed her data card on the flatbed scanner, little more than a plastic coated short range wireless detector that read the card. A small tone sounded from the machine and Jeff could see the handheld tablet light up in the attendant's hand. He couldn’t quite see the information listed on it, but he could see a picture of his mother, and a lot of information. One of the fields seemed to be highlighted in red and blinking.

“Lane four.” The attendant directed, and Monica complied, walking to the place she was directed to.

Aria was next, scanning her card and hearing the tone. Jeff glanced at the tablet again, no blinking red was present.

“Lane two, just down there.” The attendant said and pointed in the opposite direction of where Monica had been sent.

Aria simply walked along to one of the full body scanners. The kind that you stepped into and a heavy mechanism rotated around you. Just beyond that was another attendant with a small case of medical supplies. Swabs, a handheld scanner and some test strips to check for common diseases or bacteria.

The small chime brought Jeff back. Melody had scanned her card and was being directed to lane four, right behind her mother. The attendant looked to Jeff, and somewhat impatiently called ‘next’. They clearly thought Jeff wasn’t paying attention, they were right, but that's besides the point. Jeff had wanted to look at the display in the attendant's hand when Melody scanned her card, but he had missed his opportunity. His card chimed, and he glanced at the screen, nothing blinked.

“Lane one.”

Jeff walked along, past Aria who had just made it out of the body scanner and was presenting her arm for a swab, presumably followed up by a blood sample. Jeff was instructed to step into the scanner and face the small blinking light on the wall. As he did, he lost sight of his family, it was just him and the scanner now. The machine rotated around him, emitting a heavy hum and a strange sensation, like the air around his head just got twice as heavy for a moment. Then it was done, the machine spun down and everything seemed to return to normal, save for a small wobbling sensation inside of Jeff’s head.

As he suspected, they drew blood and applied small droplets of the sample onto a number of test strips. While the chemicals on them worked, the medical attendant ran a number of very standard tests. Shining a light in his eyes, having him open his mouth to check down his throat, recording his pulse, and taking his blood pressure. Once done, they checked the test strip and compared them to some form of information on their hand held scanner.

“All clear, have a good trip.”

The medical attendant said it with the same tone as someone who had repeated the same line over and over again for hours on end, day after day. Cheerful but empty.

He rejoined his family, all of which were waiting for him. Aria hadn’t bothered to pull the sleeves of her long white shirt down over the gauze padding on her arm. The crook of her elbow still showed the pastel blue tape that was put in place to hold it firmly against her skin. Jeff was already shoving the cuff of his shirt over it. Out of sight, out of mind. He glanced at Melody and Monica, who clearly agreed with him as their sleeves were back down to their wrists again.

All that was left was to make their way to their jump gate and board a star ship.

The gate was more of a challenge to find than anything else. It was a smaller, private gate that was owned by The Coalition. Unsurprisingly, they would not be travelling by a commercial craft, rather a private government owned craft. They only managed to find the gate after asking one of the many wandering information drones where it was. The little hovering drone was little more than a ticket scanner and a touch screen display. Monica tapped her data card to it and a small map appeared, showing where they were and where the gate was. She looked at it for barely a moment and then nodded, turned, and pointed further into the bustling starport.

Once they reached the small boarding gate, there were only a few people there, and all of them wore very official looking uniforms. Pressed white pants and jackets over a light blue shirt. They should have been buttoned up and smoothed out, but judging by the way they were leaning against a counter, chatting, laughing, and even flirting with the attendant there, it was clear that this was a far more casual flight.

“Hey, there they are.” One of them, the only one wearing an officer's cap, proclaimed as the family approached.

“Captain Marcus Liber, at your service.” He said, removing his hat and bowing ever so slightly. “This is my co-pilot Ruber, and our android engineer Six Six Three.”

Jeff looked at the engineer. An android. She didn’t look like an android. Though as he looked closer the faint sheen of plastic on the skin stretched across her face and down her throat did seem to catch the light and reflect it a little too brightly. He didn’t want to stare, but he did see a faint line zipping across her neck as well and wondered if that was some kind of detachment point or opening to an access panel. He didn’t have long to contemplate it.

“Nice to meet you all, if you’ll scan your datapasses here, we can get underway. Your cargo has already been loaded and your quarters have been set up.” Captain Liber said in a jovial tone.

Monica nodded and turned to the attendant there and scanned her data card. The woman behind the counter smiled placidly while the data flowed and then seemed to jump just a little and then turned to Monica. All set, welcome aboard. She held out her hand and took the card from Monica. Jeff watched as this woman repeated the same words again and again, in the same tone, with the same infection, for each member. When it was his turn he handed over his card, but his eyes trailed over her. Shining skin, more plastic looking than Six Six Three, and her movements were stiff too.

Jeff nodded once he was confirmed and found Captain Liber looking at him. The crew and his family were already half way down the boarding tunnel to their craft. His smile was infectiously positive, but it did wonders for Jeff, who felt himself calmed by the almost smug confidence Captain Liber had.

“First time in space?” He asked as Jeff walked past him.

Jeff nodded.

“It’s not so bad. More boring than anything.”

There was a bit of silence and Jeff found himself looking over his shoulder at the attendant.

“First time seeing an android?” Liber asked.

“Yeah.” Jeff said.

“That one’s a little more, ehh, primitive. Sixes up there is basically human. She’ll make sure we’re all good.”

Jeff nodded, his face burning just a little. He wasn’t used to being chatted up by an adult who wasn’t his mother. But his mind continued to slide back to the look of that plastic skin, wondering what it would feel like. If the rest of her body was coated in that same plastic, or if she was all metal and hard bits below the neckline. He wondered if Six Six Three, who looked less artificial, was the same way.

Jeff’s mind danced with youthful glee. He was mentally undressing her, even as Six Six Three came into view, he could see the gentle sway of her hips. It looked so natural, so human, but his mind painted a mental picture of the soft plastic sheen on it. Her back, coated in the same plastic. He imagined her in his bed, topless, her plastic breasts in his-

“Alright, a quick tour!” Captain Liber was saying. Jeff hadn’t even realized that they had fully walked up the boarding tunnel and were now on board the star ship.

It felt more like a small common room than a passenger craft. There was a small arrangement of couches that were all arranged to face outwards. All of them were settled neatly in front of a large, triple thick pane of some kind of clear material. Currently all that lay beyond those windows was the star port. Heavy machines and equipment, soon though, it would be stars and galaxies.

“Through this door here, that’s the engine room, obviously it’s locked.” He pointed to a sealed door on the left of the huddled family, then pointed to the right. “Down there are the crew quarters, also locked, but the ones with a little blue light above the doors, those are for you folks. Names are on the little piccard-”

“Placard” Six Six Three quietly corrected.

“Right yep, on the placard outside. Your stuff should be inside already. Further down the hall on the right is the cafeteria. We’ll be rationing food, not that there’s a shortage, but don’t go gorging yourself.”

Liber stepped up behind Ruber and slapped his hands onto the somewhat younger man’s shoulders.

“Ruber here is quite the chef. It’s all pre-packaged stuff, but you’d be amazed what a little salt and some butter will do.”

Ruber nodded and presented a small smile.

“Across from the cafeteria is the engineering bay, that’s where Six is gonna be most of the time.”

The robotic woman smiled warmly and nodded. “It’s going to be locked when I’m not in there, but feel free to pop in and say hi if I’m in there.”

“Cockpit at the end of the hall. That’s about it. So, welcome aboard the Mirum’iter”

He smiled, nodded, and waited just long enough to let anyone ask any questions they may have had, and when no one spoke up, he nodded once more and strode casually off towards the front of the ship. Ruber and Six Six Three fell into step behind him, giving Jeff one last lingering view of the robot’s rear end and dragging his thoughts back to the lewd place they had been in before.

Melody was the first to move, taking up a position on one of the couches and soon after, Aria joined her. Melody’s brilliant red hair clashing with Aria’s lavender. Aria leaned her head onto Melody’s shoulder and the two sisters looked out the windows, the vibrant colors swirling and mixing together as they waited.

Monica patted Jeff on the shoulder and stepped past him, moving to the hell and towards her room and left Jeff alone with his thoughts. The ship was already beginning to subtly shift and vibrate as pre-take off checks were run and mechanisms began to move.

Jeff took up position on one of the couches that faced out of the other side of the ship. He criss-crossed his legs and tried to make himself comfortable, but the twisting knot of nervous energy coiled in his belly. He closed his eyes and tried to force his mind to think of anything else, anything to distract him from the idea that in a few minutes he would be blasting off into the atmosphere, then into space and from there a course that would lead him some place all new.

Chapter Three

Some things never changed. Despite a few centuries or more of development into rocketry and physics, chemical based launch rockets were still en vogue. The raw thrust they could produce was unparalleled. The method of using them to launch craft, on the other hand, had evolved greatly.

A system of gantries were affixed to the craft, and the chemical boosters connected to the framework. From there, the entire assembly would be launched out of the atmosphere, once there though, the ionic thrusters on the craft could take over. The gantry would detach and the ship would be on its way, while the chemical rockets would be recovered, refueled, and brought back to the planet for reuse.

Jeff, Melody, and Aria could sit comfortably as they watched their home planet disappear below them. Of course, they needed to wait for the plumes of smoke and debris to clear out of their vision first. As they were launching, the beautifully curved windows were filled with nothing but white smoke and little else. Once they had breached the atmospheric limits of the planet, though, it became a different sight.

A sea of stars, all twinkling and shimmering before them, appeared in the view ports. It stretched out, literally, into infinity. Melody could only smile at that, leaning forward a little and releasing Aria. Jeff sat where he was, simply staring into the vastness of space, knowing that each and every glimmering star before him was its own galaxy, stuffed full of planets. A vast array of the universe spread out before him.

It wasn’t madness that gripped his brain at that moment, but a sense of awe and scale. The universe was vast and he was just a small speck in it, likewise his concerns, his worries and fears, the sadness of losing friends and leaving his home, were equally insignificant. When faced with the unimaginable beauty that the vast array of space had to offer, what could humans conjure to compare to it?

It was quiet in the little common room. The subtle hum of the ion engines provided some small measure of white noise to help distract the mind. Aria and Jeff let their minds wander off into those vast stars, letting the unimaginable size of it all fill them with wonder, joy, and awe. Melody simply sat where she was, leaning forward and letting her eyes bounce from star system to start system. She was content to simply let her eyes wander across the vastness of it all.

Monica joined them at some point, though she never sat down on one of the chairs or couches there. She simply stood, looking out at the stars and letting her children enjoy the view. She had been given many gifts, children whom she loved and who loved her in return, a husband willing to do anything for them, and a chance at living on despite her illness. Her eyes flicked to Melody, a warm compassion for her welling up inside of her. Her eldest daughter had been given the same second chance at life as she had.

Aria was the next to fall in her scope of vision. The wild and bright haired young woman, only barely cresting into adulthood, her whole life laid out before her. Monica could only hope that there was a chance that Aria would never have to go through what Monica and Melody had.

Jeff had heard his mother return to the space and had glanced around at her. The previous bland jumpsuit had been replaced now with a comfortable pair of jeans and a loose fitting turtleneck style sweater. Her hair, as always, was still loosely braided and draped over her shoulder. Small strands of hair jutting out here and there. The change of clothing alone lent her a cute and cozy look, instead of the motherly authority figure she had projected before.

Jeff looked down at his government issue flight suit as well. White and blues on a comfortable, but form fitting single piece. Black boots and little else. He hated how it rode up on his rear end as well. The comfort his mother was radiating was envious. Jeff was loathed to move from his post, looking out at space for something as petty as comfort, but he had to remind himself that sometimes in life, it was the small comforts that mattered. Sometimes you needed to just act instead of thinking.

So he uncoiled himself from the couch, stood up and stretched before wordlessly wandering off to the dorms.

It was clear that the rooms were built with utility in mind, and then touched up by a corporate designer who wanted to add a comforting touch. There was a nook for a bed. It was little more than a notch carved into the wall of the room, but instead of being simply scooped out, the curved wall extended upwards, allowing for more space. He could easily stand on the bed and not hit his head on anything. Much like the common space, there was a viewing window built into the wall, though it was far smaller than the ones in the common room. Perhaps two hand heights tall and running the full length of the bed, with a curtain mounted over it.

Why anyone would want to close off such a gorgeous view was beyond Jeff.

Similar to the bed, a few shelves had been cut into the wall and made for a handy place to store any number of things. Jeff would use it to store his books and a few little baubles. His personal crate was centered in the room, still full of his own belongings, including his clothes. Sliding open the door in the wall to reveal a closet with a small set of drawers in it would have to do for storing and organizing his clothes.

It took the better part of an hour to dig out his clothes from the crate. In the process he had pulled out his personal computer, a few pictured in plastic frames of him and his friends, and his holo emitter. He wouldn’t want to miss a vid-com from back home simply for not having his equipment in order.

Clothes populated the closet and soon enough he had changed. Now sporting a comfortable pair of cargo pants and a simple olive drab shirt. He mussed his hair a little after pulling on the shirt to try and straighten the somewhat shaggy mop of hair he had been blessed with. He gave up a few minutes later and put his boots back on.

On the wall opposite the closet was another door set into the wall. Stepping up to it and letting it slide open, he found himself in a small bathroom. A stainless steel toilet was on one side, a sink in the middle, and a small space that barely resembled a shower on the other. He tilted his head slightly at the sink, and then ventured a look at the shower as well. There were no hot and cold knobs, or any sort of flow control, there was only a button, on or off.

He tapped the button on the sink and it immediately began emitting a deep, almost inhumanly low tone, but nothing else. Tapping the button turned it off. He looked just past the sink to the mirror on the wall and found that it was not only a mirror, displaying his face, but a display of sorts. Showing the date, the name of their ship, and a small hieroglyph just above the sink. Push button, place hands under faucet.

He pressed the button again, the humming resumed, and he pushed his hands under the faucet. The sensation was odd. There was something there, something pushing against his palms. He felt it more acutely as well. The thrumming sound was in sync with the pressure against his palms. He also noticed small flecks of dirt being shoved off of him into the bowl. He blinked at that before realizing what it was. A sonic sink. High speed soundwaves dislodged dirt and then blasted it off of his hands. He turned and looked at the shower and to the button there.

With an equally deep hum the shower came to life. The sounds coming from the, admittedly, conventional looking shower head. The wonder of it wore off as Jeff realized he would be spending the next six months having his body blasted by sound instead of real water. Conservation of resources and rationing of necessities. Sound was free and everywhere. It made sense, but Jeff felt like a luxurious hot shower might be his first indulgence when he landed.

Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he stepped up to the door and let it slide open in front of him. He heard the small hushed voices of his mother and Melody up the hall from him. Their rooms must have been somewhere near the end of the hall. Melody’s whispered voice was hard to hear, especially as the lingering sound of the door’s hiss still rang in his ear.

“Mel, just do it, it won't take long.” Monica hissed at her.

“But It feels weird!” Melody replied.

“You’ll get used to it, but with all the changes-”

Both stopped as Jeff casually stepped into the hall. He intentionally turned in the opposite direction of the source of the hushed voices and stepped lightly back towards the common room. He knew that they were arguing about something, and from the sounds of it, they were related to Melody’s recent treatments. A fact that Jeff found more than a little odd. Melody was usually very cautious, and, as she said, a little weirdness was worth it to keep her heart beating. Or so Jeff thought.

He was being polite, he knew that the pair would settle down and whatever the issue was it was likely due, simply, to the strain of the day's events. It was only around noon, maybe a little after, it was hard to tell. There were no sunsets in space, and time had a weird habit of not meaning much. Still, Jeff knew the day was only half over, at best.

The somewhat silent hiss of a door sliding open drew Jeff’s attention as he settled back down onto the couch he had occupied previously. He glanced to the side in time to see Monica walking towards the common room, her face stoic, and behind her Melody disappeared into her own room. The door slipped closed behind her. Monica settled down onto one of the comfortable chairs to one side of her son. As she came to rest it looked like she had settled into place, proper posture, and then something just changed. She slumped into the chair and let out a breath. Her eyes moved to meet Jeff’s.

She clearly wanted to say something. The appropriateness or timing of it was up for debate though. She was well aware that Jeff had heard her and his sister’s little tiff, the question was how much?

“Jeff, there’s something-”

The sound of a happy sigh broke her statement. Both looked in the direction of the guest quarters in time to see Aria appear. She had taken the hint and had gone to her room to change as well and had reappeared with a simple gray strapless halter top that carved a line across the top of her chest. It was just enough to reveal the small amount of cleavage she could produce, without showing off too much. It did little to cover her belly, and just barely kissed the top of her bellybutton.

Jeff couldn’t really help himself. Her whole form was on display as she walked along. HIs eyes naturally traveled to her hips and thighs, wrapped tightly in a pair of form fitting black leggings. The drab color of her clothes clashing with her hair color and the silvery bangles and bracelets that she had taken time to put on while changing.

She looked stunning, and if she looked like that when they landed then Jeff had no doubt that there would be a line of off world men, and probably some women, who would flock to her.

Jeff looked away as soon as his brain registered what he was doing and instead forced his gaze back to the floor. He couldn’t have been staring at her for more than a moment or two, surely it wasn’t enough time to cause any kind of concern, though it was more than enough time for him to take in her beauty. He gently shook his head, trying to shake the thought free, it needn’t be there.

She walked back to her spot on the couch, flopped into place and pulled out one of her sketchbooks. The soothing sound of charcoal scratching on rough paper reached Jeff’s ears a moment later. Aria would be there for a while. Her presence in the commons seemed to chase away whatever it was that Monica was about to talk with Jeff about, a fact that he clearly recognized. That was alright though, there was no shortage of time during the trip to talk.

The quietness settled in around the family. Monica staring out at space with Jeff. The engines provided a steady hum like the low bass of a melody that was just beginning to rise. Aria’s movements, swiping charcoal across a page provided the punctuating notes. Aria’s movements were so swift yet consistent that they could have easily merged into a musical rhythm with the deep engines. Jeff lost count of how long that song played. It was an easy thing to do, the soothing sounds with the smooth passage of stars robbed the human mind of the actual passage of time.

The soft sound of a distant automated door sliding open shattered the song. Melody’s footfalls, while rhythmic, were out of tune with the quiet song in the commons. She strode into the room, fully ignoring Monica as she did so. The sound of the fabric on her loose fitting black pants carved their own rhythm into the air. Jeff only caught a glance of the rest of her, a shock of black across her chest, some kind of tube top maybe, and a denim jacket over the top. Her red hair, normally loose and flowing behind her had been bundled up into a tight, but messy, bun.

Her mother was facing the opposite wall, looking out at a wholly different sea of stars. The redheaded woman made a move to sit next to Aria, but the soft sounds of her sketching reached Melody’s ears. She had planned to flop into place, cross her arms over her chest and pout. Letting Aria see her upset, but hiding it from Monica. Seeing Aria though, she seemed to release something. A long held breath seemed to seep harshly out her nostrils and Melody lowered herself gently to the couch next to Aria.

Jeff could hear the murmuring conversation begin behind him, though none of the words made any sense to him. They were sounds and little else. Even as he glanced over his shoulder at his two sisters, all he could see were the occasional turn of the head or small, fleeting gesture. Even when Melody turned her head to look at Aria, or rather her sketchbook, Jeff could only see her lips moving and nothing else.

Monica was the first to leave. Jeff rightly assumed that the tension between her and Melody had finally reached the breaking point. She sighed, once and only once, then smoothly got to her feet and walked out of the room. A moment later the distant whoosh of her door opening and then closing let Jeff know where she had gone. Leaving him, once again, alone to look out at the stars.

The human mind struggled to comprehend the vastness of the stars. Infinite space was a concept, and only a concept, and facing it in reality with one's own eyes set a strange tingling sensation though Jeff’s brain. He felt like his mind was both empty and full at the same time. So great was the distraction that he didn’t hear Melody get up and move to sit next to him. It was only when the weight of her body sent the couch rocking a little that he was brought back.

He was almost startled, certainly the sudden appearance of his sister was enough to jolt him back to reality. He looked over at Melody, her messy bun was clearly poorly done, as it was already falling out, or perhaps it had only been hastily put up and Melody was just letting it fall. Jeff admitted that the look gave her a very cute, not caring, just being, quality. As if she was what she was and it didn’t much matter the work she put into her appearance.

“Sorry you had to hear mom and I.” She began, Jeff only shrugged and waved it off.

“What..How much did you hear?”

The apprehension in her voice was real and it was brushing up against fear, or was it embarrassment? Whatever it was, Jeff realized that she clearly wanted to keep it a secret.

“Nothing. Just that mom was making you do something uncomfortable.” Jeff muttered, “I assume some part of your treatment.”

“Yeah.” Melody quietly confirmed. “It was just treatment stuff.”

Jeff nodded, letting silence fall again, though only for a moment or two, he had to say something lest he lose himself to the stars again.

“I thought all your treatment was done though. Like, they got all of it out of you.” Jeff said.

“Yeah they did, but there’s a lot of maintenance..you know, upkeep on things at the very beginning.”

Jeff nodded at that, already feeling uncomfortable. He didn’t like to think about anyone’s medical treatments, those were private matters. Much less his sister’s.

“I guess that’s why mom doesn’t need to go to the doctor much any more. Right? She had her treatment done years ago and just has to go in for checkups every now and again.”

Melody only nodded at that and the quietness of space settled on them again. Jeff’s mind wanted so badly to slip back out among the passing star systems. But the void’s calling was stopped by a question.

“Are- Is there a doctor on the new planet? Like. Are you and mom going to be-”

“We’ll be fine.” Melody interrupted. “The maintenance part of all of this is a lot easier to do. Heck I can do it myself if I have my- If I have the right equipment.”

Jeff didn’t miss it. There was something that Melody and his mother needed to keep up on their treatment. His mind flashed back to the heavy looking steel case that dominated Melody’s personal cargo crate. Visions of vials of subtly bubbling green fluids and spare needles flashed through his mind. The case must be filled with all the additional medications and equipment she would need for the journey. Clearly it was easy enough to stock up on those necessities once they landed too. Maybe the first few supply drops would carry those refills.

Even the line of questioning seemed absurd to Jeff in retrospect. Of course the new planet would have doctors and medical staff. What kind of backwater, second rate exploration crew wouldn’t have medical personnel with them? Sometimes he kicked himself for asking stupid questions. Even telling himself that he was still young and couldn’t have known was little comfort.

Then he looked out the window again. The Universe didn’t care if he asked a stupid question, or an absolutely brilliant one for that matter. Everything was so small in comparison, and that did comfort him. With a burden lifted, Jeff’s mind spun back to the present, to his sister, his family, and the absolute magnificence of the ship they were on.

“Hey.” He said, causing Melody to look over at him. “Pretty cool that the engineer is a robot, huh?”

Melody smirked at him. “That is pretty slick.”

“I think I’m gonna pick her brain..or CPU…or whatever it is. When we get to dad I want to see if I can stump him with some kind of obscure robot knowledge.”

Melody’s smirk grew to a full smile and raised her eyebrows.

“Good luck. You know dad, like, builds androids, right? From just pieces.”

“Well yeah, but then he sends them off, he doesn’t sit around and chat them up and stuff.”

“Are you sure you don’t just have a crush on her?”

“What? No. I don’t think robots even have..programming..for romance or anything. Like..They’re just machines.”

Melody nodded, “Very modern take you have there.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Jeff said “just that there’s a huge difference between a robot and a person…And I don’t have a crush on her.”

Melody broke out into a small burst of laughter and playfully punched Jeff in the arm while covering her mouth with her other hand.

“Sure you don’t. I’m sure you only want to hang out with the pretty robot for academic reasons.”

The pair shared a small chuckle, but the thought lodged itself in his mind. Did he have a crush on her? Could androids even experience things like a crush? His hormonal mind took it a step further.

Could androids have sex? Were they programmed for it? Did they have the right hardware for it? He found himself mentally undressing Six Six Three again. That plastic skin on display, reflecting the star light. Her chest accentuated by deep shadows in the dim light, her body under his own. They were in his quarters, she was splayed out on the bed, panting in lustful jubilation. He mentally looked her up and down. Everything was there, shimmering in all its plastic and silicone glory.

Her breasts, he could practically feel them in his hands. Or what he thought they felt like. Jeff had an absolutely nonexistent history with sex, but his imagination was on point. He could see the way her plastic breasts squished and molded in his hands. He could feel her icy skin, truly artificial in every way, pressed against his. He saw her equally plastic sex between her spread legs. Those small seam lines he had seen on her throat etched into an outline around it.

In his mind's eye, Six Six Three was a sensual goddess. He felt a little flushed, and the heat had risen enough on his cheeks to bring him back to the moment he was living in. The images of the naked robotic woman below him dissipated into nothingness. He sincerely hoped that Melody hadn’t seen the redness creeping across his cheeks while he indulged. He ventured a glance in her direction and saw that she too was quiet and simply looking out at space. The reflection of the starlight was barely visible in her unfocused eyes. ‘Good’ he thought, he had gotten away with it. But it was likely time to go somewhere else to..cool off.

His room was so boring compared to the passage of literal stars and galaxies out in the commons. Static white walls, some of his own flare on the shelves, but little else. As his finger slid down the light panel on the wall next to the door though, the mood became a little more sexy. Dim lights, the open port hole out to space, and Jeff found himself relaxing a bit.

The door was locked, and he lay on the bed, getting comfortable. His hands already unbuttoning his cargo pants and unzipping them. A hand found its way to his manhood and began to stroke it. His mind turned back to Six Six Three.

She was on top of him this time. In this very room, on this very bed. Jeff imagined her weight pressing into his hips as he grew harder. He could see her smile as she reached down for the hem of the shirt portion of her flight suit. He watched as she peeled it up and off of her body, her breasts jiggling in a not quite perfect manner. The artificial gel packs he assumed gave them their shape swayed and jiggled. His hands were on her body once again.

He started at her hips, miraculously already unclothed. His imagination told him what they felt like. Soft artificial skin, with a plastic sheen to them. There was some give, like there was a layer of padding just below the surface to make her feel real. Her hips were moving, grinding, into him. He felt himself grow fully erect now and he truly got to work.

His mind imagined his hands sliding up her body, dipping in on her torso and then coming to cup her breasts. She moaned, sweet and delightful, practically begging him to keep going. So he did.

He felt his climax rising, boiling inside of his belly and rising up his shaft. The bone deep pressure was quickly reaching a breaking point. Jeff had to make a choice now if this fantasy was about simple relief or if it was for his enjoyment. A choice that was tough to make as a climactic release was slamming its fists against his mind.

His eyes remained closed and he sucked in a deep breath. He needed it.

His mind returned its focus to Six Six Three’s naked body on top of him. The fake skin coating her robotic body, and what it would feel like. He imagined her moving those perfectly shaped legs, the hydraulics, he assumed, inside of her pushing her up and adjusting her with precision. She lowered herself onto his erect and waiting member. The very touch of the plastic coating her sex was divine, or so Jeff imagined at least.

This was about relief, his mind decided.

THe fantasy was gone then, lost in a swirl of panting and gulping for air as Jeff felt his whole body react. The pressure building inside of him burst outward, coating his hands in a warm, sticky mess. His body was hot and yet cold all at once. He was breathing heavy and deep and held onto himself. Six Six Three’s face still dancing in his vision, her smile, the shape of her mouth as her lips parted in a lewd moan. All of it was etched deep into his brain.

It took a few moments for Jeff to gather himself and slide off the bed, attempting to not make too much of a mess. The sonic sink humming and cleaning his hands was a good start. There were no towels to speak of, after all there was no water to dry off. There was, however, some form of toilet paper that did well enough to help clean up Jeff’s softening member.

Sucking in one more deep breath, he stood up straight, adjusted himself and zipped his pants back up. He definitely didn’t have a crush on Six Six Three. It was purely academic, he decided.

Chapter Four

Wanting to make damn sure that every bit of flush had drained from his face, Jeff remained in his room for another twenty or so minutes. Or so he estimated, it was gauged more on how he felt than any marker of time.

While there, he unpacked a bit more. Storing books and clothes and personal effects on shelves. Once his heart settled down into an imperceptible thump inside of his chest he was ready to leave. Stepping into the hall, he looked up and down the expanse. The commons appeared, from where he stood at least, to be empty. A mere comfortable space with no life in it. Aria must have finished her sketch and returned to her room. Or maybe she was still on the couch, Jeff couldn’t exactly see from his vantage point, but the sound of charcoal on paper was gone at least.

Likewise, Melody seemed to be missing. Jeff crept up the hall softly and peeked into the commons. Confirming it was empty. His family separating and heading to their own spaces. Time and distance, perfect for diffusing tension.

The ship seemed quiet then, the background hum of the engines had already become just another noise his brain could ignore. That suited him just fine, the deep rumble didn’t need a constant validation in his mind. Slipping back up the hall and turning to the little alcove on the left, about half way along, Jeff found the door. A placard proclaimed it as simply ‘Engineering’ and the sign was illuminated in a pale blue. The same temperature of light that bathed his own door.

Jeff wondered if Six Six Three was in there. He leaned out of the small alcove to peer back up the hall again. The lights over Melody, Monica, and Aria’s doors had changed from the gentle blue to a very clear red. Locked doors.

The blue light seemed welcoming then. She was in there, for certain. Did he just walk in? Was it polite to knock before walking into a robots domain? He raised a loosely clutched fist, readying it to knock before looking around. Maybe there was a doorbell of some kind.

A small crackle startled him, the speaker assembly built into the signage had flared to life and now produced Six Six Three’s voice.

“Can I help you with something?”

It was polite. Crisp. The kind of no nonsense tone that you might expect from a service provider. Jeff thought it sounded heavenly, and mentally added the sound of her voice to a vault in his head. It would surely be used next time he-

“Uh, n-no. Well, maybe yes. I was just going to chat a bit.”

Jeff scrunched his eyes closed. He was so painfully aware of how un-casual he sounded.

“Sure thing. Come on in. Door’s unlocked.”

Jeff wasn’t sure he wanted to go in and see her now that he had fumbled around his first impression. But she was expecting him now. He pushed a hand onto the door and it disappeared into the wall with a hiss.

Jeff stepped into a place that was familiar. Not this place in particular, but the look and feel were familiar. The smell too, it was the scent of a garage with exposed oils, long soaked into discarded rags. The tang of metal shavings immediately found their way to the back of his tongue. While lit well, there still seemed to be pools of light that were just a little brighter.

The whole room appeared to be made of workbenches and shelves. Even the floor served as storage for something. Metal crates packed with parts, big and small, all trailing wires and severed tubing littered the space. The shelves housed containers of varying shapes and sizes. At one time they might have had a label printed on them, but years of use had worn most of them down to colored smears.

The counter space in front of the woman sitting on a stool was about the only clear space. Every other surface was marred with a project in progress. Half finished mechanical components with circuit boards affixed to them, with a myriad of wires bursting out of it and plugging into something else.

Six Six Three was sitting on the stool, her back turned to Jeff as he entered. She was still wearing the flight suit he had seen her in earlier. White fabric stretched too tightly over her features confirmed for Jeff that in his imagination he had gotten, at least somewhat, some of her proportions correct. Her rear end at least, was on point.

She spun around on her stool to face Jeff. He tried, very diligently, to not let his eyes simply drift down to her chest and hips. It was instinctual though, just a brief flick of the eyes to take in the shape, the roundness and smooth curves. That was all he needed, and all he got.

Six Six Three was wearing a heavy vest of some kind. Buckled tightly around her neck and clipped into waiting ports on the hips of her suit. It masked her figure from Jeff’s eyes, but was also pock marked by a number of small burns. The smell of burnt metal reached Jeff’s nose and the sight of something just vaguely smoldering on the bench indicated what she had been working on.

“Sorry, I’m not interrupting, am I?” Jeff asked.

“Nah, I was just resoldering some very intricate components on the forward shield generator. Nothing important.” The light sarcasm in her voice reminded him very much of any number of quips that Aria might have made.

“Uhm. That seems kinda important.”

“Eventually, sure. Captain isn’t likely to let us crash into an asteroid while he’s in his chair. We’ll be fine.” She said with a small smile and a wink. “You wanted to chat though?”

Jeff stepped fully into the room at that point, feeling the door slide into place behind him, leaving him alone in the room with the android. As the light from the hall was cut off, he realized how shadowy the room was. The overhead lights in the space were concentrated over the workbenches and little else. All of them cast Six Six Three into a weird space of light and shadow.

The light from the hall had provided enough light to see her smooth and plainly pretty face, all framed in the short cropping of hair on her head. There was a small undershave to it, but the pixie cut hair still swept over one side. Her eyes, now cast into the shadow of her own eye sockets, were some kind of bright color, maybe a blue? It was hard to tell when Jeff’s eyes had been travelling elsewhere when the light had been present.

Still visible was the plastic sheen to her skin. Somehow more pronounced now that there was no subtle, diffused light. Only harsh whiteness from the overhead lighting contrasted with the shadows. What light it could catch was reflected brightly.

“Yeah, I- Uh- My dad does this kind of stuff.” Jeff swept his hand over the broad spectrum of electronics, wires, cables, dangling bits and pieces, tools, and tubing in the room.

“Starship maintenance?” Six Six Three asked.

“Well, no, machines and robots and stuff.”

She nodded, seeming to understand. The movement catching more of the light and reflecting it to Jeff.

“Are you interested in doing the same thing?” Six Six Three asked.

“More or less.” Jeff replied.

“And you came here to steal my secret tricks of the trade.” She said, squinting at Jeff.

He was stunned for a moment. “Wh- N- No I just wanted to-”

Six Six Three burst into laughter. It was a strange digital sound. It was tinny and clearly synthetic, though Jeff had no clue how the sound was produced. If it was just a pre-recorded sound, then it must have sounded clearer, even playing from a speaker set. This sounded like an actual sound that would be made by a person, though there was just something to it that was uncanny and artificial. Once she began speaking again, Jeff couldn't help but notice that same quality in her voice, if he listened hard for it.

“I’m kidding. Don’t take anyone on this crew seriously.” She warned.

Awash after the sarcasm, Jeff found himself chuckling along with her. It went a long way to settling his nervous energy. Feeling more at ease, he stepped in a little more and leaned against one of the counters, making sure he didn’t lean into some kind of stain or unfinished project.

“What did you really want to talk about Jeff?” Six Six Three asked.

Lies and misdirections would be no use against a robot. She was clearly either too logical or had some kind of speech pattern recognition that linked to a database of psychological tells. She’d see right through him.

“Captain said I was the first android you had ever met, I can only assume it has to do with that.”

Oh. The captain had told her…

“Yeah, I just…I’m curious. My dad knows all about your kind and if I have to be confined to a spaceship with one, I might as well learn a bit. You know?”

Six Six Three’s smirk was a little condescending. It wasn’t the concept, far from it. Continued education was always important, it was more the way Jeff had referred to her. Terms were important, especially to robots.

“First, you should know, most modern robots find it pretty offensive when you point out that we are different from humans. I’m fully sentient and sapient. I know what I am, and I could choose to act very mechanical, but I’m choosing to act like a human. Mostly because humans have a hard time accepting something that doesn’t look and sound like they do. That’s what led to all kinds of suffering in the past. Choose someone who doesn’t look or sound like you, convince everyone they are less than human, subjugate.”

Jeff felt a new kind of blush spreading over his face.

“Don’t worry about it though. I’m not offended, but I wanted to point it out to you so that you knew how to treat other androids.” She slipped off of her stool and stood up. She was slightly smaller than Jeff, but still managed to seem on equal footing with him. She thrust out her hand and smiled, warm and welcoming.

“So, Jeff, Nice to meet you. I’m SIx Six Three. Most people just call me Six.” She looked to the side for a moment, “except Ruber. He calls me egg.”

“Egg?”

She laughed and returned to her stool. “Apparently if you rotate Six Six Three, it looks like it spells the word egg.”

Jeff stopped for a second, mentally conjured up an image of the three numbers and then rotated them. Sure enough…

“Do..you like that name?” He asked.

Six Six Three smiled at Jeff. “No one ever asked me before. So I hadn’t really thought it through. But you know what, yeah I think I do.”

“Alright, then, egg. What else should I know about androids?”

“Well, androids are boy robots, gynoids are female.”

The next hour and a half was filled with some legitimately enjoyable conversation. At some point, Six Six Three returned to her work on the shield generating computer she had been working on when Jeff had entered, but she let him know that she was delighted to keep chatting. Jeff found it easier and easier to keep his eyes off of her, which may have been a result of him getting to know her on a more personal level, and seeing her less as an object of lust, or perhaps it was because he had gotten plenty of glances at her body.

She managed to explain the very basics of how a robot's mind worked though. How processes linked to an operating system and how those processes in turn worked together to make her have a real personality and make her a real person. She explained that there was no practical difference between a human mind that generated thoughts on its own, since those thoughts were ultimately based on all the knowledge a person had acquired. Just replace the word ‘knowledge’ with ‘programmed database’.

Philosophical implications aside, Jeff had a truly delightful time listening to Egg ramble on about how her mind worked. She had a full comprehension of how it would operate and how specifically to manage it, and she could manage it. Jeff commented that he often didn’t know why his brain did what it did.

The conversation turned after that. Egg asked if he knew anything about the actual operation and maintenance of the physical parts of a robot. How to recognize one in distress and how to perform even basic maintenance. He didn’t but he also recalled what his father had taught him about machines. How many of the obvious problems were actually caused by something small and usually insignificant.

Egg confirmed that and actually turned back to him with a smile.

“You want a practical example?” She asked.

“Sure!” Jeff replied.

Egg rolled up the sleeve on her right arm. Below it the plastic coating that served as her skin shone all the brighter as she laid her arm on the workbench, palm up. Jeff stepped closer, his heart pounding as he came closer to the gynoid. He could see her forearm, and the small seam lines that were set into it.

“Ok, so, my hand here. I can move my fingers and everything.” As she spoke, she moved each finger individually.

“Pretty normal movement, but-” She barely shivered as a command was formulated in her operating system. The command opened a small panel just below her wrist. Inside were tangles of wires all pinned back, but just inside of the panel were a number of thin metal cables. As Egg moved her fingers, those cables clicked and moved.

“See those?” Jeff nodded and looked up at her face from her exposed electronics. “Those are tension strands. They move my fingers. But, if one wasn’t working.”

She hooked her finger under one of the cables and wiggled it up and off of the small mechanism that the end of it was looped around. The cable went slack, so did the other cables that she had not touched.

“Now I can’t move any of my fingers, try as I might.”

The sound of the control mechanism inside of her arm clicked and clattered, but there was no movement. Just one cable wasn’t connected, but none of the other ones were working either.

“They’re all connected. Because moving them without all of them working might cause a cable to get caught in the mechanisms, then it would get tangled, and possibly tear my whole arm completely apart.”

“Whoa.”

“Whoa indeed.” Egg replied. “It’s happened too. Older generations of my exact model had all kinds of problems. So they redesigned everything so that when one little thing goes wrong, the whole system shuts down. It sucks, but it's safer that way.”

Jeff nodded along. He had gotten his first glance into how a robot actually operated. It was on a small scale, and in a very controlled environment, but as he watched Egg reattach the tension cable to the control mechanism in her arm, utilizing a screwdriver to wiggle it back into place, he couldn’t help but wonder what other parts of her internal working were like. Moreover, he felt a weird shock of arousal at that thought.

He thanked her, a platitude that she waved off. It was clear that she was always happy to help and more than that, happy to impart information on something she was clearly passionate about. Jeff made a move to stand and make for the door, and Egg stretched her arms above her head.

“I suppose it is about quitting time.” She said as she set down the thing she was working on. “You should see about getting Ruber to make dinner.”

The dawning realization that he hadn’t eaten since a hastily consumed breakfast hit Jeff hard once Egg mentioned it. His stomach grumbled at him.

“I guess so. Will you be joining us?” A hopeful tone laced Jeff’s question.

“Nah. I’ll just head to my bunk and plug in. Us robot types don't actually need to eat.”

Something about the way she said that gave Jeff pause.

“You don’t need to but-”

“But I can, sure. I just don’t. There’s a whole substance storage thing in me, and cleaning it out is a hassle without water. So, you know.”

Sonic sinks and showers would certainly make it hard to clean out..whatever was in her..Still he pressed his lips together into a small, but disappointed smile and nodded before leaving the engineering room.

The hall smelled of something edible. Heavily seasoned foods of some kind filled his nose and only made his stomach growl more greedily. He had to agree, it might not have smelled of moms home cooking, but given the circumstances it smelled delightful.

The word cafeteria did some heavy lifting to describe the actual space. There was a kitchenette, cold storage, and two tables. THey were polished and clean, wearing that same coat of white paint. The room's only color came from the blue in Ruber’s flight uniform and Aria’s lavender hair. She was sitting at one of the tables, her cheek resting against her fist and looking at nothing in particular. Ruber was over at the stove, shaking a pan of some kind and jostling the contents of it.

Aria looked up as Jeff came in, a quick flash or recognition and a smile grew across her face. Ruber also turned and waved once at Jeff as he took up a position across from Aria.

“Where have you been?” She asked.

“I was hanging out with Egg”

“Egg!” Ruber shouted over the sizzle of whatever he was cooking, Aria looked over at him and then back to Jeff in confusion.

“I’ll explain later.” Jeff commented. “She was teaching me about robots and gynoids and stuff.”

“Oh, cool.” Aria commented dryly.

“Where’s mom and Mel?” Jeff asked.

Aria shook her head slightly and twisted her hand into a claw and made a mock swipe at Jeff once.

“More for us I guess.” Jeff said and Aria agreed.

Two plates of some kind of food appeared in front of them. White rice, some kind of spiced orange sauce, small green vegetables of some kind, and something else.

“Rice, curry, and chicken flavored protein dense meat substitute.” Ruber said “bon appetit”

It could have been chicken flavored mush for all Jeff’s stomach cared. He dug in and didn’t stop until his plate was scraped clean. Likewise Aria made short work of her plate as well. It was spicy, buttery, and the chicken flavored whatever-it-was wasn’t nearly as terrible as the name sounded. All in all, it was a delight. The first meal in space had turned out surprisingly well.

Captain Liber had been right, Ruber was something of a savant when it came to spicing up the food in the ration packages.

It was a shame there were precious few of those meals Ruber would be able to prepare for Jeff.