Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Science Fiction

   I smile sleepily as I look into the engine hatch, watching as the gears slowly turn as Lea steers us in the right direction, the radio static from the back of the ship where Ethan's messing around with the monitors slowly lolling me to sleep. Yawning, I stand up and stretch, "I'mma grab a food bag, want one?" I ask, pulling open the door to a small compartment. "Yea, grab me something sweet," Ethan says, still focused on his work. Lea shakes his head, "naw, I'll eat once we're clear of any debris fields." I grab two packets of sweet potatoes and toss one to Ethan who catches it and tears it open with a sigh, "I suppose they didn't stock us with any desserts, huh." I shrug, "maybe, I just grabbed the two I saw first, there's enough food to feed a good sized army in there." He leans back, "think we'll see any other life out here?" He asks. "Probably," Lea answers, sounding almost certain of it. When neither Ethan nor I  say anything, Lea turns to face us, the dark bags under his eyes from staying awake at the controls since we left Earth behind two days ago making him look even more pale than he was before, "I mean, we are looking for a planet simular to Earth, so there's most likely going to be some form of life already living there, right?" I nod, "I guess you're right," I shrug. "Could you toss me some food, anything's alright," he says, relaxing slightly, "it's going to be pretty much autopilot until we reach what's left of Pluto." I nod and toss him one. We sit around and eat, not really talking about anything personal, just plans for the mission and speculation about where we'll end up after the wormhole jump.
   Eventually Ethan stands up, "I'm going to get some sleep, the two of you should do the same, I'm sure if anything happens the alert system will go off," he says, looking at Lea, "besides, none of us are of any use to humanity if we can't even keep our eyes open," he smiles before going into the bunk area at the back of the ship behind a thick black curtain. I get up and stretch, "he has a point, ya know," I say and follow him, unzipping my suit and stepping out of it, wearing a plain white t-shirt and shorts, same as what the other two have under their suits. I get under the covers and close the privacy curtain. A few minutes later I hear Lea do the same before I drift off to sleep. 
   The next morning I'm awoken by loud sirens and my privacy curtain being pull back, "hurry and get your suit on and strap yourself in, we drifted into an asteroid belt," Ethan says, panicking, I get out and pull on my suit, following him to the main room and strapping myself in, "did we take any damage?" I ask. "Doesn't look like it," Lea says, gritting his teeth as he yanks the controls around, "I just hope you both have strong stomachs, it's about to get a whole lot worse. I spend the next twenty minutes holding onto my straps for dear life while Ethan has his eyes squeezed shut. When it's finally over Lea sighs in relief and leans back, "Alright, we're clear, but you'll need to check out the engine," he says, looking over to me. Nodding I open the hatch, "I can't really see any damage from here, but I'll need to check the outside," he nods, "Alright, Ethan, stay in here and check in with command, I'm going to go outside with Lilith to make sure she doesn't get knocked away by a stray asteroid," he says, pulling on his helmet and clasping it tightly. "Please, just call me Lilly," I tell him before going into the airlock and out into space, my tether keeping me close to the side of the ship. "See anything?" Lea asks through the headset, "not yet, there's a few dents, but nothing major." There's only silence between us for a few minutes before I decide to ask something that's been on my mind, "um, the day we left Earth, I saw you talking with the commander, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything, but, um...." I say awkwardly, not quite sure of I should just bluntly ask why he was trying to leave, if that's even what was going on. "I get it," he says softly, "I just didn't think I was a good fit for the mission, I didn't join the academy wanting to go on a mission, especially one like this, so I tried to slip out without anyone noticing," he says. "If you didn't want to go on a mission, then why did you join?" I ask in confusion, "it's kinda personal," he shrugs, "I guess I just wanted to know what's out there, or out here I should say, I guess." I arch an eyebrow, getting the feeling that he's hiding something. Getting back to checking the exterior of the ship, having given up on trying to figure him out, I sigh in relief, "there's a few dents, but nothing that would be something to worry about," I say as I start to head back in. Lea doesn't say anything, but I can tell that he's following me thanks to the way his tether's moving. Pulling myself inside and closing the door as soon as Lea uses the small overhang to pulling himself in, I pull off my helmet and sigh, "honestly, I don't think I'll ever be used to flouting around like that," I smile and he shrugs. Once back in our seats Ethan looks over, "the radio system's up and running ok, how's the ship?" He asks and I smile, "she's still goin' strong," I respond as Lea starts to start us back in the right direction, "I'm just glad the controls held out," He sighs, "you'd think that command would spring for better controls for something like this." Ethan looks over confused, "what do you mean?" He asks, "well, the stick just feels stiff, I really have to put a lot of muscle into it," Lea explains before pressing a button, "I'm going back to sleep, it's midnight back on Earth," He adds, looking at a small wristwatch. I watch him as he goes back to the sleeping area and lays in his bunk without taking off his suit, "I'm going to do the same," I yawn, getting up and going to my own bunk, taking off my suit and falling back to sleep. 

CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 3