Work Text:
On most days, the docking bay was relatively quiet. There were no spaceships humming about, no sensors beeping, and no lines of people waiting to get to their assignments. Unfortunately, today was not one of those quiet days.
Adelaide was stuck in the middle of today- in fact, she was stuck in the middle of a line. If she craned her head, she could peek behind her, past the man currently standing there, past the others- and yet she still couldn’t see the back of the line.
She was nearing the front, though. She could see the security guard at the front, scanning IDs and directing people towards whichever ship they’d be on. Currently, there were around 20, each of them ranging in size and shape- the smallest a one-seater that she was praying she’d be excused from, and the largest a jumbo that had a small army milling about its base.
The person in front of her moved up, and Adelaide fumbled for her papers while the guard was busy. There were 3 forms you had to have documented and signed and checked before you could even begin to hope to go on one of these ships, and being a first-timer didn’t help either.
The man in front left for his assignment- a ship near the end that only had one other person so far.
Adelaide smiled at the man. Being polite was always the best option.
“Hello. Here for check-in,” she said, keeping her tone neutral.
The man held out his gloved hand, and Adelaide placed the papers into them carefully. The guard held them up to his face- adjusting his reading glasses- and examined them.
“First time?” He asked, not looking at her.
Adelaide nodded. “Yes, sir. Just passed the examination.”
The man looked up, then. He examined her. “Says here that you weren’t half bad at comms.”
“I was, sir. I took more than the required amount of communication classes.”
The man glanced behind him. “Look, we’ve got a ship that only needs a comms guy. They’ve had to delay their lift because they can’t find anyone.”
Adelaide tilted her head to look at the ship he glanced at. There were a few people standing beneath it, and a few shadows in the windows, but it seemed normal enough.
“Well, sir, I think I would be a great fit,” she said, standing a bit taller.
The man scratched his neck. “Look, alright- you’re new. Not holdin’ that against ya. But there’s some high-end names on that ol’ girl, and- well, there’s some more papers involved.”
Adelaide shrugged. “I’m fine with signing anything, really. I just want an assignment.”
The man gave her an unreadable look and reached into his desk, pulling out a small sheet of paper.
“Sign here,” he said, pushing the paper and a pen across to her. She signed it.
The man pulled the paper back and tucked it, along with her other forms, into a small blue folder labeled “Skeld.” He glanced at her.
“Good luck, girl. #3457920. Over there,” he gestured, pointing towards the ship she had seen earlier.
Adelaide nodded and began walking over, clutching her suitcase tighter. A few people outside the ship looked at her as she approached. As she got closer, and they realized she was, in fact, heading towards their ship, they began eying her with a new interest.
Adelaide, in her nervousness, spoke first. “Hi, I’m Adelaide. Uh- your new- um, Communications guy. Girl.”
“Well, would ya look at that. I thought they’d just let us sit here forever,” A man boomed, standing up from the crate he was sitting on.
“Cap’n’s inside- he’ll be happy we can finally leave,” the man said, typing something into his wrist cuff. Within a few seconds, it made a small ‘ding’ sound.
“Change of plans,” the man shouted, looking around at the others. “Cap’n wants us inside. Now. We’re leaving. Pack up out here, alright?”
There were some mumbles, and a few glances at Adelaide, but no complaints. As the group began filing inside, Adelaide went with the crowd, heading onto the ship.
The inside of the ship looked very different than Adelaide expected. Instead of the junky ships that they had to use in basic testing, this one looked cleaner and newer than she’d seen. And that was only the ramp going in.
As Adelaide was herded with the group, they emerged in what looked like a cafeteria based on the sheer number of tables there. A few people were already beginning to sit down. Adelaide quickly picked a table, not wanting to stand there like an idiot, and set her suitcase down beside her. Before she could get comfortable, though, someone stood up in front of her.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” they announced, stretching their arms. Adelaide craned her neck to look at who it was.
“Now, I’ve received word that we’ve finally acquired a communications officer. Would you stand up, please?”
Adelaide looked around and sheepishly stood up, adjusting her shirt. With this new height level, she could finally see who was talking- a man; who based on his medals along his tailored uniform, was the captain.
A few people eyed Adelaide. Before she could look at everyone, the captain continued.
“That’s great. Thank you. Now, before we continue, everyone please look behind me.” The captain stepped out of the way, revealing 13 spacesuits of varying colors. On top of them all was a small box (with matching color.)
“Behind me are your spacesuits. Now, since we have much more… more important cargo than some other ships, these suits are top-of-the-line.”
Adelaide glanced around. What even was their cargo?
“Now, please make a line, and one at a time, grab a color you like. Make sure to take the box on top as well.”
As soon as the captain said that, a few people ran up to form a line. A few others got in the middle, and Adelaide, not knowing what was happening, walked to the very back.
The line moved quickly- apparently everyone already knew what colors they wanted. And as the man in front of her chose brown and walked off, Adelaide grabbed the last color available; a nice pastel shade of pink.
Walking back to her table, Adelaide- Pink opened the box, which contained 2 things- a booklet labeled “MIRA EMPLOYEE GUIDE” and a… wrist communicator?
The captain stood up again. “Now, a few things before we begin. You probably have not read the MIRA booklet, so I’ll just explain a few important things to keep in mind.” He took a deep breath, as if mentally preparing himself for the next sentence he was about to say.
“MIRA requires that you should be referred to not by your name, but by- your suit color.”
Immediately, people began shouting. “Suit color?” yelled a man, standing up suddenly. “I’m not going to be known as “Red” this whole voyage!”
The person next to Red pulled him down.
“Now, listen. I know you’re upset about this. But MIRA requires it. And especially on this ship, we have to follow company policy.”
“Why?” piped a voice from the back table. “What’s so important about this ship?”
The captain sighed. “You’ll probably find out eventually,” he murmured. “Purple, come on out.”
There was a pause. “Felidae,” he said. “That’s you.”
As he said that, a woman emerged from the hallway to his right. She was clothed in a purple gown that flowed to the ground, and her black hair up in a tight bun. She said nothing, but simply gazed at the assembled group.
“Everyone, this is Purple,” the captain said. “Also known as Felidae.”
“As in- Felidae Mira?” someone said.
“Yes,” answered the captain. “Felidae Mira. Everyone, this is the heir to the MIRA company.”
There was a silence that twisted within the gut of everyone on the ship. There were no words spoken for a second- and then-
“That’s why our ship is so important. Because she’s on it.”
It was the same voice that asked why the ship was important, and as Pink looked, the girl, holding her blue suit, sat down.
“Yes, Blue. That’s why we have these suits, that’s why this ship is, well, better quality, that’s why it took so long for us to leave.”
Pink was suddenly aware that a few members of the ship were looking at her again. She knew MIRA, and if they thought she was connected to it, she would be a target.
The woman- Purple- whispered something in the captain’s ear.
“Right. Okay, everyone. Final announcements. Each of you has a storage locker- ask someone that’s been around a while to help you find it if you’re confused- uh- breakfast is at 0800 tomorrow, and- oh, don’t lose your wrist communicators. We don’t have any extras.”
With that, the captain hurried off with Purple, leaving down the same hallway they entered from.
There were some mutters around the room, and people began standing up, looking a bit lost. Before anyone could leave, however, the man that first talked to Pink outside the ship stood up.
“‘Lo, everyone. I’m Brown, apparently,” he chuckled, holding up his brown spacesuit. “I’m the captain’s self-appointed second-in-command.”
There were a few looks. As far as Pink knew, the captain had never mentioned a second-in-command.
“‘Kay, I know most of ya’ll are really confused. But here’s the rundown. Your beds are next to Storage, that’s where your lockers are too. Grab your bags and your lil’ boxes and follow me if you need help.”
A few people stood up to follow Brown, who was leaving via the left wing. Pink grabbed her box, her suit, and followed them.
Brown was currently giving a tour of the storage room, pointing out the colored lockers on one side of the wall. A few people were already using their lockers, putting away their suitcases or bags. Pink clutched her suitcase tighter to her chest as the group walked on.
The hallways they walked through were not as polished as she first imagined. There were wires sticking out of the walls, loose bolts on the floor, and peeling posters displaying past crews celebrating their safe returns.
Brown eventually stopped beside a door labeled “Crew Quarters.”
“Now, here’s where ya’ll be sleepin’, so I expect you to be good. No hanky-panky or whatever.”
With that, Brown opened the door, revealing a large room full of bunk beds along the walls. There were desks scattered throughout the room, and screens displaying their current flight path near the beds.
“Well? Go on in, it’s almost time to take off. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
The group hurriedly scurried into the room, clutching their bags and suitcases closer. A few quickly claimed the best beds (near the door.)
Pink threw her suit on a bed near the back, and began unpacking her suitcase. As she did, a few more people came into the room- not among them, noticeably, was the captain.
“Excuse me?” asked a voice from beside her. Pink turned, seeing a short girl with messy teal hair and goggles.
“Hey, is the bunk above you taken?” They asked, holding their spacesuit and bag.
“Oh. OH! Oh, no it’s not claimed. Feel free to-”
Before she could finish, the girl scrambled up the ladder and poked her head down.
“So you’re the new Comms girl, right? I was wondering when they were going to send someone in.”
Pink nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. I just got here, so- excuse me if I’m a bit rusty.”
The girl- whose spacesuit was a shade of cyan- laughed. “It’s fine. I mean, you look pretty smart. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”
The girl stuck her hand out from above the bunk. “Nice to meet ‘cha, by the way. I’m, well- what would my name be?”
She examined her suit, reading the label below the chest. “Cyan. That’s not bad. I could be some boring color, like Blue.”
Pink chuckled halfheartedly.
“Anyway, it’s good to have a bunk buddy that isn’t weird. I hope. Last time, I got stuck with a guy who got up in the middle of the night. Every night. I mean, I know you love your job, but leave it be, am I right?”
“Well, I- I hope I can be better than him, Cyan.”
Cyan sighed. “Yeah. But you seem pretty nice. See ya around, Comms girl.”
With that, Cyan stuck her head back up into her bunk, leaving Pink alone.
Pink began unpacking her suitcase, setting up her bedsheet covers and blanket and such. There was a small shelf next to her bed, which was unusual, being that most ships she’d previewed in the academy discouraged that. It was a safety hazard, they said. It’s not important to put items there, they said.
That being said, Pink was going to use it. She hadn’t brought many personal items, apart from a small portrait of her family that she set on the shelf.
The picture was taken 2 years ago, and it was their last family vacation together. Pink was in the middle, trying to carry her brother in her arms- and failing badly. Her mom was on the other side of her, smiling serenely.
As Pink set up the photo, her eyes trailed downward to a series of buttons below the shelf. She pressed one.
A screen in front of the bed suddenly lowered, revealing their flight path. Another button press produced a small curtain that shielded her bed from other’s eyes. And the final button turned on a light above the bunk. Pink turned them all off, minus the curtain, which she kept up as she changed into her pajamas. As she did, she could hear talking from the other bunks- people getting to know each other and so on.
When her pajamas were on, Pink laid down in her bed, getting comfy between the blankets. As she did, she could feel the ship beginning to take off, the thrusters propelling it off from the ground. And just before she went to sleep, a message emitted over the intercom.
“Welcome, crewmates, to the Skeld.”