across the translucent floor, certain that a heavier than usual step would break the glass. With each step, her courage and curiosity strengthened. To her left was a hallway, the walls on either side lined with more rectangular blocks and their cerulean lights.
"Hello?" she called out as she walked, but nobody answered. The place had a sterile scent, like the smell of a brand new vehicle. At the end of the hallway where it branched off into two stood a glass stand. Strange, unreadable inscriptions consisting of varying loops and dashes was engraved into it. Maya realized it was a directional sign, but what kind of language was that? Perhaps this was a foreign research center?
Choosing the leftmost hallway, Maya encountered more of the strange writing along the walls. When she moved closer to look at it, the rectangular block in front of her suddenly slid to the side revealing a room. Startled, Maya edged away and watched as the block slid back into place.
"Huh. Now that's cool," she said. She stepped forward again and once more, the rectangular block slid open. The room was dark when she peered inside, but when she stepped into it, amber lights bloomed above her. At first, she thought it was an empty room, but to her right was a wall with a monitor and various dials and buttons surrounding it. On her left, cut into the wall was a bed.
Without thinking, she moved toward it. Sitting, she marvelled at how comfortable the bed felt despite looking so flat. Her energy depleted, her body drooped. When she lay on the bed, the lights shut off.
I'll just rest a bit here and then I'll head home , she thought. Her eyes wide open, she told herself she wouldn't fall asleep.
But she did anyway.
Chapter Two: Lir
What a waste.
Lir scowled as he slammed the door shut and stalked over to the ship's control panel. Sitting, he turned on the display and began making preparations for departure. His fingers hit the keys a bit harder than necessary as he inputted the coordinates of his destination. The quicker he got off this ghastly rock, the better. The longer he stayed the more it reminded him how much he hated Earth.
Once he engaged the ship's invisibility core and inertia negation unit, its engines roared to life. Speaking the commands out loud in his language, he programmed the ship to separate itself from the Earth building it inhabited. Extraction was never a simple process. The rigidity of Earth's molecular structure multiplied the complications. The ship strained beneath the pressure of detaching itself while keeping its contents intact. For some reason, it was taking longer than usual. Lir eyed one of the monitors in confusion as the ship registered another life form on deck. That was impossible. He was the only one who had travelled to Earth.
When the extraction was complete, Lir gunned the ship for Earth's night skies. It shook violently as their altitude climbed and the engines protested against the effort. Forcing the ship against the extreme pressure bearing down on them, Lir tried not to worry about the declining levels in the fuel gauge. Soon, they were clear of Earth's atmosphere and Lir released a breath of relief.
Setting the ship to auto-pilot, Lir unbuckled his seatbelt and got to his feet. ETA to Aqueloc: 1 week. Lir looked at the fuel gauge. Just enough to get him three-quarters of the way home—at least to the jump site. He'd have to depend on the reserves to carry him the rest of the way.
Increasing the oxygen levels on par with Aqueloc's, Lir took a deep breath. Earth's oxygen had been limited and contaminated. During his short visit he'd often felt light-headed, unfocused and his skin too hot. Though his body had adapted to the decrease, all his other abilities had weakened.
And all that effort for nothing. He'd scoured countless Earth divisions— countries , they called them. He'd visited hundreds of its scientific and medical facilities in search of his uncle's body. In hindsight, he realized that
"Hello?" she called out as she walked, but nobody answered. The place had a sterile scent, like the smell of a brand new vehicle. At the end of the hallway where it branched off into two stood a glass stand. Strange, unreadable inscriptions consisting of varying loops and dashes was engraved into it. Maya realized it was a directional sign, but what kind of language was that? Perhaps this was a foreign research center?
Choosing the leftmost hallway, Maya encountered more of the strange writing along the walls. When she moved closer to look at it, the rectangular block in front of her suddenly slid to the side revealing a room. Startled, Maya edged away and watched as the block slid back into place.
"Huh. Now that's cool," she said. She stepped forward again and once more, the rectangular block slid open. The room was dark when she peered inside, but when she stepped into it, amber lights bloomed above her. At first, she thought it was an empty room, but to her right was a wall with a monitor and various dials and buttons surrounding it. On her left, cut into the wall was a bed.
Without thinking, she moved toward it. Sitting, she marvelled at how comfortable the bed felt despite looking so flat. Her energy depleted, her body drooped. When she lay on the bed, the lights shut off.
I'll just rest a bit here and then I'll head home , she thought. Her eyes wide open, she told herself she wouldn't fall asleep.
But she did anyway.
Chapter Two: Lir
What a waste.
Lir scowled as he slammed the door shut and stalked over to the ship's control panel. Sitting, he turned on the display and began making preparations for departure. His fingers hit the keys a bit harder than necessary as he inputted the coordinates of his destination. The quicker he got off this ghastly rock, the better. The longer he stayed the more it reminded him how much he hated Earth.
Once he engaged the ship's invisibility core and inertia negation unit, its engines roared to life. Speaking the commands out loud in his language, he programmed the ship to separate itself from the Earth building it inhabited. Extraction was never a simple process. The rigidity of Earth's molecular structure multiplied the complications. The ship strained beneath the pressure of detaching itself while keeping its contents intact. For some reason, it was taking longer than usual. Lir eyed one of the monitors in confusion as the ship registered another life form on deck. That was impossible. He was the only one who had travelled to Earth.
When the extraction was complete, Lir gunned the ship for Earth's night skies. It shook violently as their altitude climbed and the engines protested against the effort. Forcing the ship against the extreme pressure bearing down on them, Lir tried not to worry about the declining levels in the fuel gauge. Soon, they were clear of Earth's atmosphere and Lir released a breath of relief.
Setting the ship to auto-pilot, Lir unbuckled his seatbelt and got to his feet. ETA to Aqueloc: 1 week. Lir looked at the fuel gauge. Just enough to get him three-quarters of the way home—at least to the jump site. He'd have to depend on the reserves to carry him the rest of the way.
Increasing the oxygen levels on par with Aqueloc's, Lir took a deep breath. Earth's oxygen had been limited and contaminated. During his short visit he'd often felt light-headed, unfocused and his skin too hot. Though his body had adapted to the decrease, all his other abilities had weakened.
And all that effort for nothing. He'd scoured countless Earth divisions— countries , they called them. He'd visited hundreds of its scientific and medical facilities in search of his uncle's body. In hindsight, he realized that
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