Generation Ship by Michael Mammay

Author:Michael Mammay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

Eddie Dannin

40 Cycles Until Arrival

Eddie was up early, despite lying in bed without sleeping for a long time the night before. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this excited about something, and it had only grown over the five days since she first saw the schedule. She’d done the required certifications in the simulator, she’d practiced on her own in the zero g of the reactor compartment, but none of that compared to the idea of actually going outside the ship. The captain had paused their deceleration for a day as part of a planned course adjustment, which made a good opportunity to take care of routine repairs outside. A short-range sensor array was glitching, and as part of her training on all aspects of the engineering department, she’d been tagged to assist the two primary engineers on the mission.

That they were Jenkins and Capurna—well, that sucked. They were two of her least favorite people, which was saying something, since she didn’t have any friends in engineering. She was new, and she was different, and people had their cliques already. It didn’t help that engineering seemed to have a distaste for maintenance personnel in general, seeing them as lesser versions of themselves. That one had dared jump ranks and join their own? Pfft. Unheard-of, and to hear them talk when they thought she wasn’t listening, she was unwanted. But she’d take all their crap if it meant she got to do important work outside the ship.

Stars—if it just meant going outside the ship.

After coffee—she skipped a shower, as she’d be in an EVA suit and want one after—she headed to the ready room early, arriving fifteen minutes before the start of her shift. A few people from the smaller overnight shift were finishing up reports or stowing gear, but Eddie noticed only one person from her own shift. One of the senior engineers—a woman named Karstaad, if she remembered correctly. She wasn’t Jenkins or Capurna, so Eddie ignored her in favor of preparing her own kit for the day. Her EVA suit was right where it was supposed to be, having appeared overnight with two others on separate hooks. It wasn’t hard to tell which was hers, as it was the smallest by at least ten centimeters.

She began the process of suiting up as the new shift of people straggled in around her. They were complaining about food shortages, which didn’t really concern her that much. It took her a minute to figure out one of the suit’s connectors, and she was glad that she had shown up early. The others would probably be a lot faster, and the last thing she wanted was to hold up the mission. She had everything on but her helmet and gloves, which she wouldn’t don until they were at the airlock, when Jenkins arrived. Though he and Capurna were equals, he had the lead on the mission today. Eddie didn’t know if that was by random assignment or some sort of protocol nobody had told her about.

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