Starstuff by Kaylim

Author:Kaylim
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, scifi, lesbian, aliens, stars, postapacolyptic

She sits in front of three Instructors she has only seen briefly before. There’s a large kiosk screen on the wall next to them, but otherwise the room is empty. The woman Instructor briefly confers with the two men Instructors, too quiet for her to hear, before addressing Ajita.

“Student, we have decided to redo your Placement Assessments to determine which Task is best suited for you at this moment in your education.”

Ajita fumbles with the end of her plait; she remembers where she had last seen these Instructors. They had, individually at the time, assessed her for other Tasks before, Tasks that included calculations and wires and screens and numbers. She cringes and slinks lower in her seat. She had not been suited for those Tasks at all.

One of the Instructors uses a clicker and the screen turns on, the rest of the lights dimming.

“Student, can you identify what this is?”

Ajita freezes, before slowly sitting up, “That is a star chart.”

The skeletal figures of stars hover in the darkness, Designations blinking next to their figures.

“Correct,” the Instructor says smoothly, “do you know its purpose?”

“It is used for navigation.”

“Correct.”

The screen changes, lines begin to connect different stars and the image flattens out.

“Identify this image.”

“It is a star chart.”

“There are additions now. Can you name what they are?”

“Constellations.”

At the Instructor’s expectant look, she clarifies, “Asterisms.”

“Correct.”

With a sudden clink a small screen appears before her, resting at elbow height. It’s flat, like a counter. She’s handed a pointer.

“Can you replicate the star chart?”

She glances around at each Instructor, but their faces are blank, not giving anything away. She squints up at the star chart, and quickly draws on the blank, flat screen in front of her. She tries to be exact as she copies the stars and the constellations she sees. Rasjaurom isn’t among them.

“What is the purpose of replicating what is already shown on the screen?” she asks.

The Instructors stall, blinking more rapidly than normal.

“We are assessing your fine motor skills,” the woman Instructor finally answers.

Ajita is sure she had already done that during training at the Center. Her screen flickers once and then her drawing appears on the large kiosk screen.

“Surprisingly accurate,” one of the male Instructors murmurs.

The woman does not seem so pleased, “Yes, but accuracy is something all Students strive for.”

Ajita’s screen flickers back to life.

The woman insists that she, “Replicate my face.”

Ajita pauses in surprise, eyebrow climbing her forehead, and for the first time…studies the face of an Instructor. The woman’s face is oval and soft, her hair short and severe, her eyebrows brown and delicate, her nose long and pointy. Her lips are thin and dark peach and she has very slight wrinkles around her grey eyes. Ajita can’t remember the eye or hair color of her usual Instructors, and the way their faces slip out of focus in her mind worries her. Has it always been this way?

She has never drawn a face before, and she fears it is not accurate the way the star chart

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