New Beginning [ Log 1 ]

Sol

Night fell early on Elmir, but Captain Ramirez was already in bed, her arms wrapped around her little sister to protect her from the cold, as the thin blanket provided by the hotel wasn’t enough to keep them warm.

I watched her from my chair next to the window, overlooking the warehouses around the starport, while my systems monitored the repairs being carried out on my hull orbiting the planet.

She was still young, in her early twenties, but I knew not to judge anyone by first glance, and something about her made me trust the abilities of my new captain. Laya, on the other hand, was another matter, and despite her enthusiasm and reassurance that she could “repair anything”, I’d decided not to list her as Chief Engineer on the ship manifesto. Even if she was honest about her skills, she had only a fraction of the experience Chief Nakamura had had and probably wasn’t older than Yuki, his daughter.

I watched her stirring in her sleep, disturbed by the roar of the engines of a ship that was taking off into the sky from the landing pad nearby. She seemed happy despite the inconveniences that came with staying in a cheap hotel. A part of me hoped that Yuki also found happiness in her life, despite her father never returning home.

My memory flickered to those last moments, and I remembered Chief’s last wish. I recorded it moments before I fired the Wave Cannon on such close range that its impact turned all my crew into stardust.