The Road Less Traveled

This a original story set in a badly researched sci-fi universe about a group of desperate people, written by CrimsonEmbersEdge and Skyfire111. Any reviews are welcomed and if you see grammatical errors or typos please point them out.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: Fool’s Gold
Aria had never been good at lying, stuttering and looking away until even someone unaccustomed to human body language could see that it was fear, plain and simple. Or worry perhaps, nervousness curling up in her gut until it was so entwined with of her personality that it bled into every single word she spoke. But regardless of how she was normally, her anxiety was more prominent now, scarred fingers curled into the fabric of her jeans with all the strength of a person wracked by useless ‘what ifs’. Or not entirely useless, considering how how terrifyingly likely some of these scenarios were. It was enough to make some actually freeze up and cry like Aria desperately wanted to.

Still, Aria could take some comfort in the fact that she wasn’t the only one. This was a fool’s errand after all, something few would be stupid or desperate enough to attempt. But here they were, an entire crew full of desperate idiots searching for something that even they couldn’t quite believe was real. Aria had first about it in a fairytale when she was only five after all and nobody is going off looking for dragons or princesses in towers, are they? Except her, apparently.

So it made sense that only the pilot, calm and capable as he was, seemed relaxed while the rest of the crew panicked. See, this is what happens when the anxiety and doubt that builds up before trips like this finally starts spilling over. The crew gets distracted and tired from late nights spent worrying. It was some comfort that they had things to do though. Aria for one gave all of her attention to the last minute check on the engine she was making. The onboard medic was engaged in the painstaking process of going carefully over their supplies. But that wasn’t enough - Aria found herself stretching out the check for far too long, consumed by an endless array of all the ways this could go wrong. Running out of money, the whole thing turning out to be just a myth, the reward not being enough... the list went on and on and Aria was tired of repeating it to herself. Nothing would change no matter how much she worried and if she missed something on check their failure would be on her.

Aria frowned, focusing again on the engine in an effort to ignore the new thread of paranoia that threatened to take up her thoughts, fingers twitching involuntarily as the nearly inconceivable thought. She was good at her job, smart and attentive most of the time, even if she wasn’t at her best today. There was simply no way, or just no way she wanted to think of, that she would be the one to bring this mission to an end. She was one of the two that had started this, the one who had attracted most of the crew to the bright possibility of a solution to their troubles. Even if it was just poking at a lingering, long dismissed idea at the back of many’s heads it had been her job and she had succeeded. Just like she would succeed now, as she squinted at the unfamiliar engine of her - their, she corrected herself, new ship.

New in the way that Aria hadn’t seen it many times yet, even if it was becoming familiar with frightening speed after all the time she spent in it. The ship itself was old, only just working and perhaps not the best choice for the long journey they were planning to take. But it was their only option. It had to work. It would work, too, the ship was sturdy, not the flashiest or fastest but in worked and to be honest that was more than Aria had hoped for when she had started looking around for ships. Just one look at her companions would explain why - they had only just managed to scrape up the money needed to get both the supplies and the ship and... well, to say that they were under a tight budget would be a severe understatement, right up there with saying that the pilot was kinda scary when he got angry.

But enough of that. There was no point worrying over that, not when there was fuel to be checked on and work to do. Work which kept her hands busy, even if the extra fabric she had wrapped around her wrists would prevent her digging her nails would help in some small way. It would be hard though.

Aria let herself be fully distracted by her work for some time, using the tactics she’d learnt years ago to calm down and stop herself from submitting to the countless worries that plagued her mind. Time still passed painfully slowly, the low hum of the engined mixing with her whistling, the simple tune enough to take her mind off future failures for a little bit. The whistling was even more necessary now, partially to fill up the time, partially because that thread of paranoia had taken root in her mind and just wouldn’t let go. An expected result of the passing thought, but still something she’d rather not deal with.

It was times like this her sister wold help her calm down.

Aria felt the unpleasant yet familiar pang of longing for her family. The one she had left behind still crying when she’d walked out of sight. It could be years, even a decade until she saw her sister face-to-face again and Aria found herself hating the fact her last memory of her sister was her crying.

Don’t dwell she reminded herself, fingers curling inwards slightly before she abruptly straightened them. She couldn’t revert back to bad habits now, in this unfamiliar place with not a comforting face or soothing voice in the entire ship. Getting to her destination was all that mattered now. It was all she could hope to focus on, the details of her plan running through her mind with an almost comforting level of repetition. Step One; get a crew. Step Two; Avoid trouble along the way. Step Three; Fix this mess. It was simple and Aria knew she accomplish it, even if one irritating fact wouldn’t let her go.

The simple fact that Nike likely didn’t even exist.

A loud knock- or several knocks actually, each one progressively louder, startled Aria from her thoughts and she moved to open the door on pure instinct. It was worth it though, the beaten up metal swing open to reveal the smiling face of the medic, a cheerful person with odd bright green eyes and comparatively rather plain red hair. They had a distinctly inhuman look about them, even if it was likely the fault of having a non-human species was a few generations back. Quite a few generations back in fact, judging by her mostly humanoid appearance. They were also the only person Aria had even spoken to on the ship past a few polite greetings and professional talk. Mostly because Charlie seemed incapable of not rambling on that quiet voice of theirs, but still.

“Hey, Charlie.” Her voice came out rather more shaky than she would have preferred, but they didn’t seem to notice, thankfully.

“I just came to tell you that we will be taking off soon. Are the engines okay?” They sounded louder, sentences shorter and sharper than what could typically be coming from them.

“Oh, uh. They are.” Come on, if you don’t want to seem weak you should at least be able to talk pro- no. She couldn’t go down that track. Especially not now, when she was talking to someone who she would be forced to interact with for however long this took. She didn’t want to embarrass someone she would be forced to love with for the next decade.

Wait, no. That sounded like she didn’t like the rest of the crew. That was wrong, she did. All of them seemed nice enough, even if the pilot is a bit short-tempered. Aria would be just fine leaving with them, even if it took years or just a month. Hopefully.

Charlie has spoken again while Aria has been staring into space, something she become abruptly aware of when she caught the last bit of a question and saw them looking at her as If expected an answer. Taking the most obvious route, she went with a simple “Yeah,” which lead to Charlie grinning.

“Great! I’ll see you there, then.”

What did I just agree to? Aria wondered, staring at the rusty metal of the door.

****

Ember pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the scar that had been there for years and showed no sign of disappearing. As she reran the diagnostics, she leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Ember got lost in her thoughts for a long moment before a automated ding came from the control panel spread in front of her. Despite her prior worries, everything seemed to be in check. Her duty on the ship had not yet been set in the stone but she was a fair mechanic and had enough skills to be a co-pilot and she seemed to be settling into that role.

As she stood and pushed herself away from the desk, Ember listened to her boots resonate over the metal-grate floor. As she strode down the hall, the whole idea of this mission grew more and more ludicrous. An amused -or bitter- smile pulled its way across her mouth.

''Oh how low I've sunk to find myself here. I suppose the crew is not awful, I think the captain understands me the most. Why in the stars did he even save me for in the first place?''

Tugging the black leather jacket off of her shoulders and depositing it in her small locker on the ship, Ember started to carry in the final crates. For a second, her eyes trailed to the ship's medic and another girl she had yet to meet conversing quietly near the engine room. She seems sickened, came her idle observation.

Her attention was pulled away as she set the heavy crate of provisions and such on the ground. The steaming summer air caused sweat to bead on Ember’s forehead. Despite her obvious love for fire, she found herself cursing the heat with some colorful language.

With a satisfying thunk, the last crate was loaded onto the ship. This is all I’m good for, she thought spitefully, brushing her hands off. For a split second, Ember studied her tattoos but hearing someone call her name snapped her out of that.

She turned and looked at the boy loping over to her with a wide grin on his face. When he got close enough, he threw his arms around her. “You leaving, Emi?”

“I am. I’ll miss you Jace. Will you and Jay be alright without me?” She asked with a smile, lovingly looking down at her younger brother. He and Jay, his identical twin, were both 16. They were mostly dependent on each other, ever since their parents had gone missing after a plane crash.

They were left to fend for themselves. Ember being the oldest, she was the one who had to work double jobs, trade, fight, and steal to live.

The police were on their last nerve with her when the captain had struck a deal with them. She had been caught stealing bread and was going to be arrested but the captain had come to her rescue. He’d said ‘I’ll give you two choices- come work for me on a mission or be arrested.’ Naturally, she had to save her skin. Here she was, loading up a ship to go to a planet that most likely didn’t exist. “Of course! Oh and by the way, I bought this from home.” Jace drew something out of his waistband and pressed the pistol -her pistol- into her hand. “Just in case, you know. Please stay safe, Emi. Jay and I will be waiting for you to come back.”

Gripping the cool metal, she kissed his forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it. I love you, Jace. Tell Jay I love him too, ok?”

“I will.”

****

Aria found out what she had to agreed almost a full hour after Charlie had visited. It was both a relief and a truly terrifying incident, considering that she no longer had to wonder but she would have to go socialise. A party no less, even if from what Charlie had described when they came to drag her away it sounded less intense than the last party Aria had gone too. Still, she had to go now, as agonising it sounded. Social obligations were necessary even if she did hate them, an essential part of any and all friendships Aria had actually made an effort to maintain. Trying to get out of them caused more trouble than the temporary pain was worth.

People were also expected to look presentable for these sorts of things and apparently grease-stained clothes wouldn’t do. So exactly twenty minutes (she had checked) Aria left to find new clothes. Maybe a dress, or at least jeans that weren’t stained and ripped. Or in other words, one of the three shirts and four jeans she actually owns. Though to be fair she might wear a dress, if she could find the nice one she knew was around somewhere. Aria remembered packing it but - well, it isn’t important.

Aria had been considering her options for so long that only the realisation that she now only had ten minutes left could jolt her out of her thoughts. Even then she was still vaguely confused as she walked down the corridor and managed to find both a clean shirt and a green skirt she’d forgotten she either owned or packed and had enough time left over to have a short, cold shower. Better to just take whatever the luck she could get, though. Worrying over every little detail wasn’t healthy, something Aria felt the need to remind herself daily.

The party, when she arrived at it, was only a party in the eyes of someone had yet to actually go to a party. A better way to describe it might be a gathering, or perhaps something else entirely. The crew was scattered around the main room, with Charlie at the edges of a group of three or so people. There was a girl with red and brown hair in the corner too, an outlier while the rest of the group was taking to at least one other person. It was the kind of thing that was tolerable but always left Aria feeling oddly out of place, an unpleasant but not unusual feeling for her. You have to make an effort sometimes, remember? The voice in her head suddenly sounded oddly like her sister, bring back bittersweet memories that left Aria walking towards the group just to distract herself.

Charlie turned and smiled, beckoning her over and engaging her in a brief conversation before returning to the group conversation - or more accurately, the group argument. The topic of the debate seemed to be the pros and cons of books of some sort, a recent series that had been steadily rising in popularity. Aria knew just enough about it to make the occasional meaningless contribution, though much of the conversation was lost on her. But a distraction was a distraction and it did let her get to know the rest of her crew a bit better, even if they did tend to blur together a bit.

She did find herself getting exhausted as time wore on, the effort of talking for so long begging to drain her. This was added to by the anxiety that was rising as the time to take off grew closer with every passing minute. Conversations began to slow down as tension rose, the pilot gradually getting irritable enough to avoid everyone in general and go start preparations a bit earlier. Charlie’s good mood had been lost too, though they didn’t outwardly show it much. But Aria liked to think she knew people quite well and hunched shoulders and the refusal to meet someone’s eye usually meant nervousness. Aria knew that quite well herself, after all.

After another hour Aria left the common room to sit in the relative silence of the engines, listening instead to the dull sounds the ship made instead of the stilted conversations she’d taken part in. She didn’t bother going over the engines again, instead quickly finishing up the preparation for takeoff and sitting down.

Her head hit the wall with a dull but satisfying thud, bringing a small smile to her lips. It also brought her attention to the metallic taste in her mouth and when she licked her lips she could taste the blood more clearly. It was obvious she had been biting her lips again, the nervous habit one she’d tried to get rid of many, many times. Nothing seemed to help though and she was left with bitten lips even as her nails gradually grew longer. Not that they were any more. Her nails are bitten low enough to sting now, even if they hadn’t started bleeding. A small blessing she supposed, but not one she found herself all that excited about.

She stayed like this for awhile until the booming voice of the captain came over the speakers.

“Ready for takeoff!”