Space Family Robinson

1

Nova wandered through the hangar of Space Station 895, ducking out of sight when someone got to close to her. Not that she thought any of the workers would tell the police - they were used to her, and were always glad to talk to her about the workings of each vehicle they were working on at present, or tell her stories of her grandfather.

Triztin Horowitz had died before she was born, but he had worked here, and had apparently shared her love of space. She wished she had met him, but the stories of those who had known him were the best substitute she could find.

There appeared to be something very important happening, for everyone was crowded around a large space vehicle she couldn't identify.

Nova frowned, wondering what all the fuss was about. To get a better view, she climbed up into the rafters and began inching along one, not daring to take her eyes off it lest she lose her grip. She wasn't afraid of heights, not exactly, but she wasn't overly fond of them.

~~~~

Conrad Daniels, a dark-haired, green-eyed man of about thirty, bit his lip as he watched the men loading the shuttle with everything that would be needed, afraid something might be damaged. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth and he winced, fighting the urge to spit it out.

A planet several light-years beyond Saturn had been chosen for further colonization. First, however, the government must be sure it was suitable. So, they were sending a mission to it, just to be sure. How Daniels had been talked into commanding it was beyond him.

To take his mind off the obvious danger ahead, he went over the other members of the team in his head for the hundredth time.

Ekaterina Arriola

Madi Fraser

Sveinn Jakobson

Steph Salomen

Jayddyn Maciver

Vervayn Vincent

Zephyr

 That last name worried him. The government had demanded Zephyr - no other name given - be part of the mission. Apparently, he was a top scientist. But there was something about him that set Daniels' teeth on edge. 

Well, beggars can't be choosers, he thought bitterly, and I can't quit. I promised.

The workers were nearly finished loading and he breathed a sigh of relief. No catastrophes, then.

As Daniels turned to leave for the main spaceship, a movement overhead caught his eye. When he looked up, there was nothing there.

Probably a pet of one of that lot.

~~~~

Nova hardly dared breathe.

That was just too close.

The man she didn't recognize walked away, unaware of the fact there was a 14-year-old girl sitting over his head. The workmen began to disperse, leaving the vehicle unattended.

She continued inching along the rafter, directly towards it. 

Now came the tricky part: she had to grab hold of one of the ropes tied around the rafter and slide down it, without looking down, and without being seen. No matter how many times she did this, no matter how much she perfected her method, this was something that always made her cringe. If she had lived in an earlier century, she probably would have sent a prayer heavenward to whatever deity might hear, but praying was frowned upon in the Terranean empire.

She took a deep breath and pushed her shoulder-length black hair away from her blue eyes. Then she grabbed the rope and jumped. Her heart thundered in her ears, so loud everyone nearby must surely hear it. She was falling, falling... then she jerked rather painfully to a halt in mid-air. She had not lost her grip on the rope, and it had borne her weight. 

Nova swung her legs around it, released her grip slightly, and slithered downwards at an alarming rate.

This had taken all of seven seconds to play out, even though it felt much longer. No one had seen her.

The vehicle lay before her, one of its doors slightly ajar. The girl paused, common sense and her sense of adventure battling for the upper hand.

Absolutely not. You're not allowed on spaceships.

This isn't a space-ship.

What if you're caught?

You won't be. Just take a quick look round and get out. There's no one here.

It isn't right.

But it's not like you're spying for someone. It's just idle curiousity.

Curiosity killed the cat.

And without it, the empire wouldn't exist right now.

Common sense had no retort for that, it seemed. 

Now decided, Nova took a quick look 'round and rushed over to the door, pulling it open and climbing inside.

No one had seen her.

Inside, it became obvious what the vehicle was: an unmanned supply ship for a larger spaceship or satellite. It was packed to the roof with crates, clothes, food, equipment, and goodness-knew-what-else.

Nova felt rather disappointed. She turned to leave and pushed the door. It didn't move. She frowned and turned the handle. Still nothing.

A gnawing feeling started somewhere in her stomach. Why wouldn't the damned thing open? She kicked it, shoved it, leaned against, tried everything she could think of. She even shouted, but no one answered. Finally, there was no denying it: someone had locked the door.

She sat down and tried to think rationally. This sort of thing was usually controlled by a timer. The door would lock at a certain time, the engines would start at a certain time, it would lift off on a preprogrammed course at a certain time. The doors had just locked, which meant...

The vehicle jerked forward, knocking her off her feet and throwing her against a crate.

Someone, anyone, HELP ME! was her last conscious thought as the supply ship took off.

~~~

Nova was late.

Jashaun, Aydele, and Noya had finished their dinner and their dessert, but there was still no sign of the youngest member of the clan.

"I'm starting to get worried," Aydele said as they sat around the table, waiting for the door to open.

"Oh, she'll be back," Jashaun said dismissively. "She just wants to worry us for not letting her go near spaceships, but as soon as her empty stomach gets the better of her pride, she'll be back. Oh, and speaking of spaceships, the Aquarius has just taken off, so I dare say we'll hear of nothing else for days."

"I'm sick of hearing about spaceships," his wife said sharply.

Two hours later, Nova was still not back, and her distraught parents and grandmother went to the police.