Illion

Beyond the glass dome, stars erupt into flashes of gold and sapphire and emerald, streaking past us, weaving a tapestry of celestial objects. Like a being thrown into a big pot of pearls and gemstones and stirred around and around and around.

A force like a million little pin pricks drags across my skin, painful, but it’s the cost of travelling through space with rough engines; just space dust flying through our bodies at 19324738443700 miles per hour; not particularly deadly in small doses.

“Why is my skin burning?” Shrieks Enea, the self-proclaimed hottie (I beg to differ). “Gods I feel like I’m melting!”

“Only ten seconds left in hyperdrive.” Miith calls from her station. “All systems normal. All life systems normal. All health statuses normal.”

Apparently, that doesn’t help.

“I’m dying!” Enea shrieks, flapping her arms around, “dying! My skin is frying like a fried chicken! I’m turning into a roasted potato an-”

“Shut up!” Aurelia snaps, “it’s just a bit of space acupuncture.”

Space acupuncture. That’s a new one. I like it.

Gradually, I can feel the engines begin to slow. The tapestry of colours begins to morph back into a veil of darkness, where little white dots of stars sparkle in the distance and a massive spherical planet draws closer and closer.

It’s a marble of misty blue, with spirals of orange weaving in and out of the clouds; spaghetti on a blue plate.

“Arrival at Noshi, 8am.” Comes a voice from below, “initiating crescent manoeuvre.”

This will take a while.

I snatch the microphone from the inside of my Captain’s seat, “helloooo ladies and gentlemen, just letting you know that the journey from Osticara to Noshi didn’t end in flames – as you might be able to tell. All systems are working perfectly fine, except the engines – I’m kidding! Although, a few of you might have felt…”

I glance back to Enea who is glaring at me.

“You few of you might have felt a bit like you were being smacked around like a piñata, but don’t worry, it’s completely normal” I grin at Aurelia. “Just a bit of space acupuncture. Symptoms should fade within a few minutes. And just so you know, official introductions for your newly assigned jobs will happen at 10am in the main hall. Captain out.”

Just as go to put the microphone back, Aurelia grabs my hand.

“Thanks for letting me sit here.” She says something else, but I don’t hear. Her hands are so warm, and she looks at me with eyes like melted chocolate and a smile so prett-

Illion the Marillion, what are you thinking!

I slap myself mentally; I can’t be crumbling like biscuits every time she touches me. This is really, really not good.

I manage to squeak out a quick ‘no worries, sit there anytime, it’s just peachy’ before Lolli-N comes to my rescue.

“Sorry everyone! The captain’s needed on deck 3!” She wrenches me away from the seat with urgency, “but don’t worry, an escort will take you all to breakfast!”

“Don’t blow up my ship!” I yell at the two women as I’m dragged out the bridge door.

“Illion the Marillion.” Scoffs Lolli-N as soon as we’re in the corridor. “More like Illion the not-Marizzion.”

“Stop it.” I groan. “Let’s just get on with this whole deck 3 dilemma. What’s the boggle?”

“The cybernetic infestation spread.”

“Again?”

“It’s minor. Dust-V-Peggle ran a full ship scan yesterday, results came back today. It’s the last nest to clear out, then we should be fully functioning. There’s already a team clearing it out.”

“Hurrah.” I sigh, “alright. Why do you need me if they’re on it?”

“The convertor for the engine for water purification on floor two was damaged. We need you to fix it.”

Not peachy.

“How damaged?”

“Tassle and Doorg brought the remains to the mechanics centre.”

“That bad, huh? Remains?!”

“Yes. So, we need to hurry.” She’s tugging on my sleeve now. “Floor two is currently off-limits, but we’ll need to open it up soon for the pools.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.” I take a deep breath, “go look after Aurelia and her sister. Have them ready for the introductions.”

“On it. Thanks, Captain!” She shakes my hand vigorously, and wheelies back down the corridor. With a sigh I turn in the opposite direction.

This is going to be a long day.

I arrive at the mechanics centre just as the first staff have filtered in for their shifts.

Desks, much like a chemistry classroom, are covered in miscellaneous parts and metal chunks. Bolts and nuts and screws are laying randomly on every surface. The few people milling about are carrying boxes of electronics and amputated android limbs.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

One of the crew pushes past me carrying a decapitated robot head, and it swivels to look at me with baby blue eyes, and a pout.

“Mamaaaaaa.” The head whines in a toddler’s voice, bubbles frothing from the mouth. But then the crew member is gone into the second room, taking the head with it.

I don’t blame Lolli-N for not liking this place.

“Tassle, Doorg.” I mutter under my breath, squeezing past a heap of labelled crates, to my special table. There, in the centre is a cerulean blue box, with a little tag on it that reads:

‘Tassle & Doorg. Busted up engine convertor. Floor 2.’

Found it.

I peel back the lid and - they really weren’t kidding. This thing is beyond destroyed.

Tenderly, I lift the scraps out of the box and lay it all out. Frayed wires, random squares of aluminium with a few holes in it, some melted contraption. A single computer chip; partially burnt.

It appears, I will be building this thing from scratch. The cybernetics were not kind to it (or me, for that matter!!).

A quick glance at my watch shows I have an hour before introductions.

Delightful. I’d better get started.

Aurelia

“Ugh, my skin is still tingling.” I groan, slapping my arms to try and fix the prickling. Nothing is working. It’s been like ten minutes, and it’s still not getting better.

“I told you we were being fried alive.” Enea mutters beside me, “your hottie hubby is a real nuttie, that’s for sure.”

“And you thought we’d be a good match.” I laugh, “guess what?”

“What?”

I want to tell her how the wedding night went, how his room is a full of paraphernalia of himself, and how he slept with his shoes on! He’s so weird; childish.

“Nothing.” I mutter. Something stopped me. I don’t know why but sharing that just seems too personal.

“Whaaaaat?” Enea whines, “Auri, tell me! I’ll be quiet, I pinky swear. Please!”

“He brought me croissants this morning.” I pull the crunched-up bag from my pocket. “Want one?”

She snatches the bag from my hands before I can react, “bitch, yes! I’m starving!”

Enea gobbles down what’s left of my breakfast as we follow Lolli-N to the main hall. I want to get there early so we can have front seats to the introduction.

We arrive at the main hall before anyone else – and it’s like being slapped in the face with a colour palate.

A dome, much like in the bridge, stretches what seems like miles up into the sky. Stars beam down on us from the ugly void of space; the only thing that isn’t completely overdone with pastels.

The rest of the room is circular; chairs, covered in ivy and scraggly flowers face towards a balcony cut into the rouge wall.

A blue sign hangs from the balcony, with The Marillion written on it with peeling gold leaf.

“Gods, this place is such a wreck.” I complain, “I just want to wake up. Pinch me.”

Enea rolls her eyes, “please. You literally have a room to yourself. Guess who had to sleep in a barrack with thirty people snoring like sick gorillas?”

“Come on now, lovelies.” Lolli-N grabs us both by the arm, pulling us to the front of the chairs. “No bickering, that’s against the Marillion policy! Or else the captain might just send you a-floatin’ out the airlock!”

“He’d shoot his wife out the airlock?!” Enea’s jaw drops, “then can I take her place? I’d get a nice bed, right?”

“I swear to the gods, Enea Vega!” I genuinely want to punch her.

Lolli-N smiles sweetly and pats my hand.

“No, no, honey. If you’re very bad, I’ll do it myself.” She says it so innocently, while staring straight into my soul.

I swallow nervously.

“Then would I ge-” Enea stops that thought when Lolli-N turns to stare at her with that same look.

“Anyhow,” says Lolli-N, “our dear captain will be here in exactly twenty minutes to give an introductory talk. You’ve already received your assigned duties list, I believe?”

I huff and pull mine out of my pocket.

Cosmetic and minor mechanical repairs. Aka; homebot and toaster plastic surgeon.

But Enea got put on laundry duty, and bed-sheet changer, so I’m not complaining.

Twenty minutes later, and the chairs are full of other passengers. Most brought some sort of breakfast with them and are snacking as we wait for the captain.

Since only a small portion of the total guests can fit in the main hall, the homebots have erected cameras at the back to broadcast Illion’s speech to the whole ship.

At exactly 10am, just as promised, the lights dim and the noisy chatters hushes down.

“Good morning, my lovely guests!” Comes a light voice from the loudspeakers, drifting through the air like a dandelion pappus. My dear hubby; couldn’t mistake that tone anywhere.

The door behind the balcony opens, and the captain strides out with his arms raised, holding a scroll. His eyes are still hidden behind his glasses, but I can just make out the dimples in his cheeks from where I’m sitting.

“Hope you’ve all had a fantastic morning!” He leans over the edge of the balcony, taking in each face slowly, “I’ll let you have some more sleep tonight, but we needed to make sure everyone knows how this works. We aim to make your stay as memorable as possibl-”

He’s cut short by a disembodied male voice from the audience: “memorable! My skin is still burning if that’s what you call memorable!”

“This place is a hellhole.” Comes another voice. “Do you guys ever re-paint?”

“It’s such a fucking mess.”

“Well, my dearest guests.” Illion pushes his glasses up. “If it’s any consolation, the airlocks are currently in use to clear the ship of karen- I mean, garbage.”

There’s an uncomfortable silence.

“Since my welcome seems to have fallen on deaf ears, we’ll proceed with the briefing.” Illion clears his throat and unrolls the scroll. “Just a few rules to make clear.”

“Bloody rules.” Come the murmurs around me.

“If you’re going to complain,” Illion snaps suddenly, leaning even further over the balcony, “you’re free to leave The Marillion!”

“And go where?” Whines some random girl.

“Free swimming in space.” Illion sighs deeply and return to his scroll. “Anyway, this is kind of important, so pay attention.”

He clears his throat again, “Rule one, The Marillion is a positive experience for all. There is to be no public fighting or crying. If you want to display negative emotions, do so in your private quarters – not the milkshake bar or dance floor.

“Rule two. Parents, after 9pm set your children to mute. The lip sewing chambers are currently full, but reservations can still be made by staff.

“Rule three. No exploring!” He yells that, very loudly and passionately. “This ship is not for explorer wannabes! Stay in the designated areas, or you will be injured by dangerous machinery, or become lost and die of starvation. That’s why we were closed down in the first place! So, listen to me when I say it, dammit!”

He takes a deep breath; cracks a large smile, “anyway, you all look rather peachy today. Enjoy your stay! We’ll have a party tonight. Free tequila!”

At the mention of free tequila, everyone seems to forget about the rules. The crowd erupts into cheers, and Illion waves at them for a minute, before leaving the balcony back into the ship.

“No complaining? No negative emotions in public?” Enea turns to me with a smirk, “Auri! You’re going to be tossed out the airlock before tonight!”

“Haha.” I give her my fakest smile, “at least Illion thinks I’m hotter than you.”

She glares at me but doesn’t retort because she knows it’s true.

“What a magnificent speech.” Sighs Lolli-N, wheeling up beside us out of nowhere, “he failed English for a reason, but that’s beside the point. I do believe you ladies have stations to be going to?”

“Right.” I force a pained smile; don’t want to be tossed out the airlock too soon.

“Right.” Enea copies me, pulling the same pained smile.

Lolli-N copies Enea. “Perfect. I’ll take Mrs. Marillion to her workspace. I’m sure Ms. Vega will be able to manage on her own.”

“What? No! Don’t leave me, Auri!”

But it’s too late; Lolli-N already has me by the hand and is yanking me towards the door.