Jude: 0900 hours, 200 klicks above Pluto
It was dark. That was the first thing I registered as I woke up, the darkness. It was so heavy that even when I opened my eyes I might as well have had them closed. It clung to the room, to the tiny circular window I knew existed in the side of the ship, and to my surroundings like thick flurries of snow making any shape around me indiscernible. With this darkness came a sticky kind of quiet, no creaks or groans from the ship, no footsteps above or below me, barely even the breathing from my cabin mate's bunk below me. The silence in the dark was like tar had oozed into every nook and cranny of the room, muffling any sort of sound from the neighbouring cabins. I felt for a moment like I was drowning, but I steadied myself, you don't last long in space if you're afraid of the dark, it mainly comes with the territory.
"Odhran," I breathed into the hanging silence. "Odhran are you awake?" There was no sound from the bottom bunk. "Odhran-" I slipped my feet out of their covers and dropped softly to the floor over the railing of my bunk, "what time is it?" Still no sound other than his soft breathing that I could hear now that I was level with his bunk. I couldn't see to read my watch or to find my discarded flashlight somewhere in the room so instead I felt my way over to the pull up bar that hung in the door way and jumped blindly trying to catch a hold of it with my reaching fingers. Luckily this was an action I'd done many times and my fingers found the cool metal on the first jump, I locked my knuckles around the bar and began to work.
"Twenty-five – twenty-six – twenty-seven – twenty-eight -" I heaved on my hands and then lowered myself slightly relaxing my elbows and took a break. My feet dangled a foot or so off the ground and I steadied my breathing to grind my way into the final few pullups. "twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one-"
"Jude," said a voice from the dark, "please for the love of all that's holy, shut up."
I made out a little shift in the darkness by the bunks and I knew my cabin mate had woken up. "Hey Odhran," I panted still pulling (thirty-three, thirty-four) "did I wake you?"
"No," came the resigned voice from the darkness again, "I've been awake the whole time."
"Why didn't you say so?" I panted out between gasps (thirty-seven, thirty-eight)
"Because I was hoping you would go back to sleep on your own," was the muttered response, "but I can now see that was a foolish dream of mine."
"Forty!" I said triumphantly dropping back to the floor with a soft smack of my bare feet off the boards.
"Grand," came the sarcastic response from the bottom bunk.
"Oh don't be like that," I said cheerfully.
"Good job Junebug," was the mildly more sincere response.
"Don't call me that," I grumbled feeling for my cup of water on a shelf by the bunks. "I'm not a child."
"Then go back to sleep," Odhran's voice was more muffled, as if he'd rolled away to face the wall again.
"Something woke me up," I complained.
"Just be pleased it wasn't something that was actually trying to wake you."
I knew he was right of course and reluctantly I climbed back up the ladder at the end of our bunks, the cool metal stinging my feet. I lay on my back for a few moments staring at where I knew the ceiling was.
"Odhran?" I said into the void.
"Mmm?" said Odhran from below me in the blackness.
"When does the sun come up?"
"About twenty hours Jude."
"Thanks."
I had never been good at falling asleep quickly and quietly so after a moment I chirped up again. "How long until we have to get up?"
"I don't know mate about three hours?"
Silence spilled over us again like a blanket and I felt myself slipping into the quiet oblivion that soaked up most of the room. I closed my eyes again and –WHUMPH! I'd thought I'd only closed my eyes for a second but when the pillow hit my face I scrambled to push myself upright and saw the cabin lights were on and Odhran was standing by the bunks raising the pillow for another hit.
"Hey- Hey!" I protested holding up my arms over my head. "I'm awake idiot!"
"You were snoring," said Odhran smugly. "Incredibly bleeding loudly."
Odhran was already in his uniform, his hair slicked back and his shirt collar done up. "Come on Junebug rise and shine."
It was still pitch black outside the cabin window but I slid myself out of the top bunk groggily and straight into my boots. I hauled on the laces and Odhran nudged the toe with his. His were considerably shinier and better polished.
"You going to put trousers on with those Jude?"
I muttered some choice words under my breath and yanked my feet back out hopping around the room and tucking my shirt into my trousers and trying to smooth my hair down. The braids my oldest sister had done for me were still holding strong and I slicked the whisps around the front out of my eyes.
"Come on Jude," Odhran was leaning against the door. "I'm not going to wait for you."
"Just two seconds-" I protested hauling on my boots and yanking my laces to tighten them. I grabbed my jacket off the floor and glanced up but Odhran was already gone. "Shit- shit- shit" I scrambled out the door and down the corridor down a couple of flights of stairs to the training deck and fell into line wheezing just as our commanding officer walked in. I tried to tuck my braids down the back of my shirt to look a little more put together without anyone noticing.
"Kind of you to join us this morning Warner," he said dryly as his eyes found the source of the panting.
"Thank you, sir," I managed to get out. "I wouldn't miss it sir."
A few people shuffled awkwardly. Odhran, several people further down the line, glanced at me and shook his head. I was still very out of breath but I stuck my tongue out at him in response.
Our commanding officer clearly was not as amused at my response as I had been. He took a couple of slow, deliberate steps down the line, his boots clicking against the deck. "Since Warner seems eager for some morning exercise," he said after he'd walked the full way down and was standing in line with me. "How about we start with a few laps?"
There was a collective groan from the squad, barely stifled, but no one dared disagree.
"Five laps," the officer said, eyes sharp as he scanned the line. "And if anyone slacks off—make it ten."
I opened my mouth to argue back but a shooting glare from Odhran made me rethink.
"Nice one Warner," said one of the other cadets irritably.
I resisted the urge to kick the speaker in the shin, but only just. Instead, I clenched my jaw and took off as soon as the order was given.
The training deck wasn't massive, but on a transport ship this size, it was one of the few places where you could stretch your legs properly. Five laps wouldn't have been bad if I hadn't just sprinted my way down here, but then again, I wasn't about to be the reason we doubled it.
Odhran jogged up beside me, annoyingly steady, like he hadn't just woken up five minutes ago.
"You know, Jude, if you just woke up on time—"
"Not. Another. Word." I shot him a glare, words punctuated by my gasps. "Honestly Fraser is such a prick I was in the door before he was – it's so unfair he picks on me specifically I swear-" Odhran cut me off mid rant.
"You have to learn to keep your mouth shut Jude," he said reproachfully.
"I remember when you were fun," I grumbled.
He grinned but kept pace. The deck vibrated slightly beneath our boots, a constant reminder that even though this ship was our home for now, it was still just a shell drifting through the void. A box of metal, wires, and recycled air was all that stood between us and the oblivion of the sucking vacuum of space.
By the third lap, my lungs burned, but I forced my stride to stay strong. Giving anyone, especially Fraser, the satisfaction of seeing me struggle was unthinkable.
By the fifth lap, Fraser called us to a halt. "Not bad," he said, cooly almost like he had been excluded from the luxury of running laps. "Almost makes me think some of you actually belong here. Although it wouldn't hurt a few of you to stop whinging at an audible volume."
I opened my mouth again and Odhran stepped on my foot. I winced, but bit my tongue and stood at attention. My uniform was damp with sweat already, and I was still trying to get my breath back, but I locked my hands behind my back and stared forward.
"Alright," Fraser seemed satisfied. "Pairs. Combat drills. Get to it."
I glanced around as people paired up; I made a couple of moves towards people but everyone already seemed to have someone. Odhran had moved away to speak to his friends but he glanced over his shoulder at me alone in the middle of the room and made his way back over.
"Come on then," he said tossing me a sparring pole, "just this once."
I felt a quick pang of relief. "Thanks Odhran."
"Aye its nothing," he grinned and took a few swipes at me that I parried. "I promised Maia I'd stop you getting into shite."