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“My wrist was sprained and I paid you back by taking Lorrie to the vet. You know how feisty that chicken was? She scratched both my arms.”
“I lied to my parents about who drew smileys on the barn.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “I was six!”
“Fine. I’ll go. I’m bored anyway and I could do with a new adventure.”
“Bored?” Rachel gave me a befuddled look. “We got beamed up on a spaceship and we’re on an alien planet with purple grass and the most amazing animals ever. How can you be bored?”
“I don’t know. It’s a different planet but it’s just the same-old life, just without money worries and stresses from the bank. It’s boring.” I finished making tea and handed Rachel one of the mugs. “So tell me more details about the trip. When is it? Who else is going?”
“Sahra and Abby. They’re visiting her parents.”
“Right, she’s the only one who didn’t disappear mysteriously. Oh, do I need a fake identity? The last thing I want is to get in trouble with the bank. I can’t imagine they’re happy with us running from our mortgage.”
Rachel took a sip from her tea and pushed the mug away with a disappointed grimace. “Tastes rubbish. And you’d have to ask how Tilly does it whenever she visits. She’s still being wanted for the disappearance of all the zoo animals.”
“When is the trip?”
“Next week. A Kyven week, I mean. They’ve struck a deal with an old friend of Valla to make a detour to Earth. Someone called Ellabeth? She’s the captain of the ship.”
It was tempting. Rachel was right, living on an alien planet was supposed to be exciting, but we'd been on Kyven for several months and I'd got used to the monotony of looking after the sheep. My cousin had her mate, just like the other two humans living nearby. I was the odd one out. Rachel tried her best to spend time with me, but I still felt like a fifth wheel all the time. Hence why I spent so much time with the sheep.
Going to Earth would be a good break from my routine. It was kind of exciting to return. Back when Rachel and I had lived at our farm, I'd always dreamed of travelling the world. I'd wanted adventures. Being abducted by aliens - well, kind of - definitely counted as an adventure, but by now that excitement had waned. Coming up with a fake identity and hoping I wouldn't be recognised sounded like fun. Just the adrenaline kick I was looking for.
"Alright," I said with a dramatic sigh. "I'll do it. But you owe me a favour. A big one."
Rachel threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. "Thank you, Heather! I promise I'll look after the sheep while you're gone. I might even teach them some tricks. If they are as intelligent as you say."
2
Atina
The intercom chimed and the red lights on my dashboard flashed in warning.
"Preparing to land," I said, reaching up for a switch. "Switching off the main boosters in five, you ready?
My headset crackled with Katak's deep voice. "Heard, I'm ready to stabilise. Ready in five, four, three—"
"Two. One," I finished the count as I killed the boosters. A tremor coursed through the shuttle before the stabilisers kicked in. Even though I'd done this easily hundreds of times, there was always a thrill when it went right and our ship didn't crash down.
I checked the camera to make sure our landing dock was free and clear. It was getting dark so I pressed a button to put some of the bigger lights on for a better, guided view. Some pilots considered those the training wheels of landing a ship but I preferred delivering my passengers safely.
As we neared the ground, another voice came through my headset. "Atina, status update."
"Touchdown imminent in twenty ticks, Captain," I replied, guiding the shuttle into its bay.
A set of orange lights flicked on and I danced my fingers over the control panel, calling a status report to figure out what was setting off the alarm. A long list of potential bugs rolled up the screen but none of them jumped out at me as a real issue.
Katak's voice came through my headset again. "Ready to deploy legs on your cue, Atina."
I checked the metre to check how far we still had left to go. "Deploy in two ticks. I'll set the count."
"Understood."
I allowed the ship to descend a little more before I reached up for another switch. "Deploy landing legs in five, four, three, two, one."
"Legs are out," Katak informed.
