Chapter Text
Redemption. A shining beacon of hope for humanity in its darkest days. Now it’s classified as one of the largest space stations known to mankind and as “The Last Home for Humanity”. This monstrosity of a space station is built in gyrating rings called sectors. Each rotation of a sector lasts a month in Earth time. Sector one is Government City, the innermost ring. Sector two is “the Golden Ring”, where all the super-rich live. Sector three is the megalopolis, the heart of Redemption and where most business resides. Sector four is Suburbia, where most of the working-class citizens reside. The fifth sector is “the Slums”, which used to be the industrial ring before humanity started intergalactic trade with other sentient species. Now, however, it is home to those who can not become productive members of the human race. The last sector, sector Six, is the farmlands. This ring is the lifeblood of Redemption, hosting all agricultural and natural food production.
Redemption is home to a population of 30,986,543 humans and 894,087 individuals of other sentient species. Due to this massive population Redemption is also home to many educational institutions. The Academy of Governmental Learning and the Academy of Colonial Studies are the two largest, and most important of these institutions. Before one graduates from primary education, one must take the mandatory I.Q. and initial skills test. Based on your results you are then sorted between one of the two academies or a smaller secondary learning institution. Those who go on to attend AGL will more often than not be assigned governing or legislative positions within Government City. Those who go on to attend ACS are trained to either become the Republic of Earth and Colonies fleet crew, or colonists.
The date is June 22nd, 3155 common galactic year. It is currently eleven thirty-six in the morning on graduation day at the Academy of Colonial Studies. Wick Ghast is a young man selected to be a colonist within the academy. He is one of over twelve thousand students graduating this year. The colonist class alone boasts over five thousand and three hundred students, its largest class since the academy’s founding days. Sadly, Sixty-seven percent of the entire graduating class will never make it back to Redemption alive. After twelve other students have been called, Wick is the next one to be called up on stage to receive his papers. As he stands and steps into the aisle whispers erupt from the crowd. Some are mocking him, calling him a liar and a cheat. Others are out of pity, wondering how he has made it so far and how tough it must be for him. With a deep breath, he sets his shoulders with resolve and marches forward, even if his palms are sweating as he makes his way down the main aisle toward the stage. The galleries are all marked by lights surrounded by auditorium-style seating radiating from a central stage.
Walking down there is anxiety-inducing, freeing, and disheartening all at once to Wick when he realizes that after today, he will never call Redemption home again. As he walks further, the sensation of so many eyes on him makes his skin itch and sets his teeth on edge. He knows that deep down, they all hope he trips up somehow and makes a fool of himself. Like that somehow would prove that he doesn’t belong among them in their final steps upon the space station.
When he was young Wick had two very loving dads, but they were ripped away from him in a devastating accident. Then being forced to leave his home and get dumped in the slums to fend for himself or die on top of that was beyond traumatizing. But no one ever understands what hell feels like unless they lived it themselves. Being an orphan on a space station as large as Redemption isn’t uncommon, and being an orphan in the slums is even more common. However, being one who made it to their academy years is very uncommon, damn near unheard of. It’s that fact alone that drove Wick to be at the top of his class in both his academic studies and to push himself even harder in his skill-based training. This drive, on top of being an orphan, made him an outcast, pushed out by the masses to stand alone in his perils. It also gave birth to many rivalries and fostered jealousy among his peers. That jealousy seems exceptionally unfounded. As he fully steps up upon the stage, his class coordinator, a short, stout, jolly woman named Marie Naughtly, pulls him into a warm embrace.
“I just know you will do great things, Wick—wonderful and profound things. You have been such a joy to watch grow into yourself and become the amazing young man you are today. I am proud to have called you my student, and I’m sure that, had they been here, your parents would be just as proud.” Her motherly tone makes his vision swim with unshed tears as he holds her a little tighter. Pulling away, he heaves a shaky breath and accepts his papers.
“Thank you so much Mrs. Naughtly. Without your gentle guidance, I would not have turned out the way I am today.” Wick chokes out as he gives her a shaky, but sincere smile as her tears fall. Instead of a response, she gives him one last hug and sends him on his way with a gentle farewell. Wiping the tears from his face with his uniform sleeve, Wick makes his way back to the dorms to collect his meager belongings.
Walking through the corridors and stairwells feels like a haze as he wonders how he made it this far. To have gone from surviving off the streets, dodging child traffickers and black market merchants alike, to then being found by a kind old man and his wife from the megalopolis who brought him to a boarding school for orphans, where he got all of his primary education and even some kindness and care. Care he hadn’t known since his parents had passed away. There, he had taken his academy test and was assigned to ACS. Here he had taken his education-specific exams where he was placed within the colonist program and learned everything he needed to become a productive colony member.
A call of his name pulls Wick from his memories back to the present. He's made it back to his dorm room and his roommate is waving a hand in front of his face with a questioning expression.
“Hey bud, you with me here? I asked how it went.” His roommate chuckles at him as he squeaks out in surprise.
“Ah, haha. Yeah, it uh… it went well I guess. Mrs. Naughtly is as emotional as ever, but I’m kinda scared too I suppose...” Wick admits on his way over to his side of the dorm to finish packing his already partially packed bag.
“Scared of what? You and I are now free to do as we please! Go wherever we want!” His roommate cheers as they wrap an arm around his shoulders, effectively putting a pause in his packing. Wick smiles and giggles at their antics.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” The two of them continue to laugh amongst themselves and make small talk while they finish packing.
Their final goodbyes leave Wick with a new contact in his personal Coms device and an honest smile on his face as he leaves for the monorail station, thankful that the academy is near the Starport harbors. The walk to the station is calm as the air fills with mindless chatter from among the students meandering around the northern campus. Past the campus gate, the streets are bustling with all kinds of beings heading both to and from the Starport harbors. Many of those who pass by are dressed in crew uniforms from all over known space.
Still smiling, Wick walks in the direction of the monorail station, only stopping to grab a snack on the way there. Not surprisingly, the platform is packed and noisy as all sorts of people gather, waiting for the train. Wick finds a quiet bench to sit on and places his things beside him. As he sits there in the semi-quiet of his little corner within the station, he pulls out his snack and begins to eat. While eating he watches the happenings going on around him, enjoying the contrast of all the individuals around him. When he finishes, he tosses his trash in the bin near him and pulls out the assignment papers he had carefully tucked away in his uniform jacket. Opening them, he tunes out the rest of the noise as he reads .
“ Colonist Wick Ghast,
We at the Republic of Earth and Colonies Colonist Assignment Office have deemed that your skill set and education best suit this special assignment. This assignment is as follows:
From this day forth you will be assigned to the RECS Torrent, more specifically the colony it will be transporting on its journey to a new colony world. You are one of three new colonists joining the colony Destiny Five: a colony of 297 seasoned colonists. We must inform you that the world you are set to colonize is, as of this moment in time, out of human-controlled space. With that in mind, we implore you to inform your colony leader: Samul Aspen Dour of any unknown anomalies or sentient species you may come across. Please keep in mind that hazards, accidents, or issues that occur during your voyage through the stars should be submitted to your captain: Captain Thomas Hurnado Morrison.
We have seen to it that all of your passport documents, travel permits, construction licenses, and agriculture licenses have been included in this envelope. Upon boarding the RECS Torrent you will be given a colonist handbook, as well as a REC-regulated construction manual, and an agriculture in the cosmos guidebook. We await the day we hear of your success within your new colony.
With regards,
The Republic of Earth and Colonies
Colonist Assignment Office. ”
Wick reads and rereads the first paragraph in astonishment as the impact of what is written sinks in before he flips the page over to find out which loading port the RECS Torrent is moored at. While waiting for the monorail, he processes the information he just read. ‘ One of three new cadets chosen for new world colonization… that’s just unheard of ‘.
The monorail pulls into the station and he boards with his belongings. Sitting down near a window to let his mind race with all the possibilities of what might be out there, yet to be discovered. The train jerks into motion and Wick lets his mind wander for a little while longer, to the past and his dads and what they might have done for his graduation, to the future and what he may accomplish, to the crew he will be living with and what they might be like. So many things to think about in so little time, so he closes his eyes and drifts in his imagination for a while.
When the train pulls to his stop, nerves take hold of him causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand and his palms to sweat. Standing is hard with shaky knees, but he still manages somehow. Stepping off of the platform and onto the docks, Wick gets his first look at what he will be calling home for the next two and a half years.
There, moored at the sixth loading bay, is the RECS Torrent. Like anyone else on Redemption, Wick has seen it all over the news and even on a couple of interstellar colonist blogs. With all the hype around it, he of course had to do his research as well. The RECS Torrent is a state-of-the-art colonist ship, one of four joining the Republic of Earth and Colonies’ fleet. She is six hundred and fifty-eight meters (2160ft) long. She has six decks, nine Biolabs, two mess halls, Three hundred and sixty cabins, and twenty-seven recreational lounges. So far, she is the largest colony ship the REC has ever commissioned. And Wick is one of the first to ever set foot on board.
As Wick walks down the dock, he spots what must be the line of those boarding the star cruiser. He steps in line behind a jovial woman talking animatedly with the person in front of her. As if sensing a new presence she swiftly turns around, almost smacking him in the face with her wild mane of fire-orange curls. Her face lights up with excitement as she speaks to him.
“Howdy! You must be one of the new cadets joining us. My name is Tammy Wilkenson, but you can call me Aunty Tam. I will be in charge of all you new colonists and a few of the agricultural and construction crews.” Her accent is thick like molasses as she speaks, but her excitement is contagious.
“Pleasure to meet you, Aunty Tam. My name is Wick Ghast and I will be in your care as both an agricultural and construction team member.” He takes her offered hand and gives it a solid shake. Her smile broadens, but before she gets the chance to continue she is interrupted by the announcements over the intercoms to start the boarding procedures.
“Good luck kiddo! See you on board.” She cheers over her shoulder as she moves forward in line.
The boarding procedure is rather simple: You show your documents to the crewman standing at the entrance, he scans them, and in Wick’s case he gives you a couple of handbooks and manuals before he lets you inside with directions on which corridor you are looking for.
The interior of the RECS Torrent is a labyrinth of cool metal corridors covered in blinking lights and maintenance panels, hatches leading from one section to another, and bustling bodies trying to find their stations. Each room Wick passes through is larger than the last, full of all sorts of recreational equipment, science devices, and long mess hall tables. They all baffle him with the sheer amount of luxury they contain while he passes through them in search of his stasis pod and personal locker. The corridors and rooms are filled with the sound of joyful conversations, shouted instructions, and general noise that signifies life.
The lanky young man follows the flow of foot traffic as he makes his way from deck to deck, lower into the belly of the massive star cruiser. Just as he starts getting worried that he might have missed where he was supposed to go, he spots a map of the ship. Briskly, he makes his way over and stops to read it. Thankfully finding the deck he is supposed to be on and the corridor he needs to head for. With a sigh of relief, the young colonist makes his way toward the elevators and waits for one so he can proceed to deck four, which is the stasis and recreation deck. While waiting, he plays with a strand of his snow-white hair and taps his ragged sneaker to an imaginary rhythm. When a loud ding rings out and the shutter doors slide open he takes refuge in the quiet box of the elevator with a couple of others before it closes off and jetting downwards.
On his way from the elevators, he bumps into Tammy who is just exiting one of the other stasis corridors. They strike up a small conversation and before Wick knows it Tammy’s sharing all the intricacies of being in a colony. She goes into detail about how one could go about laying down farmland, or how Biodomes are most commonly laid out depending on the surface and atmosphere of the planet. She even shares some of her past exploits in her other colonies, only pausing long enough to wave a greeting to someone or give animated directions. Halfway through a story about running into a wild growler cub an older gentleman butts in with details about the story and introduces himself as Horus Mavinski, the head coder and xenobiologist. He explains how he and Tammy were recently in a colony together and even confirms a few of her tales.
By the time Horus finishes one of his own stories explaining what his first colony was like, the small group rounds the corner leading to their stasis corridor. As the hatch lifts they are greeted with a commotion which has started to draw a small crowd. The three of them rush over and muscle their way to the center of the crowd, finding the cause of the commotion: two young men arguing, one more so yelling at the other who seems to be trying his best not to panic.
Wick watches in silent awe as Horus calmly steps between the two. Now that he gets a closer look, he can tell one is dressed in a crewman’s uniform and the other must be a colonist.
“Now, now gentlemen what happens to be the issue here?” Horus’s tone of voice gives an air of authority. A beat of tense silence blankets the corridor as everyone waits with bated breath. The colonist is the first to break the silence.
“This fucking prick just told me that we have to do mandatory maintenance and systems checks! He also has the balls to tell me that it will take two goddamned months! I thought it was the crew's fucking job to get this shit done before the colony boards the damn ship!” The little hothead’s tantrum is immediately snuffed out by the look of absolute disapproval Horus directs his way. With a sigh, Horus turns to the crewman, who looks to be on the verge of tears.
“Is this true young man?”
“Unfortunately so sir, we are greatly understaffed to take off on such short notice and to be able to handle all of the systems checks and final maintenance checks before we hit hyperdrive. So all those with construction, engineering, and coding licenses will need to take a couple of months to assist with all of the final checks. I'm so, so sorry we were unable to inform your colony leader before boarding procedures started.” This poor boy squeaks out, shaking like a leaf.
With a shake of his head and another deeper sigh, Horus clears his throat as he turns to face the rest of the crowd.
“Alright. All of you who have licenses in coding, construction, and engineering will be postponing your stasis for a couple of months while we finish system and maintenance checks. Those with coding licenses and engineers who specialize in coding will follow me, those with construction licenses and engineers who specialize in construction will follow Aunty Tam here.” He halfheartedly sweeps an arm back in Wick and Tammy’s direction. “ Those who don't have any of these will stay here and continue their stasis prep, colony leader Samuel will guide you through the stasis process. Let's get a move on!” His voice booms and carries down the corridor reaching all those with said licenses. Tammy asks them to split into two neat lines in the order Horus specified.
With little fanfare, they all file out of the corridor as they follow the crewman. Waiting in the main corridor are two more crewmembers who both introduce themselves and their stations. The crew member who introduced himself as the head of coding for the crew asked Horus and all the other colonists with those specialties to follow him up to the upper decks. After the other two waited for the main corridor to clear out a little more they split the rest of the colonists into teams of six or seven and designated team leaders. With all the teams set, the crewmembers lead them down to the sixth deck where all of the major equipment is located. From there they explain how the ship maintenance splits the ship by deck and each deck by subsection.
Wick’s team is led by an older lady by the name of Emily. She, along with all the other team leads, has to choose a subsection to work on for the day. Ms. Emily chooses deck Six subsection three: the reactor and support engines room. When given the chance Wick asks Emily why she chose that subsection and she explains that she was an engineer with a specialization in Starship mechanics. Which… honestly made a lot more sense. Once all the team leads choose their subsections for the day, the crew members lead teams off to different decks. The crew member leading the deck six teams in the final maintenance checks explains that all they need to do is make sure no mounts or bolts are loose and wires are tidied up and stashed out of the way. With Wick’s team specifically, they explain that along with the other work they would need to make sure all engines are firing properly and the reactor is venting correctly. They also throw out that if the teams ever come across anything of concern while doing their work, then let her or the team leads know. From there the teams split off toward their separate subsections to start working.
The reactor is massive and eerily quiet for something as powerful as it is. One would believe that something with enough power to send almost 25 tons of metal through space faster than the speed of light would be far louder than the low hum it's emanating, but dark matter is silent and nowhere near as violent and unpredictable as nuclear power.
Hours later, when all the crews have completed their daily rounds, they are let go and directed to the cabin decks. After getting to the maze-like corridors, Wick thankfully manages to stumble upon a crew member and get directions from them. Within an hour and a half of just trying to find the damn thing, wick spots the door with his last name on it. Getting in, he set his bag on the floor at the foot of his bed and headed toward the shower block. Feeling hot water run off his back is such a beautiful feeling after an intense day like that. That kind of work might be routine but it's still a pain in the ass and a lot of physical work. Plodding across his cabin’s carpeted floor with a towel draped over his head and a pair of baggy sweat pants hanging loosely off his lith frame, Wick stumbles into the kitchenette and sets up the coffee machine before plopping down onto the surprisingly soft mattress. It takes about thirty seconds after the lights are off and his head hits the pillow to pass out.
The daily routine following that first day was the same as always: Get up, get dressed, grab his coffee on the way to the mess hall, eat breakfast, head back to the cabin to grab gear, proceed to the next job, work, come back to the cabin, rinse off, eat, sleep. Rinse and repeat that same cycle for the next two months and you will have what is considered Wick’s life. Finally, when all the systems checks and minor maintenance are complete they are told to gather their things and meet back up in the stasis corridor where this all started. Looking around his cabin he checks to see if anything is out of place and sighs.
“Welp see you in fifteen months.” He pats the hatch frame before stepping out into the cabin deck corridor. Heading back was a hell of a lot easier than trying to find the thing in the first place, as they all now have a pretty thorough map of the ship forever logged into their brains. Once Wick reaches the stasis corridor he spots Horus and Tammy standing in front of the other colonists ready to begin giving instructions on how to store their belongings and set up their stasis pods correctly. After stowing away belongings the crew is given a few minutes to decompress and relax before starting up stasis pods.
“Alright, now I want everyone to fix your stasis time for exactly fifteen months and twelve days. After you're done you need to have it scan your basic body functions so it can keep you healthy while we are in stasis, Do I make myself clear?” Tammy commands the audience with her unusually charming accent. A cacophony of yes ma’ams and understood echo from the crowd as everyone gets their pods set up. Once they are finished they turn back around and face the elder duo again.
“Okay, now that the basics are out of the way you need to strip down to your base layers of clothing before climbing in, your base layers are designed to withhold stasis and anything your body may do while in it. After you are done me and Tammy will lock you into your pod and turn it on.” Horus announces to the whole corridor, who all begin to dress down and stow away their clothing. After completing his dress down, Wick steps up into his stasis pod a waits there for either Horus or Tammy to close the door and start the pod's stasis sequence.
Heaving a heavy breath, he spots Horus coming his way and leans back into the pod's padding. When he reaches the snow-haired teen’s pod, he closes the door and speaks briefly over the comms before starting it.
“See you on the other side kid.” With those final words, Wick falls into a deep dreamless sleep.