A One Way Ticket on the Neo Kosmo

Chapter 7: Only a Change of Scenery

- Part 3, Destination -

Only a Change of Scenery

Jenna opened her eyes to a small blurry, display blinking in front of her. Cold air swirled around her face and rays of red light jumped through licks of mist in the claustrophobic cryo-pod. The frigid air stung her nostrils and caused shudders along her body. Each twitch of a muscle added a new sensation as another synapse connected, her body slowly coming back online after 500 years of deep, dreamless, cryogenic sleep.

Memories of the last few moments flooded back. The chills as the temperature plummeted, her heart desperately trying to pump adrenaline even as its beating slowed, the sheer panic racing through her head. What in heaven or hell had she been thinking? For all that she had complained about her family's involvement in her affairs, the prospect of being completely alone on the other side of the galaxy suddenly seemed little better.

A soft hissing sound reached her ears and the mist began to dissipate, warm air flowing into the pod as it inched open. Jenna shook off the memory and saw a figure standing over her, silhouetted against brilliant white light. The man studied her for a moment and then grinned, reaching out a hand and helping her to sit up in the brightly lit cryo-bay.

"Do you know where you are?" he said softly, watching her eyes carefully.

Jenna nodded. "I'm on the colony ship, the Neo Kosmo." She coughed, and the man offered her a glass of water that she gratefully accepted.

"Correct. Do you remember your status?"

She rubbed her neck, feeling joints crack as her head moved about. "Passenger, 3rd division."

The man smiled. "Good, you're waking up fine. Take things nice and easy. Perhaps grab a coffee to help warm up. You remember the layout of the ship?" He waited for her to nod, and then helped her to climb out of the pod before continuing, "You'll find the ship is a little quiet at the moment. Nothing to worry about, just some junior crew member mixed up the awakening sequence and you and a few others got out several days early."

Jenna steadied herself and the man let her go, watching her as she got full control of her balance. "Did we make it?" she asked, trying to remember what the procedure on arrival was.

"Yes ma'am, we are in orbit around Lamperi Gi as we speak and yes, the planet is every bit as beautiful as the posters made it out to be." He grinned, and she nodded, still a little unsteady.

"So what do I need to do now?"

He picked up a datapad and punched in a couple of numbers, and her pod closed and slid back on a rail before disappearing through a hatch in the wall. "Nothing particularly, you're free to just relax. Like I said, the wake-up schedule got mixed up so we're a little short on some minor crew members so if you fancy helping out, an officer on the hydroponics deck is coordinating volunteers. If you have a skill that we can put to use that would be really helpful."

She thanked him and left him to his duties, gingerly heading out of the cryo-bay following a green line on the floor to the hydro deck. Coffee sounded really good right at that moment.

The officer had been right, the ship was eerily quiet. Before she had been put into cryo-sleep the Neo Kosmo had been swarming with crew and passengers alike. She crossed her arms and hugged her chest. Not passengers, colonists, she thought to herself. Passengers can go home. This ship was a one way ticket for everyone.

Hadn't that been the point though? Get away from her family, from their constant meddling? Here, on the other side of the galaxy she could reinvent herself. Instead of the quiet girl who did as she was told, she would actually achieve something on her own. She could be the confident, strong, proactive girl she wanted to be with nothing holding her back.