-The Accidental Colony Trip-

Lin paced her small room in a back and forth motion, restless energy surged through her body as she felt like something awful had happened. She did not reach out to her family as she had a feeling that the terrible event has in fact just happened to her, and not to someone else she was close to. Lin had woken up from a heavier than normal night of drinking with a ticket in her pocket for a ship leaving port in few days after she had woken up. She was interested enough in the trip, despite not understanding the local language as she was far from anywhere she has traveled before.

She stored her small ship somewhere she thought safe for her return from what she thought was a cruse of some sort through the nearby nebula. Once she started loading up with the other passengers though she noticed people were bringing a fair number of items with them, as well as some furniture. She decided it was too late to turn back as they scanned her in and directed her to her room. She stood in a small studio apartment and she had a sinking feeling that this was a much longer trip than she had thought.

She jumped slightly when there was a fast knock on the front door, she did not move at first. She did make her way to the door eventually, she was sure her guest had left by the time she reached the door, but when she opened her door there was a smiling Ankton towering over her. She knew the race as a strong and highly sentient one, their intelligence is utilized by the race for more self-preservation than traveling out beyond their stars. A trait that it seems almost all humans have instead of self-preservation. She knew her brother had recently stayed and extended visit on their home planet, it had been several years since they had made contact though, as per normal.

The towering Ankton spoke to her in a language unfamiliar to her and she shook her head in response, to her surprise he switches to a clearly separate language. Again, Lin shook her head and responded.

“Speak Marosia?” Lin asked lightly, then it is her visitors turn to shake his head.

“Kach-meno—Klack?” Was the Ankon’s response and Lin smiled.

“Very small amount, Haroclin?” Lin smiled bigger as he shakes his head in response, she then laughed lightly as his determined expression.

“Eehehabit?” The look on his face was hopeful and Lin felt bad shaking her head.

“Takkan?” Lin asks halfheartedly, the response she got from the Ankton was overwhelmingly positive as he grabbed her hands in excitement.

“Well enough for neighbor! How exciting! You are my first human! I am called Branx-Lian!” The Ankton was very energetic and respectful.

“You are my first to hold a conversation with, exciting indeed, my name is Lin. Would you like to come in?” Lin offered, one of her favorite things of her augmented lifespan was getting to know everyone she could. Her neighbor as he calls it nods his head vigorously and waits for Lin to get well into her apartment before he steps in and closes the door behind him.

“Best to get out of the narrow hallway, I’m not exactly small like the rest of you all!” Lin laughed with him, though it was more of a nervous laugh. She was not nervous of her guest in the slightest, but rather nervous to receive an explanation of her situation.

“You are impressive at best, I would hope no one minds moving around you.” Lin spoke with a certain coyness to her voice, as if she tested his wit.

“Except when one of the other, like, two Ankton’s on this level can’t actually fit by me.” His response was gratifying for Lin to hear as he caught onto her humor, she has been told how notoriously cold they typically are.

“That’s a tad extreme, I hope.” Lin laughed and motioned to her large couch, this is the first time she looked at it and noticed how high up the cushions went, once he sat down, she was grateful for the encompassing universal accompaniments as they fit him perfectly. She knew they arrived long ago enough to have already taken off, but not long enough to where he could have explored much other than his neighbors.

“Not many of us single Ankton joined this mission.” Lin took a hard swallow on the word mission, she proceeded to pull out refreshments from the fridge. “I’m pretty young, I’m going to make it there with some good time to spare. I hope to provide fundamental research of the colony for my home planet, hopefully convince more and more of my brethren to join the new colony in the future.” Branx-Lian failed to notice the ever-more drastic look of horror that crept across Lin’s face as he continues to speak freely. She set the drinks down on the small table in front of the couch her hands were shaking a little.

“Colony?” Lin manages to ask as she sits down on the other end of her couch.

“Why the confusion?” Branx-Lian asks her curiously.

“I think I signed up for this drunk a few nights ago.” Lin states loudly as she stares at a colorful rug on her floor under her coffee table. Her visitor said nothing as it seems he froze in place. “How… uh… how, uh, long is this colony trip?” Lin asked hesitantly.

“This will be just over 15 of my years.” He said meekly, he remained comfortable in his seat despite the look the slowly overtook his face, a look of sadness.

“How many of your years does it take for a human to be birthed and die?” Lin asked already knowing this was beyond what she would have signed up for sober.

“About… two.” Branx-Lian sat on the edge of his seat as he tried his hand at comforting Lin.

“There are plenty of wonderful, prescreened healthy male options for breeding—” Branx-Lian was cut short when Lin laughed, his entire demeanor taken aback at the response.

“That will not be needed as far as I’m concerned, I never intend to mate.” Lin manages to get that out before she starts to chug her drink as suddenly her mouth was very dry.

“They will push it onto you, as they want your line to be alive upon arrival…” The sympathy push back Lin got from the Ankton was very much the opposite of what she had been told their race was like in temperament. 

“You seem honest, and as I see it, I am going to need a friend over the next few years.” Lin’s words put a big smile on her guests face and in turn Lin could not help but to smile. “I do not wish to be widely known in any regard, so can I ask you for digression on a matter Branx?” Lin asks her guest; he does not correct his name as he simply nods. “I’m immortal so far as I know, I travel the stars alone for many of your years at a time. I just don’t like being in situations where a large amount of people is going to know…” Lin trailed off and Branx-Lian picked up the conversation. 

“I cannot decide if that is the coolest thing I have ever heard, or the saddest. My opinion doesn’t mean much though.” Branx-Lian said eagerly.

“Do not say that, that will never be true!” Lin states firmly, this puts a huge smile back on Branx-Lian’s face.

“Well, since you trusted me, I think it is fair I show you the same respect. Extra assurance I will not tell your secrets, and I’ll have your back if you’ll have mine.” Branx-Lian laughs before he continues. “I technically ran away from home to join this trip; I will not have the time within my life to return home. We are not aloud to leave home till we are two. Until then we are required to serve our home country instead, my hopes are to contact them in the appropriate amount of time and offer my services to them. By the time I’m there I’ll be too far for them to come get me.” He laughed again and Lin smiles at her guest, she was always a fan of the rebel.

“Will you not miss your family?” Lin asked as images of her own family came to mind.

“We don’t really have families; you are with them for a season and then you are nearly fully grown and off to service. I was on my way from my family when I split from my group, I had planned this out meticulously.” He explains in a lighthearted tone.

“A season? You are a season old? How many seasons are there in your year?” Lin started to try and figure out the math from what knew so far.

“Just two.” He says cheerfully as he refills his drink.

“So, if…” Lin trails off for a moment. “That makes you in your 20’s in my years, completely normal to make it out on our own.” Lin said finally, she got up and starts to look around for food. They continue to talk for a while and through Lin’s entire cooking session. The conversation shifted from pleasantries to more personal topics as the night went on. Lin never allowed herself to be close to anyone as things only live for a fleeting moment, her immortality made her cold in many ways. Eventually they got tired, said their goodbye, and he left. She had allowed herself to get lost in their conversation so immensely she still thought nothing of her situation as she searched her room for her bed.

There was no separate room within her small one, so she knew her bed had to be folded into the walls of the room somehow. She could not read any of the instructions that provided the useful information on how to work the room. After almost an hour of pulling on random objects around the room, she took a blanket from a closet she came across and laid down on the couch. Lin was asleep before she had time to think of anything else.

Nothing woke her in the morning as she laid there half awake until hunger drove her to get up. She knew she could not leave her room, till she came to terms with her situation completely, she could not risk giving herself away. She laid out her few belongings and spent the next few hours cleaning them, the clothes she washed in the sink, as well as her few personal portable dishes. Her long-distance communicator laid shined and ready for her to use, yet she procrastinated further, until the phone call was all she had left to do.

At first, she tried to reach her brother, but it just rang forever. She tried not to let it get to her as she took a deep breath and called the only other place the communicator connected to. Within two rings time there was a loud noise as the call was accepted, this was normal as the connection is powerful to make the instant transmission possible. Though the noise that follows the connection sound was all from the other end of the phone as something crashed to the ground, and a few voices shouted over the other.

“Sorry! Hunny! Sweetie! Let me see you! You never call! This is the best day of my life!” Her mom rambled almost incoherently with the booming voice of her father shouting pleasantries in the background. Lin waited patiently for the commotion to calm before she spoke up.

“Hi Mom, Dad, and Son, I love you, sorry for the massive gap I get lost in the solitude.” Lin explains, she feels like she said this often, if not every time she called home. They both shout various ‘It’s okay’s’ and ‘We still love you’s’ back at her in response, after they were done Son, the massive sentient computer her father built, also responded with pleasantries. “Have you heard from Ken?” Lin asked not expecting much.

“He seems to still be on the Anktonin home planet. We have not spoke with him in a good number of years, but not as long as it’s been since you’ve called!” Her mom almost shouted at her, it always took her a while to calm down whenever Lin or her brother called home.

“Okay, well I hope all is well. I have been thinking of him a lot, I feel as if he went through something tough recently. On a different note I was hoping you could tell me more about the ship I’m on dad.” Lin spoke up because she knew her voice projects from a single spot in their workspace.

“Sure hunny, what’s the name?” He asked and Lin knew he could hear her eyeroll.

“I need you to tell me that, I just did as my drunk self-told me to do.” Lin accepted her defeat and confessed to her parents about her dumb actions.

“You joined an almost 800-year trek colonization ship on accident?” Her father was loud and almost started to laugh as he finished.

“Yeah, is this one a fools errand dad?” Lin asked as she tried not to give away too much of her lighter mood as she had an aesthetic she liked to maintain with her parents.

“No, I figured you researched this greatly and decided to have some fun. I hope you do have fun!” He added that last part as her mom jumped side to side, in and out of the small cameras window.

“You won’t come get me?!” Lin asked loudly.

“Do not want to risk warping into a massive ship like that, we could really set off some alarms and draw every ounce of attention. No, Lin, I do believe you are stuck with this choice, you can do a lot of good for that colony. It is so heart warming to know how sweet you are even when blackout drunk!” Her mom genuinely seems happy for her and Lin again accepted her defeat.

“I can, and I’m sure I will eventually. Interestingly enough, I do believe I have made a friend already.” Lin confessed to her family, who despite their years of non-communication, she was remarkably close with.

“You having a friend is an odd concept, do not compute.” Son spoke up randomly as he does, whenever given the chance to use that pun.

“Well that’s nice probably going to need a few through the years in a situation like that.” Her mom winks at her so she could push a different message than what she says verbally in front of her father. Lin shakes her head slowly as she laughs.

“Oddly enough he is Ankton, like who Ken has been living with. They are fantastical creatures, highly intelligent. Who I met is apparently a runaway child in their society, a season old?” Lin phrases it as a question.

“One season is almost 22 of our years. So, as far as you are from Ankton I’d say you have a friend who is 24 in human years.” Her dad did the math for her and she was happy her guess was so close.

“Well he knows six or more languages.” Lin says unaware of her awe.

“I am happy you will have a friend to survive the entire trip!” Son and Lin both shout ‘mom!’ at the same time in protest to her way of thought.

“Well, as long as you are happy Lin!” She talked to her parents into the late hours of the night, only a personal clock of her told her the hours of her typical day. None of that mattered where she was. She remained cooped up in her room for weeks with only her neighbor as a visitor. He helped to explain the reason for their mission and tells her the stories of the star’s solar system that they are going to go colonize. 

LIN III