LJ Idol, Exhibit A: Week 4: Ultra Deep Field
Jennet ran her hand lightly across the uncut grass, letting the soft blade tips tickle her palm. She stretched out on the small patch, breathing in the scent of the soil and letting the artificial light warm her skin.
A soft series of beeps signaled the end of her required thirty minutes under the UV lights. She drew in one more deep breath and sat up. In one movement, she hooked her jacket with a finger and swung her legs over the side of the raised bed.
Outside the door of Greenhouse B42, Jennet paused, letting her eyes adjust to the dimmer lights of the corridor.
“McPhee! I haven’t seen you in a while!” Jennet turned at the familiar voice, hoping she wasn’t blushing.
“Henry! How are you?”
“M’okay. Getting ready to catch some rays. Wouldn’t mind some company . . .” Henry gave her a lopsided grin.
“Actually, I just came out of there. I have organic chem in about ten minutes.”
“Aw, that’s too bad, maybe another time?”
Jennet nodded her assent.
“Hey, Jenn, if you ever need help in organic chem, let me know. I’m still assisting Prof. Garza; you can usually find me in her lab when I’m not in class. I’ve had three classes with Ben-Ari, so I can give you some pointers for how to deal with him.”
“Um, thanks! I’ll do that.” Jennet suppressed a giggle and waved at Henry as he stepped into the greenhouse bay.
Henry Carroll had TA’d Jennet’s xenoanatomy class, but her pre-vet program didn’t overlap with astrobiology much past the first-year courses. She could probably count the number of actual conversations she’d had with him on one hand, and they were all about anatomy.
But he knew who her organic chem instructor was.
Jennet didn’t really need help in organic chem, but she would at least need a refresher on today’s class, since she didn’t hear a word Prof. Ben-Ari said.
~
“How’re the cows?” Henry tucked a small blossom into Jennet’s hair. Over the past eight months, Greenhouse B42 had become their favorite.
“Changing the subject, huh? They’ll be okay, I guess. We had a to quarantine a small part of the herd, but that seems to have halted the spread. The other herds haven’t been affected.” Jennet pulled away from Henry and focused her gaze on the enviro-control panel on the wall, nearly hidden by a trailing ivy.
“I’m coming back, you know.” Henry leaned over and brushed his lips against her temple.
“I don’t know, actually,” Jennet said, darting him an angry look. “Anything could happen down there. The atmosphere could be toxic; the fauna could be more dangerous than the initial probes indicated. There could be disease.”
Henry sighed. “You know what I mean, Jenn. And it’s not like our lives are risk-free on this ship. Just last month a whole deck lost life support for an hour. Hader’s parents were caught in that--they barely made it. Besides, this planet may be what we’ve been searching for. This is why our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents have lived their entire lives on the Andromeda. This expedition could change everything, and I have a chance to be a part of that.”
“Yeah, I know.” Hard as she tried, she couldn’t quite suppress the quiver in her voice. “It’s just-- it’s a little scary, you know? This is all we know. Nobody alive on this ship even remembers Earth.” She twined her fingers with Henry’s, and he pulled her closer to him.
“That’s not true--there’s still the cryos.”
“They don’t really count. Not until we know for sure they’ve survived the stasis.”
“Can’t you just imagine, Jennet? Someday, we could lie in an actual meadow under actual sunlight, not a lousy ten-by-ten bed of grass and wildflowers under artificial UV lights.”
Jennet giggled. “Maybe we can even stay there longer than thirty minutes!”
***
Author's Note: This sketch is part of a concept that's lived in my head for quite some time now. I guess I've just been waiting for the right moment to let it out.
A soft series of beeps signaled the end of her required thirty minutes under the UV lights. She drew in one more deep breath and sat up. In one movement, she hooked her jacket with a finger and swung her legs over the side of the raised bed.
Outside the door of Greenhouse B42, Jennet paused, letting her eyes adjust to the dimmer lights of the corridor.
“McPhee! I haven’t seen you in a while!” Jennet turned at the familiar voice, hoping she wasn’t blushing.
“Henry! How are you?”
“M’okay. Getting ready to catch some rays. Wouldn’t mind some company . . .” Henry gave her a lopsided grin.
“Actually, I just came out of there. I have organic chem in about ten minutes.”
“Aw, that’s too bad, maybe another time?”
Jennet nodded her assent.
“Hey, Jenn, if you ever need help in organic chem, let me know. I’m still assisting Prof. Garza; you can usually find me in her lab when I’m not in class. I’ve had three classes with Ben-Ari, so I can give you some pointers for how to deal with him.”
“Um, thanks! I’ll do that.” Jennet suppressed a giggle and waved at Henry as he stepped into the greenhouse bay.
Henry Carroll had TA’d Jennet’s xenoanatomy class, but her pre-vet program didn’t overlap with astrobiology much past the first-year courses. She could probably count the number of actual conversations she’d had with him on one hand, and they were all about anatomy.
But he knew who her organic chem instructor was.
Jennet didn’t really need help in organic chem, but she would at least need a refresher on today’s class, since she didn’t hear a word Prof. Ben-Ari said.
~
“How’re the cows?” Henry tucked a small blossom into Jennet’s hair. Over the past eight months, Greenhouse B42 had become their favorite.
“Changing the subject, huh? They’ll be okay, I guess. We had a to quarantine a small part of the herd, but that seems to have halted the spread. The other herds haven’t been affected.” Jennet pulled away from Henry and focused her gaze on the enviro-control panel on the wall, nearly hidden by a trailing ivy.
“I’m coming back, you know.” Henry leaned over and brushed his lips against her temple.
“I don’t know, actually,” Jennet said, darting him an angry look. “Anything could happen down there. The atmosphere could be toxic; the fauna could be more dangerous than the initial probes indicated. There could be disease.”
Henry sighed. “You know what I mean, Jenn. And it’s not like our lives are risk-free on this ship. Just last month a whole deck lost life support for an hour. Hader’s parents were caught in that--they barely made it. Besides, this planet may be what we’ve been searching for. This is why our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents have lived their entire lives on the Andromeda. This expedition could change everything, and I have a chance to be a part of that.”
“Yeah, I know.” Hard as she tried, she couldn’t quite suppress the quiver in her voice. “It’s just-- it’s a little scary, you know? This is all we know. Nobody alive on this ship even remembers Earth.” She twined her fingers with Henry’s, and he pulled her closer to him.
“That’s not true--there’s still the cryos.”
“They don’t really count. Not until we know for sure they’ve survived the stasis.”
“Can’t you just imagine, Jennet? Someday, we could lie in an actual meadow under actual sunlight, not a lousy ten-by-ten bed of grass and wildflowers under artificial UV lights.”
Jennet giggled. “Maybe we can even stay there longer than thirty minutes!”
***
Author's Note: This sketch is part of a concept that's lived in my head for quite some time now. I guess I've just been waiting for the right moment to let it out.