The port holes weren't really holes, per se. They were huge glass windows that looked out upon the bright points of stars beyond the panes.
The darkness was a deep velvet that soothed Alekai's eyes, calming his inner reptilian mindset. He was far better suited to the calm darkness of space than he was to the bright noisy sunlight of Earth.
Jesse, on the other hand, missed the sun. She had been space-bound for two years on her journey to Earth and had barely spent any time on the ground before being hauled back into space for her return flight to Taranhara.
The room that the Omswick couple had been assigned was, indeed a small sleeping quarter. It was quite sparse.
There was a standard issue double bed against the glass wall that looked out onto a field of stars. On either side of the bed was also a couple of small lockers for clothing and personal effects. The sleeping quarter would have been more than adequate for a married couple .
Unfortunately for Alekai, it was the floor for him since he had promised Jesse she could have the bed.
He threw two layers of blankets on the floor next to the bed and on top of that, he piled on a thick warm comforter and a couple of pillows.
As he sank onto his makeshift bed, Alekai heaved a happy sigh. It was actually quite comfortable. He's slept on worse surfaces, working at the tree farm.
Jesse, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable and cold.
At the moment, she was huddled under the blankets, staring morosely out through the window into the darkness of space.
"You okay?" He sat up and leaned his body against the bed. They were mere inches from each other although he was on the floor and she was on the bed.
"I'm a little cold, but it's not bad." She turned back and smiled at him, her blonde hair falling onto his face.
"This is the usual temperature they always set for ships of this sort. Outbound trips don't get much heat. They want folks like us to sleep as much as possible to conserve energy."
He reached up and brushed her hair from his cheek."What do you mean 'folks like us'?"
She gave a grimace. "You know. Reptiles like us."
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."
"It's not, but they know we can go into brumation whereas other sentient species such as some mammals cannot."
"So they make us suffer?"
Jesse laughed. "It's not so much suffering as it is a 'grin and bear it' mentality. Many people don't like the cold much either, but they don't have the choice to go into hibernation or brumation like we can. They're stuck having to be up and about, doing their normal things."
"I'm surprised people just don't sleep through the two years."
"Some do. Most of the passengers go into torpor sleep at least a portion of the way there. Some, like us, have a job to do so we can't sleep on the job. We have to remain alert and awake in the event of an emergency."
"Yeah. We'll be two years older than the passengers when we all finally reach Taranhara."
Jesse laughed. "No, silly. It's not cryogenics. It doesn't matter if you are awake or sleeping. You still age those two years. Only difference is, we will have gained two years of life experiences."
"And they will have lost two years experience?"
Jesse nodded. "Nothing comes for free."
———
It was ten hours into the flight when the Anastasia finally reached the space pocket that would allow them to do the jump to the next space pocket.
Since torpor was something that came naturally to both Alekai and Jesse if the temperature got too low, they both snuggled into their individual cocoons to stay warm.
As they waited for the call to duty, they chatted about inane things to pass the time. Alekai was glad he had Jesse to talk to. He briefly wondered about Tom and if the old man was bored and lonely with only the unhatched egg to chatter with.
The Anastasia had barely glided into the lineup when Alekai and Jesse got the alert to Gear Up. Since they were essential working crew, they were given standard issue black bodysuits with the Anastasia logo prominently displayed on the back.
"Why can't their logo be something cool?" Alekai grumbled as he and Jesse made their way to Bessie. "I can't believe I got a pink lotus flower on my back."
Jesse laughed. "Do you remember what I wore when you first met me?"
"Yeah, some green thing."
"That was the standard issue bodysuit for the Caravan, a green bodysuit with a donut on the back."
"Really? Donut?"
Jesse snickered. "It's supposed to be an ouroboros."
"A what?"
"It's a snake eating its own tail, but the artist stylized it so much that you can barely tell it's a snake. It just looks like a donut."
As they Geared Up, the voice of one of the engineers came on inside their chambers.
"Okay, you kids know what to do. We're just going to fuel up as quickly as we can. Once we're done, I'll give the signal. You kids fly back to the hangar and I'll let you in."
"Do you know how long it will take?" Jesse's voice quipped up from below.
"We're in a queue right now, waiting our turn. There are—lemme see…four other starships ahead of us, so it might take a couple of hours."
The engineer paused for a moment and cleared his throat.
"Listen. I want you to stay safe, okay? All you have to do is circle around the Anastasia and make it look like you're on patrol. Don't try to do anything dangerous."
Alekai spoke up. "Yeah but what if something dangerous happens?"
"If it gets dangerous, you head on back to the hangar and scoot your ass into the Anastasia. You're just out there for visuals. You can't do much with the weapons on your Gear."
Alekai glanced at his virtual monitors. The Anastasia engineers had reloaded and serviced all his weapons.
"But my weapons are all at 100%."
"Kid, that's all standard issue weapons. They don't do much damage unless you're a Cracker Jack and know what you're doing. Just lay low."
"But—"
"I said LAY LOW!"