Stealing Icarus - Chapter 7

 

Chapter 7:

        Lucia's POV: 

The ship thrummed around me as I twisted beneath the blankets. After patching up Nithya’s hand, I had wanted to take a nap since I didn’t get enough sleep last night, but when I climbed into bed, sleep evaded me and disappeared. This was pretty normal, I’ve always had trouble falling asleep. 

Sighing, I sat up and crossed my laps under the twisted sheets. Even if I ever managed to catch a wink of sleep, nightmares and memories of the past would haunt me. My hair, with its colorful tips, falls over my shoulders freely. I look up at the ceiling and see the painted stars on there, representing what we were on this ship for. To get a star. 

In my opinion, this was ridiculous. We were going to attempt to steal a star? Shouldn’t we try something more permanent, like proposing a peace treaty between the City of Luminance and Magellan? It would make things much easier, and they wouldn’t have to sacrifice people every time we needed a new star. For now, though, stealing a star would have to suffice. However, we were all under orders to do what they were told and to not ask questions. The Academy didn’t care how we did it, they just wanted the job done. 

There was a sense of responsibility weighing on her shoulders. The Alpha Squad trusted her to be able to make sense of what they would do when or if they landed in the City of Luminance. In a way it wasn’t that burdening, all she had to do was tell them the culture and behavior of their enemies, but if they do one thing wrong, then they’d be surrounded with adversaries, ready to ruin them. Not to mention treason and countless other Luminance laws that they would be breaking. 

I got up from the bed, leaving my blanket strewn across the edge. I didn’t bother fixing it, just pushed it onto the middle of the bed so it wouldn’t fall. What’s the point of making your bed all nice and pretty if you were just going to mess it up a few hours later? 

I was sleep-deprived and needed a stimulant. Sugar. Space food had definitely improved since the olden times. Instead of the packet food and those ‘Just Add Water,’ meals, they now had food that looked like it came out of a gourmet cooking show, and tasted like that too. 

I stretched freely, my arms twisting in awkward positions since there was no one in the dorm to judge me. I slipped on a pair of soft socks and looked in the mirror. My bedhead wasn’t too bad so I just ran my fingers through it a few times and looked fine. A few minutes in a cozy bed would do terrifying things to my hair. 

I grabbed the communication piece from the top of the dresser and fixed it onto her ear. It was silent since everyone was doing something. Last I saw them, Jerry and Nate were patching up the wing, while Jay was playing assistant for them. Nithya, against my advice to take rest, was flying the ship with Shravya. Scarlet was with them as well, supplying occasional conversation through the comms set. I frowned not remembering where Rani was. 

Looking towards the heap of scrolls peeking out of my backpack, I groaned. I grabbed the purple backpack and decided to head towards the Meeting Room. No one should be there, so I would be able to get some peace and quiet. I opened the door silently and let it close with a bang. Hefting the straps of the bag over my shoulder, I walked down the corridor. Passing the left-wing, where all the repairs were happening, I decided to check and see how they were doing. 

I opened the door and saw cracks along the side and small holes everywhere. The bigger injuries were patched up and were being checked by Nate. Jerry had a screwdriver in his mouth and was gesturing wildly to Jay, who had a blank look and was trying to decipher what Jerry’s hand motions could mean. Not wanting to disturb them, I closed the door with a creak. 

Walking past the infirmary, I finally found the Meeting Room. We should probably get a map of this ship. I opened the door and smiled when I saw that no one was there. Finally, I would be able to read these scrolls without one emergency or another. 

Sitting down at the large table, I dropped my purple bag on the floor. I unzip the first pocket and pull out a few yellow scrolls. These were from way before the Shining War and were precious. I was honored when the Principal gave these to us. Not so honored when she threatened to kill me if there was even a speck of dust on them. 

The scrolls had dust jackets on and another layer of clear protective wrapping over it. I leaned closer and started reading the scroll. Parts of it were in another language, called Keia, the ancient language that the Elders spoke. It took a few minutes for me to translate it, but the result was flawless. I prided myself on the fact that I was able to understand this. I’ve always loved learning languages and was fluent in more languages and cultures than I could count. As a result, I got the highest score in my diplomacy exam. Pushing away irrelevant thoughts, I focused on the lines of the loopy script in front of me.

…………………………………………………………………………………

My eyelids drooped and my head almost fell forward. It had been hours since I started to go through these scrolls, and I was almost done with the first one. I forced myself to absorb the details, but the lines blurred together and looked like an inky mess. I let out a breath and leaned back in my chair, wincing at my stiff back. I should probably take a break. I got up from my hard chair and my legs wobbled forward causing me to fall. I grabbed the edge of the table and stretched my sleeping legs. 

Leaving the scrolls where they were, I took the comms set from where it was laying on the tabletop. I had taken it off earlier, to rid myself of distractions when I was reading. I put it back on my ear and was surprised by Jerry’s loud voice. 

‘Uh, guys? We sort of have a problem?’ he said. 

‘You mean other than the gaping hole in our wing?’ Nithya said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. 

Jerry ignored her and said, ‘We lost two tanks of fuel.’