The…shuttle, which shuddered and rattled its way up to the station with all the vigour of a dying animal, was named ‘The Red Rocket’, according to the worn paint along its side. Something about that name felt rather mean-spirited. All around them, ARKhive technology gleamed in sleek greyscale, the white tiles like unmarred snow, the black walkways polished to a mirror shine, and then squatting in the middle of it was…the shuttle.
The Red Rocket looked more like something rescued from a scrapyard, with sweeping grey marks along the underbelly, where sand had scoured off its hideous red paintwork. There was a concerning dent in the left side, which had taken a chunk out of what had once been the ARKhive logo.
Riley glanced at the shuttle, then back at Valentine, lips pressed into a thin line. “Is this thing…even legal?”
“They wouldn’t have it here if it wasn’t, kid,” she replied. “It doesn’t have to take us far, anyway. Half a day’s trip. It’ll hold together that long. They take it to the communication hub all the time hell, that’s probably why it looks so busted up.”
Camden kept his own thoughts to himself. Perhaps it was just designed that way. To make it seem less like a glorified bus. It seemed a lot of effort to make expensive technology look…weathered, but surely that was why it looked so worn out. Surely.
They moved carefully around to the passenger door, a thick slab of steel set into the back of the shuttle, and waited as Valentine punched in her code. The Red Rocket groaned. A mechanical whirring began from within, cut off by a low thunk. But the door remained shut. Camden glanced over at the others. “Is that ”
“That’s the noise the door makes when it’s opening,” she explained, glaring at the closed door.
The whirring started again. The thunk sounded out, again. Yet again, the steel slab didn’t move.
“Uh. Val. The door isn’t ”
“I know. It probably just…got stuck. Sensor being weird, or something. Not like they had a lot of places to test this thing back home.” She smacked her palm against the exterior panel. To nobody’s surprise, it had little effect. “The door thingy isn’t working. Not how it should be, anyway. The shuttle thinks it’s open, but I mean, look at it.”
Riley moved in front of the panel and crouched down to bring it to eye level, shooing Valentine away from it for its own safety. “You’re not gonna fix it by smacking it, Val. I thought we knew that already from the transceiver.”
“It is not my fault you dropped it.” He looked back toward her with a grin. “It was your fault when you stepped on it. I totally get to blame you for that.”
“By accident.”
“By accident twice?”