Arrival by Mayme Killeen

An alarm blares, startling me awake and turning the yellow light of the ship orange. I steady myself against the wall as the ship tips with a ceremonious groan. “Captain, what’s going on?” I shout. 

  Captain Garber brushes past me, his scraggly beard grazing my shoulder as he calls to a nearby crew member. “Identify the nearest planet.” 

  I shoot him a hard glare. Not even forty, and Captain Garber refuses to be anything but an old geezer. In light of the ongoing commotion, I will not take Garber’s flagrant disregard to heart. I shuffle toward the ship’s radar. “Are we making an emergency landing?”

  Another shudder radiates throughout the ship, sending me stumbling. By the time I get to the radar device, another crew member is already there. 

“Closest is the Wire Planet.” Her voice rings out like a bell above the drum of the alarms. “Should I enter the coordinates?”

  “Yes, yes.” Garber wipes his eyes, staring blankly through the window at the swirling dark beyond.

“Captain, I would never question—” Her gaze wavers. “This planet—I’ve been told to avoid it.”

“Never mind the old sailors' tales.” Garber’s voice is curt, his stare adamant. “One of the engines is out. We need to dock.”

While others move to their stations, I remain planted at the radar. “The Wire Planet?”

The crew member answers, “Yeah? The one with all the kids.” She gives me a long stare. “I thought you said you passed Flight School? Planetary Basics is a required course.”

Before I can tell her that few people would remember every planet in the galaxy, my breath catches in my throat. I can just make out the crest of the planet, frosted with a thick coat of metal. A handful of lights dot the surface, blinking back at me. “Is that it?”

  “Cool, right? The entire surface is mechanized. Supposedly, everyone lives underground.”

My eyes are still glued to the window when the intercom buzzes, silencing the scream of alarms. “Foreign ship detected. Please state your name and objective.”

Garber grabs the microphone, pulling it close to his face. “Hello. This is Captain Garber of The Wendy. I would like to request an emergency landing due to partial engine failure.” 

The intercom hums for a moment. The receiver clicks. “Request granted. See you soon.”