Space sucks. Everything about being up here drives me up the walls. The recycled air is making me sick. The food is subpar, all the hydro-farms producing tasteless morsels with a hint of algae to bite you back. And not to mention the overall sardine-can feel of the substation.

I chuckle at this. I can sleep in a tube on a transport shuttle but can't seem to stand the giant substation with enough space to house all current recruits from the twenty planets in our system. The brain is a curious machine.

Another curious machine would be my Link. Since waking up from a quick nap, my Link has seemed to be on the fritz. I keep getting notifications as if messages are coming in, but then I go to look and there's nothing there. I'll message someone, typically Astrid, and the message will show as sent, but only moments later will completely disappear like it was never written.

I pinch myself, checking that I'm really awake. Pain heats the area on my arm I pinched, and I frown. That was a stupid idea, of course I'm awake. I flip to a different chat, this one between Shawn and I. My messages are still there, but they remain unanswered. This, however, could be completely normal. Whenever there's a particularly strong solar flare near A1-C23, it could be days, even weeks until I hear from Shawn.

I groan and drag my hands down my face. There's only one other person I can talk to. After sending a short prayer that I won't be chewed out, I open a chat between Micah and myself.

Serina: Hey...I have a quick question.

I pull my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around them. Micah's smiling picture lights up in the top right corner of the chat and I hold my breath.

Micah: Is it "I know I fucked up bad this time. How can I ever make it up to you?"

I cringe but know that he's right. I really did fuck up.

Serina: Okay, I have two quick questions.

Micah: What, Serina?

Serina: My Link has been having some major glitching issues. Do you know where I should go to get it checked out?

Micah: Probably ITS, they're located at the entrance to the habitation ring.

Serina: Ha...duh, why didn't I think of that?!

Micah: I'm sure you did. So why did you need to hear it from me?

Serina: Who says I needed to hear it from you?

Micah: -_-

Serina: ...

Micah: We both know that you didn't message me just to ask about how to get your Link checked out.

Serina: Okay, so maybe I feel shitty about earlier...

Micah: And? What are you going to do about it?

Serina: ...I'm sorry

Micah: For?

Serina: ...I'm sorry that you made me mad, you should work on that.

Micah: Bye, Serina.

Serina: I'm kidding!!

There's a pause and blood rushes in my ears. My heart feels like it's going to pump so hard it will burst through my ribs. I've never been good at apologies.

Serina: I'm sorry that we disagreed, and I blew up on you...

Micah: Thank you. I'm sorry, too. It wasn't fair of me to question you...especially when you were one of Cat's...

I look away from the hologram and set my cheek on my knee. Micah is the only person other than Shawn and myself that knows what went down between Catalina and I.

My twelfth year was an eventful one. After my parents died, it felt like a was drowning. Then Kieran sacrificed himself for me and I thought for sure that things couldn't get worse. That was when I found Catalina standing at my side.

At first, it was nice. Catalina had sat with me at lunch, picked me first for her team, and even helped with one of my first crushes. Slowly, the transition between friend and foe took place. At lunch, she would ask if I really needed another bite. On her team, I was gradually pushed to the end of the line-up. With boys, she lied about me behind my back, steering them all away.

But that wasn't too bad, other kids acted the same way. What hurt was when she started saying that my dad had crashed the Skimmer on purpose. She would say that he was freeing them from the weight that I was.

My Link pings and I force my eyes to look at the screen.

Micah: Rina?

Micah: ...

Micah: I shouldn't have brought it up...

My hand subconsciously moves to the inside of my right thigh and I start to miss Shawn even more. I had briefly cut myself before Shawn raised Hell and got me the help I needed. This is why making up the name "Cat-Cutter" was almost therapeutic in a way. It was a way to acknowledge what she was causing without really accepting that I played a part in it. It is thanks to Shawn that scars don't mar my skin.

Serina: It's fine. It's in the past. Homies?

Micah: Homies. XD

Micah: So, what now?

Serina: I guess I have to go take my Link to ITS. I'll talk to you once I get it back, assuming we don't run into each other at some point.

Micah: The substation really isn't as big as it seems...

Micah: Plus, I know where you live.

I burst out laughing and shake my head.

Serina: Now you've gone and made it weird.

Micah: You know you love me.

Serina: Whatever. Bye, Micah.

I stand from the bed and slip my socks on. Turning to grab my shoes, I hesitate and debate just walking around the substation without shoes on. I sigh and opt to wear the shoes, the last thing I need is some sort of infraction up here.

People bustle around me as I make my millionth trip down to ITS. With tomorrow being the last day, the day in which we all leave for our respective planets, everybody has been in a riot to learn where they're going. To everyone else, the two-week buffer period flashed by a like a burning meteor through the atmosphere, but for me, it had dragged on as if we were nearing the center of a black hole.

I was anxious to get my Link back. I had finally gotten the message that they had fixed it, or at least that they thought they fixed it. I hated using the temporary Link that they provided. It couldn't do anything but surf the Galactic Net and receive updates from ITS. I wasn't able to contact anyone. They say it's to protect our privacy when they give the temporaries out to the next recipients. I say they're just too lazy to go and reset the Links each time they get them back.

I shove my way across the final hall to the ITS consultation door. The door itself is closed but there's an open window with a small shelf for hand-offs. I slam their Link on the shelf and the ITS employee seated with their back to me jumps.

"Sweet Baby Jesus!" He turns around with a hand pressed against his chest. He takes a few breaths and glares at me. "Can't you read?"

I follow his eyes as they move to a sign just to my right that says:

Please message us directly when you arrive. ITS workers are very sensitive and scare easily.

Wow. You have to wonder how many times these guys have been scared in order for that to go up. I roll my eyes and look back to the worker. "Listen, as I'm sure you're aware, I don't have a whole lot of time considering what tomorrow is. I would like to get my Link back and be on my way."

"Did you get a notification saying that it was ready? Because I can't give it to you if—"

"Yes, I got the message."

His eyes narrow and briefly scan me over. "Okay...name?"

"Barringer."

"Great, I'll be right back." He gets up from his chair and disappears down a hallway leaving from the left of the room. My impatience makes me jittery and my foot bounces on the ground while I struggle to block out passing conversations.

"—I can't wait to go back home!"

"—I can't believe my transfer went through!"

"—can you believe that I was denied transfer? Now I have to wait until tonight to find out where I'm going."

"Here you go." It takes me a moment to realize that the ITS guy had come back and was now standing in front of me with my Link.

I smile with a sigh, already feeling more like myself. "Thank you." I trade him Links and rush off.

I duck in and out of the crowd when needed in a rush to get back to my room. I don't dare look through my Link in the mass of people, knowing for sure someone would get stepped on, whether be it myself or someone else.

I make it to my room in record time and plop myself on the edge of my bed. Once my notification center is open, all sorts of updates come flying through. Missed calls and unread messages from Shawn are first, then there's a few from Micah when he forgot that I didn't have my Link. At the bottom, there are a few news updates that I had flagged for notifications when there was more posted. But my heart deflates when I don't see anything from Astrid. Why isn't she contacting me back?

I frown and comb through the notifications. I start with waving the news updates away, those can be handled later, then I skim through Micah's messages and it was in fact when he had forgotten that I didn't have my Link. They were mostly about why I wasn't answering and wondering if I was okay. After seven unread and unanswered messages that night, he had shown up at my door demanding to know that I was okay, only to realize that he had been messaging a brick.

Next, Shawn's messages. I read the first few that explain that they had encountered a large solar flare that had their comms down for six days. Then he goes on to ask why I wasn't responding and eventually he stops messaging. The lull in correspondence doesn't mean that he gave up, however. Four days ago, during lunch, Micah had mentioned that Shawn had reached out to him in hopes of getting answers. Of course, Micah explained everything to Shawn, and I was able to shoot him a few messages here and there on occasion through Micah's Link.

My notification center is clear for all of ten seconds before another message comes through. This one has a sender of the GTA and a subject line of "Transfer."

My stomach drops as I anticipate what the message says. I hope more than anything that it will say that they decided to send me to A1-C23 after-all, but I know deep in my bones that they won't.

I gulp down my nerves and steel myself, opening the message portal.

Serina Marie Barringer, former resident of Aoria. You have submitted a transfer application which was denied. Due to your openness to travel, the GTA has decided to send you to a new colony. There, you will be one of the one-hundred-fifty people sent to be the first colonizers on the planet.

Tomorrow, you will report to the loading dock you arrived through and will be put into cryo-sleep. You will then be stored and transported to the remote planet. You will arrive on the first of the new year, signifying the start of a new era on a clean slate.

More information will be given once you arrive.

To the greatness of humanity, we spread our wealth and knowledge.

-The GTA

"Holy. Shit."

"So, you're being put into cryo also?" My voice hitches as Micah pulls me to his side, keeping me from being plowed down by someone racing down the hall.

He sighs at my lack of special awareness and nods. "Yes, with my transfer request being a generic environment specification, I'll be transferred. I was told that there are many new colonizing planets, but there was one that they thought would be the best fit for me. I'm really hoping it's like Reonerth, somewhere I can just immerse myself in my work."

"Interesting. Did they tell you anything else about it?" My gaze is narrow when I glance at him. Micah simply shakes his head and gently turns me so I face where I'm walking again.

After countless turns, we find ourselves moving with a large crowd of color, however, we're the only ones in Aorian blue that I can see. The area is filled with mostly Draxion yellow, a mustard color that is hard on the eyes, yet absolutely stunning on certain people. There are also a few splashes of Metic green and Folycia red.

As Micah and I make our way to the loading dock, curious glazes follow us. I'm sure they've never heard of Aorians transferring. Seeing blue in the mix is probably a bigger shock than most of the planets they're going to.

"Attention transfers!" Micah stumbles at the sudden stop of movement, our group having reached the dock. "Here, you will get on a shuttle fitted with cryo-cells for each of you. To make finding your specific cell easier, each cell is highlighted with your planetary color, from there, you will look for your name among the placards. Once you find your cell, it will be just like using the sleeping tubes."

The doors to the shuttle hiss open and I'm pushed forward as the excited people around me rush to get inside. A hand grabs mine and my arm is pulled hard as Micah and I are almost forced to separate. I grit my teeth and manage to get free of the fold.

Now able to see, Micah and I start to wander about the shuttle until two blue-tinted cells catch our eyes. Seeing the circular cells freezes my blood with anxiety. Micah notices my hesitancy and frowns.

"Rina? What's wrong?"

"I—uh, nothing. I've been looking forward to this for years."

His hand rests on my arm and I look up to meet his eyes. "That doesn't make this any easier."

I take a deep breath and nod. We both move to stand in front of the cells. They look similar to the sleeping tubes, only these are more rectangular than the tubes. We both put our Links up to the scanners and they turn green before swallowing them whole for storage.

Our cells open, as do many others. I can hear cries of excitement as people hop into their cells, embracing the unknown that loams in front of us. I can feel Micah turn to me, getting ready to say something but I leap into his arms before he can.

My arms wrap around his neck and his snake around my waist. We hold each other tightly and I can feel myself shake. "I'm going to miss you."

His arms tighten a little more. "I'll miss you too." His breath is warm on my hair and I pull away before tears can form. Despite how shitty I've been to him these last few years, he really has been like a brother to me.

I clench my fists and look up at him. "I'll see you on the other side. We'll have to talk all the time, comparing our worlds."

"All the time." He smiles and my heart starts to hurt. Not only will I never see my blood brother, but I'll also never see my adopted brother.

I turn to look at my cell. It's positioned directly above Micah's. With our Links in the cells, the seal is open and our beds outstretched. "Here," I raise my brows and look to my side. Micah kneels and holds out his hands. Without a word, I take his offer and he boosts me up so I sit on the bed. "I'll see you in four months when we wake up."

I give him a small smile then lay down. My cell shuts and my eyelids are close to follow as a sudden drowsiness weighs me down. Just before sleep takes me away, my fingers find my ring and I no longer feel so alone.