Humankind has found the stars - and forgotten the coordinates of their home planet. Then Hana does the impossible and gets pregnant. Her mother's predictions ringing in her ears, she sets out to find humanity's lost cradle. She only has a myth to gu...
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Hana curled in her bunk, the cabin lights low. Not so long ago a determined woman, or so she convinced herself, but now waves of despair crashed over her heart. The universe led her to a dead end, and her quest to find the cradle of humanity, and hope for her unborn child, seemed an impossible dream now.
Hope is the cruelest virtue.
In the latter stages of pregnancy, emotions had become ever more powerful and her mind drifted to dark places.
As if sensing her despair, the baby within had been uncharacteristically still, and that also worried Hana. A single tear traced her cheek. "I am sorry, little Phili," she murmured while clutching an extended belly. "I wanted a better future for you."
A tremor shook the ship, breaking Hana from her inward thoughts. The bed strap buckles, there for periods of weightlessness, rattled where they hung to the deck. Then another tremor.
"Hana, come to the bridge," said Sanju's even-keeled voice over the intercom.
Wiping moisture from her cheek, Hana stood, resolving to a strong demeanor. No use wallowing in dark mood. Nonetheless, another type of shadow crossed her heart as she passed the empty cabin beside hers. She missed Phili, the namesake of her unborn child, especially his warmth and inquisitive nature.
Rest in peace, my friend.
The narrow passageway took her to the transit hatch, resembling a round deck trapdoor. After pressing the green switch marked 'Transit', she waited for the hatch to line up with a similar hatch on the core side and stop. Hana didn't understand the science behind the Gravity Buffer that avoided the jarring effect of a habitat ring rotation halt or losing the artificial gravity, at least long enough for her to pass through. But it worked. Most of the time.
Once both hatches opened, She simply jumped into the hole, transitioning immediately to the core weightlessness. Hana didn't mind that much, as it provided temporary relief from the weight of womb and baby.
