“And you’re sure you’ve hacked this correctly?” Peg asked, leaning over Cas and staring at the screen in his hands.

“Yes! You know I have, you saw the flight logs from last week where it says we went to Gamma Gamma Three instead of Soliris.”

“Okay, so where should we say we’re going for tomorrow? It needs to be about the same journey as the modder.”

“What about if we say we’re going to Distarus?” Gem chimed up. “Those mashed potatoes was insane… Maybe we should actually go there?”

“No! We’re getting mods!” Cas looked up at me silently asking for help.

“We’ll go back there some other time. Why don’t we say we’re going to Irision? The modder isn’t much further than that?” I looked up at him from the galaxy map on my screen.

Things were still a little weird between us but it was getting better. I still had to fight the urge to hug him or hold his hand and sometimes I’d look up and catch him staring at me but it was less awkward at least. He’d been sitting with other crews at meals though and he was definitely flirting with them. That was obvious now.

“Yeah, that makes sense. We can always say that we had to wait for the volcanos to settle down or something which burned up extra fuel?” Cas said, tapping the map on his screen.

“Good idea! Do you want to send off the flight plans?” I asked Peggy, knowing that she enjoyed making flight plans.

“Okay but we should go visit Irision at some point though, it sounds like a fascinating place. Did you know that the majority of their habitats are below ground level because the volcanos blow hazardous ash into the air at least four times a day? The subsystems of housing are really cool too! And most of the planet’s work has to be below the ground obviously so it’s mostly mining and manufacture, I think that’s where the majority of our iron comes from. I read some rumours online that they’re running low on resources and are having to dig deeper and import some of the materials but surely that can’t be true. They've been mining there for only like 200 years and apparently, Earth had a bunch of iron and they harvested that for even longer before they had to stop!”

“Can they just run out of iron? Can that happen?” Gem asked.

“Well, that’s the interesting part! The Council says no but then there was this guy I was talking to online who said they’ve had to step down production a bunch because it's not safe anymore but I don't really know what that means! He said something about quakes and tremors but I haven’t been able to find any official reports on that.”

“The Council wouldn’t be lying though, right? Like, why would they? Surely they have access to more data and stuff than that guy?”

Cas snorted quietly.

Cas trusted the Council less than Gem, Cory and me. I guess when you have more experience with them it makes sense that you’d trust them less. That’s why Peggy didn’t. She’d requested help for her parents’ addiction for years but they always ignored her. When she first told me I thought maybe they were just really busy and didn’t have time to help everyone but now I know different. They just didn’t care. Her parents were unimportant to them. Disposable.

Just like us.

Darkness flickered across Peggy’s face. “I don’t know.”

She turned back to her screen to finish the flight plan and my mind drifted back to the mods. I kept wondering if they were going to hurt. I didn’t really know how mods were fitted but I assumed they would. We’d still not fully decided what we wanted, it was quite hard when you didn't know what the modder offered. Mods aren’t legal so you can’t exactly just ask someone. Cory was the only one who knew what he wanted. He wanted to get his eyes modded with X-rays and other things that I’d never heard of. I was worried though. Cory said that this modder was one of the best but mods are illegal so if something went wrong we couldn't exactly go to the medBay, we’d be stuck with glitchy tech forever.

“Do you think the modder will tattoo me?” Cas asked breaking me out of my thoughts.

“No,” I said shortly.

“Cas, that is a terrible idea,” Cory added.

“Truly horrible.” Gem said without looking up from her screen where she was playing a game with Cory.

“Why?”

“Because firstly, you have terrible taste in tattoos and you know it and secondly, no one in their right mind would tattoo a fourteen year old. It’s illegal.” Peggy raised her eyebrows at him.

“Modding is illegal too and yet we are doing it.” He whined.

“Yes but you wouldn’t be able to get a tattoo from a legal place, would you?”

“No?”

“So, if you show up with a tattoo they’ll immediately know that you went to an illegal place and search you for mods. Just sent off the flight plan!” Peggy said happily.

“That makes sense, I guess,” Cas grumbled dejectedly.

We’d already had pretty much this exact discussion with him before but he still really wanted a tattoo. I had no clue why at this point but I was pretty sure he’d asked Orion from the Vela crew who somehow had a tattoo gun to give him one. I was so glad Orion was out of ink at the time because Cory said he’d seen people in the medbay with bad reactions to them.

“Thanks, Peg. So how early do we need to leave?” I asked.

She hesitated, glancing at Gem, before saying, “We need to be wings up at six.”

“What?” Gem cried.

“I know, I know, it’s so we can get to the right warp gate to get to Irision for midday!”

“Urgh! Fine!” Gem fell back against Cory dramatically.

I smiled at Peggy to show I wasn’t annoyed and that I thought Gem was probably just joking.

“We should probably sleep soon, it’s already past one in the morning,” Cory advised causing Gem to groan.

We drifted slowly towards the warp gate that would take us towards Irision, the number twenty-seven surrounded it in different languages.

“Prepare yourself, we’re about to go through the gate,” I called to the rest of the crew over the comms.

Beside me, I saw Cas check the straps on his seatbelt before bracing his hands against the armrests, his knuckles turning white. The familiar feeling of weightlessness and yet also being dragging in all directions lifted me slightly out of the chair, straining against my seatbelt and I tightened my hands on the controls. A loud whooshing noise hammered my eardrums and pressure built behind my eyes until I felt like I was going to explode. My heart pounded in my chest and I struggled to breathe for just an instant before the world turned deafeningly silent again.

I opened my eyes tentatively and checked my surroundings. The scanner in front of me indicated we were slowly approaching a planet, Irision, the ship informed me. I smiled, feeling triumphant, before the loud sounds of Cory vomiting into a bag interrupted my brief moment of peace.

“You would think that after two years of using warp gates you would be more used to them.” Cas joked at Cory over the comms, “You alright, man?”

Cory spat into the bag once more.

“Doing great. It’s getting easier.”

He unbuckled his belt and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. I smiled slightly at him on the screen before looking back out of the window in front of me.

No matter how many times I’ve seen a planet come closer and drift into focus, it never fails to amaze me. I stared down at Irision on the left side of the ship, seeing the dark planet with bright spots I assumed must be the volcanos. It was truly beautiful.

I followed Cory’s directions and manoeuvred the ship so that the planet was directly behind us, checking the outside cameras to make sure before increasing the speed to medium.

“So… now we just fly for 20 minutes?” Cas double-checked.

“Apparently so,” I answered.

“Crew, I’ve been thinking about it,” Gem started, “I think we should name the ship. It feels weird referring to her as “it”. Plus, all great crews named their ships.”

“But it isn’t our ship, we just borrow her,” I said, looking at the screen.

“Yeah but she’s the only ship we borrow. Wouldn’t it feel better to name her?”

I bit my lip, considering it.

“Okay, so what do we call her?”

“Should we name her after the stars, like us?” Peggy asked.

“I don’t know, that doesn't feel right.”

“What about if we name her after famous ships from books?” Gem suggested.

“I like that.”

“Me too!” Approved Peggy.

“Can we, like, ask the ship what it thinks?” Cas asked, sounding unsure.

“Good idea. Umm… Ship? Can we name you?” I waited.

“Hello Captain Aries, yes, you can name me.” Its pleasant monotoned voice replied.

“But it will just be this crew that calls you that… Is that okay?”

“Yes. That is okay. What would you like to call me?”

“Umm… We don’t know yet.”

I looked at Gem on the screen for suggestions. She’d begun flicking through the books on her wrist monitor for inspiration.

“What about Carlson like from Bullets and Blood?”

I scrunched my nose up.

“I do not think the entire crew approves of that suggestion, Gemini.” The ship replied.

“What about Rosund from Star Crossed Pilots?” Peggy added dreamily.

The ship didn’t answer which was fair. I wouldn’t have either.

“What about Pollyanna? Like in Flight or Fight?” Cory asked, taking his seat again.

“That’s a bit of a mouthful.” Gem said with a shrug.

“Well, what about Frida? From Flying Visit.” Cas suggested.

I paused, surprised that Cas had read such a steamy romance book, and glanced at him out of the corner of my eyes. He caught my look and flushed a bright red.

“Forget it.” He mumbled, fiddling with the controls.

“I actually quite like that,” I said after a moment.

“I like it too!” Gem called out.

“Then it is decided. From now this crew may refer to me as Frida.” The ship confirmed.

I looked at Cas again who was staring intently forwards, deliberately not meeting my eyes and smiled slightly.

“Oh, wait, is that it?” I snapped my head to the scanner which hadn’t picked up the ship he’d just pointed out.

“It’s not showing up on the scanner,” I reported, anxiety prickling in my stomach.

“It’s a ghost ship?” Peggy asked, craning her head to look forwards at the screens.

“That makes sense, I guess. If they aren’t putting out a signal they can’t be tracked by the Council.” Cory said.

“Yeah but normally, they can be picked up by something on the ship!”

I slowed down as we approached it, waiting for the modder to request communication, watching the ship carefully for signs of life. Lights could be seen from the windows but they were weak and flickering. It didn’t look how I’d imagined a modders ship to look.

“Aries, a communication request has been received from an unmarked ship. Do you wish to accept?” Frida asked.

I glanced at Cas who nodded.

“Yes, accept please.”

“Captain Sammer’s food cargo ship, state your business.” I cringed as a nasal voice blared through the speakers.

I winced and lowered the volume immediately.

“Umm… Doctor Volans said this was the best place to get fried tofu nuggets?” I said the code phrase that Cory’s doctor told him and waited anxiously for a reply.

“Dock on the far side of the ship, you’ll come through the airlock right into the canteen.” The comms cut off suddenly.

I looked at Cory on the screen who shrugged, before doing as requested. As we walked towards the airlock between the two ships, I paused.

“Frida. We’ll be back fairly soon I think. Can you tell me if another ship approaches?”

“Of course Captain Aries, should another ship approach I will inform you via your wrist communicator.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled and stepped into the airlock, activating my helmet and gloves.

“Is everyone ready?” I asked into the microphone in my helmet, glancing around.

Cas ran a hand around his neck seal before activating his gloves and clenching his fists. “Ready.”

I checked the rest of the crew before beginning the airlock procedure. We watched the countdown on the door as the pressure equalised and the hatch between our ship and the modders opened. I stepped into the other ship, half expecting the Council or Guardians to start shouting at us, and checked my monitor for air quality and gravity levels.

“Normal levels everyone, disengage helmets,” I said and, as one, our helmets fell back into our suits.

I looked around. It was silent. No signs of the Council or any Guardians. We appeared to be in a grubby looking canteen, a table with visible stains that I didn’t want to look too closely at lay to our right and shelves full of giant cans with labels all in different languages lined the walls. A man stood at the hatch in the wall watching us, his apron filthy and his face lined from age and UV damage. He looked exactly how you’d expect a food cargo ship’s chef to look. His hands were wrinkled and stained and, even from where we were standing, I could smell the waft of ramen. It smelt pretty good. The wall around the hatch was plastered with brightly coloured stickers, some I recognised as food companies but most were weird symbols or words I’d never seen before. I pushed my hunger down. That wasn’t why we were here.

“Umm… Hello, we were told to come and speak to you.” I said, stepping towards him and placing myself between him and my crew.

“Who told you that then?” He barked.

His voice was loud and harsh, the accent much rougher than I was used to on Nova.

“Doctor Volans. He said you do… Mods.”

The man laughed, throwing his head back and revealing greying decayed teeth.

“‘ow old are you lot?”

“Fourteen.”

“Members of the Space Corps, are ya?”

“Yes.”

“Mods are illegal. What you want ‘em for?”

I realised he hadn’t said that he didn’t do mods yet and took a step forwards more confidently.

“So we can do better and work better.”

He scoffed. “Terrible reason.”

“Excuse me?” Cory said from behind me. “Doctor Volans told me you modded his eyes for x-rays. I’m the Ship Doctor for this crew. I need mods in case something goes wrong and we can’t get to a planet or hospital ship in time.”

The man’s face softened as the skin around his eyes crinkled and he snorted.

“I did a whole lot more than just his eyes.”

“So you do do mods!” Cas exclaimed victoriously.

The man glared at him for a second before waving his hands. “Come through here.”

A door in the wall next to him opened at his gesture and he walked away from the hatch, deeper into his ship.

“This is worrying…” Peggy muttered, lingering back by the door to the airlock but Cory walked towards the door without waiting for us to follow.

Gem glanced at me in concern for a second before we hurried to catch him. The man led us through the kitchen which was filled with bubbling pots to a hidden door at the back which opened into a spotless white room with high tech screens lining the walls. A low table and set of sofas lay to one side with a medBot waiting motionlessly to be called to action. The man flicked his hand and his grubby apron transformed into a sleek, spotless jumpsuit. His face seemed to blur for a second before revealing a much more youthful-looking face. His hands were spotless now, even the smell of ramen had disappeared.

“Sorry for the facade, you never know just who will show up. I’m Chal.” He said, his accent clipped, clear but still obviously not of Nova.

“That’s okay. Nice to meet you.” I barely managed to get the words out as I stared at him, shocked.

“Take a seat and tell me what brings you here today.”

I dropped onto the white sofa carefully, worried about somehow staining it.

“I’m Aries, this is my crew. We’re here to get mods.”

He laughed.

“Of course but which modifications?”

“We don’t really know what’s…” I searched for the right word. “Available?”

The man sighed before looking us over, appearing to weigh us up. “Well, that depends on several things. Price range?”

I fumbled to take the chip that we’d put most of our money on out of my pocket, almost dropping it as I did.

“We’ve been in the Space Corps for three years on full pay and have spent very little of it.”

Chal leaned forwards, breathing deeply. “Excellent.”

He waved his hand lazily and a holo projection lit up above the table in front of us.

“Here are the latest gadgets that I think you’ll like. All completely untraceable and unhackable, of course. They won’t show up on any scans and the scars will heal completely within 24 hours.”

I nodded, my jaw tight. We were nearing the place of no return. If we agreed to this we’d officially be breaking the Council law.

“Do you also do tattoos?” Cas asked leaning forwards.

Chal turned his head, slowly looking him up and down.

“Yes.”

“Can I get one?”

“No.” Was all he said.

“Why not?”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know…” Cas admitted.

“Well then, I definitely won’t do one. It’ll be on your skin for the rest of your life.”

“I could get it removed?”

Chal’s nose wrinkled delicately.

“If you don’t know what you want and you’re already considering removing it you probably shouldn’t get one yet.”

“Oh…” Cas said, his shoulders slumping.

Chal heaved a dramatic sigh. “If you still want one when you’re sixteen, I will do one then.”

A smile lit up Cas’ face.

“Really? Oh sweet, that’s only two more years!”

“Indeed. Now… back to mods.”