Liv Coleman

“ FEEL FREE to come in.”  voice filled with frustration, soren sighed. an appropriate response to make as she looked down at the mess surrounding her. the few personal items she had were scattered everywhere, chair knocked over. all the handwork of  the heavy handed guard who’d had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of her stream of insults during YET ANOTHER surprise inspection.  “ you know, i’m actually starting to think the guards are just looking for excuses to see me now — it’s kind of  flattering, in a weird way.”  her head dropped back against the metal wall behind her bed as she looked up at the other person,  “fancy helping a girl out? ”

most of august’s days had a consistent routine, typically involving a trip to breakfast in the dining hall, and sit in his usual normal seat an empty table, then check in with his parents if they were around. he’d then disappear off to work for hours on end and usually forget to take a break in between to eat. by the time he was done, he’d make a quick stop to the hall, and grab whatever food was available, sitting in the same spot as the morning. this night, though, august was about to sit down with his tray (that held a small amount of food) when he noticed a figure sat in his usual spot, which caused him to stand at the table, a blank stare at the person. “are you lost?”

mecha station was relatively quiet. devin was trying to fix a space suit that had seen better days. his helmet sat a top his head, as he stared down at the top of the suit. there was a small piece of metal that kept the suit air tight and this one was broken. how could it even break like that? his hand gripped the plasma torch tightly while using the bottom of his fist to push the hood down over his head, the shield protected his eyes from the bright light of the plasma arc weld as it molded the metals back together. it wasn’t the best looking repair, but it would hold. devin knew that much. lifting his hood back up, his lips broke out in a large grin as he appreciated his work. the large metal door to where he was working gave a creak telling him that someone just came in, “hey, come on back here. just finishing up repairs.” not moving from where he sat, if they needed him they’d come back or find who they were looking for.

bent at the knee, francisco hovered above a tray of seedlings with a watering can in hand. “so, your root system is going to suck up all this water, the roots are like your mouth, and you’re going to get what you need, do some photosynthesizing, and then it’s going to transpire out of you, like you’re urinating.” the conversation wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough for anyone less than five feet away to understand that it was a conversation with the plants. he stood when he was done watering them, brushing his palms on his jeans. “oh, fuck,” a murmur under his breath before he cleared his throat, “hey – didn’t expect you to drop by today… didn’t expect anyone.”

unfamiliar laughter filled the hallways as kinsa cautiously opened the door to the living quarter she had visited. waiting for the voices to become hushed, her fingers grasped the bottle of pills hidden in the front pocket of her coat before stepping out into view. the female had lost count of how many times she had offered favors to the high ranking authority in exchange for medicinal drugs. she wasn’t proud of this new lifestyle, but it was necessary in order to keep her father from writhing in agony for he was in the last stage of brain cancer. hasty fingers buttoned up her blouse as she wander about inattentively. her focus was soon interrupted by a startling voice calling her name from behind. she was frozen on the spot and mortified at the thought of how much they had seen. they called her name once more before she finally reacted. “what are you doing here? you scared me.” it sounded more like an accusation than a question. she quickly forced a smile on her face, hoping she hadn’t been caught leaving a married man’s home.