<i> Chapter 1: </i>
<b> Sound of Ceres</b>
The empty apartment walls stared back as I took a final glance around. After my father died, I turned to weapons smuggling to survive on Earth – a path that had nearly consumed me. With no legal work available, this space mining job on Ceres, as dangerous as it was, offered something I desperately needed: a chance to leave my criminal past behind.
As the ship burst through the atmosphere, I found myself staring through the tiny viewport of the ship''s cramped window, transfixed by the stunning blue ocean and white clouds of Earth suspended against the black void of space - my home for 22 years.
Sadness gripped me as the precious planet shrank into the distance.
Beside me, a grizzled old man could barely contain his excitement. "Can''t wait to get my hands dirty!" he grinned, flexing weathered hands. His eyes studied me. "What brings a young guy like you to mining on Ceres? Most would run from this kind of work."
"Needed to start over," I said quietly. "Begin a new life."
He nodded. "Carl," he said, extending a calloused hand. "First time in the belt colonies?"
"First time this far out," I confirmed.
Before I could ask more questions, the captain''s voice crackled through the intercom, announcing our immediate departure to Ceres via jumpspace.
The jumpspace transition hit like a sudden electric shock—my vision blurred, my stomach lurched, and for a brief moment, I felt like I was floating outside my own body,that familiar sensation of being turned inside out. When the disorientation cleared, we were already beginning our descent.
Silence fell throughout the ship as we landed on Ceres, a barren landscape of rock and salt mines stretching to the horizon. The mining company''s recruiter, a short-tempered man, greeted us new recruits.
The giant doors to the mining base yawned open, As the giant two doors shut behind me, I knew there was no turning back now.
<b>Day 1:</b>
<i>Year 2945</i>
I awoke in my assigned bunk bed, my eyes tracing the unfamiliar white ceiling. This was Ceres now — my reality. Mateo, my assigned roommate, was already up and moving about in the room. The room was designed for precisely two occupants.
"Better hurry if you want anything decent," Mateo said, adjusting his standard-issue mining suit. "The crew mess fills up fast."
"I''m not hungry," I replied, my stomach still unsettled from jumpspace and the recent gravity adjustment. "Go ahead without me."
Pushing myself up, I ventured into the passageway. Walking through it felt like being trapped inside a massive laboratory.
Attempting to locate the equipment office, I approached a maintenance droid. Its voice was noticeably inferior to Earth models—a metallic, hollow sound. "The equipment office is located on forward deck 11," it stated, optical sensors briefly scanning me before it continued on its programmed path.
When I finally reached the equipment office, an older man with steel-gray hair and a bionic arm stood behind a glass window. He looked up from his workstation as I approached.
"Name?" he asked.
"Emhyr Sato," I replied, watching as he turned to his digital tablet and began typing.
His brow furrowed as he scrolled through several screens. "That''s strange," he muttered, more to himself than to me. "I can''t find your name anywhere in our database." He looked up, eyes narrowing slightly. "Your registration might not have been processed yet. Did they issue you an ID?"
"Yes," I confirmed, reaching into my pocket to retrieve my identification card.
He extended his bionic arm, a small scanner embedded in the palm activating as he passed it over my card. The digital readout on his tablet refreshed.
He gestured toward a security door that slid open. Beyond it lay a scanning station.
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"Place your eyes directly on the retinal screen," he instructed. After the scan completed with a confirming beep, he continued, "Good. Now we need to scan your entire body. Step into the CT scan, please."
I complied, standing still as the scanner performed a complete biometric analysis, the device emitting a low hum as it mapped my physical dimensions.
"Good. Wait here a moment," he said before disappearing into another room.
He returned shortly, carrying a mining suit primarily orange with striking white accents along with a helmet.
"Here you are," he said, setting it on a preparation table. "You''re all set up now. The suit is calibrated for your whole body. If there is any problem with the suit, come back here and I will check it out."
<b>Day 2:</b>
The mining suit fit perfectly as I examined my reflection in the full-length mirror. "First time in a Rover?" Mateo asked, watching me from where he was adjusting his own suit.
"Yes," I answered, "How about you?"
"This is my second contract with the company," he replied, his eyes lingering on my equipment. "Never seen that type of suit before though."
"The morning briefing starts in five minutes," Mateo said, checking his system watch.
We entered a large station hall room filled with digital displays of names and duties. Around twenty miners in yellow and black mining suits stood in a semi-circle, their conversation falling silent as I entered. Their eyes immediately transfixed on my distinctive suit.
"Team assignments have already been distributed," announced a stern-voiced woman. She checked her tablet with obvious irritation. "Deployment begins in five minutes."
The miners began dispersing toward their designated transport elevators.
"Mateo," she called out, not looking up from her tablet. "Late again. I should have expected as much."
Mateo grinned. "Sorry, Supervisor Lin. Was helping the new guy get suited up."
Supervisor Lin finally glanced up, her eyes narrowing at my unusual suit. "Sector 7 is waiting for your team. Since you always arrive late, you can take responsibility for showing your new colleague his way around. The rest of your team already deployed."
"Yes, ma''am," Mateo replied.
As we went down the designated elevator, the sounds of the mining operation grew more distinct. A pulsing—<i>thoom</i>—sound that you could feel in your chest. Through the walls, you could hear the harvester drones moving through the mining site.
"Mateo!" shouted an old man. Mateo waved as we passed by.
"Old colleague?" I asked.
"Something like that," he replied.
"Okay, we''re here—Sector 7," Mateo announced as we approached a large round door. "To open the door, all you need to do is place your ID card or enter your ID number here." He demonstrated the procedure. "And voilà..."
As the door opened, I could see mining drones flying to collect extracted rocks and an escalator system full of mining salts. Maintenance droids and worker robots moved efficiently throughout the space.
While I was gazing around the area, a large man approached me. "Is that you, young buck?" he called out.
I immediately recognized the voice—it was Carl. He removed his mining helmet, revealing a familiar face. "Welcome to Sector 7."
"Where are the others?" Mateo asked, looking around the unusually empty sector.
"New project. They went to help Sector 9," Carl explained, then turned his attention back to me. "You''re with me, young buck." His eyes assessed my equipment. "The suit fits you well. I see you got that new rover model... I''ll teach you everything you need to know."
As time passed, I was handed a mining laser gun—standard equipment for breaking down larger mineral deposits into manageable fragments. Carl positioned himself beside me, demonstrating the proper grip and stance.
"Keep your arm locked when you fire," Carl instructed, adjusting my posture. "The kickback can throw off your aim if you''re not—"
Suddenly, a sharp warning alarm cut through his words. We both snapped our heads up as a mining droid above us began to malfunction. Sparks and smoke erupted from its stabilizers as it plummeted from its overhead track.
"Look out!" Carl shouted, shoving me aside.
I stumbled backward and lost my balance. Instinctively reaching out to catch myself, my hand landed on a jagged piece of metal debris. A searing pain ripped through my palm as the metal tore through my protective glove and into my skin. The droid crashed onto the spot where we had been standing just moments before, its broken parts spraying across the floor.
"Shit! Stupid droid," Carl cursed, rushing to my side. His eyes went wide when he saw my hand. "Your glove—it''s been punctured."
I lifted my hand to see a metal fragment extending from my palm, blood already spreading through the torn material of the supposedly reinforced glove.
Carl''s face filled with worry. "We need to get you to the medical center immediately." He turned and called to Mateo, who quickly contacted the medical response team.
I was rushed to the medical center, blood continuing to spread from the puncture wound in my hand.
Upon arrival, a doctor in a white uniform with a southern accent and bright yellow eyes guided me to an examination chair.The doctor examined the wound carefully, cleaning away the blood to reveal the full extent of the damage.
"Interesting," the doctor murmured, studying the torn glove material. "This shouldn''t have happened. The rover suits are designed to prevent such penetrations."
The doctor reached for a transparent container holding a golden-yellow liquid powder that seemed to shimmer under the bright lights, matching the hue of his eyes. Using a specialized applicator, the doctor carefully introduced the substance directly into my wound.
An immediate cooling sensation replaced the burning pain.
"We''re applying our standard regenerative compound enhanced with medical nanobots," the doctor explained clinically. "The solution will accelerate your natural healing process while the nanobots repair damaged tissue at the cellular level."
After sealing the wound with a transparent dressing, the doctor stepped back.
A sharp pain lanced through my head, causing my vision to blur momentarily. When it cleared, transparent blue text briefly flashed across my field of vision:
[ERROR - NON HUMAN]
It vanished almost instantly, leaving me wondering if I''d imagined it.
As I tried to get my mind together, a voice kept calling, "Mr. Sato, are you okay? You should go and get some rest," the doctor said while looking at me.