SuperNova & The Nomad (EP 1)

The latest Flash Fiction I wrote personally for my newest Crew Member. Thank you so much for becoming Gruesome like me and I can't wait to maybe continue this one.

In today's episode of SuperNova & The Nomad

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We follow our beloved Captain Cheryl and her trusty, yet ever sassy, pet-cat companion Nova as they find themselves on the run from scavengers. What started as a “Space Trip” to the Shrine of the Legendary Forty-Nyner, a tribute to the galaxy's greatest hero, quickly became a desperate dash through asteroid fields, fried navigation systems, and one very cranky toaster. Hopefully their Solar Nomad can get them to their destination in one piece.

*Background Image Provided by Cheryl

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“Do you see them in the log?” Cheryl asked, both hands on the wheel, as they screamed past another asteroid.
	“How am I supposed to know? You know I can’t read.” Nova snapped back, her tail curling into the shape of a question mark. “You also know I can’t carry one of those tickers.”
	“Can you at least go look out the back window and let me know if you see anything?”
	Nova huffed her grey little body and uncurled her tail, muttering something about “speciesist cockpit design” as she floated toward the rear viewport. The artificial gravity was a bit patchy after Cheryl rerouted power to the shields an hour ago, and the ship hadn’t stopped complaining. The ship wasn’t fancy by any means, more patchwork shuttle than streamlined cruiser, and it had the personality of a grumpy toaster wrapped in duct tape and solar panels. Screens buzzed, vents whistled and somewhere in the walls, something clicked ominously like a timer set to impending doom.
       Nova braced herself against the nearest handhold as she reached the window. She pressed her snout to the glass. “Well, I see the asteroid we just passed... and I see another one that looks suspiciously like it wants to join the party.”
         “Define suspiciously,” Cheryl asked, knuckles whitening over the wheel.
         “Define define,” Nova shot back. “It’s gaining on us. That enough definition for you?”
         “Great, just great,” Cheryl sighed in frustration, head thunking against the console. “Guess we’re taking a detour.”
         Nova pushed herself off the back wall, propelling her past the latrine and the living area, straight towards the cockpit. She tumbled into the cockpit, landing with a soft plop on the co-pilot seat. She flicked a switch with one paw, though it didn’t do anything particularly useful and glanced sideways at Cheryl.
	 “Where exactly are we detouring to? Because if it's back to that asteroid field, I’m calling this mutiny and declaring myself supreme overlord of snack distribution.”
         Cheryl squinted at the half-functional nav screen, which now displayed a mixture of static, a questionable rerun of Starticus: Season 12, and a blinking warning labeled "PROXIMITY: BAD." Anything but that. 
        “There’s a mining rig two clicks out- abandoned, maybe. Could give us cover.”
        Nova's ears twitched. “Abandoned, huh? That’s code for haunted, cursed, or full of malfunctioning cleaning bots with identity crises.”
        Before she could respond, the ship rattled—HARD. The kind of impact that screamed you forgot to tighten the bolts on the portside thruster again. “Okay!” Cheryl shouted, adjusting their trajectory manually. “Mining rig it is! Everyone buckle- uh- hold on to something!” Grips tightened and claws dug as the Nomad dove into a portside roll narrowly avoiding the second blow. 
        “I told you we should’ve stopped for repairs on Eldorado-9. But noooo, you wanted to see the shiny statue.” Nova hissed, digging her claws deeper into the fabric of the seat.
        “You said ‘what's the worst that could happen?’”
        “I was being sarcastic!”
        Somewhere behind them, the toaster groaned.

EP. 2 - The Grizzle Protocol