A Sea of Indigo and Diamonds

A Sea of Indigo and Diamonds

Lost in space and in need of a home, Olivia Martín is tasked with finding an inhabitable planet for the crew of the Sojourner.  The odds are stacked against her and time is running out.

Excerpt:

    “Did I ask for your opinion, Martín?” he growled.

    Olivia had the impression everyone around them had stopped what they were doing, but she dared not look away to confirm.  “No, sir!” she said with the bold voice of a trained officer.

    Jacobs glared at her a moment longer, then began to pace the deck.  “Does anyone else have an opinion they’d like to offer?” he challenged.

    Every crew member sat frozen, not daring to look in the captain’s direction.  Until that moment, Olivia had not realized just how much the captain was feared.

    When Jacobs received no response, he faced Olivia again from the far side of the bridge.  “Why are you wasting time looking at charts of dead space when we are searching for life?” he asked, as if it were a ridiculous notion.

    “Just being thorough, sir!”

    He walked back to his chair and sat down.  “I advise you to put your energy into examining new territories.”  His  tone was different, but the order was clear.  “Dismissed.”

    Olivia about-faced and returned to her station.  Feigning interest in the controls at her fingertips, she was unable let go of the mystery.  Despite the captain’s veiled warning, she had to dig deeper.

Author’s Note:

The characters of A Sea of Indigo and Diamonds are trapped on a spaceship.  This story came to me in the middle of a lockdown.  Coincidence?

Also found in Prism:  Stories that Span the Spectrum.