A Chorus of Stars
A Chorus of Stars …
A Chorus of Stars
I. The Galactic Alliance
Thousands of years of war between the Galactic Alliance and The Siren Solar System Conglomerate produced many heroes. Heroes from the last battle of Major Aio to the destruction of the planet Lai.
Lai industrialized during the last five hundred years of war to become the largest provider of warships in the Galactic Alliance. They also produced the technology necessary to enable wormhole travel. Because of these efforts Lai enjoyed the benefits of their newly found wealth and soon found a place for their riches off world.
Thus the surface of Lai was destroyed by the time the war ended. Due to the heavily industrialized surface Lai could no longer harbor life and the inhabitants of Lai had to find another place to live.
With plans acquired by the Tetchkins the Galactic Alliance built Lai space stations above the scarred planet.
Inhabitants of Lai moved off planet onto an orbiting space station.
As a result of this move the upper class of Lai placed themselves at the center of the rotating station near the greenhouses. This Enabled the upper class the first pick of fresh grown food.
Therefore, as far away from the center as possible, near the end of the arms of the station, the poorer and less fortunate Lai inhabitants lived. One of these small rooms housed Pasha.
II. A Chorus Girl
Pasha sang with The Chorus of Stars and found herself singing solo work. Singers in the choir hardly survived on the rations given by admirers. First no one paid them and second no one attended the performance.
All performances occurred in the main library meeting room which had one of the best open windows to space. The Chorus performed for the stars. She carried on a tradition from days on the surface of her planet.
On this day, Senator Kolpa, an admirer of Pasha, visited her room.
First her broken air conditioning unit in the corner made a loud noise, stopped for a second and then hummed. Second Kolpa finished a bottle of off planet wine he acquired from one of his smuggler friends and the heat of the room worked on his head like a sledgehammer.
Thus both Pasha and Kolpa tried to pass time until the exercise bay opened so they could leave her room and cool down a little.
A loud buzz rang from Pasha’s door bell. Kolpa, in his shorts and t-shirt, jumped from his seat and looked at Pasha inquisitively.
“Maybe it’s my sister or the air conditioning guy.” Pasha looked over at Kolpa who nodded in agreement and moved quickly into Pasha’s storage closet to hide.
When the buzzer rang again Pasha let the door hatch slide open. Excess heat from the room seemed to leave in a rush. Thus the visitor covered her face for a second to avoid a blast of hot stale air. She was an attractive woman dressed in a conservative yet expensive grey outfit. Above all everything seemed perfect about her.
“Pasha.”
“Yes.”
“May I come in.”
II. The Lady
“For what purpose?” Pasha asked as the woman’s face changed from an attractive calm to one of worry and panic. A smooth complexion moved to a deeply contoured look of concern.
For a moment the lady looked as if she could not speak another word. As a result she leaned on the doorway to keep from falling. Pasha led her in and sat her down and the lady took a few deep breaths.
“Is my husband here?” The lady cried.
“Whose husband?” Pasha suddenly panicked from where she stood. “Husband?”
“Yes, my husband Senator Kolpa!”
“I do not know any married men.” Pasha lied. As a result the lady stood up and both stood in a silent stare.
“In other words he is not here?” The lady wiped her eyes.
“I do not know what you mean.”
“You are a horrible person.” Murmured the lady.
Pasha felt guilt for the fact that she wore lipstick a little too red and too much pink blush. Second, she felt ashamed for wearing her silk bathrobe purchased by one of these men.
Finally, she felt horrible inside and out and wished she could live closer to the core. She wished for an honest boyfriend not one of these losers she kept hooking up with. She looked around the mess of her room, the empty wine bottles mixed with dirty laundry thrown over the floor.
III. Red Handed
“I will ask again. Where is my husband?” Yelled the lady. “Ok, listen I just need to tell you that Kolpa has been caught stealing food and drink from the core. They caught him red handed on a recording and they are sending robots to apprehend him. This is your fault!”
The lady paced Pasha’s room and kicked an empty wine bottle. Finally Pasha started to understand what this meant. Anyone caught stealing from the core would be thrown into space.
“Today he will be thrown to the stars!” The lady cried. “This is your fault you beast. I cannot save him. His children will not know their father. You will be damned!”
Again the two stood in silence. Consequently Pasha expected the lady to do something dreadful at any moment.
“Ma’am I do not know what you are talking about.”
“You are a liar! I know everything! I know that he spends hours with you everyday sharing stolen food and wine. He started four months ago.”
“What of it! Men visit me and bring me gifts all the time. I have nothing of my own. I do not force them to come here, they come here of their own free will.”
“Listen, he committed a crime against our people and he is doomed to die. Do not act as if you are a creature of morals. Your behavior has left me without a husband. How am I supposed to feed my children?”
IV. Reparation
Pasha sat down and felt emotionally drained. She wished this moment would pass but the lady stood above her with her hands on her hips.
“You entertain on this station? That is your place! You sing your songs to the stars but no one listens. Soon my husband will find himself floating out in space as an empty frozen body. He is as good as dead to our family. But what shall I do to keep our family alive? I could survive if you transferred over nine hundred credits from your yearly food rations.”
“Nine hundred is all I make! That is absurd!” Pasha stood up again and faced the lady. “I can return any items that he gave me. They are only small items.”
Pasha walked over to her desk and pulled out a gold chain and a small gem stone. The lady looked insulted.
“I cannot feed my family with this!” She screamed again. “Think of my children! They will starve!”
Pasha felt shame for her thoughtlessness when it came to men. For instance Kolpa started out as a simple admirer of her solo work in the Choir of Stars.
V. A Chorus of Stars
“What can I do! I may have ruined the bastard Kolpa but all he ever gave me was cake and wine! He was the most slovenly and rude man I have ever invited into my room and honestly he probably deserves what he has coming.” Pasha began to go through all her drawers and closets. She threw out all her belongings onto a pile in the middle of the room. She found four more gold necklaces and few watches along with a couple more gem stones. She put the jewelry into a bag and threw it at the lady.
“Take all I have! I don’t care! Just leave me alone.” Pasha screamed at the top of her lungs. At this moment Kolpa walked out of the bathroom. His eyes bloodshot from crying.
“You! What have you stolen! What have you given me! You came here of your own free will, tell her!” Pasha begged Kolpa as he walked into the room.
“You are scum!” Kolpa spat on Pasha. He turned around and hit her hard on her cheek with his closed fist. Pasha felt darkness and could only remember stars.
She remembered waking for an instant as she floated alone in space.
From the distance one star began to flicker. Then another. A sound permeated space as the stars shared their voices with her. The most beautiful chorus she had ever heard.
“I only wanted to sing with you and this chorus of stars.” She thought as she floated into darkness of deep space towards a distant star.
I hope you enjoyed the story so far
Read on
https://www.creativeexiles.com/2019/06/the-spaceship-verotchka-part-one/
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