Nature doesn't care about fairness.
It doesn't notice circumstances or age, and it doesn't take a genius to understand that especially when you are born in a world like this.
This world was a dog-eat-dog world without limit…
Orion wiped the grease from his hands and adjusted the panel on the ship's maintenance hull.
The low hum of the engines filled the bay, punctuated by the occasional hiss of hydraulics and the distant clatter of tools.
Life as a junior engineer was monotonous and predictable... and he hated it…
He wanted so much more in live than been stuck with debt and unable to climb corporate ladder because of his lack of name and heritage.
He didn't resent the people that had the privilege, but he was definitely jealous.
And then his holo-comm ringed. The sharp alert made him freeze.
He glanced up.
All around him, co-workers' displays flickered with the same notification, though most didn't bother to look.
Orion tapped the interface, and his cheap Cognix Edge glasses projected the message in front of him:
[Helix Corp: Recruitment Alert – Junior Engineers Needed for Expedition to Newly Discovered Ruins in Uncharted Space.]
A ripple of unease spread across the bay.
Conversations started quietly, then rose in tense murmurs.
Most scoffed at the risk; but you could visibly see every Junior Engineer tense up.
While this was phrased as a recruitment notice every one of them knew that it really wasn't, especially with their 3rd Class Citizenship.
Everyone knew the truth, Helix Corp's quota had to be filled and if it wasn't filled by 'volunteers' anyone could be drafted.
The uncharted regions were dangerous, unpredictable, and most definitely lethal especially for unenhanced humans.
Orion felt his pulse quicken as he stared at the message before he went back to his work… however it kept popping back into his mind.
While this was a very dangerous run it was also his only option to fast track his career.
Not only could he fast track his career, but he could also make enough money to even clear his debt and if he was lucky become a 2nd Class Citizen and maybe even first class.
Then enhancement would not be too far from him... But a man can only dream... On till this point.
The risk was enormous, but so was the reward.
He swallowed as he stared at the accept button…
'Yes, I can do it.'
'I mean I got here in the first place by taking risk.'
'If I didn't take risk, I will still be living in the dump not working on spaceships.'
But he knew taking a loan was very different from going to an uncharted part of space.
His heart was beating so fast as he swallowed, glanced at the nervous faces around him, closed his eyes and finally tapped "Accept."
He opened his eyes as confirmation of his choice flashed in the glasses.
The hum of the engines faded into the background as the enormity of what he'd just volunteered for settled over him.
The unknown was waiting, and there was no turning back.
***
The night before departure, Orion sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the small pile of belongings he would take with him.
A few sets of clothes, his CredChip, the dagger he had carried since his academy days, and his worn out Cognix Edge glasses.
Everything else — furniture, trinkets, half-finished projects — would stay behind.
Selling them off had been a strange mix of relief and sadness, It wasn't like he could take them with him and he couldn't possibly keep paying rent for the duration of his leave especially since he didn't even know how long that was.
He wasn't like he would come back here if he succeeded and if he didn't… well then, he would be dead so no need to think about it.
He felt a knot in his stomach, a mixture of excitement and unease.
***
Boarding the carrier the next morning was surreal.
Definitely not his first time stepping on this ship, but it was as overwhelming as it could have been.
He waited in line with other recruited workers going for the expedition until it was finally his turn.
He stepped closer to the guard who mechanically pointed a scanner at him…
–—–
[Designation: OX-6002009
Occupation: Engineer – Systems Maintenance
Level: Junior (Tier-1)
Clearance: C-Grade (Technical Access Only)
Performance Rating: Satisfactory (4/5)
Assigned Division: Frontier Operations Support
Augmentations: None Registered
Notes: Eligible for hazard deployment / transferable to expeditionary service]
———
"Correct?"
"Correct."
And the guard nodded at him and motioned to him to enter.
The ship was massive, corridors buzzing with activity as engineers, pilots, doctors, soldiers and others moved with practiced efficiency.
Orion kept to the conners, studying every detail.
The hull plating gleamed under the harsh lights; the communal areas were crowded with crew members checking supplies, briefing each other, or arguing quietly over rooms and seating assignments.
Most of the soldiers were tall, imposing figures, armed and clearly unconcerned with social niceties.
Orion's gaze lingered on a few engineers huddled over schematics, and it wasn't hard to tell who was there by choice or force by their unfocused look while nodding along with something they obviously weren't listening to.
Others, he recognized in them the same hunger for advancement, the same cautious excitement he felt.
But for now, he planned to just observe everyone and gain as much information as possible.
Over the first week of the several months-long flight, he barely left his cabin.
Meal times were his only interactions.
Fortunately for him he wasn't assigned any type of assignment.
During breakfasts and dinners, he enables to mix with other engineers while taking note of titbits information that might improve his chances of survival.
The rest of the time he immersed himself in learning more about ruins and learning basic self-defence arts, and watching tactical scenario he could find.
He also gained basic knowledge on types of space creature and the most likely race that might attack them from the Mind flayers to goblins.
He spent days memorizing manoeuvrers, imagining responses to attacks he had never faced.
Some evenings were spent walking slowly along the corridors, studying the crew, noting patterns, and imagining how he might move among them in case of emergency.
Though his lack of actual combat experience was unfortunate he didn't let that stop him.