Travis wakes each day to the clatter of shifting metal in a station that never truly rests. Gray coveralls and a mandatory bracelet define his existence, as corridors lined with fading bioluminescent stripes guide him through the same dull tasks. There’s no room for curiosity or error—disobedience can lock you out of your own quarters, and vanish you without a trace.
He remembers a time when work shifts weren’t the only way to measure a life, fragments of a childhood spent with a father who spoke of birthdays and laughter. But those memories are buried beneath endless orders from a silent boss, whispered instructions delivered straight into his skull. Meanwhile, the station’s failing gravity engine threatens to plunge everyone into chaos at any moment.
In a world where human contact grows rarer, Travis dares to wonder what’s really holding the station together—and whether there’s a truth waiting to be found before it all comes crashing down.

Space opera in short story format.