A short story that may become more.
He hadn’t been planetside in years. Not since he became an asteroid miner. The endless expanse with no apparent horizon had been disconcerting at first, but he’d gotten used to it.
Now, he was going back down. Or maybe it was up. Didn’t matter. Direction was meaningless on the Rocks.
~
He hadn’t even been in a solid-wall building in months. Not since his last mandatory med exam. The one that resulted in his orders to return home before end of year.
Home.
He chuckled at the thought.
Being on the Rocks felt more like home than he’d ever felt planetside. He, like the rest of the crew, slept out in the open, under transparent microdomes with air piped in. It made it easier to stay acclimated to the visual of the expanse. The thought of being back planetside, having to sleep in a building, freaked him out a bit.
He shook it off.
He didn’t have a choice. If he stayed, his bones would start to crack and his muscles would start to atrophy. He’d need three years of gene therapy if he wanted to come back to the Rocks, and that was expensive.
~
It took six months of compression therapy just to prep him for the return trip and living in atmosphere…
