It was late; about three am earth standard time, according to the worn alarm clock on Zoey's desk, its numbers red and angry, branding itself into her blurry vision. She prepared to stumble out of the bed, but found herself caught on the several sets of seat belts keeping her in. Of course, owning an older ship meant the gravity simulator was constantly on the fritz. This was fine when it was just herself, Drew, and Soledad, but now she felt a flash of embarrassment and resentment light up her cheeks as she wrestled with the seatbelts. What did Dawn think, joining a crew with such subpar equipment and a ship that hardly ever worked?

Unclipping herself and trying not to hit her head on the top of the alcove her bed was in, she kicked off the mattress and aimed for the empty bottle of water floating above her desk. Landing on the desk and chugging the remains of the bottle, she heard a few knocks coming from the galley of the ship. Drew did have a weird schedule, but even he normally wasn't awake at this hour.

Zoey kicked off the desk, hitting the bulkhead to her bedroom. It opened with a creak and let her into the hallway, where she picked a path to the galley using timed jumps and installed handrails. When the automatic pilot brought them into Theo's orbit, she'd call around for repairs. It would probably take a few weeks, but they had business selling salvage there anyway, and Zoey and her crew could afford to take the break. Zoey kicked into the kitchen, where she landed disgracefully with a hard thump onto the cold linoleum. Of course, it was working fine in this part of the ship, which meant a wiring issue and a more expensive repair, one that Soledad couldn't do herself. She was met by the sight of Dawn, boiling water on the stove and humming incessantly, absorbed in whatever was playing through her headphones. Zoey tapped her on the shoulder and was met with a startled gaze that quickly turned into a smile.

"Do you have any clue what time it is?"

"Time for tea, at least in Sinnoh," Dawn hummed. "Would you like a cup?"

Already wired from being awoken, Zoey nodded. "Yeah, I would like that."

"All I brought with me is chai, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Zoey sat in one of the rickety dining chairs in the corner of the kitchen, next to an even older cupboard that housed her fine china: thrifted plates from a GreatHope in Mossdeep, that Zoey picked up when she bought the ship.

Zoey had bought the ship on a whim with money she inherited from a dead great uncle. Having no children of his own and being especially close to Zoey's father, it made sense that she was included in his will. He was an admiral in the Human Systems military, and had a nice amount of pension left over from his death. Instead of saving the money, Zoey did what every other person would do in her situation: impulse buy something.The Porpoise was an old and kind of shitty ship, but it was better than nothing, and her ticket off of earth. She quickly left Earth after receiving her pilot's certification, eager to get out of the house and live on her own. Zoey quickly realized that she needed to make her own money, so salvaging became her easiest way in. She grew up in one of the poorest cities on earth; she knew her way around a gun and had a pretty good idea of what to do, and what not to do in order to survive.

The crew gathered naturally. Soledad came from one of the colonies on Mars, bringing with her Drew. Both of them were looking to get into scavving, as the colony on Mars became saturated with tourists and money was becoming harder to come by. Drew and Soledad had both grown up together, Soledad like an older sister to Drew, and made it clear that they were both a pair. May came from a long line of Human Systems service, her father a Commander in the Human Systems Navy, and her mother some bigwig in the United Galaxy medical corps. May was a great wildlife photographer, having been published in several earth magazines and several highly populated extranet sites. She made a shitton of money on commissions, and paid Zoey a modest amount of monthly rent for her space on the Porpoise.

Harley joined after May did, walking up to Zoey and demanding a space on the ship while they were on a pit stop on Omega. Zoey had met some interesting folks in the Outer Rim, but Harley was the strangest by far. She knew very little about him, other than the fact that he was a good pilot, exponentially better than the ship's AI, and a flaming homosexual, like almost all of the crew. Soledad was the only exception, being ace and aro. Zoey knew Drew and May were both bi from the way they acted. Even in space, the gays find each other.

Dawn was so different than any of the other crewmates. Her mother was a big celebrity on Earth, having several platinum hit albums and being an accomplished musician. Dawn could have travelled on any luxury liner in the galaxy, but she chose the Porpoise, a flying OSHA violation. That flabbergasted Zoey. Dawn was so different from the kids who went on pilgrimages across the galaxy on scavver ships to 'find themselves.' Dawn was nice. She didn't complain, and rolled with the punches, easily adapting to any hardships they came across. She sat with Soledad and learned to work on the ship, doing basic maintenance with utmost meticulousness. She helped load up and ship out salvage without being asked, and didn't even ask for a cut of the cash. She learned how to use a gun from Drew, learned how to fly the ship from Harley, and learned how to manage and negotiate with customers from Zoey.

Zoey didn't know when she started crushing on Dawn. It just seemed to develop over time, her feelings as natural as the air she breathed. Dawn was curious and passionate and cared about what they were doing. Zoey had tried to shut herself off from relationships with crewmates, avoiding anything that wasn't strictly platonic, but her feelings began to poke out from behind the walls she had put up, threatening to expose themselves. She couldn't let Dawn know her feelings. That would ruin the entire dynamic of the crew, wouldn't it?

A niggling thought in the back of her mind said that it was fine when May and Drew started their relationship, so why wouldn't she be able to date? If it all went down in flames, so be it, right? What's the worst that could happen - she'd have to find another crew member? Zoey continued to be absorbed in thought until Dawn placed a steaming mug in front of her. She had added cream and sugar to her tea, which Zoey wasn't too big of a fan of, but she wasn't about to complain about it. A pretty girl making her tea was worth it, even if the preparation wasn't her favorite.

"You seem lost in thought," Dawn commented, sitting down and taking a sip of her own tea.

"No, I just woke up, that's all," Zoey lied.

"When will we get to Theo?"

"Probably nine earth standard time. You'll have enough time to sleep after this," Zoey said, drinking out of her cup.

"Sleep is for the weak," Dawn said. Zoey snorted.

"Have you been up all night?"

"No, I woke up a little before you did. Just couldn't get back to sleep," Dawn replied.

A loud groan from the ship, and Zoey tensed, preparing herself for what would happen next. She internally groaned. She had just settled down to enjoy this cup of tea with a cute girl, and the Porpoise just had to ruin her plans. Good thing the chairs and table were bolted to the floor, at least. Dawn seemed mystified at their current situation, watching as she and her drink began to float aimlessly in space. Dawn flailed, grabbing onto the back of the chair, beginning to do a handstand in the air. After the initial shock wore off, she seemed to be enchanted by this, kicking happily. Zoey laughed, holding onto her own chair to keep from floating away. Dawn was adorable like this, carefree and filled with childlike wonder.

"Zoey, what's happening?" Dawn asked.

"Gravity simulator is on the fritz." Zoey grumbled. "Don't worry, I'll get it fixed when we're docked at Theo."

Dawn grabbed her phone, what looked to be an iPhone 26, because of course it was, and swiped to open Spotify on the holographic display, playing some tune from the 1980's on earth. Zoey didn't recognize it, but knew the speakers were singing english, rather than galactic standard. The phone floated in midair, the holographic display of the singers gesticulating wildly in the projection.

"Dance with me!" She laughed, letting go of the chair and pushing off with her arms. She hit the ceiling a little awkwardly, but pushed off from there and landed in the middle of the room, holding her arms out to catch Zoey. Zoey, against her better judgement, pushed off the back of her chair and landed in Dawn's arms. She paused to affectionately tuck a stray floating hair behind her ear - Dawn admittedly looked a little ridiculous, her dark hair floating in the air behind her like one of those girls in Uzumaki, but instead of frightening, it was endearing. The force of Zoey bumping into her pushed Dawn backwards, into the kitchenette. This didn't appear to hurt her at all, but the force of their collision with the kitchenette pushed them back into the middle of the room, causing both women to giggle. They continued like this, flailing about, trying to bounce off of the other objects in the room.

It was odd, to be sure, but Zoey found joy quickly bubbling up within her, her annoyance at the problems the ship was encountering a distant memory. Dawn seemed to be having the time of her life, never been in zero gravity before and relishing the strange experience. She had separated from Zoey and was jumping around happily, even flipping in the air a few times, experimenting with the forces she applied to push off of objects. She got stuck in the middle of the room a few times, but was able to displace enough air to get her to a spot where she could move again. Zoey found herself floating in the space in between the walls, relaxedly bouncing in the air, watching Dawn in awe. She had her doubts about Dawn in the beginning, but now she knew - Dawn had been bitten by the space bug, adapting to the life of a scavver. Zoey hadn't seen a passion such as hers in a while, and it warmed her heart to know that someone cared as much about this life as she did. Zoey was falling in love with the cute girl from earth with dark hair and tawny skin and a smile that lit up the whole room, with a heart that loved without reason. It filled her with joy and love and filled her life with meaning.

It also scared her shitless.

The music continued playing as they bobbed and twirled around the room. Dawn's iPhone switched songs, playing something Zoey enjoyed a lot more. She took her time in trying to understand the lyrics. Her english was a bit rusty with Galactic Common being her most used language, but she made out the vast majority of it, nodding her head and continuing to sway around the room with Dawn.

Left my life on the ground

To dance with you in the clouds

They collided again, Dawn repeating Zoey's action earlier, pushing back the longer strands where her undercut was awkwardly growing out, and Zoey knew everything was going to be okay.

Oh, yeoman, we're far gone now

Oh, yeoman