Alright. From now on the order of person-centering chapters won't be in order. It'll be pretty random. My favorites to write are Laura and Finn, so be prepared for a bunch of chapters about them.
Also, I keep on forgetting to mention this: I think I heard somewhere that Keith's last name in VLD is Buffett, but you also sound out the 'T's. While I usually refer to him as a Kogane, in this book he'll a Buffett.
First chance Laura got, she split, retreating as fast as possible.
Sure her…um…cousins, aunt, and uncle were nice people but she wanted to meet her parents. Who cared if they were busy?
They couldn't put off time for their children? Seriously?
Laura as as quiet as possible as she left her uncle's apartment.
The oldest girl, Vista, and been too occupied in her phone to notice when she slipped out, and Shon had been too busy chittering away with Lumi - who was becoming more talkative with every passing moment - and Mutt. Uncle Matt had been helping Aunt Olia in the kitchen.
When Laura finally got to the door, she applauded herself, creeping down the hallways. She could hear voices behind every door in the corridor, and did not want to alert them to her presence.
That's when she noticed her escape in the form of a ventilation shaft. Years of helping with shaping metal, moving furniture, and hitting her knuckles against rocks had prepared her for this moment.
She clawed off the covering, shivering from the sudden cold air. She climbed in. It was pretty cramped, but she managed, going through it carefully. Eventually, it suddenly went straight up, probably going to the upper levels. Well, she was also prepared for this.
The people of Taujeer had to be able to climb at a certain speed to move quickly, and Laura had to train herself to make do with her small height and only two hands. She was quite a climber.
Ringing with each impact, the walls vibrated whenever he hands or feet pushed against it.
Laura scaled the wall easily, but she was still panting when she reached the next level.
She listened at the next 'door' to the vent's shaft, and, hearing nothing, slipped out before replacing the covering. It was a long hallway, with what looked like empty dorms. She couldn't hear the deafening roar of the engines, so she guessed she was near one of the top levels.
Numbers like hotel rooms' numbers were across each door, the metal plating covered in a thin Laura of dust.
Laura opened up one, finding it vacant. No signs of life.
She searched the entire row until she came to one that read 12.
12.
12 was what number the first letter of her name - L - was in the English alphabet. Awesome.
A cursory search told her that this room, too, was abandoned. She nodded proudly at herself, entering. This, honestly, was probably the most cool thing ever. There was a bathroom, three bedrooms, a living room, and a laundry room. There was even a kitchen! (Laura actually, unlike most Tajeerians, enjoyed cooking. She wouldn't make it her life career or anything, but, in her point of view, she could make killer palates of food.)
Laura grinned to herself, silently cheering in victory. If she needed to, in the future, she could hang out here, get alone. Escape from reality.
Laura wandered around it a bit more, nodding in victory. "I like it." She announced to no-one in particular.
She pivoted, charging from the room. She was going to go explore the ship. As long as she didn't return to the dorm area where her aunt and uncle were, she should be completely under cover.
After quiet a bit of searching - the Atlas was so BIG - she finally found an elevator, and summoned it with a push of a button. Or, at least, she thought she did. She was still learning how these things worked.
She grinned, silently cheering in victory as she entered the small box. She did it!
She pressed a random button on the wall, and the elevator began going down.
It opened several ticks later, and she began to charge from the box, the freedom making her smile in victory.
The moment she rounded a corner, she crashed into somebody.
Stumbling backward several steps, she scrambling around for a bit before straightening. "Ruggle. I'm sorry, so sorry…" she laughed a bit, embarrassment heating up in her chest.
"Eh." The man she had collided with picked himself up, smoothing out his ivory bangs. "Happens more often then you might think." He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "God knows when everyone began to always be in such a hurry." He stood up, making his way past her, a timid smile across his face.
Wait, wait, wait.
Laura paused for a second, looking behind her. Did he have a…floating arm?! That was so cool.
She was about to continue walking, vowing to be more careful, when the man paused, looking behind him. "Who are you?"
"What?!" Laura blinked, mouth dropping.
"Who are you?" The man inquired, blinking curiously. "I don't recognize you, and I have made it my goal and duty to remember everyone on the ship. Did you arrive earlier today or late yesterday?"
"Um…today. About a varga ago…" Laura stammered, not really sure what she should be saying.
There was at least ten other people in the hallway, all running, or talking urgently to each other.
It was weird. And loud. It had never been this loud on Taujeer…ever.
"Should you be by yourself?" The man asked, arching a brow.
"Um…probably not." Laura admitted, ducking her head. "But I like exploring alone."
"Well…" he looked back at her, a look of slight hesitation on his face. "Would you like to see the bridge? I'm heading there now before going over to my brother-in-law's dorms."
"Well…" Laura hesitated, before remembering the bridge on the Taujeerian ark. She loved being there, in the center of things. So, why not? "Sure. Sounds fun." She shrugged, and followed the man.