Starship Legacy: A Novel by Not Elon Musk

…Continued! To see the rest of the novel, please visit https://not-elon-newsletter.beehiiv.com/

Page 9!

Later that night, as the Martian darkness pressed against the dome's transparent panels, Luke found himself unable to sleep. The day's events had stirred something in him, a restlessness that wouldn't quiet. He made his way to the observation deck, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. The sight that greeted him stopped him in his tracks – Phobos, Mars' larger moon, was casting ethereal shadows across the rusty landscape, creating a dance of light and darkness that seemed almost supernatural.

"Oh hey," Sarah's voice startled him. She was already there, curled up in one of the observation chairs, tablet propped against her knees. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Nah." Luke dropped into the chair beside her, stretching his legs out. "Brain won't shut up. What's your excuse?"

"Trying to figure out what to do with the wreck that used to be my lab." She turned her tablet so he could see - spreadsheets and photos of the damaged plants. "These numbers are giving me a headache."

"Want to take a break? I brought contraband." Luke pulled a slightly squashed protein bar from his pocket - one of the good ones from Earth, not the base-manufactured stuff.

Sarah's eyes lit up. "You've been holding out on me? Gimme." She made a grabbing motion with her hand, and Luke broke the bar in half, tossing her portion over.

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, watching Phobos cast its shadows across the landscape. The wind picked up outside, a familiar whistle against the dome.

"Your tomatoes looked okay today," Luke offered. "Tough little bastards."

Sarah snorted. "Yeah, who knew? All that careful engineering and it turns out they just needed to be stubborn." She brushed protein bar crumbs off her shirt. "Though I think the basil's done for."

"Ben might actually cry. He was looking forward to real pesto."

"He'll live." Sarah yawned, shifting in her chair. "God, I miss real food sometimes. Remember that burger place in Houston? The one by the training center?"

"With the weird pickle relish?" Luke grinned at the memory. "I used to grab lunch there like three times a week."

"The fries were amazing." Sarah's tablet dinged, and she glanced at it. "Ugh, these numbers still aren't making sense. I should probably..."

"Sleep," Luke finished for her. "The plants will still be there tomorrow."

Sarah nodded, stifling another yawn. "Yeah, you're right." She stood up, stretching. "Thanks for the contraband. And the company."

Luke watched her go, then turned back to the view. The Martian night stretched on, vast and familiar all at once. He'd probably regret staying up this late when morning came, but for now, the quiet felt right. Sometimes you needed these moments, these small pockets of normalcy in the midst of all the crazy. Even if they happened to be on Mars.

The wind whistled again, softer now. Like it was settling in for the night too.

News for humans, by humans.

• Today's news.

• Edited to be unbiased as humanly possible.

• Every morning, we triple-check headlines, stories, and sources for bias.

• All by hand with no algorithms.

Sign up now!