A pungent smell filled Ellen's nostrils whilst wrapping both of her hands around a cotton bag filled with fine, shiny crystals. Her fingertips were digging in the frail fabric as she dragged the 10 pound heavy bag across the dusty ground towards a spaceship. It's hatch stood wide open and several other bags were scattered around the loading area. A tall blonde guy with a piece of cloth bound in front of his mouth and nose was busy closing the bags up and was carefully stacking them inside the ship. Both his hands were covered in white powdery dust and now and then he had to take a few steps back to take a deep breath. His name was Aiden, a co-worker. Ellen had a thing for him, but she would never tell him. That was just a mission impossible to her. No, it would not happen, ever. The thought of telling him how she felt would basically feel like turning her stomach inside out whilst being stabbed. Or something like that..
"You nearly done there? I have somewhere to be later." Aiden had taken off the cloth patch in front of his mouth and ran the back of his hand against his forehead, clearly wiping off some sweat. Ellen took a quick peek at the mine she had been working on and nodded whilst running both of her hands through her long, blonde hair. It was all tangled up and slightly sticky, probably not a pleasant sight. They had been working on this mine for about 12 hours straight and he probably wanted to get some rest. And so did she. Probably a nice shower as well. "Yes yes, I will just finish this last bag and then we're done." It wasn't until Ellen had filled up the that last bag she noticed her sore muscles and dry hands. She knew this job was not something she'd be doing permanent, as an evaluation interview has been scheduled next week. Being Rank 3 or rather 'the collectors' was one of the worst jobs she had ever encountered. If everything went well, this could be the last week of collecting ever. The thought made Ellen smile. It gave her just that little more energy to seal up the bag and stack it with the rest. "Done, let's go home?"
Home was a very small two room apartment in the center of Lilith. It had white, sleek walls with soft LED's hidden under a small panel hovering above the floor. The first room had a small kitchen which consisted of a few shelves filled with dry, instant astronaut food, a microwave and a few pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a sad excuse of a kitchen to be honest. But at least everything was nice and clean and for Ellen it was enough to kept her fed. In the same room there was a reasonable sized sofa in front of a flatscreen attached to the wall. The entire room was decorated with small paintings and relics Ellen had collected throughout her journeys in Lilith and Phoenix. They were small objects that, if she ought to believe the salesperson, once came from the original Earth. And to have these rare items into her possession made Ellen feel whole. It was her dream to once visit the planet where her parents had lived. Though when Ellen was born her mother had died giving birth and her father disappeared after dropping Ellen off at the local orphanage. Still she did not hate her father for doing so. His actions brought her to Lilith and gave her the freedom she would have never had on Earth.
"You nearly done there? I have somewhere to be later." Aiden had taken off the cloth patch in front of his mouth and ran the back of his hand against his forehead, clearly wiping off some sweat. Ellen took a quick peek at the mine she had been working on and nodded whilst running both of her hands through her long, blonde hair. It was all tangled up and slightly sticky, probably not a pleasant sight. They had been working on this mine for about 12 hours straight and he probably wanted to get some rest. And so did she. Probably a nice shower as well. "Yes yes, I will just finish this last bag and then we're done." It wasn't until Ellen had filled up the that last bag she noticed her sore muscles and dry hands. She knew this job was not something she'd be doing permanent, as an evaluation interview has been scheduled next week. Being Rank 3 or rather 'the collectors' was one of the worst jobs she had ever encountered. If everything went well, this could be the last week of collecting ever. The thought made Ellen smile. It gave her just that little more energy to seal up the bag and stack it with the rest. "Done, let's go home?"
Home was a very small two room apartment in the center of Lilith. It had white, sleek walls with soft LED's hidden under a small panel hovering above the floor. The first room had a small kitchen which consisted of a few shelves filled with dry, instant astronaut food, a microwave and a few pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a sad excuse of a kitchen to be honest. But at least everything was nice and clean and for Ellen it was enough to kept her fed. In the same room there was a reasonable sized sofa in front of a flatscreen attached to the wall. The entire room was decorated with small paintings and relics Ellen had collected throughout her journeys in Lilith and Phoenix. They were small objects that, if she ought to believe the salesperson, once came from the original Earth. And to have these rare items into her possession made Ellen feel whole. It was her dream to once visit the planet where her parents had lived. Though when Ellen was born her mother had died giving birth and her father disappeared after dropping Ellen off at the local orphanage. Still she did not hate her father for doing so. His actions brought her to Lilith and gave her the freedom she would have never had on Earth.
