The Roaming Venutians
Jason breathed quickly into his oxygen mask as the escape pod shrieked through the noxious atmosphere of Venus. The metal coffin shook back and forth as the g-forces grew around him.
All he could see from his screen was a hellish vista obscured by clouds of sulfuric acid, punctured by flashes of lightning that reminded him of strobe lights.
As his ears stopped ringing, he began to notice the alarms blaring on the numerous sensors around him. Oxygen levels were dwindling… hull integrity failing… He swallowed, knowing he was in a lot of trouble. The only thing he had left was the emergency beacon code he punched into the console.
He was shaken around by a violent tremor. The viewport cracked and shattered. Acrid fumes burned his nostrils. He let out a cough, expelling the last oxygen he had access to. He closed his eyes, worried that this was the end.
But then there was a flicker of movement in the corner of his view. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing: a ship sailing through the clouds with a faint pink glow.
The skyship drew closer and opened up its docking hatch. As it came further into view, he noticed the hull was a patchwork of salvaged metal and organic compounds, something like a junkyard art project.
He unbuckled his harness and floated towards the hatch. With a final surge of adrenaline, he spun the hatch to unlock it. The hatch hissed open, revealing a group of figures silhouetted against the soft lights of the ship’s interior.
He coughed heavily and felt his strength leave him. He collapsed onto the deck.
“Welcome to the clouds, stranger,” came a gentle voice before he lost consciousness.
He awoke in a bed. The room was dark, just a few pulses of orange along the floor. He couldn’t see much, but the air was thick with the scent of exotic spices. His stomach groaned. He didn’t realize how hungry he was.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he heard that same gentle voice.
The door opened and he could see the figures from the hatch again. Their features were now discernible. They were humans. He didn’t know there were any humans left. Their attire was weird, a curious blend of salvaged patches and woven plant fibers.
A tall woman with weather-beaten skin and a sparkle in her eyes knelt beside him.
“Hello weary traveler. You are safe now. We are the Sky Wanderers, and you are among friends.”
Jason tried to sit up from his bed but felt a deep pain in his chest.
“You sustained a lot of trauma from that pod, and your lungs are still expelling toxins. It might be some time before you recover.”
“Thank you,” his voice rasped. “I don’t know how to repay you.”
The woman smiled, her teeth a faint green. “Rest is the first payment. We will talk later.”
Jason’s recovery was slow, but by the next day he was able to get out of bed and go for short walks around the ship. He was able to learn about the Sky Wanderers, a nomadic clan who had managed to survive in the forsaken toxicity of Venus. They lived aboard a flotilla of ships which orbited through the clouds, harvesting energy from solar winds and cultivating crops through the rich nutrients found in the atmosphere.
He also had time to speak with Bernice, the elder of the ship. She let him stand on the bridge and watch as they navigated through the winds. He learned more about their history and the real fate of the Venutian colony.
Jason in turn spoke about his own history and why he escaped. He told them of his own betrayal, which caused his ship to be destroyed.
And now he was here, a refugee and a victim, with no other place to go.
“Your story is one of sorrow,” Bernice observed. “But it is also one of resilience and courage. You have found refuge with us, and you are welcome to stay as long as you wish. Many of us were not born into this life. Fates twist and turn, but we all wind up here somehow.
Jason wiped sweat from his grow after tightening on a corroded bolt.
“It’s a miracle this thing is staying afloat. That bolt really is from a scrapyard,” he muttered.
He stepped out of the shaft to see Bernie watching him with a wry smile.
“This ship is more resilient than it may appear, my friend. Much like us.”
Jason nodded. “Still, maybe a little modern tech couldn’t hurt. Something from the Earth labs? A self-healing polymer?”
“Earth tech?” she raised her eyebrow. “Is Earth where you learned to coax life out of these barren skies?”
Jason smirked.
“Not quite. But it is where I had dreams of a better world, where nature and tech could coexist in harmony. In some ways, this place is the culmination of the dream I always had.”
“You should speak more of that dream to the others. After all it is our ship, not mine. All we can do is go along with the ways the wind blows.”