The stars streaked past my window as I floated between the chambers of my space vessel, the Red Fox. I stopped for a moment and soaked in the infinity of the blackness. Peering through the little portholes, I could see Jupiter, shining at the edge of the window. I pushed myself further down the ship, entering into the living quarters. I’d been out here for two weeks, on my way to the Mars station, to see my parents. Another three months and I’d arrive, hopefully alive and well.
I stripped myself naked and struggled into my night wear, flipping around in the zero-g space, and trying not to push myself into the walls. I’d broken my changing room foot restraints on my last trip, but it was $300 to get them fixed. About as much as the uranium for the flight. No thanks.
Based on current safety standards, I could make this trip three more times before the radiation would start having ‘deleterious effects on my health’. I was planning on staying on Mars for a month, then I’d be heading back home to the lunar base, to continue my research. Anti-Rad medicine was still a long way from being a permanent fix, and if I was lucky, it would help me stay on the moon another couple years before I’d have to return to that big blue ball, Earth, for the rest of my life. Or until science overcomes the more insidious realities of space flight.
Today's prompt: red fox
If you'd like to participate too, the contest can be found here: @mariannewest/day-1509-5-minute-freewrite-wednesday-prompt-red-fox