nausea kicks in. The ship lurches again, throwing me against the cold metal wall. "Hold on, you idiot!" Dad roars over the roar of the gravity drive, his face pale in the emergency lighting.

I clutch the扶手, my knuckles white. This is my first time on a deep-space run. Used to the familiar creaks and groans of the family's old freighter, the Star Voyager, but this ship, the Enterprise, is a whole different beast. Sleeker, faster, but definitely less forgiving.

"Relax, Poop Candy," Dad's voice calms slightly, though the edge is still there. "First time in a jump bridge, huh? Gets easier after a dozen or so."

I manage a weak nod. "Where are we going?" I ask, my voice tight.

"Just dropping off some supplies on Kepler-186f," Dad says, adjusting his console. "Small price for passage, considering."

Kepler-186f. I've heard the name a thousand times. Earth's first confirmed habitable exoplanet. A goldmine for speculators, a dream for colonists. But Dad never said we were going there. He just called it "a small run."