Seven crews had come before her, each one trusted with the same mission. A substance, a source, a beacon of light, growing somewhere in the universe. There were warnings, collateral damage on a massive scale, and the oppression and opposition that came with this new discovery. They had chosen her out of necessity from the dust that had settled after fear and anxiety had run high.
She had lost everything. She was a heathen, an unfit soul, plagued by visions and a violent conscience whose influence stretched beyond the limits of her mind. Now, out here in the void of space, she must fight to survive against the elements, her inexperience, and those who wish to protect the universe from her mission. She must push forward to fulfill her own sense of worth and to appease those that have sent her here to search for an unstable gift that may finally grant her freedom.
Joey Rodriguez lives in New York City with his wife and daughter, and their Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Joon. He is the author of four novels and two novellas.
Recently, his short stories appeared in Fleas on the Dog, In Parentheses, The Cabinet of Heed, Punt Volat, Plants & Poetry, and Baram House.