Minzy The Star Cleaner

Minzy glanced out at the emptiness and shivered. All those stars and planets were so terribly far away. It was one thing to see the night sky from home with an atmosphere enveloping you. It was a different feeling to be floating alone in space with all that nothingness and distance around you, completely untethered. Well, not totally alone.

She pulled her dark hair back in a ponytail and then gently stroked the hard shell beneath her. She gave it a few firm knocks. “Morning Hormit. Time to wake up.”

She soon felt the rocking and weaving of the giant snail beneath her, stirring from its sleep. His long, gooey body stretched from the comfort of his shell. Minzy saw the two long antennae pop out and into sight of her window, the eyes turning to blink slowly at her in greeting.

Minzy grabbed her shades from the floor and pulled a lever. The snail slowly maneuvered them around, the room growing brighter, until the sun was in full view. “Almost there.”

She pulled the radiation shield down, satisfied that Hormit could navigate from this point on. Minzy grabbed a squeege with one hand, taking a big bite of the tangy fruit, and pulled out her journal. She’d promised her sister she’d document her first solo trip to the sun.

She wanted Miza, her younger sister, to know all the details of her journey, but she was always careful to keep any sense of resentment out of her entries. Miza couldn’t help her situation. She was why Minzy was on this long, lonely journey to a star. Miza would have given anything to be able to make this journey herself, to have that option. Miza had lost the ability to walk when they were kids. She couldn’t have been a star cleaner if she wanted to.

Loneliness and fear aside, Minzy was also filled with joy and relief at what this trip would mean for her family. She just hoped this journey, and her salary for undertaking it, would cover the robotic legs that would change Miza’s life. “That’s why we’re out here, isn’t it Hormit?”

The snail sent a shudder up through the shell at Minzy’s feet to give his agreement. Snails can’t talk, of course, but they have their ways of communicating with their riders. Minzy had been able to understand the giant creature since they’d first met. It was why they’d bonded at all. Minzy hadn’t planned to clean stars when the young snail curled up next to her at school. They weren’t even aware of Miza’s issues at that point, thinking she was just going to be a late walker.

Minzy’s thoughts drifted to her family back home. It was winter, so they’d have the fireplace going in the kitchen, laughing over breakfast. Her chest tightened as she rose to her feet, longing for home. She had just reached for her communicator when she was forced back to the ground. Hormit shuddered and shook beneath her. He had jumped back into his shell.

“Another solar flare,” she said, rubbing her hands along the shell at her feet. Solar activity was expected this close to a star, and, thankfully, space snail shells were natural, radioactive barriers. What wasn’t normal was the squeals and shaking that soon erupted beneath her.

Sensors, placed around Hormit’s shell, set off a series of alarms. Minzy flipped open her communicator. There was a breach in Hormit’s shell. She felt her legs wobble, recognizing what this meant. She would have to suit up and go repair it. She’d never been out in space alone before. Knowing time was crucial, Minzy stood up and began pulling on her suit. She pushed all her fears out of her mind, knowing Hormit and the mission were relying on her.

“I’m coming Hormit, just stay put for now,” she shouted over the blaring alarms.

Hormit’s outer foot, his snail foot, upon which he propelled himself through space, was protected by the sheen of saliva that covered it, his snail goo, but his inner parts, without the protection of his shell, would soon fry up from the heat of the sun. She didn’t care about herself in this moment though, her thoughts were all on Hormit.

The breach was on the opposite side of her hatch door. She’d have to maneuver from her hatch, past Hormit’s doorway, to the bottom of the shell. Minzy pulled on her helmet and crawled through a tunnel to the next chamber, sealing the doorway behind her. Here goes nothing. Or everything.

She attached her tether and opened the hatch. She only had a few minutes before her suit would overheat from the sun’s proximity. She grabbed onto the first of the various handles and tethers that had been attached to the shell, pulling herself toward the large round opening where the snail lived.

As she pulled herself into Hormit’s entryway, one of his long antennae popped out, his eye swiveling toward her. It blinked wearily at her. “We’ve got this Hormit. Just give me a few minutes and I’ll have you fixed up.”

Minzy pulled herself back out of the shell. A few more moves and she’d be in view of the sun. As dangerous and frightening as a giant ball of gas should be, she found facing the star less frightening than the dark void of space in the other direction. The sun was something, space was… well… a lot of nothing. A reminder that while her family were back home with each other and a planet full of people, out here it was just she and Hormit.

Minzy darkened her visor, shielding the sun’s brightness. She rounded one last curve in the shell, the enormous sun rising in the distance. It took her breath away every time she saw it this close. Giant dust clouds swirled in front of it, dimming and brightening its power in a dance of light. These were the clouds they’d been sent to clear away. A space snail’s mucus was the only thing known to disperse the clouds. Without the star cleaners and their snails, the clouds threatened to dim the sun’s light and destroy life back at home.

She didn’t have time to dwell on any of that; her suit was already warming. She quickly located the crack in Hormit’s shell. It was larger than expected. She pulled out the tube of sealant, determined to get this done fast. As she pressed the release valve though, the tube seemed to have jammed up. She blinked sweat out of her eyes and gave it a shake. Nothing. She knocked the tube against Hormit’s shell. Something popped inside. She lined it up again with the crack and pressed the release.

Boom!

She was knocked back as a giant glob of the sealant released too fast. She watched the precious material float off into space. She pulled herself back to shell, sensing disturbances from within. Hormit was starting to feel the effects of the sun’s heat. She lined up the tube again and began sealing the crack. “I’m almost there Hormit, just hold on a few more minutes.”

Minzy’s body tensed as she realized she may not have enough sealant to finish the job. And then a bright flash of light blazed across her visor. She turned around and saw another solar flare headed their way. She only had a few minutes to get inside. She used all her strength to push the release valve, glancing one last time over her shoulder at the approaching flare. Finally, the remaining sealant released and she finished the job.

She quickly pulled herself back toward Hormit’s opening, but she knew she didn’t have much time. Minzy pulled herself into the opening of Hormit’s shell just as the first, small thrust of wind and heat burst past. Hormit stuck his eye out from deep within his shell. When he saw Minzy his long, slimy body emerged from within the shell and wrapped around her. He was just in time, shielding Minzy as the storm hit them with its full force.

It passed quickly, and based on the readings in Minzy’s helmet, no further damage. As Hormit slowly unwrapped from around her, Minzy gave him a squeeze. “Thank you, buddy.”

Minzy collapsed onto the floor of her capsule once she was safely inside. She realized she was shaking, probably had been the entire time. Her body involuntarily shuddered as she thought about being back out in the emptiness of space. They both needed a long break before starting the day’s cleaning, but Hormit had other ideas. He began to shake and undulate. Not out of fear or pain this time. He was excited.

Minzy heard one of his antennae tapping on her window. He wanted her to come look at something. She pulled down her radiation shield and blinked her eyes several times, making sure they weren’t fogged over with sweat.

A miniature planet was floating in front of them. It was probably the size of an elephant but tiny compared to most other planets. There were a few of these nano planets floating around their system, but this one was unique. It had an atmosphere. Minzy watched as clouds passed over a blue and green planet, wondering what might be living beneath its sky. It could have been a miniature version of her own.

The thought of life, so small and vulnerable, gave Minzy pause. Then she knocked on the shell again. “Come on Hormit, let’s get to work!”