While Morrachi sat in her ship unsettled by the thoughts of leaving her family. She had another memory pop into her head. It was about why she was here in the first place. She thought deeply about how her early years were painted with the somber hues of financial hardship. She grew up in the shadows of poverty, where every day was a struggle to make ends meet. The weight of economic adversity bore down on her, but within her, a fervent desire flickered—a yearning for a life that held not only financial security but also the intoxicating allure of fulfillment. It was this yearning, this relentless drive to break free from the cycle of poverty, that fueled her every step.

 

For a time, she toiled in labor-intensive jobs, each day a ceaseless grind to earn a meager living. Yet, beneath the perspiration-soaked brow and calloused hands, she harbored a dream. She hungered for a career that would not merely pay her bills but set her soul ablaze with passion. Her mother encouraged her to take the free classes at the library offering skill certificates. She went to a few and earned one but it was nothing interesting to her. It was during these days of toil that she arrived at a pivotal crossroads in her life.

 

In a bold leap of faith, Morrachi chose to invest in herself. She saved diligently, forsaking the immediate comforts that life could afford for the promise of greater rewards in the future. With the fruits of her unyielding labor, she enrolled in piloting classes for spacecraft. Initially, she navigated these unfamiliar waters with caution, her confidence a flickering ember in the vast darkness of the unknown. Slowly she learned and gained some experience. 

 

Armed with her newfound skills, she embarked on a relentless quest for employment. She cast her net wide, applying to a myriad of positions across the sprawling expanse of the space industry. Each interview she attended was a crucible of hope and uncertainty, and sadly, the conclusion was almost always the same—an unwelcome rejection. These setbacks tested her resolve, but she refused to yield. Even when it seemed like her dreams were slipping through her fingers like grains of stardust, she clung to them tenaciously.

 

Then, in a moment that would change her fate, a peculiar message arrived, like a cosmic signal amid the noise of despair. A sales manager at Nozama Space Delivery had spotted her job-seeking efforts and her certificate in project management. While the offer that came her way was unexpected and veered away from her initial aspirations, desperation whispered that she should seize this lifeline.

 

Morrachi recalled the interview with amusement. She was shuttled to Old Earth at the cost of Nozama. This was the first time she had been in space. The piloting classes only ever trained underwater or in air, due to the cost limitations. When she arrived at the building she gasped. The building could have been a mile or two long. The receptionist at the front desk took her information and got Morrachi settled in for the interview. She sat down in a large meeting room with many chairs and waited. Then waited some more. An eternity could have passed before someone else entered that room! Suddenly, the door burst open revealing a man with intense energy. He was a manager, so said his name tag, with a gift for fast-talking. He pulled her up on her feet and quickly escorted her out of the room. Bewildered by this man she asked him where they were going. “We’re going to the hangar for your test,” he replied and continued chatting fervently about the company’s history and the like. “The hangar?” she responded. “Yes, yes, don’t be silly, you should have realized that you need to take a test at an interview!” “Is this man serious? What sort of test does a project manager need to take in the hangar for? All their work is in the office according to the application…” The man threw out the doors and jolted “Alright, we are here! Your test moderator will see you on the ship.” She tried to interject, “Wiat, this can’t be…” he overlapped her with his pep talk about how you can do this and that and the like. Afterward, he said goodbye and jetted away just as energetically as he had met her. 

 

Before she could correct the misunderstanding, she found herself in a state of bewildered daze, whisked away onto a spacecraft and strapped to a seat surrounded by a labyrinth of unfamiliar gears and controls. It seemed he mistook Morrachi for a pilot of some kind, a role she had not applied for but always envisioned herself in. As Morrachi sat there, disoriented but with a spark of curiosity, something extraordinary transpired. The once-bewildering controls began to take on a strangely familiar form. It was as if they whispered to her in a silent cosmic tongue, and in that moment, realization dawned. These controls were akin to those she had diligently studied during her piloting classes.She lightly touched and traced the controls. She caressed the shift.  Hope blossomed within her, alongside newfound determination. “I know this…” she whispered under her breath. 

 

Faced with a pivotal choice, Morrachi sat in the precipice of opportunity. She could either retreat from the unknown, relinquishing the chance that fate had thrust upon her, or she could seize it with both hands, confronting her training and her dreams head-on. With a heart pounding with newfound confidence, she chose the latter. As the ship sat there, Morrachi took a deep breath, her spirit unyielding, her gaze fixed on the boundless horizons of possibility. She started the engine.