Dead Space: Uprising

Every single corridor looked about the same. Grey and metallic. Aria thought to herself about why they didn't just paint the place before remembering the state of the waiting room. It'd be pointless in the end. It's a wonder that she never got lost inside the USK Acestile. The Engine Room was a few floors below her, so a quick run to the nearest elevator would get her there in a jiffy. She just didn't want to be late. Her superior was...not the nicest of ponies. She never really liked the ship. Nothing really screamed 'exciting' for her except the occasional glace at a planet floating in the dead space. Aria reached the elevators. The bane of her existence. She looked a small holographic panel detailing the elevator's current position.

"Dammit. Why is it always around 10 floors away?" she mumbled to herself. She stood patiently. Waiting for it to finally reach her. She couldn't help but notice two ponies, both of them Earth ponies walking past, talking quietly. Aria couldn't help but listen in.

"Hey, did you hear back from your boyfriend yet?” one of them asked the other. The other pony seemed rather down about it.

"No, not yet. I haven't heard anything from Cannon in 2 months! Maybe that cargo his chip was carrying was stolen or something. Oh I hope he's ok!" she replied. Aria didn't know what ship they were talking about and dismissed it as random gossip. She couldn't help but feel bad for the pony with the boyfriend. Must be hard going two months with no contact, especially when anything could have happened to his ship. At that moment, the elevator arrived. Aria entered and was on her way to the Engine Room. Along the way, her RIG projected another incoming audio transmission.

"Aria! What the hell is taking you so long?" her superior shouted. Aria sighed.

"I'm on the elevator now. I'm almost there Ma'am", she groaned.

"Hmph. Just get here now” and the transmission ceased...

"...Bitch"

The elevator opened to reveal more dank corridors, just with more metal and piping that the last ones. Several ponies were all standing by all sorts of wire work and plating, securing parts of the engine room together. The USK Acestile was an old ship, so it needed checking up on every once and a while. This was one of those days. She made her way into the main part of the Engine Room. Large machines churned, twisted and hummed, keeping the ship going. The room was very dark, with the only lights coming from the dimmed lights above and the lights coming from the visors of several ponies and stallions.  Aria was greeted by a taller grey pony with a smile clearly absent from her face. It was her superior, Steel Mills.

"Aria. So you finally decided to join us. Took you long enough" she growled. Aria didn't tremble or whimper. She stared right back at the unicorn's piercing glare.

"I came here as fast as I could Ma'am" Aria replied firmly. Steel scoffed at her answer.

"Well, maybe you should make 'as fast as you could' even faster next time" she growled. Aria frowned as the unicorn magically handed her a rivet gun. "Now, make sure you don't shoot yourself again Aria" she again taunted, and walked off to another part of the area. Aria rolled her eyes as she returned to where she was working in the first place, at a collection of plating that had come off the fuel tanks due of a few stray meteors hitting the side of the ship. Luckily no real damage was done. The ship was too big for a few small rocks hitting it to do anything major. Carefully she magically lifted the gun and got to fixing the parts of the engine. It was a boring job, just like the rest of the ship.

"Hey Aria!", called over a female voice. Aria turned to face a pony decked in bronze armour, similar to her own. The pony's face was covered by a metallic bronze helmet with 2 red slits glowing down her face. Aria recognized the pony even with the helmet on. It was Slate, a friend of hers. They had met when the USK Acestile first took off from Earth and the two bonded quickly. Slate was an excitable pony, almost always in a fair mood. Slate's helmet began to dismantle, folding into itself and into her RIG, revealing the yellow pony's face. Her red mane was messy due to the helmet being on for so long. "How's that leg of yours? All good?" she asked kindly.

"Yeah, it's fine now, but seriously, I made a mistake, I don't see why Steel Mills has to go keep reminding me about it"

"Ah, ignore her, she's just a bit of a bitch and you know it. It seems she's always had it in for you" Slate replied. She was right as well. Ever since Aria and Steel met, they never got on. "Honestly, I think she's a bit annoyed that you're an alicorn." she continued.

"That seems a bit racist, doesn't it?" Aria asked. Slate looked over to where Steel Mills was, so she couldn't hear them talking about her.

"A little. Or maybe she just wants to be one as well. I think a lot of ponies do. Hell, I'd like to be one!" she said. Aria couldn't help but smile. "Can I ask a somewhat personal question?" Aria stopped what she was doing and turned properly toward Slate. "Are the members of your family all alicorns or just you? I've always wondered about it" she asked. Aria turned away a little at the question. She wasn't the only alicorn in her family, but she didn't like to mention her ancestors.

"I'm not the only one, but I don't want to talk about it", she grunted. Slate knew when to stop.

"Ok, sorry I asked"

"It's fine, just a little private, you know?"

"Sure. Anyway, I better get back to work before Steel Mills yells at me. Talk to ya later" she said, and her helmet began to recreate itself, obscuring her face once more, the red slits showing up on the dark walls. Aria didn't like putting on her helmet that much. It was as much defiance against Steel Mills as she could do without flat out refusing to work. On the bright side, she hadn't shot herself yet. The noise of construction was interrupted by the speakers. An electronic male voice came out.

"Remember ponies and stallions, safety is key. Please remember to consult your RIG for health and safety regulations to keep the precautions in mind"

"...I hate this fucking ship" Aria grumbled to herself.

...

...

The work day drew to a close and Aria made her way back to the elevator, hoping to spend the remainder of the 'day' in her room. If anything, her room was a sanctuary for her to be at peace. It was a generic room. A slightly ruined sofa sat at the wall of the small apartment with a picture frame hanging above it. The picture contained the image of a slightly younger Aria alongside two older ponies, her parents. Aria smiled every time she saw it. It reminded her of her childhood, and how much happier and simpler it was. She remembered all the stories she was told and just how much she loved them. She walked further into her apartment as the same electronic voice spoke.

"WELCOME BACK: CEC ENGINEER: ARIA CACKLES" it boomed. Aria just ignored it until another message came across the speaker. "YOU HAVE ONE UNHEARD MESSAGE". Aria hurried over to the small answering machine next to the sofa. Despite having collapsible helmets, health packs and ships capable of space travel, the ponies never got rid of the classic answering machine. Aria magically pressed a button on the machine. "PLAYING MESSAGE ONE" it said, and a female voice spoke back. The voice of her mother.

"Hi honey, how are you? Just calling to ask how things are up on that big ship. Ah, we're so proud of you! Just a little update on how things are here in Equestria. Your father is still his same old self, he even found a new job as a teacher, great right? I'm fine as well, but we obviously miss you. Seems like only yesterday you left Earth. If you can, please call back soon when you’re not busy. Also, how are the ponies up on the ship? Must be fun being the only alicorn on the ship. Surely it must be some great bragging rights, right? Anyway, call back soon. We love you" and the message was followed by a beep.

"END OF MESSAGE" said the voice. A single tear flowed down Aria's face. She missed her parents just as much as they missed her, if not more. She didn't want to mention her ancestry, even if her parents encouraged it. All it brought was high expectations of her. With a sigh, Aria made her way to  her bedroom, to rest after what felt like the longest day of her life.

...

...

"THIS IS A SHIP-WIDE ANNOUNCEMENT. ALL ENGINEERS TO THE BRIDGE. I REPEAT. ALL ENGINEERS TO THE BRIDGE", boomed the male voice of the ship captain. Aria stirred in her bed, trying desperately to ignore the call, but it was no use. Eyes still closed, she slithered out of her bed and lay on the floor. Her RIG came up with an audio transmission.

"Aria! Are you there? Wake up, you need to get to the bridge!" It was the voice of Slate.

"Urgh, fine, I'll be right there" she moaned. She got up and reached for her Engineering Suit. She suited up, and made her way to the door. Several ponies and stallions were in a hurry, some even donning their helmets. What was going on?