The Stars We Lease

How it begins

The repossession target was teaching fractions.

Nadia heard the lesson through the airlock.

"If we share the remaining apples equally, what does everyone get?"

A small voice answered, "Disappointed."

Nadia checked the ship registration.

Correct vessel.

Correct docking bay.

Deeply incorrect professional expectations.

The man opening the inner hatch wore a repaired sweater and held half an apple.

"You're the pilot?"

"Repossession officer."

He looked at her authorization.

Then toward the classroom.

"That will complicate lunch."

The ship had once carried freight between mining stations. Somebody had painted stars over the cargo labels. Someone else had converted the loading rails into a library.

Nadia had seized ships with chandeliers, heated pools and private gardens.

She had never wanted to apologize to a bookshelf before.

"Registered owner?"

"Complicated."

"It usually is."

"Jon Bell. Acting headteacher."

"That's not an ownership category."

"It has been a difficult year."

Behind him, a child asked whether disappointed was a fraction.

Jon held up one finger.

"Give me a moment."

Nadia read the order again.

The ship's debt exceeded its resale value. Its engine lease was in default. Its education license had expired during a route change no government had acknowledged.

All technically straightforward.

All suddenly less useful than the lesson happening behind the door.

"How many pupils?"

"Thirty-one."

"Other classrooms in the fleet?"

"No."

She looked at the apple in his hand.

"Other ships with food?"

"Some."

The authorization tablet sounded.

Remote immobilization scheduled.

Nadia had seventeen minutes before the engine became an object nobody in this bay could move.

Jon read the message over her shoulder.

For the first time, his careful humor disappeared.

Nadia opened the safety review form.

She had not used it in six years.

"Finish the fractions," she said.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking whether the registered owner ever bothered to board."

Jon looked at the painted stars.

"Take your time," he said.