SJilai

Part two in "Of a Note in a Cosmic Song".
For volunteers and convicts alike, the luxury transport, SJilai, is an inescapable speck in the cosmic landscape – it will bring the Bijari colonists to their new planet or be destroyed in the attempt.
But then, what’s four years on an inverted planet hurtling through space, if you get to live in one of its miniature cities, complete with swimming pool and all the comforts of home, while artificial plants produce your food and ‘real’ daylight guides your leisurely activities?
Yet, while Aryan, the pilot, is challenged to the limit when trying to keep the ship on track when it starts trailing ice, it is insecurity, resentment and boredom that ‘rock the boat’ to its very core.
Will four years prove too long to make it across space in peace?