Morning at Port City

The artificial sunlight flickered through Port City's protective dome, casting irregular shadows across the grimy streets. Jade pulled her collar up against the metallic-tasting air, her boots crunching on the ever-present industrial grit that coated every surface. Above her, massive pipes snaked between buildings, their constant hum a backdrop to the clang of mining equipment from the processing plants.

A holographic advertisement sputtered and died as she passed, its neon reflection momentarily painting her brown hair in electric blues before plunging that section of street into darkness. Her shoulders tensed at the sudden shadow - another reminder of the corporation's failing infrastructure.

"Watch it!" A worker shouldered past, his protective mask obscuring his features. The crowd thickened as she approached the main thoroughfare, a press of bodies all headed to their shifts in the refineries and processing plants.

Jade checked her wrist display. Twenty minutes until her shift at Black Hole Bakery. Twenty minutes of threading through the industrial maze, breathing in the metallic tang of processed Veridycium that leaked from corroded pipes overhead.

The crowd bottlenecked at an intersection where a maintenance crew welded a crack in one of the main support beams. Sparks rained down, forcing everyone to huddle against the opposite wall. The heat from their tools pressed against her face as she squeezed past.

"Third structural repair this week." A woman in a corporate uniform shook her head. "These old pipes are falling apart faster than they can patch em."

Jade's fingers twitched at the comment, an involuntary response she quickly suppressed. She pushed forward, past the rows of identical housing units with their rust-streaked walls, under the shadow of towering refineries that belched steam into the artificial atmosphere. Each step brought her closer to another mind-numbing shift of serving doughnuts to workers desperate for a sugar fix between their grueling shifts.

A distant alarm blared - another malfunction somewhere in the sprawling industrial complex. No one even looked up anymore. It was just another day in Port City, where everything was held together by patches and prayers, and everyone was just trying to survive until their next paycheck.

A gust of industrial wind whipped up the ever-present dust, and Jade raised her arm too late. The gritty particles stung her eyes and nostrils. A warm trickle down her upper lip made her curse - another nosebleed. She dabbed at it with her sleeve, the dark fabric hiding the stain.

Through watering eyes, she spotted a beat-up cargo ship docked in Bay 7. Its running lights flickered in an erratic pattern, casting weird shadows on the ground. The ship's hull bore the scars of countless meteor impacts, and its landing gear listed slightly to one side. Freedom called to her from those battered plates and worn engine pods.

She sighed, knowing a vessel of her own was just a fantasy, far beyond her meager savings from slinging doughnuts at Black Hole. Even if she worked double shifts for the next five years, she'd barely have enough for a down payment on the rustiest junker in the port. The thought made her chest ache with a familiar hollowness, the same feeling that crept in during long nights staring up at the dome, watching ships break atmosphere and disappear into the stars.

Workers in crisp corporate uniforms hauled crates past her, each box stamped with bold lettering: "Veridycium Processing—V4 Mining Co." The precious mineral that kept the whole moon running, that kept them all trapped here in their pressurized cage.

A glowing sign caught her attention: "All Individuals Subject to Scan." The words made her throat tighten. She'd seen more than a few people disappear after failing those scans, never to return to their shifts or their families.

"--wouldn't let them scan him." The words drifted from a cluster of dock workers. "Just turned around and walked right out."

"Stupid move. They'll find him eventually--"

Their voices faded as Jade rounded a corner, but new ones rose ahead. An argument had broken out by the security checkpoint.

"The scan showed irregularities!" A guard's voice rang out.

"That's impossible, I was cleared last week!"

"Step aside for additional screening."

"I've got a family to feed--"

The voices cut off as blast doors slammed shut, sealing off the checkpoint.

A flicker of movement caught Jade's eye - a small face peering out from behind a stack of cargo crates. Dark eyes met hers, hollow with hunger. The child's clothes hung in tatters, face smeared with the same industrial grime that coated everything in Port City.

Her chest tightened. Five years ago, that had been her, scrounging for scraps between the refineries, dodging security patrols. The child ducked back behind the crates as a pair of guards marched past, their boots leaving fresh prints in the metallic dust.

Jade's shoulders slumped. Her feet ached from yesterday's double shift, and her back screamed from hours of bending over the display case. But she straightened up, lifted her chin. She'd clawed her way out of those streets, fought for every credit that put food in her belly and a roof over her head.

The child emerged again, clutching something to their chest - probably their only possession in the world. Jade's hand drifted to her pocket, where her last few credits waited. Her stomach growled, reminding her she'd skipped breakfast to save for rent.

A security drone buzzed overhead, its red scanning beam sweeping the street. The child vanished into the shadows between crates. Jade's jaw clenched as she forced herself forward. She couldn't save everyone. Some days, she could barely save herself.

Her boots dragged through the grit as she pressed on toward the Black Hole. Another shift waited, another day of plastering on a smile while serving overpriced pastries to refinery workers. But it was better than the streets. Better than hiding behind crates, wondering where your next meal would come from.

The sound of small feet scurrying away echoed off the metal walls. Jade didn't look back. She couldn't. The weight of her own survival was heavy enough.