A Jewel on Sapphire

By Catherine Fitzsimmons

Life on the space station Sapphire is never dull!

Mia Rey’s biggest worry is how to collect money for the school fundraiser, until she finds an alien hiding on the station! Her parents never wanted a pet, but she loves the little creature at first sight.

When it starts getting sick, however, keeping th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brain Lag
• Release date: Oct 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781928011286

Catherine Fitzsimmons

After working for a number of evil empires, Catherine decided to forgo things like a salary and regular human interaction to start a business. She lives near Toronto, Ontario with her husband, daughter, and two crazy tabbies.

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Adventures in Space

A Jewel on Sapphire

Story and art by Catherine Fitzsimmons

Brain Lag

Milton, Ontario

www.brain-lag.com

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, events, and organizations portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Brain Lag Publishing

Milton, Ontario

http://www.brain-lag.com/

Copyright © 2019 Catherine Fitzsimmons. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced, displayed, modified or distributed without the express prior written permission of the copyright holder. For permission, contact [e-mail].

Artwork by Catherine Fitzsimmons

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: A jewel on Sapphire / Catherine Fitzsimmons.

Names: Fitzsimmons, Catherine, 1981- author.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190116153 | Canadiana (ebook) 20190116161 | ISBN 9781928011279

   (softcover) | ISBN 9781928011286 (EPUB)

Classification: LCC PS8611.I8973 J49 2019 | DDC jC813/.6—dc23

To Natasha

Because you’re the best

And I’ll always mean it

Chapter 1

Morning on Sapphire

Mia threw off her blanket and sprang out of bed the moment her alarm went off. Friday was always a good day to get up early. Plus, this morning, there was going to be an assembly at school, which was always better than math class. The assembly was to update the students on the progress of the school fundraiser, which had one week left.

Mia hurried to get dressed, wanting to look her best. She chose knee-length blue leggings and a pink half-sleeved shirt with a long, lacy, white vest hanging over it almost as long as her leggings. She looked out her window as she brushed her long, black hair and tied it in a ponytail. The window didn’t have a view of the neighbourhood, nor of blue, red or orange sky. In fact, it wasn’t a window at all. It was a high resolution monitor that displayed an image of the black space and stars outside, the same view that she always saw.

That was because Mia lived on the Terran Exoplanetary Outpost Sapphire. The space station was shaped roughly like a tube that constantly spun like it was screwing onto the top of a bottle. That gave the station gravity, so that what Mia thought was the floor was really the inside edge of the tube. Her teachers told her that the station spun at a speed that gave Sapphire gravity similar to Earth.

Mia didn’t think much about any of that, though. The floor was the floor to her, even if it curved. She walked out of her room into the hallway as she did every morning. She entered the spacious living room and crossed to the breakfast bar. Her mother was in the kitchen, preparing her lunch. Her honey brown curls fell over her shoulders and she wore a pale grey business suit over a dark blue blouse.

"Buenos días, Mamá," Mia said in Spanish as she hopped onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

"Buenos días, mi corazón, Mamá replied. She pulled the milk out of the fridge as Mia opened one of the boxes of cereal on the breakfast bar and poured herself a bowl. Listen, Mia, I might be home late from work tonight. We still can’t figure out what’s causing these electrical problems in the station."

Mia nodded. The electrical problems had caused a power flicker that made Mia lose her work the other day. As the station director,