Pretty Lights

Setting: ?
Genre: Scifi of the "fantasy in space" kind.
Summary: Some things just do not belong in a space ship...
Notes/warnings: Based on the prompt "Glitter Snow" by Becca Stareyes. Follows Glitter, but should stand on its own, as these things go. No warnings.
Words: 251

To stop the Glitter’s out-of-control propulsion system, her crew had to flush fuel. A loss and a waste, but the rescue ship under Orel’s command couldn’t dock to tow if her movements were unpredictable.

While Orel’s pilot worked on matching the Glitter’s spin and tumble, and Jira’s crew of two watched the propulsion systems for weirdness, Jira tried to calm down.

The light flickering and going out did not help. She could hear the gremlins’ thumps and scrabbling behind the panelling, and half rose from the pilot seat.

But then, they’d be gone, crawled deeper into the system, before she would be finished taking down just one plate. She leaned back, put her arm over her eyes so she didn’t have to watch the small swarm of fairies circling under the ceiling, and waited for the tremor of docking.

They might have to take the Glitter apart bit by bit…

The air grew cold. Great, now the gremlins are messing with the environment controls. Jira didn’t move when the skin on her bare arms prickled, figuring it for nothing but goosebumps. What was taking Orel’s team so long?

When the anticipated shudder finally ran through the Glitter, Jira sat up quickly and reached for the radio, only to freeze halfway.

The controls were covered in something white. Water trickled from the edge of the dashboard, from under the layer of snow that glittered in the pastel rainbow colours of fairy light.

As if the gremlins didn’t cause problems enough.