I’ve been a nervous about introducing a Muslim character, considering the persecution they face. But I’m deeply angered about the Syrian civil war, and the Rohingya genocide. Because of that, I find it absolutely necessary to tell Amal’s story... Her name means ‘hope’ in Arabic.
Amal had spent a great deal of time ruminating about applying for citizenship at the Federation. She had become distrustful and disillusioned of offers such as those. In her old life, she and her family had been offered asylum by a few governments, but she had learned that there were ulterior moti
Her face turned redder than before, this time more visibly so. She wasn’t used to being watched, being seen. At least, not with kind eyes. ...His eyes. “Ah!” Dareon said. “Are you alright? Do you need water or something?” He immediately dug into his supplies to find his canteen, as she tried her
Regardless, it was a great deal for him to bear, no matter how ready he felt nor how much he had been prepared. Most critically, everytime he looked up at the stars, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. “I know I gotta stay here,” he said. “Maybe it’s just a fool’s dream, you know? Maybe… may
The ground whipped by quickly as the tractor sped towards the chaos. It had reached maximum velocity and was cruising at a relatively good pace. Its main display showed that they had topped out their speed, which fluctuated between 24 to 26 meters per second. Although it wasn’t fast compared to spa
Though he was a wreck, she kept her nerves. It wasn’t as though her own mind wasn’t awash with questions, but she had learned to quell them in order to stay calm. She learned that a quiet heart resulted in a sharper mind, and that was necessary to stay alive. Those lessons came to her the hard way
Temperatures started to rise and hit red, but Amal quickly shut off the damaged pump and redirected the coolant to move around it. The tractor was wounded and ran a little hot, but she still flew. Dareon leaned out and fired his rifle at one of the overly zealous marauders. The thug’s head burst o
Amal woke up with a start and quickly looked around to get her bearings, but her sight was hazy at best. She saw that she was in a dark room, and could tell that there were a number of other people there. But before she could take a better look, or even ask what was going on, pain suddenly flashed
He was running a little cold, having lost a good deal of blood. Her intuition told her that he was suffering greatly, but there was nothing she could do about it. “He must’ve woken up before I did,” said Amal. “And ran into awful trouble.” “I’m just glad you... the both of you are still alive.” “