Orbital Ostrich Affair

 

The Orbital Ostrich Affair

Orbital Habitat 9 prided itself on being a peaceful, orderly tourist hub — until someone decided to smuggle in a genetically modified ostrich.

This was no ordinary bird. Engineered for zero gravity, it had legs capable of launching it across entire habitat modules, a beak that could dent titanium, and a stubborn streak the size of Mars.

Jonno Virek arrived just as security gave up trying to corner the bird in the food court. Popcorn and noodle packets drifted lazily through the air, casualties of the panicked crowd. A teenager clung to a ceiling vent in shock, as the ostrich barrelled past below, flapping its wings like a broken cargo drone.

“Any idea who brought it here?” Jonno asked, pushing past a gaggle of terrified tourists.

“No one’s owning up,” gasped a security guard. “It’s a rogue support animal, apparently.”

Jonno shook his head. Support animal? For what — a professional sprinter?

He switched on the station’s floor stabilisers, hoping to slow the bird down. The ostrich, ever resourceful, adapted instantly, ricocheting off a bulkhead with a perfect zero-G somersault and vanishing down the maintenance corridor.

“Brilliant,” Jonno muttered. “It’s learning.”

It took him hours to track the bird through the tangled backways of the station, dodging startled engineers and malfunctioning air vents. The ostrich was wily, peckish, and extremely cross about being denied its freedom.

In the end, he cornered it in the observation dome, where it was trying to eat a holographic fern. As Jonno approached, it paused, its long neck swaying as if to ask, Really? You again?

He extended a protein bar, gingerly. “Truce?”

The bird snapped it up, eyes suspicious but resigned.

Behind them, the sun rose over Jupiter in silent grandeur. Jonno sighed, watching the ostrich settle at his side, content for now. Another day saved — and probably another bill for damages he’d never see repaid. 

Beyond the Belt continues next week — and you can read these stories in any order, so don’t worry if you’ve missed a week. The universe is a messy place, but Jonno’s on the case.