Runaway to the Stars

A hard science fiction slice-of-life story focused on communication, accommodation, and everyday life in co-species spaces. Talita has spent her whole life as an alien peg trying to fit in a human hole. She's much bigger than humans and can't use the same body language as her coworkers at the recycling plant. But since humans raised her, other centaurs are a mystery. It's left her alone and anxious, surrounded by those who don't understand her. But maybe she doesn't have to stay that way... A recent arrival in the scrap yard is a ship full of centaur writing and contraband phones. What seems like a simple disassembly job quickly evolves into a conspiracy when the ship's AI asks for repairs instead. They are a pirate crew that wants to get back to their life of crime; they just need some repairs, forged paperwork, and a window to leave. In exchange, they could give Talita some answers about her species and maybe even take her with them.