…[ MATIVO ]…

And there it was, the once believed to be the center of the whole universe, our home planet Earth. After seven months of arduous and exciting adventures, we were finally back to where it all started. Not exactly, we still had to land. And was it taking a long time.

Our thirty minute, at most, descent had been delayed for more than an hour. We should have landed, but we were still orbiting the planet leisurely at exactly the top of where we had to land. If you took some binoculars, you would see the roof-doors of the ship hangar opened down below. In fact, we had zoomed, and yes, they were fully opened. Waiting to receive us at the end of our journey.

The so called League of Nations had of yet to clear us for landing. And this was one of the few places in the universe I couldn’t entertain the thought of bulldozing through. They did have enough bombs on them to reduce me, my ship and crew, and my Control Center into smithereens. I could retaliate if I survived, but by then I would have lost too much. Not worth it. But very tempting, especially as they kept telling us to wait.

I didn’t understand what we were waiting for. Were they clearing the air-space for us so that there were no ships or planes around when we descended? Or was our landing port congested with other ships and they needed to move them about to create space for us? It didn’t make sense to me at all. It felt like if we weren’t careful, they might even put us through customs.

“What is taking so long?” Mũsango asked. She had been asking that for a while now. Most of the time, no one answered her.

“They are preparing their railgun to shoot us down as we make our descent.” Maybe that wasn’t the best of answers when in such a situation.

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Chantel pointed out the flaw in Pon’s answer. “How would they explain it to those who see it?”

“Our ship was not designed for atmospheric reentry, so it burned up on reentry.” Pon already had an answer ready.

“That even makes less sense.” Kalũki said.

“Actually it does.” I’m not sure what Matt was trying to support. But I had learnt letting them talk amongst themselves always proved entertaining. “Our ship doesn’t have the parts conventionally found on other spaceships designed for atmospheric reentry.”

“So they will say we invested in everything needed to go to the edges of the Solar System, but forgot about preparing for landing home?” Mũsango asked dubiously.

“Something like that.”

“Who would believe that?” Kalũki asked.

“Someone who doesn’t know better.” Chantel’s opinion was true, if only.

“What about the railgun? How will they explain that then?” Kalũki asked.

“They will say it misfired. Or that they were conducting a military drill. Nothing to worry about.”

“They will say anything, won’t they? Where are those weapon buttons? Maybe if we point a few at them, they will hurry up and let us land.” Buttons? Really Mũsango, what era do you think we are in?

“Having someone at gunpoint has never worked the way the person with the gun hopes it will.” Matt pointed out. But Mũsango was not dissuaded from her buttons.

“It works well enough that I would risk it.”

“What about those of us who don’t want to risk it?” Kalũki asked Mũsango before turning to me. “And you never said where those weapons are.”

“It never mattered.”

“It does now,” Mũsango said.

“No it doesn’t.” Matt was quick to argue. “I’m sure there is a good reason for the delay.”

“Yeah. I will tell you that reason. They are lording it over us.”

“Lording what over us?”

“The fact that they can do this. This is all because we let them off on Europa. If we had landed there, they would be thinking twice before pulling something like this.”

“I think you are not thinking straight right now.”

“Of course I’m not. I should be on the ground already bragging about everything. Instead, I’m up here and I have no idea if I’m going to land.”

“We are going to land. Don’t worry too much about it.”

“Do you want to talk to Control Center and figure out what is going on?” I asked her. Maybe talking to them would calm her down a bit.

“Yes.” Chantel responded first, which was surprising. She didn’t seem to care about the delay. I guess I had read her wrong.

“Yes, yes please.” Mũsango was expected.

“Robin. Open communication to Control Center.”

“Channel open. They can hear you.”

“What? No. No, no.” Mũsango whispered back at me when I indicated she should speak, gesturing vehemently that she wasn’t interested in talking to them herself. I signaled Robin to mute our conversation from Control Center.

“What? I thought you wanted to talk to them?”

“No. I want us to talk to them. That means you.” Mũsango was very clear on who would do the talking. Chantel was trying so hard to hide in plain sight.

“But I don’t want to talk to them.”

“You don’t?” Cindy asked surprised.

“What about the current situation we are in? Don’t you want to know what is taking so long?” Matt asked.

“I have no issues with our current situation. This ship is capable of sustaining us indefinitely. Unless they do something. But then, we will be allowed to do something in return.”

“Robin. This is Control Center. We see your channel is open, but we hear nothing. Is there a problem?”

“Control Center. This is Mativo speaking. If you had been so kind as to check, you would have noticed our mic was muted. Out.”

“We saw that, we just thought there might be more to it.”

“Nothing really. We just came from an expedition of most of the common places of the Solar System. We are just taking the time to admire and appreciate our home before descending for a landing. Bear with us sentimental folks. Over and Out.”

But the Control Center quickly followed with,

“Robin. This is Control Center. You are clear for landing.”

“Mũsango, you heard her, bring us home.”

“Aye Commander.”

“Crew. This is Mativo speaking. We are clear for landing. In a few minutes, you will be back on Earth’s surface. Mativo out.”

Apparently, I had somehow forgot something crucial, because it took us more than two hours to make it to the hangar. Two agonizing hours. I got so bored just staring at the atmosphere as we made our approach that I might have fallen asleep. Might. I came to a few minutes before Mũsango started maneuvering us into the hangar. I was more than seventy-five percent sure that Cindy had woken me. I hoped it had been a nudge and not a shout. And finally, touchdown. The Anti-Acceleration Field must have been turned off somehow, because I felt the ship land. Which was impossible with the Field on.

After a whole minute of waiting, I announced to the crew. “Crew. Mativo speaking. We have landed. Mativo out.”

I could already see security personnel moving in and around the hangar as I waited. I liked been the last one out in situations like this. Less commotion that way. But I was soon interrupted by Cindy,

“We have to leave the ship for the return photo.”

“It can wait while the crew disembark.”

“They are already waiting. It’s been fifteen minutes.”

“What? Shit, let us hurry then.”

I quickly made my way off the Bridge and onto the elevator, with Cindy right behind me. She was snickering on the ride down.

“If I find that you have lied to me and I’m the first one off the ship, there will be hell to pay.”

“Well, if that is the case then I might as well tell you. They want you to be the first one off the ship.”

“But I like being last. I love it even. Someone else can have the honor of being the first.”

“No. It has to be you.”

“Can I also get back on as the others get off so that I can be last too?”

Cindy stared at me for a while. “You are joking. What is it about being last that you like so much?”

“I can do whatever I want, and I don’t have to think about the people behind me.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The elevator dinged as we made it to the Shuttle Bay. And true enough, I could see what could possibly be the whole crew out on the Shuttle Bay, mingling and holding idle chatter amongst themselves. But it slowly died down as one after another noticed my arrival. It made me wonder, how long had they waited before they sent someone to come fetch me? And also, they were too needy. Maybe I need to train that out of them during the training programs. I wondered how that would work for me. The Shuttle Bay had turned dead silent, with all of them just staring at me. Including Cindy at my back most probably. Wait, no. she had joined the others. That’s when it hit me; they were waiting for a speech. Oh dear, I was coming up blank, and if I kept silent any longer, I knew they would start murmuring and I didn’t want that. So, I began with whatever came to mind.

“First off. Thank you for everything we have helped each achieve on this expedition. There will be others following in our footsteps, but ours will always be the first. Three years ago… no, it has been months now, so. Four years ago, I decided to pursue this dream. Three years ago, I had the basic technologies down. Two years ago, crew training began and the first prototype began construction. Seven months ago, we left for the expedition of a lifetime. Seven months later we are back from the expedition. Having accomplished a lot in those seven months.

“Only, this one was the first. Now, we go and rest. When tomorrow comes, we start preparing for the next one. Because, there will be, a next one. And this time, we will not be visiting frozen moons and desolate planets. We will not come back until we have made contact. True contact.

“See you then.”

I started making my way to the Shuttle Bay doors as they parted for me. Passing through them reminded me again that I was a smudge on the short side. But I paid it no heed. Nearing the doors, they started opening on their own. I knew no one had been on the Shuttle Bay Office, and there hadn’t been enough time for them to make it. So it was all Robin’s doing. They wanted a majestic exit, I would give them a majestic exit. I thought as I continued through the opening doors without slowing down. I knew everything was being recorded, but as far as I could see, other than the security personnel, only three people were waiting for me at the end of the stairs. Now, if only I could trip and fall.

Mutheu, Head of Space Control Center, was at the center of the trio. With Sean to her right and O’toole to her left. I greeted Mutheu first, then O’toole and finally Sean.

“We should get out of the way for the others.” I moved to the left, with the three following me. It left enough room for the crew to walk by as they started arranging themselves by the side of the ship. Shit, I had forgotten about the photo. I bid the three goodbye and rushed to the center of the forming line up, with Cindy to my left and Jacy my right. After that, things became hazy.

…[ ANDREW ]…

By the time Andrew managed to escape all the reporters, he was exhausted. They had been everywhere he could think of. Like they had spent the seven months he had been away trying to figure out all the secret routes to his house. Had his family been harassed so while he was off gallivanting the Solar System? If so, why had they not said anything in any of their messages. Not even little Abby had said anything. He couldn’t believe she would be able not to talk about it.

As he closed the trapdoor below him, he finally appreciated the effort Mativo had made in making sure no reporters approached them at the Control Center. Some had complained about the absence of the heroic reception they had expected. Mativo had simply told them to march down two kilometers the highway road, they would find the reporters there.

“I can’t believe Abby won.” Andrew looked up to find Jake in the hallway to the kitchen, holding a carton of milk with no glass at hand. He still doesn’t use the cups. He looked somewhat taller, or Andrew hadn’t seen him long enough he forgot how tall he actually was.

“Won what?” he asked his son, and straightened up and walked towards him as if he hadn’t just crawled under the house to get to inside.

But before Jake could answer, Jamie appeared from the living room, holding a book. He was about to read the title but her question disrupted him. “Who won?”

“Really!? You don’t see me for a whole seven months and the first thing you ask is who won a bet?”

The only answer he got was a look that clearly said ‘duh’. Then his wife came from the living room too, and he was glad. Finally, someone who would care more about him than a stupid bet. She made it straight for him, giving him a tight hug. Albeit awkward, because she was trying to face backward. She finally gave up, let him go and turned fully to face their kids.

“Who won?”

He wasn’t surprised anymore. At the very least, she had hugged him before asking about the bet. He followed them as they moved to the living room. Abby was sleeping in the three-seater, with the TV on. They had the news on and it seemed their arrival was being reported. Some of the crew had either gotten entangled into giving interviews or had willing gone to the reporters.

As they took seats, with him being forced to squeeze himself at the space left by Abby in the three-seater, the scene in the TV changed to show as the ship smoothly made it into the hangar. In the screen, the ship appeared so small. It was hard to believe that he had spent the last seven months of his life inside it. And hadn’t felt cramped at all.

As the scene changed to another interviewee, or was it the previous one? There was movement at the sofa. Andrew turned to find Abby staring at him sleepily,

“You’re back?”

“Yes.” He answered softly.

“Okay.” She closed her eyes, and seemingly went back to sleep. Close to a whole minute passed before she shot bolt right up, and faced him. Fully awake now. “You are back!!”

“Yes.” He muffledly repeated his earlier response as she jumped on him and bodily hugged him.

“You are back.” she repeated, this time slowly and what sounded like she said it to herself. But he still answered her,

“Yes. I was always going to come back.”

She repositioned herself to watch the television while still hugging him. Soon, she will no longer be interested in hugs anymore. He decided to enjoy the moment while it lasted.

“She looks so small. Did you all fit inside there?” she asked as a picture of the ship was shown on the television.

“Us, and a lot of other things.” He told her. “A single deck is big enough to fit a football field. Well, barely.” He amended as he remembered the correct dimensions of the decks.

“It is that big?”

“Yes. And there are thirteen such decks. There is a lot of things inside.” He stared at the ship, wondering. “Maybe one day I will take you for a tour.”

“Really?” She asked, her eyes beaming with hope. He nodded at her. “I would really love that.”

She quieted down and went back to watching the news. After a while, long enough that he thought she might have fallen asleep again, she commented. “Now, no one will be able to say you haven’t been to space anymore.”

“Who has been saying that?” Andrew asked, slightly alarmed.

“I told you to stop listening to those people,” Jamie admonished her.

“I can’t help myself.”

“Of course you can’t, she is the one who goes bragging about it.” Jake’s statement only made Andrew all the more confused. What had been happening while he was away?

“Camila thinks you went to stay in a banker.”

“She does?”

“Yes. And when I tried explaining what a spaceship is to her, she told me all I was talking about sounded like a banker to her. Why wouldn’t she understand?”

Andrew could see how Cameron might have issues differentiating between the two. Especially if an authority figure to her made her think the two of them are like. He thought of trying to explain to Abby what the issue was, but as it was, it was very likely he would find himself in the same problem. So he let it be. For now.

“How is basketball?” he asked Jake just for something to say. Rachel, they would have their own talk when it was just the two of them. and Jamie would prefer it if she wasn’t the center of attention.

“It’s fine. No biggie.” He answered nonchalantly.

“It is a biggie. I heard you say so to your friends the other day.” But Abby thought otherwise about the matter.

“It’s nothing really.”

“Hey, it is something. You are good at it; you should be proud.” He told him. He had thought Jake would be enthused by the prospect of a scholarship, and maybe even going pro.

“It is not that. It’s just…” he looked at Andrew, then back at the television. “You have been to space. And Jamie will be joining you soon. As she gets older, I’m sure Abby will too. Compared to that, basketball seems so small.”

“Hey, what about me?” Rachel asked from her seat.

“What about you?” Jake didn’t even seem to realize that he had left her out. Which reduced the rest of the family into laughter.

“Okay! Be like that. I see that to you, I’m not even part of this family.”

“Mom!”

As they calmed down, Andrew turned to his son, “You shouldn’t be doing something just because it’s big. You should do it because you like it, and you want to.”

“Can’t I do it for both?”

..[]..

“Hey,” he said as way of greeting as he stood by the door to Jamie’s room. The room itself was neat and clean. But she had made it her own nonetheless. She had adopted a dark theme, bordering on goth. But not really getting there. She had a lot of dark colors everywhere but not black. She also had a large poster by the wall in front of her desk with a picture of the Robin. Andrew hadn’t known that those had even come out. The wall adjacent to her desk was filled with a cabinet of books. Andrew knew that most of them, if not all, were related to space exploration. The window was open, but the curtains were pulled close, giving no view of either out or in of the house.

A gloomy place, just like its owner. She was by her desk, reading what, Andrew thought might be part of the training program. But under the room’s low lighting, he couldn’t be sure.

“You can come in.”

He eagerly walked in, and sat on the extra seat in the room. “No training module today?”

“No. With your eminent arrival, they let us have a day off.”

“A day? Not two or a week?” he asked her in mock surprise.

“As if they would let that happen.”

“You never know. They might wake up tomorrow and decide to have the whole week off for celebration.”

“Are you going to have the whole week off to celebrate?” He looked at her sheepishly. They both knew he wouldn’t. He still had a lot of work to do; taking off would only be prolonging the time he would spend completing it.

“How is the training program? Too hard? Want to quit?”

“Who do you take me for? This is child’s play to me.”

“Be careful what you say.” He warned her. Being confident in your abilities is one thing. Arrogant about it is another. “Out there, even child’s play can kill you.”

“I know. I didn’t mean it like that. Some parts are hard, but I can manage. Others don’t make sense at all. Why would I even want to know—”

“They will.” He interrupted her. It had been like that when he started too. A lot of things didn’t seem like things he would ever do out there. But he had found himself doing them, again and again. “Soon enough, they will. And you will be glad you knew how to then.”

“Can I ask something?”

“Sure. If I know the answer, is the problem.”

“There is talk of another expedition.” She looked at him carefully, and continued at a lower voice, “Further out. Much further out. Is it true?”

At first he didn’t know whether to answer her or not. But Mativo had not asked for them not to say anything. He was very clear on those things. So much that he believed there was no such thing between two people; if he said something to someone, then he no longer deemed it a secret. And he had told the entire ship that they would be going, so he nodded.

“When?”

“Two or three years. Not past five years.”

“With what ships? I know the current ships are fast, but they are not fast enough for that kind of expedition.”

“If there is talk of an expedition, then he already has a ship. Or at least it will be built soon enough.”

“So this training program? Is it the one that will be used to select the crew for that ship?”

“No. There will be another immediately after this one.” Actual visible relief washed over her. Andrew could hardly believe it at first. But as he watched her, he had to agree, the news had relieved her. “Why do you look so relieved by that?”

“I was starting to doubt if this training program would be enough for such kind of a trip.”

“You think highly of yourself huh?” He chuckled at her self-assurance.

“No. Not that. I know what an expedition outside the Solar System would demand. And this training program feels tailored for only Solar System expeditions.”

“He said without passing this one, the chances of passing the next one would be negligible.”

“Of course. I would expect nothing less.”

He bid her goodnight and retreated to his bedroom with his wife.

“What do you think?” Rachel asked him as he joined her in bed.

“She is doing fine.” He told her. “Unless she was just putting up a front.”

“She is doing more than just. And if by some miracle she wasn’t, she would put in the effort until it worked out for her.”

“Are you saying she would stubbornly do it until she succeeded?”

“Why are you repeating what I just said?”

He decided to say something he wouldn’t be repeating her. “The next expedition has been confirmed. Not more than five years.”

“We already talked about this.” But it seemed he wasn’t better off either.

“We did? When?”

“Before you left for the expedition.” Oh, then. They had just been speculating about the future. It seemed so long ago now.

“It wasn’t confirmed then. Now it is.”

“I will not be going.”

That surprised him. “What? Why?”

“Someone needs to stay here, with Jake.”

“Is it because of what he talked about—”

“It is not that. We are his parents; the moment we became such, our needs became second to his. When he scores a basket, I want him to look to the bleaches and see me cheering for him. I want that more than I want to go to space.” Then added, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing to apologize for. What about Jamie, or Abby?”

“There is nothing to worry about with Jamie. And Abby will have the both of you there.”

“She could decide to stay too.”

“Before you had left, I might have agreed with you. But now? I’m not so sure anymore.”