to the moon and back | namjin

Chapter 1: mission #2116

The shining white and thick spacesuit the man is pulling over his blue t-shirt and black pants weigh him down. The glass helmet he is attaching to the suit silences his surroundings, the radio next to him cracking to life as the man speaks through the radio to alert his crew members.

A chorus of answers echoes back, a confirmation that their radios are functioning. He orders his crew to enter the spacecraft with a flick of his finger and begins to climb to his seat. The pilot and Commander would sit at the front, and the rest of his crew would fill in the remaining seats.

The countdown of blast off never fails to fiddle with the man's restlessness. The takeoff was always the most anticipating part of the journey. One wrong measurement or procedure completed before boarding would reflect the consequences with an explosion, leading to the death of everyone onboard the spacecraft. Of course, that wouldn't happen, especially when the man is the payload commander. He had ensured the required amount of gas and necessary equipment had been perfected during his planning. The man would never slip up and make a mistake; NASA personally chose him for this role, after all.

The Commander's voice echoes into the man's helmet, reciting the names of each crew member.

"Jihyoon."

"Go."

"Katrina."

"Go."

"Namjoon."

"Go," replies the man.

As soon as the names are recited, the beginning of the infamous countdown echoes through the speakers outside the spacecraft, leaving the crowd on their toes as they witnessed the takeoff.

"T-Minus 60 seconds and counting."

Namjoon watches the pilot and commander converse through a private radio line while he mouths the countdown script. Having experienced takeoff many times, he had already memorized every single line.

"T-Minus 17 seconds and counting. 15."

The three onboard fuel cells rumble to life, smoke fuming out of it when the pilot flips a switch. The spacecraft shakes at the start of the engine.

"12, 11, 10..."

At the count of 9, the side engines spark fire.

"8, 7, 6..."

A large pillar of red and blue heat erupts from the three rocket launchers. Namjoon grips on the arms of his chair and sets his eyes on the sky.

"5, 4, 3, 2..."

Namjoon couldn't hear the last number when the spacecraft lifts off the ground from the power of the rocket launchers. The walls and his seat vibrates from the tremendous force, causing him to shake within his heavy suit. The sound of fire fuming behind the spacecraft is loud enough for Namjoon to clearly hear it over his glass helmet, the air inside the spacecraft slowly heating up from the rising temperature of the launchers.

10 minutes later, the rocket boosters separate from the spacecraft, one by one, leaving the spacecraft as the only engine to lead the crew to space. Cheers sound through the radio while the spacecraft flies towards their line of direction.

To the Moon, they go.

———

Three days of floating in space is something Namjoon doesn't want to experience again.

The days passed, with Namjoon knocking his head on the ceiling when his fingers slipped from a holding. The miniature sleeping quarters barely tall enough for him to stand up straight without bending his neck. And, his distaste towards space food slowly increased every time he opened the packet and shoved the contents in his mouth with his nose pinched.