Life on an Alien Planet

3. Three

Today is the day. The day I leave for space. I will officially be the one of the first few to travel with the use of lightspeed.

All of the 8 are getting fitted in their suits and working with engineers to help get adjusted to their control panels. S. Coups and Mia are helping direct everyone and working with other workers to keep everything on time and under control.

I arrive a little late, and in a state of panic, I grab my metal suitcase and fumble with the latch. Once open I try to hurry to get my suit on but above me, I hear a strong yet calming voice, "Wyan."

I look up to see S. Coups a few feet in front of me, staring down at me. "I'm sorry Captain I didn't mean to be late I promise I won't be late again-"

"Wyan," he calmly puts his hands on my shoulders, "try to breathe. Let me help you."

After taking a few breathes he helps me put on my suit and when I tighten it, he grabs my helmet and puts it on me, turning it slightly.

"Do you hear a click?"

"Yes." I reply.

"Good." He takes it back off and gives it to me. "You don't need it on at this very moment, but it's good to check to see if it works." and he reassures me with a smile.

After a few minutes, everyone was told to wait in the landing zone. S. Coups and Moon Byul walked with me, and we expressed our excitements while walking there. Once we actually got there, we saw the ship once more, but this time it was on and active. Lights were turning on, people were walking on and off the ship, and a lot of noise of chatter and announcements filled the room.

The 8 of us were all talking with one another, but I turned and made eye contact with Daz and I already knew I was going to regret it. He walked over and teased, "Hey Nabbefeld. Late again today?"

"We're about to be the first humans to use lightspeed and you want to insult me?"

"Ok lady if you can't a joke just say that. Don't act all high and mighty just because you're a Nabbefeld." He scoffed, using my name as a curse.

"Hey!" Moon Byul butted in, "You better back off! Focus on yourself for once!"

Daz yelled back, with Li Jun trying to pull him back, "You could do the same thing! This isn't about you!"

"HEY HEY!" S. Coups and Mia finally interrupt, creating a barrier between me and Daz. "Daz you are on THIN ICE. Moon Byul don't fight him over this. We all need to be PROFESSIONAL. The world is looking up to us. Are we clear?"

After some silence he repeats in a louder tone, "ARE WE CLEAR?" to which Daz and Moon Byul mumble a yes. Finally, Daz walks away and I thank Byul for standing up for me. Before hearing her response, a loud voice over a speaker booms throughout the room.

"SC-PALADIN 01A FLIGHT CREW. PLEASE BOARD THE SHIP."

Moon Byul looks towards me, reassuring me with her smile. Putting our helmets on, we aboard the Paladin, holding hands for support.

Inside the ship is unlike anything I've ever seen, it's a sleek white design with screens and flashing lights everywhere. While passing the living space, I noticed white couches with a table in the circle. One of the workers pushed a button and the table and couch lowered and became flush with the floor. Looking around further, I notice mirrors and more fragile decorations hidden beneath a layer of hard protective plastic.

"There's vases on a spaceship?" I asked.

"I guess it makes the place look more homely," S. Coups responded, "maybe after takeoff we can go back to see if it's still standing." then he flashes a smile.

We all get to the cockpit door and as I enter, I stare at the large room in front of me. There are 8 separate panels with 8 separate chairs accompanying it, all saying a name of one of us on the back of the chairs. 6 of the 8 panels are mostly spaced out in equal length, but the other 2, S. Coups and Mia's chairs, are put at the front are closer together. 

I look to find my chair attached to a panel on the left wall of the room, and next to me Rat comes and sits down. We flash a smile at each other, "We got this Wyan!" he Assured.

"Yeah," I sigh, "we do got this!"

Once everyone was seated, I hear one of the scientists through my headset.

"Will the 8 please confirm that everyone is secure in their seats and ready for takeoff?"

"Wyan is ready"

"Elena is ready"

"Rat is ready"

"Daz is ready"

"Moon Byul is ready"

"Mia is ready"

"Li Jun is ready"

"S. Coups is ready"

"The 8 has confirmed and is ready for departure."

The screens on our panels pop up the number 10 and it starts to count down. I take one more deep breath and feel the rumbling of the ship getting ready to take off. Then I hear "3, 2, 1, prepare for takeoff"

The ship rumbles intensely and looking through the window I see that it's flying upwards at a fast pace. I can barely move from Earth's gravity pulling us, but this feels so levitating. Looking through windows, life becomes less and less visible, and what replaced that view was the endless black sky, filled with stars.

We did it.

We are traveling through space.