Solborn...

Icarus.

"WOOOHOO GOODBYE FOREVER VENUS!!!" Astrid screamed in triumph when the ship finally exited Venus' atmosphere. "I... I made it! I actually made it!" He broke out into a fit of manic laughter "I survived." the euphoria wore off. "Ok," Astrid carefully removed his helmet and stared into the yellow visor, "What now?" He slumped back into the chair and took a long breath. He had a point. What could he do now? He could rest, try to relax, take a nap, or something. Sure, Astrid thought, A nap sounds nice. he curled up onto the pilot chair and laid there for a good 10-20 minutes. A shrieking alarm snapped him out of his relaxation "AHHHH- WHAT THE HELL I WAS DOWN FOR 9 MINUTES-" Astrid said, screeching at the alarm. "The spacecraft appears to have been driven off-course". Astrid blinked "Off-course...to where?". There was silence "Off-course. To where?" Astrid asked again more warily. "Off course directly into the sun's core." the A.I. answered calmly. Astrid paused "You mean like, directly-directly right? It's not just gonna scrape the side if you wha-." "Yes. We are heading straight into the sun's surface. A light violently pierced through the craft's window and, low and behold, there sat the sun, growing larger and larger with each second. His face became white with shock. "Can you re-course the off course?" "The gravitational pull is too strong to retreat.". "NO NO, there's gonna be something I can, maybe.." Astrid clapped his hands twice "Manual takeover!" A hatch opened in the control panel, revealing a steering wheel inside. "Was that always there- NEVERMIND!". Astrid gripped the handles and pulled it sideways as hard as he could, the engine rumbling in overstrain, he pulled harder and harder until, SNAP! It broke completely off. Astrid dropped the detached wheel in shock. "DAMN T!!" "Language, Astrodude." The A.I. snapped "WE ARE ABOUT TO BURN TO A FRICKING CRISP AND YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT ME CURSING?!?!". "THAT'S IT I GUESS." "This is when my story ends." Astrid dramatized. He brought his knees up to his chest, obscuring most of his face in a fetal position. The light became brighter and brighter. Astrid could feel his eyes well up with tears, but they wouldn't come out. His body shook with pain, not from the heat but from the sheer emotional distress.

Maybe that other guy that declined the mission he'd know what to do- oh screw it. There's no way either of them could have survived the situation. Venus was hot enough but this was the sun we were talking about! How could anyone survive that?!?! He was prolonging the inevitable. This ball of light and plasma would be his final resting place. He stared at the sun and strangely, cracked a smile. You know, this isn't all that bad actually, Astrid convinced himself, I mean, if this was the last thing I ever saw, that wouldn't be so bad right? He mentally slapped himself in the face, GODDAMN ASTRID WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, YOU'RE ABOUT TO CRASH INTO THE SUN AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING BECAUSE IT LOOKS NICE??? Ugh. But, there was nothing he could do, no spare robot parts or last-minute saves in sight. Astrid sat there in defeat, what would his wife think? Taffy? She'd be devastated, His son...he'd been horrible to him, he'd neglected him for progress on the mission. The boy would only know him as an insane, delusional man who chased his dreams, who literally and metaphorically, flew too close to the sun. Tendrils of light curled out from the bright orbs, outstretched towards the craft, almost as if to drag him into their blinding light. Astrid started to feel increasingly lightheaded. There was no running from this. This was his fate. And he'd accepted that. When he closed his eyes for what he'd thought would be the very last time, the rocket hit the surface. A deep rumble resonated throughout the spacecraft, light pouring into his vision until it was all taken up by yellow light. He snapped back to consciousness, a gasp of as much exhilaration as relief escaped him. It was a jolting feeling as if he had woken from a terrible nightmare. The only difference was that... this was real. The ship was in one piece thankfully. Astrid blinked, surprised he was alive and not. "Wha..." He looked around. Overcoming the overwhelming adrenaline coursing through every last inch of Astrid, he sat back up, tapping the tip of the navigation to ensure it remained functional  "Computer, set a course for Earth." The astronaut firmly ordered "Setting destination to: Earth.". Astrid watched the giant orb of light shrink from view as he approached the small blue dot in the distance.

After what felt like an eternity; the rocket landed back on Earth. The doors slid open revealing that hundreds of people gathered to see this, probably mostly ROTSAR employees, Astrid detirmed. He shambled out of the ship, ignoring the large crowds around him. And suddenly, it all stopped, the pain, the feeling, everything. Astrid collapsed onto the pavement. He tried to move, tried to do anything and nothing happened. His limbs just wouldn't work. The panic was drowned out by a horrible ringing. He finally gave up and passed out in exhaustion. The next thing he knew he was in a hospital. A grinning nurse holding an electronic device of sorts was the first thing he locked on. "Good morning Sir!" The Nurse gave him a wholesome smile "Uh-" Astrid managed to sit up in his bed. "Good...Good Morning...Madam" "Someone would like to see you today" "I just woke up.." The nurse handed Astrid a tablet, ignoring his complaint Connecting to Call... Connected! A feed of his boss popped out on the screen. "Hello, Sir," Astrid answered "Good Morning Astrodude." "That's not my name-" "I don't care. Ahem, in light of recent events, we're, I, was wondering when/ if you recover you'll consider-" "I'm not continuing the mission, Sir." Houston blinked "What do you mean you're not continuing the mission" He grumbled "It means I'm not continuing the mission" "Astrodude wa-" Astrid turned it off, "Here you go," He handed it back to the nurse. What an asshole, Astrid frowned, the guy doesn't know when to quit for heaven's sake, and Astrid crossed his arms, ...at least I'm not on his silly space mission anymore. Also, what did he look like? Venus surely had to have messed him up a little, right? A devious curiosity filled the young man. His hand raised in the air for the nurse "Hey- you, do you happen to have a mirror or a reflective surface of any kind?" "Of course sir, I'll be right back with it" The lady exited the room, returning slowly with a small hand-held looking glass "Thank you ma'am" Astrid replied "You're very welcome, make sure to call me if you need anything else!" she joyfully smiled.

He studied his wide array of wounds and injuries. Arrays of burns, scars, and stitches fell across his features, half of his face wrapped inside a tight bandage. Arms heavy and drowned in adhesive material along with medical equipment. Astrid's raven-dark hair fell over the bed and dropped to the ground. "Great." he whispered to himself "Now when I stand up I'll look like a dollar-store rip-off of Rapunzel.". It wasn't long, at least not long to him that night came along. Moonlight poured into the window, yet Astrid kept his eyes shut prepared for whatever other terrible events lay in his near future At least those talking planets are gone, Astrid thought. Thank the universe, those talking planets were gone. A wave of energy swiftly shot through him, engulfing Astrid in golden light. As if a large weight had been lifted off the astronaut's shoulders. Astrid slowly tip-toed his way out of his assigned room and into the main hall.