Alias- Forever And Always

65) More Than Anything

AN: Music for this chapter (on repeat): The Rock & Armageddon ReMix (you can find it on youtube) by Hans Zimmer & Trevor Rabin, Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra, The Blue Planet (Main Theme) by George Fenton, Everythings, Gonna Be Alright by Bob Marley,Jamming by Bob Marley, I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder, Tears From The Moon (Lara's Mix) by Conjure One/ Sinead O'Conner, Sad Song By We The Kings, Space Between by Dave Matthews, Twilight and Mist by James Horner from Legends of the Fall Soundtrack.

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*The Rock & Armageddon- Remix*

Cape Canaveral, Florida - November 13th, 2021

It was a month and a half of preparation and training with Lena leaving for The United States and NASA just three days after she and Irina ran back to the palace together that night.

They hadn't seen much of Lena most of that time and only able to spend a few hours with her the night before the launch date. The entire family, extended and otherwise were all there to witness this part of history and Jack clenched Irina's hand tightly feeling her trembling while they waited for the gate to rise and the team to walk out and get into the bus that would take them to the shuttle named Luna meaning 'moon.'

The world, it seemed, had stop to watch this launch with every news network around the globe cutting in with footage and billions of people now sitting before their televisions with anxious enthusiasm to see the Tsarevicha fly into space, including the judge from Nadia's trial who had flown from Havana to stay with her sister in Florida to see just such a thing.

Lena sat on her table getting into her spacesuit and then stood when asked to so they could enclose her inside and her stomach rolled and flopped nervously with heart pounding this was really happening. She took a deep inhaling breath when they finished and were directed to line up before the massive steel doors. The shuttle commander speaking to them with pride and then smiled as they activated the door.

The door began to rise and before they could even see their faces the crowd gathered in the bleachers erupted into applause and a standing ovation. Lena's eyes immediately searched for her family and when she saw them her smile was like a bolt of lightening while standing proudly in her bright orange spacesuit with helmet under her arm and the flag patches of Imperial Russia and The United States on her arm, representing both parts of her heritage.

She walked out and towards the bus with everyone else and waved and nodded politely at the people gathered and stopped just before getting into the vehicle with her eyes looking over her family, smiling at Sydney in thanks and then to Antony's parents and Isabella. Instant tears in her eyes seeing Lana mouth 'We love you.' Lena going to the moon was a dream that had been their sons and with her, they knew she was taking him along in her heart. She looked next to her father with a soft nod and smile before locking with Irina's mouthing 'to the moon and back.'

Tears spilling down her cheeks from her eyes as she boarded the bus and the cheering continued as they drove towards the shuttle in the distance. Irina couldn't stop shaking and Jack wrapped his arms around her needing to hold her close.

It was another several hours before the countdown began over the loud speaker with them broadcasting the shuttle communications to Houston and the timer ticking down they held their breath seeing the burners ignite and the crowd counting down with them.