The Final Frontier

Lift off

It has been a year since you started training for the deep space mission. It is the day before you are set to leave earth for good. You are using the time to talk to your daughter. She is understandably upset at you. Hopefully it doesn't turn into anger.

"Sarah I have to do this and plus you were going to leave for college," You try your best to calm her down. It doesn't work.

"Well at least I'm not leaving the solar system," She retorts. It's a good point. You are suddenly hit by a wave of emotion. You are not the only one to be hit by the emotion. Sarah is tearing up. You place your hand on the glass to comfort her. It's a pity about the quarantine rules but NASA and the other participating agencies don't want to risk anything.

"Sarah it will be alright," You look her in the eyes.

"Sorry dad," She responds. She finally breaks down into a mess of tears.

"Look Sarah, I'll make sure that I can contact you with the DSN. Plus You will be able to say goodbye properly tomorrow, " Again you try your best to comfort her. She quickly composes herself and she places her hand over yours. You are impressed at how well she has matured in the past year. It breaks your heart that you have to leave her behind after what happened to your wife. Sarah gives you a half hearted attempt at a smile.

"I know," Sara replies as she clears the tears away from her face. You return the favour.

"Anyway you have work to do dad," She pulls her hand away from yours. It is the day after you spoke to your daughter and you are getting ready to leave earth. You dread the fact that you will never come back. At least you made peace with Sarah.

"Captain are you ready for the leak checks?" Your second in command Ju Li asks. You quickly double check everything.

"Yes but I'm going to wait for everyone else," You respond. After twenty two minutes of preparation the team is ready to go. There is a tense vibe in the air. It makes sense because the crew is literally going where no man has gone before. You are greeted by Sarah as you walk out of the building. You quickly pass a necklace to Sarah. After five minutes of saying goodbye, the team is taken to the awaiting spacecraft. You wish the mood could be a little less tense. You take the seat in between Ju and your chief engineer. It doesn't take them long to get the spacecraft ready.

"Boss the abort system is armed. We are just waiting for the fuel poll," He remarks.

"Well Boris they'd better hurry up," Your Chief medical officer remarks. He is right. The comms system crackles to life.

"Ground to Firefly. We are going for fuel loading," The CAPCOM announces.

"Roger that we are ready for fuel loading," Boris responds. An hour later everyone is ready for the terminal countdown. The air feels like it has been sucked out of the spaceship.

"Launch in T-minus ten...nine...eight...six...five...four...three...two...one," The CAPCOM announces. The rocket soon shudders to life. You can feel the forces pile on as the rocket races through the atmosphere. Your mind soon heads to the checklist for the solar panels. Hopefully the others can't tell that you are getting a little impatient. After two tense minutes of waiting the announcement finally comes.

"Stage one ready for separation," Boris calls out.

"Roger stage one ready for separation," you confirm. You can feel the spacecraft getting lighter as the boosters fall away. Ten minutes later Boris gets to work on starting the first of three gravity assists. You double check everything just in case.

"We are on our way Marcus," Boris confirms that the procedure has started.

"Let's get comfortable then," Ju remarks. You unclip your seat belt. You carefully drift towards the recreational area. You are impressed at the upgrades that SpaceX has carried out to get the starship ready for the length of the voyage. The only thing missing is artificial gravity. You get to work on getting your flight suit off. It doesn't take long to get off.

"Mind if I join you?" Your CMO remarks.

"I don't mind if you join me Jenna," You respond. You wish you could talk to Sarah but you have to wait another thirty minutes before you can. You sigh.

"What's wrong Marcus?" Jenna asks.

"I feel guilty for leaving Sarah," You respond. Thirty minutes later you have found a relatively private spot. You get the tablet ready for talking to Sarah. You are greeted by a smiling teenager.

"Hello Sarah," You return the smile however it hides the guilt you are feeling.

"Hey dad. The launch was amazing," She responds.

"I know," You respond

"So are you looking forward to starting college tomorrow?" You feel a little better now that you are talking to her. At least she sounds like she is not angry at you.

"Yeah I'm ready to start," She replies. After fifteen minutes of conversation you are wrapping your conversation with Sara.

"I'm sorry Sarah but I have to go help Boris make sure that the Firefly does the gravity assist properly," You remark as you move away from your hiding place.

"Good luck dad," Sarah responds. She hangs up. You quickly stash the tablet away. Seeing Sarah has made you a little happier despite the fact that you are swiftly moving further away from earth. You pull yourself towards the cockpit. Ju soon joins you and Boris.

"How is the GA looking?" Ju asks. You double check.

"It's all good for now," You respond. At least you know everything is good. Five minutes later you find yourself in the kitchen area getting some food. You are soon lost in your thoughts about the events leading up to your decision to leave earth on what could be the most dangerous mission ever undertaken by humans. It is still bugging you that you have to leave Sarah behind. There are some things that you can't help.