Missing Home

An interview and some training

It has been a couple of minutes since you talked to Steven and you are getting ready for the press interview. You are pacing around because you don't know how the press would react to the official press announcement. You wonder if Steven will be there. You get the feeling that he might be there since you know he hasn't left Huston yet. Meko places a hand on your shoulder.

"It will be alright," Meko tries to comfort you. You can tell that the idea of the press announcement doesn't sit well with her either.

"I hope so," You respond. You are a little surprised that Matthias hasn't said anything. Your thoughts are interrupted by your boss, Jim Bridenstine. He gets to work on briefing the three of you on the process of the announcement. You find yourself nodding as he outlines the event.

"And last but not least, Kelly thank you for electing to be the NASA representative of this mission even though you are part of the Canadian Space Agency," Jim concludes his speech.

"Don't worry about it Jim. I am happy to serve alongside NASA," You confirm. He soon makes his way on stage after being introduced by the head of JAXA. The tension suddenly increases. You reckon it is because the realisation that you will be leaving earth for a year has dawned on everyone. After a five minute speech from Jim he announces you as the commander of the mission. You know Oliver will be commander for the first six months but you will be taking command after him.

"Joining me on stage is the commander of the next year-long mission Kelly Stamkos," You head on stage and you are greeted by a thunderous applause. You are impressed by the reaction. Your eyes soon find your brother and your parents. You take the microphone from the intern. You know you will have to say something about the mission but you have decided to wait for Matthias and Meko. They soon join you on stage. Jim hands it to you for the opening remarks.

"Thank you Jim. I would like to start by acknowledging the effort of everyone involved, not just Matthias, Meko and myself but the rest of the people of ESA, JAXA, NASA and SpaceX" You begin. It doesn't take long for you to say what you want. Meko jumps in with her version. It is a little better than yours. Finally Matthias finishes up the conversation.

"Thank you Matthias. We will now be opening the event to questions from the press," Jim announces. This is the part that you dread. One of the interns makes it to an eager reporter.

"My question is for anyone who wishes to answer. What is the one thing you will miss during your year in space?" The reporter asks. At least they are starting with the boring questions. Matthias jumps in.

"I think I speak for all of us but we are going to miss the ability to talk to our family face to face," He says. He is right.

"I also think we will miss the fresh air," You add on as a joke. A giggle flows through the audience. It is a good thing that you got an audience with a sense of humour. The thought has made you just a tiny little bit better. After another hour of questioning the event has come to an end. It doesn't take long for most of the press to leave. In fact the only one left is your brother. You carefully leap off the stage to greet him.

"Thank you for coming Steve," You catch him off guard.

"Don't worry about it Kelly. I had something to give you before I left for Tampa anyway," He replies as he holds out his hand. In it is a silver necklace with a stylised rocket pendant. You carefully take it from him.

"Thank you but you know you are going to make me cry eventually," You respond.

"Anyway I don't want to miss my flight," Steven remarks as he leaves. You quickly put the necklace on. Ten minutes later you have made it back to the simulator. You are surprised that you have beaten the others to the simulator. It doesn't take long for Matthias to join you. You can hear the conversation between Oliver and Meko. They are discussing whether or not you should do the launch abort drills or some of the other drills.

"We will see what Kelly and Matthias think about our debate," Oliver responds.

"Ok," Meko responds. At least they were able to reach a helpful conclusion. They take their respective seats.

"So commander what should we do?" Oliver asks. You check your watch.

"We have two hours before the day finishes so let's spend an hour on launch abort scenarios and then an hour on other stuff," You announce. It doesn't take long for the simulation to start. You all get to work on your respective tasks. It doesn't take long for your screen to flash red.

"Kelly there is a problem with the rocket," Matthias calls out.

"Will it affect normal operations?" You ask.

"Yes," Matthias responds. You know it is a simulation but your heart's still pounding.

"Shall we abort?" You continue the process. You swiftly move your fingers towards the correct buttons.

"Yes," Matthias confirms. It doesn't take long for everyone to do their part in the launch abort process. The screen goes blue indicating that the emergency is over. After two hours of work on the various flight procedures the team has finished. You are getting ready to go home but you are stopped by Meko. She looks concerned about something.

"What's wrong Meko?" you ask to see if it is anything that you can help with. "I was thinking about what if something went wrong," She replies. "Look Meko you just need to trust JAXA, NASA and ESA," You respond.

"Sorry for bothering you, it's just that I think too much," Meko announces. You understand where she is coming from. In fact you have the exact same worries which are amplified by the fact that you are close with your family.

"Don't worry I know how you feel because I really don't want to leave my family," You explain to her. After a quick conversation with Meko you head to your Tesla Model 3. It has been an interesting but long day.