“Okay, well he’s certainly not one to interact with them much. For example, he hasn’t talked to me nearly at all; only when you were around.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Indi said.
“All right, Miss I-want-to-talk-to-you-about-something,” Johanna said teasingly. Indi playfully punched her shoulder.
“Oi, I’m just done talking about that something,” Indi replied, almost laughing.
“No, I understand,” Johanna said. “So, have you decided whether you’re gonna go or not?”
“I can’t decide something like that so easily… I would go, but I’m not sure I want to go on a month or longer mission in space with J.T. right there. And if I don’t go, then I’ll get a break from him and a chance to think about it all. I don’t know, Johanna.” Indi reached out to her friend’s hand and Johanna held it.
“This will all smooth over, Indi,” Johanna said, and Indi smiled at her, then looked up at the ceiling.
“I wish we knew what was going on up there,” she commented. “How do they keep meteorites from hitting our moon, anyway?” Bulot, who was, as it turned out, in a seat in front of Johanna turned around and looked at Indi.
“Very good question!” he exclaimed. “And surprisingly, not one I’ve heard you ask before.”
“Bulot?” Indi said, surprised. “Were you listening the whole time?”
“Only once it got interesting. The things being said before that were probably personal, considering the tone of voice. But to address your question, there’s actually a barrier surrounding your moon and scanners constantly searching for any incoming objects, including carriers, actually. All of the reports of any incoming objects are sent to a different computer who decides whether it’s a ship or meteorite. It has access to any scheduled arrivals and can scan for itself if there’s not enough information. Now, the barrier helps destroy any smaller meteorites, but I’m not sure what their plan is for bigger ones. Probably launching shots of energy from the moon rather than just the barrier.”
“And what’s the barrier made up of?” Indi asked, intrigued.
“Satellites,” Bulot answered. “There are two layers of weaponry up there. They’re set up in a pattern, but far enough away from each other that our largest galaxy ships can get through. It’s a system my people designed. You can look it up online; it’s called a deflector-scanner. There are articles!”
“Someone certainly gets excited about the internet,” Johanna whispered to Indi.
“Well, it’s a clever and useful invention,” Bulot said. “I’m certainly impressed.”
“So is the rest of your species, and the Quans,” Indi said. “It’s been nearly a century since you discovered it.”
“A full generation hasn't even passed since we made our alliance with you humans,” Bulot explained. “It seems longer for you lot because it’s been a couple of generations.”
“There are still humans who aren't used to you and the Quans, though,” Indi said, rather quietly.
“Yes, well,” Bulot said, “they don’t consider us to be people. If the definition of ‘people’ is ‘human’, they’re right.”
“But you are people,” Indi insisted.
“It’s odd. You humans are much more defensive about this concern than we are. Why does it matter?”
“A similar conflict in earth history,” Johanna explained. “You may have noticed that some humans, like me, have darker skin than others.”
“Yes,” Bulot replied. “Much like with my species. I have maroon skin, but others may have violet or forest green.”
“Right,” Johanna said. “But we had a conflict over it.” Bulot gave a look that seemed to say: “Of course you did.” Johanna kept going, not at the right angle to see his face. “My history’s not that good, so I don’t know the story real well, but I bet you could find it if you search ‘human racism’.” You’d probably find the whole thing very fascinating.”
“I will,” Bulot said. “Thank you very much.”
There was a short chirping noise and all the loud chattering faded in time for the female voice to ring through the room again. “Thank you for your patience. The danger has passed.” Indi and Johanna let go of each other’s hands and started unbuckling.
“Meteorite attacks,” Indi commented, adding sarcastically, “so exciting!” Johanna laughed.
“Yes,” she joked, “‘please calmly make your way to the basement and lock yourselves in for about half an hour. Have fun!’” J.T., who had been making his way to the stairs up, stopped as he passed the two girls.
“Discussing how exciting this was?” he asked. Indi threw him a short glare, grabbed Johanna’s hand, and walked to the staircase without a glance back.
“What was that for?” Johanna asked. “You said it wasn’t that he didn’t tell you.”
“I dunno,” Indi replied. “It was impulsive, and I don’t want to talk to him right now, anyway. Hey, we could meet Vex. She’s going on the mission.”
“She might be in a class right now,” Johanna said. “She’s taking star constellations. We can look for her during lunch if you really want to keep avoiding J.T.”
“Okay,” Indi agreed as they reached the lounge. “We ride at dawn! Or rather, lunch.”
After Indi and Johanna got through the line, they searched the room for Vex. “She has brown hair, right?” Johanna asked.
“More like a dark blonde…” Indi replied, her eyes scanning the room desperately.
“Same thing,” Johanna said.
“Hush,” Indi said. “There she is, come on.” Johanna followed Indi as she made her way to a table full of boys and a girl with long, dirty blonde hair put up in a braid sitting alone on the end.
“Mind if we sit here?” Indi asked sweetly, standing on the opposite side of the table from Vex.
“No,” she replied in a bored voice and turned back to her food. The three ate together in an awkward silence for a while.
“You’re going on the mission too,” Vex told Indi.
“Yeah,” Indi replied. “Well, maybe.”
“Maybe?” Vex asked. “Why maybe? Already have something going on?”
“Well….” Indi trailed off.
“It’s a lot of things,” Johanna said.
“If you’re nervous, don’t worry,” Vex said. “This will be my second time, and although it’s really neat, it’s not that exciting.”
“You've been chosen before?” Johanna asked in disbelief. “I thought they only chose people once each.”
“Maybe not in a row, not that I know without a doubt,” Vex replied, gathering her empty dishes. “I was chosen two years ago. I was pretty nervous then, but it ended up being fine.” Vex got up and a couple boys sitting at the table turned their heads as they noticed. “See you at the meeting, Indi.”
9/20/26
The meeting for the mission is tomorrow! I get the feeling that the prospect of going on this mission is bothering Indi, but maybe the meeting tomorrow will help. She’s been avoiding me lately, so I think she just wants time with her friend before she goes, or maybe her friend is wanting comfort. This whole thing is very exciting, though!
Signing off, J.T. (But you knew that.)
Indi walked to the meeting room alone, hoping to get there before J.T. and possibly Bulot. Just as she was reaching the door, however, J.T. came around the corner and opened the door for Indi. She stopped at the entryway. “What’s that for?” she asked.
J.T. looked slightly confused. “I always open doors for people,” he said. “It seems nice, somehow. Not that opening a door takes much effort, but I don’t like entering a room and then closing the door just as someone else is coming in.” He gestured inside the room. “Are you coming in, m’lady?” He gave a small bow to tease her. Indi rolled her eyes and entered the room, taking a seat in front of Bulot, who was already inside.
“We’re just missing Vex now, I believe, is that right?” asked the headteacher as J.T. took his seat beside Bulot. Right on que, Vex entered the room and stood beside the door rather than taking a seat.
“All right,” the headteacher said, sorting through some papers on the desk in front of her. “Welcome, all, to the meeting for the J.I.A.’s annual deep space mission. Do any of you have questions?” She paused for them. After a moment, Bulot raised his hand. “Yes, Bulot?”
“How deep is deep, miss? The journey alone won’t take weeks, will it?”
“Well, ‘how deep’ varies from time to time, but I believe that the journey, there and back, should only be about a week, good question, Bulot,” she replied. “Any others?”
Indi hesitantly raised a hand and the headteacher gestured for her to go on. “Well…” Indi paused. “Do I have to go?” The headteacher paused, obviously never having been asked this before.
“I suppose not,” she answered. “But choosing someone to fill your position may delay a few things.”
“Okay,” Indi said. “Never mind.”
“Dear girl,” the headteacher said, “if you have a medical issue of some sort, please don’t force yourself to go on this. It is, in fact, optional.” Indi shook her head, not looking up. The headteacher paused before going on. “Is that all?” she asked. “J.T., Vex?” No one said anything, but J.T. was looking at Indi with concern. “No?” the headteacher went on. “Well… I just wanted to make sure you were all informed that Professer Fisler will be your captain. We’ll be taking a new ship, but don’t worry, it has been on several test trips. You all need to report to the Hywind spaceport on October 1st, and after the month’s test on the 27th, you’ll be relieved of all studies. If you have no more questions, you are dismissed.”
Indi calmly continued to sit as Vex and Bulot left, but J.T. didn’t move. Not long later, the headteacher and exited into a back room.
“Is Joanna okay?” he asked, somewhat hesitant.
Indi turned around abruptly. “Who’s Joanna?”
“Your friend?” he said, unsure.
“Oh, JoHANNA,” she said, and got up, making her way to the door, J.T. following.
“Sorry, Johanna,” he said. “Is Johanna okay?” Indi stopped at the doorway and turned back to J.T.
“Is Johanna okay?” she demanded. “When did Johanna come into this?”
J.T. looked wounded, seeming to wonder what he had said wrong. “When you were always spending time with her,” he replied. “I thought maybe she was going through something.”
“Oh, ‘cause there’s no way it could be me going through something,” Indi stated, and walked back the way she came; one could almost see a dark cloud and bolts of lightning as she traversed the halls.
Indi was sunk low in a seat and reading something on her device when Bulot found her in the lounge. He sat in a seat beside her, leaving a short silence before saying anything. “You know,” he started, “Humans have a way of saying a lot more with their actions than they will ever say with their words.” Indi looked up at him. “For example,” he continued, “You give the impression that someone is going to die a bloody death and you haven’t said a single word nor made a tiny noise since I entered the room.” Indi let out a small smile and turned away. “What’s wrong?” Bulot prompted.
“Nothing,” Indi replied quietly.
“Does that mean that nothing’s wrong,” he began, “or does it mean that something very specific is wrong and you just don’t want to tell me about it?” Indi didn't reply. “It’s incredible, but even though your language contains about a fourth of my species’ words, you still speak an entirely different language.”
“Well, what probably adds is that it’s also English, French, and German,” Indi said.
“Some of my species do the same thing, though,” Bulot said. “I’m positive that women have their own language.” Indi let out a smile again. “See,” Bulot said, “I can be funny sometimes.”
“Yeah, that’s probably why you’re my friend,” Indi commented. “Thanks, Bulot,” she said, becoming more pleasant by the moment, “for coming after me and talking.”
“Talking is my specialty,” Bulot replied with a small smile.
“Hug?” Indi asked, standing.
“Hugs are strange,” Bulot observed. “Two people take hold of each other and--”
“Yeah, I know how hugs work, Bulot. They’re comforting for humans in times like these.” Bulot shrugged and stood up. Indi hugged him and he awkwardly returned it.
“That actually helps?” he asked skeptically.
“Yes, Bulot,” Indi replied with an amused tone. “It actually helps.”
“All right, Miss I-want-to-talk-to-you-about-something,” Johanna said teasingly. Indi playfully punched her shoulder.
“Oi, I’m just done talking about that something,” Indi replied, almost laughing.
“No, I understand,” Johanna said. “So, have you decided whether you’re gonna go or not?”
“I can’t decide something like that so easily… I would go, but I’m not sure I want to go on a month or longer mission in space with J.T. right there. And if I don’t go, then I’ll get a break from him and a chance to think about it all. I don’t know, Johanna.” Indi reached out to her friend’s hand and Johanna held it.
“This will all smooth over, Indi,” Johanna said, and Indi smiled at her, then looked up at the ceiling.
“I wish we knew what was going on up there,” she commented. “How do they keep meteorites from hitting our moon, anyway?” Bulot, who was, as it turned out, in a seat in front of Johanna turned around and looked at Indi.
“Very good question!” he exclaimed. “And surprisingly, not one I’ve heard you ask before.”
“Bulot?” Indi said, surprised. “Were you listening the whole time?”
“Only once it got interesting. The things being said before that were probably personal, considering the tone of voice. But to address your question, there’s actually a barrier surrounding your moon and scanners constantly searching for any incoming objects, including carriers, actually. All of the reports of any incoming objects are sent to a different computer who decides whether it’s a ship or meteorite. It has access to any scheduled arrivals and can scan for itself if there’s not enough information. Now, the barrier helps destroy any smaller meteorites, but I’m not sure what their plan is for bigger ones. Probably launching shots of energy from the moon rather than just the barrier.”
“And what’s the barrier made up of?” Indi asked, intrigued.
“Satellites,” Bulot answered. “There are two layers of weaponry up there. They’re set up in a pattern, but far enough away from each other that our largest galaxy ships can get through. It’s a system my people designed. You can look it up online; it’s called a deflector-scanner. There are articles!”
“Someone certainly gets excited about the internet,” Johanna whispered to Indi.
“Well, it’s a clever and useful invention,” Bulot said. “I’m certainly impressed.”
“So is the rest of your species, and the Quans,” Indi said. “It’s been nearly a century since you discovered it.”
“A full generation hasn't even passed since we made our alliance with you humans,” Bulot explained. “It seems longer for you lot because it’s been a couple of generations.”
“There are still humans who aren't used to you and the Quans, though,” Indi said, rather quietly.
“Yes, well,” Bulot said, “they don’t consider us to be people. If the definition of ‘people’ is ‘human’, they’re right.”
“But you are people,” Indi insisted.
“It’s odd. You humans are much more defensive about this concern than we are. Why does it matter?”
“A similar conflict in earth history,” Johanna explained. “You may have noticed that some humans, like me, have darker skin than others.”
“Yes,” Bulot replied. “Much like with my species. I have maroon skin, but others may have violet or forest green.”
“Right,” Johanna said. “But we had a conflict over it.” Bulot gave a look that seemed to say: “Of course you did.” Johanna kept going, not at the right angle to see his face. “My history’s not that good, so I don’t know the story real well, but I bet you could find it if you search ‘human racism’.” You’d probably find the whole thing very fascinating.”
“I will,” Bulot said. “Thank you very much.”
There was a short chirping noise and all the loud chattering faded in time for the female voice to ring through the room again. “Thank you for your patience. The danger has passed.” Indi and Johanna let go of each other’s hands and started unbuckling.
“Meteorite attacks,” Indi commented, adding sarcastically, “so exciting!” Johanna laughed.
“Yes,” she joked, “‘please calmly make your way to the basement and lock yourselves in for about half an hour. Have fun!’” J.T., who had been making his way to the stairs up, stopped as he passed the two girls.
“Discussing how exciting this was?” he asked. Indi threw him a short glare, grabbed Johanna’s hand, and walked to the staircase without a glance back.
“What was that for?” Johanna asked. “You said it wasn’t that he didn’t tell you.”
“I dunno,” Indi replied. “It was impulsive, and I don’t want to talk to him right now, anyway. Hey, we could meet Vex. She’s going on the mission.”
“She might be in a class right now,” Johanna said. “She’s taking star constellations. We can look for her during lunch if you really want to keep avoiding J.T.”
“Okay,” Indi agreed as they reached the lounge. “We ride at dawn! Or rather, lunch.”
After Indi and Johanna got through the line, they searched the room for Vex. “She has brown hair, right?” Johanna asked.
“More like a dark blonde…” Indi replied, her eyes scanning the room desperately.
“Same thing,” Johanna said.
“Hush,” Indi said. “There she is, come on.” Johanna followed Indi as she made her way to a table full of boys and a girl with long, dirty blonde hair put up in a braid sitting alone on the end.
“Mind if we sit here?” Indi asked sweetly, standing on the opposite side of the table from Vex.
“No,” she replied in a bored voice and turned back to her food. The three ate together in an awkward silence for a while.
“You’re going on the mission too,” Vex told Indi.
“Yeah,” Indi replied. “Well, maybe.”
“Maybe?” Vex asked. “Why maybe? Already have something going on?”
“Well….” Indi trailed off.
“It’s a lot of things,” Johanna said.
“If you’re nervous, don’t worry,” Vex said. “This will be my second time, and although it’s really neat, it’s not that exciting.”
“You've been chosen before?” Johanna asked in disbelief. “I thought they only chose people once each.”
“Maybe not in a row, not that I know without a doubt,” Vex replied, gathering her empty dishes. “I was chosen two years ago. I was pretty nervous then, but it ended up being fine.” Vex got up and a couple boys sitting at the table turned their heads as they noticed. “See you at the meeting, Indi.”
9/20/26
The meeting for the mission is tomorrow! I get the feeling that the prospect of going on this mission is bothering Indi, but maybe the meeting tomorrow will help. She’s been avoiding me lately, so I think she just wants time with her friend before she goes, or maybe her friend is wanting comfort. This whole thing is very exciting, though!
Signing off, J.T. (But you knew that.)
Indi walked to the meeting room alone, hoping to get there before J.T. and possibly Bulot. Just as she was reaching the door, however, J.T. came around the corner and opened the door for Indi. She stopped at the entryway. “What’s that for?” she asked.
J.T. looked slightly confused. “I always open doors for people,” he said. “It seems nice, somehow. Not that opening a door takes much effort, but I don’t like entering a room and then closing the door just as someone else is coming in.” He gestured inside the room. “Are you coming in, m’lady?” He gave a small bow to tease her. Indi rolled her eyes and entered the room, taking a seat in front of Bulot, who was already inside.
“We’re just missing Vex now, I believe, is that right?” asked the headteacher as J.T. took his seat beside Bulot. Right on que, Vex entered the room and stood beside the door rather than taking a seat.
“All right,” the headteacher said, sorting through some papers on the desk in front of her. “Welcome, all, to the meeting for the J.I.A.’s annual deep space mission. Do any of you have questions?” She paused for them. After a moment, Bulot raised his hand. “Yes, Bulot?”
“How deep is deep, miss? The journey alone won’t take weeks, will it?”
“Well, ‘how deep’ varies from time to time, but I believe that the journey, there and back, should only be about a week, good question, Bulot,” she replied. “Any others?”
Indi hesitantly raised a hand and the headteacher gestured for her to go on. “Well…” Indi paused. “Do I have to go?” The headteacher paused, obviously never having been asked this before.
“I suppose not,” she answered. “But choosing someone to fill your position may delay a few things.”
“Okay,” Indi said. “Never mind.”
“Dear girl,” the headteacher said, “if you have a medical issue of some sort, please don’t force yourself to go on this. It is, in fact, optional.” Indi shook her head, not looking up. The headteacher paused before going on. “Is that all?” she asked. “J.T., Vex?” No one said anything, but J.T. was looking at Indi with concern. “No?” the headteacher went on. “Well… I just wanted to make sure you were all informed that Professer Fisler will be your captain. We’ll be taking a new ship, but don’t worry, it has been on several test trips. You all need to report to the Hywind spaceport on October 1st, and after the month’s test on the 27th, you’ll be relieved of all studies. If you have no more questions, you are dismissed.”
Indi calmly continued to sit as Vex and Bulot left, but J.T. didn’t move. Not long later, the headteacher and exited into a back room.
“Is Joanna okay?” he asked, somewhat hesitant.
Indi turned around abruptly. “Who’s Joanna?”
“Your friend?” he said, unsure.
“Oh, JoHANNA,” she said, and got up, making her way to the door, J.T. following.
“Sorry, Johanna,” he said. “Is Johanna okay?” Indi stopped at the doorway and turned back to J.T.
“Is Johanna okay?” she demanded. “When did Johanna come into this?”
J.T. looked wounded, seeming to wonder what he had said wrong. “When you were always spending time with her,” he replied. “I thought maybe she was going through something.”
“Oh, ‘cause there’s no way it could be me going through something,” Indi stated, and walked back the way she came; one could almost see a dark cloud and bolts of lightning as she traversed the halls.
Indi was sunk low in a seat and reading something on her device when Bulot found her in the lounge. He sat in a seat beside her, leaving a short silence before saying anything. “You know,” he started, “Humans have a way of saying a lot more with their actions than they will ever say with their words.” Indi looked up at him. “For example,” he continued, “You give the impression that someone is going to die a bloody death and you haven’t said a single word nor made a tiny noise since I entered the room.” Indi let out a small smile and turned away. “What’s wrong?” Bulot prompted.
“Nothing,” Indi replied quietly.
“Does that mean that nothing’s wrong,” he began, “or does it mean that something very specific is wrong and you just don’t want to tell me about it?” Indi didn't reply. “It’s incredible, but even though your language contains about a fourth of my species’ words, you still speak an entirely different language.”
“Well, what probably adds is that it’s also English, French, and German,” Indi said.
“Some of my species do the same thing, though,” Bulot said. “I’m positive that women have their own language.” Indi let out a smile again. “See,” Bulot said, “I can be funny sometimes.”
“Yeah, that’s probably why you’re my friend,” Indi commented. “Thanks, Bulot,” she said, becoming more pleasant by the moment, “for coming after me and talking.”
“Talking is my specialty,” Bulot replied with a small smile.
“Hug?” Indi asked, standing.
“Hugs are strange,” Bulot observed. “Two people take hold of each other and--”
“Yeah, I know how hugs work, Bulot. They’re comforting for humans in times like these.” Bulot shrugged and stood up. Indi hugged him and he awkwardly returned it.
“That actually helps?” he asked skeptically.
“Yes, Bulot,” Indi replied with an amused tone. “It actually helps.”
On the 1st of October, Professor Fisler, Bulot, Vex, J.T., and Indi were not the only ones there. There were three other Hoten, two humans, and one Quan.
“Everyone,” Professor Fisler said, “I am Captain Fisler, and this month, you shall be my crew. I take it that you all know what that means. Through this mission, I will treat you with respect and assume that you are mature. Prove to me that you are and I never have to assume otherwise. Prove to me that you are immature, and I can and will treat you like a young child. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes, captain,” everyone chorused.
“Very good,” Captain Fisler said. “We’ll be taking a new ship called the Astra, but we’ll meet her in a bit. Let’s meet each other first. Let’s go around the circle.” He looked around a bit. “I realize it’s not a circle, but you get my point. I’m Victor Fisler, moon branch.” He gestured to the Quan on his right.
“Shepill,” she said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “Hotan branch.”
A female Hoten on her right spoke next. “Yiluna the third, House of Jaren. Hotan branch.”
Next was a male Hoten. “Lan the second from the House of Kyling.” He gave a small, friendly wave to everyone.
“J.T. Zumwalt,” J.T. announced confidently. “Moon branch.”
“Bulot from the House of Coyad,” Bulot said matter-of-factly. “Moon branch.”
“I’m Indi Hunt from the moon branch,” Indi said, still nervous.
A female Hoten on Indi’s right was next. “Rescon from the House of Coyad,” she said, looking at Bulot. “Earth branch.”
A couple of male humans were last. “I’m Saxton Youkerman,” said the taller one with brown hair. “And I’m Oliver Moonreach,” said the second, with blonde hair. The two fistbumped and said together: “Earth branch!”
Captain Fisler pointed at the two. “That was showy. You two get points.”
“Really?” Saxton said disbelievingly but with a hint of excitement.
“No, not really. I’m not serious all the time; something you should be aware about me if I’m going to be your captain.” Saxton and Oliver looked disappointed, but humored as well. “All right, let’s meet the Astra, shall we?” Fisler set off and everyone followed.
Soon, they had reached a massive ship. It was a white, upright oval, held up by four legs. No one could see the top, but there were two expansions on the ship: two smaller ovals, which Oliver theorized held the weapons’ systems, although it seemed rather large for that. A pod, connected to the bottom of the ship, was extended, seeming to be calling for passengers. Captain Fisler stopped at the entrance to it.
“First five, get in,” he said. J.T. went in first, followed fairly closely by Oliver and Saxton. There was a pause, then Yiluna got in, followed shortly by Lan; the five in the lift were tight, but not crammed. “There should be a button near the door, Lan,” Captain Fisler told the Hoten.
Lan must have found it, because soon after, the doors slid shut and the pod made its way back up to the ship. Fisler turned to the rest of his crew. “I’ll go in last, because although we could fit in six people, I’d rather not squish you all. Just wait for me and don’t panic. I won’t be that long.” The pod came down again and Indi, Vex, Yiluna, Shepill, and Rescon all piled in, Rescon hitting the button as she entered. Going up to the ship was rather like going up in an elevator, and Indi looked as though she were enjoying it thoroughly. As they reached the top, the walls of the lift pulled away and they found themselves in a good sized, circular room with doors, facing upwards, all around the edges.
“We think those are escape pods,” Bulot told Indi as she looked at them curiously. She nodded, still entranced by them. Soon, Fisler had joined them in the room.
“Thank you all for your patience,” he said, pushed a button on the ceiling, above from the entrance in the floor, and backed away. A spiral staircase unfolded from the ceiling and made its way down to the floor. “Follow me,” Fisler said as he started up the steps.
The ten students followed their captain up a long way, passing four levels along the way. Occasionally, as they passed a level, he would say, “This is where you’ll all be staying during this mission,” or “What we’re passing now is the boring floor, get used to coming here.” When they reached the top of the staircase, where there was a hatch in the ceiling, he waited a little bit for everyone to catch up. “Now,” he told them all, “this is where it gets a little disorienting. Wonderful design, though. Shows imagination, in my opinion. Now, you all realize (I hope) that once this gets out into space, our gravity will be artificial. Right now, we’re in artificial gravity of the moon, so the bridge will look a bit different now than the rest of our journey.” He opened the hatch. Indi, who was at the front of the line-up, looked through the hatch and saw the vast space, stars glistening in the far-off distance.
“Go, would you?” Vex said, interrupting Indi’s state of awe.
“Sorry,” she murmured, pulling herself through the hatch. It took everyone a moment to realize what they were seeing. They were on the wall of a large room. The ceiling was not the ceiling, but the viewscreen for the bridge of the Astra. From their perspective, there were chairs and consoles on the wall and several barriers on the floor. It turned out that the largest one was a platform for those coming through the hatch and the smaller ones were steps for either side.
Rescon was the first to notice. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “This is so cool!”
“Isn’t it but just?” Fisler replied in a tone of admiration.
“What is it?” Oliver asked.
“Can’t you see it?” Rescon asked him.
“We’re on one of the walls, Oliver,” Saxton told his friend, putting his arm around him and resting his hand on Oliver’s shoulder opposite Saxton. “See those chairs? When we’re going on artificial gravity, that’ll be the floor.”
“Oh!” Oliver exclaimed, copying Rescon’s reaction.
“Everyone,” Professor Fisler said, “I am Captain Fisler, and this month, you shall be my crew. I take it that you all know what that means. Through this mission, I will treat you with respect and assume that you are mature. Prove to me that you are and I never have to assume otherwise. Prove to me that you are immature, and I can and will treat you like a young child. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes, captain,” everyone chorused.
“Very good,” Captain Fisler said. “We’ll be taking a new ship called the Astra, but we’ll meet her in a bit. Let’s meet each other first. Let’s go around the circle.” He looked around a bit. “I realize it’s not a circle, but you get my point. I’m Victor Fisler, moon branch.” He gestured to the Quan on his right.
“Shepill,” she said, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “Hotan branch.”
A female Hoten on her right spoke next. “Yiluna the third, House of Jaren. Hotan branch.”
Next was a male Hoten. “Lan the second from the House of Kyling.” He gave a small, friendly wave to everyone.
“J.T. Zumwalt,” J.T. announced confidently. “Moon branch.”
“Bulot from the House of Coyad,” Bulot said matter-of-factly. “Moon branch.”
“I’m Indi Hunt from the moon branch,” Indi said, still nervous.
A female Hoten on Indi’s right was next. “Rescon from the House of Coyad,” she said, looking at Bulot. “Earth branch.”
A couple of male humans were last. “I’m Saxton Youkerman,” said the taller one with brown hair. “And I’m Oliver Moonreach,” said the second, with blonde hair. The two fistbumped and said together: “Earth branch!”
Captain Fisler pointed at the two. “That was showy. You two get points.”
“Really?” Saxton said disbelievingly but with a hint of excitement.
“No, not really. I’m not serious all the time; something you should be aware about me if I’m going to be your captain.” Saxton and Oliver looked disappointed, but humored as well. “All right, let’s meet the Astra, shall we?” Fisler set off and everyone followed.
Soon, they had reached a massive ship. It was a white, upright oval, held up by four legs. No one could see the top, but there were two expansions on the ship: two smaller ovals, which Oliver theorized held the weapons’ systems, although it seemed rather large for that. A pod, connected to the bottom of the ship, was extended, seeming to be calling for passengers. Captain Fisler stopped at the entrance to it.
“First five, get in,” he said. J.T. went in first, followed fairly closely by Oliver and Saxton. There was a pause, then Yiluna got in, followed shortly by Lan; the five in the lift were tight, but not crammed. “There should be a button near the door, Lan,” Captain Fisler told the Hoten.
Lan must have found it, because soon after, the doors slid shut and the pod made its way back up to the ship. Fisler turned to the rest of his crew. “I’ll go in last, because although we could fit in six people, I’d rather not squish you all. Just wait for me and don’t panic. I won’t be that long.” The pod came down again and Indi, Vex, Yiluna, Shepill, and Rescon all piled in, Rescon hitting the button as she entered. Going up to the ship was rather like going up in an elevator, and Indi looked as though she were enjoying it thoroughly. As they reached the top, the walls of the lift pulled away and they found themselves in a good sized, circular room with doors, facing upwards, all around the edges.
“We think those are escape pods,” Bulot told Indi as she looked at them curiously. She nodded, still entranced by them. Soon, Fisler had joined them in the room.
“Thank you all for your patience,” he said, pushed a button on the ceiling, above from the entrance in the floor, and backed away. A spiral staircase unfolded from the ceiling and made its way down to the floor. “Follow me,” Fisler said as he started up the steps.
The ten students followed their captain up a long way, passing four levels along the way. Occasionally, as they passed a level, he would say, “This is where you’ll all be staying during this mission,” or “What we’re passing now is the boring floor, get used to coming here.” When they reached the top of the staircase, where there was a hatch in the ceiling, he waited a little bit for everyone to catch up. “Now,” he told them all, “this is where it gets a little disorienting. Wonderful design, though. Shows imagination, in my opinion. Now, you all realize (I hope) that once this gets out into space, our gravity will be artificial. Right now, we’re in artificial gravity of the moon, so the bridge will look a bit different now than the rest of our journey.” He opened the hatch. Indi, who was at the front of the line-up, looked through the hatch and saw the vast space, stars glistening in the far-off distance.
“Go, would you?” Vex said, interrupting Indi’s state of awe.
“Sorry,” she murmured, pulling herself through the hatch. It took everyone a moment to realize what they were seeing. They were on the wall of a large room. The ceiling was not the ceiling, but the viewscreen for the bridge of the Astra. From their perspective, there were chairs and consoles on the wall and several barriers on the floor. It turned out that the largest one was a platform for those coming through the hatch and the smaller ones were steps for either side.
Rescon was the first to notice. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “This is so cool!”
“Isn’t it but just?” Fisler replied in a tone of admiration.
“What is it?” Oliver asked.
“Can’t you see it?” Rescon asked him.
“We’re on one of the walls, Oliver,” Saxton told his friend, putting his arm around him and resting his hand on Oliver’s shoulder opposite Saxton. “See those chairs? When we’re going on artificial gravity, that’ll be the floor.”
“Oh!” Oliver exclaimed, copying Rescon’s reaction.
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