A Home Beyond - Part Two

Make sure to read Part one.

Link here.

It's Time

It was finally time to say goodbye to everything I've ever known. For the past month, I had been donating and packing my items. I had quit my job because I didn't need to work anymore.

Now, it is time for my journey to begin. I left my apartment for the last time, I left my car for the last time, and I left my home town for the last time. I was now sitting at the gate in George Bush International Airport in Houston, Texas waiting for the tram to transport me to the launch site.

The first stop from Earth was to the Moon. I was extremely nervous for the launch, yet I know that they do this type of launch every single day. That still couldn't comfort me knowing that I was traveling off of the planet for the first time.

My leg was shaking and my stomach was turning. I had nothing to distract myself from my own head, so I couldn't stop myself from the paranoia. There were a few other passengers waiting for the tram and we were all sitting in silence, waiting.

Finally, it arrived. A little too anxious, I immediately got up from my seat and walked up to the doors and waited for them to open. After allowing the people on board to come off, I entered the tram first and then sat down.

What if I was making a mistake? This was everything I ever wanted, but what if I was wrong to go for it? I never thought that I would make it this far. I was exhausted. I was exhausted from having these thoughts and just wished that I could be more genuinely excited like I was when I found out that I was chosen.

The tram arrived at the launch site. This was really happening.

I stepped off of the tram and into a terminal, where I saw some signage for the trip to the moon. I walked towards it.

"Hello! Are you traveling to the moon today?" the greeter asked me. There was also a security belt, so I put my baggage on it and walked through the machine.

"Yeah," I said.

"Wonderful! The rocket will be taking off in around 30 minutes, so you got here just in time! The ship is straight ahead, just show the person there your boarding pass and follow the instructions," she said. I stepped out of the security machine and grabbed my stuff.

I took a deep breath as I walked towards the ship. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement.

Before takeoff

I found my seat fairly easily, as there was one on each side of the ship. I still couldn't escape from my paranoia. The flight attendant went over safety precautions and explained to us that is was okay to feel anxious, but it really didn't help. I tried taking some deep breaths as I tried to hold back nervous tears.

"Take off in a couple minutes, just sit tight," the captain said over the loud speaker. I was very close to running off of the ship and giving up on my dreams, but I knew I couldn't go back. I dedicated the past month to making sure everything I owned was taken care of. I wanted to do this. My obsession was all things space travel made me scared to see my dreams come true. What if it wasn't everything I was wishing for for so long?

"Take off in 5," the captain began counting down. Part of me wished that they wouldn't count down so I wouldn't know when it happened to avoid the anxiety and part of me was glad I had a warning of what was going to happen. I held on tight to the chair's armrests and closed my eyes.

"4..."

I closed my eyes so tightly, as if breaking for impact.

"3..."

It felt like this countdown was never going to end. Waiting is the worst part.

"2..."

Everything I've ever wanted is about to come to fruition and I can't help myself from being scared.

"1..."

I knew I had to let go of this mental struggle and embrace the journey.

The ship began violently vibrating and I opened my eyes. An insane amount of pressure pushed me further into my seat and I felt the ship begin to rise.

I stared at the back of the seat in front of me and focused all of my attention on my breathing.

It was really happening. I was going to The Moon tot he first time.

And after that, I was headed to a new galaxy to the newly discovered planet T-98.

The Moon

The Moon's gravity allowed for an easy landing. Well, as easy as a rocket ship's landing could be. When we hit the ground, reality sunk in.

I was about to step onto The Moon.

"Welcome to The Moon. You will be given a breathing mask and temperature suit by our flight attendants that you will have to put on in the terminal before you step outside."

The flight attendant headed down the aisle. She handed me the mask and suit and the instructions that came with it.

Then, we boarded off of the plane and went into the terminal. The terminal was a small airport looking building that had oxygen pumping through the vents. There were huge windows that allowed the guests to see a beautiful view of space from the terminal. Enamored, I stood at the window staring at the incredible view of the Earth. The planet I left behind for a new life, so far away.

I wiped away a tear and took a deep breath. I stepped away from the window and walked down the terminal, following the signage directing the guests to the ship that was planned to take us to T-98.

Enchantment

The ship's name was Enchantment. There was a group of people at the gate, and I assume it was the group of people I would be spending the rest of my life colonizing a new galaxy with.

I wanted to start making some friends and socializing, but everyone there was sitting in silence. We were all struck by the shock of reality. Outside of the window, I saw the ship. There were no words to describe it other than enchanting, which made the name very fitting.

"Welcome everybody to your new life," someone said over the intercom. Everybody perked up, trying to find the source of the voice. The doors to the tunnel to the ship opened up and a man exited.

"Hello! I will be your captain on this journey. There is a lot to learn before we embark on the journey, so my associate here at the gate will check your boarding passes and then you will all meet me in the ship's lobby," he said and then headed down the tunnel.

I waited in the line with the other passengers to get my boarding pass checked. When it was my turn, they let me through and I stepped through the tunnel.

I was awestruck by what I saw on the other side of the tunnel. The ship was huge and open and the Captain was standing on an elevated part of the ship to get everybody's attention. Scared to touch and break anything, I carefully walked over to where he was greeting everybody.

"Alright, seems like everybody is here," he said. "Everybody here has the immortality vaccine, correct?"

Everybody nodded to confirm it.

"Excellent. I just need to make sure in case we need to make some last minute changes. Alrighty! It is time to explain the basics. So, this flight to T-98 is going to take 70 years complete. Now, I know a 70 year flight sounds daunting, which is why you will be frozen in pods for the majority of it. To help preserve the ship's energy, your bodies will be frozen for 65 of those years. We require the aging vaccine because it also helps preserve your bodies properly in this machines. If we were to attempt to freeze someone without the vaccine, they would still age during the time, just at a slower rate. With the vaccine, you shouldn't age over more than 1 year in the process. For the last 5 years as we near T-98, you will all be awakened and live on the ship for the 5 years. You will become acquainted with the technology fairly easily and we will explain it when the time comes," the captain explained.

The fact that we would be on this ship for 70 years was insane. That means that there would be a a new generation of people who will have aged through their life by the time we arrive.

The Pods

The captain brought us to our pods.

"It is now time for us to part ways. You will each enter a pod and, when inside if you have any questions, press the button that has the exclamation point. It will alert either me or one of the robot flight attendants and they will come assist you. Enjoy the flight," he said and walked away.

"So, we just choose a pod?" one of the passengers asked.

"I guess so," someone else replied. Everybody started choosing their pods and laying down in it. I did the same. I climbed into my pod and took deep breaths.

It was time to say goodbye for 70 years. As we waited inside of our pods for the doors to close and to be frozen, some decided to make conversation. I couldn't being myself to speak, I was afraid I was going to burst into tears from nerves.

I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to fall asleep. I figured that I would feel more comfortable if I wasn't conscious when I froze up.

I was exhausted from the flight and it wasn't hard to fall asleep. Everything went black.

Awakened

I woke up to a voice and the doors of the pod opening up. I opened my eyes and felt extremely rejuvenated. I hopped out of the pod and found the other passengers doing the same.

"It has been 65 years since you were last awake. You will be greeted by the robot flight attendants in just a moment. They will give you a tour of the place and show you how to use some of the technology," the captain said over the intercom. Just as he said that, a robot lady pulled up to the pods.

"Hello, passengers. Follow me and I will show you everything you need to know."

She began bringing us around the ship. She showed us the bedrooms, which were a lot like hotel rooms. She showed us the cafeteria and the infinite food generators. She showed us the bar, the gym, the pool, and gaming rooms.

These next five years were going to be insane.

Almost 5 years later

I had been living on this ship for 70 years now, almost 5 of those conscious.During this time, I befriended basically everybody on the ship. We became one big family during the journey and were more than thrilled to be colonizing T-98 together.

I couldn't ever get over the view from inside the ship. There was an infinite number of beautiful stars, planets, and other bodies that was just plain incredible.

Me and my new best friend named Kevin would sit in front of the large window and talk about everything. The others would make fun of us for it, but that wouldn't stop us.

Now, we could see T-98 from the window. The group swarmed the window as we stared at our new home.

The planet was yellow and had incredibly colorful clouds that ranged from red to purple. It was enthralling.

"So, apparently T-98 is just a temporary name for the planet. I think we should get the honor of naming it. Any ideas?" the captain said over the intercom. We all looked at each other.

"Let's call it Goober," Rob suggested. Everybody laughed.

"That's stupid," Fiona said to him and hit him across the arm.

"Well I don't see you coming up with anything better," Rob said back.

"What about Enchantment? Named after our ship," she said.

"I love it," Jessica said. "The name is truly fitting."

Kevin got up and headed over to the button on the wall that was for speaking to the captain. He held it down and told the captain our idea. He came back and we waited a second for his response.

After a moment of silence, we heard the intercom turn on and waited for the captain's announcement.

"Welcome to your new home, Enchantment. Please go to your rooms and sit in your landing seats so we can start this new journey together," he said.

We all cheered in excitement. Together, we headed to our rooms that had our seats for landing.

It was time for humans to colonize this new galaxy, starting with us.

THE END