1 THE LONG WALK
Staring out through the observation window, Alexis could see the faint shine of her new home. At that distance, the planet seemed so small, yet so full of wonder. She imagined lush jungles filled with strange and exotic life and vast oceans teeming with all sorts of creatures. Things that people from her planet had, for several hundreds of years, only been able to experience in museums or books. Things that would very soon be sharing the same air with her.
As she stepped down from the viewing platform to start the long walk back to her quarters, all she could think about was finally getting off the ship. She had been cooped up for so long that she could hardly remember what it was like to walk on anything other than the hard steel that had kept her safe from the vacuum of space for all these years. She was only a handful of hours away from once again breathing fresh, non-sanitized air, and the excitement — or maybe it was anxiety — was becoming difficult to contain.
Most days, a walk from the observation port would be mundane and unremarkable. Much of the trip would fade off into the deep recesses of her mind in a vain effort to make the journey less of a bore. Today was different for Alexis. As she walked the long corridors, she took in everything around her as she found herself once again in awe of her surroundings.
L’Dopterra, the second largest in the fleet, was the first of five ark ships to flee their dying planet. It was the culmination of every scientific triumph Alexis’s people had ever proudly claimed. Ferrying 3000 of their best and brightest scientists and engineers to prepare their new home for the arrival of the other four ships.
The fact that they were able to not only find a suitable planet to adopt, but also find a way to transport so many of their people to their new home, should have been something to celebrate. For Alexis, however — and for many who had to leave people behind to make the journey — it was mostly just a reminder of the failure that led to its necessity.
There had always been some nagging reminder of why she should be mournful. The day she had to say goodbye to everyone she was leaving behind left her brokenhearted for the first two years of the trip. Then she entered stasis for 500 years, knowing that when she woke, all of those same people would be long dead. Coupled with the stress of her job and the importance of the mission, there was just no way for her to see the awe. But now, she had more to look forward to than she had to mourn or worry about. For the first time since she boarded, she was truly excited.
Alexis could see that similar thoughts were dancing in the heads of most of the crew as well. Everyone she passed seemed to have a quicker step and a wider smile. Some were heading back to view the planet for the third or fourth time.
"Lexi! Did you see it?"
She turned to find her young brother wearing his best suit and a grin from ear to ear.
"I did,” she said. “Won't be long now."
"Yeah, I'm heading back. They gave us all an extra break. We're not gonna get much work done today anyway."
Alexis noticed the new name tag resting crookedly above her brother's breast pocket as he puffed up his chest to show it off. AG Waverly, it read.
“Assistant Guide, eh?” She smiled at the thought of any politician, or even their assistants, considering what they do actual work, but was proud of him nonetheless. She reached over and straightened it for him. "Now that you are officially a politician, you should probably get used to not getting much work done.”
"I almost forgot!" Levi exclaimed, ignoring her jab. "They approved my request to co-pilot one of the decks."
"Not mine, I hope." She laughed.
Levi scrunched up his face and mockingly mumbled her words back to her. "No, Lexi. I’ll be on Q2. You don't have to worry."
"That really is great, Levi. Congratulations." As her laughter relaxed into a gentle smile, she looked over to the large group forming at the platform. "Well, you should probably go if you want to see anything other than the back of everyone's heads."
After a short embrace, Alexis watched as her brother strode quickly to the same spot where moments ago she had been alone with her imagination. It was now crawling with ship personnel trying to catch a glimpse of that small dot off in the distance.
Good timing, she thought to herself as she turned to make her way to her quarters.
Along the way, she stopped at the door of her office and briefly considered finishing up her notes from the day, but as she stood by the door of her empty workspace, she found herself once again drifting off into her own head. She looked down at her tiny shod feet and began to daydream about kicking off her shoes and walking barefoot on whatever grass or dirt she could find the instant she stepped off the ship.
Her brother’s lack of motivation was beginning to make sense; there was just no way she was going to be able to concentrate on work.
Sleep might also be a problem, she thought.
Just then she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass door of her office. She stared at herself for a moment and began to smile. Her hair was pulled back in her standard work ponytail and she was still clutching paperwork to her perfectly pressed lab coat. She needed to unwind. And with that final thought on the subject, she opened her office door, set her paperwork down on a chair just inside, and hung up her coat. Good music and drink was what she needed.
She closed the door behind her as she left her office and headed to her favorite pub.