Snippet #1559521

John was tightly strapped in for the launch as the speaker counted down from ten. The ship vibrated as it was building power. He was strangely calm compared to the nervousness he had experienced over the last few days. But on the dangerous moments he was always calm.

The days after the meeting had been a blur. The last minute addition of the two crewmen had shaken up his morale. He wished he'd taken the time to talk to someone about it. He hadn't even spoken more than two words to the new guys. Jericho seemed like a decent guy, but he was military and that might cause some friction. And this Jared Jones was even more mysterious; was he supposed to be some kind of wormhole physicist ?

He wondered what the scene would look like from the outside. When he was a young boy, more than twenty years ago, his father had taken him to the launch of the Discovery Space shuttle. They had driven all the way from Boston, just him and his dad on a road trip. The launch had been the highlight of his childhood and one of the most impressive sights of his live. He had sat on the front of the car holding a pair of goggles while his father pointed to the launch site in the distance. When the space shuttle blasted off in a cloud of smoke and fire John had promised his father that he would set off in a rocket like that one day. His dad had replied that he would be there to watch his son with great pride.

But now his dad was gone.

Suddenly the ship burst forward and John clumsily bumped his head against the back of his space helmet. 'Dammmmmiiitt!' - He exclaimed as the ship leaped forward into the sky. A burst of adrenaline seared through his body causing him to smile like an idiot. As they pierced the exosphere the feeling of weightlessness became more and more apparent. For the first time John dared to look to his right, still smiling from the adrenaline, and put up his thumb in approval.

"We are officially in space, boys and girls!" - The coms shouted.

A feeling of enthusiasm engulfed John, triumphant that their adventure had finally started. He wondered when he could release his cusps to look outside to the shrinking planet below them. He had dreamed about this moment for ages and now that it was finally there it felt surreal. He suddenly remembered his father's final advise; 'Time to let go, John'. Maybe he had meant the fears and doubts regarding the mission?

“I hope you're watching right now, Dad.” - He mumbled to himself.