Upon Leaving

It was the year 2100 and one of the final rocket ships was just about to set off to work on the satellites before space traveling was going to start. There was only three years left before humans everywhere could buy their own ships and travel into space. There had been another planet that was found about fifty years ago that was much like Earth. It had the essentials for life, oxygen, water and it had a fairly warm climate as well. This was why the last few rocket ships were being launched within the year. There were about five in total, with twenty people on each, because in just three years there would be no need for astronauts everyone who wanted to could essentially become an astronaut.

This was going to be my last trip into space classified as an astronaut, any time after this I would just be a space explorer. I am the captain on my team of people and the leader of all five ships after we reached the satellite. My team was going first made up of some of the best engineers from mechanical to chemical. We even had a doctor on board in case she was needed. I was ready and in about ten minutes so was the world before we launched. The goal was to repair, replace and upgrade the satellite since it was the only way to connect to the people on the new planet. There was a small colony of about one hundred people on the new world with what we had sent them with in order to communicate. Every nation has come together in order to make the unnamed world livable for the people we have sent and people that are possibly going to live there after they can freely travel between.

There was only five minutes now and I could feel the anticipation and anxiety of some of the members. We could hear the roar of the engines coming to life and feel the rocket shake a little under us. I'll never forget the feeling of the rockets shift as it got into position to shoot upwards at 18,000 miles per hour or 28,968 kilometers per hour. It being faster than the average rifle bullet we finally took off. Shot up into the sky and drove down into our chairs, we could see the sky move like a blur as we rushed into the darkness that was outer space. It was always a thrill and getting past the point of little return. So much so that my Co-Captain Jesse cleared her throat to remind me that we weren't here to sight see, we did in fact have a job to do.

Our destination was Rigel the largest man made satellite, named after the seventh brightest star in the celestial sphere. We would be living there for about five years, working on everything it would need for the next fifty years. We would be there in about half an hour due to the distance between Earth and the new world for communication to occur it had to be close to half way between the two. Which is also why it has a livable space and a docking station because it was flown out to it's location when the first of the colonists left Earth.

I was the designer of the ship we were on, so it was my job to drive the rocket into the docking port without killing any one. These people honestly put a lot of faith into me, but that's why I have good ole Jesse. She was the better pilot and a much better leader, but I had the brains and know how to work on everything.

"Captain Axel, uh would it be possible to move a bit. I think I need to stretch my legs." The voice was to my left and was coming from the small lady who also happened to be our doctor.

"Nova I think this will be about the thirteenth time I've had to tell you since we've met, to just call me Axel. Captain is better suited to Jesse, she's much more suited to the role, I think she mans up better than I do" I laughed as Jesse slapped my shoulder and huffed.

"I wouldn't have to man up so often if you grew up Axel!

We all laughed, Nova was the only new person to our group. Normally we wouldn't need a doctor on board but the last time we shipped out we lost a member of our crew due to my negligence. So there was a new rule, there had to be one doctor or other medical professional on board any ship leaving with more than ten people, or said ship would not leave. That was only nullified when multiple ships were going to the same place. This is where Nova came in, she was the last to do any kind of training, this left her behind the rest of us who had been working together for about ten years. It wasn't long before the crew had unbuckled and was floating around and chatting with one another.

"Hey Axel! when we go home, my girlfriend has a friend who isn't bad looking. You might be able to let loose if you get what I'm throwing down" A man names Jose laughed.

He was the kind of guy who had a new girlfriend before he left the old one, so I wasn't too keen on getting his help on finding a girlfriend. We were good friends, but we didn't agree on well... everything to say the least. Not now especially, I was more excited about this last trip. I was even more excited to see the giant metal building floating in front of us. It stood out against the nothingness of outer space. It was almost time to dock the ship and get to work.

"Alright everyone, time to buckle back up and get ready to dock. We will reach the docking port in about five minutes."