2 weeks ago 63 months ago

  Though it wasn’t spoken, nor did it go unnoticed for Vertan those next few weeks. Mother Zviedal, the kind of woman that she is, would still be argumentative towards his sentiments. But these quarrels would slowly become fewer and farther between. They seemed to gradually become shorter and quieter, too. Alongside the feelings of vindication and catharsis lie also a sense of guilt and sadness. Who knew that quiet acceptance could look so defeating?

  A part of him still sought to understand his mother despite moving forward with it. She has been off-world before, this was how she met and brought his father to her home, after all. Perhaps she had a good reason that kept her from wanting to move out elsewhere. This, Vertan can only speculate.

  Aside from this, the logic and reasoning seemed to elude him. He’s noticed it before, but it was never brought up in conversation. Perhaps there were memories too painful for her. But why would she willingly come back to a simple life here so that she can work at the local markets? Multiple degrees from very prestigious Gamici’an universities sat tucked away into a corner of her room, facing the wall and gathering dust on their frames. She had graduated years before his birth here on Ulminh. From his view, it seemed that she had everything going for her at one point. Why give that up?

  No matter, he thought. Her life decisions are hers, and do not dictate his, he reasoned. Certainly not at this stage in life. Mother Zviedal has always been a more controlling figure than his father, of which he still remembers days of sneaking out of school for lunch with him. It ironically made him less inclined to listen to her.

  His documents, visas, funds, and tickets were ready by this point, and all that was left was to pack. Vertan figured he should pack light for the long journey, though realized he didn’t possess much to take with him, anyhow. All fit within a single suitcase and bag. Somehow, he began to feel the weight of everything.

  Sure, organizing and planning everything was quite the endeavor, but it was now as he was choosing what to bring and where to place it in his bag that something small clicked somewhere within him. He would be leaving everything behind for who knows how long, even if he were to maintain contact. His mother would still be here, coming home to an empty house. His friends would be drinking with one less person now. Paradoxically, the same weight seemed to excite him, the notion of beginning fresh somewhere even if he were to eventually return.

  He is to catch his flight soon, as the skyship that he is bound for will be leaving early in the morning, just before sunrise. Waiting outside, he sees through the darkness his taxicab making its way down the winding road up to his house.

  “Vertan, dear, I want you to take one more thing,” Mother Zviedal calls, stepping outside of the house. She quickly slips on her outdoor sandals.

  “Hm? I’m sure I’ve gotten everything I needed already, mum,” Vertan replies.

  “Yes, I know, I’m sure you do. But I’ve been looking everywhere for it, and I just found it, I want you to take it with you.”

  She hands to him, when unfolded, an old photograph of the whole family together. It was him as a young child, with his mother and father standing behind him.

  “Please hold onto it,” Mother Zviedal pleads. “It’s the only photo we have of all three of us together, with each other.”

  Vertan was silent at this.

  “I was almost worried that I'd lost it altogether. I want you to take it with you, to remember us by. My boy’s grown now and I can’t keep you tied here any longer if it’s your wish to go. Please, just remember us—”

  “Mum,” Vertan smiles a bit. “I’m not going to be gone, I’ll still make sure to call you. We have StarComms these days now.”

  “Yes, but—,” she continues. “You’ll still be far, and a mother will still always worry about her boy. Please be careful. Take care of yourself. Remember to eat and sleep on time. Don’t go finding trouble.”

  The taxicab has come up to the front of the house now, and comes to a stop. The driver looks out the window.

  “Ver-ton—uh, Ver-ton Zeedul?” he asks.

  “It’s Vertan Zviedal,” Vertan replies. “I must go now mum, I promise I’ll send a message back first thing I arrive.”

  “Ah, that’s how it’s pronounced,” the driver mutters.

  “No, I better hear back from you every step of the way,” Mother Zviedal nags.

  “Alright mum, I can’t miss my flight, I love you, I’ll be back and retire you before you know it!”

  And with a final farewell, Vertan got into the taxicab with his luggage, and made his way to the skyport. The typically stoic Mother Zviedal couldn’t bring about any tears, but stood there on the porch until the taxicab shrank into the distance, disappearing out of sight.

  “Please be safe, my son.”

  *****

  “So, eh, I figure this must be a big trip for ya, eh?” the cab driver says.

  “Yeah, a pretty big one,” Vertan replies.

  “I mean, I figure! Not a lot of folks out in your area come to the spaceport. I had to really go out of my way for this one.”

  “I appreciate your time, thank you sir.”

  “Remind me where I’m dropping you off again? Or you just gonna make your way through on your own?”

  “If you can drop me off near Gate B12, that’d be great.”

  “Alright, B12, heh, you got it boss.”

  “That’s right, thank you.”

  “So, eh, what’s going on for ya, lad? Big trip, big occasion it seems, that was your mother I think, she seemed to be worried.”

  “Oh, you know mothers, they always worry about their children.”

  “More so for their sons, hah! What you doing anyway that’s got her like that?”

  “I’ve applied for the Special Expeditions.”

  “Wow—what? She should be happy! Damn, man, she should be proud of ya for such an ambition. They say it’s up there with getting educated these days.”

  “That’s what I try to tell her! But she’s worried about all these other things and how far it is from here.”

  “Ah, well, ya know, as they say, no pain, no gain, right? Sometimes you gotta move to the opportunity instead of waitin’ for it to come to ya!”

  “I try to tell her and my friends about it, but they don’t seem to agree with me, they like it nice and quiet here.”

  “Hey man, me too! But I ain’t gonna stop you from doing you, you do what you want. I heard about one of my cousins who came back from one of these Expeditions rich, and he started a business from it! If you got it in ya, ya should go for it.”

  “Wow, really? That’s amazing! What about you? What’s going on with you, then?”

  “Oh, I’m retired, man! Ya can probably tell from how I talk, I ain’t from here. Jus’ lookin’ for a place to settle down nice and quiet after a good life, haha!”

  “What did you used to do?”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Woah, some things I can’t tell ya about. Let’s just say I delivered special things for special people, I’ve made more than enough. Now I do the whole taxi thing for fun and to keep me busy!”

  The taxicab was arriving at the international skyport now, with skyships of all manners and sizes arriving and departing. Pulling up to Terminal B, Vertan got out with his luggage and waved the cheerful driver good-bye as he drove off.

  Vertan marveled at everything around him. He had seen such skyships before while fishing that would frequently fly far off in the distance. But he had yet to see them up close. Even the small ones appeared gigantic to him, towering over any ordinary building he’s been familiar with, and upon an educated guess, must have been at least over 250 metres in length. The scale captivated him with awe, instilling a sense of smallness in him as he watched passengers walk down the walkways like crawling ants. He marveled at the engineering. How could people come together to make something that looked so big and heavy, a brick of metal parts sewn together, fly so high and far?

  With thirty minutes left before his flight departure, he made his way over to Gate B12. A family reuniting at a different gate caught his peripheral vision, causing a moment’s hesitation.

  After a quick check-through clearance, he made it up the long walkway to the skyship named Minra, an ugly brute with a build even its designer may struggle to love.

  Vertan began to grab onto the railing as he walked higher and higher up the open-air walkway, the metal clanging beneath each step he took. He hadn’t been so high up before, even in any building he’s gone in. And the end of the walkway is not even a third way up the skyship!

  Finally making it to the end of the walkway, Vertan steps into the ship. Immediately, he is met with the faint smell of fuel amongst a musty atmosphere. Looking up and down, he saw that there were countless more walkways stretching lengthwise down the ship, all leading to countless more cabins situated on each side of the walkways, creating endless stretches of halls that held all the cabins of perhaps thousands of passengers.

  Referencing his ticket, Vertan made his way down the walkway to tiny cabin E353, other passengers making their way on the walkways above and below him. Scanning it on the receiver, the door unlocks with a robotic voice, “Welcome aboard Mr. Vertan Zviedal, we hope you enjoy your flight.” In it lay a chair tucked into a wall-table, and a cot that could be unfolded from the opposite wall.

  In front of him is a large window for him to view the outside world. Showers were provided on other decks where passengers with longer journeys may use, though he nonetheless had access to the shared lavatory down the hall. Despite the run-down exterior and interior walkways of the ship, the inside of the cabin was in fact quite nice.

  Setting his luggage down, Vertan pulled out the chair to sit, and brought out from his pocket a small but somewhat bulky StarComms. Turning the knob, and with a flicker, a cluttered mess of holograms takes up the wall, projecting from the StarComms. He still had all of his windows open from the research, visas, and documentation he had to prepare in the weeks prior. Closing all of them, he opens his messages, and finds several unread messages from his mother.

  Let me know when you get to the skyport!

  Are you at your terminal, yet?

  Answer me, boy!

  Have you found your gate? Don’t get lost, now!

  Is your flight leaving yet?

  Don’t ignore me, boy!

  Skimming down to the bottom, he sends her a message reassuring of his presence, followed by a photo showing his room. A message comes back almost immediately, though after another reply, he closes the StarComms instead. A jingle plays from the overhead speaker, and with a crackle,

  “Greetings and good morning to all, this is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard the Minra. We are preparing to depart today for Raneau, with a layover stop at Dulski Extragalactal Spaceport. Estimated flight time is two hours and thirty minutes to Dulski, and another sixteen hours to Raneau thereafter.

  Please pay full attention to the following mandatory safety briefing. In the event of an emergency, you will be instructed to proceed to your designated muster station with your parachute, the location which is listed on your boarding card and cabin door. Please familiarize yourself with the route from your cabin to the muster station. In the event of an emergency, the general alarm will sound as seven short blasts followed by one long blast on the ship’s horn and internal alarms. Proceed immediately to your assigned muster station and do not return to your cabin to retrieve belongings.

  Parachutes are located in your cabin in the closet or in the labeled cabinets down your halls. Instructions for donning and deploying the parachute are posted on the cabin door. Please watch the visual demonstration as provided on the holoprojector.

  Once at your muster station, follow the instructions of the crew. They are trained to assist in all emergency procedures, including evacuation if necessary.

  Open flames, including candles or matches, are not permitted in cabins. Smoking is allowed only in designated lounges and decks. Do not leave appliances unattended.

  In the event of an evacuation, you will be directed to the lifepods by ship personnel. Each lifepod contains emergency supplies including rations, water, and signaling equipment. Follow all instructions precisely. If you require assistance during an emergency, please inform the purser’s desk immediately so arrangements can be made.

  This concludes the mandatory safety briefing. Please read the safety notice in your cabin and locate the nearest exit route. We thank you for your cooperation and wish you a safe and pleasant journey.”

  And with a ding and crackle, the speaker turns off.

  Looking out of the window, Vertan could see the skyship lifting off, the earth leaving below them. He could audibly hear the ship creak and groan outside of the cabin, and the sun has come over the horizon, now. A small wave of longing washed over Vertan, watching his home amongst the cosmos pull away from beneath him.

  Yet still, it is a most amazing sight for Vertan to witness for the first time. Everything seemed to recede down below until even the other skyships looked like tiny insects crawling about the ground. After a momentary run through the clouds, the ship broke through the curtain and blazing streaks of gold stretched across the sky as the sun announced the coming of the new day. In the distance were other skyships making their journeys, gigantic buildings that appeared to be no more than small capsules from Vertan’s perspective.

  He had expected the flight to be rougher than it was, judging by how the Minra looked. But the experience within the cabin was surprisingly smooth, with only a very dim vibration that could be felt if one concentrated enough. The ship has settled into its own rhythm now, and the faint, faraway rumble of its engines powered the mighty brute up through the atmosphere.

  *****

  Two hours and thirty minutes passed quicker than Vertan could have initially expected.

  Having arrived at Dulski Extragalactal Spaceport, the Minra’s arrival came an hour before Vertan’s next boarding. Having purchased a small snack in between journeys, Vertan couldn’t help but become awestruck by everything. He could see the curvature of World Ulminh now, and two of its three moons. The spaceport is bigger than anything he’s seen or been to down on the ground. It completely dwarfed the skyport he was at earlier that day. The asterships that came and went here are magnitudes larger than the skyships that operated back down within the atmosphere, unconstrained from air and gravity. Even the Minra, large as she was, only made up less than a tenth the size of some of these ships.

  But perhaps what was more awe-inspiring to him was seeing the gateway, still far off into space. While they still sat in low orbit, Vertan was able to see the gateway much closer than he is used to. The thing must be so incomprehensibly huge, he realized. He would watch the very same asterships that dwarfed the Minra earlier, depart and make their way to the gateway, only to appear like tiny grains of rice compared to this very large, circular window. They would then disappear into the abyss, warping off to the other end of the charted universe.

  “Vertan!”

  Vertan, startled, whirls around, searching frantically for the source that called his name.

  “Hilgo?!” Vertan exclaimed. “What—what are you doing here?”

  “I got a ticket as well!”

  “But—no, I meant, why? How come? Since when? What—”

  “I got a ticket last minute yesterday, Vertan. I wanted to come with you. I got a different cabin and I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  Vertan only becomes more bewildered at this.

  “...Why? I thought you were so opposed to my idea.”

  “Yeah, I know, I know, I’ve been saying that too. I just couldn’t see you go about it alone.”

  “Wait, does my mother know of this?”

  “No—well, not yet. I did tell the group about it so they can make visits when they can, but Gahn didn’t sound too happy with that idea.”

  “I don’t think she’d sound happy about it either.”

  “Ah well, you know.”

  “You can still go back, you know? I appreciate it and it’s really sweet, but I thought you were adverse to the whole thing.”

  “Come on, fishing season’s over, man. We did good this season. And besides, what are we gonna do the next few months, huh? The same old thing? I think you were right trying to encourage me to go out and add something to my life.”

  “Oh, aw. Thanks, man. This means more to me than you know, you know?

  “Of course I do.”

  “You feel better about the whole thing though?”

  “Hell, no! I’m a nervous wreck. I still think there’s plenty of ways we can die on the way.”

  “God, man, you don’t have to say it like that—we haven’t even left yet—!”

  “—But I’m pretty sure we can handle ourselves just fine.”

  Vertan couldn’t help but smile at this. A companion for the trip, and his best friend, at that.

  A few more minutes pass in their conversation before a looming shadow almost blots out the sun as it passes.

  The astership Olgar has arrived.