Chapter 2: Just a Moment

Allen Parker stood outside the captain’s pit, facing a large window that overlooked the boarding process. There were multiple entrances with long lines of people from all walks of life waiting for their turn to board the spaceship. But Allen didn’t watch the lines. Instead, he watched the livestream feed of the famous couple they had agreed to partner with for PSE’s first open voyage to Mars. 

He vaguely knew of them from the briefing Jasmine gave to him. Willow Moore, a popular lifestyle influencer who got a viral hit on The E seven years ago. David Esperanza, Allen knew a little more about due to his family name and their connections among the wealthy. But he didn’t know much more than that and didn’t care about it. All he had to know was that they would be great entertainment for the long journey. From the viewer numbers he saw on Willow’s livestream alone, he was right to sign a contract with them. The thought eased his breathing as the knot in his stomach loosened. He did one thing right so far. He could pull off this launch his family had been prepping for all of these years. 

When the livestream ended, Allen finished the rest of the drink his cousin Elijah had mixed and handed him a while ago. It was supposed to calm him down. Make him relax and enjoy the experience. But there were too many things to do and now that the livestream was finished, it was officially time to start the launch.

Allen walked the rest of the way to the captain's pit. A low hum filled the hall so it wasn’t completely quiet. His edram notifications beeped every few seconds with a task that he needed to complete in the next day or so. He scanned his keycard to open the door. 

Sound erupted in his ears. Inside, the room was alive with movement. Everyone wore a white uniform with the Nalserxis logo stitched in purple on the right pocket. Navigational robots with round bodies filled with buttons, one beady eye, and short statures worked alongside the staff doing whatever programming was needed. The center of the room held a platform with the holographic map of their journey up, which stood higher than the rest of the room. Below, a long control panel that glittered with lights sat in front of the large dark window that had been blacked out as they were getting ready. 

Most didn't notice Allen walk in as they were so preoccupied with last-minute tasks that needed to be completed to launch. However, the captain of the Nalserexis never missed anything and noticed him immediately. 

“Mr. Parker,” Captain Trulane said, his voice carrying over everyone. “Welcome!” 

A lull in the noise fell over the room. Most smiled and were friendly faces he had the pleasure of working with over the years. But that had been as their boss’s son. Now he was their boss, which held higher expectations. The difference made him shake a little, and with all eyes on him, heat rose to his cheeks. “Hello everyone. I appreciate the work you are doing here today.”

Captain Trulane walked down the steps of the platform. He was a balding Black man with wrinkles appearing around his eyes when he smiled. The captain had been with PSE for as long as Allen could remember. He had probably been with them even longer since he piloted a lot of the more recent journeys, taking PSE staff to build and conduct research for the colony. 

"Back to work, everyone," Captain Trulane said when he noticed the crew still staring at them. "We have a spaceship to launch, and despite what others say about my people, I am always on time."

Allen smiled with the others before they busied themselves with their work. Now that all eyes weren't on him, Allen’s temperature returned to normal, and his shoulders relaxed a little. 

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Allen said after a strong handshake with the captain. "I just wanted to be here for the launch."

"No interruption at all, sir. As you can see, we are doing last-minute checks on the ship to make sure everything is moving smoothly. If you'd like, I can set you up with a seat."

His skin crawled a little. Even after a year of taking over Parker Space Enterprises, it still felt strange to be called Mr. Parker or sir by the man who had been around when he was still having accidents in bed. But after a long conversation in private with the captain, he understood it was a matter of respect and keeping up appearances. A lot of people didn't believe that he could pull off this launch or lead the company. They ignored the fact that he went to the best space engineering schools in the world and worked in the background at the company pretty much all his life. It was one of the uphill battles that almost stalled their launch. But Allen wouldn't let anyone tell him what he could and could not do. He knew this ship like the back of his hand, and he'd make this launch the most memorable in history. 

"No, that will be alright," Allen said. "I will stand on the platform with you as we take off. Is there anything that you need from me?"

"No, sir."

"Then I'll let you get back to work. You are dismissed."

"Of course, Mr. Parker." 

Captain Trulane saluted before departing. The clock on the window pane counted down the minutes until launch. A buzz filled the air that only added to Allen's rapidly beating heart. His hand clenched and released his edram remote as if on a cycle. Most had already taken their assigned spot at the control panels with the navigational robots hovering nearby. Allen moved to the platform, nodding to the captain in acknowledgment. Two calls joined the murmur of voices in the room, one from the Mars station and the other from the Earth station. Allen stood aside, waiting and counting along with the clock. 

“Both stations have cleared us to take off, Captain," someone said from the other side of the room.

Captain Trulane nodded. "Good. Initiate loading our thrusters and start the navigation. Someone, play the recorded message on the intercom letting the passengers know that we will be taking off."

The dark shade on the window faded before giving way to millions of stars staring back at them. Allen’s heart pounded even louder in his chest. Just moments before they would take the first round of non-PSE passengers to the colony. Moments before they could either call the first part of the launch a success or an inevitable failure. Allen didn't know what he'd do if something went wrong, but he couldn't stop his mind from thinking of the worst. Maybe a thruster would malfunction. Maybe the spaceship would crash into the space station somehow and kill everyone onboard. It would be a memorable launch, of course, but not for the right reasons. 

Allen tightened his grip on the railing on the raised platform before he succumbed too far into what ifs. Everything would be fine. Nothing would go wrong. 

The captain continued to bark out orders to the navigation crew, everyone moving with a calm frenzy. Allen felt nothing as they started to move. He couldn't even tell by looking out the window. Allen only knew they were moving because the lights that came from the space station became fainter, and soon, there truly was nothing but the natural light of the stars ahead of them.

Allen held his breath as he watched the speed increase. So far, things were going great, but they needed to reach the minimum speed to get to Mars in 6 months. With every passing second and every climb of the speedometer, his lungs screamed for him to take a breath. But he couldn’t. Not until they achieved it. They were so close to calling this takeoff a success, but anything could go wrong. That knowledge kept the room silent, so quiet that it seemed like everyone else held their breath with him.

"We have reached our maximum speed, Captain Trulane," one of the navigation crew members finally said. 

The captain looked at Allen and smiled. "Then I declare that we can call the takeoff a success."

Cheers erupted in the room. Tension released in Allen's shoulders. No problems had occurred, and they were traveling across the stars. His hand found the Nalserexis pin on his suit, and he gripped it. They did it. The first part of the journey was complete. He prayed that his family, wherever they were, knew that he had carried out the first part of the family dream. And in the back of his mind, he knew that they did, and it was a small comfort. But it was time for the next step. Making sure they made it to the colony on Mars.

Allen gave a brief nod to the captain as he headed out. "Please make sure to keep me updated, Captain Trulane."

"Of course, sir."

As soon as Allen exited the room, he leaned against the wall and took a moment to pause. The stress from the day wore him out, and the constant beeping of his notifications on his edram didn't help. The urge to turn them off flitted through his mind. Nothing and no one to contact him for however long he wanted? His body ached just at the thought. But the knot in his stomach tightened once more, subduing that desire building within him. He turned off his notifications the day his family disappeared. He wouldn’t do that again. 

Allen was supposed to be on that spaceship with them. They called him multiple times to see when he’d arrive. But Allen, lost in some passion project he couldn’t even remember now, missed every call. That memory weighed on him more than the responsibility of the company. Thinking about it now left him trembling. 

He shouldn’t have been the one to survive. It should have been his sister Alexis, the one who was ready to lead the business. Not him, who just wanted to design things in the background. And yet here he was because he didn’t hear his edram. 

Allen pushed himself away from the wall. He needed to pull himself together. They had succeeded with the first part of this trip, but there was still much to do. Checking with Elijah and Jasmine on the news coverage, securing funding for the next trip and their next big project, and so much more. But all those responsibilities left him frozen in the hallway. He needed to calm down before he did anything else, and there was no better place to do that than in his office.

For a moment, Allen debated using the hidden tunnels in the ship they had built for staff to get around without guest interference. The temptation caressed every rigid edge of his body that needed a break from his responsibilities. But in the back of his head, he heard Jasmine telling him to let people see him so they could get familiar with his presence. He truly did not care to be familiar with anyone, but her marketing and publicity tactics had done wonders so far. He could pull it together enough to walk through a crowd of people on the main floor before going to his office. 

The main floor of the ship was separated from the captain's hall by a few doors locked with a keypad. His father said that they needed to put it in the middle so that it was equally accessible to staff on the top and bottom floors of the ship. Allen understood that at first but now, as he joined the main hall, he regretted that decision.

People stood around the windows in clusters. Despite this being the main floor, Allen only spotted the wealthy passengers from the wedding party in the hall. Most wore some elaborate attire that took up the little space between each other. Their pupils had the familiar gray cast over them as they did whatever on their edram, but their eyes flicked to him as he passed. There had been a loud chatter as they talked about the launch, but it quieted to whispers as more people noticed him.

Allen had grown used to the stares and the whispers over the last year since he came into the spotlight, but his shoulders still tensed. It wasn't because they intimidated him. Some of them he knew of in passing because his sister Alexis was the opposite of him and loved to socialize. But he didn't trust any of them. As close as they claimed to be to his sister, they didn't care about him. They just wanted to share exclusive information about him to their followers on The E, and Allen did not want to play into their game at all. They were here for the couple and were already putting money in his pocket by being on the ship and recording everything. Some had even invested in the company. That was the only value they had to him.

Allen had almost made it to the other side of the hall without a problem when someone called him. He stiffened a little but didn't stop. He didn't know where the voice had come from, but he hoped that he had imagined it. His head already hurt, and he did not need to see the annoying smile of his old university classmate. But in the blink of an eye, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed menace named Nicholas Dolton walked alongside him. 

"Nathaniel," Nicholas said, clasping his shoulders. "It's good to see you. I was just talking to others about how I wasn't sure we'd see you at all on this trip."

Allen looked at the hand clasped on his shoulder before staring at Nicholas until his hand dropped. He had told Nicholas multiple times during university to call him Allen instead of Nathaniel. It irked him every time he still did it. People watched them, though, their edram cameras as if ready to record at any second, so Allen continued walking in silence. Of course that did not discourage Nicholas. Unlike others, Nicholas didn't use his edram much. He was annoying all on his own with how much he liked to talk. 

"Right, you like to be called Allen. I would think you'd want to be called your government name to honor your late father. They obviously gave you the name for a reason. Anyway, this ship you have here is something else. Not as good as my own family's company, but still a decent ship. Are you sure you can handle this?"

The question made Allen twitch, and he finally stopped walking.  They were near an elevator where fewer people were located. To keep himself from slapping Nicholas, Allen pressed the elevator button. From the smug grin on Nicholas’ face, he wanted some sort of reaction that would be worth negative publicity. He would have given in if people weren’t looking at them.

Watching. 

Recording. 

For generations, their families had tension between them since they were in the same industry vying for the same goal: to move people to Mars. Dolton Space Corp never could measure up, though. His father tried to play nice with them when he led the company, but Allen didn't see the need to do so. Especially after the Doltons tried to get PSE taken off the Mars launch when Allen’s family disappeared.

Allen took a deep breath. Most of the people were far enough away that even if they were recording, they wouldn't pick up anything he said. Still, he kept his voice low. “Are you upset that your family didn't get the clearance to take the first civilian passengers to PSE’s Mars colony?”

For the first time since their conversation started, Nicholas frowned. "Of course not. Though, I wonder. with all of my family’s connections, how did you manage to convince the Global Space Federation to pick you over us? Care to share the secret?"

"It's not a secret. I have more money than you." Nicholas' face grew red, but Allen didn’t stay to gloat. The elevator doors opened, and Allen walked in, sparing one last dismissive glance at Nicholas. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a spaceship to run."

His preferred office was located at the top of the ship. The hall leading up to it had an ugly gray wall in the middle of it, and there weren’t any cameras around. That privacy was part of the reason Allen escaped here. That, and the fact that his father built it for the family.

The familiar mess of the office loosened the tightness in his shoulders. He could have cleaned it or ordered someone else to, but the amalgamation of items belonged here. It wasn't really his office, but one he adopted from his father. The desk sat in front of a large window, piled with books and Allen’s unfinished sketches of new spaceship designs. Most of the drawings on the wall were official spaceship designs from his father. The ones scribbled in crayon were the ones Allen drew as a kid that his father had kept. The only wall that didn’t have drawings was the one with the tank his mother filled with her favorite creatures from Mars. His grandmother creatively called them naelis when she discovered them in her research of Mars. 

He glanced at the naelis, skin crawling just looking at the tank. He usually avoided looking at the it. Not because he hated naelis. He actually loved studying the creatures as a kid. But Allen knew what lay beyond it. Memories. He could face the strange beings, but he couldn’t face that. 

Allen almost turned away after his glance at the tank, but the naelis caught his attention. They huddled along the bottom, moving slowly. Allen frowned. Usually, they floated around aimlessly. They only huddled like that when a human was near enough for them to sense their body heat. Allen froze. Someone was over there. 

Very few people knew that these two rooms existed. They didn't put it on any of the designs, and he definitely didn’t tell anyone about it. He only remembered programming a few robots to have everything packed up, but they wouldn't be able to tell anyone that at all. No one should be over there.

"Who is there?" he called out. No one answered. Still, the naelis moved along the bottom. Clearly, this was not a PSE staff member who knew how the naelis operated. It would have been hilarious to him if he did not feel so violated that a guest found the room on the first day.  “I can see you moving. I know you're there.”

Finally, the naelis stopped moving. After a moment, the naelis spread from the bottom to form a shape around a figure. 

"Hello…" a soft, sultry voice said.

The sound of the voice immediately smothered the flames of his anger. He didn't know who he had expected to be on the other side, but it was not someone with an alluring voice like that. 

“You know you're trespassing in a private space, right?” Allen said after he got his bearings again.

“I would have never guessed from all the boxes. Thank you for letting me know.”

Allen’s hands clenched. First, she violated the room with her presence, and now she had the nerve to be sarcastic. “You shouldn’t be over there.”

“Well, I tried to leave.”

“By crawling on the floor?”

The woman scoffed. “You would have heard my heels.”

“So instead you wanted me to think I was imagining things by sneaking out?”

“This could still be in your imagination. Maybe you are talking to a ghost. Maybe I’m not even here.” The woman’s heels clicked on the floor for a few steps before she stopped. “Wait, while you’re interrogating me, are you even supposed to be over there?”

Allen tilted his head. What kind of question was that? These rooms were his space away from everyone. He owned this entire spaceship. Everything was accessible to him. But then it dawned on him that she didn't know who he was.  

He debated opening the door connecting the rooms. His keycard would give him access. It would be easy to throw her out and be done with the whole conversation. But he couldn’t. If she was like the majority of the population, she'd probably use her edram to record everything he said to her. And he doubted Jasmine would be happy if the first piece of news after launching the ship was about him kicking someone out of a room. Ugh, he hated playing this publicity game. 

“I happen to work here," he finally said. "How did you even find the room?"

For the first time, she didn’t have a quick retort, and when she did speak, it was almost too low for him to hear. “I was trying to hide."

“Hide?” The word, although echoing with familiarity in his own body, tasted strange as he repeated it. Ever since the edram replaced phones, people usually begged to be seen. To be recorded for some next viral moment. But here she was not wanting to be seen at all. Just like him. 

Who was this woman? 

“What are you hiding from?” He asked, softening his tone.

"Does it matter?"

Allen frowned at her biting tone. ”I guess it doesn't."

Allen approached the tank to see if there was anything about her he could see. But of course, he couldn’t. Naelis lived in a gel-like substance that was too thick to see through. All he had to go on was her silhouette.

 Now that there were two people, the naelis divided themselves between them.  Some gathered around her on one end of the wall and others around him on the opposite end of the wall. Her silhouette stood about a foot shorter than his. Tall for a woman, since he stood over six feet tall, but he supposed that fit for all the audacity she had.

A soft sigh came from the other side before her voice carried across the tank. “I’m sorry. That was rude. It’s been a long day.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Ahh, so you are also hiding. How do two strangers end up hiding in the same place?”

“Because you were not supposed to find this place.”

“Oh, how you love to remind me of that,” she said, a chuckle traversing across the room.

The sound was just as disarming as her voice. So real. So natural. Allen couldn’t stop the small twitch of his lips. 

“What kind of staff would I be if I didn’t enforce the rules?”

“Hmm, I get it. You have to do your job, and I don’t want to get you fired. But I don’t know, this place doesn’t feel like a room that needs to follow the rules. It feels safer. Like an escape from everything else.”

“And that’s why you came here?”

“Yes,” she said, softly. “Isn’t that why you come?”

Allen didn’t answer. A silence filled the space between them, but his shoulders and mind were more relaxed than when he entered the room. Maybe it was because she didn't know who he was and didn't seem interested in figuring it out. Maybe it was just her. Whatever it was, it gave him room to breathe and find a brief respite from the pressures outside these walls.

"I should probably go," she finally said. "You can have the space to yourself now. That's what you wanted, right?"

Allen had almost forgotten that was the reason he came here, but he nodded. Then he remembered that she couldn't see him. “Yes.”

“Okay I'll leave you to it then.”

“Are you coming back?” 

There was a slight pause before her answer. “No, I just… needed a moment alone.” 

The familiarity of that desire to be alone struck a chord in him and played a melody that soothed his beating heart. “Well,” he found himself saying, “If you ever need another moment, you know where to find it. There are no cameras here.”

“Good to know.” There was another beat of silence before the sound of heels echoed against the floor, and stopped again shortly after. “Please don't tell anyone I was here."

Allen stared at the space where her silhouette had been, letting his imagination try to fill in the details of who this could possibly be. "I don't know who you are." 

“Good. This should be the first and last time I will be here, so let's just forget this ever happened.”

The woman didn't wait for him to respond before the door on the other side clicked shut.

Allen didn’t move immediately. The silence he came here seeking now felt strange in the absence of her presence. He moved to his desk, trying to focus on the work he needed to get done. But with the edram notifications pinging in his ears and the purple wall right in front of him, that proved to be a futile task. 

He stared at the purple wall, memories of his family setting up the room flooding back to him. This spaceship was their dream. Something they had been working towards for as long as he could remember, and they had built that room just for their family. 

“It never hurts to make a little space to dream,” his father had said to him when the engineers started building the two rooms. 

It was only five years ago, but Allen remembered it like it was yesterday. It was why he loved the room so much in the past. To be able to dream up new designs for spaceships or technology they could use on Mars excited him. But his dreams did not matter. Not anymore. The only one that mattered was making his parents’ dream a reality. And now that he was alone, with the woman basically promising that she'd never be back, he could realign himself to be better prepared for the next steps. He had not been with his family on the last trip because he was so lost in his dreams of new designs. He had disappointed them then. He would not do so again. 

Allen opened the most recent family photo he had pinned to the main menu of his edram's screen. His mother and older sister shared more than the same dark purple dress. Both had dark brown skin that battled with the beauty of the night sky and full lips that were always tight with concentration when they focused on a project. His father was a lighter brown and had an angular face that people said was the only structured thing about him. Allen was told he looked like him but with his mother's complexion. 

Allen used to stare at the photo with guilt until the loss he felt consumed him, and he felt as dead as they probably were. Now, the feeling was numb, and he could stare at the photo to remind himself why he was even launching the spaceship. To honor their dreams of taking everyone to Mars. 

“I will make this trip a success for you,” he whispered. “I promise.”