Titan Spaceport // December 6th, 064 G.C.

Yesterday had been Orion Darkstarr’s ninth birthday. For most children his age the prospect of a birthday meant presents, cake, and a party—and for someone with distinguished parents like Orion, these could all be had in abundance. But for Orion, such things held little to no value. What his ninth birthday really meant was that he was just one more year away from his tenth. And he fully intended to count the days until its fateful arrival.

At the age of ten Orion would be able to enroll in the Junior Flight Academy at school. It would mean that he would have access to the SolarBrand Industries flight simulator and, down the line, get to ride in a real space shuttle. Since as early as Orion could remember he had the same unwavering dream: he didn’t just want to be a pilot, he wanted to be the greatest pilot in the galaxy, known far and wide throughout the star systems. It would be an understatement to say that Orion never dreamed small, some might say that he set his goals too high—even for a kid. But Orion was not an average kid. In school his teachers marveled at his keen interest and understanding of starship mechanics and space exploration. Where he faulted in other, more typical subjects, he excelled by leaps and bounds in any topic that focused on outer space.

Instead of pointless birthday presents and a party, Orion asked for only one thing. He wanted his dad to get him a few minutes in the flight trainer at the Titan Flight Academy. It would be the ultimate birthday gift. The Flight Academy building was next to the Draxus Star System Embassy where his parents worked. At first his parents had been hesitant, knowing that there were firm restrictions on who could use the expensive and personnel-exclusive simulator, but after some thought, they caved in. Owing to the fact that both of Orion’s parents were well-respected ambassadors, along with his dad’s persuasive demeanor, a few strings were pulled and Orion got nearly half-an-hour in the simulator.

For Orion, the experience was a chance of a lifetime and a fantasy come true. The simulator was designed to resemble a starship’s cockpit, the interior lined with display monitors and virtual reality hologlyphs, and the exterior utilized hydraulic lifts and rumble motion-monitoring to create a ‘real’ sense of piloting a ship. Sure enough, Orion felt like he was really piloting a starship through space. The head flight instructor was impressed by Orion’s uncanny knack for picking up on the control layout and system schematics, even managing not to crash—something most cadets did on their first time. Moreover, Orion’s delight was amplified by the flight instructor’s claim that he was probably the only nine-year-old in the whole galaxy that got to use one of these simulators.

It had been only yesterday when Orion used the flight simulator and already he was wondering how he could possibly wait an entire year before using it again at the Junior Flight Academy. The only thing that quelled his anxiousness was the excitement of seeing a space shuttle takeoff in person.

Orion ran across the lobby of the Titan Spaceport, wading through throngs of luggage-toting people staring up at the monitors displaying shuttle arrival and departure times. Breaching the horde of travelers, Orion made it to the escalator. He looked down at the hustle and bustle of people below, they almost looked like drones. In a sense, they were. For a fleeting moment, Orion’s stomach sank. He felt bad for them. Gazing at the crowd from above, their lives seemed so mundane. No one seemed to stick out or rise above the others. They seemed to be following a routine pattern that offered no recognition. No reward. In a hundred years, would any of them be remembered? It was thoughts like that which often plagued Orion, worst yet, scared him. He didn’t want to become one of those people. He couldn’t imagine growing up and becoming some faceless nobody—Orion vowed to himself that it would never happen. He wanted to live the adventures that he watched on holofilms and read about in digibooks.

Luna would have lost track of Orion completely, had it not been for her catching sight of his bright sky-blue faux flight uniform. He was on the escalator, heading for the second floor. That boy will drive me into an early grave, she thought to herself. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. Orion made her feel young and for a woman fast approaching seventy-six, that was a blessing.

“Orion, wait up!” Luna yelled, but it was no use. Her voice was drowned out by the loud clatter and collective dialogue of people occupying the lobby. Wasting no time, she tried to wedge herself through the mass in an attempt to reach the escalator. Her round physique didn’t make the challenge any easier.

Having been employed as a nanny for the better part of fifty years, Luna had never met a boy like Orion. Where other children his age that were privileged enough to have well-off parents were often needy, wanted the biggest toys, and used their parents prestige to push themselves onto others, Orion never made a fuss over things he wanted, never caused trouble at school, and never followed the trends or fads of his peers. He was a natural leader, a fact that had been evident since the early age of four when Luna had met him for the first time. Then again, Orion’s parents’ line of work always called for them to be away on long trips, in a way forcing the boy to become independent. Independent or miserable—and Luna had never once seen Orion depressed, aside from the few moments after his parents would leave on a job. His ongoing fantasies and dreams of space had kept him well occupied.

The escalator arrived at the second floor of the spaceport terminal. Orion sprinted into the crowd, swerving around and in-between the onslaught of human obstacles. Parting two people in front of him, he spotted his target up ahead.

Orion shouted at the top of his lungs, “Mom! Dad!” He dashed into their arms, knocking their luggage down.

“Orion, where have you been?” Ellwand Darkstarr asked, while ruffling up his son’s hair.

“I met a man downstairs,” Orion replied. “He’s a captain!”

“A captain?” Bellatrix Darkstarr prodded, hamming up the question for Orion’s benefit.

“Yeah mom, a real captain. He pilots his own starship, just like I will one day!”

Ellwand gave his son a playful nudge. “Still sure you don’t want to be a Galactic Ambassador, like your old man?”

Orion shirked back. “Nah, that’s no fun.”

Ellwand and Bellatrix shared a laugh before a female’s monotone voice echoed over the spaceport’s intercom. “Shuttle Zero-Zero-Three is now boarding. I repeat, Shuttle Zero-Zero-Three is now boarding.”

“That’s our flight,” Ellwand sighed.

“Dad, can’t I come?” Orion pleaded. “Just this once?”

“Sorry son, you know how it is. I hate it, but we don’t have a choice. This is an important peace summit for the Draxus and Vailos Star Systems.”

“Oh, I wish we could take you honey,” Bellatrix added. “You know how much I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ve never been to space before,” Orion muttered, lowering his head.

“When we get back we’ll take a trip to space, just the three of us,” Ellwand promised. “Then you’ll ride in your first shuttle. We’ll even try to get you a peek in the cockpit.”

Orion’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Of course, our little captain’s going to need to learn how to fly, isn’t he?” Bellatrix forced a smile, trying to extinguish the thought that in only a matter of minutes she’d be separated from her son for three long weeks. “Oh, I almost forgot!”

She reached into one of the fallen briefcases and pulled out a two-foot wide wrapped package. “Here, open it,” she told Orion, handing it to him.

Brimming with excitement, Orion tore the wrapping away. To his surprise it was a toy starship, detailed with flickering lights. “Oh, wow! My own starship! Thanks, mom!”

“It’ll have to do until you get the real one,” Ellwand joked.

“There you are!” Luna puffed. Out of breath, she made her way over to Orion and his parents. “For a moment, I almost thought I’d gone and lost you.”

The flight announcer’s voice trumpeted through the spaceport again. “Final call, Shuttle Zero-Zero-Three is now boarding. Final call for boarding.”

“Take care, son,” Ellwand said, resting his hand on Orion’s shoulder. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

Bellatrix knelt down, giving Orion a firm hug. “I love you, honey.”

Orion tried to wedge himself free from her grip, his face flushing red with embarrassment. “I know—I love you too, mom.”

After a long silence she let her release on him go. “Be a good boy, Orion. Luna will take care of you while we’re gone.”

“Don’t you worry, he’s a tough cookie,” reassured Luna. “He’ll be just fine.”

“You can watch our shuttle take off from there,” Ellwand declared, directing Orion’s attention to an observation deck at the other end of the spaceport terminal.

Luna helped Orion’s parents gather up their luggage. “Alright folks, don’t want you missing your shuttle.”

“Thanks Luna, you’re the best,” Bellatrix said, juggling the last bit of luggage. Orion’s parents made their way towards a dwindling line of people, all hastening into a doorway. Above the door, digital lettering spelled out the words, ‘Shuttle Zero-Zero-Three.’

Ellwand let his wife enter first, turning back to Orion one last time. “Remember, watch for the shuttle!” And with that, he entered the doorway.

Orion cradled his new toy, fighting back an outpouring of tears.

“Don’t worry sweetie, they’ll be back in no time,” Luna said gently, patting him on the back. She guided Orion over to the observation window, overlooking the airfield. Five shuttles were on the tarmac.

A tear slid down Orion’s cheek, landing on the toy starship.

“I like your toy,” admired Luna. “Is that going to be your ship some day?”

“Yeah,” Orion sniffled, wiping away his tears. He smiled. “One day I’ll be the captain of own ship with my own crew. We’ll have all sorts of adventures, just you wait and see!”

“A crew, huh? I’ll bet having a crew’s a lot of responsibility. A lot of people would be relying on you. Think you’d be able to handle it?”

Orion paused for a moment, giving the question serious thought. “Yeah…yeah I know I could. I’d never let them down, either.”

“I’d say you’d make a pretty good captain, kid.”

“Not pretty good, Luna!” Orion laughed. “The greatest!”

“Shuttle Zero-Zero-Three has departed,” announced the female voice from the loudspeaker.

Luna pointed out the observation window to a shuttle accelerating down the runway. “There it goes!”

Shuttle Zero-Zero-Three had become airborne, lifted into the sky by its singular blazing thruster. The engine roar shook the glass windows of the observation deck. The black and white passenger shuttle was larger than any Orion had seen before, only adding to his amazement as he watched the ship soar higher and higher, leaving a winding smoke trail in its wake. One day soon he would ride a shuttle just like that and finally make it into outer space.

The shuttle’s vertical ascension continued, gaining speed with each passing second. Its majestic departure had been breathtaking—an actual starship reaching up to the heavens…

Orion’s brows knit. He could have sworn he had seen something flash near the ship’s rear. The following moment was instantaneous.

Shuttle Zero-Zero-Three ignited in a thunderous explosion of churning flames. Hundreds of metallic pieces spit across the sky, each pursued by a contortion of matted vapors. A billowing cloud of black smoke hung in the air; a shower of debris and ash were scattered by the blowing wind, carrying much of it back to the ground.

The spaceport had become silent, everyone frozen into place and attention transfixed towards the observation windows.

Luna staggered back, her mouth hung open. She grabbed her heart while trying to verbally articulate any one of a million thoughts. Only incoherent babbling escaped her lips, her lower jaw twitching in despondent reaction.

Orion was motionless. His gaze locked onto the dark ominous cloud where the shuttle had once been. It all happened so fast, like something out from a holofilm. It hardly felt real but, secretly, he knew it was. The collective burst of emotions that circulated within him cancelled each other out. All he could do was stand there, empty and devoid of any feeling. His body began to twitch, starting with his neck, then shoulders. It was as if sudden, violent bursts of electricity had been designated to strike random points of his body. Another shock—he could feel his knees buckle, but somehow managed to stay on his feet.

An intense spasm worked its way down Orion’s arms. The toy starship was jolted from his tight grip. It seemed to fall in slow motion, spinning and twisting down, until it collided against the floor. The ship shattered at his feet, splintered plastic launching in every direction. Then he felt it. Every emotion flooded him at once.

Titan’s Atmosphere // January 14th, 086 G.C.

Orion Darkstarr swallowed back the unexpected surge emotions that sought to overwhelm him. On all fronts he had succeeded, save for the faint mist that swelled up in his eyes.

Legart was focused on flying the Galaxy Runner and Ace, as usual, was oblivious, calculating his remaining credit funds on a monitor. Nova, however, sensed a change in the air, a change coming from Orion. Nine out of ten times she was spot on with her intuition, and this time was no exception.

Nova stole a quick glance at Orion. Upon observing him she snapped her head back around, struck by a pang of guilt. She hoped that he hadn’t seen her. It was all too obvious what the captain was trying to hide—something that she could relate to and something that she damned her own self for possessing: vulnerability. Nova wanted to ask him if everything was all right, to offer him some comfort, the kind of reassurance that she wished someone would offer her…No, you know that’s nonsense! She hated herself for even thinking it. She didn’t need anyone. And she would never need anyone ever again.

To Nova, Orion was a mystery. Since she had joined the crew of the Galaxy Runner a month ago she had never even been alone with him in the same room. She knew nothing of his past, who he was, or where he came from. He was as distant as she was. Nevertheless, he was a mystery that stirred her curiosity.