Evans unstrapped his harness and floated free from his seat. His pen drifted past his face, slow and lazy, turning end over end like a tiny silver acrobat performing for an audience of zero. He reached out and caught it between two fingers. Simple. Easy. Weightless.
"Well," Evans said to the cabin at large. "We're not dead."
"Yet," Chen added helpfully. He was already unstrapping himself with practiced ease, like he'd been doing this his whole life instead of just one day.
Thorne unstrapped next. Or tried to. He got one buckle loose and immediately flipped upside down. His legs kicked in the air like a confused turtle that had been placed on its back by a mischievous child. His arms flailed. His other buckles were still firmly attached, so he was now hanging sideways, one leg free, spinning very slowly in place.
"I can't—how do I—what the f**k is happening!" Thorne shouted.
Evans watched with pure amusement. "You're a doctor, Aris. A highly educated man. Figure it out."
"This is not in my job description!" Thorne's arms windmilled uselessly. "I study rocks! ROCKS! Rocks don't move! Rocks stay still on the ground where they belong! This floating nonsense is the opposite of rocks! Rocks would never betray me like this!"
Chen drifted past him with perfect, effortless grace. He was horizontal, arms folded behind his head like he was relaxing in a swimming pool at a five-star resort. His face was the dictionary definition of smug. "Skill issue, my friend."
"I will strangle you, Mark." Thorne pointed a shaking finger at him. "When I get myself right-side up, I will strangle you with my bare hands. I will wrap my fingers around your neck and squeeze until you apologize."
"Can't. No gravity." Chen did a slow, lazy somersault in mid-air just to show off. "Your hands will just push you away. Physics. Newton's third law of motion. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. You'll try to grab me and end up floating into a wall like a idiot."
"I hate you."said Aris Thorne
"You love me. You told me last week."Said Mark Chen
"I was drunk on mission excitement. It doesn't count."said Aris Thorne
"Love under excitement is still love."said Mark Chen
"I'm going to request a crew transfer when we get back."said
"Request denied. I'm too charming to replace."
Evans chuckled at their endless bickering and floated toward the main window. Outside, Earth hung in the black void like a jewel dropped into ink. Blue and white and green. Swirling clouds the size of entire countries. Vast oceans that glittered with reflected sunlight. The thin curve of atmosphere that held everything together, fragile as a soap bubble and just as easy to pop. It was impossibly beautiful. It was home.
"Hey," Evans said softly. "Both of you. Shut up and look at this."
Thorne stopped flailing. Chen uncrossed his arms and floated over. Both men drifted to the window and went completely, utterly silent.
For a long moment, nobody spoke. Nobody breathed. Nobody moved.
"That's home," Thorne said quietly. His voice was different now. Softer. Almost reverent. Like he was standing in a cathedral instead of a metal tube in the middle of nowhere. "That's the whole world right there."
"That's everyone," Chen added. His smugness was completely gone. His jokes were gone. His endless sarcasm had evaporated. He just stared at the blue marble with wide, wet eyes. "Every person we ever knew. Every place we ever went. Every stupid argument. Every good meal. Every bad day. Every first kiss and last goodbye. Every baby born and every old person who died. All of it. Right there. On that little blue dot."
Evans nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Thorne finally managed to right himself, grabbing a handhold and pulling his spinning body under control. He joined them at the window, shoulder to shoulder. "It looks so small from up here. So fragile."
"It is small," Evans said. "We just forget that when we're standing on it. We think the world is huge because we're tiny. But from up here..." He trailed off.
"From up here you can cover it with your thumb," Chen finished.
More silence. The three men floated together, watching their planet turn slowly beneath them. The hum of the ship was a comfort now instead of a threat. They were in space. They were alive. They were going to the moon.
Then Chen spoke again.
"So." He cleared his throat loudly. "Important question. Who's going to tell Mission Control that I definitely, absolutely, one hundred percent peed my suit a little bit during launch?"
"MARK!" Thorne shouted.
"F**K YOU TOO, ARIS!" Chen shouted back, grinning like a madman.
Evans burst out laughing. A real laugh, deep and warm and uncontrollable. It echoed through the cabin and bounced off the walls. The tension of launch finally shattered completely.
From the cockpit, Petrova's voice came through one more time, dry as desert sand. "I heard all of that. Every single word. And I want you all to know that I am putting every detail in the official mission log."
"You wouldn't," Chen said, his grin vanishing instantly.
"Try me, Mark. Try me."
Chen groaned and covered his face with both hands. "I hate this crew. I hate all of you."
"No you don't," Evans said, still grinning.
A long pause. Then Chen dropped his hands and sighed.
"...No I don't. You guys are my family. But I'm going to complain about you anyway. That's also what family does."
"That's fair," Thorne said. "Complaining is how we show love."
"Exactly. Now someone help me find clean underwear."
"Absolutely not."
"F**k all of you."
"Love you too, Mark."
---
End of Day 1
-Will be continued 😎
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