“So we turn back or keep on until we suffocate. Neither is an appealing option.” Doran turned back toward the void, pressing his hands up against the glass. “I’ve waited my whole life for a chance to explore the stars, just as all of you have. . .”
The crew began to stir and murmur among themselves. Doran tuned-out the murmur of his crew. In the far distance, a thumb-sized ball of blue light gleamed motionless as swirls of technicolor ion-trails danced around on the ships electrostatic barrier.
“. . . and we were so close.”
Doran ’s eyes shifted focus. Seeing himself reflected in the glass, he squinted as the stark whiteness of his beard refracted the light of a thousand suns. Doran turned back toward his crew, raising his hand for silence. The crew immediately obeyed, swiveling back toward their captain.
“If it were only my life at risk, I would continue on, this close to our goal, I think I would risk not finding oxygen on Irgendwo. But I must consider the rest of us, as well as this craft. And for that reason, we must turn back.”
A few of the flight crew sighed in relief-thoughts of families and vacations at the beach surely dancing in their heads. But most stared longingly at the distant blue dot fighting back both anger and sadness.
“Get to the repairs everyone. We don’t have any time to waste.”
The flight crew pivoted in their chairs and began directing the repair crews. The ship was instantly abuzz with work to restore life to the limping vessel. Yet despite the activity, there was a palpable silence.
Doran remained at the window, transfixed by the blue dot. Sophia’s footfalls went unheard over the din of typing and communication chatter. She moved beside the captain. Following his gaze with her own, her eyes rested on Irgendwo.
“It was my dream too sir, it’s all I’ve wanted since I was a girl; all gone because of a few rocks.”
Doran sighed, his breath condensed on the glass, “No, it’s not just our dreams that are gone, but our lives. Finding Irgendwo was all I had; I'm too old to pursue anything else. No one remembers the man who almost discovered a new world.”
Sophia glanced over at the captain. Large tears fell from his eyes. Looking back at that distant, undiscovered world, tears welled up in her brown eyes too.
The journey home was solemn and uneventful. Once in dry dock for repairs, the life support systems lasted a month longer than expected.
*
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