generations and would remain absent for generations to come.
The next few steps James took came easy, almost too easy. He must have appeared to the others as though he were skipping. He was practically weightless here on the moon, yet maintained every scintilla of his strength.
Cautiously, he turned, admiring the deep footprints he’d left on the moon’s surface.
Then he looked up to see Blake Garner waving at him.
“Congratulations!”
“Thanks.”
Suzette played with the camera for a moment before pointing it in the direction of the LEM. “Ready to shoot.”
Raising his arms in a display of victory, Blake cleared his throat and spoke loudly through his headset.
“We stand today on the edge of a new frontier,” he began.
They waited for more but there was no more to come. Blake simply bounded off away from the LEM with an exaggerated fist pump.
“That’s it?” James said to Suzette, momentarily forgetting Blake could hear. “Isn’t that JFK speaking of the 1960s?”As best she could in her spacesuit, Suzette shrugged.
“He worked on that for days. Every other phrase he threw at me came from Star Trek. ”
Blake boldly turned around about ten feet from the ship. “If you have something better, Suzette, write it down and attribute it to me. Otherwise, keep the color commentary inside your own helmet, please.”
“Of course,” she said as Asami Imura started down the steps.
James’ instinct was to rush forward in order to greet her at the bottom, to help her avoid the tumble he’d nearly taken himself, or at least imagined he had. But then he reminded himself that he was here to gauge the safety of the entire experience for future space tourists. It wasn’t his place to physically help people anymore than it was a lifeguard’s job to make sure the pool’s construction techniques were up to code. No, Burton’s job was to observe how things went and then to point out how it could be safer, highlighting any potential dangers he had noticed. Asami was far more graceful than he had been getting down the ladder, though, and before he knew it she was standing there next to him on the moon, definitely not in need of his help.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, as they took in the moonscape, that endless desert of gray. Personally, he thought it was boring as shit. A lot of gray rock, pretty flat but with some hills in the distance.
Well, she is a selenologist after all; this giant rock is her life’s work . James swung back around to face her. “The moon is all it was cracked up to be, I presume?”
“Not the moon,” Asami said, staring intently over his shoulder.
“Then what?” James turned to follow her gaze. “The stars?”
Her gloved hand tightened around his as he stole a glance at the sky and the wondrous blue-green sphere, sitting like an angel on Luna’s shoulder. Asami exhaled deeply, a sound so soft it felt as though her lips were pressed right against his ear. Then she whispered into her headset a single word that made him shiver. Made him question again why in the Hell he had come all the way up here when he had so much to live for down there. Already his mind was getting a little weird, wondering what his wife would think of him holding hands with this woman nearly half his age through a spacesuit.
“Earth.”
Then Martin Hughes stepped down from the LEM and Blake Garner stood in front of their small group and tested his headset again. Once he was certain every one of them could hear, he launched into a well-rehearsed monologue, addressing each of the group by name before speaking while Suzette rolled the camera.
“Welcome to Luna. Eight years ago, Outer Limits began carrying private passengers to an altitude of sixty-two miles, just outside of Earth’s atmosphere, into the blackness of space. For a quarter of a million dollars, ticket holders were able to experience three full days of pre-flight preparation, including how to make the most of their time in microgravity,
The next few steps James took came easy, almost too easy. He must have appeared to the others as though he were skipping. He was practically weightless here on the moon, yet maintained every scintilla of his strength.
Cautiously, he turned, admiring the deep footprints he’d left on the moon’s surface.
Then he looked up to see Blake Garner waving at him.
“Congratulations!”
“Thanks.”
Suzette played with the camera for a moment before pointing it in the direction of the LEM. “Ready to shoot.”
Raising his arms in a display of victory, Blake cleared his throat and spoke loudly through his headset.
“We stand today on the edge of a new frontier,” he began.
They waited for more but there was no more to come. Blake simply bounded off away from the LEM with an exaggerated fist pump.
“That’s it?” James said to Suzette, momentarily forgetting Blake could hear. “Isn’t that JFK speaking of the 1960s?”As best she could in her spacesuit, Suzette shrugged.
“He worked on that for days. Every other phrase he threw at me came from Star Trek. ”
Blake boldly turned around about ten feet from the ship. “If you have something better, Suzette, write it down and attribute it to me. Otherwise, keep the color commentary inside your own helmet, please.”
“Of course,” she said as Asami Imura started down the steps.
James’ instinct was to rush forward in order to greet her at the bottom, to help her avoid the tumble he’d nearly taken himself, or at least imagined he had. But then he reminded himself that he was here to gauge the safety of the entire experience for future space tourists. It wasn’t his place to physically help people anymore than it was a lifeguard’s job to make sure the pool’s construction techniques were up to code. No, Burton’s job was to observe how things went and then to point out how it could be safer, highlighting any potential dangers he had noticed. Asami was far more graceful than he had been getting down the ladder, though, and before he knew it she was standing there next to him on the moon, definitely not in need of his help.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, as they took in the moonscape, that endless desert of gray. Personally, he thought it was boring as shit. A lot of gray rock, pretty flat but with some hills in the distance.
Well, she is a selenologist after all; this giant rock is her life’s work . James swung back around to face her. “The moon is all it was cracked up to be, I presume?”
“Not the moon,” Asami said, staring intently over his shoulder.
“Then what?” James turned to follow her gaze. “The stars?”
Her gloved hand tightened around his as he stole a glance at the sky and the wondrous blue-green sphere, sitting like an angel on Luna’s shoulder. Asami exhaled deeply, a sound so soft it felt as though her lips were pressed right against his ear. Then she whispered into her headset a single word that made him shiver. Made him question again why in the Hell he had come all the way up here when he had so much to live for down there. Already his mind was getting a little weird, wondering what his wife would think of him holding hands with this woman nearly half his age through a spacesuit.
“Earth.”
Then Martin Hughes stepped down from the LEM and Blake Garner stood in front of their small group and tested his headset again. Once he was certain every one of them could hear, he launched into a well-rehearsed monologue, addressing each of the group by name before speaking while Suzette rolled the camera.
“Welcome to Luna. Eight years ago, Outer Limits began carrying private passengers to an altitude of sixty-two miles, just outside of Earth’s atmosphere, into the blackness of space. For a quarter of a million dollars, ticket holders were able to experience three full days of pre-flight preparation, including how to make the most of their time in microgravity,
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