The probe was officially on its way back towards Earth, doing its thing.
"Alright, now what?" Luca said, still catching his breath from carrying Emily down from the observation lounge and trying to inject a bit of levity into the room. "Anyone hungry?" Honestly, he tuned out most of the tech talk.
Ryan and Danny were chattering like chipmunks, heads buried in screens, probably having so secret nerd party only they understood. He just focused on the screen, the one showing Alpha Centauri, all shiny and new. Danny and Ryan had whipped up so CGI version of the system, and it looked pretty damn cool.
Joey perked up from his chair, smoothing down his dress uniform jacket. "You know what? I could go for so comfort food right about now. Chicken wings sound good to anyone?"
A chorus of agreent rose from the group, and Joey grinned. "Alright, I'll put them in the oven." He said, headed for the door.
"Wait, what?" Emily shot up straight, her eyes wide. "Joey, you can't bring food into the lounge!"
Zoe gasped dramatically, hand flying to her chest. "The lounge is sacred! It's our sanctuary!" She looked genuinely horrified. "And we're still in our dress uniforms! You know the rules: loungewear only in the lounge!"
"Co on, guys," Joey said, pausing at the door. "It's just wings. I'll be careful."
"Just wings?" Emily's voice climbed an octave. "Joey, those things are basically sauce bombs waiting to happen!"
Luca held up a hand, trying not to laugh at how seriously the girls were taking this. "Okay, okay. Executive decision." He looked between Emily and Zoe's panicked faces. "Tonight is a special circumstance."
Emily squinted her eyes at him, crossing her arms. "That's what you said yesterday with the pizza!"
"You're right, Em," Luca said, raising both hands in surrender. "Absolutely. But tonight's extra special. We just discovered a potentially habitable planet. I think we can bend the lounge rules this once."
Emily's squint intensified. "This is the last ti, Luca. I an it. Promise ."
"Fine, I promise," Luca muttered.
Emily's eyes narrowed further, and she stepped closer, pointing a finger at his chest. "If I catch a single drop of sauce on my carpet, I will personally oversee you cleaning this entire lounge. Every. Single. Surface."
Luca swallowed hard. Emily, in full supervisor mode, was... intimidating. And maybe a little attractive, but he wasn't about to admit that right now. "Deal," he said quickly. "But that ans you have to trust to keep everyone in line."
"Oh, I'll be watching," Emily said. She pointed at Joey, then swept her finger around the room, in particular pointing at Ryan and Danny. "If anyone, and I an anyone, gets even a drop of sauce on those leather couches, you're all on cleaning duty for a week. And I'm talking deep cleaning!"
"Deal," Joey said quickly, escaping before the girls could mount further protests.
Luca noticed Danny and Ryan had quietly excused themselves, their heads close together, and they were talking in hushed tones as they made their way towards the door. They looked like a couple of kids sneaking out of class, giggling like little girls.
Zoe asked about the asteroids. "Are those actual asteroids?" she said, squinting at the display. "They're so, like, organized," as if they were so fake props on a movie set.
Chris was practically preening, "Yep," he said, sounding like he'd personally sculpted each rock in orbit. Apparently, their fancy telescope satellite was printing out data faster than they could process it.
Then Joey, who'd just co back, had to go full capitalist on them. "Think of the resources," he practically drooled. "tals, rare minerals…" Dude was already ntally counting his profits. Okay, fine, Luca had thought about that too. They weren't exactly swimming in cash; if anything, they were drowning under a mountain of debt. A big score out here could change everything. It's not like they were here on so pleasure cruise.
Emily had cald down a bit and was more on his wavelength. She leaned closer, her hand brushing against his as she pointed at the screen. "I want to know if there's life," she announced, eyes all lit up. "Intelligent life, preferably. Not just so space mold."
"That's the dream, isn't it?" Luca said, feeling the sa rush of pure possibility. To find sothing else, sothing… more. It was a wild thought, and he liked it. He glanced over at her, and yeah, that intensity was kind of... distracting, but in a good way.
The others were buzzing, talking about tech, resource debates, and the sheer freaking wonder of it all. Luca was right there with them, maybe for the first ti, taking it all in. They were actually doing this. It was ridiculous and amazing.
The door slid open and Danny busted in, looking like he'd just won the lottery, tablet waving around like a flag. "Hey guys, we just got the latest readings from the telescope. You've gotta see this."
The chatter died instantly. Sothing in Danny's voice, excitent, and awe made everyone stop mid-conversation. Emily straightened up beside Luca, suddenly alert.
"What is it?" Luca asked, though part of him already knew. Danny's hands were shaking slightly as he connected his tablet to the main display, and Ryan had gone completely still behind him; this wasn't just another asteroid or data point.
The main screen flickered to life, and the room went dead silent.
There it was. An actual telescope image of a world orbiting another star. The planet hung in the black like a jewel, its surface swirled with white clouds that caught and reflected the alien light of Proxima Centauri. A delicate ring system encircled it, barely visible but unmistakably there.
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"Jesus Christ," Chris breathed, his cara forgotten in his hands.
"The readings are off the charts," Ryan said, his voice hushed with sothing approaching reverence. "Atmospheric composition, magnetic field, surface temperature ranges... guys, this isn't just potentially habitable." He paused, swallowing hard. "This thing could actually support human life."
Emily's hand found Luca's arm, her fingers tightening. "My God," she whispered. "We're actually looking at it. We're looking at another world."
The magnitude of it hit Luca like a physical blow. Every human who had ever lived, every dream of reaching the stars, every science fiction story, and every impossible hope. It all led to this mont, to them, sitting in a lounge millions of miles from ho, staring at humanity's potential future.
"I'm calling it New Dawn," Ryan said quietly. New Dawn. The na settled over the room. Luca could feel sothing shifting in his chest, a feeling he hadn't experienced since he was a kid dreaming of flying among the stars. Hope. Pure, undiluted hope.
"New Dawn," Zoe repeated, her voice small with wonder. "We're really going there, aren't we?"
Luca looked around the room at his crew and saw his own awe reflected in every face. They weren't just explorers anymore. They were pioneers, standing on the threshold of sothing that could change the course of human civilization.
"Yeah," he said, his voice rough with emotion he didn't try to hide. "We're really going there."
By the ti the wings were ready, the excitent had settled into sothing warr, more comfortable. The crew settled into their usual spots, decompressing after the day's revelations. The space felt like a pocket of Earth in the vast emptiness, red leather couches arranged around the fake electric fireplace, its electric flas dancing in a convincing simulation of warmth. On the far wall, the massive viewport stretched wide, starlight spilling in across the floor.
Joey erged from the galley carrying two platters of wings, the sll preceding him like a herald. "Hot wings, coming through!" He set them down on the coffee table between the couches. "Got so ranch and blue cheese too, for the civilized among us."
"You're a saint, Joey," Emily said, already reaching for a wing. She'd loosened her dress uniform jacket and kicked off her shoes, curling up on the main sofa.
Luca settled beside her, close enough that their knees brushed when he leaned forward to grab food. "This is what I'm talking about," he said, gesturing around the room with a wing. "All the fancy tech in the world, but sotis you just need good food and good company."
Danny and Ryan had claid spots on the smaller couch, their tablets abandoned for the mont as they dove into the wings. But Zoe, as if drawn by so invisible force, had sohow positioned herself on the floor between their legs, leaning back against the couch cushions. She'd grabbed a wing in each hand, looking perfectly content to be surrounded by both boys.
Ryan nudged Danny slightly and gestured at the barely-there gap between them. "There's a whole luxury suite right here, Zoe. Just say the word."
"I'm comfortable," she replied with a mischievous smile, tilting her head back to look at him upside down. "Unless you don't want here?"
Danny nearly choked on his wing. "No! I an, yes! I an, you're fine where you are."
The pool table sat unused in the corner, cue sticks standing at attention in their rack. The bookshelf was packed with everything from technical manuals to paperbacks that they had managed to bring along. One of the wall-mounted TVs was playing so old cody on mute, courtesy of Joey, the familiar faces moving through their routines against the backdrop of the starry sky outside.
"It's weird," Zoe said, glancing up from between Danny and Ryan, a spot of sauce on her chin. "Knowing that in eight or nine days we might actually be there, seeing New Dawn up close." She reached up absently, and both boys imdiately offered her napkins, which made her giggle.
"Think it'll look anything like the projections?" Emily asked. She'd shifted closer to Luca on the sofa, her shoulder pressed against his arm. The movent seed unconscious, natural as breathing.
Luca found himself studying her profile in the firelight, the way her eyes reflected the golden glow. "We'll know soon enough," he said, then smiled. "But I hope it's even better than what we're imagining."
She was quiet for a mont, then glanced up at him. "Do you miss it? Ho, I an."
"Ho's not really a place," he said, the truth of it startling him. Without really thinking about it, he'd stretched his arm along the back of the sofa behind her. "It's... I don't know. The people, I guess."
Emily shifted slightly, leaning into the warmth of his side. Her head found that perfect spot against his shoulder, and his arm ca down around her without hesitation. So things never changed, thank god. The scent of her shampoo mixed with the aroma of wings and the artificial fireplace, creating sothing that felt impossibly cozy despite being millions of miles from Earth.
"Look at you two," Zoe called out from her spot on the floor, gesturing toward Luca and Emily with a wing. "Already making yourselves at ho."
Luca rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. His hand found Emily's shoulder, thumb tracing small circles against the fabric of her uniform. She made a soft, contented sound that only he could hear.
"Captain's found his co-pilot," Ryan managed to say, his voice slightly strained as Zoe shifted against his side to get a better look at sothing on the tablet.
"Executive Officer," Emily corrected with a sleepy smile, not bothering to move away from Luca's warmth. She'd earned that title, had been the obvious choice since day one. Hell, she probably should have been captain, but she'd never wanted the responsibility.
"Sa thing," Danny squeaked out, then imdiately blushed when everyone looked at him. Zoe's proximity was clearly affecting his ability to form coherent thoughts. "I an... you know... complentary skill sets and all that."
Joey snorted from his chair. "Smooth, Danny."
The electric fireplace crackled softly, its programd sounds mixing with the gentle hum of the ship's systems. Outside the viewport, the alien stars continued their slow dance across the cosmic backdrop, and sowhere in that light was New Dawn, waiting for them.
Emily's breathing had grown slower, deeper, and Luca realized she was drifting off against his shoulder. He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her hair, so quick and natural that he almost didn't realize he'd done it until he caught Zoe's knowing smile.
"Long day," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
Tucked into his side, Luca felt Emily smile against his shoulder.
Captain's Log:
The communication probe launched successfully at 2147 hours, carrying our initial findings and those ridiculous PR ssages back to Earth.
There's a strange kind of peace in that, knowing so version of us is already on its way ho.
Danny and Ryan's latest analysis confirms what we were starting to hope: Proxima b might be habitable. The atmospheric data, magnetic shielding, and orbital stability all look promising.
Really promising.
But it's still too early to call it with certainty.
We're eight days out from Proxima b. We're calling it New Dawn. I like the na. It feels right, not just for the planet, but for us. For everything we're trying to do out here.
The crew's adjusting. Laughing more. Worrying less. This ship doesn't feel like a job anymore, it feels like like ho. Like sothing worth protecting.
Emily fell asleep against my shoulder tonight in the lounge, right there in front of everyone, and I realized sothing that probably should have been obvious months ago. This isn't just about the mission anymore. It's about the people who make it worth doing.
Tomorrow we begin final approach preparations. In eight days, we'll know for sure what's waiting for us down there.
Personal note:
Dad always said the best crews weren't the ones who followed orders, but the ones who believed in sothing bigger than themselves.
Maybe that's what this is.
End log.
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