Red Legacy

The sun beat down mercilessly on the large group of runners, who were pushing themselves to finish the obligatory fitness regimen before they gave out from heat exhaustion. Relief filled their faces when they finally made it to the entrance of the training center and pressed the button to page the others inside.

“Why is it always so hot here?” one of them complained.

Kaia answered sarcastically, “Because it’s Texas and we’re 5 miles from the sun.”

“Ain’t that the truth. This place is a perfect training ground for what Venus feels like,” the man laughed, while wiping sweat off his forehead.

“Hey, if it’s got Tex-Mex and BBQ, sign me up and I’ll be on the first mission!” another man teased. “What do you think, Kaia? Would you be up for a Venus mission?”

Kaia shook her head firmly. “No, sir. I’m going to Mars.”

The men laughed at her determination, knowing how difficult it was to qualify for any of the Mars missions. She wasn’t deterred by their laughter, fully confident in her capabilities to get a spot on the elusive roster of trainees.

The red lights flashed before the large entrance doors loudly slid open for the group to enter the secure building. In the bustling city of Houston, NASA facilities had overtaken much of the surroundings in the last few decades, extending their successful missions and recruitment centers. The groundbreaking work on the moon had garnered enough funding to construct the enormously sophisticated A.C.E compound, or Artemis Center for Exploration. Scientists and engineers had just begun pivotal research in the center on the moon for future planet exploration.

Kaia smiled as they walked through the long hallway to the medical personnel, who continued to monitor their heart rates and vital signs while they did the physical training to qualify for the next stage of tests. Space exploration was in her blood, with her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather having all made it to space before her. This was her passion and lifelong dream, to go further into space than her ancestors, having her own adventures in the stars.

The showers were a welcome sight after the group left the medical rooms, but the day was only beginning, with endless instructions and briefings ahead of the approaching cut of more qualifiers. Hours of tests filled their time, exhausting them mentally and physically, until they were finally allowed to sit in a large presentation room.

An older instructor stood in front of the group to close out the day with final remarks before they were dismissed. “Tomorrow’s the big day, guys! Some of you will see your names on the board for the final tests, and some of you will transfer to earth-based missions.” A collective groan came out of the group. “The Artemis Center is for the best of the best, and competition is extremely high. No matter what your orders are tomorrow, we thank you for your hard work. Good luck.”

Kaia walked out of the building while the others slowly trickled out around her, relieved to be a few hours away from finding out whether she would move one step closer to Mars. Checking her phone for missed messages, she noticed a typical note of encouragement from her big brother. “Don’t mess up.” She chuckled and shook her head in amusement. “Thanks for the pep talk, Matty...” she mumbled.

“Hey Kaia!”

Turning around abruptly, Kaia caught sight of her teammate waving to her from across the parking lot.

“Remember us on Mars!”

Even though she could hear the obvious mockery and laughter coming from the handful of people she was supposed to consider teammates, she shrugged it off and put her head down until she got to her car. She didn’t care that she wasn’t taken seriously in winning a spot on the crew to Artemis, she knew she could do it. Pushing her shoulder-length blonde hair out of her face, she sighed and made the drive home, hoping her dad wouldn’t see the worry on her face.

Her tired feet walked up the brick stairs and into the old condo she had called home for most of her life. Swinging the door shut, she called out over the tv in the following room to let her dad know she was home. There was no point in getting a place of her own when she wasn’t home much anyway. Matty had his old room upstairs, same as her, keeping one foot on the ground after he was sent to the Artemis Center to design the shuttles she was hoping to fly inside one day.

“Hey kid! How did the tests go?”

Her dad’s steady voice and big hugs always calmed her down when she was feeling stressed. She shrugged in uncertainty and shook her head.

“I have no idea. I think I did well, but I really don’t know. We find out tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you did great. Either way, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Grabbing a package on the counter, he passed it to her with a smile. “Special delivery from Matty.”

She grinned when she took it to open the box and unwrap the contents. “Wonder what kind of music he sent me this time! His taste is so eclectic, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

Her dad chuckled in agreement. “He gets that from your mother’s side. She always loved playing records. What is it this time?”

“Umm, let’s see. Fleetwood Mac: Go Your Own Way.”

“You can tell him what you think when you get to Artemis.”

Kaia smiled at her dad’s confidence in her test scores, before he added, “Now c’mon! I have a plate of hot food waiting for you. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day, you might not have time to eat much.”

Regardless of the schedule tomorrow, Kaia doubted whether she’d have the stomach for anything.

The next morning could not come soon enough for Kaia, who failed to sleep more than a couple of hours from anxiety. When she arrived at the NASA building once more, she was surprised to find that she wasn’t the first one there, though the time was much earlier than scheduled. Sitting inside the conference room, she nodded toward the familiar bloodshot eyes of her teammates. She doubted anyone was able to get much sleep with such life altering news hanging over their heads.

The same instructor chuckled to himself when he walked into the room to notice it was already full. Clearing his throat, he signaled to the team handling the monitors before addressing the group. “Alright, looks like everyone has arrived early this morning! I won’t keep you waiting any longer! Here are the names of the finalists to the Artemis Center.”

Kaia held her breath until the names appeared on the board and she spotted her name on the top. Laughing in relief, she heard the mixed sounds of conversations all around her; consolation to those who didn’t make it, and congratulations to those making the next round. No doubt her father would be thrilled, while Matty would wonder what took her so long.

“Everyone listed on the board, please follow me!” the instructor shouted over the crowd.

Kaia assumed they would be issued the next scheduled time for the last test as she slowly filed behind the others to follow the instructor down the hall. Typically, they would train for the next test as a team for an additional month, but this time felt vastly different than the others. They had never been taken to an entirely different wing of the building directly after test results. Trying to observe any clues about where they were headed provided no answers, until they paused in front of a large entrance with the logo of A.C.E. across the doors.

Whispers were exchanged among the small line of qualifiers until the long doors slid open to an enormous chamber, filled with equipment they had never seen. On one side, a sleek spacecraft stood aimed at a walled screen. The group marveled at the unique design, resembling a jagged orb, instead of a shuttle.

“What is that?” one of them whispered.

“Simulator, maybe?” Kaia answered thoughtfully.

“Alright, everyone! I’m sure you have noticed this is a little different than the other tests. The finals move much quicker than all of you are familiar with, based on your ability to handle pressure and maneuver the Artemis spacecraft you see here. These will be simulations, obviously, but they will feel more realistic with our newest equipment.” Clapping his hands together with satisfaction, he looked at the overwhelmed faces in front of him. “Let’s begin!”

Kaia observed the first qualifier moving the spacecraft throughout the simulation, which did not appear difficult until an asteroid field appeared on the screen, creating a host of issues that sent the vessel into chaos after being hit. It proved to be a problem for each of the qualifiers, until finally, it was Kaia’s turn. If none of her teammates were able to maneuver through the difficulties of the simulation, she couldn’t see how much better she would prove to be.

Taking a breath, Kaia tried to calm her nerves as she easily moved through the simple tasks of the simulation until she could see the familiar beginning of the asteroid field coming into view. “Instincts.” her dad would always say. “You have a sharp mind that unwinds problems. Trust your instincts.” Swallowing hard, she hoped she could unwind this problem before she crashed and burned like all the others. Her eyes stared at the asteroids until she saw a distinct path, weaving in and out of the line of rocks speeding towards her. The vessel guided easily with each of her movements, which tightened as the asteroids came faster and faster. Even when the alarms went off, she pushed on until she finally burst through the end of field, reaching the end of the initial test.

Walking slowly down the lowered back of the spacecraft, Kaia wiped her sweaty hands on her pants until she glanced up to see the instructors watching her with peculiar expressions. Hoping she didn’t fail to follow essential protocol; she grew more nervous as the simulations continued until everyone had completed the first test. The other tests consisted of highly advanced equipment used at the Artemis Center for drilling and mining, which proved difficult to control easily. Kaia’s instincts continued to be useful in operating the machinery, especially a laser used to pierce through moonrock to cut down larger areas.

“When we call out your name, please line up here!” the instructor’s voice boomed out.

Kaia stood beside the other nervous qualifiers until she heard her name called out with four others. They were quickly ushered out while the voice of the instructor continued speaking to the remaining group. Were they the winners or the losers? Her mind raced with doubts about what she could have done better during testing, if only she had managed to get some sleep the night before. Surely, they would not only accept five finalists out of a group of so many qualifiers. They had to be the ones who failed somehow. What would she tell her father?

“Please be seated and wait for your instructor.” one of the men stated, while ushering them into a small board room.

A giant screen turned on with the A.C.E logo until a face they all knew appeared. Commander Vasquez appeared behind a desk on the screen, much to their amazement. “Congratulations! You have passed the training to become a part of the Artemis Center Research Community. You will begin your relocation to the Artemis Center immediately for your orders. We are proud to have you on our team.”

The message ended to the stunned group while the instructors rushed in to provide further details and the date of departure. Kaia’s mind felt separated from the reality of what she was seeing. The one and only Commander Vasquez, one of her heroes, was just on a screen telling her she would be flying in space to be stationed on the moon.

The excitement of Kaia’s father at the great news was something she had always hoped to see, and she was not disappointed. It was only eclipsed when he escorted her to the shuttle, along with the other new recruits and their loved ones. The instructors nodded in respect when her father walked by, recognizing his white hair and weathered smile from photos of his time on the moon.

Kaia looked up at him with a mixture of immense pride and the realization that she would not be able to see him for the next few months, though she was thankful for the advancements in communication between Artemis and Earth. Texting could be done as easily on the moon as those exchanged on earth.

“Hey Mister G!”

Kaia and her father turned to see one of her teammates greeting them with a smile. Though Kaia may have been dismissed by the others as only being in the Artemis program through family connections, they always maintained respect for her father’s illustrious career. Being a frequent speaker, he was affectionately known as ‘Mister G’ to the crew and qualifiers.

“Bring back memories of the good old days?” the man asked good-naturedly.

The old man chuckled. “Always. But I’ve had my time in the stars, it’s time for the next generation to make their mark.”

Kaia smiled at her dad while they made their final goodbyes before departure.

“Don’t let your brother make you second guess yourself. You got here on your own, you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

When the shuttle departed for the moon, Kaia felt a surge of excitement over the unknown. Though she was young, she felt like she had been training her whole life for this moment and the opportunity to carry on her family’s service to space exploration. When the view out the window changed to the magnificent stars scattered across the sky, she watched in awe as the lights from the Artemis Center became more noticeable on the moon’s surface.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your new home away from home! As you look out of your windows, there will be lights from the Artemis Center to greet you.”

The voice of the crew commander spoke proudly of the center while steering the shuttle closer to the moon’s surface. Kaia’s gaze remained glued to the spectacular center as they moved slowly to align themselves to the landing bay. When the shuttle locked into the bay, the new cadets anxiously vacated their seats and quickly rushed to follow the crew across the long loading corridor.

“Oh, wow...” Kaia murmured.

The Artemis Center was nothing like she had imagined, with bright lights and luminescent white walls. The main body of the center was sprawling what seemed like miles around them, a clear ceiling in between something resembling the skeleton of whale. It was much busier than Kaia had expected, with people scurrying from end of the center to the other, disappearing into the side bays and corridors.

“Right this way, please!”

The new recruits walked quickly to maintain the stride of their new guide, who met them with a tablet to check off each person stepping off the shuttle. As they moved past a flurry of people in the center, Kaia heard a familiar voice booming behind her.

“There she is! Finally made it!”

Whipping around, Kaia laughed and ran to embrace the grinning man following them.

“Matty! I wanted to surprise you!”

“Nah, there’s no way of that. I checked the roster.”

Kaia squinted her eyes skeptically. “What do you mean, you checked the roster? That’s confidential information and you don’t have clearance for that. Are you hacking again?”

Matty looked back with a ‘deer in the headlights’ expression until another man walked up to save him from further incriminating himself.

“You know your brother would never risk his entire career to hack into an incredibly sophisticated system,” he said dryly.

Kaia smiled at her brother’s friend. “Good to see you, Colin.” Turning her eyes back to her brother, she nodded in thought. “What’s her name?”

Matty feigned a look of surprise. “What do you mean-”

“The girl you flirted with to get that information.”

“I resent that! I wouldn’t do that!”

Kaia stared back, unmoved by his statement, until he sighed heavily.

“Ok, look, her name is Abby. And I did not just flirt with her to find out if you got in, for your information. I took her to dinner, and it just so happened to come up in conversation, okay?”

“Took her to dinner? What does that even mean in a space station? A freeze-dried pack of trail mix and a caprisun?”

Colin burst into laughter, while she heard the voice of the guide calling her back to the group.

“Look, I gotta get back. I’ll see you later!”

As Kaia ran to catch up with her group, she heard the voice of her brother yelling after her.

“Hey! I’ll have you know, there’s actual food here!”

The new recruits were ushered into a boardroom where they were given work orders and instructions on who to report to the following day. Before they were dismissed to leave with the guide for a full tour of the facility, Commander Vasquez walked in unannounced to introduce himself to the fresh faces joining the Artemis crew.

“Commander! This is a surprise!” one of the instructors fumbled to say.

“Yes, I just wanted to see our newest recruits. Judging from the test scores, I have high expectations for this group to help advance our research.”

Shaking everyone’s hand firmly, the commander paused in front of Kaia and looked at her seriously for a moment.

“I worked with your father many years ago, good man.”

“Yes, sir. He said you were the best wingman he’d ever flown beside.”

“Ha! Wingman, huh? He would say that. Oh, and your brother is here also.”

“We’re nothing alike,” she replied quickly.

Commander Vasquez chuckled and nodded in understanding as he left as quietly as he had entered.

The tour of the center was overwhelming to Kaia and the others, who were shocked at the number of technical advancements, unknown to everyone on earth. The living quarters were on different floors of the same wing, overlooking an open expanse of the moon’s surface.

“What are those lights from over there?” she asked the instructor.

The group looked out the long, oval windows to see where she pointed and noticed the tall lights in the distance.

“Oh, that’s for the drilling. We have hopes in finding a way to make the moonrock suitable for creating structures under the surface.”

“Wow! That’s amazing! For colonization?” one of the recruits exclaimed.

“In theory, yes. But it would undergo a considerable amount of testing before that could be approved. There are two ways that Artemis is testing to keep the center safe. The initial plan is to create additional landing bays and labs under the surface to keep them from being damaged by asteroids. The frequency of damage we incur from them has generated the design of the protective dome around the Artemis Center itself, but the extended wings are not fully supported under the dome. We are looking for safer ways to continue research here.”

Kaia studied the man’s face quietly before asking, “What’s the other way?”

“Hmm? Sorry?”

“You said there were two ways. I was just wondering what the other way was.”

The man straightened the collar of his shirt nervously before answering. “Oh, yes. Well, the other way is far more dangerous. The rogues would be deployed to cut through the largest asteroids before they could land here.”

“Rogues?”

“Pilots who can navigate through the asteroid fields. We call them that because once they’re out there, they’re on their own.”

Kaia and the others stood in silence, remembering the final test to qualify for the Artemis Center.

When the nervous instructor walked away, one of the recruits shook his head in disgust. “And here I thought we were here to do research. Rogues?” He smacked his lips in irritation and added, “More like kamikazes.”

They followed the guides around until they were finally dismissed and allowed to do as they wished for the remainder of the evening.

Scanning the center for any sight of her brother, Kaia spotted Colin talking to a small group of people and raced up to him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but have you seen Matty?”

“Yeah, I’ll take you to him.”

Colin excused himself and left his friends to walk Kaia to an elevator before he noticed the look of concern on her face.

“Everything ok?”

“I don’t know.” Brushing her hair out of her face, she asked, “Did you take the final test with the asteroids?”

Colin frowned in confusion. “What asteroids?”

“You know, the simulator with the asteroid field you had to navigate through?”

Shaking his head in concern, he replied, “The last test was a 4-hour assessment of your technical knowledge-”

“No, that was the test before. Ugh, this is completely messed up.”

“What’s going on, Kaia?”

Watching the lights on the top of the elevator doors, she sighed in frustration.

“I think the five of us who were brought in were intended to be rogues.”

“What?? No, that’s impossible! Commander Vasquez would never allow new recruits to be thrown into that.”

“Yeah? I guess we’ll find out.”

When the two exited the elevator, they moved quickly through the hallway to find Matty, who was immersed in a conversation with a smiling woman.

Matty exclaimed, “Hey guys! Perfect timing! I was just suggesting we all go out for dinner!”

Motioning to Kaia, he began to introduce everyone. “This is my best friend, Colin, and my little sister, Kaia. Guys, this is-”

“Oh!” Kaia interrupted. “You must be Abby! Great to meet you.”

The happy smile quickly fell from the young woman’s face as her eyes darted to Matty, before she stormed off in a huff.

“I take it that wasn’t Abby...”

Her brother threw daggers with his eyes, while Kaia shrugged in exasperation.

“I’m gonna get you nametags for these people, Matty. Seriously, make up your mind. And how many people are even up here, aren’t you worried they could band together and vote you off the island?”

“Hey, at least I’m trying to meet people! You’re not exactly the best at relationships.”

“No, because I prefer to be the best at my job.”

“Last time I checked, I was at the top of my field for designing spacecrafts so-”

Kaia sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”

Matty paused and accepted her apology begrudgingly.

“I came to ask what you knew about the rogue program. I think I may have been brought here to become one and I’d like to know what I’m up against.”

Shaking his head, he replied, “There’s no way! Commander Vasquez is a good guy; I’ve never heard of him putting new recruits in there. Plus, it’s completely voluntary! You have to apply to be placed in that group.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

Releasing a sigh of relief, Kaia felt much better about continuing her training the following day. The guide must have been mistaken in the handling of the program and unaware of who was allowed to join.

The following day was one in which the recruits were handed their orders and assigned to their respective departments. Kaia was surprised to find that all of them were sent to vastly different areas of research, with hers centralizing on what she loved most, flying. Even though she was told as the newest recruit, she would be given assignments to test equipment and spacecrafts created at the Artemis Center until she gained enough experience for a mission, she was hopeful to learn quickly.

“Ah, I see one of our newest recruits has entered the piloting program! Excellent!”

Kaia turned around to see Commander Vasquez walking in the testing bay along with a large retinue of officers. The instructors stopped the next exercise to allow the commander to speak uninterrupted.

He waved them on. “Oh, please proceed! I would like to see the simulation myself.”

Nodding to Kaia, she gulped nervously and climbed into the spacecraft resembling the one at the Houston headquarters.

“Ok, here goes...” she mumbled to herself.

The cockpit was more advanced than the one in Houston, but the small size of it reminded her of an arcade game back home. Her eyes scanned every button with growing excitement as she placed her helmet on and listened for the voice of the instructor. A simulation screen lit up and she began to glide the spacecraft away from the simulated Artemis Center.

“This exercise is to test the maneuverability of the control system and effectiveness of the retractable laser. You will fly toward a projectile and attempt to incinerate it with the laser. Is that understood, Red Seven?”

Kaia answered, “Copy that.”

In the distance, Kaia would see the projectile plummeting towards her direction, so she locked on the target and moved to it. As soon as she reached the object, she initiated the laser to cut through the rock, quickly figuring out how to move her spacecraft around the fallen rock until it was destroyed. Proud of herself, she smiled and entered the coordinates of the Artemis Center until she heard the voice of the commander in the speakers.

“Not so fast, Red Seven. There are more projectiles in your airspace. Continue to the targets.”

Kaia spotted the dreaded sight she had seen before in Houston. Asteroids. Taking a deep breath, she moved her simulated craft forward and used a scanner to assess the largest targets.

“Here we go...” she said quietly.

The vessel she tested moved easily between the small rock to find the largest projectiles before she destroyed them with the laser. Keeping up the pace with the smallest rocks was challenging, but she swiftly managed to make it through the simulation to complete the task.

“Well done, Red Seven.”

Exhaling in relief, Kaia pulled off her helmet and climbed down from the spacecraft before noticing a handful of people standing behind the commander’s officers. Commander Vasquez nodded in approval and led his group quickly out of the bay. The instructor waved to the handful of people remaining and looked at Kaia with satisfaction.

“You did very well in your first testing exercise! These are the ones you will be testing everything for, the rogue pilots.”

Trying to hide her surprise, Kaia shook their hands and listened to their friendly welcome, wondering how they could volunteer to be rogues when it was so dangerous. She couldn’t understand why they would want a mission so bleak. When they left, she was pointed to another spacecraft to begin more tests for the rest of the day.

The weeks after her arrival flew by, so full of equipment and spacecraft testing that she could see the simulations and cockpits in her sleep. She had grown accustomed to the structured pace of the Artemis Center and the pounding of the drills that made a constant rhythmic vibration throughout the day. It was good to see Matty on a regular basis and see his enthusiasm for designing equipment grow with each new creation, though she did miss her dad.

On a quiet spot in front of a circular window, Kaia sat looking out to the beautiful star-filled sky and hoped her work at the Artemis Center was accomplishing something. After so many tests, she began to wonder if she was making any real progress in the research they were conducting at Artemis.

“I’ve seen that look before.”

Kaia glanced over her shoulder to see Commander Vasquez standing alone.

“Mind if I join you for a moment?”

Shaking her head, she watched him sit down on the bench and look up at the stars. It was only when she was closer to him that she noticed the darker color under his eyes. He looked tired. “Are you alright, Commander?”

He chuckled, “Bit under the weather, but nothing some sleep won’t take care of.”

Kaia nodded and continued watching him curiously.

“I recognize a quality in you that I once had myself, Kaia. Absolute devotion to my work and space travel.” He smiled at her the way in understanding before adding, “I respect it, and I commend you for the tremendous work you have accomplished.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Unfortunately, the one thing we have not been able to change is time. You blink, and it’s already passing you by. I’ve devoted my life to my work. I’ve seen astounding discoveries and technical advancements few people have even heard of...and I’m incredibly grateful. But I have missed so many moments in my family...” Looking at her with weary eyes, he smiled sadly. “It is a bittersweet thing to live in the stars. You see the spectacular life in space, but you could miss the spectacular life on the ground if you’re not careful.”

Kaia looked at her hands in silence. “My father always said it was as much a sacrifice as a blessing.”

“Mm. I always envied your dad. He made a legacy in both worlds.”

Unsure of how to respond, Kaia could only look back in silence.

“In any case, I must be off. You’re doing good work, Kaia. Never let your mind think otherwise.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Watching the famed commander quietly walk away only made her miss her father even more. She loved working on spacecrafts, but her heart felt torn in the direction she was moving in.

On one typical start to her day, Kaia walked through the brightly lit halls to begin another set of tests, when an alarm began to blare loudly through every part of the Artemis Center. Looking around for someone who could shed light on what was going on, she heard a voice over the speakers ushering everyone to the lower decks. Running behind the other people around her, she didn’t stop until she saw her brother and Colin joining the crowd.

“Matty!”

“Kaia! You ok??”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Do you know what’s happening?”

Colin interjected, “It’s an asteroid field. I was in the control room when the alarm started.”

Kaia was filled with worry over what that meant. “Are they sending out the rogues?”

“I think so,” he answered.

These people had become her friends and work family, welcoming her into their tight-knit group from the moment she arrived. She knew what they were meant to do, but it didn’t make it any easier to imagine not seeing them again.

“I want to see them before they go.”

Matty replied, “Kaia, that’s not a good idea. They want everyone to the lower decks-”

“Matty. It’s important.”

The two men exchanged glances before they grabbed Kaia and started pushing their way through the crowd to go the opposite direction. Sprinting down the halls, they burst into the loading bay in time to see the pilots making their way to each spacecraft awaiting them.

“Why are there six pilots? I thought there were only five spacecrafts. Who is the sixth one?” she asked in confusion.

Colin motioned to Commander Vasquez, who was placing a helmet on. “The commander has always been Red One.”

Matty grabbed her arm to pull her to the safety of the observation area, where the entrances were closed, and oxygen levels remained sealed while the bay doors were opened to release each spacecraft.

Colin said, “C’mon. Let’s find one of the control operators to see what’s going on.”

When they ran into a small control booth to ask for information, they were alarmed to see how many large asteroids were projected to hit the Artemis Center.

“There are so many...how could they possibly destroy them all?” Kaia wondered aloud.

One of the operators pointed to the radar projection and answered, “We’ve configured how many targets each pilot can hit in their line of flight. They will manage to eliminate a significant amount of damage to the base. Unfortunately, this line of asteroids here will be unaccounted for in the attack.”

“They need one more,” Kaia replied.

Colin added, “Even if they had one more, they don’t have enough vessels to launch. Only six were made.”

Matty leaned his head to the side in thought. “Well...that’s not entirely true.”

“What do you mean?” Colin asked.

“I mean, we do have another vessel, it just wasn’t cleared for official duty yet.”

The control operator interrupted, “Even with another vessel, we don’t have another pilot who is trained to fly these. There were five, along with the commander.”

“I can do it. I’m Red Seven.” Kaia answered firmly.

“No, Kaia! Absolutely not! Dad would kill us if you did that!”

Turning to the control operator, Kaia asked bluntly, “If that line of asteroids hit us, will we survive?”

“No. Not at the projected course.”

Looking at her brother, Kaia stated, “No other choices right now.”

Colin asked, “Can we get her up there?”

“Yes. But we must move now,” the operator answered.

Matty raced Kaia to the vessel and embraced her tightly. “You are the most annoying sister in the world, but if you don’t come back, I will never forgive you.”

“Love you, Matty.”

“Love you, too.”

Climbing into the cockpit, she flashed a thumbs up to him and initialized the flight sequence while the bay doors opened. Gliding out swiftly, her voice came over the speaker to the control tower and the other vessels racing to the asteroids.

“This is Red Seven. I’m locked on the targets. Estimated contact in 2 minutes.”

Commander Vasquez answered, “That is a negative, Red Seven! You were not cleared for this mission!”

“Understood, sir. I will report for punishment when we have completed the mission.”

Kaia could hear a loud sigh from the commander, who knew they could not accomplish the mission without her.

“Fine. Continue your course. Listen for my countdown.”

“Copy that.”

The small spacecraft Kaia was in felt even smaller the closer they approached the asteroids bearing down on the moon. Her heart began to beat faster as she tried to block out the panic rising inside of her. “You can do this...stay focused.” Gripping the joystick, she waited until she heard the voice of the commander once more.

“Initialize laser contact in 3...2...1. Fire!”

Kaia sliced through the asteroid directly in front of her, before bursting through the middle of it to lock on another. Diverting from the path of smaller fragments flying at her was tricky, but she managed to keep her target locked and continued until she had destroyed another. When she hit the last one on her projected path, she pulled up to fly into an open sky and turned around to survey the site below.

“This is Red Seven. Targets have been eliminated. Awaiting further instructions.”

“Red Seven! Red Two has been hit! Divert your course to the targets!”

“I’m on it.”

Entering the asteroid field again, Kaia was working backwards to destroy more debris until she reached the last one. Approaching the proximity of the base, she wasn’t sure she could make it in time.

“Red Seven to base – the last one is too close. I can’t reach it-”

“This is Red One. All units stand down. I’ll take this one.”

The voice of the dispatcher came back to reply, “Red One – your laser has been damaged. You cannot destroy the asteroid.”

“All units stand down! I will take care of this!”

“Commander-” the dispatcher began.

“Place me on the loudspeaker to address everyone.”

Silence fell over everyone on the speakers while they watched the commander aim his spacecraft at the asteroid headed for the Artemis Center.

“This is Commander Vasquez. Thank you for your service and bravery. It has been the greatest honor of my life to lead you.”

Kaia’s eyes widened when the speaker went silent and she watched as the commander steered his vessel straight into the asteroid, pushing it off course and splitting the rock into smaller pieces. The spacecraft was destroyed immediately, shocking those who watched from the Artemis Center and those flying after him.

Feeling a heaviness from the weight of the commander’s sacrifice to save everyone on base, Kaia struggled to see the landing base through watery eyes. The victory of surviving such a disastrous asteroid field was bittersweet, knowing they had lost someone who had inspired them all.

The green grass and big blue sky were a beautiful sight to Kaia, who was standing next to her father and brother outside the memorial for Commander Vasquez. The Houston NASA headquarters held a lovely dedication ceremony for the new Legacy Training Program, inspired by the commander’s dream to allow families of NASA employees to receive scholarships and training in space travel.

“He was a good man. Great pilot.”

Kaia smiled at the comment from her dad. “He was. I told him you said he was the best wingman.”

“Did you? I bet he laughed.”

“Yeah, he did. Some kind of inside joke there?”

He answered with a twinkle in his eye, “I guess you could say that, considering I was his wingman.”

“What??”

“Well, he was the best. The only person I’ve seen come close to his scores is you. I was always the guy who enjoyed training others more than anything else.”

Flattered by the statement, Kaia stared back in surprise.

Matty interrupted jokingly, “Speaking of training, dad – rumor has it, they’re shorthanded on trainers at Artemis. In case you’re interested.”

“Ha! They wouldn’t want an old geezer like me!”

Matty shrugged while they slowly walked away. “I don’t know. You might be surprised there. What do ya say? Maybe you’ve got another adventure in the stars yet!”

“Hmm. We’ll see.”

The months following the memorial were filled with excitement of what was to come and the adjustment of new leadership on the Artemis Center. The newest recruits had begun training, with more instruction emphasized in mastering the spacecrafts, while construction had begun underground for the safety bunkers.

“All right, cadets! We now begin training in how to safely divert debris. For this exercise, we have our rogues here to show you how it's done. And watch out for Red Seven, she tends to sneak up on you.”

Kaia laughed into the speaker and replied, “Thanks a lot, Dad.”

As the group began moving back and forth in the black sky, the control tower watched in interest, with Colin observing the function levels of each vessel. Matty walked in quietly and moved to stand next to his friend.

“How are they doing?”

Colin laughed, “You’re not supposed to be in here, man.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine. First time my old man and my little sister get to dogfight. I am not missing this.”

“They’re not dogfighting, they’re doing diversion exercises.”

“Yeah, sure.”

The new commander walked in with a retinue of officials to observe the vessels high above them.

Matty whispered, “Uh-oh.”

Colin noticed the officials and glanced at Matty in concern. “What do you mean, uh-oh?”

“Maybe she won’t notice it...”

“What do you mean? What did you do?”

Matty seemed reluctant until Colin continued pressuring him for an answer.

“I added a new feature to Kaia’s cockpit. It’s supposed to be a fun surprise. I didn’t realize these guys would be observing-”

“What did you do, Matty??”

Kaia moved her vessel easily in and out of the new recruits while her father continued instructing them, when she noticed a small note beside a button she had not used before.

“What in the world...” she mumbled aloud. “Press for fun.” Pushing the button, loud music began blaring out of Kaia’s speaker for everyone to hear, causing her to burst into laughter.

Kaia’s father shook his head, knowing full well where the sound was coming from. “Looks like we’re working with some background music, guys.”

The other pilots laughed and continued moving.

The commander looked around in confusion in the tower. “Where’s that coming from?”

Colin replied, “Looks like it’s coming from Red Seven, sir.”

“What is this?”

Matty turned around and smiled. “AC/DC. Back in Black....it’s good, right?” Watching the blank expressions from the officials, Matty awkwardly walked toward the door. “I’ll work on it.”

The commander looked at Colin for an explanation.

“Siblings,” he shrugged.

“Ah.” The commander looked up at the flyers and nodded his head and smiled. “I have a feeling the families are what will get us to Mars.”

Colin smiled and looked up at the sky. “Yes, sir. That is some legacy.”

Photo by Planet Volumes on Unsplash