Space was quiet. Andromeda liked the quiet. She liked to watch as her ship floats silently by planets and stars. She liked the times her mother came to visit her and would sit quietly by her side while they sailed through the sector, just like the old Greek explorers her mother loved so much. Sometimes her mother would read the Greek mythology she was named after. Her mother had a beautifully clear and calm voice. It sounded how she imagined birds on an ocean sounded. Clear and strong telling you to not worry about the clouds, it would be a calm day. Andromeda especially liked the days her mother read to her.

The only thing that would have made it even more perfect would be if her father had decided to join them. He could have. But he didn't. He hadn't liked their Starship, the Pytheas. Andromeda didn't know why, it was a beautiful ship. The hallways were bright and colorful, always curving up and around. Andromeda had never seen the Pytheas from the outside, but if it matched the sleek interior she was sure it was lovely. Something about it had driven him away though and her parents had fought over it for some time. Those had been loud years circling the planet Chronos. Andromeda didn't like those days. People had been all over the ship, working and talking and yelling. The machines they used were harsh and messy. Her parents had yelled a lot.

Then one day the yelling stopped and the machines were gone. They floated by on her quiet ship. Her mother christened it The Pytheas, after a Greek explorer.

Every day brought a new puzzle for the scientists to work on. The puzzles were the best part. Little things to figure out. Of course, Andromeda never outright solved the puzzles for the scientists onboard. It would make them feel bad to be shown up by a young girl. So she would leave them clues so they could figure it out for themselves. They would end up feeling so proud and accomplished. Andromeda liked it when her scientists felt good about themselves. She felt like a proud parent. She liked that her scientists were all color-coordinated with their hallway colors. They all matched. Andromeda wondered what colors her suit should be. When she imagined herself walking down the hallway she wore all the colors, her white suit with rainbow accents, so she could match any hallway she went down. Her mother seemed to approve of the look, so she kept it.

Andromeda was excited. Today they were supposed to pick up a puzzle of whether an air bubble could be sent into space to refill a ship's air supply. This experiment had been sent out 50 years ago and should be well within Dark Space by now. If they found it intact it could mean they could leave supplies along popular space routes for emergencies. It could save a lot of lives. That would feel good too. Saving life is a good thing. The Thyella should be back anytime now with the bubble. It was their modular ship, they could outfit it any number of ways depending on the needs of the mission. It was Andromeda's favorite ship.

They should color the cockpit with all the colors, just like me, Andromeda thought. Instead, the Thyella was colored a machine grey, just like all the other ships. The Pytheas had a whole fleet of them for the various missions they went on. Andromeda liked to visit them on an outer ring of the ship. The shipmasters who worked there were so industrious. Always working or tinkering on something. Zayd Runslo was the smartest. He was the pilot on today's mission. Andromeda just knew if the experiment was still intact he would find it.

She wandered around the hangar bay waiting for the Thyella to return with the latest puzzle when something changed. It was a small shift. She looked around the hangar to see if anyone else felt anything. No one seemed to register anything. Andromeda started going through the ship's logs to see if she could decipher the feeling. It was as though the Pytheas wanted to give a special puzzle just for her. She could check back in on the air bubble later.

Keisha tapped her fingers on the table, counting down the seconds before High Command made their final decision. The mess hall was full of hopeful cadets just like her. Straight-backed, brilliant, crisp navy blue pant-suits lined the mess hall tables. The only sounds were the would-be pilots and navigators trying to contain their hopeful yet nervous energy. The various tappings and clicking sounded like the small bugs that lived outside the Klokos terrarium on a summer's evening, loud and quiet at the same time. All the cadets stopped as the captain of the Excelsior walked out and addressed the crowd.

Captain Alterra was a legend. He was older than Keisha remembered from the past vids. Still tall though. The grey commanding officer uniform he wore was tight around his midsection and he had a white beard that had been expertly trimmed. He captained the Excelsior from the very beginning and had colonized 8 of the last 19 planets with his legendary ship. This was his last mission and he had insisted on taking two new recruits with him to 'pass the torch.' They were even naming this new planet Klokos II, after their home planet, Klokos.

This was a career-changing mission and Keisha had been training for this since her parents sent her to the academy at age eight.

They were leaving for Earth soon, back home, they called it. This was her last chance to make them proud before they returned to the planet that no longer had anything to do with space exploration. Ships went home, but they never left. If her parents were leaving her here, she wanted to be gone too. Maybe this new planet would need a pilot permanently.

"Thank you all for your patience," Captain Alterra spoke with a commanding voice. He had a sharp baritone sound to it that rang through the hall with ease. "After much deliberation, I have selected my head pilot and chief engineer. I want you all to know this was a difficult decision with many facets to consider. I, of course, helped the selection team with my advanced knowledge..." Keisha started zoning out. The man was well respected here in the academy but he was known to be long-winded and full of himself.

Keisha looked out the window and stared at her home planet, Klokos. The ground was bare and broken up only by the large terrariums the terraformers lived in for now. The planet had water, they just needed an atmosphere. Why did my parents even come here? They had told her they came to give her options in life. Why even have a kid if you're just going to leave her? What was the point of it all?

"I would like to congratulate," Captain Alterra's voice cut through her meandering mind. "Pilot Keisha Brakas and Navigator James Fiolas." The hall erupted into applause and Keisha accepted the congratulations of her friends from around her and walked up to the front of the hall. At the same time, a tall bean-pole of a man strode forward as well. He looked several years older than the rest of his class, I thought Alterra wanted fresh recruits. He looks like he should have been at least two years ahead of me. Keisha watched him shake the captain's hand. Keisha had always been short for her class but standing next to her new navigator she felt like a child. She barely came up to his shoulder. At least he smells nice. He had a warm tree smell that reminded her of the terrarium at the heart of Klokos. Her parents would take her there on the weekends when she was home from the academy.

He turned and looked down at her and shook her hand also. He had a kind smile and shook her hand firmly and excitedly. He had warm brown curly hair and blue eyes. "I'm excited to work with you Pilot Brakas, I've heard a lot of good things."

"Thanks, I'm excited to work with you too." Keisha hadn't heard anything about this guy. With how old he was he had probably flunked out his first year and took some time off to study and reapply. Why did he get chosen? There were plenty of excellent navigators in Keisha's class. He probably had some family member push him through.

Everyone thought Keisha would get the job. She was top of her class in everything except maybe hand-to-hand combat, and that was mainly due to her small stature. Maybe they thought she would pick up his slack. Typical bureaucracy.

She turned towards Captain Alterra, "Thank you, sir."

He shook her hand warmly, "You have a very impressive resume Pilot Brakas, don't let me down. Now, turn around you two, and smile for the cameras." Keisha and Fiolas turned and stood on either side of the Captain and smiled.

Keisha felt awkward as she only came up to the Captain's chin and Fiolas' shoulder. She was glad she had decided to go with the one french braid for her straight black hair. These photographs would be one they kept for posterity and she wanted to look as professional as she could.

After the photo-op, they followed the Captain into his office on the third floor of the academy. He had a great view of the ocean from here. His office looked brand new; the desk, books and chairs looked as though they were hardly used even though this had been his office for the past twenty years. He motioned for them to sit.

"Klokos II, how exciting! I'm sure the two of you have so many questions, let me assure you the mission briefing will be sent to your terminals by the time you return. We leave in one week. As you know, the Excelsior will do most of the piloting and navigation, but we are required to have someone on-hand for any manual maneuvers." He sat down behind his oversized desk and clasped his hands. "I assume both of you have been through the cryo-sleep training and know how to put yourself in and out?"

"Yes sir." Fiolas said. Keisha simply nodded in the affirmative. Now that she was actually here she was starting to get nervous.

"Excellent, you will have the rest of the day to read the entire mission briefing and say goodbye to your loved ones. They will of course be welcome to the take-off ceremony and you will be able to say a final goodbye, let me know their names and I will make sure they are on the guest list."

Captain Alterra smiled and looked at Fiolas, "I won't need my guest tickets, sir. You can give them to Pilot Brakas." Fiolas looked down at his hands.

"I only have my parents, sir." Keisha said. "Perhaps you can give any extra tickets to some of the cadets."

"Excellent idea Brakas. We'll hold a lottery for the cadets who are graduating next year." He stood up and the two cadets followed suit. "I am looking forward to this mission and working with two cadets who came so highly recommended."

"Sir, may I ask, who recommended me?" Fiolas asked.

"Ha, Fiolas, you have a sense of humor. That makes for a much better flight." Captain Alterra kept smiling for a few moments before realizing he was serious. "You were both highly recommended by Captain Katapodis. She is quite the lady. She practically forced my hand and said if I brought along anyone besides you two she would speak to my superiors. Now, off you go, I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning to get you acquainted with your new home for the next several months." He ushered them out the door and closed it behind them.

As they walked down the hallway to the lifts back to the cadet's quarters Fiolas asked her, "Do you know any Captain Katapodis?"

"Never heard of her. I've had more trainers during academy than I can remember though, maybe she was a guest speaker or guest teacher at one point? Do you know her?" Keisha asked as they entered the lift.

"No." Fiolas bit his lower lip. "Why would someone we've never met practically shove us on this mission?"

"No idea, but you won't hear me complaining." The lift stopped and Keisha got out.

"I'll see you tomorrow I guess." Fiolas held his hand out but Keisha was already heading to her room.

"See you tomorrow!"