Chennai India, Earth

The sidewalks were littered with un-recycled plastic material ready to be picked up by the disposal unit of the neighbourhood as footsteps running in the distance grew louder in sound trampling over wrappers and plastic bags. The untidy hair that blew with the wind was that of Rannvijay Sher as he burst onto the streets of Marina beach road with his gang of misfits close behind him. There in front of them lay the view to Sriharikota, the island where the Perseus was going to launch from any minute. The coarse sand of the beach they stood on was only made worse by the obstructing view of another group, each cloaked in a black t-shirt with an ISRO logo stitched on.

"No entry, as subject by ISRO. All live broadcasts will be televised" said the first member to spot the band of misfits. Rannvijay, undeterred by what he had just heard, walked calmly up to the figure and swiftly grasped his t-shirt taking a closer look at the badge.

"I could've sworn the ISRO badge looked more legitimate than that. Are they selling fan merchandise outside Marina beach these days?" he widely grinned up at the taller enforcer. The look of mild annoyance turned into rage at the comment as the taller youth lifted his hand to slap the teen for his insolence but was blocked mid-air,

"Violence does not suit ISRO representatives, surely, you should know that - or at least they do" Rannvijay said pointing behind him to the group member holding a camera pretending to broadcast the encounter live. The taller enforcer quickly covered his face and rejoined his other members in a huddle. Rannvijay still grinning looked up at the sky and eagerly awaiting the launch.

"Listen, please delete that footage" the tall enforcer came back pleading, "I know we're not ISRO but we're all applicants and one day we may be, help me out here." The youth looked desperate at this point and Rannvijay felt he'd benefit from the truth at least.

"You're looking at ISRO candidates, kid. Hold yourself with some dignity and you may actually make the next selection." Rannvijay said proudly as the members behind him stood aloof.

In shock the tall brown youth cordially made way for Rannvijay and his crew to the front of the beach. A crowd had begun to amass in anticipation of the launch, pitching tents and laying down blankets to wait for the countdown to begin.

"I'm Jules, by the way", the tall brown youth squeaked re-introducing himself in a cordial manner. "See all of us really want to be recruited by ISRO so our plan was to study, tape and analyze the launch from a clear view to possibly propose a better solution for trajectory, aerodynamics and fuel conservation that may get us an early acceptance."

Clearly impressed, Rannvijay patted Jules on the back. He solemnly lowered his head at Rannvijay's approval and both stood side by side staring off at the distant Sriharikota Range.

"System checks look good, tank is full and no aerodynamic warnings. Perseus is ready to fly" Amir reported over the comms.

"Waiting on reusable boosters to be attached. T-minus 10." Saghir reported.

Karen and Tobias sat strapped behind the ships cockpit in silence. The orange curls of frizz contrasted with the straightened tied up blonde hair of two individuals that looked like polar opposites as much as they behaved like them.

"I expect we'll get along after a while. Solitude does draw people together, regardless of previous animosity shared" Tobias spoke as if reciting a handbook. A visibly agitated Karen nodded in agreement, "Yes, possibly. As long as you remember to behave like a human." Tobias's soft facial features winced at the comment. "I would like to re-instate, I am not a robot, I'm a being governed by rationale. If you really wanted to beat me in the module S run you wouldn't have cheated."

"Cheated?! I ran code that bypassed Pulvers algorithms making them obsolote and taking off 20 seconds off your precious time. The rule was to complete the module in the fastest time, which I did! Bringing this to the committee's attention and wasting all of our time on pedantic rules of engagement is exactly what a programmed robot would do!" Karen turned red at her outburst. "Not a teammate" she whispered to herself. Amir raised his eyebrows at Saghir who silently signaled him to stay out of it.

Tobias sat there in silence having taken Karen's argument and acknowledged it. He compressed his nostrils about to apologize until he thought of a better alternative. "A good teammate will always keep their team in check. Even if it garners their hatred" he spoke gently to the admiration of Amir and Saghir's smiles. Karen sat still, undeterred.

"Boosters attached and ready to be deployed." Saghir reported

"We're a team now. Everything else is in the past. Agreed?" Karen mentioned in between diagnostic reports.

"Agreed." Tobias attempted to smile.

"T-minus 20 to launch!" Amir reported strapping into his seat as pilot and Saghir joining him as co-pilot.

The crowd at Marina beach had become overwhelming as the sound of the countdown pierced all ears in the vicinity. Amongst the cellphones, tablets and phablets that pointed towards the Perseus far across the terrain to Sriharikota, Rannvijay looked out in awe at a future he could almost touch.

"T-minus 10!"

"Get your attitude straight and we could make it in time for Mars" Rannvijay whispered to Jules who wholeheartedly smiled at his optimism.

"T-minus 3! To the moon!" Amir boasted. The booster engines roared open igniting a massive explosion of fuel that sent shockwaves all the way to Marina beach where the thunderous crowds jumped in joy. The massive thrust began propelling the Perseus skyward until it was 500ft in the air on it's trajectory off planet. The white trail that followed its ascent looked like an untamed silk thread that marked the passage of time. Rannvijay waved a final goodbye as he turned to get past the cheering crowd.

Lunar Base

"The Perseus has successfully launched! It will be dropping off our two crew members to the ISS and the remaining ISRO members will rejoin the lunar expedition" I.R.I.S of ICSRO reported to Commander Arjun who sat in his quarters. He stared up at the luminescent wall considering Apollo's offer now that his whole team was about to return. Silently he put on his space boots and headed out of the sleeping quarters to marvel at the automated construction of the lunar base. Robots of all shapes and sizes were programmed to build silo's to house fuel, air ventilation systems for every base interconnected through orange tubes and excavation mining sites for necessary minerals to keep the base self-sustained. The ISRO and NASA crew were primarily there to ensure the operations efficiency as well as expediting some processes through manual labor. The operations success meant the forthcoming Phase 3 was a sooner prospect.

"I'd give it another week, and we'll have the Chinese National Space Administration here too" L.U.N.A mentioned while running diagnostics on all the bots on the base ensuring their viability.

Arjun walked past the commander of the NASA program, Jensen, giving him a brief smile while he patted him on his shoulder. He was a soldier at heart, clean shaved and buzzcut, formal and dignified in approach and enthusiastic in spirit. They were all right, Arjun thought to himself walking over to Sara who was tinkering with electrical connections.

"Amir and Saghir get back, the Apollo plan is a go" he whispered to her, immediately walking away as she took time to process the information. He saw the minuscule Perseus in the distance docking with the ISS and smiled. It was almost time.

Securely docked with the ISS. Please verify ID.

Amir flipped a notch on the overhead panel making the Perseus's identity visible to the station.

Approved. Welcome Perseus.

"And just like that we've reached your new home" Amir said to a nervous pair of Karen and Tobias who slowly unstrapped.

"I'll miss you" Karen said in a irritated voice to Amir.

"And I'll miss you to, love" he beamed back at her.

"Good fortune in your journey" Tobias said to the duo sitting in the cockpit.

"It won't be easy but find common ground and you'll do fine." Saghir mentioned to Tobias.

"She's a tough cookie." Amir mentioned as an afterthought.

Karen was the first to enter the ISS through the docking station and felt the familiarity of the station immediately. The only thing that surprised her was the view. The deep blue, the elevated mountain ranges and the temperament of the weather was enough to bring a smile to her lately sullen face.

"At least we can agree on one thing, the view is pretty marvelous" Tobias mentioned to a now relieved Karen.

"Let's not get lost in the scenery. System check alpha and beta. I got alpha." She retorted gunning for her self assigned post. A confused Tobias awkwardly moved to follow the beta procedure.

"Kids, they grow up so fast" Amir jested undocking from the the ISS and propelling to the lunar base docking station.

Arjun walked into the communication-A building where Z operated out of. He entered to the new decor the NASA crew had gifted her. From Rick and Morty posters to Game of Thrones bobble heads her workspace resembled a gift shop more than a workstation.

"Z?" Arjun approached the compressed pale being coding on her favorite beanbag. She removed her headphones and looked up at Arjun patiently. "We're heading into Apollo protocol as soon as Amir and Saghir land." He whispered to her. A quick thumbs up from her followed, "If they're in the research station, you're in the fuel storage, if they're in the sleeping quarters your testing ISRO tech with Dr. Singh on our base. We got it." she responded.

"As much as I don't like to lie, I understand what your'e doing is for the greater good. That is why I request you take a version of me with you too" L.U.N.A said to the surprise of Zabine. "You want to meet Earths adversaries? Not a bad idea, she'd give us the best chance of fighting back if war followed YOU back" she said skeptically looking at Arjun.

"We'll do our best." He promised trying to keep a straight face. Z, quickly connected a phablet with her laptop and minutes later handed Arjun a version of L.U.N.A adapted to galactic adventure.

"Oh, I'm excited." The phablet squeaked. "Your friends are here." Arjun exited the base and looked out at the Perseus landing in the docking bay.

"Another successful landing." Amir commented.

"To another successful mission" Saghir added. "The base looks like its well underway. Should we be prepared for hostiles?"

"Always" Amir smiled stepping out of the cockpit and opening the blast doors. He was greeted by NASA's Jensen.

"Welcome back to the base boys." He shook each of their hands firmly "I'm Jensen, you'll be seeing me and my crew around. Just wanted to welcome the other half of the Chandrayaan-10 crew back. Brave bit of work you boys pulled off getting your security team home and manning the ISS. You've got my respect." He bumped Saghir on the shoulder. Arjun and Sara came rushing to the docking bay and immediately embraced their teammates.

"Been tanning lately" Sara commented on Amir's sun kissed skin. "They've been working us long hours. The consequences of hard labor" Amir replied in regular fashion.

"I'll take my leave" Commander Jensen said walking off. As soon as he was out of earshot Arjun began in a whisper "You boys have had a long journey and I won't blame you if you refuse but we've been planning this since you left..."

"We're going to be going on a little tour of the galaxy with Apollo" Sara smiled.