28 July (Galactic Relative) 2871 CE, Amaranth, Kingdom of Aurora

“You know, it’s still not too late to reconsid-”

A skyshuttle lifted off its designated pad just a few dozen metres away at that exact moment, and what Wallace Heatherland was saying was completely drowned out by the sound of the powerful vector-jets of the large transport vehicle. Wallace waited for the shuttle to gain a fair bit of altitude before resuming.

“As I was saying, it’s still not too late to reconsider, Eddie. I could apply to the school’s board for a temporary head teacher role, or perhaps take on extra administrative duties…”

“And I could ask my lead administrator for that promotion to upper management he’s been hinting at for two years now. If I explain the situation I’m sure he’d agree; Connor’s not an unreasonable man after all.”

Theodora Doukas-Heatherland flicked her long dark hair behind her ears as the backwash of the shuttle’s jets reached them.

“Mum, Dad, we’ve been over this so many times,” Edward complained, clutching the handle of his suitcase just a bit harder, an eerie sense of déjà vu washing over him just as much as the heat of the jets.

“Dad, you’re already working yourself to the bone at Cybelia St. Patrick’s and if you’re thinking of adding administrative duties on top of that, your blood pressure is going to send you to an early grave. And Mum, you’re already bouncing between both the Saltshore as well as the Cybelia offices, there are only so many hours in a workday, and your workload isn’t going to decrease if you’re moved into a higher position. Cybelia is smack-dab in the Reserve Belt, it’s one of the busiest tourist spots outside of Persephone. These aren’t realistic solutions at all.”

“We only want is best for you, Eddie,” Wallace said as he walked up to place his hand on his son’s shoulder. They were of roughly the same height, and had the same bronzed hue that most native Amaranthines shared, but where Edward’s hair was dark brown and curly, Wallace’s was a slightly faded sort of dirty blonde, which was not uncommon given the intense heat of the massive star Aditya that incessantly bombarded Amaranth with its radiation. Edward had inherited his mother’s hair- and eye colour, the dark locks and emerald eyes passed down to him through the dominant Gen-Two genes of Theodora.

“All we are saying, mouràki mou,” Theodora said softly, her English pretty significantly accented despite living on Amaranth for over fifty years and still using Greek here and there, “is that there are alternatives to you having to go all the way to Aurora to pursue a classical piano education. If we make some adjustments to our household budget, and tap into our savings a bit, I’m sure we can afford for you to go the Royal Persephone Conservatory. And with that excellent referral from Princess Elizabeth’s, I’m sure you’d be accepted in a heartbeat.”

Edward shook his head, just as another monorail train arrived at the station, the doors opening and a throng of people stepping off. The Persephone Orbital Tower had been erected on an artificial island a few dozen kilometres out from the city dubbed “the New Venice” across deep near-tropical water in the Pherousa Ocean, but monorail lines led directly back to the planetary capital of Amaranth. In addition, massive skycar landing towers and both passenger and cargo ports for ferries were all around the island. Dominating it all however, was the titanic orbital tether, reaching up and through the sky. Buoyed supporting towers rested on the ocean surface for kilometres in all cardinal and inter-cardinal directions, and deep-water anchor lines dozens of meters thick went hundreds of metres deep into the ocean floor. The truly immense Orbital Tower complex was the hub for all transport of humans and cargo up to and down from orbit for Persephone, and the rest of the island- and atoll dominated continent around. Carts that rivalled the size of rapid transit railed traines rode up and down in rapid succession, before after a short trip arrived at the mid-orbital point of the tether, where a massive spaceport had been constructed. From there, ships docked to take on their cargo, before launching off onto their journey. The high-orbital point was the location of the tether station itself, which produced the centrifugal gravitational force that actually kept the entire structure steady and supported its millions of tonnes of weight; no man-made material would be able to support such a defiant middle finger to the laws of physics if constructed from the ground and up into space, it simply used the force of the planet’s own rotation and atmospheric gravity to hold it up.

“That referral, Mama,” Edward countered as the wave of people dissipated a bit, headed as they were across the esplanades and piedways towards the check-in and departures areas of the Tower, “was why I got accepted into Queen Marie’s Metropolitan with an accompanying stipend. It’s not a full scholarship, but I wouldn’t even get a stipend if I chose the Persephone Conservatory or something like the Royal School of Music on Aurora. And please, we’ve talked about this so many times. You know that if a classical pianist major is going to have any chance at landing a full-term concert job after graduation, you more or less have to be on Aurora or New Malta.

No offence Dad, but I don’t want to end up as a school teacher or private piano tutor. I want to actually be a part of a proper classical orchestra. And without that stipend, you’d be spending all our family savings on me within two years. Suffice it to say, none of us want that, and I don’t particularly want the anchor of guilt around my neck with the inscription ‘you pushed your parents into destitution for the sake of your education’. Which is why a public, non-specialised, university makes the most sense, Dad. Plus, QMMU is by far the best public university in the Royal Union, and not some second-rate college.”

Wallace sighed, a knowing but nonetheless a sad sigh.

“You can’t blame us for giving it one last shot, son. Your mother and I have dreaded this day for years, and to be honest, in this moment there’s nothing I’d rather hear than you agreeing to stay on Amaranth…”

“But what parents would we be,” Theodora picked up with a wistful smile of her own, “if we didn’t allow our one and only child to travel out into the world to experience life on his own? You might be light years and a week on a liner away, but still in hearts always, paidí mou. Remember that always, and know we both love you.”

Theodora walked up and stroked Edward’s chin with her right palm, visibly holding back tears, and Edward suddenly had to arrest his own.

“Pardon me, Sir, may I enquire to which port you are headed, and may I take your luggage?”

The polite and androgynous tone of a porter drone disrupted the moment, and Edward (using the opportunity to compose himself) turned to face the drone, dressed in blue-and-cream livery-esque painting and keeping itself afloat (like all Auroran drones) using small gravity emitters. Its central display showed a machine-like facsimile of a courteous but inquisitive smile, and Edward nodded towards the DAI-powered porter.

“Thank you, if you’d be so kind to take my hand luggage to Port 37 and sign it in for the Lunar Tear, headed for Aurora within the next orbital window. I’ll find my way to the departure hall myself, thanks.”

“Of course, Sir,” the drone responded in the same uncanny but respectful tone, and using a hidden gravity projector grabbed Edward’s suitcase and flew off to join a veritable train of drones that hovered about twenty metres in the air going in all directions into the special reception areas on the roof the Orbital Tower’s ground-level complex.

“Well, I guess this is it,” Edward said with feigned nonchalance, and his father opened his arms wide to embrace his son.

“Bon chance, my boy, and know you’re welcome home any time. And if you need money, just send an e-letter and we’ll transfer it as soon as we get it.”

“Stop making everything about money, Dad,” Edward managed from underneath his father’s suffocating grasp, “there are more important things in the world after all!”

“Oh quite so,” his mother shot in, taking her husband’s place as soon as he had let go of Edward, and though she was shorter and looked less physically intimidating, her superior Gen-Two muscles clamped down and crushed even harder, and Edward felt substantial amount of breath leaving his lungs as his mother hugged him with all her might.

“Go live your dream, dear Edward, and keep in touch with your parents. Go make new friends and forge new experiences, and make us… No, I know you’ll make your family proud.”

“Thanks, Mum,” Edward managed as she let go, and a tether cart launched upwards with a nail-biting electromagnetic sound as background noise, not some nostalgic violin sonata that Edward thought would somehow mark such a momentous occasion in his life. Alas, that was the stuff of films and e-dramas, apparently.

“I’ve talked to a specialist student realtor in Cordelia,” Wallace said after clearing his throat, “and he’s set you up in Albany Square in the capital, though it is a shared apartment. But I have it on good authority it’s a good area with a lot of QMMU students, in addition to newly settled young couples, not too far from major amenities and good shopping and park areas.”

“Thanks Dad, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll buy whatever I need apart from the essentials I’m bringing with me once I’m there. The QMMU stipend also pays for a practice piano, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Another skyshuttle took off, and the jet-wash disturbed them once again, but Theodora used the pause to adjust Edward’s shirt collar and once the vehicle had flown off, she smiled brightly, which immediately alarmed Edward.

“And if you get a lady friend,” her mother said in her charmingly Greek accent that botched many vowels and had a very different lilt to it compared to normal Auroran English, “be sure to use protection.”

“Muuuuuum!”

“All passengers headed for the Travanion, the Scythian Queen, and the Lunar Tear, please report to your respective check-ins at departure in preparation for tether-shuttles launches in the next thirty minutes. I repeat, all passengers headed for-”

It was all the excuse Edward needed. Despite knowing he most likely wouldn’t see his parents for at least three years, he hurriedly kissed them both on the cheek, before turning on his heel. Though while in the motion of turning, he mouthed a heartfelt sentence to his mother, which produced another wave of tears, and made her cover her mouth to stop any embarrassing noises from escaping.

“Kalinychta, Mana mou.”