Beyond the Stars (16 page)

“Mom.” She grabbed my arm in excitement.

“I know,” I mouthed the words. I’d already had time to take in the startling news.

“This is so exciting. I can’t believe it. Aliens! We get to work with aliens! It’s going to be so much fun.” She smiled brilliantly.

I shrugged. “Terrific.” I was becoming overwhelmingly nervous as the trip neared.

CHAPTER 13

ARRIVAL

Our lift came to a gentle halt once we reached the elevator terminal. I had made it! The entire passenger carriage was then effortlessly lifted from its tracks and attached to the Space transport shuttle by two long robotic arms. The shuttle was the transport system used to transfer guests and supplies from the elevator terminal over to the Space resort. The vehicle glided us smoothly across Space like we were sailing across the sea, making it safe to unbuckle from our seats. We retracted the seats into the floor to fully experience weightlessness. The sensation was indescribable. I felt light as a feather and as free as a bird. It was fun to float across the room. Gliding so effortlessly could easily become addictive. Everyone gathered to the windows to catch a glimpse of the Space resort as we approached. We were like impatient children nudging each other out of the way to get a better view. I expected to see the Katarian Spaceship parked at the resort, only to be disappointed that it wasn’t anywhere in sight. It figured that I would have to choose a time to come when they weren’t around.

Our shuttle arrived safely at the Space resort. Our flight commander carefully docked us once we arrived. He announced overhead that we had capture, which confirmed that our shuttle’s contact had been secured. The seal from our elevator cabin hissed as the hatch door flung open. Being dressed in my Space suit, I couldn’t help feel like an astronaut when I exited into the shuttle bay terminal’s air lock. We collected our bags and floated right out the hatch. There was more room to sail around than on the elevator car. Leah and a couple other people did somersaults to test out their Space acrobatics. It was surprisingly dark and cool compared to the elevator cabin. The cold seemed to pass right through my suit. There were only a few spotlights bordering the ceiling. It looked like a train terminal at night. We held onto a railing to keep from floating aimlessly as we entered through a hatchway into the heated corridor outside of the zero-gravity sports arena. The resort hosted various levels of gravity to meet the needs of its occupants. It was divided into zero-gravity, partial gravity, and simulated gravity regions.

We peered in through the windows of the arena from the passageway that ran along its perimeter. Zero-gravity games were just one of the highly anticipated attractions expected to bring hotel guests to the resort. The arena was so large that it had to be delivered into Space in pieces. Modified external tanks were built to open and expand once their position was secured to the station. The tanks expanded like an RV’s side compartment to allow for extra square footage. It had three rows of stadium seating surrounding a central playing field. Each seat was outfitted with a harness-like seatbelt to help ground the audience. Currently, there were four people on the field playing dodge ball. We watched them push their feet off clear Plexiglas walls surrounding the inside ring of the arena, whizzing the ball at one another. They sprung around effortlessly. They were able to retrieve the floating ball into their hands with a glove that called the ball back to them. They all had giant smiles across their faces. It looked like a blast.

“Are they professionals?” I asked our flight commander, Michael.

“No, look at their uniforms. Those two are with a pharmaceutical company onboard,” he answered.

“What about those ladies?” I asked, pointing to the two players who appeared to be winning the game.

“Mom, I’m
pretty
sure those are men.” Leah chuckled and corrected me.

“Yeah, those guys work in our service department,” he replied. “They do satellite repairs.”

I took a second look only to realize my mistake. “Wow, sorry, I guess they are men. It was hard to tell with their hair floating all around,” I said bashfully. We continued through the passageway to proceed to the resort’s main lobby. We went through another hatched doorway and, almost immediately, my shoes firmly hit the floor. I couldn’t help but smile. Countless hours went into perfecting the artificial gravity. It felt great to try it out firsthand. The station’s simulated gravity made walking around feel like we were walking on Earth, only with a lighter foot. The sensation was sort of exotic.

We entered the resort’s lobby to register for our rooms. It was simple. All that was required was one swipe of our identification tag across a scanner and the room number would be displayed and activated. The lobby looked similar to a fancy hotel, only it served to fulfill many purposes. Its large square footage was designed to function as a reception hall, conference room, movie theater, or any other activity requiring a large area. Here we sat down for yet another mandatory orientation session detailing station protocols. Michael explained that there were only two exits off the station—a shuttle bay at each end. After working so closely to the project, I couldn’t help daydreaming because I found the information
painfully
redundant.

To keep entertained, I studied the people around me. It was amazing to see such a diverse group of people working together to complete a common goal. Our nations’ borders seemed to disappear in Space. I admired the pleasantry of my surroundings. The resort aimed to provide the best of both worlds. It offered all the luxuries of being at home, with the added benefits of being in Space. The décor wasn’t cold or stark, but rather warm and inviting. It was chosen to induce calmness and simulate being outdoors. The walls were painted a soft sky blue, and floors were made of a synthetic pale amber tile. Hydroponic planters of lush green air-producing plants lined the external walls of the room, adding to its coziness. The plants not only helped to provide for the resort’s oxygen needs but helped to eliminate carbon dioxide and filter contaminates from the air.

To my relief, the review finished. We entered single file through another hatchway at the end of the room into an area even larger than the lobby. It was host to a large restaurant and gift shop and designed to accommodate many people at once. Its entire layout was fully built on Earth prior to launching into Space to ease its assembly. Michael told us to follow him and quickly led us on. He wanted to show us to our rooms to drop off our bags. We exited the area into a long corridor, passing windows peering into Outer Space along the way. Leah and I got to our room. We were staying in one of the hotel suites my friend Regis had purchased for his guests’ future occupancy. The resort’s suites were leased to multiple hotel chains and were scheduled to begin accepting guests early next year. I would love to see Regis’s face the first time he stepped foot inside one. He would be ecstatic. I could hear his exuberant voice in my head. The image made me smile. I snapped a few pictures with my camera and e-mailed them to him. It looked just like the reproduction we had on Earth, but knowing it was in Space made it all the more impressive. I checked to see if everything worked. I turned on the lights, the water, and the television.

“Mom,
enough already!
Let’s go find Jackson. I told him we would meet him for lunch, remember?” Leah reminded me as she frowned. “Can we go now? I’m starving.”

“Yeah, of course. Call and see if he’s ready.” I continued to survey the room. “Leah, aren’t you impressed by all of this?” I had to ask. I couldn’t believe her apparent lack of enthusiasm.

“It looks just like a hotel room, Mom,” she said, unimpressed, before she called Jackson on her phone.

“You’re right, but we did it! It’s real. A floating getaway.
Incredible
. We built this place in my lifetime.” I was awestruck. It was amazing to see everything put together. Leah seemed to take the accomplishment completely for granted. I think being born in a time of such rapid advancements made her believe that anything was easily attainable.

“We’re here!” Leah said boisterously into the phone. “Well, you know. Yeah … yeah, no, fine. I’ll tell you later. Okay, we’ll see you in an hour.” She tapped the phone off. I surmised they were probably talking about me. “He’s right in the middle of something, but said he could meet us at the restaurant in an hour,” she repeated as though I were deaf.

“Great.” I smiled at her. Leah and I took the time to explore, but we didn’t get far. We became enthralled with the miraculous view from one of the corridor’s porthole windows. They were positioned every two feet on each side of the hallway. You could view different areas of the resort, look down at our planet, or see the surrounding galaxy depending on your location. Our view was of Earth. It was
spectacular!
The scene took my breath away. Our glowing planet was the most brilliant shade of blue with a bold, navy blue rim edging against the blackness of Space on its horizon. Fluffy white clouds drifted slowly across the surface, bringing the vision to life.

“Isn’t it fabulous?” Leah said, pressing her hands against the glass.

“Yes, quite,” I agreed.

“I love it!” she cheered.

“I love you,” I said. I put my arm around Leah and gave her a hug. I was happy to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with her.

“I love you, too, Mom. I’m so glad you came.” She leaned her body into mine. I sighed.

“So am I. I can’t believe I was missing out on all of this. It all seems kind of ridiculous now, you know, me not wanting to come up here.” I looked at Earth. Seeing it from afar moved me in a way I never imagined it would. I couldn’t help but be aware of the infinite universe surrounding me. There was no ignoring it from this view. Its majesty filled my soul, giving my humble life a deeper meaning.

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed.

We spent longer than we thought looking out the huge window and were a few minutes late in arriving at the restaurant. Jackson was already there, sitting at a table with two other people.

“Jackson.” I threw my arms around him when he stood to greet us. “I missed you!” I kissed him on the cheek.

“Hi, Mom, you made it! Isn’t this place amazing?” he said with vigor.

“Yes, quite,” I answered. I looked around the room. I was surprised to see so many people running around and sitting at the tables. It was buzzing with activity. The place wasn’t nearly as crowded when we had come in.

“Leah.” Jackson hugged his sister. “How bad
was
she?” I heard him whisper in her ear.

“Surprisingly, she did remarkably well. I still have all of my fingers and everything,” she muttered back. I kept my mouth shut, pretending not to hear. Jackson turned to introduce the people at the table.

“Mom, this is Kylie, my girlfriend.” He smiled at the pretty girl. “And Gaelan, my … my friend,” he stammered. “Kylie, Gaelan, this is my mother.”

“Sami,” I volunteered my name. “It’s nice to meet you.” I greeted them both. I immediately looked at the girl’s innocent face and thought about warning her that she would need nerves of steel to be involved with my son. However, if she made it here, I was sure she could hold her own.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” Kylie beamed in her sweet voice.

“Thanks,” I replied. I didn’t know what to say. I’d heard nothing about her. I sneaked a quick glare at my son. He just shrugged his shoulders. It would have been nice for Jackson to have told me about her in advance. Would it have killed him to mention her to me beforehand? Leah would have told me in a heartbeat if she had a boyfriend. I wondered how long they’d been dating. Jackson looked at her like he really liked her.