Orphans of Apollo - S1 E2
September 2055
From the ashes of forgotten space dreams, a new era of exploration begins.
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Previously: Lana aborted her landing in the Apollo Lunar Module simulator. Although it was the right thing to do she found it hard to shake the feeling of failure.
As Logan made his way down the corridor, he could see the door to Lana’s room was half open. Resting his bag softly by the door, he stood a meter or so back, just close enough that he could see in. Lana had not heard him approach. He could hear music coming from the room, not loud, but loud enough she wouldn’t have heard his footsteps. He recognised the song but could not think of the name of the band. One of those pop songs everyone recognises, but nobody can remember the artist. They had one semi-successful hit, and that was it.
Lana’s suitcase was open on the bed and she had her back to the door, methodically taking clothes from the draws in the room and packing them in the case. Logan stood and looked at his twin sister as she bent over the case.
How does she not have a boyfriend? He thought to himself. I know she’s my sister, but she is so cute. How can she be single? But then he knew the answer. It wasn’t that Lana was not interested in boys, she had had boyfriends in the past. These last few years however, she had become more and more focused on “the mission”. She was determined to be selected for one of the first crews, and although she would not admit it in public, he knew she wanted a command.
Lana was 162cm with a slight frame, her long black hair was loosely tied back in a half pony tail, her typical casual hairstyle. Her face was perfectly proportioned with a delicate look and a small, rounded nose. Her complexion was fair, typically Asian. It was this and the edges of her eyes which drew to a slightly sharper point that betrayed her ancestry. Lana and Logan’s father was American of Dutch decent and their mother was Japanese.
Logan took a few steps towards the door and lightly tapped on it with his knuckle.
“Hey,” came the response, “you packed already?”
“Yeah, well, you know boys can pack in like a fifth of the time it takes girls with all their clothes and accessories and stuff,” that would get a rise out of her he thought. Lana hated being considered a “pretty little girl” or a “girly girl”. She was one of the guys and could do anything her male compatriots could do. To a casual observer, her archetypal girl next door looks would have suggested otherwise.
She smiled a knowing smile and ignored the comment.
“Well, I’m pretty much done. Where’s your stuff?”
“Right here. I’m all packed and ready.”
“Are Mum and Dad here yet?”
“They must be by now.”
“Ok, pass me that last pile of clothes from the draw.”
Logan passed the clothes to Lana. She placed them in the case and shut it. Then she lifted it off the bed and placed it by the door, taking one last glance around the room to check for anything she may have forgotten. It wasn’t as if someone else would use her room while she was gone, but still it’s annoying leaving things behind. Her quick scan done, she pulled the case by the handle out of the room and closed the door behind Logan.
They walked side by side in silence down the corridor. Logan knew what Lana was going to say to him and began mentally preparing himself. He also knew she would not do it in a place where they could be overheard. She would wait until the privacy of the elevator. Being twins, Lana and Logan were naturally close. They squabbled and fought like any siblings, but generally their relationship was friendly with some mutual healthy competition in whatever they did. There was another aspect however. Logan was technically the oldest, by seven minutes. From a very young age though Lana had developed a mothering instinct towards her brother. As they got older, a casual observer may have taken her to be an older sister looking out for her younger brother. This annoyed Logan from time to time. In fact, this had led to some of their biggest falling outs growing up. Logan had grown to accept the “big sister” as part of their relationship, even if it did annoy him, she was right most of the time.
As they reached the elevator Lana pressed the button. Logan was grateful for a few more seconds of silence, but it was short-lived. There was a soft chime and the doors slid smoothly open. Once they were inside Lana pressed the button for the ground floor. It was only five floors, but it would take long enough.
Should I front foot this and bring it up myself? Logan thought to himself.
Before the thought could fully settle in his mind Lana asked. “How was your sim this morning?”
“Not great,” he paused. “By which I mean I crashed and killed us.” He looked across and slightly down, thanks to his extra five centimetres. “Did they give you the same one?” He asked, knowing the answer full well.
“I’m pretty sure everyone got the same one,” said Lana.
“You know I was so close to landing that thing. That would have really put one up them. Imagine if I had pulled that off. They go to the trouble of designing a scenario to force you to call an abort and I stick the landing! How funny would that have been?”
“You know you would have still failed. Continuing on into a situation that put the crew in excessive danger without good reason.”
“This is space flight we are talking about here Lana. It is risky.”
“Yes, but we should be taking calculated risks, not unnecessary ones.”
“A superior pilot uses their superior judgement in order to avoid the need to use their superior skill,” said Logan, quoting Frank Borman.
“Exactly. The problem is you have those superior skills, no doubt about that. And you are not afraid to show them off from time to time. It just worries me, that’s all.”
“I know. And I know you are right. I sometimes I just can’t help it.”
Lana looked at Logan and sighed. Perhaps there was more to say. Should she drive the point home? The doors to the lift opened and she decided to let it go.
Logan was first out of the door and made his way down the corridor towards the hangar. The FASS headquarters was essentially a long rectangular building divided into thirds. The centre section was a hangar, large enough for a couple of small regional aircraft. Although now it held about eight training aircraft of various types. Right from small two seat battery powered ab inito training aircraft at the front to the two T-7 Red Hawks at the back. Along the sides were also some temporary buildings, mainly used for housing simulators of various kinds. The hangar opened straight out onto the FASS private apron at Lompoc Airport, California. Either side of the hangar and connected to it were two office type buildings. They were typically nondescript and would not look out of place in any technology park or industrial precinct, and that was the point. The eastern block where Lana and Logan were now was mainly accommodation for students, with some classrooms. The western end was mainly administration, with accommodation for instructors and a few classrooms. Like all buildings and despite being purpose build it had evolved over the years, so that functions were spread out a little more than the original design.
Lana and Logan made their way through the central corridor towards the entrance lobby at the western end of the building. It was just as you would expect from the offices of a large multinational. The entire end of the building was glass fronted and the lobby’s ceiling was several stories high, giving it a very open feeling. Several plants in large pots almost touched the ceiling, interspersed with the obligatory couches and chairs for those awaiting an appointment. There was a rectangular reception desk, behind which sat a very efficient looking young woman busy doing something.
The central corridor ended in the middle of the lobby and with no doors at its end, Lana could hear a familiar voice coming from the lobby as they approached. It was Christian Larsson, or “the Founder” as he was affectionately known. It was Larsson who had set up the Foundation for the Advancement of Space Settlement some forty-five years or so earlier, twenty-four years before Lana was born. He was prouder than ever, as things were now starting to come to fruition. Larsson was in his early eighties but had no intention of stepping back. He wanted to see his dream to completion. He looked older than most people with his tremendous wealth. Older in appearance, but just as healthy, Larsson kept himself very fit and took advantage of modern medicine to keep the functionality of his body in pristine condition. His hearing and sight were as good as someone in their early twenties. He just didn’t care too much for superficial cosmetics. Sure, some creases in the skin around his eyes had been smoothed, but he had done nothing to halt the progression of his receding hairline.
“… daughter is a very talented young woman, Mrs. Meyer. She just needs to have more confidence in herself.” Lana and Logan came into earshot as Larsson was mid-sentence.
Lana felt her face blush. She glanced over to Logan. His gaze did not meet hers. Lana was sure he was pretending he had not heard. They emerged from the end of the relatively dim corridor and out into the sunlight of the lobby. Glenn and Ayako Meyer were standing talking to Christian Larsson. Larsson had his back to the corridor, but he obviously saw the Meyer’s gaze shift past his shoulder. He spun around and beamed at Lana and Logan. For a split second there was the awkward silence of a private conversation being intruded on.
“Lana, I was just telling your parents how well you did in the sim this morning.”
“Thanks,” said Lana self consciously.
“Don’t be embarrassed Lana, from what Christian has been saying you should be proud of yourself,” said her mother.
Sensing an awkward tension in the air, Lana’s dad looked towards Logan. “And as for you, what are we going to do?” Logan made an exaggerated shrug.
“Yes Logan, you know you are by far the best pilot in this entire program, don’t you?” said Larsson.
“Yes, I just need to learn how to better evaluate the situation.”
“You’re halfway there Logan, you know what you have to work on,” encouraged Larsson.
“By the sounds of it anyway, you guys will be looking forward to a week off before you head back to college?” Said Lana’s mother, changing the subject.
“Yes, you both deserve it,” chimed in Larsson. “I’ll leave you to it. Good to see you again. Your kids really do this program proud.”
“Thanks, and you Christian,” said Lana’s father warmly.
With that, Larsson turned and made his way into the building.
“Well, I don’t know about anyone else but I’m starving,” said Lana’s dad
“Yeah, me too!” said Logan
Lana’s father reached to take her case, but she stopped him. “I’m fine, I can manage.”
When his mother reached for the handle of Logan’s he made no attempt to resist.
“Such a gentleman, letting your elderly mother take your bag for you,” Lana teased.
Logan screwed his face up comically.
“And just who are you calling elderly” her mother retorted, feigning offence.
With that, the slight tension which had hung in the air subsided and they made their way out of the building towards the car park.
If you know someone you think would enjoy “Orphans of Apollo” or any of the other writing in “Explorations” please share this publication with them.
I hope you enjoyed the second episode of “Orphans of Apollo”. There will be another behind-the-scenes post in a few days. I really enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you will find it interesting. It would be great to hear what you think of these behind-the-scenes posts, so let me know in the comments.
Meanwhile, the last few weeks we have been watching “Dark Matter” on Apple TV+. I have not read the book, but the series is great. I found it makes you feel quite introspective, thinking about all those possible paths not taken. It’s definitely work a look.
Thanks for reading,
Alex