The Cosmic Assassins

CHAPTER TWO

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is your boarding announcement for flight 279C to Washington D.C, please proceed to gate 23. The departure is in 30 minutes. Thank you for your attention."

With a large backpack and sandwich in hand I started heading towards gate 23, nervous for my flight. I had never had an issue with aeroplanes or very long journeys but since this flight was taking me to the NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. and eventually the most significant mission of my life I couldn't help but be extremely nervous. And by that I meant that I had already nearly dropped my sandwich on the mucky airport floor. Twice.

Thankfully I still managed to operate more or less normally as I boarded on the plane without any complications and easily found my seat. I let out a deep breath. This was going to be my place for the next eight and a half hours.

Just then my phone buzzed for which I got a few angry stares from some other passengers. I tried to give them a look that said "sorry" and before switching my phone to aeroplane mode I checked my messages. Sure enough, I had gotten a short text from my parents:

"Good luck Mel! We love you very much and know everything will go amazingly. Make sure to give us a call once you've arrived! xoxo - Mum and Dad"

Apparently my parents still didn't know that one didn't have to sign their name after every text message, but I couldn't help but smile at my phone. I already missed them incredibly. Before my ride from London to Washington D.C. I had given them a one week visit in my hometown before departure and caught up on some quality family time. Being an only child meant that I had all of the responsibility concerning my parents concentrated on myself, and at times it was difficult to try and balance such a time-consuming job and family visits. I had managed in my time in Paris but being away to the US and then Mars would be a completely different story. I couldn't help but feel a little guilty even though my parents had always been extremely supportive when it came to achieving my dreams. I probably wouldn't have sat on a flight to the US to go to NASA headquarters if it hadn't been for their constant love and support.

After the flight attendants had gone through the standard safety measures I put in my earphones, resting my head against the seat and listening to my calming Lofi playlist. This was the beginning of the most amazing trip I'd ever be able to experience.

*

I was shaken awake to a dimly lit plane aisle and endless rows of sleeping people. It wasn't anything unusual to have turbulence when crossing the Atlantic.

Groggy and with a mild headache I stood up to make my way to the bathroom. Still half asleep, I was moving slowly and made sure to take my sweet time while I could. As I looked in the mirror I could see the heavy bags under my eyes contrasting heavily against my pale skin and bright blue eyes. I believed that in appearance I had always resembled a ghost which was not very uncommon in England but was definitely slightly weirder in the warm Paris. When I moved I had always gone out with suncream and a pair of sunglasses in my bag as a precaution, because it took an insanely short amount of time before I looked like a shrimp when I was exposed in direct sunlight. Not that it had ever been an issue in the UK because it rained all the bloody time. Unfortunately some stereotypes were really true.

I looked at myself a while longer in the mirror. I knew it was a kind of vain thing to do, but I couldn't help admiring all of the muscle mass I had gained in the past four months, for astronaut training wasn't only technical but also required a huge amount of practice and training. In fact, I was quite muscular for the average woman and otherwise I didn't have any oddly peculiar features that stood out: I was the average height, had slight curves and long brown hair and I had never been described as particularly beautiful. Not that it really bothered me since I had always been kind of a nerd and just focused on either schoolwork, reading, solving a puzzle or becoming an astronaut. Consequently I wasn't extremely outgoing and had never amassed a friend group of any kind, but I wasn't overly shy or quiet either, I was just... human. With an unfortunate (or fortunate, however you saw it) tendency to quickly obsess over specific things.

Before I could admire myself any longer I heard a loud knock on the door which was followed by "Hurry up, we've got a whole queue waiting for you!"

Slightly embarrassed I gathered my toilet bag and sped out of the bathroom, rushing back to my seat before anyone else started complaining. I couldn't wait to arrive.

Author's note: a short chapter, I know, but I thought it'd be rather fitting regarding the content. Hope you enjoyed :) Feel free to comment or like!