Duke.

Prologue.

"Major Tom," the Captain nodded at Dave as he sat down. Dave blinked and nodded back, trying to force himself to smile.

"Captain," he responded, tilting his head to the side, "What's the news?"

"Oh, you're going to love it! You're going to be ecstatic!" the Captain exclaimed, almost clapping his hands in joy.

Dave scowled. The Captain was never this happy and it was extremely odd to see him acting this way.

He cleared his throat, relaxing against the back of his chair. "We've managed to get together an extracting capsule. The workmen have been busy putting it together for weeks, months!"

Dave blinked a few times and sat up straighter. Did this mean he was going on another exploration? Did this mean he'd be able to create another impact on another planet?

He leaned forward, taking a small breath before speaking. "Where in the Universe are you sending me now?!" he asked, feeling amused and raising his eyebrows, "Do you know yet? Is it Mars?" He cocked his head to the side slightly, watching the Captain and Jack stare at him in amusement.

"Do we know what?" Jack questioned, keeping his eyes focused on Dave's expression.

"Is there life on Mars?" Dave arched a brow.

The Captain chuckled and shook his head, waving his hands a little. "No, no, none of that. We don't know, anyway." he replied, resting his hands on his knees.

"Well where the bloody hell are you sending me, then?!" Dave raised his voice excitedly. He switched his gaze back and forth between Jack and the Captain, nervously running the tip of his tongue against his bottom lip.

"Earth. Planet Earth." The Captain finally answered, waiting in suspense for Dave's reaction.

"Earth?" Dave scowled, narrowing his eyes a little, "You want me to go to Planet Earth?" He took a deep breath, blinking hard and averting his eyes towards the floor.

"Yes..." the Captain nodded slowly, keeping his eyes focused on Dave.

"Ma...Major Tom?" Jack cleared his throat, getting slightly worried as he stared at Dave, knowing he didn't look very happy about the prospect of Planet Earth.

Dave slowly lifted his head, taking a few deep breaths before speaking almost silently. "Earth..." he mumbled. "Earth?" he repeated, shaking his head a little. "With...with humans? You do know that planet has the biggest population of any planet I've ever visited?" He raised his eyebrows, chewing on his bottom lip. "I'm not sure I can...I can get on with humans."

"Don't think about it, Major T." the Captain shook his head, trying to speak in a reassuring tone. "You've successfully managed, to make an impact on all the other planets you've been to. This planet is no different."

"No different?! No bloody different?!" Dave exclaimed, raising his voice slightly, "It's completely different! There's humans everywhere! If you go other places in the Universe, there's always somewhere where you can go just for yourself. But not on Earth! There's too many people there! It's practically overrun!" He widened his eyes and began to breathe rapidly.

"Calm down, you're overreacting. It's just the population that you're not used to. Major Tom, you're able to wrap pretty much everyone around your little finger with all the kinds of creativity you're able to deliver. What makes Earth so different?" The Captain squinted his eyes, crossing one of his legs over his thighs and resting his hand against it.

"Humans, Captain. Humans..." Dave spoke in a low, serious tone. "I mean, what do I even have in common with them? What could I possibly do to get them all to listen to me?"