AUTHOR'S NOTE: Contains paragraph numbers!
DISCLAIMER: "Tokyo By Night" by Hook N Sling and Karin Park isn't mine!
CHAPTER 1
TOKYO BY NIGHT
MARCH 30, 2048
1 Today was the day. The day that the rocket, mission CSVL-9895, would ignite its massive engines, hurling a crew of 128 towards the skies. The space race has long been superseded by a movement of unity - of peace, signed contracts and raised second and third fingers. In its place was a globally-monitored and centralized system of launchpads and spaceships called the 'Central Space Vehicle Link'. Since the year 2023 it has launched 9,894 missions at a 97.559% success rate.
2 Alas, the 9,895th one was launching tonight - one of the most important space missions in the history of the Space Vehicle Link - in the Tokyo Launch Station - which is actually deceptively placed roughly 16 kilometres north of Tokyo. CSVL-9895, a flagship Axwell-class modular cruiser, registration number CJ-3455-WV, would head into the cluster of stars close to Sirius, and land on a newly-discovered planet which was found to have conditions suitable to human life.
3 Leading the above-hundred-strong crew was Captain Turner, whose first name none except from the CSVL personnel knew since he was 30. At 18 he suffered from a great depression of unknown origin, and at 23 he left his parents and had a life of his own. He was a young-looking man, but far from young was he. Even though he was 56, he was known as a child by heart by fellow astronauts. It was now 6 in the evening - 6:00:35 - when he opened the door and headed out of the astronauts' quarters and boarded one of many silver vans taking him to the launch site.
4 The ship was so large that it would be launched as two separate vehicles before docking together 1,500 kilometers above the exosphere of the Earth. Beforehand, a control vehicle - one that looks like an oversized cockpit the size of two B-2 bombers of the 2000's - would take off like any commercial airplane and meet the two docked portions of the ship. It was a cockpit, after all - and that's where Captain Turner and five of his most trusted officers were heading.
5 The two main sections of the ship - codenamed Julius and Venus - were positioned at runways 2 km apart. Each section was massive - at least 500m long by 175m wide at the tail. A ten-kilometer runway was ahead of the two great ships - Julius on the left, Venus on the right. Julius was scheduled off the ground at 20:30 hrs while Venus was scheduled off 21:00 hrs. That's 8:30 PM and 9PM, Turner sighed. His central ship was supposed to be up there at 7:30 PM. As he thought that, the van arrived at its destination. Turner split the group into three groups - two groups of 61 and one group of 6, which he was a part of. He reminded them about his orders, and gave them one last salute before he took off to the skies. He and his five officers boarded the control ship - numbered P-010-F - and started the ignition sequence.
6 The remaining two groups boarded Julius and Venus; 61 boarded each ship. They looked out the windows as the eight silver vans left the launch site and left the astronauts alone. It was 7:00; Tokyo was coming to life. It hasn't changed since the 2000's - the night was still one of the most active times of the day here.
7 Turner listened as the onboard computer on P-010-F droned "Engine sequence complete. Launch sequence initiated." It was 7:10 now. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and chin. This was it, he said. In 20 minutes he would be able to witness Tokyo by night from a beautiful vantage point. It reminded him of a song - one of an emotion he could not specify. It gave him some positive power - after all, he was a fan of instrumental music (but appreciated some lyrics). To him, the middle section, the only part with lyrics, sounded like something translated from a Japanese piece of literature:
7a
I'm your light
Tokyo by night
Lover till you burst
7b
Don't forget
Love is not for real
If it doesn't hurt
7c
Feel your lows
Say your prayers
Come with me
7d
Drink my blood
Fade to black
Come with me
8 He was listening to it at the moment - it was an old song from 2014. It was roughly five and a half minutes long - perfect to pass the time. Soon enough, the song dipped into its DJ-friendly outro of percussive instruments tracing out a complex rhythm.
9 A few minutes passed. Launch sequence complete. It was 7:25.
10 "Mission Control to P10F, you may now initiate take-off. Good luck and godspeed," the officer at the control tower said. "Roger that Control. Guys, here we go! Thrust to full power," Turner ordered as he pushed a large lever and watched the thrust meter reach 100%.
11 The speed readings showed 50. 100. 200. 250. 300. 450. 500km/h - "and liftoff!" the control tower officer bellowed. Below, there was cheering in the Mission Control room. Time passed. Turner took the time to appreciate the urban jungle of Tokyo below him. Myriads of tiny lights shone to the skies while countless signs with foreign characters accompanied these lights, as would a counterpoint would do in a song. So this was Tokyo by night, he thought to himself. A crackle from the radio was heard next.
12 "Control to Turner, you're doing very well."
13 "Turner to Control. Alright."
14 "Control to Turner. Stat altitude?"
15 "Turner to Control. Mach 1 and an altitude of 3.35 kilometers."
16 "Control to Turner. It's twenty hundred hours right now. Julius will launch in thirty minutes."
17 "Turner to Control. How's it goin' down there with Julius and Venus?"
18 "Control to Turner. Julius just finished his engine sequence. It's now beginning launch sequence. Venus is now commencing engine sequence."
19 "Turner to Control. Roger that. Now at 6km up and Mach 2.5."
20 "Control to Turner. Status received. Matches data here."