He was finally doing it. He was going to the moon. Daichi drew in a breath of exhilaration as he sat down in the pilot's chair. His fingers danced across the console, inputting the security codes.
He was nervous. Daichi had never flown a shuttle before, but he had gone over several instruction manuals and memorized them. He was good at memorizing things. It was one of the reasons he did so well in his studies.
Daichi was studying to be the next CEO of the Tokugawa Corporation, a job he had little interest in. He'd much rather study art and be a painter. However, his father would have none of it. He was so determined to have an heir that he wouldn't even consider what Daichi wanted and he was so engrossed in his business that he never made any time for his son.
It wasn't so bad when his mother was around. He at least had her to talk to. The pain and loneliness had just gotten worse since her passing. Daichi's father didn't even show up to see her as she breathed her last breath. The business meeting he was in was more important to him than seeing his own wife for the last time. Nothing had hurt worse than that. What if he were to die? Would his father even care? Would his only concern be that he no longer had an heir?
Daichi had grown weary of this treatment, of this neglect. It was why he had gathered up his gang. They were the only people that would give him the time of day. They were the only people that didn't tell him what he was going to be.
Now he was going to the moon. He would make his father notice him. He would demand more of his time. Daichi wasn't sure what he would do or what he would say, but he just had to get to the moon. He would worry about his plans after he made it there.
Daichi strapped himself in. He wasn't really much of a safety conscious person, often traveling at ludicrous speeds on his air bike, but wasn't about to take any risks in space. Just going into space was dangerous in itself.
Adrenaline surged throughout his body as he input the commands to begin launch. The number display on the console counted down. The thrusters began to fire. A little red light began to flash.
"This shuttle is not authorized for launch. Stop immediately!" a voice boomed across the intercom.
Daichi jabbed the button to cease communications, silencing the voice. The thrusters increased output. Daichi's heart jumped as the shuttle began moving forward. Velocity increased rapidly, launching the shuttle into the air. It climbed through the sky. It didn't take long to pierce the stratosphere. The shuttle passed through the mesosphere and thermosphere.
Daichi turned to look out the window. He watched as the shuttle traveled through the exosphere. He saw as the sky turned into the black void of space. Seeing the stars from space was nothing like viewing them on earth. It was breathtaking.
The shuttle lurched. Daichi looked back at the console. It was afire with red lights. An alarm was sounding.
"Collision detected," the shuttle's computer droned. "Collision detected."
Daichi tapped buttons across the console, bringing up the cameras mounted outside. The shuttle had been hit by some space debris that was orbiting earth. It didn't look like it had done any damage.
Just as he was calming down, something else caught Daichi's eye. It looked to be a bigger piece of debris, a broken satellite and it was headed right for him.
Daichi panicked. He didn't know what to do. Increasing speed would just increase the force of the impact and he couldn't turn around. The shuttle only had thrusters on the back. There was nothing he could do but wait for impact and hope it didn't damage the shuttle.
The satellite quickly approached the hull for what seemed like eternity. He was so close to his goal. Had he come all this way just to fail?
"Collision detected," the computer warned again.
Daichi's heart was in his throat. It raced as he heard the glass crack. The force of the air rushing through the gaps breached the hull. The air rushed to escape the opening. Daichi's heart sank as he watched the hull rupture. He could feel the force of the air pull on him, but he stayed put thanks to the belt holding him down.
The satellite crashed further into the shuttle and closer to Daichi. He gasped; a foolish mistake. The air he drew into his lungs expanded as the vacuum of space entered the shuttle, rupturing them. He panicked as he realized he couldn't breathe. Daichi understood what had happened and he was terrified. Without oxygen he would pass out shortly and by the time any rescue crews could get to him he would be long gone.
Was he really going to die here in the cold of space? He was merely eighteen. He had his whole life ahead of him. Now that future looked darker than ever. It seemed like this was his whole life and it was drawing to a close. It would end without a single meaningful accomplishment to his name.
With his diminishing strength, Daichi reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. He opened it and slid out a photograph. It was a picture of his father, his mother and himself. It had been taken four or five years ago, when they still had some semblance of a family.
Daichi began to weep as his consciousness faded. The tears floated off into space. It had been foolish to try to get to the moon on his own.
Daichi felt faint. He knew he only had moments left. He held the photo to his chest and closed his eyes as his mind went dark. Daichi drifted off into endless sleep. He died in the emptiness of space.