Omigosh! My readership doubled overnight (in terms of how many new people favourited this story and/or added it to their story alerts)!! THANK YOU!! it makes the the cockles of my little heart proud to know that people are reading and enjoying this :)

Now, don't stay silent, y'all! I want to hear from you!!

So... as was hinted at in the summary, this story is about to leave Earth... quite literally. I should mention at this juncture that I am a HUGE science fiction and fantasy fan, and what originally drew me to Twilight was NOT the love story, but the way the vampire lore was explained (though I have some issues with Stephenie's view of their physiology, being the purist I am).

Now, that being said, I am still intrigued by the relationship between Edward and Bella, and I hope that I am reproducing it fairly faithfully, given the changes I've made in the storyline. I really don't want to put them out of character too much, or why bother to use them at all? for this story, which is definitely going to be diff from what I've seen here in the Twilight 'verse. And I enjoy being in Edward's head, he has such a dark, delicious mind... muhahahaha...

Okay, time to get this puppy rolling...

Chapter One: The Decision

"Edward. Bella. Rosalie. Emmett. Alice. Jasper." Carlisle called the names without raising his voice as he sat at the head of the mahogany table in the dining room, Esme by his side. The dawn showed greyly through the window behind him. From our various pursuits around the house, we came instantly, each of us taking seats at the table. I held out Bella's chair for her, between myself and Esme. Alice and Jasper sat across from us, while Rosalie and Emmett took the other end of the table. We all looked expectantly toward Carlisle, our leader, our father figure in this family.

Carlisle sat pensively, his gold eyes sweeping over each of our faces in turn. I took Bella's hand underneath the table and twined my fingers through hers; she squeezed my fingers briefly, her attention on Carlisle. Only a minute before, we'd been in each other's arms…

We were in the town of Forks, in Washington State. I had asked to come back here when Carlisle had asked us a few years ago if there were any 'special requests,' as we had not been back since Bella had graduated high school there nearly a century ago for the first time. Somehow I had known it might be the last chance I would have, to go back and see the little town where I had first met Bella, where our relationship had begun and flowered, and we had become bonded together in every sense of the word. We had stayed away once we'd left, sensitive to the fact that it had been painful for Bella after her father had died, that being there only heightened the pain. And of course, we had to let time pass to let the people of Forks forget we had ever existed…

Time did not fade memories for us as it did for humans. But Bella had become philosophical about her father's death, had put it into the greater context of the flow of human life and events, and had even seemed pleased when I had made the suggestion, wanting as I did to re-live the happier memories of that time.

We were both enrolled at the high school, now in our senior year along with Alice; our 'older' brothers and sister had graduated last year. Bella, her grip on humanity as tight as ever despite nearly a century of being a vampire, had made several friends among the human students, and the three of us often joined them at events. Alice was of course her best friend, her constant friend no matter where we might find ourselves, but Bella treasured these frail human friendships as well, even knowing that they could not last.

And in a sense, her continued connection to the human world kept our relationship humming with excitement. Not that I could ever take our love for granted, for to us the feelings were forever fresh, forever intense. But the inspiration she received allowed her to keep coming up with new ways to express her love for me…

I stared at Carlisle now, trying to read what was coming, but his thoughts were carefully guarded. This was big, then. After a long silence he finally spoke.

"Edward, Bella, and Alice will be graduating from high school shortly, and rather than following our usual progression of events, I think it's time to chart a new course. A course to the stars."

Sharp intakes of breath all around the table. I wasn't quite so shocked as the others, as I'd seen this on his mind several times in recent years, but was still surprised that it was coming up now, and wondered what had tipped his hand. We still had a few years that we could spend in Forks; our secret was still safe here.

He continued quietly, his gaze continuing to sweep the table. "Our planet's atmosphere is becoming more unstable again with the recent upswing in industrialization overseas, and Alice's visions are getting more dismal in this regard. No matter where we move on this planet, we will be at risk if the trend continues. Since none of us is up for public office…" he inserted wryly, with a smile in Jasper's direction. Jasper, for his part, looked properly horrified. He could not even conceive of participating in the petty human drama, even though he had the potential to sway the overall tide to a course more beneficial to this Earth.

"Is it so hopeless then?" Rosalie spoke up now. She was loathe to uproot herself, to face the unknown. Here her beauty worked for her, opened doors for her. Who knew what would be the case out there? I almost smiled. Rosalie was so predictable.

"No, but this is a pivotal time." Carlisle's voice remained steady and calm. "First, it's an election year, and both the incumbent and his rival will be doing nothing more than posing this year, while the environment continues to crumble around them. In the meantime, the civilian space program has taken an important step forward recently, as they have announced plans to send an explorer ship to Alpha Centauri. The probes indicated that several of the planets in that double system were capable of sustaining life. And who is better suited than our kind, for such a journey?"

Silence greeted his question. With the sudden stress, all of us were motionless, frozen in place like statues. All of our eyes remained riveted on his face.

My family's voices were strong in their minds. Jasper was worried for Alice's sake; he had no idea how he could ensure her safety in an alien environment. Alice was concerned about some danger she saw in our future if we did nothing and stayed on Earth, some natural disaster. Emmett was up for the adventure but uncertain of the threat that was involved. Rosalie wanted no part of it. Esme wanted her family to remain together, no matter what…

And Bella? Who knew… even after over a century of us being together, I still could not read her thoughts, could not predict her reaction to this.

Carlisle smiled then as he gazed on his family, releasing us from our blocks of ice. "Of course I would never force this decision on any of you. I would love dearly to keep us all together, but I will respect whatever decision you make. This would be a fairly permanent thing though – it wouldn't be as in the past where some of you have gone off on your own for a time and rejoined us later. I'm not sure the opportunity will come more than once."

"Discussion?" I asked, squeezing Bella's hand and bringing it up to my lips before putting it upon the table between us, still tightly clasped in mine. "I can hear all of your thoughts, of course, but I think you need to hear each other's."

"Why don't you tell us, Edward?" Rosalie asked with heavy sarcasm. I knew she was ready to walk away. I still wasn't sure how I felt now that the decision was suddenly before us; I needed to know Bella's thoughts.

"Perhaps you should tell us why you're so opposed to this," I answered, smirking. Six other yellow pairs of eyes turned to focus on Rosalie, while I tried in vain to read my lover's expression. Her face was impassive and seemed untroubled. Her amber eyes flicked to mine and then away again; she seemed interested in what Rosalie had to say.

Rosalie glowered in my direction. "I'm settled and I'm happy here. I don't want to move again just yet. There's no immediate danger that I can see, and I haven't heard anything convincing me otherwise."

"So… cataclysmic event… certain future doom… only one chance for escape… doesn't do it for you?" Alice asked icily. I suddenly saw what she'd been hiding, and I gasped; she looked at me in chagrin as all other eyes swiveled first to me, then to her. Jasper looked alarmed, and his influence of the mood over the room wavered as the tension climbed.

"You've only talked about trends. Things change. The human world is so transitory, I can't believe we could get caught up in what might happen." Rosalie seemed irritated, nothing more.

Emmett didn't seem so sure. "I don't know that I'd go betting against Alice, without knowing what she saw. Whatever it is sounds big, Rose."

"Big enough to kill off vampires?" Rosalie scoffed, unruffled. "You know how Edward over-reacts to everything. He could be just trying to scare us."

Carlisle asserted his authority. "Alice, why don't you tell us all what you've seen? We need to put everything on the table to help everyone decide."

Alice grimaced. Instinctively, I drew closer to Bella and wrapped my free arm around her waist, laying my cheek against hers. She leaned into me in response, her eyes on Alice.

"I see… different things. It depends on so many decisions that haven't been made yet, but the general sense is that the weather patterns get severe enough to affect the Earth's crust. You're right that most natural disasters wouldn't kill us… flood, tornado, hurricane, avalanche, tsunami… but if the earth were to open up beneath us, in the presence of fire or lava, well, we wouldn't fare so well."

Rosalie shuddered briefly, then shook her head. "You're being dramatic. What are the odds of that happening? How could the forces of nature be thrown off so far by mere humans?" But there was a faint edge of hysteria in her voice.

"You forget that we very nearly escaped another Ice Age many years ago by humans becoming aware of the effects of global warming, and changing their collective habits." I spoke quietly, to offset the tension. "As individuals, humans are no threat to us. As a civilization, all bets are off, and you should know that as well as I do."

Bella leaned away from me then, and regarded me thoughtfully. I could no longer bear not knowing her take on this situation. "What are you thinking, love?"

"You sound as though you're writing off humanity," she observed, her golden eyes burning into mine. "Are you saying that they're not worth fighting for?"

"Not at all. I'm just helping Rosalie appreciate what we're up against." I stroked her cheek gently. Even after all this time, I remembered the frail little human she'd once been, and how she'd reawakened the human I had thought long dead within me. "I cannot forget where we came from, and how I found you."

"I don't think this is something we can fight," Jasper said slowly. "It's not as if we can take one stand, one field, and have it matter across the world. I'm getting the sense that the threat has outgrown the power of the humans to really reverse."

"Not in time," Alice agreed. "and not before any chance for escape is gone." Her words hung in the air.

I looked deep into Bella's eyes, and she returned my gaze. Did she wish to stay and fight for our past, for all we had known, or did she want to start anew in a truly foreign land?

As if she could hear my thoughts, she spoke quietly, to me alone. "This is the only world I've ever known… but not the only life. I've made… adjustments before. But I cannot imagine a universe where you don't exist."

"Who is to say that we would ultimately survive in a new world?" I asked softly. "Our… immortal natures might only be valid in the confines of this world."

"Regardless," she whispered, after a brief hesitation. "I am not afraid to find out, as long as I am with you." My eyes were caught in hers; suddenly it was as if we were the only two people in the room. I stroked her cheek again, then leaned in and kissed her gently. Her fingers knotted in my hair as she held me close, kissing me back.

Jasper cleared his throat and turned to Carlisle. "So, what's the plan? We all seem to be aboard now."

I pulled away from Bella to scan everyone's thoughts. Even Rosalie nodded at Jasper's words, though her face was dark. She had been convinced by my argument, though she still hated the thought of leaving all she knew. I nodded to Carlisle, who relaxed visibly. Esme sighed happily beside him, pleased that her family would remain together.

Carlisle then looked a little apologetic. "I've already booked us all passage on the Galaxian. I wanted to ensure that we'd have our choice of accommodations. We head down to Florida after graduation to start training for space travel." I felt Bella flinch beside me and knew that she was remembering her mother, who had lived in Jacksonville until her death many years ago.

Florida wasn't so sunny anymore. Weather trends these past few years had intensified the storm season, and there were many more days of rain and clouds, though we would still need to be careful.

"To boldly go where no one has gone before, to seek out new life and new civilizations… and eat them," Emmett intoned with a snicker. Carlisle gave him a thoughtful look.

"We may need to re-define our lifestyle, depending on what we find. I would like to continue to avoid having any sentient species in our food supply," Carlisle said gravely. "Food for thought," he added wryly, lightening the mood.

Alice laughed. "Things are looking brighter already. Hey, Edward, Bella, we need to get ready for school. We have that big science test today, did you study?" I rolled my eyes at her and stood, still holding Bella's hand. Bella stood too, and we drifted upstairs to get ready for what promised to be an interesting day.

So this chapter's fairly short, and I had an unexpected 'free night', so I'm putting this up now, and immediately starting work on editing the next chapter. Did I set this up well enough for everyone? Any questions about the passage of so much time? I do intend to go back at some future time and do some 'filler' stories of the intervening years, but this current story is the one I envisioned when I started writing, so here we are ;)

Review, please!