Turns out the lunar bus was more a flyer than a driver. Kind of made sense. A wheeled vehicle would kick up an enormous amount of lunar dust. It was still a thrilling experience, 1/6th gravity and all!
I couldn't take my eyes away from the window as our bus headed out over the lunar north pole. In my youth, I had dreamt of going to the Moon. I had innocently believed that, once we had landed on the Moon, we would set up mining colonies and all the other things I had read about in all my science fiction books. Those dreams, sadly, had died with my youth. But now…
"Lunar days take a little getting used to up here, sweetie," Obaa-sama remarked as we passed over the terminator region. "We get about two weeks of continuous daylight followed by the same amount of continuous night."
"But," Ogii-sama added, giving me a wink, "since most of Cordero Station is beneath the lunar surface, we use artificial light to simulate Earth normal day and night."
"Glad to hear it," I chuckled. "I worked on a term paper once my first time in college. Stayed up long enough to see the sun rise twice. Afterwards, I couldn't even translate the notes I'd scribbled down during class."
That got a chuckle out of all the adults.
"Don't plan on ever doing that again!" I groaned.
"Your first time in college?" Papa remarked, catching that comment. "You went to school more than once?"
I nodded.
"I wasn't happy with my situation as a cashier at the local grocery store," I explained, shrugging, "so I went back to school, earning a second degree in computer animation."
"Computer animation?" Ogii-sama wondered.
"Using computers to create virtual people, buildings, vehicles, and so on," I explained. "Computer generated imagery became a mainstay of the entertainment industry… movies and so on… back in my day. I wanted to be part of that creativity, so I went back to school when I was 56 years old!"
"Onee-san!" Claru whispered, clearly in awe.
"I had a lot of fun creating things with the computer," I sighed, giving Claru a hug. "Wish I could show you the things I once created. No question they were a lot simpler than the 3D holoprojections now in use, but I was proud of the things I managed to create. And my family and friends were all equally impressed with them."
We flew on a bit more. I drank in every moment of it. Few humans in my time had seen the side of the Moon that perpetually faced away from Earth, always facing the stars. Now I was seeing it with my own eyes!
We passed over a smattering of other small facilities, but it was easy to pick out Cordero Station as we approached. Surrounded by the lunar night, the place was lit up like a Christmas tree!
"How do they power the station?" I asked. "Nuclear?"
"Oh, no, sweetie!" Obaa-san assured me as we slowly descended into the launch and landing bay. "We have a network of solar stations around the Moon. Connected together, the installations on the Moon receive a constant supply of power no matter where we are!"
"Interstellar!" I whispered, grinning with respect.
Made sense, especially with the much longer lunar day.
The 'bus' touched down, and the landing platform slowly descended beneath the lunar surface.
"Nice!" I sighed, watching as the launch bay hatch irised closed above us.
This time, I wasn't as surprised as I had been at Tranquility City by the feel of the artificial gravity here in Cordero Station.
"This way!" Ogii-san called out, setting off down the boarding ramp at a pretty good pace.
Still, the Earth-normal artificial gravity did make it a little hard to believe we were all on the Moon!
As we made our way down the long hallways and modules of the station, I suddenly realized, "It's laid out just like Nova Tokyo!"
Ogii-san and Obaa-san smiled.
"Smart as a whip!" Ogii-san chuckled, giving me a hug. "Good eye, sweetling!"
"Just a lot smaller," Obaa-san added, giving me a peck on the cheek.
A couple more halls, a quick turbolift ride, and…
"We're here!" Claru declared, gesturing proudly at his grandparents' home.
"Wait! No way!" I gasped, whirling to stare at my new grandparents. "Your quarters here has the same numerical value as our home back in Nova Tokyo?!"
Yep! Clearly emblazoned next to the door was the number 2845!
"You know, I never noticed that before," Papa chuckled, grinning at me. "Smart as a whip is right!"
"Go on, sweetie," Obaa-san urged, gesturing at the door. "You first."
"But… this is your home!" I argued.
"You'll see," Ogii-san assured me, grinning broadly.
Drawing a deep breath to steady my nerves, I stepped toward the door. When it opened at my approach, I stopped dead in my tracks.
"You're part of our family now, too, sweetling," Ogii-san quietly spoke, laying a comforting arm across my shoulders. "Welcome home!"
I couldn't stop the tears that filled my eyes as we all moved en masse into my new grandparents' lunar home.
Their place was as beautiful as I had imagined. Nearly as roomy as our quarters back in Nova Tokyo.
"You'll be sleeping in here, sweetie," Obaa-san informed me as we headed down a short hall before she reached through one of the doorways to turn on the light.
The moment she did, I gasped, hands covering my mouth as I slowly entered the room. Standing regally against the wall was an exact copy of my canopy bed!
"We wanted to be certain you felt at home here, sweetling," Ogii-san informed me, gently planting a kiss on my cheek.
All I could do was weep and throw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly!
For dinner, my new grandparents took us all out to the local restaurant at Cordero Station.
"Ogii-san's treat!" he declared, grinning broadly.
It had all the atmosphere of a five-star restaurant back on Earth, which made it hard for me to remember we were on the Moon.
Halfway through dinner, the maître d' showed up at our table.
"Please excuse the interruption," he apologized, setting a strange device on the table, "but there is a holovid call for Miss Jayden."
"Me?" I wondered, setting my utensils down. "From who?"
"A Captain Theru from Stellar Spacelines," the head waiter replied.
"The commander of our shuttle up here?" Mama realized, glancing over at me.
"Ah, yes, I forgot," I apologized, nodding around the table. "Put him through, please."
"Certainly, Miss!" the waiter responded, pressing a button on the device.
A small one-foot-tall holo of the captain from the chest up appeared before us.
"My apologies, Captain," I chuckled, gesturing around me. "I'm afraid I've been a little preoccupied."
"Then, I won't keep you long, Jayden," he replied, nodding understanding. "Have you made a decision yet?"
"Decision?" Obaa-san wondered, glancing my way. "About what?"
"On whether to accept Captain Theru's very kind offer," I replied, indicating the holo image.
"What offer?" Papa asked, leaning closer.
"Would you care to explain, Captain?" I responded, gesturing to him.
"I was greatly impressed with Jayden's piloting skills on the flight up here," he explained, nodding to me. "So much so, in fact, that I have offered to submit an application for her to attend the Nova Tokyo shuttle pilot training academy…"
"What?!" my family all gasped, turning to stare at me.
"And to append my personal recommendation for her admission to the Academy's review board," he finished, grinning at the surprise on the faces of my family.
"Captain Theru used to be the director of operations at the Academy," I explained, grinning shyly. "I heard from the other crew members that he hardly ever recommends anyone for admission."
"Jayden promised to give me her decision by the time we reached the Moon," Captain Theru added, nodding to me, smiling all the while, "but I can certainly understand the distraction of meeting new family members."
"You're going to be a shuttle pilot?!" Claru exclaimed, clearly excited by the news.
"Well, I told Captain Theru that I wanted to discuss it with my family first," I chuckled, giving Claru a quick hug. "Anyone have any objections?"
"Sweetie," Obaa-san spoke up, turning to me, "what did he mean about being impressed by your piloting skills on the flight up here?"
"I was in the right seat of the shuttle," I replied, grinning shyly, "from preflight through engine start, taxi out, launch, and TLI."
"Are you serious?!" Ogii-san exclaimed, nearly rising out of his seat in surprise. "You flew the shuttle?!"
"Her piloting was so precise, good sir," Captain Theru added, nodding to me, "that Sector Control cleared us direct TLI once we reached orbit, saving us several hours of pre-TLI orbiting to get into position."
"Stars above!" my grandparents whispered in unison.
"I was a pilot of military aircraft back in my time," I explained. "Many aspects of the shuttle's operation were very similar, so it was actually a fairly easy transition. But Captain Theru and his crew were of immense help and support throughout the entire experience."
"Jayden's prior training also proved invaluable saving our lives when the shuttle lost cabin pressure just after TLI," Captain Theru added, bowing to me. "She was a true professional throughout the entire incident. That's why I am more than happy to submit an application to the Academy on her behalf with my recommendation for admission. With your permission, of course."
"So?" I asked, glancing around the table, seeing the beaming faces of my new family and the absolutely stunned expressions on the faces of my new grandparents. "What do you think?"
"What do I think?!" Ogii-san exclaimed, staring at me. "I think I'm glad I was sitting down! Great stars, girl!"
He turned to Mama and Papa. "You knew about this?"
"About her piloting the shuttle, yes," Mama admitted, giving me a hug, "but not until she came back from the cockpit once we'd achieved TLI."
"But this is the first we've heard anything about her going to the Academy," Papa added, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"I like the idea," I explained, looking at each member of my family seated around the table. "It allows me to make use of my prior flight training and experience. And it gives me a way to contribute to the greater good of my new home, Nova Tokyo. Please, I'd like to go! What do you say?"
"Onee-san's gonna be a shuttle pilot!" Claru gleefully exclaimed, hugging me tightly.
"That's one yes," I chuckled, returning the hug.
Mama and Papa briefly glanced at each other, smiling broadly, before looking right at me.
"And we thought you rescuing your little brother was amazing," Papa sighed, grinning from ear to ear. "Seeing you in action during that pressure loss… how you acted so quickly and decisively… is proof that you belong on a shuttle."
"From the moment you rescued Claru," Mama added, tears of joy trickling down her cheeks as she gave me a warm hug, "you have brought us nothing but pride and joy, my dear sweet daughter. We would be pleased and proud for you to go to the Academy!"
"That's two more yeses," I chuckled, returning Mama's hug.
"Obaa-san? Ogii-san? It certainly couldn't hurt to have a shuttle pilot for a granddaughter, could it?"
Ogii-san roared with laughter, Obaa-san giggling along with him.
"Stars above, child, what a wonder you are!" Ogii-san finally sighed, wiping laugh tears from his eyes. "You go to the Academy, sweetling. Your grandmother and I will be there to see your graduation, come Hell or high water!"
"That makes it unanimous, Captain," I responded, turning to his holo projection. "Please make it so."
"Right away!" he acknowledged, snapping me a sharp salute. "Take care, Cadet!"
The holo projection faded out.
"Now, where were we?" I absently remarked, picking my utensils back up.