"When will you be back?"
Jack turned around and looked down at the round face staring earnestly up at him. He smiled and reached down, lifting Les up and setting the boy on the bed beside him while he finished packing. "As soon as I can, I promise," he said. "This is a really good job for me. It'll be good for all of us. With the money I make, I'll be able to afford to move all of us off of Proserpina. Wouldn't you like to live on a planet with grass and oceans? Trees? Something besides just buildings and smog? Somewhere we wouldn't have to live underneath other people like we do here?"
Les cocked his head to the side, thinking. "Yeah, that does sound pretty nice."
In the doorway, Sarah crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway. "Just promise that you'll be careful. And that you'll come back."
"Don't worry," Jack grinned, "I won't bail on you guys. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Sarah smiled back. "Come on, Les. Let's let Jack finish up. It's almost time to say goodbye."
When Jack had finished packing, he hefted his rucksack up and over his shoulder, letting out a soft oof as the heavy pack hit his back. He walked out into the apartment and said his goodbyes to a stern-faced Sarah and teary-eyed Les. They had agreed that it would be better to say their goodbyes in private, rather than walking to the transport station with Jack. It was hard to leave—Sarah and Les were the closest he had to family, after all, and he hadn't been away from them for more than a day or two since their parents had died. The thought of leaving for some indeterminate length of time was… harder than hard. But he firmly believed that this was his best option, and the best option for Sarah and Les, so, while it seemed impossible to leave them behind, he was determined to make the best of it.
After leaving home, he headed for Race and Albert's little flat, by the tunnel entrance. The two were waiting outside of their building. Albert's ears were flat against his head, but he smiled at Jack as he approached. "So, you're really going, aren't you?" he said.
"Seems like," Race gave him an uncertain grin. "See you soon."
"Yeah," Albert's smile softened and his ears relaxed as he looked over at Race. "Stay safe."
"You too," Race reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "That bar can get pretty rough some nights, and you won't have us to keep an eye on you."
Albert laughed. "Yeah. You keep an eye on me."
"Who else do you think keeps the goons off your back when fights break out?" Race teased.
"Uh, the bouncers?" said Albert.
"Sure," Race rolled his eyes and pulled Albert in for a brief hug. "I'll call when I can."
"Yeah, I know," said Albert. He looked over Race's shoulder and smiled at Jack. "Take care of each other? Both of you, and Elmer too."
"We will," Jack promised.
Race gave Albert a final whack on the shoulder—to which the Felis responded with a punch to the ribs, which Race narrowly dodged—before hefting up his bag and moving towards Jack. They waved back at Albert before heading into the tunnel to the docks.
"We're going to be late," Race grumbled, checking the chronometer on his wrist.
"We'll be fine."
"We'll be late."
"We'll be fine, Racer. Don't worry."
The streets and walkways leading to the tunnel were as busy as ever, packed with people going about their own lives. Normally, Jack didn't pay that much attention, but today… It seemed strange that so many people—faces he knew by proximity, from passing them every day for years now—were just going about their daily lives, while his entire world was about to take the biggest shift since the death of his father.
Breaking out from the tunnel, not much changed. The walkways and streets were just as crowded as they had been inside. The towering buildings, transports incoming freighters and ships shadowed the people flowing along just like the upper levels and tunnels had, and clouds and smog blocked out the sunlight. Jack felt excitement swell up inside of him. The mysterious mage from the week before had told them to meet him at a dock on the topmost level of Proserpina's city—several levels above anywhere the boys had ever had cause to go before. Jack was ecstatic at the thought of seeing the sky, much less breaking atmosphere. The last time he'd left the planet's surface had been on a moon supply run with his and Sarah's fathers, as a child. Since then, he'd hardly even gotten glimpses of the sky, and those mostly accompanied the largest freighters as they broke through the smog and cloud covers while entering or leaving atmosphere. The thought of actually seeing the sky and the stars filled Jack with an unbridled joy that threatened to leap out of his chest.
Elmer met them where the walkway branched, one path leading towards the docks, the other towards the transports to the upper levels. He fell in beside the others, unnaturally quiet.
"How's Buttons?" Race asked.
"Fine," Elmer sighed. "Not happy. They want me to stay. They said the galaxy's too big a place for folks as little as us. That we won't be able to make any more of a difference there rather than here, so I—we—should just stay here, where we have friends."
"If everyone believed they were too small to make a difference, no-one would ever step up to do anything. No-one would ever have left their planet's surface in the first place, and we'd never have seen the stars." Jack sighed and adjusted his rucksack straps on his shoulders. "The galaxy would be a much different place if that were the case."
Race and Elmer traded a glance and shrugged. Race checked his chronometer again. "Let's pick up the pace, boys," he sang out, quickening his own step and pulling ahead of the others. "It won't do to be late on our first day at a new job!"