"You're awfully quite back there." Shiro noted, adjusting the mirror at the front of the car to look at Keith better. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Keith responded, still staring out the window.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."Keith said again, the one word he had said on the entire trip back.

"Okay."

"Yeah…"

Another moment of silence. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah."

"Are you just saying 'yeah' for the joy of it?"

"No."

Shiro puffed a sigh of relief, pulling up next to the house. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning about ten, okay?"

"Okay." Keith agreed, climbing out of the car. "Um…thanks for getting me into the Garrison."

"No problem." Shiro smiled. "I'm sorry we had to test you like that."

"You did what you had to." Keith mumbled. "That's all I want."

Shiro watched him ascend the steps, walking grudgingly into the door. Shiro felt a moment of sadness, sighing. Keith had waved goodbye to him the last few times, but now he acted as if it had never happened.

Shiro backed the car out of the driveway, feeling angry with himself. They had tested Keith as a tiebreaker, since the vote to let him join the Garrison was half n' half, and he had passed. They had sent two cadets to test him, see if his discipline issue would get in the way. He had overcome temptation, and had been met with clapping instructors. They had presented paperwork for him to sign, a few papers for the foster care facility that he was apart of to look through, and a contract for his guardians to read. He would bring them back to the Garrison in the morning, and would be accepted into their ranks as a cadet. He would be assigned his own dorms, and…

Shiro closed his eyes, thinking. Poor Keith. It had been a hard test to overcome, and if he had failed…

Shiro picked up his phone, speed-dialed the Rachel Foster Care Foundation, pressing it to his ear.

"This is the RFCF, how may we help you?" The secretary said, her voice kind.

"Hello. This is Takashi Shirogane. May I please speak to Mason Pines?"

"Please hold." The woman on the other end said.

There was a few minutes of silence where Shiro pulled to the side, setting the car in park.

"Shiro?" Mason asked as their phones were connected.

"Yeah. Hi, Mason. Listen, Keith got accepted to the Galaxy Garrison."

"HE got into the Galaxy Garrison? Tell him congratulations." Mason whistled in approval.

"Actually, that's the reason I called." Shiro told him. "Keith needs you to fill out some paper work to complete his application, may we come over tomorrow to do it?"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, of course. I can tell him 'congratulations' myself. Bring him over whenever you're ready."

"Thanks, Mason."

"Yeah, no problem." Mason assured him. "See you tomorrow."

Shiro hung up, slipping it into his pocket as he headed off. He pulled into the Garrison parking lot a half-hour later, grabbing his bag and draping it over his shoulder.

"Hey, Commander Shirogane!" A young voice called as Shiro shut his car door.

"Yeah?" Shiro asked, turning to look at the young cadet.

"Are you seriously letting that…that…KID join the Garrison?!"

Shiro recognized him as James, the top recommend boy of Peters Elementary school who seemed to have it out for Keith. "You mean Keith? Yes."

"But he stole your car, and he hot-wired a school bus a few months back!"

"I was not aware of the bus." Shiro responded evenly, already sick of the kid. "I think Keith is just a good kid. He simply does the wrong things for the right reasons."

"But he's like a monster and human hybrid or somethin'!"

"James." Shiro said patiently, facing him. "Why are you such a bully to Keith?"

"What?" James pondered, his face widening in surprise.

"You obviously don't like him. Is there a deeper reason to that?" Shiro inquired, blinking at James.

"Why do YOU like him?!" James snapped, scowling at him. "He's such a dork."

Shiro sighed, glancing down at James. "I'm sorry you feel that way." He frowned, heading away to the instructor's side of the building as James stared after him, dumbfounded.

Shiro was thankful when James was out of sight, sighing in relief. When kids hit their pre-teens, they became so one-minded that often times to took forever to get rid of them.

"Takashi, a word?" Samuel Holt asked, opening the door to his office.

"Yeah, sure." Shiro nodded, following him in. "I thought that you already went home."

"Not tonight." Sam sighed. "Mitch needs me to stay late."

"'Needs'?" Shiro chuckled. "Or 'wants'?"

"You got me." Sam smiled, but quickly went back to his serious side. "I'm afraid I didn't ask you here because of laughing matters. I wanted to talk about the Kerberos mission."

"Yeah? Has anything come up?"

"It's your disease." Sam frowned. "It's really the only hole in the entire operation. The exposure to the lack of a gravitation pull tends to weaken muscle joints. It's usually not that serious, but…" Sam gestured to the device on his wrist. "You currently have a decade left to live, but the mission will shorten that time by a landslide. You might…die while on the expedition."

Shiro froze, thinking of all the outcomes. Everyone was trained to be a pilot early on at the Garrison, so Sam could easily take over the controls if anything happened to him, so getting back to Earth would not be a problem, but taking care of his body if he did die…

"What part of the trip would I pass away at?" Shiro asked, tilting his head at Sam curiously.

"The last leg. When we're a week or two away from Earth." Sam informed him. "If you're lucky, you'll live until we get back. Then the doctors could help preserve you for another year, but…" Sam shook his head. "You have to tell the kid, Takashi."

"We have a few years until we need to go." Shiro pointed out. "I'll tell him when the mission draws closer."

"Takashi…" Sam warned.

"I'm positive you haven't told your children that there might be a possibility of the entire crew not coming back."

"I have a nine year-old at home, Takashi." Sam said flatly. "She's too young to know about that kind of stuff. Keith, however…he's approaching twelve. And if you go through with adopting him, you'll have to tell him."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Just…give me some time, okay?"

"Time is something you're running out of." Sam murmured. "Have a good night, Shiro."

"Yeah. You too." Shiro nodded, leaving the room. He didn't mind dying. Dying meant going to see the Lord. What he worried about was the people he would leave behind.