Alarm clocks rang for three in the morning. Danny was the first up, at two-thirty, and immediately gathered the things he would need before heading down to the lobby and awaiting the rest of his crew. Lieutenant Jones came to see them off, as well as Dr. Johnson; Jones gave certain instructions to the young captain while Johnson pulled his nephew aside.

"This is it, Nicholas," Johnson whispered softly. "This is the final test. The very first time any of you are headed into space, and the final chance to prove to Daniel that you can be trustworthy."

"He said that he plans on letting me fly the shuttle," Nicholas replied. "… If that's an improvement."

"For someone like Daniel, it is," Johnson said with a grin. "That shuttle is very important to him, He has flown it only once, but it's the only one of its kind and it was built purely from his designs. If he's letting you fly it, that is a very big step towards trustworthy." Johnson smiled a little more. "Your father would be very proud of you, Nicholas. Don't disappoint him."

"I won't."

"And have faith in yourself; you will make a perfect co-pilot for Danny. Just be sure to follow his orders."

"Yessir."

The Lieutenant congratulated everyone once more before Danny directed the astronauts that would be joining him outside. The captain then turned and looked at Nicholas, silently waiting for him to do the same.

Nicholas took a deep breath and walked to the exit. Danny watched him pass before following him out.

Johnson looked on in silence until Jones walked over to him. "He didn't glare," the director announced. "Danny didn't glare at your nephew."

"So he didn't," Johnson replied.

"You think this mission will go smoothly?"

Johnson looked at his boss. "For NASA? I have no doubt, Sir," he said. He stared at the doors and concerned filled his eyes. "It's the crew that I'm worried about."

The weather predictions had been correct: not a cloud in the sky, hardly a breeze and the sun was shining brightly. Over the state of Florida, USA, it was a beautiful morning.

People gathered outside the launch site of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Cameras from various TV networks were gathered there with their reporters, announcing the first special mission to take place. It would be the very first time a man-flown shuttle would go further than the moon.

Danny could just feel his heart beat loudly in his chest; he had been in space four times prior to this mission, the first two times being before he had returned from the ghost zone. This would be the very first time he took his shuttle out into space farther than Earth.

He led his crew up to the cockpit of the shuttle. Slowly, the elevator raised the men and women up, who were now all dressed fully in their astronaut suits.

Nicholas stood nearby, staring out the window as they rose. Before him, sitting vertically, nose pointed to the heavens, was the shuttle they would be riding. It still retained the basic form of NASA's original shuttles—snouts and wings that made it nearly identical to an airplane—but it was much flatter and the wings seemed to be able to extend if needed. There were several portholes on its sides, the windows at the front of the shuttle were larger and wider, giving its occupants a better view of the outdoors, and the engines at the rear end of the shuttle seemed larger.

Lancer and the others peered out the same window as Nicholas. "Wow," the astronaut whispered in awe. "It almost looks like some kind of huge speeder. Like something from Star Wars or Star Trek." He looked at Danny, as did the others. "Is this our ship?" he asked.

Danny looked at him before staring out the window as well. "Yep," he said with a small grin. "Designed specifically for these types of missions. She holds more fuel than the regular shuttles and she can fly faster. And what's more, thanks to the improvement in technology, we can now regulate the amount of gravity in the ship." He looked at Lancer and smiled cleverly. "Which means that we can walk around properly like we can on Earth. If needed, to store energy, we'll turn the gravity controller off, but we normally keep it on all the time."

"Are you serious?" Jacob asked with a laugh as he turned and stared at the shuttle again. "We're that advanced, now?"

"Only for this type of mission. And for my shuttle. Certain areas on the ship are without gravity, but most of it is controlled."

Arthur stared at the shuttle in wonder. "She's beautiful," he said in awe. "Unlike anything I've ever seen before. She looks like she'd fly amazingly well in space. And silently. Almost like a… like a—!"

"—Ghost," Judy added in a whisper. "That's the first thing I thought of when I saw this baby too."

Nicholas looked at them and then stared at Danny. Danny sighed and looked at the ground. "I'm still trying to decide if that's a good thing or not," he muttered incredibly softly—no one but Nicholas had heard.

They reached the top of the elevator. Danny immediately placed his helmet over his head and locked it in place. "Okay, kids," he announced. "Time to cover your heads."

Everyone imitated his action and put on their helmets and slid their protective layer over it. This was used like sunglasses, only a hundredfold stronger.

The doors slid open and Danny walked onto the platform that led to the cockpit of the ship. Nicholas and the others followed in singlefile.

"This is sweet, man," Jacob announced over their communicator. "My family's watchin' this right now! I feel like a superstar!"

"My best friend's down there somewhere," Melissa added.

"Not that this is an interesting conversation, but I'd like it if you guys could concentrate," Danny said. "Once we get inside, everyone will get into their proper seats and remain there until I say so."

"Yessir," a few astronauts announced.

They walked into the shuttle and immediately climbed to where they had to sit. Arriving in the cockpit, Nicholas was amazed at how large it was and how much space there was for them to move.

"Yep, I was right," Lancer said; "We're in a Star Trek movie."

While everyone found their stations and buckled down, Danny and Nicholas made their way to the front of the ship and sat in the driver's seats. They grabbed the belts and buckled themselves down tightly. "Houston, this is Shuttle B-614, over," Danny announced over his communicator. "Crew is in tight…" He fiddled with a few switches and knobs before grabbing the controls. "Systems are at 100%. We are good to go."

"Copy that, B-614," came Lieutenant Jones' voice. "We are commencing five minute countdown."

"T-minus five minutes."

Danny turned his head and looked at Nicholas, although it was impossible for either of them to see each other through their protective solar sheet. "Watch what I do," he instructed. "Normally you won't need to start the mission, but just in case anything happens to put you in charge of this shuttle, watch and learn."

"Yessir," Nicholas replied.

There were a few minutes of silence before Houston spoke up again. "Once passed the space station, you guys are on yer own until you come back," Jones announced. "We can still communicate, but we won't be able to send any help if trouble arrives. Daniel, keep them all safe, and let's hope that training of yers actually did them some good."

"Copy that," Danny replied.

"Nicholas, your first duty is to stand by your Captain, no matter what."

"Yessir," Nicholas answered.

"Anything else we should know?" Danny wondered.

There was a moment of silence before Jones spoke up again. "Yer wife called," he said. "She told me to tell you that you'd better come back in one piece, or else she'd kill you."

Members of the crew and those back in Texas started chuckling. Danny rolled his eyes. "If she calls back, tell her I love her too," he said.

"Good luck, A-Team."

Danny flicked a switch and stared out the windshield. "Okay, people," he said. "Time to hit the road. T-minus 20 seconds…"

Nicholas could hear his heart pounding in his ears. This was the very first time he would be going into space on an actual mission.

"… T-minus 15 seconds…"

He held his breath and raised his head. This was it.

Danny held the controls tightly. "T-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…" He flicked a switch and the shuttle immediately began to rumble as the engines roared. "We have lift off!"

Nicholas was immediately sucked against the back of his seat as the rockets propelled the shuttle and the large fuel tank upwards at an incredible speed. He was sure that, if not for his suit, his body would never have been able to properly take the pressure.

For the next few minutes, they continued to rise higher and higher into the sky. Very soon, the sky began to slowly grow darker and stars began to appear.

"Night time already?" Jacob joked.

The rockets ejected themselves and with the aid of parachutes, began the long fall back down to the ground. After a few more dozen seconds, Danny kept his hands on the steering rods for a few more seconds until he raised his hand and pressed a button. "Releasing Fuel tank," he announced.

The giant beast of a tank that had guided them upwards finally broke away and descended back down towards Earth, disintegrating in the atmosphere as it did.

For a long time, no one spoke. They only stared out the window at the glorious sight before them.

"Oh, my gosh," Melissa said in wonder. "Look at her; she's so beautiful."

"Who'da thunk that the hunk of rock everyone complains about is actually the most picturesque planet in our solar system?" Lancer announced. "Hoo, hoo, if my bro could see this, he'd flip out of his socks!"

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Arthur added. "Seeing Earth from the heavens; seeing it the same way God sees it."

Danny grinned as his crew marveled the beauty of their home planet. The atmosphere that protected Earth seemed to glow dimly, like a pale blue light. It always amazed him how that thin bubble, which sheltered the planet and its inhabitants from the vacuum of space, was so similar to a ghost shield, which could be used to protect his hometown from the dangers of the Ghost Zone.

"I've never seen anything like it," Nicholas whispered in awe. "My dad used to tell me stories about what Earth looked like from up here, but he said that I could never understand him fully unless I tried it out myself… I guess that's part of the reason I became an astronaut."

"Seeing is believing," Danny said softly. He looked down at the controls. "Of course, not seeing is believing too," he added under his breath. He waited a few moments before finally contacting Command Center. "Houston, this is Shuttle B-614, do you read, over?"

"Loud an' clear, B-614," Lieutenant Jones replied. "Everything under control?"

"Sure; if you don't count the light show." Danny chuckled. "Shoulda packed some popcorn for dinner and a movie for these guys."

There were a few laughs over the radio. "Good job, Daniel," Jones chuckled. "You can activate the gravity once everyone's out of their seats."

"Yessir."

Danny let go of the controls and unbuckled his seat. "Okay, folks!" he sighed. "Time to get up and stretch." He unlocked his helmet and pulled it off as he floated into the air. "Don't be scared; you can breathe."

Everyone pulled their helmets off and got out of their seats. Some shouted in surprise as they floated up into the air.

"Hey! I feel as light as a feather!" Jacob giggled, slowly waving his arms about.

Lancer did a frontward flip, turning slowly around. "I can do stuff that could snap my neck on Earth, dude," he said. "This is sweet!"

"Captain, what if you start feeling nauseous?" another man asked, placing a hand over his stomach. A few others seemed to be doing the same.

"That's called Space sickness," Danny explained. "You'll get used to it." He pushed off of his chair and floated passed everyone towards the back door. "In the medical room, there are special bags for those who feel like throwing their breakfast up," he explained. "It happens to everyone."

The door slid open and he opened a slot in the wall. Reaching in, he played with a few buttons and knobs until gravity was restored and everyone floated gently back down to the floor. "This is where the anti-gravity switch is," Danny explained. "No one is allowed to touch it unless I ask them too, is that clear?"

"Yessir," the crew replied.

Danny dusted himself off and began walking down the corridor. "Let's get you sick guys to the infirmary," he announced. "The rest of you, follow me; I'll give you a tour of B-614."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: weeeee! I am so glad I finally got time to update this much! LOLLLL

So Danny's finally in space, guys! I'll try to do a sketch of the ship to show you all, but that may come later on. I've got a lot of other issues to deal with first.

Expect chapter 13 up next week! I'm doing it once a week for DP because I STILL have a writers block on the next story, and unfortunately I don't seem to want to write other ones just yet. Don't worry; I've got at least Four more stories completed, haha! And a fifth one about Sam's mom's cat. XDDDD That one was fun to write, dedicated to my dad because he feels like Danny when he talks about my little prince back at home XDDDDDDD

Anyway, these chappies were gifts for my little sistah, Steph (ecokitty on deviantart) and dear Katie and Mo. Because I still love Danny and I will always love you guys! *hugs*