"We're almost there! We're almost there!" Gus could barely contain his excitement.
"Half an hour," Camila said looking at her watch. The Cosmic Frontier franchise had grown and evolved over the years, but one thing that never changed was the convention lines. "That's actually a lot quicker than I remember."
"Thanks again for taking us, Camila," Hunter said with a fake prosthetic over his eye and an arm wrapped around Willow. He'd lent her the book when he was done with it and got her hooked. So when he asked her to join him and Gus at the convention, she was eager to join them. She had dressed up in her own blue uniform and a quasi-futuristic visor in place of her usual glasses. Camila and Gus were wearing red while Hunter and Luz wore gold.
"I'm happy to do it, kids."
"Vee, how is it you go on and on about how great your mom is without mentioning she's a fellow Cosmo?" Masha asked their girlfriend. Vee was wearing a blue uniform, and opted to wear her tail and natural skin tone for the occasion. Her partner was wearing a completely different uniform, one associated with the Jobaran militia, and had applied makeup across their forehead which led down their face and past their neck. Vee was incredibly curious just how far the spots went down.
"I didn't know," she said. "I'm kinda surprised you'd even heard of it."
"I was practically raised on it," said Masha. "The idea of the Lirtl race fascinated me; An alien race that have these bugs inside them. When the host passes on, the bug gets passed down to another person, and with them all the memories and experiences of the previous hosts. At any point in that bug's life, they could be male, female or something else entirely! How cool is that?"
"Tu pareja tiene mi bendición," Camila whispered to her daughter, making Vee blush.
The matriarch flashed the admission and the group walked in. There was a collective "Whoa" among the group as they finally stepped inside. Vendors, cosplayers, replica ships and sets far as the eye could see. Camila looked at the teens' delighted faces, and was soon lost in a memory.
A little over 20 years ago...
Camila Rodriguez had been standing in line for hours. After all this time, she was about to get her poster signed by Captain Avery himself, Russell Benson. She'd gone to various conventions to get signatures from most of the cast including Security Officer Quando, Chief Engineer O'Bailey, Dr. Siddig and even Ensign Chao. It had taken her countless months to get to this point, but it was all worth it. Suddenly, there was shoving in the line behind her, and she was knocked to the floor, losing her glasses and dropping her poster.
"¡Esperen sus turnos, tontos!" Camila was surprised she wasn't the only one shouting that. The man directly behind her wearing was chewing out the fan who bumped into him. He appeared to be dressed as the ship's android Circuit, but she couldn't get a clear look at him at the moment.
"Lo siento, señorita. Are you alright?" The man turned to her, knelt down and picked up her glasses.
"Thank you, sir. Yes, I'm...fine." With her eyesight restored, she looked up at the man and the room temperature seemed to shoot up 10 degrees. He looked about her age, give or take a year, a Polaroid camera hanging on his person, and 5:00 shadow along his face. Camila had to admit he was handsome.
He appeared to be staring back at her too, and she could have sworn he'd mumbled, "Hermosa."
"¿Qué?"
The man suddenly got flustered and scrambled to pick up Camila's poster. "I mean...Here, miss, uh...you dropped this too." He was about to roll it back up for her when he spotted the signatures. His expression shifted into one of sheer joy. "Wow! You've got practically the entire cast on here!"
Smiling, Camila took the poster back from him and rolled it up herself. "I will after today," she said, looking him over more thoroughly. "That is a really impressive costume."
"Thanks, you look good too...your uniform looks good, I mean...which looks good on you, um..." He cleared his throat. "Did you make that yourself?"
Camila giggled. "As a matter of fact, I did. Same for you?"
He nodded. "Circuit was always one of my favorites. There's something about the characters observing humanity from the outside. Never quite fitting in, but still trying their hardest to better themselves and gain acceptance among the crew." Camila felt herself getting warm again as the man went on. "I'm really impressed you got his autograph. Spencer Bright hardly ever makes it to conventions."
"It's a funny story, actually..." She realized she was next in line. "I can tell you all about it after the signing, if you have the time."
"Right now, I have all the time in the world, miss..."
"Camila."
"Manuel..but my friends call me Manny."
"Es un placer conocerte...Manny."
"Mom?" Luz had snapped Camila out of her reverie. "Alright if we split up and take a look around?"
"Oh!...Of course, mija. Let's just all meet up in the food court around noon for lunch."
The teens nodded in agreement. The couples each went their own way, while Luz decided to stick with Gus. Camila had given each of her kids some money for souvenirs and the like, so long as it wasn't anything too expensive.
Luz found herself in a viewing hall with Gus. The episode on display involved the crew picking up a distress call from a seemingly innocent Culvan trade vessel, which was left adrift on their way back to their homeworld. While Dr. Siddig tended to the wounded, Circuit and O'Bailey got to work repairing the ship. Over time, it was revealed the supposed merchants weren't Culvans at all, but an identical race known as the Mulorans, transporting a weapon that could have destroyed the Culvan homeworld. And by the time the truth was brought to Captain Avery, the Muloran ship was already up and running, with their deadly mission resumed. However, with Circuit's help, O'Bailey managed to take control their weapon remotely, turning it against the Muloran ship and destroying it. The crisis was averted, but the crew nonetheless had to come to terms with how they'd inadvertently aided and abetted their enemy.
Gus noticed Luz was in a somewhat catatonic state as the credits rolled. "Hey Luz, what's up? Still wish your gf could be here?" Amity had been interested in going, but at the moment she was with Alador and the twins in Palm Stings.
"Huh? Oh, that's not a big deal. I mean, I'd have liked her to be here. But she's spending some much needed quality time with her dad...I guess we sort of have that in common this weekend...in a way."
"So something else is bugging you?"
"Yeah, I think that episode just...hit a little harder than I expected. Our supposed heroes helped out the bad guys and didn't even realize it until it was almost too late."
"I get it. That's...kinda like what happened with Belos, huh?"
Luz hung her head. "Yeah."
"For what it's worth the crew didn't know who it was. They only saw someone who needed help and lent a hand. The Mulorans were bad guys who took advantage of good people. If it hadn't been Captain Avery, it would've been someone else."
"You're right, but..."
"Seriously, Luz, you and Hunter aren't the only ones to take a trip inside his head. I knew Hunter was a Grimwalker, and...I know Belos tricked you into helping him...long before he spilled the beans that night. Maybe I should've told you about that, but...I figured you'd tell us when you were ready."
Luz sighed. "I should've known I had nothing to worry about. I over it all, really. I just...couldn't help but remember what it felt like when I learned the truth, y'know?"
"Yeah, I know. You okay, now?"
"I'm okay now."
Gus gave her a quick hug anyway, for good measure.
"Wow," said Masha, observing some custom jewelry at a vendor's table. "These Jobaran earrings look exactly like the ones on the show!"
"They're beautiful," said Vee in agreement. "How much are they?" she asked the vendor.
"$20," she responded. "Two for $30."
"They don't come in pairs?"
"Jobarans are a spiritual people. It's customary to only wear one."
"Two please," said Masha. They paid the vendor, put one on their left ear, and handed the other one to Vee.
"For me?" The basilisk blushed.
"Now we match," Masha nodded. Vee seemed too flustered to move or speak, so her partner had to take their gift and fasten it onto her right ear themself. "It looks good on you."
"Thank you!" Vee sprang to life, putting her arms around Masha and kissing their cheek.
"You're very welcome," they said.
Hunter and Willow found themselves at a table full of custom plushies of the various alien creatures and monsters that popped up during the show's run, and there was one in particular she just seemed enamored with. "This thing is adorable! What is it?"
"That would be the Ympsoo," said the vendor. "Sure, it looks cute, but don't get too close or it'll drink your bones."
Hunter gave a quizzical look. "How does that even..? Nevermind, I don't wanna know. How much?"
"$50 normally. But for you and the little lady...$42?"
"Deal!" Hunter pulled out some of his cash and paid the vendor. "Cute on the outside, dangerous on the inside. Kinda like someone else I know," he said with a smile, handing the plush over to Willow. "You probably didn't see it, but I'm winking under my headset."
"I figured. Thanks, Hun." Willow got on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend. He leaned down to meet her lips.
The group rendezvoused for lunch as planned. Camila was pleased to hear about what everyone had been up to. Luz even managed to find a cool bracelet to give Amity, wondering if she should save it for her birthday, their anniversary, or next Grom night. Camila just advised to give it whenever it feels right.
After that, the entire group lined up for a photo op. The backdrop resembled an alien planet with the starship in the sky above. The couples were up first. Standing in a way to show off their matching earrings, Masha placed their arm over Vee's shoulder, and Vee wrapped her tail around Masha's legs. Hunter was taken by surprise when Willow kissed him on the cheek right before picture. Camila laughed, remembering their second convention when Manny did the same to her. Next was a Noceda family photo for Luz, Hunter, Vee, and Camila. The young man tried to back out, but the others insisted he join in. And finally, a group shot with props and dynamic posing. Gus held up a communicator. Camila looked down at a handheld scanner. Hunter and Willow pretended to be fending off their recently acquired Ympsoo. Luz knelt down and held out Stringbean (in a form resembling the show's laser pistols) in Azura's "Eat this sucka!" pose. Masha just posed flirtatiously while Vee stared at them longingly.
Later that night, Camila sat up in bed, adding these new pictures to a special photo album when her daughter walked in. "Luz?"
"Hey, Mom. Just got done texting Amity about the convention. She says to count her in for the next one."
"The more the merrier," said Camila. "I'm glad you had fun, really."
"CosmiCon was how you and Dad met, wasn't it?" Luz asked, recalling something her mom mentioned as they were getting ready.
"That's right," Camila smiled. "Six years before you were born." She turned the album back to the first page. In the center was a Polaroid selfie of Camila and Manny, sitting at a bar still in full costume. Other patrons seemed to be looking at them, but they didn't care. The picture was captioned with Camila's name and her old phone number. They'd taken the picture after dinner when he'd formally asked her out for another date. "He was the first person who saw me for exactly who I was." She flipped through a few pictures, all with the same CosmiCon backdrop, but their costumes changing every time. There was one where he kissed her by surprise, another where he proposed, followed by a full on kiss on the lips. Then there was a picture with both of them had the most elated smiles of all, Manny holding a picture from an ultrasound over Camila's stomach. Underneath it was captioned "New shipmate beaming down." The last old picture in the album was the couple holding up a cheerful infant, barely six months old. "We...never found the time to go back after this one."
"I can't believe there was this whole side of you and him I never knew about," said Luz. "Being at the con, seeing all this stuff you bonded over... I haven't felt that close to him in a long time."
"I think he would've wanted to introduce you to the series once you got older, but it was important to us that you find your own special interests first."
Luz put her arms around Camila. "I still miss him, Mama."
"So do I, baby," Camila placed an arm around her daughter and pulled her close. "Every hour of every day."
The two Nocedas held each other for good minute before Luz pulled out. "I'm gonna get ready for bed now. Buenos noches, Mami."
"Sueño profundo, mija." Camila kissed her daughter goodnight and watched her leave the room. She then turned back to the photo album, smiling at the new ones before turning back to the first page. "Siempre te amaré, cariño..." Tears formed in her eyes as she caressed the image of her late husband. "...a través de supernovas y vientos solares."
