After making it back up to the room where he first laid eyes on his captain, Leon entered the door ahead to get a much anticipated first look at the next room.

He was greeted by a curved ceiling that stretched several times above his height. His footsteps echoed against the floor tiles as he lined up with the others in front of Captain Galhardo, who was already waiting for them.

“Attention crew.”

The captain continued on with a speech, but Leon was too busy taking in his surroundings to catch much of what was said. Much like in the spaceport, he could see his reflection in the tiled flooring along with the focused expressions of his crewmates. Mostly focused. The tall guy seemed bored out of his mind.

Beyond the sea of mirrored tiles was a gigantic curved window from which light flooded in from all sides. Leon saw the spaceport outside, but instead, he imagined it surrounded by endless stars. A few more minutes, and he wouldn't have to imagine anymore. He had to restrain every atom in his body, or else he’d explode with excitement.

Next, another spiral staircase caught his eye. His eyes followed it up to a door leading into some structure jutting out of the ceiling. Where did it lead?

“Ranger Summers?”

“Yes sir–Ouch!” Leon hit himself in the forehead while trying to salute.

“The room above is not of your concern.” Captain Galhardo closed his eyes, looking disappointed. “Please stay focused.”

“Yes sir, I will sir!”

“Yeah, that’s just our room.” Emil spoke up.

The captain’s eyes snapped open, and he looked as though he’d stopped breathing.

“You’re not suppos–” He cut off his strained whisper as his eyes darted back and forth between his brother and crew. An awkward silence arose.

“Sorry, I didn’t know I was supposed to keep that a secret.”

The captain finally exhaled. “It’s fine, I should’ve mentioned it to you earlier before–” With a cough, he regained his composure and addressed the crew. “A-Anyway, you may now proceed to the deck window while I initiate takeoff.”

He drew his cap over his eyes and briskly turned around, sending his yellow cape billowing outward in a grand display. Leon would have been mystified by this if he weren’t already stumbling over to the window as fast as he could.

A mechanical whining alerted him to something rising from one of the floor panels nearby. It was some kind of standing seat, sort of like the ones on those amusement park rides that raise people high in the air before dropping them. Those were the closest Leon had ever gotten to space, at least until now.

“Alright everybody, make sure you get buckled in those seats nice and tight.” instructed Emil. “Wouldn’t want you tumbling all over the place when we take off.” Leon couldn’t see it, but he imagined him winking.

He did manage to see the other five seats stationed around the window, as well as two in the middle of the room, none of which had been there before. In front of the ones in the middle sat some sort of station, complete with steering handles. The captain took a seat in front of it. That must’ve been the helm.

“You all buckled up?” Leon was too busy pondering the helm to notice Emil checking the seats until just now.

He quickly buckled up. “Yes, sir, I’m buckled in.”

“Good.” Emil gave a thumbs-up before turning toward the captain. “Everyone’s safe and secure. Except me!” He ran over to his brother and took the other seat by the helm, and Leon returned his focus to the window in front of him.

Leon committed the outside scenery to memory as if it’d be the last time he would ever see fields of grass or the almost-setting sun. The tension was killing him, so it might be.

Behind him, Captain Galhardo exchanged communication with the spaceport, and Leon hung onto every word despite not understanding their jargon. White plumes of smoke began billowing out from underneath the ship. He wanted to reach out and touch them, but the window remained a barrier. Finally came the words Leon was waiting for.

“T minus 15 seconds.” crackled the voice from the captain’s speakers.

Leon looked back at the captain, ever focused on the helm. Emil, beside him, silently waved and gave positive gestures to the rest of the crew, signalling they were about to lift off.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven…”

The smoke increased.

“Six, five, four…”

How was everyone else so calm? Leon could scream.

“Three.”

He felt his heart racing.

“Two.”

His smile couldn’t get any wider.

“One.”

The ship was shaking, and so was he.

“Zero. Ignition, liftoff.”

The ground beneath the ship began to shrink away. Leon couldn’t believe his eyes when the grandiose spaceport shrank to a speck in a matter of seconds. Surrounding trees, grass, and other greenery melded into patchwork as they continued to rise.

Soon, they broke through a ceiling of clouds, engulfing the ship in endless white, completely covering the ground. Mountains of clouds reflected gold in the glow of the sunset. It would’ve looked like a whole new world if Leon hadn’t seen it before in airplanes. Still, even this world escaped him rapidly and transformed into a cottony blanket before his very eyes.

“We’re up so high.” He whispered to no one in particular. “I can see the Earth beginning to curve. This is so exciting!”

“Hey.”

Someone called out to him. He looked to his left to see Jun Kim, the Jun Kim, pointing straight ahead.

“Wh–? J-Jun K–?”

“Look up.”

Following that advice, he saw something that made his jaw drop: Darkness. A sky of stars broken only by the clouds below.

Leon covered his mouth. “Oh my gooosh. I’m... I’m in space?”

Jun smiled, nodding.

He pressed his hands to his temples. “I’m in space! We’re in space!”

Leon’s heart overflowed with excitement. Tears blurred his sight, but he still couldn’t believe his eyes. A smile spread across his face so wide, he’d have found it difficult to keep his mouth closed if he tried. He felt so light, he could–

Wait.

He couldn’t feel his seat under him anymore.

He was floating.