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One Year Before Landing
“Qian Renjun, stop running right now. You just woke up!” Kun staggered after his oldest son as he ran off down the corridor. The process of waking from deep sleep had varied effects on individuals. Kun had found that most of them didn’t apply to Renjun. While he and the younger boys, Jisung and Chenle had been having difficulty staying upright, the older boy practically raced out of his capsule.
“Baba I feel fine!” He slowed down just as Jisung stumbled and grabbed on to him. Renjun helped him up. “Hey do you want a ride down to the cafeteria?” He turned around so Chenle could help Jisung onto his back.
“Glad to know babying Jwi is still a thing,” Chenle said as he rolled his eyes. “The little twerp should probably walk.” Jisung stuck out his tongue as Renjun set off down the hall.
“Stay and help baba, I’ll take Jisung down to get food.”
“Just don’t drop him or we will never hear the end of it. Save us a seat!” Chenle gave them a quick hug before heading back to their father who was clinging onto the corridor railing.
“Renjun ge do you think they have dinosaur nuggets for lunch?” Jisung asked with his chin on Renjun’s shoulder.
“I’m not sure but I bet they have something you will like, like maybe hot dogs?”
“I hope they have dinosaur nuggets. Hey, that boy doesn’t look so good.” Jisung pointed past Renjun and down the hall where a boy about his age was sitting on the floor looking very pale. Sliding Jisung off his back they headed over where he sat.
“Hey are you okay? Do you need help? Where is your family?”
He looked up at them with eyes that were having difficulty focusing and confused, running a hand through his thick brown hair. “My Ten ge was here a minute ago but we got separated. My parents are in the Sleep Unit helping with reviving.”
“Can you stand up? I bet he’s headed to the cafeteria, that’s where we're going.” He held out a hand to help the boy to his feet. “I’m Renjun, this is my little brother Jisung.”
The tall boy with large brown eyes grabbed his hand, struggling to his feet. “Lucas.”
Years later Renjun would still be able to recount every detail of that day. From how Lucas seemed impossibly tall considering they were the same age, his big smile when Jisung mentioned the possibility of dinosaur nuggets, and mostly how quickly he forgot what his life was like without him there.
One Month Before Landing
Renjun’s alarm went off on his communicator and he rolled over to be met with Chenle’s feet in his face. Jisung was curled up on the bottom bunk next to Kun. Pushing Chenle off of him he slid quietly to the floor, being careful not to wake the younger boys.
“Baba,” he gently shook his father’s arm. “I’m going down to the greenhouses to check the seedlings.”
Kun nodded his head and whispered, “Double check the water levels, they were a little low last night.”
Qian Kun was the Head Botanist of the expedition to their new colony. Back in Shanghai he was the government’s leading expert on hydroponics and zero gravity farming techniques. When the call went out for volunteers to embark on this adventure, Kun was the first to step up with his sons. Some would say he was deeply committed to their nation, Renjun knew better. His dad was running from memories. Memories that would wake him up at night and he would listen to him silently crying, trying to hide his grief from his children. Jisung barely remembered their mother, or the earthquake, or the pain that came after. Renjun and Chenle did, but it was a brother’s pact they had made to shelter him from their family’s dysfunctional coping, so if he didn’t ask, they didn’t talk about it.
Renjun grabbed a couple apples out of the bin and slipped out the door of their cabin. Making his way two levels down he pushed the button to Dream’s medical bay. The doors opened with a soft swoosh sound. Three ships currently slipped through space, headed to their new home. Each contained around 2,000 colonists, all volunteers to leave on a one way trip lasting 15 years. The other ships, Vision and Limitless followed behind like a silent caravan in the stars. They had already begun decelerating as they approached the orbit of their new planet, aptly named “Pern”.
“Ugh why did you bring those in here?” Lucas’s brother Ten was hunched over a microscope and looked at the two apples in his hand with disgust.
“How do you hate fruit? Like how does that even become a thing?” Renjun laughed and put the offending objects in his pockets.
“I don’t know, I just do, don’t judge me.”
Renjun put his arm around Ten’s shoulders, “Never, it’s your crutch to bear. Where is Lucas?”
“In the capsule room, they are dismantling everything and packing up what we can use down below. How’s the Grove?”
The Grove was the term the colonists had started using to describe the immense greenhouse that took up most of the 5th deck of the ship. Inside Kun had successfully cultivated a number of Earth’s plants, trees, and vegetables to begin immediate transplanting once they landed. The three ships contained everything they needed to establish a new life light years away from their native home. Vision contained the Animal Reproduction Banks along with multiple full grown specimens in deep sleep. Renjun’s favorite were the dolphins. Every few weeks, Lucas would get a communication from his friend Hendery who was on Vision, he sent videos after the dolphins were woken up. They had been genetically altered to increase their intelligence and empathy, giving them the ability to talk. Renjun found them fascinating and couldn’t wait to see them once they landed.
Renjun found Lucas hunched over a capsule trying to pull the manifold off with the help of their friend YangYang. Nearby Dejun was in the process of dismantling a second capsule.
“I brought snacks if anyone is interested?”
“Renjunnie!” Lucas set down his tools and jumped up to greet him at the door. “What did you bring? It has to be better than the stale chips DJ showed up with.” He gave Renjun one of his wide smiles that always made him feel a little off center.
“Hey! I’ll have you know that it took me a week to even find someone who had chips. I had to trade my last glow bulb to Vernon’s brother just to get them.”
“Apples, from the grove. We’ve been harvesting in preparation for landing. It’s been so successful I was able to bring a few extras home.” He pulled out the apples along with his pocket knife and set to slice off big chunks for the other boys.
Work was momentarily forgotten as they sat in a circle enjoying the apples, along with DJ’s semi soft chips, and some rehydration pouches YangYang had pilfered from the kitchen his parents worked in. Lucas leaned into Renjun, resting his head on his shoulder. The group got quiet as they got lost in their thoughts for a moment.
“Hey,” DJ broke the silence. “What do you think Pern is going to be like? I mean I know they keep using big words about the environment being like Earth, but do you think it will really be like home?”
“No,” Renjun answered. “It’s going to be nothing like home. First of all we can actually breathe the air, there’s no pollution. Second, we won’t have to go to school all day. I heard since we’re needed for actual work we only have to go in the afternoon.”
“I can get on board with that!” YangYang held up his rehydration pouch to DJ and they tapped them together. The boys all laughed in agreement.
Renjun stood up and wiped off his work pants. “Well this has been fun but I need to get to the greenhouses and do water checks. You coming Lucas?”
They headed out and left the other boys to continue salvaging the last pieces of the hibernation units. Everything that could be considered of use was to be scavenged, sorted, and packed for loading. Walking through the ship work crews were taking down paneling from the corridor walls in large sheets. Once the colonists had all relocated to the surface only enough fuel would be left to allow the ships to be pulled into orbit around the planet. Renjun and Lucas sidestepped the busy workers and said a silent blessing that the elevators would remain in service until everyone unloaded. As the doors slid shut Renjun pushed the button for the deck they needed. Lucas grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers.
“Are you excited?” He asked.
“About landing? Who isn’t?” He looked down at where Lucas was running his thumb across the top of his hand and looked up at him. “Are you? Excited I mean?”
Lucas laughed. “With you? Always Renjunnie.” He quickly gave Renjun a light kiss on his forehead just as the elevator doors opened.
One Week Before Landing
“What are you talking about?! This is crazy. Why are they splitting the colony?” Renjun was near tears as Kun tried to reason with him. His brothers sat nearby watching him and their father argue regarding the newest development regarding landing.
“Renjun, I know you are upset but you knew this could be a possibility. With the new reports from the drones coming in, we just don’t have as much space and some of our crops will do better in the Southern Continent.” Kun was desperately trying to get him to see reason. “I’m sorry we didn’t know sooner. I know how close you and Lucas have gotten but his family is needed there.”
“Why don’t we go to the Southern Continent then? Won’t you be needed there?” The idea of being separated from his best friend was almost more than he could handle. They had become even closer than friends and now all the plans they had made were disappearing in front of him. Renjun could feel his cheeks getting hot and fought back tears.
“You know we can’t go. The main base of operation is going to be in the North. I need to be there, so we are sending half the agriculture team to assist. Son, I’m sorry but these things happen and I need you to not make it harder than it needs to be. Your other friends will still be...”
Renjun didn’t let him finish. He turned and ran out of the cabin, faintly registering Chenle yelling after him. He didn’t stop running even as he took the stairs two at a time and burst out into the greenhouse. Many of the plants had been transplanted into large siliplex bins to be moved onto shuttles over the next few days but one section remained and that was where Renjun headed. He finally stopped and caught his breath, leaning over with his hands on his knees. It was then that he realized he was crying. He let it happen, he didn’t quite know why he was so upset. Maybe it was because he thought this far away from his old life, he wouldn’t have to feel that emptiness that comes when someone you love leaves. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the footsteps come up behind him.
Lucas hugged him from behind. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he whispered as he nestled his face into Renjun’s neck. “I promise.”
“How? How can you promise that?” Renjun turned around, wiping the tears from his face, slightly embarrassed for Lucas to find him this way. “You don’t know that. We will probably never see each other again Lucas. How am I supposed to do this without you?”
Lucas reached for him but Renjun took a step back, just out of his reach. “This isn’t fair. It’s bad enough that I left everything back on Earth, spent 14 years in deep sleep and then a year doing this,” he raised his arm motioning towards the vast greenhouse, “but now I lose you? The only thing that made all of this tolerable?”
Again Lucas moved towards him, this time taking a large enough step that Renjun couldn’t retreat fast enough. He enveloped him, tucking him close to his body and holding him tightly. “Hey. Lucas Wong doesn’t break promises,” he held Renjun by his shoulders and looked him in the eyes, “I promise you that no matter what, I will find you again. Okay? I don’t care if I have to swim. Somehow, I’ll find my way back to you.”
He again pulled Renjun to him and they sat for what seemed like hours, recounting the past year, sometimes laughing, and at other times tears would fall. It wasn’t until they heard Chenle’s voice calling out for him that they finally stood and began walking out of the grove.
“There you are!” Chenle came around the corner. “Do you know how crazy baba is right now? He’s got people looking for you all over the ship.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to him as soon as I get back.”
“Hey, you know we are all going to be okay right?” Chenle looked between Lucas and Renjun. “It’s not like any of us are going anywhere once we get down to the planet. There are shuttles and stuff. I just found out that DJ is going to Southern,” referring to his best friend.
“Oh, wow, Chenle. I’m sorry. I was so caught up in my stuff I didn’t think about the rest of our group.”
“Yeah and Jwi is losing half of his grade, we are all being separated from people we care about, but we’ll figure it out, we always do, right?”
“Yeah. Always.” Renjun hugged his brother as tight as he could and held back his tears as Lucas embraced them both.
Three Months Post Landing
Renjun sat on the dock that reached out towards the expansive ocean of their new home. His legs dangled and he watched the colorful native marine life dart back and forth. They looked so much like the fish of their old home, tasted like them to, but also slightly different. Everything about Pern was that way, the same but then different. He had even gotten accustomed to the dragonets they encountered shortly after landing. Two of them were currently fliting about the water and diving down to feed off the small fish close to the surface. They looked every bit like the dragons from the fairy tales he would read to Jisung back home. Suddenly one disappeared and reappeared a few feet away, diving down.
It had been three months since they had landed and began adjusting to their new life. Other than the discovery of the dragonets, life had fallen into a comfortable pattern of work, school, and helping his dad with his research. He enjoyed these moments of quiet away from everything. His silence was suddenly disrupted by the claxon bell on the pier ringing out. This was common when the enhanced dolphins came in from their patrol or after traveling from the Southern colony with news. Renjun jumped up and ran down to see which one had arrived.
“Junnie Junnie Junnie,” Bella, a matriarch bottlenose began greeting him as soon as he reached the bell and took the rope from her. “A ship Junnie, a ship coming, they sending a ship be ready, they say be ready.”
“Okay Bella I get it.” He threw her a fish from the bucket they had nearby.
“Junnie, Lucasss coming.”
“Bella don’t play with me.”
“Bella not playing with Junnie. Junnie not in water to play with. Lucasss and Drey tell Bella to bring message so she does.”
“What was his message Bella?” Renjun could feel a lump forming in his throat.
“He said,” the bottlenose paused for a minute in thought, “that he always keeps promise.” With that she slipped under the water and Renjun could see her head into the harbor, meeting up with the rest of her pod.
Three days later the large three-masted sailing ship docked in port. It was the only one of two the colonists had brought and it took over a month just to assemble, but once the shuttles stopped running it had become essential to ferrying supplies back and forth between the colonies. Renjun raced down the pier with Chenle and Jisung on his heels. He stood on his tip toes trying to see over the supplies currently being lifted off the decks and onto the pier.
“DJ!!” Chenle took off running into the crowd and Renjun saw him being picked up and spun around by his best friend.
“Do you see him Renjun ge?” Jisung grabbed his wrist.
“Not yet,” He climbed up on some bins that were stacked nearby. “Wait.” It was then that he saw the unmistakable wild brown hair and grin that he had missed for so long. “There he is!!” Renjun took off down the dock, weaving around workers and supplies until he crashed squarely into Lucas. He wrapped his arms around his neck and was vaguely aware of the fact that he was crying. “It’s you, it’s really you.”
Lucas held him close and only pulled away to place a soft kiss on his lips. “I told you I would find you, I promised you it would be okay. It took longer than I hoped but I had to make sure my parents and Ten would be okay with me gone. Once we got the okay to move to the Northern colony a bunch of us jumped on it.”
“So you’re staying?”
“With you Renjunnie? Forever.”