Chapter Text
Warning: Landing in progress. Prepare to brace for impact.
Atlas shut their eyes, wanting to hold their breath but also sigh in relief. They were almost home. They were home, in the grand scheme of things. As the roar of the main engine bellowed across the ship, the copilot could only ground themself. Soon they’d see their family again, after almost a year of meandering through space.
Fucking finally, they’d be home!
The landings were always rough. Even strapped against the seats of the airlock, they felt rattled as the ship shook against the dives it made. It felt a thousand times worse than a plane landing. Landings, at least once ships were within Earth’s atmosphere, were handled by the autopilot. Then it’d head towards the nearest Pony Express launch pad.
In all of Atlas’ time working for the company, there was only one.
Like in the past several transits, the ship slowed to an eventual stop. The roaring of the engine still continued for moments after, but Atlas was alive and home again.
“Welcome back to Earth! Thank you all for providing for Pony Express this trip! Please wait for the airlock doors to open!”
How they longed to hear that automated voice through the ship’s PA system!
“Resting easy Atlas?”
They opened their eyes to see one of their few crewmates: Rocco. Atlas (or well, anyone in Pony Express) never knew any of their crewmates by their last name (Captains being an exception…Although it was rare to call them by their FIRST name), and at this point they didn’t care to. Rocco was the ship’s mechanic. Throughout the transit, most of their conversations could be bogged down into two groups: “Unwarranted comments from Rocco the copilot quickly shut down”, and “Arguments that almost turned to fights the Captain put a stop to”, either way, Atlas really didn’t want to talk. Despite not even opening their mouth, yet another crewmate spoke up.
Leon, the ship’s doctor, spoke up. “Don’t bother. I’d kill to sleep through this.” He glanced at them, a sharp glint in his green eyes.
They glanced at their Captain, but hesitated to say anything. The older gentleman was focused on the wall ahead of him.
A click came from the air lock doors, soon they hissed and opened, revealing to the crew of the outside world, something none of them had seen in almost a year. Atlas never got tired of the sight, especially as the sunlight shined against the wet ground and tiny puddles on the launchpad. It must’ve rained earlier, shame they missed any rainfall. Rocco and Leon already snapped off their seatbelts, but both Atlas and Captain Slate stayed put. The copilot assumed it was part of some policy about Captains being the last to leave the ship (of which the full details were lost on them), but for them, they tended to wait until the final announcement.
“Once again, thank you Captain- Slate -for you and your crew’s hard work! Please step off the- Enbarr -and head inside for further instruction!” The automated announcements were loud, and the sudden cuts of a robotic voice naming both the Captain and the ship would forever be jarring.
And as if on cue, Captain Slate, unlocked his seatbelt with the same grace as a cog in a machine. He didn’t say much during the entire day until now.
“…You really need to learn how to get along with your crew.” His chastising was intertwined with the hoarseness that was the captain’s tone. “This haul was terrible cause of your smart mouth, you know? Could’ve caused our pay to be deducted.”
It wasn’t their fault they kept calling out their crewmates whenever they shit-talked them. “I told you about their behavior-!” They were cut off by the harsh glare from Slate’s eyes.
“You know that Pony Express doesn’t give a rat’s ass over bickering.” Captain Slate sighed, briefly rubbing his hand over his beard. It was grey, with sparse dark brown hairs, fading signs of his youth that Atlas would never bring up out of “politeness”, even though they saw their captain every day. “If you know what’s good for you, preserve your talent and shut your mouth, Atlas.”
They knew he had a point. Atlas couldn’t agree with the sentiment, but out of all places, Pony Express was the only employer who’d hired them. They knew if they royally screwed themselves, they probably wouldn’t find a better job than this. They mentally bit their tongue and replied, “…Yes Captain.”
…
The A/C of the arrival room felt much warmer than the Enbarr was. The ship was old, probably still breaking down when Atlas was born, inside many of the pipes that lay about within it were rusting. However, there was no sign it’d retire. Maybe the next sad group assigned to it could make it happen and crash the Enbarr, that way Pony Express would have no choice but to get a new ship!
…Eh, they’d probably find a way to still use it.
Still, the room was warm, and Atlas was already struggling to get used to the sudden temperature “rise”. They stepped in, close to Captain Slate. Leon and Rocco were already gone, the arrival room now consisting of two groups: on Atlas’ right were three people, an older woman and two young adults that looked to be around Atlas’ age. On their left was their own family, namely Serena, their older sister and-!
“Atlas!” Exclaimed their younger brother. He tackled them with a mighty hug. Last they saw Aaron, he was so short, now he was sprouting like a weed!
They ruffled the boy’s hair. “Hey-hey, what’s the rush, I just got back.” They joked.
“Not soon enough,” Ribbed Serena, “Welcome back.” She also graced Atlas with a hug. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw Captain Slate with his family. There was a clear contrast, with quiet, almost inaudible words exchanged between the four. They looked prepared for a funeral rather than a reunion.
Before Atlas, Serena, and Aaron left the room, the very former again glanced at the Captain. They flashed a parting smile. It would’ve been inevitable to see him again, but hopefully it wouldn’t be for a long…Long while.
“We regret to inform you that your application was denied.”
What did she do wrong? What was wrong with her?
Anya had read over the rejection letter several times now, as if the wording would suddenly change, or maybe she missed a slight clause. Nope, nothing ever did with the letters. She knew the phrase, “Third time’s the charm” multiple times. What about the attempts past that, the fourth, fifth, or in this case, her eighth try? What did that make of her?
Finally, after what felt like hours just reading and re-reading and re-re-reading, she put the letter down. She took a deep breath, recounting one of the techniques she learned over the years. Namely, the course she took at Pony Express. Breathe in…Hold…Breath out…Hold. She repeated this several times.
…Another rejection, okay, that was fine. Well, no, it wasn’t, but…She could try again. Right, again.
She sat down on her couch. It wasn’t very big, but it was cheap and didn’t completely clash with her tiny apartment. Near her was a coffee table that took up most of her “living” room, where she placed the letter. She took another deep breath. What now?
Ha, as if she didn’t already know! Applications were expensive, and she lacked-No, she didn’t have savings. Nothing to fall back on. The only place that’d take her AND pay her the best (though even then, it could only cover for one, maybe two if she cut back on her own expenses, application) was the one and only…Pony Express. Just thinking of the company again made her cringe.
Were they even launching any new deliveries? God, she wasn’t even sure as she was stuck focusing on her current applications. With a hesitant, but desperate move, she started to think of the future. Her future.
…
As a “last” hurrah, Anya was trying (key word: trying) to watch tv. The intoxicating aroma of greasy fast food usually pulled her out of her funks, along with the obnoxious personalities that hyped themselves on the screen, she just…Couldn’t. Out of all her coping mechanisms, not even the two that brought her most at ease could help. Every time she tried to rest against her couch, she could feel all the tension that lingered in her muscles. Maybe she didn’t deserve to relax, maybe she should’ve already called Pony Express, just force herself to immediately get on track!
But she didn’t-No, she couldn’t. She was stuck, clinging to a bit of comfort after what’s gone on today. Numb her mind a bit with two of her favorite things. Maybe tomorrow, she could do something else-run around the block. That always distracted her too.
…
A part of her worries lay in the world. The lack of it, specifically. The Tulpar, the one ship she’s been on during her tenure with the company. All the ship provided was the LED screens that only showed three specific screens: One for the day, one for sunset (which showed the most, a little island and lapping ocean waves), and another for the nighttime. The very latter was her favorite, but it still didn’t carry the same beauty the real thing had.
She was going to miss the moon and its etherealness. The stars, what few of them were there, she’d also miss in a strange way. Maybe because unlike the LED screen she’ll stare at during her nights on the ship, the real thing carried its own beauty.
Funny how she’s already mourning. Considering her recent luck, there was a chance Pony Express was done with her…Ha! Sure, like that was possible!
…
And it wasn’t, that was just some form of wishful thinking on her end. Instead, she was assigned to the next haul, one that would take over a year this time. She was used to the lengthy travel times by now, but it still felt surreal like a never-ending fever dream. Of course, she was also assigned to the same crew she’s always been with. On paper, that didn’t sound completely terrible…But…
Captain Curly was the only one of the three men that she could confidently say was amicable towards her. He was charming, like he came straight out of a movie, a real Captain Kirk! Yet, those were mainly just appearances, in reality, he was just…Friendly. Just friendly, but he lacked a sense of genuine contact whenever Anya tried to spark most conversations with him. Sometimes it felt like they were two aliens who barely understood each other, always missing the mark right when a social breakthrough was about to happen.
Then there was Swansea. He always focused on his work, something she did admire, but like Captain Curly, she couldn’t find common ground with the older man. Even when she’d do psychological evaluations (which was 90% of her job if she had to be honest), he’d grumble and plainly state the “proper answers” (Usually the answer, “Strongly Disagree”) until they were done. He managed to get through them the fastest. Otherwise, it felt like she didn’t cross his mind all that often.
And then…Jimmy, what was there to say about him? Instead of the casual disconnect the other men had with Anya, she instead felt uneasy around him. She couldn’t name the reason why that was, since for the most part he was like Swansea-He didn’t pay any mind to her. But…That uneasiness still lingered. Psychological evaluations, along with the very few times she had to do physicals for the crew, were the worst.
With those, Jimmy would steer the evaluations away, either stalling Anya until she gave in and answered herself (usually writing down “Neutral” on the box under the prompt), or answering with inappropriate answers that even she hesitated to repeat on paper. The idea of going on another haul with the crew, Jimmy especially, sounded horrid. But she needed money. She needed to reach for the stars again. If that meant another year being alienated, then so be it.
Wait a minute…Hold on…
Upon a second, more thorough glance at the email she received from Pony Express, she noticed a few changes made to the crew’s roster. There were two new names. One was listed under Swansea’s, with the title of “Intern (Mechanic)”, DAISUKE. The more noticeable one was Jimmy’s name-or the lack thereof. Instead, there was a different name attached to the copilot title, embedded in capital letters like the intern: ATLAS.
Maybe this haul wouldn’t be so stagnant this time. Maybe it was a sign. Of what, she wasn’t sure. Hopefully her luck will change this delivery.