Central Station

Waking to the sight of space to his right, Blake remembers he was on transport on his way to Central Station. In front of him is Alex reading off his handheld, his sandy straight hair is messed up from sleeping. Alex must have woken up a few minutes ago. Blake sits taller in his seat, more comfortably. Over the window, a set of words displays the menu for breakfast. Blake makes up his mind and enters the order from his window. Their orders arrive thirty minutes later. Pancakes for Blake and omelets for Alex.

“So Blake I was looking into the coordinates you sent me, and those are uncharted lands,” says Alex.

“Yeah,” says Blake.

“No ticket spacecraft can take you there,” says Alex.

“We can buy a small spacecraft,” says Blake.

“You have +800,000 plus credits!?” says Alex, astounded.

“Yeah, my dad left his savings in the bank, +1,000,000 credits,” says Blake.

“Well then I guess we can,” says Alex.

Blake goes off to the shower rooms to bathe. The journey will take ten days until reaching Central Station. In those ten days, Alex and Blake looked into Central Stations’ spacecraft selling shops. They are looking for a reliable ride that is within their budget. Once they narrow down their search they make a request to see the spacecraft the Hawk. With that complete, they wait to reach Planet Kronos where Central Station is located.

Planet Kronos has four moons: one large and three small ones. It is a large planet with a rich oxygen atmosphere. It is located in a position far and close to many inhabited planets so a central station is essential here.

The transport beeps.

“All passengers ready for Planet Kronos Atmosphere descent,” said the pilot.

Alex and Blake clutch their bags to their sides. Their seatbelts were fastened on. They felt a push forward as they entered nearby Planet Kronos. From his window, Blake sees the blue and green planet down below. A few minutes later the transport lands on the docking station.

“All passengers take their belongings and go through customs, have a nice day,” says the pilot.

Alex and Black form a line off the transport and follow the rest of the passengers to the customs area. Here luggage is checked and identifications are checked.

They leave their luggage on a conveyor belt and walk through a security checkpoint to check for weapons.

“Identification card,” says the custom worker.

Blake hands over his ID card. It was scanned in the system and he was cleared to pass to Planet Kronos. Alex is also clear. They pick up their luggage from the receiving area. Once outside the Docking Station, they try to digest Planet Kronos.

There are high-rise buildings around them in the center of this city named Luna. The buildings reflect off a bright light. To their left are shops of ambulatory type. To their right are other residential homes. Alex pulls out the information about the Hawk. It is located near the Docking Station, a walking distance away.

They are glad to be able to walk on the surface again. Alex and Blake head towards the direction of the Hawk. They found the shop's low ceiling and in between two tall buildings. Blake rings the doorbell.

A potbelly man with a bald head answers the door.

“Who’s there?” he says.

“Blake, I came to see about the Hawk,” says Blake.

“Oh come in,” says the man.

Alex and Blake step inside the shop. The place needs major cleaning. Papers were strewn all over the floor. The boys' eyes look at the object in the center. The Hawk. It is a coppery brown with a black exterior spacecraft that is small but looks agile. Unlike the shop, the Hawk is kept in good condition.

“Let me show you inside, my name is Ron," says Ron.

Ron opens the hatch on the side and tells them about the controls and features. After showing them the spacecraft, Alex and Blake huddled together. They have made a decision.

“We will buy it, how much?” says Blake.

“+950,000 credits,” says Ron.

“900,000 credits,” says Blake.

“Deal,” says Ron.

The next thirty minutes are spent signing ownership transfer papers and sending payment over to Ron. Blake agreed to have the Hawk taken out of the shop within a day. Arrangements for it to be taken to the docking station will be prepared by technicians, who also ready it for flight.

Alex and Blake exit the shop looking for a place to retire for the night and to eat food. They reach a hotel that is named the Kronos King Hotel. They get a two-bedroom with dinner included. At dinner, they order lasagna dishes and mojitos. Red table cloths adorn the tables and fresh flowers make centerpieces. Lily would like it here, thinking Blake's heat is aching. After dinner, they relax in bed and sleep through the night. Come morning they head to the Docking Station to check on the

Hawk and its readiness for travel.

Technicians are still performing tests on Hawk. Some are checking their systems. Alex and Blake are asked to return in the afternoon when the Hawk will be ready.

“We need to buy some supplies,” says Alex.

“Yes,” says Blake.

They go to the Docking Station market and order space meals and water for their travel. Other cleaning essentials for hygiene are purchased too. All are ordered to be sent to the Hawk located in dock #456. They also pay for fuel.

The afternoon comes and Alex and Blake go back to the Hawk.

“All is well with your spacecraft,” says the main technician.

“Alright,” says Blake.

“Good flight,” says the technician and leaves.

Alex and Blake will depart from Planet Kronos. They go back to Kronos King Hotel one more night. Both eat very little because of nervousness.

Ring Ring. It is three-thirty am.

Blake wakes up Alex and they dress up and head to the Docking Station. They open the latch to the Hawk and get in touch with the control center. Alex puts on his pilot gear and Blake his co-pilot gear, a headset.

“Hawk to Control Center,” says Alex.

“Control Center,” says the operator.

“Waiting for Instructions,” says Alex.

“All clear for takeoff,” says the operator.

Alex puts the Hawk into motion and off they go. They ascend into Kronos atmosphere and then later they are in space. Alex does most of the work by giving Blake simple commands.

They travel in space where only stars can be seen for days. Their meals are anything but luxurious, a prepackaged emergency space meal. Enough nutrients to keep an adult alive. Alex does a fine job of piloting. He has estimated they need to pass a one-way station to refuel.

The Hawk is ready for a refuel; they make it in time to the way station. The station is full of various spacecraft. They dock in a spot and begin to refill. They ordered a meal. Heaven, it tastes so good, something other than an emergency meal. After refilling their tank they head on their way to Galaxy Jupa.

Alex and Blake don’t talk too much on their travels; they keep to themselves. They enter the Galaxy Jupa. Blake finds the

Hawk to be a fine spacecraft but there is no room to move around in.

Alex wakes Blake up.

“The location coordinates are on this uncharted planet,” says Alex.

Blake nods his head.

Alex pilots the Hawk into the unknown Planet. Their descent into the planet is smooth. They land on the soil. What awaits them will change them.