Launch
Scratch that. He did cry. How could he not? For the first time in his life, the Luminary of the Stars was faced with an honest to god spaceship. It was beautiful...
Kokichi stared at him. "Are you crying?"
"No, of course not." Kaito quickly wiped his eyes. Kaede smiled at him like he was the cutest thing she'd ever seen.
"It's really big. And here I thought it would be a plain old space ship." Tsmugi said.
"Plain? That's a stealth-class Newton. All the newer ships are named after old scientists, this one's a Newton because it handles any and all types of gravity really well. It's a stealth class because it's stealthy. It's also good for long range travel, there's living space inside, plus it does have some pretty decent weapons and a navigation system that's only second to research and exploration class-" Kaito noticed everyone was staring at him. "Oh, uh, I've been a huge nerd about these things ever since I was three. I memorized them all. Interior, exterior, systems, weaponry, everything. Who's the idiot now huh!?"
"Still you." Kokichi said. "But you mentioned living space right? I'd better get my own room. If not I call top bunk."
"Don't worry. There is enough space for all of us to room alone, along with some additional space for work areas. Those are for those with talents that benefit the mission." Kiibo said. "Um, sorry, but a large area of this specific ship has been remodeled to suit my needs. I don't think it'll make anything feel cramped at all, but if it does I can try to move things..."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Kaede said. "I don't suppose they could fit a piano on there, could they?"
"I mean they probably could." Kaito said, shrugging. "They could probably fit like, twenty pianos. And the rest of the orchestra. Are pianos even part of an orchestra?"
Before that particular question could be answered, the woman and her companions strode out of the door and walked in front of Kaito and the others. "We are pleased you seem happy with your transport. We will begin boarding now, as our time grows short."
"What's with the rushing? I'm sure the world can suffer unbearably for like, at least a few more hours." Kokichi shrugged.
"Yeah, moving this fast is a pain." Himiko sighed.
"Himiko don't agree with him!" Tenko cried.
The woman seemed unphased by the discussion. "Our goal is to have you complete your research of the Imperial in three days time, when the most current abduction is complete. That way it will be easier to tail a shuttle back to the homeworld. If we miss this opportunity, we will have to wait for the next one.
"Can't we go before the next abduction? Or try to stop it?" Rantaro asked. "At the very least, can we retrieve the ones that get taken?"
"No. As previously mentioned, those abducted are not our concern. You are to leave them be, no matter what state they are in. Those who are taken are lost to us, and we do not have resources to waste on them."
Again, Kaito saw Rantaro stiffen. If he had Kaito's temper, Kaito was certain Rantaro would attack the woman. However, Rantaro had proven himself to have the temperament Kaito's grandparents only dreamed of. He stayed where he was, teeth clenched, but he remained still nonetheless.
The woman seemed satisfied by this. "By this time everything should be loaded. You will now begin boarding. You will enter orbit then await further instructions." She and her companions turned and filed back indoors.
"Wait! How the heck are we supposed to fly this thing!" Tenko yelled.
Kaito stepped forward. It would be perfect if a breeze blew by, but there was nothing. The few trees stood still. Nevertheless, Kaito held his head high. "This is my moment." The group stared at him. Kaito sighed. "I mean I can fly it.
"Then just say that." Kokichi said. "Don't imitate a Disney princess or whatever you were doing."
Yes, strangling someone wasn't illegal in space. Kaito was fairly sure of it.
"That was way too many fucking stairs" Miu wheezed as she finally pulled herself into the spaceship. "Seriously, do you know how hard cardio is with these melons?"
"No." Himiko said. Kaito could of sworn she almost sounded bitter.
"Gonta happy to carry you next time we see stairs." Gonta said. Kaito was pretty sure he was indestructible. He had been too tall for the door and had whacked his head on several feet of the thickest metal known to mankind. But Gonta hadn't even flinched. He merely apologized to the doorway and crouched down to walk inside.
"Oooh, I'm sure you all would want to get close enough to touch me." Miu smirked.
"Gross, I don't want crabs." Kokichi said, walking past her, making an obvious show to avoid touching her. "Woah, look at this!"
The door lead into the cockpit. It was lined with at least twenty chairs, two of which were situated in front of a dashboard.
"Alright sidekick, let's get this party started." Kaito said, pulling Shuichi over to the front two chairs.
"W-wait, I can't, I can't fly a spaceship Kaito!"
"Don't worry! I'm gonna be the one flying it. You just yell at me if I'm about to hit something." Kaito said, grinning. All he could see out of the massive window now was the buildings of Towa City, but soon he would be among the stars. "Alright guys, buckle up. Except Newton classes don't have seatbelts, they have harnesses that adjust to g-forces and pressure so our organs don't turn to jelly."
"Ew." Tenko said, sitting next to Himiko and Angie. Kokichi made a point to sit directly behind Kaito. It seemed that back seat piloting would be an issue. The only other people Kaito could directly see were Rantaro and Kaede, who were seated a little off to his left and right.
"Ok, I can't see all of you, so if you need me to adjust any controls on your seats, just yell at me. This first take off is gonna be rough since the systems aren't tuned to our weights and sensitivities yet. I've done literally all the training sims for this, so I don't get space sick any more, but I won't judge any of you guys if you do."
"Space sick? Please." Miu said, rolling her eyes. She had chosen a seat next to the weapon dashboard. One of the biggest flaws of the Newton class was that it required an additional person to man the weaponry, and Kaito had no idea if Miu was the best possible or worst possible choice.
Kaito chuckled. "You say that now, but trust me. At least half of you are gonna wish you were dead when we get up there. Don't worry though, I can sing some relaxing whale songs." Kaito cleared his throat and made a noise like a dying rat.
"Please, never do that again." Kokichi groaned, putting his hands over his ears. Kaede giggled and Shuichi even smiled.
"Just relax, ok guys? I'm not gonna let anything happen to us." Kaito said, leaning back in his chair. Suddenly a speaker clicked on at top volume, demanding to know Kaito's status. He jerked back in surprise, knocking a lever and making the ship jolt.
"My hero." Kokichi said drily. Kaito really wanted to throw something, but he occupied himself by turning down the speaker volume.
"Newton-47. What is your status." the voice repeated. Kaito could tell that it was the same woman.
"We're all set here. You can skip the tutorial on how to get this baby off the ground. I've been flying military class jets for six months now. Just get me up there."
"Affirmative. You are clear for launch in t-minus ninety seconds."
"Say goodbye to everything you've ever known!" Angie said brightly. Himiko sniffled. Gonta looked cheerily out the window and waved goodbye.
"Sixty seconds"
"You ready sidekick?" Kaito asked. Shuchi looked pale, but he nodded, keeping his eyes on the window. He looked like he was taking everything in for the last time.
"Thirty seconds."
"Crap, I need to pee." Miu groaned. "Are there bathrooms on this thing?"
"You should have gone before we left!" Kiibo exclaimed
"Well I didn't have to then!"
"Fifteen seconds."
Kaito slowly pushed a lever, feeling the engine warm. In a few short seconds, HQ would release the docking constraints and Kaito could lift off...
"Ten seconds."
"Think I can mail my will out from space?" Ryoma asked? "Though it's not like I have anything, or anyone to leave it to..."
"Five seconds."
Kaede gave him a nervous smile. Rantaro took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."
"Three seconds."
Kaito positioned his hands like he had a million times in the simulators
"Two seconds."
He was ready for this. He was made for this.
"One second."
This was it. This was for real this time.
"You are clear for liftoff."
Kaito jerked the lever, reaching for buttons and dials. "Hold on to your asses!" The ship slowly lifted off the ground.
"That's it?" Kaito heard Kokichi ask. Then he hit the thrusters.
The ship shot forward at a higher speed than anything Kaito had felt before. He heard a collective gasp as he and the others were slammed back into their seats. Kaito could feel his harness adjusting and readjusting for comfort.
"Wheee!" Gonta cheered.
"Ok, this is fine." Kokichi said. Kaito was pleased to hear the nerves in his voice. "Everything's fine..."
"Hell yeah it is!" Kaito cheered. "How are you guys doing? Ready for the ascent?"
"A-aren't we ascending already?" Tsmugi called nervously.
"Nope! Now it's time for the fun stuff. We're about to break through this atmosphere like...a spaceship breaking through the atmosphere!"
"Good one." Kokichi deadpanned.
For once, Kaito didn't feel annoyed. He was in control now, and he'd have his revenge in three...two...one...
The group collectively yelped as Kaito sharply turned the ship upward and increased the speed. "Hold on to your asses! Here comes the rough part!" As soon as he'd said the words, the ship began to rattle, shaking it's occupants.
"A-a-are w-we g-gonna d-d-die?" Kaede asked nervously.
"Nah, w-were g-good." Kaito said. Slowly, he felt the shaking fade as the interior of the ship compensated for the force. "See? This baby'll take good care of us. Trust me, this is gonna be the most uncomfortable ride we have. The chairs are already doing their work for you." Kaito turned his attention to a row of lights on the dashboard above him. They were the controls for the chair's functions.
Kaito got an idea. Slowly he reached forward and pushed one of the buttons, turning off Kokichi's chair.
"W-woah hey, I thi-think m-m-ine's broken!" he yelped. Kaito grinned evily, but then smiled sheepishly as he caught Rantaro's eye. The adventurer had raised an eyebrow, but he had an amused smile accompanying it.
Kaito sighed. "Rule number one, sass off to the pilot and I make your life miserable." He reached forward and pressed the button again. Hopefully his revenge had been achieved.
"Hey! That was you?!" Kokichi yelled. Before he could continue, the crew members were shoved against their seats.
"N-now are we dying?" Tsmugi asked.
Kaito shook his head. "No, this is the worst part. Try to breath regularly and sit up straight. It'll be over in a minute. It might start hurting but you gotta stay up straight. Otherwise your lungs and spine can get screwed up."
"No pressure huh..." Tsmugi said, then yelped. "Ow, it feels like someone's slowly squishing me with a weight!"
"That's normal." Kaito said. "Humans aren't meant to go this fast or be this high up. Without the ship we'd be splatters. Again, it hasn't fully calculated how to protect us so while we're not really in danger, it might hurt."
"Might hurt?! I can't breathe!" Miu said. "And my chest hurts!"
Kaito gritted his teeth. He hadn't thought of that. He was fine because he'd experienced this in simulations, but none of the others had ever been exposed to anything like this. What had their overseers been thinking? Launching fifteen people into space with no training? Kaito could feel his worry growing with every passing second. He'd heard all of the horror stories. Crews being reduced to half their size as some died during the ascent, pilots blacking out before exiting the atmosphere, resulting in the ship spiraling out of control, the pilot making it out alone, the sole surviving member, left to think about how he'd lost his entire crew...
No, that wasn't going to happen. Kaito jerked a level forward, increasing the speed. "Hang on, it'll be over soon!" It was a risky move, the effects would increase, but the amount of time would shorten. If they could just hold on a little longer...
"Are you trying to kill us!" Kokichi yelled. Kaito ignored him.
"I think Tenko just passed out!" he heard Angie yell. He ignored her too. Unconscious wasn't dead. They were almost there...
"Kaito!" Shuichi yelled. "I can't do this!"
This time Kaito turned to him. "If you ever say that again, I will turn this fucking spaceship around and go-" the ship jolted harshly, and smoothed out. Kaito felt the tension fade away. That meant...
The window displayed stars. Nothing but stars. Space was so bright. It was glowing with millions and billions of stars. It was the most beautiful thing Kaito had ever seen.
"Are we there yet?" Kaede asked in a small voice. That jolted Kaito back to earth. (figuratively. Now that he was in space, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to go back.) He unbuckled his harness and jumped up. "Is everyone ok? Give me your status."
"I feel like a pancake." Kokichi groaned. He was slumping forward in his harness.
"What does that even mean!" Kaito cried. "Do you feel nauseous? Any pain? Dizzy? Can you move?"
"Sick. Dizzy." Kokichi said, eyes shut tight. Kaito pushed him back in his seat, holding him up straight for a moment.
"Mild space sickness. It'll pass. Don't fold forward though, you'll only feel worse. Can you hold yourself up?" Kokichi nodded and Kaito turned his attention to the rest of the crew. Rantaro seemed fine. He was already on his feet and was holding Miu up as Kaito had held up Kokichi. He gave Kaito a thumbs up. That was four out of sixteen that were ok.
"Tenko is dead!" Angie yelled. Kaito felt his blood run cold. He ran back to the aikido master. Tenko was slumped back in her seat, eyes closed, mouth open slightly. Kaito pressed his fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse. Thankfully he felt it, steady and strong.
"She's ok." he said, exhaling. "She just got knocked out by the pressure." Kaito poked her cheek, said a silent prayer to whoever was listening for his survival, and slapped Tenko across the face. Almost instantly, Kaito was treated to a firm kick to his stomach, which doubled him over.
"DEGENERATE MALE!" Tenko shrieked, before wincing. "Oww. Everything hurts."
"If you feel dizzy again...tell me." Kaito said weakly. Strong arms yanked him to his feet. To his surprise, it was Maki who looked just as fine as Rantaro.
"I'll watch her. Check on the others."
Kaito nodded, mildly terrified at the fact that a girl had managed to lift him up. Damn, she was strong! But he couldn't focus on that right then.
Angie had unbuckled her harness and got to her feet, only to stumble to the side with a squeal. Kaito grabbed her before she slammed to the ground.
"My my, everything's so strange up here. Atua is even confused." she said groggily. Kaito set her back in her seat, buckling her harness just in case. Once he was certain she couldn't get anywhere, he turned his attention to the last four seats. Gonta caught his eye, but didn't move. The reason why quickly became clear. "G-Gonta can't move..."
Shit. Pressure paralysis. That was the name other trainees had given to the phenomena. That was essentially what it was. The nerves were shot, rendering the victim immobile. It was temporary, unless the victim didn't start moving.
"It's ok." Kaito said. "It'll be ok."
"He's not the only one." Ryoma said weakly. Kaito grimaced as he scanned the entire row. It seemed Gonta, Ryoma, Himiko and Korekiyo were all affected.
"Shit, ok, Gonta sit tight. I don't think I can move you on my own." He hit the release on Ryoma's harness, grabbing him by the shoulder to keep him from toppling to the ground. "Can you feel my hand?"
"No." Ryoma said. For the first time, he looked shaken. "This is weird. It's not permanent is it?"
"No, it's not." Kaito said, slowly moving Ryoma's arms. "How about this?"
"No-SHIT!" Ryoma yelled jerking away, before cursing again. "Now I feel everything."
"That's good." Kaito said. "Your nerves are waking up. It's gonna hurt for a few minutes but you gotta try walking around for me." Ryoma nodded and slowly made his way around the ship with a determination that Kaito was awestruck by.
He had walked back to Gonta who said "Help friends first." That was just as well, as Kaito still had no idea what to do with him. He slowly shifted Himiko out of her seat, hooking his arms under her's-
A sharp blow to his back almost sent him falling forward. "Don't touch Himiko!" Tenko yelled. The color in her face had returned, and so had her temper. She snatched Himiko from Kaito and glared at him before saying "Um, what do I do?"
"Start moving her." Kaito said, wincing. He was now going to have a violent bruise on his back. "It's gonna hurt when her feeling comes back but that's a good thing. Get her to walk around." Shit, was this what being a captain was like? There were so many people to help.
"Don't touch me." Was the only thing Korekiyo said when Kaito approached him.
"Sorry, personal boundaries are gonna be violated in space." Kaito said, yanking him to his feet. This time Kaito almost stumbled backwards. The anthropologist was light, much thinner than Kaito thought he'd be. Korekiyo looked uncomfortable, and if he had the strength to shy away into a corner, Kaito had a feeling he would.
A high pitched squeak came from his right, and Kaito saw Himiko standing on her own, wincing. "It's a pain, it's literally a pain."
One more crew member was recovering good. Korekiyo suddenly jerked back with a hiss of pain, stumbling slightly, but catching himself. Kaito almost didn't want to leave him, but he was fairly certain he'd deny all other help.
That left Gonta. "Go help other friends." he protested again. Kaito could have slammed his head on the wall. Shit. Shuichi and Kaede.
He turned back to see Kirumi carefully attending to Kaede, Shuichi, Kokichi and Tsmugi, who had given into the sick part of space sick. Kaito winced in sympathy. Kirumi gave him a curt nod when he met her eyes. Rantaro and Miu were standing over Kiibo. Kaito wasn't sure what he could do for the robot. Maki was helping Angie take a few shaky steps, while Tenko and Himiko followed behind her. Ryoma was still marching around the room, and Korekiyo was leaning against a corner. Ok, so far so good.
"Nope, it's just you now." Kaito said, brain storming ways on how to handle this. "Ok, I'm just gonna..." he released Gonta's harness, which quickly proved to be a mistake. Gonta nearly flattened Kaito as the astronaut struggled to hold him up. "Ok, did not think that through" Kaito grunted.
Miraculously, Kaito felt the weight lighten slightly as Maki and Tenko assisted him. The three of them combined were able to hold Gonta up, just barely.
"Gonta sorry." Gonta said, looking genuinely apologetic.
"Don't mention it. We're all in this together." Kaito said, carefully rotating one of Gonta's arms. The guy was ripped. It was amazing he wasn't the Ultimate Tank or something.
Finally, Gonta was standing on his own, gritting his teeth through the pain of his nerves firing. Everyone seemed to be ok at the very least. A little sore and dizzy yes, but they were all alive with no life threatening conditions.
"Do you have any other requests?" Kirumi asked. "I apologize, you never verbally issued one, but I guessed you needed assistance in aiding the others." she stood formally at attention, like a soldier.
"Make sure everyone keeps recovering." Kaito said. "Have them move around carefully, maybe have some water if they can stomach it. I gotta go check the UV scopes." With that he moved around Kirumi and through the sliding door at the back of the cockpit. Kaito had guessed that this would lead to the rest of the ship, and he had been right.
But he wasn't here to sight see.
Kaito was glad that Kirumi's knowledge didn't seem to extend to space travel, or she would have seen through his lie. Lying definitely hadn't felt good, especially after meeting Kokichi. It had been necessary though. Thankfully Kaito's guess where the lavatories were was correct, because he was now faced with a small bathroom.
As he slid the door shut, he could feel the slight change in his steps. The artificial gravity was good, but it wasn't perfect. He most certainly wasn't on Earth any more.
In all of his fantasies, Kaito spent his first few moments in space staring out the windows, taking it all in. Relaxing as all of his hard work finally paid off. This reality was far from that dream. Instead he was in a tiny bathroom, waiting for the worst to begin.
And it did. The coughing started slowly, then picked up until the harsh hacking was almost enough to tear Kaito apart. Then came the blood, flowing forth like an erratic waterfall. It was more than usual, but Kaito had been expecting that. He was just relieved that he training had worked.
He'd spent hours in the simulators teaching himself to hold back the coughing. If he broke down during the launch, it would have been all over. Slowly he began to last longer before collapsing into his episodes. He was at the point where he could last fifteen minutes after being exposed to that kind of strain, before caving. It had only been twelve minutes, but Kaito was relieved he'd gotten that close to the estimated time.
He knew the resulting episode would be worse than usual. He was in space after all, but that didn't make the experience any less terrible. His insides felt like they were on fire, the blood hot and burning in his mouth. Finally the hacking returned to coughs, and the coughing reduced to shaky breathing. Kaito stood hunched over the sink, sweating and shaking. His blood painted the sink and a little of the counter around him. It had hurt. It had hurt worse than it ever had. He wasn't certain that being in space would shorten his time, but now he was beginning to wonder.
Slowly the burning, stabbing pain receded into a dull ache Kaito knew would linger for at least a few hours. He shakily stood, trying his best to wipe away his blood and wash it down the sink. He had to move slower than he would have liked. His hands were uncertain, clumsy as he fumbled around. Finally, finally he started to feel like more of himself had come back. He took a few practice steps, stood up straight, and checked his reflection. After fixing his hair, wiping his face and trying on a few smiles, Kaito unlocked the bathroom and made his way back to the cockpit.
He'd be damned if he didn't get to enjoy space at least a little. Sure, the first few moments were agony, but the Luminary of the Stars wouldn't let a little Plague get in the way of his destiny.