Welcome to the TA (for Space Cowboy Ein)

[TheOddball]

The pair of metal doors on the space shuttle slid open, allowing a platform ramp to descend onto the floor inside the docking station. As they had flown closer to the Moon Base, they saw glimpses of the domed community, each glimpse capturing their imagination. One by one, young adults stepped out into what was going to be their home for an undisclosed amount of time. Well, there’s wasn’t much to see of said home in the area they stood in. It was just a large room that resembled an airport waiting room, it had a number of seats that the group of about twenty slumped into, some feeling motion sick despite the months of space travel training and others just tired from the journey. Despite that feeling, there was an electric energy in the room of both anxiety and excitement of what was to come. Mechanics quickly pushed past them back onto the shuttle to conduct checks; one mechanic hastily bumped into one of the young hopefuls, who appeared to be in a daze.


“Watch it, kid!” the older, rather gruff looking man barked. The young man, Reyad, shook his head suddenly and tried to respond with an apology, but the mechanic was already gone. He was still stood up, staring out of the clear window that gave a view of the Moon’s surface. He just couldn’t believe it; two years of training and he was finally at the Moon Base. When he thought of the shack he had spent his childhood in compared to even this waiting room, it was enough to make him laugh in shock. The Time Agency training facility on Earth had been ridiculously comfortable compared to the slums of Dubai, and he had no doubt the Moon Base would provide a similar level of comfort. Reyad shrugged off his backpack on one shoulder to swing it round to his front; he opened it and found a few documents. One described how the day would play out once they had landed at Moon Base. It said something about someone from admin meeting them there-


“Welcome to Moon Base” a voice sounded over the speaker system. Reyad glanced around to find the voice, and it came from a middle-aged woman, wearing a headset and holding a touchpad of sorts. She had been on the important staff page of his documents. She was on the opposite side of the room beside the doors that he assumed would open to let them into the main area. “For those who don’t already know, my name is Victoria Harrington and I’m head of Registry Admin here at the TA. For your information, Moon Time is currently 4PM – all technology you have brought will adjust automatically. Your luggage will be sent to your apartments in due time as well” she paused for a moment, studying her touchpad for a few moments. “I will be giving you your TA ID card and your apartment information; please can you precede this way and queue in orderly fashion”.


Before she could finish her sentence, the once tired and motion sick group came to life. The began to queue; Reyad, who had not been sitting down was near the front. He tapped his foot impatiently; there was so much to discover here, it was the adventure he had been yearning for, and it began with a damn queue.


“Excited?” the young woman behind him said. He turned around to look at her, well, look down at her. She had a thick English accent, almost doll-like with her blonde hair and blue eyes. He had seen her on the space shuttle speaking to one of the crew members in a friendly fashion; he thought that odd.


“Impatient” he retorted with a small smile. The girl cocked her head to one side at the apparent accent, he realised what she was thinking and jumped to it. “I’m from Dubai; I assume you’re from England?” Reyad questioned, surprised at himself for trying to carry on a conversation.


“As if it wasn’t obvious from sounding like the Princess Charlotte” she joked. Appreciating the humour, he smiled a little wider. “I’m Cassie” she stated, offering her hand; he was surprised at the formality and shook it in response.


“Reyad” he replied. He let go of her hand in time to move forward in the queue, he was only a few people away from what he knew to be a registration process. “So, what team are you in?” he asked. They had been told this small detail not too long ago, and it seemed to dominate most conversation. There had been rumours about which team was the best, but those rumours had been put to rest by a number of TA officials who said there was no difference between them.


“Bravo” Cassie responded, to which Reyad lit up.


“So am I!” he exclaimed. “You’re the first person I’ve spoken to that’s on the team” he explained.


“Same!” she said in response, jigging a bit with excitement. “We’ve probably just not had a chance to speak to them yet”.

 

[Space Cowboy Ein]

Di never liked flying, and the idea of going to the Moon of all places terrified her. On her way to the spaceport, she couldn't help but think of a million and one different ways that something could go wrong. A million and one different ways for her to meet a fiery death. She worried for the months, weeks, days, hours and minutes up until launch, and even when they had hit the weightlessness of space, she was formulating possible death scenario number one-million-and-two. And despite this, she never threw up once, despite the menial breakfast that she had consumed prior and a large 'last supper' of sorts the night before. The shuttle arrived at The Time Agency's Moon Base without a hitch and she scurried off with the crowd of new recruits, eager to get onto something she was sure wasn't going to fall apart if you leaned a bit too far to the left. She blinked as she heard one of the passing mechanics take a verbal jab at her fellow trainee. At least the pacing was the same as Earth.


Tess had her attention drawn from the grandeur that was the entrance of the base by a feminine voice over the loudspeaker. Like everyone else who was new in the room, she turned to see just who the welcome committee was. She recognized the woman as Ms. Harrington, a woman she had met briefly the week prior to their launch here. The woman was curt, but Tess could tell she was busy at the time, likely preparing for this very moment no doubt. She headed the call for a queuing up for IDs and she could finally feel the pit in her stomach come alive. This was the moment she'd been striving towards since the agency plucked her out of her comfy little city of Bordeaux. Unfortunately, she was going to have to wait a little longer than about half of the group of newcomers as she found herself in the middle of the pack. Conversation was already beginning to pick up among the others and Tess was still more than comfortable with keeping to herself until she came face to face with the rest of her team.


Han had been taking everything so far in stride. He had kept his cool during launch and docking maneuvers, despite his internal dialogue at the time. He was grateful to be on solid ground, even more so to know that he would likely be here for a while. None of the views in Honk Kong could come close to what he had all the way on the moon. He did his best to keep to himself, but couldn't help but overhear the conversation of a pair of people behind him. If he heard correct, then he was a lucky man to have such an easily accessible conversation come right to his doorstep. Without missing a beat, he half-turned to see the pair, a male and female conversing. They both looked to be around his age group, though the female was noticeably younger. By their accents and, well, bodily appearance he could tell one was from England most likely and the other from one of the Middle Eastern countries. Certainly an intriguing pair.


"You guys are in Bravo as well?" He asked with a beleaguered smile. "I'm on the team as well. I didn't quite get your names but..." He paused to extend an arm to the two. "...name's Han. I'm guessing you two are one of the few who might have actually enjoyed the flight up here."