Prologue
The Promise
The stars were hidden behind the smog that night.
I stood at the edge of the launch platform, my helmet tucked beneath my arm, and tried to memorize the horizon — every light, every skyscraper, every breath of home. Because in a few hours, I’d leave it all behind.
Just for a year, they said.
Twelve months off-world. One mission. One promise to help build the foundation for humanity’s future among the stars. I’d done harder things for less noble reasons. This, at least, felt like purpose.
“Are you sure you want this?” my sister Ashley asked quietly. She stood beside me, arms folded tight like she was trying to hold back time. “You could still back out.”
I smiled. “You sound like Dad.”
“Dad’s crying in the transport,” she said. “Mom is trying to pretend she’s not. And Grandma said if you come back with tentacles, she’s not letting you in the house.”
That made me laugh — really laugh, the kind that echoes off your bones. I needed that.
“I’ll be okay,” I told her. “It’s just a mission.”
Ashley stared at me like she saw something I didn’t. “You’ve never been just anything.”
The launch tower rumbled beneath our feet. Pre-boarding would begin soon.
I looked back toward the city. The lights shimmered like broken constellations. Every memory I had was down there — birthdays, heartbreaks, Sunday dinners, late-night cramming sessions. The smell of cinnamon and burnt toast in the mornings. My dad’s laugh. Ashley’s music always too loud.
I was leaving all of it.
But I had a job to do.
I had to make Earth proud.
“I’ll be back,” I said.
“You better,” Ashley whispered. “Because you promised.”
I nodded.
And I meant it.
