Prince Crimson Arc
15th April
The ship, Proserpina, is making its' final approach to the Freehold colony of Ceres. Once it arrives, my work, my duty, that my father has asked of me will begin. When we arrive, I won't have time to spend with Zayd like I do now. My work will begin as soon as I land on the surface.
There's no proper spaceport on Ceres, so the Proserpina simply touches down on an area of regolith that has been flattened out, some distance away from the settlement. I'm informed that we'll be taken, about a dozen at a time, to the settlement via some transports which will be sent out from the settlement. A member of the crew points out two driving in convoy, already on their way to pick us up. It seems like their close, but it takes time for them to arrive. They move incredibly slowly, I realise. Rovers aren't the most efficient form of travel on Luna, but they aren't this slow. It's probably something to do with the difference in gravity. Because the gravity is lower, the transports can't have the same top speed as Lunarian transports, for fear of flying off the surface. Here, where there is barely any gravity at all, that is an even greater issue than on the Lunar surface.
The first transport takes myself, three soldiers, and seven others. The people in the transport, I note, are predominantly white, despite the fact the majority of those onboard the Proserpina are Palestinian. The journey to the settlement takes about ten minutes. The Proserpina had to land such a distance away, to avoid damage to the settlement. Whilst that is the reason, only a very small portion of the settlement would be damaged if the pilots had somehow miscalculated and landed closer. The only parts of the settlement that are above ground are the hangars where the scavenger ships are located, and the top level of the settlement, which is used only for storage, and traffic control for incoming and departing ships.
Even after we arrive at the hangars, I am not immediately relieved of any of the boredom the trip on the transport had induced. The process of moving through the airlock takes time. Minutes, in fact. And worst of all, I have to remain bent over the entire time. These airlocks were not made with the future in mind. The children of Ceres will surely be even taller than the children of Luna, so if I have to bend, they may have to kneel.
Finally, the lights on the airlock change from red to blue, indicating it's safe to breath. In thirty seconds, the lights will change again, to green, and the door into the settlement will open. I unlock my helmet, and carefully take it off, trying extra hard not to hit the ceiling with it. My suit and helmet are very different from normal ones, and there aren't any replacements that I can get here on Ceres, so I will have to take care not to damage it.
The doors on the airlock slowly widen, and I take my first step out into the settlement. There's more people crowded in here than I thought there would be, and my first thought is that they're here to see me because I'm the Consul's son, but I realise that I'm wrong, rather quickly. None of them, or at least most of them, are not here to see me. They're here to see the loved ones that they haven't seen for many years. Even so, they don't seem to be able to help but look and stare at me. A lot of them won't have ever seen someone who was born on the moon before now. I'm at least an extra two heads on the tallest person that I can see around.
I scan the room quickly, but there's only one person in the whole room I recognise. Kyle Matthews. I've only met him a couple of times, and that must've been at least twelve years ago, but he doesn't really look that different. I recognise his face quite easily. It hasn't changed much. His hair is greyer, and wrinkles and creases now adorn it, but otherwise he looks much the same. Of course, his face I remember is from photos that my father showed me of him. Of when they were even younger than when I'd met him. Before I was born even. But he does still look the same, only older. The way that he looks at me… I can't figure out. I know that he came to Ceres shortly after a disagreement of some sort with my father.
"You must be Governor Matthews, yes?"
Kyle Matthews has been the governor of Ceres since he left Luna, and replaced Seine Montague in this position. In his time as Governor, the colony has undergone severe decline, although how much of that is his fault is debatable. Anyway, I decided it might be best to pretend that I don't remember who he is. I don't know exactly what happened between him and my father, but it seems rather serious. My father didn't tell me what happened, but it seems like he hasn't forgiven the Governor for whatever it is. As such, it might be better to pretend that I don't even know that that's why he came to Ceres twelve years ago. I'll pretend that I don't remember him at all.
"Yes, and you must be Akira," the governor replies. He still sounds, and looks tense, but he seems to relax a bit as I stretch out my hand to shake his. His hand seems so small in mine, but mine must just look large to him. His handshake is firm, but all Earthlings' handshakes are.
"Nice to meet you. Could we head down to the settlement? I need to speak to you in private."
"Of course," he seems a little taken aback by that, "of course, I'll organise that right away."