"Today, we're here to tell you about the importance of space, and why our missions are crucial to that end," Clarissa began, her mouth a tad bit uncomfortably close to the microphone. Felix made sure that he would stay farther back; he didn't want everyone to hear him breathing.
He surveyed the crowd, finding that it was full of students he knew from his classes. It wasn't a big surprise that the math lovers and the physics people were the ones in attendance. There were a few astronomy students that he was able to pick out of the 200 or so people that sat in front of them.
Clarissa was situated at the middle of the table, with a representative from Green Dawn at her right and Felix at her left. He desperately hoped he wouldn't have to talk much. Clarissa continued with her speech, talking about the unsustainability of mining on Earth, and how the asteroid belt was full of riches that were able to be harnessed by people.
For Green Dawn, it was a very profit-driven agenda. Still, Clarissa somehow managed to spin it into a tirade about sustainable resources. Felix didn't particularly care what the company's agenda was. It was beyond his ability to change, and so long as they presented him with the opportunity to travel to space, he was grateful.
"We also have Astronaut Felix Hale who, as a student of your wonderful university, will be taking any questions you may have," she used her left hand to indicate towards Felix. He looked back at his mentor with the expression a deer might make after being left alone with a pride of lions.
The sleep crowd suddenly came awake, much to Felix's surprise and detriment. He still hadn't gotten over the speech in Dietrich's class. "I'm glad to be here," he lied through his teeth, faking a smile as best as he could.
A microphone traveled throughout the crowd, eventually reaching the hands of the first eager questioner. "What was it like in space?" a girl asked. He didn't recognize her from any of his classes, so probably just an excited underclassman.
"It was incredible." He didn't need to lie now. "Seeing the thousands of glimmering stars, to know that you're one step away from them, is humbling. We've come so far, haven't we?" Felix smiled, waiting for the next question.
It came from someone he recognized from math. "Did you learn anything new while conducting tests in orbit?" the guy asked, his thick notepad opened to a blank page. Felix hated to disappoint the guy, but he most definitely would.
"I personally didn't do much of the studies. That was mainly the territory of the rest of the crew. For the most part, I just checked on the systems of the New Era spacecraft we were in. It was really too short to do much testing."
The company's representative, a middle-aged woman in a suit, quickly added to his statement. "We do have plans for a longer mission in the near future, and we aim to produce reliable and valuable scientific data in the near future."
The microphone traveled again, landing in the hands of someone Felix very much did recognize. "Will you be a part of any future missions?" Harper asked, winking as he caught sight of her. How in the world did she even get in here without a university card?
Clarissa coughed, jolting Felix from his thoughts. Right. He needed to answer the question. "I certainly hope to be, but I am not sure what's in store for the future," he almost glared at Harper, who visibly giggled after the microphone was well away from her.
The rest of the presentation (conference?) went by quickly. Felix escaped as soon as he was able, looking for Harper. He was halfway through the aisles when he was ambushed, Harper jumping on top of him from behind.
"Woah!" Felix yelled, trying his best not to lose his balance. Fortunately, when Harper wasn't literally as dense as steel, she was pretty light.
"Oh stop. I'm not that heavy, Felix," she said in mock anger.
"How in the world did you even get in here?" Felix whispered, trying not to call attention to the fact that she wasn't a student.
"I have my ways," she whispered back before leading him out of the auditorium.
"And what was that question? You could have just asked me literally any other time," Felix glared at Harper, who didn't even have the shame to act embarrassed. She was practically immune to anything Felix could throw at her.
"I had to make sure my favorite astronaut didn't just up and disappear while we're foiling a bank robbery," she said very matter-of-factly.
"When have we ever done that?"
"There's always a first time for everything…"