Diane and Henry frantically boarded the Genesis IV, their silver suits gleaming in the heat of the atmosphere.  The glass from their helmets began to fog as they breathed rapidly, sweat matting their hair to their foreheads.

“They’re all dead, Henry!” Diane yelled as she sealed the hatch to the shuttle.  Hot tears streamed from her eyes and her voice shook.

“We have to go!” Henry replied coldly.  “If we don’t leave now we’ll be dead too!”  And with that, he climbed the ladder up to the deck, leaving her at the bottom of the airlock to cry.

She watched the radio tower from the three inch thick glass window of the hatch.  It crumbled as a wave of fire and billowing smoke consumed everything.  She heard Henry’s voice from the speakers in her helmet: “Diane, I need a co-pilot to get this thing off the ground,” he was extremely frantic, “Diane, get your ass up here!”

Swallowing her emotions, she climbed up the ladder, closed the airlock door, and then sat beside Henry who was pushing buttons and moving throttles.  “How long will the cargo last on this thing?” Diane asked as she strapped herself in.

Henry shook his head, “I don’t give a shit about the cargo right now,” he yelled, “It won’t matter if we’re dead!”

“Boosters are at a hundred percent.” Diane recited.

“Copy that,” Henry responded reflexively as he watched the hellfire rain from the sky.

“Take off in five … four … three,” Diane counted.

The man and the woman were jolted back into their seats as their engines fired up and the ship lifted from the launchpad.  They rocketed away just in time as the wall of smoke and fire passed underneath them.  And soon they left the atmosphere—or whatever was left of it—and gravity was stripped away.  The weight lifted from Diane’s body, but her heart had never felt heavier.

Henry powered up the onboard Artificial Receptive Intelligence.  “Ari,” the man summoned it, “We need to lock onto the coordinates for CR3-808.”

Diane shook her head, “What?!”

A soft robotic voice answered him.  “The mission is not for another two days.”

“What do you think we’ll be doing there?” Diane protested.

Henry ignored her, “the mission is off, Ari.  We have a new one now.  Lock us onto CR3-808.”

“Yes, captain.”

“What the hell are we doing, Henry?” Diane prodded.

“You said it yourself, they’re all dead.  We can’t go back there.” Henry turned around and began pulling information from the screen into the air where a hologram projected the 3D images.

“Current travel time: one year, two months, and sixteen days,” Ari chimed.

“Let’s make it in half that time, Ari,” Henry said.

“Any faster and there will be insufficient amounts of fuel for the journey home,” the computer informed him.

“There will be no journey home,” Henry responded.  “Home doesn’t exist anymore.  I was prepared for this, I know what I’m doing.  Get us there in half the time, Ari.”

“What are you talking about?  You knew this would happen?” Diane asked incredulously.

Henry ignored her again, waiting to hear the confirmation from Ari.  “Updated travel time: seven months and eight days.  Do you wish to confirm this change?”

“Confirm.” The man said.

“Confirmed,” mimicked the robot.

The rockets fired and the ship plunged deep into the darkness of space, leaving behind a steaming planet consumed by a red and orange glow.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3