Chapter 16 - Boarding

                                    

                                          
Denton waited in line at the spaceport with all the other passengers headed to Earth. He checked in, received his ticket and endured the extensive security screening before he was allowed on the shuttle that would take him from the surface of the planet up into one of the hubs orbiting Proxima b. There, he would switch to a different shuttle and continued on to the spaceport, parked in a higher orbit, separate from the ring around the planet. 
                          
Intentionally separate from other orbiting structures for safety reasons, ships from throughout the known universe arrived and departed through the portal with varying frequency. Earth and the Sol system was almost always the most popular. Once aboard his ship, they would leave through the space portal, the gateway through which all ships arrived and departed the solar system.
                          
As he left the transfer hub behind and approached the spaceport, he felt butterflies in his stomach. As a young boy, traveling through the portal had been his childhood dream. Growing up, he and his friends would pretend that they went on missions through the portal, fighting aliens and exploring foreign worlds. Only those that did could call themselves intergalactic travelers, a label Denton had acquired quickly. Unlike his friends, his ambitions were more significant. He wanted to see actual worlds beyond his, to see places few others had seen. 
                          
This desire led him to join the space corps as soon as it was possible. As he had hoped, he quickly received his fair share of traveling while stationed on the various worlds throughout the known universe, from rocky moons tucked away in some forgotten corner of the known universe to glitzy and exciting new colonies on terraformed planets. As he stepped off of the shuttle and into the reception area of the spaceport, he realized that the last time he had been at this commercial spaceport was when he returned to bury the memories of his family. It was all that had been left.
                          
He took a deep breath, wiped a tear from his eye and forced the memories back into the corners of his mind. He had a mission of a different kind now and dwelling on the past was not helpful. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He took another deep breath and walked over to the departure boards to find his departure gate.
                          
The departure gate was at the end of one of eight spokes that extended from the nexus of the spaceport. Ships docked at the end of each spoke to deliver and receive cargo and passengers. Split into multiple levels, cargo and passengers traveled separate from each other to and from the ships. In most cases, passengers used the automatic walkways to get to the gates. Denton opted to walk the whole length of the spoke instead. He had plenty of time before his scheduled departure.
                          
"Denton?" a voice suddenly said in his ear. Tanner.
                          
"I'm here."
                          
"What is your location?"
                          
"I'm walking to the ship as we speak."
                          
"Walking?" There was a momentary silence. "You do know there are means to get to the ship without walking?"
                          
Denton smiled and shook his head. Tanner could be so predictable at times.
                          
"Yes, I do."
                          
"I don't understand. Why would you..."
                          
"Are you already aboard the ship?" Denton interrupted and changed the subject.
                          
"Well, yes of course. All my equipment has been stowed. I have connectivity through the ship's mainframe and, of course, directly to you. I'm just a shout away."
                          
"Ok, great. I'll be in touch if I need anything."
                          
"Very well. Standing by."
                          
Denton shook his head and smiled as he continued his solitary walk to the gate. Tanner would never understand the enjoyment Denton got out of using his own two legs, not to mention the relaxation of not having to contend with other people for space on the automatic walkways. By walking, he had the freedom to walk at his own pace instead of the mindless waiting to be brought to wherever the walkways led.
                          
The ship was already boarding by the time Denton arrived at the gate. He stepped into the well-defined line and waited patiently as each passenger went through the boarding process and disappeared through the gate to the walkway that led to the ship itself.
                          
Denton casually scanned the crowd around him. Most of his fellow passengers appeared to be traveling alone. It was likely that most of them were either diplomats, businessmen or people associated with one of those two classes. A handful of families with children lingered around the boarding area, but he bet that most of these were families of diplomats either on their way home to Earth or on their way to a new posting somewhere else. Few others could actually afford the travel between solar systems.
                          
He walked through the boarding process and then followed his fellow passengers towards the vessel that would take them to Earth. The transparent walls of the walkway to the ship provided an astounding view of the docking area, with the ship visible ahead and the spaceport visible behind him. Another ship was docked at the spoke directly to his right. In the distance, the disc that was Proxima b was clearly visible, although smaller than he remembered from his prior trips. The vastness of space always made his heart beat faster, and for just a moment, he felt that desire for exploration, the need to go out in the darkness and find something new.
                          
A bump from another passenger walking by him pulled him out of his daydreaming, and he continued at a quickened pace. As he stepped onto the ship itself, he was greeted by a steward. He received a bracelet that served as his key to his cabin as well as identification and payment method for the various venues on the ship. After signing some additional documents electronically, he thanked the steward and followed the directions to his cabin. He wasn't in the mood for exploring the ship.
                          
The door to his cabin opened with a quiet hiss. He hesitated momentarily before he stepped through the door. He was greeted by an entryway with a small kitchen area to his right, a closet for his clothes and shoes to his left. Beyond a small table suitable for a quick snack, the large bed spread out in front of a wall displaying a serene mountain scene. A soft melody based on his own preferences played in the background. Beyond the bed, a small seating area with a small window into space rounded out the cabin. It wasn't much, but it was all he needed.
                          
He kicked his shoes off and lay down on the bed, his hands behind his head. He had heard that the Terrans had tried to upgrade his cabin to a suite. It had been an unexpected and curious offer that ultimately had been declined. Denton couldn't help but wonder what the purpose of the offer had been. It was almost as if the Terran officials wanted to make sure he had the very best on this trip to Earth. First impressions and all that. 
                          
Their behavior continued to be suspicious, yet he couldn't put his finger on why. He sighed and looked straight up at the ceiling and suddenly felt tired. All the running around, chasing after Gabi and finding only ghosts of his own past was catching up to him. He was exhausted. He yawned once, let his eyelids decide what was next and slipped into an uneasy sleep.
                          
~~~
                          
Denton is aboard, destination Earth. What do you think is waiting for him when he wakes up?
                          
As always, let me know what you think and vote if you like the chapter! :)