Chapter 349: Back On Earth

After spending another hour on the Voyager, Liam decided it was time to return to Earth. He had achieved what he came here to do, which was touring the starship. And he also did a sign-in, receiving very valuable rewards. But Earth still demanded his attention, at least for the next day or two.They left the flight deck, Lucy leading the way. Instead of retracing the long route they’d taken earlier, she guided them to a different elevator. This one sat at the rear of the flight deck, unmarked except for a small biometric scanner beside the call button.

"Captain’s elevator," Lucy explained as the doors slid open. "Direct access to every major section of the ship. Only the captain and those with his authorization can use it."

The elevator car was larger than the standard one they’d used before, with walls of brushed metal and a holographic interface instead of traditional buttons.

Lucy tapped the display, selecting the docking bay. The elevator began its descent smoothly, covering dozens of decks in seconds.

A warning chime sounded when they were about three decks away from their destination.

"Helmets on," Liam said, reaching for his VAC suit headgear. "Mag-boots active."

The others followed his lead. Daniel fumbled with his helmet clasps, his hands still unsteady from everything he’d witnessed. Mason had to help him seal it properly. Nick activated his mag-boots first, testing the magnetic pull against the elevator floor.

Nobody wanted to die from asphyxiation. Nobody wanted their bodily fluids boiling as vacuum claimed them. The VAC suits were all that stood between them and a very unpleasant death.

The elevator chimed again, announcing arrival. The doors parted, revealing the vast expanse of the docking bay. The familiar silence of vacuum greeted them, along with the sight of dozens of spacecraft resting in their berths.

Their space shuttle waited where they’d left it. As they approached, the circular boarding platform descended from the shuttle’s underside, lowering until it met the deck.

Liam stopped before stepping onto the platform. He turned to Lucy, who stood a few paces away, her expression calm but attentive.

"Prepare the Voyager for departure within the next 24-48 hours," he said through his suit’s comm system.

Lucy nodded. "Everything will be taken care of before then, Master."

"I trust you," Liam said simply.

"I also intend to post Lucid’s first-month performance report," Lucy said.

Liam considered this. The Lucid ecosystem has seen an explosive growth in its first month. And he feels that it would be good to flex those numbers through a performance report.

The report will demonstrate just how successful the platform had become with only one thousand users. The metrics would be insane. People would lose their minds over the growth rates.

"Do it," he said. "Let me know when you’ve uploaded the report."

Lucy nodded. "I’ll make the announcement immediately and post the full report by midnight."

"Good." Liam reached out, his gloved hand awkward in the bulky VAC suit, and patted her head. "You’re doing an excellent work."

Lucy’s professional mask crumbled entirely. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pressing close despite the barrier of his suit.

She has really missed her master’s warmth and it’s a shame she can’t feel it fully because of the VAC suit he’s wearing.

Liam said nothing. He simply held her, his arms encircling her smaller frame. He understood what she was feeling—the loneliness of being what she was, the isolation that came from being so fundamentally different from everyone around her. These small moments of physical connection mattered to her more than any words could.

They stayed like that for several seconds. Long enough that Daniel looked away, giving them privacy. Long enough that Mason and Nick shifted uncomfortably, unsure where to direct their attention.

Finally, Lucy pulled back. She didn’t speak, just gave him one last look before stepping away.

Liam patted her head one more time, turned and walked onto the circular platform. Daniel, Mason, and Nick followed, their mag-boots clicking against the metal surface. The platform began its ascent, rising smoothly toward the shuttle’s airlock.

The repressurization tube was already extended and waiting—a cylindrical chamber designed to prevent vacuum from flooding the shuttle’s interior every time someone boarded when they are in outer space. It saved air, made the process more efficient, reduced wear on the airlock seals.

They entered the tube and the outer door sealed below them with a solid thunk. Air hissed into the chamber, pressure building rapidly. Status indicators on the curved wall cycled from red to amber to green. The inner glass door slid open with a soft pneumatic sigh.

They stepped into the shuttle’s cabin and immediately removed their helmets. Liam deactivated his mag-boots and felt the shuttle’s artificial gravity take hold.

He glanced at Daniel and the others. "Do you need help with your restraints?"

All three shook their heads. Mason spoke first. "We’d prefer to stand. Take in the view."

Nick nodded agreement. "We might not get another chance like this."

"Fair enough," Liam said. "Enjoy yourselves."

He made his way to the pilot’s seat, settling into the familiar contours. The control interface lit up as he touched the armrest, holographic displays materializing in the air before him. He input their destination coordinates—his private island, San Careola Keys—and brought the flight systems online.

The field displacement thrusters powered up first. Liam tapped the control to release the docking clamps holding the shuttle in place. Mechanical arms retracted with smooth precision, freeing the craft.

Using minimal thrust, he guided the shuttle away from the Voyager. The massive starship dominated their view for several seconds, its kilometer-long hull stretching in every direction. Then they cleared it, and suddenly the moon filled their forward viewport.

Liam fired the fusion drive. The acceleration pressed them backward gently, the inertial dampeners smoothing out most of the force. The shuttle arced away from the lunar orbit, heading for the blue-white sphere of Earth hanging in the distance.

As they emerged from the moon’s far side, circling back toward Earth’s daylight hemisphere, Mason cleared his throat.

"Can I record this?" he asked. "The view, I mean. Outer space."

Liam thought about it. There was no real risk. Even if Mason recorded the Voyager, the lunar base, the inside of this shuttle—what did it matter? He was that confident.

"Go ahead," he said.

Mason pulled out his phone, angling it toward the observation windows. Nick did the same, both men recording silently as Earth grew larger in their view.

The return flight took roughly half an hour. They entered Earth’s atmosphere with barely a shudder, the shuttle’s heat shielding absorbing the friction that would have incinerated lesser craft. The sky brightened around them, transitioning from black to deep blue to the familiar azure of lower atmosphere.

San Careola Keys appeared below them, a green jewel in the turquoise Caribbean. Liam guided the shuttle toward the runway, the same stretch of concrete they’d departed from hours earlier. The landing was textbook perfect, touchdown so smooth they barely felt it.

They had all taken off their VAC suits and disembarked onto the runway. The Caribbean heat hit them immediately after the climate-controlled environment of the shuttle.

"Lucy, take control and return to the Voyager," Liam said.

"Acknowledged," came her reply.

The shuttle’s systems reactivated. Without a human pilot, it lifted off vertically, the fusion drive roaring as it climbed. Within seconds it was a speck against the blue sky, then gone entirely.

Liam smiled to himself and turned toward the Black Titan, where they’d left it, the ground crew having kept it ready for departure. They boarded quickly, Liam informing the pilot their destination was Los Angeles.

The flight back was long and quiet. Daniel sat alone, staring out a window but not really seeing anything. Mason and Nick tried to maintain their professional demeanor, but cracks showed.

***

Three hours later, the Black Titan landed in Los Angeles. Soon after, they arrived at the mansion and Liam climbed out, and stretched. Daniel followed more slowly, moving like a man who’d aged ten years in a single day.

Liam felt a pang of guilt when he saw the look on Daniel’s face. He felt that maybe he’d rushed things. Maybe Daniel hadn’t been ready to see everything he’d shown him today. The human mind could only process so much impossible information before it started shutting down.

Mason and Nick were struggling too, though they hid it better behind their professional masks. But the strain showed in small ways, through the tightness around their eyes, the rigid set of their shoulders.

It was late evening now, the sun setting behind the mansion’s western wing. Liam turned to Daniel.

"Join me for dinner," he offered.

Daniel shook his head slowly. "I’m sorry, sir, but I’ve lost my appetite. I need to go home. Get my mind right."

Liam nodded in understanding. "Mason, Nick—escort Daniel home. Make sure he gets there safely."

Both bodyguards acknowledged the order with quiet affirmatives.

Liam watched them return to the car, Daniel moving like a sleepwalker. The vehicle pulled away, taillights disappearing down the driveway.

He turned back to the mansion. The day’s agenda was complete. Now came the next phase which is making preparation for his departure.

Liam walked to the door, opened it, and stepped inside. He had approximately forty-eight hours to finalize everything before leaving Earth behind.

It was going to be a busy two days.