The tension in the spacecraft hung thick in the air as Daniel, Mason, and Nick remained rooted to their spots, their minds still reeling from the revelations of the past minute.

Everything they thought they knew about their employer—about reality itself—had been systematically dismantled. It was like a distant memory now, replaced by something far more complex and infinitely more terrifying.

Liam moved with casual confidence through the cabin, his footsteps echoing softly against the metallic floor. He approached the pilot and settled into it naturally.

The seat seemed to mold itself to his form, and as he touched the armrest, holographic interfaces flickered to life around him like fireflies awakening at dusk.

"Lucy," he said, "I'll take it from here. Thank you for the setup."

"All systems are optimal. Coordinates for Lunar Base Sanctuary are locked and verified," Lucy said, as she relinquished control to Liam.

Liam smiled, his fingers dancing across the holographic displays that materialized before him, on the massive windscreen before him wasn't just glass.

Since Lucy had already designated the coordinates, all he had to do was guide the ship to the Lunar Base.

Swiveling the pilot's chair around, Liam faced his companions. The look on their faces was priceless—a mixture of shock, awe, and that particular species of terror that comes from having your entire worldview shattered in the span of seconds.

Daniel's jaw was slack, his normally sharp and composed look seemingly overridden by the impossibility of their situation.

Mason and Nick were no better. Actually, they were even having worst than Daniel, but they were doing their best not to show it on the faces. Which they are failing horribly at.

"Gentlemen," Liam said, his tone almost apologetic, "I'd suggest you stop standing there like you've seen a ghost. Better yet, take your seats and buckle up."

He gestured toward the row of passenger seats that lined the cabin wall, each one a marvel of ergonomic engineering.

"I'm about to initiate takeoff, and since this is your first time leaving Earth's atmosphere, I honestly have no idea how your bodies will react to the acceleration."

Daniel's voice cracked slightly as he spoke, the question tumbling out before he could stop himself. "Can you actually fly this thing?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how absurd they sounded. Of course Liam could fly it—they were standing in his secret spacecraft, for God's sake. But the question was born from genuine curiosity mixed with disbelief.

When had Liam learned to pilot a spacecraft? Where had he trained?

Liam's response was a knowing smile. He stood up from the pilot's seat and approached them.

"Come on," he said gently, like a parent coaxing nervous children, "let's get you settled in properly."

He led them to three adjacent seats, each one positioned to provide an optimal view through the observation windows.

Daniel sank into his seat first, the cushioning immediately adjusting to support his frame. The material seemed almost alive, responding to his weight and posture.

Mason and Nick followed suit, their eyes never leaving Liam as he moved between them.

Liam checked each of their restraints. These weren't the simple seatbelts they were accustomed to from commercial flights. Instead, sophisticated harness systems emerged from the seats themselves, crossing over their chests and laps in an X-pattern.

"These will keep you safe," he explained as he adjusted Daniel's harness. "The first few seconds might feel intense, but the inertial dampeners will kick in once we reach a certain altitude. You might feel some pressure in your chest and a bit of disorientation, but that's normal. Just try to breathe steadily and don't fight against the restraints."

Once satisfied that his passengers were secure, Liam returned to the pilot's seat. He settled in, his hands moving across the holographic interface.

His fingers tapped a rhythmic pattern on the screen attached to his seat, entering commands faster than the eye could follow.

The spacecraft responded to his input like a living thing awakening from slumber. A deep thrumming vibration began in the floor beneath them, building in intensity until they could feel it in their bones.

Status indicators switched from amber to green in cascading waves across Liam's displays. Power readings spiked as the fusion drive began its startup sequence.

"Initiating launch sequence," Liam announced.

His finger hovered over a large blue button embedded in the armrest. "Hold on, gentlemen. Next stop: the moon."

He pressed the button.

The effect was immediate and overwhelming. The thrumming intensified into a roar that they felt more than heard, and then they were moving.

Through the windscreen, Daniel, Mason and Nick watched the sea, the island, the runway and the A380 fall away beneath them.

The acceleration pushed them back lightly into their seats, proving Liam's words about the dampeners.

Daniel's breath came a little hurried as they climbed higher and higher, the sky outside transitioning from light blue to deeper azure to the color of lapis lazuli.

The spacecraft's velocity was incomprehensible. They were traveling faster than anything Daniel had ever experienced.

The sound changed as they broke through the sound barrier, a momentary light shudder running through the craft before it smoothed out again.

They were supersonic now, screaming through the atmosphere like a bullet fired from a god's gun. The sky started to lose light, darkening, stars becoming visible even in what should have been daylight.

"We're at seventy thousand feet," Liam called back to them, his voice calm despite the incredible forces at work around them. "Another ten minutes and we'll be in space proper."

Those ten minutes felt simultaneously eternal and instantaneous. The blue of Earth's atmosphere thinned to a razor-thin line, then disappeared entirely.

The stars stopped twinkling, becoming steady points of light against the absolute blackness of space.

The sun blazed with an intensity that the atmosphere had previously filtered, and Earth—beautiful, fragile Earth—began to reveal its true nature as a sphere hanging in the void.

When the engines finally throttled back, the sudden absence of acceleration felt like floating. Daniel, Mason, and Nick sat in stunned silence, their gaze fixed to the windows, trying to comprehend what they were seeing.

The blackness of space wasn't empty. It was full of stars, more stars than any of them had ever imagined existed, spread across the cosmos in great swirling rivers of light.

Liam turned his chair to face them, a broad smile on his face. Their expressions were exactly what he'd hoped to see—that perfect mixture of wonder and terror that comes from touching the infinite for the first time.

"You can unbuckle now if you'd like," he said. "Take a look around."

To demonstrate, he stood up from the pilot's seat, leaving the controls to the autopilot system. He walked toward them with normal strides, his feet connecting solidly with the floor despite the lack of gravity outside the craft.

Daniel's eyes widened in confusion. "How are you walking?" he managed to ask, his voice hoarse. "We're in space. Shouldn't you be floating?"

"Artificial gravity," Liam explained, tapping his foot against the floor. "The entire space shuttle generates a localized gravity field. It's not as strong as Earth normal—about point-eight G—but it's enough to keep us oriented and comfortable."

He reached Daniel's seat and touched the harness release. The restraints retracted smoothly into the seat.

He repeated the process for Mason and Nick, freeing them from their seats. They stood shakily, testing their weight against the artificial gravity.

It felt slightly off, like walking on a planet that was almost but not quite like home. They gathered at the windows, pressing their hands against the transparent material, staring out at the impossible view.

The spacecraft continued its journey, Earth gradually shrinking behind them as they accelerated toward their destination.

The Moon grew larger in their forward view, transitioning from a distant orb to a massive presence that dominated the windscreen. Its surface was a complex sequence of craters and maria, the scars of billions of years of cosmic bombardment rendered in stark grays and whites.

Another thirty minutes passed in relative silence, broken only by occasional exclamations of wonder from the three newcomers.

Liam monitored their progress from the pilot's seat, making minor course corrections as needed. The autopilot was excellent and there was no need for him to make any adjustments.

"As expected of Lucy's creations," he muttered.

As they approached the Moon, the autopilot began the deceleration sequence. The engines fired in reverse, slowing their velocity with the same controlled power they'd used to escape Earth's gravity well.

They entered lunar orbit, the gray landscape passing beneath them with surprising speed.

"We're heading for the far side," Liam announced. "Brace yourself, Daniel."

The spacecraft curved around the Moon's horizon, and suddenly the far side came into view.

Mason gasped audibly. Nick's knees actually buckled, forcing him to grab onto a nearby support rail. Daniel simply stood frozen, his mind refusing to process what his eyes were reporting.

Orbiting above the lunar surface was a structure so massive it seemed to mock the very concept of human engineering.

It was shaped like a elongated, almost hexagonal shape, its surface covered in panels that might have been armor plating or solar collectors or something else entirely. Lights glowed from various sections, and smaller craft could be seen docked at various ports along its length. The thing was easily the size of a small city, hanging in the void like humanity's greatest secret.

But the structure in orbit, impressive as it was, paled in comparison to what lay on the surface below.

The lunar base spread across several square kilometers of the Moon's surface, a sprawling complex of interconnected structures that gleamed with metallic sophistication.

Domed habitats rose from the gray dust like mushrooms. Communication arrays reached toward the stars. What appeared to be defensive installations—actual weapons platforms—dotted the perimeter. Smaller spacecraft moved between the structures and the orbital station above, busy as bees serving their hive.

"My God," Daniel whispered, his voice barely audible. "How long has this been here?"

Liam's smile was equal parts pride and sadness. "Lucy and I have been building this for almost two months now. Welcome to Lunar Base Sanctuary, gentlemen. Welcome to humanity's future."

Two months??? Daniel exclaimed internally in extreme shock.

The spacecraft angled toward the orbiting structure, approaching one of the massive docking bays.

A hatch irised open, revealing a lit interior large enough to accommodate vessels many times their size.

The space shuttle slipped through the opening with room to spare, entering the artificial atmosphere of the docking bay.

Landing struts deployed with mechanical precision. The craft touched down with barely a tremor, the landing gear absorbing the minimal impact.

Around them, the bay was a hive of activity—automated systems moving cargo, maintenance drones performing checks on other docked vessels.

"Don't just stand there. Let's go take a tour," Liam said, with a bright smile on his face.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.