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The whole village was here, gathered around to watch the history that was about to go down. Though at least some of them were probably here with the intention of putting out any fires that might happen as a result of that history or instead of it on the off chance it would fail at the last second.
Feldspar didn’t mind being the center of attention but… it was a lot pressure, maybe even enough to be a little bit uncomfortable. With that in mind, as Gossan stepped forward to say whatever they were planning on saying, Feldspar stepped onto the elevator and gestured for them to join them. Gossan hesitated for a moment before obeying. As soon as they were on, Feldspar hit the button, prompting the elevator to jerk into motion. Rattling, it carried them upwards towards destiny.
Once they were about high enough that as long as they spoke softly, the gathered crowd wouldn’t here, they turned their attention onto Gossan. “You here to wish me good luck?”
“That and to remind you to be careful.”
“When have I ever not been careful?”
“Enough times that I feel the need to remind you that should be.”
Feldspar couldn’t exactly argue with that and this moment was too important to joke around. “I’ll be careful and I’ll try not to crash.”
“Please do more than try.”
The elevator clunked as it reached the top, cutting off whatever Feldspar might’ve replied with. Slate’s newest creation was a beauty. Not that almost everything they created wasn’t wonderful but this ship was special. Each and every test flight had gone swimmingly, not even a small threat of explosion. It was finally time for the real deal.
“This is it, the big day. The first step to exploring the whole of Outer Wilds.” Feldspar’s dreams were coming true far faster than they ever would’ve thought possible.
Gossan was silent for a second or two, something clearly on their mind. Whatever it was, their face closed as they seemly decided not to say it. “I’ll head back down then and give you room to take off.”
Feldspar would’ve normally let them go but today was a big day, perfect for big gestures. “ B efore you go…” they gestured Gossan closer. They obeyed, giving Feldspar room to grab them by the front of their shirt and pull them down for a kiss. It was sloppier than any of the times Feldspar had imagined doing this but that was fine because it was quick and dirty.
Letting go, they turned and sprinted for the ship. “See you when I get back!”
“Wait, you can’t just…” Whatever Gossan was saying was cut off as Feldspar clambered up into the ship and closed the hatch behind themself. Probably Gossan would want to talk about that when Feldspar got back and maybe, hopefully, want to do it again. They’d forgotten the ‘I love you’ part they’d sometimes included in their daydreams. Oh well, it would’ve prolonged the moment into awkwardness anyway.
They finished sealing the hatch before pulling their helmet off their belt to place on their head. After securing it, they strapped themself into the pilot chair. They toggled on the comms. “Hey, Hornfels, I’m ready for take off.”
“Copy that. Do one last system check to make sure everything still works.”
Tempting as it was to refuse and just go, the engines needed a couple minutes to start up properly anyway – one of many things Slate was already making plans to improve in their next ship design – might as well fill that time with a system check. Feldspar went through it as quick as they could, ultimately finishing before the engines were ready to go. Sitting for the next minute or so grated but through great perseverance they got through it.
“Ship’s good, and engines are ready, I’m taking off.” They were supposed to wait for Hornfels confirmation before doing anything else but fired up the engines anyway. As a compromise they waited for Hornfels’, “You’re go for take off,” before taking off though.
The engines roared, vibrating the whole ship and reaching into Feldspar’s body to shake them with it. They’d experienced this exact thing before during the test flights but this was the real deal . They rose up and up until w eightlessness took them, pulling them up against their straps. They’d never felt more alive.
~
The Attlerock crested over Timber Hearth’s horizon, growing bigger and bigger as Feldspar rose to meet it. As their approach neared, they turned the ship, angling it so that the landing gear was in line with its surface. This next part was the hardest. While Feldspar had had plenty of practice landing the ship on Timber Hearth, it would be different in low gravity.
Slate’s newest addition to the ship was the landing cam. Feldspar switched it on, giving them a colourless view of the already gray moon. It filled the screen while through the cockpit window, all that was visible was stars and distantly Bramble Hollow, named for its seemingly hollow interior. One day Feldspar would fly into there too to see what was up with it. Now wasn’t the time for day dreaming about that though. They turned their attention back onto the task at hand.
Entering the Attlerock’s gravity well pulled Feldspar back down into their seat. Gently, oh so gently, they lowered the ship into that new down. The Attlerock rose to meet them… a bit faster than they’d thought it would. Coming in too hot, the ship bounced off, careening back. An alert popped up on the screen; damage to the landing gear. Not bad enough to be an immediate problem though and thus could be dealt with later.
Feldspar realigned, halting the ship’s slight spin. Even more gently, they let gravity do most of the work this time. The ship bounced a little again but ultimately landed gentle and safe.
“I have landed on the Attlerock,” Feldspar said into the radio, “Repeat: I have landed on the Attlerock without damage to the ship.” Nothing that really mattered anyway; the ship was just resting at a slightly off angle. They didn’t wait for a reply before starting to unbuckle.
“Good job,” Hornfels reply came as they stood. “You’ve made history.” A cheer came from behind them, partially lost in the radio static. Presumably Gossan had rejoined with them. Slate and Esker would be there in the room too. Would everyone else be gathered outside, waiting for news, or would they all have gone back to their daily tasks after the ship had vanished into the upper atmosphere?
“And I’m about to make some more. Talk to y’all again when I get back to the ship.” Feldspar grabbed the Venture’s flag before heading to the hatch.
Opening it was a pain but one they were well practiced at. Soon they dropping through the opening, low gravity making it feel like they were moving in slow motion as they fell to ground below. Quick as they could, they closed it back up, finally giving themself room to step out from under the ship and survey their surroundings.
It was gray and barren but somehow still beautiful. They were standing on the Attlerock! The first to ever do so! Their dream to reach the stars really was becoming more and more possible with each new advancement. Reaching the moon had never felt like a big goal, only ever a stepping stone for more, but actually being here made clear just how large of a stepping stone this truly was. They’d left their home plane to stride where no Hearth based life had ever been before.
They pranced away from the ship, buoyed up by the low gravity. It didn’t take long to find a good place to planet the flag. T his was a beginning, merely the first extraterrestrial body Feldspar would stride upon in their lifetime, but oh, what a glorious beginning it was.