Time moved differently in space.
There was no sunrise. No sunset. No ticking clocks or changing landscapes to mark the passage of hours.
There was only the hum of the spacecraft.
Only the vast emptiness outside my window.
Only me.
Day 1: The Silence
The launch had been perfect. Textbook.
The force of the ascent pressed me deep into my seat, my body straining against the immense acceleration. I had expected it, trained for it, but expectation and reality were two different things. Every muscle in my body locked into place, my bones felt like they were compressing under the unrelenting force, and my lungs had to fight for breath against the crushing weight pinning me down.
The roar of the rocket engines was deafening, a violent, all-consuming thunder that rattled the very air inside the cockpit. It wasn't just noise—it was power, raw and untamed. A sound older than civilization itself, the sound of defiance against gravity, against the planet that had birthed me.
