It's three days until go time. And honestly, I don't know what I expected it to be like, but...not this. According to Ivan, all the preparations that can be made have been made. In such a case, I'd kind of expect we'd be on the move or something.
I mean. I guess all forms of prep work counts when he says it's all done. But considering we don't have a vehicle of any kind, I assumed we'd maybe be walking there ahead of time to ensure we don't miss this transport.
Apparently, it's in range enough not to need to do that, and being around physically ahead of time would only cause us trouble and increase the chances of something going wrong.
Which leaves us with...nothing to do.
Or it would.
Except Ivan decided to declare some kind of strange, festive mood for everyone. To me, it feels like jinxing it to have an early celebration before we've succeeded, but Ivan insisted that it's not a celebration at all.
He tried to explain the concept of what it actually was but...
Yeah it still sounds weird.
These three days are 'holidays'. Days to spend our time together like family without any outside pressures or distractions. I guess that's kind of fair, even if it makes no sense that we should celebrate early. He's basically saying to enjoy the company of everyone around, to take a break and just...have fun and be together.
He says the days are a 'festival of light', and that they celebrate the 'light that is home, the light of hope, the light of the sun and the light that will guide us there.' Which, uh.
Honestly, I think he just made it up and isn't very good at it. He tried to explain some religious or cultural concept from back on Earth, but...yeah.
Although he's never given much information to me about himself beyond his identity as the leader, I've gathered from some of the people in the base that before all this, about when he was younger, At home.
Apparently he'd been a teacher for some high school she didn't know,
Which explained a little of his dramatics and incomprehensibility, really.
He'd been abducted along with a whole group of his students. He was the only one who made it to this planet. The others went off...
Wherever they send the ones that don't start looking around in those big ships.
It's nonetheless...
Chilling.
But..
No. Thar's probably just my genuine feelings about the mission.
How can I not be worried?
I groan and run my fingers over my face with a sigh.
I guess it doesn't matter. I'm not exactly being given a vote now, after all.
Leisure time before the operation is now what we've been assigned.
And it's not like it's some terrible punishment - I'm not exactly put upon.
Just...
Maybe a little lost.
Lost.
And stand, squinting at the others at the table in front of me. It's some kind of brunch, I think? I mean it's the right time for it, and it's vaguely breakfast looking.
It's not quite silent as those eyes watch me. But there is a marked drop in voices chattering between each other.
Do I really look official...?
No, no, it's not important.
I cough slightly, and offer a little smile. An awkward one.
"Uh. Hey everyone."
Sinead - who I simply didn't see at all until now - smiles back at me, kind as ever. "Hi, Sarah." Her eyes flick around at the people watching her, but she seems unphased.
"Uhm." I glance around. "Is there anything that's expected of me?"
She laughs and waves a hand. "Oh, no. This isn't anything so complicated. Come, come, sit with me."
She gestures at the chair next to her. "It seems like we've barely had the time to talk to each other."
My gaze flickers across the others as well, but they've already moved on.
That's for the best.
I don't want to wrestle with being the center of attention, especially for no good reason. It's just that I don't know what to expect, and so my nervousness must have been pretty apparent to them. I move over to the seat beside Sinead.
She looks at ease. She always seems to look that way.
Sinead is a strange woman.
I don't think there's anything wrong with her, not at all. She just...gives me that kind of feeling, and it's not a bad one. She's been nothing but a reassuring, kind person this entire time.
There is something about her that makes her feel...older, maybe?
Not that she's old.
I think she's in her mid-thirties at the oldest? She looks older than me, sure. Older than Mia, too. But she's really much younger than the men leading things anyway.
I guess it's a demeanor thing. Like...how she's just always relaxed. How she's always kind of just watching, observing.
It doesn't make me nervous at all.
If anything being able to sit down next to her is helping me calm down more. Like her presence is helping my heart stop racing. She doesn't look worried at all, and that makes me less worried too.
Sinead's eyes meet mine. "I can't believe it's really happening...! Finally." She smiles. "...I guess I'm just impatient." Her tone is amused, not at all distressed or impatient like her words indicate.. She sighs, and her gaze turns to the window, watching the stars. "...It feels like forever, being away from Earth."
"Yeah." My voice is soft, but I agree.
"...You said you have family, right Sarah?"
I blink at her. I did? Or did someone mention that for me? "...Oh, uh, yeah." I smile. "...My parents, at least . But there isn't much to say about them." My lips thin, but I try to keep the smile on my face. "I think we're kind of like most people? My dad works an office job and my mom is a stay at home mom. They both do normal, middle class family stuff. They're pretty...normal, all in all."
I don't know a better way to describe them, honestly.
Sinead seems pleased enough though.
Every time I start to fall into awkward silence, she asks me another question, and before i know it, I'm just...
Sat back a bit more comfortably in the seat, animatedly chattering along with others.
...I'm not even sure when I start doing it, in fact. Just that, at a certain point, I realize I am.