The Alpha Centauri Expedition

7. The Interstellar Masterpiece

"Gaya, are you okay?" Rizki asked. She noticed a hint of concern on Rizki's face. Suddenly, her longing for that face emerged. A face she was trying to forget. But now it felt like all those efforts were in vain when she saw that face again.

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In the late afternoon of Friday, June 21, 2458, Gayatri stood in silence inside Bimasakti. The atmosphere was quiet and still, as if no one else was there. She felt a sense of relief because she had finally found a hiding place. Although Rizki had full access to enter Bimasakti just like her, he hadn't seen her entering, so it seemed unlikely that he would follow her there. Gayatri stood motionless in her place. Now her feelings were becoming more mixed. She was relieved to have escaped from Rizki. But why did she also feel a desire to be near him? Even after being able to avoid Rizki, she regretted why she did that. Now she actually felt like running out and looking for Rizki! She closed her eyes and tried to sort out her feelings. However, the more she tried to calm down, the stronger the desire to return to Rizki became. She truly didn't understand what was happening to her. Was she now longing for Rizki? Just five minutes ago, she left him in the briefing room. She stumbled and leaned her back against the spacecraft wall. She started feeling tired with these emotions. Until when should she hide from Rizki like this? She began to feel desperate. All her efforts to push away these feelings seemed futile. She didn't know what to do anymore. Her mind felt stuck. I need to talk to mama, she thought. She hoped that, as usual, when she encountered problems, her heart would find peace after talking to her mother. Only with her mother could she be open about everything. Now her only hope lay with her mother.

In the end, Gayatri did not get out of the spacecraft and went to look for Rizki as her desire at that time. She would try to spend some time inside Bimasakti until she was convinced that Rizki had left the hangar. At that moment, she was still inside the airlock compartment at the entrance. The airlock compartment was an airtight room used as an intermediary for exiting or entering the spacecraft. To enter the spacecraft, she had to open the airlock door that separated the compartment from the interior of Bimasakti. She didn't need to open it manually because she could command the AI to do it.

"Bimasakti, open the airlock door," she said. The spacecraft's bioscanner immediately identified her, and shortly afterward, the sliding airlock door moved sideways until it fully opened. She quickly entered it, and once she was inside, the door closed again.

"Welcome, Lieutenant Gayatri," a male-sounding AI voice greeted her. Gayatri stood there for a moment, taking in the surroundings. She was in the spacecraft's foyer. On three sides, there were 30 spacesuits stored, which were used for activities outside the spacecraft. She was very familiar with those spacesuits. She had worn them numerous times to descend from the spacecraft to the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, and several of Jupiter's moons. Hopefully, I'll get to wear them again on Alpha Centauri, she whispered to herself. It occurred to her that she would be living inside Bimasakti for over a year. Bimasakti would be her home during that time. Even at present, the spacecraft already felt like a part of her. She knew every detail of the entire Bimasakti. She was more familiar with it than her own home, and she always felt comfortable inside. So, she intended to spend the afternoon there.

"Bimasakti, who is currently inside the spacecraft?" she asked the AI.

"Lieutenant Gayatri, you are currently the only one inside the spacecraft," the AI replied. Gayatri felt relieved. It meant that no one would question why she was inside the spacecraft that afternoon. She could relax there for a while to calm herself. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind to spend time leisurely exploring every part of the spacecraft. Bimasakti was the latest and largest spacecraft owned by Indonesia. It was over a hundred meters long and had two levels, so simply walking around it would be enough to pass the time that afternoon.