The Alpha Centauri Expedition

13. The Ganymede Calamity

"Riz, is it true what Hilman said, that you don't want to marry an astronaut because you'll always worry about her safety?" Gayatri asked softly. Her question left Rizki stunned, and he couldn't immediately respond.

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On Monday morning, July 8, 2458, Rizki and Gayatri had just finished their training with the simulator. As Bimasakti flew for long durations with autopilot without any pilot intervention, the pilots had to regularly practice with the simulator to maintain their spacecraft handling skills. Every Monday, all pilots practiced for three hours with the Bimasakti simulator. All the devices in the pilot and copilot seats, including the control levers and consoles, could be transformed into simulators. There were thousands of flight simulation scenarios to choose from for their training. Rizki and Gayatri took turns practicing with the simulator. That morning, Rizki had his training session from 6 AM to 9 AM, while Gayatri supervised the flight. Then, from 9 AM to 12 PM, they switched roles, with Rizki supervising the flight while Gayatri practiced with the simulator. Gayatri enjoyed every second of her time with the simulator. She could choose various challenging flight simulation scenarios, and she always managed to handle them well.

On that day, Bimasakti had been flying for six days and was about to pass by the planet Jupiter. When Gayatri finished her simulator session, she could already see the planet through the front window of the bridge, appearing like a bright-colored tennis ball with reddish latitudinal lines. She couldn't savor the view for long, as Team Two had arrived to take over their duties. She and the rest of Team One crew left the bridge promptly.

"Shall we have lunch together while watching Jupiter? We'll pass very close to Jupiter, so the view will be spectacular," Rizki suggested after they were outside the bridge. Everyone agreed, including Lieutenant Hilman and Ridwan, and especially Gayatri. As long as Rizki was around, Gayatri wouldn't refuse. They agreed to meet at one o'clock in the dining area. Gayatri returned to her room to pray and take a short rest. During the simulator session earlier, she had chosen a scenario of landing on Jupiter's moon, Io, which was filled with volcanic mountains and eruptions. The simulation had drained her energy. Around one o'clock, she arrived at the dining area and saw everyone sitting around a table near the large window, enjoying their lunch. She quickly ordered her food from the replicator and joined them at the table. She sat next to Rizki, while Hilman and Ridwan sat in front of them, discussing their families. Both of them were married. Hilman's wife was currently expecting their first child, and Ridwan already had a one-year-old son. Among all the Bimasakti crew members, except for the marines, only Rizki, Gayatri, and Eva were not married. However, Eva already had a fiancé, and she would marry him after returning from the Alpha Centauri mission. That's why Rizki and Gayatri often became the target of jokes from the other crew members because they were the only ones who seemed to be without partners.

"Riz, why don't you just approach the one sitting next to you?" Ridwan teased. Rizki and Gayatri just smiled upon hearing his remark. Of course, Ridwan and the others didn't know what had actually happened between them.

"Yeah, Riz, why look elsewhere when you have someone beautiful right beside you?" Hilman added with a chuckle. Gayatri remained silent, smiling shyly, but Rizki responded.

"Hey, you guys are trying to get us into trouble, huh...?! If we end up facing the protocol's sanctions, you'll be responsible!" Rizki said in a mock angry tone. Hilman and Ridwan just laughed. Hilman was Rizki's junior and close friend since their academy days, so he knew a lot about Rizki's preferences. Then, he unexpectedly said something.

"Gaya, don't expect too much from Rizki, because he doesn't want to have an astronaut wife... He doesn't want to live in constant stress, worrying about his wife being out in space...," Hilman teased. But those words surprised Gayatri. That was exactly what had been worrying her ever since she heard Dr. Sisca's story four days ago. Since that day, she had been wondering if, when they got married, Rizki would also be concerned about her when she was on space missions, just like she would be worried about him. Now, she got her answer from Hilman. She looked at Rizki beside her, and they exchanged glances. But before anyone could say anything, the replicator chimed, signaling that her food was ready. Gayatri got up to retrieve her meal from the replicator. When she returned to the table, they had stopped discussing the matter. However, her curiosity remained, and she wanted to talk to Rizki about it later in their room through UVA. So she began to eat her lunch.