I sit at a bus stop in a part of town I've never been in before. It's a big city and has changed lots over the years. A security guard stands by the seat, waiting. I sit down and he tells me cautiously “This is an Acropolis waiting location, I am qualified to board and as such won't need a ticket so if that's your concern here are my credentials'' They show me their badge as an offering of good faith as well as their boarding ID, “There are also camera’s in the area in case something happens, can you show me your boarding pass?” They seem to have done this before, there are multiple cameras in the area pointing at us.

I made sure that Marvin knew I was safe before I got out of the car, he said the area was abandoned due to urbanization, only people who were looking for free rent liked the area, the perfect area for a pickup point.

I hesitate and pull out my ticket showing it to the guard, he thanks me and looks over it quickly, putting it up to the light and nods, “I'll be going up with you on tonight's ride, I heard it might be a little bumpy, don't know if that's to do with how close that asteroid is getting or what, Oh looks like we got 10 minutes till our ride’s here!” They said, checking their phone after a BING comes from it.

“Thank you… Frank, I've got to take one last call if that's okay?...” They give a grandfatherly smile and nod, stepping away from the seating a little and lights up a cigarette, might be his last. I’m sure they would have riots from the ruling class if smoking was banned though, if it's available on the moon I might have to take it up as a hobby.

Brrinnggg Brrinnggg “Hey Em, love I got a message from Marvin letting me know they dropped you off… how are you holding up?”

“I’m… ready to leave this fucked world one way or another, maybe I’ll find something to live for up there…” I Stare up at the dark sky, lean back in my seat and sigh. “You are one of the only things that there was a reason to stay for Van, I wish you were coming with me…”

I hear Van choking up from the other end, she pulls the phone away from her face before regaining herself “Me too Em… don't you forget me up there, you've always got a place here with me if you ever wanna come home.” Home… god please…

“Stay safe Van, take care of the bar, I want a drink when I come home.” Click

I put my hands on my face, elbows on my knees and sigh deep through my fingers, tears slipping through them as well. Ain't no home anymore, never really had one. It was always people, and my home this time is dead, ripped from me.

“Everyone is chasing something Emily…” Frank the guard sits down on the corner of the seating, a respectable distance so as to not scare a girl out in the middle of the night. “Even me and I turn 62 this year. God, never thought I'd get that far… It's okay to be running from something, it's what makes us human, no matter how big or small” Beep “oh! That's our ride” They pull up a radio from their pocket, “10-4, 2 civilian class for board, my last shift so I'll be joining the ride, confirmation code 89452” Frank gets a ‘10-4 received’ from their radio and puts it away.

An armored black mini bus with the symbol of a moon with ‘Acropolis’ from the top and ‘City of the gods’ from the bottom curving around it, “Tacky isn't it? But I know it makes those silver spoon types go crazy, who wouldn't want to be a god right? Hah”

Upon stopping, the doors open. A soldier in black steps out, I show them my ticket and they scan a barcode on it and nod letting me on the bus. Frank's ID gets scanned the same way and we board with one more quick look outside from the soldier.

…

An hour later we pulled into the Airport, part of it has been changed specifically for space launches. Technology has increased dramatically in space travel once the people with the actual money started moving their weight around.

The current spaceships work like planes, they take off from a normal runway and then revolve around the earth until hitting the Karman line which is about 100k up. I take my bag off the mini bus and haul it up the tarmac up to the boarding station, people take my ticket to be scanned a few more times, doctors take my blood and pictures are taken.

The last being a female attendant that’s recording information of the attendants “What kind of work were you recruited to do on Acropolis Miss Smith?” Smith, yeah, not what I was born with but I didn't care too much at the time, maybe I was hoping to take some cute girls last name instead, it was so many years ago that it stopped mattering.

“I was recruited for my bartender and customer service skills” I smile with my professional facade on, she smiles back wryly.

“Well you may see me at your bar more than once” The lady winks at me, even on my way to the moon I'm getting propositioned, damn.

“It would be my pleasure to serve such a beauty as yourself” She blushes, it barely shows up on her lovely dark skin, it's pretty cute. I'm sure I could have her red far more easily if we were alone, criminal flirt.

She coughs and motions for me to continue, as I pass by, the guard at her station is laughing at her and gets a slap on the arm in exchange. At least everyone I've met so far seems to be pretty friendly, and not seeming like an act… It's calming at least, doesn't seem like I'm going to get murdered for my ticket, I'm betting everyone here was already promised a place in Acropolis.

Im led to the plane, it has men gathered around it, security just in case, there was only one of the Acropolis planes that were attacked, at least from what I saw on the news, the assailants were quickly killed and tracked back to a smaller gang that was quickly removed from Earth, just not in the way that they intended.

The inside of the ship has a sitting area where you can strap yourself in, watch tv, work on projects ect. The ship has its own power generation for those that have their own entertainment. A separate section in the back for ‘sleeping quarter’ chambers where we are strapped in and made to fall asleep with gas so that we don't have to experience the leaving of the atmosphere and the pressure that comes with it.

The trip all in all is about 4-5 days to get to Acropolis, the first day is in isolation until everything is stable, then the rest of the trip is in rotation, spending time reclining and talking or sleeping when you want to.

I wish this was all something that I remembered, but it was gleaned from the infomercial sheets in the back of the chairs, something that no airplane is without, along with food selections for each time shift until we arrive. Despite being a ‘civilian’ it's stocked up the same as if a king was visiting, as such my queenly self was able to enjoy the utmost of society.

After a meal while everyone was boarding, we were motioned to put our bags in our assigned sleeping areas. The people were of all shapes and sizes, while boarding one of the older men was yelling on the phone, maybe trying to get their affairs in order at the last minute, probably a lawyer.

The attendant that helped me before as well as Frank boarded, they gave me a little shy wave. All in all about 20 people came on board before we were motioned to either quickly eat or start getting into our sleeping Pods.

After eating some french meal, it was ‘Coq au Vin’, all I knew was its name, not exactly what it was, just that it was really tasty chicken, in a red wine? I know the taste of women and alcohol by heart, food not so much.

Finally sitting back I notice that the line of people heading to the sleeping area has thinned, half of the people still eating and the rest having been claimed by the dark of the pods.

Reluctantly I find a pod with an electronic signature on it, my name. The attendant from before is there to help and she gets me settled in. I'm in a middle section, her hand clasps mine, pushing me into the sleeping area, she cops a gentle feel, her fingers rubbing up and down my hand as i get settled in. Damn girl’s more forward than I was expecting. I blush and she grins knowing she's won this round, oh I'll show her later.

The hatch closes and like a scene from a movie I saw when I was a kid, something that was shown every year like it was for xmas, something about a multi-pass and saving the world, I slip quickly into the void.