He rubs his eyes and the blurred image that meets his waking mind resolves itself into the Kybashi Interstellar Port lounge, much to his disappointment. He doesn't mind working so far away from home, but the long haul kills him.
Five hours to Armstrong in orbit above Earth, then a sixteen day superluminal jump to the Alpha Centauri Launch Port, then the hyperluminal jump to Proxima Launch Port, which is another twenty days of relative time to him but over sixty days back on Earth, then the six hours superluminal to Kybashi. And now he's waiting for his gate to open to take him planetside.
At least they have windows. The jade green marble of the takes up most of the view, it's milky clouds drifting slowly across it, and beyond there is the void of space decorated by stars and cosmic dust. That view, in his estimation, is worth the comically atrocious jetlag.
Paddy Dobson
18th September 2022