Prologue
"I'm going home."
The man sitting next to Josh Morris revealed yellowing teeth under a bushy mustache. He appeared to be in his mid-forties with weathered skin splintering into wrinkles at his eyes. His black eyes glazed over under heavy eyelids as he leaned back in his seat, preparing for a nap during the flight to Earth. His perfectly pressed navy blue suit showed no creases as he settled into the chair.
Josh smiled. "Me, too. It's been a while."
“How long?”
“Little over a year.” He thought of what it would feel like to leave Base Prime and see the California sun. “Not sure what I’m going to do back in the ‘real’ world.”
“Wear sunglasses.” The fellow passenger studied him. "If it’s only been a year, that’s nothing. You in Fleet?"
Josh nodded. "I'm a pilot, yes. You?"
"Tr
