APH Shoot For The Moon: Part 4

It was as if they are thrown into a different world- impossibly different and mysterious, but so beautiful. Moon. Luna. Over time, the craters that have impacted Luna still remain. Some are as big as a football field. Some are as small as the palm of your hand. The camera just floats weightlessly, the crew of Orion 6 too stunned with Luna's beauty to capture it. Ivan reaches for the camera and snaps the first picture, a dry, lunar sea known as Imbrium Mare. He wordlessly hands the camera to Alfred, who snaps pictures of the lunar horizon, seas, and craters. And then it comes. Impossibly beautiful. The half of a round ball rising into the deep blackness of space, bringing color with it. The deepest blue imaginable, with swirling white clouds and the brown hints of land. Earth. Even more beautiful from the moon. It looks like a clear marble, flowing with life. Marukaite Chikyuu…What a Wonderful World…Prekrasnyi Mir… Alfred reaches for the camera and snaps a picture of their first earthrise. And another. Another. Until the Earth has fully risen above the blank surface of the Moon. The quartet of astronauts doesn't have anything to say. Heck, why would they? Alfred prepares to snap another picture but Arthur snatches the camera.

"We can't just sit here like this! We're on a mission and you'll see thousands of other ones." He snaps, and his tone seems to stirs the others.

"NASA wants us to take pictures anyway!" Alfred laughs, snatching the camera again and snapping a picture.

"I agree. Let's take more pictures, da?" Ivan agrees.

"H-how about we compromise?" Arthur sighs.

"Compromise? There is no such thing in Russia." Ivan chuckles.

"Arthur-san is correct. A compromise seems very fitting." Kiku nods.

"Alright, then. Alfred and Ivan can take pictures to their heart's content while we do the real work." Arthur sniffs.

"No way, dude. Maybe we should ask Mission Control." Alfred suggests.

"It's not that big of a deal, you know." Arthur mutters as Alfred turns on his headset.

"Hey Yao, what are we supposed to be doing in orbit?" He asks.

"Take pictures or get some rest-aru." He replies flatly.

"Ha. Thanks, dude!" Arthur scowls as Ivan and Alfred continue taking pictures.

"I know, why don't we make a video?" Kiku suggests.

"Great idea! Alfred, give me that camera." Arthur agrees.

"You're speaking to your commander, you know." Alfred reminds them, but he tosses the camera to Arthur.

"Yes, know." He replies irritably.

"Alright, we're airing in three, two, one…"


"Greetings from the moon and your awesome commander-hero, Alfred F. Jones!" Alfred calls.

"Arthur, show all the people on Earth what they've been waiting to see."

The camera zooms in on the moon's surface, capturing the craters and color in high-tech quality.

"And show them where they are right now!"

Alfred adds, and Arthur zooms in towards the earth, now a beautiful blue-and-green round ball in space.

"Uh-huh, I can hear the reactions even from here!" The commander jokes.

"Alfred-san…" Kiku sighs.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okaaay then! Anyways, what you're seeing right now on this gigantic moon is a little sea called Crisium Mare. Dude, these aren't even real seas 'cause they don't have water in them, but apparently they did at one point, but they're still pretty cool to take pictures of. It's near the Apollo 17 moon landing sight, so how cool is that? And it's neighbor is the famous Sea of Tranquility, or Mare Tranquilitatis, oh shout out to my good friend Feliciano; he's Italian, anyways! Sea of Tranquility was where Apollo 11 landed and sight of the first moon walk done by Mr. Neil Armstrong and Mr. Buzz Aldrin. Another sea we'll be passing by in a sec is Arguis Mare…oh, wait! There it is! And we'll see you later folks, Arthur is glaring at me so bai!"


Alfred shuts down the camera as Yao's voice comes in through their headphones.

"You are about to go around the dark side of the moon-aru. We can't communicate with you until you reach the other side-aru." He says.

"Okay, then. See you on the other side." Alfred grins.


Not everyone was chosen to work for NASA. Many of the astronauts had just been unknown pilots on mere carriers. Alfred worked as a test pilot down at Edwards Air Force Base. Feliciano served on a Navy carrier before coming to NASA. Arthur was just another pilot in the Royal Air Force. However, others didn't make the cut. Gilbert had been amazingly close to flying in space before he was grounded. An Estonian named Eduard Von Bock had a vision problem, so he chose to work with the engineers. Either way, the astronauts had to go through hard training and pass medical tests before they could fly in space. Even Alfred was almost grounded because of his glasses, but the medics ran a test and found out that he didn't need the glasses at all. Every pilot's enemy was a doctor, who could say just a few words and have you chained to a desk for the rest of your life. But that hadn't happened ever since Gilbert was grounded, but the others felt for him. They helped carry his burden and loosened his chains as much as they could. Every astronaut wanted to show his gratitude to Gilbert. Thanks for picking me! The crew of Orion 6 had an idea to show their gratitude, something Alfred came up with. There was one other man who was in the same boat as Gilbert, and his name was Deke Slayton, an astronaut who had passed away of the heart disease that grounded him. The crew of Apollo 1 planned to give Deke an astronaut pin. Once an astronaut flew in space, they scored a pin and wore it forever. It was a star with an orbit around it, and each astronaut treasured his dearly. The crew of Apollo 1 died in a fire, so their wives gave the pin to Deke. Instead of a star, a small diamond was placed there, and Deke treasured it. Why don't we give Gil a pin? Alfred had suggested. So the Orion 6 crew had been standing in front of Gilbert's office, and Alfred had knocked on the door.

"Come in, come in!" Same as last time.

"Hi, Gil. We just wanted to drop by and give you this before launch."

Alfred had handed him the little box and Gilbert had raised an eyebrow before opening it.

"Mein Gott…" He had murmured, fingering the pin.

"Danke."

"What?"

"Zhank you! Zhis is totally awesome! Zhank you, zhank you!"

He beamed, pinning it to his collar. The pin had gleamed on his black collared shirt, and the crew had grinned at each other.

"No prob. Our way of saying thanks, dude."