'SEE YOU MORNING' 088 Mars Base

‘SEE YOU MORNING’ 088 Mars Base

Lübeck pressed his face against Ruth’s chest, breathing in her familiar scent. The breeze stirred her collar, gently slapping against his cheek. Lübeck held her waist and hips, kneeling on one knee before her, lost in the evening wind. She was so gentle—her slender body, her delicate arms, softly cradling Lübeck’s head, settling it in her embrace. The evening breeze brushed the coneflower branches, scraping against each other, rustling in rhythm with the wind. Amid the chirping of crickets, the cool evening breeze drifted in from time to time, stirring Ruth’s clothes…

Crunch, crunch—the sound of footsteps on snow. Ruth’s frail figure pulled a sled carrying Lübeck along the road home. The north wind howled across the vast land, whipping up snow and dead leaves from the ground, stinging Lübeck’s face. The sun in the west was about to sink below the horizon, using the last warmth of its fading red to dissolve the snow-covered earth at the edge of the dark purple sky…

In the afternoon by the window, through the only small pane, sunlight illuminated the outline of her figure. Her hair was a bit tousled, not really combed—as if she never cared about herself. Her back was bent, head bowed, light falling on her shoulders and the edge of her back. Always that old cyan sweater, the pile worn away, somewhat stiff. She was doing needlework. Lübeck knew she often mended his torn hems and pant legs.

Lübeck wanted to call her name, to tell her he was back, that he was home, standing right behind her. She could turn her head and see him again. Lübeck wanted to call her name, but the two characters “Ruth” wouldn’t come out, as if stuck in his throat. Her back was right there before his eyes, yet he couldn’t call out to her to turn around. Ruth’s figure in the afternoon sunlight—Lübeck felt as if he were sinking to the bottom of water, a phantom seen through the surface…

Beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep—urgent alert tones. Beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep. Lübeck was pulled back to reality by the urgent beeping beside his ear. He opened his eyes and realized he’d been dreaming. No, that wasn’t right—he hadn’t been sleeping just now. A man was leaning over him, examining his condition. Lübeck recognized him—Dr. Lukas Weber, using his primitive stethoscope to check Lübeck’s heart and lungs. Two others beside him seemed to be his assistants.

Lübeck looked to both sides—he was lying in a medical pod. He tried to recall the last scene before lying here. Oh, he had passed through an underground time-space gate, then taken underground rail transit to get here. Before that? Before that he was still on the surface. Oh, it was Ruth’s grave, where he had placed a bouquet of white lilies—as if her pure, slender figure was saying farewell forever with the passing years.

Before this, Lübeck had always refused age reversal. He was afraid of losing his memories of Ruth. After she left, Lübeck had no more attachments. He finally accepted the new mission: first reverse his age, then continue as captain—captain of the US secret space program.

After Dr. Weber’s examination, Lübeck left the medical pod. He was looking at his own hands, his body. Weber’s assistant had already brought him the base standard uniform.
“Captain Lübeck, your biological age has been successfully reversed to 25.”
“Can’t it be reversed to 20? Why not go straight to 20?” Lübeck asked, somewhat surprised.
“Mr. Lübeck, you are the captain. You need some years to maintain your authority. At 20, you’d be the same age as those pilots.”
“Oh, thank you for being so thoughtful. It’s just that the efficiency is a bit low.”
After that, the two of them laughed.

Back in his room, passing through the airlock door, he saw a female soldier cleaning the room. When she heard someone come in, she turned around and saw Lübeck. She immediately snapped to attention and saluted.
“Lieutenant Brittany McGowan reporting.”
Lübeck returned the salute and asked,
“How do you know me?”
“I was assigned here to take care of your daily life.”
“What branch are you in?”
“Medical corps.”
“Why did you choose me?”
“Captain, actually I didn’t have many choices. Either be with those soldiers, or be with you.”
“Oh, you did have a choice. Then you must be very outstanding. Please sit down.” As he spoke, Lübeck also sat in the chair at the workbench, studying Brittany’s appearance—short golden hair, pointed chin, fair skin, and a pair of brown-green eyes.
“Where are you from?” Lübeck asked.
“West Virginia.”
“Oh, a beautiful place. What year were you born?”
“Thank you. 1986.”
“The mission following me is Saturn orbit. That means twenty to thirty years in deep space, in the cramped confines of a warship. Are you mentally prepared for that?”
“Yes, I’ve been evaluated.”
“You’re still young. Won’t you miss home?”
Brittany smiled helplessly,
“An alcoholic father, a mother who argues every day, a rebellious younger brother. I really have nothing to miss. That place has scenery, but no livelihood.”
“Sorry for bringing up those memories again.” After that, Lübeck asked no more. He just sat there quietly, watching Brittany continue to tidy their room. Although the gray-blue jumpsuit uniform was somewhat loose, it still revealed the contours of her feminine figure. Lübeck tried to find traces of Ruth in her, but found none. The promise made before their parting—he didn’t know how to fulfill it now.

Having spent over half a year lying in the medical pod, combined with Mars’s low gravity, Lübeck felt his muscles had atrophied. He felt tired after sitting in the chair for a while. When he saw Brittany had finished making the bed, he went over and lay down on it.
“What’s it like to have your age reversed inside the medical pod?” Brittany leaned over, asking curiously.
“Induced coma, just like surgical anesthesia. I don’t remember anything. Oh, when I was waking up, my memories gradually came back. You haven’t had any missions before, you’ve never had your age reversed, right?”
“Yes, this is my first time.”
“Oh, being selected directly for the space force—that’s not easy.”
“Yeah, my physical fitness and vestibular balance scores were very good during the medical exam. Later I heard that after completing the mission here, I could reverse back to my original age, and there’s generous pay. So I chose to come here, haha.” As she spoke, Brittany sat on the edge of the bed, her arms supporting her at her sides, and twisted around to ask Lübeck,
“What about you?”
Her hips on the edge of the bed pressed the fabric of her pants taut under her weight, showing off her femininity. Her supporting arms leaned forward, adding a touch of softness that drew Lübeck’s attention. He wondered if it was the hormones from age reversal, the half-year of recovery, or her own appeal that was stirring something in him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lübeck replied,
“During the Cold War, I was a US Navy aircraft carrier captain. Later I joined America’s secret space program.”