The Briefing
Mike didn't even notice when the ship lifted off and left the orbit. That's how smooth it was.
By the time he realized and looked outside the window, Proxima Centauri D had already become a pale dot in the distance.
Not long after that, the announcement that they would be entering FTL shortly came, and Mike watched as the distant stars started to become thin lines as their speed approached impossible levels.
He watched the scene for a while before his watch started to buzz.
Seeing this, Mike turned it on and saw that he was being invited to an online meeting. As soon as he picked, a holographic panel appeared with three sections. One section contained a series of smaller screens, and when Mike looked, he saw the miniature versions of the other students on the ship, with all of more joining rapidly.
What was funny and sort of cute was that it wasn't their 'actual' faces, but small chibi versions of them that popped up on the screen.
