[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/diF6hFs.png[/img] [/center] [center][h3]The Road Not Taken[/h3] [/center] [hider=Home Sweet Home][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-MwxuXfeo[/youtube][/hider] [i]This takes place while the crew is at the bar[/i] The release of the button at Penelope’s last words clicked loud in the silence that filled the room now that the static of the comm and Cal’s voice wasn’t taking up room. There was a bittersweet turn to her gentle smile, as she sat the handheld aside on the counter next to her. Her hazel eyes lingered on it only a moment before flickering to her father and his friend, and the moment their eyes locked that pressure she felt building against the pit of her stomach vanished. [i]The next morning…[/i] On the flight deck of the China Doll, nestled in the less conspicuous place her Captain had placed her, the little black rectangular box that housed Sam now sported a hard half pit of a Greenleaf fruit. Dried and preserved in filament, it was painted with a simple silhouette of the giant kapok tree. Etched around the piece was ‘Greenleaf’ in the similar style of the shell from New Melbourne adjacent. Sam herself had enjoyed the process as Penelope told her of the Grandfather tree as she sealed it on. It was after, when the pilot had said goodbye that the AI went back to thoughtful whirring. At the question of ‘goodbye’, just a bag was hoisted over a slender shoulder, Sam had stored the young woman’s words. “Tell Cal that maybe he was right, and I should’a left that road not taken… but neither of us know where it goes, and I’m luckier than most to get another chance. Next time the Doll docks in Greenleaf, look me up - know ya can, Sam. I think I’ll go to roost for a while in my roots. And, I reckon I should let ya know not to worry about Hafez - I already explained it to him on the way over. Think he’s happy I’ll be stayin’ on planet a while, so he said he’ll send ya someone if ya can’t find a pilot. Best’a luck, y’all.” And so, the message waited on the China Doll's captain when he reported back in on deck - or, if Sam was generous, after he slept the night out off. Penelope couldn't know. She was snug in the sheets of her old bed, in her old room, the contents of her bunk at the China Doll sitting in a heap to the side. She'd get to that later. It was time to enjoy being home.