Matias stepped out into the brisk morning air, taking a deep breath through his nose with eyes closed. He would remember the synthetic-feeling air of Earth with nostalgia, but he sure as hell wasn't going to miss it. He closed the door to his apartment behind him, tightened his grip on the handlebar of his suitcase, and began to make his way out of the complex.<br/><br/>It was 7:40 AM, Mission Control was across the street from his house, and his throat and stomach felt pleasantly warm from the steaming cup of tea he had just had. Oh, and he was also about to set off on the most exciting step of his life: colonization of a far-off planet. He smiled. Life was good, near perfect really.<br/><br/>He had already triple checked everything in the suitcase and his backpack before coming, and knew he wasn't missing anything. Even so, he automatically put a hand behind him to feel for the familiar bulge of his computer, just to be sure.<br/><br/>The sky was clear, and he could see both the sun and the moon in the sky. All he could think of, however, was what lay beyond those two celestial bodies. He waved skyward.<br/><br/>"This is our last morning together," he said with a smile on his face, eyes still looking up at the sky as he crossed the blessedly empty street towards Mission Control.<br/><br/>He heard a lone car coming towards him, but the light was red, so he didn't bother to look over to it. Until it sounded dangerous close, that is. Even then, he felt it before he saw it. He heard the screeching of brakes, but it clearly hadn't been enough, as he felt a crushing impact on his left hip. He hurtled onto the top of the car, rolling over the hood and stopping at the windshield.<br/><br/>A scream had escaped his lips upon impact, but now he was just muttering a steady stream of curses under his breath. The car had managed to slow down enough to avoid killing him, but he still felt a sharp pain on his hip, as well as smaller throbs of it on his knees and elbows. He lay on the hood of the car for a few seconds, trying to catch his breath and steeling himself against the pain.<br/><br/>Slowly, he felt able to move again, and he began to let himself slither off the car. A pair of hands supported his descenent, keeping ahold of him while he gingerly tried to stand on his own.<br/><br/>"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry, are you okay?" a female voice asked, sounding incredibly distressed. Matias doubted the concern in her voice was for him, however. She was probably more worried about her insurance.<br/><br/>Matias turned to look at her. She was dark-haired, dark-eyed, plump of lips, and absolutely gorgeous.<br/><br/>"You ruined what was supposed to be a perfect day," Matias said stupidly, looking through her almost as if she wasn't there.<br/><br/>The young woman seemed distressed by this. "I'm so sorry-" she began.<br/><br/>"It's fine," Matias said, regaining himself somewhat. "Just give me all your info. I want to get this over with, I'm going to be late enough as it is because of you."<br/><br/>A few minutes later, and she had dropped him off right by the front door of his destination. He was still in pain, and could only walk with a slow limp. He slowly made his way through the front door, where he was confronted with odd looks, raised eyebrows, and document examination that saw so many roving eyes between the papers and himself he was forced to roll his own.<br/><br/>Finally, he made his way to where he assumed his other coworkers seemed to be waiting. They were both reading something, and seemed to not be talking to each other. Pained as he was, and angry that he was late, he was inclined to do the same. He walked to the nearest chair and descended into it like an old man who could barely move. It chafed at his pride, and he hoped the others weren't paying too much attention.