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A Birthday James Never Saw Coming.

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Oh James… did you really think we didn’t know today was your birthday? Did you honestly believe you could slip it past us with a quiet smile and a change of subject? Absolutely not. Not on my watch. In nine lifetimes I’ve arranged more surprise birthday celebrations than I can count. For family, friends, mentors, even the occasional unsuspecting ambassador. So organising today was, frankly, child’s play. And the look on your face when you walked in? Utterly priceless. Worth every whispered plan, every coded message, every moment of Jean pretending she “had no idea what you were talking about.” We’ve been plotting this for months. Everyone was in on it. Even the ones who can’t keep a secret to save their lives managed to hold the line. That alone should tell you how much you’re loved. And now, seeing you settled into your favourite chair, worn out, content, surrounded by the remnants of laughter and cake, that’s reward enough for me. Your family came. Your friends came. Your colleagues ...
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Waiting for the Fathers to Escape the Craft Fair.

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Back on Docosie after two days at the moon base with James. An interesting trip, different pace, different silence and absolutely worth it. Now I’m back home, sitting in the back garden with Jodo stretched out beside me, enjoying the familiar warmth of the colony again. Ranih is out with both sets of parents. They’ve headed to the central park, where most of our outdoor concerts are held, because today there’s a crafts fair with stalls, demonstrations, and all the usual bustle. I’m not entirely convinced either my father or Ranih’s father truly wanted to go, but they were given full permission to retreat back here if boredom struck. So I’m expecting the pair of them to reappear at any moment, probably pretending they lasted longer than they actually did. I’ve got beers chilling and a selection of nibbles ready for their triumphant return.
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Depth Reveals What Glances Miss.

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James wrapped up his tasks ahead of schedule this afternoon. I helped him quite a bit. Entirely voluntarily, of course, and I genuinely enjoyed it. The extra time at his side meant I learned far more about the moon base’s setup than I ever expected. There’s a surprising amount of complexity beneath the surface. That seems to be the way with most things. A quick glance only offers a shallow introduction; it’s only when you take the time to dig deeper that the real understanding begins to form. With that in mind, the old axiom “never judge a book by its cover” still holds true. It applies to systems, places, and, most of all, people. It reminds me of when I first met James. Beforehand, I only knew him by reputation. It was only after spending time with him, both on duty and off, that I began to see past the surface and discover the person behind the stories, the friend I have today. Image from Unsplash by Alexander Andrews.
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Observations from the Docosie Lunar Station.

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James and I arrived at our moon outpost this morning, where we’ll be staying for the next couple of days. My visit is purely educational, while James has actual work to get through, though I’m helping wherever I can. The landscape up here is stark and desolate, but the view of Docosie III hanging in the sky is nothing short of spectacular. It’s the kind of sight that makes you pause without meaning to. Inside, the outpost feels noticeably different from our orbital platform. It’s a slightly newer installation, and the change in design trends is obvious. Cleaner lines, updated materials,  and a subtly more modern aesthetic. Despite its remote location, the outpost is well‑equipped. A couple of holosuites give the team plenty of ways to unwind, whether that’s running simulations, relaxing, or just escaping the monotony of lunar dust and silence. The long‑range sensor array is the real marvel here. From this vantage point, the colony can monitor activity up to fifteen light‑years beyo...
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A Wedding Gift Shaped by Hand.

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I’ve been mulling over what to give Ranih as a wedding gift. She’s never been one for material things, but she has a deep appreciation for anything crafted by hand. That thought led me to one of Docosie III’s best potters. I’ve commissioned a vase, something unique, something with the quiet beauty she loves. Ranih often returns from the wild meadows with freshly cut flowers, and I can already picture them arranged in a piece made just for her. The potter, Nana Griaan, will sketch a few designs for me to choose from later this week. She’s confident the finished vase will be ready before the wedding next month. I think Ranih will be delighted. She’s been curious about pottery throwing recently, and the timing feels perfect. While searching around, I found a place in Scotland, not far from where we’re staying for our honeymoon,  that offers pottery demonstrations where you can make something, have it fired, and take it home. I’ve already booked it. I think it’ll be a lovely experience...
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We Left for Work; They Formed a Task Force.

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What an evening. We’ve just finished dinner with both sets of parents, and over dessert we finally learned what they’d all been up to while Ranih and I were at work. Let’s just say… they were far more productive than we ever asked them to be. Ranih had predicted it perfectly: our mothers teamed up the moment we left the house. According to them, they “just did a little tidying,” which of course translates to a full‑scale, military‑precision sweep of every room. Not that the place needed it, at least not by our standards, but clearly we fall short of the elite maternal benchmark.   For the record, we live by a very old saying: “A tidy home is a sign of a boring life.” We’re tidy enough to function, but not so tidy that we spend our free time alphabetising spice racks. Our mothers, however, operate on a different philosophical plane entirely. Meanwhile, our fathers formed their own alliance. They spent the morning in the back garden, apparently unable to resist the urge to “stra...
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Managing Docosie III While Counting Down to “I Do”.

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Sadly, Ranih, James, Jean, and I are all back at work this week. Our leave for the wedding and honeymoon doesn’t begin until next week. This means that both sets of parents are essentially unsupervised during working hours. Our mothers will be just fine. It’s our fathers that Ranih and I are more concerned about. Who knows what those two might get up to on Docosie. Our mothers have already said they can only keep tabs on them when they themselves aren’t busy with their own plans. James has his hands full this week with updates and maintenance schedules for most of the colony’s systems, both planet-side and on the Orbital Platform. It’s an end‑of‑month process. As for me, I’m working on the general administrative side of day‑to‑day colony business, as well as the feasibility study for potential colony expansion. We’ve arranged a meeting with the colony council two weeks after Ranih and I return from our honeymoon as newlyweds. Ideally, I’d like to complete as much of the study as possib...
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Sunshine, Cocktails, and Our Dubious Fishing Expedition.

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We took a shuttle out to the eastern coast today. That's me, Ranih, both sets of parents, and James and Jean. It’s about 500km from the colony, but there’s a purpose‑built coastal retreat there so residents can visit without accidentally being eaten, stung, dissolved, or otherwise inconvenienced by the local wildlife. Always reassuring. The moment we arrived, the four of us, my father, my future father‑in‑law, James, and me, hired a small boat and a local guide for a fishing trip. The guide is essential, mostly because there are a few species in these waters that look like they were designed by someone who thought “shark” was too subtle. If we accidentally hook one, we’ll need someone who knows which end is safe to point at the sky. With any luck, we’ll catch something edible,  ideally something that doesn’t fight back, glow ominously, or require a hazard permit to cook. While we head out for our grand masculine adventure (four men and a boat, what could possibly go wrong), the lad...
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