This story has evolved a lot since I came up with this idea.  I finally wrote it for an AU challenge on Mamamoo Amino.  
 

TRIGGER WARNING

This story features a very emotional scene. Prepare your tissues. Mentions of death and minor suicidal thoughts are also expressed. Please proceed with caution.

Enjoy!

“FE Ahn, are you almost done?” Her Commander’s voice came through her ear piece.  Hyejin was focused on her task but the voice of her Commander made her turn to face the ship behind her.

    “Almost, I have a few more wires to connect before I place the new panel back in place.” Hyejin replied and turned back to the wires on the circuit board in front of her.

    “Good.  Pilot Moon please prepare the welding equipment to seal the panel on.” The commander instructed.  Pilot Moon was assisting Flight Engineer Ahn in repairing the damage caused the day before to their mother ship due to space debris.  The damage had knocked out all the power in sector C of the mother ship.

    “Roger Commander.” Pilot Moon replied.  Half an hour later, Pilot Moon turned off the welding torch once the panel was securely welded on.  Their Commander contacted the mother ship so they could restore the power lost to sector C and seconds later they confirmed the repair had been a total success.

    Pilot Moon and FE Ahn maneuvered their way back to the ship using their jet packs on the back of their flight suits.  The equipment they carried with them was heavy, something they would normally not be able to carry on their own, but due to the lack of gravity in space it was like pushing a rubber ball around.

    “Great job Hyejin.  The power to sector C is restored.  We can go rest now.” Commander Kim said smiling at her two crew mates as they approached their seats in the ship.

    “Thanks unnie.” Hyejin replied after removing her helmet.  She looked over at Byulyi who had done the same and was preparing to help their Commander, Kim Yongsun, fly the ship back to the docks of the mother ship. “I couldn’t have done it without your help too unnie.”

    Byul turned to look at Hyejin and smiled.  “I learned from the best.”

    All three women smiled at each other.  Yongsun the ers on the ship and made their way back to the docks.  Hyejin looked at her surroundings as they traveled back — the immensity of space always amazed her no matter how long they had spent traveling now.

    It was hard in the vastness of space to determine when a day started and when it ended.  If it wasn’t for their mother ship keeping a time frame to the one on Earth, they would truly be lost.  Mission New Earth Discovery had been the greatest proposal created on Earth by every single country who had a space program.

    Led by the USA, every country involved had pitched in their greatest scientists to create a massive ship that would take a select group of humans into the farthest reaches of space to find a planet that could contain life just like Earth could.  Their country of South Korea offered only 100 of their most brilliant astronauts the opportunity to join this mission. It meant leaving everything and everyone they knew and loved behind on Earth. The belief was that it was for the greater good of humanity.

Resources on Earth were becoming even more limited and climate change had affected a lot of areas of the planet.  Yongsun and Byulyi had both been pilots in the South Korean Airforce and eventually had ended up in the space program.  As for Hyejin, she was perhaps the best mechanical engineer in the entire country. Aside from her love of building things, she had always loved space and what better way to follow both of her dreams than to become both a mechanical engineer and an astronaut at that.

“We’re home.” Yongsun said and Hyejin snapped back to reality.  Her mind had wandered off as they traveled back to the mothership.

    Hyejin was the first to exit the ship and she simply waved at the two older women.  Byulyi was going to call out to her but Yongsun stopped her. “She’s off to see the wife.  You guys can play pool tomorrow.”

    Byulyi groaned. “Come play pool with me then.”

    “No can do.  I’m going to go take a hot bath and finish that book I started the other night.” Yongsun shook her head and stepped down from the ship.

    Byulyi groaned again.  Why was everyone so boring except her?  Well, Hyejin wasn’t boring but when she wanted to be with her wife, there was nothing or no one that could stop her.

    Hyejin rounded the corner of the hallway that led to the Garden and smiled upon the sight of the open doors.  The Garden had grown so much — it was nothing more than a giant room full of dirt when they had first left Earth.  The grass and the crops growing reminded her so much of home, especially her grandmother’s house.

    “Wheein?” Hyejin called out her wife’s name.  “Wheein! I’m back!”

    There was some ruffling in the cornfield and finally from in between the tall stalks, a short woman with a round belly walked out of them.  “Hyejin!”

    The smile and love in their eyes for each other brightened their faces.  Wheein ran towards Hyejin who was running towards her as well. Hyejin lifted the smaller woman up and kissed her passionately.

    “Babe, you shouldn’t be running!” Hyejin scolded her and Wheein giggled.

    “I’m fine, the baby is fine, don’t worry.” Wheein reassured her and rubbed her small belly.  Six months in and their baby was growing and healthy inside Wheein.

    “I know, but I worry.  I would die if anything happened to both of you.” Hyejin pouted and Wheein smiled at her before giving her a quick peck on the lips.

    “Nothing is going to happen silly.  So tell me, did the mission go well?” Wheein asked leading Hyejin to one of the benches nearby.  Hyejin had placed several benches she had built around the area Wheein worked in.

    Wheein was a botanist, something she had decided to study when growing up since she loved plants and it was something that helped her become an astronaut just like Hyejin.  The two had been inseparable since they were toddlers and 30 years later they were happily married with their first child on the way.

    Wheein had volunteered to be the first patient on the ship to undergo a special trial that had been in development for decades on Earth.  Scientists on the ship from America had developed a way to create life by using the reproductive cells of two same parents. For Wheein and Hyejin, it had been a success, and their child would be the first of many that they hoped would be born on the ship.

    “The mission was perfect.  I repaired all the damage and everyone on sector C can stop walking around with flashlights.” They both chuckled.

Wheein leaned into Hyejin, resting her head on her wife’s shoulder.  Hyejin wrapped an arm around Wheein and kissed the top of her head. “Hyejin…”

“Yes?”

“Can we go to our room.” Wheein looked up at Hyejin and the younger woman could read what her wife wanted in her eyes.

Hyejin smiled and stood up.  “Lead the way.”

Byulyi placed her tray across from Hyejin the next morning.  The cafeteria was full since everyone was grabbing their breakfast to start off their day.  Hyejin took a bite of her buttered biscuit and greeted the older woman with a nod of her head.

    “Good morning.  You look very refreshed.” Byulyi smirked and Hyejin rolled her eyes while shaking her head.

    “Before you ask, yes we did it.  Good morning to you too.” Hyejin smirked this time and put a spoonful of eggs in .

    “Good morning Byul unnie.  How are you?” Wheein’s cheerful voice made Byul look at the shorter woman and smile at her.  Wheein placed a tray with double the food of what both she and Hyejin had gotten.

    “Good morning Wheein.  You’re um...hungry I see.” Byulyi commented and before anyone else could say anything, Yongsun placed her tray next to Byulyi’s tray and spoke up.

    “She’s pregnant so she’s eating for two.  How’s my future niece doing? Aunty Yong has so many things ready for her already.”

    “What do you mean you got things ready for her?  We have baby clothes on the ship?” Byul asked and Yongsun bopped her head.

    “Yes, but I didn’t buy any.  I made these. I learned to crochet and sew back in high school and kept it as a hobby.  Wheein, you’re going to love the stuff I made her, I promise.” Yongsun said, turning to Wheein who smiled at the older woman.

    “I can’t wait to see them unnie.” Wheein replied and dug into her food.

    “I’ll show you later if you’d like.” Yongsun said and the two continued to chat while they ate.  Byul and Hyejin remained quiet while they chatted and Byul used her communications watch to send Hyejin a message.

    Hyejin frowned and looked down at her own watch to see the message Byul had sent her.  [I guess we’re the guys here.]

    Hyejin tried to hold back a chuckle and simply smiled.  [I guess you’re right. Kinda weird but it makes sense.]

    After eating breakfast, the four women, along with everyone else went about their day doing the different tasks assigned to them.  Everyone on the ship was assigned a certain time shift during the day. It usually lasted between 6 to 8 hours and there were different things that everyone had to do.

    Life on the mothership was repetitive to say the least but it really took the work of the entire fleet to keep the ship going and everyone entertained.  Space travel had advanced so much now that the ship they were on could do time skips while it traveled at the speed of light. The current area they were in had nothing to really offer their overall mission.  Most of the planets and stars were young and uninhabitable. The leader of the mission had received a message from a space station in the quadron closest to them. They required the aid of any passing ships with repairs and supplies.

    Time skipping, while traveling at the speed of light, was like traveling through a tunnel.  It was as if time stopped completely and when it ended, it was like you had not moved at all, and yet found yourself in a completely different place.  The mothership arrived in the new quadron seconds after they had received the message from the space station.

    They would reach the space station in an hour and Commander Kim’s crew was the one assigned to assist with the repairs while another crew would meet up with the leader of the space station to see what supplies they could possibly part with.  Yongsun, Byulyi and Hyejin readied themselves to head out to the space station once they arrived.

    “Good luck out there Hyejin.  I love you.” Wheein leaned in to kiss her wife.

    “I love you too Wheenie and of course I love you too my little munchkin.” Hyejin said leaning down to kiss Wheein’s belly after kissing her wife.  “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

    They hugged and kissed again before Hyejin left their room to go to the ship dock.  The space station was only a short flight away from where the mothership had stopped and they could see even from this distance where the damage to the space station was.  A whole chunk of the cylindrical station was gone. The debris of what used to be floated around them and Yongsun maneuvered their ship carefully around it.

    “This is Commander Komarov of Space Station Voskhod, Quadron 4587.  Please identify yourself.” The voice of a Russian man spoke through the communication systems of their ship.

    “This is Commander Kim of New Earth Discovery, Ship 21, Repairs.” Yongsun replied.

    “Thank you Commander Kim.  We have begun flashing a green light in sector B.  Please proceed. You will be greeted by Flight Engineer Jian.” Commander Komarov instructed.

    “Roger.” Yongsun replied once again and moved toward the flashing light.  The docking port for the ship on the station was not damaged and with Byul’s help, Yongsun was able to safely dock the ship next to the station.

    All three women entered the station where Flight Engineer Jian greeted them.  He explained what happened and why they were not able to properly repair the damage caused by debris of an asteroid that passed near them almost two days ago.  They had been able to jam metal panels to close off the openings, but their welding equipment had been lost.

    Both Yongsun’s crew and Jian’s crew got to work soon after.  It was going to take time and it was dangerous, but with the proper equipment they would eventually be able to repair it as best as they could.  A re-construction ship was headed to the station but it would be weeks before it reached it.

    The hours it took to repair everything flew by and everyone sighed with relief now that it was properly closed off.  What remained now was the other side of the cylindrical station to be repaired the same way. Yongsun’s crew returned to the ship, to dock it on the other side of the station while Jian and his crew traveled through the station.

    Yongsun had just docked the ship on the other side of the station when suddenly all of the alarms in her ship and in the station started going off.  She turned to look at Byulyi and Hyejin who were staring back at her with a shocked expression on their faces. There was a knock on the ship door and Yongsun quickly hit the button to open it.

    Jian stuck his head into the ship and they could hear the alarms from the station and a voice warning them. 

[IMPACT IMMINENT.  IMPACT IMMINENT.]

“Undock the ship now!  There is asteroid debris headed at a high rate of speed towards us.  The station is a loss cause! Return to your ship now!” Jian yelled at them.

    “What about you?!” Byulyi asked.

    “We’re getting on our escape ships!  Now go!” He yelled and ran back inside the station closing the dock door behind him.

    “Strap in guys!  We’re headed back to the mothership.” Yongsun commanded and they all proceeded to sit and put on their seatbelts.  Yongsun undocked the ship and fired up the ers.

    “SHIP 21!  SHIP 34! RETURN TO THE MOTHERSHIP!” The voice of their mission leader rang through the communications system.  The mothership was preparing to move as well. Whatever was headed their way was endangering everything.

    “Boost every er Byul!  It’s going to be a rough landing but we need to get back on the mothership quickly!” Yongsun yelled out and Byul started up every er.  It was hard to move the ship at this rate of speed with all of the debris around them but Yongsun was managing it. She wasn’t the top pilot in the South Korean Airforce for nothing.

    Suddenly the