I’m photographer

      “Well… I’ll have to record this later and send the material…” Astrodude muttered under his breath, hammering away at the asteroid with his pickaxe.       Not long ago, he’d been delivered a camera. According to his boss, “It’s so we can see what you’re giving us, not just read the data you send.” Basically, the boss wanted visuals of the findings. Well, at least now Astrochel had a chance to take some pictures.       Finally done with the digging, the man reached for the device. Just as he aimed the camera at the right angle, he noticed Luna staring straight at him through the frame. Startled, the astronaut lowered the camera and found himself meeting the satellite’s gaze.       “Hey,” the moon grinned once he realized he’d been noticed. “What are you doing?”       “I need to record some material and send it to my boss,” Astrochel replied a little uncertainly, fidgeting with the device in his hands.       “O, you’re taking pictures?” Luna floated closer, trying to get a better look at the small gadget. “Can you take one of me?”       The man froze, debating whether or not he should. After all, he had to send all the data back to his superiors, and for some reason he couldn’t quite explain, he didn’t want to tell them about the living celestial bodies just yet. But… they couldn’t really track the number of photos stored on the camera, could they? And it would be nice to bring them home someday — memories from space, in case he ever got nostalgic.       “Well… alright, sure,” he finally agreed, pressing a few buttons to adjust the settings. “Just you, or should we call the others too?”       “Take me first, then I’ll call the rest,” the moon said impatiently, trembling slightly with excitement.       “I’m not sure you’ll even be able to see the result,” Astrodude warned, aiming the camera at Luna and allowing himself a cheerful grin. “Pose.”       The moon gave him a skeptical look but tilted slightly to the side, smiling toward the lens — or at least he hoped it was toward the lens. The size difference made it hard to tell.       When Astrodude glanced at the image, he couldn’t help but smile.       “I’ll ask the Computer to display it bigger so you can see,” he promised, climbing back into the ship under Luna’s eager gaze. “Computer, show the last image on the main screen and press it against the window.”       Once it was done, the moon squinted, gently pulling the rocket closer with his gravity to avoid dropping it, and tried to make out the picture. After a few seconds, a delighted smile spread across his face — so radiant that Astrodude briefly forgot he was looking at a massive celestial body. It was just too adorable a sight.       “So, what do you think?” the astronaut asked.       “It’s wonderful!” Luna replied joyfully, eyes half-closed in bliss and… well, dancing. That was the only word Astrodude could think of for those movements. “I’ll call the others! Don’t go anywhere!”       And off he went, beaming, toward the distant Earth, Mars, and Venus.       With a sigh, Astrodude unplugged the cables and took the camera.       “Astrodude, what are you doing?” asked the Computer, turning the screen away from the window to face him, its tone puzzled.       “Luna asked me to take his picture — didn’t you hear?” the astronaut replied, putting his suit back on and waiting for the others with a mix of nervousness and curiosity.       “That’s work equipment. You know you’ll either have to pay for the extra material or delete it, right?” the robotic assistant reminded him, making him lower his head slightly.       “Yeah, yeah, I know. But at least I’ll have some memories from space,” he said, trying to sound optimistic.       “It’s expensive.”       “I remember,” Astrochel grumbled, noticing the approaching planets and moon.       “Astrodu-u-u-ude!” Earth called out, grinning as he spotted the astronaut inside the ship. “Come out!”       “Coming,” the man sighed, opening the airlock and floating out with his camera. “So… how are you all going to pose?”       The trio began to fuss over their positioning. Earth pulled Luna closer, slightly above him, taking the center spot and gently keeping everyone in place with gravity. Venus hovered a bit higher, Mars a bit lower — forming a kind of uneven line. Astrochel aimed the camera and snapped a photo.       “You want to see it right away, or should I take another one?” he asked, glancing cautiously at the celestial group.       “Okay, Luna, stand a bit lower, just your eyes showing, and we’ll move a bit farther back,” Earth instructed, nudging the moon closer to Astrodude.       The astronaut waited until everyone was in place, then took another picture on Earth’s cue. Looking at the result, he caught himself smiling again — quite a creative “composition” for a set of planets.       “Can you take one of us individually?” Mars asked, pulling Astrodude from his thoughts.       “Oh no, not me,” Venus huffed, stepping aside to avoid the frame.       “Come on, it’ll be fun,” Earth said, dragging the other planet forward. Astrodude didn’t dare raise his camera until Venus stopped glaring. “Go on, take him!”       “Do it, Venus! You’ll regret it later!” Mars encouraged.       Grumbling under his breath, Venus finally stood still while the others floated behind Astrodude to watch. The astronaut nervously clicked the shutter, capturing Venus’s somewhat annoyed but attentive expression.       “Alright, now me,” Earth said, moving back as Venus floated aside.       Then came Mars’s turn.       “Show us what they look like,” the red planet requested just as Astrodude was heading back into the ship.       “Like I’ve got a choice,” the man muttered quietly, plugging the camera into the Computer. “Computer, open the image library.”       When it was done, he selected the first group photo. “Display it against the window.”       Earth was the first to pull the rocket closer, studying the image. He smiled widely and floated back, letting Luna — who could see it immediately thanks to his smaller size — take a look. Mars followed next, just as delighted by the result. Then he turned to Venus, who stood a little aside, no longer showing much interest and waiting for his friends to finish so they could get back to their card game.       “Come on, take a look too,” Mars said, nudging the ship toward Venus.       Venus hesitated, then caught the rocket in his gravity and tried to see the tiny photo. Astrodude quietly stepped back, not wanting to feel the planet’s gaze on him.       “Stars, how are we supposed to see anything that small?!” Venus complained, squinting hard to make sense of it.       And he finally managed. His eyes widened slightly as he examined the result, then he gave a satisfied nod and floated back.       “I can show you the rest right away if you want,” Astrodude offered uncertainly, leaning out of the window.       After a short pause, Venus nodded, and Astrodude switched to the next photo, pushing the screen back to the window. One by one, Venus — and then the others — eagerly viewed all the pictures.       “Am I the first one to ever photograph you guys…” Astrochel sighed, waiting for his chance to return to work.       “Pretty much,” Mars replied once he let go of the rocket. “At least when it comes to something like this and not just scientific data. And you’re the first who’s ever agreed to talk to us. Others just tried to ignore us. You actually listened — that’s progress for humanity,” he added with a proud smile.       “Oh…” the astronaut breathed, amazed. “Well, that explains the lack of any legends about talking planets…”       After saying their goodbyes, Astrodude went back to the controls and began sorting out the official data from, well, the souvenir photos.       “HOW MUCH IS THAT GOING TO COST?!”