Oh I'm sure / No harm will come to you no more / 'Cause I find myself in your hands / Don't you be so hard on yourself

"Brand."

Murph's feeble voice rang through Cooper's ears as if it were a song he couldn't get out of his head. He made his way to the hangar bay with TARS, replaying the scheme he and the machine procured to in order to get to Edmunds' planet. Had Cooper actually requested a ranger they would probably not be leaving for another few months, which was unfathomable for the man. He belonged in the boundless regions that were the cosmos, free from rules or restrictions. Plus, ever since his last expedition, Cooper treated time as preciously as any good man or woman would treat their spouse.

With so much on his mind he felt he was bound to mess up, though he kept telling himself otherwise. Years of training to become a pilot had taught him to stay level-headed. Very few things can go wrong if you're level-headed.

As Cooper and TARS rounded the last corner before reaching the hangar bay, Cooper held out his arm in front of the robot, as though to stop him. He grinded his teeth at the noisy maneuvering of his companion. "Remind me to get you some oil," he murmured, his words not that of a concerned friend but a frustrated accomplice.

"I can hear better than you, y'know. The maintenence guy just left through the door on the opposite side of the chamber," TARS replied.

Cooper thought he could almost feel the sass radiating from its metallic surface. Despite their obvious differences, the two balanced the other out.

"A little caution…" Cooper whispered, his words trailing off as he double checked the robot's assurance. His heart beat in his throat. If he were caught, the chances of him being able to sneak out again were slim.

"That sounds awfully familiar," TARS retorted, "Did the black hole mess up your caution synapses?"

Ignoring the mockery, Cooper entered a code into the keypad next to the hangar bay door and as it slid open, strode through with TARS at his heels. They started toward the ranger they both agreed on. The space suit he donned felt alien to him; it was far easier to operate in than the one he once used on the Endurance - so much so that a part of him worried if it were even safe to travel in. When he reached the ranger he gracefully slid inside of it, whereas his metal friend had no such luck.

"Seventy-two hours to Edmunds'," TARS repeated to Cooper once they were both settled in. The top of the ranger clicked shut and the bay opened up to the endless dark sky from which they were found not too long ago.

"You've got control of her, TARS. Wake me up three hours before landing."

"No need to repeat yourself. I heard you the first time twenty-six hours ago."

Cooper dialed a code into the LCD screen attached to the space-suit's arm. He was instantly greeted with the awful smell of gas filling his engineered exoskeleton. It would keep him asleep for the ride. In his increasingly drowsy state he proposed that he preferred this over the cryo-beds.

"Sleep tight, Coop," TARS wished its friend, although by that point nothing but the thin walls of the ranger and Cooper's sleeping body absorbed its words.