Fiction - "When You Come Back to Me"
Title: When You Come Back to Me Again
Disclaimer: Inspired by "Voices of a Distance Star"
Notes: Breaks between characters are shown by boldface and ellipsis.
Summary: When Midori is chosen for the Elite pilots of the StarProwler mission to defeat the Takesh, how will her love survive?
Rating: PG-13
The rain sang as it danced on the glass roof above him. He looked up to watch the water drops beading and streaming over the clear roof and down the walls of the metro station. The Australian sky above was a blue gray and the muted sunlight fractured into rainbows through the spring shower.
He always thought of Midori when it rained; thought of her lips wet and sweet with spring raindrops. Thinking of her, Ben checked his cell phone for a message.
"No new messages," the small screen brought up in green script.
It took six months now for Midori's messages to reach him from where the UN fleet had jumped to Mars space. Ben waited everyday for a message from Midori, never knowing when one would reach him. He sighed softly and put his cell away as the train arrived.
Ben dashed out through the rain and into the waiting train. It was mostly empty at this hour, and the young man took his choice of seats by the window. As the train began moving and Ben watched the rain soaked scenery speeding past, he had a flash of memory. Midori, sixteen years old, her long dark hair curling in wet tendrils on her brow and over her shoulders. She was soaked from her dash through the rain, and Ben had wrapped his coat around her shoulders. He remembered how she had leaned against him then, smelling of spring and jasmine. She had been so soft against his shoulder and under his arm.
Another memory; Midori, twenty years old, her eyes sad but proud as she told him that she had been chosen for the Elite Force. She would be assigned to a StarProwler unit, one of the highly trained pilot units being used to trace out and destroy the advanced forces of the Tekesh. Ben remembered how she had cried at leaving him and he had kissed her salty tears away. He had begged her to stay, but Midori was proud to go, to have been chosen for the duty. She had tried to explain it to him, how she had felt it was her honor and her responsibility to go, especially since so few people could pilot the advanced technology with any skill.
Eventually, Ben had accepted it. And at first, it wasn't so very hard. Midori had initially trained in Earth space near the moon. Their messages could reach each other easily in a short amount of time. But then, she and the UN fleet had jumped to Mars space, and now, it took a half a year for Midori's messages to reach him. And Ben knew that the farther into space that the UN fleet traveled, the longer it would take to hear from his lover.
He sighed and took out his cell phone once more.
"No new messages," the green script flashed over the screen…
Midori rested in the cockpit of her StarProwler where it was snuggled in the belly of the UN ship Maru. She was resting before the next training exercise of the day. Though it was still and dark, Midori could sense the life of the large ship around her and her fellow pilots also resting next to her in their own StarProwlers.
The young woman tapped the cell phone on that rested lightly in her hands. The text screen came up with the date, Sept. 3, 2043. Carefully, she typed out a text message. The green script flowed over the screen as Midori typed:
"Dear Ben, I am here floating over Mars. We are training over Olympus Mons. They believe that soon we will be ready, and then we will make the Jump to Jupiter."
Midori paused in her typing, staring quietly at the silent green text on the phone before her.
"Jupiter," she thought with some sadness. It would take at least nine months from there for her messages to reach Ben back on Earth. Suddenly, a voice reached her in the darkness of her StarProwler.
"All StarProwler units, prepare for launch for training mission Alpha 1."
Midori looked down to her cell phone and entered a save command for her message, then she braced for launch.
StarProwlers streamed from the seven UN ships of the fleet in burning trails of fire. Below the Elite units, Mars glowed blood red. Midori, in her ship, fell into formation with her unit, serving as the Wing leader. Around her, the cockpit took on the illusion of transparency and Midori was surrounded by the cold light of space. Deftly, surrounded by starlight, Midori lead her formation on the training exercise. Her hands flew over the controls of her StarProwler, and with a skill born of both training and innate talent, Midori flew effortlessly through space.
Her formation was easily the first to reach the target, a small grouping of drone ships meant to mimic the tactics of Takesh forces. With consummate skill, Midori lead her Wing in the destruction of all twenty-five of the armed drone targets. With the destruction of the final drone, Midori ordered her Wing back to the UN ships...
Ben watched the waves as they swept over the white sand shore. His surf board, covered in star-like designs, rested nearby. He smiled softly, remembering when he had taught Midori how to surf. He had been fourteen, Midori a year younger. They had spent the whole day together on the beach, and when the evening came, they had lain on a blanket, looking up at the stars. It was before the Takesh, before humanity had looked up at the stars with fear as well as wonder. They had lain on the blanket upon the warm sand and Ben remembered how he had reached quietly for Midori's hand.
Then, she had surprised him. Midori had turned to Ben and kissed him, lightly and sweetly. Even now, Ben could remember that first kiss and how it had made his heart race and his breath catch.
The soft touch of warm ocean water on his toes brought Ben back to the present. The tide had finally reached him where he sat on the warm white sand. With a soft sigh, he picked up his surf board and headed back to his backpack higher up on the beach. In silent hope, he reached inside the backpack to take out his cell phone. Quietly, he checked for messages and felt his heart race when the text came up, "One new message. Read now?"
Ben brought up the text message.
Message sent: Sept. 3, 2043,
"Dear Ben, I am here floating over Mars. We are training over Olympus Mons. They believe that soon we will be ready, and then we will make the jump to Jupiter. It will be the second to last of our training sites, and after Jupiter, will be Pluto. After that, the fleet will seek out the Takesh beyond the Oort Cloud.
Oh, Ben, to be so far away. Even now, surrounded by the stars, they seem so far away; far away from you, from me, and from home. I rest here in my StarProwler, and I think of blue skies, raindrops on a glass roof, and sand beneath my feet. I remember the taste of sunlight on your lips, the feel of summer in your touch, and the scent of green in your breath.
I must go now love. Wish on a star for me, Love, Midori...”
Midori watched the clouds storm beneath her in the heavy air of Jupiter as she skimmed above the atmosphere. Lighting flashed and filled her cockpit with bright color and dazzled her eyes.
Flying free, she plunged into the very top layer of the thick clouds, dodging lighting strikes. With an amazing amount of skill, Midori navigated her way through the storms and flashes, weaving in an intricate dance of maneuvers. Her heart raced as she played with the storm. As much as Midori did miss Ben and her homeworld, moments like these brought her joy.
With a fierce grin, Midori plunged her StarProwler deeper into the thick atmosphere. This deep in, the lighting was stronger and more frequent. In bright greens, and blues, and reds, the storm raged around her, unable to touch her. With an almost instinctual skill, Midori weaved through the storm, avoiding the deadly lighting strikes. Just one well placed hit would disable her StarProwler and send her and it plunging into the crushing gravity well of Jupiter.
"All StarProwlers, return to ship for rest and refuel before next Jump."
Midori sighed softly and piloted her StarProwler out into open space. As she emerged from the clouds, she saw other StarProwlers making their way back to the UN fleet that orbited Jupiter.
They were her fellow elite officers that had been allowed free flight. Only a select few, elite pilots like Midori, were allowed free flight. Fuel required time to gather and process, so only a limited amount was allocated for such maneuvers.
Once the StarProwlers were nestled securely in the launch bays of the larger ships, refueling began. The pilots rested inside their ships, waiting for the Jump. Midori was plunged into darkness as the bay closed and her ship's display screen went to rest. The only light was the green script glow from her cell phone resting in her hand.
Dec. 13, 2043, the screen read as Midori prepared to type a message to Ben.
"He won't get this until September," she thought solemnly.
"Oh, Ben," she sighed quietly, her heart aching.
"Dear Ben," she began, "We are here above Jupiter, refueling before we make the Jump to Pluto. I wish that you could see it. Free flight through the clouds. How much I wish that I could share that with you. The lighting; blues, and greens, and reds, so vivid that you can see it behind your eyelids. Even now, I can close my eyes and almost see after images of the lighting racing through the clouds. And it's like a dance Ben, just you and your ship, dancing with the storm. How I wish you could see it. It's so much like the storms of Australia, but somehow brighter for being free of anything but the weight of Jupiter's gravity well.
I think of you, Ben. I dream of you at night when I am surrounded by darkness and the stars. And I dream of returning to you, Ben. I dream of being held by you once more, kissed, and loved. I wonder if you do the same; dream of me; think of me here in the stars.
You know I had to do this, Ben. The Takesh cannot be allowed to reach Earth. If they do, there will be no more Australia; not a beach, or mountain, or clean spring rain; no more Earth. I had to do this. Too few of us can handle space, or use the technology that the Latosians gave us. Maybe when we can further adapt it to our use, elite pilots like me won't be as necessary, maybe more and more people will be able to explore space. And who knows what we'll achieve then. Imagine, Ben. But we have to stop the Takesh so that we can do all those other things in the future. Oh, Ben, I miss you so much.”
"Prepare for Jump."
Midori sighed sadly and pressed the save button on her cell phone before she put it away and braced herself for the Jump to Pluto. For a moment, she felt the ship prepare itself, an almost eerie stillness. Then she felt it, the Jump; a kind of stretching out sort of feeling, as if she were being pulled thin. Then a twisting feeling as the Jump engines twisted and bent time and space. And finally, a feeling of being compressed as they exited the Jump.
The Jump was one of the reasons that so few people could handle being in a fleet like this one.They had discovered when the Latosians first gave them the technology to Jump through space, that some humans could not handle it, they simply went mad, or died.
Midori roused herself from the mild lethargy that the Jump had left her in. It was as if she had been deeply asleep and was now waking from the state. After a moment, she was fully back to herself. She retrieved her cell phone and opened the screen.
March 4, 2044, the date read. What had been but a moment to her and the rest of the Fleet, had allowed three months of Earth time to pass. She sighed and pressed the send button…
Ben looked up a moment when he heard his name being spoken. A small group of giggling co-eds tittered and blushed as he noticed them. Without anymore thought for the enamored girls, he turned back to his studies. He heard them go back to whispering.
Then suddenly, he felt his phone ring. When he opened the screen to receive the call, green script came up, "Two new messages. Read now?"
Ben brought up the first message, "Call me, 550-5555."
He looked up at the co-eds and saw one blonde give a small wave. Quietly, he erased the message and opened the next. He caught his breath when he saw, "Message sent: Dec. 13, 2044.
"Dear Ben," it began.
"We are here above Jupiter refueling before we make the Jump to Pluto. I wish that you could see it. Free flight through the clouds. How much I wish that I could share that with you..."
He read the message through, his heart racing as if he had been running a marathon.
"Oh, Ben, I miss you so much," the message ended.
"Midori," he whispered…
"Feb. 14, 2045 ," the screen of her cell phone read where it rested loose in her hand.
Midori was bathed in the glow of starlight about her in the cockpit of her StarProwler. Surrounding her ship were the remnants of the battle, her first battle against live targets, her first battle against the Takesh.
Midori's face was solemn and sad. It was nothing like she had expected. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it wasn't to feel like this, this cold emptiness. She felt very alone in the silence of the devastated space around her. Quietly, she began to type...
"Dear Ben,
Our first real battle against the Takesh. We won.
We won, but Ben, what now? I feel so empty. My heart aches. My eyes burn. How do I sleep now? I think always I will see this, this death. I know that it must be done, but how can I do it? How do I face the stars, my soul bare before them, knowing that I have destroyed a part of what they have created? Who am I now, this destroyer of life, this protector of life?
Ben, do you remember the day that we saw that kangaroo? The one that had been shot but
got away somehow to die in the bush? She lasted only a few moments before she died in front
of us. I can still remember her last breath slipping away...
"...You helped me bury her. It took us forever it seemed. Oh, Ben, how can I bury the Takesh, now that I'm the one with the gun?"
Ben read the heartbreaking message on the screen of his cell phone. As he read it, he wanted nothing more than to be with Midori. He wanted to hold her in the face of all that death. Somehow, he wanted to heal her. He wanted to keep all of it back away from her and protect her. But he couldn't do that from here, and he felt a wave of frustration overtake him.
"Why you, Midori? Why did it have to be you?" he cried out into the bright damp night of Sydney.
He took a deep breath. He did the only thing that he could. Ben began to type a message
for Midori…
"One new message. Read now?" The green script prompted on the glowing screen of Midori's cell phone.
Lightly, Midori cued the cell phone to open the message.
"Message sent: Feb. 14, 2046. Dearest Midori," it began.
"I'm here, looking up at the stars over the water. Sydney is a bright glow in the distance. The wind is in my sail, and I am thinking of you. The stars are so bright above me and around me, and I know that I'm here in the stars with you. You are never alone. I'm surrounded by stars with you. And thinking of you, Midori, I remember the first time that we made love, wrapped up together in the shadow of the stars on the deck of this sailboat. I feel the warmth of the blanket around us. I hear the sound of the ocean filling our ears. I remember how we laughed, surprised by how awkward it was at moments. How we held onto each other, trembling. And how we lay together that night, our breath catching at each other, entwining and existing together.
And, Midori, I remember our last night together, the night before you left. It was raining, you remember? You said that you would miss that, the sound of rain on the roof and the windows. You tasted so warm and I was home in your arms. We were all tangled up in the sheets on my bed, laughing as we played.
Midori, I love you, and you are never alone."
Midori brushed the tears quietly from her eyes.
"Reply message?" Midori's cell phone prompted in silent green script on its dark screen.
Midori brought up the text screen. "Oct. 3, 2047," the green text date greeted her.
It was strange to see the date. For her, it had only been a little over a year. Though Ben was
twenty-five, Midori was only the twenty-one she felt she should be. Unbidden, tears came to her eyes.
Midori began to type, though the script wavered as tears filmed her eyes.
"My Dearest Ben, I send this final message out into the stars like a bottle upon the waves. We will be Jumping soon. The Fleet has detected a large force of Takesh surrounding a planet new to us. Intelligence reports that this is the full advance fleet of the Takesh. If we can defeat them, Earth will be safe; you will be safe. That is all that matters now.
I have just received your last message. And yes, dearest Ben, I remember. I remember it all. My heart, my soul, my body, they remember you; will always remember you.
I remember summer, the cicadas in the bush. I remember dancing with you in the rain. I dream of the ocean, a blue so deep that the only thing more blue, are your eyes. I dream of your arms. I long for the sounds of Earth. I yearn for you.
I send this to you now, knowing that it is not enough, but it is all I have.
I think of you Ben. I love you. It is all I have left of my home."
Midori brushed the tears from her eyes before they could fall on the open screen of her cell phone. After a moment, she began to type once more.
"This message I know, will take more than a year to reach you. And this next Jump will take me beyond the reach of any more messages. The distant star of Earth calls to me, and I ache to hear its song.
This I must say Ben, even if it sounds like some old melodrama: you must go on, no matter what happens. Wish on every star, and dance in the rain for me.
I wish that I were with you now. I wish that I could be making love with you. I long to grow old with you while watching our children grow wild as we once did in the Australian sun.
I am there, Ben, with you always."
"Prepare for Jump and immediate deployment."
"I will love you until the end of time. And someday, we will be together again, on a far distant star."
Midori felt the ship go still in that moment just before Jump. Quickly, before she lost the moment, she pressed send on her cell phone. Her message echoed out amongst the stars, seeking home and the love that remained.
Fini
Disclaimer: Inspired by "Voices of a Distance Star"
Notes: Breaks between characters are shown by boldface and ellipsis.
Summary: When Midori is chosen for the Elite pilots of the StarProwler mission to defeat the Takesh, how will her love survive?
Rating: PG-13
The rain sang as it danced on the glass roof above him. He looked up to watch the water drops beading and streaming over the clear roof and down the walls of the metro station. The Australian sky above was a blue gray and the muted sunlight fractured into rainbows through the spring shower.
He always thought of Midori when it rained; thought of her lips wet and sweet with spring raindrops. Thinking of her, Ben checked his cell phone for a message.
"No new messages," the small screen brought up in green script.
It took six months now for Midori's messages to reach him from where the UN fleet had jumped to Mars space. Ben waited everyday for a message from Midori, never knowing when one would reach him. He sighed softly and put his cell away as the train arrived.
Ben dashed out through the rain and into the waiting train. It was mostly empty at this hour, and the young man took his choice of seats by the window. As the train began moving and Ben watched the rain soaked scenery speeding past, he had a flash of memory. Midori, sixteen years old, her long dark hair curling in wet tendrils on her brow and over her shoulders. She was soaked from her dash through the rain, and Ben had wrapped his coat around her shoulders. He remembered how she had leaned against him then, smelling of spring and jasmine. She had been so soft against his shoulder and under his arm.
Another memory; Midori, twenty years old, her eyes sad but proud as she told him that she had been chosen for the Elite Force. She would be assigned to a StarProwler unit, one of the highly trained pilot units being used to trace out and destroy the advanced forces of the Tekesh. Ben remembered how she had cried at leaving him and he had kissed her salty tears away. He had begged her to stay, but Midori was proud to go, to have been chosen for the duty. She had tried to explain it to him, how she had felt it was her honor and her responsibility to go, especially since so few people could pilot the advanced technology with any skill.
Eventually, Ben had accepted it. And at first, it wasn't so very hard. Midori had initially trained in Earth space near the moon. Their messages could reach each other easily in a short amount of time. But then, she and the UN fleet had jumped to Mars space, and now, it took a half a year for Midori's messages to reach him. And Ben knew that the farther into space that the UN fleet traveled, the longer it would take to hear from his lover.
He sighed and took out his cell phone once more.
"No new messages," the green script flashed over the screen…
Midori rested in the cockpit of her StarProwler where it was snuggled in the belly of the UN ship Maru. She was resting before the next training exercise of the day. Though it was still and dark, Midori could sense the life of the large ship around her and her fellow pilots also resting next to her in their own StarProwlers.
The young woman tapped the cell phone on that rested lightly in her hands. The text screen came up with the date, Sept. 3, 2043. Carefully, she typed out a text message. The green script flowed over the screen as Midori typed:
"Dear Ben, I am here floating over Mars. We are training over Olympus Mons. They believe that soon we will be ready, and then we will make the Jump to Jupiter."
Midori paused in her typing, staring quietly at the silent green text on the phone before her.
"Jupiter," she thought with some sadness. It would take at least nine months from there for her messages to reach Ben back on Earth. Suddenly, a voice reached her in the darkness of her StarProwler.
"All StarProwler units, prepare for launch for training mission Alpha 1."
Midori looked down to her cell phone and entered a save command for her message, then she braced for launch.
StarProwlers streamed from the seven UN ships of the fleet in burning trails of fire. Below the Elite units, Mars glowed blood red. Midori, in her ship, fell into formation with her unit, serving as the Wing leader. Around her, the cockpit took on the illusion of transparency and Midori was surrounded by the cold light of space. Deftly, surrounded by starlight, Midori lead her formation on the training exercise. Her hands flew over the controls of her StarProwler, and with a skill born of both training and innate talent, Midori flew effortlessly through space.
Her formation was easily the first to reach the target, a small grouping of drone ships meant to mimic the tactics of Takesh forces. With consummate skill, Midori lead her Wing in the destruction of all twenty-five of the armed drone targets. With the destruction of the final drone, Midori ordered her Wing back to the UN ships...
Ben watched the waves as they swept over the white sand shore. His surf board, covered in star-like designs, rested nearby. He smiled softly, remembering when he had taught Midori how to surf. He had been fourteen, Midori a year younger. They had spent the whole day together on the beach, and when the evening came, they had lain on a blanket, looking up at the stars. It was before the Takesh, before humanity had looked up at the stars with fear as well as wonder. They had lain on the blanket upon the warm sand and Ben remembered how he had reached quietly for Midori's hand.
Then, she had surprised him. Midori had turned to Ben and kissed him, lightly and sweetly. Even now, Ben could remember that first kiss and how it had made his heart race and his breath catch.
The soft touch of warm ocean water on his toes brought Ben back to the present. The tide had finally reached him where he sat on the warm white sand. With a soft sigh, he picked up his surf board and headed back to his backpack higher up on the beach. In silent hope, he reached inside the backpack to take out his cell phone. Quietly, he checked for messages and felt his heart race when the text came up, "One new message. Read now?"
Ben brought up the text message.
Message sent: Sept. 3, 2043,
"Dear Ben, I am here floating over Mars. We are training over Olympus Mons. They believe that soon we will be ready, and then we will make the jump to Jupiter. It will be the second to last of our training sites, and after Jupiter, will be Pluto. After that, the fleet will seek out the Takesh beyond the Oort Cloud.
Oh, Ben, to be so far away. Even now, surrounded by the stars, they seem so far away; far away from you, from me, and from home. I rest here in my StarProwler, and I think of blue skies, raindrops on a glass roof, and sand beneath my feet. I remember the taste of sunlight on your lips, the feel of summer in your touch, and the scent of green in your breath.
I must go now love. Wish on a star for me, Love, Midori...”
Midori watched the clouds storm beneath her in the heavy air of Jupiter as she skimmed above the atmosphere. Lighting flashed and filled her cockpit with bright color and dazzled her eyes.
Flying free, she plunged into the very top layer of the thick clouds, dodging lighting strikes. With an amazing amount of skill, Midori navigated her way through the storms and flashes, weaving in an intricate dance of maneuvers. Her heart raced as she played with the storm. As much as Midori did miss Ben and her homeworld, moments like these brought her joy.
With a fierce grin, Midori plunged her StarProwler deeper into the thick atmosphere. This deep in, the lighting was stronger and more frequent. In bright greens, and blues, and reds, the storm raged around her, unable to touch her. With an almost instinctual skill, Midori weaved through the storm, avoiding the deadly lighting strikes. Just one well placed hit would disable her StarProwler and send her and it plunging into the crushing gravity well of Jupiter.
"All StarProwlers, return to ship for rest and refuel before next Jump."
Midori sighed softly and piloted her StarProwler out into open space. As she emerged from the clouds, she saw other StarProwlers making their way back to the UN fleet that orbited Jupiter.
They were her fellow elite officers that had been allowed free flight. Only a select few, elite pilots like Midori, were allowed free flight. Fuel required time to gather and process, so only a limited amount was allocated for such maneuvers.
Once the StarProwlers were nestled securely in the launch bays of the larger ships, refueling began. The pilots rested inside their ships, waiting for the Jump. Midori was plunged into darkness as the bay closed and her ship's display screen went to rest. The only light was the green script glow from her cell phone resting in her hand.
Dec. 13, 2043, the screen read as Midori prepared to type a message to Ben.
"He won't get this until September," she thought solemnly.
"Oh, Ben," she sighed quietly, her heart aching.
"Dear Ben," she began, "We are here above Jupiter, refueling before we make the Jump to Pluto. I wish that you could see it. Free flight through the clouds. How much I wish that I could share that with you. The lighting; blues, and greens, and reds, so vivid that you can see it behind your eyelids. Even now, I can close my eyes and almost see after images of the lighting racing through the clouds. And it's like a dance Ben, just you and your ship, dancing with the storm. How I wish you could see it. It's so much like the storms of Australia, but somehow brighter for being free of anything but the weight of Jupiter's gravity well.
I think of you, Ben. I dream of you at night when I am surrounded by darkness and the stars. And I dream of returning to you, Ben. I dream of being held by you once more, kissed, and loved. I wonder if you do the same; dream of me; think of me here in the stars.
You know I had to do this, Ben. The Takesh cannot be allowed to reach Earth. If they do, there will be no more Australia; not a beach, or mountain, or clean spring rain; no more Earth. I had to do this. Too few of us can handle space, or use the technology that the Latosians gave us. Maybe when we can further adapt it to our use, elite pilots like me won't be as necessary, maybe more and more people will be able to explore space. And who knows what we'll achieve then. Imagine, Ben. But we have to stop the Takesh so that we can do all those other things in the future. Oh, Ben, I miss you so much.”
"Prepare for Jump."
Midori sighed sadly and pressed the save button on her cell phone before she put it away and braced herself for the Jump to Pluto. For a moment, she felt the ship prepare itself, an almost eerie stillness. Then she felt it, the Jump; a kind of stretching out sort of feeling, as if she were being pulled thin. Then a twisting feeling as the Jump engines twisted and bent time and space. And finally, a feeling of being compressed as they exited the Jump.
The Jump was one of the reasons that so few people could handle being in a fleet like this one.They had discovered when the Latosians first gave them the technology to Jump through space, that some humans could not handle it, they simply went mad, or died.
Midori roused herself from the mild lethargy that the Jump had left her in. It was as if she had been deeply asleep and was now waking from the state. After a moment, she was fully back to herself. She retrieved her cell phone and opened the screen.
March 4, 2044, the date read. What had been but a moment to her and the rest of the Fleet, had allowed three months of Earth time to pass. She sighed and pressed the send button…
Ben looked up a moment when he heard his name being spoken. A small group of giggling co-eds tittered and blushed as he noticed them. Without anymore thought for the enamored girls, he turned back to his studies. He heard them go back to whispering.
Then suddenly, he felt his phone ring. When he opened the screen to receive the call, green script came up, "Two new messages. Read now?"
Ben brought up the first message, "Call me, 550-5555."
He looked up at the co-eds and saw one blonde give a small wave. Quietly, he erased the message and opened the next. He caught his breath when he saw, "Message sent: Dec. 13, 2044.
"Dear Ben," it began.
"We are here above Jupiter refueling before we make the Jump to Pluto. I wish that you could see it. Free flight through the clouds. How much I wish that I could share that with you..."
He read the message through, his heart racing as if he had been running a marathon.
"Oh, Ben, I miss you so much," the message ended.
"Midori," he whispered…
"Feb. 14, 2045 ," the screen of her cell phone read where it rested loose in her hand.
Midori was bathed in the glow of starlight about her in the cockpit of her StarProwler. Surrounding her ship were the remnants of the battle, her first battle against live targets, her first battle against the Takesh.
Midori's face was solemn and sad. It was nothing like she had expected. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it wasn't to feel like this, this cold emptiness. She felt very alone in the silence of the devastated space around her. Quietly, she began to type...
"Dear Ben,
Our first real battle against the Takesh. We won.
We won, but Ben, what now? I feel so empty. My heart aches. My eyes burn. How do I sleep now? I think always I will see this, this death. I know that it must be done, but how can I do it? How do I face the stars, my soul bare before them, knowing that I have destroyed a part of what they have created? Who am I now, this destroyer of life, this protector of life?
Ben, do you remember the day that we saw that kangaroo? The one that had been shot but
got away somehow to die in the bush? She lasted only a few moments before she died in front
of us. I can still remember her last breath slipping away...
"...You helped me bury her. It took us forever it seemed. Oh, Ben, how can I bury the Takesh, now that I'm the one with the gun?"
Ben read the heartbreaking message on the screen of his cell phone. As he read it, he wanted nothing more than to be with Midori. He wanted to hold her in the face of all that death. Somehow, he wanted to heal her. He wanted to keep all of it back away from her and protect her. But he couldn't do that from here, and he felt a wave of frustration overtake him.
"Why you, Midori? Why did it have to be you?" he cried out into the bright damp night of Sydney.
He took a deep breath. He did the only thing that he could. Ben began to type a message
for Midori…
"One new message. Read now?" The green script prompted on the glowing screen of Midori's cell phone.
Lightly, Midori cued the cell phone to open the message.
"Message sent: Feb. 14, 2046. Dearest Midori," it began.
"I'm here, looking up at the stars over the water. Sydney is a bright glow in the distance. The wind is in my sail, and I am thinking of you. The stars are so bright above me and around me, and I know that I'm here in the stars with you. You are never alone. I'm surrounded by stars with you. And thinking of you, Midori, I remember the first time that we made love, wrapped up together in the shadow of the stars on the deck of this sailboat. I feel the warmth of the blanket around us. I hear the sound of the ocean filling our ears. I remember how we laughed, surprised by how awkward it was at moments. How we held onto each other, trembling. And how we lay together that night, our breath catching at each other, entwining and existing together.
And, Midori, I remember our last night together, the night before you left. It was raining, you remember? You said that you would miss that, the sound of rain on the roof and the windows. You tasted so warm and I was home in your arms. We were all tangled up in the sheets on my bed, laughing as we played.
Midori, I love you, and you are never alone."
Midori brushed the tears quietly from her eyes.
"Reply message?" Midori's cell phone prompted in silent green script on its dark screen.
Midori brought up the text screen. "Oct. 3, 2047," the green text date greeted her.
It was strange to see the date. For her, it had only been a little over a year. Though Ben was
twenty-five, Midori was only the twenty-one she felt she should be. Unbidden, tears came to her eyes.
Midori began to type, though the script wavered as tears filmed her eyes.
"My Dearest Ben, I send this final message out into the stars like a bottle upon the waves. We will be Jumping soon. The Fleet has detected a large force of Takesh surrounding a planet new to us. Intelligence reports that this is the full advance fleet of the Takesh. If we can defeat them, Earth will be safe; you will be safe. That is all that matters now.
I have just received your last message. And yes, dearest Ben, I remember. I remember it all. My heart, my soul, my body, they remember you; will always remember you.
I remember summer, the cicadas in the bush. I remember dancing with you in the rain. I dream of the ocean, a blue so deep that the only thing more blue, are your eyes. I dream of your arms. I long for the sounds of Earth. I yearn for you.
I send this to you now, knowing that it is not enough, but it is all I have.
I think of you Ben. I love you. It is all I have left of my home."
Midori brushed the tears from her eyes before they could fall on the open screen of her cell phone. After a moment, she began to type once more.
"This message I know, will take more than a year to reach you. And this next Jump will take me beyond the reach of any more messages. The distant star of Earth calls to me, and I ache to hear its song.
This I must say Ben, even if it sounds like some old melodrama: you must go on, no matter what happens. Wish on every star, and dance in the rain for me.
I wish that I were with you now. I wish that I could be making love with you. I long to grow old with you while watching our children grow wild as we once did in the Australian sun.
I am there, Ben, with you always."
"Prepare for Jump and immediate deployment."
"I will love you until the end of time. And someday, we will be together again, on a far distant star."
Midori felt the ship go still in that moment just before Jump. Quickly, before she lost the moment, she pressed send on her cell phone. Her message echoed out amongst the stars, seeking home and the love that remained.
Fini