Rush of Memories
The commercialisation of space has become a reality, yet it is not without their risks, with debris and hurling objects at tens of thousands of kilometres per hour capable of obliterating a shuttle. Still, one may take a trip to Halley's Station, established at the start of the 22nd century, and interplanetary tourism has just begun to take off.
For Matt Drake, he manages to ask a pilot out jokingly, yet in the process awakens something he tried to suppress over the past five years. An event of pain, sadness, and utter hopelessness. The first space disaster of the 22nd century.
Rated adult for language.
"This is Space Command. How are things looking at your end?"
"Well, we're still syncing up with the station's relative speed. After that is done, we can begin the fine approach."
Kevin kept his eyes wide open as he stopped transmission of his voice. Despite it being space, there had yet to be a service to clean up the space junk over the past last century or so. Space travel tended to have plenty of things that were left by rockets or shuttles on the way up. The commercialisation of space travel (though many hadn't thought it viable) had gradually increased the affordability for people to go to space, even if just into orbit. It only cost near 100,000 dollars to send someone into orbit around the Earth, and people could even opt for interplanetary travel, though the cost was plenty more. The mink however, travelled for free, but for a reason.
"You know, I don't think I could get bored of looking at that." The co-pilot, Tim smiled at the sight of the blue planet. The beaver was a bit laid back, but also knew his responsibilities and acted accordingly. "To think my parents didn't think I had a chance, funny right? Thought I was going to work at the hydroelectric dam..." The radio spoke up before Kevin had a chance to respond. "Halley's Station should have their transmitters and receivers aligned to you now. Keep your ears open on channel eight."
"Acknowledged, monitoring channel eight."
Kevin looked over to Tim. "Well, I wouldn't know. I've never met your parents."
"Well, they're a bunch of nice folks. They're really nice to guests and stuff, but of course, they're plenty harsh on me!"
Kevin held back a laugh for a grin, "I guess we have pretty similar parents then."
"Yeah? Should have seen them during my half-course exam. Met Kayla only a week before, and you know what happened?"
"Let me guess..." Kevin thought for a moment. "You... ended up acing the exam?"
Tim continued almost unaware, "I aced... Wait. How'd you guess that?"
"It ended up on the notice board a week after." Kevin almost envied that stroke of luck, but his result was almost as close without probability playing part. "Your parents were not only surprised, but your exam went under review because they thought you were cheating."
Tim chuckled. "They thought I was, due to the rather low results I got early on! Kayla really just motivated me, you know?"
The radio sparked to life once again, but this time by another voice. "...This is station H S Alpha: shuttle four dash M, you are now entering radio contact distance."
Kevin spoke up. "Copy. We are currently approaching at seven metres per second, please advise."
"Confirmed. State your name?"
"Kevin. Kevin Chaser."
There was a brief crackling which he thought was someone getting a bit excited. "Oh yeah, I know you! We spoke a couple of weeks ago!"
"Yup, we did. And you Matt," said Kevin, "happen to be in charge for getting all of us docked safely, remember?"
"I could hardly forget that! While our computers are transmitting instructions to your ship's computer, I thought we'd catch up a bit, yeah?"
"Excuse me," said Tim. "I'm not missing anything here, am I?"
"Hmm?" said Matt. "Who's that?"
"Tim. Co-pilot, aced the mid-years last year." Kevin stated. "Caused a ruckus back then, but he's gotten better at it."
Tim laughed, "well, I've almost gained his confidence to start piloting now!"
"Oh Kevin, what am I going to do with you?" From the station command centre, Matt smirked. "We're still up for Saturday?"
"Well, you did make me promise or else you'd stop me from doing my job, you know?" Kevin sighed briefly. "Anyway.. our indicator is at code five-seven-two. Does that sync up with what you gave our ship?"
The weasel looked over to the monitor. "Copy, five-seven-two. Your ship is definitely following the right course. We're sure getting a lot of debris on our radar though."
"You got it." With the final approach drawing to its conclusion, the transmission ended. Tim spoke up, "So, you two are going out or what?"
"Hmm? No!" Kevin almost blushed, and he felt that he already did. "Well, sort of... It was forced on me, and I couldn't say no now, could I?"
"S'pose not." Tim looked up and saw the blushing mink, and he laughed. "Oh come on! Are you that embarrassed you have a date with a guy!?" Kevin laughed.
"A little bit, yeah."
"It was a lot worse in the past you know. Should have seen what it was like only two-hundred years ago. People were a lot worse off then. It was a pretty bad time in our history books."
The mink narrowed his eyes. "How do you remember such trivia?"
"Eh, just me being me I guess," Tim shrugged. "I picked up on the big things when I took History classes. Never the details, which gave me the marks that I got..."
Piloting a shuttle was not on Tim's mind back when he was young. He didn't think he could even think that far ahead. The technological development of space travel was really only beginning to take off, and was wrought with difficulty and risk. Everyone had read the history-books, and they knew that even the smallest of stuff-ups could lead to many deaths. Times had changed however, and compared to then, technology had made piloting and co-piloting much easier than it had ever been, ever.
There was a slight rumble as the shuttle turned sideways to enter the docking station, and space was soon replaced by the gleaming interior of the station. Clamps aligned, and soon aligned transport tunnels to the shuttle doors, and a long hissing sound became apparent as it pressurised. Tim went to the onboard comms channel to instruct the passengers as they had on their approach. "We have arrived at Halley's Station. Please ensure that you have all your belongings, and that you do not take perishables through to Customs. We thank you for flying with us on Skyways!"
Kevin remarked, "You know, you'd make a good spokesperson for Skyways."
"Would I?" he blushed. "No way! They'd probably choose some sexy looking vixen or something to do their advertising, not some laid back pilot who happens to work for them!"
"Well, your loss," joked Kevin. "Setting systems to stand-by shortly, ready for the next lot."
There was a moment where there was nothing but buttons and switching being clicked into their places. "So, you want to catch up later and meet Kayla?"
"I think I could, yeah," replied Kevin. "We'll see."
Kevin made sure that everything was in place while Tim left, and he soon left the cockpit. Though it was up to service staff to check that everything was removed, he knew that they could miss a few things here and there. He made a quick sweep down the shuttle to ensure that everything was off that shouldn't be on, and satisfied, he left, letting maintenance crew get to work to run their internal checks.
The terminal was buzzing with activity. Not as much as a conventional airport, but one could only expect that much since this was pretty much the early days of space tourism. Mostly untouched, unexplored. Of course, he knew what the world would come to. Eventually, it would catch up, and their pollution would spread. As much as advancements to keep things managed were in progress, waste was still ahead of them, all these times. He joked to himself. Why was he thinking about that? He had a date, and though that wasn't till tomorrow, he figured he might as well take a look around.
In all honesty, it was only now that he actually had free time on the station. Most of his previous trips required him to take on other passengers as soon as they disembarked. As much as he had seen the stars about on his way to and from, he had never stuck around to 'smell the roses'.
Kevin headed out, passing a number of customs officers who scanned him briefly before clearing him access. He casually made his way to the staff locker rooms, and stripped away his uniform, which had taken in quite a bit of sweat over the extensive trip. There wasn't anyone else in, since Tim had probably already been and done. He took a quick shower before making use of his deodorant and dressing into a casual blue polo shirt and jeans. Putting on socks and shoes, he took one last look at the room to make sure he hadn't missed anything when he saw something taped to his locker. He pulled it off and read its contents.
FIGURED YOU MIGHT NEED A MAP TO FIND ME
Beneath it was a rough sketch of the station, an arrow drawn to indicate the path. It looked rather complicated for a diagram, and Kevin wondered why in the world Matt would have to do so. After all, there were a number of station terminals available for use, and it wasn't overly complicated, though the line went all over the place. He sighed with a little smile, and tucked it into his pocket.
Leaving, he found himself finally able to see Halley's Station for himself. Aside from viewing the massive structure from the outside, he hadn't been able to see the interior or its structure for himself. He had planned on looking up the 3D tour the first time he travelled there, but never got around to it. Over time, he resolved to do it, but each time, he had always been so busy. Now he could. 'You know what,' he thought, 'I think I'll just not bother.'
The challenge of using only the note as guidance was something that Kevin wanted to do anyway. There was something about a little challenge that seemed to ignite that spark in him, an urge to solve the difficult way over telling a computer how he should do things.
Outside from the public directories, the station was plenty more complex than most people would ever be known. As much as tours detailed the station, there was so much more. Kevin had held some curiosity into applying for permanent residence, but he was a bit sceptical of the whole thing, especially the high cost of living in such emptiness. That being thought, he knew that some day, he'd be able to afford it. It would be then that he would try. That would be the case in about ten years if he saved up, or less if he mortgaged. He shrugged as he continued on his way.
The few stalls and the little business going on were the only few signs of life on the vessel. Looking from where he had been through, he could see a small group of tourists on the floor below, and recognised them as the group he had transported from Earth.
Kevin continued to move with instructions, and the areas got dimmer and much more narrow. Unlike the main areas which were wide and open-spaced, the areas beyond were very much the underlying foundations, made for functionality over comfort. Even so, the space provided was sufficient for him to ease his way through. 'I can take my time. I haven't got much else to do anyway,' Kevin thought.
The tight passages were soon gone when he found himself by a ladder which seemed to go up about four, five floors. Kevin didn't exactly know how far it went, but he suspected it to lead to where Matt would either be waiting, or directing traffic. As he climbed through the lowly lit tower, he found himself with a strip of glass, wide enough for him to see outside, and tall enough to watch all the way up. It looked spectacular, to say the least, and he could see all three of the station's neighbours: Earth, the Moon, the Sun. He smiled in knowing that he was here, and that he would be spending time here before he would once again say farewell.
He soon lost the image as it stopped just before the top, a sign that he was close. A hatch indicated the entrance to the traffic command centre, and a very professional looking sign. 'Perhaps they are planning to expand?' he thought as he pushed the buzzer next to it, placed aside the ID scanner. There was a brief moment of silence before a speaker crackled to life. "Who's this?"
Kevin recognised that voice much more easily since the quality was significantly better than on the shuttle. "Oh, it's just that mink you threatened if he didn't agree to go out with you, that's all!"
"Oh! Well, that's a surprise! Come on in!" With that, something spun in the hatch before it clicked and opened automatically. Kevin stepped through to the room, and was surprised to see it so large. Considering all the tight passages and the extent of climb, he didn't think that was going to be possible. "Wow," he remarked. "It's quite large."
"That was one of the things that people managed to get through during initial plans," the weasel spoke. "Figured that if we're going to undertake a long-term project, we'd best have our station equipped for the long term too." He stood from his chair, which had several monitors above, below, running to both the right and left. "Welcome to the traffic control centre." With that, he took Kevin's paw and gave it a shake. "Pretty cool, yeah?"
"It is," Kevin replied. "How do you manage the traffic by yourself? It must get quite hectic at times."
"Yeah, I manage. There should be another couple of us, but they've gone for a brief bathroom break. We also do shifts, so there's another six of us that are currently not on station."
"Ah, I get it. I suppose that's so you can get a few days away?"
"Yup," nodded the weasel. "Traffic can drive you insane at times, believe me."
As the initial awe of the view faded, Kevin had a look at the weasel that would be his date tomorrow. The greyish-brown fur was the primary colour, natural most likely. The white underside contrasted nicely, and finally his eyes, which shone a dark yellow. He blushed when Matt smiled. Kevin felt he had taken just a little too much time looking over him. "Like what you see?"
His cheeks began to burn at the remark. "You look... fine."
"I think you do too." A beeping sound came from the hatch. "Well, sounds like they're back. It's going to get a bit busy here Kevin, but hey, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
"Will do."
Matt thought to himself for a bit before his eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Where are you staying at? Figured you don't want to waste the date just getting here."
"I'm staying at... Oh... I haven't decided."
"That so? Here." Matt scribbled a note down. "Just head over to Barclay in the Comet hotel, show him this."
"O-okay."
The hatch opened just as they finished their farewells and a quick exchange of numbers. A mouse and a wolf strode on in as Kevin hurried out. The mouse, a female frowned at Matt. "What did you do this time?"
"Just checking out my date. You guys were out after all."
"You should know better than that," the grey wolf, a male spoke. "You need to keep focused."
Matt dismissed the comments, and they all eventually returned to work as space traffic began to pick up once more. Now that he had seen who he was going out with, impatience began to settle in, and even as his shift was over, he couldn't help but think of the mink, his cream coloured fur, those ocean-blue eyes. And that mannerism, so shy, yet so polite! He wasn't even sure himself that he could be even deserving of someone who clearly deserved the best. He sighed, remembering just how badly the last one ended. But now was an opportunity, a second chance. And Matt knew that he wasn't going to destroy his chances.
Kevin followed the instructions in reverse as he returned to the main area of Halley's station. Now that he had been through it one way, he found himself moving more quickly. Something about Matt he found himself just thinking about. Though it had been made jokingly, he couldn't help but think about him. He hadn't ever been on a date before, and though he had an idea of what a date constituted, he felt odd in the fact he hadn't expected such an opportunity to arise. Though he was friendly and approachable, he was too awkward to be dated by any of the friends that he had in school.
It was a blur as he wandered through, the buzz of the day starting to begin as the station sprung to life. Even so, it wasn't hard to make his way through to the section of hotel businesses. That, or the fact that he seemed to flow past the crowds.
He eventually came to the Comet, a hotel which stood out amongst the others. Unlike their competitors, the Comet extended well beyond one floor, and looked a lot more vintage, with polished wood and lined with gold leaf. It screamed luxury and high prestige, something that Kevin knew he wouldn't be able to afford normally. He could guess that this was aimed towards the rich and lucky, those who would soon travel for exclusive business conferences, or the rich on holiday.
He felt a little uncomfortable with his travel case wheeling behind him, having picked it up at some stage during his time spent unfocused. Kevin found himself suddenly escorted in, a friendly smile as his luggage was taken to be sent up. He approached the front desk, and found himself face to face with a black-furred rabbit.
"Welcome to The Comet, how may we be of service?"
"Um, hello, I'd like to check in."
"Okay. Name?"
"Chaser, Kevin."
The rabbit looked down, and typed in on a keyboard that Kevin didn't even know was there. He looked back up and continued. "Purpose of staying here?"
"Hmm?" Kevin questioned, slightly caught off guard.
"Well," the rabbit elaborated, "we're in the early stages of businesses, and are conducting a survey to better understand who our customers are, why they chose us as their service, and so on. You don't have to answer those."
"Okay," nodded Kevin. "I'm here because I happen to be on break from piloting a shuttle for Skyways, and a friend of mine told me that this was the place to stay out of all of them."
"Oh, you're a pilot? Great!" He shook Kevin's paw. "Name's Barclay. You're doing a great service bringing people to this station."
"Thanks. It's good to be able to do something for the community, you know." Kevin then remembered that Matt had given him something. "Oh yeah. That friend also told me to give you this." With that, he took the note out of his pocket and gave it over to Barclay.
Barclay took the note and unfolded it. His expression turned into a slight frown as he read the note. After a few moments, he folded it and placed it into his pocket. Kevin looked a little worried by that change. "Is everything alright?"
The frown ceased, and the rabbit once again smiled. "Yeah, everything's fine. He is stretching his 'do a friend a favour' quota for his lifetime, however."
Kevin laughed. "Well, that kind of sounds like you have a problem on your hand!"
"Maybe I do." Barclay said. "But he's a great friend of mine, so that doesn't matter too much."
"Yeah? So are you going to tell him no at some stage?"
"Not yet, although it's coming to the stage where I really want to tell him so!"
They laughed for a little while longer, and they soon regained their composure to finalise checking in. "Your room is 13-4, or as some call it, 'Depths of the Galaxy'. It's one of the best rooms we have, and I kept it empty since I was beginning to think Matt would pull something like this."
"Oh, thank you very much!"
"No problem," said Barclay. "Feel free to call room service if you need anything, anything at all."
"Alright. Thanks again."
"As I said, no problem! Taylor? Please show our guest to his room."
From nearby, a red fox appeared and bowed to Barclay as acknowledgement. "This way sir," she said to Kevin.
He followed her into the lift, which was quite spacious and as decorated as much as the lobby had been. The doors shut, and there was silence for a moment before a whirr of the motors and slight jitter, indicated the lift's ascent. It wasn't long before they arrived at floor 13, and they stepped off into the hall. Kevin couldn't help but marvel at the quality of everything that was there. The wooden ornament, the chandeliers, the carpet, he could hardly believe that Matt could have gotten him accommodation in such a place.
They soon came to 13-4, and she handed him an electronic key. "This is to get into your room. If you require any assistance, feel free to call to request room service, or speak to one of us."
"Thank you very much," Kevin replied.
With that, the red fox departed, returning to the lift and heading on further up, having further duties. Kevin stepped into the room, and was dumbstruck entirely at what he saw. They had somehow managed to combine both the view of space together with classical furniture, and well, he couldn't figure how to describe it. There was plenty in the room, including a king-sized bed, a television hidden away by a sliding panel over a fireplace, a bookcase with many classical literary works and a full-sized en suite.
The staff had already set everything up for him, everything neatly unpacked and his travel case set neatly by the door. He sighed as his legs suddenly began to feel the strain they had undertaken these past hours. From ladders to narrow passageways, to long walks to hotels, it all began to weigh up. Kevin set his spare clothes to the side before collapsing on the soft mattress, falling asleep in a matter of moments.
Tim sat down at a booth in the restaurant 'At the start of the Universe', which was a bit more affordable than most places on Halley's Station. He had been asked by Kayla to meet her there, and he had agreed to for lunch. He soon saw the familiar shape, the otter wandering toward him. Tim stood up and hugged her. "Hey, I made it."
"Yup, you did," she said. "Thought you were going to completely mess up and crash, but here you are."
"Oh you!" Tim exclaimed. "We didn't crash because I wasn't pilot. I was the co-pilot this time round, but I might be ready to take things on myself the return trip, you know!"
"That sounds great!"
"Yeah? Have a seat, I'll get us something to eat," Tim said, motioning her over to the booth. "What would you like?"
"Me? I'll have the two-stage lunch buffet."
Tim was surprised to hear it. "Two-stage buffet? That's enormous! How are you going to eat all of that?"
"Dunno, but maybe we can share it. Saves you money for the both of us."
"Smart thinking there," said Tim as he headed to the register to order. Having been told it would take a while, Tim returned to Kayla. "It's going to take a bit, but it shouldn't take too long."
"No problem. It's not like you've got anything to do anyway than hang around with me." She then thought back. "So who was pilot?"
"Eh, just some guy."
Dissatisfied by his answer, Kayla continued to question, "What's his name?"
"It's Kevin. Kevin Chaser. A mink."
"Huh. We don't see many of those around."
"I guess only a few ever make it to the point where they can pilot a space shuttle," Tim laughed. "Wasn't easy getting this far, isn't going to get any easier."
They were interrupted briefly as the food arrived. Quickly swiping his ID card, the payment was deducted and he quickly swept the tray of food back to the table. "Here we are, totalled $9.80. Bit much for value, don't you think?"
"Almost, but not quite." She smiled at the sight. Not the best stuff around, but it was pretty good nonetheless. The two-stage buffet consisted of a small roasted chicken, salad, potato wedges, and gravy. Alongside it was a large slab of steak, grilled in perfect balance.
Kayla reached into her pocket, and pulled out her phone, swiped at it for a bit, and remarked, "$9.80? I'll pay you half that... totals $4.90. Done."
"You know, I could have just paid it all upfront."
"Nope. Otherwise I just risk this relationship becoming something one-sided where you do all the work and I just take advantage of that." Tim smirked when she said that. That sharp wit really stood out from all the other women in the world that he had met. Always sluggish to act, always thinking about themselves. He was glad to have met Kayla, and their conversations always ended up with something new learnt, something new to remember, and that was something he really valued.
Though he hadn't told Kevin when he could meet up with them, he knew that the most likely time could probably be on Sunday, two days from now. He suspected that with him as awkward as it was, it was best to stay out of his way; avoiding any interference with the date.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder where he had gone. Tim had arranged to stay with Kayla for the duration of his break, but he didn't know if such an arrangement had been made for Kevin. He knew him be pretty smart, so he suspected that he probably had checked into one of those budget motels. Though one could wonder why a budget motel would even be available when space travel wasn't all that affordable, they knew there was a market for those pressed on budget, yet with the strong desire to see space on Halley's Station. A risky venture, it had somehow stabilised in a matter of weeks after opening.
"Heh. I wonder where he's staying..."
"Who's staying where?" questioned Kayla.
His focus snapped back in place hearing the voice, suddenly aware he had said it out loud. "Oh! I was just thinking about where Kevin was staying. I thought a budget motel... I hope he's okay."
"Well, we can help him find something better if you want. To come all the way out here only to stay at a three star motel... Seems like a trip gone to waste."
Troubled thoughts led to troubling dreams. For Matt, seeing Kevin had created a sense of unease. As he slept, something began to stir. Memories began to play back, and though he tried, he could not stop them. All he could do was relive those horrible moments.
He knew it the moment when he saw that face. The smile from that Arctic fox. Ray's smile as he took the ring that Matt had offered. It was that time. It had only been five years since that day. Before any more of it could be seen, it all became a blur, and he knew he was on the move. Over the many times he had seen them, he could pick out memories from the blurs rushing past. Their times together on the station, going on trips in private, and preparations for their ceremony. Matt knew the destination, and though he had hoped many times for it to change or end, it played even more loudly and distinct than ever. He saw himself in the traffic control centre. It was only a two weeks before their wedding, and Ray was due to return with final preparations complete for their service. Matt casually had been looking through some of the channels on the television.
"And now in breaking news, Interplanetary Forces have been forced to contain district space above Earth with a tragic accident in which a private space craft collided with loose space debris. We now cross live..."
Matt looked over to his past self, who started to tremble, eyes growing wide as he stared at the screen. It crossed to a female husky, a newswoman suited up for space. In the background, scrap contained by a force field, a few suited officers hovering and keeping watch over the generators.
"I'm here at sector 20 dash 8, where IPF officers have contained a tragic accident that killed a sole driver. It isn't clear right now as to why this crash occurred, but IPF officials are expected to make a statement soon."
It crossed back over to the news room, and Matt could see that look of disbelief on his past self's face break down into loud sobs, slumping in his chair as the program continued.
"When did this accident occur? Were there any potential reasons as to what happened?"
"Well, the accident took place approximately 4 AM local time. Though a statement hasn't been released as of yet, it may be believed that speed may have been a factor. The record box has not been found."
Tears welled up in Matt. He hated this moment in his life. Never more had he been so close to being with someone he had found, so close had he been to fully bring his life into another's, and yet in that very moment, it had all been torn apart by the first space accident of the 22nd century. The record box was completely and utterly destroyed.
Something changed. At first he thought it was an echo, but as it continued, he began to hear words.
"The box... Look... Message..."
Matt couldn't afford to think. "What do you want? What do you mean by box?"
"The box..."
The voice faded, and he awoke, feeling his tears rolling down his cheeks. The weasel sat up in his bed, too torn to try and sleep again. Not tonight. He looked over at the developed photo of himself and Ray in a nearby photo frame, and he sighed. 'What did that voice mean?' He thought. 'What box?' It was already tormenting enough to live in the property that was to be theirs, but to have such memories reawakened; the hurt and utter helplessness, he could hardly bear it. He found himself wandering into Ray's room, left untouched since he had heard of the accident. Aside from the automatic deodorising agent that sprayed every once a few months, it was exactly the same way that Ray had left it all those years ago. 'I need to move on,' he thought to himself. But he knew that it would take him a long time before he could. He had put off the idea of having anyone else in his life until he heard that one voice during that shift.
As he looked at all the little trinkets and pictures, he saw an ornate wooden box. It was Ray's lockbox, containing all the things he considered special in his life. Matt smiled weakly at the sight, he knew that was the first thing he had tried to give away before Ray's family stopped him. He remembered the words of his older sister during the funeral.
"I should return this to you. It's Ray's box, a collection of all the things he treasured."
"On behalf of my family, I cannot accept it."
"...Why not?"
"It's rather simple really. Ray wanted to to spend his life with you, and you were only weeks out from getting married. He made his decision on what he wanted when he accepted your proposal. It's only right that this remains with you."
Though Matt held onto it, he hadn't ever looked into its contents. He was too torn back then. Now though, he felt something pushing him towards it, to reveal what his partner had left him. He found the key resting next to it, not because Ray was lax with security, but because he knew that Matt wouldn't breach his trust.
Matt took it and he had to hold back his well of sadness as he took the key to the lock, and turned. A small click, and the lid opened to reveal its contents.
He gasped when he saw what was contained within. The box contained so much things that he didn't believed still existed. Having known Ray since childhood, he was completely flabbergasted by the presence of them. The birthday card that he arranged with his class when he was 12, photos from a booth when they hung out over the year when they were 16, and a paper heart which had been folded by Matt on Valentine's day at 18. As he looked them over, a few more things laid underneath, including a preserved nasturtium which he recognised from their first date, a wrist band that Matt had bought for him the third date, and a number of larger photos of him and of Matt. He laid them all out neatly on Ray's old desk as he continued to look.
He soon finally came to the last thing, buried underneath all his memories. Matt recognised it, one of those solid state drives that were not only fast, but also exceptionally compact.
Leaving the room, he returned to his own and booted his personal computer. He plugged in the drive, and it began to whirr for a moment as the system processed the files. Eventually, a window appeared, and multiple video files were present, along with other files. The most intriguing one was the one labelled README. Matt had always taken to reading the README files alone with any required documentation, since he knew his position laid heavy responsibilities and the documentation was always so extensive. He opened it and began to read.
Hello! You're reading this, so there must be a real important thing going on if you're investigating this file! I could be in custody, I could have gone missing... Heck, I could be in real trouble with IPF officials! Well, I could very well be dead right about now, so I'm here just to explain things to you.
You're looking at the files of Ray Hart, an Arctic Fox lucky enough to get a career in space. They said it couldn't be done, but we proved them wrong. To think I could actually travel out here was something I thought almost impossible, yet here I am. I grew up in not the best conditions, got a reasonable education, family was fairly happy just to have me get a job and earn some wages.
Of course that was all different when you factor in Matt. Matthew Derek is the one I grew up with since my early days, from the first day of school through to college and he urged me to seek something in the world beyond our own. Not that he had to say anything, but going through the later stages of being a teenager, I realised that he was someone special to me. Seems a bit cheesy and cliché, but hey, just telling it how it is, yeah? We started dating around the same time, and I for one had no intention of letting him go, so I followed him into space. They had been looking for people to go and establish a proper station above Earth, and it was surprisingly quick. Matt eventually got into traffic control, I got into what I wanted to do, speeding around in space.
He recently proposed to me, just as the sun began to show itself. He did it at the spur of the moment, just as night became day; just as darkness became light. Anyone would know what the response would be.
Anyway, I'm preparing for my wedding, and we'll soon be recognised as a married couple. It's got me a bit nervous, but Matt always makes things better. I'll update this as things go.
Anyway, that's my current history. Now onto the contents of the files. They contain a whole bunch of video logs that I've made over the years, including some of the journals I made when I was younger. My dad who built the system made it virtually unhackable, except the one weakness, which judging by the fact you're reading it right now, you've just broke. This can only ever be accessed from someone I trust. And by trust, I mean someone who I really, really trust. Even more than my best friend... heck, even more than my siblings and parents! If you're reading this, Matt... I'm sure I have plenty to tell you in these logs.
As for the files, they're made to capture everything, and by that, I mean *everything*. That's the whole reason for this drive. If something big happens, you shouldn't have to wait for compression, if you know what I mean.
Matt closed the file. He looked over the many files, but didn't really feel like looking through them, knowing that they could only evoke more pain from them. The last file made him stop when he saw the creation date. "July 12, 2113... The same day when he died..."
Something urged him to open it. It was Ray alright. It was an audio log of him and his ship. It was eerily quiet, and only the breathing of the fox in could be heard. But it was broken as he began to speak. "Bit risky right now... Engine's gone and busted over just one too many times. That, or the part's plain defective! I'm going pretty fast right about now, and I really don't want to step out there." He could hear a sigh, as if Ray knew what was coming. "Looks like I don't have a choice though. This computer is pretty much the only thing that works right now, and the camera even doesn't work." There was a rustle as he went through what sounded like a toolbox. "Got a few tools, it'll at least get me a look at the engine, and maybe get some systems running again. Hold on... There we go. Might as well make this a learning experience. For you listening, I'm just bringing this microphone so I can tell you as I go. Since I don't have a camera, I figured..." Ray's voice became louder as the microphone was mounted closer. "I'm all suited up, but now it's just the matter of exiting out into space at what I'm guessing is about 10 and a half kilometres per second. That's 37,800 kilometres per hour, a.k.a. Pretty fast."
A few moments passed as the airlock in his ship began to hiss. "Here's the de-pressurisation process. After that, we can go out and take a look..." Matt skipped though the empty soundtrack, navigating the waveforms to find the next point of speech. "...okay. So the ion thruster seems to have lost the propellant. I mean that as in... A breach. How... when did that happen?"
He shook his head as he skipped through the log.
"...Guess I might have to say my goodbyes. I've sent a distress beacon, but I doubt anyone can pick it up travelling this fast. I'm on a collision course with debris, and I have about half an hour left before we impact. I brought out the parachutes, but it's too far away to catch on Earth's atmosphere. Repairing the thrusters is impossible; the breach is too large. I-I..." Matt heard his voice began to choke up. "I... what the fuck... Why would you put me through this? Why would you put Matt though this?"
Matt closed his eyes, and tried his hardest to not cry; to stop the file. He had to hear it through.
"We were getting married in two weeks! Two! The best time of my life, and now I'm about to die! Why!?"
He could hear Ray's breathing erratic, heavy and in pain. He eventually calmed, something that was surprising to Matt. "If you're Matt, my to be partner-for-life, then you know that I've... I've passed. If you're Ray, you've made a mistake with this recording and no-one ever needs to hear this. My ship's lost its propellant chamber by a breach of some kind, and I can't slow down. I'm headed towards debris, and I'm going to make a huge crash. I don't know what to say... except sorry. Matt, I promised I'd marry you, that we'd be together for life. I guess this is one promise that I can't keep... I'm so sorry..."
Tears found themselves, although Matt continued to listen to his lover's last words. "There was so much that we planned for. A flight by Saturn, a visit to Pluto... then going back to live on Halley's Station together... This, I cannot do with you. I'd give it all up to be with you right now, and I'm god-dammed scared out of my life that this is all happening."
He heard Ray get up and rummage through the things on his ship. He came back. "I didn't think I'd be in need of this guitar, and you'd hate me for stowing it along, but I always wanted to sing for you, but I was always too nervous. But hey! I'm about to die!" Pages from a book swished in the background "There. This was the only one I've got with me right now, and I was going to sing it when I got back, but you know I'm short on life. It's not got a title, but Matt, this is for you."
The guitar began to play a tune of longing, of gentleness and beauty. It was sad, yet at the same time, beautiful to his ears.
"_When I woke up, I saw the sun rising into the sky When I woke up, I saw you rise beside me, I looked to you, your smile outshone the sun, You are a star, a star far brighter than any other.
Now I pray, for you to stay... I pray, for you to stay... Cause we've been so far to the bounding ends of the universe, I want to be with you for all of eternity.
When we first met, we were but only children When we first met, my heart leapt within me I knew right then, my life to me was set, I followed you, to space and back again
Now I pray, for you to be with me... I pray, for you to be with me... The times I thought I couldn't make it, you came around and made me chase you all the way, round and round.
When you proposed to me, I couldn't believe my life My heart met yours and yours met mine... I promised you I'd marry you but looks like I cannot keep it The world has other plans for us and now I'm left you alone...
And now I pray, that I will find you... Now I pray, that you will find me... Please live your life, to find someone you can love as I... But things cannot ever be the same... Things cannot ever be the same._ "
With that, he stopped playing.
"That final verse and chorus I made up on the spot... Not great with writing songs, but I don't think that matters anymore. Oh, one more thing."
Matt's ears perked. "I'm about to do something really reckless. Well, two things. The first is to eject myself out into space with the hope that I'll be rescued in time. The second is far more worse than the first. I'm going to try to copy my consciousness into the drive that this'll be on. Sounds dangerous, yeah? Well, it's only a copy. It'll be me alright, except I probably won't have a physical form anymore. I'll probably freeze to death or run out of oxygen anyway regardless if I try or not, so... yeah. Matthew Darren, I love you more than anything else in this universe. If there's an afterlife, I'll put in a good word in for you, okay?" Ray chuckled. "Anyway, time to see whether my time has come. I'd better give the gatekeeper some privacy while he decides."
A click, and the file finished playing. Matt became aware of his heavy breathing, his tears dried upon his cheeks, and he wiped them away. "Nothing's changed, but at least I know what happened, and why..."
He clicked through the directories, and he soon found what he was looking for. He found a large file, but it was all but accessible. He knew that Ray's consciousness was preserved in it, yet he did not know how he could establish contact with it. But he felt a massive weight being lifted in knowing that Ray still existed somewhere in the world. He knew for sure that he could live on, not to be lost to the depths of time.
Day crept up on Kevin. He had never had slept so well. The bed as well as the room's condition only assisted his state of rest during the night hours. But it was day, and he knew that he'd no doubt be with Matt for most of the day. If he was lucky enough, they could hang out with Tim and Kayla, but he suspected that Tim was trying to stay out of his way, having purposely hung up when he tried to call. Only answering to say that he was busy this Saturday, and that they could meet Sunday instead. Though it was nice of Tim to make that kind of consideration, it also made him nervous. His first date ever, and he didn't know how a date was supposed to go.
Matt didn't know how long it took for him to sleep. His eyes were tinged red from the crying he had done the night before, and he rinsed them, letting the cool water flow over and soothe them. Now was not the time to lose one's self to the past. He had a date today. Regardless of the outcome, he felt ready at last. He dressed casually, in jeans, a shirt, sneakers. Nothing fancy.
As he stepped out of his apartment, the thoughts of yesterday swirled. So much emotion over the past night, and yet somehow, he made closure on something that had troubled him for the past five years. It wasn't entirely closed, and he knew it would never be. Ray's consciousness was on that one drive, transferred to it while he floated away into space. One day, he would figure out how to open it. One day, he would see Ray again. Would they get married? Probably not.
Walking up to the Comet, Matt smiled at the sight of Kevin, who was engaged in idle conversation with Barclay. It was obvious to him that the mink was waiting on Matt. He walked up to him, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey."