The Heart of the Rebellion - a Cinematic Space Opera

Valen

Well-Known Member
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Station Eternity.

Home to millions, the starport was a melting pot of different cultures and species. The year was 2478. Two hundred years ago technological advancement made it possible for humanity to reached out and begin to colonise the solar system. They advanced both further and faster than they had ever thought possible.

Reaching out beyond the solar system and the galaxy that contained Earth, it was not long before humankind started to discover that there were, in fact, other species inhabiting the universe. Contact was made, treaties were signed, and soon humanity was a member of the newly formed Galactic Coalition alongside the other founder members of that organisation.

The Daxalorn. Hailing from the home planet of Chenta, the Daxalorn are a race of venomous amphibians governed by a military dictatorship. Their home-world experiences extremes of temperature due to a highly elliptical orbit. They grow thick coats of fur in the winter months but shed them in the spring.

The Qeefassians, from Agrals 3. A race of scientists with large resonating chambers on the front of their heads, through which they speak and blue skin. TThe Qeefassians are very philosophical as a species.

The Piradians, hailing from Cardalia. A race of feathered humanoid aliens who have bony heads and three horns on the top of them. Their home-world is said to be a lush jungle paradise of sweltering heat.

The Isragarn. From the planet Bespeon, this race of pessimistic hermaphrodites speak a complex gestural language. Their ability to construct biological machines and use living spaceships are rivalled by none. Their claws are strong enough to open a can of peaches, which are, coincidentally, their favourite fruit.

Finally, the last of the council members, the Dochassons. Hailing from Agrabvinia 4, this race of proto-mammals use song to communicate. Their ships are enormous, with crews of several thousand individuals.

These six species, although forming the basis of the coalition, were by no means the only species aboard the Eternity. Home to countless species and countless millions, it was the place where the Galactic Coalition convened to discuss matters relating to the universe and make decisions on said matters. It was the central hub of trade between the species of the universe and was generally seen to be a forward thinking cosmopolitan space and trade hub.

Trade and crafts within Station Eternity was controlled by a collection of Guilds who oversaw the trade and commerce side of the station. Typically, any would-be entrepreneur had to purchase a license to be able to conduct their trade within the Station from the appropriate Guild. The original thinking behind it was that it would prevent any old riff-raff from setting up shop on the Station and that the craftsmen who did ply their trade would be competent at their profession. In practice, however, what it generated was a level of elitism on the station. To survive and prosper and make your trade, you had to have money, and you had to continue to make money in order to renew your license.

This, in turn, led to a division on Station Eternity. A division between the haves and the have-nots. And if you fell on the wrong side of the divide, all you have to look forward to was poverty and an uncertain existence with a fight for survival. Those unfortunates were often gathered in the slums, situated in the bowels of the station. Here petty crime, beatings and murders were rife. The executives and the security force of the station did not have the time or manpower to spare for beings they deemed as inconsequential.

Deeper still, Station Eternity had its seedy side. Stories of the brawls and murders in its innumerable bars were legendary, spreading all across the multiverse along with tales of the corruption that was said to lay at the stations heart. Rumours of organised gangs and triads based from within Station Eternity were rife, despite the Coalitions attempt to root out malcontents from within its depths. Some of the more vicious rumours in fact stated that the coalition members encouraged the more illicit activities occurring within the station, using the various gangs and factions as chess pieces on a board against the other species.

Whatever the truth of the tales, Station Eternity was certainly as dangerous as it was liberating.

And it was here, within Station Eternity that a tale of its own was beginning to unfold. A tale involving two friends who were soon to find themselves caught up in circumstances that would quickly spiral out of their control and ability to control......

***
The flash of neon light was dazzling. However, for Jack, the rapid, yet brief explosions of bright turquoise light were nothing more than an inconsequence. As was the heady smell of smoke and crushed opium that permeated the atmosphere in this place.

Turquoise was not the only colour that punctuated the dark, smoky ambience that the club sought to achieve. Its low-budget, fluorescent tubes passed for the most basic of lighting within the buildings cavernous interior. Periodically, explosions of yellow, orange, red and purple emanated from the dance floor to leave painful, garish silhouettes tattooed across Jack’s vision.

Synthesised, metallic beats that passed for music assaulted his ears. Techno Rock they called it. The club itself was known as “The Schooner”, and it was situated right in the heart of the Station Eternity.

Grunting in displeasure, Jack shook his head, his dark locks jostling from the movement. Nursing a glass of something liquid in his right hand, he lifted it up to take a small swig as he slammed the glass back down on the back trestle table on which he sat.

Wiping his mouth with his hand, Jack glanced over to the side. Not too far away, in the corner of the level he sat on, there was what appeared to be a slip of a girl, notable with the shock of lavender hair on her head tied back in a ponytail. She appeared to be working on one of the speakers situated at the side, one that wasn’t pumping out more of the horrible music.

On the level below them, occasionally punctuated by flashes of neon light, shadowy forms could be seen silhouetted against the dance floor, waving their arms in typically uncoordinated movements, looking for all the words like the proverbial tin full of sardines.

Jack noticed a burly fellow with a mohawk glaring at him from across the other side of the table at him.

He sighed. He wasn’t sure if it was the garish attire he wore. The long, red trenchcoat he typically wore on nights out tended to net him all sorts of unwanted attention. But then, there was a darker part of him that revelled in the attention and the violence. Jack was many things....a random, unpredictable source of chaos.

He snorted at the intrusive fellow, "Look, if you don’t put your eyes back in where they belong, I’ll ram my size ten right up your backside so hard it’ll be coming out of your nose."

There was a wide variety of people’s teeming inside the Schooner tonight, and the atmosphere was ripe for violence. Apart from the rough looking individuals sitting in a group just opposite the two (of which Mohawk Man was only one), there were representatives from all sorts of races around. There was an illithari dancing on the floor, its tentacles flopping up and down from the side of its face and chin. On the podiums, dancing within two cages elevated from the central, sparkling dance floor were two green-skinned ladies.

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Sitting just further up from him, sniffing as he drank a particularly vile-looking steaming green brew was a fellow with a horse’s head.

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Violence was in the air, he could smell it. And whether it be the rough looking group that continued to glare at him or not, it was only a matter of time before the alcohol took its toll and the place erupted in a brawl.
 
The locker room light flickered madly, like a worn- out strobe light in one of the many clubs Eternity Station had to offer, and then stopped a few seconds, blazing brightly before it flickered again. It moved to a tune that she was all too familiar with, a tune that beat in her temples like the oncoming headache. She’d asked Vaulk to get the light fixed before one of the girls had a seizure, but Vaulk never moved faster than a crawl. That was why he was the boss and she was the courier. If he had been delivering the packages, they would have been out of business ages ago.

Viridian tightened the cinch on her backpack and slung it over her shoulders, checking to make sure the Telaria Courier Service poncho was hung neatly in her locker before slamming the door and engaging the biolock. She got finished early. Her last package was on the far side of the Station, but she managed to beat the traffic back to Telaria before the evening rush. It may or may not have had to do with the shortcut she found through a service tunnel which her bike just barely fit into. Now, if she played her cards right, she could be out of here before—

Laughter in the hall. Damn.

The locker room door burst open and three of the other couriers came sauntering in, each carrying their golden uniform balled up in their hands. They spread to their lockers, talking animatedly amongst themselves. Apparently they hadn’t noticed her yet. She took two steps towards the door when one of them one squealed, bounding in front of her with positively infectious giddiness. “Ridi! Come with us tonight!”

She hated the nickname they’d foisted on her. Viridian plastered on a smile so big it just had to be fake, but they never, ever noticed. “Tonight…?”

“Ittt’s myyyy birthday!” The girl singsonged, and the other two squealed again. It seemed they started celebrating early.

“Oh, of course!” Viridian’s enthusiastic tone of voice did not match the gnawing pit she felt in her stomach. “Happy birthday, Mikon!”

Mikon beamed. “We’re going on a crawl.”

“Seven clubs, seven drinks each!” Jez interjected. “And we’re dancing with seven guys at each one.” She said, moving to some unheard music. N’daia, the girl with the bluish skin and tentacles where her hair would be, clapped excitedly and joined Jez in her dance.

“That’s…very ambitious.”

“Sooo…” Mikon prodded. “You’re coming?”

Viridian gestured to the door. “I’d love to, really, but I—“

“Have to get home.” The three said in unison over her, one of them rolling her eyes. Alright, so she’d used the excuse before. Many times, apparently. Who did she live with again? Was it Mike or Charlie with these girls?

“Jack won’t mind if you’re late.”

So she didn’t bend the truth when she told them about her roommate. Odd. But Jack wouldn’t know if she was late, because he was already out. She’d bet a week’s pay on it. She was so looking forward to spending the next few hours in their apartment alone, with nothing but the little mouse bot and the faulty actuator which had been stymying her for three days straight.

She forced a sigh. “You’re right, he won’t.” She shrugged, “Since it’s Mikon’s birthday…” she trailed off, quirking her mouth in a half smirk. Viridian forced back a shudder as they squealed again.

“You won’t regret it, Ridi! Time to have some FUUNNN!”

---

She regretted it.

They steered her into the bathroom at the first club, put some sweet tasting gloss on her lips that made her keep nibbling at the corner, teased her indigo hair “for more body” and wrapped the arms of her leather jacket around her waist to show off more skin. When she was ready, they set her loose upon the club. It didn’t take them more than a few minutes to find men to talk to, and for Viridian to find a corner to wait in. For some reason, she didn’t invent an excuse and run off, so when they were bored of that place, the girls simply collected her and hauled her off to another club.

Viridian lost sight of the others the moment they all stumbled into The Schooner, their fourth of the evening. They’d finally pushed a drink into her hands at the last place, appalled that she was still very much sober. Though she’d tempered it with soda water, her head still swam, and her pulse thudded with the music in her temples.

The mood here was different than the others. She could feel it. A chill that crept along her skin and she shivered despite the heat inside. She tried to rationalize it: it was late, and she was tired; her one drink was one too many, she was just over-stimulated by the cacophony of lights and music and movement. Despite her mental reassurances the feeling didn’t leave, or lessen. The girls would never notice if she just left. But if something was off…maybe she should grab them too before things could erupt.

Viridian slid between the writhing bodies on the dance floor as if she was no more than smoke as she searched the crowd for faces she knew. She thought she saw Mikon, but between the heads, arms and tentacles, she lost her again. She glanced upwards, scanning the upper level, and saw Jez and N’daia with their arms draped over the railing as they pointed and hooted at someone below. Then they saw her and waved madly. Mikon had joined them. At least they were together.

She picked her way through the masses and up to the second level. That feeling was stronger here. She was halfway to the girls when she spotted him across the way. Of all the clubs...She recognized his expression, even from so far away it was unmistakable. She had to do--something. Before it all came crashing down.

“Mikki wants to leave!” N’daia shouted over the noise, as she joined her, draping her arm around Viridian and shoving a half-empty glass in her hand.

Jez pulled N’daia away. “Too busy here!” She said, leaning forward. “ We’re going to Whisper next.”

Viridian nodded, glancing down to the drink in her hand. “I’ll meet you outside. I just…ladies’ room.” She said, with an apologetic expression.

They melted away into the confusion once more.

She sipped a little of the half-finished drink, ran her hand through her teased hair, tugging down one strand that she wound around a fingertip again and again. She tightened the jacket around her waist, pulled down the front of her shirt just a little and started walking. Her gait changed to a more seductive sway, and she tilted her chin down just so she looked through her lashes. Then she downed the rest of the drink, and went, with purpose, over to the table where Jack sat. She sidled past the Mohawk Man, puckering her lips and giving him a little wave as she passed. She bent over the table, plopping the empty glass in front of Jack. “Ah’m done ma drink,” she drawled in a sweet tone, straightening again. She stopped twirling her finger in her hair to beckon him closer. “And ya promised me a dance.”
 
Lost in his thoughts, Jack started somewhat when the glass was put down on the table in front of him. Glancing upwards, his dark eyes widened in surprise to see Viridian standing in front of him.

"And ya promised me a dance."

Jack swallowed, tugging at the collar of his shirt a little bit. Is it just me or is it a little warm in here?

Still, he stood, nodding as he gave Viridian a small smile.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here Viri. I do remember I promised you a dance."

It was true. He'd been promising her a dance for as long as he could remember, although he had always managed to duck out of it......until now. Walking past the man with the mohawk, Jack gave him a small wave as he did so, completely ignoring the man's glare as he did so. Viri led him through the mass of people and down the metallic stairs that led to the swirling, multi-coloured neon lights that danced over the teeming throng on the dance floor. Smoke billowed around them as he held his hand out, leading her onto the floor.

"Its good you're here, I was wanting to spea......"

One look from her hazel-coloured eyes silenced him. The sounds of synth boomed out of the speakers positioned above and around them. Smiling again, Jack inclined his head as he slid his arm through hers.

I burn to make you understand
One wrong word and it all may come crashing down
For the fates are devious by heart
They envy you your dreams, so they'll let you drown

Jack was not a good dancer. He hated to dance. He thought that it made him look like an absolute idiot. But this time, this once, it wouldn't hurt, would it? For her sake -- the sake of the girl he held close above all others. His closest, nay, the only friend he had in this terrible cesspool of a station.

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise
No-one else can heal your wounds

Closing his eyes, he took her hands in his own and he moved in time with the music. The rest of them, the others around him -- they all disappeared until he was alone, with the music, and with his closest friend. And yes, Jack was trouble. He was walking, living, breathing chaos, but he was, above all else, wounded. Opening his eyes, he smiled again.

Perhaps she even understood that.

The bigger the lies
The more they want to believe them
And like a vice
Hold on to what they believe in

The lights flashed around him. Jack swallowed as the unspoken lie around him held him tight, crushing him in its vice-like grip. How could he tell her? Tell her that he had to leave, that he had to steal himself away on the next ship leaving? It was harder than he had thought it was going to be, as the depth of his friendship with her was the one and only thing that at times kept him going. Yet the silence and the refusal to tell her was hanging over him like a particularly dark cloud.

Yet his time here was drawing to a close. He had screwed up.....and soon the agency that chased him would come. If he didn't leave then he was going to die.

Jack looked to her, locked his dark eyes with her hazel ones. He swallowed again, his throat going dry now as he tried to work up the words.

"Viri....." his voice hung in the air like a miasma that threatened to engulf him.

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down when it's time to arise
No-one else can heal your wounds

Here and now with all dreams realized
Would you choose still more time to do
Don't fall down cos I need you to rise
No-one else can heal my wounds

It was a flash of light that he saw out of the corner of his eyes. Movement, an arm swinging.

"Watch out!"

Pushing Viridian out of the way, the bottle smashed on the floor next to where she was standing only moments before. Jack stared across to see the angry looking man with the mohawk approaching him with a shattered glass bottle in his hands. The large man threw a punch at Jack. Dodging, Jack grabbed the man's arm as he followed through, bringing his hand down on the man's elbow. There was a loud crack as the man shouted out in pain, dropping to his knees.

His friends followed, wading into the dance floor. Jack saw the neon light reflecting off the long, sharp knives they held in their hands.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome here Viri," he said somewhat unnecessarily, keeping his eyes trained on them as they approached him....
 
It was a lie that brought her to the table. She wasn’t lying to him. She was lying for him. It made all the difference.

The character she’d invented, Ridi, drunken party girl, was conjured just to get Jack away from those men who looked very much like they wanted to wipe the floor with his face. It was Ridi who demanded the dance that Viridian only directly asked for once, which was excused away, and mostly forgotten. It unsettled Viridian that Jack at last relented, but to Ridi, party girl, it didn’t matter. But as they left the table, slipping past the Mohawk Man and his cohorts, the character didn’t fade away, like others she conjured. Viridian was lost somewhere within.

One and a half drinks were apparently too much. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and her chest as they moved onto the dance floor, which could only be attributed to the alcohol and whatever else was mixed into them, and decidedly not her current company.

"It’s good you're here, I was wanting to spea......"

Viridian shook her head almost imperceptibly, giving him a look. She hoped he understood what she couldn’t say. Even one word would shatter the illusion and right now, she wanted to ride out this temporary high until its’ inevitable, bitter end. Whatever he wanted to tell her could wait until she was sober.

They shouldn’t still be here. The feeling that descended the moment she come into the club didn’t leave. It was still there coiled and ready to spring, though she tried to ignore it. But one dance couldn’t hurt. Just one.

The music, which she’d railed against since coming into the club, now summoned her to move with it. The lights washed over all of the dancers, painting them in homogenous rainbow hues, so they weren’t individuals anymore. They weren’t Jack and Viridian; they were living color, moving as one. She closed her eyes, giving into the music, aware of little else but the beat and her partner.

She opened her eyes, catching Jack’s smile. As she returned it, for a moment, nothing else mattered. Until he looked into her eyes.

"Viri....."

“Don’t. Not yet,” she murmured, pleading with him. She wasn’t ready to come crashing back to reality. But the atmosphere between and around them changed, and she could no longer allow herself to ignore that feeling of dread that hung in the air.

She would soon figure out why as Jack shouted his warning and shoved her out of the way.

Viridian collided with another dancer, who grunted something unintelligible at her before moving away, leaving her to fall backwards onto the floor as broken glass littered where she had been.

The rest of dancers merely parted for the commotion, not daring to stop what they were doing. It was the most basic self-preservation, drummed into the denizens of Eternity Station at a young age: don’t get involved, don’t act involved, this does not exist, someone else will sort it. Unfortunately for her, that unspoken rule didn’t apply to her, particularly where it involved Jack.

It took a moment for the haze to clear and for her to register what was going on, but in that moment, she was already scrambling to her feet. Her eyes flew from Jack to Mohawk man on the floor, to those approaching.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome here Viri."

Wasn’t that the overstatement of the evening?

“We have to go.” Viridian said insistently. She wasn’t sure Jack would necessarily back down from a fight, and a fight was what they were about to have if they didn't get out of there, whether they wanted one or not. “Jack…” she closed her hand around his, backing up as she skimmed the room looking for means of escape.

The entrance was far too congested, but the crowd was thinner towards the back of the club, further from the music, where most went to congregate around the bar or slide into the half-moon booths. Waitresses darted to and fro with trays of drinks for the tables on the upper level, and The Schooner’s official dancers were coming from--

There, barely visible along the dark wall, a side door marked Employees Only in purple neon letters.

“This way!” Viridian grabbed Jack’s elbow, giving him an insistent tug backwards, opposite from where the men were advancing. She didn’t let go until she was sure he was following, weaving in and out of the throngs in an attempt to put as much distance between them and their pursuers as possible.

Two of dancers came laughing out of the door, a green skinned girl and one who looked like she could be N’daia’s sister. “Hold the door!” She shouted, breaking into a run. She vaulted over an errant handbag, pushed through a couple directly in her path and ducked under a tray full of glasses as the hapless waitress turned in her direction.She didn't stop until she reached the door. The dancers shrieked and moved out of the way as she stuck out a hand to stop it from closing again.

Viridian turned at last, suddenly aware that Jack wasn't with her. "Jack!"
 
"Jack!", she called, but Jack was not there.

She had pulled him away from the thugs who had come onto the dance floor with their knives. Some of the dancers had seen the confrontation unfolding, and soon the sound of panicked screams could be heard mingling with the incessant synthetic tunes that boomed out of the metal speakers and punctuated by furls of smoke that engulfed the floor.

And indeed, it wasn't his style to back down from a fight -- knives or no. Something that was evidenced by the fact that the corners of his lips had turned up slightly in almost gleeful grin. Viridian was insistent though, pulling his elbow backwards as they attempted to traverse the now panicking crowd who were also trying to move in the opposite direction from the knife-wielders.

"Aw, c'mon Viri," he whispered but she couldn't hear him above the shrieks and the music.

Then, two things happened, more or less at the same time.

As Viridian broke into a run, contact was broken and Jack was pushed into a larger man. Now this man was not particularly distinctive. He was of average height and was wearing dark clothes. A dark t-shirt and dark trousers. His light brown hair flopped somewhat over his forehead. That, with his somewhat watery-blue eyes, all contributed to a slap-bang average appearance. What was somewhat more attention-grabbing was the feeling of something metallic pressed into his back.

"Jack," the man flashed a toothy grin as Jack stiffened, glancing back to the man who had pressed a gun up to him.

"Pretty sure I don't know you," Jack murmured as he looked ahead to where Viridian had disappeared through the Employee's Only door at the side.

Exhaling slightly in relief, his eyes then began to dart from side to side, looking for an out.


"Its not about who I am, more who I work for Jack. Somebody wants a word with you..." he pressed Jack forwards with the gun.

"Ah, I see," Jack replied, realising exactly what this was about.

Viridian had never asked where the money that Jack was spending freely the other week had come from. Perhaps she had known better than to ask, or simply didn't want to know. Jack, on the other hand, had knew the man he had swindled would come back for his money at some point. He just thought he had more time than what he obviously had.


"Hey you!" another voice joined the mix as a figure pushed through the now scattering crowd.

It was one of the thugs who was trying to knife him.


"I don't have time for this," the man behind him sighed with an exasperated tone of voice.

Suddenly pulling the pistol from Jack, a loud crack could be heard as the man emptied a bullet straight into the knife-wielding thug's brain. The thug stopped in shock. As blood began to spill from the bullet-sized hole in his forehead, his eyes rolled up into his sockets and he slumped bonelessly to the floor.


With the gunshot the panic of a few became a full-on disaster. With screaming echoing in every direction, the mass throng charged forwards, running in every direction that they could. Using the sudden distraction, Jack elbowed his accoster in the gut. As the man grunted and doubled over, he began to RUN as fast as he could away from the direction that Viridian had headed in, hoping for all he was worth that she had the blind sense to get the hell out of there.
 
The door slammed shut behind her, leaving her alone in the relative darkness. The neon lights from the club shone under the door, and somewhere behind her, a fluorescent bulb flickered and buzzed like the one at Telaria.

Jack wasn’t with her. How could she just leave him there? She should have made sure…she had to go back for him, she had to-- She had to think! Her head responded to her inner turmoil by crashing against her skull again and again. This was not the time for a headache.

The shot echoed in her head. She could feel her stomach drop, and her heart lurch and it was a full beat before she could breathe, think, move.

She yanked open the door only to be summarily shoved aside by the green-skinned girl and the N’daia clone. More followed, creating a wall of panicky, screaming bodies between her and wherever Jack was. She pressed herself against the wall, trying very hard to remain small as possible and out of the way of those who were stampeding out of the club, straining to see around them, through them…anything. She had to know.

There? Maybe? A red jacket disappearing opposite the way she’d gone.

She was somehow pushed from behind, forced to join the flow of club patrons spilling through the hall, lest she be trampled underneath. She was shoved, jostled, stepped on, elbowed in the side, but she managed to keep her feet unlike some unlucky few who had fallen in the confusion. She couldn’t stop, couldn’t go back. It was impossible to fight the tide.

Another door at the end of the corridor flew open and the masses scattered. Viridian fought her way to the metallic wall of one of the other buildings, one that still had the rhythmic thumping music coming from inside, one the opposite side of the alley the side door of the Schooner opened into. The tide turned right to the main thoroughfare, so she went left further down the alley. The flashing lights of a security patrol lit up the darkness for a moment as they sped past. She took a running leap onto a fence and pushed herself over to the other side. And then, it was dark again and she was alone.

She hesitated. She had to know if Jack was alright. He could take care of himself, but that never meant she didn’t worry about him. But she pressed on, holding on to the hope he’d gotten away and was heading home too.

Viridian could have navigated the Station Eternity in her sleep. She had done, several times. Or near sleep. Usually, she was on her bike with her poncho and helmet and satchel slung over her shoulder and usually, it didn’t take so much time,picking her way through alleys and service tunnels, saving the accesses for actual traffic.

She finally stumbled onto the way that would take her home. It was an odd concept, home. She thought she’d never have another but that apartment where she and her parents lived before they left the Station.

It didn’t stay her home long. Her shifty landlord stated that his lease was with her parents, not with her, with rules and regulations being what they were, not to mention there was a waiting list for the space…other generic disingenuous excuses. She never took him as a person who’d ever operated on the right side of the law. He’d gotten her started in the courier business after all, having her haul tiny packages of contraband when she was too young to know the difference. He was, however, compassionate enough to give her three entire days to get out of the apartment she’d lived in all her life. She sold what she couldn’t carry to her neighbors, loaded up her backpack and took to the streets, feeling like she was set adrift.

It wasn’t long until she met Jack, and home took on a new meaning.

“Miss Kova!”

A deep voice came from behind her, startling her. Not who she was hoping; it wasn’t his voice, and he always called her Viri, the only nickname she would allow. She turned, furrowing her brow. “Ben? It’s the middle of the--Miss Kova?”

Ben’Cathal shrugged, as he climbed from his bike, all four of his eyes blinking at once. He was the only co-worker who shared her desire for personal space and silence. While they weren't precisely friends, Ben was the only one who she didn’t feel obligated to put up her walls around. “I’m a professional,” he grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming white as he tapped his Telaria badge. “Saw this in tomorrow’s chute. Figured you wouldn’t want to wait.” He fished around his satchel and held out a small, nearly transparent envelope to her, her name neatly printed on the label, and she instantly recognized the symbol on the envelope as the one belonging to the company her parents worked for.

Her breath hitched in her throat, and a pit grew in her stomach. It had been a year since she heard anything from them, and their last communication made her more than nervous. She told Ben as much back then. She ripped open the envelope, tilting a small earpiece out. “How long have you had this?” She asked as she put it in.

“About three hours. Took me that long to find you. Why?”

She showed him the label. “It was dated two months ago.” She quickly listened to it. The staticky mechanical voice read the message to her as transcribed by Jerell and Ophelia Kova. They were fine, it said. They were happy, healthy and prosperous. The work was going well. They told her not to worry, and told her the company was taking very good care of them. Told her to stay in Eternity and they promised a transfer of credits in a few days. Then the message cut out, and another voice asked if she wanted to replay.

“Good news?”

She quirked up a side of her mouth and nodded, slipping the earpiece back into the envelope. “Seems so,” she replied, even if she didn’t quite believe it. She’d all but given up hope that they would ever contact her again. But something was still wrong. The message didn’t sound like them, and the pit in her stomach churned.

“Great!” Ben said, going back to his bike. “I gotta…” he patted his satchel. “You know. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” She replied somewhat weakly, waving to him as he took off again.

A wave of nausea hit her and she scurried for a receptacle, just in time to lose the drinks from earlier. She closed her eyes for a moment afterwards, trying to settle her stomach. She took the jacket from her waist and slid it on as began walking again, feeling comfort in weight on her shoulders. She’d almost forgotten it was there, but now she was cold and wanted nothing more than her shower, her bed, and her closest friend.
 
He ran. He ran as fast as he could, taking him away from Viri, and the man who was trying to kill him. Jack vaulted over the railing separating the dancefloor from one of the club's walkways. The synth-infused beats of the Schooner continued to rattle and thrum even despite the escalating violence. The beats mixed with the screaming to accentuate an already surreal feeling atmosphere. He ran, charging up metal steps leading to the upper portion of the club. The quite frankly obnoxious neon lights dazzled him despite his best attempts to raise his hand to shield them from his vision. Somebody was in his way but Jack didn't wait, barging straight through them.

Behind him, still on the dancefloor, his accoster collected himself. Pointing his gun in Jack's direction, he prepared to fire......

.....just as his finger closed on the trigger someone barged into him, pushing him to one side. The gun aimed upwards as the crack of another shot could be heard, the bullet firing off wildly upwards into the air. Cursing again, the man shook his head as he pushed through the mass of people and aliens alike to charge towards the stairs.

On the upper walkway, Jack was not slowing for a single beat. Charging forwards and literally barreling straight through anyone standing in his way, he went across the upper platform, heading straight for the men's restroom. Barging through the door, he slammed it shut behind him and fastened the lock shut.

There was noone else inside with him. Moving swiftly over to the window, Jack unfastened the latch and pushed it open. The cool, crisp air came in from the outside as he peeked his head out. There was a sharp drop to the ground below with no handholds for him to hang on to to lessen the impact of the fall. Jack hesitated as he pushed the window out further. Then, behind him, loud banging could be heard as the door to the restroom buckled from the force of sudden impact. Cursing, Jack took a deep breath and closed his eyes, climbing through the gap and then falling.

CRACK!

His landing was not a smooth one. Jack fell hard onto his right leg. Waves of agony lanced their way through his body on his right side where he had landed hard on himself.

Swearing again, he pulled himself to his feet quickly and began to limp away down the dark alleyway he had fallen into.....

Time passed as Jack limped and, surprisingly, there were no signs of immediate pursuit. Yet the pain that went through him continued to escalate.

Station Eternity was something of an impressive scientific marvel. Manufactured in such a way that it at least projected the illusion of living on an actual terraformed planet, one would have been hard-pressed looking at the landscape around them to realise that this was not natural and that it had all been built with the latest scientific techniques. Jack stood on a small street. To his right, a river bisected the pathway, leading to a small arched bridge that went over the river. The throbbing in his head, both from the drink and the loud music, had receded slightly. Jack knew where he was -- knew exactly where he was. The road ahead led to a more industrialised part of Station Eternity, and towards the apartment where he stayed with Viri.


Viri!

A wave of sudden guilt and fear washed over him as he realised belatedly that he had abandoned her inside that place to the gun-wielding maniac. Limping to the bridge and standing over the river, Jack turned around as if to contemplate heading back towards it. And then, despondent and fatigued, he slumped first to his knees and then, sitting. Stretching his legs out over the edge of the bridge and letting them dangle, he slumped his head forwards into his hands.

Viri.

Sighing softly, Jack looked up to the sky overhead, shaking his head as he smiled bitterly.

"I can't keep doing this to you."

Shaking his head again, he closed his eyes, feeling the cool breeze as it caressed his face.

"Time and again I do this, I drag you into trouble that is nothing to do with you. I drag you down to my level over and over again." There wasn't anyone around that could hear him but that hardly mattered at this particular moment in time. "You deserve better. You deserve so much better than this. Better than anything that I could give you."

Sighing softly, Jack folded his arms. He leaned his head back into his arms and closed his eyes.

"Tomorrow, I go. I go, and I save you from this. From all this."

And there he stayed. He stayed until night became morning once more.
 
BUZZ! BUZZZZZ! BUZ-!

Viridian pressed the button on her watch to silence the insistent vibration without uncurling from the blanket she’d wrapped herself in. The watch buzzed once more, and at last, she glanced down at it. Mikon’s name shone up at her from the watch’s face, and then messages started rolling across the tiny screen.

-Heard shots in Schooner-

-Where ru?-

-U alive?-

-Ridi, plz call-


-Ben saw u. UR alive!-

She sniffed at the last message. Just barely alive, she thought, typing a quick reply.

-Watch was off. Ok at home-

Barely four hours had passed since she staggered into the apartment and into the shower. She’d stayed until the water was ice cold, pulled on a baggy shirt and a blanket and went to the couch to wait. Sleep must have come, though she was actively fighting to stay awake.

She pulled off the watch as it began buzzing again and tucked it under a throw pillow.

A cursory glance around the empty apartment validated the worries that had kept her here on the couch rather than snug in her bed. The clear envelope sticking out from the pocket of her jacket slung across the back of the couch. The little mouse bot still sat on the dining table, surrounded by wires and tools. The light in the bathroom was still on, spilling a bluish pool in the darkness. The apartment was empty, and lifeless, except for herself.

Jack was not here now, and he had never been.

Viridian struggled with the blanket and the desire to just go back to sleep as she shakily stood. Her headache persisted, spreading now to her jaw and the back of her neck, which she rubbed absently as she made her way to her room, moving automatically through her usual morning routine even though it wasn’t quite morning yet.

It took only a few minutes to change. After pulling on a pair of tight black pants and a loose raspberry shirt over a tank, she took a moment to rake a brush through her indigo hair, throw on her jacket, shove her feet into her boots and step outside of the apartment.

The hallway was dark despite the attempts to adequately light it, but she didn’t need to necessarily see where she was going. Her feet moved without thought, down hall, down the stairs and out into the streets. The artificial sun would rise soon. Already the horizon was beginning to lighten, but right now, it was still dark, still cold. She zippered her jacket to her chin, and thrust her hands in her pockets, hunching as she walked.

She had to know. She had to find him, make sure he was alright, and after that…she didn’t have a plan in mind. She would start by following the road back to the Schooner, and hope he hadn’t taken a shortcut. The further she went, the more hopeless it all seemed. He could be anywhere in the Station. It would take years to search. And if he didn’t want to be found, she did not have resources to track him down. Or if he had been—No. Those thoughts would not be entertained.

Rounding a corner, she sucked in a deep breath, seeing a familiar figure in a red trenchcoat sitting on the bridge overlooking the river. Jack’s head was down, and it was very possible he hadn’t seen her yet. She slowed to a stop, hesitating. She should go back home. Her fears were assuaged. Jack would come back on his own, like he’d done so many times before. He may be little worse for wear, but she’d patch him up, like before. She’d go off to work, not expecting him to be there when she returned. Jack was his own person, with his own life. He did what he pleased and did not owe her a single thing. Everything would be just as it was, and they would be alone, but together.

But it couldn’t be just the way it was.

Viridian picked up her pace as she headed to the bridge. Once there, she wordlessly dropped beside him, keeping some distance. She kept her hands in her pockets, staring into the water below for a few silent moments, half-waiting for him to speak first. But then she found she was talking instead.

“It was about the money, all that in the Schooner. Wasn’t it?” Viridian asked bluntly, staring into the water below. She’d never bothered to question where he’d gotten it. Somehow, she knew, but refusing to acknowledge it made it less real. She waited a moment, and whether he answered her or not, continued on.

“Do you remember what I told you the second time we met? After those thugs in the alley…” She smiled a little, glancing at him. “You asked why I helped you. And I told you it was because you were outnumbered. You were alone, and I knew what it was like being alone. Even if was just you and I against the entire Station, our odds are better together.”

She wasn’t giving him the option. “So, what do are we going to do?”
 
It was strange in a way. The inevitability of it all. The way that Jack seemingly instinctively knew that despite everything, irrespective of what he did or said, she would be there.

She would always be there.

It was something that he embraced even as it broke his heart to do so.

Jack was aware of her presence before she got close enough to see. Sure enough as the sun would rise in the sky that morning, Viri would try to be there for him as she always was. She came and she knelt next to him. Jack continued to stare out to the water, as he had from the moment that he had sat there. Unmoving, unmoved, lost there alone with his thoughts. She spoke, but Jack barely heard the words. Instead his memories were taking him back......taking him back to the time that they had first met each other.

***
"You......you hit.......like a.....fucking fairy."

Jack felt the metallic tinge of blood in his mouth as he tried to strain against the thug that had restrained his arms. Struggling, but unable to break the vice-like grip that the other had him in. In front of him, a thick, burly heavy-set man glared at him.

"Lets try this again. My money, where is it?"

It was uncertain whether the man expected Jack to simply cough up the money. Instead, what he got was laughter as Jack's face creased in mirth.

"And I'll tell you....again. You can go ahead and kiss my backside."

Shaking his head with an exasperated sigh, the man shook his head.


"Looks like we're doing this the hard way then."

Balling his fist, the man smashed Jack full force in the face. His nose twisted sideways with an unpleasant crunch, and dancing white lights flashed across his vision. Despite the severity of the situation and the pain that threatened to claim his consciousness, Jack laughed again as he leaned forwards, spitting blood on the floor of the alleyway.

"Looks.....looks like we're just going round in circles," he laughed again.

With another sigh, the thug pulled a switchblade from his pocket, bringing it up close to Jack's neck.


"Fine. If you want to play it that way pretty boy Imma gut you like a fish."

***
Still to this day, Jack couldn't remember much about what happened next, only that Viri had come across the scene and managed to get the thugs to leave. He turned around to look at her. He had been taken back then at how much of a beautiful person that she was, in just about every way that he could imagine.

Far far too good for someone like you.

He looked away. Picking up a small pebble that lay next to him, he idly threw it into the river, where it sank with a small splashing noise.

"Aye. Its the money. It was always about the money. I.....cheated one of the local crime lords out of his earnings. He's sending his men after me to get it back."

It was when she asked him what they were going to do that Jack's eyes finally flickered over to meet hers. And there they held her gaze.

Dark eyes. Hazel eyes. Dark on hazel. Hazel on dark.

Smiling softly, Jack held her features in his eyes, almost as if committing them to memory. He steeled himself for what he was about to do, what he had to do.

"Viri....." his voice almost broke before he composed himself. "You......you need to go back to the apartment. Continue on with your life, pretend that you never met me. I....."

He swallowed.

"I have to leave Station Eternity. Go somewhere else. I don't know where, just somewhere that isn't here. I have to go and get myself and my life back together again....until I know that I'm not going to get stabbed in an alleyway."

His smile deepened at the irony of his last statement. It was precisely him getting stabbed in an alleyway that had caused them to meet to begin with.

"I....think that you deserve better than this Viri. A better life, and a better one than one that has you constantly looking over your shoulder wondering where the next bullet is going to come from, and all because its me that is constantly dragging you into that. I've not been a good friend over the years, not for doing that to you and there comes a time that I.......I don't want that for you. You deserve better."

Looking away he swallowed again as he looked to the water. He watched it flow, the small rivulets cascading down the stream. It was, in a way, a metaphorical symbol for his own life.

"Thank you," he whispered finally. "For being there for me. For being a better friend than I could ever have asked for or deserved."
 
It wasn’t her business.

Her business was to provide service with a smile; the satchel full of documents, small packages, messages, all waiting to get to their recipients in an expedient and professional manner. It was only her first week on the job. She didn’t even have a uniform yet, just the satchel, a badge, and a bike. She couldn’t screw it up. Not if she wanted to live with a roof over her head. Not if she wanted to eat more than the shabby meals provided at the Our Galactic Lady of Mercy’s soup kitchen.

Viridian heard the exchange in the alleyway as she was leaving her last delivery. She couldn’t ignore it. Ignore him. Despite every single fibre of her being condemning what she was considering, she took two steps into the alleyway.

This wasn’t a David versus two Goliaths. She didn’t have five stones, a sling and divine protection. She approached the thugs in an alley armed with nothing but lies and determination. She had no collateral, just an overwhelming desire to not be like those who simply passed by, pretending what was happening wasn’t.

“Wait!” You complete idiot. Shut up now and disappear.

She glanced around the men, finally catching the eye of whom the thugs held. Eyes so dark, like a starless sky.

She could lose herself in that sky.

“I have the money,” Viridian said, loudly, confidently. No, you most certainly do not. But she stood her ground, flicking her gaze back to the thugs as she cemented her role in this act.

She patted the satchel as she stepped a little closer, just inside the head of alley, just out of the light that slanted in. “You thought he’d been stupid enough to go it alone?” The bravado was false; the words conjured from thin air. “Of course he has a partner.” She raised her arms out to the side, in a shrug that said ‘Here I am.’

“And I’m not stupid either. I’ll stay here.” She took a step back, towards the safety of the street, “We can do our business out in the open. If you want the money, come and get it.”

***

No.

No, no, no.

This was not happening.

Despite all her denials, she couldn’t honestly say she didn’t see it coming. Everything she had, everything she was, was transitory. Nothing lasted. That Jack had stayed as long as he did was a miracle. There were times she wondered if he’d just disappear one day without a trace. But he always came back. Except now, he wanted to go and not come back. She simply would not allow it.

She was shaking her head the entire time he spoke, trying not to meet his eyes, but failing. She looked everywhere but there. At the shock of hair over his forehead, the river beside him, his lips, the collar of his coat. But something always drew her back to the starless sky.

Viridian set her jaw tightly at his last words. “Don’t you do that.” She murmured, at last looking back at him. “Don’t say goodbye to me just like that,” she replied, anger tinging her tone. “You aren’t going to decide what I deserve, Jack. Not like them.”

She did not need to explain that she meant her parents. She’d told Jack all about them, how they’d left her behind, because they thought she deserved a better life than they could give her on Station Eternity. They didn’t understand that she never had needed the things they could give her. She’d only needed them. And now, Jack was her family. She didn't need these...excuses from him. She needed him.

“Ben found me on the way home last night, with a message from my parents.” She shook her head, looking away from him and into the water, watching the eddies of iridescent foam swirl around the surface as they were carried away. “They sounded so worried the last time and in this one…sunshine and rainbows.” She bit her lower lip, letting out a deep breath from her nose. “I need to go find them on Typhaon. To find out what happened. I’m being lied to, and I need to know why.”

Viridian got to her feet quickly, brushing off her hands on her pants and then offered him a hand up off the bridge. When he stood, she didn’t let go of his hand. She swallowed, looking up at him and took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I don’t care why you have to leave, or where you’re going, or that you think you don’t deserve my friendship. You can’t watch your own back. I’m going with you, Jack. Nothing can keep me in Eternity, not when everyone I love is out there somewhere.”
 
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There was a tone of finality to her words. Shaking his head, he reached out, taking her hand as she helped him climb to his feet. As he did, a sudden twinge of pain emanating from his leg caused him to almost collapse again. Grimacing at the sudden, sharp pain, Jack not only held onto her hand, he stepped closer into her to stop himself from falling. Standing next to her, he slid his arm around her waist to prop himself up as he looked over to her, blushing a little bit from the sudden contact and need to stay upright.

”Ummmm.....uhhhhh sorry about this. I took an.....uhhhhh.....fall last night.”

The two of them moved away from the bridge, heading slowly back to the apartment, necessitated somewhat by Jack’s injury.

”I.......uhh, careaboutyoutoomuch to see you dead in an alleyway,” the word’s tumbled quickly from Jack’s lips, almost like they were unfamiliar to him or that he was otherwise embarrassed to make this tacit admission to her.

The sun was further up in the sky as the morning grew older. There was a chill, but pleasant, breeze circulating round the station now this morning. It would be a cool, fairly pleasant day. But then that was life on Station Eternity. Never too hot. Never too cold. Never too windy. Never too dry. Never too wet. Everything always controlled and in moderation. It was always regimented and very, very manufactured.

Lifeless.

Dead.

Jack sighed softly. Words he might as well have been using to describe himself. For inasmuch as he lived life the way he did, took risks the way he did, there were reasons for the way he was. Inwardly he was numb, emotionless, and had been since ever since......that night. The might his life had changed. He had never told Viri that story, not that one. Of course she suspected that there was something there, something that he had hidden away, but that night, his parents murder....it was something that was personal to him and could only be faced by him. He was cold, empty inside, so he pushed things to the edge. He took risks that pushed things as far as they would go, before for him it was an obsessive desire to feel something other than that incessant numbness inside of him. Perhaps, by taking greater and greater risks, the thrill, the feeling of something would overcome the nothingness that permeated through him.

”I don’t want you to end up like me.”

Turning his head to face her, as he limped along with his arm around her, his eyes took in her pretty features.

Viridian Kova.

Perhaps the only person in the world whom, when he was around, the numbness inside receded. When he was around her, the demons and the shadows inside his mind were kept at arms length.

Temporarily.

Jack sighed softly, closing his eyes as he shook his head. He knew how much finding her parents meant to her. He knew it, as much as finding his parents killer meant to him. She would give anything......anything to find them. And who was he to deny her that?

Finally, after taking far longer than it should have under normal circumstances, they stood outside the door to the apartment.

”You know what being around me means? How dangerous it is? How dangerous I am?”

Fumbling around in his trenchcoat whilst trying to balance and not fall over was difficult.

”People will come after me. It’s dangerous Viri. I’m dangerous. There are a lot of easier and safer ways to go after your parents than to come with me.”

Finally finding it, he slid it into the lock, opening the door and silently congratulating himself for not falling over on his backside in doing so.

”I still have money left. I’ll give you what I have. You’d be far safer making the journey alone.”

His arguments were half-hearted at best. In truth, although he would never admit it to himself or to her, Jack deep down didn‘t want her to leave his side. He stepped inside, hobbling over to the elevator.

”I’ll get my stuff,” he said finally in a semi-defeated tone of voice.

”Have you got everything you need?”
 
Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blu—Viridian felt her traitorous face grow warm at the unexpected closeness. She put her head down, her hair falling in front, which help hide the color in her cheeks just long enough for her rein in the sudden tension.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered as he explained his weakness, and turned to stand beside him. “I’ve got you.” It was no less true now than any other time. She maneuvered his arm at her waist over her shoulders and slipped her arm around him, holding him as steady as she could. She did not mind the slow pace. For someone who usually moved in a great hurry, it was relieving to make herself slow down. She kept her eyes on the way ahead, trying not to think so much about how—how much she---she breathed out slowly, and let the thoughts go. Let them fade away into the coolness of the morning.

“Same,” she said with a small smile. “So, as long as we are looking out for one another, neither of us will end up dead in an alleyway.”

“Jack…” She said, half-chiding as she glanced back at him. End up like him? Jack seemed so lost at times. Like all he had to do was reach out and grasp whatever he was missing but he didn’t know how. She saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes when he looked at her, like she could help him. A spark of warmth. A light in the darkness. A star in the night sky.

There were so many arguments against her decision. Perhaps she shouldn’t have pushed. She should have just gone when he told her to, back to the apartment and to the farce of a life she’d carved out for herself. She should have let him go alone, and pretended she never met him. It would be easy wouldn’t it? She was so very good at pretending. She could have easily pretended he was not there in the alleyway with a knife to his throat. Everyone else did. She was just too selfish to let him have his own way and let him die in alleyway when there was something she could do about it.

”You know what being around me means? How dangerous it is? How dangerous I am?”

She knew who he was. He was the only person she allowed to breach the walls she raised. It was effortless to let him in, like he’d belonged there all the while.

“I know what it means. I’ve known you for years. You didn’t think you’d keep me in the dark about everything forever, did you?” She replied, keeping her voice down as he fumbled around to let them in. She could have easily done it herself, but they were both committed now to being stubborn as mules. Neither of them could capitulate or time itself would start spinning backwards.

”People will come after me. It’s dangerous Viri. I’m dangerous. There are a lot of easier and safer ways to go after your parents than to come with me.”

“Do you want to write down this list of all the reasons I shouldn’t stick to my guns, or…?” She slipped into the apartment ahead of him, unzipping her jacket, and threw it over the back of the couch and turned back around, arms crossed over her chest.

”I still have money left. I’ll give you what I have. You’d be far safer making the journey alone.”

“Jack, I don’t want—“ She threw her hands up in exasperation, spinning to the broken mouse bot on the table. “It’s like talking to a trying to talk to an Isragarn.” She muttered to the little thing, flicking its tail spring.

Viridian waited until Jack was inside too, and then went to him. She didn’t hesitate in lifting her hands to his face, cupping both cheeks and tilted his head down gently so she could look directly in his eyes. “I’m only gonna say this once more. Hear me, Jack. I’m going with you.” She repeated, drawing out each word to make sure the emphasis was in every syllable.

”I’ll get my stuff.”

She smiled brilliantly at his concession, and quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek before she let him go. “I’ll hurry,” she said, backing away and into her room.

It was there, after she had gone in and shut the door, that the gravity hit her. What was…had she just—She squeezed her eyes shut. Nope. It didn’t happen. This was some sort of weird dream, and she had never left the couch at all. A product of a bad night and four hours of sleep. Yes. That was it.

She’d never lied to Jack, but she wasn’t against lying to herself.

She scrutinized her cramped room. There was enough space for her bed and…well that was about it. Most of her belongings, which didn’t amount to much, were still in boxes. Even after she’d moved in with Jack, she knew this place was temporary and that she might need to be ready to leave again in a moment’s notice.

Viridian fell onto her bed, burying her face in the blanket for a moment. “I wish I could take you with me,” she said, muffled as she spoke into the cloth. The only thing she’d cared to decorate was her bed. She’d found the softest blanket in the deepest shade of blue-green, viridian, as the tag read. It was like it was made just for her. It was the only thing she’d ever bought for herself that wasn’t from a secondhand store, and she’d spend nearly an entire paycheck to make it hers. And now…she’d had to leave it behind. She lingered for a moment, snuggling into the soft plush, her mind racing.

Then she was up, rooting in her boxes for the necessities, a few changes of clothes, a few needed toiletries, some random trinkets from her parents, and stuffed them all into a backpack. She slung it over a shoulder and stopped at her doorway, taking a deep cleansing breath in. She let it out slowly as she closed her eyes, and left her room again, shutting off the lights and the door.

Viridian stopped at the couch to retrieve her watch from under the pillow, and slipped it on her wrist. At Jack’s question, she nodded. “Everything I need’s right here,” she said with a smile.

"What about you? And your leg?" She frowned. Had they not just decided to leave, she would have forced him to sit and rest a while. He'd do himself no favors hobbling around. Granted, she was not beyond serving as his crutch for as long as he needed her to be.
 
Jack just stared in slack jawed amazement as she kissed him on the cheek before she went into her room.

Did she just...?

Shaking his head, he limped into his own room. Jack’s room was sparsely furnished. There wasn’t much in the way of belongings there, and that was the way he liked it. Limping slowly up to the set of draws that were next to a half made bed, Jack sat down slowly. Reaching out, he opened the draws, reaching inside. There were only two items inside the draw. He drew the first of them. A laser pistol. Twirling it around in his fingers, he slid it into the belt on his black trousers. Shrugging off the red trenchcoat, Jack threw it to one side, leaving just the black shirt he wore underneath. Standing, he limped to his wardrobe, pulling out a dark jacket to wear.

It would be better to not look so distinctive where he was going. Pulling out a bag from under the bed, he piled it up with clothes before returning to the dresser table next to his bedside. With a trembling hand, he retrieved the other item inside.

A leather bound black book.

His fingers shaking, he opened it. On musty, yellow pages underneath were a series of images of an older man and woman.

Pictures of his parents.

He turned to the next page, cycling through the photographs. As he did so, his vision blurred slightly even as he felt a lump in his throat. Jack cursed softly, swallowing even as he wiped the traitorous moisture from his eyes. Even now the memories were as painful as the day his life stopped and became nothing but rememberances of a life gone by. Seeing him standing there with them as a young child at the carnival, his fingers traced their outline as he closed his eyes. He heard the sounds as clearly as if he were still there. The laughter and the applause......

Then his fingers balled into a fist as he laid his head on the page.

Of course, the young innocent boy on there wasn’t Jack, not anymore. It was almost as if he were staring at another person — one who didn’t exist anymore.

With a trembling hand, he turned the page, where one past photograph lay. This time not of his parents. This time, the person that stared back at him from the page was of average height, about 5’5”. She had indigo coloured hair and a beautiful smile, matched only by eyes of sparkling lavender.

Viri.

Closing the album, he slid it into his bag with his other belongings.

Little did he realise that in upcoming days, as his world would darken into blackness, that photo would be the sole source of comfort that he had left.....

***
He was already waiting for her when she came out of her room, stopping only to retrieve her watch. When she asked him about his leg, he smiled winsomely.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be perfectly fine.”

Grinning, he went over slowly to the door of the apartment. Holding it open for her, as they went out he closed the door, sliding the keycard in one last time. Making their way out into the quiet residential street below, Jack began to limp along the road, heading towards the starport.

”I don’t have passage out of here Viri. Thats where you come in,” turning back to face her, he gave her his most winning grin.

”I’ll need you to try and charm us passage on a ship getting out of here, or, failing that, we provide enough of a distraction to sneak on board. Any ideas?”

After an hour of walking slowly, the starport would soon be upon them.....
 
Viridian grabbed her jacket as she passed Jack, waiting for him to lock their apartment. She slid it on, zipping it halfway and shoved her hands into the pockets and then followed him onto the road. It was odd to think that they were taking their last walk through the neighborhood. There was a feeling of ending, a certain closure perhaps. Finishing one chapter and moving onto the next. Even if she wasn’t sure what it would hold. At least Jack was there with her, and she didn’t have to face it all alone.

No passage? Of course not, neither of them had the funds to secure such documents. For as massive and heavily populated as Station Eternity was, it seemed resolute to maintain that status quo. Once you arrived in Eternity, you didn’t leave, unless you could arrange a hefty sum to buy your way out, a job that took you out, or had connections that would allow you out.

She glanced over to Jack, and nodded. “I have a few ideas,” she said. And then, with a little grin, “You think I’m charming?” Then her mind set to work. Of course, she never thought about her roles before she assumed them. She thrived on improvisation, so she couldn’t even share what her ideas were. They would all become clear once she saw what precisely they were up against.

The closer they got to the starport the heavier the traffic became, both foot and vehicles. The sky was littered with vessels, shimmering as they left the artificial cloudless sky for the blackness beyond. People and aliens bustled to and fro, even at this still early time of morning. Time was inconsequential in space, so the starport never slept, constantly belching out ships and passengers and cargo around the clock.

The moment Jack and Viridian stepped into the vicinity of the starport, they were swallowed whole by the crowds surging inside. Though the travelers knew where they were going, following the basic order of the signs, the entire place was pandemonium.

The starport was massive, a city almost unto itself. It comprised of multiple floors leading to separate concourses for commercial flights, trading and cargo vessels, arrivals and departures. The hangars, docks and landing pads were filled with anything from shuttles to huge starliners. Shops and restaurants crowded the lower levels, offering everything from trinkets to credit exchange, from five course meals to fancy cocktails. Huge signs hung from pillars, constantly updating flights in the trade language, or pointing travelers every which way. But even with all the prompts, it was very possible to become lost.

Viridian instinctively reached for Jack’s hand, clutching it tightly as she let the sudden overwhelming feeling to pass through her. It didn’t, not all the way, but somehow, holding onto him grounded her again. She loosened her grip once they went inside, but did not let go, fearing one or both of them would be swept away.

She remembered the first and only time she had been to the starport, when her parents left Eternity aboard one of Circle Corporation’s transports bound for Typhaon, five years and two hair colors and three tattoos ago. She felt incredibly tiny in the midst of it all and clung to her mother’s hand as they walked through the starport. Her mother lingered on the other side of the cordoned off section for properly ticketed passengers until she could wait no longer, and then gave her a kiss on the forehead and disappeared through security with her father. Viridian waited where she was until she could no longer see her mother’s brightly colored orange scarf and then turned to go. She was fifteen. She was grown up. But there in the midst of such chaos and confusion she felt like a lost child. She had held her own until she was on the road back to her home, and then, and only then, did the tears come.

Without passage already arranged, commercial flights were a no-go, as outgoing passengers were placed under heavy scrutiny by security. The freighters, cargo ships, and the like where typical passengers were discouraged was a better bet and she said as much as they headed towards the shops that headed the industrial concourse, pointing ahead to the little crude looking bar, Terminus Rex.

“Seems like a good place to start,” Viridian said, stepping out of the flow of traffic near a shop. She surveyed herself in the window, reaching in her backpack for the little tube of berry colored gloss. She puckered her lips, smearing some on and then pressed them together twice, and scrunched her hair between her fingers and palm to give it a boost. She unzipped her jacket the rest of the way, tugging down the collar of her shirt for just a little more skin, and turned to Jack. “I’ll be back soon. Wish me luck.”
 
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