ten
"—AND SO then I told him the rumors were true and the suspension fluid under the training pit really was toxic. Told him that's how Colonel Helgriff got his scars. The kid made it through the whole course without falling in a single time, but he got the slowest score out of our entire class. When he told Colonel about the rumor, the big man pushed us both into the pit and made us clean it for the next three months." Maverick tops off the story with a wheeze of laughter. The sound brings a smile to Atom's face.
"I remember that pit."
"Awful, right?"
"Yeah--And during my time there Colonel Helgriff would threaten to replace the fluid with actual acid if we didn't behave."
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."
"I guess it's not a mystery why I preferred combat lessons with Colonel Yulis." Atom shifts in his seat and hovers a hand over the long range radio. "Hey, I've gotta step away for a moment. Got something I need to do."
"Not backing out, are we?"
Atom looks out the display window at the large bright light swirling before him, surrounded by an ocean of stars. Blindingly brilliant and beautiful.
"No. Not on this. I'll call you back later."
"Roger that. I'll still be here."
Atom flicks off the radio and unbuckles from the pilot seat. Floating to his backpack he opens it and carefully pulls out the misshapen bundle of cloth. He takes it to the back of the ship, all the way to the narrow airlock leading to the escape pod. He opens the door and enters the cramped space before unraveling the bundle. With bare hands he frees the Device and cradles it to his chest.
When Tyur removed it from his body, Atom had asked to keep the severed leg. Tyur thought him strange for it, but since he had no use for such primitive technology he didn't argue and sent Atom on his way with the extra prosthetic tucked under one arm. Now it looks like just that. A hastily constructed metal leg designed to house a galaxy-breaking bomb. Comfort had been the furthest thing from the minds of its creators. And yet, it looks entirely harmless at a glance, and a simple hunk of junk upon closer inspection.
But it is, at its core, the most destructive bomb ever created by human hands. The device that was meant to save humanity.
And maybe it still could.
Atom straps it to the wall of the coffin and manually sets its trajectory before floating out and securely shutting both doors. Then he hits eject and listens to the sound of it jolting free.
He races back to the front of the ship and watches through the wide windows as the coffin plummets into the gravity of a nameless dying star. Here in the wastelands between galaxies the impact will result in the star's collapse, birthing a brand new black hole, and nothing more. Neither Robby's Galaxy nor the Milky Way will be affected.
Alone Atom lays witness to the end of his mission. He watches unblinking as the massive star implodes, collapses in on itself until all that remains is a perfect void. A perfect mirror of what it used to be.
And Atom feels weightless. He feels unending and infinite. Small and insignificant yet magnificent. The atoms that make his body existed before him as stardust and would one day return to the universe as ingredients for the creation of something new. But for now they hold the spirit of Atom Belov, a human being from planet Earth. Imperfect and ever-changing. And as he inputs a fresh set of coordinates into the console, coordinates he knows by heart, he feels his purpose like a light in his rib cage, illuminating him from within. A spark that begins at the core and expands to everything it can reach, burning away the darkness, not through destruction but through creation.
The ship hums under his fingers as he turns it around. All at once the Milky Way sprawls before before him. Teeming with light and possibility and life. Atom flicks the thrusters to full throttle and dials Maverick over the radio. After a few seconds his voice fills the cockpit.
"All done, Atomic man?"
"Yeah. All done."
"Hey wait, have you been crying?"
Atom wipes his cheeks and laughs a little. "Uh, I guess. But I'm okay. Great actually."
"If you say so."
"It's the truth. So where's your location?"
"The Sveyer System. Decided to do some sightseeing while I wait for you to catch up. Heard Delores is incredible at this time of year. I was about to head down and see it for myself. You want me to take pics for you?"
"Sure, but don't hang around there for too long. I'm taking the fastest route. I'll be with you in no time."
"You're lucky I have the patience of a rock."
Atom chuckles, "That I am."
"I'm nearing Delores now. Now if this isn't the most beautiful gas giant I've ever seen..."
Maverick goes on about the planet and Atom is happy to sit back and listen. His voice fills the empty space and makes the hours and minutes pass by faster than ever before. It isn't long now. Not long at all.
-
BY THE will of his hands the ship falls quiet. He slides his ID card from the console and stands up from the pilot seat. With a silver sword strapped to his hip, Atom exits the ship and steps out onto the ice of Europa. Her cracked frozen surface stretches as far as the eye can see. To his left, the sky cowers under Jupiter's incomparable presence.
Across the moon's surface is another spaceship. An astronaut stands at the foot of it, waiting for Atom. As Atom approaches he motions to the ship behind Atom.
"Ready to part with your little friend there?"
"It wasn't mine to begin with."
"That's right, I remember. What ever happened to your ship, anyway?"
"It sank at the very beginning of my mission. Maybe I should have taken it as a sign. But you know what they say about hindsight."
"I did try to warn you about our potential for friendship, at the very least."
"Is that what this is? Friendship?"
"What else would you call it?"
"Blind trust?"
"I can see you just fine, Atom. Just fine."
"In that case, are we ready to go?"
"I've been ready."
"Sorry for the wait."
"Don't sweat it," Maverick straightens up and holds out an empty hand. Atom glances down. And accepts the handshake. Palm to palm the two men stand. In the great far distance shines a pale blue dot. "What matters is that you got here in the end."
"I remember that pit."
"Awful, right?"
"Yeah--And during my time there Colonel Helgriff would threaten to replace the fluid with actual acid if we didn't behave."
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."
"I guess it's not a mystery why I preferred combat lessons with Colonel Yulis." Atom shifts in his seat and hovers a hand over the long range radio. "Hey, I've gotta step away for a moment. Got something I need to do."
"Not backing out, are we?"
Atom looks out the display window at the large bright light swirling before him, surrounded by an ocean of stars. Blindingly brilliant and beautiful.
"No. Not on this. I'll call you back later."
"Roger that. I'll still be here."
Atom flicks off the radio and unbuckles from the pilot seat. Floating to his backpack he opens it and carefully pulls out the misshapen bundle of cloth. He takes it to the back of the ship, all the way to the narrow airlock leading to the escape pod. He opens the door and enters the cramped space before unraveling the bundle. With bare hands he frees the Device and cradles it to his chest.
When Tyur removed it from his body, Atom had asked to keep the severed leg. Tyur thought him strange for it, but since he had no use for such primitive technology he didn't argue and sent Atom on his way with the extra prosthetic tucked under one arm. Now it looks like just that. A hastily constructed metal leg designed to house a galaxy-breaking bomb. Comfort had been the furthest thing from the minds of its creators. And yet, it looks entirely harmless at a glance, and a simple hunk of junk upon closer inspection.
But it is, at its core, the most destructive bomb ever created by human hands. The device that was meant to save humanity.
And maybe it still could.
Atom straps it to the wall of the coffin and manually sets its trajectory before floating out and securely shutting both doors. Then he hits eject and listens to the sound of it jolting free.
He races back to the front of the ship and watches through the wide windows as the coffin plummets into the gravity of a nameless dying star. Here in the wastelands between galaxies the impact will result in the star's collapse, birthing a brand new black hole, and nothing more. Neither Robby's Galaxy nor the Milky Way will be affected.
Alone Atom lays witness to the end of his mission. He watches unblinking as the massive star implodes, collapses in on itself until all that remains is a perfect void. A perfect mirror of what it used to be.
And Atom feels weightless. He feels unending and infinite. Small and insignificant yet magnificent. The atoms that make his body existed before him as stardust and would one day return to the universe as ingredients for the creation of something new. But for now they hold the spirit of Atom Belov, a human being from planet Earth. Imperfect and ever-changing. And as he inputs a fresh set of coordinates into the console, coordinates he knows by heart, he feels his purpose like a light in his rib cage, illuminating him from within. A spark that begins at the core and expands to everything it can reach, burning away the darkness, not through destruction but through creation.
The ship hums under his fingers as he turns it around. All at once the Milky Way sprawls before before him. Teeming with light and possibility and life. Atom flicks the thrusters to full throttle and dials Maverick over the radio. After a few seconds his voice fills the cockpit.
"All done, Atomic man?"
"Yeah. All done."
"Hey wait, have you been crying?"
Atom wipes his cheeks and laughs a little. "Uh, I guess. But I'm okay. Great actually."
"If you say so."
"It's the truth. So where's your location?"
"The Sveyer System. Decided to do some sightseeing while I wait for you to catch up. Heard Delores is incredible at this time of year. I was about to head down and see it for myself. You want me to take pics for you?"
"Sure, but don't hang around there for too long. I'm taking the fastest route. I'll be with you in no time."
"You're lucky I have the patience of a rock."
Atom chuckles, "That I am."
"I'm nearing Delores now. Now if this isn't the most beautiful gas giant I've ever seen..."
Maverick goes on about the planet and Atom is happy to sit back and listen. His voice fills the empty space and makes the hours and minutes pass by faster than ever before. It isn't long now. Not long at all.
-
BY THE will of his hands the ship falls quiet. He slides his ID card from the console and stands up from the pilot seat. With a silver sword strapped to his hip, Atom exits the ship and steps out onto the ice of Europa. Her cracked frozen surface stretches as far as the eye can see. To his left, the sky cowers under Jupiter's incomparable presence.
Across the moon's surface is another spaceship. An astronaut stands at the foot of it, waiting for Atom. As Atom approaches he motions to the ship behind Atom.
"Ready to part with your little friend there?"
"It wasn't mine to begin with."
"That's right, I remember. What ever happened to your ship, anyway?"
"It sank at the very beginning of my mission. Maybe I should have taken it as a sign. But you know what they say about hindsight."
"I did try to warn you about our potential for friendship, at the very least."
"Is that what this is? Friendship?"
"What else would you call it?"
"Blind trust?"
"I can see you just fine, Atom. Just fine."
"In that case, are we ready to go?"
"I've been ready."
"Sorry for the wait."
"Don't sweat it," Maverick straightens up and holds out an empty hand. Atom glances down. And accepts the handshake. Palm to palm the two men stand. In the great far distance shines a pale blue dot. "What matters is that you got here in the end."