Orpheus

44

The days passed in cold isolation. Outside, Khione was tearing itself apart in a vicious storm; much like Riley's heart.

'You caused this... you caused his death.'

Riley didn't want to live anymore, she saw no purpose in it; her supplies would eventually run out, their planet inhospitable. She had blood on her hands, and she didn't know if she could live with it. But there was one thing she wanted to get through before she went into cryo: Owen.

For days, she sat hunched, working on the communications array. She might not have had the most expertise, but she did have the resolve, referring old manuals and tinkering her days away in hope of hearing his voice one last time, until finally, many restless days later, she made it work.

"Multiple messages received." the computer announced as she leaned back to look at the tiny CRT screen. "Messages span: Twenty years." The robotic voice seemed to somehow hammer that fact home.

'Twenty years...'

"Just play them from the beginning..." she gulped as she sat down.

The video screen flickered to life. The static images, first distorted, began clearing, until Riley saw the low-resolution face of Owen. She couldn't help but smile, a small part of her heart cracking. She felt herself tear up.

'Oh, how I missed your face...'

"Hey everyone..." he was still in his suit, the base around him messy. "or anyone listening to this. I uh... landed a few hours ago; Dorothy's a bit bumpy, but she's fine; solid little girl."

He shook his head and muttered to himself. "What am I even-"

He turned back to the camera "Anyways, my planet seems to be rocky and pretty earth-like. Dorothy's air system detected Oxygen, so that's nice I guess... That's what I'll probably be looking into tomorrow. Hope you guys are doing fine as well, uh..." he rubbed his eye with his fingers. "I'm really tired right now, I should probably go get some sleep." he grinned weakly; he did look exhausted. "Goodnight, everyone." he leaned forward and terminated the message.

The timeline at the bottom of the screen scrubbed ahead.

"Hey Riles." Owen's face appeared again. A small part of Riley's heart jumped at the mention of her name. The base around Owen had changed a bit; more ordered, more lived in. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, his face waxy. "Um uh... I just received data from Magnus; they uh... they didn't make it." A small part of Riley registered what he was saying, but she was more focused on drinking in his voice. "Each ship pings out its vital information to the other ships, lets them keep track and shit. Haven't received any from yours yet, but I did get one from theirs..." He looked away from the lens, into an unknown distance. "Their atmosphere was corrosive." He said after a small pause "Sulfuric acid, HCl and a bunch of other shit I can't even name. They burnt down before they even reached the surface. Ironic, with the name being Icarus and all that..."

She recalled something she'd thought when she first heard the name:

'But Icarus fell; fell to his death.'  

That made her uncomfortable.

He looked back at the camera. "I don't know... it's just, this whole 'lone ranger' thing is much harder than I thought it'd be." He gave smile, but his eyes had a layer of insecurity; that struck Riley.

'If only I could be with you...'

"-and I guess, it'd be nice if I could hear from you; I'm presuming you are sending messages, it's just slow to reach here 'cause of gravity. but..." he paused and looked into the distance "Screw it; I'm sure I'm just overthinking. I gotta go sleep; goodnight Riley." she saw him lean forward and disconnect.