Orpheus

41

The following months passed by in tepid isolation. Riley and Connor spent most of their time sending probes and exploring the cruel face of the planet, but their odds never favored; too much ammonia to breathe, too cold to live. They never said it out loud, but it became pretty apparent that there was no hope for them here. Khione, cold, stark, yet beautiful, couldn't care less.

That didn't stop them though; it is in human nature to lose all hope when there's so much, as is to search for even the slightest when there's none. But each probe they sent brought back the same data. Each valley they crossed brought them the same sights. 

They never stopped looking, though they knew there was nothing new to find.

What time Riley didn't spend sending probes into the surface or checking on the pods, she spent gazing at the sky through the small window of their base. Sitting there, she sometimes felt, that in a cruel twist of fate, she'd been returned to her old life; the loneliness, the rain.

'We failed; we couldn't find a planet for humanity. Let's just hope the others could.'

A thought struck Riley.

'What if the others failed too? What if this is it? Humanity, fizzling out in its last huzzah.'

Riley shook her head.

'Is it even possible? Of course it is; the odds were never in our favor anyway. The possibility of being stranded on an inhospitable planet came with the job. This mission was a gamble from the beginning, and it just didn't pan out...'

Riley trained her eyes to the sky, trying to distract her mind. She couldn't see the sun nor stars, courtesy of the clouds; a thin blanket of haze over a palette of stars.

'When we die, nobody'll bury us. Nobody'll even find us. We might as well be the last legacy of humans on this planet; a few footprints and a hill.'

She shook her head.

'It's just... I don't want to die like this; not with so many issues unresolved. Not without saying goodbye to Owen.'

She tore her gaze from the sky back inside, towards the communication server. Part of her yearned to listen to his voice; to just somehow make the connection and hear from him that he's alright.

'Why is it, that I'm drawn to him so much?'

'Maybe it's because you liked him, and then you let him go.'

She closed her eyes and let out a splintered sigh.

'It's just... It hurts. It hurts and oh and how I wished it didn't...'

'Think of what could've been Riles; think of what could've been...'

She shook her head and looked out at the distance; she could see the distant figure of Connor trudging towards the base.

'Connor: he's been acting weird; distant, colder, taking brasher steps. He's hardly the man I once knew...'

Riley didn't think it was possible before, but somehow Connor'd become more stoic, remaining emotionless until he let then all lose at a time, usually in rage. She recalled the various times he snapped back at her, words of passive-aggressive encouragement turning into authoritarian commands as he always complained about his mission. 

"I don't think he's taking the situation well. Hell, I'M not taking any of this well. What kind of person would be okay with the fact that they're damned?'

Riley's lips felt dry; she moistened them. Something pulled at the inside of her throat.

'Maybe it's time we consider going into cryo; a quick, painless sleep into darkness. We wouldn't even have to feel anything...'

She hated the prospect, despised it... yet she saw no other option.

'Maybe it's time me and Connor have a talk...'