Authors: Eddie Hastings
All around the ship similar family meetings had been taking place. Mary and David’s conversation was not exclusive. This crew now shared the common bonds of emotional pain and anguish. They all understood what each other was feeling at this moment in time. All of them were drained and although they wanted to be alone with their grief, the absurdity was, that they also needed the comfort of their fellow suffers. When they were sure that Mary had finished speaking to her husband, they all congregated in the cockpit. No one spoke, they sat together deep within their own thoughts, but they were together, and in this surreal moment the support that they feeling from each other was indescribably calming. Travis had been the first to end his call and had realised that they all needed something to give them closure in this dark hour. He knew that their planet would be out of range within the next few hours and that they would be stranded here to start their new lives. He had decided to use the time he had before everyone else had finished to prepare for what he hoped would help everyone. He opened the cargo pod and into it he loaded a large monitor and some other equipment that he needed. He then accessed the main computer from the departure bay and set up some minor adjustments to enable him to achieve his plan. When he was prepared he contacted Alpha Prime and briefed them on what he wanted to do. They, in turn, agreed without hesitation and assisted him in achieving what he had set out to do. By the time he had prepared everything they had all completed their conferences and were sitting together. He was the last to enter and took a seat with the rest. Recognising the fact that they needed this time he said nothing, just sat with the rest. By keeping himself busy he had had more time to deal with his emotions and, for now, was quite calm and in control of himself. He knew that at some time in the future he would need the support of the others. But for now, he believed that they needed him more. As they sat Travis kept an eye on the clock that he could see above the control panels near the front window of the ship. He knew how long it took to get to shore and was trying to time his plan with the position of their planet. He wanted to help them but didn’t want to prolong the situation and aggravate an already volatile situation. When he though that the time was right he spoke. As he spoke his word cut into the silence and everyone looked at him with sadness in their eyes. There was no anger, no discord just silent suffering.
“I have been talking to Prime and between us we have something to show you.” They all looked confused. Jason was most bewildered. He wondered why Travis should be talking to Prime without permission. Then he realised that they were all equal and he now had as much right as anyone.
Travis continued. “We all need to go ashore. I have prepared all of the pods, so if you follow me” as he finished he started for the departure bay. They all looked at each other and shrugged in confusion. They all realised that they had to do something to break the cycle of depression, so, without protestation they followed him to the pods.
Within half an hour they were all standing on the beach in the warm evening air. It was good to be standing there away from the ship. They were still confused but they went along with what Travis had planned. He activated the proximity alarm on his wrist controller and when he was sure that they were alone he set to work. He raised the cargo pod out of the water and began to unpack its contents. Firstly he set a stand on the sand onto which he placed the large monitor. He then connected the monitor wirelessly to the ships computer. They all stood in front of the screen and shortly the image of their collective families stood before them. This was one last chance to say goodbye. Lyle Harrison addressed them. His voice was not that of a military man, it was softer less authoritative
he looked at his crew and said. “Very soon we will be out of range and this will be the last time that we will meet. I want you to know that if there could have been any other conclusion to this we would have sacrificed anything to get you back. We have taken recordings of your conversations with your families and have downloaded them to your personal files so that you will have them forever. We are all so proud of you and I know that you will be sadly missed. I know that for you it is little consolation. But you will go down in our history and be spoke of for many generations to come.” He then handed the screen over to the individual families. Each family in turn said their last goodbyes to their loved ones. The last to speak was David. He looked at Mary and with tears rolling down his face he said “I love you Mary. Be safe and raise Jesus well…I love you, goodbye” She looked at him longingly and said “My sweet, precious David I will always love you, and I promise to take care of our baby…I love you, goodbye”. When they had all had their last chance to say their farewells, Lyle Harrison spoke again. “Goodbye Alpha 1472. Live long and prosperous lives. God blesses you and hopes that one day we shall all meet again. Remember you are, and always will be people of God, but now you need to be there for each other. Farewell friends…Farewell” Mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives all waved to each other and blew kisses and as they made their final farewells, the reception started to fade and within minutes the only thing that could be seen on the screen was static. They all looked to the skies as they gathered together in one huddle and stared into space. God was gone, and they were alone.
They stood watching the skies for about an hour before they decided to return to the ship. Having repacked the cargo pod they all stood on their own pods and made their way back. On their return they secured all of the equipment and one by one they embraced Travis and thanked him for his gift to them. Anne Homer reached into her med kit and took out her hypo spray. She said that it was time for them to take the antidote to the sleep inhibitor that had kept them awake for so long. She suggested that they all retired to their quarters where she would visit them. They knew it was time and that they needed the rest. Without any argument they all retired and one by one Anne injected them. The last person she visited was Jason. She stood over him and before she gave him his shot she said “Captain.” He looked at her and said that his name was Jason. She screwed her face a little and started to speak again. “Captain, we are going to be alright aren’t we?” He looked at her, then reached out and took her hand and said “I don’t know what the future holds for us, but, I am sure of one thing. We all need each other now and if we help each other get through this then...yes we will be alright.” She sighed and nodded. His words had comforted her. She gave him his injection and said “Goodnight Jason, sleep well.” As she went to her room she took one last look around her and she wondered what the future held for them all. She closed the door climbed into bed and injected herself. Before long they were all asleep and the ship was silent.
The journey home was more sedate than his arrival. There was no urgency, no sirens and no flashing lights. In the car with him were two men from the agency and his councillor. No one spoke during the journey, but the atmosphere was not strained, it was calm and reflective. As they pulled into his drive he could see that both his car and Mary’s had been brought back in his absence. One of the men stepped out of the car and opened the door for him. As he was getting out his councillor handed him her business card and said that if he needed her day or night for whatever reason, he should call. He looked at the card and read her name ‘Angela Bernstein’. As he did so he suddenly realised that up until this point he had no idea what her name was. He apologised to her saying that he was normally not so insensitive and that it had been a long day. She waived this remark and reassured him that if he needed her she would be there for him. David thanked everyone and started up the drive toward his front door. He stood on the doorstep until they had driven away then he reached into his coat pocket to search for his keys. As he offered the key to the lock he found that his hand was trembling. He tried, unsuccessfully, several times to open the door and each time, the key scraped past the keyhole. In aggravation he threw the keys on the floor and collapsed onto the doorstep. He sat with his back to the door and in his frustration he banged his head violently against the hard wood. After a while he reached for his keys, stood up and tried again. This time he was successful. The door swung open and he stood there for a while just looking inside, unsure whether to enter or not. Eventually he decided that he had no where else to go, so he went in and closed the door behind him. The house felt empty, it used to be their home and was full of life and love, but now it was nothing more than a shell. He slipped of his coat and let it fall to the floor where he abandoned it. As he walked across the room he could see reminders of here everywhere. Everything she was was here in this room, in this house and it was all that he had left of her. He went to the drinks cabinet and took a bottle of spirits, it didn’t matter what it was, it could have been anything, just so long as it had the effect of numbing his feelings, he didn’t care. He held the glass in front of him and poured himself a drink which he downed in one. He thought for a second and then filled the glass. Before long the bottle was nearly empty and he was very drunk. He tried to stand up and stumbled over landing on all fours. The glass rolled away from him spilling the remnants of his drink. He looked at it and decided to leave it where it lay. Then he made his way to bed. Getting there was not the easiest of journeys and he found himself crawling up the stairs. When he finally managed to get himself onto the bed he lay there in the dark. He could smell her scent on the pillow next to him and he wished she was there to hold him. The room span around him and normally he would be violently sick. But on this occasion he just lay there motionless. Before long he was asleep.
He was awoken the next morning by raised voices outside his front door.
He lay there for a while listening, then he decided that he should see what was going on. He raised his head off the pillow and experienced the pain of a major hangover. He gathered himself against the pain and went downstairs. He was still fully dressed in the same clothes that he had worn since early the previous day. He could smell himself, but he didn’t care. He went to investigate the disturbance, on his way he kicked his jacket out of the way and opened the front door. He was met by the two men who had driven him home the previous night who were holding his friends at bay. It was Alan and Amanda. They asked him if he knew these people. He said that he did. They apologised to them and let them pass. He wondered why the men were here and asked them. They explained that since the previous night the news of Alpha 1472 had broken on the news networks and that they had been assigned to look after his security. They added that all of the other relative’s houses were being stormed by news teams and that they were expecting the same for him very soon. As they spoke the first outside broadcast vehicle could be seen approaching drawing up the road. They suggested that he went back inside and close the door; they would take care of the news teams. He did as he was advised and left them outside. As soon as the door was closed Amanda flung her arms around him tightly. He didn’t want the attention at the moment, but they were his friends and he was glad of their company. Alan also hugged him for a while and then went to the kitchen to make some strong black coffee. Up until this point no one had spoken. They were all aware of the situation and what had happened and although they were there for him the awkwardness of the situation meant that they did not know how to start a conversation. Alan had made coffee and they sat around the breakfast bar sipping their hot drinks. David broke the silence. He looked down into his coffee cup and said, “I’ve lost her. She’s gone and I don’t know what I’m going to do.” As soon as he had said it the horrors of the previous day came flooding back to him and he began to cry. This was the catalyst they needed. As soon as he had broken down they felt freer to comfort him. Amanda put here arm around him and shared his grief. After they had both cried for a while David composed himself and said that it would be easier if she had died, at least he could grieve properly but as it was he knew that she was out there somewhere feeling the same way that he did and he could do nothing to help her, and that was what made it all the more unbearable. He spoke about ending it all and taking his own life but Alan and Amanda said that that they knew that Mary wouldn’t want that. It was a morning of highs and lows and they talked steadily for hours. Eventually Alan managed to talk him into taking a shower. He knew that he would feel better but he couldn’t be bothered he was just not in the mood to do anything. By the same token he needed a break from his friends and so he agreed.
He stood in the shower
and let the warm water cascade over his tired body. As he showered his thoughts turned back to Mary and he cried once more the water from the shower mingled with his tears and washed them away. He had been there for about ten minutes when he suddenly decided that this had to end and so he steeled himself against his grief and made the conscious decision to pull himself together. He quickly finished his shower, went to the sink and shaved his face, cleaned his teeth and went to get dressed. Laid neatly on the chair next to the wardrobe, was a pile of Mary’s clothes. He had seen them but had decided that if he ignored their existence, for now, they would not affect him. This ploy worked and he went downstairs to join his friends, clean and fresh. They were on their third cup of coffee when the front door bell rang. Instinctively he went to answer it. As he opened the door he was met with a myriad of flashing cameras people thrusting microphones at his face and a million shouted questions. It took him by surprise and he was visibly shocked. The guards held the tide of reporters at bay while the councillor entered the house, ushered him back indoors and closed the door behind them. “Where the hell did they come from and what are they doing at my house,” he demanded. She greeted him and said that they were all looking for a story it was the same at all of the houses of the relatives and that the agency was trying to find a solution to the invasion. He introduced her to Alan and Amanda and offered her a coffee. For a while they talked about how he felt today and how he saw his future. Then she turned her attention back to the hoards of reporters. It was suggested that he was re-housed in one of the agencies safe houses until the furore had settled and he was more able to cope with the inevitable attention that would come his way. David refused to be hounded out of his house and was adamant that he would stay where he was. No one thought that this was a good idea but, Alan suggested that he should go and stay with them for as long as it took. The press weren’t looking to speak to them and as far as they knew they had no idea where they lived. On the face of it, it seemed to be and ideal short term solution. Angela said that she would arrange for him to leave the house incognito the next day. For now he would have to sit tight and let security worry about the press. She would return when she had arranged everything. Her top priority was to find a lookalike to stand in for him here so that they could fool the press long enough for them to make their escape. She bid him farewell and left the house through the barrage of reporters to begin her subterfuge.