Via Aeterna

[Vercetti27]

 

been thinking about this for a while - just something to get me back into writing. I got inspiration from those space ambient videos on youtube, they seem to build this atmosphere that just begs for a bit of story. This won't be anything that heavy and I'm not sure how long I'll persevere with it. Just going along and updating whenever I feel the spark.

 

Via Aeterna

 

 

Awaken
It burned. The light burned. At first, it seemed too painful to take. Mouth, jaw, completely numb. She would have screamed if she could. And then, it all just seemed to fade. What was pain, was now such a faint, dull ache.

"Awaken"
It took at least a few moments to notice that she couldn’t move her limbs. They had been encased so heavily into the sleeping pod - thick, electric blue gel that there was no way she could move if she tried. 

The light - her vision was returning slowly. The first sense that had truly recovered from the eternal slumber was her sense of smell. The pod was covered with thin translucent tubing, coiling and twisting through the gel, monitoring blood pressure, temperature and a million other things. Her nose sent signals to her brain, detecting smells that seemed so familiar, yet alien to her.

 

"See"
Finally the onslaught of light was dissolving, and her eyes could piece things together, objects, movement. Despite the sense of complete disarray, there was no panic running through her mind. Any possible sense of danger she could pick up at this point would be counteracted by the pulsing capillary like wires injecting mysterious rays of light into her brain, via the rubber like node attached to the side of her head. This had been keeping the brain active, at the necessary level for the huge migration to be possible.

 

"See"
An object approached her, closer and closer still. A fuzzy limb slowly reached out and gently rested on her shoulder. The smell of the sleeping pod seemed almost metallic. A searing ache throbbed through her head - the node was detached. Her vision was clearing enough to see a bespectacled older gentleman in a lab coat looking over her, while several others looked on. 

“Nise, we’re beginning descent. Welcome to The Station”. He sounded even older. Footsteps could be heard coming closer, some faces appeared coming around the archway from the corridor outside.

“Let’s get her out of that thing, she needs to see this”.
 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

“Time is motionless out here. There are no mornings. No nights. No sunrises or falls. It feels liberating at first, nothing dictates your path, eternity stretching before you”. Commander Uton spoke with conviction, each word meticulously considered. His uniform, closely fitted grey sweatsuit. Shoes were the same as every other on the ship, plain white slip ons, made of thin rubber which make each step seem like the ground is pushing you back.

He spoke again into his voice recorder: 

“My team was awoken earlier this morning by the sentinels. We’ve travelled some eight hundred thousand light years, yet everything seems like it did before we entered our sleeping pods. I look out of the windows in my commander bay, and all I can see is the pure darkness that I saw all that eternity ago. I...,” he paused, looking for the right words, tilting his head up and closing his eyes gently. “I see faces, faces from long ago in the peripheral vision of my mind’s eye. They smile, and I smile back. We have five days to get acquainted with each other, and, and ourselves”, he repressed a laugh back - and cleared his throat to continue. “I hope their faces will seem friendly as the ones I left behind”. He clicked the button on the small device which finished transmission, and walked towards the window seating area, looking out at the infinite vastness in front of him.

“How does the Commander feel now he has rested”? An inquisitive voice came from the edge of the open arched corridor behind him. 

“Quite fine thank you. Just recording my thoughts”. Uton responded, forcing a meek smile back.
“Well I am relieved. The speaker who was so inquisitive hovered closer, an old man with no hair, wearing a long white cloak, with golden rope tied around the waist in a curiously complex knot. 

“I advise all the sleepers to record themselves when they awake. It helps, I can assure you”. Gracefully edging closer, he stood by the bay window, several feet from the commander. 

“We’re about One hundred and fifteen hours from the station. It’s quite something isn’t it”?

Uton looked back out at the vastness, now faint wisps of coloured gas were visible. 
“Somewhat...I mean - of course it is, it’s, a miracle”. 
“You’ll see something special when we pass the P5-62. It’s one of the most beautiful nebulae in the galaxy”, spoken with the gently comforting tones of a wise old paternal voice, smiling with a look of love in his eyes.

“I will, Captain. How long until we meet together, uh..the team, I mean”?
“Nise, our last technician has just awoken. She’s under observation right now, but once fit and ready, I’ll bring her back to mission and give her the spec. Then we can prepare for the docking period. Caleb”?

“Yes captain”? Commander felt better now the Captain reminded him of his old name, the name chosen on earth for him.
“Do tell me if you’re not quite right. You made a very...particular decision before you went to sleep. A decision I recommended against”.
The Commander froze, eyes focused on the Captain. 
“Oh”?
The Captain eased, and smiled politely back. “We’ll catch up again soon, first, I must reconvene with Nise. Do you, do any memories seem to be coming back yet, Caleb”?
Commander Caleb Uton’s mind was still a whirl of rushed thoughts, images, faces, voices - yes- FACES! Oh good lord if he could be left alone for a while longer maybe he could decipher who the faces were. One in particular was ebbing back, faster than the others. 
“There’s something, a face”.
“A face”?
“Yes Captain, why”? The Commander held a palm against his forehead, as if to summon these images back, stronger, as if by sheer will. 
“No reason”, the Captain smiled weakly. “Keep recording, and rest up. We have days on board before docking. Do try to use them well, oh - and Caleb”?
“Yes Sir”?
“If that face comes back to you, please, please don’t do anything”.
“Like what Captain”?
The Captain turned on his heels, ready to leave the bay but froze as he stared back at the Commander. Was he - was he capable of this mission? The Captain had his doubts about the sheer duration of the hibernation, over one million years in outer space would be unthinkable hundreds of years ago. This being the fifth supply since the colonies arrived - and by now, they needed all the help they could yet. They’ve had to wait some time. But it wasn’t time on board the ship that would be the trouble. Time stands still in space, on the ship. 

“Enjoy the view. I’ll see you again soon”. With that the Captain embarked back up the steps, out of the Commander’s bay, out into the open plan seating area and then left to one of the many corridors on the ship which dissected each living quarter, each storage quarter, each tech room and sentinel room. 
 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

End of Part One

 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Vercetti27