“Major Redding, it's time,” the junior officer said. The major waited for the arrival of this moment, and had been ready for the last fifteen minutes. The 6'4” fox stood and let his flight suit settle about him before reaching for his helmet. The pilot inhaled slowly and blew out his breath in a calming gesture. “Okay, let's go.” Major Micheal “Red” Redding made his way out of the crew station and onto the tarmac where the shuttle idled, ready to whisk him to the launch pad of the Tycho class rocket. That this would be a momentous flight, there was no doubt; perhaps even the last of his long career if it proved what the scientists predicted. All that was cast aside however, as thoughts centered on the one person who would not be present to wish him a safe return one last time.
~
He knew she was unhappy by the way her tail twitched. She said she understood the circumstances; knew the risks he laid out for her. She even insisted that she be present when they lit the rocket that would propel Micheal into orbit. But now when that time was at hand, she had misgivings. “Promise me you'll come back in one piece,” she said, not quite hiding the quiver of her lower lip. Micheal grinned at her and squeezed her shoulder. “Just a walk in the park, Love. Don't worry, this is all routine; I'm basically just cargo along for the ride. It will all be over this time tomorrow and you'll be back in my arms before you know it.” He held out his arms slightly and she slipped between them, snuggling close to his chest. She sighed and he hugged her gently. “I'll be waiting,” she murmured. “I know. Now how about giving your hero a kiss before he flies off into the wild blue yonder?” Micheal smirked at her and winked in that dashing way that swept her off her feet the first time they met. She could not resist his charm and the two shared a tender kiss before having to break their embrace. “I love you,” the female fox said softly. “I love you too, Maria,” Micheal replied. She reluctantly stepped away from him, knowing that she had no choice but to let him depart. The pilot walked a few strides away before coming to a halt, as if remembering something. He looked over his shoulder and snapped his fingers with a grin. “I knew I was forgetting something.” Maria looked at him with curiosity. The fox bounded back over to her and spoke in a low, hushed tone as if sharing a secret. “I booked us a vacation for when I get back. Lots of sand and sun, and just me and you for four days. So how about you get yourself a pretty blue sundress and I'll fill you in on the rest when I get back?” He winked at her again with that roguish charm and she could not stifle her giggle. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “It's a date!”
~
“Tower this is Icarus. I'm all strapped in and waiting for you folks to button up this tin can so we can make history one more time.” In the control room, the Flight Director flashed his teeth at the Operations Manager in a relaxed grin. “That's our boy. I was starting to get a little worried when he was unusually quiet. Give him the thumbs up.” “Uh, roger that Red, the techs are just putting the last coat of wax on Icarus,” Ops said. “We will begin countdown as soon as the gantry is cleared and Flight makes the final checklist run. Standby.” “Roger that,” Red replied. Several minutes passed since the airlock hatch was secured and Micheal found his thoughts wandering again. How long had it been since that first goodbye? Nearly twenty years by his recollection. He smirked as another memory flitted through his mind. It never got any easier.
~
“No! Not this time!” Maria slapped her hand down on the table, nearly spilling the coffee that sat in front of her. “This is the chance of a lifetime, Love!” Micheal stood near the phone on the wall where he just received word of the next mission. He was excited to break the news to Maria, but she did not take it as well as hoped. “Don't you understand? We are going to the moon!” Her eyes flashed fire for a brief instant, but then her shoulders shook and she bit back the tears. “I don't care, let someone else be first this time.” Micheal's eyes fell to the floor and he stood silent for a moment, listening to his wife whimper as her tears dampened her cheeks. He walked softly to her side and placed a hand over hers. She tensed but did not pull away. “Maria, please,” he said gently, “I may never get an opportunity like this again.” “Like the last time you had the 'opportunity of a lifetime'?” “That was an accident, no one could have known-” “Did anyone know what it was like for me to wait at your hospital bed for two weeks while you regained consciousness?” She nearly choked on her words from grief. Micheal sighed. “I'm so sorry, Love. I never meant to hurt you, I still can only imagine what it was like. But I'm here now, I made it through okay. This time will be different. The whole world will be watching, so you know they will take every precaution.” “Why can't you leave the dangerous stuff for the guys that don't have wives waiting for them?” Maria looked up at him with pleading eyes. Micheal smirked at her in his usual manner. “You already know the answer to that question, Love. I am an explorer, I was born for this.” She gave him a small unemotional smile in return. “I can't stop you, of course,” she said flatly. “I just don't know if I have it in me to wait anymore. I never know if you are ever going to walk through that door again, or if I will be greeted by the men in the black car.” The fox sighed and squeezed her hand. “I was going to wait to tell you, but I guess now is as good a time as any. When this flight is over, they are going to offer me a position in the training program. I'll be helping to mold the next generation of explorers. But they want a veteran for the initial flight, and I'm at the top of the list.” He waited for a few breaths to let it sink in. “Maria, I have to go.” She nodded in understanding, but her tears flowed freely. The female fox slowly turned her shoulders away from her husband. “Go then, I won't protest any more. I won't be at the launch.” Micheal looked at her stunned. “But, Maria...” When she made no further comment, he nodded his head. “Okay, Love.” He leaned over to kiss her head and stroke her ears one last time before he left the table.
~
Red remembered that Maria could be just as stubborn as he was, which was one of her traits that attracted him in the first place. She had shown up for that launch and had once again given him a parting kiss. He also remembered that she made him promise to return to her. Specifically, to never leave this Earth again as long as she remained on it. The chirp of the com broke in on Micheal's thoughts. “Icarus this is flight.” “Go Flight,” Red responded. “We are green across the board, standby to begin the two minute countdown to launch.” “Roger Flight, Icarus standing by.” The Major scanned the instrument panel one last time as he ran the checklists through his head. Everything looked in order. But then again, a bunch of checklists and switches and blinking lights did not always tell the whole story. Red was all too familiar with the way things got shaken up from the unpredictability of life. “T-minus two minutes and counting,” said Flight Control. The Major watched the seconds click away on the dash clock, recalling another time when every tick seemed to last a lifetime.
~
Maria sat on the edge of the exam table clutching her hands nervously. Micheal silently paced back and forth across the room. Every so often he would glance at the clock above the door, and continue pacing. The doctor has been gone exactly 24 minutes Micheal thought to himself. The yearly visit to the doctor's office started routinely enough. Micheal brought Maria in for a physical check up with the intention of having a consultation on family planning. The couple wanted to discuss starting a family. Things took a sharp turn when Maria fainted during her visit. She had been lightheaded and dizzy a few times recently, but had not considered it to be anything significant since the spells passed quickly. This time was different since it took a full ten minutes to rouse her. The doctors took some blood and ordered an x-ray to see if they could narrow down her symptoms. When it came back offering more questions than solutions, her doctor ordered a more thorough scan, which would take about a week for them to analyze and get the results. They now waited for the doctor and said results. They continued to wait, 25 minutes now Micheal noted, for the doctor's results to be brought in. After another full two minutes, the door clicked open and the doctor entered holding a closed chart. The young wolf cleared his throat and adjusted his collar. “Hello Maria, Micheal. I apologize for keeping you waiting, I just wanted to look over the notes one more time before I came in. I'm sorry to say that it is not good news, and I wanted to be perfectly frank with you.” Maria whimpered softly and Micheal went to stand next to her. He wrapped his arm around his wife and squeezed her gently. “Well, let's have it doc. What's going on?” The husband's voice belied his own nervousness. The doctor clutched at the chart for a moment before speaking. “Yes, well, I will put it in the simplest terms I can.” He paused for a few seconds and took a deep breath before saying, “I'm afraid you have cancer Maria.” It took a few seconds for the statement to hit home. Maria made a small moaning sound that quickly erupted into crying. Micheal could only stare at the doctor in stunned silence. Maria seemed to recover from the initial shock quickly and looked into the doctor's face. “So how do we fix this? Can you operate?” The sadness in his features deepened as he shook his head. “The cancer is a tumor inside your brain, I'm afraid it is inoperable. I'm so sorry.” Maria was determined not to accept the diagnosis. “Surely there is something we can do? Chemo? Some kind of natural remedy?” “I'm afraid not,” the doctor said, “not in this case. The survival rate is less than 1% for an operation, and radiation therapy would actually be worse than the tumor itself. I'm truly sorry but it is only a matter of time.” “How could this happen,” Micheal exclaimed. “Last year my wife was the picture of health, and now this?” Maria started to cry softly at his outburst. The young wolf sighed heavily. “A standard physical would probably not pick up anything like this without seeing symptoms first. According to Maria's chart, the first time she remembers being dizzy was 6 months ago. That was just the first sign.” Micheal quietly hugged his wife as she cried into his chest. The doctor's ears drooped and his eyes remained downcast. The husband attempted to speak but it took several attempts for him to find his voice. When he uttered his question, it was little more than a croak. “Doctor, how...? When...” “How long,” the doctor finished for him. Micheal could only nod. “Well, based on the scan it could be two years before...uh, before it causes...” His voice faltered and he coughed to clear his throat again. “Before I die,” Maria whispered hoarsely through her tears. The doctor nodded.
~
“T-minus 30 seconds,” the com chirped in his helmet. Red had his eyes closed as the painful memory flashed through his mind, but the countdown brought him back to the present. He felt the familiar vibrations and the almost inaudible rumble as the rocket awoke from its slumber. In just a few seconds, several hundred tons of liquid fuel would ignite and propel his tiny little metal capsule into orbit. Micheal smirked again as the odds of reaching a successful orbit danced through his mind. How many times had he defied the odds? Too many to count, save for the one time when the scales tipped to far and he almost became a statistic. Maria managed to beat the odds as well. At least for a little while. His attention was jolted back to the present as more activity lit up on his control panel. “Flight, Icarus has started fuel flow. I'm ready to light this candle!” “Roger Icarus, T-minus 10 and counting. 9...8...7...” The Major patted the bulkhead next to him and whispered, “Okay baby, take me to the heavens.” “3...2...1...Ignition!” Red was jostled in his seat as the rocket rumbled and bucked. He concentrated on breathing as he felt the invisible 3 ton elephant sit on his chest. “Icarus, you are clear of the tower!” “Roger tower,” Micheal grunted. “Speed is 300 knots and climbing. Altitude passing 1500 meters.” “Trajectory is right on the line,” Flight said. “You are on your way, Icarus. Standby for second stage in 90 seconds...mark!” The Major watched the second countdown reach zero and for a brief moment the elephant on his chest stood up. He knew it was fleeting however as an instant later the second booster engaged and he felt the kick in the pants from the acceleration. It was not as intense as the initial liftoff, since gravity was already loosing its grip on him, but it was still quite noticeable. “Icarus, Flight. Well done Major, we show you on course and systems at 100%. Your extra orbit burn will cut off in approximately 1 minute, and then it's quiet sailing for 2 hours before deployment.” “Copy that Flight, just enough time to get a few winks in,” Red said with a smile in his voice. “A man my age needs his afternoon nap.” Flight Control keyed the com one more time, and Red heard muffled laughter in the background. “I might just be a nice guy and let you get a cat nap in. But I figured you'd probably be too anxious to do more than twiddle your thumbs for the next two hours. That, or you could run a systems check on Hyperion.” “Aw, you're no fun,” Micheal keyed back. “My extra orbit burn just cut out. Things are nice and quiet Flight, guess it is time to get out of this bulky jumpsuit. I'll give you a status report after I've run the initial diagnostic on Hyperion's systems. Icarus out.” “Roger that, Flight standing by.”
It only seemed a short while after when Major Redding was situated in the cockpit of the Hyperion. The experimental craft was small in comparison to the large and bulky rocket that lifted her into the heavens. The time approached for Red to free the sleek craft from the belly of Icarus and point her to new horizons. “Flight, this is Major Redding. I'm ready to open the hatch and detach Hyperion from Icarus.” “Copy that Red, you are good to go. We will await your signal when you have cleared the hull.” “Initiating separation,” Micheal said and clicked the sequence of switches that would decouple Hyperion from the mother ship. After a couple of jolts and clangs through the hull, the smaller ship emerged from the shadow of its host. Red used the thrusters to rotate the ship around and view his departure. “Separation complete. Hyperion is clear and ready for flight vectors.” “Roger that,” Flight said. There was a fair amount of cheering in the background, and with good reason. Major Redding did not exaggerate when he said this flight would make history. He would be the first person to travel near the speed of light. That was, if the scientists were correct in their theories. Micheal did not have a firm grasp on the practical applications, but he had the gist of the principles. Basically, when he engaged the hyperdrive engines of Hyperion, he would enter what the eggheads called slipstream. While in slipstream, the “thrust” of the ship was a very powerful laser. When the laser was engaged during slipstream, the particles it emitted would push the ship close to the speed of light. It all sounded good in theory, but he would soon find out if it actually worked. “Hyperion, Flight. Your telemetry looks good. The boys in the lab coats are just putting the finishing touches on the flight data; upload should commence momentarily then the bird is all yours.” “Copy that, Flight.” In a more somber tone Red said, “Thanks, Peter. I know you pulled a few strings to get me here. I just wish she could have...” He found his voice had momentarily failed him. “I'm sure she would have been proud of you Mike; she always was. You deserve one more chance to push the envelope and take us into a new era. Just enjoy the ride.”
~
Micheal sat beside her bed once again and stared at her shadowed face. The light from the solitary lamp reflected off his damp cheeks. He tried to keep his voice from quivering as he spoke to his wife. “You'll never guess who pulled some strings and brought me on to the latest and greatest mission. Peter of all people!” The husband chuckled softly putting on a lighthearted air for her. “It must be five years since we last saw Peter and Mabelle. They send their love, of course. This is one for the history books for sure. They say this will open up a new way for us to travel to the stars.” Micheal squeezed her hand gently. “Dreamers and explorers alike will finally be able to dance among the heavens. Of course, it is only in the preliminary stages. The actual flight most likely will not take place for another 3 years, and they are still building the actual ship.” The soft beep of the respirator broke the silence as his sad smile looked upon his wife. Her chest rose and fell softly while the monitor recorded her heartbeat in its silent vigil. Even in this state, her beauty melted his heart and he longed to pick her up and carry her far from this place. He leaned his head on her shoulder and wept.
Her condition continued to deteriorate year after year. At first she had trouble walking and was confined to wheelchair. Then she had difficulty even feeding herself and required a live in nurse. Even in her weakened state, she was defiant to the last; a full 5 years after the first diagnosis. Micheal was away at a training facility when Maria had been taken to the hospital. The Major got word of his wife's condition immediately, but it took 36 hours for him to reach home. By that time Maria had already slipped into a coma and she was not expected to ever regain consciousness. Micheal had nearly come unhinged when the realization sunk in that he would never hear his wife speak to him again. It was a few months later when he received the call from Peter asking him to come out of his retired flight status one last time. Peter had also heard about his wife, and had taken some time to console the old pilot. Micheal decided to speak with his wife one last time before he made his decision. When he arrived back from his short trip to visit Peter, he was immediately confronted by the doctor. His wife's condition had deteriorated further in the week since his last visit. The doctor had just as hard a time giving the bad news as Micheal had in hearing it. Maria's body was kept alive by the machines, but she was brain dead.
Micheal did not know how long he sat at her side crying. After saying goodbye to his wife one last time, he was met by the doctor to make final arrangements for her. Just as he was getting ready to leave the doctor's private office he was stopped. “Micheal, please wait a moment.” The doctor reached into a small desk drawer and pulled out a small sealed envelope. “I need to give you this before you go...before you take your last, well you know.” Micheal approached the desk and stared at the letter held out to him. “I'm sorry I did not give this too you sooner, I just did not want to put you in a worse situation. This was the last thing Maria wrote and said that you should get it only after she was...gone.” The fox closed his eyes for an instant before taking the envelope. “Thank you , doctor.” He departed the office without another word. Curiosity ate at him to tear open the letter and read what his wife wanted to tell him, but he managed to keep his composure until reaching home. A short while later, he sat alone in his kitchen and stared at the envelope sitting on the table before him. Taking a deep breath, he slowly sliced open the letter and pulled out the single page.
“Red, My time has come at last. I'm afraid this is one journey you cannot follow me on. It is my turn to be the brave explorer, seeking what lies beyond the veil. I cherish the time on this earth that we have shared together, and I love you more than mere words can express. I shall wait for you among the stars, Love. Goodbye. Maria”
Micheal barely noticed as his tears wet the page he held. Though he was saddened by her passing, he smiled at her words. “Godspeed, Love,” he whispered.
~
“Hyperion, Flight. Your flight plan has been uploaded into your nav computer, and we show everything green across the board. You have a go to enter slipstream.” “Roger Flight, standby. I am shifting into slipstream in 3...2...1...now!” The Major punched the button that turned on the system built into the hull, and the ship pushed through the boundaries of normal space into slipstream. If anyone had observed, it appeared as if the ship distorted and flickered before winking out of existence. Red checked his instruments quickly and saw that everything was exactly as it should be. “Piece of cake,” he muttered before keying the com again. “Flight, this is Hyperion, do you read?” A few seconds later loud cheering was heard over the com as the response came in. “Roger that Hyperion, your transmission is a bit fuzzy but we read you loud and clear. Alright old buddy, are you ready to go to the stars?” “I was born ready,” he said with a grin. “Just give me a moment to prime the drive. Standby.” “Roger Hyperion, Flight standing by to track your flight for as long as we're able.” Starlight shown through the small view port above his head. It was still a few seconds before the main engine was ready. When he pushed the final button, it would push his sleek craft faster and farther than anyone who lived before him. The silent stars watched impassively, leaving him time to contemplate his existence between breaths. “Flight, I am ready to initiate the main engine.” “Roger that, Hyperion. Good luck and godspeed!” “Alright, time to let this angel spread her wings and fly.” Micheal punched the last button to engage the pre-programmed sequence. After a few seconds the instruments sprung to life, but he did not feel any sensation of movement. According to his panel, his relativistic speed was already at one-quarter c, and climbing. Only when he glanced out of his window did he see any evidence of movement. The stars were elongated streaks and blurred blue and red at their tips. It was like looking through a prism. The pilot grinned at the sight. Micheal pressed the button to mute his com. He wanted a brief moment of privacy to carry out a long held promise. Reaching into the lapel of his jumper, he pulled out a small folded piece of paper. A simple statement was scrawled there, and as he glanced over the words his vision blurred slightly. He spoke barely above a whisper, but he knew she would be listening.
"Stars twinkle and shine, in the still of night. Their pale light remains, long after they have gone.
They float, like tears of the universe, reminding us of our own shed tears.
Happiness and joy, Sorrow and pain. Emotions etched upon our souls, like the stars, remain.
Is your soul waiting among them, in the infinite space between? Perhaps one day I will find the answer. Please wait for me, Love."
