The Final Frontier is Coming Back Home: Pt. I
13 Dec 2021Lily Flemmon
Back in the bubble. First to Meliae, disembarking as part of the grand return of our 4-carrier expedition, with big thanks and honors to Commanders Igikaizen, “Melon Head” Derecho, Ediak, and Evilsarge for running their carriers for the voyage.Maybe the reason we Commanders are often seen as untrustworthy is because we always use aliases, with the exception of a few like me who use our real name more often.
I came home to new changes, a new SRV model obviously, but also a lot of changes that I couldn't quite put my finger on until I realized it was me that had changed. On the voyage, I'd learned not only to save lives and give people a fresh start, I'd also learned to assassinate. I shot a man point blank in what used to be his face. And as I've said before, I'm no mindless killer, I'm a painstakingly mindful killer.
But it's undeniable that I had a lot of emotions that I had just buried from so many events during this trip. And I didn't even realize just how much I had been hiding from myself until I got back home.
I pulled the Intrepid into the docking bay at Chilton Terminal, set down on the pad, and headed for the concourse. I thought I could head to the Pilot's Lounge and see what other pilots were visiting, socialize for a bit, and ease myself back into home life. But that plan was ruined as soon as I stepped out of the lift and into the concourse, when I heard someone squealing my name and running toward me. I barely had time to recognize Phoenix before they nearly knocked me off my feet with an impressively strong embrace. And you bet I hugged them back.
I was the first one able to get any words out. "Did you get my letter?"
Phoenix replied with a little squeak that sounded something like "yes," and they hugged me even tighter.
I ran my fingers through their hair, being careful with the finger pads of my flight suit so nothing caught and pulled.
"How long were you waiting here for me?" I asked gently.
"Well," they half-squeaked through tears of joy and relief, "I'd asked the Director to let me know as soon as the Intrepid entered this system again, and when I got his little ping, I hurried up here to wait for you. I don't know how long I waited but it can't have been too long!" They let go of the embrace, and luckily I didn't let go right away, because only a couple seconds later, they let out a little yelp as their legs went limp for a bit and I had to hold them up. It wasn't long before they got their feet back under them, but I was still concerned- this was a very emotional moment for both of us.
"Okaaay, let's get you back home." I helped them into the nearest lift, and made sure they stayed upright until we made it to the tram.
The tram ride was pretty quiet for both of us, but it was still a really wonderful moment. We were holding hands, and I pulled a towel out of my backpack and put it on my shoulder for Phoenix to rest her head on- the jacket I wear over my flight suit isn't exactly soft. And I rested my head on theirs, and as I looked around to see if this might be a bit much PDA for the other passengers, I saw them smiling. One of the other passengers, a woman who looked about 40, even got up and walked over to me.
She pulled out a small comms pad and paused. "Sorry, is it- is it okay if I take a picture of you two?"
I gave her a confused look. "Wha- why do you want a picture?"
"Well, it's not every day at all that people get to see this kind of, well, humanity from a pilot, especially not a Commander, and I think all of us here in the tram just feel it's really heartwarming. I don't want to bother you, it's just..." Her voice trailed off.
"I- I guess I didn't realize what this looks like to all of you, and... yeah, I'm totally okay with it, what about you, Phoenix?"
Phoenix nodded sleepily.
"Yeah, go ahead and take the picture," I said as I popped the small camera drone I use for taking third-person pictures off my backpack and handed it to her. "And if you could get one for me too, I'd really like that." I rested my head back onto the comfort of Phoenix's head, and we got our pictures taken.
As the woman handed my camera drone back to me, she looked at my nameplate, and her face seemed to light up a bit, as if she'd just noticed a cat sleeping in a window. "Wait, you're Lily? you're back?"
Phoenix responded before I could, their half-asleep voice popping up much more suddenly than I would have expected. "Yeah, that's kinda the big deal, she's back and I'm barely awake because she's so pretty and I missed her and I'm reeeeally happyyyyyy..."
I blushed, putting my hand on Phoenix's head endearingly. "You're going to forget you said that and I'm going to remind you of it later. Just be thankful this camera drone wasn't recording it." I put the drone back into its launch mount, and turned back to the woman who took our picture. "So, how do you know who I am? I'm not exactly famous, even around here."
The woman tittered gently. "Well that's the thing, you are now. Ever since you arrived in Colonia and delivered the olive branch gift from the Co-op, the Director's been receiving letters from all kinds of people out there, and as far as we know, he's shared them with the whole station as they come in. It's been a huge morale boost, almost to the point of an ego boost."
I was more shocked than I feel I should have been, since I probably should have been expecting all this. "Wait, who are the letters from?"
She sat back down across from us. A man sitting by the tram control panel spoke up. "Hey, uh, is everyone okay with me pausing and parking the tram? Nobody here is in a hurry, right?" Everyone on board agreed unanimously, and the tram slowed, redirected slightly, and came to a stop.
The woman turned back to me. "I don't really remember any but the first one, since it hit me the hardest. It came from the Jaques faction office and their search and rescue team, apparently you made quite a statement for all of us when you delivered your letter and the olive branch gifts, and apparently 22 occupied escape pods, some with ejection timestamps dating back to 3299. The search and rescue captain wrote something like "She'll fit right in out here, and she makes a good point about what's coming." I don't recall exactly."
A younger man looking at his comms pad piped up. "Okay, I got the list pulled up. Let's see, chronological... There we go. Yup, first was from Jaques, then one from Eleanor Bresa, then one from the Colonia Council, and looks like there's one last letter I missed, from an anonymous settlement security chief, something about saving his life and showing him his settlement was a front for-" He closed his lips tightly. "hmm, uh, I'll stop there. But yeah, you're pretty famous around here now."
Phoenix, still woozy, piped up again. "Dammmmn RIGHT she issss!" They pointed in an arbitrary upward direction with their somewhat limp and wobbly outstretched arm before letting the arm flop back down.
I turned back to the man sitting by the tram controls. "We should probably get moving again, I think it's best to get Phoenix back home before they say anything too embarrassing."
And the tram gracefully started up again and we were on our way.