The Final Frontier is Coming Back Home: Pt. II
19 Dec 2021Lily Flemmon
OOC Foreword: This entry is less about the Elite universe and more about character development for Phoenix, who is a direct insert character of an IRL friend/partner of mine. Every mention of Phoenix has been approved by them upon publishing (sometimes rather affectionate approval). Lily and Phoenix are not explicitly dating, although they do have a strong but not codependent romantic connection. Lily is a Commander and Phoenix isn't, after all, and Lily only spends about half of her nights at Chilton Terminal, often opting to sleep in a ship's cabin or a hotel room at a starport or surface station. It's also worth noting that the majority of Chilton Terminal's population lives in the two large 5-spoke rings, and the space surrounding the docking bay is primarily warehouse (mostly Rockforth Corp. produce from 21 Draco A 3, which Chilton Terminal orbits), low-G greenhouse, and office space, which significantly differs from the norm for Orbis starports. Phoenix and I got back to their apartment, and it wasn’t too long before they came back to their senses. Once they were settled, I headed back to my apartment and changed out of my flight suit, and unpacked my travel bag. When I put away the spare rations, I realized that I hadn’t had real food since I left for Colonia. I called up Phoenix (because I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to have to cook, heh) and they were already cooking a meal for the two of us.
“But it was supposed to be a surprise for you, Lily!”
“Okay, and how would that work? Walk me through the plan you had in mind.”
“Well, I’d make the food, and call you over, and then when the door opens, ta-daa!”
“Phoenix, your cooking smells good enough that everyone in a 500 meter radius knows what you’re making.”
“That… that is very correct.” They let out a little giggle, and so did I.
“I’ll see you soon, hun.”
“Yes yes, soon!”
I headed over to get whatever it was Phoenix was making, and sure enough, I could tell there was a new variant of that unsweet dry honey spice developed while I was away. Also somehow cheddar was involved, as well as… Indi Bourbon? Oh, Phoenix. When you said you were saving it for a special occasion, this isn’t what came to mind. Not that I’d complain.
When the door opened, Phoenix still managed to surprise me with what they were cooking. I would never have guessed it was a variation on the Chilton-famous “Neutron Nachos” recipe. Apparently Phoenix wanted to help me celebrate learning to neutron boost. The dinner was absolutely delicious, and I’ll be honest, I ate a bit much. More than a bit, as in I flopped onto the couch and fell asleep.
You know that childhood memory of “teleporting” from the couch to your bed, where you fall asleep somewhere less comfy and wake up in your bed? Well, as I just started to wake up again, I felt the coziest I’d ever felt. Warm, under a blanket, on a soft mattress, with a warm pillow or something, except it was heavy and- oh, that’s Phoenix. I opened my eyes to see a dark room- their bedroom- with a projection of stars on the ceiling, and I recognized the route of the 7 C’s expedition I rode to Colonia. When I looked a bit more intently, one carrier jump looked a bit squiggly, and I realized it was specifically the flight path of the Intrepid. The 22 lives I saved. And I learned to neutron jump on the spot to save them. That memory had been absolutely heart-wrenching and stressful ever since it happened, but with Phoenix’s arms around me, it.. Wasn’t? It felt okay, it felt… warm? I finally felt the warmth of knowing that… those people are going to be okay. I felt tears well up in my eyes a bit as I closed them again, and I hugged Phoenix a little closer as I fell back to sleep.