Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

Power by Proxy

Ramirez felt half in a dream as he ran through Empyrean's halls and towards the lifepods. The ship was mostly evacuated now, and he ran with the few remaining stragglers to what remained. The ship rocked and shook while psychic wave after psychic waved assailed his mind. He reached the lifepod deck, watching as doors closed and pods detached. He could see them spilling like a swarm of Bees into the darkness of space. He paused where he stood as the last men and women moved past him to the pods.

He just, couldn't make himself move.

"We should go.

Ramirez jumped in surprised turning his head to look down only to find krill standing at his side. The little doctor was still wearing his white coat with its golden strips of energy, and instead of looking angry he looked almost sad.

"Doctor! I .... Thought you'd have gone by now."

Krill sighed, "I thought..... I might stay but, they are going to need me more elsewhere."

"That's.... what Adam said to me." He paused watching as the last lifepod detached, "I guess it's going to be up to us to keep things running?"

"I guess it is?"

"Aren't you angry."

Krill turned to give him a look ,"I'm always angry, but this was an expected outcome. I could have seen this coming from a mile off."

"We'll have to be ready when he gets back."

Krill nodded, "We will be ready when he gets back."

The two of them stepped into a life pod just as an announcement was going out over the speakers. Ramirez watched the door slide closed, and felt the seatbelts tightening around his chest, as they were shot into the cavum of space and away from the Empryean. There were no windows inside the pod, all the better to avoid Behemoth, but he could only imagine the scene that unfolded behind them as they flew.

The empyrean descending towards the maw of the beast.

The pod rattled slightly, and he gripped on tight with both hands squeezing his eyes shut.

A single tear rolled down his cheek as he waited.

The explosion registered on their monitor as a radio spike, and immense radio spike that was akin to something like a star's signature. Neither of them knew what happened until the Omen passed by to pick them up, going slow as it trolled for survivors.

***

Ramirez stood in front of the viewing window with his hands behind his back and stared out at second burning sun. They could not approach, the heat was simply too high. Chunks of behemoth were being expelled from the star at odd intervals, as if piece by piece, they were escaping the gravity well.

It was almost as if , it were still in the process of blowing up.

Ramirez reached up a hand to touch his cheek where the light of the false star caressed his skin.

Adam and Maverick were in there somewhere.

His two best friends in the whole of the universe, and somehow, he managed not to be with them,

Would he ever see them again?

Or did he make his final goodbye on the bridge of that ship, never able to..... articulate how he really felt to someone important to him. Ramirez had never been known for shyness, almost the opposite, but standing here looking at the infant star he wondered if he had missed an opportunity hiding from himself what he was feeling.

Still couldn't acknowledge it.

He bowed his head.

All around them, the ship was silent .