Friend of a death

Friend of a death

Approximately seventy light-years from the galactic center, on the outer edge of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm of the Milky Way, is a binary star system. Previously unknown, the system was discovered in 2244 by the interstellar ship Heritage and its crew. Although most of the crew were hibernating when the discovery was made, it made them all akin to heroes in the public's eye.

Heritage embarked on its journey 26 years prior from an external space station located in Neptune's orbit. It was where all ships preparing for interstellar travel were serviced before a go-ahead was given. The ships' mission was to explore the outer reaches of the Milky Way galaxy, a task which had opened up with the discovery of faster-than-light-speed slip drives.

All spaceships of this type functioned in cycles; a set of high-ranking officers were awake during an 8-year-leg of the trip, then went into hibernation, exchanging positions with the recently awoken. Thus, no one officer aboard aged significantly in relation to any given other. The exception to this rule were the science crew of Heritage, all 18 of whom hibernated the entire way. Upon arrival, the crew would be awakened, and start their job collecting and managing data.

There was a complication, though, as is inherent in the discovery's nature. Since no one was aware of the two stars dancing madly with each other - a phenomenon called fluctuation - upon this turn of events, the science crew were swiftly taken out of hibernation and put to work.

* *

It all happened late December, between the 13th and 14th day, and Lieutenant Nowak would remember this, not only because it was weekend, once more, finally. She had gone through the checklist again, as instructed, and had almost learned to enjoy the repetition of maintaining a stellar class spaceship mid-flight. Then she noticed the light.

She stopped to pick up, and with the side of her thumb dispose of some cake leftovers, which had fallen from the plate she was carrying. It was her birthday, and a lonely walk was just the thing she had craved all day. Straightening herself, looking back up but deciding to have another glance through the reinforced glass before promptly resuming the stroll, Lieutenant Nowak saw it; a light, faint as ever but there it was, changing shape, showing signs of growth, waving at her from within the deepest void. Unlike the other lights in the proverbial sky, this one was special. Enough so to have kept her attention, attained her intrigue, deserved her curiosity, and as she'd later come to realize and appreciate, redeemed her faith. It was hers. She named it Heather.

* *

As these records were later reviewed in painstaking detail over a course of many a month by the board of a sub-branch of the I.S.E.C. (International Space Exploration Committee) – majority of the staff were indeed in hibernation, and the discovery of the variable stars was officially credited to acting Commander Myeong, the designated Commander of the fourth cycle. Having acted in the best interests of humanity, deeming the course change necessary and leading this exploratory effort, he was awarded the Star of Merit for the Galactic Advancement of Humanity, or the S.M.G.A.H. the highest honour a space cadet could hope to achieve. Some did, most did not. Myeong Ho-seok did.

A decade of sorrow and strife, little by little, gave way to a sweet kind of melancholy. It was the kind that you look back upon for years to come, and smile a sad smile, but are also able to take back from those days only the constructive. Lieutenant Nowak would return to Earth society and live out her life without the many glories the Star would have given her. But she had another Star, two, in fact, these far surpassing any accolades bestowed upon that cheating little fuck. What the hell is a smgah, anyway? Difficult things to pronounce rarely are worth taking seriously. That, too, she thought about on a weekly basis.